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Greek PM Does 180 on Bailout Deal; Occupy Protests Turn Violent; Anti-Smoking Drug Suicide Risk; Can America Compete When it Comes to Education?; Are the Sexual Harassment Allegations Hurting Cain's Campaign?; Hacker Group Anonymous Threatens to Target Drug Cartel; Video Surfaces of Texas Judge Beating Daughter; Markets up; Greece May Take EU Bailout Package

Aired November 03, 2011 - 15:00   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

BROOKE BALDWIN, CNN ANCHOR: Now watch this.

Here we go. Top of the hour. Welcome back.

Sparks fly at the economic summit in Cannes, France, amazing video of police chasing drug smugglers, "Occupy" protests getting out of hand, and one drug may have some alarming side effects. Time to play "Reporter Roulette."

Let's to go Nick Valencia here in studio with me with our National Desk. We're going to talk about this stunning video.

NICK VALENCIA, CNN PRODUCER: It is incredible. It's probably the coolest video I've seen in a while.

BALDWIN: I woke up this morning and I wrote my little pitch list, and that was in it for sure. So you see this video. You have police on the ground in Brazil, and they're chasing what?

VALENCIA: This is just outside Sao Paulo, Brazil. They're chasing a group of smugglers.

You've seen this video here, Brooke.

They said they have been spotting these guys, following this group for the last 30 days. The federal police had gotten a tip they would land the plane in this area.

Once the smugglers saw the police show up, they tried to take off in the plane. And as you see in that video, police clipped the side of the plane. The smugglers are forced to exit. Five people are arrested.

Actually, it was not drugs. They were smuggling electronic equipment.

BALDWIN: Electronics. Like what?

VALENCIA: Computers, notebooks, and they found a bicycle on the plane as well.

BALDWIN: And also fascinating, something you sent me earlier, the fact that they do this, police, they have to be familiar with stopping planes.

VALENCIA: That's right. According to Edson Geraldo de Souza -- he's the police chief there -- he said that they have carefully studied this tactic.

BALDWIN: Fascinating.

VALENCIA: No one was injured in this. And this is actually the 12th plane in the last five years, the 12th smuggling plane in the last five years that they have caught.

BALDWIN: Wow.

Nick Valencia, thank you very much.

BALDWIN: Thank you very much.

VALENCIA: Thank you.

BALDWIN: Now, next on "Reporter Roulette," let's go to Ali Velshi at the G-20 summit of economic powers.

And, Ali, this time yesterday, you and I were talking about curse words. Remember this? We were talking about how there was probably going to be a little swearing, some colorful language behind those closed doors in that meeting with Sarkozy and Merkel and Papandreou of Greece.

(CROSSTALK)

BALDWIN: So, sure enough, the Greek prime minister has done essentially this 180 with regard to his stance on the bailout deal. Tell me about it.

ALI VELSHI, CNN CHIEF BUSINESS CORRESPONDENT: Yes.

I think he's done a 360. Let me tell you what has happened. This time yesterday, the meeting was under way between Sarkozy and Merkel from France and Germany and Papandreou of Greece.

They all came out and said that if this referendum goes ahead on this deal to fix the European economic system, there will be all sorts of a problems. Greece might even get kicked out of the Eurozone. This all happened very late last night. We spent the morning worrying about this. Then we thought maybe they have a deal.

For the last few hours we have been saying maybe there won't be a referendum. Now it is all murky and unclear again. The leader of the opposition in Greece is calling for Papandreou to resign. There's a non-confidence vote tomorrow. He only has a two-seat lead in Parliament, so who knows what will happen. We're back to the drawing board.

There was all this tension here at G-20 whether Greece is going to scuttle the deal. Tension levels dropped. Everybody kicked back a little bit and now we're back into it. So, 24 hours later, Brooke, we are no closer to knowing whether this euro deal is going through or not. And that will affect everybody in the world.

BALDWIN: Yes, fears of debt contagion globally. But how could this problem in Greece potentially wash ashore for us right here in the U.S.?

VELSHI: Sure. Well, there are three distinct ways.

First of all, Greece is the 32nd biggest economy in the world, generally speaking insignificant. But today Greece is the most important country in the world, because three things will happen. One is these markets keep fluctuating. For months, we have been talking about markets up 2 percent or down 3 percent because of fears of Europe, right? That's number one.

Number two, if this deal doesn't go through, Europe could take another leg down economically. Europe is the biggest trading partner with America and with many places. If Europeans are not doing well, they don't buy things and that means jobs, possibly even in the United States.

