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Rogue Trader Blamed For $2 Billion Loss; Last Chance for Convicted Cop Killer; SAT Scores Inch Down; Sergeant Meyer: 'I'm No Hero'; New CNN Poll: Tea Party Divides GOP; New Evidence Suggests Death Row Inmate is Innocent; Former Tortured Gadhafi Nanny Receiving Treatment in Malta; Race to Save Convicted Cop Killer; World's Powerful Cities; Michaele Salahi on the Road with Journey; Father Charged with Child Abuse; KCBS: Parents Lose Custody of Autistic Son

Aired September 15, 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 take a look at this.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

BALDWIN (voice-over): A banking giant loses a whopping $2 billion and a person behind the scenes is getting the blame. Is this a case of fraud or fat fingers?

I'm Brooke Baldwin. The news is now.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: How scared are you of possibly being executed?

BALDWIN: In just six days, Troy Davis could be taking his last breath. But hundreds of thousands from Jimmy Carter to Desmond Tutu are raising serious doubts that Davis killed a police officer.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It was tragic, horrifying and chaotic.

BALDWIN: CNN investigates this 11th-hour decision.

Plus, SAT scores drop, some to the lowest level in decades. Are American students sinking right along with their scores?

And everyone is buzzing about this mystery light. We're going to space.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BALDWIN: OK. A lot to get to in this next hour. Welcome back. I'm Brooke Baldwin.

But I want to begin with this one. One rogue trader, $2 billion down the drain, that is the word today out of London. British media now identifying the culprit as this man. He's a 31-year-old trader for the Swiss bank UBS. He was arrested overnight. One trader, $2 billion gone, that is the allegation.

Let's bring in Richard Quest live in London. Richard Quest, how can one trader manage to lose $2 billion? Did it happen quickly, blink of an eye, or over a long period of time? Do we know?

RICHARD QUEST, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: No, that we don't know and that's going to be one of the core questions.

The police apparently were called in after UBS last night discovered the hole in the books. And then within two hours of them being called in, they had found the trader at his desk at UBS and arrested him. And he's now in custody.

We know he was trading on the Delta One trading desk. Highly speculative derivatives. We also know that his boss has resigned according to "The Financial Times." But what he did, how he constructed the trades, was he trading with himself as a fictitious party, all these -- how long it had been going on for? We don't know.

And these are the questions that will be crucial in determining whether this is another case of a rogue trader out of control or, Brooke, something perhaps where it had happened very recently and actually the bank was on top of it quickly. But even so, $2 billion, what a lot of money.

BALDWIN: You have this 31-year-old. This could have been bad judgment on his part. This could have been what they say fat fingers. He could have accidentally hit, what, an extra zero maybe.

(CROSSTALK)

QUEST: No.

(CROSSTALK)

BALDWIN: No. Or there's obviously the big suggestion of criminality here.

QUEST: All right, let's start with fat fingers. This is where you have sort of a keyboard and you hit the wrong thing. Fat fingers can usually be very quickly unwound if it's done immediately, either by the bank taking a short loss or by simply literally reporting it to the exchange and the deal being unwound. Fat fingers is not the end of the world. This, however -- it could be, but it's most unlikely.

BALDWIN: OK.

QUEST: What's much more likely is a position was taken that mushroomed out of control and the losses started to get hidden in fictitious accounts, nomine accounts, and the money got -- he was literally probably buying and selling to himself. That's one possibility.

The final possibility that you rightly talk about, criminality, well, you know, in all the cases of rogue traders that I have seen, the big ones that we have seen, SocGen, Barings, and the like, they tend not to be criminal. They tend to be somebody thought they were better than they were, they got into water way deeper than they could handle and that's when things went horribly wrong.

BALDWIN: Yes.

So, Richard Quest, not that this ever should happen in the first place, but given the trauma of the economic meltdown, I know you cover this each and every day, given the measures, all the new measures to tighten banking regulations, how could this have been allowed? I know we don't know how long a period of time this could have happened. But how could this have even been allowed to happen, gone unnoticed?

QUEST: Well, that's the point. Traders have authority to trade.

But, within the systems, there are, of course, ways in which they can get around it. The compliance people should spot it. But they may not spot it for a day or two which could be out of control by then. The risk desk should know whether or not they're -- actually the risk desk on every part of the bank should know how much is at risk for the bank overall.

