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Video Surfaces of Missing American Robert Levinson; At Least 89 Die in Calcutta Hospital Fire; Eman al-Obeidi Struggling in U.S.; Two Kids Dead In Food Stamp Standoff; Romney Versus Gingrich; Virginia Tech Shooting; "Bulletproof" Evidence Mars Had Water

Aired December 09, 2011 - 14:00   ET

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

BROOKE BALDWIN, CNN ANCHOR: Hey, Fred. Thank you so much.

And happy Friday to all of you.

I'm Brooke Baldwin.

Let's go. Let's get you caught p up on everything making news this hour, beginning with "Rapid Fire" and Great Britain.

Great Britain will go it alone. At Europe's emergency summit, British Prime Minister David Cameron refuses to back this new European treaty.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DAVID CAMERON, BRITISH PRIME MINISTER: I wasn't prepared to agree to that treaty, to take it to my parliament in that way, and that is why I rejected signing this treaty today, the right thing for Britain. A tough decision, but the right one.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BALDWIN: Meantime, German Chancellor Angela Merkel prevailed in forcing restrictions on European budgets. Britain wanted exemptions but just couldn't get them. And now there's talk that Britain could leave the union altogether.

The deal in Europe today, apparently, as we look, some decent news as it translates there on Wall Street. The Dow, up about 170 points, about two hours away from that closing bell.

Meantime, to Pennsylvania, where the wife of Jerry Sandusky says she is shocked and dismayed by accusations of child sexual abuse in her own home. Dottie Sandusky says this -- let me quote for you -- "We don't know why these young men have made these false accusations, but we want everyone to know they are untrue."

The former Penn State football coach is under house arrests after being freed on $250,000 bail. His arraignment is scheduled for next Tuesday, when some of his alleged victims are set to testify.

We're going to talk a lot more about that coming up next hour, "On the Case" with Sunny Hostin.

Also this --

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

RANDI KAYE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Authorities say Ravi had set up a Web site in his dorm room to capture his roommate's intimate encounter.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BALDWIN: That was Randi Kaye talking about this man right here, a former Rutgers student accused of streaming live video of his roommate's sexual encounter with another man.

Today, Dharun Ravi turned down a plea deal that would have allowed him to avoid jail time. His roommate, Tyler Clementi, killed himself last year after finding out about that video.

Police are searching for the culprits behind the letter bomb attack in Rome. The blast happened in Italy's tax collection agency. We're told one person was hurt. According to reports, an Italian anarchist group is claiming responsibility for this.

And German police are investigating the link to a similar bomb mailed to the president of Deutsche Bank in Frankfurt earlier in the week. That bomb was deactivated.

Back here at home, voters want to give Congress the boot. According to a new Gallup poll, 76 percent of Americans say most lawmakers don't deserve to keep their jobs.

Folks, that's the highest number we have seen in 18 years. This, after the Senate rejected proposals to extend that payroll tax cut, which means as of now, taxes could still go up on your paychecks. That fight now heading to the House.

And a woman accused of dousing fellow Black Friday shoppers with pepper spray at a California Wal-Mart -- remember this? So, it turns out she will not be facing felony charges.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: My eyes are burning! My eyes! My eyes!

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BALDWIN: Their eyes, burning as a result of that pepper spray. Firefighters had to treat 10 people there on the scene. The Los Angeles City Attorney's Office will consider possible misdemeanor charges now.

And have you heard about this? Have you heard about the woman who police say tried to mix up a batch of meth at a Wal-Mart, in the store?

Police arrested the woman in Tulsa, Oklahoma, yesterday. Alert employees apparently noticed this woman mixing up different cleaning supplies in a bottle. What did they do? They called police. One police officer suffered minor chemical burns as he took the bottle out of the store.

Country singer Mindy McCready speaking out today, saying she did nothing wrong when she took her little son across state lines, which, by the way, violated a custody order. Her son Zander was taken into police custody last week in Arkansas. McCready spoke on ABC's "Good Morning America" and alleged that her mother was an abusive guardian to her child.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MINDY MCCREADY, SINGER: Zander was being beaten with a wooden spoon. There are scars on Zander's back, there are scars on his bottom and his legs from the spoon.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BALDWIN: ABC reached out to McCready's mother, who denies those allegations.

Texas police have a new weapon to battle drug dealers and human smugglers along the border there. That being armored gun boats.

