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Serial Killer's Disturbing Map; Whitney Houston Death Investigation Continues; U.N. to Vote on Syria; Prison for Teens who Burned Boy; Adele on Vogue's Cover; Prison Fire Death Toll Rises to 382

Aired February 16, 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: Top of the hour here. I want to welcome you back to CNN. I'm Brooke Baldwin.

Quick here, any minute, we are expecting a big moment at the United Nations, this of course involving Syria. We are told that the U.N. General Assembly, they will vote on a resolution condemning the regime of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad. This comes here as Syrians beg the world to listen to them as the regime continues the slaughter of its own people. Obviously this is big news here. As soon as we see any news with regard to that, we will bring it to you here live.

But, first, video and pictures of Whitney Houston's final days are coming under scrutiny as investigators are piecing together what caused the singer's death. We are now learning a little bit more about her final hours, boozing, mismatched clothing, erratic behavior.

Don Lemon live for us again in L.A.

And you're getting all kinds of information. You have got all great sources close to the investigation. What are they telling you? What's the latest there?

DON LEMON, CNN ANCHOR: Coming under scrutiny because of what the sources who are close to the investigation are saying.

They're saying that the hotel staff was aware of Whitney partying and that they complained about it. The source says law enforcement investigators aware of Whitney's reported erratic behavior by not only staff, but hotel guests as well.

And that's what they're saying. They're also talking about her going around the hotel, saying that she was complaining obviously about her drinks being weaker, that the bartenders were weakening her drinks, watering them down was the quote, and also putting too much ice, doing somersaults by the swimming pool and jumping in and out of the pool.

And you see her in video with her hair wet, but her clothing is dry. And they say -- the source close to the death investigation says Whitney would go up and rehearse, come down, take off her clothes, jump in the pool. She had a bathing suit on. And then her hairstylist and her makeup artist would have to do it all over again. And according to the source and guests, that happened several times.

BALDWIN: What about the paramedics? You have new this information on what paramedics say they found when they actually got inside this hotel room. What was the condition of it?

LEMON: You know, straight away, from the night Whitney died and the Beverly Hills police lieutenant came on saying that Whitney was -- when they got there they found Whitney out of the tub. Whoever found her had pulled her out of the tub.

But what they're saying to us, the source, is that -- she was not only removed from the tub. She was removed from the bathroom and that she was on the floor on her back face-up. But what is interesting about that is that no one official according to this source, meaning a paramedic or someone with the coroner's office or what have you actually saw her in the tub or in the bathroom.

She had been removed by the time -- again, according to source, had been removed by the time they got there. So they're taking -- the people who removed her allegedly from the bathroom, they're taking them at their word. Let's just say you heard from them.

They say there is nothing criminal they believe at this point, that it is a death investigation, but still it adds a new dimension to the story and the investigation.

(CROSSTALK)

BALDWIN: You have specifics on the prescription pill bottles that were found in that room. What about that?

LEMON: Yes, confirmation from the source close to the death investigation Xanax was one of the prescription medications found. According to her family, friends, people who were there with her, Whitney did take Xanax.

They're not sure if she took it the day she died. But she did take it for anxiety. They're also telling us, according to this source, amoxicillin was found, which is an antibiotic, believed because she had some sort of a throat issue or she was suffering from some sort of respiratory problem.

BALDWIN: OK. Don, appreciate your reporting. Thank you very much.

We have also learned today Whitney Houston's co-star in the movie "The Bodyguard," actor Kevin Costner, he will be speaking at her funeral this Saturday in New Jersey. This is according to a CNN source with knowledge of this weekend's funeral plans.

