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Supreme Court Rules on Arizona Immigration Law; Firefighters Battle Colorado Wildfires; Interview With Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa; Election 2012; Tropical Storm Debby Yet to Make Landfall; Sandusky Appeals Verdict; Saudi Arabia Allows Women to Compete in Olympics

Aired June 25, 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: Rolling on along. Welcome back. I'm Brooke Baldwin, hour two.

The U.S. Supreme Court strikes down most of Arizona's immigration law. But both sides here are claiming victory today. I want to break it down for you point by point. Keep in mind there are three major planks in the law. They are now out.

The first here would have allowed police to arrest immigrants without warrant a if they had probable cause a crime had been committed. Number two made it a crime for illegal immigrants not to carry registration papers or a government I.D.

And the third that was struck down would have prevented illegal immigrations from trying to get jobs here in the U.S. Those provisions are gone. They're now history. But the part of this legislation that still stands and has been very, very contentious is this part, Section 2-B.

It says police can check a person's immigration status while enforcing other laws if they have reasonable suspicion that this person is in the U.S. illegally.

Senior legal analyst Jeffrey Toobin has been reading and re- reading this decision I know that came down from the highest court. And we're all getting this education today, and then the definition of reasonable suspicion.

So, explain this to us. Explain the part of this legislation that still stands.

JEFFREY TOOBIN, CNN SENIOR LEGAL ANALYST: OK.

The part that still stands is nicknamed the show us your papers law. It's the part that says if the cops have reasonable suspicion to stop you, if, say, you have run a stoplight or you're weaving down the street like thank might be drunk, those are reasonable grounds to stop someone.

At that point, the officer can then ask for immigration papers, if he has reasonable suspicion that you're an illegal immigrant. This is a difficult standard to describe. Just -- a lot of people are familiar with proof beyond a reasonable doubt.

That's our highest legal standard. Below that is probable cause, which is sort of 51 percent, more probable than not. Reasonable suspicion is somewhere between a hunch and probable cause. It's a low level, but it's some standard that the cops will have to meet before they start questioning people about their immigration status.

BALDWIN: All right, and you know there are other states with similar laws and there could other states, Jeff Toobin, who might want to write similar laws, because if this Section 2-B stands in this SB- 1070, this Senate Bill 1070 in Arizona, what's going to stop states X, Y and Z from doing the same thing?

TOOBIN: Nothing. In fact, that's how the system is supposed to work.

If the courts give the Good Housekeeping Seal of Approval to a law as they have for this 2-B section, then if all these other states simply pass the identical law, we know that it's constitutional. Unfortunately, things don't always work that neatly.

Other states have passed laws that are similar to, but not identical to all the provisions that we have been talking about and that means there are going to be legal tests of all these new laws, including, for example, Alabama's, which is even stricter than the Arizona law. All of those are going to go to court.

All of them will be appealed and some of them may even wind up before the Supreme Court again.

BALDWIN: So, as we keep talking about it, Jeff Toobin, thank you very much.

And as you can tell, some parts and iterations of these different pieces of legislation can be confusing and they can also be very political, have political ramifications and ripple.s

And for that, we go to CNN chief political analyst Gloria Borger, who joins me from Washington to talk about that.

First, with this ruling today, it's interesting. It's sort of like the victory is in the eye of beholder. Right? It seems like the court gave something to both sides with the decision.

GLORIA BORGER, CNN SENIOR POLITICAL ANALYST: Split decision.

BALDWIN: Yes.

BORGER: A little ugly, split decision, not really clear-cut. You heard Governor Jan Brewer earlier...

(CROSSTALK)

BALDWIN: Vindicated.

BORGER: Right, vindicated. She had won because the show us your papers provision had been upheld.

And then you hear people representing the Obama administration -- little I must say the president himself is not talking about this -- saying, look, we won on three out of four of these provisions, so it's a victory for the Obama administration. So, both sides can play it to their advantage.

BALDWIN: How will they do that in this election year? And we should remind our viewers the president is speaking today and the governor -- former governor of Massachusetts in Arizona of all places, by design or not.

How do they use this news to their advantage come November?

BORGER: Well, it's interesting.

If you look back over the last 10 days, Brooke, I would have to say you would give the advantage right now to President Obama. First of all, we saw his executive action 10 days ago, his own version of the DREAM Act, allowing some children of illegal immigrants to continue working in this country without fear of deportation.

Then he has campaigned against the Arizona law. He's against the Arizona law. He got three out of four things he wanted from the Supreme Court. Then you have Mitt Romney. Mitt Romney is in a much more difficult position.

