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Navy Investigates Crude Videos; Former Presidential Aide's Body Found in Landfill; Challenging Michael Steele; Thousands of Birds Fall From the Sky

Aired January 03, 2011 - 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: That I will. Prediction correct. Ali Velshi, thanks so much. Happy New Year to you.

And here we begin with something that is lewd, it is crude and it's offensive. I'm talking about this Navy video. It's the kind of stuff maybe high school students would put together to perhaps amuse themselves. But here's the thing.

The man who made and starred in these videos -- we're about to show you just a snippet of one of them -- is a former Top Gun who was second in command of the aircraft carrier the USS Enterprise.

Now, you can believe the Navy right now is investigating Captain Owen Honors, who is now commanding officer -- he got a promotion -- of the ship which is based in Norfolk, Virginia. In fact, you're about to see him -- there he is -- in the shower cap in one of those videos. You see him checking out there two guys in a shower together.

Or that is what it appears to be. And that is just one of the scenes in these videos that were obtained by that newspaper "The Virginian Pilot." Now, keep in mind, these videos, they are a couple of years ago. They were shot and made 2006, 2007 while the Enterprise was deployed in support of the wars in both Iraq and Afghanistan.

Now, we have found out that the ship is heading out again to the war zone in just a couple of days. But is Captain Honors going to be on it?

We're going to be talking about this story with two players here, our Pentagon correspondent Barbara Starr, and also a retired Navy captain, Alec Fraser.

But, first, I want you to watch one clip from one of these videos.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: This evening, all of you bleeding hearts and you (EXPLETIVE DELETED) boy, why don't you just go ahead and hug yourselves for the next 20 minutes or so, because there's a really good chance you're going to be offended tonight.

(EXPLETIVE DELETED) I just (EXPLETIVE DELETED) can't hit that.

Finally, let's get to my favorite topic and something foreign to the gay kid over there: chicks in the shower.

This is certainly the most popular video of any of the X.O. movie videos. It's also the one that has landed me with the most complaints.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BALDWIN: Hmm.

Barbara Starr, want to bring you in there from the Pentagon. And we just mentioned, you know, we know the Navy is investigating. But how -- specifically, how are they handling this today?

BARBARA STARR, CNN PENTAGON CORRESPONDENT: Well, they are looking into this urgently, Brooke, because the question, of course, is what you just said.

The ship is due to sail for the war zone again in just a few days. Does this man have the judgment to command a crew of 5,000 or 6,000? Does he have the confidence of the U.S. Navy?

When a carrier when any warship goes to sea, the commander's word is law during that deployment for the entire crew. What he says goes. And what kind of command climate is there with this sort of thing? The fact that he was reprimanded a few years ago when it happened doesn't really solve the problem for the Navy. The question is the here and now. Should he be in command -- Brooke.

BALDWIN: Barbara, stand by. I want to bring you back into this conversation, but first I want to bring in Alec Fraser. He's a retired Navy captain.

You told me you spent, what, 25 years in the service --

ALEC FRASER, RETIRED U.S. NAVY SHIP CAPTAIN: That's correct.

BALDWIN: -- one of the areas the Persian Gulf, where this carrier had been stationed. And you're president of Turner Properties.

I want to begin with the videos. I know you've seen them. Just first impression. What did you think?

FRASER: Well, you know, the Navy has said that this looks like it's inappropriate. I don't inappropriate is the right word. I think it's awful. I think it's unacceptable. And it's unacceptable for a 3rd class petty officer, much less an admiral, much less the captain of a ship or the executive officer of the ship at the same time.

BALDWIN: So, unacceptable. Doesn't matter your rank. Unacceptable.

FRASER: Doesn't make any difference at all.

BALDWIN: Explain for those of us who have not been in the service, an X.O., an executive officer, what was his role? I know he was number two on the carrier. What does that mean?

FRASER: Executive officer is sort of like the mayor of the whole city. He's responsible for food, responsible for berthing, responsible for the general evolutions that go on as far as just the operations of the ship, like food or water conservation, like we saw in the video in the shower.

BALDWIN: We --

(LAUGHTER)

BALDWIN: Which was only one of several videos we could even show you here on TV. But let me just ask you this.

We had mentioned apparently these were made 2006, 2007. They were deployed in support of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. One side of the coin someone could say, look, long days. Times are tough. Yes, perhaps offensive, but perhaps it was the -- he's now captain -- the then X.O.'s way of boosting morale.

Would you buy that argument?

FRASER: No, I don't buy it, because the high-tempo operations that a carrier does, whether it's in the Persian Gulf or doing operations in the Atlantic or the Pacific, or you're in port in Pearl Harbor, Hawaii, the job of the X.O. is to keep things operating on board the ship.

And so the methodology that they use to be able to motivate the crew, to keep it -- keep it clean, keep the food going and so forth, is done by a -- you know, lot of different ways. But it's never, in my mind, in my memory, ever done like this. It's just unacceptable.

BALDWIN: There were ways I imagine in your 25 years where different people would try to boost morale, perhaps tell a few jokes, just perhaps not in this way.

