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Where Is Gadhafi?; Bin Laden's Sons Speak Out; Mother Ordered to Relinquish Custody of Children Because She Has Cancer; Afghan Boys Sent on Suicide Missions; Newt Gingrich Declares Candidacy for Presidential Run in 2012

Aired May 11, 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: And I want to begin this hour. Hello once again. I'm Brooke Baldwin.

Unfolding right now: Osama bin Laden's sons, they are now speaking about their father's death and they are threatening the United States. The sons, in fact, say he was assassinated. And they're giving the Obama administration a 30-day deadline. We will tell you what for here in just minutes.

But, first, let's begin this hour with this.

While the world's attention for really the last week-and-a-half shifted to Pakistan and Osama bin Laden, we did not notice what was going on with another infamous man. And one question we haven't asked in weeks, where is Moammar Gadhafi?

Consider this. He has not been seen public since that NATO airstrike on his compound some 12 days ago. The Libyan leader was in the compound at the time. Now, you talk to his supporters, they say he is fine. Even Libya state television aired some video of him they say was taken after the airstrike.

But keep this in mind. CNN has not been able to confirm whether or not that video was in fact taken after the airstrike. One of his sons, three of his grandchildren, they were killed in that particular attack, but Gadhafi was a no-show at their funerals.

Libyan officials say that was simply out of security concerns. So is he dead or is he alive? NATO doesn't seem to know or care. Watch this.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BRIG. GEN. CLAUDIO GABELLINI, NATO SPOKESMAN: We have no evidence about what Mr. Gadhafi is doing right now. And I tell you the truth. We are not really interested in what he is doing. Our mandate is to protect civilians from the attacks and from the threat of attacks, so we are not looking after individuals.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BALDWIN: Let's go to Nima Elbagir. She's in Tripoli in the capital city of Libya for us.

Nima, Gadhafi has been always quiet, as we just mentioned. What is the word there in Tripoli as far as his whereabouts?

NIMA ELBAGIR, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, Brooke, after a few weeks of giving us various excuses -- he's in mourning, he's understandably unwell after the loss of his youngest son -- today, the Libyan government spokesman, Mussa Ibrahim, was pretty blunt with us, actually. He said he's in hiding. It's completely understandable, he said, that he would be in hiding. He's been -- he's had three attempts from NATO on his life. And we have to keep him safe.

But he did tell us, be reassured that he is meeting with people and carrying out the day-to-day leading of this country -- Brooke.

BALDWIN: Are the rebels buying that, that he's in hiding?

ELBAGIR: Well, he's pretty definitively in hiding, in that absolutely no one has any idea where he is.

And I think what we were hearing there from NATO might slightly be sour grapes. It's naive to say we don't know or care. Of course, they care where he is, because, at the moment, there is such an impasse. One day, this country -- this town goes to rebels. One day, it goes to the Libyan government.

And more and more, it's looking that it might possibly -- the only way out of this might be a politically negotiated solution. And if you're not doing that with Gadhafi, then who are you doing it with?

So, if he's playing the long game, then the best he can do is stay out of sight and stay safe and hope that eventually he's valuable enough that he will lead a negotiation effort with the rebels, Brooke.

BALDWIN: Nima, we're looking at video of some of the crumbled compound. We know that NATO has been escalating its bombing campaign. They say they are going after these command-and-control targets. They have been targeting the compound there in Tripoli, also Gadhafi's hometown of Sirte.

But what about momentum? What about this regime, Nima? From all accounts where you are in the capital city, does it appear to be crumbling?

ELBAGIR: You know, overhead, we hear the NATO jets. The strike on Monday was quite close to where we are. We could hear the booms, the explosions.

But when you go outside -- I think it's very important to remember that Tripoli has always been very isolated in the sense that it's quite an affluent town. It's an oil producer. It was producing 1.8 million barrels a day. And there is a sense now that is growing that people are beginning to blame NATO, rather than Gadhafi, for the deprivations that they are living under, the fuel and food shortages, the constant strikes. So, this hope that was being held out that Tripoli would en masse rise up is starting to seem a little bit distant. And so when we speak to some of the Libyan government officials, they are feeling and sounding the most secure we have heard them for a while. You know, they seem to be thinking that this is really just a waiting game.

And with the amount of money that NATO is spending and with the reality that the rebels are holding territory and then ceding it and then holding it and taking it again. It's such a back-and-forth game at the moment, there's no realistic lead here, that, fundamentally, someone is going to have to sit down and talk to them. And that's what they are hoping and waiting for, Brooke.

BALDWIN: Nima, what about Misrata? We talk a lot about Misrata. And this is an area certainly where people there have not forgotten that a war is being waged. Today, significant reporting there that rebels have seized the airport. Why is that so significant?

