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Reporters Targeted in Egypt; Casino Theft Suspect Arrested; Charlie Sheen's Home Rehab; Rhianna's Racy New Video Reportedly Banned; JLo Heading to the White House for Super Bowl; Palin Snubs CPAC, Again; State Department Condemns Reporter Arrests in Egypt; 'On the Case'
Aired February 03, 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 here we go. Top of the hour, take a look at this.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
BALDWIN: It's been called a dark day for Egypt and a dark day for journalism, reporters are now being targeted. So how is it that the Egyptian government is controlling the message?
I'm Brooke Baldwin. The news is now.
(voice-over): You have seen the demonstrations in Egypt, but is Jordan next? The king has dismissed his cabinet, and these are important U.S. allies we're talking about here. We will drill down on what you need to know about this region and the stakes.
Someone robbed one of the biggest casinos in all of Las Vegas, just walked out carrying more than a million dollars worth of Bellagio chips -- now an arrest. And the suspect may be involve in more heists.
Plus, he is a billionaire. He owns the Washington Redskins, and he's suing a newspaper. So what made Dan Snyder so mad? We're on the case.
And if you want to eat here, you may have to pay extra. Why? Just for being different. Wait until you see the fine print on this menu.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
BALDWIN: Hello once again, everyone. I'm Brooke Baldwin.
If it's interesting and happening right now, you're about to see it. Rapid fire, let's go, we're monitoring the situation in Egypt, things there developing very, very quickly. Here's the latest.
Journalists are being targeted, and Secretary of State Hillary Clinton speaking just moments ago slamming, condemning those attacks against those journalists. There are fears the Egyptian government is actually behind those beatings and mobbings. We're all over the story. We will get you a live report just minutes away. Also developing now, we're following a shooting at a courthouse in central Alabama. It happened in the town of Goodwater. Here's what we know. A defendant allegedly attacked a judge, then tried to get a gun. He was shot by security and then taken to a hospital. We're told no one else was hurt. We're watching that situation, updates as we get them.
Now to Oklahoma, an icy, a difficult rescue. Look at this. The actual temperature was subzero when a truck carrying eight people slid off an overpass, plunged into the ice-covered river. At least three of the eight inside that SUV died. Five are hospitalized and suffering from hypothermia.
To Indianapolis for one woman who's warming up after an icy ordeal. Look at them go. There she is, crews hoisting her to safety after he slid down this embankment, couldn't climb back up. And that wasn't the only ones being saved yesterday. The fire department says it responded to 120 calls, including falls on ice and at least five water rescues.
Washington State now -- a suspect in a stolen car vs. a trooper on a motorcycle. That is what police say led to the scene of this twisted metal. An accused carjacker allegedly barreled toward the officer. She jumped of her bike to safety. The suspect allegedly went on a second attempt here. The trooper fired. The suspect veered off. You see the tree. Clearly, he hit that, was eventually caught by other officers.
In Florida, they had to call in the pros. You are looking at beekeepers working fast to clear out a massive hive. Yikes. Look at all those bees, 60,000 to 80,000 bees in a five-foot column right next to a bus stop. Watch out, kids. The bees are now living in a new location.
And you know restaurants sometimes charge more gratuity for those big groups. You know how they say eight or more? But one place in Hawaii under fire for a bit of a different reason. You see, the menu at Keoni by Keo's says a 15 percent tip is added to tabs for people who don't speak English.
They say it's mainly because international visitors are oftentimes not unaccustomed to tipping. The restaurant also says it's just trying to help its waiters, and customers do not have to pay the tip. Some people are sympathetic to the restaurant, others not so much.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I don't think it's fair.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I see where they're coming from. When people don't tip, then it really hurts your own income.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BALDWIN: Want to take you to Kansas now. Crews battled a big fire at a school and bitter cold. Temperatures were below freezing, made their job even more difficult. The custodian, the only one inside the school, called 911. No word yet as to what caused that fire.
In Dallas, snow-covered apartments up in flames there. Look at that picture. Look at the flames, massive fire breaking out right around dawn. When firefighters arrived, they first had to sprinkle the icy ground with kitty litter to keep from slipping. That's how slippery it was. The top floor of one of the buildings is a total loss, as you can tell by these pictures.
To Florida, sharks, thousands of them. Take a look. Blacktip and spinner sharks are apparently on their annual migration to warmer water. Can you blame them? The video was shot just off Palm Beach, Florida. You see them feeding on bait fish. These particular sharks typically reach five, maybe six feet and they say pose no threat to people.
Colorado State University, police there are looking for a man witnesses say was hiding in a ladies locker room shower. Hmm. The women who saw him say he ran away when they spotted him. They gave his police -- police his description.
And in California, the college dreams of 100 Oakland high school seniors turning into nightmares. Why? Because the scores from their college entrance exams are MIA. They're lost in the mail. ACT, you know the company that runs the test, says students can retake them in mid-February for free. Oh, joy. But with many colleges sending out acceptance letters in March, those new scores may not make it in time.
