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Heat Wave Grips Country; Hosni Mubarak on Trial; FAA Loses Funding as Congress Breaks for August; New Details Emerge in Bin Laden Kill; New Spider-man is Biracial; President Soon Turns 50
Aired August 03, 2011 - 15:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
BROOKE BALDWIN, CNN ANCHOR: And welcome back to CNN NEWSROOM. I'm Brooke Baldwin.
And I want to begin with something we have been talking about for quite a while and it continues to percolate, that being the heat. It is gripping so much of the Southern U.S.. In fact, in just two states, Texas and Oklahoma, the heat is to blame for 22 deaths, 22.
And it is just the 3rd of August, temperatures again today reaching well into the triple digits, in fact, case in point, Plano, Texas. Excessive heat is blamed for the death of a popular high school football coach who collapsed two hours into the team's first practice of the season, the heat index apparently soaring above 100 degrees.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JIM STROTHER, ASSISTANT FOOTBALL COACH: We were on a second short break and we were getting them out of the sun. We were heading to the field house. And he collapsed outside the field house.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BALDWIN: The heat also proving to be fatal both in Georgia and Florida. Two high school football players collapsed while out practicing under the sun in the heat. And they both later died.
So, if you have kids who say, mom, dad, the coach says I have to practice, I have to be out there, maybe in full pads, I want you to listen to the father of one of those high school players who just passed away.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
GLENN JONES, SON FROM HEAT: When your body tells you that you're tired, then you need to tell somebody. The kids need to tell their coaches or whatever that, hey, there's something wrong with me. I need a break.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BALDWIN: Also this: The heat is warping train tracks. Yes, in Missouri, in Oklahoma, in Texas, inspectors are hitting the rails each and every afternoon. They're checking and fixing what they call sun kinks that could actually cause trains to derail.
That's what is happening there.
But I do want to turn your attention here to the town of Robert Lee, Texas, where the water source is just about to run try. Robert Lee, if you don't know it, it's a tiny town, nearly 1,000 people there in West Texas. Look at the cracks there. Look at these images, folks.
John Jacobs is the mayor of Robert Lee. And he is on the phone with me.
And, Mr. Mayor, thank you for calling in. I have got Chad Myers here,, been watching the weather as well. And I want him to chime in on this.
(CROSSTALK)
BALDWIN: But here, this is just stunning, this number. Your town is down to less than 1 percent of its water supply. So, simple math, 99 percent of your water source is poof, it's gone. Sounds like you don't have much more than a mud puddle left.
JOHN JACOBS, MAYOR OF ROBERT LEE, TEXAS: Well, that's true, ma'am. It's getting pretty low.
There's still something in the neighborhood of 353-acre feed out there. So we have still got some water.
BALDWIN: I know, John Jacobs, it is your birthday. You are 65 years young. So happy birthday to you, sir.
JACOBS: Well, thank you. What a birthday...
(CROSSTALK)
BALDWIN: What a birthday. In your 65 years, have you ever seen anything like this?
JACOBS: No, ma'am, not with this much heat, wind and lack of rain. This is a first for me.
BALDWIN: Let me explain. I know you know this very well. But just west of your town is Lake Spence. It's a reservoir. It serves the people in your town, like I said, right around 1,000 people. You are the only town now drawing from this reservoir, Midland, Odessa already pulling out of using it.
If the rains don't come, Mayor, then what? How do you get water?
JACOBS: We're in the process of negotiating and building a pipeline to Coke County's sister city, Bronte, which is 12 miles to the east of us.
(CROSSTALK)
JACOBS: So hopefully we can get that in the ground before the lake runs completely dry.
CHAD MYERS, CNN METEOROLOGIST: Mr. Mayor, hey, it's Chad. I want to talk to you about people that are using well water. What are they finding? Are their wells drying up? Is that water just becoming undrinkable?
JACOBS: The water in our neck of the woods is still -- I think some of the wells are losing static height. But as far as I know, none have actually turned bad. Of course, West Texas, we don't have any such thing as good groundwater. But a lot of them are still -- they're using it and it's just their volume's falling off.
MYERS: Any of the areas there have any fracking going on there? Because we're worried about that, obviously people all around the world worry about that, getting into groundwater. Anything like an issue for you?
JACOBS: Locally in our area, there is some fracking going on, but very little. And to my knowledge, it's not affecting our water tables.
MYERS: Wow.
BALDWIN: Mayor Jacobs, are you having to tell families, hey, you can only use so much water per day, I don't know, re-use bathwater? Have you had to get to get to rationing yet?
