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Jury Delivers Verdict in Connecticut Home Invasion Murder Trial; Chilean Miners Close to Freedom?; Christine O'Donnell's New Campaign Ad; Travel Warning For Europe; Bullying is a Major Problem in U.S. Schools; New Documentary Focuses on Water Shortages in U.S.; Protestors in Iceland Denounce Government Bailouts; First Lady Michelle Obama Appeals to Young Voters

Aired October 05, 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: Finally, a verdict for a father. His wife, his daughters brutally killed in their own home. But this isn't over.

I'm Brooke Baldwin. The news is now.

(on camera): Paid your local firefighters recently? One family did not, and fire crews stand by and watch as their home burns.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I thought they would come out and put it out, but I was wrong.

BALDWIN: Outrageous or out of luck?

Dozens of miners in Chile could be just days away from freedom. But are they skinny enough? And why might drugs play a role in their rescue?

CHRISTINE O'DONNELL (R), DELAWARE SENATORIAL CANDIDATE: There has been no witchcraft

BALDWIN: So, who are you, Christine O'Donnell? The Tea Party favorite tells us in a new campaign ad.

Plus, swine in the street. I will tell you what happened moments before hundreds of pigs shut down a busy highway.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BALDWIN: Hello, everyone. I'm Brooke Baldwin. Welcome to the CNN NEWSROOM on this Tuesday.

Breaking news right now: A career criminal is found guilty in this horrific home invasion that ended in the rapes, in the murders of a Connecticut mother and her two young daughters.

You see, the jury just found Steven Hayes guilty of 16 of the 17 charges he was facing. Listen to this. It took them less than 24 hours to convict Hayes of the murders of Jennifer Hawke-Petit and her daughters, 17-year-old Hayley and 11-year-old Michaela.

Mrs. Petit was strangled, and the girls died of smoke inhalation after they were attacked and their homes set on fire. Hayes is also guilty of kidnapping the Petit family and sexually assaulting Mrs. Petit. He was acquitted on one single charge, that being setting the family's home on fire.

Dr. William Petit was wounded in that attack. They tied him up in his basement, but he somehow managed to escape with his feet still tied together. He was in the courtroom throughout this entire trial, this entire ordeal.

In fact, we turned around some sound for you. Listen to what he had to say right after those verdicts were read.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DR. WILLIAM PETIT, WIFE AND DAUGHTERS MURDERED: There is -- there is some relief. But my -- my -- my family is still -- still gone. It doesn't bring them back. It doesn't bring back the home that we had.

But, certainly, a guilty verdict is a much better sense of relief than a guilty of -- a verdict of non-guilty.

QUESTION: Are you going to be able to do it again? I mean, you have got a penalty phase, another trial, another penalty phase, three more trials to sit through.

PETIT: People keep asking that question: Why do you do it or how do you do it?

I think most of you out here, you know, are good human beings. I think that you would probably all do the same things for your families. If -- if your family was destroyed by evil, I think that you would all try to do the same thing and -- and be there for your family.

I mean, it's -- it's the one thing you can do. So, do I really -- do I really want to do it? Do I look forward to the ride every day? No. You know, I have a little nausea every time I get off the exit ramp, a little nausea every time I get out of the car and walk across the street.

But I think -- I do it for my family, but I think all -- all of you, I think, would do the same thing for your families.

QUESTION: How will you spend the next week-and-a-half, when you don't have to do that?

PETIT: I haven't -- haven't -- haven't really thought about it. I have a couple of golf invitations from some good friends, if the rain stops.

(CROSSTALK) QUESTION: (OFF-MIKE) three years just to get to this point. (OFF-MIKE) Were you happy to see that the jury did deliberate such a short period of time, and they didn't take deliberations for, you know, another week, another two weeks?

PETIT: Well, certainly, it's much easier psychologically on us to only have to wait several days than have to wait several weeks.

But, having never been in this position before, I had no idea what to expect. And, in fact, our victims advocate and Mr. Dearington and Mr. Nicholson didn't know what to expect either. So, I -- I had no -- no predictions from anybody as to whether it was going to be hours, days or weeks.

QUESTION: Dr. Petit, could you talk about your family? We, as the media, have seen a glimpse of how strong you guys are. What do you guys do tonight?

PETIT: Good question.

We will probably sit on the couch and talk and probably have dinner together and try to decide what we're going to do over the next couple weeks.

QUESTION: He is a convicted killer now. It is -- it is official. He is -- they have -- they have ruled on that. Does it matter what happens to him to this point? Does he matter anymore to you?

PETIT: Well, what -- what matters to me most is my family and my -- my memories, my memories of my family, and trying to do good things through our foundation.