But there are ways around it. Let me put it another way to you.

BALDWIN: OK.

QUEST: In theory, you can secure your house or apartment against a burglar coming through the front window or the door. But they still do it. They manage to get around it. That's basically why you're never going to be able to stop it. What the question will be is, did they nip this in the bud before it could have got a great deal worse and was there a chance to spot it sooner? We don't know.

BALDWIN: So we don't know then how bad the hit is to this bank, UBS, or even if we...

(CROSSTALK)

QUEST: Oh, yes.

(CROSSTALK)

BALDWIN: We do know?

QUEST: Yes. We certainly know what the effect is to the bank, UBS. It is bad. It could cause them to make a loss in this quarter. But this bank, which is, like all banks, have been suffering lately. It's manageable. It's nasty. It's like having a black eye and a broken leg.

You really don't want to have had that happen to you, but the fact is, they're going to be able to take their knocks and lumps. It is not -- let me play this again -- it is not going to bring down the bank, like it did with Barings in 1995. That is not going to happen.

BALDWIN: Still, a black eye and a broken leg, it is painful.

Richard Quest, thanks for staying up for us in London. Thank you so much. (NEWS BREAK)

BALDWIN: Now this:

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The officer ran over, and seconds later, Officer Mark MacPhail was shot and killed. It was tragic, horrifying and chaotic. And two decades later, it all still is.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BALDWIN: Next week, Troy Davis is expected to be put to death for killing a police officer. But hundreds of thousands of people are begging the state of Georgia to call off the execution because of evidence that is now raising doubts about whether he did it. CNN investigates ahead.

And coming up next, we're all proud of today's Medal of Honor recipient at the White House. But would you believe he thinks he's more of a failure than a hero? Hear his story, his own words, what happened that day, what happened on the battlefield. As I said, you're going to hear from Sergeant Dakota Meyer as we honor this Marine today.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BALDWIN: Wounded and bleeding, U.S. Marine Sergeant Dakota Meyer from Columbia, Kentucky, braved enemy gunfire multiple times in Afghanistan to save his fellow servicemen.

President Obama paying tribute to Meyer's courage under fire just two hours ago there at the White House, awarding him the Medal of Honor today. And at 23 years of age, he is one of the youngest living Marines to receive such an honor.

What's even more staggering is that Meyer was only 21 when he saved his buddies in Afghanistan.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BARACK OBAMA, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: It's been said that where there is a brave man in the thickest of the fight, there is the post of honor.

Today, we pay tribute to an American who placed himself in the thick of the fight again and again and again. In so doing, he's earned our nation's highest military decoration, the Medal of Honor. And we are extraordinarily proud of Sergeant Dakota Meyer.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BALDWIN: Medal of Honor, as you know, is awarded for battlefield heroics.

Let me just tell you about Meyer's story. He saved more than a dozen U.S. Marines and nearly two dozen Afghan soldiers who were cut off from help, pinned down by Taliban gunfire. Sergeant Meyer and Staff Sergeant Juan Rodriguez-Chavez defied orders. Juan jumped behind the wheel of this Humvee. Meyer manned the gun turret. They made at least five death-defying forays into this area where the troops were being ambushed.

But Meyer didn't stop there. The Kentucky native braved bullets to retrieve the bodies of several fallen comrades, holding true to the motto no man left behind.

President Obama spoke about them today at the ceremony.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

OBAMA: Today, we remember the husband who loved the outdoors, Lieutenant Michael Johnson, the husband and father they called Gunny J., Gunnery Sergeant Edwin Johnson, the determined Marine who fought to get on that team, Staff Sergeant Aaron Kenefick, the medic who gave his life tending to his teammates, Hospitalman 3rd Class James Layton, and a soldier wounded in that battle who never recovered, Sergeant 1st Class Kenneth Westbrook.

Dakota, I know that you have grappled with the grief of that day, that you have said that your efforts were somehow a failure because your teammates didn't come home.

But, as your commander in chief and on behalf of everyone here today and all Americans, I want you to know it's quite the opposite. You did your duty, above and beyond. And you kept the faith with the highest traditions of the Marine Corps that you love.

(APPLAUSE)

OBAMA: And because of your honor, 36 men are alive today. Because of your courage, four fallen American heroes came home and, in the words of James Layton's moms, they could lay their sons to rest with dignity.

