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Debt Deadline Nears; Norway Terror Investigation Continues; Text Messages from Norway Shooting Released; Maid Accusing Dominique Strauss-Kahn of Sexual Assault Meeting with Prosecutors; Al Qaeda May Be on Brink of Collapse

Aired July 27, 2011 - 15:00   ET

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

BROOKE BALDWIN, CNN ANCHOR: Hello to all of you. I'm Brooke Baldwin.

Gosh, just a lot going on in my head here as we are talking debt again today, but keep in mind the clock is ticking down, another day closer to default, now six days and counting.

Here's the deal. At this hour, the House of Representatives has nothing to vote on, no rescue package because Speaker John Boehner oversold that debt-cutting plan he promised back on Monday night. Now as the rest of Washington waits here, Speaker Boehner has spent the day trying to find more savings in the plan he had hoped to put other a vote today.

So, with me, because the same congressional bean counters who checked Boehner's plan and have found it faulty now have checked Harry Reid's. Harry Reid, leader of the Senate, Democrat, has a debt-cutting plan as well, as you very well know. And so today those same bean counters are saying,, yes, Reid's numbers are wrong as well.

But they also say that when it's all said and done, Reid's deficit cutting trumps Boehner's by, listen to this, more a trillion dollars. Reid's plan, 10 years, $2.2 trillion in net debt reduction. Meantime John Boehner's plan 10 years, $850 billion.

So, those numbers, we get them courtesy of the Congressional Budget Office, the CBO. Again, six days until default. So what about the White House here? No debt meetings, not today, at least not publicly on the president's schedule.

So let's go to Washington, to Jay Newton-Small. She's a congressional correspondent of "TIME" magazine, friend of the show.

Jay, good to have you back on.

And do me a favor. Help me understand this, we will call it odd, this very odd moment that happened among some House Republicans. This was yesterday. So dozens are said to be vastly underwhelmed at the debt cutting plan of their leader, Speaker John Boehner.

And I guess to get them together to rally around this, House leaders showed this clip from a gangster movie, Jay Newton-Small. I don't know if you have seen it. It's called "The Town." And I want to play you a clip. This is a gangster movie, this is about bank robbers. Let's watch.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BEN AFFLECK, ACTOR: I need your help. I can't tell you what it is, you can never ask me about it later, and we're going to hurt some people.

UNIDENTIFIED ACTOR: Whose car are we going to take?

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BALDWIN: Jay, what is this? We have a looming crisis at hand, six days left, trillions of dollars at stake, House Republicans drawing inspiration from bank robbers. Do I have this right here?

JAY NEWTON-SMALL, WASHINGTON CORRESPONDENT, "TIME": Yes, absolutely.

It sort of shows how desperate they are to bring their members along if they're showing this movie. And in fact right after this scene, those two guys put on hockey masks and go bludgeon two other guys and then shoot someone else through the leg. It is a little scary and that this is sort of what they're resorting to.

BALDWIN: Not sure what reaction they thought they would get, but we did get a reaction from a certain Democrat senator. Let's listen to what Chuck Schumer said about this.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SEN. CHARLES SCHUMER (D), NEW YORK: The Republicans played a clip from a cops and robbers movie called "The Town." In the scene, they chose to inspire their House freshmen, one of the crooks gives a pep talk to the other, right before they both put on hockey masks, bludgeon two men with sticks and a shoot a man in the leg.

Literally, the movie, the protagonists say people are going to get hurt, but they have to go ahead and do it anyway. Ladies and gentlemen, this is your House Republican majority.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BALDWIN: Jay Newton-Small, he sort of explained the next scene just as you did. But do I have this right? Then I promise I will move on here, but the Republicans actually leaked the fact that they watched this clip of "The Town," bank robbers, to fire themselves up. Is that correct?

NEWTON-SMALL: They did. But it was actually because it was effective. It was the only things that they have actually been able to get through to the freshmen in these negotiations.

And in fact right after this happened, Representative Allen West, who is a very known critic of the leadership leapt up and said I will drive the car. And I think that they were just really excited that finally the freshmen seemed to be getting on board with Speaker Boehner's bill with the deal that they're going to vote on tomorrow. So they leaked it sort of thinking, yes, look, we're being effective. This is an example of us moving the freshmen along.

And I don't think that this was actually the response that they expected.

BALDWIN: OK. So it was a rallying moment, I suppose.

And let's -- look, let's talk about the Boehner plan. You have been writing about it extensively on Swampland. I have been reading your blogs. The question is, should the House Republicans manage, should they actually manage to pass this thing, is it something, Jay, that the Senate could actually work with, maybe even pass an amended version which would be maybe more palatable than we have seen so far, more progress?

