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Alleged Al Qaeda Plot Foiled in Kentucky; Cell Phones and Cancer; Electric Shocks & 'Virginity Checks'; Home Prices Hit New Bottom; Casey Anthony's Mother Takes Stand; Court Hears 911 Call; Memorial Day Fatal Shooting in Miami; Rep. Weiner: "I Was Hacked"
Aired May 31, 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: Welcome back to CNN NEWSROOM. I'm Brooke Baldwin.
Want to begin this hour with a developing story, these dramatic new details of this plot by about alleged al Qaeda members in Kentucky. The accused men are from Iraq, moved to Bowling Green, Kentucky, back in 2009.
Joining me now on the phone, retired FBI agent David Williams.
And, David, I have read these documents here from the Department of Justice. And one of the things that really strikes me is the age of these men. We're talking 23 and 30 years of age, tried to do a deal with undercover agents to ship weapons to Iraq. Tell more about the operation.
DAVID WILLIAMS, FORMER FBI AGENT: It appears that operation is a culmination of an extended investigation by the Joint Task Terrorism Force in the area.
The JTTFs were started in 1980 in New York City to bring together all law enforcement officers into a common bond to go after terrorism targets. And these two folks popped up on the screen. And Waad Ramadan Alwan apparently at least boasts that he had been involved in a lot of insurgent activity in Iraq prior to his arrest by Iraqi authorities in 2006.
And he went into great detail with a human confidential source laying forth about what he had done. And in this case, according to the charging documents, he was placed with a human source who was able to corroborate much of the information and bring the investigation to a successful conclusion.
BALDWIN: You read the documents from the DOJ, they talk a lot about CHS, the confidential human sourcing you just cited. And that's obviously how they ultimately got caught.
One thing that struck me, reading this, asked whether he, this is the 30-year-old -- this is Alwan -- when asked whether he had achieved the results from these devices, the IEDs in Iraq, he allegedly applied, "Oh, yes," his attacks had bleeped-up Hummers and Bradley Fighting Vehicles. What do you make of the fact that they appear in multiple examples here as quite braggadocious?
WILLIAMS: Well, it's not unusual that people of this ilk do brag about their efforts.
In my career, I was able to interview a lot of folks that were involved in terrorism matters. And very often, they were very much braggadocious about what they had done, in fact, rather proud of what they had done. And it appears that may have been the case here.
(CROSSTALK)
BALDWIN: That's interesting.
Two parts, though, because this stems from allegations, one that happened in Iraq and after they moved to Kentucky in 2009. And they had apparently expressed interest to this undercover FBI agent about shipping money and weapons to Iraq and Afghanistan. We're not talking, David, just any weapons. We're talking rocket-propelled grenade launchers and Stinger missiles here to who they thought would be mujahideen in Iraq.
WILLIAMS: Yes, we are.
And I think it's very important at this stage we see how the evidence plays out in court. I don't know that the government has set forth any Stingers that they were able to recover yet or have recovered at all. But these are things that will come out in the later proceeding.
The fact that they are shipping Stingers overseas or the fact that they're seeking to use Stingers overseas is really not new. It's been an ongoing problem since -- actually, since the fall of the Soviet forces in Afghanistan, that they are Stingers potentially available to insurgents and to terrorists over there who might want to use them against our forces.
BALDWIN: So, David, if that aspect of it isn't new to you, is there anything, in reading about this, that does jump out as odd at all here?
WILLIAMS: No.
One of the things that I think that it emphasizes, that terrorism is not confined to the major cities in the United States.
BALDWIN: That's a good point.
WILLIAMS: And terrorism sympathizers are not just in Washington and New York and Atlanta and Los Angeles. They can be found anywhere.
They can be found anywhere that they can find others of their ilk who are either prior radicalized, have been radicalized previously, or are self-radicalized in the United States to assist in an insurgency or in global jihad. BALDWIN: It's -- it's an excellent point. These guys lived, hopped on Google Maps some hour-and-a-half drive from Ft. Campbell, Kentucky, in Bowling Green, small town.
David Williams, former FBI, I appreciate you for hopping on.
WILLIAMS: Thank you, Brooke.
BALDWIN: Developing right now, charges are being refiled against self-described 9/11 mastermind Khalid Sheikh Mohammed and four other alleged co-conspirators. U.S. military prosecutors, they're taking this action, the refiling here, so that these defendants can be prosecuted before a military tribunal at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba.
The moves comes after the Obama administration dropped the plans to prosecute these suspects in federal court in New York.
And now, if it's interesting, if it's unfolding this minute, you're about to see it, rapid fire. Let's go.
The World Health Organization today is reversing their original opinion that cell phones have no health effects on people. They're saying the radiation associated with cell phones, the use may be linked to cancer. The FCC has not responded to this claim. But CTIA, the Wireless Association, is.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
ELIZABETH COHEN, CNN SENIOR MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT: What they have to say is this classification, meaning as a possible carcinogen, does not mean that cell phones causes cancer.
