Return to Transcripts main page
CNN Newsroom
Las Vegas Dancer Missing; Movement on New START Treaty?; New Study Shows Frequency of C-Sections Has Risen; Actor Tracy Morgan Undergoes Kidney Transplant; New 2010 Census Numbers Are Out; Officials Warn of Possible Al Qaeda Tactic of Poisoning Restaurant Food
Aired December 21, 2010 - 15:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
BROOKE BALDWIN, CNN ANCHOR: Juggling a couple of other stories for you this afternoon.
A news conference in Las Vegas just a short time ago about this star dancer who has gone missing, so, coming up, I will be talking live with her sister from Vegas in just a little bit, digging deeper on this story.
Also, at some point here, potentially any moment during this show, we're expecting the Senate to begin this procedural vote that would then get things moving on the START treaty. That is the nuclear arms agreement that slashes Russia's nukes, as well as our own. The debate, as you know, has been multiple times delayed here.
And, in California, we are all over the washout there. Have you seen those, some of these images of the flash flooding there? Obviously, this is not the stuff you want to get stuck driving in. So, we're going to be tackling all those stories.
But, first, I want to begin with you in Washington. In fact, let's take a live shot of the U.S. Senate, because I want to tell you what's happening at this hour.
Our U.S. senators are moving toward a vote on this historic international treaty, this test vote. It's a procedural vote here on the START treaty. It should happen, as I said, any moment now, pretty shortly this afternoon. And the treaty would trigger deep reductions in America's nuclear arsenal and the Russians' nuclear arsenal.
But there has been this bloc of Senate Republicans who have continued to try to fight this.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SEN. JIM DEMINT (R), SOUTH CAROLINA: And it's clear with this treaty that they're trying to cram something else down the throats of the American people under the cover of Christmas with a Congress that's just been changed by the American people. And people are rightly outraged.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BALDWIN: Now, we also, though, have some polling that shows Americans, they want this treaty to happen.
I want to bring in senior congressional correspondent Dana Bash, who has been following this for us today from Capitol Hill.
Dana, just bring me up to speed. Where does this stand right now?
DANA BASH, CNN SENIOR CONGRESSIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, right now, we're waiting for a very important test vote that would effectively cut off debate for this treaty and sort of begin the end game, if you will.
But the headline is that, according to CNN's count, the White House actually now has more than enough Republicans to get the two- thirds majority needed to approve this treaty. That ultimately probably won't happen until tomorrow. But that is kind of the key thing to know here.
You mentioned the fact that there's a bloc of Republicans who opposes this. It's been easier for us, Brooke, to count the number of Republicans who are supporting it than -- than -- than opposing it. That just gives you a sense of where Republicans might end up when it comes to this treaty.
BALDWIN: Yes, in fact, perfect segue for me. I would like to, Dana, just tick off some of the names who want this treaty approve, many of whom are Republican, beginning with former Secretary of State James Baker, former Secretary of State Colin Powell, Republican, former Secretary of State George Shultz, Republican, former Secretary of State Henry Kissinger, Republican -- I think you see where I'm going here.
BASH: I do.
(LAUGHTER)
BASH: And, here, Senator Lamar Alexander, Republican, on the floor of the Senate today. Here he was.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SEN. LAMAR ALEXANDER (R), TENNESSEE: I will vote to ratify the New START treaty between the United States and Russia, because it leaves our country with enough nuclear warheads to blow any attacker to kingdom come, and because the president has committed to an $85 billion 10-year plan to make sure that those weapons work.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BALDWIN: So, Dana, given this list that I just ticked off very influential Republicans, why are the other Republicans still holding out? What's the rationale?
BALDWIN: A couple of reasons, Brooke.
First, on substance, there are lots of Republicans that I have talked to in the hallway, heard on the Senate floor who say that they -- they have lots of substantive issues with this treaty, for example, verification. Some of them say that they just simply don't trust that Russia, according to the terms of this treaty, will really live up to it in terms of reducing its arsenal on the various things that it's required to do.
But also, and probably even more importantly, hearing is it's more of the atmospherics. People like Senator Lindsey Graham of South Carolina -- Carolina -- apoplectic I think is a fair word -- word to use, Brooke, in talking about the fact that he is very upset about the Democrats pushing this in the waning hours, hours of this Congress, when he felt that it needed a little bit more time.
But also its wrapped up in what Republicans call other Democratic partisan issues that frankly they have been pretty successful at getting through this Congress. And it's -- it's irked some Republicans.
BALDWIN: Well, let me bring that point up. You know, you and I were just talking live, right, it was Friday afternoon, when the president signed the tax extension, the bill, into law. He also won on don't ask, don't tell.
And there are reports out that say some of these Republicans, they don't want him to have this victory. So, would it be possible, Dana, that some of them are just playing politics with national security?
