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Breaking Down the Farm Bill; Live Coverage of Obama's Speech in Ohio; U.S. Troops Posed With Dead Bodies; Secret Service Scandal Widens; Renting the Sun; Jamie Moyer Becomes MLB's Oldest Pitcher to Win a Game

Aired April 18, 2012 - 14:00   ET

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

BROOKE BALDWIN, CNN ANCHOR: Hello, everyone. I'm Brooke Baldwin. And we begin with stories happening right now. "Rapid Fire." Roll it.

First up, thank you, sir. Want to begin here with what Suzanne was just talking about. I want to begin with images. And I just have to give you the heads up. What you're about to see is very, very disturbing. This is a photo we're going to share with you. This is from "The Los Angeles Times." So, again, a heads up and a warning. Here you go.

"The Times" says this shows U.S. troops posing with body parts of dead suicide bombers in Afghanistan. We are blurring this because it is simply too gruesome. CNN has not independently authenticated the picture, but U.S. officials, including Defense Secretary Leon Panetta, condemned what they saw.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

LEON PANETTA, DEFENSE SECRETARY: That behavior this was depicted in those photos, absolutely violates both our regulations and, more importantly, our core values. This is not who we are and it's certainly not who we represent.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BALDWIN: Got a couple of questions about that story. We're going to talk to Chris Lawrence at the Pentagon in a matter of minutes.

Also today, the search is on for a Ft. Bragg soldier who disappeared about five days ago now. Police and the military, they are combing this area. It's near a bar in Fayetteville, North Carolina. That's where Private First Class Kelly Bordeaux was last seen on Saturday. A U.S. Army official, who wants to remain anonymous, says Bordeaux had been drinking and got a ride home from a bar employee who is not considered a suspect.

And it is all tied up now between President Barack Obama and Mitt Romney. This new CNN poll of polls shows them neck and neck. You have this really now looking toward November, six and a half months until Election Day. CNN averaged four national polls. You see the numbers, 47 percent prefer President Obama, 45 percent back Romney.

In about a half hour, President Obama, live pictures, people waiting to see the president here. He's going to talk about federal job training at this community college there in a town just west of Cleveland, Ohio. We're going to bring you some of that live. So stay tuned for that.

Also, this new approach to ending the violence in Syria, appealing to President Bashar al Assad's better have. The wives of British and German ambassadors to the United Nations, they created this video here. In it they asked Syria's first lady, Asma al Assad, to, quote, "stop your husband and stop being a bystander."

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

HUBERTA VON VOSS-WITTIG, WIFE OF GERMAN AMBASSADOR TO U.N.: She has openly talked about peace many, many times. So we think she should get her act together and speak out and speak out now. And not worry so much about her husband, but worry a little bit more about what women in her country are going through at this very moment and since one year already.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BALDWIN: We're going to speak with one of those wives who made that video next hour.

Also, the mystery is over. Meet America's newest multimillionaires, Merle and Pat Butler, a retired couple from Illinois. They have now come forward to claim their share of the biggest lottery jackpot in U.S. history. They brought the third and final winning ticket in that $656 million Mega Millions drawing last month. And at first, Merle and Pat, they couldn't believe it.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MERLE BUTLER, MEGA MILLIONS LOTTERY WINNER: After I looked at it for a couple of minutes, I turned to my wife, who was right there with me, and I said, we won. And she kind of looked at me funny. And I said, no, we won. And then she started giggling. And she giggled for about four hours, I think.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BALDWIN: They're going to be giggling for more than four.

And Axl Rose suddenly has an appetite for contrition. Now he says he's story for not showing up in Cleveland over the weekend when the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame inducted his band, Guns N Roses. I'll tell you, I was there. None of those guys mentioned Axl by name. the rock star tweeted an apology to the city of Cleveland, but also says he has received a lot of support for his decision. The ceremony happened just this past weekend. You can watch it May 5th on HBO.

And she was with Bobby Petrino the night that he crashed his motorcycle and his career. Now his 25-year-old ex-mistress, Jessica Dorrell, has resigned from the University of Arkansas. She was the football team student's athlete development coordinator. This affair became public when the two skidded off the road on April 1st. Arkansas fired Petrino, who is married and a father of four.

