Return to Transcripts main page

CNN Newsroom

Iran Missile Tests; Final Iowa Push; Iowans Prepare for Upcoming Caucuses; GOP Presidential Candidates Campaign in Iowa; Mother of Little Girl Killed in Arizona Shooting Interviewed; Police Arrest Two Men in Connection with L.A. Fires

Aired January 02, 2012 - 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: Watch this.

Welcome back, hour two. I'm Brooke Baldwin.

Got to talk about Iowa, one day left until Iowa Republicans go to their caucuses. Also, the president signs a defense bill despite his and I'm quoting serious reservations. And Iran tests a missile.

Time to play "Reporter Roulette" on this first Monday of the year.

Joe Johns, I want to begin with you there on the ground in Iowa. I know you have been with the Romney camp today. Here we are one day left. What's Mitt Romney up to?

JOE JOHNS, CNN SENIOR CORRESPONDENT: Well, he's moving across the state at a very fast clip, Brooke.

He is also playing it very safe, couple of events today, didn't take any questions, made some jokes, pretty much stayed to his stump speech. That's what he's been doing for the past two or three days. It's pretty clear that the Romney camp is happy where they are. What they're saying is they don't expect to win, they're not predicting a win.

Nonetheless, they would very much like to win and they think they're running strong in the polls. So it's a challenge for him to make his way all the way across this state, four different stops, ending up one around 9:45 p.m. Eastern time.

And then we go into tomorrow and the caucuses, the big event, where Mitt Romney and the rest have to sort of stare each other down and see who's going to come out the winner.

BALDWIN: I'm curious what the Romney camp says about Rick Santorum. I was talking to the national campaign chairman for Ron Paul. He told me he's not much of a blip on the radar. What about for camp Romney and this surge, the Santorum surge?

JOHNS: Well, they're making out that they're not really that worried about it because, when you think about it, Santorum is one of three candidates who have sort of all been competing for the same votes, the social conservative votes. And the way a lot of people see it is Mitt Romney hasn't been competing for those votes. He's been competing for sort of all the others. So they might be more worried if a Newt Gingrich, say, was in second place and pushing him. Nonetheless, there's that question of what happens if Santorum has a very strong showing.

(CROSSTALK)

BALDWIN: OK, Joe, I apologize. I apologize. I have got to cut you off. I'm hearing the big call here at CNN.

This is the LAFD conference on those arsons, suspected arson fires. Take a listen.

(JOINED IN PROGRESS)

JAMIE MOORE, CAPTAIN, LOS ANGELES FIRE DEPARTMENT: ... in unrelated arson incidents where four fires and one attempted fire occurred.

The arson involved trash can fires and a car fire that extended into an apartment building. The arrested, Samuel Arrington, 22 years old, on charges of arson of an inhabited dwelling, $75,000 bail was set for this individual. Alejandro Pineda, 55 years old, was charged with arson of property and a $50,000 bail was set.

During the early morning hours of Friday, December 30, 2011, a series of 17 car fires, many which extended into structures, developed in the West Hollywood, there were five in West Hollywood, and the Hollywood communities, where there were 12, resulting in the formation of a joint arson task force comprised of the Los Angeles City Fire and Police Departments, the Los Angeles County Sheriff's and Fire Departments, District Attorney's Office, and Federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and explosives.

In the early evening hours of Friday December 30, 2011, and through the early morning hours of Saturday, December 31, 2011, 16 additional car structure fires occurred in the Hollywood area. There were four at that time. North Hollywood, there were 11. In Sunland, there was one. An additional car fire occurred in the city of Burbank.

Later Saturday evening, December 31, 2011, eight additional car structure fires occurred in Hollywood. Specifically in Hollywood, there were six. In the West Hollywood communities, there were two.

During the early morning hours of January 2, 2012, 11 additional car/structure fires occurred in West Hollywood. There were two in West Hollywood. Hollywood, the were two and in North Hollywood, there were seven. One fire firefighter was injured during these fires and a citizen suffered smoke inhalation.

Fortunately there has been no loss of life related to these fires to date, and there have been no civilian injuries. The task force has worked together seamlessly around the clock and are currently reviewing more than 100 clues mapping out the sequence of the fires that occurred, interviewing hundreds of witnesses, and canvassing the 53 fire scenes as part of this active investigation.

