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The Situation Room
New Developments in Colorado Shooting; Olympics Begin
Aired July 27, 2012 - 18:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
CANDY CROWLEY, CNN ANCHOR: Happening now: new information about the Colorado shooting suspect and the psychiatrist he was seeing at the University of Colorado.
Corporate billionaires do battle over same-sex marriage. Amazon's CEO takes on Chick-fil-A's chief.
And we have the first pictures from Olympic opening ceremony before it airs on American TV. Wolf Blitzer is on assignment. I am Candy Crowley. You're in THE SITUATION ROOM.
At this hour, we have new information about the suspect in the movie theater massacre from James Holmes' own defense team. And it is raising more questions about whether someone at University of Colorado could have, or should have, or might have seen warning signs.
Drew Griffin of CNN's Special Investigations Unit has been digging on this story -- Drew.
DREW GRIFFIN, CNN INVESTIGATIVE CORRESPONDENT: Candy, according to his attorney, this 24-year-old accused of gunning down 12, gunning down dozens more, was seeing a psychiatrist at the time of the shooting.
It is a huge development stemming from the mysterious package sent by James Holmes to a professor at the University of Colorado's Aurora campus on Monday. According to a motion filed today in Colorado, that professor was actually James Holmes' psychiatrist.
Her name is Dr. Lynne Fenton. She's the head of student medical health services at the University of Colorado's Anschutz Medical Campus, and according to Holmes' attorney now, Mr. Holmes was a psychiatrist patient of Dr. Fenton and his communications with her are protected.
That attorney is trying to get hold of the package, the contents of which, according to CBS News, include a description of how Holmes would kill people. The attorney says the information is privileged and confidential and should not be in the hands of police.
Candy, you might remember on Monday, school officials, including the campus police chief, did answer some questions. I want you to specifically listen to the exchange I had with the police chief regarding Holmes' interaction with campus security.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) GRIFFIN: Chief Abraham, did your department or any of your officers have any interaction with this student whatsoever? Have you done a records check?
CHIEF DOUG ABRAHAM, UNIVERSITY OF COLORADO-DENVER POLICE: I don't have any information on him at all.
GRIFFIN: (OFF-MIKE) records check on him?
ABRAHAM: Yes. And as you already know, I think there was a traffic ticket from Aurora. That's it for us, them, and everyone.
GRIFFIN: Nothing ever brought him to your attention in any way of note or anything like that?
ABRAHAM: We had no contact with him on a criminal matter whatsoever as a police department.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
GRIFFIN: Candy, I'll tell you a spokesperson from the university just yesterday told CNN the police chief at that news conference was withholding information based on gag orders that had been secured in this case.
Here is the quote from the school. "Out of concern with violating the court order, the chief didn't answer" my questions directly. Now the question is what else the school and its police chief and administrators may have known about Holmes in advance of the shooting.
The fact that he was seeking the help of a campus psychiatrist is only adding to the speculation, Candy. We have asked the school for clarification. So far, the school refusing to answer any more questions -- Candy.
CROWLEY: You said, Drew, as I understand it, this right now is a legal maneuver by Holmes' defense team, saying, wait a minute, he was seeing a shrink, and that package which was sent to her belongs to us. So they're trying to keep that evidence away from the prosecution. Do I read that correctly?
GRIFFIN: That is absolutely correct, and that is how we have learned about this.
It was a motion to basically get that stuff back. The attorney is saying, it's a public defender now, saying that is private and privileged communication and it shouldn't have been just handed to authorities, which is what the school did.
CROWLEY: Drew Griffin, I know you will keep on that story for us. Thank you.
We want to talk more about James Holmes' communications with a university psychiatrist and the legal and ethical responsibilities that mental health officials have to report potential threats. We are joined by CNN chief medical correspondent Dr. Sanjay Gupta.
Sanjay, first we should say it is not always apparent. How a patient presents themselves can very often fool a very experienced psychiatrist. There's a very famous here case in D.C., a man who specialized in schizophrenics who ended up killed by one because he didn't see how dangerous that patient was.
