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Rahm Emanuel Thrown Off Chicago Mayoral Ballot; Arizona Shooting Suspect to Appear in Court; Confessed Baby Snatcher in Court; Bomb Blast Kills Dozens at Moscow Airport; President Obama Prepares to Deliver State of the Union Address
Aired January 24, 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: Hello, everyone. I'm Brooke Baldwin.
And here's what's -- what's going on this hour. We are expecting the accused Tucson shooter, Jared Lee Loughner, to be in court. We're there live as we await word from inside that federal courtroom.
Also in court today, the woman who confessed to snatching a baby girl from a hospital 23 years ago. This story, it has captivated all of us since that baby, now a grown woman, reunited with her birth family just last week. We will get more on that in a moment.
And we are getting more and more of these incredible images from inside an airport in Moscow, where that bomb blast killed dozens of people. I will take you live to Moscow in a moment as well.
But, first, let's get to this breaking news out of Chicago. Former White House Chief of Staff Rahm Emanuel has just responded to this court's decision to toss him off the ballot for mayor of Chicago.
Here is Rahm Emanuel speaking just within the past half-hour.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
RAHM EMANUEL (D), CHICAGO MAYORAL CANDIDATE: I had answered the president's -- Obama's request to serve as his chief of staff. I still own a home here, look forward to moving into it one day, vote from here, pay property taxes here.
I do believe that the people of the city of Chicago deserve the right to make a decision of who they want to be their next mayor, which is everything that I contend since the beginning. The board of election has agreed with that.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BALDWIN: And there he was.
Now to Jessica Yellin.
Jessica, I know you have been reporting on this, our national political correspondent.
He's obviously referring to his residency, which this federal court found lacking today. We know the -- the election is next month.
(LAUGHTER)
BALDWIN: So, Jess, does he challenge this? What's his next step?
JESSICA YELLIN, CNN NATIONAL POLITICAL CORRESPONDENT: Oh, definitely.
So, a source close to the Emanuel campaign tells me that they had an appeal already written in case this should happen. And that will be filed in an expedited way. Then they will ask the state Supreme Court to take this up again in an expedited way.
And the bottom-line question is, did he abandon his residency there in Chicago? Folks close to the Emanuel campaign tell me they think they have a pretty -- a very good shot at getting this latest decision overturned because the election board unanimously sided with the Emanuel view that he did not abandon residency. So did a lower court.
And this actual court itself, its decision was divided, two against, but one -- one dissenter said, no, no, he had not abandoned residency.
BALDWIN: Hmm.
YELLIN: So, they feel that they have a pretty strong argument going forward and that, in their view, this should be left to the voters to decide who should be their next mayor.
BALDWIN: We know you're following it. Let us know if there's any update, what you hear from there camp as well.
Jess...
(CROSSTALK)
BALDWIN: ... Yellin, we will see you any minute for -- for your normal hit talking about (INAUDIBLE) for tomorrow.
But just a quick reminder again, any minute now, the suspect in that Tucson shooting rampage is scheduled to appear before a federal judge. You know his name by now. He is Jared Lee Loughner. He will be asked to enter his plea, guilty or not guilty, on charges he tried to kill three people, including U.S. Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords.
Ted Rowlands is live for us outside that federal courthouse there in Phoenix.
And, Ted, just give me a quick rundown of what is expected to happen inside that courtroom today.
TED ROWLANDS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, Brooke, we're expecting a fairly short proceeding today, which gets under way in the next half- hour here. Loughner will enter pleas, likely, on those three charges of attempted murder. There are two other charges against him, but he hasn't been indicted yet by a federal grand jury, those murder charges, those other two. So, he's just going to deal with, in terms of a plea, those three attempted murder charges.
Then there's another thing on the docket, and that is a motion by the United States government to move any further proceedings out of Phoenix and to Tucson, to the federal courthouse of Tucson. And the argument is that family members of the victims of these shootings want to be part of the process, and the government says they should not have to drive two hours each way to attend any of the court proceedings from here on out.
We expect that those two things will be dealt with. We will see what else is dealt with and we will see what kind of demeanor Loughner has this time around. In his first court appearance, he listened to everything the judge said and answered politely all of the questions that the judge had for him.
There will be a new judge on the bench today. They have brought in a U.S. district judge out of San Diego because all of the Arizona- based judges had been recused from this case. We will see what Loughner does today in court.
BALDWIN: Yes, you painted such a great picture, Ted, because I it was think January 10, when we first saw -- when you first saw Loughner in court. So, we will be waiting for that description.
You mentioned the prosecution trying to get this to move to Tucson. Are there any witnesses or any family members of those wounded expected to be in the courtroom in Phoenix for today's hearing?
