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The Situation Room
Race To Contain "Heartbreaking" Fire; Report: One in 88 U.S. Kids Suffers From Autism; Big Endorsements for Romney; Interview with Marco Rubio; Identity Theft on Children; New Video Raises More Questions in Trayvon Martin Case
Aired March 29, 2012 - 17:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
GLORIA BORGER, CNN ANCHOR: Welcome to our viewers in the United States and around the world. Wolf Blitzer is off today. I'm Gloria Borger, and you're in the SITUATION ROOM.
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BORGER: Right now, firefighters in Colorado are racing to contain a large and destructive blaze. It's burned more than 4,000 acres near Denver, and it's killed at least two people. We're about to give you a terrifying taste of what it's like to escape from a wildfire that was generating 1,000-degree heat at one point. CNN's Brian Todd is here with that and new information about this disaster -- Brian.
BRIAN TODD, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Gloria, a lot of fallout in Colorado over how this fire started and whether state officials with the best of intentions inadvertently had a hand in starting it. This, while families are assessing damage, bracing for more, and in one case, missing catastrophe by mere seconds.
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TODD (voice-over): The hellish scene and the child's voice tell the story.
UNIDENTIFIED KID: Daddy.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We'll make it. We're going to be fine.
UNIDENTIFIED KID: Where's mom? What's she stopping for?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It's down there. It's down there. (EXPLETIVE DELETED) (EXPLETIVE DELETED)
UNIDENTIFIED KID: Oh!
TODD: In two vehicles, the Gulick family is scrambling for their lives. The late afternoon sky is black and orange, fire lapping the edges of the road as the family hurdles down it.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: There it is. Right here. Right here. UNIDENTIFIED KID: Oh, my gosh.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It's okay. We're out. We're out. We're out.
TODD: This scene on Monday, videotaped on a cell phone by the Gulick's 13-year-old son as they successfully escape the lower north fork wildfire near Denver. At one point, Doug Gulick's wife, Kim, in the lead car put on her brakes thinking they may need to turn around.
DOUG GULICK, FAMILY ESCAPED FIRE: And then, our neighbor passed her and he knew that there was only about a half mile of that to drive through and he went in front of us and we got out. It was terrifying, obviously.
TODD (on-camera): With that fire so close, burning on both sides of a steep mountain road, did the Gulick family make the right call in trying to drive through it? We asked an expert.
(voice-over): Greg Cade was head of the U.S. Fire Administration in charge of preventing and dealing with wildfires. He says people who live in those areas have to have defensible, open space around their homes, have to get out early. If that's not an option --
GREGORY CADE, NATIONAL FIRE PROTECTION ASSOCIATION: If you find yourself you're out on the road and the fire's coming, you really don't have very many options at all.
TODD: Just keep going --
CADE: Just try and get out -- get out of the way. My understanding was they were in kind of a dead-end situation. They couldn't go back the way they had come.
TODD: The Gulicks are among dozens of families displaced by a wildfire that Colorado authorities are now apologizing for. These fires were set by a so-called controlled burn last week that quickly got out of control, killing at least two people. Colorado's governor has launched an investigation and says this about controlled burns.
GOV. JOHN HICKENLOOPER, COLORADO: We asked to suspend them certainly on all state land wherever the state forest service operates just to evaluate, and again, look at these procedures and processes, the protocols, do the best job we can of assessing the conditions.
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TODD (on-camera): One thing the governor says they're looking at is whether there was enough moisture in the air and on the ground at the time to manage a controlled burn. There may not have been, and Gregory Cade says in those areas, there's so much fuel on the ground like brush and things like that. Fires can explode quickly even if there's only moderate wind, Gloria. The conditions out there may not have been right for them to do that controlled burn.
BORGER: Well, Brian, with weather conditions so strange this year, is there any way at predicting that this will be a particularly bad year for wildfires?
TODD: Just about everyone who knows about this is saying that it will be the governor of Colorado said it today, our expert, Gregory Cade said it's been a warmer than usual. Winter here and out west. That means dryer conditions. The wildfire season is starting earlier. Cade says the wildfire season doesn't usually start until around August or September.
BORGER: Right.
TODD: Look where we are right now. He says there can be a lot of wildfires this year. Watch out.
BORGER: That's not good news. Thanks a lot, Bryan.
And now, to the Trayvon Martin case. A newly obtained video of the shooter, George Zimmerman, is raising more questions about claims that Zimmerman was hit by Martin before the neighborhood watch volunteer killed him. Here's CNN's Martin Savidge.
MARTIN SAVIDGE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Gloria, there are two new tapes that are out today. One of them is a surveillance tape, the other is an interview with George Zimmerman's father. These tapes are adding new emotion to a story that already has plenty of controversy.
