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Republican Presidential Debate in Vegas; Gilad Shalit: Free and Home; Philly Dungeon of Horrors; Debate in Vegas; Military to End Controversial Ban

Aired October 18, 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: I'll take it, Mr. Johns. Thank you very much. See you shortly with "Political Pop."

And 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 a father-son reunion five years now in the making. Hamas freed Israeli soldier Gilad Shalit. Shalit's father reunited with him today. Didn't really want to let him go, did he?

Shalit was freed in exchange for 1,027 Palestinian soldiers. In fact, some 500 Palestinian boarded buses as they began their journey home. Huge crowds of Palestinians celebrated in Gaza streets.

Secretary of State Hillary Clinton pays a surprise visit to Libya. Clinton is expected to meet with transitional officials and offer medical help to injured fighters for the transitional government there.

And a 15-year-old Florida girl last seen with the son of one of those three people arrested in the Philadelphia enslavement case, she's not a victim, she's a runaway. That is what we're hearing from Philadelphia's police commissioner.

Police say four mentally challenged adults were kept shackled in this Philadelphia basement, all in this alleged scheme to steal their Social Security checks. By the way, we're actually going to hear from some of those victims chilling accounts, their time in the basement.

New moms and dads, beware of bumper pads in your baby's crib. The American Academy of Pediatrics says they should never be used. The group says there's no proof bumper pads protect against injuries, but the academy is saying there is a risk babies could get trapped, could get suffocated, or strangled by those bumpers.

And did you hear about this? Someone actually jacked a presidential van from a hotel parking lot right out of central Virginia. It has been recovered at another hotel, but we don't know if any of the equipment that was inside is still inside. CNN affiliate WWBT is reporting this van had some $200,000 worth of equipment, including President Obama's teleprompter, a sound system, podiums, and even presidential seals. (BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Virgin Galactic.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BALDWIN: That was British billionaire Richard Branson right after he repelled off a balcony to christen the world's first commercial spaceport. He took a swig of bubbly before spraying the crowd there in New Mexico.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

RICHARD BRANSON, VIRGIN GALACTIC: I'm just lucky to be in a position where I can make dreams come true. We have got to thank the people of New Mexico for actually voting to get this building built. And it's up to us to make sure that not one of them regret it.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BALDWIN: All right. So, you want to go into space? Four hundred fifty tickets costing $200,000 a piece have been sold to eager space tourists. Virgin Galactic flights could start late next year.

And even the dust storms are bigger in Texas. Get a load of this. This is a monster of a cloud caught by an iReporter here.

This is caught by Trey Caliva, Lubbock, Texas. He said he was inside his office yesterday when the sky went from totally sunny to just about darkness there. Look at that.

And we have a lot more to cover for you here on CNN in the next two hours, including this --

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

BALDWIN: They are calling it the dungeon of horrors. We are now hearing chilling accounts from those four people held captive in that Philadelphia basement.

Also news today, a fifth person. A once-missing Florida teenager is now found as well.

I'm Brooke Baldwin. The news is now.

(voice-over): 911 calls capture the chaos at that California beauty salon. Listen to this --

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: He's still shooting right now.

911 OPERATOR: And how many shots have you heard?

BALDWIN: Eight people killed by a gunman seeking revenge in a custody battle. More on the Seal Beach massacre.

This Detroit man says he's got a designated driver. It's his 9-year- old daughter. Watch as the van pulls away from the gas station.

911 OPERATOR: Is the vehicle staying on the road?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: She's driving pretty good. I can't believe it.

BALDWIN: Police say the kid was genuinely surprised when she was pulled over.

And incredible pictures as a dust storm ripped across west Texas. Chad Myers tells us why the sky turned red.

And we are just hours away from the next big CNN debate, and this one is in Vegas. The spotlight will be on seven candidates, with a lot of focus on Herman Cain, who has been surging in the polls. We're going to speak with the man who hired Cain to run Godfather's Pizza. Did he really turn around the company?

(END VIDEOTAPE)

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BALDWIN: Big debate tonight out in Vegas. Take a look at this. This is kind of cool. We wanted to show this to you.

Our CNN crews are moving mountains, trying to put this thing together. Here's what you're looking at.

If you hadn't already guessed, this is time lapse video -- no, they don't move quite that fast -- showing our set coming together there. This is a massive production, folks. They are going to have it ready to go by the zero hour tonight. That is 8:00 p.m. Anderson Cooper hosting our presidential debate this evening.

They are going to go at least 90 minutes, maybe even longer. So we can't wait for this, this evening. We're all going to be tweeting, right? Hashtag, CNNDebate.

