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September 11 Terror Warning; President Obama's Jobs Plan; Flooding Devastates Northeast; CNN/Tea Party GOP Debate; New York Stock Exchange Has Moment of Silence for 9/11 Victims; Hillary Clinton Denies Presidential Run; CNN Correspondent Remembers 9/11 at the Pentagon; Underage Girl Posts Provocative Photos on Facebook; Conrad Murray Trial; Laughing at the President; Biden and Boehner Chat

Aired September 09, 2011 - 16:00   ET

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

BROOKE BALDWIN, CNN ANCHOR: Now, top of the hour, watch this:

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

BALDWIN (voice over): It's a terror threat serious enough to warn a country already on edge. And the government isn't taking any chances.

I'm Brooke Baldwin. The news is now.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Boom. It went out again.

BALDWIN: Millions just going about their day when suddenly blackout.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It was so damn hot.

BALDWIN: Did the power go out because somebody goofed?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The president of the United States.

BALDWIN: Jobs night in Congress. Conservatives, liberals, loopholes and the ladies?

REP. JOHN BOEHNER (R-OH), SPEAKER OF THE HOUSE: Cutest one in the row by far.

BALDWIN: We go behind the scenes for moments you couldn't see on TV.

Plus, a dad is suing Facebook after his 12-year-old daughter posted racy pictures of herself for all the world to see. Sunny Hostin is on the case.

BARBARA STARR, CNN PENTAGON CORRESPONDENT: Pentagon, policemen running, yelling, everybody, get out. We have been hit.

BALDWIN: The moment of attack. Pentagon correspondent Barbara Starr retraces her steps on 9/11 and shows us the exact spot of impact.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BALDWIN: And welcome back. I'm Brooke Baldwin. Let me just begin with bringing you up to speed on this possible terrorist plot keyed to the 10th anniversary of the 9/11 attacks. It's sounding more and more today as though we are talking al Qaeda.

Take a look at this. These are images we're getting. This is from Capitol Hill in Washington less than 24 hours since the warning, this warning based upon intelligence that only began emerging Wednesday, so it's very fresh information. But law enforcement authorities are now scrambling to just try to piece all of it together today.

From Washington, where they're preparing. You see these police officers there in Manhattan, New York City, police stopping trucks, stopping all kinds of vehicles. In particular, though, they're stopping vans and trucks.

And our new information is coming in from intelligence sources. Here's the key. They say their source of information is a communications intercept involving a known al Qaeda operative in Pakistan. And this known operative is said to have discussed a vehicle bomb attack against either New York, Washington on the 10th anniversary of 9/11.

I want to go straight to New York City to Allan Chernoff .

And, Allan, tell me, specifically...

ALLAN CHERNOFF, CNN SENIOR CORRESPONDENT: Coming up. Stand by.

BALDWIN: There we are. Tell me specifically where you are, what you're seeing.

CHERNOFF: Brooke, we're at 60th and Columbus Avenue, the beginning of the Upper West Side.

And you have got checkpoints like this all over Manhattan, downtown, not far from Ground Zero, in midtown, especially near Times Square and further up town as well. Here, there are two more further uptown. And have a look at what the officers are doing. They're pushing traffic into just one lane over here, and they are very carefully watching the cars, pulling over any vehicles that they believe might be suspicious, in particular trucks and vans.

They want to make sure that there are no bombs. They are also wearing -- on their bodies, they are wearing radiation detectors. You can see the box over there. It's a little bigger than this. It will vibrate if there is any radiation coming out of any of these vehicles. Fortunately, that has not been the case.

But just so you know, they're also checking for dirty bombs. Have a look at what this has done to traffic in Manhattan. It is way backed up, miles. I spoke to a truck driver earlier. He told me he had essentially been driving at two miles an hour. Took him an hour-and- a-half to go about 60 blocks. That's about three miles.

And even cross town as well, you can see the traffic over there, just a mess all over the place. Brooke, they are conducting these checks. They are also checking through parking garages in Manhattan, looking for bombs. And they are also searching in the subways as well, checking all the bags as much as they can -- Brooke.

BALDWIN: Does this last, Allan, through the weekend?

CHERNOFF: Indeed. The police say that they intend to continue this sort of intensive watch over New York City through 9/11 going all the way into Monday.

And at that point, they will reassess to decide if they need to continue this sort of police presence. But for the next few days, you can expect a very, very intense police presence here in Manhattan.

BALDWIN: Allan, thank you.

I want to stay in New York and bring in a former NYPD detective, Steve Kardian.