Today, he issued a statement that gives new meaning to the term vague, sort of acknowledged that the Supreme Court had decided, but went onto attack President Obama for not having an immigration policy. You know, Brooke, that during the primaries, Mitt Romney ran to the right on immigration. He's got a problem with Latino voters. And so he's not leading on this issue. He's being very, very careful.

BALDWIN: Final question, though final -- how does lead? Because to your point on this sort of nebulous statement, because as candidate Obama he promised to present an immigration plan during his first year in office. Four years later, we are still waiting.

BORGER: Right.

BALDWIN: How does he win this debate?

BORGER: Well, it's very hard for him to win this debate.

What he can say -- and it is what he is saying -- is that at some point in this country, we need to have one immigration policy. One way he can appeal to Republican voters and to lots of voters, independent voters as well, is to talk about border security.

Border security is key. Everybody agrees we need to have tough border security. The tricky part is what you do about people already in this country. And he talked during the primaries about something he called self-deportation.

BALDWIN: Right. BORGER: We don't hear a lot about that anymore. He's in a very, very difficult spot right now, particularly after President Obama issued his executive action last week.

BALDWIN: Gloria Borger, thank you.

BORGER: Sure.

BALDWIN: The heart of this immigration storyline today, of course, the state of Arizona.

And just a quick reminder. Governor Jan Brewer, she's going to be talking with John King tonight. So make you watch "J.K. USA" at 6:00 Eastern.

And with that, we have a lot more for you on this Monday, including this.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

BALDWIN (voice-over): Huge wildfires in one state burning thousands of acres, people leaving everything they own behind.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It's pretty scary. It's right there.

BALDWIN: And CNN awards our iReporters. You bring us the news in your own backyard and we say thanks in a big way.

The news is now.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BALDWIN: People's lives, their homes, their valuables, they are all at stake right now, all depending on which way the flames turn, which way the winds are blowing. Take a look at this.

This is just the latest wildfire burning in Colorado. This is the Waldo Canyon wildfire. Look just at the smoke. The number by the way just went up, active fires eating up the state. Waldo Canyon has forced more than 11,000 people to evacuate their homes in the Colorado Springs area. No word when they are going to be able to return because of these dry, windy conditions, conditions that are forcing red flag warnings. You see them here in multiple states, including Utah, which is experiencing its own wildfires charring more than 16,000 acres so far there.

That, by the way, is three times the size of the Waldo Canyon fire. But Waldo Canyon is so aggressive and so dangerous that investigators can't get near the source of the flames to even figure out a cause.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

GREG HEULE, PUBLIC INFORMATION OFFICER: The cause of this fire is still under investigation. And I say that because there's no way for our investigators to even get into the site or wherever that is that they suspect the fire may have started. It will probably be another two days before they are able to get into that area because of the fire behavior and the hazards that are involved.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BALDWIN: Joining me now, Brandon Hanson, a CNN iReporter who lives in Colorado Springs. He's been posting what he's been experiencing to CNN.com, along with so many of you other iReporters.

And, Brandon, let me just begin what you and I were -- I just want to share with our viewers what you and I were talking about in the commercial break. You said you are literally unpacking. You just moved to Colorado from Houston and now this.

BRANDON HANSON, CNN IREPORTER: That's right. We had just started to unpack everything and realized that we better stop packing.

BALDWIN: Tell me how close you are to this. You have chosen to stay in your home. Why is that?

HANSON: Yes. Well, currently, we're under a voluntary evacuation for Mountain Shadows neighborhood. And until it's lifted to a mandatory, we're going to stick around and stay put. When the fire first began and I took this photo, it was exactly 13 miles from our house.

BALDWIN: Have you seen smoke like this in person in your life?

HANSON: No. I have never, ever witnessed for seen anything like this. The smell, it's just -- it's very, very surreal.

BALDWIN: Smells like what?

HANSON: It smells just like a campfire at nighttime.

BALDWIN: And so since this is a first for you, help us understand, those of us who, thank goodness, have not experienced this, have not lived in places prone to wildfires. What's just the sense in the community? Is this something people are truly, truly panicking about or not quite yet?

HANSON: Well, honestly, the media outlets here in Colorado Springs have just been fantastic. They have been on top of everything that is going on. They let everyone know kind of for all the citizens to have a sense of calm, which has been great. And for the most part, I believe everyone is sticking calm and just kind of going by ear.

BALDWIN: Let's throw the picture back up, guys. Let's throw the picture back up that Brandon took that you sent in all the smoke here. And this is something I understand you took Saturday. Just here -- here it is again. And I just can't get over the smoke.