Hundreds of investigators and uniformed personnel from throughout the city and county of Los Angeles have been deployed to assist. Additionally, multiple search warrants have been authored and served as part of this investigation.

To date, these fires have caused well in excess of $2 million in damage to vehicles and to structures. On Monday, January 2, shortly after 3:00 a.m., a Los Angeles County sheriff's deputy, assigned to West Hollywood Station, stopped the driver of a van near Sunset Boulevard and Fairfax Avenue in the city of Los Angeles.

The van resembled a description provided by the arson task force as possibly being related to the recent fires and the driver resembled a person of interest seen in a videotape released by the multi-agency arson task force the previous evening.

The driver was detained and investigators with the arson task force were notified. Subsequent to interviewing this individual, he was placed under arrest.

At 6:15 p.m., there will be a press conference at Los Angeles City Fire Station, where we are currently located, 450 East Temple, for additional information. I will provide you with the following joint information, telephone number, contact Los Angeles arson watch task force, 213-484-4873.

As Commander Smith said, we are not privy of discussing the particulars about the individual who's been arrested due to ongoing investigation and information that will be provided to us. We will be able to discuss that at a 6:15 press conference.

Thank you very much for all of your support and informing the community and keeping everyone safe in the Hollywood and West Hollywood area. Thank you.

BALDWIN: OK, several nuggets of news here. You have been listening to Los Angeles Fire Department Captain Jaime Moore.

So we heard now about two arrests, one he mentioned Samuel Arrington, 22 years old, charged with arson of an inhabited building, $75,000 bail there. Also, a second person, Alejandro Pineda, 55 years old, charged with arson of property, his bail has been set for $50,000.

So he explained how all of this began, these series of fires, starting early Monday morning up until early this morning, 53 suspected arsons here in total. They have assembled this joint arson task force, multiple, multiple people working this. As he mentioned, amazingly, no one has died, one person was injured, one firefighter injured as well.

Working some 100 clues, mapping out fire sequencing, looking at patterns. Ultimately, this morning, 3:00 a.m., a deputy, an observant deputy saw a driver at an intersection in Los Angeles, resembled the description of a man that was provided to fire authorities by the arson task force possibly being related to the same guy, the guy we saw in the pictures, the surveillance pictures.

They were able to detain them -- him, they questioned him, and based upon that interview and the questioning, they did place him under arrest. We don't which individual that is, whether it's the 22- year-old under arrest or the 55-year-old, but they also have arrested someone else. And that's the latest. They will hold another news conference a little later tonight in Los Angeles.

Back to "Reporter Roulette."

President Obama signs a bill that he has "serious reservations" about.

Let's go live to Brianna Keilar, still in Honolulu, where the president is finishing up today his holiday vacation.

Brianna, we're talking about a law here under which Americans can be detained without being charged.

BRIANNA KEILAR, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: That's part of it, Brooke. Now, we're talking about a huge bill, about 500 pages. It's a $662 billion bill that the president signed into law over the weekend, and it's necessary to in order to fund U.S. military operations.

President Obama signed it and he said, basically, this needs to be done, but there are things in here that I have serious reservations with, that I disagree with.

Now, one of the things has to do with how suspected terrorists are detained. Is it the military who detains them or can law enforcement be involved? President Obama says he wants full latitude and he's going to basically look at the restrictions in this bill and consider that he has the full latitude to say how these detainees should be detained, whether it is the military or, yes, that law enforcement should be involved.

And then there's also that provision you mentioned which has to do with indefinitely detaining suspected terrorists, including U.S. citizens, and the president has said he will not be detaining U.S. citizens indefinitely.

The way he sees it, he can sort of interpret this and say, I'm not going to do it. The issue, though, Brooke, and this is what civil liberties groups and, for instance, Ron Paul, who is running for the Republican -- running president, they have said, no, this is unacceptable because other presidents could say, you know what? I am going to exercise that right.

BALDWIN: We mentioned the part of the provision here that would affect Americans, but there are also provisions in the bill that would target Iran and Pakistan, correct?

KEILAR: Yes. One would be additional sanctions on Iran's Central Bank to try obviously to stop Iran from moving towards a nuclear weapon. And then the other one has to do with saying to Pakistan, you know what? We give you a lot of aid. We're going to keep a handle on that if you don't help stop the flow of IEDs from Pakistan into Afghanistan.

