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House Passes Bipartisan JOBS Act; Mississippi Supreme Court Rules on Former Governor's Pardons; Syrian Defector Talks Bloodshed Back Home; Interview with Washington Senator Patty Murray

Aired March 08, 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: I do want to move along and talk about a couple other stories we're working for you at the top of the hour here.

A rare show of bipartisanship on Capitol Hill. Also, a newly released unemployment number. And a Syrian defector talks about the bloodshed back home.

Want to begin with Kate Bolduan on Capitol Hill, where the House we know has just passed this jobs act to help the startups and the small businesses.

So, specifically, what does this do going forward?

KATE BOLDUAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: This is a combination of about six measures, Brooke. It's a package of six measures that -- some of which have actually passed in the House before.

But this package you summed up well. It's aimed at helping small businesses in a variety of ways, cutting through red tape, helping small businesses and allowing them to attract new investors, help small businesses by making it easier for them to go public. The thinking is by helping small business, they will help create jobs and they will help to boost the economy, if you will.

The vote broad bipartisan support was 390-23. But as is no surprise, there's more to it up here than just that and just boosting this economy. Through this vote, it does allow both sides an important thing, to kind of market as a success a victory that they're trying to help the economy.

But on the part of the House majority, the Republicans in the majority, this allows them also to rebut some of the hard-hitting criticism and attacks coming from the president as well as Democrats who continue to say that they aren't doing anything, that they're do- nothing and that they're obstructionists. This allows them very clearly to market a success.

And, by and large, Democrats have also signed on, but some downplaying the significance of this bill, saying that it's already popular, it's noncontroversial, downplaying the significance of it, saying that it doesn't go far enough to create jobs.

The top Democrat in the House, Nancy Pelosi, telling me today, calling it the little king. So now it has passed the House and, of course, the next step would be the Senate.

BALDWIN: Onto the Senate it goes. Kate Bolduan, we will be watching it right with you. Thank you so much for us live on the Hill.

(STOCK MARKET UPDATE)

BALDWIN: Meantime, next on "Reporter Roulette," I want to go to Beirut to Arwa Damon.

As we are reporting, I know you reporting from neighboring Lebanon on what's been happening in Syria. You were in Syria. You're reporting on more violence and also news of a government defector.

ARWA DAMON, CNN CORRESPONDENT: That's right, and that would be the deputy minister of oil, Abdo Husameddine, who just released his defection video as they are being called.

And he defected, he said for a number of reasons, but at the forefront was, of course, due to the violence. Just take a listen to what he had to say.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ABDO HUSAMEDDINE, SYRIAN DEPUTY OIL MINISTER (through translator): I do want to end my life servicing the crimes of this regime. You have inflicted on those you claim are your people a full year of sorrow and sadness, denied them their basic rights to life and humanity and pushed the country to the edge of the abyss.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

DAMON: Husameddine is currently in hiding in an undisclosed location.

And one has to take into consideration just how difficult it is for government officials to defect, quite simply because they are constantly being monitored. Those who have defected in the past saying that they have to get specific permissions just to be able to leave the country. If that permission is not granted, then they are forced to stay put.

Meanwhile, the U.N. humanitarian chief, Valerie Amos, is finally speaking out about her trip to devastated city of Baba Amr, specifically the neighborhood of Homs, where she expressing her shock and concern at the sheer level of destruction that she saw and also wondering where it was that all the people went, where did all of the residents flee to? Because the streets she saw were utterly deserted and just about every single building bearing the scars of bullet wounds or of the various artillery shells that the government pounded on that neighborhood and on others as well.

Activists are reporting that dozens of people have been killed across the country, but 44 of them in the city of Homs alone, part of a summary execution that took place in a field. And this is the type of violence that so many are saying has to end -- Brooke. BALDWIN: Arwa, I know you spent several harrowing days reporting on the shelling from Syria. I know we're working up a documentary for you and it's airing this weekend. We're going to be talking about that tomorrow. Arwa Damon, we look forward to it here on CNN.

Meantime, we got to get to this, some news just into us here at CNN. The Mississippi Supreme Court has issued a ruling in a fight over former Governor Haley Barbour's controversial pardoning of more than 200 people, including four convicted murderers.

Ed Lavandera in the studio today, nice to see you, sir.

ED LAVANDERA, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good to see you.

BALDWIN: Let's talk about this. Who won?