And just in to us here at CNN, women's basketball legend Pat Summitt announces she is stepping down. She is stepping down as head coach at Tennessee. She has won more games than any other coach in NCAA history after 38 years on the court. Amazing woman. Last year, Summitt announced she has Alzheimer's. We're told she's doing to stay in Knoxville as head coach emeritus.

And we have a lot more for you in the next two hours including this. Roll it.

This is the fourth consecutive month that a controversy has erupted in Afghanistan over actions on behalf of American forces. This time a soldier sends disturbing photos to a newspaper, and the whistleblower here is blaming lack of leadership.

I'm Brooke Baldwin. The news is now.

Someone shoots a new mother, then snatches her three day old baby right outside the pediatricians office.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: On the same day that he recovers a child, he loses a wife.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BALDWIN: Now as a dad gets his baby back, a nurse sits behind bars.

The wives of powerful diplomats beg the wife of Syria's leader, stop your husband. I'll speak live with one of these women.

Plus, how far would you go to shed some pounds? A controversial crash diet involving women and a feeding tube just before their webbings.

And tens of thousands of dollars go missing from an elementary school budget and the PTA says the culprit is a parent.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BALDWIN: Yet another apology for yet another instance of U.S. troops behaving badly in Afghanistan. We're going to show you what they did here in just a moment. But first, listen to Defense Secretary Leon Panetta.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

LEON PANETTA, DEFENSE SECRETARY: That behavior that was depicted in those photos absolutely violates both our regulations and, more importantly, our core values. This is not who we are, and it's certainly not who we represent when it comes to the great majority of men and women in uniform.

(END VIDEO CLIP) BALDWIN: That behavior, what Leon Panetta is referring to right there, concerns American troops posing with the bodies of would-be suicide bombers whose bombs detonated prematurely. CNN has elected to show just one. One of 18 photographs supplied to the "L.A. Times." Obviously you can see we've blurred part of the picture, but I think you get the idea here.

Chris Lawrence is standing by for us in the Pentagon.

And, Chris, we're talking about two separate incidents here. This goes back to 2010. Tell me what you know as far as the circumstances around this, what happened, who was involved.

CHRIS LAWRENCE, CNN PENTAGON CORRESPONDENT: Well, apparently the soldier who gave these photographs to the "L.A. Times," and that report is says that basically they went to this area, this part of Afghanistan, simply to collect evidence of fingerprints, things like that, from insurgents who had already died. And then when they go there, that's when these photographs were taken. Apparently because some of the soldiers were pleased that the Afghan insurgents had died trying to set their own explosives. In other words, working on IEDs that would be used against the coalition forces, Brooke.

BALDWIN: So obviously the question is, and we -- you know, we talked about what happened when those Korans were accidentally burned and you saw the outrage among Afghans. What's the reaction thus far, if any, in Afghanistan? Is the Pentagon worried about another eruption of anti-American violence? Perhaps a meltdown from Hamid Karzai?

LAWRENCE: They're worried. The reaction's been strong. Even President Obama has been briefed on the situation about the pictures. You just played a clip of Defense Secretary Leon Panetta condemning these actions. But he also went further than that in also again saying that he did not want the "L.A. Times" to release these photos.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

PANETTA: This is war. And I know that war is ugly and it's violent. And I know that young people, sometimes caught up in the moment, make some very foolish decisions. I am not excusing that behavior, but neither do I want these images to bring further injury to our people or to our relationship with the Afghan people.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

LAWRENCE: Ironically, that same "this is war" comment was very, very similar to the same one that Secretary Panetta had to make after the Army sergeant allegedly killed those 17 Afghan villagers just last month. The Army criminal investigations division has started an investigation into this. And, Brooke, they say, the Army says, they didn't know about these photographs or this incident until the "L.A. Times" brought the photographs to them.

BALDWIN: Right. And so this soldier who brought these photographs to the "L.A. Times" expressed concerns. When you read the article in the paper about, you know, discipline, leadership, lack thereof within some of these units, fearing for some of the safety here among some of these soldiers. I mean would this suggest, when you look at these pictures, that there could be, Chris, deeper problems than just simply these two incidents that we're talking about?

