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Europe Debt Crisis Weighs on Investors; Chris Christie Says No; Hispanic Children Flee Alabama Schools; Apple's New 'Intelligent Assistant'; Chopper Crashes in NYC's East River; Amanda Knox Case; Apple Announces iPhone 4S; Buffet: Economy will Recover; White House Turns Pink
Aired October 04, 2011 - 15:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
BROOKE BALDWIN, CNN ANCHOR: And let's continue, shall we? Hour two. I'm Brooke Baldwin.
Continuing on. Amanda Knox is almost home, the bear poking its head on Wall Street, and there is a red tide rising on the West Coast. You have to say this. Time to play "Reporter Roulette."
And Sandra Endo, let's begin with you in Seattle -- Sandra.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
SANDRA ENDO, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Brooke, this is the day friends, family members, and supporters have been waiting for this. Her homecoming after four years behind bars in an Italian prison.
Take a look at the local headlines this morning -- the "News Tribune": "After 4 years she's free." And "The Seattle Times," "Nightmare is over, Knox is coming home."
We believe she's on a British Airways flight that is expected to arrive here 7:50 Eastern Time and 4:50 Pacific. From there, we understand, when the plane lands, her parents are expected to address the media as well as her lawyer.
Now, whether or not Amanda Knox herself will address the media, that remains unclear. We understand that decision will be made by her while she's on the plane ride to return home.
Now, according to a friend, we under that her first wish is to lie down in a green field and she will have plenty of time for that because her family wants to spend a lot of private time with her to catch up for that past four years -- Brooke.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
BALDWIN: Sandra Endo in Seattle -- Sandy, thank you very much.
Next on "Reporter Roulette," let's go to Alison Kosik at the New York Stock Exchange for the market watch update. We are 60 minutes away from that closing bell.
Alison, how did today fair? ALISON KOSIK, CNN BUSINESS CORRESPONDENT: That's right. It's just another rough day. We've got another hour to go before the closing bell. Stocks have been stuck in the red for most of the day.
We saw them trim their losses after comments from Fed Chief Ben Bernanke saying growth will be stronger in the second half of this year. Problem is: the second half of the year is right now. So, we're not seeing what he saying will happen.
So, what we're really seeing are these worries about Greece defaulting continuing to dominate, because no one is sure how much the default would rattle the global financial markets. You're seeing that worry play out in the numbers today -- Brooke.
BALDWIN: We also -- speaking of the red, we saw the S&P 500 dip into the bear market today. What does that mean?
KOSIK: It continues to be trading in bear market territory. And what bear market territory is, it represents the same downturn for the market, and the S&P 500 is really knee-deep in the red right now and it means it's down 20 percent from the recent high that it had back in April. Right now, the index is at 10.87. Now, if it closes at this level or lower than 10.90, that means a long running bull market, it's going to be officially over.
You know, the stock market is seen as a forward-looking indicator, Brooke. So, what this really means is investors -- they are just not optimistic about the economy in the near future. But keep in mind, this bear market that we're seeing, doesn't mean that it will last forever. Where there is a bull, there is always a bull lurking around somewhere. We can't see him right now, Brooke.
BALDWIN: Yes, little bit of perspective, half empty, half full. We'll get there, hopefully, Alison Kosik. Thank you very much, as we're watching those numbers as always.
And next on "Reporter Roulette" -- Chad Myers, surf is up?
CHAD MYERS, AMS METEOROLOGIST: Yes.
BALDWIN: Surf is up, my friend, in San Diego. This is the coolest story.
MYERS: I know.
BALDWIN: I guess, two words for you, bioluminescent dinoflagellates.
MYERS: I was totally blown away when you walk in to my office and said that. And then you were swimming in this stuff.
BALDWIN: I was totally swimming and they call the Bio Bay, the Bio Bay in Bique (ph), outside of Puerto Rico. It is awesome.
MYERS: I had swum in it in the British Virgin Islands, in the little bay as well, but not like this. BALDWIN: Explain this.
MYERS: It shows up in a wave. That was red tide. OK, I get it. And during the day, it's red because it's a little bit of algae out there, just an algal bloom. No big deal. And not really harmful. It may be using up a little bit of oxygen.
BALDWIN: Look at that.
MYERS: You know, fish may be swimming away. But when the water crests and excites these little dinoflagellates as you said, they turned blue and it was just coolest thing. And they light up -- literally, they light up at night.
BALDWIN: Yes.
MYERS: We have a picture of a surfer and right in the tail of the surf board, it was all electric blue.
BALDWIN: So, is this an anomaly in southern California?
MYERS: Absolutely.
BALDWIN: It is, right?
MYERS: Yes. Yes.
BALDWIN: So, when I go to Encinitas, not kidding, I have a trip planned in a couple of weeks, will it remain this way?
