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Battle for Florida; Alleged Plot to Blow Up School Foiled; Demi Moore 911 Tapes Released; Fourth Grader Gets Restraining Order; Reality Mom Suing Web Sites for Exploiting Daughter; It Pays to be President; Big Hits, Broken Dreams
Aired January 27, 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: And now watch hour two. Watch this.
Top of the hour. I'm Brooke Baldwin.
The final weekend before the Florida Republican primary. Also, a final announcement from Facebook today. And a manhunt for the killer of a would-be hero, this good samaritan story out of New Orleans, and a monstrous home invader will die for his crimes.
All of that coming out, today's "Reporter Roulette." Here we go.
Joe Johns, straight to you in Miami where Newt Gingrich is just about ready to hold an event there. And we have heard all the people sort of talking about the big debate last night, saying that former speaker had a bit of a weaker showing. What is his camp saying about that today?
JOE JOHNS, CNN SENIOR CORRESPONDENT: Well, I have got to tell you the first observation I have to make is like a lot of people connected to any of the campaigns here right now, the candidate looking a little tired here in South Florida.
A long slog down from Jacksonville after the debate. Now here in South Florida pushing for the Hispanic vote, he's not saying a whole lot about his debate performance, but he is sort of reflecting about that, talking about it in other terms, for example, wishing certain questions had been asked in certain ways.
Meanwhile, the speaker, as I said, reaching out to the Latino voters here in South Florida, really making a big play over his support for the portion of the DREAM Act that would allow military individual who are immigrants to go on to become American citizens, so hoping that plays very well with the immigrant community here in South Florida.
As we move into the weekend, Newt Gingrich is planning just a flurry of activity across this state to try to gin up support because, frankly, Brooke, he's in a tough spot. He's in a position where his debate mojo seems to have failed him just a bit. He is being beaten in the air war here, outspent very badly on television ads. And he doesn't have great organizing on the ground, at least compared to Mitt Romney. So a tough slog right now in South Florida for Newt Gingrich, Brooke. BALDWIN: Debate mojo. You mentioned Hispanic vote. One in 10 voting Republicans in Florida Hispanic. Joe Johns, that's key. Thank you.
(STOCK MARKET UPDATE)
BALDWIN: Next on "Reporter Roulette," we have David Mattingly here on the hunt for a killer of a good samaritan in New Orleans. It's a horrible story as two little boys saw the whole thing happened. At least the woman who is apparently being carjacked is OK. But the FBI is now involved.
Why?
DAVID MATTINGLY, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, a carjacking is a federal crime, but that's not exactly why the FBI is involved here. New Orleans has a terrible violent crime problem right now.
Mike Ainsworth's murder was the 20th in 25 days just in January. And that was on Wednesday.
BALDWIN: Wow.
MATTINGLY: There's been another murder since then. The city is having a real big problem. The FBI has been working with the city the entire time on their violent crime problem. But this time, the agents have actually been going door to door with homicide detectives trying to get information about this particular murder just because of the way it happened.
This man was trying to be a hero, trying to help out one of his neighbors in distress and ended up paying the ultimate price right there in front of his children.
BALDWIN: When we told the story yesterday, we threw up a sketch. Do they have any leads on the suspect?
MATTINGLY: The police chief was talking to a crowd of concerned residents last night. He says, yes, they do have leads, they're following up on them. He said he felt good about the way the investigation was going.
They have a composite of the suspect. We can show that to you right now. He's described as in his 20s, between 5'6'' and 5'8'', between 140, 150 pounds. There is a $5,000 reward out for him. If this goes much longer, expect to see that reward go up, because this is getting the worst kind of attention at the worst of time for the city of New Orleans with Mardi Gras just a few weeks away.
BALDWIN: David Mattingly, thank you.
Next here: a man convicted of invading a family's home and killing a mother and her two young daughters tells a court he has to learn to forgive himself. A Connecticut judge says, may God have mercy on your soul and sentences him to death.
Next on "Reporter Roulette," Brian Vitagliano in New Haven, Connecticut, here.
Brian, we have covered this case very, very extensively here on this show. We're talking obviously about Joshua Komisarjevsky. What did he say about the murders of Jennifer Hawke-Petit and her two daughters?
BRIAN VITAGLIANO, CNN CORRESPONDENT: That's right, Brooke.
Joshua Komisarjevsky stood up in a prison orange jumpsuit and shackles and he read from about an eight-minute prepared statement. In it, he said: "I did not want those innocent women to die." He went on to say: "I don't need 12 people to tell me what my motivation was. I did not rape, I did not pour that gas or light that fire." And lastly, he said, "I will never find peace again and my soul is torn."
