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Human Stampede in Cambodia; Terror Threat in Germany; Verdict Reached in Chandra Levy Case; TSA To Continue With Controversial Pat- Downs Through Thanksgiving Holiday; Guilty Verdict in Chandra Levy Murder Case; Porn Star Accuses Charlie Sheen of Physical Abuse and Intimidation; Lindsay Lohan Dropped from Starring Role in Movie; Barbara Bush States Lack of Support for Sarah Palin as Politician

Aired November 22, 2010 - 15:00   ET

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

BROOKE BALDWIN, CNN ANCHOR: Kate, thank you.

We want to begin with some breaking news right now and it is a horrific deadly scene. So, we're not going to show you live pictures because we just can't. So, we're going to show you a couple of stills. I'm going to walk you through some of these.

Folks, you're looking at photos -- this is from Cambodia -- details just now coming in to CNN. Look at these pictures with me. There has been some sort of human stampede in the Cambodian capital of Phnom Penh. It happened -- you see it's evening -- happened Monday night at one of the country's largest annual festivals.

It's called the water festival there. It happens every year. And -- and this happened in a crowd of what witnesses say was, we're hearing, four million people, all in Phnom Penh at once.

As far as the horrible figures that we have so far, in terms of the stampede and the fatalities, preliminary reports coming in to us right now at CNN say as many as 339 people may be dead. And that number has been very quickly rising. We have been watching the story literally for just five minutes, and that number is rising.

We are watching these breaking -- the breaking pictures, the numbers, the stories. We're trying to get to the bottom of how this could have happened. We're told they're also looking for bodies in the river. And you know we have an international desk right now picking up the phone and making all kinds of phone calls to get us someone on the phone who can walk us through this horrific story unfolding now in Cambodia.

Again, hundreds dead in this human stampede at this water festival. Supposed to be a happy celebration in Phnom Penh. More on that through the show.

Also watching for you right now this other developing story. This terror threat overseas has gripped an entire nation. People are nervous. Security forces are taking action. I'm talking specifically about Germany and the city of Berlin. Take a look with me. This is a building with its glass dome that sets apart the Berlin skyline. That famous dome is usually open to visitors. This is Parliament. Today, it's closed. The building is surrounded by armed guards.

Also today, at airports, train stations, city centers all across the country, security is very tight today. And there is a stronger- than-usual police presence. Plus, a government official says he has concrete evidence that terrorists are planning something bad and something soon with Germany.

So what is going on? Police, they're not saying anything specific, but a big-circulation magazine there in Germany is reporting that an informant linked to al Qaeda gave authorities details of a planned Mumbai-style attack on this particular building.

Remember, it was just two years ago in Mumbai the tourist hotel was bombed, shot up and set on fire by hostage-taking gunmen. It was two years ago Thanksgiving. So we're watching Germany also for you and the elevated security level there.

But we can't stop talking about airport security right here in the United States. Every single day there are more travel horror stories, TSA responses. And it's all part of this whole terrorism/are we safe conversation. And also am I right that al Qaeda is bragging about giving details, almost this grocery list of items you're about to hear, about -- about those explosives found on the cargo planes that we were reporting on about a month or so ago from Yemen.

So much to talk about with our terrorism analyst Paul Cruickshank.

Paul, I want to bring you in.

And, so, quickly, since we were talking Germany, if terrorists are really behind this Berlin scare, then I'm curious if you see it as perhaps this has been effective, even though they haven't gone through with anything. It appears that -- if it's a credible threat, might this be as effective because they're already terrorizing the whole country of Germany?

PAUL CRUICKSHANK, CNN TERRORISM ANALYST: Well, that's absolutely right.

Germany is on edge at the moment. It does seem to be a credible threat coming from al Qaeda in Pakistan, some sort of Mumbai-style attack directed at Germany, perhaps at targets in Berlin, we understand. They're very concerned about this right now. Yes, it is a credible threat from al Qaeda to Germany -- Brooke.

about Let's talk about the al Qaeda online magazine. I think it's specifically AQAP, of the Arabian Peninsula. It's called "Inspire." And over the weekend they released all kinds of details of the Yemen parcel bomb incident.

And so my question is why would they publish all these details? I mean, they're talking specific in terms of the previous operations, future operations. In releasing this information, Paul, what's in it for them?

CRUICKSHANK: Well, it's for propaganda effect. Like you were saying it's to make people afraid, to terrify people.

