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Violent Unrest Continues in Syria; Catholics Battle President Obama Over Birth Control Legislation

Aired February 08, 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: Here we go, hour two. Welcome back. I'm Brooke Baldwin. In Syria, mass bloodshed there again today. We have Chris Lawrence standing by for us at the Pentagon.

But, first, I want to go straight to CNN's Ivan Watson. He is there in Turkey. That is Syria's neighbor.

And, Ivan, what can you tell me more today about the Syrian army crackdown, especially as it applies to this battered city of Homs?

IVAN WATSON, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, residents, Brooke, woke up this morning at dawn to another day of this pretty vicious Syrian military assault, artillery assault, on this city, lobbing mortars, rockets, tank shells into a densely populated residential neighborhood, Baba Amr, which has been an opposition stronghold in the west of that city.

For the fourth day now, we have seen images of families cowering in basements away from the windows and still that has not done enough. Activists say more than 50 people have been killed today alone in this onslaught. We're going to take a listen to what one of these activists have to say, but I have to warn viewers that it includes the image of a dead child. Take a listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: He was only 2 years old. He got (INAUDIBLE) his house. Is this what the U.N. has waited for? Is this what the U.N. has waited for (INAUDIBLE) anymore children left, until they kill all the children and kill all the women?

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WATSON: Brooke, we're hearing a lot of this, the agony, the outrage and fear from the people in this community that I have been talking to.

One man I spoke with just about an hour ago said he had seen two helicopters firing into this town, into this neighborhood. The Syrian government says that the insurgents there blew up a car bomb that killed some civilians and security officers.

We don't have more details on that claim -- Brooke.

BALDWIN: It's horrendous, these images of these dead children and families just killed in their own homes. It's an all-out slaughter. And I know this crackdown began Saturday. I think I know the answer to my question. I'm going to ask it, anyway. Is there any way of knowing how long the Assad regime plans to keep going?

WATSON: Well, this uprising started more than 10 months ago, Brooke, and by all accounts, it started peacefully, with protesters chanting peaceful, but calling for change.

The government has consistently used force to try to crush these protests. And over the course of that time, there have been more than 6,000 deaths. The United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights has repeatedly accused the Assad regime of carrying out crimes against humanity.

Doctors Without Borders came out today with a report accusing the government of using medicine as a weapon, saying it was deliberately targeting doctors and wounded people. We do not see signs that the Assad regime will stop its onslaught. If anything, it seems to have accelerated its use of force since a veto by Russia and China of a United Nations Security Council resolution last weekend that was trying to put more pressure on the Assad regime -- Brooke.

BALDWIN: Right, and we know China and Russia vetoed that. Ivan Watson, thank you.

It begs the question, what about military intervention? U.S. officials, every time we prod them, they only talk here so far about diplomacy.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SUSAN RICE, UNITED STATES AMBASSADOR TO THE UNITED NATIONS: Assad is off the reservation. He is being armed and supported by Russia, perhaps others.

The opposition is increasingly -- the armed opposition, as opposed to the civilian opposition, is increasingly also resorting to -- to violence in self-defense.

That is not a dynamic that is in the interests of the people of Syria or the wider region.

So before we start talking about military options, we very much want to ensure that we have exhausted all the political, economic and diplomatic means at our disposal.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BALDWIN: I do want to go straight to the Pentagon to Chris Lawrence.

Chris, just fill me in on something that we had touched on before, the military review. This is the just-in-case scenario, you know, potential U.S. operations in Syria. Tell me about that.

CHRIS LAWRENCE, CNN PENTAGON CORRESPONDENT: That's right, Brooke.

Two administration officials have confirmed to CNN that for several weeks now, the military has been preparing these what-if scenarios, looking at the assets, coming up with contingency plans in case President Obama were to request a military option. That involves looking at what assets are out there, what sort of missions they would be able to perform if asked, and perhaps most importantly, what the risk to those troops, ships and planes would be. This is normally not the kind of thing that even gets to the president's desk unless it's requested. It's that preliminary.

BALDWIN: You ran through some of the options. Do we have a realistic idea of -- I guess there wouldn't be a timetable yet. This is really just the what-if, possible scenario.

LAWRENCE: That's right. They're looking at several things. Anything from humanitarian relief, expanding that program to providing support to the rebels or perhaps even military strikes on Syria, although several officials say that is the most unlikely option.

