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Iran Options; McCain Calls for Action in Syria; Critics Call Fraud On Russian Election; Artificial Pancreas on the Way?; New Orleans Saints' Bounty Controversy; First Tornadoes, Now Snow in Indiana, Kentucky; Super Tuesday
Aired March 05, 2012 - 15:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
BROOKE BALDWIN, CNN ANCHOR: Now this. Top of the hour here. Welcome back. I'm Brooke Baldwin.
A couple stories we're working for you.
First, the president, President Obama insisting no option is off the table when it comes to Iran. Also, Senator John McCain calls on airstrikes moments ago with regard to Syria. Critics are calling Vladimir Putin's election win a fraud, and possibly a game changer in the medical world.
On this Monday, time to play "Reporter Roulette."
Let's begin now at the White House. Huge meeting today on the subject of Iran between President Obama and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
With that story, we go to White House correspondent Dan Lothian.
Dan, tell me what happened today.
DAN LOTHIAN, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Well, first of all, senior administration officials saying that the meeting between President Obama and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu lasted for about two hours, and then they moved on to a working lunch.
According to these senior officials, the message from the U.S. to Israel remains unchanged, the position on Iran that they should not get a nuclear weapon as opposed to what the Israelis are looking for, a much lower threshold, which is Iran not acquiring nuclear capability. In all, though, the two leaders try to portray a sense of unity.
President Obama saying that the U.S. does have Israel's back, but Benjamin Netanyahu saying that Israel is responsible for its own security.
(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 -- a sovereign right to make its own decisions. (END VIDEO CLIP)
LOTHIAN: Now, President Obama is calling for patience, believing that diplomacy can work here, that the sanctions that have been brought on Iran can eventually work, and so no rush to war with Iran. Certainly, though, a lot of differences here remain between the U.S. and Israel, but try to put on this face of unity, Brooke.
BALDWIN: Dan Lothian, just 20 seconds. Does this moment in time, does it represent Netanyahu's moment of max leverage on the president vis-a-vis Iran?
LOTHIAN: Well, it does, and I think the issue here, too, is that President Obama is in the midst of an election year, and so everything is viewed under the microscope of the political election. And so the timing of this certainly does give him some leverage here.
But again, the U.S. position remains unchanged. President Obama believing that there should be time given for diplomacy to work.
BALDWIN: Dan Lothian, thank you, Dan.
Just in to CNN, Senator John McCain now calling for airstrikes on Syrian government forces. That happened minutes ago there on the floor of this Senate.
Let's go to Barbara Starr there at the Pentagon.
Barbara, we were talking about this a bit last hour. What specifically is he calling on?
BARBARA STARR, CNN PENTAGON CORRESPONDENT: Well, Senator McCain giving a very impassioned speech about the plight facing the Syrian people, calling for an international coalition to be led by the United States for airstrikes and to really suppress the Syrian military forces. He said time is not on the side of the Syrian people. Assad is on the march.
Listen to a little bit more of what the senator had to say.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SEN. JOHN MCCAIN (R), ARIZONA: 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 airstrikes 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 airstrikes 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) STARR: Make no mistake, you are talking about sending U.S. pilots into a very heavy threat environment, very risky business. No indication here at the Pentagon they want to see it happen. In fact, we just got a statement about Secretary of Defense Leon Panetta's reaction to all of this.
And a senior Pentagon official tells us that the secretary's feeling is he wants to look for ways to deal with the crisis, but that "intervention at this time could very well exacerbate problems inside the country.
What they're really saying here is if they were to engage in military action, the fear is that Assad's forces would react with even stronger violence, you could get Iran involved in all of it and that you would have it spiraling upwards. That's the concern. The Senate will have a hearing about all of this on Wednesday. It will be Panetta vs. McCain to some large extent before the Senate Armed Services Committee -- Brooke.
BALDWIN: We will follow it Wednesday and we will talk then. Barbara Starr, thanks so much there from the Pentagon.
Meanwhile, Vladimir Putin and his supporters, they are celebrating his presidential election victory. Putin was actually reduced to tears last night and his voice was shaky as he spoke to supporters.
Next here on "Reporter Roulette," we have Phil Black in Moscow.
Phil, despite the recent protests, he was the heavy favorite, was he not?
PHIL BLACK, CNN CORRESPONDENT: He was indeed, Brooke. Yes, Vladimir Putin remains easily the most popular leader across this vast country.
But as you say, there have been these recent protests, particularly in Moscow, Saint Petersburg, a few other cities. In these urban situations, his population (sic) has plummeted. So, yes, he was expected to win, but what people dispute is the margin of victory.
