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WikiLeaks Founder Granted Bail; Tax Cut Vote Nears; Obama Meets with Warren Buffett and Bill Gates; Hidden Cameras All Around You; 'On the Case'

Aired December 14, 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: Hello, once again to you. I'm Brooke Baldwin. A lot of news right now. I want to begin with breaking news out of Panama City. A man with a gun took hostages at the Bay County School Board meeting. Again, this happening in Panama City. Our affiliate WMVB is reporting that the man used a can of red spray paint, painted a circle and a "V," let women and children out of a room, took the men hostage.

Forgive me. I'm getting information as I'm get giving it to you. We are making calls on this, trying to figure out what is happening. It's unclear right now if this particular gunman was shot by police or if she he shot himself, but all this unfolding at this hour there in Panama City. We can confirm according to our affiliate he has been removed from the school board meeting.

And now next, let's talk about Julian Assange, granted bail, staying in jail at least for now. The man behind WikiLeaks has to stay in police custody until another hearing. That is because a lawyer representing Sweden filed an appeal to the decision to free Assange. Assange is wanted in Sweden on alleged sex crimes. When he gets out on bail, Assange will have no passport and he will have to wear a monitoring device. The next hearing is expected within 48 hours.

Next, want to keep you in the loop to what's happening there on Capitol Hill. We're waiting for this crucial vote in the U.S. Senate. Lawmakers could begin voting on the president's tax cut deal very soon. And, look, if nothing happens, if this thing doesn't go through the Senate and then the House, your taxes, my taxes, they all go up come the 1st of next year. And many Democrats particularly in the House very much so against the deal, so we're monitoring what's happening on the Hill.

Next, developing now, the feds have arrested an Afghan native in connection with an alleged threat to bomb the subway system in Washington, D.C. A criminal complaint was unsealed in federal court today against a Awais Younis. He was arrested last week. According to a note here, the feds only calling this a threat, very important. It's a threat, not a plot.

Next, three adults, three children died in this house fire in Baltimore early this morning. Firefighters had to evacuate at one point because the wind outside was fueling the flames and the smoke there, but they did go back in and that is when they found those victims. The fire we're told spread to all four homes.

Next, the mayor of Springfield, Illinois, is dead. Timothy Davlin was found dead in his home this morning. The cause of his death not officially released, nor were many other details beyond that. Apparently he has been ordered to appear -- or he was ordered to appear before a judge later in the day over an estate issue. And he told the judge last week that he had hired a lawyer. Police in Springfield are investigating.

Next, they're not firefighters. They are guardian angels. At least that's according to that woman. Kathy Lambert (ph) said she and her 3-year-old were saved from that burning SUV. Her vehicle caught fire after she crashed into a tree. She and her little one -- there he is -- were trapped. She was three houses away from her home. She was that close.

And family members ran to the nearby volunteer fire department to get help. Fire crews rushed to the scene and swooped in and saved them.

Next, fire bombs flying one way, tear gas canisters the other. People in Rome clashing with police -- look at the smoke there. This is all about Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi's success in a parliamentary confidence vote. So that means he will be staying in office, although the vote in his favor was not by a large margin.

Next, what happens when someone gets sick on a cruise? Aha. Coast Guard to the rescue, of course. This video of this emergency airlift may seem pretty dramatic to you and to me. But fortunately the 13-year-old patient just had acute appendicitis for all of this. The chopper took him and his mother to a hospital in nearby North Carolina.

Next, not a creature was stirring when KNBC's cameras stopped by this home in Kansas City. It is covered -- look at this -- in ice. Freezing cold. Obviously it had to be in Missouri when a water main broke in front of that house Sunday morning, now it's just a big old tourist attraction in that neighborhood.

Next, an awkward moment at this press conference when the man who leads soccer's governing body -- apparently a reporter asked FIFA president Sepp Blatter what he said he would tell gay fans who want to travel to the World Cup in 2022. That's the year Qatar is hosting the World Cup. By the way, Qatar forbids same-sex relationships.

So, what did he say? Mr. Blatter replied they should refrain from sexual activities. That was his response. Now gay athletes and fans alike are condemning those comments.

Next, the government of Venezuela could soon control the Internet? Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez under fire now for a law that would ban Web sites critical of the government. Venezuelan lawmakers are debating this issue today. The Chavez administration blames the U.S. for a propaganda war and insists the regulations are normal in most places. Next, check out this white van with me. There it is, being pulled out of the Puget Sound. This is just north of Seattle. A man and his wife are convinced they would have died in there if not for some quick thinking, some quick rescue action. One wrong turn in the dark sent William Forsythe down a boat ramp into the water, which quickly began rising all around them. Good thing they had a cell phone and their son got there just in the nick of time.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

WILLIAM FORSYTHE, RESCUED: I looked up through that glass and saw him. It was a big load off my mind. I knew we were going to get out of there. I had less than a minute to spare. It was that close.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BALDWIN: It was that close. Good thing they're all right.