And, Steve, something we actually talked about this morning in our morning meeting, 10 years now since 9/11, the New York Police Department, they are getting pretty good at being vigilant, looking out, being prepared. If you're in New York this weekend, shouldn't you feel pretty secure?

STEVE KARDIAN, FORMER NEW YORK STATE POLICE DETECTIVE: You know, you should feel pretty secure, Brooke, and you should go about your business as you would any other day.

The NYPD is out there. They're doing a great job. They -- 10 years ago, we didn't even have a homeland security director. They have been preparing for this date for a long time. It was expected, it was anticipated that something like this might happen. And the NYPD and other agencies involved are doing an amazing job. And there's things that are going on behind the scenes that we're not even privy to and that we will not see. But they are in effect right now as we speak.

BALDWIN: Steve, what potential landmarks in New York City are getting top priority? I mean, what do authorities believe are the top terrorist targets, also soft targets as well?

KARDIAN: Yes. Well, we're looking at all the whole high-profile targets. We're looking at the financial district. We're looking at Times Square.

I notice even at Columbus Circle outside of Time Warner that there's an increased police presence. But particularly they're looking at the bridge, they're looking at the subways. They're going to be checking just about every truck and any suspicious vehicle that goes through those areas. Coming down the West Side Highway, I have never seen the G.W. Bridge as backed up as it is.

And it reaches far beyond into the tristate area. You have Westchester county, Nassau County and the state of New Jersey intercepting, checking for vehicles coming into the city, as well as doing their due diligence in their respective jurisdictions for their soft targets. BALDWIN: Steve, what about the fact that the president will be -- we know he will be at all locations on Sunday, all states, I should say. But on Ground Zero, given this potential plot, this threat, will they be adding new security on top of what was already planned?

KARDIAN: I think you're going to see a security presence like you have never seen before, Brooke, with the president there, with all the dignitaries. I understand there's going to be two former presidents as well. So New York City is going to be crawling with law enforcement and intelligence people, some that you will see, some that you won't.

The Hercules team is already at some of the landmarks that we have talked about. That's the team, they look like SWAT or Army officers. There's going to be an Army presence on 9/11. It's going to be in hand and God willing all will go well. I have full faith in the NYPD, the FBI and all the other agencies that are working here.

BALDWIN: Steve Kardian, former detective, thank you so much for that.

KARDIAN: My pleasure.

(NEWS BREAK)

BALDWIN: Also, CNN speaks with both Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and Rudy Giuliani as they pay a visit this morning to Wall Street, both of whom had interesting answers when asked whether they're considering presidential runs. That is ahead.

Also, up next, from California to Mexico, perhaps this included you yesterday, millions of people suddenly out of power, no lights, no air conditioning, nada. Did a human error cause this massive blackout? We will speak live to a woman who was trapped in an elevator for nearly three hours. Find out what she did inside and who started banging on the doors. Don't miss that.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BALDWIN: Power is back in almost all of Southern California and Arizona after a massive, massive blackout in the area just yesterday. Take a look at what San Diego looked like as the sun went down. No electricity for miles. People stuck at the airport, stuck on the highway.

More than five million people, including some in Mexico, were suddenly left in the dark. People out on the streets wondering what went wrong. Even reactors at the San Onofre plant went in shutdown mode. Arizona Power Service says this, that it was caused by -- and I'm quoting -- "an employee-generated event."

It happened while equipment was being replaced. The blackout backed up the highway for miles. Trains, buses all ground to a halt. And passengers were stranded when flights couldn't leave the San Diego Airport.

Lisa Goerring is on the phone with me from San Diego. And, Lisa, you were trapped in a elevator? Tell me, how long exactly? And did you panic?

LISA GOERRING, WAS TRAPPED ON ELEVATOR: Well, it was about two-and-a- half-hours approximately.

And, actually, I wasn't too panicked, but I was a little concerned at first because I was hearing a lot of sirens outside. And I couldn't get any cell service inside the elevator. So I just had no idea what was going on.

BALDWIN: So at what point did you figure out it was a power outage and not something more nefarious?

GOERRING: Well, I was actually on my way back to my office for a meeting.

And I had tried to call my supervisor to let him know I was stuck. And after a while, I managed to get a couple of texts back from him saying, well, don't come to work. There's a massive power outage. But I still didn't know, you know, really what the full situation was at that point.

BALDWIN: Did the fact that we are now days away from the 10th anniversary of 9/11, did that all at all factor into your mind-set as you're sitting and trapped in an elevator?