They're releasing a lot of detail about this attack, pictures of the devices, and so and so forth, clearly showing that it was them responsible. But they're saying, by launching these sorts of smaller attacks not necessarily killing that many people, they can devastate the U.S. economy, change the natural rhythms of American life. It's death by 1,000 cuts, as they put it in their statement. And they say that more attacks of this ilk are on the way -- Brooke.

BALDWIN: Paul, what does that mean? I read that as well, death by 1,000 cuts. What are they alluding to?

CRUICKSHANK: What they're trying to say is that by forcing the United States to spend billions more dollars on cargo security or scanners like we're seeing today in the news, they're going to create a lot of disruption to the American economy and that, by creating all that disruption, al Qaeda will be successful, al Qaeda will prevail.

And this very much got the signature of two Americans who are now with al Qaeda in Yemen. One of them is Anwar al-Awlaki. And another one of them is Samir Khan. And they understand American vulnerabilities and American psychology and how, when you have more difficulty traveling on Thanksgiving, that can actually really sort of damage people's lifestyles, Brooke.

BALDWIN: And our security phobia, as they phrase it. They repeated the threat the U.S. could expect more bombs despite its airport security phobia.

And we think -- I mean, I'm sitting in this chair every day during the week, Paul, talking about the latest pat-down, full-body scanner. A lot of people are on high alert. And so in a sense I'm just curious, with all the TSA cracking down, if you're looking from a terrorist point of view, have they already won?

CRUICKSHANK: Well, these -- this new scanning, these new pat- downs I think are absolutely necessary. I mean, this group, al Qaeda in Yemen, has got this new bomb type, PETN, which X-rays just can't detect. So, authorities here just absolutely have no choice but to introduce these -- this new screening.

But what they have done is made the U.S. spend millions and millions more dollars on this and really spoil the quality of life for a lot of Americans traveling. So, to that degree they have succeeded,but obviously they have not got an attack through yet.

BALDWIN: Excellent point. And I also want to point more to this article they released over the weekend in terms of, if we can get into the nitty-gritty details, because they did. They said that those Yemen cargo bombs, they took three months to plan, all of three months. They said they were -- quote -- "economical."

In fact, take a look with me. This is a list of the items apparently they used. They got this specific, two Nokia mobile phones at $150 each, two Hewlett-Packard printers, $300 each, shipping, transportation, other miscellaneous expenses, for a total bill of $4,200.

Now, this is like a grocery list of items for a terrorist. Why are they showing this to us?

CRUICKSHANK: They want to say that, with minimal spending, they can cause maximum disruption and then they can do it again and again and again. That's what they're trying to say here, Brooke.

BALDWIN: So, what are we doing to fight back? Is what we're doing in the airport a perfect example of making sure that this doesn't carry out, that it doesn't continue on?

CRUICKSHANK: That's part of it, protecting the public that way. But the key thing here is intelligence. It's stopping these plots before they actually come into fruition.

And with this most recent cargo bomb plot, it was information coming from Saudi Arabia, passed onto the United States and other allies which prevented this plot from being deadly potentially. So the key thing always, always in Germany right now and also in the United States right now and anywhere else, it's intelligence, stopping these plots before they come to fruition, Brooke.

BALDWIN: Final question for you, Paul. They talk about specifically future attacks and they say they're going to focus on the smaller attacks, as you had mentioned, centering on the U.S. airline and cargo industry. So, now that are armed to that information, what do we -- what does the U.S. do?

CRUICKSHANK: Well, the United States authorities have to remain vigilant. There will be more screening of cargo. They will try and make sure that less cargo goes on passenger flights.

I mean, al Qaeda were hoping that passenger flights were going to be the ones blown up in this attack. So, all those sorts of measures are going to into place. U.S. authorities are treating this very, very seriously. But, unfortunately, even if you had 100 percent screening, it would be very, very difficult to stop these sorts of devices, because it's difficult to detect them with bomb-sniffing dogs, with X-rays, and so on and so forth.

And it's pretty impossible to take every piece of cargo apart. I mean, that -- the economic disruption there would just be absolutely huge, Brooke.

BALDWIN: Would it be impossible?

CRUICKSHANK: So, that's the problem.

(CROSSTALK)

CRUICKSHANK: Absolutely. I think it's impossible to go through all cargo with a toothbrush like that. I think that's absolutely impossible.

BALDWIN: So, then, Paul, what do we rely -- CRUICKSHANK: So, it's all about minimizing risk.

BALDWIN: What do we rely on then? Intelligence-sharing? Hoping a piece of intelligence comes through, it's credible, like what happened with Yemen and Saudi Arabia?

