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"Indescribable Fear"; Qantas Airlines Puts Its Airbus on Thursday; Journalist Assaulted in Moscow; Conan O'Brien's Comeback; President Obama Supports India Becoming Permanent U.N. Security Council Member

Aired November 08, 2010 - 16:00   ET

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

BROOKE BALDWIN, CNN ANCHOR: I want to welcome now the men and the women watching us on the American Forces Network around the world. We're going to get you fast this hour. Let the rush hour begin.

First here, a tough story to tell. This is that teenager story, beaten to death at a party. The suspects -- four other teens. There they are in the courtroom today charged with felony murder. The sheriff of Douglas County that's just left at Atlanta says the attack was totally unprovoked. He said the victim was, quote, "a little guy who weighed a mere 125 pounds." In fact, look what he told CNN about what his officers saw when they got to the scene.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SHERIFF PHIL MILLER, DOUGLAS COUNTY, GEORGIA: Well, he was still breathing. And as we were waiting on the ambulance to arrived, his breath got shorter and shorter. And we gave him CPR and mouth to mouth and tried to save him, but to no avail. There were still a lot of people hanging around. Some people had left, but there were a lot of people still there, and we rounded them up and brought them to the sheriff's office an interview.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Did the attackers in this case, did they know Tillman?

MILLER: I don't think they did.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BALDWIN: We will be hearing from the mother, from Bobby Tillman's mother this time tomorrow. She'll be joining me in studio to talk about this horrific ordeal.

Next, Elizabeth Smart telling jurors that she awoke to feel a cold knife on her neck. She's testifying today in the federal kidnapping trial of Brian David Mitchell. He's the man accused of abducting her from a Salt Lake City suburb right out of her own bedroom eight years ago. Smart who is now 22 years of age told jurors she initially thought her abduction was a nightmare.

And she also told of, quote, "the indescribable fear she said she felt when she -- when Mitchell told her not to make a sound or he would kill her and kill her family. We are getting these details from the associated press.

Next, another trial here for Amanda Knox. She is the American student (INAUDIBLE) killing her roommate in Italy. I know you remember the story. It was huge. Well, she's apparently now facing new charges, this time, for allegedly slandering Italian police. Prosecutors say Knox falsely claimed police mistreated her in custody. Her mom and stepfather say they are upset about this latest decision.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

EDDA MELLAS, AMANDA KNOX'S MOTHER: She went to court today to hear whether or not she would have to go to trial for the slander. And she's going to have to go to trial which is, you know, hugely disappointing. It's just one more thing that she's going to have to live through, but it's not surprising. I mean, this is the same judge and the same people who are all part of her initial trial in the first trial. So, it's not surprising that they wouldn't just keep going with the flow. It's disappointing, though.

CURT KNOX, AMANDA KNOX'S FATHER: One of the things that we're really looking forward to is an independent review of the forensic evidence. And I think if that is allow during the appeal, then we'll get a chance to bring her home.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BALDWIN: Now, that appeal her dad was talking about was for the murder conviction that gets going in a couple of weeks.

Next, more misery in Haiti. Look at these images with me. Aid agencies say the cholera outbreak that's already spreading could be worse all because -- you see the water, the flood water from hurricane Tomas. That hit over the weekend. The Red Cross says the trees and septic tanks could be overflowing contaminating fresh water supplies. And that, as you know, could be spreading the bacteria that causes cholera. So far, more than 500 people have died in that outbreak.

Next, it'll be Thursday at the earliest before Australia's Qantas Airlines puts its airbus, that A 380 back in service. An engine failed on one of the super jumbo jet last week forcing its return to Singapore. The last of those 500 stranded passengers headed out from Los Angeles today for Australia. Meantime, Qantas says that they (ph) found oil leaks beyond normal tolerance in the engines. By the way, they're Rolls Royce engines. They are still investigating.

Next, I am about to show you a little something you have never seen before. Look at these pictures, obviously, photos -- John F. Kennedy. These are from Life.com. His previous unpublished images were taken in the months leading up through the election way back in 1960. Look at this, Life.com putting these pictures out there to commemorate the anniversary of President Kennedy's election.

Next, a massive make-out session for the Pope Benedict. There's the smooching, and there was the pope mobile. A lot of gay couples kissing, in fact. This is what they called a kiss-in in Barcelona happening just yesterday. Pope Benedict was on his way to a basilica to celebrate mass. Why were they doing this? The protesters say they do not like the pope's views on homosexuality and that is why they were locking lips in the kiss-in.

