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Scores Dead in Syria as Violence Spreads to Aleppo; Video Confession Played in Huguely Murder Trial; $26B Mortgage Settlement; Police Capture Escaped Madonna Stalker; Into The Heart Of Conservatism; Interview With Florida Rep. Allen West

Aired February 10, 2012 - 14:00   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

HALA GORANI, CNN ANCHOR: I'm in for Brooke Baldwin today. Let's get you up on everything making news this hour.

Two explosions rocked government buildings in Syria today, killing at least 28 people. That's according to state media. The Assad regime is calling it the work of terrorists, but opposition groups are claiming 52 civilians died at the hands of Syrian forces today alone. We can't independently confirm anything going on there because of restrictions on the movement of foreign media inside Syria.

Also this hour, President Barack Obama bows to the backlash over his new birth control mandate. Originally, the rule would have required religiously affiliated institutions to offer contraception coverage under their employee insurance plan. Churches were exempt all along, but some religious groups were furious over the plan.

Today the president revised the rule, pushing the responsibility onto insurers. Listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BARACK OBAMA, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: If a woman's employer is a charity or a hospital that has a religious objection to providing contraceptive services as part of their health plan, the insurance company -- not the hospital, not the charity -- will be required to reach out and offer the woman contraceptive care free of charge.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

GORANI: In other news, the stock market is down right now, triple digits, even. Here's a look at the big board for you. We are losing 133 points, stocks dropping over the latest obstacle in Greece's ongoing debt problem. Euro zone finance ministers have called the new Greek austerity deal into question. They say the spending cuts there to try to save that economy are not going far enough.

The man many blame for bringing down the image of Penn State football spoke outside his court hearing today. Jerry Sandusky, a former assistant coach, is to go on trial, possibly in May, on 52 alleged sex offenses against young boys. He talked about how people he's known for years are now treating him. (BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JERRY SANDUSKY, EX-COACH CHARGED WITH SEX CRIMES: Now all of a sudden, these people turn on me, when they've been in my home with their kids, when they've attended birthday parties, when they've been on that deck, when their kids have been playing in my yard, and when their kids have been sled riding when they've asked to sled ride at our home. It's difficult for me to understand.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

GORANI: A judge is expected to rule on Monday if Sandusky is able to see his 11 grandchildren and to walk outside his home while he is under house arrest.

Also this. Atlanta police say they've identified and issued arrest warrants for two of the three men seen beating a gay man in this ultra-violent scene. Take a look.

Well, Brandon White heard slurs during the attack. The FBI is investigating whether it was indeed a hate crime. Atlanta police have offered a $10,000 reward for information leading to arrests. White was not seriously hurt, though this video did shock people across the country.

A huge raid in Mexico may put a big dent in the supply of methamphetamines in the United States. Mexican troops seized 15 tons of pure meth at a ranch near Guadalajara. Drug experts say it could have suppled 13 million doses, worth more than $4 billion -- the street value staggering. It's believed to be the largest seizure ever in Mexico.

Madonna's stalker is back in custody after escaping from a California mental hospital. Police found Robert Dewey (ph) Hoskins in Long Beach. When Hoskins turned up missing this morning, police warned he could become violent if he's not taking medication. Hoskins was found to of stalking Madonna all the way back in 1996. In fact, he served a 10-year prison sentence.

Three hundred and ten million dollars is the jackpot for tomorrow night's Powerball drawing. It's the fifth highest prize in the game's history. A winner who wants the lump sum payout will get only get $194 million. That's it.

Now, turning toward Syria, for the first time ever, bloodshed hits Syria's largest city. Aleppo had been calm until now, but today bombs exploded killing at least 28. Is Syria now inevitably slipping into civil war? What can be done to stop it? We'll be right back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

GORANI: Well, scores more people have died today in Syria's descent into chaos. Some people are saying this is essentially the worst-case scenario. Today's dead include an unknown number of soldiers and police killed by explosions in Syria's biggest city, Aleppo. Separate blasts occurred near a military intelligence post, as well as police headquarters. Now, state-run Syrian television says 28 people were killed and 235 were wounded.