This fleet of patrol boats will be used along the Rio Grande and other international lakes. Each boat costs more than $500,000. It comes equipped with four machine gun, turrets, and night vision cameras.

And we are just getting started for you on this Friday. A lot more to tackle in the next two hours, including this --

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

BALDWIN: He disappeared in Iran almost five years ago. And now video surfaces of this retired FBI agent who is asking the U.S. to save his life before it's too late.

I'm Brooke Baldwin. The news is now.

(voice-over): Dozens of patients are dead after flames rip through a hospital, and some staff members now charged with leaving them to die. Sara Sidner joins me live.

GOV. RICK PERRY (R-TX), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: There's something wrong in this country when gays can serve openly in the military, but our kids can't openly celebrate Christmas or pray in school.

BALDWIN: Rick Perry under fire for a new ad in which he accuses President Obama of waging war on religion.

Plus, an emotional story of a veteran's biggest battle.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: There was a lot of partying going on, a lot of drugs were going on.

BALDWIN: As thousands of troops get ready to come home, a big effort to keep them out of jail.

And NASA says it's the best proof yet that water existed on Mars. So what about life?

(END VIDEOTAPE)

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BALDWIN: Breaking developments today in a mystery involving a missing American. A retired FBI agent disappeared nearly five years ago from a hotel in Iran. Ever since then, Bob Levinson's fate has been unknown until now.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ROBERT LEVINSON, FMR. FBI AGENT: I am running very quickly out of diabetes medicine. I have been treated well, but I need the help of the United States government to answer the requests of the group that has held me for three-and-a-half years. Thirty-three years of service to the United States deserves something. Please help me.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BALDWIN: "Please help me," he says.

You'll notice he said twice "three-and-a-half years," even though he vanished back in March of 2007. And so it appears this video was shot sometime late last year.

I want to bring in CNN Foreign Affairs Jill Dougherty for me at the State Department.

Jill, I saw your interview with his wife, I read the transcript. I know that the U.S. government has and the family has had this video for a little while. The wife Christine told you, in seeing the video, she's happy to see he's alive, but sad the way he looks.

I want to play just another snippet and then we'll talk. You asked her why now, why release the video now? Here's what she told you.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

CHRISTINE LEVINSON, ROBERT LEVINSON'S WIFE: Since we received that video, we've tried to get in touch with the group that is holding Bob. Unfortunately, we have not received any response from them, and we feel that this is a way to try and reach them, with our plea and the video, to get them to let us know what the family needs to do to get Bob home alive, and quickly.

JILL DOUGHERTY, CNN FOREIGN AFFAIRS CORRESPONDENT: And I know you've been dealing with the State Department. In fact, Secretary Clinton, back in March of this year, referred to that proof of life. I'm presuming this is that proof of life.

Did you give that video to them? Are they able to help?

C. LEVINSON: Yes, that is the same proof of life that she spoke about. The FBI has an ongoing investigation in the case. So we're hoping that we'll get some results. (END VIDEO CLIP)

BALDWIN: Jill, you asked the State Department about this case just today. What did they tell you?

DOUGHERTY: Well, they said that there's nothing to indicate that it's not a real video, number one. They do not know where he is.

Remember, Secretary Clinton, in March, said that the indications are that he is being held someplace in Southwest Asia. Enormous place. That's not very specific. So they say they do not know.

The U.S. has been in touch with a number of different countries about this, and they have been in touch with the Iranians, with whom we have no diplomatic relations. So they've been in touch through the Swiss, trying to get more information.

And finally, there is an FBI investigation that's taking place and has been for a number of years. And so when it gets into the nitty-gritty of the issues, they're referring to the FBI.

But again, Brooke, there's just so little information known. Who exactly is holding him? That's why the family put that video on their Web site.

BALDWIN: He mentioned in the video -- he's saying, "help me." He's running out of his diabetes medication. Again, that was late last year.

Does the wife -- does Christine believe he's still alive?

DOUGHERTY: She does, and she's held that belief. I've talked to her a number of times, and she has held that belief since the beginning.

She has a lot of faith that he's going to get out, but there have been some very, very rocky times. And at this point, that video, if you listen to it, he says this is three-and-a-half years into captivity, so that's a relatively old video now.