ROWLANDS: We haven't seen any evidence of it in terms of people coming into the courthouse. It doesn't mean that there aren't family members inside the building now.
We haven't seen anybody yet. Once we're in the courtroom itself, we will be able to distinguish who's who. It's pretty easy to tell a reporter from a family member...
BALDWIN: Sure.
ROWLANDS: ... with a stake in a trial. And obviously everybody will be looking for that to see if anybody did make that drive from Tucson.
BALDWIN: So, I know this is when he enters his plea. Will we also get a trial date, Ted?
ROWLANDS: Likely, we will get a trial date, which will be set as sort of a benchmark. But whatever date is set, it likely will be pushed back.
Loughner does have the right to a speedy trial, however. And, although very doubtful, he could say that he wants to go on trial immediately -- well, within 60 days. And if that's the case, a trial date will be set within this period. He may also -- likely will also be given the opportunity to waive time.
If he does that, that will extend the availability for trial dates out into the next calendar year or so. But this judge that is now on the bench, he has a reputation of moving things along. So, it will be interesting to see how quickly he wants a trial date set and to get Loughner through the system.
BALDWIN: That's interesting. Well, I know our cameras don't -- can't go inside that courtroom, but I know you can. So, I'm going to let you go. Go ahead. And, Ted, we will see you on TV hopefully in the next half-hour with the description on this particular arraignment.
Ted Rowlands for me in Phoenix -- thank you, Ted.
And the president of Russia is convinced it is a terrorist act. I want you to take a look at this, total chaos, panic. You see a lot of smoke as well, debris, dead and injured people there just on the floor. This is Moscow's busiest international airport.
Here's what officials are saying. They say a suicide bomber blew him or I should say her self up -- we don't know yet -- inside the arrivals hall of the airport right around 4:30 in the afternoon Moscow time, when the terminal was packed with travelers.
We have casualty figures. And I want to tell you, they are high. What we don't have yet is who may have done this and why.
I want to go straight to Moscow now and CNN senior international correspondent Matthew Chance.
And, Matthew, what are you learning? And -- and just to ask once again, has there been any claim of responsibility yet?
MATTHEW CHANCE, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Brooke, no, there hasn't been a claim of responsibility yet, but clearly the finger of suspicion is pointing at separatists, insurgents, Islamists from the North Caucasus region of Russia, particularly from Chechnya and Dagestan and places like that that have experienced terrible Islamist insurgency over the past decade or more against the Russian state.
The militants there want an independent Islamic state in that part of Southern Russia. In terms of the investigation, I'm standing here at Domodedovo Airport. It's freezing cold outside. Inside, the authorities, the police have declared the area a crime scene, where the explosion took place.
And, so, we're not being permitted to get into it. There's not a lot of information coming out either. But what we do know is that -- according to the Interfax news agency at least, is that parts of the body the investigators believe is the body of the suicide bomber have been identified by the investigators. BALDWIN: Hmm.
CHANCE: We understand that the explosives used to cause such devastation are about five kilograms of -- of high explosives, apparently strapped to the body of that suicide bomber.
And this is unconfirmed at the moment, but we're hearing that there may have been foreign nationals who number among the 35 people who are confirmed dead. It's being reported in Russian news agencies that one of the dead may be from Britain.
There may be other foreign nationals as well. And that's hardly surprising, Brooke, given that this is the main airport through which people come in and out of Russia from overseas. And, so, we're expecting, hoping to get more clarity on this in the hours ahead.
BALDWIN: And, Matthew, I know that the numbers and the information is still sort of coming in, but -- but let me just point out the last terror attack in Moscow -- you mentioned Dagestan rebels -- was last March, subway bombers claimed by Dagestan rebels. Back in 2004, two suicide bombers, also women, boarded planes. At this airport, Chechen killed -- killed nearly 90 people.
So, given -- given the history there, is there any -- any sort of signature today, Matthew, following any sort of pattern?
CHANCE: Well, I mean -- I mean, clearly, these suicide bomb attacks that have affected Russia so badly over the past decade or so all have one thing in common, which is that they emanate from this very unstable region of Southern Russia, where there is that insurgency under way, whether it's Chechnya, whether it's Dagestan, Ingushetia, or any of the other republics in that part of Chechnya.
One thing is -- they have in common, which is that these suicide bombers are trained and they -- they often come from down there, and responsibility is usually claimed by groups that base themselves in that region.
And -- and I'm positive...
BALDWIN: I see. I see.
CHANCE: ... that that's where the focus of the Russian security forces is right now...
BALDWIN: OK.
CHANCE: ... to try and find those responsible for this in that region.
Indeed, that's what the Russian president -- president has said will happen now. He's gone on national television vowing to track down, in his words, those responsible for the carnage here at Moscow's main airport.