MYERS: There's no telling. There is no telling how long this will last. This was just kind of -- this is a bloom that can go away. The tide can take it away. The current will take it away.
BALDWIN: Is it primarily, if it were to happen, will it be a West Coast thing versus an East Coast thing?
MYERS: Yes, for this time, for this bloom here.
BALDWIN: OK.
MYERS: But those bioluminescent bay are always in the Caribbean. There are many of them there. You go there and you hear -- I was a diver at the time. I don't do it too much anymore. I'm too old for that.
You move your hand back and forth and literally it all lights up in front of you. You can't see because all of the organisms are flashing. They are all excited and they use the light to attract other mates.
BALDWIN: Oh, I see. OK. Well, it's fascinating. If you ever get an opportunity to swim, I highly recommend it. Although watch out for the jellyfish.
MYERS: Yes, right. (CROSSTALK)
MYERS: You'd actually swallow (ph) some.
BALDWIN: I didn't. I -- you know, I wanted to see the arc.
MYERS: Oh, I see.
BALDWIN: Who say that on television Chad Myers.
MYERS: Technically, you're not.
BALDWIN: They said don't. Yes, anyway. Thanks, Chad. Appreciate it.
MYERS: You're welcome.
BALDWIN: That's your "Reporter Roulette" for today.
OK. Real quickly, is Mitt Romney speaking? OK. Let's go. Let's go to Mitt Romney at the town hall meeting. Here he is in the Villages in Florida.
We're going to continue on. We're going to listen to him momentarily, but I'll continue.
OK. A double mastectomy -- a breast cancer survivor says she was humiliated when a TSA agent insisted on touching her during the screening process. She says she had the medical documentation for her implants right in and there for them to check. But TSA said, now they're saying that they are sorry, coming up.
Happening now, have you heard? The New Orleans Saints home, the Superdome, has a new name. They just announced it. We know it -- we'll tell you, next.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
BALDWIN: And welcome back. I'm Brooke Baldwin.
If it's interesting and happening right now, you're about to see it. "Rapid Fire" -- let's go.
Beginning with President Obama will be speaking live in just about an hour from now at a community college in Mesquite, Texas. While there, he's going to encourage Congress to pass his jobs bill. This is as poll show his approval rating still at an all-time low of 42 percent.
Chris Christie says he's not going to do it. The governor of New Jersey shut down speculators as those were wondering whether or not he would be joining the race for Republican presidential nomination. You're going to hear a bit of a speech coming up.
Apple talking iPhone, as in the iPhone 4S, not an actual iPhone 5 as of yet. The new iPhone looks like the old iPhone 4, but Apple says it's all new on the inside. A couple of highlights for you. A new chip that's twice as fast as the older one and 8 megapixel camera. Also, iPhone 4S works around the world.
And Sprint customers, it will also be available for you. Price range is 199 bucks for the 16 gigabyte model and 399 for the 64 gig.
It is all clear on Times Square now after a couple of tense moments this morning. Police emptied out part of Times Square today when someone reported on this unattended package on a bus in New York City. It turns out the item was a back pack. The bomb squad checked it out. It was harmless.
Do you think you have the right stuff to work in space? NASA might be interested in talking to you. The agency is about to start accepting applications for astronaut duty from the general public instead of strictly from military and scientific communities.
If you are interested, though, they say to be ready for tough standards just to qualify. Go to NASA's Web site to check it out.
And 53-year-old material girl Madonna will reportedly perform at this year's Super Bowl halftime show. If so, brace yourself for a maybe, a possible wardrobe malfunction or two. She will be the first female solo act since Janet Jackson back in '04. Madonna's longtime rep said that they have nothing to confirm at this time.
And Mercedes Benz is putting its stamp on football right now. They are adding its name to the New Orleans sports landmark. The Superdome will now be called the Mercedes-Benz Superdome. The automaker signed a 10-year naming rights deal. The Superdome has been home to the NFL Saints, six Super Bowls and, of course, housing refugees during hurricane Katrina.
And now, let's listen to frontrunner in the GOP, Republican presidential race, pardon me, holding this town hall there in Villages in Florida. By the way, a new poll from the ABC News/"Washington Post," Republican choice for nominee in 2012, he is the front runner at 21 percent, and then Cain and Perry are tied at 14.
Let's listen, Mitt Romney.
MITT ROMNEY (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: They couldn't afford sending four kids to college. So, the family all got together, had a family council and decided they would chose one of them, the smartest of them, and all of them would work, save their money to send that one to college.
Thankfully for me, that was my wife's father. He got to go to college, went to General Motors Institute of Technology and was able to get a degree in engineering, started his own little engineering company after college. And started making parts for ships for steering gears of aircraft carriers, elevators that lift planes up and down an aircraft carriers, began a very successful little enterprise of his own.
What an amazing country this is. We have drawn people from all over the world, freedom seekers. Those that want to build a brighter future for their prosperity.
