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Hit-and-Run Horror; Connecticut Jury Deliberates Fate of Convicted Murderer; Ex-Bart Cop Sentenced; Remaining Races; Pelosi Rejects Calls to Step Aside>
Aired November 05, 2010 - 16:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
WOLF BLITZER, CNN ANCHOR: Marco Rubio, underscoring his new fame, he will be delivering it on the Republican side. That's good for him.
Finally, everyone is already, Brooke, as you know, looking ahead to 2012, not just the presidential contest -- there will be plenty of discussion on that -- but if you take a look at the Senate races in 2012, there's going be 33 seats up for grabs. Most of those seats are currently held by Democrats.
And some of these Democrats, they're already nervous. Look at these Democrats who will be up for reelection, Sherrod Brown of Ohio. Ohio went Republican. Jim Webb of Republican. Virginia went Republican. Ben Nelson of Nebraska, Claire McCaskill of Missouri, Jon Tester of Montana, Kent Conrad, North Dakota, Bill Nelson of Florida.
Florida, like these other states, pretty Republican right now, if you look at the results of the governor's race and the Senate races. So, these guys are going to have a tough time. And they're already positioning themselves. They're trying, at least, to make sure they can get themselves reelected.
It's not going to be easy in this current environment. Having said that, I say what I have often said. Two years in American politics a long time. And just as things changed dramatically from 2008 to 2010, they can change again by 2012.
BROOKE BALDWIN, CNN ANCHOR: Can change on a dime.
Wolf Blitzer, thank you.
We're going to get another political update for you in half-an- hour. You can get the latest political news, CNNPolitics.com or on Twitter at @PoliticalTicker.
And that with that, top of the hour, want to welcome the men and the women watching us right now on American Forces Network all around the world. We're going to move fast this hour.
Let's begin rush hour, military ceremonies today marking one year since those fatal shootings at Fort Hood, Texas. Today's events honor the 13 people who were killed and the 54 soldiers and civilians who helped after those shootings. Take a listen.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) (MUSIC)
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BALDWIN: How about that little lady? An Army psychiatrist, an American-born Muslim, allegedly yelled "God is great" in Arabic before opening fire in that crowded medical building where soldiers getting ready for deployment had gathered.
Next, an update on a story that broke during our hour yesterday. You remember this? The gunman in that Florida hospital shooting has been found dead of an apparent suicide. Police in Palm Bay say they found the man late yesterday in the hospital's cafeteria. The hospital says the man has been fired or had been fired from his job about a month ago for poor attendance. A SWAT team robot found the man's body about three hours after the shooting.
Next, take a look at these pictures from Indonesia's Mount Merapi volcano, at it again. It's being blasting ash clouds and gas over the last 24 hours. This latest eruption being called the largest thus far -- 113 people now have been killed since those eruptions began last month, 69 of them just killed today. Dozens of others suffered serious burns.
The country's president says -- quote -- "This is a crisis situation." And then to add insult to injury here, last week, a 7.7 earthquake off of Indonesia's coast triggered that tsunami that killed more than 400 people. Gosh.
Next, launch scrubbed yet again, that's the word from NASA about space shuttle Discovery. You know it was scheduled to lift off today about an hour ago, but that was called off because of some kind of hydrogen gas leak. This is just the latest here in a series of setbacks for the 39th and final voyage of Discovery, which is NASA's oldest shuttle. The next possible launch date is November 30.
Next, bad cheese making people very sick in five states. Gouda cheese sold by Costco stores in -- pay attention here -- Arizona, California, Colorado, New Mexico, and Nevada is being blamed for this outbreak of E. coli. We're hearing at least 25 people reportedly getting sick. No deaths have been reported. But Costco has offered the Bravo Farms Dutch Style raw milk Gouda cheese for sale and in- store tasting between October 5 and November 1. Costco offering refunds to anyone who returns the cheese.
Next, I want you to look closely at the next set of pictures here. You see that golden-looking stuff running down the wall? You see the bees now. Put two and two together, it's honey. It is coming from giant beehives hidden inside the walls of this California home. Inspectors tell the homeowners duct work that was apparently improperly installed is how, you know, the bees got in there.
Exterminators treated the home, but the bees came back. Now homeowners are being warned their next problem will be ants drawn to all that sweet honey. Next, the woman considered to be the world's oldest person has died. Eugenie Blanchard was 114 years old. She was a French nun born in 1896. She passed away in a nursing home, where she spent the last 30 years of her life on the French Caribbean island of St. Barts. Blanchard became the world's oldest person just in May, according to the -- some sort of research group which tracks people of extreme age.
