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Violence in Syria; Will Ron Paul Run for President?; Debunking the Birthers; What's Up with the NFL Lockout?; Aflac Duck's New Voice; Soon: Ron Paul's 2012 Announcement

Aired April 26, 2011 - 16:00   ET

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

BROOKE BALDWIN, CNN ANCHOR: Now hour two. Watch this.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

BALDWIN: We are very close to a record-breaking month for tornadoes, and forecasters just made a rare decision about some of the threats we're experiencing right now. I'm Brooke Baldwin. The news is now.

(voice-over): The U.S. warns Americans to get out of Syria now. And as the government slaughters its own people, the world gets ready to chime in.

GARY TUCHMAN, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: I'm Gary Tuchman with CNN. We're here to get a birth certificate.

BALDWIN: Was President Obama born in the U.S.? CNN gets the facts and settles this argument once and for all.

Plus, during this hour, Ron Paul announces whether he plans to challenge President Obama. We will have it live.

And 2016, that's when one group predicts that America will no longer be the world's biggest economic superpower. So how serious is this threat?

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BALDWIN: Thanks for being with me. I'm Brooke Baldwin bracing for round two here of potentially violent weather. This hour, central Arkansas back in the crosshairs. Eight people died in a severe weather outbreak just yesterday, including four of them in this small town of Vilonia.

Severe weather is likely from the South to the North, along the Mississippi River and eastward.

(WEATHER UPDATE)

BALDWIN: We will be speaking with the Missouri governor, Jay Nixon, who -- I'm just reading my e-mail -- is apparently now on a Black Hawk helicopter leaving. We were just talking about Poplar Bluff. He has seen some of these really flooded-out areas firsthand. He has flown over them. So we will talk to them about precisely what he is seeing and what is being done in terms of National Guard troops deployed to try to help the folks there.

Also keeping you in the loop, Ron Paul expected to announce whether he will be making another run for president. We're told the announcement will come down during this hour. So stay with us. We are monitoring that.

And now, if it's interesting, if it's happening right now, you're about to see it. Rapid fire, let's go.

The man suspected of trying to bomb that Colorado mall last week is now under air rest. Boulder police nabbed this man, Earl Albert Moore, today at of all places a grocery store. The FBI has him now. Moore is suspected of putting a pipe bomb in that mall in Littleton, Colorado, just last week on the 12th anniversary of the Columbine High School shootings. But still investigators have yet to find any kind of link, any kind of connection between those two incidents.

NFL players showing up to work today. Yesterday, a federal judge granted the players' request to lift that 45-day-old lockout. But the league appealed. So, bottom line, the NFL says the players can come to work, but they can't do any -- quote -- "football activities," so no working out. Most didn't stay very long. The judge may issue another ruling tomorrow. Obviously, stay tuned for that.

Take you to South America, Colombia struggling with its longest rainy season for four decades. Torrential rains and massive floods have killed 91 people thus far this year. More than a dozen are missing and many, many homes are filled with that, water. Colombia's extremely rainy season is blamed on a water phenomenon known as La Nina. And during La Nina, cooler water temperatures in the Pacific Ocean do cause heavy rainfall in northern South America.

And if you like gold, take a look at this gold nugget. This thing is worth more than $450,000. A landowner in California found it, sold it in March, pretty decent chunk of change, I might say. A geologist who helped with the auction says he is heading to the town in Nevada County next month to see if there is possibly more gold buried in those hills.

And now time for some extreme -- say that three times fast -- extreme skiing. Look at this, this skier taking off from a mountain. This is the French Alps. Yikes. Obviously, he had a camera and thank goodness a parachute, which was fortunate, because when he turned around he was being followed by an avalanche. Whole thing caught on tape. Amazing.

And Katie Couric, she has made it official. She is now leaving "CBS Evening News." Couric tells "People" magazine today she is proud of the team at CBS, saying -- quote -- "In making the decision to move on, I know 'The Evening News' will be in great hands, but I am excited about the future."

Many, many people out there are speculating her future may include a possible syndicated talk show. Couric, you know, became the first female solo anchor of an evening newscast when she joined CBS just a couple of years ago in 2006. Will the age of America end in 2016? That is when one group says China will actually be surpassing the United States as the world's biggest superpower, economically speaking. Find out why and how serious a threat is this. Plus this:

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TUCHMAN: Has his name on it, his birth date, August 5, 1961.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BALDWIN: Many people out there do not believe President Obama was born in this country, in the United States.