He won very comfortably. His figures were impressive. He came home with about 65 percent of the vote. People believe that is suspicious. That's why there are these accusations of fraud and cheating being thrown around today. It's why once again there have been tens of thousands of people on the streets of Moscow protesting this election result just tonight -- Brooke.
BALDWIN: To be more specific, when you talk about allegations of ballot stuffing, padded voter rolls at one-third of the polling places, you mentioned the protests. Can anything be done now beyond simply demonstrating?
BLACK: Well, Vladimir Putin has said that all claims or allegations of cheating should be investigated. The problem is, we heard something similar before back in December of last year following parliamentary elections which were said to involve widespread cheating in favor of his own United Russia Party. That was again the response there, that any allegations could be investigated, and if they were found to have any substance, well, in that case, then people would be prosecuted.
But the government is generally quite dismissive of these allegations, or at least the extent of the allegations. They claim it's the opponents, the opposition to Vladimir Putin who are doing this, and who are massaging this to make it all seem far more extensive than it actually is, Brooke.
BALDWIN: Phil Black in Moscow, Phil, thank you.
Next on "Reporter Roulette" it's been called a game changer for the nearly five million diabetics in this country who use insulin, a bionic or artificial pancreas.
Senior medical correspondent Elizabeth Cohen, you have this story of this young girl who was the first to try this out, and gosh, we were talking about this, this morning, an artificial pancreas?
ELIZABETH COHEN, CNN SENIOR MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT: It really does sound quite amazing, doesn't it?
(CROSSTALK)
BALDWIN: What does that mean for a diabetic?
COHEN: Well, what this could mean, as you said, could be a real game changer for diabetics.
I spent some time with Elle Shaheen, and she is one of the first young people to try out this artificial pancreas, because Elle, just in her normal life, she has to poke her finger 10 to 12 times a day and then has to estimate how much insulin she needs. And often she ends up having these sugar lows. Her mom gets up, Brooke, every three hours at night because she has these sugar crashes that are all too familiar to parents of children with diabetes.
And sometimes kids die from these crashes. Her mother has saved her life many times. So Elle jumped at the chance to be a part of an experiment at Massachusetts General Hospital where they outfitted her with an artificial pancreas. So the device did the work for her. She didn't have to poke her finger, she didn't have to measure out how much insulin she needed.
The device did all of that for her and sort of put it all on autopilot, as it were. You can see there is a black bag around Elle's neck, and that bag contains the elements of that artificial pancreas. And when they get done with it, it will be a lot less cumbersome than this. This is for experimental purposes, but she said she had leave it at the hospital. She couldn't bring it home with her because it is experimental, and she was quite sad that day. She really wanted to bring it home. And actually let's hear from Elle and her mom, Stefany.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
ELLE SHAHEEN, DIABETIC: I won't have to test my blood sugar, estimate how much insulin I have to take.
STEFANY SHAHEEN, MOTHER: We're very anxious to have the opportunity to use the device in a home setting. We spent three days at Mass General Hospital with the device, and we were very inspired by the promise and what a difference it could make in Elle's life.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COHEN: Parents like Stefany are very invested, Brooke, in seeing this approved. Right now, the U.S. is lagging behind many European countries.
BALDWIN: So we don't know yet when it could potentially be available in the home?
COHEN: It's interesting. The researchers say they think a device like this could be approved in the next four years. That's actually pretty soon.
BALDWIN: Good deal. Elizabeth Cohen, thank you.
COHEN: Thanks.
BALDWIN: And that's your "Reporter Roulette" here on this Monday.
Coming up next, it is a scandal that's got a lot of America talking. Knock out a player, get some cash. An NFL coach admits, yes, he paid his defense to level other players, hurt them, get them carried away on a stretcher. Today the coach is in the hot seat, but this could spread big time. Stay with me.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
BALDWIN: We have talked quite a bit before about the contagion of blunt force trauma within the NFL and sometimes results in debilitating lifelong injuries.
But have you heard about this? This regards the New Orleans Saints. They were apparently running a pool that paid defensive players to hurt their opponents. The NFL has been investigating the Saints and that's what investigators have concluded.
And I want to just be totally transparent here. The pictures we're showing, we're not saying these hits were overly brutal or these particular Saints were involved, but the NFL probe concluded 27 players took part in this pool which was run by then defensive coach Gregg Williams. He's pretty much admitting the whole thing is true.
He is quoted today as saying it was a -- quote, unquote -- "terrible mistake."
