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Ron Paul Emerges; How Mitt Romney Will Fare in South Carolina; Suicides At China Plants; Car Bomb Kills Iranian Nuke Scientist; FDA Detains Orange Juice Imports; Soldier's Body Found In Barracks; CES 2012
Aired January 11, 2012 - 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: Hi, everyone. I'm Brooke Baldwin. We'd like to get you caught up on everything making news here at the top of the hour, "Rapid Fire."
Let's go, beginning with a bizarre story. Microsoft says it is investigating working conditions at this Chinese plant that makes the Xbox game systems. That's what the company told CNN after reports surfaced today that 300 workers have threatened to commit suicide over their pay at Foxconn plant.
Now, CNN has actually been inside the Foxconn facilities in China. We're going to take you inside, show you this exclusive report in just a couple of minutes.
Also, a journalist has been killed in Syria as unrest continues to shake the country. TV network France 2 confirmed that their reporter Gilles Jacquier died in a mortar strike in the city of Homs. We do have video of the strike and some of the horrific aftermath.
Just a warning. Some of what you're about to see is pretty graphic.
And here is CNN's Nic Robertson in the thick of the protests in the capital city of Damascus.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
NIC ROBERTSON, CNN SR. INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: The level of anger and passion here is absolutely palpable. We're just a few miles from the center of Damascus, and this is a crowd here that perhaps -- thank you. Thank you. This is a crowd here of perhaps several thousand people. They've taken over this whole area, they've put rocks in the road to prevent the police coming in here.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BALDWIN: Today alone, at least 19 people have been killed across Syria.
And heads up. Ford recalling 450,000 older model minivans and SUVs. So check your screen here. Let me run through this for you.
Ford says there is a risk of fire with the 2001 and 2002 Ford Escape compact SUVs. It says a risk of losing power prompted the recall of 2004 and 2005 Free Freestar and Mercury Monterey minivans. For more info, just go to CNN.com.
The man suspected in Natalee Holloway's disappearance pleads guilty to killing a woman in Peru. We're talking about Joran ver der Sloot, now admitting murdering 21-year-old Stephany Flores in that Lima hotel room back in 2010. He faces up to 30 years in prison. Van der Sloot was arrested twice but never charged in the Natalee Holloway case in Aruba.
And for the first time in 61 years, there is no "Paterno" on the Penn State football coaching staff. Jay Paterno will not be returning as quarterbacks coach under new coach, Bill O'Brien. His father, the legendary Joe Paterno, as you know, fired in November after child sex abuse charges were filed against his former assistant coach, Jerry Sandusky. Jay Paterno, the son, says he will explore other options both in and out of football.
Mississippi's outgoing governor pardons nearly 200 people, including 14 convicted murderers. Governor Haley Barbour made the call just hours before leaving office. One man let go was convicted of killing his estranged wife as she held a six-week-old baby in her arms. Her sister says it's not right or safe.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
TIFFANY ELLIS BREWER, VICTIM'S SISTER: I mean, he's in jail for 18 years. She was 20 years old when she died, and had her child laying in her arms when he shot her in her head. And he's pardoned?
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BALDWIN: Barbour pardoned 17 convicted murders while he was governor and granted conditional releases to three others.
Much-needed fuel is expected to reach this iced-in Alaska town, they're hoping, by Friday. A U.S. Coast Guard icebreaker plowing through ice two feet thick as it leaves a Russian tanker bound for Nome. This town does have enough fuel to last until March, but conditions, they say, are expected to get even worse. Look at that, just white as far as the eye can see.
National Guardsmen have been sent to other coastal towns in Alaska buried by up to 25 feet of snow in the last two months.
And smoking cigarettes -- it is worse for your lungs than the occasional joint. This is a finding in a study of more than 5,1000 people over the course of 20 years. It was published in the "Journal of American Medical Association." So researchers say using tobacco decreases air flow in the lungs, but that doesn't happen, they say, for people who smoke pot two, maybe three times a month. The study does find that smoking a joint a day reduces lung function.
And a metal pipe flies through a windshield. Look at this. The only thing that stops it from impaling the driver is the steering wheel.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Much better chances of getting hit by lightning or winning the lottery than to find a four-foot steel pole in your --
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Windshield.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes, in your windshield, just a micron away from death.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BALDWIN: Yikes. They make micron. Imagine. The driver thinks it flew off a truck in front of them. Glad he's OK.
What new evidence have police found after reopening the investigation into Natalie Wood's death? The answer is nothing so far.
Investigators say they are still doing interviews, still trying to keep this case open. Wood drowned back in 1981 while boating with her husband, Robert Wagner, and fellow actor and friend Christopher Walken. Detectives, they reopened this case just a couple months ago in November after people contacting them claiming to have additional information.
And Hostess Twinkies fans, here's the news. These aren't exactly the wonder years for the brand. The company makes Twinkies, Wonder Bread. Now filing for bankruptcy protection.
