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Inside the Christine O'Donnell Campaign; Protests Amid Ahmadinejad's U.N. Visit; View From the Front Lines; Homeschooling Gaining Momentum; CNN Equal Politics Update; What's Hot

Aired September 21, 2010 - 12:00   ET

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

BROOKE BALDWIN, CNN ANCHOR: Hi, everyone. I'm Brooke Baldwin, in for Tony Harris today.

Top of this hour in the CNN NEWSROOM, where anything can happen, here's some of the people behind today's top stories.

First, the leader of Iran, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, makes an appearance before the U.N. What have protesters planned for his big speech later this week?

And when there isn't much hope, some patients and their families turn to doctor detectives.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I think that she has a disorder that will threaten her life, is essentially the issue here. We're sort of racing against time.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BALDWIN: You're online right now. Guess what? So are we. Josh is following "What's Hot."

Hey, Josh.

JOSH LEVS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hey there, Brooke.

A major security bug hit Twitter this morning, causing potentially dangerous consent to appear on computer screens all over the world. We have details for you at CNN.com.

BALDWIN: All right, Josh Levs. Thank you.

Let's get started with our lead story.

Up first this hour, giving the Tea Party's new superstar, new darling a chance to clear the air. Questions mounting this morning about the way Christine O'Donnell, Republican senatorial candidate of Delaware, spent some of her campaign cash.

Here's the deal. A complaint was filed with the Federal Election Commission and also with the D.A.'s office in Delaware over a handful of checks written in 2009 after her run in 2008 for Senate was over.

Now, Christine O'Donnell was speaking at a campaign forum in Delaware just last night. Here she was, and our very own correspondent Gary Tuchman, he went right up to the candidate, gave her a chance to respond to these questions over her finances. Here is her response.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

CHRISTINE O'DONNELL (R), DELAWARE U.S. SENATORIAL CANDIDATE: We have been ethical. We have not -- I personally have not misused the campaign funds. We have our FEC lawyer, a great attorney, answering those charges if it ever goes anywhere.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BALDWIN: Now, let me go on. The O'Donnell camp is calling these accusation, these allegations "frivolous." But more records are coming out like another check. Here's a picture of it.

This is a check. It was written back in March of 2009. You can see in the highlighted portion, it's for $750. It was written to a landlord, who, by the way, a former boyfriend of O'Donnell's.

Now, Gary Tuchman caught up with the candidate later for a response to this check. Here's what happened.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

GARY TUCHMAN, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Ms. O'Donnell, I'm asking one question you promised you'd answer.

O'DONNELL: I did answer it.

TUCHMAN: No, about the rentals last year. Why were you paying rent with your campaign money?

O'DONNELL: Sorry. Not tonight. Not happening.

TUCHMAN: Well, that was the one question I had.

O'DONNELL: I answered it.

TUCHMAN: No, you didn't answer it.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BALDWIN: Gary Tuchman, he tried.

It is not just finances though that Christine O'Donnell is dodging during her spectacular rise here in politics.

Here's CNN's Brian Todd in Wilmington, Delaware, with more.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE) BRIAN TODD, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Christine O'Donnell and her tightly-knit staff scrambling to show they're ready for prime time in Delaware and beyond, this nondescript townhouse outside Wilmington not the place you would expect to find a hot campaign that's already beaten one political machine and is taking on another.

(on camera): Inside the O'Donnell campaign headquarters now. Looks like a small operation right now, but it's getting booted up very fast. About eight people are inside here right now. We're told that some of them not only work here, but live here. About five people live in this townhouse as well.

(voice-over): It's here that we're looking for answers to some questions about O'Donnell's finances and her personal past, like this comment in 1999 on Bill Maher's old show "Politically Incorrect."

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP, "POLITICALLY INCORRECT")

O'DONNELL: I dabbled into witchcraft.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

TODD: O'Donnell is not here to answer our questions about that. Inside this cramped living room, campaign officials say that episode was a moment of soul-searching in her youth. The campaign provides us this clip of her defense at a public event Sunday.

O'DONNELL: I was in high school. How many of you didn't hang out with questionable folks in high school? But, no, there's been no witchcraft since.

TODD: But O'Donnell's team also has serious questions to answer about her finances. Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington, a campaign watchdog group, wants federal and state officials to look into one persistent accusation.

