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Jerry Sandusky Trial Continues; Romney and Obama in Ohio

Aired June 14, 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: Top of the hour. I'm Brooke Baldwin.

Happening right now, we are getting late word that any minute, the prosecution may be resting here in the case against Jerry Sandusky, the former Penn State coach accused of raping boys.

It has been one week of incredibly disturbing testimony, so as soon as that news breaks, we're going to bring you, of course, live reporting from that courthouse there in Pennsylvania.

But, first, same state, nearly the same time, wildly different messages, President Barack Obama and his Republican challenger, Mitt Romney, delivering competing economic visions in opposite corners of Ohio today.

The president just wrapped up moments ago.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BARACK OBAMA, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: I want to recruit an army of new teachers. We won't deport hardworking, responsible young immigrants who have grown up here or received advanced degrees here. We will let them earn the chance to become American citizens.

So my plan would end the government subsidies to oil companies that have rarely been more profitable. Let's double down on a clean energy industry. My plan would make the R&D tax credit permanent, but the private sector can't do it alone.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BALDWIN: Meantime, Mitt Romney got the jump on the president by just a matter of minutes, giving his own economic speech first, and he outlined three broad areas. Here he was.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MITT ROMNEY (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: First, energy. You see, I happen to like the sources of energy that we have in abundance in this country.

If I'm president, on day one, we're going to get the approval for that pipeline from Canada, and if I have to build it myself to get it here, I will get that oil into America. Number two, I'm going to take -- I'm going to get rid of this great big overhang that came from one piece of legislation that has frightened businesses small and large and made them less likely to hire people. I'm going to get rid of Obamacare. Number three, I'm going to go after the deficit.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BALDWIN: Let me bring in our chief political analyst, Gloria Borger, and we're going to talk about both of these speeches.

First, did we hear anything new from either of them?

GLORIA BORGER, CNN SENIOR POLITICAL ANALYST: No.

BALDWIN: No?

BORGER: No, I don't think we really heard a lot new.

think what we saw was framing speeches from either side, you know, sort of setting the table for the different visions for the future of the country on the economy, which of course is issue number one, as we head forward.

I think what we saw from President Obama was kind of interesting, because he's been getting a lot of conflicting advice from Democrats these days, and a lot of them are saying, you can't dwell on the past and how bad things were when you came into office, because you look like you're whining, and you can't talk about everything that you have done, because you will sound like things are going real well, and they're not. So you have to kind of focus on the future.

And I think you saw a President Obama do a little bit of each with this speech, ending with the future and saying, by the way, my vision would help the middle class more than Mitt Romney's vision. And the reason we haven't done more is because of this awful stalemate in Congress, i.e., Republicans in charge of the House.

BALDWIN: Right, which the president mentioned and he said, look, this choice in November, it's not just about two candidates. It's about these two sides, very textured sides.

And as some of them talk about the future, they're under a lot of pressure, both of these men under a lot of pressure to lay out these policies.

BORGER: A huge amount of pressure.

And it's really a question of timing, Brooke. When you talk to strategists on both sides, they all say, look, each one has to lay out a vision. Right now, Mitt Romney has a 59-point economic plan. And if you ask anyone what's in it, they really don't know; 59 points is kind of a muddle.

But if you ask people what President Obama's economic plan is, even though he's proposed all kinds of things in his jobs act, it hasn't gone anywhere in Congress. So there's that same sense of muddle from the voters. At some point, and some Democrats suggest the president doesn't have to do it right now, maybe he does it in his convention speech. Mitt Romney ought to pare down his 59 points into something more digestible, maybe not right now, maybe in the fall, but both of them have to kind of narrow their focus.

BALDWIN: So, as they're narrowing, I know Americans want substance. I mean, how much of these speeches was substance vs. attacking the other candidate?

BORGER: Well, you know, I think their visions are so different on the economy that what is substance is also kind of attacking the other guy. You know, you heard Mitt Romney say, for example, that regulations are strangling small business.

You heard President Obama say, that's not the case, that when he came into office, the general consensus was that there weren't enough regulations. That's why Wall Street took such a calamitous fall. So they disagree. They disagree on the Keystone pipeline. You know, voters are going to have...

