Return to Transcripts main page
CNN Newsroom
Dharun Ravi Sentenced; Prison Riot; Cory Booker Walks Back; NASA Prepares for Launch
Aired May 21, 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: And we roll on, hour two. Welcome back. I'm Brooke Baldwin.
Time to pack it up and get out -- President Obama calling on NATO nations to sign off on his plan to pull out of Afghanistan. Now, the president's plan calls for an end to combat operations next year and a withdrawal of the U.S.-led international military force by the end of the 2014.
The president says Afghanistan's President Hamid Karzai is on board.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
BARACK OBAMA, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Both of us recognize that we still have a lot of work to do and there will be great challenges ahead.
The loss of life continues in Afghanistan. There will be hard days ahead, but we're confident that we're on the right track. And what this NATO summit reflects is that the world is behind the strategy that we have laid out.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BALDWIN: The big hurdle now to cross is the cost. Once NATO leaves, Afghanistan will have to sustain its own troops, but the country doesn't have all the cash it needs. NATO's secretary-general is optimistic that other countries will pitch in to help meet the roughly $4 billion price tag.
The Obama campaign headquarters in Chicago targeted by protesters today less than 24 hours after this clash with police. This is just outside that NATO summit in Chicago. Look at this, protesters on one side, police on the other pushing back and forth. This was on Sunday. Several officers and protesters were injured. And today, the superintendent of police defends his officers' actions.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
GARRY MCCARTHY, CHICAGO POLICE SUPERINTENDENT: This is the same thing that's been happening all week and, in fact, has been happening in downtown Chicago for quite some time. We have an unscheduled, unpermitted protest and we're doing exactly as we said. We're facilitating the protesters. We're keeping them safe. And we're helping them express their First Amendment right to free speech.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BALDWIN: Today, though, a much different story outside the Boeing Corporation. Protesters had promised to target the company with disruptive behavior. Police beefed up security, the situation much, much calmer than the video we have been showing you from this past weekend.
But I do want to go to Paul Vercammen. He is live right now for us in Chicago.
And, Paul, tell me exactly what you are and what you're seeing. It looks a little quieter today.
PAUL VERCAMMEN, CNN SENIOR PRODUCER: Well, Brooke, here is what is going on.
I'm right outside Obama campaign headquarters. And I will give you a little tour. His office is right up in there. That's the Prudential Building. About 200 protesters below the building right now, obviously, the street completely sealed off and many of the protesters sitting on the ground. So far, a peaceful demonstration.
We talked to the police department and they say so long as they're peaceful, they have no intent on clearing them out right now. So they have been chanting and singing songs. There has been a lot of taunting of police all weekend long. You could hear them earlier saying who let the pigs out, oink, oink. It's one of the refrains that we have heard a lot.
And many people say that that just heightened things yesterday in the middle of all that pushing and shoving, Brooke, but right now, pretty calm.
BALDWIN: Hey, quick question, though, Paul. When we see all these protesters, what specifically are they protesting?
VERCAMMEN: The large umbrella that they're all under is they want NATO out of Afghanistan. There's a lot of talk about ending the drone attacks.
So, mainly it is they're saying that NATO needs to get out of Afghanistan and now. But they are very fragmented. It's not necessarily unified. One splinter group will go off on another tangent. And they said that most of the trouble, by the way, has come from the...
BALDWIN: Oh, and we lost him. Paul Vercammen was in Chicago.
Paul, appreciate it.
Let's move on.
Breaking today, a former Rutgers student sentenced to 30 days in jail in the Webcam spying case. Dharun Ravi was convicted in March spying on and intimidating his gay roommate, Tyler Clementi. He was the Rutgers student who killed himself by jumping off a bridge. That was back September of 2010. He was upset that his roommate, Dharun Ravi, and others spied on him and saw him essentially making out with another guy.
His brother told a courtroom today about Tyler Clementi's final days.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JAMES CLEMENTI, BROTHER OF TYLER CLEMENTI: Tyler's final days and hours were filled with fear, shame and a despair so great it ripped him away from me forever.
His last moments consisted of knowing that the intimate details of his life were announced to the world on Twitter, that his roommate who had given him a reasonable expectation of privacy in their room had recorded a sexual encounter and broadcast it to an unknown number of people.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BALDWIN: Want to bring in CNN legal analyst Sunny Hostin.
And, Sunny, we have talked about this case. Now we know the sentence and I think when you compare it perhaps to the maximum, he could have gotten 10 years, could have been deported to India, when you hear 30 days, is that fair, in your eyes? Were you surprised?