Hostess is reorganizing under Chapter 11, but it is not -- they say they're not planning on any layoffs, any closures, and it will keep making those Twinkies for you in addition to the Ho-Hos and the Ding Dongs. About 19,000 people work for Hostess.
And we have a lot more to cover for you over the course of the next two hours, including this --
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
BALDWIN: A soldier is found dead in her barracks, naked and stabbed. We're searching for answers in this mystery at Fort Carson.
I'm Brooke Baldwin. The news is now.
(voice-over): Mitt Romney is rolling. And Newt Gingrich, he's fighting.
NEWT GINGRICH (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: This is the most important election in our lifetime.
BALDWIN: As the former House Speaker takes heat for beating up on Romney, the Gingrich campaign unveils its defining moment.
A nuclear scientist targeted, killed after someone puts a bomb under his car. Now Iran is pointing fingers.
Plus, as the race for president dominates headlines, Tim Geithner is in China, pressuring Beijing on Iran and oil. You'll hear how this affects every American.
And Katy Perry's dad under fire today for remarks he made about a religious group. Now he's responding.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
BALDWIN: Pretty nice win for Mitt Romney last night. Romney made it two for two, a double-digit triumph in the New Hampshire Republican primary. As you know, Romney won the Iowa caucuses, eked it out, eight votes. So now he is the first non-incumbent ever to sweep the GOP's first two nominating contests.
Take a look at the numbers with me and you'll see Romney took in nearly 40 percent of the vote, there at 39. Ron Paul, number two. Jon Huntsman, number three.
And we're going to talk Mitt Romney here in just a moment, but first I want to begin with this man, Ron Paul, Texas congressman.
You know, Paul has already moved on to South Carolina. That's where this whole thing is going next. And today his team is saying he is the guy, he is number two, he is the alternative to Mitt Romney.
Here is Ron Paul just a short time ago.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
REP. RON PAUL (R-TX), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: We did have an exciting evening last night. Did anybody watch TV last night at all?
(APPLAUSE)
Well, it was great. You know, it's pretty amazing how sometimes if you're in second place, they talk about the first and the third place. But last night it was a little bit different. They had a little harder time avoiding the real conversation.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BALDWIN: All right. So we'll have that conversation, Ron Paul.
Let's bring in CNN's Dana Bash. She has been covering Congressman Paul here.
Dana, nice to see you. Early morning, late night for you and a lot of us.
You're in New Hampshire. We know Ron Paul, credibly -- I guess I should be asking, can he credibly claim now that the whole boom and bust cycle of the anyone but Romney crowd is over, that he's now sort of the anti-Romney?
DANA BASH, CNN SR. CONGRESSIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Can he claim it? Not sure. Is he claiming it? The answer is yes.
In fact, he didn't waste any time doing that, Brooke. I actually had a chance to speak with him literally minutes after we learned that we were going to call second place for Ron Paul last night, and I asked him about that, about how he feels about himself now vis-a-vis the other Republican candidates in the field.
Listen.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
BASH: Are you now the buffer between Mitt Romney and the rest of the Republican candidates?
PAUL: I don't know what you want to call it, but I know that we're next in line to him. So I would say that we're the only ones really in the race with him, and it will have to remain to be seen what turns up.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BASH: So he's trying to make this a two-man race, obviously, Brooke. Last night he said that he's nipping at Romney's heels. But reality is that South Carolina is very different from the state where I am in New Hampshire, and of course from Iowa, for many, many reasons.
First and foremost, this is where he has tremendous organization, in both of these two states. And his aides readily admit that.
It is going to be a bit of a struggle going forward in South Carolina, but they're hoping that the momentum for doing so well in these first two states will really help.
BALDWIN: Yes. And I've got Wolf sitting next to me. We're going to talk also just about how South Carolina is so different. It's sort of dirty contact sport politics in South Carolina. We're going to get to that in a minute, but that is the primary that's next, 10 days away, a hugely important state.
Paul is there now. But you and I were talking Florida just a couple of days ago, another important contest that comes after South Carolina.
Why has Ron Paul elected to sit that one out?
BASH: You know, for now it's about two things, money and momentum, and kind of the long-term strategy.
First of all, let's talk about money.
His aides tell me that he's going to pour about a million dollars into South Carolina. They're hoping that that is going to be a good showing for him. But long term, what he is really making clear, Brooke, is that whether he wins the nomination or not, he wants to keep his movement -- he calls it a movement -- he wants to keep it going, and going probably all the way to the Republican Convention in Tampa.
So, in order to do that, he's got to rack up as many delegates as he can in order to have leverage to really have an impact there. And in Florida, the rules are, winner takes all. So, whomever wins the Florida primary gets the 50 delegates. And obviously, he doesn't think he's going to do that. He doesn't think he can win that for lots of reasons, primarily that it costs about $10 million minimum to spend there in order to do remotely well.
