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Libya at War?; U.S. Troops Killed at Airport in Germany; Will Newt Gingrich Run?; Supreme Court Upholds Constitutionality of Small Church Protests at Military Funerals; NFL Negotiations Between Players and Owners May Be Extended; Charlie Sheen Starts Twitter Page

Aired March 03, 2011 - 15:00   ET

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

BROOKE BALDWIN, CNN ANCHOR: And hello to you all. I'm Brooke Baldwin.

And as always here lately, we begin again in Libya from our correspondent there on the ground, our senior international correspondent, this quote,. This is from CNN's Ben Wedeman. He said this is becoming a war.

Now, I want you to hold that thought because it has potentially huge implications. Also, just a short time ago, the president said he is keeping all of his options open and he spoke of using the military to rescue all those thousands of fleeing civilians.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BARACK OBAMA, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: I have, therefore, approved the use of U.S. military aircraft to help move Egyptians who have fled to the Tunisian border to get back home to Egypt. I have authorized USAID to charter additional civilian aircraft to help people from other countries find their way home.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BALDWIN: We are going to get back to the president in a moment. But, first, this becoming a war? That really is the question today. Want you to have a look. Tell me what you think. You hear the popping, the gunfire.

This footage was shot just yesterday near the Libyan oil-rich city of Brega. And if that name Brega sounds familiar, it should, because it was just about this time yesterday when we showed you this dramatic footage. It was shot just outside of Brega by our CNN team. You remember that? That was the video shot by CNN, shot yesterday near Al Brega by our own Ben Wedeman and his crew.

Ben is now live for us in eastern Libya. We can't say exactly where for safety's sake for Ben.

But, you know, look, Ben, we're all following you on Twitter. And you tweeted not too long ago that Libya is not like Egypt, it's not like Tunisia. You said this is looking like a war. What are you basing that on, other than what you saw and what you experienced just yesterday in Al Brega? BEN WEDEMAN, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, I was in Tunisia, where there was a revolution, and then in Egypt. And there it was very much civilian protesters against the regimes.

What you have here started in a similar way, but it's quickly transforming into an armed conflict. On this side of the lines, in eastern Libya, you have people who have gotten lots of weapons out of ammunition dumps, essentially arming themselves to take the fight against the regime, which shows no sign of any tolerance or any form of dissent.

It is using its air force, its armed forces, and in addition to mercenaries from abroad, to put down this uprising. It's no longer a question of a police action against protesters. These are -- this is an armed conflict. It's not so much what we saw in Tunisia or in Egypt. It's essentially a war -- Brooke.

BALDWIN: And as it is a war, to use your word, and obviously coming down to this fight, are the rebels, Ben, are they a credible fighting force? You have been throughout Libya by now. Are the rebels unified?

WEDEMAN: They're not -- they're unified in their goal, which of course is to first of all defend this part of Libya from the government forces. And their other goal, of course, is to topple Moammar Gadhafi.

But what they don't have is sort of a command structure, organization, logistics. It's all very much a bunch of guys jumping into their cars with whatever weapons they have and heading to the front and attacking the Libyan armed forces in a way that, in that case, it doesn't really look like a war. It's something else.

But they don't yet have a command structure that allows them to have sort of an organized logical assault on the enemy. It's all fairly chaotic. But, as we saw, it does yield results. They were able to drive the Tripoli forces out of Brega, of course, after a day long of fighting.

BALDWIN: Yes.

WEDEMAN: But they are having an effect, even though they still are...

BALDWIN: You know, Ben, there's...

WEDEMAN: Brooke.

BALDWIN: ... there's a lot of the talk about possibly enforcing a no- fly zone. President Obama was asked about it. He answered that they're examining a full range of options. My question to you is specifically about the Libyan air force. What did they have? How many planes do they have? Is it a lot? What about perhaps anti- aircraft weaponry?

WEDEMAN: Well, they have a lot of Russian jets, which we saw in action yesterday. It's not an insignificant military force, I mean an air force.