BALDWIN: Rocky times, tense times with regard to Iran and the United States. I mean, is she worried at all that that relationship, that rocky relationship, will impact the U.S.' ability to help get her husband home?

DOUGHERTY: Boy, you know, I asked her that, too, but it's so hard to say. She referred to the fact that President Ahmadinejad of Iran did pledge that he would do what he could, but obviously nothing has emerged from that, and she is hoping that he'll continue to work for it.

But there's no guarantee. And the weird thing is, the Iranians continue to say we have no idea who is holding him, we have no information, we don't have him. So every time that issue is raised directly with them, there's a wall, no information.

BALDWIN: Still so many questions. As you mentioned, Southeast Asia a big place. The fact that they still don't know, that's tough for them.

Jill Dougherty, thank you so much, from the State Department.

Coming up, dozens are killed in a fire that damaged a hospital in India. We're going to tell you why police say some of the hospital managers there are to blame for this.

Plus, a tragic end to a seven-hour standoff at a Texas state welfare office. A mother goes in, she wants food stamps, pulls out a gun. Major developments in this case, sad developments here.

And also this --

Do you remember this woman, this face? Eman al-Obeidi, she created one of the most intense and memorable moments in the battle for Libya, begging reporters to save her from being brutalized by Gadhafi's forces. She is now in the United States talking exclusively to CNN. You're going to hear more of her story, an update, just ahead.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BALDWIN: I want to take you to Calcutta, India, a heartbreaking tragedy there. The latest number we have, 89.

At least 89 people perished in this hospital when this fire broke out in the basement. Most of the victims were bedridden. Worse, we're now hearing they were abandoned by hospital workers fleeing the smoke and flames -- abandoned. Six hospital managers have now been arrested for negligence.

I want to bring in Sara Sidner, who's reporting on this one for us from India.

Eighty-nine people and, of all places, a hospital. How did this happen?

SARA SIDNER, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Absolutely horrific. And what we are seeing outside of this hospital is family members wailing, screaming, weeping, begging someone to help the patients inside, their loved ones who were going into that hospital hoping to be healed. And more than 80 people ended up dying from smoke inhalation.

Now, what happened inside the hospital, according to witnesses, is that this fire broke out somewhere in the basement. And in that basement, investigators say, there were patients, there were lots of hospital supplies, and there were cars. It was big enough to have, for example, a small garage inside. A big no-no to have all of those things in one place. This fire breaks out, and, according to witnesses, the hospital staff, some of them, simply ran out and did not help those people who were absolutely helpless, sick, and lying in their beds.

Let me let you listen to what one witness said in this tragic fire.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: In such a big fire, how can only the patients die and not a single casualty from the hospital? They all came down, leaving alone all those patients, and they choked to death. You know? They just choked.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SIDNER: You hear her screaming, "They choked to death! They choked to death!" And she did mention that there are wasn't anyone from the hospital who died, but in fact that turned out not to be true. There was a doctor and two staff members in the hospital who did perish in this fire, but the rest of the casualties were patients, including children.

And you saw some terrible scenes. The firefighters didn't seem to have as much equipment as they needed. They were lowering children, for example, with ropes outside of windows. People said that some of the exits were actually blocked.

Just an absolute tragedy. And now an investigation is under way -- Brooke.

BALDWIN: Absolutely horrendous. As we mentioned, though, six of those hospital managers arrested for negligence.

Sara, what about the hospital itself? How much damage was done? Will it even be able to reopen?

SIDNER: Well, at this point in time, the government has decided to revoke the hospital's license. So that is a big development. The hospital's license now taken away, and these six managers have been arrested.

Now, we have been hearing on local channels from some of these hospital administrators who are saying, no, we did not violate any safety measures. However, the big question is, if this fire raged on for such a long time, and so many people perished in a place where most people think that you have really strict safety procedures and ways to get patients out, there are a lot of questions that need to be answered. But the big thing that's happening right now is that dozens of family members are at a morgue trying to identify the bodies, hoping beyond hope that their loved ones are not among the dead -- Brooke.

BALDWIN: Sara Sidner for us in New Delhi.

Sara, thank you.

Now this --

How could we forget this moment this year, this woman who says Moammar Gadhafi's men raped her? She is now in the United States, the only place that would take her. But this is no happy ending -- at least not yet. More on her story.

Plus, it's the big weekend for us here at CNN. We're revealing our Top Hero of the Year in a live event. And coming up next, we'll get a special preview, plus an interview with one of the Top 10 Heroes of the Year nominees.