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SAVIDGE (voice-over): Two different tapes, two different stories. First, the father of neighborhood watch shooter, George Zimmerman, spoke to Orlando Fox affiliate, WOFL, talking from shadow to protect his identity. Robert Zimmerman gives a dramatic account of what he says was his son's life and death struggle with 17-year-old Trayvon Martin, an account that paints Martin as the aggressor.
VOICE OF ROBERT ZIMMERMAN, GEORGE ZIMMERMAN'S FATHER: Trayvon Martin walked up to him, asked him do you have a (EXPLETIVE DELETED) problem? George said, no, I don't have a problem. He started to reach for his cell phone. At that point, he was punched in the nose.
SAVIDGE: Robert Zimmerman says Martin climbed atop George and continued to beat his son's head into the ground for more than a minute. As the two struggled, Robert says, Martin spotted Zimmerman's gun toppoed (ph) in his belt.
ZIMMERMAN: Treyvon Martin said something to the effect of "you're going to die now" or "you're going die tonight," something to that effect. He continued to beat George, and at some point, George pulled his pistol and did what he did.
SAVIDGE: The other tape obtained by CNN is surveillance video from Sanford police headquarters. It shows Zimmerman, his hands cuffed exiting a patrol car and being led into the police station just over half an hour after police arrived at the shooting scene. And it's what's not seen that is stirring fresh controversy. There's no apparent sign of the injuries he allegedly sustained at the hands of Martin. No obvious broken nose or blood. However, there is also this to consider. The initial police report notes that Zimmerman was bleeding through the nose and back of the head when officers arrived on scene. For the family of Trayvon Martin who appeared on "Piers Morgan Tonight," the video only adds to their frustration over why police haven't made an arrest.
SYBRINA FULTON, TRAYVON MARTIN'S MOTHER: This video is the icing on the cake. This is not the first part of evidence that they have had. They have had the 911 tapes and they have also had witnesses.
SAVIDGE: George Zimmerman has not been charged.
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SAVIDGE (on-camera): There's another protest that's being planned for this weekend here in Sanford by the NAACP. It's unclear exactly how many plan to attend, but it should last hours -- Gloria.
BORGER: And this programming note, be sure to tune in to Anderson cooper "360" tonight for an exclusive interview with a witness who saw Trayvon Martin being shot and has not spoken until now. That's tonight at 8:00 eastern on Anderson Cooper.
And new evidence in the case against a JetBlue pilot who had an apparent in-flight meltdown and forced an emergency landing. We're told the FBI now has the cockpit voice recorder from flight 191. Let's bring in our aviation correspondent, Lizzie O'Leary. So, what are we learning?
LIZZIE O'LEARY, CNN AVIATION CORRESPONDENT: Well, we know from a law enforcement official that the FBI now has the cockpit voice recorder from this flight. They, along with other federal agencies, are investigating what happened. We also now have a statement from Captain Clayton Osbon's mother or step-mother. She said, "The news surrounding this incident involving Clayton has shocked me and I'm sure shocked all the people that know Clayton personally."
She also confirmed that Osbon's father was killed in a private plane crash in 1995. Now, we don't know exactly what sparked Clayton Osbon's behavior onboard, but this incident has raised a really touchy issue for pilots in the flying public, that of mental health. A recent policy change allows pilots to plan (ph) on some anti- depressants, but very few have come forward.
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O'LEARY (voice-over): Back in 2008, Collin Hughes grounded himself. A private commercial pilot, he was depressed, needed medication, but the FAA didn't allow it.
COLLIN HUGHES, COMMERCIAL PILOT: When you take in the area of where a person's put into, you know, macho position albeit, aviation sports, law enforcement, military, who's going to say, I need to go to my psychiatrist?
O'LEARY: He called himself the Prozac pilot and wrote on the web about his struggles.
HUGHES: He's going to the process and do everything that he can to get there.
O'LEARY: He got anonymous replies from fellow pilots and others who struggled with depression, but didn't seek help because they feared losing the medical certification that allows them to fly. Watching this week's incident on JetBlue, Hughes was sympathetic.
HUGHES: Pilots are people, too. We're human like everyone else. It takes somebody who's flying a 747 with hundreds of people onboard, huge responsibility. The general public looks that person like, oh, he needs to be a superman.
O'LEARY: Two years ago, the FAA began allowing pilots to fly on one of four approved antidepressants, but only after treatment and a year on the ground. The administrator then thought it would reduce the stigma of depression.
RANDY BABBITT, FEDERAL AVIATION ADMINISTRATION: I think the medical community estimates something in the area of 10 percent of the population. I don't think pilots would be dramatically different than that.