The thing the president objects to here is he wants to have control over this, Brooke. So he's saying that this sort of interferes with how he executes foreign relations, that's his right and he is going to do what he sees best. He doesn't want Congress saying to him, hey, this is how you're going do it.

BALDWIN: Brianna Keilar, in Honolulu, Brianna, thank you.

Next on "Reporter Roulette," Iran. Iran says it has successfully test-fired long-range missiles designed to evade radar.

Chris Lawrence, what do you know?

CHRIS LAWRENCE, CNN PENTAGON CORRESPONDENT: Yes, Brooke, they say long-range, but one of the those missiles probably only has a range of a 125 miles.

But the big news here, really, is Iran trying to push back against the sanctions. The United Nations has put four rounds of sanctions and the latest sanctions that the U.S. has signed off on and the European Union may soon follow would almost make it virtually impossible for refineries to buy Iranian crude oil.

So there's some experts who believe it's really hitting them economically, and with all the problems inside Iran right now, this is their attempt to sort of push back at the idea that the sanctions are going to bully them into behavior.

BALDWIN: Has anyone from the U.S., anyone where you're sitting, Department of Defense, even responded to this publicly today?

LAWRENCE: No, not really, because, you know, they're within their rights to test-fire these missiles. I mean, it was missiles. They also had some submarines shooting at some of the mock targets, military exercises.

But combine this with some of their talk about closing or blockading the Strait of Hormuz, where a lot of the world's oil comes through, again, a lot of people feel it's Iran pushing back on the idea, trying to get other nations to feel like, if you do impose these sanctions, there will be repercussions, because the sanctions, it's believed, are really hurting Iran right now.

BALDWIN: Chris Lawrence at the Pentagon, Chris, thank you.

That's "Reporter Roulette" here for this Monday.

Unfolding right now, you just heard live breaking news there from the L.A. Fire Department, a string of arsons, a string of fires set in Los Angeles. We have just heard now two men are charged. I will speak live with the mayor of West Hollywood about how the city is responding to what he is calling urban terror attacks. Plus, a major discovery today, really just in the last hour or so in the manhunt for an Iraq war veteran. He is wanted in the murder of a park ranger. We will tell you what authorities have now found.

Also, this:

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

REP. RON PAUL (R-TX), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Very liberal.

QUESTION: Rick Santorum is liberal?

PAUL: Well, have you looked at his record? Go look at his record.

QUESTION: What makes him liberal?

PAUL: He spends too much money.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BALDWIN: That is what Ron Paul thinks of Rick Santorum. But what do Iowans think? We're going to go live to an event where Santorum is expected to speak shortly.

And we will ask, who's got the most riding on Iowa? Who's at risk at most leaving this race tomorrow tonight if he or she loses?

Stay right there.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(NEWS BREAK)

BALDWIN: And how about this for you, 41? Forty-one percent of folks in Iowa say they could change their minds between now and, you know, tomorrow's caucuses.

Folks, that's nearly half, 41 percent. Wait until you hear how one Republican congressman explains why so many voters are still on the fence.

Plus, Gloria Borger is standing by live. Is Iowa even more important than this year? We're going to ask her next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BALDWIN: All right, let's go back to Iowa, to Boone, Iowa, to Jim Acosta, where former Senator -- Pennsylvania Senator Rick Santorum campaigning this afternoon. I understand he's about to speak, so we may have to pause.

I understand that, Jim Acosta. We will just go with it.

We know he's always talks about he's been to 99 counties, doing things the old-fashioned way, shaking hands, crisscrossing the state. It seems like it's paying off.

JIM ACOSTA, CNN CORRESPONDENT: That's right, and, Brooke, if you had just been here 30 seconds ago he would have walked right behind me. He is getting ready to talk to this crowd here in Boone, Iowa.

This is one of several stops he had across -- well, better late than never. Right? No. He has got a slew of stops across the state today, and really he is Mr. Momentum right now.

He's got all of the momentum on his side, and, you know, you saw that "Des Moines Register" poll that came out over the weekend. It shows that he's within striking distance of winning these Iowa caucuses. And it's interesting to listen to some of the people respond to him at some of these campaign events.