JACOBS: We have gone to our stage three level, which is no outdoor water usage at all. We are asking people to be very conservative. We have not actually had to put a system of only so much water on people yet.
BALDWIN: My final question to you is just can you just put this into perspective to folks all across the country? Some of us are dealing with this heat. None of us are dealing with this issue, 1 percent of water. Put it in perspective for us. Just what is it like to live like this?
JACOBS: Well, it's certainly not pleasurable, for sure. It's -- we all like our green backyards to go out back and barbecue in and watch the kids play.
And what's there is definitely brown, breaking off as you step. You can't even sit and take a good 15-, 20-minute shower. You take a three-minute shower. No, it's a life change for everybody. But everyone is adjusting and we're going to get through this.
BALDWIN: John Jacobs, enjoy your birthday cake. Make that wish for the rain to come, as I'm sure you will. Mr. Mayor, thank you so much.
(WEATHER UPDATE)
BALDWIN: And you know what? One of our correspondents, I follow him on Twitter. You should too, @EdLavaCNN. Ed Lavandera, based in Dallas, Texas, you know what? He was tweeting. He said that when he woke up this morning at 4:45, it was already a whopping 91 degrees. So what did we do? We sent him out in it to find out just how hot it got both in Texas and Oklahoma today.
Watch.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
ED LAVANDERA, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): In Texas, swarms of grasshoppers are invading dried out grass fields. In Oklahoma, there's barely enough hay to feed herds of cattle.
Across these crusty plains, lakes are evaporating, children hibernate, playgrounds are silent. Triple-digit temperatures have baked Texas and Oklahoma for more than a month. The summer of 2011 is a beat down of epic proportions. If that sounds dramatic, CNN iReporter Suzanne Newkirk knows these are desperate times.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: We are sweltering and we're just asking for some relief here!
LAVANDERA: This week Dallas/Fort Worth could break its all-time high temperature of 113 degrees. In Dallas, the heat has killed 12 people so far. In Oklahoma, there's been 11 heat related deaths.
All but six of Texas's 254 counties are under a burn ban. The heat and dryness continues spawning wildfires like this large blaze in Tulsa, Oklahoma.
In San Angelo, Texas, bacteria that thrives in dry, hot conditions have turned this lake red. Even strong decades-old trees are withering under the scorching heat. Leaves are turning brown.
MIKE FOREST, OKLAHOMA ARBORIST: If it loses all its leaves and goes totally brown, it's done.
LAVANDERA: Texas electricity regulators are issuing emergency warnings urging people to conserve power, but who needs to power an oven when you've got a sizzling car. These Tyler, Texas, TV reporters baked chocolate chip cookies in just over three hours.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: My God, they're pretty hard.
LAVANDERA: Apparently, good enough to eat.
But in miserable times like these, you need to be able call a timeless superhero, the ice cream man. Moustapha Diop says the calls for his truck are urgent.
MOUSTAPHA DIOP, ICE CREAM MAN: They used to day, I may want it, I don't know, in a week or in two weeks. But today and the day before yesterday, they say, I want it today.
BRYAN SHAFFER, TRUCKING COMPANY MANAGER: Much cooler with this.
I'm not ashamed, not at all. When it's this hot, it's not a problem. The more colorful, the better.
LAVANDERA: The manager of this Dallas trucking company says the ice cream man saved the day.
SHAFFER: With the heat the way it's been, our president called and said, maybe we ought to try and do something for some employees. Why don't you all get ahold of an ice cream truck, have them take an hour off and feed them as much ice cream as they want?
LAVANDERA: Ed Lavandera, CNN, Dallas, Texas.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
BALDWIN: Well, that's the guy who's making a little money in this economy, I suppose.
Hard to believe now, but just a couple of months ago, he was the leader of Egypt. Now Hosni Mubarak is on trial on a hospital bed inside this cage. Coming up next, the images coming out of Cairo today, you have to stick around to see, to believe.
Plus, this:
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
RAY LAHOOD, U.S. SECRETARY OF TRANSPORTATION: That's why I'm here. I'm calling them back. Come back to Washington. Leave your vacations just for a couple of hours. Come back, Congress.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BALDWIN: Congress may have averted a disaster with the debt, but they have created another one in the process, the FAA forced into a partial shutdown and thousands of workers now out of a job.
Back in a moment.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
BALDWIN: A bizarre scene in Cairo for the start to the trial of Egypt's former President Hosni Mubarak, lying in this gurney in a cage there in the courtroom.