LAWRENCE: There could be. And that's something the investigation will look at. Not only the fact that the Army is believed to have seen all 18 of these photos, not just the two that were publically released. So it's fairly likely that Army investigators have already identified some, if not all of the people involved. So they'll be looking at not only what troops are still on active duty, which ones may have already left the Army. And not only the troops that are in the pictures, but also the command hierarchy. These investigations usually may start with the simple facts of what happened, but usually expand to look at also command structure, how much, you know, responsibility the soldiers, commanders and leadership needs to bear in a situation like this.

BALDWIN: Chris, thank you.

I just also want to point out that this incident, as we were mentioning, it comes from this series of photographs taken presumably by a U.S. soldier. And in case you hadn't noticed, a lot of American soldiers are posting photographs, they're posting videos on YouTube. Videos just like this one. This video was posted. This was posted to YouTube in December of 2010. It is extremely compelling video of U.S. troops fighting off an ambush.

But it just made us wonder, we were talking this morning, if there's any kind of Pentagon policy on U.S. troops filming combat and posting images in public forums. We're going to touch on that a little bit later.

Many of us, though, we are -- many of the Secret Service agents that were caught up on that prostitution scandal, they are now lawyering up. This as investigators travel to Colombia to see what they can find. That's next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BALDWIN: The president is in Ohio. He's going to talk about the economy at a community college in Elyria, Ohio, just west of Cleveland, this hour. We're going to bring you some of that live.

Meantime, the president -- Brianna Keilar is traveling with the president there.

And I know your colleagues, before we get to more of why you're in Ohio, what we're expecting from the president, I want to get to this news. Your colleagues back in the White House, they broke some new details in the last couple of hours as far as this Secret Service scandal that erupted in Cartagena over the weekend. What can you tell us?

BRIANNA KEILAR, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: That's right, Brooke, government sources familiar with the investigation say that Secret Service investigators who are on the ground in Colombia are interviewing the women who were involved, along with the help of local authorities. And you may know there's also some questions about whether there were drugs present at the time. The Secret Service is aware of those reports. They're looking into them. But right now, the evidence says, so far, that actually, no, there were no drugs.

Also a question of perhaps will there be drug testing. We do know, according to these sources, that some of the Secret Service agents under investigation have raised questions about -- they've sort of pushed back about whether there's reasonable cause to be tested. It's unclear if they've been tested at this point, but certainly we understand from sources that the director of the Secret Service, Mark Sullivan, feels that he has a lot of resources at his disposal in this investigation and testing is one of them.

The other issue, Brooke, you know, security. Whether security was breached. And this is an important detail that we've discovered. That according to these sources, the very classified or the classified detailed schedule of President Obama's, it had not apparently gone to these agents yet. And as well their weapons. There's been some concerns about whether they left themselves open to having their weapons tampered with. According to sources, those weapons were in lockdown at a separate location at the hotel, Brooke.

BALDWIN: OK. As we get more details, let us know what you're learning.

In the meantime, it looks like you are at -- in a college bookstore. I'm guessing this is the Lorraine Community College Bookstore where the president, I don't know if he's buying sweatshirts, but he's talking economy. He's talking about, what, a jobs training program?

KEILAR: Yes, he'll be talking about jobs training, because Lorraine County Community College has a very successful job training program for unemployed workers. So he'll be here touting that because it does get federal funding and he's also going to be hitting Republicans, read (ph) Mitt Romney, because of that budget that House Republicans passed and Mitt Romney has endorsed. It includes cuts to discretionary spending. And you have the White House kind of extrapolating from that, saying, if they're going to make big discretionary spending cuts, billions of dollars, then it's programs like this that stand to lose out. So he'll be making that case here in Ohio. Yes, a very crucial battleground state, Brooke.

BALDWIN: Yes, not just Ohio today. What, Michigan as well. Two battleground states. We'll be taking a little bit of the president live. He's going to be speaking in a couple of minutes. Brianna Keilar, thank you very much.

