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Obama Holds Surprise Press Briefing; Augusta National Admits Two Women; GOP Freshmen Partied Hard In Israel; Director Tony Scott Dead At 68; Groupon Investors Cash Out; West Nile Virus Emergency In Texas; Crane Collapses In Toronto; America's Best Places To Live; The Real Indiana Jones

Aired August 20, 2012 - 14:00   ET

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

SUZANNE MALVEAUX, CNN ANCHOR: The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says Americans are fat and are getting fatter. When did it happen? Take a look at the map. You can see dramatic increases in obesity rates. This is through 1990 through 2010. In 2010, 12 states had an obesity rate of 30 percent. Compare that with 2000, no states could make that claim. But the comparisons are going to end there because the CDC has changed the way it's gathering obesity statistics.

If you're planning on moving or just dreaming of a place to live, check out CNN's "Money List." All the best cities, cities that offer job opportunities, good schools, low crimes, sense of community. Here are the top five. Take a look at this: Redmond, Washington; Newton, Massachusetts; Eden Prairie, Minnesota; McKinney, Texas; and number one spot, Carmel, Indiana. To check out the entire list, go to cnnmoney.com.

CNN NEWSROOM continues right now with Brooke Baldwin.

Hey, Brooke.

BROOKE BALDWIN, CNN ANCHOR: Number 10, Chapel Hill, North Carolina. Just saying, I'm alma mater. Suzanne, thank you so much.

Hi, everyone. I'm Brooke Baldwin. I know Susan was just talking about this. And we just want to begin right where you all left off. Did you see this? A surprise guest just moments ago in the White House Briefing Room, the president.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JAY CARNEY, WHITE HOUSE PRESS SECRETARY: Well, Nancy (ph), I appreciate the question. And these incidents -- incidents remaining deeply concerning to us.

BARACK OBAMA, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Hello, everybody.

CARNEY: Looks like there's a surprise guest here.

BARACK OBAMA, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: The -- Jay tells me that you guys have been missing me.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BALDWIN: Missing him or not, the president has certainly been getting quite a bit of heat lately for not taking questions from the White House press corps. So, out he pops. As I said, surprise, surprise here in the briefing room moments ago. Let's go to our White House correspondent, Brianna Keilar, who covers the president for us.

And, Brianna, how long had it been since the president had stood at that podium and taken questions from the White House press corp?

BRIANNA KEILAR, CNN ANCHOR: It had been months, Brooke. It was June when we last -- at that podium, I should say. It was June when we last had a press conference where President Obama took questions from the White House press corps. The press corps that covers him day in, day out. He'd done a lot of interviews, both nationally, locally, some radio, some magazine interviews, but it was in June when he was at the G-20 in Cabo San Lucas, Mexico. And even then, those questions, because of the venue, were very much, I guess you would say, foreign policy related questions. There weren't a lot of questions about the economy and that really had been even months before then since we'd heard from him. So not only had he been getting kind of some flak in the White House and getting some flak from reporters saying, when are we going to get to ask more questions, but Republicans very much pushing that as well, especially the Romney campaign, asking when the president would take some tough questions, Brooke.

BALDWIN: One of the tough questions -- I was, you know, taking notes here, was the fact he was asked about Romney's tax returns. And he certainly -- the president isn't backing away from demanding that Mitt Romney release certain years, certain tax returns. We know Romney, he's calling cease and desist on this one. Here's the president pressing his case. Take a look.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BARACK OBAMA, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: If you -- if you look at the overall trajectory of our campaign and the ads that I've approved and are produced by my campaign, you'll see that we point out sharp differences between the candidates, but we don't go out of bounds. And when it comes to releasing taxes, that's a precedent that was set decades ago, including by Governor Romney's father.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BALDWIN: And just to back up, and, Brianna, you know, help me clear this up. The question was really about the, you know, the upped ante, that the rhetoric in these campaigns, right, back and forth --

KEILAR: That's right.

BALDWIN: Not just Mitt Romney, but from camp Obama as well.

KEILAR: That's right. That question was very much about the tone of the debate, which as we've talked a lot about, Brooke, has gotten pretty nasty. And we've seen ads run really from both sides of the fence here that are outright inaccurate. We've seen an ad from the super PAC that President Obama himself has personally endorsed to raise money for his re-election, that's Priorities USA Action, founded by two former White House aides, two former Obama aides, that linked Mitt Romney to the death of a steel worker. President Obama did say that he doesn't believe that Mitt Romney is responsible for that.

