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Chaos in Egypt Following Mubarak Announcement; CNN Crew Kicked & Punched in Streets of Cairo; Teens Attack 8th Grader; 'On the Case'

Aired February 02, 2011 - 16:00   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

BROOKE BALDWIN, CNN ANCHOR: And I want to bring in Ivan Watson, who is on the line.

And, Ivan, just bring me up to speed as far as where you are and what you're seeing from your vantage point.

IVAN WATSON, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (via telephone): Brooke, I'm pretty much in lockdown in a building inside Tahrir Square within that roughly square mile of territory that is controlled by the opposition, that the opposition has been battling for, for hours now against pro-regime supporters.

Now, on Tuesday this was the destination, this was the location of what some opposition leaders had called a million man march, and there was a massive wave of humanity here calling for the resignation of Hosni Mubarak, and many of the opposition leaders, many of the ordinary demonstrators were calling it a revolution. Today I think it's fair to say we have seen the beginning of a counter-revolution, with the hordes of pro-Mubarak supporters out on the streets, some of them people who actually participated in the anti-government demonstrations a week ago who said, OK, we have gotten some concessions from our president. Now enough is enough.

Others very hard-line supporters, very aggressive, attacking journalists, swearing at us, cursing at us, chasing us through the streets and then erupting into this vicious battle that we have seen for hours now, and you may be able to hear the gunshots in the background as I look at the scene now.

(CROSSTALK)

BALDWIN: Ivan, to your point about journalists, I was just speaking with the Cairo bureau chief with Al-Arabiya. A number of her crew members were roughed up. I know a number of you have been, including our own Anderson Cooper.

Ivan, stand by with me. I want to just share this piece of video. There's been a lot of talk about Anderson and not only Anderson, but his crew being on the receiving end of a number of rocks being thrown, being beaten a bit. Watch this video.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ANDERSON COOPER, HOST, "ANDERSON COOPER 360": So it looks like the pro-Mubarak crowd has sort of gathered around the Egyptian Museum, which is at one of the entrances to Liberation Square. The military has this entire area cordoned off so they wanted to keep the two sides separate, they would be able to, but at this point it looks like the military is just kind of standing by watching what's happening. You can see them behind me.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BALDWIN: So there are points there where Anderson and members of his crew are roughed up a bit, and Ivan, to your point about just what it's like as a journalist in this region right now, how are you? Are you ever able to cover a story like this and really ever know you're 100 percent safe, and how is your crew doing?

WATSON: Well, Brooke, prior to today, especially here in Tahrir Square, we were welcomed, people very enthusiastic about talking to us, about being photographed and filmed.

The atmosphere changed dramatically today, but not from the opposition demonstrators, but from the government supporters, and I think every foreign journalist on the street today experienced some harassment. We had to flee basically a number of pro-government supporters who started chasing us and pulling at our clothes, and while running away we ran into the direction of Tahrir Square being pursued, and that's when we ran smack-dab into the first eruption of violence that is now continuing to go on here, running into a wall of people panicked, running away from the hail of stones that was flying back and forth.

So the atmosphere here in Cairo was much more aggressive, much more tense than I have seen it at any point up until now. Many people saying it's because they haven't been able to sleep over the course of the past week. They have been defending their homes during the wave of lawlessness that's erupted over here.

BALDWIN: Ivan, in terms of you talk about this change and this escalation of violence and we're reporting hundreds of people, 600- plus injured just today and one fatality, and we know from day one that those anti-government demonstrators were organized by Facebook. Do we know who is behind the pro-government demonstrators?

WATSON: I would probably bake them into two groups. There were some young men that I talked to, young women, a woman who worked for Citibank, educated professionals some of them who said they had supported the first days of protests, and after hearing Hosni Mubarak's speech last night and some of the concessions he made, they said enough is enough. We support our president now, and we're going to help him through this period of transition towards a more democratic system.

Others were hard-line Mubarak supporters. They were spoiling for a fight, and they were targeting journalists and hurling epithets not only at the opposition protesters, but at President Barack Obama after his speech last night and at the journalists as well. So I would divide it into those two camps. The violence that we have seen out here that I'm watching still, I don't think any of those middle ground people are participating in this.

BALDWIN: And also in terms of the violence, Ivan, we have seen the pictures, people on horses, on camels, rubber bullets, water jets, water cannons, Molotov cocktails. You mentioned gunfire. Who has the guns?

WATSON: Another good question.