That's who we are. That's in our DNA. These freedoms are what have allowed us to out-compete any other nation in the world, to become the most prosperous nation in the world. By far of the great nations, to rush past the nations of Europe, to stay ahead of the most populous nations of Asia.
And what concerns me right now is we have in Washington a political class and a president who think they know better than the American people. Who think they know better than a free enterprise, how to guide an economy. And so, with their heavy hand, Washington is attempting to steer the American economy and it's not working.
The president came at a time when the economy was sliding. He hasn't turned it around. He's made things worse. And he's made things worse for different reasons than he thinks.
This last weekend, he said that the American people had become soft.
That's not the problem, Mr. President. It is that they don't have the leader that knows how to make this country strong. And --
(APPLAUSE)
ROMNEY: And he may have noticed that we're not up and running like we used to be, but that's not because we're soft, it's because he's too heavy on our shoulders. And the government of Washington is weighing down free people and free enterprise from doing what we have done, which is out-compete in the world.
The problem is not the people, the problem is the government. And if we want to get America going again, we have to recognize that Washington is fundamentally broken, out of touch with reality, wasteful, abusive, over-regulating, and such a burden on the American economy that until we get our hands on Washington, take it apart, put it back together smaller, smarter, simpler, than this economy will have a hard time going. I will get Washington right because that's what I do. I will fix it, I will get it on track again.
(APPLAUSE)
ROMNEY: Now, you know that when the president came into office, his number one responsibility, I'm sure, facing him immediately was that our economy was in trouble. And he had to get people back to work.
But instead of focusing his energy on the economy, he delegated that to Nancy Pelosi and Harry Reid.
(LAUGHTER)
ROMNEY: Yes. Maybe even less experience than he, if that's possible. And so, he went about what he wanted to do, cap and trade, to raise the cost of energy, forced unionization through card check, and stacking the National Relations Board with union stooges. He was interested in Dodd-Frank which changes the whole regulatory environment of financial services.
The president was also intent on having the federal government take over health care, about one-fifth of the economy.
By the way, I saw some signs out there. You may have seen them, I was driving by, that said, "Keep your hands of our Medicare."
By the way, there's only one person that I know of that has cut Medicare. That's the president of the United States. He cut it by $500 billion to pay for Obama care and we will turn that around. That is wrong.
(APPLAUSE)
ROMNEY: So, when you see your friends with signs that say, "Keep your hands off our Medicare," you say -- absolutely right. We're going to vote an Obama guy out of office.
Now -
(APPLAUSE)
BALDWIN: So, this is the first time we have heard from the front-runner in this race, Mitt Romney, after the big announcement not too long ago. New Jersey Governor Chris Christie not in it -- at least not perhaps at this time. Clearly, Mitt Romney just simply taking on the president, says he lacks leadership and rebuilding America, rebuilding our economy.
Let's continue.
Imagine standing in an airport in the security line, people everywhere, no privacy and one of the agents touches your breasts. So, a double mastectomy, breast cancer survivor says a TSA agent insisted on doing that to her. Well, TSA is now responding. We have that, next.
Also, a Texas man will walk free after 25 years behind bars. He claimed he was innocent the whole time. It turns out new evidence backs his claim. That's ahead.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
BALDWIN: The TSA is now apologizing to a woman who claims she was humiliated and assaulted at JFK Airport in New York. Laurie Dorn (ph) is a breast cancer patient, and the airport body scanner detected medical implants in her body, placed there as part of her cancer treatment. Well, she says TSA agents insisted on physically searching her and did so in the full view of all of the other passengers in line.
Now, Dorn carries this card to explain the situation. She said the TSA would not let her show her card. The airport manager and TSA both apologized for the way she was treated.
Well, speaking of the airport, changes could become coming again with the way you move through the airport. The TSA says in a couple of weeks, they are going to start testing some new machines designed to quickly and accurately match your boarding pass with your government issued ID.
So, right now, it's not automated as you know. Those men and women, they are called documents checkers. They look at your ID, and the tickets with special flashlights and magnifying glasses. The goal is to speed up airport lines and improve security. TSA officials won't say where they'll be testing those machines.
Speculation over Chris Christie is shaking things up in the Republican race for president. Coming up, he's made his decision. That is next. Plus, Jim Acosta live in Trenton, New Jersey.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
BALDWIN: As if we weren't sure by all the no responses before today, Chris Christie made it absolutely crystal clear this afternoon, the man is not running for president, making the announcement just about an hour and a half ago from Trenton.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
GOV. CHRIS CHRISTIE (R), NEW JERSEY: For months, I've been adamant about the fact that I would not run for president. My language was clear and direct no matter how many times I was asked the question. For me, the answer was never anything but no.
My job here in New Jersey is my passion. In the end, what I've always felt was the right decision remains the right decision today. Now is not my time. I have a commitment to New Jersey that I simply will not abandon. That's a promise I made to the people of the state when I took office 20 months ago -- to fix a broken New Jersey.