I don't know. Over the last couple of weeks, I have just kept trying to tell myself that good will -- good will overcome evil, and we will keep trying to do good things and try to refocus myself on the positive and stay away from the negative.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BALDWIN: I tell you, our entire show team stopped in our tracks just to listen to Dr. Petit speak.

It's the first time we have heard from him through this entire trial. But he's not the only family member who had the courage to speak. Also, Mrs. Petit's parents spoke to our reporters just moments after Mr. Hayes was found guilty of murdering their daughter and their two granddaughters.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

RICHARD HAWKE, FATHER OF JENNIFER HAWKE-PETIT: We would just like to say, on behalf of our daughter, Jennifer Hawke-Petit and for Hayley Elizabeth Petit and Michaela Rose Petit, we say for them that we are pleased with the verdict. We feel that, as far as the trial has gone, justice is being served. And we appreciate the support of all the people who have been behind us through this particular time.

Thank you.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Thank you very much.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BALDWIN: Imagine.

And just to give you some perspective, here's why some of these verdicts were so significant. Because six of the crimes Hayes was convicted of are capital crimes, that makes him eligible for the death penalty in Connecticut.

Now, this isn't over. Jurors are scheduled to come back October 18 to hear more evidence before deciding if Hayes should live or if he should die.

His alleged accomplice, Joshua Komisarjevsky, is scheduled to go on trial in January.

And Helen Ubinas is a columnist for "The Hartford Courant." And she has been tweeting. I don't know if you have been following her tweets. We have. I'm talking minute by minute from inside this courtroom.

So, we invited her today to speak with me. We're calling this our 140-character-plus segment here of this whole trial.

And, Helen, it's such a pleasure to -- to talk to you, because we truly have been following your tweets.

First, before even we talk tweets, though, you've -- you've -- you have been sitting in this courtroom the last few weeks. Are you surprised at all of these 16 out of 17 guilty verdicts?

HELEN UBINAS, COLUMNIST, "THE HARTFORD COURANT": Actually, I'm not.

It's been an incredibly grueling ordeal for the family and for the jury. And throughout the three weeks that we have been sort of doing this, you saw, when they saw the grueling pictures and the horrific pictures, just how much this affected everyone in that courtroom.

BALDWIN: Helen, we're going to show some of your tweets -- Robert, if we can roll over to the Twitter board -- because I just want to give people a sense of what you have been doing.

And I pulled some of these just from today, if we can roll through some of them.

"Still no emotion from Hayes that can -- that we can see. Penalty phase starts October 18. Family members still have arms around each other."

One more, if we can.

"Family begins to exit. Petit dad and sister thank and hug reporters."

And, Helen, are you surprised at all of -- by the stoicism of Dr. Petit? I mean, correct me if I'm wrong, but the only time he actually excused himself from inside that courtroom was when the medical examiner testified.

UBINAS: You're absolutely right.

I think that's the one thing that many of us have been asking. And we have been in awe of not just Dr. Petit, who, of course, has shown tremendous strength and grace through all this, but the whole Hawke and Petit families has -- I think have shown the strength that -- that many of us just wonder if we would have if we were put in that same situation.

BALDWIN: And I just have to ask, your account, your Twitter account, is named NotesFromHeL, and, in so many ways, this trial has been hell. I don't know if that was an accidental naming or not, but it's certainly appropriate.

(CROSSTALK)

UBINAS: It is appropriate. It's actually just my name shortened, but I -- it is incredibly appropriate in -- in this case.

BALDWIN: It's so appropriate.

And I'm just curious as to what kind of feedback -- did you come up with the idea of tweeting minute by minute by minute? And what kind of feedback have you gotten from other members in the media, perhaps nationally, perhaps globally, perhaps even the Petit -- Petit family?

UBINAS: There's been a lot of -- of feedback from folks who are very interested in following this minute-to-minute.

I started live-tweeting from courtrooms in 2009 actually during jury selection for Hayes, and then followed it with another court case here for the mayor of Hartford.

But there's been a lot of interest. And fellow reporters, I think, are very interested in -- in this being a tool within the courtroom and even in journalism. And there was clearly huge interest in this case, with lots of people wanting to follow it minute by minute on Twitter.

BALDWIN: Now, in terms of the penalty phase, will you have continue to cover that? Will you continue to tweet? And explain where -- where the process goes from here. I mean, this thing is far from over.

UBINAS: Right.

This is near -- yes, not nearly over. And the plan is to continue to tweet through that phase as well.

BALDWIN: What has struck you the most? Just, if you can, take yourself outside of yourself for a moment. And -- and just what has struck yourself about this -- this entire ordeal, hearing all of these testimonies?

