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President Obama Announces Reelection Bid; Obama Administration Reversal on Gitmo Terror Trials

Aired April 04, 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 welcome back. I'm Brooke Baldwin.

Let's straight to breaking news outside of Washington. The Justice Department forced this afternoon pretty much to pull a 180 on the 9/11 trials. We are back are back to military trials down at Guantanamo Bay.

I want you to listen to Attorney Eric Holder. This is just from a short time ago.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ERIC HOLDER, U.S. ATTORNEY GENERAL: Today, I am referring the cases of Khalid Sheikh Mohammed, Ramzi Binalshibh, Ali Abd al-Aziz Ali, and Mustafa Ahmed al-Hawsawi to the Department of Defense to proceed in military commissions.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BALDWIN: If you will remember, it was Holder himself had announced that they would be trying those people in New York. It was November of '09. He said New York, caused a huge, huge outcry, especially from Republicans and also from the mayor of New York at the time Michael Bloomberg. He was concerned among other things about the security cost of having that whole thing play out from not too far from where the Twin Towers once stood.

So now they will be holding these trials at Guantanamo Bay, which if you remember, the president had vowed to close as a campaign promise. Holder says it will have to stay open now much longer than that.

We have Kate Bolduan. She's standing by for us live at the White House.

But I want to go first to our senior legal analyst with CNN, Jeffrey Toobin on the phone for me from New York.

And, Jeffrey, the attorney general admitted to some reluctance. That was one of the very strong words he used today, even sounded a little -- if you will agree with me, a little bitter about this. Let's listen to another snippet.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

HOLDER: Too many people, many of whom should know better, many of whom certainly do know better, have expressed doubts about our time- honored and time-tested system of justice. That's not only misguided. It is simply wrong. The fact is, federal courts have proven to be an unparalleled instrument for bringing terrorists to justice.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BALDWIN: Wrong, reluctant. Jeffrey, does it sound at all like he is saying people have used this case to score political points at a cost to these victims' families, at a cost to justice?

JEFFREY TOOBIN, CNN SENIOR LEGAL ANALYST: That is true, but Eric Holder and the Obama administration faced reality.

Like the song says, you have got to know when to hold and know when to fold. They had to fold, because they were not going to have a civilian trial of Khalid Sheikh Mohammed. That is simply not legally or politically possible at this point because of the rebellion that was set off in Congress.

So they are doing what they can, which is have a military tribunal, which is a real trial with defense lawyers, with rules of evidence, but it is not the same thing with the same rights for the defendant as a civilian trial, which is what they wanted to do.

BALDWIN: He stood up there and pretty much off of the top he said, look, I still stand by the decision to prosecute these five guys in a federal -- in a federal trial.

Well, what do you think was the tipping point here? I know we are coming up on the 10-year anniversary of 9/11. What was the tipping point to finally say, OK, enough is enough?

TOOBIN: Well, I think that once even the New York delegation, which is Democrats like Chuck Schumer who are very supportive of the president, even when they said we will not stand by for a trial, it just became politically impossible.

And if you couldn't do it in New York, you certainly couldn't do it anywhere else in the United States. No one else would take them, so it was a simply a matter of letting the situation continue with no trial for year after year or having a military tribunal, and I think Obama, Holder and company said, look, let's do what we can. Let's have a legal process that is not perfect, but a real process, and move forward, because you simply can't hold these people year after year with no trial at all.

BALDWIN: Jeff, what about this? And then I want to get to Kate, but with regard to the legal process -- and this is something that he brought up. And I don't even know if there is an answer to this, but I will put it to you. Can the death penalty be sought if one of these five men pleads guilty?

TOOBIN: If they plead guilty, that is an interesting question. I don't -- actually don't know. I mean, certainly, if the jury finds death -- there is the death penalty which is eligible. They are eligible for the death penalty following a trial. I think you kind of stumped me on that one. I will have to do a little research to determine whether a guilty --

BALDWIN: It's often we get to stump --

(CROSSTALK)

TOOBIN: I think the answer is probably yes, they still could have the death penalty, because, otherwise, it would be simply under the defendant's control to avoid the death penalty. But I'm going to hit the books on that.

BALDWIN: Do some homework, Mr. Toobin. Do some homework and get back to me, because that is one question I have a feeling many of those victims' families will want an answer to.

