Return to Transcripts main page

CNN Newsroom

North Korean Rocket Launch Fails; Romney Speaks to NRA

Aired April 13, 2012 - 15:00   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

FORMER GOV. MITT ROMNEY, R-MA, PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: As president, I will follow a very different path than President Obama. I will be a staunch defender of religious freedom. The Obama -- this regulation from the Obamacare folks is not a threat and insult to only one religious group -- it is a threat and insult to every religious group. And, as president, I will abolish it.

(CHEERING AND APPLAUSE)

I don't think I have to tell you this, but you know that like economic and religious freedoms, our personal freedoms have also been under attack.

Few things are more important to us than our health, and our health care. The 10th Amendment preserves the right to choose our own health care, as well as all the rights not specifically granted to the federal government by the Constitution. It preserves those to the states, and to the people.

Obamacare violates the Constitution. And I'm counting on the Supreme Court to say exactly that. It's not just health care, of course, that this administration attacks. Mike and Chantell Sackett, did they hear this story? They have learned firsthand how the Obama government interferes with personal freedom.

They run a small business in Idaho. They saved enough money to buy a piece of property and build a home on it. But just a few days after they broke ground, an EPA regulator told them to stop digging immediately. The EPA said they were building on a wetland. But the Sackett's property isn't on the wetlands register. As a matter of fact, it sits in a residential area.

Nevertheless, the EPA told them that was a final decision and it could not even be appealed. Fortunately, the Constitution confronted the Obama administration again and the Supreme Court ruled unanimously for the Sacketts and against the Obama EPA, just like they should.

(CHEERING AND APPLAUSE)

This administration's attack on freedom extends even to rights explicitly guaranteed by the Constitution. The right to bear arms is so plainly stated, so unambiguous, that liberals have a hard time challenging it directly.

Instead, they have been employing every imaginable ruse and ploy to restrict it and to defeat it. I applaud true conservationists like Rob Keck who work to preserve lands, and herds and flocks for hunting. I applaud Ambassador Bolton for opposing international efforts to erode our rights. I applaud Congressman Issa and Senator Grassley for their work in exposing the Fast and Furious scandal.

And, of course, I applaud NRA leadership for being among the first and most vocal in calling upon Attorney General Holder to resign or get fired.

(CHEERING AND APPLAUSE)

We need a president who will enforce current laws, not create new ones that only serve to burden lawful gun owners.

President Obama has not; I will.

We need a president who will stand up for the rights of hunters, and sportsmen, and those who seek to protect their homes and their families. President Obama has not; I will.

And if we are going to safeguard our Second Amendment, it is time to elect a president who will defend the rights President Obama ignores or minimizes. And I will protect the Second Amendment rights of American people.

(CHEERING AND APPLAUSE)

We've all seen enough of President Obama over the last three years to know that we don't want another four.

In a second term, he would be unrestrained by the demands of reelection. As he told the Russian president last month when he thought no one else was listening, after a reelection, he would have a lot more -- quote -- "flexibility" to do just what he wants.

I'm not exactly sure what he meant by that, but looking at his first three years, I got a pretty good idea.

Just consider the courts, for instance. He has an unusual view of the Supreme Court and its responsibilities, as he reminded us just the other day. He said this. He said: "I'm confident that the Supreme Court will not take what would be an unprecedented, extraordinary step of overturning a law that was passed by a strong majority of a democratically elected Congress."

Of course, what President Obama calls "extraordinary" and "unprecedented," the rest of us recognize as "judicial review." That concept has been the centerpiece of our constitutional system for hundreds of years.

Judicial review requires, requires, requires that the Supreme Court strike down any law that violates the Constitution -- and that's the founding document of our freedoms. That's what they have got to do.

But President Obama seems to believe that court decisions are only legitimate when they rule in his favor, and they're illegitimate if they don't. He thinks our nation's highest court is to be revered and respected -- as long as it remains faithful to the original intent of Barack Obama.

That's the problem with people who view the Constitution as living and evolving, not timeless and defining. They never want to explain just who it is that's going to decide what the Constitution means and in what way they would have it evolve.

In his first term, we've seen the president try to browbeat the Supreme Court. In a second term, he would remake it. Our freedoms would be in the hands of an Obama court, not just for four years, but for the next 40. And we must not let that happen.

