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Husband of Gabrielle Giffords Headed to Space; Egypt Protests Continue; Bellagio Theft Suspect Arrested; Porn Sunday; U.S. Is 'Addict Nation'; Weekend: Republicans and Reagan; McCain: Won't Endorse 2012 Candidate; Mark Foley Re-Enters Political Fray; Security at Super Bowl; 'Political Pop'; 'On the Case'
Aired February 04, 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: The clock ticks. The world waits. Will the Egyptian president cave to protesters' demands and leave office? CNN is all over it. I'm Brooke Baldwin. The news is now.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
BALDWIN (voice-over): They gave him a deadline, but Hosni Mubarak isn't budging, and now the military becomes the biggest wild card. Plus, President Obama's biggest concern might be what happens after the protesters go home.
Someone pulled of what seemed to be the impossible heist, but did police catch up with the alleged Bellagio suspect thanks to his big mouth? We're on the case.
Also, BlackBerrys, food, sex, guns. Jane Velez-Mitchell says America is a nation of addiction, and she's telling us how to fix it.
And are you afraid someone could be reading your text messages? Many people are using technology to get rid of them before they can cause trouble.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
BALDWIN: Hi, everyone. I'm Brooke Baldwin. If it's interesting and it's happening right now, you're about to see it. Rapid fire, I want to begin with the situation in Egypt that we're monitoring very, very closely there.
You can see thousands of people filling the streets of Cairo, telling the Egyptian president to get out and get out now. Tonight marks the protesters' unofficial deadline, but Hosni Mubarak is still in power. President Obama said moments ago that a transition process in Egypt must begin now.
We're going to get you to a live report coming up in just a matter of minutes.
Also developing right now, astronaut Mark Kelly says he will command a space shuttle at the end of April. You know he's married to Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords. Endeavour is scheduled to lift off in April, so -- so what does his decision say about Giffords' recovery in Houston? We will get you a live report on that as well ahead.
And to Orlando -- we are getting a report from our affiliate WKMG of shots fired at that hotel. That's the Palace Hotel. Police say a man wanted on murder charges began shooting inside one of those hotel rooms just as officers served an arrest warrant. It's still not clear whether anyone is hurt, but we're told the hotel was evacuated obviously for safety reasons. We are going to get you updates as soon as we get them.
To Italy and I want you to take a look at this boy playing the video game. And he fell. Did you see that? He was so caught up with this game, didn't realize he was walking on to the tracks in a subway station. Fortunately, an off-duty police officer jumped in to rescue him. A train was due at the station any minute. There he goes.
And listen to this. More than 20,000 service men and women lost their homes last year. That's according to RealtyTrac, which tracks real estate. They include veterans, active-duty troops and reservists who took out government-backed mortgages. Folks, this is the highest number in seven years.
In Virginia, the U.S. Navy is discharging 16 sailors for using or dealing spice. Have you heard of this? It's a synthetic drug that is apparently sort of similar to pot. Apparently, the use of spice is on the rise in the Navy. The sailors were based in Norfolk.
New York State, this tangled mess was a barn on a dairy farm. It collapsed, as you can tell there, Wednesday night, trapping more than 250 cows inside. Oh, no. Some of them were crushed, but most were rescued by 200 people who came out to help all night long. A heavy load of snow on the roof is suspected in that collapse.
Florida -- made you look. Clever way to advertise, isn't it? I looked up. The auto body repair shop showing a Lamborghini crashing through the roof. It's actually a new sign celebrating the 30 years in the business. I love that.
Also in Florida, check out this house. This is Port St. John. Investigators raided it last night. The man who lives here is suspected of stealing and selling pieces of NASA's space shuttles. Neighbors believe that the pieces were thermal tiles that make up the shuttle's heat shield. Those apparently can sell on eBay for more than 300 bucks each.
Virginia, an NFL star busted for road rage. Police say Albert Haynesworth, who played for the Redskins in D.C., got out of his car at a red light and roughed up another driver. He's now charged with assault.
To California, and there's nothing like good old -- a good old food fight, unless someone goes to jail as a result. That is what happened to one manager of a San Rafael pizza parlor after he and another person allegedly vandalized a competitor. You saw the graffiti a second ago. We're talking broken windows, spray paint on the walls. The manager is out of jail, and out of a job. We are learning a little bit more about the guy accused of robbing that Bellagio casino in Vegas, including how police caught up with him. It involves the Salvation Army. That's all I will tell you. That is ahead.
Plus, let's move forward on Egypt. What happens after all these protests? Today marks day 11. What happens after President Mubarak steps down? Does the government listen to its people, or does it become a breeding ground for extremists? Michael Holmes is standing by. He's running by. He's going to be joining me next with globe trekking.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
BALDWIN: OK. Welcome back.
We heard just a couple of minutes ago President Barack Obama speak about the current crisis in Egypt. We just wanted to replay some of that. Here's part of what he said.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
BARACK OBAMA, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Second, the future of Egypt will be determined by its people. It's also clear that there needs to be a transition process that begins now. That transition must initiate a process that respects the universal rights of the Egyptian people and that leads to free and fair elections.
