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GOP Debate and Gays in the Military; Fiery Crash Claims Racing Champ; Siege of Sirte; Baby's Mom: I was Drunk; CNN Poll: Romney, Cain Nearly Tied

Aired October 17, 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: It is a good day when Joe Johns is in the studio.

Thank you, sir. Don't go too far. We're going to bring you back.

Meantime, hello to all of you. I'm Brooke Baldwin.

Let's get you caught up on everything making news this hour, "Rapid Fire."

Let's go, beginning with the world of IndyCar racing reeling from the death of a champion. Fans began placing photos and memories of Dan Wheldon at the gates of the Indianapolis Motor Speedway just minutes after hearing he had been killed in a horrific racetrack crash.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TONY KANAAN, INDYCAR DRIVER: I know this is a dangerous sport. I know we're exposed to that every day in normal life as well. But you don't think about it, and today we have to think about it. I lost one of my best friends.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BALDWIN: Dan Wheldon, the reigning Indianapolis 500 champion, died yesterday in this fiery pileup in Las Vegas. He was just 33 years old.

Renee-Nicole Douceur is finally somewhere other than the South Pole. The American researcher has been fighting to be evacuated ever since last August, when she suffered an apparent stroke. Severe weather kept her grounded, no planes in or out. A U.S. Air Force transport was finally able to reach the Pole, and today she arrived in New Zealand for treatment.

And a surprising revelation today from the mother of missing little girl, baby Lisa, in Kansas City. She says she was drunk the night her daughter disappeared. Ten-month-old Lisa has been missing now for two weeks. Her mother is revealing these new details about the night her daughter went missing.

I want you to listen to what she told "The Today Show."

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Were you drinking that night?

DEBORAH BRADLEY, BABY'S MOTHER: Yes.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: How much?

BRADLEY: Enough to be drunk.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: So you were drunk?

BRADLEY: Mm-hmm.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: A lot of people are going to say, Deborah, you were drunk that night. Is there any chance you did anything to hurt your daughter that you're just not telling us?

BRADLEY: No, no, no. And if I thought there was a chance, I'd say it. No. No. I don't think that alcohol changes a person enough to do something like that.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BALDWIN: That mother also told NBC that based upon the questions the police are asking her, she expects to be arrested.

A real-life horror story playing out in Philadelphia. Police say four mentally disabled people were held captive in a basement, one of them chained to the radiator.

The FBI is helping local police investigate. Two of the three suspects were arraigned today, and bond was set at $2.5 million for each.

Coming up next hour, I'm talking to the landlord of this particular building who found these people Saturday night.

And Boston police arresting a man who is expected of setting this massive apartment building fire. And police tell "The Boston Globe" that it may have been a suicide attempt.

A 6-year-old boy had to be dropped from a third floor window into the waiting arms of firefighters just to get out safely. Thirteen people were injured in the fire, which broke out early this morning. The fire department says 25 units in total in that building were affected.

And it's a real Dutch master murder mystery. Legend has it genius, depressed painter Vincent van Gogh committed suicide, he shot himself. But two Pulitzer Prize-winning writers looked into a lot of unanswered questions surrounding Van Gogh's death, and they are drawing a different conclusion.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

STEVEN NAIFEH, CO-AUTHOR, "VAN GOGH, THE LIFE": That a couple of kids had shot Vincent van Gogh, and he decided to basically protect them and accept this as the way to die. These kids had basically done him the favor of shooting him.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: He was covering up his own murder?

NAIFEH: Covering up his own murder.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BALDWIN: Curators at the Van Gogh Museum in Amsterdam are skeptical, saying there's still not enough evidence to be certain. And since there wasn't exactly any CSI forensics back in 1890, the world may never know for sure.

Sesame Street's YouTube channel, it is back up and running today. But online hackers, they infiltrated the channel over the weekend, replaced some of the educational videos with more sexually explicit material. But parents, it's been fixed. It's safe.

Also, after spending 26 years in prison for a murder he did not commit, Dewey Bozella won his first and only professional boxing match -- here he goes -- at age 52. He claimed victory Saturday night when he delivered a hard right to his opponent's jaw. President Obama called Bozella last week to wish him luck in the fight.

And take a look at those pictures here. You're going to see a man. This is Fauja Singh, the oldest person ever to finish a marathon.

Folks, he's 100 years young. He crossed the finish line of the Scotiabank Toronto Waterfront Marathon yesterday after eight hours. And even though he finished last place, get this -- he didn't start running marathons until he was 89. Kudos to him.

We are just getting started here on CNN. Got a lot more to cover in the next two hours.

Watch this.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

BALDWIN: Missouri mom Deborah Bradley now admits to drinking the night her 10-month-old baby girl disappeared. We're going to hear from her this afternoon.