ELBAGIR: Well, it's the best news that the rebels and the people of Misrata have had for a while. There's been such sporadic aid to supplies going and such sporadic aid access, because, if you remember, Gadhafi's forces threatened to mortar and bomb any ship that docks at the Misrata port.

So, for the rebels to secure the airport, then that will provide them with a humanitarian corridor and more focused and solid humanitarian access. For about five days, there was no way for anyone to get anything into them. A Red Cross ship managed to dock on Monday, but already we're on Tuesday. So, if they can hold the airport, then they can have at least a chance of withholding the siege that Misrata is currently under, Brooke.

BALDWIN: Nima Elbagir, we are not taking our eye off this story. You are there for us in Tripoli. Nima, thank you so much.

And now more news unfolding right now, rapid fire. Let's go. Take you to Syria. Two soldiers are dead as security forces crank up their operations against opponents of the Assad regime. The military shelled neighborhoods in the cities of Homs and Daraa. At least five people were reportedly killed in Homs.

One resident there tells CNN they heard two hours of gunfire, saw snipers up on the rooftops. CNN has not been granted access into Syria. Thus, we are unable to independently verify those witness accounts. The Syrian regime has been cracking down on anti-government protests for nearly two months now.

A federal jury in New York convicts a hedge fund boss of conspiracy and securities fraud. Raj Rajaratnam is accused of making $60 million from insider trading. And the jury heard dozens of wiretapped phone calls of him discussing insider information on big companies. He could face up to 20 years in prison. His lawyer plans to appeal.

And a college senior who was almost kicked out of the country last year graduates today. She is Jessica Colotl. She's an illegal immigrant who came here as a child. She was arrested just last year, weeks before graduating college because of a traffic violation and suspended driver's license.

In fact, I interviewed Jessica shortly after that happened. The government gave her a year to complete her degree. And, as of today, she gets another year to stay in the United States.

One more scary moment here in the air. A passenger tried to open the emergency door on a Delta flight heading from Atlanta to Boston. An off-duty police officer helped the crew take him down. We're told everyone on board is OK. Still, no word yet on what the suspect was trying to do. It's the fourth major incident on board a domestic flight here in just the past three days.

California now. A woman suspected of stealing a flatbed truck leads police on a high-speed chase. But check out how it ends. A hood flies open, blocking the driver's view. Whoops. The driver stops, decides to get out. At some point, she does, getting out of that window. There she goes. And on two feet, she runs, she flees, not wearing so much, in fact, and the lack of clothes did not help her very much. There she is running along the shoulder of the road barefoot. And you guessed it. Can't get very far without shoes. Cops finally caught up with her.

A divorced mother, she is fighting cancer in North Carolina. She says she doesn't have much time left. But a judge ruled her two children must leave her, move to Chicago to live with their father. Are the reasons fair? And what will she do about it? Coming up next, I will ask her. Alaina Giordano joins me live. Stay right here.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BALDWIN: All right. I want to tell you a story that has people raging and rallying across the Internet.

You have this North Carolina mother. She is being told she must send her two children to live with their father, soon to be her ex- husband, hundreds of miles away in Chicago, in part because she has breast cancer.

Alaina Giordano is the mother here. There she is live in New York for me. She plans to fight the judge's ruling.

And, Alaina, I thank you for coming on because it's a story I wanted you to share here. First, if I may, let me just ask you about your health. I know this was stage four breast cancer. What kind of prognosis did your oncologist give you?

(CROSSTALK)

ALAINA GIORDANO, BREAST CANCER PATIENT: Well, Brooke, that's the question. As far as prognosis is concerned, nobody really knows how long I will live. And that is in particular what made the judge feel uncomfortable.

BALDWIN: So, first, before we get to the... (CROSSTALK)

GIORDANO: Sure.

BALDWIN: Forgive me for interrupting you. So, you don't know how long you have. And, obviously, you have two little ones. So, the first thing...

GIORDANO: I do.

BALDWIN: ... when you get a prognosis like that is you think about your children, right?

And then to the ruling...

GIORDANO: Immediately, yes.

BALDWIN: Immediately.

Then to the ruling, because the judge says you need to share custody with your soon-to-be-ex-husband, they need to move in with him in Chicago. How did that sit with you?

GIORDANO: I don't think that the basis of the ruling is appropriate. None of us knows how long we are going to live. My doctors don't know how long I'm going to live. And if you went to your doctor, he wouldn't know how long you have to live. And that's just the way it is.

BALDWIN: Were you surprised?

GIORDANO: By the ruling?

BALDWIN: Yes.