Now, the details of this transition will be worked out by Egyptians. And my understanding is that some discussions have begun. But we are consulting widely within Egypt and with the international community to communicate our strong belief that a successful and orderly transition must be meaningful.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BALDWIN: And he said, Michael Holmes, that it needs to be meaningful. In order for it to be meaningful, it also needs to include a broad range of people involved in that transition.
MICHAEL HOLMES, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: It does. An orderly transition, but what is that transition. What will that transition look like? And that's the question.
Are you going to have some interim government? Are you going to abide by the constitution, which says if the president steps down, the speaker of the Parliament takes over, and then who do you involve in those discussions? You don't have organized opposition groups yet.
It's a very complicated thing. I was talking to a couple of military officers in Egypt yesterday. They said that Mubarak could end up going if things continue to go from bad to worse on the streets.
They would still like to see him stay until those September elections, though, because working out this transition is a difficult thing to do. If you're going to have the constitution involved, does it need tweaking to allow certain candidates to stand and stuff like that? It's a complex thing. And then you have the whole question of the military as well.
BALDWIN: Well, don't we -- I think the United States gives the military in Egypt something like $1.5 billion each and every year.
HOLMES: Mm-hmm.
BALDWIN: So, given the fact that the U.S. is giving all of this, there is a little bit of anti-Americanism on the streets according to Ivan Watson, who I was talking to a moment ago.
Are you surprised by that at all?
HOLMES: Oh, not at all.
I mean, there's -- there's been surveys done. I mean, the last one that I remember being done showed an approval of the U.S. or a positive view of the U.S. on the street in Egypt of 17 percent, which is why the U.S. has got to be careful about who it backs and who it is seen to back.
And you can hear the careful wording by the president. The thing that he's probably nervous about, too, is -- is how much this -- this good relationship with the military that the U.S. has -- they are talking all the time -- is the military going to use these months until September to consolidate their own power?
Think about it. The new vice president, the new prime minister, the new -- the defense minister all former generals, as is Hosni Mubarak, of course, half of the cabinet, former generals, 80 percent of the governors former generals. So, there -- there would be a concern that the democratic process, this transition does involve a huge civilian component, and when you look at how it's made up now, not so much.
BALDWIN: So, as we watch, there are so many different sort of storylines, if you will.
HOLMES: Yes.
(CROSSTALK)
BALDWIN: We're watching what happens with the military, and perhaps part that have is predicated upon what happens with Hosni Mubarak. It's predicated upon what happens on the streets.
So, will it take for those people on the streets to leave, for Mubarak to step down now? I mean, you yourself have called him stubborn.
HOLMES: Well, he's very stubborn. And he's a survivor. He's survived assassination attempts. He is still there after 30 years. He clearly wants to stay until September. But -- and there are those, as I say, who think that that is actually probably the best thing in terms of having an orderly transition. He steps down tomorrow, then what?
BALDWIN: Right.
HOLMES: And -- and so that is the question. But then the other side of it is, do -- will the military use that time to consolidate its political power? They are -- they're in a privileged position in Egypt. They have the biggest houses on the seafront.
BALDWIN: Hmm.
HOLMES: They don't want to give up that $1.3 billion and the privilege that comes with it.
BALDWIN: That's an interesting point.
Michael Holmes, have a good weekend.
HOLMES: I have got to go do my show now.
(CROSSTALK)
BALDWIN: You have had a long week, huh?
HOLMES: It started Sunday.
(LAUGHTER)
BALDWIN: Thank you so much.
HOLMES: See you.
BALDWIN: Also still to come, adult film actor Ron Jeremy is here. He's going to talk to me. There he is.
Hey, Ron.
Going to talk to me about National Porn Sunday. Yes. Churches across the country, they are being encouraged to talk about porn this weekend in church. You won't want to miss that conversation coming up.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
BALDWIN: I have an update for you on that courageous 13-year-old Nadin Khoury -- I spoke with him earlier this week -- whose bullying incident was caught on cell phone video, is more or less what police were calling this brag video. It most definitely caught our attention.
He spoke with me and he talked to me about how he's learning to stand up for himself, but he also spoke yesterday on ABC's "The View." And he said he's been bullied because he is one of the smallest ones, to quote him. But, after the surprise he got on the show -- I don't know if you were watching -- I'm not so sure if someone is going to try messing with him ever again.
Watch this.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP, "THE VIEW")
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: There are some guys here that also want to tell you just how brave you are.
Please welcome Pro Bowl wide receiver DeSean Jackson, center Jamaal Jackson, and guard Todd Herremans.
(CHEERING AND APPLAUSE)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: They are here for you.
(CHEERING AND APPLAUSE)
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BALDWIN: So, the players -- and you see -- he's offering him his jersey -- they also offered the family, Nadin and his mother, Rebecca, free tickets to any game next season.
He was tearful. It was quite -- quite a moment there.
Some disappointing news though on the jobs front today. The unemployment rate dropped in January to 9 percent. It was the 9.4 percent in December, but fewer jobs were added than expected, only 36,000, and some economists are actually blaming the winter weather.
Meanwhile, one place that is still hiring is Google. Remember we talked about this last week. We told you the company said it would hire thousands of people this year. Guess how many applications they have gotten just in the last week alone. More than 75,000.