The WHO finding is based on limited evidence. And that is true, that this is not an absolute: Cell phones cause cancer.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BALDWIN: The World Health Organization is now listing cell phone risk in the same category, though, as lead, engine exhaust and chloroform.
Computer hacking coming from another country can constitute an act of war, that is the word coming down today from the Pentagon. And that assessment means for the very first time here the U.S. could respond to a hacking attack with traditional military force. The Pentagon's first formal cyber-strategy is an effort to deal with the serious threat hackers can pose to nuclear reactors, to power grids, subways, and oil pipelines.
To Northern Georgia now, where a single-engine plane with four people on board is missing. The Civil Air Patrol tells us the Beechcraft Bonanza took off yesterday morning on a sightseeing tour. They were supposed to be staying within this 50-mile radius.
Now, the Air Patrol has a couple planes out searching for this plane right now. One reports says the fight did not have -- flight did not have any contact with air traffic controllers.
And just look at this video with me. This is a waterspout. This is off the coast of Australia. The wind inside this thing, I'm told, can reach above 60 miles per hour. A waterspout is essentially a whirling column of air and some water mist there and it's similar to a tornado. We're told the waterspout never reached land.
To San Diego now, where Little Bo Peep not the only one to lose her sheep here. Animal control trying to figure out where these fuzzy guys came from, found just wandering around the Chula Vista neighborhood Monday morning. The sheep apparently got loose, caused a little bit of a stir, interest. Police got involved. Now they are at animal control trying to figure out who owns them.
And, finally, it has been 16 days since space shuttle Endeavour launched on its final flight. Now the crew is positioning Endeavour for its final landing at Kennedy Space Center in Florida tomorrow morning. Mark your clocks if you want to watch this thing land right around 2:35 Eastern time. After 30 years, NASA is ending its shuttle program, with Atlantis' final mission set for July.
And have you heard this? Another powerful banker accused of sexually abusing a maid inside another lux hotel in New York. We're going to tell you what happened moments before the alleged attack.
You're watching CNN NEWSROOM. We will be right back.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
BALDWIN: Yet another alleged sexual assault case against a high- powered international banker, and again the alleged victim is a maid at another luxury hotel in New York City.
Police have arrested a 74-year-old Egyptian man, the former chairman of a major bank.
We're going to talk to Deb Feyerick on the story here in just a moment, as she is learning a little bit more about what happened the moments before that alleged sexual assault.
But now to a pretty stunning claim about what Egypt's government was doing during some of the violent uprisings, crews allegedly performing virginity tests on several female protesters after they were arrested. We will tell you why.
Also, the interrogations included strip-searches, electric shocks, and beatings. That's next.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
BALDWIN: Another alleged sexual assault case against an international banker. And, again, the alleged victim here is a maid at another luxury hotel in New York.
Police have arrested a 74-year-old Egyptian man, the former chairman of a major Egyptian bank. Our Deborah Feyerick following the story for me.
And, Deb, just walk me through the details as you know them today on the case here. Who is this 74-year-old? And what charges is he facing?
DEBORAH FEYERICK, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, the man in custody that you see there, his name is Mahmoud Abdel Salam Omar. He was head of the Bank of Egypt for about 15 years.
Prior to that, he actually headed up the Egyptian-American Bank. He currently works for one of the largest and oldest international salt companies in the world. The alleged assault took place at the Pierre Hotel, a very fancy hotel. If you have been to New York, you may recognize it as being diagonally across from the famous Plaza Hotel.
Apparently, the guest, that gentleman, in room 1027 called down to housekeeping and asked for a box of tissues to be delivered to his room. Well, once the housekeeper stepped inside, he immediately closed the door, according to police. And that's when the alleged sexual molestation took place.
The woman was able to get out. But, right now, he's in police custody. He's expected to be arraigned in several hours. We hope to know more details at that time -- Brooke.
BALDWIN: Unlike, though, the recent case involving former IMF Chief Dominique Strauss-Kahn, this incident wasn't reported immediately to police.
What do you know?
FEYERICK: And that is what so interesting about this.
Apparently, the housekeeper did run downstairs and tell the manager on duty. This occurred at about 6:00 on Sunday night. However, the manager did not call police. When the managers the next day arrived, they realized what had happened -- 17 hours from the moment this was recorded in the logbook, they then called police. Police did find the housekeeper credible -- credible.
And Mr. Omar right now being charged with sexual abuse, unlawful imprisonment and harassment.
So, all of that right now is under investigation. But, again, the manager who was supposed to act quickly did not. So, police are looking into that as well, Brooke.
BALDWIN: With the two incidents, though, Deb, recently here -- I mean, this begs the question, is this a recurrent problem with some of these maids at these luxury hotels, or any hotel for that matter?
