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Clock Ticks Toward U.S. Default; U.S. Soldier Suspected of Plotting Terrorism; Intense Search For Celina Cass; First Funerals For Norway Victims Held Today; Warren Jeffs' Courtroom Sermon; Dramatic Puppy Fakes Death; Hot Dog Wants Indoor Pool

Aired July 29, 2011 - 16:01   ET

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

BROOKE BALDWIN, CNN ANCHOR: And now top of this hour, watch this.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

BALDWIN: Down to the wire in a possible default, Washington mired in gridlock. Now the president once again calling on the people. I'm Brooke Baldwin. The news is now.

BARACK OBAMA, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Keep the pressure on Washington and we can get past this.

BALDWIN (voice-over): Democrats caving on taxes. Is there anything Republicans will say yes to? I will ask Senator Rob Portman, Republican from Ohio.

What happened to Celina Cass? It's the mystery that now involves every single person in her small New Hampshire town.

JANE YOUNG, ASST. NEW HAMPSHIRE ATTORNEY GENERAL: We are marshaling all resources available to us,

BALDWIN: And the search moving beyond borders.

The heat brings out a bumper crop in Texas, but not the kind they want or need.

Look out. We're like a dog with a bone or a pool with water on a very hot day. The news starts now.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BALDWIN: Welcome back. Thanks for staying with me. I'm Brooke Baldwin.

And let's begin on the city with that beautiful Capitol dome here over my shoulder, Washington. Let me fill you in again on the race to head off a political and potential default of the government. We are now four days away here from that deadline. And at this very hour, House Speaker John Boehner has bent to new demands by hard-line Republicans.

And as a result of that, the House will vote today on an altered version of Boehner's debt reduction plan. You know, the original plan, it couldn't quite pass yesterday. So this new plan calls on both houses of Congress to agree to pass this balanced budget amendment by the end of the year or shortly thereafter.

Now, at the same time, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid will be introducing his own plan, one he calls a compromise with a vote planned for early Sunday morning. President Obama saying today a compromise can be had before that Tuesday deadline. He says the two sides actually aren't that far apart.

And with that, Joe Johns, I want to go to you. It's good to see you here on this Friday to sort through all of this with me again. Because, you know, from our vantage point, Joe, it appears as though the House and the Senate, that they're working at cross-purposes. Yet the phrases I'm hearing from the president this morning, he talks about common ground. Help connect the dots for me. How is that so?

JOE JOHNS, CNN SENIOR CORRESPONDENT: Right. You know, it does. It looks like total warfare in Washington. And they seem so far about -- but there are basic things both sides agree on.

I mean, the outlines of at least part of an agreement are here. Wolf Blitzer talked a little bit about this. The Democrats and the Republicans appear to have at least agreed that there should be spending cuts and they should be equal to the increase in the debt limit. That is something the speaker said he wanted. Another thing they seem to have agreed on, basically Democrats have taken off the table, is the issue of tax increases.

Democrats have said, well, we'd like to see some more revenue raising, but obviously the Republicans aren't going to go for it, so it's off the table. The biggest problem again seems to be this business about a two-step increase. Democrats say they're absolutely, positively not going for that, and they suspect that it has something to do with the president's reelection, so they're not touching it. The president said he isn't going for it either.

There is this other thing that's up in the air right now, politics on both sides, is this issue of the balanced budget amendment.

BALDWIN: Right.

JOHNS: The Democratic majority leader said he could see a vote on it. He actually said that today, but, obviously, can't assure passage. You know it requires a two-thirds majority and it's very clear that he doesn't want that linked to, you know, this other bill that's so important before August 2.

BALDWIN: Joe Johns, let me throw something else at you. And that is, I spoke with Senator Nelson, Democrat, Florida, just last hour. And he told me when I was asking him what this final plan would look like, he said that the final plan to avert some kind of a default is likely going to be a mix of the Boehner plan, the Reid plan, and the McConnell contingency plan. Remember that one?

JOHNS: Right. Absolutely.

BALDWIN: So here's my question to you, Joe. How are they supposed to take all those different plans, bundle them together, get them rammed through not just the House, but the Senate, by Tuesday?

JOHNS: Well, they really need to start talking. And it doesn't sound like they will be able to do too much talking until the Boehner bill is passed over on the House side. So they will get together and try to work something out in a room. And after that, it's just, you know, legwork.

They're talking about all-nighters here, starting on Sunday morning, around 1:00 in the morning. And going through debate, you know, all through that morning, if necessary, with an eye toward a vote on Tuesday. So this would be continuous work on Capitol Hill to try to push this thing through before the August 2 deadline, Brooke.

BALDWIN: OK. So it's a long weekend. That we can all rely on here, but I did read this analogy, Joe, just a short time ago, that the American public and our leaders, they know full well what happened at Hiroshima.

