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Inside Syria; FBI Most Wanted Criminal Caught; Pilot Berates Flight Crew; Seattle Arrests in Terror Plot; Debt Talks Crumble; Honoring Springteen's Sax; Irate Man Sets Off Fireworks

Aired June 23, 2011 - 16:00   ET

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

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

BROOKE BALDWIN, CNN ANCHOR: With gas prices high and Libya in chaos, President Obama is now tapping into America's stockpile of oil barrels. This is a huge move. We're going to tell you how this will affect your wallet.

I'm Brooke Baldwin. The news is now.

(voice-over): Minutes from now, one of the history's most notorious fugitive faces the music.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: The end of a long and exhaustive hunt for America's most wanted man.

BALDWIN: How the feds caught Whitey Bulger and why the investigation is far from over.

ARWA DAMON, CNN CORRESPONDENT: We have only been here for around 12 hours. We arrived late at night.

BALDWIN: Journalists are banned from Syria, but CNN's Arwa Damon takes us inside as the violence escalates.

BALDWIN: Hold them, fold them, best them. The feds say celebrities played high-stakes poker in secret worlds and their winnings were stolen.

Plus, call it the firecracker feud. A guy argues with his girlfriend, and then sparks fly.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BALDWIN: Hell once again. I'm Brooke Baldwin.

We're watching the clock and we're waiting. Who are we waiting for? For one other FBI's most wanted criminals, alleged mobster James Whitey Bulger, to appear in a Los Angeles federal courtroom.

We told you about the hunt for Bulger just two days ago. This guy, he's been on the lam since 1985. He's also said to be inspiration for Jack Nicholson's Boston mob boss character in the Martin Scorsese film "The Departed." Check it out.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP, "THE DEPARTED")

JACK NICHOLSON, ACTOR: When I was your age, they would say we could become cops or criminals. What I'm saying is this. When you're facing a loaded gun, what's the difference?

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BALDWIN: Bulger and his girlfriend were busted last night in Santa Monica, California, less than 48 hours after the FBI started running this public service announcement on TV.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

NARRATOR: Have you seen this woman? The FBI is offering $100,000 for tips leading to Catherine Greig's whereabouts. These photos were from the 1990s. Greig has had plastic surgeries. She is wanted for harboring James "Whitey" Bulger, a fugitive on the FBI's 10 most wanted list.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BALDWIN: Hoping someone would recognize the girlfriend and find him. And they have.

Kara Finnstrom, there she is just outside the federal courthouse in Los Angeles.

Kara, let me begin here with what really just is the latest. I know he's not quite there yet. Describe the scene for me.

KARA FINNSTROM, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes, lots of media here, this of course a huge case nationally and especially here in Boston.

Bulger expected now to make his first courtroom appearance at 2:00 Pacific time or later. He has been appointed a public attorney, a public defender. We also expect this will be his first public appearance since he went on the run 16 years ago.

So the pictures that we have been seeing him at the height of his crime boss career going to be very different than the 81-year-old that we see in custody today.

So, how did all of this take place? Well, what agents are telling us is that they got a tip, and they attribute all of this to the fact that his girlfriend was with him, his longtime girlfriend, 60-year-old Catherine Greig. She apparently fled with him, has been on the run with him.

And they finally decided, after years of searching for him, to focus their search on her. So they released that PSA that you showed a short while ago, Brooke. And what it does is, it really highlights some of her unusual characteristics, the fact that she's a dental hygienist and liked to have her teeth cleaned once a month, the fact that she loves animals, is often seen with dogs and other animals, and also the fact that she was a bit obsessive about trips to the beauty salon. So they were hoping that other women of her same age would see these PSAs on shows that attract big viewerships of women her age, and so they aired them. And they're not giving us the specifics about the tipster who called, but they do say that they attribute all of this to that PSA and to the fact they really tried to get out the information about his girlfriend.

Now, last night, a couple of men who moved from the Boston area all the way across to Santa Monica, across the country, spoke about getting the news that this man, who is a legend in Boston, had finally been caught.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Whitey's caught? You got to be kidding me. You have heard all the stories, things he's done and corruption and all that. But a lot of people said, oh, he's dead. Maybe they don't want to see him get caught. He might take down the whole FBI if he starts talking.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

FINNSTROM: So, also, last night, we know retrieved from that home as evidence was a large amount of cash and a stash of guns and weapons.