Next, Michigan, now the first state to ban the alcoholic caffeinated drink, Four Loco. Remember we told you about this, this drink? People call it blackout in a can. Pretty cheap high. The move comes after students in Washington State and New Jersey were hospitalized after drinking this stuff. And in fact, they have (ph) 30 days to pull the Four Loco products. The company says the plans to challenge that stand.

Next, a cheating scandal playing out right now universities into Florida. Listen to this. A professor there is making 600 students retake a midterm after he said he found out students got the answers ahead of time. Get this, the students took the exam, first time that is, in a lab specifically designed to prevent cheating. I didn't even know they had that kind of thing. They had to empty their pockets, leave their cell phones outside, and they were under video surveillance during in the exam. 600. All over.

And erupting volcano forcing hundreds of thousands to leave their homes totally behind. The video and the pictures are hard to believe you will see them. We'll talk about Mt. Merapi ahead.

Also, jurors. Imagine. They spend weeks and weeks hearing these gruesome details of this brutal home invasion in Connecticut. Now, finally, a convicted killer learns his fate. We're also hearing from the man who lost his daughters and his wife. Sonny Hostin live on the scene for us, next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BALDWIN: Life or death decided in a Connecticut courtroom how the jury of seven women and five men choose the fate of triple killer, Steven Hayes. He killed a Connecticut mother and her two young daughters in a brutal seven-hour-long home invasion. The decision, death for Hayes.

Sonny Hostin was in the courtroom when this full verdict came down this morning. She's a legal contributor for "In Session" on truTV. And Sunny, this is huge, huge for the Petit family. Death on six counts.

SUNNY HOSTIN, LEGAL CONTRIBUTOR, "IN SESSION" ON TRUTV: That's right. Death on every single count. He was found guilty of six capital offenses. Sixteen out of 17 counts all together. And the family has been here, Brooke, day in and day out, not only for the guilt phase, but for the penalty phase. And as this jury rendered its verdict, I looked over at the Petit family all day today, and they were just so relieved that this phase was finally over.

After the verdict was read, I went in to the courtroom, I looked at them, and they were just hugging each other, holding on to each other. You could see that this family was very much and still is so cohesive and so supportive during this very difficult trial, these very difficult times for them. BALDWIN: Do me a favor and just take me inside the courtroom. You know, you had that sort of eye on what was happening? You know, as of the verdict -- as it was all being read, this is really one of the first times we're hearing that Dr. Petit who's been so, so stoic all along was apparently in tears, and not only the family, but jurors as well.

HOSTIN: Yes. The jury, they came in and surrendered their verdict. They only looked at the Petit and Hawke families. They did not look at Steven Hayes. And when this verdict came in, Dr. Petit, as you mentioned who has been so stoic, so elegant, really, throughout this ordeal looked down at the ground just sort of sighed in total relief and was patting his eyes, patting his nose. Really was, I wouldn't say happy but overcome with emotion.

BALDWIN: He was also overcome with emotion. We saw him. We were all watching our TV screens as we took it live when he was speaking outside of the courtroom. In fact, I want to play a sound bite. This is Dr. Petit. He was asked if this gives him some sort of closure. Here he is.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DR. WILLIAM PETIT, SURVIVED DEADLY HOME INVASION: I don't think there's ever closure. I think whoever came up with that concept is an (INAUDIBLE), whoever they are, wrote it the first time. And I think many of you know it who lost a parent or a child or a friend. There's never closure. There's a hole. You know, the way I've imagined this straight through, it's a hole with jagged edges, and over time, the edges may smooth out a little bit, but the hole in your heart and the hole in your soul is still there. So there is -- there's never closure.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BALDWIN: And Sunny, that hole was created by at least one man we've seen go through this whole trial process, Steven Hayes. And I'm curious I have read that as the verdict was -- it was all being read and there, he looked straight ahead. In fact, something I had read said he smiled. Tell me that's not true.

HOSTIN: I haven't heard him smiling. And I looked at him today. He wasn't smiling, but he certainly was just looking straight ahead and didn't say anything. I wasn't sure what he was looking at. But his defense attorney, Brooke, said he was happy with his verdict because he is suicidal, and he wants to die. And he's calling this a suicide by state. And so by his attorney's accounts, he's happy with the death penalty.

BALDWIN: Unbelievable. Happy to be put to death. Now, what is next here for him? Is he immediately put to death or this does go to the states Supreme Court? Do they have to affirm this? How does that work legally?

HOSTIN: Well, the judge set the sentencing for December 2nd, at which time, he will be sentenced to death. And then there's an automatic appeal to the Connecticut Supreme Court, and the appeals process begins. His defense attorney said today they are invested and committed to saving his life. And they will do whatever they need to do in terms of the appellate process to try to do that. So, this is just the beginning of the appellate process for Steven Hayes.

