Return to Transcripts main page
CNN Newsroom
Senate Fails to Move Forward on Don't Ask, Don't Tell Repeal; House Democrats Reject Tax Cut Deal; 28 White House Holiday Parties Scheduled; Trending; 'Don't Ask, Don't Tell' Repeal Fails; Smart Trial Goes to Jury
Aired December 09, 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: Barbara, let me jump in. Forgive me.
(CROSSTALK)
BARBARA STARR, CNN PENTAGON CORRESPONDENT: There's just no other way around it.
BALDWIN: Forgive the interruption, but I want to bring Dana Bash back, because we understand Republican Senator out of Maine Susan Collins, she has voted. We have -- or she is speaking. What do we know? She voted? She was one of the three to vote no, correct?
DANA BASH, CNN SENIOR CONGRESSIONAL CORRESPONDENT: No, actually, she just voted yes.
BALDWIN: She voted yes.
BASH: Very, very interesting, Brooke.
BALDWIN: Wow.
BASH: I'm watching the Senate floor and I saw them call her name and put her hand up to vote yes. Very interesting.
Why is that? Because, as I said, she is the only Senate Republican to ever vote yes. She voted yes on this in the Senate Armed Services Committee. She has been the point person on negotiations on this. She has been very much for the repeal of this policy, but she has been very frustrated with the process.
The fact that she voted yes seems to me that she -- a very clear signal she is trying to send that she does agree with the Democrats. She does agree with those who want to repeal this in a very strong way. And, more importantly, I think, politically, she doesn't want to get blamed for helping take this down, because she has been so far out in front and so much sort of the face, the Republican face of negotiations.
By voting yes, she's basically saying don't blame me if this goes down. Blame the other guys.
BALDWIN: You mentioned two other Republicans, Dana, earlier whose votes you are also watching for. Who was that again?
BASH: It is Senator Scott Brown of Massachusetts. He told me, I just saw him coming over here, he told me he is going to vote no. He supports the repeal of the policy. That is a statement he put out last week, I believe, or the week before, after he sat through the Armed Services Committee hearing and listened to Bob Gates, as Barbara was just talking about, and the military brass plead with them to please deal with this repeal in Congress.
But he has signed a letter saying that he won't vote for this until the Senate deals with tax cuts first. So he is going to vote no. That's why. The other Republican is Lisa Murkowski.
BALDWIN: Lisa Murkowski.
BASH: Pretty much for the same reason. She just came out yesterday saying that she is now in favor of a repeal. But On the process, I haven't seen how she has voted on this, but we're told that she was likely to stick with her party and not cross party lines.
BALDWIN: And again the timing of this, Dana, I imagine a lot of the Democrats had this, you know, Senator Harry Reid, on his agenda to get this through, in addition to a number of other issues, before the next Congress, before -- I know this already passed through the House, but before we see more and more Republican senators.
BASH: Right. That is exactly right. That is -- there has been a lot of pressure on Harry Reid to do this during the lame-duck session. And that is why he is doing it.
What is going to be debated and is already being debated, Brooke, is why he is doing it now, before the Senate takes up the tax cut legislation, because many people who are for repeal were hoping that maybe they could get those two other Republicans to vote for at least starting the process if they got the tax cut legislation out of the way. So that is what it is -- it is very controversial.
BALDWIN: And would this be perhaps just part of the strategy, given the fact that they have quite a bit on their plate? As you know, the clock is ticking before the end of the year. They needed to get this down before they, perhaps, tackle the tax cuts?
BASH: That is part of it. There is no question about it and it is about priorities in general. The other thing we haven't talked about, everything is related here, is ratification of the START treaty.
BALDWIN: Yes.
BASH: And why is that important? Because that is another huge, huge issue on the president's priority list. And that is another thing that Republicans have said. If you want to do this, you better give us ample time to debate it.
So that is another reason why they want to try to get other issues they had promised to take votes on out of the way to leave time for things like that.
BALDWIN: Dana, just let me know if you get anything buzzing on that BlackBerry, as we of course all are sitting and waiting for the news there off the Senate floor.
I want to bring Barbara Starr back in.
And, Barbara, forgive me for interrupting you earlier. You were talking about Secretary Gates and about I guess essentially his track record and what he has really wanted with, what he has pushed for. He has a pretty good track record. He has gotten -- including his desire to repeal this.
STARR: You know, he -- yes, really does, Brooke.
You know, he came in as -- after Secretary Don Rumsfeld, who had very troubled relations with Congress, he was the guy that smoothed over, under the Bush administration and now the Obama administration, the Pentagon's very fractured relations with Capitol Hill.
And he has had a lot of success. Troubles in the war in Iraq, troubles in the war in Afghanistan, you never heard anybody blame Bob Gates for any of that. He has his agenda. This was one of the items, ratification of the START treaty, trying to get some control over defense spending. All of these things are on his agenda.
Some people were looking at this instance as whether or not he could really continue, you know, to pull off and get what he wants. There's -- all indications are he is planning to actually retire from office sometime next year, maybe in six to eight months or so. So, you know, he may become essentially a lame-duck secretary of defense, well-respected nonetheless.
