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Tornado Rampage Kills 45; Misery in Misrata; Search Widens for Holly Bobo; House of Windsor Love; Colin Hay Serenades Brooke; Jackson Blames iPad for Job Loss; "The Governator"
Aired April 18, 2011 - 16:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
ED HENRY, CNN SENIOR WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: They host a reception at the vice presidential mansion, et cetera. So, they donate their time to charity as well, but very small amount of their checkbook to charity.
Meanwhile, the president is heading out on the road later this week. He's going to be going to Reno, Nevada, to talk about the economy, talk about his deficit reduction message. Nevada, obviously, is a key swing state.
Then, on to California, he'll be making stops in Los Angeles and San Francisco. That San Francisco stop is interesting because he will have a town hall at Facebook, making some friends perhaps ahead of 2012.
But last item, it's interesting. Jesse Jackson, Jr., the Democratic congressman from Illinois, taking a look at this little guy, the iPad, I personally like it.
He says it's killing thousands of jobs, that it's one of the reasons why Borders, the bookstore, is closing stores right now, saying, quote, "Why do you need to go to Barnes & Noble? Buy an iPad and download your newspaper, download your book, download your magazine."
This is popping a lot -- getting a lot of clicks online right now, the congressman taking at the iPad. He's got a point obviously that technology changes things, but I think there are probably a lot of people who think it can also change things for the better, Brooke.
BROOKE BALDWIN, CNN ANCHOR: But, Ed, doesn't he have an iPad? Is that what I read?
HENRY: He said that he has one but basically has some second thoughts about it. So, kind of taking aim at the iPad that he purchased. But, you know, people are entitled to have second thoughts after they purchase something.
BALDWIN: Of course, they are. And we've got Joe Johns. He's on that one in "Political Pop" at the end of the hour. It should be interesting what he digs up on that.
Ed Henry, my thanks to you.
And another political update for you in about half an hour. And, now, take a look at this.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
BALDWIN: They are being called "epic storms," a string of violent tornadoes taking homes and lives. And now, as the recovery begins, survivors are speaking out.
I'm Brooke Baldwin. The news is now.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SARAH PALIN (R), FORMER ALASKA GOVERNOR: All aboard his bullet train, the bankruptcy.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BALDWIN: The gloves are off. As President Obama builds his 2012 bank, the Tea Party flexes its muscle. A live report from the rallies.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We have located some new articles.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BALDWIN: New clues in the hunt for missing student from Tennessee -- a man in camouflage, the blood found, and the urgent appeal from investigators.
Plus, a spray of bullets in Syria. Twelve (ph) protesters are reported dead after government forces opened fire, this as the country's president makes a new promise. Hala Gorani joins me live.
And horror at the intersection. You will see how close this came to tragedy.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
BALDWIN: And welcome back to you, hour two. I'm Brooke Baldwin.
Let's start with weather, severe weather. At least 45 are dead in that wave of tornadoes. About half of the deaths are in North Carolina, with more severe weather coming tomorrow and specifically tomorrow night for parts of the country.
By now, you have heard about the Lowe's home improvement store. That's the Lowe's in Sanford, North Carolina, was demolished by a twister, with dozens of people inside, all of whom, thank goodness, survived.
But I want to share with you what we learned just last hour, that tornado came and went in a matter of seconds. I want you to listen from Gary Hendricks. He was inside the store when the tornado hit.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
GARY HENDRICKS, TORNADO SURVIVOR (via telephone): Well, what's interesting is I never heard any of the sounds of the destruction of the building. I never heard tearing metal. I never heard falling things. All I heard was this terrible wind and a roaring up over the top of the building. And quite honestly, it lasted for less than 10 seconds once we were in that protected area, and it was over and quiet.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BALDWIN: That twister touched down near Raleigh. But some of the worst damage actually happened in the state's northeast corner. That's Bertie County. At least 11 people died there.
Here is CNN's David Mattingly with more.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
DAVID MATTINGLY, CNN CORRESPONDENT: These are the sites and sounds of a rural North Carolina county trying to put the pieces back together after one of the most severe storms they've ever seen. We're seeing neighbors helping neighbors. We're seeing chainsaws cutting up trees. We're seeing people picking up debris, and there's a lot of it to be handled here.
Take a look at this house right over here. This house was caught directly in the path of this tornado. You see the side is splattered with mud. The roof completely ripped off.
And that's not the only thing. Around here on the side, the windows have been blown out, the siding pealed off and broken. And around at front, we see even more damage. Trees ripped out of the ground.
People saying they've never, ever seen a tornado like this in this part of the country.
Now, something we rarely get to see is what a house looks like inside after a tornado has hit and this is what we've got right here -- this house in the direct path. You see it was knocked off of its foundation, pushed back more than a foot away from where it used to be standing.