And number three, you said it, this debt contagion. We saw what happened when Lehman Brothers failed. People stopped lending each other money. That could happen again. That could trickle down all the way to people trying to get a mortgage or a small business loan, because banks will seize up again not knowing what the next shoe to drop is.

So, three distinct ways in which everybody in the world should be very concerned with what's going on in Athens right now.

BALDWIN: Ali Velshi in France for us, Ali, thank you.

Next on "Reporter Roulette," what started out as a peaceful Occupy Oakland protest descended into chaos after the sun went down.

Let's to go Dan Simon in Oakland, California -- Dan.

DAN SIMON, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, Brooke, these protests continue to make headlines in part because of the vandalism that we're continuing to see here on the streets of Oakland. You can see this worker right here trying to get some of the graffiti off.

This is a dental center. We're seeing this all throughout downtown Oakland, also seeing a lot of smashed windows. And we should point out that these protesters, they like to say that it is the 99 percent vs. the 1 percent. But they have their own 1 percent. And these are people who are intent on clashing with police.

This was a very peaceful protest that we saw yesterday, protesters going throughout the streets, blocking banks, going to the Port of Oakland, actually shut downing port, but they did so in a peaceful manner. Then as soon as you sun went down, you saw the mayhem, this group of protesters, really more like anarchists coming to the streets, spray-painting buildings, breaking windows, et cetera.

And so that's why you saw that violent confrontation with police, but for the most part, yesterday was peaceful -- Brooke.

BALDWIN: What a scene there. Dan Simon, thank you.

Next on "Reporter Roulette," a new report raises some troubling concerns about a popular stop smoking drug.

Senior medical correspondent Elizabeth Cohen here to talk about the potential alarming side effects of Chantix.

So, if you're a smoker trying to kick the habit, what do you need to know about this drug?

ELIZABETH COHEN, CNN SENIOR MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT: Right. You might think this is a great drug to take.

BALDWIN: Sure.

COHEN: Previously, we already knew that folks who took Chantix seemed to be more likely to have violent and aggressive behavior.

What this new study says is that they also seem to be more likely to think about suicide and to actually commit suicide.

BALDWIN: Oh, wow.

COHEN: Yes. They compared Chantix users to people who used other smoking cessation methods and the folks who took Chantix were much more likely to be suicidal.

BALDWIN: Wow. What is Pfizer, the drugmaker, saying?

COHEN: The drugmaker is saying that when there appears to be a relationship between something like let's say suicide and a drug, it's not necessarily the drug that caused it. Maybe these people were suicidal anyhow. They're saying there's no cause and effect here. And the FDA says this is a safe and effective drug. And they have actually put a warning on it but they say it is still safe and effective.

BALDWIN: So it still has the FDA stamp of approval.

COHEN: It does. Yes.

BALDWIN: If you are looking to quit, you have other options.

COHEN: You do. This is where you want to be a smart, empowered patient, because you want to think this through. The results for Chantix really are no better than the results for other smoking cessation things like say the patch. It doesn't work any better from the experts we have talked to. Many doctors say why would you want to take it since there are these concerns about it?

You want to again be an empowered patient. Think about how to quit. First of all, here are some tips. We wanted to give people tips because this is such a big problem. Pick a quit day.

(CROSSTALK)

COHEN: Say Monday, February 1, or whatever. That will be my day. And tell people that you're quitting. If I say, hey, Brooke, I'm going to be quitting on this day, support me. And then so you know.

BALDWIN: So if I see you with a cigarette, I say, Elizabeth Cohen, put it down.

(CROSSTALK)

COHEN: Not that I smoke, I want to be clear. But, right, but getting your friends to support you is very, very important.

BALDWIN: I know you don't.

COHEN: And then getting support from people in your situation is important, too, going to a support group or something like that, and also get cigarettes out of the house. Just get them out, because that way when you're tempted, you won't smoke.

And if you go to CNN.com/empoweredpatient, we have more great information for people who are trying to quit smoking.

BALDWIN: So if you want to kick the habit, you have options.

COHEN: There are options. This is not the only drug.

BALDWIN: OK, Elizabeth, thank you.

COHEN: Thanks.

BALDWIN: And that's your "Reporter Roulette" for this Thursday.

Still ahead here, he is a judge in Texas and his daughter posted a video showing him beating her over and over with a belt. But there is so much more to this family's secret than simply the video. You will hear from the daughter coming up.

Plus, suddenly this scandal involving Herman Cain has sparked fighting between presidential candidates and their campaigns. They are pointing fingers over who may have leaked the story. Candy Crowley all over it, she's going to join me live.