LAVANDERA: Well, strip away everything and Haley Barbour has won here.

The 200 or so pardons that he issued back in early January will stand. So those convicted killers that were working on the -- at the governor's mansion who worked as trustees are already free. There were five others I believe that were still in custody being held. They will now be put in the process of being set free.

BALDWIN: So just remember a little bit of the backstory. It was the attorney general, Jim Hood, who had said hang on a second. Let's challenge this. These pardons may or may not be constitutional.

That is all thrown out.

LAVANDERA: Thrown out. The challenge that the attorney general in Mississippi went after was the clause notice law that says for the governor of Mississippi to issue a pardon, there had to have been a 30-day notice put out in newspapers and publications prior to the pardons.

And they say that in the vast majority of these, there was not that 30-day requirement met. The Mississippi Supreme Court is essentially saying that it is not their job, not their position to go in there and on this face -- as it says here, a valid pardon, that it is not it is -- it is not the judicial branch's authority to go in there and set aside or void these pardons, that it is not the judicial branch's -- so there's a lot of legalese kind of going on here.

But six of the justices saying that they don't have the power, the authority to go back and change Governor Barbour's decision.

BALDWIN: Looking at you, I'm reminded of when you chased down Governor Haley Barbour, trying to get some kind of comment from him, right, back -- where you, Lexington, Virginia?

LAVANDERA: Yes. Right.

BALDWIN: What did he ultimately say, anything?

LAVANDERA: No, he didn't. I remember that day so well. He actually didn't say anything.

He did tell us that he was going to wait for this very decision. We're going to go back to Governor Barbour and talk to him now. There's a strong dissent by three of the justices there in Mississippi who basically say, "Today's decision is a stunning victory for some lawless convicted felons and an immeasurable loss for the law-abiding citizens of our states. Some convicted felons will now be allowed to avoid their constitutional obligations."

So obviously you know, Brooke, this is going to go over terribly for the families that we have spoken to so much over the last almost two months now.

BALDWIN: Who have said so far this is wrong.

LAVANDERA: They will be livid.

We're obviously in the process of getting this, just came down a few moments ago. But they will be very angry by this decision. You know, we have talked to a lot of the people who said they had tried to get meetings with Governor Barbour and were never able to. That was one of the reasons we tried to speak with Governor Barbour.

A lot of these victims' families said they tried to speak with him, speak with him directly to plead their case to not pardon a lot of these people, especially the ones that worked as trustees. And there are a couple others that were still in custody. But, obviously, this is a big victory essentially for Haley Barbour today.

BALDWIN: This is huge. Thank you for sifting through the legalese...

(CROSSTALK)

LAVANDERA: Well, 77 pages.

BALDWIN: ... 77 pages.

Eddie Lavandera, thank you so much. That is a huge, huge deal in Mississippi.

Want to move along and get back to our breaking story. Again, this is out of Pittsburgh, again, a mass shooting at a psychiatric hospital in the city of Pittsburgh. We're relying on our affiliate here with these pictures, WPXI. Here's what they're telling us. Reportedly, at least one person is dead at the Western Psychiatric Institute and Clinic. As many as seven people may have been hit.

And we now have heard that one of the people injured in the shooting is, in fact, a police officer. There may be, according to our affiliate, two shooters involved. One was reportedly found dead in a hospital hallway. The second may still be on the loose.

Once again, these are pictures, Pittsburgh, obviously, law enforcement all over this reacting to this at the Western Psychiatric Institute and Clinic. We're not going to go far from the story. We will bring you details as soon as they come in.

Got to take a quick break. We will be right back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BALDWIN: All right. As we have been reporting today, there are some odd things happening at this Iranian test site. At least maybe that's the deal. It's really hard to say precisely what these satellite images mean.

Take a look. What do you see? This is a base near Tehran suspected of carrying out research on nuclear weapons triggers. Western diplomats are telling us today if you look closely enough at these pictures, that you will see earth-moving vehicles. And what that means, according to these diplomats, is that Iran is trying to cover something up.

What that is precisely, that isn't clear. Iran though says the notion that they could be covering something up is absolutely childish and ridiculous. That's a quote.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ALI ASGHAR SOLTANIEH, CHIEF IRANIAN ENVOY TO INTERNATIONAL ATOMIC ENERGY AGENCY: This is a childish, ridiculous story that some are making. Is that the answer your question?

