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Wisconsin Governor to Unveil Budget Plan; Libyan National Government Unraveling?
Aired March 01, 2011 - 14:59 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
BROOKE BALDWIN, CNN ANCHOR: Safe travels home, Christine Romans. And thanks for coming and hanging out in Atlanta.
Hello, everyone. I'm Brooke Baldwin: A lot unfolding right now here at the top of the hour. Here's a quick preview of what we're going to be dealing with.
First, the House is expected to vote pretty soon here on whether they're going to keep the federal government running. The deadline here is midnight Friday. The clock is ticking for that compromise. And as we get closer to the deadline, what will happen? We're monitoring there on Capitol Hill.
Also, for a couple of weeks now, we've been following these angry, angry protests there in Wisconsin. Well, now, really, today is the day here, as the Republican governor is about to unveil his controversial new budget proposal. He calls it the budget repair bill. But it looks like a lot of those protesters none too pleased about that.
And in just a couple of minutes, I will take with one of the state Democrats who's been missing in action there in Wisconsin. Where is he? We will find out.
But, first, I want to get you to Libya here, as a national government, by any standard of measure, really is unraveling, news today that supports that. Here's the latest. Another group of Libyan officials who are no longer loyal to their 42-year leader, Moammar Gadhafi, are those who staff the Libyan Embassy in London. They say they condemn what they call, and I'm quoting here, acts of murder and terror happening in their homeland.
Also, in an opposition-controlled town near Tripoli, the capital, pro-Gadhafi forces tried to retake control today, rolling in with tanks and big guns. Sources there tell CNN the troops failed. The protesters still reign supreme, and not just the United States, but several other countries, including Germany and Austria, are freezing millions of dollars in assets belonging to Moammar Gadhafi and his family.
And, listen to this, it is Gadhafi himself here speaking in English, saying all those people who were defying him and marching against him and crashing with riot police, he says, nope, those people aren't Libyans. Watch. (BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
MOAMMAR GADHAFI, LIBYAN LEADER: They love me. All my people with me, they love me, all.
CHRISTIANE AMANPOUR, HOST, "THIS WEEK WITH CHRISTIANE AMANPOUR": But if they do love...
(CROSSTALK)
GADHAFI: They will die to protect me, my people.
(CROSSTALK)
AMANPOUR: If you say they do love you, then why are they capturing Benghazi and they say they're against you there? Why are they...
GADHAFI: It is al Qaeda. It is al Qaeda. It is al Qaeda, not my people. It is al Qaeda.
AMANPOUR: Al Qaeda?
GADHAFI: Al Qaeda, al Qaeda, yes. They came from outside.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BALDWIN: Moammar Gadhafi.
Now, there's another side to this developing emergency really in Libya.
And that is why we're talking to Arwa Damon right now. She is actually on Libya's border with Tunisia.
And, Arwa, we know tens of thousands of people, desperate people, are flocking to where you are. But tell me, when these people get to the border, Arwa, to leave Libya, then what?
ARWA DAMON, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, Brooke, that's one of the many pending problems here is, what is going to happen to all of these people? There quite simply isn't the capacity at the Tunisian border to be able to handle them.
There are some tents that have been put up to try to house them. But many of them are still sleeping on the sidewalks, on the pavement. We hear all sorts of cries for international help, people wanting their own countries to step in and get them out of Tunisia and just at the very least get them home.
Imagine, just in one day, yesterday, in the span of 12 hours, according to the U.N., some 14,000 refugees came across the border. They are expecting that same number today, if not more. Quite simply, they cannot handle that number of people, that volume, traversing the border.
The Tunisian agencies that have been trying to help out, the volunteers, also talking about how overwhelmed they are. And we're seeing real scenes of chaos and desperation at that border. Thousands, if not more, were trapped in between Libya and Tunisia for days now, scrambling to get across.
The one thing that was standing in their way, as we were seeing it, was a blue gate. We saw people hauling suitcases across their faces, in some cases even trampling on top of one another. A man who was crushed up against that gate, not able anymore to carry the load of his suitcase, collapsed. Medics rushed in to try to help him. He went into a fit of hysteria, the medic there telling him, look, it's OK, you're safe, you're here, you're in Tunisia.
We saw a number of Bangladeshis who were stuck in that no man's land carrying signs begging for help, begging for the United Nations to step in. One man letting us with tears in his eyes: We only have one request. That is, please save us.
The United Nations saying this current situation that we are facing is a humanitarian crisis and warning that it could very soon, in the next few days, turn into a humanitarian catastrophe, Brooke.
BALDWIN: Catastrophe, that is something no one wants to see. Arwa Damon for me live there on the border, as so many thousands of people have been fleeing into Tunisia and also Egypt as well. Arwa, thank you.
