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Army Major Hasan: "I Am The Shooter"; Survivor: "His Punishment Will Come"; "Shame Free" Period Ad Goes Viral; Discovery's Monster Shark Fury; $11,000 Loans For Day Care; Amazon.com Launches "Amazon Art"

Aired August 06, 2013 - 14:30   ET

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

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BROOKE BALDWIN, CNN ANCHOR: "I am the shooter," the words of Major Nadal Hasan, his opening statement today lasting less than 2 minutes. He removed all doubt about his role in that 2009 shooting at Fort Hood. His trial opened today in a heavily, fortified courtroom at the military base.

Let me take you back and remind you that 13 people were killed in that shooting spree, 30 more wounded and survivors have not at all forgotten any of the details. At least one says he won't be afraid to look this man in the eye.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SGT. ALONZO LUNSFORD, FORT HOOD SHOOTING SURVIVOR: During the initial act of the shooting in 2009 when I realized what was happening seeing someone that wears the same uniform that I wear that was shooting us and at the time not having a reason to shoot us, but by him yelling, I was hurt because in the military we all believe one color. We wear one color. Doesn't matter what your national origin is because we're fighting for a common cause.

For him to turn on us that day and to start killing innocent people, it leaves you speechless. Now the other thing that's going to happen is that Major Hasan is expecting because we suffer from PTSD or TBI that we are going to be afraid to stand in front of him, but I will share this with you from the heart, we will show no fear in the face of the enemy.

We will not allow Major Hasan or anyone that's following him or anyone that he has followed strike any fear on our beloved citizens of the United States of America.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BALDWIN: CNN's Ed Lavandera is covering this for us from Fort Hood. Ed, back to Hasan and back to this 2 minutes or less than 2 minutes opening statement, what did he say in that little time? What was your reaction to it in the courtroom?

ED LAVANDERA, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, it was fascinating because the prosecutors had just spent the previous hour meticulously detailing how he carried out the massacre not too far away from where this trial is going on and how the 13 people were killed and more than 30 others were wounded. It was in precise detail and it was very painful to hear it at one point.

In fact, prosecutors had talked about one pregnant victim who was pleading for the life of her unborn child as she was shot and hurt -- describing what one witness said, I heard "My baby, my baby" and then the voice went silent. So you've spent an hour listening to that kind of emotional testimony and then Hasan stood up and in a matter of moments took away all of that attention and said he claimed to be the shooter just right out of the gate. Took away any pretense about whether or not this trial would be about his guilt or innocence.

Hasan basically declaring he is the shooter. He also went on to say that the evidence will show one side of the story here. That the evidence will show that I was on the wrong side being a U.S. soldier and that I switched sides so clearly Major Hasan trying to use this trial as a platform to try to espouse his religious beliefs. Prosecutors say that his motive for the shooting was that he was going to be deployed to Afghanistan towards the end of 2009. He did not want to be deployed. He felt it was his Jihad duty to kill as many U.S. soldiers as possible -- Brooke.

BALDWIN: Ed Lavandera for us in Fort Hood. Ed, I want to talk legal sort of what we can expect in the coming days and perhaps weeks here. Criminal Defense Attorneys Monica Lindstrom joins me from Phoenix and Dennis Cevallos from Philadelphia. So it's good to see both of you.

Let's just begin with what we just heard from Ed in Texas to sort of juxtapose the prosecution, you know, detail, meticulous, one hour opening statement with this, you know, 2 minutes from Nidal Hasan. Is there any I don't even want to -- I would say what's the strategy in that, but is there even any strategy, Danny?

DANNY CEVALLOS, CRIMINAL DEFENSE ATTORNEY: Well, what's fascinating to me is that the judge usually tells jurors that opening statements and closing statements are not themselves evidence, however, what a unique situation where the actual -- someone's representing themselves pro se and they stand up and they make an admission. I almost think this is one of those exceptions where this is evidence.