Also among the 1,500 mourners at the invitation-only service in her childhood church, we now know they're going to see Aretha Franklin, Stevie Wonder, Chaka Khan. And fans have been very much so clamoring to pay their respects, to have some sort of public memorial service. Here's the deal. You got to watch CNN. You will get to watch the funeral right here on CNN. Our coverage of Whitney Houston's service begins Saturday morning, 11:00 a.m. Eastern.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

LEONARD PADILLA, BOUNTY HUNTER: Busting our butts getting information the hard way.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BALDWIN: This bounty hunter says a serial killer drew a map leading to hundreds of bones, jewelry, even a purse. Coming up next, I will speak live with a father who says some of those remains belong to his missing daughter, the end of this 14-year search. Talk about that next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BALDWIN: This just into here at CNN, a terrifying incident at the World Trade Center construction site today.

Here it is. This is video of the site. There in the center of your screen, you see several beams, steel beams that fell about 40 stories. This is the aftermath of that. The beams fell on to a flatbed construction truck. This happened after the cable snapped on the crane carrying those beams. Amazingly, and thank goodness, no one was hurt -- no word yet as to what caused the cable to snap.

And coming up next: The man who tried to light his underwear on fire and blow up that plane a couple years ago is now learning his fate. Plus, all you drivers who text or talk on the phone, listen up. If you're doing that in your car, the rules might be changing and you are going to be affected.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BALDWIN: Breaking news here to kick off today's "Reporter Roulette."

Deborah Feyerick, let's go straight to you there in Detroit.

A judge has now given the so-called underwear bomber, Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab, a sentence, and it is?

DEBORAH FEYERICK, CNN CORRESPONDENT: It's life in prison. It's life in prison on the counts that he was applicable for that.

But, basically, she gave him the maximum allowable sentence under each of the counts, two of them carrying that life in prison. And she had these counts. You could see a little bit of activity over here, Brooke. What they're doing is they're blocking the road, which means that Abdulmutallab is going to be coming out.

But what we can tell you is that, yes, she did give him life in prison on the two counts he was facing that on. She said there's no potential for rehabilitation and she said that this is a just punishment.

Now, the judge did allow a 52-second video made by the FBI, basically a demonstration of what would have happened had that bomb exploded as it was intended to do. The explosion was very, very loud and during it, Abdulmutallab said, "God is great. God is great," something that he also said as he was being led out of the court in handcuffs.

He has 10 days to appeal, but he's going to be spending a very long time in prison. He will spend the rest of his life in prison. As a matter of fact, when the judge said -- she's reading the formal reading, she says upon release, which is never going to happen, and then she kept on reading. Yes, she gave him the maximum amount under the law -- Brooke.

BALDWIN: So we have his reaction and the sentence there, life on those two different counts. But what about these different people who were on board the plane? I know a flight attendant you said earlier spoke. How do they feel about all of this?

FEYERICK: You know, it was very, very emotional.

One of the people who was there, a Delta flight attendant, the one who put out the fire, got the fire extinguisher as the flames were simply licking up the side of that airplane wall, he broke down and sobs. And he said, this has changed my life. He was in therapy for a very long time. He had dreamed of traveling the world as a flight attendant and going to different places.

And he said, Abdulmutallab robbed me of that joy. And you can see sort of the emotional toll it's taken on people. One woman saying, I can still smell the flesh, because when that bomb exploded, it burned him very badly, as a matter of fact. And he had to be wheeled off the plane and wheeled into his first court appearance.

But -- so she says she's plagued with those nightmares. It's really impacted them very deeply in terms of how they fly. They put on a brave face, the victims who were testifying. They were short. They were brief, but filled with emotion. And Abdulmutallab never looked over, never made eye contact, maintaining again that what he did was just, maintaining in his mind that Osama bin Laden is alive, and that his mentor, the American-born cleric, Anwar al-Awlaki, who, as you know, was killed in a drone strike, that he too is alive.

The judge just saw no possibility of rehabilitation -- Brooke.

BALDWIN: And now because of what he did, so much of our lives have changed obviously as we're going through the airport, going through security for the safety of all of us.

Deb Feyerick for us, life in prison for Abdulmutallab. Thank you so much.

Next here on "Reporter Roulette," some big changes could be coming to cut down on distracted driving.

Lizzie O'Leary is live for us in Washington.