Syrian state television is blaming the explosions on terrorists, but the Syrian opposition says attacks by the government killed 52 people today, including 16 in the besieged city of Homs. You see it there on the map.

Let's take a look at what we're seeing from there.

(VIDEO CLIP)

GORANI: Well, you hear, "Allah-u Akbar alad (ph)," God is great, God is the greatest, people essentially praying, at this stage, not to be the ones hit by these shells, these shells that are falling indiscriminately on Homs and killing civilians. This video from the city of Homs. Homs is Syria's third largest city. It's been the primary focus of attacks by the government.

And what we're showing you right now is some of the neighs (ph) specifically targeted by government tanks, rocket attacks, snipers in some cases. The Syrian government has barred us from entering the country for now.

We're going to start with CNN's Ivan Watson in neighboring Turkey. It's been a week, Ivan, that Homes has been under siege. Some people who covered the Balkans war are saying this is turning into Sarajevo. Others are saying this is Misrata in Libya. Either way you look at it, it seems like it's turning into a bigger and bigger tragedy every day.

IVAN WATSON, CNN CORRESPONDENT: No question about it. It's the army of a country encircling and laying siege to one of its own cities, which is pretty hard to comprehend if you try to wrap your head around it. When you see these images -- we can show you one right now that a very courageous activist filmed, and it's quite shaky, perhaps understandably so because the activist is so close to the two army tanks that start firing shells into the Baba Amar (ph) district of Homs.

This has been going on day after day, with death tolls in a given day of more than 100 people, today a bit less, activists saying some 50 people were killed around the country.

What was remarkable also today was that the violence moved from opposition stronghold cities like Homs, like Zabadani (ph), which have faced the wrath of the Syrian army, to the second city of Syria, Aleppo, which has been largely spared this violence, in large part because of the merchant classes there have not been seen to break so far with the Syrian president, Bashar al Assad.

There these twin devastating bomb attacks that the Syrian government claims killed at least 27 people and more than 200 people actually wounded -- they're accusing armed terrorists of carrying out this attack. We've been in contact with members of the opposition rebel movement, which sometimes calls itself the Free Syrian Army. They've given conflicting accounts as to whether or not they were in the vicinity of those two security headquarters which were hit today -- Hala.

GORANI: All right, Ivan Watson is live in Istanbul. Thanks very much, Ivan, there for that report.

As Ivan was mentioning, today is significant because, one, the violence and bloodshed is spreading to Aleppo. In the last 11-plus months, we had not seen any significant bloodshed in that city. Two, it's been a week since Homs has been under siege, and we're seeing hundreds and hundreds of deaths there.

As far as Russia, it has blocked a U.N. Security Council resolution to condemn Syria and the violence going on there. And Russia and Syria are now both blaming armed Syrian rebels for the violence. Both have said the rebels are being armed by outsiders.

CNN's Jim Clancy put a question about that today to Russia's U.N. ambassador, Vitaly Churkin.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

JIM CLANCY, CNN ANCHOR: I've got to ask you about those allegations of foreign military forces or arms flowing into the country. Can you specify what countries you're talking about?

VITALY CHURKIN, RUSSIAN AMBASSADOR TO THE U.S.: Well, I just -- I just heard allegations, and if they are true, then, of course, it's very troubling. That would mean that we are moving into a full- fledged conflict with foreign intervention and participation, and that would certainly only cause major bloodshed in Syria.

CLANCY: But Russia is selling arms to the Assad regime. It has been continuously selling arms.

CHURKIN: Well, we have...

CLANCY: Do you think that should be cut off?

CHURKIN: We have our transactions -- we have our -- we have our transactions and we continue to respect them. But you know what happens. When you cut armed supplies to the government, those who are supplying arms to the rebels, they don't stop. So we saw that in Libya. We don't want a repetition of that in Syria.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

GORANI: Vitaly Churkin there. And of course, Russia is selling arms to the Assad regime, has been for decades, has a port, the use of a port in the Mediterranean.

Soner Cagaptay of the Washington Institute for Near East Policy joins me now. Where do you see this all going, Soner? I've got to ask you. Russia is blocking resolutions. We're seeing rebels arming themselves and bloodshed and now bomb attacks in Aleppo. This seems like the worst-case scenario developing before our very eyes.