(APPLAUSE)

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BALDWIN: Sergeant Meyer accepted the award today with humility not for his own heroism, but on behalf of the fellow Marines. Here he is, Sergeant Dakota Meyer in his own words.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

SGT. DAKOTA MEYER, U.S. MARINE CORPS: I'm Dakota Meyer. I'm from Columbia, Kentucky. Anyone who receives the Medal of Honor and we're still here to talk about it, that's a great honor to receive it. But there's a huge price that was paid for it.

I'm accepting the award on behalf of the guys that died that day, the men and women serving, the men and women who will serve the Marine Corps. It's a huge pride to be a Marine. It's a great honor. It's more than just a uniform. It's more than just a job. It's the way of life.

It's a brotherhood that sticks with you even after you're out of the Marine Corps. It's a bad day, it's -- to describe it, it's probably the worst day of my life. Not probably. It is the worst day of my life. It's a bad day. I didn't just lose four Marines.

I lost Afghan buddies too. I lost six from our platoon and I think that's something we all need to keep in perspective. It's not just four guys. We were so close to the Afghans working alongside them that I mean, they were like your brothers too.

I was applying aid to as many of them as I could. We were under heavy fire the entire time. I know I applied quite a few tourniquets trying to stop the bleeding on a lot of the guys and just really trying to apply aid and comfort as much as I could in the situation that we were handed.

I didn't do anything that any other Marine wouldn't do. I don't see myself as a hero. I see myself as the furthest thing there a hero. I went in there to get my guys out alive and I failed. So I'm more of a failure than a hero in my eyes.

Do I think I deserve it? No. But I'm not on the awards process. I don't make that decision. Nobody asked me if I thought I deserved the Medal of Honor. So I would much rather have all my guys here alive than to get the medal.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Do you feel guilty?

MEYER: Yes. How do you not feel guilty? I do. There's ton of guilt that comes with it. We all signed the contract. That's one thing. That's probably what gives you sleep at night. You know, we all signed up for it. I was going over there, I was will to die for the country.

Just like every one of them, like any men and women serving. We sign a contract. Every single day I think about what happened and how I'm going to carry on my life and honor those guys and I think what it does is it gives you an extra -- an edge to everyone else.

Because you know, it's not just me. I'm not just going around for myself now. Now I'm doing it for other people. Once you have that instilled in you, it's not -- it gives you an extra edge. If I can't look down, I don't have a reason to push on, I've got four reasons on my wrist. I keep their names on my wrist.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BALDWIN: Sergeant Meyer, we thank you. There was a little bit of lighter moment there. We wanted to share a little one-on-one time with the president before today's Medal of Honor ceremony. There they are, two men sharing beers on patio outside the oval office yesterday.

And you know, certainly no secret American students are falling behind. In fact, now way behind the rest of the world and the classroom, but there's a new report today showing SAT scores are dropping dramatically in virtually every single category. So coming up next, we have some questions. We're going to talk with a member of the group who administers the SAT and find out why this is the case and how to fix it. Be right back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BALDWIN: As the U.S. is grappling on how to fix our schools, I want to share a troubling report with you today. Essentially it shows our country may not be doing a very good job getting students ready for college.

The report finds SAT scores for the graduating class of 2011 on average dropped across the board. Need I remind you, the SAT, that test many high school seniors take as a benchmark of how academically prepared they are for college.

Traditionally, the higher the score, the better the college the student can get into it. This report comes from the group who administers the SAT. Let's just take a quick look here at how the 2011 class fared. In math, the average SAT score dropped one point, reading dropping three points. That's the lowest reading score on record by the way and the average writing score down two points.

Here's another troubling finding for the class of 2011. The combined score, which takes reading, writing and math into consideration, it is 18 points off the 2006 mark. So we wanted to know a little bit more about the findings.

So we went to Jim Montoya. He is with the College Board, the group that administers the SAT and conducted this study. He joins me from New York.

Jim, I remember those number two pencils and the scantron sheets and bubbling in those answers. Many of us do. But with regard to -- you know, you have students, you have teachers, you have core curriculum in these high schools. Who or what is to blame for these low scores?

JAMES MONTOYA, THE COLLEGE BOARD: Well, Brooke, first let me say this that this is a call to action. The fact of the matter is, college education has never been more important, particularly in this 21st global economy. America is falling behind. We have to fix it.