BALDWIN: The beginning of the appellate process for Steven Hayes, and as if Dr. Petit hasn't already gone through hell already. He has to sit through an entirely separate trial that slated to start in a couple of months. This is the next defendant, the co-defendant, Joshua Komisarjevsky.

HOSTIN: That's right. The trial of Joshua Komisarjevsky is set to begin, jury selection, in January 2011, at which time, Dr. Petit will likely, of course, be called to the witness stand yet again. I am sure that he will be here day in and day out for his family. He's indicated that that is the most he can do at this point for his family, his wife, Jennifer Hawke Petit, his daughters, Haley and Michaela. And so, this will begin again, Brooke, for this family in just a few months.

BALDWIN: So, for other people to think, you know, thank goodness this is over for Dr. Petit, it isn't. It isn't at all, and we'll be all over that trial as well. Sunny Hostin for us in Connecticut. Sunny, thank you.

Is it open season on reporters in Russia? This man here beaten so horribly over the weekend. He has broken legs, a broken jaw. He's lost part of his finger. And another journalist was attacked the very next day. We're going to have some details ahead. Live report from Moscow.

Also, an ash-covered Indonesia getting ready for President Obama, his big visit, right? He's been in India heading to Indonesia, unless, another round of volcanic eruptions makes flying there just too dangerous. Chad Myers has some new images from the disaster zone when we come right back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BALDWIN: Indonesia's restless volcano continues to rumble. Talking about Mt. Merapi belched more hot gas, dust, blanketing all the surrounding towns with fresh layers of scorching ash. The latest number of what we have, 156, that is the number of people who have been killed while some 200,000 people have been forced from their homes.

CNN's Chad Myers joins me now. And this is the area where the president is headed, and they're not even sure he can get there because of flying and dangers there. In terms of danger of the people, I mean, this thing just keeps erupting.

CHAD MYERS, AMS METEOROLOGIST: You used a perfect verb a little bit ago, belching.

BALDWIN: Kind of crude, but it's true.

MYERS: It sounds like football. But anyway --

BALDWIN: That's what it's doing.

MYERS: That's what it's doing. It's unlike the Hawaiian volcano (INAUDIBLE), you know, and all the lava just oozes out. You can walk right up to it. Pretty to look at. That is not what's going on here.

BALDWIN: This is not pretty.

MYERS: No. This is more Mt. St. Helens-esque, but it hasn't exploded like Mt. St. Helens.

BALDWIN: OK.

MYERS: The top gets a film across the lava that gets hard. Then all of a sudden, there's pressure from underneath and it pushes literally thousands of feet into the sky, these ash, this crust, the stuff that planes can't fly through. Same idea from Iceland. Remember this Iceland problem where no planes could get to Europe and all that?

BALDWIN: Yes.

MYERS: Same idea but just not as popular. There aren't that as many flights in and out of here. Jakarta, only 250 miles away, the president should be there in less than 48 hours. He's trying to get there, but 44 planes were actually cancelled. That doesn't seem like a lot, but most of them, on Sunday, yesterday in and out of that area.

BALDWIN: And then, in terms of evacuations, you know, it's like 200,000 people or so getting out of there, but that just goes to show so many people who are living so closely to an active volcano?

MYERS: Wait a minute. Did this just happen? Did they not know they were by a volcano?

BALDWIN: Right.

MYERS: Let me show you what Google Earth looks like. And in 2005 and 2006, there were significant earthquakes here near the volcano that started the volcano erupting before. So, here's Jakarta, Singapore, Malaysia. Indonesia and then to the south and southeast there would be Australia. So, we're talking the entire other side of the globe compared to where we are here in the United States.

But, here's where we're looking at. This Yogyakarta, that's the town, 300,000 people, universities, everything in there, only 20 miles from the peak of this volcano. Now, there were a lot of villages here, significantly too close, but the village is clear, haven't cleared out, and they were moved here. Well, now, they're afraid that if this thing actually does go like Mt. St. Helens, that the people here, where they evacuated people to would be in danger.

BALDWIN: So, the people in the university town that you showed on the map, they could too be affected.

MYERS: And the people they're calling their students, you know, their sons, their daughters, say get on the train, get out of there, come back to Jakarta, let this thing settle down. It could be a very long time before it settles down

BALDWIN: What is going on in the part of the world? It was like two weeks ago with the tsunami and earthquake and a volcano.

MYERS: I know. Ring of fire.

BALDWIN: It is odd.

