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Freed U.S. Hikers Leave Iran; President Obama Speaks at United Nations; Dead Satellite May Hit Earth Friday; GOP Presidential Debate; Death Row Inmate Troy Davis Hours From Execution; Presidential Campaign Trinkets Hit Stores; 2012 Election in High Gear; America's Best Cities; Millionaire Murder Trial

Aired September 21, 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: And now, take a look at this.

Just released -- what was life like inside that Iranian prison and what do the first 24 hours of freedom taste like? Coming up, I'll speak with an American who was also held in that same prison in Iran.

I'm Brooke Baldwin. The news is now.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

BALDWIN (voice-over): On trial for his wife's death.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I just shot my wife.

BALDWIN: What made this millionaire murder suspect bang his fist in court?

A satellite out of gas, barreling toward earth. Look out below. Fortunately, there's a lot of blue on that globe, but what are the odds this thing meets land?

A deadly storm dumping rain on an area already hit by a tsunami this year. We are watching Roke getting large across Japan.

And then dog leashes, water bottles, baby onesies, even an apron, Joe Johns takes us inside the proverbial campaign merchandise tent for today's "Political Pop."

The news starts now.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BALDWIN: Welcome back, hour two. Breaking news. I'm Brooke Baldwin.

Let me just show this moment. Minutes ago, we saw Shane Bauer and Josh Fattal racing off that plane from Iran there to Muscat, Oman, where they're greeted by a crowd of family members there, flashing cameras capturing this moment that's been 26 months in the making. They had been in this Iranian prison for the past 26 months along with Shane's now fiancee, Sarah Shourd, the three of them caught as they were hiking and crossed over the border from Iraq to Iran. Let's go to Mohammed Jamjoom. He was on the tarmac. We were talking live as we shared this moment with you minutes ago.

And, Mohammed, just take me back. What was that moment like?

MOHAMMED JAMJOOM, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Brooke, a long 26-month wait finally over. The families described this day earlier in a statement as the best day of their lives.

This moment, it was very, very emotional as you mentioned. We saw Shane Bauer and Josh Fattal running down the steps of that plane once the doors opened to greet their family members, mothers, fathers, brothers and sisters, and then a particularly emotional moment when Shane Bauer embraced Sarah Shourd, Sarah Shourd, of course the other hiker, third hiker who was imprisoned along with Josh Fattal and Shane Bauer.

While they were in Evin prison, Shane Bauer proposed to Sarah Shourd. She is his fiancee. It was a very, very emotional moment. A lot of tears flowing. You could just see how overjoyed the family members were, the smiles on their faces. We have not had a chance to speak with them yet. They were whisked away very quickly by U.S. Embassy personnel and Omani government officials into the royal terminal here at the Royal Airport in Muscat, Oman.

We're waiting to find out if there will be any kind of a press conference. That could happen at any moment. We're all waiting outside the terminal, but again, a very, very emotional moment, a very long ordeal finally over and clearly the family members here absolutely overjoyed that their loved ones, that Shane Bauer and Josh Fattal, finally freed, finally here in Muscat, Oman, the first step on a long journey back to the U.S. -- Brooke.

BALDWIN: Very long journey, indeed.

Mohammed Jamjoom, thank you.

And if Mohammed can grab any of those family members in the next couple of minutes, of course, we'd love to speak with them as well.

Do want a play a little bit of sound. This is from the president as some cameras caught him earlier today in New York. He was at the United Nations addressing the General Assembly and he did make quick mention of the news that Shane and Josh are free. Let's listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BARACK OBAMA, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Wonderful news about the hikers. We are thrilled. And I could not feel better for their families and those moms who we have been in close contact with. It's a wonderful day for them and for us.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BALDWIN: And coming up in a couple of minutes, Roxana Saberi, who in that same notorious prison, in Evin prison. She's going to share her own memories of what she called psychological torture in those five months. She will share conditions of what that must have been like and what Josh and Shane must be feeling now here in the first moments of freedom. Talk to her in a minute.

(NEWS BREAK)

BALDWIN: And let's just play this one more time. This is the video. It is bringing tears to many of you who have been watching this hour, the American hikers released from an Iranian prison. Up next, we will hear from another American woman who spent time in that same prison.