Want to stay in Libya, western border with Tunisia definitely a humanitarian crisis, potential catastrophe brewing there. But I want to take you now to the other side of the country. We have this whole country covered here at CNN tapping into our resources. There is Ben Wedeman in Benghazi.
And just some perspective, Benghazi is one of the first cities that was taken over by protesters. It's the second most populous city in Libya. It's also an important oil-producing city. And that is why Ben is there live for me right now.
And, Ben, from what I understand, what I have been told, you went to an oil refinery today. Tell me about that.
BEN WEDEMAN, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, it's important to focus on the question of oil because around 80 percent of Libya's oil comes from the eastern part of the country.
We went to this refinery that is operational at the moment, but it is not exporting oil, because the -- basically, the powers, the opposition in eastern Libya want to deprive Moammar Gadhafi of any oil revenues.
And, of course, even if they wanted to export that oil, given the sanctions that are coming into place against Libya, who would that money go to? So, the plant is functioning. In fact, it's providing -- in addition to gasoline to the local market, it is providing natural gas to power power plants, not only in this part of the country, in the east, but they're also providing the necessary fuel to produce electricity in Tripoli itself.
So, it's an odd situation, but, of course, the whole question of Libya's oil is critical to the price of -- that you pay at the gas pump in the United States.
BALDWIN: Right. I think I saw a picture someone sent in where in Los Angeles, for example. It's now above the $4 mark. And all of this is absolutely related to what's happening where you are in Libya.
Ben, I also -- though, I can't let you go without asking -- I understand you went to a checkpoint on the edge of a pro-Gadhafi- controlled part of the country. Tell me what you saw there.
WEDEMAN: Well, what we saw, this is a checkpoint that after which you start to enter into territory where you're not quite sure who's in control. In fact, there's a town just before that checkpoint we initially drove through and we saw that there was no anti-Gadhafi graffiti on the wall.
There were the old plain green Libyan flags, rather than the flags of the monarchy dating back to 1969, which is being flown by the opposition. So we weren't quite sure if we had just driven into unfriendly territory, so to speak.
But we got -- we discovered that, in fact, they just hadn't taken down the flags. We got to the checkpoint itself, where there's a good deal of tension because they're worried that Moammar Gadhafi's forces are trying to infiltrate back into this part of the country, and, in fact, it's -- this checkpoint is right next to the refinery I was just talking about.
And the workers at the refinery are worried that some of these elements loyal, still loyal to Moammar Gadhafi could try to conduct acts of sabotage at the refinery itself.
BALDWIN: Ben Wedeman for us live in Benghazi -- Ben, my thanks to you and my thanks again to Arwa Damon.
Also, we're just getting word that President Obama has just gotten of the phone with House Speaker John Boehner, this as the House is about to vote on a spending bill that might prevent a government shutdown, at least for now. Remember, the deadline is this Friday, 11:59:59. That's the deal. We are going to have the latest. That's coming up next.
Also, they fled Wisconsin so they wouldn't have to vote on the governor's controversial budget legislation. That was just about two weeks ago now. So what will it take for those 14 state Democratic senators in Wisconsin to head back to Madison? I'm going to speak with one of them live. We will find out where he is and if he's headed home next.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
BALDWIN: It is deadline day at the Wisconsin state capitol. And here's what's going on.
We're about to find out how far Governor Scott Walker will go to fix the state's financial crisis. In less than two hours now, Governor Walker will be revealing the rest of his budget plan. And the drumbeat of protesters continues, both in and outside of that capitol rotunda.
And as the drums beat, state officials tried to keep the crowd to a minimum, closing the doors to the new protesters. But that did not exactly sit well for some of these men and women because later this morning a judge ordered the capitol to be open for everyone.
You see, Governor Walker is trying to ramp up pressure on state Senate Democrats. There are 14 of them. All of them skipped state two weeks ago just about now so they wouldn't have to vote on his plan that cut most union rights, the collective bargaining rights of thousands of public workers.
Jon Erpenbach is one of those Senate Democrats.
And, Senator Erpenbach, I appreciate you hopping on the phone with me. I know the governor has given you and your 13 colleagues really until today to return. So are you in Madison right now?
JON ERPENBACH (D), WISCONSIN STATE SENATOR: No. I'm actually still in Chicago. And from what I understand, we're not going back today.
And I don't know why the governor put today out as a deadline to return. I think he's talking about the $165 million that he says we're going to save. But that's actually not the truth.
(CROSSTALK)
ERPENBACH: ... $165 million, just so you know, is a payment that is due May 1 on our debt that he's actually taken to balance his budget. Then he's going to borrow to pay that back.
BALDWIN: Before we get into the nitty-gritty and dollars and cents here, I just want to make sure I understand. You're not going back today?
ERPENBACH: From what I understand, no. No, we're not going anywhere.
BALDWIN: OK, "we" being al 14 of the Democrats.