I know I have been listening to other reporters' tweets, and it's just been an incredibly horrific, gruesome thing to have to sit through. How have you done it? What's been the toughest part?

UBINAS: I think there were a lot of grueling, horrific moments throughout this trial.

Without a doubt, some -- some of those moments came when pictures of Jennifer and her daughters were shown to the jury, and several reporters also looked at the photos. It's incredibly difficult to see pictures of -- of three women with such bright futures ahead of them just taken out by such a senseless act.

But another thing that I think was amazing -- and Dr. Petit touched on this when he left the courthouse -- is that we sat there, and, like so many people, wondered how -- how does somebody do this? Why does somebody do this.

And he explained this. And I think he explained it perfectly. He said -- you know, he looked at all of us, a swarm of media around him, and said, you would do the same thing if your family was destroyed by evil.

BALDWIN: And went on to say that -- I was sitting there taking notes as he was saying that.

UBINAS: Yes.

BALDWIN: Destroyed by evil. Do I want to do it? No.

(CROSSTALK)

BALDWIN: He talked about how -- in fact, you tweeted about this. Take a look at this.

One more thing Dr. Petit said before he went to Hartford to -- before you went to Hartford to file your column is that he was nauseous every time he pulled off the exit to come to court.

I can't say I blame him. What a tough thing to cover, tough thing to experience, I'm sure, if you're Dr. Petit and the rest of the family.

But, Helen Ubinas, we appreciate all your tweeting and look forward to more of it from "The Hartford Courant." Thank you.

Did a drone strike stop an imminent -- imminent terror plot? Coming up next: the latest on the threat across Europe and why the Taliban now may be involved.

Plus, there's some video you have got to see. A man shows up at a McDonald's rolling through on the drive-through, except he's not exactly rolling. He's sitting on a horse.

(LAUGHTER)

BALDWIN: Stay right there. The video is coming up.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BALDWIN: CNN has learned that Taliban troops in Pakistan converged on the scene of an American airstrike and have removed the bodies of five German nationals.

But here's what we have learned just today. The Taliban actually got there first. So there's no I.D. on these bodies, no official word as to whether the dead German nationals are in fact the same ones linked to this alleged terror plot or not.

That's the million-dollar question. Remember, just to take a little bit here, a cell of about eight or so people with German passports is believed to have traveled from Hamburg, Germany, to Pakistan for terrorist training.

In fact, one was captured last summer. He's the one who's talking. He says he knows what's going on, thus, this Europe-wide travel advisory that was issued Sunday morning.

Now, with the very latest from Pakistan, here's CNN's Fred Pleitgen.

FREDERIK PLEITGEN, CNN BERLIN BUREAU CHIEF: Yes, Brooke.

You know, yesterday, the Pakistani military was telling us that they suspected that eight Germans were killed in that drone strike. They have since revised that figure somewhat, saying that, yes, it was eight people who were killed, but they're saying only five of them appear to be German militants.

That strike of course happened in the Mir Ali district. We have since also learned that the Pakistani military has in fact not been able to recover those bodies to do any DNA testing or anything. But, apparently, the Taliban have come and taken those bodies away.

Now, that of course fuels the discussion that is going on right now about whether or not those drone strikes killing those Germans was in any way related to that possible European terror plot, which, as you know, possibly involved Germans which were going to that exact region of Pakistan, North Waziristan, to get terror training, and then to possibly conduct these Mumbai-style attacks in places in Europe.

Right now, we have no evidence that that is the case, except for the fact that, of course, the U.S. has been stepping up its drone strikes in that area, and the U.S. has been telling us -- us that at least part of the reason they have been doing that is to foil a possible terror plot in Europe.

So, there might be some relation. However, right now, there's no real hard evidence to -- to really back that up at this point. But we are looking into that further -- Brooke.

BALDWIN: All right, Fred Pleitgen, thank you for that.

So, that's the latest word out of Pakistan that we know so far. But we, of course, want to know, what does our government know? What is the U.S. saying?

For that, we go to Jill Dougherty, who is live for us at the U.S. State Department.

And, Jill, can anyone tell us, did the U.S. drone strike foil these -- it's more than one, I know -- talking Western Europe here -- foil these alleged terror plots? Is this what might have done it?

JILL DOUGHERTY, CNN FOREIGN AFFAIRS CORRESPONDENT: Nobody --

(CROSSTALK)

DOUGHERTY: Yes, nobody, Brooke, at this point can make that connection.

In fact, remember the travel alert that came out over the weekend? They're not making a direct link between that and this as well, so, so far, no connection. But, boy, there seems to be a lot of -- a lot of action dealing with those -- with that particular area in Pakistan, doesn't there?