Mubarak is obviously not in great shape. He's suffering from heart problems. The former Egyptian leader is accused of corruption and ordering the killings of anti-government protesters from back in February, charges, keep in mind, he denies. Mubarak could face the death sentence if convicted.
And our Mohammed Jamjoom is live for me in Cairo at this hour.
And, Mohammed, whew, far, far cry from that very strong, very defiant leader we saw during the revolution months ago. But -- but why the cage for him and also his sons?
MOHAMMED JAMJOOM, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Brooke, it's standing operating procedure here, courtroom protocol for any criminal defendant to be wearing that white uniform and to be in that cage.
It's an iron and mesh cage. And in courtrooms across Egypt, trials, when there are criminal defendants, they go into these cages to be separated from the on onlookers in those courtrooms.
That having been said, however, this was a complete shock to the people that we spoke with today outside of the venue where this trial was being held. The people that came out there today, especially the anti-Mubarak faction, they were looking forward to seeing the former president inside this cage, just couldn't get their minds around the fact that he was actually there.
There had been so much skepticism in the past few days, so many people believing that the trial would be delayed or that Mubarak would not be transferred from his hospital bed, that his defense attorneys would come up with some ploy to keep him from actually going to that courtroom.
To see this person, Hosni Mubarak, who led this country with an iron fist, who ruled as a dictator for 30 years, in that courtroom as a criminal defendant really shocked the people that we spoke with, utter disbelief. And they were riveted to a big screen outside of the courtroom today watching those proceedings and just trying to process the fact that it was actually going on, that this day had arrived -- Brooke.
BALDWIN: Mohammed, could you be more specific? Because I know that there were crowds, as you said, and you were in the thick of things, watching this all unfolding on television there in Egypt.
How was it being received? Beyond shock, were people embracing the images? Were they embarrassed? Did they at all feel sympathy for this man?
JAMJOOM: Passions were really running high. Several times throughout the day outside OF this venue, there were clashes. There were pro-Mubarak factions there, supporters of the former president. There were anti-Mubarak factions there. There were families of people who had been killed during the protests that were there as well.
At several times during the day, rocks were thrown between the different groups. Riot police were deployed. There was a lot of emotion, a lot of intensity. But when you would be focusing back on the trial and when the trial would be on that big screen outside there, people would be riveted to that screen and watching it.
Today, we didn't see protests throughout the city. Tahrir Square, which had been the epicenter of the revolution here, has been cleared out. It was emptied by the military a couple of days ago, no more tent city, no more sit-ins, only security people with their rifles in that roundabout making sure people didn't come out. There was a real fear today by the security apparatus here that spontaneous demonstrations would erupt that could turn violent.
The police, the military didn't want to see that happen. But outside that courtroom today, a lot of emotion. I spoke to families of victims, martyrs of the revolution, they're called, that said that they wanted to see Mubarak killed for this, that they wanted blood for blood. They wanted to avenge the blood of the martyrs.
These were families of these people that had been killed during the revolution, people feeling very intense feelings and reacting to what they were seeing and emotions really running high today outside that courtroom -- Brooke.
BALDWIN: No big surprise considering the emotions that ran high just months ago.
Final question. Procedurally here, I know there are more proceedings, court proceedings, this week. But Mubarak won't actually be back in court until later this month. Why is that?
JAMJOOM: That's right.
Well, today, we saw several defendants, not just Hosni Mubarak and his two sons, also the former interior minister. Now, the former interior minister, his lawyer at one point asked that his case be separated from the case of the rest of the defendants. And apparently that's what happened.
What we're going to see tomorrow is the case against the former interior minister and former associates of his proceed. Then later in the month, the trial of Hosni Mubarak picks up again. It's a procedural matter, the judge wanting to separate these cases, granting the request of the lawyer of the former interior minister here.
A lot of people when that announcement was made, they were disappointed because they wanted to see Mubarak's trial proceed right away. They didn't want any kind of delay. But at the end of the day, they were happy that it wasn't delayed even further. They really want to see this trial proceed as quickly as possible -- Brooke.
BALDWIN: Cages used as standard operating procedure for defendants in Egypt, I had no idea. Mohammed, thank you so much for me in Cairo.
Coming up next, to another courtroom. Jurors in the Warren Jeffs sexual assault trial are hearing disturbing audio recordings. These are recordings of the polygamist leader's alleged sexual encounters with his female followers, one of whom is a minor. But has the evidence been enough to convince them?
Just moments ago, the prosecution rested its case. CNN's Gary Tuchman has been inside the courtroom. He is going to join me next.