And in New York, the city that never sleeps could sometimes become the city that never smokes. Smoking, if you have been there, you know you can't smoke in restaurants, and now the city is banning smoking in parks, and in beaches. They say it's intended to keep the harmful effects of secondhand smoke away from children.
And some may call it the impossible heist. How could you pull this off, right, robbing the Bellagio, of all places, in Las Vegas? But that guy did pull it off. And now police say they have their man. Who might he be? That is ahead.
Also, the crowds are getting bigger, the chants are getting louder and now Egypt's president is facing even more pressure to leave. And now more countries in the region are seeing similar protests. So which other leaders could face similar heat? Michael Holmes in the studio going to break it down. I will join Mr. Holmes there on the sofa with globe tracking live, next.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
BALDWIN: Middle East leaders are clearly watching what's happening, what is developing in Egypt. You have Tunisia. It seems it was just the beginning of this wave of developments cresting in the region. Yemen, Jordan, they're also seeing major government changes in the past couple of days and mass protests elsewhere.
It begs the question, how far does all this unrest really go?
Michael Holmes, CNNI go-to guy, this is a huge deal, not just in Egypt, but, what, seven other countries.
MICHAEL HOLMES, CNN INTERNATIONAL ANCHOR/CORRESPONDENT: Oh, it is.
(CROSSTALK)
HOLMES: All around the region, all around the region.
Yes, this started in Tunisia. And we were saying the other that took a month to bring down the president there. And look what happened in Egypt in a week, the biggest, most important country in the entire region.
Two other countries to keep an eye on, as we have been saying, Jordan and Yemen. Yemen, we heard the president say that he's not going to stand for reelection.
BALDWIN: Nor will his son, he said.
HOLMES: Nor will his son. How good of him.
(LAUGHTER)
HOLMES: That election is not until 2013, so they have still got a couple more years of him.
What's key about Yemen, though , is the stability of that government is key for U.S. interests for a variety of reasons, not least because that country has become a battleground in the fight against al Qaeda. Al Qaeda has a geographical foothold in that country already. And the president and the government have been fighting them, basically, yes, with all the encouragement of the United States.
Now, you have got a country there that's got a rebellion in the north, a secession movement in the south. And like they need this, what you're seeing there on your screen now. They were pro- demonstrations today, as well as anti, but -- and they were not violent.
BALDWIN: So, that's Yemen, but then we also have Jordan. We saw King Abdullah totally dismissing his cabinet a couple of days ago.
HOLMES: He did. He did, but appointing another prime minister.
And one of the complaints is he met with the Muslim Brotherhood today, too, which is significant, too.
BALDWIN: Really?
HOLMES: They have 20 to 30 percent support in Jordan. Significant that they met with him. Now, appointing the prime minister, they have had a lot of prime ministers in Jordan. The Hashemite Kingdom has been around since the 1920s. I think they have had 70 prime ministers in that time. And they are appointed. They're not elected. The Muslim Brotherhood was saying they don't subscribe to this new prime minister because he wasn't elected. They want to have democratic elections.
So, you have got a delicate balance there. The royal family there is still very respected by the population, not a lot of faith in the electoral system there.
BALDWIN: But then you also have secretary of state -- I think this was the State Department's P.J. Crowley, coming forward and saying we're very eager to work with a new cabinet in Jordan. So, the U.S. already coming forward --
(CROSSTALK)
HOLMES: Absolutely. Well, a big ally of the U.S., yes, one of the biggest, after Egypt in that region, other than Israel of course.
And as you said before, too, key here is Egypt, Jordan, both the only countries in the region with peace deals with Israel. And if you're going to have different looking governments in both those places, be it six months or 12 months from now, what will those governments make of those peace deals? Are they going to be as adherent to those peace deals as the incumbents are?
BALDWIN: So, bottom line for people watching here in the United States, and we have been watching the unrest in Egypt specifically -- what's the bottom-line takeaway with all this potential unrest in this entire region?
HOLMES: You're going to have at the end of this, the way it's looking, whether there are governments toppled or anything like that, the demonstrations themselves and the concessions that have been given by leaders all around the region, at the end of this, be it in two or three or four or five or six months, again, a very different looking Middle East in terms of just how things are run there.
BALDWIN: Michael Holmes, thank you.
HOLMES: It's good to see you.
BALDWIN: Who had the guts -- have you heard about this Bellagio story? Who had the guts to rob the Bellagio? Remember, that was two months ago, one of the biggest casinos in Vegas, if you've been there?
Police say they have a pretty good idea and they say this may not be his first heist. We have details from Vegas ahead.
Plus, we know Charlie Sheen is in rehab, but did you know his rehab is actually at home? We're now hearing from the guy who drove him there from the hospital. That's next.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK) BALDWIN: You remember the brazen robbery that rocked Las Vegas? Well, police have arrested the man accused of making off with more than $1 million worth of chips from of all places the Bellagio Casino.
Here is he. He's identified himself as 29-year-old Anthony Carleo, and according to the "Las Vegas Review-Journal," he is the son of a municipal court judge.
