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Zimmerman Changed Opinion Of Police; Massive Wildfire In Arizona; Possible V.P. Pick Takes On Obama; Teaching Women To Lead; Toddler In Washing Machine; No More Pre-Boarding For Kids With United; Man Claims He Killed Etan Patz; Jordan Hunting al Qaeda; Al Qaeda in Jordan is Growing Worry; Bonnie St. John Realizing Her Dream, Inspiring Others; C-Sections Cause Obese Kids; Giffords Receives Medal of Valor; Day 2 of Egypt's Historical Elections Has High Voter Turn Out

Aired May 24, 2012 - 13:00   ET

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

SUZANNE MALVEAUX, CNN ANCHOR: George Zimmerman's changing his opinion about the Sanford police department. Now, Zimmerman, if you recall, is the neighborhood watch volunteer charged with second-degree murder in the death of Trayvon Martin. But during a public meeting back in January 2011, Zimmerman said he had been on a ride-along with police.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

GEORGE ZIMMERMAN: I also have had the opportunity to take ride- alongs with the city of Sanford police department, and what I saw was disgusting. The officer showed me his favorite hiding spots for taking naps, explained to me he doesn't carry a long gun in his vehicle because in his words anything that requires a long gun requires a lot of paperwork and you're going to find me as far away from it. He took two lunch breaks and attended a going away party for one of his fellow officers.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

MALVEAUX: Zimmerman began working as the department's community volunteer coordinator and months later he praised the department's professionalism.

Fire fighters in Arizona working to contain a massive wildfire (INAUDIBLE) near the town of Mayer. Crews are being hampered now by high winds, low humidity. The fire has already scorched more than 16,000 acres. The state has issued now a declaration of emergency. I want to bring in Chad Myers to talk a little bit about this. Are we seeing any end in sight?

CHAD MYERS, AMS METEOROLOGIST: No, and the wind today is going to be 35 to 45 miles per hour, so that is going to hamper, too. The wind direction changed direction though in the past 24hours. It was blowing from the south, now blowing from the west. That always makes firefighters scramble around, because they've been aligned, they know where the defense is, they know which way the fire is moving and all of a sudden after the cold front, it changes direction. Believe this or not, I just looked this up. Back the middle of May, May 15th, a wildfire was started in new Mexico because of a stray bullet. A ricocheting bullet, just the spark from a stray bullet was enough to start land on fire. It was only a 15-acre blaze before they caught it, but that just gives you an idea of how dry it is. And in fact, all four states here, the four corner states here, New Mexico, Colorado, all the way up here into Utah and this would be the four corners where they all come together, 98 percent of those states, 98 percent of all land in those states, have some type of drought going right now from the drought monitor that I just looked at. There's your wind, 35, 45 miles per hour. Even some gusts in the canyons to 55-plus today, all red flag warnings. Sunflower, Gladiator, Topaz Ranch. Now, Gladiator was for a while called the Crown King fire. It's still going and the percentage of containment 15, 30, 43 percent. And with those winds today, containment may, in fact, go down -- Suzanne.

MALVEAUX: All right. Thank you, Chad.

MYERS: You're welcome.

MALVEAUX: Florida senator Marco Rubio, he is the focus of a lot of V.P. speculation. He is one of the names we hear a lot when people talk about Mitt Romney's short list. So, it's no surprise Rubio is taking aim at President Obama as he has been for a while now. Our Juan Carlos Lopez interviewed senator Rubio in about the 2012 race, other issues. He's joining us here. So, first of all, good get there. Everybody wants to talk to Rubio. What is -- what is the highlight?

JUAN CARLOS LOPEZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, the highlight is he insists that there isn't really a way to advance right now politically. He says both the Democrats aren't interested in letting things advance and he says that President Obama hasn't fulfilled the promises he made when he won the White House.

MALVEAUX: Does he stand by a lot of the criticism?

LOPEZ: He accepted criticism on the Republican side, and he is aware (INAUDIBLE) -- season going. Where do you -- is there a possibility for Democrats and Republicans to work on these last six months before the November elections?