So it doesn't make a lot of sense for him to try to compete there. More sense, his campaign thinks, to go to some of the caucus states which are next where he can really rack those delegates up -- Brooke.
BALDWIN: So, beyond this movement and not -- doesn't have the money, perhaps, in Florida, what else in terms of strategy does camp Ron Paul have? And at what point do they I guess throw their hands up in the air and say enough is enough?
BASH: I would not look for that point anytime soon, throwing their hands up in the air. I mean, they really, really feel that they have the wind at their back right now.
Remember, this was the little engine that could, so to speak, for years and years and years. We were here in New Hampshire four years ago, and barely anybody paid attention to him. Maybe rightly so. He got less than eight percent in the polls. And now look how he finished this time around.
He claims -- and I think he's right about this -- that he didn't change his talking about the issues at all. As he said, the electorate changed, the issues changed. And people are very upset right now about the government being too big, about spending too much. And that fits right into his message.
And they definitely feel that they are gaining momentum. And the thing that you cannot underestimate are the young people.
We saw it very late into the night last night at his headquarters, and you definitely saw it this morning in South Carolina, and definitely across the country. Those are the people who have the energy, and they're really getting out for him. They're traveling all over the country to help organize in these states, and that kind of organic help you can't -- you really have to pay attention to.
BALDWIN: You can't deny it. You can't deny it.
Dana Bash, thank you, of course, in New Hampshire.
I've got Wolf Blitzer sitting right by my side.
So, obviously, Mitt Romney has a lot to brag about. What, you projected his victory around 8:00 last night?
WOLF BLITZER, HOST, CNN'S THE SITUATION ROOM: The polls in the state closed at 8:00, and at 8:00 we projected that Mitt Romney was the winner based on the numbers, the official numbers that already came in, plus the exit poll numbers. And if you take a look at the exit poll numbers that we got, it was very close to the final numbers.
BALDWIN: Now, he obviously would love to do a one, two, three, three being South Carolina. My question to you is, can he lose?
BLITZER: Yes. He can still lose. It's unlikely, but he can still lose.
In 10 days we've got South Carolina. That's a long time to see if Newt Gingrich, for example, who is from neighboring Georgia, he's got a base in South Carolina, if he spends enough money, does enough work, tries to pound away at Mitt Romney -- and they're going to be throwing about $3.5 million in negative attack ads against Mitt Romney. Ron Paul presumably will do the same thing. If they go after Mitt Romney -- we know Santorum is going to do it, the other candidate -- Huntsman is going to do it. So Mitt Romney has got his work cut out for him.
He does have a lot of money. And the difference between Iowa and South Carolina, they really went after Newt Gingrich in Iowa. He didn't respond. In South Carolina, Mitt Romney will respond.
BALDWIN: Talk to me about South Carolina. You've covered this for years and year. And Dana sort of hit on this. Things get really dirty in South Carolina.
Why is that?
BLITZER: I don't know, but I remember the 2000 campaign, the Republican campaign in South Carolina, and it was Bush versus McCain. And then all of a sudden, these rumors started circulating, these flyers, McCain's illegitimate black daughter, stuff like that. He has an adopted daughter from India.
And all of these ugly, nasty rumors that hurt McCain in South Carolina. And we might see that, we might not see it.
What we will see is a bitter fight on television in these ads between Romney and Gingrich and Ron Paul, to a certain degree, as well. So it will get ugly. I don't think it's going to get as nasty as it was in 2000.
BALDWIN: Speaking of the ads, looking ahead to Florida, we've now seen the Mitt Romney ad. This is the first Spanish-speaking -- it's actually his son, his Spanish-speaking son. Great accent.
BLITZER: Do you have a clip of it?
BALDWIN: Guys, do we have the clip of "Nosotros"?
Yes. Let's play it.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
CRAIG ROMNEY, MITT ROMNEY'S SON: (SPEAKING SPANISH).
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BALDWIN: So that is one of his sons speaking Spanish. At the very end, you can hear Mitt Romney, in Spanish, saying, "I'm Mitt Romney and I approved this message." That coveted Hispanic vote, not as important for the nomination but crucial for general elections?
BLITZER: He's going to have a problem though, because he has already said he would veto the Dream Act, for example, that a lot of Latinos and Hispanics would really like to see happen.
BALDWIN: Are really behind.
BLITZER: Yes. If you have an opportunity, if you went to high school, you lived here your whole life, you stay and get a college education and all of that. So he's going to have some problems, although this is a very effective ad if you see it.
And I like the way he says in Spanish at the end, "I'm Mitt Romney and I approved this ad."
BALDWIN: He does.
BLITZER: You know, it's very --
(CROSSTALK)
BALDWIN: He does. I tweeted it out.
If you want to see it, @BrookeBCNN.
Wolf Blitzer, thank you. See you next hour.
BLITZER: Thank you. You did an excellent job last night, by the way.
BALDWIN: Thank you very much.
BLITZER: The social media. Did you enjoy it?