So, we will see what his legislative powers are -- powers of persuasion are with Congress, if in fact this goes down to defeat.
(CROSSTALK)
BALDWIN: Let me interrupt you.
(CROSSTALK)
BALDWIN: Let me jump in. Let's listen in here.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: -- not having voted in the affirmative, the motion is not agreed to.
The senator from Vermont?
SEN. PATRICK LEAHY (D), VERMONT: Madam President --
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Can we have order in the chamber, please?
BALDWIN: Fifty-seven/forty -- 57-40. It fails, Dana Bash.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Can we please have order? BALDWIN: Dana, are you there with me?
BASH: I am. I'm here. I'm listening.
(CROSSTALK)
BALDWIN: All right, 57-40, that is the number I'm given. Is that your number?
BASH: It's 57-40. So, this measure has failed.
BALDWIN: Wow.
BASH: The Senate has failed to move forward to start debate on the defense bill. That includes the don't ask, don't tell repeal. And this is --
BALDWIN: Huge.
BASH: As Wolf said earlier, it means that the whole idea of repealing this policy, which does have, if you look at public opinion polls, broad support across the country, is likely not going to -- very likely not going to happen this yea. And it will be a whole lot harder in the next Congress, when Republicans have the House, a majority, and a lot more seats in the Senate.
So this is a big blow to supporters of a repeal of the don't ask, don't tell policy -- 57-40. We know that one Democrat did vote against it, the newest senator from West Virginia, Senator Manchin, as well as Senator Scott Brown and Lisa Murkowski, we talked to. Two supporters of a repeal on the Republican side decided that they were going to vote against this just on the process. So --
BALDWIN: Wow.
BASH: -- that is where things stand.
BALDWIN: It has failed, 57-40. So, no chance on repealing don't ask, don't tell, history right there on the floor of the Senate.
I want to thank Barbara Starr from the Pentagon, Dana Bash for keeping us honest there on Capitol Hill. And, of course, Wolf Blitzer will have much more on this and a couple other stories percolating today on this Thursday. Stay here. You are watching CNN NEWSROOM.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
BALDWIN: Welcome back to the NEWSROOM. I'm Brooke Baldwin.
A lot of news happening right now, including on Capitol Hill. And we just learned the Senate today essentially rejecting 57-40 any kind of debate on possibly repealing don't ask, don't tell. We're still keeping a close eye on the situation there on Capitol Hill.
But let's get to rapid fire, a lot else happening today. Let's start with this. Southern California, the so-called bomb house north of San Diego up in flames. Look at this. The San Diego Sheriff's Department says their plan to neutralize the explosives inside did go according to plan. In fact, we know now 90 percent of the fire has burned out. Some 16 air quality sensors show that the air is just fine, but evacuated neighbors expected back to their homes pretty shortly.
And in the next two or three days, they are going to be checking to see if any explosives inside are left. Debris cleanup is set to begin next week.
Next, a Chicago jury convicts a 15-year-old of first-degree murder in the death of an honors student. Derrion Albert -- You remember this? -- he was beaten to death during a street fight. That was in September. Remember, it was caught on this cell phone video. Well, authorities say Albert was just watching, got caught in the middle of this thing.
Prosecutors say the 15-year-old convicted today and four other defendants hit Albert with a piece of wood and punched him. The attorney for the 15-year-old defendant says his client was part of the fight, but did not deliver the deadly blow.
Next, the good news today is not good news for anyone out there trying to sell your house. Home prices in most areas of the country are still falling. Real estate Web site Zillow crunched some numbers -- here they are -- they say the value of all U.S. homes is now $1.7 trillion less -- that is the key word in that sentence -- less than one year ago.
Next, take a look at these pictures with me. This is from Panama. It has been raining so hard there, the Panama Canal had to be shut down for only the third time in its 96-year history. Look at that stuff just going on down the canal. Well, it has since reopened, but watch really closely. You see the kids there standing on the bridge?
The bridge is stationary. Down goes the tree. Trees, large chunks of land, folks, that is land just floating on along, hitting the bridge. Thousands have been evacuated and flooding is blamed for several deaths there.
Next, a teenager, a car, flashing police lights, and an interstate. What could possibly go wrong there? Listen.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I see this car just coming down, like, 70 miles an hour, and I said, he ain't stopping.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BALDWIN: And The 16-year-old driver did not stop until he hit two parked cars. Yikes. Slammed into this house after speeding down exit -- Interstate 4 in Deltona, Florida. Police say the car was going up to 120 miles per hour. Fortunately, no one badly hurt, the teen driver very much so under arrest.
And, next, back to breaking news. We mentioned last few moments here the Senate, U.S. Senate failing to reach the 60-vote threshold it needed to open debate on repealing don't ask, don't tell.
In fact, Democratic Senator from Ohio Sherrod Brown joins me now from Capitol Hill.
And, Senator Brown --
SEN. SHERROD BROWN (D), OHIO: Brooke, how are you?
BALDWIN: -- are you surprised?
BROWN: Well, I'm disappointed.
I guess I'm not surprised because 42 Republicans, all 42 Republicans, members of the Senate, signed a letter saying until they get tax cuts for millionaires, they won't do anything. They won't extend unemployment benefits. They won't move forward on the military, on the defense -- defense authorization, on issues that are national interest. They won't vote for tax cuts for the middle class.
