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Chaos in Cairo; Serial Killer in New York?; President's Reaction to SOTU Speech Leak; Google's Hiring Surge; Cruel Call to Victim's Sister; New Detention Facilities Commander; Tax Cut Deal Puts Deficit at $1.5T; Alleged Natural-Born Killer; Cop Accused in Sex Assaults
Aired January 26, 2011 - 16:01 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
BROOKE BALDWIN, CNN ANCHOR: And now, watch this.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
BALDWIN (voice-over): A woman goes missing and then her family gets taunting phone calls. Could they have come from a possible serial killer?
I'm Brooke Baldwin. The news is now.
(voice-over): It's our big fly on the wall moment. A microphone picks up everything the president says offline, from the nice --
BARACK OBAMA, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: How are you? Good to see you.
BALDWIN: To the awkward.
OBAMA: You shaved the beard, huh?
BALDWIN: Plus, new chaos in Cairo, thousands protesting their government, and now police are taking them on. The rage, the anger. So what happens next?
A young boy accused of cold-blooded murder. Police say he took a shotgun, aimed the barrel at a pregnant woman and pulled the trigger. Will he be the youngest person ever to get life in prison without parole? We're on the case.
And the window is open. The guy in cuffs sees his moment, and there he goes -- his exit strategy caught on video.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
BALDWIN: And welcome, everyone. I'm Brooke Baldwin.
There is an urgent situation developing right now in Egypt. I'm going to get to that in just a second here.
But, first, we have some breaking news I want to get right to on the shooting investigate out of Tucson. Let's go to Susan Candiotti, joining me now by phone.
And, Susan, what are you learning?
SUSAN CANDIOTTI, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: The development that's coming out of the investigation comes to us from a law enforcement source who tells us that the accused shooter, Jared Loughner, actually spent time searching the Internet, so much so that he was curious about others who had pulled off political assassinations and looked those people up.
Now, the story was first reported in "The Washington Post" online today. A law enforcement source tells CNN that Loughner spent time on the Internet as he was allegedly getting ready to carry out that attack on Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords.
A source tells us that a search of Loughner's personal computer, remember, that was seized following the attacks, indicates that he was surfing various Web sites about political killers. Now, our source declined to identify who they were. Loughner also --
BALDWIN: Oh, hate when that happens. Susan Candiotti, we lost you, but breaking news there on Jared Lee Loughner.
And after they seized his computer, what they found, him surfing some of these various political assassination Web sites. More on that hopefully momentarily.
But also happening now, we're watching and waiting for a live news conference. In fact, it looks like it's under way there out of Houston. Doctors for Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords are expected to give us a brand-new update. She moving into rehab today. We will listen on this and then pass along any important information to you.
Also just in, a face-to-face threat against the mayor of one city. The man -- this man is accused of walking right up to Sacramento's Kevin Johnson and telling him he would be out of office in exactly four hours. It happened on the street. We're told security detained this guy right away. He is now in custody for a probation violation. Police searched his home. They found no other threats against the mayor, Mayor Johnson.
Next, a Nevada city councilwoman and her husband are found dead. Donna Fairchild faced possible punishment over travel expense vouchers. Their bodies were found in a Nevada home just hours before a city council meeting where Fairchild's alleged wrongdoings were to be discussed. Police say both died from single gunshot wounds and a note was left behind.
Next, some escape attempts are just downright daring. Some are just plain dumb. Case in point, this was dumb.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: They gave him a vomit bucket to use on the transport to way -- on the way to jail. The officer gave him some air from the window, rolled the window down, not all the way, partially.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BALDWIN: So let's watch it. Watch the right side of your screen. Sitting in there, and out he goes on the highway. Apparently, a cruiser was going about 35 miles per hour on that interstate. And, amazingly, all he got was some nasty road burns. What was he wanted for? Alleged burglary. Yikes.
Next, police have captured a suspect who led them on a high-speed chase through several Chicago suburbs today. The white taxi van was stolen from a driveway. You see it there going right around a school bus? Police say the suspect pretended to be a passenger and at one point, you saw him, clipping the bus, and the taxi skidded on the ice. The suspect tried to escape.
There he goes, escaping through the window, but police were right on his heels. They did catch him. The only person on the bus, by the way, was the driver, was taken to the hospital simply as a precaution.
Next, another car chase, this one across the San Gabriel Valley in Southern California. It ended -- oh, look at that. Did you see that? I'm sure we will play it again for you, ending in a violent collision. Police say they were trying to pull over the driver of the sedan for a minor traffic violation when he sped off. The Volkswagen did not come to a stop until it was broadsided by that Mazda. Both drivers were injured and had to be hospitalized.
