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Why Are Birds Dying?; Mystery Shrouds Former Pentagon Official's Murder; Navy Captain Relieved of Duties; President Obama to Sign Major Food Regulation Overhaul; Changing of the Guard on Capitol Hill
Aired January 04, 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: And poof. Ali Velshi, you're brilliant. Thank you. Listen, we all have a lot developing this hour here news-wise.
I want to begin here with a little tease out of Texas. We are hearing that a news conference is about to get under way there. In fact, the superintendent of a school system there received a threatening letter that we're showing to you here, but we're blurring it -- shared it with families in his district.
And now they are concerned about the safety of their children -- more on that.
Also, what is killing birds? Another state now reporting birds falling right out of the sky.
And a whodunit in Delaware -- the victim, a high-level former Pentagon insider. How did he get from a train station alive to a landfill, where he was found dead?
In fact, that is what I would like to begin with this hour. This man's body turns up at this garbage dump in Delaware. The coroner is calling this a homicide, no leads, no suspects, no crime scene, no cause of death, no clues.
That is tragic, certainly intriguing enough. Add to that what we now know about the victim, his long career in federal service, positions within the Department of Defense, connections to multiple presidents.
And investigators are very, very eager to get anything resembling a foothold on this case.
And I want to bring in someone who is on top of this story really like no other today. I want to bring in Chad Livengood. He covers the Wilmington area for "The News Journal" there in Delaware.
And, Chad, I know you're busy, busy digging on this story. I appreciate your taking a couple of minutes for me today.
So far in your digging, what do you know? What do police know in terms of how John Wheeler have died or how he would have wound up in this trash truck New Year's Eve? Any clues? CHAD LIVENGOOD, "THE NEWS JOURNAL": Well, the police have not said how he died. They have not released that yet.
They have ruled it a homicide. The latest information is that Newark, Delaware, police, who are leading the investigation, have tracked Mr. Wheeler's latest steps to 3:30 Thursday downtown Wilmington near the du Pont building, kind of a landmark building in -- in -- in Wilmington.
That is his last known steps. They got a tip from someone in the public and they were able to verify that somehow. And that's the latest out of the Newark police today.
We do know that the investigators were back at the landfill today as well sifting through the trash. They have had to wear hazmat suits because there's apparently some medical waste kind of strewn in between the trash that Mr. Wheeler's body arrived in.
BALDWIN: So, Chad, you're saying the last time, based upon I guess eyewitness accounts, the last time anyone saw him was last Thursday, though police believe he was on that Amtrak train from Washington to Delaware.
Any idea where this crime -- you mentioned the M.E. ruled this is a homicide -- any idea where the crime even occurred?
Chad, are you with me? Can you hear me? Chad, are you with me?
Oh.
Chad Livengood, we will try to get you back, because I have a bunch more questions for you from Delaware, from "The News Journal."
But, for now, I want to move on to another story we're following for you. This is day two on this story. You know it. U.S. Navy Captain Owen Honors has been relieved of his duties. That is new just in today. We told you the story yesterday. He is the one who produced and starred in those lewd videos, the ones that were shown to thousands of sailors on board the USS Enterprise just a couple of years ago.
I think it was 2006 and 2007. Now, at the time, he was number two on that carrier, second in command, when he made the videos. He was later promoted to captain of that ship. And, today, he is out of that job.
I'm going to talk in just a couple of minutes here to a former petty officer who served with Captain Honors aboard that Enterprise for multiple years ago and is coming forward today defending him.
But, before I get to him, I want to get the latest on the investigation here from our Pentagon correspondent who has been all over this story, Barbara Starr.
And Barbara -- Barbara is not quite ready. But, again, we are learning that Honors was relieved of his duties, perhaps pending this investigation.
I'm sorry, Angie. Repeat that.
A new commander has now been named. Let's listen.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
ADM. JOHN C. HARVEY JR., COMMANDER, U.S. FLEET FORCES COMMAND: After personally reviewing the videos Captain Honors created while serving as executive officer, I have lost confidence in his ability to lead effectively, to command Enterprise.
He is being held accountable for the poor judgment and inappropriate actions he repeatedly demonstrated in those videos. It is a fact that, as naval officers, we are held -- indeed, we must be held -- to higher standards of performance and conduct.
Those in command must exemplify the Navy's core values of honor, courage and commitment, which we expect our sailors to embrace and call their own. Our leaders must be above reproach, and our sailors deserve nothing less.
Captain Dee Mewbourne will be permanently assigned as the new commanding officer of Enterprise. Captain Mewbourne most recently commanded USS Dwight D. Eisenhower and, while in command, he completed two successful combat deployments in support of Operation Enduring Freedom.
Captain Mewbourne is currently serving as the chief --
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BALDWIN: All right, so that was certainly news, because we were reporting that Captain Honors has been relieved of his position. Now we just heard from Admiral Harvey Jr., naming a new captain to be the number one on board USS Enterprise.
I want to bring in Pentagon correspondent Barbara Starr.
