Return to Transcripts main page

CNN Newsroom

CIA Director General David Petraeus Submitted Resignation to President Barack Obama; New York will have Power Back within the Weekend; Final Count for the Presidential Election in Florida is not yet Final;

Aired November 10, 2012 - 15:00   ET

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

SUSAN HENDRICKS, CNN ANCHOR: Welcome back. We have new information on the David Petraeus resignation. The retired four-star army general quit Friday as CIA director after announcing he had an extramarital affair. A U.S. official tells CNN an FBI investigation was launched after a tip about an affair and some suspicious e-mails were discovered.

Now, some of the messages were between Paula Broadwell and David Petraeus. Broadwell is the woman who wrote Petraeus' biography and spent time with him overseas.

I want to bring in Suzanne Kelly in Washington.

Suzanne, good to talk to you. The FBI determined security was not compromised and agents did interview Petraeus. Do we know if they have questioned Ms. Broadwell at all in connection to this?

SUZANNE KELLY, CNN INTELLIGENCE CORRESPONDENT: No, we don't know that yet. And that's going to be one of the unanswered questions. There's a long list, Susan, as you know.

As you mention, we do know that the affair came to light from the U.S. officials during the course of the FBI investigation. And we know that Petraeus was not the target of the investigation but they were investigating the suspicious e-mails.

We also know from the source that the FBI did have a conversation with Petraeus, still trying to put together the timeline on how all of these things, how quickly it happened, how long this investigation may have taken, Susan.

HENDRICKS: And do you know when Petraeus' boss, the director of the national intelligence, know about this FBI probe and when did the president know about it? There's been a lot of buzz about was this known before the election, and did they wait until snow?

KELLY: Right, a lot more of those blanks were being filled in as well. And it appears from the U.S. intelligence official that a lot of this happened just this week. Now, if you can believe it, we're told by the U.S. intelligence official that the FBI reached out to director Clapper on Tuesday night, election night, just as election results were starting to pour in across the country and that there was a conversation between director Petraeus and director Clapper at that point. Director Clapper recommending that director Petraeus offers his resignation.

We also know that the next day, Wednesday, from the same intelligence source, director Clapper told the White House what was going on. Now, we have heard from other sources earlier this week that on Thursday, we know the president had a conversation with director Petraeus that he offered his resignation at that point, but the president took some time. He wanted to think it over, whether or not he was going to accept it, and Friday, there was a phone call between the president and director Petraeus and the president, of course, accepting the resignation.

HENDRICKS: So, do we know if general Petraeus will still testify before Congress next week discussing Benghazi?

KELLY: Right. Look. According to the CIA, the man sitting in the hot seat next week before the intelligence committee is going to be Mike Morrell. Now, he is the man that the president asked to step up and take over the acting director role of the CIA. He's a 32-year veteran of the agency, an intelligence professional, career professional. He's been involved during the Benghazi Investigation since day one, intimately. I know he is passionate about this. And so, he's the one who will be answering the question, although there are some calls from members of Congress to have Petraeus, come back, if you will, and offer his testimony as well. It doesn't look like that's going to happen for Thursday's hearing.

HENDRICKS: All right, Suzanne Kelly, a lot of unanswered questions. Still, appreciate your time. Thanks so much.

You know, four days after the election, CNN is projecting Barack Obama as the winner in Florida. Took that long. With most of the vote now counted, the president's lead over Mitt Romney is close, just under 74,000 votes, less than one percent of the total. Florida has come under widespread criticism for its voting issues this week. Some voters waited in line for hours just to cast their ballots and a woman passed out, I think, in the Miami-Dade area.

Joining me now is CNN's Nick Valencia. And Nick, we're saying it's over, but the state hasn't made it official yet.

NICK VALENCIA, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Right. So, let's follow along, these are unofficially the final election results.

HENDRICKS: Unofficially the final.