CNN's Gary Tuchman took a little trip to Hawaii. He digs deep. Wait until you hear and see what he found to put this thing to bed. Let's silence the skeptics. That is next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BALDWIN: Well, you might have thought the controversy and questions surrounding President Obama's birthplace were settled once and for all, but alas, some people refuse to believe he was born in the U.S. no matter what.

So our own Gary Tuchman took a trip to Hawaii, found out the claims by so-called birthers just do not hold up. Watch this with me and then I'll talk to Gary here in the studio.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

GARY TUCHMAN, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): "The Honolulu Star Bulletin" newspaper, in August 1961, declares Mr. and Mrs. Barack H. Obama have given birth to a son. A simple birth announcement that has become part of a complex web of conspiracy theories with one question looming above all others --

BARACK OBAMA, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: I was born in Hawaii.

TUCHMAN: Was President Obama really born in the United States? The answer, yes.

(on camera): Have you seen Barack Obama's original birth certificate?

DR. CHIYOME FUKINO, HAWAII DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH: Yes.

TUCHMAN (voice-over): Dr. Chiyome Fukino is the former director of the Hawaii Department of Health and a devoted Republican. Until now, she had not talked on camera about this topic.

(on camera): As a Republican member of the last Republican governor of Hawaii Linda Lingle's Cabinet, do you have any doubt that Barack Obama was born in the United States?

FUKINO: Absolutely not. I have no doubt.

TUCHMAN (voice-over): Dr. Fukino says she was asked last year by the governor's press secretary to make a statement about the birth certificate controversy. Under state law, a public official can look at someone else's certificate if there is a, quote, "direct and tangible interest."

She indeed felt she had that interest because of the statement she had to make. So she found the original Obama birth certificate, stored in a vault in the Department of Health building.

(on camera): And what did it tell you? Was it authentic? Was he born here in the state of Hawaii?

FUKINO: It was absolutely authentic. He was absolutely born here in the state of Hawaii.

TUCHMAN (voice-over): But Dr. Fukino says even if she hadn't seen the original certificate, this document, the president's computer-generated certificate, which was made public three years ago, had already proven he was born in Hawaii.

(on camera): There's quite a bit of irony over this original birth certificate debate, and that is the original documents are no longer even certified by the state. The Health Department says President Obama or any other Hawaiian could still go through the process of getting one, but either way they're no longer supposed to be used for official purposes, only the computer-generated ones will do.

(voice-over): We wanted to see what you get when you ask for your Hawaii birth certificate.

(on camera): Next door, "Birth, Death, Marriage." Birth for us.

(voice-over): We met 49-year-old Stig Vitalic (ph), and told him we'd pay $7.00 for a new birth certificate for him.

(on camera): I'm Gary Tuchman with CNN. We're here to get a birth certificate for Stig.

(voice-over): We asked Stig because we also saw his birth announcement in the Honolulu newspaper. In the same article, four names down, another newborn, born 13 hours earlier, Barack Obama.

(on camera): Now, do you give him his original certificate or the electronic copy?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: It's a computerized birth certificate.

TUCHMAN: So, this is Stig's certificate of live birth. It's the same form Barack Obama has, the very same form every Hawaiian now gets when they request a birth certificate. Has his name on it, his birth date, August 5, 1961, the day after the president. It says it was filed August 8, 1961.

This is a raised seal to show us authenticity.

And on the bottom, perhaps the most important line, "This copy serves as prima facie evidence of the fact of birth in any court proceeding."

(voice-over): Nobody we talked to doubts Stig's citizenship, but a CNN poll shows 25 percent of Americans doubt President Obama's.

Another part of the conspiracy theory is that the birth announcement in the paper is a fake, planted by his family or someone else who wanted to trick the world into believing the future president was born in the U.S.

Dan Nakaso is a longtime newspaper reporter in Honolulu.

(on camera): There are a number of people who believe that Barack Obama wasn't born in the United States, that his mother or grandmother called the newspaper and gave false information that he was born in the United States.

Is it possible that could have gotten in the newspaper like that?

DAN NAKASO, HAWAII: No, that's not possible. Under the system that existed back then, there was no avenue for people to submit information that way.

TUCHMAN: So how did the information get in the paper?

NAKASO: The information came directly from the State Department of Health.

TUCHMAN (voice-over): We confirmed that fact with the Health Department too; all birth announcements printed in the paper came directly from the birth records of the hospital.

(on camera): So why won't President Obama just release a copy of his original birth certificate?

Well, there are some who say he won't do it because the word Muslim is on it. But we have taken a look at the original vault birth certificate of another man, and while there are extra spaces on it for hospital and for ages of the parents and for the occupation of the father, there is no space whatsoever for religion.

