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Hunt For A Killer: Third Body Found In Mystery; Pope Intends To Visit U.S. Next Year; Bieber's Meltdown: What To Tell The Kids?; Athletes Warned: Go Easy On USA Clothing; Full Interview With Richard Sherman Tonight; Barkley On Celebrity Culture And Role Models; Republicans To Hold Early Convention; 56th Grammy Awards Kick Off Sunday

Aired January 24, 2014 - 14:00   ET

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

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JAY CARNEY, WHITE HOUSE PRESS SECRETARY: -- decided the time it come to shave so --

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WOLF BLITZER, CNN ANCHOR: A very good decision by Jay Carney. I recommended he lose his beard the other day as well. Listen to me, but he made a good decision. That's it for me. Thanks very much for watching. See you at 5:00 p.m. Eastern in "THE SITUATION ROOM." "NEWSROOM" continues right now with Brooke Baldwin.

BROOKE BALDWIN, CNN ANCHOR: Wolf, thank you. Hi, everyone. I'm Brooke Baldwin. Thanks for joining me here on this Friday. I want to begin this hour with the hunt for a killer out of San Diego and a murder mystery that has now deepened. Take a look at this young woman. Her name is Elona Flint seen with her fiance's brother, Salvatore Belvedere. Both were shot to death Christmas eve after Salvatore picked her up from work at a mall.

Their family members had looked for Elona's fiance and Sal's big brother to tell him the worst had happened to the two people he loved most, but he couldn't be found. He had disappeared and that led to rumors of a possible love triangle and jealous rage. A passerby then smelled an odor emanating from a car last week.

Police then discovered a body inside the trunk. They have now confirmed it is the body of Gianni Belvedere. Casey Wian, let me go straight to you. You are working this one of us today. Casey, a news conference has just wrapped. What did police reveal?

CASEY WIAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, Brooke, the police released more information about a person of interest. A person they called a suspicious male who was seen the night of the first two killings very near this scene. Here's their description of this person of interest.

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LT. MIKE HASTINGS, SAN DIEGO POLICE: The person of interest that we are looking for is an unknown race male, 5'10" to 6 feet tall wearing a black hodie that has unique white bands around the sleeves up in the bicep area. That particular male is also wearing tan pants and all white tennis shoes. They are believed to be in the Mission Valley Center Mall around 11:15 p.m. on December 23rd and again at the Mission Valley Center Mall around 12:15 a.m., following Christmas Eve, December 24th.

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WIAN: Now, Brooke, as you mentioned, more than three weeks later, the body of Gianni Belvedere was found near a fast food parking lot about 100 miles away from that crime scene in Riverside, California. The coroner conducted an autopsy on the body this week. Autopsy results, the report not finalized yet. All police will say at this time is that Gianni is also the victim of a homicide -- Brooke.

BALDWIN: Casey Wian, thank you. Winter's arctic grip is still holding parts of the country hostage. This is Texas. An ice storm and hard freeze blanketing parts of Houston, Austin, San Antonio and nearly a half inch of ice is accumulating in some areas and in the Midwest and the east, the cold continues to chill people to the bone.

High temperatures still somewhere in the neighborhood of 20 or 25 degrees below zero and will be hovering right around that area throughout weekend. Meantime, the west remains hot and dry with temperatures above normal. If all goes according to planned, Pope Francis could be coming to the United States next year.

Vatican sources told CNN the pope intends to visit in September of 2015. It would be the first visit to the U.S. for the hope and the first papal visit since Benedict back in 2008.

Eric Marrapodi, co-editor of CNN's Belief Blog joins me now. This is a big, big news. I'm going to ask you a question. You just have to guess. Where do you think he will go?

ERIC MARRAPODI, CNN BELIEF BLOG, CO-EDITOR: Well, the odds on favorite is Philadelphia. Of course, in 2015, Philadelphia will host the World Meeting of Families. That's a big gathering that happens every three years for the Catholic Church. Brooke, since I have been sitting here, I just got a response from the archdiocese of Philadelphia.

Let me read you this really quickly. We are planning as if Pope Francis will be with us and have no indication that he will not attend. That's about as close as confirmation that you can get. Now keep in mind, this is a long way away, September 2015 is a ways away and the Vatican has not officially announced this trip.

