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Seven Marines Killed in Helicopter Collision; Syria's Chemical Weapons; Obama Talks Gas Prices at U of Miami; 50 Dead In Argentina Train Crash; Google Sparks Privacy Controversy; First Talks with North Korea Under New Leader
Aired February 23, 2012 - 14:49 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
BROOKE BALDWIN, CNN ANCHOR: Well, if you own a car, that is certainly conversation that will you know, pique your interest. Talking about gas prices, the president there, speaking there in Carl Gables to the students of the University of Miami.
Keep in mind, this is Florida, this is an election year. He will be sticking around tonight for some fundraising. But basically he's talking gas prices, he's talking energy. Off the top, I don't know if you caught it, but he's basically saying if Republicans think they have the solution, some sort of silver bullet, he says that doesn't exist.
He said the answer is not to drill. That's basically just a bumper sticker. Ultimately, he's saying we have to look from within. You know, gas prices up 3.3 cents just since you went to sleep, part of the reason he mentioned, you know, issues in the Middle East, Iran, fears of a standoff there.
And also the good news for us that our economy is getting better, but that means some of the oil traders are saying the demand will go up. So essentially the president is saying there is no solution short term.
He's saying we have to invest in America. We have to tap every source of energy. He mentioned wind and solar and biofuels. And ultimately and I'm quoting him, he says, "I will not walk away from the promise of clean energy right here in the United States."
Hoping that means energy security and also jobs in an economy that certainly needs that. The president there in Miami. We're going to take a quick break. CNN NEWSROOM will be right back.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK0
BALDWIN: Knives, mock ammunition, even boxed wine, just a couple of the items the TSA had on display at the Nashville International Airport to remind travelers what you can't take on board in terms of carry-on luggage here. More than 300 pounds of banned luggage were confiscated in the last month alone at that one airport.
And Denver, Colorado dealing with hurricane-force winds so in addition to several airport delays on Wednesday, gusts of about 40 miles per hour even knocked out power. Winds even knocked over a tractor-trailer on the interstate.
And staying in that neck of the woods here, a young snowmobiler narrowly escaped death after trigging an avalanche. This is near Logan, Utah.
Nate Smooth drove his snowmobile over a weak layer of tree. Had to bail, grabbed a tree and had to hang on for 5 minutes as he watched the snow just fly by him. He tells our affiliate KSTU, it would have been a 700-foot drop that the tree saved his life.
One of the next stops in the GOP presidential race is Michigan. Is the home grown Republican leading there? We're going to talk about that next.
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BALDWIN: Mitt Romney, he is headed home to his native state of Michigan tonight, but the news there for him, not exactly outstanding. Take a look at the numbers here.
A new American Research poll has him slightly trailing Rick Santorum by four points there in Michigan. Keep in mind, folks, we're talking Tuesday is the primary day there for both Michigan and Arizona. That is within the poll sampling error, by the way.
It would be embarrassing for Romney to lose Michigan considering he was born and raised there. His father was once governor. I want to go straight Joe Johns who's standing by live for me in Detroit.
Joe, so we saw the numbers, polling Romney not polling I'm sure at all like he would like to be. Are they still exuding confidence?
JOE JOHNS, CNN SENIOR CORRESSPONDENT: Well, you know, honestly, Brooke, I think what you can say is they're confident that they are running strong. Like you say, they're within the margin of error. So that's a good thing for somebody who wants to try to win a race at this stage.
They're not nearly where they think they ought to be, but the thing they have in the state of Michigan is organization. It's very strong here obviously because this is a guy whose father was the governor of the state.
He's got people who remember him from way back. He also grew up in this state. So that counts for something. They're hoping at the end of the day that will get them over the finish line.
On the other hand, I got to also tell you, they've been sort of downplaying what would happen here in the state of Michigan though all of us know how important it is simply because of Mitt Romney's roots -- Brooke.
BALDWIN: So last night, I know I watched our debate. So we have the four guys sitting at the table and all eyes on the two in the center being Romney and Santorum. I just want to play a little something that Romney said just this morning about that.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
MITT ROMNEY (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: I hope you watched the debate last night. It was kind of fun. I enjoyed it. We -- it was kind of an interesting night. I didn't expect what happened. What happened was we saw in this case Senator Santorum explain most of the night why he did or voted for things he disagreed with.
And he talked about this as being taking one for the team. I wonder which team he was taking it for, all right? My team is the American people. Not the insiders in Washington and I'll fight for the people of America, not special interests.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BALDWIN: So, I mean, is he essentially saying Senator Santorum handed me some new material?
JOHNS: Yes, well, absolutely. What he's talking about there is President George W. Bush's no child left behind initiative last night during the debate, Santorum essentially said he was a team player on it, didn't really like it very much but decided to go with it.
And the reason why that's a problem is because number one, the no child left behind initiative was the kind of thing a lot of conservatives say they didn't like because it essentially got the federal government more involved in education than a lot of people would like.
And when Santorum says that, it sort of flies in the face of his argument that he is the most principled conservative in the race. That's why you see Romney really attacking this because he thinks it sort of goes to his argument that Santorum is not that the principled at all, I think.
