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Obama Netanyahu Meeting; McCain To Call For Air Strike on Syria; First Tornadoes, Now Snow; More Oil To Be Stored In U.S.; More Limbaugh Advertisers Jump Ship; What's At Stake On Super Tuesday; McCain Calls For Airstrikes On Syria
Aired March 05, 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: Hello to all of you. Happy beginning of your week. A lot happening this hour. As always, we begin with "Rapid Fire." Roll it.
Inside the White House today, the focus is Iran, and the concern: they could develop a nuclear weapon. President Obama and Israel's Prime Minister both say they prefer a diplomatic solution, but insist no option is off the table.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
BARACK OBAMA, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: The United States will always have Israel's back when it comes to Israel's security.
BENJAMIN NETANYAHU, ISRAELI PRIME MINISTER: We face common enemies. Iran's leaders know that, too. You know, for them, you're the great Satan, we're the little Satan. When it comes to Israel's security, Israel has a right, a sovereign right, to make its own decisions.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BALDWIN: Now, both of these men are leaving the door open for military action. So, in just a couple of minutes, we're going to take you live to the Pentagon to get an idea of how an attack might go down.
And, snow is falling on the rubble left behind a series of tornadoes in Indiana and Kentucky. Look at this. So, obviously, the snow, that is slowing down the much-needed cleanup. Teams from FEMA are also visiting some of the hardest hit areas like West Liberty, Kentucky, today. Kentucky suffered 21 of the 39 deaths caused by those twisters.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DORIS SCHECK, TORNADO SURVIVOR: I can't really remember exactly what came to mind. I know I walked up and I did look down and I thought, oh, my goodness, our little town is gone. And I looked around and realized my neighbors still had a little bit of structure left. So I went to him and asked if I could come in there.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BALDWIN: The National Weather Service reports that at least 42 tornadoes hit 10 different states Friday into Saturday. And the push is on for Super Tuesday. Check out the map. You've got 10 states holding primaries, caucuses and 419 delegates will be up for grabs tomorrow. It is a day that maybe -- maybe will clear up the GOP race for the White House. Coming off his win in Washington state just over the weekend, new Quinnipiac polling shows Mitt Romney's statistically tied with Rick Santorum in that key state of Ohio. This is a big swing from what we saw a week ago. Obviously, stay with CNN, we've got all the latest coverage here ahead of Super Tuesday.
Also this. Yet another advertiser bailing on Rush Limbaugh after the radio show host called a law student a slut. AOL now has become the eighth company to yank its ads from Limbaugh's show. The move comes just two days after he apologized for his comments. And in just a couple of minutes, you're going to hear how Limbaugh is responding to advertisers today.
And how about this one. A pharmacy in New Jersey accidentally gives kids breast cancer treatment pills instead of fluoride pills. "The Star-Ledger" is reporting the mix-up went on for about two months at a CVS in Chatham. CVS says about 50 children may have been given the wrong medicine. The pills, apparently, looked just alike. And according to medical experts, the children will probably not experience harmful side effects. But the head of a New Jersey hospital says parents still need to double check.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DR. ROBERT BRENNER, CMO SUMMIT MEDICAL GROUP: I am recommending that if you've been identified as having these medications, that you should contact your physician.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BALDWIN: As for CVS, the pharmacy says it is deeply sorry for that mistake.
Journalist Marie Colvin's body will be back in the U.S. tomorrow. Colvin and a French photographer were killed in intense shelling just last month in Homs, the epicenter of all the Syrian violence. The U.N. estimates widespread violence in Syria has left more than 7,500 people dead.
A series of explosions at an ammunition depot, this is Brazzaville, Congo, caught on camera by a CNN i-Reporter. Two hundred people were killed. Another 2,000 were injured in those blasts. And the force of Sunday's explosion broke windows three miles away. That's how forceful it was. Authorities believe the blasts were caused by an electrical short.
And angry protesters in Milwaukee shouting and they're holding signs during the launch of a new Jeffrey Dahmer walking tour. Let me say that again, a Jeffrey Dahmer walking tour. Yes, this takes groups through the city. They stop at locations where the serial killer targeted his victims. It names the victims Dahmer met at each place, details the sexual encounters they might have had, how he killed them, even how he disposed of their bodies. And the sister of one of Dahmer's victims was among those furious and demonstrating.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JANIE HAGENM, SISTER OF DAHMER VICTIM RICHARD GUERRERO: We're here for my brother, for the victims, that this is not -- this is bad. You know, it's in poor taste and it's just heartless.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BALDWIN: Well, one guide said, despite all those protests, the tours will likely go on.