A remarkable thing about the hours of combat, street combat that we have been watching here is that people were out to beat each others' brains in and hurling stones at each other, and I saw unbelievable incidences of mob violence, but we have not really heard sustained gunfire until really in the last hour, and I don't know who is doing the shooting right now and where the guns are coming from.

BALDWIN: And, again, we're looking at live pictures. Some of the lights you see are just that, lights, and we have seen back and forth these Molotov cocktails coming down from some of these buildings' roofs.

Ivan, I think I already know the answer to this question, but I will ask it anyway. What ultimately will placate these anti- government demonstrators? What will get them to say, all right, we will leave?

WATSON: Well, after Hosni Mubarak's speech last night, many of them repeated their chants immediately for him to leave and that they would not give up this patch of territory until he left.

Now we see a physical confrontation, not just a political one, but a physical confrontation with hundreds of wounded. I can't even count the number of men I have seen carried away with blood streaming from their heads over the course of the past several hours.

Here's a change I'm seeing, Brooke.

BALDWIN: Right, a fire.

WATSON: One of the military vehicles for the first time, I mean, all of this has been happening right next to parked tanks of the Egyptian army. For the first time, I'm seeing one of the military trucks moving through on the opposition's side of the protest. Not sure who is driving it or why it's finally being moved now.

BALDWIN: But speak to why, Ivan, that is significant because thus far we have seen the military for the most part fairly passive.

WATSON: Absolutely passive.

The fighting, the fiercest fighting was erupting amid the parked tanks of the Egyptian military, and I saw the combatants using the tanks as cover as they were throwing stones and then later Molotov cocktails at each other. The soldiers themselves standing just a few yards away, if you can imagine it, I see them right now, and they are behind the green iron gates of the Egyptian Museum, which contains just an incredible treasure trove of antiquities, which is directly next to this violent battle that's been raging for hours now.

The only time I saw the military stepping in was to put out some of the fires caused by the petrol bombs, perhaps to protect the museum itself, by using hoses.

BALDWIN: And it's also interesting to point it out the military is in sort of a bit of a precarious position politically. Hosni Mubarak came from the military, at the same time, the people of Egypt very much so respect the military. The military has said to the people we will not fire upon you, but they are urging for peace, and a lot of people are watching the military to see what they will do and what they will say and what role they will play, maybe in the government, in the coming days and months.

WATSON: That's right, and, you know, up until today, the military I think was reassuring Egyptian society, certainly amid the wave of looting that has taken place over the last week, and the military was even providing security and some system of order around the popular protests here in Tahrir Square.

When I left Tahrir after that million man march at 3:00 in the morning on Wednesday, the military was a buffer in between pro- and anti-government protesters that were facing off for the first time. That was at 3:00 in the morning on Wednesday. Now, hours later, the military are bystanders watching the two factions beat each other to death.

BALDWIN: Oh. So they are still passive here in this whole back and forth.

Ivan Watson, we're going to keep watching this picture with you.

We need to sneak a quick break in. I see I have Michael Holmes out of the corner of my eye from CNN International. He can help me walk through this as well.

And we mentioned and Ivan made this point that it's really tough being a journalist here in the middle of this and having to cover this because they are the victims of many of these attacks and Molotov cocktails and rocks, and we have a little bit more video from that -- I don't know if attack is the right word, but Anderson Cooper and his crew were in the midst of it. We're going to show a little bit more of that video that we have just turned around for you on the other side of this break. Do not move.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BALDWIN: Let's do that continuing watching what's happening in Egypt.

And as promised -- a number of journalists have been roughed up a bit in the midst of these melees the last couple of hours, including our own Anderson Cooper.

And here's the back half of that video where you can actually see what happened to him. (BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

(SHOUTING)

COOPER: Whoa. Whoa. Whoa.

(SHOUTING)

COOPER: Hey, calm down. Calm down.

(SHOUTING)

COOPER: Hey, hey, calm down. Calm down. Inshallah. Inshallah.

(SHOUTING)

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BALDWIN: So he was flailing his arms, he got hit. So it was Anderson, his cameraman Neil --

MICHAEL HOLMES, CNN INTERNATIONAL ANCHOR/CORRESPONDENT: Neil, Neil Hallsworth.

BALDWIN: -- and also producer Mary Anne, all part of that.

Michael Holmes here sat with me yesterday for two hours in rolling coverage yesterday and we were talking about how it was pretty quick thinking of the photographer to flip that switch on.

HOLMES: Neil has been around, Hallsworth. He buttoned on just as this started and got the camera rolling which is great. You've got to get -- even if something bad happens, too, you want to have a record of it.