NEWTON-SMALL: Absolutely not. The House -- speaker -- excuse me -- Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid has said repeatedly over the week that he would not pass this bill, that Democrats are absolutely against it, that the bill would die essentially in the Senate, that even if it manages to pass the House, which is still a question, because it's going to be very tight, there are still a lot of votes that Boehner doesn't have -- even if it does manage to pass, the Senate has said, no way, we're not going to pass this, which leaves us with no legislation whatsoever.

And I know that Harry Reid is working on his own bill that he wants to introduce, but that lacks Republican support right now in the Senate. So it's really kind of a giant mess here.

BALDWIN: Let's further extrapolate from this potential mess here. Because you have the Boehner plan. You have the Reid plan. I know you write about six possible paths here in this whole debate. What are some other possible plans, contingency plans, backups to the backups that could be in play today?

NEWTON-SMALL: Yes, we have gone beyond plan B or plan C. I think we're looking at plans like X, Y and Z at this point.

Certainly Reid is saying that he is open to amending his plan. He wants to work with Republicans to craft a bill that can pass both chambers. And so perhaps that bill can be changed in order to appease the Republicans, enough Republicans to pass the Senate and then the House.

And also the White House is saying now that they're working on contingency plans and legislation that might be able to be passed by both chambers in case neither chamber, nobody in Congress can come up with a deal.

BALDWIN: Jay Newton-Small, I love how at the end very all these different possibilities and the backups to the backups, you quote one of my favorite movies just talking about maybe it's a road -- no one knows about it. You say, "As Doc Brown from 'Back to the Future' said, 'Road? Where we're going, there are no roads.'"

So perhaps we don't know what road that we will all be taking perhaps come next Tuesday if in fact that's when we get some sort of deal. Jay Newton-Small, pleasure having you on. Thank you so much for coming talking debt with me again.

And keep in mind Tea Party Republicans pushed their party not to raise the debt limit without substantial cuts to the national debt and to annual deficits. And now Tea Party Republicans are resisting compromise to do precisely that. Today the Tea Party rallied on Capitol Hill.

And that's where we find Jim Acosta, who was there, now back in the bureau.

But, Jim, do they think they're winning?

JIM ACOSTA, CNN CORRESPONDENT: They do think they're winning and they're probably right at this point.

They have moved this debate from what was once perhaps a clean debt ceiling raising that might have been contemplated in this city to a deal that's going to have to be reached that's going to have to include some major debt reduction in order for the debt ceiling to be raised.

And these Tea Party House Republicans who are very conservative on the deficit have made this happen. And up on Capitol Hill, just a few hours ago, they were rallying their troops and they had a lot of support there from some pretty big members of Congress. People like Senator Jim DeMint was up there essentially saying if the Senate and the House don't agree to some kind of debt ceiling deal that includes a balanced budget amendment, that some senators may not be on board, they may not be on board with getting a debt ceiling passed.

So this was some pretty tough talk. And I also had a chance -- this was also a good place for Republican presidential candidates to show up, Brooke. And I had a chance to talk to Herman Cain, who was there at this rally and he said something very interesting. He said, and a lot of other people at this rally were saying the same thing, that they don't think that the country will go into default.

They believe that the White House has the flexibility come August 2 if we hit the debt ceiling to pick and choose which programs get funded. Social Security checks might get money, but the Environmental Protection Agency might not, for example. And so he feels and a lot of other Tea Party Republicans who are up there also say that this is a manufactured crisis by the White House to scare the American people. These are his words, Herman Cain's words, not mine.

BALDWIN: I have heard him, I have heard several other movement leaders within the Tea Party saying the exact same thing that August 3 will be no different from August 2. And they're Tea Party Republicans. They're showing increasing displeasure with House Speaker Boehner.

Some are calling new debt-cutting plan an embarrassment.

Jim, from talking to some of these men and women, do you sense -- did you sense really at the rally today a rebellion in the ranks against the speaker of the House?

ACOSTA: I don't know if we can quite call it a rebellion just yet. As Jay was just mentioning to you a few moments ago, folks like Allen West are starting to get behind the speaker. The speaker reportedly said in a meeting with his conference this morning, get your butts in line, except for the word butts. He used a different word there that I can't repeat on this channel at this hour.

But -- and apparently there are some House freshmen who are Tea Party- backed Republican members of the House who are thinking about getting behind their speaker at this point. But this could go right until the deadline. And if you listen to the Tea Party folks up on Capitol Hill today and a lot of their powerful supporters up there, this might get pushed to the very brink, to the very last second, and we're just going to have to see what happens in the end.

BALDWIN: We're waiting to see what does happen. Jim Acosta, thanks for keeping it clean here on CNN in the afternoon. Appreciate it, sir.