Next: Since it's the end of an election week in America, I'm going to tell you about one guy's determination to cast his own vote. Listen to this. On Election Day, an ambulance was taking 83-year-old Charles Gorby home after this two-week hospital stay. And Gorby had never missed a chance to vote. So, Tuesday, what did he do?
He said, hey, Mr. Ambulance Driver, can you take me by the polling place? And he did. He was rolled in on a stretcher. He voted. Here is his explanation.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
CHARLES GORBY, VOTER: I guess I have got a little bit of a quarterback in my personality. Give me the ball and you say, that's the goal line. Get it over there.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BALDWIN: "Get it over there," just like a quarterback.
By the way, when Gorby showed up at that polling place on a stretcher, everyone apparently stepped aside, let him cut on in that line, and he got to vote.
Take a look at this.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I have ruined three families. And, for that, I'm sorry.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BALDWIN: What a story this is. A woman is convicted of causing a collision that killed five people on Easter Sunday. What did she do right after? She fled the scene. Her mother is involved here, convicted of helping her try to cover it up. Now they learn their fate. That is ahead.
Plus: The fate of the man convicted of murdering a mother and her two young daughters now rests in the hands of a jury. Will Steven Hayes die? This is that Connecticut case we have been all over. We're awaiting a decision. We're going to get you a live -- a live conversation, live update from Connecticut. That's next.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
BLITZER: Welcome back, CNN NEWSROOM. It seems a little bit more and more lately that celebrities are using these fertility treatments to help them start or expand their families. But there's no guarantee that such treatments will result in a new baby. And because of that, some stars are now opening up about their struggles.
And as CNN's Brooke Anderson explains, that means infertility is becoming all the talk now in Hollywood.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
BROOKE ANDERSON, CNN CULTURE AND ENTERTAINMENT CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): When entertainment journalist Giuliana Rancic decided to start a family two years ago, she thought it would happen quickly.
GIULIANA RANCIC, E! NEWS: I was about 34 years old. And I thought, oh, my gosh, this is great. Perfect timing. I have got my career down. And now when I have a baby, this is going to be so easy.
ANDERSON: It wasn't.
Giuliana and her husband, season one "Apprentice" winner Bill Rancic, soon discovered they had fertility problems.
RANCIC: After eight weeks, we lost the baby. We lost our baby.
ANDERSON: Every step of their experience, including a cycle of in vitro fertilization and a devastating miscarriage, has been chronicled on their Style Network reality TV show "Giuliana & Bill."
(on camera): Infertility is a very personal topic. And most people in the public eye don't talk about it. Why are you sharing your experience? Why have you decided to do that?
RANCIC: When we went through all of this, and we were going through the IVF process, I felt very alone. And it wasn't until I shared what I was going through with other women that I realized, wow, I feel a lot better talking about it. And so I just feel like, by us talking about our journey, it's going to help so many women and so many couples.
ANDERSON (voice-over): Nearly 15 percent of couples in the U.S. deal with infertility, according to the Mayo Clinic. That number increases as women age.
With so many images of stars in their mid-30s and 40s with young children, it's easy to assume having a baby at any age is an option. Not necessarily, says Beverly Hills reproductive endocrinologist Dr. Hal Danzer.
DR. HAL DANZER, SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA REPRODUCTIVE CENTER: There are some women who are easy to get pregnant when they're 44. But that's the exception. A lot of women are going to struggle after age 35.
ANDERSON: Celebrities may seek treatment for infertility, but given its highly personal nature, choose to keep it private. Danzer says, for many patients, infertility feels like failure.
DANZER: They have been very successful at everything they have done, and now they're failing at something for the first time in their life. And they don't know how to cope with that. It's painful.
ANDERSON: More and more, celebrities are discussing their painful paths to parenthood -- 42-year-old Celine Dion recently had twin boys after six rounds of in vitro fertilization. She told CNN's Larry King about it.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP, "LARRY KING LIVE")
CELINE DION, MUSICIAN: We would love to have another child. We would love to...
LARRY KING, HOST, "LARRY KING LIVE": Are you trying?
DION: We're trying. We tried four times.
KING: What happened?
(CROSSTALK)
DION: It didn't work. We had a first -- the first time, we had a miscarriage, and the three other times, did not work. It's kind of common, you know?