Police say the 29-year-old is the man seen in this video running out of there, wearing a motorcycle helmet. This was back in December.
Now they arrested him last night after he allegedly tried to sell the chips to undercover police officers. The Bellagio plans to stop using it's $25,000 chips in April. And get this, according to ABC News, Carleo was staying at the very hotel he was accused of robbing. Folks, he was staying at the Bellagio.
Carleo is expected to appear before a judge tomorrow, he is facing charges of robbery, burglary and drug trafficking. We are expecting more details to come when police hold a press conference tonight.
Now time to see what is trending and here is something a lot of you were tweeting me about right before I came up here for the show. Kenneth Cole, or someone on his behalf, took to his Twitter account today to pimp their products at the expense of the Egyptian uprisings.
So earlier today, this tweet was sent out. Take a look, "Millions are in uproar in Cairo, rumor is they heard our new spring collection is now available online."
Not long after that tweet started trending, a reaction and an apology came followed by this tweet. So they tweeted this then, "We weren't intending to make light of a serious situation, we understand the sensitivity of this historic moment."
And just in the last hour, Kenneth Cole removed the first tweet and directed people to his Facebook account to write this. He said, " I apologize to everyone who was offended by my insensitive tweets about the situation in Egypt. I have dedicated my life to raise awareness about serious social issues and in hindsight, my attempt at humor regarding a nation liberating themselves against oppression was poorly timed and absolutely inappropriate," end quote.
Also, trending today, Charlie Sheen and his show may be or may not be returning to production toward the end of the month. We also have the neighbor's 911 call to police.
Plus, Rihanna fans, she is now apparently poking fun at the media in this new racy video that's getting all kinds of attention online. Those are the rumors and reports. It's all trending today and CNN.com's Lisa Respers France good enough to sit down with me to walk through all this good, juicy stuff.
So talk to me about Charlie Sheen. LISA RESPERS FRANCE, CNN.COM WRITER/PRODUCER: OK, Charlie Sheen, he -- we got a hold of some of the 911 tape, a copy of the 911 tape from last Thursday. Thursday morning, one of his neighbors, Dr. Paul Nassif, gave a call. Dr. Nassif might look a little familiar to some people. He's one of the stars of "The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills" along with his wife Adrienne Maloof.
They first received a call from Charlie's house. Dr. Nassif said he was very worried --
BALDWIN: Are they neighbors?
RESPERS FRANCE: They are neighbors. Charlie got on the phone, he said he was in severe pain and so Dr. Nassif's immediately called 911 and here's a portion of that call.
(BEGIN AUDIO TAPE)
DR. PAUL NASSIF, FRIEND/NEIGHBOR OF CHARLIE SHEEN (via telephone): Hi, my name is Dr. Nassif. I live in Beverly Park in Beverly Hills.
911 OPERATOR: Yes, sir.
NASSIF: I just got a call from the residence of Charlie Sheen, from his secretary. Apparently, what he's saying (INAUDIBLE) intoxicated.
911 OPERATOR: All right.
NASSIF: And he's saying don't call 911, but he got him on the phone and he was very, very intoxicated. Also, apparently a lot of pain. Kind of weird, the phone call I received.
(END AUDIO TAPE)
RESPERS FRANCE: So as we know, Charlie then went to the hospital for the severe pain. It turns out he has a hernia condition.
And we later learned that leading up to going to going to the hospital, he allegedly had been partying pretty hard. One of the women there who was there who is also a porn star said that it was a two-day booze and drug fast. So allegedly, you know, he had some stuff going on before he even started feeling the pain from the hernia.
Dr. Nassif came to HLN's "SHOWBIZ" studios in Hollywood and spoke exclusively in a one-on-one with Brooke Anderson as he came right out of surgery, he was still wearing his scrubs and everything. And he revealed that he was actually the one who drove Charlie home from the hospital that night after he was there.
So let's take a listen to that.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
BROOKE ANDERSON, HOST, HLN'S "SHOWBIZ TONIGHT": Have you spoken with him since that call Thursday morning?
NASSIF: As a matter of fact, that night, since he was already checked out, I wanted to make sure he got home safe since there was a lot of media outside. I took him home and we had a nice conversation, you know, about all kinds of things. And it was very lighthearted, but a little bit serious at times and took him home and then his friends came over and then I left.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
RESPERS FRANCE: So now Charlie's doing rehab, reportedly at home, at his house.
BALDWIN: At his house. I didn't know that was possible.
RESPERS FRANCE: How lovely is that? I didn't know you could do that either.
And his rep is saying that Charlie plans on returning to work at the end of February, he's going to go back into production on "Two and a Half Men." So we'll see.
BALDWIN: We'll see, we'll see.
And finally here, Rihanna. So she has this new video, I haven't seen it, I have just seen the still picture.
RESPERS FRANCE: Yes, it's very racy. Very racy.
BALDWIN: Because why?
RESPERS FRANCE: Well, the song is called S&M.
BALDWIN: It's called S&M?
RESPERS FRANCE: It's called S&M.
BALDWIN: Well, at least she's not beating around the bush.