BALDWIN: So as we fix it, who are we looking at? Whose performance is poorest? Is it the students themselves or is it the curriculum in these high schools?

MONTOYA: Well, I think the important message here is that we have to be focused on rigor. What we know is, those students who do best on the SAT and those who are best prepared for college have taken a rigorous course load in high school. That needs to be a focus. More students need to think about college and more students need to take a rigorous course load.

BALDWIN: Jim, when we looked at the numbers, you can see that the reading section where scores dropped the most. Why do you think it was the reading?

MONTOYA: Well, I think that there are quite a few reasons. But most important, we need students to be reading more. When I meet with students, when I meet with parents, I'm always encouraging them to read, the reason? College hasn't changed since we were there. Reading, writing and math are incredibly important.

BALDWIN: But what is it? Is it, you know, these kids these days listen to me, Facebooking too much or spending too much time on the computer and not just picking up a book?

MONTOYA: Well, I think that students do need to read more books. Of course, I'm always encouraging that, I'm an academic. But, I think, again, we go back to this point about rigor. It's not only rigor.

It's really expanding the universe of students who are thinking about college. Students need to understand that the best way to prepare for the SAT, the best way to prepare for college is to read, is to write, is to take rigorous courses in math and science.

BALDWIN: Let's get more specific, though. Let me throw this at you. If you could catch a student just entering high school, give me the three things that student should do that will absolutely, without a doubt, strengthen his or her SAT score?

MONTOYA: Well, the very first thing that a student would do is to sign up for rigorous courses. You know, it's so important that in high school students take at least four years of English, at least three years of math, at least three years of science and of social science.

But the courses that a ninth and tenth grader choose will determine whether they're able to take the rigorous courses once they get to be a junior and a senior. Second, I would encourage students to read. Reading and writing are just keys. Will it be the newspaper, whether it be novels. It's really important for students to stay aware of the world through reading.

And third, I would encourage them to look at the world around them. They are entering a global economy. And through their extracurricular activity, whether it be United Nations or whether it be an international club, they really have an opportunity to embrace the universe.

BALDWIN: They do. I'm always pleasantly surprised when I'm sitting here during the show and I'm getting tweets from high school students, some of whom are very engaged with what's going on. We obviously appreciate that. Jim Montoya, thank you very much for talking SAT with me.

MONTOYA: My pleasure.

BALDWIN: Still ahead here, what honor showed up in the sky last night? We've seen this video. A mystery light causing a lot of buzz and a lot of guesses. So we're getting some answers today. Plus Democrat James Carvel is not afraid of speaking his mind. He is telling President Obama it is time to panic, start firing people in the White House. Find out his reasons next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BALDWIN: Let's get to Jim Acosta now with the latest news off the CNN Political Ticker.

Jim, we know more new poll numbers are out. A well-known Democrat, whose, you know, opinion right I have here. What should the White House do? Panic.

JIM ACOSTA, CNN POLITICAL CORRESPONDENT: Exactly. Yes, that's talking about James Carville there. Let's hold on to that for just a moment. Let's have the viewers stick around to hear about that because that's a doozy.

But in the meantime, you know, Brooke, we had the CNN Tea Party debate just a few days ago and we wanted to know what is basically, you know, the Tea Party having in terms of an effect on the Republican Party right now. And it appears that the Republican Party has been infused with some pretty conservative beliefs.

Take a look at these polls numbers from CNN/ORC.

Looking at the divide really in the Republican Party right now, asking Republicans are you an active member or supporter of the Tea Party movement. Yes 49 percent, no, 51 percent. So a lot of Republicans involved with the Tea Party movement now.

But what has it done to the beliefs of the Republicans? If you look at are you conservative, what are your political views as a Republican versus a Tea Party member, it is pretty striking. And I wanted to look at individual issues, such as, we asked the question: Should the Department of Education be eliminated? And some pretty startling findings if you are an active member of the Tea Party. You are likely to believe that 62 percent of tea partiers believe that the Department of Education should be eliminated. All other Republicans, 22 percent.

And we also asked the question is global warming a myth or a fact? And 58 percent of Tea Party Republicans say yes, it is a myth and 38 percent of Republicans.

So very interesting there. Really shows you the dramatic effect that the Tea Party has had on the Republican Party in terms of making the party more conservative.

