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Russian Spy Saga Continues; Future of War?; President Obama Attends G20 Summit; Tax Cut Deadline Approaching; Sex Trafficking In Minors On The Internet Frequent In Americas; Group For Refugees Established; Demi Lovato Continues In Rehab; Lame Duck Congress May Address Tax Issue

Aired November 12, 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: Is a hit squad coming for a double agent? He's accused of spilling secrets to the U.S. This sounds like a movie, but this chase is very real.

I'm Brooke Baldwin. The story in just 60 seconds.

(voice-over): Is this the future of war? Soldiers becoming real-life Iron Men. I will tell you how close these sci-fi suits could be to showing up on the battlefield.

How far would you go to fight a purse-snatcher? One woman gets dragged by an SUV. How does this end?

And why is this woman sitting in a glass room allowing everyone to watch her? Wait until you hear the point she's trying to make.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BALDWIN: Hi, everyone. I'm Brooke Baldwin. Happy Friday to you.

Let's get going on this story that is just unbelievable. You remember femme fatale Anna Chapman? Here she is. She was at that center of the summer's spy story, you know, the one that really read...

(LAUGHTER)

BALDWIN: ... like a -- a Cold War novel.

Well, U.S. authorities, back in June, they swooped in on Chapman and nine other alleged Russian agents leading fake American lives. They were arrested. They were deported to Russia, in exchange for four Russian prisoners.

Now, Chapman, if you have been doing your reading here, became quite a bit of a media sensation. She appeared on magazine covers, developing her own iPhone app. In fact, I think she even has her own action figure.

So, that was pretty much it until now. This story has become a saga, with Russian media now reporting that it was this double agent who allegedly outed the spy ring to the FBI. And what's even more stunning here, that man may now be in the crosshairs of the Kremlin.

Let's get all this straight here.

CNN's Matthew Chance joins me live from Moscow with this story.

And, Matthew, let's just begin with -- he's known as a Colonel Shcherbakov. This is a Russian-spy-turned-double-agent who apparently helped crack this summer's spy ring. What do we know about him?

MATTHEW CHANCE, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Not a great deal.

I mean, we have been given his name in this very respected Russian newspaper. It's called "Kommersant." And they have been conducting a very lengthy investigation as to how it was that these two -- sorry -- 10 undercover agents, including Anna Chapman in the United States, were exposed so dramatically.

And they have come to the conclusion, after talking to their sources, who are unnamed inside the Russian security establishment, that it's this character, Colonel Shcherbakov, who was the double agent. He was a key figure apparently in the SVR, which is kind of the equivalent of the CIA here in Russia.

It looks after overseas intelligence gathering. It was his job to place these moles, these undercover agents, in the United States. And so essentially it seems that Anna Chapman and her cohorts were betrayed by their boss -- their boss, essentially, in -- in Moscow.

He's fled the country. He's believed to be in the United States right now. But, as you mentioned, there are security sources again quoted in this newspaper as saying that there will be retribution -- Brooke.

BALDWIN: Before we get to those -- those sources -- and, though, also, I'm curious what -- what Putin is saying -- want to ask you, do we have any idea why he would have wanted to turn over his own colleagues? Might it have been money? Might it have been something else?

CHANCE: Well, it could well -- it could well have been money.

And, of course, back -- back in the -- back in the Cold War, it was often ideological reasons that -- that -- that -- that people defected, but that -- that's not the case anymore, of -- of course. Russia is not longer a communist state. It's capitalist, like much of the rest of the world.

So, it could have been for money. That's one possibility that's been raised in this "Kommersant" investigation. It could have been something that he was caught doing by the U.S. CIA or -- or other agencies there, and -- and he could have been blackmailed. That's something that -- that happens, you know, in the -- in the spy world as well.

The -- the "Kommersant" investigation didn't really get to the bottom of that, and so that's still a big question mark -- Brooke. BALDWIN: Also the question mark, here in the states, there are reports that perhaps he's getting help from, I don't know, the CIA, the FBI, to -- to go underground, to get some kind of false identity. And I imagine it's a pretty big get for -- for U.S. intelligence sources to have someone who would roll over like this.

CHANCE: Yes, I think so. And, apparently he -- he -- he -- he brought with him, according to this -- this -- these reports here in Russia, some very important files on some of the agents that -- that he later exposed to the U.S.

And so I think he is quite a -- a prized asset by the -- the -- the United States intelligence gathering community. I think he will have a great deal of information about this very secretive SVR, the overseas intelligence agency here in Russia.

