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Florida Votes; Iran Plotting Against United States?; Interview With Florida Republican Party Chair; Candidate Fights to Run Despite Limited English; Florida's Housing Crisis; Colorado Mom's Mysterious Walk
Aired January 31, 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: Now this. Here we go. Live from Tampa, Florida. It is primary day. I'm Brooke Baldwin.
And "Reporter Roulette" admittedly has a decidedly political tone today for obvious reasons, so let's go.
We have got the state of Florida covered for you.
I want to begin with John Zarrella live at a polling place not too far from where I am in Lithia, Florida.
John Zarrella, you're talking to voters. What are they telling you?
JOHN ZARRELLA, CNN MIAMI BUREAU CHIEF: Very good turnout here today, Brooke. They expect maybe countywide, about 40 percent is what the supervisor of elections told us.
The voters here, a lot of them have been telling us, look, we want the guy who will beat Barack Obama. That's what they have been telling us. But then when you get past that, we're hearing both sides, some people saying, well, that's Newt Gingrich, others saying, well, that's Mitt Romney.
So it's going to be interesting to see how that shakes out here, and this is the largest Republican precinct, Precinct 701, in Hillsborough County. About 3,890 registered Republicans here -- Brooke.
BALDWIN: We know that the Republican Party, it's penalizing Florida for having its primary today, January 31. Tell me a little bit more about that as I hear you laugh, John Zarrella.
ZARRELLA: You know, four years ago, the state moved up the presidential primaries to January 31, or to the last Tuesday in January, and the Republican Party and the Democratic Party both got pretty angry about that, from March to January.
Here it is. Where you are in Tampa, the Republican Convention is going to be in August. But Florida delegates to that convention, there will only be 50 of them instead of the 99 that they used to have. And they're not going to get prime hotels, they're not going to be allowed to bring a guest. And on top of that, at the Convention Center over at the Coliseum there, they're not going to have floor seats. They're going to be up in the rafters in those upper deck seats, those cheap seats. That's the way it stands right now, and I talked to the head of the county's Republican Party and he said, look, we're hoping the Republican Party will maybe ease up on us a bit as we get closer to the convention.
But as it stands right now, they expect their delegates could be staying 30 or 40 miles outside of Tampa, not anywhere near the Convention Center. So a real slap on the wrist by the party to Florida for moving the primary up. But they say it was worth it. Look at all the attention Florida is getting now as the fourth state voting.
BALDWIN: Wow. How about that? Well, I tell you who is happy, the mayor of Tampa, who I talked to just yesterday. He is thrilled at all the dollars and cents that are going to be put back into his city. He told me 15,000 journalists alone are coming here to Tampa for the RNC.
John Zarrella, thank you so much.
Next on "Reporter Roulette," I want to give you Shannon Travis. He is north of here in the Panhandle of Panama City.
Shannon, what are you seeing today?
SHANNON TRAVIS, CNN POLITICAL PRODUCER: Hey there, Brooke.
Yes, we're here in Panama City Beach at Precinct 8. The precinct, the voting place is in the distance behind us, but you can't even get there without seeing some of signs as we have been seeing along the way, election signs, of course, that one for Romney, that one back there of course for Newt Gingrich, as you can imagine, those two fighting desperately for the vote here and across the state.
I spoke with Sandy Hubbard (ph). She is the precinct clerk for this particular precinct. And she tells me that about 235 people have cast votes at this voting place so far. That's relatively light, but when you consider the fact, Brooke, that about 632,000 Floridians have already cast their votes in absentee ballots, in early ballots, maybe that's not as light.
Another thing, why this area is so key to the candidates, Bay County very, very conservative here, Brooke, and a number of candidates have visited in the past two days even trying to win support here.
And one last thing. Mitt Romney won this county in 2008, narrowly beating out John McCain -- Brooke.
BALDWIN: What's interesting, and you pointed out some of the early absentee voting, is the fact that 600,000 or so have already cast their votes, but also one out of four Floridians apparently still undecided, according to a poll I saw. Did you at all get a chance to talk to people as they were going in? Do they seem to know? Do they own the vote?
TRAVIS: Yes. And because it's so light here, there are only a few people we have been able to talk to, but for those that I have, most of them have gone into the polling place rather decided.
Now, whether they just made their minds up earlier today, yesterday, the past few days, or whatever is a different story. But you're absolutely right, it's the same here in Florida as we had going into Iowa, going into South Carolina, New Hampshire where you had so many undecideds, no one, not one of these four candidates had completely locked up the vote just yet.
You had Gingrich calling Mitt Romney a Massachusetts liberal, moderate, what have you, and Mitt Romney saying that Newt Gingrich's campaign is coming apart at the seams. That may play into why so many of these voters are undecided, Brooke.
