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Convicted Rapist Released After 31 Days; Child Saves Neighbors from Fire; Parents Donate Reception Food to Homeless; Dow Ends Five- Day Slide; Facebook Shares Rebound; JPMorgan Chase Negotiate $11 Billion Settlement; Bush 41 Signs Same-Sex Marriage License; High School Football Team Win Jerseys Back After Suspensions; Lab Tests Bomb Parts to Identify Terrorists; Military Mom Surprises Kids

Aired September 26, 2013 - 15:30   ET

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

BROOKE BALDWIN, CNN ANCHOR: You know, it's also interesting, too, though, because you think of the Bushes, for example, the Bush family and post-presidency.

I mean, you think of George W. Bush, he kind of went away, you know, for a while. This is quite a stark difference when you compare the two families.

JOHN AVLON, CNN POLITICAL ANALYST: It's a remarkable difference. I mean, you know, we have these dueling dynasties in American politics for much of the last 25 years, and there's a total stylistic difference.

George W. Bush, as you said, basically went back to the ranch. And I think he decided discretion is the better part of valor and didn't want to weigh in on every political brouhaha, even at times, frankly, when the Republican Party probably could have used his advice to calm down their passions.

Whereas the Clintons, you know, they wear their ambition on their sleeve and they're not retiring from the spotlight.

Obviously, the 2008 campaign being tough-fought between Hillary and President Obama, and then an accomplished one term as secretary of state, and now this overwhelming 55-point lead in the most recent CNN poll over the rest of the Democratic field for Hillary Clinton should she decide to run, it's an unprecedented situation, but they're not shy and retiring.

They're in the fray. They like it that way. And it's part of why, the reason the fascination persists.

BALDWIN: Yeah, they are out and about.

Once again, Chelsea Clinton, Piers Morgan, tonight, 9:00.

John Avlon, thank you, sir. I appreciate it.

Coming up next, a roaring fire engulfs this apartment complex. Five people, including three kids, trapped inside, and then you have this eight-year-old child now hailed a hero for what he did to try to save those from inside.

You will hear from him next.

Plus, a bride cancels her wedding. It happens. Her parents, left with the wedding reception, had to decide, will that go on? Who to invite?

They've got the food, the venue. You'll hear from them and what they did coming up.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BALDWIN: OK, so we just got some video just into us here at CNN, but let me just set it up for you.

At the top of the show, we told you about this convicted rapist, Stacey Rambold, this man who convicted of raping, at the time, a 14- year-old girl. She later committed suicide.

It made national news because the judge in Montana gave this guy 31 days. So he's on probation for 14 years. He just got out of jail today.

And so watch this video. This is our correspondent running after him. Take a look.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

KYUNG LAH, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hi, Stacey. Hi, I'm Kyung Lah from CNN. Can I ask you a few questions? Are you checking in with your parole officer?

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BALDWIN: And he has nothing to say, Stacey Rambold, walking into the probation office there in Billings, Montana.

Kyung Yah -- Kyung Lah, forgive me, with that.

Now to this incredible story, this little boy just eight-years-old saves his neighbors from this. Look at this fire.

Family, including three children, inside this Tennessee apartment complex as flames enveloped it room by room. How did he do it? Why did he do it

I'm going to let him tell you. WKRN's Nadia Ramdass reports.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

JONATHAN BENT, ALERTED NEIGHBORS: Because I don't like people dying. I just want them to live.

NADIA RAMDASS, WKRN REPORTER: This was the dramatic scene early Wednesday morning at the Oak Grove Apartments in Lawrenceburg about 70 miles south of Nashville. This heart-pounding video was taken by a camera mounted on the helmet of a Lawrenceburg firefighter. Watch as he rushes into the stairwell engulfed in flames.

Firefighters, who received reports of five people, including three children, being trapped, rushed to save the lives of one of the victims.

Then you hear a police officer calling out.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: (Inaudible)

RAMDASS: Watch again as the firefighter lowers the girl to safety.

BENT: Two of my sisters, they went off the balcony because they picked them up and held them on the edge and then dropped them. And a policeman catched them.

RAMDASS: Jonathan Bent is grateful his younger sister, captured in this compelling video, as well as his two other siblings who were rescued, made it out alive.