And I think it's for that reason that there have been these direct threats issued by these unnamed sources, admittedly, in the "Kommersant" investigation saying that there's a -- they know where he is, they know who he is, and that, every day, he will have to drag this with him through his life. And, every day, he will fear vindication -- so, some -- some pretty explicit threats there that there will be some kind of retribution carried out against him.

BALDWIN: And -- and -- but, Matthew, speaking of the retribution, I mean, what do you know about reports that Russia has essentially hired this hit man to come find this guy in the U.S. and kill him? And, also, explain the tie to Trotsky back in 1940.

(LAUGHTER)

CHANCE: Yes.

Well, it's -- it's not -- it's not clear what -- whether any of this is going to happen, of course. It might just be bluster by this unnamed source who is being quoted "Kommersant." But he did go on to say -- let -- let me quote this -- "There's no doubt that there is a Mercader that's been sent for him," a reference, Mercader, to the Spanish national Ramon Mercader, who was sent by Stalin back in 1940 to assassinate his political rival, Leon Trotsky.

He did that, of course, infamously, in Mexico City with an ice pick.

And, so, the implication is...

BALDWIN: Huh.

CHANCE: ... that, obviously, a similar fate awaits Colonel Shcherbakov.

BALDWIN: What a story. It does indeed read like a spy novel, though this is very, very real.

Matthew Chance for us in Moscow -- fascinating. Matthew, thank you.

Also want want -- to let you know, there is this urgent search under way right now for a mother, her two kids and a friend. Apparently, she didn't show up for work. And police, they go to her house, they're trying to find her, and they found her home in -- quote -- "an unusual condition." That's all they're saying -- the mystery unraveling right now. We are going to get the latest coming up.

Also, another eruption in Indonesia -- thousands of people dealing with the aftermath. Thousands of people have been dealing with previous eruptions, as we have been reporting the past couple of weeks. We will tell you what crews are now finding at the bottom of Mount Merapi, these unbelievable pictures next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BALDWIN: All right, a couple other stories we want to let you know about, President Obama, first and foremost, wrapping up his visit to South Korea with a speech at the G20 summit.

In fact, during that speech at the meeting, he criticized China for allegedly manipulating its currency to affect global trade.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BARACK OBAMA, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Thank you. Good afternoon, everybody

It is undervalued. And China spends enormous amounts of money intervening in the market to keep it undervalued.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BALDWIN: Another big headline coming out of his trip to Seoul: The president was unsuccessful in persuading nations to get on board with stiff measures to pressure a policy shift by China. The president, by the way, now in Japan, the last leg of his 10-day trip to Asia.

The death toll now from Indonesia's Mount Merapi's two-week eruption has now climbed above 200. It erupted again Friday, spewing hot gases, volcanic rock, clouds of ash. See all the aftermath. What a mess. Authorities say the worst may be over, but the danger remains. The volcano lies in one of the world's most densely populated areas, so almost 400,000 people have been displaced there.

The Supreme Court today refused to halt, to temporarily suspend enforcement of the military's don't ask, don't tell policy on gays in the military. The Obama administration, they say they want the policy repealed, but they don't favor a court-based end to the issue.

A lower court had found the -- the policy unconstitutional. It's this group the Log Cabin Republicans, they filed an emergency petition with the court to suspend enforcement of the controversial policy, but that same policy remains in effect until the full appeals process is complete.

And take a look at some pictures with me here. This is just in from Memphis. Here is what we know. And I want to warn you, it's not a whole lot. What we know is that a construction worker there -- aerials over this construction scene -- a construction worker there somehow has fallen into a creek. There -- it's called Cypress (ph) Creek.

So, the worker and the crew are apparently out there. They were working, repairing this bridge. Workers have called in the fire department. Fire crews are on the scene. In fact, they're in the water with boats trying to find this guy, rescue this guy.

Of course, as soon as we maybe see that picture moving, and we can start to see that water rescue, you know we will be all over it, and we will bring to you right here live on CNN.

Now, some people are calling Sarah Palin's new reality show the most expensive campaign ad in history. So, hmm, if she decides to run for president, will it help her, will it hurt her? That is ahead.

And are your taxes about to go up? This fiery debate rages on over the Bush tax cuts. It's actually peaking right now, but time is running out for that final answer.

Dana Bash breaking it down all for us. She's talking to her sources. We will have the latest coming up next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BALDWIN: Welcome back to the CNN.