This is the largest -- these are the largest campaign events he has experienced during the course of this campaign, and they're happening in the days before the Iowa caucuses. We heard one gentleman say to Rick Santorum earlier this morning, how do I know this is for real? How do I know you can go toe-to-toe with Barack Obama?

And he had to answer that question and say, look, our fund- raising is picking up and going from zero to 60, as he put it, in the polls won't hurt our numbers either.

Another sign just to show you how well Rick Santorum is doing right now, he's taken some hits from Mitt Romney and Rick Perry. Most notably, Mitt Romney hit Rick Santorum yesterday saying, well, you're just a Washington politician, you're a creature of Washington. Here's how Rick Santorum responded to that.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

RICK SANTORUM (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: I know one of my opponents who's now directed his attention to me, surprisingly, has said that he has executive experience.

We are not looking for a chief executive officer for this country. We're looking for a commander in chief. We're looking for someone who has experience, someone who can lead, someone who can lead our military, but also someone who can lead in convincing the American public and the Congress to do the things that are necessary to transform this country.

And that's not what CEOs do. CEOs assign people who work for them. I can tell you as a senator I did not work for the president and Congress doesn't work for the president. The American people don't work for the president. It's the other way around.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ACOSTA: So there you have it, Rick Santorum going right after Mitt Romney, saying the country does not need a chief executive officer, it needs a commander in chief. It's a message that I think we will hear more from Rick Santorum talking about as these days go on. He says, Brooke by the way, he's going straight to New Hampshire as soon as these Iowa caucuses are over. He's not going to South Carolina, where Christian conservatives you might think would be a better fit for him. He's going to go for this, and he says he's got the campaign in place up in New Hampshire, the same kind of old-fashioned retail politicking campaign that's ready to go once he gets up there.

So it will be interesting to watch if this has any staying power, Brooke.

BALDWIN: That is it the question, I think, long term here in Rick Santorum.

Jim Acosta, thank you.

I just want to remind our viewers we will take that live, speaking of his message, we will hear a little bit more of his message as we take it live as he's speaking right where you are in Iowa. Jim Acosta, thank you.

BALDWIN: I want to continue the conversation, bring in -- it is so lovely to have you here in person.

GLORIA BORGER, CNN SENIOR POLITICAL ANALYST: Thank you. It's nice to be here.

BALDWIN: This is chief political analyst Gloria Borger in the flesh. Let's just begin with this whole surge. I'm sure the Santorum camp loves that we keep saying this over and over and over, the surge.

BORGER: Right.

BALDWIN: Right? I think I read today that they have raised more money in the last couple of days than the last couple of months.

BORGER: Right. Nothing succeeds like success, right? When you're doing well, you're going to do better.

Rick Santorum has surged at just the right time. What have we seen, eight front-runners or so in this race at different times? So if you're going to surge, how about surging the day or two before the voting?

Then people -- and don't forget there are 41 percent of the voters, according to the "Des Moines Register" poll, who are so-called persuadable.

BALDWIN: Could go either way.

BORGER: Right. This isn't like going into a voting booth and just pulling a lever. You go somewhere and people talk to you about their candidates.

If you're open-minded and you have a second choice, and that second choice might be Rick Santorum, this could be really good for you.

BALDWIN: Let's talk about Mitt Romney. I will never forget when you said this, and this was like a month or two ago. He's the guy who your parents want you to date, like the end of the line, but then in the end, he's really the best, nicest guy.

BORGER: He looks better. After you start dating around, suddenly the guy looks a little better.

BALDWIN: How is he looking in Iowa?

BORGER: He may be looking a little better.

I think one key as we sort of look at those entrance polls on election night is going to be the question of electability. It will be interesting to see whether voters say, I voted for this person because he or she agrees with me on my values, cares about what I care about, or, I voted for this person because this person actually has the opportunity to win.

And don't forget, beating Barack Obama is goal number one for Republican voters.

BORGER: Help us understand how important Iowa is. Some people say, why are we talking so much about it? Others say it's the first test.

BORGER: Right.

When I was in Iowa a couple weeks ago, I spoke with the governor. At that point, Ron Paul was in the lead, and he was fending off all kinds of questions about whether Iowa would be irrelevant if Ron Paul won because it didn't -- Ron Paul doesn't seem like a candidate who can go the distance.

What's interesting is that Iowa kind of winnows down the field.

