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Porn Star Press Conference Incites More Calls for Weiner Resignation; White House Report on Libya Headed to Congress; College World Series Threatened By Floods; Lifespan of Americans Falling Behind Other Industrialized Countries

Aired June 15, 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: And hello to all of you. I'm Brooke Baldwin.

Let's begin with this. Amid growing pressure to resign and new allegations from, of all people, a stripper, expectations are growing that a resolution could soon come in the Anthony Weiner dirty photo texting scandal.

Now, these expectations are mainly fueled by the return to Washington of wife of the Democratic congressman. Huma Abedin is back in Washington today from a trip to Africa with her boss, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton. Now, the congressman's friends have said he would not quit without speaking first to his wife.

And very early this morning, she was spotted driving into the garage of their Washington apartment building. Now, one of the women caught up in this sexting scandal is calling on Congressman Weiner to resign. She is Ginger Lee. She is a former porn star turned feature dancer, which apparently means you're a headlining stripper, who is studying to be a real estate agent.

Lee and her lawyer, Gloria Allred, met with reporters there in New York to tell Ginger Lee's side of the story, tell her relationship with the congressman.

And here's what Lee says. She says it started as conversations about politics. And then the congressman's messages took a sexual turn. She says she didn't respond, but she did ask for some advice. Watch this.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

GINGER LEE, FORMER PORN STAR: When the scandal broke and people started e-mailing me, I didn't know what to do. I asked Congressman Weiner.

He asked me to lie about our communication. I put out a three- sentence communication that he told me to say. My statement to the press said -- quote -- "I haven't met Representative Weiner. I follow him on Twitter because I support him and what he stands for. I have been hounded by his political opponents, but that has not changed my view of him and what he fights for" -- end quote. I didn't want to say anything further. I refused to lie, so I went silent and went into hiding.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BALDWIN: Let's go to Capitol Hill to our senior congressional correspondent, Dana Bash.

Dana, you have been following this thing ever since it really broke last Monday. Any sign yet today of the congressman, either of him or even from him?

DANA BASH, CNN SENIOR CONGRESSIONAL CORRESPONDENT: None, none at all. In fact, several sources who I have been speaking with who had spoken to him say that he's -- quote -- "gone dark," that he's not been in communication with anybody since he said he was go into treatment last Saturday, this past Saturday, I should say.

But everybody here, Brooke, is holding their breath, really on pins and needles because of the fact that his wife, as you mentioned, Huma Abedin, is back and the fact that he had made clear to many, many people who he spoke to who were pressuring him to resign that he was not going to make that decision until he could look her in the eye and talk to her about his fate. So, that is why now it's a holding pattern here, for sure.

BALDWIN: OK, holding pattern there on the Hill. I know you have been talking to folks on both sides of the aisle in the last two weeks, saying -- you know, calling on his resignation. We heard from the president calling this a distraction. If this were he, he would resign.

And now this former porn star, this featured dancer coming forward. Would this carry any weight, do you think?

BASH: I'm sure you would agree with this. It's hard to imagine any more pressure that Anthony Weiner has already gotten to resign. You mentioned it.

And, in fact, I talked -- spoke to one Democratic congressman who has been calling on Weiner to resign. And he said this. He said, when everybody from the president of the United States to a porn star says you should resign, then you should resign. That pretty much sums it up.

(LAUGHTER)

BASH: Pretty much sums it up.

We were outside of a meeting of House Democrats yesterday. And it was just one after the other after the other of his colleagues, saying that it's just -- they just want to keep the pressure on him to resign, not everybody. I want to make clear not everybody is saying that.

BALDWIN: Sure. BASH: Some of this colleagues are saying that it's up to his constituents and not their job to push one of their colleagues out.

But the pressure is just absolutely at its highest point right now. And, really, they're just waiting to make -- to hear from Anthony Weiner on what his decision is. And they're waiting for that to decide whether or not, if he does stay, there's other punishment that they want to pursue, especially inside the Democratic Caucus --

(CROSSTALK)

BALDWIN: Well, who knows. Now that we know that Huma is back in Washington, back there early this morning, we know the congressman wanted to consult with his wife. We could get news now any moment.

Dana Bash there for me on the Hill.

BASH: Thanks, Brooke.

BALDWIN: My thanks to you.