SUNNY HOSTIN, CNN LEGAL ANALYST: Well, I was very surprised. I'm shocked, actually. And 10 years for some of the felony, but all together, Brooke, he had an exposure of about 60.5 years by my calculation.
So a 30-day sentence I don't think is anything that anyone expected, considering that the two most serious felonies he was convicted of, there were 15 all together, were second degree felonies in New Jersey, the bias intimidation counts, remember those. And the presumptive sentence is seven years.
And I spoke to so many New Jersey practitioners. And they all said, listen, judges have discretion, but I have never seen in my years of practice, one attorney told me, a judge give anything less than the presumptive sentence. So I was pretty shocked at the 30-day sentence that this defendant received.
BALDWIN: Here's my other question then.
We're looking at video of Dharun Ravi looked to be sort of maybe wiping his eyes. We saw both the mothers here, Tyler Clementi's mother, Dharun Ravi's mother, both crying, both frustrated with the sentence.
My question is, a judge in this case has plenty of time to think about a sentence before he walks in and hears all this testimony, he or she, I should say. How much impact does the testimony actually have on the judge?
HOSTIN: Well, I have spoken to a lot of judges about this, both when I was practicing law as a prosecutor and even covering these cases. And it's sort of split down the middle, Brooke.
Some judges say I have my mind set up -- made up, rather. I sort of know the range that I'm going to give when I get in there and I have already seen a lot of the victim impact statements, because those are typically submitted before the sentencing in writing.
But some judges say, hey, listen, I know that I have a range in my mind. Sometimes, there are mandatory minimum sentencing requirements. But I do listen, and I can be persuaded at the sentencing hearing.
I would be surprised that this judge sort of took into account what he heard, Brooke, because as you mentioned, there were so many victim impact statements, but in particular from Tyler Clementi's mother and father and brother.
BALDWIN: Yes.
HOSTIN: And so to give 30 days in prison after hearing that, it just seems to me that his mind may have been made up.
BALDWIN: You know, final question to you. And this is something we have talked about, that this case in particular, obviously it sparked a national conversation about teen suicide in the gay community, but also New Jersey's tough hate crime laws.
And my question I guess to you is, is the outcome here, do you think it will set any kind of precedent? Might there be legislation written up in other states here after what has happened at Rutgers?
HOSTIN: There's no question that this case in particular has had a significant impact in our society.
New Jersey as a direct result of this case passed what I believe is the most robust anti-bullying statute on the books. And there are other states that are looking at similar -- enforcing and enacting similar statues. So there's no question that that is certainly a product of this terrible tragedy, that people are paying attention to bullying now, that there are stronger laws on the books.
You know, is this 30-day sentence a deterrent? Well, no, I don't think so. But certainly the fact that there are stronger laws in place to protect people, especially in the LBGT community, I think we can say is a good thing that came out of this tragedy.
BALDWIN: Sunny Hostin, thank you. Don't go too far because you're coming back for "On the Case." We're going to talk about this man who has fathered 30 children with 11 ladies and wants a break on child support.
HOSTIN: Yes.
BALDWIN: We will see your take on that one.
Got a lot more for you in the next hour here. Roll it.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
BALDWIN: A riot breaks out as inmates take control of a prison and at one point, 25 people are held hostage. How could this happen? I'm Brooke Baldwin. The news is now.
(voice-over): Tragedy at the world's highest peak. Three climbers die on Mt. Everest as dozens flock to the top.
Plus, a TV news exclusive. John Mayer opens up about his disastrous "Playboy" interview and his fall from grace.
JOHN MAYER, MUSICIAN: Violent awakening into adulthood.
BALDWIN: You will hear it here first.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
BALDWIN: A corrections officer is dead after a prison riot in Mississippi that lasted for about 12 hours.
Our affiliate WAPT reports that inmates beat 24-year-old Catlin Carithers to death inside this facility. It was the Adams County Correctional Facility. It's still not clear, though, why, how all this chaos erupted in this prison. This was Natchez, Mississippi, right around 2:30 yesterday afternoon.
In fact, at one point in time, some inmates took more than two dozen hostages; 16 other employees are recovering. Three inmates had to go to the hospital. Their wounds apparently came from fellow prisoners. The whole thing went down as family and loved ones were outside the prison walls. They were watching, they were confused and they were worried as well.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
ANNA DOTSON, WIFE OF SWAT MEMBER: It's awful. It's an awful feeling.