And when I look at what we've accomplished so far, I'm proud and I know we're not nearly done.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BALDWIN: And Jim Acosta was inside when Governor Christie made that announcement today. Jim is there live with the latest. And, Jim, I imagine it was a pretty packed house and no means no again in this case.
JIM ACOSTA, CNN POLITICAL CORRESPONDENT: It was. That's right, Brooke. This time, Chris Christie means it, right?
Yes, we were inside the room and it was interesting to pick up on a couple of things that the governor said during those hour long press conference. He said that he made this decision last night after giving this a second thought over the last few weeks and that he started calling his donors and key supporters earlier this morning.
But the one thing that he could not get past, Brooke, is the fact that he's only been on the job here in New Jersey for 20 months. He feels there's a lot more to do here on New Jersey and ruled out the possibility that he may run for president in the future. He basically said, look, this is something that I may entertain down the road, but not for 2012.
He was also asked about the vice presidency and this is where, you know, he sort from being an applicant from master of the universe to a master showman. He was sort of holding court in there during this press conference and he said, look, I'm not really cut out for being vice president. The president would have to get a food taster if they brought me into the White House.
So, it was vintage Chris Christie today, Brooke.
BALDWIN: And it was just important I think for people across the country, mentioning getting letters from, you know, that farmer in Nebraska, asking his kids to let him run. It was important to hear from the man himself, wasn't it?
ACOSTA: That's right. And, you know, he talked about the speech at the Reagan Library. He said it didn't factor in a great deal, but he was moved by a lot of these emotional pleas that you watched visibly expressed at that speech at the Reagan Library last week.
So, it's interesting that Governor Christie gave all of these steadfast denials for many, many months and then right up to the last minute, because, you know, the prospect of mounting a presidential campaign at this point was really three months to go before the early voting contest, would have been really next to impossible.
But Governor Christie was seriously thinking about this, right up until last night when he finally decided, no, he's not going to do it. And you have to say, at this point, that we -- you know, if he had decided to jump into this race, we will have to lay William Tecumseh Sherman to rest, he is the person who the Shermanesque statement, phrase, was named after.
You know, if asked to run -- if nominated, I will not run. If elected, I will not serve. Those were the words of Sherman.
And if Chris Christie had decided to run for president, the Shermanesque statement would have been inoperable in any presidential discussions from this point forward. So, at least Chris Christie saved Sherman in that respect.
BALDWIN: Quickly, Jim, so I guess the next item that we will look for from the governor will be a possible endorsement. When do we anticipate that?
ACOSTA: He said he didn't have anything to say today about an endorsement and he's going to do some time thinking about it. You know, what's interesting is if you look at some of these brand-new polls that have come out today, you know, Chris Christie, had he gotten into the race, there was a Quinnipiac poll that came out today showing him running neck-and-neck with Mitt Romney and there's another "Washington Post" poll that didn't show quite that much support for Chris Christie. But he's going to be looked at a field that really the Republican Party is not that excited about last night, and he was asked about this a couple of times today. I asked him the question, you know, is the Republican Party looking for a white knight? And he basically said, no, no, no, that's not what's going on here today. The speculation that's been going on the last few weeks, this has really been about me, Chris Christie.
So, I think now that he's gotten that sorted out, he can start focusing on whether or not he is going to endorse someone. But he's got some time to play with. We still got a few months to go before the voting begins, Brooke.
BALDWIN: All right. Jim Acosta, thank you very much, in Trenton, New Jersey, for us.
Coming up, though, Apple announcing new iPhones -- why to (ph) and what's new? This iPhone even comes with an assistant. We're going to explain what that means coming up.
Plus, hundreds of Hispanic children are fleeing public schools out of fear in Alabama. They are not going to class. The state's new immigration law requires schools to ask legal status of the kids and their parents and has some parents running scared. That's coming up.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
BALDWIN: Absenteeism has increased dramatically among Hispanic students after a federal judge upheld most of a tough new immigration law in Alabama. It's called HB 56 and it would, among other things require public schools to ask about the legal status of kids and their parents.
And just last hour, I spoke with Challen Stephens. He's with the "Huntsville Times." He's been covering all aspects of the law, the reaction to it. Here's what was told to me.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
BALDWIN: I read that interim superintendent at Department of Education, by the name of Larry Cravin. He said this and I'm quoting, "schools will comply with the law, checking the status of new students, but that nobody will be denied an education." Is that an oxymoron?
CHALLEN STEPHENS, GOVERNMENT AND POLITICS EDITOR, "HUNTSVILLE TIMES": That is how the law reads. The law reads that they have to check the status of all newly enrolled students and they 30 days to -- the students have 30 days to present a birth certificate or the parent can come in and attest that the child was born in the United States.
