Return to Transcripts main page
CNN Newsroom
Monster Storms Hit U.S.; Hackers Hijacking Vote?; Alleged Plot Uncovered to Attack D.C. Metro; High School Student Assaults Nun Substitute Teacher; Charlie Sheen Downplaying Incident in New York Hotel; Controversy Surrounds Bloggers Comments About Obese People; President to Appear on "The Daily Show With Jon Stewart"
Aired October 27, 2010 - 15:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
BROOKE BALDWIN, CNN ANCHOR: Just days before the elections, are hackers hijacking your vote? The tricks, the traps, the return of Pac-Man? You have to hear this.
Plus, more urgent warnings, as monster storms are wreaking havoc.
I'm Brooke Baldwin. The news is now.
(voice-over): It takes a bully with nerve to go after a teacher, let alone a nun.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It's disgusting. It's not just about throwing a book at these kids. You need to throw the entire library at them.
BALDWIN: The showdown caught was on tape, and we have got it.
The supersized TV ratings don't always come with slim and trim characters, but try telling that to Hollywood. One writer did, asking if -- quote -- "fatties" should get a room. What? Don't miss the live discussion.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: All of a sudden, the wind kicked up.
BALDWIN: Tornadoes, hail and now snow. Chad Myers is tracking these monster storms and all those planes that aren't flying because of them.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
BALDWIN: Hi, everyone. I'm Brooke Baldwin.
We're beginning today with some breaking news out of the nation's capital. I am standing next to this big, massive map. This is Washington, D.C.'s Metro rail system. And why am I showing this to you? Because this is exactly what this plot entailed and the targets of this plot we're about to outline for you entailing attacks, multiple Metro stops, essentially attacking passengers.
I'm going to walk you through this in just a moment here and talk about specific stops that this guy was targeting.
But, first, I want to get the latest details out of Washington, where authorities today have just made this arrest.
I want to go to CNN's Jeanne Meserve.
Jeanne, why don't you just pick it up from there?
JEANNE MESERVE, CNN HOMELAND SECURITY CORRESPONDENT: Brooke, first of all, the Department of Justice says at no time was the public in danger.
The FBI was aware of this individual's activities and was closely monitoring him. His name is Farooque Ahmed, a 34-year-old naturalized American citizen born in Pakistan. He lives in Ashburn, Virginia and met repeatedly, according to the indictment, with people he believed to be affiliated with al Qaeda to plan multiple bombings at Metro rail stations in the Washington area.
Officials say he was arrested in a hotel room in Herndon, Virginia, this morning. The indictment indicates he thought he was going to meet one of those purported al Qaeda members.
The government alleges that Ahmed conduct -- conducted surveillance of four different Metro stations, provided his contacts with video images and sketches and made recommendations on when to attack to maximize casualties.
According to the indictment, he said he wanted to kill as many military personnel as possible. The government also alleges that he suggested concealing explosives in rolling suitcases, rather than backpack, sand suggested where on the trains they should be concealed.
Nothing on the documents indicates that he had any training or communications with individuals overseas, but the indictment quotes him as saying he did want to donate $10,000 to support brothers overseas and he would collect the donations, if necessary, in the name of another cause and send them overseas in small increments in order not to raise red flags.
He made his first court appearance this afternoon. He is facing three counts, including attempting to provide material support to a designated terrorist organization. If he's convicted, he faces a maximum penalty of 50 years in prison -- Brooke.
BALDWIN: Jeanne, you mentioned Ahmed had been to multiple hotels, where he was doing some of the surveillance and he thought he was meeting with some people who were affiliated with al Qaeda.
So, let's get to the point, being, who really was he meeting with in these hotel rooms?
MESERVE: Well, clearly, they weren't members of al Qaeda.
Law enforcement and other officials we have spoken to today aren't telling us who they were. There are several possibilities. They could have been undercover law enforcement. They could have been informants. There may even be other possibilities. We suspect we won't know until more details unfold, as the court case progresses -- Brooke.
BALDWIN: Jeanne, I want to walk through -- stand by for me. I want to walk through some of these Metro stops where he was apparently plotting these attacks to maximize these casualties in peak travel hours.
So, here you have the big map that, if you have been to D.C. you have seen this, right, to figure out the different Metro stops. And -- and the area we're specifically talking about is really Northern Virginia, Arlington Cemetery, Reagan Airport area. So, let me zoom in. Want to zoom in. Oh, there we go. Can you guys go back to the zoom? There we go.
So, here is where -- this is the first one. So, the first area he apparently surveilled -- and, again, he's looking for -- for peak travel times, which, according to this indictment, he discovered was between 4:00 and 5:00 in the afternoon, to maximize those casualties.
First, he checked out Arlington Cemetery. Second, he moves over to a pretty popular spot in Arlington, if you know the area, Courthouse Metro on the yellow -- the orange line. He then heads down to Pentagon City, which, of course, if you work at the Pentagon, this is your stop. Plus, there are a couple of major malls at Pentagon City.
