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Casey Anthony Trial Continues; Did Bin Laden Offer Deal to Pakistan?; Looking for Missing in Southern Towns Devastated by Tornados; One Alabama City Mayor Not Allowing FEMA Trailers to Help Those Who Lost Their Homes; Rudy Giuliani Scores Well in Republican Polls; Financial Planners Give Advice

Aired May 27, 2011 - 15:00   ET

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

BROOKE BALDWIN, CNN ANCHOR: Hey, Drew Griffin. Thank you. Have a wonderful weekend.

Hello to all of you.

Two developing stories this afternoon.

First up, an exclusive interview with a woman we here at CNN believe to be the wife of Moammar Gadhafi. Our reporter on the ground in Tripoli. She's going to bring us that.

Also, new revelations today about Osama bin Laden's time in Pakistan. Did he try to cut a deal with the Pakistanis to allow him to live there Abbottabad safely? We are going to get more on that shortly.

But, first, I want to begin with the drama unfolding here, as it been all week long, out of Florida.

And I want to go straight to Nancy Grace straight for that. First, you have a loving mother of an adoring 2-year-old, or the flip side, a heartless floozy who could not stop shopping when she should have been out searching for her missing daughter.

The first week of the Casey Anthony murder trial is wrapping up in Orlando, Florida, this afternoon. And today, this morning kicked off with at battle of motions, with prosecutors asking the judge to limit defense attorney Jose Baez's cross-examination of witnesses. Motion granted.

Baez responded with a motion of his own. Watch this with me.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JOSE BAEZ, ATTORNEY FOR CASEY ANTHONY: So far, the state has put on a case solely of dealing with the bad character of my client or the attempted character assassination of her past conducts, boyfriends, people she slept with, things that have absolutely nothing to do with the crimes charged.

And it has put us in a position where we are significantly prejudiced as to some of the impermissible character evidence that they have been successful in introducing. We would again renew our motion for a mistrial at this time.

JUDGE BELVIN PERRY, ORANGE COUNTY, FLORIDA, CIRCUIT COURT: Mr. Baez, how many times have you asked on cross-examination of witnesses whether or not Mrs. Anthony was a -- quote -- "good mother" -- unquote?

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BALDWIN: Well, motion for mistrial denied.

Baez then proceeded to bring a witness to tears -- here she is -- by asking what kind of relationship she saw between Casey Anthony and her daughter, Caylee. The witness' answer, amazing. And the prosecution, they played video after video after video after video, about a half- dozen surveillance videos in all here, each one showing Casey Anthony shopping weeks after her little daughter was last seen alive and days before she was finally reported missing.

Nancy Grace has been on the case from the get-go here. She is live for me in Orlando for this trial.

Nancy, you just came out of the courtroom. Break some news for me.

NANCY GRACE, HOST, "NANCY GRACE": Yes, as a matter of fact, there is a lot of news out of the courtroom today.

You are right. We are here outside of the Orlando courthouse getting the latest today, a lot of bombshells in the courtroom. You mentioned a half-a-dozen. I counted up 11 surveillance videos...

BALDWIN: Wow.

(CROSSTALK)

GRACE: ... mom on various shopping sprees. I'm talking Target, J.C. Penney, Ikea, the grocery store. You name it, she was there, sometimes hitting stores two times in one day in different outfits.

Yes, one of the witnesses did break up on the stand describing what she thought to be a loving relationship between tot mom and little Caylee, but what really broke my heart was when George Anthony, father George Anthony, was called back to the stand today. A tow truck operator, Simon Birch, took the stand previously and said that tot mom's car -- quote -- "reeked of a dead body."

(CROSSTALK)

BALDWIN: It was the odor of death, right? He described an odor of death.

GRACE: Yes.

BALDWIN: And why was that significant?

GRACE: Well, the state's theory is that tot mom murdered Caylee, then hid her body either primarily or secondarily in the car trunk, where it decomposed. And they are going to bring scientific evidence to show that.

But this tow truck operator, Simon Birch, said he was walking alongside George Anthony, tot mom's father, Caylee's grandfather. And George had just been saying, I am so worried. My daughter has been gone for weeks. I haven't seen my granddaughter. Then they both get hit with a smell. They both say they started praying that tot mom or little Caylee were not in drunk.

BALDWIN: Yes.

GRACE: George says he opened up the trunk and sees maggots.

BALDWIN: Maggots. Yes, the owner of this tow truck company said it was unmistakable.