O'LEARY: But figures from the FAA now show the commercial airline pilots are reporting a much smaller incident of depression in the general public. Since 2010, only 20 out of 120,000 have been granted medical certification after disclosing anti-depressant use. That's .00016 percent. We asked the FAA if they think the number is that small or if this not disclosing the conditions.
A spokeswoman said the program was put in place to encourage disclosure, and they're monitoring the data as it comes in.
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O'LEARY (on-camera): Still, a commercial pilot with 30 years' flying experience told CNN yes, pilots are flying around depressed because if they do admit depression, they'll be grounded. Now, on a different note, we also know the name of the co-pilot now who helped land the plane, Jason Dowd. He safely got Clayton Osbon out of the cockpit -- Gloria.
BORGER: Thanks very much, Lizzie.
And Mitt Romney scores a huge endorsement from a rising star in the GOP, but will Marco Rubio be ready to be his vice presidential nominee? Find out what he told our Jim Acosta in an exclusive interview.
Plus, what's behind an alarming surge in the number of children diagnosed with autism? Our Sanjay Gupta has the stunning details in a new report.
And they may be children, but thousands of them are thousands of dollars in debt. Why are so many suddenly the victims of identity theft?
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BORGER: Jack Cafferty is here with the "Cafferty File." What you got, Jack?
JACK CAFFERTY, CNN CONTRIBUTOR: Got a big number, $540 million, that's the record jackpot in tomorrow's mega millions lottery drawing tops the previous high of $390 million chump change. That was in 2007. That was split by two people, and it has people lining up at convenience stores all across the country to buy their chances at unimaginable wealth.
Tickets are only $1. They'll be on sale in 42 states in Washington D.C. and the Virgin Islands until a few minutes' before tomorrow's drawing at 11 o'clock at night. The winner or winners will get to choose between annual payments or the lump sum cash option. The lump sum would be $389 mil, which is still one of the biggest jackpots ever.
Back to the $540 million and how a winner might spend that astronomical sum. Think about it this way. If you earned $100,000 a year, the jackpot would pay your salary for 5,400 years or you could more than a thousand half a million dollar homes or more than 10,000 cars that cost $50,000 a pop. You get the idea.
If you paid half your winnings in taxes and you will, and invested the remaining roughly $270 million in tax-free municipal bonds that earned three percent, you'd have an income every year, $8 million tax-free forever. Of course, the odds aren't exactly in your favor, (INAUDIBLE). There are 175 million to one against you, but hey, we can dream right?
The question is this, what would you do if you hit the $540 million lottery? Go to CNN.com/CaffertyFile, post a comment on my blog. Go to our post on the SITUATION ROOM's Facebook page -- Gloria.
BORGER: OK, Jack. Have you bought a ticket?
CAFFERTY: I don't buy lottery tickets. Never have.
BORGER: OK. Well, I'm going to buy you one, OK? But if we win, I'm keeping it. All right?
CAFFERTY: That's fine.
(LAUGHTER)
CAFFERTY: OK.
BORGER: OK, Jack. See you in a little bit.
Researchers are trying to determine what's behind an alarming surge in the number of children diagnosed with autism. The CDC now estimates that one in 88 American children has some form of neurological disorder. That's up almost 80 percent in the last decade. CNN chief medical correspondent, Dr. Sanjay Gupta, has the details.
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DR. SANJAY GUPTA, CNN CHIEF MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Frankie Sanders (ph) is a ninth grader who loves to play chess in his iPad and is trying to pass the test for his driver's permit. Frankie also has autism. As you may know, that's a neurodevelopmental disorder that affects language, behavior, and social skills.
Boys make up the vast majority of cases. What you may not know is that 12 years ago, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention began to estimate the total number of cases in the United States. They based it on a count of eight-year-old children with autism in select communities. If you looked back in the years 2000 and 2002, it was about one child in 150 with autism.
Two years later, one in 125, then, one in 110, and now, the latest report, as of 2008, the last time an estimate was performed, one in 88 children has autism. That's a 78 percent increase just over the last decade. And the question on a lot of people's minds is why?
DR. THOMAS FRIEDEN, CDC DIRECTOR: How much of that increase is a result of better tracking and how much of it is a result of an actual increase? We still don't know.
GUPTA: Researchers have discovered many genes linked to autism, but in most cases, genes are only one part of the equation, and genes alone wouldn't change that fast in just ten years. There is something else that triggers the problem.
GARY GOLDSTEIN, PRESIDENT, KENNEDY KRIEGER INSTITUTE: We're talking about infections. We're talking about social conditions, and we're talking about exposures to toxins and things in the environment.
GUPTA: Researchers are still looking for answers, but what they do know is that diagnosing children early is critical as was the case with Frankie Sanders (ph).
VOICE OF ROY SANDERS, FATHER: Frankie was diagnosed when he was 15 months old, and he immediately began to get speech therapy and occupational therapy and physical therapy. He was placed in a group with kids who were typically developing.
