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Health Care Reform in Trouble?; Peace Deal in Syria?; Pope Visits Cuba; Plane Diverted after Commotion in Cockpit; Trayvon Martin's Parents Hold News Conference; Iraqi Woman Beaten to Death in California
Aired March 27, 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: Here we go. Top of the hour. Now this.
I'm Brooke Baldwin.
We are following these late-breaking developments on this JetBlue flight that took off in New York, was supposed to land in Las Vegas, was diverted to Amarillo, Texas.
Just a couple of minutes ago, I spoke to a passenger on board this plane who told me that she heard a commotion and at some point she heard the word bomb. JetBlue said there was a medical situation involving the captain of this flight.
Lizzie O'Leary is making calls. She joins me now from Washington with details from her aviation sources.
Lizzie, what happened here?
LIZZIE O'LEARY, CNN AVIATION AND REGULATION CORRESPONDENT: I just got a fuller account from a passenger named Tom Murphy who was on the plane who was sitting in the sixth row. And he added a little bit of a fuller picture.
This is his account of what happened. He was sitting in the sixth row. He saw the captain leave the cockpit and then try to break into the bathroom. There was someone in there. He said the pilot was knocking on the bathroom's door.
Then at that point sort of the flight attendants start started to pay attention that there was a bit of commotion. The steward got on the phone and was talking to someone presumably in the cockpit. Then they changed the codes on the door. He overheard part of that conversation. They tried to remove the captain take him back toward the back of the plane.
He then broke free and ran toward the front of the plane, according to this passenger, banging on the door, threatening in his words to blow up the plane, saying there's a bomb on board. He started asking for the security code. Remember, cockpit doors are locked post-9/11.
Some pilots indeed fly armed. But this gentleman was clearly trying to get into the cockpit according to the account of this passenger on board. Now, we have JetBlue's account. They said there was a medical situation with the captain and that another off-duty captain on board was able to step into the cockpit and assist the first officer.
This plane did land in Amarillo. We should point out, JetBlue also said they're cooperating with local police and with the FBI, Brooke.
BALDWIN: OK. So that is what you're hearing from this passenger and also from JetBlue. Lizzie O'Leary, stand by.
We now have on the phone a passenger. She also used to worked with us in CNN. We also grew up on the same street in Atlanta, Laurie Dhue.
Goodness, I never thought I would be talking to you in a situation like this. Laurie Dhue, tell me what you saw.
LAURIE DHUE, PASSENGER: Hi, Brooke. It's great to talk to you. I'm sorry it's under these circumstances.
But, first of all, I just want to tell all your viewers that everybody is just fine. We're all here in a lounge area at the gate area here in Amarillo, Texas. We have all been given sandwiches and drinks and water and everybody is just fine.
BALDWIN: Good.
DHUE: I want to praise the crew on board this JetBlue flight for doing exactly the right thing, for locating a deadhead off-duty pilot to come in and take over and get this plane down and get it down safely.
Let me try to fill in a few blanks for you, if I could.
BALDWIN: Yes, please.
DHUE: Just to echo what your aviation expert just said a moment ago indeed what I saw from my seat on the fourth row, I was very close to the front of the plane and saw everything.
The pilot ran to the cockpit door, began banging on it and said something to the effect of, we have got to pull the throttle back, we have got to get this plane down, we have got to get this plane down.
At that point, several other passengers heard the words Afghanistan and Israel coming out of his mouth. It's not clear exactly what he said, but apparently those two words were heard, Israel and Afghanistan. Now at that point, the two flight attendants tried to subdue him.
And then seemingly out of nowhere about six or seven large guys stormed to the front of the plane and wrestled the captain of the plane down to the ground and had him subdued him in a matter of moments. It was really like something out of a movie. BALDWIN: Like something out of a movie, and here you all are going to Vegas probably for a good time. Little did you know you had to deal with -- I don't know how high here in the air.
You hear this captain and again, you're right, JetBlue is saying this was a medical situation. And so there just so happened to be, it sounds like, this other captain, as you mentioned, who was traveling off-duty on this plane. And so what ended up happening? Did you see this gentleman then able to enter the cockpit and help you all land?
DHUE: You know, at the time, I was actually looking down reading a magazine, but I was able to talk to several passengers before I did the interview with you all.
And they were telling me that indeed the pilot did try to get back into the cockpit, but they had already seen the deadhead pilot who had come from the middle of the plane. He had somehow gotten himself into the cockpit and they had locked the door and barricaded themselves in so they could continue flying this plane safely.