GOERRING: Well, it did cross my mind, yes, especially -- the garage where I was trapped is right across the street from our downtown fire station. So I was just hearing all kinds of sirens going on and thinking, man, all these sirens, a huge blackout. And you just never know.

So it crossed my mind, but I just didn't have any information on whether or not to be really concerned or not.

BALDWIN: So many people were stuck. I was texting with a girlfriend who was just sitting on the 5 yesterday.

Are you all just sort of swapping stories at work today on where you were and how long you were out of power?

GOERRING: A little bit, yes.

(LAUGHTER)

GOERRING: My co-worker was saying, oh, that was you?

(LAUGHTER)

BALDWIN: That was you banging on the elevator for two-and-a-half- hours. Yes, it was.

GOERRING: Yes.

(LAUGHTER) BALDWIN: I do know that officials are telling people to boil their drinking water and don't go swimming in the ocean, because there's been this sewage leak.

Are people aware of that? Are they listening as we go into the weekend?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I believe so. There has been, you know, word getting out in, I think, some areas of the city. But I think for the general population, it doesn't seem to be much of a problem at this point.

BALDWIN: Lisa Garring (ph), I'm glad you're out of that elevator and able to use your phone and call me. And have a nice weekend. Thank you so much.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Thank you.

BALDWIN: Still ahead, floodwaters continue rising across the Northeast. There are concerns in one state about the levees and whether they will be able to hold back all this water. We're going to take you to Pennsylvania.

Also, a bizarre incident on a city bus is sparking an investigation. Wait until you see what the driver does to a passenger trying to get on.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BALDWIN: Metro officials in Washington, D.C., they're now out looking for answers after a bus driver physically tosses this passenger off the bus. And of course it's caught on camera. Take a look.

This serious video here surfaced on YouTube. You can see the driver on the left-hand side of your screen. He's kind of wrestling with the passenger who's got his left hand on the pole. He doesn't want to leave.

Passengers, clinging to the rails. The driver slams the passenger. You have to wait for it. Here he goes, slams him, and begins to push him to the ground. You can actually hear the thud when the man hits the door.

Let's play that.

Officials -- you heard it -- officials are investigating the driver and the circumstances of the altercation.

Several dead, thousands flooded out of their own homes. The remnants of Tropical Storm Lee left much of the northeast Pennsylvania area looking like this. This is the Susquehanna River, cresting at 22 feet above flood stage. Here in West Pittston, the water line almost reached -- you can see -- just a couple feet away from the roofline.

Mary Snow is there with the latest on the flooding.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

MARY SNOW, CNN CORRESPONDENT: This is the worst flooding this area has seen in four decades. We're here in West Pittston. We're about 100 yards from the Susquehanna River, and this is one of the hardest- hit areas in Luzerne County. It's a county that has ordered the evacuations of nearly 70,000 people.

It's estimated that half of this town's residents have been affected by floodwaters. And even though the river is receding, people are not going to be allowed back into their homes anytime soon, and that's because the river is still way above flood stage. And that's one of the big concerns now among officials, is that people may try to go back into their homes too soon. And while the river has crested here, it has yet to crest in other places in Pennsylvania, including Harrisburg, the state's capital.

Mary Snow, CNN, West Pittston, Pennsylvania.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BALDWIN: Mary, thank you.

We're told it's the same story in Upstate New York. Today, Governor Cuomo looking at the damage there -- this is Broome County -- from the air.

Thousands there, as you can see, they had to get out of their homes as well. And for one woman, the flood probably ruined any chance of getting out for good.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

PATTY HENSHAW, JOHNSON CITY, NEW YORK, HOMEOWNER: I had just gotten it together. It's on the market for sale. We're supposed to have an open house Sunday, and now this has happened. So we're just happy somebody was going to come get us.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BALDWIN: We'll keep watching the Susquehanna River there in Pennsylvania, Upstate New York as well.

Also, the presidential debate in which the Tea Party movement will be asking some questions. You're going to see it right here on CNN.

Coming up next, a preview live from Tampa. Don Lemon, Paul Steinhauser -- need I say more? Don't miss this.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BALDWIN: Tampa, Florida, hosting the CNN/Tea Party Republican debate this coming Monday night. And look who beat the Tea Party Express bus to Tampa. We have a twofer for you right now, Don Lemon, Paul Steinhauser, two-camera shoe.

This is fancy stuff, you guys, with a little preview ahead of Monday night.

Paul, you're going to give us a little analysis.