And this has been happening so much now. These guys are lucky. I've been in demos in Baghdad where it's turned against you.

BALDWIN: What is it is it like to be in the middle of that?

HOLMES: It's terrifying, because you think you could get killed. And it happens, so that's not being overly dramatic.

Fortunately, these guys were bustled out of the way. Anderson took a couple of shots to the head, so did Neil. I was talking to Ivan Watson earlier, he and Joe Duran, his shooter, were also involved in a little kerfuffle as well. Joe was actually chased down by a street by a crowd, and it took me back to when I was in Baghdad, I think it was '03 and '04, and Joe was chased down the street by an angry mob there as well.

BALDWIN: So he has practice.

HOLMES: He has practice. Hala Gorani got shoved up against a fence today.

BALDWIN: You have a list.

HOLMES: Just before I came up, actually, I got an email from the CPJ, the Committee to Protect Journalists, and they literally are listing --

BALDWIN: Take a look at this, get a shot of -- get a shot of Holmes because it's page after page.

HOLMES: It's like three pages, like of list of these incidents that have happened to journalists. And it's not -- it's equal opportunity thuggery, I've got to say. There's an Al Arabiya correspondent, Anderson is mentioned here, a Belgian journalist, Israeli journalist, Egyptian journalist, Danish, BBC, Irish correspondent. All of these people all being beaten up essentially and targeted by these thugs.

And yes, terrifying situation for them, and -- and it's a classic way of turning things around to get the media off the streets. And in some ways, too, the chaos that you were seeing in Tahrir Square, it works in favor of Mubarak because for years he's been saying it's chaos or me, what do you want. And this is working out in his favor, in a way

BALDWIN: Well, I want you to join in this conversation. We were just talking about Anderson, Anderson is on the phone.

And Anderson, we just saw the video of you and I don't know if Mary Anne and obviously Neil was behind the camera getting a bit jostled about earlier today. Take us inside of that whole confrontation today. Were you frightened?

COOPER (via telephone): Yes. I mean, I think I'd be an idiot if I wasn't frightened or a liar or both.

You know, Neil and I and Mary Anne had just been walking to Tahrir Square to report on both sides of the protest. And we had been able to walk several minutes through the crowds, and then all of a sudden a guy popped out of the crowd and tried to grab Neil's camera, started screaming at us, pushing us around. And that seemed to kind of -- you know, often in a mob situation, it just takes one instigator to kind of rally the mob. Suddenly all of the people around there started joining in.

We quickly determined we've got to get out of here. So we quickly turned around. We didn't want to run because we didn't want them -- that to encourage them to kind of run after us and see us as a target, so we just tried to walk rapidly as a group out of the situation.

But you know, -- and we had two or three -- there were two or three Egyptian guys who were trying to help us and shepherd us out, but it just kind of escalated to the point where people were running up, you know, occasionally hitting us -- hitting us in the head, hitting us in the bodies and -- and, you know, trying to -- it wasn't anything I think -- I'm not sure if they knew we were CNN or not, but I think with anyone with a camera out in that area among those pro- Mubarak supporters, I think there were certain individuals in that crowd, you know, itching for a fight.

And we certainly saw that very up close. We had to then walk back through the crowd of pro-Mubarak supporters, many of them, some -- some would let us go un -- you know, without any problems and others would try to join in the melee, you know, throwing bottles or water, trying to rip off Mary Anne's clothing. Neil got punched in the head a couple of times, his eye is somewhat bloody.

So it's, you know, as Michael was saying, it can get nasty very, very quickly.

HOLMES: I'm glad you're well, my friend. It can be terrifying.

I was just saying to Brooke, you know, I've had the same situation in Baghdad in '03, '04, and it was -- that -- you are scared. Of course, you're scared. And what it does, though, the impact of this though is to limit or handspring the ability to get down to street level and report this the way you want to.

COOPER: Yes, you know, and that's certainly may be one of the objectives of the instigators who was doing this. If that was, it certainly hasn't stopped us from reporting the story. You know, we immediately got to a vantage point where we could see the situation and have been on the air ever since and will continue to be.

But it is really -- you really do get a sense of how volatile the crowd was. And that was in the early hours of this before, you know, we started to see people bringing Molotov cocktails. You know, we could already see some weapons visible in the crowd that was attacking us. There was a guy with a knife, which thankfully I didn't notice until later on when I was looking back at the video.

And we had another camera which I was trying to carrying so I was trying to shoot stuff on a foot camera so as not to incite the crowd with the big camera. So I'll be showing some of that later on tonight on my program.