GUPTA: All that hard work is paying off. Frankie is now 15. He attends a regular high school and plays on the football team.
GOLDSTEIN: We can diagnose autism at two years of age, almost always by 90 percent of the children, by three, certainly, and we actually can diagnose it at 18 months in many children.
GUPTA: But according to this new report, most cases are diagnosed late after age two or three. That's when therapy has been shown to help the most especially with speech and communication.
SANDERS: Parents need to be aware of their children and how their children are interacting. GUPTA: And then, they need to seek help.
FRIEDEN: If you, as a parent, are concerned about your child, talk to your doctor, talk to your school system to see if they should be assessed and get them assessed.
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GUPTA (on-camera): So Gloria, again, some pretty staggering numbers there. I will tell you that this particular study was more of a survey again when you're trying to estimate the number of cases in the country. I wasn't looking specifically at what causes this increase, although, that is the question a lot of people are asking.
And the answer, as you've heard, probably a lot of people have heard of it is likely a combination of genetics and environment, but I will tell you this, from a scientific perspective, Gloria. Your genes simply don't change that fast. That an 80 percent in cases over the last 10 years.
Some of that is due to increased surveillance, increased, you know, recognition of this disease, but there's been an increase still. If you account for those things, your genes can't account for all of that increase. So, there has to be something in the environment, perhaps, even when a baby is still in the mother's womb or after, an exposure, a toxin, infection, and that's where researchers are focusing a lot of their energy.
They don't know the cause yet, but they do know that early intervention works as you saw there in the case of Frankie Sanders, and there are some specific things that, you know, parents can look for in a very young child, six to 12 months, for example, really trying to figure out, you know, is there something going on here that I should think about, you know, someone who's not babbling.
You know, children start speaking words after age one, typically, they babble beforehand. They don't gesture to communicate, poor eye contact. They're not seeking your attention that frequently. Usually, young kids are calling out for mother or father whenever they see them, and they don't reach out to when you approach or track you.
Early intervention, you know, saying that it's beneficial, not just a platitude I think here, Gloria. It can make a huge different, but the key is diagnosis early. So again, some startling new numbers and a little bit about what you can do about it as well. Gloria, back to you.
BORGER: Thanks very much, Sanjay.
And $540 million and growing. Have you thought about what you'd do with the mega-million jackpot if you were to win? there's something you need to know if you end up holding that winning ticket?
Plus, Apple being accused of not paying workers enough money to live off of. A scathing new report about the conditions of the plants where they make your iPads and iPhones. (COMMERCIAL BREAK)
BORGER: Investigators looking into working conditions at an overseas Apple supplier have just released their findings, and they're not good. Let's get right to Felicia Taylor in New York. Felicia, so what's in this report?
FELICIA TAYLOR, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes. This is a pretty extensive report, Gloria, and the reason that's important is that China is Apple's second largest, you know, market, rather, behind the U.S. And this is Apple's largest supplier that makes things for like the iPhone and the iPad in terms of the assembly line.
Some of the violations that were uncovered were excessive overtime, blocked exit, a lack of protective equipment, and believe it or not, 43 percent of those workers surveyed said that they had witnessed accidents, some of which led to injury. So, when it comes to the groundbreaking commitments that now Foxconn has agreed to and they've agreed to do this over the next 16 months, OK?
So, they've got some time to do it, but they will reduce workings hours to legal limits. They'll help out with pay, and keep in mind, these are workers that make between somewhere $350 and $450 a month and that certainly isn't par with what they should be making. And they've improved -- they've agreed to improve safety and better worker representation.
Some of the things that they've already done is to fix those blocked exits and get this fall to protective equipment out of the way and those missing permits. That all took place during the course of the investigation, but in order for them to actually comply, they're going to have to hire tens of thousands of additional employees to the already 1.2 million people that already work for Foxconn.
Now, Tim Cook, the CEO of Apple, you know, no coincidence, was visiting one of the plants in China just the other day, and immediately, Apple, after this report was released just about an hour and a half ago, issued this statement, that quote, "We fully support the recommendations from the FLA. We share the FLA's goal of improving lives and raising the bar for manufacturing companies everywhere."
But you know, something that is also very significant about this story is, although the FLA, the Fair Labor Association, is a non- profit organization, it is funded by its members, and Apple is one of those members, and word is that they're paying well into the six figures to get this report issued in addition to the $250,000 that they pay annually to be a member of the FLA.
So, there's a lot of different components to this story -- Gloria.
BORGER: Thanks very much, Felicia.
And he just threw his support behind Mitt Romney, but is Republican rising star, Marco Rubio, ready to be his vice presidential nominee? Stand by for our exclusive interview.