(CROSSTALK)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: We don't know if the helicopter left. You don't know who they're leaving with, you know?
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BALDWIN: Joining me now, HLN law enforcement analyst and "In Session" contributor Mike Brooks.
Mike Brooks, welcome.
MIKE BROOKS, CNN SECURITY ANALYST: Thank you, Brooke.
BALDWIN: You were a hostage negotiator for D.C. police and also at the FBI Academy.
BROOKS: Correct. Right.
BALDWIN: My first question is, as we hear about at one point in time something like 25 hostages taken, what are you telling -- if you're on the outside of this facility and you're talking to the inmates, what do you try to say?
BROOKS: Well, a lot of times you're going to find out what caused this.
And a lot of -- you have different groups of hostage takers. I always say you have criminals, crusaders and then you also have some who are mentally challenged.
But then you have one of the toughest groups, is dealing with hostage takers inside a prison, because what do they have to lose?
(CROSSTALK)
BALDWIN: They're already locked up.
BROOKS: They're already on the inside.
BALDWIN: How do you negotiate with them?
BROOKS: But it's very interesting, because a lot of times when you do have someone, an inmate who takes a hostage, it might be just for better conditions. It might be just because maybe they have some kind of gripe with the warden, with the staff here.
What this particular -- what caused this, we don't know yet.
BALDWIN: Basically.
(CROSSTALK)
BROOKS: But to have almost 24, 25 hostages within that facility for any time is very worrisome.
BALDWIN: When you hear that the riots and everything it entailed went on for 12 hours, does that strike you as a very long amount of time?
BROOKS: From the time it happened up until the time it was quelled, 12 hour, I would say that's not bad.
BALDWIN: Not bad.
BROOKS: No, because we have seen some of these standoffs in prisons go on for days, for weeks. So 12 hours is not bad, especially to try to get things back under control in 12 hours.
BALDWIN: How do they do that?
(CROSSTALK)
BROOKS: Well, they have -- we heard this woman just a moment ago whose husband was part of a prison SWAT team or special response team that are specially trained to go in and deal with this, because the majority of prison guards, they are not armed.
You know, they are out in pods with some of these people, even though this was a minimum correctional facility. You're out in pods with maybe just a stick or maybe just some pepper spray, maybe nothing at all. And if you're jumped, I mean, it's such a dangerous job.
You know, and this was a facility...
BALDWIN: Contract facility...
BROOKS: ... that was run by the Correctional Corporation of America for the U.S. government, for Department of Immigration and Customs Enforcement.
But a lot of people say, well, aren't these contract prisons? Are they as safe? Are they under the same standards? Yes, they are.
BALDWIN: Are they?
BROOKS: Absolutely.
(CROSSTALK)
BROOKS: Because the Bureau of Prisons will oversee to make sure that those people are trained, that the facilities are up to snuff with the federal standards, because you have got Bureau of Prisons, you have got Immigration and Customs Enforcement and U.S. Marshals Service that they contract for, because these are all the main people that hold prisoners all around the country.
BALDWIN: So, final question to you, 30 seconds, is this the kind of thing, typically in prison riots, where you have one person serving the a catalyst. Or are these preplanned, where many people are in on it? What is your experience?
BROOKS: A lot of times you have one person or a group. And there were some -- I heard there were some inmates who were being encouraged to join in, but they didn't want anything to do with it.
But the people there, they know what groups are causing it, because believe it or not, Bureau of Prisons, they have an intelligence group that oversees different gangs, all these kind of things in prisons all across the country.
(CROSSTALK)
BALDWIN: I believe it.
BROOKS: And they probably were on top of this right from the beginning.
BALDWIN: They will get to the bottom of...
(CROSSTALK)
BROOKS: Yes, they will.
BALDWIN: Mike Brooks, thank you so much.
BROOKS: Thank you, Brooke.
BROOKS: Good to see you.
BROOKS: Thank you.
BALDWIN: Still to come, there is yet another case of flesh- eating bacteria now. It is also in the South and it kind of makes you wonder, where is this stuff coming from? And are you at risk?
Plus, all eyes on the rocket launch. If it's successful tomorrow morning, are we boosting a new age of space flights?
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
BALDWIN: A couple stories we're watching for you here.
First, a third case now of this flesh-eating bacteria, the victim talking about it. Also the arrest of the man allegedly behind the 49 headless bodies discovered in Mexico. And here we go again. Let's try a second launch here for the first commercial launch to space.
Time to play "Reporter Roulette."