ACOSTA: You bet. Sure.

And we have heard plenty now, weeks worth in fact from the folks in Washington. But I have to tell you, when I'm out and about, I'm walking my dog, I'm walking my little pug up and down the street, I go out grocery shopping, this debt limit stuff, not what I'm hearing.

So we have gone out really to try to find out from you, from different Americans what folks are thinking and saying about the U.S. government defaulting on its debt. Take a listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I'm on disability, so I don't get that check, I can't pay my rent. I will be homeless. I have been on the phone calling Congress, senators, everybody, you know. People need to get on the horn for real.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I'm a small business owner so I just want to make sure that it doesn't impact interest rates and mortgages, which in turn stops people from fixing up their houses or buying new ones, which is in turn means I don't have any work.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I don't go for the whole Armageddon or any of that nature, but I thin, philosophically, there is a crisis coming where we're all going to have to assume a different lifestyle and for some who aren't prepared, it's going to be, you know, a bomb, pardon the word.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BALDWIN: Count with me, six days left. We're going to continue to keep track of where your conversation is going.

But coming up next here, we are getting some brand-new video in to us here at CNN from Oslo, Norway, showing the precise moment those blasts went off last Friday. We're going to show it to you.

Plus we will check in with CNN's Nic Robertson who has just returned from that farm where the shooting suspect stored some six tons of fertilizer he used on those explosions. It's a CNN exclusive. Definitely stick around for that.

Also, something you don't want to miss, I will be speaking with a mother whose teenaged daughter, she was -- she is 16 -- she's OK. She was at that youth camp at the shot -- when the shooting rampage went down and her daughter who is OK texted her the entire time, two hours' worth. She's sharing some of those texts.

Back in a moment.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BALDWIN: Gripping stories of fear and bravery being told now by many, many survivors of the gunman's terror rampage at a youth political camp on a remote island in Norway -- 76 people died in that shooting and related bomb blast in the Norwegian capital of Oslo.

And in just a couple of minutes, I'm going to be speaking with a mother, a woman whose daughter was on that very island and had the stunning presence of mind to text her mother through this whole ordeal. It's an amazing firsthand account of the massacre on Utoya Island. You will see it in detail.

Also want to pass this along to you. We have the video of the moment Norway's calm was shattered. Take a look. You can see it very clearly shakes. This is from the bomb blast. Surveillance camera inside a store there in Oslo -- this is from Friday. Confused, frightened shoppers obviously running out of there.

But right now I want to bring you CNN's senior international correspondent, Nic Robertson, who is live for me in Oslo.

And he has been by the farm owned by the man behind held now in these attacks, Anders Behring Breivik.

And, Nic, I know you have been really bringing us this extraordinary video here of some of the police efforts to wipe out a dangerous, dangerous stockpile of materials from making bombs. Nic, explain to me how they're getting rid of this stuff.

NIC ROBERTSON, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, what Breivik did at this farm was order a large amount of fertilizer.

And what the police are doing is going through that farm and trying to discover has any parts of that fertilizer he converted into bomb material. And the parts that they're discovering they're saying are too unstable to transport by road. So they are blowing up on site putting some TNT on it and blowing it up right out there at the farm.

BALDWIN: I know we have some video of that, I know it was an exclusive. Here it is, blowing up bits and pieces of this fertilizer. Will they, Nic, will they be able to use any of this fertilizer as evidence in their case against Breivik or do they have to blow it all up now?

ROBERTSON: No. What they're doing is, they're taking samples of it that will be used as evidence. They have got the army in there, their bomb disposal team, they have got police investigators, they have got forensic teams there. This was the place where the attacks were planned. This was the place that he hid away from the rest of the world to plan his dastardly deeds. So, you can bet they're going through it very, very carefully.

So, right now, the bits that they need for evidence for court for later, they're taking those away, putting them to one side -- Brooke.

BALDWIN: And let me just remind people of the number 76 -- 76 people died in this shooting from Friday and I think a lot of people, Nic, are stunned when they hear that the maximum prison sentence in Norway is 21 years, 21. Could there be an exception made in this particular case, Nic?

ROBERTSON: Well, the prime minister talked about it today. And he says, look, it is possible, if it's a case of the security, security for the people of the country, that if he poses, potentially poses a threat at the end of that period, then absolutely there's a case that can be made that he could be held longer, so he may never get out.

But it's still going to be almost a year it's expected before he even gets into court, Brooke.

BALDWIN: Looking ahead, Nic, in terms of security here, is the Norwegian government at all planning any changes, beefing up security?

ROBERTSON: What they're saying is -- and I talked to the head of intelligence here yesterday. And they're saying, look, this is a lone Wolf, a one-off case. Everything he did to plan and prepare for this was within the law or at least the steps that he took to get this far were inside the law. Obviously the law has been broken in so many ways.