And what he did was he pointed to an ad about welfare that the Romney campaign has put out there. An ad saying that President Obama gutted the work requirement for welfare. Obviously a concern for the Obama campaign when you're talking about especially a lot of white voters out there. And so he sort of pivoted to that. But it's really become a bit of a dirty race. And he was saying that none of it's out of bounds. But the other thing is, I think a lot of voters also don't necessarily discern between some of these super PACs in some of the campaigns -- campaign ads.

BALDWIN: Brianna Keilar, thank you.

From domestic issues, I just want to talk about a couple foreign issues he was asked about. For that, Wolf Blitzer, let me just bring you in, because I want to ask you specifically -- he was asked about Afghanistan, he was asked about Syria. But let's talk Afghanistan, because I know it was just last week Secretary of Defense Leon Panetta sitting in the Pentagon, part of a briefing, you know, sort of reminding America that, folks, there is a war happening in Afghanistan, let's not forget. And, secondarily, the president, as we've been reporting on these multiple attacks, these green on blue attacks in Afghanistan, the numbers keep increasing. What did the president say?

WOLF BLITZER: The president's making it clear he's not going to change his policy. Still another two and a half years for U.S. troops to remain in Afghanistan until the end of 2014. There's supposed to be some sort of orderly withdrawal, but most of those troops are going to remain for the time being.

There's, what, between 80,000 to 90,000 U.S. troops in Afghanistan right now. And it's extraordinary what's going on. These Afghan troops -- the U.S. troops in Afghanistan, the NATO troops in Afghanistan, another 20,000 or 30,000 NATO troops there as well, they can no longer walk around, even on their own bases, even in their own barracks, in their own buildings, without their weapons. They're so scared that there will be Afghan military or police personnel that will just pick up their weapons and start shooting.

And that's happening all too often right now. This is turning out to be a real, real dicey situation. An enormously complicated situation. And as you know, Brooke, I felt for some time that this prolonged two and a half year withdrawal is going to cost a lot more American lives before all of this is said and done. And I'm not sure what the end result in Afghanistan is going to be. The president's not changing his policies right now even though they're stepping up security for U.S. troops. That withdrawal is still on schedule to not be complete until be end of 2014.

It's still costing U.S. taxpayers about $2 billion a week to maintain that huge U.S. military presence in Afghanistan. More than $100 billion a year. The pressure is, though, mounting to accelerate that withdrawal, get them out more quickly, especially because of what's going on, on the ground.

BALDWIN: The ending chapter in Syria also yet to be written. And the president, very much so, has been pressured, how would the U.S. get involved, when might the U.S. get involved. And the president, today, talked a little bit about this red line, mentioned chemical weapons and the moving of chemical weapons, the usage possibly as the catalyst. Here he was. Here was the president.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BARACK OBAMA, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: I have indicated repeatedly that President al Assad has lot legitimately. That he needs to step down. So far he hasn't gotten the message and instead has doubled down in violence on his own people. The international community has sent a clear message that rather than drag his country into civil war, he should move in the direction of a political transition. But at this point, the likelihood of a soft landing seems pretty distant.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BALDWIN: What do you make of the president's comments, a, Wolf? And, b, you know, you look at recent CNN/ORC polls and Americans, they're not as interested in foreign policy, yet we've watched this slaughter, 18 months and counting in Syria. And it's an election year. And many people are saying, look, nothing's going to be done, at least before November. What do you make of all of that?

BLITZER: Well, there's no great desire on the part of the American public. If you look at the most recent polls, including our own CNN/ORC poll, there's no great desire on the part of the American public to get militarily involved in Syria despite the brutality that's going on right now. And the president fully appreciates that there's sensitive political issues.

He did say something very significant, though, today, Brooke. And he said that if the Syrians, if the military there, the regime of President Bashar al Assad, were to start moving around or deploying or endangering some of those chemical and biological stockpiles that we know the Syrian government has and they've been -- they've been in control of that until now, that would be in effect -- effectively would be a game changer for the U.S. and the international community. And it could result in the U.S. stepping up its military activity. Right now no military activity, no military, no fly zones, no NATO activity, no supplying direct U.S. military assistance to the rebels, for example.