I have never seen anything like this, where they almost -- it's almost a work stoppage. They are saying we won't do anything until we get our tax cuts.
And I'm really disappointed, frankly.
BALDWIN: You're disappointed. I imagine a majority of America -- according to recent polling, two-thirds of Americans say they favored repealing don't ask, don't tell.
What's next? Essentially, this is DOA.
BROWN: Well, it's not DOA. We keep trying.
I think -- I have asked Majority Leader Reid and so have others here that we stay through Christmas, we stay through New Year's, whatever it takes. We need to pass -- we have to take care of don't ask, don't tell. We need to take care of the middle-class tax cuts. We need to extend -- continue the unemployment benefits.
We have work to do. There have been enough Christmases and holidays ruined by the fact that Republicans won't continue unemployment benefits and a lot of people who want to serve in the military or have been discharged or about to be discharged, what this has done to their holiday, we need to stay and do it right, whatever it takes.
BALDWIN: Senator Brown, I appreciate you jumping in front of that camera for me that quickly. That is pretty impressive.
(CROSSTALK)
BROWN: Thanks. BALDWIN: But I also ask here live on TV if there are any Republican senators who want to continue this conversation with me. I would love to hear your side of the story. We will hopefully talk to you within the next hour.
Again, Senator Brown, thank you.
BROWN: Thank you.
BALDWIN: Also in Washington, a bombshell. He was just talking about, this, the tax cut debate. House Democrats rejecting the president's deal with Republicans. So what happens now? Will everybody's taxes go up come the 1st of the year?
Also, this, chaos, chaos in London today, thousands and thousands of students taking over the streets there, essentially in protest over the tuition.
Here's the news today. The students did not win. So, what happens next in this fight? And how does their tuition actually compare to tuition in other countries? Hala Gorani takes us globe- trekking. She is joining me live here in the studio next.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
BALDWIN: Want to take you "Globe Trekking" right now, see what is happening around the world, particularly today in the United Kingdom. Thanks to Hala Gorani from CNNi, CNN International, whose joining me now, lots of papers going on.
Hala, let's begin, we've seen the last couple of weeks, you know, a lot of students really taking to the streets in protest over the tuition hikes, but the new twist was the fact that -- whose care was it that caught in the middle of this?
HALA GORANI, CNN INTERNATIONAL ANCHOR/CORRESPONDENT: The future king of England. Prince Charles and his wife, Camilla, were in a Rolls Royce heading to a performance at the Palladium in central London.
BALDWIN: There it is.
GORANI: Now student protesters managed to smash the window. This is not a small crack, they smashed the window, paint ended up also on the outside of the car.
Now the royal couple are unhurt and they went into the performance, we saw pictures of them.
Earlier in the day, as you mentioned, tens of thousands of students out in the streets once again. And there were some scenes that were really headline-grabbing and eye-catching when we saw these police officers on horseback charging, in some cases, students who were protesting tuition hikes.
BALDWIN: And it all kind of escalated to today. Here are some of those pictures, aerial pictures of the masses. GORANI: This was toward the end the of the day. Night had fallen --
BALDWIN: Is that horses?
GORANI: -- and there you have police officers, I can't see from here whether or not they're on horseback, but you did have police officers on horseback earlier. And so, you saw them charging into the group of students. There you have sort of a barricade formed with dozens of police officers.
But they did not win. You mentioned that before the break.
BALDWIN: Today was the day. Today was the vote.
GORANI: And the vote passed through the Lower House. Now it goes to the House of Lords before it is signed off by the queen, essentially tripling the cap on tuition in the U.K. from $5,000 U.S. dollars to 15,000.
BALDWIN: So, so far, the students have lost?
GORANI: Well, it is expected to go through, because it has gone through the House of Commons, the formality with the queen signing off on the legislation is expected, fully expected in the next few weeks.
And so, this is something that this new generation of students are going to have to deal with, repaying these loans once they make over $32,000 or $33,000 a year.
BALDWIN: OK, and then next story, it's hard to take your eyes off of the video we are about to show this huge cruise ship --
GORANI: Yes.
BALDWIN: And it was headed from Antarctica. I have been to the tip of Chile --
GORANI: Have you? Lucky, lucky you, Brooke.
BALDWIN: I have seen the signs of the rough seas down there.
GORANI: Listen, it is making me seasick just looking at this. These giant waves crashed into the ship, the Clelia II. They damaged some of the controls, nobody was injured. Eighty-eight passengers were onboard, one crewmember was slightly injured.
BALDWIN: Amazingly.
GORANI: But look at this. So it damaged some of the controls, and it was repaired out at sea, now headed back to Argentina under its own power. These huge waves sort of -- you know, there was a -- kind of a scare on board, I can imagine it was unpleasant being on board, but at least they are headed back to land now.
BALDWIN: Refund. Come se dice refund? GORANI: I don't know how you say refund in Spanish.
BALDWIN: I don't either, somebody tweet me. Anyway, I can't imagine being on that boat at all. Good think all 88 are OK. I heard one crewmember kind of injured, but not too badly.
