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New Break in Serial Killer Case; New Details Emerge in Alleged Domestic Terror Plot; Warren Buffett Challenged on Idea of Raising Taxes on the Rich; Trial of Michael Jackson's Doctor Continues; Prison Riot Leaves Dozens Injured; Rihanna Named Sexiest Woman Alive by Magazine; Soldier Returning from Iraq Surprises Daughter

Aired October 12, 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: Now, hour two. Watch this.

And let's continue on. I'm Brooke Baldwin.

Here we go, new developments in Iran's apparent terror plot on U.S. soil. Also, BlackBerrys going out all over the world, and beating up your spouse no longer a crime in one city.

Time to play "Reporter Roulette."

And, Chris Lawrence, let's begin with you there at the Pentagon.

And, Chris, this time yesterday, huge international breaking news. U.S. charging Iran with a terrorism plot on Washington, on U.S. soil, primarily aimed at killing the Saudi Arabian ambassador to the United States. My question is, is the government giving any new details today about these allegations?

CHRIS LAWRENCE, CNN PENTAGON CORRESPONDENT: Well, some of the senior officials who have access to the most up-to-date information are now saying -- they are saying in very strong terms, Brooke, that there was institutional sponsorship of this plot by senior Iranian officials.

In fact, one official said that there is strong suspicion that the head of the Quds Force was involved in the plot directly. So very strong accusations coming from the United States. On the same hand, the State Department is now asking all members and all of its allies to impose whatever sanctions on Iran that they can.

BALDWIN: Quds Force, militant wing of the Iranian Revolutionary Guard. Also we heard Attorney General Eric Holder saying, look, they are going to hold Iran accountable. We talked sanctions. We know they already exist against Iran already. Now we're talking new ones. What kind of sanctions in particular, Chris?

LAWRENCE: Well, five members of Iran's Revolutionary Guard have been sanctioned. They are also calling for the sanctions on Mahan Air. This is the Iranian airliner that provides not only transportation but significant funding to Iran's Revolutionary Guard.

On the other hand, you look at where the sanctions on Iran stand now, for example, Iranian-Americans, they cannot invest in family businesses that exist in Iran. Some of them, they are not able the, say, take control or sell property that they receive as a result of the death of a family member, inheritance from a family member dying in Iran.

Some say while the sanctions may hurt those at the top, it may hurt ordinary Iranian-Americans as well, too.

BALDWIN: Chris Lawrence at the Pentagon, Chris, thank you.

Next, on "Reporter Roulette," BlackBerry users, they are venting a lot over connection issues. And the outrage is spreading faster than the speed of, well, not BlackBerrys right now.

Dan Simon is in San Francisco.

Dan, I know we have BlackBerrys attached to our palms, a lot of us here at CNN. A lot of grievances and a lot of frustrated people. How big of an issue is this?

DAN SIMON, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, this is huge. This is a problem of the highest magnitude of problem for RIM, the maker of BlackBerry. They are based in Canada.

What they have been saying is that part of their infrastructure went out. They are not sure exactly what caused it but they are aggressively trying to work the problem. But it's been three days now and it could not come at a worse time for RIM. Their market share has been decreasing rapidly. They are now the number three smartphone maker. They were number one just a couple years ago, well behind Google's Android system, well behind Apple.

So this is exactly what they do not need. I want to you listen now to a senior manager from RIM who spoke out in Europe earlier today. Take a look.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

STEPHEN BATES, RESEARCH IN MOTION: First of all, I would like to acknowledge the frustration that we know our customers are experiencing to the delays and the messaging and the browsing traffic.

I would also like to apologize unreservedly to the customers who are experiencing this problem. We do have an extremely critical issue on our network that we are working night and day to get resolved.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SIMON: You now have outages in four continents. And basically, when you have a smartphone, it's an easy proposition. You want to have access to your phone. You want to be able to make phone calls and you want to be able to e-mail and if you have a BlackBerry, chances are you have been affected by this, Brooke.

BALDWIN: Yes. Dan Simon, thank you very much.

We're watching and waiting to see how that goes.