And, finally, he heads down to Crystal City, which is also right near -- if you can see over here -- Ronald Reagan Washington Airport. So, this is right all around the Pentagon area.
And -- and, then, Jeanne, speaking of the Pentagon, we had your colleague Chris Lawrence on yesterday talking about these recent shootings in the Washington area. You have the Pentagon. There was a recruitment --
MESERVE: Yes.
BALDWIN: -- a Marine recruitment location and also a museum in Northern Virginia. They may not have any kind of connection, but I just have to ask, the shots fired at these particular military facilities, is there any kind of connection between these plots at the Metro stations?
MESERVE: Certainly, we have heard of none, and nothing is mentioned in the court documents that were unsealed today.
I would say this. This individual, Ahmed, was clearly being watched very carefully. They arrested him this morning, so I imagine the surveillance was at a pretty high level. I think it would stretch the imagination to think that he might be in any way involved in those shootings. But I will leave it there.
BALDWIN: Let me follow up with one more question. Then I want to walk over to Tom Fuentes. You mentioned in terms of some of the specifics -- as we were trying to pore over this indictment, Jeanne, the fact that he was surveilling some of these Metro stops to find the peak times, you mentioned he wanted to use roller bags, instead of backpacks. And he also was at the point where he was handing over I want to call it like a zip drive of information, of video of some of these Metro stops. Is that correct?
MESERVE: That's correct.
He handed over thumb drives, according to the indictment, and also is alleged to have handed over sketches of some of these. I mean, I remember thinking back to plots in New York. There were instances where sketches were handed over as well. Clearly, it would be part of your basic surveillance to get a sense of -- of where people are, where perhaps hiding places are, where escape routes might be, all those kinds of things.
BALDWIN: Mm-hmm.
MESERVE: But we don't -- obviously, they're not providing us with the information that he handed over to these people who he thought were al Qaeda, and were not.
BALDWIN: Sure, of course not.
Jeanne Meserve, homeland security correspondent, stand by.
Of course, we're going to continue this conversation through these two hours, huge story out of Washington
But, if I can, walk with me, because I'm going to head over to talk to former FBI Assistant Director and CNN now contributor Tom Fuentes, who knows a thing or two about this.
Hello, sir.
(CROSSTALK)
BALDWIN: Good to see you.
(LAUGHTER)
(CROSSTALK)
BALDWIN: Thanks for coming in.
I want to just first begin with the -- here's my thought. Look, I used to live in D.C. A lot of people live in cities where you're on -- you're on Metro or MARTA or whatever your subway system.
TOM FUENTES, CNN CONTRIBUTOR: Right.
BALDWIN: And I'm thinking, gosh, you know, we're so lucky to think that -- that -- that, you know, the government moved in right when they did, and -- and, you know, saved potentially a lot of people from something quite horrific.
But, at the same time, is this not just federal government doing their job?
FUENTES: Well, they are doing their job. But, in a situation like this, you know, there's been so much attention given to attacks that were planned for the New York City subway system, and here you have the nation's capital, which also services 3.5 million people a day, most of whom are federal workers going into the District to work, including almost half of the Metro stops are at federal facilities, such as the Pentagon, you mentioned.
So, you have -- literally, those morning commutes and evening commutes coming in and out of -- of those stations, you would have tens of thousands of workers from the Pentagon, workers from other federal law enforcement, federal civilian agencies, you name it, that -- that work in the D.C. area.
BALDWIN: Right.
FUENTES: So, that takes on significance in and of itself.
BALDWIN: Talk about peak travel time.
Of course, Metro very grateful, a statement from Metro: "We thank our law enforcement partners, with whom we work closely on an ongoing basis. We especially want to commend the FBI, Department of Justice, U.S. Attorney's Office, and Department of Homeland Security for the support on the arrest."
What do you make of some of the details, though, coming out of this indictment, the fact that this guy Ahmed had, you know, gone as far as surveilling multiple stations to figure out what the peak hours are, saying, hey, let's not use backpacks; let's use --
FUENTES: Right.
BALDWIN: -- you know, roller bags, handing over zip drives of video? What do you make of those details?
FUENTES: He reminds me of what David Headley did in the attack in Mumbai, the Chicagoan that flew to Pakistan and then to Mumbai, India, and then did the reconnaissance, took the photographs, made the diagrams, charted out where the attack should occur, and then went back to the -- to the planners to -- to train the attackers who actually carried out the attacks in November of 2008.
So, you have a situation here where the reconnaissance work is being done by him --
BALDWIN: Mm-hmm.
FUENTES: -- the photographs, the charts, the diagrams, the time of day to attack, which particular Metro stops, in search of partners, if you will, in search of the people that will actually carry out -- maybe construct the bombs and carry out the attacks. If you have recall the Jihad Jane case, it was similar, that here's Jihad Jane decides to travel to Sweden and kill the cartoonist that drew the -- the pictures of Mohammed. So, she puts her name out on the Internet: "I'm looking for help."
And, sure enough, four or five people from Europe sign up to go with her to go to Sweden and hack this individual to death, was their intent.
BALDWIN: Hmm.