The residents say Jonathan's quick thinking also saved their lives.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Come and start knocking on neighbors' doors, he was running everywhere. He was knocking on this door, knocking on this, help, help, fire, fire.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BALDWIN: We're told the eight-year-old was asleep at a neighbor's home in a lower apartment just to keep an eye on her. Apparently, this person was an elderly person.

So he sprung into action when he noticed she dropped her cigarette near the oxygen tank, thus sparking the fire. Good for him.

Next, a family makes a pretty tough decision, making -- I should say the best out of a tough situation, their actions now making national headlines.

Daughter canceled the wedding 40 days before the big day, so her parents, what to do, what to do with the wedding reception? They paid for the food, the venue.

Hear their idea that has a lot of people talking. That's next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BALDWIN: Listen, I'm not a huge fan of cliches, but this one is kind of perfect here because, when life gives you lemons, you make lemonade. And in this case, you will meet a couple who not only made pink lemonade, they shared it with others.

They paid for their daughter's wedding, paid for this lavish reception, and then 40 days before she was scheduled to walk down the aisle, the daughter called it off.

So what did the parents -- what did Willie and Carol Fowler do? They changed the focus of the party, and I talked to them today.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BALDWIN: You were in the process of, you know, you're cancelling the party, right?

CAROL FOWLER, HELD RECEPTION FOR THE HOMELESS: Yes.

BALDWIN: I know that's tough. You're cancelling this party.

And Willie, you have this idea, let's not cancel it. Let's do what?

WILLIE FOWLER, HELD RECEPTION FOR THE HOMELESS: Let's have a party with Hosea Feed the Hungry people, people from shelters that probably have never had this kind of party before. I've been in this location like this.

That was the only thing that I could think of that came to me that was worth spending the kind of money that we were spending on a replacement for. I couldn't see doing anything else.

BALDWIN: Because it was the venue, what, was it the food? This was paid for. So you're either going to have to eat it or pay it forward?

C. FOWLER: Exactly.

W. FOWLER: Or walk away.

BALDWIN: Or walk away.

C. FOWLER: Yes.

BALDWIN: And when he said this to you, you said?

C. FOWLER: I was reluctant initially. And with that, I thought, yes, well, that's a great idea.

So I picked up the telephone and called Hosea Feed the Hungry, and in doing so, they thought it was a prank.

BALDWIN: They thought you were kidding.

C. FOWLER: They -- yes.

BALDWIN: That you wanted to bus all these people to this reception site and feed them.

Flash forward to this happens. You bus these families to this lovely location. You were there. You attended. Your daughter attended as well.

C. FOWLER: Yes.

BALDWIN: What was this like being here? This was supposed to be her party. Instead, it was a party of a different kind.

W. FOWLER: The best birthday party I could have for me. I got to welcome the guests as they came in and everybody -- they were already thanking me for just having them there. This is before the party started.

BALDWIN: Wow.

W. FOWLER: I was really excited about that.

BALDWIN: Wow.

What were they saying to you?

C. FOWLER: They were saying that this was something that they have never done in their lives and doubt very seriously if they would ever have an opportunity again.

For our daughter, she said it was very surreal. So, but with an embrace, we both were overjoyed with the fact that there were other people enjoying something that they never had an opportunity to do before.

BALDWIN: What was on the menu?

C. FOWLER: Salmon, chicken for the adults. And for the children, it was chicken fingers, French fries, and chocolate chip cookies with fresh fruit.

But we also had passed hors d'oeuvres -- we had people passing the hors d'oeuvres and so forth outside, and that went on, with lemonade, pink lemonade.

BALDWIN: Wonderful. It's wonderful to turn something around.

I'm not going to get into the nitty-gritty of your daughter, but how is she doing? Is she OK?

C. FOWLER: Oh, yes.

BALDWIN: She's OK.

W. FOWLER; She's fine.

BALDWIN: She's OK.

And, so, just ultimately, you had such a lovely time, and they had such a lovely time.

Final question, are you doing this again?

C. FOWLER: Oh, we would love to do it again, yes.

We would like to do it with an educational segment so that we can educate them where they are, so that they can help themselves.

And if we can teach them how to fish, of course they can feed themselves.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BALDWIN: Carol and Willie Fowler, how great is that?