We'll be right back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BALDWIN: Now to a CNN exclusive. This is a distinct moment burned in many of our memories as the chaos in Libya escalated.

This woman's name here in the center of these men is Eman al-Obeidi. This scene played out back in March, in the middle of Libya's civil war.

She burst into this room full of reporters, screaming she had been raped by Moammar Gadhafi's soldiers. So, security forces dragged her from that room, attacked the journalists who were trying to reach in and help her. The Libyan regime called her a drunk, even called her a whore.

Fast forward to right now. She borrowed cash for a one-way ticket to Washington, D.C. This is the only country where she found asylum. But in an exclusive interview with my colleague Suzanne Malveaux, she explains why it's been so tough to move forward.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

EMAN AL-OBEIDI, ALLEGED LIBYAN RAPE VICTIM (through translator): When I came, I never imagined life would be this hard. There's nothing easy. You have to work. You have to work.

I mean, as we say in Libya, you have to kill yourself working just to survive. And I wish there even was work. The state I'm in seems cut off. There are no work opportunities. I have been going to the employment office for four months.

SUZANNE MALVEAUX, CNN ANCHOR: Do you have any support from your family?

AL-OBEIDI: My family supports me. I've been here for four months, and without the aid they send me every month, I could not have survived. Three hundred dollars a month can do nothing.

MALVEAUX: What would you like to do? Would you like to go back to your family in Libya?

AL-OBEIDI: I am sure everyone wants to return back to their own country, but I'm not mentally ready for that. I also feel personally I'm not ready to integrate back into the society. I feel life for me is hard because everything is so different, from culture to language.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BALDWIN: On that note of whether or not she wants to return home, Eman al-Obeidi explained to Suzanne that the pain is simply too great right now to return to her home country of Libya, but she also went on to say the United States is not her home.

And we hope you're counting down with us to Sunday. It's very exciting for us here at CNN. That's when we unveil CNN's Hero of the Year, hero of 2011. And many people have been nominated, and all week long we've been telling you about these amazing honorees and how they're working to make this world really a better place.

So, right now, I'd like to introduce you to renowned chef Bruno Serato.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BRUNO SERATO, CNN HERO: I find that a poor family who has nothing else, you live in a motel. The motel environment is extremely bad -- drugs, prostitution, alcoholics. It's horrible.

When they go back after school, there's no dinner, there's no money. My mom said, "Bruno, you must feed them the pasta."

I'm Bruno Serato. I listened to my mama. Now my mission is feeding the hungry children.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BALDWIN: Let me bring in Kareen Wynter. She's live for us at the Shrine Auditorium in L.A., where our "CNN Heroes: An All-Star Tribute" will be held.

And Kareen, let's talk about Bruno Serato. I was reading about him.

You can go to CNN.com/heroes. You can read about all these heroes who have been nominated.

And he's really helping these kids, as we saw in that short clip, these kids living in motels. They need food.

KAREEN WYNTER, CNN ENTERTAINMENT CORRESPONDENT: In an unbelievable way, Brooke. I have to say, the first time I watched Bruno Serato's story, it actually brought tears to my eyes, how an unselfish act like this could have gone so far in terms of touching the lives that Bruno has touched out there.

Bruno Serato joins me now.

SERATO: Ciao. Come stai?

WYNTER: Ciao. Muy bien. Muy bien.

Isn't he fantastic?

It's so great to have you here, Bruno. You know, hearing your story, you really wanted to make a difference in these lives by basically just feeding children, a simple act like that.

SERATO: I know. The first time, like I said before, when I went there with my mama, you see a boy with potato chips for dinner, it's not acceptable, especially here in America.

And mom said, "Bruno, why don't you feed him pasta?" I said, "Yes, you're right."

She's the inspiration behind all of this. And if she only knew the magnitude of what CNN is doing for us today, she would be, like, oh, my God, because it's the most amazing week ever.

WYNTER: Of course. I'm sure she's so proud of you.

And you talk a lot about mom. Mom can't be here Sunday. All of your brothers and sisters will be. Mom's in Italy.

Will she be watching, Bruno?

SERATO: Oh, she will. My brothers and sisters all are here. A little bit crazy here. I'm kind of worried. They might scream on stage when I'll be there.