FUENTES: So, you have a situation where, even though he may not personally have the skill set to do this, if he's going to that much trouble and coming up with a product that will benefit an attack, as referred to as material support for the attack, that's dangerous.
Who's going to help him? Who might sign up that he may not know already? Or, in the case of an investigation like this, does he have partners? Does he have masters, if you will, who are directing him?
BALDWIN: Right.
FUENTES: And you need to find --
(CROSSTALK)
BALDWIN: Is he the lone wolf, or are there others?
FUENTES: Exactly.
BALDWIN: We don't -- we don't know.
FUENTES: Exactly right.
BALDWIN: Can I just get one more question in?
FUENTES: Sure.
BALDWIN: Because I'm also fascinated, being the former FBI guy that you are, in terms of, you know, here you have Ahmed meeting with some of these informants -- little does he know -- he thinks they're affiliates of al Qaeda -- in these various hotel rooms in Northern Virginia.
Can you just -- on the inside, behind that closed door, if you're on the FBI side, how are you acting and what are you telling him?
FUENTES: Well, I would -- I would rather not reveal the details of how a case like this would occur.
But they have to be very careful in those meets to avoid a defense on his part that he was entrapped, that he didn't really want to do this, he met with these undercover agents or informants, and he got talked into it; he was -- he was only having a wild thought, and really wasn't going to do it at the end of the day.
So, they have to be very careful if their approach and --
(CROSSTALK)
BALDWIN: Walking a very delicate line.
FUENTES: Walk the line, and record these conversations, video them, if possible, to show that he is intent on doing this; they're not talking him into it; they're merely meeting with him to try to determine if he has partners, if there's more to this, what capability he may have.
BALDWIN: Glean all the information --
FUENTES: Right.
BALDWIN: -- glean it all before --
FUENTES: Right.
BALDWIN: -- jumping in.
FUENTES: And, also, if I could add, you -- you brought the question up with Jeanne Meserve about links to the shootings that have occurred recently at the Pentagon.
BALDWIN: The three different shootings.
FUENTES: Three different shootings --
BALDWIN: Yes.
(CROSSTALK)
FUENTES: -- Pentagon, the Marine Corps Museum in Quantico, and the --
BALDWIN: The recruitment --
FUENTES: -- recruiting station in --
BALDWIN: Chantilly.
FUENTES: -- Chantilly, Virginia.
This individual has been under intense coverage by the FBI, by the other agencies that participated in the case. So, he was not out roaming around shooting at facilities. And --
BALDWIN: Had to ask the question.
FUENTES: But -- .
BALDWIN: I'm a reporter.
FUENTES: Yes. So, that's -- that's --
BALDWIN: It's all the same area, you know?
FUENTES: You know, as Jeanne said, you know, it would be very farfetched to believe that --
BALDWIN: Yes.
FUENTES: -- he could have done anything, as is referred to by the officials, as could have gotten out of pocket, if you will --
BALDWIN: Hmm.
FUENTES: -- to do these kind of acts.
BALDWIN: Tom Fuentes, as always, thank you so much.
FUENTES: You're welcome, Brooke. Thank you.
BALDWIN: Switching gears: Charlie Sheen, TV's richest man, but he is under fire, as many of you know, for allegedly trashing that ritzy hotel room in New York. Well, guess what? Today, he is now responding. What's he saying? That is ahead.
And monster storms wreaking havoc in large parts of our country. Up next: a look at what they're leaving behind and where they're going now.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
BALDWIN: Welcome back to CNN NEWSROOM -- busy, busy day.
Let's talk weather now, shall we? We're dealing with round two of this monster storm that stretches all the way across most now of the Eastern portion of the country. For a second day, we have severe weather, with the threat of tornadoes across several states. Take a look at this video with me, more damage. This is the aftermath.
The first round of this system has already obviously left quite a mess. There was a massive path of destruction spreading from Wisconsin, Indiana, Illinois, into the South, through Tennessee, Alabama, Georgia, the Carolinas.
In fact, take a look at this surveillance video. This is from Indiana. And you can see a tornado as it just annihilates this barn. You see the pieces just flying all around. Twenty-four tornadoes have been reported. Ten of them have been confirmed.
Listen to this. This is an eyewitness from Illinois.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JUSTIN SCHROEDER, RESIDENT OF INDIANA: All of a sudden, the wind kicked up. (INAUDIBLE) was trying to hold the glass door shut, blew him through the glass door, slid us back into the foyer about five feet. It was like a bomb went off. You heard no -- you didn't hear the tornado. I would probably say it sounds like a freight train. You heard a little whistle, and it was like an explosion of glass everywhere.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BALDWIN: We talked about a lot of, you know, wind and rain. But look at this. Dare we say snow.
This is Duluth, Minnesota, where enough snow fell to cover cars and signs in this parking lot. And now let's take a look. This is the Atlanta Tower cam, wow, semi-bluish skies.
(LAUGHTER)
BALDWIN: Earlier today, though, it was quite, quite dark and luminous, tornado watches, warnings in the Atlanta area today. That means airport delays, one of the country's busiest hubs, flights coming in and out of Atlanta delayed by as much as 90 minutes, that, as we all know, not fun.