Alison Kosik is live for me there in New York.
And, Alison, I guess we can't really be surprised given the fact that they have like perks out the wazoo there at Google, but is that a record for them?
ALISON KOSIK, CNN BUSINESS CORRESPONDENT: Actually, it happens to be a record, Brooke. I mean, in one week Google got more than 75,000 job applications from around the world. I mean, that's huge.
BALDWIN: Sure.
KOSIK: And listen to this, Google says they look at every single application they get. I'm talking about actual human beings. That's amazing in itself.
Yes, this all stemmed from that big hiring spree they announced. They were looking for 6,000 people to join their company. They are revving up hiring because they are expanding in a big way.
Sure, and you said it, Brooke. It's not only a good job, they've got some great perks. Onsite oil changes and dry cleaning, you name it.
BALDWIN: Carpool, massage chairs, yoga classes. I've been there, I've eaten there.
KOSIK: I could use some of that.
BALDWIN: It's pretty amazing.
Let's talk about this texting story. You were tweeting about it earlier day. There's this new text messaging service, Alison, that appears to be named after Tiger Woods. So by the way, the company, they are calling themselves Tiger Text, says it has no affiliation to Tiger Woods. They are just, you know, clearing that up, but -- but what does this service entail here?
KOSIK: Well, yes, it really makes you wonder if it's not named after them, but we'll put that aside for a minute.
So this is all about, if you like to text and you have something to hide, this is exactly for you. So what this is is a new text messaging service and you actually download. It's called Tiger Text.
Now both concerned and the receiver, they have to have the app for this whole thing to work. And what Tiger does is Tiger Text lets you send text that literally vanished, poof, they are deleted from the concerned and the receiver's phones. You get to specify when. It could be within a minute to 30 days. This is so these text messages can't be copied or forwarded.
You know, Brooke, it's apparently it's a favorite among celebrities who apparently have a lot to hide, Brooke.
BALDWIN: Hmm, shouldn't have too much to hide. Tiger Texting, just when you think you haven't heard it all, we now have.
Alison Kosik in New York. Have a great weekend, Alison.
And to the next story, let's talk about pornography, and we'll also talk about a little football here, because this Sunday is not just about Super Bowl Sunday. It is porn Sunday. It's a day to talk about porn with your spouse. According to a guy I'm going to speak with, you're supposed to talk about porn with your kids, with people at your house parties and even with members of your church.
The man behind Porn Sunday, his name is Craig Gross, there he is, I think with a Green Bay Packers jersey on as well.
CRAIG GROSS, FOUNDER, XXXCHURCH.COM: Go Packers.
BALDWIN: Go Packers.
He's the founder of XXXChurch.com, and he says that Super Bowl Sunday is a great time to tackle pornography, especially at church. In fact, he's calling it "the elephant in the pew."
And you may, some of you, I don't know, may recognize this guy. This is Ron Jeremy. He has starred in hundreds of adult movies and he's actually one of the few porn stars who has managed to cross over into mainstream entertainment.
So, hello, gentlemen. Nice to have you on.
Craig, I just want to begin -- I want to begin with you. You know, as a pastor, what is your stance, first and foremost, on pornography?
GROSS: I'm against pornography, but we're for helping people that are caught up in it. And so to me I think it's fantasy. It's not reality. It's not what you're going to find in real sexual experiences. And the bible is pretty clear, it says run away from sexual sin.
And so what we're trying to do with National Porn Sunday is get people in the church, or out of the church, to talk about this subject that I believe is tearing apart homes, breaking apart marriages, and just -- it's not having a positive effect on families, and so we're trying to get that message out there.
BALDWIN: And we'll get to Porn Sunday in a moment, but obviously you say and the bible says, you know, no to porn. But then, Ron, to you. You meet this pastor. Comes to porn conventions of all places, here's there handing out bibles.
I mean, what was your first thought when you meet this guy? Like, who is this pastor at my porn convention?
RON JEREMY, ADULT FILM ACTOR: You asking me this.
BALDWIN: I'm asking you this, yes.
GROSS: Yes.
JEREMY: Oh, I'm sorry.
BALDWIN: What were you thinking when you met him?
JEREMY: Well, I was debating a feminist named Susan Cole originally, and Craig said he'd like to debate me on the road, and seemed like a sincere guy. I like Craig, we get along very well as friends. I disagree with some things he says, of course. I think porn can be viewed recreationally.
But look, if there are people who have an addiction problem with anything -- look, if somebody has a problem addicted to alcohol, you don't blame the alcohol company, but they still need help.
I don't think it's our fault that some people have addictions to it, but if Craig can find them and help them, nothing wrong with them. If he finds girls in the business that might not really belong in the business, let them weed it out.
I don't want to see people get hurt or have problems, so I don't mind -- I like what Craig does, believe it or not. You know, if he finds people who have problems with it. But I believe that you can view porn recreationally. He doesn't agree with that.
BALDWIN: Well, of course, you believe that. I would imagine, that would make sense. And I want to challenge you on that in just a moment here.