And on this Monday, we've got a lot to cover for you in the next two hours. Watch this.
The west is worried that Iran is close to making a nuclear bomb and Israel fears being the target. So today at the White House, the president and the Israeli prime minister are sitting down to figure out what should happen next. I'm Brooke Baldwin. The news is now.
Less than 24 hours to go before Super Tuesday and still no front runner. But could a wave of high-profile endorsements put Mitt Romney over the top?
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
REP. ERIC CANTOR (R), VIRGINIA: He is really the only man in the race who has a plan.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BALDWIN: Speaking of presidential politics. As Russia's Putin tears up over his election win, critics are crying fraud.
Plus, knock a player out cold, get some cash. Outrage grows after word that an NFL coach paid his defense to hurt others.
And, a new website is asking you to help search for alien life. And the woman behind it, whose work was featured in the movie "Contact," joins me live.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
BALDWIN: All right, this is one of those fly on the wall situations, as in, you wanted to be a fly on the wall in the Oval Office today. We, and President Obama, hosted Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. And every indication is that these two leaders, how do I say this, not much affinity -- how's that, not much affinity there.
So you have the matter at hand, namely Israel's possible inclination to attack Iranian nuclear targets. Keep in mind, this could be during a U.S. election season. Now, the White House, they don't want that. They don't want that at all. And the president keeps saying, guys, we've got your back. If Iran needs handling, let us do it. Here he is.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) BARACK OBAMA, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: I reserve all options. And my policy here is not going to be one of containment, my policy is prevention of Iran obtaining nuclear weapons. And as I indicated yesterday in my speech, when I say all options are on the table, I mean it.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BALDWIN: Now, no way to really know if that message is getting through. In just a moment, we're actually going to take a closer look at potential war scenarios. But first, I do want to go straight to the White House to our chief White House correspondent, Jessica Yellin.
And, Jess, has the president been forced, by pressure from Netanyahu, to harden his line against Iran?
JESSICA YELLIN, CNN CHIEF WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Brooke, well, certainly the sanctions against Iran have stepped up recently and Israel seem to deserve a lot of the credit for that around the world.
I do want to bring you a little bit of news, though. According to senior administration officials, the president and Prime Minister Netanyahu met in the Oval Office for two hours. A very long meeting. And their official delegations are now in a working lunch. So their meetings continue here at the White House.
To your question, it's not just pressure from sanctions by the U.S., but also from the west in general. Think about the oil embargo by the European nations that's come after Israel's ratcheted up its talks. And listen to the language that Prime Minister Netanyahu used in the Oval Office today. This in a very conciliatory meeting by U.S./Israeli terms lately between the two leaders. Listen to this.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
BENJAMIN NETANYAHU, ISRAELI PRIME MINISTER: Israel must have the ability always to defend itself, by itself, against any threat. And that when it comes to Israel's security, Israel has the right, the sovereign right, to make its own decisions.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
YELLIN: So, yes, Israel has succeeded its language, its actions have succeeded in no doubt helping the west strengthen its sanctions and pressure on Iran, although the U.S. would say it's own policy has done that. They've done that on their own. Didn't need Israel's pressure.
Brooke.
BALDWIN: So, you know, I was -- obviously we were all listening to what they were saying there today and I know you're really good at nuance (ph). So I just want everyone to listen right now. We're going to play a little bit more of what the president said. This was in the speech to the staunchly pro-Israel lobbying group APAC (ph). Take a listen.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
BARACK OBAMA, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: The United States and Israel both access that Iran does not yet have a nuclear weapon. And we are exceedingly vigilant in monitoring their program. Now the international community has a responsibility to use the time and space that exists.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BALDWIN: So to reiterate, so he said the time and space that exists. That seems to represent a crucial difference between U.S. thinking on Iran and Israel's thinking on Iran, yes?
YELLIN: Yes. This is the fundamental difference between the two. The U.S. wants to stop Iran from developing a nuclear weapon. Fundamentally from having the weapon itself. Israel wants to stop Iran from developing the capability to have a nuclear weapon. From even getting to the stage where it could put the pieces together.