Plus, live pictures from the United Nations at this hour, where the Security Council has just issued some harsh words on Syria and the al-Assad regime. We will check in with CNN's Richard Roth next.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
BALDWIN: The child sex abuse trial of polygamist leader Warren Jeffs enters what could be an even more bizarre new phase here. Prosecutors rested their case just about an hour ago. And Jeffs, as you know, he has been acting as his own attorney. He's set to begin presenting his defense any minute now. And a loud Warren Jeffs objected several times yesterday as the court listened to these audiotapes. These are tapes that the prosecutors contend show Jeffs telling these young brides how to please him sexually.
Gary Tuchman has been listening to all of this inside the courtroom there in San Angelo, Texas.
And, Gary, let me just begin with the prosecutors. How did they wrap up their case today?
GARY TUCHMAN, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Right. The most damning evidence was the last evidence they presented. It was an audiotape of Warren Jeffs, this 50-year-old man, allegedly having sex with a girl who was 12 years old and one month.
And that's one of the sexual assault charges against him. It was very dramatic, Brooke, because we listened to this tape. It was hard to hear. But we saw a juror cry. And they had headphones. It was easy for them to hear.
But, for example, Warren Jeffs on the tape, you could hear them breathing heavily. It was very disturbing listening to it. It was very difficult. You heard this little girl voice talking. This is one of his celestial wives he was married to. But Warren Jeffs said, does that feel good? And she goes, very good.
And then at the end, he says, what did you feel? And she goes, I feel fine, thank you. It was pitiful, hard to listen to. And what is most notable, Brooke, is Warren Jeffs doesn't deny that he had sex with children, at least not yet.
What he is saying is this violates his religious freedom. But in the United States of America, no matter your religion are you, no matter whether you're a prophet or you say you're a prophet or whatever, you're not allowed to have sex with children. And that's what it comes down to.
BALDWIN: Gary, just to point out another line, because I know you mentioned the audio recording from today with the 12-year-old, I think yesterday it was 14, another one of these celestial brides. And apparently at one point in the audiotape, you hear him saying, take off your clothes, do it right now. You hear her crying, and then he says, just don't think about the pain. You're going to heaven.
You mentioned a juror today wiping away tears. What was the reaction yesterday and what was the final message from the state today?
TUCHMAN: No, it was very difficult hearing that yesterday.
But I will tell you, even though today's tape was shorter, it was more emotional, because you knew it was this 12-year-old girl. We didn't know exactly the people who were involved. We knew there were children. But you knew -- we have seen pictures of the 12-year-old girl. And this 12-year-old girl has been described by witnesses as having red hair, freckles, and looking like Pippi Longstocking.
And one real important thing, Brooke, our viewers might be wondering and it's a great question, well, why aren't these victims testifying? This is a really important thing. These victims are either too scared to testify, don't want to testify or both because they all are still in the FLDS. They have been subpoenaed, but they haven't shown up to testify. And that's why they're using these audio recordings.
And that was the end of the prosecution case today. The question, in 30 minutes, when court resumes, will Warren Jeffs call any witnesses on his own behalf? He's indicated he might. But we still don't know the answer to that.
BALDWIN: We still don't know yet.
OK, Gary Tuchman, I know you want to get back in that courtroom. Gary, thank you so much for me in Texas.
And who will be in another courtroom tomorrow morning in Orlando? Casey Anthony. We have just now learned -- this is according to the communication director down there -- that she will be back some time between 7:00 and 10:00 in the morning. Remember, that judge said she had to be back between the 72-hour windows. And this is the very tail end of that window. She has to go back to serve her probation sentence for the check fraud case -- so Casey Anthony back in Orlando tomorrow morning.
Now more news just in to us here at CNN. Richard Roth is standing by with a stern warning, some stern words from the United Nations Security Council when it comes to Syria.
Richard, what have they said?
RICHARD ROTH, CNN SENIOR U.N. CORRESPONDENT: The United Nations Security Council is condemning the actions in Syria where hundreds have been killed. It's expressing regret that the Syrian authorities have not lived up to their promises and protected their own people.
The action by the Security Council is the first time really in two months that the Security Council has taken action involving Syria. There's been a bit of a Libya hangover, you could say, because there was so much anger by Russia and China after quick NATO action after the Libya events that they have been gun-shy and they felt the council went too far.
Basically here, you have important Security Council action. Will it change the actions of the Syrian regime? That's unlikely. But this is sometimes how the U.N. and the council works. They get on paper the objections of the world, in a sense. And they also want the secretary-general to report back in seven days with an update.