BALDWIN: That's why it's significant.

BORGER: It is significant and it will be particularly significant for Mitt Romney if he wins, because you remember early on in his campaign we kept talking to the Romney people, saying, are you going to participate in Iowa this time or not?

And they're like, we're not sure, because they had a really bad experience last time in 2008, spent an awful lot of money, did not win, left with their tail between their legs and had to go on. So this time they kind of got in a little late. He hasn't spent a lot of time there. He has spent money there. His super PAC, which, of course, he doesn't control, has spent a lot of money on advertising. So they have a shot at winning.

If they win Iowa and New Hampshire, it would be the first time a Republican candidate, not an incumbent, to win both of those. Then he'd be in a very good position for South Carolina, where the governor has endorsed him. BALDWIN: Want to throw to some sound. This is Republican Steve King. He is conservative in Iowa, right? He hasn't actually endorsed anyone, and this explanation he gives may indicate why so many Iowans have not decided, 41 percent, not decided where they stand. Take a look.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

REP. STEVE KING (R), IOWA: If I want the consummate executive that I know that trains will run on time, who has an executive office in business and in political world, that's Mitt Romney.

He will run the shop and it will be efficient. If you want somebody who understands the full flow of history and how all of government works, not just how a smaller executive branch works, but all of government, that's Newt Gingrich, Newt Gingrich, who is brilliant and he will bring a lot of things to the table and he will change the game. He is a game-changer.

There's a little risk with the game-changers, but you can do glorious things. And I go to, well, Ron Paul. I give him significant credit for what he's done for constitutionalism, limited government, cutting the spending down and going down through all that. But his weak spot is this idea of national defense being bring all of our military back to the United States.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BALDWIN: So that's how he sort of sums up some of these candidates. And when you look at the top three in the polls, you have Romney, Paul, Santorum. Other than those three, who has the most at stake? Who has the most to lose?

BORGER: Newt Gingrich. Don't forget, two weeks ago Newt Gingrich was in the lead. How quickly we forget. Newt Gingrich was the man, he came on. He got destroyed by all the negative advertising. Newt Gingrich said, you know what, I'm not going to go negative and that was largely because he couldn't afford to go negative at that point. He didn't have any money.

Also, he was reintroducing himself to the American public. He had been known as kind of a negative guy in his past, so he was kind of redrawing himself. And so if Newt Gingrich fails badly here, like fourth, fifth, he's going have a hard time raising money. He's going to want to compete in South Carolina where he believes he can do very well.

So the interesting thing to watch about Newt Gingrich will be, watch him change his strategy. Watch him start going on offense rather than playing defense. Watch him go negative. He won't call it negative. He'll say we're just doing comparisons and I'm going to fight back when they say I'm a Washington insider and I'm not conservative. But watch the Gingrich campaign change dramatically or it wouldn't be able to survive.

BALDWIN: We'll be watching. BORGER: Fun, right?

BALDWIN: Good times.

BORGER: Interesting, interesting.

BALDWIN: We'll be watching tonight, of course and tomorrow night as well, the country's first real first vote, the candidates' first true test taking place in the Iowa caucuses. Watch what happens from all sides on a special live "America's Choice 2012" coverage of the Iowa caucuses, tomorrow night starting at 7:00 p.m. eastern. Be there with us.

BALDWIN: That is it, though. A city on edge as dozens of fires break out in just the course of three days. We are now learning new details about why all of them have some sort of pattern and why two people are now facing charges. Up next, I'll speak live with the mayor of West Hollywood who calls this a new form of urban terror. We'll be right back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BALDWIN: Two arrests here in the case of an arson spree scorching streets in the Los Angeles area. They are expecting to announce another arrest at a briefing scheduled for this evening, which he said 6:15 California time. Obviously investigators just announcing the arrest of Samuel Arrington and Alejandro Pineda, both charged with arson. But investigators say they were arrested on December 29 last night. There were 11 more fires, bringing the total here to 53. Authorities think nearly all of them were deliberate. The MO here, cars set on fire and the flames often end up destroying homes and nearby apartments.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: We jumped up and we just ran downstairs. I grabbed whatever I could grab, my purse, my wallet, shoes and a sweatshirt, ran outside and I saw the building was on fire.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: It was crazy. I mean, the frames had basically started to make a c-shape so it was feeding itself going around in circles. There's no understanding with this.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BALDWIN: Joining me now is the mayor of West Hollywood, John Duran. And Mr. Mayor, you said to me on the commercial break, now with the news of these two people arrested you can sleep tonight.