RESPERS FRANCE: No she's not beating around, she's getting right to the point.
So the video is kind of hot. She's scantily clad, shall we say. And her official YouTube channel was overwhelmed with fans trying to get a sneak peek of the video, be some of the first to glimpse the video. And if you look very closely, you'll even see a celebrity blogger in it, as a matter of fact.
BALDWIN: Let's watch. Let's watch it. Do we have it, guys?
(VIDEO CLIP)
RESPERS FRANCE: There was Perez Hilton. Celebrity blog Perez Hilton.
BALDWIN: Yes, that was, wearing a leash. RESPERS FRANCE: Wearing a leash and getting spanked a little bit, and he seemed like he liked it. Yes, so he was enjoying.
BALDWIN: Lisa.
RESPERS FRANCE: I'm just saying. I'm just putting it out there.
Reports are saying that the song has actually been axed by some daytime radio playlists --
BALDWIN: Saying it's a little too racy. It's needs to be reedited.
RESPERS FRANCE: It's a little too racy. And that the video has been banned reportedly in 11 countries. So we can't play the entire video, but you know --
BALDWIN: We don't want to get in trouble.
RESPERS FRANCE: We don't want to get in trouble, yes. But let's just say it's a little -- little hot.
BALDWIN: Little Gaga-esque.
RESPERS FRANCE: I think it's the Gaga-effect. I think that everybody is trying to be as outrageous and push the envelope.
BALDWIN: She's just missing the meat dress and then she'll have that all wrapped up there.
RESPERS FRANCE: Yes, maybe next video.
BALDWIN: Maybe next video.
Lisa, thank you.
RESPERS FRANCE: Thank you, Brooke.
BALDWIN: Thank you, thank you.
And you know, we all know buying a Super Bowl ad will cost you big, big bucks, but is it worth it? Wait until you hear how many candy bars or pizzas a company has to sell to come out in the green.
Plus, is it possible to tell whether you're a good driver? According to your, of all things, your zodiac sign? I know, it sounds farfetched, but Allstate put out a press release actually addressing that very issue. Now the company is backtracking just a little bit. We'll have that story for you next.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
BALDWIN: Now for our "CNN Equals Politics" update. I want to go to Jessica Yellin in Washington with the latest news hot off the Political Ticker.
Ms. Yellin, what do you have?
JESSICA YELLIN, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Hey, Brooke.
You remember back during the campaign, the Republicans pledged to cut spending, domestic nondiscretionary spending by $100 billion in the first year alone, right? Well, they have come out with their first cuts and House Republicans say $32 billion worth of cuts. A little bit short of their $100 billion pledge, right?
Well, they say no, no, no. You have to do the math differently and then you'll see that 32 billion really equals $58 billion, and that 58 billion it applies to our seven-month fiscal year. If you extended those cuts for a whole year, well that would be $100 billion. Therefore, you see, they've kept their campaign pledge.
What do you see coming? A bill political fight over just what these cuts amount to and whether Republicans are keeping their pledge here. This one is a story just beginning, Brooke, and they haven't even announced which programs are going to get some of that budget ax. So that is a cliffhanger coming, beginning next week.
Another story in the political world, the annual gathering of the Conservative Political Action Committee is usually a must-do for any Republican planning to run for president. Well, this year they have invited Sarah Palin to be their keynote speaker and she has said, nope, she's got a scheduling conflict.
Now it's not the first time she's turned down an invitation to speak before CPAC, but it's very unusual for people who plans to run in the Republican field. Whether this is a sign of what she plans to do or not, it's a little bit hard to read because this is an audience that is already very friendly to Sarah Palin. But it is a political question mark why she keeps turning down CPAC's invitations.
And then I got one on a lighter note, Brooke. JLo, guess where JLo's watching the Super Bowl this weekend?
BALDWIN: I -- she and her hubby, Mark Anthony. I was like why are they invited? Can I say that on TV?
(LAUGHTER)
YELLIN: Right.
(LAUGHTER)
YELLIN: Well, you know what? She and her hubby were both at the White House previously for a Latin music show, and she danced with the president and they must have been a big hit.
BALDWIN: So they're buddies?
YELLIN: I guess they're tight now, I don't know. But tight enough to get it to score a very coveted invitation. She says she's so excited she can't even believe it's happening. She sounded a little bit like she didn't want to talk about it too much or it would go away.
I don't know what you wear to watch the Super Bowl at the White House. Is jeans OK? I don't know.
BALDWIN: Jeans and a T-shirt.
YELLIN: Really?
BALDWIN: I'm a good, old-fashioned casual football kind of gal.
But JLo, she'll probably be sparkling, I'm sure.
YELLIN: Probably. It'll be a good day, I'm sure.
BALDWIN: Good for them.
Jessica Yellin, thank you so much.
You know, bad news for Scorpio drivers who believed Allstate last week when the insurance company said Scorpios are the safest drivers in the zodiac. A memo from Allstate, it was all a joke.
Time for Alison Kosik now live from New York.
