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Controversial Muslim Lesson; Obama Raises More than $70 Million; Interview with Cyndi Lauper; Jury has Komisarjevsky Case; New Effort to Identify Gacy Victims; Hollywood Hacker Busted; "Final Battle" for Libya; 8 Killed in Rampage at a Salon
Aired October 13, 2011 - 14:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
BROOKE BALDWIN, CNN ANCHOR: Hey, Randi. Thank you very much. Nice to see you and all of you. I'm Brooke Baldwin.
And now let's get you caught up on everything making news this hour, rapid fire. Let's go, beginning with less than two hours from now, South Korea's president will be addressing a joint session of Congress.
Folks, this is big since it comes one day after lawmakers signed off on a new trade deal designed to create jobs right here in the U.S., including the auto industry.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
BARACK OBAMA, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: That just as Americans buy Hyundais and Kias, I hope that South Koreans will buy more Fords, Chryslers and Chevys.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BALDWIN: So, also tonight, President Obama and the first lady will be hosting a state dinner, the fifth of the president's administration.
Some bad news today on the housing market, foreclosures up nearly 1 percent last quarter. And the rise is disturbing because it is the first quarterly jump since last year. We're told more homes are getting notices and they're taking longer to be sold.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
MIKE LAZARIDIS, FOUNDER, RESEARCH IN MOTION: I apologize for the service outages this week. We have let many of you down.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BALDWIN: That's the guy in charge of BlackBerry's maker. So after three days, service is back for millions of people. We're told it is the worst network outage ever. They're blaming a glitch.
An Amtrak train runs past the red signal and crushes into a stop Amtrak train boarding passengers last night in California. Seven people had to be rushed to the hospital, and a platform was damaged, but both trains stayed right there on the tracks. And you remember that helicopter crash in New York City's East River last week. Well, we have now learned a second person has died. The 43-year-old woman had been in critical condition ever since that crash. The National Transportation Safety Board is still investigating. And one woman whose birthday was on that day drowned the day the chopper hit the water. Three other people on board survived with injuries.
And one of the dozens of wives of the polygamist leader Warren Jeffs escapes. This video of Warren Jeffs from earlier on this summer. So one of our affiliate is reporting that the 25-year-old woman. She is now in a shelter. And this isn't the first time she has tried to leave. And she may have been held against her will and perhaps even been drugged.
The Los Angeles county sheriff's office facing abuse allegations. This is all according to the "L.A. Times." More than 30 employees at the county's jail are being disciplined for not only beating the inmates, but covering it up as well. According to a watch dog report called The Office of Independent Review, several inmates were reportedly punched, kicked, kneed. One inmate was even tasered when he was down on the ground.
And keep in mind we are waiting right now for a verdict in that brutal home invasion in Connecticut. Deb Feyerick live there where the jury is considering the fate of the second man to be tried in this case.
Deb, what do we know?
DEBORAH FEYERICK, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, Brooke, so far over the last six hours, two days of deliberations. The most interesting note that has so far passed between the jury and the judge is a note that asked the judge whether in fact they needed to specify the role of the home invader, Joshua Komisarjevsky. Whether in fact he was an accessory to the crime, or whether he was the principal actor in the crime. The judge said no, when they deliberate, it is not important to figure out specifically what his role was, just that he was involved in it and that the evidence supports that.
Also the defense was trying to reopen this case saying they wanted to introduce a letter which they believe could help their client. The judge said not only would it not help Komisarjevsky, it would in fact seal his doom. So right now, the jury took lunch. They're coming back. Set to continue this afternoon. Brooke?
BALDWIN: Deb, remind us, how does this compare to the deliberations of the accomplice, Steven Hayes, who is now on death row? In terms of length of time.
FEYERICK: Well, absolutely. And that's what's so fascinating. The jury in that case, very quick, they returned the verdict in less than five hours. So now we've gone past six hours so people are wondering what is taking so long. But in truth, it is not very long. There are 17 charges. All of them have to be thought out very carefully.
Plus, it is the intention. And that's what, you know, the defense's lawyers have been saying all along. Yes, this guy now on trial did intend to break into this home. But he never intended to kill the family. The question is when this intent start? Was it the day before? Was it half an hour before? So again, the jury being careful in its deliberations, Brooke.
BALDWIN: Six hours and counting as you point out. This thing could come down today. If in fact it does, Deb Feyerick, you know, we'll pop you back up on TV and get that verdict as soon as possible.
We have a lot more for you, meantime, in these next two hours. We are just getting started. Watch this.
An afternoon like any other. Women getting their hair and nails done at this beauty salon, when suddenly this quiet shop is riddled with bullets. We'll tell you what happened and why one hairdresser's ex- husband is suddenly in jail.