And the former director of the Health Department , who has seen Barack Obama's original birth certificate, confirms there is no mention whatsoever of religion.

The White House says in part, no matter what Barack Obama says or does there are many doubters who will still doubt.

(voice-over): Barack Obama not only has the same proof of birth as millions of other Hawaiians, he also has the current Hawaii governor's memories of him as a baby.

In part two of our investigation, the people who don't need to see birth certificates to know that the president was born in Hawaii.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BALDWIN: Gary Tuchman, good tease.

Let's talk about part two in just a moment, but back to Dr. Fukino, I mean, that was huge that you got her to talk to you. It was huge.

TUCHMAN: Yes, I mean, Dr. Fukino is obviously is a very key player. We think there are only two people who have seen this vault certificate, her and her subordinate when she was in the cabinet in the Republican administration last year, but she's been very shy about talking. She feels very strongly that this is totally blown out of proportion, that it's very authentic, but she's afraid that the news media may twist her words.

BALDWIN: So we hear these reports from the Donald Trump, he sent, you know, investigators to Hawaii to debunk this. Has he talked to or any of his investigators talked to Dr. Fukino?

TUCHMAN: Well, the doctor has seen no sign of any investigators, nor anyone else we've talked. We've talked to the movers and shakers involved in this controversy. That doesn't mean that there are not investigators there, but they may be investigating something very different than what we investigated.

BALDWIN: OK. So she has seen the birth certificate, but what do you have coming up tonight?

TUCHMAN: Coming up tonight, people that saw President Obama when he was an infant and a child in the state of Hawaii, including the governor of the state, Neil Abercrombie. He's a very popular politician, he was in Congress for 19 years, just became governor this past December, and he knew Barack Obama's parents. They went to college together and he knew his mother when she was pregnant and he says he saw Barack Obama when he was only a couple weeks old.

What is noteworthy about the governor is when he became governor in December, he said he's tired of this controversy, he's going to get all of the proof out there, but he then discovered that he could not do that, he wasn't allowed to as the governor get any of Barack Obama's proof.

The head of the health department could. That was her job, she was able, legally, to look at the birth certificate; the governor wasn't and that's why he got very quiet. Now he's speaking out and the interview with me is very emotional. He gets angry at times and very passionate at time for Barack Obama's parents, who he cared about much.

BALDWIN: He saw Barack Obama as a little child and baby.

Gary Tuchman, we'll be watching for you on "AC" tonight 10:00 Eastern. Thank you so much.

TUCHMAN: Thank you, Brooke.

BALDWIN: And now to Syria and the U.S. warning Americans to get out, get out now. As the blood spills, the violence escalates is the world about to step in? Hala Gorani joins me next with some brand new developments as we go "Globe Trekking."

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BALDWIN: The State Department wants Americans in Syria to get out, get out now. A deadly and volatile situation is escalating here.

Let's get more on Syria with Hala Gorani as we go "Globe Trekking."

Hala, just bring us up to speed as far as what's happened today. What do we know?

HALA GORANI, CNN INTERNATIONAL ANCHOR/CORRESPONDENT: It's becoming harder and harder to get information out of Syria, and according to people who are following this story, including myself, it appears that two things are going on.

On the one hand, communication -- the communications system is down as far as cell phones, the Internet, electricity is cut off in the southern part of Syria, so it's harder to recharge.

You see some of the amateur video that has emerged online there.

So there is that, and then the crackdown because in cities like Daraa in the south, army troops as well as tanks are essentially occupying the city, making it much harder for protesters to (INAUDIBLE.

BALDWIN: Aren't they putting these checkpoints in, sandbags, heavily armed, keeping people within?

GORANI: In one Damascus suburb, Duma, there are reports from eyewitnesses we've spoken to of sandbag barricades not allowing people to come in, checkpoints at every corner of the city like Daraa and they are sealing the border between Syria and Jordan. So if anyone wants to come in through the southern border, that's right now not a possibility.

BALDWIN: We know, you and I had talked yesterday, about the U.S. possibly issuing sanctions here. Where are we, has that advanced at all? And number two, we know the U.N. taking up the issue of Syria today.

GORANI: There is no timeline for when the United States might implement targeted sanctions against specific individuals, but even if these sanctions are implemented, they can only be toothless because assets of Syrian sort of regime officials figures in the United States are limited at best. So even if you do freeze assets of regime associates and the closes allies of the Bashar al-Assad regime, they won't have much of an impact. As far as the United Nations is concerned, at this stage, it was discussions on a draft resolution sponsored by the E.U. members currently serving on the U.N. Security Council. So again, rather a benign step forward toward condemning Syria more forcefully. So we'll see how that all develops.