And I know this involves gadgets in the car.

LIZZIE O'LEARY, CNN AVIATION AND REGULATION CORRESPONDENT: This involves gadgets in the car and what you will be able to do and not do and what the government is asking carmakers to do, Brooke.

BALDWIN: And what specifically are they asking?

O'LEARY: Essentially, this is cutting down on what you can doing when you have a factory-installed gadget, so things that already come in your car, not the cell phones you're taking in, but they want to cut down on what people can do, maybe only look at something for a couple of seconds before you drive down the road.

BALDWIN: And this goes into effect when?

O'LEARY: Right now, it's a two-month comment period. They're going to have public hearings. Everyone will be able to talk about this and put in sort of their two cents. Right now the carmakers are saying we're all right with this because a lot of them were realizing there was a consumer bottom-line appeal to having devices that sort of meshed with the way the Department of Transportation would like to see them run their business.

BALDWIN: Lizzie O'Leary, thank you.

(STOCK MARKET UPDATE)

BALDWIN: And that's your "Reporter Roulette" here.

Coming up next, I will speak live with a father who believes his daughter's remains were recently found after a serial killer led investigators to a disturbing discovery.

Back in 90 seconds.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BALDWIN: More than 1,000 bones have been found at a dig in Linden, California, after a serial killer finally talks about where his victims are buried.

What made Wesley Shermantine talk? A promise of a payout, specifically $33,000 if he would lead authorities to the bodies of some of his victims. Shermantine is on death row for the murders of two women.

One of them is Cyndi, the daughter of John Vanderheiden, who joins me now by the phone.

And, sir, I appreciate you calling in and just helping share your story, your daughter's story.

And let me just ask this. All this time, this killer had this information here for years and years. Are you angry at all that he kept this from you for this amount of time?

JOHN VANDERHEIDEN, FATHER OF MURDER VICTIM: Yes, I am, because of the fact that now we're only finding just part of her.

I mean, they just -- her on top of the ground and 14 years with all the animals and stuff going around, it just scattered all over. And so we just have a -- we know there's a skull and some leg bones and stuff that they found which has been identified as my daughter.

And so we do have remains to deal with and to put to rest. But it does make me kind of angry, because he could have done this 14 years ago or 12 years ago or whenever.

BALDWIN: Right. Right.

VANDERHEIDEN: And it would have saved all my time that I had spending looking and searching and going down wells and mine shafts and stuff like this, and sitting and worrying and everything.

BALDWIN: You and your wife and that little piece of hope, I'm sure you all hung on to for many years.

I did speak this week with someone I know you know well, Leonard Padilla, this bounty hunter who has been out there with his guys trying to help parents just like you. And he's been in contact with your daughter's killer from behind bars. Watch -- listen to what he told me.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

PADILLA: I told him I would pay him $33,000 if he gave me two bodies, Chevy Wheeler and Cyndi Vanderheiden, and any bodies after that we would negotiate a figure on them. He's on death row. He's not going anywhere.

I don't get anything. I don't get anything. No, there's no rewards on these.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BALDWIN: So Shermantine who by the way, if people are just picking up on this, he's in prison, he's on death row. He agreed with Padilla, this bounty hunter, to draw this map for him to go out there, Padilla to go out there and find these remains. He's getting money, as we mentioned, $33,000.

That amount of money, how does that sit with you?

VANDERHEIDEN: Well, I don't think he should get any money.

But Mr. Padilla and I are good friends. We have been for a long time. I went out there with him myself on one of the hunts with the cadaver dogs. And so I thank Mr. Padilla for doing it, so that we can get closure on it, but I think Shermantine should have done it for just -- to maybe get a little remorse or something, so that we could possibly have closure on this and go on with our lives. BALDWIN: Who was providing this money who ultimately Shermantine will get? Are you, are other parents giving to this bounty?

VANDERHEIDEN: Not that I know of. I'm not. It's all Mr. Padilla. That's what he wants to do. So he is a very good man and that's -- and that's what he wanted to do. So that's great.