ERPENBACH: Yes.
BALDWIN: Now, I understand that the Senate majority leader, Scott Fitzgerald, he crossed state lines. He headed into Illinois to meet with some of your Democratic colleagues today. Were you there? How did -- and if you were or if you talked to any of these men or women, how did the meeting go?
ERPENBACH: No, I wasn't there. And had I known he crossed state lines, I could have gone home for a little while. Darn it. I missed an opportunity.
(CROSSTALK)
BALDWIN: You did not want to talk to him?
ERPENBACH: No, I was not part of the meeting and I have no idea what the discussion was. Hopefully they were talking about the collective bargaining language and coming to resolution over that.
BALDWIN: So am I breaking news to you that Scott Fitzgerald came to Illinois?
ERPENBACH: No. You're not breaking news to me, because I had heard about the meeting, but I don't know what was discussed.
BALDWIN: In any previous discussions, sir, in these past two weeks just about, any willingness to budge, to compromise from your side or theirs?
ERPENBACH: Oh, yes. We have actually obviously been willing to compromise. There's a compromise on the table right now that balances the governor's budget, and he hasn't even publicly acknowledged that.
BALDWIN: Now, I also understand that Fitzgerald told CNN that he had identified seven Democrats, obviously one of them not being you, since you weren't there, who he said would be willing, would like to return to Madison, to the state capital, but are facing all the mounting union pressure to stay out of the state. Do you know if anyone's willing to head back?
ERPENBACH: Not that I'm aware of. And it's very easy for me to say that I have identified eight Republicans who are willing to vote with us. So it's a game that goes back and forth.
BALDWIN: Now, in terms of a quorum, sir, I know that Republicans need one Democrat to reach the magic number of 20 to pass this budget repair bill. You're there with the Democrats. Any chance any of them will be going anywhere?
ERPENBACH: No. Today we're pretty strong in why we're doing what we're doing. Obviously, thousands of people continue to show up in Madison and throughout the state.
And this isn't just about unions. This is also about small businesses who understand that, when public employees are fired, there goes a lot of their business. So this is a situation that involves a lot more than just unions.
BALDWIN: Now, Governor Walker is about to announce today in just about an hour and 45 minutes from now, about to announce his entire plan for the state's budget, which covers two years. And I know he's talking -- I have seen the number $1 billion in cuts to school districts and local governments.
ERPENBACH: Right. It's actually going to be more than $1 billion in cuts to schools and local governments. And, as a result, also what he's doing is he's putting a very harsh cap on how they can get their money. They can only raise taxes for new construction and then only if a referendum passes. So what that means is local governments won't have a choice. They will have to lay off their employees, a lot of their employees. But you can't lay off the work. The work still needs to be done.
So, as a result, they are going to have to turn to private corporations to contract out that work.
BALDWIN: But if the work still needs to be done, and again since we're seeing and hearing from Governor Walker, he's essentially said to you all, come back and do your job, come back to Madison. And he says, if you don't return today, the state will lose its refinancing deal that would head off some layoffs.
How do you respond to that? Do you at all, Mr. Erpenbach, view that as a threat?
ERPENBACH: No, I don't view it as a threat, because again the governor is not being honest with the taxpayers about the $165 million. That is a payment that's due on May 1 that has to go toward our debt. The legislature has already set that money aside to make that payment.
He's taking that money to balance his budget and then he's going to bond in the future to pay that back, which is going to cost an additional $40 million, on top of the $165 million. So he's deficit- spending right now, and as a result of us calling him on that, something he promised during the campaign he'd never do, he's going to lay off people.
And it's a ridiculous game that he's playing right now and a very dangerous game he's playing.
BALDWIN: Well, Jon, it sounds to me this stalemate is going to continue. If Governor Walker is watching, listening right now, what message, what would you want to say to him in order for you all to head back to the state capital and continue?
ERPENBACH: The message is really simple and it's been this way for about a week. The public employees have given him all of the money he needs and he's asked for to balance the budget.
So the balanced budget is not -- right there on his desk. The balanced budget is also, the one he's going to announce, is relying on the public employees to give up that money. And they have agreed to do so. So, hopefully, they would take that compromise and allow collective bargaining to go forward in the state of Wisconsin and we can all come back today and vote.
BALDWIN: Well, Jon Erpenbach, I thank you for checking in with us. I spoke with your colleague, Mark Miller, a couple of weeks ago. I know you all are standing strong there in Illinois. And as soon as you decide to head back, let us know. Also, since I'm on air and talking Wisconsin, I wanted to extend an invitation again to Governor Scott Walker. I would love to talk to you live on CNN.
And now, since we were talking deadlines and budgets, at least on a state level, let's talk about them as I walk here -- let's talk about them on a federal level. We have been talking deadlines. Let's talk deadlines in terms of federal government, right?