FRASER: These type of jokes are just inappropriate. To have to go down to high school humor in order to be able to get something done on board the ship just sort of makes you think about the whole idea that the Navy has competence in command, as Barbara was talking about --

BALDWIN: Mm-hmm.

FRASER: -- to be able to get things done, but do it in this way. I think he's lost command opportunity here.

BALDWIN: Yes. My follow-up question would be what would happen if you were in charge here? What would happen to now Captain Honors. And also at the time, you mentioned, he was number two on this carrier. There was a number one on board. What would you do with that number one? What would you do with the captain and also Honors?

FRASER: Well, you know, Captain Honors said that the captain and the admiral didn't know anything about it. And I find that rather strange.

The captain is responsible for the ship. He's held accountable and he has a responsibility to go with it. And no matter what happens on an aircraft carrier or any other ship for that matter, the captain is responsible, no matter who does what. And for him not to know that this was going on, I have a hard time believing that.

BALDWIN: Should Honors be able to hop back on Enterprise and head back to the war zone in a matter of days, as Barbara was saying?

FRASER: In my opinion, no.

And there are other captains that the Navy can pull in that have commanded a carrier that could take over in a short period of time.

BALDWIN: Was this -- I just have to ask, is this normal on board one of these major aircraft carriers? Or is this a total aberration from the norm, from -- from behavior of a member of the Navy?

FRASER: You know, the big problem with this is that people may think that this is the way the Navy operates in a high-tempo environment or just in normal operations. That's not true.

This is totally something that's not -- unique. It's an -- an aberration. It's just not something that is normally done and isn't condoned from a 3rd class petty officer up to an admiral.

BALDWIN: OK. Retired Captain Alec Fraser.

Captain, I appreciate it. Thank you so much.

And, Barbara Starr, if I can just end with you, would you agree with Alec Fraser that this seems to be most definitely not the norm? You have covered the Navy. You cover the Pentagon. This is not the kind of thing we normally see when we cover -- .

STARR: Let's put it this way, Brooke. There is plenty of material in these videos that is not suitable for us to show on television.

BALDWIN: Yes.

STARR: And that pretty much answers the question.

BALDWIN: Yes, ma'am. Barbara Starr, thank you so much.

Thanks to both of you.

Now, watch this.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: When I heard the bank manager getting pistol- whipped, I knew it was real.

(END VIDEO CLIP) BALDWIN: Two men wearing ski masks, they walk into a bank. The next few seconds begin this dramatic five-hour standoff. We are -- now the hostages are speaking out.

We're going to play that for you in just a little bit here. That is ahead.

Also, a shocking discovery in the search for a woman who disappeared more than a year ago. Is the mystery finally solved? That is just minutes away.

Plus, the body of a former presidential aide found in a landfill -- the chilling mystery is now unfolding. That is next here in the NEWSROOM.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BALDWIN: A couple of stories moving this hour. I want to begin with this man.

This is John P. Wheeler. He is dead. And police are looking into the possibility of foul play here. Wheeler was a longtime official in the Department of Defense serving three presidents and who chaired the committee that raised money for the Vietnam Memorial on the National Mall.

And here is what is raising police suspicions. Wheeler's body was found in this garbage truck about to be dumped into this landfill. This is in Wilmington, Delaware. A medical examiner determined the death a homicide, and that investigation is ongoing.

Police had to put a name to a set of human remains found over the weekend in the Georgia mountains -- 38-year-old Kristi Cornwell was last seen in August of 2009 just walking right around her home. Forensic experts used her dental records to make this positive identification. A possible suspect in her disappearance committed suicide when confronted by police last April.

And did you know it's snowing on the Eiffel Tower, the Statue of Liberty, pirate ships, and the Pyramids all at once? Where could I possibly be talking about?

Vegas, baby.

(LAUGHTER)

BALDWIN: Several schools -- look at the roads, highways covered -- chaos thanks to a couple of inches of snow that stuck to the Strip and all throughout the Las Vegas Valley today.

And get this. This is the second time in four years downtown Vegas has actually seen that much snow. Pretty pictures.

All right, listen to this. There could be a new breakthrough in the way to find cancer. Wouldn't that be amazing? It involves apparently the simple blood test. You have got to hear this story. That is ahead.

And watch out, Michael Steele. You're being challenged. The RNC chairman debates the people hoping to take his job. So, how did this whole thing play out today? Mark Preston knows. He is standing by, diligently looking over his notes.

(LAUGHTER)

BALDWIN: Mark will be coming up.

Stay there.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BALDWIN: Welcome back to the NEWSROOM.

You know, four Republicans lined up today to audition for Michael Steele's job. You know Michael Steele. There he is. He was elected not too long ago, in 2009, to head the RNC, the Republican National Committee. And since that day, we could say he has definitely hit some bumps in the road.

And now a lot of folks figured that he would bow out quietly, collect the gold watch. And that he did not do. In fact, he really surprised the Republican Party when he announced last month that he would be running for another term.

And I want to bring in Mark Preston, who is there for me live in Washington, where this whole thing I think is just kind of wrapping up.

And, Mark, if you will, just pick it up from there. What happened there in Washington today?

MARK PRESTON, CNN POLITICAL EDITOR: Sure, Brooke.