If they were not, it's a statistical count. The child is not denied anything although it's pretty easy to see why someone would interpret this. We do have the police in lot of the schools. The police had been giving new latitude under this law. And your reporter had Dr. Casey Rodenski here in Huntsville Mansion in Spanish, he mentioned in Spanish about there is nothing to fear from police in the school. So there's some misconceptions out there.
BALDWIN: So, I guess, help me understand how exactly this is enforced. You mentioned there is police in the schools. So is it not that the teachers and the principals were enforcing it, it's the police and also its new students and not kids already in the schools? Am I hearing that correctly?
STEPHENS: Yes, correct. It's strictly new students.
BALDWIN: OK.
STEPHENS: As for the police in the schools, they have no role in this, but if you don't understand the law and you see the police. And you know, the schools have been asked to ask certain questions, you could see where someone might make a leap.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
BALDWIN: Still to come, the new iPhone is being called the most amazing iPhone yet. You actually talk -- I guess, if you want to talk to the phone, it's going to talk back to you, with what's being called your intelligent assistant. You can also record high-def video. We have the details coming up.
Also, a Texas man in prison for the murder of his wife is set to go free after 25 years behind bars. The new information that helped overturn his conviction next, but first some financial advice from the CNN Help Desk.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
CARTER EVANS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Time now for "The Help Desk" where we get answers to your financial questions. With me now is John Ulzheimer, he's the president of Consumer Education at smartcredit.com. Manisha Thakor, of course, a personal finance expert.
Manisha, Greg has got a question for you. He says, he's 32. He's got three different investment portfolios, a Roth IRA, 401(k) and an 8020 index fund. At his age, should he be aggressive in all portfolios or is he better off keeping some more conservative?
MANISHA THAKOR, PERSONAL FINANCE EXPERT: While I'm thrilled to hear that he has three different portfolios. That's wonderful and retirement accounts absolutely be aggressive and I love the 8020 index between stocks and bonds. That's an appropriate allocation at his age in those accounts.
I'm assuming that third account is a taxable account and in that account if he has funds that he may need to spend in the next one to five years with those funds he would want to be a little conservative and not take a lot of risk. Literally, we're talking CDs and money markets, but that gives him some flexibility to be uber aggressive with the remaining balance.
EVANS: OK, George in Columbus has a question for John. He says he's got enough in his savings account to pay off his credit cards, but should he pay off the cards or should he keep the money in his account? I think I know the answer to this.
JOHN ULZHEIMER, PRESIDENT OF CONSUMER EDUCATION, SMARTCREDIT.COM: Yes, this is a really easy one. Look, you're paying way more interest on those credit card balances than you're earning in the savings account right now.
Here's what I would suggest. Take enough money out of the savings account to fund a sufficient emergency fund. Six to 12 months of expenses in case he loses his job, take the rest of it and pay off those credit cards immediately because really if you look at the net net, he has no savings because he's giving it all the way to the credit card companies.
CARTER: OK, good idea. You've got a question you want answered? Just send us an e-mail anytime at cnnhelpdesk@cnn.com.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
BALDWIN: We are just getting some breaking news into us here at CNN. Guys, let's pull this image up. Let me just explain what we've learned. Obviously the helicopters are pulling up. You can really see.
There's been some sort of helicopter crash in the east river of Manhattan. This is right around -- according to the New York Office of Emergency Management, if you know the area, 34th Street in First Avenue, multiple boats. Take a look.
It looks to me. You see those two people bottom right. Now they are gone. A couple of people trying to get into life rafts. Here's what we know. The Coast Guard is rescuing three individuals. I know from these pictures it's tough to tell who is official and who is simply been in the water and trying to be saved there.
But again, we're told that there is a helicopter went down 34 Street in First Avenue. We're told there is a heliport nearly. I don't know what kind of helicopter went down or why, but a massive rescue presence here on the east river. Let's go back to the picture, guys.
It looked to me and we've been sort of going back between these two different shots. Two separate perhaps they are Coast Guard and fire and rescue boats. A couple of rafts, people getting out.
Again, three people, that's the number we have for now. Three people being rescued. I don't know how far into the river this went down in terms of distance from land into the water. How far out they were? When this went down?
Do we know how recently this went down, guys? We don't know. We don't know. It looks to me like they are pulling someone slowly, slowly up and out of that raft. We're going to stay on it. Maybe Chad Myers looking into how cool the water must be.
I know it's chilly here in Atlanta. I can only imagine it's cooler in New York and the water temperature is certainly not something that you want to hop into this time of year. A couple of people there.
They seemed to be pulling one up and you can see the bottom right, sort of the two guys in that raft in yellow suits, but they look to be officials. Again, I'm just looking right along with you here. We're looking at this live, looking at this live picture.
It's someone maybe on something being carried off there. There they go on to land, massive, massive presence. Again, we're just getting the initial reports here. Don't know a lot at this point in time. New York Office of Emergency Management, three people being rescued. Chad Myers, how cold is the water right now?