BALDWIN: And he said Padilla, said he had been in contact with Shermantine for I want to say 10, 12 years. As I mentioned, Shermantine wouldn't talk without money.

Are you in touch with other parents who lost sons and daughters many years ago? How is this shaking just this community?

VANDERHEIDEN: Well, it's very tough on our community. We have a very good community. And I have had calls from other missing people that went missing about the same time or before, was last seen with Shermantine and Loren Herzog.

So I do every once in awhile get in contact with them. The Wheelers are supposed to be on their way out here. And I intend to meet with them when they get out here and talk with them. And those are the two that we were with most of the time.

BALDWIN: If you could look at Shermantine straight in his face, final question, what would you say?

VANDERHEIDEN: I wouldn't want to repeat it on the radio.

BALDWIN: John Vanderheiden, I appreciate you calling in to us here at CNN. Thank you.

VANDERHEIDEN: Thank you.

BALDWIN: The men in charge of America's security reveal whether they think Israel will attack Iran -- the candid comments 70 seconds away.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(NEWS BREAK)

BALDWIN: Now to Syria. Watch this with me. This happened just today. That is a building, was a building, exploded from the strain of repeated shelling by the Syrian armed forces.

This is day 13 of the Syrian army's onslaught against its own people in the city of Homs. Opposition sources tell CNN at least 70 people have died today in attacks by the Syrian government and in fighting between the army and the insurgents.

And CNN's Ivan Watson, he has just now slipped into Syria. He is northern Syria and has witnessed a growing revolt against the rule of President Bashar al-Assad. Listen to this.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE) IVAN WATSON, CNN CORRESPONDENT: The countryside here in northern Syria is in open revolt. And this is a rebellion of farmers, of carpenters, of high school teachers, entire communities, villages and towns and stretches of northern Syria that tell us they have not seen presence of central Syrian government authority in months.

They have effectively been governing themselves. And they have clearly established militias, as well as pockets of what's been called the Free Syrian Army, defectors from the Syrian army who have come and joined these villages and rural communities in opposition to the Syrian government.

As we have traveled across this region, we have gone from village to village, from small council to small council where young men and old sit on the ground, chain-smoking next to Kalashnikov assault rivals, weapons, light weapons that they say they have gotten within the last couple of months.

The residents of these communities say they haven't seen any presence of the Syrian government in months.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BALDWIN: Ivan Watson, he and his crew one of two crews now in Syria.

And speaking of, these are pictures, United Nations here, as we're awaiting a major moment -- the U.N. General Assembly set to vote on a resolution, among other things, condemning the violence set forth for many, many months here under the regime of President Bashar al- Assad. As soon as we have news on that vote, we will bring it to you.

Also coming up, Stephen Colbert's show suddenly shutting down production, and there is a whole lot of mystery surrounding this one today.

Also, President Obama's approval rating back to 50 percent. So, how does it hold up against the Republican candidates? Gloria Borger is next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BALDWIN: Breaking news here as we mentioned, we've been monitoring here the U.N. General Assembly here speaking is the Syrian ambassador to the United Nations here as they are set to vote on this resolution regarding the violence in Syria. Let's just eavesdrop just for a moment.

(BEGIN LIVE SPEECH)

BASHAR JA'AFARI, SYRIAN AMBASSADOR TO U.N. (through translator): A legal opinion that would enable us to avoid establishing a serious precedent that might as a result mean that the General Assembly would have an increasing number of breaches of the procedure. And violations of the provisions of the General Assembly resolutions. During that meeting, it was announced that a draft resolution would be presented regarding the situation in Syria. We find ourselves today with this draft resolution. However, under another item of the agenda, namely item 34 entitled "Prevention of Armed Conflict," here we're talking about a completely different agenda item from that agenda item 64 under the aegis of which the previous session was held.

We'd like to remind you here that some Western states -- on tear part confessed or rather they said that what was happening in Syria, that that was -- should be brought under the agenda item situation in the Middle East.

