Return to Transcripts main page
CNN Newsroom
Starved, Tortured, Sexually Abused; Diversity At Hollywood High; Plant Revived After 30,000 Years; Arizona Sheriff Quits Romney Campaign; Rihanna, Chris Brown Make Music Together; Troops Burn Korans at NATO Base; "Not Guilty" Plea in Lewd Picturess Case; Syrian Forces Tied Down in Homs; Iran Sent 2 Warships to Syria
Aired February 21, 2012 - 14:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
BROOKE BALDWIN, CNN ANCHOR: And to all of you, I'm Brooke Baldwin. Let's get you caught up on everything making news this hour.
"Rapid Fire." I want to begin with this. We begin here on Wall Street. Take a look at the numbers with me. You can see just below the magic number, 13,000. We did hit that milestone once today so far. Still have about two hours to potentially hit it again. Keep in mind the first time we hit this since 2008, since before the financial crisis. Will it hit again? We'll be watching.
Meantime, something you do not want to see. Rise gas prices on the rise for 14 days in a row. AAA reporting the national average for a gallon of gas now $3.57. Oil prices, they did go up yesterday on the news of Iran cutting exports to both U.K. and France.
President Obama today giving Americans a pat on the back for helping push the payroll tax cut extension through Congress.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
BARACK OBAMA, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: We are here because of you. This got done because of you. Because you called, you e-mailed, you tweeted your representatives and you demanded action. You made it clear you wanted to see some common sense in Washington. And because you did, no working American is going to see their taxes go up this year. That's good news.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BALDWIN: The president urged Congress to pass more help for the middle class. The payroll tax break is worth just about $80 a month for someone making $50,000 a year.
And the Supreme Court will revisit a controversial subject and talk about affirmative action. The court agreed today to hear the case of this young woman who says she was denied admission to the University of Texas because she is white. The school has a policy saying race is only one of the many factors used to determine acceptance. The case will be argued this fall at the height of the presidential campaign season.
And this next video is tough to watch. This is surveillance video. Keep your eye on this guy here. This is showing a driver plowing into a pedestrian after pulling out of a liquor store. In fact, his car dragged the man 20 feet and then takes off. The driver then hit a second pedestrian. There he goes. He's OK. The first victim does have severe head injuries. Police are still looking for the driver.
Now this.
(VIDEO CLIP)
Do you hear that? Yes. Hail. Crazy storm blew through parts of Kansas causing all kinds of damage. Hail the size of nickels pelted these cars. High winds blew trees down, sent a roof flying at a community college in the area. That same storm system is now moving east.
And got a lot more to cover for you in the next few hours. Watch this.
Fifteen years old and she weighs only 70 pounds. I'll speak with a man who found this teenager on the streets crying, looking for food, as he shares about her dark past. I'm Brooke Baldwin. The news is now.
They're shouting death to America as word gets out the troops may have burned Korans at a base in Afghanistan.
A dad is shot to death in front of his kid's daycare in broad daylight. Find out why the man accused of pulling the trigger will use Barry White and Olivia Newton John in his defense.
Plus, Dr. Drew once said, "boos would kill this famous model." The star of "Silver House," Jennifer Jimenez, talk to me live about addiction and what kept her alive.
And just one year ago, Chris Brown was not even allowed to be near Rihanna, but now the stars have reunited, at least in the studio.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
BALDWIN: A military official says NATO troops in Afghanistan burned Korans and other religious materials gathered from these detainees' center library because they included extremist inscriptions.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
CROWD: (SPEAKING IN FOREIGN LANGUAGE)
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BALDWIN: And this is the aftermath. Crowds of outrage Muslims threw rocks and started fires just outside of Bagram airfield today. Muslims regard the Koran as the absolute word of God, and burning it is considered sacrilegious. The base is run by the International Security Assistance Force or ISAF. NATO commander General John Allen issued this apology and vowed to investigate.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
GEN. JOHN R. ALLEN, ISAF COMMANDER: We look into the manner in which the decision was made to dispose of them in this manner. I will tell you this. I'm going to take steps inside these headquarters to issue an order today on how we will handle religious materials for the sake of Islam henceforth by ISAF.
I offer my sincere apologies. As I have this morning in phone calls to a number of the senior Afghans here in Kabul, I offered my sincere apologies to the president, to the government of Afghanistan, but, most importantly, to the people. The noble people of Afghanistan.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BALDWIN: I want to bring in Nick Paton Walsh covering the story for us from Beirut in Lebanon. And first I want to get at the how, Nick. How did this burning come happen in the first place? Because first they said it was a mistake, and now they are explaining it was to get rid of extremist communications. Which is it?