Ed Lavandera is working the story for us from Dallas.
Twenty-seven players, Ed? Talk to me. What do you know?
ED LAVANDERA, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Right, up to 27 players, and it's interesting, Brooke, that picture you just showed there of that Saints players hitting Brett Favre when he played for the Minnesota Vikings, that was the NFC Championship game back in 2009.
And it is actually one of the players that the commissioner of the NFL, Roger Goodell, mentions by name in his statement that they put out on Friday saying that they were looking into allegations that surfaced in the times that the Saints played the Vikings and Brett Favre specifically. It's interesting to see these allegations dating back three years, and essentially what the NFL is saying here is they have multiple sources saying there was an organized effort here by the defensive coordinator of the Saints, Gregg Williams, and they had created essentially what some have called a fund that might have had up to $50,000.
And based on players' performances, they were paid out from that fund. They could be paid up to $1,500 for a hit that would knock a player out of the game, $1,000 for a hit that would knock out a player that would have to be carted off the field with and then also incentives for interceptions and fumbles and that sort of thing.
What many former players are saying is that this has gone up to a new level, and the NFL is saying that this is a clear violation of its rules, that there is a clause that says non-contract bonuses are not allowed. And, Brooke, that is why this is such a big deal.
BALDWIN: This can't be tolerated. That's what we're hearing from the NFL commissioner, Roger Goodell. I guess, looking long term, what could we be talking about here? Fines? Could some of these players possibly be suspended?
LAVANDERA: I think suspensions will be the very likely scenario. To what degree is still unknown at this point.
Commissioner Goodell says he is looking at all of the evidence that has been turned over in this investigation, which the NFL said is very deep, some 50,000 documents worth of information that they are poring over as well.
So this could be some incredibly harsh and intense sanctions that are levied against players, coaches. To what extent the team might be held accountable is also still very much up in the air.
Interestingly enough, Gregg Williams no longer coaches for the Saints. He is now a coach with the Saint Louis Rams. So if he does miss games, a team that had nothing to do with this in this particular case would be punished here as well. All of that kind of adds to the drama that is swirling around the New Orleans Saints right now.
BALDWIN: Wow. Ed Lavandera, thank you so much. Quick note. Tonight, Erin Burnett, she is going to be speaking with former player Coy Wire. I know Coy is very passionate when he talks about head injuries. So he will talking to Erin tonight 7:00 Eastern here on CNN.
Coming up next, though, we have some pretty incredible new video to show you. A man pushes the record button as a tornado comes barrelling straight for him. We will show that to you.
Plus, we will go to live to Kentucky, where families are trying to see through the snow here what's left of their homes today.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
BALDWIN: First tornadoes, now snow in both Indiana and Kentucky, the states hardest-hit by those tornadoes that whipped through on Friday and Saturday. Images of the just monster weather system that shredded towns, neighborhoods, they are still coming out.
Here's one from one survivor who stays calm despite the whirling chaos in front of him.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Now, guys, let's go. (INAUDIBLE) Please, please get in here!
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: All right.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Oh, my God. No, no. We're all right. We're all right.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BALDWIN: You could hear his sister screaming at him to please come inside.
The cleanup really now begins after a storm system that impacted a good portion of the country. Reports of tornadoes and storm damage came from 16 different states, 16. Members of FEMA, Federal Emergency Management Agency, they are now on site, and hundreds of National Guard troops are helping out both in Indiana and Kentucky as well.
I want to go straight to Kentucky, to Rob Marciano there standing in the mess and the snow in West Liberty.
And, Rob, we were talking. You were saying lack of power and lack of communication have been major challenges for folks in that area.
ROB MARCIANO, CNN METEOROLOGIST: Yes, and just the scope of it.
For this town, the whole town is wiped out. There is virtually no building that went untouched, because this tornado at one point was a mile-wide. Imagine, if you will, Friday afternoon around 5:30, the tornado coming up and over that ridge, spiraling down into this valley and just progressing across the center of this town and taking out nearly everything in its sight.
Most of the debris has been cleared off the road, but it's just really been pushed up against the sidewalk, kind of like sweeping things under the rug, just enough to get the work crews in here so they can do further work, so they can string power poles, so they can get some roofing supplies in here to whatever structures somewhat remain, to get contractors in here like across the street that are setting up plywood and boarding up windows.