FEYERICK: Well, yes. Well, you know, a lot of hotels, Brooke, they train housekeepers how to respond if somebody wants to get into the room when they are there. Some housekeepers are told to put the cart in front of the door so people can't pass without moving it aside.
BALDWIN: Really?
FEYERICK: They are told to leave the hotel room if somebody does enter, they are always asked to see somebody's card because, again, you don't know if somebody says, "Oh, this is my room," and they just want to get in. So, there's a lot of protocol that is in place, certainly at the best hotels. But, usually, protocols are established when there's a question or issue that has to be dealt with.
So, that's one of the reasons, you know, that these managers take it very seriously, and these crimes are supposed to be reported right away, Brooke.
BALDWIN: We were wondering if they were trained and, fascinatingly enough, they are.
Deb Feyerick in New York -- Deb, thanks so much.
FEYERICK: Yes.
BALDWIN: And, now, "Globe Trekking."
As always, Hala Gorani is here with us.
And let's get right into it. We have stories. We have, first, Egypt, and then we'll talk Syria here.
We've been reporting, what was it, 17 women out of Cairo part of these March uprisings and there are now these virginity tests that some of the members of the military have now come forward and said, yes, we did this to them?
HALA GORANI, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: This was -- these were allegations in an Amnesty International report published a few weeks after protests on March 9th. And you mentioned, 17 women detained, some of them, including one mentioned in this Amnesty report, Selma -- Salwa Hosseini, I should say, interviewed by CNN after the report was released, saying that she was subjected to a, quote, "virginity test."
BALDWIN: What does that mean?
GORANI: Of course, that means -- well, depending on how you look at it, really, it's sexual assault -- if it's not something that you consented to, if you were in a room being, quote, "examined vaginally" by someone that you did not authorize you to examine you vaginally. That is sexual assault. Salwa said that there were male soldiers and male doctor, one female in the room.
And what's new about this is that a senior general has said, although he decided to remain anonymous, has confirmed that some of these, quote, "virginity tests" were performed on several women on March 9th. What's interesting is that this happened, of course, about a month, a little bit less than a month after the removal of Hosni Mubarak. This is the caretaker government. This is the military working under the control and under the command of the caretaker government currently in charge in Egypt, and that is being trusted by the population that somehow sometimes is having its doubts about it with ushering the country into a true democracy.
BALDWIN: And so, part of this interview with the general with CNN, because a lot of people sitting were thinking, why would they be doing this -- it's because they wanted to be able to prove if these women later came out and claimed rape, they couldn't claim rape?
GORANI: That's right. Well, that was his -- in fact, the general essentially defended the practice, saying we did it because we did not want women to later say that they were raped. We wanted to make sure that they were -- that those who were not virgins to begin with couldn't then say that they were somehow, you know, that they had sexual experiences for the first time as a result of an assault. So, it's interesting because the practice itself should be considered assault by many in the human rights community.
BALDWIN: And it's nothing for the men, it's just the women.
GORANI: Yes. They did nothing for the men. So, these are 17 women and this is one report that was confirmed by a senior general. I'm sure that as the months go on, many other people will come forward and say that this happened to them as well now that some women have spoken out. So, we're going to have to wait and see about that.
BALDWIN: We'll wait and see on that. Next to Syria here. The president reportedly granting amnesty to the people arrested for protesting.
Does that mean that all is forgiven in Syria?
GORANI: Well, it's certainly a confusing at best announcement that was made on the television today. It was a decree announcement and it was reported on state television that the Syrian president had signed a decree offering amnesty to all those who have committed, quote, "crimes" before May 31st, including the crime of belonging to banned political parties, including the Muslim Brotherhood. But later on in this decree, at least the change in punishments rather than the punishments being eliminated or removed altogether.
So, from a death sentence it goes to life in prison. From 20 years in prison, it goes to fewer number of years in prison. So, like many of these other announcements, it's becoming very difficult and even more difficult as time goes by to interpret what it means because when the president promised that demonstrators would not be targeted by live fire, of course, we know that was several weeks ago and since then, human rights groups have counted, have said that they've counted more than 1,000 people killed in these demonstrations by security forces.
So, there's confusion. There's contradiction. But it's something that we often see when it comes to these announcements coming from the regime since the beginning of these protests. BALDWIN: Hala Gorani, thank you.
GORANI: Thanks.
BALDWIN: And now, an update here on this piece that we showed you yesterday.
(VIDEO CLIP)
BALDWIN: A kindergartner teacher, that's her voice, tries to calm her students, tries to get them to sing, as shots ring out outside of the classroom windows. We brought you the heartbreaking video yesterday, and now, the teacher is speaking out, telling us what ran through her mind in those moments. That's next.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
BALDWIN: Got an update for you today on that quick thinking kindergartner teacher out of Mexico. We showed you this video right around this time yesterday. You're going to see the video again here in a moment. She keeps her kids calm, playing. They are on the floor singing while a gun battle rages right out of their window. Watch how she does it.