Many times, when the U.N., if it ever moves against one of its own, it's this gradual process, no matter the death toll on the ground -- Brooke.
BALDWIN: So you're telling me that the two months of silence is because of this Libya hangover and they just didn't want to speak out on Syria until now?
ROTH: It's a big part of it. Some countries such as China, Russia, India, Brazil, South Africa, council members, they felt that the resolution did not call for such robust military action, though the resolution made clear that if Libya didn't cooperate, there would be consequences, where all measures could be used.
There are different views on the world scene about the role of the U.N. Russia and China think it should not be getting involved in -- quote -- "countries' internal affairs," no matter how gruesome or graphic a government is treating its own people. The United States disagrees rather firmly.
It's all how you want to use the U.N. But you do need unanimous support. And even for a statement that was agreed to today, you need all 15 countries. And Lebanon, who is dominated by its neighbor Syria, was very fearful. And they had to be convinced in the end, even though they made a statement afterward, in effect saying we didn't really want this statement.
BALDWIN: But all 15 ultimately agreed.
Richard Roth, thank you so much, news there from the United Nations.
Still ahead here, new details emerging about that crucial moment in the raid that killed Osama bin Laden. We're going to tell you about the split-second decision that changed the course of history.
Also later, have you had heard? Peter Parker's out. Miles Morales is in. We have got all the scoop on the brand-new Spider-Man.
Also coming up next, Alison Kosik standing by with a check of your stocks and perhaps -- perhaps -- we will see -- finally a positive sign? Stay there.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
BALDWIN: Well, let's talk jobs here -- more bad news today on the unemployment front.
Job recovery slowed for the third month in a row. More than 66,000 planned job cuts were announced in July. That is up a whopping 60 percent from June and a 16-month high according to out placement consulting firm Challenger, Grey, and Christmas. Also payroll processing firm ADP says private sector employers only added 114,000 jobs last month, some 30,000 fewer than the month before.
Some disturbing video here surfacing of one of Jaycee Dugard's kidnappers luring another little girl into a van and taping her doing splits. The video comes from the D.A. who put Phillip and Nancy Garrido in prison for a very, very long time. It was shot two years after Dugard was kidnapped. It's part of a scathing report of a parole oversight of Phil Garrido. And during the police interrogation, Nancy Garrido, his wife, admitted making these tapes on several occasion for his husband's viewing pleasure.
Haiti is bracing for a possible direct hit by Emily. The tropical storm brought high winds, heavy rain, and minor flooding to Puerto Rico. And now it is aiming straight for the Dominican Republic and Haiti. More than 500,000 Haitians still living in temporary shelters after losing their homes in the earthquake of January, 2010. Forecasters say Emily could skirt Florida's east coast by the weekend.
And it has been an up-and-down day if you've been watching the numbers for stocks. Fears of yet another recession drove stocks into an early slump, but they have been clawing their way back. Alison Kosik live for me at the New York Stock Exchange. Alison, finally some numbers in the green.
ALISON KOSIK, CNN BUSINESS CORRESPONDENT: Exactly. But we had a little whiplash in between. I mean the Dow swung as low as 166 points and as high as 36 points. Hey, we're in the green, as you said, the Dow up 10 points, the NASDAQ better by 21.
You know what brought stocks back? At least part of the reason, the White House came out and said, it doesn't believe the U.S. economy is in danger of a double-dip recession, though it acknowledges there are challenges to the recovery.
But don't tell investors that. They're still on edge, the Dow still trading below that 12,000 mark. On reasons you can pick your poison of what's worrying them. First of all, Moody's said the U.S. can keep its AAA credit rating for now. But it lowered its outlook on the U.S. debt to negative. In effect, it put the U.S. on probation. So it left the possibility for a downgrade if lawmakers don't keep their promises. That has put investors on edge, not to mention the bad litany of bad economic data we've been getting lately, Brooke.
BALDWIN: I have more questions on that data elsewhere. I'll see you in half an hour, Alison Kosik, thank you.
KOSIK: Thank you.
BALDWIN: And if you thought all the bickering in Washington was over for a while, here's a sobering reminder that it is not. Thousands of federal FAA employees are suddenly out of work. And the government is going to be out a cool $1 billion. Why? Because Democrats and Republicans can't agree on much of anything. Up next, the fight that is leaving the fate of the FAA up in the air.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
BALDWIN: In-depth today, thousands of workers, folks with good jobs that can't go to work. They can't go to work, thus they cannot get paid. Maybe can't even pay their own bills because Congress took off on its long-delayed summer vacation without wrapping up one major piece of business. Have you heard about this? It is a bill to fund the FAA, Federal Aviation Administration. Air traffic controllers still are being paid, thank goodness for that. But not the folks hired on dozens of federally funded airport projects.