(CHEERING AND APPLAUSE)

As president, I will uphold the rule of law -- and put America back on the path toward the founders' vision. I don't want to transform America; I want to return America to the principles that made this nation great.

Our founders began with this great American experiment. They created a nation conceived in liberty and they entrusted us with the duty to preserve it and to defend it.

In the generations since, more than a million Americans have made the ultimate sacrifice.

One day towards the end of my term as governor, my office got a call telling us that a soldier had been killed in Iraq. His casket was on a U.S. Airways flight back to Massachusetts, but his family had not been able to be notified in time to get to the airport to receive his remains. And so they asked if I would go to the airport in their stead. I said, of course.

We drove over to the airport and out on to the tarmac. The jet came in and the people disembarked. And then the luggage become coming down the conveyor, and then, after a little while, the casket appeared on the conveyor.

The state troopers who were there with me saluted. I put my hand on my heart. And then I happened to glance up at the terminal. And there in Boston there's a big wall of glass at the U.S. Airways terminal right where the plane had come in.

And it seems that the people coming off the plane had seen all the police cars out there on the tarmac, so they stopped and went up against the glass to see what was going on. And then the people walking down the hall saw the people leaning up against the glass, and so they came in behind them and stood behind them. So there's a huge crowd there of people.

And as I looked up there, I saw that every single person had their hand on their heart.

When I think of our country, it's scenes like that that come to my mind. Should I have the honor of serving as president, that's how I will seek to lead -- not by pitting one group against another, but by bringing us together as Americans, patriotic, freedom-loving Americans.

Americans want a leader who will tell them the truth, who will live with integrity, who will preserve the nation and protect our Constitution.

(CHEERING AND APPLAUSE)

We have a sacred duty to restore the promise of America. And we will do it. And we will do it because we believe in America.

We'll stop the days of apologizing for success at home and never again will we apologize for America abroad.

(CHEERING AND APPLAUSE)

There was a time -- not so long ago -- when each of us could walk a little taller, stand a little straighter because we had a gift that no one else in the world shared. We were Americans. That meant something different to each of us, but it meant something special to all of us. We knew it without question. And so did the world.

Those days are coming back. That's our destiny.

We believe in America. We believe in ourselves. Our greatest days are still ahead. We are, after all, Americans.

Join me in this great cause. Let's take back our nation and defend our freedoms.

God bless you. God bless the United States of America. Thank you so much.

(CHEERING AND APPLAUSE)

BROOKE BALDWIN, CNN ANCHOR: Constitution, country, freedoms, a couple of major themes Mitt Romney has just hit upon on really what is being billed as his first major speech as we're now really officially in the general election season, as he is presumably, you're looking at him, the Republican nominee for president of the United States here.

Just let me run back quickly here. He's been speaking by the way in Saint Louis to a crowd. This is the annual National Rifle Association event. So he talked, as this is really one of the true tests, if he can really galvanize and appeal to this kind of crowd, these staunch, more staunch enthusiasts, fervent enthusiasts of the Second Amendment, of course.

One of his lines that jumped out at me. "Instead of limited government, he is leading" -- he being the president -- "is leading us towards limited freedom and limited opportunity." He went on to use the word assault. He said the administration's assault on our freedoms, outlining financial health, medical and also religion. And the crowd, you could start hearing ultimately they began applaud first upon the reference of a pipeline. Of course that was a reference to the Keystone XL pipeline. And then once he referred to Operation Fast and Furious which ultimately led to a dead border agent and how they were calling upon the resignation or the firing of our attorney general, Eric Holder, and then how he would protect Second Amendment rights.

And of course in an NRA crowd, there was a huge, huge applause. One thing I do want to take upon, one thing he didn't mention is something that's certainly the most talked about gun incident recently in our country and that being what happened back on February 26 in Sanford, Florida. He made no mention of the names Trayvon Martin or George Zimmerman.

And keep in mind, Zimmerman wasn't immediately arrested because of the stand your ground law in Florida. And that law is in Florida and it's in 25 other states. And it was essentially enacted in part with the help of the National Rifle Association.

So there you have it, the last 20 minutes, Mitt Romney, and here we go, the beginning of the general election season.