BALDWIN: Shannon Travis in Panama City. Shannon, thank you.
Next, what a treat. I get this lady next to me, Candy Crowley.
We're always talking in a double box.
CANDY CROWLEY, CNN SENIOR POLITICAL CORRESPONDENT: I know.
BALDWIN: Nice to have you in person, CNN's chief political correspondent.
You have been through so many of these elections. You look at the numbers so far going into tonight, it's looking good for Mitt Romney. So my question is, what does Candy Crowley look at tonight? You talked about the numbers inside the numbers.
CANDY CROWLEY, CNN SENIOR POLITICAL CORRESPONDENT: Yes. I think you look at the women's vote.
Remember, when Newt Gingrich went through the whole second wife open marriage thing in South Carolina, we all went there goes the women's vote.
(CROSSTALK)
CROWLEY: And it didn't happen, in fact. Women went for Newt Gingrich.
So watch the women's vote here because there's some signs they're going for Mitt Romney. I also want to see the Tea Party really conservative vote, because Mitt Romney has to come out of here or come out of somewhere showing that he can attract those really very conservative votes, and this may be the place to do it.
Of course, just key to this, obviously, in Florida is the Hispanic vote. We expect Mitt Romney to do very well there. I just think I would be looking at the conservative vote and the women vote.
BALDWIN: What about the refrain that we have been hearing out of Newt Gingrich, this whole we're going to get them, we're going to take it all the way to the convention; is that almost sort of Tea Party- esque?
CROWLEY: Yes, it absolutely is, because that's the core of Newt Gingrich's support at this point.
Listen, any campaign can run on fumes. And what we know now is that Mitt Romney did -- I'm sorry -- that Newt Gingrich did raise about something like about $5 million in the last quarter. He's got outside help that could mean ads or nice ads up on the air.
But here's the problem, I think, for Newt Gingrich going forward and indeed we have no reason to believe he won't. What has fueled him, what really brought his campaign up were debates. There's one February 22, the next one. So he doesn't have a chance to get that free airtime.
But certainly what we saw in Nevada with the Sharron Angle Tea Party backing, you can see -- and Newt Gingrich is very good at kind of gathering that anger and personifying it. If he can keep -- convince large bodies of conservatives in these states to say, you're about to moderate a liberal. We have gone from moderate to liberal, when he describes Mitt Romney.
He can have the fuel to go all the way to the convention. Now, let me just say candidates always say they're in it until the end, until they quit.
BALDWIN: So you're used to hearing that.
CROWLEY: Yes, exactly.
BALDWIN: Until they quit.
CROWLEY: Yes.
BALDWIN: You're a music nerd, aren't you?
CROWLEY: Yes.
BALDWIN: What one song personifies the race right now?
CROWLEY: Oh, my heavens, you should have asked me this -- told me this question. I will have to think about that one. Have you got one in mind?
BALDWIN: I don't know. That was my question for you. Think on it. I'm curious.
CROWLEY: I will. I will.
BALDWIN: I'm curious, because I know you like music, just like I like music. Candy Crowley, thank you so much. I really appreciate it.
Coming up next here, there are concerns Iran is willing to plot attacks right here on U.S. soil. That's just one of the revelations from several of the men in charge of America's security. Find out what they told Congress next.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
BALDWIN: It is a mixture of encouraging but also cautious news today in the annual U.S. intelligence community's threat assessment.
In the forefront, of course, that being relations with Iran. And National Intelligence Director James Clapper says an alleged Iranian plot uncovered last year to assassinate the ambassador. Remember that? It is now an example of new threats to the United States.
I want to bring in CNN Pentagon correspondent Barbara Starr.
Barbara, what is the report saying about aggressive tactics from Iran?
BARBARA STARR, CNN PENTAGON CORRESPONDENT: Well, Brooke, what they're talking about here is that the Iranian regime may now be more willing, if you will, to conduct attacks inside the United States. That's a pretty shocking development.
The thinking behind all of this is that the Iranian regime right now trying to decide whether it will go in fact for a nuclear weapon, looking at its own regime survival, basically might decide to lash out, if you will. We saw that plot last year to try and assassinate the Soviet ambassador to the United States said to be at the behest of the Iranians.
So the question now is what would make the Iranian regime so nervous, so paranoid that they might lash out? The concern is about this whole business of nuclear weapons, oil sanctions, economic sanctions aimed at stopping them from thinking they can go for a nuclear weapon, that the price would be so high that they wouldn't do that.