I'm Brooke Baldwin. The news is no.

(voice-over): In a brand new CNN poll, the Republican race for the White House, just in time for a major debate in Vegas this week. Find out who's tied for first place right now.

Moammar Gadhafi's last stronghold is a ghost town except for this -- snipers are gunning for people in Sirte. We're live from Libya.

Also, the American man suspected in the disappearance of Robyn Gardner in Aruba asks to be released from jail. We have brand new details.

And Lady Gaga goes Marilyn Monroe on Bill Clinton. And Clinton reveals his love for the international superstar. We take you to the former president's 65th birthday bash, coming up.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BALDWIN: The Republican road show is headed out West. That's right, the big debate right here, tomorrow night, 8:00 Eastern, live from Las Vegas.

And, you know, right on cue, we've got a new poll showing the Herman Cain bubble has not yet burst. He is right behind Mitt Romney. And actually, Romney's one-point lead is well within the poll's five-point margin of error. Rick Perry you see running third, and the rest of the candidates all in single digits.

Want to go to T.J. Holmes, live for us in Las Vegas.

And T.J., I know a lot of eyes will be on Mr. Herman Cain.

T.J. HOLMES, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Of course they will. And, you know, we're wondering, how many times tonight are we going to hear "9-9-9"? We're in Vegas. They're taking bets on how many times we're going to hear "9-9-9."

I took the over, by the way. But yes, that comes with actually being at the top of the polls. People are paying more attention to you, and you are getting scrutinized a whole lot more.

Now, 9-9-9 is about the economy. You certainly will hear a lot about that. The perfect backdrop for it here in Nevada, with the highest unemployment rate in the country.

But also, you never know what's going to come up and what could happen at these debates. And I know you and our viewers, Brooke, will remember one of the previous debates, when the issue of "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" came up, and one of the soldiers, a gay soldier, was actually booed after he asked a question.

Well, it just so happens with our debate coming up Tuesday that they're just wrapping up here in Vegas a first of its kind, at least according to the organizers, summit, a summit of gay and lesbian active duty members of the military. A meeting like this wasn't even possible a month or so ago. And now they fear a meeting like this won't be possible in the future, depending on who's elected president.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Welcome to our second panel of the day. We're going to discuss the freedom to marry.

This is a summit that could not have taken place a year ago. It couldn't have taken place just a few months ago. That's because "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" was still in place.

LT. ED LUNA, U.S. MARINE CORPS: It is life-changing to me.

HOLMES: September 20th was a big day for most of the folks you see here.

LUNA: I feel like for the first time, I get to be me, unconditionally. And that's odd, to be 27 years old, and it's the first time that's ever happened.

KRISTY WOLFMAYER, U.S. AIR FORCE: It's an amazing feeling. It's a great time in history to be part of the military.

HOLMES (on camera): You couldn't do this before.

MAJ. JEFFREY MUELLER, U.S. AIR FORCE: No, and not keep my job. You know, to do something like this now, and be able to tell the stories, I think is what's so important right now.

LT. JOSHUA SEEFRIED, U.S. AIR FORCE: Our goal is to build a visible, proud gay community in the military that people feel comfortable being able to come out or just being who they are.

HOLMES: And you think the fight might not depend and depend on who is in the White House and who is in those two houses of Congress, that maybe "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" could come back?

SEEFRIED: Well, I think one of the things that we'll see in the upcoming presidential campaign is, you know, are people really going to threaten to bring back "Don't Ask, Don't Tell"? And I think that that's something that is scary for me personally, is, am I going to again be threatened to lose my career in the future? And that's something that I don't want to think about.

I want to stay in the military. I don't want to have to worry about losing my career in the future again. And I hope I don't have to.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

HOLMES: Well, do they have something to worry about, Brooke? Well, you have some like Bachmann and Santorum, who have come out and said, yes, they would try to put "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" back in place. Herman Cain, Ron Paul, those are two who just say they'd just let things be right now.

Newt Gingrich said he would actually listen to his military advisers. He's open to it. And then you have Mitt Romney, who says it never should have been taken out of place in the first place, but he's not exactly saying whether or not he would try to overturn the repeal.

So, still something that active duty gay and lesbian members are still a bit concerned about.

BALDWIN: So, in addition to some of the issues that you brought up in your piece, 9-9-9, unemployment, as you said -- that's the highest unemployment in the entire country, being Nevada -- what else should we be looking for, for tomorrow night? And remind us, this is -- Anderson is hosting, correct?

HOLMES: Anderson Cooper, of course, is hosting. Now, one thing you need to look for, Brooke, is the count of the podiums up on stage. There's going to be one missing, because there's going to be a candidate missing. Of course, Jon Huntsman says he is boycotting the CNN debate. How dare he try to boycott are debate, right?