Now to this story. It is making all of us shutter today. Did you hear about this? This little baby boy, three days old. He has already experienced a tragedy really of his lifetime. Police in Texas say a nurse gunned down his mother in order to get him. That story's next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BALDWIN: A new mother is murdered and her son is snatched in what police say was another woman's plot to adopt a baby. In fact, we're about to get a news conference at the top of the hour on this very topic. But here's what we know as of right now. This whole thing, horrendous incident, went down as Kala Golden was leaving a pediatrician's office near Houston after taking her three day old son, Keegan, for a check-up. So this woman confronts Golden in the parking lot of this doctor's office. There was some kind of argument. The woman pulls out a gun. Tia Collins watched it all.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TIA COLLINS, WITNESS: I heard four gunshots at first. I heard three more after that. I saw a lady fall down over here in the parking lot. I saw another lady get out. I saw another guy get out of the car that the lady that shot her was riding and get the baby out of the other lady's car that was shot and they just got in their car and drove off.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BALDWIN: And now this next part of the story -- mom's, I'm sure you would have tried doing the same thing. Despite being shot multiple times, this mother went after the woman, tried to get her child out of the car, but the woman sped off with the baby, reportedly hitting Golden and ending her desperate attempt to get her son. Golden later died in the hospital.

The kidnapping set off this six hour search for baby Keegan Schuchardt, that lead to this apartment complex, where police found the suspect's car. The woman identified as 30-year-old registered nurse Verna McClain, eventually showed up. In fact, I have a copy here of McClain's arrest. And in it she says she "asked to speak with detectives." And then she, quote, "admitted to shooting Golden and taking her baby." She admitted it. She also told police where they could find the child.

Baby Keegan is now safe and sound this afternoon back in the arms of relatives. And according to this arrest report, McClain's charged with capital murder. She is jailed without bond and police believed she had plotted to kidnap the child. They quote her sister saying McClain had been talking about adopting and that McClain called her after the shooting and kidnapping to let her know she had the child. Police also say this could have happened to any mother out there. Kala Golden was simply in the wrong place at the wrong time. Again, we're watching for that news conference at the top of the hour. We'll be watching this one for you very closely.

Coming up, the belt tightening on Capitol Hill means farm subsidies could be cut here. Is it a good thing? Is it a bad thing for us? We're going to talk about that.

But first, a story that defies the stereotype pro sports is in for youngins (ph). Jamie Moyer, Major League pitcher, makes baseball history at 49. That straight ahead.

But first, this. Solar panels save energy, but they can cost a lot to install. Now there's a new option -- leasing. CNN photojournalist Floyd Yarmuth has more.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

VADIM POLIKOV, PRESIDENT & CEO, ASTRUM SOLAR: Solar power is making power from the sun. It is creating electricity that the sun shines down, converts into electricity here on the home, and it's going to power this home.

Solar power is green energy because it basically uses no fuel. It just takes the power from the sun, it doesn't emit any gases, any carbon dioxide, any pollutants.

The sunshine, it sends energy through photons. Those photons hit the solar panels, convert into electricity. The electricity travels into your electric box. And from there, it's powering all of the devices in your home.

If you actually produce more solar than you use, you're going to send a little bit of that back out through the grid and your electric meter will actually spin backwards and you get a credit for that time from your electric company. At night, when you're not producing electricity, you're pulling the electricity from the grid.

So most homes are hybrids. They have a part of their electricity from the utility company and a part from solar.

The affordability of it has really gotten to be on a different level in the last several years. Leasing opens up a whole new class of consumers that just weren't available to solar. They may want to go solar, they may want to go green, they many want to be more independent from their utility company, but they didn't want to spend the money.

LOUIS STACHOWIAK, HOME OWNER: I'd like to be able to produce my own electricity if I could. So the best thing I could do is put solar panels up. I'm hoping to save 40 to 50 percent on my electric bill. With the lease, the maintenance on it, it's going to be done for the next 20 years. I don't have to worry about it. It's being done. It just made sense. Economic sense.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BALDWIN: This next story is one that affects anyone who eats or buys food. So, that's kind of pretty much all of us. There are these budget cuts being proposed right now in Washington. Battle lines are being drawn all around farming. This farm bill as it's called includes everything from crop insurance to conservation to food stamps.

So, how do you decide which of those to drop? Bob Cusack is the managing editor of "The Hill." He is good enough to join me once again on the show. Bob, actually I was just talking just yesterday on the show - we were talking about food stamp funding that's at stake right now. But switching gears, in terms of farm subsidies, they are also on the chopping block. But I have to ask, for people who are sitting and they live in a, you know, not a rural, not a huge farming state. Why should they care?