And at this hearing today, tough intelligence officials had a bit of a disagreement about whether the Iranians are really there yet. Is there enough bite on these sanctions to make them think their regime could be at risk and they need to toe the line, or are they still willing to play a very dangerous game, Brooke?
BALDWIN: Who could forget that, those brazen plotters allegedly targeting the ambassador at a restaurant, remember, a restaurant in Washington, D.C.?
What does this news, this report mean for Iran's possible nuclear advancement?
STARR: Well, this is now the question that the intelligence community is trying to look at.
Defense Secretary Leon Panetta has said there is always the possibility Iran could have a nuclear weapon, not the missile to put it on, but a weapon, a warhead, within a year. That would be pretty dire. That might cause the Israelis to act. That would concern the United States, of course.
So right now, really, everything is still centered on trying to use sanctions but still do the military planning necessary. A lot of discussion about working behind the scenes with the Israelis because the Israelis have made it very clear they believe a nuclear Iran poses a direct threat to their very existence and the U.S. position is a nuclear Iran is a red line that can't be crossed -- Brooke.
BALDWIN: Barbara Starr at the Pentagon, Barbara, thank you so much.
Back here in Florida talking politics here and the Republican race for president. What's it going to take to hit that magic number of delegates, that magic number of 1,144? What happens if a candidate does not actually reach the number? We could be looking maybe at a long fight all the way to the convention. John King is going to break down the numbers for us. He is next.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
BALDWIN: And welcome back. We are live here in Tampa, Florida. Of course, the reason why we're here, it's primary day for Floridians.
And in a short time, we're going to speak with the state's Republican chairman, Lenny Curry.
But first it's time to start thinking about and talking numbers, talking delegates. That's really the bottom line of the nominating contest, collecting delegates be it a caucus or a primary necessary to secure the party's nominations.
I want to bring in our magic wall number guy John King. Good enough to join me now, who I know he will be working late, late tonight here.
But, John, walk me through, if you would, what exactly is at stake tonight in Florida.
JOHN KING, CNN CHIEF NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Let's do it. I won't use the secret spy cam to show our viewers just exactly where you are on the magic map.
But let's go to this map instead. Delegates. This is eventually going to be about delegates. I will show you some tricks with the wall later. Here's where we are coming into the night. Romney is ahead but a race to 1,144. Remember that. If this goes on, it's about delegates, not momentum. We're barely getting started.
Here is where we are in Florida today. Let's assume the polls are right and Mitt Romney wins Florida. Then he will start pulling away, 50 delegates in Florida. But remember, you have to get from there all the way over to here. A long way to go. Let's go through.
Let's assume, for the sake of argument. If you're a Gingrich supporter, a Ron Paul supporter, a Rick Santorum supporter, forgive me, but just assume for the sake of argument Romney runs the map in February. He wins Nevada. He wins Minnesota, Missouri and Colorado. He wins the main caucuses. That's a place where Ron Paul could do well, but let's give it to Mitt Romney for the sake of argument, Arizona and Michigan at the end of February.
If Mitt Romney runs the map in February, he would get to about 236. He's getting closer. Gingrich would still be far behind. Why is Newt Gingrich staying in? Because even if this happens, then we get to March. Washington caucuses, I'm going to give this to Ron Paul. It's one of the states that we might watch him win, so I will give it to him in this hypothetical.
But then you come here on Super Tuesday, we start to move to the south. Gingrich thinks this is where he can do better. So if you watch these states play out -- I just gave Romney Virginia. Why? Newt Gingrich didn't make the ballot. He could suffer for that there.
But, look, if Gingrich starts winning in the South, let's start playing out the month a little bit. We will split the difference here, Wyoming and Kansas day, one for Romney, one for Gingrich. Alabama and Mississippi vote in the middle of March. Let's give those to Gingrich.
Look, he's starting to catch up a little bit, 547-280. Let's just go through. Missouri, I'm going to give it to Romney. That will be a hotly contested state, though, if the race is still tight at that point. And then Puerto Rico primary. I wanted to flash ahead. Illinois, we will give to Romney. This is where -- Louisiana, Gingrich. Then you come to the end, the beginning of April here, you get through March and April, that big prize.
Remember when Rick Perry got out, he endorsed Newt Gingrich. If we can get to Texas and we give that to Gingrich, then you have got a closer race. I will stop here, but then you have Romney just shy of 700, Gingrich at 445. Still a long way to go...
(CROSSTALK)
BALDWIN: Nowhere near 1,144.
KING: Right. We could go on a while. Remember, Clinton/Obama went to June.
BALDWIN: June. Right. So, so far, just talking Florida, Romney is a clear front-runner. Gingrich says -- the refrain Gingrich from him is he's going all the way to the convention. Granted, Candy Crowley says everyone says that until they drop out.