Walking into the living room here, everything has been ruined. Every bit of furniture soaked by rain, covered with debris, the windows blown out, water damage all over the place. Fortunately, the people who live here were not at home at the time. The husband tells me that his wife became ill, he took her to the emergency room, and that's where they were when the storm hit. Otherwise, they would have been sitting on this couch watching TV and with a much more terrible story to tell today if they had stayed here.
I talked to officials who say there's no way they could have prepared for this. And looking at what residents did, they say there was very little, in some cases, that many residents could have done to protect themselves.
DAVID WELDON, N.C. EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT AGENCY: Any storm with this magnitude is hard to prepare for, whether it's a hurricane or a tornado. In both, in the hurricane planning, we do plan for tornadoes that are spawned out of hurricane. So, the preparation has taken place, but a storm of this magnitude being out of a thunderstorm, no.
MATTINGLY: When the storm hit, people all over this county found themselves at a real disadvantage when it came to protecting themselves. That's because we're here at sea level, and almost no one, because of the water table, has a basement or storm cellar where they could seek refuge. Instead, when they found themselves in the path of this very powerful storm, they had to ride it out in their homes, and you can see how well these homes held up -- Brooke.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
BALDWIN: David Mattingly -- thank you, David -- for us in North Carolina.
Also keeping you on the loop on this one. Investigators in Tennessee, they're updating the search now on -- for the missing student Holly Bobo. Her brother told police that a man dressed in camouflage kidnapped her, but this whole history is keeping this town on edge. Coming up in just a couple of minutes, I'll be speaking live to the director of state bureau investigation and I will ask him, given all of these 250-plus tips, whether or not there is a specific person of interest in this case yet. Don't miss that interview. That's minutes away.
But, first, if it's interesting and if it's happening right now, you're about to see it. "Rapid Fire," let's go.
Beginning with this, here is the safest way to test for radiation in Japan's damaged reactors. Stay away -- stay as far away as you can. Remote control robots instead now are operating inside these reactors. Today, Japanese safety officials reports that robots found very high levels of radiation at the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant both inside and around two of those reactor buildings.
In the meantime, we are learning that nearly 14,000 people are now reported dead, another 14,000 still missing.
Now to this -- southern Mexico, about 200 homes flooded out. Families had to run to higher ground because of scenes like this one. But there is something else here. This is not just water, an enormous sewage canal ruptured, sent a gusher of raw sewage into the town. Officials say heavy rains caused the canal to fail.
And a close call in China. Cameras are rolling as the semi as it comes barreling through this intersection, barely missing that guy in a motorcycle. Let's re-rack and watch it again. You can see the truck speeding towards the intersection. It speeds towards the intersection and it just about hit that motorcyclist as it now flattens on the side. But it makes a turn before it tips over -- obviously frightening stuff there.
Over to Oregon, where a 6-year-old boy crashed his family's minivan into a pickup truck. But I know you're asking, what is a 6- year-old doing behind the wheel of the minivan? Police say the boy grabbed a roll of pennies to get some food because he was hungry. He didn't get very far, only about a tenth of a mile before hitting the truck.
On New Jersey, cameras were rolling Friday afternoon when a black Nissan Maxima sped off without paying are for gas. There it goes. You see what was going with the Nissan Maxima? The gas station attendant, dragged along on that busy street. Police are looking for the driver. The attendant is not seriously injured.
And I want you to take a careful look at this military airplane. It's coming in. You can see it coming in for a landing. We see underneath it -- there's some sort of a problem on that landing gear on that international guard C-130 cargo plane. It did land roughly but safely. It's Colorado Springs, Colorado. Five crew members were on board and no one was hurt there.
And Match.com is changing the way it does business. Specifically, the dating site is going to start checking existing and new subscribers against the national sex offender registry. This move comes after a California woman sued the company, saying she was sexually assaulted by a man she met on Match.com. The company said that it has been thinking about making a change for a while, but until now, the technology to do it just wasn't sufficient. Well, now, they say they will put the changes into effect and pretty soon here in the next 60 to 90 days.
Coming up: a man is trapped more than 6,000 feet underground after a mine just collapses. Crews in Idaho are racing to save him but time is running out. Find out the biggest obstacle that they are facing as the family anxiously awaits for word.
Also, I'm just getting word that Ben Wedeman has just docked onboard ship carrying people who hurt in the Libyan violence. We showed you his story just minutes ago. He's standing by. We'll live to him in Libya, next.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
BALDWIN: Back to Libya now where shelling in Misrata is spelling misery and suffering for thousands of people there. You have pro-Gadhafi forces -- they are pounding the city's port, blocking these ships with food, with medical supplies from getting in there and docking. But that is leaving tens and thousands of wounded civilians just stranded, including children.