WYNTER: Rooting for you.

SERATO: But mom will watch it.

WYNTER: And what would you like people to know, to take away the most with from your story?

SERATO: I think the story is one that we can all do something about this. Just a step forward, do something about it. Don't just talk about it. This is what I want people to know.

WYNTER: Brooke, isn't he lovely? And he held my hand the entire time.

Bruno Serato, you can see why he's one of CNN's Top 10 Heroes who will be honored on Sunday in this very auditorium, Brooke, this very stage behind me. Take a look at that. And I was out here all day, Brooke, yesterday, and I can't believe the progress that they've made.

(CROSSTALK)

BALDWIN: What's going on? What's going on, on that stage?

WYNTER: Well, they're setting up the lights, they're getting things in place. And to my left here -- I'm not sure if you can see it -- they have the cameras in place.

It's going to look a lot different on Sunday, but they're making a lot of progress here. And there will be so many celebrity presenters and performers taking that stage.

But, Brooke, I have to say, what's really great about this show, you know, we love the stars, but we forget about them for that one night because they turn the spotlight on the real stars, individuals like Bruno Serato, who are making an incredible difference in their communities, touching the lives that they're doing in a remarkable way. We can't wait. We're just a couple of days away.

I also have to tell you about "SHOWBIZ TONIGHT" CNN Heroes, the live show that's kicks off right before the actual CNN Heroes, An All-Star tribute, it will hosted by "SHOWBIZ TONIGHT's" anchor, A.J. Hammer, his special co-star J.R. Martinez from "Dancing with the Stars."

He'll be there. An Iraq war veteran so that's extra special for him. I'll also be there, Brooke, in the thick of things. It's going to be a fabulous time. We can't wait -- Brooke.

BALDWIN: I can tell you're psyched. Thank you very much, Kareen Wynter, for all of us. If you want to check out -- we hope you do -- the other 2011 CNN Heroes and vote for your favorite, go to cnnheroes.com. Then please join us watching the CNN Heroes, An All- Star tribute live this Sunday 8:00 p.m. Eastern, 5 p.m. Pacific.

Coming up, if a U.S. veteran ends up on the wrong side of the law, there's now an alternative option to jail. We'll take you there.

Plus -- a tough story to hear, but one that's developing right now. A little Georgia girl, she is abducted, beaten, raped, stabbed to death. We're going to show you what her community is doing to keep this little girl, this 7-year-old girl's memory alive.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BALDWIN: A very, very sad ending to a story we first told you about earlier this week. Two children now have died after their own mother pulled out a gun and held a seven-hour standoff in this government office all over food stamps.

These kids were 10 and 12. They had been in critical condition ever since their mother shot them and then turn the gun on herself Monday. She was 38-year-old Rachelle Grimmer, and her two children.

They had left Ohio. They were living in this tiny travel trailer. This is Laredo, Texas. Neighbors say the family looked hungry. They looked unkempt. Grimmer applied for food stamps in July and her application was denied.

State officials say she didn't provide enough information. Grimmer tried again last month and again was denied. Now on Monday, Rachelle Grimmer went to the welfare office in Texas for a third try.

She brought these two kids. She also brought a gun. Grimmer took two workers hostage until a supervisor convinced her to let the pair go. The supervisor was released a couple of hours later, but the Grimmers stayed inside with her kids and she stopped talking to police.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JOE BAEZA, LAREDO, TEXAS POLICE: Throughout the entire incident, the woman basically had her 12-year-old daughter right in the proximity of her front lap in essence using her daughter almost like a human shield. (END VIDEO CLIP)

BALDWIN: The daughter while at this welfare office was sitting there online posting to Facebook about this ordeal. She updated her work status, quote, "may die today." A couple of hours later, she posted, I'm bored.

Her last post as police took action, tear gas seriously. Just before midnight, police heard three gunshots. Grimmer shot her children and then herself. Grimmer died. Her children were hospitalized and as we said, they later died as well. Police hoped this grim sign of the times leads to some serious soul searching for others.

And this next story leaves many -- on my own team here at CNN without words. It's not something that happens very often around here. This story involves this little girl, 7-year-old, Jerolys Rivera.

After going missing from her apartment complex, her body was found in a trash compactor. Her hands and feet were bound. Her mouth duct taped shut. She was just 7. Police say she died from blunt trauma to the head. She had been sexually assaulted. She had been stabbed.