And, Barbara, I know you broke the news to us, the fact that Captain Honors has been relieved. Let me just first back up and just ask you this. Has he been relieved entirely or is this simply pending this investigation?
BARBARA STARR, CNN PENTAGON CORRESPONDENT: No, Brooke, this is by all accounts permanent, fired, relieved of duty, removed from command of the USS Enterprise, a crew of about 5,000 or 6,000 sailors and Naval personnel.
This is really -- I wouldn't say unprecedented, but highly unusual for someone to be removed from command from an aircraft carrier.
BALDWIN: And I'm sure, as CNN has, I know, in the last days, tried to reach out to Captain Honors, still no luck in doing so, I assume? STARR: No.
And my -- my -- I suspect -- I suspect we will not hear from him, because there is still a pending investigation by the Navy into both his activities and whether any senior officers, the commanding officer of the ship at the time or several admirals, had knowledge of what was going on, on board the Enterprise with these videos, what they knew, if anything, when they knew it, and why no one stepped forward to try and stop all of this.
So, there is still this very serious investigation going on. We may just be at the beginning of all of this.
BALDWIN: Barbara, in reading the "Virginia-Pilot"'s newspaper article -- they're the ones, to give them the credit, the newspaper out of Virginia, broke the story over the weekend -- they report -- and you can hear in the videos -- that we know that there had been complaints filed in those years in 2006 and 2007.
I imagine those complaints went up the chain. The Navy was aware. Why hadn't the Navy taken action years ago? Do we know?
STARR: Well, you -- you know, what's interesting is there -- all indications are something slightly different, that some of the crew members objected and were concerned and didn't like what was going on, but some of them felt very constrained and were reluctant to complain publicly, for fear of their jobs and fear of retribution.
You know, and, remember, you -- you will hear Captain Honors on one of these videotapes he made saying that he was getting anonymous complaints, that he had heard there had been complaints, and that he was very dismissive of that.
And, for commanders, that's a big problem. If you have complaints from your crew, you have the absolute obligation to listen to them and treat those complaints respectfully.
He -- by his own admission on the videotapes, he did not do that. That could wind up being a very serious problem for him. That's a problem for the Navy to have those kind of commanders in charge.
And -- and that's really the fundamental question in this investigation. Were younger troops feeling coercion, feeling pressure, feeling they couldn't speak up about what was going on? Many of them have posted messages of support for Captain Honors, particularly on the ship's Facebook page, but many apparently objected to all of this.
BALDWIN: Yes. And I will be speaking with one of them who is very much so in defense of Captain Honors, speaking with him in just a couple of minutes, just to get his side of the story.
But, Barbara, I -- I want to just finally ask you this question. The Pentagon says Defense Secretary Robert Gates is very much so, obviously, aware of these raunchy videos, but apparently he's leaving the fate ultimately of Honors -- he's left it up to senior Navy officials.
So I assume, since we know he is done, he is out, that was up to the Navy to make that call.
STARR: Right.
I think we should explain to everybody this whole issue, which you can sort of define as personnel, it is the responsibility under law of the various military services to conduct these personnel actions.
It would be extraordinary at this point for it to go to the level of the secretary. He would be sort of the final adjudicator, if you had a criminal case or something like that.
But it is actually the military -- you know, the Navy, the Air Force, the Marine Corps, the Army, it is their responsibility to discipline their officers and their enlisted personnel, Brooke.
BALDWIN: And they have, as we have seen in this case.
STARR: Indeed.
BALDWIN: Barbara Starr for us at the Pentagon -- Barbara, thank you.
And, as I mentioned, coming up in just a couple of minutes here right here, I'm going to be speaking with a young man who served on USS Enterprise under Captain Owen Honors, who we now know is no longer -- no longer holds that title.
I want you to wait until you hear apparently what he thinks about this whole thing. He was there. He saw the videos. Former Chief Petty Officer Phillip Ciesla going to join me here live here after the break.
Also coming up, there's this chilling story out of Ohio. Police say a 10-year-old grabbed a rifle, aimed and then pulled the trigger -- the target, his own mother. You may not believe what this whole thing is over. Parents, listen up. That is ahead.
Plus, there are brand-new developments in this whole dead bird mystery. Remember, we were talking about this yesterday. Apparently there is now a new state, new theories, and where some of those birds are right now. That's next.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
BALDWIN: Welcome back.
Back to one of the stories we have been following for you, the Navy captain who is now out, as Barbara Starr was just reporting, been removed from his duties because one of those -- or I should say multiple raunchy videos he made just a couple of years ago.
Owen Honors was the second in command on the USS Enterprise when those videos were made. He was then promoted to captain, but now he is no longer in charge of that ship.
And I want to talk to someone who thinks that Honors shouldn't have lost his job. His name is Phillip Ciesla. He's a former petty officer, served under Captain Honors when those videos were played.
And, Phil, I just want to begin with the news that we're all learning today, the fact that Captain Honors is out. He's been relieved of his command of the USS Enterprise.
Do you think that that was a fair course of action?
PETTY OFFICE PHILLIP CIESLA (RET.), U.S. NAVY: I really don't think it was.