But one ship managed to make it through. It has now been there and has now arrived safely in Benghazi.
CNN's Ben Wedeman was jus aboard the ship. He joins me now live.
And, Ben, we watched your piece just a couple of minutes ago. If you can, tell me how many people were able to get on board that ship. And of that number, how many would you guess were children?
BEN WEDEMAN, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, there were about 900 people who crammed on to this ship that normally ferries tourists between Albania and Italy. There were a handful of children. Most of the people onboard were migrant workers from places like Ghana and Nigeria, the Philippines and elsewhere. In addition, 23, as you saw, very severely wounded Libyans, both civilians and fighters.
But, really, what we saw was a drop in the bucket of what the situation in Misrata itself is. There are still at least 7,000 people of these third country nationals trying to get out. Britain announced today that it would facilitate the evacuation of 5,000 of those. But there are, of course, many Libyans as well living under horrendous conditions in many parts of the city. There is random bombardment with missiles, artillery, and mortars, including, according to "The New York Times," cluster bombs. So, many Libyans are just desperate to get out of there, to get to safer ground.
BALDWIN: You showed, Ben, in your piece, I think it was a double amputation on board the ship, just to show how dire some of these injuries are. Yet, at the same time, there are many would-be evacuees who -- doctors had to turn away because they wouldn't survive the voyage. Is that right?
WEDEMAN: Yes. That was one case that showed autopsy the up at the ship and the doctors really -- you know, it was a very difficult decision to make. This man was wounded in the fighting and they -- he needs desperately some special medical care. Because it's about a 20- hour voyage over sometimes fairly rough seas, they decided that it just would be too risky to send him.
And that's just one of -- there are many cases like that of people who are so badly injured. There's just no way to get them out and they may simply pass away as a result of their wounds.
BALDWIN: Ben, additionally here, talk to me about the safety and the risk that these ships take because I know I was talking to Reza Sayah who's reporting on these ships just last week about the fears that some of these pro-Gadhafi forces would try to intercept the aid ship. So, it couldn't quite, you know, arrive to port in Misrata, let alone turn around and leave back for Benghazi.
So, how secure are these ships?
WEDEMAN: Well, in this case, this ship was organized by the International Organization for Migration, and they did have the clearance from the Libyan foreign ministry in Tripoli. But, nonetheless, you have to realize that it's a private ship that's been hired and it's the captain who makes the final decision and we waited for four hours offshore waiting for the situation to become clear.
There's, of course, the ever possibility of bombardment but there were also thousands of Egyptian workers who were concentrated outside the main gate of the port, trying to get in. And they didn't want to dock until that crowd moved away because they could simply storm the ship they are so desperate to leave.
BALDWIN: Well, the ship may have been cleared but clearly not everyone plays by the rules in Libya. Ben Wedeman, my thanks to you in Benghazi.
And now, a little bit closer to home, to us here. I want to take you to northern Idaho, where the race is on really to get to this miner, this 50-year-old miner who's trapped more than 6,000 feet underground. His name is Larry Marek. He's been down there since part of the mine's roof collapsed on Friday.
I want to bring in Chad Myers who's been watching a little bit of this rescue.
Quickly, we know that he's had 30 years of experience in the mining industry, 12 apparently with this particular mining company. But how did this whole thing collapse? Let's start there.
CHAD MYERS, AMS METEOROLOGIST: There were 50 men in the mine, two in this particular part of the mine, two brothers, ironically.
BALDWIN: Right.
MYERS: One brother out, the other brother is still down there. As they were watering down the blasted out rock, the roof of the mine collapsed on top of them, or at least around them. We hope the he's just on the other side of the rock. And that's what they're doing. They are digging out the rock from the top of the mine that collapsed down into the hole that they were already in.
One miner out and one miner is still in there. Now, they've brought in a remote-controlled vehicle, kind of a front-end loader that's going to kind of scoop this up. They have miners down there getting rocks out.
But the first 20 feet have been pretty good and then all of a sudden, the rocks on top not doing so good. So, they are shoring it up, they're holding it up, but now, they have this remote-controlled vehicle. They can stand back here and run this remote-controlled vehicle and kind of dig out the rocks with it, without, hey, if the rock falls on the truck, so what? No big deal. So, that's going to help out a lot.
This is ironic. They are 6,000 feet down, but they're not digging down 6,000 feet. They are taking this machine in pieces down 5,900 feet --
BALDWIN: OK.
MYERS: -- reassembling it down there.
BALDWIN: Why can't -- because it's too large?
MYERS: It's too big. It's too big to go into the elevator. So, they are really reassembling it down there and then they're going to try to get this guy out with that mucker, the remote-controlled mucker. You can go on Google and see some of images it.