And so, Alison, Allstate is now backing off a little bit of its story that Scorpios are safe drivers and that Virgos are the worst. Are they apologizing?
ALISON KOSIK, CNN BUSINESS CORRESPONDENT: They are apologizing, Brooke.
You know, this all began Allstate put out this press release, it's supposed to be tongue in cheek, but oops, yes, no one got the joke.
You know, what it wound up doing was correlating your zodiac sign to the accident rate, even putting a big bar chart together about this. They said that Scorpios who have a perfectionist nature, they were the safest drives and then they said that Virgos were considered cautious and timid with their driving habits, they were the worst drivers.
And the one thing about this that sticks out here is that the data was actually real. It was based on birthdays of actual customers who've actually had accidents, but the conclusions were made up.
So people got upset thinking that their sign was actually what determined what their rate on their policy should be. So, sure, the company came out and apologized and said, oops, we were just kidding.
BALDWIN: We all learned a lesson a couple weeks ago when someone tried to change around everyone's zodiac sign. You don't mess with that. It's very highly personal for a lot of people.
KOSIK: That's where they got the idea from.
BALDWIN: There you go.
KOSIK: Exactly.
BALDWIN: And next here, let's talk about the Super Bowl. Yes, some of us watch for the football, others watch for the ads. So, you got to see the ads, we know they're a little pricey. I know you have done the math.
KOSIK: Just a little.
BALDWIN: Do they pay off?
KOSIK: Well, I can't take credit for the math --
BALDWIN: Oh, come on. You're smart.
(CROSSTALK)
KOSIK: -- University of Virginia -- not that smart. He's crunched his numbers, kind of back-of-the-envelope crunching of the numbers. You know, to start with, we know that it's going to cost about $3 million for the 30-second ad. And he found out this: that Snickers would have to sell 6 million candy bars just to break even with this commercial time. Bridgestone Tires would have to sale 298,000 tires, Sketchers would have to sell 200,000 pairs of shoes. That's just to break even after spending $3 million on a 30-second spot for the Super Bowl, Brooke.
BALDWIN: But you know, with all the eyes on the Super Bowl -
KOSIK: Is it worth it?
BALDWIN: Maybe it's easier said than done. What did you say, $3 million for 30 seconds?
KOSIK: Exactly. And you know what? It is a lot of money. A lot of these big-name companies, Brooke, aren't even bothering to spend the money because you know what? Their name's already out there. It's really these smaller companies that are taking advantage. Exaclty. Like GroupOn, GoDaddy, they're going to be advertising during the Super Bowl. We'll see what they have to show for it.
BALDWIN: I'll be watching. Alison Kosik, thank you so much.
And Bradley Manning, you know his name. He's that Army private suspected of giving away all of those secrets to Wikileaks. You know that. But did you know he should not have been deployed to Iraq in the first place? Coming up, the major red flags.
Also, is the Egyptian government now cracking down on members of the media? Journalists are big targets right now. We're live at the State Department, next.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
BALDWIN: A couple of stories here. One, why are reporters being rounded up in Egypt? Two, there is an evil weather pattern developing. And three, fair warning. What the Army was told about the private's link to the whole Wikileaks scandal. There's a lot going on in the world today.
Time now to play "Reporter Roulette." We want to begin at the State Department with Jill Dougherty. And Jill, really, why? Why are the journalists being rounded up, and do we know who's orchestrating this?
JILL DOUGHERTY, CNN FOREIGN AFFAIRS CORRESPODNENT: Well, they believe here at the State Department and at the White House, that it could be connected to what we expect is going to happen tomorrow or Friday, and that is an even bigger demonstration.
These pictures have been terrible for the Egyptian government to have the violence and deaths we have been seeing on the streets. And so the theory goes, they don't want that to happen. They're rounding up the journalists.
Now, who's doing it? It appears according to P.J. Crowley, who's the State Department spokesperson and others here at the State Department that it is coming from inside the government. It could be coming either from the government, the ruling party, they just don't know, they say, how high up it goes. But some told us it's probably the minister of the interior.
BALDWIN: And Jill, I know there are concerns there that even tomorrow could be even more volatile, more violent even than today. Jill Dougherty for me at the State Department. Jill, thank you.
And you think this winter has thrown enough harsh weather our way? Think again. Next on "Reporter Roulette," we have Chad Myers and dare I ask, sir, what's next?
CHAD MYERS, AMS METEOROLOGIST: Texas, Louisiana, Memphis. Only this much.
BALDWIN: This much of what?
MYERS: That's the problem, isn't it? If we were talking about rain, that would be no issue. But that much rain and 31 or 32 degrees will make Texas slip-sliding away. There's some kind of bad country song about all of that --
BALDWIN: We'll refrain from singing it.
MYERS: I'm sorry, what?
BALDWIN: We'll refrain from singing it.
MYERS: I don't sing, even in church. They don't let me. They say, be quiet.