BALDWIN: Why?
CIESLA: Oh, why? Because Captain Honors, the videos that he's being ousted -- that he lost his job for, the videos that he made, were made three and four years ago. And when they were made, they were made for the ship's crew's entertainment.
You know, they weren't meant to be seen by the public eyes. Obviously, the public might not understand, you know, maybe the Navy's sense of humor. But when they were made three or four years ago -- obviously, there's an outcry now. Why wasn't there an outcry then? Why is he now just being punished for it? That's what I'm really curious about.
BALDWIN: Phillip, I want to follow up on the sense of humor comment in just a moment. But I just want you to, if you will, take me back a couple of years when you were on board USS Enterprise, thousands and thousands of soldiers seeing these videos.
I'm just curious, how were they received among men and women?
CIESLA: By general consensus by men and women, they were pretty well received as pretty humorous and entertainment. They were taken with a grain of salt. They weren't taken quite seriously. They were just viewed as a form of entertainment, just something to take the edge off of the day, just to break the monotony of it all and just --
BALDWIN: Break up the monotony within the sailors.
CIESLA: Yes, just to make the day a little better, right.
BALDWIN: And perhaps, you know, as a civilian or other civilians, they can't empathize. I know you work long hours, 15, 16, 17, maybe 18 hours a day.
CIESLA: Yes.
BALDWIN: It's hot in the Persian Gulf. Perhaps, as you mentioned, you know, everyone needed a laugh, perhaps, to boost morale.
But I want to let you know, I did talk to a retired Navy captain just here yesterday to give me his impression of some of those videos. And I -- I want to play the sound for you and we will talk on the other side.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
ALEC FRASER, RETIRED U.S. NAVY SHIP CAPTAIN: 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.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BALDWIN: So, Phil, if you heard him, he mentioned high school humor, if you watched them, as I know you have, homophobic, raunchy. How might -- how is that perceived as funny? How might that -- help me understand how that boosts morale.
CIESLA: How it boosts morale?
BALDWIN: Yes.
CIESLA: Like I said, in the Navy, you know, Navy humor, it's -- it's a lot different from regular humor in the civilian world.
It's a lot more of an adult humor. You know, everybody understands. They laugh, and they don't really think anything of it. For example, you know, the shower scene that everybody is talking about, you know, people perceive that as to be a little raunchy. And maybe it was. But the whole idea behind that, it was supposed to be a spoof, for example, when that --
BALDWIN: Are you referencing the two women in the shower?
CIESLA: Yes. Yes, the two women in the shower.
When that video was made, we were in the middle of the Persian Gulf. And, at the time, we were going through water rationing, because every -- all water we take in on board the ship that we drink, that we use to cook, that we use for everything has to be processed and has to be sterilized before we can use it.
And when you have a crew of upwards of 6,000 people on the ship, you know, that -- that water goes by very fast, because you only have a limited supply before you have to make more. So, the running joke was, OK, you can only take a three-minute shower, instead of maybe a 20-, 30-minute, you know, Hollywood shower.
And that's all that was. It was just a spoof on, you know, the water rationing that went around.
BALDWIN: So, connect the dots, though, for me. If it's a spoof on, you know, telling people only take a three-minute shower --
CIESLA: Right.
BALDWIN: -- how do you get from taking a three-minute shower to throwing a couple of ladies in a shower and then quietly closing the shower curtain?
CIESLA: Honestly, I didn't make the movie, so I honestly don't know about how that went about. But --
(CROSSTALK)
BALDWIN: Let me ask you -- let me just -- let me just follow up with this. And this is something -- this is part of a conversation I had yesterday. Just for people who -- who aren't in the Navy and aren't familiar with -- with what you do and, you know, life on board these carriers for months and months at a time, are these types of videos the norm on other carriers as well, or do you think the X.O. and these videos are an exception?
CIESLA: Well, I can't speak for other carriers. I have only been on the one carrier.
It seems to me like it was only on this particular carrier. Like I said, I can't speak for any other carriers or what their X.O.s do. But as far as what our X.O. did, making the videos, right or wrong, what he -- what his intention was, I believe, was to entertain the crew and uplift our morale, and to make our arduous days, our long workweeks, maybe give us something to look forward to at the end of the week, you know, kind of relieve the stress, it were.
BALDWIN: Got it.
Phillip Ciesla, hey, I appreciate you coming on and explaining -- you know, giving you the opportunity to defend your captain. Phillip, thank you.
CIESLA: Can I say one more thing?
BALDWIN: Go.
CIESLA: I just want to say that it was an honor and a privilege to serve under him and to have him as my captain. And, you know, if he -- if he called right now and asked me to go back to work for him, I would do it in a heartbeat.
BALDWIN: You would do it in a heartbeat.
CIESLA: And I cannot think any -- I can say the same for almost anyone else that worked for him.
BALDWIN: All right. Phillip, thank you. Thank you very much.
CIESLA: Have a good afternoon.