He has admitted that he is the shooter. However, I think what we're going to see is a rambling sort of contrived justification that he believes in his mind he had to shoot because he had some greater good that he had to achieve or some form of defense of others. Who knows though? When someone represents themselves pro se, anything can happen.

BALDWIN: And, Monica, I think not only clearly is he admitting he did this, he had offered to plead guilty. The judge, the prosecution said, no, because they want this jury to ultimately convict him because had they accepted this guilty plea, the death penalty would have been off the table, correct?

MONICA LINDSTROM, CRIMINAL DEFENSE ATTORNEY: That's absolutely right. I think Danny brings up a really good point. When you get to a high level crime like this and the defendant chooses to represent themselves I think it's really a form of arrogance, maybe some narcissism, and they usually have an agenda, some theories they want to put forth. They just want it as a pulpit for them to just say whatever they want to say.

And one thing that the judge did in this case is the defendant wanted to try to argue that he was defending others, his brothers over fighting for the Taliban, et cetera, et cetera, and the judge said, I'm not going to let you say that because that is not valid here. You can't use that as a defense. So I think we're going to hear more about his theories and how he feels, not really a defense at all.

BALDWIN: Danny, how have you ever seen someone in this high profile crime representing him or herself? Has this ever been done before?

CEVALLOS: Yes, actually, it has. I mean, a couple examples. Ted Bundy, I believe, represented himself, but there have been instances where people represent themselves. I mean, Charles Manson certainly spoke for himself many, many, many times during his trial. You see this a lot, they will fire a lot of their private counsel and tried to proceed pro se, but believe me, to proceed pro se the court will not do it willy-nilly.

They will ask them 200 times. Are you sure? Are you super duper sure? Before they let someone represent themselves, but ultimately it is a constitutional right to represent yourself pro se.

BALDWIN: I just appreciate hearing from, you know, Sergeant Lunsford saying I'm ready to look this man in the eye and testify. Monica Lindstrom and Danny Cevallos, thank you. We'll be following this, obviously, in the coming days and continue this conversation.

Meantime, let me just give you all the heads up. Any moment now, we are expecting to hear from a family member of those two little boys, the 5 and 7-year-olds who were killed yesterday by a python during their sleepover. They were living above this pet store. Somehow this python escaped, made its way through the ventilation system, fell through the ceiling and then, according to police, strangled them. We're going to take that news conference as soon as we see it live coming up.

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BALDWIN: OK, that time of the month, a visit from Aunt Flow. Ladies out there know we have a lot of euphemisms for this. Now this new ad getting millions of views on YouTube tackling the subject of periods head on, ruffling some feathers. Before we play it, yes, for some of you this stuff is pretty taboo. Watch this.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED CHILD: It was the beginning of summer and no one knew me at camp. I was just a big, random loser, then things changed. I got my period. The red badge of courage.

I was the first one to get it so I was like the expert. I became the camp gyno. It's a serious responsibility. From now on, you get these from me. I'm like a counselor now. Listen up, Ladies, menstruation, demonstration. For these campers, I was their Joan of Arc. Your sword, your shield, it's like I'm Joan and their vag is the arc.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: It hurts.

UNIDENTIFIED CHILD: Suck it up and deal with it. I guess the power got to my head a little bit. This is your life now. Popularity can do that.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BALDWIN: OK, so that was just part of it, folks. This is helloflow.com's internet campaign to launch their delivery service of period starter kits for young girls. So far it has seen nearly 5 million times in a week. It's started a much bigger conversation. To talk about it we welcome Kelly Wallace. Welcome back to CNN, Kelly Wallace.

KELLY WALLACE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Why, thank you.

BALDWIN: So nice to have you on and what a story we are talking about.

WALLACE: Yes.