BALDWIN: I loved it.
BLITZER: Yes. You'll do it again?
BALDWIN: I'll see you at the South Carolina primary.
BLITZER: OK. Good. Thank you.
BALDWIN: All right.
Moving on -- Colorado. Mystery there. Workers in a plant -- also, we're going to talk about this -- workers in a plant that makes Microsoft Xbox gaming systems are reportedly threatening suicide. This is all over this dispute over pay and poor working conditions.
Coming up next, we're going to hear from Microsoft and take a look at the same sort of situation that happened just two years ago at a Chinese plant that made Apple products.
What is happening and why? That's coming up.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
BALDWIN: Hundreds of workers at a plant that makes Microsoft Xboxes are reportedly threatening to kill themselves. They're apparently quite upset about raises and robots at this particular plant in China.
Let's pull the map out just so you can see what we're talking about. This is a Foxconn plant. This is located in Wuhan. The workers say they're not getting enough money, and they're worried about being replaced by manufacturing equipment.
Here is what Microsoft has told us because of this story. They're saying, "Microsoft takes working conditions in the factories that manufacture its products very seriously, and we are currently investigating the issue."
Now, this Chinese company, Foxconn, makes brand name electronics. In fact, back in 2010, Foxconn was in the news after 18 workers committed suicide by jumping off the buildings in another city with this company.
CNN's John Vause got an exclusive look at the factory's conditions then.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
JOHN VAUSE, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Rarely does the world's biggest supplier of electronic and computer parts open up to the outside world. Foxconn, best known as the maker of Apple's iPhone and iPad, is obsessive about secrecy and security.
This complex is spread over less than a square mile, and 300,000 mostly young workers from the countryside live, sleep, and work here. And this could be their first job away from home, right?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Most of them. Most of them, their first job.
VAUSE: And a growing number of these workers are either killing themselves or trying to. And Foxconn doesn't know why.
VAUSE: We've never seen anything like this before says the company spokesman. Workers spend long hours on the assembly line, not only supplying parts for Apple, but also for tech giants Dell, Hewlett- Packard and Nokia, earning less than 300 U.S. dollars a month. Under the watchful eye of Mr. Lieu we talked to this young woman. So, a model, happy employee.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You're happy?
VAUSE: But critics say that's not the whole story.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: They wake up. They have breakfast. They go to work. They work a solid shift. They come back to their dormitory. They sleep. It's a very dehumanizing place and the workers are little more than machines there.
VAUSE: Employees live in dormitories eight to a room, common to factories in China. Often roommates, though, will not know each other's names. Do you know these guys? Do you know their names? Do you know where they're from and all that kind of stuff? She arrived three days ago. I don't know her name, she says.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: There's no real sense of community there, and I think that is one of the significant factors behind this alarming number of suicides.
VAUSE: And Foxconn admits managers have been known to abuse workers if they make mistakes or miss deadlines. "What we can and must change is the rude attitudes our managers have towards our workers," he says. And while this complex is like a city within a city, with three hospitals, fire station, restaurants and supermarkets, recreational facilities are few. Five pools, libraries, and 400 computers, that's 1 for every 750 workers. The company has set up a hotline.
(on camera): How many suicides have you prevented in recent weeks here?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Over one month?
VAUSE: One month, yes.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Actually, maybe over 30.
VAUSE: More than 30?
(voice-over): Counselors have been called in. And in this stress room, employees can work out their frustration. Even so, Mr. Lieu says another suicide is a matter of when, not if. "I don't think our prevention is enough to stop the suicide trend."
(on camera): So, what could be happening here, according to some experts, has all the hallmarks of what's known as a suicide cluster, when the idea of suicide quickly spreads amongst a group of people, often teenagers or young adults.
(voice-over): Still, none of that is putting off the hundreds who line up every day hoping for a job.
(on camera): Have you heard about people who have been dying in Foxconn, some people who have committed suicide?
(voice-over): "Some people might find it stressful and difficult work," he says, "but it's not a problem for me," because for many young workers moving to the city, a job at Foxconn is still a much better option than staying at home on the farm.
John Vause, CNN, Shenzhen, China.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
BALDWIN: At least 14 Foxconn workers have killed themselves since CNN brought you that story in 2010. The company has more than one million workers at its assembly plants in China. The company has announced it will start replacing workers with robots that can perform simple, repetitive tasks.
And as for Microsoft, since 2005 they have sold more than 57 million of those Xbox gaming systems. Just a quick check here as we pull up CNNMoney.com. As far as the stock market goes today, it is trading at just about $28 a share.
A motorcycle slides up next to a driver in traffic, sticks a bomb on the car, and then speeds away. That is what went down moments before a nuclear scientist was assassinated in Iran today.
The question now, who did it and why?
We'll be right back.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
BALDWIN: The way this next story is unfolding, it really sounds like something out of a spy thriller. This video here, it is coming to us out of Iran.