Gloria Borger, back out there, getting serenaded by those gondoliers for us in Vegas. We'll talk politics as well.

Gloria Borger, one thing I want to know is, what's the one thing you're going to be looking for tonight?

GLORIA BORGER, CNN CHIEF POLITICAL ANALYST: Well, I'm really going to be looking to see whether Rick Perry and Herman Cain can actually look presidential on that stage. We've seen Mitt Romney really come across as a very plausible president. We've seen Rick Perry look an awful lot like a deer caught in the headlights. Herman Cain has had some unfortunate jokes over the last couple of days, and when he's been on these debate stages, he's really kind of been a sideshow.

He's all about 9-9-9. I think tonight he's clearly going to be under some scrutiny by his fellow Republicans, and I'm looking to see how he handles all of that, because the debate is a job interview. And people are going to be watching at home saying, you know what? I want to know if this person -- and today it's Herman Cain -- can actually go toe-to-toe against Barack Obama.

So, Rick Perry, Herman Cain, do they look like presidents?

BALDWIN: And you and I spoke quite a bit about the Herman Cain surge. We talked about the scrutiny that certainly goes along with that. And we spoke with Cain's penchant for making seemingly serious policy statements, and then the whole, like, oops, just kidding part of that.

And I want to just play this sound. This is when he was in Phoenix just yesterday, talking about the president's health care reforms.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

HERMAN CAIN (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: This legislation that was passed is going to ruin our health care system. We've got the best in the world.

Why do you think (INAUDIBLE) come here when they get sick? Because we have the best -- that was supposed to be a joke, you all. Don't you have a sense of humor? What's wrong with you people?

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BALDWIN: So, you know, a great entertainer, a great (INAUDIBLE), but not exactly a professional politician. And like it or not, that can certainly cause some problems.

BORGER: You know, it can. I think the notion that Herman Cain keeps saying to Americans you need to have a sense of humor really doesn't serve him well.

We're here in Las Vegas, which has over 14 percent unemployment, one in 39 homes here is being foreclosed upon, a large Hispanic population. It doesn't really work.

And, again, getting back to the presidential notion, you have to learn when you're a presidential candidate how to self-censor, because people want to see that you're acting like president of the United States. And maybe Herman Cain ought to get more staff surrounding him to tell him that, you know what? This is not the way you need to behave and these are not the jokes you need to tell when you get into the top tier of a presidential race.

People take their votes seriously. You have to behave seriously.

BALDWIN: The "anyone but Romney" crowd, they catapulted Bachmann, catapulted Perry, now catapulted Herman Cain. And let's just imagine for a moment that Cain does eventually flame out. Who is next in line with regard to the anti-Romney faction? Who might you see them gravitating toward? Perhaps Gingrich?

BORGER: Well, you know, anything is possible. I'm being serenaded again. Anything is possible here.

Newt Gingrich, though, does have some problems with Evangelicals. But I really think what we're probably going to see, if Rick Perry does a good job tonight, we're probably going to see Rick Perry go back up, because don't forget, he's the one with the money in the bank.

He can put ads on television. He could put ads out on the Web. He can really give Mitt Romney a run. Both of these guys are very well- funded.

But, you know, with Newt Gingrich, he has done pretty well in these debates. He's a man of ideas. So, who knows? It could be Newt next.

BALDWIN: So, if you're on that stage and you're one of the contenders, do you specifically go after and make jabs at Cain because he's sort of right there with Mitt Romney?

BORGER: You do.

BALDWIN: Or do you go a different way around it and sort of try to prognosticate who may be the next, if I may, flavor of the week, and go after that person, perhaps Perry, as you just guessed?

BORGER: Well, I think you're going to see a lot of folks taking shots at Herman Cain, obviously. What you're going to see Mitt Romney do is what he's always done, which is remain above the fray, talk about Barack Obama. And if he's attacked, he will respond. But the Romney campaign strategy is going to remain as it has always been -- attack Barack Obama, act like a front-runner, and leave it at that, and answer charges.

Now, if I were Michele Bachmann, I would go after someone else other than Herman Cain. I would maybe take on Mitt Romney. She's got to get herself back in the fray. But as for Mitt Romney, he's going to try to remain above it all. We'll see.

BALDWIN: Fascinating. Fascinating, Gloria Borger. Thank you so much. We'll of course be watching tonight.

Don't forget, live here on CNN, the Republican candidates for president go head-to-head in Las Vegas, 8:00 Eastern, only here on CNN.