GIORDANO: I was -- I was a bit in shock when we heard it. I was a little concerned, because the custody evaluator had kind of said similar things to what the ruling ended up saying.

And so, when the judge asked for three months to decide what I considered to be a clear-cut case, I was a little worried.

BALDWIN: We're looking at pictures of you and your two kids, Sophia and Bud. How do they feel about moving in with dad?

GIORDANO: Yes.

They do not want to move to Chicago. They want to stay in Durham with me and where they have lived for three years. And they have put down roots. They have a wonderful support system of friends, great schools, all of these things I documented in court.

And the kids are just really happy with me. I have been their primary caregiver always. And our life, our daily life is not affected by cancer.

BALDWIN: You mentioned your...

GIORDANO: So, they're -- yes.

BALDWIN: You mentioned your prognosis, that it is unknown, and the judge ruling that your health is concerning because, you know, you are fine today, may not be fine tomorrow.

GIORDANO: Right.

BALDWIN: And so the judge ruled that your kids need more contact with -- I think the wording was the non-ill parent.

GIORDANO: That's correct.

BALDWIN: You're healthy now, but what happens -- I have to ask. Some people out there may be wondering. What happens down the road when you can't play with them, you can't pick them up from school because you're too sick?

GIORDANO: Sure.

BALDWIN: Then how does that work?

GIORDANO: Well, I think, if that time were to come, then this case would need to be revisited at that time. No one has a crystal ball.

It's not appropriate for a judge to base a ruling on something that is an unknown just because it makes her uncomfortable. Only God knows how long each person is going to live. And a judge just needs to accept that and rule on the facts of today. And that's not what this judge did.

BALDWIN: I know you mentioned you're in Durham. You're being treated, I'm sure, by fantastic doctors at Duke.

GIORDANO: Yes.

BALDWIN: But you are living in Durham. You don't have a job. You could go to Chicago, as per the suggestion from the judge, the ex- husband, soon-to-be-ex-husband supporting the family there. Why not just move to Chicago?

GIORDANO: Right.

Well, for a few reasons. I do have a top notch medical team at Duke Cancer Institute. It took me many years to find this team. I was treated at two different hospitals first, and that was something of a nightmare that we don't have time to discuss today.

But since I'm at Duke, my health has improved, the cancer is stable. At the end of March, a new drug came on the market. I got it April 1st because I was at Duke. And immediately in the first month my health improved even more, you know.

So it's really -- it's a life or death sort of decision. I mean, to me it looks like the judge decided that my husband's job was more important than my health, and I think that's a real problem. Certainly, his -- there's no guarantee that he will keep this job. It's a training program for two years. To rule that two children should be uprooted from their home on -- you know, assuming that he will keep this job for long term --

BALDWIN: There are obviously several factors. Did the judge, do you know, consider anything else really other than your health?

GIORDANO: She considered that I was not employed and that my husband has a job in Chicago, and that's basically what it looks like from the order. Those were the main concerns.

There were a lot of pergurous (ph) testimony by my husband that was not refuted by my attorney because he thought it was minutia and that it wouldn't affect the case. Some of that ended up in the order.

BALDWIN: Forgive me for cutting you off, but I want to ask and then I have to let you go, do you plan to appeal?

GIORDANO: Yes. I'm looking for an attorney who will step forward and take this case on pro bone know basis as soon as possible. I need to get this appealed.

BALDWIN: Let us know if you get that phone call. Certainly an interesting one.

GIORDANO: Thank you. Thank you so much. I will.

BALDWIN: Alaina Giordano, we wish you the best with your health.

GIORDANO: Thank you.

BALDWIN: Thank you so much.

Coming up, kids being trained for terror. Insurgents strapping bombs on young boys and sending them on these suicide missions that target Americans. Wait until you hear where they are being recruited and where they go before they can kill. Mohammed Jamjoom just got this exclusive look. He's going to join me live to tell their stories, next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BALDWIN: Now to a compelling story out of Afghanistan. Just last week, four young boys, all under the age of 14, were detained at a border crossing between Jalalabad, Afghanistan and Peshawar, Pakistan. Afghan intelligence authorities allege that militants recruited these young boys from within Pakistan and then sent them on suicide missions. Their targets? Americans.

CNN's Mohammed Jamjoom got this rare access inside Kabul's juvenile rehab center and spoke to exclusively to two of these young boys that can't be named simply for their own safety.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE) MOHAMMED JAMJOOM, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): The amulet around this 9-year-old's boys neck contain Koranic verses. He says it was given to him by a religious teacher to strengthen his faith, keep him safe, and make him brave. Three years before, that very same mullah sent him on a suicide mission.