Next, remember this gal? This is Ines Sainz. The sports reporter had said the New York Jets players and coaches bombarded her catcalls and rude comments on the sidelines in that locker room. Well, that firestorm prompted the NFL to investigate the Jets for sexual harassment.

And now Sainz says Playboy offered her more than a million bucks to strip. But guess what? She's saying no. She's refusing that offer. The mother of three says it's not her style.

And finally, the Dow finishing in the green, up 48 points today.

Stephanie Elam live for me at the New York Stock Exchange.

And, Stephanie, one of the biggest and most important Wall Street rating agencies come out today with this new warning about this particular tax cut deal.

STEPHANIE ELAM, CNN BUSINESS CORRESPONDENT: Yes, that's true, Brooke.

This is a case of, yes, sure, it's going to help out the economy in the next two years. This is what Moody's is saying. They're saying it's definitely going to help the economy grow, but the problem with that, it's going to add dangerous amounts to the deficit.

And they're saying this could cost about $700 billion to $900 billion. And they are saying that could lead to the U.S. debt actually being downgraded. And that is something that was just previously unthinkable, Brooke.

BALDWIN: So what would this downgrade mean I guess globally?

ELAM: Yes. Well, a downgrade is something -- let me put it to you this way. Ratings are a way that we can just see how the government is doing.

This is a way that people keep track of the government's ability to repay debt. So if they were to get downgraded, it would just make it a lot harder for the government to borrow money and it would make a lot more expensive because people would see the U.S. as a risky investment. And that's something that no one ever saw in any time before this. So that is why this is such a big deal.

BALDWIN: Stephanie Elam, thank you very much.

Want to give you a quick recap of what was happening, what has been happening in Panama City, Florida. We have received some sort of reports that a gunman basically bombarded this school board meeting, took out a gun, fired shots. This is all according to our affiliate.

And, Angie Massie, if you could remind me what our affiliate is. WMBB. Thank you very much.

What we know is apparently this guy inside according to our affiliate pulled out this can of red spray paint, painted this V. with a circle around it, kept the men hostage, let the women and children go. And again according to our affiliate, we know that this gunman somehow was shot, has been removed from this school board meeting. Don't know if any other shots were fired or if anyone else was injured. But that's the latest breaking news we have, latest information for you out of Panama City, Florida.

Also, hundreds of people, they have been trapped in the snow. They are inside their cars, essentially helpless. They're waiting for help. Now this military operation is under way to try to save them. That is coming up.

Plus, a driver attacks a police officer during a traffic stop. Have you seen this video? He goes for the officer's gun and Taser in the whole thick of things. So, coming up next, you are going to see how this ended and who came to the cop's rescue. Stay there.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BALDWIN: Did he shoot himself? Trying to get some more information here, having a conversation with my executive producer through the break.

Let me bring you up to speed on what we're getting out of Panama City, Florida, breaking news there, really tense situation, frightening situation for people at this Bay County School Board meeting.

Here is what we know right now. According to our affiliate WJHG who by the way had a crew inside the school board meeting, so they have a firsthand account, here's what we know. This man walks into this school board meeting, has a pistol, takes people hostages. This happened right around 2:00 this afternoon.

Apparently pulled out a can of spray paint after addressing the crowd from the front of the room, pulls out a can of spray paint, sprays with a V. with a circle around it on the side of the building, allows the women and children to leave, takes the men hostage. And we're trying to figure out if this gun, this pistol that he apparently had according to WJHG, if it was loaded or not. But there are reports that this gunman was some shot. Did he shoot himself? Did someone shoot him? We just don't know. We're trying to figure that out.

But we do know he has been removed from this building, from the Bay County School Board meeting. We're working on getting someone on the phone to talk to me to then educate you as to what exactly is happening right now in Panama City, but certainly very frightening, especially for this news crew, WJHG.

Next to this, also developing, word of a heist at the Bellagio, like the Taj Mahal of casinos and hotels in Las Vegas. It's very recognizable. I want you to take a look at some of these pictures that we have now gotten from them, from their security cameras. Here is what we know.

And here he is. This guy wearing a motorcycle helmet walks into the casino, into the Bellagio. This is the wee hours of the morning, pulls out his gun at the craps table. Now, police say he got away with more than a million dollars in chips and then got out of there on his motorcycle.

Amazingly he didn't hurt anyone through the whole process, but he got away with all these chips. And police want you to look at these pictures. Albeit, some of them are blurry. They want someone to recognize him to help them track this guy down.

Now to a different bit of video. I want you to watch this with me. The man who shot this and uploaded this to YouTube describes himself as a truck driver, and he has been stuck in this nasty snowstorm for some 30-plus hours. Listen to what he hears, not a lot, just a lot of wind.

Look at that with me. It looks like the Arctic Circle. No one is moving, very quiet, very windy. This is Canada. This is north of Michigan. Look at these cars, all lined up, not moving. Hundreds have been trapped on this road since Monday. Military choppers, situation so urgent, they're now coming in to try to rescue them.