But it's -- you know, it was pretty remarkable to see how quickly this crowd could turn and how clearly there are people who came there looking for a fight on this day, and, you know, we've all seen the results of that over the last ten hours or so.

HOLMES: Yes. What's extraordinary, too, Anderson, I know you can talk to this, is that, you know, when the military said we will not fire on our people, it was a seminal moment in all of this. It gave the protest legs. The people knew that they were safe to protest, and the military saying that their demands were legitimate.

It's now having a slightly opposite effect now when you've got pro and anti facing off against each other. The police are nowhere to be seen, the military is not doing anything. What are you left with?

COOPER: Michael, as you know, and Brooke, as you know, over the last eight or nine days, since the military has -- well, actually, the military moved in over the last five or six days, they have been very effective at cordoning off the square and when they want to, limiting access to the square, you know.

On the day of the massive protests yesterday, you know, they did a very effective job of sort of holding the entrance point to the square and the anti-Mubarak protesters themselves were providing security, patting people down, checking for weapons, making sure people didn't have weapons in the square.

Nobody, the military was not making any effort to pat down, it seemed, the pro-Mubarak protesters who arrived today, allowing them to congregate and gather together unchecked, and we saw the results of that.

BALDWIN: And -- and, you know, the last couple of days, Anderson, and the pictures we've seen, I've also seen not just, you know, young men, older men but also women and children and I'm just curious with this added dimension of clashing today between the two different sides, what is the makeup of these two crowds, and are you seeing children? Are you seeing women?

COOPER: Well, you know, we've certainly see it the last couple of days, many women and children in Tahrir Square among the anti- Mubarak protesters. Many were camping out, actually sleeping there, their families were sleeping there, they'd constructed tents in the middle of the square.

BALDWIN: wow.

COOPER: You know, I did see women and children at the pro- Mubarak demonstration as well. You know, when I was there, again, on the ground, people were kind of milling around. At that point, the widespread kind of, you know, the battle lines had actually not been drawn at that point and you sort of had individuals punching other people, one-on-one fights going on.

But it was only -- once we left and only about half an hour after that that we really started to see actually battle lines right in front of Egypt's museum.

HOLMES: And the other point to security, Anderson, like I said the military is taking a non-involvement role, as smart or not as that is at the moment given what's happening there. But the announcement the other day that the police would be back on the street to put an end to the looting and bring some sort of social order. Well, they are nowhere to be seen either.

COOPER: They are certainly not. And these, you know, uniformed military are nowhere to be seen. There's lots of reports, and certainly if you talk to the anti-Mubarak demonstrators, they believe very firmly that -- that there are undercover police, secret police working amongst the pro-Mubarak protesters instigating acts of violence.

I can't confirm that one way or the other. There have been claims made by anti-Mubarak protesters, and they check -- they checked IDs of people entering the square, that they found some with police IDs. Again, I can't independently confirm that. HOLMES: There must a great fear there that this is playing into the hands of Hosni Mubarak, the chaos you're witnessing there could give him an excuse to crack down.

BALDWIN: To swoop in. To swoop in.

COOPER: Without a doubt. And to those that say, you know, that these protests have disrupted the country and are causing chaos, this certainly adds, you know, ammunition to those who believe that.

And again, could, you know, it could seem to be playing into Hosni Mubarak's hand, that for a long time, for the 30 years of his rule he's portrayed the situation, you know, that you're either with him or you want instability. It's either him or the Islamists. And that narrative is one he's used very effectively the last 30 years, and certainly what we're seeing playing out fits into that narrative.

BALDWIN: Anderson, 30 seconds.

You've covered so many stories and you've been around the world and been in the thick of things before, but what makes this story very different for you?

COOPER: Well, you know, it is just tragic that people who for 30 years now have been literally living under a state of emergency and, you know, who after eight days, nine days of peaceful protests were -- we saw all sectors of society coming forward to voice their opinion, to speak out in a way they felt they hadn't been able to speak out for the last 30 years, to see, you know, 300 protesters who had been killed over the last eight or nine days and in, you know, very difficult crackdowns by police. You know, all that blood that has been shed and all the peaceful protests that went on now see it come to this, you know, just thuggish elements inciting violence, creating confrontation for whatever objective it may be. You know, it's just a sad development, no matter how you look at it.

BALDWIN: Anderson, thank you again for calling in.

And again, live pictures. Demonstrations day nine, the violence continues here.