You know, several senators on Capitol Hill have put forward some options about a no-fly zone, about sort of these safe enclaves where some of the opposition and civilians could gather and be protected, but all of these options have risks, Brooke.

BALDWIN: All right, Chris Lawrence at the Pentagon, Chris, thank you so much.

Still ahead here: The number of Americans taking on debt is skyrocketing. A good thing or a terrible sign for the economy? We're asking that question.

Plus, the Catholic Church furious with President Obama all over birth control. And the fight is taking a new turn. We're live at the White House with that.

And a gay man beaten on the street as he is just walking out of a store. Now, as police track down his attackers, he is speaking out for the very first time. That's next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BALDWIN: President Obama is very much so touching the live wire of birth control.

Also, the Dow close to a high mark it hasn't hit since 2008, and the victim of a vicious beating is demanding justice today.

Time to play "Reporter Roulette."

Let's go straight to the White House to chief White House correspondent Jessica Yellin.

Republicans, churches, they're lining up against this new birth control policy from the Obama administration. First question, might we see any compromise from the White House? JESSICA YELLIN, CNN CHIEF WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Yes, Brooke, in a sense.

I have been speaking to my sources who say that the administration is looking for a way to essentially thread the needle. There will be no compromise on the fundamental principle that women will get contraception coverage with no co-pay, and that won't change, from their point of view.

But Catholic charities, hospitals and institutions, they will look for a way to ensure that they are not paying for a plan that makes them uncomfortable. Remember there is a year to roll out how this works. For example, in Hawaii, women who work for Catholic institutions, they're offered a separate contraception plan on the side, and insurers, they end up not charging women for that plan.

That won't work on a national level, but officials tell me that they're looking for a solution something like that, Brooke.

BALDWIN: As you know, we have heard all the sound bites of all these Republican presidential contenders out attacking the president over this. Is there any evidence yet that it's hurt President Obama politically yet?

YELLIN: This issue cuts both ways.

A new PPRI shows that while a majority of Catholics object to this particular provision requiring Catholic institutions to provide this contraception, almost 60 percent of young people and a majority of women believe that religiously affiliated groups should provide coverage.

These are very important groups for the president in the reelect and these are important principles for Democratic voters. As I said, it might hurt among certain constituencies and help with others, Brooke.

BALDWIN: Jessica Yellin for us, Jessica, thank you.

(STOCK MARKET UPDATE)

BALDWIN: Next on "Reporter Roulette," George Howell joining me here in the studio.

We showed this horrendous video yesterday and now the victim of this beating in the Atlanta area breaking his silence. He's speaking out. So we're going to play a little bit of that first.

But just a warning for you, especially if you have kids in the room, get them out now. Here it is. We see all these men. Here's another shot, kicking, punching Brandon White. What did he say today?

GEORGE HOWELL, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, this is the first time for Brandon White to speak publicly. He says it was a difficult decision to make , but he decided to do put his face forward to talk about this and basically put the attention on these men. We have seen that video. You hear in the video these men are laughing, making homophobic remarks through the whole thing.

BALDWIN: You can hear that? Huh.

HOWELL: And he said that he was basically ambushed. He went into the store on the corner store, came out. These men were waiting for him, basically recorded the attack, and kicking him, punching him, even threw a tire on him at one point.

But he said basically he was going to let it go. He was going to remain silent. But when he realized that the video had been put online and that these guys were trying to get attention, Brooke, he decided to turn the tables and put the attention on them. Take a look.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BRANDON WHITE, BEATING VICTIM: I was just going to be silent about it and let it ride over because that's just who I am. I deal with situations my way. But by them going ahead and want to release it and put it on the Internet, I feel that they wanted the attention themselves, they wanted to make themselves like they were brave, they were strong. But in my opinion, I'm the brave one. I'm the brave one.

(APPLAUSE)

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HOWELL: That moment of applause there.

(CROSSTALK)

BALDWIN: So young, too.

HOWELL: Absolutely, 20 years old.

BALDWIN: Twenty years old. What about these men in the video?

HOWELL: Well, Atlanta police, through Crime Stoppers, say there's a $5,000 reward out for any information leading to the arrest of these men.

BALDWIN: None has been caught?

HOWELL: Not at this point. Not at this point. But they hope that that reward will make people at least start talking, contact them with tips. And Brandon is also hopeful.