So will the federal government shut down Friday? There's a big vote scheduled in the next couple of minutes in Washington, D.C.
My colleague Brianna Keilar, she is there on the hill. She's going to walk us through that. But before we plunge in, I want to make sure we're all on the same page, we all understand what we're talking about. This is all about passing a budget, right? No budget, no money to run the government, thus a shutdown.
Let me take you back. You remember the president submitted his 2012 budget on Valentine's Day. Now, the Republicans want to slash it by tens of billions of dollars. But that is not what we're talking about here. What we're talking about today is this.
We're talking about the 2011 budget. You got that? 2011. Now, that has not yet even passed, even though -- check your calendar -- we're in March 1 of 2011. So what they do is they pass these temporary budgets, these mini-budgets. The last one was passed in December. That's the one that got us through February.
And now they're about to vote on this new mini-budget that would get us through this, just about two weeks, two weeks' time. Now, by the way, I said mini-budget. The official name is a little bit more imposing. It's actually called this. We're getting fancy here. It's called continuing, if you can read my writing -- it's called a continuing resolution.
Ta-da. There we go.
Brianna Keilar on Capitol Hill, Brianna, do I have this right? Continuing resolution?
BRIANNA KEILAR, CNN CONGRESSIONAL CORRESPONDENT: I'm so impressed.
(LAUGHTER)
KEILAR: Yes, you say continuing resolution here on the Hill, and people will actually know what you talk about, Brooke, but say it somewhere else, and they will kind of say, what are you talking about?
BALDWIN: Exactly.
KEILAR: So, in English, it is a short-term bill. It's a temporary way to buy time to fund the government so that in this case the government doesn't shut down come Friday, Brooke. BALDWIN: OK. So they're about to have this vote, we understand any minute now in the House. But I understand there was actually a phone call today, pretty significant phone call, between two specific people. Tell me about that. Who picked up the phone?
KEILAR: Yes. That's right. President Obama called House Speaker John Boehner, and what we do know is that they had a conversation that lasted about 10 to 12 minutes. That's what Jay Carney, the White House press secretary, said.
And Carney also said in his briefing today -- he sort of floated this idea to reporters of funding the government for four weeks with $8 billion in cuts. So presumably that is what came up on the phone conversation.
But what that is, that idea of four weeks, Brooke, $8 billion in cuts, that kind of sounds like twice as much and twice as long as the bill that's being voted on, on the House floor here very shortly. That would be two weeks, $4 billion in cuts. These are cuts that President Obama himself has proposed, Democrats are on board with, even though Republicans are the ones pushing these short-term cuts.
Now the question is, once this goes over to the Senate, are they going to try to get more time? Because we know Senate Democrats want that. And it's really unclear. The bottom line, you have Democrats and Republicans saying that they're doing their utmost to avoid a government shutdown.
BALDWIN: Well, we know this is all about shutting down the federal government and we might be doing this whole thing over, just so I'm hearing you right, Brianna, either I'm hearing two weeks or four weeks. Bottom line, it's just temporary.
KEILAR: That's right. These are going to be some major negotiations going on, Brooke, because, while I said that short-term measure that they're looking at, these are cuts that everyone is on the same page about, the long-term cuts for the rest of the budget year that House Republicans have already passed, $61 billion in cuts, and they hit a lot of Democratic priorities.
BALDWIN: Yes.
KEILAR: We're talking about billions of dollars in cuts to the EPA. We're talking cuts to the nutrition assistance program for women and children. These are things that Democrats are -- would be a very bitter pill for them to swallow. So this not going to be the end of it. We will be talking about this in the coming weeks, no doubt.
BALDWIN: It's amazing to think we're talking about something for 2011 and we're already in March.
But, Brianna Keilar, as soon as you start seeing a vote there in the House, let us know. We will probably come back to you, Brianna.
KEILAR: Will do.
BALDWIN: Thank you, ma'am.
And coming up next, could a phone call have saved a young Florida girl's life? We have the chilling new audio from the call made to authorities days before this little girl's body was found in the back of this truck. By the way, the truck belonged to her adoptive father. We are going to play you some of that audio next.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
BALDWIN: A key piece of evidence is taken from a home linked to a horrific child abuse case in Florida. It has been two weeks now since Jorge Barahona was found passed out along that Florida highway. His adopted son was covered in chemicals in the front seat of his truck; his daughter's body was found in a bag in the back. That was the scene from a just of couple of weeks ago.
Now, early today, investigators took a bathtub from the Barahonas' home. It believed to be the same bathtub a therapist described when she called in to a child abuse hot line. That therapist had heard about it from Mrs. Barahona's 6-year-old granddaughter who visited the family's home apparently pretty often.
And we now have that call made by that very therapist just four days before that horrific discovery along the Florida highway. Listen.
