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Rick's List
Storm Pounds East Coast; Charges Filed in Dallas Police Beating; Webcam Spying Suicide; U.S. Apologizes to Guatemala; Message for Life: It Gets Better; High Water Rescues; Rahm Emanuel Officially Steps Down
Aired October 01, 2010 - 16:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
BROOKE BALDWIN, CNN ANCHOR: And as we begin this hour, I want to welcome the men and the women watching us on American Forces Network all around the world. Here we go. The national conversation continues.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
BALDWIN (voice-over): Here's what's making the LIST today.
Epic rainfall from a massive storm leads to major flooding, plus more travel delays. When could things return to normal?
Towering inferno. Flames spread through a 38-story high-rise in South Korea, as those inside flee for their lives. What started this?
Remember this dash-cam beating video? Three Dallas police officers have now been charged. Where might the case go from here?
Ignoring helmet laws is one thing. Running from police is another. The motorcycle chase with the surprise ending you have to see to believe.
The lists you need to know about. Who's today's most intriguing? Who's landed on the list you don't want to be on? Who's making news on Twitter? It's why I keep a list.
Pioneering tomorrow's cutting-edge news right now.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
BALDWIN: Here we go, hour two. Time to pick up the pace of those, all the different stories that we're working on today.
In fact, checking in at number one, topping our list right now, severe weather. It is wet. It is dangerous. Name your adjective. It's a mess really up and down parts of the Northeast and Mid-Atlantic states. Take a look at this video with me. In fact what you're looking at right now, this is aerials over Windsor, North Carolina.
See the home and a whole lot of water. I'm talking houses, cars, farm equipment. There's some boats making their way through this, what looks like a lake. I'm sure it's a road. Now, the county manager describes the situation specifically there as dire. At least 75 people have had to be rescued since last night. That's the last count we got from them, the county library under five feet of water, and a nearby river is 16 to 17 feet above flood level.
We also have different reports from our different affiliates. We have been taking a look at a couple of these. First we want you to take a look at this. This is WABC's Stacey Sager. She was in Elizabeth, New Jersey. Here she is.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
STACEY SAGER, WABC REPORTER (voice-over): You were lucky to get anywhere here in Newark this morning. Along Freeling-Housen (ph) Avenue, oncoming traffic meant oncoming wake. And some drives definitely became stranded for hours. Mary Wimberly (ph) severely miscalculating as she headed down this street on her way to work.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I was driving, and it started floating. And then I said, oh.
SAGER: And in fact four hours later, Mary was still fishing the flood out of her car and reliving her morning nightmare.
(on camera): What do you think of all this?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I was petrified. I was so nervous. I was like, I couldn't believe my car was floating. It was right up into the doorknobs.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
BALDWIN: Scary, right?
Chad Myers, we're going to chat about all the different weather situations all up and down the East Coast.
First, though, we have some more pictures. This is out of Virginia. This from WAVY, our affiliate in Norfolk. Take a look.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
ANDY FOX, WAVY REPORTER: This big rig sometimes, it's the only way you can get around, one of the only vehicles getting through here up Ravelton (ph).
(voice-over): Here's one trucker who didn't keep rolling. A truck hauling bread stalled at this East Virginia Beach Boulevard underpass. He could not restart the truck, and flooding waters rose.
But after a day of trying, M&M Fleet Repair finally pulled the truck from troubled waters.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
BALDWIN: -- one way to do it, hop on a big rig.
CHAD MYERS, AMS METEOROLOGIST: No. BALDWIN: Not so much.
MYERS: That's not a safe way to do it.
BALDWIN: Not so much.
MYERS: You slip off that running board --
(CROSSTALK)
MYERS: -- under the wheel. No.
BALDWIN: Bad news. Bad news. But you can see all the oil and the guck in the water.
MYERS: Yes.
BALDWIN: That's also bad news as well.
MYERS: That's oil that came out of that engine of that truck.
(CROSSTALK)
BALDWIN: Now people are driving through it, walking through it.
MYERS: Yes.
Well, yes, and that truck's wrecked too. You just don't want to put your car in that situation, I don't care how much you don't like it. Don't put it in there, because you can get water in the engine, you can get water in the transmission, all these places that water and oil are not supposed to go together and then you have got a milkshake in your engine and that's not very good for your car.
BALDWIN: Did these folks not know all this water was coming? Was this --
(CROSSTALK)
MYERS: I could see it.
BALDWIN: You were watching. Maybe they weren't watching.
MYERS: I don't know. You look through the windshield, you can see the car in front of you making a wake. It looks like a boat. My car doesn't say Amphicar on the back. Remember those cars from the '60s that could in the water or the land? You don't make those anymore. Took around and don't drown.
BALDWIN: Let me show you one more piece of video we have, an affiliate. I guess it gives us an idea of how people in the midst of this trying to make the best of things. Take a look.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
MELANIE WOODROW, REPORTER: As you can see, the water is still standing here. It's gone down a little bit. I just ran into Janice. She's on her way to the store in a kayak. You still can't get around by car.