I'm Brooke Baldwin, the news is now.
Scarlett Johansson, Christine Aguilera, Mila Kunis, meet the man who hacked all their e-mail accounts.
(BEGIN VIDEOCLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It started as curiosity.
(END VIDEOCLIP)
BALDWIN: How did he do it?
Then, "my name is Ahlima. I live in Saudi Arabia." That's just the beginning of this homework assignment about Muslim culture that goes on to explain burqas, polygamy and why Westerners' clothes are too tight. Now one school superintendent says this class needs to be canceled.
Plus, he was America's infamous killer clown. Now some of John Wayne Gacy's victims are being pulled from their graves.
(BEGIN VIDEOCLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The public coming forward will allow us to do DNA matches that were not available 30 years ago.
(END VIDEOCLIP)
BALDWIN: What exactly are police looking for?
A special guest at the White House. His visit on the heels of a new American trade deal with his country.
(BEGIN VIDEOCLIP)
PRES. LEE MYUNG-BAK, SOUTH KOREA: More trade can stimulate our economies.
(END VIDEOCLIP)
BALDWIN: What you need to know about the U.S. deal with South Korea.
And my special guest, Lily Tomlin. She's got a message for bullies.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
BALDWIN: You got to hear this story out of Chicago. This is real life CSI. We actually had to dig through our own archives just to come up with images of this man.
This is John Wayne Gacy. He is a Chicago man convicted of killing thirty-three young men back in the '70s, and then burying them under his house, in his yard. And then when he ran out of space, he dumped bodies in a nearby river.
Gacy, a Chicago handyman, was one of the world's most prolific killers ever. Illinois put him to death in 1994. But here's the new hook. This is why we're talking about this today. Of those 33 bodies found, only 25 have ever been identified. Now some 30 years later, the Cook County sheriff is hoping this latest technology will help him put names and faces on those remaining eight victims.
And to that end, Cook County started digging up the bones of these victims, collecting their DNA. Here's the thing. DNA from the victims won't help identify them without DNA from matching relatives. So, so many questions. Let's get right to Cook County Sheriff Tom Dart, who is joining me on the phone from Chicago.
And Sheriff Dart, first and foremost, do you have any news? Any luck so far?
SHERIFF TOM DART, COOK COUNTY, ILLINOIS (via telephone): You know what, Brooke, we've been incredibly excited by the fact that just in really less than, barely over 24 hours, we have 25 very good leads. Two of which frankly we have detectives out investigating as we speak right now.
BALDWIN: Wow.
DART: And so we really, we didn't expect things to happen this quickly and they are. We've got a lot more information than we thought coming in.
BALDWIN: Explain to me how this works. These scientists essentially extract DNA from the bones, correct?
DART: Yes, you know, that's, I would say the easier part, Brooke. We had the jaw bones had been separated long ago because dental records were the only way to identify people. We were able to get the DNA out of the jaw bones. And then for four of the bodies, we had exhumed the entire body. So we did that.
We got the DNA. University of North Texas has done this for free for us. Extracted the DNA, and now we just need the other part of it which is family members to come forward to give us DNA to make the match.
BALDWIN: So that's really the other major issue, right, Sheriff? Is that you have to have, I mean, it's one thing for you to have the DNA. The other is for relatives who what? Have had people, loved ones missing sometime in the '70s. And I know what his M.O. was young men, teens, 20s. You need those people to come forward.
DART: Yes. And see, Brooke, the interesting thing is multiple. One is we've narrowed it down. Sometime, it would have been someone missing between 1970 when he got out of prison for sexually assaulting a boy, to December of 1978 when he was arrested for the 33 homicides.
The thing that I've been trying to emphasize to people. This guy traveled around the country. Some of his victims came from outside of Illinois. But the other part, I can't emphasize enough to people, is that back in the late '70s, there was a lot of stigma. So there was a lot of reasons people did not come forward, would not come forward, and supply any information.
BALDWIN: Why is that?
DART: And some of the leads we are getting is -- you know, Brooke, to be honest with you, twofold. One, back in the late '70s, horrible stigma for people who had drug addiction problems. Stigmas with people who may have had, who may have been homosexual as well. And so those were what people routinely thought about as far as with a lot of John Gacy's victims. But at least half of his victim were young men he literally kidnapped off the street.
He would drive around, Brooke, with badges. We have, boy, close to 100 badges that he kept. He drove around the car with spotlights. He pull up next to young men and say it's the police, get in the car. And then he would take them back to his house and that's the last the families would ever see of them. So there are families, though, that hadn't been in touch with their loved one in months. Their child might have had drug addiction problems or whatever. A lot of them are reticent to come forward.