We do know today that a bond hearing is expected to take place. Nobody really expects bond to be set, because of course he's a huge flight risk. Also, an extradition hearing could take place -- or could at least be set. It would be up to him to decide if he wants to fight extradition to Boston.

In most cases, that would be the normal course of action, to take him back and try him in the area where he allegedly committed these crimes -- Brooke.

BALDWIN: Kara, let me just back you up for a moment. Take me back to last night to when they found him and this girlfriend some 20 years his minor.

I know they were going under different names. How was the FBI able to coax them even out of this apartment building?

FINNSTROM: Well, they have released very few details.

They do say that did set up a surveillance for about 24 hours at the apartment building immediately after they got that tip. They watched, and they saw that Bulger was there and that his longtime companion was there. And they say they set up some type of ruse that brought him out, and then he actually gave up peacefully.

They say there -- it wasn't a fight.

BALDWIN: Wow.

FINNSTROM: And he is listed on the top 10 wanted Web site as being someone who is violent, someone who carries a knife all the time. But they say he gave up peacefully and that's how they took him in.

BALDWIN: How about that? Huge story.

Kara Finnstrom, I'm sure the details will begin to eke out. Thank you so much there for me in Los Angeles.

(FINANCIAL UPDATE)

BALDWIN: Now this:

(BEGIN AUDIO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I wouldn't want anyone to know if I had (EXPLETIVE DELETED) them. I mean, it's all these (EXPLETIVE DELETED) old dudes and grannies, and there's like maybe a handful of cute chicks.

(END AUDIO CLIP)

BALDWIN: Brand-new fallout after a pilot goes on a disturbing rant -- the whole thing -- you just heard a little bit of it -- caught on an open mike. Now a group of flight attendants might be suing. And their union is attacking Southwest Airlines.

Up next, flight attendant Heather Poole joins me live, and she says this guy is a jerk. I will ask her if she's ever seen this before.

Stay right here.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BALDWIN: Flight attendants, they are so outraged over a Southwest pilot's unchecked homophobic, sexist tirade on this open mike in the cockpit, they may be filing suit.

They're also none too thrilled about how Southwest disciplined the pilot. He was suspended without pay, but he's already back on the job. Keep in mind all this happened back in March.

Now, the flight attendants union is considering a lawsuit against the airline for workplace discrimination.

And I want to play you just a portion of the unnamed pilot's rant that was heard by other flight crews and air traffic controllers. Listen.

(BEGIN AUDIO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Eleven (EXPLETIVE DELETED) over the top (EXPLETIVE DELETED) homosexuals and a granny, 11.

I mean, think of the odds of that. I thought I was in Chicago, which was party land. After that, it was just a continuous stream of gays and grannies and grandes.

(END AUDIO CLIP)

BALDWIN: Southwest vice president Chuck Magill, he is apologizing about the incident. Listen to this.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

CHUCK MAGILL, VICE PRESIDENT OF FLIGHT OPERATIONS, SOUTHWEST AIRLINES: What he said is offensive and inconsistent with the professional behavior and overall respect we require from all employees. We have disciplined him. We have suspended him. And he's taken additional diversity and inclusion training to reinforce the company's expectation that he show respect and treat all with dignity.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BALDWIN: Let's talk a little bit more about this with this woman, flight attendant and blogger Heather Poole, live in Los Angeles.

And, Heather, you got your -- put your flight attendant hat on for me. You know, if this was your pilot, this was your plane, even if it wasn't, what's your reaction?

HEATHER POOLE, FLIGHT ATTENDANT: I just -- I just -- I think it's shocking. You know, first I kind of -- you have to laugh, it's just so over the top crazy. And thankfully, I don't think most pilots feel that way.

Then I raged. I mean, I could do a 10-minute rant over his 2- minute rant, and if I took out the curse words, it might be a 45- minute rant.

And then I just shoot my head, because face it, this is like the new Steven Slater. I'm glad the focus is on him now.

BALDWIN: Now, we -- I don't know his name. He's this unnamed pilot. I don't know if within the airline community, folks know exactly who this guy is, but what kind of reaction and reception do you think he's getting now that he's back flying?