Explain it, and then, if you can, is it worse now, is it better? HANSON: Yes. My wife and I went out to lunch. We came home and looked out and sure enough pull in the driveway and I looked up and we see this. And I just could not believe it. And this was about 2:00 on Saturday. And I believe the fire started at 1:00. And for right now, you can still see smoke, but not billowing in that way. It's not as dark now. It's more white.

BALDWIN: OK. OK. We have some live pictures, I'm told. These are live pictures, KKTV sending them to us. And you can just see just the haze and the smoke in the distance.

Chad Myers, are you plugged in?

CHAD MYERS, CNN METEOROLOGIST: Yes.

BALDWIN: All right, let's talk.

MYERS: I'm just going over here to give it some perspective.

This fire is only 3,400 acres. And we're talking about the other fire up by Fort Collins now 90,000 acres. But the problem is the containment. There isn't any. There is no containment on this fire whatsoever. They can't get their arms around it. They can't get fire lines around it. They have 450 people trying to get some kind of containment here, Brooke.

And there's just nothing they can do about it. Another hot, dry day today, possibly 100, the relative humidity about 5 to 10 percent. That just dries the forest out more.

I don't know if -- is the iReporter still there?

(CROSSTALK)

BALDWIN: Brandon, you still with us?

HANSON: Yes, I'm still here.

MYERS: We have had a lot of problems up in the north part of the fire, the other fire because of dead pine trees, because of these pine beetles, the Rocky Mountain beetles that have killed so many trees.

When you're up there by Garden of the Gods, where this fire kind of is, are you seeing a lot of dead trees or is it better to the south?

HANSON: Yes. No, it's actually better to the South. When the hill starts coming down, you don't see any dead trees. It's still over the hill as far as where the fire is located right now.

MYERS: Yes, just rough.

I love this area out here. I grew up in Nebraska. And I got over here to the canyons and the gorges and white-water rafting and then so many operators are now closed. The Poudre Canyon is completely closed to white-water rafting. I can imagine this is going to get back into other parts of Colorado in the San Juans.

And all this livelihood, all the summer in Colorado, I know people go to Colorado in the winter to go skiing, but I don't. I go in the summer because it's so fantastic.

(CROSSTALK)

BALDWIN: It's beautiful.

And, Brandon, we're going to let you go, but, Brandon Hanson, I thank you for your picture and your iReport. And I'm hoping that this fire comes nowhere near your home and you and your wife can finally unpack here from Houston.

Quickly, Chad, final question to you. "The Denver Post" -- this I just thought the was stunning. "The Denver Post" is reporting half the nation's firefighting air fleet is in Colorado.

MYERS: Yes, no question about it.

BALDWIN: Half the nation.

(CROSSTALK)

MYERS: I have some numbers here. Just on the fire near Fort Collins, 18 or 19 helicopters now, five heavy air tankers, 170 engines, 170 fire engines with 2,000 people on that fire, and 450 people on the fire down by Colorado Springs.

BALDWIN: Chad, thank you. Keep watching it for us.

MYERS: You're welcome. I will.

BALDWIN: Question for you. What do immigrants in California think about today's Supreme Court ruling on immigration? We're going to talk to the mayor of Los Angeles about that.

Also, Mitt Romney happens to be in Arizona at this hour. He says President Obama has failed to provide any leadership on the issue.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BALDWIN: President Obama says he is pleased with today's Supreme Court decision, but that he remains concerned about the part that of the immigration law that was upheld.

So here in a statement today, the president says -- quote -- "What this decision makes unmistakably unclear is that Congress must act on comprehensive immigration reform. A patchwork of state laws is not a solution to our broken immigration system. It's part of the problem."

That said, today's Supreme Court decision very much so having a profound impact on Hispanic communities around the country, Los Angeles certainly one of them. You see here protests were held there well before today's ruling by the Supreme Court.

And Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa joins me live.

And, Mr. Mayor, just what was your reaction? You heard the news from the nation's highest court, and you thought what?

ANTONIO VILLARAIGOSA (D), MAYOR OF LOS ANGELES: Well, very similar to the president.

I am heartened that three of these provisions have been rejected as unconstitutional, that they have indicated the nation the federal government has preemption in these matters, that we don't need a patchwork of 50 different laws on the issue.

But I'm also very, very concerned about the provision of show me your papers. What they do say it has to be related to a legal stop, that they can't just stop you because they suspect.

But I think what is -- that part of the decision is going to do, it's going to invite more litigation. And certainly the trial court will look at this issue. And I think you will see that other groups will probably sue once they have shown and demonstrated that the implementation law of this requires racial profiling.

BALDWIN: It sounds like there certainly will more challenges, as per our senior legal analyst, Jeff Toobin. That's what he was saying.

VILLARAIGOSA: That's right.