NICK PATON WALSH, CNN CORRESPONDENT: I think the manner in which it was disposed was the mistake. Their colleague admits, a military official said to me that they were collecting these materials from a detention facility known as Par One (ph) which is connected to this airfield in Bagram. Of course, these pieces of paper were being used to pass "extremist communications" was the phrase. And some of them, of course, I was told were extremist in nature, anyway.
So they gathered these up to dispose it to prevent seeing prisoners from talking to the outside or amongst each other. But then went to dispose them, and this is apparently where the mistake was made. It was supposed to be disposed of differently, I'm sure, with respect, which should be a fold at such text, but was in fact taken to the incinerator on the base run by local Afghans who are brought to the base, and that's of course where this was discovered and where the fury began, Brooke.
BALDWIN: So then what next? How did all these Afghans find out that these Korans were even being burned?
WALSH: Look, the rumor spreads. There were pictures purporting to be of then damaged. And to be honest, the rumor mill works very fast and very effectively in Afghanistan, often spreading misinformation very fast indeed.
Apparently, the rumor inside the protest was that actually there had been a mass burning of Korans by NATO on that base. Obviously, that's untrue. But effectively, what we have to look for in the weeks and days ahead is this information, and actually anger, NATO admitting to having damaged these sacred texts, that sparking protests and other cities, again, perhaps in Kabul, maybe.
We've seen it happened before when actually information that NATO had burned Korans to be untrue. In this case, they accepted it did happen. High level apologies but that may not stop the anger from spreading, Brooke.
BALDWIN: I mean, the anger and the fury we mentioned just even, you know, the act of burning of Koran is sacrilegious, but the fact, as you mentioned, NATO admitting to doing this. The military admitting that they burned the Koran makes it that much worse.
WALSH: Absolutely. It's going to be hard to recover from that. I mean, to be honest, these things turn into flash points. Instances like this let people who feel inferior from a decade-long presence often come out on the street and express anger at not having got what they thought they were going to get out of America's long presence in Afghanistan. They're sometimes exploited by insurgents. One recently, in another city, led to an attack on a U.N. building, and that was said to have been hijacked by the insurgency. So, I mean, lots to worry about in the days ahead, Brooke.
WALSH: Nick Paton Walsh, we'll be following right along with you. Thank you so much, sir.
Also this, hundreds of graphic pictures surfaced of kids being forced to do awful, awful things in the classroom. And just a short time ago, the teacher accused of these lewd acts appeared in court. Find out what happened next.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
BALDWIN: A California teacher involved in a child sex abuse scandal appeared in court today. Mark Berndt pleaded not guilty to 23 counts of lewd acts involving a trial. Remember, he was arrested last month after Miramonte school officials, keep in mind this was an elementary school, discovered roughly 600 very graphic photos of this man's own students. Some of them just too disturbing for me to even sit here and try to describe these for you.
Casey Wian is just outside that courthouse for me. And Casey, let's just start with this guy, Berndt. I mean, how did he appear in court? Did he even utter a single word?
CASEY WIAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes, Brooke, it's interesting. He did not speak. The not guilty plea was entered by his attorney, a public defender named Victor Acevedo. Berndt appeared in an orange jumpsuit, the standard prison issue uniform.
The one difference was he was allowed to sit at the defence's table next to that public defender. There were some other defendants in court who made appearances who were back in the back of the courtroom in sort of a cage that they keep these defendants in. But for some reason Berndt was, in fact, allowed to sit at the public defender's table.
As we mentioned, he did not speak, but his attorney did make a very shocking allegation in court and in front of the cameras after this hearing. Mr. Acevedo, the public defender, claims that during the time that Berndt has been held in custody at the local jail, which is run by the sheriff's department, that sheriffs department personnel at the jail announced over the loudspeaker to other inmates that Berndt is a child molester.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
VICTOR ACEVEDO, MARK BERNDT'S LAWYER: There is absolutely no reason why that kind of behavior should ever be justified or tolerated in any way, especially because he is currently in what we call pre- trial detainment. He has not been convicted of anything. He hasn't been found guilty of anything. His bail has been set. He obviously does not have the ability at this time to bail out, so he is going to remain in the custody of the sheriffs' department until this case reaches whatever resolution it is going to reach.
But obviously the concern is for his personal safety. We cannot have the sheriffs' department deputies acting in such a way to essentially put a bull's-eye on his head, so to speak. So that is my concern.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
WIAN: Now, we reached out to the sheriffs' department to find out what they had to say about these allegations. Sheriff's spokesperson telling me he doubts they're true. Hadn't heard of this before and is looking into it and would get back to us later. So we will have to have more on that later, Brooke.