And next, to another piece of video. Let me set this up for you. So this is a routine traffic stop. This is -- you're about to see -- this is happening in Dayton, Ohio. A police officer pulls over a driver for a missing headlight.

Now, the officer, there he is going up to the side of the car. This is Jonathan Seiter, gets out, talks to the driver, apparently was not cooperating. So the officer tells this driver who, by the way, was 64 years of age, hey, buddy, take out of the car.

He does. Look at this. The guy slams the officer down, a bit of a wrestling match for quite some time. This whole thing goes for about five minutes or so. Several times during the fight, Coleman, that driver, reaching for the officer's gun and Taser. Did I mention the driver was 64? Now, backup was called. It Was on the way. But guess who shows up? Look at this lady. We can't show you her face. Police are not identifying her. She is apparently driving along, sees this whole thing going on, on the side of road, gets out, tries to help the officer. They take the two guys down. You see that.

Backup finally arrives. The two officers were able to get the driver on the ground. The officer obviously very grateful for that help. But police have a message. They're not exactly encouraging this type of behavior.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SGT. LARRY TOLPIN, DAYTON POLICE DEPARTMENT: This young lady did come to his assistance. And I think it's very commendable, although, don't get me wrong, I'm not endorsing that citizens participate in this manner. But under these particular -- this particular circumstance, it was very commendable of her.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BALDWIN: Coleman is charged with attempted aggravated robbery, resisting arrest and assault on a police officer. The 64-year-old being held at the Montgomery County jail.

So, who will represent Republicans against President Obama come 2012? Conservatives are weighing in. You are going to hear their choice next.

And there is this movement -- we talked about this yesterday -- it's called No Labels. And they want to end the partisan bickering in the Beltway in Washington. Well, guess what? They're singing about it. They have a theme song from -- I'm not going to tell you. You are going to have to wait for that. Joe Johns knows the answer. He has got all the goods, the skinny, the political pop, if you will.

I won't make you sing, Joe Johns.

JOE JOHNS, CNN SENIOR CORRESPONDENT: Thanks.

BALDWIN: But we're going to hear the song coming up next. Stay there.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BALDWIN: When we're looking for questions that just aren't getting answered, we turn to our guy in the know in D.C., Joe Johns, with "Political Pop." And Joe, we talked about this whole group had a big meeting in Manhattan calling themselves no labels, a lot of buzz about them right now. And, apparently, they have a bit of a theme song. What's that?

JOHNS: A lot of buzz for sure. The idea you probably heard is that they're promoting the middle of politics. You've heard some of the names involve, Michael Bloomberg, Charlie Crist -- BALDWIN: Yes.

JOHNS: Evan Bayh. But now, let's listen to the music. What you might not know is that they have a theme song already, and they used rolled it out at their inaugural event. All right. Listen. Who is that singing? Wait for it.

BALDWIN: I'm digging it. I know. I already know the answer. It's Akon.

JOHNS: No, I'm talking to the people watching it. Akon.

(LAUGHTER)

BALDWIN: Akon.

JOHNS: Yes, it's kind of incredible. Now, I mean, you can be a little cynical about this as theme songs. Go, this one does have a little juice because this guy, of course, is one of the superstars of pop music, wrote it and recorded it. And, you know, do you have any Akon on your iPod is the question?

BALDWIN: I think that might be on my running mix, some Akon. Yes. But -- go ahead.

JOHNS: No raunchy lyrics. It's all G rated.

BALDWIN: That's right. So, here's my question, Joe, because the whole issue is no labels as this whole like, let's all get along, left and right coming together. Wasn't it Akon when President Obama got elected, he said, look, if he doesn't get elected, I'm moving to Africa. That's not exactly centrist.

JOHNS: We're trying to decide. Is that a little sooner laughter (ph)? Needless to say, yes, he was a huge Obama supporter in the last election, but he has apparently moved to the middle. And come on, President Obama has moved to the middle, too, right? So, Akon, anyway, apparently heard about the no labels group, said he liked where they were headed with this and apparently stayed up all night writing the song. We'll see where he is in two years when the president is running for re-election.

BALDWIN: I know. I know. We will wait and see. What about -- you and I were talking just this time yesterday about Michael Steele. We're waiting for that conference call to see if he was going to throw his hat in the ring, run again as chair of the RNC, and now he's stunned a lot of people and is. What are you hearing from your sources about this decision?

JOHNS: Well, look, one strategist I spoke to said Michael Steele is breaking one of the axioms of political survival in this town. Regardless of what the fight is about, if you are almost certain you're going to lose, get out quickly and gracefully. More than one GOP source is referring to Steele as a dead man walking.

BALDWIN: Wow. JOHNS: I mean, I'm not a big Steele critic, but he's very controversial because of his public statements. Insiders I've talked to say he's too high profile for good or for bad. They're looking forward to the next presidential election. They say he attracts negative media attention. He came out, of course, last night admitting he's had some stumbles but saying he's always accounted for his missteps.