And by a stroke of good luck, we happened to have a former NYPD officer on board. We had a former corrections officer on board. It was really an extraordinary team effort to get the situation under control. And the flight attendants on board were rather remarkable. They kept just making announcements saying we have the situation under control. If everybody could just please stay calm, we would appreciate it.
And for the most part, Brooke, people stayed calm.
BALDWIN: People were calm?
DHUE: It was remarkable.
BALDWIN: Amazing. Amazing, Laurie Dhue. And, you know, as you mentioned, I guess you were there, kudos to the crew. And they were able to land the plane safely in Amarillo. What kind of guidance do you have as far as another plane getting you all to Vegas?
DHUE: Well, you know, we were all making jokes about, well, we hope we get at least one free flight from JetBlue out of this.
What they are telling us is that they are flying a plane from Long Beach, California, to Amarillo. I don't think it's too terribly long a flight. And as soon as it lands, then I think we're all going to have to go through security again. We will board the flight and eventually make our way to Las Vegas.
But one detail I forgot to point out was that as soon as we landed, we had local law enforcement officials waiting for us at the gate, and we were each individually interviewed and we gave written affidavits. So they're leaving no stone unturned here. And we have been told that the FBI has now taken over investigation of this case.
BALDWIN: By the looks of the video that I was looking at, it looks like there was an EMS crew and ambulance outside of that plane in case as well. Obviously lots of questions about this particular captain. As you mentioned, you heard the words or others heard the words Afghanistan and Israel and as per another passengers' account this man was banging on the cockpit door, threatening to blow up the plate.
Nevertheless, you're all safe and sound on the ground in Amarillo, Texas.
Laurie Dhue, we appreciate you calling in. I am sorry for the unfortunate nature of your plane diversion, but good to talk to you, friend. Thank you.
DHUE: Well, it's good to talk to you again, Brooke. And again, we are all just fine. Thanks very much for the opportunity.
BALDWIN: Good deal. Laurie Dhue, thank you. Lizzie O'Leary, thank you.
As soon as we get more information obvious from other passengers on board this plane and from JetBlue as well, we will bring that to you live on CNN. Wow.
Also happening right now, a forum on racial profiling and hate crimes, Trayvon Martin's parents are attending this forum right now in Washington. We're keeping an eye out for that.
But, first, this:
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JEFFREY TOOBIN, CNN SENIOR LEGAL ANALYST: This was a train wreck for the Obama administration. This law looks like it's going to be struck down.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BALDWIN: A train wreck. So says CNN senior legal analyst Jeffrey Toobin. He was in the Supreme Court hearing, these oral arguments today, and he says President Obama's health care law is in big, big trouble after what happened inside the Supreme Court today.
He's going to join me live on why he says President Obama's lawyer didn't do very well today. That's next.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
BALDWIN: A bruising day in the U.S. Supreme Court for the federal government. At issue today, whether Americans can be required to buy health insurance.
This is the most important case for President Obama in this election year.
And our senior legal analyst predicts the government is going to lose after hearing the arguments today.
First, I want you to listen to Justice Antonin Scalia.
(BEGIN AUDIO CLIP)
ANTONIN SCALIA, ASSOCIATE JUSTICE, U.S. SUPREME COURT: Why do you define the market that broadly, health care? It may well be that everybody needs health care sooner or later, but not everybody needs a heart transplant. Not everybody needs a liver transplant. I mean...
DONALD VERRILLI, SOLICITOR GENERAL OF THE UNITED STATES: That's correct, Justice Scalia, but you never know whether you're going to be that person.
SCALIA: ... could you define the market -- everybody has to buy food sooner or later, so you define the market as food. Therefore, everybody's in the market. Therefore, you can make people buy broccoli.
(END AUDIO CLIP)
BALDWIN: Let's go straight to Jeffrey Toobin now.
You're just back from the Supreme Court. Again, you're saying this individual mandate and these oral arguments you heard today, you're saying it nice -- quote -- "grave, grave trouble." Why do you say that?
TOOBIN: Because it really does look like there are five votes to strike it down.
Brooke, this is why it's good to cover the news instead of just making predictions. A lot of us who follow the court really thought this law would be upheld fairly easily 5-4. 6-3, maybe even 7-2. But there were five votes that really looked rock-solid against this law.
Justice Kennedy, who is so often the swing vote, every comment he made was critical of this law, indicating that he was going to vote against it. Justice Thomas, as you just heard, Justice Alito, Justice Thomas didn't speak, as he hasn't spoken for six years, but he's on record believing that this kind of law is unconstitutional.
The only conservative on the court who looked possibly like he might support the law was Chief Justice John Roberts, and even he had a lot of critical things to say about it as well. I think it just looks bad for this law.