SONER CAGAPTAY, WASHINGTON INSTITUTE FOR NEAR EAST POLICY: Unfortunately, you're right because I think we're going towards further violence. What started in Syria as peaceful demonstrations has now moved to the next phase, which is because the government has cracked down so violently, some people are taking up arms, unfortunately, in self-defense, so we're seeing the starting of an insurgency.

This could take a long time, but an insurgency in the sense that people are taking over parts of the country at night, and the government takes over the same parts during the day. It's a slow level warfare, but it could easily escalate into even further bloodshed, in the sense that we could see civil war and sectarian warfare, given the sectarian nature of the regime and how brutal it has been.

So I think this is a very dangerous path, and I think that in the coming days, unfortunately, we will probably see more violence and more ugly pictures coming from Syria...

GORANI: Well...

CAGAPTAY: (INAUDIBLE) continues.

GORANI: And Soner, I've got -- yesterday, I moderated panel right here in Atlanta, and there were Americans in the audience and they wanted to know -- they were asking one of the Syrian dissidents, What do you want -- what would you want America to do in order to try to put an end to this crisis in Syria? And this Syrian dissident said, You know what? It's time to start arming these rebels.

Do you think that's a good idea?

CAGAPTAY: Look, I think that this regime, which has proven itself to be brutal and a (INAUDIBLE) dictatorship, is going to fall. The question is, is it going to fall after a long, bloody, civil war, or is it going to fall before that? And I hope that it falls without causing further bloodshed in the region.

And I think it will not fall unless the Free Syrian Army is armed by outsiders because this is not a level playing field. The regime is being armed by its supporters from Iran to Russia. It has the upper hand. And I think unless the outside world steps in and starts supporting the Free Syrian Army, the conflict is not going to go away, it will only get worse, turn into a civil war. And I hope that we can prevent that by providing more support to the people on the ground.

GORANI: Well, I mean, if you arm rebels, regardless of whether or not you are against the regime and support the Free Syrian Army, aren't you basically putting in the ingredients into this country for a prolonged, bloody civil conflict? Aren't you making that easier, essentially?

CAGAPTAY: There's always a risk that arms could fall into the wrong hands, and I think we had those concerns also in Libya. I guess then the question is, there's a point at which -- we'll have to look at the situation and say, You know what? These civilians are getting killed. They liberate areas and they risk being outgunned by the government, which is using superior weaponry. And I think this is when the international community has a responsibility to protect civilians. That, I think, is where arming comes in because those areas that are being liberated...

GORANI: But Soner, there are other possibilities. You can create a buffer zone.

CAGAPTAY: Sure.

GORANI: You can increase humanitarian aid. I mean, if you start arming rebels, some say, you are essentially creating the conditions for something that looks like Iraq, and does that region need another Iraq?

CAGAPTAY: Absolutely not. And I think what you suggested is a tool (ph) package where we can discuss a humanitarian safe haven. Again, it would have to be protected from outside, you know, perhaps not by the Americans who don't seem to have the willingness by U.S. government to get involved in a country in the Middle East, just as we are approaching elections here. Maybe it requires regional powers such as Turkey and Arab powers to protect it and with NATO backing.

We could also talk about humanitarian corridors to fly in assistance to besieged cities such as Hama and Homs and other areas of the country.

But I think that there is already a war of proxy going on inside Syria. Unfortunately, that's the reality. It's not what I'd like to see, but it's happening as we speak...

GORANI: Yes.

CAGAPTAY: ... with Iran supporting the regime and Russia now clearly arming it in broad daylight. The question is -- the Syrian people are not going to give up necessarily, having seen how brutal the regime can become, because they've basically decided that, you know, this is a war to death. Either they'll win or the regime will win.

And I think that it will be a very prolonged conflict. It could even turn into a very bloody civil war because this is a regime which is dominated by minority offshoot of Islam known as Alawites. Most of the people in Syria are from the demographically dominant branch of Islam, the Sunni version of Islam.

And I think the more a crackdown continues, the more it will look like a sectarian crackdown, and that's a very dangerous fault line because it would not only resonate inside Syria...

GORANI: Right.