BALDWIN: So, Sheriff Dart, why now, though? As we mentioned, you know, this goes back to the '70s. Are you getting pressure from potential family members? Or what?
DART: No. What it was, when I became sheriff for about four years ago, I started going through all my cold case files trying to make sure I identified all the people that we had in cold cases who were unknown. And because some of them go back to the 1950s, we realized DNA technology really didn't come into play until the beginning of the 2000s as far as matching some of these people up.
And so we figured the obvious thing is let's go back and find out who these victim were. And John Gacy's case was the largest we had, where we had eight victims who were unidentified. And so, I'll be quite honest with you, it has been easy and inexpensive because of the help of the University of North Texas.
BALDWIN: I know you have a hotline, I just want to help you out here, where people can call and a Web site. We're going to put that up on the screen.
So here's your chance, sheriff. You know, essentially, your message to the nation is what?
DART: My message to the nation is, if you had any loved one who went missing sometime between 1970 and 1979, a white male, please reach out to us at either our Web site CookCountySheriffs.gov or our 800 number we have as well.
And keep in mind though, because the other thing, Brooke, we've mentioned to people. We had one of the victims that was found in John Gacy's basement was -- a missing person report was taken against that person saying he was missing. The police cleared it saying the guy was found. He was never found. He was in John Gacy's basement.
So even if you thought your loved one was found, that your loved one was cited, but you have not seen or heard from them, please reach out to us. It is very non-intrusive. We take a swab from you. We can get a local law enforcement agency if it's outside of our jurisdiction to do it for us. Rather quickly, we can just let you know whether or not this is one of your loved ones.
BALDWIN: It's amazing this case of John Wayne Gacy still haunting Chicago. Still so many unknowns. And I guess, as you point out, it could be anywhere in the country for that matter.
Sheriff Tom Dart, best of luck to you. We'll follow up. Thank you so much.
DART: Thank you.
BALDWIN: The former head of the IMF Dominique Strauss-Kahn was cleared of rape here in the United States, but he was also accused of assault in his homeland of France. We now have some new information this afternoon with regards to those charges.
Plus, we have this new video. Police arresting the man accused of shooting and killing eight people in a California hair salon mid afternoon yesterday. We're getting some new details today about the motive behind those shootings.
Also, nude photographs of actress Scarlett Johansson were just the tip of the iceberg in a major celebrity computer and e-mail hacking scandal. Find out who else got hacked. What the hacker found in two minutes. Stay right here.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
BALDWIN: A Florida computer whiz accused of hacking accounts of Hollywood celebrities now in jail, in fact due in court tomorrow. And he is now apologizing to his victims - Scarlett Johansson, Mila Kunis, Christina Aguilera, just to name a few.
Who is he? Thirty-five-year-old Christopher Chaney is accused of hacking into these e-mail accounts and mobile devices belonging to more than 50 people. Police say Chaney stole sexy pictures, he posted them, even tried to sell them to the tabloids.
As for this man, he denies any sinister motive.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: So what would you do with the information you found in those e-mails?
CHRISTOPHER CHANEY, SUSPECT: It's nothing. I mean, it was - it was almost like reading a completely uncensored blog. It's - I mean, I wasn't saving archives of e-mails to maybe blackmail someone.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BALDWIN: Chaney was busted in a federal crime sting dubbed "Operation Hackerazzi." In addition to hacking e-mail, Chaney's charged with identity theft and wire tapping, 26 counts in all. The Feds say he rigged celebrity accounts.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
ANDRE BIROTTE JR., U.S. ATTORNEY: The indictment alleges that Mr. Chaney set the victims' accounts to automatically forward all of their e-mail to his own e-mail. Using these methods, Chaney stole not only private and personal photographs of the victims, he also took financial information, movie scripts, and conversations that's the victims believed to be private.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BALDWIN: And, you know what? There is a takeaway for all of us here in this case. Note to self - don't use your mom's maiden name; don't use your birthday; don't use your pet's - pet's name as passwords.
The FBI says Chaney used public information about the celebrities to come up with their passwords and found more information in their computers, which then helped him get into more accounts.
French prosecutors deciding not to file charges against former IMF chief Dominique Strauss-Kahn. A French journalist was accusing him of attempted rape back in 2003, but prosecutors say they do not have sufficient evidence to move forward with those charges.
Coincidentally, the accuser has a book entitled "The Hypocrite's Ball." It's billed as a novelization of events in her life. She does not directly name the former IMF head, but she describes the man who she had to fight of as, quote, "A pig or a baboon."
Strauss-Kahn was accused of sexually assaulting a hotel maid in New York some months ago. Those charges were eventually dropped after questions about the accuser's credibility.
The last battle for Libya isn't yet finished. Forces still loyal to Moammar Gadhafi are putting up a fight for Gadhafi's hometown.