So you decided this was the only way to get out?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: This is the best way. My stairs are still underwater.
WOODROW: Anything, any damage at your house?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: No. We're up high enough. But there's a few houses around here that have gotten water inside.
WOODROW: And how is this form of transportation working for you?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: It's a lot of fun.
(LAUGHTER)
WOODROW: OK. Great.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BALDWIN: Working I guess her biceps in the kayak.
MYERS: It seemed a little unnecessary, didn't it?
(CROSSTALK)
BALDWIN: Well, look, lady needs to go to the store. Maybe she needs to make dinner.
MYERS: But the water was that deep.
BALDWIN: Anyway.
MYERS: The kayak was scraping the ground.
Anyway, the water is -- the rain is finally done, but the water takes a long time to go from high ground to the ocean. And so from Hampton Roads all the way down to Wilmington, they got two feet of rain.
(CROSSTALK)
BALDWIN: How long does it take for it to go away?
MYERS: Well, it could take a week easily.
BALDWIN: Could take a week.
MYERS: Because -- and this -- we're back in Bertie County. This is North Carolina, Windsor.
Notice, the water's not moving very much. You can see the sheen on top of the water. That's the oil coming out of either the cars or the gas tank or maybe a gas station somewhere.
BALDWIN: But it's stagnant. That's your point. That's a good thing.
MYERS: It's not moving away. Well --
BALDWIN: It's not a good thing because it's not moving away.
MYERS: It's a good thing because people aren't getting washed away, but it's not a good thing because it's not going to go away very soon. Because the topography of the land is flat, the water is going to be moving at one or two miles per hour. It could take a week for these people to get back --
(CROSSTALK)
BALDWIN: We had mentioned 75 boat rescues, but they were not swift-water rescues.
MYERS: Correct. Yes, there's no swift-water right there by the Albemarle Sound, because there's no topography for the water to get swift.
But the water, as it goes up slowly, like it did, it's going to go down slowly, like a rainstorm. If rain starts quickly, it will probably stop quickly. If it starts slowly, it's going to last a long time. Same thing with a flood.
BALDWIN: Possibly a week. Feel for those folks.
MYERS: Absolutely.
BALDWIN: Chad, thanks.
MYERS: Sure.
BALDWIN: We have been talking to you past couple of days about this tragic story.
Here's this Rutgers freshman. He was 18, took his own life after a roommate -- his roommate allegedly videotaped him being intimate with this other guy. Well, now we're learning a little bit more about what Tyler Clementi is believed to have written on Facebook before jumping off the George Washington Bridge. That is ahead.
Also, it is a high-rise building -- here it is -- totally up in flames. I'm going to tell you where this is, how this happened. Is everyone OK? Those stories and more next on the LIST.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
BALDWIN: Time for the stories we're always keeping our eye on today, roundup list.
Number one here, Elena Kagan officially taking her seat today, the newest Supreme Court justice taking part in a formal sitting ceremony -- that's what they call it -- today in Washington. She's the fourth woman to sit on the high court. President Obama was among those of course who welcomed her to the bench. Justice Kagan and the rest of the court begin their new term Monday.
And three police officers in Dallas now facing felony charges in this brutal beating caught on dash-cam video. It happened here. Here they go. Look at them waling on the guy. It happened at the tail end of the chase. The charges here include assault and tampering with evidence. The officers have not yet responded to those charges.
And, number three, this could very well be the best video of the day here. Look at this with me, flames, huge plumes of smoke gutting this high-rise apartment building in South Korea. This happened in one of the country's biggest ports, in fact.
Hundreds of firefighters had to work on this thing, I read, for about two hours before they could get it under control. It's almost as though it's burning in the middle of the building. You see that? We're told the fire started in the garbage room, destroyed about half of the unit.
You see the helicopter above. That's how they got the water in. They had to grab water, drop it in via the air. This is a 38-story tower. Amazing though, given the pictures, given the smoke, just about everybody was able to get out in time.
And, number four, if you have drugs, the government will burn them. The DEA collecting unused or expired prescription drugs from Americans all across the country, and now, what are they doing? They're burning the pills. It's called Take Back, the Take Back Initiative. It's an effort to decrease prescription drug abuse in America.
There is a new project out there. It's called It Gets Better. It's aimed at helping young gay teens cope with bullying. I want to talk to blogger Perez Hilton about this, why he's putting this video out there. saying it gets better. Who is he talking to? And why is he involved? That is ahead.
The LIST rolls on.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
BALDWIN: We're now beginning to get a little bit better of a picture of Tyler Clementi's final day. That's the day that he took that plunge off the George Washington Bridge into the Hudson River.
Clementi is that Rutgers University student who committed suicide after a sexual encounter with a guy in his dorm room was streamed online for anyone to see -- allegedly streamed online by his roommate and another student.