Mr. President, based on what I have just said, it would seem clear henceforth and here, this is a pathetic thing that the Syrian question is tackled under three agenda items that are completely different from each other. This over a space of ten days and these shows, if it were necessary to do so, that Syria is targeted in terms of principles. There is no other reason for this. As part of confusion in terms of procedural issues and very clear violations.

This threatens the credibility of the General Assembly when we're talking about dealing with very important issues pertinent to the sovereignty of member states. Henceforth, my country understands the importance that there is in upholding the transparency of the work of the General Assembly. And the credibility of the principle because here we're talking about an issue linking to Syria. Now, we would like to ask the president to explain clearly these procedural issues before we move forward in order to establish that to ensure that the rules are very --

(END LIVE SPEECH)

BALDWIN: So through translation, you are listening to the Syrian ambassador to the United Nations there addressing the GA, the General Assembly. So he is basically outlining some of his own country's concerns before this vote, this resolution.

And essentially among other items, it's a resolution condemning the violence, condemning the violence within the country that the world has been -- begun to truly witness especially now that we have crews in there and able to show you what's been happening. 6,000 people dead according to the U.N. since last March.

We're keeping an eye obviously on what's happening there at the United Nations. The vote is set to happen in just about half an hour so we'll have that news for you as to whether or not it will pass here on CNN.

I do want to move along and talk politics, though. And I know it's hard to believe, we are less than nine months away from a presidential election. And we've got a new poll that bodes pretty well for President Obama. And a lot has to happen between now and Election Day, obviously, but our poll shows as you can see the numbers, the president's approval rating climbing back up to the 50 percent mark. That is six points up from November. So now exactly half the country, half approves of the job the president is doing.

And joining me now from Washington is our chief political analyst, Gloria Borger. And the president's numbers, why do you think a few more Americans are giving him the thumbs up?

GLORIA BORGER, CNN SENIOR POLITICAL ANALYST: Well, you know, first of all, we've spent every month since January listening to Republicans attacked each other. And they were supposed to be attacking Barack Obama. But this turned out to be much more of a contested race than I think any of us thought, right, Brooke?

So Republicans are attacking each other. And there is a sense that's also reflected in our poll that people are beginning to believe that the economy is turning around. Put those twos things together with one more important thing, and that is that the president's approval rating among independence voters, and don't forget those are the swing voters who are going to determine the election has also gone up by about five points. So all of that makes for that 50 percent point for the administration.

Now, independent voters are perfectly capable of swinging back in the other direction and they could well do that. But in this snapshot, Barack Obama looks pretty good.

BALDWIN: I'm so glad you said that. That is, though, exactly what it is. It's a snapshot.

BORGER: Yes.

BALDWIN: Let's continue with another snapshot as we sort of compare him and how he would compare to his other candidates.

The president right now, he wins head to head match-ups against each of the four Republican hopefuls. He wins by five points over Romney, seven over Santorum, seven over Paul, 13 points over Gingrich.

How worrisome are these numbers if you're one of these Republican candidates?

BORGER: Well, most of all I think worrisome for Mitt Romney because his greatest asset, his greatest selling point, if you will, is the fact that he is the electable Republican so to speak.

In every exit poll and entrance poll that we've looked at, and every primary and caucus, Republicans most of all want somebody whom they believe can beat Barack Obama. And that's a part of Mitt Romney's appeal.

Well, if it looks like he can't beat Barack Obama, then it's kind of hard for him to make that part of his calling card when you see Rick Santorum just two points behind him, right?

BALDWIN: Right.

BORGER: So, you know, I think this is, you know, this is tough news for Mitt Romney. But, again, this reflects those independent voters and they are perfectly gettable. They're not thrilled with Barack Obama. They're not thrilled with what they see in the Republican race. But once the Republicans get a candidate, then I think the whole picture starts to shift and kind of flatten out a little bit because I do think this is going to end up being a very tight race.