But can you show me how a fight between Romney and Gingrich, just the two of them, could play out here?
KING: Sure, I'm going to keep going here. I gave Ron Paul one state. Let's just leave it right there. He might win more. But let's watch and let's go all the way through.
Again the dark red is Romney, Santorum already won Iowa, the lighter color is Gingrich. Let's watch it play all the way out. The Northern states, Romney. I just gave Santorum Pennsylvania again just for the sake of argument. If you don't agree with me here, we can switch that and give it to Romney. Say Santorum is out of the race by then.
Now Romney is starting to pull away here and then you keep going. These states here, I gave the Southern ones to Gingrich, the Northern ones to Romney. West Virginia could go either way. For the sake of argument let's give it to Newt Gingrich. Then we just keep playing it out. Nebraska, Oregon, give those to Romney up there. The Southern states, Kentucky, Arkansas, give those to Gingrich.
Come out here, California, here's where money is going to matter. Romney gets that and that's where you get to the finish line. When you get out here to these big states out here. Gingrich ultimately would have to stop him. But when you start getting out here into the big states, the Northern states, that's a problem, but that's way down the line. That would be June 5. Hang in there, Brooke. Don't stay in Tampa the whole time.
BALDWIN: Wait. So you don't want to cover politics through June?
(CROSSTALK)
KING: It a reporter's -- a contested convention is a reporter's dream. They haven't happened in my lifetime. But I would happy to have it. Let's let's the voters decide state by state. We could be here a while, though.
BALDWIN: We could be. We will see how everyone does tonight.
John King, we will be seeing you tonight. We will be watching you, special edition of "J.K. USA" 6:00 Eastern here on CNN. John, thanks so much.
I want to bring in now Lenny Curry. He's the chairman of Florida's state Republican Party.
Lenny, thank you for being here and sharing some of the Florida sunshine with us.
LENNY CURRY, FLORIDA REPUBLICAN PARTY CHAIRMAN: Thanks for having me.
BALDWIN: First, let's talk tonight. Just your base level, what is your expectation tonight coming out of the primary?
CURRY: We came into today with over 600,000 absentee and early votes.
BALDWIN: That's huge.
CURRY: It's a huge number. It's a big number. It speaks to some energy and excitement.
I think whatever happens tonight in terms of turnout, the important thing to point out is the party didn't invest money, time and resources into the turnout. So, when we get into a general election, we will put our manpower behind it and really turn our voters out.
BALDWIN: Hang on. You're getting too far ahead of me. We're just talking tonight. Let's say Romney wins. By how much would you like to see him win?
CURRY: I have to remain neutral in this race because whomever -- we just went through the electoral vote, what it takes to get there.
Whoever our nominee is, I have to be able to rally Floridian Republicans behind that individual.
(CROSSTALK)
BALDWIN: Whoever that individual is.
CURRY: Whoever that is.
So we are officially neutral. I think whoever wins Florida tonight will leave Florida with a lot of steam, proves that they are competitive, large diverse states, 10 major media markets, a state that represents what America represents ethnically, socioeconomic. So come out with a solid, solid base.
BALDWIN: Let's talk negativity because there were just some numbers we were crunching right before the show. Apparently, 92 percent of the ads here in Florida are negative. In fact, Senator Marco Rubio was on with my colleague Soledad O'Brien this morning. And she asked why all the negativity essentially and let's take a listen to what he said.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SEN. MARCO RUBIO (R), FLORIDA: Unfortunately, it's only gotten worse. It's going to get worse in the general election. No candidate in American history has ever run more negative ads than Barack Obama. I don't think that will change in 2012.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BALDWIN: So Marco Rubio there is suggesting that the negative campaigning in the Republican primary is somehow connected to the president. Do you agree with that?
CURRY: I don't like the negative campaign. The silver lining as Republicans is that we're vetting our guys now so it will be old news when we get into anyway general election. The president will throw everything that we have thrown at each other and more.
I wish, though, that our guys were right now talking about job creation, the American free enterprise system, things Governor Rick Scott talks about and is acting on. People want to see jobs, they want to see opportunity, they want to know how their kids will have a future in the next generation. BALDWIN: But do you think the negative campaigning is directly reflective of a negative campaign that President Obama ran, that it's President Obama's fault?
CURRY: That's Senator Rubio's opinion. I want to see positive campaigning out of our guys.
BALDWIN: OK.
CURRY: The case for job creation, the free enterprise system.
BALDWIN: Is the state of Florida ready for general elections free of voting irregularities?
(LAUGHTER)
BALDWIN: You laugh.