The temporarily jobless include tens of thousands of private sector workers, mostly construction workers, and some 4,000 FAA inspectors. And if nothing changes, they're out of work until next month.
Now, here's what happened in Washington. House Republicans passed this funding bill. Senate Democrats will not accept it and then they took off out of town. Democrats, bruised by the debt ceiling battle, they are fuming over this.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SEN. BARBARA BOXER, (D) CALIFORNIA: I hope the American people wake up. This is their modus operandi. Government by crisis that they may get government by hostage taking, government by threat.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BALDWIN: Ted Rowlands is standing by for me at Chicago's O'Hare airport. Let's just start really simply so we're all on the same page here. It is safe to fly today, correct?
TED ROWLANDS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Oh, absolutely. TSA folks are hard at work and getting paid. So any member of the traveling public need not worry about safety. Everything is fine. It's all the lost revenue that the federal government is losing out on that make people upset. And all those construction workers and the 4,000 FAA employees sitting at home today and they're not sure when they'll able to get back to work and earning a paycheck.
BALDWIN: I'm hearing the hustle and bustle behind you, so I know that's a good sign. But I'm wondering whether the folks you talked to there, the folks who are not getting paid, are they blaming Washington politics as usual or are they blaming a certain party in particular?
ROWLANDS: No. They're frustrated with the entire process. Let's face it, this is not something that was not scheduled to elapse. Everybody knew this was on the table. In fact, they really haven't had a permanent plan in place to fund the FAA since 2007. So routinely Congress has sort of band-aided it through whenever it elapsed.
We talked to one employee specifically. He thought, maybe I'll be out of work for a day and they'll figure it out before they go on their leave. He said he was shocked. And he's got two kids in school. He didn't plan for this. And he is really worried object being out of work for a month-plus.
Talk about construction workers, this is their time to work, during the summer months, especially in place in the Midwest like here in Chicago. You lose a month's worth of work you thought you had in the bank, that can make a big difference. A lot of frustration, not the Republicans or the Democrats according to most folks we've talked to. It's Washington and it's their inability to do their job while other people are just trying to do their job. BALDWIN: Trying to do their job, and I've read in some cases, having to put the bill on their own personal credit card hoping that Congress ultimately reimburses them because we need them to do their jobs. Ted Rowlands live for me in Chicago. Ted, thanks so much.
Coming up next, we have a real treat for all of you big comic book fans and maybe even a surprise for everyone else. Have you heard there's a new man in town, a new Spider-man? This guy right here. You notice anything different? Coming up next, Marvel comic's editor- in-chief Axel Alonso joins me to talk about the new teenaged super hero. We'll be right back.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
BALDWIN: Get ready for -- here he is, a new Spider-man. That is what's trending now. This is what he'll look like. This is Miles Morales. The comic book superhero goes multicultural in Marvel Comics' Ultimate Universe series. This is set for all of you comic fans, you know what this parallel universe is where Peter Parker dies, is replaced by this teenager, this is Miles Morales.
This new teenager here, he is half black, half Latino. Morales takes over for Parker who was killed in a recent issue. But we won't find out how Morales ends up with Spider-man's powers until September. You have to stand by for that, keep reading. But Axel Alonso is the editor-in-chief of Marvel Entertainment in New York. Axel, I know this is the first time ever someone other than Peter Parker will actually be Spider-man, let alone a biracial Spidey. How did this idea to bring about Miles Morales from a diverse background even come about at Marvel?
AXEL ALONSO, EDITOR-IN-CHIEF, MARVEL ENTERTAINMENT: We were in the writers' room talking about a story that would culminate in the death of Peter Parker in ultimate comic Spider-man. And the obvious question when you're considering something like this is who's going to inherit the tights?
Marvel's always prided itself on its diversity, reflecting the real world and all its size, shapes and colors. That's when we began to contemplate this notion of a black Spider-man. In this case you're looking at Miles Morales, a nerdy kid from Brooklyn who's half black and half Hispanic.
BALDWIN: So he inherits the tights. Did this whole idea come about before we had the first African-American president? Did President Obama play into this at all or was this prior to him?
ALONSO: Well, certainly that was a factor. Our concrete discussion of a black Spider-man happened in the months before the election when we realized we would very well be looking at the first African-American president. We didn't pull the trigger on the idea then because we didn't have the story. We needed the story. And as we were sculpting the death of the Spider-man story, we knew we were ready.