At no time during that statement did I hear him ever come out and say, I am sorry for what I did.
BALDWIN: I remember after his accomplice, Steven Hayes, after it came out, his sentencing, he was sentenced to death, we saw Dr. Petit come out at the court steps. He spoke.
Did he speak at all today, Brian?
VITAGLIANO: He actually did speak during his impact statement prior to Joshua Komisarjevsky's statement. And he did say that, "I lost my family, and my home, my wife, my friend, my partner." He said that, "I had 26 years with Jennifer, 17 with Hayley and 11 with Michaela. And we were robbed of all this in a heinous manner for what? Money."
Now, he left right after he made his impact statement, leaving Joshua Komisarjevsky to basically read his statement to the media. No one was there from the Petit side during Joshua Komisarjevsky's statement.
BALDWIN: Brian Vitagliano, thank you so much for us there in Connecticut.
And that is your "Reporter Roulette" for this Friday.
Now police, they said it would have been a disaster, an attack deadlier than Columbine.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Extremely alarming. Alarming was the intent and the goal of these young men.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BALDWIN: Two students, two teenagers accused in this violent plot targeting their own classmates. We're now hearing details of this escape plan and the one mistake that led police straight to their door. Coming up next, I'm going to speak live with a man who wrote this book. It's called "Why Kids Kill." Did these two teenagers fit the profile? Stay here.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
BALDWIN: Two students are accused of plotting to blow up their own high school in Roy, Utah, and they might have gone through with it, police say, if they hadn't tipped their hands.
Take a look here. This is the older suspect. This is the face we can show you. This is 18-year-old Dallin Morgan. He by the way is already free on bond. Police aren't naming the other suspect because he's only 16. He though is still in custody, and investigators say these two had an elaborate plan by set off a bomb during a school assembly with maps pointing out surveillance cameras, blind spots.
They were even allegedly thinking about stealing a plane afterwards to escape to another country. But this whole plot started to unravel when a fellow student spoke up. The student came forward, was on the receiving end of several alarming text messages allegedly sent by the 16-year-old indicating an attack was coming.
Here's one of those texts. Want to read it for you -- quote -- "If I tell you one day not to go to school, make damn sure you and your brother are not there" -- end quote.
And if any of this sounds reminiscent of Columbine, it's no coincidence. The younger suspect is reportedly a big fan.
I want to bring Peter Langman. He's the author of "Why Kids Kill: Inside the Minds of School Shooters."
And, Peter, from the information we have, from the information you have seen, do these two teenagers fit a pattern at all?
PETER LANGMAN, AUTHOR, "WHY KIDS KILL: INSIDE THE MINDS OF SCHOOL SHOOTERS": They certainly do fit a pattern, but it's not the typical school shooting or bombing, only because there were two of them.
But there have been twice other times that two students teamed up, both at Columbine and in an attack at Jonesboro in Arkansas in 1998. So pairs of students have committed attacks before, but it does make it different than your typical attack.
BALDWIN: What happens in a young person that sends a child down one path vs. another, a path of destruction? Apparently one of the teachers described by the 16-year-old as a young Einstein, very smart. Why go this direction?
LANGMAN: There's usually been many factors that influence a kid to commit a school shooting. Sometimes, it's more genetic. It has to do with their personality or with significant mental health issues, such as schizophrenia.
In other cases, it's more environmental. Some school shooters have come from really broken homes, have histories of physical abuse. Their parents were substance abusers, in and out of jail and so on. So some cases seem more environmentally influenced and others seem more about just who the kids were as people.
BALDWIN: That makes me think of psych 101 and nature vs. nurture.
I want to share another text. This is from the 16-year-old suspect -- quote -- "I just don't care. I'm pretty much a lying, cheating, manipulator with everyone else" -- excuse me -- "with everyone except seven people. Everyone else is just a piece."
You're a psychologist. What do read there, sociopathic, narcissistic, what?
LANGMAN: When I hear the lying and cheating, manipulating, it makes him sound antisocial or psychopathic, which is in characteristic with Eric Harris, who also was a liar and manipulator and very good at deceiving people. So he seems to fit based on that in the Eric Harris mold of school attacker.
BALDWIN: Eric Harris, Dylan Klebold, the two young men who pulled off the horrendous school shooting at Columbine.
Apparently, with regard to this Utah plot, the young suspect, the 16-year-old, very much so fascinated by what happened in Columbine. He even said he was going to one-up Columbine, even interviewed, even hopped on a plane, went to Colorado, interviewed the Columbine principal as part of a journalism project for the school paper.
Peter, there seems to be sort of a sick cultlike following of these Columbine killers. Why is that?