But Craig, I want to talk about Porn Sunday and we're going to play little clip because I know, you know -- you have a couple of buddies, professional football players who are involved in this clip that you want a lot of people to watch. Let's just show part of it.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
MATT HASSELBECK, NFL QUARTERBACK: Sex is an awesome thing that god designed, but here's how he designed it.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It's so tough for guys to fess up and to deal with it because guys are prideful.
JOSH MCCOWN, UFL QUARTERBACK: I would go home and sit with the laptop and I would have a conversation and I would battle with not even wanting to open it up, not even want to check e-mails because I knew where it might lead me.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BALDWIN: So, Craig, I know that, you know, porn you're saying can't be too taboo to talk about with your spouse. And it causes a bit of tension in some relationships and so you're offering the software and it got so many of us talking about this on my team.
Tell me about X3watch and I want al significant others to pay close attention here, how does it work, including e-mail?
GROSS: Here's the thing, you know, most religion people, they're against it and we boycott and we protest. That's not what we do. We want to help people. So the best thing that we found was, most people look at porn, about 70 percent, in secrecy.
So what we did was create X3watch, that's available at X3wathc.com, it's free for a PC and now it's on iPhone, on android, on your Mac. And what it does is it e-mails anything questionable that you might visit.
So if you go to ronjeremy.com, and my best friend, Jake Larson and wife, Janette, are going to get the time and date of that URL of that website that I went to that contains questionable material. So it's voluntary, but it's something that gets that problem out of the dark and into the light.
BALDWIN: But, Ron, how could you even want to hear something like this? Look, let's be honest, I mean, the bottom line is making a little bit of money. How could a porn addiction, from your perspective, be a bad thing? You know, you make millions --
JEREMY: It's a bad thing. It's a bad thing.
(CROSSTALK)
BALDWIN: Why would you want somebody being pinged on e-mail that someone is watching porn? Don't you want everyone watching it?
JEREMY: We want healthy, happy people watching porn, we've always wanted that. And his 70 percent, I totally dispute those -- I'm looking at statistics, and he's wrong about that. Whenever we debate at colleges. I always say with a show hands, who watches porn with a significant other, boyfriend/girlfriend, and 80 percent of the hands go up in the air.
So Craig, with his own two eyes, has witnessed huge audiences in different colleges around the country, sometimes 5,000 people, where the majority have seen porn with a significant other. So this 70 percent see it alone, I don't know where he gets the statistics, you know?
BALDWIN: OK, so you're disagreeing on that. But what I'm getting --
(CROSSTALK)
JEREMY: Not a lot.
BALDWIN: -- from what I've read, you two friends, that it should not be taboo, the subject of pornography. That it's something --
JEREMY: That's correct.
BALDWIN: -- I know, Craig, you're taking this opportunity Sunday to have a conversation, but really what's the takeaway for people sitting here watching? It's something people need to talk about every day?
GROSS: Yes. I think it's something that, one, we're trying to raise awareness that this is a huge problem. Forty million people a day are watching pornographic images on a screen. And so what we want to let people know there's help and there's hope. There's ways that you can kind of battle through this.
You can tackle this issue, but it's not going to go anywhere if we just remain in quiet and in secret so we're trying to get churches just to say, hey, we're OK to talk about it, and we want to help people kind of on that journey out of porn or out of any type of sexual issues, or any sin, as a matter of fact. And we want to be that support for those people.
BALDWIN: Craig Gross --
JEREMY: Look, I think talking about it is good, too. Talking about it is good also.
GROSS: And Ron is coming to church on Sunday. Right, Ron?
(CROSSTALK)
BALDWIN: Ron, are you a churchgoer?
GROSS: Ron, you're coming. That was the deal.
(CROSSTALK)
BALDWIN: All right, guys, we got to go.
(CROSSTALK)
BALDWIN: Ron Jeremy and Craig Gross, there we go, thank you both so, so much. Something I never thought I'd be talking about on TV, but there you go.
Hey, if you want to read more about Porn Sunday, check out CNN's Belief Blog, our home for all things religion reporting. Just go to CNN.com/belief.
And speaking of sort of addictions here, are we a country of addiction? We talked about porn. You have technology, your BlackBerrys, your iPhones, food, alcohol, you name it. Jane Velez- Mitchell thinks so. I'm pretty interested also to hear about what she thought about my last conversation.
JANE VELEZ-MITCHELL, HOST, HLN'S "ISSUES WITH JANE VELEZ- MITCHELL": Yes.
BALDWIN: And she wants to have an intervention and she's going join me live to talk addiction. Don't miss it. We'll be right back.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
BALDWIN: You know, addiction haunts many Americans, and it goes beyond the obvious afflictions like alcoholism and drug abuse.
Joining me now Jane Velez-Mitchell, AKA JVM, host of HLN's "Issues."
VELEZ-MITCHELL: Hey, Brooke.
BALDWIN: Hey, Jane.
And you know, we have your book here. There's the cover, I was about to hold mine up. Her new book is called "Addict Nation," examines how pop culture and big business influences unhealthy dependencies we may not even realize we have.
Good to have you on my show.
VELEZ-MITCHELL: Thank you for having me.