BALDWIN: So, are they fearful about air down there? How tight of a space he may be? How long they would have to get him out?
MYERS: There were two exits that they were taking out and both of those exits are still OK.
BALDWIN: OK.
MYERS: So, there's still an opportunity for him to be in a pocket and the air is still OK.
BALDWIN: And this happened on Friday? And what's the name of the mine?
MYERS: It is up in Mullan. It's called Lucky Friday Mine, exactly.
BALDWIN: That's what's it called. Lucky Friday mine.
MYERS: Yes. It's a very small town. It's on I-90. You know, you go from Coeur d'Alene, you go east. I go Coeur d'Alene all the time. I'm going there in Coeur d'Alene in two weeks. You go east there, about 200 miles or so and there's Mullan before you get to Montana and the men are down there.
BALDWIN: Well, go check on him and see how he's doing once they get him out.
Chad Myers on a big trip to Idaho, thank you very much -- the update there on the search.
Also to this story -- more protesters, they are dead as the government in Syria raises the stakes and while the violence escalates there, Syria's president -- who we talked a lot about over the course of the last couple of weeks -- he has made a huge promise that could change the game, who could change everything.
Hala Gorani, she's standing by with brand new information on what's happening in Syria. We'll talk to Hala, next.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
BALDWIN: We are getting more disturbing news out of Syria. Opposition sources are saying the government there has killed as many as 24 people in the past two days. Take a look at this scene.
(VIDEO CLIP PLAYS)
BALDWIN: You can hear the shots. Here's the thing, though, we don't know what's happening, specifically. We don't know all the details of what's happening here in Talbisi (ph). The Syrian government will not let us in Syria.
But the opposition tells us that government forces opened fire in the streets. They've raided a number of homes.
For more on this, let's go to Hala Gorani. I know she's been trying to get into Syria, thus far, unsuccessfully. She's live in Cairo.
And, first, Hala, do we know exactly in some of the video that we just showed in Talbisi who is doing the shooting? Is it the army or is it these shadowy security forces that we're starting to hear about?
HALA GORANI, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, really, it's very difficult to tell. As you there, Brooke, we haven't been allowed into the country to report independently in Syria. What we do know, though, over the last 24 hours or so is that dozens of people have been killed, opposition witnesses are telling us on the ground that 24 people have been killed. However, we're hearing higher numbers from other eye witnesses and other sources.
It's very difficult for us, Brooke, to piece together this story. But we can tell from the video and from people that we've been able to see speaking inside of Syria that the security forces used live ammunition on the protesters in Homs. That's the city north of Damascus, the capital.
We also know from some of the eyewitnesses on the ground that there is currently a sit-in in the center of Homs. Thousands of people, according to the sources we've been speaking to, are staying put. And (AUDIO BREAK) of Homs. That's Syria's third largest city. And that the army or security forces are encircling the city and not letting anyone in or out to take part in these sit-ins.
But if the number is in the thousands of protesters, then it is extremely significant, because this comes a day after the president promised reform. It comes also a day after he promised to lift the state of emergency that's been in place for almost 50 years within one week. That means that the bond of trust definitely does not exist between the president and his (AUDIO BREAK), Brooke.
BALDWIN: Well, Hala, let me just pick up on that because that's a huge bit of news that was made in Syria. You and I have talked about this -- this emergency law that he's pledged to lift this. It's been in place for some nearly 50 years.
Would that, Hala, change things, or would this potentially be some sort of shell game?
GORANI: Well, really, if the state of emergency, this emergency law is lifted, it's been in place since the very early '60s, (AUDIO BREAK) brought the Assad family to power in 1970, followed by his son in 2000. Critics say it doesn't really matter because the network of other laws still exist in the country that would allow security forces to detain people, that would prevent people from gathering peacefully, that would prevent people from publicly criticizing the government.
Those people who are out there in the streets of Syria are going out there very much at their own risk because they know that it's possible they might got -- they might get hurt or killed. And it does appear at this stage as though regardless of what promises the presidency is making in Syria, that the people who are going out on the streets are not listening to the regime anymore and want more fundamental changes than the kinds of reforms that the president is promising. And those who do -- who would be happy with those reforms say they don't believe him any way.
BALDWIN: Don't believe him any way. Hala Gorani, thank you so much, live in Cairo.
Now this --
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
PALIN: Maybe I should ask them if we should be suggesting to GOP leaders, they need to learn how to fight like a girl.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BALDWIN: That was Sarah Palin rallying supporters of this Tea Party event and she's not only taking on President Obama, she is calling out Republicans. This afternoon, the wave of criticism continues as Michele Bachmann and Nikki Haley fire up their own crowds. Hear what they're saying. In a live report, we're going to take you to South Carolina, next.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
BALDWIN: This is a pretty frightening story out of Maryland. Imagine this -- you have this man who was involved in an accident on the bay bridge. He, himself, gets thrown over the edge of the bridge straight into the water below.