Now, Clementi is believed to have been looking for advice on this situation on an online forum. So, here's what we have dug up for you. Shortly after 6:00 a.m. on September 22, Clementi is believed to have posted this update in an online forum. Want to -- take a look at this with me. Here's what he posted. Here's what is believed to -- what he posted.
"He," the resident adviser, "seemed to take it seriously. He asked me to e-mail him a written paragraph about what exactly happened," referencing the web spying here, "I e-mailed it to him and to two people above him."
Now that was his final post in that forum, and it was later that same day Clementi attended class and he even got some good news from the director of orchestra at Rutgers.
Listen to this.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
ASSOC. PROF. KYNAN JOHNS, DIRECTOR OF ORCHESTRA, RUTGERS UNIVERSITY: Tyler auditioned for our orchestras and placed so highly that he made it into our top level, mainly graduate orchestra. And then also, he qualified for lessons, being getting into our number one ensemble.
And on the day in question, he was at rehearsal from 1:45 to 4:45 and I informed him at actually at the start of that rehearsal that we had arranged his lessons for the year.
Like any freshman, any undergraduate, it was sitting down waiting for the start of rehearsal to begin. And he'd been there, been the same. I hadn't noticed any change from the first rehearsal, through to that day, nothing at all.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BALDWIN: So he was just 18, got into graduate orchestra, got the news that day, then sometime after that, this post appeared on a Facebook page we believe to be his. He wrote, here's his status, I know it's teeny tiny, but it says, "Tyler Clementi, jumping off the GW Bridge, sorry."
Clementi's body was indeed pulled from the Hudson River on Wednesday. His roommate and another student are charged with invasion of privacy, but they could end up facing more substantial charges. We're going to have to wait and see on that.
Meantime, we actually just got an updated statement here from Tyler Clementi's family. I want to read part of it to you. They say, they thank friends, family and the public for their support and respect for their privacy. They go on to say, "Regardless of legal outcomes, our hope is that our family's personal tragedy will serve as a call for compassion, empathy and human dignity."
Meantime, people in another part of the world here exposed to syphilis and other sexually transmitted diseases. Why our government is stepping forward today and saying, sorry.
Be right back. (COMMERCIAL BREAK)
BALDWIN: A shocking admission today from the U.S. government. Officials apologizing to Guatemala for deliberately infecting hundreds of people there with STDs, sexually transmitted diseases. This happened back 60 years ago in the 1940s.
CNN senior medical correspondent Elizabeth Cohen has been gathering details about the study. I know our team was talking about it today. You hit me with an e-mail and said, Brooke, have you heard about this and I said, yes.
Walk me through it. It's one of those are you kidding me?
ELIZABETH COHEN, CNN SENIOR MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT: Right, it's so horrifying. I mean, that's really the only word that you can use for it. And it's incredible that this has basically been a secret for more than 60 years.
What has come to light through research done by a professor at Wesleyan University in Massachusetts is that in the 1940s there was a doctor who worked for the U.S. Public Health Service who wanted to know about the effectiveness of penicillin for syphilis, because not much was known about it at the time.
So what he did was he went down to Guatemala, he found some prostitutes who had been infected, you know, who had syphilis, he arranged to have those prostitutes to have sex with prisoners and with patients in mental institutions. If that didn't work, if they didn't get syphilis that way, then what he would do was that he would make abrasions on their forearms or for the men on their penises, and pour the bacteria into those abrasions.
If that didn't work, in a few cases what they did was they did punctures into people's spines and delivered the bacteria that way, then give the syphilis to see how it worked.
BALDWIN: What did they think was going on? Did they know what was being given to them?
COHEN: Who knows what -- who knows what they thought?
BALDWIN: We don't know.
COHEN: Yes, we don't. They were prisoners and they were patients in mental institutions, they had no choice here. You know, needless to say, their permission was not sought.
BALDWIN: So that is -- you can't believe that, it's like oh, my god, number one. And number two, why here in the year 2010 are we just now talking about this?
COHEN: Isn't it incredible? I mean, we have all heard about, for example, Tuskegee or the experiments that the Nazis did on people --
BALDWIN: They're linked. Tuskegee is linked to this.
COHEN: Isn't that amazing? This same doctor left Guatemala and then took part in the Tuskegee experiments.
And for anyone who doesn't know about that, that was from the '30s until the '70s. This same doctor and others took men who were already infected, naturally infected --
BALDWIN: How many?
COHEN: Hundreds and hundreds -- naturally infected with syphilis, they had penicillin, they knew that it worked and they deliberately did not treat them so that they could study the natural course of the disease.
So a little bit different what they did in Alabama than what they did -- and they were so proud of what they did, they took pictures. I mean, that's what's so -- as you can see here, these are from National Archives.
What's so incredible about this is that at the time this was considered OK. I mean, there were even documents where the Public Health Service said, well we could never do this experiment in the U.S., but we'll go gown to Guatemala --
BALDWIN: Well, let's go to Guatemala and infect these people with syphilis.