Why the difference? Because of our different military abilities. Israel, which feels threatened because of its proximity to Iran, and because of its history as a nation that was formed in the aftermath of the holocaust as a place for holocaust survivors to gather, feels it has to defend its borders and its people from any threats. And it cannot, because of the limited abilities of its military, necessarily defend against Iran, they believe, at the stage once they have a nuclear weapon. They feel -- they argue they might have to strike when they have the ability to develop a nuclear weapon. The U.S., with our bigger military, feels, well, maybe we could strike when they have actually developed -- made the nuclear weapon. And so there's a little bit of wiggle room in between the two positions. And that's the fundamental distinction between these allies, Brooke.
BALDWIN: Yes, and Netanyahu saying today, I had written this down listening to them, saying, insuring that Israel remains the master of its fate.
Jessica Yellin at the White House. Jessica, thank you.
I do want to turn, though, now, quickly to the Pentagon and CNN's Barbara Starr.
Barbara, if the Israelis were to attack Iran, how might that unfold?
BARBARA STARR, CNN PENTAGON CORRESPONDENT: Well, you know, Brooke, it really goes to what Jessica was just talking about. What would the Israeli military capability be? Would they be different than the U.S.? would they be something less?
Israel has a very capable air force. They have a lot of fighter jets into the hundreds. And they do have the bunker buster bombs. Those precision weapons that are designed to punch through underground targets or heavily reinforced targets, which is what everybody believes Iran has in their nuclear facilities.
The question is, if Iran were to continue to reinforce, continue to bury deeper and deeper, would the Israeli bunker busters work or do we get to a point when it's only the heavier U.S. weapons that would work? So that's one of the challenges confronting Israel right now as they try and develop their strategy and their thinking about all this.
Brooke.
BALDWIN: OK. So in the timing of all of this, we don't know at what point the Israeli bunker busters would actually be effective versus American weaponry. So we don't know. That's one variable.
I do want to move along, though, and ask you quickly. We're hearing that Senator John McCain of Arizona talking about Syria. John McCain of Arizona is about to call for U.S. air strikes against Syria? What can you tell me about that?
STARR: Yes, Brooke, that is breaking now here in Washington just as we speak. Senator John McCain, the ranking Republican on the Senate Armed Services Committee, expected to come to the Senate floor, looking at the clock, in just about 16 minutes from now, and call for U.S. or foreign air power, air strikes against Syria. Our understanding is he will be calling for air strikes to establish safe havens for Syrian civilians in the north of the country. Places where they can be safe. Places where the opposition can form up and launch its -- assemble its strength, its weapons, its organization.
But this will be very problematic. This is a highly controversial initiative. Any kind of, let's just say, U.S. air strikes, you would have to take out Syrian air defenses, radars, missiles. All the things that would make it extremely difficult for any air forces to fly into Syrian air space. They would face very significant challenges. Senator McCain well aware of that with his military background. He is expected to talk about that very thing, suppressing Syrian air defenses enough, doing air strikes enough to establish some safe havens. He's putting his cards on the table today. Secretary of Defense Leon Panetta is going to be before the Senate Armed Securities Committee and before McCain on Wednesday.
BALDWIN: We'll look out for it. Barbara Starr, as you mentioned, just about 15 minutes from now there, Senator McCain. Thank you so much.
STARR: Sure.
BALDWIN: In the meantime, 39 people killed, 42 confirmed tornadoes. And the snow, you see it, covering the damage. Coming up next, we're on the ground with thousands of people trying to pull their lives together.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
BALDWIN: Some of this new video, it really shows this terrifying close (INAUDIBLE) the power of a tornado just absolutely ripped apart West Liberty, Kentucky. And you're going to hear -- the man speaking the video, his name is Kevin Atkins (ph), running from the tornado himself. Watch this.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: All right, now, guys. Let's go! Gaggoneit. (INAUDIBLE). Zek (ph).
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I'm coming.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Please!
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It's coming right at us.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Please!
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes, there's the --
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Get in here!
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: All right.
ON SCREEN TEXT: Twenty seconds later, this was the view from the basement door.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Oh --
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Oh, please don't get --
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Oh, my God.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Oh, it's --
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: No, no, we're all right. We're all right.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BALDWIN: Look at that, passing over the house. Again, here's the view from this guy's basement. So he slowed the video down just so you can better appreciate the -- this happening in the air outside of his home. Just a tad too close here. He writes in his clip that this was an EF-3 tornado with winds as strong as 165 miles per hour. And then this man asked people to help West Liberty's survivors.