Hala Gorani with the good stuff today, the good pictures overseas. Thank you, Hala.
Next, we Joe Johns joining with "Political Pop" and he has some scoop on the White House holiday party. Joe Johns got the scoop for us, right? Yes.
JOE JOHNS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: I'm looking forward to it.
BALDWIN: Good.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
BALDWIN: OK, you think you have a lot of holiday parties to go to this season? How about this number -- 28. There are 28 White House parties schedule over the holidays and there are two issues that come along with them, security and guest lists.
And when we are looking for questions that are just not getting answered, we turn to our guy in D.C., Joe Johns, for "Political Pop."
And, Joe, the first thing I have to ask here, you know, let's not mentioned too much about the Salahis, but what is the White House going to do differently to avoid any of these party crashers?
JOHNS: You know, this actually, last year, happened -- oh-uh, I'm getting no mix minus.
This actually started last year when there was a big problem, of course with Tariq and Michaele Salahi. They showed up at state dinner, set off a lot of soul searching. We know some procedures were put in place then making sure that, say, the social secretary's office was working with the Secret Service to make sure everybody was there was actually on the guest list.
And they had a year to refine the process, so presumably, anybody who has the nerve to try to crash the White House Christmas party is not likely to get away with it. Safe to say, Secret Service just isn't interested in really talking about this other than saying, hey, we fixed it.
BALDWIN: Joe, you got your ear back in, can you hear me?
JOHNS: Yes, I think we got it fixed. Yes, we got it fixed now.
BALDWIN: OK, so let me talk about some rumor may be percolating over controversy over the guest list. What is the scoop, sir?
JOHNS: Yes, OK, just to be clear, every year, people start talking about this, especially people in the media and they say, well, I didn't get invited, why didn't I get invited? And for some of our colleagues, they do wonder about it even half joking on the air. Sean Hannity, for one, over at Fox, asked that question on the air.
So I posed the question to the White House and the White House -- they are not going there. That is one of the questions they really didn't answer.
They did answer some other questions about the parties that they have. You know, there's a Hanukkah party, there's a couple of media parties, there's a party for members of Congress and their staff, a variety of different people. And then, they just have regular folks that actually get to come -- you know, community leaders, grassroots leaders, people from the military.
BALDWIN: Well, you've been on the list. You are kind of a big cheese in Washington.
JOHNS: Yes.
BALDWIN: What are the --
JOHNS: Well, I don't know about all that.
BALDWIN: What are the parties like?
JOHNS: Well, yes, I haven't been to the Obama White House, but I was there under George W. Bush and Clinton, and it is pretty amazing. Certainly, gets you in the holiday spirit, great food, great flowers.
The president and the first lady sort of endure this endless receiving line. They get their pictures taken with the guests. I wouldn't want to be them, because they must shake an awful lot of hands this time of year.
BALDWIN: I know. Can we say hand washing, but I'm sure the guests really appreciate it.
And it is also getting pretty festive in D.C. today, I know, because aren't they lighting -- there's like three Christmas trees being on display in D.C. and is it the national tree getting the lights flipped on tonight?
JOHNS: Yes. Right. That's what we call around here the Pageant of Peace tree, then there's also the White House tree, the Capitol tree. But the one that is with getting lit is the national tree. Crews have basically been preparing for this for quite a while, and the video is awesome. We caught the rehearsal, what's that Miss America, Maroon 5, Common, all supposed performing. I read somewhere that B.B. King is going to be there, too.
BALDWIN: Oh, wow.
JOHNS: The lighting -- should be pretty good. Forty-two-foot spruce, it's a big production and we all know about this ceremony, the Pageant of Peace. It goes on throughout the holiday period, dates all the way back to 1923. And anybody who lives in Washington definitely knows not to be driving anywhere in the area of the Pageant of Peace around 5:00 tonight. Yes.
BALDWIN: Steer clear.
JOHNS: A nightmare.
BALDWIN: But if you are going, bundle up. When I lived in Washington, I definitely did it at least once. It is worth going to. It's beautiful, very festive.
Are you going?
JOHNS: Yes.
BALDWIN: You have been there done that?
JOHNS: Yes, yes I have done that and I've -- it's been really cold. Although, they have the big Yule log, you know, that they burn and you can go and try to get warm. But this time of year, the cold can go right through you.
BALDWIN: Good luck fighting the crowds doing that, Joe Johns.
Hey, Joe, thanks for the scoop on the White House parties. Thank you.
JOHNS: I got to get my invite one of these days.
BALDWIN: Get your invite and bring this gal. Here I am, yesterday inviting myself to the White House correspondents dinner with Wolf, now with you. Who do you think I am?
Joe, thank you.
Also, we'll get back to Capitol Hill, because we are hearing that Senator Susan Collins of Maine and Joe Lieberman of Connecticut will both be speaking about this huge bit of news. Sixty forty, the, the U.S. Senate voted against debating on potentially here repealing "Don't Ask, Don't Tell." So we should be hearing from those two people from behind that podium any minute now. As soon as we see them up, we will bring that to you live.
But first, Ronni Chasen, could this murder mystery in Hollywood be solved now? And also, questions about Aretha Franklin's health. It is "Trending."
Want to bring in CNN's Kareen Wynter.