And so we have gone to great pains to avoid some sort of nuclear disaster, nuclear war. But in this situation that we're sitting here talking about, there's no template, there's no precedent here. So do the folks up there, the folks we have elected, do they grasp the reality of what could happen next week? In talking to these people, do you get that sense?

JOHNS: I don't get that sense from everybody. Some of the people who were holding out as recently as last night, you talk to them, and they're not so sure we're talking about financial Armageddon or any measure of that, and they're also not so sure that August 2 is the real deadline.

They have a lot of suspicion about the way this whole thing has come up, and they're certainly suspicious of the White House. They don't think they have all the information to be able to decide when it is the United States government would really run out of money in the event the borrowing limit shut down on August 2.

BALDWIN: Joe Johns, thank you so much.

And I want to talk here to one of these folks we have elected, Senator Rob Portman, Republican of Ohio.

And, Senator Portman, nice to see you. Nice to have you on.

SEN. ROB PORTMAN (R), OHIO: Brooke, thanks for having me.

BALDWIN: Let me just ask you -- let me ask you a question I just posed to my colleague Joe Johns there, a bit of a reality check question, because I heard last hour -- I was talking to an expert from "U.S. News & World Report" who essentially said to me, have you seen the jobs reports? Have you listened to the jobs creators? They're saying that they're not hiring, Senator, because you folks in Washington have just dragged this out for months. Do members of Congress, do they grasp the reality of what's happening out there, outside of the Beltway?

PORTMAN: I hope so.

An, Brooke, it's not just about this. It's about a lot of other things that Washington is doing that make it harder to create a job, including increasing the cost of hiring somebody, and this goes to our tax system and our health care costs and our energy costs and so on.

So I hope Washington realizes that by going into this post-debt limit period, we're going to harm the economy, it's the wrong thing to do, but we also need to get busy on a pro-jobs agenda to help deal with those very issues you talked about. We just got the growth numbers today for this quarter, very disappointing.

BALDWIN: Yes.

PORTMAN: We also had an adjustment of the first-quarter growth, again, very disappointing. We have got a bigger issue here.

The debt limit issue needs to be resolved. It's incredibly important to deal with it, it's necessary, but it's not sufficient. We also need to be sure that we're dealing with the underlying debt and deficit problem, and a lot of other problems that Washington is causing to make these difficult jobs number that you talked about possible. So we have our hands full.

BALDWIN: Well, I think what's frustrating to Americans -- and I'm sure you have been hearing from your constituents. I hear from people, you know, all the time on Twitter, essentially saying, look, we deal with deadlines day in and day out in our own lives. So do you. But why does it have to be so messy?

And let me just ask you straight up here. In terms of the blame here for the crisis, does it lie with Tea Party Republicans, primarily those Tea Party Republicans in the House who seem to continue to add demands to this debt deal as we go forward?

PORTMAN: Well, first of all, I agree with what Joe Johns said. We're actually very close, because there now is finally, after frankly a long period of time where the president was in denial about it, an agreement that we do have to reduce the spending.

The president asked for a clean debt limit extension, as you know. Many of us said it's necessary to extend, but we have to do something about the underlying problem. Otherwise, we will have some of the same negative economic consequences that are being talked about today, the downgrade of the debt and so on. So it took a while for the president to come around to having any cuts.

And then the president proposed something, as you know, and there was a lot of back and forth with Speaker Boehner on this, that included tax increases. As recently as Monday night, the president told us it had to have tax increases.

So one reason we're here at the very end is there have been legitimate differences of opinion.

(CROSSTALK)

BALDWIN: But in terms of those differences of opinion, with all due respect, forgive me for interrupting you, but about the Tea Party Republicans, are they to blame for going at this late hour?

PORTMAN: Well, they are the people who believe, as I do, that we should not be increasing taxes on a very weak economy.

The numbers today, unfortunately, make it clear that this economy is even weaker than we thought. They also believe there has to be real and credible spending cuts as a part of this. And I think we're inching toward that now.

But, to be honest, there has been a huge difference of opinion between the president and most Democrats and the Republicans on this issue, Tea Party Republicans, self-described, as well as conservative Republicans, who make up the vast majority of our party. So these are legitimate differences that need to be worked out.

By the same token, we need to work them out.

(CROSSTALK)

BALDWIN: Are we going to get it worked out, Senator? Are we going to get it worked out by Tuesday?

PORTMAN: I think we are. Again, I would agree with what Joe said, with a little difference of opinion on what some of the specifics need to be, but we're very close.

We have agreed to three things. Number one, to extend the debt limit, we need to have substantial, credible cuts in spending. Those cuts in spending have to be the same as the debt ceiling increase. And, finally, there will not be any tax increases. So I think we are now on the same page, and it's a question of working it out.