Michael Holmes, stick around. We've got to sneak a quick break. CNN will be right back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BALDWIN: Another big story we're all watching, of course, the aftermath really of the blizzard that rocked so much of the country, and we've just gotten some video that if we've turned around. I want to show you here. You're going to see some pictures of an industrial building with a roof that appears to have collapsed.

We have them, guys?

Let's watch.

(VIDEO CLIP)

Oh, my goodness. I didn't realize we would actually see the roof collapse. At least we're hearing there are no injuries. This is Easton, Massachusetts.

Look, Chad Myers, at the thickness of the snow on the roof. What's your guess?

CHAD MYERS, AMS METEOROLOGIST: I'd say that's 16 inches probably.

And then I just saw a raindrop hit the lens of the camera, which means it has been warming up. We had some sleet and now we're seeing rain. See how the rain is on there. So the rain now is being caught by the snow, the snow gets heavier and heavier as the snow gets wetter and wetter.

And they knew it was coming. They heard it cracking. They knew. They got everybody out, and this is not the only building. This is the most dramatic video I've seen, but not the only pictures that I've seen of roofs coming down across parts of Massachusetts. Even had a few problems around Tulsa and into Missouri with this because the snow there was 20 inches deep.

BALDWIN: So wait, are you saying it was the rain that broke the equilibrium?

MYERS: I'm saying that 20 inches of very dry powder maybe on one square foot of land may weigh 15 pounds. But you start getting that very, very wet, and that one square foot could be 100 pounds, and all of a sudden, that's like having a party on the roof of that building and everybody standing one foot or two feet away from each other. That building not made to have a party on top of it. Not made to hold that kind of structure.

When it rains, the water goes off. The water goes into the gutters, goes into the down spouts and the water goes away, but when you stack the snow on top of it like that, and then you get that snow wetter and wetter and wetter, it gets heavier and heavier and heavier. It's like building a snowman when it's 32 or trying to build one in when it's ten below zero. You can't build a snowman when it's ten below zero because the snow doesn't stick. It's just too light and fluffy. It just flies away. But when it's 32 or where it was there, up to about 34, the snow got heavier and heavier and heavier. Athat building went down.

BALDWIN: That's stunning video. Amazingly again, no injuries, but glad we got to pass it along. Thank you for helping me with that.

Coming up next, we're going to get to Joe Johns with the "Political Pop," and it includes an aspiring politician using the word crackhead in the heat of political battle. Stay right here.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BALDWIN: We have a crazy story today out of the Windy City. Joe Johns is in Washington for our daily "Political Pop," and apparently, Joe, the push for civility in politics is not getting so much traction.

JOE JOHNS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: No! We've talked so much about civility in Washington, we really haven't explored what's going on outside the Beltway, and it just so happens that at least in Chicago, which we all know is in the midst of a high-profile mayoral race, one of the candidates, who's actually very well known here in Washington, D.C., apparently did not get the civility message.

Now, I know, you know who this sounds like, right? Everybody think we're talking about Rahm Emanuel, who is known to, shall we say, have a way with words when he worked at the White House. But we're actually talking about a couple other candidates in that race. Former United States Senator Carol Moseley-Braun and community organizer Patricia Van Pelt Watkins in a somewhat heated exchange the other day. The former senator actually accused Watkins of being hooked on crack. Let's take a listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

PATRICIA VAN PELT WATKINS, CHICAGO MAYORAL CANDIDATE: We haven't seen her, we haven't heard from her. All the violence running rampant in our streets. I did not even know the woman lived in the city of Chicago.

CAROL MOSELEY-BRAUN, CHICAGO MAYORAL CANDIDATE: Patricia, the reason you didn't know where I was for the last 20 years because you was strung out on crack. Now, you had admitted to that. You also were in a cult! You've admitted to that!

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BALDWIN: Wowza! Strung out on crack.

JOHNS: Ah, yes.

(LAUGHTER)

BALDWIN: I know. We're speechless! How is a former senator getting away with saying that in front of a crowd?

JOHNS: Well, right. She sort of had to take it back, actually. The opposing candidate Watkins actually says she's never seen crack, let alone used it, but she did admit to being addicted to drugs when she was a teenager. She said she got rid of the habit at age 21 and has been drug-free ever since.

She did demand an apology from Moseley-Braun and after a couple of days, Moseley-Braun went ahead and issued that apology but, you know, the sniping continues. Van Pelt Watkins says Braun needs sensitivity training according to the Sun Times newspaper.