TOOBIN: Will do.

BALDWIN: Jeffrey Toobin, my thanks to you.

I want to go to the White House now and Kate Bolduan.

And we have to talk to you, Kate, about the timing of this here, not exactly ideal considering the fact that it was early, early this morning that the president officially announced his reelection bid. And this is a promise from the first campaign that they have failed to fulfill, failed to close Gitmo.

KATE BOLDUAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes, Brooke. This is, I think anyone would agree, not the best timing, coming on a day as you said the president is kicking off his reelection campaign. That happened early this morning. And on such a day the White House wants good news or at least no news to overshadow kind of their messaging coming out of the White House today, and as you can see, this has done just that.

Not only has this done just that, but it also is highlighting something that you can be sure that his opponents in the campaign will use as fuel for their campaigns, what they will call a stark reversal in policy. The White House press secretary, Jay Carney, he was asked about this several times in the briefing. This was I will say before the attorney general spoke. So he kind of said he wanted to leave it for the attorney general, but he kind of hammered it home that it's the president's primary concern to bring these men, these accused 9/11 suspects to justice swiftly, as swiftly as possible. And they say they will continue to do that.

But this has long followed a debate and a controversy that has followed this president from day one after that executive order that you mentioned. And, really, what this looks like, it seems like the attorney general is trying to put the best face on a bad situation. They say their the hands were tied by Congress, but this is by definition a reversal in policy, a reversal, a stark reversal, strong reversal, and you can be sure that his opponents and his critics will call it a flip-flop and continue to people him of that in the coming days, not what any politician wants, especially one who just kicked off his reelection campaign. BALDWIN: Right. Talk about timing, within a matter of hours.

Kate Bolduan and Jeff Toobin, my thanks to both of you.

And let's stay on the topic of the presidency, shall we? By now, you have heard the news. As we mentioning, the president is officially going to run for reelection, but you haven't seen this, this lightning quick response from the GOP. Take a look at this.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

NARRATOR: Lights, camera, action. You have been enjoying yourself, but now it is time to make them love you again. You are cool, calm, collected. You have always gotten what you wanted.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BALDWIN: So, if the rest of the country was caught at all off guard by the president's early entry, it appears the Republicans were not. This spot was in the can ready to roll.

But I want to get back to the president. In fact, it was four years ago, Springfield, Illinois, Senator Barack Obama.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SEN. BARACK OBAMA (D-IL), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: I stand before you today to announce my candidacy for president of the United States of America!

(CHEERING AND APPLAUSE)

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BALDWIN: And that's how he entered the race. That was back in 2007, a lot, lot different this time, very low-key video response, and here is just a part of that.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Well, it seems like the last couple of elections that we have had have been almost kind of turning point campaigns.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Kind of nervous about it. It is like it is coming. It is, 2012, the election.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: And I think that it needs to reflect --

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BALDWIN: So, barely two years in office -- this is just a portion of the video he released this morning -- the president already running for reelection and word is the early entry is all about money.

Want to go to Jessica Yellin, our national political correspondent in Washington. Is that what going on? I think it was hearing this morning the B-word BEGALA: thrown out, Jess, as in raising a billion dollars. Is that true?

JESSICA YELLIN, CNN NATIONAL POLITICAL CORRESPONDENT: That is what the campaign team has been telling the donors it will cost to win.

And there are a couple of reasons. One is that they are worried about the amount of money that the Republicans are going to be able to raise on the other side through their outside expenditure groups, but also looking at the midterm elections. Republicans were able to raise a ton of money at the very end which made a crucial difference to their victories in the midterms and Democrats were surprised by that, nervous about and don't want it to happen again. So they want to be able to raise as much as possible beginning early and bank it for the end of the campaign.

They are also doing this early, I should note, Brooke, because they want to energize those grassroot activists who were so important to Obama's win in 2008.

BALDWIN: Well, let's talk a little more about the announcement, because if you watch the video, as I know we both have, you don't actually see the president. You see several other people here. The spot they put out, you and I know this doesn't just happen by accident. And what I'm talking about here is the people we see, these different faces, right?