Want to begin with this case. This is also in Georgia, this man who has the necrotizing fasciitis. This is the scientific name for essentially this flesh-eating bacteria disease.
Senior medical correspondent Elizabeth Cohen is talking about this one.
Another one?
ELIZABETH COHEN, CNN SENIOR MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT: Another one.
There are hundreds, if not thousands of these a year in this country. I think we're hearing about them because it's become news. But it's certainly is -- brings to light this issue. So this man's name is Bobby Vaughn. He's a 33-year-old landscaper here in Georgia.
And he says he had a mark on his body that went from peanut-size to grapefruit-sized. So that's a good indication that something is wrong.
BALDWIN: Right.
COHEN: And he actually talked to one of our affiliates about his illness, so let's take a listen.
(BEGIN AUDIO CLIP)
BOBBY VAUGHN, VICTIM: I just out of the blue wasn't feeling real well and went over and I sat in my truck for a minute. I was feeling real hot and I started vomiting. So we just stopped for the day. I lost a lot of tissue that was in there. I have had a total of about five surgeries.
(END AUDIO CLIP)
COHEN: The hospital says he's in good condition. So, that's good news. It doesn't appear that his disease has been quite as life- threatening as say Aimee Copeland here in Georgia.
BALDWIN: How about Aimee Copeland? I talked to her parents last week. Her parents seem pretty resilient. I know she just recently though -- she lost her hands?
COHEN: She lost her hands in the past couple of days. They had to be amputated and her remaining foot.
BALDWIN: Oh.
COHEN: She had already had the other leg amputated.
So this family has been through an incredible amount. You want to talk about resilience, obviously, that resilience DNA was passed on to their daughter...
BALDWIN: Obviously, yes.
COHEN: ... who has been incredibly strong, is joking, is talking, and now can talk more easily because the breathing tube was taken out of her throat and she now has a tracheotomy. So, that's good news. She can talk more easily. It's hard to talk with that tube in your mouth.
BALDWIN: OK, Elizabeth Cohen thank you so much.
COHEN: OK, thanks.
BALDWIN: I know you're talking to her parents tonight. Want to hear how she's doing and of course the other woman as well. Thank you.
Next here on "Reporter Roulette" to El Loco. Mexican's military says this local leader -- that was his nickname -- of the Zetas drug cartel used a grenade and more to resists arrest.
Next here, senior Latin American affairs Rafael Romo.
And, Rafael, this is the man who authorities say he left those 49 bodies, headless bodies on a highway, right?
RAFAEL ROMO, CNN SENIOR LATIN AMERICAN AFFAIRS EDITOR: There's a reason why this man is known as the madman, El Loco.
And that's because he was personally responsible for carrying out this brutal operation in northern Mexico, Brooke, the massacre of 49 people whose bodies were discovered in northeastern Mexico decapitated and beheaded.
And officials say that he was responsible for it and he was captured, so a major blow to the criminal organization known as Los Zetas in that part of Mexico. Just for people who live in southeastern Texas, Brooke, this is about 80 miles southwest of the border with the United States.
BALDWIN: How major of a blow though, Rafael, would this be? Because I'm sure they have some sort of leader in waiting.
ROMO: That's right. There are several people who were supposedly involved in this.
But it is a major blow, because this man El Loco, the madman, Daniel Elizondo, was in charge of that part of Mexico, which is a major lucrative transit point for criminal organizations. Now, what we're seeing as a result of this case is that the criminal organizations, the drug cartels are is killing people in some parts of Mexico and transporting the bodies to other parts of Mexico. And that's what officials today suggested when they made the announcement of his arrest.
BALDWIN: Rafael Romo, thank you very much.
Next on "Reporter Roulette," it could be the next step in America's space quest, but it has to get off the ground first.
Chad Myers, we're talking SpaceX here. They -- launch number one not successful here. How is it looking, launches, what, in just about 12 hours?
CHAD MYERS, CNN METEOROLOGIST: Just about 12 hours away. NASA TV is going to pick it up live countdown at 2:30 a.m. Eastern time, so you can actually watch it on NASA TV.
(CROSSTALK)
BALDWIN: If you're up that early.
MYERS: Exactly, or not to bed yet.
And the reason why it's such weird times is because as this goes up to basically ISS, it has to be able to catch it. If it doesn't launch at the right time, the ISS is spinning out of control out of there and this thing is thousands of miles away and it can never catch up to the International Space Station, so ISS moving around.