BALDWIN: Did you get any pushback, any pushback from either Marvel within the corporation or even from avid comic book readers, who I know some of them are not too thrilled that peter parker will no longer be spider-man. But in terms of a biracial new Spidey here, did you get pushback?
ALONSO: Of course, our fans are extremely passionate. If they don't like it, we hear that in a minute. So we heard that.
But the response has been overwhelmingly positive, meaningful. I've had any number of people write and e-mail me saying they're going to be going to go comic store today to pick up their first Spider-man comic book. I myself am biracial.
BALDWIN: I read about this huge internet campaign, axel, last year about this African-American actor and writer, Donald Glover, to play Spider-man in the last movie. He was not cast, but did that serve at all as a catalyst for change here?
ALONSO: The writer of ultimate comic Spider-man has had correspondence with Donald Glover. I believe Donald Glover is influential in the look of our Miles Morales character.
BALDWIN: We know Morales is in this parallel universe, a lot of fans want to know will he have a love interest like Mary Jane to Peter Parker?
ALONSO: I wouldn't be surprised. Morales' parents are still alive and he will interact with them in the book. And he'll interact with a number of characters who were part of peter parker's life. But --
BALDWIN: I don't know if this is Miles Morales' Green Goblin. Tell us about the villains that spider-man will face?
ALONSO: Oh, yes, Miles will square off against the rogues gallery that Peter did, and there will be some new ones as well. I can't give away too much. Fans would kill me.
BALDWIN: OK. I'm a reporter, I have to ask these questions.
(LAUGHTER)
Let me ask you thought, because we know Spider-man is so, so popular, so many movies, Spidey movies. Me team, we're trying to help you out and help cast the next movie. Who would play a Miles Morales, who would play spider-man? Do we have the tweet? My executive producer, do you know who Jesse Williams is? He's a biracial actor on "Grey's Anatomy." She actually tweeted him.
ALONSO: I don't.
BALDWIN: Here he is. This is Jesse Williams. If you could think of anyone right now to cast is Miles Morales, who would be your dream pick?
ALONSO: I'd have to say out of all due respect to Brian Bendas, that Donald Glover has the inside track at this point. But I don't make those decisions.
BALDWIN: Axel Alonso, as you said, the comic book here out on stands. People are already uploading it on their iPads. Axel, thank you so much for the latest and greatest on Spidey.
ALONSO: Thank you.
BALDWIN: And straight ahead, riveting new details on the raid that killed Osama bin Laden.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
NICHOLAS SCHMIDLE, WRITER, "THE NEW YORKER": It was all split- second, shoots him one in the chest and once above the left eye. Bin Laden falls down. He steps up and says on the radio "For god and country, Geronimo, Geronimo, Geronimo."
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BALDWIN: What a brand-new report is revealing, including why a U.S. Navy SEAL grabbed bin Laden's wives in a bear hug. Stay with us.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
BALDWIN: Osama bin Laden has been dead for three months now, and today as we are learning more new details about the daring raid that killed him. CNN's Brian Todd has that.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
BRIAN TODD, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Less than 18 minutes into the 38- minute raid came the crucial moment. Navy Seals had fought their way through Osama bin Laden's compound, killed his courier, the courier's brother, and bin Laden's son.
As a small team of Seals reached the third floor one of them turned to his right.
SCHMIDLE: He sees this tall individual poking his head through the door.
TODD: The Seal says Nicholas Schmidle instantly sensed that was bin Laden. Schmidle's article in "New Yorker" magazine present riveting new details of the bin Laden raid. He bases his reporting on sourced conversations with special operation officers who had intimate knowledge of the raid. Schmidle says he did not speak directly with Seals who carried out the mission. The Seals identities are classified.
Some of this detail had already been reported by CNN. Schmidle writes that when the Seals rushed down the hall and into that room, two of bin Laden's wives had placed themselves between the Seals and bin Laden. Newly reported by Schmidle, an account of how the first Seal into the room had to act in a split second when he encountered bin Laden's youngest wife, Amal. SCHMIDLE: Amal is yelling hysterically and begins to approach the first Seal. And the concern is that they're wearing suicide explosive vests. And so he shoots them all once in the calf to disable here, and then proceeds to grab Amal and the other woman wrap them in a bear hug, and turn his back to the Seals and pushes them off to the side. He holds them so if they explode and they blow up, he'll soak up the impact of that blast.
TODD (on camera): He knows he'll die in the process.
SCHMIDLE: Pretty much.