And, as Joe said, you know, it takes a while here in the United States Congress just to get something done. There's some legwork involved. But I think we're on track now to complete it before the Tuesday deadline.

BALDWIN: Right. With regard, though, to some of those sticking points, I know one of them with regard to the Democrats, that they want to dispense with this issue until next election. They don't want this two-vote process that is in the Boehner bill, and Republicans, as we see, they want to do it in two different stages beginning as early as Christmas, taking up this whole mess again.

Why as a country, Senator, do we want to go through this again before the year is even over?

PORTMAN: Well, the most important thing is, again, that we have real cuts, and that the cuts are the same as the debt limit increase.

And if Democrats were willing to agree to real cuts, meaningful cuts that took it longer than six months or eight months, whatever's being talked about now, that would be fine. But that's not the case. So there needs to be a two-stage process in order to have a second process -- this is the committee that's being talked about -- to look at some of these longer-term fiscal problems, including the entitlement issue.

So that's really what's on the table here. It's not that Republicans are insisting that there be a two-stage process just because they don't want to see it extended longer. They're insisting on it because we believe that there need to be real cuts, $1 in cuts for every $1 extension in the debt limit.

And to do that, we have got to go through this second process of this joint committee, which would come to Congress with an up-or-down vote on things like tax reform, entitlement reform, budget reform to really make the changes we need.

So we will see what happens. I think there are two alternatives at this point. One is the two-stage process that's being talked about. The other would be to extend it longer, but with real cuts and credible cuts that the Congressional Budget Office tells us truly mean that we're getting our spending under control.

BALDWIN: Senator Rob Portman of Ohio, we will all wait to see what this final amalgamation of a plan will be. And, hopefully, we will get this done, you will get this done by Tuesday. Thank you so much, sir.

PORTMAN: OK. Thank you, Brooke. Thanks for having me on.

BALDWIN: Straight ahead: This 11-year-old girl's disappearance has now turned a New Hampshire town frantic. Her parents say the last time they saw her, she was in her bedroom. The next morning, she's gone. Now the search for Celina Cass is crossing borders, and investigators are pulling out all stops. That is next.

Plus, you remember this moment here? Here you go, the pie in the face of Rupert Murdoch at last week's phone-hacking hearing. Well, the funny guy who threw the pie not so -- not laughing today in court, but apparently he is still cracking jokes -- more on that next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BALDWIN: A frantic family, a worried New Hampshire town, and this desperate search for a missing 11-year-old girl. More than 100 investigators are combing right now West Stewartson for Celina Cass. The little girl's home is less than two miles from the Canadian border, and so now the Royal Canadian Mounted Police, they are out searching for any clues for her as well.

Cass last seen Monday night right before she went to bed. The next morning, she was gone. The FBI says there's no indication that any anyone took her, no signs of a struggle, no signs of a break-in. The little girl with this smile here, the gap-toothed smile, is described as timid, not someone who would just go off on her own.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

KIRSTEN LYONS, SPOKESWOMAN FOR FAMILY OF CELINA CASS: Celina is missed very much. We miss and we love Celina. We miss her smile and we want her home.

Celina, we want you to know that the entire community, your friends, your family are doing everything possible to bring you home where you belong.

Thank you.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BALDWIN: Joining me by phone, Jane Young, senior assistant attorney general of New Hampshire.

And, Jane, before I ask you these questions, just first, is there any news? Any news on her disappearance?

JANE YOUNG, ASSISTANT ATTORNEY GENERAL, NEW HAMPSHIRE (via telephone): The news that we have is this investigation remains ongoing. The police are still out canvassing neighborhoods. They are looking in fields. We have been joined by additional services from today as far away as Connecticut and the FBI continue to man computers, phones. Again, we continue to look at all facets of this case.

BALDWIN: I understand, Jane, that police, they're talking to every single person in this town? How many people is that?

YOUNG: Well, this is a town of a little less than 900 people and the police are going to every home, speaking with every individual, seeking consent to search every house, every barn, every garage, every outbuilding, tents, pools, it's an intensive search.

BALDWIN: That's amazing. Every single person.

And in terms of techniques, what kind of techniques? We looking at a helicopter here. I know they're going by air, by land, by water looking for her, correct?

YOUNG: That is correct.

BALDWIN: Has she ever -- has Celina ever wandered off before?

YOUNG: You know, the information that we have is that this is not typical of her, but we certainly haven't ruled anything out as far as her disappearance at this point.

BALDWIN: And so, the last time her parents saw her, it was the night -- it was in the evening and she was on her computer, is that right? Nothing's different about that.