BALDWIN: We will all be watching Tuesday, both Michigan and Arizona primaries ahead then, next, of course, Super Tuesday March 6.
Joe Johns, thank you so much for us in Detroit.
Now this.
Here we go. I'm Brooke Baldwin.
We're watching the story of course in Arizona. Seven Marines are dead far away from the battlefield. And Syria's chemical weapons, what happens -- if the regime falls, what happens to that cash? We're also seeing some new video of a violent train crash.
Time to play "Reporter Roulette."
Miguel Marquez, I want to go straight to you in Yuma, Arizona. I know you were briefed. You have even more information on what's happened there, the two helicopters colliding in the skies over Yuma.
MIGUEL MARQUEZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes, we just spoke to the base commander. We do have a bit more information.
The most stunning thing coming out though is the picture of that crash. It occurred around 10:30 p.m. Eastern Standard Time on the California side of the base here. The entire crash was there. If you look at those pictures, what is very, very clear is it was in fact, a midair collision. There may have been an explosion as well because there's not much left of either of those helicopters except for a rotor that you can make out.
The terrain, says the base commander, is very much like Afghanistan and in Iraq. The only difference being that it's not the altitude isn't quite as great. The commander also told us that there was a training pilot in the Huey. There were two pilots in the Cobra that crashed and then there was one -- there were five individuals in the Huey, a Yankee-class Huey, which is the newer Huey that the Marine Corps uses and there was a trainer in there from Yuma. The other six individuals who were killed were all from Pendleton in California. It is interesting there was a trainer in that Huey.
It is not clear what happened. It was dark. They were in a very big exercise out there in the California desert. And there were a lot of aircraft in the air at the time. There was a lot of coordination going on. The investigation is under way as are next of kin notifications of those families and we expect to get more information as to who the individuals were that died, and it will probably be days if not weeks and even months before we know exactly what happened in the air -- Brooke.
BALDWIN: What a tough day I know for Marines and for families. Do we know if they -- you mentioned they were training. Were they headed to Afghanistan?
MARQUEZ: Well, most likely. This was a fairly high level of training that they were doing. Both the birds -- or both the helos that crashed yesterday were carrying live ammunition. It's not clear if they were using the live ammunition, but they were loaded so they were in a full training mode.
And as Marines will tell you, they are always training to deploy. And the only place Marines are going these days is Afghanistan. So it's not clear how soon these individuals would have been going to Afghanistan. But the fact that there was a trainer in with perhaps the Huey pilot indicates that that pilot was being trained up either on a new weapons system or a weapon system he wasn't familiar with or with some sort of flight training in the bird itself -- Brooke.
BALDWIN: Miguel Marquez in Yuma, Miguel, thank you.
Next on "Reporter Roulette" Barbara Starr is in Washington over U.S. concerns over Syria's chemical weapons stash.
And with all this insecurity we see day in and day out in Syria, is the U.S. military concerned that this cache of chemical weaponry could be looted?
BARBARA STARR, CNN PENTAGON CORRESPONDENT: Very concerned. It's part of the military planning that is going on right now, getting the options ready for the president if, if he was to ask for them or if it became necessary. And guarding Syria's vast chemical weapons complex is really going to be a very difficult job if it came to that. They have sites spread out across the country, dozens of sites.
And we are told that some of the very internal analysis is, in the worst-case scenario, if troops had to go in to secure those facilities and it was a hostile environment, it could actually take tens of thousands of troops to do it.
Now, look, the military always comes up with high troop level numbers when it's trying to look at what it needs to do almost anywhere. The reality is you're not going to see tens of thousands of troops deploying to Syria.
The press is really on. The pressure is on for a diplomatic solution to this crisis. But the military is doing the planning, making it very clear how tough any job would be for them to do in Syria. It's an environment they hope they don't have to step into, Brooke.
BALDWIN: Well, who could forget just even in Libya? I know it's a different story, but Ben Wedeman's pictures, the warehouses that they had been looted. There were stashes of chemical weapons there as well.
With regard to Syria, though, do you know specifically what kind of chemical weaponry we're talking about and how closely is it being guarded now?
STARR: Right now, the U.S. intelligence community does believe the Syrian regime is guarding the facilities. But what if the regime were to suddenly collapse and fall? What if the guards simply walked away from it given the current unrest?
There are al Qaeda operatives inside Syria, and Hezbollah lurks everywhere in that region, it is felt,and would like to get its hands on some of those chemical weapons. What a threat to Israel that would pose. What do they have? They have things like chlorine, like phosgene. These are the World War I era type of chemical agents and they have more advanced nerve agents.
They have a very large arsenal, again, spread out across the country. So it becomes very difficult to protect. It is something the U.S. intelligence community is watching now around the clock, Brooke.
BALDWIN: It's concerning. Barbara Starr, thank you.
Next on "Reporter Roulette," I want to go to Buenos Aires, Argentina, to Marcos Stupenengo, where more deaths now have been linked to that catastrophic train crash right around rush hour yesterday morning.
Marcos, tell me, what are the latest numbers and what more do you know?