BASH: Well, you know, obviously Democrats are making that pretty clear -- not using those words, but -- but they're -- but they're saying that, in terms of the theme of what they're saying.
Mitch McConnell was on the Senate floor yesterday saying that he doesn't want to do this to give a politician a press conference to -- to -- to declare victory, so you can take that for what you will.
But I -- I just want to mention one other thing with regard --
BALDWIN: Sure.
BASH: -- to START, something I actually was just witnessing before I came over here right off the Senate floor.
And that is about John McCain, obviously was the president's rival. He's a leader on national security. He's been very upset also about the timing of this. But get this. He is in feverish talks with some fellow Republicans and it looks like Democrats to try to come up with language for an amendment that perhaps they could put on the Senate floor after this key test vote that we're going to see this afternoon that might, might, might get the vote of John McCain, which would be pretty remarkable for the White House.
They're talking about some kind of language. What his big issue is -- he's got many of them, but one of the big issues, that he's concerned that this treaty with Russia would hurt America's missile defense capabilities in -- BALDWIN: Sure.
BASH: -- in Europe --
BALDWIN: Sure.
BASH: -- and elsewhere.
So, he's looking for language that would not be binding to the treaty, but would all -- would simply state U.S. policy. If they can come up with that, that is something that would very, very interesting, to get John McCain's vote.
BALDWIN: Well, Dana Bash, we, right along with you, are watching the action there on the Senate floor. We know they're getting through some odds and ends. As soon as we start learning of the procedural vote, definitely flag us, and we will bring that to our viewers live.
(CROSSTALK)
BALDWIN: Dana Bash for us on Capitol Hill on the new START treaty, Dana, thank you.
BASH: Thanks.
BALDWIN: Also, this story, a lot of people talking about this one today. So this 31-year-old Las Vegas dancer, she goes missing for over a week, and police are out. They're combing the streets. They're trying to find her, trying to find clues.
I'm going to be speaking with her sister, who is out there in Vegas. That will be ahead.
Also, police find a device with wires under a train seat in Italy. Was it a terror attempt? That report is next.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
BALDWIN: Welcome back to the NEWSROOM.
Quickly, got a couple other stories moving for you this hour. First, look at this video. Just look at this. This car is a truck. And, obviously, the truck is stuck. This is an extreme case of high- water blues, as record-breaking rainfall refuses to let up in Southern California.
Folks, the entire L.A. area drenched, with people there very nervously watching out for flash floods, mudslides, and that same storm system is pounding the Sierra Nevada and other higher elevations with several feet of snow. We will get much more about what is going on there on the West Coast in just a moment.
Meantime, '70s sitcom fans, you knew him as Detective Arthur Dietrich. He was the intellectual member of Barney Miller's police squad. Actor Steve Landesberg died yesterday in Los Angeles. He was a stand-up comic and was in a ton of movies and TV shows as well. Landesberg's agent says he had been battling cancer.
And police say they found a suspicious device on a train just outside of Rome. Authorities say it was hidden underneath a seat in a plastic bag. And originally it was quite a scare. Police suspected it was a bomb, but now they say it could not have blown up.
The driver inspecting this particular train at the end of the line found it after the train reached its final stop on the city's outskirts. A police bomb squad and the fire brigade went to the scene. The device was a black box with wires hanging out of it. There are no reports of injuries, no claim of responsibilities thus far. The metro line continued operating normally after the package was removed.
And this is just the latest example of, you know, the world we're living in these days, where suspicious items can totally shut down public places, and the public goes numb to these inconveniences that have intruded our day-to-day lives.
And don't expect things to change any time soon. In an interview with ABC News, Attorney General Eric Holder disclosed some new details about the evolving threat of homegrown terror.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP, ABC NEWS)
ERIC HOLDER, U.S. ATTORNEY GENERAL: The threat has changed from simply worrying about foreigners coming here to worrying about people in the United States, American citizens, raised here, born here. You didn't worry about this even two years ago.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BALDWIN: Two years ago? Did you hear that? Why did he say two years ago? He says that because, in the last 18 months, at least 50 Americans have been charged with planning acts of terrorism. And public enemy number one on Holder's list is an American member of al Qaeda, Anwar al-Awlaki.
Holder considers him as grave a threat as Osama bin Laden.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP, ABC NEWS)
HOLDER: The threat has changed from simply worrying about foreigners coming here to worrying about people in the United States, American citizens, raised here, born here. You didn't worry about this even two years ago.
And he is a person who -- an American citizen familiar with this country, and he brings a dimension, because of that American familiarity, that others do not. He would be on the same list with bin Laden. He's -- he's up there. I don't know whether he's one, two, three, four. I don't know, but he's certainly on the list of the people who worry me the most.