CURRY: Yes.
BALDWIN: What's the answer?
CURRY: Look, no system is -- we have the best system in the world, our republic, the way we vote. Best system in the world.
There could be irregularities. Hopefully, we have safeguards in place, take care of them at the county level. We want one man, one woman, one vote.
BALDWIN: OK. Lenny, thank you so much.
CURRY: Always a pleasure.
BALDWIN: Appreciate it.
Still ahead here: Police say a man killed his wife because she gave birth to a girl instead of a boy. Now there is a hunt for him.
Plus President Obama admits a certain technique to track down terrorists, but did he reveal too much here?
And a big announcement involving the future of Adele, the hit singer who has been sidelined with that throat problem.
We will be right back. Stay here.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
BALDWIN: And here we go. If it's interesting and happening right now, you're about to see it 'rapid Fire." Let's go, beginning with this.
A manhunt is under way in northern Afghanistan. Police are looking for a man they say killed his wife after she gave birth to a daughter instead of a son. The couple already had two daughters, and police believe 29-year-old Sher Mohammed was angry his wife still did not give him a son. Mohammed's mother is in jail in connection with the case. She says her son is innocent and his wife committed suicide out of guilty.
The uprising in Syria is getting increasingly violent. That voice there in this YouTube video says government forces are shelling homes, civilians, even children at random. A monitoring group says that 30 people have been killed in Syria today, the death toll yesterday 100. The United Nations is about to debate a resolution for calling Syria's president, Bashar al-Assad, to step down.
And the nation's top intel chiefs are considering a plan that would bring five detainees from Guantanamo Bay as a way to build confidence with the Taliban. At least that is what they told senators during a hearing today when they delivered the U.S. threat assessment on Capitol Hill.
Want you to listen to this. This is CIA Director David Petraeus.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DAVID PETRAEUS, CIA DIRECTOR: In fact, our analysts did provide assessments of the five and the risks presented by various scenarios by which they could be sent somewhere -- not back to Afghanistan or Pakistan -- and then based on the various mitigating measures that could be implemented to ensure that they cannot return to militant activity.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BALDWIN: Three affected drone strikes hit militant target in Yemen overnight. According to Yemeni security officers, at least nine people believed to be linked to al-Qaeda were killed in these attacks. U.S. officials do confirm a drone strike in Yemen. They're not giving any details beyond than that. Keep in mind this also comes one day after President Obama, for the very first time, openly discussed the U.S. drone program.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
BARACK OBAMA, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: For the most part, they have been very precise precision strikes against al-Qaeda and their affiliates. And we are very careful in terms of how it's been applied. This is a targeted, focused effort at people who are on a list of active terrorists who are trying to go in and harm Americans.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BALDWIN: And administration authorities denies that the president made a mistake or a slip-up by revealing what had been classified information about those drone strikes.
And a huge thrill for some students at this intermediate school in Mansville, Texas. They actually got to ask members of the crew, the international space station, you know, what's on their mind if they're in space besides the usual questions about space and technology. They asked -- I'll let them ask. (BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: What challenges do you face when completing day-to-day activities like haircuts, for instance?
DAN BURBANK, COMMANDER, INTERNATIONAL SPACE STATION: You got to be able to cut hair, and I think all of us in theory might have practiced that before we came here, but none of us ever did it until we actually got here. We were faced with one of our crew mates who needed a haircut. And we basically, we'll start cutting each other's hair, and if we make a mistake, the hair will get a little shorter and a little shorter, and eventually it will be relatively even.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BALDWIN: Imagine being a kid getting talked to -- talking to an astronaut. Too cool.
Now this. British music star, Adele, set to perform at the Grammys. Finally we get to hear from her. This will be her first performance in quite a while. Maybe your own tickets to her shows had been affected. I know mine have. She's had to cancel many concert over the past year while recovering from throat surgery. Take a look at the dates here. It was her entire U.S. tour. Adele is nominated for six Grammys.
Now this. Yes, you heard right. That was thunder. This is what they call a thunder snowstorm. It hit Youngstown, Ohio. One to three inches of show fell per hour on Sunday, creating what you're looking at, pretty much near whiteout conditions. Wind gusting as high as 40 miles an hour, Witchtree area. It is a rare event, these thunder snowstorms. Apparently they're more common during lake effect snow.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I don't speak English. A little maybe, but it's enough.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BALDWIN: This woman is a mother and an American citizen, and she wants to run for office. Here's the thing. Her town leader will not allow her to do so because she doesn't speak English very well. Now she is fighting back. Find out how, next.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
BALDWIN: The controversy in Arizona is pitting an American ideal against political practicality. A mother of two was born in the USA, wants to run for office. But her bid is being blocked because she doesn't speak much English. This whole conflict is happening in this border town of San Luis, population 25,000, where 98 percent of the people are Latino.