POOLE: I can't imagine what it's like. It's got to be a horrible work experience for him. I mean, people are going to get on the -- who's going to want to work with this guy?

And even -- we never heard anything from the first officer, and I didn't hear him speak up, which I'm glad, but I mean, even pilots, who's going to feel comfortable working with this guy? What does he normally talk about in the cockpit? That couldn't have been the first time he went on the rants.

Which -- you know what? Is fine Monday Night Football with the guys, but don't bring it to work. BALDWIN: Don't bring it to work. And it just happened to be --

POOLE: Gays, grandes -- uh-huh.

BALDWIN: I don't even want to repeat some of this stuff.

But, you know, you're on these planes action and you hear what maybe what some of these pilots, and hey, I don't know, maybe flight attendants, I don't know, saying some things among themselves, don't think people are listening.

I mean, is this language typical on a plane? Or is this an anomaly?

POOLE: It is not typical. I mean, we're not allowed -- we have rules we're not allowed to talk like that.

And that's what I wonder, like, if this had been a flight attendant in the galley doing this kind of talk, what would have happened? What would have happened to that flight attendant? And would that flight attendant have her job or his job back already? I kind of doubt it.

BALDWIN: So are you surprised he's back and flying, Heather?

POOLE: I mean, it's one thing -- I'm shocked. I really am. Somebody with that -- who feels comfortable enough to take that to work, and -- not only that, but I mean, he was so angry about the way he felt. He was so angry about not being able to hook up with the flight attendant at work that he didn't even hear the air traffic controllers telling him that they could hear what he was saying and he needed to turn it off.

And neither did the first officer, cause I didn't hear him saying, hey, we need to check this. He was on such a roll, he couldn't even -- he wasn't even thinking about what he was doing.

BALDWIN: Yes, good thing that first officer kept his mouth closed. And you could even here some people at air traffic control saying, wow, this is why pilots get a bad reputation, and sir, that's an open mike. So we'll have to see what the reception is like.

Heather Poole, what a story. Thank you so much for coming on. I appreciate it. Flight attendant Heather Poole.

And hard to believe here, but the Supreme Court has just made a decision on the case involving Anna Nicole Smith and the millions she got from her late husband. You remember this? Find out whether her estate gets to keep the cash. That's next.

Plus, he has a history of blasting the United States and now just hours after President Obama announced thousands of troops will be leaving Afghanistan, Afghan President Hamid Karzai responds to that decision. Fareed Zakaria has just finished interviewing him. Folks, this is a worldwide exclusive. It's next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BALDWIN: If it's interesting and happening right now, you're about to see it. "Rapid Fire." Let's go.

Beginning with live pictures here on Capitol Hill. General David Petraeus in town for his confirmation hearing. As you know, he's in line to take over for Leon Panetta as chief of the CIA. And should anything happen, we will bring it to you live.

Meantime, an arrest in the Father's Day execution-style murders at a New York pharmacy. Long Island police accuse this man, this is David Laffer, in the murders of four people during an alleged prescription drug a robbery. Arresting officers said they had to use force while arresting Laffer because he became, quote, "extremely violent." They say his arrest came after several tips.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

RICHARD DORMER, POLICE COMMISSIONER, SUFFOLK COUNTY: We were very fortunate in receives over 400 calls from the public, people who think they might have recognized this individual, despite the fact that he was wearing a fake beard, sunglasses, and a cap.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BALDWIN: Laffer's wife was also arrested. She yelled, he did all this, as she was taken into custody.

The Supreme Court rules against the estate of late model and actress Anna Nicole Smith. She had sued saying her late billionaire husband promised her more than $300 million. Smith was married to J. Howard Marshall for 14 months before his death in 1995. Marshall left nearly all the assets to his son and virtually nothing to Smith.

Note to self: Don't trash a hotel room. Footnote to that: Don't trash a hotel room and tweet about it. But that is precisely what police in West Virginia are accusing several men of doing, including stabbing a couch, breaking a TV. The damage here totaled 14 grand. So far, eight of these guys have been arrested. Police are looking for two others. The tweets have landed them in jail, and it's hashtag not fun.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

QUESTION: Do you wish they wouldn't have tweeted?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I'm not going to tell you anything. Just say no to anything.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BALDWIN: And even though these guys are facing felonies, apparently they are keeping their Twitter pages.