The ability to go into your basement, turn on your computer, find a site that has this kind of hatred spewed, they have an ability to take somebody who is perhaps just interested, perhaps just on the edge, and take them over to the other side.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BALDWIN: How about that? Now, Holder did acknowledge the United States has made great strides in improving its ability to both detect and block would-be terrorists before they kill Americans.
You heard about this story? You like theater? A performer injured after falling in the middle of this Broadway version of "Spider-Man" -- the whole thing caught on camera. We will show that you ahead.
And the con -- the census figures are out.
(LAUGHTER)
BALDWIN: We will tell you how your political landscape is about to change.
You are in the CNN NEWSROOM.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
BALDWIN: Before we talk census, as promised, here are live pictures from the floor of the U.S. Senate.
We have just gotten word that the senators have just begun -- well call it a test vote, a procedural vote, on the New START treaty that would reduce America's nukes, Russia's nukes. They have to get -- remember, that magic number for this kind of vote is 60. Sixty would block any kind of filibuster. Sixty would open debate.
And then if and when they reach the 60 mark, they go on for the official vote which then in this case would have to be two-thirds majority, or 67. But we won't worry with that for now. We will just keep our eyes on this procedural vote there unfolding on Capitol Hill.
And, staying in Washington, you remember the brouhaha over the census? You know, there were bloggers out there, even some members of Congress warning Americans, you know, don't respond to the census for privacy reason. Well, Americans did respond. And today the numbers are out.
I want to show you some of the numbers, in fact. I want to show you the states seeing significant growth in population. You see some of them highlighted there in blue. Here they are: Washington State, Nevada, Arizona, Georgia, South Carolina, Florida. And look at Texas. See the plus-four? I know it's kind of small, but the plus-four there, that means Texas has grown enough to game as many as four congressional seats.
And now, switching the graphic, here are some of the states where the population is shrinking. Now, this is big. This is important because these states will lose representation in the House of Representatives, states in the north, states in the Midwest, plus Louisiana, which lost population due to Hurricane Katrina. I want to bring in Kate Bolduan -- there she is -- in Washington.
And, Kate, this looks like, at least based upon the -- the shading and the appearances of the numbers, it helps Republicans, right, because the states that are growing tend to be ones that vote Republican.
KATE BOLDUAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Generally speaking, yes.
And, you know, at this point, we're kind of generally speaking. And that's pretty much all we can do --
(LAUGHTER)
BOLDUAN: -- at this point.
So, generally speaking, yes, you're seeing the gains in congressional seats in the South, as well as in West. And those including, again, generally speaking, traditionally Republican-leaning states. I mean, you just mentioned Texas. Texas gets a whopping four seats. They're getting the most -- most -- they're gaining the most congressional seats. So, there's a big win there.
On the flip side, the states that are losing congressional seats, who have seen a drop in population, those states are centering in the areas of the Midwest and the north. And they include traditional Democratic strongholds like New York, like Michigan, like Massachusetts.
So, you could generally could say, who is the big winner coming out of this today, you see Republicans seem to have an advantage when you're looking at the political landscape through the lens that we have today.
BALDWIN: And given new information we now have from the census, we knew this during the midterms. We know they have to redraw these districts.
BOLDUAN: Right.
BALDWIN: And that involves state legislatures, sometimes even involves the courts.
BALDWIN: Right.
(LAUGHTER)
BALDWIN: So my question to you is, Kate, looking ahead to 2012, obviously a big year, election year, will the electoral map be redrawn?
BOLDUAN: Well, it needs to be redrawn in time -- in time for that.
We know from the Census Bureau -- we have known that they -- the Census Bureau itself needs to get the information to the states, all the information that the states need, in order to do that redrawing of the map. They need to have that to them by April 1 -- I want to check my numbers here -- April 1, 2011.
So beyond that, it needs to be done by 2012, because that's a big year for not only congressional races, but also the presidential race by way of electoral votes. So that -- those will be the first races that are affected by these new numbers.
BALDWIN: And what about for the presidential election? What kind of implications might there be come presidential election, come 2012?
BOLDUAN: Of course, at this point, it's kind of difficult to say anything definitive of what that means. I mean, if you just look at the midterms and how the political landscape has even changed since the midterms, but you could -- as we mentioned, you can generally say that it seems that Republicans seem to have a bit of an advantage in terms of the congressional seats that are gained, as well as those being states that are traditionally Republican-leaning states.
If you look at just one anecdote that our political unit was able to put together, this is a little bit telling is that of the eight states gaining House seats from these census numbers, Obama, President Obama won three of those states in the 2011 election. Look at the flip side. Of the 10 states losing congressional seats, Obama won eight of those in the 2008 election.
BALDWIN: Oh, wow.
BOLDUAN: So it will be interesting to see how that looks come 2012.
BALDWIN: Very, very interesting.
Kate Bolduan with the latest from the census, appreciate that.
BOLDUAN: No problem.