Here's what we know so far, and obviously, that's the accident's aftermath. According to our affiliate, WBAL, it happened this morning when the man's car just broke down. He apparently got out, checked it out, see what was wrong. That is when a truck slammed his car from behind. The collision sent this guy flying over the bridge and into the bay. He was pulled from the water a short time later, taken to the hospital, where we're told he has life-threatening injuries.
Look at the traffic backed up from this thing. Two other people were also taken to the hospital. As soon as we get more information, we will bring it to you, imagine.
And now for your "CNN Equals Politics" update. Tea Party Tax Day rally being held today in Columbia, South Carolina.
CNN political reporter Peter Hamby there with the latest Political Ticker.
And, Mr. Hamby, which rally would you like to start with?
PETER HAMBY, CNN POLITICAL REPORTER: Well, today is actually Tax Day. There were a number of Tea Party rallies on April 15. But just traditionally Tax Day as you know in New Hampshire and Iowa, in key early primary states where the Republican presidential candidates are traveling to these days. But April 18th is, of course, Tax Day this year.
And the one possible candidate who is on the road this year at a rally was Michele Bachmann, the Tea Party favorite, congresswoman from Minnesota. She spoke at a rally on the statehouse steps here in Columbia, South Carolina, where I am, along with the governor of South Carolina, Nikki Haley, who is also a popular figure among the Tea Party movement.
Now, Bachmann has been here for three days traveling around the state, and I've got to say -- she might be underestimated in Washington but Michele Bachmann, who you know as a frequent guest on CNN, is really making inroads in these early states. Some of the hard-core Republican activists really like her. I saw her at two different rallies this weekend, and she honestly packed the house. She had supporters in the streets waiting to see her.
So, she is somebody to keep an eye on. I think Republican professionals may not think that she can actually win the nomination, but she will do well in the primaries if she decides to run for president. And one side note, Brooke. She met privately with Governor Haley at the state house today. Governor Haley, of course, has said that she will endorse one of these candidates, and that endorsement is going to be much sought after by these candidates looking to appeal to South Carolina voters on the way to the Republican presidential nomination. Brooke?
BALDWIN: Well, you talk about a pretty popular woman being Michele Bachmann. What about Sarah Palin?
HAMBY: Well, Sarah Palin spoke this weekend in Madison, Wisconsin, which was ground zero for labor protests last month.
She's really been kind of out of the spotlight recently. She's obviously made appearances on that other cable news channel that we won't refer to. But she hasn't really been in public that much. She delivered a blistering speech yesterday and really reminded Republicans of how great a cheerleader she is for the Republican party.
Down here in South Carolina, though, she has not been here recently. There were a number of straw polls, presidential straw polls at county conventions around the state this weekend that I attended, and Sarah Palin actually did not do too well. So, Palin has a problem perhaps where Republicans like her. They feel inspired by her. But they are not quite sure she crosses that presidential threshold. So she has some work to do if she wants to win the nomination next year, Brooke.
BALDWIN: Still, she's someone we're talking about, someone we're watching. Peter Hamby in South Carolina. Peter, thank you so much.
Now to growing fears about our safety in the skies. Yet another air traffic controller falling asleep on the job. Now the man in charge of the aviation industry, he wants answers. He's demanding them, and it could mean big changes to flights all across the country. That is straight ahead.
Plus, they're calling it the perfect storm for wildfires. Texas bracing for more destruction as flames there ripping crossing the state. Firefighters on the defensive today. Coming up, why the next few hours are critical there.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
BALDWIN: Concerns grow over safety on flights, crews in Texas bracing for a perfect storm of flames, and stocks tank over the U.S. debt today. Time to play "Reporter Roulette." I want to being with Jeanne Meserve in Peachtree City, Georgia. Jeanne?
JEANNE MESERVE, CNN HOMELAND SECURITY CORRESPONDENT: This was just the first stop where the head of the FAA and head of the air traffic controllers union were getting the ideas from controllers about what can be done to mitigate this problem of fatigue on the job.
But they also wanted to deliver a message. Part of it was an atta boy. Hey, most of the time you guys are doing a great job. But, they said, these instances of falling asleep on the job will not be tolerated. We cannot have any more of this.
As you know, Brooke, already, there have been changes in the way air traffic controllers are scheduled. We're told there could be some more changes ahead. In addition, a professional code of conduct is being drafted. And air traffic controllers are probably going to get some education on how to recognize the signs of fatigue and what they can do to try and lessen them. Brooke, back to you.