BALDWIN: We have talked about cases like this before, and it's when you see a beating, and when they do finally catch people involved, not only the people involved who are smacking are charged. It's also the videographer because they're part of it as well.

HOWELL: And they also think these men maybe connected or rather are connected to a neighborhood gang in that area, so they want to make sure obviously to send a message to catch these men and get that gang out of the neighborhood.

BALDWIN: Unacceptable.

George Howell, thank you.

HOWELL: Thanks, Brooke.

BALDWIN: And now that was your "Reporter Roulette" here for today.

Coming next, Rick Santorum says money is pouring in after his big wins, plural, all three. In fact, he claims the campaign raised a quarter million dollars last night alone. But can he keep up the momentum without the kind of cash that Mitt Romney has in the bank? We have got the scoop, next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BALDWIN: Rick Santorum, he is riding high off his hat trick with victories in Minnesota, Missouri and Colorado. He did it with only a fraction of the money raised by rivals like Mitt Romney, Newt Gingrich.

I want to bring in senior national correspondent Dana Bash, who was up late as well last night and spoke to Rick Santorum as well.

How did this Santorum sweep last night, how did he pull it off with so much less money in the coffers?

DANA BASH, CNN SENIOR CONGRESSIONAL CORRESPONDENT: We don't know exactly.

We learned so much generally from exit polls, which we didn't have last night. But generally the theory inside the campaign and outside is if you look at where he won, these three states, and the areas within the states that he won, they were heavily conservative, social conservative, Christian conservative areas, and that, of course, has been Rick Santorum's appeal all along, and especially as he has been going in and had been going in to these three states.

He actually told me last night that he was even surprised that one particular town in Colorado, for example, he campaigned hard there, and he won big there. Remember last month, he was endorsed by evangelical leaders. They coalesced around his candidacy.

Brooke, it didn't really much in South Carolina and other contests. Here, it seemed to actually help him, because, as one of his aides said to me, when Rick Santorum speaks to me, he is speaking conservatives' language. They understand it. It's his first language. And when Mitt Romney speaks to them, it's like he's speaking a second language. There's something a little bit lost in translation.

BALDWIN: With people such as yourself in Missouri and these other states saying, well, it was just a beauty contest or it was nonbinding, it didn't mean very much, but I imagine it meant quite a bit for Santorum not only psychologically but in terms of money.

BASH: Oh, yes, absolutely, both, particularly when you're talking about money. Santorum himself told CNN this morning that last night alone they raised a quarter of a million dollars.

Before we had the results of the contests last night, as you mentioned, I was in Missouri with the campaign. One of his senior advisers said to me, I said, where are you going tomorrow, and he said Texas. I said, why, and he said because that's where the money is.

In fact, as we speak, Brooke, he has got about a five-hour window where he's not doing any public events. We're in that window right now. He's with some big donors who I'm told wanted to come down to meet him in order to give him money.

Still, never mind that, he is still making the case, as he did to me last night, and I want you to listen to this, that even though he's going to try to raise more money, he doesn't need it to succeed, and that was proof last night.

BALDWIN: Let's listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

RICK SANTORUM (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Now we're in a little bit of no-man's land. You have got campaigns that don't -- haven't spent months and millions in these states.

And it's a whole different environment. It's much more real as to what the real temperature of America is, as opposed to some of these states that have gotten a whole lot of extra attention from these candidates.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BASH: Now, even though Rick Santorum and his campaign will tell you money can't buy you love, and that was proof last night, they understand that they're going to have to add to their coffers and add to their organization and staff and they're doing that as we speak.

The campaign is hiring people. In fact, I just got off the phone with somebody. I called him and I said, what are you doing right now? And he said, I'm looking at resumes. That's a good sign for a campaign trying to beef up.

BALDWIN: Certainly at this time.

Dana Bash, thank you.

Speaking of money, I want to talk about a man who has a lot of it and a lot of very strong organization when it comes to the campaign. Mitt Romney, he just spoke actually about his losses to Rick Santorum last night, spoke out in Atlanta moments ago. Here it is.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MITT ROMNEY (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Senator Santorum and Speaker Gingrich, they are the very Republicans who acted like Democrats. And when Republicans act like Democrats, they lose.