CAGAPTAY: ... turning into a bloody civil are, but it could basically create a fault line that fires (ph) through the Middle East, into Turkey, into Iraq, into Iran, so it could easily turn into a regional conflict. If you want to draw an analogy from the Balkans in the 1990s, we put out that fire in Bosnia so it could not spread to Serbia, Croatia and elsewhere.

GORANI: Yes.

CAGAPTAY: And I think the fire has to be put out in Syria so it does not spread elsewhere.

GORANI: Well, it certainly has the potential to become a whole lot worse. Thank you very much, Soner Cagaptay...

CAGAPTAY: Thank you.

GORANI: ... of the Washington Institute for Near East Policy, joining us from Washington.

When we come back, the University of Virginia lacrosse player accused of beating and killing his ex-girlfriend is in court today. He had to listen to his own confession. After this quick break, find out how he reacted when he did. Stay with us.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

GORANI: A former University of Virginia lacrosse player broke down in court today as the jury in his murder trial watched a video statement he gave to police. George Huguely is accused of killing his girlfriend and fellow UVA student Yeardley Love in 2010.

In the video, Huguely can be heard saying that he, quote, "shook her a little." Love's bruised body was found by her roommate eventually in 2010, and prosecutors say Huguely kicked down Love's door that night, shook her and banged her head against the wall.

WUSA reporter Bruce Leshan joins us now from Charlottesville, Virginia. And describe what it was like in the courtroom when they played that video.

BRUCE LESHAN, WUSA REPORTER: Yes, Hala, I tell you what. It was riveting, and George Huguely was definitely not the only one who was crying. Yeardley Love's mother, her aunt, other members of her family -- they're all in the courtroom here. They're sitting in the front row. The mother was crying here. And when we looked out at the jury, it looked like one of the jurors might have been crying, as well. And then, of course, George Huguely, he kind of put his head down and appeared to be crying as they played this tape.

You know, one of the eternal mysteries about police and suspects is how they get them to come in and confess or nearly confess. And the answer is that they don't give them all the details. In this case, when they picked up George Huguely on the morning of Yeardley Love's death, they didn't tell him that she was dead.

And so he comes in and he's talking to them, and he thinks that this is maybe some assault charges, something like that. And so he says to the police, We wrestled. She stood up. She may have had a bloody nose. I, like, tossed her on the bed. I never strangled her, he says, during the whole commotion. I may have grabbed her neck. I never strangled her. He described her at one point as hitting her head against the wall, flopping around like a fish, but he insists he never hit her.

GORANI: Well, at some point on the tape, police tell the young man, Huguely, that Love is dead. At that point, what was his reaction?

LESHAN: Boy, I'll tell you what, that was a shocking moment and there was absolute silence at first in the courtroom. And then you heard Huguely. He said, I didn't -- I didn't do it. She's not dead. He says, I did not, I did not. I never did anything that could do that to her. I refuse to believe that because nothing that I did to her last night could do that to her.

And then you hear him just sobbing and sobbing and sobbing. I mean, this is the tragic result of this tempestuous relationship, a lot of drinking, a lot of hard partying, and then this strange, violent relationship that they had over a period of months, at least.

GORANI: All right, thanks very much, Bruce Leshan there covering this court case there involving -- well, with a tragic end that ended up with the death of a young student. Thanks very much, Bruce.

A big conservative conference happening right now in Washington, D.C. Three GOP presidential candidates are in attendance, trying to win over some key voters and convince their supporters they're the most conservative of them all. One of those candidates, Mitt Romney.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MITT ROMNEY (R-MA), FMR. GOV., PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: It's been a great conference so far, and for that I suppose we should also acknowledge President Obama. He is the conservative movement's top recruiter. It turns out...

(CHEERS AND APPLAUSE)

ROMNEY: It turns out he really is a good community organizer!

(END VIDEO CLIP)

GORANI: Also in attendance, Florida congressman Allen West. We're going to talk to him after a quick break. Stay with us.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

GORANI: Well, scores more people have died today in Syria's descent into chaos, and today's dead include an unknown number of soldiers and police. That's because there was an explosion targeting some security buildings in Aleppo. That's Syria's second largest city. These blasts occurred near military intelligence posts, a police headquarters building. At least 28 people have been killed, according to state-run television over in Syria, 235 people wounded.