And we also, though, Nancy, we were talking, and I know you saw on the stand, was the fiancee of Casey Anthony's brother talking a little bit more about the relationship between -- the bond between Caylee and Casey. I want to play some sound. I want everyone to watch this here and, Nancy, I want your reaction on the other side. Let's watch.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MALLORY PARKER, FIANCEE OF CASEY ANTHONY'S BROTHER: Casey and Caylee had a very -- a very special bond.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: And did it appear genuine to you, Mallory?

PARKER: It did.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: And did Caylee ever go without food as far as you know?

PARKER: No.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Did she ever appear neglected to you?

PARKER: No.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Did you ever see Casey strike or torture or punish Caylee in any harmful way?

PARKER: No, sir.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: And the best way that you can describe their relationship would be amazing?

PARKER: Amazing.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BALDWIN: All right, Nancy Grace, we just saw both Casey Anthony and we saw -- it was Mallory Parker, both of them wiping away tears in the courtroom. What were your thoughts as you were watching that?

GRACE: Well, I have to say it was a poignant moment. It was, because this witness is convinced that tot mom had a loving and genuine relationship with her daughter.

But, you know, you have got to analyze that. You could say that about any number of murder victims. I mean, look at Laci Peterson. Her husband had just taken her out to dinner. Lana Clarkson, her killer, Robert Blake, had just taken her to an expensive restaurant. Kitty Menendez, her sons were very loving and dutiful to her and her husband. They're dead. They're all dead.

BALDWIN: Yes.

GRACE: They're all victims of murder.

BALDWIN: How would that -- you mentioned it was a moment, it was a poignant moment. I'm curious because we on this show haven't talked a lot about the jury. And I'm curious what the breakup is between men vs. women, some of whom perhaps are mothers themselves.

Would they buy the defense story that Casey was molested, perhaps so damaged that she just did not quite yet report her daughter missing?

GRACE: Well, I think, when they first started, that they had a good theory going, that the child died by accident in the swimming pool, and tot mom panicked and didn't want to tell her own mother because of their unique relationship. And so she tried to cover it up to make it look like a murder.

But that is not what they did. They went way off the rails. They went way out of the center of the road and added on that she was molested by her father and brother, and that her father, an ex-cop, is the one who throws the baby's body, by all accounts the love of his life, Caylee Marie, out into a makeshift pet cemetery out in the woods and leaves it to rot. You know what? That is where they lost me right there.

BALDWIN: Yes, you are not the first person I have talked to who said that. They threw all these people under the bus and they just didn't need to do it.

But in terms of the jury, Nancy, is it a lot of -- are there are a lot of women or is it fairly mixed, 50/50 men and women?

GRACE: It is mixed. You have got seven and five. And I think that a lot of people were open to the theory of tot mom having been possibly molested. They were open to that. They wanted to hear about it, but then this is what happened.

The big secret was that she said her father and brother molested her, that she told her lover, Anthony Lazzaro. The judge sends the jury out. Here is the setting. He sends them out, brings Lazzaro to the stand, says, OK, Lazzaro, tell me, what would you testify to? Had this question in front of the jury: What did she tell you? Did she tell you her father and brother molested?

And Lazzaro under oath, today, says, no, that is not at all what she said. She said her father hit her when he was disciplining her and that her brother tried to -- quote -- "feel her up," but it didn't ever happen. He tried, but he was rebuffed. That is the big secret.

BALDWIN: Nancy Grace -- right, I know, not quite the secret perhaps they thought they would be hearing.

GRACE: No.

BALDWIN: Nancy Grace, you spent 10 years just about as a prosecutor in Georgia. Do you think Casey Anthony, tot mom, as you call her, will she take to the stand?

GRACE: Well, all along, I have been saying no way.

And I have got to tell you, this accident theory I thought they were coming out with was pretty good. It was pretty good. And I think they could have hung up that jury or gotten a lesser offense, like manslaughter, on accident, until they threw in George and Lee Anthony and George disposing of the body. Crazy.

Until they did that, I did not think she would have to take the stand. Why would she take the stand and subject herself to cross-exam? But there is no other way right now. They have painted themselves into the corner to get the story of her molestation to the jury. Who else is going to tell that story? There is nobody else, no other outcry witness to tell that story other than tot mom.

BALDWIN: She has to testify.

GRACE: And now they don't have a choice. She may have to take the stand.

BALDWIN: Nancy Grace, what a week it's been there for you in Orlando. We appreciate you taking the time and talking to me. Thank you, Nancy.