And in Newt Gingrich's case, he had to resign. In Rick Santorum's case, he lost by the biggest margin of any Senate incumbent since 1980. Again, borrowing, spending and earmarking is not a good combination if you're a Republican and not a good combination, in my view, for America.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BALDWIN: Mitt Romney moments ago there in Atlanta.

Coming up, as Israel and the U.S. talk openly about military action against Iran, there is something happening on Iran's border. It involves children and young adults. They're telling fascinating stories of life inside Iran.

Stay with me.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BALDWIN: Iran in the spotlight here after Defense Secretary Leon Panetta suggested that Israel could attack Iran in coming months. But as all the rhetoric rises, there is a story you just need to hear that's happening on the Iranian border with Afghanistan.

Here now to tell it, CNN's Nick Paton Walsh.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

NICK PATON WALSH, CNN CORRESPONDENT: (voice-over): Many have been grateful to leave Afghanistan, but few grateful to come back. Here, at the border with Iran, we discretely film how every day Afghanistan's fiery neighbor deports dozens of the tens of thousands of illegal Afghan immigrants struggling to make whatever they can on its streets.

(on camera): Many have fled a decade of war here across the border to work as illegal immigrants, but now after a crackdown are being pushed back towards a war that's still continuing.

(voice-over): The men simply wander back towards the war. Some didn't make it back alive. This 22-year-old killed in an accident. But the youngest few return adult in appearance.

Beginning a slow process of aid workers reuniting them with families who can't care for them, who needed the money they were earning in Iran, or who sometimes send them straight back again.

They come hungry, soon given new clothes and food, even age 12 still carrying stories of a yet harder life in Iran.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE (through translator): My uncle told me my father was in Iran. So he took me there. But he made me do hard labor collecting plastic and metal trash to sell to factories. My uncle took the money I earned and disappeared. The Iranian police found me and sent me back here.

WALSH: The older few, here mostly 15, all old before their time, fearing they might have to go back to Iran's hardships.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE (through translator): I used to work in a aluminum smelting factory. It was so hot. And I had to carry very heavy things. They put a lot of pressure on me. That's why I have kidney problems. It hurts all the time, especially in the morning.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE (through translator): Because I was lifting very heavy things, I now have a problem in my waist. If I sit still for a long time, I can't stand up because I have a pain there.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE (through translator): Now what will I do? Shall we starve? I know, I can't find work in Afghanistan so I will have to go back to Iran or go to Pakistan.

PATON-WALSH: Iran is purging itself of illegal Afghans. These few falling into a system laid on by the international community to try and get them home to their families, back to a life in a country where with outside help begins to leave, they somehow face yet greater uncertainty.

Nick Paton Walsh, CNN, Islam Qala, Western Afghanistan.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BALDWIN: Coming up next: a chilling 911 call from a social worker who dropped off Josh Powell's little boys moments before he blew up the home with them inside.

Plus, police find a mother in the woods with a baby in her arms -- what happened before that discovery is haunting. Sunny Hostin is "On the Case." She's next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BALDWIN: A Missouri mother is in jail under a $200,000 bond for allegedly slashing her own baby's throat. We're talking about 39- year-old Bradie Simpson and her 9-month-old daughter, found in the woods near their home in Canton County.

The sheriff says they found her on the ground, holding her bleeding baby. Simpson also had cut her own neck. Add to this, this odd encounter this church pastor had with Simpson and her baby just a couple months ago.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

REV. BOB AUBUCHON, FIRST BAPTIST CHURCH: She came running in yelling, "Take my baby, take my baby." I just kind of stood up and stepped here and she more or less just tossed her baby into my arms and said, "Tie me down, tie me up. Possession, possession." She kind of hit her chest a couple times and said, "I'm being possessed. I'm being demon possessed." And about that time, she put her hand over her mouth and she wouldn't say anything else.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

Sunny Hostin is on the case. And, Sunny, before we get to that exchange with the pastor, just quickly here, what kind of charges is she facing? What else do you know about this?

SUNNY HOSTIN, LEGAL ANALYST, "INSESSION": Well, she is being charged with first-degree assault, Brooke, and armed criminal action in this terrible tragedy.

Now, what we know is what you just said. She had this strange encounter at a church that she had never been to before, and so -- and basically saying that she had been demon possessed. So many people are wondering if there is a mental health issue going on. People are speculating that perhaps it's post-partum depression. So a lot of questions about this woman's mental health.