Kareen, let's talk about this Ronni Chasen story. Is it case closed or not yet?
KAREEN WYNTER, CNN ENTERTAINMENT CORRESPONDENT: Well, Brooke, kind of case closed. They have cracked the case, the murder mystery of Ronni Chasen, that publicist who was murdered. And it looks like, Brooke, if you can believe this, it all came down to a tip from that show, we all know the show, "America's Most Wanted." Let's take it back a bit, thought. As you know, Chasen, she was shot and killed in car while driving home from an after party for that big movie "Burlesque," the movie premiere on November 15th. Well, get this, five days later, "America's Most Wanted," they aired the story asking viewers to call in with any info, and they got.
Someone called in, the show passed along the info to cops and that led this to this man, Harold Martin Smith, who you are about to see. They believe he was the shooter, the guy who did it. He committed suicide a week ago at an apartment in Hollywood. And right now, Brooke, police believe that he was, in fact, acting alone, that it was a robbery gone bad.
We're also hearing from authorities that he was hiding out, that's right, just hanging out at that intersection in Beverly Hills, just waiting to rob someone, and along came Chasen in her Mercedes- Benz and he shot her through the window.
And what's really still kind of strange about all this, Brooke, something that just does not add up here is that, Smith, he didn't steal anything from her car, her purse --
BALDWIN: Her wallet, still there.
WYNTER: -- still inside -- yes -- when police arrived.
BALDWIN: How odd and unbelievably unfortunate if that is in case exactly what happened.
Quickly, before I let you go, Aretha Franklin, what do we know?
WYNTER: Well, this is also a huge, huge medical history, right? There were all these reports that were circulating last week about the queen of soul undergoing a mysterious surgery. Well, we may now have a clue and not a good one.
According to reports, the queen of soul, she has pancreatic cancer. And few details, Brooke, of her actual condition are known at this moment. But if it is true, the outlook, it ain't great. The cure rate for this type of cancer isn't good according to the American Cancer Society, two in ten people with pancreatic cancer, they live at least one year after being diagnosed and fewer than 4 percent make it past five years.
I'm sure you remember actor Patrick Swayze's public battle with pancreatic cancer which claimed his life last year. So whatever Aretha's condition, we are hoping for the best for her at this time and a full recovery.
BALDWIN: Absolutely, we wish her well, thinking about her, absolutely.
Kareen Wynter from L.A. Kareen, thank you.
Also, you a smoker? Some disturbing new information on cigarettes and this affects more than just smokers, actually. This news affects everyone. They are lining up right now, we'll get you to "Reporter Roulette." That is next.
Also, still monitoring for two senators to speak after this historic news there on Capitol Hill. Both senators Joe Lieberman and Susan Collins on the fact that they will not be opening debate on repealing "don't ask, don't tell." Be right back.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
BALDWIN: Time now to play "Reporter Roulette." We have tax cut battles, new cigarette dangers and a huge protest. I want to begin with congressional correspondent Brianna Keilar on Capitol Hill. And Brianna, we have -- I spoke to one House Democrat getting very, very angry over this tax deal, but -- president and some of these Republicans.
BRIANNA KEILAR, CNN CONGRESSIONAL CORRESPONDENT: And wow, did we see some defiance today from House Democrats. They actually had a vote in their meeting, their caucus meeting, not to consider this compromise between President Obama and Republicans. So they actually, Brooke, if you can imagine, this were chanting just say no. Some were chanting that in their meeting, a couple lawmakers told us that.
So, while you saw Senate Democrats kind of coming around to this idea, House Democrats, not at all. And it is really throwing into question whether there is going to be enough Democratic support to push this through the House.
BALDWIN: And we should be careful, not to point this with a broad brush, there are some Republicans out there say no to this tax cult plan as well?
KEILAR: Some, a few. And in the Senate -- I mean, this was the deal between President Obama and Senate Republicans, so we're not expecting that much resistance there. We talked with a couple of House GOP aides who say even though a lot of Republicans in the House aren't thrilled about this deal, ultimately, most of them will probably vote for it. And the feeling, why would they agree? Well, the feeling is that if they were to the next Congress, Brooke, it would actually be to their detriment. That they think this is the best deal they are going to get.
BALDWIN: So let's take odds here, Brianna Keilar. What are the odds that all of our taxes will be going up come the first of the year?
KEILAR: I'm not the gambling type, so I'm not going to commit to odds. I think what you can say now is the goal is still to get this done before the end of the year, because not only do you have those tax rates that are set to jump, you also have unemployment benefits for millions of Americans that are set to expire.
But at the same time, yesterday we saw Vice President Biden going and talking to House Democrats saying, guys, you can't change anything or this deal is going to unravel. And they're still saying, Brooke, well, you know what? We want changes. So, what it is it is a staring contest and we can certainly say it looks like it is going to go down to the wire.
BALDWIN: Brianna Keilar, the nongambler. I'm not a gambler either, Brianna. Thank you.
And hey, by the way, it does not take a pack a day -- a pack of cigarettes to ruin your health, according to a new report by the surgeon general. Next on the "Reporter Roulette," we have senior medical correspondent Elizabeth Cohen. And Elizabeth, how much cigarette smoke does it take to mess with your health?