CRUICKSHANK: Absolutely, intelligence-sharing, working together with other intelligence services in Britain and Germany and in places like Saudi Arabia, trying to get people inside these groups, so they can produce that critical intelligence.

That is the first line and best line of defense here. That's just the truth.

BALDWIN: Paul Cruickshank, always great to have you have on. Thank you.

Take a look at this.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: That's when I had to pull it out and show her the prosthesis, which was very embarrassing and very degrading.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BALDWIN: The prosthesis, what might that be? That is her breast. A flight attendant, veteran flight attendant, says she had to remove her prosthetic breast for the TSA to go through airport security. We were just talking about that. Is the airport screening process, is it out of control now, or are we just too sensitive? She will join me ahead. You will hear her story firsthand.

Also today, a jury reaches a verdict in the 2001 murder of Washington intern Chandra Levy. That story is next.

Plus, we will get an update for you on that breaking story out of Cambodia, out of Phnom Penh, the capital. Everyone is supposed to be celebrating this three-day water festival. Four million people in the capital city. Already hundreds are reported dead in a stampede.

Stay there.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BALDWIN: Just in case you're joining us, I want to update you on the breaking story, a horrible event, hundreds of people killed in Southeast Asia, this all happening in the capital city of Phnom Penh.

Basically, panic spread through this massive festival crowd. This is the water festival. Happens every year, four million people in the capital city. Somehow, a stampede was triggered. The latest number we have, 339, that is the number of people killed as a result of that. That is just the latest figure we have. That has been quickly, quickly rising here. We're watching state-run media and releases from the prime minister's office, but again this is the annual water festival. This is a celebration here, a celebration really of thanks to the rivers, happening in Phnom Penh. Millions of every year pack this -- this city. This is right near the royal palace. You're seeing pictures from this festival, the aftermath, people all together, can't even get out of there, on the ground.

Witnesses say, throngs of people, they backed up on a narrow bridge. And the force of the pushing crowd -- and you see the pushing there -- in the picture -- apparently crushed these people to death -- 339 people killed. More on that through the show as we get additional information for you.

Also, a verdict is in. That verdict is guilty, two counts first- degree murder. Ingmar Guandique now convicted of killing Chandra Levy, the Washington intern, back in 2001. He faces a sentence of life in prison without parole. The jury took three days to deliberate, then two additional hours today. Prosecutors argued that Guandique was a gang member who attacked and killed Levy while she was out jogging in a park.

Her body was found more than a year later. Chandra Levy's mother was in the courtroom for the verdict. In fact, she also spoke to some of the reporters afterward. We will play some of the sound for you here in just a minute.

Also, are you going somewhere this week? I know I am. And I know we all won't be alone, right, in those long security lines at the airports. Holiday travelers packing the nation's airports. At the same time here, the TSA is in full explanation mode to defend the so- called enhanced security measures. Today, TSA Chief John Pistole saying those measures are necessary for now, for now, he says, but he also says the policies could be revised at some point.

Pistole also tells us that the negative reaction is a bit overblown, because very few people actually have to go through those screenings and the intimate pat-downs.

The porn actress who had call it an encounter with Charlie Sheen in a New York hotel is now suing the actor. She says he put his hands around her neck. But why didn't she file a police report at the time? Hmm. It's one of the questions we're asking. Also, maybe she was too scared. Maybe she was trying to cash in on his celebrity. We're drilling down on that ahead.

And Sarah Palin, might she, maybe, maybe, possibly, plan to run for president for 2012? There are all kinds of reports out there that she's scouting for office space in Iowa. That's the latest bit we have been hearing. We're also drilling down on that ahead with Mark Preston.

Stay there.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BALDWIN: Welcome back to the NEWSROOM.

In case you hadn't heard, Sarah Palin is thinking about, talking about maybe running for president. I'm sure you never heard that, right? Here you go.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SARAH PALIN (R), FORMER ALASKA GOVERNOR: You know, a lot of sacrifices have to be made. So it would be prayerful consideration and then getting a good lay of the landscape, too, the political landscape, because I would be in it to win it.

If there are others out there willing to do that and make the sacrifices, I will support them. If there's nobody else, I would do it.

BARBARA WALTERS, ABC NEWS: If you ran for president, could you beat Barack Obama? If you ran for president, could you beat Barack Obama?

PALIN: I believe so.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BALDWIN: OK. So the daily "Palin is running" report comes to us from England. Get this. Today's London "Guardian" is quoting some Iowa rabbi who says a Palin staffer approached him for advice on long- term access to kosher food. Hmm. Look it up. That's what they're reporting. I did. That's what they're did.