Also, this:

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You made a huge mistake by taking one of us. Release him. And if anything happens to him, you will always remember this upcoming November 5.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BALDWIN: Battle of the shadows. A secret hacker group threatening drug gangs in public. But these hackers may be backing off their threat out of fear. You got to hear this one. Also developing right now, the Obama administration under investigation, the White House along with the vice president's office about to be slapped with subpoenas. Stay right here.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(NEWS BREAK)

BALDWIN: Coming up next, I'm going to speak with one of my favorite people now on CNN and one of the smartest men on television, Mr. Fareed Zakaria standing by live.

And something I'm going to ask him is this. Can this country produce more geniuses like Steve Jobs, Bill Gates, given America's education levels? Wait until you hear what Bill Gates himself told him.

But, first, I want to get to today's list, which by the way comes from Fareed's own team here at CNN. And part of their education special this upcoming weekend, they looked at the top subjects American college students are studying. And I want to share this list with you ranked by the percentage of bachelor degrees awarded. OK?

Number seven, down at number seven is engineering. And I bet Fareed may have a little something to say about that. He's always talking about innovation being so low here on this list. Number six, you have visual and performing arts. Number five, psychology. Number four, education, and I should point out here all of the degrees we have mentioned thus far, each account for about 5 percent of the degrees handed out in total.

We will show you the top three after this quick break.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BALDWIN: So, picking where we left off, what are American college students getting their degrees in? Is yours on this list?

The Department of Education says the third most popular degree is the health profession. Number two, thus the song, I suppose, social science and history. But the top bachelor's degree, did you guess this? More than 21 percent of American students went for business degrees.

Also, that happens to be the most popular among international students coming to the States, getting their degrees as well. We just wanted to show that you list as we continue to try to focus again on education today.

And I want to welcome back my friend Fareed Zakaria, who again is zeroing in on public education on his show "FAREED ZAKARIA GPS."

And, Fareed, good to see you again.

We shared these numbers yesterday. I think it is just worth revisiting. Let's throw the numbers up. First, as a nation we are ranking 15th when it come to reading, reading education. This is a brand-new study, math, number 23, and, in science, 31st in the world.

So, Fareed Zakaria, I think it is worth noting that it wasn't always this way, as you pointed out yesterday, right? And as the poster boy sort of for public education you cite the late Steve Jobs, who attended public schools in California in the '60s and the '70s.

What were those schools like, the ones that produced the Steve Jobs, compared to what we have now in 2011?

FAREED ZAKARIA, HOST, CNN'S "FAREED ZAKARIA GPS: Brooke, it's a fascinating comparison, because it is just one generation ago.

In 1972, Steve Jobs graduated from Homestead High in Cupertino, California. California's public schools were at that time ranked number one in the country and public education in America was generally speaking the envy of the world. Good schools, good teachers, well-run, and Homestead High, where Jobs went, had a very good science program, very good technology program and a very good liberal arts program.

The two streams that he married together in all his products were there from the start. It was where he met Steve Wozniak, the more techie, scientifically oriented guy who founded Apple Computer with him. This is what public education in America used to do. It used to take working-class kids. Remember, Jobs' father was a machinist.

And it would move them into higher and higher paying jobs and higher and higher paying professions. That's what has collapsed. California schools now rank at the bottom of the country. California spends twice as much on prisons as it does on schools. So it is a tale of in one generation, we slacked off and declined and the rest of the world caught up.

BALDWIN: Well, you mentioned two computer guys, both Wozniak and Jobs.

And I know for the special that airs Sunday, you spoke at great length with Microsoft founder Bill Gates. And we know he is devoting quite a chunk of his fortune to improving education. You asked Bill Gates about our current fixation on tests. Let's listen to what he said.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ZAKARIA: Bill Gates dropped out of college, spent hours and hours in computer labs just dreaming up stuff. This was not working methodically toward a test.

What do you say to that?

BILL GATES, FOUNDER, MICROSOFT: Well, certainly, if my example is meaningful, it is just one data point.

Being good at math and having that knowledge was critical to my being able to understand computers, to write code, to understand logic. And my success as an engineer is because I was good at math.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BALDWIN: And we just saw your list, Fareed, engineering number seven in terms of college degrees. But this conversation seems to come back to math, math and science.

And I guess my question is, are we getting any better in that realm, given the state of our schools? Can we today produce a Bill Gates, a Steve Wozniak, a Steve jobs?

ZAKARIA: I think we can produce one or two. There will always be the exceptional characters.