Gadhafi's forces are said to be cornered in the two remaining neighborhoods in Sirte, and CNN's Dan Rivers has watched the battle unfolding up close. He's live for us right now.
And Dan, I know you've witnessed horrendous, horrendous violence there in the fighting in Sirte. Is there any way of knowing how many people have died since the battle there began?
Did we lose him? I'm going to guess the colored bars means we lost him. Yes, guys? OK. We're going to move along. OK?
We have - we'll hopefully get Dan Rivers back up in Sirte to talk about the battles there in just a minute.
But we do have details this afternoon in that horrific salon shooting from last night. New video has been released of the suspect being arrested, and we now have an idea about why the accused man shot and killed eight people.
Also, 11 teachers and administrators have now been punished in that major public school cheating scandal in Atlanta. We have the details this hour on CNN.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
BALDWIN: All right, I want to take you back to Libya to Gadhafi's hometown of Sirte, where we do have Dan Rivers up and live, talking about this latest battle.
Dan, I know you've - you've witnessed horrendous fighting in your time there on the ground. Let me just - what I was trying to ask you before, is there anyway of knowing how many people have died since the battle in Sirte began?
DAN RIVERS, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: There's not really a way of giving an accurate figure. Approximately (INAUDIBLE) they were looking at dozens having been killed on the anti-Gadhafi side and hundreds injured. We've seen them, a steady stream of injured and - and dead, sadly, coming back from the frontlines.
The pro-Gadhafi forces are basically cornered into a very narrow area of Sirte now, one last remaining bastion, a few city blocks, if you'd like. But they are defending it fiercely with snipers, with machine gunfire, with rocket-propelled grenades. Every time the rebels, as they were, the revolutionary fighters, try and move forward, they're hit by this fire. But they have gained some ground in the last couple of days, but it's awfully slow going.
BALDWIN: Dan, also, one of - one of Gadhafi's sons has been believed to be leading the loyalists there in the hometown of Sirte. There were claims yesterday he'd been captured. It's still a bit murky. What can you tell us?
RIVERS: Yes. I mean, this is looking less and less credible, the more time that goes on, that Mo'tassim Gadhafi was caught yesterday, Reuters was reporting it. There were big celebrations here, people firing into the air in celebration. But there's been no hard and fast proof. We've had no one on the ground here confirming it. No one seems to know anything about it. It's now more than 24 hours since that news broke. No - no one here has officially confirmed it. In fact, some people in Tripoli are actually denying it now. So I think that was one of those rumors that got out of hand and - and people ran with it before checking it properly.
As far as we know, though, the people on the ground here are saying they think both Mo'tassim and Colonel Gadhafi himself are in Sirte, directing the battle.
BALDWIN: Really? So is this truly then the final battle for Libya? I mean, is there anywhere else Moammar Gadhafi - whether he's in Sirte, whether he's in Niger, we don't know - could be to - to rally his armed supporters?
RIVERS: Yes. I mean, this - this is just what the people here are saying, you know, he could be down in the southern desert; he could be, as you say, in - in Niger, to the south; he could be in Algeria. We have no idea.
But, you know, they are telling us that people that they captured from the pro-Gadhafi side are coming out saying, yes, they saw him here a couple of days ago. They think he's still here.
But the - the rebels here, the - the revolutionary fighters here, are saying once Sirte falls, finally, they will declare that this battle is won, that the war is over, and Libya is free.
BALDWIN: Wow, Dan Rivers in Sirte. Dan, thank you so much.
And a single homicide in the past five years. Now, eight in one single day in this small town in this rampage tied to a child custody case.
You heard about this? It happened shortly after we left you yesterday. A man in Seal Beach, California allegedly opened fire on a hair salon - broad daylight, mid afternoon, where apparently his ex- wide worked.
Six people died at the scene. Two were pronounced dead. Later, the ex-wife is reportedly among those dead.
I want to go to Thelma Gutierrez, who's covering this for us in Los Angeles. And, Thelma, what more do we know about the suspect, about any possible motive?
THELMA GUTIERREZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, Brooke, all of that is now starting to come to light. What we do know is that the suspect is 42- year-old Scott Dekraai. He's from Huntington Beach, which is a nearby beach town.
He was taken into custody yesterday afternoon, about a half mile away from the scene. This is where police say that he opened fire on a salon that was full of patrons and stylists, killing eight people, as you had mentioned. Six died there at the scene, two were transported to the hospital where they later died. And, one woman, the sole survivor, is now in critical condition.
Now, what we are learning, Brooke, is that this man is described by neighbors as a very friendly person, someone who's very likable in his neighborhood. He was also described as a very dedicated father.