Meanwhile, Berndt will remain in jail on $23 million bail, $1 million for each of these 23 counts of lewd conduct with children that he faces. A preliminary hearing has been set for March 28. Brooke?
BALDWIN: I'm glad you reached out to the sheriffs' department. That was precisely the question I had, if they would confirm. They would even say that over the loud speaker. So let us know if that, in fact, is the case.
Second question being in addition to the lewd acts involving a child, those 23 counts, could there be more charges filed against this man?
WIAN: It's possible there could be, and one of the concerns that investigators have is that so many lawyers have now become involved in this case.
Some of the parents who alleged that their children were molested have not spoken to the sheriffs' department according to the sheriff's department investigators, instead have hired attorneys. It should be noted that noted Los Angeles Attorney Gloria Allred was in court today. She represents one of the alleged victims in this case. Gloria Allred telling us that, in fact, the victim is someone who has spoken to the sheriffs' department, but if more allegations can be substantiated. And you mentioned these hundreds of pictures that are out there. The last thing we heard from the sheriffs' department, as many as ten children in those pictures have not yet been identified, so it is very possible that more charges could emerge -- Brooke. BALDWIN: And these charges and allegations involving these kids in the classroom. Casey Wian, thank you so much, for us there in California.
I want you to now take a look at this map. We're talking Syria. The government, you know, murdering its own people. Iran, the government is warning this. We will attack our enemies even if they don't strike first. So why did Iranian ships dock at a port in Syria?
Jim Clancy in the studio going to join me next.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
BALDWIN: We want to talk once again about Syria today and the war there against its own people today has claimed more than 100 lives. Opposition forces tell us today that 40 people have died in the City of Homs which remains under constant shelling. 106 people in all have died today, including 55 in Idlib.
And here with me now, Jim Clancy of CNN International.
And, you know, Jim, we read this suggestion today that the Syrian army, they've sort of tethered or tied down in Homs and they haven't been able to quite move around, you know, to other neighborhoods or other parts of the country quite as much.
Is there a fear that perhaps this is, I don't know, becoming a little bit of a quagmire for the Assad regime?
JIM CLANCY, CNN CORRESPONDENT: I asked one of the opposition people that's inside Homs. What's going on here?
BALDWIN: Yes.
CLANCY: And said believe me, we haven't had a direct fight between the free Syrian army and the Syrian military. They sent on these militias that have forged through the neighborhoods and tried to attack people and set up sniping post. But the military, Syrian military standing off, firing tank rounds, artillery rounds, mortar shells from a distance. They're not engaging them. So he said one of the reasons is they may be afraid of the number of defections that they would have in their ranks. They sent regular --
BALDWIN: People are leaving the army.
(CROSSTALK)
CLANCY: Exactly. People switching sides, going into fights switching sides.
BALDWIN: OK.
CLANCY: Now that from their perspective.
BALDWIN: What about, you know, other groups with other agendas, for example, exploiting the chaos? In Syria, we have to talk about Iran, and specifically, Syria's ally dispatching two war ships to Syria.
In fact, we have the video. One of the two Iranian ships photographed today apparently heading back through -- back through, here it is -- back through the Suez Canal. I mean, I imagine the fact that the -- just the symbolism of docking these ships, they're hoping it will send a strong message to the world.
CLANCY: That ship has no military significance. Did it bring arms to Syria? Maybe, but they're already shipping arms by air regularly by commercial flights. And, you know, the Iranians are not allowed to ship arms. But really --
BALDWIN: That's not what matters, though, right?
CLANCY: Yes. No, it's showing support for the outside of the regime.
BALDWIN: Yes.
CLANCY: It's showing that Iran intends to expand its fear of influence all across the region. It's going to be there in the Mediterranean and it's got the willpower to do that.
And, Brooke, come on. It's a finger in the eye of everybody that has slapped sanctions on Syria, slapped sanctions on Iran. They're both hurting right now.
BALDWIN: Are you surprised the ships already left?
CLANCY: A little bit, but you know, it's only when they're on the move that they've attracted a lot of attention. It gives the Israelis something to look at. And I think the Iranians --
BALDWIN: That's what they want.
CLANCY: Yes, they like to make the Israelis nervous for a change because Israel has made them nervous, of course, with talk about a strike on their nuclear facilities.
BALDWIN: Let's pull the map up back again because I want people to just take a look at the geography here.
Because you have Syria, right. So Syria is off to the west. Iran, there, a huge country to the east and Iraq smack dab in the middle. If Assad were to fall in Syria, when to fall, how would that affect Iran?