SEN. MARK RUBIO (R), FLORIDA: Well, I hope there is because this country has major problems. But in 2008, irrespective of how you felt about the president's policies, we all had the hope he would be a uniter, that he would elevate American politics and allow us to really focus on the issues of the day even if we disagreed about how to approach them. I think that Barack Obama is long gone. I think the Barack Obama that today occupies the presidency is someone who has made the cold political calculation that the only way he can win is by pitting one group of Americans against another group of Americans, by invincing -- by convincing enough Americans that the reason why their life is not doing better is because some people are doing too well.

And this constant pitting of one group of Americans against another is divisive in a which we have not seen by any American president in probably modern American political history and I think people are concerned about that. I wish the president would go back to being the Barack Obama of 2008, a uniter, someone that elevated the political discourse. We're still going to disagree on the issues, but let's debate about the ideas. Where I think people are tired of hearing how bad the people are on the other side of this -- of an issue are. And unfortunately, that's what the Obama campaign and the Democratic party behind it has become about lately. That makes it very difficult to get things done here in Washington.

LOPEZ: Suzanne, and then you were asking about the criticism on the other side. Well, on an issue that we did speak about, immigration, he sees -- he recognizes that the Republicans haven't advanced immigration the way that he would like them to, but he says Democrats are also using that as a political issue for the election.

MALVEAUX: Does the Romney campaign, do they believe that by putting Rubio out here that it helps him with the Latino voters, that he's able to make up for some of the criticism on his immigration policy?

LOPEZ: Well Senator Rubio gave a speech yesterday in front of the Latino coalition and the Latino business group. Mr. Romney was also there. And in his speech he spoke about education, something very important to Hispanics, one of the top issues after the economy. He didn't mention immigration once and senator Rubio did. He talked about the need to change the system now. The role that Mr. Rubio could fill is to help him with the Latino community, to help him in Florida. Obviously, the Romney campaign has a long way to go if you look at the polls. There's almost a 40 percent difference. So, this is a role that Marco Rubio could play very well as a Republican senator from Florida.

MALVEAUX: How do people respond to Senator Rubio? Do they believe that he is authentically part of the Latino community, part of the Latino experience, that he certainly understands what people are going through, or do they feel like he's a puppet in some ways?

LOPEZ: No. If you look at his history, his personal accomplishments, the way he came from humble origins to becoming U.S. senator by age 40, obviously people are going to look up to him. He is a bigger figure in Florida than he could be in the rest of the country, but he's talking about issues other politicians aren't. On immigration, he's met with Democrats with Bob Hernandez from New Jersey, the senior Hispanic member of Congress, he met with Luis Garcia from Illinois . He's talking with Democrats. He filed yesterday -- he presented yesterday the start up 2.0 act where they're trying to create jobs and he did that with Senator Warner with two Democrats and another Republic. So, he's looking, I guess, for that spot where he can show people that he is working, that he's not just a Republican politician in an election cycle. And he's opening a way that probably the partisanship in Washington isn't allowing many to do.

MALVEAUX: All right. Juan Carlos Lopez, thank you so much.

Here is what we're working on for the hour.

(voice-over): At the cradle of civilization, a new democracy is being born. What it means for Egypt's future.

Then, she became a Road Scholar, worked at the White House, and won an Olympic medal. All despite losing a leg at the age of five. I will talk to one of the most inspiring people I know about teaching young women to lead.

And how having a c section could actually affect your child's weight later in life.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

MALVEAUX: All right, check it out. A man tosses a toddler into a Laundromat washing machine, all caught on surveillance tape. The video goes viral now, and the babysitter and her friend, they're in pretty big trouble but not with the law. Jeanne Moos airs the dirty laundry.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

JEANNE MOOS, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): It's scary enough watching this surveillance tape of a guy playing with a one- year-old by putting him in a washer and then the door automatically locks and the washer turns on. The man and the woman babysitting the child panic, but imagine you're the mother.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Are you the mom?

SAKIA DAVID: Yes.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Hi, mom.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Is this the baby?

DAVID: Yes.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: He's adorable.

MOOS: Sakia David is the 22-year-old mother who watched the video for the first time on the news.

DAVID: I said, dad, you can't tell me that ain't my -- I said, that's my baby and that's her.