Let's bring in Chad Myers, who has been busy, busy yesterday and now into today.
What's the headline today, the cleanup, and or is there more rolling through?
CHAD MYERS, AMS METEOROLOGIST: There's more.
BALDWIN: Wow.
MYERS: And the problem with the 90 minutes that the FAA is putting out for the delays --
BALDWIN: Yes?
MYERS: -- is that that's with the planes that aren't canceled.
(LAUGHTER)
MYERS: So, there should be 150 planes in the sky right now to Atlanta. So, I will call up the flight tracker.
There are 61 planes in the sky. That means 90 are missing, not like off the radar. They're not in the air. And the ones that are in the air are doing this up in -- north of Atlanta, and then over here, south of Atlanta, and then up here, northwest of Atlanta, doing the big spin, the spin-around, because big storms are just south of the airport again, and another round of big weather to the north of the airport.
So, let's just get right to it. Here is the storm that actually was spinning, although there wasn't a tornado warning on it. The airport is right there. That's where the runways would be, just right about there. So, this cell just went right over the airport from west to east.
There's more weather back out to the west still coming to the airport. And, so, Atlanta I know this is kind of the area that's under the gun the most, big red box, kind of -- only see part of it.
That means that tornadoes are possible just about everywhere across the viewing area in Atlanta. Now, let me run you up in a couple more places as well, into the Carolinas and also into D.C., into Richmond, up into almost Atlantic City and Philadelphia. That's the other part of this storm.
Now, the storms were here hours and hours ago. And they're still here, Brooke. It's because the storm is not making any eastward progress. It's just sitting there and spinning, but it's spinning over Green Bay, the whole big low-pressure center, which is the lowest pressure ever recorded on land in the U.S. since we have been recording, now, not including hurricanes, because you can't really include those --
(CROSSTALK)
MYERS: -- but the lowest low pressure, bigger than the storm of 1973, the storm -- the -- the storm of the century in 1993. Clearly, that wasn't really the century. Maybe that was last century.
(LAUGHTER)
MYERS: So, now we have a new one --
(CROSSTALK)
MYERS: -- this century already. This is a major low making big winds and big travel problems everywhere.
BALDWIN: Yikes. Unbelievable.
MYERS: Yes.
BALDWIN: I hear all these people just stuck, stuck, stuck on the tarmac.
MYERS: Absolutely.
BALDWIN: Chad, thank you.
MYERS: Sure.
BALDWIN: Here's a question for you: Should -- quote -- "fatties" be allowed on television? Not my word -- someone else's. That's what a writer at "Marie Claire" asked her readers, but she used some, shall I say, rather colorful language. It is sparking quite a debate, and now she is responding. That is ahead. Don't miss that.
Also, political candidates making their final arguments here, their closing arguments, to voters, including Colorado, where Jessica Yellin is standing by.
Stay right there. We will chat in just a moment.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK) BALDWIN: Six days and counting here until Election Day, and, if Republican are to have any kind of chance here in taking over the Senate, one of the states that they must win is Colorado.
It is there that the Tea-Party-movement-backed Republican Ken Buck is leading -- look at the numbers here -- Democratic Senator Michael Bennet in what has been a neck-and-neck race.
Jessica Yellin, she's been traveling all over the country for us. She's in Arvada, Colorado, today, where she's spoken with both of those candidates.
And, Jessica, first, let me show our viewers just exactly how important this race is here overall to the -- to the country. I want you to look at a number. This number here is $29.3 million. Actually, it's a little bigger than that. That is the amount of money that outside groups have spent in the state of Colorado alone.
So, all of that money, Jessica, because this race could affect -- as you and I were talking just yesterday, this is one of the states that could very much so affect the balance of power in the Senate.
JESSICA YELLIN, CNN NATIONAL POLITICAL CORRESPONDENT: That's right, Brooke, and although most recent polling shows it is truly a tied race. So, if either party gets very close to controlling the Senate, they feel this is the one state that could put them over the edge.
And that's why more outside groups are spending more money here than any other state.
BALDWIN: And, Jessica, let me play you something. This is the video of Buck where he seemingly questions the separation of church and state.
Watch this.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
KEN BUCK (R), COLORADO SENATORIAL CANDIDATE: I disagree strongly with the concept of separation of church and state. It was not written into the Constitution. While we have a Constitution that is very strong, in the sense that we are not going to have a religion as sanctioned by the government, it doesn't mean that we need to have a separation between government and religion.
And, so, that -- that concerns me a great deal. So, I think there are --
(APPLAUSE)
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BALDWIN: Here -- here we go again with this church-and-state issue. And he said, you know, he disagrees with it. And I know you were out there. You asked him about this very statement. What did he tell you?
YELLIN: Well, he told me that he does believe in the separation of church and state, that it is written into the Constitution, written -- it is in the Constitution. So, I asked him to explain this apparent inconsistency. Here is what he said.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SEN. MICHAEL BENNET (D), COLORADO: And we're spending our time trying to make sure people actually understand and can sort of differentiate between fact and fiction. And I think that's starting to make a difference.