Here she is. Ms. Saberi will be joining me in just a minute.

And then: A satellite the size of a bus is threatening hit the Earth's surface. Experts say parts of it will likely hit water, if you look at the odds here. But there is still some chance that pieces of it could hit land, maybe someone. We're going to take a closer look at those odds and find out when exactly this will happen.

Stay right here.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BALDWIN: What a whirlwind day, what a whirlwind past couple of minutes, really, for those two American hikers set free from an Iranian prison. First, they're whisked into this diplomatic car outside of Tehran's Evin prison. This is the first taste of freedom they had in 26 months.

They then boarded a plane, flew to Muscat, Oman, where there they ran into the arms -- ran -- look at them -- I just can't get enough of this video -- ran into the arms of their family and friends.

And in case you don't remember, here's the backstory on these two men. Josh Fattal and Shane Bauer, they were detained after crossing into Iran from Iraq while hiking two years ago. They have insisted that they entered Iran, crossed the border by mistake -- $1 million bail was paid to gain their freedom, both of them together. Then Iran released a third hiker, Sarah Shourd, last year because of health concerns.

By the way, Sarah engaged to Shane.

And journalist Roxana Saberi spent five months -- actually, she corrected me in the commercial break -- I'm sure I would have been counting as well -- 100 days -- 100 days in that same Iranian prison. She, too, was accused of spying.

She joins me live from Rome.

And, Roxana, first, I know you didn't see the moment that we shared live on CNN of Josh and Shane racing off that plane, but if they were sitting right next to you, what would you say to them?

ROXANA SABERI, JOURNALIST: Mainly, congratulations. I'm very delighted for you and your families. And I hope that during the next few steps of your life, you will be able to adapt all right to these big changes.

BALDWIN: And do you remember that moment -- of course you do -- when you were racing off a plane as well? What was that like?

SABERI: Yes, when I was released from Evin prison, which is where Shane and Josh and Sarah were all held, I was able to go to my own apartment and I was with my parents for few days in Iran. And then I was able to leave the country. So I think it wasn't until I was on the plane leaving the country that I really felt relief.

I just felt a whole -- gratitude for so many freedoms I had taken for granted before, simply the freedom to walk down the street, to walk without a blindfold on, to have a pen and paper, to turn out the lights at night.

BALDWIN: Let's talk about how you aren't able to do those things in Evin prison for those 100 days, of which you spent two weeks in solitary confinement.

Just as specific as you can, describe the conditions in that prison.

SABERI: Well, I was in solitary confinement for two weeks, and then I was taken out of my cell and I met other women political prisoners.

It's a very difficult time, of course, for all prisoners, especially solitary confinement, but just being unable to leave your cell when you want, to have contact with the outside world. I had very limited access to my attorney, just as the hikers did, just as many prisoners who still remain in Iran's prisons do.

There is a lot of psychological and mental pressure and abuse of many prisoners. Sometimes, there's physical abuse, which I did not experience, but that does happen. Sometimes, prisoners even die in Iran. So, it's very, very difficult, especially when you don't know what's going on, on the outside. You feel very uncertain. But you try to find some strength to get through the days and to make the most of the situation.

BALDWIN: Take me back to that time. You mentioned you were not physically abused, physically tortured, but it was more of a psychological kind. How so?

SABERI: Well, what I went (AUDIO GAP) go through is (AUDIO GAP) solitary cell.

You're faced with trumped-up charges. And even if you deny (INAUDIBLE) will say they believe you. You go through intense interrogations for hours and days. You ask for an attorney, but, most likely, you don't get one. And maybe you will get one later. And then the attorneys are oftentimes under pressure by the authorities. Maybe you'll go to trial and the trial often a sham trial where things like the sentence is already predetermined. So, it's very trying. But I think for those who are very strong, it's also a way to try keep your dignity despite all the pressures put on you. If you can get through that, you feel like you get through at anything.

BALDWIN: We were looking at video of you with Secretary of State Hillary Clinton from May of '09. Do you feel that the State Department did enough for Josh and Shane?