Now, this --

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It looks like a dungeon. These people were stored like surplus meat in the basement.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BALDWIN: And the people he's talking about, they are now speaking up about what it was like in that basement. We're going to hear from them. Chilling accounts coming up.

Also, there he is. The Israeli prison held for five years in Gaza is finally free. So are hundreds of Palestinian prisoners he was traded for. We're live in both locations coming up.

And we have the chilling 911 phone calls from last week's deadly hair salon shooting in a town often referred to as "Mayberry by the Sea."

Back in two minutes.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BALDWIN: So, a father goes into a Michigan gas station's convenience store right around 3:00 in the morning, and he brags about having a designated driver and chauffeur. This whole exchange, it's caught on surveillance tape.

The issue? The chauffeur is his 9-year-old daughter. She has been turned over to relatives. There she is hopping out of the driver's side of the van.

The dad, 39-year-old Sean Russell Weamer (ph), is charged with child abuse. A witness spotting them leaving the gas station earlier this month and decided to follow them.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I just watched a van pull out of a CITGO gas station. A 7-year-old girl was driving it and her dad is drunk, and he's in the passenger.

911 OPERATOR: Is the vehicle staying on the road?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: She's driving pretty good. I'm telling you, I can't believe it.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BALDWIN: Weamer (ph) reportedly refused a breathalyzer test. Police say they found the girl sitting on a booster seat behind the wheel. She reportedly told police her dad had been drinking whiskey, and that he had let her drive before.

Dramatic 911 calls now detailing the horror of last week's rampage at a salon in once sleepy Seal Beach, California.

(BEGIN AUDIO CLIP)

DISPATCHER: You need to answer my questions, OK?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: OK.

DISPATCHER: Do we know who the shooter is?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: We think we do. It's one of the hairstylist's husbands. We think we do, but I don't know, because the girl that came in here is just hysterical.

DISPATCHER: OK.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Why do they have the door open?

DISPATCHER: You guys need to shut the doors and hide somewhere. OK? UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: He's just trying to shoot everybody in there.

DISPATCHER: OK.

(END AUDIO CLIP)

BALDWIN: In another phone call, the woman, clearly shaken up, described how she got away, how she feared being killed herself.

(BEGIN AUDIO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I got down and put my hand over my neck like an air raid drill and was just hoping he wasn't going to kill me.

DISPATCHER: OK. That's OK. We have police and paramedics on the way.

And you said that how many people are shot? Do you know?

OK. We are on our way. What is your name?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: My name is (BLEEP).

DISPATCHER: And you're at the hair salon?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Yes. I'm hiding behind a car in the parking lot.

DISPATCHER: OK. And is this your cell phone?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Yes.

DISPATCHER: OK. Go ahead and wait there, OK? We're on our way. We have officers that are --

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Can I get off the phone?

DISPATCHER: Yes. We are on our way. OK.

(END AUDIO CLIP)

BALDWIN: Chilling.

Eight people were killed in last Wednesday's shooting. A ninth person was seriously wounded.

And police say they believe the suspect, Scott Dekraai, was out for revenge in a custody battle with his ex-wife. She is among those dead. Dekraai was charged with eight counts of first-degree murder Friday, and as he left court, a victim's loved ones lashed out.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I hate you! I hate you!

(END VIDEO CLIP) BALDWIN: The Orange County district attorney says he will seek the death penalty.

Celebrations in both Israel and Gaza under way right now after today's major prisoner swap. We're live in both locations, next.

And then, it is a silver lining of sort. The discovery of that dungeon of horror that's being referenced in Philadelphia actually helped a Florida mother find her missing daughter. We're going to explain.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I can breathe. I can breathe now because she says she's doing good. I can breathe. She's OK.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BALDWIN: Also, we're going to hear from the victims held captive, tethered to a boiler in that basement.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BALDWIN: An Israeli soldier is a free man today and home after five years of Palestinian captivity.

Watch this moment.

Quite a home coming, indeed.

Gilad Shalit was just 19 when he was kidnapped from his army base in Israel. Today, he has returned home under the terms of this deal worked out between Israeli and Hamas negotiators. We'll get more on that in a minute.

But right now it's really just about people in this small town in Israel happy to see one another and their own home and alive.

CNN's Fred Pleitgen is there for us right now.

And Fred, if you can, just take me back to that moment when Gilad Shalit arrived.

FREDERIK PLEITGEN, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, certainly there were scenes of jubilation here in his hometown. A lot of people have come here not just from the hometown itself, but from other outlying places as well.

