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Jury Deliberates in Michael Jackson Death Trial; Occupy Protests Continue; Justin Bieber Denies he's a Father; Anonymous Lifts Threat to Mexican Drug Cartel; Financial Planners Give Advice; Herman Cain Sexual Harassment Scandal Continues to Unfold

Aired November 04, 2011 - 15:00   ET

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


BROOKE BALDWIN, CNN ANCHOR: Now this.

Welcome back. Hour two.

Let's begin "Reporter Roulette."

The jury three-and-a-half-hours into deliberating the case against Michael Jackson's doctor. Also there is a new jobs report out there. And If Greece worries you, wait until you hear about Italy. All of that, plus a civil rights legend has advice for the Occupy Wall Street movement.

Let's play "Reporter Roulette" on this Friday.

I want to begin with Ted Rowlands in Los Angeles outside that courtroom. Quite a little bit of a scene I guess behind you there, Ted. Any news? Any other news from the jury room?

TED ROWLANDS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, the big breaking news, Brooke, they have taken their lunch break.

The jurors, they have deliberated now, as you mentioned, about three- and-a-half-hours and during the deliberations, they did ask for some evidence, so, a big box of evidence was brought back to the jury room, so they are obviously doing something back there. They are going over the case, but that's all we have to report right now.

Outside the courthouse, tons of media from around the world here, highly anticipating this verdict, and then of course, the Jackson followers and the Murray supporters out here as well.

BALDWIN: If they don't reach this verdict by the end of the day today, Ted, could they continue to deliberate after hours or even through the weekend?

ROWLANDS: No, they can't. The judge is limiting their deliberations. They can make their own schedule within the window of the court hours, he's outlawing them from going long or from working the weekends and the reason is the California budget. They would have to staff the courthouse with security, et cetera. He's limiting them to the court hours of 8:15 to 4:15.

BALDWIN: OK. Ted Rowlands in L.A., Ted, many thanks. (STOCK MARKET UPDATE)

BALDWIN: OK. Next. "Reporter Roulette," let's go to Ali Velshi, who is in Southern France, sit of, as you know, G20 summit.

G20 leaders, Ali, devoted a lot of time to Greece, a country still facing potential default. Point-blank, my friend, do we need to keep an eye on Italy because we have seen unrest there related to all of this debt stuff as well?

ALI VELSHI, CNN CHIEF BUSINESS CORRESPONDENT: Absolutely. Absolutely we do. Italy -- Greece is the 32nd largest economy in the world. It is a blip on the radar and it has caused -- it's nearly caused the unraveling of the European Union.

Italy is a significant economy, it's a very big economy, it's got a lot of debt. The prime minister there facing a no-confidence vote last week. Berlusconi, by the way, has survived these many, many times before. I think he has survived 50 of them in the past , so it is not as fragile a political situation, but economically, it is absolutely a serious situation.

And, by the way, we are not out of the woods on Greece yet. There is a speech in Parliament happening right now and then there will be the no-confidence vote. So the ruling party, Prime Minister George Papandreou may not survive the night as the prime minister. Looks like he might but we're still watching that very closely. Europe is not out of the woods, Brooke.

BALDWIN: Then you have the president going through the whole litany again today, tsunami in Japan, Arab spring, troubles in Europe, all the factors clearly weighing down our own economic recovery. Is there any way out of the syndrome where another country sneezes and we get sick?

VELSHI: No. Like I said, look at Greece. It is just not a big country hospital. Would have thought -- for the last 2,000 years, Greece has not been a significant player on the international front, and all of a sudden it is the most important country in the world today.

I think we need to look at this and it's something to consider, especially during campaign season, where everybody is pointing fingers at Washington and this side of the aisle and that side of the aisle. What Washington does has some impact on our economy, but right now, we are connected to the entire world, and the biggest trading partner for the United States is Europe and if Europe were to falter it will cost jobs in America, it will cost you in your 401(k) and it's going to cost you the ability to get loans and mortgages.

It is very serious and we need to keep an eye on what is going on in Greece and anywhere else that starts to falters these days, Brooke.

BALDWIN: Ali Velshi in France -- Ali, thanks.