Republicans I've talked to say they want a chairman who lets the new speaker of the House, the Republican leadership and their nominee, whoever it is, take center stage. So, tough spot.

BALDWIN: It's a tough spot. And I imagine, it's a spot other people will be, you know, looking to grab as well.

JOHNS: Yes.

BALDWIN: Anyone else, any big names?

JOHNS: There's a bunch of names out there, but people whose names really haven't sort of broken through all over the country. Perhaps, the biggest name mentioned so far is Minnesota Senator Norm Coleman. He said he won't run for the job if Steele is running for re-election, but it will be pretty interesting to see how this thing turns out.

BALDWIN: And before I let you go, I hear you have some survey you want to tell me about. What you got?

JOHNS: You know, those things that appear in your e-mail, and this was one that I really like. The National Republican Senatorial Committee just put out a survey testing the waters on preferences for Republican presidential candidates, but out of 12 people they mention in the survey, there only two senators, John Thune and John McCain. They mention governors, even Congressman Ron Paul, Sarah Palin. So, interestingly enough, it sounds like any senators who are eyeing the White House probably have a lot of work to do to get a little buzz going.

BALDWIN: So far, just two. That is surprising.

JOHNS: Yes, it is. It's interesting.

BALDWIN: Joe Johns, always got the good stuff in "Political Pop". Thank you, sir. See you tomorrow.

What stories were you most interested in this year? Which stories did you click on, talk about, tweet about? We have the list of the top trenders.

And there is a new online service in the dating world, but this one kind of different. Instead of finding a soulmate, it helps you break up with one. The whole dumping website is next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK) BALDWIN: So, our trending segment today is actually about trending today. And Facebook, the status updates across 236 countries virtually annualized compiling list of the top status trends for the years 2010. Facebook is calling this whole thing the 2010 memology, and here we go to the top 10 countdown. Here's what you're status updating about.

Number ten, the year 2011. Number nine, the word airplanes, as in the B.O.B. lyrics on that hit song, "Airplanes". Number eight, Chilean miners. Seven, games on Facebook. Six, The Biebs, Justin Bieber. Five, Haiti. Four, Apple's iPad and the iPhone 4. Three, movies, no particular movie, just lot of them mentioned the movies. Number two, world cup. And one, look, I've got to be honest, I've never heard of this. HMU. I'm not hip. Apparently, it's an acronym for hit me up. HMU.

You ever thought about breaking up with someone -- on to number two here. Breaking up with someone but were too scared to actually go through with it? Well, now you guessed it, there is an online service, folks, I'm not making this up. This is called idump4u.com. Hop on online. You can see I'm serious. You pay the service. They do the breaking up for. What do you get for your money? Well, apparently, a mere $10 for a basic break-up, 25 for an engagement break up. Ouch. 50 bucks for a divorce call. Really? Would you do this.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You're really less of a man if you have somebody, you know, call and break up with your girlfriend with you.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Oh, I absolutely believe that someone should do it themselves. I'm coming from the old school.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: In person or on the phone?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: In person.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Do you really want to get a call from some stranger like, guess what, it's over.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I don't think so.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: No way. Horrible. (INAUDIBLE)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: That's pretty nasty. I think that's one of those things that just a no-fly zone. You don't go there.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I think it's a great way to attract attention. I think it's a lousy way to deal with a relationship.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BALDWIN: Got our attention, and alas, it made to the NEWSROOM.

And now, (INAUDIBLE) is finally here. The CNN app for the iPad. It is your home base for breaking news, video and alerts. Our tech guy, Derek Dodge, joins me now. Derek, HMU, hit me up.

DEREK DODGE, ON TWITTER: @DEREKCNN: Check it out, Brooke. You're on the iPad.

BALDWIN: Sweet.

DODGE: How beautiful is this? This is video on demand. We're playing a clip from the show earlier when you were talking about the Bellagio heist.

BALDWIN: That is cool.

DODGE: This is when the best features of the iPad up. Seriously, the video is absolutely. beautiful. Not just video on demand, but you can get live video as well. Now, when you first download the app, and it's free, by the way, you're going to come to the garage sheet, and you're going to see all today's top stories right now. It's glorious, the pictures and the thumbnails.

You can sit back and scroll through the news. Maybe, you don't like this view, so we give you another view. This is called the slideshow view where you can flip through and look how big and beautiful these images are? That's a real big picture remark in an iPad app.

BALDWIN: That is amazing.

DODGE: It's really visually stunning. Like I said, live video. We've also got an hourly update from CNN radio among other things. And one big thing that I like about the app is how social it is. Meaning, we've incorporated Twitter and Facebook if you want to share the stories, share on Facebook, share on Twitter. You can e-mail if you're old-fashioned or save it for later.

BALDWIN: I always love that. I love to see what my friends are reading, what they're liking, and you can do that on the iPad.