BALDWIN: We'll see.

Hala Gorani, thank you.

GORANI: Thank you.

BALDWIN: And coming up next Donald Trump says he's considering a run for the White House. In fact, he's been saying that a whole heck of a lot lately, but what do Americans think about this? About possible President Trump? Jessica Yellin has some new numbers for us next.

Plus, we all remember Susan Boyle, right? No one believed she could actually sing. Well, someone -- some audition has blown everyone away in a similar fashion. It's trending and it has a little something to do with Old MacDonald.

Stay here.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BALDWIN: And now let's go to Washington. Jessica Yellin has some news from the CNN Political Ticker.

Jess, what do you have?

JESSICA YELLIN, CNN NATIONAL POLITICAL CORRESPONDENT: Hey, Brooke.

In what could be a preview of the 2012 Republican campaign, the new RNC chairman, Reince Preibus, speaking this week has been turning the president's mottos against him. He said that President Obama -- of President Obama, "Hope isn't hiring and we're losing the future."

But he was speaking to reporters this morning, he says that the major Republican candidate, whoever emerges, is going to have a mandate on jobs, debt, and the deficit.

But the big headline there is that he also distanced himself from the birther movement or birther remarks from candidate Donald Trump. He says that Trump is allowed to say -- would-be candidate I guess I should say -- he says, Trump can say whatever he wants, but this is what the RNC chairman says. "My position is that president was born in the United States and I don't think it's an issue that moves voters." He also says it's largely driven by the media.

Now, talking about Trump, you might know that he's going to New Hampshire tomorrow and USA Today"/Gallup has a new poll out on Donald Trump. It shows that if he does get in the race, he will have an uphill climb. It says that when it asked Americans broadly, 63 percent says they definitely will not vote Trump, 46 percent of Republicans say they would not.

And what are you looking at there, that is a different graphic.

BALDWIN: Oh, no.

YELLIN: Yes, sometimes it happens. That's my -- I found this amusing, Brooke, when asked, are you sure that Donald Trump was born in the United States, the same poll shows only 43 percent of Americans are certain that he was born in the United States, 20 percent say probably, but that does mean a majority of Americans are not entirely sure that Donald Trump was born in the United States.

BALDWIN: Seven percent another country, I wonder what country they think he's from.

Jessica Yellin, thank you so much.

We want to get straight to this breaking news out of the weather world. There is now a tornado warning not in the Midwest, I'm talking New York.

Chad Myers, where specifically?

CHAD MYERS, AMS METEOROLOGIST: Rome, New York. We talked about how sometimes severe watches can put out a tornado, but Rome, New York, a tornado on the ground reported by the public to the west of Rome. It will probably slide just to the north side, the north half of the city, you need to be cautious here and I would say all of Rome, New York, needs to be inside, in a safe place, away from windows right now.

We also know that there's going to be a tornado quickly on the ground south of Waxahachie here in Texas. Why do I know that? Because I have a spotter who has a significant wall cloud, this is called a lowering wall cloud right there.

That's where the tornado will be. It's not on the ground yet but it's certainly as the spin continues and these storms get stronger as the day goes on, we will have many tornadoes on the ground.

For now, Rome, New York, take cover.

BALDWIN: Let's go to Missouri, Chad. We've been talking about the flooding there. There are some breaks in part of a levee in Missouri. The floodwaters, folks, they are still rising and people are evacuating. Governor Jay Nixon has just called in to CNN. I'll be speaking with him live about what he's seen in 60 seconds.

Don't go anywhere.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BALDWIN: We've shown you these pictures and we've talked to you about the flooding right along Missouri's Black River. But part of a levee that was holding back some of that water failed today. Missouri governor Jay Nixon has just toured some of the damage, visited with some of the victims here. And he is now on the line. Governor Nixon, tell me where you were today and what you saw.

GOV. JAY NIXON (D), MISSOURI (on the phone): Well, we had a couple of levees break in the Black River, had to evacuate about 3,000 people. Got shelters open and folks staying there. Had about 250 families last night. We've now moved over to near Charleston on the Mississippi River, where the Ohio River and the Mississippi River come together, which has a potential -- the Corps of Engineers has moved explosives out of Memphis heading toward Missouri, talking about a possibility of blowing a levee here to relieve pressure. We certainly are very concern about that. So, a number of things going on with water here in Missouri today.

BALDWIN: Governor, help me understand just how many people there in your neck of the woods are affected by these cracks in the levees and all of the floodwaters that we're seeing.