But the president did say that if the chemical or the biological weapon stockpiles in Syria were in danger and potentially could get into the hands of al Qaeda or other terrorist elements, that would be a game changer for the U.S. and the international community. And we'll see what's happening. No evidence, by the way, yet that those chemical or biological stockpiles have been moved or are vulnerable or in danger. But that's a huge, huge issue. BALDWIN: Yes, that was the news. That would be the so called red line was what the president said. Wolf Blitzer, thank you. We'll talk with you a little later next hour.

Meantime, the president also weighing in on another issue lighting up the political world this hour. It was a question one of the reporters asked right out of the gate in the meeting today. Asked about the comments by a Missouri congressman on abortion.

So here is the back story. Republican Todd Akin, he was asked over the weekend about his views on abortion, and in particular if he was opposed to abortion in cases of rape. Here's what he said.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

REP. TODD AKIN (R), MISSOURI SENATE CANDIDATE: People always want to try to make that as one of those things, well how do you -- how do you slice this particularly tough sort of ethical question. And it seems to me, first of all, from what I understand from doctors, that's really rare. If it's a legitimate rape, the female body has ways to try to shut that whole thing down. But let's assume that maybe that didn't work or something. You know, I think there should be some punishment. But the punishment ought to be on the rapist and not attacking the child.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BALDWIN: Those words have unleashed a political storm. And not long before the president spoke moments ago, Congress Akin himself went on a radio show and tried to explain what he meant.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

AKIN (voice-over): I care deeply, you know, for the victims of people who have been raped. And they're equally vulnerable. And a rape is equally tragic. And I made that statement in error. Let me be clear. Rape is never legitimate. It's an evil act. And it's committed by violent predators. I used the wrong words in the wrong way. What I said was ill conceive and it was wrong. And for that I apologize.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BALDWIN: Not long after the congressman issued that apology, the president entered the White House press room, was asked if he believes Akin's remarks reflect a wider view within the Republican Party. Here was his response.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BARACK OBAMA, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: The views expressed were offensive. Rape is rape. And the idea that we should be parsing and qualifying and slicing what types of rape we're talking about doesn't make sense to the American people and certainly doesn't make sense to me. So what I think these comments do underscore is why we shouldn't have a bunch of politicians, a majority of whom are men, making health care decisions on behalf of woman. (END VIDEO CLIP)

BALDWIN: Well, the Romney campaign, they are running as far and as fast from Akin as possible here. Romney told National Review online this morning that, quote, "Congressman Akin's comments on rape are insulting, inexcusable and frankly wrong. Like millions of other Americans, we found them to be offensive," end quote.

One important wrinkle to this story, Congressman Akin is challenging Democratic Incumbent Senator Claire McCaskill in this November election. And this whole episode has raised questions about Akin's future as the Republicans nominee. If Republicans want him off the ballot, they have to act very, very quickly because the deadline to make a change, 5:00 p.m. tomorrow.

Mitt Romney campaigned with his running mate today. Romney and Congressman Paul Ryan appeared before quite the enthusiastic outdoor audience. This is Manchester, New Hampshire, earlier today. The presumptive Republican candidate has yet to make foreign policy a major part of his pitch, but a question from a veteran in today's crowd prompted Romney to spell out a plan for Afghanistan.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I want to know what you guys are going to do about Afghanistan? We've got those characters over there shooting our guys and our guys are coming home in body bags. So when you guys take over Washington, what are you going to do about this damn mess in Afghanistan?

MITT ROMNEY (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: I can tell you this, when I become commander in chief, if I'm so lucky, I will address the American people about these issues. And with regards to Afghanistan, I will do everything in my power to transition from our military to their military as soon as possible, bring our men and women home and do so in a way consistent with our mission, which is to keep Afghanistan from being overrun by a new entity that would allow Afghanistan to be a launching point for terror again like it was on 9/11.

Thank you, sir.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BALDWIN: Mitt Romney today in New Hampshire.

Hey, by the way, one week from today, I will be anchoring this show live from Tampa, Florida, where Republicans are holding their national convention. I hope you join me. It kicks off August 27th. I'll be there all week long.

And a lot more news happening on this Monday. Roll it.