And here's also something we are awaiting right now, a White House report on Libya about to be delivered to Capitol Hill. Here's the deal. Congress is getting antsy, Democrats, Republicans both, about the United States' involvement in Libya without former -- formal -- excuse me -- formal congressional approval.

In fact, a bipartisan group went to a federal court today in Washington alleging that the Obama administration is in violation of the War Powers Act. I want you to listen to Congressman Dennis Kucinich.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

REP. DENNIS KUCINICH (D), OHIO: This lawsuit also is challenging a policy that permits the president to commit the United States to a war under the authority of NATO.

Similarly, we're challenging policies that would allow the United States to be committed to war under the authority of the United Nations.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BALDWIN: In fact, I have a copy of the suit right here. It is about 36 pages. And it mentions all these different plaintiffs. As I said, it's a bipartisan group, Kucinich, Jones, Conyers, Capuano, Burton, Coble, Duncan. It goes on, as I said, Republicans and Democrats.

We also have House Speaker John Boehner warning that the White House might be in violation of the War Powers Act if it does not seek official approval by Sunday, Sunday marking day 90.

I'm going to get a chance to speak live to Congressman Dennis Kucinich about this whole lawsuit over the U.S. action in Libya. He's going to join me in the NEWSROOM here top of the hour at 4:00 Eastern. Do not miss that conversation.

Now this:

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

GOV. RICK PERRY (R), TEXAS: Government, get the hell out of the way and let the private sector do what the private sector does best.

(CHEERING AND APPLAUSE)

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BALDWIN: Whew. He's not a candidate yet. But, boy, it sure sounds like Rick Perry is running for president.

And then: flooding along the Missouri River now threatening the College World Series -- live pictures -- this stadium, from what I have been told, perched precariously close to the rising waters. We are live in Omaha next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BALDWIN: Here we go, talking flooding again. People in the nation's heartland have their hearts in their throats right now. The rising anxiety is mirroring the rising floodwaters.

Look at these pictures here, people trying to beat the clock, the Missouri River threatening thousands of homes and businesses. Two levees right along the Missouri-Iowa state line are threatening the town of Hamburg. That is in southwest Iowa.

In Omaha, Nebraska, they're worried about the rising river and the College World Series, which is to supposed to begin this week in a ballpark blocks from the rising river.

Let's go straight to Omaha to Casey Wian.

And, Casey, obviously, there's never a good time for a flood, but you have all these people packing into this baseball stadium in the next couple of days. It's tough.

CASEY WIAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes, not only that, Brooke. This is the debut of this beautiful new stadium for the College World Series.

This is going to be the first time that this big event will be played here. So officials are trying to do what they can to make sure that the fan experience is not impacted. They have brought in massive pumps from as far away as Texas and Maryland to get water out of low- lying areas.

They have signed up volunteers to fill hundreds of thousands of sandbags to protect those low-lying areas from the rising water. And they have also fixed a pipe that was stressed and burst and allowed water to release into one of the parking lots yesterday. So they have got all those efforts ongoing. Why is it so important? Well, we're talking $40 million of economic impact from the College World Series and the little league games that happen around the same time.

So, despite these massive floodwaters that you see over here behind me, officials say that the games will go on.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

STEVE OLTMANS, OMAHA CHIEF OF STAFF: The roads here, I-80 is open, of course. There are some other roads that are closed. But I- 80 is east-west. It shouldn't be a problem getting here.

We have -- all of our hotels in the downtown area have a preparation plan, emergency preparation plan. We're checking with them today. We will continue to do that daily. They will have excess sandbags if they need them. Again, hopefully, they won't need them. So, we're -- we're very conscientious about what could happen. We're planning for the worst, obviously praying for the best.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WIAN: And Brooke, the worst that they're planning for is potential heavy rain. That's not in the forecast. There are some scattered thundershowers forecast for the next couple of days.

But if they get bad luck and that rain is a lot heavier than they expect, that could cause some problems on Saturday. No one here is thinking that, but they are preparing for it -- Brooke.

BALDWIN: Yes. Casey, I'm trying to look over your right shoulder. Is that a statue? Can you give me some kind of perspective as to how high the waters are and how fast the rivers are -- river there is rising?

WIAN: Absolutely.

