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Must-See Gadgets Of 2013 Revealed; Lew the Favorite for Treasury; Eerie Twist in Missoni Search; Protester Climbs New Jersey Rollercoaster; Giant Squid Caught on Camera; Police: Lottery Winner Killed by Cyanide; "Hollywood's Gore Obsession"; Up Escalator Suddenly Reverses; 10-Point Buck Crashes Class; Top Most Stressful Jobs of 2013

Aired January 08, 2013 - 14:30   ET

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

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BALDWIN: Bottom of the hour, I'm Brooke Baldwin. Confession, I'm guilty of using my smartphone just about everywhere I go. I sit here, I tweet at commercial breaks. I'm tweeting on the plane, maybe sometimes I take my phone right into bed with me at night.

But, what about this? Using a smartphone in the shower, that's right. I'm talking about a waterproof phone this is just where the big reveals on day one here of the Consumer Electronics Show, CES, in Vegas. Dan Simon is there. He is going to tell me a little bit more about this waterproof phone. Do tell, Dan.

DAN SIMON, CNN SILICON VALLEY CORRESPONDENT: Hi, Brooke. You know, it is a problem that a lot of us have, may go in the swimming pool, with the phone in our pockets, God forbid we drop the phone in the toilet, that happened to me once before.

This is Sam Winkler with Liquipel. What Brooke was saying here is you can take this phone in the shower if you want, in the swimming pool we talked about. Tell us how it works.

SAM WINKLER, EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR, LIQUIPEL: You can't see, can't feel it, doesn't affect any look or functionality of the electronic device. It is easily implemented. It takes about 30 minutes and once you're done, you're good for the lifetime of your device.

SIMON: All right, so the bottom line is, it is a coating that goes on your phone and show us the technology behind it.

WINKLER: Yes. Just to give you an example, this is a normal tissue coated with the formula. Usually you know what happens with the tissue, it soaks up right away. Once it is coated, with the coating, it doesn't absorb whatsoever.

SIMON: OK. And we have a real life demonstration here, don't we?

WINKLER: So here we have an iPphone 5, as you can see, it looks the same, all the parts are open, doesn't affect any feel or functionality. We do tablets, computers, headphones. If you come in contact with liquid, you got pushed in the pool or humid environments, talking in the rain, you'll be protected with the coating.

BALDWIN: No way.

SIMON: There you go, Brooke. Absolutely amazing.

BALDWIN: OK, have him pull it back out and turn it on because I don't believe him.

SIMON: Just so I -- OK, I'm going to dump one here as well. And let's pull it out make sure that it is working.

BALDWIN: Or else that was a really nice iPhone 5. Look at that. Look at that. So when is this on the market, Dan?

SIMON: So how do folks -- so Brooke is asking we all want to know how can you get this?

WINKLER: We're working to implement this in a lot of carriers and retailers. You can actually go into a store, or go to www.liquipel.com, order it and we'll send the device to us. We're based out of Orange County, California, looking to go across the U.S. We are in Hongkong and Malaysia, Australia, Russia, and Turkey and about to be in China as well.

SIMON: All right, thanks very much, Sam. It costs you about 60 bucks. We'll do this one more time, Brooke. There you go. We're going to be at CES over the next couple of days. We're looking for fun companies like this, but companies that have a real practical implication in people's lives.

BALDWIN: That's fantastic. I have dropped my iPhone, people who know me well, know I've gone through a few iPhones. Dropping them in the toilet, Dan Simon, I don't think I'll reach back in there and pick it up. That's all I'm saying. Dan Simon, thank you so much. We'll check back with you with the rest of the week there in Vegas.

Now to some of the hottest stories here in a flash, rapid fire. Roll it.

We are standing by for word on the president's much rumored pick to succeed Treasury Secretary Tim Geithner, the odds on favorite Jack Lew, the current White House chief of staff. Sources told CNN that he could expect to be confirmed, but some in the business community, they're concerned, because he has little market or business experience.

And an eerie twist here in the search for that missing plane carrying fashion icon Vittorio Missoni. His wife and five others, a plane vanished Friday off the coast of Venezuela. But according to these new reports, the son of one of the men on board got a text message Sunday night that said and I'm quoting this text, call now, we are reachable.

The Italian telephone company confirmed the message was sent, but couldn't verify when it was written. The phone has since been turned off. Venezuelan rescue crews continue the search off the country's coast.

And in Seaside Heights, New Jersey, look at this, look at this closely with me. This is that roller coaster and you see this man, he climbed to the tip-top of it, to call attention to the recovery from Superstorm Sandy or the lack thereof.

There he is, scaling the ruins of the iconic Jet Star rollercoaster same coaster Chris Christie said he vacationed at, took his kids to. The structure swept into the ocean during the height of the storm and before climbing down to the police boat waiting below, he planted an American flag on top.