COHEN: Yes, they just sort of -- you know, they knew they couldn't do it here, but hey, let's just go do it in Guatemala.
BALDWIN: And so this came to light because -- was it Wesleyan University?
COHEN: Yes, it was a researcher at Wesleyan University who found this. She was looking into Tuskegee information and found this information in Guatemala, she presented it and then the apology came today from the U.S. government.
BALDWIN: How do we know, given the fact that we're hearing about this 60 years later, might there be other instances of other experiments that happened decades ago and it's not been reported?
COHEN: Yesterday, I would have told you probably not. I would have said enough time has passed, surely these things would have come to light. But look, this didn't come to light. It only came to light when one researcher started looking into it.
So it's incredible how quiet this has been until now. But it's what happens when you do terrible things to disaffected people, especially at that time, you know, they didn't have a voice.
BALDWIN: And it was Kathleen Sebelius, right, who came forward today --
COHEN: And Hillary Clinton. BALDWIN: And Hillary Clinton both saying, we're sorry, they called up the president of Guatemala. And how have the Guatemalans taken it?
COHEN: Well, you know, it was interesting, we called the Guatemalan Embassy to get their reaction this morning --
BALDWIN: Good.
COHEN: -- and they were sort of overwhelmed. They said, we don't really -- we have nothing to say because we just found out about this ourselves. So this has all happened very, very quickly.
BALDWIN: Unbelievable. Thanks for sending me that e-mail. Thank you.
There is some sad news out of Hollywood today. Stephen J. Cannell has died, and if his name doesn't quite bring a bell, his work will. The Hollywood writer and producer worked on "The Rockford Files," "21 Jump Street," even "The A Team." He even wrote 16 novels later in his career.
But here's an interesting fact, Cannell struggled with dyslexia. He was a writer that struggled with dyslexia and was a spokesperson for the learning disorder. His family says he died in California after a fight against melanoma. He was 69 years of age.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
BALDWIN: Time for that political check and for that we go to Paul Steinhauser at the CNNPolitics.com desk where he's, of course, with "The Best Political Team on Television."
Paul, good to see you. What's crossing?
PAUL STEINHAUSER, CNN DEPUTY POLITICAL DIRECTOR: Brooke, I give you money to say that.
Let's talk about the election coming up, we're almost just four weeks away, can you believe, until the midterms. Interesting numbers, Brooke, out from Gallup this morning and we put them up with the CNN Political Ticker, I was writing about it.
You know, the numbers suggest that the Democrats now in the last month are doing better with younger voters. And this comes as the president, Barack Obama, just this week out of Wisconsin was speaking in front of that large rally at the university out there and it comes as Democrats are trying to increase voter participation by younger voters who went to the polls in 2008 in big numbers. Democrats would like to see them do it again this year.
But the survey also says that Republicans are doing better now than they were just a month or two ago with older voters, people over 65 years of age. And our polling director, Keating Holland (ph), cautions me on younger voters. Remember, they come out in big numbers often in presidential years, not so much during midterm elections. That's why I got. Peter Hamby, our political producer, what are you looking at?
PETER HAMBY, CNN POLITICAL PRODUCER: Tomorrow night in Iowa, all of you 2012 junkies out there should keep an eye on this, Mike Pence, the Indiana Republican Congressman, staunch fiscal and social conservative is leaving the door open when it comes to his political future, may run for governor of Indiana, also might run for president and seek the Republican nomination in 2012.
He's speaking to the Iowa Christian Alliance out in Des Moines. Again, his office released advanced remarks today. He's going to make this appeal both on the fiscal side of the things given the economic climate right now, but also really hammer home that he's a strong social conservative. Social conservative voters really dominate the Iowa caucuses.
So we'll see if he drops any clues to his intentions tomorrow night.
STEINHAUSER: One more thing, Brooke, one more thing. I just want talk quickly -- let's talk about Iowa a little bit more.
Mitt Romney -- Dave Jenkins (ph), zoom right on in here, he's our cameraman -- look at this, also brand new on the CNN Political Ticker, Mitt Romney's Political Action Committee just announced 38 (ph) endorsements in Iowa and that he's contributing $41,000 to candidates out there.
You know, Peter was just talking about Pence, we've got our eyes on Mitt Romney as well as someone -- you know, he ran last time for the presidency, does he want to do it again? So we're looking at 2010, but we're also looking on 2012 -- Brooke.
BALDWIN: Iowa, that's where the road to the White House starts, right? There we go.
STEINHAUSER: You got it.
BALDWIN: Paul, Peter, thanks, guys.
Next hour we'll get you another political update. Of course, you can always get the best and latest political news, just hop on -- go to CNNPolitics.com. And if you're on Twitter, it is @PoliticalTicker.
Now, take a look at this.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
PEREZ HILTON, CELEBRITY BLOGGER: I'm here to tell you, it gets better. Not everything gets better.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BALDWIN: It gets better, that is the message from a whole lot of celebrities out there, including that guy. I know you know who that is. This is all part of a campaign to encourage young gay people who are bullied, blogger Perez Hilton is standing by -- there he is -- I'm guessing joins us via Skype.