(CROSSTALK)

WIAN: Well, the water's actually not rising that quickly. It's about four feet above flood stage. As you can see, those statues, the water is up to the sort of waist/chest level on some of them.

But what's really most incredible, at least to me, is how fast the water is going here. They have released from dams upriver. They're at a rate of 1.25 million gallons per second. And we -- you can see this water as it's rushing by us. All day long, we have seen patio furniture. We have seen big logs. We have seen portions of decks. We have seen trash cans just being carried down by this really fast-moving water.

So it's not the fact that it's rising really rapidly.

BALDWIN: Got it. WIAN: It's just that there's a massive volume of water going here. If there's more rain, that will stress the levees, and then they have got big problems -- Brooke.

BALDWIN: Yes. I'm looking behind you, and we're all sort of remarking how fast the water is moving. And then we saw the video. Let's play the video again. We have all these folks trying to counteract the potential flooding and all the sandbags. I mean, there's a massive sandbagging effort going on. Here they are right now.

WIAN: Yes, there really is hundreds of thousands of sandbags. They have had folks at a local park here volunteering to fill up those sandbags.

And across the river, on the other side, Council Bluffs, we were there yesterday, and businesses there are filling up their own sandbags because the terrain on the other side of the river is a lot flatter. And if the water does breach these levees over there, they have got really big problems. It doesn't -- it's not going to affect as many people because it's more populated here, but the businesses over there are preparing for the worst -- Brooke.

BALDWIN: We're thinking about those folks there in the College World Series and everyone around here -- there in Omaha, Nebraska.

Casey Wian, thank you so much.

When top-secret forces went into Pakistan to take out Osama bin Laden, they needed a little bit of help there on the ground, things like a place to stay. Now we're learning some of the locals there in Abbottabad who helped them are under arrest. We are going to tell you what we are now learning about Pakistan's decision to punish these people, these informants.

Also, Mitt Romney cutting up with the wait staff there at a New Hampshire restaurant.

Is there ever a joke ever so funny, it bears repeating four years later? Hmm. Jessica Yellin next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BALDWIN: OK. The Republicans had their debate, cementing that Romney is the front-runner, and perhaps Tim Pawlenty as the number-one challenger.

The experts tell us both men are electable. And the pundits say neither is generating buzz. Enter Rick Perry, Texas tough and potentially buzz-worthy.

Want you to have a listen. This is Rick Perry. He wowed Republicans in that speech last night in New York.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

PERRY: Government, get the hell out of the way and let the private sector do what the private sector does best.

(CHEERING AND APPLAUSE)

PERRY: Are we going to rely upon that federal government, that one-size-fits-all, all-knowing, all-doing Oz?

Restore the notion of government of the people, by the people, for the people. If we don't do it, who will? If not now, when?

(APPLAUSE)

PERRY: Are you ready to take this country back?

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BALDWIN: Jessica Yellin, national political correspondent, Jess, you were there last night. Kind of sounds like a guy who's running. Hmm.

JESSICA YELLIN, CNN NATIONAL POLITICAL CORRESPONDENT: He sure did, Brooke.

I thought, is he building up to his own campaign announcement? At the end that buildup, he said support Republican governors in the next cycle. He runs the Republican Governors Association.

But I will tell you, I talked to people at the end of that speech in that room, major Republican activists in New York. And they liked him and they wanted him to run. I will tell you why. He was not afraid of taking his case to President Obama.

They all felt that he was charismatic. All -- everyone I spoke to felt he was charismatic and gave a good speech. I know it sounds maybe shallow, but they all felt that there's not one member of the current Republican field that has both a really strong case to make for president, necessarily, and has a great delivery style.

And he certainly has that. And, of course, he has that great Texas economy story to tell, which is very compelling to many people. It would be a good contrast to President Obama, with the Texas economy doing so well.

BALDWIN: The improvements.

YELLIN: The one but I would make -- the one but I would say is, is the country ready for another cowboy-boot-wearing Texan after two years -- two terms of George W. Bush? Not sure.

BALDWIN: Point noted. He was pretty fiery, though, listening to him.

But here's where, Jessica, you would love to be a fly on the wall. This is the fly-on-the-wall moment, because, today, we know that Rick Perry has a meeting with Rudy Giuliani, who is also toying with running. And Giuliani has a meeting with New Jersey Governor Chris Christie, who seems to be emerging as a sort of kingmaker. So, Jessica, who is wooing whom here?