The government is blaming the explosion on terrorists. The Syrian opposition is saying the bloodshed is continuing, that the government is attacking people and that 250 people have died today alone, including 15 in the besieged city of Homs. You see it there in the central western part of the country.

Now, perhaps it bears repeating that the Syria government has barred many independent journalists from entering the country. Occasionally, they'll let a few trickle in. In this particular case, the independent journalists are -- have not been given permission by the government. And the source of information out of Homs has been a Syrian-born activist we are referring to as "Danny." He's provided us with many of the images that we've seen from Homs this week.

And let's take a look at some of what he's shown us.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

"DANNY," SYRIAN OPPOSITION ACTIVIST: (INAUDIBLE) more of bombs and tank shells and rockets. You can see them up in the buildings. Those are civilian houses. You can see all (ph) the ground. You can see how the rockets have landed here.

This is -- these are the holes that the army shoots at. Push the machine guns out of these holes and shoots at the civilians (INAUDIBLE) This is one of the tanks they've been (INAUDIBLE) with. This is one of about 50 or 100 of them. They've got more than 100 just in half of Homs.

There's one house (INAUDIBLE) mortar (ph) bomb (ph) or a tank shell or rocket. Look over there. That's a house. Look, that's a house. Look how they've hit that house with a rocket. Civilians live in that house. Civilians. Look at these children.

You can see them on the streets. Their bodies are in there. There are bodies in that house, pieces of bodies in that house. This is a civilian house.

They've left a video. Pieces of bodies are still in here. These are bodies, civilian bodies. These are civilian bodies. This is in the army. There are children, men, women being killed.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

GORANI: Well, we spoke to Danny's mother. She's safely out of Syria. She's in Cairo right now. And believe it or not, Danny had a choice. He had a choice of staying outside of Syria or going in.

And he felt like it was his responsibility to enter Syria through Lebanon and to bring the story of the people who have been dying and suffering in Homs and to the world.

And of course you can imagine that the family of this young man, Danny, are deeply worried for his well-being and his safety, and they are always connected on line to the Skype account of Danny. And really spend practically all their waking hours in front of their laptops, just waiting to hear from their son.

All right, well, when we come back, he's sober, having fun and inspiring others to do the same. Meet the first CNN Hero of 2012 when we come back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

GORANI: Welcome back. Today, we are honoring the first CNN Hero of 2012, an everyday person who is changing the world. His name is Scott Sprode.

After beating his addiction to drugs and alcohol, he used sports to fill the void he left behind, and what worked for Scott is now helping hundreds of others stay sober while experiencing a healthier high. Take a look.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

SCOTT STRODE, COMMUNITY CRUSADER (voice-over): I get on my bike and go ride up in the mountains, and it really just brings peace. In my drug and alcohol use, it was the opposite. I got into it pretty young. By the time I was 15, I was using pretty serious drugs.

When I got sober, I lost my group of friends because they were still out drinking and using. I got into boxing, triathlons, climbing. I have this new group of friends and I have completely redefined myself. So I thought, how can we give this to other people? I'm Scott Strode and I want to help people find a better life being sober.

(on camera): Welcome to Friday night climbing.

STRODE (voice-over): Phoenix Multisport offers about 50 events a week. All the things are free to anyone who has 48 hours sober. You can see what you can do if you put your mind to it. We have a common connection. It's easy to make new friends.

We do bike rides, hiking, triathlon training, strength training. It really is a new community of folks to hang out with. I'm an example of hitting rock bottom. I had a heroin overdose. They had to jump-start me with the paddles.

Going out biking and going boxing, hitting the bag really fills the void. It's the best support group I could imagine having. We're having fun and we're proud of being sober. So come out and go climbing with us.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

GORANI: And remember that CNN Heroes are all chosen from people you tell us about. You, our viewers, so to nominate someone who is making a difference in their community or your community, go to cnnheroes.com, and your nomination could help them help others.

It's the conservative equivalent of an all-star game, the major players of the American rider at the annual Conservative Political Action Conference right now in Washington, CPAC. The volume is turned way up because, of course, this is an election year.