They were waving Israeli flags. They were obviously chanting, very happy that Gilad Shalit has now come back.

He, himself, did not address the crowd that was outside his house when he came here. His father did that, saying that his son was currently not in a state to address these people. That, of course, is very understandable considering that he's just been five-and-a-half years in captivity. This whole deal went on through the entire day. When Gilad Shalit was released earlier today, he was then taken to an Israeli military base in central Israel where he met Prime Minister Netanyahu, he met his family for the first time, and he also received some medical treatment and some medical checkups.

Now, we're staying right here in his home town. There is of course a lot of jubilation. However, not everyone in Israel is happy with this deal.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

PLEITGEN (voice-over): Arnold Roth's daughter Malki (ph) was killed in a terror attack. Now one of the women convicted for her participation in the plot is likely to be released as part of the Gilad Shalit deal.

ARNOLD ROTH, FATHER OF TERROR VICTIM: Everyone wants to see Gilad Shalit safe and well and back home, but I think that there's a real failure to understand the price that's being paid. The price is phenomenal. We are releasing people who dedicated their lives to killing Jews and Israelis.

PLEITGEN: In August, 2001, a suicide bomber blew himself up in a Sbarro's pizza parlor in downtown Jerusalem, killing 15 people. Many family members of the victims of this and other terror attacks on Israelis oppose the exchange for Gilad Shalit. Almost 300 prisoners serving life sentences will be released from detention centers. One man who lost five relatives in the Sbarro bombing even desecrated the Yitzhak Rabin memorial in Tel Aviv.

(on camera): This is the site of the Sbarro bombing, and, of course, even 10 years later, for many of the victim's families the wounds have not yet healed. But for Israel, there's more at stake here, a larger security concern. Could those that they're releasing now perpetrate other acts of violence in the future, and could it embolden extremist groups to try and capture additional Israeli soldiers?

(voice-over): Some Israeli politicians say these concerns made it impossible for them to approve the deal.

UZI LANDAU, ISRAELI MINISTER FOR NATIONAL INFRASTRUCTURE: Voting for such an agreement will be a tremendous encouragement for future terror. In the Middle East, it will be perceived as a move that simply says that terror pays off.

PLEITGEN: Still, Israel's prime minister insists there was no other choice. "It is very possible that this window of opportunity that opened because of the circumstances would have closed indefinitely," Netanyahu said, "and we would never have been able to bring Gilad home at all."

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BALDWIN: Fred, I know you've been talking to a bunch of different people. Do the people you've been speaking to, do they buy Netanyahu's position that this deal was really the only way to get Shalit home?

PLEITGEN: Well, a lot of people here in Israel actually do believe that that's the case. I'm going to hit you with one poll number which I think really says it all about what's going on here.

It says that about 70 percent of Israelis do approve of the Gilad Shalit deal; however, more than half of Israelis also think that it will hurt their security in the long term. So, clearly, not everyone is happy with this.

What the Israeli government is saying is that they explored other options to try and get Gilad Shalit out as well, including military operations. But in the end, none of those seemed feasible to them.

Now, there are some people who believe that perhaps the Israeli government could have negotiated for a longer period of time, that perhaps they could have tried other options, including perhaps commando operations. It really is very, very difficult to tell. But certainly if you talk to people who are very frustrated like that man that we saw in that report, whose daughter was, of course, killed, they will tell you that they believe that there might have been other options on the table.

One of the things that we have to point out, though, is that the deal that was made right now, those 1,000 Palestinian prisoners for Gilad Shalit, the terms for that deal, they have been on the table for about half a year now, and so far it seemed as though both sides were not coming any closer. Now that deal happened very quickly -- Brooke.

BALDWIN: And then the deal, of course, was brokered, and now we have Gilad Shalit home.

Fred Pleitgen, thank you so much.

And as he pointed out, look, this was a two-way deal to secure Gilad Shalit's freedom.

On the other side here, you have all these Palestinian prisoners, nearly 500 of them, were also let out of jail in Israel. And this is just the first batch of what will eventually be more than 1,000 people released. They were convicted, as Fred pointed out, of crimes, sometimes violent crimes, in Israel. And they, too, are rejoining their families in the occupied territories.

And let's go straight to CNN's senior international correspondent, Matthew Chance, in Gaza City.

And Matthew, I've heard you describe their homecomings. It was like a carnival atmosphere there as well.

Matthew Chance, can you hear me?

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

MATTHEW CHANCE, CNN SR. INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Getting off the buses, being greeted by their family members. This man here is just embracing here his old friend. He's been in an Israeli jail -- excuse me, madam -- he's been in an Israeli jail for 19 years.