LANGMAN: Columbine established itself as kind of the prototypical school attack because of its attitude.
Also, Eric Harris presented himself as intelligent, and very conniving, manipulative, and yet charismatic, in his view. And many of his writings have influenced other shooters. So Eric Harris has sort of became the role model to follow, imitate, in this case, to try to outdo.
BALDWIN: Peter Langman, thank you.
And thank goodness for that student, whoever he or she is, who shared those text messages with police, or else we would be having potentially a very different discussion.
Peter, thank you.
Thirty-five pounds of cocaine found discovered inside the United Nations. Up next, where it was hidden and where it came from.
Plus, we are now just getting these dramatic 911 calls before Demi Moore's emergency trip to the hospital. The caller you're about to hear is next to the actress during those chaotic moments.
Also, a near-miss in space. An asteroid whips by Earth. How close did it come? It ranks pretty high. I will tell you that. That is next.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
(NEWS BREAK)
BALDWIN: If it's interesting and happening right now, you're about to see it rapid fire. Let's go, beginning in Iraq.
A suicide car bomber targeted a Shiite funeral procession today. In total, 31 people were killed. The blast happened as mourners passed this outdoor market in Baghdad. They were on their way to pick up the bodies of three relatives who were shot to death Thursday night -- 60 people were wounded in that explosion.
And President Obama, he wants more middle-class families in places like Michigan to be able to send their kids to college. He told a packed crowd in Ann Arbor today that he wants federal spending on Perkins loans to increase from $1 billion to $8 billion.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
BARACK OBAMA, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: We are putting colleges on notice. You can't keep...
(APPLAUSE)
OBAMA: You can't assume that you will just jack up tuition every single year. If you can't stop tuition from going up, then the funding you get from taxpayers each year will go down. We should push colleges to do better. We should hold them accountable if they don't.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BALDWIN: Now this, cocaine in the United Nations mailroom. More than 35 pounds was found in these hollowed-out books shipped from Mexico. The cocaine was in a bag that was made look like a diplomatic pouch. New York police are investigating and no word yet on who was to get said pouch.
And remember the Barefoot Bandit? We were just talking about him this week, the guy who eluded police for two years using stolen boats and cars and an airplane. Well, he was sentenced today in federal court in Seattle, 6.5 years in prison. Colton Harris-Moore pleaded guilty last year to stealing a plane and burglarizing a bank. He was arrested after crashing a stolen plane in the Bahamas and trying to escape in a stolen boat.
His criminal adventures, shall we call them, often done without shoes, barefoot, attracted a following of 50,000 Facebook fans and a movie deal.
And we had what amounts to a cosmic near miss today. An asteroid about the size of a school bus passed within 37,000 miles of Earth. That is less than one-fifth the distance between Earth and the moon.
Astronomers say we were never in any danger, but it was one of the top 20 closest approaches ever recorded.
(WEATHER UPDATE)
BALDWIN: Coming up next, we're going to play part of the 911 call just before Demi Moore was rushed to the hospital.
Also, this:
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
RYAN BRUNN, DEFENDANT: I have never been in trouble before.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: OK.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BALDWIN: This is chilling video of a killer denying a little girl's murder. He did later admit to doing it and killed himself behind bars. We now have this interrogation video, video shot just 24 hours before police charged this man with the unspeakable crime. You're going to hear what he said and what it reveals next.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
BALDWIN: Denials and lies from the maintenance man who murdered a 7-year-old girl.
Just-released video shows this guy, Ryan Brunn, during his polygraph test before his arrest for the murder of 7-year-old Jorelys Rivera, murdering her in suburban Atlanta. Jorelys disappeared back on December 2. Her body was found days later. She had been molested, beaten to death with her own rolling skate, and disposed of in a nearby trash compactor.
During this polygraph, Brunn repeatedly denies killing her.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Did you participate in any way in causing the death of that girl?
BRUNN: No.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Did you cause the death of that girl?
BRUNN: No.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Did you participate in any way of disposing of that girl?
BRUNN: No.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Do you know for sure who caused the death of that girl?
BRUNN: No. (END VIDEO CLIP)
BALDWIN: Watch in this next clip how calmly Brunn describes news reports of Jorelys's death.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Did you participate in any way in causing the death of that girl?
BRUNN: No.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: In other words, did you have anything at all to do with it? Was you a party to it? Did you help somebody or did you do it yourself?
BRUNN: No.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: OK.
Did you cause the death of that girl?
BRUNN: No.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Have you heard -- and I'm a little bit -- and again, I apologize for that -- I'm a little bit behind on the news releases and stuff, too, because I didn't get a chance to see the news. Have you heard how she died?