MELANIE SLOAN, EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR, CITIZENS FOR RESPONSIBILITY AND ETHICS IN WASHINGTON: What we're most concerned about is that Ms. O'Donnell appears to have committed numerous crimes by misusing her campaign funds for personal use.

TODD: A charge leveled by her opponents and a past official of one of her campaigns.

Slicker, more established operations would have issued a statement or had their candidate out with prepared talking points. This campaign is scrambling to bring on more staff, including people to handle press questions.

Campaign manager Matt Moran is at first reluctant to go on camera, but then agrees.

(on camera): To the broader charges from several different quarters that she's misused campaign money for her own personal expenses, what is your response? MATT MORAN, O'DONNELL CAMPAIGN MANAGER: Well, several different quarters would probably qualify as a lot of the establishment. And then for the supposedly bipartisan organizations that are -- have brought forth a suit, you know, I am very confident that they will be dismissed as frivolous. And for the charges that need to be articulated fully, we have some lawyers that will be looking at that and addressing those concerns.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BALDWIN: And now we have Brian joining me live from Wilmington.

Brian, it was an interesting look inside that townhouse/campaign/headquarters/living arrangement. Let me talk specifically about these allegations with regard to misusing some of these campaign funds.

I mean, are these allegations throwing any water on her momentum, or are they pretty confident?

TODD: They're very confident right now, but the fact remains, Brooke, that she hasn't given specific answers, at least in public, to Gary Tuchman or myself in that event that you mentioned earlier. And she hasn't just really come out and taken on these accusations head-on yet.

Now, we hope to get that later. We're actually going to speak to her attorney who's looking into this a little later today. But it has not taken away from her momentum.

Her campaign has raised more than $2 million in just one week since she won that primary. So they're heading full steam ahead.

They hired a bunch of people yesterday, we were told, a scheduler, a pollster, some advance people. So they're hiring people, they're ramping up, and they're raising a lot of money. They seem to be charging full steam ahead and not letting themselves get too bothered by this at this point.

BALDWIN: Brian Todd, we appreciate it, from Wilmington, Delaware. Thank you.

Also, happening now at U.N. headquarters in New York, government leaders and heads of state are discussing these millennium goals set a decade ago to fight poverty, fight hunger and disease. Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad is among those world leaders addressing today's session. Behind the scenes, though, Iran's human rights record and controversial nuclear program are likely being discussed.

Protesters, by the way, throngs of protesters, planning several demonstrations against this hard-line leader. The Iranian president really on this PR offensive, if you will, in New York right now. And CNN Foreign Affairs Correspondent Jill Dougherty more on his highly controversial visit.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE) JILL DOUGHERTY, CNN FOREIGN AFFAIRS CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Anti-Ahmadinejad demonstrations on a roll on the streets of New York. The Iranian president is here for the U.N. General Assembly. Outside his hotel, his critics want the management to kick him out of his room.

ALI ZIAEI, IRANIAN STUDENT: We don't believe in peace with the Iranian government.

DOUGHERTY: Four blocks away, the No to Ahmadinejad Committee says Iranians ought to kick him out of office.

ZIAEI: We've seen over the past year that people come to the streets and demand these changes, and all they faced was execution.

DOUGHERTY (on-camera): Organizers are planning a demonstration against President Ahmadinejad. It's going to be taking place on Thursday at the United Nations just about a block down from here. And it would be taking place at the very time that President Ahmadinejad addresses the United Nations General Assembly. Organizers say they hope to bring 20,000 people into the streets.

(voice-over): This week in New York, Ahmadinejad is on a PR offensive, addressing a session on tackling world poverty, giving interviews, trying to prove he's not the monster his critics make him out to be. Telling ABC News that after he helped free American hiker Sarah Shourd, there should be some payback from President Obama.

PRES. MAHMOUD AHMADINEJAD, IRAN (through translator): So, I believe that it would not be misplaced to ask that the U.S. government should make a humanitarian gesture to release the Iranians who were illegally arrested.

DOUGHERTY: The U.S. says those cases have nothing to do with each other. For the Obama administration, the real showdown here is over Iran's nuclear program. President Obama told a CNBC town hall he's hoping tough sanctions will work before Israel takes matters into its own hands.

BARACK OBAMA, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: We don't think that a war between Israel and Iran or military options would be the ideal way to solve this problem, but we are keeping all our options on the table.

DOUGHERTY: But between hanging tough on nukes and his brutal crackdown on the opposition since last year's election, Ahmadinejad has few friends left at home or abroad.