Here is CNN's Thelma Gutierrez with her story.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
THELMA GUTIERREZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): In the small border town of San Luis, Arizona, Alejandrina Cabrera is somewhat of a political celebrity, without having to spend a day in office.
ALEJANDRINA CABRERA, CITY COUNCIL HOPEFUL: They're my friend.
GUTIERREZ: The married woman of two made national headlines after her bid for a seat on the San Luis City Council was blocked by the city's mayor.
CABRERA: He say I can't speak English, read and write.
GUTIERREZ: At issue, Cabrera's fluency in English. She's a United States citizen. She was born in Arizona. But like many people in this small agricultural town who live and work on both sides of the U.S./Mexican border, Cabrera was raised in Mexico where life is more affordable.
When she was 17, she came back to the U.S. to finish high school. But by then, Spanish was her primary language.
Cabrera says no one in San Luis, where most people speak Spanish had ever questioned her English skills until she decided to run for public office.
MAYOR JUAN CARLOS ESCAMILLA, SAN LUIS, ARIZONA: She does not understand English.
GUTIERREZ: Juan Carlos Escamilla, the mayor of San Luis, says under Arizona law, elected officials must be proficient in English. He says Cabrera doesn't qualify to run for office. And as a citizen, he filed a lawsuit against her.
And she was forced to take an English proficiency test paid for by local taxpayers to stop her candidacy. Cabrera says this is political payback because she spearheaded two recall campaigns against the mayor.
(on camera): Not a personal vendetta against her?
ESCAMILLA: Not personal. Not a personal vendetta to get her, absolutely not.
GUTIERREZ (voice-over): After a lengthy court hearing, Cabrera was disqualified from the race. Her attorney, John Minore, says her civil rights have been violated.
(on camera): She did not pass her proficiency test.
JOHN MINORE, CABRERA'S ATTORNEY: What test is there to pass though? There's no test in the statute. And they're denying her the political process, and let the people of this community decide they want her on the city council or not.
GUTIERREZ: What do you tell those people who say, but you're a citizen, you live here now and you're running for office, you need to speak English?
CABRERA: I will speak English. A little, maybe, but it's enough for the city council.
GUTIERREZ: Cabrera says she's taking her appeal all the way to the Arizona Supreme Court.
Thelma Gutierrez, CNN, San Luis, Arizona.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
BALDWIN: Thelma, thank you.
Coming up next, monks setting themselves on fire in protest. This is something the Chinese government wants to keep secret.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
STAN GRANT, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Our producer is now outside talking to police.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: And they want your passport.
GRANT: And they're now going to look at our passports.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BALDWIN: Twenty four hours after we took you inside this crackdown, the regime has made a huge move against CNN. What they don't want you to see, next.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
BALDWIN: We want to talk a little more about this government crackdown in China. It is so intense, it has shut down some of CNN's programming inside the country. CNN's Stan Grant, he traveled to the Sichuan Province to report on the story of the Buddhist monks and the nuns setting themselves on fire to protest China's rule over Tibet. We brought you that story yesterday. But government police force Stan off course.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
GRANT: We're being pulled over by the side of the road here, and we've been traveling for about two hours from Chengdu. We're heading up into the mountains, to where the Tibetan communities live, and of course there was a police checkpoint. Our producer is now outside talking to police, and they're now going to look at our passports.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BALDWIN: Later, government officers detained Stan and CNN's crew at the airport, even taking some of their footage. Now Chinese authorities are blacking out CNN International television in the country. Whenever his story airs, thousands of Chinese security forces have now entered Sichuan Province. The government says it's because of attacks on the Chinese.
And we have the ultimate pop for you today. Nope, we're not talking pirates, we're talking about the Obama campaign taking a dig at Mitt Romney for how the Republicans treated his dog.
Plus, Newt Gingrich's campaign hit some hot water involving a song.
And speaking of music...
(VIDEO CLIP)
BALDWIN: Mitt Romney loosening it up a little bit on the campaign trail. Those stories are next. But first we're back in 60 seconds with some advice on your retirement account and your income. Stay right there.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
POPPY HARLOW, CNN MONEY.COM: Time now for "The Help Desk" where we get answers to your financial questions.
And joining me this hour, Manisha Thakor is a personal finance expert and Lynette Khalfani-Cox is the founder of the financial advice blog AskTheMoneyCoach.com.
Thank you for being here. We appreciate it, ladies.