Over to Florida where Space Shuttle Atlantis crew had their final dress rehearsal. The next time they done those flight suits and climb into the Atlantis space shuttle, it will be for the final time. The crew went through the exact routine they will use on July 8th, trying on their suits -- looks like it fits -- making sure everything is good to go, even practicing exactly how they will climb into the shuttle.

And some tense moments on a freeway near Ft. Worth today. A motorcyclist led police on this chase. Officials and officers saying the fugitive wanted on federal warrants took to the side streets and Interstate-30 before finally being stopped by federal agents.

And as both Republicans and Democrats sound off on President Obama's decision to withdraw thousands of troops from Afghanistan, 33,000 by the end of next summer, the Afghan president is now speaking out to CNN, and Fareed Zakaria has just interviewed this man, Hamid Karzai.

This is a worldwide exclusive. Take a listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

FAREED ZAKARIA, HOST, "FAREED ZAKARIA GPS": You know, Mr. President, there was a big debate in the United States about what exactly the president should say, and there were some who felt he should have announced a slower withdrawal, some a faster withdrawal.

If you had had a magic wand, would you have preferred this to be a slower withdrawal?

HAMID KARZAI, PRESIDENT OF AFGHANISTAN: The announcement that was made last night by President Obama is welcomed by the Afghan people. The number of troops that he has announced to be withdrawn this year and the rest, the next year, is a sign that Afghanistan is taking over its own security and trying to defend its territory by its own means. So we are happy with the announcement. As for the number of troops, we have no opinion on that.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BALDWIN: Don't forget to watch the entire interview. Grab year coffee, Sunday morning 10:00 a.m. Eastern, "FAREED ZAKARIA GPS" right here CNN.

We've got more on our breaking news here. Jeanne Meserve is reporting about this terrorist plot against a major city. There have been arrests, it's all unfolding right now. That's next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BALDWIN: More on that breaking news here into CNN. Two men charged with terrorism and firearms in the Seattle area. Jeanne Meserve has been working her sources, following the investigation there from Washington.

Jeanne, who are these two men and what were they trying to do?

JEANNE MESERVE, CNN HOMELAND SECURITY CORRESPONDENT: Brooke, these two men wanted to attack, allegedly, a military recruiting station in Seattle. They had they had a beef with the U.S. military presence in the Middle East, and they wanted to make a statement, according to the affidavit.

Their names of Abdul Khalid Abdul Latif (ph), AKA Joseph Anthony Davis, he lived in Seattle, and Walli Mujahidh, AKA Frederick Domingue Jr. (ph), he lived in Los Angeles.

According to this affidavit, there was a third individual who was approached by these two men and asked to participate in this attack on a recruiting station. He went to the Seattle police and told them what was up. They then began surveillance, audio and video surveillance of the individuals involved.

According to this, this plot unfolded very quickly, they wanted to go in there and kill as many as they could, allegedly. And when they were arrested last night, they were picking up machine guns they were allegedly going to use in this attack.

One at one point, interestingly enough, is quoted in the affidavit as saying, "we're trying to get something that's going to be on CNN and all over the world. That's what we want. " What they wanted was for other people to mimic them allegedly.

According to this affidavit, when they were arrested last evening, one of the men, Mujahidh, waived his Miranda rights and started talking to authorities. It says here that he admitted they planned on carrying out this attack on the recruiting station for the purpose of killing military personnel to prevent them from going to Islamic lands and killing Muslims. It said his said his further goal was to die as a martyr.

This is one, of course, of a series of recent planned attacks on military recruiting and other sorts of military installations.

BALDWIN: Well, they made their way onto CNN, but they made their way because they were caught.

MESERVE: They did.

BALDWIN: Jeanne Meserve, thank you so much, in Washington.

More people are dying in Syria and journalists are still not allowed in, but today this very minute CNN's Arwa Damon is inside the country. She's going to join me live in 60 seconds.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BALDWIN: In Syria today, troops have moved into the village on the border with Turkey. That's where over the past couple weeks, tens of thousands have set up camp trying to flee the crackdown by the government.