So you see a white man from the South. You see a Latina from Nevada. You see a white female from Colorado. Then there's this young white voter from New York, an African-American female from Michigan, and one of the things that struck us was the guy who said, you know what, I don't even agree with everything that the president is saying. But take a listen to him.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Well, I can't not be involved. There's just too much that is fundamentally important right now that is going on. I don't agree with Obama on everything. But I respect him and I trust him.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BALDWIN: I don't agree with him on everything, but I respect and trust him. Read the tea leaves, Jess. What are they trying -- what are we trying to get from this?

YELLIN: Well, there's a little something for everyone there. They cover just about every key constituency for Democrats across ethnic lines, gender, age. It's no secret that the president had challenges with white blue-collar voters back in 2008 and has lost some support there, so you see this guy saying, I'm not on board with everything, but I'm still for him.

I talked to a top Obama aide who said, oh, you guys in the press, don't read into everything. There's subliminal messages. But as you say, these things are not by accident. And the one thing they do point out is the young voter in there who says -- the college age kid who said I was too young to vote last time, but I will vote this time.

That is an essential targeted group for this campaign team. They plan to get as many first-time voters as they can to bring new people into the effort to win in 2012 against what they expect to be a really formidable Republican effort.

BALDWIN: OK. So they want the youth vote here. And we know that the rallying will cry will begin in Chicago. That is the reelection campaign headquarters. Does he start campaigning right now? What is the plan from here forward?

YELLIN: No, they will try to keep the president in the background as much as possible, because as they say he has a day job, but also as a strategist you don't want him to seem politicized in every decision he makes. So he will be doing a lot of fund-raising stops and beginning next month on the 14th his big first campaign fund-raiser will be in Chicago, then one in L.A., San Francisco, New York.

But in terms of major campaign rallies, we will not see the president doing those for quite some time. He will leave it to the Republicans to look like they are just jockeying for position.

BALDWIN: Everything has a purpose in politics, it seems, Jessica Yellin. Thank you so much. Jess, thanks.

And if it happened on a Southwest Airline flight this weekend, could it happen again? A huge hole rips through the top of the plane. People were sitting inside seeing blue sky. A former NTSB investigator will be here to tell me if we should be worried at all.

Also, we finally have proof she is OK. Do you remember this woman? She is the woman, she burst into that Tripoli hotel surrounded by journalists, screaming that Gadhafi sources had allegedly raped her. Well, the government kept telling us she was OK, but we had not heard from her. We had heard from her parents, but not her, until now. She has just spoken with our own Nic Robertson. What she told him coming up.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BALDWIN: Checking your top stories now. NASA is delaying the launch of Space Shuttle Endeavour. It is now set to take off on April 29. There is nothing wrong. They say it is just some sort of scheduling conflict.

A Russian cargo ship is due to dock off at the International Space Station near the shuttle's original launch date of April 19. This is Endeavour's 36th and final mission.

And the woman who accused Moammar Gadhafi's forces of raping her says she is now out of government custody, but cannot leave the country. CNN has new details from Eman al-Obeidy herself. She tells us she was questioned relentlessly by Gadhafi's forces after being forcefully taken away from that hotel there last month and that it didn't stop until a doctor examined her and determined she had been raped and that she had been tortured. She said she still has bruises from her alleged abduction rape. We will hear much more on her interview on "A.C. 360" tonight, 10:00 Eastern.

And take a look at this with me. This is wreckage of an Air France flight that crashed nearly two years ago. So submarines were out. They were searching for the wreckage. They found it over the weekend with bodies of several victims still on board. The French government says the remains will be brought to the surface and identified -- 228 people died. Investigators still don't know why that plane crashed off of Brazil's coast.

And in Japan, it is hard to believe this is the answer, dumping something like 10,500 tons of radioactive water into the ocean on purpose. Yes, that is what they are doing now at the Fukushima Daiichi power plant. Coming up, I will be speaking with a radiation expert, ask him why they are doing this and how dangerous this could be.

Also, now that President Obama has officially taken the lead, saying he wants to run for president, which Republicans will follow and who are the potential GOP presidential contenders? That is next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BALDWIN: OK. So a couple of minutes ago, we talked about the president getting into this race, his race for reelection, but what about the Republicans? We're of course worth watching them as well. You know that, even though the big ones have yet to officially join the fray -- yet being the operative word there.

Here again national political correspondent Jessica Yellin.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

YELLIN (voice-over): Mitt Romney. He has a fierce fund-raising machine, broad name recognition, and he's getting praise from the man in the Oval Office.