Brooke, you asked about James Carville. Very interesting. He had an op-ed on CNN.com about what the White House should do right now. You've seen the poll numbers showing the poll numbers, basically the approval numbers dropping for the president, and all of these economic concerns for the president right now.

James Carville, as you know, does not mince words. He basically said that at this point the White House should panic and, basically, start to do three different things, three or four different things. One of them, he said, is to fire people and not just some people, but a lot of people.

Here's what he had to say. He said "People often ask me what advice I would give the White House about various things. Today I was mulling over election results from New York and Nevada while thinking about that very question." And he said that the thing that he would do would be to start firing people. So some pretty stark advice from James Carville, Brooke.

BALDWIN: Yes, "Four Different Pieces of Advice." You can go to CNN.com/opinion. Mr. Acosta, thank you very much.

ACOSTA: Sure.

BALDWIN: And now listen to this.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DAN RIVERS, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Amid all this decadence, there were acts of unspeakable cruelty. This house belongs to Hannibal Gadhafi. And what went on in here was truly horrendous.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

That is Dan Rivers. He brought us this young woman's story. This is a nanny, once a nanny for Moammar Gadhafi's family. She says they poured boiling hot water over her for not keeping a child quiet. Now one government is offering her asylum and treatment. Dan Rivers is now standing by live for us. We're going to go to Dan with this exclusive access next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BALDWIN: I want to take you to Malta, an island in the med train I can't off the coast of Libya where a young nanny is getting much needed medical care after being abused by family members of Moammar Gadhafi. She suffered horrible burns to her head, chest, torso legs. We first told her story after she was found in this abandoned home in Tripoli. She worked as the nanny for the children of Gadhafi's son Hannibal.

Now, Hannibal's wife poured boiling water on the woman when she refused to beat one of the children. Dan Rivers has been covering the story ever since he broke it. He's live at the hospital in Malta where she's getting this treatment and has this exclusive access. Dan, how is she?

RIVERS: She's doing pretty good, actually, Brooke. She's just arrived here at 5:30 local time on a specially charted plane that the Maltese government had provided for her. They really have gone to extraordinary lengths to make her feel welcome. She was brought into the sort of ministerial VIP lounge when she arrived, put into an ambulance and taken to the hospital. We had a chance to ride in the ambulance with her and had a brief chat with her. She's clearly very, very relieved to get out of Libya, not so much because she wasn't getting good medical treatment there, but just because of the psychological pressure of still being in the country where those barbaric acts happened to her, where the boiling water was poured over her, she says by Aline Gadhafi, Colonel Gadhafi's daughter in law. And I think it's just a huge relief to get out of Libya, to know she's going to get really good treatment. She's been taken to an almost new hospital here and plastic surgeon arrived to see her straight-away.

BALDWIN: It's nice to see her up walking and able to climb the stairs into the plane. Certainly, her story has touched a lot of hearts. What happens to her, though, when the medical treatment ends? Can she stay there in Malta? Will she want to?

RIVERS: Well, they -- yes. The prime minister himself of Malta has been very touched by the story and has effectively said she can stay here as long as she wants. They're offering her asylum, educational facilities as well. But she said to me she wants to go back to Ethiopia. That's where she's from. As soon as she's treated, she wants to go back to her family.

BALDWIN: Dan Rivers, thanks for updating us on her story.

And now, listen to this.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: How scared are you of possibly being executed?

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BALDWIN: CNN's Gary Tuchman talking to a man convicted of killing a police officer is now just days away from being executed. But there is a race to save this man's life from Jimmy Carter to Desmond Tutu. Many people are arguing there's new evidence that proves Troy Davis may be innocent. We'll share the investigation with you next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BALDWIN: Human rights groups are rallying in Georgia this week asking that a condemned man's life be spared. In less than one week Troy Davis is set to die for the murder of a police officer in Savannah. Today in Atlanta Davis supporters delivered more than 600,000 petitions to the Georgia pardon and parole board seeking to stop the execution. And CNN's Gary Tuchman has the Davis story and the reason so many are calling for his life to be spared.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

GARY TUCHMAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: It's anything but a routine question.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: How scared of you are possibly being executed?

TUCHMAN: But it's relevant because the man I'm talking to, Troy Davis, may soon be a dead man. A jury took a few hours to decide he was guilty of murdering a police officer in Savannah, Georgia, a few more hours to decide on lethal injection. Brenda Forest was one of the jurors.