Next, in New York, a widow says police officers issuing her a ticket caused her husband's death. She claims two NYPD officers in Queens forced her elderly husband to walk home a half-a-mile in the snow to get her I.D. and to return the car. But shortly after he got back, Robert Hudson had a heart attack and died. Police say the officers did not send Mr. Hudson home on foot.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
ANTHONY MIRANDA, NATIONAL LATINO OFFICERS ASSOCIATION: Are you telling me that they would tell the driver of a vehicle walk away from an incident? They just said, go ahead, leave the car here? It just defies common sense. And it violates every police procedure.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BALDWIN: Well, Doris Hudson's attorney is now filing a wrongful death lawsuit.
Next, another recall from Toyota. Heads up here. The auto giant is recalling 1.5 million vehicles worldwide, including a quarter million Lexuses here in the United States made between the years 2006 and 2009. The problems, apparently were faulty fuel pipes that could cause leaks.
Next, a charter plane carrying the men's basketball team of UMass making an emergency landing in Upstate New York. We're told the pilot saw smoke in the cockpit. All the people on board the plane are fine. The players did finally make it to their game in Pennsylvania. No word yet as to what caused that problem.
Next, in Washington State, King County has settled a $10 million lawsuit. This is the result of a takedown recorded on this surveillance video. Watch this. Christopher Harris suffered a catastrophic brain injury when a sheriff's deputy slammed him into the wall. There he goes. He had been mistakenly fingered as a crime suspect. Harris is now unable to walk, talk or take care of himself. The family had originally asked for $25 million.
Next, a 6-year-old finds porn on his brand-new Nintendo. His parents bought him a used DSi system near Cincinnati. When he turned it on, let's just say he didn't see Super Mario.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
ALICIA ELAM, MOTHER: I was in shock. I mean, this is beyond unbelievable.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BALDWIN: She says she ran the game back to the store. GameStop apologized and gave her a brand-new one for free.
Next: a stunner in the medical world. The government is reporting that nearly 26 million Americans older than the age of 20 have diabetes. A quarter of those have no clue they even have the disease. Not scary enough? More than 35 percent of all adults are considered pre-diabetes -- pre-diabetic. Doctor say obesity shares a lot of that blame.
Next: Drunks need ankle bracelets. That's what a lawmaker in New Mexico is proposing. So these bracelets would monitor whether convicted drunk drivers are boozing. His argument is simple, if repeat offenders are not allowed to drink, they can't drive drunk, that simple.
And finally you know this guy. There he is, Bradley Manning, accused of giving government secrets to WikiLeaks. Well, his lawyer claims Manning is being treated unfairly in prison -- at the center of it all, a suicide watch. That's ahead.
Also, this: more chaos in Cairo, day two. It is escalating -- why thousands are so angry with their government, the rage getting louder, the situation turning deadly. There is breaking news on the violence there. That is next.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
BALDWIN: I want to get back to the breaking story out of Egypt today, day two. Protesters are locked in these violent crashes with police.
And Hala Gorani perfect person for me to sit here with and talk to here on this day doing globe trekking. And I want to begin, though, with we have our senior international correspondent, Ben Wedeman. He's been so amazing. And he's tweeted. And, guys, let's show the tweet really quickly here. And here's what he's tweeted: "We're reaching the point where we can say Egypt is in a state of revolt. President Mubarak remains silent. The state is losing its grip."
HALA GORANI, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes.
I find it very interesting. I -- throughout the years I spent working for CNN, I spent about a decade covering the Middle East. And many, many, times I have visited Egypt. And seeing these images of hundreds of people, if not thousands yesterday -- the demonstrations were a little bit smaller today, but you can see police with batons there, riot police going after protesters and demonstrators.
This is not something you see every day in Egypt. And we were talking, Brooke, a little bit before this report about images of demonstrators tearing down with knives posters --
BALDWIN: Yes. Let's show that. Let's show that video.
GORANI: -- yes, of Hosni Mubarak. It's significant because, in the Arab world, in the autocratic regimes of the Arab world, the cult of personality is an extremely important component.
BALDWIN: Here it is.
GORANI: There you have it.
We see it in Syria and other Middle Eastern countries and other Arab nations, where it's a strong centralized leadership. And tearing down posters is a very important symbolic thing.
And with the Twitter traffic we have been getting on Egypt and Facebook communication between protesters and demonstrators, these are the types of images that now circulate widely.
BALDWIN: But a lot of this conversation is, OK, well, a neighboring North African country Tunisia, and we saw what happened there, but this is really apples and oranges, because Hosni Mubarak has been in control for 30 years.
GORANI: Yes. When I spoke with the Foreign Ministry spokesperson, Hossam Zaki, yesterday he used that exact same expression, in fact. It's apples and oranges in one way and that way is that Egypt is 80 million inhabitants, Tunisia is 10 million. Egypt has, you know, a stronger military that if it goes in we might see a very strong crackdown. That's different in Tunisia as well. Tunisia has a much wider middle class.