That's the old courthouse there. Any sort of equipment that we can get in here. Residents have not been allowed to come in. But there have been also some government workers to take sensitive documents out of the courthouse and also some business owners, and I ran into one gentleman who was helping to patch a hole up in a building next to a church. He actually came right up face to face with the twister on Friday night.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
GEORGE WEDDINGTON, SURVIVOR: There was houses. I knew it was in a circle because there was houses on my left way down over the hill there that was rolling stuff back at it, as the circle went. I was kind of dodging those in my car.
And finally I just made a right turn and went right up against the side of the school on the end that wasn't being damaged so bad. And it took this end off. And we realized it was hitting us from the back. It damaged our car bad from the back end of the taillights and the bumpers and everywhere, but we were safe.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
MARCIANO: He's a friend of the pastor of the church. That pastor is staying at my hotel about an hour away from here, and last night he said, Rob, I can't get in there. And if you can go and check on the buildings and let me know how they're doing, and that's when I ran into George Weddington.
That's the courthouse. That's the main bank in town, 100 years old. They will probably have to demolish that building. This place is just about absolute mess. And you just really don't know where to start. And the heartbreaking stories, obviously our hearts go out to the victims because the homes -- there's 12,000 people that live here, Brooke. On top of that, this is the lifeblood of the surrounding communities. The county feeds off this town.
If this town shuts down, that somewhat paralyzes the entire Morgan County, so that's going to be the frustrating part of this going forward.
BALDWIN: Do they feel like they're getting the help they need, Rob?
MARCIANO: Yes, FEMA just showed up. They had first-responders came in. As a matter of fact, the CNN Hero, the First Response Team of America, he showed up with his gear. That will obviously be increasing as time goes by, as first- responders go out and the more mainstream, longer-term contractors come in. But it's a difficult place to get to, and that's been a struggle as well. It's not like in Tuscaloosa where you had folks down the street that could come in. It takes a while to get down here. Eastern Kentucky is rugged terrain.
You have got hills and valleys and mountains. It's not easy to get here and that's another thing. One other thing they're up against, on top of that, four inches of snow last night making things colder and more dangerous.
(CROSSTALK)
BALDWIN: Challenge after challenge. Rob Marciano, we're thinking about all those folks there in West Liberty, Kentucky, and all the other states that were impacted, obviously. Rob, my thanks to very much.
Meantime, switching gears and talking politics, we're now less than 24 hours away from Super Tuesday. Coming up next, why is it so important here, this race when it comes to the race for the White House? And why should so much attention be placed on Ohio? That's next.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
BALDWIN: Oh, boy, a political battle come tomorrow, Super Tuesday. That is when voters from 10 different states will go to the polls with more than 400 delegates at stake. And it could clear up the field, I don't know, could, possibly force someone out of the race. We were just talking about that in the commercial break, possibly not.
More than one-third of the delegates the candidates need to win the nomination, they're up for grabs in a single day. It all goes down tomorrow, so exciting.
It's so exciting, Gloria Borger. We have got all these caucuses and all these primaries. Just try to hit it home for us why Super Tuesday is so key.
GLORIA BORGER, CNN SENIOR POLITICAL ANALYST: The beginning of the end.
BALDWIN: The beginning of the end.
BORGER: The beginning of the end because, for example, Mitt Romney, if he were to win Ohio and maybe win a Southern state like Tennessee, which, by the way, in 2008, he did not win...
BALDWIN: He didn't win a single Deep South state.
BORGER: Not at all. But if he does, then you will see the inevitability factor kick in, which, by the way, he just has won five races coming into Super Tuesday. And what we have started to see so far are some leading conservatives coming out now saying, you know what, we're going to support Mitt Romney. So if he were to do well -- and again it depends on what metric you use. I would use the popular vote.
(CROSSTALK)
BORGER: Well, we care about delegates, obviously, but he wins half of the 419 delegates and wins Ohio, does well in Tennessee, then I think you're going to start to see the beginning of the end.
Whether that means anyone else gets out is another matter.
BALDWIN: We talked so much about Ohio because why? It's a bit of a microcosm, is it not?
(CROSSTALK)
BORGER: It's a huge microcosm.
First of all, bellwether for the general election. No Republican presidential candidate has ever won the presidency without winning the state of Ohio. So that's key. A microcosm of the electorate also. As you point out, very important, urban, rural, evangelical, it's got everything in that state, blue-collar, white collar, everything.
Also, Democrats can vote in this primary, so you're going to have the appeal of the crossover candidate, which candidate Republican has to do to win. Will those Reagan Democrats come out and vote for Rick Santorum, for example, as he hopes? So a very important state not only tomorrow night, but also in the presidential race, key.