BALDWIN: Thank you. President Obama back in Washington from that long and extended Hawaiian vacation, and he's got a lot of his plate -- on his plate literally. One of the first things he will do is sign the most sweeping overhaul of food safety since 1938. Congress passed the measure last month. The new law gives the FDA power to issue direct recalls of suspected tainted foods. That means the government doesn't have to wait for companies to do voluntary recalls. The always also requires the creation of a food-tracing system to find sources of contamination.
And scientists at the CDC and other major labs are doing testing and necropsies to confirm what called those odd mass bird deaths. About 5,000 blackbirds, starlings also, they fell from the sky in Arkansas on New Year's Eve. And about 500 others apparently were found in Louisiana yesterday.
Preliminary testing on the first group found acute physical trauma, basically severe internal injuries. The thinking is the birds may have been spooked by New Year's fireworks.
But I want to bring in Chad Myers.
I know I talked to a woman yesterday. She had a bunch of birds in her backyard. She was not buying the fireworks theory.
CHAD MYERS, CNN METEOROLOGIST: Right.
BALDWIN: What are you hearing what's going on?
MYERS: The trauma to the birds is -- is interesting. And they are going to figure out, through these autopsies, necropsies, they will figure out how the trauma occurred.
And if there were spots of trauma a lot like you would see on apples in an orchard in Iowa, if there are spots on the apples, that means hail hit the birds. If it was one flat spot of trauma, the bird hit something, maybe the ground.
BALDWIN: Hmm.
MYERS: So, the trauma could come from a number of sources. Also, the trauma could come from hitting houses, hitting other things as it was spooked as they flew away.
There were big storms in the area in the state that day. There were not thunderstorms during the 11:00 --
BALDWIN: There were not thunderstorms?
(CROSSTALK)
BALDWIN: Because there was talk about maybe getting waterlogged. You're saying?
MYERS: There were not thunderstorms at that time. I -- I don't know when all these birds came down. I don't know when the first one was -- was -- no one has actually --
BALDWIN: No one has actually seen them fall. That's the thing.
MYERS: That -- that's exactly correct. Did they come down at 9:00 and it was dark and no one noticed? Was it 7:00, dark, when no one noticed, and they -- when they woke up, they saw them?
No one can say I heard them hit my house. No one can say anything about a definitive time. And so there would have been a time between dark and between the fireworks display -- although I don't know big it was in Beebe, Arkansas, because it's not a very big town, to say we have the biggest -- our -- our fireworks are so big, that we kill birds.
I doubt that happened.
BALDWIN: What about these theories? The night-vision is bad, the birds.
MYERS: Correct.
BALDWIN: So, maybe they ran into the houses --
MYERS: Yes.
BALDWIN: -- and, you know, trees trying to get away from some of the noise or -- but you're not so much saying -- maybe weather.
MYERS: It could have been weather. It could have been previous events during the day, but not at 11:00, not when people think they went out there and they saw them.
Did they just go out at that time and go, where did all these come from, or were they literally hitting the ground at 11:00? I don't -- we don't know that answer yet.
BALDWIN: Hmm.
MYERS: But -- so, if storms hit at 5:00, 6:00 during the day --
BALDWIN: Yes.
MYERS: -- and they were there at night and they were there for four hours and they were dying in -- in -- for four hours, that could have been a thunderstorm-related event, could even have been a lightning-related event, something like that. Other than that, it was -- this is going to be a whodunit --
(CROSSTALK)
BALDWIN: Totally baffling.
MYERS: If -- if -- if we find out that -- that the trauma was because they hit the ground and these birds all died by a heart attack because they were all spooked --
BALDWIN: All 5,000?
MYERS: All 5,000 died from a heart attack --
BALDWIN: Mm-hmm.
MYERS: -- where did the heart attack come from? There's nothing that will tell them in that bird that it was a firework or it was a -- it was the lightning strike or it was hail.
BALDWIN: OK.
MYERS: It's just -- it's just -- it's just not there, unless one bird inhaled gunpowder from a firework --
BALDWIN: OK.
(LAUGHTER)
MYERS: -- and now we're -- now we're -- now we're talking "CSI: Miami," you know?
(CROSSTALK)
BALDWIN: OK.
(CROSSTALK)
BALDWIN: Thank you. I was going to say, this is "CSI." We can't -- we don't know. But, I mean, it's just so odd and a lot of people, a lot of you and we're, talking about it, scratching our heads, and now Louisiana.
We have got to go.
MYERS: And there might even be a few in Kentucky. We're still investigating that.
BALDWIN: Investigating that, Kentucky, Arkansas, and Louisiana --
MYERS: Louisiana.
BALDWIN: -- and maybe Kentucky.
MYERS: And maybe Kentucky.
BALDWIN: All right, Chad, let me know.
MYERS: OK.
(LAUGHTER)
BALDWIN: There -- a lot of people high interest in that one.
MYERS: OK. BALDWIN: Also, this. A beautiful swimsuit designer is murdered inside this posh New York City hotel. Her body was found in an overflowing bathtub. And now there are new developments in the case against her suspected killer. That is ahead.