From Texas up to Louisiana, Memphis -- and even Mississippi and Alabama, there will be a small icing event tonight. Now, this event in Minnesota doesn't even make them second page of the paper. Neither - you know, same story in New York, not a big deal. But when you put this type of weather in places that don't get this type of weather maybe once in five years, you're going to get people driving around crazily. You're going to get schools cancelled. Pay attention to that weather.
BALDWIN: Quickly, 30 seconds, What did make the front page is this blizzard over the past couple of days. Is the snow done there?
MYERS: Over Even the lake-effect snow is over from that.
BALDWIN: OK. OK. Chad Myers, thank you.
And what did the military know about that Army private at the center of the Wikileaks scandal? Next on "Reporter Roulette," Chris Lawrence at the Pentagon. And Chris, what is the latest that you're learning here in this investigation, into Bradley Manning that Army private suspected of giving all that information to Wikileaks?
CHRIS LAWRENCE, CNN PENTAGON CORRESPONDENT: Yes, Brooke. A military official tells me that the investigators have been looking into how this happened, found that his commanders back in Fort Drum, New York, ignored some of the warnings that he might not be fit for deployment and they sent him to Iraq anyway. Now, they told me that the warnings had nothing to do with his physical state, but they wouldn't go further than that. They said the reason was because Manning's skills as an analyst were going to be needed by Iraq, even though they knew ahead of time that he was going to have access to classified material over there.
BALKDWIN: How about that? Do we know, Chris, has he actually been formally charged in the whole Wikileaks investigation?
LAWRENCE: Well, he's been charged with downloading a video, a classified video of a U.S. helicopter crew firing on to Iraqis there in Iraq a few years ago. He's also charged with downloading classified State Department cables and then delivering that information to someone who was not authorized to have it. The Army hasn't -- the military hasn't specifically tied him to all of those hundreds of thousands of documents that Wikileaks put on its site.
BALDWIN: What about potential time behind bars if convicted?
LAWRENCE: Yes, right now, he's -- for the last several months, he's been on maximum security, and under this special prevention of injury watch. It means he's in his cell by himself for 23 hours a day. He's allowed one book at a time. He has to strip down to his underwear at night.
The military says this is done because this is what has been recommended by the people who are around him. They say he's not being treated any differently than any other detainee, but some of his friends and his lawyers say he's the only one that's been under this sort of restrictions for this long.
BALDWIN: Chris Lawrence at the Pentagon. Chris -
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DAVID HOUSE, VISITED PFC BRADLEY MANNING: He seemed more frazzled, and sometimes he seemed simply catatonic, unable to have any conversations about anything really. I definitely think this is related to the fact that he's kept for 23 hours a day confined to his cell without contact with any other inmates.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
LAWRENCE: That was David House, just visited Bradley Manning just a few days ago, Brooke.
BALDWIN: Got it. Chris, thank you for explaining. And that's your "Reporter Roulette" for this Thursday.
Have you heard the reports about trouble in Chelsea Clinton's marriage? We're getting to the bottom of that story today in ""Political Pop"."
Also, we also now know where parties will be holding their 2012 convin -- conventions. But what's behind those decisions? Apparently, there's all kinds of secret strategy.
Joe Johns has all the details there from Washington. Joe is next.
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BALDWIN: Time now for your dose of "Political Pop" and convention time. The Democrats chose Charlotte, North Carolina. Joe Johns, why Charlotte? It's a lovely Southern city, but why Charlotte?
JOE JOHNS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: It really is a nice city, isn't it? But let's just say it. The president has had some good luck there in North Carolina. But the more important thing is, he definitely needs some help in the South big time. A recent CNN poll shows one of the president's greatest weaknesses is among voters in the South, especially white voters in the South.
But almost surprisingly, Barack Obama actually won North Carolina last time around. North Carolina is one of the states where it hadn't been won by any other Democratic president since Jimmy Carter in since 1976. Also, Brooke, North Carolina doesn't have a Senate race this year, which means there won't be any major distractions or conflicts, if you will. So, Charlotte gets the nod, which got a huge reaction from the folks in Charlotte. Listen to this.
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UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Hot damn, wasn't that good news? Whooo!
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BALDWIN: That's fantastic. Who is that? Is that the mayor? JOHNS: You know what? I'm not sure. It's funny too. I used to live in Charlotte and I should know. There's the skyline, I mean it's not the most impressive. But it's just a wonderful city, and nice and hot during the summer, I can tell you that.
BALDWIN: I'm being told my Angie Massey that it's the fundraising chair, so there we go. Love that reaction!
And there's also, speaking of reaction, there's some fun facts out there about what it's going to take to put the convention on in Charlotte.
JOHNS: Yes. I mean one of the biggest fun facts, I think that we have is out there, is something like 250 air-conditioned buses. That's incredible, isn't it? They're going to spend $41 million of private money to try to put this thing on. And this is all according to "The Charlotte Observer." One of the most interesting things, I think is, you know -- there you go, that's the last convention that, the huge stage that you see that's supposed to dazzle the audiences and hold the television audience's attention for three or four days. That's going to get a lot of the money. But then, you know, there's office space and all kinds of things like that, so a lot of fun facts out there about how much money the city is actually spending just to get this thing rolling in town.