But they don't feel that there is another threat like his out there. He's talked about other cells operating with him. There's this possibility that not all the fertilizer is accounted for. So they're very concerned about that, they're trying to nail all of that down right now. But they don't believe that any threat assessment should be raised. They're not changing their threat assessment from where it was last week before the blast and the attack to where it is today. But they're very aware that there's still a lot of points on the investigation they have got to nail down, Brooke.

BALDWIN: Nic Robertson standing amidst this memorial that each and every time we check in continues to grow. Nic, thank you very much live for me in Oslo.

And coming up here in just a moment, this is a gruesome one. This is a story we're following out of Texas where police have discovered the dismembered body of a missing mother of two. The children's father and his wife have now both been charged with her murder, but there is so much more to the story. Back in a moment. (COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BALDWIN: A child custody fight apparently spins so out of control ending in this grisly search in Texas in this creek in Texas and three children who may now never really know either of their parents.

Let me start here by introducing several of those involved in this gory drama. And, look, if you have children in the room, here's a chance to walk them out.

First, let me tell you about 27-year-old Laura Ackerson. She was from Raleigh, North Carolina, a working mother with two young sons. Then there is this couple, Grant Hayes, and his new wife, Amanda. They have a 1-year-old baby daughter. Hayes is a musician. He's also Laura Ackerson's ex-boyfriend and the father of her two boys.

So a couple of weeks ago, Ackerson dropped the boys off with Hayes. That very day, police believe Hayes and his new wife killed Ackerson. They then allegedly cut her into pieces. Then they're accused of packing her remains in these coolers, stuffed them in a rented U-Haul trailer, drove more than 1,000 miles, all the way from North Carolina to Texas and dumped her remains in a murky creek southwest of Houston.

That is where divers equipped with sonar found a head, a torso and a part of a leg. Now DNA tests have been conducted and they indeed are a match for 27-year-old Laura Ackerson, mother of two.

Now, Grant and Amanda Hayes have been arrested in North Carolina. Both were in court yesterday. And I want you to watch what the judge told Amanda Hayes. Remember, she gave birth to a daughter just over a month ago. Listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JUDGE JACQUELINE BREWER, NORTH CAROLINA DISTRICT COURT: Ms. Hayes, you're here because you're charged with first-degree murder. If convicted or if you plead guilty to that offense, the punishment, maximum punishment is either life without parole or the death penalty.

And I'm going to go ahead and appoint the public defender to represent you. If for some reason you decide you want to hire your own lawyer, that's always an option.

Thank you, ma'am. And bond, there is no bond.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BALDWIN: Grant Hayes is also being held without bond on that very same charge. His father is caring for the children he had with Laura Ackerson and Amanda Hayes.

I want to bring in Andrea Pacetti. She's on the phone. She's a reporter for News 14 Carolina out of Raleigh.

Andrea, what a horrific story. I know you have been digging on this. You have been looking into the custody fight here between Laura Ackerson and Grant Hayes. How would you characterize it?

ANDREA PACETTI, NEWS 14 CAROLINA REPORTER: Well, Brooke, this has been a lengthy custody battle. And many we have talked to have described it as a bitter custody battle.

I was in the courthouse today in Kinston, North Carolina, where all the paperwork has been filed and there are hundreds of pages of motions and countermotions in this case. Now Grant Hayes and Laura Ackerson appear to have lived for a while in the Virgin Islands together and the battle seems to have begun when they returned. Laura moved to New York City and Grant appears to have moved -- or Laura moved to North Carolina. And Grant appears to have moved to New York City.

I talked with a former boyfriend of Laura Ackerson today and he had just reconnected with her just a few days before she went missing. And in some of the e-mails that they exchanged, she mentioned that once she returned from the Virgin Islands, she's been in court ever since, she described the situation as rough.

From what we could gather from the documents, it appears where they were at this point was that they were in the process of having a psychological evaluation of the children. And, of course, we do know how this story tragically ended.

We learned yesterday from the Raleigh Police Department that the children involved have been evaluated by child protective services and are now with some family members.

BALDWIN: Let me jump in, because -- so it's clear according to I guess these e-mails -- you talked to this former boyfriend -- that she made friends, perhaps even some family members aware about this brutal battle that's been going on as you say for a lengthy amount of time. Did she ever express fear to these family members or friends, fear perhaps that she could lose her life?

PACETTI: Well, what we know from Laura Ackerson's brother -- she has a brother that lives here in Raleigh. He described Grant Hayes as controlling and manipulative. And he said when they were together, it was hard to contact Laura because she was very fearful. He did not go into much detail of what exactly she was fearful of or if there were threats issued.