SABERI: It's difficult for me to say because I don't know what was going on behind the scenes. I just heard what was said in the news. In my case, I know the State Department did speak out, but it wasn't just the U.S. government. My mother's Japanese. The Japanese government got involved. The Swiss embassy as their representative was involved, as they were in the hikers case as well. The European Union spoke out for me.

And then it's not just government, but also journalists, human rights groups, ordinary individuals that make a big different. Iranian authorities don't like ordinary individuals speak out against human rights violations or prisoners calling for prisoner's freedom, because then they think well, we can't argue that these people are being masterminded by foreign governments if these are ordinary people.

BALDWIN: So, as you were in there, and you know, your situation is different from theirs, they were in Evin for 26 months. You were there for 100 days. But all the while, what kind of contact did you have at all with the outside world and were you, Roxana, at all aware of all the diplomatic maneuverings to try to get you out at the time?

SABERI: No, I was -- well, at first, nobody knew where I was as is the case for many prisoners. They're not able to tell their families and loved ones what happened to them. They just simply disappear.

My family did find out after about a month that I was in the Evin Prison where the hikers were. But I found out a little before that. I was taken to court one day and I saw a woman there who had been freed, she had come to pick up her sister. She said, "Are you Roxana Saberi?" I said, "How do you know?" She said, "Well, you're all over Voice of America Persia."

And then I realized, oh, there are people that know where I am and that I've been arrested and they're talking for me. And it makes such a big difference when you hear that people on the outside are calling for your release because even if it might not lead directly to your release, at least it empowers and helps you tolerate the conditions in prison.

BALDWIN: Yes, people around the world were following you, certainly Josh and Shane. Important to point out there are other prisoners still sitting in there as well. Roxana Saberi, thank you very much. Appreciate it, sharing your moments in Evin. Hats, t-shirts, even onesies, President Obama's re-election campaign getting up in full gear. But is this enough to fire up supporters?

Also, a satellite the size of a bus now hurdling toward the earth's surface. The odds pieces of this thing actually hit land or someone not too high, but perhaps a little too high for some. We've got some more answer for you on the story coming up.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BALDWIN: A tumbling satellite, a hunk of metal the size of a school bus, that's what a lot of you are talking about today and it is trending. NASA says there's little chance the crashing satellite will hurt anyone. Right now, the odds, about 3,200 to 1.

Most of NASA's upper atmosphere research satellite is expected to burn up in the atmosphere and then break into pieces. But still, some could be quite sizable and people also don't like those odds nonetheless.

Tariq Malik of space.com is in New York.

And also, Chad Myers, is standing by, as he's been talking about the story for quite some time. I wanted you to join the conversation.

Tariq, my first question to you. Before we ask, you know, why this is happening, the significance of this particular tumble, talk to me about when. How soon is this defunct satellite supposed to hit earth?

TARIQ MALIK, SCIENCE WRITER, SPACE.COM: Well, the latest update we've got from NASA now, all signs point to Friday. NASA's been keeping a really close eye on this satellite. Six and a half ton, as you mentioned. It's just been getting lower and lower from space over the last few days.

So, they think they've got it narrowed down to Friday. They're kind of hedging it. It could be Thursday. It could be Saturday. But right now, everything seems to be trending for Friday some time that day.

BALDWIN: OK. From what I've read, you have these 26 pieces of the satellite weighing more than 1,100 pounds. They are expected to survive this atmospheric burn. This happens in terms of, you know, defunct satellites falling out and down to the earth. But the news here is the pieces that will survive are fairly sizable.

MALIK: That's right. This is about a half ton of material that they expect is going to expect is going to survive on the way down. The biggest piece is going to weigh something like 300 pounds. So, it's not small pieces of debris that, you know, you might miss if you weren't looking for them.

These are, you know, big, big pieces of metal, of tanks and things like that they just -- they don't want people to touch. They want folks to know it could be coming down sometime, but they just don't know where. CHAD MYERS, AMS METEOROLOGIST: Hey, Tariq, it's Chad. If this comes down at night over the U.S., this could be quite spectacular to see, wouldn't it? Especially with all these pieces breaking up like a big firework falling out of the sky. Where do we look?

MALIK: Exactly. Well, NASA is not going to know until maybe two hours beforehand, maybe kind of where this thing is going to fall. But if it does fall over the United States, if it is at night, the track is about 500 miles long where they expect this thing to break up.