MOOS: Her being the child's babysitter who never told the mother what happened almost two week ago at this Camden, New Jersey laundromat. The babysitter, an unidentified friend brought one-year- old Samir Bush along to do the laundry while his mom was at work. After he got stuck in the machine the pair frantically ran for help. A laundromat employee came to the rescue heaving aside tables and turning off power to the machine. The other guy was jumping out of his skin, the babysitter was banging the table.

KONG ENG: And then, I pulled the baby out. I feel good because I see the -- saw the baby had still alive.

MOOS: Still alive and basically unharmed. The pair took the boy to the hospital, then returned him to mom who noticed nothing amiss. After the video went viral, police got in touch with the mother. The Camden County prosecutor's office says this was not an intelligent choice to put the baby I a washing machine, but it was not a crime. How does the mother feel?

DAVID: I'm pissed. I was mat because you shouldn't put a kid in the washer. But at the same time, he was just playing around.

MOOS: As for the babysitter, mom says she won't be babysitting anymore. Meanwhile, back at washing machine number 15, the owner of the laundromat says she knows it's ridiculous but she's actually thinking of putting up signs to protect herself from liability, do not put kids in washers. This is one story you can't spin as anything but dumb. Jeanne Moos, CNN --

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Do you feel like a hero?

ENG: Yes.

MOOS: -- New York.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

MALVEAUX: Absolutely crazy.

All right. If you're about to board a plane with kids, this is -- actually might be bothersome here. United airlines decided to end its special pre-boarding with families with children. Alison Kosik joining us from the New York Stock Exchange.

All right, Alison, it takes a little extra time. You see folks with their families --

ALISON KOSIK, CNN BUSINESS CORRESPONDENT: It does.

MALVEAUX: -- and, you know, it's work. Why is United doing this?

KOSIK: Yes, I certainly know that it is work and I'll tell what you, this does not seem very kid-friendly, but what United says is that by doing away with that pre-board for kids, it's going to speed up the boarding process. A United spokesperson said it would be better to simplify that process and reduce the number of boarding groups. Now, United says it does let its passengers with children board early. Of course, if you're sitting in first class or business class.

Now, some flyers do say that this is an effort for United to become more appealing to business travelers. Ah, but others, yes, when they got wind of it, especially the ones with the kids, not too happy. One blog called "The Cranky Flyer" said they think it will slow down the boarding process. Another one called FlyersRights.org called it anti-family. It's probably why United didn't announce this outright. They just kind of quietly put it out there. They changed the policy a few months ago. Surprise.

MALVEAUX: Yes, we found out. We found them out there. What about other airlines? Are they going to be doing this as well?

KOSIK: Well, the policies look like they're pretty different across the board. You look at American Airlines, they don't really give anything specific about kids, but they do give anyone who needs extra time the chance to board first. Jetblue limits it to families with kids under the age of two. US Airways wants families to wait until zone two is called, and Delta still has an across the board policy for families with children. You know what this also could do? It could sort of open the door for these airlines to -- after they scrap this service to kind of add the service on kind of ala carte so they can kind of charge for it. That is also another option.

MALVEAUX: Another option. How are the markets doing today, Alison?

KOSIK: It looks like the markets are pretty flat right now. The Dow is down about 20 points. NASDAQ off 13. Europe is weighing on a -- on sentiment at this point, really limiting any gains that we're seeing. We're also watching, of course, Facebook shares. They're up again today 1 and 1/3 percent, sitting at about $32, still below that IPO price of $38 -- Suzanne.

MALVEAUX: Alison, good to see you, thank you.

His parents looked for him for decades. Well, now the family of Eton Patz could be one step closer to finding out what happened to their son.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

MALVEAUX: Alison, good to see you. Thank you.

His parents looked for him for decades, but now the family of Etan Patz could be one step closer to finding out what happened to their son.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

MALVEAUX: It's a case that's changed the way we look for missing children. Right now police are questioning a man who claims he killed Etan Patz. The six-year-old vanished while walking to the bus stop back in 1979. The case raised national awareness about missing children. Susan Candiotti, she's following the latest developments. And I understand that you are now learning new information about the identity and the occupation of this guy. Tell us what we know.

SUSAN CANDIOTTI, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: I am, Suzanne.