Don Lemon, I do want to begin with you. Set the scene for me in Tampa. This is a huge deal for us.

DON LEMON, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Oh, it is. It's a big deal, because, Brooke, it is the first time that there has been a Tea Party debate, a debate that's completely devoted to the Tea Party. And we have the honor here of actually hosting the debate, and it's going to be none other than our very own Wolf Blitzer who's going to do it.

And so we're excited about that. And it's going to be interesting to see, because the other debates really appeal to the Republican, the GOP field, the Republicans in general. This one is going to appeal strictly to the Tea Party.

Of course they're going to be speaking to the party at large and to viewers and voters at large. But as I said, this one is directed to the Tea Party. We're going to see how we're going to do that.

As we saw, there was a debate just Wednesday night. And Social Security, among other things, really played a big role in that. The first time we saw Rick Perry on a national stage.

I want to bring in -- you saw Paul Steinhauser sitting here next to me. Paul is our deputy political director.

I think it's interesting.

And Brooke, you can jump in here if you feel like it.

BALDWIN: Yes.

LEMON: I think it's interesting, as I said, the first Tea Party debate. And there's a certain appeal, there's certain things that you have to do in order to appeal to Tea Party voters.

PAUL STEINHAUSER, CNN DEPUTY POLITICAL DIRECTOR: Oh, no doubt about it.

And listen, Don, the Tea Party, this movement, just about two-and-a- half years old now. They were so influential last year in the Republican primaries and in the general election, in the midterm elections. And I think everybody agrees, they will be just as influential this time around in the battle for the Republican presidential nomination. And that's run of the reasons why we're doing this kind of debate and teaming up with the Tea Party organizations to put this on.

Now, listen, today, I know you spoke to a couple of the low Tea Party groups here in the Tampa area. What did they say? What do they want to hear?

LEMON: They want to hear about spending, how spending is going to be lowered. They want to hear about jobs. It's always jobs, jobs, jobs. That's the big thing.

But you know what, Brooke and Paul? There's really no compromise when it comes to at least the Tea Party members I spoke to.

When it comes to spending, they say if there's any more spending added, if there's any more taxes, they're not going along with that. And they're very proud of what the freshmen Tea Party members did when it came to the debt ceiling and the deficit talks in Washington. They're glad they stood by their guns.

BALDWIN: Let me jump in.

And Paul, my question is for you. You know, this will be the second debate for these eight candidates in, what, three weeks? I mean, who is looking strongest as we go into Monday?

STEINHAUSER: Well, you know, it's funny, because this debate is coming just five days after that first clash we saw on Wednesday night out there in California between Mitt Romney and Rick Perry. And it was Rick Perry's first debate.

A lot of people are saying, well, Rick Perry doesn't have a lot of experience debating. He hasn't done much in his years in Texas in all those reelections. But I think the general consensus was that he gave as good as he got the other night.

Now, we're going to see though some of the comments that he made, Social Security --

BALDWIN: Social Security.

LEMON: The Ponzi scheme thing.

STEINHAUSER: -- the Ponzi scheme, right. Also, maybe on global warming. I think some of those things could come up again not only from Wolf Blitzer, but also from some of the other candidates who will be going after him. And it wasn't just a two-person debate. It's going to be the other candidates as well going after Rick Perry.

LEMON: Yes.

And also, you know what issues I think -- the members of the Tea Party we spoke to here, there were three women in the room. And the Tea Party really -- the demographics have been older, quite frankly, white men, men over 45. And I think here, in Tampa, at least, women have a very strong voice in the Tea Party, and I think women's voices in the Tea Party are becoming stronger and they're becoming a larger number in the Tea Party.

So, quite frankly, they said they want to hear from all the candidates, but they also want to see if Michele Bachmann is going to become, in their eyes, viable again, if she's going to go back to number one as she was in the Iowa straw poll, instead of as the pundits have been saying and the polls have been showing, that she's number three and sometimes number four. BALDWIN: There was so much talk about her. And then, now, it became Perry and Romney. We'll have to see if anyone else begins to percolate to the top on Monday.

Gentlemen, my thanks to you. Enjoy Tampa.

And again, let's just remind everyone, we are hosting -- CNN/Tea Party members co-hosting -- Monday's Republican debate. It will be live from Tampa, the site of the 2012 Republican National Convention. Keep that in mine, too.

The CNN/Tea Party Republican debate, Monday night, 8:00 Eastern. And as they mentioned, our own Wolf Blitzer will be moderating that one.