But here's what is interesting, Brooke. I spoke with an analyst today from the Council on Foreign Relations who is in Cairo. And he told me that the demonstrators are a bit different than what we've seen in the past. No Muslim Brotherhood, that's the most organized Islamic opposition party in Egypt, and a higher socioeconomic profile of protesters. So it was more political and less economic, and that is significant. BALDWIN: Here are more iReports we're seeing through the streets. And Ben Wedeman and I were talking just a little while ago, and he said, look this, isn't just downtown Cairo -- where, by the way, the electricity has been shut off according to reports in parts of the city -- but also as far as 90 minutes out in Suez.
GORANI: In Suez, where we've seen deaths, reported deaths of protestors. In Alexandria, the second largest city in Egypt, as well, a very significant city where you know on New Year's Eve -- New Year's Day I should say, that Coptic Church was bombed --
BALDWIN: Yes.
GORANI: -- and so many people died.
Egypt is going through a time of turmoil, and here it's middle class apparently infused with the optimism of Tunisia is asking of its government to loosen its grip. And Friday, which is the day off, of course, in the Muslim world, after prayers, organizers are asking for a million-person demonstration. Will they get to that number? It's an open question, but they are not losing the fuel there that is powering these protests in Egypt apparently.
BALDWIN: We have still not seen though the president come out and speak, have we not?
GORANI: No. We have not. Over the last few days I've spoken on CNN International to members of the government, the Foreign Ministry has expressed himself, but the president himself is elderly with succession issues --
BALDWIN: He's 80.
GORANI: Yes -- with succession issues surrounding him, has not come out.
So we're going to have to wait and see, because in 1977 was the last time the military came out in Egypt, cracked down on protests. It was the so-called Bread Riots in '77. Right now what we're seeing are riot police and police and sometimes plainclothes officers. We don't see the military yet.
BALDWIN: Yet, you say.
GORANI: But if the regime feels threatened to the point that it feels it must send the military into the streets, then it's a whole new ball game for Egypt.
BALDWIN: Wow. I can't get over these pictures and this story.
GORANI: You have to remember how important Egypt is to the United States. This is the most important Arab ally for America. It's the most populist country in the Arab world, as far as the Middle East Peace Process is concerned it's important. The United States is watching this very closely. BALDWIN: As are we, Hala Gorani, and as you are. I'm sure we'll be talking about this again tomorrow. We'll see where it goes. The situation very fluid there in Cairo.
Thank you so much.
GORANI: Thank you.
BALDWIN: Developing right now also, we're learning new details about that bomb found, you remember this? It was MLK Day, the parade in Washington state. The person who made it and put it along this parade route clearly wanted to kill. We have new information there. That is ahead.
Plus, did President Obama know America could hear everything he said as he was walking to the dais? Probably not, which is why it's fascinating for us. We're eaves dropping just a little bit. We have the candid on our open mike night.
And Joe Johns, you made it to Washington. Look at you.
JOE JOHNS, CNN CONGRESSIONAL CORRESPONDENT: I'm so happy.
BALDWIN: I've got some pictures. I want to embarrass you a little bit. Actually, not really.
JOHNS: Oh, no.
BALDWIN: But we're glad you made it. We've some twit pics.
Stay there, "Political Pop" is next.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
BALDWIN: Developing right now.
You remember that bomb that was found along an MLK parade route in Washington state? Someone wanted to kill a lot of people, and according to our affiliate KREM, investigators are now saying that the explosive contained some sort of chemical mixed with shrapnel inside of that backpack that was found.
It's not yet clear exactly what kind of chemical, but police found the device in that black backpack just on a bench in Spokane where the parade was about to start. We're told that the bomb was sophisticated and capable of killing crowds of people. Police there in Spokane are on alert for other threats.
As soon as we hear more updates, we'll pass those along to you. But time now, I've been looking forward to this today -- This time now for "Political Pop" and Joe Johns is finally in D.C. after quite a trip.
And Joe Johns, I shouldn't have said we wanted to embarrass you. In fact, sir, I'm tipping my hat off to you because we weren't quite sure if you would make it because you were coming from New York, and there's a little thing called snow that happened today.
So we got your producer to take some pictures of you and the snow and why don't you just talk me through them. How bad was it?
JOHNS: Justine Redman, she was taking pictures from like the moment we got up. There was a lot of snow.
BALDWIN: Good producer.
JOHNS: And I have to tell you, we woke up in New York, it was already snowing and the airports here were telling us, yes, it's no problem, planes are going in, going out. We get in a cab, they tell us when we get almost to the airport, hey, we've cancelled your 11:30 flight, but we put you on the 12:30. Then found out 12:30 is cancelled, turns out that they put us on the 12:30 tomorrow.
BALDWIN: Oh, no good.
JOHNS: No good.