Both Rick Santorum and Mitt Romney spoke at the event earlier today. Newt Gingrich will take the stage a little bit later this afternoon.

So Tea Party favorite, Florida Congressman Alan West who joins me live. Congressman West, thanks for being with us. You are going to take to the stage as well. What will your message be to the conservative-based CPAC this year?

REP. ALLEN WEST (R), FLORIDA: Well, I think the message that I'll be delivering within about an hour is just really understanding who we are as conservatives and drawing the contrast between that and what we stand for in our business in America as opposed to that which is coming from the liberal progressive side and the Obama administration.

GORANI: Now, you heard from -- today from Rick Santorum who, of course, won the last three contests, as well as Mitt Romney. What did you hear in what they said that satisfied you?

WEST: Well, unfortunately, I was busy doing some media hits, so I did not get the opportunity to sit down and listen to their speech. But I think the most important thing is that they have to show a genuine, sincere concern as far as what are going to be the specific principles upon which they will stand?

It's very clear when you understand the constitution, when you understand what it means to have an effective and efficient government that is fiscally responsible and limited in its scope, individual sovereignty, our free markets, traditional calls for value and strong defense. They just need to be able to connect that message to the people.

GORANI: All right, well, are they? Who do you like? I mean, essentially in this field of conservatives, of Republicans, presidential hopefuls, who do you -- who would you support in this race at this stage?

WEST: Well, right now, as you know, I have not endorsed anyone, and I don't plan to endorse anyone because I've got a lot of very important duties as a congressional representative.

But I think the most important thing is that they will present their ideals and the people will make the decision, as we did down in Florida, as to who we believe best to go into that arena with the president and be successful in November. So I'm not trying to skew the system in any way.

GORANI: So you're not leaning toward anyone in particular?

WEST: No, I'm going to sit back and whoever the eventual nominee is will be the person that my get my full 110 percent support.

GORANI: Let me ask you. You decided to run in a different district in Florida, and one of your Democratic opponents Patrick Murphy called you a coward, quote, "a coward for switching districts" because there are more Republicans than in the district you first ran in. What's your response to that?

WEST: Nothing, really. I mean, I found it pretty interesting someone would make that type of assessment of a person that spent 22 years in the military, been shot at, almost blown up, jumped out of airplanes in the middle of the night at 800 feet with 200 pounds of gear. So I'll do my talking when we get to the ballot box in November.

GORANI: But he's not talking about your military record. He's saying you're switching districts because there are more Republican voters there.

WEST: Well, you know something. I think that if a Democrat had done the same thing, the people on that side would be saying that that was a very wise move.

Look, I'm running in a swing district. The district is called a D plus 1. The new district is just an R plus 1 so I don't know what he's talking about. As I said, I'm about representing the people and I'll do my talking at the ballot box.

GORANI: All right, Representative Alan West of Florida, thanks so much for joining us live from Washington, D.C.

WEST: Pleasure. Thank you.

GORANI: Well, some Americans will get cold, hard cash as part of a newly announced mortgage settlement, but there are also many people who are getting nothing.

Up next, we're going to break down the numbers for you and talk to this man, Ben Stein, to get his take on all of this. Stay with us.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

GORANI: Yesterday came the details. Now comes the criticism about the $26 billion mortgage settlement deal to help struggling homeowners. Forty nine state attorneys general cut the deal with five banks, Citigroup, Wells Fargo, Bank of America, J.P. Morgan Chase and Allied, which used to be GMAC.

But many are asking, what about all the mortgages not under these banks? And by the way, what about all of you possibly watching us, Alison Kosik, who have mortgages and own homes that are under water, but have been making payments?

Alison, one estimate is there are 11 million people who owe more money on their mortgages in their home is worth. So how many of those people are getting help in this deal?

ALISON KOSIK, CNN BUSINESS CORRESPONDENT: OK, so what this deal, Hala, is going to do is going to wind up helping about 2 million people who owe more on their homes than their homes are worth.

But if your mortgage is not with one of those five banks that you mentioned, guess what? You're out of luck. This deal won't apply to you. But still the five lenders who are involved, they service a lot of the country's mortgages.