DODGE: Yes. And we've also built the comments right here into the story. So, as you're scrolling through text, you can even scroll to the side and see everything that everyone is saying, and that's a featured part of the app.

BALDWIN: Derek Doge, did you say those of us who e-mail are old- fashioned?

DODGE: I was wondering if you're going to pick up on that?

BALDWIN: Then call me old fashion, friend, because I don't even have an iPad. Hopefully, that will change.

DODGE: Well, you've got it one, you're on it.

BALDWIN: I'm on it, but I don't even have one. But hopefully, I'm going to get one for Christmas. Hint, hint.

DODGE: Good luck. BALDWIN: That's kind of cool, though. Derrick Dodge, thank you so much.

He has been called a traitor, accused of giving government documents to WikiLeaks, so why does one city in California want to officially make Bradley Manning a hero? That is ahead.

Also, bodies found on a beach in New York. And now, police are looking into whether they are connected to the disappearance of an alleged prostitute. She was just 23. That is next.

Also, we're keeping our eye very closely on the breaking story out of Florida, out of Panama City. Reports of a shooting at a school board meeting. We'll get an update for you on that, next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BALDWIN: We're getting some pictures, some aerial pictures of outside of Salem, Oregon. Look at this. And Chad Myers is walking up to me because I want him to join me in this conversation.

I guess some damage from that tornado that passed through today.

MYERS: There definitely was a tornado reported by emergency managers. Now, obviously, weather service has to go out there and confirm the size. But there's a building there just leaving the right-hand side of your screen that has lost a lot of its roof. It almost seems like there might have been a structure on top that collapsed as well. It's hard to see what it was.

But the first picture we saw was like a mobile home or something that lost a little bit of some siding and maybe we'll call it a carport. Well, that's not very much. That's not all that significant.

But now, when we see real structures filled with real two-by- fours and screws and glues and all that, you know this was something bigger than just a wind gust. And clearly it was because it was reported as such.

BALDWIN: And those pictures, KPTV helicopter, just to underscore the point. It is not often you say the word tornado and Oregon in the same sentence. Look at that.

MYERS: Yes. Aumsville, A-U-M-S-V-I-L-L-E, it's about 12 miles southeast of Salem along Highway 22. And there was some damage to cars as well and crashes by cars due to skating on the amount of hail that was on the roadway. Hail acting like ball bearings and cars crashing off the roadway due to that driving over that hail.

BALDWIN: We just were watching those pictures and the control room wanted to pass it along to you. Again, pictures outside of Salem, Oregon, a tornado.

Chad, thank you.

MYERS: OK.

BALDWIN: And now, I want to get you a quick update on the breaking story from Panama City, Florida. We know, CNN has confirmed a gunman went inside this school board meeting, it was the Bay County school board meeting this afternoon, just a little while ago, had a gun. CNN has confirmed he was shooting blanks out of this gun. The guy addressed the front of the meeting, apparently took a big can of spray paint that he brought in with him, sprayed a "V" and a circle around it, kept the men hostage, allowed the women and children to go.

He was shot. We don't know if the gunman was shot by authorities, by himself. We do know he has left this area. But a frightening, frightening situation for people at the Bay County school board, that meeting today, including a news crew -- crews in there, WJHG.

Now to a possible serial killer, a terror threat and a controversial hero from the U.S. military. Time to play "Reporter Roulette."

I want to begin with Deb Feyerick there for us in New York where police are investigating this -- it's an eerie story, this discovery of several bodies, four bodies, Deb, on Long Island.

DEBORAH FEYERICK, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes, that's right. And, actually, it was a coincidence. Apparently a dog -- a canine officer took his dog out for a drill and had a hunch that a missing person may be about three miles from where they were first located. What he found was not one body, but ultimately four bodies discovered within a quarter mile from each other. It's -- one of the victims could be -- and this is just a possibility -- could be a woman by the name of Shannon Gilbert.

She and another woman who was also missing have similar profiles. They were both in their early 20s. They both allegedly answered escort ads on Craigslist and then they disappeared within a month of each other early this summer, Brooke.

BALDWIN: We mentioned four bodies, all found within a quarter mile of one another. Do we know how long they think the bodies were there?

FEYERICK: Well, that's what's so interesting. Some of the bodies were so badly decomposed that the police commissioner actually believes that some of the bodies may have been killed -- some of the victims may have been killed as many -- were up to two years ago, and it's going to take a long time for the medical examiner to figure out exactly who these people are.

BALDWIN: Deb Feyerick for us in New York -- Deb, thank you.

Next on "Reporter Roulette," Jeanne Meserve in Washington, D.C., with this threat to the D.C. metro system.

And, Jeanne, tell me about this man. What is he accused of doing or trying to do?

JEANNE MESERVE, CNN HOMELAND SECURITY CORRESPONDENT: Well, his name is Awais Younis. He allegedly made threats on Facebook against Washington's metro station. According to court documents, he allegedly said to a Facebook friend that he could build a pipe bomb and the way to maximize casualties would be put one on a metro train, either the third or fifth car during rush hour. When the friend said, "Oh, you wouldn't do that," he said, "Watch me." Those are the allegations being made by the government.