Are there any legal rules that psychiatrists have to follow?
DR. SANJAY GUPTA, CNN SENIOR MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT: There are legal rules, but as you're alluding to, Candy, it is sort of based on some subjective things.
And you're talking about sort of the conflict between doctor-- patient confidentiality and protection of the public here. To put it simply, it really deals with how specific a patient is with his or her psychiatrist or psychologist.
You know, are they specifically identifying a person? And do they have a specific way that they want to harm that person, bodily injury, causing them death? Is there a location that they're talking about where they would do this? And is it imminent? Is it of an urgent nature?
If it meets those criteria -- and, again, you can tell just by listening to that that is a bit subjective -- and it appears serious enough to the psychiatrist, then there's a duty to inform in most jurisdictions. There's another famous case as well in addition to the one you're talking about, Candy.
Tarasoff is NATO case from California. And there were two parts to this. In Tarasoff one, they said -- and this applies to most jurisdictions in the United States -- there's a duty to warn the potential victim. In Tarasoff two, they take it even a step further. This is many places across the country.
Not only should they warn the potential victim, but they have a duty to protect the potential victim, getting them into some sort of secure facility. There's two parts to that. But again there is sort of a subjective nature to all of that, Candy.
CROWLEY: And it is also true that specific threats are different from someone coming in and saying I'm so angry, I just feel like I'm going to do violence and some psychiatrists can hear that and not see a specific threat, I mean, having experienced this over the years.
Is there a penalty in the states that do have this duty-to-report law if a doctor does not report something that seems in hindsight to have been important?
GUPTA: It doesn't appear to be criminal, rise to the level of criminal penalties.
I think the best way to sort of describe it is it could be a civil issue and it could open the doctor, psychologist, psychiatrist, social worker, whoever it may be, to potential lawsuits if they did not disclose this.
I will tell you as well to your question that typically what the code of ethics is among people that are counseling or treating the mentally ill is that they're supposed to disclose to their patient first that they're going to tell people, they're going to tell a potential victim, they're going to tell law enforcement. That's the way it is supposed to work, but you know, it doesn't usually rise to the level of a criminal charge, maybe just lawsuits in a particular case.
CROWLEY: Sanjay Gupta, thanks for your insight.
We should just emphasize what we know now according reporting from Drew Griffin is that in fact according to his the defense team, this young man was seeing a psychiatrist, and that's at this point as much as we know about what went on there. Thanks so much, Dr. Gupta. Appreciate it.
GUPTA: Thank you. You got it.
Now to the battle for Syria's second largest city. Rebel forces are reporting a horrific massacre in Aleppo after the Assad regime unleashed tanks and helicopters early this morning. The U.N. secretary-general is pleading for the fighting to stop. At least 100 people were killed across Syria today.
The opposition also says a Syrian parliamentarian from Aleppo has defected to Turkey, just the latest of high-level Syrian officials to flee that country.
As the bloodshed in Syria gets worse, the United States is reaching out to the opposition.
Our Pentagon correspondent, Barbara Starr, has the latest on that.
BARBARA STARR, CNN PENTAGON CORRESPONDENT: Candy reaching out more every day, apparently. A senior U.S. official tells me now the U.S. is stepping up its contacts with the opposition and in his words, playing more of an advisory role.
What are we talking about here? Well, this senior U.S. official says what's going on is they're talking to them more, vetting them more, trying to see what opposition groups could coalesce into some sort of more coherent force that can take over in Syria, even talking about what defectors may know about what's going on inside of the country, all of it.
The key question I think that comes to everybody's mind is, is this moving into the realm of arming the opposition? We talked a little while ago to chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff. Have a listen what he had to say.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) GEN. MARTIN DEMPSEY, JOINT CHIEFS OF STAFF CHAIRMAN: We have been discussing a range of options for some time. Among them would be assisting the opposition. I have never heard of any discussion about assisting them with lethal support. That is to say, the discussions that I have been involved with were about providing non-lethal support.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
STARR: That's really the big question many are looking at right now. Would the U.S. go the additional step of helping arm the opposition? By all accounts, not yet.