BALDWIN: But it's interesting, and I was listening to you all part of the coverage last Tuesday and it was Mitt Romney really claiming Michigan, and Michigan is very similar to Ohio, and it wasn't a huge win for him in Michigan, right? And that's where his father was governor, so he may not win huge in Ohio.
(CROSSTALK)
BORGER: No. And he may not win.
Look, he doesn't have the home state advantage here in Ohio, but he is spending four or five to one when it comes up against Rick Santorum, so he has got the money going for him. He does.
(CROSSTALK)
BALDWIN: What about women?
BORGER: Well, this is a huge story that I think is evolving in this Republican race right now.
BALDWIN: How so?
BORGER: Well, I think it began when the president, a lot of people in the White House would admit, made a political misstep on the issue of contraception and the Catholic Church, which has become flipped on its head as a result of this presidential campaign and Rush Limbaugh and has become an issue of contraception.
"The Wall Street Journal"/NBC News poll today shows an astonishing number. When you put Barack Obama against Mitt Romney, there is, with women, an 18-point gap.
BALDWIN: Wow.
BORGER: And let me point out that Romney does very well with women among Republicans.
BALDWIN: Talk about that. Right.
BORGER: OK. So you look at that gender gap, and it's a gender gulch now, and I would argue that what we've seen in this race so far is that they've really hurt their brand, particularly, and if you look at the internals of this poll, with suburban women voters. They have been up for grabs, suburban women were not happy with Barack Obama, particularly, and now they seem to be looking at the Republican ranks and saying, you know what? I don't think I want to be a member of that group.
Now --
BALDWIN: Do you feel like the candidates are speaking to that particular demographic?
BORGER: Well, I think that Barack Obama is now speaking to that particular demographic, which is why he sort of said, oh, by the way, I'm going to be the commencement speaker at Barnard, which is a women's college. Yes. Not a coincidence.
So, I think they're really making a play for women and Republicans have to be really careful about that. Very careful.
BALDWIN: We see Ann Romney speaking a whole lot. We finally heard now from Callista Gingrich. So perhaps that's an attempt, right?
BORGER: And Rick Santorum talking about his 92-year-old mother and --
BALDWIN: Right. Not a coinkidink.
BORGER: Right. Nope, not at all. We're important.
BALDWIN: Gloria Borger, thank you. I know we are. Thank you.
We'll be up maybe late tomorrow night as part of our coverage, right? So, also at noon, Wolf Blitzer, CNN's political team are going to be hosting a CNN election roundtable, a live insider chat about the day's implications for the presidential race, CNN.com/roundtable.
Ms. Borger, thank you very much.
And now to this -- they call themselves geeks, nerds and they are introducing the world of arts that seems impossible to pull off. This is all part of CNN's "NEXT LIST".
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It wasn't until I got to college that I realized I also had a sort of exhibitionist performance side to me as well. And at that point, that side of my life exploded and I became a circus performer and I became a juggler and a fire dancer and toured with a band all over the world.
I feel like now I'm sort of bringing those two sides of me, the childhood super nerd and the later in life circus performer together in one package here.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BALDWIN: Don't forget to watch CNN's brand new show, "THE NEXT LIST," featuring some of America's brightest minds. Dr. Sanjay Gupta is host. You can watch it Sundays at 2:00 p.m. Eastern, only here on CNN.
Still ahead: was there a second gunman in the murder of Bobby Kennedy? The long-time conspiracy theory is going to court.
Plus, do you remember the gang member who police arrested he had the crime scene tattooed on his chest? Well, apparently, the government has been paying him while he sits in jail. Sunny Hostin is on the case. She's next.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
BALDWIN: Listen to this one -- a convicted killer has gotten more than $30,000 in unemployment checks while behind bars. Anthony Garcia was caught because he tattooed a mural of the murder scene on his chest. Well; now, his family and friends are in trouble for cashing these unemployment checks. "The L.A. Times" said they were giving the money to Garcia and other incarcerated gang members.
Sunny Hostin is on the case. Sunny, we talked about this guy before. I read the article of "The L.A. Times" this morning and said, what? How could something -- how could something like this happen?
SUNNY HOSTIN, CNN LEGAL ANALYST: Isn't that something, Brooke? I mean, I remember we did this on the case --
BALDWIN: Yes.
HOSTIN: -- last year when he -- when detectives found that he had the crime scene tattooed on his chest.