NIXON: Thousands of people, around possibly about 7,000 people had to be moved or brought back out. Plus, we had 59 water rescues this morning as the water came up very, very quickly. We now moved in over to the Mississippi River Basin where it's equally as wet with water coming from the Ohio River and the Mississippi. We're right here at the center of the continent where the two largest rivers meet, and a huge amount of pressure on levees here and water rising quickly.

BALDWIN: Governor Nixon, I know you spoke with some of the victims. I imagine a bunch of those folks have evacuated or some of whom perhaps have lost their homes. Can you just share a story or two from some of these folks there?

NIXON: Well, it's been a heck of a week for us with the tornado in St. Louis, the E-4 tornado that came across eight or nine miles. Didn't have a single death there. We've had a couple of people, unfortunately, we've lost here. But Missouri citizens are resolute. They come together under tough times. We're kept the rule of law. We've kept supporting folks in our faith-based initiative, has brought food and water to places that's need. We're very proud that Missourians are showing their character today.

BALDWIN: You, I know, have deployed the National Guard in southeast Missouri to help shore up some of these levees, specifically in Poplar Bluff. How is that working out? How many men and women do you have out there trying to help, and what if some of these levees totally fail?

NIXON: We've had a patrol (ph) and mobilize the National Guard yesterday. We've got hundreds of the Guard moving into the area as well as specialized teams from the highway patrol to assist in their water patrol division to assist, if necessary. The -- all of the bursting of levees near Poplar Bluff caused us to have to move people out of there but also move that problem downstream. And as we sit here on the Mississippi River Basin, we have the potential of 130,000 acres being flooded and two towns being wiped out. We're over here now to sit down with local officials to begin the evacuation process of this area.

BALDWIN: Final question, How nervous are you, sir? NIXON: We feel strong. We're well-trained for this, well prepared. The National Guard, the highway patrol, the local emergency management folks are very strong and very well prepared, just like we were in St. Louis. I'm confident that our emergency management will be able to deal with what's a very challenging situation.

BALDWIN: Missouri Governor Jay Nixon, we wish you well and the best of luck there. Thank you for calling in.

And now to this. Are you scared about China surpassing the United States? Well, this perhaps will not make you feel any better. One group says America could lose its top spot by 2016. Find out why and how serious this threat is.

Plus, get this. I'm now getting word that Prince Harry is nervous. Yes, the same Harry who fought in Afghanistan, just got back from a trip from the Arctic. CNN's Max Foster ran into the prince this morning. He's going to tell me why Harry has butterflies. We're back in 70 seconds.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BALDWIN: Taking you behind the scenes of the royal wedding. And America could soon lose its spot as the world's biggest economy. Time to play "Reporter Roulette." And I want to begin with you, Alison Kosik, live in New York. And how is it, and how soon could it be? I guess we're hearing 2016 when China could surpass the U.S. in the top spot.

ALISON KOSIK, CNN BUSINESS CORRESPONDENT; Exactly. Five years, Brooke. You said it. We knew this was a possibility, but now we're finding out that the U.S. could wind up playing second fiddle on the world stage much sooner than we thought. It's because China is growing faster than the U.S., four times faster than the U.S. t

This forecast coming from the IMF, a very well respected group. Saying that the U.S. GDP, the broadest measure of overall - of the overall size of the economy, is forecast to hit $18.8 trillion in 2016. Compare that to China's GDP expected to hit $19 trillion within the same time. Its economy is growing at a pace of almost 10 percent. Ours is growing somewhere around two to three percent. That's the reason why you're seeing China catch up to the U.S. maybe in five years.

But we still have five years, Brooke, to stay on the positive side. You never know what could happen in five years, right?

BALDWIN: Right. You never know.

Topic number two. And this is the word, this is, like, part of the vernacular of my friends. GroupOn. So, now Facebook rolling out its own equivalent, starting today. So how does it work? What is it called?

KOSIK: It is called Facebook deals, and it's being tested out in five cities: Atlanta, Austin, Dallas, San Diego and San Francisco. And what happens here is local businesses are going to be offering discounts through Facebook. Think about it. A huge audience, millions of members here.

And what happens is if you see something you want, you pay for it ahead of time, print out your coupons so you have a record of it, And when you buy it -- here's the creepy factor that I find in this whole deal -- is it automatically posts to your Facebook news feeds so all of your Facebook friends know about what you bough, about the deal.

So, obviously, it's extra advertising. I don't know. Isn't that kind of creepy? Everybody knows what you're like to?