And, in the end, Colorado is going to make this decision independent of any endorsement by anybody in Washington on either side of this race. They're going to care less about than they are about who is going to be more likely to be able to help drag us out of this horrible economy.
YELLIN: And just to press that one more time, so having him here would -- or having him talk about these issues would confuse this debate you're having?
BENNET: I think that the -- the personal reaction by the independent voters that you have described, based on a lot of, you know, the political rhetoric that's gone back and forth, might not make it helpful. And I think the president should be in places around the country where he -- where it will be helpful.
And -- and -- and we are running this race on the facts on the ground in Colorado, what people are really interested in working on.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BALDWIN: Now, I -- Jessica, I know you know --
YELLIN: OK, Brooke, that --
BALDWIN: -- that's not Ken Buck.
YELLIN: -- that was Michael Bennet. That was Senator Michael Bennet, not Ken Buck, his opponent. He's a Democrat. The man who was just speaking is the Democrat in this race, Senator Michael Bennet. He's currently the incumbent senator sitting right now.
And he's running neck-and-neck, as I said. We were asking him a different question, which is, during the primary season, President Obama was here for him, and President Obama held a teleconference for him.
And I asked, why haven't you had President Obama back in town since then during the general election? You heard the answer he just gave. And we can assume one of the reasons is because independent voters in this state are so crucial, and the president simply isn't that popular with independent voters in this state -- Brooke. BALDWIN: Yes, Jessica, excellent job recovering there. Apologies for us switching the video around on you. But we know it's Ken Buck, Michael Bennet. And this is one of those races we will all be watching very, very closely.
Jess, thank you.
BALDWIN: Have you heard about this? Have you seen this video, I really should be asking you. A student allegedly bullies his substitute teacher. Might I add the teacher here is a nun. I'm going to show you the shocking video. We will talk about it. That's ahead.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
BALDWIN: Well, here's one story we first reported yesterday. We're getting some new details today, all has to do with Charlie Sheen. What's going on with him?
He is now responding to reports that he allegedly brought a hooker to this ritzy hotel suite in New York, trashed it, before being taken away by police. So, coming up, we're going to have his reaction and the impact on his hit show. Mind you, he makes about $2 million an episode on a hit -- hit show. Keep in mind, he is TV's highest- paid actor.
Also, a woman writes a magazine column asking whether -- quote -- "fatties should get a room," referring to overweight actors on television. You can guess it's causing quite a stir. But that's not all she wrote.
That's next.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
BALDWIN: OK, I'm about to show you some video that's probably going to tick you off. At least that's the effect it had on me. I don't care -- you could be a parent or not a parent, teacher, you don't have to be a teacher. This is appalling really on every level of decency.
But before I show it to you, I just want to let you know this is a low quality video shot with a cell phone in a school classroom in El Paso, Texas. So watch, listen with me, and then I'll tell you what's going on.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
(SHOUTING)
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BALDWIN: You see that kid? I shouldn't say kid -- young man. This guy 16-years-old with his hands together. He's berating, badgering, and looming over his substitute teacher sitting there, balling up his fists, being egged on by his classmates. Keep watching. You'll see him. He eventually -- see what's in his hands. This is some salt. He's going to throw it on her. He corners her then with a chair when she tries to get out of there. The teacher is an older woman, looks like half the teenager's size. By the way, she is a nun.
So the video was posted on to YouTube. It's been taken down now. Now, before I tell you how the school handled this one, what do you think they did to this kid? Ask yourself what would you do to the 16- year-old? If you were the student's teacher or principal or parent, what would you do?
We asked our education contributor Steve Perry, also the founder and principal of Capital Prep Magnet School, what he would have done.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
STEVE PERRY, CNN EDUCATION CONTRIBUTOR: It's disgusting. It's not just about throwing a book at this kid. You need to throw the entire library at him. If this happened here, which I cannot imagine, he would be standing there because kids don't sit in my office because they're not guests.
And I would make sure that he understood in no uncertain terms not only was that the last day he spent at our school, but there are going to be people that meet him outside. They are police officers. We're going to prosecute to every letter of the law.
In addition to that, every single child who participated in one way or another would also be arrested, because we need everyone to understand this is not a game. You don't get in people's faces regardless of how tall she is or what she does for a living. It doesn't matter. This is inappropriate behavior, period.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BALDWIN: You like how he said that when students come to his office? They're not guests and don't get to sit down.
So here's the next question for you. What did the school do to the 16-year-old? Good question. Here's what they say. Read along with me, quote, "We take this type of matter very seriously and swift action was taken." I go on. "The school administration has taken the appropriate disciplinary measures," end quote.
That is from the Clint Independent school district. Now, the school district is not exactly being specific as to what those disciplinary actions are, but El Paso police did show up at the school and did charge the teenager with assault by contact, not for the intimidation but for the salt, throwing the salt on this nun, on the substitute teacher.