He's 42 years old now, so obviously he's spent most of his adult life behind bars in Israel. He hasn't gotten married, he hasn't got any children. But he's just now starting to pick up the pieces of his life.

And just over here you can see more of the prisoners that have been freed being brought by these buses into the site of the Gaza Strip, into the Rafah terminal, where they're being met by all of their family members that have been brought here by Hamas to give them a first initial welcome before they move on to the much more public parade in Gaza City later on today, where we're expecting, as I mentioned, tens of thousands, if not hundreds of thousands, of people to attend that mass parade in the center of Gaza. But, for the moment, as you can see here, another example, people who have been in prison for so long, the emotion of it all, being reunited with their families. You can see some men here greeting somebody who was presumably a comrade in arms with him.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BALDWIN: And now we have Matthew Chance in Gaza City.

And Matthew, we just heard the report from Fred Pleitgen saying some Israelis are very critical of the deal. They say it's lopsided.

How is that criticism -- how is that resounding on the Palestinian side?

CHANCE: I don't think they are taking any notice of that criticism. I think they would probably say it's a reflection of the realities on the ground. The reason that 1,027 Palestinians have been exchanged for one Israeli soldier is that one Israeli soldier is all the Palestinians held and the Palestinians have around -- I'm sorry. The Israelis have about 6,000 Palestinians in their jail. And so, they were able to negotiate the release of far many more than just the one they handed back.

Certainly there were none of the concerns here in the Gaza Strip that we heard expressed there in Israel, about whether this was a good deal or not. It's public opinion, wholeheartedly behind Hamas' bid, Hamas' success in securing so many people, obviously, for the return of just one Israeli soldier.

And what the call is here, and I think Fred Pleitgen alluded to it earlier, as being an Israeli concern, well, it's real because one of the big calls here is that, you know, if this is so successful, then why don't Palestinian militants capture more Israeli soldiers and use them to trade for the freedom of the other, more than 5,000 Palestinians are still in Israeli jails -- Brooke.

BALDWIN: It's a good question.

Matthew Chance, thank you so much, for us in Gaza City.

Now this -- (BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ERWIN MCLEMIRE, ALLEGEDLY HELD CAPTIVE: I escaped one time to one of the houses that we used to live in of hers and I didn't get away. So, they got me.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BALDWIN: The victims of that so-called "dungeon of horror" finally speaking out about what it was like. We're going to hear more from them. We'll also speak with the lieutenant of the Philadelphia Police Department about what's happening next, after this break.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BALDWIN: It is being called the "dungeon of horrors" -- four mentally disabled people held captive in this filthy, dark basement in Philadelphia. The building's landlord who we actually had on the show yesterday, first to find them, padlocked behind this steel door, sitting in filth, one of them actually chained to a boiler. Now, some of these victims are talking about this unthinkable ordeal.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIPS)

ERWIN MCLEMIRE, ALLEGEDLY HELD CAPTIVE: I escaped one time to one of the houses that we used to live in of hers and I didn't get away. So, they got me.

TAMARA BREEDEN, ALLEGEDLY HELD CAPTIVE: She hit me with a bat in my head. All this was all bleeding and everything.

MCLEMIRE: That was real dirty of you. That was wrong.

(END VIDEO CLIPS)

BALDWIN: For the first time, we are also seeing images of this basement where they were held. The police say it's about 15 feet by six feet. It was filled with penetrating stench of urine and feces and urine still hung in the air two days after the discovery of the victims. The owner of the building as we mentioned found these four victims locked in there Saturday, no food, only a bucket, no toilet, and he promptly called the police.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

LT. RAY EVERS, PHILADELPHIA POLICE: It looks like a dungeon. These people were stored like surplus meat in the basement.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BALDWIN: Three people have been arrested in connection with this horrific crime. Forty-nine-year-old Eddie Wright, 51-year-old Linda Ann Weston, and 47-year-old Gregory Thomas faced charges that include aggravated assault, kidnapping, unlawful restrain and false imprisonment. Police say the suspects carried their victims from state to state before ending up in Philadelphia. The three have also been connected with an endangered run away case out of Florida. That case, another discovery, Philadelphia police also found 15-year-old Benita Rodriguez of Florida. She had been reported missing back in July, July 4th. Police say she is a runaway, but they aren't saying how Rodriguez is connected to the basement imprisonment case. But she was last seen in the company of a man believed to be one of the sons of one of those three suspects. Her mother, this 15-year-old's mother, Juana Rodriguez, is just happy that they found her daughter.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

REPORTER: We told you this. Did you believe it? Did you think it was real?