BALDWIN: Hmm. You know, I just saw it on my Facebook page yesterday, and it said do you want to sign up for this? I said, sure! Click. Now I might have to unclick.

KOSIK: Yes, unclick. Unlike!

BALDWIN: Thank you, Alison Kosik. I want a deal. I'm sure it's a great thing. I want a deal. Alison, thank you so much.

Hey, by the way, we promised Max Foster, we're going to get to him. He's getting miked up in London.

But let's do a little Trending first. Here's a new spin on an old rhyme. Edward Reid, a 35-year-old drama teacher, being touted as the next Susan Boyle on "Britain's Got Talent." See if you recognize this nursery rhyme.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

EDWARD REID, CONTESTANT, "BRITAIN'S GOT TALENT": Old McDonald had a farm. E-I-E-I-O. And on that farm he had some sheep, E-I-E-I- O.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BALDWIN: How he kept a straight face is truly beyond me. If you're still sitting there guessing and wondering what it was, "Old McDonald Had a Farm." And apparently the crowd loved it.

Now this. Happening, right now, we are waiting for Ron Paul to make a big announcement about his decision about his future. Will he, won't he, run for president? He is expected to take to the stage any minute. So, we're monitoring that, of course.

Plus, days after critics blasted Apple over the iPhone's software that tracks your every move, you remember this? The company is now facing a lawsuit. We'll tell you who's suing and what it is they want. Sunny Hostin is on that case.

And Max Foster getting ready to join us. Live from London, behind the scenes, royal wedding. Both of them, next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK) BALDWIN: Speaking of the royal wedding, we're down to the last- minute preparations for Friday's big event. And we have a little skinny here on Prince Harry. So, Max Foster, live in London for me. I understand you saw him this morning. Why in the world is he nervous?

MAX FOSTER, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, he was in pretty good form. He was at a charity event and he had just been to the North Pole, an expedition with a few wounded soldiers. And he was cracking a few jokes, he looked pretty relaxed.

But I spoke to one of the other soldiers who was on the expedition with him. And I asked how Harry is feeling about all of this, and he said that he was nervous. Which I guess you're bound to be, really, ahead of the big day. But his job, of course, is calming William down. The next time we're going to see them is traveling together, out - well, down this road in a car to the church. So you better calm those nerves. You've got to be helping William on the day.

BALDWIN: I mean, come on now. He was just hanging around the Arctic Circle with some veterans. You would think this wouldn't be too big of a deal.

Can you hear me, Max? I see you touching your ear. I just want to make sure.

FOSTER: Yes. Sorry. I was hearing a bit of an echo. And you're a bit faint now. But yes, I'm hearing you.

BALDWIN: OK, well, if you can hear me, let's talk about flowers. I understand flowers and maybe even entire trees have been arriving at Westminster Abbey.

FOSTER: I know. We are really in those last phases of the preparation, aren't we? The Abbey was closed down today. The first thing that started arriving was some trees. We got some exclusive access. I was in there as they came in. Just so you know, they are going to have the enormous trees lining the aisle, all the way up to the altar. These are all seasonal plants that you're going to have throughout the Abbey. It's very unusual.

Just last week, I was at Windsor Great Park. It's one of the queen's gardens. And I was with the royal florist as he was gathering all of the materials ready for the wedding. And we're not really going to have flowers. They are sort of blossoming shrubs, we're told. You can see a few of the ideas that they are going towards her. It's going to be white. I'm pretty sure. I had all of the indications that it's going to be white. So, that's the theme.

BALDWIN: White. OK. Fitting. Bride, white. Although I do hear she's wearing cream. It's a no-no for her to wear a white gown. But I digress.

Final question, has there been any sightings of either William or Kate in the last 24 hours? FOSTER: No, they are absolutely lying very, very low indeed. I do know that Katherine is involved in every single detail of this. She organized all the flowers, for example. She's been organizing the cake. So, I'm sure she's busy behind the scenes, of course, getting the dress ready.

We know that she has two hairdressers. So, she's going to speak with them as well. As well, a stylist. There's all sorts of people involved. I'm sure they are just trying to get things right. They do want to lie low, they do want their privacy. It's just extremely difficult right now. You wouldn't believe how many journalists are out here. Clarence House tells me there are 10,000 journalists that they are dealing with.

BALDWIN: Wow. But can you blame them? I'd want my privacy, too. Max Foster, live in London. Max, good to talk to you. Thank you.

And back here at home, football players showed up for work this morning, one day after a federal judge ordered the NFL to end its player's lockout. So, does this mean the lockout's over? Sunny Hostin is "On the Case." And Sunny, there seems to be a bit of confusion over the judge's ruling. Do explain.