But the friends of his ex-wife, Michelle Dekraai, are painting a very different picture. They have been telling reporters that she appeared to be stressed out.
This couple was in the middle of a very nasty custody battle over their seven-year-old son, and one of those people told a KTLA reporter here in Los Angeles that Michelle Dekraai had taken out a restraining order against her husband just a day before this deadly rampage.
BALDWIN: So Thelma, what more can you tell us about what went on? I mean, did this man just walk into this beauty salon when people are having their hair and their nails done? And did he shout anything, or did he just simply open fire?
GUTIERREZ: Well, Brooke, the only witness to this terrible rampage is the one woman who is in critical condition right now. But police say that when they arrived, they saw the carnage. They say that it appeared that people were trying to duck for cover from this man.
He, at one point, had body armor in his possession. Police say they're not sure if he was actually wearing it at the time, but he was clearly there, they say on, a mission. And they described it as - as just a horrific scene where one man was dead, specifically the salon owner, and five others - (INAUDIBLE), five other women were also dead there at the scene. Just a terrible situation.
BALDWIN: It's horrendous. Do - do we know, Thelma, if - if he knew anyone else, any of those other customers in that salon yesterday, or simply his ex-wife?
GUTIERREZ: We don't know that, but we can assume that he probably knew several of the people. The reason, Brooke, is that his ex-wife had worked in this salon for quite a while.
Now, the salon owner had had the shop for 20 years. People knew the salon owner. They knew the stylists there.
This is a really small beach town. It's not the kind of place where things like this happen. This is the deadliest rampage in Orange County's history.
BALDWIN: Wow.
GUTIERREZ: It's a very rare occasion.
But they say that he went in and, you know, he committed this terrible thing, and we should find out more, Brooke, in the news conference that should be happening later on this morning.
BALDWIN: OK, Thelma Gutierrez for us in L.A. Thelma, thank you very much. Several teachers and administrator are facing punishment. They're accused in that massive public school cheating scandal in Atlanta. Details of the suspension, straight ahead.
Also, polygamy, head scarves, modesty - this is all part of a lesson plan in the Georgia middle school, a controversial lesson is on the Middle East culture and Islam. That story coming up in two minutes.
But first, CNN Money is looking at the year's best jobs in America. I've got another list for you today -- this one being best jobs if you're leaving the military.
So, here you go.
Number five: airline pilot. You just have to convert your military certification to an FAA one.
Number four, also in the aviation field: a program manager. So if time line staff and budget are your forte, go for it.
Number three: logistics analyst. If you have experience managing supply chains, this one is perfect for you.
Top two jobs -- thank you to CNN Money -- right after this break.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
BALDWIN: Back to our list of the top jobs for those of you leaving the military.
Number two: management consultant. Don't worry if you don't have an MBA. Your management experience from your years in the service, they say, should help.
And the number one job if you're just now leaving the military, you can be an intelligence analyst. Your security clearance makes you a hot commodity. And the top pay in this field, not to shabby: $120,000 a year.
All right. I definitely want you to weigh in on this one. Tweet me @BrookeBCNN.
Here's the story. A lesson on Middle East culture and Islam has landed a Georgia middle school, in the center of controversy with at least one parent saying that the reading material these kids got endorses polygamy and Islam.
The narrative is supposedly written by a Muslim woman by the name of Ahlima who praises the virtues of Islam and criticizes the West. This is all part of a homework assignment given to seventh graders by a school in Atlanta. And our affiliate WSB got a copy. I've read it.
I wanted to share some quotes. One being, "I have seen pictures of women in the West." This is from the perspective of Ahlima. "And find their dress to be horribly immodest."
Another part, quote, "I understand that some westerners condemn our practice of polygamy but I also know that they are wrong."
Georgia school superintendent John Barge said he did not know about this, and that the material was approved before he took office. And he says this lesson does indeed cross the line.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JOHN BARGE, GEORGIA SCHOOL SUPERINTENDENT: When you start passing judgment on one culture or one religion being more appropriate, and especially criticizing and condemning our own culture as being wrong, that's going too far.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BALDWIN: I want to let you know, we did reach out to the school superintendent. He was going to join me. He changed his mind.
So I want to bring in our go-to education guy, Mr. Steve Perry.
Steve Perry, nice to see you.
Let's just start with this. Do you agree? Do you agree with the Georgia state superintendent that this lesson crosses the line?
STEVE PERRY, CNN EDUCATION CONTRIBUTOR: Absolutely not. We're looking at the difference between teaching and indoctrinating. We're looking at the opportunity to teach skills.
One of the biggest problems that our children have is their lack of understanding of the rest of the world. The other is that they have trouble reading. This is an article that asks children to form an opinion. It doesn't say to take the opinion of the author.