Coming up next, our Pentagon correspondent Barbara Starr will forever remember her birthday. It was her birthday in 2001.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BARBARA STARR, CNN PENTAGON CORRESPONDENT: There was a Pentagon policeman coming from that direction, running down this hallway, yelling, "Get out! Get out. Everybody get out! We've been hit!"

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BALDWIN: Barbara will share her 9/11 memories there from the Pentagon.

And the foreshadowing call placed by a passenger on Flight 93 that crashed into this remote field in Pennsylvania.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

LYZBETH GLICK BEST, WIFE OF FLIGHT 93 PASSENGER: My husband was taking a routine business trip to California, and our new baby was just 11 weeks old. So I went up to my parents' house to get some help with the baby.

And I sat down to nurse the baby, and I turned on the television and I saw a plane hit the World Trade Center. Had Jeremy had actually called before his plane took off, as he always did. And he had talked to my dad, and everything was, you know, routine.

And about -- I guess it was 9:27, 9:28, the phone rang. And I was in the kitchen and my parents were in the living room, which is down a long hallway. And I just heard my mother say, "Thank God, Jeremy, it's you. We've been so worried."

And I ran into the room, and she was -- all the color had gone from her face, and she handed me the phone. And -- sorry. And he was on the phone, and he had told me that his plane had been hijacked.

At the same time that he's telling me this, I see everything unfolding on a big-screen television. And he said his plane had been hijacked by three men. He thought they were Iranian looking. They were wearing red head bands, and they claimed that they had a bomb around him.

And first we went into a little bit panic. Then we started saying I love you to each other. When I think about it 10 years later, I don't know if you can see into somebody's soul at that minute, but we were so close. And I think just talking to each other, we brought calm and peace to each other. And we both had a job to do.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BALDWIN: "Beyond 9/11 -- Portraits of Resilience." CNN will air this "TIME" Magazine documentary in association with HBO Films tonight, 11:00 eastern.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BALDWIN: The New York Stock Exchange honors those who died on 9/11 with a moment of silence before today's opening bell.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

(RINGING)

(APPLAUSE)

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BALDWIN: That moment of silence could have been for the market itself. It lost 303 points today, closed just about half an hour ago. You saw them there, both Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and former mayor Rudy Giuliani, ringing that opening bell. And they also met with Alison Kosik at the New York Stock Exchange. I know you talked with both of them this morning. What did they say about being mentioned as possible candidates for president?

ALISON KOSIK, CNNMONEY.COM CORRESPONDENT: Well, here's what's funny. When I asked each of them, there was clearly no delay in their answers. It's obviously something they've thought about quite a bit. And they had very divergent answers. Giuliani says he's wait taking a wait and see approach while Secretary Hillary Clinton said a strong no. Listen to this.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

RUDY GIULIANI, (R) FORMER NEW YORK CITY MAYOR: I'm waiting to see who emerges. I realize how difficult it would be for me for me to be nominated given some of the positions that I have that I'm not willing to change. So I'm waiting to see if there's a really good candidate out there that will take this country in a good director. If I find that candidate, then I'll probably not be tempted to run.

HILLARY CLINTON, U.S. SECRETARY OF STATE: A lot of the great things about being secretary of state, I am out of politics. I am not interested in being drawn back into it by anybody. I have a big job to do and I'm happy to do it every day.

(END VIDEO CLIP) KOSIK: And Brooke, not only does she not want to run for president, Secretary Clinton says she doesn't want to go back into politics at all. She says she's focused on making sure she makes sure we continue to lead the world. She also says they're closing in on Gadhafi's remaining forces. Brooke?

BALDWIN: OK, so no delay on those answers, but I know you asked about the current terrorist thread. What was Secretary Clinton's response?

KOSIK: She said the threat is unconfirmed, but they're taking it seriously, because government officials learned a lot when they went through all of the information gathered from the raid on bin Laden's home. They found Al Qaeda is still determined to attack around these anniversary dates. But she praised Americans, their attitudes toward being resilient and how ready they are to help.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

CLINTON: And the reason America and this great city has shown such resilience is because we refuse to be intimidated. That doesn't mean we're stupid. We're going to keep our eyes open. We're going to be vigilant. The reason we went public is to go on with your lives, but let us know if you see something suspicious. Remember, the Times Square bomber was stopped by a food vendor, who saw something suspicious, reported it, and thank goodness.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

KOSIK: And the instance that she's talking about shows that anybody can help. You know, it's really a mantra, Brooke, that we New Yorkers know very well. If you see something, say something. It's clearly worked.