First question to you, Manisha, this comes from Chris. He writes, "I'm about to retire. I contributed to a 403 account while I was working. I have been told it would be to my advantage to roll that money into an IRA account. Is this true?"
MANISHA THAKOR, PERSONAL FINANCE EXPERT: 403 is simply an employer-based retirement plan so much for a 401(K). And the reason that I personally like seeing people roll them over into an IRA is it gives you more choice. You can choose the financial institution with which you want to open that account.
I like to see people have a lot of options for low-cost investment opportunities depending on the original plans sponsor. Some of the investment options offered to you may actually be taking a pretty big chunk out of your return in terms of fees. If you're in an IRA rollover, you have complete control over that. So my vote, roll over.
HARLOW: Roll it over.
All right, Lena, your question comes from Aaron in Indiana. Aaron wrote in, "I will turn 18 in a month. I have a part-time job and save around 40 percent of my wages each week. How should I start investing?"
I love Aaron. 18, investing, saving.
LYNETTE KHALFANI-COX, FOUNDER, ASKTHEMONEYCOACH.COM: I thought it was a great question because, I'm thinking, wow, heaven help me if I had started, you know, at 18.
First of all, kudos for being able to save 40 percent. I'm assuming he's still living with mom and dad and that's why he's able to sock away so much money. Mutual funds, it's a great place for him to start. Index mutual funds if he wants to start saving and investing for the long term.
You know, somebody like this is probably going to be one of those millionaires in the making who is saving in their 20s just a little bit every single month. If you do it with mutual fund, it is a low- cost way to get diversification, professional money management, and it makes you not have to worry about picking individual stocks. So that's what I will say.
HARLOW: And the average person who tries to play the market, they just don't do so well.
(CROSSTALK)
KHALFANI-COX: They just do so well.
HARLOW: All right, great advise, folks. If you have a question you want answered, send us an e-mail any time to CNNHelpDesk@CNN.com.
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BALDWIN: Before we get to political pop here, we have just turn around some video for you. You can see the president visiting the Washington Auto Show where he is really applauding the U.S. auto industries comeback this afternoon and actually hop into the driver seat to test out a Florida mustang. Take a look.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: This goes up to 200 miles an hour.
OBAMA: Of course, no one ever drives that fast.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: No one ever. But it got supercharged 500 Shelby.
OBAMA: This is what I needed in high school.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BALDWIN: Nice Carolina blue mustang. I wasn't quite sure if he said the car was sick or not. Mr. President, I'm not quite sure. As for you aficionados out there, he actually checked out Corvettes, also a jeep, a Camaro, and a bright yellow challenger. The president there at the Washington Auto Show.
Now, back to Florida. Maybe one of the worst in the nation to lose your job. It's has the highest percentage of long-term unemployed and, you know, many blame the collapse of its job market on the collapse of its real estate market. And we talked to CNN's Christine Romans. She is digging into Florida's housing crisis and is looking for hopefully some signs of recovery.
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CHRISTINE ROMANS, CNN BUSINESS CORRESPONDENT: Brooke, if you live in Florida, you've got a 4 in 10 chance that your home is worth way less than your mortgage. Here in Jacksonville experts say median home values are down about $80,000 since the peak in 2006.
This real state agent you're watching is going door-to-door checking to see if these houses are even occupied. The banks own them, wants to sell them, don't even know what their status might be or who are there. So many of these homes are sitting neglected. And check out how this attorney who represents people going through foreclosure, check out how he describes his town.
CHIP PARKER, FORECLOSURE DEFENSE LITIGATOR: Jacksonville is a beautiful vibrant city. And it is being attacked by a cancer from within. House by house. And what we see in these neighborhoods, established neighborhoods and new neighborhoods, you start to see vacant house, decaying lawns.
ROMANS: When we ask people, they see blighted neighborhoods, empty houses, neighbors paying all their bills? There's pain to some of them. They describe epic battles with banks and mortgage servicers, but the academics who study these numbers, Brooke, and the housing experts, they see tiny little signs that something might be turning.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I did a study going back to the '60s, and times when it's this affordable, five years hence prices have usually gone up significantly. I don't know, this is so unusual and so rare, but this is such a good sign that housing prices will go up in the future.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
ROMANS: He notes that for many home buyers, this is the first time in more than a decade they could actually afford a home. And mortgage rates are really, really low if you qualify. That's a big if, no question, but so far many of the buyers in Florida and elsewhere in the country, they are paying cash, Brooke, buyers are from abroad -- Brazil, China, for example. They are buying homes, soaring investors in this country. And while home sales are up, sales are up 10 percent in Florida versus last year, prices are not up. And so the housing pain continues. Brooke?