VALENCIA: Unofficially, the final election votes for the state of Florida. So, we have until November 20th. November 20th is when the state will certify these votes. As far as our math is concerned this, Susan, it appears that President Barack Obama, U.S. President Barack Obama will take these 29 electoral votes for the state of Florida. There was a possibility, Susan, if the discrepancy in votes was about 45,000 voters or less, there was a possibility for a recount. As we mentioned, the lead in to the story, about 74,000 separating the two so it's pretty hard to make the case.

HENDRICKS: Nick, we all remember the hanging chads and we're thinking during this election OK, it's got to be better. Come on. We're computerized now. No one is going to be holding a piece of votes. Who is responsible and what is responsible for the delay?

VALENCIA: Yes. Florida back in the spotlight again for voting and this is not where they want to be, so. There's a couple factors at play here, Susan. One is high voter turnout yet, over eight million people turnout the vote in this election in the state of Florida. Election officials are citing that as one of the issues for the delayed results. Another issue though is back in 2011, Susan, if you remember, there was governor Rick Scott made a decision to cut early voting pretty much in half. It went from 14 days of early voting back down to eight days of early voting. A lot of people showed up at the day of election, and also absentee ballots. That is another thing in places like Broward County had 165,000 absentee ballots. Those absentee ballots and provisional ballots take a long time to count.

HENDRICKS: You have to hand it to the residents of Florida, they're resilient, waiting in line, wanting to get their voice heard, and it's finally is heard today who they picked.

VALENCIA: Yes, a handful of days later, but I'm sure there's a lot of questions that are going to be looking at. They're looking at the election process in the state of Florida. In fact, President Barack Obama alluded to it a little bit in the acceptance speech saying there's something that needs to be done about those long lines. So, we will see what happens.

HENDRICKS: Nick, thank you. Appreciate it.

You know, all of the storm victims still without power or clean water. We're talking about Sandy. Nick, coming up, I will talk to a woman who is pushing past her own needs to help others.

And with a fiscal cliff looming and the balance of power pretty much the same, will lawmakers be able to compromise their differences to avoid going off the cliff?

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HENDRICKS: So the big question now regarding Petraeus, was our national security put at risk by the nation's top spy, having an extramarital affair?

Well, here's what official says that the FBI was worried that general Petraeus could have been put in a tough position, a vulnerable spot, and he could have been blackmailed.

Fran Townsend is CNN's national security contributor and a member of the CIA advisory board which provides expert advice to senior leader of the CIA. Fran is on the phone now. We see this type of stuff in the movies, agents having affairs. Maybe they end up compromised, but how real is this possibility even with someone as decorated and respected as Petraeus and were you shocked when you heard the news?

FRAN TOWNSEND, CNN NATIONAL SECURITY CONTRIBUTOR (via hone): Let me start with the last part. I was certainly shocked when I heard the news. I think of David Petraeus and to this day as an incredible public servant who served the nation very well in terms of our protection and our security. And so yes, I absolutely found the news shocking. Do I believe that our national security has been compromised? No. And I think that that's a little farfetched, that the notion of the extramarital affair would have in some way compromised the nation's security.

Look, it is an indiscretion of the highest order. It's certainly a betrayal of his promises and expectations of his wife and family. But, put that aside for a moment. And when you're talking about the nation's security, there's no reason to suspect that David Petraeus knowingly put at risk any classified or sensitive information.

I think what we're beginning to understand is the FBI was not targeting David Petraeus. They were looking at a potential vulnerability to his personal e-mail account. Not uncommon with senior government officials. We know there are nation states around the world who target personal e-mails of officials. And so, it's entirely possible that they were concerned that his personal e-mail account had been compromised in some way and began this investigation which is consistent with what we have heard from members of Congress that the FBI stumbled upon the extramarital affair.

HENDRICKS: Fran, his resignation has been called a real loss to this country, many people agree with that. Did he have any other choices here but to resign, and did President Obama have the choice of not accepting his resignation?