BRUNN: No.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Have you heard anything about it other than they found her?
BRUNN: No.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Did you watch the news?
BRUNN: I watched some of it.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: OK, because you're ahead of me if you did. What did they say on the news?
BRUNN: They found her body in the compactor of the apartment complex.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: OK. Did they say anything about her?
BRUNN: That she was sexually abused.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BALDWIN: Just last week, Brunn pleaded guilty to murdering Jorelys Rivera, and he hanged himself with his own sweatshirt in prison two days later. Ever since actress Demi Moore was rushed to the hospital Monday night, there have been an avalanche of speculation as to why. The Los Angeles County Sheriff's Office has just now released the 911 call made from Demi Moore's house. It shows how much trouble Moore was in medically and hints that the star's troubles run deep.
(BEGIN AUDIO CLIP)
911 OPERATOR: OK. tell me exactly what happened there.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: OK. She smoked something. It's not marijuana, but it's similar to incense, and she seems to be having convulsions of some sort.
911 OPERATOR: Right now, is she awake?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Yes, well, semi-conscious, barely.
911 OPERATOR: OK. Is she breathing?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Is she breathing? Yes.
911 OPERATOR: she overdosed on...
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: And she's convulsing.
911 OPERATOR: OK. Listen to me. Keep watching her closely. Don't do anything. Don't put anything in her mouth.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: We're not.
911 OPERATOR: Was this accidental or intentional?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Well, it was -- she smoked something, you know, but the reaction was accidental. It's accidental.
(END AUDIO CLIP)
BALDWIN: A couple minutes into that phone call, the phone is then passed to a woman who tells the 911 dispatcher that she is a friend of Demi Moore.
(BEGIN AUDIO CLIP)
911 OPERATOR: Is she breathing normally?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: No, not so normal, but more sort of shaking, convulsing, burning up.
911 OPERATOR: All right. And what did she take?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Some form of I think -- and then she smoked something. I didn't really see.
911 OPERATOR: OK.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: She's been having some issues lately with some other stuff, so I don't know what she's been taking or not.
911 OPERATOR: Is she able to respond to you?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Demi, can you hear me? Yes, she's squeezing hands. There's no -- she can't speak.
911 OPERATOR: Has she done this before?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I don't know. There's been some stuff recently that we're all just finding out.
(END AUDIO CLIP)
BALDWIN: Demi Moore announced last November that she is ending her six-year marriage to Ashton Kutcher.
Now this:
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I really can't believe something like this happened at the day care.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BALDWIN: The day care, that's where police say a work who is in charge of watching over other people's kids duct-taped a child to the floor. You're going to hear the reason. And there's a lot more to this.
The parents, they didn't even know. Wait until you hear how the family finally did hear about it. We can do better -- next.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
BALDWIN: Sometimes we run across cases and stories that just make you wonder, what were they thinking? Like this one. At a daycare center in Kentucky.
Taking care of small children is a tough job. And young kids, you know, they don't always do what they're told or understand why they shouldn't do it. You have to keep your frustrations in check. And that didn't happen one day last October at this center in Ludlow, Kentucky.
An 18-month-old boy wouldn't go to sleep at naptime, so an employee, 20-year-old Alicia Lyons allegedly took matters into her own hands. Police say she duct taped the 18-month-old to his mat and then duct taped the mat to the floor. Lyons was arrested this week.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
ROB SANDERS, KENTON COUNTY COMMONWEALTH ATTORNEY: She's been charged with criminal abuse in the first degree. That is intentionally, in this case, causing cruel confinement to a child.
(END OF VIDEO CLIP)
BALDWIN: And even though the duct tape incident happened last October, the boy's mother found out about it this week when another worker mentioned it to her. The daycare center says Lyons first denied the allegation then did admit it happened. The center says it fired her and went right to police and the Kentucky inspector general. All of which serves to remind us that when it comes to our children and the people who help us take care of them, we can do better.
Switching gears. Listen to this one. A grown man asked for a restraining order against a fourth grader. Find out why and whether he actually got it.
Speaking of kids, have you ever watched the TV show "Toddlers and Tiaras"? The show certainly gets a lot of people talking but one mother is now suing the media, the media, for sexualizing her daughter.
Sunny Hostin put down the mom hat, fired over this one. We're on the case. Next.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
BALDWIN: Listen to this. A restraining order has been issued against a 10-year-old boy in California. Ten. Fourth grade. He was requested by the father of this boy, who is also 10 and in the same class at school.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
ROBERT CASTEEL, FATHER: A kid pulled a knife on me and threatened to kill me. And I said, what? I said, did you tell the teacher or principal? And he says, it was in class.