But he did say that he had wished that he and his family had taken the matter more seriously. But the thing is, a lot of people here in Raleigh are surprised because Grant Hayes is somebody that a lot of people know. He's a local musician, a local artist, and he has played a lot of these venues.

(CROSSTALK)

PACETTI: So I have talked with some people who know him from the music scene. And they're shocked. They say he's very charismatic and very energetic, into his music. So a lot of people here just really shaking their heads, but, of course, it seems that people that were very close to Ackerson did know about this very bitter custody battle. BALDWIN: Andrea, stay on it. If there are any other developments, we will have you back on definitely. But it's a horrendous -- it's a horrendous story about a mother of two. Andrea Pacetti, News 14 in North Carolina, thank you so much.

And record-breaking rainfall causing devastation here. Look at these pictures. This is South Korea. A landslide kills dozens, leaves hundreds homeless. Coming up next, why the situation is likely to get worse.

And still to come, I will be speaking with a woman who exchanged harrowing text messages with her teenage daughter who was at that very Norway youth camp last Friday when that madman opened fire. She's sharing those texts with me. Don't miss this.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BALDWIN: Checking some of your top stories now, South Korea issuing a national crisis warning after a devastating landslide. Look at this. Heavy rains caused a hillside to simply give way. This is east of Seoul right around midnight.

At least 32 people are dead, rescuers rushing to dig survivors out of some of these collapsed homes. Hundreds of families have lost their houses. Rains have inundated the area for the past two months, and more rain is expected this week.

And some sad news out of Utah for Olympic fans -- 29-year-old Jeret Peterson has taken his own life. The Olympic skier who won a silver medal at last year's winter games died of a self-inflicted gunshot wound near Salt Lake City Monday night. Police say Peterson had called 911 and said he was going to kill himself. They also found a suicide note in his car parked in a remote canyon.

And news from Wall Street, Dunkin' Doughnuts making its debut, more than 22 million shares of its parent company Dunkin' Brands are up for grabs in today's initial public offering and it's getting a war reception. Dunkin' plans to use the IPO proceeds to pay off its debts. Three private equity firms still own about three-quarters of the company, and despite its name, Dunkin' actually sells more coffee than it does doughnuts.

Coming up next, the story you have to stick around to watch. I'll be speaking with a mother of a teenaged girl who was at that youth political camp on that Norwegian island last Friday when a gunman opened fire, killing dozens of people. The 16 year old daughter texted her mother off and on for two hours. Parents, can you imagine? It's a amazing firsthand account of the massacre in Norway. Don't miss this. Back after this.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BALDWIN: What are you are about to see and hear is enough to send chills down the spine of anyone, especially you parents, but it also shows the amazing presence of mind of a 16-year-old girl under amazing pressure, pressure no child should ever, ever experience. But it also highlights the amazing calm of a mother caught up in this life or death exchange with her precious daughter. I want to read for you the harrowing text messages exchange between Marianne Bremness and her 16-year-old daughter Julie who was trapped on Norway's Utoya island during Friday's terror attack.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

BALDWIN: "Mommy tell the police that they must be quick. People are dying here."

"I'm working on it, Julie, the police are on the way. Dare you call me?"

"No, tell the police that there is a mad man running around and shooting people and they must hurry."

"The police know when they have had many calls. It is going well Julie, police are calling us now. Give us a sign of life every five minutes, pleas."

"OK, we are in fear for our lives."

"I understand that very well, my darling. Stay hidden, do not move anywhere. The police are already on their way if they have not already arrived. Do you see anyone injured or killed?"

"We are hiding in the rocks along the coast. I love you, even if I still misbehave from time to time. And I'm not panicking, even if I'm -- expletive -- scared."

"I know that my darling. We love you too very much. Do you still hear shooting?"

"No."

"The person shooting is said to be in police uniform. Be careful. What happens to you now? We do not know. Can you talk now?"

"No. He is still shooting. Joerge has swum to the shore. I just spoke to his father. This is everywhere in the national news now. All the attention on Utoya now. Be careful."

"We are waiting to be picked up by the police, we heard shooting just now, so we dared not get up."

"Good, good. Well done. The evacuation is now ongoing they are saying on TV. We hope we will be picked up by someone soon. Can they not catch him soon? Should we try to get the flight home tomorrow?"

"I have no time to think about that now. Do you know if they managed to catch him? We will keep you posted my darling, we are following everything on television."

"Hey, are you there?"

"Yes. The helicopters are circling above us."

"Then you should be OK?"

"They are looking for people in the water. We have not been picked up yet."

"What are they saying in the news? The police are also arriving by boat to Utoya. Otherwise nothing new. It is not clear what happened to the shooter, so keep still, wait for them to pick you up. Now they have taken him."