MYERS: It is. It is truly where the earth still shakes. Plates are colliding. When plates do this, they go down, they go down, or they collide and they make mountains like the Himalayas or they continue to do the subduction zone. And when that is, it makes more lava, it makes more magma, and magma needs to go up, and our earth is not a dead rock.

BALDWIN: Thank you geology 101 and brought (ph) that very well. Chad Myers, thank you so much.

MYERS: You're welcome.

BALDWIN: This picture is unbelievable.

Now, speaking of Indonesia, you know the president's Asia tour stops there as we just mentioned, but will he visit if he gets there, will he visit his boyhood home. Our Suzanne Malveaux got to. We're going to show you what she found, next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BALDWIN: The next scheduled stop for President Obama on his big 10- day trip to Asia is Indonesia. In fact, he'll be there tomorrow, but this will not be the first time. You see the president lived there for a while when he was a young child. And our own Suzanne Malveaux took her own tour out of the president's childhood home. Take a look at this.

SUZANNE MALVEAUX, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Hey, Brooke, Indonesia is the most populous Muslim country in the world. It was once targeted by terrorist. Now, it's a model for moderation. I had a chance to go back to some of those sites that have been targeted to see how they have changed and why.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

MALVEAUX: Here in Indonesia as we're following President Obama's footsteps, we find ourselves here in Central Jakarta, at one of two homes where he used to live as a little boy with his mother, step- father, and baby sister.

MALVEAUX (voice-over): The two-bedroom Dutch-inspired home was built in 1939. Sarell Rosali (ph) lives here now and was gracious enough to shbow us around. But since he doesn't speak English, we thought we'd give you the tour. MALVEAUX (on-camera): OK, let's go inside. This is the sitting room, and this is the original furniture from the Obama family here. You can see it is a typical original teakwood, and this is where they actually would just kind of hang out. Now, this room is the room where reportedly, Ann Dunham, Obama's mother used to teach English to the kids who would come over from the neighborhood.

All right. So, let me take you to the next room here. This is the master bedroom. This is where Lolo Soetoro, Obama's step-father and mother, Ann Dunham. This is their master bedroom where they stayed. And as you can see, this is pretty much a shotgun house. So, we don't know too much about the president's bedroom at the White House, but this is Barack Obama's bedroom when he was about 8 or 9 years old.

This is where he used to sleep and study, and there are two beds here now, but it was just one back then. This was his own room as a young boy. Outside his bedroom, he was under the stars. A complete outdoor garden with plants and birds. He even had a pet rabbit and a little dog.

MALVEAUX (voice-over): Since Barack Obama because president, hundreds of visitors have come to his Indonesian home. Soreal (ph) she was proud to show us his photo and let me sign the guest book.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

MALVEAUX (on-camera): And Brooke, the Indonesian government is also undercutting the appeal of radical Islamic groups by fighting poverty as well as providing good public schools. This are the kinds of things that President Obama is going to highlight in a major speech at the University of Indonesia -- Brooke.

BALDWIN: Suzanne Malveaux for us at the White House. Suzanne, thank you. You know, after months and months off the air, Conan O'Brien is back. He's returning to late night TV, and he will be on TV guest. So, what are the big questions in his monologue tonight? You know, will he address the Leno fight? And who might surprise him on stage? All of that is ahead.

Also ahead, Gloria Borger standing by with some brand new information just in from the world of politics. The CNN Political Ticker is next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BALDWIN: CNN has all your latest political news with the best political team on television that, of course, includes Gloria Borger. She's at the CNNPolitics.com/desk. And Gloria, here we are, almost a week out, still several races from the midterms undecided, but at least we have an end in the gubernatorial race in Connecticut.

GLORIA BORGER, SENIOR POLITICAL ANALYST: Yes, we've got one final verdict today in Connecticut. Democrat Dan Malloy has finally won. He received a congratulatory phone call from his Republican opponent, Thomas Foley. There were some questions about vote counting around Bridgeport, Connecticut. But you know what, he decided to throw in the towel because he didn't think he could make up the 6,000-vote deficit, anyway. So, Dan Malloy finally winning that governor's race.

But, there is one place, as you well know, Brooke, that we're not done counting. In fact, we've just started counting and that is in the state of Alaska. They have to count in 83,000 write-in ballots, and as you know, it's between Senator Lisa Murkowski and Joe Miller. Joe Miller being the tea party-backed candidate. Lisa Murkowski is now favored to win that race, but it ain't over till it's over.

So, it may take them the rest of this week to count that. So, we'll be waiting along with folks in Alaska. But, speaking of Alaska, guess who's out on the road campaigning this week?

BALDWIN: Sarah Palin.