BALDWIN: I remember that, it was a hot dog vendor, if I remember correctly. Be vigilant as Mayor Bloomberg say, go about your business. Alison Kosik, thank you very much.

When American Airlines flight 77 hit the Pentagon, some 10 years ago, CNN's Barbara Starr, she was inside the building. It was actually her birthday. And she was making plans to go out and make it a memorable one. And suddenly it became a birthday she would never forget, but for totally different reasons. Here's her story.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

BARBARA STARR, CNN PENTAGON CORRESPONDENT: You were either here that day or you weren't. For the people who work in the building today who were there 10 years ago, I don't think you can ever forget I'm sitting here and I'm seeing the flames in front of me on this beautiful morning.

And 9/11 is my birthday. I woke up that morning, looked out the window, the weather was beautiful. I thought how little time can I spend at work? I'll put something on, go to dinner with friends and it will be a nice birthday. But then, New York. Ten years ago, this was the area where the Pentagon press corps was working. That morning we had been watching the attacks unfold in New York. I came out in this hallway and suddenly, there was a Pentagon policeman coming from that direction running down this hallway yelling, "Get out, get out! Everybody get out! We've been hit. Get out!"

American Airlines flight 77 slammed into the Pentagon. By the time I made my way from my office down there to this part of the hallway, it was full of people. We could smell the smoke. Hundreds of people come into this hallway, coming down the stairs from the upper floors, coming up the stairs from the basement. The doors has closed shut due to the security alert, so it took a few minutes for them to open it and for people to make their way out to safety.

This entire side of the Pentagon was a wall of flame and black smoke. I remember seeing people coming out of the wreckage where the plane had hit, some covered in blood, trying to make their way to safety. Hundreds of workers had gathered here.

At one point before a large number of police or fire personnel could even get here, they called for people who had any kind of emergency or medical training and hundreds of military people came moving back in towards the wreckage to help in any way that they could. That's what it was really all about here on that day in this place, for the U.S. military -- no retreat, no surrender.

Barbara Starr, CNN, the Pentagon.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BALDWIN: Barbara, thank you. Coming up next, did you hear what they're asking potential jurors in the Conrad Murray trial? We're just learning why Michael Jackson's doctor never considered a plea deal.

Plus, a 12-year-old girl put racy pictures of herself on Facebook. Now her father is suing the company. Does he have a case? Sunny Hostin has some things to say about this one. She's next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BALDWIN: On the case today, two for you. First, here's the situation. Parents, maybe you can relate, maybe not. A 12-year-old girl lies about her age, sets up an account on Facebook, but then this girl posts some rather provocative pictures of herself. Whose fault is that? What I just described happened in Northern Ireland. According to reports, the girl's father is blaming Facebook and he's suing Facebook.

Sunny Hostin is on the case. Sonny, OK. How do I tee this up to you because I already know what you're going to say? Whose fault is this? The parent for not watching the child's Facebook? Is it really the child or is it really Facebook?

SUNNY HOSTIN, LEGAL CONTRIBUTOR, "IN SESSION": This is no the Facebook's issue. This is the parents' issue. Parents have to parent. What's so interest dog me is it sounds like this guy has a runaway child and he's trying to get Facebook to catch her for him.

Bottom line is Facebook legally doesn't have to monitor in this way. He is asking in terms of this lawsuit, Facebook, to take it down, to take her page down. And I think Facebook should do that and be a good corporate citizen, because, again, she is under the age of a Facebook poster. Facebook posters are supposed to be over the age of 12 certainly. So I think they can do that for this father because unfortunately he can't seem to control his child and he can't force her to take the website down.

BALDWIN: You have to be 13 or over to be on Facebook. But kids can lie about their age. Is there anything Facebook can do about that?

HOSTIN: I think once they certainly are alerted to the fact that someone is underage online, having their own page, yes, Facebook will then honor and will take the page down. I think Facebook out of all the websites has been really proactive, has been a pretty good corporate citizen. Unfortunately this parent has this sort of out-of- control kid, and Facebook will I think help and take her page down.

BALDWIN: OK, case number two, Dr. Conrad Murray, the man charged with involuntary manslaughter in the death of Michael Jackson said he never considered a plea deal. His lawyer says plea bargains are for guilty people. He says Murray, he contends his client is not guilty. So Sunny, we know Murray's defense team fails to convince the judge and an appeals court to prevent jurors from reading and watching those reports about this trial, keeping them sequestered. Did it work? How would that affect the trial?