QUESTION: Is there any kind of construction activity going on at the site?

SOLTANIEH: I said this is a ridiculous, childish story you are making out of something which is nothing.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BALDWIN: And this is what a lot of the talk is about today.

Let's continue that will discussion with Reza Marashi live there in Washington. And Reza is research director of the National Iranian American Council.

So if, Reza, if Iran is covering something up at this particular test site, is anyone prepared to actually guess as to what it is they're covering up?

REZA MARASHI, NATIONAL IRANIAN AMERICAN COUNCIL: That's a great question, Brooke.

And right now these unconfirmed reports that we're hearing from unnamed diplomats don't give us a lot to work with. I would say it's certainly a cause for concern as are many factors pertaining to Iran's nuclear program. But until have more information, we have to put this in its proper context, which is one of many outstanding questions that we need to use diplomacy and negotiations in order to get the Iranians to address them in good faith, comprehensively and fully. BALDWIN: Well, again, Iran has denied again today that it's seeking nuclear weapons. But then you had Israel saying, of course they want nuclear weapons.

You have the United States. You mentioned diplomacy. The president mentioned that the other day, sort of in the middle here. Interesting comments though also recently from the U.S. director of national intelligence. Let's listen to that.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

LT. GEN. JAMES CLAPPER (RET.), NATIONAL INTELLIGENCE DIRECTOR: Dissension and debate in the political hierarchy of Iran, so there is not unanimity about this.

We don't believe they have actually made the decision to go ahead with a nuclear weapon.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BALDWIN: So, Reza, on the spectrum, if you will, you have the United States and you have Israel and then you have Iran. Who do you think is the closest to the truth?

MARASHI: I think the truth oftentimes lies somewhere in between. And this is no exception to that rule.

American intelligence and Israeli intelligence are actually identical on this issue, that Iran has not made the political decision to weaponize its nuclear program. And that's one of the biggest reasons why President Obama has come out in the last 48 to 72 hours and really pushed back against the chorus of voices that are calling for war and reemphasizing that we have time to pursue a diplomatic path that can try to produce a win-win situation between the United States, the international community, the Israelis, and the Iranian government as well.

And the legwork that is going into the upcoming negotiations we haven't seen in negotiations that have taken places in 2011 and prior. So it's a strong sign of all sides realizing that they're going to need to make compromises in order to find a peaceful solution to the crisis.

BALDWIN: It's interesting as people are today looking at these satellite images, you know, something that's sort of getting overlooked is the unusually positive comments. These positive comments today coming from the supreme Iranian cleric.

And I just want to quote him here. The Ayatollah Ali Khamenei is saying recent remarks by President Obama represent a -- quote -- "window of opportunity for diplomacy," something you keep bringing up here. He says, the president's comments Tuesday in a news conference appear to indicate he is -- quote -- "no longer being in delusion."

Just a quick reminder. Here's what the president said.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BARACK OBAMA, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: At this stage, it is my belief that we have a window of opportunity where this can still be resolved diplomatically. That's not just my view. That's the view of our top intelligence officials. It's the view of top Israeli intelligence officials.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BALDWIN: Window of opportunity, Reza. We're hearing this both from President Obama, Iran's supreme leader to possibly resolve this whole dispute over Iran's nuclear program. Do you see momentum building in that direction?

MARASHI: I do. As someone that's been following this closely for a number of years, we really haven't seen the amount of positive signaling that is taking place in the run-up to negotiations that will probably commence some time in April or May, after the Iranian new year this month.

But, again, actions speak louder than words. It's very promising to hear the words of Iran's supreme leader and our own president here in the United States. But it's going to take more than words in order to move away from the precipice of war that so many people are concerned we're at right now and take that step back and towards a peaceful solution that military threats and threats of sanctions and isolation isn't going to produce.

The president deserves credit for taking these risks for peace in an election year no less, when people in the Congress and the Republican candidates for the presidency are really singing a different tune.

BALDWIN: We will look to see what happens in that window, as you point out, perhaps April or may.

Reza Marashi, I appreciate you coming on. Thank you.

MARASHI: Thank you.