BALDWIN: Jeanne Meserve, thank you.
Next on "Reporter Roulette," let's go to Eddie Lavandera in Grand, Texas. That's west of Fort Worth. He's been covering these wildfires that are burning in all but two of the state's 254 counties. And firefighters are rallying up against it. Ed?
(BEGIN AUDIO CLIP)
ED LAVANDERA, CNN CORRESPONDENT (on the phone): I tell you, this is incredibly difficult work. The terrain is rough, rocky, and rolling. It's easy to kind of lose your bearings of where you are. It's also easy to lose track of exactly where the flames are. So, there's a lot of communication going back between the various firefighters out there on the ground, kind of everyone watching each other's backs as these flames can fire up.
And we saw as soon as we pulled up, a little hot spot that quickly flamed up into flames that we saw jumping off the ground six to eight feet high, and that happened in a matter of seconds. So, you can see what these firefighters are battling against. Strong winds, gusting up to 30 miles per hour in some places. It's over 90 degrees so it's already very, very hot out here and the sun is just very punishing on these firefighters in this area. And this is a massive fire that is stretched over three counties west of Fort Worth. And 50,000 acres have been burned in the last four or five days. Last count, we heard from the Texas forest service, only about 25 percent contained at this point. A lot of people still on edge watching this closely.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BALDWIN: All that smoke there. Ed Lavandera on those wildfires in Texas.
Next on "Reporter Roulette," it was a terrible day on Wall Street. Take a look at the big board with me. You'll see what I'm talking about. You have the Dow. It is down 140 points, NASDAQ down 29, S&P down 14. Just checking my CNNmoney.com right there.
Let's go to Felicia Taylor live in New York with the latest on the whole down day. Felicia, is it the Standard & Poor's long-term outlook? Is that what did it?
FELICIA TAYLOR, CNN BUSINESS CORRESPONDENT: Absolutely, Brooke. Basically, they've lowered the outlook on the U.S. credit rating to negative from stable because of our budget problems. The U.S. credit rating is as high as it can get, and of course, investors like that and it will stay there for the time being.
But the S&P is looking down the road. It's worried that Congress isn't going to be able to fix the budget before 2013. We're talking two years from now. If the fiscal outlook doesn't improve, that's going to hurt the government's credit rating, naturally, and that's going to affect interest rates. It's going to hit the bond markets, the stock markets, everything, including the value of the dollar.
The good news is, this seems to have been an initial event today because the market closed well off the lows of the session. Brooke?
BALDWIN: OK. And then of course today we've got to talk taxes. Tonight is the deadline. Hope you filed yours. I have certainly filed mine.
But we're also learning today that the country's super rich are apparently paying a lot less than compared to decades ago. How much are we talking?
TAYLOR: Yes. We're talking a lot, actually. The IRS tracks the 400 biggest tax returns. Those are people that made about $345 million each. I know I'm not in that category. I'm going to guess you're not, either.
BALDWIN: Whoo! Hello! No, no!
TAYLOR: $345 million. Yes, exactly.
But in 2007, their federal income tax rate was just 17 percent. To compare, they paid 26 percent in 1992. So, why did the amount drop? They've got tax breaks. And lots of them. Hundreds of them. Tax credits for things like having children, buying a home. Capital gains aren't even heavily taxed anymore.
But to be fair, many lower- and middle-income Americans are getting the benefit. 45 percent of Americans don't even pay federal income taxes, and most of them make less than $50,000. So, hopefully those gains spread out just a little bit for everybody.
I know I was in the post office earlier. The lines were enormous.
BALDWIN: Were they? Those last minute filers. Never last minute, never before. I promise. Wink wink. Felicia Taylor, thank you so much for us in New York. And that is your "Reporter Roulette" for this Monday.
Moments ago, investigators in Tennessee are now updating the members of the media on this desperate search for the missing nursing student, 20-year-old Holly Bobo. Coming up next, we'll speak live with the director of the state's bureau of investigation. We're going to hear also from Bobo's cousin, country singer Whitney Duncan, who is making this emotional appeal for her cousin's return. Stay right here.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
BALDWIN: All right. I want to take you to Tennessee where this community, this tight-knit community, is reeling days after this 20- year-old nursing student was kidnapped right out of her home.
Investigators say they have expanded their search for this young woman. This is Holly Bobo. She was last seen Wednesday morning by her brother, who said he saw a large man wearing camouflage lead her into the woods outside of her home.
So, fast forward to this past weekend. More than 1,100 volunteers combed through - as you can see, it's a pretty wooded area right around her home where also her lunch box was discovered just about eight miles from her house.