Mark Preston, CNN political editor, let's just put the value of that story aside, Mark.

Sarah Palin, is she or isn't she?

MARK PRESTON, CNN SENIOR POLITICAL EDITOR: Well, you know, it's a great question. And that story raised a lot of eyebrows late last night and this morning.

The story was debunked. In fact, she's not looking for office space in Iowa. However, she is visiting Iowa twice. She's going to be there on November 27 and December 2, as she is selling her new book.

The question is, as you said, is she or is she not running for president? In the last couple weeks, she said a couple things which we just saw that, in fact, she is running for president.

I'm really not that convinced that she is totally in it to win it right now. Clearly, she got great name I.D. and she would play really well with conservatives. The big question is, though, would she win in a general election? And if you look at poll numbers, including CNN's most recent poll, it shows that her unfavorable rating is a lot higher than her favorable rating. So, I think she has a lot more thinking to do, Brooke. BALDWIN: A lot more thinking, but you know as well as I do the first step in running for president, you have to win the party's nomination. So, late last month, we polled Republicans. Here's what they said. You have Huckabee, Romney, Palin, Gingrich in that very order.

Palin, you see her, third place. And, by the way, Mark Preston, let's listen to the former first lady -- I'm sure you have seen this -- Barbara Bush talking to Larry King. Let's watch.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

LARRY KING, HOST, "LARRY KING LIVE": What's your read about Sarah Palin?

BARBARA BUSH, FORMER LADY: Well, I sat next to her once, thought she was beautiful. And I think she's very happy in Alaska. And I hope she will stay there.

(LAUGHTER)

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BALDWIN: "And I hope she will stay there," with Larry King laughing out loud.

So, Mark, I guess we're hearing a little bit of that. I'm guessing Palin has a little work to do with the Republican establishment.

PRESTON: Yes, she does.

And, look, there is a lot of skepticism here in Washington, D.C., about Sarah Palin, but that's not where she gets her energy and that's not her base. You know, Brooke, I was in New Hampshire last week and I was talking to New Hampshire politicians up there, albeit establishment Republicans.

What they're telling me is that in fact she is not even building an organization up in New Hampshire. And that's a very important early voting state. So, the question is, again, is she running? And if she were to run, a lot of folks from New Hampshire think that she would actually bypass that state. She would start off in Iowa and then she would skip ahead to South Carolina.

And why? Because these two states are really influential with Christian conservatives. And Christian conservatives play a big role in the Republican primary in these two states.

PRESTON: So --

BALDWIN: Huh.

PRESTON: -- it's not too surprising that not only is she going to Iowa on her book tour, which stars tomorrow, but she concludes it in South Carolina. BALDWIN: Interesting. I know we're all pontificating over the timing and the states and everything. And then you have this whole -- I mean, let's look -- just call it the Palin brand, right?

I mean, you mentioned her book tour. Her second book releases tomorrow. You have "Dancing With the Stars" tonight, a different Palin, but a Palin nonetheless. She has her reality show on TLC. She's on FOX. She's on Twitter. She's on Facebook.

Are we, Mark, reaching maybe the Sarah Palin brand saturation, if we can call it that?

(LAUGHTER)

BALDWIN: And is there possibly too much Palin for Palin's own good?

PRESTON: You know, I think there's too much Palin just in general.

But she always gets mad at the media, at us, and calls us the lamestream media. But the fact of the matter is, she's putting herself out there. She's putting her family out there. So, in fact, we're going to cover -- we're going to cover her every move. She's very influential in the Republican Party.

But, as far as it goes for marketing, I think she's being very smart. You have got to strike it when it's hot. And, right now, the Sarah Palin brand is very hot.

BALDWIN: I guess the lamestream media will be along for the whole ride.

PRESTON: We will be.

BALDWIN: Mark Preston.

Thank you, Mark.

Take a look at this.

PRESTON: Thanks, Brooke.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: It's a lifetime of a broken heart, leaving memories of good times that I did share with my daughter.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BALDWIN: Finally, we hear from Chandra Levy's mother. That was just a few hours ago, reacting to the verdict for a man accused of killing her daughter. We are going to play a little bit more for you. That is ahead.

And is airport security screening out of control? I'm going to talk with a flight attendant -- flight attendant of 32 years, by the way -- who says she had a very embarrassing encounter with the TSA. That's ahead.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BALDWIN: Back on that breaking story out of Phnom Penh, Cambodia, and that massive stampede. The latest number we have is 339 people dead. And that number is quickly rising.