Her tiny body then left in a trash compactor. An apartment maintenance worker is now under arrest. He also lived in the same apartment complex, even helped in the search for this little girl.

Right now, her family and friends are gathering in Canton, Georgia, to remember her. I want to go there live to HLN's Mike Galanos.

Mike, there are no words. There are no words here. Just do me a favor. Set the scene for us. I know it's been a very, very raw week for her friends and family.

MIKE GALANOS, HLN CORRESPONDENT: I'll say this, Brooke. As you reeled off the details, it hits me all over again and it hits this had community all over again to think of what happened to this precious little girl.

I had a chance to talk to a few of the residents, and that's what they are, shock, disbelief. I talked to one resident here in Canton City. He said he just cannot wrap his mind around what has happened to this beautiful, precious little girl.

But behind me that is where a public viewing, Brooke, is going to take place 5:0 to 8:00 p.m. Eastern Time tonight as the public can come, pay their condolences to the family, respects to this beautiful little girl.

And really the theme I think from this community is, let's for a night, remember how this little girl lived and not how she died.

BALDWIN: What about, Mike, these other two kids? She had siblings. They I know earlier in the week were removed from this mother, removed from the home, but they're back home. What happened there?

GALANOS: Well, from what we gather -- and we're not getting a lot of information, but we know a 4-year-old and a 1-year-old. Jorelys was the oldest of three siblings. They are back home. There is family coming from all across the nation to be here, to be together as a family.

You get back to Joreyls. I've had a chance to look at home video with her little siblings. Again, you just see this bubbly little girl and we hear what a sweet personality she had.

She liked to write her mom and her teacher. One of the last notes she wrote her mom was, I love you, mom, I want a dog. It just -- you know, it speaks to the emotion here. Forgive me, but I'm really close --

BALDWIN: You have little ones.

GALANOS: I do. I have two sons. You know, at this time of year, Brooke, on a Friday, in a town square should all be about lighting a Christmas tree and singing carols. And I can see a Santa right now and that's what we should be talking about.

This little girl should be preparing for a Christmas pageant. We should be preparing for her funeral, but that's where we are and it screams of how wrong this really is.

BALDWIN: So wrong, so horrible on so many levels. She was 7. Mike Galanos, thank you.

Now this --

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MITT ROMNEY (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: This has always been the best place in the world to be middle class. I want to help people in the middle class of America.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BALDWIN: Mitt Romney fired up on the trail as we approach a critical campaign weekend for these candidates. As Romney loses track in the polls, he's taking the fight straight to the guy who's threatening him. Wolf Blitzer's got more on that coming up next.

Also ahead -- life on Mars. New evidence suggests might have been possible. Chad Myers is going to space-geek out with me. We'll be right back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BALDWIN: Time for your America's Choice 2012 Politics update. Let's go to Wolf Blitzer with the latest news here. Wolf, again Newt Gingrich really pulling ahead of Mitt Romney in these recent polls. What's the news today?

WOLF BLITZER, HOST, CNN'S "THE SITUATION ROOM": Well, you know, there's no doubt that for the first time in a long time, maybe the first time that we've seen, significant Democrats not only involved in the Obama re-election campaign, but the DNC and elsewhere, they're beginning to realize that Newt Gingrich might in fact be the next Republican presidential nominee.

As you know, they faced all of their attention on Mitt Romney. They thought Mitt Romney almost had it wrapped up. Not necessarily, not so fast, as they say. So they've got to make a major decision. Do they cut back on all their attack ads, all their sniping and public comments on Mitt Romney and begin to focus directly on Newt Gingrich?

They haven't really done it so much. They've done it a little bit in questioning, David Axelrod or Robert Gibbs, if you will, when they're questioned about Gingrich. But they really haven't devoted their energies to Newt Gingrich like they have to Mitt Romney.

But I think that potentially could change if -- still a big if -- this momentum Newt Gingrich has built up over the past few weeks really continues into the January 3rd Iowa caucuses and then New Hampshire, South Carolina, Florida, Nevada and beyond.

And it looks like they're going to have to reassess. Right now, they think, I can tell you this because I've had conversations with a lot of Democrats that Mitt Romney would be a more formidable opponent to the president and a formidable challenger.