Coming up next, a great day for Facebook, we'll tell you the milestone they reached today, one that looked pretty unreachable a year ago.

Plus, CNN gets exclusive access inside a federal bomb lab that analyzes everything from fingerprints to explosives, helps track down terrorists around the world, and you're about to get a tour.

Don't miss this.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BALDWIN: Let's talk markets real quickly here. The Dow poised to end a five-day slide. Take a look at the numbers for yourself.

And, you know, in Washington, let's call it what it is, bickering over the funding of the government, the debt ceiling, all these looming deadlines in the next couple weeks, you know, has investors spooked.

But at least today, it's up just about 40 minutes here, 12 minutes left in the trading day there on Wall Street.

And some good news for Facebook as well, CEO Mark Zuckerberg may have a big old grin on his face because Facebook stock price topped $50 a share for the first time today.

That is huge after Facebook's disappointing debut and botched initial public offering, the IPO, back in May of last year.

So let's talk about this with Zain Asher in New York, CNNMoney's Zain Asher. What's driving the gains for Facebook?

ZAIN ASHER, CNNMONEY.COM CORRESPONDENT: Hey, well, you know, Brooke, part of the reason is growing revenue from Facebook ads on mobile devices. It now makes up about 40 percent of the company's revenue.

But, yes, as you mentioned, Facebook really is back to being the cool kid again. The share price cost $50 a share this morning. It has come a long way since its roller coaster ride last year.

So if you bought it in May 2012 and you've had the patience to sit tight and hold on, you're certainly sitting pretty. The stock is up 88 percent so far this year.

Brooke?

BALDWIN: What about the nation's largest bank making some news, maybe on the hook for up to $11 billion to settle a bunch of government investigations.

What's going on for JPMorgan Chase?

ASHER: Yeah, so Jamie Dimon, the CEO of JPMorgan, sat face-to-face with Eric Holder this morning for negotiations.

And you've got to remember, Brooke, that there has been so much criticism towards regulators for going easy on Wall Street. Now we're seeing it's harsher penalties and more aggressive enforcement.

But, yes, JPMorgan could be charged -- could be charged -- $11 billion for their role in the 2008 financial crisis. Basically, what they're being accused of is selling toxic mortgages to investors, and then claiming that these mortgages were less risky than they actually were.

I do want to point out two things very quickly, Brooke. You have to understand that when you impose an $11 billion fine on a bank, it really is the shareholders that end up suffering. Is that fair?

And part of the trouble for JPMorgan is that they acquired Bear Stearns and Washington Mutual, which were heavily involved in risky mortgages, and now they're the ones that are paying the price.

I do also want to mention that JPMorgan has had a nightmarish year. You know, literally you cannot make this year up.

Just quickly, let me show you what they're dealing with, $920 million in fines for the London "whale" case, also $309 million in refunds they have to pay for unfairly billing their credit card customers, and also $410 million for price-fixing electricity markets.

And even though regulators are going after banks, we have not seen one top banking employee face charges for their role in the financial crisis.

Brooke?

BALDWIN: Zain Asher, thank you.

A Republican icon took an official role in a same-sex marriage over the weekend. Former president George H.W. Bush -- watch for the socks -- there they are -- was the official witness at the Maine wedding of Helen Thorgalsen and Bonnie Clement.

Bush and his wife Barbara are long, long-time friends of this couple. A spokesman says the former president signed the marriage license at the couple's request.

And, yes, as I pointed out, Bush 41 wearing his trademark mismatched socks for the wedding. Post-presidency, he has become known for that.

"CSI," the show, one of the most popular on TV, gives you, the viewer, Hollywood-looks at solving crimes, but CNN got exclusive access to this real-life forensic lab.

So next, we will take you inside. We will show you how these technicians use evidence to track down wanted people around the world.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BALDWIN: Well, they aren't celebrating victory on the field yet, but you can bet most of the Union High football players in Utah feel like winners today, and that is because 32 of the 41 players learned that their suspensions were lifted.

This is according to our Salt Lake City TV affiliate, KSL. So they earned those black and gold jerseys back after performing community service, attending character classes and other tasks.