And from what we saw, they're pretty accurate in their bombings. They, of course, missed us twice yesterday, but it was too close for comfort. Now on the rebel side, we have seen that they have shoulder- held surface-to-air missiles, SAM-7s built in the old Soviet Union, which are fairly effective. The problem is, what's clear is they don't have the training to use them.

We were speaking with some of the men who have these SAM missiles and they clearly weren't sure, for instance, how to use the battery that operates the thing. They're not too complicated, but you need to be trained on them, and they don't have that training -- Brooke.

BALDWIN: They don't have the training. That's amazing. My thanks to you as always, Ben Wedeman, live in Libya.

And we mentioned the president, President Obama, exploring a full range of options, his words. Here he is just a short time ago from the White House.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

OBAMA: There is a danger of stalemate that over time could be bloody. And that is something that is something that we're obviously considering. So what I want to make sure of is that the United States has full capacity to act potentially rapidly if the situation deteriorated in such a way that you had a humanitarian crisis on our hands. Or a situation in which civilians were -- defenseless civilians were finding themselves trapped and in great danger.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BALDWIN: That said, I want to go live -- there he is -- to Chris Lawrence at the Pentagon.

You know, Chris, the president mentioned full capacity. So it sounds like the military is already moving stuff around already. What do we have there now?

CHRIS LAWRENCE, CNN PENTAGON CORRESPONDENT: Well, on one side, on the State Department side, Brooke, the president is sending humanitarian assistance teams right to the Libyan border to start working with the U.N. and some of those aid groups to figure out ways to get aid to the Libyan people.

He's also sending a military transport plane to help Egyptians who had fled into Tunisia to help them get home. But, again, that's Egyptians. As far as the Libyans are concerned, there are more U.S. military assets in the Mediterranean Sea now than there were just 48 hours ago.

One of those is the USS Kearsarge, which in addition to being able to land Marines, also is sort of a floating hospital bay with six operating rooms. It's got the ability to handle up to 600 patients, could be used in a potential humanitarian crisis -- Brooke. BALDWIN: Well, the president now, he didn't flat out say no to the idea of a no-fly zone. So, perhaps it's still one of his options that they're weighing. Explain to me again, Chris, how that would work, because doesn't it involve initially airstrikes, and what would be the purpose?

LAWRENCE: In part, it would have to involve some airstrikes to take out Libya's anti-aircraft guns, Libya's surface-to-air missile capacity that they have.

You could also do a little bit of that, from folks I have talked to here in the Pentagon, using the military to sort of jam Libya's radar sites. That would also disrupt their anti-aircraft ability.

If you hear senators on Capitol Hill like John McCain, he says, this would not be hard, that we have done it before in Iraq. Then you hear Pentagon officials who say, this is an extremely complex operation.

BALDWIN: Right.

LAWRENCE: We did do it in Iraq, but, at times, it took up to 1,600 men; it took 50 planes. Secretary Gates has said there's no one aircraft carrier that has enough planes to run a no-fly zone, that there would have to be additional air assets in there.

And then you would have to figure out, are you going to concentrate the no-fly zone just over Tripoli, where Colonel Gadhafi's command- and-control is located, or are you trying to blanket sort of the entire country?

BALDWIN: Obviously, very, very complicated, far a from simple operation, the idea of a no-fly zone. Chris Lawrence -- thank you, Chris.

Now, listen to this.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BRUCE SCHNEIDER, FATHER OF U.S. SOLDIER: I never thought this kind of thing was going to happen. Who figured Iraq and Afghanistan? No, I would have never let him if I knew any of this was going to happen. There's no way.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BALDWIN: That is the father of one of those American troops shot at the Frankfurt Airport in Germany just yesterday. We're going to hear a little bit more from him next.

And we will tell you what we are now learning about that 21-year-old accused gunman. Did he actually have a conversation with some of these Americans right before he opened fire? That's next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BALDWIN: We are now getting some new details on that attack that killed two U.S. troops and wounded two others. It happened yesterday just outside of the Frankfurt, Germany, Airport.