Steve Finch is joining me on the phone all the way from Cambodia. He's a reporter with "The Phnom Penh Post."

And, Steve, tell me where you were when this whole thing happened and what you saw.

STEVE FINCH, "THE PHNOM PENH POST": OK.

So, I mean, we were hearing reports at first that there was a bomb blast on the bridge. And then we were hearing the bridge has collapsed. So, we -- I went over there. The incident happened around 10:00 p.m. local time. I was there shortly before 11:00 p.m.

And when I arrived, there was just a stream of emergency vehicles arriving. And there were -- there were bodies everywhere, people trying to resuscitate victims. In some cases there, we saw one or two bodies that had just been left there because their friends and family weren't there or there were no emergency vehicles to collect them.

And it was chaos. And as soon as we saw the scene, we knew that -- original reports were saying 10 dead from the government, but, of course, that quickly escalated.

(CROSSTALK)

BALDWIN: Sorry. That is now --

(CROSSTALK)

BALDWIN: -- much higher.

(CROSSTALK)

BALDWIN: Let me stop you.

(CROSSTALK)

FINCH: We have heard 339 dead, yes.

BALDWIN: May I stop you for just a moment, Steve?

Just in terms of -- I'm trying to get all the chronology in order. How many hours ago did this happen?

FINCH: OK. So this happened 10:00 p.m., so that was -- that's roughly five hours ago.

BALDWIN: Mm-hmm.

FINCH: And, like I said, I was at the scene just before 11:00 p.m. And we had a situation that -- so, at 1:00 a.m., at one of the main hospitals they were lining up the bodies and we had a count of 127 at 1:00 a.m. at one of the hospitals. And then -- so like I said, just about 45 minutes ago the prime minister announced live on -- on air that it -- it was the worst single inches accident since the Khmer Rouge in Cambodia and we're at 339 dead right now, with 329 injured.

BALDWIN: We're looking at pictures of this bridge. And you said something earlier. I want to follow up. You said it sounded like a bomb blast. Describe that for me.

FINCH: Well, these are the reports we were getting at first, that, well, first, there was a report of a bomb blast. Of course, that wasn't the case.

And then we heard that the bridge had actually collapsed. And when we arrived, we could see that the bridge was intact. And on the bridge were just piles of clothes and sandals from the victims.

And what seemed to have happened was, during the stampede, some people lost their possessions. Some were thrown over the river. And there were boats when we arrived scouting the river looking for bodies that had been washed down the river.

BALDWIN: Steve, do we know what sparked the stampede?

FINCH: OK.

So, we spoke to eyewitnesses at the hospital and there's been an announcement through government officials. And there's conflicting reports at this stage. But what we -- what we -- what we do know is there was a large number of people, about one million people, on this little island that's just across from the river, and the bridge goes from the mainland to the island.

And one bystander said that there was a stampede, that people were falling unconscious, and that then, at one stage, there were police firing water at the crowd to try to get them -- to move them along.

BALDWIN: Hmm.

FINCH: And there were different eyewitnesses saying that then some people were electrocuted, because the bridge has lights going down each side of it.

BALDWIN: Oh.

FINCH: And the water was obviously touching these wires.

And one -- one eyewitness said the police were actually electrocuted as well in the incident.

BALDWIN: Oh, Steve Finch, I want you to -- I want to get off the phone with you. I want you to continue to information-gather, find out if you can how many people are injured, as we're getting the number, the death toll, as it is quickly rising, and we try to get to the bottom of what specifically happened.

We're looking again pictures of that bridge that you described, where the stampede happened. And people -- from I understand --

FINCH: Yes.

BALDWIN: -- police are still looking in the river below -- below this bridge.

FINCH: Right.

BALDWIN: Steve Finch, thank you.

As soon as you get more information, hop back on the phone with me.

FINCH: OK. Will do. Thanks.

BALDWIN: And, on that note, we will be right back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BALDWIN: Chandra Levy's name entered all of our vocabularies back in 2001. Today a jury hands down a guilty verdict to the man charged with her murder. Let's look at the man. This is the defendant Ingmar Guandique. He was an immigrant from El Salvador. He now faces life in prison for what prosecutors say was an attack on the intern while she was out jogging in a Washington, D.C., park.

Two charges of first degree murder, guilty on both those charges. Listen now -- I want to play you Chandra Levy's mother minutes after she heard the verdict.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SUSAN LEVY, CHANDRA LEVY'S MOTHER: I'm sorry. I'm emotional here. But no matter what my family has in a sentence here, the result of the verdict may be guilty, but I have a lifetime sentence of a lost limb missing from our family tree.