BOB CUSACK, MANAGING EDITOR, "THE HILL": Well, I think they should they care because taxpayer is paying for these subsidies sometimes to wealthy farmers. So, Republicans and Democrats have agreed that that should be on the table.

But there are many differences in how to do this, how to do this farm bill. What to cut, what anti-hunger programs to cut, how much you cut them. I mean, the flavor in Washington, certainly in this Congress, has been cutting. When you cut these programs, it's going to be a campaign issue. It's going to be a big campaign issue, in farm states. Especially like Iowa, which is up for grabs in the presidential race.

BALDWIN: You brought up food banks; I want to ask you about that in a second because I know a lot of people watching. I know - I volunteered at community food banks, so this affects them.

But I want to talk crop insurance. A lot of people may not know what that is. So, the president is proposing ending what's called direct payment subsidy. He says it'll save $33 billion. Thirty-three billion. You have critics, they say crop insurance. It's kind of like federal government paying drivers for car insurance? Is that correct? How does it work?

CUSACK: Yes. Well, as far as the subsidies, this is something both the president and congressional leaders - Republicans -- are talking about. Subsidies, whether it's the oil industry or the farm industry, those industries are going to protect it.

Now, the farm lobby is not quite as powerful as they used to it, but they are quite powerful. So, they want to keep these because they think it's an incentive for them to produce, just like in other industries. So, there's going to be a major battle. Whether it happens this year, I'm not so sure as far as killing those direct payments because of the election year.

But a lot of this is table setting because in the next Congress, I think you're going to see a very busy Congress no matter who wins because some tough choices are going to have to be made.

BALDWIN: Okay, so perhaps not cuts now, perhaps cuts later. Let me -- just further here. You have these corn growers. They say they're worried that these cuts in the farm bill will undermine their ability to buy this crop insurance we were just talking about. What do lawmakers say in these more agricultural states?

CUSACK: It's fascinating, Brooke, because it's very different than previous farm bills because before, members on the Agriculture Committee, farm states, would move to protect everything. But now it's very different. With the Tea Party movement, with tightening the fiscal belt. Both Republicans and Democrats are saying we do need to cut. And actually, recently there was a bipartisan agreement on these agricultural committees to come up with tens of billions of dollars of cuts. Now, part of it is that they don't want hundreds of billions of dollars of cuts. But there is some bipartisanship. Times have changed. The 2002 farm bill, which by many accounts was a bloated farm measure, those days are over because these bills, if they get through, are going to have to trimmed down quite a bit.

BALDWIN: Yes, trimming the fat. Everyone is trimming the fat right now. And so with this farm bill, it also affects, as you mentioned, hunger programs. How exactly would they be affected?

CUSACK: Well, the Ryan budget makes cuts to that, and we saw House Democrats on the floor this week accusing Paul Ryan and his budget and congressional Republicans of doing a reverse Robin Hood, that they're cutting the programs that they need.

Now, Republicans say, listen, some difficult choices need to be made or down the road. If you look at Europe and some of the bankruptcy and crisis over there is that they've had to cut the programs that really hurt the poor significantly. So, they say that everything has got to be trimmed back to some degree. You see some Democrats compare this to the "Hunger Games" movie. Accusing Republicans of this bad budget and trying to move it next year. And that's why the election is going to be so important.

So, that is the blueprint for this election. Tough choices. Democrats say that Republicans should be cutting into millionaires and that kind of thing. It's a choice. Republicans say that Democrats are not making the tough choices, and they are willing to do so.

BALDWIN: Well, we'll see where this budget plan goes, if anywhere and what cuts will be made. Bob Cusack, the managing editor of "The Hill." Bob, thank you.

CUSACK: Thanks, Brooke.

BALDWIN: Now to this one. This is tough. Pinching a boy's private parts. Breaking a girl's arm. These are just two of many, many allegations this Wisconsin man is facing. I mean, seriously folks. We can do better when we come to our nation's children. That's next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BALDWIN: Hardly a day goes by that a story doesn't come to my attention that is a constant reminder that we can do better. We need to do better, and here is yet another example. Take a look at this picture here. This is Nicholas Fouks. He is charged with allegedly abusing his girlfriend's two children. The children, they were four and five years of age. Their crime: wetting their pants.