Meantime, a possible conflict of interests in the Trayvon Martin murder case against George Zimmerman. Those details after this quick break.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BALDWIN: George Zimmerman's attorney says the judge may possibly have a conflict of interest here in the Trayvon Martin case.

And he may file a motion very soon to get her to recuse herself. We learned that at the status hearing just earlier today in Florida, which by the way did not attend. But here's the issue. Judge Jessica Recksiedler's husband works with Mark NeJame, the CNN analyst who was originally contacted about representing Zimmerman.

We learned yesterday -- we talked to him. He said he declined. But Judge Recksiedler said if Zimmerman's, Mark O'Mara, wants to file a motion to get her off the case, he should do it before next Friday, April 20. That is when a bond hearing is tentatively set for Zimmerman. A formal arraignment is set for May 29.

Zimmerman is charged with second degree murder, but he claims it was in self-defense. Now we're getting this look today, here you go, we're getting this look at the prosecution's version of events from that night in this affidavit here. It's three pages but it gives a lot of insight in the case that's building now against Zimmerman.

I want to bring in CNN legal analyst Sunny Hostin because first, I want to talk about the potential conflict of interest we learned about just about 1.5 hours ago. Is it enough here to remove this judge from the case?

SUNNY HOSTIN, CNN LEGAL ANALYST: I do think it's enough, Brooke, because the bottom line is when a law firm and a lawyer and a partner turns down a representation, that's usually a discussion that's made amongst the partners.

We know this judge's husband is a partner of Mark NeJame. We don't know the content of those discussions. We don't know if her husband then came home and spoke to her. There are a lot of unknowns. Certainly I think it's enough. The question really is whether or not this defense attorney wants her recused.

Let me suggest this. She got this case because of the luck of the draw, not necessarily a lucky draw for this defense team. She's a very new judge. She's only about 39 years old. She's been on the bench only since 2010. I have taken a look at her docket. I don't think she's ever presided over a homicide case.

BALDWIN: Wow.

HOSTIN: She only was a prosecutor for about two years. This defense attorney, while very seasoned, doesn't know this judge well.

If I were a defense attorney in that kind of situation, I would probably want to try one of the other judges. They're only three other ones and they're much more seasoned than this judge. And bottom line is he probably knows those judges.

BALDWIN: OK, and we will find out ultimately perhaps by next Friday that bond hearing, whether or not she will be recusing herself.

But I do want to the prosecutor's affidavit and I want to highlight some key areas. First, this is a document, this is where it claims that Trayvon Martin was "profiled" by George Zimmerman. "Martin was unarmed and was not committing a crime." So it's very clear, it's profiled, not racially profiled. Explain the significance and the difference there.

HOSTIN: You know, I think it's very significant and I have a copy of this. We all have been poring over this since yesterday.

That's a buzzword, profiled. What does that mean? It usually has that racial connotation. Sometimes it's used, Brooke, by law enforcement to say someone was profiled as a criminal, a criminal potential element.

But the bottom line is I think most people associate it with racial profiling. And we know there's a racial component to this case since George Zimmerman on the 911 call identified Trayvon Martin as being black, suspicious, and also said he felt he may have been on drugs, just something was wrong with him.

(CROSSTALK)

BALDWIN: Let me get to the racial epithet, because as part of the other 911 call a lot of people thought that that's what they heard him say. Now we're learning according to the affidavit, he said the word punks. How does that affect the possibility of federal hate crime charges? HOSTIN: The federal government we know is conducting a parallel investigation. It's run in tandem. They have agents looking at this case.

I don't think that we can read too much into what this affidavit says in terms of the federal hate crime investigation.

BALDWIN: Want to point to this "Miami Herald" tweet. They tweeted this picture. This is a list of items Zimmerman apparently has now purchased as a prisoner.

Let me run down just a couple of these. He's playing cards and crossword puzzles, word search books, likes to eat popcorn and beef sticks and Jolly Ranchers. OK. Given all of that, what can we read into that? Is he hankering down, assuming he's going to be there for a while?

HOSTIN: I don't think we can read that into it. It is just it appears to me George Zimmerman trying to get acclimated to what may very well be where he will be for quite some time. Or maybe not.

