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Milestone in Manhattan; New Sex Drive Drug Approved; Patrick Dempsey to the Rescue; Chinese Dissident Reportedly in U.S. Custody; Wrongfully Convicted Man to Go Free after 16 Years

Aired April 30, 2012 - 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: Here we go. Hour number two, I'm Brooke Baldwin. Moments ago, it became official. One World Trade Center now officially the tallest building in all of New York. There goes that steel column making it official.

And soon we should tell you it will be the tallest skyscraper in the country. I will speak live with the building's lead designer about really just some of the coolest features and what this really means symbolically for New Yorkers, but first this.

That's Oscar winner Christian Bale and a CNN crew getting roughed up as they tried to visit the building where Chinese dissent Chen Guangcheng was under house arrest. You remember this? This was listen year. Now Chen is reportedly at the U.S. Embassy in Beijing after a fellow activist says he staged a brazen escape.

Folks, remember, he's blind, scaled a wall and crossed a street. Again, what makes this extraordinary he can't see.

Foreign Affairs correspondent Jill Dougherty following these developments for us there from Washington.

Jill, when you hear the story and the escape and the background, it's almost like this Hollywood script, but it's very, very real. Talk to me about really the big diplomatic challenge here for the United States, for the Obama administration.

JILL DOUGHERTY, CNN FOREIGN AFFAIRS CORRESPONDENT: Yes. It is dramatic in a personal sense because of the safety of this man.

And he's supposed to be at the U.S. Embassy. He at least is in U.S. custody. Nobody can confirm or will confirm precisely where he is. But this is the real drama, let's say diplomatically about it is that, tonight, Hillary Clinton, secretary of state is headed for Beijing.

And this is happening right as she's preparing for this trip. We're going to be going along with her and I can tell you right down to the last wire, it's pretty unpredictable. And today, just about an hour ago, you had the president asked about this very thing. And as everyone else in this administration, he was pretty much clammed up. Let's listen to what he didn't say.

BALDWIN: OK. I'm told we don't have sound, but I took notes so I can just.

(CROSSTALK)

BALDWIN: I know he said I'm aware of the reports, right, is essentially what he said.

DOUGHERTY: Right, aware of the reports, but he would not confirm anything, he would not go any further.

And I can also tell you, Brooke, that over here at the State Department, we tried. It got almost ridiculous after a while with Victoria Nuland, the spokesperson, who had to say I think it was about nine times that we counted, don't have anything for you on that, don't have anything for you on that.

But the reason, seriously, is that this is extremely delicate. It's a relationship that deals in human rights and it also is a relationship with China that deals with very important issues, you know, Iran, Syria, North Korea, things that China could help the United States on and the U.S. really does need its help.

So they are doing what they have done since the beginning. And it's never very easy, which is this balancing act between human rights and other issues that are important -- Brooke.

BALDWIN: Not hearing much from the U.S. and not hearing obviously no surprise much from China. We will watch for the visit. I know it's Tim Geithner and also Hillary Clinton. Safe travels to you. We will be watching your trip to see what news could be made.

Meantime, Chen campaigned against government abuses, he criticized China's one-child policy, speaking out against state-forced sterilizations and abortions. Just a little background on this man. But now that we know he's escaped, he was under house arrest, what happens to his family?

Sharon Hom, executive director of Human Rights in China, and she joins me live from New York.

And, Sharon, I know you testified at that congressional commission and advocated for Chen's freedom. Talk to me about his family members who I know are still in China. How many members of his family. What happens to them now?

SHARON HOM, EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR, HUMAN RIGHTS IN CHINA: Well, from his own mouth, after the escape, Chen Guangcheng actually posted online almost a over-14-minute video in which he details quite extensively what was happening to his family throughout this 19-month illegal house arrest.