CNN's Arwa Damon, she had been in those camps. She has now made her way back into Syria. And she joins me live from the capital of Damascus. Arwa, I've got to say, impressive stuff that you're in there, number one. Number 2, you're tweeting about it. You tweeted an hour ago, "It feels as if Syria is two countries with people living in two different realities." What do you mean by that?

ARWA DAMON, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, Brooke, you know, we've spent a fair amount of time on the border between Turkey and Syria, speaking with those refugees who say they were driving out of their respective villages and towns because they were so terrified of the Syrian military. Firmly believes if they had stayed at home, they either would have been detained or killed. And these are people who say there were no armed gangs amongst them, people who have fled by and large with the clothes on their back. And that is one Syria we have been seeing.

And the other is the one we saw in one part of the capital earlier today. This was in the heart of Damascus, near the old city. There it seemed as if (INAUDIBLE) life was normal. There was a loudspeaker blaring pro-government music. This is - you know, I haven't seen this in Damascus before. In fact, the order of the government (ph) set it up (AUDIO GAP) just put it into place today. There were people were selling government paraphernalia. They had these party hats with the president's image on them. Keychains, T- shirts, you name it.

And people there very angry, coming up to us, saying this negative image that was being portrayed about Syria was part of a foreign conspiracy and one should listen to what the Syrian government is saying about what's happening inside the country, and that is it's quite simply targeting the armed gangs and they're the ones driving people out of their homes.

We've got speaking to a number of government officials, and they've really been putting forward the notion that we also heard the Syrian prime minister refer to, and that is questioning why the world is focusing on 10,000 Syrian refugees when the Iraq war, for example, they're saying displaced more than a million people since it began back in 2003.

So, we're getting these two completely -- almost to a certain degree surreal different images --

BALDWIN: OK. Arwa Damon, forgive me for jumping in. It's just a wee bit tough hearing you. But I hear you talking about the government, saying why are we so focused on these refugees. You're tweeting about it. So, I'm going to let you go there in Damascus, the capital city. Arwa, thank you.

But folks, follow her tweeting because she's tweeting up a storm here. It's @arwaCNN.

Stories unfolding right now. New York could soon make same-sex marriage legal. And it could happen while there's a special visitor in the state.

Plus, as folks in North Dakota deal with this historic flooding, the waters are rising fast in New York. You have to see this video here.

And celebrities, stolen cash, and an underground poker ring. The accusations are flying, involving famous Hollywood actors. It is all next. "Reporter Roulette" in 70 seconds.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BALDWIN: Same-sex marriage could soon be legal in New York, historic floodwaters are rising, and trouble begins for some celebrities playing high-stakes poker. Time for "Reporter Roulette."

And I want to begin in New York in the capital city of Albany. Dana Garrett is there for me, talking here, continuing to cover this issue of same-sex marriage. Dana, do you have any idea when this vote might happen?

DANA GARRETT, CNN PRODUCER(on the phone): Well, we are all waiting, as we have been all week. Protesters are back again in the halls of the capital, shouting and chanting, waiting and waiting as the nation wonders when the New York senate and if the New York senate will take up a vote today. Now, it could happen today. It still could happen tomorrow.

Right now the Senate, even though, you know, this is the main issue people are focused on, the senate is still rangling and focusing on some other legislative business. They have a very big piece of legislation that deals with a lot of local, important issues. Rents and rent controls and tax caps.

After that vote comes, which we expect today, they're still wrangling over the fine print of that, then that will clear the way for them to focus fully on the same-sex marriage, what is called the Marriage Equality Bill.

Now, the GOP senators will be meeting following that last vote. They're going to be meeting. Then they'll be determining whether or not to bring this to a vote. Behind the scenes, there's been a lot of meetings over the language in the bill regarding protections of religious institutions. That's kind of been the main sticking point. Once they iron that out and decide that its language that is acceptable, they will bring it to a vote. And that could happen well into the night. Nobody is prepared or ready to be -- or expecting to be going home early tonight.

BALDWIN: If and when that happens, quickly, when would couples be able to apply for marriage licenses? How quickly?

GARRETT: Well, we are told it would take 30 days for all the paperwork to be done and everything to be changed. And then within 30 days, couples could start getting married. And I can tell you , there are a lot of couple here around New York that are hopefully planning their weddings in the hopes this bill will be passed.