Just a debate of sorts just broke up. It was a 90-minute debate between Michael Steele and four other Republicans who were all vying to head the Republican National Committee. Now, this is an extremely important job, especially heading into a presidential election year.

The new RNC chairman, Brooke, is going to be charged with raising upwards of $425 million to try to help defeat President Barack Obama in 2012. In addition to that, the new RNC chairman is going to be responsible for being the main critic of the White House, of the administration and of Democrats in Congress.

Republicans in Congress are going to be charged with legislating. They need to be careful and not look too partisan. And then of course the handful of candidates that are thinking about running for the Republican presidential nomination, Brooke, well, they have got to run against each other.

So, the RNC chairman, the new RNC chairman, is going to play an extremely important role. Michael Steele today made a case for him to have another two years, but I'll tell you, it will be a very difficult election for him.

BALDWIN: Well --

PRESTON: Brooke.

BALDWIN: -- Mark, you were sitting there. You were watching as Michael Steele walked out, sat down at that panel. I mean, what kind of reception did he get? And would he have a chance at all at winning another term?

PRESTON: Yes, so the question is, will he have a chance at all? And, again, very difficult road. It was a very polite reception. He was criticized right off the bat from two of his opponents about his inability to raise money and his spending.

And, in fact, let's listen to what two of them had to say here at this debate, Brooke.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ANN WAGNER, REPUBLICAN NATIONAL COMMITTEE CHAIR CANDIDATE: It is time for some tough love at the Republican National Committee. How can an organization that has lost its credibility, is $20 million in debt, is steeped in mismanagement, distractions, and drama actually lead us into the next election cycle of 2012 and offer change?

SAUL ANUZIS, REPUBLICAN NATIONAL COMMITTEE CHAIR CANDIDATE: We're going to start out this cycle with one of the largest debts we've ever had in our history. We've got to raise some $20 million before we even start banking money for the next presidential race.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BALDWIN: So we heard that, Mark. I imagine that Steele had to defend himself. What did he say to that?

PRESTON: He did. And he was very subdued. He was very careful not to seem too angry on the panel. He defended his role. He said, look, bottom line, I won elections. And the fact is, Republicans did so well at the polls, not only in 2010, but also 2009.

In fact, let's hear what he had to say, Brooke, defending himself from those -- those critics.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MICHAEL STEELE, CHAIRMAN, REPUBLICAN NATIONAL COMMITTEE: When we stop talking to our friends in the Latino community and the African- American community and when we stop engaging with individuals and we make assumptions about, well, they don't vote for us anyway, that's when we really start to lose. And going forward, we will lose big if we lose sight of the fact that America is not the America of the 1950s and the 1960s or even the 1990s.

(END VIDEO CLIP) BALDWIN: So there you have Michael Steele talking about his efforts to reach out and to bring more people into the Republican Party. Again, he defended himself against his critics about his spending habits, Brooke.

But Michael Steele, sitting on stage, his fate will be decided next week, when 168 members of the Republican National Committee meet at a hotel right outside of Washington, D.C., and choose the next chairman of the RNC.

BALDWIN: Oh, wow, so it's next week, very much so imminent, the next chair. We will see.

Mark Preston, I'm sure we will be checking back in with you then. Thank you so much.

PRESTON: Thank you.

BALDWIN: Just before midnight on New Year's Eve -- have you heard about this story? It's just kind of odd. Thousands of dead birds just up and fall from the sky. No one knows why. No one knows how. It is a mystery. It is still unfolding, people still scratching their heads over this one.

I'm going to talk to a woman who lives in this area, a bunch of dead birds in her backyard. She's coming up next.

Plus, this is a chilling crime: a mother found dead, beaten and burned, her 3-year-old daughter found alive. In fact, she had spent the night sitting next to her mother's body. Who murdered her? There are also audiotapes that turned this whole case totally upside down. This unbelievable story is next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BALDWIN: A pretty bizarre and kind of sad scene greeted people in Central Arkansas over the weekend.

I want to take you back to New Year's Day. I want you to look at this picture. And look what's literally covering the ground in this residential community: birds. These are blackbirds, most of them dead, some of them dying, and, as far as you can see, covering the yards on cars, rooftops, all over the road.

Rough estimate -- here's what we're hearing now -- 5,000 of them. These are red-winged blackbirds and starlings. So, what in the world would cause so many birds to just suddenly die and drop from the sky?

I have a woman on the phone who lives on that street. I'm going to talk to her in a second. But I want you to listen to one theory. It's kind of being floated by the state Fish and Game Commission.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DAVID GOAD, ARKANSAS GAME AND FISH COMMISSION: Most likely, it was disease related. There was hardly anything but one species of fish that we found, freshwater drum. And they are probably in their winter habitat. They're kind of crowded together right now in deeper water.

And they probably had a disease go through them. We see that happen every now and then. This was a pretty large one. But, usually, when it's one species, it's probably a disease.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BALDWIN: I want to bring in Melissa Weatherly. She's on the phone. She lives there in Beebe, Arkansas, and couldn't believe her eyes. I guess this was New Year's Eve and also of course into Saturday morning.

And Melissa is now joining me on the phone.