BRENDA FOREST, JUROR AT TRIAL OF TROY DAVIS: He was definitely guilty. All of the witnesses were able to I.D. him as the person who actually did it.

TUCHMAN: There was no DNA or physical evidence against Davis. The primary he was convicted -- witness testimony. The slain police officer's wife trusted the witnesses.

JOAN MACPHAIL, OFFICER MARK MACPHAIL'S WIDOW: They were just so adamant about what they saw, when they saw it.

TUCHMAN: But this is how the juror feels today.

FOREST: If I knew then what I know now, Troy Davis would not be on death row. The verdict would be not guilty.

TUCHMAN: What she knows now is this. Almost all of the prosecution star witnesses have changed their stories, some saying police pressured them to say Troy Davis did it. One of those people is Darryl Collins, a prosecution witness who signed a police statement implicating Troy Davis.

DARRELL COLLINS, WITNESS AT TRIAL OF TROY DAVIS: I told them over and over, I didn't see this happen. They printed what they wanted to print in the statement.

TUCHMAN: Savannah police officer Mark MacPhail was working an off duty job here. He was providing security at night for this bus station and this Burger King restaurant that is currently out of business. There was a homeless man in this parking lot being harassed and intimidated. He yelled for help. The officer ran over. And seconds later Officer Mark MacPhail was shot and killed. It was tragic, horrifying and chaotic. And two decades later, it still is.

The man who admitted to harassing the police officers and told them he saw Troy Davis shoot the officer. Wanted posters went up, a reward to catch the so called dangerous cop killer. Racial tensions inflamed. After the shooting, Troy Davis was in Atlanta, four hours away. His sister says, scared for his life.

MARTINA DAVIS-CORREIA, SISTER OF TROY DAVIS: When my brother decided to himself in, they already had a shoot to kill order.

TUCHMAN: This man, Derrick Johnson, a pastor, got in touch with Davis. He volunteered to pick him up and drive him back to savannah to surrender. He says Troy Davis insisted he was innocent. He never told the story to a reporter before was stunned the D.A.'s office never interviewed him. TUCHMAN (on camera): You're with this man for four hours, bringing him back for police custody. They never interviewed you, what he said, if he had a weapon, if he admitted to the crime.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Nothing. And this is the one case where nobody wanted to know. I don't think now looking back that anybody cared.

TUCHMAN (voice-over): The pastor is one of many who now believe facts be damned, Troy David was going to be arrested for murder. As for the Savannah police, they have always said their witnesses interviews were taken properly with no coercion, and prosecutors have stood by the conviction.

But a number of witnesses have signed affidavits changing their original testimony. Dorothy Farrell is one of them, a former prison inmate. She writes, "I was scared if I didn't cooperate with the detective that he might find a way to have me locked up again. So I told the detective that Troy Davis was the shooter even though the truth was that I didn't see who shot the officer."

And a witness named Jeffrey Sapp now writes, "The police came and talked to me and put a lot of pressure on me to say Troy did this. They made it clear the only way they would leave me alone is if I told them what they wanted to hear."

During the trial, Davis' attorneys tried to convince jurors a man named Sylvester Redd Coles was the killer. We tried to find Coles to give him a chance to have his say. We talked to his family members but could not track him down.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I don't believe Red Coles killed Mark at all.

TUCHMAN: But among those who believe the case should be reopened are politicians who don't always agree with each other, ranging from former President Jimmy Carter to conservative former Georgia Congressman Bob Barr.

Troy Davis has been hours away from execution three times. He's now one week away from his fourth execution date.

Gary Tuchman, CNN, Savannah, Georgia.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BALDWIN: Troy Davis is scheduled to be executed next Wednesday, September 21st.

Switching gears here. Folks are buzzing after a mystery light appears in the sky. Here it is. Is it an asteroid? Is it a plane? Is it close encounter? Chad Myers, as always, all over this one. That is next.

But first, let me share this new report out today. Ranks the most economically powerful cities around the world, the economic outputs of more than $400 billion each year. Did any U.S. cities make the cut?

Let's take a look here. According to atlanticities.com, running up in top five, Paris coming in at fourth, yes, U.S. city, windy city of Chicago, taking the number three spot in the world's most economically powerful cities here, London. What other cities cracked the top two. That's after the break.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BALDWIN: Newly released report ranking the most economically powerful cities. What are the top two? Taking the number two spot, New York City with an economic output of $1.1 trillion. The world's most economically powerful city is, no not the U.S. what is it? Take a look, number one, Tokyo.