Well, many people are saying this is some sort of loophole in the system. That isn't true. What we're really talking about is unemployment benefits fraud. And what happened here was while he was in prison, his father and two of his girlfriends were collecting the checks for him and then placing those checks in his jail account and also spreading that money around to some other gang members. And so, I wouldn't necessarily term this, you know, a loophole but rather, criminal behavior, which is what his father and his girlfriends are looking at.
My understanding, Brooke, at this point is that they've been charged with unemployment fraud as well as some other unrelated charges.
BALDWIN: So, it just got me thinking, could this be happening anywhere else? And could he himself, Anthony Garcia, you know, have more charges slapped, you know, on his behalf? Maybe a longer time in jail because of this? I don't know.
HOSTIN: That's right. I mean, we don't know yet whether or not he will be charged with something, but we do know that it is illegal to collect unemployment benefits while in prison. So I suspect, Brooke, that the investigation will continue not only into his behavior but a more widespread investigation to determine whether or not, in fact, this is going on in other jails around the country.
So, this may very well be sort of that cautionary tale for investigators.
BALDWIN: Hello, wake up call.
Story number two: lawyers for the convicted killer of Senator Bobby Kennedy making new claims here. What are they saying?
HOSTIN: This is remarkable, actually. They filed some papers in federal court saying that Sirhan Sirhan was not the shooter of R.F. Kennedy in 1968, at the Ambassador Hotel. Rather, that there was a second shooter. They say they have audiotape recordings to show that 13 bullets were fired but Sirhan Sirhan's gun only had eight bullets.
They're also saying that even if he were involved in this that he had been hypnotized to -- by co-conspirators to fire shots of diversion for the actual assassin. And they say that they have some evidence to support it. Some of that evidence isn't in the court papers. Rather, they're looking for an evidentiary hearing to sort of make that evidence public.
BALDWIN: So, would this mean then that Sirhan Sirhan wouldn't go to trial again?
HOSTIN: Well, they're looking for a new trial. That's what they're seeking. They're also saying that he should be freed because of all these egregious errors that were made.
Now, of course, the California attorney general's office has responded. They're saying that there is overwhelming evidence of Sirhan Sirhan's skills. And they requested , of course, there won't be a new trial.
But, you know, he's going to be 68, Brooke, 68 in a couple of weeks. He's been held in prison for the majority of his life. And so, his attorneys are working to get him a new trial, working to go free him. And it's a case that I'm certainly going to be following because the conspiracy theory has been out there for quite some time, but now, it's been pushed out a little bit more in federal court.
BALDWIN: We'll be talking about it, Sunny Hostin. Thank you very much.
Now this.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
MAX FOSTER, CNN ROYAL CORRESPONDENT: -- press pass, rushing to the airport to catch up with Prince Harry, who is always one step ahead.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BALDWIN: Here he is, chasing down Prince Harry partying in the Caribbean.
Plus, find out what happens when the Prince's boat breaks down, next.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
BALDWIN: Yes, one heck of a way to spend a business trip. Prince Harry in the Caribbean celebrating his grandmother's 60th year since taking the throne.
And CNN's Max Foster got an upclose and personal access here when he wasn't chasing the prince.
Watch.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
FOSTER: Brooke, this was a big test for Prince Harry, his first big tour, representing the queen. She's entrusted him to do this properly. Let's see how he did.
(voice-over): A street party awaited him. He's here representing his grandmother, the queen, who is the Belizean head of state.
And then we saw Harry, the party prince. He sampled local dishes, including cow foot soup and washed it down with some punchy local cocktails.
After all that, how could he turn down an invitation to dance?
(on camera): Well, Prince Harry didn't disappoint. He came to this street festival. He ate, he drank, he even danced.
(voice-over): The next morning, Harry hit the great outdoors, climbing to the top of this Xunantunich Mayan temple. A prince clearly with a head for heights.
This was a whirlwind tour of less than 24 hours. And before we knew it, Harry was in the Bahamas, and in tropical military uniform. A quick change, and time to tease his brother William about landing a trip to paradise.
PRINCE HARRY: I'll certainly be showing off about it to my brother and sister-in-law when I return home.
FOSTER (on camera): You met Diana when she came to the Bahamas.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Yes.
FOSTER: And now, you're going to meet Harry.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Right, her baby. Her baby.
FOSTER: The third generation.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Right. So, it's wonderful.
FOSTER (voice-over): Then he was off again. It's difficult keeping up with him.
(on camera): I think this is a first for a press pass, rushing to the airport to catch up with Prince Harry, who is always one step ahead.
We're still chasing Prince Harry. We are now going by speed boat on the way to Harbor Island in the Bahamas, hopefully getting there before him.