Plus, it is a huge week on Capitol Hill. The rookies of Congress are set to take their spots. So how will they make their mark on day one? There could be a lot of political theater. Brianna Keilar is on the Hill. She is up next with a preview.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
BALDWIN: So, before I get to Brianna on Capitol Hill, we just got some interesting news. CNN is first to learn, according to incoming House Speaker John Boehner, that everything happening tomorrow, being day one of the 112th Congress, the swearing-ins, in fact, the -- the House speaker's first speech, will all be live- streamed on Facebook.
So, you can go to Facebook/pledgetoamerica. How about that? So, you can watch it all going down in Washington.
And, you know, they're definitely changing the guard on Capitol Hill. In fact, I want to show you a live picture of the U.S. Capitol Building, pretty picture there in Washington, about to witness really this historic shift, not just in terms of Facebook, but major, major changes.
Tomorrow, Republicans take control of the House of Representatives. And you heard me say it's historic. And I want to just explain why. For the past 80 years, Democrats have pretty much owned the House. I want you to look at this. All the way from 1933 to 1995 -- folks, that's 62 years -- the House was controlled by the Democratic Party for all but a two-year blip. That is 62 years.
Think about that number -- 1995 to 2007, Republican red, Gingrich revolution, and that's pretty much it for the GOP. But, beginning tomorrow, it is the Republicans' chance again. So, yes, we are watching history unfolding on Capitol Hill.
Brianna Keilar gets a front seat to this whole thing.
And, Brianna, what are you seeing? What are you hearing there at the eve of the first day of the 112th Congress?
BRIANNA KEILAR, CNN CONGRESSIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, let's start with the new kids.
(LAUGHTER)
KEILAR: And let's talk specifically about the House of Representatives, because that obviously is where the action is, with this huge incoming freshman class.
I actually spoke with one incoming Republican, congressman-elect soon to be sworn in tomorrow, Raul Labrador. You see him here. He's meeting with his staff there. He has most of his staff hired. But just take -- you can take a look at his office. It's basically empty.
I mean, he has Post-it notes. We're walking through the hallway. You can see there's a lot of furniture there that still has to go into some of the offices. So, you know, a lot of the staffers who are here with these incoming members, I mean, their e-mail addresses weren't even working until yesterday, Brooke.
But let's talk about the higher-ups. Let's talk about leaders, because they have been gearing up, having their pens and pads today and putting out their messages.
Today, I went to the pen and pad for Congressman Eric Cantor. He's going to be, as of tomorrow, the majority leader in the House of Representatives. Check it out, standing room only. That's just one section of the room there.
BALDWIN: Wow.
KEILAR: It was huge and bustling.
And then I also want to show you something else that I tweeted out. This is something that Steny Hoyer, who, for one more day, is going to be the majority leader, until he's going to be the minority whip tomorrow, this is a -- sort of a faux ticket he handed out. You see those two little football helmets, Brooke?
BALDWIN: Yes. What is that?
KEILAR: One is a donkey.
BALDWIN: Ah.
KEILAR: One is an elephant.
I think it's kind of appropriate. I have it here in my hand. And that's because this is really the hottest particular in town --
(LAUGHTER)
KEILAR: -- which is going to be watching what goes down with the House of Representatives.
But, in all seriousness, both sides putting out their messages today, Democrats saying that they're going to constructively oppose Republicans, if they feel like they have to oppose them, and Republicans saying that they're going to be all about cutting spending and growing the economy, Brooke.
BALDWIN: Well, along with that hot little ticket in your hand, Brianna, we also -- we reported yesterday with "Political Pop" that the Republicans, I think it's starting Thursday morning, they're going to be reading, you know, the U.S. Constitution aloud.
And speaking of Steny Hoyer, he -- want to play a sound bite. He was talking about that and expectations of all Americans. Listen.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
REP. STENY HOYER (D), MARYLAND: They are not just interested in just hearing about us reading the Constitution, as will be done on Thursday. They are hopeful that we will accomplish what the Constitution envisioned. And that was the betterment of the general welfare of all Americans.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BALDWIN: So, Brianna, will this be a theme, you know, Republicans positioning themselves as defenders of the Constitution, and Democrats defenders of the people?
KEILAR: I think the logic here that Republicans will tell you in reading the Constitution is that they're using it as a reminder for their message of limiting government.
Throughout -- moving into this midterm election, there were a lot of Tea Party folks who said look to the Constitution. And they were saying that there were a lot of things that President Obama and Democrats in Congress were doing that they felt was unconstitutional, overreaching, for instance, health care reform.
And they say, look, you trace it back to the Constitution, and that's what will tell you that.
Of course there's a differing opinion here. I think what you have is both sides positioning themselves as for the people here, Brooke. It's just that they have very different, fundamental differences on how exactly you execute that.
BALDWIN: Tomorrow is a big day for you and a whole lot of people there on Capitol Hill. Brianna Keilar, we'll be looking for you tomorrow. Thank you.
KEILAR: See you then.
BALDWIN: See you then.