I don't think we can read too much into that. Bottom line is he's in jail for a non-bondable offense. The maximum penalty of second degree murder of course is life in prison. We don't know if he's going to get bond. He may. The hearing is scheduled tentatively for April 20. He may be hunkering down, maybe not.

BALDWIN: One more question. I know you actually interviewed Trayvon Martin's brother Jahvaris Fulton. When does that air?

HOSTIN: That's going to be air tonight on "A.C. 360." I hope people will really tune in because it gives a lot of insight, I think, into this family and into his relationship with his brother Trayvon Martin.

BALDWIN: We will look for it, "A.C. 360" tonight 8:00.

Sunny Hostin, thank you.

HOSTIN: Thanks.

BALDWIN: We have got to talk weather here. We're keeping an eye on severe weather. Chad Myers has the latest track of the storms next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(WEATHER UPDATE)

BALDWIN: Coming up, we're going to talk about that failed rocket launch from north Korea. It turned out to be a big, fat bud.

But there's really a bigger discussion to be had as far as what this means. We're going to Harvard's John Park after this quick break.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BALDWIN: Let's talk now about the launch of that rocket, the North Korean rocket.

It got a lot of folks riled up. But guess what? Dud. That's right, D-U-D. The multistage rocket was a dud. It launched last evening right around 6:40 Eastern time, did fine for 80 seconds, then exploded and rained like confetti in international waters just west of South Korea. So, dud. Here's the deal. The story is far from over.

Far from it, because keep in mind, North Korea told all who would listen this was a strictly peaceful endeavor, a satellite launch. But a lot of folks out there suspected the satellite story was merely a cover, and the North's true intent was to test the rocket's potential to shoot a nuclear warhead a very, very long way, perhaps all the way across the pacific to the U.S. mainland.

One more thing here, let's remember who it is we're talking about here. This is North Korea, one of the world's last Communist gulags. Wave the flowers, clap on cue or else. They're celebrating today. They're marking the 100th anniversary of the birth of founder Kim Il- sung, succeeded to power first by his son, now by his grandson. That's him, right there in the middle.

The 30-something Kim Jong-un and the rocket launch was supposed to be Kim's coming out, his debut as a player. But now what? Lots and lots to talk about here. As always, we love talking to John Park with us from Harvard. He is with Harvard Center for Science and International Affairs.

So John Park, lots and lots of build-up here. The rocket fails. We now, you know, see something. We haven't even talked about yet. Should we all be prepared for the North to stage an underground nuclear explosion as they have twice in the past?

JOHN PARK, HARVARD CENTER FOR SCIENCE AND INTERNATIONAL AFFAIRS: Brooke, that's the big concern right now, even before the missile test there were reports out of South Korea the north Koreans were preparing this third nuclear test.

But one thing that we have to keep in mind is that there's a certain chronology, of build-up to doing something like a satellite launch as the North Koreans claim, as well as a nuclear test. So while it may look like these are spur-of-the-moment announcements or developments on the North Korean side, there's a lot that goes in, weeks of planning, months of planning.

So I think we have to look at some of the events that are unfolding right now, in some cases as coincidental, but how it's going to be framed and how we respond it's going to be very delicate in that sense.

BALDWIN: As we watch potentially for that attempt, I just have to talk to you about Kim Jong-un, the North's young new leader, 30- something. We don't even exactly know how old he is, you know, what exactly he's thinking.

But first we have to talk about this. All of a sudden we've gotten reclusive North Korea, they're opening up its doors, taking reporters, including our own, to this missile site, trotting out their scientists, holding news conferences for the first time ever. They're coming right out and saying, hey, we failed. John, they never do that. What's going on here?

PARK: That is a very bizarre development, and if we look at the April 2009 failed long-range missile test there as well, the third stage failed to separate and the claim of a satellite launch basically was propagated in terms of the domestic media that it was successful, but we know that that failed as well.

So this time around for the North Koreans to admit that they failed to launch the satellite, that is a big departure from their previous behavior.

BALDWIN: But why are they saying that?

(CROSSTALK)

PARK: (Inaudible) coordinated, how this is -- that's the big question. How they are thinking about the consequences of all of this, that's not quite clear, because there are responsibilities here in terms of the failed launch. But the broader part of what North Korea is going to do next, usually this type of openness is very unprecedented for something as sensitive as their missile development program.