YELLIN: I know, such a good question.

OK, so, first, we have to take Chris Christie at his word. He's said so many times he's not running and in so many different ways as recently as last night to CNN, we have to buy it. This week, he said he's 100 percent not running, so, Chris Christie, as you say, a kingmaker.

Rudy Giuliani, by all accounts -- and I have talked to a lot of people who are close to Giuliani and have known his thinking for a long time -- he's interested, toying with the idea, would love to be president, in theory, if no one else, he thinks, could beat President Obama.

And then Rick Perry sure sounds like a guy who is getting ready to run. And Rick Perry and Giuliani, they both have an old relationship. Rick Perry is one of the people to have endorsed Giuliani back in 2008. No doubt, I'm told by other people, if either of them were to become president, the other of them might want to serve in the Cabinet of the other.

I should point out Giuliani is still in debt from his 2008 campaign, so he might have a little more trouble raising money than Rick Perry, who has plenty of ties to big donors right now. So, there's a lot of interesting chess out there. Bottom line, they could all be very useful to each other in the next election, Brooke.

BALDWIN: OK. It could play out that way. And as you mentioned, none of them has a hat in the ring thus far. And who very much so does and has emerged as the front-runner from the other night is Mitt Romney.

And let's have a little fun, Jess. Let's play this -- this Mitt Romney movement.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MITT ROMNEY (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: OK. I will get right in the middle. Now, see if I can get my arms around everybody. Ah, come on, much closer, much closer.

Oh, my goodness gracious.

(LAUGHTER)

(CROSSTALK)

(LAUGHTER)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: That was her.

ROMNEY: Oh.

(LAUGHTER) (END VIDEO CLIP)

BALDWIN: So that was Mitt Romney. That was a diner in New Hampshire, and he's doing a little pretend. You see it at first, you think one of those ladies might have grabbed his -- of all places -- this is Derry, by the way, so grabbing his derriere.

But it wasn't. What side of Mitt Romney are we seeing here?

YELLIN: OK. I'm going to defend Mitt Romney here, because I sort of feel like the guy can't catch a break. He's darned if he does, darned if he doesn't, because we're always calling him wooden, and he doesn't have any sense of fun, and he has to show his personality more.

Here he goes out there and he's having fun with the people. And he, you know, plays around with some ladies. And everybody is like, oh, holy awkward, grandpa. What you doing?

BALDWIN: Holy awkward. love it.

YELLIN: So he's trying to have a little bit of fun.

But it does point out that there isn't anyone in the field right now that has announced who is just totally at ease in these retail settings. And that's why there's so much attention to these kinds of incidents.

BALDWIN: Which is so, so important.

YELLIN: It's a certain kind of gift to be able to do that thing really well. Now, is that what qualifies one most for president? I'm not so sure. But it makes for good chatter around video.

BALDWIN: Derry, New Hampshire. Going to leave it there.

(LAUGHTER)

BALDWIN: Jessica Yellin, thank you so much, as always.

And look at this with me. There it is, the side view, mug shot, John Edwards. It was just released. So was the front view. And I will just say this. You don't normally see people smiling in a mug shot. Wait for it.

Also, want to live longer? Yes. You could eat right, you could exercise, but it turns out you will also have a better chance if you don't live in one very specific part of the country. Where would that be? That's next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BALDWIN: When John Edwards was indicted by a grand jury earlier this month, he had to pose for mug shots. And, voila, here they are, the smiling former senator -- look at that smile -- posing for the U.S. Marshals Service. That is in North Carolina. CNN just got these through the Freedom of Information Act request. Edwards pleaded not guilty to conspiracy and campaign law violations.

A plan for tax hikes and spending cuts has police and protesters trading Molotov cocktails and tear gas in Athens, Greece. Take a look at this. Tens of thousands of protesters want to keep Parliament from debating government job cuts, tax hikes. Greece has the lowest credit rating in the world and is struggling now just to stay solvent.

Britain's royal newlyweds getting ready for their first official tour. Prince William and Catherine Middleton, now -- gosh -- not Middleton anymore -- so used to saying that -- will begin their 11-day visit to Canada and the U.S. at the end of the month. The duke and duchess of Cambridge, as they are now are, will spend some time in California promoting British interests. The highlight is expected to be a black-tie for the British Academy of Film and Television Arts, or BAFTA.