So here's your turn. I want you to tell me what you would have done or give me your reaction to seeing the video, that teenager bullying that nun trying to teach the class. Send me a tweet.
Now look at this.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
LAURA BUSH, FORMER U.S. FIRST LADY: When you're married to the president of the United States, you don't worry too much about him leaving his wet towels on the floor.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
(LAUGHTER)
BALDWIN: Former first lady Laura Bush spilling some dirt on life after the White House. Find out why she gets mad at her hubby, former President Bush. That is ahead.
Also, a magazine writer questions whether fat people should be allowed on TV, period. Everyone is weighing in. It should be a pretty interesting conversation, next.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
BALDWIN: Here's a headline for you. Should "fatties" get a room even on TV? Not a word I would use, but it's a word one writer chose in a column of a popular woman's magazine. Her article, as you can imagine, generated a whole lot of buzz.
It was also a direct response to one of our own on CNN.com. So the original question posed by a woman you're about to meet here, should obese actors be in starring roles on television? Case in point this new CBS sitcom called "Mike & Molly."
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I'm Mike. I had a fair week. I lost three pounds. Then I took off my shirt and I found it right about here.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Pretty funny.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes. I figure if everybody is laughing they won't try to kill and cook each other.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Molly.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Mike.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I look like Kathy Bates in "Misery."
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BALDWIN: CNN.com writer Lisa France joining me now in the studio. She blogged and wrote about this show, and then this "Marie Claire" magazine posted the article in direct response to you with the title "Should fatties get a room even on television?"
So Lisa, little did you know when you wrote this article on dotcom it would be picked up in the way it has been. LISA FRANCE, CNN.COM: On CNN.com we're always looking to produce stories and videos that are going to be interesting and intriguing to our readers, and we knew it would resonate with people but we didn't realize how much.
BALDWIN: Enterprise journalism.
FRANCE: Yes.
BALDWIN: So the opening line, I love this so I want to read it. Your opening line is "Can plus-sized actors have starring roles in which their weight isn't a part of the character or storyline? Fat chance."
FRANCE: Yes. I prefer the term "fluffy" rather than fat. But whenever you have an actor who is in a starring role, if they're plus size it always seems to have to be part of the plotline or dialogue directed at their weight. And so we looked at why this is, why we can't just have someone who is plus-sized, overweight and just have them be the character.
BALDWIN: So that was the crux of the article.
FRANCE: But I did touch on the fact people watching "Mike & Molly" have said they are a little uncomfortable watching the intimacy between the two plus sized characters, and the blogger from "Marie Claire" took that and ran with it.
BALDWIN: Let's go there. There's this blogger for Marie Claire. She writes the article. Her name is Maura Kelly. I want to read what she wrote as part of her article.
She says, quote, "I think I would be grossed out if I had to watch two characters with rolls and rolls of fat kissing each other. To be brutally honest in real life I find it aesthetically displeasing to watch a very, very fat person simply walk across a room."
FRANCE: A little harsh.
BALDWIN: She talks in the article about obesity, how it's very much an issue today and costing the country a lot in terms of insurance, et cetera, et cetera. Facts. But the issue is the choice wording now.
FRANCE: The choice wording, the "grossed out" by overweight people. And I think really it was so offensive to people and they couldn't believe that she would put it out there. It's one thing to think it and another thing to blog it.
BALDWIN: She admits to it in the first paragraph of her article. It was in direct response to your piece.
FRANCE: Yes, because she took the little factoid about people saying they're uncomfortable about the intimacy and took it and espoused upon it and talk about how it bothered her. I think comparing overweight people to drunks and heroin addicts -- BALDWIN: It did not sit well with you?
FRANCE: No, because more people look like Mike and Molly than look like the women on "Sex and the City" and other programs.
BALDWIN: It turns out we're not the only ones talking about it. Also the ladies on "The View." Can we roll that clip? Let's roll that.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JOY BEHAR, CO-HOST, "THE VIEW": She reminds me of Juan Williams. Remember the Juan Williams thing last week when he says he sees Muslims at the airport he gets scared? Then he said I was just speaking my mind. He let it out of his mouth what went into his head. She's doing the same thing.
BARBARA WALTERS, CO-HOST, "THE VIEW": She should see one of the most popular shows on TV that I love called "Modern Family" in which Eric Stone plays Cameron Tucker, the fat --
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I love him.
(APPLAUSE)
WALTERS: And he's maybe the most popular one. And he plays -- he's not only overweight, but he's gay. And he lives with his -- everybody loves him.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I have to give the other side of Maura Kelly. She also talked about the fact that we are starting to get OK with people being obese and it being unhealthy and that it's all kind of health problems.
But when you couch -- that's a great message about being healthy. But when you couch it in, it disgusts me to even see you walk across the room and it disgusts me to see you kissing somebody, then the other message is lost.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BALDWIN: I see you sitting here nodding.
FRANCE: She's absolutely right because she made it completely unappetizing. It is a great dialogue we should have about obesity in this country and about the cost for people and something I talk about. It's one of the reasons I wanted to do the article.