He told us to go and put on bombs and explode and that we wouldn't die, explains the boy. When we came to the border, we asked people if we put on bombs and exploded ourselves, will we get killed? They said yes, you will get killed. So we returned to go home, but then we were arrested and they brought us here.

Here is Kabul's juvenile rehabilitation center where the boy and his 10-year-old companion are being held. Afghan intelligence say they and two other boys were coming in from Pakistan to carry out suicide bombings, that they had been told Afghanistan was full of infidels.

Now their fates are in limbo. Afghanistan's government hasn't decided if they'll be charged and tried. Their detention might last days or could last years.

The center's director insists they are in dire need of help, but it's not that simple. We don't have any particular program for these boys, says Aziza Adalat Khan.

So far, the rehabilitation has been comprised of attending classes taught in a language they don't speak, sitting among boys far older, doodling and drawing while other students take dictation.

Unfortunately, she says, we don't have any psychologists in the center to help these children and we really need one.

The boys seem to be coping as best they can. One minute they giggle, then feel guilty. We didn't tell our parents that we were leaving, says the boy. We made mistakes.

And then there's the anger directed at the teacher they say put them in this position. He cheated us, he says.

(on camera): Administrators here say, these are minors. That, ideally, they should be set free. But they're also worried these kids are vulnerable and that if released now, they could fall into the sway of extremist teachings once more.

(voice-over): Boys whose faith in god was so strong they would have given their lives, now putting their faith in this country's justice system to give them their lives back.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BALDWIN: Wow.

Mohammed Jamjoom live in Kabul.

Mohammed, I watched that whole piece sort of shaking my head. These are boys, they're doodling in class? How many boys are in this center and how long are they detained?

JAMJOOM: Well, as far as the boys that were charged with being suicide bombers, there are four of them in this center.

How long they are detained, nobody knows at this point. That's the saddest thing about this story, because even though intelligence officials that we've spoken with, the ones responsible for the boy's arrest, they believe that they were innocent, that they fell under the sway of militant teachers, that they were brainwashed and should be set free.

But they also think they should get rehabilitation. There needs to be some sort of sentence doled out by a court here as to how long they should be remain in this detention center, but nobody knows how long it will take for a judgment to come through. That could be weeks, could be months, could be years in a country like this where the justice system moves at a snail's pace. Everybody says the case is streamlined, but nobody knows.

And the it begs the question, even if the boys are sentenced to a couple years of rehab in this center, how are they going to get the care they need when there's not even a psychologist at the center to give them the therapy that they'll need to get -- Brooke.

BALDWIN: What about as they are in this detention center, do they at all get to see their parents?

JAMJOOM: As of now, they have not been able to see their parents. They have not even been able to speak to their parents yet. They say they gave their parents and family members numbers to the authorities here. The authorities might be speaking to the parents, but the boys weren't sure.

They really miss their relatives back home. They are very afraid, they want to be able to go back home and see their relatives, see their parents. They feel really bad for what they have done.

The authorities also don't know if the parents will be able to come here. They are trying to get them here. One intelligence official told me today they believe that if the parents can come here, the rehabilitation of the boys would take a lot less time. But again, they don't know when the parents will be able to get here, if they'll be able to travel here.

So many questions and these two scared little boys that we spoke with, they just don't know what their future is going to hold -- Brooke.

BALDWIN: Thank you for sharing the piece. Fourteen years of age.

Mohammed Jamjoom, thank you.

And now the time, 4:25 Eastern time, mark it, folks. We've just seen the Newt Gingrich tweet that we've been waiting for. Guys, take a look at the Twitter board, here we go, "Today I am announcing my candidacy to run for president of the United States. You can watch my announcements here."

We'll talk a little bit more about what this means for the race, for the presidency on the other side of the break. Stay with us.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BALDWIN: Let's pick up where we left off, shall we? The big Newt Gingrich news he has just tweeted. Let's go to deputy political director Paul Steinhauser with more on the breaking news from the Political Ticker.

And, Paul, this is significant because he's the first major candidate to finally officially say hey, I'm in.

PAUL STEINHAUSER, CNN DEPUTY POLITICAL DIRECTOR: Yes, he is. Some others have done it, but he's the first major candidate. And, Brooke, I think you will see some other of what we consider the major candidates do it very soon. Of course, a lot of the others are officially candidates because they filed an exploratory committee with the -- all that technical stuff, let's not get into it.

But this is the first -- well, Brooke, actually, one other person has formally declared. That's the guy called President Barack Obama, but he's a Democrat and he's fighting for reelection.

BALDWIN: Right, right, right. We're talking GOP.

(CROSSTALK)

BALDWIN: Let's talk pros and cons, Paul Steinhauser. A lot of people know Newt Gingrich is the idea man, one man think tank. So what ideas might he have? What are the pros?