BALDWIN: You mentioned, Jeanne, that he's an Afghan native. What more we know about him?

MESERVE: He was born in 1985, which makes him 25 or 26 years old, born in Afghanistan, as you say. And, right now, we understand he's undergoing a mental evaluation, according to the court documents.

BALDWIN: What about this threat assessment? How serious could this have been?

MESERVE: Well, a law enforcement source says they only found a handgun, they didn't find any other explosives or any other weaponry. They judged the threat to be minimal. And, indeed, the Justice Department put out a statement pointing out the fact that this person is charged with communicating threats using interstate communications. They say he was being watched carefully. There wasn't a threat to metro or the D.C. area, Brooke.

BALDWIN: Jeanne, thank you.

Now, let's head to California, Dan Simon on "Reporter Roulette."

Dan, that army private, just 23 years of age, allegedly leaked those classified documents to WikiLeaks may be honored in a little town in northern California.

DAN SIMON, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, Berkeley tonight, the city council is going to be laying out whether or not he should be called a hero. He was already called a hero by the Berkeley Justice and Peace Commission. It passed this measure by a seven to three vote, says he should be called a patriot. Now, it's up to the Berkeley city council.

The question a lot of council members have is, well, at this point, these are just allegations, he hasn't actually been convicted of providing these documents the way (INAUDIBLE). In their eyes, it might be a little premature to call him a hero, Brooke.

BALDWIN: And we will find out a little later this afternoon how they vote, I guess. Dan Simon, thank you for that.

And that is your reporter roulette for this Tuesday.

On a final note here, WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange was granted bail in the U.K. today. But Swedish prosecutors quickly appealed that. So, he, for now, remains behind bars.

President Obama hosting Bill Gates and Warren Buffett at the White House. So, what do you think was said during that meeting? Gloria Borger is next. She has your Political Ticker.

But, first, before we go to break, it is that time of year when people open their hearts and their wallets for their favorite cause. So, which city in the U.S. is most charitable? Come up with the list, "The Daily Beast" Web site factored in average household income, donations and the number of people who volunteer each year.

So, let's show you the list. Number five: the Big D, Dallas, Texas. Number four: the home of CNN's world headquarters, here in Atlanta. Number three: Kansas City.

So, is your list on the list? Find out after the break.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BALDWIN: Rounding out the top five most charitable cities here in the U.S., according to TheDailyBeast.com. Coming in at number two, the good people of San Francisco. And could you have guessed, number one here most charitable city: no scrooges in Seattle, Washington.

Now to Jessica Yellin with the latest new from the Political Ticker -- and apparently not on the top five most charitable cities, Washington, D.C.

Jessica, what do you have?

JESSICA YELLIN, CNN NATIONAL POLITICAL CORRESPONDENT: Not shocked by that, Brooke.

Look, there are signs that support for the tax cut package the White House negotiated with members of Congress is growing among the public. But there is a new outspoken high profile critic -- Mitt Romney. The ones and potential future Republican presidential candidate has come out against this tax cut deal. Even though it's been considered a win for the GOP, he says it's a disappointment and the next more conservative Congress could get a better deal.

Why does this matter? Well, the tax cut deal probably will pass in the end anyway. But could this be a sign that members of the Tea Party and far right aligned fiscal conservatives will eventually come to see this deal as a bad one for fiscal watchdogs? We'll see how that one progresses.

Other news, President Obama today met with these two men, Warren Buffett, Bill Gates and Bill Gates' wife Melinda Gates was there, too. They were talking about charity. You were talking about it a minute ago.

BALDWIN: Yes.

YELLIN: These folks have made a giving pledge. And they're calling on other philanthropists and let's just say it, gazillionaires, to give away a large part, the majority of their personal wealth to charity.

So, this meeting was partly to call attention to that. They also talked about new ways to spur investment in education. But 'tis the season of giving, no harm in calling attention to the valley of charity right now.

And, finally, here's a little bit of an amusing item. A very prominent politician is suggesting that one way to get this tax cut compromise through Congress more quickly is to stop calling it the Bush tax cuts. Just drop that name "Bush" altogether because frankly it's not so popular right now.

Well, you wouldn't believe who made the suggestion? President George W. Bush himself. He must recognize his Gallup approval number recently was at 47 percent, below the 50 percent mark. Maybe if they called it the Gates-Buffett tax cut package, it would do better. It has nothing to do with them, but, you know, people seem to like them.

BALDWIN: I know. What's in a name? Perhaps a lot in this case.

YELLIN: A lot.

BALDWIN: Jessica Yellin, thank you for that.

By the way, you can get political updates any time, hop online, CNNPolitics.com or they're on Twitter @PoliticalTicker.