They will also make stops at some inner-city schools, and Prince William will play in a charity polo match in Santa Barbara.

You know, it is astonishing when you go hear this headline. Maybe you think of all the positive aspects of life in the U.S., access to health care, an abundance of food, a safe, war-free environment. Many -- well, you could call it the good life.

But a new report shows a grim trend. The lifespan of Americans is falling behind that of other developed nations.

Our senior medical correspondent, Elizabeth Cohen, to tell us how old we're all now living to.

Dare I ask?

ELIZABETH COHEN, CNN SENIOR MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT: Yes, it's -- you know what? It's going in the wrong direction. That's what I can tell you.

BALDWIN: That's what I heard.

COHEN: You want us to live longer and longer and longer, like in previous generations.

BALDWIN: Of course.

COHEN: But we're living in much of the country shorter and shorter and shoulder instead.

BALDWIN: So how do we rank compared to other countries?

COHEN: All right. Take a look at this. According to this new report from the University of Washington, we are number 38. That means 37 countries have a longer life expectancy than we do. So, for example, we do not do as well as the Virgin Islands, Martinique, and Costa Rica. And those are places I think people Americans think have better health care, right? We pride ourselves on that. But we do worse than they do when it comes to life expectancy.

BALDWIN: Pretty decent quality of life, water, surfing. Come on.

COHEN: Maybe that's it.

(LAUGHTER)

BALDWIN: But, geographically speaking, because I know there are big differences within the United States as far as who is living longer.

COHEN: Right, huge geographical differences.

So, for example, the Southeast, where we are right now, not doing as well as other parts of the country. So, for example, let's take a look at Mississippi. The counties that are in yellow have a worse life expectancy than Honduras, Peru, the Philippines, or Brazil.

BALDWIN: Wow.

COHEN: So, these are places where you just don't live -- those yellow counties there, you don't live as long as you do in most of the rest of the United States.

BALDWIN: Well, why? Why not?

COHEN: Well, you know what? I'm going to give you some visual elements to show you that. I'm going to show you a map of where we have the shortest life expectancy in the United States, all right?

BALDWIN: OK. OK.

COHEN: So, where people fare the worst, that's where we have the shortest life expectancy. It is also where have the highest rates of obesity.

(CROSSTALK)

BALDWIN: -- our buffets?

COHEN: Yes, exactly. So the two really do go hand in hand. So, in those places in yellow, one out of three people is obese, not overweight, obese. And that is a huge reason why we're seeing these shorter life expectancies.

BALDWIN: And to counter that, it's the good old-fashioned get out, eat right, exercise?

COHEN: It is. But it's tough. And whoever figures that out and figures out a way to make that happen will win a Nobel Prize, I suspect.

BALDWIN: Elizabeth Cohen, thank you, I suppose.

(LAUGHTER)

COHEN: Thanks.

BALDWIN: Coming up next here: They helped the CIA find and kill Osama bin Laden. But now they're not getting medals. They're under arrest in Pakistan. We're going to tell you why.

Also, this just in: We have been telling you about a lawsuit filed against President Obama today over the U.S. involvement in Libya. Well, the White House has now just released its own report. And our own White House correspondent, Brianna Keilar, got her hands on it. We're going to see what the administration says the U.S. role is in Libya.

Be right back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BALDWIN: Is the U.S. -- is the White House specifically, in violation of the war powers resolution? There has, first of all, been a lawsuit filed in Washington, D.C., in federal court on behalf of Congressman Dennis Kucinich, who I will be talking to at the top of the next hour as to why he's taking this legal route.

But we are also now hearing from the White House. They have just now filed this report, basically, talking about the U.S. role, the U.S. involvement in Libya. I want to go straight to the White House, straight to Brianna Keilar who has this report. Brianna, I don't know if you have it in your hand, what are you learning?

BRIANNA KEILAR, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: You know, Brooke, I'm not sure what has gone up to the hill at this point but I did just get off a call with senior administration officials but the sort of crux that the president will make for why he's not in violation of war powers act resolution is something that was discussed. And I can talk to you about that.