Well, I can tell you now that help is coming for the 10 states impacted by the tornadoes that killed a total of 39 people. In fact, members of the Federal Emergency Management Agency, FEMA, they're now out there. They're assessing some of the danger -- excuse me, damage. Hundreds of National Guard troops also assisting in places like Indiana and Kentucky, where today it is snowing.
And we go to the snow to Rob Marciano there in West Liberty for us.
And, Rob, just walk me around, show me what it looks like. And I imagine the snow, that can't be helping matters.
ROB MARCIANO, CNN METEOROLOGIST: Not at all. I mean the cold was bad enough and now the snow -- we got about three or four inches of snow last night. Still kind of flurrying here. So you get all that snow on debris like this. I mean there's nails, there's pieces of sharp metal, there's glass in some cases, you know, hidden by seemingly innocent white snow. So that makes it dangerous. And, obviously, it's slick as well.
We're on Main Street. Most of these businesses have been damaged badly. Some of them completely destroyed. That crane in the back there, that's a roofing company. They're actually lifting up roofing supplies to at least put some protective layers on some buildings that they think may very well be saved.
A lot of traffic up and down Main Street. Mostly workers. A lot of power crews. And some business owners and some government workers. We are by the courthouse. This thing built in 1936. It's an old, historic building. Did not fare too well. As you can see here, here's some of the government workers that are going in there. You know, you can imagine, there's a ton of very sensitive court documents in that courthouse. They've got to protect those. They've got to take them into safekeeping. There's the new courthouse right there, actually right next to it, that they haven't finished building. They'd like to move in there soon, but obviously that's been put on hold.
Another -- more power crews coming down Main Street with more power poles. Here's one being put up right on the corner there. So, a lot of activity. They're really concerned -- they're really focusing on getting the power strung. That's been the biggest issue. No power, no lights to work here. So they've been working around the clock. They're using portable generators. No communication as well. Those are the two main things they want to get done. They've cleared a lot of the debris off the roadway. They still haven't allowed residents to come back in because it's been too dangerous. They may ease up on that tomorrow. But obviously residents who are staying with friends and family, in shelters or in hotels outside of town are still frustrated they can't at least come back and look for some personal belongings and some mementos.
Brooke.
BALDWIN: Understandably so, though, they've got to keep it safe. As you mentioned, if there are nails and glass underneath that snow, you know, you don't want anyone getting hurt on top of, perhaps, losing a home.
Rob Marciano, we appreciate you and your crew there in Kentucky for us.
And I wanted to share this one story. I know a lot of you have been really rooting for this 14-month-old tornado survivor by the name of Angel Babcock. And people found this little girl alive in the middle of a field in Indiana, the state where an EF-4 tornado with 200-mile- per-hour winds touched down. Her mother, her father, her brother and sister all died on Friday. And then yesterday evening her grandfather announced Angel did pass away. Her relatives decided to remove Angel from life support. And the hospital says she had suffered severe head and neck injuries.
You see the price of gas each and every day as you drive within your city. Super Tuesday, less than 24 hours away. The politics of the gas prices heating up. Coming up, Ali Velshi joins us live from the pipeline crossroads of the world. We're talking about Oklahoma. We're going to talk, next.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
BALDWIN: We are all feeling it, higher gas prices, burning a hole in our wallets. And prices went up again. The national average rose overnight to $3.77 a gallon. This is always according to AAA. You know the big reason, expensive oil. And one of the epicenters for oil is right there in Cushing, Oklahoma. The pipeline crossroad to the world. So, who did we send there? Ali Velshi.
Were, Ali, I understand even more oil is set to be stored there. Why?
ALI VELSHI, CNN CHIEF BUSINESS CORRESPONDENT: Well, because a few things. One is that the U.S. is actually producing much more oil than it was let's say five years ago. There were a lot of drill permits that were approved actually under the Bush administration. We're been producing more oil. We're also not consuming more oil. So more oil is getting stockpiled.
There are -- so in Cushing, let me just tell you, about 10 miles east of here was something called the Wheeler Well. It was first drilled on March 12, 1912. So it's 100 years old.
BALDWIN: Wow.
VELSHI: And because there was oil here, there started to be other wells. And they built roads. And then they built railroads because, back in the day, they put oil in barrels. You've seen my oil barrel. And they put them on trucks or on railways. Well, then they stopped moving oil in barrels because there was too much of it and they started piping it.