It's painful. I live with it every day and so do my son, my mother and other family members. Crime affects more than one person. When you have a crime and someone dies of homicide, which there are too many in America, it affects probably a hundred other people and their surroundings, cousins, friends, relatives. It's a lifetime of a broken heart.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BALDWIN: "A lifetime of broken heart." I want to bring in Sunny Hostin, legal contributor for TruTV's "In Session." And Sunny, we all say at watched that live on CNN today. It's emotional stuff. Imagine nine years since your daughter is murdered. I don't even know if "closure" is the right word for this.

SUNNY HOSTIN, LEGAL CONTRIBUTOR, TRUTV'S "IN SESSION": I've spoken to many victims' families, Brooke, over the course of my career as a prosecutor. And all of them say there's really no such thing as closure. Things get better but there's always that hole. And I think she was eloquent in saying there is this limb that is lost from our family lost forever and this is something I live day in and day out. And I hear that all the time from victims' families.

BALDWIN: Obviously emotional for the parents, and for the jury. I hear they were wiping tears as the verdict was read. A verdict, Sunny, no real surprise here?

HOSTIN: I was actually very surprised at this verdict, Brooke. This case came out of the U.S. attorney's office in D.C., which is my alma mater. I know the prosecutors and the U.S. attorney and I did not think they had a strong case. No DNA evidence, no forensic evidence, no co-conspirator confession.

All they had was his alleged confession to a cellmate, and they also had his alleged confession to a woman he was writing letters to. They had the testimony of two women also attacked in the park. The jury said that was compelling evidence for them. But without DNA I was very surprised at the verdict.

BALDWIN: No DNA evidence or witnesses. What do you think put it over the edge for the prosecutor?

HOSTIN: This was a skilled prosecutor, Amanda Hayes. I know her. I think it was sort of a lot of that, a very good prosecutor. But also the testimony of the two women who had been attacked by this defendant in the same park around the same time, and he was serving time for those attacks.

And I think the jury made it clear that was such compelling evidence, if he was guilty of that and then sort of made these confessions, all of that together was enough to result in a jury guilty verdict for him.

BALDWIN: And then finally, as we all nine years ago talked about. Chandra Levy, we learned the name Gary Condit. He testified, refused to have a conversation about whether he had had sex with Levy. Is this the last time we talk about Gary Condit?

HOSTIN: I think so. He says it ran him out of public office. He did testify. He didn't admit to having any sort of sexual relationship with her but some of the evidence showed that a sexual relationship was established by the FBI here.

And so I think this was probably a very good day for Gary Condit because perhaps now he can move past the Chandra Levy case.

BALDWIN: We're now hearing Guandique will be sentenced February 11th. Sunny Hostin, thank you.

Look at this. (BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

CATHERINE BOSSI, FLIGHT ATTENDANT, USA AIRWAYS: That's when I had to pull it out and show her the prosthesis, which was very embarrassing and very degrading.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BALDWIN: That flight attendant there said her airport security screening was a disaster when she was forced to remove her prosthetic breast for the TSA. We're going to hear the whole story for yourself. There she is, good enough to join me live to tell her story. She is next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BALDWIN: Talk about backlash against airline passenger pat-downs totally intensified. This is all because of the airline passengers recording going viral with what even President Obama came out this weekend calling intrusive action.

So take a look with me. A lot of you have tweeted me about this today. This is the little boy shirtless because he's being patted down. This happening in Salt Lake City at the international airport just recently. Whole crowd gathering around him as the little boy is going through this process.

Let me show you another picture of another incident. Here you see, yep, it's a nun. She is going through the pat-down process as well. And to be honest, we could show you more videos, but I think you get the point here.

And so does the president. In fact, as I mentioned over the weekend, Mr. Obama empathized with the public's frustration. Listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BARACK OBAMA, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA: I understand people's frustrations. What I said to the TSA is you have to constantly refine and measure whether what we're doing is the only way to assure the American people's safety, and you also have to think through are there ways of doing it that are less intrusive.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BALDWIN: Also a new CBS news poll shows Americans like the president view this as a necessary evil. You see a vast majority 81 percent of the people polled said that airports should use -- should use the controversial full body x-ray machines, the machines that allow security screeners to see through -- there's a picture of it -- your clothing.

So while most Americans seem to be in agreement on doing what's necessary to keep flights safe, the question is does this keep Americans safe? Catherine Bossi is a veteran flight attendant and also a breast cancer survivor, and she was the subject of a TSA pat-down. The end result, her standing there with a prosthetic breast in her hand. And Catherine is good enough to join me from Charlotte.