YOUNG: The investigation reveals at this point that it was Monday evening she was last seen in her home, with correct.

BALDWIN: OK. I know her family issued a statement through her spokeswoman, but her mother, her stepfather, her sister, they have not said a thing publicly. Why is that?

YOUNG: I think anytime that a child is missing, you know, this is devastating for a family. They are, you know, they are relying on the police, they have been cooperative with the police in our search to find this child. I think that anybody who has a child out there can understand why they may not be in the media spotlight at this time.

BALDWIN: I understand that, but I've also heard that it is very helpful for parents to come out with a plea. I mean, perhaps their daughter is listening. Though at the same time, I imagine it is -- it's something I can't even imagine, being the parent of a missing child.

But I do know that at least 150 tips have poured in. Can you at all tell us about any of these tips, or at least if they're proving to be at all helpful in finding her?

YOUNG: The number of tips being 150, approximately, that was yesterday's number. We have gotten even more today.

They are being sorted as far as priority, what we think that we need to get to immediately, down to those that, you know, maybe we can wait until a couple of hours. We have an analyst looking at the tips, to see if there's any reoccurring theme or pattern to the information that we're getting to.

So we are following up on everything, and until we find her, we will not know which tip was the tip that brought us to her and hopefully will bring her home.

BALDWIN: Jane, final question, I know in cases like this, time is of the essence. What is priority and concern number one?

YOUNG: Priority number one is to continue this search.

You know, concern is, you know, typically, we have concerns of weather. Luckily, it's still summer here in New Hampshire, so the weather's pretty good.

And the priority has been and will continue to be to find Celina and to bring her home safely.

BALDWIN: Jane Young, thank you very much.

Quickly, the number, if you have any information, 603-846-3333.

Jane Young, thank you very much.

YOUNG: Thank you.

BALDWIN: Now, if it's interesting and happening right now, you're about to see it -- "Rapid Fire."

Beginning with, it pays to sell i-things. Apple's latest earnings report shows it has $76.2 billion in cash and securities at the end of last month. That is more cash on hand, folks, than Uncle Sam right now. Apple stock lingers at about 400 bucks a share.

And the woman who fled Libya after accusing Moammar Gadhafi's forces of gang-raping her is now in the United States. Iman al-Obeidi landed in New York on Wednesday and then boarded a flight to Denver where she'll live at least for now. Al-Obeidi spent the past 54 days in a U.N. refugee facility in Romania. Back in March, al-Obeidi stormed into that Tripoli hotel shouting to international journalists about her attack. She says she is excited to be in the U.S., but is not quite ready to talk to members of the media.

Who could forget this spectacle from last week's phone-hacking hearing? There you go, bottom left-hand side of your corner, this guy comes out of nowhere to attack the News Corp. Mogul, Rupert Murdoch, with a foam pie. Well, today, 26-year-old comedian Jonathan May- Bowles pleaded guilty to assault and other charges. Sentencing is set for Tuesday. On his way out of court, May-Bowles echoed Murdoch quipping, quote, "This has been the most humble day of my life."

Fonzie jumped the shark on "Happy Days," but a fisherman off the coast of Cape Cod jump on an shark from his boat. Eric Jacobs claims he rode the animal, and there he goes, for about 15 feet as his best friend filmed this whole stunt. It was a basking shark, if you're familiar, the second largest fish in the sea. It's a protected species, so wildlife officials none too thrilled about this stunt here, but Jacobson says he would do it all over again. Not I.

Coming up next, how Norway today is honoring the 77 victims slaughtered last week -- this time last week -- by a madman.

Also this --

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MARIANNE BREMNES, TEXTED WITH DAUGHTER AT NORWAY CAMP SHOOTING: She called us, and then she said, mom, don't panic, there's a man shooting here.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BALDWIN: That is the woman whose daughter texted her, two hours of texting off and on, from this youth camp as bullets rang out. You had such a strong response to this interview this week, we're going to replay just a portion of it for you next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BALDWIN: The suspect in Norway's twin terror attacks was hauled out of solitary confinement at a Norwegian prison today for a second round of interrogation. Oslo police wrapped up today's session with Anders Bearing Breivik just a little more than an hour ago. And investigators say they have gathered a lot of new evidence since first talking to him on Saturday.

Also in Oslo, arms held roses high above mourners heads in tribute to the victims of last Friday's bombing in Oslo and shootings on Utoya Island. Today's memorial services was organized by the Youth Movement of Norway's Labour Party who vowed to return to holding camps at that very island on Utoya.