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BALDWIN: And the mother with the text messages you just heard, that is Marianne Bremnes. She is in Norway for me here. And Marianne, I tell you what, I read them today, just hearing them again. It gave me goose bumps. I was watching you listen to that text exchange. How did you feel listening to that?

MARIANNE BREMNES, TEXTED WITH DAUGHTER AT NORWAY CAMP SHOOTING: I understand that this sounds so really dramatic, and so it was. So it gave me goose bumps as well to hear it again.

BALDWIN: I want to ask you about your daughter, 16 years of age, she survived. I know some of her best friends did not. How is she doing today?

BREMNES: She has her ups and downs. But mostly she's doing fine. I think we had to see in the long-term how it will go. We don't know any consequences yet.

BALDWIN: Let me go back to Friday afternoon. Your daughter Julie calls you, the first words out of her mouth is "Mom, don't panic." As a mom, did you panic?

BREMNES: I didn't. She called us and then she said, mom, don't panic, there's a man shooting here. So I didn't know what to believe because I thought there was some sort of game or something. So I didn't realize at first how serious this was.

BALDWIN: It was yet on the news. Perhaps you thought this man must have had a toy gun. At what point Marianne did this resonate with you when you realized this very real?

BREMNES: I realized after the first message because the news were so occupied by the bomb explosion in Oslo, so the news didn't know anything about this at that time. So -- but when the first text message came, then I realized this was real.

BALDWIN: How close was your daughter to Breivik?

BREMNES: She says that he was about approximately 50 to 100 meters away from them. He was coming down. They were together as a group from this region. And they had had a meeting because of the bomb explosion in Oslo, and he was coming, walking down the road on the island. He was -- they thought it was a policeman coming to inform them about the bomb explosion. But then they suddenly saw that he turned around and shot someone on the road. And then they panicked and they ran away in every direction.

BALDWIN: Where did your daughter run? Where did she hide?

BREMNES: She ran down to the shore and she hide under an overhang behind some rocks.

BALDWIN: So she hid under rocks, meantime shooting is happening in every different direction? And now you're getting these text messages and you're trying to comprehend what she's going through. How hopeless did you feel?

BREMNES: As helpless as everything, because I didn't know really what to do other than text her. That was the only way I could help her and that was the only way to see and understand that she was alive.

So I was lucky because I had contact with my daughter all the time. A lot of parents heard about this on the news and they knew that their kid was there and they didn't hear anything before late in the evening. So they were really terrified. I had contact with my girl all the time.

BALDWIN: Marianne, I want to point out one specific text your daughter Julie texted. "Mom and dad, I love you, even though I'm cross with you sometimes." Why did that really strike a nerve? Why did you know then that she was seriously in trouble?

BREMNES: Because she doesn't normally write that in her texts to us. So when she wrote that, I knew she was really, really terrified. And then I almost started to cry because I really felt helpless and really felt despair. I didn't know what to do other than calm her down.

BALDWIN: She doesn't often text "I love you." Final question -- so what were those final moments when you could throw your arms around your daughter on Saturday?

BREMNES: We had no words, we just cried and cried and cried, she and me and her father and her brother, we just held our arms around each other and hugged and cried and kissed, and you know, that was a fantastic moment.

BALDWIN: Maryann Bremnes thank you for sharing your story about your daughter Julie and I'm so sorry for all the other families whose endings are not the same as yours in Norway. Marianne, thank you.

BREMNES: Thank you.

BALDWIN: Straight ahead, the hotel housekeeper who claims former IMF chief Dominique Strauss-Kahn sexually assaulted her taking her case to Manhattan prosecutors today, but will they believe her story?

And 10 years ago it seemed unimaginable, but is Al Qaeda on the brink of collapse? Back after this. (COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BALDWIN: The New York hotel maid who accused Dominique Strauss-Kahn of sexually assaulting her met with prosecutors in Manhattan today. That meeting comes days after this maid appeared on ABC News. She also shared her story with "Newsweek" magazine, telling her side of the story. Prosecutors are continuing their investigation. I want to bring in Susan Candiotti. Susan, what happened at the meeting today?

SUSAN CANDIOTTI, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, you know what, that's a good question. It's still going on. It started at about 10:00 this morning, so it's approaching the fifth hour of that meeting. So we have had no reports about what's happening.

Certainly everyone in that meeting is well aware that this week Ms. Diallo had decided to tell her story to ABC news and "Newsweek" because she said she was very concerned that she wants a jury to hear her story. She wants that chance. And by going public clearly she and her civil lawyer are trying to put as much pressure as they can on this prosecutor's office to move forward with the case.