Finally, a confrontation could be brewing just a couple blocks from where I'm sitting. Occupy Atlanta plans to retake that downtown park they were kicked out of just last week and a veteran of the civil rights movement, Reverend Lowery, has some advice with these folks.

Here, George Howell with me in Atlanta.

You talked to him. What did the reverend say?

GEORGE HOWELL, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Brooke, this is a big deal. We're talking about the dean of the civil rights movement. This is the man who walked alongside Dr. Martin Luther King in the '60s. When he talks a lot of people listen.

Dr. Lowery says that he supports the Occupy movement. That is a big deal. But he says also that the protesters may be fighting the wrong fight. He also has some advice for Atlanta's mayor. I just got an interview with him a minute ago. Let's listen to this sound bite and we can talk about it here on the other side.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

REV. JOSEPH LOWERY, CIVIL RIGHTS LEADER: I recognize the mayor's concern. He has got to do his job. He has to enforce the law. But he has got find a way to meet these protesters halfway. I think his sympathies are with them, but he feels obligated to enforce the law.

And I understand that. I also have said to the Occupy people that don't make the mayor your main target. Let's look at these banks, look at these politicians. Let's find a way to go to their offices.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HOWELL: Always an honor to talk to Dr. Lowery, just turned 90 last month.

BALDWIN: Ninety, 90.

HOWELL: But says that the focus needs to be on business leaders, needs to be on politicians and partisan politics that he says create a stalemate in Washington.

BALDWIN: Might he show up at Woodruff Park on Saturday? Is he thinking about it?

HOWELL: That would be a big endorsement for Occupy Atlanta. He says he may. It depends. He may. He says if the movement becomes violent in any way, he said -- quote -- "I will wash my hands of it entirely."

BALDWIN: George Howell, thank you. And that is your "Reporter Roulette" for this Friday.

Many of you have expressed your outrage over this next story. We showed you just snippets of this disturbing video, the whole thing some seven minutes, this Texas family court judge whipping his daughter with this leather belt. Now we are learning this father, the judge will not be facing charges. The district attorney in Texas says the time stamp on the beating shown in the video too old. You see it, 2004, seven years ago. Statute of limitations has run out.

So they cannot prosecute Judge William Adams, but Adams faces an investigation into his judicial conduct. His daughter, Hillary Adams, search is the one who uploaded the video as a way she says to reconcile with her father.

She talked about that just last night with Anderson Cooper.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ANDERSON COOPER, CNN ANCHOR: So you actually -- the night that happened, you actually set up the camera in advance because you could sense things were escalating?

HILLARY ADAMS, VIDEOTAPED BEATING BY HER FATHER: Yes, sir. I didn't exactly know why yet. I just needed this -- I just knew that this was something I needed to hold on to. I needed to show people one day. I didn't know why. But -- so I set the camera up and sat there for half an hour recording a blank room because the discussion was taking place elsewhere in the house. And -- but then when it came in to the room and my father switched off the lights and nobody could see in through the window, and then it erupted in to what you see on the tape.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BALDWIN: So what is her father saying now? Judge Adams is calling into question his daughter's motives for releasing the video. He suggests that she is retaliating against had him for an argument they had recently about money.

A statement released by his attorney says -- quote -- "Hillary warned her father that if he reduced her financial support and took away her Mercedes automobile, which her father provided, he would live to regret it. The post was then uploaded."

Four coal miners are dead, more than 50 trapped after this explosion in China.

Plus, the mummified remains of dozens of women found in this teeny- tiny apartment of this man in Russia. He apparently dressed them up as -- one as a doll, one as a teddy bear in costumes, these bodies.

Also, six people locked in isolation for 520 days, all in the name of science. We are going to tell you why coming up this hour.