BALDWIN: So the pastor says he picked up the phone, he called 911 after she left and said all of that. Could, should authorities have taken away the baby?

HOSTIN: Well, you would think so with a report like this, with someone saying that she would harm her children, because my understanding is that she also wrote a note while she was in the church asking them to prevent her from harming her child, "Don't let me harm my child."

So when you have that kind of evidence, of course, child services should have been involved. Of course, this woman should have been interviewed. Of course, this child should have been taken into protective custody.

BALDWIN: Mothers harming their own children. I mean, it's something unthinkable to so many parents out there, but is this something that happens more often than we think?

HOSTIN: You know, it's interesting, I did some research today and found that between 1976 and 2005, there was a study done. And 60 percent of children are typically killed by their parents. In fact, the parent is the perpetrator in most homicides of children under the age of 5.

Out of the 60 percent, Brooke, 31 percent by fathers, 29 percent by mothers. So while rare, the killing of a child under 5, when it does happen, it often happens at the hands of a parent. Isn't that remarkable? I was really surprised at that.

BALDWIN: It's a stunning number, and it brings me to the story of Josh Powell and his two little boys. We know what happened to them, their tragic ending of their lives on Sunday after this explosion of the house. We now have this chilling audio that the sheriff's office in Washington state, here in this county, has released the 911 calls from Sunday. And this is from that social worker, right, we were talking about this yesterday, the court-mandated visit with these two little boys. They were taken to this house by the social worker, and then minutes later Powell set the house on fire with the kids inside. Take a listen.

(BEGIN AUDIO CLIP)

SOCIAL WORKER: It exploded, the house.

DISPATHER: Ma'am?

SOCIAL WORKER: Yes, and (inaudible).

DISPATHER: OK? Do you know the exact address of the house? Or are you --

SOCIAL WORKER: Yes, it's 8-1-1-9 189th Street Court East, Puyallup.

DISPATHER: OK, stay on the line. Do you know if anyone's in the house?

SOCIAL WORKER: Yes, there was a man and two children. I just dropped off the children and he wouldn't let me in the door.

DISPATHER: OK, stay on the line for the fire department. OK, I'm going to get them on the line. Do not hang up. Hold on.

(END AUDIO CLIP)

BALDWIN: So now that -- such a selfish act, Josh Powell, these two little boys. Now that -- though this father is gone, do you think the parents of Susan Powell, his wife who's missing since 2009, do you think they'll ever -- you think we'll find out what happened to her?

HOSTIN: Well, you know, investigators are indicating that the search for her still continues. She disappeared, as you mentioned, in 2009. Her body was never found. She was never found. So they say they will still continue to look for her.

It's interesting, in all the e-mails and phone calls that Josh Powell made before blowing up his home that contained his two children, he never mentioned Susan Powell, no mention of her whatsoever. So investigators are still somewhat baffled by this case, and they certainly are going to continue.

Let me also say this, Brooke. About seven 9-1-1 calls were made -- were made when this happened.

BALDWIN: Seven?

HOSTIN: The first one was made by the social worker. And she asked them to come to the home. They told her that it wasn't an emergency. So a fail, fail, fail when it comes to this system, this emergency response system, and just a fail, I think, in our system for protecting children in the United States.

BALDWIN: It is so frustrating and I know it's a tough job for these 9-1-1 dispatchers, but it's a frustrating exchange to hear definitely playing out there over the phone. Sunny Hostin, thank you so much. Now this.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BALDWIN (voice-over): In Egypt, Hosni Mubarak may be out of power but the country is far from calm.

It's been days since violence broke out over that -- the soccer match, politics, dozens were killed. (Inaudible) a young woman, someone who's been called one of the world's bravest bloggers, who knows exactly what it's like for women in this chaotic world, Dalia Ziada, in the studio, joining me live, next.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BALDWIN: Since the Arab Spring began, there has been hope for a new day in the Middle East. But then there was this just last week in Egypt.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: (Speaking foreign language)

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BALDWIN: This soccer match erupted into sheer mayhem, killed nearly 80 fans, thousands injured. Clashes spread across Egypt and lasted for days.

The level of violence between police and , a possible sign that hope from the Arab spring is withering or spoiling, to use my next guest's word. I want to bring in Dalia Ziada. She is an Egyptian blogger who is here in Atlanta for a big forum. Welcome.