(END OF VIDEO CLIP)
BALDWIN: Sunny Hostin is on the case, and I just -- out of the gate here, how often is a restraining order issued against a child?
SUNNY HOSTIN, LEGAL CONTRIBUTOR, "IN SESSION" ON TRUTV: You know, more often than you would imagine, Brooke.
BALDWIN: Really.
HOSTIN: You can get a restraining order against anyone under the age of 18. And so, you know, here we're talking about a 10-year-old, but what if we were talking about a 14-year-old or a 15-year-old or a 16- year-old? We see a lot of cases of bullying, and I wonder, Brooke, if this is the extra step perhaps needed for parents to utilize to stop bullying in its tracks and perhaps protect their children when schools aren't doing the right thing and not doing their job.
I actually, and I know I'm coming down on this in a way that most people wouldn't think I would. I say bravo to the father. I think it's using a tool to protect your child, and I like it. BALDWIN: OK. So you say he should be taking this kid's threats seriously. What about the school, though? Where do they fall in terms of responsibility now?
HOSTIN: Well, it's interesting, because that's sort of the first line of defense, right? You say that your child is being bullied on school grounds, well, the school is supposed to do something. This father felt that the school didn't do enough, didn't take this incident seriously enough.
And let's face it, we're talking about a child brandishing a knife at another child and threatening that child. So now the school is in a position of having to enforce that restraining order, meaning the children can't be within a certain distance from each other.
And so I've got to tell you, I think with the epidemic of bullying that we're seeing, perhaps this is a tool that parents now can use to assist them in protecting their children. Bravo.
BALDWIN: OK. Bravo, you say. I don't know if -- well, we'll just get to this. OK. So one of the mothers on the reality show "Toddlers and Tiaras" suing the "Huffington Post," suing the "Daily Mail Online," also TMZ, full transparency, they're owned by our parent company Time Warner.
So this mother says that these three Web sites wrote articles that, quote-unquote, brazenly attempt to sexualize her 5-year-old daughter. Now this whole thing started over this video of the girl, this is Isabella Barrett, singing along to the hit song by LMFAO. The title of the song is, "I'm Sexy and I Know It."
So, Sunny, I guess the question is -- I'm assuming, do we know it was at the mother who had the child sing the song in the first place, and then the next question is, why is the mother suing exactly?
HOSTIN: Well, I've been watching this video over and over and over again to try to figure out what exactly happened, and I got a copy of the lawsuit, Brooke. And yes, apparently not only was the mother there and kind of egging it on, apparently the mother set the whole thing up with the child's publicist.
And so now she's suing all of these companies for libel. And what's so interesting about it is that the very definition of libel is that it has to be false, it has to be a false accusation. Well, I don't know. I just watched the video. Our viewers just watched the video. You watched the video, the little kid is singing "I'm Sexy and I know It."
BALDWIN: "I'm Sexy and I know It."
HOSTIN: So this is just, in my view, borderline frivolous. I mean, you know, not only is the child a public person because her mother has put her out there on reality shows, it's clear for everyone to see that she was singing those lyrics and sort of --
BROWN: OK. HOSTIN: You know, dancing in her chair. So I've got to tell you, you know, again, I put my mommy hat on, Brooke. You can't, you know, do this to your children.
BALDWIN: OK. I know mom has released a statement, a lengthy statement here. What does it say?
HOSTIN: Well, it is a lengthy statement, and interestingly enough, she says, "We have done nothing to exploit my daughter. Pageants are a part-time hobby for Isabella, not a career choice. We do not agree with all we see on 'Toddlers' and in our episode tried to show the positive side of pageants."
Now I don't know about what everyone thinks, Brooke, but I think that this could be considered exploitative, you know, this sort of pageant business. It's -- she's on a reality show. She has -- this little girl apparently has a jewelry line that she sells. I mean this is a public enterprise at this point, and for a mom to --
BALDWIN: I would love to know what -- to do this. I would love to know what our viewers think. Send me a tweet @BrookeBCNN. Let me know.
HOSTIN: Yes.
BALDWIN: I'm curious. Right, Sunny Hostin? Thank you so much, Sunny.
HOSTIN: Yes.
BALDWIN: We'll see you back here Monday "On the Case." Appreciate t.
Now how does this life sound? Free plane rides, free housing, personal chef, body guards, 400 grand a year? Nothing shabby. Those are just some of the perks for being president. But there is more including perks after their time in the White House. You've got hear Brianna Keila's report.