And it would be, as you mentioned, a spectacular light show. NASA's expert Nick Johnson says that it would be eye-catching, a dazzling display and it could last for several minutes. Even in the daytime, it could be bright enough to be spotted for folks that maybe are looking for it.

MYERS: You told in your article, you told me that it was tumbling. I didn't know about this. Tell me what you know.

MALIK: This satellite basically used up all of its gas back in 2005 to leave a busy orbit so that it wouldn't pose a danger to other spacecraft. And so, it has no control. Because of that, it's over time, it starts to spin or just can't stabilize itself.

What we found out from sky watchers, when they look for it at night, it's bright and then it's dim. And it flashes in brilliant, sometimes to rival even Venus and that tells them that it's spinning as it's drifting around the earth. And it seems like this week is been a pretty exciting one for some sky watchers.

BALDWIN: Tariq Malik, thank you very much -- one of the writers on space.com said something like, you know, if you're lucky enough to be in the area, go ahead and look up. You know, I know the probability is something you don't like, 1 in 3,200. But still, it should be some awesome fireworks Friday, I guess.

MYERS: And don't pick it up and try to sell it on eBay because that would be

BALDWIN: Don't do it, because it's the government's. Put it down. Call the government.

All right. Chad, thank you.

MYERS: You're welcome.

BALDWIN: Do you remember when Texas Governor Rick Perry blasted Social Security?

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

GOV. RICK PERRY (R-TX), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: The idea that they're working and paying into Social Security today, under the current program, it's going to be there for them, is a lie. It is a monstrous lie on this generation. (END VIDEO CLIP)

BALDWIN: Well now, Mitt Romney is using Rick Perry's words to pile up his attack against the GOP front-runner for president. What he plans to do, next in our Political Ticker.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BALDWIN: GOP presidential candidates gearing up for another debate. This one in Florida tomorrow.

Let's go to Jim Acosta with some details, joining us now for the Political Ticker.

Jim Acosta, hello.

JIM ACOSTA, CNN POLITICAL CORRESPONDENT: All right. Brooke, you remember last week was sort of a Social Security smack down. This one might be the rumble in the jobs jungle.

Earlier this morning, Texas Governor Rick Perry put out a web video accusing the president of being "president zero" in his words or in the words of this video. It shows -- it's really sort of a slickly put together video. It shows, you know, sort of these barren warehouses that have been shut down and so forth, and I have -- it's playing on my iPhone right here. It's very small you probably can't make it out.

But in the middle of this video, the ad refers to President Obama as "president zero."

Well, what's interesting about all of this is, is that it didn't take long for the Romney campaign to come out with this e-blast to reporters covering the campaign referring to Governor Perry as "governor sub-zero" and referring to the fact that in the last month, the unemployment rate in Texas went up. This is a key part of the Romney campaign's offensive against Perry to say this Texas miracle that the governor of Texas likes to talk about when it comes to employment is not what it's cracked up to be.

So, you're going to -- that's going to be one of the flash points tomorrow night's debate down in Orlando, Brooke. I think it's going to be a lot about jobs. It could be some about Israel with everything that's happening at the United Nations this week and the Palestinian push for statehood. I think we'll hear something about Israel as well and we're actually talking about that coming up on "THE SITUATION ROOM" at 5:00. We'll have a story on that as well.

But this is -- if the back and forth between the Perry campaign and Romney campaign was any indication, this one is going to be a lively one tomorrow night, Brooke.

BALDWIN: Back in Florida, another key state, of course, for 2012. Jim Acosta, thank you very much.

ACOSTA: You bet. BALDWIN: And, Jim, I don't know if you were watching the top of the hour, I hope so -- I hope you all were. If you didn't take a look. Josh Fattal, Shane Bauer racing off the plane, rushing into this crowd there on the tarmac in Muscat, Oman as they had taken off from Iran. They had been in the prison for 26 very long months for those families. Tears, hugs all around, whisked away in a couple of days on the ground should be taken back home to the United States.

I did speak right before this amazing moment to Josh Fattal's uncle, Fred Felleman. Here's what he told me last hour.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BALDWIN: Hi, Fred. So how excited are you right now?