For decades it's been an exclusively boys only club until now. You will hear why Augusta National has just welcomed two women for the very first time, including Condoleezza Rice. I'm Brooke Baldwin. The news is now.

A big time movie director behind some major Hollywood blockbusters jumps to his death, but why?

Plus, tempers flare in a dispute between Asia's two biggest economies.

And, a woman seven months pregnant loses her child after a drunk driver hits her car. She joins me live to tell the world what she wants done now.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BALDWIN: Its very name has symbolized power and money and exclusivity for more than 75 years. I'm talking about Augusta National Golf Club. It is the home to the Masters. The most prestigious tournament in all of golf. But access to this one-of-a-kind place has always been reserved for men and men only until today. Augusta National Chairman Billy Payne has announced that former Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice and South Carolina investment banker Darla Moore have accepted invitations to join the club. As wealthy successful people who enjoy golf, they fit the classic mold of Augusta members in every way except they happen to be women. Christine Brennan, she joins me on the phone. She broke the story. She's a sports columnist with "USA Today" and she's written a heck of a lot.

I know we've talked about, you know, Augusta National's membership policies. Last time you and I chatted, Christine, you were at the Masters. So, big day. Is this a day you've been waiting for?

CHRISTINE BRENNAN, "USA TODAY" SPORTS COLUMNIST (via telephone): It certainly is a big day. And it's a, I think, a great day for girls and women and for our nation, frankly, in the same summer as the Olympic games, of course, and more women than men on the U.S. team and more women -- the most gold medals were won by the women and 60 percent or so for the U.S. team. To think that a week later you've got this news, this last fashion of male supremacy, Brooke, finally, and not just one woman, but two, finally bringing them on board, I think it's terrific as a statement to our nation that discrimination against girls and women is no longer acceptable.

BALDWIN: So, Christine, just to the obvious question, why? Why do you think they did this?

BRENNAN: I think what happened -- and you and I talked about it back in April, with Ginni Rometty becoming the CEO of IBM. And, traditionally, the IBM CEO becomes a member of Augusta. So now, for the first time ever, there was a woman CEO of that company. I think that's what really brought it to a head.

And Billy Payne is the chairman of Augusta. You mentioned that he's the one who has brought these two women in. And Bill was in charge of the Atlanta Olympics, which were known as the women's Olympics until, of course, the London games supplanted that. And I think Billy Payne was disturbed and not pleased by how he was portrayed by me and others, by the questions he had to take. It was uncomfortable. It was a horrible time for Augusta as everyone turned from saying, hey, it's a private club, they can do what they want, to saying, no, this is 2012 and this is embarrassing.

BALDWIN: So --

BRENNAN: And I think that they realized they had to do something unprecedented, Brooke, also for them to be announcing this. Never before have they made their private membership public. And I think that, again, shows that they were really hurt and stunned by the criticism back in April.

BALDWIN: That's interesting. So you think it's more the Virginia Rometty story in April and less Billy Payne. I mean he's been chief at Augusta National for, what, seven, eight years and only now this is happening. Do you think he deserves kudos?

BRENNAN: I do. You know, I'm one of those people who kind of says, OK, this has been a long anguished conversation. I started writing about this in 1999.

BALDWIN: Wow.

BRENNAN: And Hootie Johnson (ph) told me back then that they would take care of this in due time. Thirteen years later, it's done. And, you know, I'm a bit of a Pollyanna. I'm from Toledo, Ohio. There's still a lot of Toledo in me. I picture the 12-year-old girl, eight-year-old, 10-year-old girl watching this next year, the Masters, on the couch with her mom and dad, seeing a woman in a green jacket and believing that anything is possible for her. This last bashin (ph) of male supremacy has fallen. And a girl -- a girl of color, a boy of color, looking at Condoleezza Rice in that green jacket, my goodness, what an incredible statement that makes to the children of America.

BALDWIN: What a picture that will be when we all finally see that. Christine Brennan, thank you so much for calling in with "USA Today." Christine, always a pleasure. Thank you.

BRENNAN: Thank you.

BALDWIN: And now to this one. You heard about this? Skinny dipping in holy water. A congressman under fire for some pretty bad behavior on a fact finding trip to Israel. Our congressional correspondent, Dana Bash, is going to explain this one, live, next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BALDWIN: A freshman member of Congress has some explaining to do after a bout of sophomoric behavior. You heard about this guy? This is Republican Kevin Yoder. He is apologizing to voters of his district in eastern Kansas amid newly surfaced reports of a wild night in Israel. In fact, the FBI was called in to investigate claims that Yoder disrobed in front of others and went swimming in the nude in the Sea of Galilee. That's where the Bible says Jesus walked on water.