BALDWIN: Want to take you to Vegas for this next story. This popular Las Vegas dancer, here she is, totally vanishes. It's been a week or so since she left her apartment. Police, relatives, including her sister, she is now in Vegas trying to plead with the public, try to get some help to find her. I will talk to her sister live just ahead.
Also, Southern California continues to get slammed with torrential rains, causing flooding and mudslides. If you live out there, you know exactly what I'm talking about. We're going to dig a little deeper on this bleak winter forecast for you. That's next.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
BALDWIN: You don't think Christmas puts some people on edge? Hmm. Take a look at this with me.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) (SINGING)
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BALDWIN: A group of singer show up --
(LAUGHTER)
BALDWIN: -- at a mall to sing Handel's "Messiah."
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
(SINGING)
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BALDWIN: You hear them singing the end of gloria, the gloria chorus?
Well, the crowd of shoppers make some noises in the mall for the -- for the creaking of the floors, and mass evacuation ensues, mass evacuation.
Let's just listen for a moment. So you can't hear it, but they're saying, you know, the mall is closed. Everyone's kind of standing around. What do they do? Then they all kind of run out at once. Everyone's OK. No one's hurt.
But it just goes to show, you put a bunch of people in an enclosed space, and sometimes crazy things happen. Just a flash mob, just a flash mob.
The weather is major news today, especially out West.
Meteorologist Bonnie Schneider is here.
And we're talking record rain, snowfall. I mean, this has been rough. It's a -- been a rough go for the last few days for them.
BONNIE SCHNEIDER, AMS METEOROLOGIST: That's right, Brooke, four days of steady rain in California. It is the rainy season, but this has been tremendous.
BALDWIN: Yes.
SCHNEIDER: Five inches of rain in the Los Angeles area from this event, and it's still raining.
Take a look at the radar. I would like to show you that it's subsiding, but it isn't. It's actually getting heavier to the south, like in San Diego. That's where we have heavy rain right now. And with all this rain coming through, naturally, flooding has been a huge problem.
And, sometimes, it catches people off guard. Take a look at this video. In California, you can see that truck completely stuck there in the flooded roads. Now, this person made it out OK. They actually called from their cell phone and was rescued. But you have to realize the force of moving water is nothing to be reckoned with.
BALDWIN: Look at that.
SCHNEIDER: It's incredible.
BALDWIN: It's incredible.
SCHNEIDER: I mean, you know, obviously, if you're trying to drive on a -- on a road, it looks like it's starting to flood, turn around. But if you're caught in that situation, what do you do?
Well, one of the first things you want to do is roll down your windows in case you have to jump out of your car. Your door will likely get dislodged. And you could climb on top of your car, if you have to, but really the best thing is to try to avoid the situation completely, because the force of moving water could be 500 pounds of pressure per foot that it rises, so incredibly dangerous there.
BALDWIN: Hmm.
SCHNEIDER: Now, this rain isn't just affecting Southern California. It's now spread further to the east, so we're seeing it across Nevada. And with that said, Las Vegas one to three inches of rain in the forecast. We're watching out for advisories there.
Where it's cold enough, we have a lot of snow. We're measuring it by the foot. We have some pictures of the snow that has been accumulating across California. And now the advisories persist all the way into parts of Colorado, but a lot of trouble driving on snow- covered roads and icy roads, too.
Even experienced drivers, really, you can't fight Mother Nature in these situations, so a lot of trouble when the snow has just been so strong in this area.
Well, how much more can we expect? Quite a bit. Look at this, four inches, particularly to the south, Orange County southward into San Diego, as we watch this event unfold. Now, this is some good news, depending on how you look at it. The storm system will eventually start to dry out Thursday.
We actually have sunshine in the forecast for California Thursday. But look at this low. This piece of energy treks across the southern tier of the country, then pulls offshore by the end of the weekend. Now, this may mean a white Christmas for many folks across parts of the Great Lakes.
The problem is, Sunday is a busy travel day, so with a storm sitting offshore, we will likely get some strong winds and some substantial snow, possibly, for coastal areas of New England.
And then wind, of course, bringing down colder temperatures for the Great Lakes and maybe once again here in the South. So, we will be monitoring that. All right, one last mention for temperatures. You have got to see these highs temperatures yesterday in Texas. Let's zoom in right here. You will see Wichita Falls climbed up to 84 degrees. Dallas, Texas, not listed here, was 79 yesterday. Brooke, the average temperature is 56, down to 47 Christmas Day. Big changes.
BALDWIN: Wow. How about that? I will take that warm any day of the week.
Bonnie Schneider, thank you so much.
SCHNEIDER: Sure.
BALDWIN: Get -- just getting some information in my ear. We have been talking to you about this procedural on the START treaty on the floor of the Senate. Well, we're just now hearing the number has been nearing the magic number, being 60. That is the number they need to open debate here, block any kind of filibuster.