(CROSSTALK)
CLANCY: I'm not convince that he is going to fall. Someway or another he may be able to hang on, but I'm telling you this --
BALDWIN: In Syria?
CLANCY: Yes. If he does fall, it will set back the dreams of empire for Iran substantially. They want Hegemony in the region without Syria.
(CROSSTALK)
BALDWIN: Strategically ties.
CLANCY: Without that alliance, they're not getting it. Because Hezbollah, their militia in Lebanon where they're expanding their influence. They're crippled without Assad in power.
BALDWIN: If Assad goes away, what happens to Iran?
CLANCY: If Assad goes away, the Iran has begin to have to wonder, you know, what does China, Russia, Iran and Syria all have in common? They're all authoritarian regimes. Now if one of them --
BALDWIN: Can be taken out --
CLANCY: Can be taken out --
BALDWIN: Perhaps a habergeon of things to come.
CLANCY: Exactly. The Iranians, believe me, are worried about this, the revolutions started after the last election in Iran, if you will remember. That could come full circle.
BALDWIN: Wow. Jim Clancy, thank you.
CLANCY: Appreciate it, Brooke.
BALDWIN: Appreciate it.
Coming up next, she is 15 years of age. She weighs only 70 pounds. We are now hearing what led a teenager to walk the streets, 28 degrees out, in her pajamas, crying, looking for food. We're going to speak live with the man who found her, who stopped and did something. Next.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
BALDWIN: Regularly on this show, we really try to cover stories that show how we can do better for children who have no one else looking out for them. But today, I'm going to speak with someone who did the best he could and perhaps, perhaps saved this young girl's life.
The 15-year-old girl, she lived in this house in Madison, Wisconsin. And court documents describe how the girl could not leave the basement, actually had an alarm to alert the family if she tried to walk up the stairs and open the door. She didn't have a full set of clothes, regular meals, even a bathroom. And she told detectives her family would punish her with her own waste if she relieved herself in the wrong place.
She told them and I'm quoting here, "They will make me eat it or drink it or rub it in my face." Her stepmother and father are now in jail on child neglect charges. And her stepbrother has been charged with sexually assaulting her, and we are not showing any of their faces here to obviously conceal this girl's identity. She is now in state custody. And according to these court documents, the family said they put her in the basement after she made threats to them. But court papers also say she made one threat when she was nine years old.
And then February 6, fearing a beating, the girl told police she left. She left the home, she ran, and that is when the man now on the phone line stepped in.
I want to welcome Mike Vega. He spotted her and decided to help who he thought was an eight-year-old child. Mike, I know you're with me on the phone. Before we launch into this, I just want to say thank you.
Because we do segments like these, people, neighbors, passers- by can all be aware, and that includes me and anyone watching and to speak up, we call it can do better, and sir, you did better and I salute you for that.
So I just want to start with that. Mike, just take me back. When you're out driving, you see this girl. Tell me what it was about her that caused you pause.
MIKE VEGA, PASSERBY AND FOUND STARVING ONE (via telephone): I had come from the store getting milk for my kids, and I came around the corner in a semi-busy street in Madison, Wisconsin, and what looked like a young girl eight or nine years old in pajamas.
It was about 28 degrees that day, so I thought that was odd. As I came around the corner, I looked at her and I could tell she was upset. I drove a little further, looked in my rear view mirror, and she wasn't wearing shoes.
So I put the car in reverse and rolled down the window and asked her if she was OK, and she said no, she needed help.
BALDWIN: She said no. And once she said no, what did you do? Try to get her in your car?
VEGA: I got out of the car, basically kind of picked her up, put her in the car, and wrapped her feet up in a coat and turned the heat up in the car and we started talking.
I didn't know where she came from or anything. And we had a conversation that was very disturbing, and after a few minutes, I told her I needed to call a friend and went outside the car and called 911.
BALDWIN: Mike, let me jump in, because you made a point a second ago I want to go back to. You said you thought she was eight. She's actually 15. What was it about her physical appearance that led you to believe she was so young?
VEGA: She was tiny, very skinny. You could see the -- her eyes were set back like she was very dehydrated. You could see the bones in her arm like the ulna and the radius and her collarbone. And she told me she was 15, and the only way I could best describe it is she looked like she just came from Auschwitz at that age.
BALDWIN: Came from Auschwitz, a concentration camp. Immediately you, sir, are the father of three young children. As a father sitting across from her, I imagine your heart just broke.
VEGA: Yes. It was very upsetting based on our conversation, and the things she was saying and how she didn't want to go back, and I don't want to be hurt and the things that she said her stepmother would do to her if she went back.
I promised her that she was going to be OK and you know, nothing was going to happen, not knowing, obviously, what some of the allegations are now.