FRED FELLEMAN, JOSH FATTAL'S UNCLE: I'm way excited now that I've seen my family has released an official statement that they are confident that this is no longer a drill but the real thing. It's a very good day, two years, two months to long.

BALDWIN: How have your families been able to withstand these, I imagine, 26 excruciating months. The line that jumps out at me is "We all want nothing more than to wrap Shane and Josh in our arms." That speaks volumes.

FELLEMAN: Yes. I just want to see the light in his eyes shine again. They're both, you know, very committed people that I'm sure will -- have had plenty of time to think about what they want to do next will be coming back with a clear agenda.

BALDWIN: Do you have any idea about what they want to do next, Fred?

FELLEMAN: The only evidence I've had so far is -- two things. One is that Josh was practicing his Jerries (ph) while in prison. He had the Jerries textbook. When Sarah was with my sister on "Oprah," she asked what did you do to keep sane? She said we talked about places we enjoyed and places we would go back to. We're going go whale watching when we get out. And that was -- I think Josh has done whale watching with me in the great northwest and I study killer whales. And so we're really looking forward to getting them out on the water.

BALDWIN: OK. So let me --

FELLEMAN: That's a short-term plan.

BALDWIN: Forgive me for interrupting you. I hope you are sitting next to a TV because I have just been told this is the plane, live images here on CNN. This is Muscat, Oman. We are now seeing the plane carrying those two American hikers, Josh Fattal, Shane Bauer as we watch it here on the tarmac. We have Mohammed Jamjoom there watching as well.

And, Fred, I know I still have you. From what I understand, both of the families, both mothers, sisters, Sarah Shourd, Shane's fiancee, they're all there on the tarmac. Can you tell me, Fred, what kind of contact they've had with family within the last 26 months as we watch this plane?

FELLEMAN: I think there's only been like three phone calls and one visit in that whole time, which is contrary to most international conventions on the treatment of prisoner prisoners. It made a hard situation worse.

BALDWIN: OK, Fred, thank you very much.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BALDWIN: What a moment that was live here on CNN.

Also, this -- breaking news in the Troy Davis case. This man is about to be put to death by lethal injection in just two and a half hours from now. We're going to check in live with David Mattingly for new developments in this case there. We'll be right back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BALDWIN: A high profile execution, a bizarre crime spree, and a typhoon turned tropical storm lashes Japan. Let's check in with our correspondents here in Reporter Roulette. David Mattingly, I do want to begin with you in Jackson, Georgia, standing by as we are two and a half hours from Troy Davis being put to death by lethal injection. David, tell me who's there. And also, what last ditch efforts have Davis' attorneys made today to save his life?

DAVID MATTINGLY, CNN CORRESPONDENT: First of all, Brooke we do have some breaking news at this hour. A last minute appeal was filed in Georgia's superior court by Davis' attorneys. We found out just a short time ago that court denied that appeal and those attorneys are now taking it to the Georgia Supreme Court. So stay tuned as they continue their 11th hour legal hail Mary in this case to either get this execution stopped or delayed.

If all is going according to schedule, Troy Davis has already said his final goodbyes to friends and family, who are visiting today. That probably happened about an hour and a half ago according to the prison spokesman people here. He had about 25 visitors today. And this hour, he would be served his final meal. He did not ask for any sort of special meal and it's not known if he will be interested in eating at all as he's preparing for his execution at 7:00 p.m. tonight eastern, Brooke.

BALDWIN: Tell me who is behind you, David, and also who will be attending the execution, witnessing it?

MATTINGLY: We are just inside the prison gates on the prison grounds here. Everything is very controlled. All of the media is in a specific area. And all of the demonstrators on behalf of Troy Davis are also in a special area. We're separated by this cordoned off area. They've been continuing their vigil, occasionally praying, speaking to people, people trying to keep their spirits up. As far as people who will be attending the actual execution, Troy Davis does have the right to ask for people to be there on his behalf. Prison officials aren't saying who that might be. We do know that members of the Mark MacPhail's family, the slain police officer, have indicated that they wish to be there as well.

But again, right now, Brooke, everything just now a waiting game. The stakes couldn't be higher as one man's life is on the line.