BALDWIN: You see it as weak, don't you?

PARK: Weak is one way to describe it. Another is mismanagement, disorganization. The coherence and the type of logic that we're accustomed to under Kim Jong-il is really not there right now. It seems like different players and different actions are coming out of North Korea. And so how we're weaving this together is a big task at this current time.

BALDWIN: Let's talk about -- you have Kim il sung, North Korea's founder, really how the title as great leader, his son, Kim Jong-Il, you were talking about, who's the dear leader. And I understand it, Kim Jong-un has gotten the title supreme commander. What are we learning about him, Kim Jong-un, and what does this spectacular rocket failure really now mean for his standing, his prestige?

PARK: Sure. In the leadup to the missile test, the North Koreans had a party gathering, a Supreme People's assembly, and North Korea conferred upon Kim Jong-un the title of First Secretary of the Workers' Party of Korea, and also the chair of the National Defense Commission, and also mentioned that the title of Eternal General Secretary of the Workers' Party would be cast in -- specially reserved for Kim Jong-il.

So no one can take that title of general secretary of North Korea now. But if you look at the progression, it's a dilution of the power of these titles. And with respect to Supreme Commander, it's almost a managerial, operational type of title. So how he's going to be moving into these responsibilities is a question mark. But the failed missile test casts some doubt in terms of how the organization is being moved forward. It's a very difficult organization overall to manage. So from that perspective, how Kim Jong-un is doing and how his inner circle is doing, right now, the signs aren't encouraging.

BALDWIN: We haven't even heard his voice yet. I remember you and I talked about this the last time. Haven't even heard his voice publicly. He's leading this country apparently.

PARK: That's correct. There's a lot about him that's still a mystery. We're seeing more of him in terms of footage, but his interactions with the senior leadership on the military side, that's a big question mark.

How he is, in fact, being groomed ,the final siege (ph) is ceremonially, it's seen as a completion of that process, but there's a lot in terms of his skill set of running this place that he still has to learn.

BALDWIN: John Park, appreciate it so much there (inaudible) us, you're with Harvard. Thank you.

Coming up this Sunday, marking the 100 years since the Titanic sank. And to mark this anniversary, two cruise ships are headed to the site where the oceanliner went down. And up next, we take a look at a tour at one of the ships and also look at some of the obsession surrounding the Titanic right now.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BALDWIN: It has been 100 years -- that's right, 100 years since the sinking of the Titanic. And so this weekend marks the anniversary. And CNN's Chris Welch is onboard the trip that's retracing the fateful voyage, getting to the bottom of really an obsession shared by some fellow passengers. Take a look.

CHRIS WELCH, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Brooke, I am coming to you from aboard the Azamara Journey (ph). I'm actually in the middle of the north Atlantic Ocean. Check this out and these waves that you're seeing here, these are actually pretty tame for this time of the year, for this part of world.

Now, this ship I'm on is full of 450 passengers, who wanted nothing more than to be out over the site of the Titanic wreckage on the day on the time of the 100th anniversary. So these folks have some pretty interesting stories.

You know, a lot of people have been asking, why would you want to take a trip like this? I'm going to take you inside; I'm going to give you a peek at some of these passengers.

(MUSIC PLAYING)

CONNIE JEFFERS, PASSENGER, AZAMARA JOURNEY: I was really surprised at the number of people we talked to and told that we were going to go on this trip. They said, ugh, that's creepy, I wouldn't do that. And I thought, I don't find it creepy at all. I love history.

MICHAEL MICHAUD SR., PASSENGER, AZAMARA JOURNEY: A chance to teach the children some respect for Mother Nature, a little bit of history, and it's their spring break from school. So a nice history lesson.

MICHAEL MICHAUD JR., PASSENGER, AZAMARA JOURNEY: I think it's very cool because you get to know what Titanic was about and they give you lectures and stuff. So you get to like experience what they were feeling on the Titanic.

WELCH: Brooke, you could see from that video, a lot of folks are dressed up on this ship. They are wearing period clothing. These people take this stuff very seriously. When we get to the site tomorrow night, we expect it will be a very emotional evening, Brooke.

BALDWIN: Chris Welch, thank you for that. We'll be watching.