BALDWIN: Today is International Women's Day. Coming up next, we're going to introduce to you one woman in Afghanistan who is trying to help change a climate of oppression against women by spray-painting in blue on walls in Kabul. Stay with us.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BALDWIN: On this International Women's Day, a look at street art Afghan style. A young woman's work adorns the walls of this abandoned community center, this is in Kabul, and she paints silhouettes specifically in blue. She says blue is the color of freedom, even though women there are far from equal.

Nick Paton Walsh has her story.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE) NICK PATON WALSH, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): When the Soviets loomed large here, they built this, a cultural center. It was ripped apart by civil war, but is now adorned by graffiti, the best work these wispy figures of hope to some, the work of one of Afghanistan's more radical and perhaps bravest artists, Shamsia Hassani.

SHAMSIA HASSANI, ARTIST: Usually, I use brush and canvas on something like this. I like to do the woman with burqa in some new shape, because I want to show them in some new modernism work. And you can see that she looks very happy, I think.

The blue color is a freedom color, but it's not freedom for a woman. The blue color always is like a cage for them, but now I want to change the meaning of burqa in Afghanistan. It's not a cage. It's a kind of a style.

WALSH: Taught by a British artist, she says she's not political, but being a public woman is by default political in conservative Afghanistan. She graffities here among the stench of trash, syringes and rubble because it's not safe to paint in the street.

(on camera): You have to do your graffiti in secret, don't you, really?

HASSANI: Not secret, but, for now, should be a secret, yes.

I should do my graffiti some close place. Because of the bad situation, I cannot go outside to do graffiti.

WALSH: It's dangerous.

HASSANI: Yes, not dangerous. But the situation, I don't know, it's not -- it's not OK for that.

WALSH: It's a complicated time for women in Afghanistan. President Hamid Karzai days ago gave backing to a harsh edict from senior clerics that said it might sometimes be OK for a man to beat his wife and that women should be segregated.

Fears are growing that one of the first victims of NATO's withdrawal here could be the gains of the last decade in women's rights.

(voice-over): Uncertainty that Shamsia, who won't speak ill of the Taliban or government, tries to capture in her art.

HASSANI: And a woman is sitting in a state thinking that can she go up or maybe come down again? And she is in (INAUDIBLE) state, maybe go up and maybe come down. I don't know.

WALSH (on camera): Do you worry that when NATO starts to leave, things will get more difficult for women?

HASSANI: Maybe. I don't know.

WALSH (voice-over): It is already too much for some. Three of Afghanistan's 10 graffiti artists used to be women. Now there's one.

HASSANI: The 10 artists started, but all of them left graffiti work.

WALSH (on camera): Because it was too difficult.

HASSANI: It was difficult and they couldn't continue. I don't know the reason. We should ask them.

WALSH: But the women stopped.

HASSANI: Yes.

WALSH (voice-over): These constraints don't stop her dreaming. She can't paint the entire building, so instead used a computer to simulate what she would like to do.

Amid the war and oppression, her work a statement of hope, a dream of the impossible.

Nick Paton Walsh, CNN, Kabul.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BALDWIN: Nick, thank you for that.

Now to this: another bank raising those checking account fees. Coming up next, we will tell you which bank and what it is they're charging. Stay with me.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(NEWS BREAK)

BALDWIN: Cindy McCain says she will not be watching the new HBO movie. It's called "Game Change." McCain tells Piers Morgan that she says it's an inaccurate portrayal of her husband, Senator John McCain, and his former running mate, Sarah Palin. Mrs. McCain says Palin has been unfairly criticized.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

CINDY MCCAIN, WIFE OF JOHN MCCAIN: Sarah Palin is a remarkable individual. And whether you agree or disagree with Sarah, she has served our country loyally, she has been a good stalwart for many, many years.

And I think any depiction of any woman particularly that is unfair in that way is just -- it's wrong. It's wrong. I lived this. And from what -- from everything I have read and heard, it doesn't even resemble what took place. So I can go to Disneyland for fiction.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BALDWIN: Sarah Palin says she will not be watching the movie either, which is set to premiere on HBO this Saturday. And, in North Carolina, a woman fainted during President Obama's speech at this auto plant just yesterday. The president did take notice, called for paramedics, even joked a little bit with the crowd right afterward. Watch this.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BARACK OBAMA, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Think about that, 15,000. Looks like somebody might have fainted up here. Have we got -- somebody -- EMS? Somebody? Don't worry, folks do this all the time in my meetings. I mean I -- the -- you always got to eat before you stand for a long time. That's a little tip. But they'll be OK. Just make sure that -- give them a little room.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BALDWIN: To Indiana now, an up-close look at the damage from Friday's deadly tornadoes. What this has left. These are remains here of one of the gyms at Henryville High School. The restoration company, though, that is rebuilding the school says, from a structural perspective, much of the school is intact and can be salvaged.