Plus, thousands of dollars in credit card debt all before turning just seven years old? Ahead, you'll meet one of the nearly 20,000 children who've been robbed of their identity.
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BORGER: And new signs the GOP is beginning to rally around Mitt Romney. The Republican presidential frontrunner is now scoring huge political endorsements. The latest, from arising star in the party, and that's Florida senator, Marco Rubio. CNN national political correspondent, Jim Acosta, caught up with him for an exclusive interview.
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JIM ACOSTA, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Give us a little bit of the back story on why you decided to endorse Governor Romney now.
SEN. MARCO RUBIO (R), FLORIDA: Well there's no back story. The primary is over, I mean by the admission of the candidates who have admitted they can't win the primary. They've said the only way they can win is at a floor fight in Tampa. And I think that a floor fight in Tampa would be the worst possible thing we can do in terms of winning in November. So I think Mitt Romney by the admission of his opponents has won the primary and it's time for us to get behind our nominee.
ACOSTA: And you're comfortable he's a true conservative?
RUBIO: Yes, Mitt Romney is going to govern as a conservative president. I'm confident of that and he'll be a significant upgrade over the current occupant of the office.
ACOSTA: Part of your rationale for coming out and endorsing is what President Obama said to the Russian president.
RUBIO: Well look I think what happened this week is a reminder of some of the thought processes you see at the White House and I always try to keep foreign bipartisan or non partisan. I think we should always be a part of Team USA, but when you have the president of the United States telling a foreign leader to work with him because he'll have more flexibility after he's elected I think it's a worrisome indication of not just on foreign policy, but what other issues is the president intend to pursue his flexibility once the election is over?
ACOSTA: Do you think something sinister was going --
RUBIO: (INAUDIBLE) sinister. I just think that quite frankly there are issues that he doesn't want to admit where he stands on them, because he doesn't think he can get reelected if he admits it, but after the election he intends to pursue and those are the kinds of things that we're concerned about.
ACOSTA: And last year on "Meet the Press" you said under no circumstances would you appear on the ticket this year --
RUBIO: (INAUDIBLE) has changed on the vice presidential stuff. I know people keep asking, but my answer hasn't changed.
ACOSTA: Still under no circumstances --
RUBIO: Yes, I'm not going to be the vice president. All right, thanks.
ACOSTA: Thanks.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
BORGER: Jim, he may not be on the ticket as he says, but he's going to be very, very important to Mitt Romney particularly in the state of Florida on or off the ticket. Can he help get those Cuban voters in the state of Florida for Mitt Romney?
ACOSTA: You know I think he will if he is on the ticket. Of course, you have to listen to what he said in that interview. He said well my answer hasn't changed. Well that means not up until now. What about tomorrow? What about three months from now? It could be a different story and when I pressed him on whether or not you're going to stick with this under no circumstances response that you gave last year he said well I'm not going to be the vice president, so it is kind of mysterious as to whether he's leaving the door open, at least just a crack or not, but I -- you know Gloria to your question, I think he would certainly be an asset in Florida.
Obviously the Latino vote, the Cuban-American vote would be critical to winning that state if he were on the ticket with Mitt Romney and obviously the president would need Florida a great deal if he hopes to be reelected, so without Florida on the president's side, you know you could start to see how this could start moving in Mitt Romney's direction. So no question this could be very, very good for Mitt Romney if he could somehow convince Marco Rubio to change his mind.
BORGER: Right and so far the polls show that President Obama is up in the state of Florida for not, but there's a long time between now and November.
ACOSTA: There is a -- there is a long time to go.
BORGER: Right.
ACOSTA: And it is a state that has a history of close calls and so --
BORGER: That's right.
ACOSTA: -- you know Marco Rubio being on the ticket would certainly change the dynamic of the race down there. And I asked him, you know one of the key questions, Gloria, with Marco Rubio is this question of immigration because of the immigration issue and the way that the Republican candidates including Mitt Romney have taken a hawkish stance on that issue throughout the primary process. They have taken a hit in terms of Latino support for the Republican Party, so Marco Rubio could change --
BORGER: Right.
ACOSTA: -- the dynamic a little bit for the Republicans were he on that ticket and I was talking to him about this earlier today and he said he's comfortable with Mitt Romney's stance on immigration, but he did say that he would like to see the Republican Party sort of tweak its image on that issue -- Gloria.
BORGER: Thanks a lot, Jim.
ACOSTA: Sure.
BORGER: And just minutes from now Mitt Romney is expected to get some more critical support, this time from former President George H.W. Bush. And joining us to talk about that and more is "TIME" senior correspondent Michael Crowley. Thanks so much for being with us. You can see the cover of the latest issue of "TIME" here, of course, our sister publication and let me start by asking you about this establishment move to coalesce around Mitt Romney, former President Bush, see Marco Rubio very popular in the Republican Party.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes.