BALDWIN: On the flip side, you have the four justices known to be more liberal. They did appear, based upon their questioning, correct, to side with this individual mandate.
So let's just a play a little bit more sound. This is Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg.
TOOBIN: Right.
(BEGIN AUDIO CLIP) RUTH BADER GINSBURG, ASSOCIATE JUSTICE, U.S. SUPREME COURT: Tell me if I'm wrong about this, but I thought a major, major point of your argument was that the people who don't participate in this market are making it much more expensive for the people who do.
That is, they will get -- a goodly number of them will get services that they can't afford at the point when they need them. And the result is that everybody else's premiums get raised. So you not -- it's not just your free choice just to do something for yourself, what you do is going to affect others, affect them in a major way.
(END AUDIO CLIP)
BALDWIN: So what do you hear from that when you hear Justice Ginsburg?
On the flip side, give me sort of the crux of the argument for the justices who say this is overstepping.
TOOBIN: Well, you know, it was very interesting.
If you listened carefully to what Justice Ginsburg said there, she said, I thought your argument was. She was actually talking to Donald Verrilli, the solicitor general, who was defending the law. And I think what you saw there was the frustration of liberal justices at the job Donald Verrilli was doing defending the law.
He wasn't as aggressive and outspoken as they wanted. And there was considerable frustration even among the justices who agreed with the Verrilli. I think that was a dynamic that was at work.
The core argument, just to answer your question, was -- as you heard from Justice Scalia, what this law does is it tells people to buy a commercial product. It doesn't regulate their activity. It tells them to engage in an activity. That, they argued, Scalia, Kennedy, Alito, was beyond what laws usually do.
It forced individuals to take an action that laws usually don't. What you heard from the liberals was there's no such sing as inaction in the private market for insurance, because the ambulance is going to take you to the hospital if you get hit by a car whether you have insurance or not. We're all going to have to pay for it, even if you don't have insurance.
Your choice not to get insurance is a choice that the government can regulate. That was really the heart of the dispute between the two sides.
BALDWIN: And I have Dr. Gupta sitting next to me. And we have a bunch of questions I know from viewers to him in just a moment.
But I do have to get one more question into you, Jeff Toobin, and we alluded to this last hour, and I want the answer. We talked about this word severability. The question is if these justices ultimately say, OK, this individual mandate, saying you have to buy health insurance, that is deemed unconstitutional, then what happens to the rest of this law?
TOOBIN: As people may remember, this is a 2,000-page law. The individual mandate is just one part of it.
There are other provisions that are more popular, like kids can stay on their parents' insurance until age 26. But many of the provisions in the law are dependent on, including all these new customers, forcing all these new customers into getting insurance.
The question is, if you get rid of the individual mandate, how do you pay for all the other stuff in the law? And tomorrow's argument is going to be about how you divide up the law if you find the individual mandate unconstitutional. And it's a tough call. That's a really tricky issue.
BALDWIN: Well, that's why we're talking to you.
And we're going to continue that conversation so you get the explain it to us. Jeff Toobin, we appreciate it.
Jeff mentioned it's some 7,000 pages, and I believe Dr. Gupta has read it once or twice. It's a good 2,7000. You laugh, but it's true, right?
BALDWIN: Well, 30 percent of Americans, they want the Supreme Court to overturn President Obama's health care law. This is obviously something that affects you. And many people want to know, they have been asking you, sir, a lot of these questions. Let's just run down a couple of the questions that people have been tweeting and sending in.
The first question is: "Isn't preventive care supposed to be free? I received a bill last week after my yearly checkup."
DR. SANJAY GUPTA, CNN SENIOR MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT: Yes, this is interesting. It is supposed to be free. The big issue was the co- pays and fees that are associated with preventive screening.
As part of the Affordable Care Act, those would be waived. You wouldn't have to pay those. And it was to encourage people to get these sorts of tests done. In this person's case, my guess is one of two things happened. This went into effect September of 2010.
So if his health insurance plan has not been modified since then, it may still be grandfathered in, not offering those services. Or, you know, when you go to the doctor's office, you think you're going in for a preventive visit for some reason and the doctor may think you're going in for a sick visit. So you may want to check with a doctor's office in a situation like that to see how was that visit categorized.
Were these tests truly preventive? Because if they were, then he's right, they should be covered.
BALDWIN: OK. Question number two, "Realistically, how will the individual mandate work with so many people unemployed?" That's a good question. How would it control costs?
GUPTA: How it would control costs is almost a separate issue. You could do an entire hour on that. The cost has been a vexing problem all along.