BORGER: Could it be Sarah Palin? Yes, she is. But she's not talking about her Mama Grizzlies anymore. She's talking about Ben Bernanke, you know, that bearded guy who runs the fed. It seems like she doesn't like the Fed's monetary policy, so it's very clear that she's starting to dip more into the complex issues. She calls the Fed's monetary policy "printing money out of thin air."

So this looks and sounds a little bit more like somebody who just might want to run for the presidency.

BALDWIN: You think? I might be telling some presidential aspirations there, Ms. Borger.

But hang on. I want to go back to the Senate race, because you mentioned 83,000 write-in ballots. And we have had many a conversation about this race. And people are saying, oh, it could take weeks and weeks and maybe months.

So do they really think it will be over by the end of the week? .

BORGER: Yes. They think it's over by the end of the week.

And thinking of Sarah Palin here, this is really interesting, because, of course, she put her money on Joe Miller. There's a long-standing family feud with the Murkowski family.

BALDWIN: Right.

BORGER: She doesn't like Lisa Murkowski. That is returned.

And if Joe Miller loses here, this is really a repudiation, or I should I say a "refutiation" of Sarah Palin in the state of Alaska. You know? Because she was her candidate lock, stock and barrel.

BALDWIN: I know. Some people are saying this would leave quite a black eye on a potential aspirant for president. But we will wait and see.

Gloria Borger, we'll wait on those Senate races though, won't we?

BORGER: Right. Right. Yes. BALDWIN: We'll be getting another "Political Ticker" update for you in the next hour. You can also get the latest political news. Just go to CNNPolitics.com. And there on Twitter, go to @politicalticker.

And, you know, politics, it's a brutal beat in Russia. This reporter, fighting for his life today. Police say he was brutally attacked just because he wrote an article.

What? Yes. We are live in Moscow with the whole story and the video, next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BALDWIN: Welcome back to the NEWSROOM.

I need you to watch this video I'm about to show you very, very closely. But let me tell you, there is a chilling story behind this video. Let's look at it together here.

You see the man walking toward the gate. He's going to stop to allow a second man to pass. Punches the man in the gut. You see he goes down.

Now, this is the shocking start to a brutal beating. If you watch the whole thing and wait for it, this goes on for like a minute or more. One of the two assailants apparently used a link of rebar that he had concealed in some flowers.

The attacked happening in Moscow. This is early Saturday. This video though just now emerging today. Still wailing on him.

The victim? A journalist.

Joining us now from Moscow, CNN's Matthew Chance.

And Matthew, we have a photograph of the victim. Can you tell me -- here it is -- who is this man? How is he doing condition-wise? He was beaten brutally. And who would have wanted to have done this to him?

MATTHEW CHANCE, CNN SR. INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, his name is Oleg Kashin. He's a pretty prominent journalist here in Russia. He writes for a very well known and popular business newspaper, a daily newspaper here in Russia, focusing on political and business affairs in Russia.

You can see there the terrible relentlessness of that beating. I mean, he must have been struck about 50 times.

The result is he's had both of his legs broken. He's lost a finger and had his hands smashed. His jaw is broken, he's got severe head injuries, so bad, in fact, the doctors have put him into a drug- induced coma where they're trying to stabilize him in hospital now. Apparently, he's out of danger at the moment.

As to why it is, it's not clear. All his colleagues say it's because of the kind of reporting he did, focusing on stories that basically were at odds with many big political and business interests in this country -- Brooke.

BALDWIN: So they were political stories, political articles that he was writing, and they can only guess that it might have been somebody who would have disagreed with what he was writing. Is that what you're saying?

CHANCE: Well, I think the most contentious stuff he was writing about over the past couple of months was a very controversial plan to build a road through a forest outside of Moscow. It doesn't sound like much, but this was a big issue domestically here in Russia. A lot of protests, a lot of environmentalists, and, of course, a lot of big business and local officials wanted this road to go through.

The Kremlin has put a hold on the project and they said they're going to look at it again. But it's angered a lot of people, because if that road project is canceled, it could mean a lot of local officials would lose a lot of money. So there's a certain amount of suspicion there could have been some local official involvement in this beating, but other beatings as well that have taken place in connection with the (INAUDIBLE) story.

BALDWIN: Well, let's talk about that, because in reading up on this story, I had read that there have been multiple attacks on journalists in Russia. And the word that this writer used, this is "normal." But also, apparently some of these cases, they often go un-prosecuted.

Why is that?

CHANCE: Well, it's not clear. Certainly, the Russian government has a huge responsibility, according to a press activist, of course human rights activists, to get to the bottom of these beatings and these killings.

I think there have been 19 people who have been killed, journalists, since 2000. None of them, I don't think, have been -- solved the cases. And there's been countless dozens of others of beatings like the one we saw of Oleg Kashin, this latest journalist on Saturday morning.