GRACE: No, thank you for having me.

BALDWIN: Thank you.

And now want you to tell you this. CNN has obtained an exclusive interview with a woman who identifies herself as a wife of Moammar Gadhafi. You do not want to miss this, what she says about her husband's Libya.

And did Osama bin Laden offer a deal with Pakistan, a deal that would let the al Qaeda leader stay in country safe and sound in exchange for no al Qaeda attacks on Pakistan soil?

We will be right back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BALDWIN: Amid a fresh round of NATO airstrikes in Libya, there was even more deadly fighting today in Misrata. Here is what we know so far.

At least 10 people have been killed in battles between government forces loyal to the leader, Moammar Gadhafi, and the Libyan rebels. More than 40 others were injured, but all of this comes as CNN has landed an exclusive phone interview with a woman believed to be Safia Gadhafi, wife of the embattled leader.

Let's go straight to CNN's Nima Elbagir. She conducted the interview. She is going to join me here in just a moment. By the not-so-of gracefulness of technology, we have lost her from Libya. But we will get her in just a moment. Promise you that.

Now to this: shocking news out of Pakistan today. Was the world's most wanted terrorist trying to cut a deal with Pakistan?

A U.S. source tells CNN that this possibility was discovered in all those documents seized during that raid that killed bin Laden earlier this month. Now, according to the treasure trove of documents, bin Laden considered reaching out to Pakistan for protection for al Qaeda leaders, but it is important to note here there is no evidence the idea was ever discussed officially with Pakistan.

Also, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, she was in country visiting Pakistan today. The trip had been delayed after the U.S. raid on bin Laden's compound in Abbottabad. Clinton urged the Pakistani government to step up its game and be more decisive in the fight against terrorism.

She is sitting there here in this picture with Joint Chiefs -- Joint Chiefs of Staff Chair Admiral Mike Mullen. The secretary of state appears to be trying to smooth over strained relations between the U.S. and Pakistan. Ever since the secret raid that killed bin Laden, tensions have been high between both countries.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

HILLARY RODHAM CLINTON, U.S. SECRETARY OF STATE: America cannot and should not solve Pakistan's problems. That is up to Pakistan. But in solving its problems, Pakistan should understand that anti-Americanism and conspiracy theories will not make problems disappear.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BALDWIN: The secretary of state also repeated that there is no evidence that Pakistan's military knew where bin Laden was hiding.

And, as promised, we are going to try to get Nima Elbagir up for us in just a moment from Tripoli with her exclusive interview with one of the wives of Moammar Gadhafi. We will have that for you. Stick around for that most definitely.

Also, Sarah Palin may be coming to a city near you. She is kicking off this nationwide bus tour. It stars this weekend. Joe Johns is in Atlanta just this day and all through the weekend. He will have the scoop on Sarah Palin's big tour next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BALDWIN: Amid a fresh round of NATO airstrikes in Libya, there was more deadly fighting in Misrata today. At least 10 people have been killed between government forces loyal to Moammar Gadhafi and the Libyan rebels. Also, more than 40 others were injured.

All of this comes, as I mentioned a moment ago, CNN landing this exclusive phone interview with a woman believed to be Safia Gadhafi, wife of Moammar Gadhafi.

Joining me now, the woman who conducted the interview, our own Nima Elbagir. She joins me there. She is live from Tripoli.

And, first, Nima, just in terms of this phone call itself, this involved an elaborate setup just to make this happen. How did you pull this off?

NIMA ELBAGIR, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, you know, the last few times we spoke, you asked me, where is Moammar Gadhafi? And this time, we really got an insight into the incredible security paranoia that is now surrounding him and his family.

We were told a face-to-face interview was just completely out of the question, and even in terms of the phone interview itself, we were not allowed to use our own phone.

Her office manager came to us and then they dialed in to that phone, so that it could not be tracked. We were allowed to confirm that it was a Libyan number that was calling, because Libyan numbers can't roam. So at least then we could have an understanding that the person we were speaking to was at least inside Libya.

The Libyan -- her office manager is someone that is known to us to be Safia Gadhafi's office manager. Other people confirmed this. Yet, we -- I mean, we can't 100 percent be sure that the person on the line was Safia Gadhafi, but this is something that came through the very highest levels of the Libyan government.

So what she had to say was incredibly interesting, because they were so intent for her to be heard internationally, Brooke.

BALDWIN: Well, let's get to what it was she said. And so everyone is clear, I know that the interview was conducted Arabic, thus the subtitles. What did she say?