We have Dana Bash standing by. We will bring Dana in after the break, more on that momentarily.
Also, this. American women are having more C-sections nowadays according to a new medical study. We're going to walk you through some of these numbers. What do they mean? We will let you know ahead.
And what happened to this beautiful dancer? By the way, she's also very, very smart, many, many degrees as well, beautiful dancer, last seen over a week ago leaving her Las Vegas apartment. That is what police and relatives want to know. Where is she? What happened?
I will be speaking with her sister. There she is, good enough to join me from Las Vegas, coming up next.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
BALDWIN: Before we talk about what's happening in Las Vegas with the missing dancer, you see this is a live picture, U.S. Senate. We now have a final vote on that New START treaty.
This is the procedural vote to then get to the official vote.
I want to bring in CNN's Dana Bash.
And, Dana, correct me if I'm wrong, final vote 67-28. So they were above that magic number by seven, seven senators?
BASH: That's right.
And what's important about that 67 number is that that is the number, maybe even one over, the two-thirds majority, that ultimately the president will need to actually approve this treaty. So, that is a very, very important vote, a strong vote.
And, a frankly, based on what we were hearing from Republican senators, from we expected, we expected, based on discussions we were have , at least 10 Republican senators to vote yes. That appears to have happened. And that's why this vote occurred.
So we are going to have more debate, potentially some amendments, nonbinding amendments, amendments that actually won't change the treaty, in the next 24 hours, with a final vote expected tomorrow.
BALDWIN: All right, Dana Bash, you make a point. That's the two-thirds they would need to pass this thing, potentially 67, two- thirds majority, there in the U.S. there. Dana, thank you.
Moving on to this story, a lot of people talking about this one. She's beautiful. She's brilliant. She's a rising star as a dancer in the Las Vegas Strip, and she has simply vanished.
In just a moment, I'm going to ask the sister of Debbie Flores- Narvaez what she thinks has happened to her sister, the fantasy showgirl, but first want to tell you a little bit about Debbie.
Debbie Flores-Narvaez is 31 years of age. She has three college degrees according to her Facebook page, and Debbie chased her dream of becoming a dancer. She spent two years as a Washington Redskins cheerleader.
After Debbie moved to Las Vegas and landed a spot in the fantasy show at the Luxor. And then it was December 12th Debbie disappeared without a trace. She just didn't show up to work.
So now I want to bring in Celeste, her sister. She's in Las Vegas to help get the word out, help cooperate with police in the search. Celeste, I just want to ask you, as Debbie's sister, in your gut, do you think your sister is OK, or do you think something is very, very wrong here?
CELESTE FLORES-NARVAEZ, SISTER OF MISSING LAS VEGAS DANCER: Um, I have to believe that she's OK. I have to believe that. I have to believe that she's OK. I have to mentally believe that she is OK.
BALDWIN: To continue on?
FLORES-NARVAEZ: Yes.
BALDWIN: I want to play a little bit of sound from police. We heard from police today. This is what they're saying from a news conference a couple hours ago.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
LT. ROB LUNDQUIST, LAS VEGAS METRO POLICE: She may have left on her own. However we're treating this very seriously. At this point we're going to look at every aspect of the investigation -- aspect into this investigation as if there was foul play, but at this point we haven't found any indication of foul play.
(END VIDEO CLIP) BALDWIN: So at this point, Celeste, no indication of foul play. They're scratching their heads over what happened to Debbie. She has multiple college degrees, leaves her career behind in Baltimore, moving to Las Vegas, follows her dream, then suddenly isn't showing up at her shows. Is this typical or atypical of your sister to just leave her job behind?
FLORES-NARVAEZ: No. No. She was dedicated, and she loved her job. This was a step higher. She got a solo act in this particular production, which was definitely a step higher towards a dancer's career. So she wouldn't have left this for the world.
BALDWIN: So she was doing well, moving along in the show. We have to take here about her ex-boyfriend. His name apparently some aspiring rapper Blue Griffith. She appeared in this music video with him for one of his songs. I know you were in court today, apparently he was not -- here's the music video -- today regarding this arrest from a couple months ago, where she was charged with battery, domestic violence coercion.
Apparently this whole incident stems from when he tossed Debbie's cell phone. Here's what the police officer wrote. "After she picked it up," your sister, the iPhone, "she stated Griffith ran towards her, pushed her down on the ground. While on the floor she stated Griffith kicked her, pulled her hair, and had attempted to take the iPhone again." Did Debbie ever tell you about that, Celeste, that incident?
FLORES-NARVAEZ: No, she didn't. I didn't find that out until I got here to Vegas. I wasn't aware.
BALDWIN: Did she ever talk to you about Blue, about any of his tendencies to act like that?