The first funerals for victims of the terror attacks were held today. There were two: Ismail Haji Ahmed, 19 years of age, and then there was the funeral for young Bano Rashid. I want you to watch this, this is from my colleague, senior international correspondent, Nic Robertson.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

NIC ROBERTSON, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: So many people have come to Bano Rashid's funeral, they're overflowing from the church. It's a multicultural event, Muslim, Christian funeral for an 18-year-old girl whose friends described as an aspiring politician, a sunbeam, somebody they expected to do well in the party politics here. Someone who had gone to the camp on Utoya Island with her sister. Her sister, we're told by friends, survived. But today so many people here gathering to remember her, her parents arriving in tears.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BALDWIN: Most of the victims from last Friday's terror attack were shot to death right there on that remote island, it's called Utoya Island. Hundreds of young people were attending this youth political camp, including 16-year-old Julie Bremnes.

And like so many teenagers, Julie had her cell phone. And after seeing the gunman last Friday, she was able to quickly grab it, call her mother, who was 800 miles away. Mom and daughter stayed in contact by text messages for two hours off and on through from horrifying ordeal.

In fact, I talked to Julie's mother, Marianne, about those harrowing exchanges of text messages. Listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BREMNES: 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.

The news were so occupied by the bomb explosion in Oslo, so the news didn't know anything about this at that time. But when the first text message came, then I realized, this was for 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 to have the meeting because of the bomb explosion in Oslo and he was coming, walking down the road on the island. He was a -- 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 directions.

She ran down to the shore and she hide under a overhang, behind some rocks.

BALDWIN: As you're getting these text messages and you're trying to comprehend what she's going through, how helpless did you feel?

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

BALDWIN: I want to point out just 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 despaired. I didn't know what to do.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BALDWIN: What a story, isn't it? You can watch that entire interview when I spoke with Miss Bremnes, just go to CNN.com/Brooke.

The warfare in Washington over the nation's debt, it is now hitting the airwaves. Jim Acosta standing by with your "Political Ticker." He'll explain hitting the airwaves here coming up.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BALDWIN: Let's get your "CNN Equals Politics" update. Let's go to my colleague, Jim Acosta, with the latest news fresh off the Ticker.

Jim, let me guess. We're going to talk debt ceiling mess?

JIM ACOSTA, CNN POLITICAL CORRESPONDENT: That's right, Brooke, I know. It feels like Groundhog Day. But one thing that -- and speaking of something that you hear over and over again, and Brooke, I think you're picking up on this as well. I am amazed by how many people who have been in this town for a long time, how many of those folks will come up to you these days and say, I have never seen anything like this before. And that goes for DNC Chairwoman Debbie Wasserman Schultz. I talked to her earlier today about the debt ceiling crisis and this impasse up on Capitol Hill. And of course, she blames the Republicans for this stalemate, saying that they won't come to the table. But she also said that she's never seen anything like this before. And you do get a growing sense that even the institutional leaders, the folks who have been around this town for a while are worried about outcome of this crisis.

Here's a little bit of what the chairwoman, who's also a Florida congresswoman, very key in all the talks going on up on the Hill, this is what she told me earlier this afternoon.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

REP. DEBBIE WASSERMAN SCHULTZ (D-FL), CHAIR, DNC: The ball is in the Republicans' court here. We've been sitting at the compromise table for a long time, and there is a cold chair across from us that they need to come warm up so we can get this job done.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ACOSTA: So there you go. A cold chair that needs to be warmed up.

That is one of the messages coming from the Democratic Party these days. Debbie Wasserman Schultz again said that she believes that the Tea Party element of the Republican Party is really driving the country off the cliff, in her characterization in this debt ceiling crisis.

And speaking of some of the partisan rhetoric that is flying up here, it's not just coming from Democrats towards Republicans, Tea Party groups are starting to put together ads that they are going to be running in battleground states over the coming weeks. Americans for Prosperity, that is a group that is funded by the Koch brothers. You've probably heard of them before, Brooke.

BALDWIN: Yep.

ACOSTA: This is an ad that Americans for Prosperity is putting out, using then-Senator Obama's words against him in this commercial that they're running in a couple of battleground states. Take a look.

(BEGIN POLITICAL AD CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Obama said, quote, "Raising America's debt limit is a sign of leadership failure." But now President Obama says --

BARACK OBAMA, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: We have to extend this debt ceiling through the next election.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Why? Under Obama, the national debt is up 35 percent, unemployment is up 18 percent, and while reckless spending hurts our economy, the president wants $2 trillion in new debt to get --

OBAMA: Through the next election.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: President Obama put America's needs ahead of partisan politics.

(END POLITICAL AD CLIP)

ACOSTA: So, Brooke, this crisis here in Washington is at least good for the ad makers, just not so sure if it's good for the rest of us.

BALDWIN: Jim, I just have to say quickly, I say kudos to our viewers, because they are engaged. We were talking to some of the good folks at CNN.com earlier, and people want details. Obviously, this directly affects them. But they want to know, what's in the bill, how does this affect me, and when is this getting done? And I say kudos to them. Jim Acosta, thank you so much.