BARACK OBAMA, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: I agree with Mitt Romney, who recently said he's proud of what he accomplished on health care in Massachusetts.

YELLIN: What's that about? Well, health care reform could well be Romney's Achilles heel. As Massachusetts governor, he signed a health care reform law that included a mandate, and it's a lot like the Obama health care plan, which is wildly unpopular among Republican voters.

Here's the governor explaining it in New Hampshire.

MITT ROMNEY (R), FMR. MASSACHUSETTS GOVERNOR: Now our approach next door was a state plan to address state problems in ways that were unique to Massachusetts. Now, our experiment wasn't perfect.

YELLIN: For former House Speaker Newt Gingrich, the challenge isn't policy. It's personal.

He's been married three times. He's admitted to having affairs. That's a tough sell for the values voters who naturally gravitate to social conservative positions.

Now he's asking for forgiveness now and offering a rationale on the Christian Broadcasting Network.

NEWT GINGRICH (R), FMR. HOUSE SPEAKER: Well, I mean, first of all, there is no question that at times in my life, partially driven by how passionately I felt about this country, that I worked far too hard, and that things happened in my life that were not appropriate.

YELLIN: That got the late night comics buzzing. Here's NBC's Jay Leno.

JAY LENO, "THE TONIGHT SHOW WITH JAY LENO": Did you hear his explanation? He said he's so passionate, he's so passionate about America, that he loved it so much, that it led him to cheating. YELLIN: These days, Gingrich's wife is a prominent part of his team, and supporters are banking on his energetic campaign style, his wealth of ideas, and some name recognition to carry the day.

Then there's former Minnesota governor Tim Pawlenty. His biggest challenge? He hasn't grabbed a lot of notice. A fellow Republican joked --

REP. BEN QUAYLE (R), ARIZONA: Tim Pawlenty could win the general election and serve two consecutive terms before anyone would notice.

YELLIN: Ouch.

They noticed him when he was governor of Minnesota. He slashed government spending so much, he prompted a bus driver strike and a government shutdown.

As for his lack of pizzazz, here's what he told ABC's Terry Moran.

TIM PAWLENTY (R), FMR. MINNESOTA GOVERNOR: You can either look at pizzazz, or you can look at people's records and what they stand for and what they got done. And I will take results over pizzazz any day of the week.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BALDWIN: OK. Jessica Yellin, let me look down at my list here.

We have got Romney, Gingrich, Pawlenty. What about Palin and also what about Mike Huckabee?

YELLIN: Of course.

Well, both Palin and Huckabee have strong appeal to the conservative base, but challenges reaching independent voters, but also, Brooke, there is this. There's no clear sign that they plan to run, and you can't win if you don't run. BALDWIN: That is indeed the case, is it not?

(LAUGHTER)

BALDWIN: Jessica Yellin, thank you so much. We got a twofer out of you today. Thank you.

And in Japan, we are still watching the situation there at that nuclear plant. Here is the story today. More than 10,000 tons of this radioactive water is now being dumped into the Pacific Ocean on purpose. Folks, this is radioactive water, but is this a big deal or is there worse water? I will ask a radiation expert if that is really the answer there at the Fukushima Daiichi plant. That is next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BALDWIN: It's an act that maybe seems to defy some common sense, but it is happening anyway. Right now, more than 11,000 tons of this radioactive water are being dumped into the Pacific Ocean.

Now, Japanese officials say it is the only viable solution to try to save those generators at the fragile Fukushima nuclear plant. Now, the desperate measure here comes after engineers failed over the weekend to plug this crack leaking toxic water at the plant. That water has been pooling up. Storage tanks then are getting full, so workers there now have to clear out the space so they can now store water that is even more radioactive.

Joining me now to make sense of all of this is Tim Jorgensen. He chairs the Radiation Safety Committee over at Georgetown University Medical Center.

And, Tim, I don't know if it's like the better of two evils here. You have one bit of water, some 11,500 tons of water that they are pouring into the ocean vs. I guess the higher toxic, more contaminated water that is coming out of nuclear reactor number two. Is that worrisome though at all that they are putting any of this water in the ocean?

TIMOTHY JORGENSEN, GEORGETOWN UNIVERSITY MEDICAL CENTER: Well, they are in a tough situation, because, as you say, this highly radioactive water, they don't want to release unless they have to, so they are moving that to the containment facilities that are currently full, and moving what is in the containment facility, which is relatively low radioactive waste, into the ocean.