Meantime, we got to talk about Chicago. The city of Chicago's murder rate is up 60 percent this year, 60 percent. Actor and hip-hop artist Common, he is spearheading a campaign to help combat violence in Chicago. He's going to join me live, next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BALDWIN: A family tragedy in a small California town has this community grieving and asking questions whether or not there will be justice. At the center of this story you have the Nuris. This is a family that immigrated to the United States from Afghanistan.

The father Solaimon, his 9-year-old daughter, Hadesa, they were killed Saturday after being hit by an SUV. Witnesses say that SUV was speeding. It happened on a busy Concord, California street. Witnesses say a teen driver hit the family as they were riding bicycles on the sidewalk.

A second teenager did survive. The 17-year-old driver was treated for minor injuries and then arrested on suspicion of vehicular manslaughter. He is now out of jail while police investigate. I want to play some sound. This is what police say. This is what they're looking into.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

CAPT. DAVID DOWNING, CONCORD, CALIFORNIA, POLICE DEPARTMENT: You can take a look at the cell phone records, see if they match the time that he was driving and it gives us an indication of possibly he was either texting or talking, which may have helped contributed to the accident.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BALDWIN: Nearly a week after the accident, family and friends continue to turn the accident scene into this -- here it is -- a makeshift memorial. Flowers, teddy bears, bringing folks in the community calling for action. This man sums up the sentiment voiced by many here.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It is crazy because what he did basically tore a family apart, you know? So I think he should be prosecuted to the fullest extent.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BALDWIN: It's still not clear to what extent, if any, the teen will be charged. Tomorrow marks one week since the crash, so what's with the delay? Here's an explanation from the juvenile prosecutor in this case.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DAN CABRAL, CONTRA COSTA CO. JUVENILE PROSECUTOR: The police want to be very thorough in their investigation. They want to collect all the evidence, they want to collect most likely toxicology reports. They want to get the blood tested in an individual who is involved in a vehicular manslaughter. They want to perhaps do an accident reconstruction.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BALDWIN: Solaimon and Hadesa Nuri were buried Wednesday. The family has released a statement that is nothing short of remarkable. I just want to read part of it here.

Quoting, quote, "We know this country has a justice system put in place and we respect it. That is why our families moved here over 27 years ago. It's a tough case, it is a painful case and there are those who worry about what the teen driver faces as well, not just from the law."

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SALLY SPRAGUE, CONCORD, CALIFORNIA, RESIDENT: Oh, and my heart really goes out to him, too, because this is going to affect his life forever. No matter what the outcome is, you know, legally, it's going to be devastating.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BALDWIN: We'll keep you posted on this one.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BALDWIN: If you watch the show enough, you know I love music. You'll understand why I was so excited to be invited to the induction ceremony tomorrow night at the Rock 'n' Roll Hall of Fame in Cleveland, Ohio. Everyone is going to be there. Well, except for Axl Rose, apparently. And as honored as I am to be attending, Flea from the Red Hot Chili Peppers is pretty pumped about being inducted.

FLEA, RED HOT CHILI PEPPERS: It's always nice to win a prize, you know? Fun, and take your girlfriend on a date or whatever. But the Hall of Fame is the one I feel that is the most emotional. I like halls of fame. I think they're cool. It's funny to have something that's so about the past, you know, because we're being inducted for the contribution that has already been made.

And I'm only thinking about what we could possibly do in the future, like how can we get better and become better songwriters and better performers and better everything. I just know that I'm grateful for the whole deal. And it's something that I'm really proud to be a part of.

(MUSIC PLAYING)

BALDWIN: So I understand you will now be the youngest member ever inducted into the Rock 'n' Roll Hall?

FLEA: Is that right?

BALDWIN: You're surpassing Stevie Wonder, who was the previous title holder ever.

FLEA: Really? I'm beating Stevie -- Stevie?

JOSH KLINGHOFFER, RED HOT CHILI PEPPERS: By six years.

FLEA: Wow.

KLINGHOFFER: I don't feel like I've done a lifetime's worth of accomplishments to be in the Hall of Fame. This band and Guns 'n' Roses are bands that I listened to when I was you know, six, seven, eight, nine, 10 years old. So just to be a part of this band is an incredible honor.