Finally on "Reporter Roulette," as of last night, domestic violence no longer a crime in Topeka, Kansas, the City Council voting last night to repeal the ordinance that banned domestic battery.

CNN's Richelle Carey is back to talk about this. We were talking about this earlier this week could it be? Now they voted last night. Before we talk, because, clearly, this is a city-county issue. What has been city reaction, A., and, B., what was the vote?

RICHELLE CAREY, CNN CORRESPONDENT: The vote was 7-3. The mayor actually weighed in on this as well. They are getting so much reaction, I could barely get in to get reaction. The phones were lit up.

BALDWIN: Wow.

CAREY: It's really upsetting a lot of people.

Like you said, this is a city-county fight. The city said that they were completely caught off guard, that the county said, we are backing off because we can't afford to prosecute these cases anymore. The city is effectively saying, we are going to try to put it back on the county, because it's still a state law.

The city wanted to make that clear to me, Brooke, that it's still a state law. Even though it's not on the books in the city of Topeka anymore, it's actually not on the books in a lot of the cities in the state of Kansas because it's a state law. They are saying we're going to put it back on the county to say you have to prosecute these cases because somebody has to prosecute these cases.

KAYE: Let's say in the city of Topeka today, if someone commits domestic battery, gets arrested and goes to jail, can that person walk, because technically it's not illegal?

CAREY: OK. That's why I say technically it is still against the law. It is effectively not against the law, because nobody is being prosecuted right now. That is the reality of it.

Yes, they say that a woman can still call them for help, but nobody is being prosecuted because since September 8, people have been being released. So, yes, they say they are saving money but the bottom line is, this is so risky. We're playing with people's lives. If a woman is harmed, she is going to go to the emergency room. We are all still going to pay somehow.

BALDWIN: Right, or a man, or a man. Because it was September 8 when the DA of this county said, look, I can't prosecute these cases in the city because the county commission cut my budget by X percent for the next year, right.

So is this the city and this vote last night essentially trying to force the hand of the county to say, look, we are not prosecuting them; therefore, you have to?

CAREY: Right. Exactly. And actually they took another step.

What the City Council is they also took another vote a vote of 9-0 to empower the city manager to reach out to the county commission to discuss this, to negotiate, to say, can they please work this out? The city may even throw some money at the county to say, we will give you some money to pick the ball up and to prosecute these cases so that somebody will prosecute.

But the city -- the spokesperson for the city said to me that the county actually has the better infrastructure to prosecute these cases. When you're talking domestic violence cases, you need advocates for the victim. You need to pay for anger management courses. All types of things that they say the city doesn't even have the infrastructure for. They say the county is much better equipped to prosecute these types of cases. They say that the city would need about $1 million and the time to get up to speed to take care of these cases.

I have not heard the county's side. I tried diligently to get through. They are being overwhelmed because there's so many people reaching out to them to say, we're not happy about this.

BALDWIN: Let us know how the city-county talks go and if the city can help financially to get the county to prosecute these.

(CROSSTALK)

BALDWIN: What a story. Richelle Carey, thanks for staying on it for us this week. We appreciate that.

And that's your "Reporter Roulette" for this Wednesday.

Still ahead, a possible serial killer died in prison before the victims he bragged about were ever found, so now investigators are looking at this certain spot that could solve this history. I'm going to talk live to someone from the FBI.

Also, one sheriff says it's the worst riot he has ever seen, inmates fighting one another, guards preparing for war.

Plus, a teacher is fired after a parent complains about a picture on her Facebook page. The woman sued. But did she win?

Also, this:

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DR. WILLIAM PETIT, SURVIVED DEADLY HOME INVASION: I guess we were honestly a little perturbed with the closing.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BALDWIN: Dr. William Petit furious after the defense made the suggestion about his daughters, the ones killed in that brutal home invasion back in Connecticut. Now the jury is debating that suggestion as they decide the fate of an accused killer. That is next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(NEWS BREAK)

BALDWIN: And we remember the Connecticut home invasion where the mother and these two young daughters died, the husband barely escaped.