BALDWIN: And then your other pictures. Keep going, guys. Let's flip through them. We have a picture of you, here's the train tracks because you hopped on the Acela. Got lucky on Amtrak. How was the ride?
JOHNS: You know what's weird? The rain was in D.C. and it's just now starting to snow. There's a lot of snow up in New York, but once we land on the ground here, it was pretty clear. So -- but not any longer, I'm telling you. It's really coming in now. We're going to get a lot of snow, I think.
BALDWIN: So you're going to get a lot of snow, but we're glad you're there. And there's a pretty picture of the White House, snow coming down.
JOHNS: Beautiful. We haven't had much. We haven't had much snow this year.
BALDWIN: No, well, there you go. Here's your dose of snow. And since we're looking at the White House, let's talk about the president, shall we, and that little address he gave last night, the State of the Union.
And there was a camera with a microphone, and you could eaves drop, anyone could eavesdrop on what he was saying.
What did you hear?
JOHNS: You couldn't help it.
OK, first of all, low-risk speech, that's what we all know, you know, and what we're looking for then is what are the things that catch your eye? There are people trying to get autographs, there are the usual suspects trying to shake the president's hand.
But then we picked up a little talk about the president's WikiLeaks moment last night. And what I mean by that is every year when the president gives his speech, they put out excerpts from it all day long, and they give you the whole thing about 10 minutes before the speech.
But this time somehow an entire copy of the president's speech got out two hours before he gave the speech. And a national journal online, which is very thoughtful, of course, does a lot of academic stuff, actually acting more like a wire service put it out there because they pretty much had a scoop.
And when the president got to the end of the aisle right before he gave the speech, he had a little exchange with Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, and we believe the microphone picked them up talking about the release of the speech.
Let's listen.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
OBAMA: Yes, I don't need to deliver it now. Everybody saw it.
HILLARY CLINTON, SECRETARY OF STATE: Everybody saw it.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BALDWIN: I don't need to deliver it, I think. Is that what he said?
JOHNS: Exactly. I don't need to deliver it now, which was kind of cute and kind of interesting. And I was a little bit surprised that the microphone was able to pick that stuff up because usually you don't hear what people say on the floor in the situation with such specificity.
But there you go, the president of the United States experiencing his entire speech going out two hours before he was supposed to give it. I've never seen that happen before.
BALDWIN: No. It was a fun moment, and, you know, I know all of our "Best Political Team on Television" were all talking, but I wanted to get closer to my television and listen to what the president was saying to all these, you know, big wigs on Capitol Hill.
What else, Joe? You have anything else from last night?
JOHNS: No, not really. There were the usual things that you see out there on the floor of the House of Representatives.
And I think probably the one thing you can say about this president's speech, and I am sure it's been said by someone, is there are State of the Unions where presidents really have a statement to make, something they have to say. What comes to mind most recently was President George W. Bush in 2003 making the case for invading Iraq. This, for Barack Obama, was not one of those moments.
BALDWIN: Yes. JOHNS: But, you know, he gave a good speech. It just wasn't one of those magic moments that had to transform the nation, and a lot of people are saying he did fine.
BALDWIN: He did fine.
Joe Johns, go out and enjoy the snow, for all of us here in Atlanta. Joe, thank you.
JOHNS: Thank you so much, Brooke.
BALDWIN: A major company is announcing a big-time hiring surge, so what is Google looking for? That's ahead.
And, you know, we all love certain brands, but what would you do if your favorite product just poof, vanished, disappeared from the store shelves? One item is going for big, big bucks online, and the bidding war is getting heated. That is next.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
BALDWIN: There's something I never thought I would be talking about on television. Let me get to that in just a moment here, but first this.
You want to work at Google? I've been to their Mountain View Campus. It is amazing. So they are hiring big time.
Alison Kosik is live in New York.
Alison, what is Google and who is Google looking for?
ALISON KOSIK, CNN BUSINESS CORRESPONDENT: We know Google as the search engine, but, you know, this is a company really growing in the tech world. It says it's going to be hiring people, and a lot of people, Brooke. I'm talking more than 6,000 people.
And if you're looking for a job and can get one of those jobs at this place, I'll tell you what, Google has great perks. It's known for its free food, free laundry, table tennis, I mean I'm talking right on the campus of where Google is located. There's even a climbing wall in the office, and if you want to get an oil change, you can you get that, too, while you're at work.
Keep this in mind, Brooke. Google recently gave work ears 10 percent pay raise. When was the last time we heard anyone getting a pay raise and one for 10 percent at that?
BALDWIN: Yes, they have something like you're 20 percent time. They pay you to not do work, so you can come up with something new and different like some guy came up with Gmail by doing that. So good luck to anybody who wants to be there.
KOSIK: It's all about being creative.
BALDWIN: I know, exactly. Let's move on to another topic, something I never thought I would be talking about. And gentlemen, this is for the ladies.
KOSIK: Me either.