BALDWIN: Indeed. In fact, you know, we're hearing a lot more -- and Fred mentioned this -- the multiple drone strikes in Pakistan.

Do we have any numbers yet, any concrete numbers, to illustrate the sheer number?

DOUGHERTY: Yes.

You know, we have been talking with some sources, informed sources, about this. And here's what they're telling us. Since September 20 -- since -- in September, there have been 21 strikes. That's the highest number since this program began.

And it began back under President Bush. They -- this source says that there were no noncombatants, in other words, civilians or others, killed in that.

Now, also, they say 500 so far have been killed by these drone attacks. They -- that 10 noncombatants were killed, and the rest were suspected terrorists or extremists, so, since the beginning of the year, 500 people killed by these drone strikes.

BALDWIN: Five hundred people killed. You mentioned 21 strikes since this began.

(CROSSTALK)

BALDWIN: Have we reached out to Pakistan? Any idea how they feel about us dropping all these drones on them?

DOUGHERTY: You know, it's -- it's kind of a mixed bag, because, on the one hand, they are very aware of their sovereignty. They do not like the idea of the United States coming into their territory, even with these drones that have no pilots in them.

They don't like that at all and consider it an infringement of their sovereignty. But, on the other hand, these strikes are having an effect and are killing people that, theoretically, the government of Pakistan might like to have taken out as well.

BALDWIN: Jill Dougherty, thank you.

DOUGHERTY: Mm-hmm.

BALDWIN: Pay up or burn up. Did firefighters actually say, no way, we refuse to put out some flames, because the homeowner in this case didn't pay a fee? We're talking 75 bucks here. That's ahead.

Also, Christine O'Donnell tackles the witch controversy head-on in a brand new ad. How is it playing both with supporters and foes? We will be talking to Gloria Borger next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BALDWIN: All right, I know you're smart, you're plugged in politically, but let me lay this on you. This could be a first in politics. A candidate for U.S. Senate has taken out an ad to try to assure voters -- wait for it -- that she's not a witch.

Who else but Delaware Republican Christine O'Donnell? Here she is.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP, CHRISTINE O'DONNELL CAMPAIGN AD)

CHRISTINE O'DONNELL (R), DELAWARE SENATORIAL CANDIDATE: I'm not a witch. I'm nothing you have heard. I'm you. None of us are perfect.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BALDWIN: Keep in mind, it is not O'Donnell's opponent who is out there calling her a witch. Rather, word of her youthful interest in witchcraft came from O'Donnell herself.

Let's talk about this, CNN senior political analyst Gloria Borger.

Gloria --

GLORIA BORGER, CNN SENIOR POLITICAL ANALYST: Brooke, does that look like your high school graduation picture there with the single strand of pearls and the black suit kind of thing? BALDWIN: A little --

BORGER: Huh?

BALDWIN: A little bit.

(LAUGHTER)

BALDWIN: Are you saying we look alike?

BORGER: No, no, I'm saying all of us.

I mean, she was --

(CROSSTALK)

BALDWIN: She's a little youthful.

(CROSSTALK)

BORGER: It looks like my high school graduation picture.

Huh?

BALDWIN: Yes, she's a little youthful. I definitely had the whole like --

BORGER: Yes?

BALDWIN: -- black drape going with the pearls.

But, in terms of the --

BORGER: Yes.

BALDWIN: In terms of the ad, beyond her fashion sense, she -- a lot of people have called Christine O'Donnell fringe. So, does the ad here --

BORGER: Right.

BALDWIN: -- lift her up out of that label, or does it simply call attention --

BORGER: Well --

BALDWIN: -- to something that she was maybe hoping to push aside?

BORGER: Well, you know, in this ad, she also says: "I'm you, and I would do what you want me to do. I would do what you do if I were sent to the Senate." So --

BALDWIN: What does that mean?

BORGER: -- what she is -- well, that's a good question. What she's saying is: I'm not a kook. I'm a normal person. I'm just like you. I look like you all look, with my single strand of pearls and my dark suit.

What she's got to do -- and she's trying -- is reintroduce herself to the voters of Delaware, because the way she is now known to the voters of Delaware is as a fringe candidate, someone kind of kooky who said she dabbled in witchcraft and all kinds of things.

And, so, you look at this picture, this is a picture of somebody who says, I'm a normal person. She has to get beyond that in order to make her candidacy credible and to get back to discussing the issues that she really needs to start talking about, because, you know, she's double-digit behind in the polls.

BALDWIN: Mm-hmm.

BORGER: And, at this point in a race, that's very, very difficult to overcome, hence, the nice high school graduate there.