But for those people who are unemployed, if this law goes into effect, in 2014, they would be able to buy insurance from some place other than their employer. They don't have a job. So most people are used to getting their insurance from their employer. There would be a market, an exchange, it's called. If they need subsidies based on their income level or how high their premiums are, they could get subsidies to join that exchange as well. That was the idea.
If you're unemployed, you have been dependent on a job for you health care insurance, this would be another option.
BALDWIN: You're still covered?
GUPTA: You can still get your health care insurance. You wouldn't be discriminated against based on a preexisting conditions, there wouldn't be a cap. And depending again on your income level, you could get subsidies.
BALDWIN: Question number three, "I had the flu last week and couldn't get into my family doctor. I ended up going to the E.R. How does the new law help fix this problem?"
GUPTA: This is also another vexing problem. There are many of them.
But you already have a primary care doctor shortage in this country, which is part of what causes the number of E.R. visits to go up. They can't get in to see their doctor. Now you're going to add lots more people, potentially tens of millions more people here and you still have a primary care doctor shortage. It's 20,000 doctors short in the next three years.
That problem will get worse. You need to obviously encourage more primary care doctors. Also this idea of having community centers so you don't always have to go to the hospital, or the E.R. of a big hospital, you can go to a community center for smaller problems, that's becoming more popular possibly for minor ailments. I don't know exactly, but we have got a lot more patients here, but not as many doctors who do primary care work.
BALDWIN: It's tough to get into the doctor.
GUPTA: It is, yes, even for you.
BALDWIN: Even for me trying to get kick this cold this week. Doctor, please see me.
GUPTA: I will give you a hand.
BALDWIN: Dr. Gupta, isn't that helpful? Thank you so much. Great questions, by the way. Keep sending them to us. We're going through all of them.
Also developing this hour, after thousands of thousands of killings, there's word Syria has agreed to a cease-fire and it comes as this scene played out. You're going to see what happened when Syrian President Bashar al-Assad visits a neighborhood in ruin. That's next.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
BALDWIN: Syria apparently accepts a deal to end the violence and the pope makes a big trip.
Time to play "Reporter Roulette."
I do want to begin with this cease-fire, apparently agreed upon for Syria, accepted a plan from a U.N. envoy, that being, of course, Kofi Annan.
And I want to bring in senior international correspondent Ben Wedeman from neighboring Beirut.
Tell me about this deal, Ben, and also why should the world believe this plan?
BEN WEDEMAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Brooke, this is a peace plan, a six-point plan that includes temporary daily cessations of violence in areas where fighting is going on to allow humanitarian goods to enter.
And it calls upon the government to begin releasing the thousands of people who have been detained since the outbreak of this uprising a year ago. And it also calls for the beginning of a dialogue between the opposition and the regime.
But many people are skeptical because, in fact, Syria accepted in November of last year an Arab League action plan very much along the same lines, wasted weeks dithering over the details all the while continuing with its crackdown on the uprising.
BALDWIN: Meantime, you have these two separate pieces of video I want you to talk about. We have been seeing via YouTube these little boys screaming, waling, injured. And also in the same town, President Assad visiting. Why?
WEDEMAN: That's correct.
This was apparently, there was a bombardment on the Homs neighborhood of Bayada, where there's been a lot of clashes over the last few months hitting a house where there were many civilians, because many people in these cities spend much of their time inside and sort of crowded together for safety.
What you're seeing is these children in a field hospital where they're being treated. And according to opposition sources, among the casualties was one young girl who was killed. Many other children injured and obviously there's a shortage of medicine. These children are really stuck in the town of Homs and can't get out if they need really critical medical care.
BALDWIN: Brooke.
Ben Wedeman, thank you, Ben.
I do want to go to the pope, Pope Benedict XVI arriving in Cuba's capital in hopes of stressing the importance of faith.
Next on "Reporter Roulette," we go Patrick Oppmann in Havana.
Patrick, we know this island was atheist until the '90s. Now it's considered a secular state. So how is the pope being received today?
PATRICK OPPMANN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Brooke, we have seen an outpouring of faith in Cuba, a country that usually keeps matters of religion fairly private. Thousands of people lining the streets to catch a glimpse of the pope, wave at the Popemobile.
The government told the populace here to go out, actually gave people the day off. But it's safe to say that there's been a genuine reawakening of the faith for many Cuban Catholics. A little while ago, I went to the spot for the pope's mass that's going to take place tomorrow in Havana's Revolution Square. This the center of the communist government here in Cuba. And it's really quite striking.