Not only was his wife and elderly mother throughout this period of time harassed, threatened, intimidated, physically beat up. The child was followed to school and each day had her school bag, had -- her things had to be checked and searched and reviewed by the security thugs that were following her. So this -- after his escape, he posted online and said of his three asks to Premier Wen Jiabao, one of the asks was, please, look for the safety of my family who I am very concerned about. So it's his wife, his elderly mother and his child.

BALDWIN: So from what I guess reading between the lines they're still there and he's obviously concerned about them.

HOM: Yes.

BALDWIN: Can I just ask you, the Chinese government, why do they see him as such a threat?

HOM: Well, it's clearly a government that is really now scrambling.

I know the U.S. -- this is on the eve of U.S. strategic economic dialogue and the U.S. has to handle this very sensitively. However, it's happening at an incredible time when the rampant corruption and ordinary people in China have just really had it. It is so clear that this government has had at the highest level that kind of corruption.

Chen Guangcheng's case shows what happens at the individual level. That these thugs that were monitoring his family were all without legal basis. So I think that this is very -- the outcome of what will happen following his escape will have severe ramifications not only for the U.S. strategic dialogue, but it's going to have severe ramifications domestically for how the Chinese government handles this very sensitively.

BALDWIN: We heard from the president a moment ago and while he did not confirm or deny this man is in U.S. custody being protected by the U.S. he did say, yes, every time I meet with China, the issue of human rights comes up. I think this will certainly spotlight that moving forward.

I do want to talk to you about the president not saying much, China not surprisingly not saying much. I know there's a version of Twitter in China. They have censored obviously his name. They have censored the blind man as a phrase. They have censored the number of the United flight that he had been rumored to be taking. That's not the case. Even CNN censored. What does that say?

HOM: Yes. Well, they have also censored -- this shows a very deep sense of insecurity and fear by the authorities that they can't even allow the words not only blind person and all the terms that you phrased, but embassy is a blocked phrase on Sina Weibo.

But a Weibo, a Twitter, Chinese Twitter user posted a very interesting story called the mouse and the mole. They said this poor little mole and his family in a burrow was surrounded by wolves. But somehow with the help of the mice, the mole escaped.

And now because the voices of the mouse is a little bit weak, all the mice helping to spread the word. The last lien of the story is what will happen to the mole and whether this escape is in fact a victory or the beginning of a much more complex story is still open. That story was posted and was up for a bit.

BALDWIN: For a bit. It's just stunning. It's stunning speaking in code. I know some experts are saying, this is the biggest test in bilateral relations since Tiananmen Square in '89.

Sharon Hom, I appreciate you coming on. Thank you so much.

HOM: Thank you.

BALDWIN: And we have a lot more for you.

Take a look at this.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

BALDWIN: Today, One World Trade Center becomes the tallest building in New York and soon it will stand taller than any other building in America. I'm Brooke Baldwin.

The news is now.

(voice-over): A crew comes under fire in the middle of an attack.

And insiders call it the nerd prom. Celebs, politicians, the folks who cover them get together for some laughs.

BARACK OBAMA, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: A pit bull is delicious.

(LAUGHTER)

BALDWIN: I was there and I have got some stories.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BALDWIN: As you have seen, big doings today here in Lower Manhattan. History in the making. More than 10.5 years since the attack of 9/11, the new Trade Center has risen. This was the moment just last hour, history made.

A short time ago, they put in this new steel beam, here it is, making this building officially 21 big feet taller than the Empire State Building.

I want to take you back to Lower Manhattan, back to Poppy Harlow.

Poppy, I think I heard some guy say you can see all the way to Asia. Maybe not Asia, but pretty far away.

(LAUGHTER)

POPPY HARLOW, CNN CORRESPONDENT: You did. Yes, not exactly that far. You did. That was part of the press conference that the Port Authority just held. We listened in. Look, it's a huge day for New York. It's a great day for this nation, watching that beam lower. I watched it just a few blocks away behind me, making this once again the tallest building in New York City.

One of the folks there in the press conference said I think you can see all the way to Asia from here, but he also said this really marks the emotional significance of the site. That's what today is. We still have a year-and-a-half before this is complete, a lot of work yet to do, but 7.5 years in the making and we have reached this point.