ELIZABETH COHEN, CNN SENIOR MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT: Brooke, that is the stunning news of this new report is it takes so little. One puff of a cigarette, or get this. Just walking into a smoke-filled bar, even if you're not the one doing the smoking, can cause immediate harm. That is all it takes.
BALDWIN: What about one single puff, Elizabeth? How does one puff damage your body?
COHEN: One puff or even that one breath in that smoky bar, immediately, you can see the effects on the body. For example, there's inflammation in blood vessels, there is a restriction in oxygen flow. This is a new PSA they have out from the surgeon general's office. You can see these things happening right away.
BALDWIN: Are children more vulnerable than adults?
COHEN: They certainly are more vulnerable. They're very vulnerable to secondhand smoke. And what is so distressing about this where are kids exposed to secondhand smoke? It's in the home. So, of course, one of the big messages of this report is look, parents, you can smoke at home if you want to, that's your right. But remember, you are condemning your kids to having a very, very difficult time. These kids grow up to have more heart problems, they have more asthma, they have more ear infections, so, think about what you're doing to your children.
BALDWIN: Elizabeth Cohen, thank you.
COHEN: Thank you.
BALDWIN: Also this today. Prince Charles got caught in protests over huge tuition hikes at British universities. Take a look at some of this video with me. You see that, what was a beautiful Rolls Royce, the window totally busted. One of the windows destroyed. Charles' wife, Camilla, the duchess of Cornwall, also in the car. So, next on "Reporter Roulette," Dan Rivers in London with the latest on today's massive protest. Dan?
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
DAN RIVERS, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: The controversial vote to raise the cap on tuition fees has now been passed here in London, and it has been greeted with real anger here on the ground. There are still many thousands of them here in Parliament Square. Earlier there were some fairly violent scenes as as they clashed with police. The police using truncheons and batons to force the crowd back, and they came under a hail of missiles themselves as police forces charged the crowd.
The crowd has been contained within Parliament Square, waiting to hear the result of that vote. That vote has now come in as you can hear, they are very, very angry and very vocal.
Dan Rivers, CNN, London.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
BALDWIN: That was Dan Rivers there in London. That is today's "Reporter Roulette."
And now take you back to Capitol Hill, as promised because we have speaking now two senators. There he is, Joe Lieberman and also speaking today, Susan Collins, on how they voted. There's Susan Collins. Let's just listen, "Don't ask, don't tell."
(JOINED IN PROGRESS)
SUSAN COLLINS (R), MAINE: -- disappointed with what has occurred today. As Senator Lieberman has indicated, I am convinced that there are 60 or even 61 or 62 votes to repeal "don't ask, don't tell." And under the carefully constructed language that is in the defense authorization bill and to proceed to the bill in general.
This bill is important. It is important to our troops. It includes not only the "don't ask, don't tell" language, it includes the pay raise for our troops who are fighting on the front lines in Iraq and Afghanistan. It improves mental health services. It has many provisions that are important to my home state of Maine. And there is no reason why we could not have proceeded to consider that bill after completing action on the tax relief bill and using a process that would be fair to both sides.
I'm extremely disappointed that the Senate majority leader walked away from negotiations in which we were engaged and which were going well. There was a clear path forward to complete action on this important bill which contains an important law change and many others --
BALDWIN: Susan Collins. Susan Collins, she's a U.S. senator from Maine, that is the second time we have heard in 20 minutes one word, disappointment. We heard it from Ohio senator Sherrod Brown.
But here's the difference here. Susan Collins is a Republican. She's one of the Republican who would have been in favor of repealing "don't ask, don't tell," and learned been within the last half hour, the votes - I think it was 60-47 - or rather -- 57-40, pardon me. 57- 40, so they will not be debating the possibility of repealing "don't ask, don't tell." Huge, huge news from Capitol Hill today.
But also looking ahead, Senator Collins just mentioned it, talking about tax cuts. That's something else they are hoping to tackle before the end of the year during this lame duck session. House Democrats really rejecting Obama's tax cut deal. And also we just heard the news on "don't ask, don't tell."
Candy Crowley, she is going to join me next.
But first -- but first -- are we going to Candy?
But first, we have something about downloads. There we go. Have you ever had a song you just couldn't get enough of? According to apple's iTunes, they have a couple. They have released their list of the most downloaded songs this whole year, 2010. So, rounding out the top five, you have "Dynamite" by Taio Cruz. Number four, BOB, featuring Hayely Williams, "Airplanes." Number three comes from Mr. Ten Grammy Nominations, Eminem featuring Rihanna. You know this song. "Love the Way You Lie."
But what was the most downloaded song of 2010? You're going to have to stick around to find out. That is next.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
BALDWIN: Okay, 2010 coming to an end. And Apple's iTunes is helping us put the year in review. They they have released their list of the year's top-selling singles. So topping the list, number two, Katy Perry with Snoop Dogg in the smash single "California Gurls." That's g-u-r-l-s, by the way.
And number one, the song you couldn't get out of your heads, there it is, "Hey, Soul Sister" by Train.