BALDWIN: Why?

HOLMES: Well, he has good reason. He has his reasons. They're political, but he's trying to take a stand for Nevada, which has moved its caucuses around and kind of throwing the calendar in flux.

But there are a lot of those story lines happening around the debate. And yes, Vegas is a good backdrop to talk about the economy.

The state, the highest unemployment in the country. The Vegas metro area, highest unemployment of major metro areas in the country. So, a good backdrop, but a lot of story lines, including, of course, Brooke, the fact that Herman Cain is at the top of a lot of polls these days.

BALDWIN: T.J. Holmes, in Vegas.

We'll talk next hour. Thank you, sir, very much.

Also coming up, it is the crash heard around the world, the one that claimed the life of an IndyCar champ, Dan Wheldon. Today, Wheldon is being remembered and questions are being raised about safety on the racetrack.

Plus, a new admission from the mother of missing baby Lisa, what she now admits to doing the night her 10-month-old girl disappeared.

Also, look at this. Rebels fighting Gadhafi loyalists in one of the last holdouts there in Libya. But the rest of Sirte, it's a ghost town.

We're going to take you to Gadhafi's hometown, coming up.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BALDWIN: A shocking and tragic end to an IndyCar race on Sunday. Thirty-three-year-old IndyCar driver Dan Wheldon died in a fiery crash at the Las Vegas Indy 300 race. Take a look at this.

This is dash cam video from a car just behind that initial crash. It shows Wheldon's car hitting the right wall of the track. And immediately, you can see the flames catching fire. In total, 15 cars were involved in the fiery crash, and officials actually stopped the race and announced that Wheldon had in fact passed away.

Emotions ran high among all these drivers -- they're friends -- as news of Wheldon's death spread. His colleagues and his competitors did this five-lap salute in his honor, as bagpipes played "Amazing Grace."

And former Indy driver Lyn St. James spoke with CNN's "AMERICAN MORNING" today about this crash and the conditions on the track in Vegas.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

LYN ST. JAMES, FMR. INDYCAR DRIVER: Actually, I'm making the analogy, it's the perfect storm. It was where everything that happened, that came together, you know, caused the result, which was that crash and, unfortunately, the death of Dan. But no one thing actually caused it.

So, the configuration of the track, 34 cars starting on a one-and-a- half mile track at those speeds, and all of that combined, and then having a driver start at the back that is a champion, that really wanted to have a great show. So, all of those elements coming together, I think, just was like the perfect storm. And it was unfortunate, it was tragic, and it was just something that we all wished would never have happened.

We run 33 at Indy, but that is a two-and-a-half mile track. It's a mile longer.

It's more because of the configuration. You know, you've got really, really wide racetrack, with 20 degrees of banking in the turns, 9 degrees of banking on the straight-aways. So you have this momentum and the ability for all of the cars to be able to go flat out.

So that really takes the car out of the driver's hands. So, I don't think it was the number of cars, necessarily. It was just the fact that it was the speeds and the configuration -- again, that combination. We can't pick out one thing. People would love to be able to find something to blame if on, and it isn't just one thing.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BALDWIN: Wheldon is survived by his wife and two young sons. In fact, he came on CNN. He talked to us about avoiding an accident while driving in the Indy 500 back in May, a race he won.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DAN WHELDON, INDYCAR DRIVER: As I cleared that car that I was overtaking, I noticed that just in the corner of my eye, that he had got up in the gray and made contact with the outside retaining wall. And at that point, I just focused on making sure that I didn't get caught up in any of the debris, made sure that he didn't come back across the track in front of me. And then I just drove that Honda pad (ph) IndyCar across the line like I stole it, because I wasn't letting up until I saw either the caution or the checkered flags.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BALDWIN: I want to bring in "Sports Illustrated" senior writer Lars Anderson, who is live in Birmingham, Alabama.

Lars, I know your beat is motorsports. And can you just first please explain to me, what was it exactly that p happened? What sparked the crash in between turns one and two? LARS ANDERSON, SR. WRITER, "SPORTS ILLUSTRATED": It was two cars just in the middle of the pack. They just got together, their tires touched, lost control. Then there was almost an accordion effect going back.

You had 15 cars were involved. Four of them went airborne, including Dan's. And obviously, Dan got the worst of it.

BALDWIN: So, Lars, for people who aren't as familiar with motorsports, I mean, from what I understand, big picture, IndyCar racing is open wheels. So we're talking uber-fast cars, exposed wheels, unlike NASCAR stock cars with the closed wheels.

So, in the Indy, any tiny move can clearly do major damage, correct?