For a lot of people I talked to on the street, this is a sense of pride for them that New York saw the towers fall and rebuilt and could do it again. A man biked over to me and said I used to work in the World Trade Center and I biked all the way up here to see it. He said this is just beautiful.

We have got some interesting fun little numbers to give you, just released from the Port Authority -- 37,000 tons of steel. That's what's gone into this building so far -- 190,000 cubic yards of concrete and also in the press release that just came out, they said this is a symbol for liberty, opportunity and economic prosperity.

This is going to be a major attraction, and it's going to be a big commercial hub, with shops. Conde Nast is going to put their headquarters in here. So this building, when it is completed in about a year-and-a-half is going to mean a lot certainly for this city and all the folks that have lived through this rebuilding -- Brooke.

BALDWIN: I got a number of you, one, the number of times it will take for me to go way, way up there and think, ooh, this is a little too high for me.

(LAUGHTER)

HARLOW: Yes, me, too. Me, too. It's terrifying.

BALDWIN: It's wonderful and it's exciting.

Poppy Harlow, we thank you for being out there and covering this history there in Lower Manhattan.

And coming up in a couple minutes, I'm going to talk to one of the designers of One World Trade Center, David Childs. He's going to join me talking about the building and what it means to both New York and the rest of the country.

Heavy rain, flash flooding, natural disaster. Nearly two years after Music City was underwater, one business there in Nashville says the government needs to pay.

Also, actor Patrick Dempsey comes to the rescue, saves a teenager. You're going to hear what McDreamy did just in the nick of time.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(NEWS BREAK)

BALDWIN: Still ahead, first, hundreds of dead dolphins show up in Peru. Now hundreds of dead pelicans appear in the very same spot. What is behind this mysterious mass death?

Plus, the government approves a new drug that could help men in the bedroom. Yes, Elizabeth Cohen, she is going there next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BALDWIN: A couple stories we have for you now. A new drug on the market could help men's sex drive. Also, hundreds of animals are found dead on a beach in Peru again. And McDreamy proves he can save people in real life, too.

It's time to play "Reporter Roulette."

All right, Elizabeth Cohen, we're going to begin with you. I'm looking at the numbers -- 30 million men out there with some issues with sexual performance, issues.

ELIZABETH COHEN, CNN SENIOR MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT: Yes.

BALDWIN: And now, what, the first time in 10 years, the FDA has come out with this new drug to treat it.

COHEN: Right. Everybody knows Viagra, Cialis and Levitra.

Well, now there's a fourth one on the market, or that will be on the market.

BALDWIN: OK.

COHEN: The FDA just approved it. It's called Stendra.

And it works pretty much the same way. But there's one little twist.

BALDWIN: Which is?

COHEN: Which is that they have some data that shows that this works faster.

So you take it and then 15 minutes later for some men, they're able to get it going, whereas some of the other drugs take a little bit longer -- right, take a little bit longer than that.

(CROSSTALK)

BALDWIN: OK, men are out there thinking, great. Does this work for anyone who wants to take it?

COHEN: You know, it doesn't. And people forget that. All of these drugs -- and none of them work for everybody. This drug only works in sort of exactly the way it's supposed to about 60 percent of the time. That's a pretty fair number of people who it doesn't work for.

That's one advantage to having four drugs on the market. Someone said to me do you really need four drugs for this? I mean, come on. Well, in some ways you don't, but in some ways you do. If one doesn't work for you, there's three others you can try.

BALDWIN: OK, so if it's quicker, are there side effects?

COHEN: There are side effects and they're similar to the side effects to the other drugs.

And most of them are just sort of annoying like a headache or a stuffed-up nose, et cetera. There is this one very rare thing, which is that men will sometimes have vision or hearing problems while they're taking it.

BALDWIN: Ooh.

COHEN: Ooh. So you think like, yes, even like losing vision or hearing.