BALDWIN: I want to begin with my quote here, let me find it at the beginning of your book. It says, "The most exquisite paradox, as soon as you give it all up, you can have it all."
How did that apply to your life? VELEZ-MITCHELL: Well, I have, hopefully, by April, 16 years of recovery, and what I realized in sobriety is that happiness is an inside job. There is nothing that you can buy, that you can eat, that you can wear, that you can drive that will make you happy. It could give you a brief hit of pleasure, but long-term happiness is an inside job.
Unfortunately, in our culture, we're being sold a bill of goods, thousands of ads bombarding us every day that tell us the exact opposite. That tell us we're not just citizens, we are mere consumers and that we have to buy our way to happiness. It's making us fat. It's making us addicted to prescription pills. It's putting us in debt, and it's not making us any happier.
BALDWIN: Something we're bombarded by, and this is chapter 5 of your book, it's sex. You know, all these images of sexuality permeating, you know, culture, commercials, the Internet, and it's so it's one of your chapters.
You just heard my conversation, you know, porn star and a pastor who goes to porn conventions, and I know you're talking about it on your show tonight as well. And specifically sex, it's an addiction, similar to alcohol.
VELEZ-MITCHELL: Let me tell you this, Brooke. In researching my book "Addict Nation" I decided to see how long it would take me to get to hard core porn. It took me exactly a minute and fifteen seconds, and what I got to was not oh fun stuff we're sold this post-feminist bill of goods. This was degrading, sick porn.
So when I heard Ron Jeremy say millions of American women hold hands and watch porn in bed with their husbands, that's being a co- dependent enabler of their husband's addiction.
Porn destroys intimacy. The kind of stuff men that these men see on the Internet, it makes regular sex with their flesh and blood partners dull by comparison. It destroys intimacy. It is a terrible addiction, and all addiction creates wreckage. What it does to these women who are in the porn industry is obscene and it really is not ha, ha, ha. It is something that we really need to look at as a society.
BALDWIN: You mentioned you can find porn so quickly on the internet. So many people are addicted to the internet and writing how the internet addiction is supersized and accelerated our addiction. What do you mean by that?
MITCHELL: Well, let's use the porn example.
BALDWIN: OK.
MITCHELL: You can go on the internet and experience on the internet, a man can, the amount of porn it would take him a year or more to experience in real life. Let's take gambling. The old- fashioned gambler had to fold up his cards eventually to eat, to sleep. Now there's a casino, 24/7, 365 on the laptop. He can carry it into the bathroom, into the bedroom, and so it's terrible for a gambling addict. It's always there. They can never walk away from the casino, and that is why the internet has really supersized so many addictions, but particularly porn and gambling.
BALDWIN: So how do you break through? Clearly, you know, you've broken through. How do you kick the addiction?
MITCHELL: Well, I'm a very addictive person, and it's one day at a time. Once a pickle, never again a cucumber so it's always a work in progress, but my book "Addict Nation" is really not gloom and doom. It's a blueprint for change. We're so lucky in our culture today, there's something called the 12 steps, which was only invented in the late 1930s.
It started, of course, originally for alcoholics, but now it's for food addiction, debt and the 12 steps are for everyone. And what I do is I outline a way, whatever problem you're having. Our country is all about pursuit of happiness, but addiction messes with that equation, and really you can't say no to stuff that's bad for you.
So what I say is there is a way out. If you at home feel like there's something you're doing that you can't stop yourself from doing, you know it's bad, but you're driven to do it anyway, there is a solution, and there is freedom from that, and that's what my book is about.
BALDWIN: Jane Velez-Mitchell, here's the book "Addict Nation, an intervention for American." Have a fantastic show tonight on HLN. Thanks, JVM. We appreciate it.
And now for the latest political news, I want go to my friend Jessica Yellin in D.C. for a look at what's crossing the CNN Political Ticker, Jessica.
JESSICA YELLIN, CNN NATIONAL POLITICAL CORRESPONDENT: Hey, Brooke. Well, President Ronald Reagan's 100th birthday would have been this weekend, and celebrations of his legacy are kicking off tonight.
Sarah Palin will be speaking at the Reagan Ranch in California to some young Republicans. Tomorrow in Reagan's home state where he was born in Illinois. You'll have Mike Pence and Rick Santorum and Newt Gingrich giving a speeches about Reagan and then a big celebration in California as well for Ronald Reagan on Sunday, so a lot of commemorations. You can find a lot of coverage of that here on CNN here as well this weekend.
Also happening across the nation, our next story is on John McCain. He is making some new comments about President Obama. He spoke to John King and said that he thinks that the president has shifted a bit since the November elections, and he sees some areas where he does think he could work with his former presidential opponent. He's also told politico.com, look, he ain't planning to endorse anyone in the next presidential election, so I guess those GOP contenders should not come knocking who knows long time between now and the 2012 election. He could yet change his mind.
And then finally, here is a name I bet you didn't expect to hear back in the news, Mark Foley, remember him? He resigned from disgrace in the House, you remember?
BALDWIN: Yes, yes, yes.
YELLIN: House of Representatives for some inappropriate text to male pages. Well, he's back. He gave a speech to young Republicans of Palm Beach. Some of the folks there received him very warmly. It just proves there's always a second act in politics, Brooke.