Catherine, take me back to be totally transparent, this is before all the pat-downs went into effect with the TSA. This is August. You have your flight attendant uniform on, you're going to work. What happened?

CATHERINE BOSSI, HAD TO REMOVE PROSTHETIC FOR TSA PATDOWN: Yes, yes. I was pulled out by the TSA to go through the new screening device. And I've mentioned in the past because of my breast cancer that I was concerned about added radiation. We get enough of that when we fly anyhow.

Anyhow, but I did as I was told to do because I am an employ 83 that love my job and loves what I do and just did what I was told to. When I went in there, the TSA agent told me to put my I.D. badge behind my back so they could see the whole front of my body freely.

So when I did that and after she was done -- after they were done with the picture, she pulled me aside and said that I didn't do it correctly and now I need to be patted down.

BALDWIN: This is when they take you -- did they take you to a separate room at least, or were you standing in front of everyone?

BOSSI: Yes, yes. No. They took me to a separate room. There were two women there, the one that told me I had put my I.D. in the wrong spot was the one that patted me down. When she came to the side of my breast that had the cancer surgery, she felt it and put her hand on top of it and asked me what it was.

When I told her I was a breast cancer survivor and it was a prosthesis, she said she needed to see it. At that point, I removed it from my shirt and showed it to her, and then she said it was fine and I was OK to go.

BALDWIN: So you're standing there -- at least in a private room. You pull this prosthesis out of your bra. You have it in your hand and show it to them.

BOSSI: Right.

BALDWIN: What was going through your head at that point in time? Were you humiliated? Were you angry?

BOSSI: I was embarrassed and ashamed. It -- it was just -- you know, you don't like to tell everybody you're a breast cancer survivor and to have to show a prosthesis was just overwhelming is what I thought of it. I was embarrassed. I didn't file a complaint about it.

BALDWIN: You didn't. Why didn't you, Catherine? Why didn't you file a complaint with TSA? BOSSI: I guess because it is my job and I do know how important security is. I mean, I don't disagree with that. What I disagree with is touching private body parts. That's just -- to me, that's just gone a little bit too far.

BALDWIN: And your story is just sort of the latest. I could sit here as we sort of did and recount several stories, examples of outrage -- children, you. Yet at the same time we just showed the poll and the majority of Americans say we get it. These full body x- ray machines, yes, we're OK with it.

I guess my question to you having gone through this though, where the right and the wrong? Are we being too sensitive? Has the TSA gone too far or is this a necessary evil?

BOSSI: I think it's a -- kind of all three actually. I do believe that it's a necessary evil. I do believe that things need to be looked at because as we know the terrorists have taken over control. In fact, we're still being terrorized by just the fact that we're now being forced to be touched in private areas by strangers.

BALDWIN: Has that ever happened since this happened in August?

BOSSI: No, it hasn't.

BALDWIN: Y\you say it's a necessary evil, but it's something we're all going through and for you it takes it to a whole other level. Catherine Bossi, I thank you for telling me your story. Thank you.

BOSSI: You're welcome.

BALDWIN: Listen to this.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: How close did you come to shooting him?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: My finger was on the trigger. I had nightmares about this for months afterwards.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BALDWIN: Nightmares for months -- who do you think that was? That man talking about how close he came to shooting President Lyndon Johnson. But that is not all. What we're now learning from secret service agents who guarded Presidents Kennedy and Johnson. That is ahead.

And Charlie Sheen slapped with a lawsuit from a porn actress who says he threatened her in a New York hotel. In fact, he, though, turning the tables saying, hang on, she's cashing in on his celebrity. She said she feared for her life. Who is telling the truth? That is part of "Trending," and that is next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK) BALDWIN: Now to the stories you're talking about. Two stories trending today. Apparently there are more troubles for "Two and a half Men" star Charlie Sheen. And Lindsay Lohan has reportedly dropped and replaced in the film called "Inferno." CNN's Sandra Endo is here with the latest. The Charlie Sheen saga continues.

SANDRA ENDO, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes. Yet again it's another one of those he one of those he said/she said story. But now she is pressing charges. And we're talking about the porn star Charlie Sheen was with last month at a New York City hotel, Capri Anderson. And she's saying she feared for her life, Brooke.

In an interview with "ABC's Good Morning, America," Anderson said she was hired as an escort to escort Sheen to a dinner that night. Then she claims sheen got violent and put his hands around her neck.