So it is about 10,000 tons, as you said. But this is about the amount of water that is in five Olympic swimming pools. So, you know, it is a considerable amount of water, but the immensity of the Pacific Ocean will quickly dilute this amount of water to harmless levels.

BALDWIN: OK, because that was my next question, if you need to allay any of fears, both people locally in Japan and also folks along the West Coast thinking, my gosh, could this come toward me? So, you're saying not a huge risk?

(CROSSTALK) JORGENSEN: No, not a huge risk. To put this in perspective, the Pacific Ocean holds 300 about trillion swim pools full of water, OK? And they are going to release about five swimming pools full of water, so that -- hopefully the churning of the ocean and the currents will quickly disperse this, so that gets to very dilute concentrations relatively quickly.

BALDWIN: OK. Let me get to the second point which is White House hat mentioned over the weekend. So there's this huge, huge concern that there is this leak somewhere within the number two reactor, so there is water that -- the higher radioactive water is leaking, and so to stem this leak, workers have been using concrete, sawdust and newspaper to plug it.

A., Tim, how effective has that been? And, B., when you hear newspaper, are they grasping at straws there?

JORGENSEN: Yes. They have gone beyond the playbook now and they are doing anything they can. And I understand that those efforts were not successful at all. So, I don't know what they --

(CROSSTALK)

JORGENSEN: I don't know what their next game plan in terms of plugging the leak is, but this leak is filling up the tunnels and the trenches below the reactor, which is making it impossible for the workers to work in there and also threatening the electric power supply, so that is why it is vital that they pump this water out into the containment facilities that they have.

That will buy them a lot of time to get this problem solved. Perhaps once the water is gone, they can go in with more conventional methods and fix that leak.

BALDWIN: That perfectly segues that you mentioned the vital power supply, right? So then you have this other problem. And it feels like for a while there, we weren't too worried about reactors four, five and six because those were shut off before the quake. But now apparently the water in the turbine building's basement, that is threatening the water supply.

And just to underscore your point that is important because you need the power to keep those pools cool, the spent fuel rod pools cool, right?

JORGENSEN: That is exactly right.

And I understand that some reactor from those other reactors, which is much less radioactive than what is reactor number two, is also going to be released with the contained water in the waste treatment plant, so the total is going to be about 11,500 tons altogether.

But again, this is relatively low-level. What they are trying to do is to mitigate the radioactivity loss by release, by keeping it as low as possible, removing the low-level stuff first, so that they have room for the higher-level stuff on site. BALDWIN: Final question, and this is your area ear area of expertise, you have been studying this, so are there any signs of progress?

JORGENSON: Progress -- well, they need to keep these things cooled, and they have restored the electrical power to that area. If they can keep the pumps going and the cooling generated, that is really going the help alleviate the situation a lot. So I think that there is some progress, but it is a slow-going. But they are making some progress with this.

BALDWIN: Some progress as they say could mean months and months there. Tim Jorgenson, thank you very much.

JORGENSON: Thank you very much.

BALDWIN: And now this.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

(GUNFIRE)

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BALDWIN: This video is just video we getting in here on the front line of one of our crews on the frontline and we will have them explain what is happening there next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BALDWIN: Twenty-four hours now and no fresh NATO air strikes over Libya is what we are told by people in El Brega and Ajdabiya today. An opposition leader says the rebels have the oil city of El Brega surrounded and that Gadhafi troops are on the defensive there.

We want to go to Ajdabiya with CNN's international correspondent Ben Wedeman there. Ben, I know you were in Brega today, and did you see the rebels surrounding the city, and who would you say appears to be in control there?

BEN WEDEMAN, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, it appears they are still in Brega, the Gadhafi forces in control. We were to the north of there, and of course, we came under fire three times, three separate times by artillery and some heavy machine gunfire.

And what we are told however by rebel commanders is that they basically have the city surrounded on three sides, and that because of the NATO air strikes, because of the lack of any air cover for the Libyan forces by the Libyan air force and their inability to use things like tanks and armored personnel carrier, they are beginning to weaken. They do believe that within the next 24 hours, they, the opposition fighters may be able to retake Brega. Of course, that is a city that in the last six weeks has changed hands six times. Brooke?