(CROSSTALK)

BALDWIN: Right. And we remember the night of the primary, and the Dems were already sort of cheering, because they feel as if though they're already going to win this seat.

BORGER: Sure.

BALDWIN: Now, you mentioned she's seen as kooky, maybe not so much credible.

So, my question is then this, Gloria. Is the Republican Party saying, hey, we welcome you with open arms now, or are they still keeping their distance?

BORGER: Well, you know, here's the thing. The Republican Party, like any political party, is nothing if not pragmatic.

If this were a candidate that suddenly were four or five points behind in the polls, they would be pouring money in there, even if they didn't like her, because the -- the greater goal is, of course, to win back control of the Senate. And a seat is a seat is a seat.

(LAUGHTER)

BORGER: But, since she's double-digit behind in the polls, they have got lots of other places they need to spend their money. So, the Republican Senate Campaign Committee has given her about $42,000, which is kind of around the minimum amount you would give a Senate candidate.

But they're not pouring more money in, because she really isn't making any headway. That's why, with this ad, she's trying to reset. You know, she's just trying to reset the campaign, say, stop with all this garbage. Take a look at me. And, as she says in the ad, I am you.

BALDWIN: I am like you, or I am you.

BORGER: I'm just like you, right.

BALDWIN: So, let's move past Christine O'Donnell and her single strand of pearls and her dark suit here, Gloria --

(LAUGHTER)

BALDWIN: -- and let's talk about another Republican. This is a name a lot of people --

BORGER: By the way --

BALDWIN: Yes?

BORGER: I wear that all the time, I have got to say. So, there you are.

BALDWIN: I love the pearls. Love my black suit, absolutely.

(LAUGHTER)

BORGER: That's right, absolutely.

BALDWIN: What about New Jersey Governor Chris Christie? He's been in office -- he was elected last November, been in office obviously less than a year, and he's already in Iowa.

BORGER: Mm-hmm.

BALDWIN: And you know the media. They're already saying, Governor Christie, you running for president? Let me -- let's just play -- play some sound. Here he was yesterday in Des Moines.

BORGER: Right.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

GOV. CHRIS CHRISTIE (R), NEW JERSEY: I'm governor of New Jersey. I'm not going to run for national office. And so I'm here because Terry Branstad asked me to come and to be supportive of his candidacy for election as governor. And that's why I'm here. I'm not here for any other reason.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BALDWIN: Not here for any other reason. He went on to say, no chance, no way, no how is he running for president.

But never mind that, Gloria. How did Chris Christie suddenly get so big here? Less than a year in office, and he's already being asked if he's going --

BORGER: Well --

BALDWIN: -- to run for the White House. BORGER: You know, we have this thing in the media. Any time you put your pinkie toe into the state --

(LAUGHTER)

BORGER: -- of Iowa, we think, oh, OK, you're a presidential candidate. That must mean you're a presidential candidate because of the early Iowa caucuses.

He is, however, a new face on the scene, very interesting, first Republican to win statewide in New Jersey in a dozen years, somebody who is known as very independent, somebody who doesn't necessarily toe the party line, not afraid, by the way, to disagree with Sarah Palin and Newt Gingrich on that mosque issue in New York.

He cautioned against overreaction on that issue. So, he's caught everyone's attention because he's an independent thinker dealing with a $2.2 billion deficit --

BALDWIN: Yes.

BORGER: -- in the state of New Jersey. People like him. And in the Republican Party, they're looking for new faces, in case we hadn't noticed.

And so he seems new and interesting right now. And, by the way, he put his pinkie toe in Iowa. So --

BALDWIN: Put his pinkie toe in Iowa. We will take the blame a little bit.

(LAUGHTER)

BALDWIN: Onus on us a little bit.

BORGER: Yes, absolutely.

BALDWIN: Pinkie toe in Iowa, we're going to -- we're going to put it out there. But he says, no way, no way.

Gloria Borger, great conversation.

BORGER: We will see.

BALDWIN: Thank you.

BORGER: Sure. Thank you.

BALDWIN: The man who tried to set off a bomb in Times Square, here he is. He was sentenced today. We will tell you how long he could be behind bars.

And would you know what to do if a bully picked on your child? One wrong step, in fact, could make things a whole lot worse. We have all seen these horrific stories of what happens when bully goes -- bullying goes too far. But, coming up next, we're going to offer solutions. Stay right there.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BALDWIN: Welcome back to CNN NEWSROOM. I want to catch you up on a couple of stories.

First, courtroom sketches made today in New York. That man there, Faisal Shahzad, telling a federal judge that war with Muslims has only begun. He is Pakistan born U.S. citizen 31 years old who pleaded guilty to planting the failed bomb in Times Square in May. Today in sentencing he received life in prison.