BALDWIN: So I love this because let's just go there. That's sort of the whole point of this whole thing. You wrote this great op-ed piece for cnn.com. Let me quote you, Kelly Wallace, because you begin the article. You go to the story and you whispering, feminine products? This is your quote, "Feminine products, the words just came out of my mouth. I am 46, have had my period for more than 30 years and couldn't say the word tampon."

WALLACE: Come on.

BALDWIN: Kelly, why are we still whispering in 2013?

WALLACE: I couldn't believe it. I cracked up, Brooke, after I did that because I was like, where are the aisles for the feminine products? Come on.

BALDWIN: We've all done it.

WALLACE: I know. Then I saw this ad and that is really the point here. It's a little in your face. Some might say it goes a little too far, but instead of being embarrassed and making it feel like a shameful moment or carrying your tampons in your plastic bag, it's like, whoa, I'm empowered. I'm strong. I've got my red badge of courage and I think that's what women of all ages are responding to. They say why not celebrate it and speak about it the way women talk as opposed to kind of the way we've been whispering for years.

BALDWIN: Kelly, I feel like -- I'm curious what this creator of this ad told you. Like I said, it's 2013. There is a heck of a lot. We have evolved. We can talk about a lot of things, but for some reason this subject, which affects every woman, is like taboo.

WALLACE: It is. That is part of why she wanted to create this. She said, Brooke, she didn't have a traumatic experience when she got her period, but she said even in 2013 many kids feel embarrassed when they get it. Their moms are not talking with them about it. And she thought why not create these starter kits to help, you know, moms have the conversation with kids?

And also she said why not kind of make it fun so you can subscribe to get monthly pads and tampons wrapped in nice tissue paper. So instead of it being a moment you dread, maybe it can be like the gal in the ad said, I'm Santa for your -- I won't say the end in case I offend anybody here.

BALDWIN: Yes. You have to kind of watch the rest of the ad to see it. I tweeted it out. I know you did too. I know also you're a mom. You have two young girls. I hear you're already dreading the talk.

WALLACE: You know, I am, my oldest is 7 so I don't think we're there yet, but you do. At the same time, I talk to so many women who said they had the talk especially when their girls were young, some as young as 8 since we know that girls are entering puberty at younger and younger ages. So I think I took a lot of notes and wrote down the books that they used because communication is key, Brooke. We know. We want to have the conversations with our girls and we want to empower them with the information. We want them to not be embarrassed about this moment and feel strong and empowered by it.

BALDWIN: Kelly Wallace, let us know how the talk goes in a couple of years with the little ones.

WALLACE: I'll keep you posted.

BALDWIN: Kelly, thank you so much. We appreciate it.

Let us know what you think about this ad. I thought the little girl was so cute. She was like little Tina Fay, tweet me @brookebcnn. Kelly Wallace, thank you very much.

WALLACE: Thank you so much.

BALDWIN: Coming up, it is shark week on the Discovery Channel, but a lot of you are furious. We're going to tell you about the so-called documentary that got shark week off to a false start. That's next.

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BALDWIN: This was the shocking footage that kicked off the Discovery Channel's ratings winner, "Shark Week, Megalodon, the Monster Shark Lives." This special about the biggest shark to ever roam the oceans, I'm talking 67 feet in length, huge, yes, a killer? Yes, but also very extinct. That is not the way the Discovery Channel spun it upfront though.

They used footage just like the footage you're looking at to convince the audience that this whale washed up in Hawaii with a giant bite taken out of it. Guess what? It was all fake and the so-called experts, actors. Discovery Channel is defending this mockumentary that scored record ratings saying in part, quote, "We wanted to explore the possibilities of Megalodon. It is one of the most debated shark discussions of all time, can Megalodon exist today? It's ultimate shark week fantasy.

Christie Wilcox, she is the science writer for "Discovery" magazine. It's nice to see you. You wrote this open letter to "Discovery." Let me just read part of it for our viewers. "Here is what I don't get, Discovery. Megalodon's were real, incredible, fascinating sharks. There's a ton of actual science about them that is well worth a two- hour special. You go on. You choose, instead, to mislead your viewers with 120 minutes of B.S." Christie, have you gotten any response?