One of the skills that we teach, we ought to call it a test-taking skill, is how to identify the context of the article that's being written and the intent of the author, the theme. These are basic reading skills that our children throughout America do not have.
BALDWIN: So I'm listening to you and I also want to read more of this. I'm sure you've read it. But part of this lesson plan, Ahlima writes about how she is about to be this man's second wife.
I just want to read this, "I have mattered in the West, men often divorce their wives to marry younger women and their first wives suffer greatly. Women in the West do not have the protection of Sharia as we do here. If our marriage has problems, my husband can take another wife rather than divorce me and I would still be cared for."
Like I said, you know, one parent says this is not OK to teach my kids. Does the onus fall on the teacher to make sure they put it in the proper context?
PERRY: Well, let's take it one step further. It also starts -- this article also touches on an important topic: the academic freedom of teachers versus the freedom of parents to decide what they want their children to learn. And both are valuable in their own way.
In fact, we are here at Capital Prep, we're doing a presentation on Friday on Michael Jackson. And who would think that anybody has any problem with Michael Jackson? The kids are going to dance and sing.
And there are some parents who don't want their parents to participate in a Michael Jackson tribute. They don't have to. That's the right of the parent.
But on the same token, we're often pushing teachers to go harder and to be more creative in their lessons and to expand the minds of children. Well, if we're going to do that, we have to give them the room to do so. We have an opportunity to create a compelling conversation. They can watch CNN and they can see on regular basis that we cover the entire world -- not only the parts of the world that we find desirable, but the entire world.
It's better, I often say, to a parent who said that he was against our child to learning the alchemist to learn what the other side has to say than to say that you don't want to hear it.
BALDWIN: We present the news and then you ultimately decide if you agree with it or not. OK. So, I hear what you're saying.
Since I have you, Steve Perry, I do want to ask you about this news out of Georgia today. You know about this, the 11 -- the teachers, the administrators that were implicated in that massive public school cheating scandal, they actually learned their fate today. They're accused of helping change all those answers on state competency tests to raise the students' scores, and the state panel, as we've learned just today, has recommended the administrator's certificates to be revoked and that the teachers receive a two-year suspension.
So, Steve, what do you think about that? About the recommended punishment? Is it fair? Does it go far enough?
PERRY: It's at least fair. I think it doesn't go far enough.
When you think about what happened, in order to cheat on these examinations, you have to get the teachers and the principals to conspire, to sit in a room, one person reads off the answers. The other one erases them.
And what they're doing is not just deceiving the public but they're deceiving the parents who think they sent their children to a school in which the teachers actually taught them how to do something. And so, when the report comes back saying that your child -- because you actually get a report at your house that says your child did this on the Georgia state examination and therefore can move on to the next level. You actually think that it is so.
Now, these kids can't get that year back and they can't find out what they didn't know until they go to the next year. It's absolutely disgusting and it speaks to the bottom -- the most bottom of the academic experience. It has no bearing on what great teachers and principals are doing on a regular basis. Those people are rogue and they need to be treated as such.
BALDWIN: Steve Perry, thank you very much.
PERRY: My pleasure.
BALDWIN: Coming up, domestic violence, it's a crime, right? Well, we have an update on what they're doing to fight for in Topeka, Kansas, after announcing they couldn't afford to process all the cases in the city.
Also, when you think of country clubs, you think of golf, you think of tennis, how about a club full of marijuana plants? Yes, details two minutes away.
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BALDWIN: I've got an update on a story we talk about, actually I think back to Monday. As of just last night, domestic violence is once again a crime that will be prosecuted in the city of Topeka, Kansas.
We have reported about the Topeka City Council decriminalizing domestic violence on Tuesday because of a budget battle with the county's attorney, the D.A., over who would foot the bill. To save money, the county attorney had stopped prosecuting those city cases. He said the county commission had slashed its budget for 2012 and that he couldn't prosecute misdemeanors.
Well, late yesterday, the D.A., Chad Taylor, announced in spite of the budget shortfalls, he will still prosecute domestic violence and he said he will find the money to do so somewhere.
From a country club to a -- to a pot farm? Philadelphia police say one man, Charlie Patterson (ph), did just that. He is accused of using -- here he is -- he is accused of using a former country club to grow marijuana and apparently, overgrown brush at the site was enough for Patterson to hide more than 260 plants that police did indeed grab.
Prosecutors say the investigation began in June but they believe plants may have been there up to three years.
Can you believe, it has been 28 years since Cyndi Lauper shot to the top of the charts as a solo artist and she still certainly knows how to have fun? But she knows it takes a lot of people to stand out. We talked about it. I interviewed her last night. Stick around to hear her message.