And it's not clear now whether they will because of credibility issues they have uncovered with issues of her past. Not so much on the story, they said she's been credible on what she says has happened to her. But Dominique Strauss-Kahn has pleaded not guilty to those charges, Brooke.

BALDWIN: In those interviews, I read the article in "Newsweek," and not only does she address the issues of her being portrayed or lack thereof about her past, she also talks in detail about what allegedly happened in this hotel in May and did these interviews that came out very publicly this week. How would they further her standing with prosecutors?

CANDIOTTI: Well, you know, it's unclear. Certainly prosecutors cannot control what this woman wants to say, they can't for bid her from speaking publicly about what happened to her. It could of course cause an issue if they take this to trial and before a jury because it certainly has the possibility of giving additional ammunition for people to cross-examination her to make sure that each time she explains what she says happened to her matches up.

Certainly one of the things that they were expected to have them talk about in the meeting today with prosecutors is that she and her lawyer wanted to hear a recorded jailhouse phone call that we have talked about quite a bit when a day or two after the attacks, she got a call from a friend of hers who was in jail in Arizona. And no one has heard a transcription of that, only a paraphrase that prosecutors claim she said, according to sources, words to the effect of "I know what I'm doing. He has a lot of money," leading people to think maybe she was after him for his money.

But she has always said "I want to hear that, because I speak of that conversation played back, let's hear it again. We don't trust your translation." She denies she ever said those words and it's one of the things she and her attorney wanted to discuss and wanted to hear from prosecutors, to play back that call.

BALDWIN: If you do get an update on that meeting in the Manhattan D.A's office, obviously we'll put you back on. We'd love to know obviously if they want to pursue the case or not. Susan, thank you very, very much.

And still to come here, you know who Al Qaeda is, but have you heard of this militant Islamist group Al Shabaab? Coming up next, the newest terror threat to the United States. Who are they and what's their link to Osama bin Laden?

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BALDWIN: New York Congressman Peter King says the threat of Americans being recruited by Muslims terrorists is bigger than reported. The congressman voices claims today in hearing number three on the subject of Islamic radicalization in the United States. And the New York congressman claims that more than 40 Americans have gone to Somalia after being recruited by a group aligned by Al Qaeda called Al Shabaab. He also says that some of those on the ground are Americans posing a threat. Listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

REP. PETER KING, (R) NEW YORK: But as many as two dozen Muslim Americans who were Al Shabaab who in many cases were trained by Al Qaeda leaders remain unaccounted for.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BALDWIN: "Unaccounted for." We'll get to that point here in a moment with my guest. But first, members of King's Homeland Security committee agree there's a threat, but member after member today disagreed with King over his focus on Muslims only and Somalia in particular. I want to play some sound here. This is what King's fellow New Yorker on this committee said today.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

REP. YVETTE CLARKE, (D) NEW YORK: When we become fixated on a particular group of people, we take our eyes off the prize. And then we become -- we become even more vulnerable because the unexpected happens. The unexpected, like in Norway happens.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BALDWIN: So when this hearing ended, the question remained, does this country biggest terror threat comes from Somalia and Al Shabaab, or should the U.S. have a wider view of who poses a threat and where they come from?

Let's talk to our next guest, Sajjan Gohel, the director of international security at the Asia Pacific Foundation. And first, you know, Al Shabaab here, Congressman King says -- I think he specifically said two dozen Americans have been recruited by this terror group, this militant group. U.S. officials actually say the number is half that. But how concerned should Americans be when they hear that number, that they could be on American soil, some of them?

SAJJAN GOHEL, INTERNATIONAL SECURITY DIRECTOR, ASIA-PACIFIC FOUNDATION: The worry, Brooke, is when there's going to be blowback. We know that some American-Somalis have traveled to Somalia for the purpose of carrying out terrorism attacks against the transitional federal government, against the African union troops. Some have been Americans who have been suicide bombers. The first American suicide bomber carried out his attack in 2008 in Somalia.

The worry is that at some point, the individuals, instead of carrying out attacks abroad may come back to the U.S. and may plot and plan attack against the whole society. We've seen that in other ethnicities in other countries like in the United Kingdom where in the past people were traveling to Pakistan for terrorism training and then they came back to the U.K. to carry out plots. The worry is that America has similar challenges and parallels.

BALDWIN: And apparently according to some reports I saw today, that's exactly what Osama bin Laden was hoping for, targeting specifically Somalia and members of Al Shabaab to do just that, attack the U.S.

There is also a report today that according to U.S. officials, Al Qaeda is on the brink of collapse. My question is, if that happens, what other groups, what other factions would be ready to step in and fill the void? Is that even what would happen?