BALDWIN: The guys can listen to this as well.
Apparently, a certain brand of certain something vanished from the store shelves and it is hot, hot, hot now online.
KOSIK: Didn't you even say the word, tampons, say it tampons, we're talking about tampons, Brooke. Yes, talk about brand loyalty. This is all about the brand OB. What happened is this brand of tampons just disappeared off the shelves and a huge consumer sort of outrage followed this. Johnson & Johnson put out a statement saying it was because of a supply disruption and began actually printing -- shipping the product again to stores just a few weeks ago so you may start to see those boxes back on those shelves. But I'll tell you what. This happened right in the fall, right around the company -- around the time the company discontinued a different version of the tampon, saying it was a business decision, and I'll tell you what. Women were peeved. They even went to eBay, Brooke, to buy these boxes of tampons.
BALDWIN: How much are they going for?
KOSIK: Three boxes were bid up from 99 cents. Now they are sitting at $81 for three boxes of tampons. Are you kidding me?
BALDWIN: Wow, I can't believe it. I can't believe it.
KOSIK: Cult-like loyalty.
BALDWIN: People are brand loyal. Alison Kosik, you're a good woman. Thank you so much.
KOSIK: No problem.
BALDWIN: And you know, earlier in this newscast we showed you a picture of Elton John and his partner David Furnish on a magazine cover with their new baby. We actually showed you it in "OK" magazine. But it's also on the "US Weekly" cover and it's this magazine, this particular one, that was covered up in a grocery store in Arkansas. You've seen those censor shields they sometimes use in the grocery store aisle when images or magazines are a tad too provocative, too adult, you don't want the kids to see the cover.
Well some people thought it a tad strange that an Elton John picture would be considered offensive. Well we now have heard from the grocery store. We've heard from the grocery store chain at the center of the story. And this is what they say. This is Harps Food Stores. They tell us this was an isolated incident. A store manager got complaints and shielded the magazine. Harps says, quote, "Our true intention is not to offend anyone in our stores and this incident happened at just one of our 65 locations which when brought to our attention, we reversed." Thank you, Harps, for letting us know and getting us your response. Appreciate that.
Police find four bodies on this beach, actually on a road just near this beach in New York, and now as police are hunting for a serial killer, there is word the suspect may have called one of the victim's families from the victim's phone. Could he be taunting them? That's ahead.
Plus, big news on the condition of Congresswoman Gabby Giffords. They just finished up a news conference in Houston. We're going to take you there live. They are lining up now. "Reporter Roulette" times four. Look at that. That's next.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
BALDWIN: Here we go today. We have a cruel twist in a serial murder case. Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords improves. A command change at a facility for WikiLeaks suspect and another winter blast. "Reporter Roulette" times four today and I want to begin now with Allan Chernoff in New York.
And Allan, we've been covering the serial murder investigation. We're finding out that the sister of one of the victims here got this taunting phone call from her dead sister's phone. What do we know about these calls, Allan?
ALLAN CHERNOFF, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Very chilling twist here. There actually were three calls. A man used Melissa Barthelemy's phone call, her actual cell phone, to call her sister and told her sister that quote, her sister, Melissa, had been working as quote, "a whore." Now the calls were made from midtown Manhattan. They were traced there, but the man didn't stay on the phone long enough for police to actually track them.
BALDWIN: And we know that this has just come out the same week that her remains were identified.
CHERNOFF: Yes. Indeed they were identified on Monday. She was one of four women who had been working as prostitutes advertising online. Their bodies were found wrapped in burlap along Gilgo Beach which is very -- in a very desolate, deserted area. It's just east of Jones Beach. People know this popular beach, but this is an area that very, very few people go to.
BALDWIN: Allan Chernoff in New York. Allan, thank you.
Next on "Reporter Roulette," I want to Elizabeth Cohen who is in Houston for us where Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords was moved there today, very encouraging. This time this is the rehab hospital, Elizabeth. You just stepped out of that briefing. What did you learn?
ELIZABETH COHEN, CNN SR. MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT: What we learned from doctors, Brooke, is that they say she's making terrific progress. They say they see improvements every day and that's really what they are looking for, that she's getting a little bit better every day. They managed to take the drain out of her head. She had hydrocephalus. A lot of concern about that extra fluid, but they say that's resolved itself. Now still having said that, she is still not speaking. She is still not sitting on her own. She is not standing on her own. She's going to have to go through intensive rehabilitation here at the hospital behind me to my right. And that's going to take months. It's a marathon, not a sprint. Brooke?
BALDWIN: Did you hear or see at all from her astronaut husband Mark Kelly who also is facing a pretty daunting decision. Does he go into space or does he stay by his wife's side?
COHEN: No, you know what, he wasn't at this press conference and he was at press conferences when his wife was in Arizona. And in fact the doctors here in Houston made a point of saying they were only going to speak in general terms about her recovery at the request of her family, so I think we're seeing a little bit of pulling back, wanting some privacy for his wife.