And, Melissa, I want to -- just want to ask you, did you see them falling from the sky or did you just wake up, you and your kids walked out in your backyard on Saturday morning and just said, my God, what is this?

Melissa, are you with me?

MELISSA WEATHERLY, RESIDENT OF BEEBE, ARKANSAS: I can barely hear you guys.

BALDWIN: Melissa, can you hear me now?

WEATHERLY: I can hear you perfect.

BALDWIN: All right. My question was this. Was it -- did you actually see birds falling from the sky, or did you just wake up on Saturday morning and just see a sheen of black in your backyard?

WEATHERLY: I'm sorry. I -- when you -- I can't hear you.

BALDWIN: All right.

Let's give this one more chance. I'm going to try it again.

Did you see the birds falling from the sky, or did you just wake up and see several dozen in your yard?

WEATHERLY: Well, you know what? Third time not a charm in my case.

Melissa, we're going to try you again. Hopefully, we will get a better signal there from Beebe, Arkansas, because I know I'm kind of interested in that story. And I know you are as well.

But let's move on to this: to a case that could be classified as too little too late. And that kind of depends on whether you side with the defense in this case or with the prosecution. The little girl witnesses her mother's death. But was she coached to provide incriminating details?

CNN's Ted Rowlands has the story.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

TED ROWLANDS, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): The crime scene was horrific. On the floor was the naked body of 26-year-old Julie Wilson, a single mother. She had been beaten, stabbed and set on fire.

MICHAEL CROSS, CRIMINAL DEFENSE ATTORNEY: Sitting a few feet from her was her 3-and-a-half-year-old daughter covered with soot. She had spent the night in a room with her dead mother.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Where were you standing when you saw him do that?

NICOLE WILSON, DAUGHTER: In the hallway.

ROWLANDS: The little girl's name was Nicole. Police believed she was an eyewitness.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Who put fire on your mommy?

WILSON: Mark.

ROWLANDS: Police arrested Mark Sodersten. He was a friend of Julie Wilson. There was no physical evidence linking him to the crime.

At trial, prosecutors had two main witnesses. One was the victim's neighbor, Lester Williams, whose fingerprint was found on a beer can at the scene. Williams demonstrated how Sodersten, in a drunken rage, attacked Julie Wilson. Williams said he didn't see the actual murder because he left out of fear.

The other witness against Sodersten was little Nicole. In court, she identified this photo of Sodersten as her mother's killer.

(on camera): The jury found Sodersten guilty of first-degree murder. They spared him the death penalty. He was sentenced to life without the possibility of parole.

Sodersten maintained his innocence. His defense was that Lester Williams had lied when he was on the witness stand, and the little girl, Nicole, had been coached by prosecutors.

(voice-over): From prison, Sodersten wrote dozens of letters proclaiming his innocence. He also filed his own handwritten appeals, one of which triggered a formal review.

Attorney Michael Cross was assigned to the case in 1998. He would discover four missing audiotapes that changed the case.

CROSS: I knew as soon, as I -- I listened to those things, I -- I had struck gold.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We're trying to get -- LESTER WILLIAMS, WITNESS: Man, I was so gone on that PCP, man, I don't remember nothing, man.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We're trying to get Mark.

ROWLANDS: One of the tapes had Lester Williams telling police Mark Sodersten wasn't there that night as cops threatened him with the death penalty.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The way it stands right now, Lester, you're going to (EXPLETIVE DELETED) fry.

WILLIAMS: I didn't kill her.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Then why don't you help us provide it?

WILLIAMS: But I didn't kill her. How can I help you prove something I didn't do, Officer?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You can tell us who saw you with -- who saw you with Mark that night.

WILLIAMS: With Mark?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: With Sodersten.

WILLIAMS: I wasn't with no Mark.

CROSS: He wasn't just threatened. He was threatened with execution.

PHIL CLINE, PROSECUTOR: What's your name?

WILSON: Nicole.

ROWLANDS: The other two tapes he found were practice sessions with prosecutor Phillip Cline and Nicole.

CLINE: What happened to your mommy?

WILSON: One, no, nee, nor.

CLINE: Nicole, what happened to your mommy?

WILSON: Five, six, seven, eight, nine.

CLINE: Nicole?

ROWLANDS: Throughout the recordings, Nicole has trouble concentrating. At one point, she clearly can't pick out a suspect photo.

CLINE: Did one of those people put fire on your mommy?

WILSON: Mm-mm.

CLINE: You don't see one of them? Look at them close.

WILSON: No. None of them did.

ROWLANDS: When an appeals court looked at the new evidence, they ruled that Mark Sodersten deserved another trial.

CROSS: Despite his surroundings, he was enough of an optimist to believe that, sooner or later, justice would prevail and he'd get out.

ROWLANDS (on camera): Justice may have prevailed, but Mark Sodersten never made it out of prison. Eight months before he won his appeal, he died of a heart attack at the age of 48. He had spent more than 20 years of his life in prison.

(voice-over): The court of appeals was extremely critical of prosecutors for not turning over the tapes. Phillip Cline was reported to the state bar for prosecutorial conduct, but no action was taken. In fact, Cline is now the local district attorney.