Well, today, defense attorneys in the Joshua Komisarjevsky's trial made a startling assessment. So before the case went to the jury, the defense said that the victims may not have died if they had acted differently.

Deb Feyerick covering the trial for us, she is in New Haven on the phone.

And, Deb, what exactly did the defense say today?

DEBORAH FEYERICK, CNN CORRESPONDENT: It's rather remarkable.

Even from the very beginning, the defense has really been positioning this case, trying to spare Joshua Komisarjevsky's life. His own lawyer said it's not necessarily that facts are in dispute. What is in dispute is intent, whether Joshua Komisarjevsky intended to kill the mom, Jennifer Hawke-Petit, and her daughters, Hayley and Michaela.

There is sort of a lot of blame going around. They blame the accomplice, a man by the name of Steven Hayes, who is currently on death row, having been convicted last year for these crimes. They also even went so far, the defense attorneys, in their closing to blame the father, Dr. Petit, saying the only reason they had to light the house on fire was because he had finally, after hours of torture, broken free and escaped to a neighbor's house.

They even went so far as to blame the older daughter, saying, well, if she had just tried to escape. So it's kind of -- the defense lawyers have had an uphill battle this entire way. There's a 90-minute taped confession in which the defendant admits breaking into the home, admits beating the father with a baseball bat. And all of this is on tape.

And so it's going to be hard for the jury to kind of get their minds around whether in fact it's just a bad home invasion--

(CROSSTALK)

FEYERICK: -- that went awry basically, Brooke.

BALDWIN: Well, let's listen to an angry Dr. Petit and his sister as they came out of court.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

PETIT: I guess we were honestly a little perturbed at the closing with their defense's use of Dr. Petit getting out of the basement precipitated things, as if there had been no plan in place for two or three hours or longer prior to that, or that perhaps if Hayley Petit had done something different, things would have turned out -- the what-if scenarios were a little nauseating to listen to.

JOHANNA CHAPMAN, SISTER-IN-LAW: I thought -- at first, I thought my ears were deceiving me when they said that my brother's actions had precipitated the events of July 23.

And then later on Donovan repeated it in his closing argument and said they not only precipitated it, but they caused it. And then he went on to say that Hayley, had she gotten out of her room and climbed out of her window, the events wouldn't have taken place and if she had gone out of her room and gotten into Michaela's room and gotten out that window, the events wouldn't have taken place. I think that's really stretching, really grasping, and somewhat delusional, actually.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BALDWIN: And now, Deb, this is in the hands of the jury.

FEYERICK: That's absolutely right. They have got a lot of evidence before them.

And sitting in that trial, listening to some of it, it's hard to get past. Again, they are going to have to figure out whether in fact Komisarjevsky was just intending to steal money during this home invasion and that because it lasted so long, with one of the accomplices taking the mom to the bank to withdraw $15,000, whether they just all of a sudden began cracking during this whole crime.

But, anyway, so it's going to be interesting. And, again, the jury, it wasn't easy testimony to listen to, Brooke.

BALDWIN: Deb Feyerick, thank you very much.

Now this:

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: This was equipped with all sorts of torture devices, pornographic pictures. He called it the den of Satan.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BALDWIN: A man is convicted of torturing women inside that trailer he actually referred to as the toy box. He bragged about killing them, but police never found any bodies. And before investigators could get any answer, this man died in prison.

Well, now a major breakthrough in this case. There is a certain spot where police are now looking for potential bodies, at stake, dozens of unsolved mysteries. It's unfolding right now. I'm going to talk to the FBI next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BALDWIN: In New Mexico, a 16-year-old cold case has police and the FBI searching for what may be as many of 40 victims of a suspected serial killer.

Let me show you where the search is taking place right now. This is Elephant Butte, New Mexico. Police, FBI working on a tip that possibly, possibly dozens of victims may have been dumped in this lake in the area. Remember, this is a cold case that goes all the way back to 1995.

And I want to bring in FBI's Frank Fisher. He's in Albuquerque.

And, Mr. Fisher, tell me as much as you can about this tip you're working on and how is it now that you're searching this lake? It has a little something to do with the water levels, correct?