BALDWIN: And Dana Garrett, thank you very much.

And interestingly, the president sure to be asked about it. He is in Manhattan tonight for a gay community event on this day, where this historic vote may indeed happened in the city hall - or rather, in the state capital.

Next on "Reporter Roulette," I want to go to meteorologist Chad Myers. We're talking Minot, North Carolina. We were talking about this before. It's the river - North Dakota. What did I say?

CHAD MYERS, AMS METEOROLOGIST: You said North Carolina.

BALDWIN: North Carolina. Excuse me. I'm a Tar Heel.

What is the status on the river, as I keep watching the water rise and rise?

MYERS: We have been watching the river flood level. And there are maps you can watch on the Internet now. And they're live. You can see what the river's doing. The river stopped going up today.

The river stopped going up. You know why? Because it's spilling over the levees. So, it's going to fill in all of that area that was protected by the levees, all that water, all those homes going straight up. The water will well on top of the buildings. And so even though it looks like - here, I'm going to show you these really quick - it looks like this thing's not going up anymore. As soon as all that water gets filled back in behind those levess, that water is going to go up straight up another 6 to 8 feet. Those people are in real trouble.

So, here it is. Here's Minot, here's the Souris (ph) River. We'll fly you in. You can see it kind of acts like bowl. The whole town is in a bowl. North and south they're kind of bluffs on both sides. The water will be all the way through here.

And this is not some random range farmland, where you think oh, well, it's just some farmer will just get wet. No, this is all residential area. There are 12,000 homes probably be under water at least. And this is a flood like they've never seen.

There were floods back in the 1880s that were about half this big. That's the old record flood, but in 1881, this town didn't even exist.

Now, some of the other video you saw. Look at this.

BALDWIN: New York?

MYERS: Nyack, New York. This was just a couple hours ago, water rushing through the city. Four inches of rainfall that came down in about an hour, hour and a half -

BALDWIN: Where is Nyack?

MYERS: It's up in Rockland. Rockland Country. So, you go up toward New City, almost Catskills. Real, real pretty area, right? So, you get a bit of topography, it rains on the topography. Everything has to funnel down, and that funneling is all the way down. Look at that. That is downtown. That's what it looks like. All those business owners --

BALDWIN: Closing those doors, they're looking at the water. I would be going in the other direction.

MYERS: This is the only place right now we have video. The video will come in tonight. And we'll show it to you again tomorrow. There are many towns that look just like that. Just a little bit upstate of New York City,.

BALDWIN: We have been talking flooding for weeks here, sir. Thank you. Keep your eye on it for us.

Next here on "Reporter Roulette," a lawsuit seeking money from celebrities and other folks in very exclusive poker games. Here's Kareen Wynter in Los Angeles. Kareen?

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

KAREEN WYNTER, CNN ENTERTAINMENT CORRESPONDENT: Spiderman star Tobey Maguire caught in a bit of a legal web. This involves high- stakes poker playing. The actor was slapped with a lawsuit, claiming that a former hedge fund manager, Bradley Rudderman, who is now serving a ten-year federal prison sentence for tax and wire fraud convictions, that he took part in secret high-stakes and elite poker games at several luxury hotels in Beverly Hills.

Rudderman reportedly lost money to Maguire and several other high-profile celebs, who it's important to point out were not named in the lawsuit, but allegedly took part in these exclusive gambling events. The suit claims that Rudderman devised an illegal Ponzi scheme in order to pay off the debts. Now Maguire is being sued by the trustee of those who lost money, big bucks in that scheme.

The investors who allegedly lost, they're going after Maguire to the tune of $311,000. That's how much they claim the actor allegedly won from Rudderman. Funds that according to this complaint, were wired to Maguire from bank transfers. The suit contends since these games were technically illegal and not licensed, Maguire and the other defendants have no right to keep the money they won.

CNN reached out to Maguire's reps for comment, but they are not responding at this time.

Now, there's also been a lot of speculation about other high- profile celebs who might be involved in the scheme. The lawsuit also names two others, actor and director Nick Cassavetes. He directed "The Notebook." As well as former "Welcome Back Kotter" star Gabe Caplan. They're also being sued. Cassavetes for $73,000, and Kaplan for $62,000. We've reached out to both of these actors, and they have yet to comment.