ACOSTA: You bet.

BALDWIN: Coming up, we're going to take you to Texas. The Lone Star State starving for rain, but there is some hope on the horizon in the form of this. There he is, this tropical storm, this is Tropical Storm Don just off Mexico and Texas there. Chad Myers keeping a close eye on this. We'll check in with him next.

Plus this --

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: If you come in here and do something that's kind of out of the ordinary, I'm going to key on that. And that's pretty much what I did with this kid.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BALDWIN: This kid, is this guy, an AWOL Muslim-American soldier, and what he did and wanted to do, it's frightening. We're learning more about how his sordid plans to kill his fellow troops. Stay here.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BALDWIN: The debt debate, as you know, rages on in Washington; another Fort Hood suspect is in court today; and drought-weary Texas hoping for rain. Time to play "Reporter Roulette".

Brianna Keilar, I want to begin with you at the White House.

Brianna, in just the past two hours, I talked to two senators, talked to a Democrat, talked to a Republican. I know that the House vote is expected, maybe 6:00, maybe 7:00 tonight. What's happening there where you are at the White House?

BRIANNA KEILAR, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Here at the White House, Brooke, it is very much the waiting game. All eyes on Capitol Hill as the House prepares for this vote. And yes, you said it, could be as soon as in two hours, but we certainly don't bet on it, considering the delay we saw yesterday. And President Obama spoke this morning, because he has said this Boehner plan, that will be voted on in the House is dead on arrival.

He really said today, he's looking toward Senate Democrats and Republicans to come up and take the lead and work out some sort of a compromise. But the fact is, Brooke, time is really running out here. Because once the Senate does introduce something, they still require 30 hours of debate before they can have a vote. The bottom line, here, the end game is very unclear. The clock is ticking. Even as the White House still says it's confident that Congress will act to increase the debt ceiling.

BALDWIN: You know, listening to the president this morning there at the White House, he once again called on Americans, pick up the phone, call your members of Congress, Tweet. And now the president, here, I'm looking over @BarackObama, Twitter handle, they're Tweeting too. What are they tweeting about?

KEILAR: Yes, I saw you were looking at Twitter on this. The president, or really his staff, but this is the president's Twitter, they're actually putting out the Twitter handles of they say all House Republicans, I guess all House Republicans that are on Twitter.

We saw the president on Monday. He essentially said to members of the public, really his supporters, contact your members of Congress. We saw Web sites on Capitol Hill crash. We saw offices were inundated with e-mails and with phone calls. This is really the same sort of thing as the president recasts his role, since he's not really at the negotiating table with Democrats and Republicans on the Hill, in a really formal setting, Brooke.

BALDWIN: OK, Brianna.

KEILAR: And I should mention, the White House conservative group urged its supporters to do the same thing here at the White House. And I know the White House has seen definitely an uptick in the phone calls they're getting here.

BALDWIN: Interesting. People are calling and Tweeting. Either way they feel, they're perturbed. Brianna Keilar, thanks so much.

Next, let's go to Texas on "Reporter Roulette", let's go to Ed Lavandera.

Ed, we'll call it strange, I think you called it bizarre behavior from the Muslim Army soldier arrested with alleged bomb making materials this week, near Fort Hood, Texas. He was in federal court this afternoon. I'll ask about that bizarre behavior in a moment. But first charges, what is Naser Abdo charged with?

ED LAVANDERA, CNN CORRESPONDENT: So far he's been charged with one federal count of possessing an illegal destructive device. That carries with it a potential 10-year prison sentence. That was only one charge. We asked some federal officials here in Texas today if other charges could be pending, and we were told that would be a safe assumption to make.

BALDWIN: OK, Ed Lavandera, bizarre behavior. Bizarre how?

LAVANDERA: This was an initial appearance, this supposed to be very routine, to go over some basic legal housekeeping items, but Abdo was walked into the courtroom, he was shackled, in a solid white jumpsuit. He was shackled around the arms and waist and his feet. And he was reading a piece of paper before everything got started. And when it was time for the judge to walk in, everyone's supposed to stand up, he refused, two U.S. Marshals to come over and said, stand up, stand up, he refused, and they yanked him up by the arms.

Then they went through all of the things they had done in this initial court appearance. And as Abdo was being walked out, he started talking about a 14-year-old Iraqi girl that was raped and murdered by U.S. soldiers back in 2006, and he also mentioned Major Nidal Hassan's name, which obviously is a very controversial name here. Hasan is the man accused of gunning down 13 soldiers at Fort Hood two years ago. So it was almost like this little message of solidarity that Abdo had been sharing with these two fellow Muslims. So it was a strange scene there in the courtroom, indeed.