ANDERSON: Yes. Las Vegas Motor Speedway was built as a NASCAR track, a track just specifically for NASCAR.

It's bowl shaped. You have high speeds there at NASCAR races as well, about 180 or so. But the difference is, in the stock cars of NASCAR, they can get together and touch and not lose control, whereas at IndyCar, if it touches another wheel of another car, just the slightest little touch, you're going to lose control.

And because the Indy cars have more downforce than the NASCAR cars, they can go faster. So they're going 220, 224 miles per hour.

BALDWIN: Wow.

ANDERSON: The cars behind them just don't have the time to react. And you could see that with Dan yesterday.

BALDWIN: I want to ask you a little bit more specifically about the Vegas track in a minute, but first, I know there were a lot of driver fears sort of manifested, voiced before this particular race. But I want to play a little bit more sound from Dan Wheldon when he was talking about the danger of the sport and the Indy 500 track.

Take a listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

WHELDON: It's incredibly intense around this racetrack. We're doing speeds in excess of 225 miles an hour. And with this race, you just never know what can happen. So it's about staying focused, and you really don't ever let off the power unless you have to.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BALDWIN: So what does he mean let off the power, Lars?

ANDERSON: It means that he is on the throttle completely around at 1.5 miles of the track. The cars, as I said, they have so much downforce, which means that the tires stick and grip the track so well, that they don't have to brake or lift off the throttle at all the entire 1.5 miles around the track. BALDWIN: So, if drivers, then, talking about Las Vegas Motor Speedway, if they were already fearful of this it track ahead of time, fearful of packed racing, why race there?

ANDERSON: Well, I don't think you'll see -- you won't see IndyCar racing there ever again. That would be my guess. IndyCar needs to do some soul searching and really think about whether or not they want to race on ovals at all anymore other than the Indy 500.

But as Lyn St. James mentioned, that's a bigger track. It's 2.5 miles, and it's not quite as dangerous because the cars aren't as compacted as they were in Las Vegas yesterday.

BALDWIN: So what else then, Lars? Final question, what other changes do you think will come as a result of this horrible tragedy?

ANDERSON: Well, Dan was only a part-time driver this year, and he helped IndyCar actually test a new generation of car which is going to be adopted next year, which will have plenty of safety changes in it. And just going forward, it's just IndyCar has always been on the cutting edge of safety and developing new safety mechanisms both for the track, the walls, and the cars themselves. And it's just an ongoing evolution.

And yesterday's event -- I've told friends this -- I've been at the magazine 17 years, and this is one of just the saddest things I've ever had to cover.

BALDWIN: Lars Anderson, thank you so much, senior writer with "Sports Illustrated." Thank you.

And it is one of the last holdouts in Libya where Gadhafi loyalists are holding strong. But look at this.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DAN RIVERS, CNN SR. INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Away from the fighting, the city is deserted, abandoned like the livestock which roamed these once busy neighborhoods.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BALDWIN: We're going to take you to Gadhafi's hometown of Sirte next.

And then, baby Lisa's mother, what she now admits to doing the night her 10-month-old daughter disappeared. We're going to hear from her, coming up.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BALDWIN: "Globe Trekking" in Libya, where the few troops who do remain loyal to Moammar Gadhafi are stubbornly holding on to this one place. And soldiers fighting for the new government just can't budge them.

This is the city of Sirte, where Gadhafi was born. It is now deserted, except for snipers on the inside and revolutionaries on the outside.

Our Senior International Correspondent Dan Rivers was just there. Take a look.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

RIVERS (voice-over): The front line hasn't moved much for days now, but that doesn't make it any less dangerous. This is the safest way to get around here. Snipers have been picking off NTC soldiers every day. They have plenty of ammunition, just not much discipline when they use it.

One Gadhafi sniper can keep a dozen NTC troops pinned down for hours. But the revolutionaries have their own sharp shooters. Patiently, they wait on rooftops until they see movement, and then the inevitable.

Away from the fighting, the city is deserted, abandoned like the livestock which roam these once busy neighborhoods. Almost every building is pockmarked with bullet holes, some are utterly destroyed.

(on camera): Sirte used to be a city of some 100,000 people, but now it's difficult to find just one. The handful that we have encountered have been here just to salvage a few more possessions from the wrecks of their homes, and all the while the fighting is continuing.

(voice-over): It's why few have made the dangerous journey here to collect belongings. This man and his wife grab a carpet and some cushions to make their night in a tent more comfortable. They hurry as a NATO jet circles overhead.

Others come to look at what remains of their homes. This man and his mother get what they can. He doesn't want to be interviewed, but he's beside himself with worry. He said he paid $20,000 for this apartment, and now look at it.

One man does talk anonymously.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE (through translator): I am not with Gadhafi. I am not with the other side. I am a man of peace.