BALDWIN: They have quite the choice.

BORGER: ... a very clear choice. There is nothing that these folks really agree on, on the large sort of economic issues.

The one point that President Obama was making is that you don't want to go back to the policies of the past. And that's the point he made in the last election. He's still making it in this election. And so I think there's a bit of a burden on Mitt Romney right now to say, you know what, I don't want to do what George W. Bush did.

BALDWIN: Right, right, right.

BORGER: I'm going to take us in a different direction.

And so we need to hear that from Mitt Romney.

BALDWIN: You brought up...

BORGER: And I bet we will.

BALDWIN: We might. We will see.

BORGER: We might.

BALDWIN: You brought up the voters. Let's take a look at this quick poll here. This is ABC/"Washington Post." So this is independent voters, how they view both Obama and Romney's economic plans negatively, with the margin here, as you look at the numbers, it's worse for the president.

BORGER: Sure.

Will anything that was said today make a difference? BORGER: No, I think it's still more of the same-old, same-old at this point. And I think we may not know until the debates how the public really feels about the economy.

You know, the big question here is, Brooke, when do people start focusing, number one, and -- because I would argue that's when these candidates are going to come out with their really sharp economic message...

(CROSSTALK)

BALDWIN: Focusing on specifics.

BORGER: Focusing on specifics.

BALDWIN: Yes.

BORGER: And then the question is, when does the public also start cementing in its views about how the economy is doing?

You know, Republicans tend to say, they're going to do it right now and that this last jobs report was really important. And Democrats I talk to tend to say, you know what, they're going to wait until the fall, they're going to wait until the Olympics, maybe around the World Series. That's when they're going to start focusing on...

BALDWIN: Is that advantageous to wait that long, because, November...

(CROSSTALK)

BORGER: Well, for Democrats, for Democrats, Brooke, they're hoping things are going to get better.

BALDWIN: Yes.

BORGER: So they're hoping that people aren't cementing their views right now.

They would like people to wait a little. But the thing about trying to spin the economy, Brooke, is that you can't, because it's the one area people feel. They know what's going on in their bank account. They know what's..

BALDWIN: All too well.

BORGER: ... going on in their lives.

BALDWIN: Yes.

BORGER: So you can't spin how people feel. They know how they feel. So the worst thing anyone can do, particularly the president, is tell them that things aren't that bad, if they feel like they're bad.

BALDWIN: Yes. They will vote how they feel come November. BORGER: Exactly. Exactly.

BALDWIN: Gloria Borger, always a pleasure. Thank you.

BORGER: Thanks, Brooke.

BALDWIN: A lot more coming up into the CNN NEWSROOM, including this.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BALDWIN: If Syria is close to an all-out civil war, one expert warns this could be disaster for America's security, and his reasons are haunting. I'm Brooke Baldwin. The news is now.

(voice-over): A popular dating app suddenly shuts down as accusations fly that rapists targeted teens.

Plus, from Mariah to SJP's townhouse -- tonight, President Obama going for gold in Gotham.

And parents murdering their daughters because they wanted boys.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: She had just come into the world. She is like a flower bud and he killed her.

BALDWIN: Go inside the most dangerous place in the world to be a girl.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BALDWIN: The World Travel on Corporation dealt Lance Armstrong a huge blow today. They barred him from competing in international contests while he's under investigation for doping.

The U.S. Anti-Doping Agency confirmed just yesterday that it's now opening proceedings against Armstrong and five former teammates. Armstrong, you know his story. He inspired the world. He beat cancer. He won the Tour de France seven times.

And, obviously, he is not at all happy with this ruling here. He said -- quote -- "Unlike many of my accusers, I have competed as an endurance athlete for 25 years with no spike in performance, passed more than 500 drug tests, and never failed a one."

I want to bring in "USA Today" columnist Christine Brennan, joining me by phone.

And, Christine, so, judging by your column here, your headline, "No Room to Whine," I am guessing your reaction to the news today. Perfectly fair.

CHRISTINE BRENNAN, "USA TODAY": Yes, Brooke. You know what it is? The U.S. Anti-Doping Agency, the World Anti-Doping Agency, this is what they do. This is -- they investigate athletes to make sure the sport is clean for children to watch, for sponsors, for all of us to believe what we see on the field of play.