BALDWIN: Yes. Unreal. Ed Lavandera in Waco.

Eddie, thanks.

And last but not least on this Friday of "Reporter Roulette", Chad Myers here in the weather center. Tracking Tropical Storm Don, Chad. Where's Don headed?

CHAD MYERS, CNN METEOROLOGIST: South of Corpus Christie, north of Brownsville, right along my favorite beach in the world, actually. And you can include all the Caribbean beaches as well, because this is best. But don't tell everybody, because I don't want to get it really full of people.

(LAUGHTER)

(CROSS TALK)

MEYERS: Don't Tweet about that, OK?

Right along the shore here in Florida and Texas, this is the Texas coast. It will be coming right on shore. It will be one storm for the rain-making books, but other than that, not a very large storm in size, not a very big storm, north to south or east to west, and probably just a couple of inches of rainfall in any one spot.

This is not going to be a big deal. This will not be a flood- maker. It will get some rainfall for parts of South Texas and parts of Northern Mexico. I would like to cover up the entire state with a tropical system for a couple of days, that doesn't work, not with this small system. But there are more storms out there. And remember this, this time next week, Monday or Tuesday, we'll be talking about Emily. Could be a big one out there in the Atlantic.

BALDWIN: So, we're moving on to the Es, from Don to Emily we go. Chad Myers, thank you so much.

That is your "Reporter Roulette" on this Friday.

We told you yesterday about the polygamous leader Warren Jeffs, remember his new defense, the fact that he basically fired all his lawyers, says he's going to defend himself. We are also now learning just exactly how he's done that. And folks, speaking of bizarre behavior, this one goes in that category as well. CNN's Gary Tuchman watching it all unfold for us in Texas. We'll check in with Gary, here, coming up next. Don't miss this

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BALDWIN: The child sex assault trial of polygamous leader Warren Jeffs is quickly becoming the newest courtroom circus, and we sent national correspondent Gary Tuchman to cover this.

He's been inside this courthouse in San Angelo, Texas, all day and Gary, what a story here. You have Jeffs, he's acting all on his own. It's he's own lawyer. Yesterday, didn't say a word, right, when it was his turn to give his opening statement.

Today he pulls a 180, and I think I heard you say, this is the most bizarre scenario in a courtroom you've ever seen.

GARY TUCHMAN, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: It really is, Brooke. I look at the 12 members of this jury. They don't know what hit them. It's weird. If you've ever served on a jury or watch the court show, you know the two sides are supposed to battle each other during a court case, and yesterday Warren Jeffs just sat there, staring straight ahead.

He never even -- not only didn't talk, he didn't look at anybody. Today, he's objecting. He's making speeches. He made an objection to evidence he thought was sacred and usually when you make an objection, you talk for a few seconds and the judge makes a decision on that.

He spoke for 60 minutes. The judge later explained he gave him a chance to talk because he didn't make opening statements yesterday. But today, a short time ago, Warren Jeffs, who says he's a prophet. He says he's the closest man on earth to God said he had a revelation.

And the jury was out at this time. But he read a note that he didn't necessarily say he wrote, the implication was that God may have written the note. But he said God told him, I want to read this quote to you, Brooke.

He said, "I, the lord God of heaven ask the courts to cease the prosecution of my holy way. There will be a judgment against all who prosecute the church. I shall let all people know of your unjust ways. I will bring sickness and death."

Well, the judge was offended and she told Warren Jeffs that if you call for the jury's destruction, you'll be removed from the courtroom, and he said, I'm not calling for the jury's destruction, I'm releasing a message.

So you see what the judge is dealing with right now, but she doesn't want to kick him out of the court. He's disrupting it. He's objecting. He's interrupting people.

But if she kicks him out of the court, that's what he wants. He wants this trial to be stopped, to be delayed, and she wants it to keep going on and it could end as early as next week.

BALDWIN: OK, and just so, we iterate what you said 60 minutes, 6-0 is how long he talked. Do you have any idea, Gary, if he really is on acting on his own, if he is representing himself, or is he getting any kind of advice from any actual attorney?

TUCHMAN: One of -- he had seven attorneys yesterday. He fired all seven of them. The judge ordered that one remain to act as someone who could give him advice. So there's one with attorney who's sitting back where we are in the spectator area, offering him advice if he needs it.

But he does not want that lawyer to participate in his trial. So he's there to offer him advice, but Warren Jeffs is doing it all himself, and I could tell you he's doing it all wrong.

He's going to lose this case very badly, and he's really angering this jury who wants to perform their civic duty, and he's seeing this man who disrupts and being very disrespectful and who knows what could happen next.

No cameras on the court and as I'm speaking to you something could be going on. We just don't know.