But Cushing had become the spot where you got your oil from. So Cushing, to this day, if you buy on the NYMEX, the New York Mercantile Exchange, if you buy a barrel of oil -- well, you don't buy one, you buy 42,000 at the same time or 42,000 barrels, which is 42,000 gallons, and you don't trade it, you actually take delivery of it, this is where you take delivery of it, in Cushing, Oklahoma. So this is the oil crossroads, the pipeline crossroads of America.
And this is exactly where that Keystone XL pipeline was going to be extended to. It was going to go from here to the Gulf of Mexico. And it looks like they're still going to do that.
So these folks around here are all about the oil. Whether it's $100 or $110 or 50, oil has to come through this place. So there's a construction boom underway. They're continuing to build. They're not happy, Brooke, with the decision that President Obama and the administration made not to grab the Keystone pipeline extension.
BALDWIN: Yes, I mean, you and I were on the air that day. It was a day in January, right?
VELSHI: Yes.
BALDWIN: When the Obama administration did not approve it. VELSHI: That's right.
BALDWIN: And so I know, on the one side, the people who definitely wanted it, and I imagine you'll be talking to some people, when you mentioned the, you know, jobs and construction boom --
VELSHI: Yes.
BALDWIN: I understand that they're like running out of homes for some of these construction workers.
VELSHI: That's right.
BALDWIN: So despite that fact that the pipeline isn't there, does that still mean job creation?
VELSHI: Yes, because this is still the place -- you can't reroute where all these pipelines go. I mean there's thousands of miles of pipe in this country and they all kind of lead here. This is a kind of a spider web.
But I spoke to an oil guy who actually runs that Wheeler Well, the original well here in -- just outside of Cushing, and here's what he told me about how they're feeling about that decision.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
STEVE CROWDER, PRESIDENT, LITTLE RIVER ENERGY COMPANY: I'm really mad about it. The interest of certain factions and groups and politicians are being put in front of, in my opinion, what is really good for the country. The XL pipeline should be an absolute no brainer. It is a job creator, it is an absolute must for our security for the future of this nation for us, more importantly for our children.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
VELSHI: Now, remember, Brooke, the folks around here are in the business of shipping oil, right, moving it around, storing it. There are three days' worth of U.S. consumption. All the oil we consume in a day in the U.S., there's three days worth of that stored right here. So that's a lot of oil.
BALDWIN: Wow.
VELSHI: They don't really like the idea that oil prices go too high because obviously that dampens demand. So they want oil to be at a price that, you know, feels fair and affordable to everybody so that people use lots of it. So it's not like they're thinking that high oil prices help them here. It has nothing to do with them. They don't get any benefit from high oil prices. What they get is benefit from the fact that oil continues to flow. So that's the feeling around here.
And of course, this is a primary state, Super Tuesday tomorrow, Oklahoma is a conservative state. Of the people likely to go to the primaries that have been polled by CNN and Opinion Research, Rick Santorum is in the lead here, although amongst Republicans generally, Mitt Romney is pulling a little bit higher.
BALDWIN: I am sure that Keystone XL, we just heard the guy say he is mad about it. I'm sure that will be on their minds as they are casting their votes tomorrow. Ali Velshi, I thank you so much, of course, in Oklahoma today.
Meantime, Rush Limbaugh, he is still at the center of this firestorm after his inflammatory comments about a woman testifying about birth control. More advertisers heading for the exits. Coming up next, hear what Limbaugh has to say about this controversy.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
BALDWIN: More and more advertisers are abandoning Rush Limbaugh's radio show. In fact, just a short time ago, the radio host reiterated his apology for crude comments he made last week. He went after a Georgetown law student named Sandra Fluke who testified at a hearing organized by Democrats.
And she was speaking in favor of the recent Obama administration proposal that employers be required to cover birth control in their health plans. Here's what Limbaugh said on his radio show.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
RUSH LIMBAUGH, RADIO TALK SHOW HOST: What does this say about the college co-ed Susan Fluke who goes before a congressional committee and says she must be paid to have sex? What does that make her? It makes her a slut, right?
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BALDWIN: Well, again, Limbaugh has apologized, saying that he was just trying to be funny. He also says it is, quote, "Absolutely absurd that during these very serious political times we are discussing personal sexual recreational activities before members of Congress," end quote.
John Zarrella has more here. John, to the advertiser, and we know now eight advertisers are bailing on his radio show. Who is the latest?
JOHN ZARRELLA, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes, eight that we know of. Certainly could be more, and there could be more coming as well. AOL today came out on their Facebook page and issued a statement and basically saying, "We have been monitoring the unfolding events and have determined that Mr. Limbaugh's comments are not in line with our values." So AOL is, apparently, the latest to go ahead and pull their advertising from his show.