Let's see, together here, if we can get this -- this tax thing straight. So, unless the president and Congress reach this agreement, everyone's federal income tax will go up come January 1, because the tax cut that passed a decade ago is about to expire, runs out.

So, now the president wants to freeze the current rate for about 98 percent of the country. But Republicans are threatening that they will block him unless the wealthiest 2 percent gets their rates frozen as well. So, as you've been following, there's been a whole lot of back-and-forth.

So -- so, here's the latest. Today -- or listen to the president here. This was today. He was weighing on this very issue all the way from Seoul, South Korea.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

OBAMA: I want to make sure that taxes don't go up for middle-class families starting on January 1. That's my number-one priority -- for those families and for our economy.

I also believe that it would be fiscally irresponsible for us to permanently extend the high-income tax cuts. I think that would be a mistake, particularly when we've got our Republican friends saying that their number-one priority is making sure that we deal with our debt and our deficit.

(END VIDEO CLIP) BALDWIN: So, he mentions his Republican friends, but did you hear -- or, I should say, did you not hear one word? He didn't mention the word compromise.

Let's bring in Dana Bash, senior congressional correspondent.

And, Dana, before we talk -- I know you're talking to your sources, but, before you and I talk, I want to listen to another statement. This one was made today by House Speaker Nancy Pelosi. She was speaking in a radio interview. Let's listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

REP. NANCY PELOSI (D-CA), SPEAKER OF THE HOUSE: Our position in the House has been that we support the tax cuts for the middle -- for everyone, but not an additional tax cut at the high end. It's too costly. Those tax cuts have been in effect for a very long time. They didn't create jobs.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BALDWIN: So, Dana, again, the word we're not hearing is compromise.

DANA BASH, CNN SENIOR CONGRESSIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Hmm.

BALDWIN: So, What are you hearing...

(LAUGHTER)

BALDWIN: ... on the hill, Dana?

BASH: Well -- well, look, if they are going to get this done by the end of the year, there has to be a compromise. I mean, we know that, right?

The question is, what is it? Now, to be clear, there aren't any serious discussions going on yet at all. But we are hearing some talk of potential compromise that could -- could come. And one thing that I'm hearing more and more from Democratic and Republican sources is possibly just extending all tax cuts across the board for all income rates temporarily, maybe two or three years.

And, in that scenario, both sides would give a little bit. And it was very noteworthy, I think, to hear President Obama. He did use -- make clear -- make clear that he doesn't want to extend the tax rates for those in the upper-income brackets permanently -- permanently. So, he gave it a little bit of -- of wiggle room there.

You know, we will see what happens when they start talking earnest, but that was very noteworthy.

BALDWIN: Dana, let's talk about the words temporary and permanent. You brought them both up.

BASH: Yes. BALDWIN: You mentioned temporary, and you mentioned -- now, that was interesting to me -- temporary could mean years, two to three years. So -- so, somebody people are talking about a -- possibly, on -- on both sides of the aisle, this temporary extension of the -- the middle-class tax cut, maybe everything. But when -- everyone, though, agrees it should be permanent. So, what's the deal?

BASH: Very interesting. Right. It's -- sort of seems like a no- brainer. If everybody degrees that the the tax cuts for people making $250,000 and less should be permanent, that should be -- you know, OK, we agree on that, let's move on.

But what I'm hearing, especially from Republican sources, is that they're reluctant to -- to take the two apart, so to speak, because they know, and they're worried, politically, about having a debate just on whether to extend tax cuts for the wealthiest Americans. They want to keep the two together. They're very clear about this -- that, the Republican sources I'm talking about...

BALDWIN: Ah.

BASH: ... or talking to.

So, that may be one reason why, when you're talking about, down the road, coming together on a potential compromise, doing both of them temporarily might be something that -- that they might be able to come together on. But, again, it's...

(LAUGHTER)

BASH: ... it's -- it's the very beginning, very beginning.

BALDWIN: So, the Republicans perhaps want to keep the two together. I think the Democrats perhaps are another story. I mean, we can go there in a moment.

But I want to take a look -- I want to take a look at a poll. This is a CBS poll. It just came out. And, so, 78 percent of Americans believe the president needs to compromise, not just stick to his positions, as we just heard. Seventy-two percent say the same thing about Republicans.

So, if -- if I'm doing my math right, we have about six or seven weeks here to work this thing out with, I guess, the -- the -- the lame-duck here session. So, surely something will get done, right?

BASH: You would think so. I mean, you would definitely think so.