TOWNSEND: Well, look, there's always the choice. But I think knowing general Petraeus as I do, this is a man, while there's no accounting for this indiscretion, who believes in living one's values and holding one's self to high standards. And he failed to do this in this instance. So I think it's very much the Dave Petraeus I have known and worked with to have decided to hold himself accountable, to be honest about the mistake, to hold himself accountable and resign.

I do think it would have been very difficult for President Obama or for David Petraeus to decide to remain because he then would have become the story. The discretion would have had an ongoing life to it. As bad as it is now, it will, you know, he'll get through it and move on with his life, and the CIA has no doubt already moved on.

HENDRICKS: And Fran, could he still be called to testify regarding the attack on Benghazi or since he resigned he's no longer in line to testify?

TOWNSEND: The person representing the CIA and the CIA's knowledge will be Mike Morrell, the now acting director of CIA, previously in the 9/11 attack, the deputy director. Mike is a career officer who is perfectly competent to represent the CIA and testify on their behalf.

Now, Congress can ask Petraeus to come up and testify. Question is if he was not willing to cooperate, could they subpoena him? I suppose it's possible. I think all of that is unlikely. I think if they ask him to appear, I expect that it is likely he would be willing to do that. We can't be sure. But frankly, I mean, rather than go through that fight, it ought to be about the facts of Benghazi and 9/11 and ought to be able to get the - the Congress ought to be able to get the information they need from the CIA through Mike Morrell.

HENDRICKS: Fran, I heard this and give me your opinion on it, that there's got to be something more to this than maybe just the e-mails. Do you think we'll find out any more information or is this it? It's over, he resigned, case closed?

TOWNSEND: Well, look. I think the administration and obviously Dave Petraeus would like the story to be done now. He's resigned. We know that it involved a personal indiscretion and we should move on. I do think the timing of it will be the subject of congressional interest. How long was the investigation going on? Who was the source that tipped them off? You know, there's been lots of speculation in Washington that it was a female acquaintance of some sort who was getting harassing e-mails that led to this tip to the FBI that led to their investigation. All of this will be of continuing interest, I think, to Congress, certainly to the public, regardless of whether or not it's really relevant.

HENDRICKS: Fran Townsend, appreciate your insight and your time on this. Thanks so much.

TOWNSEND: Thank you.

HENDRICKS: You know, this happened only once in a decade. It's happening right now. We're going to discuss changes at the top in China and how that plays out.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HENDRICKS: Welcome back. Some international news we're following for you today. This is day five of the evidentiary hearing for staff sergeant Robert Bales charged with murdering 16 Afghan civilians. One survivor testified that a man entered his home in the middle of the night and just started shooting. Syrian opposition activists say two suicide car bombs went off in Syria today killing dozens of soldiers. The attacks took place as the leading opposition fighters decide whether to form a new inclusive rebel group that would set up a de facto government inside the rebel areas.

And the BBC has apologized for airing a false sexual abuse claim. The network never named the alleged abuser. But speculations swirled around (INAUDIBLE), a former conservative party treasurer to BBC, apology came hours after he threatened to sue the network.

Well, the U.S. wrapped up its election and re-elected President Obama for another four years. China's communist party has begun it's once a decade leadership change. President Hu Jintao and other long standing leaders will give up their long standing party post making the way for Xi Jinping who will now become the leader of the world's most populist nation.

Joining me now from New York is Gordon Chang, author of the "coming collapse of China."

GORDON CHANG, AUTHOR, COMING COLLAPSE OF CHINA: Gordon, great to see you.

CHANG: Thank you.

HENDRICKS: Let's talk about the transfer of power. A week-long meeting that results in naming China's top leader and a new generation of party leaders, specifically how does this take place?

CHANG: Well, what we're going to see on Thursday, which is the day after the 18th party Congress adjourns, is the communist party will unveil its new general secretary; presumably, Xi Jinping and a new poll appear standing committee. But, we will also be looking to see if Hu Jintao, the current leader, gives up his post as chairman of the central military commission. And if he doesn't, there will be trouble because there will be two Suns in sky, two leaders, and actually it's worse than that because (INAUDIBLE) who Jintao's leader is still very influential.