And they have investigated hundreds of athletes. And, as you know, my thought is very simple. Why should Armstrong be any different? Why should they not investigate Lance Armstrong to the full extent of their powers? And that is exactly what they're doing.

BALDWIN: So what about the argument? We just heard Lance Armstrong's words as well here, the fact that he has been drug-tested something like 500 times, never had a positive result. What about that?

BRENNAN: Right.

And the same can be said of Marion Jones, who was cheating throughout the first part of the century. The same could be said for Mark McGwire, for Barry Bonds, for so many others. Drug-testing, unfortunately, hasn't caught up with all the cheating and all of the new drugs out there.

The bad chemists, Brooke, are way ahead of the good chemists. So sometimes you will hear this terminology non-analytical positive. What that means is that it's testimony, it's paperwork, it's documents. That's what you have got to have on Lance Armstrong. And while this is very discomforting to cancer survivors and so many people who look up to Lance Armstrong, I think we have to let it play out. And not passing -- not failing drug tests does not mean that you're not cheating.

BALDWIN: What about that Armstrong has said, you know, the Department of Justice already conducted a two-year investigation, same charges, same witnesses? What, Christine, is different now?

BRENNAN: Yes. That's an criminal investigation that they closed on the Friday afternoon before the Super Bowl, very abruptly and surprisingly, but they just determined to do that.

USADA and WADA, as they're known, they have an entirely different charge. It's not about a crime. It's about keeping sports clean. And, as I said, there have been hundreds of athletes who have willingly and understandably had to accept punishment and sanctions and banishment because of their actions. So, Lance Armstrong is just now with that group of people being looked at because we care about clean sports.

BALDWIN: Christine Brennan, thanks for calling in.

BRENNAN: Thank you very much.

BALDWIN: Civil war, the phrase gets tossed around a lot, especially this past week as the situation gets increasingly dire in Syria. But my next guest says, if that happens, if civil war happens, it would spell disaster for America's security. And his reasons are disturbing.

Plus, an exclusive look inside the homemade bombs these rebels are making in Syria. You're going to see one actually in action, but we want to warn you, the footage is dramatic.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BALDWIN: You have heard all the arguments against intervening in Syria, no good guys to back, tougher nut to crack than Libya was, and despite the ongoing horrors being suffered by civilians now pressing U.S. interests.

So how's this for a counterargument here? We must make a stand in Syria and make it soon because we can't afford not to? This is coming from Mideast analyst Robert Satloff.

Let me quote him -- quote -- "If Syria descends into the chaos of an all-out civil war, it's not only Syrians who will lose out. Very clear American interests are also at stake."

Robert Satloff joins me now live from Washington. He's executive director of the Washington Institute for Near East Policy.

So, Robert, let's just take the first concern on your list, that being Syrian army units abandoning potentially these chemical weapons sites. And we're showing here -- you see this map -- some of those sites right now.

Army units could flee the sites. The dangerous weapons could be taken by rogues, maybe terrorists. We don't know. How realistic is that scenario?

ROBERT SATLOFF, EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR, WASHINGTON INSTITUTE FOR NEAR EAST POLICY: I think, regrettably, very realistic.

The passage of time in Syria is our biggest enemy, the idea that a slow-grinding change opens up all sorts of opportunities for terrible outcomes. Here, it could be a mutiny. It could be soldiers leaving their post. They could be defeated by rebels. All sorts of things could be happened -- could happen with the passage of time. Speedy change will help limit the downside negative effects of this.

BALDWIN: Yes, you said time is not -- not an ally. You also talk about the potential danger for Syria to then lash out at its neighbors, possibly to stir up trouble in Turkey, in Jordan, in Lebanon. We could add Iraq to that list. We're already seeing a surge in sectarian violence there. The question is, could the conflict in Syria ignite the entire region as it continues to worsen?

SATLOFF: Well, again, I'm worried mostly about American interests and what would engage the United States.