BORGER: So can we just say it? Is this nomination fight over?
MICHAEL CROWLEY, SENIOR CORRESPONDENT, TIME: I don't want to say it because in politics you never know, but I think we're about as close to being over as we can get. That said, you know this is, what, the third, fourth, fifth time the establishment has closed in around Romney and the establishment has said it's going to be Romney. He's hoping this will finally be it, but establishment support hasn't sold this kind of hold-out ban of conservative voters who just --
BORGER: May work against --
CROWLEY: I think to some degree it might work against him, so I think we are pretty close to it being done, but I think Romney's fundamental problem remains, so actually he doesn't need this quite as much as he might need the endorsement of someone like Sarah Palin, which he may never get, but that's really the void he needs to fill right now in his party.
BORGER: Well now you mentioned in TIME.com, you pointed out of course that George W. Bush has been completely silent during this campaign.
CROWLEY: Yes.
BORGER: His father will endorse formally today, but nothing from George W. Bush. When are we going to hear from him?
CROWLEY: Well it's an interesting question. He endorsed John McCain on March 5th in the 2008 cycle. Now that calendar was a little different. At that point McCain -- Huckabee was out and Romney was out, so McCain was kind of the last man standing. You know I was thinking to some degree W. might be laying low and Romney might not be hankering for his endorsement because of course George W. Bush left office with very low approval ratings. (INAUDIBLE) look at the numbers and my goodness Mitt Romney's approval/disapproval ratings are almost as bad as George Bush's were when he left office, which is to say Romney is really in bad shape, so it's not clear --
BORGER: Right.
CROWLEY: -- who is the more popular figure right now.
BORGER: Well and let me ask you this. We were talking about the vice presidential game with Jim Acosta earlier, if the nominee were to be Mitt Romney, he does have the same problems with his base in the Republican Party as John McCain had.
CROWLEY: Yes.
BORGER: So what do you think would happen? Let's play veep stakes. We're getting a little ahead of ourselves, but it's fun. He may need a game changer as well.
CROWLEY: Well he might. You know I take -- Rubio has been pretty firm about ruling this scenario out and I think it would be a hard thing for him to dial back. It's possible. I don't know who the game changer is out there. I don't think that Palin is going to have a second bite of that apple. Look it's not crazy to imagine that it would be Rick Santorum. He does come from Pennsylvania which is an important swing state. On the other hand, he lost his re-election bid in Pennsylvania pretty badly by about 18 points, so it doesn't exactly scream the idea that he'll carry it, but someone with Santorum's excited base following is the kind of person that Romney could really use. I just don't know who that person is.
BORGER: Right.
CROWLEY: I'm not sure there is an obvious candidate --
BORGER: All right, when you come up with a name, Michael Crowley, let us know, OK.
CROWLEY: OK, sorry to disappoint you.
BORGER: Thanks a lot.
CROWLEY: OK.
BORGER: And imagine being thousands of dollars in debt before you reach the third grade? Identity thieves are striking younger victims in growing numbers. And what if you win the half-billion dollar Mega Millions jackpot tomorrow night, what would you do?
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
BORGER: And just in to CNN, Anderson Cooper interviewed someone who claims to have seen the shooting of Trayvon Martin. We're disguising the witness' voice and here is a short preview.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
ANDERSON COOPER, HOST, "AC 360": What did you observe after the shot?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: As I said, it was dark, but after the shot, obviously someone -- a man got up and it was kind of like that period of him, I can't say I actually watched him get up, but maybe only it was in like a couple of seconds or so then he was walking towards where I was watching, and I could see him a little bit clearer. I could see that it was a Hispanic man, and he was, you know, he didn't appear hurt or anything else. He just kind of seemed very -- you know I can't speak for him, but very worried or whatever and walked like on the sidewalk at that point and put his hand up to his forehead and then another man came out with a flashlight.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BORGER: And the full interview will air tonight on "AC 360" at 8:00.
And these days your credit score can be your lifeline, your mortgage, car loan, credit card limits all depend on it, but what if it's ruined before you're even in the fourth grade? Lisa Sylvester is investigating a frightening trend. Identity thieves going after our children.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
LISA SYLVESTER, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Seven-year-old Ian Umscheid is number 21 on the baseball field. Like many kids, he loves playing baseball, guarding second base, but unlike other children, Ian has a lengthy credit report, none of it good. Among the charges, $5,400 on a Bank of America credit card, $2,700 owed to Ally Financial Bank and $4,500 to a California jewelry store. Ian is a victim of identity theft.
SIMON UMSCHEID, IAN'S FATHER: At the time this happened he would have been 6 and they indicated to me that there were six or seven accounts opened totaling about $15,000 worth of purchases.