HENDRICKS: Well, Xi Jinping, he was born -- let's talk about him and how much we know or don't know about him. He was born into the ruling of elite at the age of 15 though, as I understand it. He was working alongside farmers for several years. He was ostracized. But his right to power, again, facilitated around not saying much. What do we know about him?

CHANG: Well, you know, that's true for most Chinese leaders because they, you know, they're not allowed to have an original thought. They're not allowed to have a personality. They're in this collective, consensus-driven system. That's really sort of produced a lot of bland people. And so, we don't know very much about Xi Jinping. You know, China no longer has these great leaders like (INDUCIBLE). What we have are really very pale comparisons.

HENDRICKS: What about Hu Jintao? Is he like that and what do you think his legacy will be? Is he a bit more outspoken?

CHANG: Well, he is the blandest person possible. I mean, I don't know if he has ever said anything funny in his life. I mean, this is just incredible. His legacy is going to be one of stagnation. His predecessors (INAUDIBLE) as premier and Jiang Zemin as general secretary, they sort of put China on a good path, and essentially Hu Jintao and his premier just sort of glided along, and there's very little they can point to except a lot of economic growth, which is really the result of their predecessors.

HENDRICKS: Let's talk about the communist party as a whole. Hu Jintao has said corruption could lead to the death of communism. Talk about corruption and how it plays in.

CHANG: Well, Chinese leaders in the communist party have been talking about corruption and have been having anti-corruption campaigns since 1951. Just two years after People's Republic has been founded. But China today is more corrupt than it has ever been and it's really been. And it has really been a result of you have an unaccountable political system and also government officials making decision that the market should make. And because there's a lot of money sloshing around the system, you have Chinese leaders with tons of cash. So for instance, Premier Wency Abao (ph), the chief economic officer of the country, in "New York Times" two weeks ago said that his family is worth at least $2.9 billion. Xi Jinping's family, in a Bloomberg expose, his family was worth hundreds of millions of dollars. So clearly, these Chinese leaders are very, very wealthy. And that's not because they have been smart or whatever. It's just because they have been using their political connections to help their families.

HENDRICKS: Yes, more and more billionaires showing up in China. The transfer of power, will it change anything in your eyes, and why do it if not?

CHANG: Well, it will change things because what we have seen in the run-up to the 18th party Congress is civilians have been involved in this intense in-fighting and they have turned to generals and admirals for support. This has made the people's liberation army once again a power broker, and with the result that the China's flag officers have been taking China in a very hostile, very assertive direction. This has caused problems not only for China's neighbors but also for the United States. And perhaps this is the most dangerous trend in the world today.

HENDRICKS: All right, Gordon Chang. Thanks so much. Appreciate your expertise on this. Thanks.

CHANG: Thank you.

HENDRICKS: You know, Congress is back in session next week. The big question now is can Democrats and Republicans get past their differences to avoid the fiscal cliff?

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HENDRICKS: Washington is reeling after the sudden resignation of the CIA director general David Petraeus quit Friday after announcing he had an extramarital affair. The FBI is investigating, and a U.S. official is saying suspicious e-mails have been found between him and this woman, Paula Broadwell, the woman who wrote his biography.

Governor Chris Christie said power is on the way today in most areas of New Jersey.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

CHRIS CHRISTIE (R), GOVERNOR, NEW JERSEY: We backtracked slightly in our efforts to restore power due to the nor'easter. But after talking with the utilities last night and again this morning, my belief is that we'll have almost 100 percent restoration by Saturday night.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HENDRICKS: -- which is certainly great news for residents. You know, the end may be near in the labor dispute between American airlines and its pilots. Now some 8,000 pilots will vote on the tentative agreement announced yesterday by the airlines. If approved, the deal could help American airlines in its efforts to emerge from bankruptcy. The marine corps isn't just observing veterans day this weekend. It's also celebrating a big birthday. Today is the Marine Corps's 237th anniversary. A committee of the continental Congress formed in the marines in 1779 to fight in the revolutionary war.