And a poster in a barbecue restaurant that reads cowboys and Iranians, those words, this picture kicking up quite a stir in Texas -- that story and much more coming up. Stay right here.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(NEWS BREAK)

BALDWIN: Hey, if you saw this poster, this poster right here, would you be disturbed? The poster is hanging in a Texas barbecue joint. Check out what the owner of the restaurant has to say about it. (BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JOHN NONMACHER, RESTAURANT OWNER: It is my choice to have it up. It is your choice to go where you want to go, but I'm not going to take it down.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BALDWIN: Hmm. More on that story in two minutes.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BALDWIN: We don't mark a lot of anniversaries on this show, but once every while, an anniversary comes along that reminds you of just how time flies, like this one -- 32 years ago today, Iranian students and militants took over the U.S. Embassy in Tehran.

They held 52 Americans hostage for a total of 444 days. Images just like this one outraged and enraged people across the United States. Today, in a scene reminiscent of that chapter of the Iranian Revolution, thousands of students gathered outside what used to be the U.S. Embassy in Tehran. They shouted down with USA and carried signs reading down with capitalism and Wall Street equals war street.

But back here at home, in the U.S., there is a stark reminder that while times fly, times change. I want to show you a relic from the Iranian hostage crisis that still hangs in a Texas barbecue joint.

Watch this report. This is by Demond Fernandez from our Houston affiliate KTRK.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

DEMOND FERNANDEZ, KTRK REPORTER (voice-over): On a photo wall tucked under some old caps at Nonmacher's Bar-B-Q in Katy sits the poster that is causing quite a stir.

AYMAN WAFAI, CUSTOMER: It's 2011. Looking at it now, I see really nothing more than a display of racism and bigotry.

FERNANDEZ: Ayman Wafai says he came to eat at the Mason Road restaurant this week. He says he was disturbed by the lynching scene in the poster. It shows two dozen men toting weapons, posing under a man tied with a noose and its caption reads, let's play cowboys and Iranians.

WAFAI: I don't think something like this should really be accepted by any community.

FERNANDEZ: Now some are calling the poster offensive, but the barbecue shop's owner, John Nonmacher, told me it has been on the wall here for 30 years.

NONMACHER: Nobody has ever found it offensive before.

FERNANDEZ: Nonmacher calls the photo an antique. He claims it's a reenactment made by some Houstonians back in 1979 who were speaking out against the Iran hostage crisis, a time when more than 50 Americans were held captive by Iranians for 444 days. Nonmacher says he is surprised by the public fuss over it now.

NONMACHER: I laugh. And I'm still laughing. I mean, they don't understand what it is. They don't care to understand. It somebody that has taken it upon themselves to campaign and crusade.

FERNANDEZ: Customers like Wafai, who describe himself as Middle Eastern, says the problem is times have changed.

WAFAI: If this was any other race, if we were looking at a picture of an African-American or an Asian-American or Native American even, this would be a very, very huge deal.

FERNANDEZ: Right now, many people are asking Nonmacher to remove the poster and his message to those folks:

NONMACHER: It is my choice to have it up. It is your choice to go where you want to go, but I'm not going to take it down.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BALDWIN: I just tweeted about this. Do me a favor, think about this story. I have a feeling this is one of those you might be talking about tonight over dinner or over the weekend. What do you think about that? Should it be taken down? Would you be offended. Send me a tweet @BrookeBCNN.

A space mission to Mars, or is it? Look at these men locked away from the world for a year-and-a-half, donning -- well, not there -- there -- space suits, walking across sandy yards, landing on Mars, but they never left our planet. Hmm. We will tell you why next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BALDWIN: Imagine 520 days locked away with five other people, packed into a space about the width of a bus, eating food from jars and cans, waiting long periods to hear from friends, living with little in the way of luxuries, except for, I don't know, a couple of small holiday parties.

That is exactly what the crew of the Mars500 experiment just went through in the simulation of the first human mission to Mars.

Tariq Malik is managing editor of Space.com. He has been on before.

Tariq, we wanted to bring you back because you have these six volunteers. Essentially, they slammed the hatch closed 17 months ago. How do you make a facility in Moscow look like Mars?

TARIQ MALIK, SPACE.COM: Well, what they have done is they made a very high-fidelity kind of model of what a spaceship would be like. It is complete. It has bedrooms for these astronauts. It has an entertainment area, exercise room. They even built a fake Mars surface, a big red walk area where these guys would walk around in their space suits, basically everything they would need for a Mars mission, but right here on Earth. And these guys sat there for 500 days and now they have just come out today.