(VIDEO CLIP)
BALDWIN: Nick Valencia, you were the one who brought us this video, this compelling video yesterday. Before we get the update, I know CNN Espanol had the exclusive interview with the teacher.
NICK VALENCIA, CNN SPANISH DESK EDITOR: We did. Yes.
BALDWIN: Set it up again for me. For folks who don't speak Spanish -- she is telling the kids what?
VALENCIA: This is a 33-year-old teacher telling her kids to stay down, there's a gun battle outside. She doesn't tell it to them point blank like that. She goes along and as you heard in that song in Spanish version of Barney --
BALDWIN: Let's sing a song.
VALENCIA: -- the Barney the friendly dinosaur, let's sing a song. She actually got them to stay down by saying, you know, this is -- what if raindrops were chocolate, why don't you lay on your back and pretend that you're catching these chocolate raindrops. So, that kept them down and distracted while this fierce gunfight was waging outside.
BALDWIN: What did she tell our CNN crews? What went through her mind on those minds?
VALENCIA: She was scared. She was terrified. But she knew she had to stay cool for the children. There were 15 little ones in there and none of them were hurt, remarkably. Everyone remained unscathed from this violence. Five people were killed, as we mentioned yesterday. Five people were killed outside at this taxi stand right outside of the kindergarten classroom. Unbelievable.
BALDWIN: So, shall we listen to her?
VALENCIA: Yes. Let's hear what she had to say. We caught up with her yesterday as she was reuniting with the children in Monterrey there on the campus.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE (through translator): What do you think now, teacher, now that you see the reaction from the media?
MARTHA RIVERA ALANIS, TEACHER (through translator): This is what I think. This is what gives me satisfaction.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: When all this happened, you didn't cry, but now you are. Why?
ALANIS: When you are happy, you also cry.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
VALENCIA: So, you see, yesterday, remarkably cool, today, remarkably humble. She said the reason that she was doing this actually, she's part of the security commission for the teachers. Now, Mexico as a whole doesn't have a code of conduct for these types of violent situations. She however goes through violence preparedness with her children and said that she was doing this as part of evidence that she's following the guidelines of the security commission.
BALDWIN: This teacher had the presence of mind to speak so calmly to these kids, to get them to sing, and pull out a cell phone as per this code of conduct to document what she should be documenting. It's tremendous.
VALENCIA: She's valiant person, was honored today by the governor of Nuevo Leon, Rodrigo Medina, for her courage. And if there's only more people like, you know, there would be a lot more heroes out there.
BALDWIN: Nick Valencia, good story. Thanks for the update.
VALENCIA: Thank you. BALDWIN: And now, some disturbing news here about the economy. Home prices are hitting a new low. And at least one analyst says there's no relief in sight. But how will this affect the rest of the economy? That is next.
Plus, more than a thousand beachgoers stung by -- you've been stung by one of these?
VALENCIA: Not yet. BALDWIN: Not yet he says. Jelly fish. I'll tell you what's behind the invasion and what you need to know before your vacation. Ouch!
Stay right here.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
BALDWIN: There is a stinging invasion in Florida and home prices keep falling. Time to play "Reporter Roulette."
And I want to begin with you Alison Kosik in New York. You have this home prices, they're hitting another new low here in the first quarter of the year -- pretty much confirms a lot of economists out there have been talking about, warning us about. It's a so-called double-dip in home prices happening for much of the country.
So, my question, I guess, is -- I mean, a double dip is a huge deal?
ALISON KOSIK, CNN BUSINESS CORRESPONDENT: It really is. You know, and you think about it, you look at the rest of the economy, Brooke, it's really kind of been in this recovery mode, albeit slow, you know, for almost two years. But the funny thing, the housing is market is stuck at this recession levels. And the thing is, we thought prices that they had bottomed in 2009, but now, we're below those low prices. And trouble is, no one's really sure where the bottom is.
Now, once we hit it, we can start to recover. But until then, we're watching these prices fall in major cities. Look at this map. Minneapolis hit hard, prices down 10 percent in the first quarter. Also hit hard, cities like Phoenix, Chicago, Portland.
You know what, Brooke? It's everywhere and the big thing is, with this report, it really shows how widespread the problem is. It's not just one region of the country, Brooke.
BALDWIN: I guess, then, Alison, to your point, if we don't know when the bottom will happen, it's impossible to predict, right, when things could get better?
KOSIK: Oh, you're right about that. And, you know, if you ask Americans, they are pessimistic, to say the least. A couple of studies showing that 54 percent of us, you know, we don't think housing is going to recover until 2014 or even later. If you ask professional analysts, they are just as ominous. RealtyTrac analysts are saying housing recovery is a long way off. Others say there's no relief in sight.
But I want to end on a happy note, a little bit at least.
BALDWIN: OK.