BALDWIN: What about Michigan? We know Michigan, big primary looming there. Mitt Romney, it's where he's from. His dad was governor. Also, you know, Rick Santorum is there as well today campaigning. How key is this state for both these guys?

BORGER: Oh, it's very key. I think, look, Mitt Romney is going to have a very difficult time explaining if he loses, OK? As you point out, this is a state, his dad was governor, not his home state but he's kind of claiming, you know.

BALDWIN: Adopted home state.

BORGER: Yes, adoption. Right, exactly. And what's very interesting about the State of Michigan is that it's got some very conservative voters, some evangelical voters and they seem to be attracted to Rick Santorum, not only because he's conservative and on the social issues he agrees with them, but also because he comes across as the more populist candidate. After all, he represented the State of Pennsylvania. He represented steelworkers.

And I think Mitt Romney is having a bit of a difficult time relating to people in the State of Michigan. But by the way, both of these candidates voted against the bailout.

So I don't think that's going to be as large an issue in the State of Michigan as some people have portrayed it as because they kind of cancel each other out on that one.

BALDWIN: Well, we saw what happened in Colorado, didn't we. I know it's a different state, different back story.

BORGER: Surprise. Every primary night is a surprise.

BALDWIN: It is. It is, especially the last one.

Gloria Borger thank you so much as always.

BORGER: Yes, sure.

BALDWIN: One of George Huguely's buddies taking the stand and Huguely lied about where he was the night his ex-girlfriend was brutally murdered, talking about that University of Virginia lacrosse case in Charlottesville, Virginia. Sunny Hostin is "On the Case." She is next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BALDWIN: Two teenagers will spend years in prison and then on probation for dousing a boy with rubbing alcohol and then setting him on fire. Remember Michael Brewer attacked in that parking lot of a Florida apartment complex the day after his 15th birthday? That was back in 2009. Two teenage boys charged in that attack have just pleaded no contest to attempted murder and have been sentenced for the crime.

Sunny Hostin is on the case.

And Sunny, these teenagers, they are 17 and they are 18 years old. They're going to prison. One for eight years, one for 11. Did the sentences fit the crime?

SUNNY HOSTIN, CNN LEGAL ANALYST: Well, many would say no. I mean, they pled guilty to attempted second degree murder. So that would carry with it if convicted certainly a larger and longer prison sentence. Prosecutors had offered them a deal that would have been a little bit more time.

But I think what's interesting about this, Brooke, is that Jesus Mendez got not only 11 years but 19 years of probation. And his co-defendant, Denver Jarvis got 22 years of probation in addition to an eight-year sentence. So the system is telling these young boys, and they really were young when this happened, that they are going to be watched and their eyes -- you know, the system's eyes are going to be on them. So they are going to have to walk the straight and narrow to -- in society. And so I think that's a good outcome in this case.

BALDWIN: We have reaction from Michael Brewer himself after that sentencing. Here it is.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MICHAEL BREWER, VICTIM: I think they should get longer, but it's all right. I know they're going to mess up anyway.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BALDWIN: That was his reaction really. I mean, I just want to talk about the pictures. It looks like he has recovered remarkably well.

HOSTIN: Yes.

BALDWIN: Let's throw this up. Because we have a longer look and we actually froze the video so you can get a better look on how he's doing. His skin, I mean, you wouldn't even know when you just look at this. How is he doing? How is his family doing?

HOSTIN: Well, physically he appears to be doing better. We know that he was burn over two-thirds of his body, but his mother has come out and has said, Brooke, that it's been really difficult for him and that there have been nightmares, and that having to go back and forth to court has reopened up the wounds and they believe at least with this plea deal, that perhaps the healing can start. So his physical well-being is one thing, but his emotional well-being is another.

BALDWIN: Of course, we wish him well. We want to move on to the second case here in Virginia. The prosecution has now rested and the defense begins the trial of the University of Virginia lacrosse player, George Huguely. He was accused of killing his ex-girlfriend Yeardley Love. Prosecutors say Love was whipped around so badly by Huguely, that it fatally bruised her brain. What about the defense? How do they counter that?