BALDWIN: Whew, 500 days, goodness. I guess they are all very, very good friends by now. What did they do? What exactly did they do in those 17 months?

MALIK: Well, fighting boredom obviously probably high on their list.

But they actually went into this with a lot of goals in mind. They had daily schedules which included exercise, you know, the things that you and I would need, eating, sleeping, but also a lot of scientific experiments. Many of them kept journals or other types of records for psychological evaluation.

That's the big draw of this test is that the scientists want to know what the psychological effects of being stuck in a tin can with only a few companions around is going to be like on a long trip to Mars.

BALDWIN: Right. What exactly does that do to you physically and psychologically, as you mentioned?

I know we have been reading a lot of tweets from Diego Urbina. And I want to just pull up this tweet, guys, if we have it. He tweeted: "The passive treadmill never fails to make you sweat liters. Wang knows it."

And here is a guy on a treadmill, presumably part of one of these experiments. Who exactly are these six guys, by the way, Tariq?

MALIK: Well, these are volunteers for the project. None of them are professional astronauts, if you will. The Chinese volunteer is an astronaut trainer. The two Europeans were selected from a wide range of volunteers out in Europe. They represent the European Space Agency.

And then there are Russians as well from either -- representatives of Russia's flight team or medical personnel, to really kind of give a wide range of what an international trip to Mars would look like.

BALDWIN: Yes, I was just talking to the ISS commander up in space a couple days ago and he was reminding me that it takes six months just to get to Mars. So I guess you got to practice -- 520 days is quite a chunk of time, I suppose.

Tariq Malik, Space.com, Tariq, thank you very much.

And it is time for America's Choice 2012 politics update.

Let's go to Jim Acosta, joining us live from the fifth annual Defending the American Dream Summit in Washington.

Jim, good to see you.

JIM ACOSTA, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hi, Brooke, good to see you.

Yes. Well, Herman Cain has had a week of sexual harassment allegations hanging over his head but you would not know it judging by the response that he got inside this conference room behind me just about an hour ago.

The conservative businessman got up and gave a fiery speech to a room packed full of conservatives. They gave him a standing ovation. There were some Tea Party activists who were dancing in the aisles during the speech. And what was really notable about the speech, Brooke, it's probably the one-liner of the day, if you will. This summit was put on by Americans For Prosperity, which is a big Tea Party organizer, and it is also a group that was founded by the Koch brothers.

Those are the billionaire brothers who bankroll a big portion of the Tea Party movement, helping to pay for events all over the country that support Tea Party causes. And Herman Cain got up and all but blew a kiss to the Koch brothers. Take a listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

HERMAN CAIN (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: I'm proud to know the Koch brothers. I'm very proud to know the Koch brothers.

(APPLAUSE)

CAIN: They make it sound like that we have had time to go fishing together, hunting together, skiing together, golfing together.

(LAUGHTER)

CAIN: But just so I can clarify this for the media -- this may be a breaking news announcement for the media. I am the Koch brothers' brother from another mother.

(LAUGHTER)

(END VIDEO CLIP)

(LAUGHTER)

ACOSTA: So, yes. So, Brooke, if, earlier this week, that image of Herman Cain snapping at reporters was perhaps an image midweek of this crisis for the Cain campaign, I think this was a new image that the Cain campaign was putting out, a much more forceful, much more aggressive, much more confident Herman Cain than we have seen in the last 48 hours. This was not a Herman Cain shrinking from the limelight. He was definitely out in front, soaking in up big time.

BALDWIN: Cracking jokes as well. I know, as you know it is not only Cain there it is Mitt Romney. We've seen the ABC/"Washington Post" poll, they're the top two frontrunners, Romney and then Cain. What is the word from the Romney camp today?

ACOSTA: Well, you know, if Cain's speech was sort of in your face in style, Romney's was in substance. He outlined what was a pretty radical reshaping of the federal government today. This was a plan that he says will cut $500 billion in government spending per year in a Romney administration up until the year 2016.