TRITI PARSI, NATIONAL IRANIAN AMERICAN COUNCIL: Well, he certainly has an increasingly small circle of people that he, himself, seems to trusts and that are willing to support him.

DOUGHERTY: But he can count on some world leaders here this week who are willing to hear him out, such as Venezuela's Hugo Chavez and the leaders of Turkey and Brazil, two growing powers trying to mediate his standoff with the West. (END VIDEOTAPE)

BALDWIN: And Jill Dougherty now joining me from our New York newsroom.

Jill, I still can't wrap my head around the figure, 20,000 protesters on Thursday. That's a huge piece of the story. Right?

The other piece, though, is the fact that Mahmoud Ahmadinejad is here, if we will, on home turf for us in the United States. Do we know if he has any plans to meet with any of our U.S. leaders?

DOUGHERTY: That's probably not on the table, Brooke. But you've got a lot of balls in the air right now, because the relationship is, as we know, pretty bad at this point. But do you have hints that perhaps Ahmadinejad wants an improving relationship. He said as much. He said that they are willing to talk in some fashion.

He did intervene to help get Sarah Shourd, the hiker, released. Granted, who knows what's going to happen with the other two hikers. But there are these hints that he wants a better relationship.

And, you know, Brooke, every time that he comes here -- and he's been here many times -- everyone kind of is waiting for the other shoe to drop. Will he say something very, very critical, you know, over the line about the United States?

We had a statement this morning that was more mild than you might have expected on these millennium development goals on economic development and social development in the world. And it was pretty moderate, other than saying that, you know, capitalism is dead, capitalism has destroyed the world economy and we need a new system.

That's par for the course, from what we have heard from him, but it was more moderate. So we're going to look on Thursday to see what he says in a bigger speech, and that is where it could be, in a sense, a test. Would he moderate his comments even as people on the streets are bringing out, you know, full force, as many people as they can to criticize him, not only on nuclear issues, but on human rights as well?

BALDWIN: We know in the past people have gotten right up out of their chairs and walked out of the U.N. as Mahmoud Ahmadinejad has spoken. We will wait, we will watch, as you will, on Thursday to see what he says and how people respond.

Jill Dougherty, thank you for that.

BALDWIN: Moving on here, a tragic day for U.S. forces in Afghanistan and the deadliest year for coalition forces since Operation Enduring Freedom was launched.

First, though, we're going to have our "Random Moment" for you in 90 seconds.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK) BALDWIN: Grim news from Afghanistan today. We've heard about this military helicopter. It's gone down. Nine U.S. service members have been killed.

Take a look at the map with me. This happened in the southern part of Afghanistan where coalition and Afghan troops have been battling the Taliban for nine years. This year, by the way, the deadliest so far for coalition troops -- 526 reported killed, 350 of them American.

And coalition commanders say part of the reason is more boots on the ground. As combat troops pull out of Iraq, more U.S. troops have been going into Afghanistan.

Our very own Pentagon correspondent Chris Lawrence was there just a couple of months ago, really getting a taste of what troops are facing overseas. He is now back with us at the Pentagon.

Chris, I think that was April -- correct me if I'm wrong -- April, when you were over there.

CHRIS LAWRENCE, CNN PENTAGON CORRESPONDENT: Yes.

BALDWIN: And I'm just curious, given the news of this helicopter crash, and so much else coming out of Afghanistan -- you keep in touch with the troops who you met when you were over there -- how is morale today compared to what it was in April?

LAWRENCE: Well, you know, Brooke, there's this one young Marine. I actually met him back in December at Camp Lejeune. His unit was going to be one of the first to go to Afghanistan as part of President Obama's surge.

Then, a few months later, just by coincidence, I ended up embedding with his unit at a really remote base down there in Helmand. Spent a couple weeks there living together, eating together, going out on patrols with these guys. And I remember when we were with him in April, every day those units would go out.

They were getting hit by the IEDs. No big injuries. A lot of the MRAPs were taking the brunt of it. But then I saw him just about a month ago here at the pentagon. He was part of the Wounded Warrior Tour.

He had lost his leg. And we have just been e-mailing back and forth. And he told me, "I know you had some questions about what happened to me." He had gone into a building. He was the second guy in. The bomb blew up, and he said he almost blacked out. And he looked down and he said, "I knew my leg was gone."