So what we have is a car destroyed by a bomb after this motorcyclist just whizzes by, attaches an explosive device, and then speeds off. Killed in the bombing, a nuclear scientist.
But here's this -- this death is just the latest in a string of attacks on scientists working on Iran's nuclear program. Now, Iran here is blaming Israel, it's blaming the U.S., and also Britain for these attacks.
I want to bring in Jill Dougherty. She is on the phone with me, our senior correspondent at the State Department.
And Jill, obviously we reported on this so much, and the tensions between the U.S. and Iran already so strained, this has to just worsen the situation.
JILL DOUGHERTY, CNN FOREIGN AFFAIRS CORRESPONDENT: Oh, there's no question. I mean, there's just a string of now these provocations back and forth between the United States and Iran. And as you said, they're blaming the U.S. and Israel.
Secretary Clinton, just this past hour, was asked about it, and she's denying it. Let's listen to what she said.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
HILLARY CLINTON, SECRETARY OF STATE: I want to categorically deny any United States involvement in any kind of act of violence inside Iran.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
DOUGHERTY: So you have just, Brooke, thinking of the most immediate things. You have these assassinations. You have Iran announcing they're going to begin enriching uranium at their second enrichment site. You have Iran threatening to close the Strait of Hormuz and then you also have them condemning an American guest in Tehran for alleged spying. So it's very, very tense.
BALDWIN: It's tense, but as I mentioned this is also, this incident is the latest in a string of other deadly attacks in Iranian scientist so besides the one today. There was one in July of last year.
Take a look at this list. There's one in July of last year, one in November of 2010 and also one in January of 2010. So do we even know Jill Dougherty what's going on here? I mean, why would someone want to target nuclear scientists?
DOUGHERTY: Well, these are the people who are allegedly working on the Iranian nuclear program that is the worst, the IAEA say, are aimed at developing a bomb. So it does make sense that you want to undermine their program to get to the people that are involved in that type of research.
In fact, I was talking to one expert who said some of these assassinations are having an effect because Iranians have been complaining that some of the scientists do not want to work in the program because they're getting worried about assassination. So that could be having the desired effect.
BALDWIN: Looks like they have reason to worry and I know that some speculated that the victims here, and this again speculation, that they were members of the opposition movement in Iran and could have been targeted by Iranian forces, internal forces. Have you heard anything along that vein, any reason that might be the case?
DOUGHERTY: You know, there are a number of people who might want to have that happen. You certainly have to say, it would be in Israel's interests, it could be in a lot of people and countries interest. It's very unclear exactly who's doing it and you have to put this in context of there is a lot of political chaos going on right now in Iran.
Don't forget they are under enormous sanctions and it's only going to get worst. You have the European Union planning at the end of this month so it looks as if they will have an oil embargo against Iran, and that can really, really hurt.
So Iran right now is under enormous stress, their economy is very bad, and you're going to get -- it rocky times right now as many experts believe they're just striking out against the international community.
BALDWIN: Jill Dougherty, foreign affairs correspondent. Jill, appreciate it. Thanks for calling in.
This piece of news is just in here at CNN. The Food and Drug Administration, the FDA, telling CNN Money that they detaining shipments, talking about orange juice, detaining the shipment of O.J. coming into the U.S. from other countries so they can test the juice for fungicide.
Juice producers, they had been reporting lower levels of fungicide in some batches. It's considered an unlawful pesticide, chemical residue under U.S. law. Here's their concern.
That the U.S. will then flat out ban oranges from Brazil and that that alone could push orange juice futures up. In fact, it did just yesterday. Brazil is the world's largest orange producer.
If you want to read a little bit more about that, again, that's at cnnmoney.com.
Now to this, there's a mystery in Colorado. A soldier from Texas found dead in her barracks. What happened to her? We're going to take you live to Texas where see's from after this quick break.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
BALDWIN: Someone killed a soldier and left her body in the barracks of Fort Carson. That's an army base in Colorado. Army investigators are not saying a lot about how Brandy Fontenaux died, except for the fact that it was a homicide.
But our affiliate, KKTV, in Colorado is reporting that a family member says Fontenaux was naked and stabbed. The relative also told KKTV that a sergeant was found in another room covered in blood.
Fonteneaux was 28 years of age, a food service specialist for the army. She was from Houston. And joining me by phone is Crystal Solomon from our Texas affiliate, KIAH. Crystal, I know your station was able to talk to Fonteneaux's sister. What did she say?
CRYSTAL SOLOMON, KIAH (via telephone): Well, she was very upset when we did approach her at their home. She basically didn't really want to go into talking about her sister, but she said that, you know, her sister knew what kind of relationship they had.
And her sister would know how much she will miss her. But the only thing that caught us off guard was she said all military people that come back from Iraq need medical treatment for the rest of their lives. And she wouldn't go into details about that, but she kept repeating it that to us.
BALDWIN: Had Brandy deployed to Iraq? Do we know who she was referring to?