Plus, in 60 seconds we have some free advice about your money and your mortgage. Stay right here.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
POPPY HARLOW, CNN BUSINESS CORRESPONDENT: Time now for the "Help Desk" where we get answers to your financial questions.
Joining me this hour, Manisha Thakor is a personal financial expert and Lynette Khalfani-Cox is the founder of the financial advice blog askthemoneycoach.com.
Ladies, thanks for being here as always.
Lynette, interesting question for you from Betsy in Florida. Betsy wrote in, "My husband and I are both self-employed. Our income is $30 to $40,000 a year. We have about $500,000 in investments. How can we get a low-rate to refinance?" LYNETTE KHALFANI-COX, FOUNDER, ASKTHEMONEYCOACH.COM: A great way to get a refinance loan that's affordable for you is to shop around. You want to go to a site called hsh.com. HSH is a free mortgage comparison site. And essentially you'll be able to get lenders to compete for your business.
Having that 500,000 on hand will show a lender that you have cash reserves. The income is modest, but you really do need to make sure that your house has the sufficient amount of equity in it. If it doesn't, in order to do the refinance, you might need to take some money, maybe not from those investments, maybe from other places, but pay down the loan a little bit if you need to in order to get that refi done. But HSH is a good place to comparison shop.
HARLOW: And remember a refi is always going to cost at least a few thousand dollars.
COX: That's right.
HARLOW: So you've got to factor that in, too.
Manisha, your question from KP in Utah. KP wrote in, "My wife and I need to relocate. I have a credit score in the low 500s and have never been late on a mortgage payment. The house is $25,000 under water and I can't afford to continue paying the 7.25 percent interest. Is it better to try a short sale or should we walk away?"
MANISHA THAKOR, PERSONAL FINANCE EXPERT: This is a gut-wrenching question, because with that credit score in this kind of tight environment, it's going to be nearly impossible to get a positive outcome if he continues on the refinancing path.
My personal feeling is I prefer to see people try to short sale. It's a real tough moral judgment, but on the margin I feel for a variety of reasons, first and foremost, impact on your credit score, but also the way people feel, a short sale is what I'd go for rather than walking away.
HARLOW: That's right. Try it at least at first.
THAKOR: Yes. Yes.
HARLOW: Then if it doesn't work, you can go from there.
Thank you, ladies.
Folks, if you have a question you want answered by our experts, just send us an e-mail anytime to CNNhelpdesk @CNN.com.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
BALDWIN: We have been hearing a lot lately about the bank accounts of these Republican presidential candidates, but what about the money they could earn if they win the presidency and beyond?
Brianna Keilar takes us in depth today in "Money and Politics." (BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
BRIANNA KEILAR, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Being president pays. $400,000 a year, in fact. There free transportation on and off the ground, free housing and other perks like a chef. When a president leaves the White House, he is still on the government payroll, receiving a pension of about $200,000 a year. Health care, paid official travel and an office.
Rent on Jimmy Carter's Atlanta office is about $100,000 per year according to the latest figures available. George H.W. Bush's Houston digs, $175,000. And Bill Clinton's Harlem office, more than half a million dollars.
But these taxpayer-funded benefits are nothing compared to the big bucks presidents rake in writing books. Bill Clinton's "My Life" netted him an advance of $15 million, believed to be the biggest in history at the time. George W. Bush wrote "Decision Points."
GEORGE W, BUSH, 43RD U.S. PRESIDENT: After the presidency, my life went from 100 miles an hour to zero, and the book gave me a focus and a project.
KEILAR: It also gave him $7 million for the first million and a half copies. Jimmy Carter wrote 14 books.
JAMES THURBER, PRESIDENTIAL HISTORIAN: He was broke when he came out of the White House. If you can write or you can write with someone else, you can write a book and make a great deal of money.
KEILAR: Then there's "Dreams For My Father." President Obama wrote it in his 30s.
BARACK OBAMA, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Before this book started selling about four years ago, you know, we were living in a condo, myself, Michelle and our two girls, and we were you know, had -- we had two cars but one of them was kind of beat up.
KEILAR: That book flew off shelves when he ran for president. The Obamas went from middle class to wealthy and made several million dollars.
But for the biggest payoff for not too much work, speeches are the way to go. And when it comes to ex-presidents, Bill Clinton is the reining king of the podium.
BILL CLINTON, 42ND U.S. PRESIDENT: I never had any money until I got out of the White House, you know, but I've done reasonably well since then.
KEILAR: That's quite the understatement. Since 2001, Clinton has earned more than $75 million giving speeches to corporations and organizations around the world. Since George W. Bush left office, the Center for Public Integrity estimates he's made $15 million for speeches. But all that money raises questions. THURBER: I think that the American people think that American politics is all about money, and this certainly doesn't change their view about what presidents have after they get out of office.