But it just really kind of reinforced -- you know, even though you hear about these nine deaths, even sometimes here in the Pentagon you get glazed over with some of the numbers. But when you start to put faces and families to it, it really brings it home -- Brooke.

BALDWIN: It brings it home. I was at Walter Reed -- I think it was about last month -- and I met a young man who lost both of his legs in an IED. And you're right, I think a lot of people, it's tough to hear these stories of these young people coming back, if they are coming back.

LAWRENCE: Exactly.

BALDWIN: And yet, at the same time, Chris, I saw this recent CNN poll which gives a different perspective. Americans reached an all- time high with unpopularity with the war in Afghanistan. So it's like you have this juxtaposition of men and women have a duty to perform overseas, yet many people here at home sort of nonplused with what's happening over there.

LAWRENCE: That's right. And I think there is definitely a disconnect between the American people's view of Afghanistan and the actual troops on the ground.

You know, official views may be one thing. There's a lot of problems, you know, folks have at the official level with the things that are happening in Afghanistan. A lot of military officials are dissatisfied with, say, the progress in President Karzai's regime and sort of, you know, negotiating with the Taliban, or taking steps to reform corruption within their government.

But when you talk to the actual troops on the ground, the sergeants, the captains, the men and women who are really doing the bulk of the fighting, they still are very upbeat about their mission. And again, you've got to remember, they have each got specific, smaller missions.

They're not looking big picture, how is the entire country doing? They're looking at, are we making a change in this small area where we are? And I think for the most part, even when you're seeing higher levels of violence, you still see the troops very committed to what they're doing there.

BALDWIN: Still, so tough to hear the numbers, especially these nine dead from this helicopter crash.

Chris Lawrence, I remember your reporting from Afghanistan. It was excellent. Thanks for talking to me today about all of this. Appreciate it.

LAWRENCE: Thanks, Brooke.

(NEWSBREAK)

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BALDWIN: Homeschooling, yes, gaining momentum across the country, and for several reasons.

Our Carol Costello spoke with some families changing the way their kids are learning.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE) UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Isabelle (ph), you're next. What card do you need?

CAROL COSTELLO, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): It's not your normal classroom.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: OK.

COSTELLO: And if you ask these parents, that's a good thing.

PASCHA FRANKLIN, HOMESCHOOLING PARENT: When your kids are saying I want to do this, and it's some kind of lesson, you smile. Because you're like, yes, they like learning.

COSTELLO: Pascha Franklin of Stillwater, Oklahoma is homeschooling her kids and they love it.

(on camera): Do you like being taught by your mom?

PARKER FRANKLIN, HOMESCHOOLING STUDENT: Yes.

COSTELLO: Why?

PARKER FRANKLIN: Because I get to be with my mommy.

COSTELLO: How does your mom make it fun to learn?

PARKER FRANKLIN: She does activities. Cool activities.

COSTELLO (voice-over): And it seems Parker is not alone. According to the U.S. Department of Education, 1.5 million kids are taught by mom and dad. That's up 74 percent since 1999.

(on camera): What do you think the biggest misconception people have of homeschoolers?

JESSICA HANNON, HOMESCHOOLING PARENT: Besides being weird and wearing your hair in buns and wearing denim jumpers? We're just like everybody else. We're not super moms. You know, it's a decision just like public school/private school.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Now what can you tell me about --

COSTELLO (voice-over): A lingering misconception is that the main reason most parents decide to home school is for religious reasons. That's not quite true anymore. Thirty-six percent of parents do home school primarily to teach their kids religious and moral values, but 38 percent home school because they don't like the school environment or the way teachers teach.

ALEX SOBRAL, HOMESCHOOLING PARENT: I mean, you have the flexibility.

COSTELLO: Just ask the Sobrals. They're homeschooling five children. A. SOBRAL: Just you're taught that, you know, you have to go to, you know, a, b, and, c, and if you're not excelling here, you must have something wrong with you.

COURTENAY SOBRAL, HOMESCHOOLING PARENT: What we've learned now is it's very unnatural putting 20 children in a room learning with one teacher on the same schedule, the exact same material in the same way is actually quite unnatural.

COSTELLO: What is natural for these parents, homeschooling communities, in effect, shadow schools where their kids can socialize and parents can share learning techniques.

HANNON: There's more resources available today. You don't have to be a scholar, you know, to teach your children. There's tons or resources out there to help you.

COSTELLO: Like non-profit groups that provide an overall curriculum, for-profit groups that provide weekly lesson plans for groups of parents. Still, that doesn't mean it's a cinch.