ELBAGIR: Well, she told us that she is putting together, she and her family are putting together a case against NATO for the wrongful death of her son Saif al-Arab. And she also goes into, in spite of everything that is being said in the G8, she told us that she and her family will live and die in Libya.

Let's take a listen to her.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ELBAGIR (through translator): You say you want to respond to those who doubt the death of your son Saif al-Arab?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE (through translator): We had strikes every day. And the strikes would start at evening prayer. Four rockets on one house. I was not there, but I wished that I was, so I may die with him.

They are looking for excuses to target Moammar. What has he done to deserve this?

ELBAGIR (through translator): Do you feel that you and the leader are personally targeted by NATO?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE (through translator): My children are civilians and they have been targeted. What do they have to do with this? I want them to prosecute NATO. They killed my son and the Libyan people.

They are defaming out reputation. They are committing war crimes and accusing us of embezzling millions from the Libyan people. My conscience wouldn't allow such things.

Forty countries are against us. Life has no value anymore. What would I want with life now? All I want out of life now is that the truth be heard. By the will of God, we will be victorious. We will live or die alongside the Libyan people.

In the end, history will judge us.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ELBAGIR: I have been hearing already back, Brooke, from some of those in the Libyan opposition. And their response to this interview is to say that they believe Saif al-Arab was the victim of his father's policies, and not a NATO airstrike, Brooke.

BALDWIN: It is striking what she said about how she wished she was with her son, she could have died with him.

Quickly, in terms of the husband, what did she offer about him, about his condition, about where he is?

ELBAGIR: Well, that was one of the things that she really was very keen to get across, Brooke. There were times in that interview when she was emotional.

And she kept trying to pull back and saying to me, we do not want to appear weak. You know, at this time in front of the world, we want to show them that we will -- as she said, we will live and die in Libya, that those who believe that we are going anywhere are themselves mistaken, because this is our country.

BALDWIN: Nima Elbagir, so impressive you landed that interview, only the global resources of CNN.

Nima, thank you so much for the exclusive.

Talk about political whiplash. The conventional wisdom on Sarah Palin has done a full 180 in the space of pretty much 24 hours. Palin had pretty much dropped off the radar and the national conversation on the 2012 race for president. But then word came of a movie to make its debut, in all places, of Iowa, word of a possible move to the Lower 48, to Arizona, and now CNN has learned that Palin has hired back two key aides back from 2008.

And here is the big news. Sarah Palin bus tour, it is set to depart the nation's capital this Sunday. And today, here in Atlanta, my dear friends, Joe Johns.

JOE JOHNS, CNN SENIOR CORRESPONDENT: It is so good to see you again.

BALDWIN: So good to have you in person.

JOHNS: It is awesome.

BALDWIN: We love you on the show, but let's talk Sarah Palin once again today ticking off all these different -- reading the tea leaves, are we reading too much into this?

JOHNS: Well, come on. I mean, covering politics a long time, you have somebody who looks like a candidate and they get on the bus, what are you supposed to think if they get on the bus, right?

BALDWIN: Right.

JOHNS: And that is sort of what she is doing. She is kind of getting on the bus and going on this bus tour, starting out with Rolling Thunder. This is when all the veterans roll into town on their motorcycles in Washington, D.C.

BALDWIN: Very patriotic.

JOHNS: She is going to that. And then she's going to a bunch of other places, we hear, possibly some of the Civil War battlefields...

BALDWIN: Antietam.

JOHNS: ... maybe Gettysburg or Antietam or what have you, to the Liberty Bell -- that would be in Philadelphia -- up somewhere to New Hampshire. So it sounds like a very patriotic kind of tour, and that tells you a little bit of something.

The house in Arizona certainly tells you a little bit of something. But there are a couple of things she has not done. She has not surrounded herself with a whole operation that could -- that -- push her out into the 50 states for the primary.

BALDWIN: OK.

JOHNS: That is very important. She has not left FOX News, where she is getting big bucks to be a contributor there.

So, you know, you can still ask the question whether she is just trying to generate some buzz or whether she is actually going to put on those running shoes.

BALDWIN: Right. Well, as if on cue, we of course have new numbers, new poll numbers out today. And here is the upshot, really. None of the other Republicans, declared or undeclared, is catching fire. Here you go.

JOHNS: Isn't it interesting? Yes.

BALDWIN: And, first of all, you have Giuliani here, who, by the way, not even in the race, he's the favorite of 16 percent of Republicans.