BALDWIN: Yes. Like you said, I guess did not get the civility memo. On to the second story. And you know, you and I have talked a lot about seating charts. And that was the State of the Union and now we're going to talk seating as far as the Super Bowl goes. And I hear some of the powers at be in Washington are packing up to head out to Dallas for the big dance. But do we know who is getting the big highfalutin sky box tickets?

JOHNS: You know, that's a very closely guarded secret, quite frankly. But you know, I just got off the phone with a political consultant --

BALDWI: You're Joe Johns! You get the scoop.

JOHNS: Yes, right! I wish I could have gotten the ticket. Big clients spending money on Super Bowl tickets and for the record, unless you've been off the planet, it's Steelers versus Packers.

BALDWIN: Yes.

JOHNS: Now it doesn't really matter here in Washington, D.C. That much who wins or loses. It's sort of how the money game is played because we're talking about influence. Talking about access, power, who is getting some of those tickets, why some people are getting those tickets.

The widespread belief, of course, is that Republican folks are going to do pretty well this year, better than last.

And for the record, we know that lobbying is no joke to the NFL itself. The Center for Responsible Politics actually took a look at this. They said the National Football League spent a record $1.4 million on lobbying last year. And as far as individual teams we're talking about, you know, owners, executives, coaches and so on. One of the teams competing in the Super Bowl is actually one of the he heaviest hitters. That would be the Pittsburgh Steelers. The staff and owner get something like $32,000 in 2010, most of it to Republicans as far as contributions.

The Packers aren't even in the game. They haven't given squat.

BALDWIN: So just a guess. How much would a sky box Super Bowl ticket go for?

JOHNS: Oh, man. You know, I --

BALDWIN: That's, like thousands, right?

JOHNS: Clearly, clearly. Because, I mean, NFL sky box tickets just for regular games go for a really pretty penny. And, I mean, you're talking about the biggest game of the year at the biggest party the National Football League throws. I wouldn't venture a guess but, you know, it's in the multiple thousands.

BALDWIN: It's a lot. Joe Johns --

JOHNS: Yes. BALDWIN: with the "Political Pop, thank you so much. Now, watch this.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Whatever doesn't break me just makes me stronger so, yes, I'll put it like that, yes.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BALDWIN: One superintendent is calling it bullying in America at its worse. We're going to show you this video. It shows a group of teenagers allegedly beating up this one young boy you just heard from. They toss him in a tree, they hang him by his coat on a fence. Coming up, I'll speak with that boy and his mom. Don't miss this.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BALDWIN: Want to remind all our viewers we're following this breaking story out of the Egypt, and, again, let's just take that full. There we go. Live pictures.

This is right around Tahrir Square, and for the last several hours we've been seeing -- there goes two, three Molotov cocktails as parts of this crowd back and forth. The new dimension of these demonstrations today, clearly, you have the pro-Mubarak protesters, and you have the anti-Mubarak protesters.

And the military is there, but, again, they are remaining passive here amidst these crowds. In terms of injuries, we're talking hundreds, 600-plus just today and at least one fatality.

We're not going far from Egypt. I just want to remind our viewers of that, but I want to go to Washington, D.C. now and to my colleague, Jessica yYellin for our CNN Equals Politics update, and check in with Jessica for the latest off the political ticker.

Jess, to you.

JESSICA YELLIN, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Hi, Brooke, you know, the fight over health care reform continues this hour. Right now, the U.S. Senate is debating a measure to repeal the Obama health care reform bill that passed last year, and it is expected to come to a vote in the 5:00 hour. While that bill is not expected to pass, it is another symbolic effort by the Republican party to take it down and take it apart and dismantle any public support for it.

This, of course, comes after a major ruling this week by a federal judge out of Florida who found the entire law unconstitutional. And this has caused a great deal of uncertainty across the many states that were part of that lawsuit. Two states in particular say that they are no longer going to enforce any elements of that law. Meanwhile, the White House says not so fast. Implementation has to continue, so there is a great deal of uncertainty right now and a bit of a political standoff over this. We expect the administration to take some more political action -- some more judicial action, I should say on this, to try to clarify what the states should do on health care reform in the wake of this ruling as we all expect these cases eventually will work their way to the Supreme Court.

And then in one other piece of news out of Washington today, Brooke, Rand Paul, the new senator, the Tea Party senator, gave his first speech on the Senate floor. The senator from Kentucky today. He said there's a lot of questions about whether or not Tea Party- elected officials will compromise. He made it clear that while compromise is part of the political system, there should be no compromising on the question of reducing federal spending.

So, battle lines are drawn on this deficit effort, cutting down the deficit and, again, the health care fight continues. Brooke?