RIVERS: It's clear these people are worried the National Transitional Council will view them as pro-Gadhafi simply because they haven't taken up arms. But outside, we find a flyer from Gadhafi's regime wanting residents to resist the sedition of the rebels for the safety of their families and children. It sounds like a veiled threat.

That all-pervasive fear was stoked to perfection by Moammar Gadhafi's regime for more than 42 years, and it still hangs in the air here, even though Gadhafi no longer rules these shattered streets.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BALDWIN: Dan Rivers is now out of Sirte, live for us in Tripoli.

And Dan, as far as you know, has the situation in Sirte changed at all? Have the revolutionary fighters made any more progress in securing Sirte?

RIVERS: Brooke, they really haven't. We were there this morning, just checking in on the situation. They're still pinned down in the same positions that they have been for days now by those pro-Gadhafi snipers that just shoot anything that moves.

When we were there this morning, they were starting to use heavy artillery again, the NTC forces, just to try and pummel the pro- Gadhafi positions one more time to see if they can shift the front line. But at the moment, the Gadhafi forces seem to be holding their ground.

BALDWIN: You know, Dan, you were just talking to me about this last week, that there is the speculation that some of these loyalists are so reluctant to relinquish Sirte simply because Gadhafi could be hunkered down there.

Is there any other reason, any other evidence that that is true?

RIVERS: There isn't any hard evidence, no. All we can go on is what people coming out of there have said. And some of the people that have come out of there have told the revolutionary forces that they think that Gadhafi's there, or that they've spoken to someone who claims that they've seen him.

We haven't had any firsthand, direct witness accounts that he is there. But I suppose the revolutionary forces think he's got to be somewhere, and he's definitely not in Tripoli, as far as we know. They've got control of Tripoli. They now got control of Bani Walid, which was another town that was holding out. So, there's speculation he could be there. He could equally, though, have fled across the border to Niger, to Algeria, we simply don't know.

BALDWIN: We don't, do we?

Dan Rivers -- thank you so much -- live in Tripoli.

And it's a startling admission from the mother of missing baby Lisa. What she now says she was doing the night her daughter disappeared and why she fears being arrested in the near future.

Be right back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BALDWIN: The mother of a missing baby in Kansas City is talking today. And what she's revealing could change some things.

Jim Spellman is covering the story, the Lisa Irwin story. And he's live in Kansas City.

And, Jim, Lisa's mother, Deborah Bradley, she did a couple of TV interviews and tell us what she said.

JIM SPELLMAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes, she dropped a couple of bombshells speaking with NBC News. The first one probably most importantly she admits she was drinking that night and in fact says she was drunk when the baby Lisa went missing.

The second important thing in that interview that she said -- she changed her story a bit, saying -- originally she has said the last time they saw baby Lisa was 10:30 at night, now she says about 6:30 that same night, creating a four-hour gap there from the last night she saw her. That really changes the whole tenor of the investigation.

Here's her describing to NBC News what the interviews with police have been like. Take a listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DEBORAH BRADLEY, MISSING BABY'S MOTHER: When I first -- they first questioned me, once I couldn't fill in gaps, it turned into -- you did it, and they put the picture down of her on the table and they said, look at your baby and do what's right for her. Just tell everybody where she is so she can come home. I kept saying, I don't know, I don't know, I don't know.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SPELLMAN: She also says in that interview that she expects to be arrested. Police have been playing that down. They won't really comment on that.

There's been lots of searches going on here, Brooke. We've seen them draining part of a creek to look for new clues. Yesterday, the National Guard sent a unit here to research a wooded area, going inch by inch through the vines. So far, they tell us all the searches have been solely covering their tracks, trying to get new, fresh eyes to try to create some clues on this investigation. They say that's not based on any new information.

So, still a mystery two weeks after baby Lisa disappeared -- Brooke.

BALDWIN: So it sounds like there aren't any substantial leads from what I'm hearing from you. You know, we played a piece of video also, Jim, where essentially members of the police department were sort of reenacting what the mother and father had essentially told police. Had anything come from that? Have they been able to get any clues from the reenactment?

SPELLMAN: The police here have been definitely quiet about the details of the investigation. Just today here at the home, that window is over my shoulder here on baby Lisa's home right here. They just earlier about an hour and a half ago, they had dogs going all around the house and neighbors' homes. They were inside the home of the next-door neighbor. We never know exactly what's going on within those homes. None of the neighbors were talking to us about the details of it.

But police keep telling us they have no new lead, no new anything really to tell us. And so far, you know, nobody's been arrested, nobody's been listed as a person of suspect. They're not on the lookout for anybody. So, it's really mysterious what's going on. I frankly don't think that anybody really knows what happened that night and it's really -- it's really the police are just -- I mean, they're all over it, they're working night and day trying to find a clue. And I think they're as frustrated as the rest of us that this case isn't becoming more clear at this point.