This is the stuff, folks, of sea legends, calamari, anyone? Just kidding, sort of, now for the first time ever the giant squid captured on video, amazing pictures. This is a 26-foot long sea creature in its natural habitat. These were taken in the pacific, some 3,000 feet below the surface, pretty cool, right? How cool? Listen to author Richard Ellis on "EARLY START" this morning.

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RICHARD ELLIS, AUTHOR, "THE SEARCH FOR THE GIANT SQUID": This is absolutely the first time anyone has ever seen these things alive. People have been searching for them for hundreds of years, literally. Not only the technology of today, but they wash ashore and people know that they exist. But no one has ever seen a live one. They're always dead when they wash ashore.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BALDWIN: Well, in Australia's most populated state, a catastrophic fire threat is forcing people from their homes across New South Wales. More than 130 fires are burning on the outskirts of Sydney and the Australian capital Canberra.

A hundred homes have been destroyed as a crippling heat wave sees temperatures soaring to 109 degrees Fahrenheit. Hot winds fueling those flames, look at that smoke, all across the world's driest inhabited continent.

And a Chicago man wins a million dollars in the Illinois lottery. Hours after he claims his prize money, he is found dead. Turns out he was murdered. Details on what killed him and who is now being questioned next.

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BALDWIN: You heard about this? Chicago police believe a million dollar lottery winner was murdered and did not die of natural causes as first thought. Turns out this 46-year-old man died of cyanide poisoning, one day after receiving a lump sum payment of $425,000. Here's Judy Wang of Chicago affiliate WGN.

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JUDY WANG, WGN REPORTER (voice-over): Urooj Khan was a regular lottery player at the 7-11 at Western and Pratt. Employees are having trouble accepting what they're hearing.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: That is sad. That is sad. It's very sad, but I guess it's true when they say money is the root of all evil.

WANG: In June, he purchased two instant game tickets. The second one he scratched off was the winner. At time he said he planned to pay bills, make a donation to St. Jude's Children's Hospital and to grow his dry cleaning business.

About a month later, a police report states the 46-year-old had dinner at his Rogers Park home, went to bed, then his family heard him screaming. Khan was taken to St. Francis Hospital at Evanston where he was pronounced dead.

The medical examiner tells the "Tribune" there were no signs of trauma, no signs of drugs in his blood. The pathologist who conducted the autopsy determined Khan died of natural causes.

At the request of a relative, the ME's office did toxicology tests, which found Khan died of a lethal amount of cyanide. Khan who came to Chicago from India in the 1980s owned three North Side Dry Cleaners, opening his first one on the 2200 block of West Devan.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: He was very nice. Nice person. Very helpful, very gentle, you know? A hard working person, you know? I mean, in a short time he would come in and manage to have like three businesses, and that tells you how -- what kind of person he was for his family.

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BALDWIN: So far no arrests have been made. We'll be watching the case closely for any new developments that was Judy Wang from our chicago affiliate WGN.

My next guest says he went to see the new "Texas Chainsaw Massacre" 3D movie and felt sick. Just to be sitting in the theatre and watching it. He's going to join me to explain why he thinks Hollywood has a gore obsession and what should be done about it.

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BALDWIN: A killer taking down victim after victim, for no reason, leaving behind a scene of blood and death. I'm talking about the number one movie at the Box Office this past weekend "Texas Chainsaw 3D."

This horror movie grossed $23 million in its debut over the weekend. And that film here made my next guest think about how after the multiple mass shootings Americans are still drawn to violence on the screen.

We're going to talk about this. Ramin Setoodeh, senior writer for "Newsweek" and the "Daily Beast." Ramin, welcome. Obviously I read your piece in "The Daily Beast," you say watching the movie made you sick. But as a critic, I have to ask you, it is called "Texas Chainsaw 3D," what else were you expecting? RAMIN SETOODEH, SENIOR WRITER, "NEWSWEEK" AND THE "DAILY BEAST": You know, I see a lot of movies every year. I see a lot of violent movies every year. This movie was one of the most violent movies I think I've seen recently.

You actually see body parts, hands, feet, midsections, massacred on the screen and these body parts, because of 3D, because of technology, fly at you, blood flies at you.

People are cheering, people are grossed out, but I think so soon after all the violence that we have seen in the real life violence, I think this is tasteless. I think Hollywood needs to be more responsible.

BALDWIN: Let's me go back to something you just used, cheering. You said people were clapping, that people here watching the movie were celebrating murder.

SETOODEH: They were. They were celebrating the violence and we, of course, live in a very violent culture when it comes to entertainment. If you look at a lot f the movies that are playing right now, Quentin Tarantino's "Django Unchained" ends with a mass shooting.

"Jack Richer," the movie starring Tom Cruise begins with the sniper shooting six innocent people. Even the movie like "The Hobbit," which is targeted at kids, countless fantasy creatures are mutilated in this movie that is rated PG-13. That is supposed to be okay for families to go and see. There is a lot of violence. And I think, you know, Hollywood needs to maybe hold back a little.