BALDWIN: Jessica, thank you. Jessica Yellin for me in Washington.

Coming up on the other side of this break, we're going to tell you the story of a young bullying victim, 13 years of age. He's speaking with me about this video that one of these alleged bullies shot. This kid was hung from a tree, hung from a fence. You'll hear from him in his own words and what he's learning moving forward, next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BALDWIN: Want to get you to a disturbing bullying story near Philadelphia.

A teenage boy, 13, he's attacked, he's beaten, he's hung by his own jacket on this fence post. And to make matters worse, one of the seven teens accused of attacking him made this brag video. You're watching it, taping this act with his cell phone camera.

Now, police obviously confiscated the video which shows these teens allegedly kicking 13-year-old Nadin Khoury. They shove him to the ground. At one point -- there he goes -- there's the tree, and he gets shoved into it.

Now, the police superintendent calls it a wolf pack, meaning this is seven against one. All seven of the accused students were scheduled to go before a judge today. They are facing assault and kidnapping charges.

In fact, I spoke with Nadin and his mother, Rebecca Khoury, just yesterday, and he told me what happened during this whole 15-minute ordeal.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

NADIN KHOURY, ATTACKED BY TEENS: Well, first they taunted me, put me in a tree, kicked me, punched me, hung me on a gate, and punched me in my stomach, and that type of thing.

BALDWIN: Had this ever happened before to you?

KHOURY: Yes.

BALDWIN: How many times?

KHOURY: It happened two other times, but only one time where it was a whole group. And the first time they sent one of their friends to fight me one-on-one.

BALDWIN: I don't want you to name names, but did you know any of these young men?

KHOURY: Yes.

BALDWIN: You did?

KHOURY: Mm-hmm.

BALDWIN: We know that this whole video that one of them presumably shot on their cell phone camera, it lasted -- this wasn't two minutes. This was 15 minutes here, and it took 15 minutes, Nadin, for someone to come and rescue you. Is that right?

KHOURY: Yes.

BALDWIN: What happened? Tell me about it.

KHOURY: Well, me and my friend Mickey (ph), we were just walking home from school, and they -- we saw them all coming off the trolley. And they messed with us in the school all the time, so me and him started walking the other direction.

And a few of them came down the street, because the street goes into a U, so they basically had us boxed in. And then they attacked me, put me in the tree, taunting me. When I tried to run away, they caught me again, and then they put me on the gate and started punching me in my stomach while I was on the gate.

And this lady had walked by the first time, when I was first on the ground, and she had thought -- I guess she thought that they were just playing around. That's what she was told me when she was driving me home. But then the second time she saw it was serious, and that's when she had picked me up and took me home.

BALDWIN: So it was the same woman, and you can see it on the video, clear as day. You see this woman sort of seeing what's happening and walking away. But it was that same woman then who came back to your rescue.

KHOURY: Yes.

BALDWIN: Wow.

A question to you, mom, Rebecca. This video has to be incredibly difficult to watch.

REBECCA KHOURY, MOTHER: Oh, yes. Yes, definitely. I can't even look at it. When I heard there was video, I thought it was -- you know, it would be better to see something with your eyes before you can believe it. And when I had seen the video my first time, which was yesterday, I was shocked. I mean, I was not even to myself.

My husband had to rush me to the hospital last night, emergency, and I was in the hospital for almost two hours. I got home at 1:00.

I didn't know what to think. I was just -- I was shocked. It's disturbing. Nobody wants to see their kids go through that kind of thing.

BALDWIN: Of course not.

R. KHOURY: To see it on video, it's terrible.

BALDWIN: And on top of it all, I've read articles. A police superintendent there says your son there is lucky to be alive. And when you look at these teens -- and now we have a seventh arrest here -- they're charged with kidnapping, false imprisonment, reckless endangerment.

What do you want to see happen with these young men who are just teenagers?

R. KHOURY: Well, they need to pay for what they did. I mean, it's not OK to go around picking on other kids.

I mean, this is not just my son. Other kids are going through this same thing right now outside of this city and other places, and they're scared to speak up.

I want for there to be a law that will be -- I don't care what age you can be. This is not right for you to do. It is not fair to other kids to treat them like an animal. I mean, it's not right. I just want them to be punished.

BALDWIN: You want them to be punished. And I think most parents sitting here and watching this video would probably agree with you.

Nadin, I'm just curious, since you said this has happened to you before. At school, did they teach kids not to do this?

N. KHOURY: They say, yes, in school -- yes, I understand it shouldn't be done. But then when they leave the classroom, it's a whole different situation.