DALIA ZIADA, DIRECTOR, AMERICAN ISLAMIC CONGRESS: Thank you.

BALDWIN: The CNN dialogues tomorrow night at Emory University. I want to just begin with the images from that soccer match in Egypt. And everything, as you sit here with a bracelet with January 25th on your hand. But when we see images like this, the sheer violence. This wasn't just about soccer, was it?

ZIADA: Unfortunately, violence has been going on all over the country for a while now, and I believe it's somehow politically motivated to make it credible what Mubarak has said. A year ago, in his famous speech, that many people -- when he was trying to make people seeing the signs was him during the revolution, it's either me or chaos. So it's -- I believe it's --

(CROSSTALK)

BALDWIN: -- now, so --

ZIADA: He's not completely gone. He's, I think -- and many people in Egypt think that he's there. He's still running things but behind the scenes. And actually his men and the affiliates of the -- either former members of the NDB, all the businessmen whom their business was dependent on his politics, are now trying to restore the same corrupt status against the will of the young people.

BALDWIN: I'm sure that's very frustrating for you and for a lot of young older people in Egypt. I want to get to just a little bit about you before we move on to talking a little bit more about, you know, women in Egypt. Specifically, just a couple accolades, if I may.

A couple things about you. "The Daily Beast" named you one of the world's 17 bravest bloggers. "Time" magazine calls you a Muslim rights champion. You're on "Newsweek's 150 most influential women in the world," and, Dalia, you are 29.

ZIADA: Thank you.

BALDWIN: You started -- had an activist voice from a very young age.

ZIADA: Yes.

BALDWIN: Why?

ZIADA: Actually, it started very personal. A long time ago, it was -- I was trying to stove (ph) the backs of effigy (ph) and female genital mutilation, in my family first and then in my country.

It took a while to understand that there are new ways to -- or to defend my cause. Until actually I started to have the great tools to do this was in 2006 when I was very first introduced to -- introduced for the very first time to Martin Luther King --

BALDWIN: Martin Luther King?

ZIADA: Exactly. So after that I worked with my organization, AIC, on translating a comic book about Martin Luther King. And I'm so happy to say that when I was translating this, we used this term, "non-violent action," and translated it into Arabic, it was very new to people then.

So now it's used everywhere, it's used in all the revolutions happening all over the region, and the book was distributed everywhere to educate people how to make it happen effectively.

BALDWIN: You helped bring this message of Dr. King to the people there in Egypt and the message of unity. And then, speaking of unity, I just want to show an image. These are images from Tunisia. So take a look at the monitor here, and you're going to see plenty of women in these pictures, and the same is true of pictures taken across the Middle East.

They're coming. They're coming, I'm told, but it's women basically standing shoulder to shoulder with men in a very public display of strength. And there was sort of sense of equality emerging between men and women.

ZIADA: Actually it reminds me is what happened in --

BALDWIN: Here it is --

ZIADA: (Inaudible).

BALDWIN: Here it is. Here they are.

ZIADA: Oh, yes, it's the same exact thing we've seen in Egypt, in Tahrir Square, just a year ago. But unfortunately soon after the revolution was over, again, we were exploited (ph). Men go to the street and women, their place is home, according to what they say.

BALDWIN: Still the case?

ZIADA: Unfortunately, still the case. I've run for parliament just a few months ago, and most of the negative campaign against me was simply, you are a woman. You are a woman, you are a woman, you know? It was going like that.

BALDWIN: No women in parliament?

ZIADA: There are only eight women.

BALDWIN: (Inaudible).

ZIADA: Two of them are appointed and the other six, they have just won simply because they are on the listers (ph) of the Islamists. Parties that happen to win the majority of votes, they did not win because they are qualified. All the qualified women, none of them has already won a seat. None of the independent runners of women have won a seat.

BALDWIN: Help me understand. I've read all about you. You got your masters at tufts university, so you know what life is like living in America. Help us understand, an American audience, what life is like as a woman in Egypt versus here.

ZIADA: It's completely different. Much - there is much, much difference. Still, we're -- still there we are in the 21st century and women are still struggling just to have a space in the society to prove themselves. It's true we are not Iran or Saudi Arabia, but it's still this patriarchal mentality from one side, and the rising Islamism from the other side is crushing women in the middle.