Next to where there's a huge mural of Che Guevara, now there's a large billboard of the Virgin Mary, the same spot where Fidel Castro gave some of his most fiery and anti-U.S. speeches over the year. Now there's an altar, and at the altar tomorrow, Brooke, the pope will deliver mass.
BALDWIN: You mentioned Fidel Castro. I know the pope was greeted by Raul Castro. Is there any word that we might have a Fidel Castro sighting here during this visit?
OPPMANN: We're just trying to put together all the pieces of the puzzle here.
In about three hours time, Brooke, we know the pope is scheduled to meet with Raul Castro. Here's where it gets a little tricky. Church officials have said that all the Raul Castro, all of President Raul Castro's family is invited to that meeting, including former President Fidel Castro.
Will he come? Won't he show up? It's like reading the tea leaves when you try to understand what goes on in Cuba's halls of power.
BALDWIN: Patrick Oppmann, we will be waiting and watching to see if you're able to read those tea leaves and capture a little video of him. Patrick for us in Havana, your new post, good to see you, sir, and that is your "Reporter Roulette" here on this Tuesday. Meantime, we are keeping a close eye here on this forum. It's a roundtable here on Capitol Hill where Trayvon Martin's parents are, in fact, in attendance. And as the panelists talking today about racial profiling, hate crimes, we are getting a very, very different account as to what happened the night Trayvon Martin was shot and killed. You're about to hear what George Zimmerman apparently told a friend.
That's next.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
BALDWIN: In case you're just joining us, we're following all these developments here that we're getting on this JetBlue flight.
It went from New York, supposed to land in Las Vegas, ended up getting diverted to Amarillo, Texas. A couple minutes ago, I spoke with a woman who was on board this plane. She was four rows back. She told me she saw a crew member run up to the locked cockpit door, started banging on it, and then she says people heard him use these two words. He said "Israel" and "Afghanistan." Another passenger said she heard a commotion and at some point heard the word "bomb." Take a listen.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
HEIDI KARG, PASSENGER: We just heard a lot of commotion that we need the code, he wanted to get back into the cockpit. They shut the cockpit door and he couldn't get back in. And people heard different things. We heard the word "bomb." We didn't know exactly what was going on. He was shouting different things, and in the confusion, they got him to the ground.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BALDWIN: She mentioned people onboard the plane quickly took this captain down. JetBlue did release a statement, saying there was a medical situation involving the flight captain. Another captain just happened to be traveling on this plan off-duty took over the flight and landed it in Texas, in Amarillo.
And coming up in just a little bit here, stay tuned for my conversation with two of the passengers onboard that flight.
But first, happening right now, the parents of Florida teenager Trayvon Martin are taking their case here to Capitol Hill. They're at this House round table on racial profiling and hate crimes. And we still don't know the full circumstances or motivation behind their son's shooting death more than a month ago now. But Martin Savidge joins me from Sanford, Florida. And Martin, tell me a little bit more about what you know about this round table.
MARTIN SAVIDGE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, I understand that they were both allowed to come up there, the parents of Trayvon Martin. I don't think they were going to speak. However, it's possible that their attorney was going to actually address that commission. While they were there, at the same time, they recognized the parents were there and I believe there was a moment in silence.
Now, at the same time that was going on, there was a protest that took place outside the Department of Justice, gathering the people there. They were in support of Trayvon Martin and the Martin family, and they were also asking that justice be done. In most cases here, the drive is that they would like to see George Zimmerman brought at least under arrest while the investigation continues into the exact circumstances as to how their son, 17-year-old Trayvon, had been killed one month ago in a shooting on a rainy night.
Meanwhile, down here in Sanford, a lot of controversy about the different vantage points and stories that witnesses have, how they either match or don't jibe with what George Zimmerman said happened, how the fatal shot was fired and what the circumstances were of that leaked police reported yesterday.
Meanwhile today, I had a chance to talk to Joe Oliver, a close friend of George Zimmerman, the man who's been speaking on his behalf, and he says that Zimmerman has not been the same mentally ever since this incident happened. Here's what he told me.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JOE OLIVER, FRIEND OF GEORGE ZIMMERMAN: He's been receiving counseling for post-traumatic stress syndrome, depression, insomnia. He hasn't been able to eat. In the days after the shooting he couldn't stop crying. So, I mean, and it totally fits with the man that I know, although I know I won't know him the same ever again.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
SAVIDGE: George Zimmerman has not spoken publicly to the media. He says that because of the ongoing investigation he simply cannot do that. Brooke?
BALDWIN: We now know the FBI have -- OK now we're hearing the parents are addressing this here right now. Here they are. Let's just listen in.