MAYOR JOHN L. DURAN, WEST HOLLYWOOD, CALIFORNIA: It's true. For a lot of us, it has been a few sleepless nights with my cell phone on my pillow waiting for the next call that we need to head out again into the neighborhood and take care of another group of residents being misplaced because their building is on fire. That's how it's been for the past few nights. BALDWIN: Sure. What more can you share? We heard from Captain Jamie Moore of the LAFD talking about Samuel Arrington and Alejandro Pineda. Do you know anything more about these men's backgrounds, anything?

DURAN: I don't know anything about them. We are getting briefed this afternoon. We have a press conference scheduled for this evening where we'll share more information. But the person who has been detained was placed under arrests, the second individual has also been placed under arrest. We often suspected it was more than one person because there were so many fires being set within such a short period of time in West Hollywood and in neighboring Hollywood as well.

BALDWIN: I imagine that the fear is palpable on the streets in and around the L.A. area. I read that you called this urban warfare.

DURAN: Well, I mean, you've got to think about where we are. Hollywood/West Hollywood, we have about 20,000 people per square mile. It's very, very dense. A lot of apartment buildings, 85 percent of the people in West Hollywood are renters. So we have hundreds and hundreds of people in these apartment buildings.

And it's not about starting cars on fire. It's using cars as sort of a bomb to ignite a building. That's been the problem. I'm surprised nobody's been injured or killed as a result of this activity. We've had, of course, neighbor watching after neighbors, everybody on high alert. Any place these buildings were lit on fire we had animals that escaped, people helping to relocate pets, knocking on neighbors' doors. Thank goodness we have closely-knit neighborhoods and neighbors being responsible for each other. But the chaos it has kind of wreaked has been madness for the past few nights.

BALDWIN: The chaos -- I just can't get over this number, 53 fires. Do you think now with the news of these arrests possibly another you think this is case closed?

DURAN: We hope so. I mean, we hope so. I hope we don't get copycats next. We always have the fear of that happening as well. And so we hope this is the end of it and these two individuals will be brought to justice. They've caused a lot of destruction, a lot of property destruction. They've created a lot of fear, people losing sleep. A lot of people with these underground carports worried they were next.

The one good thing that came out of it, the sheriffs, LAPD, firefighters were all extraordinary and we saw a lot of neighborhoods gather together and protect one another and be responsible for one another in the aftermath. So we did see some goodness amidst all this urban evil.

BALDWIN: We are all hoping with you that this is over, evil indeed. West Hollywood Mayor John Duran, I thank you. Now this.

DURAN: Thank you, Brooke.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) BARACK OBAMA, (D) PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Christina was an A student, she was a dancer, a gymnast. She was a swimmer. She decided that she wanted to be the first woman to play in the major leagues. And as the only girl on her little league team, no one put it past her.

(APPLAUSE)

(END VIDEO CLIP)

OBAMA: The voice of president Obama speaking about this little girl, the youngest victim of the shootings just about a year ago in Tucson, Arizona. Christina Green's mother is talking to us about her daughter's legacy and how it lives on today. Find out what Christina discussed with her parents just before she died. Roxanna Green is good enough to join me live, next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BALDWIN: It was just about one year ago that nine-year-old Christina Green died in a shooting in Tucson that killed five others, wounded 13, including Arizona Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords. Christina was born on a tragic day, 9/11, but her life was far from tragic. She was on the student council, she was an athlete, loved animals. I want you to listen to what President Obama said about her.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

OBAMA: She showed an appreciation for life uncommon for a girl her age. She'd remind her mother, we are so blessed. We have the best life. And she'd pay those blessings back by participating in a charity that helped children who were less fortunate.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BALDWIN: We're going to speak now to Christina's mother. She is Roxanna Green. She joins me live from Pasadena. And we're speaking because Christina was honored on this float as part of the rose bowl parade this morning, and this all has to do with donating life. And the fact that I read, Roxanna, that you and Christina, you all just happened to talk about organ donation just before Christmas.