Yes, a law enforcement source tells me that the man who is being questioned is in custody at this time is Pedro Hernandez. He lives in New Jersey and records indicate that he lives in Maple Shade, New Jersey. We are told by two different sources that that's where he was picked up, in New Jersey, on Wednesday for questioning. Now, here is what we know about him. According to the source, he owned or he used to own a bodega in the area where the Patz family lived, still lives at this time, and he boned that bodega decades ago when Etan went missing.

Here is why this could prove to be significant. According to author Lisa Cohen, who wrote a book -- an extensive book about this case years ago, she had this to say about the morning that Etan Patz disappeared in 1979. That when he left his house and he was on his way to talk to a school bus stop for the very first time by himself, he had with him -- he carried with him a dollar and he told his mom that he intended to use that dollar to stop at a local bodega to buy a soda -- a soda pop drink that he could use at -- that he could drink at lunch later that day.

Now, again, we do know, according to a law enforcement source, that this Mr. Hernandez used to own a bodega in that neighborhood. We cannot draw more of a connection other than that at this time. What we do know is that this man is in custody. And the reason that they talked to him to begin with was that when that search was made of that basement a block away from Etan's house, just a couple of months ago, a relative or someone rather who knew this man saw the news coverage and contacted police to say that this Mr. Hernandez had allegedly claimed that he had something to do with Etan's death years and years ago. And that is why police, who were aware of him at the time, went back and re-interviewed him and that is when this man allegedly made this claim and made a confession. He has not been charged yet, Suzanne.

MALVEAUX: Do they think with all that information that they are heading down the right road? That this is really a credible lead now that they have these kinds of details that potentially put him in that bodega with that child?

CANDIOTTI: Good point. We're getting conflicting information on this. Additionally, I can tell you this. A law enforcement source also says this man claims that he strangled the little boy. Now, some people are telling us, some investigative sources tell us that they believe that this is a very solid lead, a very solid development in this case. However, a federal law enforcement source, and the FBI is also involved in this case, is saying that they are treating this with a strong dose of skepticism. So it seems to depend on who you talk with as to where this development will eventually lead.

Suzanne.

MALVEAUX: Why are they saying they're treating this with a strong dose of skepticism? Why the skepticism?

CANDIOTTI: In part, according to the source, is that they were aware of this man years ago. A lot of time has passed. And without getting into specific details, these sources are saying, you know, you have to be very careful with what people say now versus what they said then and putting it all together because things can change over time. And without describing it further, this particular source said that they are -- were distrustful or might be treating this distrustfully. On the other hand, it's important to know that we don't know everything that police do about what kind of evidence they have in this case. Remember, the Manhattan District Attorney's Office reopened this matter in 2010. And ever since then, they have been going back and interviewing and re-interviewing many people in this case to try to make sure whether they crossed all the "t"s and dotted the "i"s. So they may have additional information, including physical evidence, that might tend to make them think that this could be an important development in this case.

MALVEAUX: And, Susan, help me understand this a little bit because if this guy, in fact, did confess to killing this child, but the police, the investigators, are skeptical about those claims, is there something about his mental state? Is he not all quite there? They don't feel like he's reliable in his storytelling that they wouldn't believe his confession?

CANDIOTTI: Well, at this point we don't know enough about it to say one way or the other. And, remember, there are different investigative agencies involved in this case. The Manhattan District Attorney's Office has investigators that sources say have been talking to this man. The New York Police Department has investigators that are also involved in this case and are playing a direct role. And the FBI is also involved in this case. So you have three different agencies and different sources talking from different agencies about this information. And that's why it's pretty hard to get anyone to firmly commit to anything until we see what develops.

We do know that there are -- that authorities are planning to say more about this, we are told, sometime later today. So we hope at that time we'll get some clarification.

MALVEAUX: And, Susan, you said investigators had spoken to this man before, Hernandez before, previously, because this is such an old case. Is this the first time that he's actually been identified?

CANDIOTTI: Well, that I'm not sure about. I do know that they had spoken to this man before and that he had been someone that they talked with because he was someone who was in that area. They were talking to everyone in that area. And they've gone back and re- questioned people who lived and worked in that area at that time. So beyond that, they're not revealing much more about this man, his mental state, whether he knows what he's talking about.

And the other thing to add to this is that, remember, you have another man who is currently in prison on an unrelated matter that a civil judge ruled was civilly responsible for the death of Etan Patz. And there's a civil judgment against this man for millions of dollars when the family sued him. So it will be interesting to see what happens if they wind up charging a different man altogether than the man who is currently serving time in prison on an unrelated case.