BALDWIN: Matthew Chance, we're going to check in with you within the next hour. I have a feeling you're going to get some more numbers, more information. So, we look forward to that from Moscow. Matthew, thanks.
Coming up next, the woman accused of kidnapping a baby girl right out of this New York hospital 23 years ago confesses. I'm going to tell you why she says she did it.
Plus, last week, it was Supreme Court Justice Elena Kagan.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
(APPLAUSE)
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BALDWIN: Today, it's Vice President Joe Biden reporting for jury duty.
(LAUGHTER)
BALDWIN: That's coming up.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
BALDWIN: We are now getting word of an alleged motive behind that baby kidnapping that came to a stunning end when the victim became a little suspicious and solved the case all on her own.
Now, the woman who raised Carlina White is due in court today. She will be facing charges she snatched White from a New York City hospital in Harlem back in 1987.
Her name is Ann Pettway. She turned herself in to the FBI over the weekend. And papers filed today in federal court indicate she answered the one question everyone is asking: Why?
Carlina's real father appeared this morning on "The Today Show."
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP, "THE TODAY SHOW")
CARL TYSON, FATHER OF CARLINA WHITE: That's all I have (INAUDIBLE) and just listen to what she had to say to me. Then again, I would probably answer some of her questions -- or ask her some more questions, but why? Why you do this to me for 23 years?
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BALDWIN: National correspondent Susan Candiotti is outside that federal courthouse in New York.
And, Susan, let's talk about those -- those papers filed in New York. Why does she say she does -- did this?
SUSAN CANDIOTTI, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, according to these court papers, she allegedly told the FBI that she snatched the baby from the hospital back in 1987 because she so badly wanted to be a mother herself because she had suffered a number of miscarriages.
So, the shocking thing, really, that we learned from the papers today is that, according to the FBI, she has confessed to kidnapping that baby, snatching that baby so many years ago.
And the FBI says that she said that she was sorry about it. She said Pettway -- they said that Pettway is truly sorry and that she said what she did is totally unacceptable and added the following -- quote -- that she is sorry and knows that she has caused a lot of pain.
BALDWIN: Hmm.
CANDIOTTI: So, right now, we're waiting for her to make her very first -- first court appearance today. And we will have to find out whether it will turn into more than that.
If, indeed, she really has confessed to this, could she now be meeting behind closed doors with her lawyer, and might she be prepared to enter a plea...
BALDWIN: Hmm.
CANDIOTTI: ... at -- at some time in the future, if not today? Perhaps the judge will be able to walk us through all this, or will her defense attorney challenge the statements that she allegedly made to the FBI? We will have to see.
BALDWIN: Well, what about this, Susan, as -- as we're waiting for her -- her hearing to get under way?
Over the course of the last couple of days, we know Pettway was spotted over the weekend. I want you to tell me about that, where was she, who -- who spotted her, and how she ultimately turned herself in this.
CANDIOTTI: Well, certainly, it was a big break in the case when she was spotted on Saturday at a pawn shop in Bridgeport, Connecticut. She has a lot of family there. And, up until that time, no one really knew where she was.
The store employee thought that he recognized her from media reports, but she was in and out quickly, after trying to sell some jewelry, didn't like the price, and she left. But that employee contacted police. They looked at the surveillance video, confirmed it was her.
And then, the next day, a law enforcement source tells me that Pettway contacted a member of the Bridgeport, Connecticut, Police Department through that person's Facebook page because she knew that officer. And, in fact, that's when the arrangement was made for her to turn herself in to the FBI on Sunday.
BALDWIN: Through Facebook, how about that, Susan Candiotti?
Let us know -- keep us posted on that hearing and let us know if she does enter a plea. We will be waiting and watching.
Susan, thank you.
And, as President Obama gets ready for tomorrow's big State of the Union address, his approval rating hits its highest level in more than a year. We're going to take a closer look at that next.
And then, we're going to have a little bit more on Oprah's big announcement that she has -- well -- just wait for it. If you haven't heard, we will tell you coming up.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
BALDWIN: Former Senator George Allen back in the game. Allen announced today that he will be running for his old Senate seat, same seat he lost just about six years ago, due in large part to this remark on the campaign trail in Virginia.
Remember this?
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP, AUGUST 2005)
SEN. GEORGE ALLEN (R), VIRGINIA: This fellow here, over here, with the yellow shirt, macaca, or whatever his name is, he's with my opponent. And he's following us around everywhere.
And let's give a round to macaca here.
(CHEERING AND APPLAUSE)
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BALDWIN: Hmm. Well, that M-word turned out to be an obscure racial slur. Republican Allen claimed he had never heard of it, just made it up himself.