It's just not clear why the Kremlin, why the Russian authorities are not getting to the bottom of this. Clearly, some kind of explanation, according to critics, is that, you know, they're a vested interest in this. It's officials or people connected with officials that are carrying out and ordering these beatings and assassinations of journalists, and that's why the law enforcement authorities are refusing to get to the bottom of them.

BALDWIN: It's unacceptable, and I can't let you go without asking you, Matthew, I mean, what about the international media like yourself? Are you worried at all? I mean, I know you travel through Russia and throughout the world to report for us, but specifically in Russia, are you out there having to watch your own back?

CHANCE: Well, I think to some extent, you do. I mean, Russia is one of the most dangerous places in the world to work as a journalist. I mean, it follows countries like Iraq and Algeria. It's right up there in the top five in terms of how many journalists get killed.

There have been some foreign journalists who have been targeted for assassination and beaten as well, but I have to say, the vast majority of the victims of this phenomenon are local journalists that really dig deep inside little stories that affect local officials that probably don't make international news --

BALDWIN: Like building a road.

CHANCE: -- in a local little area affect -- exactly. Like building that road, they affect the locals, they affect local interest, but they don't necessarily make big international news.

BALDWIN: Well, this video certainly has. We saw the video. We felt compelled enough to need to tell the story.

Matthew Chance, thank you for helping me do that. Appreciate it, live from Moscow.

We are counting down here until the big comeback tonight. Conan O'Brien back on late-night TV. We've been watching all these promos for months and months. He is on our sister network, TBS, starting tonight.

We are live outside of the studio where the taping is about to begin. That's ahead.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BALDWIN: More revelations from a former president. George W. Bush's book, it's called "Decision Points." It is out tomorrow. And today we are learning that Vice President Dick Cheney was mad at the president because he didn't grant Scooter Libby a full pardon.

You remember Libby was the vice president's chief of staff who was convicted of perjury, among other charges, in the leak of Valerie Plame's identity. Well, President Bush commuted Libby's sentence, but the vice president wanted him to pardon Libby and was angry that he did not.

Want to let you know we, CNN, will be speaking to former President Bush. You can watch more in a special "STATE OF THE UNION" interview. That is with the lovely Candy Crowley. You can watch that Sunday night, 8:00 Eastern, only on CNN.

And as for the president, President Obama, he was in New Delhi today, and supports making India a permanent member on the U.N. Security Council. And his remarks, if you watched early, early this morning, at India's parliament, it was an attempt to drive home the growing ties between the U.S. and India.

And Wolf Blitzer joins me from "THE SITUATION ROOM."

And Wolf, this may be an easy sell, perhaps, in India. But it may take a little more to convince Americans that India, you know, not simply a country who some say -- you know, you talk about outsourcing -- steals America's jobs.

WOLF BLITZER, CNN ANCHOR: Well, there's a fierce competition for a lot of those jobs, and we know in Bangalore, other parts of India, they've got a lot of outsourcing going on to the detriment of a lot of manufacturing and other service-related jobs here in the United States.

On the other hand, Brooke, the United States exports a lot of stuff to India. It's a huge and very growing market. And all those exports create a lot of jobs in the United States, whether agricultural- related or manufacturing jobs, military-related equipment.

So, India is a big partner. Their middle class is growing rapidly every single year. They're going to need a lot of stuff.

And the president is trying, together with his delegation there, to convince the Indians to buy a lot of that stuff from the United States, as opposed to China or Western Europe or some other countries where a lot of that stuff is made. So, there's a fierce globalization going on. India is right in the middle of it.

BALDWIN: And we are waiting. His next stop on this 10-day trip is Indonesia, lived there for a couple of years as a young boy. We don't know if he'll make it there simply because of ash spewing, of course, from Mt. Merapi.

But we saw the video, Wolf. And you and I chatted a tad about it last hour. President Obama joining the list of presidents dancing at events. Here he is, following his wife's lead. And the young kids got him on his feet.

And so, you know, one of my personal favorites is President Bush. We pulled that video.

There it goes, back in 2007. And we wondered if this was dignified for the office.

I was asking you last hour how this works in terms of an image for a president. But one wise man told me that it's OK. In fact, this man said, "When I was on the 'Ellen' show, I danced as well, and dancing is cool." So, of course, you have phenomenal producers who sent me this e-mail.

(LAUGHTER)

BALDWIN: Let me just stop. I want to let this breathe. Let's listen.

BLITZER: No, don't let it breathe. Let it die.

BALDWIN: Hang on. Let's see.

Keep rolling it, guys.