BALDWIN: David Mattingly, thank you very much.

Next on Reporter Roulette, the shocking display from Mexico's drug traffickers. Two open back trucks filled with bodies are left in the middle of the highway. Nearly three dozen bodies, some falling out of the truck straight on to the road. Rafael Romo is here with more on this story. So, 35 bodies?

RAFAEL ROMO: Exactly.

BALDWIN: Who are these people?

ROMO: Well, the most incredible thing is that they did it in the middle of the afternoon when people were shopping at a mall in front of them. They blocked the street and started dumping the bodies. And nobody was stopping them.

BALDWIN: This was in Vera Cruz. What's the cartel connection?

ROMO: Apparently, one of the victims was connected to a major cartel. There was a poster found with the bodies saying this is going to happen to all of those who are operatives of this cartel.

BALDWIN: Rafael Romo, horrible. Thank you very much.

Next on Reporter Roulette, let's talk about the tropical storm Roke losing some of its punch over Japan, blamed for at least four deaths now, three people are missing. Chad Myers has been tracking Roke.

Chad, let's first talk rain. What are the rain totals?

MYERS: Two feet of rain in 48 hours. Tokyo only picked up about six inches, but the big area, still, all that runoff. All this rain happened at 10,000 feet. All this water, mud, is still going downhill, the flash flooding, mudslides, still going on now. People are not out of the woods. It's still bad there.

BALDWIN: Can you track it?

MYERS: Roke is going up to the north. We talk about how bad the forecast for hurricanes can be in America. Look at this tropical storm. This is what this thing did. Try to forecast that with a computer model.

BALDWIN: Good luck. MYERS: Yes, exactly, good luck. That's always the case. It's very close to Sendai moving up over to the north and that's Sendai, where the power plant is. But so far, the winds have only been about 30 to 40 miles per hour and the rainfall total is about six inches. But some of that water could wash through the that power plant, get mixed with the nuclear water and take it into the ground water or into the ocean. Not a good scenario there.

BALDWIN: Earthquakes, tsunami, now this tropical storm. Chad Myers, thank you very much. That is your Reporter Roulette for this Wednesday.

Now, have you seen this website? We're talking hats, t-shirts, onesies for your little one. President Obama's reelection campaign hitting full gear, but is this enough, this stuff enough to fire up supporters? That's next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BALDWIN: The political season is now in full swing, and with that comes the merchandise, the swag, selling the names, the messages of the candidates you love or perhaps love to hate. Joe Johns is here with "Political Pop."

I was sort of laughing through the break. It's funny stuff, some of this.

JOE JOHNS, CNN SENIOR CORRESPONDENT: It's incredible, isn't it? And there's going to be more of this stuff as the year goes on. Political campaigns, especially presidential campaigns generate all kinds of gear. It's a way for campaigns or parties to promote their candidates. And so far this year, we've got some pretty interesting stuff from the Obama campaign. It is up on their website already.

The first thing that caught our eye was the Obama 2012 onesie.

BALDWIN: That's what I was laughing at.

JOHNS: I know. There's no diapers --

BALDWIN: Babies for Obama.

JOHNS: One piece body suit for babies that come in pink, blue and white. They cost $20. Needless to say this could be construed as the ultimate outreach to future voters. But for the record there's also an Obama barbeque apron, presumably for the guys, as well as an Obama cat leash.

BALDWIN: Hey, gals can barbecue, too, by the way, Joe Johns.

JOHNS: Yes, I know it. But I don't know if I'm going to get one of these things. But look at that, the cat leash. I mean, that's kind of random, right? You know? Pins, coffee mugs, maybe umbrellas, but a cat leash? Who knew?

BALDWIN: OK, so what about the Republicans? What are they doing? Are there Republican cat leashes as well?

JOHNS: Well, they certainly -- no cat leashes. I haven't seen a single one. However, it's absolutely what you would expect for the candidates, you got t-shirts, hats, buttons, names of Republican candidates, coffee mugs promoting Mitt Romney, Michele Bachmann, Rick Perry.

But every year, you also get the folks who are not affiliated with any of the campaigns or the parties putting out their own political gear and we came across more than one web site that's actually hawking anti-Obama stuff.