We have to remember that Syria is on the border with NATO -- that's Turkey -- and on the border with Israel on the other side. And there are many ways in which Assad, a beleaguered Assad could strike out in way that would engage our very close allies and even our NATO alliance.

BALDWIN: How so?

SATLOFF: And so -- well, for example, the Syrians have already begun to turn on the spigot of the anti-Turkish Kurdish terrorist group the PKK, which killed 30,000 Turks over the last 30 years.

They turned it off when Turkish-Syrian relations were warm, but now that Turkey has decided to support the opposition, they have turned it back on again. If this gets really bad, the Turks are going to act, and similarly with the Israelis or the Jordanians. There are a couple hundred thousand Palestinian refugees inside Syria that the Syrians could use as pawns, and indeed weapons. Pushing these refugees into Jordan, on the Golan Heights would trigger conflict.

And this is the way Assad might try to expand the conflict, so as to save himself.

BALDWIN: Thus, ultimately, you know, damaging Americans, NATO, surrounding nations, as you point out.

But I want to throw something else at you, and that being, you look one man could be, from one perspective could be a freedom fighter could be another man's terrorists. So I just want to share some reporting. This is stellar reporting from our correspondent on the ground in the area. This is Arwa Damon reporting on a group of Syrian rebels. Take a look.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ARWA DAMON, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: A voice says, this is a suicide bombing mission against Assad soldiers in Idlib. "God is great," the voice declares, as a van comes into view, apparently approaching a checkpoint.

The camera zooms in. Outgunned by Assad's forces, some rebels have turned to suicide bombs and roadside IEDs, Iraq-style guerrilla warfare.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BALDWIN: So the question becomes -- and I know Libya is not at all Syria -- but I remember we covered Libya, and the concern was, you know, who are these -- who is the opposition? If we do get involved, you know, who do we back? These are not necessarily nice folks, the rebels.

Who do we back? What do we do?

SATLOFF: You're -- first of all, you're absolutely right. Not all the rebels are nice folks and not many of them have ever read the Federalist Papers.

The key, though, again, is time. So far, according to intelligence sources I have been in touch with, here and abroad, there have only been hundreds of jihadists that have moved from other countries into Syria, as opposed to the -- you know, the hundreds of thousands of opposition forces in general and the tens of thousands that are in the armed opposition, just hundreds of jihadists.

A year from now, 18 months from now, those hundreds will be thousands.

BALDWIN: Could turn into hundreds of thousands.

SATLOFF: Will turn into thousands.

And so if we want to limit the danger of this becoming a jihadist successor regime, then we have to speed up the process of change.

BALDWIN: But you have to be more specific when we say change. Are you saying we do go in, we do back these fighters, these members of the opposition?

SATLOFF: Well, my view is that we can assist the members of the opposition, we can use our intelligence, we can use our cyber-war capabilities, and we can use our airpower.

I don't think that it's absolutely -- that it's at all necessary for on-the-ground American forces to be engaged. What is important is to try to change the military balance in the country, so that the forces around Assad begin to splinter and crack much more quickly than we have seen so far.

That will be done when they're viewed as more capable, not when they're viewed as about to win, but when they're viewed as more capable. And that job is something we can do without American soldiers.

BALDWIN: Robert Satloff, I appreciate it. Come back. Thank you.

SATLOFF: Thank you.

BALDWIN: Joining us from Washington.

An outbreak of hepatitis C at a hospital sparks all kinds of panic, But as the hunt for these infected patients is now under way, wait until you hear how this happened.

And pretty soon, a huge moment at Ground Zero. We are going to take you there live.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BALDWIN: A hepatitis C outbreak at a hospital. Wait until you hear who's to blame here. Also, a big movement soon at Ground Zero, and -- quite possibly my favorite story of the day -- Arizona fights dust storms with poetry. It is time to play "Reporter Roulette."

But we want to begin with Elizabeth Cohen with details of this just absolutely bizarre outbreak of hepatitis C inside a New Hampshire hospital. Elizabeth, what happened?

ELIZABETH COHEN, CNN SENIOR MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT: Brooke, public health officials are telling everyone who was treated at the cardiac catheterization lab at the Exeter Hospital in New Hampshire that they need to come and get tested for hepatitis C.