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ANDERSON: Just last week, singer Mariah Carey went on "Access Hollywood" to announce she's expecting her first child at 41 and revealed a previous miscarriage.
MARIAH CAREY, MUSICIAN: Yes, we are pregnant. This is true. It's been a long journey, but it's been tough because I have been trying to have like -- like I said, to hold on to a shred of privacy. And that was not easy.
ANDERSON: Giuliana hopes, as more celebrities talk about their challenges to conceive, the stigma often associated with infertility will disappear.
RANCIC: At the end of the day, whether you adopt, whether you use a surrogate, whether you get pregnant naturally, whether you get pregnant through IVF, all that matters is you have a baby that you're going to love and take care of and who's going to love you. And that's all that matters.
ANDERSON: Brooke Anderson, CNN, Hollywood.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
BALDWIN: And now take a listen to this.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: They are angels, just as (INAUDIBLE) said, smiling down on each of you from that place.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BALDWIN: Not often you hear a judge get emotional. But that's precisely what you just heard, that judge describing five people killed in a hit-and-run accident this past Easter Sunday, this past spring. And she gives a mother and daughter very long prison sentences for that incident.
But why the stiff penalties? We're going to have that story everyone out there on the road driving a car needs to see. That is ahead.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
BALDWIN: Imagine being one of the jurors. Triple killers Steven Hayes lives or dies, it's in the hands of the jury. Steven Hayes convicted of last month of the murders of Jennifer Hawke-Petit and her two daughters, Hayley and Michaela, in a horrific home invasion.
Let's look back.
This is the surveillance video where Ms. Petit was forced to withdraw money in the chilling 911 call.
(BEGIN AUDIO CLIP)
CALLER: We have a lady in our bank right now who says that her husband and children are being held at their house. She says they're being very nice. They have their faces covered. She is petrified.
911 OPERATOR: Is she still in the bank?
CALLER: Yes, she is.
911 OPERATOR: Her husband and family --
CALLER: And two --
CALLER: Yes. I look -- they're tied up. She said. She's taking $15,000 out of her credit line. They told her they wouldn't hurt anybody if she got back there with the money. She believes them.
(END AUDIO CLIP)
BALDWIN: Last picture of Jennifer Hawke-Petit alive.
The legal contributor to "In Session" on truTV. This speaks to the jury here. This is one of the reporters at the "Hartford Courier." Jury preparing to go on lunch break saw none of them look at Hayes, Hayes wearing white slippers today. Just curious what you make of that. Not looking at Hayes as they head out to lunch and this kind of decision, this is life and death here, Sunny.
SUNNY HOSTIN, CNN LEGAL ANALYST: I just got a note from the courtroom, Brooke. The jury has -- has knocked on the door. They have another question. This is the second question -- third question that they've had. There was a knock on the jury door around 3:02, Brooke. The question is this -- what does it mean to unanimously find the existence of a statutory mitigating factor?
Then they give an example on this jury note and it indicates that some of them, some of them -- two, by example -- did not find statutory mitigating factors. To take the legalese out of it, that means that ten jurors believe the defense and two jurors do not.
That is very, very surprising to everyone. The judge sent them back and said you have to be unanimous for this first step. Keep on deliberating.
And so, I've just learned from our producer in the courtroom, there's another knock on the door. And that tells me this jury is really grappling with this decision, Brooke, and I think we're going to be out here, I'm going to be out here a long, long time tonight.
BALDWIN: Might you be out there, dare I ask, through the weekend? I mean, could they be deliberating through the next couple of days?
HOSTIN: That is my understanding. The judge made it very clear that if they hadn't reached a verdict by about 4:30, he was going to see how they were doing and then perhaps let them go on till about 9:00 or 9:30.
If they still had not reached a verdict, they will be coming back tomorrow. And they will come back on Sunday. They will -- they will be working through the weekend. And given the verdict form that I'm holding right here.
I've got to tell you, I just can't imagine that this jury is going to come back today. Anything is possible. The Supreme Court always says the death is different. But they've got quite a lot of work ahead of them, Brooke.
BALDWIN: I want to ask you about a couple of other cases since I have you.
The Elizabeth Smart trial, it had been halted. We just learned this afternoon that the judge cleared this to continue. This is all over the pretrial publicity. You remember many, many years ago, wasn't just people in Utah, we all knew about this story. Concerns that people were too biased. They wanted to move the trial out of Salt Lake City.