MARCOS STUPENENGO, JOURNALIST: Well, we had an update from the authorities in Argentina.
We have 50 people dead because of this accident. One of them is underage, a kid. We have 703 people, passengers injured during this crash yesterday at -- in the morning. And we also have 11 passengers missing. Their family, their loved ones are trying to reach for these passengers.
They looked at the papers in the hospitals to see the names of the injured passengers. These missing people are not in those papers. They also went to the police to see if their names were -- with the names of the dead people, and also they couldn't find those names all in the hospital, either in the names of the dead people from the crash.
We know that these 11 passengers that are missing could be in private hospitals. So authorities right now the are trying to reach them on these private clinics. We also know that federal justice is investigating this case. Today, a commission of the federal justice went to the station and to the remains of the first carriage of this train.
They took the black box from the train that contains the data actually from the conversations and the communications between the driver, which was a 28-year-old driver, motorman, with an excellent record on the company trains in Buenos Aires. And they also took more them video footage, because each train has a camera inside the driver's cabin and also a camera that shows a view of the driver at the moment of the crash.
BALDWIN: Speaking of cameras, Marcos, before I let you go, you and I were talking about surveillance video there actually at this station. Here it is. Can you tell me? This actually shows the moment of impact?
STUPENENGO: Yes.
That video shows the moment of the impact, this surveillance video from the Once station. And it shows the first carriage of the train and the second carriage slamming into the first one, like 20 feet into the first. That's the place where almost everybody of the 50 people that were -- that died on this accident were found by the rescuers.
BALDWIN: Still passengers unaccounted for, thinking of those families.
Marcos Stupenengo, thank you so much in Argentina.
And there's your "Reporter Roulette."
Coming up here, two American troops are dead, killed on a base in Afghanistan. Coming up next, we will tell you about a possible link between the killings and the burning of Korans this week by NATO troops.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
(NEWS BREAK)
BALDWIN: President Obama has issued a rare written apology to a leader overseas, Afghanistan's President Hamid Karzai, over the burning of Afghan Korans, but the president's show of remorse has not quelled Afghan outrage which may have sparked the killings of not just one but two American soldiers.
In the Afghan capital for us, Nick Paton Walsh -- Nick.
NICK PATON WALSH, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Brooke, America's got no one more senior left to apologize to the Afghan people for this now.
President Barack Obama has had his ambassador here hand-deliver a letter expressing his regret to the Afghan president saying they will hold whoever did this accountable and trying to ensure it will never happen again. But these apologies have done nothing to stem the violence now in its third day, two American soldiers shot dead to the east of where I'm standing in Nangarhar by a man in Afghan army uniform.
On a military base, outside that base, there was a very angry protest against this Koran burning, two demonstrators shot dead and seven injured. So, really, violence popping up around the country. Great concerns there could be more tomorrow around Friday prayer when spiritual leaders address large Afghan crowds, perhaps mentioning this issue.
The Afghan authorities have rushed forward an investigation, the first results of which we heard today. They appealed for restraint, but they also suggested perhaps that the U.S. soldier behind the burning of this Koran might have to face some kind of trial. That's going to cause U.S. military officials here a huge problem.
People are still asking, how did this come around? I understand from a military official that these religious texts were being used inside a detention facility to pass messages between what they said were extremists. These papers were gathered up, put in a bag, and then were meant to be disposed of differently, but ended up being passed down the chain to the normal incinerator for trash, which is manned by local Afghans.
These Afghans found the bits of Koran, saw they had been partially burned, and then began to alert people, causing these protests, in their third day, not showing any signs of stopping and really marring a time when NATO is desperately trying to convince the world and Afghans that security here senior is improving -- Brooke.
BALDWIN: Nick Paton Walsh for us there in Kabul, Nick Paton Walsh, thank you.
Back in 1986, the space shuttle Challenger exploded, killing all seven astronauts on board. And today there is new video that will surfaced of the launch and the tragedy. We will play it for you next.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
BALDWIN: A rare and chilling discovery.
New amateur footage of the Challenger space shuttle explosion has surfaced nearly three decades after that fatal launch. I'm sure many of you were watching us, watching CNN, when the horrific explosion occurred live on air. All seven of these astronauts were killed.
I want to warn you, the images, I know they're still hard to watch. But we are showing them to you today because this is a rare and new look at one of America's most tragic moments.
So here you go. Bob Karman was at the Orlando Airport about 50 miles from Kennedy Space Center when he captured the disaster. His family returning from vacation. You can see his daughter, his late wife here in the beginning of this video. And I want you to listen here as you hear some of these travelers are excited. They have no idea what they're about to watch.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: There it goes. There it goes.
(CROSSTALK)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: What's going on?
(CROSSTALK)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: There goes the one up.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Somebody tell me where...
(CROSSTALK)
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BALDWIN: It makes you sick to your stomach to remember where you were that day when you watched this. Karman never forgot that he filmed this explosion, never forgot he had this piece of tape, but didn't actually realize how rare that someone outside of the media had actually captured those devastating events until he started doing some research.