FRANK FISHER, FBI: Good afternoon, Brooke.

We recently received some information that at least one victim, the remains of one victim could have been located in this canyon. The FBI's evidence response team, along with the New Mexico State Police and the Albuquerque Police Department, conducted a search of this canyon yesterday. We walked two miles into the canyon, also observed the waterline and then we walked back out of the canyon.

BALDWIN: Did you find anything yet?

FISHER: Brooke, no human remains were found. However, because of the reliance, the strength that we are putting into this tip, we plan to be back to the canyon to further investigate certain areas of the canyon for further study and also to investigate some areas around Elephant Butte.

We have -- since the media attention on this case due to the search, we have received several tips that are going to lead us back to other areas of the Elephant Butte Lake.

BALDWIN: So let's back up because this is all connected to a man, David Parker Ray, died in prison back in 2002. Investigators think he was one of the most prolific serial killers in the state of New Mexico, yet there's never been any proof that he ever killed.

So why this belief that he could be -- could have been a serial killer?

FISHER: Well, David Parker Ray indicated in his own journals that he abducted as many as 40 victims from several states.

One of his techniques was to give the women that he abducted a drug which would lead them to forget what he had done to them. As you indicated, he had a 22-foot trailer behind his residence there in Elephant Butte that he called the toy box. And this trailer was equipped with all sorts of torture devices, including a table with stirrups, sort of what you would find at an OB-GYN office.

And he would then strap the women to this table and torture them. We -- based on tips that we have received and other reports, we suspect that he may have killed some of those victims. And we want to further investigate those tips. BALDWIN: There are also -- weren't there audio recordings that were released after he died in which you could hear him bragging to his victims that he had killed others?

FISHER: Yes, Brooke. He would make these audiotapes.

One of the things he also did was to play this audiotape to his victim which would describe in graphic detail what he planned to do to her during the three or four days that he would have her under his control. And we were able to obtain those audiotapes.

BALDWIN: OK. Frank Fisher, we're going to continue to follow this and see if anything or anyone is found there in the Elephant Butte area.

Thank you so much, sir. I appreciate it.

Still ahead, if you wear contacts or if you know someone who does, listen up. There is a huge recall involving torn corneas and other vision problems. We will tell you about that.

Also, billionaire Warren Buffett revealing his income. Wait until you hear how much he makes and who he is challenging to release their bank statements.

Plus, get this, the U.S. nowhere close to being ready for a major disease outbreak or a bioterror attack. In fact, the country is failing. Find out why and which scenarios the U.S. is prepared for. Stay right there, please.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BALDWIN: Here's a question. Have you seen the movie "Contagion"?

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP, "CONTAGION")

JUDE LAW, ACTOR: On day one, there were two people, and then four, and then 16. In three months, it's a billion. That's where we're headed.

UNIDENTIFIED ACTOR: They're calling out the National Guard. They're moving the president underground.

UNIDENTIFIED ACTOR: People will panic.

UNIDENTIFIED ACTOR: Get away!

UNIDENTIFIED ACTOR: It will tip over.

UNIDENTIFIED ACTOR: The truth is being kept from the world.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BALDWIN: So in our effort to scare you a little bit today, the scenario actually in that movie may not be so far off. The United States not prepared for a large-scale deadly disease outbreak or a bioterrorism attack.

According to new research from the WMD Terrorism Research Center, America got 15 failing, failing grades in everything from large-scale detection, medicine availability, medicine dispensing, medical management, environment cleanup, all F's here, right? But it was not all bad news, not all failing grades. We did get some B's and C's in the areas of detection, B, small-scale communication, and, C, large- scale communications, small-scale detection there -- latest grades for us here in the U.S.

Now, Poppy Harlow in New York joining us for a America's Choice 2012 politics update.

And, Poppy, let's talk Warren Buffett challenging Congress today. What do you know?

POPPY HARLOW, CNNMONEY.COM: This is very interesting, Brooke.

Warren Buffett is stepping up his call -- we have heard this drumbeat for a while -- for tax reform in Washington. I want to give you the backstory.