After the headlines, these stories are trending now on CNN.com. It looks like post election fallout. Murray energy, an Ohio coal company says it's been forced to lay off 160 workers. Now, it blames the bleak economic prospects facing the coal industry as the president heads into the second term. They include pending EPA regulations and possibility of new taxes. Murray energy is headed by a prominent Mitt Romney donor.

Los Angeles Lakers fans will not tolerate losing or so it seems. The team lost every preseason game and is just 1-4 in the regular season. So the front office fired second-year coach Mike Brown. The Lakers are loaded with high-priced talent, who have not produced wins.

And we now know who is going to write the star wars sequel. The ads, yet unnamed episode seven. The job goes to Michael Arndt, the Oscar winning writer of "little Miss Sunshine" in the "Hunger Game" catching fire. The original cast, Mark Hammell, Carrie Fisher, Harrison Ford, they say they're open to the idea of appearing in episode seven. We're hoping for that.

You know, President Obama won the election, but an even bigger challenge looms. Somehow he's going to have to work with Republicans to avoid what we have come to known as the fiscal cliff. Tax breaks are scheduled to expire for all of us and deep mandatory budgets cuts will kick in then.

Here now is Athena Jones.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

BARACK OBAMA, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: It's time to get back to work.

ATHENA JONES, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): With the election in the rear view mirror, the focus in Washington is back on efforts to avoid the economically devastating fiscal cliff.

JEANNE SAHADI, CNN MONEY CORRESPONDENT: If we just go over the cliff and let the policies stay in effect, we're basically going to undo the recovery. Neither party really wants to be blamed for that.

JONES: The cliff amounts to $7 trillion in spending cuts and tax increases over the next decade. The threat of these painful cuts set to begin on January 1st is part of a deal Congress and the president made last year to force them to agree on a long-term deficit reduction plan.

DANIEL NEWHAUSER, ROLL CALL: This is unprecedented scenario that Congress has basically put a gun to its own head and said if we don't act, we're going to shoot ourselves. JONES: So far, that long-term plan hasn't materialized. The biggest chunk of the cliff, the Bush tax cuts. They're also a big sticking point. Democrats insist cuts for families making $250,000 or more must end.

OBAMA: We're serious about reducing the deficit. We have to combine spending cuts with revenue. And that means asking the wealthiest Americans to pay a little more in taxes.

JONES: Republicans say that will hurt the economy.

REP. JOHN BOEHNER (R-OH), SPEAKER OF THE HOUSE: Feeding the growth of government through higher tax rates won't help us solve the problem.

JONES: But the speaker also signaled what could be an opening, saying raising more revenue is now on the table as long as it comes from tax reform and not higher rates. One thing that's clear, lawmakers want the president to be involved in any deal making.

BOEHNER: I think it's important for us to come to an agreement with the president, but this is his opportunity to lead.

JONES: And taxes aren't the only hang up. Congress also has to figure out how to reduce spending on entitlements like Social Security and Medicare, the Democrats' sacred cows.

With the balance of power unchanged on Capitol Hill, finding that elusive common ground on these issues could be tough, both in the lame duck session and beyond. A short-term deal that postpones the cliff appears most likely.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

HENDRICKS: Athena Jones joins us live from Washington.

Athena, there is so much talk of compromise, but how likely do you think it is with so little time left in the session?

JONES: Well, that's really the big question, Susan. I mean, there's not a lot of days left and ass I said, most people seem to think there could be a short-term deal because there's so much that has to be done. Maybe they can reach an agreement that extends some of these things in order to give them some more breathing room to do the really hard work in 2013.