And along with the help of his daughter Kim, who works at "New Scientist," they digitized this old VHS tape and they shared it with us.
Coming up next, a cold turkey pill? Dr. Sanjay Gupta introduces us to an anti-addiction drug medication that takes away your thirst for alcohol next.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK) BALDWIN: Addiction, it is considered a brain disease. It's not a matter of willpower, but did you know there are medicines that can help addicts?
Here's Dr. Sanjay Gupta explaining how some people stop cold turkey with one single pill.
DR. SANJAY GUPTA, CNN SENIOR MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, Brooke, this represents a cultural shift in the way that people look at addiction.
This idea we have talked about, is it a lack of willpower or is there something else? If you think of it as a brain disease, should medications be an option, should they be on the table? Listen to how Walter Kent put this.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
GUPTA (voice-over): This is the last place you'd expect to find a recovering alcoholic.
WALTER KENT, RECOVERING ALCOHOLIC: One of my old favorite watering holes.
GUPTA: But this is where Walter Kent hangs out, a bar called "Goobers." Walter is a giant of a man, but for most of his life he couldn't find the strength to put down that bottle. KENT: I was the type of person that the only time I drank was when I was alone or with somebody. Other than that, there was never a problem.
GUPTA: He tried rehab and A.A. Nothing worked.
KENT: Nothing seemed to get rid of that urge. I couldn't get rid of the craving.
GUPTA: But then in 2000 he tried again, an experimental program at Brown University. This time he got counseling once a week and a daily pill, a medicine called Naltrexone. And this time it worked.
KENT: When you can lose the total urge, total craving for alcohol, you can -- you can beat it. There's no doubt in my mind because I'm living proof.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
GUPTA: Walter has been sober now for 12 years. He took the medication for 16 weeks.
And, again, this is a guy for whom nothing worked in the past. He had tried everything and really got no relief. So a pill for about four months offered him that relief. But a couple of very important caveats here. First of all, it's not for everybody. Just more than a third of patients could stay in treatment for that long because this medication does have side effects.
It can make people nauseated. Also, it's tamping down the pleasure that someone gets with a drink. That's how it basically works. If you don't have as much pleasure, you may not seek out more alcohol, but it can also tamp down the pleasure you get from other things as well. That's part of the side effects.
If you compare it to all the other treatments out there, it is about 17 percent more effective than what had he already tried. That's not perfect by any means. But, again, these are patients for whom nothing else had worked. So this is an option.
And we're starting to see this in other areas of drug addiction as well, opiates, pain medications, for example. There are medications out there that working with similar mechanisms. Take away that euphoria, take away that sense of well-being, maybe people won't turn to the drug as much.
But, again, Brooke, it's a cultural shift. It is a contentious one, to some extent. Not everyone buys into this, but at least for Walter Kent, it seemed to have worked -- Brooke, back to you.
BALDWIN: Glad it worked for him. There are still some significant caveats, as you point out.
Sanjay, thank you.
Don't forget, you can watch Sanjay in the morning. He's going to in-depth on the addiction epidemic in America Saturday and Sunday mornings 7:30 Eastern right here on CNN.
In fact, just in to us here at CNN involving the case of a man accused of drowning his wife on their honeymoon, news there next.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
BALDWIN: "On the Case" today, we actually have some breaking news.
Sunny Hostin, I want to bring you in.
And let me just set this up. This is on this case. This honeymoon murder case is perhaps how people know it. This man Gabe Watson, he is accused of killing his wife during their honeymoon at the Great Barrier Reef back in 2003.
So, this case has been in Alabama. And according to our affiliate WBMA, the case has been dismissed.
Tell me more as far as what you know. And, also, it's important to use the word dismissed and not acquitted because why?
SUNNY HOSTIN, CNN LEGAL ANALYST: That's right. And this is quite remarkable.
At the end of every criminal case, after the prosecution has put in its evidence, defense attorneys often ask for an acquittal -- or -- or, rather, a dismissal of the charges based on the fact that there isn't enough evidence to proceed. Well, it's a routine, routine motion that is made in this case, Brooke, the judge agreed. And dismissed all of the charges against Gabe Watson. I want to say this is really, really extraordinary. While it's a routine motion that's made, it does not get granted very often.
So the defense never put forth any witnesses. This case never went to the jury. This case was dismissed. And you know, we're talking about a case that's been going on for quite some time. This murder is said to have occurred years ago. This defendant spent about 18 months in prison where this occurred in Australia. And I think what's just remarkable is that he pled guilty to manslaughter there based, his attorney says, sort of on a technicality saying not that he murdered her but that he wasn't a good diving buddy because he went to the surface as supposed to getting her to the surface. He left her on the bottom of the ocean floor.
And he was tried again, as you mentioned, in Alabama. But this judge, Brooke, from the very beginning was very troubled by this case. And was especially troubled by the motive in this case. And what I recall a couple of days ago, when the prosecution was trying to show motive, of course, the prosecution didn't have to prove motive but the prosecution was trying to show motive by saying that there was an insurance policy and that he wanted his wife's ring. What this judge said, you mean to tell me that Gabe Watson bought the engagement ring, married her. He and his family paid for a wedding. He planned and paid for a honeymoon halfway around the world all so he could kill her to get an engagement ring he bought in the first place?