GOHEL: Transnational terrorism has diversified. It's no longer about one group. Bin Laden's ideology has proliferated since 9/11. There are outfits that have their own resources, leadership, cell structure, design and commitment to plot and commit transnational attacks.

One leading element has been the Al Qaeda franchise in Yemen, Al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula, that has tried to target the United States over the last few year, especially going after the aviation industry. Al Shabaab, which is next door in Somalia is another group that's concerning. And the worry is that at some point Al Shabaab may form an alliance with Al Qaeda, making the group all that more lethal and deadly.

BALDWIN: But to that one congresswoman's point, then I have to let you go, if we are fixated on one group, let's say whether it's AQAP or Al Shabaab, then that takes our, you know, eyes off of something else and someone like Breivik over in Norway could seek and reek terror somewhere. I mean, we can't have a narrow scope here.

GOHEL: Ultimately, U.S. law enforcement intelligence is monitoring threats through electronic chatter through direct intelligence that they believe pose a direct concern. The issue of Breivik in Norway is a new dynamic. It's a worrying dynamic.

But it's a different type of terrorism. You have an individual that identified multiculturalism and the left wing as his primary enemies. With Al Qaeda, it's predominantly the west that is deemed to be the threat. We shouldn't be fixated on one group or one entity, because that is always a mistake. But we do have to obviously look at where the predominant threats have been, and that is mostly linked to transnational terrorism.

BALDWIN: Sajjan Gohel, thank you so much.

GOHEL: My pleasure.

BALDWIN: Still to come, Wolf Blitzer has the latest news here off the Political Ticker. As we know, Wolf, you're fired up about the debt ceiling debate. Let's just say that it is still the economy, stupid.

And I'm going to be talking to the Tea Party movement leader who calls House Speaker John Boehner an embarrassment. What does he offer up as a solution to the debt ceiling crisis? And how influential is the Tea Party movement to the debate? That's in just a couple of minutes. Stick around.

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BALDWIN: All right, let's go to straight to Washington to Wolf Blitzer with the news off the Political Ticker. And Wolf, let's talk debt. No Senate Democrats are backing the Boehner plan.

WOLF BLITZER, CNN HOST, "THE SITUATION ROOM": Not according to Harry Reid, the Senate majority leader. He says the Democrats in the Senate are not going to vote for it even if the House manages to take the vote tomorrow and pass it.

And it looks like the Speak John Boehner is getting some momentum right now among his House Republicans to get enough votes, 217 votes in the House to pass it. That's still a big if, but it looks like he's going to do it. Reid is saying it's not going to pass in the Senate. He has his own legislation that he wants the Senate to pass.

The difference between these two plans, Brooke, by the way, is that the Reid plan would require another vote next year in the middle of presidential election season, Congressional election season, to further raise the debt ceiling. The Harry Reid proposal -- the Boehner plan, I should say, would require another vote. The Harry Reid plan would allow the debt ceiling to be raised now and it wouldn't have to be raised again until 2013 after November 2012 elections. That's a huge difference right now. We have to see if these two sides can work out some sort of compromise.

A lot of people are getting very nervous right now because that clock, as you know, Brooke, is ticking and ticking and ticking.

I don't know if you have looked at the markets. They're about to close right now.

BALDWIN: I'm looking at it right now.

BLITZER: But just a little while ago, the Dow Jones was down about 200 points. I think it's down a little bit less. The Nasdaq was down about 70 points.

This is, you know, a continuing situation. If the markets get jittery about what Washington is up to, and there you see right now down 196 points, the Dow Jones -- it hasn't technically closed yet. It's going to be a sure sign to lawmakers, reluctant lawmakers in Washington to go ahead and work out some sort of compromise, because so much is at stake right now.

And I don't know if you saw the blog post I did today, Brooke. Did you have a chance to see it yet?

BALDWIN: It's just the economy, stupid.

BLITZER: It's the economy, stupid.

It's still the economy, stupid. I go through the comparisons between '95, '96 when Bill Clinton and he was facing emboldened Republicans, including Newt Gingrich in the House, yet he managed to get himself reelected in '96 and what President Obama is going through right now as he seeks reelection next year.

I will tell our viewers to go to CNN.com/situationroom. Read my blog. I think they will find it interesting.

A couple of points. In THE SITUATION ROOM today, Jay Carney, the White House press secretary, will be joining us. We will get the latest from him on what the president is trying to do to resolve this matter. And we also have a serious debate coming up. Joe Walsh, he is a Tea Party Republican, an activist in the House of Representatives. Allen West, another Tea Party activist, they disagree on Boehner's plan.

We're going to have a debate between these two Republicans in THE SITUATION ROOM, all that coming up in an hour.

BALDWIN: Hey, Wolf, thank you very much.