But I have to tell you, I have been talking and hearing more and more from Republicans, maybe not. It sounds crazy to even think about the idea of Republicans allowing any tax cut to expire, but there is one school of thought out there in the Republican side of this that maybe they do let them expire, wait until January, when the new Congress convenes, when Republicans have a lot more in terms of numbers, and then try to do it more their way and do it retroactively. Again, I know it sounds crazy, but it is not out of the realm of possibility. And it's not just because of Democrats and Republicans coming together. It also could be because Democrats, until the lame- duck is over, still have a very, very large number, and they still have a very big divide among themselves about how to go forward and do this -- Brooke.

BALDWIN: Hey, you got to be strategic. And I understand. Perhaps they will wait, as you're -- as you're hearing. It would be a little bit more of a home field advantage for Republicans come January. Interesting.

Dana Bash, keep us posted, will you please.

Meantime, listen to this.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: But just to show you that this is not anymore than (INAUDIBLE) it is, you do not -- I repeat -- we do not need to you bring your life jackets. This is not a situation anywhere close to that. And...

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BALDWIN: OK, so -- so, they don't have to put their life jackets on. They're just getting word here.

Talk about cabin fever. Little do these people know. This is just a glimpse of what life was like on that crippled cruise ship. So, coming up next, we're getting more of this unique amateur video, and amazing stories from those frustrated passengers.

Stay there.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BALDWIN: The Carnival cruise ship Splendor is finally docked.

(LAUGHTER)

BALDWIN: And all passengers are back on land. And we're finally today, you know, getting our first glimpse, our first look inside the ship during the pleasure cruise that was not so much pleasureful.

So, what I'm about to show you is a very sharp contrast to the mess following that engine room fire that you know knocked out all the power for everyone. Remember, those toilets couldn't flush for a little while.

Well, this also speaks to, you know, the composure of the ship's crew, who had to keep the spirits up among thousands of passengers, in the face of icky, smelly toilets, the long lines for cold food, and a lack of air conditioning.

So, the video you're about to see was shot by one of the passengers as they were first being told there was some kind of problem on that ship. Watch.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: But just to show you that this is not anymore than (INAUDIBLE) it is, you do not -- I repeat -- we do not need to you bring your life jackets. This is not a situation anywhere close to that. And...

It is because we don't want you smelling the smoke, which...

(CROSSTALK)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: (INAUDIBLE)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: ... is going to eventually flow through the aft part of the (INAUDIBLE) ship.

So, if you are smelling it, and it is affecting you, please come up to the open decks.

I am going to sound the general emergency alarm now. And this is so that I can put all of our crew members (INAUDIBLE) We're doing this in accordance with the U.S. Coast Guard rules and regulations.

So, I'm going to recap one more time, so I'm as clear as I can possibly be. We have a smoke situation, lots of smoke in one of our engine control areas. You are all smelling that smoke if you're on deck one, two, possibly deck six as well...

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Huh?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: (INAUDIBLE)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: ... and you're at the back of the ship.

And our teams are now fighting this smoke and making sure that we extract it. We're opening our outside shell doors to let the smoke comes out. And, at this time, we believe that it is safe for the guests as far as not inhaling any of this smoke.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BALDWIN: What's amazing is that so many of those people who were on board that Carnival are taking, you know, Carnival back up on another free cruise.

Hey, those passengers also on board the Splendor, you know, when they left the ship, they were really praising the crew for keeping them informed and also entertained -- as entertained as possible, I guess, considering -- considering the circumstances during what many describe as really a nightmare cruise.

And we're also keeping our eye very close on this mystery, this -- this bizarre mystery that is unfolding right now in Ohio. So, you have this mother, you have her two children, and a friend. They have all gone missing. And their home has been found in disarray. An entire college a couple miles away also on lockdown connected to all of this. So, where are they? Police may be getting a little closer to the answer -- next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BALDWIN: There is this bizarre mystery that is unfolding in Ohio right now, and it came to our attention when Kenyon College, not too far from Columbus, sent a message to students and locked down the whole campus overnight.

So, here is what prompted this whole thing. You have this mother, her 13-year-old daughter, her 10-year-old son, and this friend, this female friend. So, they all go missing. They live about seven miles away from the college. And police suspect foul play.

But look at this. The mother's pickup truck -- You see it? -- it was found near Kenyon College, near the campus, remember, seven miles from the family's home. Now, pay close attention to the sequence of events here. This is all according to the sheriff of Knox County, Ohio.