That's what the judge said in open court to this prosecution team. And so, I would say this is a surprise. But the judge certainly had a problem with this case from the very beginning.
BALDWIN: So, let me ask you this then since we're using the word dismissed and not an acquittal. Does the double jeopardy apply? Because that only applies if a defendant is acquitted. You can't try him or her again. Does that apply here?
HOSTIN: Well, this case is not going to get tried again.
BALDWIN: Yes, it's over.
HOSTIN: It's already, again, spent eight -- I believe that it's done.
BALDWIN: OK.
HOSTIN: You know, he's already spent the 18 months in Australia, in a prison. The judge was so harsh on this prosecution team. I can't imagine given the evidence that was put forward that this case will be retried. This case goes away.
BALDWIN: OK, this case goes away. I want to move along to something we've been talking about out of Charlottesville, Virginia. So this verdict now finally in the trial of former University of Virginia lacrosse player George Huguely. Jurors find this young man guilty of second degree murder in the death of his ex-girlfriend Yeardley Love recommending 26 years in prison. 26 years, murder 2, and I hear you are surprised by this verdict. Why?
HOSTIN: You know, I was surprised because the jury had in front of it sort of a menu of murder. They could have convicted him on first-degree murder but then they had all these lesser included charges including second degree murder, voluntary manslaughter and involuntary manslaughter.
And in Virginia, Brooke, where this trial took place, being intoxicated is a defense to first-degree murder. And there was just so much evidence that came in about the fact that this young man had a severe drinking problem. And I thought that perhaps the jury would certainly find him guilty of her death, but I did not think they would go as far as second degree murder.
And I also didn't think that they would recommend a sentence of 25 years. It's not the most he could he have gotten under the guidelines. I believe the guidelines were about five to 40 years, but it was somewhere in the middle. So just a very significant recommendation by this jury, 26 years in prison because he was also convicted of one count of grand larceny and the jury recommended one year for that. So just a tragedy all around, though, because we're talking about Yeardley Love, a promising UVA student.
BALDWIN: Two lives, two families.
HOSTIN: This young man, George Huguely -- that's right, 24 years old, will spend the better part of his best years in prison.
BALDWIN: Do you see this at all? Do you think the defense team is seeing this as a bit of a win though? I mean, it could have been murder in the first degree.
HOSTIN: That's right it certainly is somewhat of a win. The defense team has indicated that it will appeal. They want a correction here. So that tells me that they will seek an appeal. Now he will be sentenced by this judge, April 16th.
Let me remind our viewers, though, that the jury gave a recommended sentence. This judge can't give him more time but he certainly can downward depart. So he could get less. Still waiting to see exactly what his sentence will be. That will be April 16th.
BALDWIN: April 16th. OK, Sunny Hostin, "On the Case." Sunny, thank you so much.
And I know Sunny Googles. I Google. I don't know how many times you Google every day. But did you realize they're changing the privacy policy? Yep, privacy. We've got details for you after this quick break.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK) BALDWIN: All right, another battle is brewing over your privacy. This involves how much Google really knows about you. The Web giant is now changing its privacy policy. And those changes have privacy advocates very much so on high alert. Advertisers standing by for Google to tell them every single thing they can about you. As we mentioned the battle is brewing here. Here is CNN Silicon Valley correspondent Dan Simon.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
DAN SIMON, CNN SILICON VALLEY CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): In the morning I check the headlines on Google news. Send some personal e-mail using Google's Gmail. I may check Google maps for driving directions.
Later at work, I remember to do a Google search for plumbers. I also need to do research for this story. More searches.
Later, I'll glance at my Google calendar for appointments. Upload some videos to YouTube. And maybe I'll log on to Google+, the company's growing social network.
And some variation of this happens almost every single day.
PETER ECKERSLEY, ELECTRONIC FRONTIER FOUNDATION: Google knows almost everything about you.
SIMON: That's why privacy watchdogs like Peter Eckersley are sounding the alarm about Google's new privacy policy. Beginning next month, the company is going to keep track of your activity across all of its sites and build a profile of you. Google says it will use the information to improve its services. Services where, for example, a user is more likely to get better search results.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: We'll understand when you search for jaguar, you're looking for a jaguar.
SIMON: Critics say the company is stomping on privacy to bolster its advertising and in turn increase profits.
ECKERSLEY: If there are things that you want to keep private about your life, those records are all in there. If there are things that you actually need to prevent other people from knowing about you, those will be in there.
SIMON: Those already nervous about the company's influence pounced when it became known last week that Google exploited a known weakness in Apple Safari browser bypassing the browser's privacy settings.
JONATHON MAYER, STANFORD RESEARCHER: When I first found what Google was doing I thought I had it wrong. I thought I had to have it wrong.
SIMON: Jonathan Mayer is the Stanford researcher who uncovered the safari breech. On the surface, he says it may not seem like a serious transgression. Google's code was being used only to target ads and user's personal information was never collected. But for some Web searches believed to be private were not. And that, Mayer says, opens the door to private information being exposed by rogue employees, Internet hacking and more.