(BEGIN AUDIO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: She has been seeing abuse, and she was threatened not to say anything.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Has she ever been abused by them?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: No, she has not.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: And how are the other children being abused?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: They are -- when they are being punished, they are being taped up and with their arms and legs and put in a bathtub.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Is there water in the bathtub?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: No.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: OK.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: And they are in there all day and all night, and she undoes their arms when they eat.
(END AUDIO CLIP)
BALDWIN: Obviously their voices disguised there. But a special commission is meeting today to go over the case. They're going to recommend ways to improve the child protection system in the entire state of Florida. .
And check this out with me. Yes, this is something I mentioned before when we were talking Libya and oil. You're not seeing things, gasoline topping $4 gallon. I will tell you where this picture was taken.
Also, talk about a bad couple of months. First, she flubs the national anthem at the Super Bowl. Now news that Christina Aguilera has been arrested. We will tell you why next.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
BALDWIN: Here we go, top stories now.
And get ready for this. All of us get ready for this, gas prices topping four bucks a gallon there. This is the Los Angeles area today, more than four bucks a gallon for premium unleaded. Wowza.
Also, it was the worst U.S. mining accident in 40 years. Now a Massey Energy official has been charged with lying to the FBI in the investigation of the Upper Big Branch disaster. Hughie Elbert Stover, who was in charge of security at that particular mine, was indicted last week by a jury in West Virginia. He is the one who provided personal security for the guy who was the company's chief executive.
It was a tough story to cover -- 29 miners died in that mine explosion last April.
And pop superstar Christina Aguilera was arrested and taken into custody today. But here's the story. Police say she was detained only to -- quote -- "ensure her safety" after her companion was arrested on suspicion of DUI.
They say it's a routine move when a driver is arrested and a passenger is determined to be too intoxicated to take care of herself. We are told Christina Aguilera spent the night in jail, but police say she will not be facing any charges.
And it looks like some burglars are getting a little bit smarter.
BROOKE BALDWIN, CNN ANCHOR: -- too intoxicated to take care of herself. We are told Christina Aguilera spent the night in jail, but police say she will not be facing any charges.
And it looks like some burglars are getting a little bit smarter. Watch this with me. Surveillance video, thieves breaking into a business through air ducts in the roof. It's like a James Bond move. Police say four businesses just north of Atlanta have been targeted. Once inside, the robbers steal cash from the registers and vending machines, and then leave through a side door. Police are still looking for these guys.
An Arizona high school teacher is out of a job because of a bumper sticker on her car. Let me read it to you. Here we go -- "Have you drugged your kid today?" Tara Ashburn says it is her way of protesting what she thinks is the overmedication of hyperactive children.
She says a couple of parents started complaining about the sticker, and when the school asked her to remove it, she refused and, thus, was fired. Ashburn says the school violated her First Amendment rights and she wants her job back.
Now to flood warnings. They have been issued now in several states across the Midwest. Chad Myers is here. He's going to tell us where it's really the worst and what's going on with those fires. You've seen the video out of Florida. We'll be right back.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
BALDWIN: A bit of a mess out there for some of you from Alabama to Indiana, a lot of people cleaning up today. Storms, tornadoes, even flooding. But in Florida, I imagine folks there happy to see the rain because they've been dealing with some fires. We'll get to all of that in our weather extravaganza with Mr. Chad Myers. It was this time yesterday we were talking about the two confirmed tornadoes in Kentucky. But now we have video from Tennessee.
CHAD MYERS, CNN METEOROLOGIST: Correct. Did you feel it yesterday, though?
BALDWIN: It was so ominous leaving this building, the clouds.
MYERS: It was disgusting. There's no other word for it than that.
(LAUGHTER)
You walked outside and we haven't felt this for six months now, you walked into a wall of water. It was just -- relative humidity was 90 percent. The temperatures up. The winds out of the south 20, 30, 40 miles per hour, even more than that in Florida where the fires were. Let's get to some pictures, though. When we had warm air like we had, it's cool now --
BALDWIN: It did get cool here.
MYERS: Warm versus cold --
BALDWIN: But we're unscathed compared to these folks in Tennessee. Where is this?
MYERS: Up near Franklin County. You would think of Lynchburg, Tennessee. But that's Franklin County, not that far from where they make the Jack Daniels Tennessee whiskey. And this storm spun up about five miles east of Lynchburg, ran right across U.S. Highway 41, and that's what it did. One man was killed in that. His daughter and granddaughter survived as the entire storm flipped the building over.
Now go back toward Louisville. There were buildings without roofs, heavy, heavy rainfall. We had flooding and then it was tornadoes and raining at the same time. Yesterday was a day because it was so humid you couldn't see the tornadoes coming. Yesterday was not what we call a chase day.