FLEA: And I'm really happy for the Beastie Boys to be going in and Guns 'n' Roses. There are contemporaries who came up t the same time, you know, like Slash and Steve Hadley from Guns 'n' Roses. I played football in the street with those guys when I was a kid. I mean, we grew up in the same two-block radius in L.A. It should be a really nice night to be inducted with all our friends.

(MUSIC PLAYING)

BALDWIN: By the way, Josh, who you just heard from, sitting next to Flea, he is 31, so if you would like to see what's happening over the weekend in Cleveland, I do suggest you follow me on Twitter. My Twitter handle is @BrookeBCNN.

That's Brooke with an E, and I'll share all of my musical guests, artists, sightings in Cleveland. And then coming up Monday, we're going to dish right here, 2:00 to 4:00 Eastern time. And I'll introduce you to another artist for music Monday. I think you're going to love this particular group.

Coming up next though, we're going to talk deep brain stimulation. This is all about battling depression with electricity. The doctor is in the house. Dr. Sanjay Gupta, he's got the details, 60 seconds away. (COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BALDWIN: If you have a friend or loved one who suffers from depression, you know how tough it can be to treat. So chief medical correspondent, Dr. Sanjay Gupta, has some information as far as this breakthrough in treatment. It involves battery power, somehow this little thing, and your brain. Here he is, Sanjay.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DR. SANJAY GUPTA, CNN MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): In an operating room at Emory University in Atlanta --

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Right now we're just going to anchor this one in place.

GUPTA (voice-over): -- these doctors are trying to use deep brain stimulation to turn off severe depression.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Figuring out where the blood vessels are and obviously choosing the target, is that right?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Right.

GUPTA (voice-over): It was a procedure just like this done on Edie Geiten (ph).

EDIE GEITEN (PH), DBS PATIENT: I don't think about it -- what, so I have electrodes in my brain.

GUPTA (voice-over): The target is area 25, a junction box for brain circuits that control our moods.

DR. PAUL HOLTZHEIMER, PSYCHIATRIST: Our patients are miserable. It's beyond sadness. They spend most of their day just sitting there, often thinking you know, why can't I just die?

GUPTA (voice-over): People who have lived in a block of emotional ice. People like Edie Geiten, who have lived that way for years.

GEITEN (PH): It's not that you won't be happy or that you aren't happy, it's you can't be happy.

GUPTA (voice-over): Not even when her grandniece, Susan (ph), was born.

GEITEN (PH): And somebody handed me to her, or I held her, but I didn't even put her face to mine. I just held her, but I was going through the motions, and I felt really nothing.

GUPTA: Nothing?

GEITEN (PH): Nothing. Nothing.

GUPTA (voice-over): On the day of surgery, Edie's (ph) head was mounted in a rigid frame. GEITEN (PH): The sound of the drill, the feeling of it and my teeth are going like this. I think it hit home to me that you're having brain surgery. Somebody is going into your brain.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BALDWIN: And Sanjay's going to talk a lot about this this weekend, of course, on his weekend morning show Saturday and Sunday mornings at 7:30 am and on "CNN PRESENTS" Sunday night at 8 o'clock Eastern.

And now, if it's interesting and happening now, you are about to see it "Rapid Fire." Let's go, beginning with this. Mitt Romney tries to show he can win over conservatives in front of one of the most right- leaning crowds really imaginable, I'm talking about the NRA, the National Rifle Association. This is their annual meeting in St. Louis.

There he was, walking out just a short time ago. His message, though, it wasn't just about guns. It was also the start, really, of his general election battle against President Barack Obama. This is according to his advisers, and Romney came out swinging.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

FORMER GOV. MITT ROMNEY, R-MASS., PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: The real cost of this isn't just the taxes that we're paying and the money spent complying with all the rules. It's the businesses that are never started, the ideas that are never pursued and the dreams that are never realized.

You know, we once built the interstate highway system and the Hoover Dam. Today, we can't even build a pipeline.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BALDWIN: A huge fire. Remember these pictures? This was last hour. It's still been raging on. This is a funeral home in Salisbury, North Carolina. Our affiliate out of Charlotte, WXOC, is reporting that it's so big, 50 firefighters have been battling this for hours, for about four hours now.

It is believed everyone got out of this building safely. The owner of the funeral home says when the fire started, it started when the heating system was turned on.