Here's a prosecutor explaining the charges.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

KENT LOVERN, ASSISTANT DISTRICT ATTORNEY, MILWAUKEE COUNTY: The complaint indicated in detail systemic abuse towards a four-year-old girl and a five-year-old boy. He put her in a dryer, and that obviously caused her great fear.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BALDWIN: This abuse that he was detailing allegedly happened here in this trailer. This is Oak Creek, Wisconsin. The little girl also suffered a broken arm.

And the boy? I have to warn you, there's really no nice way to describe this. So, again, here's the prosecutor.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

LOVERN: The defendent at one point is alleged to have strangled boy with his hands on the boY's neck and also is alleged to have pinched the boy's penis and scrotum.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BALDWIN: Police say this abuse went on for quite a long time. Fouks (ph) faces six felony child abuse charges. He has pleaded not guilty. Police say the mom came forward after her four-year-old started mimicking the punishment she received by threatening to put her brother in that dryer.

It took that. The mother didn't come forward after Fouks allegedly beat the bottom of the children's feet with a spoon. Not after he allegedly put their feet in a tub of scalding water. Why she waited, we will never know. But she did. And there are neighbors who saw the children and a mother who stood by.

Again, if there's something someone doesn't look quite right to you, speak up. We can do better.

And now, this just in. And listen to the president. And here he is, speaking in Beleria, Ohio (ph).

(BEGIN LIVE SPEECH COVERAGE - JOINED IN PROGRESS)

BARACK OBAMA, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: David, who in addition to being a truck driver for 23 years was also a Marine. So, we know he can do ask a job. He's here to retrain for a higher paying job.

And you just heard from Bronson who was laid off from two years ago. And you heard what he said. He was in a dead end in his life. And this program, along with his wife -

(LAUGHTER)

OBAMA: gave him an opportunity. So, he's going to be learning hands- on machining over the next two weeks after already doing some of the book work.

And I have to tell you, when I meet these folks, these folks inspire me. Because a lot of them have gone through tough times. Andrea is still dealing with the aftermath of the flood that damaged her home. All of them have supportive family members. And you know, it's hard, being out of work. It's hard especially when you're mid-career when you're having to change jobs. And the resilience they show and the determination they show, that's what America is about. That's our defining spirit. We don't quit.

And so the question now is, how do we make sure that all of America is expressing that spirit through making sure that everybody is getting a fair shot? Because that's going to be a major debate that we have in this country, not just for the next few months but for the next few years. Should we settle for an economy where a few people do really well and then a growing number are struggling to get by? Or do we build an economy where people like Duane and Andrea and David and Bronson, they've got a chance to get ahead? Where there are ladders of opportunity? Where everybody gets a fair shot and everybody does their fair share and everybody is playing by the same set of rules.

(APPLAUSE)

OBAMA: And this is not just another run-of-the-mill political debate. There's always chatter in Washington. Folks argue about whether the sun rises in the east and whether it sets in the west. Whether the sky is blue - there's always going to be arguments in Washington, but this one is different. Because we're talking about the central challenge of our time.

Right now, we have two competing visions of our future. And the choice could not be clearer. Now let me say, those folks on the other side, I'm sure they're patriots. I'm sure they're sincere in terms of what they say. But their theory, I believe, is wrong.

See, I've never believed the government can or should try to solve every problem we've got. I believe that the free market is the greatest force for economic progress in human history. I agree that everybody has personal responsibility for their own lives. Everybody's got to work hard; nothing is ever handed to us.

But I also agree with our first Republican president, a guy named Abraham Lincoln, who said that through government, we should be able to do together what we can't do as well on our own. There's some things we don't do well on our own. That's why we've got a strong military to keep us safe. That's why we have fire departments. Because we never know when we might have a fire in our house. That's why we've got public schools to educate our children. That's how we laid railroads and highways and supported research and technology that's saved lives and helped create entire industries.

That's why we have programs like Medicare and Social Security and unemployment insurance. Because any one of us -- I don't care how lucky you are, how rich you are, how blessed you are -- you never know. You could face a layoff or a crippling illness or a run of bad luck or a tragedy. Folks in Ohio know about that. Nothing's given.