(on camera): Does this case haunt you at all?

CLINE: No.

ROWLANDS: You haven't lost a night's sleep over this?

CLINE: No. He did it.

ROWLANDS (voice-over): Cline claims the Nicole tapes were given to the defense team before trial. He says he never received the Williams tapes from police either. Regardless, he says, in his mind, Sodersten was guilty.

CLINE: To this day, I think that we turned over the Nicole tapes. But did it really change the verdict? This isn't DNA evidence.

CROSS: The appellate court disagrees with Mr. Cline. I disagree with me. And I think any reasonable person would. The missing tapes would have been devastating.

CLINE: What was your mother's name?

WILSON: Julie.

ROWLANDS: We played the tapes for the man that served as jury foreman at Sodersten's trial more than 20 years ago. He says he's not sure if the jury would have changed its verdict, but:

MARK ALBERSTEIN, JURY FOREMAN: If Mark was still alive, we'd be looking for a new trial.

ROWLANDS: A new trial that might have set Mark Sodersten free, if he had lived to see it.

Ted Rowlands, CNN, Visalia.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BALDWIN: It is a TV called "The Mask." These are women speaking out about the horrors of abuse and in some cases, they talk openly about being raped, being beaten and forced into marriage. You're going to hear from them ahead.

Plus, a big-time announcement in the medical world. A new blood test could detect cancer. They say it's kind of like a liquid biopsy. So, does it work? And how soon could we see it at the doctor's office? That's next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BALDWIN: All right, we're going to leave off. We were talking about dead birds in Beebe, Arkansas. I want to try this one more time. I'll bring in Melissa Weatherly. She lives in Beebe and couldn't believe her eyes Saturday morning when she saw all these birds in her backyard. She's on the phone. And Melissa, did you see the birds falling from the sky or just wake up Saturday morning and see them all in your backyard?

MELISSA WEATHERLY, RESIDENT OF BEEBE, ARKANSAS (via telephone): I did not see any fall, no. My kids told me there was a few in the yard that night since it was New Year's Eve but I didn't actually see it until the next morning.

BALDWIN: Speaking of, when you walked out the next morning, just a guesstimate, how many were in your yard?

WEATHERLY: Directly in my yard, there wasn't really that many. Probably 20 or 30, which really isn't that many considering there was hundreds around me.

BALDWIN: Hundreds around you. I'm still going to say a couple dozen, so a fair amount. Have you heard this whole theory? This is the game warden considering the fireworks theory. That caused the birds to fall from the sky. Are you buying that?

WEATHERLY: No, ma'am, I'm not really buying that.

BALDWIN: Why not?

WEATHERLY: There was not any in this direct area for them to be falling all over this part of the subdivision. I don't see how that's possible, no.

BALDWIN: Have you since waking up Saturday morning and seeing them in your yard and neighborhood, have you seen any other dead birds or is that it?

WEATHERLY: I have not seen any other. There's a few that have been left behind, but I've not seen anything new.

BALDWIN: Has the state of Arkansas or maybe your neighbors given you any kind of explanation as to what could have caused this?

WEATHERLY: No. Everyone is really walking around just guessing.

BALDWIN: I know you have three kids, three teenagers and a dog. Are you letting them or trying to keep them away from these birds? Do they smell at all?

WEATHERLY: They don't. I mean, there is no explanation at all. There's no smell. There's no bad weather. I will not let my dog go outside. Now, my kids are old enough, they are, but they've just been told not to mess with anything.

BALDWIN: What do you think, Melissa? What is your best guess what killed these birds?

WEATHERLY: I really wish I could tell you. I wish there was an explanation. It is completely indescribable how many birds were here. I've never seen anything like it. I actually made a joke that it looked like the holocaust had hit. It was that bad.

BALDWIN: Yikes. Well, Melissa, good luck avoiding those birds. I'm sure someone will get to the bottom of this event actually. Melissa Weatherly, thank you.

And next up here, it sounds like the medical version of finding a needle in a haystack. There's a simple blood test to detect one lonely cancer cell floating among the millions in your bloodstream. I want to bring in Dr. Otis Brawley from the American Cancer Society. We know it's Johnson & Johnson and Massachusetts General, correct?

DR. OTIS BRAWLEY, CHIEF MEDICAL OFFICER, AMERICAN CANCER SOCIETY: That's correct.

BALDWIN: They are teaming up to help develop and market this test. This blood test, we are potentially talking -- it could be a lifesaver.

BRAWLEY: It could be but the test still needs to be developed somewhat. This is really good research. This is research by the way which the American cancer society started funding four or five years ago.

BALDWIN: In 2004, right?

BRAWLEY: That's right. And by the way, the national government -- the National Cancer Institute decided it was too exploratory. But we funded it. Other people funded it. Now Johnson & Johnson thinks there's reason to put $30 million into it, a tremendous reason for optimism, but we have to develop it the right way.

BALDWIN: As you're developing and we move along, is this the kind of test where if someone is just thinking they could have cancer, they go in, they get a blood test and you find out? Or is this the kind of thing if somebody already has cancer, you do the blood test and find out if it's spread?

BRAWLEY: This ultimately could be both.