BALDWIN: OK, I'll let you go here in just a moment, but quickly --

TUCHMAN: I wasn't inferring that we need to leave --

BALDWIN: It's OK, Gary Tuchman, the news is happening elsewhere. Although let me just quickly ask, given what he's charged with and maybe he does lose, what kind of prison time could he face?

TUCHMAN: That's why this is a serious case. I mean, this would be funny if it wasn't such a serious case, but he faces the possibility on these two sexual assault charges, one with a 12-year- old girl, one with a 15-year-old girl, the possibility of 119 years in prison.

BALDWIN: OK, Gary Tuchman, I'll let you go. Thank you so much.

Coming up here, we have some video you have to see, which happens when it's just too doggone hot outside.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BALDWIN: "THE SITUATION ROOM" with Wolf Blitzer coming up in a matter of minutes. Wolf Blitzer, I know you're talking debt. Let me just ask you who you're talking debt to?

WOLF BLITZER, HOST, CNN'S "THE SITUATION ROOM": Well, we've got Jon Huntsman, the Republican presidential candidate. Plus two key members of the U.S. Senate. Rand Paul is going to be joining us. He's a conservative Republican from Kentucky.

He's obviously very concerned about what's going on. Sherrod Brown, the Democrat, he's a liberal, from Ohio. He's going to be joining us as well. The action once the House takes the vote and we expect that within the next hour or two, but having said that, I said that exactly this time yesterday, but let's see what happens today.

If the House votes in the next hour or two, the action will then shift to the Senate and they're going to have a huge debate in the Senate. They've got to get something going over there. This clock is ticking. We only have a few more days left.

And it's going to be a long, long weekend. We're going to be working all weekend, watching what's going on. We'll be live in "THE SITUATION ROOM" tomorrow night, by the way, 6:00 p.m. Eastern.

Live Sunday night, I'll be co-anchoring a special Sunday night from 9:00 to 11:00 p.m. Eastern. We're watching everything. Sunday night, by the way, we'll be watching because the -- we'll be watching very, very closely. They could be working all night tonight.

Tweeted a little while ago, Brooke, I don't know if you saw my tweet. I tweeted, "attention all Capitol Hill lawmakers and staffers -- get your cots ready, bring them out of the warehouse, bring them out of the closets over there. Get your cots ready because you'll be working all-night."

There are all-nighters probably Saturday night, Sunday night, maybe Monday night as well. This could go down to the wire. Let's hope for the best. It's a big, big, big story.

BALDWIN: Huge deal. We'll see you in a couple of minutes and I'll most definitely be watching, 9:00 p.m. Eastern Sunday night, Mr. Blitzer, have a wonderful weekend working. Thank you.

Also, news flash, it's Friday! The end of a long, hot workweek and what better way to wind down by the pool. You've got to this, and you've got to see something else. Starting today, and each and every Friday here, I will answer your questions.

We're turning the tables a bit. Give you a sneak peek of something we're coming up of what we're calling the week wind-down.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BALDWIN: Here's my iPod, I was at a concert last night and so many of you have gotten into our idea of doing music Monday. Here's a quick hint for Monday.

She's born in Chicago, you know her as a rhythm and blues singer, gospel, but she also was proposed to by Bob Dylan. Music Monday, see you at 3:00.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BALDWIN: You know, this has been a really huge news week. We've been talking serious stuff with the debt. It's a serious crisis. Wolf is going to talk about it in two minutes from now.

But if I may, just in the week, but something a little light, we all need a little smile here, so here's this. Forget Toto and Rin Tin Tin. There's a new pooch on the canine acting scene with skills that could give Lassie a run for her money. You got to see this.

This is Rosie and when her little buddy there playfully nips at her neck, the playful pooch couldn't resist a chance to make him sweat a little. Watch Rosie play dead. Guess it just gives new meaning to playing dead when it's self-imposed on the ground. Hopefully she gets mad treats for that. My pug would.

Next to this one, and this is, I think, my favorite video of the day. You know, look, we're not the only ones feeling the heat from the soaring temperatures across the country. This is Gus. Gus has a buddy as well, and when it gets a little too hot for Gus, see what Gus is doing, taking the kiddie pool, taking matters into his own mouth and decides to get inside the house, nice, cool air-conditioning with the pool.

I don't know so much if he's going to share the pool with the friend bulldog, but, Gus eventually does get it. Can we get there? Does he get the pool inside? I think he finally does. Pawing at it. Come on, pool, we're going to get there. Let's all watch. Come on, Gus. Come on, Gus. Come on, Gus!

And there he goes. That is it for me. I hope it made you smile. Thanks so much for watching us here.

Now, Wolf Blitzer, "SITUATION ROOM" starts right now -- Wolf