But they were overly confident regarding Gingrich. Maybe they shouldn't be cocky about Newt Gingrich might surprise them when the political dust settles. In the meantime, he's gearing up for a lot of criticism not just from Democrats, but from some of his fellow Republicans.

Ron Paul has really been outspoken. Later today, by the way, you'll be interested, Brook, I'm going to speak to Senator Rand Paul, Ron Paul's son, the Republican senator from Kentucky. He's got a blistering article in the "Des Moines Register" today attacking Newt Gingrich. We're going to go in depth with him a little bit on what's going on.

BALDWIN: Congressman Rand Paul told me he thinks Newt Gingrich is the flavor of the week and he says he has to be on top of the polls for a solid month to be considered a frontrunner in this race. Wolf Blitzer, we'll check in with you next hour. See what else you got coming up on "THE SITUATION ROOM." Thank you, sir.

In the meantime, have you ever heard of this? Have you heard of doctors dropping objects into patients, as in during surgery? Well, some hospitals are now facing some mega fines for some pretty disturbing mistakes. Elizabeth Cohen joins me live on that one.

Plus, an emotional story of a veteran who faced his biggest fight right here at home. Now there's this huge effort to keep the troops coming home out of jail. We'll go in depth next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BALDWIN: Right now, we are awaiting word from Blacksburg, Virginia, on the idea of that man who shot and killed a policeman yesterday at Virginia Tech. They say the man who killed Officer Deriek Crouse approached on foot as Crouse sat in his car during a routine traffic stop.

The assailant then took off, apparently stopped and changed clothes, was spotted just about half an hour later, half a mile away in a campus parking lot. At that point, authorities said this morning, he turned the gun he used on Crouse on himself.

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CORRINE GELLER, VIRGINIA STATE POLICE SPOKESWOMAN: He had over a hundred officers and deputies responding there. They were canvassing the campus, looking for the suspect, and here is a lone male subject walking through kind of some furtive movements, little suspicious. He was just going to approach and talk to him. By the time he got over there, the individual had taken his life.

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BALDWIN: Authorities say the assailant acted alone. They say the police response was bolstered by lessons learned from 2007 mass slaying at that same school. A campus vigil is set for tonight 6:30 p.m.

Whether it is anger issues, drugs, post-traumatic stress syndrome, some returning U.S. troops and even the older veterans are getting in trouble with the law.

One group is offering them an alternative to jail. They're calling it the "Veterans Treatment Court." Randi Kaye goes in depth for us today following one man's journey as he turns his life around and gets a second chance.

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RANDI KAYE, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): When you think about American troops coming back home from fighting overseas, you probably have this picture in your head, not this, American veterans in court, arrested on any number of charges. And that's exactly what happened to this man, Manny Welch.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I come from a very good family, and my father gave me a choice. He said, you either go to college, you get a job, or you go to the service. And so I took the naval exam and went to the Navy.

KAYE: Welch was stationed in Alameda, California. He worked aboard the "USS Coral Sea" aircraft carrier from 1975 to 1979, right after the Vietnam War ended.

MANNY WELCH, VETERANS TREATMENT COURT GRADUATE: We were sort of in the peacetime, you know, so there was a lot of partying going on, a lot of celebrating going on, a lot of drugs going on.

KAYE: After the service, Welch's addiction took over.

WELCH: I was addicted to cocaine, marijuana, alcohol, you know. They talk about drugs of choice, but whatever was available I used.

KAYE: He was arrested more times than he can remember. It robbed him of everything, his family, his kids, his job, his home, his dignity.

WELCH: October 25, 2008, when I was rearrested in Amherst that was my darkest day because I was at the end of the line. And I was tired of being sick and tired.

KAYE: So, after 30 years of drugs and jail time --

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Hello, sir.

WELCH: How you doing, your honor?

KAYE: He made his way into Robert Russell's Veteran Treatment Court, the first of its kind in the nation and a model for dozens of others. It helps veterans suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder, brain trauma and chemical dependency.

JACK O'CONNER, VETERANS TREATMENT COURT MENTOR: What Judge Russell seen were veterans coming through his drug and mental health court like many and decided, with his coordinator Hank Prouski, that maybe we could schedule a day and call it veterans day. That's exactly how it started.

KAYE: Jack O'Conner is Manny Welch's Veteran Treatment Court mentor.