You know, the state and the police and the detectives have done a great job working with her and getting her in the right place.
BALDWIN: We often think in situations like this, would I have stopped? Would I have intervened? What message do you have just to all of us about that?
VEGA: You have to get involved no matter what it is. It doesn't matter if it's a child or an elderly person or your neighbor or whatever the case may be.
I think everybody in the United States tends not to care about one another, and I think if we just kind of, as a community -- don't get in each other's business, but just care enough, a lot of children who are abused and people who are neglected won't be.
BALDWIN: Mike Vega, again, I thank you. Perhaps you saved this girl's life. We'll never know for sure, but I thank you. And just for all of you watching and perhaps wondering how you can help.
I do want to say that made son police are trying to set up a fund for the 15-year-old victim, so we'll keep you post odd that and as soon as we get information, I'll tweet it out on brookecnn.
Scientists pulled off this amazing feat after a big discovery. Find out what they brought back to life 30,000 years later.
Plus, got a lot of you talking this morning including my own team this morning. Chris brown and Rihanna joining forces on not just one, but two, songs. Is there more to this reunion than merely music? That's coming up.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
BALDWIN: Here's a fun image for any of you who have always wanted to go to the Mardis Gras parade. The LSU marching band. Live pictures coming from New Orleans. Let's just listen in.
Go, Tigers. There you go. Happy fat Tuesday to all of you and now this.
Who are we? It seems like every election year we hear the rhetoric about Americans, what politicians think we are, but this week, CNN NEWSROOM is examining what defines us by looking at the individuals who make up our towns, our neighborhoods and communities.
What are we like? What do we believe in? What unites us? Today, we meet up with the diverse class of Hollywood high school. Here's Casey Wian.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
WIAN (voice-over): Hollywood high is Hollywood history. Alumni include Judy Garland, Lona Turner and Mickey Rooney, Carol Burnette, James Garner and Cher.
Now a new generation of Hollywood high students pursue their dreams of stardom, but this production is in full color.
This is how Hollywood high students looked in the 1940s. Today, as many as 30 languages are spoken by students here. Even Principal Jaime Morales is an immigrant from Nicaragua.
JAIME MORALES, HOLLYWOOD HIGH SCHOOL PRINCIPAL: Hollywood always struck me as a place where it doesn't matter where you're from or it doesn't matter what you believed in, you are welcome here.
WIAN: Sophomore Roger Neal whose father is white and mother is black said he usually felt like an outsider before Hollywood high.
ROGER NEAL, HOLLYWOOD HIGH SCHOOL: Everyone just comes together and they like accept you. The first time you walked in campus, they accept you. I've never had that happened to me before.
WIAN: Ibiyemi Familoni was born in Nigeria.
IBEYEMI FAMILONI: I want to learn a lot of languages. So it's just cool having people from Hispanic backgrounds or even our backgrounds. I have a friend who is Greek, and I want to learn her language.
WIAN: Karla Samayoa's parents fled a civil war in El Salvador. Now she's editor of the school newspaper and about to be valedictorian.
KARLA SAMAYOA, HOLLYWOOD HIGH SCHOOL: I feel that's what immigrants bring here. They bring fresh ideas, fresh blood. They prevent America from becoming stagnant. They bring progress.
WIAN: But they also bring challenges. Farah Billah immigrated from Bangladesh three years ago. She has resisted pressure from her parents to get a job and agree to an arranged marriage.
FARAH BILLAH, HOLLYWOOD HIGH SCHOOL: That's not a need for me because I'm going to be a doctor.
WIAN: She cherishes rights many Americans take for granted.
BILLAH: I'm so glad to be here and have my right to talk and nobody is going to say, you're saying this wrong.
WIAN: Maria, as we'll call her, was sent to the United States when she was six months old, illegally by her mother was unmarried, uneducated and barely surviving by cleaning houses in Mexico.
"MARIA", HOLLYWOOD HIGH SCHOOL: I'm just like any other teenager trying to succeed in life, trying to go for my goals.
WIAN: Now Maria is thriving at Hollywood high, but facing an uncertain future. She can't afford college and her illegal status blocks her from receiving most financial aid.
MARIA: I tried so hard, and to think that I won't be able to go on because I don't have the money for it?
WIAN: But most of the students say they relish being in this true melting pot, including Alex Moshensky whose parents are from Russia and Ukraine.
ALEXANDER MOSHENSKY, HOLLYWOOD HIGH SCHOOL: I learned to speak with different people. I learn how to talk with them, how to interact with them, and maybe in the future, I could help maybe get a job.