CHAD MYERS, AMS METEOROLOGIST: Right there at the East River, it's 66 degrees.
BALDWIN: That's not too bad.
MYERS: It isn't, but that's a splash in very, very cold water. I mean, you would probably be able to survive at least 20 minutes in there. Whereas if we were in the 30s and 40 degree temperatures that we would be in a month or two, your expectancy in that water could be less than 5 minutes.
BALDWIN: That's a better image for us. Now I can take a look at that one. It looks like one, two, three spots where they are going to be carrying, four perhaps and a massive fire and rescue boats. Perhaps there were three people in the river and the boat grabbed them and brought them off to land.
Now it looks like a heliport where they are pulling them on to. Again, we're told this is 34th Street in First Avenue in Manhattan and this helicopter went down. We don't know if it's a private helicopter, a helicopter in an official capacity. We just don't know yet.
MYERS: The important part is that the occupants of that helicopter get out of the helicopter before it started going down. You know, were they under the water for any length of time trapped in that capsule?
And I don't know that because we didn't get there. But we know it with all of those eyes on the East River that you must have had a lot of people reporting this and the officials getting there very, very rapidly.
Those boats are always in the water. Coast Guard and all of the other pleasure vessels in the water as well. Trying to get to something like this immediately where the Coast Guard is not only helping to protect the island, but for this exact emergency, whether it's by boat or by helicopter and by plane, of course.
BALDWIN: I'm just trying to look at the big screen. You can see three boats in the water. It looks to me, though, I can't see anyone else in the water itself. So hopefully, hopefully by this point in time and just by the sheer presence of people right up along the water's edge, that means that all three have been rescued.
All we know is that the Coast Guard was in the process of rescuing three different individuals. And, again, to your point, we don't know how long they were in the water or helicopter, if they got out before it went down. Obviously those are questions that we would love to have answers to. But for right now it's just clearly recently happened.
MYERS: The fact that those other boats are still in the area, still kind of looking around, it may tell you a little bit that they are still looking for something and it could actually be jets in that and come off the helicopter just for clues as to what happened there.
But we can't see from the angle. You just can't see how many people are being treated and obviously a little bit of hypothermia possibly at 66 degrees. But if you're only in that water for five or 10 minutes, even 10 minutes at that point, completely survivable at that temperature.
BALDWIN: OK, we're going to move away from this for now, but don't go too far, Chad Myers. If you learn anything new, let us know. We'll pop that image back up on the screen.
But for now, let's talk about Amanda Knox. We know she is hours away from landing back home in Seattle. She's out of prison, but is she truly free? There could be more court action even though she has now been acquitted of murdering her roommate.
Sunny Hostin has been on the case for us. Sunny, Italian prosecutors, they are saying that they are going to take this to a higher court. They are going to appeal the decision and freed her around this time yesterday. Can they really do that and how does that legal process work?
SUNNY HOSTIN, CNN LEGAL CONTRIBUTOR: Yes, they can really do that and by all indications they will be doing that. They can appeal this appellate decision to Italy's highest court. Italy's Supreme Court and if the conviction is -- or the decision is overturned, Amanda Knox could face the same prison sentence, the 26-year prison sentence.
They would, of course, the prosecution would have to extradite her from the United States because we now know she is on her way home, on her way to Seattle. But by no means is this case completely over because the prosecutors have indicated that they will appeal the appellate court's decision.
BALDWIN: Will that, though, will that attempt -- how successful -- what was the likelihood?
HOSTIN: You know, I don't think it's that likely only because this is a very different type of process. This isn't a new trial like what we saw. This is really an appeal that will cover technical issues, Brooke. I don't know that it will be successful, but it can't be a good thing for Amanda Knox to know that this is still hovering over her head.
BALDWIN: Important to mention though in this whole story, there's still this one man who's in prison for the murder of Meredith Kercher. He is Rudy Guede, has been described sort of a drifter at the time when all this happened. Can he now because of the breaking news we had this time, can he now appeal his conviction and what are his chances -- you know, how much evidence is there against him?
HOSTIN: Well, my understanding, Brooke, is that he has exhausted his appeals because he was originally convicted and sentenced to 30 years in prison. Many people believe that he was the sole killer here in this case.
He did appeal that 30-year conviction and it was reduced to 16 years. He then appealed again and my understanding is that he lost that appeal. So at this point, Rudy Guede has exhausted all of those appeals and will continue to serve 16 years in prison for the murder of Meredith Kercher.
BALDWIN: OK, Sunny Hostin, thank you very much on the case for us.
Also, Apple revealing the new iPhone. It's not the 5. This is the 4S, but it still has some pretty new features. You have a faster chip, an eight megapixel camera. It's a world phone and it will be available if you are a customer of Sprint.