What do you make of that? The trial is continuing on.
HOSTIN: That was something -- I've never heard of that. Opening statements had already taken place in the Elizabeth Smart trial and all of a sudden we hear that the Tenth Circuit, the Federal Court of Appeals, halted the trial because they were considering a defense motion on change of venue.
The defense said from the beginning they didn't think he could get a fair trial in Utah. But we've not learned from the Tenth Circuit they denied this motion. This trial will continue on Monday and it will be in Utah where these alleged crimes took place.
BALDWIN: And then also, quickly, Sunny, in -- in Florida, the hiccup girl, she did not get bond. This is Jennifer Mee. I'm just curious, why does did the judge decide she has to stay in jail on the first degree murder charge?
HOSTIN: Well, exactly because it's a first degree murder charge. That is a very serious charge, of course. It is a crime of the gravest nature. And it is rare, Brooke, that a judge will let someone out on bond given those charges, and that's why I believe she's there.
BALDWIN: Sunny Hostin, we're watching all of these with you. Good luck as the jury deliberates there in a very cold Connecticut and we will most definitely be checking back in with you Monday where we will most likely have a verdict.
Sunny Hostin, thank you.
The tragic hit-and-run accident killed five people. We're going to have that story coming up and also the punishment, the emotional judge. That's next.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
BALDWIN: If you're a younger driver or if you're the parents of a younger driver, listen to this story. I'm about to take you to a courtroom. A young woman inside is given a very, very long prison stretch. She caused an Easter Sunday wreck, killed five people, and then she ran from the scene, tried to cover up what she'd done, but her mother helped her do that.
Our report is from Jeff Hullinger from affiliate WXIA in Atlanta.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
JEFF HULLINGER, WXIA-TV REPORTER (voice-over): Twenty-four-year- old Aimee Michael will be free to leave prison when she's 60.
AIMEE MICHAEL, CONVICTED IN HIT-AND-RUN CRASH: I want to say that I am wrong. I have ruined three families and for that, I am sorry. I want to apologize to my family, to my mother and my father and everybody that I've let down. And I pray that god forgives me.
HULLINGER: Sheila Michael was sentenced to eight years for helping cover up the crimes and failing to turn her daughter into police.
SHEILA MICHAEL, SENTENCED TO EIGHT YEARS FOR CRASH COVER-UP: To all of the families, I'm very sorry. Never once was it my intention not to offer my sorrowful prayers or my apology.
HULLINGER: At sentencing, Judge Kimberly Esmond Adams admonished the elementary teacher that holds a master's degree. JUDGE KIMBERLY ESMOND ADAMS, SUPREME COURT, FULTON COUNTY, GA: And as a result of failing to act as a mother should, your life and the life of your daughter, unfortunately, will be changed forever.
HULLINGER: The judge had a difficult time with her emotions as she handed down sentence.
ADAMS: I normally don't do this. Anybody around here will tell you that.
HULLINGER: The victims of this horror also had an opportunity to speak.
Tracie Johnson who was injured and lost her 6-year-old daughter.
TRACIE JOHNSON, INJURED IN HIT-AND-RUN CRASH: Each and every day, I am reminded of that accident on Easter Sunday, whether it's in physical pain or emotional pain.
MORRIS JOHNSON, SURVIVED HIT-AND-RUN CRASH: In remembrance of our daughter --
HULLINGER: Robert Michael spoke. The former Marine was serving in the Middle East Easter of 2009. He calls his wife, Sheila, of 40 years his best friend.
ROBERT MICHAEL, AIMEE MICHAEL'S FATHER: If I was here in country at the time, all of this would never have taken place. I can assure you that.
A. MICHAEL: There's not a day goes by that I don't pray for your comfort and your peace and your healing.
ADAMS: The hardest case I've ever dealt with and it is by far the most tragic of any case I have ever seen.
The one thing that I could not get out of my mind was the fact that you left the scene of the crime -- the accident, the collision, the incident -- and after leaving, followed a course of conduct, undertook a course of conduct designed to cover up what happened.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
BALDWIN: Jeff Hullinger with the report.
Now Aimee Michael faces 14 years on probation after she gets out of prison and she can never legally drive again.
A lot of you are talking about this, tweeting about it. So walk with me. I want to read a couple of tweets here.
First from Chocolate saying, "Man, I feel sorry for all of the families involve in the Aimee Michael case, but 36 years is too long. Tears."