BALDWIN: While they're on this drug?

COHEN: While they're on this drug.

And we asked doctors, doesn't that freak men out and make them want to stop? And they say, no, it doesn't really bother them because they're getting what they want. So a little vision or hearing loss, who cares? And it does go away when you stop taking the drug and it's exceedingly rare.

BALDWIN: OK, we're going to leave it there.

COHEN: I think we think should.

(CROSSTALK)

BALDWIN: There we go.

COHEN: There you go.

BALDWIN: Let's move to Peru. Another animal mystery in Peru. This time, 1,200 birds have died on the northern coast.

Let's go next on "Reporter Roulette" to Rafael Romo.

Why? What are authorities saying? What's behind all these deaths?

RAFAEL ROMO, CNN SENIOR LATIN AMERICAN AFFAIRS EDITOR: This is a real mystery, Brooke. They're trying to find out exactly what's going on, hundreds of pelicans followed by the death of hundreds of dolphins last week. And so at this point, they're looking at everything. They're looking at the fact that there may be biotoxins in the water, oil exploration, maybe some sort of traumatic sound that is affecting all of these animals.

But the real answer is that at this point, they don't really know what's going on, Brooke.

BALDWIN: It's awful pictures to have to look at here. But you have to wonder if all these deaths are somehow connected. As you point out, possibilities.

ROMO: You would guess that probably there is something connecting everything, because you have to take into account that all of this is happening in the span of less than two weeks.

So one dead dolphin, two at the same time, you could talk about natural causes. But when you have hundreds upon hundreds of animals dying in the same pod at about the same time for no apparent reason, there has to be something connecting all of these deaths.

And so that is what the Peruvian government is looking at, at this point, Brooke.

BALDWIN: Let us know what you find out.

Rafael Romo, thank you.

And now to McDreamy. You know him as McDreamy on "Grey's Anatomy." Now he's being called a hero after a car crash happened near his Malibu home. He raced in.

Next on "Reporter Roulette" Nischelle Turner live in Los Angeles.

Nischelle, talk to me. What happened? What did he do?

NISCHELLE TURNER, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Oh, my gosh, Brooke, this is a great story.

Patrick Dempsey played a real-life hero last week after a car accident. Now, according to the L.A. County Sheriff's Department, he pulled a teenage driver out of a car wreck near his home in Malibu. According to reports, Dempsey used a crowbar and a fire extinguisher to help free the underaged driver from an upside-down 2006 Mustang.

Now, according to media reports, the driver was 17 years old, but the sheriff's department just told "Showbiz Tonight" the driver was only 15 years old and he had a 16-year-old passenger at the time the wreck of the car. So this really could have been a tragic story if you think about that.

Now, a spokesperson for the sheriff's department says the boy's father was out of town when the teenager decided to take dad's Mustang for a spin. BALDWIN: Uh-oh.

TURNER: Yes. But Dempsey pulled the teenager out of the car. He called paramedics. He stayed with the boy until he was air lifted to the hospital.

We did reach out to Patrick Dempsey to get his reaction to what happened, but while his rep did confirm the incident happened, he hasn't made any public comment about what took place.

BALDWIN: I am sure he's being inundated by folks like us today who want to know how he pulled this off. You know, quick thinking certainly for him. What about this boy, this 15-year-old. Is he OK?

TURNER: Well, yes. According to the sheriff's department, while he was taken to UCLA Hospital in Santa Monica, he apparently only suffered a concussion and an eye injury. So he's expected to fully recover from that.

I don't know what's going to happen to him when his dad gets ahold of him, though, because remember his dad had just put $15,000 of work into that car when he took it out for a spin.

BALDWIN: Ooh.

TURNER: But -- yes, I know.

Back to Patrick Dempsey, though, he didn't just pull the teenager out of the car. This is where it gets really good. He reportedly called the boy's mother to reassure her that everything was OK.

BALDWIN: Aww.

TURNER: And, of course, she thought he was a paramedic or something until he identified himself.