I should also note that none of the defendants named in the lawsuits are facing any kind of criminal charges, but they do have to return any of their alleged gambling winnings or make their case for the money in court. Gambling is illegal here in California. We reached out to the Los Angeles district attorney's office, and they tell us at this time there is no criminal investigation underway.

Kareen Wynter, CNN, Los Angeles.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BALDWIN: Kareen, thank you. That's our "Reporter Roulette."

Unfolding right now, we are getting word that talks over the nation's debt limit are on the verge of collapsing. For weeks we've been talking about how lawmakers are going back and forth here as that deadline approaching. Remember the deadline, August 2nd?

Well, Republicans just made a very big move. That's next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BALDWIN: Right now, some big news in Washington as we've learned that Republicans are bailing on those meetings with Vice President Biden, you know, the sessions where they have been working back and forth on reducing the national deficit?

Remember here, the clock is very much so ticking on when they have to make a call on raising the debt ceiling, that deadline said by Treasury Secretary Tim Geithner is August 2nd. The talks seem to be on the verge of collapse. We're watching that. I know Wolf Blitzer is too coming up the next hour.

Now this, sparks fly, but not the kind of sparks we want to see. Folks, this was no accident. Police say this happened after a guy got into an argument with his girlfriend. You've really got to see this.

But first, flags are flying half-staff in New Jersey as the state honors a long-time member of Bruce Springsteen's band Clarence Clemons. He died last weekend after suffering a stroke and as we go to break, a little tribute here, a bit of his genius on the sax.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BALDWIN: Florida man got into a fight and then police say his temper led to fireworks and not the good kind of fireworks. You got to see this.

He was working at a fire wok tent in Central Florida when he allegedly got into some kind of dust-up with his girlfriend. This is Monday. Police say 33-year-old guy Foulkes man (ph) hit her and then started setting off the fireworks that you're seeing explode here.

Now some were directed at other employees, others were placed inside the gas tank of a nearby car. Are you kidding me? Foulkes (ph) was apparently having some kind of seizure when police arrived and arrested him. Look at that going off one after the other.

Wolf Blitzer, note to self, don't fight with a boyfriend at a fireworks tent, I guess is the lesson learned there. WOLF BLITZER, THE SITUATION ROOM: Also, don't fight with a boyfriend period.

BALDWIN: There you go. OK, Wolf Blitzer, what do you have coming up?

BLITZER: We've got a lot of news in "THE SITUATION ROOM" over the next two hours, the fallout, the reaction to what the president announced on national television last night.

We're getting reaction from a whole bunch of people including from Mike Rogers. He's the chairman of House Intelligence Committee. He's not very happy with what the president decided.

We'll also press Dennis McDonough, the president's deputy National Security adviser over at the White House on what this means. I 'm asking him some of the questions the president left open in his 15-minute or so speech last night.

We'll have the latest on Whitey Bulger's arrest. I know you've been working on that story. Also, like you're ready to go to Damascus.

Finally, Arwa Damon has managed to get into Syria, get into Damascus itself. We'll de-brief her on what she's seeing, what she's hearing. Lots of news happening today right here on "THE SITUATION ROOM."

BALDWIN: She's in Syria and she is tweeting up a storm, as I said. Wolf Blitzer, thank you. We will see you in 9 minutes.

Meantime, Cindy Anthony took to the stand just about two hours ago in her daughter's murder trial. This is the first time the defense has called her to do so.

Find out what happened, and why her Google searches were very much so called into question. Sunny Hostin is on the case. She's next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BALDWIN: Not too long ago, Casey Anthony's mother returned to the witness stand, but this time she testified for the defense and she dropped a bombshell.

Sunny Hostin was watching. We were e-mailing back and forth. Sunny, so listening to this, she was questioned about what she was Googling. Specifically, she was asked, Cindy Anthony was asked about Googling "chloroform."

SUNNY HOSTIN, LEGAL CONTRIBUTOR, "IN SESSION" ON TRUTV: That's right. I mean, that was the bomb in the courtroom today. Really is the headline.