And how perfect, because we get to talk to Candy Crowley coming out of this. And Candy, I follow you on Twitter and you're always doing the whole Music Monday thing. You are kind of in the music as well.
CANDY CROWLEY, CNN SENOR POLITICAL CORRESPONDENT: Love Music Monday.
BALDWIN: Isn't Music Monday so fun? Do you have any of those songs on your iPod, or not so much?
CROWLEY: Not those, I must say. I love music Monday. I mean, I'm a retro, I'm a Pink Floyd, Grateful Dead, that kind of thing. But Music Mondays, you can't get in trouble for what you tweet, so it is my favorite day.
BALDWIN: Oh, my gosh. We -- I just heard in my ear from my executive producer, we love you even more, that Candy Crowley officially a Dead Head. Who knew?
Anyway, Candy Crowley, also brilliant, because we're going to talk to you about this -- the word we keep hearing from at least -- some of the senators. Both Republican. We heard from Susan Collins a moment ago, but Sherrod Brown out of Ohio. Disappointment, disappointment, because the Senate, we saw the final tally, 57-40. That they will not debating this repeal of "don't ask, don't tell."
CROWLEY: So, if I were a conspiracy theorist, I could tell you three different ways to kind of look at that.
The first would be the calendar. We have two big-ticket items they would really like to get done. One of them is tax cuts, that's almost a must-do. The other is START, the treaty between U.S. and Russia on missile reduction that the president really would like them to get done. That takes up a lot of time.
So, if you are running out of time, you say, look, negotiations are over, as Senator Reid the majority - or the Democratic leader said, and he puts it up for a vote. That is one reason, the calendar.
Here is another reason. Who are the people unhappiest with President Obama right now? I would argue it is the left wing of the party, who look at him and said what happened to immigration reform? What happened to "don't ask, don't tell"? So, they put "don't ask, don't tell" up on the floor, it goes down, and you say, yes, but the Republicans stopped it, we tried. So that's kind of -- so you are talking to kind of the base of your party.
And then, third, let's look at one of the things that's going on right now, and that is, what's the biggest news? It's the Democrats fighting with other Democrats. It's the liberals versus the conservatives. It's the House caucus versus the White House.
So here's what we have in "Don't Ask, Don't Tell," is a fight of the Republicans versus the Democrats. So it takes some of the limelight away from a messy little problem with the tax cuts that right now, nobody can figure a way out of in the Democratic Party. So if I were a conspiracy theorist, those are the three things I would tell you.
BALDWIN: So what about the tax cuts though? I mean, we're hearing from some of these House Dems specifically who are very, very angry, they want change. But, you know, we're almost at the end of the year. Could they block this thing?
I mean, look into the tea leaves, Ms. Conspiracy Theorist. What do you think?
CROWLEY: I think that you have probably in Steny Hoyer, currently the Democratic leader on the House side, where most Democrats stand on this. And that is they don't like it, they think the president gave up too much, too soon. But they don't think they can leave and let those tax cuts expires.
So, my guess is -- and honestly, I've been wrong probably more than I've ever been right -- I'm guessing, on Capitol Hill, because it's a fool's errand to try to predict it. But I think that most of the Democrats up there, certainly on the Senate side, and probably on the Democratic side, know they're going to have to put something through. And remember, they mostly have the Republicans with them, so they don't need all the Democrats. They need just enough Democrats.
BALDWIN: Just enough. They didn't get just enough with "Don't Ask, Don't Tell," but perhaps they'll get just enough with this tax cut deal. Candy Crowley, a pleasure. A Dead Head. Who knew?
CROWLEY: Thanks.
(LAUGHTER)
BALDWIN: Also this -- be careful what you do if you are sitting in jury duty. Some people are interfering with some big, big cases. And yes, this involves the Web.
That is ahead.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
BALDWIN: Just in here to CNN, the fate of the man -- here he is -- accused of kidnapping Elizabeth Smart. It is now in the hands of a jury.
Sunny Hostin is "On the Case." That's ahead.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
BALDWIN: We had some breaking news on Capitol Hill today. The final vote was 57-40. The U.S. Senate now has spoken, they have rejected this bid to open debate, open discussion on "Don't Ask, Don't Tell."
I want to bring in Wolf Blitzer, who is in "THE SITUATION ROOM," and I'm sure he'll be busy, busy talking about this one today.
Wolf, a lot of people surprised by this one.
WOLF BLITZER, CNN ANCHOR: They're surprised that Harry Reid brought it up for the floor of the U.S. Senate knowing almost for sure that the Democrats would not get the 60 votes needed to break a Republican-led filibuster which would, in effect, kill repealing "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" for any time soon. It's a huge setback for the president, the vice president, the secretary of Defense, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs, and all of those troops out there who are gay but would with like to serve openly in the United States military as gay men and women.
So it's a huge setback, and a lot of people are wondering, why did Harry Reid decide to do this today, knowing it would fail? Some of the Republicans who were inclined to vote in favor of repealing "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" like Scott Brown, for example, of Massachusetts, Lisa Murkowski, of Alaska, they said they would have voted to repeal it, but they first wanted to get through the tax issue, extending the Bush-era tax cuts, first.
That was the promise they made in that letter. All the Republicans signed that letter. And as a result, for procedural reasons, they voted to continue the filibuster, in effect, killing "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" for now.