JOHNS: Right.

BALDWIN: Romney favored by 15. Sarah Palin, not in it either so far, 13. Paul, Cain, Gingrich all near 10 percent.

One more poll I want to show you, Republicans' feelings toward Palin being their party's nominee. Twenty-six percent, not a massive number for enthusiasm, 30 percent pleased, 28 displeased, 15 upset.

Like I said, 26, that is not a warm and fuzzy number.

(CROSSTALK)

JOHNS: Right, 43 percent either displeased or upset, but that shows you how sort of polarizing she is. I mean, she has been for a long time.

She has got a lot of negatives that she has got to work on if she is going to get in. One of those we talked about a bit yesterday on "Political Pop," leaving the governor's office in Alaska is seen as a not very good thing by a lot of people who think, you know, you finish the job, especially if the voters put you into it.

But there are other issues, too. I talked to one very conservative guy named Richard Viguerie, who happens to be called one of the founders of modern conservativism. And his point is, I don't really know what she stands for. Does she stand with us? Who are the people that she has got surrounding her?

The one thing he does say is, he knows what she is against. And you know and I know, when we watch Palin, she is against the lamestream media. But...

BALDWIN: Of course.

(LAUGHTER)

JOHNS: But what is she for, right, those policy things, those minute issues that really matter to social conservatives? Because she is going to be competing for that vote.

BALDWIN: OK. We're watching it.

JOHNS: You bet.

BALDWIN: We're going to keep talking about her. She is with the Rolling Thunder this weekend in Washington.

And we will see you back next hour. You are talking about the -- the nonexistent pen of President Obama. JOHNS: Auto pen, isn't it amazing?

BALDWIN: The auto pen, kind of fascinating.

(LAUGHTER)

BALDWIN: We will see you next hour for that, Mr. Johns. Thank you very much.

One of the heart-wrenching parts about the situation in Joplin, Missouri, some five days later now is the fact that so many families who know their loved ones have died can't get their remains to begin the process of burying them.

We are going to share one of those stories with you. He's a war veteran who died trying to help others at the Home Depot.

Be right back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BALDWIN: Want to turn now to Joplin, Missouri. And the list of those missing from Sunday's deadly tornado has shrunk again. As of this afternoon, the number we have is 156 -- 156 people officially listed as unaccounted. That is down from 232 we had yesterday.

Remember the initial number, 1,500? Sporadic memorial services are being held as the list of confirmed dead grows. That number now stands at 132.

Casey Wian is live for me live in Joplin.

And, Casey, for many of these families there in town, I know the memorial services will have to do for now funerals, because are on hold. It is a tough situation.

CASEY WIAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Absolutely, absolutely, Brooke. It is heartbreaking.

Imagine losing a husband and father to one of the worst tornadoes in history and then having that pain amplified by the fact that you can't even have a funeral for your loved one.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

WIAN (voice-over): Hours after the tornado struck Joplin, Missouri, we met a distraught 17-year-old Andrea Osborn outside of a demolished Home Depot.

ANDREA OSBORN, TORNADO SURVIVOR: My dad and my uncle are in there and I'm just hoping and praying to god they are OK.

WIAN (on camera): When is the last time you heard from them?

ANDREA OSBORN: Before the tornado hit. WIAN (voice-over): Her dad, Iraq war veteran Dennis Osborn, was shopping with a close family friend and took refuge in the Home Depot as the tornado approached. Osborn and his wife Stephanie had just celebrated their 11th anniversary. She waited outside of Home Depot all day.

WIAN (on camera): I can't imagine that wait, and what it must have been like.

STEFFANIE OSBORN, HUSBAND DIED IN TORNADO: Torturous, and then having to leave with nothing was just really disappointing, really devastating.

WIAN (voice-over): Dennis and his friend's bodies were found inside of the store's rubble Tuesday.

STEFFANIE OSBORN: I had people telling me that he was helping people to the back to the storm shelter, that when he was found, he was found covering a body to protect them from debris. He was being a soldier. That is what he does. I just want him back.

WIAN: Dennis was preparing to leave for Germany for army reserve training next month.

STEFFANIE OSBORN: God didn't take him in Iraq, and so why did he take him now?

WIAN: Adding to the trauma, her home in Seneca was flooded Sunday night, and her car destroyed. Now she can't plan a funeral for her husband.