SUNNY HOSTIN, CNN LEGAL CONTRIBUTOR: There is! I mean, the federal judge basically ruled that the lockout was illegal, and you would think with that ruling that means what? NFL players winning? Well, not so fast actually, because the NFL immediately came out with a statement that said, we are going to ask this judge to stay that ruling, which in effect would freeze her ruling.

And they are going to appeal it to the Eighth Circuit Court of Appeals, which could take a long time. So victory certainly for the players, but a very short lived one, perhaps.

BALDWIN: How long potentially, Sunny, could it drag on?

HOSTIN: It really could drag on for a long time. It takes a long time for things to get briefed and then argued before an appellate judge. You could then go to the full appellate court and then to another court and so it could take a very long time.

BALDWIN: OK, to all of the iPhone and iPad owners, we've been reporting about the ability to track on these devices your location and store the information. So now two men in Florida, they are suing apple over this hidden ability, hidden device. Sunny, what are they saying in the lawsuit and what are they asking for, money?

HOSTIN: Well, I have the lawsuit. It's hot off the presses, Brooke. I mean, they are basically saying big brother or big Apple is watching. They come out pretty strong. They say Apple iPhones and 3G iPads are secretly recording and storing details all of their owners' movements.

Very, very scary stuff, I mean, I have an iPad and I have it everywhere. I didn't realize it was allegedly following me. And they are asking not only for injunctive relief, they want Apple to stop this tracking and they are also asking for money.

Not only on behalf of themselves, but on the class and as I just mentioned, I have an iPad. Everyone has an iPad. Everyone has an iPhone. Do you know how big that class is? This could mean big bucks for a lot of us folks.

BALDWIN: I remember when the story first broke last week and I couldn't remember if Apple really came out and said anything about it. Have they said anything about the suit specifically?

HOSTIN: They have not released an official statement. So they are sort of being pretty quiet about this when you would think that we would have heard something because Steve Jobs, as you know, is pretty upfront and sends e-mails back to Apple users and fans. We haven't really heard an official peep yet.

BALDWIN: Yes, I think - was the word for Steve Jobs last week as well. Final question though, what could be the bigger legal headache for Apple, the lawsuit or the number of politicians and regulators looking into the whole big brother tracking issue?

HOSTIN: I don't know. I mean, it is sort of one of those Excedrin migraines for Apple right now. Even Senator Al Franklin is involved. I remember from (INAUDIBLE) he fired off a letter to Steve Jobs and said, you know, I have some real privacy concerns.

And so I think it's not only a headache, this lawsuit, which is pretty significant, but the fact that regulators are now really creeping in. So it's going to be a tough time for Apple. I'm keeping my iPad, though. I got to tell you, I love it.

BALDWIN: I hear it's great. I think I'm the only person on the planet that doesn't have one. I'm a Blackberry girl. Sunny Hostin, thank you so much.

A quick reminder, any minute now, Rand Paul is expected to make a big announcement about his future. Will he say yes, I will be running for president? We're monitoring that for you and will bring that to you as soon as we get a definitive answer. Also, AFLAC's duck. Big breaking news. I'm being entirely facetious here. He was chosen from over 12,000 applicants. Who is he? Don't you want know what he sounds like? We will hear from him next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BALDWIN: OK. The search is over. AFLAC now has a new famous voice. I should say a new voice. He's not famous yet for its famous duck. Take a listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We hear it one more time. We heard it on video, but we want to hear it in person.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: AFLAC. AFLAC. (END VIDEO CLIP)

What do you think? Pretty good? Apparently, it was good enough for those guys. This is Daniel McKig, a sales manager from a radio company in Minneapolis.

He was chosen from more than 12,000 applicants. I'm sure you remember the company held casting calls like this across the nation after firing Godfrey.

Godfrey was the voice of the duck until March and that is when he was fired for tweeting jokes about the earthquake and tsunami disaster in Japan.

So AFLAC says its first commercial featuring Daniel's voice -- I just want to listen to it because it's fun. It will air on television tonight.

Coming up here in a matter of minutes, "THE SITUATION ROOM." The one man who most definitely did not submit his voice for that because we love him in "THE SITUATION ROOM" each and every day, Wolf Blitzer here with me.

Wolf, what do you have?

WOLF BLITZER, HOST, "THE SITUATION ROOM": Nothing on AFLAC. So we're not going to go beyond that. We're not digging deeper on that story in "THE SITUATION ROOM."