(BEGIN LIVE FEED)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Thank you for the support. As I said before, and I'll say it again, Trayvon was our son, but Trayvon is your son.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: That's right.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: A lot of people can relate to our situation. And it breaks their heart just like it breaks mine. Thank you for everything.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You're more than welcome. Thank you so much for coming.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Also, I would like to say thank you to everyone who is supportive of our family, everyone who has helped us stand tall in this matter, everyone who is holding the legacy of Trayvon and making sure that he did not indeed die in vain. I would just like to say thank you. And he's sadly missed, and we'll continue to fight for justice for him.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Council Crump?
BENJAMIN CRUMP, ATTORNEY FOR TRAYVON MARTIN'S FAMILY: Thank you, Mr. Chairman. We are here today to discuss a matter that never should have happened. I think it's one of those matters that if we had a better understanding and more laws on racial profiling that this never would have happened. We honestly believe that Trayvon Martin is dead today because he was racially profiled. And because of that, this escalated, and it led to the fatal altercation where George Zimmerman, neighborhood watch volunteer, with a nine millimeter gun killed Trayvon Benjamin Martin, a 17-year-old, unarmed teen who only have a bag of Skittles and an Arizona iced tea can, trying to get home from the 7-Eleven.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Thank you so much. I'm going to go to you, Sheila Jackson Lee, but first I'm going to call on the executive director --
(END LIVE FEED)
BALDWIN: So you listened briefly to as the mother Sabrina Fulton, Trayvon's father, Tracy Martin. Ben Crump is the parent's attorney here. So essentially what this is in Washington, it looks like a packed house here. This was called -- this was a round table was called upon by Congressmen Corrine Brown. They're assessing the federal role in cases involving potential racial profiling and hate crimes as well.
So as we continue to watch this, if I still have Martin Savidge standing by, still all kinds of questions here. We now know the FBI, Martin, has these 911 tapes. The Department of Justice is investigating, an attorney now assigned by the governor from the state of Florida Rick Scott looking into this. With all of that, I want to go back to the original Sanford police report. What more are we gleaning from that night?
SAVIDGE: Not much, other than the report that was leaked to the newspaper yesterday where we understand that there was an altercation. And according to that report, which has been verified from the Sanford police, in other words, that the information is accurate, that it portrays Trayvon Martin as the aggressor here, and that George Zimmerman said Trayvon came up to him, punched him in the face, knocked him to the ground, and then began beating his head against the sidewalk in such a way that George Zimmerman felt in danger of losing his life. And that's when he called out screaming for help, which has been also heard on a 911 call. And sometime shortly after that is when the fatal shot was fired.
How it was fired, what the exact circumstances were, how close was the gun fired, where on the body was Trayvon hit other than the general area of the chest, all of those specific question, which could give us a great deal of insight into the seriousness of the fight, we don't know.
BALDWIN: Martin Savidge a lot of questions there in Sanford. Martin, I appreciate it.
Now this.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
FATIMA AL HAMIDI, DAUGHTER OF VICTIM: We found on the floor, drowned in her own blood with a letter next to her head saying "Go back to your country, you terrorist." We're not the terrorists. You are.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BALDWIN: A hateful note is found next to an Iraqi woman, a mother of five, who died after a vicious beating. But there's a new twist here to this story. Police say they aren't calling it a hate crime yet because of other evidence. That's next.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
BALDWIN: A southern California woman who was brutally beaten last week will be sent home for burial in Iraq. But her family, they want answers. They say a note found near her body proves it was a hate crime. More now from CNN's Miguel Marquez.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
MIGUEL MARQUEZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Thirty-two-year-old Shaima Alawadi died a violent death. Her eldest daughter discovered her on the dining room floor.
FATIMA AL HAMIDI: She's innocent. She hasn't heard anybody. She's the mother of five. Why did you do it? I mean, I found her on the floor drowned in her own blood with a letter next to her head saying "Go back to your country you terrorist."
MARQUEZ: Fatima's 15-year-old brother Mohammed says that wasn't the first threat threatening note the family received. Two weeks prior --
MOHAMMED AL HAMIDI, SON OF VICTIM: What happened was there was a note taped on the door saying "This is my country, go back to yours, terrorist."
MARQUEZ: The family says Alawadi was hit with a tire iron, nothing stolen, the attack so vicious, she was left brain dead. Life support had to be cut off.
(on camera): This is the White House where the attack occurred. The family had only been living here for about three months. The police insist this was an isolated incident, but the family says a killer is still on the loose.
Do you think someone is out there? MOHAMMED AL HAMIDI: I think to tell you the truth, like, you know, this world, it's not safe. Like, you know, there's always going to be that one person out there, that one lunatic that would do something like this.