The coach, as we reported yesterday, suspended this entire team last Friday night for cutting class, disrespectful behavior and possibly bullying one student online.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MATT LABRUM, UNION HIGH FOOTBALL COACH: We didn't feel like it was a punishment. We felt like it was an opportunity for us to grow and for us to learn about, you know, how we can impact other people.

ANDERSON COOPER, CNN ANCHOR, "ANDERSON COOPER 360": You actually met with the student who was bullied, correct?

LABRUM: Yes. I just wanted him to know that we don't condone any of this stuff, and I don't know, you know, if it was even any of our players, to be honest with you. It's all anonymous.

We just felt like, you know what, we as a team needed to take a stand and take a leadership direction and change some ideas there.

I just wanted this young man to know we cared about him.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BALDWIN: KSL TV reports the nine players still suspended can return if they fulfill the requirements, but the others will be playing tomorrow night.

he school has been overwhelmed by national attention. As Coach Labrum put it, "We have an opportunity to be an inspiration to an entire nation by doing the right things."

Hollywood dramas like "CSI" can offer thrilling scenes of crime scene investigating that's full of suspense and intrigue, but the real-life science behind this work is highly specialized, much more intense and highly classified.

CNN gained exclusive access inside the federal forensic lab to see what goes into this, like analyzing everything from fingerprints to explosives and how that has been used to track down terrorists all around the globe.

CNN Pentagon correspondent Barbara Starr takes us on an up-close tour.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

BARBARA STARR, CNN PENTAGON CORRESPONDENT: It's just a fingerprint smudge on a piece of metal. But whose is it? CNN is the first news organization to see how analysts at America's bomb lab have helped identify nearly 1,000 terrorists and members of al Qaeda in 25 countries since the 9/11 attacks. Lifting fingerprints involves some of the most sensitive techniques.

Here, super glue vapors are blasted on to cell phone circuit boards from IEDs.

MARY KATHRYN BOOK, PHYSICAL SCIENTIST, TEDAC: Fumes are attaching to any fingerprints that are left behind on the surface, and then they form a plastic image over that fingerprint.

STARR: Ultraviolet light picks up fine details. Prints are gathered off documents, even food wrappers. IED parts gathered years ago in Iraq are checked for prints.

The U.S. wants to see if any Iraq refugees now in the U.S. may have ties to terrorism, and some do.

Two Iraqi men, one was named Alwan, living in the United States as refugees, were convicted of terrorism charges.

Lab director Greg Carl shows me an evidence bag from one of their IEDs in Iraq.

GREG CARL, TEDAC, DIRECTOR: On this bay station, we found two fingerprints which we were able to identify back to Alwan, which was the subject in the investigation.

STARR: Beyond using fingerprints -- the lab re-creates exploded bombs to help identify bomb makers. For the first time, you are seeing new 3D images from IEDs, looking at tiny details for clues on how the device was put together.

Here, IED components found in different parts of Afghanistan, tires, metal and wood, match up exactly. This is the bomb-maker's signature.

CARLOS ROSATI, SENIOR TOOL MARK EXAMINER: There are obviously people teaching other people to make devices.

STARR: One target, Yemeni master bomb-maker Ibrahim al-Asiri, believed to be behind several attacks and teaching others how to make bombs that can't be caught by metal detectors.

ROSATI: Although there may be many people out, there every time we stop one, that is one less that we have to worry about.

STARR: The lab has 100,000 boxes of evidence. Every item is scrutinized as it comes in with the hope that some clue will lead the experts to the bomb-maker and save lives.

Barbara Starr, CNN, Washington.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BALDWIN: Barbara, thank you. And before we go, when you're a parent in the military, you're far, far away, deployed overseas. It's tough to be there for your kid's birthday, right?

Well, take a look because one military mom made up for that. She is Staff Sergeant Jennifer White. She is back from her fourth deployment overseas.

She missed two of her three kids' birthdays while she was away, but as you're looking, she made her rounds to all of their schools to surprise them, so needless to say, these kids are thrilled to have mom back home.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JENNIFER WHITE, MOTHER: Both my girls just wanted me home for birthdays.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: She's finally home. Now I can have my momma back.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BALDWIN: How cute is that?

We thank her and, of course, all of you for your service.

I'm Brooke Baldwin. Great being with you.

Jake Tapper and "THE LEAD" starts right now.