(voice-over): Harry, meanwhile, was at breakneck speed in his boat, until it broke down. Luckily, there was a spare.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
BALDWIN: Of course there was a spare. Max Foster, thank you.
And now this -- we'd like to talk about robots, but a robot that can sprint up to 18 miles an hour? Up next, we're going to introduce you to the cheetah robot.
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BALDWIN: We like to showcase the leading edge of technology on this show from time to time. So how about a robot that can sprint? Take a look at cheetah. Look at this thing go. This a creation from the super engineers at DARPA.
This video shows a prototype robot. It is galloping at a whopping 18 miles an hour, apparently the new land speed for legged robots. The previous record, in case you're curious, is 13 miles per hour. That was set back in 1989.
So this little guy was born from DARPA's Maximum Mobility and Manipulation or M3 program. The work in the lab was done to research just how far we can push robotics. And while this robot was designed here on a treadmill, a free running prototype is planned to test later this year. There you have it. Cheetah robot.
If you are a member of the military, the security line at the airport is about to get a lot faster for you. The TSA rolling out a pre-check lane in D.C. By the end of the year, if all goes well, 35 airports will have them so all active duty service members and national guard troops are eligible for that.
And now, my friends, Wolf Blitzer here in Atlanta, obviously here for Super Tuesday tomorrow.
But I want to talk with you briefly about the big meeting at the White House today, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and President Obama.
I just read your blog in between commercial break.
WOLF BLITZER, CNN ANCHOR: What did you think?
BALDWIN: I thought it's interesting that you're skeptical of anything really happening. You say they're talking too much.
BLITZER: If Israelis are really serious about bombing within weeks or months the Iranian nuclear facilities, they wouldn't be talking about it. They would just do it.
Remember 2007 when they bombed the Syrian nuclear reactor. Did anybody even know Syria was developing a nuclear reactor?
BALDWIN: Good point.
BLITZER: The Israelis just did that. Back in 1981, you were still in elementary school at the time, but I remember covering it. The Israelis bombed the Iraqi nuclear facility in Osirak, Saddam Hussein's. They just did it, they didn't talk about it.
All this talk now, I think there's other things going on.
BALDWIN: So, then, why the talk?
BLITZER: My skepticism, you have to read my blog because I answer that question in the blog, I think in part, what's going on -- a little psychological warfare right now to squeeze the international community.
You know, the Israelis are getting ready to do it but they want these sanctions to go after the Iranian oil exports, to stop financing, if you will, the Iranian regime. The central bank, which does all the financial transactions, they're now under sanction. But I think the Israelis have some other objectives as well.
And in the end, if it comes down to a military strike, they would much prefer to see the U.S. do it. The U.S. has much better capabilities.
BALDWIN: Bigger power.
BLITZER: Bunker buster bombs and all that.
BALDWIN: Right.
BLITZER: So there's a lot of stuff going on right now. We're going to discuss it in "THE SITUATION ROOM" as well. We've got some experts coming in. And they might disagree with me.
BALDWIN: I think some probably will.
BLITZER: They probably will.
BALDWIN: What else do you have coming up?
BLITZER: We've got a brand new CNN/ORC poll in Ohio. Get ready, because at the top of the hour, we're going to release what's going on in the Ohio presidential Republican race for tomorrow. And Georgia, as well, where it's do-or-die, as he himself acknowledges, Newt Gingrich.
BALDWIN: Newt Gingrich.
BLITZER: Two new polls, Ohio and Georgia, these are the biggest contests coming up tomorrow.
BALDWIN: OK.
BLITZER: Super Tuesday, as we like to call it.
BALDWIN: Super Tuesday, 10 primaries and caucuses. We're all over it.
BLITZER: You will be working late tomorrow night.
BALDWIN: I will be working late tomorrow night, right along with you, Mr. Blitzer.
BLITZER: Thank you.
BALDWIN: Thank you very much.
Still to come, though, for us: a high school -- this is quite the story -- makes his game-winning shots. Moments later, he just collapses on the court. He dies. Now, an investigation reveals a serious threat for many young kids. Parents, do not miss this, next!
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BLITZER: It was about a year ago this week that a high school hoopster fro Michigan hit a winning shot and you see right there, he hits the winning shot to make his team 20-0. Then minutes later, he collapsed and died on that court. He was Wes Leonard. He was 16 years of age and the autopsy would show that he had an enlarged heart that at the time of his death weighed twice what the normal heart weighs.
And Thomas Lake is with me here. He's a senior sports writer for "Sports Illustrated," and he writes a really beautiful article about this young man here, in the magazine's current issue and I encourage everyone -- "The legacy of Wes Leonard".