BALDWIN: And on that, by the way, the president also said this in a statement: "Going forward, we must ensure that Arizona law enforcement officials do not enforce this law in a manner that undermines the civil rights of Americans, as the Court's decision recognizes."

Let me just point this out, Mayor Villaraigosa, that grandfather was an immigrant. You fought -- immigrants rights going all the way back to Cesar Chavez's grape boycott. Big picture, do you see today's decision as a backwards move or do you see the legality behind the reasoning?

VILLARAIGOSA: Well, I see an opportunity.

I'm hoping that Democrats and Republicans will come together. I'm hoping that Governor Romney will reject the Arizona law and his previous position that it was a model for the nation and instead call on the Congress to fix this broken immigration system, to pass the DREAM Act and comprehensive immigration reform.

This is a great nation that's always embraced its immigrants. And we need to enforce and secure our borders. But we also need to provide a pathway for earned legalization. I think that's what the Congress needs to do to avoid states replicating the show me your papers provision and moving ahead so we get this out of politics and really understand. this is about people, people who are working hard, kids who have been here their whole life who want to contribute to the nation, who want to serve in the military, who want to give back to this great country that has given us all so much.

BALDWIN: But with this as it's been dubbed, this show me your papers provision, this 2-B section that under reasonable suspicion can a law enforcement check someone's papers if they pull someone over for some sort of let's say a traffic violation or something of that nature, a lot of concern from folks who are worried about that is that, OK, if this was upheld in the nation's highest court, this could come to my state.

And is that something that's plausible in the state of California?

VILLARAIGOSA: I doubt it. I doubt it.

I think in this state, we recognize the contributions of immigrants. We also acknowledge that the immigration system is broken. We do believe that we need to work hand in hand across the aisle, by the way, to fix this broken immigration system.

There is a path forward here, a path forward that enforces and secures our border, that says that we're a nation of laws and we have got to respect those laws, but also gives a pathway for earned legalization.

The vast majority of people in this country support that. And we have got to get the people in the Congress who have failed to create the jobs we need, who have failed to address the deficit and debt, and who are failing with respect to this immigration system that is broken right now.

BALDWIN: Yes.

We have heard Mitt Romney say it's broken, President Obama saying it's broken, you too. But it's just a matter of how we fix it. That's the issue, Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa.

(CROSSTALK)

VILLARAIGOSA: Well, the way to fix it is to pass the DREAM Act and...

BALDWIN: Comprehensive immigration reform.

VILLARAIGOSA: Comprehensive immigration reform.

(CROSSTALK)

BALDWIN: I hear you.

Everyone has an opinion. Thank you again, sir. Thanks for coming back on the show.

VILLARAIGOSA: You're welcome.

BALDWIN: Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney in Arizona this hour, where today's Supreme Court decision is dominating talk here, obviously, on the campaign trail.

And that's where we find national political correspondent Jim Acosta in Scottsdale, Arizona, traveling with the campaign.

And so what is the Romney camp -- we have seen this sort of terse paragraph-long statement from team Romney. What else are they saying about the big news from the Supreme Court?

JIM ACOSTA, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Right.

Well, Brooke, as you know, because that statement was probably read on CNN a number of times today, Mitt Romney did not really say in that statement where he stands on the Supreme Court decision. He does not say whether he agrees with it or disagrees with it.

And so naturally, a lot of reporters who are traveling with the GOP contenders was curious where exactly does Mitt Romney stand when it comes to this decision. Is he in favor of it? Does he oppose it? Does he think that the high court made the right call or not?

And so on the back of his campaign plane, I will you tell you, in about an hour or so from now, he was asked that -- or not -- Mitt Romney was not asked that question, but his traveling press secretary, Rick Gorka, was asked that question repeatedly, whether he agrees with the Supreme Court agree, whether Romney agrees with the Arizona immigration law.

Here is a sample of what he had to say.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ACOSTA: The statement that Mitt Romney released this morning doesn't say one or the other whether he agrees with the Supreme Court decision. Does he have a reaction as to whether he agrees with this decision?

RICK GORKA, ROMNEY CAMPAIGN SPOKESMAN: The states have the right to craft their immigration policy, and the federal has failed to do so.

(CROSSTALK)

ACOSTA: But we don't have a statement one way or the other whether he agrees with this decision today by the Supreme Court. The statement itself doesn't say.

(CROSSTALK)

GORKA: Ultimately, this debate -- this country would be better served if the president wasn't suing states, but where the president is actually fulfilling his campaign policies to enact immigration policy.

(CROSSTALK)

BALDWIN: OK. ACOSTA: So, it's interesting to see that reaction, Brooke.

And I will tell you, why Rick Gorka was talking to us on the campaign plane, Mitt Romney slipped out the front of the plane, hopped in his ride to a nearby fund-raiser, which is where he's at right now.