There it is. That's Cape Canaveral and that's where the launch we will be. We will take you to the weather because it does affect -- look, there are still some rain showers offshore, but nothing near Daytona, Orlando, or the Cape. So whether should not be an issue. There's the launch. Number nine right there, Falcon number nine going up tonight, I believe. They tried to launch it on Saturday overnight. They had a little problem with a valve and the valve showed some type of too much pressure in one of the engines.
They need all of the engines to go, to get it up there to the International Space Station. Carrying about a half a ton of stuff up to the International Space Station, mainly in the form of food, but this is the first private attempt to get something from the ground to the International Space Station, dock it to the International Space Station successfully and get all of that cargo out.
BALDWIN: Yes, because if this is a go, then we can start carrying astronauts once again now that we know our space shuttle career is gone and now we're relying on Russian Soyuz to get our guys and gals up there. We will see if works. Chad Myers, thank you so much, 3:44 a.m...
MYERS: You're welcome. That's right.
BALDWIN: ... if you're not in bed or want to stay up.
And that's your "Reporter Roulette" here on this Monday.
One of America's most famous colleges is suing the Obama administration and Notre Dame's fight is over birth control.
Plus, one of the president's supporters, Mayor Cory Booker of Newark, walks back some of his criticism about negative ads. So I asked someone from the Obama campaign if they pressured Booker to backtrack. We're going to play that answer for you.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
BALDWIN: More news unfolding now. "Rapid Fire," roll it.
A former Rutgers student is sentenced to 30 days in jail in the Webcam spying case. He is Dharun Ravi, was convicted in March of spying on and intimidating his gay Rutgers roommate. He was. Tyler Clementi killed himself by jumping off a bridge back in September of 2010. And he was upset that Ravi and others spied on him, saw him kiss another man.
Dharun Ravi's father expressed condolence for Tyler Clementi.
At this very second here, jurors deciding the fate of a man who wanted to be the most powerful person in the world. We are on verdict watch in the corruption trial of John Edwards. The question is, the crux of this, did he use campaign cash to cover up an affair with his mistress? If the jury decides he did, he could spend 30 years behind bars. If anything breaks, you're going to hear it right here on CNN first.
One of America's most famous colleges is suing the Obama administration, Notre Dame filing a lawsuit over part of the health care law that requires religious organizations to provide employees with insurance that covers birth control. The Catholic Church control says that specifically violates its teachings.
And Cory Booker demonstrating the art of the walk-back today after he said this on NBC. Do we have it? Perhaps we don't.
He basically criticized both camps saying, the back-and-forth sniping was nauseating. Booker, the mayor of Newark, New Jersey, and a surrogate for the Obama campaign and it sounded like he was criticizing, as I mentioned, both campaigns, but he backpedalled a bit in this YouTube video he released just hours after that NBC appearance.
And I spoke with Ben LaBolt, the press secretary for the Obama administration, and I asked whether the White House or campaign made booker reel in his words.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
BEN LABOLT, PRESS SECRETARY, OBAMA 2012: We did not. These are his own views in the video as he himself says in the video.
He made absolutely clear that a discussion of Mitt Romney's private sector tenure was legitimate.
BALDWIN: You're telling me no one within the Obama 2012 campaign in any way reached out to Cory Booker to fix this?
LABOLT: He released that video of his own volition.
BALDWIN: Just yes or no.
LABOLT: The campaign did not ask him to do so.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BALDWIN: As Facebook stock drops 10 percent after all the hoopla, what are the next hot companies that you may not know about and will they be around five years from now? We're going to reveal some of those next.
But first, each week CNN's Dr. Sanjay Gupta profiles innovators from all walks of life and all fields of endeavor. The program is called "The Next List" and he talks with Sara Parcak who's unearthing history not by digging in the dirt, but by looking down from space.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SARA PARCAK, SPACE ARCHAEOLOGIST: My most exciting moment as an archaeologist happened when I was looking at the great archaeological site of Tanis, which, of course, we all know from "Indiana Jones."
We got satellite imagery of the city of Tanis, processed it, and literally from thousands of miles away at my lab in Alabama we were able to map the entire city.
Using this technology is an entire shortcut.
This completely invisible world comes to life when you're processing the satellite data.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: There's this whole other way to use geography and GPS and light and she absolutely turned me onto this entire field.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
BALDWIN: A second day of trading, a second disappointment for Facebook, the stock sliding below its initial offering price, a 10- percent drop, in fact.
Let's take a look at the big board. Let's throw that up and let's see.