The mother's boyfriend reported the family missing back on Wednesday. Now, the mother's pickup truck that you just saw was at the house Wednesday Wednesday when the boyfriend reported the family missing. So, then a co-worker went to the family's house the next day, on Thursday, to check on the mother when she didn't show up for work at the Dairy Queen.

So, that co-worker noticed some things were out of place when she looked in the windows of the home. Then, when police searched the home last night -- and here's what is interesting -- here's the mystery -- the sheriff says they found the home to be in -- quote -- "an unusual condition for a family home."

That's all they're saying, "an unusual condition."

The children's father lives in another county, but he says he was called in about all these disappearances and he sounds very much distraught. In fact the father says he last saw his children about three weeks ago when he took his wife and the kids to the Columbus Zoo.

And he went on, speaking with the newspaper there in Columbus, the Columbus dispatch, that his 13-year-old is a bubbly young girl and the 10-year-old is quieter and always on the honor roll. So the story we've alluded to here has a lot of questions that immediate need to be answered. We're digging into this mystery in Ohio, and we'll let you know what we find.

Now this.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: The next thing she said is I don't know about sex trafficking minors on the Internet, and then she started crying and slammed the door in my face. (END VIDEO CLIP)

BALDWIN: What a story this is. You have an estimated 300,000 kids here in the U.S., they're at the risk of being pushed in to sex slavery. But that number is growing, and one group calls the reason astounding. That's ahead.

But first, refugee children in it a small Georgia town just outside of Atlanta, they're getting this new lease on life all thanks to one woman and the game of soccer. Our own Dr. Sanjay Gupta with the story in today's "Human Factor."

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

DR. SANJAY GUPTA, CNN SENIOR MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT: At first glance they just look like a bunch of kids playing soccer. But take another look, a closer one. This is the Fugees family.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Anybody who wants to be a part of this family can by.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Any refugee who wants to be a part of this family can be.

GUPTA: And that is what binds them together -- they are all refugees, 86 children and teens from more than 28 countries.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Any country that's had a war in the past 20, 30 years, we've had kids from those countries.

GUPTA: What started as a casual soccer team six years is now a school full of students most of whom had never been in a classroom before. Robin Dikori, sharply dressed in the school's uniform blue sweater and tie, is an eighth grader at the Fugees academy, something that would have been almost impossible in his native Sudan.

GUPTA (on camera): If someone said what are you going to do with your life, what would you have said?

ROBIN DIKORI, FUGEES FAMILY: I didn't know what to say during that time. And now when I look at myself, I want to be someone like very good, make my people pride.

GUPTA (voice-over): Life in America has not always been good to Robin.

GUPTA (on camera): When you're an outsider from Sudan living in the United States, what is that like? What happens to you?

DIKORI: It's very hard. Everyone is picking on you. They treat you really different like you don't belong here.

GUPTA: What that did you do?

DIKORI: I used to fight a lot. But nowadays I don't really get into fights. I try to resolve them. GUPTA (voice-over): And while there are refugees living all around the United States, this Fugees family is the only group combining soccer with the hope for a better future.

GUPTA (on camera): Are there other organizations that you know of like this around the country?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: No. This is it. And we get e-mails every week from people from around the world wanting to bring Fugees to us.

GUPTA: How many more years before you finish?

DIKORI: I have four more years.

GUPTA: And then?

DIKORI: Another four years of college.

GUPTA (voice-over): Dr. Sanjay Gupta, CNN, Clarkston, Georgia.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BALDWIN: It is a tragic combination. You have vulnerable children, some of whom are runaways, maybe kicked out of their homes. And you have sex traffickers.

The victims are often pushed into prostitution, and the sordid trade oftentimes takes place with the help of the Internet. Amber Lyon has the story of a teenager who was swept up into the sex trade and the mother who saved her.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

AMBER LYON, CNN CORRESPONDENT: What was your first reaction when you went on the Internet and went to Backpage.com and saw the ads with your daughter?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I was heartbroken. I was scared. They showed her face. It was in a hotel room. And she had on lingerie and wig. She was in very sexual positions.

LYON: And how old was your daughter?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: She was 14.

LYON (voice-over): She was 14 years old, missing for nine months before her mother saw an ad selling her daughter for sex on the online classified site Backpage.com, giving police the break they needed to find the girl and bring her home.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: What's her name?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Cookie. LYON: We're not naming the 14-year-old authorize nor her mother to protect the family. But we can tell you that she loves to draw and has brothers and a sister.

One night last year, the girl ran away from home. She was angry that her parents had forbidden her from going to a party.