Katie Linendoll is a tech expert. She's there in Cupertino, California. Katie, first things first, you know, there was a lot of talk about iPhone 5. Is this disappointing at all?
KATIE LINENDOLL, TECH EXPERT: I don't think this is disappointing, but I think finally for all of us, it's kind of an end to all the rumors and all the speculation.
I love that you're running through those features because that's exactly what I want to get to. What they announced today, it was not an iPhone 5. It was an iPhone 4s. So let me tell the features that it this comes with.
BALDWIN: OK.
LINENDOLL: Obviously, better camera, an 8 megapixel camera, 10 ADP high def video, faster processor, and faster graphics. As you know that this will be world phone and I'm using the iPhone 4 because my point in that is, it has the same body and the same style. No changes there.
Also 8 hours of talk time and something they spent the most time talking about in terms of features is this voice recognition feature. It's called theory and now what you can do is actually use your phone and use your voice to command your phone.
So if you want to send e-mails, if you want to check the weather or if you want text somebody, you do that using your voice.
BALDWIN: Let me jump in on this point because we were talking this in the meeting. So if I program like my mother's birthday, it will speak to me and say, it's your mother's birthday today. Will it do that? That's what I need.
LINENDOLL: Yes, it's probably something we all need. It was actually pretty incredibly immersive to actually see these demos on stage. I was things -- I had a chance to get hands on a few moments ago and I was saying tell me where the closest Starbucks is and it would give me 13 different locations and that I would say take me to the closest Starbucks and it would give me the directions.
So totally immersive and being to change things and ask questions on the fly is definitely a cool feature, but another one that's definitely worth noting is IOS 5. They've upgraded their operating system. I know that sounds really nerdy, but what that means for you is it comes with I-cloud.
So if you have an iPad or if you have iPhone or if you have a Mac, you can now not using any wires sync all of your devices, you music, your photos, your documents, all goes wirelessly. It all be sync and updated.
Also they have announced find my friends feature, which I think is great for parents. Now you can find and locate friends and family right on their phone so you can see them anywhere you're at. And also just in terms of availability, I want to get this in. It will be available for pre-order October 7th.
And if you like camping, it will be available October 14th in retail and as you noted, it will be available in Sprint so expect high demand.
BALDWIN: Katie Linendoll, thank you very much. We appreciate it.
LINENDOLL: Thanks.
BALDWIN: I want to pull back and go back to our breaking news here. This downed helicopter and this rescue there in the East River. I have Thomas McKenzie on the phone with me. He's with the Coast Guard, spokesperson for the Coast Guard. And Thomas, just tell me what you know, tell me what happened?
THOMAS MCKENZIE, SPOKESPERSON, COAST GUARD (via telephone): Well, at the moment, we have - first off, we have no reports of injuries at this end. There's three persons on board, civilians. The helicopter went down in the vicinity of 34th Street. It was unknown if it was taken off or landing. Coast Guard in New York was responding with two of their assets. We have the Coast Guard that put out an urgent radio information broadcast and also the NYPD responded with one of their assets. Right now, we're contact the command center for their updates and I'm sure as soon as we have something more, we can offer you that.
BALDWIN: Thomas, do we know what kind of helicopter this was? Was it commercial or a private chopper?
MCKENZIE: I sure don't know that at this time, but that's a good question. Thank you. I'll put that to my list.
BALDWIN: OK. How long ago did this happen?
MCKENZIE: That happened at 35 minutes after the hour.
BALDWIN: OK. So just about 15 minutes ago. And just to confirm, you said no injuries. Three people -- you don't know yet if this happened upon landing or takeoff. Are those three people safe and sound on land?
MCKENZIE: Right. That's correct. There are no reports of injuries at this time. I don't have any. There may be updates forthcoming but any information that's available to me out. I don't have reports of injuries.
BALDWIN: No reports of injuries, but in terms of those three individuals who are rescued, they are OK ultimately? They are out of the water, is my question?
MCKENZIE: I don't know that at this time.
BALDWIN: OK. OK, Thomas McKenzie, I know you have a lot of questions yourself. We'll let you get those answered and perhaps we'll bring you back on. Thomas McKenzie, U.S. Coast Guard spokesperson. Thanks so much. And with that, we'll take a quick break.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
BALDWIN: Back to our breaking story. This helicopter went down there in the East River, Manhattan, just about 15 minutes ago. According to the Coast Guard spokesperson, didn't know a tremendous amount still very, very fresh.
But he was able to at least tell me that there were no injuries reported, but I want to bring in Chad Myers because I need to get some more information for me. What are you learning?
MYERS: Well, I was on the finest.com and that is the FDNY, Fire Department of New York and also NYPD web site and their scanner. They said the five people were actually on board. Three got out, two did not.
One, that other, one of the two is now out and I was watching them pull, do CPR on that person. One is still missing and that's what this search is going on right now. It appeared to some witnesses this was trying land at this little heliport there at 34th Street and literally missed the landing.