KEILAR: In 1989, right after President Reagan left office, he was skewered for accepting $2 million for two speeches in Japan, then an economic foe of the United States.
(On camera): Some presidents are not rich. Harry Truman, for instance, couldn't afford to answer his mail when he left the White House, and that's part of the reasons why Congress adopted pensions for ex-presidents in the 1950s.
Still others come into officer very rich. An interesting tidbit, if we look at one of the Republican frontrunners, Mitt Romney, if elected, he would be the third richest president, when you control for inflation, behind George Washington and Thomas Jefferson.
Brianna Keilar, CNN, Washington.
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BALDWIN: Brianna, thank you.
We are 10 minutes away from Wolf Blitzer and the "SITUATION ROOM."
Well, Wolf, before we talk about your big guest coming up next hour, I do -- I'm just curious, (INAUDIBLE) people during the debate, one of the big questions they have is what happens in the commercial breaks, and I know you say that's, you know, kind of a bathroom break time, drink a little water.
My question, though, is do these candidates -- do they talk to each other in the commercial breaks? Do they look at each other?
WOLF BLITZER, HOST, CNN'S THE SITUATION ROOM: Sometimes they do. When there were eight candidates the first two debates I moderated, they were talking to each other. As the field narrows, it gets a little bit more intense.
Newt Gingrich, for example, he goes to the front of the stage and he sometimes walks down and talks to Callista, his wife. Mitt Romney, they're not really talking to each other. I talked to him a little bit just to see how they're feeling, what's going on. But they're all just freshening up a little bit. They go in the back. They --
BALDWIN: Staying in the zone.
BLITZER: Just relax. And then they come out, and that's that.
BALDWIN: OK. Rick Santorum coming up in the 4:00 hour.
BLITZER: Yes. I thought you were going to ask me what I do during the breaks.
BALDWIN: Oh, well, I imagine you're just, you know, studying up on the next questions and being very focused.
BLITZER: I'm focused like a laser beam. On my next series of questions.
(LAUGHTER)
BALDWIN: Exactly.
BLITZER: Because it's so important I've got to be totally focused.
BALDWIN: I knew that already.
BLITZER: Yes.
BALDWIN: Of course. So Rick Santorum, you're working on those questions for him next hour?
BLITZER: Yes, I'm focusing like a laser beam right now, and those questions, as well. Seriously, you know, he's in it to win it, he says. He's not dropping out. He's not holding back. Beginning part of the debate last night, I thought he was holding back a little bit because maybe he wanted to be a vice presidential running mate or get a cabinet position, wasn't going to really go full tilt against Newt Gingrich or Mitt Romney, but you know what? He really did, he went after both of them pretty hard. So he's not interested in a job, he's interested in becoming the Republican presidential nominee.
So we're going to talk to him, and we'll see what's going on on this very important day before this very important day after the debate, but before Tuesday's primary.
BALDWIN: Good deal, Wolf Blitzer, we'll see you in a couple of minutes on the "SITUATION ROOM" there from Jacksonville.
Meantime, coming up next, is it possible to tell whether you have a concussion? How do you protect your family when it comes to head injuries? Dr. Sanjay Gupta, he's back in the house. I'm told he's about to run a cognitive test on me? As he laughs and walks towards me with a brain.
DR. SANJAY GUPTA, CNN CHIEF MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT: And my brain.
BALDWIN: Stay tuned for this. I saw that over there, I was like, Sanjay's been here. That's when you know. But first, a quick look at what's behind the scenes on the newscast. This is what we do each and every Friday. I answer your questions. Here's just a little piece of our week wind down.
Well, well, Mr. J.K.USA, John King asks, where do you hide the UGGS when you go on TV?
John King, John King. He knows this because not only do I wear my UGGS to work sometimes, but on big primary night, I'll kick my UGGS off right before I have to go on. Look, they're comfortable and sometimes they hide behind the desk. And Christina and I are going to Tampa for the big Florida primary. So look for us Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, 2:00 live from Tampa.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
BALDWIN: Now, next week's news today, we want to fast forward, the Florida primary is next Tuesday and we're taking the show on the road. Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, we're going to be live in beautiful Tampa, Florida.
Here's what we're looking out for Monday. We're going to sit down with us some super successful retirees who are thriving in this economy. And I want to ask them how they do it.
Tuesday I'm talking with a young woman who is fighting for her right to live in this country. We are highlighting immigration and specifically the Dream Act with her and her family.