BALDWIN: Let me jump in on the Hollywood point because a lot of people are pointing fingers here. And I just want to read these quotes. This was in your piece actually.

Quentin Tarantino, this is what he said, quote, "I think it is disrespectful to their memory, actually, to talk about movies. It is totally disrespectful to their memory to talk about the lost lives in the recent massacres."

It goes on, "Obviously the issue is gun control and mental health." Also Arnold Schwarzenegger said, "I think one must always keep it separate. This is entertainment. The other is a tragedy beyond belief and serious and the real deal."

Now, Ramin, I know you can say and you do say in your piece that Hollywood can pretend it doesn't have a responsibility, but what about that figure I mentioned a moment ago, the 23, you know, million dollars that this movie made over the weekend. Moviegoers, the demand is there.

SETOODEH: I'm not saying in the piece, I'm not arguing that gun control isn't a problem and helping people that are mentally ill isn't a problem. I think for Quentin Tarantino to say it is separate, I wish someone had asked him the question that in 1999 when the Columbine killers were plotting murdering their high school friends and peers. They fantasized about and imagined a day that Hollywood would make a movie about them and they fantasized about the day that Quentin Tarantino would direct that movie. So for Hollywood to pretend there isn't a connection, I think, is irresponsible. I'm not saying it is because of the movies, but I do think that there is a connection. I think that movies are too violent and don't need to be so violent.

BALDWIN: So in just a couple of words, if you had Quentin Tarantino sitting next to you, what would you say to him?

SETOODEH: I would ask him how he felt when he heard -- I'm sure 10, 15 years ago he heard that the Columbine killers wanted him to direct a movie about them. I would want to know what he felt about that and if he feels that he needs to make movies that are so gory and so violent and glorify shooting in the way that he has.

BALDWIN: Ramin Setoodeh, the "Daily Beast," Ramin, thank you so much. Appreciate your perspective.

SETOODEH: Thank you for having me.

BALDWIN: Tense moments at a transit station in Jersey City as an escalator suddenly starts going in the wrong direction. Next, we're going to show you the video and find out what might have let to the whole malfunction in the first place.

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BALDWIN: Question for you, what would you do if you were in the situation, you're on an escalator, going up and suddenly it goes down?

It is pretty scary. You see the people running up. Malfunction happened Monday at a commuter rail station this is Jersey City, New Jersey. At least five people were hurt. The escalators here have been shut down while transit officials try to figure out what went wrong. Superstorm Sandy is believed to be the cause of a number of problems at this particular station.

And in Mason, Ohio, junior high school students got an unexpected lesson in wildlife 101.

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UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It jumped up and through this window, back to here, and as it slid, the body hit the edge of my desk on this side. So it completely missed me.

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BALDWIN: It is this, a ten-point buck crashed through a window, while a teacher and two students were in that classroom. They managed to keep the animal in the room until it could be sedated and removed from the school. We're told a deer expert suspects the buck saw his reflection in the window and thought it was a rival and there you have it. Now this -- yes, music fans, after a 10-year hiatus, David Bowie releases new music. But, first, if you think your job is stressful, and I know a lot of you do, it might not be so bad after all. Take a look at the list here. This is career cast list of the most stressful jobs for 2013.

So number five, PR executives, sounds cool, very demanding. You have demanding clients deadlines. You're in the public eye here, enough to make your palms perhaps a little sweaty so PR executive at five.

Number four, if you dreamed of being a pilot growing up, it didn't include long delays, stretches away from home, so there you have commercial airline pilot. Number three, no surprise here, firefighters. That is a tough, tough, tough job, running into burning buildings, long shifts, saving lives.

So what are the top two most stressful jobs for 2013? Might it be yours? That's next.

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BALDWIN: Is your job stressful? Before you nod your head, I want you to take a look at Career Cast' list of the most stressful jobs in 2013. We ran through the top three before the break, right. So you had PR executive, commercial airline pilot, firefighter.

Number two, any guesses, military general, responsible for the lives of American men and women on the ground, around the world, sending troops into battle here. And the most stressful job in 2013 is enlisted military personnel.

Again, you're away from home for so long, on the front lines possibly, combat zones, or here at home, always on the line. We thank you for your service. Thank you so much. There you go, the top five most stressful jobs of the year.

And now the thin white duke, Ziggy Stardust, remember this guy? It has been a while since we heard from David Bowie, a decade to be exact. Today, David Bowie turns 66 and to celebrate he's released his first single in ten years. Take a listen.

The song "Where Are We Now" is a reflection on aging and the passage of time. David Bowie's new album is called "The Next Day." It will be out in March. This is Bowie's 30th studio recording and his first since reality that was back in 2003, still no word if Bowie will follow it up with a tour, David Bowie.