What is worrying is that the whole system, the California public school system, for example, is broken. But I have a very hopeful segment on this special about this guy in California, Sal Khan, who started a Web site where he has 3,000 videos, video modules where he teaches math and science which have been watched 80 million times by students all over the world.

Gates is a big fan of this program. He's given it a lot of money. And it is really a revolutionary way of teaching math and science, much more interactive, much more customized. So there's always innovation going on in America. And when you get very down, you look at people like that and you say, you know what? Maybe we're not going to be able to fix this big education bureaucracy.

Maybe we will just to have reinvent it or do an end run around it. And this guy is one example of this. There's a lot of education reform that's bottom-up, not top-down.

BALDWIN: Speaking of hope, I guess, let's talk about debt while I have you. I want to ask you about the turmoil in Europe. We know the president is there, G-20. Today the big concern as you know is Greece.

My simple question is this. Are the terms of the Greek bailout, Fareed, are they to severe? Would Americans, for example, would we accept the hardships the Greeks would have to shoulder?

ZAKARIA: No. The terms of the Greek bailout are extremely harsh. But here's the problem.

Greece doesn't really produce very much as an economy. People keep saying America is like Greece, we're in the same trouble. It's nonsense. The United States is a very strong, dynamic economy that has got some issues relating to debt and deficits. As long as we can grow, for example, we will be able to solve many of these problems.

We do have to deal with entitlements and health care. In the Greek case, you couldn't be more difficult. They don't grow much. They don't produce much that the rest of the world wants and they don't have a large enough internal economy. I don't really know what you do about Greece. The rest of Europe, frankly, is much more manageable and defendable.

Greece is -- at the end of this program, even if Greece succeeds at everything that's being asked of it, Greece will have a debt-to-GDP ratio of 120 percent, which will be one of the highest in the world. It's the point at which Argentina had to default six years ago. That is success for them.

So I think that Greece will have to default or restructure. Greece is a -- what Europe has to hope is that they can somehow ring-fence the rest of Europe and let Greece somehow manage a special restructuring of some kind for itself, because if you pin your hopes on Greece getting back into shape, and all of Europe is pinning its hopes on that, it will be very tough.

BALDWIN: Well, I guess after that emergency meeting, Papandreou is seeing a different light with regards to his conversation with Merkel and Sarkozy.

Fareed Zakaria, we love having you on. We have a TV date once again tomorrow so I will look forward to that. In the meantime, let's talk a little bit more about that special.

Let me let everyone don't forget to watch Sunday night, 8:00 Eastern. They're calling it "Restoring the American Dream: Fixing Education." Do not miss this.

Still ahead here, a judge taken off the bench after a video surfaces showing him beating his daughter with this leather belt over and over. And she's the one who released this video.

Plus, this:

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You go out and blab it to other people, that's just unethical and that's not the way I live my life.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BALDWIN: A Rick Perry adviser defending himself against accusations that he leaked the story of alleged sexual harassment involving Herman Cain. The scandal quickly becoming a war of words between presidential candidates and campaigns. Who does it help? Let's ask Candy Crowley standing by. She is next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BALDWIN: Let's go to Washington. Quite a treat. We get to talk to Candy Crowley at this hour. We joins me with an Americans' choice 2012 politics update.

Candy, we have to talk about this story with regard to Herman Cain, these allegations, right? You chuckle. The allegations of sexual harassment very much so testing Cain. But big picture, how if at all is this affecting his campaign, his numbers?

CANDY CROWLEY, CNN CHIEF POLITICAL CORRESPONDENT: We will see, won't we? There's one school of thought. First of all, we still don't know what's there. Like, what is this about? Because we are lacking, you know, a face put to the complaints against him. We're not even sure we can get it because of privacy and confidentiality agreements that were signed.

Every day, it seems we hear about a third and a fourth woman here. So there's a lot of smoke here. So what it's done is not just consume -- right now, here's the harm to the Cain campaign. Number one, when was the last time we heard him talk about 999? It's getting more and more difficult for him to go back to the issues that brought him to the top of the polls.

Number two, he has mishandled this so badly in terms of who he's blamed, how he handled that first day when the story kept changing. And it sort of adds to that is this campaign ready for prime-time question that has been out there about Herman Cain.

But it is also beginning to sort of suck in some of the other campaigns, Rick Perry's because Cain himself has said, look, the person who leaked all this is a former aide of mine during Cain's Senate campaign. The aide totally denies it and said, no, I admire Herman Cain, I didn't even know about this, and I certainly would not have leaked it.