And so the campaign really limited our access in terms of just seeing Mitt Romney today. We only got a brief glimpse of the candidate at the front of the plane as he was getting on the plane in Salt Lake City earlier this morning. We haven't really seen him since. Now, that may change later on this evening. He may come out and make another statement. We have no idea. The campaign hasn't given us a sense one way or the other.

He will be making remarks at a fund-raiser in around an hour from now. And so we expect to get some kind of pool report of what he has to say once he makes those remarks, Brooke.

BALDWIN: OK. We will look for that if in fact he does comment on it specifically.

Jim Acosta, thanks so much for us in Arizona today.

It is an election year. And I know a lot of you are seeing all these political ads. You will keep seeing them after a Supreme Court ruling today. More on that.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BALDWIN: Another with today's immigration decision, another significant ruling from the U.S. Supreme Court today that will have huge impact on elections in November.

The court has refused to reconsider this 2010 ruling and hear arguments over whether a state can limit the amount of campaign spending by corporations. The court decided that its 2010 dig decision basically opening the floodgates to massive corporate spending trumps state law.

Chief White House correspondent Jessica Yellin joins me from Washington with more on today's ruling.

So, the case I know focused on Montana, has wide-reaching implications. So what does this mean for us come November?

YELLIN: Well, first, Brooke, it means that you could see even more political ads and get more political mail in your inbox.

Keep in mind, this one in particular applies to races for mayor, city council, state legislature. And compared to running for president, where they're spending hundreds of millions of dollars, you can tilt a mayor's race in some towns for a couple hundred thousand dollars or less. So, it gives a lot of people with some money a lot more influence on local elections, like it or hate it.

BALDWIN: So, with that influence come of course fears that, you know, this could lead to more corruption.

YELLIN: Well, let's be clear. Supporters say money is free speech. And since the Supreme Court says this is legal, by definition, it's not corrupt, but the reason critics are fearful that it is corruption is because of the following.

Let's say, for example, you're in the real estate business. Who sets zoning policy? It's not your senator. It's not the president. It's probably the county commissioner or some comparable board. This ruling, if it says that the local real estate developer can now give unlimited funds to get county commissioners or zoning board members elected, the same people who are setting zoning policy, does it mean the developer has outsized influence on zoning policy, which affects their business?

People who hate Citizens United say, yes, that's corruption. Those who like it say, no, that's free speech.

BALDWIN: So might we see this come back up at the high court at another date or is this over, done?

YELLIN: Well, it's unlikely we'll see this Citizens United case challenged any time in the future with this group of justices. They could try to bring other cases that challenge campaign finance law in the future, but some people thought this case was an opportunity for justices to alter the Citizens United decision.

There was a school of thought that the justices did not realize the full implication of Citizens United when they ruled on it, that they really had no idea it would lead to maybe a billion dollars in outside spending pouring into the presidential election this year.

And these folks thought, oh, well, maybe this Montana case would give justices a chance to narrow its scope, but clearly, the justices said no way. They didn't even bother to hear arguments in this case, making it clear for this court that matter is settled for now, Brooke.

BALDWIN: And, as you mentioned at the top, more political ads and more political whatnot in our e-mail inboxes.

Jessica Yellin, thank you very much.

Floods, deadly tornadoes hitting the Gulf Coast. Tropical Storm Debby wreaked havoc across parts of Florida and Georgia. We're going to tell you where the storm is headed next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BALDWIN: If it's interesting and happening right now, we've got it. "Rapid Fire," roll it.

First up, I just want you to take a look at these pictures. You have high surf, unrelenting rain pounding the state of Florida and relief may be days away. Tropical Storm Debby yet to make landfall, but some areas very much so seeing this damage. In fact, the governor of the state has issued a state of emergency. The storm is expected to dump nearly a foot of rain on parts of Florida. One person was killed when a likely tornado hit near Sarasota. That was Sunday.

The storm system itself is pretty much -- you see it here -- just churning, sitting still, only moving about five miles per hour and that means a lot of rain will be dumped onto certain areas.

Attorneys for Jerry Sandusky say the convicted child molester plans to appeal. A jury found the former Penn State football coach guilty Friday night on 45 of those 48 counts of child sex abuse.

The basis of his appeal, according to his defense attorneys, ineffective counsel. But the filing can't happen until after he is sentenced, which will happen in three months.

Attorneys for Monsignor William Lynn are back in court today, asking if he can be put on house arrest rather than be in the jail while he awaits his sentencing. Lynn was found guilty Friday of one count of child endangerment, the first time a U.S. Catholic Church leader has been convicted of such a charge.