BALDWIN: Understandable. Elizabeth Cohen in Houston. Thank you.
And next to Chris Lawrence at the Pentagon. Chris, a command change at a facility where WikiLeaks suspect Bradley Manning is being held. Could Private First Class Manning be in for a change in how he's being imprisoned?
CHRIS LAWRENCE, CNN PENTAGON CORRESPONDENT: It's possible, Brooke, yeah. The military has switched commanders now. There's a new commander that the military at Quantico, Virginia, and Bradley Manning's lawyer hopes that this new commander will review his status. Right now he's in something called a prevention of injury status. It restricts a lot of his movements. His attorney has been arguing that even the forensic psychologists who have examined him say there's no need for that status, that he's not a danger to himself or anyone else, so he's hoping that the new commander may take another look and reduce his restrictions.
BALDWIN: Prevention of injury status. What does that mean? What is he allowed to do or not do right now?
LAWRENCE: Well, all of the detainees at Quantico all are in single cells, so they are all alone in their cell, but this means that Private Manning is in that cell for 23 hours a day. He's only allowed out for one hour to go to a room where he can walk around. That's his exercise for the day. He's allowed one book at a time, and at night he has to take off all his clothes and hand them in, except for his underwear, hand them to the guards before he goes to sleep.
BALDWIN: Wow, how about that. Thanks for the update.
And finally here on "Reporter Roulette," meteorologist Bonnie Schneider. Bonnie, more snow and more delays.
BONNIE SCHNEIDER, AMS METEOROLOGIST: That's right. This has been an incredible winter so far, Brooke. It's our third Nor'easter, and we're not even done with winter. This storm has delays, five hours at Newark, New Jersey, La Guardia. You're looking at a picture of the White House in Washington. More snow is ahead for you, at least six inches tonight. So we're not done with this wintry weather in the Northeast. Strong winds and even coastal flooding is possible. Check out New York City. You can see the traffic is barely moving. People have their lights on and going slow because it's a combination of slow and slush in the Northeast. Again, it is not over yet.
BALDWIN: I know you mentioned Washington all the way up to New York. What about the south? Got hit last time. What about this time?
SCHNEIDER: Well, the South interestingly enough has already shattered records in terms what have we would normally see for snowfall. You're looking at pictures of Nashville, Tennessee.
BALDWIN: Look at that.
SCHNEIDER: It's incredible that we're talking about Tennessee, Tennessee, Mississippi, Georgia. For Nashville specifically we're seeing six inches above normal of what the wintry snowfall would be as of this date. Normally we only see a few inches and we already have nine inches for the season and more possibly ahead. The pattern is persisting to bring more winter storms to the south and the Northeast.
BALDWIN: Pretty to look at. Not pretty to travel in, Bonnie. Thank you so much. And that is your "Reporter Roulette" for this Wednesday.
Here's the question. Does Michael Vick deserve an endorsement deal? Well, he just got one. So which company is adding the controversial quarterback? That is ahead. Plus Dennis Kucinich is suing a congressional cafeteria for real. So what did he find in a little something he bit into? Jessica Yellin is standing by with that. That's next.
But first this, is football giving your city the blues? According to this news study, if you live in one of these following cities, then yes. Your city is depressed about its NFL franchise. Cue the music. Rounding out the number five spot, San Diego. Number four, Houston, depressed. Number three, you have Cincinnati. So could you be living -- who could it be in one of the top two cities depressed about their NFL franchise? Can you guess? We have the answer after the break. Stay there.
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BALDWIN: Are you bummed about your football team's performance this year? Well, you may not be alone. Yes, I see nods in the studio. In fact, according to a new report you might be living in a city depressed over its NFL live in a city depressed over its NFL franchise. And coming in at number two, sorry, Falcon fans, that is Atlanta. And the number one, did you guess, most depressed city overall, NFL franchise of people, the good people of the city of Philadelphia. And can you blame them?
And let's stay on Philadelphia here because here's what's trending this hour. Let's talk about Michael Vick, his comeback continues, albeit slowly. The Philly Eagles quarterback is back pitching products.
Vick has just signed his first endorsement deal since doing time for dog fighting. He's going to spend the next two years extolling the virtues of Unequal Technologies. That's the company's name. It makes protective shoulder and thigh pads Vick has been using on the football field.
The president of Unequal Technologies acknowledges the potential for controversy, and here is what he says. Quote, "As a Christian, I believe that people can repent and deserve a second chance. I share President Obama's support for Michael Vick and believe America is truly the land of second chances."
No word on how much unequal technologies is paying Vick, but this is a baby step here compared to the endorsement deals Vick had pre- prison.
And now to Jessica Yellin, joining me now with the latest news from the "Political Ticker."