So it has kind of brought in the real bitterness there is at this point from -- on the conservative wing of the party which is vying to be the non-Romney between Perry and Cain. So it's beginning to bring -- honestly, if you want to look for a winner at this point, I would say probably Mitt Romney. He's only been a little bit tinged because he's been asked about it.

But right now, it looks like Perry and Cain are the two, Cain taking obviously the biggest hit.

BALDWIN: You mentioned we haven't heard Herman Cain mention much about 999. But we threw a tweet up. He tweeted in the last hour, trying to talk about, he was tweeting about Iran. So perhaps that's his way. Here we go. Tweeting about Iran.

"My message to Iran. If you mess with Israel, you are messing with the U.S."

Perhaps this is his way of trying to bring the spotlight back to foreign policy, something more substantive, as you shake your head.

Is that going to work for him?

CROWLEY: Well, as my kids sometimes say, better luck.

In the end, this -- there has to be a period on this. There has to be some way for him to stop talking about it. And I think that's going to require this candidate to say, listen, here's what I know. Here's what happens that I can tell you without violating any confidentiality. And now I'm not going to talk about it anymore. But before you can say I'm not going to talk about it anymore, you have to give some sort of explanation. Now I think there's a possibility here that the people who really like Herman Cain and the people who are keeping him at the top of some of these polls are going to look at all this as just a group out to get him. And it might not affect his poll numbers.

But I don't think that -- it can't help but hurt him a little bit. We will see how much as this story -- the story is still evolving. It is really hard to sort of look and say, OK, here's the damage done, because we don't really know yet what the story is.

BALDWIN: As you said, it's just smoke for now, just smoke.

CROWLEY: Right.

BALDWIN: Candy Crowley, thank you, as always.

CROWLEY: Thanks.

BALDWIN: A graphic video surfaces showing a dad beating his daughter. The father is a judge. But the daughter is the one who posted this video onto YouTube. The father says, not as bad as it looks.

Coming up next know you'll hear from the daughter, the father, and whether he can be charged with an actual crime. Sunny Hostin is fired up on this one. We're "On the Case," next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BALDWIN: There is a video online right now showing a father beating his teenage daughter with a belt over and over again. People who have watched this video are burning up the Internet, expressing their anger over it.

Compounding the outrage is the father's identity. He is a judge in Texas. Keep in mind he's a judge that makes decisions about other families and their lives, and now he is being investigated. We're about to show you a small portion of what is really a seven-minute video. I want to warn you, it is tough to watch. You may want to look away.

Here now is CNN's Kyra Phillips.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

WILLIAM ADAMS, TEXAS JUDGE: Bend over that bed.

HILLARY ADAMS, DAUGHTER: Dad?

WILLIAM ADAMS: Bend over that bed.

KYRA PHILLIPS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: The video is difficult to watch. It shows a Texas father punishing his 16-year-old daughter for using the computer to download video games. But that father, William Adams, is a Texas judge who handles, among other things, family and juvenile cases.

This happened seven years ago in 2004. And the now 23-year-old daughter, Hillary Adams, posted it online. It has been viewed more than a million time. The outrage is causing Judge Adams to leave his post temporarily. A visiting judge will take over his caseload. Judge Adams could face criminal charges. Police are investigating.

CHIEF TIM JAYROE, ROCKPORT, TEXAS, POLICE: We need to see the original of the video. We're always concerned with seeing an original when possible.

PHILLIPS: Phones at the Aransas County courthouse have been ringing off the hook. A fellow judge says the video is disturbing and surprising.

C.H. MILLS, ARANSAS COUNTY, TEXAS, JUDGE: Observing him in court, you would never think that he had any kind of temper.

PHILLIPS: Judge Adams admits it's him in the video.

WILLIAM ADAMS: In my mind, I haven't done anything wrong other than discipline my child after she was caught stealing and did I lose my temper, but I've since apologized. It looks worse than it is. There is a story. It will come out in due time.

PHILLIPS: In a twitter post, his daughter says "I'm feeling some regret for publishing the video, because to ruin my own father is heavy, indeed." She tells Corpus Christi TV station KRIS --

HILLARY ADAMS: These things have been brought to light and not because I want to see my father burn or anything like that. That's a hideous way of thinking. I don't want to inflict that on him. I cannot stress enough. I can't repeat myself enough that he just needs help.

PHILLIPS: Kyra Phillips, CNN, Atlanta.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BALDWIN: I want to talk now about the potential fallout from this video. Sunny Hostin is in New York for us. Sunny, it's tough to look at. I imagine that's your same reaction.