BALDWIN: Mark Foley, blast from the past. Jessica Yellin, thank you.
It is a $1 billion stadium, so how do you protect it when it's the center one of the world's biggest sporting events? We'll take you behind the scene. Plus, Mark Kelley plans to command that final shuttle mission, so what does he say and what does the decision say about the progress of his wife, Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords? They are ling up now. "Reporter Roulette" is next.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
BALDWIN: A couple of stories we're working on here. The military's role in Egypt, security at the Super Bowl and Mark Kelley's big decision. Time to play "Reporter Roulette" for this Friday, and I want to begin with Barbara Starr at the Pentagon.
Barbara, one of the stories really emerging today in Egypt is the role of the military and we've seen, you know, tanks. We've seen troops trying to restore security in Cairo. So how is the administration and the Pentagon looking at this?
BARBARA STARR, CNN PENTAGON CORRESPONDENT: Well, you know, Brooke, one of the things they are looking at is television pictures. What we know now is top officials are telling us they are scrutinizing these pictures we've shown on our air and around the world for days, just as closely as we're looking at them.
This morning you saw tanks and troops finally moving on the streets of Cairo. The Egyptian Army, which is a major security force in the country trying to restore order, but very carefully not firing on the protesters which is something that they promised they would add here to, that they would not attack, so what is really going on? Who is ordering the Egyptian Army?
Are they moving on their own? Is Mubarak ordering them? And right now people here, sources here say they really don't know what is behind the moves of the Egyptian Army, but they believe this is still the crucial force to watch in this crisis. Brooke -- BALDWIN: Yes, and then we know that the military, that's a totally separate entity from the Egyptian police force and there are concerns, aren't there, Barbara, about police there?
STARR: Well, that is the other half of this problem right now. The Egyptian Army, controlled by the Ministry of Defense, the Egyptian police controlled by the Ministry of Interior, and widely believed to be responsible for much of the violence by pro-government demonstrators over the last several days.
The terrible pictures that we have all watched, so as you look at all of this, it kind of helps decipher what you are seeing. Are you seeing really the Ministry Of Defense and the Ministry Of Interior, the army and the police, possibly going at each other? Could this be the beginning of a fracture of stability in Egypt? That remains a very serious concern. Brooke --
BALDWIN: Barbara at the Pentagon. Barbara, thank you. Next on "Reporter Roulette," I want to go to Jeanne Meserve live in Washington. Jean, Super Bowl weekend. You know it's the new Cowboys Stadium in Dallas. How are they securing it?
JEANNE MESERVE, CNN HOMELAND SECURITY CORRESPONDENT: Well, I talked to Jerry Jones who built that stadium. He said he spent millions building new security features into it, including, he said, the purchase for law enforcement snipers if they are needed. He says there's a camera system that covers virtually every inch of that stadium.
Multiple entrances so people can be scanned quickly as they come in, and also can be evacuated quickly if that's necessary, but in addition, 30 or 40 different agencies are putting thousands of personnel on the scene down there in Dallas. You've got airspace restrictions that are going to be in effect during the game. You have vehicles kept at least 300 feet away from the stadium.
People coming in, of course, will be patted down and have to go through a magnetometer, a list of banned items. They can't bring in things, for instance, like camera cases and the like and a whole host of technology, the latest in detection equipment and the latest in response equipment should that be needed. Brooke --
BALDWIN: Jeanne, 30 seconds, are there any threats we know about?
MESERVE: Right now, officials no credible specific intelligence indicating that there's any threats against the games. There have been suspicious packages and the like. Nothing has turned out to be anything serious or related at all. They are particularly worried about a possible lone wolf scenario, but at this point in time they say they are just leaning forward trying to be prepared for anything that might arise either in intelligence or in real life.
BALDWIN: Jeanne Meserve, thank you and next on "Reporter Roulette," we have John Zarrella live in Miami. John, we watched this earlier. Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords' husband made a big, big decision today about whether he wanted to go back up in space and command the upcoming space mission. So what is the decision, which by the way he said yes, say about his wife's progress?
JOHN ZARRELLA, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes, you know, this is absolutely phenomenal, Brooke. You know, the headline after the headline, the headline, of course, is he's decided to fly the "Endeavour" mission on April 16th, but he was asked in the press conference if he felt that his wife might be able to be there for the launch on April 16th.
He said absolutely. I have every intention of her being there for the launch. That's two months away from now. He said it a month ago when he was in the ICU sitting there with her, he ruled it out. He said there's no way I'm going to be able to fly this flight. Doctors were telling him there would be setbacks along the way, at 72 hours, at a week.
She'd have good days, bad days. He said she never had a single bad day in this month of recovery, and he said that now that she's in rehab, her rehab goes from 8:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. She's busy every single minute of the day, so he felt as if with her making this tremendous progress and in rehab for such a long period of time every day, he might as well go ahead and fly, and he had the complete support of her family and of his family to do that. One other quick point to know --
BALDWIN: Yes.
ZARRELLA: He was asked if she gave him the blessing to go do this. He would not say what her condition is that whether she can actually speak yet, whether she verbally told him to go ahead and do it.