Another one, this one, "Aimee Michael got just what she deserved. Even if she was sideswiped, she shouldn't have fled the scene. I feel she deserves life."
One more, "Atlanta drivers, please drive safe and smart. Saving five and ten minutes not worth the risk. Don't become another Aimee Michael case. Devastating."
Coming up here, what in the world is going on with actor Charlie Sheen and what really happen in the ritzy hotel room with that porn actress? These are just some of the questions you're still asking here and we may have some of the skinny. Amber Lyon has been digging on this. She has a special report. We'll have that conversation ahead.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
BALDWIN: Here we go. Trashing a hotel suite, hanging out with a porn actress, allegedly pulling a knife on his wife. CNN's Amber Lyon has been delving into the demons that drive Charlie Sheen. She's got some new information of what happen in that hotel suite, wait for it and ask you in just a second.
But first, I want you to watch this from Amber's special on Charlie Sheen airing this weekend on CNN. Watch.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
AMBER LYON, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Reports of an alcohol-fueled rampage. A hotel suite trashed. Charlie Sheen naked, hospitalized. And this important star, 22-year-old Christina Walsh locked in the bathroom.
What really happened at the Plaza Hotel that night with Charlie Sheen?
KEN BAKER, E! CHIEF NEWS CORRESPONDENT: I think there are two people who really know what happened inside that hotel room. And it's Charlie Sheen and the other is Christina Walsh.
Now, what we think happened inside that room is that at some point in the night, early in the morning, really, things got ugly. There was an argument of some sort over something.
LYON: Actor, Tom Sizemore, is Charlie's friend of nearly 20 years.
TOM SIZEMORE, ACTOR: In six hours, you can undo 17 years of hard work. And what people will remember is the six hours where you were in a (expletive deleted).
LYON: Like Charlie, Tom has long battled addiction. And like many of Charlie's friends, Tom fears for him.
(on camera): Have you tried to reach out to him and help him get into rehab?
SIZEMORE: I tried to call him. I couldn't get through. He wouldn't talk to Robert -- Downey. LYON: Oh, Robert Downey tried to call him as well.
SIZEMORE: Yes. And he knows about treatment. He's been to treatment. Marty knows all about it.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
BALDWIN: And Amber is now here for smarty, Martin Sheen, Charlie's dad. What is he doing if anything to try to step in?
LYON: As you can imagine, Brooke, the family is probably a little bit exhausted. Charlie Sheen has been suffering from alcohol and drug abuse for the past two decades. But we've heard kind of from several undisclosed sources that Marty may be planning some type of an intervention to help Charlie out. Also, that he may be behind, I don't know if you heard the latest news about Charlie, his camp hiring a sober coach to follow --
BALDWIN: Right. 24/7.
LYON: Follow him around 24/7. Keep him clean. We don't know if CBS Warner Brothers are behind that or if it has to do with Martin Sheen, but our sources are saying that Martin may have something to do with that.
BALDWIN: Here's another piece of the story that I think it's causing some women to think, why? You have Charlie Sheen's ex-wife and soon-to-be ex-wife, both of them -- when they come forward and speak about him, they stand by their man. Why is that?
LYON: I -- that is exact question I asked, Brooke, because Brooke Mueller last Christmas was calling police saying Charlie was holding a knife to her throat. You think she'd hate the guy, but money talks, and sometimes, money tends to make you talk more positively about people. And a lot of entertainment reporters close to the story say that Brooke and Denise are getting hefty child support payments.
Brooke is getting about $55,000 a month from Charlie for her two sons. So that kind of, as you can imagine, she wants Charlie to do better because the better he does financially, the more payment she'll get.
BALDWIN: Money, money, money. Just about out of time. Just quickly tell us when we get to watch the special.
LYON: Yes. The special airs this Saturday night on CNN at 10:00 p.m. And we're delving into those situations, Charlie's history, and above all, how this extremely talented actor, highest-paid guy on TV right now is such a fallen star in his personal life.
BALDWIN: Highest paid, ratings doing pretty well, despite everything going on. We'll be watching for it. Amber, thank you.
LYON: Thanks, Brooke. BALDWIN: There are two stories developing right now. The first, a judge has just handed down a punishment in a murder case you will know very, very well. There are some brand new details.