When you have a very low amount of humidity like in west Texas or Oklahoma, Kansas, you can see the tornadoes coming. The tornadoes yesterday were inside the rain shafts. It was raining all around them. Then all of a sudden the people heard the roar.
BALDWIN: I'm thinking if you can't see the tornado in front of you shouldn't be chasing it. Call me crazy.
MYERS: Right. It's very tough to chase in the east anyway because you need a chainsaw half the time.
BALDWIN: And look at all this water. This is Indiana.
MYERS: Hamilton County, Indiana. Yes. This is the same case. I counted 198 counties across the eastern half of the U.S. that have some type of flood warning right now. That car was not --
BALDWIN: Not going to make it.
MYERS: It was not supposed to be in the water. Turn around, don't drown for many, many counties, especially tonight when you don't see the water coming. It might still be there. In the dark it's tough.
BALDWIN: Before you walk away here, we were talking about the wildfires in Texas yesterday.
MYERS: Yes.
BALDWIN: There were something like 100,000-plus acres burned. This is Florida. What happened here?
MYERS: This is near Volusia County. The smoke was so thick we could see it on our radar. The radar doesn't know what's in the air. It just thinks there's were raindrops in the air. But the smoke was so thick, when the radar bounced off the smoke, it said, oh, it must be raining. No, it wasn't raining. It was that, and it was choking, closed off miles of I-95, part of U.S. 1. And still 16,000 acres have been burned and only 25 percent containment even though it rained a little bit last night.
BALDWIN: What a day. A little bit of everything for the middle and southeastern part of the country.
MYERS: It kept us hopping.
BALDWIN: I'm an fan of calm. Make that happen, Chad. Thank you very much.
The couple accused of kidnapping and holding Jaycee Dugard captive for some 18 years in the backyard have now reportedly confessed. So why is one of their lawyers actually asking for a reduced sentence? You remember this story? That's next.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
BALDWIN: Today we need to revisit the story of Jaycee Dugard. It was a horrific story and I'm sure you're going to remember this. She had just turned 11 years old, was waiting at a school bus stop when a couple drove up, snatched her. Folks, that was 1991.
Fast-forward some 20 years later. Seemingly out of nowhere, Jaycee Dugard surfaced and two children surfaced along with her, both of those kids allegedly fathered by Phillip Garrido, one of her two alleged abductors. The other abductor is Phillip's wife Nancy. Are you with me?
So they reportedly held Jaycee Dugard and her children in the backyard in Antioch, California. So between them the Garridos are facing up to life in prison. But Nancy Garrido's attorney now coming out talking to reporters saying her client was a pawn of her husband and deserves society's mercy.
And listen to this. After this court appearance -- this was just yesterday -- he claimed that Nancy Garrido has acted as a mother to the child she allegedly kidnapped, Jaycee Dugard, and acted like a mother to the children of Jaycee Dugard her own husband fathered. Let's listen to some of this together.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
STEPHEN TAPSON, NANCY GARRIDO'S ATTORNEY: She was their mother after the kids were born. She delivered the kids. She fed them, took them places. I mean, they had that kind of relationship, which Jaycee has admitted. Yes, she was like a mother.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BALDWIN: "Like a mother." Well, here's what else you need to know. The attorney there, Mr. Tapson, says the Garridos confessed recently. He also says that Nancy Garrido had a face-to-face encounter with Jaycee Dugard, but he wouldn't give details.
On the phone with me from Plasterville, California, we have reporter Jim Ratajczak of "The Mountain Democrat" newspaper. Jim, I just have to ask, even though I have a feeling you'll tell me you don't know much, how did this face-to-face meeting come about between Jaycee Dugard and Nancy Garrido? Do you know the point of it?
JIM RATAJCZAK, REPORTER, "MOUNTAIN DEMOCRAT" (via telephone): Brooke, my understanding, and it's limited as you alluded to, but basically Ms. Dugard was brought in by detectives to watch taped recordings of the confession of both Phillip and Nancy Garrido. And at some point after that, for whatever reason, Dugard and Nancy Garrido were sitting across the table face-to-face to each other.
Mr. Tapson, Nancy Garrido's attorney, did tell me that the two actually spoke. He wouldn't characterize the conversation. He said there was no physical contact. They didn't embrace or anything. But after the meeting Nancy Garrido was in tears.
BALDWIN: She was in tears. Any idea how long the meeting lasted?
RATAJCZAK: Hard to say. Details are pretty scant. Aside from Mr. Tapson, no one is talking about it.
BALDWIN: According to Mr. Tapson, a defense attorney here, both Nancy and Phillip Garrido have confessed to kidnapping and sexually assaulting Jaycee Dugard. What can you tell me about the confession? Also to be clear here, this is very different -- they have not pled guilty. They have just confessed.
RATAJCZAK: That is correct. In the court of law they have not pled guilty, they have just allegedly or supposedly confessed to detectives and supposedly signed off on the full confession there.