Now, officials there say the suspect made sure the troops were American before he started shooting. The suspect also reportedly confessed doing all of this. A U.S. official says the suspect -- quote -- "was not on the radar screen of this country."

Now, one of the victims killed is identified as Airman Zachary Cuddeback of Virginia. And I want you to hear this sound. This is obviously pretty emotional stuff coming from Bruce Snyder, whose son is one of the survivors. He remembers the last time his son called him before that shooting.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SCHNEIDER: He had just told us what was -- he was leaving, how long he would be in Germany, and how long he would be in Afghanistan.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BALDWIN: Fred Pleitgen now joins me live from Frankfurt.

And, Fred, let me just get this straight here. This suspect went up to these American service members to make sure they were Americans before opening fire?

FREDERIK PLEITGEN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Absolutely, Brooke. That's exactly what German investigators told us at a press conference today. They said that he specifically went up to these soldiers to make sure that they were American soldiers because he specifically went to that airport, he's been telling interrogators, to kill Americans.

Now, one of the other things they said is that, prior to doing this, he acquired a weapon, a handgun, illegal , and also a lot of ammunition. So then he went up to them and then he opened fire once it was confirmed that they were indeed American soldiers, because it also appears as though most of them actually were not wearing uniforms. However, two of them were, among them the driver of the bus, who is of course one of the ones who was killed in that incident.

Now, the other interesting thing that we found out from German investigators today as well is that the only reason why he apparently stopped firing at some point and tried to flee the scene was because his weapon jammed. And they believe that a whole lot more carnage could have been caused if in fact he would have been able to keep firing at these soldiers -- Brooke.

BALDWIN: Wow. Thank God his weapon did jam, Fred.

Let me also ask you though, what more are you learning today about the 21-year-old suspect? We know he's from Kosovo and he's been influenced by some of these radical Islamist Web sites.

PLEITGEN: Absolutely.

He's 21 years old. As you said, he's of Kosovar descent, pay has a German passport. I was actually at his home where he lived and I tried to talk to his parents. They obviously wouldn't talk to us. However, people in that neighborhood, they described him as a person who was very quiet, was quite friendly, however, to most of them, someone who certainly they would never have believed would have done something like this.

And as you said, the German authorities say that he was radicalized in a very short period of time, but very intensively. They say most of this happened (AUDIO GAP). Some of them are actually based here in Frankfurt and are linked to a radical imam here in Frankfurt. But at this point in time, the German authorities say that while they believe he was radicalized by the Internet, they don't see the connection to any sort of broader terror cell. That's what they say at this point -- Brooke.

BALDWIN: What about those two wounded service members? We know they were on their way to deployment. Do you have any kind of update on their conditions today, Fred?

PLEITGEN: Well, at least one of them, the latest I have heard, and this is about an hour ago, at least one of them is still in very critical condition and his life is still in danger. The other one, they say, is out of the critical condition right now, is in stable condition, but certainly still very worrying, but one of them is still fighting for his life is what German authorities said today.

That of course is changing by the moment. So they say they hope that he will improve as well during the course of the night, Brooke.

BALDWIN: We are thinking of them and their families, of course. Fred Pleitgen, live in Frankfurt -- Fred, thanks.

And now this:

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

AL SNYDER, FATHER OF KILLED U.S. SOLDIER: My first thought was eight justices don't have the common sense God gave a goat.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BALDWIN: Hmm, an angry father talking about those eight Supreme Court justices who ruled yesterday that groups can protest at U.S. soldiers' funerals. And he is not just any father, folks. It was his lawsuit that they ruled on. I'm going to speak with him live coming up.

Also, just one day after FOX News announced it will not let him on their air until he decides if he's going to be running for president, what Newt Gingrich just told reporters at a press conference. Talk about anticlimactic.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BALDWIN: Did you know this? I bet you didn't. Did you know that the very first presidential debate -- I am talking Republicans here -- the first debate May 2, as in May 2 of this year, as in less than nine weeks away. Still, we have no candidates, at least none fully declared.