And that's why with we're helping more community colleges like this one to become community college centers. So folks who are looking for a new job or a better paying job can learn the skills that businesses need right now. And that's good for all of us. Investing in a community college just like investing in a new road or a highway or broadband lines to go into rural communities. These investments are not part of some grand scheme to redistribute wealth. They've been made that by Democrats and Republicans. For generations, because they benefit all of us. That's what leads to strong, durable economic growth. That's how America became an economic superpower. That's how we built the transcontinental railroad. That's why we've got the best universities and colleges in the world. That's why we have cutting edge research that takes place here. And that then gets translated into new jobs and new businesses. Because somebody did the ground work. We created a foundation for those of us to prosper.

Somebody gave me an education. I wasn't born with a silver spoon in my mouth. Michelle wasn't. But somebody gave us a chance. Just like these folks up here are looking for a chance.

When you take classes at community college like this one, and you learn the skills you need to get a job right away, that does not just benefit you. It benefits the company, it ends up hiring and profiting from your skills. It makes the entire region stronger economically. It makes this country stronger economically.

In this country, prosperity doesn't trickle down. Prosperity grows from the bottom up, and it grows from a strong middle class out.

(APPLAUSE)

That's how we grow this economy.

(APPLAUSE)

And that's why I'm always confused when we keep having the same argument with folks who don't seem to remember how America was built. They keep telling us, well if we just weaken regulations to keep our air and water clean, protect our consumers if we just cut everybody's taxes and convert these investments in community colleges and research and health care into tax cuts, especially for the wealthy, that somehow the economy is going to get stronger. And Ohio and the rest of the country will prosper. That's the theory.

Ohio, we tested this theory. Take a look at what happened in Ohio between 2000 and 2008. It's not like we didn't try it. Instead of faster job growth, we have the slowest growth in American history. Instead of broad base prosperity, the typical American family saw their incomes fall by about six percent. Outsourcing, rampant. Phony financial profits all over the place.

Instead of strengthening our economy, our entire financial system almost collapsed. We spent the last three and a half years cleaning up after that mess. So the theory didn't work out so well. Maybe they haven't been is paying attention, but it didn't work out so well. And instead of stepping back and saying to themselves, well, maybe this didn't work, so maybe we should try something different, they decided to double down.

Instead of moderating their views even slightly, you now have Republicans in Washington, the ones running for president, proposing budgets that shower the wealthiest Americans with even more tax cuts. Folks like me don't need them. We're looking for them (ph).

And when you give somebody like me a tax cut, there's only two ways to pay for it. Either it adds to our deficit, meaning it's not paid for, or you end up with, what was proposed, gutting investments in education and medical research and clean energy and job training programs like this one. If these cuts are spread out evenly, then 10 million, including some of you, would see your financial aid cut by an average of more than $1,000 each.

Thousands of medical research grants for things like Alzheimer's and cancer and AIDS would be eliminated. Our investments in clean energy that our helping to break our dependence on foreign oil, and are creating jobs here in Ohio, would be cut by nearly a fifth. By the time you retire, Medicare would be turned into a voucher system that likely would not cover the doctors and the care that you need. That would have to come out of your pocket. Job training programs like this one would be forced to come back. Thousands of Americans would lose out on critical employment and training services. That's the truth.

When you ask the Republicans, well, what do you say about that? They say, "Obama is making this up. Because we didn't specify which cuts we would make." The reason they didn't specify is that they know folks wouldn't like it.

If you have to cut a certain amount of money, and they already said they're not going to cut defense spending, and they're going with their tax cuts, then you've got to go to all the other stuff that's left over or you're going to ad to the deficit. That's just math. That's not theorizing on my part.

They'll tell you, "Well, we've got to do this because the deficit is so bad." The deficit is bad. We have to deal with the deficit in a serious way, and that means all of us are going to have to make tough choices, but it's one thing to deal with the deficit in a way that's fair and asks everybody to do their fair share and dealing with the deficit as an excuse to do what you want to anyway.

Their argument might fly if it weren't for the fact that they're also proposing to spend $4.6 trillion on lower tax rates on top of the one trillion that they would spend on tax cuts for people making $250,000 a year or more. That's their priority.

They want to give me more of a tax break. I just paid taxes. It's not like I love paying taxes.

(END LIVE FEED)

BALDWIN: President Obama talking taxes as we just passed tax day.