BALDWIN: So Limbaugh, he has said Mea Culpa more than once. We know this young woman know she was on "The View" this morning and she's saying the apology isn't good enough, isn't she?
ZARRELLA: Yes, well, you know, first let's get to what Limbaugh had to say. Today, he came right out of the box at the beginning of his program and said, listen, folks, I want 30 minutes of your time to explain why I apologized.
He said there are theories on both sides and the theories are wrong. He said that, I descended to their level, referring to the left here, when I used those two words to describe Sandra Fluke, and then he went on to say --
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
LIMBAUGH: I've always tried to maintain a very high degree of integrity and independence on this program. Nevertheless, those two words were inappropriate, they were uncalled for, they distracted from the point that I was actually trying to make, and I again sincerely apologize to Miss Fluke for using those two words to describe her.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ZARRELLA: And he said that he does not think she is either of two of those words, and he said he didn't think she was last week when he said it as well.
And you made reference to Sandra Fluke being on "The View" this morning, and in fact she was. Now, this was before Limbaugh's latest attempt at apology, and this is what she said this morning.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Well, let me just say this, and I encourage everyone to look at the statement in its entirety online. But what I have to say is that I don't think that a statement like this issued saying that his choice of words was not the best, changes anything, and especially when that statement is issued when he's under significant pressure from his sponsors who have begun to pull their support from the show.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ZARRELLA: So, you know, Brooke, this is one of those firestorms that Limbaugh is having a very, very difficult time putting behind him -- Brooke.
BALDWIN: So as these advertisers, then, are continuing to exit, do we know if he's going to take it a step further than the simple I'm sorry on his show? Do we know if he's planning to reach out to her, perhaps?
ZARRELLA: Well, in the portions of the show that we listened to today, we never heard him mention that he was planning to reach out to her, but that would certainly be a logical next step. Although, when she was asked on "The View" whether she would accept him reaching out, she basically said, look, I don't even want to talk to him.
BALDWIN: We'll see where it goes, if anywhere else from here. John Zarrella, thank you so much.
ZARRELLA: Sure.
BALDWIN: Coming up, Penn State's more than 400 delegates up for grabs on Super Tuesday.
Up next, he's back in Atlanta in the studio. Wolf Blitzer joining me here to talk about how critical these races tomorrow are. Stay with me.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
BALDWIN: Political junkies get ready. The stakes are very, very high, sky high tomorrow. Super Tuesday, so you have voters in 10 states going to the polls, more than 400 delegates up for grabs.
That's more than a third of the delegates a candidate needs to win in the nomination in one single day. Wolf Blitzer back here and talking momentum.
Here's my first question just off the top. Any one of these candidates, can they deliver a knockout blow, a knockout win tomorrow?
WOLF BLITZER, HOST, CNN'S "THE SITUATION ROOM": I suspect that won't be the case. I suspect Gingrich, for example will win Georgia, his home state. Georgia has the most delegates up for tomorrow even more than Ohio.
BALDWIN: More than Ohio?
BLITZER: Yes, that's right. Georgia is the biggest state that's of the 10 that have contest tomorrow, primaries and caucuses. So I think Gingrich will do well in Georgia obviously.
Santorum and Romney are fighting it off in Ohio. Either one of them could win. I think there'll be a split decision unless Santorum losses everything.
If he doesn't win one state tomorrow that would then he will be in trouble. But other than that, I suspect there will be a mixed bag. We'll continue a week from tomorrow with Alabama, Mississippi, and Hawaii. We got more contests coming up.
BALDWIN: You're getting ahead of me. Let's go back to, you know, I know Santorum had momentum. He lost to Romney, that Michigan primary we talked about last week.
So he's working on, I guess, you know, getting the momentum back, a couple big names backing Romney, former U.S. Attorney General John Ashcroft, House Majority Leader Eric Cantor.
In fact, let's listen to how Cantor responded just this morning when he was asked if his support was lukewarm.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
REPRESENTATIVE ERIC CANTOR (R), HOUSE MAJORITY LEADER: I disagree with anybody who said there is not energy surrounding Mitt Romney's campaign. When people take time to look at his economic plan, I think they'll get excited about it. You already see him gaining momentum.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BALDWIN: Gaining momentum. You look at the polls, but you also looked at the polls before say, Arizona and Michigan. I don't know. Do they really matter?