It is important noting that Tapson has said that Nancy Garrido had nothing to do with the sexual assaults. That was all Phillip Garrido's doing. Nancy supposedly was aware of them, but she did not participate. As you said before the break, you're kind of wondering why she might be looking at a reduced sentence or might be hoping for one, that's Tapson's reasoning in asking for it.
BALDWIN: I see. Quickly, what about Jaycee Dugard? How is she doing? How are her children? I think I've read she's writing a book.
RATAJCZAK: She is. She received a book deal last year and it's supposed to be released sometime this year. But as for how she's doing, how the kids are, nobody really knows, at least nobody I've spoken to. And if they do know, they're not saying. I guess for all intents and purposes, they want her to enjoy some sort of normal private life after everything she's endured.
BALDWIN: What a story that was. Jim Ratajczak, thanks for calling in. Keep us posted, will you? Jim, thanks.
Next to this story -- three people die because of this sweat lodge, and this self-help guru in charge of that whole event now standing trial. Did you hear what prosecutors say James Arthur Ray told that group during that session? That is next with my friend Gary Tuchman here.
But first, here is Stephanie Elam with some free money advice.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
STEPHANIE ELAM, CNN BUSINESS CORRESPONDENT: Time now for the help desk where we get answers to your financial questions. With me right now is Ryan Mack, the president of Optimum Capital Management, and Doug Flynn, certified financial planner and founder of Flynn Zeto. Thank you for being here.
First question is from Vince in West Virginia, who writes "Should I pay a fee to check my credit score online? Is this information that the bank will freely share with me when applying for a loan?"
RYAN MACK, PRESIDENT OPTIMUM CAPITAL MANAGEMENT: Obviously yes. You don't have to pay the fee. You can get your FICO score for free. Getting the FICO score during the loan is like putting on your seat belt after the crash. You can go to freecreditscore.com. They have a seven-day waiting period, if you get your score and cancel, you can get it for free. And MyFICO.com has a ten-day waiting period. You can get it before you pay the $89.95 annual fee. Or many lenders as they're giving applications, they're giving out free scores, but definitely before the process starts.
ELAM: Next question from Carrie in California who writes "Is my husband of eight months entitled to half of my 401(k). He did not bring any assets into the marriage." Hopefully the marriage is doing better than it sounds like.
DOUG FLYNN, CERTIFIED FINANCIAL PLANNER: She's in a community property state and there are ten in the United States. You need to know if you're in one. Generally no matter what assets that you brought in prior are treated separately than asset you acquire during the marriage. It would be unlikely but ultimately it's up to the individual court. You need to get with an attorney and find out for your situation how it works.
ELAM: Good information, guys. Thanks for helping us out. If you have a question you want an answered, send us an e-mail anytime to the CNN help desk at CNN.com.
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BALDWIN: A self-help guru goes on trial today charged with reckless manslaughter in the deaths of three followers. I know you remember the story. Let me remind you, two people died actually during that sweat lodge purification ceremony led by James Arthur Ray. A third person died nine days afterwards.
Ray has pleaded not guilty to these charges. The whole thing happened a couple years ago. 2009, Sedona, Arizona, in October. It was a five-day event designed to push people to the extreme, but something went apparently very, very wrong.
I want to brick in national correspondent Gary Tuchman. You went out there at the time. You've been covering it for a couple of years. I know in this brochure, spiritual warrior retreat seminar, it described the sweat lodge like "A ceremonial sauna involved tight enclosed spaces and intense temperatures."
You've talked to people. What did they say it was like?
GARY TUCHMAN, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Not only I talked to people, but a few days after this tragedy happened I went to a sweat lodge run by Native Americans. The Native Americans developed this concept, and they are very angry at people like James Ray who charge to go in there. The whole idea is to chant and purify yourself.
And it's very hot and claustrophobic and intense. But they said, the Native Americans, if you get hot, walk out the door. Just tell us. In this case the allegations are James Arthur Ray said "You are going to feel like you're going to die, but you're not going to die. You're going to make it."
And people started to get sick and fell into the pit of hot rocks. People literally died while James Arthur Ray was still conducting the sweat lodge ceremony.
BALDWIN: How big a space?
TUCHMAN: This particular sweat lodge was the size of a good- sized hotel room and 50 people packed inside of it for up to two hours.
BALDWIN: An interviewee, Beverly Bund back in 2009. She described to me there were reports of people throwing up, getting sick, feeling disoriented.
TUCHMAN: People were hallucinating, passing out. CPR was being performed on people. What we're being told by Beverly Bund and one of James Ray's employees who will be testifying, this employee was performing CPR outside the tent, bodies all over the place.