BALDWIN: Well, you mention you and your crew came under fire three times, and we have been playing the video. And I want to play the video again, Ben, and we want to turn the sound up, and then I want you to explain exactly what was happening.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

(SHOUTING)

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BALDWIN: So, Ben, I don't know who is shooting the video, but people are dashing to the ground and hiding behind car doors, and I see some feet there -- what was happening? Is this typical of covering this story in Libya for you guys?

WEDEMAN: It is not the first time we have had to hit the dirt and really hug it for quite some time. I mean, as I said, we had three different incidents.

Unfortunately, I can't see what you are running, but from the sound of it I think it is two clips. One clip is the first time we came under artillery attack which was right at the edge of Brega and things actually seemed pretty calm. We haven't been that far forward in quite some time. But all of the sudden, we heard these thumps as the rounds came charging in, and really, in those situations the first thing you do is to get down and look around and then look for the car and jump in it and drive away, and we did it three times.

And I think the other clip that you have there is the third time where we are by the road thinking that we finally got out of range of the fire of the Gadhafi force, and I was hearing these strange whistles over my head, and then they intensified and we started to hear more gun fire, so yet, again, we jumped down and hit the ground and looked around and waited until the shooting subsided, jumped back in the car and drove madly away. Brooke.

BALDWIN: Yes, I think that my heart would have been thumping out of my chest, but we appreciate someone for rolling on that and getting that video. Quickly, why is that this town Brega, and it is an oil refining town, why it has been changing hand so many times?

WEDEMAN: Well, it is really because on the one hand the opposition forces really don't have the ability to hold the territory. They can rush forward and if the other side is not willing to put up a fight, they will be able to take over a town like Brega. But at the end of the day, they are not very well trained. They are not very well equipped. Before they didn't have any air cover, so whenever the Gadhafi forces decided to take the town back, they could use their tanks. They could use their air force and heavy artillery and mortars and surface-to-surface missiles. So that really explains it, a disparity in the ability.

Of course, now with NATO air cover, with a no-fly zone, it definitely gives the rebels an advantage. But, their lack of training as I u said and the lack of organization, their lack of communications makes it very difficult for them to hold a spot and then move forward. Brooke?

BALDWIN: And Ben Wedeman, my thanks to you and your crew. Thank you. And now, listen to this.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

(BOOING)

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BALDWIN: Yikes! Talk about booing Charlie Sheen. He has hit the road and part of the one-man show and not everyone is laughing. We will tell you why some people are giving the self-proclaimed warlock a huge thumb's down. That's next.

Plus Katie Couric cutting the cord from CBS. Could it be? Why the newswoman is bidding adieu to the evening news. Stay right here.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BALDWIN: Will she stay? Will she go? That is the question, but no one seems to know for sure. But a little bit of speculation out there is rife today that Katie Couric might leave the CBS evening news anchor chair once her contract is up in June and maybe launch a syndicated talk show next year.

No departure date has been set, and CBS is not commenting and neither is Couric, but official word could come in a couple of weeks. Couric became the first woman to solo anchor a week night network newscast back in September of 2006.

One person who may not be going anywhere soon is Charlie Sheen. The actor launched his "Torpedo of Truth Tour" and -- listen to those boos. He got booed big time right off of the top of the show. People said he was rambling and not making a lot of sense. Hmm, imagine that.

Less than 24 hours later, Sheen tweaked the show and reportedly got a standing ovation in the second performance in Chicago. Kareen Wynter is joining me live from L.A. So he got boos one night, and standing o in another. How is he doing? What is going on?

KAREEN WYNTER, CNN ENTERTAINMENT CORRESPONDENT: You know with Charlie, Brooke, you have to expect the unexpected. Let's start with Saturday. Boy was it an absolutely disastrous opening night for Sheen in Detroit.

He redeemed himself in Chicago the following night, but fans in Detroit were furious. They didn't get their money's worth and blasted him after the show. Take a listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

(BOOING)

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WYNTER: So, Brooke, fans were singing a slightly, OK, a huge difference tune in Chicago the next day. And what a difference the day makes, because Sheen switched it up and he got rid of the random confusing video screens and no-name entertainers that just really bogged the entire show down, and the entire performance in Detroit.