Perez, good to see you.
We're talking about it gets better, that is next on RICK'S LIST, stay there.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
BALDWIN: Once again on our trending list, because you are talking about this, the suicide of Rutgers college student Tyler Clementi apparently inspired by webcam spying and his intimate encounter that was shown online, certainly touched a nerve to many out there, especially on the Internet. In the past couple of weeks, you may not have realized that three other teenagers have killed themselves after being taunted or humiliated at school, all because people assumed they were gay.
Well, now, here's why we're talking about this today specifically. There's this YouTube channel where anyone out there can post a video voicing support for teenagers who are being picked on simply because of their sexual orientation. The crux of the message is this, it gets better. Some celebrities are even getting involved. They're uploading their videos.
Take a look at this.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIPS)
DAN SAVAGE, SAVAGE LOVE COLUMNIST: There are 14, and 15, and 16- year-olds, 13-year-olds, 12-year-olds, out there watching this video -- what I would love you to take away from it really is that it gets better. However bad it is now, it gets better.
LALA VASQUEZ, SINGER: People in high school, we know how mean people can be who just don't understand certain things.
CIARA, SINGER: Absolutely. So true, you got to know that your life is in your hands, you determine your destiny.
PEREZ HILTON, CELEBRITY BLOGGER: If you're having a hard time, talk to someone. Talk to a friend. Talk to your parents if you can.
(END VIDEO CLIPS)
BALDWIN: You just saw him there and now he's joining me live, celebrity blogger Perez Hilton joining me from L.A.
Perez, hello to you.
HILTON: Hello.
BALDWIN: Hello. This story is so personal for so many people out there. So, if you -- if I may, I'd like to be personal with you. When you were a teenager, Perez, were you ever bullied? Did you have to deal with this?
HILTON: Yes. I went to an all boys school in Miami where being out of the closet was never an option. So, I was probably teased just as much for being really fat and overweight as I was for being perceived as gay, even though I wasn't vocal about it. I think being bullied and being picked on is something that we can all relate to.
BALDWIN: Was this something, Perez, just taking it a step further, because obviously, this is what happened with Tyler Clementi -- did you ever, being at this all boys school, did you ever have thoughts of suicide?
HILTON: I had thoughts of suicide, yes, but not while I was in high school. It was much later in life, and I could see how one would feel so isolated and alone and completely like they were in a tunnel with no light at the end of it -- which is why I encourage people to talk to someone. You know, you're not alone, there are people that care.
And if you don't feel comfortable talking to someone you know, go on the Trevor Projects' Web site, call the suicide prevention hot line, there are many resources that people can talk to that are anonymous and safe and that you can be heard.
BALDWIN: And, Perez, it's not just Tyler Clementi. That's not the only reason we're talking about this today. There had been several other teen suicides this month alone. In fact, we saw him in the video. I'm sure you know him, Dan Savage. He's a columnist and he started this whole campaign entitled It Gets Better.
And you're involved in it. I know what it means. But to the people at home, explain the campaign and explain why you got involved.
HILTON: What is really effective about this campaign for me is that it's one concrete tangible, easy way that everybody can do something to reach out to the youth. Suicide is an issue for everyone, young or old. But a lot of people recently have been struggling with that and it is statistically proven, sadly, gay, lesbian and transgender youth have a far higher suicide rate than their peers.
So, this project, it's called It Gets Better. It's on YouTube/ItGetsBetterProject -- Youtube.com/ItGetsBetterProject. It's one concrete way to reach to that audience and tell them that they're not alone, that, you know, we have been through similar struggles and that things get better and to tell them the options that they have, because if you feel powerless, they're not going to understand why you may consider suicide.
But these young kids have a future ahead of them. It will only get better if they're around to see it gets better.
BALDWIN: Yes, I know. I was reading an article with Dan Savage who just basically said, "Gosh, I wish I had five minutes with some of these young people to say, look, you know, it gets better. It gets better late in life. You don't have to take your life." Perez, here's my next question, because, look, I'm a fan of the show "Glee," you know, the character Kurt, right, and other show is like "Modern Family," with gay characters, young, gay characters. Do you think it's easier these days for teens to be out because of what's on TV or not at all, it doesn't matter?
HILTON: I think it can be even harder nowadays.
BALDWIN: Really?
HILTON: Because we've made so much progress in so many, you know, fronts for equality, although there's still amount of work left to do. And I think that some young people may be feeling that backlash.
And until we're able to live in a country where we can marry each other across the states, where we can serve openly in the military, where we can adopt freely, then, you know, young people are sent the message that it's not OK to be you. And that's not a good message to send any young person.
BALDWIN: Some people sitting, listening, they can't -- they can't empathize with these young folks and you know, you were a young gay teen once upon a time, you know, you talked about how difficult it was coming along -- if you can, just try to communicate that sense of despair that these youngsters feel where they just see it as life or death. Can you explain what that feels like?