STEINHAUSER: Yes, that is a pro because he's been known as the idea man in and among Republicans. Also, he's got a long resume. He's been around, so people know that he's very experienced, and he's got a lot of name recognition, which is good when you're running for president.

Some of the pros.

BALDWIN: OK. Cons?

STEINHAUSER: Two of those pros are cons. He's got a lot of experience. You know what? That means maybe he's been there done that, yesterday's news, maybe he's too old. Yes, he's 67. SO that's one of the cons.

The other thing, we just talked about it, name recognition. Well, that's a good thing, but it's maybe a bad thing. Take a look at these two polls from CNN just recently.

We asked Republicans only, do you want to see Newt Gingrich run for your party's nomination? Well, they're divided. Look at that, 51 percent yes and 45 no. So not that much love. And go to the next poll, this is also his opinion or his favorability rating among all Americans. Look at that, 44 percent say they have an unfavorable opinion of Newt Gingrich.

So some cons, Brooke.

BALDWIN: And now the waiting game continues. Who will be the next guy or gal? We never know. Paul Steinhauser --

STEINHAUSER: Stay tuned!

BALDWIN: Thank you very much.

And now Osama bin Laden's sons blasting the United States over their father's killing. Not only is the U.S. not responding, but the sons are giving the Obama administration a 30-day deadline. Find out what for. That's ahead.

Plus, it is a slow-motion disaster there along the Mississippi River. And as all of those floodwaters there, those muddy floodwaters knock out homes and buildings, folks are bracing for more. Coming up next, we'll show you a different angle. Quite a different angle, in fact. Patrick Oppmann is actually on a towboat in the middle of the Mississippi. That's next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BALDWIN: The U.S. reacts to criticism from Osama bin Laden's sons. The Navy apparently changes its mind on same-sex marriage. And quite a different view of the epic flooding down South. Time to play "Reporter Roulette."

Patrick Oppmann, live on the Mississippi River on a river barge. I want to start with you. Talk to me about where you are and how big that river looks.

PATRICK OPPMANN, CNN ALL-PLATFORM CORRESPONDENT: Brooke, we just arrived in Natchez, Mississippi, and it's kind of taken our breath away. We've gone by several farms completely flooded out. Some of the water has actually gone up. Some of those silos that usually hold (ph) grain. If there's any kind of grain in there now, you can only imagine that it's ruined.

But just total destruction, incredible flooding along some of these farms, along the Mississippi River. It's going to be quite a lengthy clean-up process for many of these farmers, many of these homeowners. You just have to imagine they have lost so much, if not everything.

We've been going along the Mississippi River all day long. We have yet to see the banks of the river. It stretches out as far as the eye can see into the horizon, past the trees. It's just something -- a problem situation that you can't get your mind around.

We came out on the river. You get that different view of the flooding. And it's really been interesting. The barge that we're on -- we're actually on a boat that's pushing nine barges down the river. They're going to drop off some of their goods, pick some more up, and go back to the river. Fight the very strong current back up the river. Usually, Brooke, they'd be taking up to 20 barges, more than twice the number of goods and items down to Baton Rouge. But because obviously more weight means you go faster when the current's at your back, we have this flood current pushing them along to have that much cargo is just too dangerous. So, they've had to bring less - some of these guys have actually had their homes flooded --

BALDWIN: It's amazing.

OPPMANN: -- across the region, Brooke.

BALDWIN: It's amazing. Patrick Oppmann, rolling down the Mississippi. You get the prize for coolest live shot, by the way. Patrick Oppmann, thank you so much.

Next on "Reporter Roulette," the Navy pulls an about-face on same-sex marriages. Barbara Starr live at the Pentagon. Barbara, first the Navy proposes this policy to allow unions at the base chapels. Now, that's on hold. 24 hours here, what happened?

BARBARA STARR, CNN PENTAGON CORRESPONDENT: Politics, politics, politics from Capitol Hill, Brooke. What else can you say in Washington?

The Navy was set to allow same-sex marriage or civil union ceremonies to take place on military bases. So, you can see this sort of thing happening at West Point, at the Naval Academy, just about anywhere. B But then a lot of members of Congress started to weigh in and said that they objected to all of this because of something called the Defense of Marriage Act. That's a federal law that says marriage is between a man and a woman. Military bases are on federal property. The Pentagon says, OK, we've got to stop and rethink the whole thing.

So, it's all fairly confusing right now, but there is a lot of politics underlying this. Advocates for the repeal of "don't ask, don't tell," which is to go fully into force this year are viewing this as the first move by Congress to try and stop that. A lot of concern. The Pentagon says it's still trying to figure out what to do about marriages on military bases.