He is talking about partially privatizing Medicare, sending Medicaid back to the states, cutting funding for programs like Amtrak, Planned Parenthood, PBS, foreign aid, and the list goes on and on. And it was also notable that Romney did not even make mention at all, anything do what so ever with the Cain matter that has been unfolding this week. He stayed completely clear of it.

And I have to say, there was a huge contrast in the response to both of these speeches. They were almost standing on top of their chairs for Herman Cain, and it was really polite applause for Mitt Romney, a big contrast there, Brooke.

BALDWIN: Sounds like it, sounds like two different speeches, two different responses. Jim Acosta in Washington. Thank you, Jim.

And the fate of Michael Jackson's doctor now sitting in the hands of the jury. Sunny Hostin is "On the Case" with that.

Plus, this --

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

(SINGING)

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BALDWIN: Well, Justin Bieber says he is not a daddy, but a woman three years his senior says, oh, yes he is. We will tell you about the legal Pandora's Box she just opened with this one.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BALDWIN: In this week's "Human Factor," CNN's chief medical correspondent Dr. Sanjay Gupta introduces us to a young woman with paranoid schizophrenia who has achieved remarkable things in the face of major challenges, and she is determined not to let mental illness stop her from reaching her goals.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

ASHLEY SMITH, HAS PARANOID SCHIZOPHRENIA: I heard voices. I saw images of people following me that scared me.

DR. SANJAY GUPTA, CNN CHIEF MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT: Ashley Smith knows what it's like to nearly lose it all.

SMITH: I felt my life was in danger. I felt like my family members and strangers on the street were against me.

GUPTA: When she was in college, her sanity started slipping away.

SMITH: I thought everyone was against me. GUPTA: Overwhelmed, Ashley blamed it on stress.

SMITH: I would pray a lot about it. And I thought that if I just continue to cope with it the best way I knew house, I would get through it.

GUPTA: But she didn't. Ashley stole a military truck and led police on a high-speed chase. She ended up in jail. Two months went by before Ashley received a diagnosis of paranoid schizophrenia along with treatment.

The National Alliance of Mental Illness says more than 2 million Americans have schizophrenia, but in the African-American community, mental illness is on the misunderstood and is not often discussed. But Ashley did something remarkable. She decided to be open about her diagnosis with the goal of helping others.

SMITH: Do I look like a person with schizophrenia? There is no face to my illness.

GUPTA: Today, she helps train law enforcement officers. They learn to recognize signs and symptoms of people with mental illness to help the officers intervene in a crisis. Ashley has also started her own nonprofit organization, "Embracing my Mind," which helps low-income and homeless people with mental illness get help. She is studying to be a therapist.

SMITH: It is a life-long process to overcome schizophrenia. I do it through my medication, my support network, which is my treatment team, and my peers and family.

GUPTA: Ashley hopes sharing her story will reduce stigma surrounding metal health.

SMITH: Those people who are newly diagnosed or who are still suffering or struggling with this illness, there are going to be ups and downs, but it is very manageable and that you can succeed.

GUPTA: Dr. Sanjay Gupta, CNN, reporting.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BALDWIN: So, the jury now has been deliberating more than four hours in the trial of Michael Jackson's doctor, Conrad Murray. Sunny Hostin is "On the Case." Sunny, we heard from Ted Rowland outside the courthouse. The jury has come back, I guess, asking for some evidence. Given than, what does your gut tell you? Will we have a verdict today?

SUNNY HOSTIN, CNN LEGAL CONTRIBUTOR: We may not. I will tell you this had is a one-count case. I thought perhaps when they went into the jury room and took their initial vote after electing a foreperson that we could come back a quick verdict. That usually inures to the benefit of the prosecution. But as things drag on, that usually swings toward the defense. So the fact they are now asking for pieces of evidence, asked for a break, taken a lunch break, that means this is a jury going over the evidence, Brooke, they are discussion things, the defense here to rained prosecution theory, which we know works so, so different, quite possible we don't get a verdict back today.

BALDWIN: Was it a mistake, Sunny, not to sequester the jury? Can these jurors really resist reading, watching the news about the case?