MARQUEZ (voice-over): Alawadi's husband of 21 years says he loves America, has had a great life here, but now just wants to bury his wife in Najaf, Iraq.
KASSIM AL HAMIDI, HUSBAND OF VICTIM (via translator): Even the Iraqi government and the Iraqi embassy is, you know, helping out.
MARQUEZ: Online, the case has taken on a life of its own, many calling it an anti-Muslim hate crime. Police say that's one possibility, but there are others.
CHIEF JAMES REDMAN, EL CAJON POLICE: I want to stress there is other evidence in this case that we are looking at. And the possibility of a hate crime is just one of the aspects of this investigation.
MARQUEZ: For now, the enormous Muslim community here on edge, waiting for police to catch a killer.
Miguel Marquez, CNN, California.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
BALDWIN: Meantime, you just saw her a moment ago, the woman's daughter absolutely devastated.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
FATIMA AL HAMIDI: You took my mother away from me. You took my best friend away from me. Why? Why did you do it? That's all I want to know. Answer me that.
We're speechless, you know? She's such an innocent woman. I mean, I just -- why? Why did you do that? She's a housewife. She's innocent. She hasn't hurt anybody. You know, she's the mother of fife. Why did you do it? I mean, I found her own the floor drowned in her own blood with a letter next to her head saying "Go back to your country, you terrorist." We're not the terrorists. You are, whoever did it. We don't know what color you are, but we do know one thing, you are not Christian. You are not Muslim, and you're not Jewish. You're someone without a religion, because if you know god, you would know god would not accept that. You're an animal, whoever you are. You're not even an animal.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BALDWIN: The daughter spoke with reporters before her mother died in the hospital. The local Muslim community is planning a memorial service to be held later today. Again, you saw police. They say they have not ruled out the possibility that this may be a hate crime, but they say there is other evidence that's prompting investigators to be open to other possibilities in this case. We'll follow that for you.
Also, CNN's senior legal analyst Jeff Toobin says President Obama's health care law is in grave trouble after what happened inside the U.S. Supreme Court today. Coming up next, I'll speak live with a small business owner who is part of a group suing the Obama administration. Our conversation is next.
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BALDWIN: All right, see this gentleman next to me. This is Dave Klemencic, a small business owner and also a plaintiff in one of the biggest legal cases of our time. He is the only employee of his company in West Virginia. He doesn't have health insurance. And Dave Klemencic doesn't think the government should be able to force him to get it, to buy it either.
Let me just read a little bit of what he wrote in a declaration to the court, quote, "Both my business and myself will be harmed if I must purchase health insurance coverage. I believe that the added cost of the ACA, the affordable care act will threaten my ability to maintain my own independent business." Dave, I welcome you. You were in this courtroom today, you and about 400 other people. Quick assessment, how did it go?
DAVID KLEMENCIC, OWNER, ELLENBORO FLOORS: Well, I'm not an attorney or a judge, but it seemed to go really well. The arguments seem to stay within a certain realm and stay simple, which it really needed to do. And I was actually pleased with everything I heard in there.
BALDWIN: What was one thing that you heard that was particularly pleasing to you?
KLEMENCIC: Well, there was a lot of am jis going on in there. And it just -- it just appears to me like there really wasn't a lot to stand on as far as upholding this law.
BALDWIN: Why join? What move you, Dave, so much to join the lawsuit?
KLEMENCIC: Well, I had a life plan that I've been working toward. And a lot of it was to work hard when I was younger to put myself in a position at my age that can I didn't have to who so hard. I could move into a rural area and I could just such a big operation and I could scale down. I still work 50 hours a week, but it's not like I used to work. And the population just won't sustain that sort of a cost add-on.
BALDWIN: So as we mentioned though, you know, currently you don't have insurance. So heaven forbid by you get cancer, how do you handle that? How do you pay for that?
KLEMENCIC: Well, I made provisions for that. I have emergency fund. And I have family. I'm not left out there in the cold. And I do check-ups, I go to the dentists. I just take my checkbook. I just choose to pay for it myself. I don't choose to take the gamble. BALDWIN: So out of pocket costs you just pay for it and even if one day you have to pay a lot more than you may have, then what do you do then?
KLEMENCIC: Well, I think that I'm pretty well situated that I can take care of just about anything that comes by.