Also, in another high-profile punishment, this one involving cable host, Keith Olbermann. Stay right there. We'll talk about that next.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
BALDWIN: Some information just in here. Former Bay Area Transit police officer has been sentenced to two years in prison in this fatal shooting of an unarmed man. That shooting happened in the early hours of New Year's Day, just last year, 2009. Kind of granny (ph) video. You see footage captured by several witnesses showed the officer who is white firing one round into the back of the unarmed victim who is black.
The racially charged case triggered all kinds of riots in Oakland soon after that shooting. And again, when the jury acquitted him of murder but found him guilty of a lesser crime. The officer will get credit for 292 days he's already spent in jail.
Also, right now, developing a pretty big story that's brewing in the world of journalism, politics, and cable TV. Keith Olbermann, MSNBC host suspended today, indefinitely, by his own network. Suspended after reports emerged that Olbermann made donations of money to three political candidates, all of whom are Democrats.
Network president, Phil Griffin, said the donations violate network standards. Howard Kurtz, "The DailyBeast.com" media critic and host of CNN's "Reliable Sources" joins me there. He's in Washington.
Howie, good to see you. Let's just get first out of the gates here the fact that Olbermann, very much so, according to the president here, violated the network's policy, indefinitely suspended, justified? What do you think?
HOWARD KURTZ, HOST, "RELIABLE SOURCES": MSNBC had absolutely no choice but to suspend Keith Olbermann. I'm attempted to ask whether he's now the worst person in the world. He's not because others who have done worse. But this was a dumb mistake by Keith Olbermann, especially given the fact that one of those three politicians to whom he donated, an Arizona congressman, was on his show on MSNBC's "Countdown" the same day when Olbermann kicked the money into his campaign coffers.
Viewers didn't know that. It's really a line that -- even a commentator, he's not a straight journalist as it pretend to be and objective reporter, but even a commentator shouldn't have crossed.
BALDWIN: You mentioned others who've done worse, Howie. Who else has done this given two political donations, journalists?
KURTZ: Well, if you look at Fox News, you have some of the most prominent contributors on that network. Karl Rove raised about $40 or $50 million for an independent group that aided Republicans in this 2010 midterm cycle. Dick Morris raised money, spoke on behalf of Republicans, and even Sean Hannity, who is a host, obviously, of a nighttime program on Fox. He has spoken at Republican fundraisers.
All of those infractions, in my view, I've written about this many times, no one seems to care, are worse than what Olbermann did. But Olbermann, at the same time, ripped Fox News' parent corporation, News Corp, Rupert Murdoch, for giving that eye-popping $1 million donation to the Republican Governor's Association.
So, if you're going to criticize that sort of thing, you can't then turn around. Obviously, a lot less money, $2,400 to each of these candidate which is the maximum and do the same thing yourself. I don't understand. Olbermann is a smart guy. I don't understand quite what he was thinking.
BALDWIN: So, this MSNBC policy (INAUDIBLE), anyone working for NBC news to make political contributions without prior approval of the networks president. CNN has a similar policy. Do other networks have a similar policy? And then, following up on that, what's next for Olbermann? How long do you think he'll be suspended?
KURTZ: You know, I don't know. I will probably guess a week or two. I mean, he's a very big star, a very big ratings getter at that network. And so, they probably don't want to keep him sidelined for too long, but NBC was in position. The management was, where they had to make -- send a signal and show that this was not going to be tolerated even by the guy who has the highest rated program -- network program. Now, look at CNN, James Carville as a contributor and Paul Begala and they sign letters fundraising for Democrats as well.
So, I do want to point that out. I just think when, especially, in the closing days of an election, when you're on talking about those elections every night with that kind of platform, I just don't understand why you would put yourself in that kind of jeopardy, allow these questions to be raised by giving money directly to candidates. You don't need to do that. You have a forum, an hour every night to say whatever you think. You shouldn't be part of the direct political process.
BALDWIN: Howard Kurtz, you got all kinds of fodder for your show Sunday morning. We'll be watching "Reliable sources."
KURTZ: Thank you.
BALDWIN: Thank you, sir.
We want to remind you again top the show with this, want to get an update here on Tomas right around Haiti. Haiti still very much so on alert. That's ahead.
Also, we're just talking midterms, the election may be over, but that does not mean political drama has died down. Paul Steinhauser coming up next for CNN Political Ticker. Stay right there.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
BALDWIN: CNN has all your latest political news with the best political team on television. That includes Paul Steinhauser. He's at CNNPolitics.com desk.