You see him there, sleeves rolled up, talking in Elyria, Ohio. The great battleground state. Here he's surrounded, really part of his backdrop, are these students many of whom have gone back to this Lorraine (ph) community college, back to this job training program that he's highlighting. Talking about how he's hoping to create jobs, similar themes as we've heard from the president. Level the playing field, everyone should have an equal opportunity. His point, talking about these cuts, hitting Republicans and Mitt Romney, he's basically saying to all of these people at this community college in this training program, if this G.O.P. budget which has passed the U.S. house, if it goes all the way, it will very much affect you.

One interesting point I just want to note, the president said I wasn't born with a silver spoon in my mouth, Michelle Obama wasn't born with a silver spoon in her mouth. We wonder perhaps if that's an indirect jab at the very affluent Mitt Romney.

In fact, let's show the picture guys, because we know that the president speaking at this community college, just across the street, there's a Mitt Romney bus, we should point out. There it is, Mitt Romney, just across the street here in Elyria, Ohio.

Also want you to know, Mitt Romney is speaking next hour, talking economy, in North Carolina. They're calling it really -- here are live pictures, where we'll be seeing him next hour. They're calling this the pre-buttal. You know, the president, the Democratic National Convention is going to be in Charlotte this summer.

They're saying this is the pre-buttal to the president's message at the D.N.C., at the convention there. So perhaps, we will dip in and show a little bit of Romney, as we showed a little bit of president Obama.

Also want to let you know, we're minutes away from this news conference in Houston. This is a story so many of you have been tweeting me about. This is just horrendous. This three-day old little boy was snatched from his mother after going in for a regular pediatrician visit. This woman snatches allegedly this child, and then ultimately shoots and the mother died, later in the hospital.

They're getting this podium set up, so we're going to take this live, here about this little baby who has apparently been reunited with the family. And see what is now happening with this woman, this nurse, who is now facing capital murder charges. Be right back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BALDWIN: Trending today, the oldest pitcher in Major League Baseball gets the win of a lifetime. I'm talking about Colorado's Jamie Moyer, 49 years young, beat San Diego last night, making him the oldest pitcher ever to win a major league game. Ed Lavandera caught up with him.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ED LAVANDERA, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Doesn't get old walking out on a baseball field, does it?

JAMIE MOYER, MLB PITCHER: No it doesn't.

No, there's no better feeling than this right here.

LAVANDERA (voice-over): Jamie Moyer first walked on to a Major League Baseball field in the summer of 1986. Ronald Reagan was president, America was dancing to "Walk Like an Egyptian."

And "Ferris Beuller's Day Off" had just premiered in movie theatres.

Jamie Moyer is 49 years old and pitching for the Colorado Rockies, a team that didn't even exist when he broke into the major leagues more than 25 years ago.

(on camera): You're 49 years old, playing a kid's game, right?

MOYER: That's correct.

LAVANDERA: It doesn't get any better.

MOYER: It doesn't. Sometimes you have to pinch myself. I've been very blessed to have the opportunities to have a long career. And at 49, still feeling like a kid.

LAVANDERA (voice-over): Tuesday night, Jamie Moyer became the oldest pitcher in major league history to win a game. Beating the San Diego padres 5-3. Not bad for a man who can only throw about 80 miles an hour and who has three pitching teammates that were born after Moyer started his big league career. He can't avoid the old man jokes.

(on camera): No one has asked if you played with babe ruth?

MOYER: I get that on occasion. Sometimes I kid guys that I used to clean his shoes. It breaks the ice.

LAVANDERA (voice-over): When Jamie Moyer talks, the young baby faced players listen. Moyer says most of his close baseball friends have long retired.

MOYER: When I got on the airplane last night, I went back to the bathroom, I'm thinking oh, my gosh, I feel like I'm on -- we're on a field trip and I'm kind of watching over the kids.

LAVANDERA (voice-over): Moyer is playing against his oldest son's friends now.

JAMES EARL JONES, FIELD OF DREAMS: The one constant through all the years, Ray, has been baseball.

LAVANDERA: That was James Earl Jones capturing the timelessness of baseball in the movie "Field of Dreams."

Just like Jamie Moyer has been a constant in baseball for more than a quarter century.

(END VIDEO CLIP)