A few days ago, Republican Congressman Tim Huelskamp of Kansas, he sent a letter to Warren Buffett, saying, all right, your name is on the Buffett plan or the Buffett rule. So he called on Warren to release his tax return, saying that Americans have a right to see the evidence behind the Buffett plan, which is to raise taxes on those top, top, wealthiest Americans.

Well, Warren Buffett just responded to that letter for the first time. Here's some news from it. He made public what he made last year, $62.9 million. And he says he paid just over 17 percent tax on that. So what Buffett is asking for, Brooke, is he wants to see the ultra- rich taxed more and he also is asking for the ultra-rich to release their tax returns.

Buffett says, look, if some of the wealthiest Americans do this, I will do the same. I spoke to him a while ago on the phone. Take a listen to part of that conversation.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

HARLOW: You have a number of very wealthy individual friends. Have you talked to them, Warren, about whether they will release the tax returns?

WARREN BUFFETT, CEO, BERKSHIRE HATHAWAY: Well, maybe not the return. Maybe the congressman could do that for me. The "Wall Street Journal" suggested that I do that, too. Maybe the "Wall Street Journal" can get their boss Rupert Murdoch. He's one of the ultra-rich like I am and he's a friend of mine. And I'd love to have his return published with mine and people can see what we are paying, and they can see whether they really regard that as the proper system or whether some adjustments should be made.

I welcome the Congressman's inquiry into this, because if he can get these returns released, I think that a lot of Congress will get educated just to how exactly inequitable the system is.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HARLOW: So this is interesting, Brooke. He's saying I will release what I have paid in taxes if the wealthiest Americans do it, too. He singled out Rupert Murdoch, the head of News Corporation there, too, which is interesting. We'll follow that to see what happens.

Brooke, I should note that the congressman, a Republican, offered released to offer his tax returns if Buffett would do the same, Brooke.

BALDWIN: So what has he said to all of this? That he will release his?

HARLOW: No that was in the original letter. I do want to read this statement. We just got it into CNN from the Congressman, and this is his statement to what Buffett told us. He said this, "Mr. Buffett still refuses to release his tax returns. What he does disclose may be accurate but is incomplete and fails to explain how he shelters millions of dollars in income."

He went on to say that "It's unprecedented that we would write an entire law based on one man's anecdote without actual proof. By sheltering millions of dollars of income from taxation through charitable giving, Mr. Buffett demonstrates that he does not trust Washington with his own money either."

So I think this is interesting, Brooke. We're going to want to watch this. This is one man saying if the tax proposal is going to be named after you, we want to see more behind it. Warren Buffett saying time and time again, look, I gave some of these numbers to the "New York Times" in my op-ed in August and he just gave us and the congressman his incomes numbers as well for 2010. So were going to follow this very closely, but Warren Buffett still on that drumbeat to change tax policy in America right now.

BALDWIN: Poppy Harlow, thank you very much.

Still ahead, the defense drops a big bombshell in the trial of Michael Jackson's doctor, and this one day after the entire world sees the singer's autopsy photo.

Plus, a teacher is fired after a parent complains about a picture on her Facebook page. She's seen on vacation holding a drink. So we're now learning whether she actually won the lawsuit or not.

Also, new video here in to CNN. This 70-year-old bus aide wrestling a student, and at one point she bites him. Wait until you hear what started this, next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

I want to show you some pretty stunning video. You're going to see a 70-year-old school bus aide attacking a student, and now she's in a bit of trouble. Take a look. This is Florida. A 14-year-old throws a smaller kid over the seat. This is the school bus aide in the middle. She pins the teenager in the chest and face and the two go at it. Take a look.

(VIDEO CLIP)

BALDWIN: So in addition to the colorful language, she ends up biting the kid, not once, but twice, even gives him a full nelson headlock. Well, she has quit and is facing abuse charges. The lawyer says it was not abuse charges and she claims she was simply protecting other kids from a bully. What do you think? Did the woman go too far? Send me a tweet @BrookeBCNN and let me know.