Sheen also connected a lot more with the audience. He had a raw stripped-down show, and he did a candid Q&A as well on stage with his friend and co-producer of the show where Sheen opened up about getting fired from the TV show and dishing about the custody dispute with one of the exes. No one booed, not one person, and in fact, he got several standing ovations, and that is night two. Night one was off to a rocky start.

BALDWIN: I have to be honest that I am not up on the Charlie Sheen twitter page, so I don't know if he is commenting or any word from Sheen's camp about any reaction to these two performances thus far?

WYNTER: We managed to catch up with Sheen's manager and his publicist this morning and just touched down in L.A. back in town from Chicago. They were headed to Charlie's house. They said that after Detroit that Charlie was quote "dejected, but determined that the first show was really an eye-opener for him. But instead of blaming the audience, guess what, they said that Charlie, he blamed himself and he knew what he need to do to get his act together for Chicago." So, Brooke, two shows down, and 17 dates left. Sheen is off to Cleveland on Tuesday. Wonder how he will do there?

BALDWIN: How many money are people forking over for the Sheen tickets, curious?

WYNTER: Well, anywhere from $50 to $100, and for folks who wanted their money back, the angry fans Saturday --

BALDWIN: Can they?

WYNTER: No refunds, but perhaps they can take some sort of comfort in the fact that Charlie is donating $1 from each ticket sale to relief efforts in Japan. So far he is making a lot of dough. Both shows sold out, so not bad.

BALDWIN: So one-50th of a ticket goes to Japan. Thanks or the latest on Charlie Sheen, Kareen Wynter.

And now this -

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Everyone had their mask on and some people were having problems and passing out. It was not good.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I thought we were going down. I really did. It seemed like we were dropping pretty fast. Just all unreal.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BALDWIN: Unreal, indeed. You know the story. A gaping hole, and could one like that on the top of the plane. Could that happen again? We will get some questions answered.

And a little bit of good news out of Japan for a change. I love this store story. You see that puppy dog, survived three weeks at sea after the tsunami, and if you are a dog lover like me, you will love this story. We'll have the pictures coming up.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BALDWIN: Are you headed out of town any time soon and holding a ticket on Southwest Airlines? If you are, you should probably make a phone call. You see lots of the Southwest flights are cancelled today, after a weekend of grounding jets and giving them a thorough onceover. And you see this big hole? They want to make sure it does not happen again, because it forced an emergency landing Friday on their 727. Thank goodness no one was seriously hurt.

Greg Feith knows a thing or two about airline safety, because he is a retired investigator from the NTSB. And Greg, let me ask you first, you know, we know that Southwest grounded a bunch of planes since this happened Friday and three or more grounded with cracks, and dozens still back in service now, and back flying and does that at all seem -- does that seem too fast to you to put them back up into the sky?

GREG FEITH, FORMER SENIOR NTSB INSPECTOR: No. With the type of inspections that is being done, Brooke, right now, the mechanics are very efficient, and they are doing a very thorough job using eddy current which is passing an electrical current through that metal to look for the microscopic cracks. It takes about four to five hours per plane to get the inspections done. So I don't think it's too soon.

BALDWIN: I want to ask you specifics on inspection in just a moment. If we can back to the Boeing 737, I know it's subject to a short hall from D.C. to New York, quick flights, as a result of the deep pressurizing, which I guess makes the metal fatigue a bit more leading to a crack like this. So would this be an aircraft problem versus an airline problem?

FEITH: Absolutely. When you look at the pressurization cycle, it takes off and starts at landing. That's how we gauge an airplane, not in calendar years but cycles. This airplane had 39,000 cycles on it. For a Boeing 737, it's young for its vintage, given the fact that other planes with 80,000 cycles in the same vintage. That's why it's of concern to the NTSB and FAA with these cracks in a please that even the manufacturer had not anticipated in the past.

BALDWIN: I've heard experts say and NTSB saying this is not the kind of crack. You mentioned microscopic, right, that you wouldn't find it unless you were looking for it specifically. But I'm sure people are wondering as well, are inspectors not regularly eyeballing these planes to check for precisely this?

FEITH: Well, they are eyeballing it, using your term, but there are various types of inspections that are done every day. Some only require a visual inspection, looking for the more obvious things, the larger cracks and that kind of thing.

In this particular area called the lap joint, the cracks are developing on the underside of the lap joint which you cannot see with the naked eye. You need to have a more comprehensive way of determining these cracks the naked eye can't see it.