LYON (on camera): The mother tells us the 14-year-old ran away from home and not even a day later was in this fast food restaurant, and that's where a woman picked her up and found out she was a runaway and said, I have a friend you can stay with, come with me. She'll buy you clothes, give and you place to stay. And then everything went downhill from there.

LYON (voice-over): According to court documents and the mother's account, a trafficker got the 14-year-old hooked on drugs, marijuana, codeine, ecstasy, then sold her for sex to men who would literally line up to take advantage of the girl. When she was finally rescued, she was physically scarred and told her mother she'd been abused.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Once I got her home and got her in the tub and stuff and I was to get her to take the wig off of her head, and she had those burns in her scalp.

LYON (on camera): She had burned on her head?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: In her scalp. All her hair was gone, and maybe about six burn marks in the back of her scalp. She just said that "I don't want to talk about it, mom, I don't want to talk about it."

LYON: We're driving through the area where this 14-year-old girl lives and where some of the sex trafficking took place. I grew up in St. Louis and I was very surprised to find out that this was going on in this area of town. Middle class families live here. There's nice neighborhoods.

And I think when a lot of people think of the sex trafficking of our youth, they think this is only happening to poor kids in the city, and that's just not the case.

LYON (voice-over): Just what kind of a person would drug then sell a 14-year-old for sex? We went looking, and what we found isn't what you might expect. She was a 27-year-old woman, Latasha McFarland, free at home with a daughter of her own.

McFarland admitted in court to selling the 14-year-old on Backpage.com but denies knowing that she was a minor. She was originally charged with three counts, including two of trafficking a minor for prostitution, a potential life sentence.

But those more serious charges were dropped when she pled guilty to a separate prostitution charge that did not involve trafficking a minor. The maximum sentence on that charge, five years.

And until her December sentencing date, this woman remains free at home caring for her child. UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: The last thing accepted to me was I don't know anything about sex trafficking minors on the internet and then she started crying and slammed the door in my face.

LYON: Rich Callahan is the United States attorney for St. Louis. We asked him about the five year maximum under this plea deal. It's the same sentence someone could get for trafficking a single marijuana joint across state lines.

LYON (on camera): So it seems to me I can't believe how in the United States someone can traffic a 14-year-old girl, sex traffic her, sell her like a slave, profit off of it, and get an equal punishment as someone who is trafficking a joint of marijuana. How is this possible?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It's going to depend on witnesses. And when you're dealing with runaway victims, if we can't --

LYON: But she's not a runaway. The mom said she would said she would testify.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I understand. You keep saying that. But she wasn't always live with the mother.

LYON (voice-over): Callahan said that because prosecutors couldn't count on the girl's testimony, they took the deal instead.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Under the circumstances, five years in prison is by some lights at least better than getting nothing at all. And sometimes you have to do things that you don't think are -- you're not loud about doing, you'd like to get more time, but you can't always do that.

LYON: "You can't always do that." That's the reality this girl's family is left with, struggling to help their daughter salvage what's left of her childhood.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I said, "Why didn't you back home?" And she said, once I got to taking all the drugs and having all the sex, then I didn't think that you would want me anymore. She was wrong, so wrong.

LYON: Amber Lyon, CNN, St. Louis.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BALDWIN: She didn't think she would want me anymore.

Well, earlier this week, I told you how they're auctioning off some of Bernie Madoff's favorite things this weekend. Now there is word of another kind of auction, and this one has some fascinating stuff from American history. We'll show you some of those items ahead.

Plus, we have some new developments in the Brett Favre saga. The woman he allegedly sent sexually explicit pictures to has just met with the NFL. So what did she tell them? Brooke Anderson is all over this next. She tells us what's trending, next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BALDWIN: Welcome back to the Newsroom. All right, we have sex scandals, new reality TV shows, stars an celebrities in rehab. It can only mean one thing. It's time for "Trending" with Brooke Anderson. The host of HLN "SHOWBIZ TONIGHT" joins me as always from L.A. And Ms. Anderson, it is lovely to it see you on a Friday.

BROOKE ANDERSON, HLN HOST, "SHOWBIZ TONIGHT": Thank you. You, too.

BALDWIN: Thank you. Let's begin with all things Sarah Palin. Should we be surprised she has a reality TV show deal?