So, according to Politico, which, by the way, first broke this story, Yoder and other Republican freshmen were on an expenses paid junket. They were staying in a hotel where rooms go for as much as $1,000 a night. Now, Politico says late night merrymakers received a dressing down from this man, from House Majority Leader Eric Cantor, who also was on the trip but did not take part in the hijinks (ph).

So, let's go to Washington and talk to Senior Congressional Correspondent Dana Bash because, you know, it's important to point out, this happened one year ago. The question is, was the skinny dipping congressman sanctioned in any other way other than being talked to by Majority Leader Cantor?

DANA BASH, CNN SENIOR CONGRESSIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Our understanding is no as of this point, although our Deirdre Walsh is trying to get in touch with the House Ethics Committee to see if there are going to be any investigations because of the fact that this is now public. But I am told by several sources that there was a dressing down, so to speak, the day after by the House majority leader, Eric Cantor. In fact, I spoke earlier today with Congressman David Schweikert, who was one of the Congress members who was on that trip. He was not one of the swimmers. But he explained what the leadership told the members. Listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

REP. DAVID SCHWEIKERT (R), ARIZONA: Well, it was a little bit on the ethereal side. So I think it was more of a scolding for anyone who may have acted up. And made it very, very clear, this shouldn't be tolerated and wasn't going to be tolerated.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BASH: Now, Brooke, you talked about the revelry and certainly I was told by sources that there was drinking going on at this late night dinner before the swimming began. But the other thing I was told by several sources is that this is a holy site. This is where it is believed that Jesus walked on water. And so at least a couple of the congressmen, I'm told, went in with their family members. One jumped in with his wife. Another, Congressman Southerland, jumped in with -- hand in hand with his 21-year-old daughter. So there was a religious aspect to this for some members. But for Congressman Yoder, who decided to take his clothes off, who knows what the reason was behind that except for the fact that I am told by sources there that it ended the swimming as soon as they realized that he was not wearing any clothes.

BALDWIN: OK. Let me ask you this in terms of dollars and cents, in terms of this trip. Do we know who paid for the trip? What business they have before Congress?

BASH: Well, an organization that is sort of a part of APAC, which is the -- which is Israel -- American Israel lobbying organization. A very, very powerful lobbying organization here in Washington. They took these members on the trip. This was just Republicans. There was another a month later, I'm told, which is just Democrats. It was not on the taxpayer dime. They paid for it. And this is certainly not the first time and it won't be the last time that this pro-Israel group takes members of Congress and both parties to Israel. It happens quite a bit. And generally it is done as part of a discussion with Israel about important issues, visa vise the Middle East. This is something that we certainly have not heard about in the past, this kind of swimming in the Galilee.

BALDWIN: Kind of swimming in the Galilee.

Dana Bash, we'll leave it there. Thank you. Appreciate it.

You have seen his movies, even though you maybe have not known he was the director. I'm talking about "Top Gun," "Days of Thunder," "Crimson Tide," "Man on Fire." But, today, many are looking for answers after Tony Scott jumps off a bridge to his death.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BALDWIN: Director, producer, even actor at times, Tony Scott has died. He apparently committed suicide by jumping off a California bridge.

He had his hands in dozens of projects, which many really became just cultural fixtures and just downright entertaining. Here is a look at a few.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

UNIDENTIFIED CHILD: Have you protected a lot of children before?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You sacrifice everything for me.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Nice one.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Unlock the door. Do it now or I kill you.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Excuse me, Lieutenant, is there something wrong.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Bobby Rayburn was San Francisco's lightest star. To one fan he meant so much more.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I love it when a plan coming together.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: How come you ain't smiling?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I'm smiling.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Smile real big.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It's a little game of show and tell. You are going to show me nothing, but you gone tell me everything. I know you know where they are so tell me before I do some damage you won't walk away from.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I think maybe it was my fault. I don't know.