WELCH: The motto, leave no veteran behind, because they wouldn't leave me behind, they wouldn't give up on me. They kept me in there. I'm proud to be around Jack. Jack does a lot for me. He's done a lot for me, you know. He's my friend today, my buddy.

O'CONNER: How's the job going?

WELCH: The job is going good.

KAYE: O'Conner is a Vietnam vet who helps veterans in trouble with the law reclaim their lives.

O'CONNER: A few weeks ago we had a situation where a mentor actually a vet lost his job and lost his house, a series of tragedies.

And in one day, two mentors actually -- very proud of this -- one got him an apartment and the other one hired him. So in one day that person's life was changed. Those mentors don't want their names mentioned or anything like that. They just do it.

KAYE: Following his latest arrest three years ago, Welch was sent to rehab instead of to jail, reunited with his family. He got a job with the Veterans Administration, became a mentor himself in the Veterans Treatment Court, and is now about to graduate from college.

WELCH: I am responsible, you know, a productive member of society today.

KAYE: His message to other veterans in need of help? WELCH: If I can do this, they can do this. Because, over 30 years of using in my life, if not more, you know, I found a way out.

KAYE: Randi Kaye, CNN, Atlanta.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BALDWIN: Randi Kaye, thank you very much.

I want you to take a look at some of these pictures here. So here's the deal. NASA says they're bulletproof evidence that there was once water on Mars. So why is that such a huge deal?

We're going to talk to Chad Myers. He is standing by to explain all of that here as he's looking at those pictures in the weather center very closely. We'll talk to him in a moment.

First, here is a question for you. What were the most popular topics on Twitter over this past year? To find the answer, tally the hash tags, it's a social media users, type in, in front of the words or phrases they want to identify a theme, trending topics.

So here you go, number 8, January 25th, the date that became synonymous with the reform movement in Egypt. Number 7, Super Bowl. Sports fans tweet a lot we've noticed. Next, the phrase I'm proud to say, the sixth most tweeted hash tag, number 5, Japan which quickly started to trend after the earthquake and tsunami this past February.

In fourth place, I don't understand why, as in hash tag I don't understand why you're not tweeting me right now. So what are the top three trending topics of the year 2011? Think about it, the answer after this.

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BALDWIN: Back to today's list of Twitter's top eight trending topics of the year 2011. Number 3, three words to live by. Second place, boy, remember this? Tiger blood made infamous by Charlie Sheen's winning escapades this year. The number one trending topic of 2011? Hash tag Egypt.

OK, so allow me if we can, space geek time. Remember last summer when NASA announced that it looks like water once existed on Mars?

Well, this week, NASA scientists say what they're calling a slam dunk sign of evidence. For this trending story we're going to go to my fellow space geek Chad Myers. So in reading about this, this is all from the Mars rover opportunity.

CHAD MYERS, AMS METEOROLOGIST: Correct, still working.

BALDWIN: Still working. Still working and gypsum. Explain.

MYERS: Yes. It's the same stuff that's in the sheet rack of your house, the wall board, you know, the dry wall? It's the same stuff that's in there, but it cannot be formed without water. Water being forced through gaps in rock, and that water -- it's almost like when you boil your pot of tea to too much and the calcium is left in the bottom? That's the calcium that's here. It wouldn't exist at all in the strato form. That's it. That is from the rover. It's only 16 inches long. So not a big picture here, but it wouldn't form like this, if water wasn't present when this little rock was formed.

BALDWIN: OK. So let's take it a step further. Water, you have gypsum then if you think, if there was possibly this water environment --

MYERS: Liquid water.

BALDWIN: -- it begs the question, might there have been something else?

MYERS: Absolutely. There's no question at some point in time the sun was warmer or Mars was warmer and it had something to -- there was water there. If water is anywhere, there's going to be some type of life.

No question about it. Do you know if you have a lake and there's no fish in it eventually fish will come into it even if you don't populate it, stock it?

BALDWIN: Where do the fish come from?

MYERS: Because the birds walk on other lakes, little fish eggs get stuck in their claws and then they fly into the other lake. Then those eggs come in. You cannot keep it, a fresh water lake, it will have fish eventually.

BALDWIN: If you take the same premise --

MYERS: Some type of microorganism will grow in it.

BALDWIN: Mars?

MYERS: Here we go, and another one, Curiosity, on its way.

BALDWIN: Awesome. Chad, thank you.

MYERS: You're welcome.