So a lot of people are scratching their heads. We're digging deeper in "THE SITUATION ROOM." We've got all of our reporters, Barbara Starr, Dana Bash, everyone else, our political analysts, trying to find out why Harry Reid decided to do this on this day, knowing it would fail, it would be a huge setback. And it's on the same day, as you know, Brooke, that there was another huge setback for the president. His own Democratic Caucus in the House of Representatives voted not to take up the compromised tax deal that he worked out with the Republican leadership.
So, one bad thing leads to another bad thing. All of these things are sort of related. I'll tell you, the president of the United States, he's got a lot of work to do before the end of this year, before Christmas and New Year's. They're going to be working really hard on Capitol Hill as well.
BALDWIN: You are assembling the A-team. We will look for them to pop up again during your hour.
Wolf Blitzer, we'll see you in just a couple of minutes with "THE SITUATION ROOM."
Wolf, thank you.
Also, what happens when police officers share their feelings about certain immigrants on, of all places, Facebook? Should their words be used against them?
Sunny Hostin "On the Case," next.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
BALDWIN: And now to Sunny Hostin, who is "On the Case."
And this just in. The Elizabeth Smart kidnapping case out in Utah, it's going to be going to the jury now. Both sides, we are learning, have rested and the judge is instructing the jury.
So, Sunny, we know that some of the jurors will be starting deliberating here now, this evening, and possibly what, into late evening tonight?
SUNNY HOSTIN, LEGAL CONTRIBUTOR, "IN SESSION," TRUTV: Apparently. The jury is supposed to get the case, Brooke, at about 5:00 p.m. today and could deliberate all the way until midnight. And so it is very possible we could get a verdict tonight in the Elizabeth Smart case.
BALDWIN: Was this man, was Mitchell, who's accused of kidnapping her, was he in court today?
HOSTIN: Well, he apparently was in court initially, and then did what he has done every day of this case, Brooke. He started singing all sorts of religious hymns, Christmas hymns, and then he was taken out of the trial, out of the courtroom, and then watches the trial from another room. So the jury really hasn't even seen this defendant for the majority of the trial. BALDWIN: So, with the singing -- and I think I remember a couple of weeks ago, he had a seizure in the middle of court, had to be taken out -- do you think that this is all helping the defense proving its claim that this guy is mentally ill?
HOSTIN: Well, it could very well, and that really is the issue here. The defense really hasn't denied that Mitchell abducted Elizabeth Smart, that he kidnapped her, that he took her across state lines for the purpose of engaging in sexual activity, which is all the things he is charged of, but they are contesting his mental state.
They are saying that he was mentally ill and insane at the time he committed these crimes. Of course, the prosecution isn't saying that. The prosecution is painting him as a pedophile who lusted after Elizabeth Smart and took her for that very purpose.
So, who knows what the jury is going to believe in this case? But I believe that we will get a verdict either today or perhaps tomorrow.
BALDWIN: So we know what we'll be talking about this time tomorrow.
Let me get to another case that really got our entire team talking about. This really highlights the unsocial side of social networking.
Let's watch together what our affiliate KPRC found. This is out of Houston.
This police officer, on her Facebook page, she is writing about people from Honduras. Take a look at this with me.
She says, "Of all the Latinos on my beat, they are the most drunkards, violent people." And she posts warnings for them, like she writes, "Zero tolerance for y'all today."
There's also one more I want to share with you. "Y'all look at me wrong at all today, y'all riden," meaning they will be going to jail.
Now, the officer we have learned has been suspended. So my question is, Sunny, what took this so long, considering the fact that the Houston police, they've been investigating since June?
HOSTIN: Well, believe it or not, a four-month investigation for something like this is not a long time. It's actually a pretty quick investigation.
She has been on the force for nine years, and so you would imagine they have to investigate not only that incident, but all of her arrests, her entire record over the nine years, to make sure that she hasn't discriminated against defendants, against arrestees. And so four months in a case like this really isn't that long. I actually commend the Houston Police Department for taking this kind of corrective action and taking action in a case like this. BALDWIN: Is anyone else in trouble here other than this one officer?
HOSTIN: Yes. Apparently, another female officer, Brooke, responded in kind to this other officer. And in response, said, "Hondurans are the worst? I rank he will El Salvadorians number one, and then Hondurans." And so, of course, she also was suspended for three days without pay for her offensive remarks.
BALDWIN: And that was on Facebook as well?
HOSTIN: That's right. That was on Facebook as well.
BALDWIN: Wow.
HOSTIN: She actually responded to the other officer's remarks.
BALDWIN: So, doing our due diligence, we've reached out to the officers, we're hearing from the officers. What are they saying?
HOSTIN: Well, you know, the first female officer that was suspended for a longer period of time accepted the responsibility, apologized, and said she wants to move on with her career. Because while she was suspended without pay, Brooke, she was not dismissed. The other officer is appealing her three-day suspension, saying that it was just a bit too long, and she is going to arbitration on December 16th.
BALDWIN: Sunny Hostin "On the Case" for us.
Sunny, we'll see you tomorrow.
And now to Wolf Blitzer in Washington -- Wolf.