BALDWIN: Are you seeing this with me? It looks like --
MYERS: Yes, that is a diver that came in from the shore. There's the dock right there where the heliport is. He actually came down that little staircase there that they put. Probably could even be just a temporary ladder.
And that diver is now in the water. It doesn't appear like that helicopter is very far away from that dock. So that's why they're concentrating right there on that area.
BALDWIN: OK, so five people were on the helicopter. Three are OK. One, we don't know. One, still missing.
MYERS: Now, this is FDNY scanner traffic from one firefighter to another firefighter, so that's where we are. I can't confirm any of this except this is what the FDNY are telling each other.
BALDWIN: Also, that Coast Guard spokesperson told me that they still don't know, 15 or so minutes ago. I guess, five people total. They don't know if it was commercial, private helicopter. This is by a heliport at 34th in First Avenue.
They don't know yet if it was upon takeoff or landing that this thing went down, but that's what we know as of right now. Chad Myers, thank you so much for the update.
MYERS: You're welcome. I'm still going back.
BALDWIN: Keep me posted. Meantime, Warren Buffett says the U.S. economy may have some bumps in the road, but we're going to be fine one day. That's I guess his message to Poppy Harlow, who just spoke with him. Poppy, what else did he say?
POPPY HARLOW, CNNMONEY.COM: You know, it's interesting. This is the first time I think we've really heard publicly from Warren Buffett about President Obama's American Jobs Act. We talked extensively about that in a long sit-down interview, Brooke.
I want you to take a listen to what he said because I asked him is the American Jobs Act that's going to cost, you know, a lot of American taxpayer money, is that the right move to create jobs? Is it the right way to spend money that this country has and many say does not have at this point. Take a listen.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
HARLOW: President's jobs plan, you say like it or not, call it this or not, it's a stimulus plan. You sound skeptical, frankly, Warren.
WARREN BUFFETT, CHAIRMAN, BERKSHIRE HATHAWAY: I do think we've used up almost all of the power of both monetary and fiscal policy. That doesn't mean that I think every additional unit we put into it is not going to produce something. The American economy is going to flourish in the future, but we have to work through the housing. That is a big segment of the economy. We will come out of it. No question about it. I can't tell you the date.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HARLOW: And what he went on to say, Brooke, and really focus on is that the jobs act may create some jobs, but real jobs, meaningful, mass jobs are not going to come back to this country until housing turns around.
He said even he does not have a better housing plan. It is simply going to take time and I think that has not gotten a lot of focus. It is now from Warren Buffett. One other interesting point, I asked him about Michele Bachmann's recent comments, the Conservative Heritage Foundation also said it saying that if Warren Buffett wants to pay more in taxes, the Buffett rule being proposed by President Obama.
He should write a check to the U.S. Treasury. He laughed that out of and told me very interesting she should say we should solve America's debt crisis by voluntary tax contributions. He went on to say I don't know what percent Michele Bachmann would pay or if I would want to find out. An interesting note on the tax front, Brooke.
BALDWIN: Poppy Harlow, thank you very much.
Still to come, the White House turns pink for a night. It's an annual tradition started by the Bush White House three years ago. Joe Johns joins me in Atlanta today. Hello, Mr. Johns. "Political Pop," next.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
BALDWIN: OK, quickly, back to our breaking story. Coast Guard telling us with regard to this helicopter down in the East River, three people and no injuries yet to be totally transparent, we are hearing from FDNY's scanner traffic, there were five people involved, so still apparently up in the air in terms of injuries, et cetera. We're working our contacts and will let you know as soon as possible, but still very much an active scene there in the East River.
And now to this, the White House turned pink last night and Joe Johns has that in "Political Pop" right here in the studio. You know you're my favorite. It's such a pleasure to have you.
JOE JOHNS, CNN SENIOR CORRESPONDENT: I'm so glad b to be here.
BALDWIN: So let's talk pink. Why?
JOHNS: Yes, fascinating stuff. Anybody walking past the White House last night would have gotten a big surprise. Always been a White House, right?
We have some pictures. There you go. The White House turned pink. This is, of course, breast cancer awareness month and so, they decided to do this in order to sort of celebrate the whole month. You look at that, pretty incredible.
BALDWIN: It's beautiful.
JOHNS: A number of other things going on at the White House. Jill Biden, very involved. In fact, the vice president's residence was turned pink, too. They had Jennifer Aniston in town. They went to a breast cancer clinic. They went with the Health and Human Services secretary --
BALDWIN: Is it a one night only pink house?
JOHNS: Well, I think it's a one night only pink house, but they've done it before at the White House, including President Bush.
BALDWIN: Joe Johns, you got it. You're out, you're done. We're done.
OK. To Wolf Blitzer now, THE SITUATION ROOM starts now -- Wolf.