And Wells Fargo customers in six more states can kiss their free checking accounts goodbye. Beginning May 4th, the new $7 monthly fee will kick in. It will affect customers with Essential Checking in Georgia, New Jersey, New York, Delaware, Connecticut and Pennsylvania. The new fee went into effect in Western states last year.

And a New York soccer mom by day, allegedly a high-paid madam by night. Coming up, we're going to show you the brothel.

Also, an unemployed woman wins the lottery big-time. Gets a check, a million bucks, all the while, collecting welfare. We're going on the case with Sunny Hostin next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BALDWIN: A New York soccer mom with four kids is now sitting in a jail cell on Rikers Island. She's accused of running a high-end brothel in one of Manhattan's richer neighborhoods.

And, Sunny Hostin, I know when you see the headline, "Soccer Mom Madam, kind of brings your attention here. But before we talk, I do want to play some sound. This woman is Anna Gristina. This is what her lawyer is saying.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: To speak about the defendant is to speak about an individual who is a caring, loving mother. But the only problem is, she's a woman and not a man.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BALDWIN: So is he saying that she's being prosecuted just because she's a woman? Is that the defense here? SUNNY HOSTIN, LEGAL ANALYST, AMERICAN MORNING: No, that's not the defense. What he's talking about, Brooke, is sort of this age-old problem that I think we will have with prosecution of cases involving sex and sex crimes, where the johns, the customers and the pimps and men typically just are not often swept up, are not often punished as severely as women are.

I think that's what he's talking about. But the bottom line is, the police here are saying that this was a five-year investigation. There's some indication that they have her statements. So perhaps there was a wiretap here.

And they're saying that this went on for about 15 years, so a long-standing investigation. And so if you believe what the prosecution is saying, they have quite a bit of evidence against her.

BALDWIN: But you have these reports of some pretty powerful men doing business with her. Last time a high-end madam got busted, it was New York Governor Eliot Spitzer, lost his political career. I mean, how high are the odds that she can cut a plea deal and name some pretty big names here?

HOSTIN: Well, her attorneys at this point are saying, Brooke, that there's nothing on the table, that she isn't cooperating with the government, that no co-defendants have been named, no law enforcement officers have been named, no politicians.

But it's very early in this process, right? I mean, he was just, just arrested and arraigned. My guess is in a case like this, a plea deal is usually on the table, especially if these allegations are true, if there are some people that could be involved in this web. So too soon to tell, but I suspect we may be hearing more about the customers.

BALDWIN: OK. We'll follow it. Meantime, want to get you to Michigan. This is one of those what stories. So in Michigan, you have this million-dollar lottery winner is discovered to be on welfare. There's the big fat check she got.

You know, this is what has so many people I know in Michigan and elsewhere pretty perturbed. This is 24-year-old Amanda Clayton. She said she wasn't doing anything illegal. Is that the case, Sunny? I mean, if she's on welfare, doesn't she have to report her change in financial status?

HOSTIN: She does. And you know, so many people are talking about this story today. And it's outrageous to me that people are saying, well, she didn't do anything illegal. Well, I don't know, in the world that I've lived in as a federal prosecutor, when you abuse the system, when you game the system, it's called welfare fraud.

So I'm surprised at first instance that people are saying nothing illegal happened here. I mean, putting my prosecutor hat on, if this case came across my desk, I would open up a criminal investigation.

So I think you're right, Brooke, in the sense that, yes, when you're receiving welfare payments, when you're receiving benefits, if there's a change in your income, you are supposed to tell someone. You are supposed to tell the benefit office.

But what's so interesting about this, the loophole is that the office sort of just leaves it up to you, to be the good person that you're supposed to be, and inform them of the change.

Now we know that there's some legislation that's being introduced so that it's required, there's going to be a requirement that you have to talk about this received -- you know, change in income. And if you're a lottery winner, certainly if you won $1 million, that's a change in income. So I think we're going to be seeing a lot of changes in the law because of cases like this.