And she said, the first thing she thought was -- what do you think? McDreamy.

BALDWIN: McDreamy. That's hilarious.

HOSTIN: But he also called the family later that night, Brooke, just to make sure that everything was OK with (inaudible).

BALDWIN: A second follow-up. That's impressive. Good on him indeed. Good on him. Michelle Turner --

TURNER: Good bedside manner.

BALDWIN: Thank you. Not good for the kid in the Mustang, but that's another story. And that's your "Reporter Roulette" on this Monday. Thank you. Now this.

Look at these pictures. This is a crew of journalists who come under fire as a violent game of hide-and-seek breaks out. More on that. Plus, George Zimmerman's lawyers, they pull a bizarre move and use social media in their client's case. How rare is this? We're going to talk about that.

But first, each week, Dr. Sanjay Gupta profiles innovators from all walks of life, all fields of endeavor. The program, it's called "THE NEXT LIST," and this coming Sunday, he's talking to Ben Kaufman, owner of a startup business that gives innovators a place to bring their ideas.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BEN KAUFMAN, ENTREPRENEUR: It's human nature to invent, right? It's human nature to try to make your life better. It's human nature to try to make the world around you a better place. What stops people to actually do that and execute on all those ideas? It's really freaking hard.

Good ideas should find their ways on to shelves, because they're the ideas with people with the right luck or circumstances. They should find their ways on to shelves because they're just great ideas. That's it. Plain and simple.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BALDWIN: In a little less than two hours a judge in Colorado is expected to set a convicted rapist and killer free. And even prosecutors say it is the right thing to do. This is because new DNA shows Robert Dewey did not rape a 19-year-old woman and then strangle her with a dog leash in 1994.

The judge is supposed to let Dewey go at a hearing later this afternoon. Dewey was sentenced to life without parole and has been in prison for the last 16 years. But if he plans to sue for wrongful imprisonment, his case is not quite as slam dunk as you think.

I want to bring in defense attorney Joey Jackson. He is "On the Case" with us today.

Joey, first things first. Is this -- is Robert Dewey's freedom, is it a done deal?

JOEY JACKSON, DEFENSE ATTORNEY: It looks that way, Brooke. You know, unfortunately, he was wrongfully convicted. As a result of that, he spent all of his time in jail.

I mean, it's a heartbreaking case, but then again, it renews your faith in humanity that a district attorney would be committed to the Innocence Project, where DNA would be tested and sampled and it would go to show, Brooke, that it wasn't him. So as a result of that, I believe that he's going to be released on stipulation of all the parties.

What that means is that the defense agrees, the progression agrees and of course the court has jurisdiction. So you have to go back to the court for the court to vacate that conviction and let him walk out the door.

BALDWIN: So if he is exonerated thanks to this DNA analysis,, to the question of the civil lawsuit that he could be filing here, what does he have to show?

JACKSON: Well, whenever you're talking about a deprivation of your civil rights, you have to establish not just that you were wrongfully convicted -- that is that a jury got it wrong -- but usually something more, some type of malicious intent, whether it's on the part of the prosecution and withholding evidence and suppressing evidence and not providing you as a defendant with the information you need to cross-examination witnesses.

Perhaps it's some kind of prosecutorial misconduct that occurred during the course of the trial that you would have to show. So it's not just, you know what, I spent time in jail and, you know what, as a result of that, I deserve relief.

Usually it's a lot more with a federal civil rights case. But I would suspect, Brooke, that wiser minds will prevail and that he will be given some compensation by means of settlement amongst parties for this horrific tragedy that developed.

BALDWIN: OK.

I do want to ask you this other story, this website and Facebook page now -- Facebook page that the legal team for George Zimmerman, they've now officially set up. You know the story, the neighborhood watch volunteer, he's charged with second degree murder for the death of Trayvon Martin.

So Zimmerman's lawyers explained some of the reasons for putting up this site, let me quote them, quote, "to discredit and eliminate fraudulent websites, to dispute misinformation, to provide a voice for Mr. Zimmerman and to raise funds."