And an accident in President Obama's motorcade here. A Florida sheriff's deputy was helping to support the president in Tampa today. The officer hit a speed bump, flew off his motorcycle. The motorcade had to continue on. We're told the deputy is at the hospital, expected to make a full recovery.

And we hear so much about students who are bullied, in some cases, to death. Think about Phoebe Prince. That's a name some of us remember. She was a new girl in a Massachusetts high school, tormented mercilessly by other girls in her class. You also have Tyler Clementi, the Rutgers freshman, who jumped off a bridge after his roommate used that webcam to spy on his romance with another man.

But we don't talk very much about bully tactics beyond the schoolyard, the belittling comments, the exclusion, the outright hostility perpetuated by and suffered by adults on the job. It can lead to bloodshed. I want you to watch this. This is from CNN's Patricia Wu.

PATRICIA WU, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): California, Virginia and North Carolina. Three shootings in three states in the last few months. Beyond the headlines, a disgruntled worker. And experts say in many cases like these, there's something at play at which we normally associate with schoolyards -- bullying.

GARY NAMIE, PH.D., DIRECTOR, WORKPLACE BULLYING INSTITUTE: It's a silent epidemic because we don't talk nearly enough about it. We don't address it. It's shrouded in shame and silence.

WU (voice-over): But that silence can lead to violent consequences. A 2001 CareerBuilder study shows that 27 percent of U.S. workers have felt bullied in the workplace.

NAMIE: It's on the rise because the people who are being bullied, the targets, don't believe there are good job alternatives out there.

WU (voice-over): That epidemic is the subject of a new documentary called "Murder by Proxy: How American Went Postal." And Emil Chiaberi is the writer and director of the sobering film that explores the mayhem behind the term "going postal."

EMIL CHIABERI, WRITER-DIRECTOR, "MURDER BY PROXY": In this environment where people are under so much pressure and under so much stress and experience so much fear, it's only inevitable that some of them are going to resort to violence and, again, only a very small percentage will do that, but that helps us eliminate the larger problem.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It's complicated. He took mothers away from their children. He took fathers away from their children. On the other hand, I understand why he did it.

WU: Chiaberi's film explores the pattern of workplace violence, a pattern that the director says is growing as the job market is shrinking. Not all victims of workplace bullying resort to violence, but experts say there is often a link. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, nearly 600 people a year are victims of workplace homicide.

Emelise Aleandri says she was bullied in the workplace, but instead of getting mad, she got even, winning more than a million dollars in a settlement with her former employer.

EMELISE ALEANDRI, BULLIED AT WORK: It was a gradual, continual, unrelenting diminution (ph) of our work, our status as employees, our job, our careers. Everything was intended to chip away at that, so that we would leave.

WU (voice-over): When leaving isn't an option, workers feel trapped. Workplace bullying experts say employers should address the problem before it erupts into yet another crime scene -- Patricia Wu, CNN, New York.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BALDWIN: And coming up on Monday, join me then. We're going to be talking to the director of the documentary on precisely this subject, bullying in the workplace.

Meantime, scary in New York today. Look at these pictures. Three people dangle from a New York skyscraper earlier today after the scaffolding they were on just up and collapsed. Keep in mind these are aerial pictures.

You can see how high up they were, some 15 floors. We're told they're all OK. Our affiliate WABC reports crews pulled them off the scaffolding through those little windows. No word yet as to what caused the collapse.

And before we let you go, Chad was talking about the threat of this severe weather in the midsection of the country. Look at this picture. This is Chickasha, Oklahoma. Ominous gathering clouds there over what looks to be a pretty rural area, perhaps a little bit of lightning there as well.

Severe weather threat in part of -- the middle section of this country, a couple of states there in and around Oklahoma. He was talking today and then of course , into tomorrow.

And one thing Chad always points out, is, you know, and if you're in this part of the country, obviously, heed the warnings, heed the sirens, seek shelter but also, if you're in parts of this country where you see the nice pretty sunshine and you think you're in the clear, that's actually, he says, a pretty bad sign, so please stay safe over the weekend.

They're going to be covered, I'm sure, CNN through the weekend. Meantime, have a wonderful weekend and now it's Wolf Blitzer. "THE SITUATION ROOM" starts now.