About 60 percent so that's a lot of mortgages and then if you do fit in to one of those categories, meaning one of those banks then you have to fit into one of these situations. You have to be underwater on your mortgage.

You can either be late or current on your payments, it doesn't matter. Also, if you are foreclosed on between 2008 and 2011, you could get a cash payment of about $2,000 -- Hala.

GORANI: All right, well, let's take a look, then, at those people who are not covered under this deal. I mean, do they have any alternative whatsoever?

KOSIK: If you're not covered under this deal, you really just need to call your servicer and try to figure it out. But this is one of those things that also goes beyond money when you look at how this deal has been presented.

It really sets up new rules for these five big banks, Hala and for one, you know, there is not going to be any more robo signing. That's done. That's not going to be allowed.

These lenders also have to give a heads up to people that they're heading towards a foreclosure because people could still have time to fix things before it's too late.

You know, also banks have to set up one point of contact for each borrower. There's not going to be any more dealing with ten different people on your case.

And here is the big thing that this deal is going to do, Hala, if you're appealing because you've been turned down for a mortgage modification, the foreclosure process would actually be stopped during that appeal.

Because what happened is a lot of those people who were trying to modify their mortgages actually lost their homes even though they were trying to make a positive effort and save it because one hand wasn't talking to the other one, Hala.

GORANI: Right, foreclosure trigger happy in some cases is the accusation for banks. Alison, thanks very much. We'll talk to you a little bit later.

Now, California's attorney general gives her bottom line on why she approved the deal. She was one of the last to do so. Listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

KAMALA HARRIS, CALIFORNIA ATTORNEY GENERAL: It is going to allow people to stay in their homes. The banks were very reluctant to do principle reductions.

Fannie and Freddie still won't, and it's what these homeowners need. So it is outcome because it's about making sure that hardworking folks can stay in their home and raise their children in their home.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

GORANI: Let's turn now to economist and author, Ben Stein. Now, is this a good deal or not? It doesn't cover many people, and importantly, Ben, people who are responsible homeowners, who have made their payments every single month, they get nothing.

BEN STEIN, ECONOMIST AND AUTHOR: Well, it's funny because every time I go into the bank to pay my mortgage payments, I always feel as if they should give me a lollipop for making my payments on time.

This is too little and too late. First of all, it covers only a tiny fraction of the amount of people who are underwater. The amount of payments is something like $2,000 as your very capable correspondent said is nowhere near enough to make a difference for people who are underwater.

The housing crisis so enormous, it involves so many tens of billions of American homeowners that this is a drop in the bucket. By the way, I'm not positive it's the banks' obligation to put up this money.

I mean, yes, some of the documents were robo signed. I'm not sure that invalidates the contract. It seems like what we have here is a little squeeze play on the profit system and free enterprise system.

Whether you agree with that ideologically or not, it's just not going to make very much difference. It's a cosmetic thing. It's a very lovely cosmetic thing, but it's not going to make much difference.

GORANI: But let me ask you, then, what would make a difference. Because so much of American consumer spending, which accounts for so much of the GDP, two-thirds of GDP is based on perceived wealth in real estate holdings.

I mean, these people who have their homes, what do they need to do to get a better mortgage deal from their banks when they have been making payments?

STEIN: Well, first of all, Hala, I think somebody gave you the wrong number there. There is nothing that big in connection between perceived wealth and consumer spending. It's not even close to that amount.

But what needs to happen is an improved outlook. Look, in South Florida, in certain parts of South Florida, they're having a huge real estate boom and the whole communities are lighting on fire because Brazilians are coming in and other Latin Americans and are buying up property.

If the mood of this country would change and people would think there is a future and a brighter tomorrow in terms of the economy, if people thought once again it was morning in America, the whole picture would change. Housing is, right now, by any historic trend line incredibly cheap in many parts of the country.

If people would look at that and say in 10 years, it's extremely likely the house will be much more valuable and now is the time to buy, it will pick up. I don't think beating the banks over the head is the way to do it.

I think trying to get a recovery generally, and that means a much more optimistic and pro business environment from the president. And also I have to say it means less gridlock in Washington.

But it's going to take a change in the mood of the country, a change in the mood created in the housing boom, a change in the mood created in the crash. A change in the mood will save us.