And then all week, because this is what we like to do on the show, we're going to go behind the scenes of these massive Republican presidential campaigns. I was particularly curious as to how do they pick the music at those rallies? And how campaigns manipulate the rooms to make the crowd look larger and the crazy scrums surrounding the candidates after the debates.
Don't you want to know that stuff? I do.
This week, CNN's Dr. Sanjay Gupta has been telling us about the problems all these young athletes face, both men and women, from all these bone-jarring hits they receive. He's back today to talk solutions, you know, parents they want their kids to be able to play sports.
GUPTA: Yes.
BALDWIN: But protect the -- protect the noggin.
GUPTA: Yes. And I love football, as well. So that -- you know, the reporting was really about the solution to some of this. And some of them are pretty simple solutions. Athletic trainers, for example, you and I talked about this, in every practice in every game because you need somebody who can recognize a concussion. The biggest problem is to let someone play who's just had a concussion.
Also, you know, simple things like looking at practices and realizing the vast majority of head hits in football and really most sports come about in practices. So after a player has mastered the particular skill, ramming their head 30, 40 times every practice.
BALDWIN: Soccer, you were saying yesterday.
GUPTA: Soccer as well. Two-point stance versus three-point stance. Two-point stance designed to like force your head into other players, two-point stance forces you to tackle with your chest, your arms, and your hands.
And also helmets, this is something that we talk about quite a bit, Brooke. Helmets are important, but they're -- they could provide a false sense of comfort, as well.
BALDWIN: Why?
GUPTA: Because they're not going to -- they're not going to protect against what actually causes concussions. They can prevent a skull fracture, but what happens in a concussion, I have my brain model here, is that the brain is actually moving back and forth in the skull. So brains running down the field suddenly stops because of a hit, brain keeps going in the skull and then back and forth.
Think of like an egg yolk inside an egg shell. You can prevent that egg shell from cracking, but what's the yolk doing inside? That's why helmets can't do everything as far as preventing concussions.
BALDWIN: So then what do we, as in thinking of this brain, you know, sort of moving back and forth. How do you -- you can't keep it in one spot?
GUPTA: It's tough to do. So you really want to limit the number of hits, obviously, which is, you know, the thing in practice and everything. But also this idea of leading with your head, you know, tackling with your head, instead, moving the head out of the way. You know, again, doing the two-point stance, you're tackling with your body as opposed to your head. And that's something worth changing, I think.
BALDWIN: OK. So two minutes to go, and I'm -- you're -- I'm hearing that I'm taking a memory test? Well, it's been a long week. OK? Just put that out there.
GUPTA: The point is -- as you might have expected, you watch football, these players, they want to play. So someone says, look, you're benched, we're taking your helmet away, you've got to sit on the bench.
BALDWIN: Yes.
GUPTA: They don't like that so they say, well, I'm feeling fine, right?
BALDWIN: Right.
GUPTA: About half of players will basically manipulate or frankly lie about their symptoms.
BALDWIN: To get in the game?
GUPTA: To get back in the game. So what a lot of schools are doing now are these cognitive tests at the beginning of the season, they get a baseline, and then if someone has a hit, you're not sure if they're back to normal again, you test them again.
BALDWIN: OK.
GUPTA: These tests are pretty comprehensive. I just want to give you a little glimpse here, Brooke, and you can play along here. BALDWIN: OK. We've got 60 seconds.
GUPTA: At home as well. Take a look at this list. Want you to try and memorize that list as best as you can.
BALDWIN: Mirror, stove, parent, forest, ladder.
GUPTA: We're going to take the list off the screen there. Now -- and again, keep in mind that what would happen is that if you were to have a concussion, and you said, look, I'm feeling fine, everything is good, we weren't sure about you, we'd say, you know what? Let's see. And as part of that, we'd put up a list similar to this list, for example. And now out of this list.
BALDWIN: Yes.
GUPTA: Which has lots of different words, see if you can find the words that I gave you in the first place.
BALDWIN: Mirror, stove, forest, parent, ladder.
GUPTA: There you go. Let's flash in red, see if you're right.
BALDWIN: Am I right?
GUPTA: And you are.
BALDWIN: Yes.
GUPTA: So you pass the test. Now imagine doing several tests like that in other cognitive tests testing how fast you react to things. If you're the same score, your brain is probably healed. That's sort of the point.
BALDWIN: I want to remind everyone once again to watch you in this documentary here, "BIG HITS, BROKEN DREAMS," it is this Sunday, 8:00 Eastern on CNN.
Sanjay Gupta, thank you so much. Have a good weekend.
GUPTA: Thanks for having me. This is great.
BALDWIN: You have a great weekend.
Wolf Blitzer, starting now.