Shocking death photos of pop superstar Michael Jackson presented as evidence in the trial of Dr. Conrad Murray. I want to warn you, this picture is graphic and you might find it disturbing to see. So here we go. The pop superstar weighing at this point in time after death less than 140 pounds. His death ruled a homicide. Murray, as you know, on trial for involuntary manslaughter.

I want to bring in criminologist Casey Jordan, contributor to "In Session" on TruTV. Casey in New York, good to see you. The pathologist who conducted the autopsy said Murray should still be held responsible for Jackson's death because Murray gave access to the Propofol. How damming is that testimony for Dr. Murray?

CASEY JORDAN, CRIMINOLOGIST: Brooke, I actually think that yesterday and what is happening right now, it's some of the most damaging evidence and information. These witnesses are not going to be helping the witnesses one bit. Of course, the medical examiner yesterday pretty much excluded the possibility that the Propofol could have been self-ingested. Basically, no sign of it in his throat, esophagus, no evidence that it could have been swallowed or evidence of Propofol in an IV bag, which leads us back to the prosecution's theory that it was actually injected by Dr. Murray. And unless the defense can convince the jury that Michael Jackson has injected it into himself, it's going to be a very big uphill battle for the defense.

BALDWIN: So Casey, the defense has now dropped the theory that Michael Jackson may have drunk the Propofol, now saying that he may have used a syringe to inject what would have been a fatal overdose. How does that hurt their case?

JORDAN: Just the concession hurts their case because in an opening statement they laid out to the jury that that was going to be their theory. Then they conducted their own independent study and their own expert came back and said it was not a viable explanation. There was no evidence of it. So they have got to do the honorable thing and they are going to abandon that theory.

It doesn't mean that they are abandoning the possibility that Michael Jackson actually injected it to himself. Even though it's highly, highly unlikely, that is what the medical examiner Dr. Rogers had to say yesterday. He says it's extremely unlikely but could not rule it out. There could be a juror that takes that one little piece of evidence that says unlikely, that's reasonable doubt. You never know. BALDWIN: Casey, case number two, and this got a lot of us talking, and it involves Facebook. You have this gorge Georgia teacher who loses her lawsuit to get her job back after she resigned over this Facebook photo that shows her drinking alcohol while on vacation in Europe. She claims she was pressured to resign because of anonymous e-mail that complained about this particular picture.

But a judge says the school district, that they don't have to give her her job back. What's your reaction to that?

JORDAN: You know, there's a bunch of convoluted issues. I think a lot of people remember this case. It's been sleeping for a few months, but the bottom line is everybody thinks that she got fired because of the Facebook photos, and in fact the issue is that she resigned. They confronted her with the Facebook photos.

Remember, they have a rule in the school district that the teachers cannot have anything on their public social media sites that shows them anything that the students would be forbidden to do, which includes drinking. So they were within their justification.

But the real issue is, she resigned. She is now arguing she was forced to resign, and the court has basically said, you made your letter of resignation. You could have gone and read the rule book and been suspended for 10 days, that you had a right to appeal. You didn't do that. You submitted your resignation. Learn from your mistake.

BALDWIN: Case closed, Casey Jordan.

JORDAN: I think it is.

BALDWIN: Thank you very much.

JORDAN: Good to be here, Brooke.

BALDWIN: Now this.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: There's a lot of gang activity in prisons, just like you said, rival factions. Of course, they want to claim their turf.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BALDWIN: One sheriff says this is the worst prison riot he has ever seen, inmates lashing out, fighting one another, guards preparing for war. Coming up next you're going to hear my interview with one of the officers right there in the thick of things on the scene. Don't miss that.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BALDWIN: Dozens of inmates are recovering today from injuries after this violent prison riot in western Oklahoma. You can see them crawling on hands and knees, coming out of this facility after gas grenades were tossed. The chaos erupted just around noon and lasted for hours into the evening. Some of these men were critically injured. Guards from other prisons brought in to try to restore order.