But the fact that sources told John Allen that the pope has indicated he wants to come to the U.S. in September. This is likely where he will head. There is also speculation that's worth noting that the U.N. General Assembly is every year in September. So you could see Francis making two stops on the East Coast in 2015 in Philadelphia and of course, New York City for the U.N. General Assembly.

BALDWIN: It's so exciting. We talked about the buzz he created in Brazil. Can you imagine that coming here?

MARRAPODI: Yes, remember, Brooke, there are 3.7 million people that showed up for that final mass in Rio De Janeiro. You can imagine what it would be like in Philly or New York.

BALDWIN: We know, we heard recently the president will be at the Vatican with the pope. I believe the date was March 27th. Do we have an idea what the two will talk about?

MARRAPODI: Well, the White House has indicated that President Obama is interested in talking to the Pope about poverty and income inequality. Those are two simpatico issues for the two gentlemen there. There is a number of other things that will come up. You can look to the meeting the pope had with Francis and President Holland today. They talked about the families and religious protections for communities and lots of social issues, which I suspect will come up as well.

BALDWIN: Get your hat in the ring for covering the pope in 2015. I'm sure we all will. Thank you so much.

MARRAPODI: You got it, Brooke.

BALDWIN: Now to some breaking information about Justin Bieber's dui arrest 24 hours after he was arrested. The wee hours in Miami Beach, his breathalyzer test was under the legal limit. That's what we are now learning, but because he is under 21, his blood alcohol level could not be over 0.02. Sources tell CNN he actually took not just one, but two breathalyzer tests.

Also more information here about the night the pop star landed in South Florida on Monday. So this trio of Florida police officers who escorted Justin Bieber around town allegedly to a strip club has been suspended with pay. The officers are from the Opelika Police Department and that escort is unauthorized according to city officials who talked to CNN.

Now an investigation is under way about everything here. Meantime, Bieber's whereabouts remain unknown since this moment. Remember this yesterday, the wave to the crowd as he was leaving Miami-Dade jail on that $2500 bond, what his high profile attorney, Roy Black, calls a standard bond.

Black said prosecutors did not ask for higher bail because of Bieber's celebrity. And then this, CNN has obtained new video of Bieber's arrest that was captured on cell phone and then posted on Instagram.

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UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: My God, Justin got pulled over.

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BALDWIN: Drugs, booze, fast cars, alleged street escorts to see strippers. One of the questions, where are the parents here? His mom, Patty, has not publicly spoken out about this. Some reports indicate Justin Bieber's father was there when he was arrested. He is an adult, keep in mind.

In the eyes of the law, he is 19, but still again under the age of 21. CNN digital correspondent, editor-at-large, Kelly Wallace joins me from New York. Kelly Wallace, first of all for the parents, we heard the girls squealing, there many Justin Bieber fans out there. How do parents explain what's happening to their kids?

KELLY WALLACE, CNN DIGITAL CORRESPONDENT: There a ton of them out there. This was the question. We asked a lot of moms and dads about this. A lot of them say number one, this is sort of a conversation starter. An opportunity to talk to kids about drinking and drugs and about doing both behind the wheel and approprate behavior for teenagers, if they have a friend in the same trouble, what to do.

Then there is also that question, Brooke, sometimes I think we think that if our girls and boys idolize someone like Justin Bieber, they think they can do everything that Justin Bieber does. Many people I talked to said we need to give our teens a lot more credit than that. They can look at him and like his music and voice, but they can recognize he is not the model of good behavior.

BALDWIN: Not at the moment at all and then to Justin Bieber's parents themselves, I believe, I remember interviewing the mother. I mean, didn't she grew up -- she raised him more or less as a single mother, I believe, and here are the reports about the dad being there as they were allegedly drag racing. The word that comes to my mind is enabler.

WALLACE: Yes, I mean, this was a big question as I was talking to people yesterday. You know, we are not in the home. We don't know what kind of parenting is going on behind the scenes, but it does raise questions and also if you are a child star and if you feel your family is really benefiting and needing you to continue to be that star, there is a concern about that.

Again, also you raise the point, he is 19. One therapist I talked to said he is 19. He makes millions and millions of dollars. He can move out and buy all the houses he wants. How much parental control could parents really have? That is another question that's out there.

BALDWIN: Kelly Wallace, thank you.

Coming up next hour, we will be talking to former child star who definitely has experience with a number of issues, McKenzie Phillips, who will join me live on CNN next hour. Do not miss that conversation.