MALVEAUX: Yes. Very interesting development there.

Susan, as always, excellent reporting. Thank you very much. They are right next door to what's becoming a full-blown civil war. What the people of Jordan think about the blood being shed across the border in Syria.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

MALVEAUX: Top trainer in the famous Tennessee walking horse industry has pleaded guilty to animal cruelty. Jackie McConnell admitted to one count of violating the Horse Protection Act. His plea came after graphic video surfaced showing him and his stable hands beating horses and putting chemicals on their legs. The chemicals forced the horses to accentuate their gate, giving them a competitive edge at shows. McConnell faces up to five years in prison.

The jury in the John Edwards' corruption trial is reviewing the evidence for a fifth day now while Edwards sweats it out waiting for the verdict. The former presidential candidate allegedly used almost $1 million from two wealthy donors to keep a secret that eventually doomed his presidential bid. His affair with Rielle Hunter and the baby they had together.

New Orleans' historic paper, "The Times-Picayune," announced today it is laying off staff, cutting back its print edition to just three days a week, Wednesdays, Fridays and Saturdays. The paper has been in existence for a very long time, 175 years. The publisher said in a memo 'The Times-Picayune" needed to dedicate more resources to its online presence. He announced a new Nola Media Group including nola.com, which will continue to report seven days a week.

Looking back overseas now. This is something you're only going to see on CNN. We have extraordinary access to Jordan's high-tech anti- terrorism center. That's where they're keeping a close eye on Syria right next door. Military officials now say there are more al Qaeda terrorists in Syria than they even thought. Barbara Starr, she's in Amman.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

BARBARA STARR, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): This is the latest jihadist video from Syria. It has all the hallmarks of al Qaeda and includes bomb attacks and a nighttime raid against a military outpost. A senior Jordanian official tells CNN that there are nearly 1,500 al Qaeda members and sympathizers now in Syria. Many have entered the country from Iraq and Lebanon over the past months. In the Jordanian capital, there is growing worry.

JANET NAPOLITANO, SECRETARY OF HOMELAND SECURITY: Jordan is very stable.

STARR: In an exclusive interview with CNN, while visiting Jordan, the U.S. secretary of Homeland Security says she finds the whole region concerned.

NAPOLITANO: We work with a lot of these countries on border, border-related issues, aviation, aviation-related issues is because we want to have as early a warning sign as possible that someone affiliated with al Qaeda or any al Qaeda-type group is traveling towards the west.

STARR: While some U.S. officials say the Jordanian estimate of 1,500 al Qaeda operatives is high, one U.S. expert on jihadists in Syria agrees with Jordan's view.

UNIDENTIFIED JORDANIAN GENERAL: A strong foundation --

STARR: CNN is the first news organization to bring a camera here, the underground command center of Jordan's National Center for Security and Crisis Management.

UNIDENTIFIED JORDANIAN GENERAL: (SPEAKING FOREIGN LANGUAGE)

STARR: The general in charge says this is where Jordan will connect the dots if there is an al Qaeda attack here.

UNIDENTIFIED JORDANIAN GENERAL: All government departments have representation within the center.

STARR: Still, the biggest al Qaeda worry for Napolitano?

NAPOLITANO: The al Qaeda group that is of most direct concern is the al Qaeda group in Yemen, the AQAP.

STARR: Secretary Napolitano believes U.S. security would have detected the non-metallic bomb al Qaeda in Yemen made a few weeks ago, but she doesn't say whether she thinks foreign airports would have detected such a device.

NAPOLITANO: We think in all likelihood we would have detected it, we would have picked it up before it even got to a gate.

STARR (on camera): Of course, that device was safely brought to U.S. authorities. But listen to Secretary Napolitano's words very carefully. "In all likelihood," she says, the device would have been detected. She warns when it comes to al Qaeda, there are no guarantees.