Here's what they think happened. They say that a health care worker at that facility shared drugs with patients. In other words, the allegations are that this worker put some of the drugs into him or herself and then gave the rest to the patients. Hepatitis C is spread by sharing needles.

Already, 19 patients who went to that lab have been found to have that exact strain of hepatitis C. Nationwide, at least three other hospitals over the years have experienced what's called drug diversion, where a health care worker takes drugs intended for patients -- Brooke.

BALDWIN: Elizabeth Cohen, thank you.

Next here on "Reporter Roulette," Poppy Harlow in New York.

And, Poppy, a big day at Ground Zero with the president, also first lady visiting. Tell me what's happening.

POPPY HARLOW, CNN CORRESPONDENT: A very big day, just a few hours away actually now -- 5:15 Eastern, that's when the president and the first lady will arrive here at Ground Zero.

Let's pan up to the top and show you what the president will be touring. That is One World Trade Center, now the highest building in Manhattan. It will be 1,776 feet, Brooke, a very symbolic number, of course, America's Declaration of Independence.

The president will tour it and sign a beam that be placed atop One World Trade Center. He's going to shake hands with construction workers who will all eventually sign that beam as well.

It's interesting. This is the president's fourth trip to Ground Zero, twice as a candidate, once on the tenth anniversary of 9/11, and now this is. This is very symbolic, meaningful for the workers.

I spent a day earlier this week down here talking to them. One of them told me this is really the culmination of so many years of building this, of frankly political infighting, financial disputes over getting this built.

And now we are really just a few hundred feet away from the topping out of One World Trade Center, Brooke.

BALDWIN: We've got you in a double box with the time-lapsed video. It is stunning. We are just replaying it here.

You mentioned how it's symbolic, of course, for the people in New York with the president being there. It's political, too. HARLOW: Of course, it's political. This is a campaign season. It is very political. You've got about 3,500 construction workers down here every day and, Brooke, almost all of them are union construction workers, so that is key for the president, to have this opportunity to meet them, to talk to them, this will obviously be a photo op. There'll be cameras in there.

And the president just last Friday, you'll remember, when he made that jobs push, calling on Congress to act on the JOBS Act, he pointed out construction workers, specifically. He said, there are a million construction workers out of work since the housing bubble burst. We need to put them back to work now. Those are the president's words.

He's going to be with those construction workers today after talking about the economy earlier today in Ohio, the same state where Mitt Romney did the same thing.

So, yes, it is symbolic, it is very important for this city -- I can tell you, living here -- and it is political.

BALDWIN: Poppy Harlow, thank you for us there at Ground Zero.

And next on "Reporter Roulette," it's poetry time with Chad Myers here. I read this story this morning. I said we have to put Chad on this.

This is the Arizona Department of Transportation. You've show these videos all the time of these horrible dust storms popping up right along the highway and so they're coming up with this little challenge via haiku.

CHAD MYERS, AMS METEOROLOGIST: A haiku.

We started this a couple of years ago with "turn around, don't drown." That was a national service thing, don't drive into a floodwater. So now they're trying to get the word out to people who just moved to Arizona, New Mexico, Utah, of what to do in a dust storm.

And what do you do?

BALDWIN: Let's look at the haikus.

MYERS: The haikus are coming in.

BALDWIN: Which, remember, going back to my English 101, what is it? It's five syllables in the first line, seven in the second, and five in the third, so let's share.

MYERS: I had to go back to Google today to find one.

BALDWIN: We have a couple. Guys, let's pull them up. Here, we go. You get to read.

MYERS: The dirt blows very hard, sky darkness, goes almost black, stop car, wait it out. Good? Is that one? When haboobs come a-rolling -- we're not going to take it?

BALDWIN: This is very serious. These are dust storms. It's the haiku and it's you, and it's just funny. Sorry.

MYERS: It's how I read, nice and slow, like I'm reading to my 7- year old.

BALDWIN: It's a great program, but I sat and thought, and I ...

MYERS: Oh, you made one?

BALDWIN: I have a haiku just for you. This is dedicated to you, Chad Myers.

It's always sunny when Myers gives the forecast, barometric stud.

You like that?

BALDWIN: I don't know.