Lynn is set to be sentenced in August. He faces up to seven years in prison.

Police in Denver have arrested the man accused of fatally shooting Police Officer Celina Hollis in a city park just yesterday. According to officers, Rollen Oliver shot the 32-year-old officer and single mother in the head when she was trying to break up a fight.

The 21-year-old is being held on first-degree murder charges and investigators are not sure if Officer Hollis was, in fact, the intended target there.

And the final pieces of this gigantic construction puzzle known as the World Trade Center being welded together right now. The final beam was installed in Four World Trade Center just this morning.

The high-rise is scheduled to open in mid-2013. It's going to be the first office building to open at this mega-site. The site's anchor building, One World Trade, already has beams all the way up to the 104th floor.

And you send us your pictures, you send us your video, your stories, from the breaking news of the Indiana stage fair collapse to a one-on-one. Remember this woman? Michelle "Bombshell" McGee. iReporters, you do it all. We're so grateful and CNN is saying thanks.

But first, a once-successful engineer is transforming education in Philadelphia, getting kids to stay in school with electric cars. This is this week's "Next List."

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

STEFAN GONZALEZ, STUDENT, THE SUSTAINABILITY WORKSHOP: I wake up at 6:15. I'm out the door precisely at 6:30.

My name is Stefan Gonzalez and I'm a senior at The Sustainability Workshop.

Sometimes I walk to the end of my block and catch the 13. If I miss it, I walk down the avenue and catch the 52 bus. This is definitely worth it, worth the commute.

People my age can do a lot of things. Right now with the school district of Philadelphia, there really isn't energy efficiency or urban sustainability courses worked into the school day.

I think, besides the project-based learning that we do here, I think that's the biggest difference. Every day is different here at The Sustainability Workshop.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: One of the ways I know I'm successful is when you look at the students and the ways they have grown this year compared to the kind of growth I've seen in the more traditional approach to education is outstanding.

This has worked better than we imagined.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BALDWIN: They are the best of the best, CNN iReporters giving us compelling examples of citizen journalism and, just this weekend in Atlanta, the CNN iReport community honored some of their own "rock stars" and, really, that's what they are.

We are grateful to them and all the videos they upload. This was the second annual CNN iReport Awards, dogs and all, apparently.

The Community Choice award, selected by popular vote, went to iReporter Chris Morrow for her interview with Michelle "Bombshell" McGee, the tattooed entertainer who really became a household name after her affair with celebrity motorcycle builder, Jesse James.

And Chris Morrow in Studio 7 for the very first time. I feel like I see you all the time on iReport.

CHRIS MORROW, CNN IREPORTER, FREELANCE JOURNALIST: I see you all the time on CNN.

BALDWIN: Thank you for bringing me freshly-made strawberry jam. I really appreciate that.

How did you score this interview?

MORROW: I was in Las Vegas and I was at the Palms Hotel and I went to the porn star awards. It's a crazy thing.

BALDWIN: You got to do that to get an interview and you did.

MORROW: She showed up. She was striking and I asked her for an interview and I heard that she was from San Diego so ...

BALDWIN: You had a bond?

MORROW: Yes.

BALDWIN: I just want to play a part of it because, I think what struck me, I was one of the judges and I remember this one very well. She was so candid with you. Let's roll the piece.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MORROW: what would you say if you met her?

MICHELLE "BOMBSHELL" MCGEE, MODEL AND ENTERTAINER: If I met Sandra Bullock, I think I know what I would say, but I think I would be so don't know what to say.

What do you say to a woman who you had an affair with her husband, honestly? I think I'd like to say I'm sorry and all these other things, but I think it would be like an awkward meeting.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BALDWIN: What a nasty little story that was and you got her and this is your first CNN award, the Community Choice, because of the interview.

So is this exciting for you? You uploaded like more than 1,500 iReports.

MORROW: I'm really honored. I'm representing more than a million iReporters, worldwide, and it's really the only place in the world where you can write, produce and edit and you can be seen by the world on a legitimate news source.

I mean, wow, for me to be able to be a leader like that, it's indescribable -- it really is -- being a small-town journalist.

BALDWIN: Why do you do it? We're so grateful that you do it, but why do you take the time and run all over the place just for us?

MORROW: Well, it's great. I get a passion. I can be seen by the world and it's also easy. iReport is so much fun. It's a great community. I have a lot of support. And people love it. Maybe I'm hooked by it, hooked by the fun.

BALDWIN: Are you teary?

MORROW: I am. Just a little teary.

BALDWIN: You are a little teary. Why is this teary for you?