(END VIDEOTAPE) BALDWIN: Huge movies, huge stars. Kareen Wynter joins me live in Los Angeles. Kareen, as far as what we know here, L.A. police, they say Scott parked his car on this bridge in L.A., climbed the fence and then he jumped. Do we know anymore about this note left in the car and also at his office?

KAREEN WYNTER, CNN ENTERTAINMENT CORRESPONDENT: Well, we do. We have some information that I was able to confirm. But first and foremost, that autopsy, I just checked in with the coroner's office and coroners there tell that they will be conducting an autopsy today on Director Tony Scott just a day after, you know, he jumped from that bridge.

Now regarding those notes, they found two, a suicide note. One that was left in Scott's L.A. office that coroners say was found by a friend. There was another note left in his vehicle that was parked near the bridge that he jumped from.

That note included a lot of information, basically contact information for family and friends and investigators tell me it was clear that it was left there deliberately for someone to find and notify family members after all of that happened.

But, you know, you look at all those films and that montage, some impressive films, A-listers from Eddie Murphy, Tom Cruise. He leaves behind quite a legacy. But the big question here and the even coroner I spoke with said that why did this happen.

That's what they are hoping that these tests will perhaps fill in the blank. There are reports he had some sort of inoperable disease, brain cancer. One media outlet is alluding to. They haven't been able to confirm this. They said they won't note anything definitively until those tests are done -- Brooke. Such a tragedy though.

BALDWIN: Absolutely that was my question if he was sick. If anyone knew if he was sick, so we're work to confirm that. Kareen Wynter, just awful. Thank you so much for us in Los Angeles.

It is a popular coupon site generating a lot of interest. Customers love it. So why are some backers now backing away?

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BALDWIN: You know Groupon, it promises daily deals on everything from dining to vacations, but what looked like a new boom for internet stocks might have turn into a bust.

Now Groupon, the latest social media stock to slip and investors have been jumping ship. I want to go to Maribel Aber. She is live for me at the New York Stock Exchange to explain I suppose just what's going on and should investors have seen this coming, Maribel?

MARIBEL ABER, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hi, Brooke. Well, you know, some investors in fact did see it coming. Groupon shares have been selling off since the day they started trading. Some early investors tried to get them to delay their IPO and really take more time to get their accounting in order.

Since the IPO, no earnings reports have been troubling. It's had to revise fourth quarter 2011 results lower. This is because of the unexpected jump in the number of customers asking for refunds. Now Groupon shares are down 85 percent since the IPO, Brooke, 85 percent and it's down 37 percent since last Tuesday.

And that's when it posted more disappointing quarterly results and they warned about growth problems in Europe. And why that's really not good news for the company is because Groupon gets more than half of its revenue from outside of North America, mostly from Europe.

We also add there a weak economy led to slower sales growth especially in higher cost areas like laser hair removal and luxury hotel stays. So, you know, Brooke, when you think about it. It kind of make sense, right, that you have fewer people going for those higher end deals because money is pretty tight right now.

BALDWIN: So you have Groupon. We've talked about Facebook. Why are investors souring on these internet companies?

ABER: Well, Brooke, you know what? Investors, it all comes back down to investors want to know how companies can grow their business. One thing, all these companies like a Pandora or a Zynga, or Facebook, they have one thing in common, unclear business models.

So in the case of Facebook user growth is slowing and of course, there are those ongoing worries about how it's going to make money off of mobile users.

For Zynga, it's a worry about how that company can grow independent of Facebook. And then you have -- the big exception out there is LinkedIn. LinkedIn shares doubled on the first day of trading and have held those gains ever since.

LinkedIn unlike Facebook, they offer premium memberships. So -- they charge anywhere from $20 to $500 a month for recruiters and job seekers and that business is just growing for them. They have premium subscriptions.

It doubled in the second quarter compare to the same time last year. It saw a 50 percent jump in the number of overall users on the site. So, Brooke, big differentiator, people see the value of LinkedIn.

BALDWIN: Maribel Aber, thank you.

A 76-year-old suburban Chicago man, the latest victim of the deadly West Nile virus. According to the CDC some 700 cases have been reported in more than 32 states and at least 26 people have now died from the disease. Texas, we talked about Texas. It's still really the state hardest hit. I talked to Dallas Mayor Mike Rawlings. He said today, he really reiterated. He told me end of last week that aerial spraying will hopefully kill the mosquitoes that carry this disease.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MAYOR MIKE RAWLINGS, DALLAS: Last night, we almost got a quarter of a million acres done. We have four planes up. Were able to cover all the areas we targeted. Tonight, we go back at it. We have a fifth plane. And at that time, we should have everybody done this time tomorrow morning, twice.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BALDWIN: The mild winter in Texas and a lot of rain are contributing to the Dallas West Nile epidemic specifically.