BALDWIN: You don't know?

MYERS: I don't know what that means.

BALDWIN: Just say thank you.

MYERS: Thank you.

BALDWIN: Chad Myers, thank you very much.

MYERS: I made my own. Don't I get to say it?

BALDWIN: Do you have it memorized?

MYERS: No.

BALDWIN: Go. Let's go.

MYERS: There it is.

Haboob, a dust foe, makes vision go to zero, stop, be a hero.

Done.

BALDWIN: Wow. OK, Chad, can you just take us to break?

MYERS: Yes. We'll be right back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BALDWIN: Parents of teenagers, listen up to this one. Because there's this new warning today about the truly creepy people your kids can run across online, really, in the world of cell phones, mobile apps. This popular dating app is suspending its service for teenagers after three of its young users were sexually assaulted. The alleged attackers in all three of these cases, adults posing as teens. The app is called Skout.

They are saying, "In recent weeks, we've learned of several incidents involving a few bad actors trying to take advantage of some of our younger members."

Then it goes on, "For now, we believe that there's only one thing we can do. Until we can design better protections, we are temporarily shutting down the under-18 community."

I want to bring in Sunny Hostin. What's the problem, because it's location-based?

SUNNY HOSTIN, CNN LEGAL CORRESPONDENT: I had to try to figure it out myself, but I did go online and get the app and, apparently, it is this sort of location-based dating application that has about 5 million subscribers.

And it's really interesting in that you get to meet and perhaps hook up with people that are nearby you.

Now, it has that sort of GPS technology. It doesn't necessarily tell everyone where you are. but you do know that people are quite close to you, within about half of a mile.

And so I think that is what has been so problematic, it is that location-based application that has led to all of these problems.

BALDWIN: Yes, you just also never know who's on the other end of that app, obviously, in three of these cases.

Skout says they have some safeguards in place. They're working on more, but can they really guarantee, you know, 100 percent, even if it's still location-based, that the kids are safe, that they're using it?

HOSTIN: Well, no, of course not. They really can't guarantee that, but they have clearly tried to be good corporate citizens with, and the company is considering this a five-alarm fire.

It's very interesting. They have this proprietary technology, Brooke, which I commend them for. It's called the "Creepinator" and it checks for nude photos or inappropriate activity.

This company has about a quarter of its staff using this Creepinator and trying to continuously monitor activity. That clearly wasn't enough in this case, so they have taken down this separate service, this service for 13-through-17-year-olds and they're trying to do better.

But the bottom line is, you know, they can't guarantee that our children are safe and so it's up to parents to do so. You don't want to raise your children in a bubble, right, but you certainly, I think, can use those parental controls ...

BALDWIN: Know what's on your kids' phones. Exactly.

HOSTIN: ... so that you know what's on the phone, know what's on the computer.

But also you have to teach your children about Internet safety and the fact that child predators will try to get to your children. They always try to outsmart them.

BALDWIN: Hopefully, parents know that, but it's always good to remind them that there are all these crazy apps out there and there are predators, creepy, creepy people.

Quickly here. Let me get to this. The man who scared Mila Kunis to death ordered to stand trial, 27-year-old Stuart Lynn Dunn, charged with two felony counts of stalking the star. How close had he gotten to her?

HOSTIN: He got really close to her. I mean, so close that in January, he broke into her home, Brooke, and lived there for two weeks, broke into her condominium. Now, she wasn't living there, but he was.

He also went to her gym about three months later, even though she had a restraining order against him, even calling her agent and demanding her phone number.

So this has been a very serious problem for this particular actress and we know that celebrity stalkers have been out there for quite some time. I mean, I recall in 1989, remember "My Sister, Sam," that actress, Rebecca Schaffer, and she was murdered by a stalker who got her address by California DMV records and just shot her when she answered the door.

And so this has been a continuing problem and with the Internet and social networking, much more a problem for celebrities today.

BALDWIN: Scary, because so much is out there. Sunny Hostin, on the case. Sunny, thank you.