Sheen's lawyer denies the allegations pointing out that Anderson posted online on her own Web site that she was fine and he claims that Anderson was only trying to cash in on her celebrity. So another one of those stories, Brooke, his side and her side.

BALDWIN: He says-she says.

What about she says here in the Lindsay Lohan story. She was supposed to be, what, like the starring role in this movie. Now, no longer.

ENDO: Lilo, yes, again. She's being dropped from one of her biggest supporters.

The director of the film, "Inferno" where she was supposed to be a important star and play Linda Lovelace. She was dropped because there were legal issues, her rehab schedule. Plus the fact the movie couldn't get insurance for her.

All of these things finally caught one the troubled actress and those are the things that they ditched her for "Watchman" actress Malin Ackerman. She's young, Lindsay Lohan is in and out of rehab. Could be better for her to clean up her act before she gets on to another movie.

BALDWIN: Focus on herself and then who knows where we'll see her next, right?

ENDO: That's right.

BALDWIN: Sandra Endo, good to see you, thank you.

ENDO: You got it.

BALDWIN: Katherine Schwarzenegger. Recognize the last name, definitely. The daughter of the famous California governor has a message for young women -- love your body. Is that hard? She had to do the same thing apparently. You'll hear the personal story of how she had to overcome poor self-esteem and body image next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BALDWIN: We have a story just in to us here at CNN. We're getting word that the military has scrambled two F-16 fighter jets after a small passenger plane violated air space in Washington, D.C. In fact, there's the White House -- part of the White House had to be evacuated just briefly today.

We're told the jets were escorted by the F-16s to the airport nearby Manassas, Virginia, and we are also told that the Secret Service will be interviewing that pilot. No word as to whether or not that small plane can pose a risk or not, obviously enough to get these F-16s scrambled. As soon as we get updates, I'll pass them along to you here on in CNN.

Also, we could have a major break in what happened to Alabama teen Natalee Holloway who went missing five years ago now in Aruba. And it centers on this jawbone. We'll have a live report from Aruba ahead.

And we have all of the political stories making headlines this hour. Dana Bash is standing by on Capitol Hill with the Political Ticker. That's next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BALDWIN: Welcome back to the Newsroom. Of course, CNN has all of the latest political news with "The Best Political Team on Television." After all CNN = politics. And Dana Bash joins us from Capitol Hill. Dana, Sarah Palin, I don't know if it's her book tour, her daughter on "Dancing with the Stars" or what, but she can't stop making news.

DANA BASH, CNN SENIOR CONGRESSIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Don't forget the reality news show.

BALDWIN: Right, on TLC.

BASH: All of the above. I remember covering Mike Huckabee at the end of 2007 in Iowa, a former Arkansas governor when he was just starting his presidential bid. Not a lot of people knew a lot about him, but I remember thinking, wow, he's a straight shooter. That hasn't changed.

He was in Iowa this weekend. And he was as candid as he ever was about, you guessed it, Sarah Palin. He and other potential 2012 Republican candidates need to be concerned about Sarah Palin. He said, you know, she may run away with it. That's one of the things that everybody needs to be prepared for.

The second item, Brooke, is also about Sarah Palin, also somebody candid about her but in a very, very different way. Barbara Bush, the former first lady is going to be on "LARRY KING LIVE" tonight. And she, in a taping for it, was pretty remarkable in what she said about Sarah Palin.

She said, look, I sat next to her before, she's very beautiful. But she went on to say, "She's very happy in Alaska so I hope she stays there." Ouch.

BASH: And last item on the Ticker. This is something in case you missed it, was certainly some must-see TV on "Saturday Night Live" over the weekend on Saturday night, of course. The TSA got some "SNL" treatment on, of course, the pat-downs. And they did a kind of a skit, a parody making it like a late-night sex hotline, a call-in show. Listen to this.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Feeling lonely this holiday season?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Looking for a little human interaction?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Do you want to feel contact in certain special places?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Then why not go through security at an airport?

(LAUGHTER)

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BASH: There you go.

BALDWIN: Hilarious.

BASH: And the tag line was great. I'm not sure if you heard it there. "It's our business to touch yours."

BALDWIN: Our business to touch yours, very nice. And I think Conan poked fun at it last week. And now leave it to "SNL," of course. You got to laugh about it. Got to have a sense of humor about it, Dana Bash?

BASH: Absolutely.

BALDWIN: Thank you, Dana.

We'll get you another CNN = Politics update in about half an hour. Get the Ticker on CNN politics.com or at Political Ticker.