The defense calls Cindy Anthony to the witness stand. She testified that on March 17th of 2008, she is the one that searched the Anthony home computer for chloroform, rather than the prosecution's theory that Casey Anthony conducted the controversial searching. Take a listen to what happened in the courtroom today.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JOSE BAEZ, CASEY ANTHONY'S ATTORNEY: Do you recall in March of 2008 you doing any types of searches for any items that might include chloroform?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Yes.

BAEZ: Could you explain to the ladies and gentlemen of the jury why you did that?

CINDY ANTHONY, CASEY ANTHONY'S MOTHER: Well, I started looking at chlorophyll. I was concerned about my smallest Yorkie. We have two Yorkie puppies.

The smallest one was having some issues where she was extremely tired all the time. Both the dogs would eat the bamboo leaves out in the back.

So I started looking up sources from the backyard that could potentially cause her to be more sleepy than it would affect the largest dog.

I started looking up chloroform -- I mean chlorophyll, and that prompted me to look up chloroform.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BALDWIN: So we heard her. She was talking about her two dogs and how she ended up searching for chloroform. How did the prosecution try to counter that testimony?

HOSTIN: Well, they certainly tried to do their best because remember, the prosecution's computer forensic expert got on the witness stand and said that there were 84 searches for "chloroform." Take a listen to what the prosecution did with this information.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

LINDA DRANE BURDICK, PROSECUTOR: You suggested that the Google search engine asked you if you wanted to change the spelling of "chlorophyll" when you made this search.

ANTHONY: Correct.

BURDICK: Because you spelled "chlorophyll" wrong?

ANTHONY: Correct.

BURDICK: Did you input the words into the Google search engine, how to make chloroform?

ANTHONY: I don't recall putting in "how to make chloroform," but I did Google search "chloroform" and we talked about it in my deposition.

BURDICK: The question is, and it's a yes or no. Did you type into the search bar on Google "how to make chloroform"?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Objection, it's been asked and answered twice.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Overruled.

BURDICK: Did you type those words into the search bar on Google?

ANTHONY: I don't recall typing in how to make chloroform. I recall typing in the word "chlorophyll."

BURDICK: Do you recall denying that you searched for self- defense?

ANTHONY: Yes. I did not search for self-defense.

BURDICK: Household weapons?

ANTHONY: I did not search for household weapons.

BURDICK: Neck breaking?

ANTHONY: I did not search for neck breaking, but I do recall that there was a pop-up that was showing a Youtube regarding a skateboarder that was skateboarding on rails, like if you're going -- like a turn style type rail if you're going into someplace and the skateboarder. I recall it saying a neck-breaking feat.

BURDICK: Is this something that you're recalling now that you've changed year medication since July of 2009?

ANTHONY: Again, it's not --

BURDICK: Yes?

ANTHONY: No, I recalled that at the time, but you didn't asked me about -- I answered your questions specifically at that time. But my memory is better than it was when I had my deposition in 2009.

BURDICK: Yes, ma'am, did we cover whether or not you did a search for the word "shovel"?

ANTHONY: No, I wouldn't need to look up the word "shovel."

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BALDWIN: All right, Sunny, why is this significant -- you have a minute, why are they even talking about chloroform? For people who haven't been following the trial closely, explain that and why it's significant that Cindy Anthony was searching for these words?

HOSTIN: Well, the prosecution's theory here is that Casey Anthony searched on the computer chloroform then used chloroform to drug her daughter Caylee before placing three pieces of duct tape across her face, across her face, mouth, nose, to suffocate her.

That is the pre-meditation. That's the pre-meditative first degree murder theory of the prosecution. This is a game changer, Brooke, because now there is reasonable doubt as to whether or not Casey Anthony conducted the searches or perhaps whether or not her mother, Cindy Anthony performed the searches.

That really combats first-degree pre-meditated murder for this prosecution, so this was a bombshell game changer. And you could see by the defense's looks on their faces, as well as the fact that several jurors were taking notes -- not 1, not 2, but 4 jurors taking notes during this testimony how important this testimony was for Casey Anthony today.

BALDWIN: Like you said in your e-mail, taking pre-meditated murder maybe off the table here. Sunny Hostin, thank you very much. That is it for me. Now to my colleague, Wolf Blitzer, "THE SITUATION ROOM" starts right now.