ROXANNA GREEN, NINE-YEAR-OLD DAUGHTER KILLED AT GIFFORDS EVENT: Yes, we did. My mom, unfortunately, passed away two years ago, and we donated my mom's organs. Everyone in my family is an organ donor. So we talked about it frequently in our household. And my children, Dallas and Christina Taylor, both wanted to be organ donors. And so, without a doubt, after she passed away, it was such a horrific day, and an unfortunate tragedy, but, without a doubt, my husband and I knew immediately that we were going to donate her organs and tissues.

BALDWIN: It's just amazing at nine years of age, Christina said to you, yes, she would be an organ donor. Little did you know of course the horrific news that would ensue. Then when the decision came for you to donate, was that a difficult one? GREEN: No, it wasn't at all, because we had talked about it, you know, prior to, and I think all people should talk to their young children about it. You know, we have grandparents that pass away, siblings, spouses. It's just life, unfortunate things happen. Death happens. So we had always talked about it as a family.

And, you know, she always wanted to donate her organs. My son does as well. I mean, it's unfortunate it was sooner than we ever imagined through the tragedy, but we didn't hesitate at all after she passed away. We signed the papers immediately.

BALDWIN: Roxanna, what gift was Christina able to give to other people?

GREEN: I know she contributed to three people's lives. It might have been more. I know that she saved the eyesight of two young children and possibly a third adult's life.

BALDWIN: Would you ever have any desire to meet those people?

GREEN: Oh, definitely. It would be an honor to meet them when they're ready. My husband and my son and I would be more than happy to meet them. It would be a pleasure.

BALDWIN: And, as you were on this donate life float -- I know it's this global organization -- just what message do you have to people, both big and small, as your own daughter spoke about this, a message about donating organs?

GREEN: Well, we're firm believers in donate life to save lives. We encourage everybody to be an organ donor because it's a priceless gift you give to someone. We've always believed in it. I grew up that way, and everyone in my family are strong supporters of donating organs. So we just encourage people to please do so.

BALDWIN: Roxanna Green, we are so sorry about the loss of your daughter but so grateful for the gifts she has given. At least three people thank you so much.

GREEN: Still ahead here, Wolf Blitzer just getting seated next to me. The heart of CNN's election center is actually two floors up so that's why you and I, stuck in the newsroom, we're going to chat. We have a sneak preview of the Iowa caucuses, tomorrow. Be right back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BALDWIN: Here he is, back again, back for more.

WOLF BLITZER, CNN HOST, "THE SITUATION ROOM": We got the video.

BALDWIN: We've got the video. Wolf Blitzer, everyone.

BLITZER: Show the video. You were in Nashville. Set the scene.

BALDWIN: OK. So here I was. This is Nashville. BLITZER: How adorable is she? She looks beautiful. Look at you.

BALDWIN: Do you have cowboy hats?

BLITZER: I don't wear hats. I'm not a hat person.

BALDWIN: Look at thousands of people, Nashville, thank you for having us. It was 60 degrees on Saturday.

BLITZER: And great music. You had a great time. It was so much fun. But just a half hour?

BALDWIN: No. I was --

BLITZER: You took over at 12:30 a.m. eastern until 1:00 a.m., right?

BALDWIN: Yes.

BLITZER: Then 1:00 a.m. all of a sudden, over.

BALDWIN: We continued having fun.

BLITZER: But it looked like the party was just getting started.

BALDWIN: It was getting started. And we move on from that.

BLITZER: Debbie Wasserman Schultz, the chair of the DNC, she is going to join us in "THE SITUATION ROOM." Steve King, is he a king maker? He hasn't endorsed anybody yet, and I'm going to ask him why.

BALDWIN: And you're blogging about -- your nervous about North Korea.

BLITZER: Yes. Even when I'm here at the CNN, my sources in Washington are telling me get nervous. They don't go know what will happen on the Korean peninsula. I was there a little bit more than a year ago. But this new leader, Kim Jong-un, he may provoke an incident to rally support around him, get people to think that South Korea or Japan, the United States will do something. Read my blog.

BALDWIN: I will. CNN.com/ --

BLITZER: Situation Room.

BALDWIN: Wolf Blitzer, thank you.

BLITZER: Bye.

BALDWIN: Bye-bye.

Did you know there is trash talking about the Iowa caucuses. Did you know this?