Coming up, Rolexes, clothes, the former governor of Virginia accused of accepting illegal gifts but get this, he rejected a plea deal that would have saved his wife. That story is ahead.

Plus the infamous sheriff in Arizona giving inmates bread and water, hear what he said they did in their cells.

The State Department warning American athletes, don't wear Team USA gear outside of Russia's Ring of Steel, this as we are two weeks away from the Winter Olympic games. That's next.

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BALDWIN: The Winter Olympics two weeks away, but we are not talking about chances snagging gold on the slopes, folks, or hopefuls on the ring. Today we are talking about terror. The U.S. State Department telling our American athletes to go easy on the American garb, avoid wearing Team USA gear outside the games venues. Mom of an Olympic skater, Kyle Carr, telling CNN this morning about the measures for athletes there.

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LISA CERVANTES, SON IS SKATING IN SOCHI OLYMPICS: He had said that he is, you know, like concerned. He's got concerns, but he's never said no. I think you should stay home. They are cocooned in with the Olympic village and security. For lack of a better word, like body guards, they have people watching their backs.

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BALDWIN: That's the athletes. How safe are American tourists in the Sochi area? Well, the search continues for these black widow bombers possibly on the loose inside the so-called "Ring of Steel," the security perimeter. Many are fearful. Many of those seemed to have faith inside this area. Mitt Romney, for example, who presided over the Winter Olympics in Salt Lake City is one example.

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UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Would you go to Sochi?

MITT ROMNEY, FORMER U.S. PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: The answer is yes. I believe the games are safe. That doesn't mean there is a 100 percent guarantee anywhere in the world today, but this is after all a dangerous corner of the world. The specific threats that this is going to be an area that could be targeted and therefore there is a degree of risk associated with life today in a world where terrorism exists.

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BALDWIN: Hala Gorani is here, a CNN international anchor and correspondent. So we know about the State Department memo specifically for these, you know, Team USA athletes. What about tourists or even like we saw a mother of an athlete?

HALA GORANI, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Right, the state department issued a warning to ordinary Americans going to Sochi to be on the lookout. There is not a specific thread against Americans, but if you are there, it would be smart not to stand out and wear a baseball cap with an American flag on the front. It's just basic security.

Basic precautions in a part of the world and Mitt Romney said it, it is sometimes dangerous and especially the Olympic games in Russia where you have insurgencies being waged. It would be smart not to stand out. It's not just Russia, but it is east and parts of Africa where Americans are not popular.

BALDWIN: They keep talking about the black widows focusing on the women. Do we have an update on the search?

GORANI: They are out there with the black widows. We saw the flyers handed out to other venues in Sochi for people to be on the lookout. This is all part of a wider fear and concern. We saw e-mail threats that turned out to be hoaxes, but people have to take all of those seriously because of the concern for these insurgent and terrorist attacks.

The black widows are out on the loose and the question is for the United States, two things. One, are they getting cooperation from the Russian authorities. An official told Reuters a few days ago, no, we are not.

Second, if there is, worst case scenario, there is an attack, how do you intervene? How do you evacuate your citizens, all those are contingency plans that are being thought of just two weeks ahead of the games.

BALDWIN: Just two weeks?

GORANI: No, now is two weeks ahead, but it has been in the works. We have known Sochi have these Winter Olympic Games for a while. But I think part of the reason that people are concerned, the State Department is saying especially gay Americans. You have these anti- propaganda laws as the Russian government are calling them. Not to propagate gay propaganda. Anybody advocating for equal rights for gays and straights in Russia can be targeted. That can be something to keep in mind if you are headed there.

BALDWIN: OK, two weeks to go. Hala Gorani, thank you very much.

GORANI: Thank you.

BALDWIN: Coming up, JPMorgan CEO Jamie Dimon got quite a raise this year, a whopping 74 percent. The bank paying millions of dollars in fines last year, we are asking the question why.

Former Virginia Governor Bob McDonnell and his wife pleading not guilty to federal charges of accepting gifts valued at least at $140,000. How do authorities say this whole thing began? We are learning it actually could have started with a single dress. More on that right after this.

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BALDWIN: The hottest stories in a flash. We call it rapid fire. Roll it.