FLORES-NARVAEZ: No. When me and my sister talked, it was more about my kids and my family. She knew how I felt about domestic violence and things like that, so I think it was more of she was ashamed if something was going on. I'm not sure if there was or not. She didn't talk about it. I went to court. She didn't talk to me about it. It was more my mother, and my mother didn't really know about that, either.
BALDWIN: This arrest report says she told the police officer she was pregnant with her ex-boyfriend's child. Is that true?
FLORES-NARVAEZ: Um, apparently she was pregnant. I found out about that when I got here, too.
BALDWIN: How close are you with your sister?
FLORES-NARVAEZ: Close. Um, we try to talk as much as possible. There's definitely an hour -- three hours' difference between Atlanta and here in Vegas, and she works evenings and I work daytime, and of course my kids, so as much as we can, when we do talk. It's briefly, but we do talk, and we talk about the kids and things that are really important. BALDWIN: You talk, you also text. Apparently she texted your mother earlier this month, and she wrote this -- "In case there's ever an emergency with me, contact Blue Griffin, not my best friend." Celeste, what does that mean?
FLORES-NARVAEZ: That's not exactly what the text message said. There was more to that text message. To me that text message is irrelevant. I'm letting the investigators handle that. They're following all possible leads and things of that nature. That text message, the way it was technically written, could mean various things.
So, you know, they're working hard, following leads, talking to the people they need to talk to, to get more information to her whereabouts and bringing her home.
BALDWIN: Did she write more in that text message, or you're just saying that the text should not be relevant in this case?
FLORES-NARVAEZ: There was more to that text message. The text message just didn't make any sense. It was more of a -- it felt as though, I guess, she was in a quick hurry, and she texted really quickly, as some of us do. And there more words in there. It just wasn't that, where it doesn't make any sense.
It could be. like, you know, just contact if something happens out here, in case of an emergency, in a good way or not. The investigators are handling that.
BALDWIN: I won't press you on that. We'll move on.
Here's another question. Your sister's car was found in this parking lot not too far from her apartment on the Las Vegas strip in this abandoned parking lot. Were there any clues, anything found in her car, Celeste?
FLORES-NARVAEZ: I've been to the area. It wasn't a parking lot. It was an abandoned lot with what seemed to be an abandoned home and buildings of that sort. It's not a very good area. The car was strategically, to my knowledge and to my gut, placed there so that it wouldn't be found. There was a small makeup bag apparently found in the car, but that's about it.
BALDWIN: What do you mean by that, that it was placed there? You don't think your sister drove the car there?
FLORES-NARVAEZ: No. No. It was placed behind a wall so you couldn't see it if you were driving by.
BALDWIN: You say you want to believe your sister is OK. Do you think someone else may be involved in her disappearance?
FLORES-NARVAEZ: It's not that I want to believe. I have to believe.
Right now I don't know if someone is involved in the case or in what's going on. I don't know. I have to believe she's OK. I have to believe she will be found. I have to believe in the investigators. And they're doing a great job with what they're doing. They're just gathering as much information as possible and working with me and everybody else that is handling the case to bring her home to her family and bring her home, period.
BALDWIN: We wish you well. We hope. We'll stay positive that that happens. Still so many questions here in this investigation. Celeste, you're a good sister to be out there to try to help police. Celeste Flores-Narvaez, thank you.
FLORES-NARVAEZ: Thank you.
BALDWIN: A new study from the CDC says c-sections are hitting a record in this country? Elizabeth Cohen will talk me through what that means, next.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
BALDWIN: All right. Ladies, listen to this. If you're planning on having a baby, it's becoming more and more likely you'll give birth by c-section. Senior medical correspondent Elizabeth Cohen has some brand-new numbers from the CDC.
ELIZABETH COHEN, CNN SENIOR MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT: My mommy girlfriends and I talk about this. We were once in a group of five women, and only one person had had a vaginal delivery. Everyone else was a c-section.
BALDWIN: Really? Why?
COHEN: It's pretty amazing. The statistics aren't quite that extensive, but you can take a look at this. These new CDC numbers say that one out of every three babies is born by c-section. That is a huge increase. This is a 16 percent increase over 13 years. So that's huge.
BALDWIN: And what do women need to know?
COHEN: Let me talk a bit about why it's happening. There's a bunch of reasons, but one of them is doctors don't like getting sued. So when things start looking like things aren't going well in the delivery room, obstetricians tell me they're much more quick to go and do a c-section.
BALDWIN: But that's a serious surgery.
COHEN: It is, but a complication with a vaginal birth can be deadly for a baby and can mean a lawsuit and mean bad things. So they tell me they're much more quick to move into that operating room than they used to be.
As far as how you can be an empowered patient, there's a couple things. One, if you want that vaginal birth, and some women don't care. If you really want a vaginal birth, choose a doctor with a low c-section rate. Ask them how committed they are to vaginal births. BALDWIN: And they have those rates available?