And how about -- how about this? A sand storm, a bull on the loose and really big waves. I'm not even going to show you the video to tease this. You've got to see this. It's next.

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BALDWIN: I want to show you some more pictures of right around where a tornado touched down. This is outside of Salem, Oregon. KPTV, our affiliate out there, in a helicopter, giving us a better bird's eye view.

Look at the damage there on the ground. Just the roof annihilated of that home. The National Weather Service officially are reporting a tornado happened 2:59 Eastern, noon Pacific. And we're told this damage is right around this town called Aumsville, outside of Salem.

So, a tornado is confirmed, yes. Is this damage because of the tornado? We can't confirm that. We can just more or less deduce that that is the case. But again, you can see just how bad the damage is in pockets of Aumsville in Oregon.

And we're hitting you nonstop today with snowstorms, ice storms, apparently a tornado. But in a place where it never seems to snow they're having weather problems as well.

You've got to see this, a bird's eye view. Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, look at these pictures. Watch as the scene disappears under a blanket of blowing sand.

Here it's clear and then you're about to see this whole sandstorm roll through. Our iReporter there had a camera in hand when the sandstorm suddenly struck, blinding drivers, bringing movement to basically a stop for a couple of hours. They were also having a cold snap there in the desert kingdom, too. Lows in the 30s in Saudi Arabia.

Next, what you've got here, Sheriff, is an animal that does not agree with the plans laid out for him. In San Antonio, Texas, this bull escaped from a meat packing plant and made a run for it.

Do you blame him?

For more than an hour, the bull managed to stay one step ahead of the guys trying to corral it. The chase ended on a school campus.

Actually, I'm not going to tell you the end of the story for the bull. You can imagine. Poor bull.

Let's move on.

How would you like to be standing here on the Chicago lake front during this little squall? CNN iReporter Patrick Ryan Wilson took this waterproof camcorder to Belmont Harbor Sunday to capture the big surf hammering the shore.

Patrick says he had not seen very much video from Chicago during the severe weather and wanted to fix that. So here you go, Patrick. He also told us that Chicago people have bragging rights about how cold it is until someone from, you know, Minneapolis comes along.

So who is watching you and where? You might be surprised the places we found cameras. "The End of Privacy," next.

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BALDWIN: Now to tomorrow's news today. Let's "Fast Forward."

We're going to see how President Obama's working relationship is with big businesses when he hosts 20 different CEOs at the White House come tomorrow. And I bet you can guess that four-letter word they will be tackling -- jobs.

Also, the Senate is expected to start their debate on the new START treaty as early as tomorrow. By then, they may have cleared the tax cut bill from their to-do list and can focus on a nuclear arms agreement with Russia.

And "TIME" magazine editors are naming their "Person of the Year" tomorrow morning. Will it be Julian Assange, that underground character at the center of this whole WikiLeaks scandal?

Readers voted Assange as their number one pick. We'll see if the "TIME" editors agree with that.

You can watch "AMERICAN MORNING," 7:00 a.m. Eastern, for that announcement.

This week, all week long here at CNN, we're talking about your privacy and those people and groups trying like crazy to get your and my personal information. And it's not just online where you need to be smart and careful. Did you know that someone could be watching you right now? It's true, and the high-tech gear out there is apparently so good, you'd never know it.

Watch this report. This is from Josh Levs.

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JOSH LEVS, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): They look like everyday objects -- a lamp, a radio, an iPod docking station. But when you look closer, they have hidden cameras inside. Tiny, unnoticeable.

BRIAN CURRY, PEACH STATE INVESTIGATIONS: The camera lens is right here and it's usually pointing up.

LEVS (on camera): And I have no idea that there's a camera there. There's nothing about this that suggests anything is videoing me.

(voice-over): They can provide an extra layer of security.

CURRY: The ones that tell me what they're doing with the cameras are going to be the people that are either wanting to keep an eye on their sitter, their nanny.

LEVS: And we've all seen how hidden cameras can help the good guys in movies like "Mission Impossible."

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: There's a camera built right into the bridge. Whatever you see it sees, and then it transmits it back here.

LEVS: But some end up where they shouldn't be.

CURRY: I recently heard one that the guy had a pen camera that he got that's -- I guess it was motion-activated, and he set it up in a gym bag and took it in the -- maybe the YMCA or something.

LEVS: They're relatively affordable. These costs a few hundred bucks, and technology is making smaller and more sophisticated ones all the time. Some even broadcast their video wirelessly over the Internet.

So, how can you tell if there's a hidden camera where you are? Technology can help with that, too.

CURRY: This is actually a low-cost camera finder.

LEVS: Private investigator Brian Curry runs a spy shop near Atlanta. He sells the cameras, but he also helps people watch out for them.

(on camera): I'm seeing a big bright red blinking dot right there. And it's telling me there's a camera on me.

(voice-over): Some more sophisticated detectors can even seek out wireless camera signals.

CURRY: You see it's actually scanning the frequencies.