But we will be having a lot on what is going on in Syria right now, what's going in Libya right now and elsewhere throughout the Middle East. Liam Fox who's the British defense secretary, he's here in "THE SITUATION ROOM." We're talking to him not only about Libya, but also about Syria.

What is happening in Syria right now. Bashar al Assad How much time does he have before NATO, the United Nations, the U.K., the U.S. begin to do to him what they are trying to do to Gadhafi in Libya right now.

I think you're going to intrigued by his answer. I'll give you a hint, not much time left for Bashar al Assad. He's going to have to change his ways very quickly. Otherwise, he's going to face the same wrath from NATO, the U.K., and the United States that Gadhafi is facing right now.

I'll also ask him if NATO is targeting Moammar Gadhafi for assassination, which is what the Libyan regime insists as the case. We also have a special interview and that's coming up right at the top of the hour with a top reporter for the "Washington Post."

Leila Fadul, who has just gotten out of Misrata. She's back in Benghazi. She was in Misrata when those two American journalists were killed the other day. She has an amazing story to share with our viewers. That's coming up at the top of the hour and a lot more. On a much lighter note, we'll speak to Piers Morgan, our man in London about some of the latest developments getting ready for the big wedding on Friday.

BALDWIN: Fantastic. A little bit of everything, Wolf Blitzer. We will look for that interview at the top of the hour. I'm interested to hear that. Thank you.

And they lost their case in the state Supreme Court last year, now top aide reporters want the same-sex marriage ruling overturned, but you may not believe why.

Joe Johns is going to tell us. He's standing by with your "Political Pop." He is next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BALDWIN: Congressman Rand Paul still expected any minute now to make a big announcement about his future. And if he does decide to throw his hat in the ring for the White House, keep in mind this will be his third run for the president.

Joe Johns is here with the "Political Pop." Joe, so we still don't know yet?

JOE JOHNS, CNN CONGRESSIONAL CORRESPONDENT: No. But, you know, in all likelihood you would think an exploratory committee, I've been talking to his people, if you will, over the last weeks and months and I've been led to believe that he's been thinking about it.

At one point a few weeks ago, somebody told me that he was leaning in the direction, but nothing firm and so you ask yourself, what has changed over the last four years, the last time he ran?

The last time he ran, Paul supporters really felt dist. He was raising a lot of money. He was very good at raising issues in a provocative way that kept sort of the debates interesting. Talked about government spending, the fed, the IRS.

And struck a chord with younger voters, Tea Partiers and others, but he was all but ignored by the big media. Lately, though, he's all over TV including CNN. I happen to hear he's going to be in the arena in all likelihood tonight.

BALDWIN: Yes, so when you say that he has felt dist, I mean, we've certainly covered him. We're talking to him today. Why does he feel that way?

JOHNS: Well, that was then. This is now. Things are different now, but back in the day, his supporters more than anyone else thought the media just wasn't covering him.

I saw a lot of talk and articles about a blackout, a Rand Paul blackout if you will. He also wasn't an establishment candidate really. There was talk about his national polls, his ranking in the polls, which wasn't good. But you look at social media today, 140,000 people like the Rand Paul 2012 page on Facebook so he's got some support out there and can really raise money.

BALDWIN: OK, so as we wait for his impending announcement, I do want to get to this next story. This is pretty interesting. I remember his name.

The judge out of California, Judge Von Walker, he's a retired federal judge, who while still a judge ruled against California's ban on same-sex marriage and now he's swirling in a controversy. Less than a minute, Joe, why is this?

JOHNS: OK, so Judge Walker shoots down the ban on gay marriage, retires from office, and publicly acknowledges later that he's been in a same-sex relationship for years.

So people on the losing side of Proposition 8 are saying he should have disqualified himself and now they're calling for that ruling to be thrown out claiming he was biased.

BALDWIN: So if the ruling is called out, I mean, what are even the chances of that happening?

JOHNS: This is a grudge match in court. So we'll stick with our experts. Jeffrey Toobin, CNN legal analyst has said it probably won't get thrown out, but the judge probably should have disclosed it.

And some liberal scholars say judges don't have to recuse themselves because of things like sexual orientation or race. Black judge wouldn't get accused of bias in an affirmative action case.

Catholic judge wouldn't have to recuse himself or herself in an abortion case so they say what's the problem. We'll see, though, a lot of fighting to go on.

BALDWIN: Yes, a lot of fighting, a lot of slinging, but we'll be watching it. Joe Johns, thank you so much.

I'm Brooke Baldwin. That does it for me here in Atlanta.

Now to Wolf Blitzer in "THE SITUATION ROOM." Wolf to you.