BALDWIN: So, given the politics, politics, Barbara Starr, what happens next? Quickly.

STARR: Yes. They are going to look at it and decide what they want to do and then see -- I guess, in practical, if they can get it past Congress.

BALDWIN: Barbara Starr, thank you very much.

Next on "Reporter Roulette," the sons of Osama bin Laden are speaking out, accusing the United States of violating international law in the death of their father, going as far as calling it an assassination. Deb Feyerick live in New York. Deb, are the sons -- they are calling this an assassination, but are they even skeptical that their father is even dead?

DEBORAH FEYERICK, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Absolutely. They are indeed. As a matter of fact, Osama Bin Laden's sons want proof that the man killed 10 days ago in a mansion in Pakistan is in fact their father. And they issued this statement issued on behalf of the family of Sheik Osama Bin Laden, saying, if the evidence does show that in fact it was the terror mastermind, they want to know why he was killed rather than arrested and brought to trial, as was the case with the Iraqi president Saddam Hussein, who was hanged for crimes against humanity.

Well, Omar bin Laden, the fourth born child is the only child who's actually mentioned by name in this statement, which was sent by an American writer who helped Omar Bin Laden with his biography. Now, Omar was the only one who publicly spoke out against al Qaeda and his father's violence. The statement reads, "Just as Omar condemned our father, we now condemn the president of the United States for ordering the execution of unarmed men and women," referring, it seems, to the five people who were killed during that raid on that Bin Laden compound.

Bin Laden's sons say they are assembling a team of lawyers and are going to take their case to an international court if the United States does not provide the answer and the proof they seek within 30 days. Brooke.

BALDWIN: Deb Feyerick live in New York. Deb, thank you.

And that is "Reporter Roulette."

Next to what has really now become the deadliest storms in U.S. history. Folks all across the South dealing with the sea of devastation after all those tornadoes. The worst-hit state? Look at this. Alabama.

Now a country superstar is asking for your help. She is - voila! Sara Evans. She is good enough to stand by live for me. We're going to have a conversation. Don't miss this.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BALDWIN: That is Sara Evans, American country singer and songwriter holding down the number one slot on the country singles chart with this, "A Little Bit Stronger." Nominated for CMT's Female Video of the Year.

And I want to bring her in live there. Congratulations to you, Sara. But you know, the reason why we're talking here is you're lending your voice to the CMT Disaster Relief Concert tomorrow night. The story really hits home for you. Tell me why.

SARA EVANS, COUNTRY SINGER: Hey. Well, thank you very much.

It does hit home for me. I live in Birmingham, Alabama, and my husband, Jay Barker, played football for the University of Alabama. And so, we're very closely tied to in particular to Tuscaloosa, which is one of the hardest hit areas.

And so, I'm so excited to be part of the CMT Benefit Concert tomorrow night. It's a telethon that includes so many artists. Hank Williams, Jr. was the one that kind of spearheaded the whole deal and Alabama, myself, Keith Urban, Tim McGraw, Lady Antebellum, just to name a few.

BALDWIN: That's a huge roster. You leave for Nashville tomorrow. But we've been looking at video Sara. We've been looking at video of you and your hubby, Jay Barker, touring some of the damage there. I think this is Concord, Alabama, last week. And you were visiting with some of the folks who live in the area, talking to people in shelters.

Talk to me just a little bit about that experience. What were people telling you?

EVANS: You know, it's one thing to see the devastation on television. It's another thing to actually go. And when you see it in person, it's truly heart stopping.

And we met a man whose home was destroyed and he said, you know, just -- and I think this is how we all feel when the weather starts to go bad and there's tornado warnings and we all just kind of think, you know, it will hit somewhere else. It happens to other people. And this gentleman was telling us that his wife looked out the window and said, it's really dark. It's darker than I've ever seen it, and they turn on the news and told to take cover and about, you know, five or ten minutes later, they were standing in a pile of rubble and they had nothing where their home was five minutes earlier.

So, it's just devastating. And I'm very grateful to CMT and all of the other artists for doing this concert tomorrow night.

BALDWIN: Sara, I think it's just also important to point out, you're a mom times -- seven kids. And so how do you explain to them as a mom, you know, why it is you are going to Nashville tomorrow night, why there are all of these people that have lost their homes? How do you explain that?

EVANS: Well, we talked at length about it. I mean, I have a very open dialogue with my kids, and we're very religious and I just said, you know, these things happen and God is in control ultimately. And we can't always understand and we won't understand everything right now. You know, just trying to give them comfort.

And basically, we have spent a lot of time as a family praying for the victims, not only in Alabama but all over the areas that were affected. So, I mean, I think that's the main way that I try to teach them, is to pray with them for the families.