And now something we actually touched on Friday: the president's new embrace of Ronald Reagan. As if on cue today, President Obama has penned a tribute to, yes, the Gipper.
(LAUGHTER)
BALDWIN: From an op-ed page -- Did you read this? -- this was "USA Today" today.
This is what the president -- quote -- "He understood that while we may see the world differently and hold different opinions about what's best for our country, the fact remains that we are all patriots who put the welfare of our fellow citizens above all else."
Jessica Yellin, we bring you back...
(LAUGHTER)
YELLIN: Thank you.
BALDWIN: ... our national political correspondent.
You know, we keep hearing about date night up there on Capitol Hill.
Has -- has President Obama fallen for Ronald Reagan?
(LAUGHTER)
YELLIN: You think his heart belongs to the Gipper?
(LAUGHTER)
YELLIN: Well, you know, we have talked about the president invoking Reagan periodically. And I -- it's not surprising that he would do so right now, as he's trying to reach out to center and moderate Republicans and at the 100-year mark of this Reagan anniversary coming up.
But, you know, some of these efforts, Brooke, to reach out across party lines have been paying off. The president's approval rating is up, way up. It's over 50 percent. It's at 55 percent -- that is great news inside the White House -- and up from 48 percent in December, an incredible climb in a short period of time.
So, because I knew you were going to ask me about Reagan, I...
(LAUGHTER)
YELLIN: ... looked at how he compares to the president he so reveres, Ronald Reagan.
OK. A lot of people don't remember this. That's the graph of Reagan's approval during his first two years. Now, you might not remember he became that unpopular. He started out at 55 percent in February of 1981, but, by January of '83, about this point in, he...
BALDWIN: Mm-hmm.
YELLIN: ... was down to 35 percent.
BALDWIN: Thirty-five...
(CROSSTALK)
YELLIN: Yes.
So we did an overview of -- looked at Obama's approval ratings. That's President Obama. He started out 76 percent, went down, and now up to 55 percent. But we overlaid the two, and...
BALDWIN: Hmm.
YELLIN: ... you can see how the two sort of match a little bit. Reagan went down. And then, right after this point, Reagan started coming back up. So there are some parallels there, a lot having to do with the economy in Reagan's case, too. BALDWIN: So, back on Reagan, though, perhaps Reagan would be rolling in his grave if he heard the president speaking tomorrow night, because we know that Obama is going to call for more, not less, more government spending. In fact, it's being suggested we might hear something like this. Listen.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP, DECEMBER 6, 2010)
OBAMA: The investments I have talked about in education and innovation and infrastructure have historically commanded the support from both Democrats and Republicans.
It was Abraham Lincoln who launched the Transcontinental Railroad and opened the National Academy of Sciences. He did it in the middle of a war, by the way. Dwight Eisenhower helped build our highways. Republican members of Congress worked with FDR to pass the G.I. Bill.
So, the point is, there should not be any inherent ideological differences that prevent Democrats and Republicans from making our economy more competitive with the rest of the world.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BALDWIN: So, Jess, since a lot of people's ears perk when they hear "government spending," do we know specifics, what kind of spending he's going to propose?
YELLIN: Well, broadly speaking, you would expect him to speak about infrastructure spending, like high-speed rail. This is what we have been given reason to believe we should expect, spending on education, spending on things like green jobs and energy.
But they call it investment, which is, they say, a proper role of government. Of course, in this environment, Republicans say they won't hear of it.
Here was Senate majority leader -- Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, the Republican in the Senate, speaking over the weekend.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP, "FOX NEWS SUNDAY")
SEN. MITCH MCCONNELL (R-KY), MINORITY LEADER: With all due respect to our Democratic friends, any time they want to spend, they call it investment. So, I think you will hear the president talk about investing a lot Tuesday night.
We will take a look at his recommendations. We always do. But this is not a time to be looking at pumping up government spending in very many areas.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
YELLIN: Now, Brooke, obviously, holding the line on spending is a key mandate for Republicans right now.
But I will tell you that some Republicans outside elected office, you know, advisers, confessed to me they worry that the party does risk ceding ground on sort of the optimism, excitement about the future to the president if the GOP doesn't get on board any kind of investment agenda.
BALDWIN: Hmm.
YELLIN: And that's what President Obama will look to try to exploit.
BALDWIN: We will watch and look for those specifics tomorrow night...
YELLIN: Yes.
BALDWIN: ... State of the Union.
Jessica Yellin, thank you.
And back on a story Jessica was covering for us at the top of the show here about Rahm Emanuel -- a court in Illinois just ruling that former White House Chief of Staff Rahm Emanuel is not eligible to run for mayor of Chicago. We are going to get into why that is and have his reaction coming up.