Barbara Starr, CNN, Amman, Jordan.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

MALVEAUX: She dominated the ski slopes, got a Harvard degree, worked at the White House and overcome tremendous odds. We have her story up next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

MALVEAUX: Realizing your dreams, inspiring others along the way -- my next guest started doing that at a very young age. She never stopped. Bonnie St. John's long list of accomplishments begin in 1984 at the Paralympics Games. She became the first African-American to medal in downhill skiing despite losing her leg at the age of 5. She's a Harvard grad, Rhodes Scholar, business owner, six-time author. Her latest book, "How Great Women Lead" is a number-one best-seller. I'm fortunate to call her a friend. We went to college together. She's been a personal inspiration.

Bonnie, it's good to see you. You're such a slacker.

(LAUGHTER)

BONNIE ST. JOHN, FORMER WHITE HOUSE ECONOMICS TEAM MEMBER, PARALYMPICS SKIER & AUTHOR: You, too.

MALVEAUX: Good grief. I always admired you. Just a mentor and beautiful inside and out. And the one thing I think people don't even realize in your life story is that people didn't realize, you know, that you were missing a leg. They saw all of this and all of your accomplishments but that was your first challenge when you were 5 years old. Talk about how you overcame that to become an Olympic athlete.

ST. JOHN: Well, my mother really never let me use it as an excuse, and made me do chores around the house and everything else and I just always believed I could do anything. And skiing was my chance. I don't really like running and there was a circuit where I could compete for the Paralympics and make the U.S. team, so I went for it.

MALVEAUX: And did you it. How did you do it?

ST. JOHN: It was cold. One of the hardest parts was not having money. Our family didn't have a lot of money. I had to raise the money and move away from San Diego. I grew up in San Diego. It's sort of the Jamaican bob-sled story, one legged black girl from San Diego with no snow.

(LAUGHTER)

MALVEAUX: So you went to the Olympics, but that wasn't it. You went on to Harvard. You got a Rhodes Scholar and then went into the White House at the time Clinton was in the White House.

ST. JOHN: I worked in the Clinton administration on the economic team with Bob Rubin and Bo Cutter and those guys.

MALVEAUX: Why did you switch to politics?

ST. JOHN: I majored in politics so it was always fascinating to me working on policy, labor policy, education policy. But now I work in corporate America. I get to use my economic background, but also the inspirational piece, and really inspiring leaders of all types, women, minorities, everybody.

MALVEAUX: Tell us about your great adventure with your daughter, Darcy, because you wrote this book together, "How Great Women Lead." And you followed and tracked some accomplished women, Condoleezza Rice, Hillary Clinton, Cheryl Sandburg.

(CROSSTALK)

ST. JOHN: And then people you don't know, too. We did a stay- at-home mom. We did the only one woman is the head of an orchestra in the United States in a major city. We did the chairman of Sony Pictures Entertainment and went to a movie premiere with Angelina Jolie and Brad. So it's a real adventure. And it's fun to read because it's a story about what's happening to us. Somebody said it's the first women's leadership book I've read where you are wondering what's going to happen next.

(LAUGHTER)

MALVEAUX: Who were you most impressive? Who were you most interested in?

ST. JOHN: That's not a fair question. That's like --

(LAUGHTER)

-- who do you enjoy interviewing most. But I was really happy we went to Nicaragua. We interviewed a leader who was a leader in microfinance. The poverty in Nicaragua had such an impact on my daughter. We want our kids to understand the perspective of how lucky we are. We came out of a restaurant with a doggy bag pizza and some kids asked for it and started fighting over it. She'll never forget that. She said, mom, we can just walk away from that. Her leadership is -- she said we have to do something about this. We partnered with Opportunity International to raise awareness and money for women leaders around the world, by giving them microfinance loans, empowering them to change their communities.

MALVEAUX: We were talking about the fact that Darcy really took to Condoleezza Rice. What was that like? The fact that she was hanging out with a former secretary of state.

ST. JOHN: We sat down with her at Stamford and talk for over an hour and they really hit it off. They're like I'm an only child, you're an only child. You play the cello, I play the piano. It changed her life because Condoleezza Rice said, as a leader, you can go around the world speaking English to almost everyone now. But that's not good enough. You really have to learn languages and cultures to understand and make the world connect better. Susan Rice, who is also in the book, said it's not good enough when the Chinese team can understand everything we're saying at the U.N. and our team can't understand them. So Darcy's passionate about languages and cultures and she realized that could make her a world leader.

MALVEAUX: What was the one thing you think all these women have in common, the take-away here?