KOSIK: The silver lining here. You know what? This could be a good opportunity if you're a first time home buyer because -- you know what? Housing prices are cheap and mortgage rates at historic lows at 4.5 percent for a 30-year fixed. If you're a first time home buyer, it's the market for you. I sound like a commercial.
BALDWIN: I know. And go out and go buy a home. Thank you, Alison.
KOSIK: There you go.
BALDWIN: Thank you very much for that.
KOSIK: Help the economy.
BALDWIN: Yes, absolutely.
And next here on "Reporter Roulette," I have Chad Myers saying, look, it's a buyer's market right now. So, you know, if you are a first time home buyer, it's a great time to shop.
CHAD MYERS, AMS METEOROLOGIST: My problem is, this is the busy buying season. This is when people go out and buy a new house so that their kid can get into a different school district or whatever. This is when we should be going up, not going down. If this is a new bottom when it's buying season, oh, my, what is it going to be later? That's not a prediction.
BALDWIN: OK, weather man. We were talking about this yesterday. It is just hot.
How much above average are we right now?
MYERS: Between 10 and 15 degrees above average.
BALDWIN: Ten and 15.
MYERS: And someone just walked in to my office and said, how can it be this warm this early in Atlanta?
BALDWIN: It's a great question. Actually, it never gets in warm as the summer as it today, because in the summer, there's a lot of humidity, the clouds pop up, the clouds block the sun and it gets to 88 and stops. Today, there's no clouds, not a shower, not a cloud, not a shower in the sky. So, all of a sudden, it can just keep ramping up and ramping up because the sun is just beating down on the earth. And that's happening all the way from D.C., all the way back to Texas.
BALDWIN: (INAUDIBLE) Atlanta.
MYERS: A hundred and seven in Laredo yesterday, you know?
BALDWIN: Yikes! You stay inside and you pop that easy.
MYERS: Or you come to CNN and go on the tour because it's air conditioned all the way through.
BALDWIN: It's nice and chilly in here. So, it's hot. MYERS: It is.
BALDWIN: Also, we have an update, as we've been covering the aftermath of the Joplin tornado, an EF-5, right, from two Sundays ago. In terms of those missing, what are you hear hearing?
MYERS: We find -- the numbers finally started getting into a reality section, somewhere around Sunday into Monday. And then yesterday, they were down and today down again. Down to 10 people unaccounted for.
You and I had this conversation. It blew my mind to think, OK, I know we have 100 people dead. But do we really have 1,500 people missing? Because where does that put --
(CROSSTALK)
BALDWIN: No. And they came on to me and clarified. A lot of people left home.
MYERS: Exactly. But now, we're down to 10.
BALDWIN: OK.
MYERS: So that's the maximum number of additional fatalities that can be out there, 10 people are missing. Everybody else accounted for. Some people were double counted and some people were literally, like you said, were just on vacation. Didn't tell their neighbors, because it wasn't their business, and they weren't even there in Joplin when the tornado hit. And so, now, down to 10.
BALDWIN: So, now, down to 10.
And, finally, one more story, I don't know why I'm into this. I think it's because I grew up in the South and I went to the Florida beaches all the time, and I was terrified of jellyfish.
MYERS: You were terrified by those blue things, bubbles. (INAUDIBLE).
BALDWIN: Yes.
MYERS: They were all up and down when we were there as kids. Well, these are not quite the same. These are these mauve stingers.
BALDWIN: What is -- a mauve stinger? What is that?
MYERS: Not native to the Atlantic Gulf Coast. Probably came out of the Gulf of Mexico, somehow, more native to the Mediterranean, but small, but packing a punch -- 1,600 people now affected. They went through 25 gallons of vinegar in a 10-mile stretch of Florida beaches.
BALDWIN: I wanted to ask you about. I had no idea vinegar is the solution. Is that what you use after you've been stung?
MYERS: Yes. BALDWIN: So many people have been over the weekend, that's why we're talking about it down in Florida.
MYERS: Yes. It's a slight anti--sting. Also, you can use something called a meat tenderizer. I don't know about that. I mean, I think of my skin as meat, I don't really want to tenderize it. But according to them, it does wash off the sting. It's all about getting the toxin off your body.
BALDWIN: The meat the tenderizer.
MYERS: I know, and then people -- we used to do this. We used to step on them. Right?
BALDWIN: Kind of poke them with a long --
MYERS: Yes, there's no stingers on top.
BALDWIN: Oh, they are.
MYERS: There are stingers on top of these guys and so you should not be stepping on them although at the bottom of your feet will get stung.
BALDWIN: Ouch.
(CROSSTALK)
BALDWIN: Chad, thank you.
MYERS: I don't think they're going to be there a lot of the summer. And they're -- actually they are part of the reason why it's so hot.
BALDWIN: Really? It's all connected.