BALDWIN: Two weeks and counting. Jim Spellman in Kansas City -- Jim, thank you.

And sometimes sorry isn't enough. Coming up next, we're going to tell you what BlackBerry is offering all those customers, all of you who lost your service last week.

Plus, we're going back to Vegas. That is where Wolf Blitzer is, getting ready for CNN's Republican debate tomorrow night. We're going to talk to him about what we can expect and also about what's crossing the Political Ticker right now. We'll go to Wolf in a moment.

But, first, a famous actress helping kids orphaned by AIDS. She co- founded an organization that helped fight the disease. Here is the amazing story in today's "Impact Your World."

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

ALFRE WOODARD, ARTISTS FOR A NEW SOUTH AFRICA: Hi. I'm Alfre Woodard.

And you can make an impact and change the lives of children who have been orphaned by HIV/AIDS.

Artist for a New South Africa's mission is to work to combat HIV/AIDS. We have about 3,500 right now AIDS orphans that we assist on an ongoing basis.

Keep turning toward the light! Keep holding on to each other.

Join the movement. "Impact Your World." Go to CNN.com/impact.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BALDWIN: Just in to us here on CNN, did you catch the exchange between Lions coach Jim Schwartz and 49ers coach Jim Harbaugh? Talking football, you can see the coaches shake hands here after the game and it gets worse.

We're going to replay this, you can watch this again. Because Schwartz is obviously upset about something. We're assuming it it's a handshake. Schwartz is the guy in the white jacket. Guy in the black hat is Jim Harbaugh. Then you see Schwartz trying to get back to Harbaugh.

Well, we have now learned that the National Football League, NFL, is getting involved. They are telling CNN that the confrontation is under review by the league. Look at everyone running onto the field after this went down.

Now, the Lions head coach is schedule to hold his usual Monday press conference in Detroit. We will watch it and let you know if he addresses it.

And now, let's talk politics. It's time for America's Choice 2012 political update. And Wolf Blitzer is joining us live from Las Vegas, where CNN is hosting the GOP presidential debate come tomorrow night.

And I know we have some new numbers, Wolf. So, if people were thinking, hey, you know, Herman Cain last week may be the flavor of the week, he's still holding strong, is he not?

WOLF BLITZER, ANCHOR, "THE SITUATION ROOM": He's doing very, very well in our brand new CNN/ORC poll. Nationwide, remember, this is not just Iowa or New Hampshire or Florida. This is all over the country, Republicans choice for the presidential nominee.

Mitt Romney at 26 percent, neck and neck with Herman Cain, 25 percent. Look at this -- Perry, 13 percent; Ron Paul, 9; Gingrich, 8; Bachmann, 6; Santorum, 2; Huntsman, 1.

Huntsman won't be here in Las Vegas for the debate. The other seven will be here.

But a statistical tie for all practical purposes nationwide among Republicans, between Herman Cain and Mitt Romney.

Take a look at this next number, though, Brooke, because it does open up the -- it suggests that the race is by no means a done deal. We asked Republicans, do you definitely support the candidate you've selected right now? Only 33 percent, a third, say they do. Sixty- seven percent, two-thirds, say they're open to changing their minds. So, these numbers obviously could change.

And here's another question that we asked but does not bode well for the president and for the Democrats. We asked, are you extremely or very enthusiastic about voting in the next election? Sixty-four percent of the Republicans nationwide said they were extremely or very enthusiastic. Only 43 percent of the Democrats are that enthusiastic.

It's similar, by the way, to what the numbers were in 2010 when the Democrats lost so many seats in the House of Representatives and the Senate -- Just the opposite of 2008, 2006 when the Democrats and President Obama did very well. That enthusiasm gap is a significant number we're watching very closely in this latest snapshot.

Brooke, back to you.

BALDWIN: We also know, Wolf, that President Obama kicked off his bus trip today. He was in Asheville again, trying to sell his jobs bill in North Carolina, certainly no coincidence, key battleground state.

BLITZER: Yes, North Carolina, Virginia -- two states he won the last time. Not by huge numbers but did win both of those states. And he's hoping he'll have a shot at winning both of those states this time.

This is not necessarily billed, this bus trip, this three-day bus trip, as a campaign event. It's billed as government work -- your government at work, the president going out speaking to the American people. He's going to be speaking at a group -- to a group at a town hall meeting with some Q&A in our 5:00 p.m. Eastern hour. We'll dip in and take some of that live.

And we'll also be speaking, by the way, Brooke, with Ron Paul, the Republican presidential candidate, as well as Dan Pfeiffer, the White House communications director.