MAYER: Doesn't get disclosed because an employee is evil, because the company messes up? Does it get disclosed because the government demands it?
SIMON: As for the new policy, Google acknowledges that, quote, "People have different privacy concerns. Our goal is to be clear about what information we collect, so that you can make meaningful choices about how it is used."
The bottom line, people use Google because it offers important and useful services that are also free.
ECKERSLEY: At this point, absolutely have to trust Google. And in a sense on one hand Google is probably more trustworthy than a lot of these other big technology companies. But because they know so much about us, we have to hold them to a higher standard of trust.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
BALDWIN: Dan Simon, I can just hear the people thinking, well, I do clear my history. That means I'm safe, right? Maybe, maybe not.
What about potential legal action. You have these 35 attorneys general. They are voicing concerns over, you know, Google's new privacy policy. Could legal challenges be far off?
SIMON: Well, there's already been one federal lawsuit filed. This came from a privacy watchdog group in Washington, D.C. It was actually filed against the Federal Trade Commission trying to get them to block Google's news policy. And you might be seeing more lawsuits. But, you know, Google doesn't want this. And let's be honest. They built a very good company and they offer very good services. And they're going to have to get people to accept this. They're going to have to ease people's minds. And if they can't do that, then they're going to lose customers and they're going to have to make some changes. Brooke?
BALDWIN: Dan Simon in San Francisco. Dan, thank you. It is a battle between the young upstart and King James. Jeremy Lin taking on Lebron James in Miami tonight.
Just think, how much for tickets for, you know, courtside could be? Think about it. Marinate on it. You may not believe it -- next.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
POPPY HARLOW, CNNMONEY.COM CORRESPONDENT: Time now for the "Help Desk" where we get answers to your financial questions. Joining me this hour, John Ulzheimer, the president of Consumer Education with SmartCredit.com and Lynette Khalfani Cox is a personal finance author and founder of the financial advice blog AskTheMoneyCoach.com. Guys, thank you for coming in.
John, your question today comes from Brandy in Kansas. Brandy wrote in, "my husband and I have enough in savings to buy our first home as a cash purchase, but the property we like will likely need some work before we move in. Should we finance the home purchase or take a loan out for the repairs?"
JOHN ULZHEIMER, PRESIDENT OF CONSUMER EDUCATION, SMARTCREDIT.COM: I love the position that they're in.
HARLOW: Yes.
ULZHEIMER: Having a house free and clear of any loan is really a nice place to be right now. I like the idea of going forward and buying the house with cash, as they had planned, and taking out what's called a HELOC, or a home equity line of credit.
HARLOW: Sure.
ULZHEIMER: A small enough HELOC so that it's not overbearing, but large enough to cover the cost of the repairs. The good news is, is the interest on HELOCs is generally tax deductible and not bad for your credit score and you can pay it off and the interest is usually about 3 or 4 percent. Very, very good rates right now.
HARLOW: Good advice.
All right, Lynnette, your question comes from Michelle in Michigan. Michelle said, "We're under water on our mortgage. We do not have a government-backed loan. We have a V.A. loan guarantee available if we refinance. What should we do?"
LYNNETTE KHALFANI-COX, FOUNDER, ASKTHEMONEYCOACH.COM: Well, the V.A. prospect is a good option to consider. However, since they said that they don't have a government-backed loan, they might have a loan from one of the major five lenders, like Citi or Chase or JP Morgan, Wells Fargo, et cetera, B of A.
Those lenders, as we know, just signed an agreement with attorneys generals around the country and this is going to allow homeowners who are underwater, who have a loan that's held by one of those five institutions, to refinance. So this is going to be a really big thing, obviously, in the months and really years to come.
I would definitely look into that. Those provisions are that if your loan is above 5.25 percent, they're really going to try to get you in at current rates today. HSH.com is a good Web site they can go to, to shop around for that -- for the mortgage rate side. But, really, I would look into it. And don't be locked into thinking, I have to get a V.A. loan in order to get a low-rate loan.
HARLOW: Right, especially with the settlement.
KHALFANI-COX: That's right.
HARLOW: Thank you guys, both, very much.
And, folks, if you have a question you want answered, just send us an e-mail any time to CNNHelpDesk@cnn.com.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
BALDWIN: It is the match-up a lot of people have been waiting for. I'm talking, Lin v. Lebron. So the New York Knicks sensation Jeremy Lin, he is going to be in Miami tonight facing off against Lebron James, Miami Heat. Huge, huge game.
The Knicks 9-2 with Lin in the lineup. Miami, though, keep in mind has the best record in the league. Has won seven straight. Obviously, you've seen al the papers, all the headlines. Lin, you know, he's had all the hype the last couple weeks but he hasn't faced anything like the challenge he's going to face tonight on the hardwood there in Miami.
Courtside tickets, don't read the prompter, Wolf Blitzer. How much do you think?
WOLF BLITZER, CNN CORRESPONDENT: I read the prompter.