But when you couch it in those terms it's completely unappetizing and people tune out to the rest of what you have to say. People are so angry if you read the comments. "Marie Claire" says they've received over 28,000 e-mails.
BALDWIN: We wanted to have Maura Kelly on the show and would love for her to be part of this conversation. She was not available. "Marie Claire" did not return messages. But I do have an apology I want to read. This is from Maura Kelly that she'd written. "I would really like to apologize for the insensitive things I've said. Believe it or not I never wanted anyone to feel bullied or ashamed after reading this and I sorely regret that it upset people so much. A lot of what I said was unnecessary and wasn't productive either."
In fact we did some digging on her as I'm sure you have. On her website she admits to having weight issues in the past, anorexia.
FRANCE: She said she survived anorexia. It kind of puts it in a different light and gives it a different spin when you realize some of the things she was bringing to that piece that she wrote.
BALDWIN: Final question -- are we being too sensitive to this issue of weight in.
FRANCE: I don't think so. I think overweight people are the last group people think it's OK to make fun of. If you laugh at them because they're African-American or disabled people get up in arms. But if you laugh at somebody because they're fat, come on, fat people are funny.
So I think people aren't being too sensitive and I'm glad it's brought to the forefront and so glad we're having this conversation. I think it's great.
BALDWIN: Thank you for writing the article. Appreciate it.
Let's talk about someone else, shall we? Charlie Sheen -- what happened inside that New York hotel room? Brooke Anderson all over this one. It is trending. That is next.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
BALDWIN: Trending today, a whole lot of questions about Charlie Sheen's bizarre episode at New York's Plaza Hotel. Don't exactly expect any answers from the actor here. He's back at home in Los Angeles after being released from the hospital for what his rep says was an adverse allergic reaction to medicine.
Other reports indicate otherwise and say the room was trashed and so was Sheen when an ambulance was called in. Sheen is talking today, or really I should say texting today, calling the incident "overblown and overplayed" according to Radar online which said it received text messages from Sheen just last night.
Sheen also indicated as far as he's concerned what happened at the Plaza will stay at the Plaza.
As for ex-wife/actress Denise Richards she is apparently on the same page. In fact she was on HLN's Joy Behar last night.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DENISE RICHARDS, ACTRESS: I do know what happened. I would rather --
BEHAR: You do know. You would rather not talk about it.
RICHARDS: I did go to the hospital.
BEHAR: You did go to the hospital with him?
RICHARDS: Yes.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BALDWIN: Brooke Anderson host of HLN's "SHOWBIZ TONIGHT." And Brooke, before we get to the kids, because that's one of the big issues because they were next door, I want to just ask you, a lot of questions today about Charlie Sheen getting preferential treatment. But to be clear no charges have been pressed, correct?
BROOKE ANDERSON, CNN ENTERTAINMENT CORRESPONDENT: Absolutely. He hasn't been arrested, charged, convicted of anything. And you have to remember that he still is on probation until next week in that Aspen, Colorado, domestic violence case.
But the district attorney there told CNN, Brooke, that they're not going to revoke his probation. They're not going to get involved here because he hasn't been charged with anything.
And listen, if there were indeed thousands of dollars in damages to that hotel room, Charlie Sheen will pay. He's going to cooperate. And the Plaza Hotel is probably going to drop it there. They do not want to get involved in all of his drama.
BALDWIN: Let's talk about the kids. Richards, Denise Richards, who we just heard from, and the couple's two young children, I think five and six, were in the room next door to Sheen. And you would think as a parent the kids would be a big consideration in all of this.
Let's listen more to Denise Richards talking to Joy Behar last night and I'll talk to you on the other side.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
RICHARDS: They have no idea what went on and I'm -- a lot of our stuff happened when they were much younger, which I'm so grateful for. We're in an amazing place. We've been getting along great for the past year and a half, and we're doing our best. So as far as that situation I'm trying to protect the girls from it as much as possible.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BALDWIN: So, Brooke, at five and six, you're paying attention.
ANDERSON: Yes.
BALDWIN: You know what's going on.
ANDERSON: Absolutely. We have to remember he also has twin boys who are just a year and a half old.
But I admire Denise Richards. The girl fell for a bad boy. She has described Charlie Sheen as "colorful," but she's doing her best to protect her daughters from his wild ways. We have to think, Charlie Sheen is a dad to very young children, but he's acting like a rebellious teenager who wants to spend the rest of his life in jail.
And the sad and really troubling part about this, Brooke, is that everything he does is documented in public court records, on the Internet. And one day those children are going children are going to know everything that happens, no matter how hard they try to shield them right now.
So he needs to think about the long-term impact. He should have thought about that well before now, but he needs to think about being a responsible adult, if not for himself, but for those kids.
BALDWIN: Absolutely for the kids. I'm going to use your word, "colorful." He has a colorful past. He was on the client list of Heidi Fleiss.
ANDERSON: Yes. He's been open about abusing drugs and alcohol in the past, about his affinity for prostitutes in the past. So Charlie Sheen is an open book. He's pretty transparent. And I think that a lot of people, that goes along way with them in terms of forgiving him, in terms of still watching his show, "Two and a Half Men," Brooke, because a lot of people are asking, should he be fired from that show?