COHEN: I asked my doctor, and he knew. If they don't know, that tells you something. They should be proud of that rate if that is indeed something that's important to you.
The second thing, when you're in the delivery room, and this is tough to do, be. the baby is being born, a lot going on, but when they say it's time for a c-section, you can ask, is this an emergency like you need a c-section where this baby will possibly die. There are cases when you do need that c-section like that. Or is this a situation, where maybe we can try to push for another half hour and see how it goes.
BALDWIN: Be empowered, even though you may be about to experience crazy pain, ask good questions.
COHEN: It's very hard. This is an incredibly hard situation to be an empowered patient, which is why it's important to choose the doctor or the right midwife beforehand. But in that delivery room, it is not too late to ask, how crucial is this c-section? Do I absolutely need it or can we wait a little while and push a little longer?
BALDWIN: Excellent information. Thank you, Elizabeth.
Should the man who was convicted in the Pan Am bombing over Lockerbie, should he have been released due to illness? A new report released today says no way. I'll be talking with the senator leading that report. That is ahead.
And the "Spiderman" musical has not officially opened and already there have been four accidents. This latest one caught on camera. We will share that with you in "Trending," next.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
BALDWIN: Time to do trending today, what you're talking about, what your texting about and tweeting. A lot of people around here are talking about something I might have slept there. Sorry, my sleep is important, but you sent me some picture. We're talking about the lunar eclipse.
Please share. Shoot me a message on twitter, tell me what you saw, what you thought or what you did, and I'll try to read a couple here on air.
Before that, let's go straight to Los Angeles, where showbiz news is trending. Brooke Anderson is here. And Brooke, it wasn't a lunar eclipse, but some people in New York were looking up in a certain theater seeing something indeed shocking as well.
BROOKE ANDERSON, HLN HOST, "SHOWBIZ TONIGHT": Yes, shocking and really disturbing, Brooke. It was last night on Broadway during that super-expensive musical adaptation of Spiderman. At $65 million the most expensive production ever mounted on Broadway. Big bucks. The show is known for the thrilling special effects that Spiderman does on stage what he does everywhere, right? She lynx his web, flies around.
Well, watch what happened during last night's performance.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
(SCREAMING)
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ANDERSON: OK. You can just barely see what happens. It's difficult to see, but the actor, there he is, being wheeled away. The actor playing spider man dove to the stage only to have his safety harness fail. And 31-year-old Christopher Tierney hit the stage. The show stopped immediately, of course. An ambulance took the actor away. He 'listed in serious condition in a New York City hospital.
The guy who shot this video says that Tierney free fell about 20 feet. The show is not even officially open. Last night's performance was a preview. And I don't want to say this Spiderman musical is cursed, but it's not the first injury or technical problem to get in the way of the show's Broadway opening.
Brooke, the Spiderman company actually today did discuss new safety protocols with the appropriate organizations. Those protocols will be enacted immediately. The show must go on and has been approved to continue tomorrow evening.
BALDWIN: How about that? I saw the "60 Minutes" piece. It looks amazing, but still, that many accidents? I don't know. We wish them well.
Before I let you go. I'm a huge "30 Rock" fan. Tracy Morgan with some surprising news today?
ANDERSON: Yes, even for a comedian, Brooke, a kidney transplant is no joke. Actor and comedian Tracy Morgan is recovering nicely, I'm happy to say, from a kidney transplant that he received earlier this month. And we learned today that Morgan is taking time off from his show, NBC's "30 Rock," to rest and recover, so he's going to miss taping a couple episodes.
But the actor's representative tells us that Morgan is doing well, plans to get back to work after the holidays. And he's not letting this procedure slow him down. He's been out and about in New York City, lately, he even went to a New York Knicks game last Friday.
And "30 rock" writers will explain his absence in the scripts that Morgan will miss. Those are shows that are scheduled to air in the spring. And Tracy Morgan is a diabetic. He told an interviewer only recently that he began taking the disease seriously. After this procedure hopefully he will comply with doctors' orders.
BALDWIN: We wish him well. Brooke Anderson, host of the show "SHOWBIZ TONIGHT," good to see you from L.A. today.
ANDERSON: You too. BALDWIN: And there is this new report from an Al Qaeda group. They have apparently contemplated poisoning some food here in the U.S.? We're talking restaurants, buffets. We'll get a live report on that developing story. That is ahead.
Also, Gloria Borger has all the political news making headlines. We'll be right back.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
BALDWIN: Welcome back to the newsroom. The numbers for the 2010 census are officially out today. A lot of people of talking about them, including Gloria Borger, who joins me know with the latest from the CNN Political Ticker.
Gloria, we talked a lot about the potential redistricting here in the midterms. We know there are political consequences of the new system.