MORALES: We tried to make you at home. It doesn't matter where you come from, it doesn't matter what you believe in because we believe that everybody needs an education.
WIAN: And a chance, perhaps, at being a star. Casey Wian, CNN, Los Angeles.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
BALDWIN: Talk about a remarkable discovery. This group of Russian scientists have revived a plant that's been frozen since the time of the woolly mammoth. The plant's seeds were buried deep in the ground in Siberia for 30,000 years. Chad Myers, how in the world is it even possible?
CHAD MYERS, AMS METEOROLOGIST: Scientists digging down in the permafrost find burrows from squirrels from 30,000 years ago. These seeds still in the burrows that the squirrels didn't eat.
They take them to their scientific lab, kind of a little bit of magic, kind of cloning, kind of stuff. They find the placenta part, the tissue of the middle. You couldn't just plant the seeds. They would have rotted.
BALDWIN: The central part of the seed.
MYERS: And they took it almost like science fiction. This is like, you know, I'm thinking here come the dinosaurs. They probably tried to do these years ago with the woolly mammoth. It didn't work.
The DNA of the woolly mammoth had broken down. But they found the DNA of this plant. They clone the plant. They made it. They planted the seed that the made. It grew a real plant.
They took those seeds from that plant, planted it again and now a 30,000-year-old far extinct gone plant that doesn't exist anymore.
BALDWIN: Is this the first?
MYERS: This is the first. Well, they did something like this with a date seed back in Israel in 2000, but this is by far the oldest seed that's ever been revived.
BALDWIN: Thirty thousand years. That's wild.
MYERS: The woolly mammoth is coming next.
BALDWIN: Science is amazing. Chad, thank you. You got very excited so did I. Now this.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SHERIFF PAUL BABEU, PINAL COUNTY, ARIZONA: Because I'm a conservative Republican, and now they think that somehow there's hypocrisy because I'm gay. I've never worn it on my sleeve like this is who I am.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BALDWIN: A sheriff is outed after accusations that he threatened to deport a former lover. You will hear what he thinks this does to his election chances in Arizona.
But first we showed you those pictures from New Orleans a second ago. It's fat Tuesday. Happy Mardis Gras to you. While you're out and about celebrating the last hours ahead of your Linton fast, here's a look at America's fattest cities.
Blists in the new issue of "Men's Fitness," so at number 5, Tampa, Florida. Gosh, I was just there recently and the food was mighty good. Number 4 here, good barbecue, Memphis, Tennessee. Number 3, Cleveland, Ohio. So could you be living in one of the top two fattest cities in America? Find out when we come back.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
BALDWIN: You think about this over the break. So we showed you the 5, 4 and 3 fattest cities in America. Who has the largest waistlines? Coming in at number 2, Detroit, Michigan and the number 1 city, according to "Men's Fitness" magazine, Houston, Texas. The magazine blames the heat and the long commute for a sedentary lifestyle.
To Arizona we go now. Prominent sheriff and GOP rising star Paul Babeu is responding to claims that he threatened to have his Mexican ex-boyfriend deported.
Now all of these allegations came to a head last week when these photos like these of Babeu and his ex were given to an Arizona paper. CNN's Miguel Marquez spoke exclusively to the ex who is identified only as Jose.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
MIGUEL MARQUEZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Do you think he was trying to make you leave the country?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Maybe. He just, what I think he just want me to keep me as far as, so I don't say anything about him or about his behavior.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BALDWIN: Now Sheriff Babeu is responding. He spoke with Wolf Blitzer, told him that the claims were both politically motivated and embarrassing.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
BABEU: This has been trying to get rolled out by numerous political opponents and now it has, under this slanderous, baseless attack, and all of a sudden everybody reports it as if it were true from this tabloid. And nobody has verified any of the facts.
WOLF BLITZER, HOST, CNN'S "THE SITUATION ROOM": He said there were phone calls. There were text messages in which you were supposedly threatening him.
BABEU: This is documented as well. I said, how do you think you're going to do a business? He had a business with web sites. He just stole my web sites and put slanderous information on my web sites.
How can anybody expect to do business? Because I have lawful authority for arrest, there was no arrest, there was no lawful authority. I did what you and most other citizens would have done.
Went to an attorney, the attorney handled the matter. I thought it was done, and now as I'm approaching five months into this election, I'm 10 points ahead in the poll over an incumbent member of Congress, and all this stuff comes out.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BALDWIN: Now, Babeu went on to also address why he decided to step down as Mitt Romney's Arizona campaign co-chair. Here's what he said.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
BLITZER: Explain why you decided to step down as co-chairman of the Romney campaign here in Arizona if you've done nothing wrong? Why did you step down?