And stealing an ATM -- yes, yes, we know, that's nothing new. But stealing it from a bowling alley by crashing a car through the wall, kind of daring. The video is ahead.
And why did a 10-year-old -- 10 -- allegedly shoot and kill his own mother? Wait until you hear what police say kind of set him off. That's next.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
BALDWIN: Check this out and watch the upper left-hand corner of your screen. Security cameras, this is inside a bowling alley caught these guys red handed. One guy drives a minivan through the glass doors of this place.
His buddy in the passenger seat jumps out to steal the bowling alley's cash machine. There they are trying to shove it in the back. Both guys dressed in dark camouflage clothing but police think the front end damage to that van that came crashing on through might help them actually track them down.
Now, the bowling alley's owner -- here we go again -- says he is not quite sure how much cash was actually in the ATM but it's going to cost him thousands of dollars to replace the doors and fix the damage to the entryway. Look at that.
Now to a story out of Ohio where a 10-year-old boy is accused of shooting his own mother to death apparently over some chores she had asked him to do. Here is Laurie Taylor with our affiliate WJW.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
LAURIE TAYLOR, CORRESPONDENT WJW: Beulah Mike isn't in a good place right now. Her 46-year-old daughter Debra McVay was killed Sunday night and her 10-year-old grandson is being held in connection with the death.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: He's a bad kid. There's good in him, yes.
TAYLOR: It was here in this converted garage on Township Road 511 in Big Prairie just west of Millersburg where investigators say the 10-year-old grabbed a 22 caliber rifle and shot his mother to death. His 15-year-old sister was standing nearby when it happened. She's asked that we not show her face.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: He went in his room and obviously he got the gun and loaded it.
TAYLOR: The young girl says her little brother and mom were arguing Sunday evening over chores. The 10-year-old was supposed to bring in the firewood and the little girl says he wasn't happy about it.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: He stood in the doorway.
TAYLOR (on camera): And pulled the trigger?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Yes.
TAYLOR (voice-over): After the gun went off, the 10-year-old ran to a neighbor's home for help.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Reported to him that he needed the squad and the police and that he had just shot his mother.
TAYLOR: Chief Nathan Fritz says emergency rescue crews found the boy's mother face down on her living room floor dead with a gunshot wound to the back of the head.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Indications we have at this time is that it was not an accident.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: My mother was a very loving lady. TAYLOR: Josh Mike is McVay's oldest son. He also asked that we not show his face. He wants everyone to know what a wonderful mother he had. He says she ran her own home health care company that specialized in the care of the mentally challenged.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: My mother helped anyone that asked her.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
BALDWIN: That was Laurie Taylor from our affiliate WJW.
Michael Jackson's doctor gets his day in court. Is there enough evidence against Conrad Murray? We'll get you a live report next.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
BALDWIN: Welcome back to the newsroom. A murder charge in the brutal death of the swimsuit designer in New York City. The whole thing happened at a posh hotel just a couple of weeks ago. The body of this woman, Sylvia Cachay, was found in an overflowing bathtub. The medical examiner says someone strangled and drowned her. Prosecutors have now indicted her ex-boyfriend Nick Brooks on a charge of second degree murder. His father is an award-winning composer.
The courtroom phase begins today with the eventual goal of answering the major question here -- who is to blame for Michael Jackson's death? Now, preliminary hearings did begin today in Los Angeles today and the focus is on that man, Conrad Murray.
The doctor is facing charges of involuntary manslaughter after a coroner determined Michael Jackson overdosed on that strong sedative used to put surgical patients to sleep. So straight to Los Angeles we go to Beth Karas, correspondent for TruTV's "In Session" outside of the courtroom.
Begin with -- we know today is just the start of that whole preliminary hearing or hearings. Was Dr. Murray even there? And how long is this whole part of the process supposed to last?
BETH KARAS, CORRESPONDENT, TRUTV'S "IN SESSION": Dr. Murray is indeed present and will be every day. The hearing is expected to last probably through next week. The prosecutor told the judge seven to eight days, but who knows how full some of those days will be because the judge is juggling a few other matters. So we may start late some days.
But it will probably wrap up by the end of next week and the judge will make a decision whether there's enough evidence to hold this case and bind it over for trial.
BALDWIN: So ultimately the purpose of preliminary hearings for people who are not familiar with the legal process is to determine, as you said, if there's enough evidence to go on to trial. Who, Beth -- who testified today?
KARAS: So far two witnesses have testified. The prosecution is kind of laying out a chronology starting in the hours before Michael Jackson died, in fact, starting with his last rehearsal at the Staples Center for his upcoming concert series tour called "This is It."
Now, he was in great spirits the day before he died. He started his rehearsal 6:00, 7:00 at the Staples Center in downtown Los Angeles and got home around midnight.
Dr. Murray, the defendant, was already at his house, had been treating him for months already, and admits that he had been giving Michael this very strong sedative. It's an anesthetic that is used in surgery. He had been giving it to him almost every day for two months and was trying to wean him off of it. And he stayed with Michael Jackson that night because Michael was having a hard time falling asleep.