STEFFANIE OSBORN: They are not releasing any bodies. They are telling us that they are having to do some investigation of possibly autopsies. Please, let's have our spouses, our children -- we need closure. They need to be laid to peace. This needs to be over.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

WIAN: We have some welcome news to report for Stephanie and her family. We just spoke with Mark Bridges, the coroner of Newton County, and apparently the identification work on his body has been completed as his body will be released to a funeral home to the family as early as later today, Brooke.

BROOKE BALDWIN, CNN ANCHOR: "God didn't take him in Iraq, so why did he take him here?" That is going to stick with me. Casey, any word as to all of these other folks in terms of getting into the morgue to identify their dead, any word on that?

WIAN: The process is moving forward and some families are being allowed to go into the morgue to attempt to identify their loved ones. What's happening is that the families who can provide very specific details identifying details such as tattoos are being let in. Anyone who doesn't have anything that is that specific they are having to wait until DNA analysis is completed, and that takes time, Brooke.

BALDWIN: Casey Wian live in Joplin.

Joining me on the phone is Sherry Cooper, a woman who hasn't heard from her 30-year-old niece in Joplin since before Sunday and the tornado hit her niece. Dena is a mother of three. Her children and husband have not been found either.

Sherry, I know that you live in another part of Missouri, and I can't even imagine how frustrating and difficult this week has been for you. Help me understand that you are going to Joplin this weekend to what, to try to find your relatives?

SHERRY COOPER, NIECE AND FAMILY ARE MISSING (via telephone): Yes, absolutely. I have a friend who lives in Webb City, and she has been helping me. And for some reason we have met dead ends everywhere we went. I definitely am going down there. If I have to go knock on doors, clear a path, I'm going the find Dena. I will find her.

BALDWIN: Have you been in touch with folks, I imagine just over the phone who might have any information about your niece and her little ones and her husband?

COOPER: No. No one has heard from her at all. I've not been able to get a hold of anyone, even though she has sisters down there in Carthage. She has her mother and stepfather in that area. And she has her husband's family, and he has a mother and three brothers there. So I don't know why not. I just don't. I'm doing it, I'm going there.

You are doing it, and clearing a path. Help us help you as I said before, tell me about her children, Mitchell, Lily, and Alex, and maybe our viewers can help you. Tell us about them.

COOPER: Well, the oldest and he goes by the nickname of "Bubba," and his real name is Mitchell, and he is six-years old, and in school. Delightful kid.

BALDWIN: What does he look like?

COOPER: Oh, he has dark hair, very dark hair. And dark eyes, brown eyes. And he's just well, I don't know how tall he is or what he weighs exactly, but right up there with a six-year-old. And then I have Lily, who is four. She is almost as tall as her brother, and she has very dark hair, but not as dark as his. And the last I heard she had her haircut, so it is a little shorter.

And Alex is only five-months-old, but he is a big baby. He was 10 pounds and 11 ounces when he was born, so he is a big one.

BALDWIN: Sherry, I want to be optimistic with you and hopefully you will find them and call me back next week and tell me that you have your family, again. Sherry, thank you.

COOPER: I pray I do. Thank you. I appreciate it so much. Thank you.

BALDWIN: Now to an outrage that we are learning about from CNN from a state that went through the tornado tragedy about a month ago today. It's been since April 27th that families in parts of Alabama have not had a roof over their heads.

So would you believe that in at least one city in the state there is a law against having those single-wide trailers. That is the kind that FEMA uses in disaster areas. We will tell you that story. People are angry. That's coming up.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MAYOR JACK SCOTT, CORDOVA, ALABAMA: Jack Scott did not say no trailers. I said that the ordinance didn't. I hope somebody can get that right for a change.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BALDWIN: Well, that is the major who wants to attract young people to his Alabama town. But he doesn't want to live in single wide mobile homes. So in an area that so many are left homeless, he is standing by the 50-year-old ban.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BALDWIN: It's hard to believe it was one month ago, one month ago today that the horrific wave of tornadoes ripped through Alabama killing more than 230 people. This, as you remember, is what the twister did to Tuscaloosa.

We also showed you how Birmingham was hit. But those twisters did not discriminate, and keep in mind that they hit smaller towns in Alabama as well, which brings me to the town of Cordova. A number of folks there had their homes destroyed and often is the case that the federal government offers up trailers to use as their homes are being rebuilt.