BALDWIN: Sara Evans, it's a lovely message. We'll be looking for you and Hank in Alabama and you know, all of the other people you just rattled off. It's a huge, huge event. Tomorrow night, Nashville. Safe travels. We'll be looking for you.

And I just want to remind everyone who's watching -

EVANS: Thank you.

BALDWIN: Thank you -- CNN encourages supporting, of course, our neighbors when disaster strikes. She mentioned tornadoes. Also flooding, etc. You can find out how to help. Just log on to our Web site. Go to CNN.com/impact.

And now some pretty candid moments from Chelsea Handler. The TV star opened up to CNN's Piers Morgan, and things got, shall we say, a little personal. Listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

PIERS MORGAN, HOST, "PIERS MORGAN TONIGHT": Would you like to have children?

CHELSEA HANDLER, COMEDIAN: No, that's definitely not going to happen.

MORGAN: Never going to happen?

HANDLER: I hope not.

MORGAN: Why?

HANDLER: Because I'm not somebody that wants to be a mother. I don't -- I have a lot of children in my life from my friends and my family and I don't want to be -- I have no desire to have a child.

I feel like there's a lot to give and to go around and I feel like I'm the type of person if I had a child, I think a lot of other things would fall short in my life.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BALDWIN: Coming up tonight, Piers will be speaking with Kate whose daughter, Madeline here disappeared from their vacation house in Portugal just about four years ago. She has not been seen since. It's a worldwide exclusive. Watch Piers tonight at 9:00 Eastern only here on CNN.>

Earlier on in this newscast, I spoke with a mother. She is fighting cancer, stage four breast cancer for the right to -- she's also fighting for the right to keep her kids.

The judge ruled the children must move out of state to live with their father. Does she have a case?

Plus, Lindsay Lohan learns her fate today. Find out whether the actress is going to jail. Sunny Hostin on the case, Sunny is next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK) BALDWIN: A North Carolina mother is losing custody of her children in part because she has breast cancer. A judge has ruled that Alaina Giordano must send her children away from her in North Carolina all the way to Chicago to her estranged husband.

Giordano was shocked about the ruling. In fact, I had a conversation with her about that earlier. Here's what she told me.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

GIORDANO: Well, I think, if that time were to come, then this case would need to be revisited at that time. No one has a crystal ball.

It's not appropriate for a judge to base a ruling on something that is an unknown just because it makes her uncomfortable. Only God knows how long each person is going to live. And a judge just needs to accept that and rule on the facts of today. And that's not what this judge did.

It looks like the judge decided that my husband's job was more important than my health.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BALDWIN: Sunny Hostin, I have so many questions for you. I just want to begin here with, is this ruling from this judge -- is it unusual, first of all?

SUNNY HOSTIN, CNN LEGAL CONTRIBUTOR,: You know, it isn't unusual and my heart goes out to this woman and to her children, to her family. It's terrible that she's suffering from terminal breast cancer.

But what a judge has to do is consider what is in the best interest of the children. That is the standard. I do not have a copy of the decision. I've been working hard all day to get it as you know, Brooke. But I can surmise that this judge took not only into account the fact that she's very ill, but also other factors.

Sometimes it's what the children want to do, where they want to be. It is sometimes whether or not both parents are working. It is whether both parents are capable of providing a certain education.

There are a lot of factors that go into a best interest determination. Many people have criticized the best interest standard, but that is the standard and that is what this judge adhered to.

BALDWIN: Yes, you know, she told me she is the primary caregiver. She also doesn't have a job. My question then is, is it better to wait until a parent, i.e., Alaina is too sick to care for the children before sending them to Chicago or is it better to send them with that they call the non-ill parent?

HOSTIN: I think you take it on a case by case basis. Clearly in this case, this judge felt that now was the time to give the father custody, not only, I'm sure because of the health issue, that was certainly a component, but because of the entire picture.

Unfortunately, you know, as she mentioned, you never know when you're going to go. You never know when your time is coming. So if she goes early, you want the children to spend time with their mother. But I'm certain that this judge took this into consideration.

I looked at the judge's bio. This is a judge that has been active with the Susan Komen Foundation. So this judge is familiar with the issues. So I can't imagine that she didn't take all of those things into consideration the fact that she had before her, the facts that she knew at time that she made this decision.

BALDWIN: If the ruling stands, does it set precedent?

HOSTIN: Well, I wouldn't say it sets precedent because, again, judge's often take into consideration the health of a parent. You take into consideration whether or not the person has breast cancer or whether or not the person has colon cancer or whether the person is a drug abuser or the person has diabetes.