I caught up today, I didn't see any of these web sites being actually affiliated with the Republican National Committee for example, but the stuff that these independents, if you will, are selling, has a little bit of an edge.

A lot of riffs about change in the captions, quote, how's that hope and change working for you? Change it back, a coffee mug says and then there's one that says, is it 2012 yet. So you get the idea.

BALDWIN: I do. Maybe they'll get a little more creative as time goes by. Just can't get over the cat leashes. Didn't even know cats --

JOHNS: Cats don't vote.

BALDWIN: Cats don't vote, they don't, but their owners do. Joe, thank you very much for this "Political Pop."

Coming up next, Wolf Blitzer, big developments will be happening on his watch. Palestinian leader Mahmoud Abbas about to meet with President Obama.

Coming up next hour, Wolf has the new developments there from the United Nations. This afternoon, they're in New York. "SITUATION ROOM" on the road, day three. Stay right here with Wolf, but before we go to break, today's top five list.

"BusinessWeek" asked Americans if you could live anywhere in the U.S., where would it be? Here are the answers.

Number five, an L.A. suburb. I'm thinking Raleigh, North Carolina isn't an L.A. suburb. I'm just going to go with the graphic here. Number four, Arlington, Virginia, just outside of Washington, D.C. there. And number three, not a bad place to live I imagine, Honolulu, Hawaii.

We'll have the top two America's best cities when we, Scottsdale, Arizona, number two. Let's save the number one after the break.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BALDWIN: So back to this list, a little goof on our end, our bad. During the break, I was filled in. We reversed the order. So people in Raleigh, North Carolina, you're not number five. You're number one, number one for America's best cities.

This is according to "BusinessWeek." If you could pick anywhere in the country where you want to live, Raleigh, North Carolina is the first then Arlington then Honolulu, then Scottsdale and number five is Irvine, California.

Now to Mr. Blitzer, Wolf Blitzer that is. Coming up, "SITUATION ROOM" and we know that President Obama, Mahmoud Abbas, they should be meeting what, in any minute now?

WOLF BLITZER, HOST, CNN'S "THE SITUATION ROOM": Right, they're going to be meeting and it's an important meeting, the president met earlier in the day with the Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. Now he's about to meet with the Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas.

We're going to be speaking with one of President Abbas' top advisers. He's joining us here in "THE SITUATION ROOM." We're reporting live from the United Nations as you can see, Brooke.

We'll also get the Israeli perspective. The deputy foreign minister of Israel, Danny Ayalon, he'll be joining us live as well and on a very, very different story, Ron Susskind is the author of a very controversial brand new book on the Obama White House, he'll be joining us live in our 6:00 p.m. Eastern hour.

So a lot of stuff going on. This is a crazy day in New York and guess what, Brooke, tomorrow and Friday, it's about to get even crazier.

BALDWIN: And why is that?

BLITZER: The traffic, the people, the world leaders. It's a lot of activity going on.

BALDWIN: You love it.

BLITZER: Do you think it's easy to get a dinner reservation in Manhattan on a day like today?

BALDWIN: This is Wolf Blitzer with CNN, yes, I do think it would be easy. Wolf, all right, thank you very much. I know you love the hustle and bustle. Enjoy it there. We'll follow you in "THE SITUATION ROOM" in a couple of minutes.

Meantime, we're going to check in with Sunny Hostin on the case for us each and every day. Sunny is standing by with news today on that trial out of Orlando, Florida, about this millionaire murder trial charged with second degree murder.

Also, new developments on the second deadly home innovation murder trial. Be right back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BALDWIN: Now to tomorrow's news today. Fast forward here. The so-called congressional "Super Committee" discusses revenue options and ways to reform the tax code. The 12-member bipartisan panel laying out a plan to solve America's debt crisis.

Also tomorrow, Pope Benedict making his third visit to Germany. While there, he is expected to push for stronger relations between Catholics and Lutherans.

And love tickets to this tonight, there's the premier of Sir Paul McCartney's ballet "Ocean's Kingdom," the New York City Ballet, the former Beatle, himself, expected to attend. This is the first time McCartney's written an original orchestral score for dance.