Also, the Post Office announcing more massive cuts. How does that affect you?
And we are live at the federal courthouse there in Phoenix -- Phoenix. There are live pictures outside, where any minute now we are expecting 22-year-old Jared Lee Loughner to arrive to face more charges here for his alleged role in that shooting that killed six people and critically injured Congresswoman Giffords -- more on that coming up.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
BALDWIN: Just a reminder: We are watching and waiting for the alleged shooting suspect, Jared Lee Loughner, to appear inside that Phoenix federal courthouse. These are live pictures. He is there. He's going to be arraigned on those three counts of attempted assassination and attempted murder in that U.S. district court in Phoenix before District Judge Larry Burns.
Keep in mind, a lot of those -- or, actually, all of those Arizona federal judges recused themselves because their colleague, federal Judge John Roll, who was shot and killed in those shootings, because of that connection. So, it's actually a judge who came in from San Diego.
As soon as he gets out of there, Ted Rowlands -- we will get an update as to how that court appearance went.
Moving on here, talking about Oprah. There was quite an announcement today. Oprah has been saying for days and days she has this big, big announcement. And, today, she made it. The queen of daytime talk has a half-sister, a half-sister she apparently knew nothing about.
Oprah told her TV audience today that her mother had kept a secret from her, that she had had another baby girl and had put her up for adoption. Winfrey says she chose to wait to announce this family development herself to prevent the media from exploiting the news.
A couple other top stories I want to pass along here.
First, a man suspected of gunning down two police officers this morning has been found dead in his Saint Petersburg, Florida, home. This has going -- been going on, I should say, all day long. The alleged shooter was holed up in his house for about six hours after this whole shoot-out with police.
Investigators believe the guy started shooting at the officers when they showed up this morning to serve him with an aggravated battery warrant. And, about an hour ago, police were tearing into this home with a backhoe, just trying to get to him.
According to local news report, people who live in the neighborhood are now being allowed back in their homes. A third officer, a U.S. deputy marshal, was injured in the shoot-out. The chief says the two police officers kill -- quote -- "died as heroes." The story is still unfolding. We will keep watching it for you.
The U.S. Postal Service trying to save a lot of money. Starting in March, they're going to start working on this plan to close as many as 2,000 locations this year. Another 491 closures are already under way. The Postal Service says -- this is what is important here -- no post offices will be closed. I'm talking specific -- specifically about stations and branches here to be targeted. They're -- they're smaller than post offices and don't handle mail processing.
And, you know, we all get the letters in the mail. We have to perform our civic duties, right? And you don't get a pass for jury duty, even if you are the vice president.
(LAUGHTER)
BALDWIN: That's why Joe Biden reported to a courthouse this morning in Wilmington, Delaware. But, shocker, he was dismissed after a couple of hours.
Now, the vice president, mind you, not the only one who this happened to recently of his sort of stature. Supreme Court Justice Elena Kagan showed up to serve at a D.C. Superior Court last week, and she too was sent home.
A real pioneer in the fitness movement has died. Jack LaLanne was all about exercising and eating right, and here he is on the workout show he hosted for more than 30 years starting way back in 1951. Even in his 90s LaLanne started the day with a not one but two- hour workout. Jack LaLanne died of respiratory failure due to pneumonia. He was 96-years-old.
Still ahead here, what Robert F. Kennedy Jr. wants you to know. (BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
ROBERT F. KENNEDY, JR., "THE LAST MOUNTAIN": I recently flew over the coal fields of the Appalachians and I saw something that if the American people could see it there would be a revolution in this country.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BALDWIN: Coming up, I'll be speaking with him live about this documentary now playing at the Sundance Film Festival.
And we again are live watching and waiting the situation inside the federal courthouse in Phoenix, Arizona. As soon as we get an update on the accused Tucson shooter, Jared Lee Loughner, we'll pass that along in a live report. Stay here.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
BALDWIN: It is apparently so, so cold in the northeast today that Amtrak has canceled service between New York City and Albany for the rest of the day. The company says subzero temperatures causing equipment to freeze and it doesn't want to take any chances.
(WEATHER BREAK)
BALDWIN: Coming up next, we are talking to Robert Kennedy Jr. who is taking on the coal industry.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
KENNEDY: They use 2,500 tons of explosives every day, an explosive power the size of Hiroshima bomb once a week.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BALDWIN: Explosive. What is he talking about? Coming back, I'll talk to him live about this documentary now playing at the Sundance Film Festival. Also I'll be talking to the director.