ANDERSON: I don't think so. As her daughter Bristol is getting a whole lot of attention for surviving another week on "Dancing with the Stars," Sarah Palin is premiering as a reality show star herself this weekend. Her new show is called "Sarah Palin's Alaska" and it begins on Sunday. And the style is really docu-reality in which she is kind of the tour guide for viewers of her home state. She hikes, she fishes, she encounters bears. Let's take a close look at a clip from the show right now.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SARAH PALIN, (R) FORMER ALASKA GOVERNOR: No boys go upstairs. Willow? I think that my kids will always call Alaska home.

And on a really clear day, you can see Russia from here, almost.

(LAUGHTER)

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ANDERSON: So she's having some fun being self-deprecating there. And also, you know, she's going to open the doors of her home. We saw a little bit of that there, and really show what life is like in the Palin household.

And Brooke, if done well, she has a shot at kind of changing people's perceptions of her, kind of redefining herself after she was so harshly scrutinized and openly mocked when she ran for vice president.

BALDWIN: This way she has a little bit, I imagine, some control of what's on this reality show and someone was saying this could be the best ad for her ever. All right, Sarah Palin.

ANDERSON: Possibly, yes. Although there are some who say like why is she even doing this and it's un-presidential and how can anybody take her seriously. But this is important to her. She wants to showcase her home state. It will be an eight week series beginning on TLC.

BALDWIN: Eight weeks, and we say un-presidential. We don't know if she's sticking her big toe into the race yet, but we shall see.

Number two, yet another chapter, if you will, in the whole Brett Favre texting saga, involving now this woman in the NFL. What do we know today?

ANDERSON: This whole sordid story continues. The woman, Jenn Sterger, who allegedly received sexually explicit photos and messages from NFL star Brett Favre met with NFL investigators, sat down with them yesterday. Her manager tells CNN that she cooperated fully and that, quote, "They provided the NFL with substantial materials in their possession."

The manager did not elaborate on those materials. What we know is that Favre and Sterger both worked for the Jets back in 2008. Favre reportedly sat down with NFL investigators last month. He has refused to speak publicly about this, so, Brooke, really, until the NFL, until the commissioner rules on whether Favre violated their code of conduct policy, it's kind of a guessing game on what's going happen next with his career, with his personal life, with his endorsements.

BALDWIN: Right. The jury really is very much still out on that one.

Also we were talking, I feel like it was a couple weeks ago, but adorable Disney star Demi Lovato who was headed to some sort of treatment facility. She had some sort of emotional issues. But now there's something new with her. What's going on?

ANDERSON: You're right. And it was a couple weeks ago because she's now in week two at her treatment facility and getting rehabilitation.

But now there are reports, unconfirmed reports, I want to stress, flying around that Demi Lovato was partying, was out of control, kind of on a wild tear -- drug, booze, the whole nine yards, leading up to her taking herself off the tour with the Jonas Brothers to check herself into a treatment facility.

Her spokesperson is vehemently denying that she has those sorts of problems. Can we put up the new statement that "SHOWBIZ TONIGHT" received from Demi Lovato's spokesperson. "Demi Lovato is not in treatment for drug or alcohol addiction. Demi decided to seek help for emotional and physical issues she has battled throughout her life. She has taken this step in order to get her life in order."

I've got to tell you, regardless, Brooke, of what her problems have been and what her demons have been, she's doing the responsible thing right now, and that is getting help.

BALDWIN: We were saying at least good for her she's seeking some kind of help, whatever the issue is. And you mentioned she had to bail out of the Jonas Brothers tour. Doesn't she have a TV show? What happens next there?

ANDERSON: Yes, Disney told CNN they were planning to pick up the show for a third season, resume production in January. But Disney tells "SHOWBIZ TONIGHT," however, "The health and well-being of Demi comes first, and if we have to make other plans, we will." So the show could be in jeopardy.

But I say, Brooke, Demi should not worry one second about her career, one second about this show. She should just continue to focus on herself and her health. She can come out of this and still be a huge success.

BALDWIN: Absolutely, we wish her well. Brooke Anderson, thank you.

ANDERSON: Thanks.

BALDWIN: Has it come to this for some dealerships? One salesman is offering free AK-47s with the purchase of a truck. I'm not making this up. The story behind the gimmick is coming up in our next hour.

Also, drivers, warning signs there for a reason. This is a lesson one person had to learn the hard way. You got to see this, next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BALDWIN: Take one fussy baby who does not want to be in his car seat -- parents, maybe you can relate. Add a bill board hot 100 single, and what do you get? You've got to see this.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

(MUSIC)

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BALDWIN: OK, that's super cute. Who says kids nowadays, they don't know good music? Look at this little one rocking along. We've got to move on, I don't want to.