BLITZER: The polls matter because it generates fundraising. It excites people, if you will. Virginia, for example, Romney and Paul are on the ballot. Santorum and Gingrich did not make the ballot in Virginia. A lot of delegates there.
I suspect Romney is going to get them all. So that's going to be an important win for him in Virginia tomorrow. It underscores what Romney has and what Santorum still lacks, organization, financing, that structure, and that's really going to be beneficial to Romney right now in this stretch of the race.
But it's not over with yet. Santorum could do well tomorrow, and if he wins Ohio then this thing keeps going and going and going.
BALDWIN: You keep coming to Atlanta. Stay with me actually because I was talking to Barbara Starr about this a moment ago. Senator John McCain has officially called on the Obama administration to launch air strikes in Syria as the regime there murders its own people.
We're seeing 7,500 more in the last year. I want you to hear what the senator said moments ago on the Senate floor.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SENATOR JOHN MCCAIN (R), RANKING MEMBER, ARMED SERVICES COMMITTEE: At the request of the Syrian National Council, the Free Syrian Army and local coordinating committees inside the country, the United States should lead an international effort to protect key population centers in Syria, especially in the north, through air strikes on Assad's forces.
To be clear, this will require the United States to suppress enemy air defenses in at least part of the country. The ultimate goal of air strikes should be to establish and defend safe havens in Syria, especially in the north in which opposition forces can organize and plan their political and military activities against Assad.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BALDWIN: So we had heard before, we had heard from Senator McConnell and also Graham when they were in Egypt just a little while ago about saying, yes, we should be arming the rebels in Syria. But now this is taking it to another level on the floor of the Senate -- huge.
BLITZER: He's a ranking member of the Senate Armed Services Committee, Senator McCain, the Republican presidential nominee four years ago. So this is big, and we'll see how much support he gets. I assume his usual partners, Senator Lindsey Graham, Senator Joe Lieberman and others will support him. The key is, what are the U.S. capabilities, the NATO capabilities? When interviewed the NATO secretary general, Rasmussen the other day, he said they were not going to do anything. NATO was not involved.
I said, is the U.S. and NATO allies impotent because you did impose a no-drive zone over Libya, a no drive zone, a blockade of Libyan -- what's the difference between the Libyan rebels as opposed to the Syrian rebels?
And Rasmussen himself did not have a really good answer. He just said different situation, different capabilities. But I suspect what Senator McCain is saying now will resonate with a lot of folks and we'll see where it goes within the Obama administration.
My own instinct tells me there is no great desire to do it at the Pentagon and elsewhere. The U.S. is winding down its activities, as all of us know, in Afghanistan, so there is no great desire to start it in Syria, but we'll see.
BALDWIN: An election year nonetheless, right?
BLITZER: Right.
BALDWIN: Wolf, thank you.
BLITZER: Thank you.
BALDWIN: Coming up here, the hunt for alien life goes public. Coming up next, how you can search for extraterrestrial life in the comfort of your own home.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
BALDWIN: It is a question, perhaps yourself included, people all around the world have been grappling with for centuries here. The question being, are we alone? Astronomers have spent much of the last 50 years listening to radio waves hoping to hear signs of alien life in space.
In fact, actress, Jodie Foster's role in the movie "Contact" portrays the life of one such astronomer. Foster's character was largely based upon the life and work of alien hunter, Dr. Jill Tarter, but now astronomers in California are asking for your help for the very first time ever.
Regular folks can access live data and help screen it for potential signs of extraterrestrial life, and Jill Tartar is live with me now.
Jill, it's nice to meet you. Thanks for coming on. We mentioned the telescope array in California so we're talking 42 radio dishes or ears to pick up signals. Tell me what exactly you're listening for.
JILL TARTER, ASTRONOMER: We're listening for radio signals that are compressed in frequency, that have a character that nature doesn't produce so that they would be obviously engineered signals.
BALDWIN: So the news hook, I guess, here is that we're talking about the study live. You're now enlisting the help of regular folks, citizen scientists to help you look for signs of extraterrestrial life. Can just anyone sign up for this, and how does this work?
TARTER: Anyone can sign up, and what we're trying to do is send a little bit of the data that we searched through out of the telescope.
We're sending data at frequency regions where there are so many, many signals that are automated search system gets confused. We're hoping they're such regular pattern system devices that they can look and see our own signals, radiofrequency interference.
But maybe, maybe peer through that and see some residual that might be coming from someone else's technology, and then we want to follow up on that immediately. In the past, we've just ignored these bands because they're so difficult to work through. We're hoping that humans can help us do the job.