HOSTIN: Yes, so many people were saying how do they counter that. Well, the theory has been so far at least we heard it in opening statement, Brooke, that she suffocated by lying face down on her pillow on her bed. So they're arguing this sort of positional asphyxiation.

We've also heard another theory being floated that she had been drinking very heavily that night and she has been prescribed Adderall for her ADD, and that perhaps it was sort of this prescription drug and alcohol poisoning together that could have led to her death. And so that's how they intend to combat what the prosecution is saying was a brutal, brutal premeditated murder.

BALDWIN: Do you think, Sunny Hostin, do you think the lawyers are going to put Huguely himself on the stand?

HOSTIN: You know, I think it's very risky to do that, especially because he has at his disposal this voluntary intoxication defense. By all accounts, he was drinking very, very heavily. A lot of his lacrosse buddies got on the stand and talked about his drinking problem and talked about how he acted after this murder. And so I don't think it would make sense to put him on the witness stand, but it's always a possibility in a case like this.

BALDWIN: Sunny Hostin, we'll follow it right along with you. Thank you so much "On the Case," with us.

Coming up, Adele, she is everywhere. Top of the charts, the radio, and there you have it, the cover of "Vogue." Gorgeous. But many accuse the magazine of air brushing her figure.

Up next, you will hear from plus-sized model Emme and what she thinks of this magazine air brushing controversy.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BALDWIN: There is a joke behind practically everything Stephen Colbert does, but this is not one of them. Production has been abruptly suspended on his Comedy Central show "The Colbert Report."

The reasons are mysterious. The network is blaming unforeseen circumstances, but says it is temporary, but the "Wall Street Journal" is reporting an emergency in Colbert's family citing people familiar with the show. The audience for last night's taping reportedly got a last-minute e-mail telling them it was off. A rerun aired last tonight and another one is scheduled for this evening.

And Adele is trending not only for her amazing talent, but for her looks. And specifically this. This cover here on "Vogue" magazine his newsstands, Tuesday. A lot of fans, they are upset. They say this image doesn't show her true size. And I spoke with actress and model Emme about the impact of this exact image.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

EMME, ACTRESS AND MODEL: What the effect of this issue does to millions of women and children that have really followed Adele with her music career all of a sudden sees her in a very altered state. That's what I'm concerned about. What the healthy media commission is concerned about, that the retouching went past a line. I get lines taken out of my face. I get lines taken out of my clothes when I do different things for client, but there's a line that you cross, and I think they crossed the line.

BALDWIN: And so here's my question, because I've never done a photo spread. You have done many. Are you made aware that once you're photographed, that your photos will be altered? Do you have control over that? Can you say no to "Vogue" nonetheless?

EMME: You can write it in your contract. Sometimes I have to stand with a photoshopper or a photographer and say that's great, that's great, no, and if you're going to take -- you know, if there's something in your teeth, there is something seriously going on where you really haven't had a lot of sleep, but if it really alters what trims your image, where your body shape becomes different, that your face seriously becomes shaped differently. I don't want that in my life. I want to be what I am. And I work hard at maintaining the vitality that I have, and if I am anything different than that, then I'm projecting a really strange image out there.

BALDWIN: Adele has been very open about talking about body image.

EMME: Yes.

BALDWIN: She has said to our Anderson Cooper, you know, I don't need to be some skinny mini. Here's what she said.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ADELE, SINGER AND SONGWRITER: I've never seen magazine covers and seen videos, and be like, I don't need to look like that if I want to be a success. Never. I don't want to be some skinny mini with (EXPLETIVE DELETED). I really don't want to do it. And I don't want people confusing what it is that I'm about.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BALDWIN: But will that be confusing giving, I mean, what she's saying there and these images we're seeing in "Vogue"? What message --

EMME: She had no control over that.