More courtroom news for you. A long list of guilty verdicts today for this man charged with murdering a woman and her two daughters in suburban New Haven, Connecticut, a couple of years ago, 2007. A jury deliberated about four hours over two days and agreed with prosecutors, who said Steven Hayes and another man raped and killed Jennifer Hawke-Petit, burned their home while her daughters were tied to their beds.

Hayes could get the death penalty. The sentencing phase for that begins October 18th. His alleged partner in crime is yet to be tried.

A sigh of relief in Fresno, California, at the news a little girl is safe. Police are praising tipsters, good Samaritans, and people they call heroes for helping them recover eight-year-old Elisa Cardena. Witnesses say this morning they saw a man force a girl into his truck outside her apartment, drove off.

As local news spread some truck drivers actually spotted the truck, stopped it, allowed the girl to get out of there. Police say the girl was frightened, of course, but doesn't appear to be hurt. The man in the truck is now in police custody.

One mom whose son was bullied in high school calls this an epidemic. Kids who have been bullied say it made their lives living hell. Some even chose to end their lives. That of course is a tragedy. But there are ways of dealing with bullies.

Our Carol Costello went back to high school to learn a little bit more.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

CAROL COSTELLO, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): At Oklahoma City's Western Heights High School, students are pledging to protect the bullied. It's especially important to Susan lay. She knows how bullying feels.

(on camera): Is it worse with words do you think?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I think it is because when I was little, like, people always said I was, like, really ugly. And it -- I never knew it affected me so much. And like, people would ask if I was a boy or a girl. And I was hurt. I never wanted that to happen, and, like, it lowers my self esteem really bad. And I never wanted to go to school.

COSTELLO: So I see it hurts you -- I see it hurts you so much. You know you're beautiful, right? Yes.

(voice-over): It's the kind of pain that affects so many children. One in three kids are bullied or bully every year. So how do you stop it?

RACHEL SIMMONS, AUTHOR "ODD GIRL OUT": We have to take it seriously.

COSTELLO: Rachel Simmons wrote "Odd Girl Out." She's an expert on bullying.

SIMMONS: The way is adult intervenes is just as the fact they're intervening at all.

COSTELLO: A good first step, calm down.

SIMMONS: Don't communicate with anyone, another child or the school until you are calm and able to have a respectful conversation, because it's very easy to get marginalized as a crazy parent in a school.

COSTELLO: Next, document how your child is bullied and then ask your child what he or she wants you to do.

SIMMONS: Remember, you are not the one who has to walk back into that school for eight hours a day. And you may want to do solution a, but if you do that solution your child may be mercilessly retaliated against.

COSTELLO: Simmons say bullies are often popular, socially skilled kids who can enlist an army of bullies.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: They don't always tell you about it.

COSTELLO: Marisa Velasco, who is also participating in Western Heights anti-bullying campaign, knows exactly what Simmons is talking about. In junior high school, she was a bully. Why?

MARISA VELASCO, OKLAHOMA HIGH SCHOOL STUDENT: I don't really know if there was a reason. It was just that easy target, I guess.

COSTELLO: Is it because other kids making fun of those kids, too?

VELASCO: Yes. There was a lot of others, also, bullying.

COSTELLO: Sort of like a mob mentality?

VELASCO: Yes.

COSTELLO: When you were calling people names, did it make you feel better?

VELASCO: It's not that it made me feel better. It's that I knew they felt worse.

COSTELLO: Which brings us to how bullies ought to be stopped -- don't humiliate them.

SIMMONS: If you humiliate a bully publicly, you are much more likely to see retaliation. If you sit down with a child and say, this is what I'm seeing. It's not acceptable. I know you're capable of more, and if it happens again, these are consequences.

COSTELLO: Susan Leigh, Marissa Velasco certainly know the consequences. They're hoping to make this school year bully-free.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BALDWIN: Carol Costello with that.

By the way, we here at CNN are taking on this bullying epidemic. Coming up tonight, Anderson Cooper goes in depth on our bullies in school and online. Why do kids do this, why do this bully? And how can we stop them? This is an "AC 360" special report 10:30 Eastern only here on CNN.

We all remember Fort Hood, the shooting there. This soldier survived that shooting, and now guess where he is. He is at war in Afghanistan. We're going to tell you his story. That is coming up.

Also, Rhett Turner is here. There he is in the studio. He's here to talk about this major battle over water. You'll want to hear this. He's out with a new documentary. That's next.