So Joey Jackson, bad idea? Brilliant idea?

JACKSON: I think it's a great idea. Of course, raising funds , I think, was at the top of their list. They snuck it down towards the bottom. But these trials are very expensive propositions, whether it's just paying lawyers and legal fees and legal hours spent, whether it's getting expert witnesses and compensating them or investigators in doing that.

And so I think a lot of people certainly have strong feelings about this. And those people who are motivated in his favor, of course, will provide funding he needs to support himself. The other issue, though, is that it provides a voice to a number of people. This case has captured the imagination of the public, and as a result, people want to be expressive in that regard.

I think they'll get a lot of mail. It certainly does very good marketing for the actual firm that's putting this up. But more importantly, I think it will give them some ideas in terms of what the public is thinking, how to handle the case. It's like a focus group. I think it's not a bad idea. And in an era, Brooke, of social media, this is something that I think you'll see more and more of going forward.

BALDWIN: Perhaps a new trend. It's interesting you bring up the fundraising issue. I guess my next question is what about the risks? What risks could be involved in setting up this sort of like social media Facebook website that prosecutors could use if and when this goes to trial?

JACKSON: Yes, I think you will see motions to preclude any of that type stuff. I mean, remember, the defendant is not going to be making any statements or admissions on the website.

I think there's always the public fear, I mean, there's the fear of the attorneys, as was expressed, if you look at the website, that there's an exploitation element. And no one wants to be seen as trying to exploit this horrible tragedy for personal gain.

And so I think there's the exploitation issue. But in terms of what will come out at trial, I don't think there's too much of a fear of that. I think the judge will limit the issues to what they were and what they are on that night.

And it won't go off into tangents about a website and its social value and whether it should or shouldn't happen. But we'll see actually what happens. The case should be very riveting when it occurs.

BALDWIN: Riveting, Joey Jackson, "On the Case." Joey, thank you. Good to see you. We'll stay in New York for this next one. I don't know if you're in and around the area of Lower Manhattan today, but history has been made.

You see the tower, One World Trade Center, officially now the tallest skyscraper in New York. Just ahead we'll going to talk to the lead designer about why he has said this building serves as the marker for the Ground Zero memorial. And really what does it mean for New Yorkers? What's the view like from on top? All those questions and more, next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BALDWIN: I want to get to a little bit more now on this milestone that happened right here on our watch just a short time ago. Take a look with me. In Lower Manhattan, they erected a new beam at One World Trade Center.

Folks, it's now higher than the Empire State Building. Eclipsed that by 21 feet. It's now New York's tallest skyscraper, certainly a proud, proud day for New York. Really a proud day for our entire nation.

With me now live from New York, in the shadow of that building, the man who led the design team for the new trade center, David Childs, consulting partner at Skidmore, Owings & Merrill.

Mr. Childs, thank you for joining me. I know you've been to the top of the building. Do you have butterflies? What can't you see from up there?

DAVID CHILDS, "FREEDOM TOWER" LEADING DESIGNER: Of course, you can see all of Manhattan. It's this fantastic view from the top of the building. You're across the whole of city of -- the island itself, but also out to the water and the harbor itself.

BALDWIN: You know, I was flying into LaGuardia a couple weeks ago and saw at night, and saw all the lights up and down the Freedom Tower. My thought was -- I got goose bumps and my thought was, wow, that is Ground Zero. I imagine that was part of the plan, really, to mark this part of Manhattan.

What kind of message are you sending?

CHILDS: Yes. Well, the idea, of course, was that when you go to look at it, the memorial is the most important place within the complex. But you can't see that from LaGuardia, as you just said. So to have the marker in the sky is an important thing for people traveling around the city.

But as a marker, it also says downtown is back. It now has a place that responds to the midtown of New York that was missing for so long.