Britain's Prince Philip, the husband of Queen Elizabeth is getting better and has now left the hospital there in Scotland. The 91-year-old Duke of Edinburgh was admitted last week for a bladder infection. It was his third hospital treatment in eight months. The public appearance will be alongside the queen as she opens the London paraolympic games on August 29th.

It is the highly anticipated list that I know gets a lot of buzz, America's best places to live. Did your own town make the cut? You think your place is pretty great. We're bringing out the magic wall here to break down where and why, next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BALDWIN: Got some news in here at CNN. Let's look at these live pictures together. What you're looking at is a crane. So this crane has flipped over. This is Toronto and it has caused electrical wires to fall on a Toronto transit bus.

This is clearly a mess and it's all happening right now because we're hearing from affiliates there. We're hearing from CTV, CBC, they say the crane operator is trapped inside the cabin and is not able to get out right now simply because of these electrical wires.

OK, I'm getting call. We have learned that everyone is off the bus. So everyone that was on the bus is a-OK. But we're still waiting to find out if this crane operator is still trapped because of those live wires.

Police, firefighters, paramedics and Toronto hydro crews were called to the situation. There could be periodic power outages in the area as crews are working to repair the down power lines and get the worker out of that crane cabin as soon as possible. We'll keep you posted.

Meantime, let's talk about America's cities, shall we? Because it's no secret America is full of great places to live. So this week, the folks at "Money" magazine have revealed this year's list of the top small cities to live in.

These are the top small cities. Keep that in mind when we go through this. The ranking is based on quality of life, job growth, income and affordable housing. So what we did is we took the top ten that are clearly across the country and just wondering if your town is one of them.

So number 10, this is where I happen to go to college so a special place in my heart for Chapel Hill, North Carolina, home of course, to UNC Chapel Hill. Number nine here, Overland Park, Kansas. The largest employer here is wireless company, Sprint so Overland Park.

Number eight, we go to Maryland for that, Columbia, Maryland. Best of both worlds because you have the historic downtown district along with plenty of big box stores.

Not too far down the road from Maryland, Virginia is Reston, Virginia near of course, Dallas. Massive international airport there, major technology firms have hubs in Reston, Virginia.

For six, we go all the way to Irvine, California. Of course, it's got amazing weather. You have surf, sand and sun, 20,000 acres of parks in Irvine, California.

Number five to Washington State we go. Redmond, Washington, home of one of the largest companies in the world, can you guess? Microsoft, correct.

For number four back over this way, Newton, Massachusetts. A town near prestigious universities like MIT, Boston College. So you have Newton as well.

Number three is hiding from me. Number three in Prairie, Minnesota despite long, cold winters. I know some of you know all too well. This town has all kinds of natural beauty and healthy employment prospects. That's really great about Eden Prairie.

Number two, we have McKinney, Texas. Low taxes mean companies with white collar jobs in both technology and energy. Number one is Carmel, Indiana, a quiet suburb of Indianapolis. The unemployment rate is just over half the national average.

You can take a look at this whole list, the best places to live and see where your town ranks. Go to cnnmoney.com.

And I love this story. This real life Indiana Jones wants you to find his million dollar treasure. Included in the treasure trove, diamonds, rubies, gold and perhaps eventually bones. This bizarre treasure hunt is making headlines right now and this guy is hoping it will make major headlines in a thousand years. We'll explain.

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BALDWIN: What a story this is. I know you've seen the Indiana Jones movies with Harrison Ford, right, this swash buckling archaeologist.

Well, this man in New Mexico is being called the real life Indiana Jones after this lifelong of collecting just as priceless artifacts. He wants you to find his fortunes and ultimately him along with this whole treasure-trove.

It's featured in a spread of "Newsweek" magazine. The 82-year- old relic collector has issued this challenge to thrill seekers in his book. It's called "Thrills of the Chase, A Memoir." So in it, he urges would be diggers to find his treasures.