BALDWIN: $10,000. Courtside tickets for this game. Of course, it's going to be shown on TNT. Our sister network but ten grand?
BLITZER: Everybody should watch it on TNT. It's a lot cheaper.
BALDWIN: I know. There's the plug, TNT.
BLITZER: Yes.
BALDWIN: Speaking of TNT -- hello, by the way.
BLITZER: TNT -- good to see you live and in person.
BALDWIN: Baddabing baddaboom. You're in Mesa, you're in Atlanta. You're going to Orlando.
BLITZER: I am.
BALDWIN: Cue the photo. Cue the photo. Here we go. So there you are. With the gang. NBA on TNT.
BLITZER: My guys.
BALDWIN: Those are your dudes.
BLITZER: We're having a few laughs.
BALDWIN: Ernie, Kenny, Shaq, Charles and Wolf Blitzer.
BLITZER: Because when you think about the NBA all-star weekend --
BALDWIN: I think Wolf Blitzer. BLITZER: You think Lebron, JZ and Wolf. That's what you're thinking.
BALDWIN: Those are your peeps.
BLITZER: You know, we're going to be hanging. We're going to be doing it this weekend.
BALDWIN: So you're hopping a flight to Orlando. NBA all-star weekend. Look at that grin on your face.
BLITZER: Yes, I do it every year, because, Turner Sports, part of TNT, our sister work, they televise -- it's major work, I've got to do a lot of heavy lifting over there. But you know what else is great, let me tell you what else is great --
BALDWIN: What is that?
BLITZER: In addition to all the heavy work I have to do this weekend helping our sister network, TNT, all of that, watching these games, slam-dunk competition, a three-point shoot out, a little insanity going on, the Washington Nationals, my baseball team, they starts spring training tomorrow.
(CROSSTALK)
BALDWIN: Don't tell me you're swinging by.
(CROSSTALK)
BLITZER: Right near Orlando. And my good friend Ed Cohen and I, we're going to go swing by with Washington Nationals spring training. How cool is that? That's insanity.
(CROSSTALK)
BALDWIN: How can we have the life of Wolf Blitzer?
BLITZER: That's going to be fun.
BALDWIN: Just a little swing by.
BLITZER: There's going to be a lot. Mesa, Arizona, Atlanta with you, very exciting.
BALDWIN: Oh, you know.
BLITZER: Orlando weekend, great. I'll be back, Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday.
BALDWIN: I know. Primary is Tuesday.
BLITZER: I don't know how much you heard about it. Arizona and Michigan. We've got a lot of stuff going on.
BALDWIN: But how about coming up in 11 minutes from now. BLITZER: David Axelrod --
BALDWIN: Oh, yes?
BLITZER: Who is President Obama's key adviser in his re- election campaign, he's responding. They really had some tough rhetoric against the president last night in the Republican debate. He's going to respond. I wrote about it on my blog, "THE SITUATION ROOM" blog.
BALDWIN: CNN.com/TheSituationRoom.
(CROSSTALK)
BLITZER: You can follow me on Twitter.
(CROSSTALK)
BALDWIN: What's my blog?
BLITZER: @BrookeBCNN. I follow you on Twitter.
BALDWIN: That's my Twitter.
BLITZER: But I know you -- I know, but --
BALDWIN: CNN.com/Brooke.
BLITZER: @BrookeBCNN.
BALDWIN: That's my Twitter email.
BLITZER: You got thousands of followers, don't you?
BALDWIN: I'm working on the 30,000 mark.
BLITZER: Oh that's pretty good.
BALDWIN: I'm not quite Wolf Blitzer status, but you know.
BLITZER: Someday.
BALDWIN: OK, so David Axelrod, what else?
BLITZER: Well, we got a lot of news. We got a lot of stuff going on, including a lot of serious stuff.
BALDWIN: OK. Right.
BLITZER: But there will be fun this weekend.
BALDWIN: OK. Tell me all about it.
BLITZER: Yes.
BALDWIN: All right, email. BLITZER: I will blog it. I'll blog about it.
BALDWIN: OK. Wolf, thank you.
BLITZER: Not all about it, but some of them.
BALDWIN: Oh, enough, enough. Thank you.
Still to come here, we do have a little "Political Pop." I know you are watching this. This is something I tweeted on about right off the bat. So when John King is asking all these candidates to introduce themselves, Mitt Romney actually quoted "Seinfeld" and he got it all wrong. So here's what he said pretty much at the top of the CNN debate last night, referencing "Seinfeld" character George Costanza.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
MITT ROMNEY (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: I want to restore America's promise, and I'm going to do that.
(APPLAUSE)
(LAUGHTER)
As George Costanza would say, when they're applauding, stop, right?
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BALDWIN: OK, well, here's the thing, George Costanza never said that. This isn't the first time Romney has actually used the same quote, so now Jerry Seinfeld said, in an episode once, we did some digging, and we found out, and I'm quoting him.
"When you hit that high note, you say good night and walk off." That's the quote from Jerry Seinfeld, but that's the closest Romney got. Still Jason Alexander, he's the one who played George Costanza, he tweeted this, quote, "Thrilled Governor Romney enjoys my old character. I enjoyed the character he used to be, too. If he embraced that again, he'd be a great candidate." Ouch. Ouch.