First up, another ugly day on Wall Street, take a look at that, the Dow down in the triple-digits that could end up being the worst week in 18 months. The big reasons, weak earnings reports here at home and slowdowns overseas.

Also JPMorgan Chase didn't have that great of a year, but its CEO is being richly rewarded anyway. In a government filing, the bank says top Executive Jamie Dimon will get about $18.5 million in stock as his bonus. That is a 74 percent raise over last year and comes even though the bank had to pay billions in fines in 2013. A minority on the bank's board opposed the raise. Dimon was the highest paid bank CEO back in 2011 before a huge trading loss led to a pay cut.

In the case of one Arizona county bread and water is not just a prison cliche. The well-known sheriff there, Sheriff Joe Arpaio, is punishing 38 inmates by feeding them only bread and water for seven days. Their offense, he said the prisoners defaced the American flag, which was placed in their cells as part of his push to bring more patriotism into the county jail.

Procter & Gamble, listen to this one, blames "Movember" for shaving its profits last quarter. The company that own Gillette say it's one reason why sales of non-disposable razors fell 15 percent last quarter. The "Movember" movement has raised $433 million to help fight prostate cancer and a bright side for P&G, man scaping could be a source of growth. Eighty percent of guys apparently use one razor for their face and you can use your imagine for the rest there.

Bob McDonnell, once a rising Republican star was arraigned today in federal court. Federal prosecutors charge the former Virginia governor that he was on the tape. They say his wife, Maureen, also took illegal gifts and she, like her husband, pleaded not guilty. There seems to be when you read into this, a lot of innuendo here, much of that suggesting that Maureen McDonald was enjoying living large and led her husband down the primrose path.

You need to know this. Even though they were holding hands this morning, they hired separate lawyers. Sunny Hostin with me now from New York, our CNN legal analyst and let me -- before we chat, let me pull up an e-mail that seems to have everyone in the pundit world crowing.

Maureen McDonnell said this. Quote, "Bob is screaming about the thousands I'm charging in credit card debt. We are broke. We have an unconscionable amount in credit card debt and this inaugural is killing us." That's Sunny Hostin is apparently where this whole thing started.

Maureen McDonnell needed a dress for the inauguration. She reached out to a wealthy donor for help. From what you have seen of this indictment, is it unfair to suggestion that this wife was her husband's undoing?

SUNNY HOSTIN, CNN LEGAL ANALYST: You know, I don't think that that is an unfair suggestion or an unfair inference. I read this 43-page indictment and it is full of all these kinds of details. What is interesting to me, Brooke, when I read it is that a lot of the gifts made by the governor's wife and not necessarily by the governor.

Now that is going to be very important because we know that she was not a government official, right? She was not the governor. She was the governor's wife. If the defense -- and we know that they have two different defense attorneys -- but if the defense in this is, well, yes, Mrs. McDonnell did a lot of these things, but her husband didn't know anything about it, that I think that's a pretty significant defense that would resonate with the jury. How many husbands on that jury are not going to say I don't know what my wife buys. My husband doesn't know everything that I buy.

BALDWIN: Let's keep it that way.

HOSTIN: Yes, this is not a slam dunk.

BALDWIN: Right, but joking aside, let's say this, let's say that more evidence against Maureen McDonnell, the former first lady, you know, and then against the former governor. As a prosecutor, would it not be tempted here and think about, to cut a deal with Maureen and then try to nail the former governor since as a prosecutor, that's where you make a name, right?

HOSTIN: Yes, but that's not going to work in this case. They are a married couple. Married couples can't be compelled to testify against each other and their communications during the marriage are protected as well. So I have to tell you, you know, my understanding is that he rejected a plea offer to sort of do exactly that.

Take responsibility for this scandal and no charges against his wife because they think they have a pretty good chance of beating this and looking at it even though this is in Virginia, a place where I actually have some ties and connections or had some. It's a very good prosecutor's office, but this is not going to be an easy case.

BALDWIN: Sunny Hostin, thank you very much.

Coming up, the GOP is making an historic move announcing it will hold the Republican National Convention in June. Why?

Coming up next, one of my favorite interviews of the day, he is one of the few people who is not afraid. Come on out here. He tells it like it is. Charles Barkley. We will talk about everything, about Richard Sherman and the debate over the word thug. And some video I'm sorry my friend. It's fun. Don't miss this. Charles Barkley in Studio 7.

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