HILTON: I -- it just breaks -- I mean, I can't even -- I can't even fathom it. I mean, recently, within the last two weeks, two 13- year-olds have taken their lives, 13. That is so young.
I can't explain. I cannot wrap my brain around the amount of pain that two 13-year-olds were going through because they are gay or perceived as gay and they chose to end their lives. No one, even if you don't believe in equality, even if you don't believe in gay rights, wants to see a 13-year-old die.
So, I think everyone, every single person, should do everything they can to try and reach out to these impressionable and in pain young people.
BALDWIN: Let me roll over to the Twitter board, Perez, hang on just a second.
Roll over the Twitter board, Robert. Show this tweet.
This is just one example of what people are doing, they're putting this hashtag, It Gets Better.
So, this woman Bonnie McKeee, she says, "When you're at your worst point and things are as dark and low as they can be, there's nowhere to go but up. Trust me."
Perez, my final question to you is this, and I read this, Tyler Clementi's family, they put together this statement. And the final line and I want to reread this, "Regardless of legal outcomes, our hope is that our family's personal tragedy will serve as a call for compassion, empathy and human dignity."
Some people may say, why does it take another teen committing suicide for us to have this national conversation?
HILTON: Absolutely. I mean, that's something that even I am working towards. You know, I have a Web site where I make fun of celebrities myself and I have been re-evaluating what I do and how I operate in the wake of this. But when it comes to children, especially young people, impressionable minds, you know, it's important to not make them feel afraid to be who they are, you know? And I can understand how living in fear, one might take drastic actions.
But I must reiterate to anyone watching -- suicide is not the answer. Suicide -- it should not be an option. And if you see a friend, a loved one, anyone who's going through a difficult time, take the extra step and you talk to them.
BALDWIN: It gets better. You've said it, it gets better. Thank you. Perez Hilton, thanks so much.
We'll take a quick break. Be right back.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
BALDWIN: Speeding motorcycle, police chopper cam -- do those things ever end well? This one did not, thus "Fotos."
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BALDWIN: Take a look at this guy with me, flying down the interstate on a motorcycle. This is near Indianapolis, weaving around cars, a couple there, heading on to the shoulder of the road. Police are chasing him, that's what you can't see, but it can't get away from the eye in the sky.
Listen to how this thing ends. The driver lies down on the bike, makes a run for it, over a fence, into the woods. The officers, they are soon to trail him. Turns out the bike was stolen, the driver was on probation.
We're just glad as the chase continued and then finally ended, no one was hurt.
All right, next. This is for those of you who have not had their adorable and unlikely animals friendships fix for the day. CNN iReporter Britt Seibold amazed us with this video. This is from a wildlife preserve out of St. Augustine, Florida. You are looking at a Siberian lynx, oh, wanting a taste of a white tailed deer. But the other way around? Kind of weird.
Our iReporter is a volunteer there, saying the two animals actually get along well, show they love one another, when they're together, all together. Last "Foto." Take a look at how officials in Canada are teaching high school kids about the dangers of texting while driving on a go- cart track. The challenge is to type out the lyrics to the song "Happy Birthday" while maneuvering through the course. Yes, as you guessed, a little bit harder than it looks. The tests showed the young drivers, they were a little bit slower and more prone to accidents when they weren't concentrating on the road. Perhaps that is precisely the point.
So our message: pay attention, young folks.
And that is "Fotos." You can always go to Rick's blog, CNN.com/RickSanchez.
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BALDWIN: Big news today: President Obama picked his new interim, that's the word he used, interim chiefs of staff. But who is Pete Rouse and who will he manage access to in the most important man in the world here? That is next on the list with Wolf Blitzer.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
BALDWIN: We've been talking a lot in the last couple of hours about the frightening flooding situation, really, if you're living in the Carolinas and northward. A lot of water, a lot of rain some folks are having to deal with, including one county manager in North Carolina.
We've been showing you pictures out of Windsor, North Carolina. I think more than 100 rescues, et cetera, and we want to talk more about this.
This is Zee Lamb, who's on the line with me. He is the Bertie County manager.
And Zee, I hear you couldn't drive into work so you hopped on a boat.
ZEE LAMB, COUNTY MANAGER, BERTIE COUNTY, NORTH CAROLINA: That's right. I had to take a boat to get to the courthouse where I work.
We've had over 150 rescues. They're starting to wind down. We have got four shelters open.
Red Cross is providing meals. We've got cooperation with state agencies on site that are working with our local officials to deal with these rescues and our shelters. And we're hoping things -- we have turned the corner.
Apparently, the river has crested at 15.6 feet. And the indication is that it's starting to slowly recede. So we're hoping it will continue in that direction.
BALDWIN: Yes, we're hoping along with you. And Zee, we have been looking at pictures. We see some folks on a boat right now. I know there's been a number of water rescues.
How deep is this water that we're looking at? Are we talk a couple feet?