Well, not so fast says the mayor of Cordova. Mayor Jack Scott chose to enforce an ordinance that dates back to 50 years that bars single- wide mobile homes. Scott is quoted as saying "We want other people, young people, professional people to come here, and we don't want them in a trailer." We have called him multiple times, so far, no call back. And a lot of the folks in the town in Cordova are saying, look, mayor, we have an emergency here. Listen to this.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MICHELLE REED, CORDOVA, ALABAMA RESIDENT: What I had suggested doing was putting the FEMA trailers in my backyard, but because of the mayor, we can't do that. We can't help our neighbors, because he won't let us.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: That's something that this roomful of Cordova neighbors wanted to change, but heated exchanges between the mayor and the constituents led to verbal matches and some to tears.

SCOTT: If you don't want to listen, get out. UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: But when asked about how much buying a home within the city costs --

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: The cheapest one I found is $105,000.

SCOTT: You might have your sights set too high.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Many like Danny Banks say that since the storm destroyed his home, he has no place to go. He didn't want to leave, so he pitched a tent in his front yard.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It is rough down here, you know, having to sleep on the ground, I mean, you know, it is rough having to sleep on the ground. But I am not leaving my property until I get me something to live in.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: And others say they simply want to stay in their hometown until they can rebuild. But if the city does not budge on the ordinance passed in the 1950s, they say they will have to find rental space in another town.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: We are being forced to move out because of this law, and we want to do something about it. I felt that we were being called trailer park trash.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Mayor Jack Scott says he wants to make it clear, he is not trying to keep people from having a place to stay, but rather follow the city code.

SCOTT: Why should I destroy a zoning ordinance for something like this?

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BALDWIN: Well, that report courtesy of our affiliate WBMA. Also something else the WBMA is reporting is that the Cordova police department has set up a trailer there it is in the wake of the devastating storms, and there is another one to pay their water bill, and when asked for an explanation of having those trailers there and not for folks to temporarily live in, when they called the mayor, he hung up. We will talk more about that Monday.

Still to come here, Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg says only one way he will be eating meat. Find out how the billionaire is going to take the matters into his own hands. It is trending.

But first some free money advice from the folks at CNN help desk.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

CARMEN WONG ULRICH, CNNMONEY.COM: Time for the help desk where we get answers to the financial questions. Joining me is Manisha Thakor, personal finance author, and Doug Flynn a certified financial adviser. Let's get right to it. Leonard from Virginia Beach, Virginia, asking us "What are the pros and cons of consolidating debt, and what impact does this have on a individual's credit score?" Good question. MANISHA THAKOR, PERSONAL FINANCE EXPERT: Well, the pros are by consolidating in the shorter run a lower monthly payment, and one bill so it can feel simpler and more manageable, and the cons are that the one monthly payment when you add up the interest can result in significantly higher costs to you overall, and oftentimes when you consolidate you are moving to a secured loan situation. Oftentimes people do it with credit cards not realizing it was unsecured debt.

In terms of the effect on the credit score, consolidating has an effect on the credit score. The best tool I have seen is the fico score estimator on bankrate.com where you can play around with the scenarios and put in the consolidation and see in your particular scenario what happens.

ULRICH: And it helps to pay it down. Thank you. Our next question from Jim in National City, California. Jim says, "I'm age 65 and I want to withdraw $20,000 from an IRA to purchase a car. How will that affect my income tax for the year?" Doug, this is interesting.

DOUG FLYNN, CERTIFIED FINANCIAL PLANNER: Well, it is fully taxable, so here is the situation where we always counsel everybody that the IRA balances are not 100 percent what you think it is. If you take out $20,000, you may see in whatever bracket you are in $16,000 of it. And if you want to net, you will need to net $37,000 to net the $20,000.

So is the $20,000 car that takes $37,000 out of the IRA the best use? You may want to look into low financing or distribution out of time, and you may have to do the math, but be conscious how much it will cost you.

ULRICH: As opposed to borrowing against the future. Thank you, guys so much. Now, do you have a question you want us to answer, send it to our CNNhelpdesk@CNN.com.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BALDWIN: OK. Today's trending, the kill your own supper movement. Have you heard about this? You're about to, because Facebook founder, billionaire, Mark Zuckerberg is all about it. He's killed goats and chickens and pigs and lobsters, all in an effort to stay aware that when he eats meat, he is taking a life.

Here is part of his rationale. "I'm eating healthier food and I've learned about sustainable farming and raising of animals. It's easy to take food we eat for granted when we can eat good things every day."

So he talks about this. Obviously it's getting a lot of attention online today. We want to ask our expert, Kat Kinsman, about this. Cat, I read this article out of San Jose, California. Apparently this is a huge trend among the Silicon Valley crowd. But is slaughtering your own meat really, really a trend here?