(MUSIC)

BLITZER: Ellen is good. She's a good dancer.

BALDWIN: You are grinning ear to ear. I've been looking at you out of my eye. No one else --

(CROSSTALK)

BLITZER: Just wait. Wednesday night, we're going to be in Atlanta, Brooke --

BALDWIN: Oh, my lord.

BLITZER: -- for the BET Soul Train Awards. I'm going to be making a presentation there, and maybe there'll be a little dancing going on there as well.

BALDWIN: Ooh, that's a good tease. And I get to be with you in the studio. We're going to hopefully get some of your time and we'll sit with you on Wednesday before you begin "THE SITUATION ROOM."

BLITZER: I'll be there. I'm looking forward to it.

BALDWIN: Can't wait, Wolf Blitzer.

BLITZER: No dancing, though.

BALDWIN: Thank you. Thank you for allowing me for that. That was hysterical.

Jen Businger (ph), thank you very much as well. You know who you are.

Hours to go until Conan O'Brien makes his return to late-night TV. This time, he is on TBS. So, what should we expect?

We are getting the scoop. We are live outside the studio. That is next. .

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BALDWIN: Sorry. I'm still laughing over Wolf Blitzer.

OK. To the Twitter Board. Are we going to the Twitter Board? I'm looking out of the corner of my eye.

We're not going to go to the Twitter Board. Hang on.

Earlier, though, we showed you a tweet from Conan O'Brien. And he tweeted, "I feel like I have something to do tonight that I keep forgetting."

Well, we have not forgotten. Entertainment Correspondent Kareen Wynter is outside of the Warner Brothers Studio in Burbank, California. And in just a couple of hours, Mr. O'Brien will be taping the very first installment of his late-night show, now moved to TBS. And Kareen, it's been tough. You know, we saw the Conan Cam. We've been trying to see little bits and pieces of the show. But it really stayed kind of mum on some of these details.

So what do you know as far as a format? Will it be traditional? Will he bring back his sidekick, Andy Richter? What do you know?

KAREEN WYNTER, CNN ENTERTAINMENT CORRESPONDENT: Oh, the million- dollar question. They're of course keeping it all under wraps.

We have a little bit of info, because of course they want the curiosity factor to be up here. And you know so many people will be tuning in tonight, Brooke. Right?

BALDWIN: Of course.

WYNTER: But, OK, so this is what we know.

It will have that traditional kind of late-night TV format, of course. Conan will have his desk. There will be a couch for -- he'll have his desk, a couch for guests, a musical band. But here's where it's a little bit different.

Conan said he wanted a little bit more of an intimate feel. So unlike his last gig of "The Tonight Show," where I guess the audience seated more than 350 people, guess what? That number is much smaller for his new show, for Conan.

A couple hundred seats will be available for audience members. And Conan also joked, Brooke, that he wanted to be able to reach out and touch the audience members. He said, you know, probably not a good idea, at the advice of his attorneys, but hey, he wanted kind of like a theatrical, intimate feel.

But anyway, the show debuts tonight. And here's a snippet of what you can perhaps expect.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

CONAN O'BRIEN, COMEDIAN: Hey, is it November 8th?

WYNTER (voice-over): Conan O'Brien makes his return to late night TV Monday with his new show on TBS, the sister network of CNN. He warmed up by making a surprise appearance on "Lopez Tonight," which is moving to midnight to make room for Conan.

GEORGE LOPEZ, HOST, "LOPEZ TONIGHT": Welcome to TBS and, really, welcome to basic cable.

O'BRIEN: It's thrilling, basically, to --

WYNTER: "The Hollywood Reporter's" Matthew Belloni has written about Conan's return to late night.

MATTHEW BELLONI, "THE HOLLYWOOD REPORTER": For the cable universe, the expectations are high. He's a big star. He's coming over from network TV.

WYNTER (on camera): Coming over from NBC, to be specific, and his departure from "The Tonight Show" in an awkward game of musical chairs with Jay Leno is the stuff Hollywood nightmares are made of.

(voice-over): The TBS show represents the chance to prove, once again, he's one of comedy's best.

(on camera): So for Conan, what an adventure. Is this a shot at redemption?

BELLONI: It's absolutely a shot at redemption for Conan O'Brien. I mean, he - the way he was sort of cast out of NBC, he took it very personal. Conan is starting from scratch. If it succeeds, it's a huge personal redemption for him.

WYNTER: And O'Brien has given few hints about the look of the new show beyond saying it will have a more intimate feel than his "Tonight" show did. He will be joined by longtime side kick, Andy Richter.

ANDY RICHTER, CONAN O'BRIEN'S SIDEKICK: Thank you, Conan.