Back here at home though, people from Phoenix to L.A. hit social media after seeing this mysterious object lighting up the sky last night. Here it is.

Chad Myers, you know what, I saw this thing first thing this morning. I thought, is it the piece of satellite? We were talking about it yesterday.

CHAD MYERS, AMS METEOROLOGIST: It was too ironic that we talked about this thing that was going to come down in the next couple of weeks. We don't know when. Could have been last night?

BALDWIN: One chance in 3200. OK, what was it?

MYERS: NASA is saying it was part of a small asteroid that broke off, turned into a meteor, flew through the atmosphere, warmed up, got those colors to it. In fact, people said the top of it looked bluish green.

BALDWIN: That looks orange there.

MYERS: Right. That would tell us the bluish green tinge would tell us kind of a magnesium nickel content burning up in space as it comes on.

Go to YouTube and look at Peak Skill Bolide, and the one that came down in Peak Skill New York looks just like it. NASA is saying that's probably bigger than a baseball, smaller than a basketball and probably didn't hit the ground.

BALDWIN: How often does this kind of thing happen?

MYERS: Can you believe it happens a couple times a day?

BALDWIN: What?

MYERS: Yes. It happens a couple times a day. It happened right now, you wouldn't see it because the sun is out. So half the world is not going to see it and then the other half of the world is ocean. Nobody there to see it there.

BALDWIN: Fascinating.

MYERS: As long as it doesn't hit anybody.

BALDWIN: That's right. Like the satellite, which it didn't or we'd be talking about it. Chad Myers, thank you very much.

A couple of minutes from now, "SITUATION ROOM" starts with Wolf Blitzer. Let's get a little check. You know, Wolf, yesterday, you're kind of joking saying, Brooke, today is a big show. I think today is bigger, yes?

WOLF BLITZER, HOST, CNN'S "THE SITUATION ROOM": It's big. We have two Republican presidential candidates on the show, Brooke. Mitt Romney will join us live here in "THE SITUATION ROOM." Jon Huntsman will join us live here in "THE SITUATION ROOM."

We'll speak with both of them separately. They're not coming on together, but we'll follow up on the CNN Tea Party debate that occurred Monday night.

Also James Carville, separately, as well. As you know, and you've been reporting it. A lot of our viewers know, he's got some strong words of advice for the White House, for President Obama. I'll give you a hint, panic, and that's a pretty strong word right now.

This is a good time, he says, to start panicking if you're a Democrat and if you're president of the United States and you want to get re-elected. I'll talk about what wants to do.

I know he wants the White House to start firing people. He also wants the White House and the Justice Department to start indicting some people. We are going to go in depth. James Carville will be here in "THE SITUATION ROOM," Brooke. So as you point out, a really big show.

BALDWIN: Big indeed, Wolf Blitzer. Thank you so much. We'll see you in a couple of minutes on "SITUATION ROOM."

Meantime, remember the infamous White House party crashers? We talked about this yesterday. We reported that Tareq Salahi thought his wife might have been kidnapped.

Nope, instead she's on the road to be with the guitarist from "Journey." There is even more drama to this one. Joe Johns has more for us today. He's standing by with a very interesting "Political Pop" for us. That's next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BALDWIN: "Smalltown" girl and "D.C. Housewives" star, Michaele Salahi's midnight train to anywhere didn't end up missing after all. She ended up in Memphis, Tennessee, with "Journey" guitarist, Neil Schon.

It turns out she was not kidnapped like her husband thought. Police confirmed she is indeed OK and there is more. Joe Johns has the "Political Pop."

And Joe, do tell me what you've learned?

JOE JOHNS, CNN SENIOR CORRESPONDENT: You know, sometimes on "Political Pop" you just don't know where to begin, Brooke. We've got the White House gate crashers known for their publicity stunts back in the news in a made-for-TV drama.

This is a story that has so many threads you could probably completely forget that Michaele and Tareq Salahi are having a bankruptcy auction at their Virginia Winery this weekend.

But let's start where we left off yesterday with the mysterious disappearance of Mrs. Salahi. The world knows by now, her husband reported her missing to authorities. We were pretty sure all along she had not been abducted. It turns out, she had run-off with the rock and roll band "Journey" to be with guitarist, Neal Schon confirmed through CNN, through Scope Marketing.