BALDWIN: We just pulled up the web site. If people want to go it's studylive.org. Have any citizens found anything yet?
TARTER: Well, yes. In fact, we had a soft launch of this program last week during the Ted conference, and there have been thousands of people who have signed up and hundreds of thousands of signals that have been marked or classified.
The tools right now are pretty primitive, because we don't know how humans are going to interact with them. We didn't know the best tools to build. So we're asking people who sign up to tell us, what would you like to have?
What would you think would be a good tool for you to describe to us the kinds of signals that you're seeing, the ones that you think are interference and the ones that you think might actually be an extraterrestrial signal?
BALDWIN: The real deal. You've spent your entire life. You've dedicated your career to this. Why is this so important to you, Jill Tarter? And what makes you think there actually is life out there?
TARTER: Well, the reason that it's important to me is the same reason that it's important to get humans involved actively in the search. Because if you participate with us, if you think about this question of intelligent life somewhere else, it actually forces you to step back and look at a larger perspective than you usually do.
It forces you to think about the fact that you are an earthling on one planet in a galaxy of hundreds of billions of stars and hundreds and billions of galaxies in the universe. And so, actually, you are exactly the same as all other earthlings on this planet when compared to someone else out there.
And so the difficulties that we find with perceived differences among humans can be trivialized in this perspective. Maybe we can do something to change the world. We can do it by finding a signal. We can do it by changing people's perspective.
BALDWIN: We shall see. Perhaps someone watching will log on and find something. Jill Tarter, we appreciate you coming on. Thank you.
TARTER: Thank you.
BALDWIN: And after five years on hiatus, the rock band, Essence, is back in a big way. Music Monday after this quick break.
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BALDWIN: It's Monday, and on this show that means it's "Music Monday. So we sat down with the rock band, Evanescence. They've sold 25 million albums since their debut just about 10 years ago.
But we hadn't heard a peep from them in the last five years and lead singer, Banco, founder, Amy Lee. She took some time off. She got married, but now they're back in a very big way. Their most recent album debut at number one on the Billboard Charts, we give you Evanescence.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
AMY LEE, LEAD SINGER, EVANESCENCE: It's about the music for us first and foremost, and the fans. Their support and their deep connection to our music is constantly inspiring and humbling to me because I feel like it's not really about me or us, it's something bigger.
It's the power of music. There is nothing like a whole room full of music all moving in the exact same way and feeling the same thing at once. It's incredibly powerful.
It's great to be back. It's been way too long. Thank you guys so much. I can't believe it, a sold out show after all these years. What can I say? You guys rock.
This is me falling back in love with Evanescence and just coming back home to it after a long time away.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: This album comes from a really organic place because it was, you know, just old school like a band used to do. Like all of us in a room together making music.
And that's kind of fun, I guess. That's kind of what really brought us back, I think, to having a good time with it, reminding everybody why we started playing in the first place.
LEE: For me, writing is the one place where it's not even totally up to me, I feel like. Like, I can't lie. I just start feeling stuff subconsciously that I maybe didn't even realize about myself or my life that I may need to work on.
And I'm like, wow, I guess I'm struggling with this situation because it's coming out of my mouth. No, really, no matter what, there are no boundaries for it. I'm going to spill my guts in our songs. What we love about fans and music is hearing a real person with songs coming out of someone's heart. It's like a real person you're getting to know to some degree, besides something really simple.
And it's like, I know you're going to want to buy this and I'm doing it just like the book says to do. I read here someone's real soul with all its little imperfections.
The last song we wrote I've been really proud of. You always feel like the last one you wrote was the strongest one from that album. It's got kind of a simple backbone in a lot of ways, so it's easy to sing along to.
We started in New York. I like it because it's actually really simple, but that's what it makes it strong like so many great rock songs are just simple and great.
I get inspired right away and I sat down at the piano and we wrote the whole song pretty quickly, within a day or two. It brings something unique to the table. Our strengths are all different, so when there's an idea started at school, it's really awesome to be able to bring it to the table. So OK, how's anyone else hear this.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
BALDWIN: Evanescence, thank you.
Hey, if you watch enough, you know we do these "Music Mondays" each and every Monday on the show. Check out all the other interviews we have done. Go to my blog, CNN.com/Brooke, and tweet me. I love hearing from you, including some of you artists pushing me. Go to my Twitter account, which is @BrookeBCNN.