JUANA RODRIGUEZ, DAUGHTER FOUND: At that moment, no, I didn't. And I'm so blessed and I thank the media because if it was never for the media, I never would have found her.

REPORTER: And so, you just talked to the police. What did they say?

RODRIGUEZ: Right now, they are interviewing her. But she's doing real good. They are going to let me talk to her in a little bit and I have to make arrangements to see if they can bring her or if I have to go and get her. A blessing news -- a very blessing news that she's alive.

REPORTER: And then the emotion, you know, with an hour ago or an hour and a half ago, you were still worried. And you've been worried since July 4th. Tell us how you feel right now.

RODRIGUEZ: I can breathe now. I can breathe now, because she's doing good. I can breathe. She's OK. I just want to hold her and love her and -- I don't know. I don't have -- I just want to hold her. I just want to hold her.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BALDWIN: And now on the phone, we have Philadelphia Police Lieutenant Ray Evers.

And, Lieutenant Evers, I think we just saw you in a sound bite sort of describing these four people in this boiler room. You know, they looked like they were just treated as they were a piece of meat. Can you just tell me, sir, where does the investigation right now?

EVERS (via telephone): Right now, we have a task force started up with investigators northeast detectives, special investigations unit, special victims unit, a lot of city agencies that are involved, our mental health delegates. And, of course, we're working with the FBI in Philadelphia. We're trying to piece everything together.

As investigator would know that, any fraud investigation is -- takes a lot of time. But we had basically -- it's a fraud with these people being used as pawns to extract money out of their SSI checks or disability checks. We know it's -- BALDWIN: Do we know -- I'm sorry. Go ahead.

EVERS: No, no. I'm sorry.

BALDWIN: Do we know where these people came from, these four people who were down, chained in the basement? Who are they?

EVERS: Sure. We know at least two are from Philadelphia. One, the gentleman that was identified yesterday with the help of CNN, he is from Norfolk, Virginia. And one of the males who was taken from Florida. The one female from Philadelphia was a missing person from 2005.

BALDWIN: Wow.

EVERS: But we know the group or part of the group was in Texas for a period of time. There was some indication through some of the interviews that the police or another agency was close on their trail and they abruptly moved out of Texas and went to Florida. Something similar of that nature happened to Florida and they moved back up to Philadelphia. So, she's been on the run for some time and now it's trying to trace exactly where these three defendants were for the last several years.

BALDWIN: So, we're talking multiple states in which this alleged scheme down, and these people, you mentioned one person had been missing since '05?

EVERS: Yes, 2005. Her relatives made a missing persons report in Philadelphia in 2005. And one of the northeast detectives visited the relatives. The detective described that the relatives were actually falling on the ground with being so happy that we've actually located their family member.

BALDWIN: Lieutenant, might there be other victims involved here?

EVERS: It's -- again, with this -- it's going to be a long-term investigation. We're actually pulling more detectives into this investigation because there's so much items to go through, so many interviews need to be conducted. Will there be other victims? I guarantee there will be, yes.

BALDWIN: You guarantee there will be.

Let me ask you about that 15-year-old teenager Benita Rodriguez, whose mom is clearly elated to know she's A-OK. Was she being held against her will or did she leave Florida willingly?

EVERS: Well, we're not sure but the police department in Philadelphia was very happy to add and to help Florida authorities to locate this juvenile.

We believe that she came up to Philadelphia area August of this year. She was not being held captive with these four adults. We believe that she befriended a son of the defendants and became possibly boyfriend and girlfriend and they were living in Philadelphia. And we're using investigative techniques to find out where she was and we're glad that she'll be reunited with mom.

BALDWIN: Is there any message that you want to get out to the public, Lieutenant, before I let you go?

EVERS: Oh, sure. If you recognize any of these defendants or have family members that may have been in any contact with these folks, definitely call Philadelphia police and we're tracking down every lead. We've found 50 pieces of identification that we have to look through, powers of attorneys, driver's license, birth certificates and things of that nature.

So, we have -- it's a long investigation. We're going to go through it piece by piece and we're working with our city agencies and federal counterparts to help us out and get this done.

BALDWIN: Lieutenant Evers, thank you very much for calling in. Again, you said you can pretty much guarantee that there will be additional victims. That is frightening. Thank you so much.

Now this --

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

CLIVE WHELDON, DAN WHELDON'S FATHER: He was a true champion and a gentleman on and off the track. Words cannot describe how much our family will miss him.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BALDWIN: The father of IndyCar champion Dan Wheldon remembering his son. We're going to hear more from him and tell you what IndyCar doing for the people who are in the stand at the time Wheldon was killed in that fiery crash.