BLITZER: Of course. (LAUGHTER)

BALDWIN: Wait until you hear this. We'll be right back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BALDWIN: Apps -- they have changed the way most of us serve the web. But one guy says we have only scratched the surface of what we they really can do. He is CNN's "Next" list. Take a look.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

UNIDENTIFIED MAN: Before the iPad, I joked that I made useless programs but they are useless as a song, a movie, a story. Something like that. And all of sudden with the iPad, I can just go directly to people and say, check this out. We don't even have to label what it is. It is just called bubble harp. See, if you like it, and all of a sudden they did.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BALDWIN: Don't forget to watch CNN's brand new show "THE NEXT LIST" featuring some of America's brightest minds, including host, Dr. Sanjay Gupta. You can watch it Sunday's 2:00 p.m. eastern, here on CNN.

So, talk about Iowa, get this, they actually have training sessions for caucus voters. You are about to hear what it is like inside. Folks are taught to handle Occupy protesters and how to talk trash. CNN's Lisa Desjardins experienced one. You will hear this next

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BALDWIN: We are hours away from Iowans having their say. The Iowa caucuses kick start, as you know, the race to the White House and these caucuses are held by everyday people in schools, churches, homes. But the training to actually hold one, that is a different story.

Let's go straight to Lisa Desjardins from CNN radio live there on the ground in Iowa. I know you sat in on the lengthy training session, training these people who will be running these caucuses. For those of us not where you are, explain how this works.

LISA DESJARDINS, CNN RADIO: All right, so basically you walk into a caucus to participate you have to be a registered Republican, but you can register right there, Brooke. That's why they need volunteers for one reason. You get inside, there's speeches from every campaign. And then really the work of the caucus comes down to this here, pieces of paper. Republicans will write on the pieces of paper who their candidate is. They will count up the votes and let us know. That's it.

BALDWIN: So that's how the caucuses work. What about the people they have been training to, I guess, run these caucuses. What does that entail?

DESJARDINS: Right. All right, I'm going to give you some tips for how to run a well-organized caucus. It is a pretty big deal. I think the top of the list you have to say early arrivals to injury caucus site, those are volunteers, Brooke. As I said you have to register people as they come in, organize people, some precincts don't have a lot of workers. Someone comes in early, make them a volunteer.

Number two tip, Brooke, painters tape, right here, something like this. Campaigns like to plaster walls with signs. As you said, here if Iowa, many precinct locations are churches. They don't want stuff taped all over the place. So the precinct's coordinators say use only painter's tape and tell the campaigns only one sign each, please.

And there are always feisty folks, opinionated folks that like to speak out. The advice I got from training is, tell those folks, if you have such an opinion, take on a within the party to push that opinion. So maybe they won't take up a lot of time and they can get their opinion across that way, if you know what I mean.

BALDWIN: OK, I like the painters tape, by the way. But the 20- point agenda here for each caucus, apparently they were also warning people possibly occupy protesters could be showing up. How do they handle that crowd?

DESJARDINS: Right, here is the thing we talked about the vote with those pieces of paper. That's just the first part. The caucuses are an in depth organizational thing for the Republican Party. They go through the party platform, who they want to nominate to county conventions. There is fear that all of the parts of the caucus agenda Occupy protesters may try to disrupt things.

At the training I was at, it was interesting, Brooke, the man doing the training said the occupy protestors in this county, they are us, they are our friends. So try to treat them that way. If they continue to disrupt, call the police. Police will be ready. We do anticipate protesters and we have reported on this from outside the state. So they are ready across the state with police.

But I talked to the Occupy folks here and they say the main thing they want do is get Iowans to show up and cast ballots for uncommitted, to put on the paper, the uncommitted. They say they don't want to disrupt things. They just want to have their say in the process.

BALDWIN: OK. Quickly tell us, "American Sauce," your podcast.

DESJARDINS: Yes, "American Sauce." Go to CNN.com/AmericanSauce. Follow me on twitter @LisaDCNN. I'm really a geek, so I love this stuff.

BALDWIN: And we love you for it.

(LAUGHTER)

BALDWIN: Lisa D., thank you so much live for us there in Iowa. And that will do it for me here. I'm Brooke Baldwin. Wolf Blitzer and "THE SITUATION ROOM" starts right now.