SUNNY HOSTIN, CNN LEGAL CONTRIBUTOR: Yes. No question about it. And you're right, we showed a snippet of it. It is seven minutes long. And I did watch the video. And for me it is very clear that this is child abuse. Now, we have to make clear that you can discipline your child in Texas. Spanking is OK, but it crosses the line here. He's using a belt. He is doing it in anger, and there is no doubt in my mind that this is child abuse, both physical and emotional. He is also cursing at the child, and she is 16 years old when it happened.

However, I believe that it is unlikely that criminal charges will be brought because there is a statute of limitations. It's about five years. Remember, this happened in 2004 when she was 16. It's now 2011 and she is an adult who has moved out of the home. But make no mistake about it, this is criminal child abuse.

BALDWIN: So let me ask you this. Can this judge really continue to sit in his present job as this county court law judge now that this has gone viral?

HOSTIN: I don't think so, Brooke. That is because judges are held to a very high standard, as they should be. Attorneys are held at a very high standard, as we should be, because we are enforcers of the law, tight? So there is no question that I think public confidence in him has been decimated. He certainly can't sit in judgment as to what is in the best interests of a child, as to whether or not families should be kept together. And so there is a judicial commission in Texas as there are these commissions all over the country overseeing judicial officers, and I think it's time for the Texas commission to take action and remove him from the bench.

BALDWIN: The daughter in this video, the young woman who posted this video. Her name is Hillary Adams. She was actually on the "The Today Show" this morning. Let's watch a piece of it and then we'll talk on the other side.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

HILLARY ADAMS: I waited seven years because back then I was still a minor and living under his roof, and releasing it then, I don't know what would have happened to me or my mother or my little sister. So waiting until today seven years later just about has enabled me to pull away and distance myself from the consequences.

I think he has been punished enough just by seeing this go public like this, and I think he just really needs help and rehabilitation.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BALDWIN: Help and rehabilitation, counseling. Is that the best course of action here?

HOSTIN: Well, the best course of action in my view would be to have him serve some prison time and perhaps do some community service with children and abuse victims. But I think certainly he needs counseling, right? That's clearly appropriate here. And remember, there's another sibling, Brooke, at issue. There's an 11-year-old. I would say he does not have unsupervised visitation with that child. The child does not live with him. The child lives with the mother. I will say this. I saw that "Today Show" interview and I'm appalled at the mother's role in this. She was there. She was there.

BALDWIN: They're very close, apparently.

HOSTIN: So I don't know that either of them should have custody of the 11-year-old.

BALDWIN: Sunny Hostin, you're a tough cookie.

HOSTIN: That's right.

(LAUGHTER)

BALDWIN: Thank you very much. By the way, we should point out. You can hear much more from Hillary Adams herself. She will talk to Anderson Cooper on "AC 360." Do not miss this at 8:00 eastern for that interview.

Still ahead, Rick Perry responding to those suggestions by some that he was drunk during a speech. And his answer to critics, specifically Jon Stewart, involves wine. Also, the Bible -- President Obama and a White House admission. Plus this.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You made a huge mistake by taking one of us. Release him, and if anything happens to him, you will always remember this upcoming November 5th.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BALDWIN: Hackers calling out a Mexican drug cartel and threatening them publicly. This is a move so dangerous the hackers are warning their own to protect themselves, because things are about to escalate. That's next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BALDWIN: The hacker group Anonymous is now targeting this ruthless Mexican drug cartel. They stay the Zetas kidnapped one of their own volunteers. So right now Anonymous is demanding his release by Saturday or else they'll launch what they're calling Operation Cartel. They'll publish names, addresses, and personal intel of people linked to this cartel.

Obviously this is a very dangerous game. The cartel Zetas has hackers all of its own. And if an Anonymous hacker gets caught here, instead of being arrested, they could be killed. Last hour I spoke to a terrorism intelligence expert about what's happening.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

FRED BURTON: Due to just the level of violence inside Mexico, the outcome would probably not be good for any names that are published or outed inside of Mexico, alleged informers. Having said that, though, the interesting part is this may actually cause the average person in Mexico to bring forth information of cartel-related activity.

BALDWIN: I was reading about cyber-vigilantism. That might call for that in Mexico. But I want you to tell me a little bit more about this group Anonymous. I know it's this collective essentially of activists. You call them ghosts. Why?