Here we go. Now on the case, a Florida millionaire is on trial for the murder of his wife. Developer Bob Ward heard on this 911 call saying not once, not twice, five different times that he shot her inside their mansion. Here's just a piece of that call.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

911 OPERATOR: Hello, what's the emergency?

911 CALLER: I just shot my wife.

911 OPERATOR: You just what?

911 CALLER: I just shot my wife.

911 OPERATOR: Where's your wife?

911 CALLER: She's right here on the floor.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BALDWIN: Prosecutors say Ward shot his wife in a fit of rage. On the flip side, Ward's defense is that his wife was suicidal, the gun went off accidentally as he tried to take it out of her hand and some of this testimony in this trial has been pretty heart wrenching.

Sunny Hostin is on the case here. Sunny, we know that things got pretty heated in the courtroom yesterday as Ward's daughter took to the stand. What happened?

SUNNY HOSTIN, CNN LEGAL CONTRIBUTOR,: That's right. His youngest daughter, Sarah Ward was called by the state to give testimony. And during that testimony, the state asked her whether or not she was present when her father shot her mother in the face. She became very emotional and so did he. Take a look at the exchange in the courtroom.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: You were not there when your mother ended shot in the face --

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: No.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: So, you can't tell us what happened in the master bedroom of your parent's home?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: No.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I have nothing further.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Thank you.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HOSTIN: So, and the noise you hear in the background is Bob Ward slamming his fists on the defense table. So this was a very emotional piece of the trial not only for Sarah Ward, but also for her father.

BALDWIN: You can see being comforted by his attorney there. We know, Sunny, that the prosecution rested yesterday. How effective were they in presenting their side of the case?

HOSTIN: You know, I think they were as effective as they could be. They rested on the testimony of the chief medical examiner. You'll remember that she was the chief medical examiner that testified in the Casey Anthony trial.

And she testified that this was a suicide, rather a homicide, not a suicide, because there was no weapon placed against Mrs. Ward's head. She said that the gun shot must have been -- the gun must have been shot like 18 inches away and that she had never seen anything like that.

So I would say it's as effective as it could be, but we do know that the defense came out swinging today and is expected really to last about two days, so too soon to tell. To call this one, Brooke, but they did a decent job.

BALDWIN: Decent job? With regard to the defense though, what had they laid out? They were essentially saying that the wife was suicidal. He was trying to wrestle the gun or take the gun out of her hands. Have they been successful or I guess, in the coming days, what might they show to help their case?

HOSTIN: Well, they've already called a couple of experts. One of the experts was a toxicology expert and he says that Mrs. Ward was taking Celexa, an anti-depression medication and was drinking that night.

And so apparently, the defense is trying to argue and make the inference that she must have been suicidal because of the cocktail found in her blood. They also called a witness that testified to the fact that yes, indeed, that the gun shot, the gun must have been about 12 to 18 inches away when it was shot.

They still are trying to prove this was a suicide, not a homicide, but I think that it is expected that Mr. Ward, Bob Ward will take the witness stand and that probably will make or break this defense case.

BALDWIN: OK, case number two quickly. Sunny, less than a minute. You've been in Hartford covering this home invasion trial, trial number two. I understand some of the jurors were pretty emotional, pretty were shaken up today.

HOSTIN: They were very shaken up. They saw the crime scene photos of the victims. We saw those in the Hayes case and that was a very disturbing moment then, a very disturbing moment now.

But, Brooke, they are listening to Joshua Komisarjevsky's audiotape confession right now as we speak. My understanding is that in the courtroom, it is very, very quiet except, but for Joshua Komisarjevsky's monotone, dull monotone voice reverberating around the courtroom as he described what he did that day.

BALDWIN: Ten seconds, how likely is it that Komisarjevsky testifies himself?

HOSTIN: I don't think he's going to testify and I don't think he has to testify because his audiotape confession is being played in front of this jury. It's a zip. He's already spoken to this jury. It would be -- I don't think it would be a good move for his defense team to call Joshua Komisarjevsky to the witness stand.

BALDWIN: Sunny Hostin on the case. Sunny, my thanks to you. Thank you for watching. I'm Brooke Baldwin. Now let's go to New York. "SITUATION ROOM" on the road, day three. Wolf, to you.