The fact of the matter is, people are still watching. It's the highest-rated sitcom on television. He's the highest-paid actor on TV. He just signed a new contract earlier this year for a reported $1.8 million per episode.
And you have to think about the fact that that show employs a lot of people, people who may have moral objections to his behavior. But the fact of the matter is if that show went away, they may have a problem in this economy finding a job quickly. He's like Kobe Bryant is to the Lakers. He holds the team together and they have tremendous success because of him. His character's name is even Charlie.
But there are a lot of people relying on him and that show's success for their livelihoods. And I'm not trying to make excuses for Charlie Sheen. What he did was deplorable.
BALDWIN: Right. Right.
ANDERSON: But it's just the reality of the situation. The facts are the facts. This probably is not going to impact his professional career.
BALDWIN: It may or may not --
ANDERSON: As long as he can show up on set and do the job, that's fine. BALDWIN: He may or may not. We'll have to wait and see if CBS makes a move, if at all. But you don't often think about other people when you do these things -- allegedly. Brooke Anderson, thank you.
ANDERSON: Yes.
BALDWIN: He is a former food network TV chef accused of trying to hire homeless men to kill his wife. He just made a deal with prosecutors. That's ahead.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
BALDWIN: Just six days to go here until Election Day, and CNN has all your latest political news with "The Best Political Team" on television, "CNN = Politics," Wolf Blitzer now moving up to New York here.
And, Wolf, you know we reported yesterday from California, Carly Fiorina, she was hospitalized yesterday. She spent the night in hospital. But apparently her camp continuing the battle against her opponent, Barbara Boxer.
WOLF BLITZER, HOST, "THE SITUATION ROOM": But the good news right now is that she's OK. She's being released from the hospital today. Her campaign issuing a statement saying "Carly is grateful for the outpouring of well wishes and prayers from so many Californians. She's excited about getting on the campaign trail."
She expects to be out there tomorrow in these, the final six days of this campaign, even though she went to the hospital. She had an infection resulting from her successful breast cancer surgery last year. She isn't stopping from criticizing her opponent, the Democratic incumbent senator Barbara Boxer. She's going after Barbara Boxer calling her a "hypocrite," a statement from her campaign, suggesting Boxer is a hypocrite because she went to a fundraiser at Cisco which does have a lot of employees outside of the United States.
Boxer has gone after Carly Fiorina for some time for outsourcing jobs when she was the head of Hewlett Packard, excuse me, HP. She was supposedly outsourcing then.
But now it's Boxer being criticized for accepting these fundraisers from Cisco, from John chambers, the CEO of Cisco. Cisco, by the way, does employ about 70,000, 80,000 employees, 38,000 in the United States. 32,000 overseas. But half of their work is done overseas. So Boxer insists that's -- Cisco says they're not outsourcing, they're working, employing people where their work is.
Finally, one thing we're all going to be watching later tonight is the president of the United States is going to be a guest on "The Daily Show" with Jon Stewart. First time he's been a guest -- the first time a sitting president has been a guest on that show. It underscores the White House's efforts in the final days to try to rally the same youth vote that occur in the 2008 campaign, see if they can generate the get out the vote among some young people. A lot of young people, of course, love that show. And the president is going to be the special guest. They're taping it, by the way, around 5:30. So we should get some early indications of what happened from the White House press pool during the 6:00 p.m. hour in "The Situation Room," 6:00 p.m. eastern hour. We'll get some early word how that interview between Jon Stewart and President Obama went.
BALDWIN: You know, Wolf, I love getting to chat with you every day. But I'm thinking, you know, our whole team was thinking is this a good move, sitting president, "Daily Show." We thought who might have been on the daily show? Take a look at me. This is what we pulled out of the archives here.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JON STEWART, HOST, "THE DAILY SHOW WITH JON STEWART": It's my guest. That's right. It's Wolf Blitzer!
(APPLAUSE)
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BALDWIN: There you are. Not too distant archives. Don't know if you called up the president, gave him some tips. But, again, to underscore your point, Wolf, that this is probably a move to energize the young folks.
BLITZER: It certainly is.
The best advice I could give the president or anyone else going on "The Daily Show with Jon Stewart" or any of the other late-night shows is, those are the guys, the hosts of those shows, they're the comedians. They're the funny guys. Don't try to be too funny, because it usually doesn't work. So --
BALDWIN: Let them do it.
BLITZER: -- I just went on there.
And let them do it. That's their job. They're stand-up comedians. And you're just a journalist. So, you answer the questions. And you wind up getting a laugh. But they will deliver the punchline, not necessarily you.
BALDWIN: Nice. Good advice. Wolf Blitzer, thank you. Good to see you.
BLITZER: Thank you.
BALDWIN: By the way, want to remind you, we get will another political update in about half-an-hour. And you can also get the latest political news. Go to CNNPolitics.com or hop on Twitter @PoliticalTicker.