Then, have you seen this unbelievable video? Amazingly no one got hurt. Look at that. We'll explain what happened when we come back.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
BALDWIN: You think you've had a tough commute? Wait until you see this. Let's look at this together here. This driver making his way down the highway. This is Canada. Watch screen left. Watch, watch, bam, a tractor trailer flips over, smashes into the guardrail. Amazingly, police say the driver was not injured. Look at that.
Now, as President Obama gets ready to deliver tomorrow night's state of the union address, his opponents are getting ready to react to whatever it is he may be saying. CNN has decided to take an unbiased look at our state of the union by talking to leading experts in various fields.
Right now I want to focus on the state of the infrastructure with Tom Foreman who is in Washington to break all of this down for me. Tom Foreman with the magic wall, magic map, when we say infrastructure, what are we talking about specifically?
TOM FOREMAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: We're talking about our roads, bridge, dams, levees, all of these things we rely on all the time. And the American society of civil engineers issues regular report cards where they consult with experts all over the country who study all of this. What they're saying over and over again is that it is pretty weak when we look at all the systems we rely on.
Let's start with bridges. We've had some terrible incidents in recent years where we've had bridges closed in big way. We've had big collapses like the one in Minneapolis you may recall. There's no surprise it's happening because the society says that one in four bridges in this country right now is either structurally deficient, meaning it needs some kind of repair in the process, or that it is simply obsolete. It's not made to handle the type of loads that we have today and the type of traffic we have today.
That's one of the big problems out there, Brooke, right now, when you look at simply the question of handling bridges.
BALDWIN: So that's bridges. What about something as simple as water systems, tom?
FOREMAN: Water systems, this is a really interesting one. This is the kind of thing, they'll tell you in a heartbeat, people don't think about a lot. You go to the faucet, get water. Everything seems fine. But you've seen the stories lately about the massive leaks in water lines where you see water spewing into the streets, turning roads into rivers.
This is no accident that this is happening. This is happening because this has been going on for many, many, many years. Many water systems are very old. They don't have the money to repair them. They don't have the money to keep up with the growing demand.
You know what their estimate is? This is absolutely astonishing.
BALDWIN: What?
FOREMAN: It's seven billion gallons of clean drinking water are leaking every day through pipe that's are simply leaky.
Electricity, here is another one, same story, we all count on electricity in everything we do all the time. Look at this. We have all of this electrical it demand in this country. The demand is so far outpacing the supply that we've had our electricity demand grow by 25 percent since 1990, but we're just not really keeping up with that.
And all of this just keeps growing and growing and growing. The real problem is they say it's a patch and pray methods, what's going on in too many places. We're not really investing in new growth, not really investing in maintaining the old one. We just slap on a patch and say, we pray this will work and keep things going. You see the power supplies failures, water failures, bridge failures.
BALDWIN: You said seven billion gallons of perfectly fine drinking water? That's terrible. You give me the gloom and doom. Give me a bright spot, something that looks optimistic.
(LAUGHTER)
FOREMAN: Here is a bright spot. This is a bright spot. It may not seem much of a bright spot, but it really is. Solid waste disposal, this is really -- you wouldn't think this is something we're doing well on.
BALDWIN: We're doing good with waste?
FOREMAN: Yes, mainly because we haven't substantially increased the amount of waste that each one of us generates year to year. We're still kind of about the same we were some time back, but we're doing a much better job moving toward recycling of a lot of this waste. So by and large we're at least holding our own, maybe making some progress there.
We do have to keep an eye on electronic waste, Brooke. All the old cell phones and computers and printers we're throwing away, those things are really a problem. If you ever go out to a dump, it's just the most astonishing thing to see the mountains of old computers and old phones. And it's this electronic throwaway culture we have. But overall this is one of our improvements.
The bottom line, Brooke, is you can't fix these kinds of problems quickly. They build up over a very long period of time. There's nothing glamorous about fixing it, so politicians aren't thrilled to say, let me go put a plaque on the repaired water pipe because it doesn't seem very exciting. But this is the nuts and bolts of making our country and our economy run.
BALDWIN: Absolutely.
FOREMAN: If we don't get serious about it, the long-term cost of this unglamorous work is much, much, much more devastating than some of the flashy things out there.
BALDWIN: It's unglamorous but crucial. Tom Foreman with the breakdown on the infrastructure, we'll watch and see where the president goes with that in the State of the Union. Thank you, sir.
FOREMAN: Thank you.
BALDWIN: And don't forget to watch CNN and CNN.com tomorrow night for president Obama's State of the Union address. Our prime- time coverage will begin with the best political television. Don't miss that at 7:00, then the state of the union at 9:00, followed by the Republican response and a full wrap up with reaction and analysis anchored by Anderson Cooper. Now, we've been watching the developments inside the federal Phoenix courtroom where Tucson shooting suspect Jared Lee Loughner has entered a plea. I want to go to Ted Rowlands just outside from the courtroom. Ted, what did he enter?