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BALDWIN: Got some news in here at CNN with regard to Solyndra. Solyndra has been in the news quite a bit recently, the solar panel and energy company. And they were the first to receive the federal loan guarantees from the Obama administration. They then filed for bankruptcy. In fact, it was just last Friday afternoon, the White House released a number of documents that White House people and the administration had had back and forthwith people at Solyndra.
So, here's the news: the CEO of this company which sought that bankruptcy protection has now resigned. This is all according to papers filed in Delaware bankruptcy court yesterday. Brian Harrison resigned last Friday, quote, as scheduled on October 7th, 2011.
More news to come certainly on that. So, stay tuned.
Meantime, let talk politics and go to Jim Acosta, joining me now with the America's Choice 2012 politics update, including some new numbers. Including CNN/ORC poll numbers on the GOP candidates -- Jim.
JIM ACOSTA, CNN POLITICAL CORRESPONDENT: Yes, we've come up with a new poll of polls, Brooke, taking into consideration all the recent polls from the various media outlets that do national polling on the contenders. And the GOP race really is between Mitt Romney and Herman Cain right now, the upstart conservative businessman who wasn't really given a lot of, much of a chance not too long ago. He is definitely being taken seriously now.
As you can see in this poll of polls here, Mitt Romney at 23 percent, Herman Cain at 20 percent, Rick Perry at 14 percent and the rest of the feel from there.
That is great news for Herman Cain. Obviously, you know, we have to take a little bit of a grain of salt with this in that some of these polls were conducted before the debate that was held up at Dartmouth Tuesday night.
So you have to just take that into consideration. That perhaps Cain's performance might have, might show a different outcome in the next poll that comes out on this race, Brooke.
And meantime, the Obama campaign is -- I would not say they're popping champagne bottles in Chicago right now, but they're pretty happy about the amount of money they're raising so far. They are out raising the Republicans right now by a long shot. The Obama campaign, along with the DNC, in the last quarter of fundraising, $70 million if you take what the DNC and the Obama re-election campaign are raising combined.
That is a lot of money, Brooke. Barack Obama was the king of all political fund-raisers in the '08 cycle. He appears to be heading in that direction for this cycle as well. And it's definitely a cautionary note to the rest of the field right now as to whether or not the Republicans can really go toe to toe when it goes to fundraising in this upcoming re-election campaign.
BALDWIN: So --
ACOSTA: So, the president is looking good there.
BALDWIN: So maybe not popping the bubbly but certainly raising some money. But they're also -- somebody is tweeting up a storm today from president @Barack Obama. What's the buzz about that?
ACOSTA: Well, you know, they're happy about the fact that, you know, that the individual contributions -- I mean, this is what the president talked about when he was running for president. I don't even know if we can show the Twitter feed right now, that Twitter handler.
BALDWIN: And voila, like magic again.
ACOSTA: And voila, there it is, "98 percent of the donations," according to the president, "made this quarter, were $250 or less, the average amount was $56." They like saying that.
You know, a lot of the other Republican campaigns, they will probably be able to by and large say roughly similar thing about the kind of money that they're raising. But we'll wait for that to come out, you know, as that news develops.
But the Obama campaign, they were very proud of that in the '08 campaign. They liked to talk about that. That, you know, the president you wasn't just raising money from big, you know, movers and shakers and that sort of thing. That he was more than capable of raising it from individual voters out there. And so, that's what that is about.
So, you know, you can slice and dice these number anyway you can.
BALDWIN: Sure.
ACOSTA: They don't fit the narrative that these candidates like to put out there. But it's -- no question about it, a good day for the president in terms of those number.
BALDWIN: Hey, unrelated, Jim Acosta. Are you a Cindy Lauper fan?
ACOSTA: I am not a Cyndi Lauper fan. But thank you. I mean --
BALDWIN: Then don't stay tuned for that. Never mind.
ACOSTA: I don't not like Cyndi Lauper. I mean, you know
BALDWIN: Well, let me explain. Just pay a little attention here, Jim Acosta.
ACOSTA: OK.
BALDWIN: Because, actually, you know, we get to interview some pretty fascinating people doing this job. Last night, I sat down with her. I was a fan. She was the soundtrack to my youth, if you will.
'80s icon, Cyndi Lauper. You're going to see that video I had with her, one of my upcoming "Music Monday" pieces.
But our conversation last night, it took a number of turns. It wasn't all about music. We talked about a topic you've heard a lot about this week on CNN during the in-depth coverage of bullying.
Cyndi Lauper is a mother and she feels very strongly about her True Colors Fund. It's this nonprofit. It tries to inspire and engage everyone but particularly engage the straight community to become involved in the equality for the LGBT community. And I just want to play a portion of our conversation -- when I asked her about this recent trend in bullying, the problems of bullying, and she pointed out our conversation was happening on the anniversary of the very tragic death in the gay community of Matthew Shepard.