BALDWIN: Nadin, you seem like a brave guy. How old are you?

N. KHOURY: Thirteen.

BALDWIN: Thirteen. How does this change you at all?

N. KHOURY: What doesn't break me just makes me stronger.

BALDWIN: What doesn't break you makes you stronger. Nadin and Rebecca, I thank you both.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BALDWIN: So, by the way, the police superintendent handling this case says the attack is probably as heinous as any bullying assault he has ever seen. So far, there is no known motive for that particular attack, but police say six of the seven alleged attackers attends a school for students with behavioral problems.

Before we get to break, I want to show you more live pictures there. Six hundred-plus injuries in Egypt right around Tahrir Square today. One dead. That is just in the last 24 or so hours.

The big change today, and one of the reasons for the escalation of violence, you have the pro-Mubarak protesters clashing with the anti-government protesters. Unrest continues. Day nine in Egypt.

We're not going far from the story. Stay right here.

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BALDWIN: Want to get you back to those live pictures there out of Egypt.

You see there fire, smoke now as well. It's a car burning in the middle of that area. And we're also learning, according to state TV, that now they are reporting three are dead, 639 injured in Tahrir Square clashes today alone.

Wolf Blitzer all over this story out of Egypt.

Wolf, just quickly, what's ahead in your show?

WOLF BLITZER, CNN HOST: We're going to check in with all the eyewitness reporters we have on the scene. The fear that's going through what's going on in Cairo right now is intense.

Anderson Cooper, he got attacked earlier today. Hala Gorani, as you know, she got attacked as well. Our other camera crews, photographers, producers, they're in danger. We're going to check in with all of that.

But much more importantly, what's going on in Egypt right now. This is clearly a turning point. What a difference 24 hours makes.

The quiet and peaceful nature of the protests yesterday, today erupting in violence, serious violence. We're going to be all over the story for the next two hours.

BALDWIN: Wolf, thank you. We will see you in a matter of minutes.

Meantime, we're learning a lot more about the case of a former producer of the TV show "Survivor" who is accused of killing his wife at a luxury resort in Cancun, Mexico. Now, the couple's life and her death are spelled out in the lurid details in court papers from Mexico filed by U.S. prosecutors. And these prosecutors are asking to send producer Bruce Beresford-Redman back to Mexico to face charges.

Sunny Hostin is "On the Case."

And Sunny, an affair, phone sex, an abortion. These documents read like the script of some primetime drama.

Is all this information about their personal life really necessary for an extradition request?

SUNNY HOSTIN, "IN SESSION," TRUTV: It really is, because in order to approve this extradition request, a judge has to review it, Brooke. And the judge needs to know the circumstances surrounding the alleged crime. So, while personal, all of this information is something that the judge must review.

BALDWIN: Sticking with the papers, what do they say about the killing itself?

HOSTIN: It really is incredible. I reviewed a summery of the autopsy, Brooke, and it said that she had a head wound, and that it could have been made by a strike from either a metal tube, a bat or a stick.

It indicates that she also may have fallen in a bathtub. And what's also interesting is that it also outlines some injuries to the suspect, including scratches on his fingers, neck, ear and leg. And the investigators believe that they were inflicted during a brawl. And so really very strong evidence, I would say, in that extradition request.

BALDWIN: So, with all the evidence and the details, the vivid details, what do you say if you're this guy's lawyer? How do they respond?

HOSTIN: Well, it's interesting. They have indicated that they will fight this extradition request. He has all along maintained his innocence. He says he did not commit this crime, Brooke. Earlier on, some of the defense attorneys were indicating that they thought this was a cover-up by the Mexican police, and so they will fight this extradition request.

BALDWIN: Will Beresford-Redman be sent to Mexico any time soon?

HOSTIN: Well, these requests take a long time. They are usually extradition battles, really. And so my sense is that it will be a long time coming before he gets sent -- if he gets sent -- to Mexico. He's been in federal custody I believe for quite some time now.

BALDWIN: Sunny Hostin "On the Case" for us.

Sunny, thanks so much.

HOSTIN: Sure. BALDWIN: And here in our final moments, as we continue to cover -- and let's show the live picture, guys, one more time before we hand things off to Wolf.

Live pictures, cars on fire. And take a look at the black smoke here. This is the result of major, major clashes between anti-Mubarak demonstrators and pro-government demonstrators today. Today, day nine of this unrest.

And Wolf Blitzer has much, much more now. "THE SITUATION ROOM" starts right now.