If you don't remember, Brooke made a reference to this, Journey is, by the way, famous for that rock and roll classic song "Don't Stop Believing" with the lyrics that begin about the small town girl living in a lonely world, took the midnight train going anywhere. It's going to stay in my head for a while.

BALDWIN: It's been in my head all day.

JOHNS: Yes, exactly. Anywhere, of course, in this case turned out to be Memphis. Tareq Salahi is said to be devastated. It was the Warren County sheriff who came out with an official statement yesterday confirming that his office had been in touch with Mrs. Salahi. Take a listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SHERIFF DANNY MCEATHRON, WARREN COUNTY, VIRGINIA: Mrs. Salahi advised she did not want Mr. Salahi to know where she was. Mr. Salahi advised (inaudible) that she was very sorry the sheriff's office had to be involved, but did not want to go home right now.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

JOHNS: So end of the surprise? Now there is one interesting fact. Brooke, as you know, I think even on this show, she actually is involved in music herself somewhat.

BALDWIN: She tried her hand in music, yes.

JOHNS: Right, she performed a song called "Bump It" live on TV and frankly, she has not gotten great reviews. I'm not a reviewer, of course so we figured we just show you a snippet of it.

BALDWIN: Let's watch.

JOHNS: Here we go, NBC Miami.

BALDWIN: I'm speechless. I do not think we played that on this show because I'm pretty sure I would have remembered.

JOHNS: You know music, right? So what do you think?

BALDWIN: Really?

JOHNS: Yes.

BALDWIN: Really? Seriously? No comment, no comment, no comment. OK, talk to me a little bit more. Take that off the screen. Take it off. You're learning more about the bankruptcy, the bankruptcy sale of their winery in Virginia.

JOHNS: Right. We took a look at the bankruptcy documents, which list a lot of their creditors. The largest 20 claims add up to close to $2 million. It's called Oasis Vineyards.

They are auctioning kitchen, catering equipment, wine-making equipment, unfinished wine, 200 cases of cabernet, who knows how it taste? According to the auctioneer's web site, still no indication that the auction is being called off or affected in any way because of the drama here.

The "Wall Street Journal" says they filed for bankruptcy protection in 2008 in the middle of an ownership dispute that divided the Salahi family. Tareq Salahi did not answer our calls today and he didn't call back either.

BALDWIN: You know, sometimes we have to go out, Joe Johns each and every day we find these "Political Pop" stories and sometimes they just come to us.

JOHNS: They come us to.

BALDWIN: Joe Johns, thank you very much. Before we go, a couple of updates for you. That California dad is now charged with felony child abuse after allegedly throwing his son overboard into a busy harbor.

Do you remember this story from not too long ago? This man is accused of repeatedly slapping his 7-year-old son on the face before throwing him off the boat in Newport Beach harbor.

He faces up to six years in state prison if convicted. The father says he was playing around to his son and also admitted to being drunk at the time. Listen to him in his own words.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: What if he went under the boat and drowned?

SLOAN BRILES, FATHER: It doesn't work like that. Sorry.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: How does it not work that way? I'm thinking a little kid goes overboard and the boat's moving, the kid could get hit by the front of the boat or sucked onto a propeller.

BRILES: We were on the back, the bow. We jumped off well prior to them actually slipping.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BALDWIN: Sloan Briles in his own words.

Also, the parents of that once-missing autistic boy they now have lost custody of him. According to our affiliate in Los Angeles, KCBS, a California court today granted the parents' visiting rights every Monday. He came to national attention after he ran from his school in Twin Peaks, California, on Monday, was missing for just about 24 hours and lost in the woods in the San Bernardino National Forest.

He had recently been removed from his parents' custody after someone reported the boy was tied to a pole. The parents explained they were just moving and were worried Joshua would run-off.

An anthropologist now examining human remains found in the Utah desert yesterday. The remains were found during a search for Susan Powell. She is the mother from Salt Lake City who just disappeared back in 2009. Her husband told authorities he had taken a camping in zero degree weather. He had no idea where his wife went. He, by the way, the only person of interest in the case.

And that is it for me here. I'm Brooke Baldwin in Atlanta. Now let's go to Wolf Blitzer, "SITUATION ROOM" starts right now.