BALDWIN: OK. You say you had tried to get health insurance but it is too expensive. And so one of the points of the affordable care act is to drive down the cost, and this is the argument from a handful of CEOs from the American Heart Association, American Cancer Society and they actually wrote something for a CNN.com article and I want to quote part of it. "We already know what a health care system without a requirement looks like. Many Americans opt not to buy health coverage until they are ill, costs skyrocket as insurance pools fill with people in urgent need of treatment and care." Costs skyrocket. I know you said you have enough to take care of it, but what's your response to that?
KLEMENCIC: Well, I -- I've never proclaimed that something doesn't have to be done with health care, and I certainly don't claim to have the answers to it. But an unprecedented mandate like this just isn't the answer. You just can't have the federal government forcing people into private contracts.
BALDWIN: Dave Clemencic, thank you, sir. I appreciate your perspective.
KLEMENCIC: Thank you very much.
BALDWIN: Coming up next, Rick Santorum said he would consider being Mitt Romney's running mate just 24 hours after bashing the frontrunner. We'll play that sound bite next.
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BALDWIN: Let's talk about Rick Santorum. He spent a fair amount of time convincing voters that Mitt Romney was a bad idea, bad candidate. But Santorum apparently has no problem becoming Mitt Romney's vice president. Here is what Santorum has said about Mitt Romney over the last couple of days. Here's this.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
RICK SANTORUM, (R) PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: If we'll be a little different, we might as well stay with what we have instead of taking a risk on what may be the etch-a-sketch candidate for the future.
He is the worst Republican in the country to put up against Barack Obama.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BALDWIN: And now Rick Santorum yesterday.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) UNIDENTIFIED MALE: If he, for some reason, and you might laugh this off, but if he for some reason asked you to be the vice presidential candidate on his ticket, I know, after it was all said and done, would you consider it?
SANTORUM: Of course. I would do, in this race as I always say, this is the most important race in our country's history, so I will do everything I can.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BALDWIN: Everything he can, Wolf Blitzer. I saw your quick reaction. You've got your show coming up in just a couple of minute. What'd you make of that?
WOLF BLITZER, CNN HOST, "THE SITUATION ROOM": He's trying to show he's a team player, Rick Santorum. His many concern is that president Obama would not be reelected and he would accept being on the vice presidential ticket, Romney's running mate. I suspect that is almost not going to bet that that won't happen. But we say, stranger things have happened in politics. So we'll wait and see what's coming up.
We have a brand new poll on the Republican race for the White House. We'll share it for the first time with our viewers right at the top of the hour. Brooke, I know, you're interested in that. A lot more on the historic date at the U.S. Supreme Court. Jeff Toobin is standing by, Kate Bolduan is standing by. They were both inside during the arguments. And Jeff is creating a lot of buzz with what he's saying what happened inside, his tweets. Stand by for that.
And we're also getting additional reaction. The Russian president Medvedev is really blasting Mitt Romney for what Romney told us yesterday in "THE SITUATION ROOM" about Russia being the number one geopolitical foe, if you will. So lots of news coming up at the top of the hour.
BALDWIN: We will see you in five minutes, Mr. Blitzer. Thank you.
Before I let you go, I want to talk a little more about this JetBlue fight diverted after this incident involving the captain of the plane. You'll hear from passengers onboard next.
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BALDWIN: New developments on that JetBlue flight from New York to Vegas that was diverted to Amarillo, Texas. One passenger who I talked to said she heard a commotion and at some point heard the word "bomb" uttered.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
LAURIE DHUE, PASSENGER: What I saw from my seat on the fourth floor. I was very close to the front of the plane and saw everything. The pilot ran to the cockpit door, began banging on it, and said something to the effect of, "we've got to pull the throttle back. We've got to get this plane down. We've got to get this plane down." And at that point several other passengers heard the word "Afghanistan" and "Israel" coming out of his mouth. It's not clear exactly what he said, but apparently those two words were heard, "Israel" and "Afghanistan."
Now, at that point the two flight attendants tried to subdue him, and then seemingly out of nowhere about six or seven large guys stormed to the front of the plane and wrestled the captain of the plane down to the ground and had him subdued in a matter of moments. It was really like something out of a movie.
At the time I was actually looking down reading a magazine, but I was able to talk to several passengers before I did the interview with you all. They were telling me that indeed the pilot did try to get back into the cockpit, but they had already seen the deadhead pilot who had come from the middle of the plane. He had somehow gotten himself into the cockpit and they had locked the door and barricaded themselves in so they could continue flying this plane safely. And, you know, by a stroke of good luck we happened to have a former NYPD officer onboard.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BALDWIN: Laurie Dhue says everyone is now A-OK. Laurie, thank you very much for calling in. What a day for them.
Meantime, "THE SITUATION ROOM" with Wolf Blitzer starts right now. Hey, Wolf.