BALDWIN: OK, so just so I'm clear, and by the way, a huge side note. We learned today the State of Michigan yanked the plug on her welfare. So she won't be getting those benefits.

But so with regard to the loophole you were just talking about and the fact that, I guess, prior to, you would have to be this Good Samaritan, saying, yes, you know, my financial status changed, are you saying that no one then can take advantage of this from here on out?

HOSTIN: You know, no, I'm not saying that because the legislation has been introduced, but hasn't been signed into law. But, again, let me make it clear, I mean, I'm not saying that she is going to be charged with a crime.

But in my experience, when you abuse the system, it's fraud. And people have been put in prison and successfully prosecuted for welfare fraud. So I would suggest to those that are thinking about --

(CROSSTALK)

BALDWIN: Don't do it.

HOSTIN: -- you know, gaming the system, just don't do it, exactly. Sunny's tip for the day.

BALDWIN: Sunny's tip for the day. Don't do that to the system. Take the money and don't get any extra.

Sunny, thank you "On the Case." See you tomorrow.

HOSTIN: Thanks.

BALDWIN: Meantime, the Senate is expected to vote on the controversial Keystone XL pipeline expansion today. We broke the news back in January. Remember the president said, no, he opposes this measure. So why did he have to make some phone calls today to try to keep his fellow Dems in line?

Dana Bash, senior Congressional correspondent all over this one, from The Hill, next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK) BALDWIN: The Senate is set to vote today on the bill to approve the controversial Keystone XL pipeline, which would go all the way from Canada down to the Gulf. Now, President Obama, he opposes it. He said he didn't want it back in January.

The vote, though, is expected to be close, so close that President Obama has been lobbying wavering Democrats himself, and Dana Bash live for us from Washington.

And, Dana, I mean, I remember when the president back in January said he didn't approve it. So Republicans were a little irked. Is this a move on behalf of Republicans, and do we think it's going to pass?

DANA BASH, SENIOR CONGRESSIONAL CORRESPONDENT: That's exactly what it is, Republicans think that this is a key golden political issue for them, because they argue that this is a huge jobs bill and the president is stopping it from going through immediately.

So that's why the Republicans are forcing this measure, which we should see the vote on it maybe in the next 15, 20 minutes or so, which would immediately approve the Keystone pipeline, say it should start, regardless of what the president says.

You mentioned the president and the White House, they were worried enough that this actually could get the 60 votes needed to pass, meaning that 14 Democrats could defy the president. And he got on the phone and made some calls.

Now what the White House says is that he's not necessarily against the pipeline. It's that they want to see the actual route before he approves it. Listen to Jay Carney.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JAY CARNEY, WHITE HOUSE PRESS SECRETARY: The president believes that it is wrong to play politics with a pipeline project whose route has yet to be proposed, a fact that the company involved affirmed again this week, that they have not yet identified a route for this possible pipeline. Therefore, it cannot possibly be reviewed adequately, since it does not exist.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BASH: The problem that the White House has is there are a good number of Democrats, either those who are from oil-producing states or those who are potentially in the route of the pipeline that could see some jobs come to their state.

They're -- you know, they feel that this is something that it's hard to vote against. And the Republicans know full well that this is dicey politics for Democrats. That's why the House Speaker came out and said this about the president.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) JOHN BOEHNER, SPEAKER OF THE HOUSE: Personally lobbying against the Keystone pipeline means the President of the United States is lobbying for sending North American energy to China and lobbying against American jobs.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BASH: In an election year, Brooke, where it is still all about jobs, jobs, jobs, Republicans and the Speaker himself has said -- and even a small group of reporters about a month ago -- that they believe -- maybe they have polling data, but they believe that this Keystone pipeline issue is a real opportunity for them politically to hit the president, and they are using everyone they can get. That's why we see this measure on the floor. That's why we heard that from the Speaker.

BALDWIN: So then, quickly, Dana, if the proponents of the pipeline, if they hit that 60 magic number in the Senate with a vote, then what?

BASH: Well, you know, the Senate was the roadblock. This would not have -- probably have a problem going through the House. Then they would have to do some procedural dances that I won't bore you with, to try to actually make this legislation go to the president.

But he would veto it. The fact that that they don't -- the fact is they don't have any kind of vote for sure to override his veto, but it's symbolic. I mean, this is politics and this is symbolic. There's no question about it, but it is putting Democrats in a difficult position.