The Dow is up about 123 points here. It's about to close 20 minutes from now. Investors traded more than 80 million shares in the first 30 seconds of trading on Friday. I can tell you both the Dow and the NASDAQ are up this afternoon.
And, look, just about everyone knows Facebook, but there are a couple of other social sites out there and maybe the techies -- I know you know about them -- but some of you should know about them as well.
So we enlisted our favorite tech expert, Katie Linendoll, to talk about these three different websites. So, Katie Linendoll, lay it on me. What's the first one?
KATIE LINDENDOLL, TECH EXPERT: I am Facebooked out, Brooke. I have had enough on the Facebook front.
Let's talk about those other social sites. First off, let's talk Path. Path is actually like a mini-Facebook, a little bit more of a personalized experience. We talk about Facebook, we know they have 900 million users. Path has some work to do in of that department, only about 3 million, but it's all about growth. They are growing about 5 percent every single week.
As I noted, what makes it different is Path is a more meaningful, intimate experience, according to their CEO, Dave Morin, who's actually an early Facebook employee. And what's different is you can only have 150 friends. So it's about sharing information, your status, what music you're listening with your favorite friends and family.
Now, I should note they're obsessed with connecting with less people, not more. And it's actually caught the eye of notables from Britney Spears to Richard Branson.\
I will say, in all fairness, earlier this year they did have some privacy concerns, but those, Brooke, have been addressed. So one to keep an eye on, Path.
BALDWIN: OK, Path. This next one, I've heard of. This is Klout, which basically gives you a grade, how influential you are in the realm of social media.
LINENDOLL: Exactly. Klout.com, this is another site. They wouldn't give me specific numbers, but they do tout millions of users, thousands being added every day, and, as you noted, they are measuring your social media influence.
In layman's terms, is what you're putting out there in the worlds of Twitter and Facebook actually important? Are people actually listening to you?
They give you a Klout score from 1 to 100. The average score is 20. People like Barack Obama have huge scores. Justin Bieber, the only person with a perfect score of 100.
And Brooke, I've got to tell you you have a really good Klout score. You have a 66. You have beat me on the board. And why you should you care ...
BALDWIN: Is that really good? I feel like that's a failing grade if we were in school, 66.
LINENDOLL: No, dude, 20 is the average score. So if you have over 40, that's like really good and with that comes perks.
So let me show you some of these perks that have been offered. You can get a free Windows phone in the past. They've offered free trips to Seattle. People have early access to test drive vehicle and early access to cool things like new releases of Blu-rays.
So you've got to get on your Klout.com and gets some perks cashed in.
BALDWIN: Good to know. I'm a 66, baby.
Let's talk Pinterest because I have a friend in San Diego. She swears by this. She's like, "Brook, you've got to get on." Talk to me because I don't know what this is.
LINENDOLL: Pinterest is probably the obvious one in this roundup. S, although they've been founded since March of 2010, they have quickly risen to become the most visitors in social networking sites, right under Facebook and Twitter. Hitting that number three and not taking them too long.
Pinterest, in short, it targets females. The average user is using about an hour and 17 minutes every month. That's a lot of time spent on Pinterest.
If you don't know anything about the site, let me break it down for you. It's all about digital pin-boards. You can create our own or you can look for new ones.
People get a lot of inspiration. You can search for vintage hair styles. You can look for different foods. You can look up everything from Inspirational quotes to home decor ideas. I've got to tell you. It's a time burglary. I'm not domestic and I spent an hour yesterday looking up over 2,000 cupcakes. I have never baked in my life.
BALDWIN: I love you, Katie Linendoll, because I'm not so crafty myself. So I'm thinking would this really work for me? But I'm hearing a big fat yes.
LINENDOLL: Yes. And brands love it because, as you can imagine, they're leveraging a ton of e-commerce from the traffic on Pinterest right to their site.
BALDWIN: Interesting. Katie Linendoll, I learn something from you every time you pop-up on the TV. Thank you so much. Talk next time.
Coming up here, a Tennessee man, 30 children he has with 11 ladies. The problem is, he says, he has a minimum wage job and it's not paying the bills for child support. We're on the case.
And just a quick reminder for you. If you are headed out the door, you can keep watching. Just grab your mobile phone or, if you're sitting there at work, you can still watch. Just go to your desktop. CNN.com/TV. CNN.com/TV.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
BALDWIN: A man in Tennessee has 30 children with 11 different women and he's 33 years old. Now, according to CNN affiliate, WREG, he's now begging the state to help him pay his child support.