BURTON: Well, they are a group that has no formal structure. This is a group that's very, very fractured, and there at time is not a consensus, which is one of the reasons why we've seen the threats to release information on the 5th of November, which I think is highly probable that we'll see some names released. And the scary part as you look at this is whether or not the names are connected in any way to the cartels, they're still going to be out there.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BALDWIN: Knowing the potential for deadly retaliation, a spokesman for the hacker group says anyone who is afraid of Los Zetas should not participate in this mission. Now this.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: He lost his freedom for a while and he snapped.

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BURTON: Chilling new reaction about the man who terrorized a town after unlocking the cages of dozen of dangerous animals. Find out what the autopsy found on his body besides a gunshot wound.

Also, as the markets react to the crisis in Europe, here at home a starting new statistic about debt and the toll it's taking on our families and our kids. We're back in 70 seconds.

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POPPY HARLOW, CNNMONEY.COM: Time now for the Help Desk, where we get answers to your financial questions. And joining me this hour is Lynnette Khalfani Cox, the founder of the financial advice blog AskTheMoneyCoach.com, and David Novick. He's a certified financial planner and adjunct professor at NYU.

David, your question comes from Beth in Philadelphia. Beth wrote that she and her husband have $25,000 in credit card debt consolidated on two cards, they also have money in a 401(k), but they are worried about withdrawing from there because it would count as income earned when their son applies for financial aid. That's an interesting question. What can they do?

DAVID NOVICK, FINANCIAL PLANNER: I would leave the money in a retirement plan if possible. One other option would be to get a home equity loan or line to pay off those credit cards because rates are at historic lows and that may be a better option. If they are insistent on taking the money out of their retirement plan, take it out as a loan assuming that they are still working because it wouldn't count as income because they are borrowing it from the plan. You need to be careful because if they leave the job, the money would be due immediately.

HARLOW: Sure, very good point. Lynette, your question comes from Jason. He contributes $14,000 of his $60,000 a year salary towards his retirement plan. He's thinking about moving some of that into a Roth IRA and says his employer does not offer a match. How should he split his contributions, do you think?

LYNNETTE KHALFANI COX, ASKTHEMONEYCOACH.COM: He may want to rethink that strategy overall. He's lowering his taxable income for the here and now, and so obviously he's reducing the amount of taxes that he has to pay. Obviously, the Roth has its own benefits, though, because he's able to take out that money from the back end. He may think about doing a 60/40 split, 60 percent in his employers retirement plan and 40 percent to go ahead and fund the Roth IRA.

HARLOW: Guys, thank you so much. Folks, if you have a question thaw want answered, just send us an e-mail at any time to CNNhelpdesk@CNN.com.

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BALDWIN: Let's take a look at some pictures. Are these live? These are live pictures. This is from our affiliate WABC over Morristown, New Jersey. So what you're looking at is this crane. So apparently these two workers are stuck high, high up in the air. As I guess they were working on this church. This is the Morristown United Methodist Church. So these workers have been stuck. Something must have happened to that crane, and so firefighters are responding to get these guys or gals out of said crane. No word on how long they've been stuck.

Go ahead. Oh, OK, thank you. So the rescue crane is coming up short. So, they're not able to get to the people stuck in this crane. So there are issues with the rescue as well.

Do we know how long they've been stuck? Little over an hour, little over an hour up there high above the town of Morristown, New Jersey. So, we will some have folks in the control room with their eyes glued to this picture, and as soon as we start to see some rescue, some activity that are in this crane, we will bring that to you live from Morristown, New Jersey. Stuck in a crane.

Now, though, let's get a check of the big board. Take a look at that, up 219 points here as we are nine minutes away from the closing bell there on Wall Street. Let's go to Alison Kosik live at the New York Stock Exchange. And nice numbers here for us at the end of this Thursday. What does -- can we you know, equate this to what's happening in Europe?

ALISON KOSIK, CNNMONEY.COM CORRESPONDENT: You can. You can do exactly that because now what's happening is there's growing confidence for some of those issues in Europe are about to be resolved and the expectation is that Greece is not going to put the European bailout plan to a public vote after all.

So investors are also happy about the ECB, the equivalent of the Fed here, cutting a key interest rate for the first time in two years because the hope now is that rate cut will boost lending and borrowing in Europe to get the wheels of the economy there moving faster because if you get European growth back on track it could only help the U.S. since so many American companies depend on sales in Europe.

BALDWIN: OK, let's talk about a different set of numbers. There are new number painting a pretty dismal picture with regard to debt in the U.S.