Bobo's cousin is country music singer Whitney Duncan. She's speaking out. She's there helping with the search. And in this emotional interview on that was just on this morning, ABC's "Good Morning America," Duncan said prayer and community support are really helping this family try to pull through.
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WHITNEY DUNCAN, HOLLY BOBO'S COUSIN: The family right now is trying to be strong, you know, it doesn't seem real. You know, that's the last phone call you ever expect to get, you know. And it's a close family, so we're just trying to hold it together.
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BALDWIN: The small community gathered there for prayers on Sunday, and the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation is urging people to take notice. Look around. Is anyone suspicious? Anyone's whereabouts, perhaps who was unaccounted for last Wednesday, give them a call. Give this man a call you're about to see him.
Mark Gwyn is the director of the TBI, Tennessee Bureau of Investigation. And Mr. Gwyn, I know you gave a news conference just moments ago. In fact, I was handed some notes. I think the headline out of this to me reading this, you said, "We believe the suspect is right here in the community." Sir, why do you think that?
MARK GWYN, DIRECTOR, TENNESSEE BUREAU OF INVESTIGATION: Well, if you look at the area where Holly was abducted, it was an area that you had to know the terrain. You had to know the location. And we believe that whoever did this was very familiar with the wooded area, and they would've had to have been in order to know the entrances and exits in order to take Holly out of the area.
BALDWIN: There have been conflicting reports, you know - was Holly dragged out of her home into the woods, or was she walking into the woods, lured into the woods? So, ultimately you came to the conclusion that she walked out of her home.
GYWN: We are of the opinion that Holly walked up into the woods, based on the account that her brother gave. So that's where we're at. We just have no indication that she was dragged up into the woods that she walked up into the woods.
BALDWIN: So my question would be, if her brother saw his sister and saw man walking away, he wasn't alarmed whatsoever, is that correct?
GYWN: Well, I think he felt like it could have been someone that she knew so there was not reason to be alarmed enough to pursue. So that's what he is giving us to go on right now and that's what we have to believe happened.
BALDWIN: So on that, just so I understand, is her brother cleared or her boyfriend cleared or are they still being considered as part of this investigation?
GYWN: Well, no one has been cleared. We have not developed any type of tunnel vision for anyone to be either cleared or named a prime suspect or a subject at this time. So no one has been cleared no matter what their relationship with Holly may be.
BALDWIN: We know in terms of sort of pieces of this puzzle, we know you all found her lunch box near, I think it was a creek some eight miles from her home. I spoke with the mayor of the town on Friday. He said investigators had found a number of other articles, though he wouldn't go any more specifically.
We didn't want to compromise your investigation. We're hearing now there are reports that a volunteer found duct tape with blond hair on it. Again, I don't want to compromise anything that you're doing, but what can you tell me and can you tell me that at least what you found perhaps could lead you to believe that she's OK?
GYWN: Well, we have found several pieces of evidence that we're analyzing. Until we get complete analysis of that evidence, it would be improper for me to say if it would relate to this incident or not.
As you know, you go into wooded areas and roadside areas, there's a lot of debris that may be located there and you really just have to collect it, analyze it and either tie it to the investigation or dismiss it.
BALDWIN: What about the blood that was found in the carport? Is that being analyzed still?
GYWN: We are still analyzing that at the TBI Crime Lab and hopefully soon we will know exactly whose blood that that was.
BALDWIN: Last question, I know you're a busy man, tell me what people there in Decater should be looking for. We mentioned, you know, if there was anyone who's acting suspicious or anyone who's whereabouts were unaccounted for last Wednesday, but what else here in national television, what would you like people to look for?
GYWN: Well, obviously, just what you said and someone that may be acting suspicious now, someone that may have been trying to get rid of a vehicle or an ATV, someone that they know regularly hunts in that area, all of those things.
You know, we feel like that person is right here and someone has some information that can really help us, they have to really just sit down and realize that they have that information.
BALDWIN: And perhaps if someone has information to lead to some results. I understand that the reward has been upped from $25,000 to $50,000. This family obviously wants answers and want their little girl back. Mark Gwyn from the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation, good luck to you. Thank you so much.
GYWN: Thank you.
BALDWIN: And coming up here, how will Prince William and Katherine Middleton - how will they walk down the aisle? One company has a guess and it's done a test run of the big day. That is ahead.
Plus, I've been waiting and waiting to show you this video. He's one of my musical -- I'm a big fan. Treating know a personal concert just recently. You're going to see the serenade. You may recognize the song. That's next.
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BALDWIN: The royal family who knew they were such good dancers? You've got to see this.
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BALDWIN (voice-over): Nice move. OK, that's not really Prince William and Kate Middleton dancing down the aisle to "House of Love".