I want to bring back in Sunny Hostin. She's on the case, as always. And, Sunny, I know. I know. Some of the moms are only getting a couple of dollars a month for child support, in and of itself. Do you actually think the state is going to say, OK, buddy, you've got 30 kids. We're going to help you.
SUNNY HOSTIN, CNN LEGAL ANALYST: I don't think so. And I've got to tell you, Brooke. You know, you and I talk about a lot of things on this program and I am rarely stumped and don't have much to say, but it's a stumped moment for me. I could talk to a wall. I don't know what to say about this guy.
The bottom line is, in Tennessee, when he's working his minimum wage job, he is supposed to give 50 percent of his paycheck to the 11 women that he fathered these children with and they're supposed to divide it equality.
The problem is, some of the women are only getting $1.49 because he does work minimum wage. So, just this week, he appeared in court and he's asking the court to give him a break on those payments, on the $1.49 that he's giving to help support his children.
I don't think that the judge is going to help him out. And I was reading recently and one of the news reports said that perhaps he needs to do the cost-benefit analysis of birth control and I think that's a really good suggestion for this guy.
BALDWIN: We shouldn't laugh. The man is 33. He's young. And then back in 2009, he only had 21 kids. Take a listen.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Do you intend to keep having children?
DESMOND HATCHETT, FATHER OF 30 CHILDREN: No.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: You're done?
HATCHETT: Yes, I'm done. I would say I'm done.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: What made you decide that?
HATCHETT: I didn't intend to have this many. It just happened.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
BALDWIN: It just happened, he says. Is this a trend? Do we believe that he'll stop?
HOSTIN: Let's hope it will stop. Bottom line is the state can't force him to stop. It's not against the law to have all of these children. And again, maybe he just really needs to now think about the cost-benefit analysis of birth control because he can't afford to support these children.
And I think therein lies the tragedy of this story. Now, you have all of these children, 30 of them, and all of these mothers without the support that they need to become wonderful members of our society, so a difficult, difficult situation.
BALDWIN: Many things we could say. We're not going to. Sunny Hostin, see you tomorrow. Thank you so much. See you.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JOHN MAYER, MUSICIAN: A violent awakening into adulthood, by way of, like, really -- now embarrassing kind of behavior.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BALDWIN: He insulted a lot of people, African-Americans, his exes, a lot of fans, as well.
But now nearly two years after his disastrous "Playboy" interview, John Mayer is opening up about his now infamous comments that led to his fall from grace. You're about to see his only TV news interview. This is a CNN exclusive.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
BALDWIN: He once said that sex with Jessica Simpson was like crack cocaine, quote, "sexual napalm." Then John Mayer went off on his exes, his sex life, made some incredibly racially insensitive comments during his "Playboy" interview.
That was in 2010. That was then. This is now. John Mayer opens up to CNN about his disastrous fall from grace in a TV news exclusive. Watch.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
MAYER (singing): I'm a good man with a good heart. Had a tough time, got a rough start ...
BALDWIN: Contrary to popular belief, John Mayer's new single, "Shadow Days," isn't an ode to woman. It started as a mantra to himself.
MAYER: I was singing and strumming the guitar and I remember singing, "I'm a good man with a good heart," and it was really interesting to hear it sung because it's not arrogant to say that.
I don't know if the air left my body or more came in, but it was this really profound moment of saying it's OK to say you're a good person.
BALDWIN: On his new album, "Born and Raised," the seven-time Grammy winner writes about picking up the pieces after his very public fall from grace in 2010. It came to a head in an overly glib interview with "Playboy" where he insulted African-Americans and a pair of high-profile ex-girlfriends in one disastrous swoop.
MAYER: I think that's probably the only time I did or will sort of just write about that crash, that sort of like violent awakening into adulthood, by way of, like, really embarrassing -- now embarrassing kind of behavior.
BALDWIN: Some may call it poetic justice, but after running his mouth, suddenly, Mayer lost his ability to speak. He developed granuloma, nodules near his vocal cords that had to be surgically removed.
As soon as he finished the new record, he discovered he would have to undergo a second surgery which he hasn't got around to scheduling yet.
MAYER: I think in singing the record I lost the ability to sing again. Singing the record sort of brought down the -- like, because I sang the record, I wasn't able to go on tour, but if I had gone on tour, I would have had to cancel two weeks in. You know, I just aggravated it again.
BALDWIN: So, now, he's a singer who can't sing with a new CD he can't promote.