Laura Brodie wrote "Love in the Time of Homeschooling" after homeschooling her daughter for one year.

LAURA BRODIE, AUTHOR, "LOVE IN A TIME OF HOMESCHOOLING": We had a very good experience, a lot of successes but also a lot of fights and power struggles and I didn't find homeschooling books anywhere that were talking about that. They talked about the advantages of homeschooling, but not so much about the bad days.

COSTELLO: Or the fact homeschooling is a 24/7 job.

COURTNEY SOBRAL, HOMESCHOOLING PATIENT: Everything is educational and it's 365 days a year. And of course we take breaks, we have fun, we do watch cartoons. We don't just have a time where we turn learning on and learning off.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Do we know where we get volcanic ash?

COSTELLO: But for a growing number of families, home schooling is the best way to raise, as these parents would say well-rounded kids who will not become just smart adults, but good people.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

COSTELLO: Brodie is also concerned that many states don't require parents to have any training to teach their children, although parents who home school wouldn't exactly be happy about the government interfering with the way they're raising and teaching their children -- Brooke.

BALDWIN: Hmm. Carol Costello, thank you.

You know all of that talk, back and forth on TV what about this double-dip recession? Well, apparently now we can forget about it. It can't happen now. We'll explain when we look at the finer points of economic lingo. That's coming up.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BALDWIN: Let's talk economics. Actually, before we do, let me just point out you can always get the greatest, best highlights and headlines on CNNmoney.com when it comes to any kind of business news. And if I can squeeze in over here, just quickly, the Dow obviously down 14 points. Sitting at about 10,739. Falling flat a little today because of the big Fed announcement coming this afternoon.

Also, though, now you know. Right? Breaking news yesterday. You heard the great recession officially ended 15 months ago, though many American families are thinking, it doesn't feel like we're out of a recession. Now everyone wants to know whether the economy will keep growing.

CNNmoney.com's Paul LaMonica is live in New York and, Paul, let's get straight to the poll. You have the lovely pie chart to your left. You with CNNmoney.com posed this question to these 31 economists asking essentially will the U.S. slip back into a recession and their answer was -- what?

PAUL LAMONICA, CNNMONEY.COM: Their answer, it's not likely. That's the good news. The bad news is that they think the chances of it are still higher now than it was just six months ago. The average estimate from the economists we surveyed about 25 percent chance that the economy will slip into another recession. It was only a 15 percent chance six months ago. So, that's obviously a bit disturbing.

BALDWIN: So, let me just make sure I'm hearing you right. You're saying, not likely. The majority of the pie, they're saying not likely we'll hit another recession. But if we do, it's a small chance that we do. Is that what I'm hearing?

LAMONICA: Yes. Basically, most economists still don't think that the economy will slip into a recession again. However, the economists are saying that they think there's a greater chance now than they had thought just a few months ago. So, even though they still don't rule it as the most likely outcome, it's more possible now than a few months ago, just because of all the deterioration we've had in the economy. We've had slowing growth over the past few months, continued concerns about the job market struggling, housing woes. A lot of problems that still face many consumers in the U.S.

BALDWIN: And Paul, what about the talk, as we've sort of pontificating, it seems, for months, right, about this possibility of this double-dip recession. Now, I read the NVER report yesterday. It sounds like there cannot be a double dip. If there's another recession it's a separate entity.

But it's like if you look at this lingo and you think, people at home are like, I don't care if it's a double dip or another recession. Bottom line, I'm not feeling it.

LAMONICA: Yes, that's a fantastic point. You have to cut through the econo-babble and jargon that many academics will toss out there. For many people, it's still a recession. The economy is in very rough shape by any measure that you would look at it.

So, even though a group of economists say that the recession technically ended in June of last year, and then if there's another recession, it's not a double dip, it's a new recession -- many people still think it is a recession, and that's what matters most. We have unemployment as high as it is, many people stuck in houses they can't sell, that feels like a recession, even if you don't want to call it that.

BALDWIN: At least some of the hope, as you were mentioning, some hope coming in some positive home numbers.

We're out of time. So, I'm going to tease the viewer and say hop on to CNNmoney.com, read the article. Some ositive news in this slogging, sluggish recovery.

Paul LaMonica, we appreciate it. Thank you.