Tonight, the president is going for gold in Gotham. We'll give you the behind the scenes look to Sarah Jessica Parker's townhouse and the other celebs he'll be rubbing elbows with. Jessica Yellin has your "Political Pop" next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BALDWIN: Time for a little "Political Pop." Today, President Obama was all about the economy as he was speaking in Cleveland, but tonight, he's all about cash, as in cash in his campaign war chest. And when it comes to fundraising, there is no business like showbiz for the president.

Let me bring in, again, our chief White House correspondent, Jessica Yellin, and so he's got, what is it, not just one, but two big fund-raisers tonight. Celebrity fund-raisers.

JESSICA YELLIN, CNN NATIONAL POLITICAL CORRESPONDENT: Yes. And not just celebrities, but fashion celebrities.

He's going to a fundraiser, OK. There'll be a later fundraiser with Mariah Carey, which is very cool, but, you know, earlier, he's going to a fundraiser with Sarah Jessica Parker, as we call her, SJP.

BALDWIN: SJP, of course.

YELLIN: And Anna Wintour, who is the editor of "Vogue," as you know, and we're supposed to be very sneering about this and ironic because it is, you know, we're supposed to question whether the president should be schmoozing with celebrities and mixing with wealthy people to such an extent at a time that the nation is in recession, and that is a legitimate question to ask.

But us girls who watch "Sex and the City" can't help but giggle a little bit and be sort of jealous that he's hanging out with SJP.

BALDWIN: I take it you don't get to hop a flight and go to SJP's townhouse to cover the president?

YELLIN: I really tried to wrangle that, but it wasn't going to happen.

BALDWIN: Last month, $76 million to $60 million. So, of course, Jon Stewart had a little something to say about it. Let's roll it.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JON STEWART, HOST, "THE DAILY SHOW WITH JON STEWART": Obama is rolling his [bleep] off, six fundraisers a day, trying to squeeze a mere $3.5 million out of him.

Meanwhile, Romney's got Adelson going, "Hey, Jean, why don't you pop off a check to Romney for like $10 million?"

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BALDWIN: Is the president wearing himself out with all these fundraisers? Is there trouble brewing?

YELLIN: It's, you know, it's a challenge, and it's sort of a brand-new world. It's an unknown landscape now and it's something that the president has, you know, kind of carped about for a long time.

He thinks that Citizens United was a really bad decision. That's the one that opened all the floodgates to all this new money.

So he is spending an awful lot of time raising money, it's true. So we'll see.

And the Supreme Court is rehearing a case that might could change this policy, but who knows what will happen? BALDWIN: Who knows? Jessica Yellin, for now, we appreciate you there. "Political Pop." Good to see you.

Meanwhile, a North Carolina man turns his passion for helping the environment into a business that makes eco-accessories. This is your "Solutions" today.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BALDWIN: Airplanes and bicycles may mean transportation to you, but to Matt Mahler, they're duffel bags, purses, laptop bags, and wallets.

Mahler, a die-hard environmentalist, is the founder of Tierra Ideas, a company that used bicycle inner tubes and aircraft seat covers into fashionable items.

Mahler gets the rubber inner-tubes from bike shops in the Raleigh-area and, for fabric and leather, he has a deal with a major airline.

MATT MAHLER, FOUNDER, TIERRA IDEAS: They agreed to donate their used, worn seat-back covers and curtains that were being retired from their aircrafts in exchange for donating two percent of our profit to their chosen charity.

BALDWIN: Mahler started the company in his garage three years ago. He does the bulk of the design and marketing himself, with help from his wife, Louisa.

Mahler sews his own prototypes and the production work is then handed off to contract workers in the area. The handmade goods are sold in small boutiques and specialty stores in several states and online.

For Mahler, Tierra Ideas is his way of preserving the environment.

MAHLER: The more we can recycle into something that's usable, I think, it's just better for the planet.

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BALDWIN: Let's go to Wolf Blitzer. Wolf, what do you have coming up?

WOLF BLITZER, HOST, "THE SITUATION ROOM": Nick Kristof from "The New York Times," the columnist, Brooke, he's just come back from a 1,700-mile trek through Iran.