BALDWIN: Well, you know, they spend the money, but they get big business of course. So, that's Charlotte.
Let's talk St. Louis, because there were some reports out that senator Claire McCaskill did not want the convention in (INAUDIBLE) because she was afraid it would, what? Complicate her election bid?
JOHNS: Yes, isn't that funny? New York Times put it out. I'm not taking sides on this. She's been denying it with a vengeance, and she does have some cover on it because she was pretty out front, supporting the idea of bringing the convention to her home state. Now she says it's ridiculous. She's be against (ph) all the jobs and money at the conventions.
But just remember, this is Barack Obama's convention, and this is a president who has had some real approval ratings problems. So who knows where he's going to be in the polls next summer? And coattails can be a real drag for a senator and re-elect like that .
BALDWIN: Joe, 30 seconds. What is all this fuss over Chelsea Clinton and her husband, Marc Mezvinsky?
JOHNS: Well, you listen to them, it's vicious rumors, and this is a poor couple that has been known so well in Washington, the daughter of a former president, the son of a former congresswoman. And we do know Chelsea Clinton and Marc Mezvinsky got married last year. He's an investment banker.
And a swirl hits when he leaves his job to go skiing in Jackson Hole. And, you know, mysterious, right? Chelsea Clinton is still working on her Ph.D. at NYU, and there was a report that she was going to visit him in Jackson Hole when she can.
So it's sort of the way that story was configured. "People" magazine is reporting they're happy, they're just fine, thank you very much.
BALDWIN: What? You can't have a long distance little romance for a few months? Come on now.
JOHNS: Yes. You know, I mean, I guess when the president was working on the road and Mrs. Clinton was back at the White House, or whatever, I suppose you had a lot of travel in that relationship, too. So who knows?
BALDWIN: I suppose so. Who knows? Who knows? Just rumors, like you said, Joe Johns.
Thank you so much.
JOHNS: You bet.
BALDWIN: Listen to this. A young girl gets hit by a car. And while she's in a coma, in the hospital, mind you, she gets a ticket for jaywalking. I know. How could that be, you ask? We're "On the Case."
Also, have you ever heard of a gator amusement park? Yes, neither have I. But apparently on exists, and it involves an aerial obstacle course.
"You Gotta See This" next.
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BALDWIN: Being up close to an alligator can be, I don't know, maybe kind of exciting. But you take a gator farm, and you add a zip line, and you've got to see this.
St. Augustine, Florida, where an alligator has just upped the ante. As if seeing hundreds of gators up close wasn't enough for you, yes, try rolling on down that zip line where, apparently, you can fly over the alligators. I'm a pretty adventurous person, did the whole zip line through the jungle in Costa Rica last spring. But over alligators, I think I'll pass.
Next, when life gives you lemons, you make lemonade. When life gives you snow, you make snowballs -- and you fight. That is precisely what these University of Wisconsin management students did.
That's a mighty big snowball, I must say. Classes got canceled because of the rough winter, so they had a campus-wide snowball fight, and that's how you make the most out of all the winter weather. Kind of fun.
Over to New Hampshire. Plenty of car crashes happened on Interstate 93 during the snowstorm, but none quite like this. Look at that, totally perpendicular to the road. The vehicle slid off the highway, down the eight-foot embankment. Instead of coming to a stop or overturning, the car somehow got stuck. Its front end facing straight down into the snow.
The woman made it out safely, but let's all say this together -- yikes!
You can also probably say that about the situation still unfolding here, day 10 now of those demonstrations in Egypt. We're following the uprising there. And today you have a new angle -- journalists are being targeted.
Wolf Blitzer joining me now.
They don't want to be the center of the story. But now, Wolf, it sort of emerged as part of the story now in Cairo.
WOLF BLITZER, CNN HOST: Yes. And it's not just American journalists or journalists from Al Jazeera or Al Arabiya. It's journalists from all over the world, foreign correspondents who are in Cairo right now.
Not only are they being attacked when they're out there -- let's say at Tahrir Square, Liberation Square, doing their job, trying to interview people and report on what's going on -- but we're now told there are thugs that are actually going into offices, into hotels, and grabbing journalists. Some of them are being arrested, some of them are being beaten.
We're going to be speaking with some of them in "THE SITUATION ROOM."
We're also going to be speaking, Brooke, with Nick Kristof of "The New York Times," the two-time Pulitzer Prize-winning columnist. He's been right in the thick of things from day one, and he's got some amazing tweets he's been sending out, sending out all day today. We're going to go in depth with him, we're going to get his reaction on what's going on.
And, of course, all of our journalists will be joining us as well. They are eyewitnesses to this historic event that's unfolding on the streets of Cairo right now. We'll have extensive coverage over the next two hours.
BALDWIN: It's stunning. And as you pointed out last hour, tomorrow could be worse. Wolf, we'll see you in eight minutes on "THE SITUATION ROOM."
But next to this here, you know Dan Snyder. He is a billionaire. He's also the owner of the Washington Redskins.