BALDWIN: Writing that down. Downtown is back. I've seen the time-lapse video. I read that your crews built a new floor -- here it is -- built a new floor every week. What are the biggest challenges in building? I know right now it's officially 1,271 feet. What are the biggest challenges?

CHILDS: Well, of course, any tall tower like that has got a tremendous overturning movement, like a great mast in a sailing ship. The winds are what control the factor, not the weight. Smaller building it's the weight of the building that you have to design for.

In this case, coming down the Hudson River, those great winds and such a tall, slender piece has got to be carefully engineered and anchored into all of that bedrock, that great granite that's 80 feet down.

Once you do that, then you're in pretty good shape. This building is very robust and very solid. And I am very proud about how it has responded to all of those technical challenges that we had to reach.

BALDWIN: How tall will it be ultimately once the topping out, the final framework is put in place?

CHILDS: Yes. Well, the building is very much designed in response to the original tower. And I answer that to answer your question first, because its height is exactly the same height as were the towers, 1,368 feet. Its footprint is the same. So as you look at it, as you're looking at it behind me now, it is the same profile of one of the towers that was there.

Now on top of that will be a sculptural spire of the antenna and all the information sent out to the world. And that will be an additional height, up to 1,776 feet, which was the number that was called for in the leadskin (ph) master plan.

BALDWIN: 1776. That's the ultimate height in footage. And I just want to ask, I'm sure it wasn't far from mind for you, from the, you know, the people running the cranes and working construction, just all the lives lost at that site. More than 10 years ago now.

How has the construction been just over the many months, thinking about those people and honoring those people with this building?

CHILDS: Well, it was tough. In a way for us and my own firm, it was therapeutic because we watched from our windows -- our offices are at 14 Wall Street -- that terrible tragedy. We lost an employee who was over there working with one of our interior design clients. So it was therapeutic in a way to be part of the design.

But all the way through it, it was something that we thought about. It's wonderful to go down there now. The faces of the people looking in through the guardrail are all smiles. Ten years ago, there was sadness. And now that's a palpable change. And it makes it all worthwhile.

BALDWIN: Downtown is back, says David Childs. David, thank you so much.

Downtown is back. I got you. I hear you loud and clear. Thank you so much, sir, congratulations on a stunning building. We appreciate it.

And now it's a place for celebs and politicians and the folks who get to cover them come together for laughs. I was honored to attend the White House Correspondents' Dinner over the weekend. And coming up next, we'll share some behind the scenes moments in photos.

But first, think about this one. What are some items you can live without? Wall Street 24/7 has compiled this list of things Generation Y doesn't plan to buy. Generation Y, by the way, young people born after 1980.

So take a look at the top five here. That includes land line phones. Forget about it, they say. They don't need to have one. Smartphones go everywhere. Cars they won't buy. The Facebook generation would rather pay for the Internet than make a car payment.

Newspapers. Most newspapers and magazines you know are online. What are the top two that Gen Y won't buy? Find out after the break.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BALDWIN: We're back, we were talking about these products that Gen Y says they won't buy. Guess what? Number two, they say they're not buying beer. They're not buying beer. So many 20-somethings drink light beer. So according to Wall Street 24/7, (inaudible), regular beer, full-bodied beer apparently. And the last thing young people won't pay for, no surprise, email. And there you go.

Now it's not often you get to say I had dinner with the president, but Saturday night, I had dinner with the president. And so did several hundred other politicos and celebs and those of us who cover that.

This is my second White House Correspondents' Dinner, or as many dub it, nerd prom. And a lot of you tweeted me, why is it called nerd prom? Because, even as the president joked, not too many nerdy journos were cool enough to go to their own prom back in the day, ergo, nerd prom.

So my highlights. Look at this. Meeting the man who calls the shots for the Defense Department, Secretary Leon Panetta, alongside a beautiful Gloria Borger. He was a very nice guy, working on that interview, right, Secretary?

Then the moment when I saw this woman, an icon in my field, Diane Sawyer, I'm happy to report we're the same height. We turned to one other and said, another tall girl.