So the witnesses have brought -- the judge to the scene of Michael's death and the chaos at the house and at the hospital. Presumably the prosecution will then move into the -- what the autopsy showed and then medical experts will be doctors who will talk about how doctors are supposed to treat this patient and what they're supposed to do when -- I mean, when you're giving Propofol and someone stops breathing and how to do CPR and the various things Dr. Murray did wrong according to the prosecution.
BALDWIN: You mentioned the prosecution. What about the defense? What might their argument be?
KARAS: It's not their role at this point to present any witnesses or a defense. This preliminary hearing is really the prosecution's opportunity to establish probable cause, yes. They are cross-examining witnesses, though. So we might glean a little bit from where they're going.
But they may end up arguing what the prosecution thinks this will argue, and that is that Michael Jackson injected himself with the fatal dose. However, an expert told me that Michael Jackson wouldn't have been alert enough to even plunge a syringe into himself. Propofol, this drug is so fast-acting, that he never could have given himself that much.
The prosecution has also laid out a timeline showing that Dr. Murray, according to them, tried to clean up the scene even before calling 911.
BALDWIN: Well, we will be watching every little detail right along with you at these preliminary hearings. A lot of interest in the death of Michael Jackson. Beth Karas for us in L.A., thank you.
Here we go. Brett Favre, he is under fire again. More women are reportedly coming forward and alleging the quarterback sexually harassed them. So what does Favre have to say? That is ahead.
And it has become perhaps the most infamous now Broadway show ever, and it hasn't even officially started yet. Now the cast of "Spiderman" is speaking out. Are they scared about going back to work? Should the audience take cover? That's next. (COMMERCIAL BREAK)
BALDWIN: It was the thud heard all up and down the great white way. You remember this? Advanced showing of the "Spiderman" musical on Broadway. A harness meant to keep the web slinger from falling to the stage didn't do its job. The performer wound up falling. Here's the video of it. Breaking ribs, skull fracture, broken shoulder blade, broken bones in his arm.
So that guy's spider-man days are done, right? Wrong. Listen to what he told our CNN crew today in New York.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: How are you feeling?
CHRISTOPHER TIERNEY, THEATER PERFORMER: Feeling great.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes?
TIERNEY: Yes.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You getting back in the production?
TIERNEY: As soon as my back feels right, right and rain.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Chris, right here. Any safety concerns getting back?
TIERNEY: No, I'm not worried about it. They've got that well taken care of.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: One more.
TIERNEY: Easy, guys.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BALDWIN: So that was Christopher Tierney. He says he's on the mend, says he's not worried about safety and looking forward as you heard him getting back into the Spidey costume. So a bit of a superhero I guess in real life. The show will go on. They have scheduled a performance for tonight, still in previews. The show officially opens to audiences February 7th.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Nobody knows you're wearing them. They're not protest garments. They're designed to be a reasonable compromise for travelers to allow TSA to do their job.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BALDWIN: Are you worried about screeners checking you out at the airport? One guy invented special underwear and shirts to help calm your fears. That is ahead. Also, it never really ends with Lindsay Lohan. She apparently violated her probation for something she did inside of rehab. That is trending and Brooke Anderson is all over it. That is next.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
BALDWIN: Now what's trending today, two stories. We've got Brett Favre and Lindsey Lohan. I want to begin with Favre. NFL quarterback Brett Favre being sued for sexual harassment not just one but two former massage therapists for the Jets when he played there in 2008. I want to bring in Brooke Anderson to talk to me about this. Brooke, what's the story?
BROOKE ANDERSON, HOST, "SHOWBIZ TONIGHT": Brooke, Brett Favre is being called inappropriate, arrogant, lewd. He's really being made out to be a very dirty dog, allegedly. He has been hit with a sexual harassment lawsuit by two former massage therapists like you say who worked there for the New York Jets when he played there in 2008.
Now, the suit ales he made unwanted sexual advances to the women. And after they complained, they were suddenly and inexplicably terminated, no more work.
Here's a couple of text messages the women allege Brett Favre sent, quote, "Brett here. You and Chrissy want to get together? I'm alone." Another, "Kind of lonely tonight. I guess I have bad intentions."
The NFL fined Favre $50,000 last week saying that he did not cooperate with the NFL's investigation into a separate alleged incident involving another female Jets employee, Jen Sterger. It remains to be seen whether Sterger will file a lawsuit as well.
The massage therapists, Brooke, in their complaint, say they initially refrained from filing a lawsuit in the hopes that NFL would take meaningful actions against Favre. After that did not happen, in their eyes, they slapped Favre with this lawsuit.
A lawyer for the Jets tells CNN this, quote, "Unfortunately the plaintiffs never reported the allegations to the Jets either during or after the conclusion of their work. The case against the Jets is completely without merit and we look forward to defending the matter in court where we are confident that the Jets will prevail."
Brooke, Brett Favre's career in the NFL may be over if he's truly serious about retirement this time, but his legal troubles are just beginning, really.