Women cannot -- don't know where to go, like should we challenge so patriarchal mentality alone? Or should we challenge the Islamism or extremisms that support this patriarchy? BALDWIN: Just quickly, are you hopeful?

ZIADA: Of course. You know, you can live for four months without food, you can live for four days without water. You can live for four minutes without air. But you can't live for four seconds without hope. Hope is all what I got and all what Egypt got now.

BALDWIN: Dalia Ziada, thank you so much. It is a pleasure meeting you. Best of luck to you tomorrow night, "CNN Dialogues," we'll be looking for you. Thank you.

Coming up next, did you hear about the event? The Obama campaign just posted involves Scarlett Johansson and Republicans say it proves the president is out of touch.

Also, Michelle Obama has recently shown up on "Nickelodeon," on YouTube and now "Late Night," showing off her lighter side. Is this a White House strategy? "Political Pop" is next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BALDWIN: "Late Night" host Jimmy Fallon and Michelle Obama having a physical face-off at the White House. Fallon was decked out in a track suit -- there he is. Nice spandex. But it was the first lady who actually got it off to a running start. Take a look.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MICHELLE OBAMA, FIRST LADY OF THE UNITED STATES: We're going to start with a stair race. Are you ready to do this?

JIMMY FALLON, HOST, "LATE NIGHT WITH JIMMY FALLON": I was born ready.

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BALDWIN: May I just add that I love that she was doing the full- on push-ups and not the knee push-ups. That's good for her. This was all to promote Michelle Obama's "Let's Move," initiative, encouraging healthy eating and exercise to fight childhood obesity.

And while Republicans were watching returns in three states last night, the president was busy putting New York's top fashion designers to work, dubbed "The Runway to Win" fashion show, the Obama reelection campaign hoping to raise money by selling tote bags and T-shirts and all these different accessories made in America by two dozen designers.

You can actually buy the collection online today. And more than 500 people showed up last night. The event was hosted by "Vogue" editor, Anna Wintour, and actress Scarlett Johansson. And, naturally, Republicans, they were not going to let Obama's campaign logo on designer goods go to waste.

So what do they do? They put out this Web ad blasting the event, saying fundraising with high-end merchandise is out of touch.

A couple minutes away from "THE SITUATION ROOM" with Wolf Blitzer. Wolf, what do you have coming up?

WOLF BLITZER, HOST, THE SITUATION ROOM: We've got a lot of politics coming up on this day after the Santorum trifecta. All three states, big wins in all three states. Very impressive day for Rick Santorum. So where do we go from here?

I just posted my blog on our "SITUATION ROOM" website. This is not going to be over, Brooke, as you know, any time soon. We're going in -- and for many weeks if not months. The (inaudible) Newt Gingrich even says this could go all the way to the end of August in Tampa at the Republican conversation. We're all over that.

We're going to get Democratic reaction and the Democratic party chair Debbie Wasserman-Schultz, the congresswoman from South Florida. She's standing by to join us live during our 5:00 p.m. Eastern hour.

We're also all over what's going on, as you are, in Syria. This is a horrible, horrible story. There are new information where -- that's coming into "THE SITUATION ROOM" on what potentially the U.S. can do about all of this. So we'll be all over that story as well. So we've got a lot coming up right here in "THE SITUATION ROOM."

BALDWIN: Wolf, we'll see you in 10 minutes. Thank you, sir.

And now, this is the video I'm been waiting for. Just take a look at the video. Hey, if you're looking down, look up. You're in the other room? Come back. Come back, take a look. This is a robot, this is a military robot. We're going to tell you all about it after this quick break. Kind of scary, right? That's next.

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BALDWIN: Trending today, what do we want to call this? A robot beast? The Mulebot? Look at this thing. This thing is designed to help U.S. troops in the field by carrying really heavy loads. So get this. It can actually handle up to 400 pounds. It can walk -- or whatever you call that -- going the distance of 20 miles at a time.

And it's being developed to obey commands, kind of like you have an iPhone, you know, Siri. So it'll respond to "stop" or "go over there. " And it has a little brother of sorts. Take a look at Big Dog, the smaller original version. Big Dog was all about moving. Mulebot is the stronger, the smarter, taller version of Big Dog. It can actually see and process more.

Listen to that creepy voice it makes.