Jessica, good to see you again. What's crossing?
JESSICA YELLIN, CNN NATIONAL POLITICAL CORRESPONDENT: Hey, Brooke.
Well, this number is just in. It's a whopper -- $1.5 trillion is the new estimate for the U.S. deficit. A $1.5 trillion deficit. That is one of the reasons so many folks in this town are debating how to start bringing it down.
The same folks who gave us that estimate say it is projected to climb even further because of our aging population who rely on a lot of services like Social Security and Medicare. This sets up an even more ferocious fight ahead over new spending cuts. And who will win that fight we just don't know. The White House, the Democrats, and as you and I have discussed, the Republicans certainly don't agree.
One area the president is pushing ahead in today, he's working on jobs, pushing his message on, on jobs and on clean energy, in Wisconsin. Meanwhile, the vice president, well, he's in Indiana.
Now, obviously they are there going out into the country and selling the message, but part of the reason they have chosen the Midwest, these are two states that the White House -- this White House President Obama won in 2008, but needs to keep in his aisle for 2012. And recent polling shows, guess what? He's very popular there. While the president's approval rating now might be 55 percent nationwide, it is 61 percent in the Midwest.
BALDWIN: Wow.
YELLIN: This will be an area they will want to hold on to and keep in good favor going forward.
And then, Brooke, I can't resist this story for the pits. Or we couldn't decide if this story is the pits. BALDWIN: Oh, my goodness. In the pits. Wah, wah.
YELLIN: Wah, wah, wah.
BALDWIN: Very good.
YELLIN: OK. Ohio Democrat Dennis Kucinich -- this is unbelievable -- is suing the congressional cafeteria because he ordered a sandwich a while back with un-pitted olives, and there were pits in it. Well, you know what? He bit down and broke a tooth.
So how much is he suing them for? One hundred-fifty thousand dollars. Right, over a pit. And he says that they are serving "dangerous, dangerous sandwiches."
Now I've eaten there, and I've been advised not to comment, but --
BALDWIN: I've eaten there as well. Perfectly fine sandwiches.
YELLIN: Yes, that's all I'll say. I've never broken a tooth.
BALDWIN: Never broken a tooth, thank goodness. But hey, didn't eat the olives. We can't comment.
YELLIN: Can you imagine?
BALDWIN: Hey, since I have you, have you stuck your head outside? How's the snow?
YELLIN: Oh, the city is freaking out, as always, but I am ready. I'm wearing my Chewbacca boots.
BALDWIN: Oh, I wish we could see them.
YELLIN: You can't see?
BALDWIN: Hold on. We've got this triple box of -- there we go. This is what we want to see. Very nice.
YELLIN: Oh, yes. In D.C., we do not know how to handle weather. Every time it starts to snow we can't believe it's snowing, like this has never happened before, even though it happens all the time. So we're very geared up.
BALDWIN: Very fashion forward of you, Miss National Correspondent.
YELLIN: Thank you.
BALDWIN: By the way, in the center of our screen, that is Air Force One at Andrews. So I guess a lot of people are delayed because of this stuff, but the president keeps on going.
YELLIN: Yes.
BALDWIN: Not delayed.
Jessica Yellin, go out and enjoy it. Build a snowman for me, all right? Thank you.
YELLIN: Good to see you.
BALDWIN: Now to this.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Not in this lifetime on this kind of charge.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BALDWIN: That was a judge we just heard from telling a man accused of sex assaults that he is staying behind bars. But here's the rub -- the suspect is a police officer. Wait until you hear how he allegedly chose his victims.
We are "On the Case" ahead.
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BALDWIN: OK. Let's queue the music.
OK. Why did we queue the music? Well, some of us thought this next video, piece of video, could have been the artwork for the Pink Floyd album.
"You Gotta See This!"
This is a grand piano. This randomly appeared on the sandbar. This is Biscayne Bay, Florida, where we were thinking Pink Floyd, maybe Guns 'n Roses.
No one knows how it got there. Authorities say, hey, it doesn't threaten boaters. It doesn't threaten wildlife. So they are not moving it. OK.
Our friends in the Northeast may be facing some tough winter weather, but look at bright side. It could be worse, like a tornado.
A twister came through St. Petersburg, Florida, yesterday -- look at that -- ripping the gas station canopy totally off its foundation. Look at the car as well, tipping it over, trapping a woman inside. Firefighters were able to get her out. Yikes.
And then imagine going through the effort of building a Koi fish pond in your backyard. You buy four fish, three of them somehow disappear. Well, it happened to this woman.
This is Rita Fritz (ph) in St. Louis. So she set up a hidden camera in her back yard. She's getting to the bottom of this Koi fish pond.
She caught the suspect on video. Alas, it was a big owl, apparently returned for the final fish. He was hungry. But by then, the family had put a grate over the pond to protect that surviving fish. I guess that means no more free meals.