SYLVESTER: The problem began after the family's California health insurance company lost a computer hard disk drive; a credit monitoring service caught the suspicious purchases, but not before someone had racked up thousands of dollars in charges. Trying to explain a lost identity to a young child can be difficult.
IAN UMSCHEID, IDENTITY THEFT VICTIM: He said that someone -- someone stole the computer and found my name on it, and they made like a card and did my name on it.
SYLVESTER (on camera): More than 19,000 children were victims of identity theft last year according to the Federal Trade Commission. Children are often targets because not surprisingly, they have no history of debt. (voice-over): Steven Toporoff is an attorney with the Federal Trade Commission.
STEVEN TOPOROFF, FEDERAL TRADE COMMISSION: Typically, the way that that is discovered is the child turns 16, 17 and starts to apply for schools or car loans and thieves know that. They know that if they get a Social Security number of a youngster it could be years before parents have any reason to track on the credit of that child.
SYLVESTER: There are steps parents can take.
TREY LOUGHRAN, EQUIFAX: There's no reason for you to carry your child's Social Security number around in your wallet unless you're going to need it for a specific purpose. You should monitor your children's activity online.
SYLVESTER: Even when parents do everything right, sometimes things happen that's out of their control.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: (INAUDIBLE)
SYLVESTER: That was the case with the Umscheids. Simon is a district attorney in California.
UMSCHEID: I've been a D.A. for 12 years. And I'm a prosecutor every day. I deal with this issue at work every day, but now it's at home, so that does show it can happen to anybody and we're extremely careful.
SYLVESTER: Tracking and catching identity thieves can be difficult and the harm they cause can haunt a person for years.
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SYLVESTER: Equifax now offers a family plan to help parents keep tabs on their children's credit files and the Social Security Administration is making it harder for thieves to guess Social Security numbers, so instead of being based on where and when someone is born, new numbers are being issued randomly -- Gloria.
BORGER: Thanks very much, Lisa. That's kind of scary, actually. And the Mega Millions lottery jackpot, now the largest in world history. Next, the first thing you need to do if you win.
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BORGER: It's now the biggest lottery jackpot in world history. Tomorrow's Mega Millions is now $540 million, but would you know exactly how to handle that kind of money if you won? Our Mary Snow explains winning has some pitfalls -- Mary.
MARY SNOW, CNN CORRESPONDENT: And Gloria, it's the problem that everybody wants to have, but what would you do? There are a lot of hopes and a lot of daydreams, but as you said, there are some challenges.
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SNOW (voice-over): In Hawthorne, California, want-to-be millionaires hope to boost their luck at the Blue Bird (ph) liquor store that boasts of selling winning lottery tickets. In New York --
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: (INAUDIBLE)
SNOW: -- Mega Million hopefuls know the long shot but still take the chance.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I heard all the odds.
SNOW (on camera): And you say (ph).
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It's a dollar and a dream.
SNOW (voice-over): A dream of winding up like this.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We're millionaires.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Everything can change.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Oh my God, it's true. (INAUDIBLE)
SNOW: TLC's "Lottery Changed My Life" is a show that tells the stories of lottery winners.
JIM KOWATS, DIR. OF PRODUCTION, "LOTTERY CHANGED MY LIFE": Everybody has that fantasy of what would you do with that kind of money if you won?
SNOW: Jim Kowats is director of productions for the show.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I'm Dr. Shirley Crest (ph) and I won $56 million in the Florida lottery.
SNOW: Life is good for some lottery winners, but others go broke. Kowats says one big problem is getting swindled.
KOWATS: All of a sudden you've got 10 million in the bank and you don't know who to trust and people come out of the woodwork.
SNOW: Coming into this kind of money is such a big change, there are some businesses built around helping people adjust. Susan Bradley founded the Sudden Money Institute.
SUSAN BRADLEY, VIA SKYPE: The possibilities with big wins are so extreme that it really does alter status quo, almost permanently. It takes about five years to get used to this kind of change in a person's life.
SNOW: Bradley tells winners the first thing to do is safeguard the ticket and don't tell many people you've won. And before even claiming the jackpot, she advises to have a team in place, including a financial adviser specializing in big money and a lawyer. She finds it's the personal changes, not managing the money that prove the most challenging.
BRADLEY: The real thing is, is how all your relationships change, how you change, how you see the world, how the world sees you.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
SNOW: And of course, there's taxes. If you took a lump sum, most people do. That would be $389 million. Take out taxes in New York City, for example, the jackpot would amount to about 243 million -- Gloria.
BORGER: Yes, it's still not such a bad problem to have, right, Mary?
SNOW: I think we'll take it, yes.