ST. JOHN: Something that electrified me was how much they are themselves. It's not a cookie cutter of what makes a good leader. They have different personalities and passions, and they've used that to make them a great leader. That was important to my daughter and women of all ages to understand that you don't have become something you don't want to be to lead at the top. You get there and you make it your own. You put yourself into it. That's an important message so that the women growing up will want those top jobs.

MALVEAUX: What is Darcy's next move? She's a junior now? ST. JOHN: She founded a model U.N. club and a virtual school. She has a virtual global team that she's leading. She's got to apply to college and she's not here today because she's studying and doing her A.P. exams.

MALVEAUX: As she should be.

(LAUGHTER)

What is the take away from your life? Because you are obviously a leader as well. How did you do it? What was that one thing that kept you on track?

ST. JOHN: I think wanting to have an impact, wanting to make a difference. For this, we wanted to make it fun so more people would read it and we could get more women who don't necessarily think of themselves as leaders to pick it up and see the leader inside themselves. So that's what turns me on is getting other people to reach their potential.

MALVEAUX: What was the hardest thing for you, the greatest challenge?

ST. JOHN: In my whole life?

MALVEAUX: Yes.

ST. JOHN: Wow. Honest moment, I was sexually abused as a child so healing from that is the hardest thing I ever did. People look at the visible disability and they say, oh, that was so hard and I think you don't have any idea. I know so many people are in that condition. So wanting people to be able to overcome whatever they've been through and reach the magic of who they can be, that's what gets me going.

MALVEAUX: Bonnie, you really are an inspiration. You always have been. So thank you and best of luck to your daughter.

What's your next big project for god's sake?

(CROSSTALK)

MALVEAUX: You're not going to sit down for long.

ST. JOHN: I have to say, you're my hero, too, and I really admire what you do and the difference you make.

But I'm doing a lot of work on resilience right now, taking the research on resilience to help people to be able to bounce back in the stressful world we live in. And I'm excited about the work we're doing there. So that might be the next book.

MALVEAUX: Good. I'll be looking for it.

Bonnie, thanks. Good to see you.

If you're a mother and you're delivered by C-section, a new study says your child is twice as likely to battle obesity. We're going to tell you why.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

MALVEAUX: A new study finds babies born through C-section may be more likely to develop obesity.

I want to bring in Elizabeth Cohen to talk a little bit about this.

It's kind of shocking and a little hard to understand. Can you explain this to you?

ELIZABETH COHEN, CNN SENIOR MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT: It is, and it is of concern because the C-section rate in this country has gotten so high. At least one in three babies is born by C-section. So it's important to know. And obesity is such a huge problem so it's important to know.

This study was done out of Massachusetts and what they found is when they looked at babies born vaginally, about 7.5 percent of them were obese as young children. But when you look at the babies born via C-section, that number jumps to 15.7 percent, about 8 percent to 16 percent. So the numbers are low, but that's a big difference. There's a big difference between 8 percent and 16 percent. This is not the first study on this issue. And studies have gone back and forth about whether there is this C-section childhood obesity link.

MALVEAUX: Do we know why this is the case?

COHEN: We're not sure this is a new phenomenon because the studies have gone back and forth. If it is true, we don't know. Maybe it's because there's certain hormones the baby is exposed to during labor and child birth that have an affect on them in a good way. We know it's probably the bacteria in the gut of a baby born by C-section versus vaginal is different, and maybe that accounts for some difference in weight. But we're really in the beginning stages of even establishing this trend. And we certainly don't know what causes it, even if it is true.

MALVEAUX: The one question a lot of people are wondering, should you avoid getting a C-section?

COHEN: This is a big question. A huge debate, big question. The American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists will tell you only have a C-section when it's medically necessary. You put 10 doctors in a room and say, what's medically necessary, and you will get 11 opinions. So it's a very difficult thing.

But the bottom line is that if you're having a C-section, you know, be an empowered patient and have it for the right reasons. Now, some doctors would say, just because you want it, that's good enough. Other doctors would disagree with that. Realize you're making a choice that could possibly have an impact on your baby, not just in terms of obesity but in terms of other things as well.

MALVEAUX: Elizabeth Cohen, thank you very much. COHEN: Thanks.