BABEU: One, I didn't want this to splash over on Mitt or any of the other campaigns.
BLITZER: What part, the allegations or the fact that you're gay?
BABEU: This controversy certainly not that I'm gay. The Romney campaign and I don't think anybody should have a problem with my personal life or who I am. It doesn't take away from my patriotism or my service, and if you asked any of the candidates, I don't think they would disagree with that.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BALDWIN: Babeu adds that he didn't have the authority to deport anyone and that Jose was living in the U.S. legally.
Just a year ago, Chris Brown was not even allowed anywhere near Rihanna after he was convicted of beating her up. But now, the exes are back together at least in the studio, and the lyrics have everybody talking. We're going to get her thought on all of this, next.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
BALDWIN: Trending today, the rumors are true. Chris Brown and Rihanna are back together, at least musically speaking here, folks. The former couple is reuniting on two songs, and they tweeted each other at length to the tracks yesterday, which was also Rihanna's 24th birthday, and that has fuelled speculation that the two are also dating again.
But who could forget, you know, let me take you back to 2009, that infamous fight. Chris Brown beat Rihanna so badly he left her looking like this. Take a look at this with me. TMZ obtained this photo from the night of the altercation and it's an image burned in a lot of people's minds.
Brown did plead guilty to felony assault. He completed six months of community service and an anger management class. He is now serving five years probation and while Rihanna may have forgiven him, and who knows if she has or not, many in the public cannot.
Is that fair? Wendy Walsh joins me now, a psychologist and co- host of "The Doctors," Wendy, can a person with a history of abuse ever truly be rehabilitated?
WENDY WALSH, COHOST, "THE DOCTORS": Well, certainly one single person can, and that's got to be a person with a tremendous amount of willpower. Unfortunately, though, Brooke, a lot of the studies on rapes -- going back to domestic violence again after treatment are pretty high for a lot of people.
It takes a long time. It's like being an addict, in a way, you fight it for life. Obviously, going back to the same triggers, like the original relationship that may have caused it, it puts you in a dangerous, vulnerable zone.
BALDWIN: The other thing a lot of us were talking about on our team this morning was just the sheer age when this happened. I know a lot of our viewers have kids that age.
Chris Brown, who was just 19 at the time, as I mentioned he completed this anger management class, but is it especially difficult for a person, Wendy, in their teens, maybe early 20s, to move past this? Is it more difficult or more easy?
WALSH: Well, the thing we have to remember is that there is no one kind of domestic violence perpetrator. There obviously is the classic profile.
You'll hear of somebody who is controlling and intimidating and bullying and uses violence to control his relationship because maybe he has low self-esteem or she, because either gender can be violent in relationships.
BALDWIN: Absolutely.
WALSH: But then there's the one who just has an impulsive rage. When they get overwhelmed with stress, their body in an impulsive way, almost a reptilian way, lashes out, as if they are perceiving a threat in their relationship. So that's a little different because its lined more deep and it's often relation to some early life violence that happened to them.
BALDWIN: That brings me to my next point, Wendy Walsh, because when I hear about someone being abusive. You know, I think did they witness where they involved at all in some sort of, you know, abuse as a child?
Either of the parents should point out, it could be mom or dad, abuse certainly can go both ways. And I want to just quote something Chris Browns said about his family life as a child. This goes back to 2007, he spoke to "Giant:" magazine.
I'm going to quote him. He's talking about his stepfather. Quote, "He made me terrified all the time, terrified like I had to pee on myself. I remember one night he made her nose bleed, referring to his mother.
I was crying and thinking, I'm just going to go crazy on him one day. Is it inevitable, Wendy, I know. Is this domestic violence against domestic violence?
WALSH: Yes, this is a cycle of family systems of domestic violence. It is tragic. I know it's very hard for a lot of people in the public who saw those pictures of Rihanna to be able to forgive.
But, you know, you have to understand that even domestic violence perpetrators have been victims themselves, and it's about who is going to stop and break that cycle and do the work. At least so far we see that Chris Brown has done everything he was supposed to do.
His six months of community service. I'm sure the court appointed him a full year of anger management therapy, that's usually what they give, and that's the minimum. And I assume he's going to continue on.
I don't suggest that the two of them get back together romantically because the triggers might be there and might be just too great, but you've got to give it to him for doing the work and trying to make the effort, especially in the public eye where he is being shamed and ridiculed by everybody.
BALDWIN: He is being shamed and ridiculed, but now that they're collaborating musically, I heard someone say this morning, I am not buying another Rihanna CD, because of this collaboration. All we know so far is it's musical. What do you make of that? People are outraged over this.