MORROW: It's just so special. A million people, can you believe that? I'm representing a million people. I mean, wow, you never really even think about that, but it's amazing. It really is. BALDWIN: We thank you, Chris Morrow, so much for your dedication and everyone else out there. It was an honor to even get to judge it and you even have your very own -- get a shot of this -- she made a mike flag, ladies and gentlemen, her own iReport mike flag.

We thank you, iReporters, and we thank you, Chris Morrow, as well.

MORROW: Can I do a quick shot out to my Twitter. Morrowchris, go ahead and follow me and I promise that you won't be disappointed. And follow Brooke, too.

BALDWIN: Follow me, too, @BrookeBCNN.

Thank you very much. Nice to meet you.

MORROW: My pleasure.

BALDWIN: And now this. An appeal could soon be filed in the Jerry Sandusky conviction and one state's step to protect children from online sexual predators goes to court. The outcome with Sunny Hostin on the case, next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BALDWIN: Jerry Sandusky has now been convicted, but the court cases involving the former Penn State coach are far from over. On Friday night, a jury convicted the 68-year-old man here on 45 of those 48 charges involving 10 victims.

But Sandusky's attorneys say he plans to appeal based on their own failures. The claim for the motion to appeal, ineffective counsel, because the attorneys didn't have enough prep time.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

KARL ROMINGER, SANDUSKY'S ATTORNEY: We would have spent a lot more time connecting the accusers, now victims, to each other to show a closer relationship. I think one of hurdles for the jury was trying to understand how so many people could come up with a such a similar story or pattern.

And we believe, given more time, we would have flesh out more backgrounds and connections so the jury understood these were not all young men, standing alone, but each of them had an opportunity to talk with each other and also, during the grand jury sessions and during the police interviews, had been into a lot of what they said.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BALDWIN: CNN legal analyst Sunny Hostin is on the case, as always. And it's a question I have to ask. Do you think Sandusky could win his appeal?

SUNNY HOSTIN, CNN LEGAL ANALYST: I don't think so. We see these ineffective assistance of counsel claims often when there's a conviction. Typically, they are not granted.

I think what's interesting here is that they say they did not have enough time to prepare. Jerry Sandusky was arrested in November and his trial just happened, so we're talking about seven months time to prepare.

And so, given that and given the overwhelming evidence, Brooke, I think it's very unlikely that an appeal on that ground will be successful.

BALDWIN: OK, but if they are claiming ineffective counsel, what would happen if the judge does agree to hear this? Do the defense attorneys become witnesses? Has this ever happened before?

HOSTIN: Yes, it has happened before and that's actually exactly how you prove that case. The defense attorneys are called to the witness stand and they talk about why they say that they were unprepared, why their counsel was ineffective and that does happen a lot, actually, Brooke, because this is a typical ground for appeal. It's rarely, rarely successful.

BALDWIN: OK. Now, the attorneys for the victims, they say they're not ruling out lawsuits. Penn State has actually indicated it wants to work some of these cases out and do that quickly. Do you foresee some big settlements in the future?

HOSTIN: I really do. I think Penn State has done a lot, in terms of starting an internal investigation into its own university, hiring Louis Freeh to conduct the investigation. He is known for being an aggressive investigator.

They've also come out with a statement and said that they will compensate these victims. And so I don't think there's a question that these cases will settle. I think the only question remaining is for how much.

BALDWIN: OK. Let me move quickly to this other case. We were talking about this in our morning meeting. This is out of Indiana and this judge upheld a law that bans certain sex offenders from using social media websites that allow minors like Facebook.

Do you think that ruling will stand?

HOSTIN: I do think it will stand. And I will say this. When people are convicted of sex offenses, especially child sex offenses, when they get out, there are sets of conditions that they must adhere to and oftentimes it's stay away from children. You can be alone with children. You can live or visit schools. You can't live or visit playgrounds. And so it's not unusual for sex offenders to be banned from certain areas.

It makes sense in my view to ban certain classes of sex offenders from being able to troll Facebook or any other social networking sites where you know children are on, and preventing these predators from preying on our children.

And so I think it makes perfect sense given the digital age that we're living I in today to expand those conditions.

BALDWIN: Exactly. I agree with you on that one. It does make perfect sense. Sunny Hostin, thank you. See you tomorrow.

HOSTIN: Thanks.

BALDWIN: And now to this photo. Have you seen this picture? Not this one. We have another one for you. Talk about a photo finish.

It was a race to see who would make and qualify for the Olympic team, who gets to go to London, but the last spot on the team hasn't been filled because judges don't know who won. We'll show you the picture. You be the judge.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BALDWIN: The Heat, Miami celebrating it NBA championship win. Not even the threat of torrential downpours could stop this parade here. The Miami Heat won the title, beating the Oklahoma City Thunder, NBA champs here back in 2010.