SOLOMON: No, she had not. From what we know, she was not deployed. But she did state that anyone who comes back from serving in Iraq, they need to get medical treatment for the rest of their lives. And she just kept saying, you know, repeating that to us.
BALDWIN: Your station also interviewed a friend of Brandy Fonteneaux from Texas Southern University? Who is he? What did he tell you?
SOLOMON: Well, we interviewed a good friend of hers, Herman Shelton, and basically, he talked about this girl was really loved in the Houston area. She went to PSU. She was an outstanding track star from high school into college.
He talked about, you know, that it was sad, you know, because this girl was always nice and friendly, always had a smile on her face. You know, you could just tell from even when we looked at her Facebook page, there were just so many people there that reached out and you know, really were just in shock by this happening to this person.
BALDWIN: So, bottom line, army not saying much. It's obviously an active investigation. Is there anything else you can tell me about what your TV station has found out?
SOLOMON: Well, I mean, at this time, you know, we did go on her Facebook page, and from the pictures that we saw, you could tell that she was very active and you know, within the army, and she was -- you know, she expressed how she was happy to go join, and we just don't know what happened from there, though.
BALDWIN: She's 28 years of age, college educated. It's sad and hopefully the army will get to the bottom of this. Crystal Solomon, I appreciate you calling in. Thank you.
Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney is now two for two. He has come out on top on both the Iowa caucuses and the New Hampshire primary. Coming up next, Gloria Borger is back. She's going to talk about the attacks Mitt Romney by other candidates and if he will survive them. Be right back.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
BALDWIN: The race for the president has now headed south, to South Carolina. But before we talk about that, let's recall where we had now been.
So we had the Iowa caucuses that was back on January 3rd leading the way there, Mitt Romney then Rick Santorum then Ron Paul. They finished one, two, three.
Last night, you had New Hampshire, Romney, Paul and Huntsman, one, two and three. So Romney has swept the first two contests heading into South Carolina and then following up in Florida.
Here with me now, chief political analyst, Gloria Borger who worked nice and late last night as well. It's nice to see you back in here.
GLORIA BORGER, CNN CHIEF POLITICAL ANALYST: Nice seeing you. You look so cheery.
BALDWIN: That's what all the bright lights do to me. See me in two hours, I'll be exhausted. So what exactly is different with the race today, let's say this moment versus like 12 hours ago?
BORGER: OK, first of all, Romney is now clearly the favorite to win the nomination, and if he wins in South Carolina, I think we could then say that he is the presumptive nominee. The interesting thing to look at about what Mitt Romney did was that he was really able to consolidate the Republican base. Now, in New Hampshire, OK, but he won with Tea Partiers, he won with self- identified conservatives and he won with Evangelicals, very important for him as he heads to South Carolina.
Also he won so he raises money off of this, which is also important. We've learned today that he raised $24 million over the last three months. He's got $19 million cash on hand.
So if Mitt Romney is going to be defeated, chances are he's going to have to do it to himself and really mess up along the line somewhere, which, by the way, any candidate is capable of doing.
BALDWIN: He could.
BORGER: But he seems to be really well on his way right now.
BALDWIN: Well, Newt Gingrich would like to stop him, obviously, and he is continuing those negative attacks today. He's continuing to attack Romney's background at Bain Capital, a private equity firm. Talking this whole, you know, capitalistic narratives. Let's listen to Newt Gingrich. This is from today.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
NEWT GINGRICH (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: I think it's funny that on the one hand he wants to run around touting his record. On the other hand, if anybody asks a question about his record, he hides behind an entire framework. To question the facts is to be anti-capitalist. That is nonsense. Baloney I think is the term I was using the other morning.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BALDWIN: So are we going to be hearing from Mitt Romney combating that line?
BORGER: I think we will. I mean, I've been talking to people in the Romney camp. Clearly, they were sort of thrown for a loop by this kind of attack. It's just so early on. It's not like Romney really handles it really well.
I mean, Romney telling people, you know, I know what it's like to be afraid of getting a pink slip, Harvard business school graduate -- it sounded a little inauthentic.
I think what we saw last night when Romney sort of took on Newt Gingrich directly, called the attacks from Newt Gingrich and Rick Perry, by the way, desperate.
BALDWIN: Didn't name them by name.
BORGER: Didn't name them by name, but we knew --
BALDWIN: They were Republicans. BORGER: Right and then, you know, this morning in an interview with Soledad O'Brien on CNN, Romney made the case again saying essentially that Gingrich and Perry were playing right into the hands of Barack Obama.
And were becoming, and this is a quote, witnesses for the prosecution. So he's not going to stand there and take it, and his "Super PAC" -- now, again, he doesn't direct his "Super PAC," there is a wall. But his "Super PAC" is probably, I would have to guess, coming out with an ad rebutting all of this Bain stuff.
BALDWIN: Thirty second, might this come back and bite Gingrich?