Now watch this. Wow. Did you see that?
Protesters took to the streets in Beirut, but this one took off after an explosive blew up in that guy's hands. This whole thing happened just yesterday as demonstrations flared up after a new prime minister was appointed. Some see the change as a power grab by an Iranian-backed Shiite movement.
Prosecutors say he is a natural-born killer. Folks, he's 11. An 11-year-old boy here accused of shooting a pregnant woman while she was sound asleep.
So will he become the youngest person ever to get life behind bars?
We're "On the Case" with Sunny Hostin, next.
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BALDWIN: Now to tomorrow's news today. Let's "Fast Forward."
And Janet Napolitano will be delivering the very first ever homeland security address. The threat of terror expected to be high on the agenda.
Also a first, the Tea Party Caucus will be meeting in Washington. The group includes several senators.
And those Chilean miners go to Disney World. We're told all 33 of them will be hitting the park with their families more than three months after that amazing, amazing rescue.
Moving on though, should a 13-year-old boy be sent to prison for life with no chance of parole, if he's convicted of murder? That's really the bottom line here for a court in Pennsylvania.
Sunny Hostin is "On the Case."
And Sunny, this young man is Jordan Brown. He was 11 when he was arrested and charged with killing his father's fiancee who was eight months pregnant. The baby also died.
As of now, plans are to try him as an adult. This has to be extraordinarily unusual.
SUNNY HOSTIN, HOST, TRUTV'S "IN SESSION": You know, it's not as unusual as you would imagine. He is very young, 11, when he allegedly committed this crime, but there are about 2,500 people, Brooke, serving life in prison without the possibility of parole for crimes that they committed while they were under the age of 18.
So, in the United States, it's not that unusual for a juvenile, even when that young, to be tried as an adult. BALDWIN: Should he be tried as an adult, Sunny, or should he be tried as a juvenile?
HOSTIN: You know, this is a hotbed issue amongst lawyers, and in the justice system in particular. For me, I do not believe that an 11-year-old should be tried as an adult.
I mean, we've had so many studies, Brooke, about how the brain just doesn't mature until at least the age of 25. I've spoken to Sanjay Gupta about this. But the bottom line is, you know, my personal view is, no, of course not. But the law does provide that he can be tried as an adult.
BALDWIN: Well, we know that his lawyers, Brown's lawyers, were back in court yesterday. They're asking the judge to try him as a juvenile.
What do you think the chances are that the judge will actually grant that request?
HOSTIN: I actually think that the chances are pretty slim, actually. I mean, a three-judge panel is reviewing this case, a three-judge panel of the Superior Court. But because there is precedent, and there are so many people serving these prison sentences, again, for crimes committed under the age of 13 -- 18, rather, I wouldn't be surprised if he were to be tried as an adult in this case.
BALDWIN: I want to move on to this next case.
A 27-year-old police officer in Houston is accused of arresting a woman, handcuffing her, taking her to a dark place, raping her while he was on duty, wearing his uniform and using his squad car. Here he is.
Now, prosecutors say there could be even more victims. We know he was in court yesterday asking a judge to reduce his $500,000 bond. Is $500,000 considered high for a case like this?
HOSTIN: You know, I don't think it's considered high. Many people are saying that it's high, but it's $500,000.
When judges consider bail, they consider a lot of circumstances, and one of the circumstances they consider, sort of the type of crime. And this was aggravated sexual assault. They also consider the circumstances. He's a police officer, so he would have been abusing his police position if indeed he committed these crimes.
And they also look at risk of flight. In this case, apparently he has four passports, one of which is an Indian passport, so he is certainly a risk of flight. A $500,000 bail in this case I think is almost a gift.
BALDWIN: Well, is he jailed -- a $500,000 bond? Would that be because it's a separate situation, because he's in a position of authority in a community and, therefore, that is how it should be set? HOSTIN: Yes. I mean, absolutely. And it is something that has to be considered, the circumstances of the crime, the nature of the crime, and whether or not he's a risk flight. The fact that if he did this while on duty, while dressed as a police officer, there's no question in my mind that he should be held on, if not this type of bond, an even higher bond.
BALDWIN: Quickly, the alleged victim, apparently she went back to work right away, reported that she had been attacked. Does that help or hurt the case?
HOSTIN: It helps the case. It's remarkable that after experiencing this type of heinous crime, she would have the wherewithal to immediately report it. The evidence is fresh. Her testimony is fresh. And so this was very, very important for this victim.
BALDWIN: Sunny Hostin, talking to me from her Connecticut home.
Sunny, thank you so much as always. Enjoy the snow to you as well.
HOSTIN: Thanks.
BALDWIN: And that does it for me here.
I'm Brooke Baldwin in Atlanta. We'll go to Wolf Blitzer in "THE SITUATION ROOM" -- Wolf.