BALDWIN: Really?

BRAWLEY: I think the first one that you mentioned is probably going to be the last thing that has. What's probably going to happen first is people who know they have cancer, they get the treatment and the blood test. The blood test tells us early on is this treatment working.

The next thing we may have is a screening test, a test where people will do this blood test to see if they might have a cancer. But we've got to do all these things in a very systematic way. It's probably going to take years, perhaps as much as a decade to fully work this out.

BALDWIN: It's great because it's noninvasive. How would it work?

BRAWLEY: Well, that's the tremendous advantage. If it ultimately comes to be a good test, people will have their blood drawn. It will be taken to a particular laboratory. It's easier to transport a tube of blood to the lab than to transport the entire patient. No radiation involved like in a mammogram, no invasive procedures involved.

BALDWIN: Cost effective?

BRAWLEY: Perhaps very cost effective. Now, this blood test right now may cost several thousand dollars. But as we learn how to do this, as we get the technology better, it can get cheaper.

BALDWIN: And priceless in the long run.

BRAWLEY: Priceless if it saves a life.

BALDWIN: Dr. Brawley, thanks for coming in. Keep us posted because it's very potentially exciting.

BRAWLEY: Thank you, yes, ma'am.

BALDWIN: A deadly shootout in a trailer park takes the life of a sheriff's deputy. One neighbor said all hell broke loose. You're going to see what happened during the standoff. That is ahead.

And it unfolded live right here on this newscast. That was Friday -- a hostage situation at that bank in Texas. You remember this? Were you watching Friday? Now the hostages, they're coming out. They're talking about what happened inside that bank. That is next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BALDWIN: Got an update for you on a story breaking in the newsroom if you were watching on Friday. It was breaking live, would- be robbers taking hostages in this bank in suburban Houston. Look at the scene. After five hours of negotiation, the whole standoff ended peacefully thank goodness. No one, none of the hostages, at least, were hurt. But they were a tad worried. One guy by the way who had just gone into the bank to make the deposit talked about the ordeal. I want you to listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MALFORD LEWIS, HOSTAGE: He kept saying, "I'm not going to hurt y'all. Y'all going to make it out. Y'all going to make it out. You just got to bear with me until all this plan out. It's going to be over soon."

He says, "Everybody get up and look. Just look and see what's -- so y'all can see what I see. He said, truck driver stand up. Make sure when you go out you have your hands in the air because I don't want them to mistake you for me."

The cops are hollering at me, "come here, come here." No, dude, this dude is pointing the gun in my back. I can't. I got to at least attempt for him to see that I did do what he asked me to do.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BALDWIN: Yikes, can you imagine? Police say two of the suspects have been charged with 13 counts each of aggravated robbery. That is one charge apiece for each of the victims inside the bank.

They are forced to get married. Many of them are raped. They're beaten and tortured. Women in Afghanistan rarely speak out until now. There's this new TV show of all things giving these abused women a story. CNN's Arwa Damoan has the story.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

ARWA DAMON, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: This is Afghanistan's newest talk show called "The Mask." Women raped, beaten, abused, but now finally able to speak out. Their body language tells of all they have had to endure. The show was the creation of a 28- year-old Sami Mahdi.

SAMI MAHDI, CREATOR AND PRODUCER, "THE MASK": I was not very sure about the concept or the format, but I was very sure about the mask because in Afghanistan it's very difficult for women to talk about their difficulties and their problems and the violence they are facing in their home.

DAMON: Yasamine (ph) was just 13 years old when she says her family sold her for around $1,000. Her husband and in-laws beat and tortured her. "This is against Islam and against the law" the show's religious authority assures her. The studio audience also includes experts in human rights and the law.

MAHDI: I'm not sure we can make some difference for the victims, you know. But we can use the life of these individuals as an example. And I'm sure we can make some changes in the life of other women and I'm sure we can change the mind of men in Afghanistan. DAMON: Saria (Ph) tells of being forcibly married of at the age of 15 to a known rapist who she feared would eventually come after their daughter. She believes her husband would kill her and their three children.

DAMON (on camera): Does the mask make you feel safe?

DAMON (voice-over): "Yes," Saria (ph) responds, adding that she had no other option but to speak out for the sake and future of her children.

DAMON (on camera): It does come as something of a surprise that a man is behind this type of a concept. How did it come about?

MAHDI: Whenever I go home, I compare my work with my mother. She's doing much more than I, much more. But no one is paying attention and maybe there are a lot of mothers, thousands of mothers who are living in the same situation. They don't have a tongue. They don't have a voice to talk about what they're suffering.

DAMON: So basically this half with the burqa is showing how women have been suppressed and unable to talk, and this half is about their innocence?

MAHDI: Yes. It shows the reality of woman, white and innocence.

DAMON (voice-over): Their innocence lost but speaking out in hopes of protecting others.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BALDWIN: How about that? That is Arwa Damon reporting for us from Afghanistan.

The young man wanted in connection with the violent beating of a homeless man surrenders. Remember we told you this story? We're following up on it. He was the son of a police officer. And now someone is being forced to quit over this whole thing. That bizarre case is ahead.