The situation was so tense that state and county police, also highway patrol officers are watch being out over the perimeter of the prison. And county sheriff Scott Jay was one of those member of law enforcement stationed outside. I had him on and talked to him about what kind of gas was used on the inmates. Here he was.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SHERIFF SCOTT JAY: It was less than lethal munitions, probably OC spray or gas, that they spray to help gain compliance with the inmates. If you notice when they come out of the rooms, they have stuff wrapped around their face. It's probably because they are burning. And they used a lot of less lethal conditions yesterday to try to get compliance.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BALDWIN: Prison officials are still not sure what triggered the riot.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Only a couple minutes away and I'm not sure what is going to happen. I'm about to tear up right now as we speak.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BALDWIN: I can't wait to share this with you. This soldier is nervous because he's about to see his daughter for the first time since Christmas. She has no clue. Don't miss this surprise.

Plus, "Esquire" magazine naming the sexiest woman alive. Here's a hint -- she was born in Barbados and always has a drink before she takes the stage. The answer, think about it, after the break.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BALDWIN: I want to show you something that I think will give you chills. Let me set this up first. So a soldier hasn't seen his daughter since Christmas. He's back home from Iraq. So he decides to surprise her at school during a fake spelling bee. Watch.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Only a couple minutes away and I don't know what is going to happen. I'm about to tear up as we speak.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BALDWIN: The little girl spells the world "sergeant," and then she's asked if she knows any sergeants.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: My dad.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Your dad?

(APPLAUSE)

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BALDWIN: And then out pops dad. He pulled off the surprise. Here is her reaction, nine-year-old Skyler.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: How about your dad being so sneaky like that?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I didn't mind it. I'm just glad he's here.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Fantastic. This is so special.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: That must be why the school chose me.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BALDWIN: Gone for eight months, the staff sergeant will only be home for a couple of days. Love those stories.

Now, this --

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

(SINGING)

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BALDWIN: You figure this one out? You are looking at, right here, the sexiest woman alive, at least according to "Esquire." The magazine's 2011 pick, hip hop star Rihanna. And in case you're wondering, last year's winner actress Minka Kelly who is currently starring in the new edition of "Charlie's Angels."

And Wolf Blitzer, a blast from the past, remember that night?

WOLF BLITZER, HOST, CNN'S "THE SITUATION ROOM": I do.

BALDWIN: Your friends -- who were your friends?

BLITZER: Of course. Good friends. What a bunch of beautiful ladies over there.

First of all, is it Rihanna or Rihanna?

BALDWIN: It's Rihanna.

BLITZER: Are you sure?

BALDWIN: I haven't spoken with her --

BLITZER: I've got a good authority its Rihanna.

BALDWIN: Quick poll in the studio, Rihanna? No, everybody's doing this.

BLITZER: Rihanna?

BALDWIN: Yes.

BLITZER: I just want to make sure. We're broadcasters, we've got to pronounce their names.

BALDWIN: She's on twitter.

BLITZER: We have -- we're all over the story, the alleged Iranian plot to kill the Saudi ambassador in Washington. Peter King, the chairman of the House Homeland Security Committee, he's joining us. One of the Obama administration's top experts, David Cohen, he's at the treasury department. We have a lot of good questions to ask him.

Also, part B of this story, this allegation that the Iranian also wanted to blow up not only the Saudi embassy in Washington, but the Israeli embassy in Washington. The Israeli ambassador to the United States Michael Orrin is here live in "THE SITUATION ROOM" as well. So we got a lot of news on that, plus all the political news, lots going on today. We're checking out the pronunciation of "Rihanna" as well.

BALDWIN: Wolf Blitzer, thank you very much.

Coming up next, a major recall targeting contact lenses, and they're warning they could tear your cornea or mess up your vision. We're going to tell you about that.

Also, Betty White, known for her comedic chops, but would you believe she is looking toward a run for the White House? Joe Johns has the Political Pop, next.