But next, the number one rule of driving, keep your eyes on the road. Look at this car. One Jacksonville woman learned the lesson the hard way. She drove mast the warning signs, drove past the barricades headfirst into an eight-foot hole. Luckily she got out OK. Her car, not so much.

Next, to Victoria, Australia we go. This is the second round of the Masters 10th hole. There he goes. Robert Allenby takes the tee shot. Wait for it. Bam! It hits this guy watching from the gallery. No need to worry. There he goes in the stretcher. But hey, he got an autographed ball and a nice little ride off the course. See ya.

He has been in a coma since 2006, but now former Israeli prime minister Ariel Sharon is being moved from the hospital to his home. So why is this happening? That is ahead.

Wolf Blitzer is also standing by with breaking news from the world of politics. We're going to get your CNN Political Ricker next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BALDWIN: Of course, CNN = politics. And now for a look at the latest news item crossing for the CNN Political Ticker, we go to Wolf Blitzer at the CNN politics desk. Wolf, you're here in Atlanta. Good to see you. What do you have?

WOLF BLITZER, HOST, "THE SITUATION ROOM": It was nice to see you, Brooke, in Atlanta. I'm sure I'll be back in Washington at some point down the road, as well.

The president of the United States, he's in Japan now wrapping up his nine-day visit to Asia. The president not necessarily coming back with a huge success as far as trade issues, other matters are a concern. But he is coming back to a lame duck Congress that has to deal with the very sensitive and critically important issue of tax cuts, whether the Bush era tax cut rates continue or revert back to the Clinton administration tax rates, which are higher.

They've got to reach some decision and pass new legislation by the end of the year during the lame duck session, otherwise the tax rates for everyone goes up. The president says his number one priority is making sure that taxes for the middle class do not increase at all. That's 98 percent of the taxpayers.

The issue right now is what to do with the richest folks out there, those making more than $250,000 a year. And the president is saying he's not yet ready to cave on this issue. He's going to negotiate with the Republican leadership and bring in the Democrats, as well.

He says "My number one priority for those families and for the economy is to make sure the middle class continues to have their tax rates. I also believe that it would be fiscally irresponsible for us to permanently extend the high income tax rates."

The key word there, "permanently," because on the agenda apparently is a compromise to let the taxes continue at the current rate for the rich over the next year or two, and then punt, if you will, and come up with a new decision down the road. So they'll see how they work out this compromise.

They've got to reach some sort of compromise, otherwise, everyone's taxes are going up and in the middle of an economic downturn. Most economists say that would be a huge mistake.

Another sensitive issue, Brooke, we're following, the "don't ask, don't tell" policy that would allow military personnel who are gay to serve openly in the military. The Supreme Court has said, you know what, we're not going to consider this issue right now. We'll let it go through the appeals process right now.

So it's not going up to the Supreme Court, at least for now. We're waiting for the Pentagon's final report. We expect that around December 1st. They're going to make their recommendations and we'll see where they go from there.

It's -- it -- it could come up for actual vote on legislation during the lame-duck session, although, increasingly, that doesn't seem likely. And, as a result, the don't ask, don't tell policy probably will continue for the time being.

Interestingly, one footnote to that, Cindy McCain, the wife of John McCain, the former Republican presidential nominee, she says get rid of the don't ask, don't tell policy. She's taking a very different stance than her husband and says let it continue, at least for now. Wait for the Pentagon report to come out. So, there's a little family difference there between husband and wife on this sensitive issue -- Brooke.

BALDWIN: Quickly, Wolf, you and I sat in the studio two days ago talking about these Bush tax cuts and you said, look, Congress has to do something in these last final weeks, but Dana Bash saying it may be in Republicans' best interest to wait until they have majority in the House come January. What say you?

BLITZER: Well, the Republicans will have a majority in the House of Representatives come January.

If they don't pass the tax law, the Bush era tax laws by the end of this year, everyone's taxes are going to go up starting in January. Now, they could pass legislation retroactively going back to the Bush era tax cuts, as opposed to the Clinton era tax cuts.

But this is -- they're playing eyeball-to-eyeball poker right now. The issues are very sensitive. And the key is to make sure that taxes do not go up, at least for the middle class, folks making under $250,000 a year, because, if they do, who knows what the impact would be on the overall growth of the economy, the creation of jobs and all those sensitive issues.

BALDWIN: Absolutely. Political poker, a dangerous game.

Wolf Blitzer, good to see you. Thank you.