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BALDWIN: For just about 20 years, Georgia, Alabama, and Florida have been engaged in this heated battle over the one very much the lifeblood of the region, that being water. Crippling droughts going back to --

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: 2006 to 2009.

BALDWIN: -- 2006 to 2009 Atlanta's explosive population growth really put a strain on the limited water supply that the three states share. In this longstanding conflict called the water war is one of the subjects of this new documentary. It's "Chattahoochee, from Water War to Water Vision."

First, before I talk to Rhett Turner, I want to show you just a snippet of this documentary.

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UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Irrigation systems stop spraying as outdoor watering restrictions take hold. The governor mandates a 10 percent cut in water use for all of north Georgia. Public found dance are shut down. The July 4th Peachtree road race is rerouted to prevent 55,000 runners trampling parched green areas at the finish.

Large companies and hotels achieve dramatic savings. Many residents install low-flow toilets and more efficient plumbing fixtures.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: What we found is that people and businesses really pull together and we reduced the water use during that period about 20 percent.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BALDWIN: And joining me now to talk about this, this award- winning documentarian Rhett Turner. Just because we're here at CNN, the Turner name rings a bell. Your dad is Ted Turner that founded us.

Thank you, Ted.

First, though, thanks for coming in and sharing this documentary with us. And I guess before we even get into the weeds maybe in the documentary, let's back up. And why water? What was so fascinating about that? It's obviously a resource that we all rely on.

RHETT TURNER, DOCUMENTARIAN: Right. Well, I've been fortunate to do some documentaries internationally. When I was on a story for getting more moradication (ph) for President Carter's center, I saw a new story on the water in Atlanta. Lake Lanier was empty. I thought, wow, I lived there. This is a story I could do in my backyard and not have to travel so far. That's the reason why I did it.

BALDWIN: As you watch the 58 minutes of the documentary you talk about how so many people use the Chattahoochee River for oyster harvesting at the end, Apalachicola Bay, or so many different ways. Yet ultimately at the end of the doc you explain how Atlanta could be losing a third to half of its water supply by 2012.

TURNER: Well, Atlanta seems to be the big monster. What we learned in making this documentary is Atlanta has put millions upon millions of dollars in infrastructure into wastewater treatment plants, how they take the water out and how put the water back in. So we've really done a lot but we also need to do more.

What we take out is -- we put back in 60 percent of what we take out. We need to move it up. That's what the documentary finishes up. So we have to really work on conserving. It's not a problem when we have plenty of rain, but we go into the drought situations and that's when we have to tighten it pup.

BALDWIN: I ran the Peachtree road race when we couldn't end in Piedmont Park because we couldn't trample on the grass because of lack of water.

What about though -- you said it's not just Atlanta. You said it's Boston and New York are actually heralded for their --

TURNER: Right, right. I was at the Eco film festival. We screened the show up in Athens, and one person made the comments that Boston, for example, is using the same amount of water they used in 1912. That's really incredible. And New York is also using -- has changed out all their toilets into low-flow toilettes and that's a big help.

So in Atlanta there's always room for improvement. Other places are doing it and we need to think about what we can do to save.

BALDWIN: And what really is your message through this documentary? Explain. It's your deal. In your own words, what do you have want people to get out of it?

TURNER: My basic message is I want to see the governors who are -- the people running for governors in the three states, this is one of their top issues, because water is one of our most important resources and we need to solve this problem before it goes on too long.

And it's an issue our governors need to take on. And the guys who are running for governor sit there and have a campaign issue and talk about it.

BALDWIN: And the three states being --

TURNER: Georgia, Alabama, and Florida.

BALDWIN: Because briefly what's the -- we're fighting over water.

TURNER: Yes, we're fighting over water. We're fighting for industrial uses. We're fighting for uses for farming and everything else. It's just, are we going to have enough to go around? That's the issue.

BALDWIN: It's eye-opening. Something you can always think about. Rhett Turner, a pleasure. Thank you so much.

TURNER: Thank you.

BALDWIN: Still to come here, you think your property taxes entitle you to quick, effective firefighting. You hope so, right? Tell that to the people who owned the house you just saw. It was full of flames. They did not pay this fine, the 75 bucks for fire protection, so their home burned to the grounds. Those details are ahead.

And you've got to see this -- pigs headed for slaughter. They see their chance to escape and some -- if you were a pig you'd be making a break for it. That's next.

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BALDWIN: We all know drinking and driving is a bad idea, very dangerous. But what if the driver is on a horse instead of behind the wheel? You got to see this.

Patrons outside of McDonald's in the U.K. got to see it when a Clydesdale of all things trotted up to a drive-through window. Points for originality, right? The owner casually ordered a Big Mac, fries, or chips as they call them in the U.K., and a Fanta. The employees tossed a bag of carrots in for good measure for the horse.