TED ROWLANDS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, he entered a not guilty plea on the three counts. When he was asked to enter a plea, his attorney Judy Clark said they would like the court to enter the plea for him. So the judge did so.
Little different look to Jared lee Loughner today in court compared to his last appearance. His hair had grown out and that smile, that disgusting smirk that you saw on that photo that was taken of him, well, that was back on his face as he came into the courtroom and then as he sat at the defense table.
They brought him out a little early so he had sort of this awkward ten minutes before the judge took the bench where he was just sitting in this courtroom with his lawyers and there was dead silence. But he was looking around, smiling. At one point I saw him even chuckling a little bit. He seemed to, unlike the first appearance, where he seemed nervous and focused, he seemed to in his own way I guess maybe enjoying the attention that he was getting. That was the big difference.
The other things -- go ahead.
BALDWIN: No. I'm just sort of reacting to the disgusting smirk back on his face. Go ahead. Do we have a trial date set?
ROWLANDS: Yes. Well, here's basically what transpired. He entered these pleas of not guilty, the court did on his behalf. One interesting thing the judge asked both attorneys, are you worried about the defendant's competence? Does he understand the proceedings? What's going on?
And Loughner's lawyer, Judy Clark, said, we don't have that concern at this time, your honor. Then the prosecution was asked the same question, and they said the same thing. Well, at this time we don't have that concern, but we may in the future, which was a little bit surprising coming from the prosecution's side, sort of putting that in play the mental competence of this defendant may be a major factor moving forward.
We still don't have the indictments on the two murder charges. The judge asked when he could expect those additional charges. The prosecution said within 30 to 45 days. What they've done is rather than set any sort of a trial date, they're setting a status conference for March 9th, giving the prosecution more opportunities for more charges. But the headline here is Jared Loughner's smile was back on his face in his second court appearance.
BALDWIN: Ted Rowlands for me Pn phoenix. Thanks for the update.
Still to come, what Robert Kennedy Jr. wants you to know.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
KENNEDY: I recently flew over the coalfields of the appalachians and I saw something that if the American people could see it there would be a revolution in this country.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BALDWIN: Coming up, I will be talking to him about his documentary and also be talking to the director, Bill Haney, about this documentary now playing at the Sundance Film Festival, story of David and Goliath, coming up.
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BALDWIN: Joining me now live from the Sundance Film Festival, Robert Kennedy Jr. and documentary director Bill Haney. Gentlemen, good to have you on. Listen, you and I both know mountaintop removal it's nothing new, so what was it about the Coal River Mountain in this community's fight that caught your eye? Robert, to you first.
KENNEDY: Well, there's nothing new about mountaintop removing mining. It accelerated during the beginning of the Bush administration dramatically. It was made legal for the first time, and since then we've cut down 1.4 million acres, the area the size of Delaware flattened, 500 of the biggest mountains in West Virginia, and we've buried almost 2,000 miles of rivers and streams.
Mainly one company, Massie Coal, and this story is about one of the last big mountains left in the coal fields of West Virginia that hasn't been flattened, and there's a group of people who live there who finally said we're not going to take it anymore, and they have mounted a battle against the coal industry to save their communities, to save their jobs and to save their mountains, their rivers and streams and the health of their children.
BALDWIN: Now before we continue, I do want to say we reached out, CNN reached out to Massie Energy and also Senator Manchin, once governor of West Virginia, to comment on your film and. And you know, Massie's PR folks told us they didn't know what we were talking about. They weren't familiar with it.
So I know, Bill, you've talked about how this is sort of a David and Goliath story, but, you know, if you're taking on goliath, if Goliath doesn't know they are doing battle with you, what's your response to them? Bill and then Robert.
BILL HANEY, DIRECTOR, "THE LAST MOUNTAIN": Well, I mean, so two things. First, the David and Goliath story isn't about us. It's about the local activists risking everything to stand up for the health and welfare of their community and the battle taking place at the last mountain is a fight for the last great mountain in Appalachia between the mining company Massie that wants to blow it up and rip the coal and the locals that want to stop them and build a wind farm instead. And it's a fight of citizen democracy against corporate power. And we in fact did repeatedly off the CEO of Massie Coal to participate in the film and chose not to take advantage of it but suggested that we talk to the head of the West Virginia coal association which we did repeatedly.
KENNEDY: Brooke --
BALDWIN: We know Mr. Blankenship is no longer CEO with the company but as you were shooting your documentary he was. Go ahead, Robert, jump in.