BALDWIN: So given those three different methods to detect these microscopic cracks, will they be doing much more of that? What do you tell the person sitting at home saying, my gosh, I don't know if I feel like getting on a plane tomorrow?

FEITH: Well, they should have a high level of comfort and confidence in the system. The fortunate thing about this event was that no one was seriously injured or killed. The fact is that every time we have an event like this, it's a lesson learned, and it's a natural process for these planes to sustain wear and tear because they are up and down.

Whether it's 5,000 cycles in a month or 5,000 cycles in a year, the fact is that when you have an airline maintaining these planes, the manufacturer puts out an inspection program and the FAA approves is, unfortunately, we always find those kinds of things, such as these cracks, that we couldn't anticipate before.

So now you're going to see a change in the inspection of the planes, the methods that they use. And I think it will go not only for the 737 but the lessons learned from this and apply them to other aircraft, in the airbus and other manufacturers, because this will improve aviation safety.

BALDWIN: OK, I think it's good that many are learning lessons but many would think we don't want to have to learn these in the first place. At least we'll be upping the inspections, as you say, and we will all be safe. Thank you so much for your expertise. Appreciate it.

FEITH: You're welcome, Brooke.

BALDWIN: And now this --

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ERIC HOLDER, U.S. ATTORNEY GENERAL: You have taken the most tested counterterrorism tools off the table and tied our hands in a way that could have serious ramifications.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BALDWIN: Attorney General Eric Holder not holding back. He is blaming Congress for the decision to try the 9/11 suspects at Gitmo, the exact opposite of what he and what the president had been pushing for.

Also, did you hear my interview with the CEO of the Internet company "Go Daddy"? He went on a trip to Zimbabwe to shoot an elephant. So he is catching all kinds of heat for sharing this video online, videos of him shooting and killing an elephant. You're going to hear from an elephant expert, and I'll ask him how big of a problem these elephants really are. Stay here.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BALDWIN: OK. You see this scared pup? This guy was found floating on top of a house more than a mile off the Japanese coast. He has now been reunited with his owner three weeks after surviving the earthquake and the tsunami. The owner was staying at a shelter and saw the canine being rescued by workers. The pair is from an area that was virtually washed out. A relative of the owner came and picked him up. He's so cute.

OK, let's talk politics now. Let's go to Paul Steinhauser with the latest news from the political tip ticker. I hear that the big headline this morning, Paul, the Obama camp released a big reelection ad today.

PAUL STEINHAUSER, CNN DEPUTY POLITICAL EDITOR: Yes, they did. So what are the Republicans doing in response? Check this out. Let's go to their website. They are trying to raise $270,000 over the next 72 hours. And why? They say it's $1,000 for every electoral vote needed. They've already raised $20,000.

That's not all. They put out a new video as well. It's called "Hope isn't hiring." It attacks the president and blames the president for the unemployment rate in the U.S. So the president jump-starting his campaign to raise money and the Republicans trying to raise money off the announcement. Brooke?

BALDWIN: The vice president is getting into -- he's in New Hampshire today, is he not, talking against campus violence.

STEINHAUSER: Yes. He was in New Hampshire and is still up there right now. That was the official event. As the president announces his reelection campaign, the vice president headlined a meeting of the Organizing for America, that's the grassroots wing of the Democratic Party, and speaking to supporters, people who have backed president Obama and have worked for him in the past.

Why New Hampshire? Remember, it's a very important politically important state. We don't think the president is going to have any serious primary challenge, but New Hampshire is the battleground state that the president won and he is going to want to win it again.

BALDWIN: What about today, the pulse of the people? Where does the president stand with regard to the polls today?

STEINHAUSER: Americans are divided on the president. Check this out. We just put it out. The most recent national survey averages them all out. You can see that 47 percent of Americans say they approve of how he is doing, 46 percent disapprove. He's been in the mid-to upper 40s, low 50s for over a year now, but there are interesting divides, Brooke. Women, they have more of an approval rating -- they have higher approval rating of the president than men do. Younger people, higher ratings than older Americans, Brooke. BALDWIN: Interesting. Paul Steinhauser, thank you very much. Appreciate it.

And you're always hard at work on this Twitter updates. People can read them. Just go to CNNPolitics.com, or go to Twitter @PoliticalTicker.