GLORIA BORGER, CNN SENIOR POLITICAL ANALYST: There are huge political consequences. And let me show you this map, Brooke, because there are eight states that will gain seats in the house. And they are the states of Arizona, Florida, Georgia, Nevada, South Carolina, Texas, Utah, and Washington state.
Now, Obama won three of those states in 2008 -- Florida, Washington, Nevada. Those states are very much still going to be in play in 2012.
But if you look at the rest of the states, you would have to say those trend Republican. So if you look at the news, you say, OK, this was a very good census for Republicans, particularly since they're the ones that have to determine redistricting. They've made a lot of gains in governorships. They've made a lot of gains in state legislatures. So that's good.
But I have to say that there's one big but here. And that is that these states that made gains are because of minority largely Hispanic populations. And so the question really is, going to 2012, could that turn out to be a plus for the Democrats particularly given immigration reform? Don't forget, they did bring the DREAM Act to a vote in the lame duck session. They didn't get it, but they got a lot of Republicans On the Record voting against it. And I guarantee you that immigration is going to be a huge wedge issue as we head into the presidential.
BALDWIN: Another huge issue. Also today, a big, big story out of Capitol Hill, the START treaty. Not only did they get the U.S. senator for the 60 votes, they got 67.
BORGER: Yes, they got to 67. I'm waiting to see. I know Dana Bash is doing great reporting on this. I'm waiting to see whether in the end they cut a deal waiting to get John McCain to sign on to this.
There are a lot of people going to the lame duck session that said Barack Obama wasn't going to get much. Turns out he got a lot more than many people in the White House thought he was going to get. And so I think you'd have to say that out of this lame duck session, Barack Obama was a huge winner.
Even though he got some Democrats in his liberal base very upset, people voted for bipartisanship and working things out in Washington in the midterm elections. It's very clear that Obama did not take a lot of time in listening to them and saying, you know what, I heard you. We're getting a lot done. Does that mean -- I don't know what it means for the next session, though, Brooke. I tell you that.
BALDWIN: Big wins for the president, the tax issue, "don't ask, don't tell," and now the START Treaty. Gloria Borger, you're right. Thank you so much.
BORGER: Sure.
BALDWIN: We'll get another political update for you in half an hour. You can always jump online and go to CNNpolitics.com for more stories on the Ticker, and also there on twitter go at Political Ticker.
There is a new report out today that says this convicted Pan Am bomber should not -- should not have been released back home to Libya and claims he was too ill to stay in prison. I'm going to talk to Senator Robert Menendez about his investigation. What he found, next.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
BALDWIN: There are new reports that an Al Qaeda group has contemplated spreading poison in food here in the United States. For more on this developing story I want to go to CNN's Brian Todd with the details. And Brian, we're talking, what, buffets, restaurants here in the states?
BRIAN TODD, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Sounds a little hard to believe, Brooke, but, yes, that's what we're talking about. CNN has learned that associates in Al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula have contemplated an unconventional but potentially deadly tactic to attack the U.S., and that is spreading poison on salad bars and buffets an American hotels and restaurants.
Now, U.S. officials have south to downplay the threat. They said it was more a discussion about tactics than an actual plot. They do say those associates considered the tactic of placing the agents ricin and cyanide into food supplies.
Now, Department of Homeland Security officials tell us in response U.S. officials did meet through regular channels with representatives of the hotel and restaurant industries to discuss the possibility that those industries might be a target and to discuss ways to possibly counter the threat.
Now in a statement, a spokesman for the Department of Homeland Security said, quote, "We're not going to comment on specific terrorist planning. Al Qaeda has publicly stated its intention to carry out unconventional attacks for well over a decade. And AQAP," that's Al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula, "propaganda in the last year have made similar reference."
He said we get reports of the different kinds of attacks terrorists would like to carry out that frequently are beyond their means. But terrorism experts are saying it wouldn't be that hard to basically spray some of the cyanide and other poisons into salad bars and buffets in the United States.
It's important to note that Al Qaeda and the Arabian peninsula is in the same group that provides two toner cartridge bombs in an unsuccessful attempt to blow up two cargo planes this past October. They're also with a group that believed to be behind that failed attempt to blow up a airliner traveling from Amsterdam to Detroit last Christmas, Brooke.
BALDWIN: Those are the other -- other attempted plots as well. And, you know, they have targeted our commercial planes. Now we've seen cargo, and now, the potential, as you say, for our food.
And again, just to stress, they were saying this is a threat. This is not an imminent threat. This is, again, just information.
TODD: That's right. It was a discussion of a tactic, they say, came into the threat stream months ago, not too recently, but months ago. And they say they did pick that up and they acted accordingly to warn restaurant and hotel leaders in the United States to guard against these kinds of attacks. And of course, they monitor this kind of traffic and chatter all the time anyway to see if there is a tangible plot. This is more a discussion about tactics than an actual plot.
BALDWIN: Frightening nonetheless.