So, a lot coming up here in "THE SITUATION ROOM" from Vegas today.

BALDWIN: Vegas, baby!

BLITZER: Have you ever been to Vegas, Brooke?

BALDWIN: Indeed, I have. Indeed, indeed.

What happens in Vegas, Wolf Blitzer -- stays in Vegas.

BLITZER: Will not stay in Vegas because the whole world will be watching our debate.

BALDWIN: That's right.

BLITZER: What happens during the debate in Vegas will not stay in Vegas. Everyone will be watching.

BALDWIN: Let's remind everyone, Wolf -- thank you very much -- don't forget to watch the CNN Western Republican Presidential Debate tomorrow night live from Vegas, hosted by Anderson Cooper, 8:00 Eastern Time, only here on CNN.

Remember last week? I know a lot of you do, a lot of BlackBerry users around the world lost service. Well, now, BlackBerry's maker, Research in Motion, has taken action to try to make things right by offering its customers free apps. So according to RIM, in the next couple of weeks, at least a dozen apps that normally cost about 100 bucks will be available to you for free.

And they started out at Wall Street, spread to cities across the country and now, these occupy Wall Street protests are popping up all around the world, even Julian Assange is getting in on the action. That is coming up.

Plus, it's Monday and you know what that means. Music Monday time.

(VIDEO CLIP PLAYS)

BALDWIN: I got to meet a couple of these guys, walk around a beautiful park before they put on a pretty amazing show. Cage the Elephant. So, how did they come up with that name, Cage the Elephant?

What they told me, we're talking music. "Music Monday" coming up. (COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BALDWIN: You know I love music. And each and every Monday, we profile different artists in a segment we call "Music Monday." And so, today's group hails from Kentucky. They describe themselves as slacker funk punk. They exploded onto the music scene in 2009 with hits like "Ain't No Rest for the Wicked" and "Back Against the Wall."

I met up with two of the members right before they hit the stage in Atlanta's music midtown festival. So, today's "Music Monday," we give you Cage the Elephant.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

CROWD: Cage, Cage, Cage, Cage!

(MUSIC)

BALDWIN: Cage the Elephant. Where does that come from?

MATTHEW SCHULTZ, LEAD VOCALS: Well, we're actually in a small town in Georgia playing a show, and there was this guy that -- he was just outside the venue running around like ranting and raving about how the elephant had to be stopped, we had to cage the elephant.

BALDWIN: Just randomly ranting and raving?

M. SCHULTZ: Yes. Exactly. So, it stuck with us.

(MUSIC)

BALDWIN: So, wait, what is that like? When you have people coming up to you, they recognize you, they know your music. They blast it in the morning like he said. I mean, is that wild? Are you rock stars?

M. SCHULTZ: It's pretty bizarre. No, I hope not.

BALDWIN: Why not?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Best song I've ever heard!

(MUSIC)

BALDWIN: Why did a bunch of Kentucky boys move to London?

M. SCHULTZ: Why wouldn't a bunch of Kentucky boys move to London?

BALDWIN: Why did you do it?

M. SCHULTZ: It's just we'd heard these grand stories of rock 'n' roll utopias that were across the pond and so we wanted to go and check it out for ourselves.

BRAD SCHULTZ, GUITARIST: Also, we were talking to a few record labels and they were with -- the only record label that was going to give us a 100 percent creative control. M. SCHULTZ: That was the biggest appetizing thing to us.

BALDWIN: Creative control?

M. SCHULTZ: To not have someone over your shoulder telling you what to do.

(MUSIC)

M. SCHULTZ: We didn't want to be one of those bands that had a particular sound or had to have side projects in order to do a certain style of music, creatively be fulfilled. We wanted to do whatever we wanted with this band.

REPORTER: Explain how the internet or social media, any of that, how that's helped you or even artists overall right now. Do you think it's easier to be a rock star?

B. SCHULTZ: I think music is more accessible to everybody, which is a very good thing, but there's so of more out there now, too, that a lot of really good stuff gets passed over.

M. SCHULTZ: It's one of those things that you try not to think about all the tech stuff too much, you know? I play guitar, I sing songs. I act like an idiot on stage.

BALDWIN: What's the biggest compliment someone could give you as an artist?

M. SCHULTZ: Just to say they're into your music really. They listen to it. "You're my favorite band." That one always makes me happy.

(MUSIC)

BALDWIN: I think that's a wrap. Woo!

(MUSIC)

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BALDWIN: Thanks you guys for walking with me.

By the way, you can watch all my "Music Monday" interviews. Just go to CNN.com/Brooke. I love to hear who you love and who you're listening to and who you think should appear on the show each and every "Music Monday."