KOSIK: College grads Brooke have to go into hock just to go to school. There's a new report showing that with college tuition on the rise, the economy going south, parents can't afford as much, students are taking out bigger loans to pay the tuition bills. You look at last year, a grads owed an average of $25,000 on loans. That's up five percent from what the previous class owed.

Now here's what's even worse. The high unemployment rate is at 9.1 percent. So once these students get out of school, you know, it's tough to get a job, can't make those loan payments. But before you get down on going to college, the unemployment rate is more than doubled that 9.1 percent for those who don't have college degrees. That's something to consider.

BALDWIN: Alison Kosik, it's tough out there. Thank you very much for us in New York.

Got some new information I want to pass along to you about the man who police say said dozens of those dangerous exotic animals free last month in Zanesville, Ohio. CNN affiliate WAWS now is reporting that Terry Thompson owed thousands in back taxes. He had served time on weapons charges, and apparently had marital problems as well.

Autopsy results are confirming that Thompson did in fact, he committed suicide and later received a large bite wound on his head, most likely from one of his tigers. Deputies, you know the story. They shot and killed more than 45 animals just to protect the public there in the county. Those animals were buried on Thompson's farm. Six other animals, those six that survived, they are now sitting at the Columbus zoo.

Now this.

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RICK PERRY, (R) PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: This is such a cool state. I mean, come on, live free or die? I mean, you know, you got to love that, right?

(APPLAUSE)

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BALDWIN: OK, so we first showed you this video on Monday, Rick Perry like we've never seen Rick Perry before. Well, now, the Texas governor is responding to suggestions by some that he was inebriated. Find out what he wants to share with Jon Stewart coming up.

But first, we have a list of vehicles dying off this year. Here are five you will not be able to buy new after this year. The Honda element lasted less than a decade, Ford Ranger, combat pickup truck around since the 80s, the Dodge Dakota, one of those famous compact pickups. The next two, you may not believe they're leaving. I bet you started driving in high school on one of these. Those after the break.

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BALDWIN: Back to the list of vehicles gone bye-bye. Say it ain't so, Volvo. The Volvo station wagon, gone. And finally, the Ford Crown Vic, once a favorite of police departments everywhere.

But now, "Political Pop." Today, we uncover a Biblical blunder at the White House. This all started yesterday when the president was pushing his jobs bill in Washington. Here he is going after House lawmakers for spending time on the bill reaffirming the country's motto and not creating jobs.

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BARACK OBAMA, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Hello, everybody. You had legislation -- reaffirming that "In god we trust" is our motto? That's not putting people back to work. I trust in god, but god wants to see us help ourselves by putting people back to work.

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BALDWIN: OK, so fast forward a couple of hours later, White House daily bringing. Press secretary Jay Carney was asked if it's OK for the president to bring god into the jobs bill debate. Here's his answer.

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JAY CARNEY, WHITE HOUSE PRESS SECRETARY: Well, I believe the phrase from the Bible is the lord helps those who helps themselves. I think The point the president is making that we should, we have it within our capacity to do the things to help the American people.

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BALDWIN: Actually, Mr. Carney, I believe the phrase you were talking about, "the lord helps those who help themselves" Not in the bible. The quote is actually attributed to Ben Franklin. White house did issue a correction on the official transcript of the White House daily briefing.

For the next story, as always, I got to bring in my friend Joe Johns. We've got to talk Rick Perry, that whole off the cuff speech he gave in New Hampshire Friday. He's pushing back. What's he saying?

JOE JOHNS, CNN SENIOR CORRESPONDENT: Well, he's saying, OK, I wasn't drinking. I wasn't drunk. But you know what happens when you give a speech. You make big gestures. You're animated, more expressive. People say you're inebriated. Take a look at the video and you tell me.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

PERRY: This is such a cool state. I mean, come on, live free or die? I mean, you know, you got to love that, right?

(APPLAUSE)

(END VIDEO CLIP)

JOHNS: All right. I don't know, what do you think? BALDWIN: I don't know. What did he say?

JOHNS: OK, he says he absolutely wasn't. And there are a lot of people who were there who actually gave a news conference and said, no, he wasn't drunk at all. He was articulate, coherent, passionate, you know, interesting, funny. So there you go. Jon Stewart says he thinks he was drunk. He says I'd like to have a drink with Jon Stewart, Jon Stewart's buying.

BALDWIN: A drink of wine, who knew? A wine drinker. Didn't realize that.

Joe Johns, "Political Pop" --

(CROSSTALK)

BALDWIN: I know, right, or whiskey -- thanks so much.

Now to Wolf Blitzer. "THE SITUATION ROOM" starts right now.