MAYER: It's up to the record to kind of speak for me or tour for me. I don't know. Maybe it's kind of cool to find something and not have it jammed down your throat.
BALDWIN: With the exception of non-singing appearances on "Ellen" and a couple of late-night shows, Mayer has turned down most requests for interviews, except for CNN, and he's finally admitting why.
MAYER: I have waited a long time to say this because it's extremely uncomfortable. Well, I think it was always extremely uncomfortable, but I just thought I could come up with some other competing corrected behavior to stop making it feel uncomfortable.
And the only way that I could stop making it feel uncomfortable was to behave in the sort of reverse of how the energy was coming at me.
MAYER (singing): I finally learned to let it go ...
BALDWIN: These days, you won't find Mayer living in New York or Los Angeles. He sold his homes on both coasts and moved to a small town in Montana. Life is less complicated and he likes it this way.
MAYER: Where I am now is just what I think I always should have always been, which is a singer/songwriter, not looking to dominate the world. Let someone else try to think they can beat the game.
I watched people do it. I watch people do it and I totally understand where they're coming from.
And I go, OK, well, you know, I don't want to be the guy to tell him he can't do it, so I'm going to keep watching. I know what he's trying to do.
BALDWIN: In the meantime, Mayer keeps to himself, sharing his thoughts with his guitar.
MAYER: I'm going to make another record. You know, I may have to sing differently, quieter or something, maybe in a different voice, or write songs with the croaky voice and then come back and redo the vocals in a week, you know, six months after the surgery.
But I'm OK. I want less of the world than I ever did.
MAYER (singing): My shadow days are over. My shadow days are over now.
BALDWIN: Brooke Baldwin, CNN.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
BALDWIN: John Mayer. Let me know what you think of the new John Mayer. Send me a tweet @BrookeBCNN.
A trek to the world's highest peak ends in tragedy over the weekend. I'm going to talk to the man who became the first American, actually, to reach the summit of Mt. Everest, twice. We're going to talk about the thrill of the climb and living through the so-called "death zone."
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
BALDWIN: We now know this fourth climber has been found dead in one of the most harshest environments on planet Earth. He died while trying to descend from the summit of Mt. Everest and there are reports of still one person still missing.
Everest, keep in mind, is more than 29,000 feet high, nearly as high as cruising altitude for planes, and then at the summit, the air has only 1/3 of the oxygen you would get on the ground. The winds at the top can get as bad as a category-1 hurricane.
I spoke with David Breashears who has made it to the top of Everest now five times and he explained to me why the summit is referred to as the "death zone."
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DAVID BREASHEARS, CLIMBED MT. EVEREST SUMMIT 5 TIMES: Once you leave 26,000 feet to make the climb to the summit at 29,028 feet, you're in a region where there's just so little oxygen it's hard to function properly.
Storms can come upon you very quickly. And I think another aspect of this that should be mentioned is that there's a tremendous drive at this point, after months on the mountain, to reach the summit, which affects decision-making. And that alone is enough to call it the "death zone."
BALDWIN: So they had been to the summit. How is that dangerous? You think by the time you get up there, you're fine and then you're fine going back down, but in fact that's not the case. Why?
BREASHEARS: Principally, it's because people treat the summit as the finish line. They put all of their energy into getting to the top and then they have this euphoria. It's a moment of great triumph and then one has to get back down to the safety of the high camp or you will surely perish at night at those elevations and those temperatures without the safety of a tent and the protection of a warm sleeping bag.
So it just doesn't work, putting all of your energy in getting to the top and not saving very much if any for getting back down to the high camp.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BALDWIN: Still, as we mentioned, one person is missing.
And a former Rutgers student is sentenced to 30 days in jail in the webcam spying case. Dharun Ravi was convicted in March of spying on and intimidating his gay, Rutgers roommate.
Tyler Clementi killed himself by jumping off a bridge in September of 2010. He was upset that Ravi and others spied on him and watched him making out with another young man.
Dharun Ravi's father today in court expressed condolences for Tyler Clementi.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
RAVI PAZHANI, FATHER OF DHARUN RAVI: As an American, I may look different, I may have a different skin, I may speak differently than most, but believe me -- I'm a parent and the parental instincts are no different from any other parent out there.
The rest of our lives will never be the same again. Rest in peace, Tyler. You will always be in our thoughts and prayers until our last breath.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BALDWIN: And that is it for me on this Monday. I'm Brooke Baldwin at the CNN world headquarters in Atlanta.