He says the Iranians gave him a journalistic visa. They didn't force a minder or a watcher or some sort of official to watch him. He didn't think he was being tailed as he was going around, but he spoke to a wide range of people. There's a column in "The New York Times" today. We're going to talk about that. He says he believes what he heard from the Iranian people suggests, Brooke, get this, he thinks average Iranians are the most pro-American group in the Middle East. Can you believe that?

BALDWIN: No. I don't believe that.

BLITZER: The Iranians, he says. You know, what? Watch the show.

BALDWIN: I will.

BLITZER: Hear what he has to say. He's also done some video that they've posted at "The New York Times" website. We'll show some of that as well. Nick Kristof.

Hussain Haqqani, the former Pakistani ambassador to the United States, now effectively being accused of treason while he was serving here in Washington. We'll talk with him as well.

So a lot coming up.

BALDWIN: I'm a big fan. We'll look for it. Wolf, thank you. See you at the top of the hour.

Meantime, this next story, absolutely gives me the chills. Parents murdering their daughters because they wanted boys. We're about to go inside the most dangerous place in the world to be a girl.

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BALDWIN: I want you to now consider this. A large study in India finds that up to 12 million girl fetuses have been aborted over the past 30 years simply because they were female, 12 million.

Sara Sidner shows us why the United Nations deems India the most dangerous place to be a girl.

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SARA SIDNER, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Nineteen-year-old Reshma Banu stares at the tiny screen on her cell phone. This is the only place she can see her baby girl alive and well.

Three-month-old Arin died in the hospital with cigarette burns, bites and a dislocated neck. Police say her own father killed her. Why? Because she happened to be born a girl.

RESHMA BANU, GRIEVING MOTHER (through translator): After my delivery, my husband had come to see me and the baby. After seeing the child, he said, "It's a girl? Why did you give birth to a girl?"

SIDNER: She says he wanted a boy, an heir. Reshma was devastated when given this ultimatum.

For her wedding we would require 100,000 rubies for expenses. If you can get that amount from your mother, then you can keep her. If you can't, then kill her.

She couldn't and refused to kill her baby, so police say her husband did it himself.

As brutal and shocking as this case may be, getting rid of babies just because they're girls is nothing new here in India and, many times, it's done long before the child is born.

How? Sex selective abortions. India has a growing gap between the number of girls and the number of boys. The 2011 census showed, for every 1,000 boys, there were only 914 girls. The gap was smaller ten years ago.

UNICEF says India's the most dangerous place to be a girl. Would you agree with that considering what you know about the subject?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes, largely, the mortality for girls versus boys, I would say yes.

SIDNER: He's been researching the subject for years. Sex- selective abortions are against the law in India, but he says it's still happening. And he says there are more sex-selective abortions among the educated and well-off than among the desperately poor and uneducated.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: A boy is seen as a better.

SIDNER: When you say that, basically what you're telling me is that families look at girls as a liability.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: absolutely.

SIDNER: And boys as almost a retirement.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: absolutely.

SIDNER: In traditional Indian families, the men marry and bring their bride home to live and take care of his parents. Girls marry and leave the home providing no extra financial support.

Plus, a girl's family can go broke trying to pay a dowry to get her married. Dowry is also outlawed in India, but it's still common as it ever was.

We traveled to a village the Indian government says has one of the worst ratios of boys to girls in the country where the government has launched a campaign to change minds.

But even though they wear t-shirts with messages about keeping girls, we still found many more young boys.

Girls are mostly aborted here, she says. The people want more boys. There's a shortage of girls.

We met her while she was taking care of her neighbor's newborn baby girl, all the while blowing cigarette smoke into the baby's face. She says the poorest people don't have the money to abort, so they're forced to keep girls, but those who can afford an ultrasound and abortion get rid of female fetuses.

So much money is required to get them married. Where will the money come from? she says.

But for Reshma and her parents, a baby boy or girl is a blessing.

BANU (through translator): She had just come into the world. She is like a flower bud and he killed her. I lost my daughter. What can be worse than this?

SIDER: Her husband is still awaiting trial. Reshma, still mourning the chance to raise her first child, just because she was born a girl.

Sara Sidner, CNN, Bangalore.

BALDWIN: Wow. There are no words.

Wolf Blitzer, let's go to you. "The Situation Room" begins right now.