SUNNY HOSTIN, LEGAL CONTRIBUTOR, "IN SESSION" ON TRUTV: You know, it's so interesting. I really thought that the judge came to the wrong conclusion here. After the Casey Anthony trial, I would imagine that a case like this would have a jury sequestered from the media from news reports.

He decided that jury, whichever jury he picks will listen to his admonition not to watch television, not to read newspaper accounts. I think it's the wrong decision, but certainly, this judge by today has a pool to pick.

Interestingly enough, Brooke, it's only been two days of jury selection. He has whittled down the jury, started out with about 187 potential jurors on Thursday whittled it down to about 72. He's finished as of today. These jurors are going to fill out a 30-page jury questionnaire. Isn't that interesting?

They are going to fill out this 30-page jury questionnaire. They're going to come back the third week in September and he thinks they are on schedule to start this trial September 27.

So basically, interestingly enough, told these jurors. Listen, I'm not looking for anyone who hasn't heard about this case. I'm just looking for someone who can be fair and it looks, Brooke, like he may have found some. BALDWIN: Yes, and that may be virtually impossible to find someone who's never heard about it, but fairness is key. Sunny Hostin, we'll follow it. Thank you so much.

And did you watch the president's address last night? We did a little digging because we watched all of the moments caught w on an open mike during last night's joint session of Congress.

I got to tell you. Those two gentlemen, they weren't always talking about jobs. Wait until you see what we found. But first, because it's Friday, we're going to take you behind the scenes in what we're calling each and every Friday, the "Week Winddown."

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BALDWIN: So we're going to the edit pool. We're going to the edit pool because that's where we have a piece in edit right now. One of our "Music Monday" pieces so I want to introduce you to the editor. What do you do?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I basically have taken two clips that were shot with two cameras.

BALDWIN: For "Music Monday."

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: And I'm basically switching it.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BALDWIN: "THE SITUATION ROOM" hitting the road today with Wolf Blitzer coming to us live from Tampa here. Wolf, you mentioned last hour, you know, you're down there in Tampa. What a good three days ahead of time, doing your homework. You have to moderate this thing. We're talking eight candidates. Are you up for it?

WOLF BLITZER, THE SITUATION ROOM: Not easy, eight candidates in one debate. You've got to make sure everyone has a fair chance to express his or her opinion. Michele Bachmann is here, as you know.

So we're doing our homework. It's a lot of technical stuff that we have to go through, too because I'm not going to be sitting behind a desk just asking questions. I'm going to be standing there. I'm going to be going up to the candidates, asking specific follow-up questions. Listening to what they have to say.

My goal, as you know, is to make sure that after two hours of questioning, the voters out there, in this particular case Republican voters, they'll have a better appreciation of who these eight candidates are. One of whom might be the next president of the United States potentially.

So the stakes are enormous and these candidates have to be at the top of their game right now in order to convince undecided voters out there that they're the best person to lead the Republican Party against President Barack Obama.

So I'm looking forward to the debate. I think it will be good for our viewers. It will be good for the candidates. It will be good for all of us.

BALDWIN: OK, so everyone's on their game on Monday, but what do you have coming up in the next couple of minutes here on "SITUATION ROOM?"

BLITZER: We're going to look ahead obviously to the debate. We're going to do the post-game as far as the president's speech before joint session of Congress last night is concerned.

We're also focussing on this the 10th anniversary of 9/11. We'll have special coverage, by the way, Sunday morning on this 10th anniversary. But we're looking at these latest threats. How real are they? Is there a real danger to Washington, D.C. or New York City or someplace else?

Is it possible, Brooke, that this might just be a diversion, a clever maneuver on the parts of potential al Qaeda sympathizers or terrorists out there to try to get everyone's attention on one area while plotting something else someplace else.

Remember, these people are very sophisticated and so we're watching all of this closely. I'll be speaking with experts and we'll try to update our viewers on information they need to know this important historic weekend.

BALDWIN: We'll look for it. We'll see it in a couple of minutes live from Tampa. Wolf, thank you. And just a quick reminder, that debate, Monday night, 8:00 Eastern here on CNN.

And jobs, jobs may have been the reason for last night's congressional get together, but it sure wasn't the only topic of conversation.

Coming up next, we have candid moments that the mic and the camera were not supposed to catch. Joe Johns has been going through all of this. We're going to have a little fun with Joe in "Political Pop" next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BALDWIN: For the inside scoop in what went on at the president's speech before that joint session of Congress, what we saw, what we heard, what we maybe weren't supposed to be hearing.