GORANI: Now, which part did I get wrong here? Because two-thirds of consumers spending -- you mean the link between perceived real estate wealth and consumer spending in the economy. You're saying there's not that much of a link?

STEIN: It's trivial. That's called the wealth effect. It's very controversial and nobody thinks it's more than 2 percent or 3 percent.

GORANI: All right. Well, it's interesting because anecdotally I'm hearing things differently. I think people are saying, I'm holding back on spending on big ticket items because I don't know when my home value is going to be worth what I paid for it. It is about the mood, though, as well.

STEIN: Anecdotally, I hear the same thing and I feel exactly the same thing. I was involved in way too much real estate, but what I hear is the same thing, I'm terrified about whether I'll ever be able to sell my house.

I'm terrified if I'll take a loss if I do it, but as a matter of the data, the data doesn't show that big a connection between the housing prices and consumer spending. It's a connection but it's not that big a connection.

GORANI: All right, well, we'll see if more larger scale measures are implemented at some point down the line --

STEIN: I don't think we need larger scale measures in the government, we just need a change in the national mood, and that could come from a sunny, bright, optimistic person being president, and maybe that person is Mr. Obama. I'm not sure.

GORANI: All right, well, sunny, bright, optimistic, we'll see then if that becomes the mood of homeowners in this country. Certainly some of them will tell you they're not that optimistic, but hopefully they will be soon. Ben Stein, thanks very much.

Well, a man convicted of stalking Madonna escapes from a California mental hospital. Up next, find out how he got loose and what the Los Angeles Police Department did to track him down. Stay with us. We'll be right back.

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GORANI: Madonna's stalker escapes from a California mental hospital, but he didn't get very far. Hours after he was reported missing this morning, police found Robert Dewey Hoskins in Long Beach, California.

The escape was concerning. Police warned Hoskins could get violent if he doesn't get his medication. Kareen Wynter is following this story for us and she joins us from L.A. So how did police catch up with Hoskins?

KAREEN WYNTER, CNN ENTERTAINMENT CORRESPONDENT: Well, they had a few tips. First of all, this was a case they were taking very, very seriously. I mean, this is a guy who was convicted of stalking Madonna, threatening to kill her.

He served 10 years in prison. But around 8:50 a.m. local time this morning, officers in Long Beach, they had their eyes out for Hoskins, and they found him just walking casually along the streets. And so they apprehended him.

We were told there was no incident, nothing out of the ordinary and took him back into custody. They took him back to that mental facility, Metropolitan State Hospital. What's also telling, Hala, the reason the officers had an advantage was that apparently before his escape last Friday.

While Hoskins we're told he had made comments to hospital staff suggesting that he may have, you know, perhaps gone to that area, that's the area he had, you know, his eye on. So he's back in custody this morning.

There was a little bit of confusion, though, between detectives on this case whether or not this was an actual escapee or not, maybe he left on his own free will. And that's because this facility he was being housed, he was just getting treatment there, getting medication, helping him get acclimated back into society.

There was no secure area. He could come and go as he pleased. He didn't have an inmate uniform that he had to wear. So that probably explains why he was able to walk out so casually, but again he's back in custody being evaluated at that facility in Norwalk, California at this hour -- Hala.

GORANI: All right, thanks very much, Kareen Wynter.

And Adele is back for all you Adele fans. Up next, we hear her sing for the first time since her vocal cord surgery when she sits down with Anderson Cooper. Stay with us.

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GORANI: All right, so what is trending today? It's Adele A Capella. The superstar singer gave a raw and impromptu performance during an interview with Anderson Cooper.

And you'll soon hear why their conversation scoops her much anticipated gig at the Grammys this weekend. Adele's first public performance after her vocal cords surgery sidelined her back in November. Listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ANDERSON COOPER, CNN ANCHOR: She had really long nails on and she couldn't play the piano with her nails.

ADELE, SINGER: There is a fire starting in my heart it's a big fever pitch and it's bringing me out the dark finally, I can see you crystal clear go ahead and sell me out every piece of you don't underestimate there's things that I won't do.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

GORANI: Right. Well, Adele is up for six Grammys, including album of the year, song of the year and record of the year.