KAT KINSMAN, MANAGING EDITOR, CNN.COM/EATOCRACY: Only if you consider every hunter across the United States and your great grandmother trending, as trendy. This is nothing new. The people doing it is new, people that might not have had first contact with a blood animal like that before.

BALDWIN: Now to the obvious question. Why? Why would someone want to do this?

KINSMAN: It's about personal responsibility. You have taken the life of this creature. You know the cost that it was to your emotional self, to this animal. You are grateful to every single bit of that meat because it was slaughtered in a very humane way. You don't take it for granted

BALDWIN: It's interesting, because, no, I don't often think about that, and I should. Mark Zuckerberg said he's doing this because it's healthier. How is it healthier?

KINSMAN: Well, generally the sort of animal that he's going to be slaughtering is probably something that was raised on a farm in a very humane way and slaughtered in a humane way. If people saw the places where there are pigs, chickens, and cows were raised, those are not great living conditions.

An animal that is hunted in the wild or raised on a farm where they would make this access available has been allowed to live a pretty happy life and lived the life as an animal should, as opposed to it being a commodity meat.

BALDWIN: Maybe if this catches on, people will be more aware of where we get our meat. If not, we'll have a lot of vegetarians running around. Cat, thank you so much.

Now to this -- Mitt Romney sent over a special delivery on the topic of food here, a special delivery to President Obama's campaign office. Was it a political trick in poor taste? We'll dig into that.

Also, an Iraq war vet is gunned down outside of his home in Tucson, Arizona and has a lot of people are asking all kinds of questions about how police operate in swat situations. We're going to play this tape for you and talk to a police officer when we come back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BALDWIN: It's time for a CNN political update. We have two this Friday, Mark Preston, Paul Steinhauser, both of them standing by. Mark, I'm beginning with you -- there you are. Let's talk about the latest polling has a surprising name. I thought it was a surprise at the top of the GOP field. Who is it?

MARK PRESTON, CNN POLITICAL EDITOR: It's the ex-New York City mayor Rudy Giuliani. Brooke, we have a new CNN research opinion poll. And look at the top five right there. Rudy Giuliani leads the list of potential candidates running for the Republican presidential nomination.

What is significant about this as well is Sarah Palin comes in number three. Of those top five, Rudy Giuliani and Sarah Palin have not acknowledged that they are going to absolutely run for president. So obviously there seems to be tension about it. And in fact Paul has a little more on that, we think.

PAUL STEINHAUSER, CNN DEPUTY POLITICAL DIRECTOR: Yes, we do, because we've been talking about that for a while. Go to this next number and check this out. Do you like the field? Are you enthusiastic about this field of candidates? And only 16 percent say that they are very enthusiastic about who is running those candidates, and 39 percent say they are not very satisfied at all. So that's a troubling number.

Now, let's get back to Rudy Giuliani, because this interesting. Mark was just talking about whether he will or won't run for president.

Okay, so we know, Mitt Romney, next Thursday, he's announcing for president, officially saying 'I'm a candidate.' He's doing it in New Hampshire.

Just a couple hours later, who's going to be in New Hampshire? Rudy Giuliani - he's going to be keynoting a Republican party event up there. So, is he trying to overshadow or upstage Romeny? I don't know.

Mark, you got some more about Romney, don't you?

MARK PRESTON, CNN POLITICAL EDITOR: Yes.

You know, Brooke, right before the break, you asked, was it a political trick in bad taste? And I think it was.

Let me set it up for you very quickly. Mitt Romney was in Chicago yesterday, the president's hometown. He was meeting with small business owners at a pizza place. Well, they were eating pizza, talking about the economy and jobs. And after the event, they had some left over.

So, what did Mitt Romney do? He sent it across town over to Barack Obama's campaign headquarters. And, in fact, he even tweeted about it.

So, no question about that, probably a political trick in very bad taste -- Brooke.

BROOKE BALDWIN, CNN ANCHOR: It's good taste if you like your Chicago deep dish pizza, not so much if you don't like leftovers.

But, guys...

PRESTON: Cold pizza.

(LAUGHTER)

BALDWIN: Cold pizza.

Mark and Paul, thanks to both of you.

We will get another political update for you in half-an-hour. (CROSSTALK)

BALDWIN: Updates, of course, online. Just to go CNNPolitics.com. Or those guys are on Twitter. Go to @PoliticalTicker.