BALDWIN: OK. John Zarrella, at least we're so grateful she's doing better and he is able to go. Zarrella, we appreciate it. Thank you and that is your "Reporter Roulette" on this Friday, and we know Jennifer Lopez is watching the Super Bowl at the White House, but do you know who else the president invited to watch the big dance?
We have the guest list. That is ahead. Plus, Mayor Michael Bloomberg had a little moment, that's what we'll call it with that guy on video. He used some pretty salty language when talking about arrival. Joe Johns has the political pop. He is next.
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BALDWIN: Time now to get our dose of "Political Pop" with Joe Johns.
And first off, Sunday would be President Ronald Reagan's 100th birthday, and Sarah Palin is speaking. Her speech tonight, Joe, in Santa Barbara, getting all kinds of buzz.
So what are you hearing? What are people saying?
JOE JOHNS, CNN CONGRESSIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, you know, this is obviously a big deal to her. This would have been the president's 100th birthday, and she's very excited about it. But there certainly is some controversy that goes back basically two years.
The sons of Ronald Reagan started talking about this right around the time Sarah Palin was nominated as vice president. Michael Reagan, who is on the conservative side, said that he really likes her a lot, and he even went as far as to be quoted saying he sort of saw her as very much in the same vein as the former president. And then Ron Reagan, who is a son on the left side of the equation, said, no way. No way this woman is anything like my dad.
So a little bit of controversy there, but a lot of excitement around the country about this event which goes through the weekend and culminates on Sunday.
BALDWIN: Item number two on political pop here, Super Bowl Sunday. And if you had a choice, Joe Johns, between going to Cowboys Stadium, seeing this game in person, and going to the White House, what do you choose?
JOHNS: Well, tough choice, but I'm not a politician. If I were a politician, I would be a little worried about people asking me where I got my ticket from if I was at the Super Bowl.
So there are a lot of famous people that are going to be hanging out at the White House, starting with J. Lo. Jennifer Lopez and her husband Marc Anthony -- and it sounds very exciting for J. Lo -- she's been telling people she can't believe this is actually happening. So good for them. A beautiful couple.
BALDWIN: So how are J. Lo and Marc Anthony so buddy, buddy with the president and first lady? Why are they invited?
JOHNS: Well, you know -- right -- a little known fact. These two are a big football couple. J. Lo and Marc Anthony are actually co-owners -- they have a minority stake, but they are co-owners of the Miami Dolphins football team. So that's how you get to the White House.
BALDWIN: I guess so. Who else gets to go to the White House Sunday?
JOHNS: All right. A pretty good guest list, a couple guys I personally know to be big sports fans.
Attorney General Eric Holder is going to be there, along with Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood of Illinois. I can't imagine they would miss it.
They are also going to have both senators from Pennsylvania, and that's kind of interesting. One is the Republican, Pat Toomey, and the Democrat, Bob Casey. But you would expect them to be rooting for the home state team, the Pittsburgh Steelers. And they are also going to have a congressman from Green Bay, the Republican, Reid Ribble.
He's a Republican. Presumably, he's going to be right for his hometown team, too.
BALDWIN: I would plop myself down next to Michelle Obama and I would want her running commentary of the commercials. I think that would be the highlight of my night.
Quickly, we have to show this video. Tell me about Mayor Michael Bloomberg and Staten Island Chuck.
JOHNS: Yes, this is really hard to pass up on a Friday. You know?
I mean, we thought the mayor had this love-hate relationship with the groundhog. He's known as Staten Island Chuck. But then listening to the mayor's language which was caught off mike, it sounds like there's not a whole lot of love in there at all. The mayor got bitten by Staten Island Chuck during a Groundhog Day ceremony a couple years back and --
BALDWIN: Look at his gloves. Look at this gloves he's wearing now.
(LAUGHTER)
BALDWIN: He's like, no biting for me this year.
JOHNS: Yes, exactly. He called him a name, too. I'm surprised Staten Island Chuck doesn't have a muzzle on, but those are the breaks.
BALDWIN: Joe Johns. We had to include that. It's a Friday. A little fun in our "Political Pop."
Joe johns, have a fantastic weekend. Thank you.
JOHNS: You, too, Brooke.
BALDWIN: Take a look at this. I've only heard about this. Now I'm about to see it with you.
Oh, my goodness. Oh, my goodness. Those are fingernails, and she thinks these nails will mean she gets to meet Oprah.
"You Gotta See This" next.
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BALDWIN: I don't know why I'm so excited/disgusted by this next piece of video. I have heard of people waiting on lists for years to score Oprah show tickets, but growing their nails out for tickets. What?
You have got to see this.
That is what this Atlanta woman has done for the last -- look at this. They are painted. They have got, like, details on then.
For the half 22 years, she has been growing out her nails. Most are about 20 inches in length. The longest one is 24 inches.
How does she drive? How does she type? How does she dial a phone? So many questions, so little time.
No segue here. I've just got to go to Wolf Blitzer with -- Wolf, let's talk about Egypt. I know you listened to the president's words at the top of the 3:00 hour. He's talking about that orderly transition now, and a lot of people are also watching the role of the military.