OK. Coming is the world worries about Iran's nuclear ambitions and other rogue nation already has weapons. And today something big is going down as the U.S. hold talks with North Korea. This is the first round of talks since the mysterious Kim Jong-un took over. John Park, our go-to guy in all things Korea, is standing by to talk about that. He's next.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
BALDWIN: This just in to us here at CNN. New developments in the case of that missing firefighter out of Florida. We are talking about this yesterday. 31-year-old Jerry Perdomo disappeared last week during a trip to Bangor, Maine. His rental car was found in a Wal- Mart parking lot, and we have now learned that police in Bangor are looking for this couple.
This is Daniel Porter and Cheyanne Nowak. According to police, this man and woman were in contact with Perdomo before he disappeared. They were believed to be in a white Mitsubishi Lancer. Police say it is possible the couple may be traveling out of state. The missing firefighter Jerry Perdomo has a wife, two kids back in Florida. Before he was a firefighter, he was a member of the United States Marine Corps.
Today the United States and North Korea restarted nuclear talks under North Korea's young and mysterious new leader. Here he is. Kim Jong-un not even yet 30, but he has ascended to the North Korean leadership upon the death of his father, the long-serving Kim Jong-il.
John Park is with us now from Boston. He is a research fellow at Harvard's Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs.
John, we're going to get to the talks specifically in a moment, but I just have to ask about Kim Jong-un.
I mean, have we learned anything more about him since he assumed power back in late December?
JOHN PARK, HARVARD UNIVERSITY: Yes, you know, North Korean propaganda, Brooke, has been showing a lot of footage of Kim Jung-un doing inspection tours with military units, traveling to different parts of North Korea and what have you.
But as we've seen more footage of him, the amazing thing is we don't know what he sounds like. No one actually knows what his voice sounds like, in a sense that there's been no audio of this. There are two South Korean officials, the former president, his widow, and the former chairman and his widow, both of them went to pay their respects at Kim Jong-il's funeral, and they all, very briefly had an audience with Kim Jong-un and exchange a few words. Aside from these two individuals, again, we don't know what he sounds like.
BALDWIN: Just, quickly, John, why do you think that is? Why haven't we heard his voice?
PARK: You know, I think there's a lot of speculation. One thing is they are trying to cultivate an image of Kim Jong-un as being almost the reincarnation of Kim Il Song. The two of them have been compared in terms of their appearance, the way they carry each other. I'm starting to think perhaps their voices are different. And that's one key thing of the image that doesn't carry over and hence there will be something of a censorship in that area.
BALDWIN: That's interesting. Do we know yet the extent to which this youngest Kim is actually leading the country?
PARK: At this stage, there is a lot of reading of the tea leaves, and predominantly that analysis curious to words who's standing close to him, who's in the inner circle and what have you. But as much as North Korea is reputed to be a black box in terms of analysis, there is one thing that is a fact. North Korea runs on state training companies. Affiliated to powerful generals and party officials. So if we see movement in the state trading companies, I think that is a sign that there is something going on below the surface. And a lot of these state trading companies are operating in China with private Chinese partners and what have you. So it's no longer just an analysis inside of North Korea, but by extension these North Korean state trading companies operating more and more inside of china.
BALDWIN: OK, let me get to the talks. We know it is Glenn Davies, that's the U.S. diplomat who is actually the one doing the talking with the North Koreans, yet the talks are being held in Beijing. What are we over there talking about?
PARK: This is an important set of discussions in the sense that these are not formal negotiations related directly to the six-party talks. These are technically framed as exploratory talks. And there's a different chronology here. They first met in the setting of exploratory talks in July in New York. And this was when Ambassador Bosworth was the U.S. special representative for North Korea policy.
The second time the two countries met was in Geneva. And this is the handover from Ambassador Bosworth to Glenn Davies's U.S. special representative. This is now the third in these exploratory talks. And the main objective is to see if North Korea still committed to denuclearization, and under what conditions North Korea will come back. But another very important purpose here is to also gauge what's happening inside of Jong Young by way of North Korean thinking. Any changes, alterations, following the death of Kim Jong- il.
BALDWIN: What about the power, though, in this country. You know, 30 seconds here. Power has been, you know, in this family since the very beginning of the country. If something would happen to Kim, who would succeed him? Would there be a crisis?
PARK: I think the consensus view is that there would be a crisis. And that's because Kim Jong-un is the blood relative and continuation of the line. If you look at the other individuals, they're powerful figures, but they don't have the authority to be the sole head.
And I think, as I mentioned earlier, we will also see a competition among these different patron systems and the systems of state trading companies. So if something does happen to Kim Jong-un, this ability to maintain coordination and control would come into serious question.
BALDWIN: OK, Jon Park for us there in Boston. John, thank you so much. And thanks for watching me here. I'm Brooke Baldwin at CNN, World Headquarters in Atlanta. Just to my right, Wolf Blitzer. "THE SITUATION ROOM" starts right now.
BLITZER: Brooke, thanks very much.