LEVS (on camera): So what we're seeing here, it's picking up all these -- lots of different cameras in here?

CURRY: Well, yes, it's pulling up -- that's going to be the flower pot camera that we had on earlier.

LEVS (voice-over): It's technology versus technology, potentially giving people the tools to invade your privacy, but also giving you a chance to catch them.

Josh Levs, CNN, Atlanta.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BALDWIN: Listen to this. The federal government suing a school district for denying a Muslim teacher unpaid leave for a religious trip. A fascinating case. That is ahead.

Also, violent death of a Virginia lacrosse player. A UVA lacrosse player rocked the school there in Charlottesville. Now the ex-boyfriend accused of killing her may not even go to trial.

Sunny Hostin is on that case next.

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BALDWIN: Time now for a couple of cases.

I want to begin with this one. This young athletic couple, they looked like -- based upon just appearances, they had the perfect lives, both in school. But one was brutally killed.

That is just one of the stories here "On the Case."

Sunny Hostin, of "In Session" on truTV.

And Sunny, I remember, a lot of people remember this horrific, horrific case.

SUNNY HOSTIN, "IN SESSION," TRUTV: Oh, they really do remember it because it was college students in love, apparently, two lacrosse players at the University of Virginia, an Ivy League school, and one ends up dead -- the girlfriend. And I will say that I think this really struck a cord with so many people, because it was right before their graduation. And it was just really outrage at the campus.

BALDWIN: That's where I started my TV career, in Charlottesville, Virginia. It's just the nicest, quietest, little town. You wouldn't think this would happen there on the grounds of UVA. There's a hearing in this case tomorrow that's pretty significant here.

HOSTIN: That's right. It's scheduled for tomorrow, Brooke, at 9:05 a.m.

And apparently, the plea hearing may be about the defense's request for the victim's medical records. Of course, the prosecution is really fighting against those records because that is typically confidential.

BALDWIN: What about -- there are reports today that there could be a possible plea here in this case. So this guy may never go to trial.

HOSTIN: That's right. Many people are reporting that, Brooke. I haven't confirmed that. But most cases, 95 percent of criminal cases, do end in plea deals, and so it is quite possible that this case will be one of those.

He has admitted to his actions. He says it was not intentional, it was an accident. He hit her head up against a wall during an argument when he was shaking her. And so, in a case like that, when a defendant admits guilt, that would be a case that would be prime for a plea.

BALDWIN: We'll follow that.

Also, another case involves the Department of Justice, this lawsuit on behalf of a Chicago-area teacher who sued because her school district wouldn't let her leave to go on this religious pilgrimage, the Hajj. And so the teacher resigned as a result.

HOSTIN: That's right. She resigned as a result of the repeated denials of her request for unpaid leave, Brooke -- unpaid leave to go on a pilgrimage to Mecca, which is something that many Muslims do, of course, every single year, thousands and thousands of people.

The Justice Department says that her civil rights were violated, and they are taking that school district to task in federal court. And so this is a case that many, many people are following because, of course, this is the Justice Department filing an action against the Chicago School District.

BALDWIN: So what is the basis here, the basis of the lawsuit?

HOSTIN: The basis is that her civil rights were violated. Most school districts and most employers, Brooke, especially a school district, are required to observe and respect their employees' religious preferences, their religious observations. And the Justice Department is saying in this case, that repeated denial from that school district of her request for unpaid leave is inappropriate and a civil rights violation.

BALDWIN: You mentioned Department of Justice involved here, filing suit. What are they looking for as far as a remedy for the situation?

HOSTIN: Absolutely. They want her, Brooke, to get her job back. They want her to be immediately reinstated.

They also are asking for back pay from 2008 to the present. And so it really is a very interesting lawsuit.

The other thing is that they're asking for the school district to implement a policy for religious observances and religious accommodations for the school district's employees. And so they're looking for really an overhaul of this school district's policies.

BALDWIN: All right, Sunny. Sixty seconds.

Final case, there's a hearing in the case against Gabe Watson, suspected in his wife's death during their honeymoon in Australia.

HOSTIN: That's right. There is a hearing going to be held today. His lawyers are looking for bond. They want him released.

They are saying he is not a flight risk. Of course, the government is fighting that because he was -- this occurred in Australia. He did serve time for her manslaughter in Australia, and they are saying he should not be allowed bond, he should not be allowed to be free.

So we'll see what happens in that courtroom today.

BALDWIN: And final question, the U.S. government promised not to seek the death penalty against him, correct?

HOSTIN: That's correct. Even though Alabama really is a state that embraces the death penalty, the death penalty is not on the table because Australia's extradition act requires that if somebody is extradited to the United States, they cannot be sought, the death penalty. So no death penalty on the table.

BALDWIN: No death penalty on the table.

Sunny Hostin, "On the Case."

Sunny, good to see you.

And with that, I want to go to my colleague Suzanne Malveaux, taking the reins in "THE SITUATION ROOM" today.

Suzanne, to you.