Just a couple of others I want to share with you, the lovely and pregnant Reese Witherspoon. Also at the CNN pre-party, there's Diane Keaton, very -- excuse me. Yes, Diane Keaton, looking very Annie Hall. She's a huge fan of CNN, apparently. And there's the lovely Dana Bash as well. And there were all kinds of other stories and other photos as well.

But you know, what happens in Washington stays in Washington. Though I do want to share one more. The man I consider a dear friend, someone I have so much respect for, actually asked myself and my gal pal, Brianna Keilar, to walk the red carpet with him to kick off the evening. And Wolf Blitzer, you don't say no to an offer like that.

Wolf Blitzer, thank you so much.

WOLF BLITZER, CNN HOST: Well, you know, last year I invited Mila Kunis and Paula Abdul. This year I did even better. Brooke and Brianna, can you imagine how cool that was?

BALDWIN: It was so fun. It was such an honor and I -- you know, some of my team was asking me, well, what was the biggest, best sort of joke that the president gave, because I thought the president was hilarious and I thought it was actually that moment right before he took to the stage. It was the whole I'm doing air quotes, open mike moment. You remember this?

BLITZER: Yes.

BALDWIN: Let's roll it.

BLITZER: OK.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Would someone back there please turn off the president's mike? I think -- the president's mike is hot, please turn it off. Thank you. Thank you.

BARACK OBAMA, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Great, I got to get warmed up.

I'm so in love -- God, I totally had that. Seriously, guys what am I doing here? I'm the President of the United States and I'm opening for Jimmy Kimmel? I have the nuclear codes. Why am I telling knock-knock jokes to Kim Kardashian?

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BALDWIN: That was just part of it, I figured folks who watched, I don't know, C-SPAN or CNN didn't get -- quite get to catch that. Anyway, it was wonderful with Wolf Blitzer.

Quickly, what do you have coming up on your show?

BLITZER: Well, we got a lot of obviously serious news.

The president was very tough today, you know, he had a little smirk on his face when he was talking about the one-year anniversary of the killing of bin Laden, referring to others, i.e., Mitt Romney who had a different view back then four years ago, we're going to go in depth on that.

Also the debate in Israel, it's a very intense debate about Iran and its nuclear program. Getting very different assessments from some of the top military and intelligence officials of Israel as opposed to the prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu and the defense minister Ehud Barak. Dennis Ross is going to be joining us, we're going to go in depth on that as well.

So we got a lot of news coming up in "THE SITUATION ROOM." You did look beautiful Saturday night, Brooke, as you always do, you and Brianna, spectacular. If viewers haven't seen those pictures, they should.

BALDWIN: Thank you, Wolf. Truly, I appreciate it.

Coming up here, the fight over oil puts a country on the brink. Journalists caught in the middle of an air strike, CNN is there as jets are flying across this area, spraying bullets and bombs.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BALDWIN: Remarkable images coming out of South Sudan, a camera crew running for cover as gunfire comes from above, the country in the middle of a civil war. Our exclusive report from ATV's Robyn Kriel.

ROBYN KRIEL, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): We had been promised a story. This is close to the front line of the border clashes with the north and the South Sudanese commander here is willing to talk. But another story is about to break around us. UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Run, run, run.

KRIEL (voice-over): "It's coming," these soldiers shout.

Sudanese war planes are streaking in and we have just seconds to find cover.

(Inaudible) we try to make ourselves invisible as at least half a dozen bombs drop around us. We wait for the sound of the planes to fade, then we make our escape.

KRIEL: We were just three kilometers from the front line when we heard incoming fire from what the soldiers said were gun ships and MiGs. We were then forced to take cover. And once the firing -- once there was a lull in the firing, we decided to head out in our vehicle because it was simply too dangerous and we didn't know what to expect.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BALDWIN: Robyn Kriel reporting.

Now, Wolf Blitzer, "THE SITUATION ROOM" starts right now.

BLITZER: Brooke, thanks very much.