HOSTIN: Maybe I'm just not a trusting person, Brooke, but they have been admonished not to do that, not to look at the Internet, not to watch any television coverage of this case. But it's everywhere, right? So I think the judge, who by the way, has been superb in this case, made a mistake by not sequestering the jury, especially during jury deliberation. I think it is a mistake, because if it goes into the weekend, they are not going to deliberate over the weekend, they are going to go home. How do they stay away from the facts of this case?

BALDWIN: We know they can't deliberate late tonight or over the weekend because of California budget issues, so exactly. I do want to play a little something from the defense attorney, Ed Chernoff, part of the closing argument. Let's watch this.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

ED CHERNOFF, DEFENSE ATTORNEY FOR CONRAD MURRAY: This is not a reality show. It's reality. And the decisions you make isn't making good TV. It is how it affects real human beings and people that love them.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BALDWIN: So Chernoff was lecturing the jury on rate TV versus reality. Could talking to juries in that manner, I don't know, alienate some of them perhaps?

HOSTIN: You know, it's possible. I like Ed Chernoff. I thought he did a wonderful job considering the evidence, overwhelming evidence I considered against Conrad Murray. This pushed it a bit far. He's dramatic storyteller, and there is that celebrity piece of this case. I don't know that the reality television analyst worked well, but there were other analogies that he used during his closing arguments that I think were quite effective. And clearly this jury is considering the evidence in this case, including the defense theory. So job well done for him. That little piece, a little too far.

BALDWIN: You said you thought Chernoff did a pretty good job. You watched both closing arguments. Who had a stronger case?

HOSTIN: Maybe it is the former prosecutor in me, Brooke, but I think the first-degree this case is very overwhelming. This was methodical process, a lot of evidence, a very leanly tried case. It wasn't overcharged. At the end of the day, maybe there will be a jury nullification, maybe there will be a hung jury, but the prosecution in my view proved the case beyond a reasonable doubt.

BALDWIN: OK, as we wait for a verdict, let's move on. Case two, the paternity suit here against teen heartthrob Justin Bieber. So this young woman has come forth. She claims she had sex with the Biebs after a concert backstage last year. He was asked about this. He was "The Today Show" this morning performing. He was asked about this. Let's hear what he said.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JUSTIN BIEBER, SINGER: Every night after the show I go right from the stage right to my car. So it's crazy that some people want to make up false allegations. But to set the record straight, none of it is true.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BALDWIN: It is not true. It is crazy, says Justin Bbieber. Could the lawsuit come back and haunt the accuser, Sunny?

HOSTIN: Well, it certainly could, because you can't defame people, you can't file frivolous lawsuits. It certainly could come back to bite her. I'm glad that he came out publicly and denied these allegations, because I think that between first came out, he sort of tweeted this odd tweet, not necessarily coming out against the allegations. So I'm glad he has set the record straight and we will see what happens.

BALDWIN: Here is the issue though, you do the math. Angie, correct me on the ages, but she would have been then 19, he would have been 16. So what penalty could she possibly face for statutory rape charge?

HOSTIN: Well, you know, typically, prosecutors don't charge statutory rapes when you have two teens, because she was 16, he was 19, only a three-year difference. Most people charge when you have a larger difference and not between teens.

But because of a case like this, she does subject herself to statutory rape charges if this were true. It would be a misdemeanor though because of the difference in age, only three years. That's still six months in prison, $5,000 penalty, a real big deal if he, indeed, is the father of her child.

BALDWIN: If. Sunny Hostin --

HOSTIN: And the other thing is --

BALDWIN: Yes, go.

HOSTIN: The other thing is very quickly is that usually they have to sign up as a sex offender on the registry forever. So a pretty big deal.

BALDWIN: She would have to do that if she is found guilty?

HOSTIN: That's right, if convicted of a misdemeanor. That's right.

BALDWIN: Sunny Hostin, thank you very much.

And we talked about this yesterday, we told you about the international hacker group, Anonymous, went toe-to-toe with a very violent drug cartel in Mexico. Well, the news today, someone blinked. Find out what happened, next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BALDWIN: I want to talk about these live pictures. These are live pictures outside of an attorney's office in Washington, D.C. The attorney is Joel Bennett, you know the name, we have been talking about Joel Bennett because he represents one of these clients, one of these women who is involved in this sexual harassment story that we have been covering this last week with regard to Herman Cain. They worked together at the National Restaurant Association some years ago. She accused him of sexual harassment.