You hear from speaker Boehner saying a lot about how 2013 will be the year we get the tough stuff done. And we are talking about tax reform, entitlement reform and then also just figuring out how to make this the necessary cuts to the deficit. There are also people who think the Democrats may take this to the very edge by sticking hard to their guns about raising taxes for the wealthier earners. So it will be interesting to see how it all plays out. I can tell you that Friday, this coming Friday, the president will meet at the White House with congressional leaders from both parties. So, that's where it's kind of all beginning, Susan.

HENDRICKS: Yes, Friday could be the big day.

Athena, thank you. Appreciate it.

JONES: Thanks.

HENDRICKS: We're still talking about Sandy. Now, there are lots of grassroots efforts to help survivors. They still need it. Up next, you're going to meet a woman who survived the storm and is heading up an effort to help her neighbors.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HENDRICKS: The Red Cross and other relief groups always show up to help after a natural disaster like super storm Sandy. But now we're seeing a rise in grassroots efforts to help out, to help the survivors. I'm talking about volunteers out of power and water themselves, but they have organized their own start-up groups to help those in need.

Michelle Cortes is a volunteer leader who is doing just that. She joins me now by phone.

Michelle, it is good to talk to you. I'm glad you're safe. You're calling us from Rockaway now. Take us back to the night that Sandy made landfall. How was that for you that night?

MICHELLE CORTES, VOLUNTEER LEADER: The night of the storm?

HENDRICKS: Yes.

CORTES: It was a pretty intense night. I was with a lot of friends and neighbors across the street from my house in a friend's apartment that is higher up. And we all just got together and stayed up all night and lit candles and tried to keep an eye on the storm, and until power went out with the phones, we were texting other friends up the street and trying to stay in touch and make sure that everyone we knew was safe. And you know, waited until the morning came, and then went outside to see what had happened to our neighborhood and the block and the boardwalk. And it was a pretty -- it was a pretty intense night, pretty intense night for sure.

HENDRICKS: Michelle, I have friends and family who live in New Jersey, a part that was hit hard. And they said to me, you really don't get the full magnitude or vision just seeing it in pictures. That it looks like a war zone when you're in the thick of it. Is that what Rockaway looks like now?

CORTES: Right now, it's definitely looking better. There are still a lot to be done. There's some long-term projects like the boardwalk which is gone, but we're still cleaning up. We're still cleaning out basements. We are still cleaning up the garbage.

HENDRICKS: The cleanup process is certainly a long one. Michelle, you're doing so much to help victims there. Tell us if officials are watching what you need there because as I understand it, you and other neighbors are really pitching in and helping. CORTES: Yes. We're trying to do as much as we can, and in terms of getting supplies and sort of first response things do the neighborhood. But what we really need on a larger, bigger, more important scale is FEMA to come out here and help. A lot of people are hesitant to clear out their basements because of insurance purposes and a lot of people don't know what they're supposed to do in this situation.

And we've got some damage setting in because of water, some mold, and you know, we've got people with wet basements for now, going on almost two weeks. And so people are concerned about mold and long-term health rives and damage to their houses. And we need FEMA people to come out here to help assist in those situations.

HENDRICKS: Do you still have power?

CORTES: We also obviously needs lots and lots of supplies and everyday things, candles, flashlights, things to keep people warm at night, big blankets, cans of soup.

HENDRICKS: Michelle, are you frustrated that the power is not on? As I understand it, you still don't have power. The governor Andrew Cuomo is saying utility companies, you failed, and you will be held accountable. Are you frustrated? You have to be with no power all this time.

CORTES: I'm frustrated, but at this point, we're just trying to figure out -- I mean, there's been some amazing people coming out here with, you know, we have a solar generator today, and we've got all these people coming out with these amazing new products that are trying to help us get set up, solar stations and these solar back batteries that you can take home with you that give you light up to two hours. But it's very cold at night and people need to get their power back on. We have lots of elderly people and small children, and the winter out here. It is cold enough being by the water, and it's just been really hard. And the darkness certainly doesn't help.