Medicine's own A Team. Our Dr. Sanjay gupta interviews to you an elite team of doctors, researchers, specialists. Their mission? To pick up the file after every other person has tried and failed.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BALDWIN: A team of the most brilliant minds in medicine. Few actually know about the job they do or where they work. You have to go inside this medical facility built to solve the nation's most mysterious illnesses. And who went there? Of course, Dr. Sanjay Gupta. He introduces us to a unique group of doctor detectives.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

DR. SANJAY GUPTA, CNN CHIEF MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Bethesda, Maryland. Deep inside the sprawling NIH complex, Dr. William Gahl leads an elite team of doctors, specialists and researchers. They are the best in the world.

Together, they focus their vast expertise to try to save patients' lives. They are detectives in search of clues to solve mysteries no other doctors could solve.

(on camera): You're talking about patients who have been seen by some of the best in the country here. They're very good clinicians and diagnostic doctors everywhere. So you're taking the hardest of the most challenging cases of all?

DR. WILLIAM GAHL, DIRECTOR, NIH UNDIAGNOSED DISEASES PROGRAM: We expect a failure. We expect a high failure rate. We expect a success rate of perhaps 10, 15 percent or so.

GUPTA (voice-over): But 10 or 15 percent is a bright ray of hope for some patients.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: How much more you can do physically really speaks volumes?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Yes.

GUPTA: Sally Massagee (ph) had all but given up. Take a look at her back. It was as if muscle mass was consuming her body. Sally was transforming into the "Incredible Hulk".

(on camera): So this is -- this is Sally's MRI of the brain. It's pretty incredible.

GAHL: Even the muscles that govern the movements of the eye, which are really small muscles, are huge. The neuro-radiologist saw this and sort of went wild over this. He said, "Look at the size of those. They're three or four times bigger.

GUPTA: They had probably really truly never seen anything quite like this?

GAHL: Right. Because there's no way to make these muscles big by, like, moving your eyes a lot. You know, it's not like lifting weights. So why would they be that big?

GUPTA (voice-over): It was a mystery. No doctors, no specialists, no one could diagnose what was happening to Sally, which is why she was selected to come here. It's called "The UDP", the Undiagnosed Diseases Program. It's a medical mystery ward.

Kylie McPeak (ph) is 6. She was also selected to come to the UDP.

G. MCPEAK: She knows she's different, but it doesn't seem to faze her. She kind of seems like she's -- just like a normal kid.

GUPTA: How serious is Kylie (ph)?

GAHL: Well, she's I would say, real serious. I think that she has a disorder that will threaten her life. It's essentially the issue here -- we're sort of racing against time.

GUPTA: The Undiagnosed Diseases Program was launched only two years ago at NIH. It accepts only the rarest of medical cases. And it's not only about saving lives. Here, they are also hoping to discover new diseases and create new science.

GAHL: It's really sort of the inspiration that we all have as clinical researchers.

GUPTA: In two years, the UDP has had more than 3,000 inquiries. More than 1,000 applications actually made it to Dr. Gahl's desk.

GAHL: This is an acceptance letter.

GUPTA: But UDP has accepted only a little over 300 patients.

(on camera): You have to tell a lot of people "no?"

GAHL: We do, yes.

GUPTA: It seems like that would be hard?

GAHL: It is hard. It's very hard. I have to take some solace in the fact that even though we're turning down a lot of people we're still helping a chosen few.

GUPTA: The few, with mysterious conditions no one can diagnose. Kylie Dawn McPeak (ph) was born in May of 2004; the picture of a perfect baby girl. She developed like a precocious healthy toddler.

STEVEN MCPEAK, FATHER OF KYLIE: She was above average on everything. I mean, she could say her ABC's when she was like 18 months old.

GUPTA: And then at 3 and a half she was diagnosed with Type One Diabetes. Shortly after that, her mom and dad, Gina and Steven, noticed something wasn't right. It began with a voice tremor.

KYLIE MCPEAK, PATIENT: I have to eat. I have to do shots.

GUPTA: Then Kylie had a seizure and by the time she turned 4, her face started to twitch.

(on camera): The first day you sort of realized that there was something that was not right with her, because she was a precocious child, just zooming past all the milestones, everything. Because you're a parent now, and you're trying to figure out, is this just me being overly sensitive?

GINA MCPEAK, KYLIE'S MOTHER: I was told that. I was being -- I was looking for things that weren't there. It's just really hard. I don't know.