Take a listen.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
CYNDI LAUPER, ENTERTAINER: Twelve years since Matthew Shepard died in hospital. Sometimes I don't think that anybody really cares as much as the parents.
We're parents. I'm a parent. You can't teach your kid hate and fear.
If your kid is that fearful and hates because they're not that fearful and becomes angry, and is taught to hate, that hatred not only kills one person. It kills other lives, like the person who's hating.
And I used to think Matthew died and he always wanted to go into politics, because I heard Judy Shepard talking about it. And he did. He did in a big way. And Judy and her husband and the people of his family who worked with the HRC and Senator Kennedy, Senator Edward Kennedy, and later, President Obama and the True Colors. So, we just joined her because --
BALDWIN: But that was 12 years ago. Why are we still having to talk about bullies and violence and prevention in 2011?
LAUPER: Because right now, we're going through hard times. Any time there's hard times, you have to have a scapegoat. And anybody who is different, everybody is afraid of.
And the thing is, kids -- kids bully each other. Sometime you got to look at a kid bullying another kid and wonder who is bullying their kid to make him such a big bully. And the parents got to step in because if you really love your kid, you don't want him to be a bully and you don't want him to be bullied.
Listen, I'm a parent. It's really hard to be a parent. Every day you think you're doing the wrong thing.
But there's Web sites to go on. There's information to get. And you just keep trying and you never give up. Never.
One day it's this guy. Next day it could be you. Why would you stop?
(END VIDEOTAPE)
BALDWIN: Why don't we just stop? Sounds easy, right?
By the way, we checked, it's actually been 13 years since Matthew Shepard died.
But when it comes to fighting hate, Cyndi really puts her money where her mouth is. She recently opened the True Colors Residence. This is the first of its kind to provide a permanent, supportive and secure home to gay and lesbian homeless kids in New York City. And like I said, stay tuned to hear more from Miss Lauper on an upcoming "Music Monday."
Devastating floodwaters in Thailand killed nearly 300 people. Now, we're getting a look at elephants there -- look at this -- stranded by the rising waters. Crews are using sandbags and mud to frequent flood walls protecting parts of the capital city.
The widespread flooding is impacting large areas of Thailand, also nearby Cambodia, Vietnam, and Laos. Thai officials say overall damage could top $2 billion.
Prince Harry rescues a damsel in distress from a swimming pool. We have the fairy tail story for you coming up on that.
Also, the world is watching his brother William and new wife Catherine and when they will produce an heir. But there is something brewing that could change who sits on the throne. Huh!
Be right back.
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BALDWIN: William and Catherine, or the duke and duchess, as they may be formally known were only six months into their lives as a royal married couple, but the topic of children is a hot one, especially when you consider the rules for the royal bloodline. In fact, right now, Britain's prime minister is trying to rewrite them to rectify a royal inequity.
Our Max Foster looks at what David Cameron is trying to do to give royal daughters the same rights as their brothers -- Max.
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MAX FOSTER, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Brooke, ever since the royal wedding, there's been this looming constitutional crisis here in the U.K. And this is a problem. If the duchess of Cambridge becomes pregnant with a girl, that girl won't automatically succeed to the throne because if she has a younger brother, under the current laws, he will become king, ahead of his sister.
Now, the British Prime Minister David Cameron realizes this is a problem. He wants to change the law but it's not that simple. He needs to get parliament to approve a change in the law. But not just that, all 16 parliaments where the queen is ahead of the states, all has to change their law and there's an opportunity really coming up for David Cameron to sort this out. And that's when commonwealth leaders meet in Australia at the end of the month.
So, he is lining up meetings with other commonwealth prime ministers to try to resolve this to get the law changed, so if duchess does have a girl, that girl will definitely succeed to the throne. And there's another problem he's trying to sort out. And that is that the next in line to the throne can't take the throne if they're married to a Roman Catholic. They're all historic anomalies and one agrees the law needs to be change but it's pretty complicated. We'll find out more at the end of the month -- Brooke.
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BALDWIN: Max Foster, thank you so much.
Meantime, other royal news: British Prince Harry showing his charming side. By now you know he is in America, he is taking some advanced helicopter training with the U.S. military. So, he was off duty. He was kicking back with his buddies at this hotel. It was this roof top bar in San Diego.
And he came to the aid of a damsel in distress. A young woman at this roof top bar was tossed fully clothed into the pool. When she got out, the 23-year-old woman says Harry wrapped her with his towel to keep her warm. She met up with Harry and his friends the next night for drinks.
And now, hour two, watch this.