But first, "Maxim" just released their list of the top five hottest female TV chefs. So here we go, number five, Eden Grinshpan; four, Aida Mollenkamp; three, Giada DeLaurentiis, the Italian born Food Network star. She has a Hollywood pedigree as granddaughter of film producer Dino de Florentes. So, who ranks number one on the list of sizzling TV chefs? Marinate on it. We'll talk after the break.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BALDWIN: Before the break we told you about three of the women on "Maxim's" hottest female chef list. Number two, Padma Lakshmi. And to top it off, the host of Bravo's top rated cooking show "Top Chef" Miss Paula Deen. By the way, "Maxim" didn't use her picture. Instead, they showed a piece of butter. And here's how she responded.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: When it came time to putting a picture in the magazine, they didn't even put your picture. They just put a stick of butter. PAULA DEEN, CHEF: I know. I hope it was salted.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BALDWIN: Congrats to Paula Dean.

Contact lens users, Cooper Vision is voluntarily recalling more than a half a million of their Avaira Toric lenses. They're linked to pain, even torn corneas. A manufacturing glitch left some residue. Cooper Vision had focused its recall, but the FDA says they need to step it up to make sure everybody is getting this message. The FDA issued the following statement - "The issue appears to be isolated to the Avaira Toric contact lens manufactured between November 1, 2010 and August 3, 2011. Check your boxes here, and approximate eight million lenses manufactured. Not all these were distributed.

Betty White making a presidential announcement on television. Joe Johns is here with the Political Pop. And show me the video, Joe Johns.

JOE JOHNS, CNN SECURITY CORRESPONDENT: Oh, man. Whether or not you think this is funny, no one can dispute how funny betty white is, one of those endearing comedic characters, made her mark on shows like "Golden Girls" and appearing here on an obviously scripted sketch on "The Late Late Show" with Craig Ferguson, announcing she's running for president.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

CRAIG FERGUSON, LATE NIGHT TALK SHOW HOST: What made you decide to run for the presidency?

BETTY WHITE, COMEDIAN: I needed some cash.

FERGUSON: You know, Betty, as a candidate, people are going to want to know where you stand on the big issues. What's your stance of immigration reform?

WHITE: That's a tough one. I'll pass.

(LAUGHTER)

FERGUSON: Defense spending?

WHITE: Pass.

FERGUSON: Health care?

WHITE: Can I phone a friend?

FERGUSON: You have no experience, you are totally uninformed, and you have seem to have a questionable grip on reality.

WHITE: I know. I'm the perfect politician.

(LAUGHTER) (END VIDEO CLIP)

BALDWIN: So cute.

JOHNS: Great. That's a fantastic punch line. We could use that again and again.

BALDWIN: She got to be host of "SNL" because of popularity on Facebook, so you never know.

Speaking of people who really, really are running for president, we know there was a GOP debate last night at Dartmouth, and some of the candidate's kids were tweeting one another.

BALDWIN: Jon Huntsman's three oldest daughters continue to sort of defy the notion that presidential campaigns have to be miserable. "Vogue" magazine pointed out the whole family seems to be enjoying the experience, tweets seem to demonstrate. Not a joke, the campaign confirms these really are the daughters.

A lot of times, you don't know what's going to happen when a family member starts tweeting, so they're careful. The first tweet that caught our eye was a suggestion to Tagg Romney, the son of Mitt Romney that a Mormon tabernacle could D.J. Then there was a reference to the next presidential debate, which by the way CNN is hosting. "Want to tailgate for the next debate? Vegas wild. We'll bring the godfathers, you bring the diet coke." This is apparently a reference to Herman Cain.

And then this tweet to former White House press secretary Ari Fleischer. "We had an intervention with dad to be himself. Glad he took our advice, finally." Lot of personality there from the Huntsman girls.

BALDWIN: Nice to see a little humor I suppose. And I guess I wanted to ask you quickly, yes or no, do we know if first lady was able to set the record with the jumping jacks?

JOHNS: We don't know. 24 hours just passed. It's going to be months before we know whether they were actually able to get over the 20,500 mark.

BALDWIN: Joe Johns, we'll if she's able to do it. Thank you. Thank you for watching me. I'm Brooke Baldwin in Atlanta now passing things off to my colleague Wolf Blitzer.

"THE SITUATION ROOM" starts right now.