And Paul, contrary to popular belief, the election not over yet, but, hey, at least we have Washington State decided now, right?
PAUL STEINHAUSER, CNN DEPUTY POLITICAL DIRECTOR: We do have Washington State decided, but you're right, three days since the election, Brooke, and it's still going on. We're keeping an eye on each of these races.
Let's take a look at the scoreboard here. What do we have left? Alaska. That's the remaining Senate contest left.
They won't start counting those write-in votes until next week in Alaska, so no conclusion in that Senate battle up there. But we do know for sure that whoever wins, it's going to be a Republican.
Nine House races still to go. And gubernatorial contests, there are three left: Connecticut, Minnesota, and Vermont. But we may have some conclusion in Connecticut very soon. Minnesota may go on for a little bit of time.
And as you mentioned, Washington State. We found out yesterday, last night, that Patty Murray, the three-term Democratic senator from Washington State, is going to come right back here to Washington for a fourth term.
She beat Dino Rossi, the Republican nominee up there. A very close margin, but he did concede, so that one is over as well.
The other thing I want to talk about, the next election. I'm going to ask Reggie Selmark (ph) to zoom right in here to the CNN Political Ticker. It's a story I wrote a little while ago about the battle for the Senate in 2012.
Yes, it's already under way. Barely done with these elections. Thirty-three senators up for re-election in 2012, 23 of them Democrats.
But you know what's interesting as well, Brooke? On the Republican side, some of these moderate Republican senators, they could face some challenges from Tea Party-backed candidates just like we saw this time. Tea Party groups are already talking to me, saying, hey, guys, watch out, we may be getting very active and going after some other Republicans.
So it's already begun, Brooke. It has already begun.
BALDWIN: Hey, did your counterpart, Mark Preston, get his voice back yet?
STEINHAUSER: No, not yet. That's why you're seeing way too much of me today. BALDWIN: Poor guy.
STEINHAUSER: He's still without voice. I'm hoping by Monday or Tuesday, it's better. But what a time to lose your voice, right?
BALDWIN: Poor guy. It's like the Super Bowl of politics loses his voice.
All right. Paul Steinhauser, good to see you. Have a great weekend. Thank you.
We'll get another political update for you next hour. You can also get the latest political news. Go to CNNPolitics.com, or hop on twitter at @PoliticalTicker.
And Wolf Blitzer coming up next with a look at what's coming up in "THE SITUATION ROOM."
We'll be right back.
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BALDWIN: Well, Republicans successfully demonized Nancy Pelosi to turn out the vote and take over the House. You remember the "Fire Pelosi" tour that RNC chair Michael Steele embarked on? There he is. You see his T-shirt.
Well, the outgoing House Speaker is not going out quietly. Pelosi has announced that she does indeed plan to run for House minority leader.
Wolf Blitzer joining me now from "THE SITUATION ROOM."
And Wolf, I guess it would not have been news if she didn't run for minority leader. But I imagine some of the Democrats, maybe not all thrilled about this.
WOLF BLITZER, HOST, "THE SITUATION ROOM": A lot of them aren't very thrilled, especially those moderate -- those conservative Democrats, the so-called Blue Dogs.
Remember, about half of those Blue Dogs were defeated this time around in the elections, and a lot of them who were up -- all of whom are going to be up for reelection in 20012, the entire House of Representatives, all 435 members, have to run every two years.
A lot of them don't necessarily want to be saddled with being part of Nancy Pelosi's team. There will be opposition.
We're going to be speaking with one of those members in "THE SITUATION ROOM" who doesn't want Nancy Pelosi to continue to be the Democratic leader in the House of Representatives. Not obviously a Speaker since the Democrats lost the majority. They don't even want her to be the minority leader, which she would be if she runs, and she says she will run and she's going to try to win.
So there's some Democrats not very happy that she decided to fight this and stay on as the leader.
BALDWIN: Wolf, let's talk about the president. We know he's on a very, very long flight to Mumbai right now. But he got good some news before he hopped on Air Force One, the new report showing the best overall jobs increases since May.
And the president now, you know, a couple days out of midterms, saying, hey, let's put politics aside and grow the economy. I mean, that's one of the reasons why he's headed to Asia.
BLITZER: Yes. He made the point that this year, 1.1 million private sector jobs have been created, and there's been months and months in a row of private sector job creation which is obviously positive because the year before, it was all negative. We were losing a lot more jobs than that when he took office, about 700,000 jobs a month, the first couple months, were being lost. It was a serious, serious crisis.