BORGER: Now we should point out that the odds of winning this whopper Mega Millions jackpot are said to be about one in 175 million, so that's pretty slim. Now we did some research and found your chances of doing any of the following are likely better. Becoming president of the United States, that's about one in 10 million. Becoming a saint, that's about one in 20 million or even -- get this -- getting killed by a vending machine, the odds there about one in 112 million. That doesn't look very good. Now, time to check back with Jack Cafferty. Jack now I know why you don't buy lottery tickets.
JACK CAFFERTY, CNN ANCHOR: There you go. The question is what would you do if you hit the $540 million jackpot? Randall writes from Red Bank, New Jersey, "I'd buy me a couple members of Congress, like a real one percenter."
Mark in Houston, "I would move as far away from Texas as is humanly possible." D. writes "I'm buried in debt, but is my life really so bad that I'd deep six it with a tsunami of cash and fame? All the money out there couldn't replace the anonymity that I have now for free. The winner will be from a class of people that buy their things in convenient stores, not the class of people that have money. The end result is predestined."
Karen in Idaho writes, "I have my lottery ticket already, Jack. If I hit the jackpot, the local Humane Society will get a huge donation. Needy animals are more deserving and more appreciative than greedy adults."
Scott writes "I'd mourn the loss of value. I'd have fun, but I'd miss the sweetness of going to my favorite sushi restaurant once every month or two because it's expensive because I could go anytime I wanted. I'd miss the simple joy of giving things away that cost me something measurable. Yes, I'd have fun, but I'd miss generosity and value that cost me something because I would not be in want of anything material. I'm not even sure I want to buy a ticket."
John writes from Oregon, "I'd buy Greece." And Peter in New York writes, "I'd fill up my tank." And that's all I got -- Gloria, back to you. BORGER: All right. Thanks a lot, Jack. And it is Queen (ph) like you've never heard before, belted from the back of a police car. You don't want to miss this.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE, SINGING: (INAUDIBLE)
(END VIDEO CLIP)
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BORGER: And finally tonight, police dash cams have caught some pretty memorable moments over the years. The one you're about to see might be one of the more amusing ones. Here is CNN's Jeanne Moos.
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JEANNE MOOS, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): What would we do without police dash cams showing us half naked speeders and even a bank robber eating the evidence, the give-me-the-money note, but this Royal Canadian Mounted Police dash cam recorded something special.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: (INAUDIBLE)
MOOS: A guy in Edson, Alberta was pulled over in a pickup.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I didn't see that I was intoxicated, but he grabbed me and I haven't (INAUDIBLE) but it doesn't even matter.
MOOS: Maybe he couldn't speak so well, but he sure managed to sing all of the "Bohemian Rhapsody" by Queen.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Mama just killed a man --
(MUSIC/SINGING)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Pulled my trigger --
(MUSIC/SINGING)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Now he's dead.
MOOS: He sang the lyrics almost flawlessly for six minutes.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Easy come, easy go.
MOOS: Even after they arrived at the station house, the Mounty (ph) let him finish the song.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Baby --
MOOS: The Mounty (ph) only admonished him once.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: (INAUDIBLE)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Robert, calm down.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I can't.
MOOS: A lot of people can't stop singing the "Bohemian Rhapsody".
UNIDENTIFIED MALE, SINGING: I see a little silhouette of a man --
UNIDENTIFIED GROUP, SINGING: (INAUDIBLE)
UNIDENTIFIED GROUP: Will you do the Fandango --
(MUSIC/SINGING)
MOOS: Parts of the dash cam solo were frightening.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Mama, ooh --
MOOS (on camera): You've got to give the guy credit. Even Beyonce messed up the words to the song and she was stone cold sober at a concert.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Put a bullet to his head --
MOOS (voice-over): Actually it's put a gun to his head, not a bullet. Authorities aren't allowed to say what the suspect has been charged with.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Let me go. (INAUDIBLE)
MOOS: The RCMP says it didn't let go of the dash cam video and doesn't know how it got on to YouTube.
(on camera): Our police cruiser crooner did improvise just once at the very end of the song and he did it in a witty way.
(voice-over): Instead of singing "Nothing Really Matters" --
(MUSIC/SINGING)
MOOS: -- he sang.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Nothing really matters even the RCMP.
MOOS: And with that he put on his glasses and awaited his removal.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Do you have to cuff me? Physical violence is the least of my priorities.
MOOS: His priority is rhapsodizing like a Bohemian.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Mama mia, mama mia --
(MUSIC/SINGING) UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Let me go.
MOOS: Jeanne Moos, CNN, New York.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: (INAUDIBLE)
(END VIDEOTAPE)
BORGER: And thanks for joining us. I'm Gloria Borger in THE SITUATION ROOM. The news continues next on CNN.