And the argument, this isn't really a surprise to some experts, especially one that I spoke to yesterday. It's basically that they welcome the White House -- the White House welcomes authorization from congress, but doesn't feel that it needed it, to be consistent with the war powers resolution.

And to be clear, what that law says, is that the president can commit troops overseas for up to 60 days. And then if he doesn't have authorization, those troops need to be withdrawn, within 30 days.

Well, that deadline is upon us here in just a few days, that 90- day deadline. So the explanation from the White House, from senior administration officials, is that because they say they're operating in a support role, that they're not operating in a role where there are a lot of, I guess, hostilities in terms of the statute, "hostilities" is a very important word in the statute. It's called imminent hostility, troops not subject to harm, that they feel like they are within the realm of it being all right for them to have troops without congressional authorization.

But here's the thing -- if you talk to some legal experts, they'll say to you this law that was adopted in 1973, they feel that president Obama is in violation of it. If not, in the letter of the law, in the spirit, and that Congress should have more input on this, and that it is important to get authorization, Brooke.

BALDWIN: Yes, I know you mentioned as part of this report and part of this conversation you were just hearing, they argue, the White House says no boots on the ground. But when you hear from folks like Dennis Kucinich, congressman from Ohio, they cite otherwise specifically in this 36-page lawsuit. We'll ask him about that. We'll get his reaction to what you're getting there, Brianna, from the White House, coming up at the top of the hour there, with regard to the U.S. involvement in Libya. Brianna, thank you so much. That's Libya.

But now, let's talk U.S. and Pakistan, because this thing between the U.S. and Pakistan just keeps getting deeper. You have heard about this today? Pakistan's intelligence agency, they call themselves the ISI, they have arrested five people. They're considered CIA informants. These are the folks who gave us information that helped lead us to Osama bin Laden.

In fact, one of the people arrest said a guy from whom the CIA rented that safe house near the bin Laden compound to keep -- you know, to keep apprised of what was happening there with regard to that raid in that town in Pakistan.

But keep in mind, Pakistan is our ally. We've given them billions of dollars to essentially be our friend to help fight the terrorists. Now, they've arrested some of the folks who helped us take down Osama bin Laden.

I want to go to Mike Baker. He's a former CIA foreign intelligence officer. I want to begin with ISI. What are they hoping to glean from these informants?

MIKE BAKER, FORMER CIA COVERT OPERATIONS OFFICER: Well, a, they're going to be looking to find out how they were managed, how they were handled, how they were developed and recruited. Then they'll be looking for any operational information that that he, you know, gives them better insight into how this whole raid eventually took place. But, I think it's important to try to put this in context.

BALDWIN: Yes.

BAKER: Because, you know, on the outset, obviously, we look at this and think, you know, how could they possibly do this, right? But our relationship with the Pakistanis, with the ISI with the government, it tends to range from all right, to testy to dysfunctional.

We have to remember, we conducted an operational unilateral operation on their turf for perfectly good reason with obviously terrific outcome. But if you reverse this and you said what if a foreign nation carried out that same type of operation on our turf, I guarantee you we would do the same thing. We would try to identify if local citizens had supported that foreign nation in carrying out that aid.

BALDWIN: Sure. It's humiliating. And Secretary Gates kind of described it recently as a bad marriage. We mentioned that the ISI probably hopes to get information about the raids specifically. But don't you think they're also talking to these guys trying to get information about covert operations on behalf of the CIA or other American forces in their country?

BAKER: Right. That's where they're eventually going to run up against a brick wall.

BALDWIN: You think so?

BAKER: In all honesty, well, I think what will happen is, anytime you're operating in a foreign country, you know, without going into sources and methods. If you've got to recruit the assistance of local citizens, you're going to keep that very compartmentalized. They're not going to have a picture of what's going on. That is true of whether us working overseas or whether it's some other foreign country service working elsewhere. So they're not going to glean a lot from these individuals.

What we have to look for, we have to look for how long this stays, you know, on the front burner for the back sustains. What we want to happen, eventually, to dissipate, at the end of the day we may have this bizarre, untrusting relationship with them but at the end of the day, need to be cooperating back and forth. We cannot reach our objectives, as they're currently set without some type of functioning relationship.

BALDWIN: Well, how do we get there? Today, specifically, there were two drone strikes in the tribal region there, 15 people were killed. And in Pakistan nine out of then people not favorable to what the U.S. is doing in their own country. What does the future hold for the two entities who, in a sense, very much don't need each other?