And the Mulebot will go through an experimentation phase with a few units starting this summer to see how the robot does. I'm sure that'll be very useful, though, in the field for our men and women in uniform.

President Obama's campaign has returned some $200,000 in donations from two Chicago brothers. The campaign acted after a newspaper reported that a third brother is a fugitive casino owner with alleged ties to violence and corruption in Mexico. Rafael Romo has more on the story.

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RAFAEL ROMO, CNN REPORTER: In Mexico, "Pepe" Rojas Cardona is known as the czar of casinos. The entrepreneur who was born in Mexico, but raised in Iowa, owns several gaming establishments in the city of Monterrey.

But according "The New York Times", Rojas Cardona faced drug and fraud charges in the United States, jumped bail in Iowa in 1994, and disappeared. He has since been linked to violence and corruption in Mexico.

Two of his brothers had raised about $200,000 for the Obama reelection coffers, but the campaign decided to return it after the "Times" raised questions about the money and the donors' fugitive brother.

DAVID AXELROD, SENIOR POLITICAL STRATEGIST FOR PRESIDENT OBAMA: We didn't know who these folks were and they themselves were not the guilty party. The vet didn't go deep enough, obviously. When we found out about these entanglements, we returned all the money that they donated and raised, and we'll continue to do that.

ROMO (voice-over): senior political strategist David Axelrod says the Obama campaign has 1.3 million contributors, and sometimes it's hard to vet every individual supporter.

MANNY SANCHEZ, ATTORNEY AND OBAMA SUPPORTER: I was surprised.

ROMO (voice-over): Manny Sanchez, an attorney and staunch Obama backer, says he attended a fundraiser organized by influential Latino Democrats in Chicago last December. The Rojas Cardona brothers were there, but Sanchez says there was no mention of "Pepe" Rojas Cardona.

SANCHEZ: I know that Latino families are often big. And just because one sibling has an issue, I don't know that that necessarily reflects on the two siblings that I met here in Chicago.

ROMO (voice-over): According to Sanchez, the Rojas Cardona brothers own marketing and advertising companies.

SANCHEZ: The appearance doesn't look good, but I can tell you this, nothing nefarious was involved in any of the exposures I had to either of the brothers, Carlos and his brother.

ROMO (voice-over): So far CNN has been unable to reach "Pepe" Rojas Cardona in Mexico or his brothers in Chicago.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BALDWIN: And Rafael Romo now joins me in the studio. So this $200,000 that was donated to the Obama campaign, was it actually donated by these two brothers themselves?

ROMO: Not by those two brothers. They were what they call in politics bundlers, which means that they're highly successful people at raising money for a particular candidate, in this case, Barack Obama. So they raised money from family members, from fellow business people, and they were able to come up with those $200,000.

BALDWIN: Have the two brothers, excluding the other guy, which I'll get to in a minute -- have those two brothers ever been accused of any crimes?

ROMO: Not at all. The only reason why the Obama campaign returned the money is because of the link to the brother in Mexico and the suspicion that he might have had something to do with trying to influence the campaign.

BALDWIN: And so this fugitive brother, what's his role in Mexican politics?

ROMO: He's a character in Mexico. He owns --

BALDWIN: Character?

ROMO: -- three casinos -- to say the least -- many casinos in the city of Monterrey, not only that, according to media reports in Mexico, he has donated millions of dollars to political campaigns in Mexico at the state and federal level, and apparently that helped him get the licenses to open casinos in Monterrey.

So, obviously, if you are running in the United States, you don't want to really be linked to somebody like that.

BALDWIN: And, again, he's where?

ROMO: He's in Monterrey.

BALDWIN: He's in Monterrey?

ROMO: Yes.

BALDWIN: In Mexico.

ROMO: Yes.

BALDWIN: OK, Rafael Romo, thank you so much.

We are mere seconds away from the closing day, so let's take a quick look. As we've been mentioning, possibly we can see that 13,000 mark -- ugh, not quite. Just about 120 points away from that Remember, we hadn't seen the 13,000 -- the Dow hit 13,000 since 2008 before the financial crisis, so we're going to keep our fingers crossed for that.

Meantime, that's it for me here in Atlanta at the CNN World headquarters. I'm Brooke Baldwin. Now to Wolf Blitzer in Washington. Oh, our picture from last night. Your "SITUATION ROOM" starts right now.

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BLITZER: Brooke, thanks very much.