And James Ray walked out of the tent, stretched his arms like this, got hosed down with a hose and then drove off in a golf cart. What James Ray's defense attorneys said is he did ask "What can I do to help?" And they said can you find a defibrillator. And he acknowledged he never came back. But they say he was shocked, and it was not a criminal enterprise what happened here.
BALDWIN: So the allegations that James Ray ignored the problems happening that day in that sweat lodge, and he's saying no, no, no, I didn't ignore.
TUCHMAN: He said he didn't completely ignore them. A really important point is that the defense is going to argue that these were adults that could have left the sweat lodge. But that's a risky strategy because doctors will tell you that if your brain is being cooked, you don't know what reality is anymore.
BALDWIN: You can't think straight.
TUCHMAN: You can't think straight. And besides that they loved Ray and they wanted to do what he said. They wanted him to be very pleased with what they did, and people didn't want to leave.
BALDWIN: Briefly his background. They loved Ray because he had been very, very successful. We said a self-help guru, a speaker and author, right?
TUCHMAN: "The Secret," a very well-known book and video, he's a part of that. Very successful, no question, but one of the most amazing things about this successful man, he didn't call the families after these three people were killed.
One of the people who died, Liz Newman from Minnesota, in a coma, never called, tenth day called the family and the family hung up the phone at him and co continued to conduct the seminar after the three people died and he said it was a difficult time, very tough, didn't mention that it was a difficult time for the family members of those who died.
BALDWIN: He faces manslaughter?
TUCHMAN: He's 53, and he could be in prison if found guilty until he's in his 80s.
BALDWIN: Gary Tuchman, good to see you.
TUCHMAN: Nice to see you, Brooke.
BALDWIN: Thank you very much.
Coming up, he landed the very first live interview with Charlie Sheen for an entire hour. Did you watch? I did. I'm talking about Piers Morgan. He's coming on my show live, and I'll talk how he booked Sheen the day his publicist resigned and what they talked about when the cameras were not rolling. That's coming up.
Also coming up, Wolf Blitzer will be here to talk about what's happening right now in the world of politics, including President Obama's new plan to meet with a member of the Bush family. Your Political Ticker is coming up next.
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BALDWIN: All right, real quickly before we check in with Wolf Blitzer, a little something happening on the House floor, something that's fairly significant when it comes to the federal government. We're waiting for the final vote to happen. The House is set to vote on a bill that would extend funding for the federal government by another two weeks or so. They are up against a Friday deadline, so as soon as we see a vote and see what happens there in the House, we'll bring that to you live.
Wolf, does he have his jacket on. We want to go to Wolf with his CNN equals politics. I know you want to look nice and dapper for us here in the CNN Newsroom. What do you have?
WOLF BLITZER, CNN HOST, "THE SITUATION ROOM": Let's talk a little bit about Newt Gingrich, the former speaker of the House of Representatives. He'll announce on Thursday that he's creating an exploratory committee to run for the presidential nomination. He's certainly emerging immediately as one of the front-runners. He's going to be the first major Republican throwing his hat into the ring. It's not formal yet, just an exploratory committee. But it's the first step, and we'll see how quickly Mike Huckabee or Mitt Romney or Sarah Palin or some of the others like Haley Barbour decide to follow suit, but it's going to put pressure on some of the other Republicans to do so because he's going to start presumably raising money and doing all that kind of stuff.
Remember, we're less than a year before the Iowa caucuses, the New Hampshire primary, South Carolina. Time is running, time is moving very, very quickly. We'll see how fast Newt Gingrich moves, and if he formally decides, Brooke, that he's going to be a candidate, this is the first step, but it's an important step that will happen on Thursday.
Another step that -- another item we're following at CNNpolitics.com, the president of the United States, he's going to be in Florida on Friday with a guy named Bush. We're talking about Jeb Bush, the former governor of Florida. They will be together in an education event in Miami. Arne Duncan, the education secretary, is going to be there as well, all highlighting the importance of education getting back on track. So that's going to be something we'll cover certainly on Friday. It's not every day that an Obama and a Bush get together, in this particular case Barack Obama and Jeb Bush.
Finally, what's happening in Libya right now. We're going to be all over it. I know you have been as well, Brooke, but we're going to be going to Tripoli checking in with Nic Robertson. And we've got Roger Cohen of the "New York Times" who has spent a lot of time in Libya, North Africa, the Middle East. The "New York times" columnist, he'll be joining us. We'll get his view on what's going on. It's always provocative and informed. He's a really good reporter, in addition to being a columnist. So we're have a lot on that coming up at 5:00.
BALDWIN: Wolf Blitzer, thank you very much. We'll check in with you in a little bit to see what else is coming up on in "THE SITUATION ROOM." Thank you, sir. By the way, we'll get another political update for you in about half an hour, and you can always get your Political Ticker fix. They are always working so hard on those tickers. Go to CNNpolitics.com or there on twitter @politicalticker.