BALDWIN: They could be indeed. We're watching that one. We're also watching this whole Lindsay Lohan saga. We know she's out of rehab, out of Betty Ford. I think this is something you and I talked about a couple of weeks ago. What's going on there now?
ANDERSON: She's facing legal troubles of a much different kind compared to Brett Favre. She's now completed her court order three months stay. So it did seem that things were looking up, right? Well, think again because she could possibly go back to jail. And that's because police in Riverside, California are saying she violated her probation when she allegedly tussled with a then staff member at the Betty Ford center. So she could face battery charges even though that former staff member does not want charges filed.
BALDWIN: She doesn't, does she?
ANDERSON: Her court date is February 25. What's that?
BALDWIN: The then worker, now she is no longer because she violated the contract, you spoke about it. So she doesn't want charges filed.
ANDERSON: All of a sudden she doesn't want to be involved and doesn't want charges filed. But it's a little too late for that because authorities are investigating it. It's up to them to decide regardless if that woman wants the charges filed if that will indeed happen.
Her next court date, February 25. It is determined she violated probation or if she fails a drug test before then, it could be back to jail for 180 days. Her probation is scheduled to end, Brooke, in August.
BALDWIN: I tell you what, all these twists and turns in the story. I'm glad you're keeping track of it because I can't.
(LAUGHTER)
ANDERSON: It's difficult sometimes.
BALDWIN: Brooke Anderson, thank you so much. Good to see you. Thanks, Brooke.
Remember the massive gas explosion in the San Bruno neighborhood just a couple of months ago. It killed eight people, destroyed dozens and dozens of homes. Now, there are new urgent warnings, and it affects neighborhoods not just in San Bruno but across the country. That is ahead.
And some interesting news from the political world. Apparently incoming speaker of the House, John Boehner is working behind the scenes for a certain politician. Wolf Blitzer is standing by with that. The CNN Political Ticker is coming up next.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
BALDWIN: And CNN = Politics. Wolf Blitzer joins me now from Washington with the latest hot off of the CNN Political Ticker. Wolf Blitzer, what do you have for me?
WOLF BLITZER, HOST, "THE SITUATION ROOM": Lots going on as always in the world of politics, Brooke. And let's go through some of the latest items crossing over at CNNpolitics.com.
There's a struggle under way who's going to be the next chairman of the Republican National Committee. Michael Steele, he wants to get re-elected, but he's facing a lot of opposition. Now we're getting word from various sources that the incoming speaker, John Boehner, the Republican leader of the House of Representatives, quietly behind the scenes is lobbying for Maria Cino, a former Bush administration official, to become the next chair of the national committee.
No word from Boehner. He's staying out of it in public, some sources tell CNN that quietly behind the scenes, he wants her. Other Republicans lobbying for various other candidates.
The struggle, by the way, going on an issue involving the president of the United States. He's now back in Washington getting ready for a very busy session, getting ready for his State of the Union address before a joint session of Congress as well.
He's urging the Republicans to go slow on some of the politics right now. He says there will be plenty of time for the -- for the campaign to start the 2012 campaign to start in 2012. Right now it's imperative to get the business done.
Naturally officials at the White House are not happy with the statements of the new Republican leadership, suggesting for one thing that a formal vote to repeal the Democrats' health care reform law would take place as early as next week. The Republicans in the House, they're determined to go forward with that, Brooke, as you know there's little chance it will be passed in the Senate, a formal repeal, and even if it were, the president would veto it. And getting a two-thirds override, the House and the Senate right now is not very, very likely at all.
One area where there may be some cooperation between the Democrats and the Republicans involves education, education reform. I'm going to speak in "THE SITUATION ROOM" with Arnie Duncan. He's the secretary of education.
You may have been surprised to read in "The New York Times" this morning, Brooke, that some House Republicans want to start cutting about $100 billion in what's called discretionary domestic spending. That would be about a 20 percent potential cut in the spending for the Department of Education, something I'm sure he's going to oppose. We're going to go through some of those issued when he comes to the situation room later today. Brooke?
BALDWIN: Wolf, before I let you go, what do you make of the fact that now apparently Speaker-designate John Boehner says that they're going to live stream all of the swearing in ceremonies tomorrow and even his first speech all on Facebook? What do you make of that?
BLITZER: Well, they're trying to use some of the new technology, the social networking, to get their message across.
The White House does this all the time. And the Republican leadership in the House is going to follow suit. They're going to not just use Facebook. They will use Twitter. They will use a lot of the new social networking skills that the Democrats have used very effectively over the past few years. They will hone those. This is the future of communications in the world of politics. They know it. Everyone knows it right now. And people are still grasping with the potential out there to get around you and me, for example, some of the traditional media, to get the message out themselves.
BALDWIN: Go to the people.
BLITZER: Oh, yes. They're going to do it increasingly more and more.
(CROSSTALK)
BALDWIN: How about that? Wolf Blitzer, they're just going to be Twitter-hip, just like you.
Wolf, thank you.
We will get another update for you in just about a half-an-hour. you can get your political updates. Just hop online. Go to CNNPolitics.com or on Twitter there at @PoliticalTicker.