I tweeted early, I mean, I got teary-eyed just reading the very end. It's a tragic, tragic story about Wes.
But take me back because from what I read in your piece, there was never any indication that something was wrong with him?
THOMAS LAKE, SR. WRITER, SPORTS ILLUSTRATED: That's true. The cardiologist said he played the whole season with his heart literally, breaking. And the way he described it was that it went from all to nothing, like a bridge that collapses. One day it supports find and then the next day it crashes into the river and that's what happens to Wes.
BALDWIN: Before we get to your bridge analogy, which is precisely the line I've chosen to read, I want to just talk about his back story. I mean, this kid who was not only a star on the hard court, he was a star on football field. You talk about how he, you know, tossed two winning touchdowns and end up taking off his pads and his clavicle is shows through his shoulder. I mean, he's hurt but he was tough.
Was that part of the problem?
LAKE: You know, it's possible. I mean, his parents, of course, now go back and say, were there signs that we missed? You know? And there weren't.
I mean, he just fought through anything. He seemed to be normal the whole time. So, nothing anyone could have done.
BALDWIN: I want to read your analogy to his heart to a bridge. This really sort of put it in perspective for me. This is what you write, "Wes Leonard's heart went from all to nothing like a collapsed bridge. The bridge holds up for years and slowly worn down by the weight of cars and the ravages of weather. Bolts quietly work loose, a billion vehicles without incident, and then one rush hour, it all falls into the river, which is what happened that night."
So, cardiologists at Cincinnati Children's Hospital, they say it was a rare genetic condition?
LAKE: That's right.
BALDWIN: One in 5,000 people have it?
LAKE: They call it ARVC. It sort of separates these cells in his heart muscle and it culminated in this thing called sudden cardiac arrest, which is terribly common. It kills about 900 Americans per day.
BALDWIN: And what can help is a defibrillator?
LAKE: That's right.
BALDWIN: And that's tragic -- part of the tragedy of the story.
LAKE: There was a defibrillator in that building. But as it turned out, the battery was dead. It couldn't save him.
BALDWIN: So the nurse from the stands rushes down with the defibrillator and it's not working and so he dies?
LAKE: Who knows for sure? He might have died anyway. But they couldn't help him.
Credit to his parents, they never talk about the blame game. They're all about, how do we move forward and make the best out of this.
BALDWIN: Speaking of making the best out of it, his mother started the Wes Leonard Heart Teams. Tell me about that.
LAKE: It's on organization dedicated to providing defibrillators for sports teams all around the country and something they're trying to do now is get a law passed in Michigan requiring these defibrillators in school. She just texted me this afternoon saying that they aren't having much luck. They need more support.
BALDWIN: They need more support. Hopefully, people that are listening will pay attention and perhaps help.
Thomas Lake, thank you so much. An amazing piece on "S.I."
LAKE: Thanks for having me.
BALDWIN: And now, yet another advertiser bailing on Rush Limbaugh after the radio show host called a law student at Georgetown a slut. AOL has become the eighth company to yank its ads from Limbaugh's show. The move comes 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.
Also, a pharmacy in New Jersey accidentally gives children breast cancer treatment pills instead of fluoride pills. The "Star Ledger" reports the mix-up went on for two months. This happened at the CVS in Chatham. CVS says about 50 kids may have been given the wrong medication.
Apparently the pills look alike. And according to medical experts, the children will probably not experience harmful side effects. But the head of the New Jersey hospital group says parents should still double-check.
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DR. ROBERT BRENNER, CMO SUMMIT MEDICAL GROUP: I'm recommending that if you've been identified as having these medications, that you should contact your physician.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BALDWIN: As for CVS, they say they're deeply sorry for the mistake.
And journalist Mary Colvin's body will be back in the United States tomorrow. She and a French photographer were killed in intense shelling last month in Homs, the epicenter of the recent Syrian violence. The U.N. now estimating widespread violence in Syria, has left more than 7,500 people dead.
And final, angry protesters in Milwaukee shouting out and holding signs during the launch of a new Jeffrey Dahmer walking tour? So, this group actually takes people to the city. They stop at locations where the serial targeted his victims. It names the victims, (INAUDIBLE) place, details of sexual encounters, how he killed them, even how he disposed of their bodies.
One guy says despite all this protest, the tours will likely go on.
And that is it for me. I'm Brooke Baldwin.
Now to Wolf Blitzer and your "SITUATION ROOM" beginning right now.