WALSH: I think there are a lot of people in America who had injuries themselves, so it's easy to project onto some celebrity and say, I hate that person, when really they hate what happened in their own life.
It's important to go tie place of forgiveness. Here's this man who has done everything he's supposed to, apologizing to her, apologize to go his fans, doing the community work, doing the therapy.
Are we saying he can never have a relationship or be a father because of this one incident? Some people may believe that. I believe there is room for forgiveness.
BALDWIN: Wendy Walsh, thank you.
A school district is strapped for cash yet taxpayers are buying plastic surgery for teachers, plastic surgery. Gary Tuchman has the story.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
GARY TUCHMAN, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): This Buffalo plastic surgeon has a lot of happy patients.
VALERIE AKAUOLA, BUFFALO, NEW YORK TEACHER: Let's say I was a woman who weighed over 300 pounds and I lost maybe 150 to 160 pounds.
TUCHMAN: Indeed, that's what happened to Buffalo schoolteacher, Valerie Akauola. But it's not just the results that make her happy, it's the sweet deal that she gets.
The sweet deal that all the 3,400 teachers in Buffalo are eligible to get under one of their insurance plan options, they're billed nothing for any plastic surgery procedure, such as Botox, liposuction, tummy tucks and there is no deductible.
Linda Tokarz teaches second grade and says she gets regular treatments.
LINDA TOKARZ, BUFFALO, NEW YORK TEACHER: I think it's great for us. I wouldn't want to see it taken away.
TUCHMAN: Dr. Kulwant Bhangoo has been a plastic surgeon in Buffalo for about 40 years.
DR. KULWANT S. BHANGOO, PLASTIC SURGEON: I feel that the teachers have paid their dues and I think it would be wrong to take it away from them. TUCHMAN: While he does have plenty of non-teacher patients, Dr. Bhangoo does say three out of every 10 are Buffalo teachers and the school district insurance covers every single penny.
BHANGOO: They would come in for like hair removal on their lips, face.
TUCHMAN (on camera): Do they also come in for liposuction?
BHANGOO: Yes.
TUCHMAN: Breast enhancement?
BHANGOO: Yes, they do.
TUCHMAN: Face lift?
BHANGOO: Yes.
TUCHMAN: Rhinoplasty?
BHANGOO: Yes.
TUCHMAN: So it's busy?
BHANGOO: Yes.
TUCHMAN (voice-over): Dr. Bhangoo is one of many plastic surgeons who advertise in where else, the teachers' union newsletter. Last year, Buffalo schools spent $5.9 million on plastic surgery, which is also known as a cosmetic rider. The Buffalo teachers have had this rider for nearly four decades.
LOUIS PETRUCCI, PRESIDENT, BUFFALO, NEW YORK BOARD OF EDUCATION: I've been unable to identify another district that has cosmetic riders for teachers.
TUCHMAN: You might think Buffalo School District must be flush with cash to be offering perks like free plastic surgery, right? Wrong. Louis Petrucci, the president of the Buffalo Board of Education says he's projecting a $42 million deficit in next year's budget.
(on camera): If you had this $5.9 million that wasn't spent on plastic surgery, what would you be doing with it now?
PETRUCCI: Hiring about 240 teachers.
TUCHMAN: You don't have to be a brain surgeon to know that a plastic surgeon or a teacher would like this policy more than the typical taxpayer.
But the teachers will tell you there's a lot more with the story. They say their contract with the city expired nearly a decade ago. The negotiations have failed.
(voice-over): And they add they are woefully underpaid. It's quite interesting to hear what the president of the teacher's union says about the plastic surgery benefit.
PHILIP RUMORE, PRESIDENT, BUFFALO, NEW YORK TEACHERS FEDERATION: We've told the district, you know, from the beginning of negotiations six or eight years ago that we're willing to give it up. As long as the district comes back to the table with us and negotiates with us it's gone.
TUCHMAN (on camera): Do you feel that as a gesture of good faith, the union should say teachers no more free plastic surgery.
PETRUCCI: It'd be a wonderful gesture. We're willing to give it up. All the district has to come to the table and negotiate with us.
TUCHMAN: But you're not willing to do it unilaterally?
PETRUCCI: No.
TUCHMAN: Fact is that police and firefighters in Buffalo have similar plastic surgery programs. But those departments are not dealing with the same financial problems as the economically challenged school system.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Everybody works for a living. They should pay their tithes and offerings like everybody else.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I don't think the taxpayer has to pay for that. Not for free anyway.
TUCHMAN: But at least for now, the policy remains. In a school district with the unique mix of brain and beauty.
Gary Tuchman, CNN, Buffalo, New York.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