The story's come to light. We have now learned that both the National Restaurant Association and this client vis-a-vis her attorney are amicably discussing her releasing a statement. They have to work with the association because there was this confidentiality agreement back in 1999. So point being, we are watching to see if and when he comes out of his office, and when he does I know Brian Todd, who was there, he's be all over it for "THE SITUATION ROOM" in a matter of minutes. So say tuned for that.

BALDWIN: Meantime, the brewing cyber-battle between the hacker group Anonymous and a Mexican drug cartel may now be at a draw. Anonymous says a kidnapped member of their group has been freed. Anonymous had had threatened to release names, personal information about people linked to the Los Zetas cartel if the person wasn't released. But the cartel sent a message all of their own, promising death to Anonymous members and their families if any names were released.

Our national desk editor Nick Valencia working his contacts in Mexico, digging on the story for us. Obviously both sides have been threatening one another. Do we know for a fact that one side blinked?

NICK VALENCIA, CNN NATIONAL DESK EDITOR: This is a thing, Brooke. It's a very nuanced story and we have to be completely transparent about it. We do not know that validity of these threats, if the Anonymous group as a whole is backing this alleged threat that's supposed to happen tomorrow.

As you know and as you've spoken, we had Fred Burton on here a couple days ago, and he brought a great point out, this is a decentralized leadership that Anonymous has. The curious thing about this all is there is no official record of this kidnapping, this alleged kidnapping that the group is claim.

BALDWIN: That's what the group says, but CNN hasn't been able to confirm that, correct?

VALENCIA: CNN cannot confirm that anyone has been kidnapped. CNN cannot confirm either that anyone has been released. This is all according to this anonymous cartel blog. Today they released a message saying their member had been released and they were backing off the threat.

I because we have this full-screen graphic with the statement. They said, "Today our Anonymous colleague retained by the Zetas cartel has been freed. A message has been sent to us that if anonymous reveals a name related with the cartel, the family of the kidnapped anonymous member will suffer consequences. For every cartel name is revealed, 10 people will be put to death. The collective Anonymous has decided by consensus that the information that we have available will not be revealed for the time being."

So from that statement it seems of though they are back off. An interesting caveat, though, this 30-year-old man, Baird Brown in Dallas, 30 years old yesterday released a message.

BALDWIN: Unmasked.

VALENCIA: Unmakes. It is very different from the sort of status quo that Anonymous has of wearing these Guy Fawkes masks, which coincidentally November 5, tomorrow, when this alleged release of these names is happening, is Guy Fawkes day.

So he got in front of the TV or his YouTube camera and says he is joining this fight for Anonymous and he is going to release names on Saturday, that he is expecting to get thousands of emails from different anonymous member, and he has no problem releasing the names and going after the Los Zetas, which, as you know, is the most ruthless cartel in Mexico.

BALDWIN: Very different from being thrown in jail. When you're dealing with the Zetas, you're dealing with entirely different ramifications. Nick Valencia, stay on it. Let's get an update Monday. Thanks very much.

Now this.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I've never paddled out this far before.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BALDWIN: And I bet she won't paddle out that far again. Have you seen this -- pleasant day for kayakers until these massive whales come out lunging out of the water. More on that incredible video next.

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POPPY HARLOW, CNNMONEY.COM CORRESPONDENT: Time now for the Help Desk, where we get answers to your financial questions. And joining me this hour, Lynnette Khalfani-Cox, the founder of the financial advice blog AskTheMoneyCoach.com, and David Novick, a certified financial planner and adjunct professor at NYU. Thanks for being here, guys. We appreciate it. Lynnette, your question comes from Kathy in Missouri. Kathy writes she wants to find an honest and reliable credit repair agency. Where can she find that?

LYNNETTE KHALFANI-COX, ASKTHEMONEYCOACH.COM: Is there such a thing? No, see here's the problem. A lot of these credit repair agencies tout benefits and make promises they can't keep or promise you things consumers can do for him or herself. The idea here is heck out a company's Better Business Bureau, also maybe look at the credit counseling industry because the federal government does in fact certify HUD certified credit counseling agencies --

HARLOW: For free?