HENDRICKS: We do want you to know, Michelle, that we're thinking about you and I know you have done so much to help your neighbors. It doesn't go unsaid, and I hope that Governor Andrew Cuomo does more. It seems as if he is to get your power up and running.

Thanks for your time, Michelle. Appreciate it.

CORTES: Thank you so much.

HENDRICKS: You know, for some families, Veterans Day is intensely personal. Parades and flag waving have their place, but Nicki sees Veterans Day through the eyes of her two small children who will never again see their father. Her tribute, keeping his memory alive, this is her story.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

NICKI BUNTING, WIFE AND MOTHER: All right, buddy. Come here, get your gear on. Get your helmet on, big guy. You've got a big game today, huh? Pop up, first game he gets to watch.

BOB HUNTING, GRANDFATHER AND VETERAN: Work hard, Connor, work hard.

It's a wonderful feeling to get to see Connor on the lacrosse field. I'm sure his dad is very proud of him.

NICKI BUNTING: I'm loving watching Connor in the faceoff. Scoop it out, scoop it out. Lacrosse is something that we always just dreamed of watching our kids play. He really analyzes the game and he plays it well which is just like his dad. He always dreamed of being a dad. That's kind of all he ever wanted to be. When I look at that picture, well, I see a good cadet. He was gone for about ten months and was training the Afghani national police. He came home for about two and a half weeks. That was his (INAUDIBLE) period, it was awesome.

Connor had changed so much so it was really cool to see his reaction to all of the new things that Connor could do. He really, really, really loved his friends and family. He would do anything for them. Even if that meant, you know, paying the ultimate sacrifice. Once he was back and he was there for about four days, that's when he was killed by an IED.

Here, Cooper. Oh, yes, kitty cat doesn't want to come inside. Cooper, my little one, he's just my miracle baby. Where is daddy? He's in heaven. We wanted so badly to have another baby. Are you going to wear daddy's hat? Four days after I found out he was killed is when I found out I was pregnant. Let's see, does it fit? A little big. I try to keep his memory alive with everything I do, really.

Look how big you guys are smiling.

I talk about him all the time. This is his belt. We have a room that's kind of dedicated to him.

You see that thing hanging up on the wall? That's his saber.

He told me before he deployed, if anything ever happened to him he would be OK because he had everything that he ever wanted in life because he had Connor.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: My daddy shows me how to make a line.

BOB HUNTING: Working hard.

NICKI BUNTING: Connor, that was awesome, buddy.

I know he would be really happy to be watching him. I'm going to raise his kids the way I promised him I would.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

HENDRICKS: And our thanks to Nicki Bunting for sharing her emotional story. You can see more stories about soldiers who have sacrificed for their country on veterans in focus Sunday, 2:30 p.m. eastern.

Coming up, not everyone can be a globe trekker like superspy James Bond, but you can go to some 007 inspired vacation spots. We are going to show you how you can channel your inner bond while traveling.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HENDRICKS: Don't you love that music? This year marks the 50th year of bond, James Bond, and the new bond movie "Sky Fall" is out this weekend. Now you can visit some 007 inspired get away spots.

Joining me now is the editor in-chief of jetsetter, Kate Maxwell.

KATE MAXWELL, EDITOR IN-CHIEF, JETSETTER: Hi.

HENDRICKS: Kate, great to talk to you. But, this is so exciting. I want to start with a place where Ian Fleming wrote the original James Bond novels, "The Golden Eye resort in Jamaica." What can you do while you are there?

MAXWELL: Yes. He wrote all 14 novels there and golden eye is one of my favorite resorts in the world. It's on the north coast of Jamaica. There's lots of water sports including jet skiing and kayaking (INAUDIBLE). The food is fantastic. They have really good Jamaican restaurants, so, definitely tried the chicken and salt fish and rooms start at $670 a night at the moment on jetsetter.

HENDRICKS: Does it come with a briefcase in the room?