BORGER: It could. It absolutely could. You know, every Republican I talked to in Washington is completely horrified by these attacks. They're like why do we want to eat our own, why do we want hand this issue to Barack Obama.
Even RUSH Limbaugh is out there saying, you know what, this isn't going to work. Now to be fair to Newt Gingrich, South Carolina is very conservative, 9.9 percent unemployment. The attacks could work, and don't forget, he's also taking on Romney ones issue of abortion and his flip-flopping on that position.
BALDWIN: Which could play well --
BORGER: Which could play well, which, by the way is a very legitimate thing to raise about Mitt Romney if you're talking to evangelical voters and very conservative voters.
BALDWIN: Gloria Borger, thank you very much.
BORGER: Sure, my pleasure. Great to be here in Atlanta.
BALDWIN: See you next time. We have all seen it, homes in foreclosure, people scrambling just to pay their mortgages, the economy slow to recover.
One man says he has the answer to both those problems. So coming up next, the possible solutions to our housing crisis and our in the dump economy.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
BALDWIN: If you want to fix the economy, you have to fix housing. That is the message Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke is sending to Capitol Hill. The feds have been doing what it can to push mortgage rates to new lows, and now he's looking to the rest of Washington to help.
In a report to Congress, let me tell you what Bernanke is saying, and I'm quoting him. "Restoring the health of the housing market is a necessary part of a broader strategy for economic recovery," end quote.
How big, though, how big is the impact of the real estate collapse on average Americans? According to the fed, house prices are down 33 percent. This is from the peak in 2006.
The resulting loss to American households, perhaps your own, look at this number, $7 trillion so how do you fix it? How do you fix housing? I want to bring Chris Mayer. He's one of the authors of this paper that proposes setting off a tsunami of mortgage refinancing.
He is a real estate professor, laughing at the word tsunami I believe, and co-director of the Richmond Center for Business Law and Public Policy at the Columbia Business School -- it's quite the title.
Let's get to this, Chris. You know, look, this isn't something that homeowners want to hear, that they're paying more than they need to each and every month. How many Americans, first of all, are we talking about and how much more?
CHRISTOPHER MAYER, REAL ESTATE PROFESSOR, COLUMBIA BUSINESS SCHOOL: Well, there are about 8 million American households that are paying 6 percent or more on their mortgage when mortgage rates are below 4 percent. That's just 8 million government guaranteed loans and there are millions more out there as well.
BALDWIN: OK, so why aren't more people refinancing?
MAYER: Well, I mean, unfortunately, I think the Federal Reserve report that Chairman Bernanke delivered to Congress, really, the white paper does an excellent job of laying out some of the issues.
You know, there are fees that the government charges people, and there are other impediments to doing refinancing. These are what I really consider to be a very, very strict interpretation of what conservatorship of what Fannie Mae or Freddie Mac is.
I think, you know, certainly one reads comments by not only in this white paper, but various Federal Reserve members who also believe that, you know, holding back credit to this extent is really having a material harm on the housing market.
BALDWIN: OK, so let's get to the fix because this is going to make people's ears perk up. I know you co-authored this paper, but you're calling it Columbia Glen Hubbard's. The message was get Americans to refinance, putting money back in their pockets, back in the economy. Would this apply only to folks with Fannie and Freddie back loans?
MAYER: Under our proposal, this also Allen Voice of the (inaudible) project was involved in this as well. This would involve, you know, refinancing what we think would be up to 20 million or more mortgages.
The average person would save about $2,300 a month -- a year in mortgage payments. In the aggregate it might put incrementally as much as $40 billion or $50 billion per year back into the economy.
It would prevent what we think is hundreds of thousands of coming foreclosures and other points that the Federal Reserve talked about in the document. We think it would not negatively impact the deficit.
In fact, if done appropriately would actually help the deficit. So we think this is one of the few things that are sitting around that's actually low-hanging fruit to kind of help the economy.
BALDWIN: So I just have to ask, cynical me sitting here, what's the catch?
MAYER: Well, I mean, I think people who have looked at this, there are a couple major critiques, but I'll focus on one which is, in particular, would this harm already fragile credit markets?
The great thing is we actually ran a little bit of an experiment last when there was a rumor floating around Wall Street that the president was going to do a recess appointment to replace the head of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac's regulator with somebody who is going to do such a program.
The interesting thing was bank stocks were actually up. The stock market was in better shape. The concern that this is going to negatively impact the market, I think, has been overblown, and partly people are sort of tooting their own portfolio saying, gee, the sky is going to fall in if you do this.
But nobody said the sky would fall in when the feds bought more than $100 trillion mortgage backed securities that helped those same bond holders. So you know, the government intervening in the market I think sort of the sky is going to fall in is a little bit overblown.
BALDWIN: Well, $2,300, even if that's what you're saving a year, that's a nice bit of change. Chris Mayer, we'll follow this and see where it goes, if Americans do refinance. Thank you so much. It's nice to have you on.