Lebron James promised fans he would bring them not one, not two, but maybe more than seven NBA championships. After failing to back up those words his first year in town, he made good on the first part of the pledge this season.

Look at those people in Miami.

And now to this. I can't get over this picture. I want to show it to you. When it comes to photo finishes, there isn't even a winner by a hair. Look at this.

So here's the story. You have two competitors, vying for position, a highly, much coveted, much sought-after position to get to go to London to the Olympics, crossing the finish line here at the same time.

But wait because it gets better. These two ladies, competing in the 100-meter dash, both tied for third place, but only one, third- place winner can be on the U.S. Olympic team.

Let's go to New York, David Epstein, senior writer for "Sports Illustrated" and, David, my heart goes out. I had a very dear friend that just missed the Olympics by just a smidge in swimming, so my heart goes out to them.

What is the deciding factor here? Let's go ahead and throw the picture back up. It's not necessarily a leg or an arm that crosses the finish line. It's the torso, right?

DAVID EPSTEIN, SENIOR WRITER, SPORTS ILLUSTRATED: That's right. It's the torso. You can see one runner, Jeneba Tarmoha 's hand is ahead, but that doesn't matter. It's just the torso that counts and they're dead even on the torso. BALDWIN: They are dead even on the torso. So let me run through some of these options and then I have a question for you. So the options going forward, none of which seems very appealing. One of the runners can give up her claim to be on the team. Like that's going to happen.

If no one does that, they can either flip a coin or have a tie- breaking race. If they disagree on which way to go, they have to race for it.

If they both refuse to pick an option, officials will take it upon themselves to flip a coin, which, in this day, David, of technology, I can't believe we're talking about a coin toss.

EPSTEIN: Well, those rules that you just put up have existed for all of like 15 hours now. They were hashed out yesterday. That shows how rare this occurrence really is.

The last time I remember a dead heat was actually at the last Olympics. Two women in the 100-meters tied for second. They gave them two silver medals, but you can't do that in this case because they have to pick one person to go. So it's either a run-off or it's going to be a coin toss.

BALDWIN: Do we have any indication which way these ladies are going? What if one of them wants a coin toss and one of them wants a run-off?

EPSTEIN: If even one chooses a run-off, then the other is obligated to either participate in the run-off or give up the spot, so if one proactively chooses a run-off, then it's a run-off.

BALDWIN: OK, and then have you ever, you know, seen anything like this before? The U.S. Olympic committee, as you pointed out, kind of just made these rules just because of this photo finish. We're talking 3,000 frames a second and they still can't tell. Is there precedence for this?

EPSTEIN: No, no. Never seen anything like this before and it's really rare that it could even happen because, in most races, you can just have a tie, but in this case, since it's qualifying, you can't.

And just these rules being hashed out yesterday, show's how rare it is. Can you imagine if this was the 10,000-meter race. Do you think they would have a run-off in the 10,000 meters? I doubt it. These are special rules for a special situation.

BALDWIN: I feel for them. Just let them both go to London. That's what I would say, but I'm such a softie.

David Epstein, thank you so much. We'll see what happens with the ladies. Appreciate it.

EPSTEIN: Thanks for having me.

BALDWIN: And speaking of lady athletes. A milestone for women, Saudi Arabia has just agreed to allow women to compete in the Olympics.

Keep in mind, Saudi women can't vote, can't drive, can't hold public office, can't even open a bank account without a male guardian. And Human Rights Watch said earlier this year that the Kingdom believes letting them to national sports will lead to immorality and -- I'm quoting here -- "steps of the devil."

So this change of heart on the Olympics is welcome news for Dalma Malhas. The equestrian was the first Saudi woman to compete in the Youth Olympics and, while she's all jazzed about this, certainly, she will not be competing in the London games this summer, but she looks forwards to trying out next time around.

And we are watching, you can see, Tropical Storm Debby churning right around the Georgia/Florida-area, dumping quite a bit of rainfall. I know Chad and I were talking earlier. You have issues because of the saturated ground. Trees are falling. There are sinkhole issues.

If you've been to Florida enough, you have see the gators, as have I, and when there are storms like this, these gators come out of the swamps and into towns. You can see the water here. A lot of flooding issues for folks in and around parts of Florida and Georgia, so we're also watching very closely.

We're also watching, very closely, the Supreme Court ruling today with regard to SB1070 and its legality, different pieces of this law. Joe Johns is here in the big chair for Wolf Blitzer in "The Situation Room," going to parse through some of that and see how that could have some sort of ripple-effect in certain other states and also politically, as this is an election year.

Joe Johns, I toss things of to you. Hey, Joe.