BAKER: Yes, well, right now, Pakistan is in a hyper- nationalistic mode, because, in part, of the bin Laden raid and the embarrassment that the military is feeling there. Also, we've had recent militant attacks against military installations. That's only deepened their embarrassment and the distrust that the public has against them. You know, we've got to hope that this period does pass somewhat. We're also taking some logical steps.

We're looking at how do we carry out, how do we continue our objectives in pursuing our national best interests, if we don't have the cooperation of the Pakistanis, going forward. Now, that's not going to happen. We're never going to get to a point where the CIA and ISI are not cooperating. We're not going to go through that with what's going on Capitol Hill right now. But we are looking at smart, very strategic steps that we can take that will allow us to function with less cooperation, from the Pakistanis, at least for the short term.

BALDWIN: We know that current CIA chief Leon Panetta, he's been nominated, the department secretary, made that announcement Friday. He told them during the nomination process last week, he said the relationship with Pakistan is at a time when it's a critical is one of the most frustrating relationships that we have. The U.S. believes it's not doing enough to go after Al Qaeda.

BAKER: Well, absolutely. You know, the Pakistanis on the other side, they argue, look, we've lost a lot of people. We worked very hard, you know, to the degree that they are.

But we have to remember, our best interests, our national interests are not their national interests and vice versa. So we can give them as much money as we possibly can pull out of our bank book at this point, which is a decreasing amount. We can give them party hats and training. But they're going to pursue their own agenda at the end of the day.

So, again, you have this government-to-government relationship. And you have the, you know, the fighting that goes on and all the discussion that goes back and forth that makes it appear as if it's a completely fracturing relationship right now. But then, you know, what happens underneath that and off the radar screen is there's still cooperation. Now that cooperation isn't what it needs to be, but it still exists. With the objectives as set currently, we have to hope that continues.

BALDWIN: If and when he's confirmed again, Leon Panetta has quite a job. Mike Baker, thank you so much.

BAKER: Sure. Thank you.

BALDWIN: And she is finally breaking her silence. The housekeeper who had Arnold Schwarzenegger's love child is now talking about what happened when she told Maria Shriver about the whole affair.

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BALDWIN: Trending today, Arnold Schwarzenegger's baby mama coming out of hiding. Former housekeeper Mildred Patti Baena talks to "Hello" magazine. She poses with pictures with Schwarzenegger's 13- year-old love child. Kareen Wynter is live in L.A. Kareen, from reading this interview, it sounds like patty didn't know at first that Schwarzenegger was even the father.

KAREEN WYNTER, CNN ENTERTAINMENT CORRESPONDENT: You know, Brooke, that's really the crazy twist here. Hard to believe, right? According to the "hello" magazine interview with Baena, it wasn't until later that she began to suspect something. The former housekeeper told the British publication, quote, "it was as joseph grew and I started to see the resemblance that I worried. But it became more apparent as time went on. I knew Arnold was the father and maybe as joseph got older and began to look like him, he, Arnold, wondered. But he never said anything to me." So ultimately, it was joseph's resemblance to the former governor that gave it away here, Brooke.

BALDWIN: But maybe the most surprising thing, though, about this whole interview, when you learned how Maria Shriver how compassionate she was in reacting when Baena came to her and said, I mothered a child with your husband.

WYNTER: Absolutely, very surprising. And, Brooke, I don't know if most people would have been able to handle this type of news well. But Maria, she really is a class act. Baena told "hello" magazine that when Maria asked her point blank if joseph was Arnold's son, she, Baena, she broke down, dropped to her knees and started crying. Baena said that Maria was, quote, "So strong. She cried to me and told me to get off my knees. We held each other and I told her it wasn't Arnie's fault that it takes two." So Brooke, Baena obviously shouldering some of the responsibility. Like she said, it takes two to carry this out.

BALDWIN: The onus on her and Schwarzenegger as well. But Maria Shriver had some inclination that something was up before this woman came to her.

WYNTER: She did. This woman worked as a housekeeper for the family for a long time, for 20 years. She told "Hello" magazine that last summer, she brought the kid to the house. And it was people around the house began whispering about how much this kid looked like Schwarzenegger. Finally, Shriver knew something was up and she talked to Baena and asked her if she needed to talk about anything. It was something how this played like a movie. But it wasn't. It was real life.