Coming, look who's ready to talk nerdy with me as she says, Katie Linendoll rocking out. I'm a guitar player. I had no idea. Whatever she's doing, we're going to do more of it after the break. Stay here.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
BALDWIN: All the technology that will blow your mind in 2012 is in one spot right now, that being Vegas, baby, site of the Consumer Electronics Show, CES, the annual celebration of everything that plugs in, switches on or links up.
So this is a bit of a sense overload, 3,100 display booths. The electronics show is the size of 35 football fields, so this is heaven. Tech reporter, Kate Linendoll joins us live from CES.
Katie, we were in New York together a couple weeks ago and you were already jouncing to get to Vegas for the CES. So the floor is yours. What do you want to show me first?
KATIE LINENDOLL, TECH REPORTER: This is like the Super Bowl for nerds, Brooke. I have assembled quite the crowd already. Everybody is quite excited. So Brooke, let me tell you, I have put together a snapshot of some of my favorite gadgets, the wacky and the practical. I'm going to start right here. Videonametag.com has customized my very own mic flag. These were actually out in 2011. We saw them in some big sporting event. But 2012, talk about sponsorship on networks. I think this could be huge.
And then I'm going to right to -- we were supposed to do this upstairs, the whole segment moved just for Barengers I-Nook, this is an eight-foot-long iPhone doc. Let me tell you it pumps out 10,000 watts of power.
Brooke, you can pick one up for $30,000. Let me tell you. He turned this up for me yesterday. I thought I was going to die. It was the most amazing power, guys, you wouldn't believe it. Also if you want to talk about the practical --
BALDWIN: I want to see the size of the iPod with this massive speaker. Is this for your apartment? No. Is this for a football field? Yes.
LINENDOLL: It is for your apartment if you have 30 G's. That's the caveat. This is my favorite gadget of CES. Let me talk about the practical. A big buzz word here at CES is ultra books. PCs are going in this direction, super lightweight, super thin, this is the Acer Aspire s-5 and it's under 3 pounds. It will be around $1,000 for the consumer and also just packing serious punch in terms of power and efficiency, Brooke.
BALDWIN: Cool. What else do you have?
LINENDOLL: OK, so something for the moms. I picked up two really crazy gadgets. First off, from Whythings, a company that will put things on Facebook. They have created a baby scale.
If you thought it was annoying on Facebook to get people's ultrasounds, imagine sending their weight out every single day with an accompanying picture.
Again, it's from Whythings. This one has been stealing the show. This is a power folding stroller. It has generators in the wheels, and it is the first stroller with pack away lights. How amazing is that. Remember when you see moms with strollers. I'm going to put it back up for you.
You see moms with strollers, especially like the airport, and they're, like, kicking it. They're having a conniption. They can't get it down.
BALDWIN: Oh, my goodness.
LINENDOLL: Power-generated.
(CROSSTALK)
BALDWIN: I'm being told the folks in our control room, the mommies and the daddies both in our control room oohing and ahing over this one.
Tell me again what's it called. The Origami?
LINENDOLL: Yes, this is the Origami. It's 4moms.com.
And, by the way, Brooke,, it will charge your cell phone, too. If it doesn't get any better, I don't know.
BALDWIN: That's amazing.
Wait. There are requests from the control room. Do it one more time, Katie Linendoll. Make it little.
LINENDOLL: Oh, yes. Ask and you shall receive. All you have to do is turn a knob. I press a button and instantly it folds back down. Again, first power-folding stroller. The generators are in the wheels. It's also the first stroller to have path lights.
If you're running during the early morning or in the evening, it will actually light up for you. And something really cool as well, there's LCD screen to show you how fast you're going. So, you're taking a little jog with the baby. Listen, I didn't want kids. I think I'm going to have a child just for this thing.
(LAUGHTER)
BALDWIN: Katie. Katie, thank you so much. I can tell you're having a blast.
LINENDOLL: Two more to go.
BALDWIN: Two more to go. Do we have time? Quickly, quickly.
(CROSSTALK)
LINENDOLL: OK, Brooke, I will see you.
BALDWIN: No. Go for it. Two more.
LINENDOLL: Quickly, really quick. The next generation portable gaming console, successor to the Wii the Wii U. As you can see, brand new gaming controller. Super exciting from Nintendo.
I know we're running out of time. I want to get this one in that I love and I have been following. It's due out in 2012. This little sensor is for video bloggers. You put this sensor on you. You can take your video of yourself. You don't need anyone else to record it. Pretty nice little technology. It is called the Swivel. Stay tuned.
BALDWIN: I am staying tuned. Katie Linendoll, thank you so much.
And, hey, thanks for the crowd. Nice.
(CROSSTALK)
LINENDOLL: Thank you, everybody.
(CHEERING AND APPLAUSE)
BALDWIN: If you missed any of that, we will put it up on the Brooke blog, CNN.com/Brooke.
Katie Linendoll, love you. Thank you.
Now this.