BALDWIN: I was about to say that. It is politics in this election year. Dana Bash, thank you. We'll be watching for that, though.

Meantime, we've been talking about this story all day. So there's this hotel. It is 30 stories high. Built in all of 15 days. If it sounds crazy, incredible, it is. We have this time lapse video. We're about to show, of this building 30 floors, after this quick break.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BALDWIN: All right. We read about in this morning. We had -- our whole team was talking about this around our roundtable. So we just have to show you this video. Take a look at this here. You're about to see time lapse video, this is a new hotel. This is being built in Changsha, China It is now getting something like 4 million views on YouTube.

And here's why. This is a 30 -- is about to be a 30-story hotel built in two weeks. And Reynolds Wolf, I just want to bring you in. I read about this this morning in the "L.A. Times," and I thought, what the heck. This was -- if you do the math, it's like 360 hours.

REYNOLDS WOLF, AMS METEOROLOGIST: It is amazing. BALDWIN: Fifteen days.

WOLF: It's an engineering marvel. I don't get dressed as fast as they built this building. It is ridiculous how quickly they did it. And just incredible. But they've had a history of building buildings at a pretty rapid rate.

BALDWIN: The building boom in China.

WOLF Oh, unbelievable. You know, the only thing you can really compare this to in the United States in terms of a big skyscraper, probably back in 1930, with the Empire State Building, where they built 102 stories in basically 13 months, very, very fast, when you think about the technology. Now with the modern ability --

BALDWIN: We're talking 30 floors, 15 days. And in fact, back in 2010, there was a 15-story building built in six.

WOLF: Wow.

BALDWIN: Ba-da-bing, ba-da-boom.

(CROSSTALK)

WOLF: So it's more --

BALDWIN: (Inaudible) the old one.

WOLF: There you go. Hard to believe how incredible it is. It makes you wonder how fast they are going to be able to build buildings next 20, 30, 40 years, you know, with this technology. It's only going to get better.

BALDWIN: We should note, though -- thank you, Reynolds -- we should also note though, that the company -- because you think, you know, increased speed, you think increased risk. So the company stands by the fact that they say, despite the speed, it is, in fact, safe.

Coming up next here in "THE SITUATION ROOM," back in Washington, my colleague, Wolf Blitzer, joins me now with a little preview of what you got cooking. Wolf Blitzer, nice to see you. What do you have?

WOLF BLITZER, HOST, CNN'S THE SITUATION ROOM: We have Bill Richardson, the former governor of New Mexico, the former U.S. ambassador to the United Nations, also a man I went to North Korea with in December 2010, he's going to be here, Brooke, in "THE SITUATION ROOM."

We're talking North Korea. We're talking about the new leader, Kim Jong-un. What is going on? How dangerous is the Korean Peninsula under this new, young, untested Korean leader? We don't know if he's 27, 28, 29 years old. We do know that he's the new leader of North Korea. So there's a lot to discuss with him on that front.

We also have, Brooke, the chairman of the House Intelligence Committee, Mike Rogers. We're going to talk about Iran. How good is the intelligence the United States has on Iran, its nuclear program?

Also Syria: what do we know about the Syrian opposition, the rebels to Bashar al-Assad's regime? Are there Al Qaeda elements there as some are now suggesting? He's been briefed on all of this, Mike Rogers. We'll discuss with him and a lot more coming up. Of course, all the political news as well, Brooke.

BALDWIN: Wolf, thank you, we'll see you in nine minutes.

Meantime, before I let you go, we're going to talk about a veterans' hospital, a huge, huge veterans hospital in Washington State, accused of turning away soldiers, misdiagnosing them with regard to PTSD, allegedly because the cost over the lifetime of these soldiers, too much. Coming up, the soldiers who were turned away have now been identified. That is next.

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BALDWIN: This story hit a lot of soldiers returning from Iraq and Afghanistan like a bomb being dropped. A couple weeks ago we told you about the Madigan (pg) Army Medical Center in Washington State. And treating troops returning from the battlefields in Iraq and Afghanistan, doctors at this hospital were being urged to be cautious before diagnosing PTSD, post-traumatic stress disorder.

The reason? The retirement benefits for PTSD soldiers cost taxpayers money. Today we now have an update.

I want to bring in U.S. Senator Patty Murray, who represents Washington State. She has announced some 285 patients have been identified, who had PTSD, the diagnoses reversed at Madigan. And I want to welcome Senator Murray, joining me from the other Washington, Washington D.C.