BALDWIN: All right. Time for a little political pop here. A lot of Republicans very much still sorting out who will face the president come November. Obama's chief re-election strategist is already attacking Mitt Romney in a different kind of way.
David Axelrod posted this photo of the president with the first dog, Bo, in the back of his car. OK, so the caption reads this, and I'm quoting, "How loving owners transport their dogs."
This is a jab at Romney for transporting his family dog on the top of his car, a kennel on the top of a station wagon for a family vacation all the way back in 1983. His Republican rivals are not shying away, either. Here is Romney explaining why he strapped his pouch to his roof in a Newt Gingrich attack ad.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
MITT ROMNEY (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: This is a completely airtight kennel, and mounted on the top of our car. He climbed up there regularly, enjoyed himself. He was in a kennel at home a great deal of the time as well. We love the dog.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BALDWIN: The Obama campaign has also launched a Facebook page called Pet Lovers for Obama.
It was 11 days ago that President Obama wowed with his rendition of Al Green's "Let's Stay Together."
Roll it, Roger.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
OBAMA: I'm so in love with you.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BALDWIN: And you know, if you were worried that there would some sort of a drought of singing politicians, fear not, my friends, Mitt Romney got in on the action last night during a Florida campaign stop. Here he is leading the crowd singing "America the Beautiful."
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
ROMNEY: Can you sing that song? I love that song. You know that song?
Oh beautiful for spacious skies, for amber waves of grain, for purple mountains' majesty above the fruited plain.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BALDWIN: And on the singing theme, it's election season, meaning campaign songs and campaign songs sometimes lead to cease and desist orders. Should the artist object to who is using it?
Case in point -- Newt Gingrich. Now the latest candidate on the receiving end of one of those.
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BALDWIN: Former speaker sued. Hear the song? "Eye of the Tiger" sued for using this in his campaign. Composer Frank Sullivan from the band "Survivor" filed a copyright infringement complaint yesterday. He says Gingrich should know better, quoting on Gingrich's authored more than 40 copyrighted works himself. CNN reach out to Gingrich for comment on this one and we have yet to hear a thing so far.
Coming up next, police say a mother abandons her two kids at a gas station, but there is so much more to this case, in fact it's mysterious. Sunny Hostin is all over it. "On the Case" is next.
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BALDWIN: "On the Case" today, 26-year-old mother, Sarah Hatfield is under arrest after police say she abandoned her two young children. Her two young boys were found by police Saturday sitting in a car at a Denver area gas station.
Now police believe they had been unsupervised for about two hours, but it took another 12 hours to finally track down and find the mother. Hatfield was found several miles away and told police she had no idea how she got there. Now she's undergoing tests at a hospital to see if she might be suffering from seizures.
CNN legal analyst Sunny Hostin is "On the Case." And so, Sunny, let's just say for now seizures are not -- once she gets out of the hospital, what charges could she face?
SUNNY HOSTIN, CNN LEGAL ANALYST: Well, she certainly facing two counts of child abuse. And it's really odd. Because that would stem from her leaving the children in the car, not from any physical harm that she inflicted upon the children. We know that she left them in the car, the keys were left in the car, Brooke, as well as her cell phone, her wallet, all of her belongings. So it's a very, very mysterious situation, especially for charges of child abuse, but certainly they believe it was abusive for her to leave a 2 and 4-year- old alone at a gas station in a car.
BALDWIN: We are hearing via our affiliate KUSA from her husband. Here's what he says.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
MATT HATFIELD, SARAH'S HUSBAND: They believe that due to family history and the symptoms she's exhibiting, there may be some sort of epileptic disorder that is causing amnesiaic seizures.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BALDWIN: So if, Sunny, this is the if, if doctors determine it was in fact a medical condition and epileptic seizures as he mentioned that perhaps caused her to up and abandon her kids, will she then be in the clear?
HOSTIN: Well, it's hard to tell, but certainly if she had some sort of psychotic break and she does suffer from these debilitating migraines which could have led to some sort of seizure, I think certainly it's something that prosecutors and police will take into consideration.
The bottom line is, the standard is what is in the best interests of the children. The children are OK. We want to make sure that they remain OK. And so I certainly think that they'll take it into consideration, especially if she's receiving some sort of treatment if this in fact is what happened on that night, Brooke.
BALDWIN: We'll see. Sunny Hostin on the case as always. Sunny, I appreciate it.
And I appreciate you watching us here. We've taken the show on the road, live from Tampa. We're back here tomorrow for the day after the primary. Meantime we are hours away from these polls closing as we continue to cover Florida's race for the nomination on the Republican side. Wolf Blitzer taking things over in Atlanta. Wolf?