TODD (voice-over): There were no suicide vests on the women. Then a second s Seal, moved into the room, raised his M4 rifle, trained an infrared laser on Osama bin Laden's chest.
(on camera): Is there anything said at that moment?
SCHMIDLE: There's nothing said. I asked and asked and asked. I wondered if there was a dirty Harry moment, and it was one second. Shot bin Laden in the chest and shoots him once above the left eye and bin Laden falls down and he steps up and says on radio "For god and country, Geronimo, Geronimo, Geronimo."
TODD: At that moment back at the White House Schmidle writes President Obama said to no one in particular, "We got him." Schmidle says a few days later when the president met with the team at Fort Campbell, Kentucky, he spoke with the Seals and thanked them, but he writes that President Obama never asked which Seal actually fired the kill shot and the Seals never volunteered that information.
Brian Todd, CNN Washington.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
BALDWIN: Brian Todd, thank you.
Coming up that top of the hour, an interview you do not want to miss. Why? Because I'll be speaking with the woman who has unleashed this possible bombshell in a 40-year-old mystery. She says she knows the identity of the infamous hijacker D.B. Cooper, how? Because she says he was her uncle.
But coming up before her, Wolf Blitzer. He's got all the day's big political news in your CNN Political Ticker. We will be right back.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
BALDWIN: OK, real quickly before I get to Wolf Blitzer, I just want to say thank you to all of you who tweet me during the show. A lot of you tweeting about interview I just did with the editor in chief with Marvel comics with regard to Spidey. So go to my blog, we'll pop that interview up. A lot of you still tweeting me about Willie Nelson yesterday. Just go to CNN.com/Brooke. We're all over that. And now the moment you wait for, I know, Wolf Blitzer with our CNN = Politics update here. Wolf, let's begin with a big day for the president tomorrow, the big 50.
WOLF BLITZER, CNN HOST, "THE SITUATION ROOM": He is going to be 50 years old. You really can see he's aged over the past two-and-a- half, three years as president of the United States. Have you seen, Brooke, the pictures of him three years ago and the pictures of him now?
BALDWIN: I have. He's graying.
BALDWIN: A lot more gray. He's under a lot of pressure and working hard, and the stress, I've covered a lot of presidents, and it really has an impact. They're working day and night. You're working really hard and you've got a lot of responsibility and a lot of authority that you have to deal with and it has an impact.
So he will celebrate his 50th birthday where else but in Chicago tonight with his friends. But a lot of political fund-raising going on. Two separate events, a big one for about 1,500 people who will pay a minimum of $50. And a much smaller dinner, that's the maximum fundraising $35,800 a ticket for one dinner. Some of it goes to his campaign and some of it goes to the Democratic Party. So the president is going to be doing that in between everything else he's doing.
He's very deep, as you know, in getting himself reelected. They announced later in August that he'll go on a bus trip across the Midwest, so that will be a lot of fun covering that for the reporters who will be on the bus with him.
Let's talk about some other political nuggets while I have you. The Republican Party chairman Reince Priebus says Florida is going to be punished if, if they decide to move up their primary date. You know, all these states, they want to be in the top few to have a real impact on who the Republican presidential nominee is going to be. So he was down in Tampa today, that's where the Republican convention is going to take place next year, and he said "I can appreciate and respect the viewpoints of people here in Florida who want to move their calendar date, but doesn't change my responsibility to enforce the rules," which is you lose half your delegates to the convention if they move up their date. That's a pretty rough rule. Iowa goes first, New Hampshire, South Carolina, Michigan, they have a real schedule. Florida wants to move up. We'll see what happens on that.
Finally, I'm going to be talking in "THE SITUATION ROOM" with Republican Senator Orrin Hatch of Utah. As you know, yesterday there was a last-minute compromise deal that two senators Jay Rockefeller, Democrat of West Virginia, Kay Bailey Hutchinson, a Republican of Texas, they worked out to get over this FAA issue, this furloughing of FAA workers and potential setback of tens of thousands of workers. The U.S. government could lose $1 billion over the next five weeks. Taxpayers could lose because of this fight over the FAA.
He blocked that compromise and we'll talk to him and ask him why. A lot of people outraged that this happened. It shows, underscores one of the problems with Congress. So, we'll get into that and a lot more in "THE SITUATION ROOM."
BALDWIN: The president said today that is $200 million in losses every week.
BLITZER: Every week and it's five weeks. They've gone into recess until September 7th. So that's five weeks.
BALDWIN: That's a lot of money. A lot of money, Wolf Blitzer.
BLITZER: As they used to say, $1 billion.
(LAUGHTER)