MYERS: High pressure over the Carolinas, blowing wind off shore in New York, down across Bermuda and then onshore in Florida. So, if you blow the wind onshore, these things don't have brains. They're not swimming. They're just kind of floating, the wind is pushing them on to the shore and that's why they're in Florida beaches.
BALDWIN: So, if folks want to go to Florida like this next weekend, are they going to be gone? Or is there going to be more and more?
MYERS: I'd just go to Tampa.
BALDWIN: There you go. There's your solution.
(LAUGHTER)
BALDWIN: Thank you.
MYERS: Sure.
BALDWIN: And now listen to this --
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
911 DISPATCHER: 911, what's your emergency?
CINDY ANTHONY: The deputy's sheriff's not here. I found out my granddaughter has been taken. She has been missing for a month. Her mother finally admitted that she's been missing.
911 DISPATCHER: OK.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BALDWIN: You saw Casey Anthony's mother had her head in her hands, takes to the stand in the murder trial again today. She has spent most of the time there in tears. You will hear more of the emotional 911 calls played out in court and how the prosecution is using Cindy Anthony's testimony against her daughter.
Holly Hughes has been watching all of it. We brought her back and she's in the studio live to walk me through this, next.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
BALDWIN: Dramatic day in the Casey Anthony murder trial. Her own mother, Cindy Anthony, taking the stand for the second day here for the prosecution. She breaks down while hearing this 911 call replayed in court.
Holly Hughes, she is back with us in the studio here.
I know you've been watching every moment of this trial. You're a former defense attorney and prosecutor.
And before we go any further, I want us all to pause. Let's hear this 911 recording. And this wasn't Cindy Anthony's first call to authorities but it follows a conversation that she had with Casey Anthony and realizes her granddaughter is missing. I just wanted to set it up. Now, let's listen.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
911 DISPATCHER: 911, what's your emergency?
CINDY ANTHONY: The deputy's sheriff's not here. I found out my granddaughter has been taken. She has been missing for a month. Her mother finally admitted that she's been missing.
911 DISPATCHER: OK. What is the address that you're calling from now?
ANTHONY: Four-nine-three-seven Hopespring Drive, Orlando. We're talking about a 3-year-old little girl.
911 DISPATCHER: Four-nine-three-seven what? ANTHONY: Hope Spring, H-O-P-E-S-P-R-I-N-G drive, Orlando. My daughter finally admitted that the babysitter stole here. I need to find her.
911 DISPATCHER: Your daughter admitted that the baby is where?
ANTHONY: That the babysitter took her a month ago. That my daughter has been looking for. I told you my daughter was missing for a month. I just found her today, but I can't find my granddaughter. She just admitted to me that she's been trying to find her herself.
There's something wrong. I found my daughter's car today and it smells like there's been a dead body in the damn car.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BALDWIN: You know, listening to that -- obviously, it's heartbreaking. But it was also interesting to look at the juxtaposition between Casey Anthony on the right, maybe -- and then her mother who had her head in her hands.
HOLLY HUGHES, CRIMINAL DEFENSE ATTORNEY: Brooke, this has been the most riveting day of testimony. This is the day of the trial that everybody is going to remember. This is the one that is going to replay over and over, because Cindy Anthony is just so raw in her grief over what happened to her grand baby and it's how you would expect a mother to react when her child goes missing.
And even if -- even if you were to believe the defense's version that the baby drowned in the pool, when your mother is breaking down and saying this 3-year-old is missing, would you not, if you were the mother of the child who drowned, still get emotional? If I saw my mother breakdown like that over anything, an AT&T commercial that was touching, I'd sob because she's sobbing.
And what we see Cindy Anthony breaking down. She -- Brooke, she could not even hold herself upright. She was wrapped with sob. She was bent over.
BALDWIN: Yes.
HUGHES: And you've got to believe she's thinking, this phone call that I made three years ago is the catalyst for everything that's happened. This phone call is why we are all sitting in court today.
BALDWIN: How is that phone call key for the prosecution?
HUGHES: It is huge. It is huge. And I'll tell you why.
There's two different things that I want to point out about that phone call. Number one, when we are in an emotional situation, when we're excited, we tend to blurt things out that are true. Say somebody, you have a car accident and you go, oh, my gosh, I didn't even see that car coming. That's the truth. I mean, that's what -- you're stating the truth because you're excited. They call it in the law, an excited utterance. And so, she is on that tape and she is saying, something is wrong. I found my daughter's car and it smells like there's been a dead body in that car. That's the truth.
Now, she's trying to back off of it now because her daughter is now facing the death penalty for this crime. So, of course, she wants to backpedal a little. But when she's excited, she's telling the truth.
And the second thing that you really want to take note of, she's telling the 911 operator, my daughter says the babysitter took her. My daughter said that the nanny has had her for 31 days.
And then she says, but something is wrong. And that's when she mentioned the smell of the dead body. So even then, Brooke, that gut instinct, that grandma instinct is kicking in. And while she can't say it out loud and she can't verbalize, I think my daughter did something, clearly, she bought the babysitter snatched the child story, she would just be saying, ya'll need to go get this nanny.