And as Lindsay Lohan gets ready to leave rehab, another Hollywood star is going in. It is trending. We will be talking trending topics coming up next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BALDWIN: One Hollywood star checks into rehab as another Hollywood star is ready to check out. That is what is trending. I want to bring in Lisa Respers Ranch from our blog at CNN.com. Good to sigh you again.

LISA RESPERS FRANCE, WRITER/PRODUCER, CNN.COM: Good to see you again too.

BALDWIN: Let's begin with Lindsay Lohan. Remind all of us how long has she been at Betty Ford? FRANCE: She went into rehab in September. She's had quite a few legal difficulties, some challenges, so she went into rehab. It was court ordered. And she seems to be doing pretty well from what we understand.

BALDWIN: We heard just this morning from her father on the "CBS Early Show." Let's listen to him and we'll talk on the other side.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MICHAEL LOHAN, LINDSEY LOHAN'S FATHER: It's a very controlled move. She needs all the right elements in place when she gets out and she's waiting for that to happen. She's being very patient about it. I have to say, I'm so proud of where she is now and I just don't want that to falter. She's really come full term.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BALDWIN: He mentioned when she gets out. Do we know when that will be?

FRANCE: She's free to leave as of today. But we're just waiting to see when she actually is going to leave. And it seems like she's playing it cautious which could turn out to be a great move for her because you don't want to just jump back out but ease back into regular life and her career hopefully.

BALDWIN: Her career hopefully. Have we gotten an indication from her, her people as to, I don't know, any major life changes imminent for her or back to the same old, same old?

FRANCE: She lost the role in "Inferno," which was going to be the biopic of Linda Lovelace, and everybody thought that would be her big coming-out. So now we're waiting to see. She's been on twitter tweeting. She tweeted a Gandhi quote. So sounds like she's in a good head space.

BALDWIN: One day at a time.

FRANCE: Right. But she was known as such a great talent when she was younger and all the other stuff kind of got in the way. I guess we have to play wait and see.

BALDWIN: What is next as far as projects? She has a website or a fashion line?

FRANCE: She has a Web site that's going to launch. She's been dabbling in fashion for a while. She had a line of tights for a while. Maybe we'll have Couture von Lindsay. Let's wait and see.

BALDWIN: We will see. We'll wait and see what happens with Lindsay as she gets out. As she is going out David Arquette is going in.

FRANCE: He checked in over the weekend. His rep assures us it's not drug related. He's had difficulty since the break-up of Courteney Cox. We're seeing him partying and drinking and having a good time. He got a new tattoo.

Sources close to him say he's pretty sad about the breakup of he's pretty sad by the breakup of his marriage. His wife is being very supportive, though.

BALDWIN: His wife is being supportive. We'll get to her in a minute. But hasn't he said pretty crazy things? Remember, he was on Howard Stern.

FRANCE: Don't you go on Howard Stern to say crazy things? Anybody that go on Howard stern wouldn't say anything sane. So he talks about his sex life and --

BALDWIN: A little too much. Courteney Cox saying, hello.

FRANCE: Lots of TMI.

BALDWIN: Any chance he and Courteney Cox would get back together?

FRANCE: Fingers crossed. You never know. Lots of people like them together. They seem like a great couple. They seemed like they were going to beat the odds in Hollywood. But marriage is difficult, especially in the limelight.

BALDWIN: What is she saying? I'm imagine she's supportive of his move to rehab.

FRANCE: She gave "People" a great statement where she said she was supportive of him. She said "I really admire David and his choice to take charge and better his life. I love and support him." And so I mean, she's right there with him in his corner, it sounds like.

BALDWIN: We wish him well.

FRANCE: We wish him the best.

BALDWIN: And I don't want to let you go without talking about Zsa Zsa Gabor. What happen?

FRANCE: She's had a lot of health challenges. She's been in and out of the hospital. Now she has to face amputation.

BALDWIN: Her leg will be amputated.

FRANCE: She's really -- she's such a huge star, out the limelight for a long time. Part of that has been because of her health challenges and issues, and now she's facing amputation.

BALDWIN: Frightening.

FRANCE: A little bit. But she keeps hanging in there. She's been in and out of the hospital for the last couple of months.

BALDWIN: How old is she?

FRANCE: I want to say she's in her 90s. Don't quote me.

BALDWIN: I won't.

FRANCE: I believe she's in her 90s, yes.

BALDWIN: Thanks for doing the trending for us today.

FRANCE: It's great talking to you as always.

BALDWIN: I appreciate it. Thank you, thank you.

And now, look at this --

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: It was like ice and I couldn't like stretch it. And my gloves (ph) has frozen shut, so I tried to rip them off.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BALDWIN: This teenager gets lost on a mountain, the temperature dropping to negative 17. Rescue crews find him after nine hours, but wait until you hear what he did to stay alive. That is ahead.

Also, Wolf Blitzer is standing by with great new information just in from the world of politics, including word of a pay cut for a high- profile politician. Hmm, who could it be? That's next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BALDWIN: Before we check in with Wolf, I want to get you this -- Facebook marking another milestone. The social network's value estimated to be worth a whopping $50 billion. After an investment of $500 million from Goldman Sachs and an unnamed Russian investor, Facebook is now worth more. The media company is worth more than Time-Warner, CNN's parent company, and eBay or Yahoo!.