This is a T-Mobile ad spoofing next Friday's big royal wedding. It is gone viral today. I've checked like 5 million people have clicked and watched this ad. It was posted to Youtube on Friday.>
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BALDWIN: One more video you've got to see. It's not often I actually get to be serenaded little own by one of my favourite songwriters so watch this.
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BALDWIN (voice-over): Do you recognize that? I wasn't mic, thank goodness, but that is Colin Hay. You probably know him from the '80s band "Minute Works," remember the song "Down Under."
He's singing one of his solo songs there to me, but he's now on tour. He's promoting his solo album. It's called "Gathering Mercury."
A couple of weeks ago, I sat down with him before one of his shows and I asked him about the day he wrote the lyrics to "Waiting for my Real Life to Begin" and here is what he told me.
COLIN HAY, MUSICIAN: Well, I was with my friend, that came up with the title - the title for the song because I was - he is a drummer and we were doing some work together. And he would come around to my house every day with donuts, too many donuts.
And one day he came around and said, how are you doing? He said, I'm waiting for my real life to begin and I thought, that's a great title for a song and it's almost like sometimes people give you something, a title or an idea and then it's -- it opens the door.
So when he said that, he went off to do something else and then I just wrote down the whole song, and it popped out in half an hour or 45 minutes.
BALDWIN: Half an hour, 45 minutes. Can you imagine? You can watch this entire interview, unedited and hear more Colin Hay singing backstage, go to cnn.com/brooke.
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BALDWIN: Is the iPad killing American jobs? That is what Jesse Jackson Jr. argues. The problem is, if he's right, he may personally be contributing to the unemployment rate. Joe Johns has the scoop. Your "Political Pop" is next.
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BALDWIN: All right, Arnold Schwarzenegger goes from governor to "The Governator" and Congressman Jesse Jackson Jr. says he knows why American jobs are being eliminated.
Joe Johns has the scoop here with our "Political Pop" on this Monday. Joe, what is Jesse Jackson Jr. saying? What is unemployment have anything to do with the iPad? JOE JOHNS, CNN ANCHOR AND CORRESPONDENT: You know, come on. He kind of stirred up (inaudible) it's being called a rant and a tirade, but his friends on the Hill are getting sick of this and they really want this story to be over.
Number one, I'm told Jackson does have an iPad and uses it. But he went to the House floor last Friday, gave a speech about deficits and debt reduction, unemployment, and next thing you know, he sort of gets off the script a little bit and starts talking about the iPad. And, you know, take a listen.
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REP. JESSE JACKSON JR (D), ILLINOIS: After having purchased an iPad, and I said that I happen to believe, Mr. Speaker, that at some point in time this new device, which is now probably responsible for eliminating thousands of American jobs, now borders is closing stores because why do you need to go to borders anymore? Why do you need to go to Barnes & Noble? Just buy an iPad and download your book.
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JOHNS: So he's getting slammed over this, but there are no plans I hear for him to take the issue up again. It's pretty clear that people would like for the story to go away for the record. They say he wasn't slamming the iPad or attacking Apple or anything like that.
BALDWIN: So what does Apple have to say?
JOHNS: You know, it's funny. I reached out to them and the silence is deafening. They haven't gotten back to me, but they've got plenty of friends are defending them making a point that it's kind of unfair to single out American technology, one company, when all kinds of jobs and all kinds of economic factors are being shipped overseas.
BALDWIN: OK. I told the story. We'll move on to Arnold Schwarzenegger no longer governor, but coming to a - coming to a Sunday paper near you. We've talked about this cartoon before. It's called "The Governator." Tell me more.
JOHNS: Yes, well, it's also a show. You know, Sarah Palin had her own reality show. People were saying it was the ultimate public relations device. Well, this could top that by mile except for the fact that it's targeting kids.
And you may not know, but "Governator" cartoon has been in the works for a while featuring Arnold, he's this character who, yes, leaves the governor's office and goes into crime fighting.
It's not a joke. I talked to his publicist. He says it's pretty much all true and there you go. "The Governator" has a cartoon, it's going to roll out in Europe we know sometime next year and we're told that the rights are being negotiated in the United States right now.
BALDWIN: We were just getting the first glimpse of that, I'm told. First glimpse of "The Governator." So it's not all political. He's a bit of a crime fighter. Is that right?
JOHNS: Absolutely. Yes, he's going to be a crime fighter. The other interesting thing about it is that on -- I guess you can call it the pilot that I saw that I believe was rolled out at the Cannes Film Festival, he actually uses his own voice.
BALDWIN: The Cannes Film Festival, I wish I had time to follow up on that, but I don't. Joe Johns, thank you so much. And that does it for me here at Atlanta. I'm Brooke Baldwin now to Suzanne Malveaux here in Atlanta with "THE SITUATION ROOM." Suzanne.