LAMB: It depends on exactly where it is. Being in a boat, I have seen the top six inches of stop signs, which would indicate 11 or 12 feet from the land areas. So -- and it just varies from place to place, but it came up really quick yesterday afternoon. Areas that were completely dry at 5:00 were immersed with rain by 7:00.
BALDWIN: That's how it always seems to happen. It happens quick, it happens fast.
Final note for you, Zee, if folks are watching in your neck of the woods, what message do you have for them?
LAMB: Well, just be safe. We still have a lot of roads that are closed that should not be passed, that are not passable, and people should not try to get through the water. So we would just ask people to be cautious and to stay in for the rest of the day and maybe come out tomorrow.
BALDWIN: Zee Lamb, Bertie County manager.
Hey, you stay safe as well. Zee, thank you for calling in.
It is finally official -- talking Washington now. Rahm Emanuel out as the White House as chief of staff. Emanuel, as you've heard, planning to run for the mayor of Chicago. He will be replaced with a name some of you outside of the beltway may not know, by his deputy, Pete Rouse.
The president introduced him today. Here he was.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
BARACK OBAMA, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: There is a saying around the White House, "Let's let Pete fix it."
(LAUGHTER)
And he does. Pete's known as a skillful problem solver, and the good news for him is that we have plenty of problems to solve.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BALDWIN: Wolf Blitzer joins me from Washington.
Wolf, we heard the president. He said Rouse is his interim replacement. Perhaps that means he could be more permanent down the line. We just don't know yet.
Is it surprising though to you that he isn't just naming him as the permanent replacement?
WOLF BLITZER, CNN ANCHOR: It's not necessarily surprising. I think they want to see what happens November 2nd, in the midterm elections. How bad will it go for Democrats? Is there some sort of easing of the crisis right now?
Are the Democrats potentially able to narrow the gap in some of those polls? Can they do a little bit better than they thought? Can they retain the House and the Senate?
A lot will be a lot different if the Democrats are in the minority in one or even both -- certainly both of those chambers. So there's a lot of questions right now, but he's highly respected, Pete Rouse. He's got a long track record, especially in the Senate.
Rahm Emanuel had a long track record in the House of Representatives. He was a member of the House.
Pete Rouse has worked in the Senate. He was the chief of staff for Senator Barack Obama, and he was the chief of staff for then- Majority Leader Tom Daschle. So he knows the Senate, and that's where most of the problems for the White House have been, in the Senate, not necessarily in the House, where their majority was much more lopsided.
BALDWIN: I've read Rouse has been referred to as the "101st senator," given, I guess, ,all of his experience.
At the same time, we're hearing Rouse is called the anti-Emanuel. Couldn't be more polar opposite. Is that a good thing or not?
BLITZER: Well, it's a totally different style. You know, Rahm Emanuel, all of his years when he worked in the Clinton House, I knew him then, when he was a member of Congress. Now, when he's been White House chief of staff, he's very tough, very flamboyant in the sense that he's bombastic, and his language, his use of words not necessarily for children and young adults, shall we say.
(LAUGHTER)
BLITZER: Pete Rouse very, very different. You haven't seen him on television a lot. You say he's not well known outside the beltway. I think it's fair to say he's not even well known inside the beltway.
BALDWIN: Oh, really?
BLITZER: A lot of people don't know who he is, although behind the scenes, he's been very, very significant, certainly in the Obama White House and when he served in the Senate as a staffer for both Senator Obama and Senator Daschle.
BALDWIN: And I love -- I think you wrote this -- a couple of the former chiefs of staff, I guess, gave him advice. And it was John Podesta, who served under Bill Clinton, said his piece of advice is to wear kevlar.
BLITZER: Right. That's good advice for any incoming chief of staff.
BALDWIN: Wolf Blitzer, thank you so much. We'll see you on "THE SITUATION ROOM" at the top of the hour.
Meantime, THE LIST scrolls on. Be right back.
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BALDWIN: So if you're a fan of "JOHN KING USA," then you're probably a fan of this guy too, if you watch the last couple of minutes of the show, as I know I try to. Here is the good news. We will all be seeing a little bit more of Pete Dominick -- ta-da --right here on CNN.
PETE DOMINICK, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Is that good news?
BALDWIN: It's good news! It's good news for you!
DOMINICK: Is that really good news? My family thinks it's really good news.
BALDWIN: I bet they love it.
DOMINICK: Yes. I have two little girls. They don't know what it means, but they're excited to see daddy on TV.
BALDWIN: They're going to see daddy on TV. All their little friends will love it.
DOMINICK: Yes. They see me every night at the end of John King. My daughters go to bed at 8:00, so they see daddy on TV right before they go to bed every night. So that's very cool for them. I did not have that --
BALDWIN: That's very nice.
DOMINICK: -- or did I have a TV.
BALDWIN: But you now have that --
(CROSSTALK)
DOMINICK: And now I'm here with you.