STEVE MCPEAK, KYLIE'S FATHER: We actually spent a lot of time videotaping her when we saw the little things that started happening, because no one believed us.

G. MCPEAK: Do you know when your birthday is?

K. MCPEAK: May 5th.

G. MCPEAK: Good girl.

GUPTA: The twitching soon spread down the entire right side of her body. Her head began to tilt to the right, eating became a struggle. By then, all of the doctors agreed something was wrong, but what was it? The little girl was deteriorating.

G. MCPEAK: At this point I didn't know if I should plan for her to go to birthday or should I plan a funeral?

GUPTA: Sally Massagee's mystery did not begin until later in life. She was in her late 40s when her muscles began growing out of control.

(on camera): Do you remember seeing her chart for the first time? GAHL: Yes, I do. This was referred by an endocrinologist at Duke. And the endocrinologist said, "In my 38 years, I've never seen a case like this." He said something like that.

OK. That's sort of impressive. What does that mean? Well, when you see a picture, then, that's pretty impressive.

GUPTA: Like all the patients selected for the "Undiagnosed Diseases Program", Sally and her husband and Kylie and her mom and dad, would come to NIH for a week of complex and exhaustive tests.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: She's had a spinal tap before?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Yes.

GUPTA: Where a medical strike force was setting out to solve a mystery and to save their lives.

BUDDY MASSAGEE, HUSBAND OF SALLY: I went in there in hopes of them finding an answer.

S. MCPEAK: This is our last hope, but at the same time it's -- we finally made it to the people that are going to find out what's wrong.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BALDWIN: Wow. And that is, only, obviously, part of the story. You have to watch the second part. That is tonight. Tune in to "A.C. 360," right here, CNN, 9:00 p.m. Eastern, 6:00 Pacific, for Dr. Gupta's report.

The Obama factor. We'll examine the president's impact on the upcoming midterm elections. That and more and your "CNN Equals Politics" update.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BALDWIN: Time for your "CNN Equals Politics" update. And for that we go to Paul Steinhauser with "The Best Political Team on TV." Paul is there. There he is in D.C.

Hey, Paul.

PAUL STEINHAUSER, CNN DEPUTY POLITICAL DIRECTOR: Hey, Brooke.

Before I start, right off the bat I just want to apologize for last hour because I was calling you Kyra.

BALDWIN: Don't apologize. That is such a compliment.

STEINHAUSER: (INAUDIBLE).

BALDWIN: We're good.

STEINHAUSER: Well, you and Kyra are two of my favorite anchors. But, Jamey (ph), Michael (ph), just take a look. There's Kyra. OK. And now we know what you look like and it's very different there. All right, just wanted to get that out of the way.

BALDWIN: Total complement, Kyra Phillips. I love her.

STEINHAUSER: I love you too.

BALDWIN: Go ahead, Paul. Let's talk politics.

STEINHAUSER: Let's talk politics. Let's talk about this election and how Republicans are trying to make these midterms a referendum on Barack Obama and what he's done in the White House the last year and a half. Well, do Americans think that Barack Obama's done a good job or not? Check this out. Our latest CNN poll of polls, this is an average. We take the most recent national surveys on the president's approval rating. And right now, if you average them all together, about 46 percent are giving President Obama a thumbs up, 49 percent say they disapprove of what Barack Obama's doing in the White House. That's a very important poll number. We'll be updating that a lot between now and Election Day, which, remember, is just six weeks from right now.

Let's also talk about tonight. "John King USA." It's the show we have on this network, 7:00 Eastern, every Monday through Friday. Well, tonight, John's going to be a little busy. He is going to be up in Massachusetts moderating a big showdown up there. A debate. The debate in the Massachusetts governor's race. And you've got three candidates up there. The incumbent, Democrat -- the Democrat up there, Duval Patrick. You've got Charlie Baker, the Republican nominee. And there's a third party candidate as well, the state treasurer, Tim Cahill. So a fascinating debate. John will be moderating it. Jessica Yellin, our national political correspondent, will be -- she'll be anchoring "JK USA." But you'll see John as well during the show.

And finally, something brand new on the CNN political ticker. I just learn about this and I just put it up on the ticker a couple of minutes ago. You're going to see a parade of possible 2012 GOP presidential hopefuls in New Hampshire. I just learned that Tim Pawlenty, the Minnesota governor, who's one of those possible contender for the next presidential nomination, he'll be up there next week helping the Republican nominee for governor up there, John Stephen. And earlier this Saturday, you're going to have Mitt Romney. And also on Monday, Haley Barbour doing the same thing. What do all three of those gentlemen have in common, Brooke? Well, they all may want to make a bid for the next Republican presidential nomination. So 2010 politics, but also 2012.