But what did she say? Something's wrong, it smells like a dead body.
BALDWIN: Then do we know why it took a month for Cindy Anthony to realize that her granddaughter is missing?
HUGHES: Because her daughter is a good liar. And those aren't my words. Those are the defendant Casey's own words.
We saw a witness testify last week, Brooke, and what that witness said was, she's in the car with Casey. They're driving somewhere. Casey gets a phone call. Oh, no, no, I can't come pick you up because my car's broken down. She disconnects, throws the phone down and says, "I am such a good liar," and is bragging about it to her friend.
So, the reason that Cindy did not call the police for 31 days was her daughter is a good liar, according to her daughter. And she was calling every day. She was sending her messages. She kept demanding, I want to see my child.
This defendant made up such whoppers -- I'm out of town, she's with the nanny, we've gone to SeaWorld. We're at a wedding. We are in Jacksonville. It goes on and on and on.
BALDWIN: Let me jump in because I feel like you've made several points as to how this is a key day for prosecution here.
Thirty seconds, how -- what does this speak to the defense strategy?
HUGHES: It's a little damaging to the defense strategy because as much as Cindy is trying to help Casey now because it is her daughter and she's saying was a good mother, she's already been recorded. She's already on those tapes and the defense cannot do away with that. They can't let her backpedal now because the prosecution is going to just get up and say, but back on the day that you found out that she was missing, this is what you said. You can't take back a recording. It's in evidence.
BALDWIN: It's out there.
Holly Hughes, thank you.
HUGHES: Thank you.
BALDWIN: Now this -
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BALDWIN: Terrifying moments. This is a street. This is Miami Beach, gunfire erupting. That's why these people are running. Bullets are flying and people are running for their lives.
Coming up, why police did not find -- what police didn't find on the body of one person killed. Stay here.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
BALDWIN: I want to take you to Miami Beach, Memorial Day weekend. You think about fun, sun, parties. But I want to show you the opposite of that, what played out in the early morning hours just yesterday.
Take a look at the car here. The driver you see almost ran over some officers. Keep your eye on the screen. See the car ultimately comes to a stop, allegedly fires a gun as he speeds away. They went after him.
He comes to a halt here, but I want you to watch and listen. Because here's what happens when officers crowded right around the car that you just saw a barrage of gunfire police fired into the car, killed the driver. The police chief says the man was pronounced dead at the scene.
No gun was found. Hundreds of officers moved in to try to get the situation under control. But look at this. Take a look at these people. They hear the gunshots and they start running in the opposite direction. Police say four bystanders were shot and treated at the hospital.
The chief says they could have been hit by stray bullets fired by the police officers on this scene. Three officers were slightly injured as well. The shooting happened during Miami's annual urban beach week. The mayor says, quote, "this incident really mars us."
And now to the controversy involving Congressman Anthony Weiner. The New York Democrat says he was hacked. That is how a young woman way far away in Seattle got a lewd picture from his Twitter account. CNN's Dana Hash has the exclusive interview here.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
DANA BASH, CNN SENIOR CONGRESSIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): It came from Congressman Anthony Weiner's Twitter account over the weekend, a photo of an anonymous man's bulging underwear.
The lewd picture immediately deleted from Weiner's account was sent to this 21-year-old Seattle college student, but also available to the public to view on Twitter.
Outside his New York home Monday, Weiner, an outspoken liberal Democrat, insisted to CNN it was the work of a hacker.
REP. ANTHONY WEINER (D), NEW YORK I was hacked. It happens to people. You move on.
BASH: It's not clear who sent it. Weiner tried to brush it off as a prank and a distraction.
WEINER: This is a prank. Not a terribly creative one and it's a distraction. Look, you know, you've got the Republicans who are playing games with the debt limit.
You've got a Supreme Court justice who is refusing to recuse himself despite conflicts of interest. You have a health care act that is under siege. You know, this is a distraction.
BASH: Gennette Cordova is the Seattle college student the tweet was allegedly addressed to. The 21-year-old issued a lengthy statement to the "New York Daily News" admitting Weiner did follow her on Twitter, but insisting that she never met him.
"There have never been any inappropriate exchanges between Anthony Weiner and myself, including the tweet/picture in question, which had apparently been deleted before it reached me," said Cordova.
She blamed an anonymous person for harassing here, quote, "many times after the Congressman followed me on Twitter a month or so ago. After she sent a tweet saying, quote, "I wonder what my boyfriend at Rep Weiner is up to."
As for the Twitter account Weiner said was hacked, he's still using it. He tried to downplay the swirling story with tweets like this, more Weiner jokes for all my guests, hashtag hacked. Trademark Weiner humor.
WEINER: I use vote for Weiner he'll be frank. Vote for Weiner he's on a roll. Vote for Weiner, he'll relish your votes.