The items are hidden in the mountains in Santa Fe and will be buried there and ultimately he's hoping to bury himself there one day.

Tony Dokoupil wrote this article in "Newsweek." He joins me live from New York. Tony, I was fascinated when I read this morning. So let me just begin with this treasure trove. This guy has hidden a million dollars worth of treasure. Do we have any idea what's in it?

TONY DOKOUPIL, SENIOR WRITER, "NEWSWEEK" AND "THE DAILY BEAST": We do. He details it pretty carefully in the book. There's a Spanish ring. There are pre-Columbian idols. There's a vile of gold dust. There are a lot of gold coins. He says a lot of jewels.

So innumerable tiny diamonds, sapphires and rubies, a combination of precious metals and jewels and artifacts so, yes, I'm confident there's more than a million dollars of stuff in there.

BALDWIN: OK, so big bucks in this treasure. I know people already searching for it including you. We're going to get to that in just a minute. It's part of this article.

But, you know, I know this man. He spent his life as a treasure hunter, spent two decades running one of the world's finest art galleries. You talked about he's catering to folks like Jackie Kennedy and Sher.

But my next question is to the why. Why is he doing this and then how is he planning on burying himself along with the treasure? Does someone else know where this is?

DOKOUPIL: No, not according to him. So it's a fascinating psychological situation here. He's an individual who has loved history and pursued physical history his entire life. He's an avid collector. He got cancer in the '80s. He started thinking about a way to insert himself into the archaeological record.

So he loves finding history. He loves finding history on the ground. How could he matter a thousand years from now? How could he be part of history? He came up with the idea of burying a treasure chest and then eventually going to that chest himself and inserting his body taking sleeping pills and dying there. So when people find the treasure they will also find his bones.

BALDWIN: Sleeping pills. So he thinks he's going to do that. That's -- he sounds eccentric. I know you spent about a week with him -- yes, eccentric is the correct way to characterize this man?

DOKOUPIL: I would say that's fair. He's also passionate. He really loves history. He wants to become part of history. I mean, in the treasure chest there's a copy of his autobiography. Whoever finds it will read of his life. His dream of mattering of having his voice be heard or his life be talked about many years from now will become true. He hopes.

BALDWIN: But here's the thing, Tony, and you point this out. For a former fighter pilot, he came into his riches very quickly. So you talk about in this article how, you know, state and federal officials are very curious about that too. That's how you learned about that man because of this investigation. What is the FBI investigating?

DOKOUPIL: Well, when he retired from the Air Force, he didn't have a lot of money and he established himself in Santa Fe and developed one of the finest galleries in the world. And that gallery was also selling Indian artifacts. It's long been a mystery. Where did he come from? Where did his artifacts come from?

In 2009, an undercover federal agent took a tour of his home as much as I did and looked at the things on the wall and I mean, it's just like wall to wall artifacts. It's incredible, sitting bull's piece pipes. Masks that are older than the birth of Christ.

They said this is suspicious. They raided the house. The case remains open. It's part of the biggest suspected case of grave robbing of all time. There were 24 people arrested. He was never arrested. His case remains ongoing.

I became interested in him at that point and I discovered the treasure scheme after the fact. This is perfect marriage of true crime and amazing true treasure hunt.

BALDWIN: Then as you point out, we know reporters, you don't want to get too involved in your story, but clearly, Tony Dokoupil, you had to go searching for the treasure. This is for our viewers as well. This is a couple of lines from the poem.

So here me all and listen good. You're effort will be worth the cold if you are brave and in the wood, I give you title to the gold. What does that mean? Can you give us a hint?

DOKOUPIL: That's right. You know, if you find it, you keep it. I was in the area around is Santa Fe with four guys from Iowa who made the 18-hour drive. They are thinking about doing Vegas and thinking treasure hunt would be more fun.

So we spent a day walking around. We totally struck out. Our interpretation of the poem utterly wrong, but I got my hands on an unpublished family history. I'm not sure, but I think there are a few paragraphs that really explain the clues in the poem.

We don't want to give them away. If I get the opportunity, I think it's in Wyoming. I think it's in Yellowstone Park.

BALDWIN: If you disappear from "Newsweek," we will know where you are. Tony Dokoupil, thank you so much. Folks, you can read his article in this month's "Newsweek" magazine. Thanks, Tony. We'll be right back.

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