And that brings me to one man, Newt Gingrich. He came to Atlanta today, bought a big -- brought a big press contingent along with him, all wanting to know, would Newt go first?

Jessica Yellin traveled all the way down from Washington, D.C., to Atlanta. She came all the way down to the capitol building there behind her, right down from the road from me here, Jess, at CNN world headquarters.

And the big question, is he in?

JESSICA YELLIN, CNN NATIONAL POLITICAL CORRESPONDENT: Yes, not exactly, Brooke.

So he has thrust his toe more deeply into the presidential waters, but he has not fully plunged in. Newt Gingrich got all the press here, drummed up all this attention to say that he's looking even more seriously at running for president, and that he's possibly on the verge of forming an exploratory committee. Here's some of what he said earlier.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

NEWT GINGRICH, FORMER SPEAKER OF THE HOUSE: We will look at this very seriously, and we will very methodically lay out the framework of what we will do next. And we think that the key is to have citizens who understand this is going to take a lot of us for a long time working together.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

YELLIN: The one concrete he did give us, Brooke, is that there is now a Web site up. You can go and look at it. It's NewtExplore2012.com.

For all intents and purposes, we believe he's going to form an exploratory committee and he's going to move forward, but this certainly is not the announcement they had sort of teased us and led us up to believe would come from him -- Brooke.

BALDWIN: I guess kudos to Newt's press people, because they did a pretty good job getting all you guys down to Atlanta. I have to imagine all those reporters are just kind of starving to get on the bus. You want to cover campaign 2012. That has to be why you and so many others followed him down to Atlanta.

YELLIN: OK. So, in all seriousness, these things are often very carefully orchestrated by these nascent campaigns, so they can build momentum and have a clean announcement.

And one of the criticisms of Newt Gingrich over time, especially as he was speaker, is that has been sometimes messy organizations. So far, it would seem that they have kind of fumbled the announcement of their announcement. First, we were told he was going to form an exploratory committee. Then we found out, no, he's not going to announce that, but he's going to announce that he's looking at it. Then we were told today's press conference would last half-hour and he would take questions. Then he took one question from a local reporter and bolted, wouldn't answer a shouted follow-up. So they seem very sort of uncertain about exactly how they're going to tell -- how they're proceeding here, and it doesn't make for the smoothest rollout of any possible presidential bid.

One thing you need in a presidential campaign is discipline and organization, Brooke.

BALDWIN: Saw those -- I saw those cameras. It was quite a lot.

Related topic, Jess, FOX News, we know they suspended Newt Gingrich, suspended Rick Santorum, both highly paid FOX contributors. In fact, let's tick down the roster here. Newt Gingrich, according to "The L.A. Times," his contract with FOX pays him nearly $1 million a year, Rick Santorum, about $100,000 a year, Mike Huckabee, half-a-million a year or thereabouts, Sarah Palin, a million dollars a year from FOX News.

So, the question to you, Jessica Yellin, if FOX suspended Gingrich and suspended Santorum because they could be running possibly here for president for 2012, why not also suspend Mike Huckabee and Sarah Palin?

YELLIN: Well, FOX News is not answering our e-mails or calls, but I will tell you that they have said publicly to "The L.A. Times," the only outlet they gave an interview to, that they would only suspend people who show a -- quote -- "serious intention to form an exploratory committee."

And in their estimation, neither Sarah Palin nor Mike Huckabee has shown any -- quote -- "serious intention to explore -- a exploratory committee."

A senior executive at FOX said that Mike Huckabee seems to be working on book sales, and that's why he's out there, and that Sarah Palin hasn't made a move in this direction yet. Clearly, they believe Gingrich and Santorum have. So, who knows if they gotten -- had some secret conversations with those others, but right now, they certainly believe, and, you know, it does from all -- we can tell that Gingrich and Santorum are further down that road than the others anyway -- Brooke.

BALDWIN: Right. We will wait and see.

Hey, before you skip town, you should hit the bar scene and get some fried onion rings. Don't count the calories, but I recommend it highly. Delicious.