BALDWIN: How does Baena, how does she feel about Arnold and Maria now?

WYNTER: She also opened up in the interview about this. She said it seems that she has really good intentions for the couple. She told "Hello," quote, "He's a good man, according to Arnold. I know he's suffering too. He loves Maria." Shriver moved out of the Brentwood home and I think they'll be separating for good.

BALDWIN: Let's not forget, there's a 10-year-old, obviously, here in the mix of all of this. He finds out -- excuse me, excuse me, 13 years of age. Finds out how his father is. How has he been?

WYNTER: This is one of the most interesting revelations in the interview. It was actually a simple reaction. Baena tells "Hello" magazine upon hearing Arnold was his dad, he said "Cool.: He's taking it well. You have to wonder, as he gets older, with the intense media pressure. This is something that won't go away. And the striking resemblance, it's going to be hard to handle.

BALDWIN: I still say Maria Shriver, such grace in handling that whole thing. Kareen Wynter, thank you so much.

BALDWIN: Now a call to all you moms and dads. If you're looking to score points with your kids, clear your calendar, set your DVR. Disney star Selina Gomez will be with me right here. She's a singer, an actress. She's got a new movie coming out. We're going to talk all about it. Join me 3:00 eastern tomorrow in Atlanta in the studio.

Now, a good intention, U.S. spending billions of dollars in Afghanistan on places like roads, hospitals. But now it's looking like no one actually thought this one through. Coming up next, why it all might have been a huge waste of American dollars.

And then, in the mood to feel uncomfortable? Maybe you'll think it's funny. The Dalai Lama not getting a joke that a TV anchor tells him. Talk about an enlightening moment for both.

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BALDWIN: Congressman Dennis Kucinich is suing the president of the United States, also suing the defense secretary, all over the U.S. involvement in Libya. But the White House is claiming today that the U.S. is only serving in a support role.

We're all over these new developments, getting new information here from the White House, and I'll be speaking with the congressman in just a matter of minutes.

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BALDWIN: America has spent billions of dollars in Afghanistan giving people hospitals, high-tech power plants, asphalt roads. There's only one problem here -- they didn't always plan for how much it would cost to keep them going, meaning, billions of dollars, projects risking being mothballed after NATO money dries up. CNN's Nick Paton Walsh takes a look at two projects that alone total about the 20th of Afghanistan's entire annual budget.

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NICK PATON WALSH, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: A generous state-of-the-art gift from the American people to keep the lights on in Kabul -- a power plant's magnificent in design and in cost, $300 million before anyone had even switched it on. But American planners forgot one thing -- could Afghanistan afford the fuel to keep it going? You can listen to the answer here.

Much of the time, the plant stays silent because the diesel fuel that it runs on is so expensive that to run it at even half capacity could cost the Afghan government up to $100 million a year. Its high-tech turbines are on about seven percent the amount planned. But its sponsors say its occasional backup power is vital.

JOHN HANSEN, USAID: What I think the person on the street would probably tell you is that he or she is pretty satisfied by the fact that power, which was available two to four hours a day in 2009 is now largely available 24 hours a day.

WALSH: But to many, it's a symbol of the billions America spent here without asking itself, will Afghans be able to pay for this once we're gone? The same question about this, a huge network of highways built for over $2.5 billion. WALSH (on camera): It's a vast project, money around the country through some of the least safe areas meant to breathe the life of trade between cities.

WALSH (voice-over): There's a few glitches, though, much of it is made of asphalt, which some admit is very hard to maintain here. The USA could cost $117 million every year. The roads here are very broken, this trucker says, because of the large loads they carry. In real terms, the afghans working here, the $3,600 he earns per year is equivalent to the cost of maintaining just 100 meters of road.

It's one thing if power plants and roads run out of money when the Americans leave. It's another when medical care is affected. People in the central Kabul's hospital will feel it hard. Care is free here, but these high-tech devices America paid for and not and without continued huge inputs of cash from donors, they could stay off permanently. America's gifts so costly, Afghanistan so broke, that the bid to give them everything risks coming to nothing.

Nick Paton Walsh, CNN, Kabul.

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BALDWIN: Nick, thank you.