Joe Johns was in the room and he's here with the "Political Pop." And Joe, what should we begin with the audience, the reaction?

JOE JOHNS, CNN SENIOR CORRESPONDENT: This is so much. You know, this is political people watching, right? The idea is to get in the room and watch not how the speech is delivered, but how it's received.

So you have a Democratic president. You want to watch the Republicans mostly. I cannot say the atmosphere was festive in there, but it was a little better than I expected because the last few weeks, of course, were so nasty.

This last night was at least polite. They were asked to be on good behavior by the speaker of the House and for the most part they were. There were even some funny moments where the president's speech elicited some snickering, if you will, from the audience. Take a listen to this one.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BARACK OBAMA, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA: Right now, Warren Buffett pays a lower tax rate than his secretary. An outrage he asked us to fix. We need a tax code where everyone gets a fair shake. This isn't political grand standing. This isn't class warfare, this is simple math.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

JOHNS: Of course, a lot of people would think it was political grand standing and a lot of people would think it's class warfare, too, Brooke. So, yes, got some laughs out of that one.

BALDWIN: OK, so that got laughs. You mentioned the snickering. You were there. It was even described as disrespectful to the president. What was that about?

JOHNS: Yes, well, you know, I can see how somebody who could come to that conclusion, it wasn't what you would call outwardly contemptuous, more like quietly cynical, maybe, a couple of places where the laughter was cynical.

Like when the president started talking about Warren Buffett, same sort of thing, you know? But the other thing, Brooke, and the thing you were talking about at the break, is this sort of off-mic moment.

And we always get these things when the president of the United States comes down to do a joint session of Congress, the magic of the congressional camera and the microphone that's normally not there.

And there was a little tiny conversation between the vice president of the United States and the speaker of the House. Listen to this.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JOE BIDEN, VICE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Right there

JOHN BOEHNER, SPEAKER OF THE HOUSE: Cutest one in the room by far.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

JOHNS: Did you catch that?

BALDWIN: Cutest one in the room by far.

JOHNS: That's my wife.

BALDWIN: Let's listen again, just because we can. (BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BIDEN: My wife is up there.

BOEHNER: Cutest one in the room by far.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BALDWIN: You see the vice president laughing. She did look lovely, Joe Biden, in that beautiful red dress.

JOHNS: Absolutely. You know, these guys can get along if they want to. Though for the record, there were some members of Congress who didn't get to this at all so you didn't get a feel for the comedy. I left a little earlier before the president finished his speech.

Senator Jim DeMint of South Carolina, he was in the basement. He's one of the leaders of the Tea Party Movement. I asked him if he watched the president's speech on TV. He said yes.

I asked him why he didn't go in and listen to it in person. He said no comment. So there were some people who decided they just weren't going to show up and for whatever reason I don't want to characterize it.

BALDWIN: Yes. Back to where you could see, the image of the vice president and the speaker of the House. Of course, I was watching CNN. I was watching Wolf. You could hear them back and forth and I was tweeting with some people when they were talking.

You could catch them talking about eagles and bogeys. I think they were talking golf and Wolf. You know, the uber gentlemen saying hang on, we shouldn't be listening to this.

But a lot of the reaction I got from people in the Twitter verse is, it is nice to hear them seems as friends or at least as friends or at least kind.

JOHNS: Right. And the thing a lot of people missed, too, is sometimes on Capitol Hill, even if there's a lot of going back and forth about policy, a lot of these people actually get along. And Joe Biden has a very long history on Capitol Hill. So does the speaker of the House, John Boehner.

And, you know, for all we know, these guys do pretty well. You know, I think they're both golfers. Maybe they even happening out a little bit. But on official matter, it can be very tough sometimes.

BALDWIN: It can be tough, but don't they know, you've covered the Hill long enough, they know that microphone can be open.

JOHNS: They do, they do. And there are other microphones, especially during these joint sessions that pick up some of the strangest thing on the floor of the House of Representatives. It just goes to show they're not always keeping their guard up. BALDWIN: Joe Johns, thank you very much as we all do with our microphones on us as well. Joe, thank you very much. Have a wonderful weekend to you.

And just a quick reminder as we approach the anniversary, the 10th anniversary of 9/11, our coverage begins, our team coverage Sunday morning 8:00 Eastern right here on CNN. And I now pass you off to my colleague, Wolf Blitzer, who's standing by, special edition of "THE SITUATION ROOM" live from Tampa, Florida starts right now.