WYNTER: They posted a faux preview on line complete with a mini-band. As he gets ready to return, Conan's feeling the love from Hollywood.

JOVOVICH: We're always happy to see him because he's rad!

WYNTER: From Milla Jovovich to "Dancing with the Stars'" Jennifer Gray.

JENNIFER GREY, ACTRESS: Conan's smart. Conan's tough. Conan's special.

WYNTER: Even the Hoff's on board, more or less.

DAVID HASSELHOFF, ACTOR: As long as he doesn't do any David Hasselhoff jokes, which is probably impossible for him, he'll just be fine.

WYNTER: And if Conan is looking for any guests, we found no shortage of volunteers from Tina Fey -

TINA FEY, ACTRESS AND COMEDIENNE: Yes, absolutely. I would love to do it. WYNTER: To Harry Hamlin and Lisa Rinna.

LISA RINNA, ACTRESS: I don't want to beg, but I really would like to.

HARRY HAMLIN, ACTOR: Conan, let us go to your show.

WYNTER: Conan's return sets off an unprecedented battle in late night between some giant talent --

BELLONI: Now, you have three heavyweights overlapping. Jon Stewart and Stephen Colbert are also players in this in addition to Jay Leno and David Letterman. WYNTER: But in the crowded late-night landscape, Conan's always had an edge.

O'BRIEN: I stand out. I'm 6'9" with orange hair.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BALDWIN: So, Kareen, hand on just a second because we just checked Twitter. And I want to read in case you're not following -- I'm sure you are. But this is a hilarious account (ph) to follow.

Guys, let's roll over this way.

Conan's latest tweet is: "I feel like I have something to do tonight, but I keep forgetting."

Yes, a little thing called a show.

So, Kareen, back to the show, I loved your piece. But one of the big questions, obviously, is who is he getting, you know, tonight? And are there any big names guest-wise for the rest of the week?

WYNTER: Well, if you're a "Glee" fan quite a treat. I have something in store for you here.

Seth Rogen, "Glee's" Lea Michele, as well as musical guest Jack White. Some bigger heavyweights at the end of the week, Tom Hanks, as well as "Mad Men's" Jon Hamm.

How about that for the first week?

BALDWIN: Not too shabby.

And also, what about though his monologue? I think one of the biggest questions is, what will he do? Will he address what happened with Jay Leno and the whole NBC fight back and forth? Do you have any idea if that will at all be touched on tonight?

WYNTER: If I can take a guess at that, just from all of the research I pulled -- and he recently did an interview with "Playboy" magazine -- I think he kind of wants to distance himself from that. He was asked, you know, "Will Jay perhaps ever be a guest on your show?" And he said, "You know what? Some things not even money will tempt you to do that."

So if I could kind of make an educated guess there, I think he's going to really distance himself from the controversy. He wants to start fresh and say, you know what? I've survived that. That' yesterday. And look, the new Conan is back, better than ever.

And how about that little beard that he's been growing, Brooke? You know? It kind of (INAUDIBLE).

BALDWIN: Right. A little bit of a different look.

WYNTER: A new beginning. BALDWIN: A new Conan emerging.

WYNTER: Yes.

BALDWIN: OK. So you mentioned Andy Richter. He will be on as his sidekick. What else from his old show? Will he be taking anything else and bringing it to TBS?

WYNTER: He's not saying. I think we're going to have to tune in tonight and see what is here in terms of his old jokes or little gimmicks. But I guess, you know, we'll just have to tune in and see.

We really don't know. He hasn't really been saying much about that. But, Andy, hey, that's a good start. We all know Andy, and we love him from back in the day. So we'll have to tune in tonight.

BALDWIN: What about the band? What about Max? Will he be there? Do we know that yet?

WYNTER: Nothing, no details on that as well. We don't know.

We just know that there will be a musical band. And again, a more intimate feel. That's what they keep playing up.

It's going to feel like you're sitting in a theater. He's going to be able to just walk over if he wants and touch --

BALDWIN: Reach out and touch people.

WYNTER: -- members of the audience, even though, again, he joked -- you reach out and touch. You know? Some people may not like that, others may welcome it. I'd want to give them a high-five.

BALDWIN: Right. Totally.

WYNTER: Yes, exactly.

BALDWIN: High-five, for sure.

WYNTER: The curiosity factor tonight is going to be huge.

BALDWIN: We will all be watching, and I'm sure that's entirely the point. The mystery is a good thing.

Kareen Wynter for us outside Warner Brothers.

Kareen, thank you.

And with that, thanks for watching.

We'll send it up to Wolf Blitzer in Washington.