(LAUGHTER)

YELLIN: No chance.

BALDWIN: Jess, thank you.

YELLIN: Thanks.

BALDWIN: You remember a long time ago, actually not so long ago, when America was number one across the board in categories like education, competitiveness, infrastructure? That's not necessarily the case anymore, but we're still among the most innovative countries on Earth.

And so coming up this weekend, CNN's Fareed Zakaria is speaking with experts around the world for their opinion on what it will take to get America back on top. And here now, just a little glimpse of the explanation he got from Hans Rosling.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

HANS ROSLING, KAROLINSKA INSTITUTE: United States was on top. Europe had fallen behind and Japan was trying to catch up here. And, interestingly, a small country on the equator, Singapore, was just behind.

Latin America was in between. And China and India were still down here with low life expectancy and with low incomes. But they had gained their independence. And look what happened after 1954.

Here, U.S. continue in the lead, but Europe is closing in, Europe is closing in. And Japan there, they make This amazing catchup together with Singapore and other (INAUDIBLE) economies in Asia. And, here, China and India got education, small families and health before they start this amazing economic growth, where they catch in together with more and more emerging economies, and they keep up the speed through the last economic crisis.

And here we are today, 2010. And what is most interesting here is, if you look at the replay, you see this very clear, how the West took off first and then how the rest is following and catching up. And how will this continue?

Well, let's make a projection into the future by going backwards first. This is where China was 1980. They had very low income over there. And U.S. was all over here in the other end. And we never thought this would happen, that China in 30 years would move so much faster than the United States.

Now, if both countries would keep the same speed in economic growth in the coming 30 years, where would U.S. end up? It would end up there. And where would China end up? They would end up here, the same spot.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BALDWIN: You can see more of Fareed's special. It's Sunday night. They're calling it "Restoring the American Dream: Getting Back to #1." It airs at 8:00 p.m. Eastern time.

I know by now you're informed, you have heard this decision, U.S. Supreme Court ruling that groups can hold angry, ugly hate-filled protests at soldiers' funerals if they want because it's protected by free speech. But have you heard from the father who lost his son in Iraq? He is the reason the Westboro Baptist Church case landed at the U.S. Supreme Court.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SNYDER: We found out today that we can no longer bury our dead in this country with dignity. What is this country becoming?

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BALDWIN: That man, Al Snyder, good enough to join me coming up next live here on his -- this is the fifth anniversary today of the day he lost his son. Stay there.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BALDWIN: We've got some news just in to CNN that I want to pass along to you. Police in Madison, Wisconsin say they have found live ammunition at the Wisconsin capitol. They found it this morning when they were asked to perform a sweep of the capitol. These are live pictures from inside that capitol rotunda.

Keep in mind we've been telling the story for three weeks. Thousands of protesters in Madison protesting this piece of legislation that's on the table that would eliminate collective bargaining rights for thousands of union workers statewide with the exception of police and fire.

The police with regard to this ammunition testified in court they believe this ammunition was left there last night. I know we're looking pictures inside the dome. We do not yet note whether that ammunition was found inside the capitol or outside. But we have a team in Madison, Wisconsin digging on this right now. As soon as they get back to us with more details, I promise I will pass them along to you.

Now to this story. It's really more of a fringe group than a church. Most of its members are related to its founder, Fred Phelps. I know you know who I'm talking about, Westboro Baptist Church. The group is fiercely anti-gay and full of hate. It delivered its message by protesting funerals particularly military funerals.

Now Westboro Baptist Church plans to ramp up the protests emboldened by this massive U.S. Supreme Court case they won yesterday. The justices ruled that the group's military funeral protests are protected by the first amendment, that right to free speech.

The ruling is the final act in a lawsuit filed by one man, Albert Snyder, Westboro Baptist protested outside the funeral for his son, Marine Lance Corporal Matt Snyder who was killed in Iraq on this day five years ago back in 2006.

And I want to welcome Mr. Snyder for joining me here on the phone. I just first have to get to the Supreme Court vote, sir. It was eight- one. Were you surprised by the ruling?