That has always been a consideration. There have been cases where the health of a mother, breast cancer, has been taken into consideration so precedent, no.

BALDWIN: Yes, as you said, my heart goes out to her and her children and her health.

HOSTIN: Absolutely.

BALDWIN: Case number two, there is finally resolution to the Lindsay Lohan necklace theft case. Sunny Hostin, give me the cliff notes version as to what we missed.

HOSTIN: Well, she's got legal nine lives as far as I am concerned, but she pled no contest in this case, in the necklace case to misdemeanor theft. The judge sentenced her to 120 days in jail. Guess what, Brooke?

That's the same sentence that she got for the probation violation. She's going to be serving them concurrently, which means no additional jail time. This is the clincher for me. She's apparently not really going to spend any time in prison.

The sheriff's department is being reported is going to allow her to do this at home with an electronic monitoring bracelet and 120 days because of overcrowding may mean 14 days at home. Wow. Who knew?

BALDWIN: I thought she was supposed to be working as a janitor somewhere. No?

HOSTIN: Well, she does have a lot of community service hours.

BALDWIN: OK.

HOSTIN: She does have that and she has been doing her community service so far but --

BALDWIN: I see.

HOSTIN: Lindsay Lohan may not spend any time in prison. Legal nine lives, as far as I'm concerned.

BALDWIN: OK. Sunny Hostin, thank you.

Did you know it's poetry night at the White House. Sounds pretty innocent right? Well, there is big controversy over this. People like Sarah Palin, Karl Rove blasting the president for putting a certain someone on the guest list.

Not this guy, but Joe Johns is about to tell us about it. Joe Johns have a scope "Political Pop" next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BALDWIN: Now to tomorrow's news today. Let's fast forward and this was a battle that made international headlines. A New Jersey father fought for custody of his son in Brazil after the boy was taken there by his mother.

Even the Secretary of State Hillary Clinton got involved in this thing. Well, now David Goldman is speaking out about how he and his son are doing since returning to the U.S. He will join me live tomorrow. Do not miss that conversation.

And now to poetry night at the White House, sounds fairly innocuous, but people are blasting Michelle Obama's decision to invite the rapper and poet Common to perform tonight.

Joe Johns is here with the "Political Pop." Joe, what is the event and what's the deal?

JOE JOHNS, CNN CONGRESSIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Brooke, OK, so this event is called "A Celebration of American Poetry" at the White House. The poet/rapper Common is actually a guy named Loni Rashid Lin Jr. of Chicago and like a lot of rappers, not everything he does is Mary Poppins.

Conservatives are calling him a thug. Karl Rove is taking him to - he assessed him of Common's lyrics are misogynistic. He's talking about cop killing and Rove also doesn't like Common song "A Letter to the Law," in which he said something about burning George Bush. Let's listen to a little bit of the poetry performance here.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

COMMON, RAPPER: Burning Bush killing over oil and grease and no weapons of destruction. How can we follow a leader when it's a corrupt one.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

JOHNS: All right, so we reached out to Common's publicist who hasn't gotten back to us. Don't want to characterize, but I can tell you that generally Common is not what has been referred to as a gangster rapper.

On the spectrum, he's described as much closer to mainstream, even socially conscious at times and has been on the White House radar for years, even performed at the Illinois Home State Ball the night the president was inaugurated.

So keeping him around is probably a play for the youth vote on the part of the Obamas.

BALDWIN: I always thought he was portrayed as more about a kinder guy, a philanthropist. You say, his folks aren't talking so we're hearing nothing thus far from Common himself.

JOHNS: Not so much. He's got a big presence on social media on Facebook and Twitter, and he's really frankly having a ball with this mostly humorous but he did write this, politics is politics. Everyone is entitled to their opinion. I respect that.

The one thing that shouldn't be questioned is my support for the police officers and the troops that protect us every day. So he is weighing in on part of that and apparently doesn't like that characterization.

BALDWIN: What about the White House in all of these rift raft? Do they even care?

JOHNS: You know, it's a little surprising, but the issue actually came up at the White House briefing. Jay Carney talked about it. Listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JAY CARNEY, WHITE HOUSE PRESS SECRETARY: While the president doesn't support the kind of lyrics that have been raised here, we do think some of these reports distort what Mr. Lin stands for more broadly in order to stoke a controversy.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

JOHNS: Poetry night at the White House. If you don't know, now you know.

BALDWIN: Now we know. As always with you, Joe Johns, thank you so much. Thank you for watching. I'm Brooke Baldwin here in Atlanta. That is it for me.

Now we're going to turn things over to Wolf Blitzer who is back in the U.S. and back from his big trip to Munich. Wolf Blitzer, to you.