Senator, I know that you have been briefed on this. What can you share? What do you know?

SEN. PATTY MURRAY (D), WASHINGTON: Well, I've been following this for many months, because I had soldiers and their families contact me, who had been diagnosed with PTSD, and that diagnosis was overturned. And they were told that they didn't have PTSD or other mental health issues.

This was a serious blow to them, because it's really hard with a invisible wound of war to get the kind of treatment you need anyway. And then to find out that they may have been told they don't have PTSD, because it costs too much, was just amazingly shocking to me and to all of them.

We now have gone through a long process, a number of soldiers are now having their cases reviewed that were reversed. And it is just the wrong signal to send to our men and women, who we sent to war, that if you have an injury, either one you can see or one that you can't see, that you may not be treated because of the costs. That is just not the message we ought to be sending.

BALDWIN: Senator, I just want to check my numbers with you, is it 285, that's the numbers of soldiers who were misdiagnosed?

MURRAY: Well, at this point the Army is now going back and they have found 285 soldiers in the past three or four years who have had their diagnosis reversed. They're now having to go back and find those soldiers and re-review these cases. There's 285 of them that we know of at this point.

BALDWIN: So they may or may not be receiving appropriate treatment right now, simply because the Army has yet to find them. Is that correct?

MURRAY: That's correct. They may or may not be receiving the right treatment. And that is so hard. I talked to one of these families.

They've been through everything since their soldier went to Afghanistan and came back, severely injured, had a mental health injury, trying to figure out what's wrong with himself, and then being told, well, it's not PTSD, not getting the care he needed. This has horrendous for them. No one should go through that.

BALDWIN: I do want to read -- we reached out to the Army, and I just want to give part of a statement.

They say -- and I'm, quoting, "It is important that we make contact with each soldier, who we have identified as possibly requiring a second look. This is part of our promise to our patients to provide them with optimal care."

Have you spoken with any other soldiers? You mentioned that one family and how this is just devastating for them.

MURRAY: Yes. We've had actually a number of families contact my office since last summer about this issue, and some prior to that. I've been talking to them. They are really glad that the Army is now really moving forward to go back and look at this.

But we have to make sure, system-wide, that when our men and women get an invisible wound of the war, they are treated, they're treated effectively, and they're not told it's just in your head, and they are especially not told that we're not going to treat you because it costs too much.

BALDWIN: Now I understand that part of the investigation -- and this all came about because of these worries, as we were talking earlier about the costs, right, that some of these Madigan doctors weren't diagnosing because of the cost concerns over a soldier's lifetime, that the retirement benefits with someone with this particular diagnosis would just simply cost too much money.

I mean, is that, Senator, what this comes down to, an effort to save taxpayer money?

MURRAY: Well, we are told that that has been some of the conversation around this forensic psychiatry unit. That is now being investigated and certainly has to be looked at. But we have to go back also to the culture that we have in our armed services and in our Army about understanding what mental health illnesses are.

Just because you cannot see them doesn't mean they don't exist, and they can be treated, they can be helped, and we need to be making sure that, when they're in the Army, they get the correct diagnosis and they are treated.

BALDWIN: You mentioned big picture. I understand, Senator, that this investigation now -- this has, you know, reached the Pentagon, that there's sort of this greater review, because you think if it could be happening in Washington State, I can't help but wonder, could this be happening elsewhere?

MURRAY: Absolutely. There are now three investigations going on, but I believe we need to look systemwide. Look, we've got thousands and thousands of soldiers coming home today. Many of them do have PTSD or other mental health illnesses.

We cannot ignore that, and send them home and have them come back 10, 20 years from now with difficult challenges in their families.

You know, I worked in a veterans' hospital during the Vietnam War on the psychiatric ward. And we did not treat our soldiers well who came home. It was a serious mistake; we've been paying for it ever since.

We cannot make the same mistake today, of not paying attention to the serious mental health illnesses that our soldiers face, first of all, because we can treat them and help them, but secondly, as a country, we owe them this.

BALDWIN: Senator Patty Murray, please come back when we have an update. Open invitation to you. Thank you so much. And thank you for watching. Now to Wolf Blitzer. "THE SITUATION ROOM" starts now.

BLITZER: Thanks, Brooke.