BALDWIN: OK. EMME: She had no control over the last edit. That final edit. No matter who the people are in her group, they did not have that last edit. So it will be very interesting. This is not going to stop here, I think.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BALDWIN: Emme, thanks again for chatting with me. By the way, we did reach out to Adele and "Vogue" for comment and we have not received any kind of response yet.

We want to move to this. Breaking news here from Capitol Hill. We got some news from Capitol Hill. Let me just let you know what it is here. Congressional negotiators have just signed off on this agreement. This whole has to do with the payroll tax here. They have signed off on this agreement to extend the payroll tax cut in unemployment benefits. The deal will avoid a fee cut for Medicare doctors for the rest of the year. The measure now goes to the House and Senate for final votes, and then CNN expects the voting will begin tomorrow.

Back to the image of that fire. That fire was the fire we talked about yesterday in Honduras. Beneath the flames, more than 380 inmates tried to escape before dying. Some of them may have been locked up without a single charge against them. That's next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BALDWIN: Locked inside an inferno. The death toll on that horrific prison fire in Central Honduras now up to 382. Hundreds of inmates trapped in a building that was definitely not design for escape and now we're learning today that more than half of them were never even convicted.

One of our iReporters captured this amazing video here. You can see that the flames from the distance. This was Tuesday. He said he could hear the screaming 200 yards away. At one point, ominously, the screaming just sort of suddenly stop. Our iReporters says he heard gunshot which could support inmates claims that guards were shooting at them. The working theory is that (INAUDIBLE) and someone said a mattress on fire inside that prison.

I want to bring in Vicki Gass who works for the Washington office on Latin America. It's a non-profit group that monitors human rights in part of the world.

And Vicki, so Honduran officials, they are admitting that it's not quite half. Forty percent of the inmates in this prison never convicted. So my question to you is why put them in prison with already this notorious overcrowding problem.

VICKI GASS, WASHINGTON OFFICE ON LATIN AMERICA: Actually I think that figure is quite low. The figures I have heard and from reading the Honduran press, is that the figure is much more like 50 percent, or 57 percent of the people were never charged with a crime. So why are they in prison which was your question? BALDWIN: Right.

GASS: In 2003, Hondurans passed an anti-gang law, and what it allowed police to do is to sweep anybody on the streets who had a tattoo, who they had suspicion was a member of a gang, but really had no proof. And so the prison population swelled, and so in the case of Comayagua, you had a prison that was built for 400 people which had over 850 people. And you don't have enough magistrates, enough judges to be able to process the people who are being detained.

BALDWIN: So, quickly, just so I heard you, if you are in Honduras and you have a tattoo that could suggest a gang affiliation, you're tossed in prison?

GASS: That's exactly right. I mean, you see here in United States, people who have tattoos for a variety of reasons to celebrate a 40th birthday for a loved one, but in Honduras, it's perceived that you're a member of a gang.

BALDWIN: The problem, this is, you know, a minute and a half left here on the show, the problem is not new, this overcrowding problem. And I know that, you know, the government, this corrupt government has been promising earmarks, promising funding for prison systems. That hasn't happened yet. So now what?

GASS: I think that's right. I think the unfortunate consequence of this fire, which could have been avoided is that more attention will be put on reforms in the penitentiary systems, and perhaps the government will then put the resources it needs to build new prisons that are human and abide by international standards. I mean, you would hope that that would be a result of Tuesday's fire.

BALDWIN: You would say you would hope that, or you say perhaps the government. What's the reality?

GASS: Well, the reality is you're talking about one of the poorest countries in the hemisphere. People live on less than a dollar a day, at least 60 percent of the population, and it's more in the rural areas. There's very little economic opportunities for employment. There's high organized crime and street crime. And as you said, you have a government that tends to see Honduras as its own piggy bank. And social issues and economic issues for the poor majority are not on top of the list.

BALDWIN: Right. Right.

GASS: And certainly not on top of the list for people in prison.

BALDWIN: One of the world's most highest homicide rates. Vicki Gass, thank you so much.

And now "THE SITUATION ROOM," Candy Crowley, starts right now.