CHRISTIE WILCOX, SCIENCE WRITER, "DISCOVERY" MAGAZINE: Absolutely, overwhelmingly positive to my letter, actually. A lot of people are really happy that I wrote it and they've all agree with me. If you read all of the comments on the Facebook page for Discovery Channel, they have been inundated with angry responses from their viewers. So I'm not the only one pissed off.

BALDWIN: And anything from Discovery?

WILCOX: No, not as of yet.

BALDWIN: Not as of yet. OK, so you also mentioned, too, that they almost, you know, flaunted the fact that they duped viewers putting the poll on their web site showing that 73 percent of people believed this monster shark still exists. That, by the way, has been taken down. Do they owe an apology? If so, what do they need to say?

WILCOX: I think they do. I think the trouble with Discovery is that they are advertised and they flaunt the fact that they are the number one nonfiction media company out there. That they produce this high quality educating content and then they produce this special that is basically fraud and lies and don't admit to which parts were true.

I mean, it is true that there are some zoologists out there that believe that Megalodon exists just like there are those that believe big foot or the Loch Ness monster still exist. But it is not a debate amongst shark scientists. It's certainly not the most debated shark discussion of all time in any way and I think that they owe their viewers the truth and an apology for what they made up.

BALDWIN: We'll see if they give out that mea culpa. Christie Wilcox, thank you very much from "Discover" magazine. Christie, thank you very much on "Shark Week."

Coming up next, one candidate for New York mayor has an unusual proposal. This time I'm not talking about Anthony Weiner. We will tell you about Christine Quinn's plans to help parents with young kids next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK) BALDWIN: We've all heard and I know a lot of you are experiencing firsthand the spike in student loan debt. What about loans for day care? The New York City Council speaker who is also running for mayor has unveiled this program targeting middle class parents. That's middle class as it's defined in New York City.

Zain Asher joins me to talk about it. I know when you talk about dollars and cents, this is like -- you know, it sounds like college tuition but it is day care.

ZAIN ASHER, CNN BUSINESS CORRESPONDENT: I know. It's crazy, Brooke. Yes, basically the exorbitant cost of day care is a huge problem in New York. Day care in Manhattan can cost up to $2,300 a month. I know. I know, unbelievable. I'm not sure what it is like in Atlanta, but here it is very expensive.

To put that in context for you, tuition at an Ivy League school is about $40,000 a year. Day care in Manhattan is about $30,000 a year so not far behind it all. So basically Christine Quinn, the Democratic candidate for mayor here is proposing day care loans. So families with kids age between 2 and 4.

It's for quote/unquote, "middle class" families, which she defines as, you know, people who are making between $80,000 and $200,000 a year. There are some requirements, Brooke. You do have to have good credit, 620 or above, and you can borrow basically up to $11,000 a year and the interest rate would be about 60 cents.

BALDWIN: Sorry, I'm still wrapping my head around the $30,000 a year thing in New York. I guess on the other side, though, is it really a good idea to go into debt taking out loans for day care?

ASHER: I know. You know, so the idea is that the credit rating requirement, the idea is that it might prevent people from taking out loans who are less likely to pay it back, for lack of a better way of putting it.

BALDWIN: OK.

ASHER: At least with student loans, the idea is that you go to college. You hopefully get a good job that will allow you to pay your student loans back. Of course, with day care, Brooke, it's not like the 4-year-old can go out and get a job to help to pay it back. It's a little bit tricky.

BALDWIN: Not yet. Zain Asher, thank you very much for that.

Switching gears, just moments ago, police have now released information on the tragic death of those two little boys killed by a python. They were sleeping over at this apartment just above a reptile store, pet store. Police say they were killed in their sleep. In a couple of minutes, we'll talk to a python expert about this deadly attack.

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