BALDWIN: So here's one of the things -- we were talking. One of the things a lot of us really love about you and respect about you is how you are with people. And so, if we can, if people aren't as familiar with your "Pete on the Street" schtick, here's a little sampling of that.
DOMINICK: All right.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
DOMINICK: What do you want to whine about?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Taxes.
DOMINICK: Taxes. What specifically? UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Just taxes.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I think he should do more with this health care plan, and have it -- I think we should save with what we have instead of taking more money from working Americans.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Gay rights, I guess.
DOMINICK: Gay rights.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Yes.
DOMINICK: What do you want?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Everyone to be equal.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I'm tired of saying the same things that everyone else is saying about jobs and everything else. It's too depressing to even talk about.
DOMINICK: OK.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Everything is depressing.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: People are concentrating a lot more on the celebrities and on unnecessary things.
DOMINICK: So your whine is that Americans are distracted by unimportant things?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Absolutely.
DOMINICK: The British, do they whine?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Do they whine? Only occasionally, about the weather.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: (INAUDIBLE) the train absolutely insane --
DOMINICK: What do they do? The people on the train. What are they doing?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: They try and get on the train when they can't fit.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I'm not going to whine at all.
DOMINICK: And what about in your personal life? Would you whine about anything there?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Yes. I'm going to whine about something in my personal life.
DOMINICK: What do you got? What do you got? What's wrong?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I need a date. DOMINICK: You need a date? Yes, right.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
BALDWIN: So, a lot of times your big thing is talking about the issues with regular folks. And isn't that the whole purpose of your new segments that we'll be watching for, as you're talking issues, not left or right?
DOMINICK: Yes. I mean, listen, this new TV show that we're doing and my radio show, we need to have a conversation in this country.
We need to have that conversation, reject all these labels that divide us. And they're not -- they don't describe us anyway.
You're so often surprised, or at least I am when I'm talking to people on the street, on the radio, on CNN. And the new show has me taking the camera out to the streets, a little different conversation than what we saw right there, more serious.
We take an issue out. This week CNN has a poll -- 67 percent of Americans say "don't ask, don't tell" should be repealed. I take that question out to the street and get the CNN cameras out to real people and have a real conversation. And I like to think that I'm good at getting that started.
BALDWIN: One of your new segments which I think is kind of cool is called "Undercovered."
DOMINICK: Yes, "Undercovered," right. This will be on tomorrow at 2:30 and 10:30, tomorrow on CNN.
And the "Undercovered" story of the week I think is that it's boring because it's numbers. And people hear the CBO and they're like, "Oh, I can't. Those are numbers and I don't know what that means."
BALDWIN: You're going to make that interesting?
DOMINICK: We're going to -- yes, I think so. I think so, because it's a bit controversial. But the head of the CBO testified in front of the Senate that all of the Bush tax cuts, including the ones for everybody --
BALDWIN: Two hundred and fifty thousand and above, and below.
DOMINICK: And below -- the ones below cost more -- that they all need to be raised back up. And that certainly doesn't help the Democrats either. You know?
So Republicans and Democrats lose, and that's why no one's talking about it, because everybody loses.
BALDWIN: What do you like better, radio or TV?
DOMINICK: Radio is really great because you get have to a conversation. It's three hours. It's a locker conversation.
You and I are talking. We've got to combine everything. It's a lot of sound bites. And look at me -- radio. I mean, look at you and look at me. Let's be honest.
BALDWIN: Please. You should have seen me an hour ago.
DOMINICK: I'm sure it was horrific.
BALDWIN: Thank you, makeup folks.
DOMINICK: But they're both fun, but radio, I like to talk to people. I like to talk to as many people, get as many opinions on an issue. And I like to focus on an issue.
BALDWIN: What are you really riled up about today? What's your issue today, Pete Dominick?
Well, today, probably I think that we -- there's a number of things to talk about, but one thing that's interesting, of course, is this new bin Laden tape is out.
BALDWIN: Right.
DOMINICK: And Osama bin Laden is identifying -- and this guy lives in the 15th century, except when it comes to science. He believes in climate change unlike many of our lawmakers.
BALDWIN: In this tape purportedly from him --
(CROSSTALK)
DOMINICK: He says climate change is a problem. We need to address this problem. Osama bin Laden believes in climate change.
BALDWIN: He is apparently frustrated about how everybody's handling the flooding situation in Pakistan.
DOMINICK: Well, yes, that, and all these other issues. I mean, I don't think anybody -- we all want him captured or killed. But listen, this guy is identifying a problem that unfortunately, for some reason, for some weird reason, we're still debating in America -- science.
BALDWIN: So are we talking politics? Not just politics on the new segments or a little bit of everything?
DOMINICK: No, it's going to be mostly politics, but we're going to take a look back. We're going to take a look back at the week that was, and we're going to mash it all together. I've got a great panel of funny, smart people. It's going to be really good.
BALDWIN: Awesome. Pete, thank you.
DOMINICK: Thank you.
BALDWIN: On that note, let's send it up to Wolf Blitzer.