Also, we will take you live to Las Vegas where CNN is getting ready for tonight's big Republican debate.

Be right back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BALDWIN: Time now for your America's Choice 2012 update. Paul Steinhauser and Peter Hamby standing by with the latest news fresh off the ticker.

Paul, let's begin with you. Talk to me about these polls today?

PAUL STEINHAUSER, CNN DEPUTY POLITICAL DIRECTOR: Yes. You know, Brooke, we've seen Herman Cain just surge in the polls, in the national polls the last couple weeks. Well, why?

Take a look at that these brand new numbers from CNN/ORC. We put them out this morning. Look at that. Who's most likely to get the economy moving?

Look who is number one there. Herman Cain. And I bet that the 9-9-9 plan that he's been touting a lot is one of the reasons.

You know, the poll also indicates that Herman Cain is the most likeable of all the Republican candidates, according to GOP voters. And I think tonight, we're going to see a lot of Herman Cain getting -- Herman Cain getting a lot of scrutiny tonight because of his rise in the poll numbers.

One more number two, who is most likely to beat President Barack Obama? Look who is on top, Mitt Romney. He's also most likely to win the nomination according to Republican voters -- Brooke.

BALDWIN: Interesting.

So we see the numbers. Peter Hamby, let's talk web videos. We know two of these guys, two of these Republican presidential candidate out with these web videos today. Obviously, the message is the same. The messages a bit different.

PETER HAMBY, CNN POLITICAL REPORTER: Yes, very different here. But you're seeing a preview of what we might hear from some of these candidates in the debate tonight. Rick Perry came out with a web video. His first web video went hard negative against Mitt Romney, attacking him over Romneycare.

Today, he put out a largely positive message. He's trying to get back on his feet in the polls and he pointed to his energy plan, which he rolled out last week in Pennsylvania.

Take a listen to this web video real quick, Brooke.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

GOV. RICK PERRY (R-TX), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: We're standing on top of the next American economic boom and it is the energy underneath this country. And the quickest way to give our economy a shot in the arm is to deploy the American ingenuity to tap American energy.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HAMBY: So, that's the latest in a series of Jerry Bruckheimer-like videos from Rick Perry.

Mitt Romney meanwhile, I know I can tell you that the Romney campaign, you know, even though Cain is up in the poll, they still see Rick Perry as their primary rival. He's got a ton of money in the bank and they are trying to keep him down. They rolled out a negative web video hitting Rick Perry. It's really one of the first negative attacks we've seen from Mitt Romney.

Look at this video that they rolled attacking Perry's job records.

(VIDEO CLIP PLAYS)

HAMBY: So there you see, again, Perry trying to get back on message, talking about his jobs record in Texas. And the Romney people are trying to keep him down and poke holes in that record, Brooke. I think you're going to start to see a little bit tonight as well.

BALDWIN: OK. I promise I was paying attention to you guys, it's sort of hard to keep my eye on the price, it's the gondolier going behind you. And I think the last time I talked to both of you guys together, you were in front of like friend Twinkie stand. So, gold stars we're finding interesting live locations, gentlemen. Thank you. Thanks so much, Peter Hamby and Paul Steinhauser.

Hey, don't forget --

STEINHAUSER: We've been around, Brooke. Yes.

BALDWIN: OK. Don't forget -- tonight, live on CNN, the Republican candidates for president go head-to-head in Las Vegas, 8:00 Eastern, only here on CNN.

Coming up here on CNN, the coroner's report is out on what killed Indy race car driver Dan Wheldon over the weekend.

Also, did you hear this? Susan Sarandon's comment about the Pope being called obscene. We're going to tell you what it was she said in two minutes.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BALDWIN: A Nevada coroner is now officially confirming what killed champ and Indy car driver Dan Wheldon. Clark County officials say Wheldon died of blunt trauma to his head. This accident happened Sunday during this 15-car pileup, a fiery crash there at the Las Vegas Motor Speedway. Wheldon had long been part of the effort to make Indy racing safer for drivers.

He is the first driver on the circuit to die on this track in more than five years. He was just 33 years of age. He's survived by his wife and two young children.

And his father spoke to reporters just yesterday in England.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

CLIVE WHELDON, DAN WHELDON'S FATHER: Daniel was born to be a racer and yesterday left us doing what he loved to do. He was a true champion and a gentleman on and off the track. Words cannot describe how much our family will miss him. He touched so many and the world is a better place because of Dan.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BALDWIN: Meanwhile, IndyCar is giving race fans refunds if they bought tickets to Sunday's world championships. The race did not continue on after the crash that killed Dan Wheldon.