MAXWELL: It certainly does.

(LAUGHTER)

HENDRICKS: Want to go to another beach, Miami. What is the connection between James Bond and the Fountain Bleu? I have been there, by the way.

MAXWELL: Right, such a great resort. So, the Fountain Bleu is where Sean Canary played gin rummy with gold finger. It's a really iconic resort. The designed is by (INAUDIBLE). It is also where Elvis and Frank Sinatra hung out in the '60s and it had a $1 billion refurbishment in 2008. It has huge Spa. Again, it is fantastic restaurant and sitting an Italian (INAUDIBLE). And rooms start at $229 a night.

HENDRICKS: Not so bad. I want to get all this in. And now, we go across the globe to Thailand. Tell me about the Six Senses Resort. It sounds intriguing.

MAXWELL: Right, the Six Senses in Yao Noi. It's close to where the man of the golden gun was filmed. Really amazing scenery, gorgeous, gorgeous limestone cliffs and the resort is kind of rustic villas have their own private plunge pools. A great Thai restaurant, and again, it has a water fall with scuba diving and snorkeling. That starts at $637 a night. So, quite pricy but stunning, stunning resort.

HENDRICKS: Would it be great if the music just follows you around if you walk. You really feel like James Bond, I think. If you had to pick one of the three, Kate, which would you choose?

MAXWELL: Well, as I said, golden eye was one of my favorite places in the world. So I would love to go back there, in Jamaica.

HENDRICKS: I want to go all three.

Kate Maxwell, thank you.

MAXWELL: Thanks, Susan.

HENDRICKS: And for more information on travel tips, just visit jetsetter.com/getaway. It makes me want to go.

You know, the Grammy nominated band, One Republic is using music for good cause. We are going to show you how a song is helping to save children's lives.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HENDRICKS: You may remember the band "One Republic" from this hit song.

(VIDEO CLIP PLAYING)

HENDRICKS: Love that one that will stay in your head awhile. Now the Grammy nominated band is using their music to save lives, the band is partnering with "save the children," help kids in remote areas of the world to get life saving care. Using recorded heartbeats from children, One Republic created a song to raise awareness for the program.

CNN producer, talked to the lead singer, Ryan Tedder, about the inspiration behind the song.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

RYAN TEDDER, SINGER, ONE REPUBLIC: The moment where we first heard the heartbeats of these kids was kind of staggering. We got approached by "save the children," they were desperately looking for a campaign song. We had been looking for three or four years for an organization to partner with. It was like how can you not get behind preventing kids from dying?

They went into jungles of Guatemala and into villages in Malawi and recorded the heartbeats of I think about two dozen kids, maybe more, using this, believe it or not, an iphone app. It was an incredible moment to hear those heartbeats. We're looking for the perfect heartbeat, and we found one kid who -- we pulled up the song and then pulled up his heartbeat, and they were just going boom, boom, boom, like this da da, da da, and then the song starts.

We read about the campaign, listened to the heartbeats, started flipping through songs, came through this one little piece of song that we had. And all of us at the same time were like, this is the song.

It is very much the same as "save the children campaign," and feeling better ever since you known me. So, it is like, the second you interacted with me or cared enough to do something, I have been feeling better. It is a call to action, the lines, saying with you I feel again, and then the music, the music alone is almost the call to action, even beyond the lyrics, like it is so triumphant.

If you buy the song at everybeatmatters.org or on iTunes, the money literally goes to these kids, and actually it saves lives. I thought about my own kid, about him having a fever or him being dehydrated thinking like, what if my kid dies tonight? For us, it is a wake-up song. The whole idea that you actually can make a difference, these kids have a chance of living because of you.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HENDRICKS: That song is amazing and the heartbeat. To find out how you can find the song or more information to campaign, just go to everybeatmatters.org.

The nation's top spy and one of the most trusted men in the military is stepping down because he had an affair. We have new details about how this all may have come to light.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)