KENNEDY: Well, one of the big issues is that we talk about is the subversion of democracy in this state that goes hand in hand with the destruction of the environment, that the democracy is destroyed at the local level, the citizen participation is eroded, that the agencies supposed to protect the public from big pollution and industry have been captured by the industries and have been sock puppets for these industries.
And these people are trying to battle the state agencies, and the government of West Virginia -- virtually all of the relevant officials have been corrupted, including the judges have been corrupted by the industry.
But one of the most effective tools of the industry has been able to Marshall has they have been able to disable the press in West Virginia and across the country so they don't cover this issue and that's one of the reasons why people haven't heard of this is because -- we're grateful for you because you're one of the few reporters that is actually consistently covered this issue, but most of them are out there covering Britney Spears slow promotional decline.
BALDWIN: We want to showcase your documentary. And to Bill's point. I know a lot of this story is really propelled by the members of the community. I've lived and work in West Virginia and know about the effects of mountaintop removal, specifically in flash flooding. There's a woman Maria. I want to play this clip. It shows a woman named Maria whose home was almost washed away. Let's watch this and we'll talk on the other side.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: About 4:30 in the evening it started raining, and it was pretty heavy rain. I think we ended up with like 4.5 inches of rain in four hours. There was nothing there to absorb the rainfall, and when it came washing off the rock back here, it come washing of in a torrent. And it turned this little tiny stream into a raging river that ran, well, it cut a chasm through our property 67 feet wide.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
KENNEDY: And she goes on to talk about how, you know, she said the rain was not an act of god, unlike perhaps what some coal companies were alleging. Bill, to you, since you brought up the whole point -- what do you want viewers of the documentary to take away from Maria's stories and other stories in the D.C.?
HANEY: I think the most important thing to take away is the power of the Americans who have a passion. This wonderful waitress decided to fight -- first, she started standing up for her rights and when the local politicians didn't respond, she went to the state. When they didn't respond, she went to the courts and she began a national campaign.
And after a series of years, she's now won the Goldman Prize which is the highest environmental prize in the country, the biggest mine, already permitted in this country was stopped this week by the EPA. Massie has had mines shut down as a consequence of activism like hers.
So she's a wonderful example of an ordinary American's ability to find something extraordinary in themselves when they want to take democracy back, and I hope people who see this will find this uplifting.
BALDWIN: I understand, but at the same time you have to play the other side of the card. If you're in West Virginia all the billboards up saying "Coal fuels jobs." Robert, what's your message to the thousands of coal miners who really rely on coal to feed their families?
KENNEDY: Well, coal has not brought prosperity to West Virginia. Coal has brought poverty to West Virginia, and this is a talking -- industry talking point. You know, again and again, again the press doesn't question.
But the most recent study shows that for every dollar that coal brings to the state of West Virginia, the state loses $5 in subsidies and through other losses. West Virginia, my father used to say, ought to be the richest state in the country because of the number of resources, the amount of resources in the state, but instead it's the 49th poorest state in the country. It has some of the west health, and the closer you get to the coal fields, the poorer the people get.
And 95 percent of the coal in West Virginia is owned by out-of- state interests and they have broken the unions so they are leaving nothing in that state except for denuded landscapes that will promise nothing but permanent poverty to the people of West Virginia.
And in the meantime they are keeping sustainable industries out of the state because nobody is going to put a business in a state where they are dropping a bomb the size of the Hiroshima bomb once a week.
(CROSSTALK)
BALDWIN: I hear the passion in both your voices and I'm just about out of time, and I just want to finally ask, Robert, documentary aside, you brought up your family, if I could ask quickly here about the passing of Sargent Shriver. We covered it over the weekend, really made a career of political activism and service. And I'm just curious what message would he want to pass along, Robert, to America's youth?
KENNEDY: Well, you know, it's the same message that we try -- tried to get across in this film which is that you have to participate for the democracy to work, and if we don't participate, our democracy is going to end up in a place which is just like the kind of corporate kleptocracy, a feudal system that our ancestors fled from the United States to Europe to escape, and that's what happened in West Virginia. If you want to see a glimpse of the future that Sargent Shriver was fighting to avoid, go to West Virginia and see how the corporations are running that state and running it into the ground.
HANEY: And the kids who are fighting back, the kids who are coming from all over America in the green equivalent of Selma, hundreds of which have been arrested in West Virginia who are fighting just like the people in Sargent Shriver's generation did for the right to clean water and clean air.
BALDWIN: I understand. They are fighting and can you see that fight is very evident in your documentary. It is called "The Last Mountain." Robert F. Kennedy Jr. and Bill Haney, thank you so much. I wish I had more time, but I do not. Enjoy Sundance, both of you.
And when we come back, I'm going to take you live to Russia for the very latest on today's mass airport bombing. Stay there.
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