KHALFANI-COX: Free of charge they can help with your credit issues. You might not get credit repair, in that sense, but you can get some credit education to improve your credit score.

HARLOW: Bottom line, if it sounds too good to be true, it probably is.

KHALFANI-COX: It probably is.

HARLOW: David, your question comes from Ming in New York. Ming writes that his son started college this year, they paid over $10,000 in tuition. What kind of tax benefits can they expect?

DAVID NOVICK, FINANCIAL PLANNER: Depending on their income, there may be a couple of options available. Most important one would be the American opportunity tax credit, which could give them up to $2,500 of tax credit for the $10,000 of tuition. The lifetime learning credit may available, too, a $2,000 tax credit. There's a tuition tax deduction. That could be $4,000.

The key is you can't use them together and if they've used anything such as a 529 plan or a Coverdale account to pay for college, you wouldn't be able to use those credits for the same expense.

HARLOW: If this, then not this.

NOVICK: Exactly.

HARLOW: You got to look at the fine print.

Thank you, guys. And folks, if you have a question you want answered, send us a question anytime to CNNhelpdesk@CNN.com.

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BALDWIN: And once again -- it's black now. Of course it goes black when we want to talk about it. The bottom line, we are watching and waiting. I know Brian Todd is standing there outside this attorney's office in Washington D.C. to see if Joel Bennett, the attorney for one of the accusers in this alleged Herman Cain sex harassment story, if he comes forth and reads this statement on behalf of his client. Certainly Wolf will have it for you or we will depending on when he does that here on CNN.

Now to some pretty incredible video. A surfer and pair of kayakers hanging out in Santa Cruz, take a good long look at the water, some happy seagulls as. Then as you keep why are eyes trained on the water, not just one but two humpback whale, here they go, pop right out of the water, a tad too close for my taste if I were sitting there shooting this thing, feeding on anchovies and fish, barely missing the woman and kayakers there. The whales are feeding so close to the shore because their food is there now. And the Coast Guard is now warning people to stay at least 100 yards away from the whales or face hefty fines.

Coming up in a couple of minutes, Wolf Blitzer in "THE SITUATION ROOM." Wolf, I know you guys are all over, Brian Todd outside Joel Bennett's office there watching and waiting to see if he will read that statement.

WOLF BLITZER, CNN HOST, "THE SITUATION ROOM": Yes. We've been waiting to see if they worked out an arrangement between Joel Bennett, the attorney representing this woman who is making these accusations against Herman Cain. She actually made the sexual harassment allegations more than a decade ago when he was the head of the National Restaurant Association.

We'll see if they worked out an agreement that will allow her to break the confidentiality agreement that she worked out with the National Restaurant Association and allow her to make a statement responding to what Herman Cain, the Republican presidential front-runner, has been saying. So Brian is over there. We probably will hear from Joel Bennett. A lot more news is coming up. We have some major developments on a whole bunch of other fronts as well. So we'll have all the important news of the day.

BALDWIN: Wolf, thank you. We'll see new a couple minutes.

A weight loss success story, something you don't mess with unless of course there's a case of state or national pride on the line. We're going to explain this tempting taste in today's "Political Pop."

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BALDWIN: Here's your "Political Pop." A senator win as bet, gets ice cream. But is it winning when you have a very public weight loss story? Senator Claire McCaskill of Missouri, a fan of the St. Louis Cardinals who played the Texas Rangers in the series. So she bet Texas senators her team would win, and they did. Thus her tweet, "Facing sweet dilemmas, Texas senator paying off World Series bet with ice cream." Then she tweeted "I meant splurge. And yes, I did. Chocolate -- yum."

But this is even though McCasskill has been trying to lose a bunch of weight. Take a look at her before and after. Looking very good, Ms. McCaskill.

And that is it for me. Have a wonderful weekend, please. I'm Brooke Baldwin. Let's send it off to Washington and Wolf Blitzer. "THE SITUATION ROOM" starts now.