So the fact that there is an increase in jobs is positive. But that 9.6 percent unemployment rate remains exactly where it is, because in order for that number to go down, you need more than 100,000 or 150,000 jobs a month to be created. You need 200,000 or 300,000 jobs a month given the increase in the workforce every single month.
So, if you're going to bring down that overall 9.6 percent number, you need better job creation than currently exists. Having said that, it's better to create jobs than to lose jobs.
BALDWIN: Of course.
And Wolf, since I have you, and before we talk "SITUATION ROOM," you know, Suzanne Malveaux and I, on a lighter note, we were talking about coconut removal duty and how the president headed to India, and apparently outside of the Gandhi Museum there were literally people out there removing coconuts from trees so they don't hit the president, bonk him in the head.
You covered the White House. You traveled extensively with presidents. Is this par for the course?
BLITZER: Look, when a president visits another country -- and I traveled with President Clinton all over the world -- to South America, to Africa, to China, to Asia, to Europe, obviously -- the host governments, they do a lot to make sure there are no problems. And I think in Mumbai or in Delhi, they should worry more about some of those monkeys that are running around and make sure they don't get into the motorcade or whatever when the president is moving along. I remember when I was in Delhi, there were a lot of monkeys just running around on the streets.
BALDWIN: Watch out for the monkeys.
BLITZER: Have you ever been to India, Brooke? Have you been there?
BALDWIN: No, I haven't. I would love to go.
BLITZER: Oh, it's beautiful. It's a great country. It's a wonderful place. But there are wild monkeys that are roaming around, and you see them all the time.
The first time you see them, you get a little excited because it's not every day you see monkeys on the street. But after a while, you get used to it.
BALDWIN: Yes. I was in Costa Rica, actually. There's some crazy monkeys there. But I digress.
Let's talk "SITUATION ROOM," Mr. Blitzer. What do you have coming up?
BLITZER: Well, we're going to speak with Ed Rendell. He's the Democratic governor of Pennsylvania. He is always outspoken. And we're going to pick his brain.
What went wrong? What do the Democrats need to do? Specifically, what does the president need to do?
We're going to spend some considerable time talking about Nancy Pelosi's decision, what we just discussed. We're also going to discuss -- have some reports on what you've been talking about, the decision from MSNBC to indefinitely suspend Keith Olbermann without pay because he's acknowledged now that he made some political contributions in the waning days of the campaign.
So we'll go through all that and a lot more. There's a lot of news going on right now.
BALDWIN: All right. Wolf, we'll see you in a couple of minutes. Thank you.
BLITZER: See you. Thank you.
BALDWIN: You have probably heard of the TV show "The Dog Whisperer," maybe even watched the movie "The Horse Whisperer." But "Buffalo Whisperer"? Pretty sure you haven't heard of that.
You've got to see this. Here is Jim Saunder's (ph) beloved pet bison Bailey (ph). Yes, pet buffalo hanging out. You've got to have the top down.
And apparently Bailey (ph) can do anything the pooch can do. Likes to hang around the house, ride in the car. At 2 years old, Bailey (ph) weighs in at a wee 1,600 pounds.
Folks, he isn't even fully grown yet. Not to worry, though. Jim says Bailey (ph) is surprisingly gentle and well behaved. Yikes.
Next, can blowing up buildings actually help -- there she blows -- in the fight against terrorism? You've got to see this.
The men here are engineers. This is Lubbock, Texas. It's this company that designs and tests how windows and doors would stand up against an attack. Obviously, emphasis here on the testing.
The products are used on embassies overseas military barracks, and big corporate buildings terrorists may want to target.
Next, I know you've heard of falling asleep on the bus, but waiting for the bus -- take a look at this guy. Hanging on at the pole. Doors start to open -- wait for it -- and down he goes.
Ouch. That's got leave a bruise, right? You've got to see it one more time.
Fortunately, some friends or some strangers -- I don't know who these guys are -- they picked him up, they tossed him in the bus. And hopefully he's on his way.
Coming up next here, much more serious. We're watching Haiti very closely. We're watching Hurricane Tomas. It is in fact slamming Haiti. Look at the radar.
Chad's got an update. He'll be back, next.
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BALDWIN: Thank you for watching us. I'm Brooke Baldwin.
Time now to send it up to my colleague Wolf Blitzer in Washington, "THE SITUATION ROOM" -- Wolf.