BASH: But questions surrounding the lewd photo quickly became the subject of a serious internet war, between liberal blogs suggesting it's a right wing conspiracy and conservative blogs questioning Weiner's hacking claim.
Andrew Breitbart, a conservative blogger whose biggovernment.com first reported the story suggested to CNN there should be a, quote, "forensic analysis to determine the veracity of Weiner's hacking allegation, which certainly bears criminal implications."
(END VIDEOTAPE) BALDWIN: That report from senior congressional correspondent Dana Bash. By the way, the congressman spokesman tells us that he has hired an attorney now to look at possible civil maybe criminal actions.
And I want to pass along a quick programming note tonight, Paris Hilton gives her most emotional and her most revealing interview ever to Piers Morgan. Watch it with me, CNN tonight, 9 p.m. Eastern.
You know, it's no secret that many politicians or businesses will make announcements on Friday night so the information gets kind of lost maybe buried in the news cycle. Did you hear what the Supreme Court justices released on Friday?
The information involves money and ties to the Tea Party Movement. Joe Johns has been digging on this for us today. He joins me next in "Political Pop." Stay here.
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BALDWIN: Now take a look at tomorrow's news today. Let's fast forward beginning with President Obama meeting with House Republicans at the White House and a likely topic on the table negotiations over whether or not to raise the debt ceiling.
Also, Treasury Secretary Tim Geithner delivers his annual state of the economy testimony on Capitol Hill and it is tomorrow the 2011 Atlantic hurricane season officially begins and forecasters say we are in for an above average year.
For our "Political Pop" today, did you know that each Supreme Court justice makes a little bit over $200,000 a year. All the justices actually clear close to 214 grand every year. Chief Justice John Roberts pulls in about $10,000 more than that.
But they get even more money from book deals, maybe some of their spouses could earn some money, et cetera, and I bring all this up with you because this past Friday, the Friday before Memorial Day weekend, each Supreme Court justice had to report all of the money that they got in the year 2010 and there are some pretty interesting items on that list.
Joe Johns has been going over the list and, Joe, let's begin with Justice Sotomayor. She pulled in over a million dollars from a deal to write her memoir.
JOE JOHNS, CNN CONGRESSIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Right. Pretty good work if you can get it, $1.2 million. Don't know the name of the book yet. We know the publisher. We also know at least sort of reading into these documents that she might have needed that money at the time because she had a lot of bills that were piling up that were reported under the disclosure form, was able to wipe out some of those bills. So a good day for her and a lot of people are waiting to see that book whenever it comes out, Brooke.
BALDWIN: Also, let's go to another justice here. Justice Steven Bryor had to dump some stock pretty quickly in order to sit in on a case. Tell me about that.
BALDWIN: Yes. That is pretty funny. This is a justice who owned a bunch of Wal-Mart stock at a time when the biggest case, before the Supreme Court for this session, was coming down the pike involving Wal-Mart. It was a class action discrimination lawsuit.
The question was whether to certify that lawsuit. So he basically had to either get rid of that stock before the case hit his desk or he might have had to disqualify himself, which he did and it costs between $15,000 and $50,000.
They don't give you an exact number, just a range. Dump the stock and apparently he's done it before. Some other justices have done it, too.
BALDWIN: OK. What about - let's talk about the two of the more conservative justices. They also got some cash for books.
JOHNS: Absolutely. Right, Justice Antonin Scalia, fascinating there because he wrote a book probably every trial lawyer in the country would want to read, especially any trial lawyer appearing before the United States Supreme Court.
The title is, "Making Your Case, The Art of Persuading Judges." He got royalty to the tune of something like $40,000. Kind of surprising he didn't get more considering a book like that, because he's known to be a very opinionated and outspoken justice.
And Justice Clarence Thomas, we have to mention him because there was a big uproar about why he hadn't disclosed that his wife, Virginia, got certain income from a variety of sources, including a group that she founded that has tea party connections.
He has cleaned all of that up and has his disclosures in and from IRS records, not disclosure records it appears that she got about $150,000 from that group and the people who are complaining about it aren't complaining anymore because now it's all out in the open, Brooke.
BALDWIN: Yes, we see it here, financial disclosure report on that particular group. All out in the open as you say and finally, Joe, we can say where you are. Tell me where you are and explain why you're there. You have 30 seconds.
JOHNS: OK, right. Raleigh, North Carolina, this is the place where the grand jury is meeting on the issue of the former vice president candidate and Senator John Edwards. The question about his campaign finance payments and whether about a million dollars worth of contributions to him went to his mistress who had a child, an illegitimate child out of wedlock.
So there was some question as to whether there might be an indictment today or this week and we're told by sources that the grand jury isn't meeting this week. So stay tuned until next week and we'll be watching the John Edwards case. BALDWIN: We will. Joe Johns for me in Raleigh, North Carolina. Joe, thanks so much.