And the deal might possibly pressure Facebook to trade publicly even though Mark Zuckerberg and other executives have resisted doing this thus far. Facebook did surpass a pretty big milestone as well. They surpassed Google as being the most visited website in all of 2010. That's pretty impressive.

Facebook also received 8.9 percent of all of the web visits in the United States between January and November of last year. Google came in second with 7.2 percent followed Yahoo! Mail. And final note here -- also keeping Facebook on our radar. You remember these twins. You know them if you saw the movie, "The Social Network." The Winklevoss twins' legal battle with Mark Zuckerberg where the brothers claim he stole the on-line idea when they all went to Harvard. But the twins settled for a cool $140 million back in 2008.

Now the brothers could risk losing it all. They want the court to undo the settlement for a new case. They're claiming they're owed more money. And now, of course, CNN = Politics. I want to bring in Wolf Blitzer with the latest crossing the CNN Political Ticker. Wolf, I feel like I haven't talked to you in weeks since you left us for North Korea. I've been suffering a little Wolf withdrawal. How are you?

(LAUGHTER)

WOLF BLITZER, HOST, "THE SITUATION ROOM": Good. It was a good six days in North Korea. I'm back. I rested up last week. We're putting together a one-hour special, by the way, "Inside North Korea," that a lot of our viewers around the United States and the world will like. But that's the project in the work right now. We take our viewers inside Pyongyang and other places in North Korea.

Let's talk politics right now crossing the CNN Political Ticker. Lots of news, including from New York. The new governor, Andrew Cuomo, he announced he's going to cut his own salary by five percent, cut the salary of most of the senior officials who are surrounding him.

Even though it's a minuscule amount of the budget deficit in New York state, he says it sends a signal to everyone else because he wants a pay freeze for a lot of the state workers right now. New York State, so many of the other states are in deep trouble, financial trouble right now, and they're looking for ways to save money. And he says this starts at the top.

Change starts at the top, he says, we will lead by example. His $179,000 a year salary will be cut by five percent.

On another issue that we're covering over here at CNNpolitics.com, there's a new deputy secretary attorney general of the United States James Cole. He was sworn in today. He was a recess appointment by the president. He had waited for a year to get confirmation. The Senate was not making that happen.

There was opposition, a, because right after 9/11, he suggested that the terrorists be tried in criminal court as opposed to special war crimes trials, special trials against terrorists. Some senators didn't like that. They also didn't like the fact that his firm, when he was in private practice, was representing AIG, the insurance giant, at a time when it was getting a lot of bailouts from the federal government.

But President Obama decided to name him as the number two official at the Justice Department. He is now the recess appointment deputy attorney general. He'll have a lot of responsibilities working with the Attorney General Eric Holder.

One final note I just want to point out before I let you go over here, Brooke. Who's going to be in "SITUATION ROOM" live later today? I'll give you a clue. You know already, right?

BALDWIN: I know already. In fact, I've already been e-mailing with your executive producer and she's very disappointed he will not be in Washington. BLITZER: He'll be in Los Angeles. We're talking about George Clooney. We're not talking about "Oceans 11," or "Oceans 12." We're talking about Sudan, Darfur, genocide, the new technology, the satellite technology.

BALDWIN: With Google.

BLITZER: -- we want to use to make sure no one from now on can say, you know what? What happen in Rwanda or Burundi or Cambodia, we didn't know what's going on. He wants the whole world to watch what's going on so no one will be able to say we didn't know genocide was taking place.

BALDWIN: It's pretty amazing just via satellite, and this whole room will be footing that bill. So we'll be looking to that.

Wolf, before I let you go, I want to talk about a guy you have on the show often, Michael Steele. We know the whole RNC debates went on today, the 90-minute debates in Washington. A lot of people surprised he threw his hat back in the ring for the chairmanship again. Do you think he will be able to hold onto his job?

BLITZER: Most of the experts say he won't. And it's really surprising when you think about it, because the Republicans did great not only in the general election back on November 2, but take a look at all of the special elections, Scott Brown in Massachusetts, the elections in New Jersey, Chris Christie, all of the elections in Virginia, all of those special elections, the Republicans did great. They did great, obviously, in the midterm elections. And he's probably not going to be the chairman of the RNC.

The chairman of the DNC, which didn't do great in these special elections, Tim Kaine, he's probably going to stay out as chairman of the Democratic National Committee.

So, I say to myself sometimes, what's wrong with this picture. The chairman of one party that does great, he's out. The chairman of the other party, that doesn't do so great, he stays in.

BROOKE BALDWIN, CNN ANCHOR: Can't explain it.

BLITZER: We'll talk about that. We got a lot of discussion coming up in "THE SITUATION ROOM" on that as well.

BALDWIN: Yes, they'll talk that in "THE SITUATION ROOM" in the next hour. Wolf Blitzer, thank you, sir. Good to see you.

We want to remind our viewers, we get more political news for you in about half an hour. Go to CNNPolitics.com. If you like your political fix, they're also on Twitter, go to @PoliticalTicker.