And a newspaper really did something to set him off. So he is suing.
Sonny Hostin tells us if he has a case. That's next.
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BALDWIN: Now to tomorrow's news today. Let's "Fast Forward."
The Super Bowl countdown begins, and the coaches of the Packers and the Steelers will be holding their news conferences, as well as we'll be hearing from NFL commissioner Roger Goodell.
Also tomorrow, musicians sing the blues in Memphis. Acts from all around the world are there to compete for prizes and cash in the International Blues Challenge.
And you better watch this show tomorrow. Why? Yes, I'm talking to this guy, Ron Jeremy, the porn star. And my conversation will involve churches, porn addiction, and football players.
Folks, don't miss it.
Now to this. The other cheek only turns so far. That's one lesson here in this $2 billion lawsuit the owner of the Washington Redskins has filed against the owners of "Washington City Paper."
Now, the lawsuit says Dan Snyder's "ability to turn the other cheek" was exhausted last fall. What was the last straw? Well, the paper printed this: "The Cranky Redskins Fans' Guide to Dan Snyder."
Sunny Hostin is always "On the Case" for me.
And what was it, Sunny, in this guide that has caused not just one, but $2 million worth of trouble?
SUNNY HOSTIN, "IN SESSION," TRUTV: That's right. And it's interesting.
I don't know that it was what was in the article that caused the trouble. It was what was on the cover of this article.
There was a picture of Dan -- and I think we have a copy of it -- and it sort of has horns and a beard drawn on his face. And he's very upset about that.
He says that's anti-Semitic, they're being offensive. And he also says they're just making these outlandish defamatory statements.
BALDWIN: There it is.
HOSTIN: There it is. I mean, he's very, very upset about those scribbles that were on his picture of the cover of the "City Paper."
BALDWIN: So, I mean, I lived in D.C., I know you did, too. Everybody kind of knows who Dan Snyder is. He's obviously a public figure.
But does he have any standing to sue here given the picture we just saw? And secondly, could he win?
HOSTIN: Well, you know, I always say you can sue anyone for anything. But as a public figure, Brooke, this is going to be a really difficult case.
Public figures and proving defamation not only have to prove that the statements are false, they've got an extra hurdle. They have got to prove that the statement was made with actual malice, that whoever wrote these articles knew that the statements were false and they did it to sort of to get at him. That's a really, really high burden.
And what the paper is saying, Brooke, is, we stand by our columnists. We think we have got the facts correct.
So very interesting battle. They say that they are going to defend this $2 million lawsuit vigorously. Quite a fight they have got going on just because of a little scratch on a picture.
BALDWIN: How about that? That's interesting, though, that as a public figure, you have to prove that's actual malice involved there.
Second case here, Sunny, we have an update -- you and I talked about this before -- an update on that 13-year-old girl who was handed a jaywalking ticket while she was in the hospital, in a coma, after being hit by a car. Here she is.
She's obviously now out of the hospital, and she's suing. She's suing the driver who allegedly hit her.
HOSTIN: She sure did.
BALDWIN: So I'm a little confused over this story. So if she's in a coma and in the hospital, and she was ticketed for jaywalking, what would she then be suing for?
HOSTIN: Well, she's suing for negligence. She's saying that the person that hit her was negligent per se and just ran into her.
I mean, it's actually going to be a pretty interesting case, because of course she got this ticket for jaywalking, so the argument, I think, is that she contributed to this accident. Part of this accident was her fault.
But I do have a copy of the lawsuit, and I have to say, it's very clear that she suffered really, really terrible injuries here. And the ticket, Brooke, that she got for jaywalking was dismissed by a judge. And so I don't know how much of a defense that's going to be for this driver here.
BALDWIN: I want to ask you about just briefly her injuries in a moment, but, you know, just playing this side of it, wasn't she in the wrong? I mean, she was initially issued that ticket for jaywalking, right?
HOSTIN: That's right. And, I mean, that certainly is going to be an issue in this case.
If you are jaywalking and you get hit, you're walking outside of the crosswalk, then you could possibly sort of lessen your damages because you contributed to it. But the -- rather the people that are walking, the pedestrians, really always have the right of way. And so I think this is going to be a tough case for this driver to defend.
BALDWIN: We saw some of the pictures of her sort of beaten body and some of the scratches and stitches. Talk to me a little bit about her injuries and how she's doing now.
HOSTIN: Well, she's not doing that well. Her mother says that she is now in rehab for severe brain injuries, Brooke. She has difficult hearing. She has sensitivity to light. And most importantly, she's had some personality changes.
So this is a very different 13-year-old today than she was when she was hit by this car. And so her mother says she just wants the 13-year-old back that she sent to school that day.
BALDWIN: That is so, so sad. Can you argue? She wants her daughter back.
HOSTIN: Very sad.
BALDWIN: Sonny Hostin, thank you so much. We will see you tomorrow.
In the meantime, still a developing story out of Egypt. There, demonstrations, day 10, and now journalists being arrested, being beaten.
Wolf Blitzer has everything right now in "THE SITUATION ROOM."