Brooke.

BALDWIN: It is amazing. You always have so much to fill in, in your two minutes. And you always take every single second.

Paul Steinhauser, thank you very much.

STEINHAUSER: Thank you.

BALDWIN: Your next political update coming up in one hour. And just a quick reminder, if you wanted the latest news, political ticker is fantastic. Go to cnnpolitics.com.

So, who's feet let them down during the "Dancing With The Stars" premiere? Our Josh Levs has you're (ph) hot, next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BALDWIN: OK. We're geeks and we're dancing. All right, Josh Levs. Speaking of dancing, actually, not meant to segue, but there you go, "Dancing With The Stars."

JOSH LEVS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Right. We were talking this morning in the editorial meeting about "What's Hot." The first name you said --

BALDWIN: Bristol Palin.

LEVS: She's like, everyone's talking about Bristol Palin. She's right.

BALDWIN: Come on. Yes.

LEVS: Well, check her out. Here she is.

BALDWIN: OK.

LEVS: "Dancing With The Starts." Watch this.

BALDWIN: And she was like wearing this suite --

LEVS: Right. And boom.

BALDWIN: Ba-da-bough! There she goes.

LEVS: And I'll tell you, they gave her some good marks afterwards. They said they were all surprised, right, she could shimmy a little bit. She's said at one point she just wanted to do her best without embarrassing her mom.

BALDWIN: Her mom wasn't out in the audience.

LEVS: Right.

BALDWIN: Was not.

LEVS: Not, as we understand, was not. Kind of busy with some other things.

BALDWIN: Right. Right.

LEVS: But Bristol, you know, impressing -- impressing the folks there.

BALDWIN: Who else we got?

LEVS: All right, next, one of my favorites of all time. How can you not love Flo Hen. Florence Henderson, ladies and gentlemen.

BALDWIN: Flo Hen. You're too hip for me, Josh Levs.

LEVS: Take a look at Mrs. Brady. I mean, come on, can she move?

BALDWIN: Mrs. Brady is working it with a little slit in that dress. Look at that.

LEVS: They love her. She and Bristol Palin both ended up with an 18. Not to bad for last night, an 18 score. It's high out of a total of 30.

BALDWIN: All right.

LEVS: Unfortunately, the one I was rooting for, and I didn't see it until this morning, The Hoff.

BALDWIN: The Hoff.

LEVS: Here's the Hoff. Didn't work out so well.

BALDWIN: (INAUDIBLE).

LEVS: No. I was wondering about that, too, are they going to use his music, which makes me want to bury my face. It's too bad. But at least he wasn't quite as bad as the last one we're going to show you now.

BALDWIN: Oh, boy. OK.

LEVS: "The Situation." I think I say it wrong. Ali Velshi says I'm going to say it wrong, like, "The Situation" or something like that.

BALDWIN: Is that how he says it, from "Jersey Shore"?

LEVS: Anyway, yes, both of these guys ended up in the bottom, along with Margaret Cho, 15. "Dancing With The Stars" taking off big. I'll tell you, I get now the magic of it, though, because you kind of root for everybody because it's so hard what they're doing.

BALDWIN: It's -- I couldn't do those moves.

LEVS: I couldn't do it.

BALDWIN: Hello. Jennifer Grey did really well.

LEVS: Yes, she did. She made people cry.

BALDWIN: This final -- yes, she did. I mean, "Dirty Dancing," come on. The lady can shake it.

LEVS: Yes. I know. We love her.

BALDWIN: All right. Well, we'll shake it to break. We'll be right back. LEVS: It's all hot (ph).

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BALDWIN: All right, big, big story on Capitol Hill today. Less than two hours from now, the Senate plans this procedural vote on ending the "don't ask, don't tell" policy for gays in the military. It's a vote, keep in mind here, this isn't a definitive yes or no, this is simply a cut off debate of this defense spending bill. Republicans need all 60 GOP votes to filibuster. Of course, CNN live coverage of the Senate "don't ask, don't tell" vote, you can watch it at 2:30 Eastern today.

And on that note, CNN NEWSROOM continues right now with my colleague Don Lemon, in for Ali Velshi.

Don.