ALBERT SNYDER, SUED WESTBORO BAPTIST CHURCH: Hi, Brooke. Yes, I was very surprised by the ruling. I just can't believe that there was no common sense used in this decision. You had eight justices sitting up there that don't have the common sense that god gave a goat.

BALDWIN: You also have said that this is a quote from you yesterday, "you can no longer bury your dead in this country with dignity."

SNYDER: That is correct.

BALDWIN: What do you mean by that?

SNYDER: Let me put it this way, Brooke. When my son matt died, I knew two days ahead of time that they were coming. I had other children that I had to worry about and didn't know what was going on. Because of their presence I had police coming out of the woodwork. I had sheriffs. I had a SWAT team. I had emergency vehicles. I had media coming out.

All I wanted to do was have a private, dignified funeral for my son. They turned this funeral into a three-ring circus.

BALDWIN: Sir, is this something that you think you will ever be able to move past what happened at that funeral for your son five years ago?

SNYDER: I hope so, Brooke. I really do. It's really funny, last night I had a chance to reflect on everything that's been going on over the last five years, and the thing that just hits me the hardest is all the hatred in this country. And I think if I want to look to what I'm going to do in the future, I feel like maybe that's where I need to be, to try to do something with all the hatred that's in this country.

BALDWIN: Perhaps that's your calling, perhaps that's what you do next. But I have to ask, I heard that obviously the hardest part is burying your son. I can't pretend to know what that would feel like. But then this battle you've been waging for five years isn't fully over because you, and correct me if I'm wrong, you still have to pay this man, Fred Phelps, something like potentially $116,000 in court and attorney fees? That has to make you a little I can to your stomach.

SNYDER: Yes, it does. It really does. The worst part of it, Brooke, is I know they're going to use that money to do this to other soldiers. But what I'm hoping is that this case has opened the eyes of the American people so that when they go to those protests, they will be blocked out so bad. And believe me, Brooke, something is going to happen.

BALDWIN: What do you mean by that?

SNYDER: Somebody is going to get hurt. Have you too many soldiers and marines coming back with posttraumatic stress syndrome. They're going to do the wrong funeral, and a gun's going to go off. And when does I just hope it doesn't hit the mother that's burying her child or the little girl that's burying her father or mother. It's inevitable.

BALDWIN: Obviously we all hope that that doesn't happen. I'm sure in speaking with some of these military families and heaven forbid down the line someone does lose a daughter or a son and they're burying him or her, what message would you have to that parent today that they may have to endure this, as well?

SNYDER: Try as hard as you can to concentrate on your child, your husband, your spouse. As hard as it may be, you have to do that. You have to give them that last moment. And that's what the most difficult thing about this whole thing is. People will say, these people, you didn't see what the signs said. I knew they were going to be there. I saw the tops of their sign. Did you expect me to leave my son's body to go read this trash?

To think that this funeral wasn't interrupted, that's unbelievable, just the fact that I knew they were going to be there and that I had other children I had to protect from them interrupted the funeral.

BALDWIN: So let me just end with this. I know have you two daughters, and I've heard you say your own son Matt would be so proud of the battle you have waged over the last five years. Yet at the same time, you haven't given yourself time to mourn for your son. Will you have that time now?

SNYDER: I think so. I want to take that time. I want to see -- a lot's happened in five years. I want to see what Matt -- get the feelings out about Matt and find out how I've changed as a person over the last five years.

BALDWIN: Albert Snyder, we are thinking of you. We wish you well. Let us know what the next step is for you.

SNYDER: I will, Brooke.

BALDWIN: Let us know. Stay in touch.

SNYDER: I will.

BALDWIN: Thank you.

SNYDER: We are just now getting word of a new ultimatum for the state lawmakers who fled Wisconsin. Remember the 14 state senators, the Democrats, to avoid voting on this budget bill? Could they really be arrested now if they don't return to the state in less than two hours? That's the deadline we're hearing.