MALVEAUX: They've been waiting 5,000 years to have their voices heard, so what do the Egyptian people want their future to look like? We will go to Cairo to find out.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

MALVEAUX: Former Arizona Congressman Gabrielle Giffords and her husband had inspiring words for the audience at an awards ceremony. They were given the Medal of Valor last night after the assassination attempt on Giffords. She was shot while meeting with people in her district last year. She left Congress in January to keep working on recovery. And her husband, astronaut, Mark Kelly, says his wife inspires him every day.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MARK KELLY, FORMER ASTRONAUT & HUSBAND OF GIFFORDS: Often as she heads off to therapy each morning her last words to me after she gets in the car is, what?

GABRIELLE GIFFORDS, (D), FORMER ARIZONA CONGRESSWOMAN: Fight, fight, fight.

(LAUGHTER)

Fight, fight, fight.

(APPLAUSE)

(END VIDEO CLIP)

MALVEAUX: Two candidates are running for Giffords' house seat in a special election set for June 12th.

In Maine, a sign of relief now that a fire is out on a nuclear submarine. Firefighters battled that fire on the "USS MIAMI" for hours. Seven people were hurt. Officials say the sub's reactor was not operating at the time and wasn't affected. It is not clear what even started the fire, but an investigation is under way.

Nuclear talks with Iran have taken an unexpected turn. Iran's top negotiator and diplomats from six world powers, including the U.S., are extending the talks in Baghdad for a second day. Officials are tight lipped about the reason but a European official says progress is being made. Western nations are worried that nuclear weapons are being developed and they want Iran to stop the enrichment of uranium. Iran is trying to get economic sanctions lifted.

Day two of Egypt's historical election, polling places saw big voter turnout, high enthusiasm, few reports of trouble or intimidation. People are picking one of 13 candidates on the ballot.

Our Hala Gorani is there in Cairo. HALA GORANI, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Suzanne, it is the second and final day of voting in round one of the presidential election. Still very much on people's minds that this is an historic and significant event for their country, more than 15 months after the uprising that toppled Hosni Mubarak.

Polling stations were crowded in the morning, and there was a lull in the afternoon when it was hot for people, and some took their lunch break. But we understand that polling stations will keep their doors open one more hour in the evening, as they did yesterday, to accommodate the large number of voters.

There are no reliable polls in this country, so it is a very hard to tell who the front-runner is. We're seeing several very wildly different estimates, but essentially there is a handful of top candidates, two Islamists and two former regime members. One of them, Moussa, who was foreign affairs minister under Mubarak and then served a decade as secretary-general of the Arab League.

Many voters saying they want security to come back to their country and they want also the economy to get better because it has, in some cases, crashed such as the tourism sector since the uprising.

However, there are still big unresolved questions. What will the role of the president be? So big question marks as far as the future of the country. And voters still very much excited on this second day of voting for the first round -- Suzanne?

MALVEAUX: Thank you, Hala.

Here is some of what Egyptians are saying. This is the "Open Mic" in Cairo.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED EGYPTIAN MALE: I am worried. I am scared the seculars will fight and say the elections are a fraud and I am afraid of the Islamists at the same time they might say it is fraud. I hope when the president is voted they accept him, all the seculars and the brotherhood and all the Egyptian brotherhood to be happy with him and satisfied with him.

UNIDENTIFIED EGYPTIAN FEMALE: I would like to say we would like every person to select honesty and we could not want fraud like the fraud before in elections past and we want everyone to go out whether rich or poor.

UNIDENTIFIED EGYPTIAN FEMALE: Egypt is a very strong country and profound country and we'll not be played with again. We will not allow for anyone to destroy us or cause us to lose our dignity.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

MALVEAUX: It is in the food, the water, and the concrete, and how bad the radiation is in Japan more than a year after the earthquake hit. (COMMERCIAL BREAK)

MALVEAUX: Going "In Depth" now. Boats, bottles, plastic junk, lots of it washing up on the shores of Alaska. Much of it floated across the Pacific when the earthquake and tsunami hit Japan last year. The nuclear fallout is from that disaster showing up in places the Japanese did not even expect, like right under their feet. Kyung Lah explains.

(IN DEPTH)

MALVEAUX: CNN NEWSROOM continues right now with Brooke Baldwin.

Hey, Brooke.