On to Toronto and some little piggies. These little piggies may have been on the way to market, but several tried to run all the way home in to the wild. The pigs, no doubt, squealed with joy at the chance for freedom.

You imagine coming upon this? The tractor trailer flipped over. Obviously somebody tried to make a break for it. Hooves on the highway brought traffic to a grunting halt for hours until crews could round them up and clean up the road.

Ohio, you have to see this because it speaks for itself. Watch this.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

(SHOUTING)

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BALDWIN: Watch the quarterback. He's got the ball, runs through, leaps. This is Mark Tompkins, saw what he was up against. He couldn't leap, couldn't run, so, you saw it. He went airborne. I'm thinking the guy has to be on the track team, right? Watch it one more time. There he goes. Can't go through -- he hurdles. Nice.

Bill Maher is certainly never short of opinions and tonight he's talking politics with John King. That's tonight, 7:00 Eastern on CNN's "JOHN KING USA."

And later tonight, 10:00 eastern, bullying in our schools and now on-line -- why do kids do it? And what can be done to put an end to it. An "AC 360" special report you cannot miss here on CNN.

Can surfing accomplish something generations of diplomats failed to do? Surfing? We will show you where some dudes are giving peace a chance. You're going to be surprised. That is ahead.

Also, you might have heard this before, the government bailing out companies and the public crying foul. This time, this is Iceland. They're protesting. Look at them in the streets, throngs of them. More of this incredible video when we come back.

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BALDWIN: We're going to get to politics in this country in just a moment. But first, we can't pass up this video. Want you to see what's going on in another country tonight. Take a look.

One of the eye iReporters, this is Reykjavik, Iceland, shot this video for us, shot it our way. This is happening outside of parliament there. Our iReporter said these protesters are fed up with the government bailing out big companies and CEOs while regular people are losing their homes and getting their cars repossessed.

The prime minister of Iceland might end up taking the fall for the collapse of the Iceland's economy. He is facing a special court that will decide if he quote/unquote "failed to prevent Iceland's financial crash."

I want to check in now with Wolf Blitzer at the CNNpolitics.com there. He's of course leading our best political team on TV. What about these pictures outside of Reykjavik? Sound a tad familiar?

WOLF BLITZER, HOST, "THE SITUATION ROOM": Yes, they obviously have a lot of people who aren't happy with what the government is doing there. I think that situation is clearly reflected in this iReport. I love these iReports, Brooke, and I know you do as well. We get the raw videos from folks who want to send them in and keep them coming. It's always useful to have.

Let me go through a couple of items at CNNpolitics.com on our Political Ticker right now, beginning with the first lady, Michelle Obama. She's getting deeply involved right now in trying to help fellow Democrats. She's sending out a fundraising letter.

Among other things, she's saying this -- "Young people and organizers and volunteers are knocking on doors every weekend making calls every night. Your support will help fund this work." She's clearly anxious to make sure that especially the base -- the one the one that got Barack Obama elect in 2008, they come out and vote only four weeks away. So she's getting involved with the appeal to the Democrats out there.

Sharron Angle is challenging Harry Reid for the Senate seat in Nevada. She's here in Washington, coming to Washington. She's going to be participating at some Republican Party events. She's not going to be participating in any national TV interviews that I know of. We've invited her to come to "THE SITUATION ROOM" here in Washington. She's declined for the time being.

Harry Reid, by the way, declined for the time being as well. We'd like to get both of them on our show at some point. We have invitations out to both of them.

Sharron Angle will be here in Washington working with the Republican establishment, if you will, and then back to Nevada. That's a neck and neck race in Nevada right now.

Finally, some advice from Newt Gingrich, the former speaker and maybe a Republican presidential candidate for 2012.

He's sending out a memorandum to some Republicans saying this. He says, paychecks vs. food stamps. He makes this point. He says: "It's an unassailable fact that, in January 2007, when Nancy Pelosi and Harry Reid took over Congress, unemployment was 6.6 percent and food stamp usage was around 26.5 million Americans. Today, the unemployment rate is 9.6 percent and over 40 million Americans are on food stamps." What he doesn't say in that memorandum to these Republicans is that throughout all of 2007, all of 2008, there was a Republican in the White House controlling the executive branch of the U.S. government. That would be George W. Bush -- Brooke, back to you.

BALDWIN: Wolf Blitzer, thank you, sir.

Coming up next hour, we want to remind everyone, we're going to be getting another political update. You can always get the latest news off the "Political Ticker." Hop online at CNNPolitics.com or they're on Twitter. It is at @PoliticalTicker.