Also, did you hear the president of the United States just weigh in on the possible NFL lockout? Listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BARACK OBAMA, (D) PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: I'm a big football fan, but I also think that for an industry that's making $9 billion a year in revenue they can figure out how to divide it up in a sensible way.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SNYDER: He said he was just a little too busy with other stuff to deal with the NFL here. Where do the talks stand right now? You have the owners and players as tonight's midnight deadline looms closer. That is next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BALDWIN: Nothing like a little extra time in outer space. We have just learned here that the space shuttle Discovery now scheduled to land next Wednesday at 11:58 p.m. eastern time one day later than originally scheduled to land. Why stay a day later? John Zarrella is digging on that. We'll find out for you.

Also, for years this can player Bob Probert was the very face of a bruising brawler on ice. After he decide last July at age 45 of heart failure, his brain was donated to Boston University. Researchers there released their findings today.

First, his stats. More than 16 seasons, Probert got into more than 240 fights. Look at this. He and players just like him are part of hockey's tradition. Now it may not be a huge surprise here that the researchers found Probert's brain had the same degenerative disease that researchers discovered in the autopsies of some 20 pro football players.

Here's what's it's called CTE. It causes early signs of Alzheimers. But what's important to understand is Probert is the first pro hockey player identified with CTE.

And I want to bring in Mark Mravic. He covers NFL for "Sports Illustrated." Mark, after this disease, for short, CTE, was found in the brains of those 20 football players, did the NFL do anything to try to help make the games any safer?

MARK MRAVIC: Yes, the league has worked on this issue. It's come to a head in the last couple years. They've tried to cut down on hard hits, fines for players who launch against other players, cutting back on helmet-to-helmet hits. So the league is conscious of this issue for sure.

BALDWIN: Yet, they're still perhaps asking to extend the season by two games. Stick around, mark. I have all kinds of other questions for you about the NFL players, the owner negotiations underway this second in Washington. And I checked a tweet from one of your colleagues that perhaps is a game-changer in these negotiations. Stay right there.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BALDWIN: OK, football fans. The clock is running out for the NFL. Owners, the players union are facing a midnight deadline tonight to try to work out their disagreements. And this is football so this is important stuff, right? Even the president of the United States amidst talking about Libya and Mexico, weighed in on the NFL during his news conference this afternoon.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) OBAMA: I'm a big football fan. But I also think that for an industry that's making $9 billion a year in revenue, they can figure out how to divide it up in a sensible way.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BALDWIN: Mark Mravic, let's talk sports and NFL. I want to begin, you're the lead NFL editor for sports illustrated. Let's look at a tweet from your colleague, Jim trotter. He's been covering the negotiations happening now in Washington. He says "I'm told the owners requested the extension. Union wants indications that it is a serious step toward a resolution." So we're talking an extension here? What's the story?

MRAVIC: That's right. The deadline would be midnight tonight for the collective bargaining agreement. But it looks like they will push that deadline back. It might be a week, it might be two weeks. This is the first really good news in these negotiations over the last ten days. There's been sort of a news blackout from these negotiations, but there's been not a lot of optimism until now. And so this pushing back the deadline a couple weeks might allow both sides to sort of take a breath and get down to the nitty-gritty of the issues involved.

BALDWIN: Let's step back though, Mark. Let's do the big picture here. You look at the NFL, like the zenith of all sports. And for these owners here, why would they want to rick potentially shutting down the most profitable sports enterprise in the history of anything sports?

MRAVIC: That's, you know, this is the crux of the whole issue. The league makes $9 billion. The owners take a billion off the top of that before they start sharing money with the players. They want to now take another billion dollars out of that revenue pool before they start sharing with the players.

Part of the issue is this spate of stadium building that happened over the last 15 years in the NFL. A lot of those were debt financed. So even with the incredible revenues and popularity of the sport, the owners are saying they really need more money to service the debt on those stadiums to help the game grow and possibly to build new stadiums.

BALDWIN: Right. So that is part of the crux of the issue. Also they want to extend the season to 18 games. It's been the most violent in recent history in the NFL. We're watching that, as well. And $9 billion in revenue. That's a lot of money. Mark Mravic with "SI." Thank you.