And just in to us here at CNN: the U.S. military has now decided to end a ban on some previously controversial bracelets.

That's right. We're talking about bracelets here. They're the kind that honor U.S. troops killed in combat.

Barbara Starr live at the Pentagon to explain this one.

And, Barbara, I know exactly what these bracelets are. I had no idea that they were banned in the first place.

BARBARA STARR, CNN PENTAGON CORRESPONDENT: Well, you know, Brooke, the U.S. military, when you are in uniform, has very strict relations about what exactly you are allowed to wear, and bracelets don't really fit in -- until now, of course.

I have one on. This is actually a blank model that I want to show you, because I think you'll recall you see them in this rubber or metal. Usually, there's the name of someone who has been killed in action in recent years, in the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. This was is blank. It's just to show -- remind everybody what they look like.

Well, the Marines, according to their uniform regulations, aren't allowed to wear these but a lot of these guys, women and male Marines also wearing them in honor of the fallen. And it had become somewhat controversial. Even some high-ranking officers are wearing them to remember their troops who have fallen in battle.

So, it's interesting. Yesterday, the Marine Corps commandant, General James Amos, was out in California welcoming home some Marines home from the war, saw them wearing these bracelets, asked them about it. They told him that they really wanted to keep wearing these. It had already been on his scope.

But he made the decision, look, let's wear them. They are in honor of the fallen. So, now, those Marines while they're in uniform who want to wear these bracelets will be allowed to and it is to remember, of course, their fallen comrades -- Brooke.

BALDWIN: Barbara Starr, thank you so much.

And Susan Sarandon under fire today. We're going to tell what you she said about the Pope. That's next.

And then, coming up, I'll speak live to Herman Cain's prior boss, you know, the one who hired to take over Godfather's Pizza. We're going to ask him what the Republican candidate is really like and whether he thinks he could be a good president.

But, first, have you picked out your Halloween costume yet? Not so fast, because "TIME" magazine has the top five costumes this year. So, we'll watch it and just take a look. Number five: Rebecca Black. Oh, boy, this will stuck in your head, that song. The teenage YouTube sensation.

Four: Duchess Catherine, queen-to-be. That's what I'm thinking about.

In third place: ousted Libyan leader Moammar Gadhafi, for Halloween.

Want the top two? Stick around, after the break.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BALDWIN: Ooh, do you need some creative Halloween costume ideas? "TIME" magazine has this fantastic list. So, let's review -- in fifth, Rebecca Black; fourth Duchess Catherine; third, Moammar Gadhafi.

So, your top two, in second place, you can be one of the GOP presidential candidates, right? You can choose from that whole pack. In first place, Beyonce with the baby bump.

"TIME" magazine, thank you very much.

Now to what you're talking about, what's trending today.

First, Selena Gomez has been granted a temporary restraining order against a man who has threatened to kill her. That is what's trending today. Forty-six-year-old Thomas Brodnicki is required to stay 100 yards away from the singer/actress, and also away from her workplace until a hearing on November 4th.

In a sworn statement, Gomez says she's in, quote, "extreme fear" of Brodnicki. And according to court documents complaints filed by Gomez's attorney, Brodnicki allegedly told his doctor that he went to Chicago and Los Angeles to meet her. The filing also states he had told people he had conversations with God about killing Selena Gomez.

Gomez, the girlfriend of pop star Justin Bieber.

Also trending today, Susan Sarandon, the actress, coming under fire for calling Pope Benedict XVI a Nazi. It reportedly happened over the weekend at the Hampton Film Festival. Sarandon was talking about her 1995 film "Dead Man Walking," which is based on a book by a nun. She said she gave a copy of the book to the Pope saying, quote, "The last one, not this Nazi one we have now." Just to clarify I supposed.

Both the Catholic League and the Anti-Defamation League are blasting the actress for those comments.

The Catholic League writes on its Web site, quote, "Susan Sarandon's ignorance is willful. Those who have hatred in their veins are not interested in the truth. The fact is that Joseph Ratzinger, the pope, was conscripted at the age of 14 into the Hitler Youth, along with every other young German boy."

Also, the ADL writes, "Ms. Sarandon may have her differences with the Catholic Church, but that is no excuse for throwing around Nazi analogies. Such words are hateful, vindictive and only serve to diminish the true history and meaning of the Holocaust."