Also, if I can just give a little shout-out to my AIDS walk team. Thousands of people across the country came together for an amazing cause over the weekend, AIDS walk and run events took place both in Los Angeles and Atlanta yesterday. And I just wanted to say a quick "thank you" to our team, several walkers, including fellow CNNers. Here's the shot of our whole team.

Team Lemonades raised $12,000 for the cause. The money raised goes to provide treatment, medication, prevention education and other support for families, neighbors and friends living with HIV or AIDS.

So, thanks you guys. That was a ton fun.

Now this:

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We've realized what angers Americans angers us as well. We're all be made to pay for a crisis we haven't caused.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BALDWIN: So, all of these occupy Wall Street protests popping up not just in the U.S. here. Now, they're popping globally, that is next.

And then we're waiting for one of the most high-profile prisoner swaps to take place in the Middle East. We are live in Gaza where hundreds of prisoners could soon return home, as part of this major deal to release one Israeli soldier.

But first, do you live if a lucky city? Well, "Men's Health" is out with its list of the luckiest cities in America. The list is based upon the most lottery winners, most hole in ones, fewest lightning strikes and fewest deaths from falling objects. That's what we're talking when we're talking lucky.

So, number five, you're lucky in Richmond, Virginia. Number four: Wilmington, Delaware. Three: Phoenix.

So, what are the top two luckiest spots in the nation? That's coming up after this break. Stay here.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BALDWIN: Now we bring you back to the list of America's luckiest cities. Folks, this is from "Men's Health" magazine.

Number two? Baltimore, Maryland. And the number one luckiest city in America, gorgeous place, San Diego, California. Again, you've been tweeting me through the break.

What does lucky mean? The cities where they have the most lottery winners, most holes in one, fewest lightning strikes and fewest deaths from falling objects. So, there you go, the top five.

Now to the "Occupy Wall Street" movement. It's really spreading worldwide now and that is what's trending today. These demonstrators took to the streets not just in the United States, but Canada, United Kingdom, Italy, Australia, Japan.

Hundreds of protesters in Sydney chanted and marched outside the Reserve Bank of Australia building. They were inspired by the "Occupy Wall Street" movement and vowed to occupy Sydney's banking district indefinitely.

Police and businesses were also on alert in Toronto as the "Occupy" movement ramped up there. Occupiers rallied against, and I'm quote, "spiritual wickedness in high places during a global day of action. The Canadian occupy movement had support of some major unions there.

The demonstrations were for the most part peaceful except here. This is Rome, Italy, where police fired water cannons and tear gases into the crowd after some of the demonstrators set fire, look at this to cars, some broke shop and bank windows, clash with police there. Protestors were marching against global economic policies.

And in London, WikiLeaks co-founder Julian Assange addressed a crowd of protesters on the steps in front of St. Paul's Cathedral. Assange led the group in protests chants on the edge of London's financial district. Thousands marched through the streets protesting austerity cuts and criticizing bankers.

And here in the U.S., Princeton University professor and activist, Dr. Cornel West, was arrested yesterday in Washington, D.C. occupy rally. West was arrested on the steps of the U.S. Supreme Court. He says he was demonstrating to show solidarity with the "Occupy Wall Street" movement and in honor of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.

So what exactly do the "Occupy Wall Street" protestors who inspired this worldwide outrage want? Well, their demands certainly vary. You can read them on the Internet.

So, I just want to show you. They include Congress investigates and prosecutes Wall Street criminals. Congress passes the Buffett Rule on fair taxation. Congress revamps the Securities and Exchange Commission. And Congress limits the influence of lobbyists. Couple of the demands.

Also trending today, if you know anything about Giuliana Rancic, you know, the "E! News" co-host has never been shy about sharing her medical news publicly. First, it was her trouble trying to get pregnant. Now, Rancic has announced she has breast cancer.

Here's what she told Ann Curry on the "Today" show just this morning.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

GIULIANA RANCIC, "E! NEWS" CO-HOST: Through my attempt to get pregnant for the third time through IVF, we sadly found out that I have early stages of breast cancer. So -- and it's been a shock.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BALDWIN: Rancic says her prognosis is good because the cancer was caught early, but also says she has to put off trying to get pregnant at least for a while.

And also trending out of Hollywood, the actor who played Mr. Spock in the recent "Star Trek" remake is coming out. Zachary Quinto proclaimed he was gay on his blog over the weekend. He wrote, quote, "When I found out that Jamey Rodemeyer killed himself -- I felt deeply troubled. It became clear to me in an instant that living a gay life without publicly acknowledging it is simply not enough to make any significant contribution to the immense work that lies ahead on the road to complete equality."

Rodemeyer is the 14-year-old New York boy who committed suicide after enduring years of bullying.