And now let's go back over to the Twitter board. Take a look at this. Charlie Sheen, I'm sure this is no news to you, joined Twitter Tuesday. Look at how many followers he now has. This is like putting my Twitter to so shame -- more than a million. And have you heard about all these websites now popping up with the most popular Sheen quotes? Trending is next.

But first, let's go to 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.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BALDWIN: I think it's pretty safe to say that Charlie Sheen has a permanent location, at least for this week, in our trending spot. Brooke Anderson, come join me here. I was just looking at Charlie Sheen's Twitter account. It has like 1.3 million followers. He's tweeting pretty often. Is he just kind of bored?

BROOKE ANDERSON, CNN CO-HOST, "SHOWBIZ TONIGHT": Possibly. And when he gets bored, you never know what this guy is going to do. And a lot of people have asked me, Brooke, is this a big publicity stunt with Charlie Sheen? And I have to tell you, I do not know what to believe about his intentions anymore, because, obviously, he wants to communicate directly with his fans, but there's also the possibility that he could earn tens if not hundreds of thousands of dollars by doing so, because he could eventually start endorsing products on his Twitter page. You know, celebrities make big bucks by tweeting about products they're using or places that they're staying. And he is in communication with Adlee, Beverly Hills consulting firm. I just got off the phone with them and they said, yes, they are exploring the idea of Twitter endorsements with Charlie Sheen, that he's very marketable, but that nothing is set in stone right now. That Charlie's main focus is communicating with his fans.

And Brooke, He declares he's winning and has won himself in "The Guinness Book of World Records," a million followers in 25 hours.

BALDWIN: Hash tag "winning" for you, Brooke Anderson. I was talking with this last night, not only his Twitter page but all these websites that are popping up, all about Charlie Sheen.

ANDERSON: Yes, websites have popped up, dedicated to posting his most memorable musings. Let's take a look at a few of them now, shall we? Winning has to be the first one that we've talked about. Then "I've got tiger blood and Adonis DNA." Also, "I'm on a drug. It's called Charlie Sheen." And Brooke, one of my other favorites is, "Let's talk about something exciting -- me." Really charming.

BALDWIN: Charming, very charming indeed. We're all waiting for the next interview, perhaps with our pal, Piers. Brooke Anderson, here we go again. Thank you.

Coming up, the real -- speaking of Twitter, the real Rahm Emanuel meets his Twitter imposter and actually gives him a $5,000 check. What? That's coming up.

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BALDWIN: And now for what's happening in the world of politics, let's go to Wolf Blitzer live in Washington with the latest news fresh off the CNN Political Ticker. Wolf, good to see you.

WOLF BLITZER, CNN HOST, "THE SITUATION ROOM": Thanks very much, Brooke. Before I get to the world of politics, let me update our viewers on the president of the United States. He's mincing no words in saying Moammar Gadhafi must go, he must go right away.

He's not spelling out exactly what the United States is going to do in terms of any military options. He says all options are being considered right now, they're on the table. He's not talk about a no- fly zone or arming the rebels who are fighting Gadhafi, but he's saying Gadhafi must go and he's warning the military in Gadhafi's Libya right now, those who are still supporting Gadhafi, be aware that if you start killing fellow Libyans, the world is going to hold you fully accountable, you're going to pay a serious price. So he's trying to wean them away from Gadhafi. That's the U.S. strategy.

We're going to have a lot on this coming up in "THE SITUATION ROOM" at 5:00 p.m. eastern. Fareed Zakaria will be with us, Nick Christophe of "The New York Times," really smart guys on this subject.

In the world of politics right now, Brooke it's interesting, a little split emerging between some elements of the tea party movement and John Boehner, the speaker of the House, some suggesting he's not being tough enough with the Obama administration, that the budget cuts are serious enough. But Boehner is getting some support from the top leadership of the Republican Party and not surprisingly including the number three Republican in the House Kevin McCarthy, he's coming to Boehner's defense.