WOLF BLITZER, HOST, "THE SITUATION ROOM": The military is the key institution in Egypt right now. Which way is the military going to go? Will the military be in charge of some sort of transition towards elections? What's going to happen?
And the way the military falls out will be decisive given the fact that it's appreciated and respected by almost all of the elements within Egypt right now. So it's a huge question mark.
One thing that the U.S. has going for it is that the top leadership in the Egyptian military is very close with the U.S. military. Many of the senior Egyptian military officers, the generals, the colonels, they have been trained in the United States, spent some quality time at U.S. military bases learning the ropes. Most of the Egyptian military equipment is U.S. military equipment. Most of the Egyptian air force, F-16s, F-15s, U.S. military-made equipment.
So there is this good U.S.-Egyptian military-to-military connection. We'll see if it pays off in the coming weeks and months. But it's something that encourages U.S. officials looking forward.
BALDWIN: Wolf Blitzer, you're all over it, I know, in "THE SITUATION ROOM." We will see you in six minutes.
But for now, still to come here on this show, for weeks and weeks here police could not figure out who this guy was, this guy who robbed the Bellagio. Well, now they have the guy behind bars, and apparently he left a whole lot of clues after the heist. Sunny Hostin is "On the Case." She is next.
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BALDWIN: You know, criminals never learn. They do it time and time again. They return to the scene of the crime.
Police say the suspect in that brazen robbery of $1.5 million and all those casino chips did that as well. Several times, in fact. That is where they arrested him Wednesday night.
Sunny Hostin is "On the Case."
And Sunny, it sort of, like, defies all logic, but why do criminals want to revisit the crime scene?
SUNNY HOSTIN, HOST, TRUTV'S "IN SESSION": You know, I will say I never really understand the criminal mind, and I don't claim to be an expert in understanding that. But I have spoken to profilers, and they say it's because they think they are the smartest person in the room, they think they can outthink anyone. And so it's sort of this adrenaline rush, it's this narcissism that makes them want to go back and see the place that they got away with whatever crime. So it's really the criminal mind.
BALDWIN: We just saw that guy who is 29, the guy with the motorcycle helmet running out of the Bellagio. What have you learned about this suspect?
HOSTIN: Sadly, I've learned that he is the son of a judge, Brooke. That judge is Las Vegas municipal court Judge George Assad.
He has said that he is devastated by this, that his family is devastated. And interestingly enough, he was also a former prosecutor, and he issued a statement through his publicist.
He says, "I can say that as a prosecutor and a judge, I have always felt people who break the law need to be held accountable." And so, clearly, this judge is not necessarily going to stand by his son if his son is convicted of this crime.
BALDWIN: What has the suspect been up to since this robbery?
HOSTIN: Interestingly enough, it appears that he's been up to sort of seven weeks of gambling, trying to cash in the chips that he stole, in addition to sort of these extended stays at the scene of the crime, at the Bellagio, Brooke. Apparently, from January 19th through the 26th, he was enjoying these sort of complimentary stays and beverages at the Bellagio because he was also gambling there.
Apparently, he gambled over $100,000 at the Bellagio. And they were the proceeds of the initial crime. Just really brazen. Unbelievable, really. He was hanging out at the Bellagio.
BALDWIN: Beyond brazen. Beyond brazen. And didn't they find him? Didn't he ultimately get caught in his hotel room?
HOSTIN: He got caught at the Bellagio trying to sell a $25,000 chip to an undercover detective, so good old-fashioned police work once again foiled the crime.
BALDWIN: Case number two, a man accused of kidnapping Jaycee Dugard when she was just 11 and keeping her in his back yard for 18 years has been ruled mentally competent to stand jail. And Sunny, I want everyone to look at this piece of video.
This is the compound. We remember this story, where police found her in Garrido's backyard, where they say Jaycee was living with the two children she had by Garrido. And I know in some cases the mental competency question is nothing more than a legal tactic, but you look at this and you think this is nuts.
HOSTIN: It really is. And I think at trial, now that the judge has indicated that it will proceed forward, insanity is certainly going to be a defense here. But the judge found that he was competent to stand trial.
So while perhaps insane, he can help his defense attorneys defend him. He can understand what's going on at the proceedings. So he has been found mentally competent to stand trial, but perhaps he could be legally insane.
BALDWIN: Thirty seconds. When might this man go to trial?
HOSTIN: Well, interestingly enough, Brooke, the D.A. says that this case will be completed by the end of summer. I wonder if this is going to end in a plea deal, actually, now that the sort of competency issue is off the table. So --
BALDWIN: That's your prediction here?
HOSTIN: -- maybe summer we may see a trial.
BALDWIN: Prediction here on the record?
HOSTIN: That's my prediction. I think this is a case ripe for appeal. That's my prediction, on the record, "On the Case."
BALDWIN: Sunny Hostin, "On the Case" on a Friday.
Have a fantastic weekend, Sunny, to you.
And you, thanks so much for watching. I'm Brooke Baldwin.
I'm going to send things up to Washington, to my colleague, Wolf Blitzer. "THE SITUATION ROOM" starts right now.