But they are really, Candy, looking at what they can do to provide more assistance, more aid that will move this along, and get Assad out of power. But once Assad leaves, then the next set of circumstances pop up very quickly. Will the Syrian military and government hold as an entity, as an organization? What would it look like? Do you even want it to hold?
These are all of the issues that Defense Secretary Leon Panetta will be dealing with when he travels to the Middle East next week, and I will be with him on that trip -- Candy.
CROWLEY: Barbara Starr, we look forward to that. Thank you.
The head of Amazon.com is writing a new chapter in the controversy surrounding Chick-fil-A and its stand against same-sex marriage. It's a clash of corporate titans.
And there's a new twist in the family feud involving Michael Jackson's mother and custody of his children.
And we're giving you the very first look at the Olympic opening ceremony before it airs on American TV. We will soon learn the biggest Olympic secret, who gets the honor of lighting the Olympic torch.
Stay with us. You're in THE SITUATION ROOM.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
CROWLEY: We know the U.S. is getting more politically divided. Now it could start affecting where you eat and where you shop.
Our Mary Snow is here.
Mary, the founder of Amazon.com now getting into the same-sex marriage debate.
MARY SNOW, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes, Candy.
Jeff Bezos has put big bucks behind his beliefs to help get a same-sex marriage ballot passed in Washington State. Now, a spokesman for Amazon said it was a personal decision and Bezos and his wife feel strongly about the issues. But it comes as companies are taking center stage in the culture wars.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
SNOW (voice-over): Just as the issue of same-sex marriage is thrust into the spotlight with protests targeting Chick-fil-A, now comes a very different public stand from the head of one of America's biggest brands.
Amazon's CEO, Jeff Bezos and his wife, MacKenzie, contributed $2.5 million to an effort to legalize same-sex marriage in Washington State. Washington United for Marriage, a coalition to uphold the same-sex marriage law in the state, said "It is believed to be the largest individual gift in the country to secure or protect the freedom to marry."
Bezos' views are in stark contrast to the president of Chick-fil- A, Dan Cathy. When Cathy said in interviews he opposed same-sex marriage, repercussions followed and continue. There have been protests and calls for boycotts against the chicken chain. Even politicians weighed in.
RAHM EMANUEL (D), MAYOR OF CHICAGO: Chick-fil-A's values are not Chicago values. They're not respectful of our residents, our neighbors, and our family members.
SNOW: Will Amazon now be targeted by opponents of same-sex marriage? The National Organization for Marriage, a group fighting same-sex marriage initiatives, had no immediate response. But it has previously targeted companies like Starbucks, calling for a boycott after it voiced support for legalizing same-sex marriage.
Hayes Roth works with companies on their branding. He says while there is a risk for a CEO to take a stand on public issue, he doesn't see much fallout for Amazon.
HAYES ROTH, BRANDING EXPERT: For a brand like Amazon, which is so ubiquitous, and so universal in how we all use, I think there's less of a risk, honestly, because it has become part of the fabric of our daily existence in many ways.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
SNOW: As for Chick-fil-A, the branding consultant we just spoke there with there says he believes the company which is largely based in the South will be able to move beyond this controversy and he thinks it won't make a big dent to its bottom line.
On a separate note, Candy, Chick-fil-A announced today that the company's chief spokesman died unexpectedly. Don Perry had been with Chick-fil-A since 1983 -- Candy.
CROWLEY: Mary Snow, thank you.
Now that Michael Jackson's mother has surfaced, can her family stop feuding over custody of the children of the late pop star? There's a new twist in this story.
Stay with us. You're in THE SITUATION ROOM.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
CROWLEY: New developments today in the very public family feud over Michael Jackson's estate and custody of the late pop star's three children. The drama has been unfolding for days after the family's 82-year-old matriarch, Katherine Jackson, appeared to go missing.
CNN entertainment correspondent Kareen Wynter joins us.
Kareen, so there's a new kind of custody agreement in effect?
KAREEN WYNTER, CNN CORRESPONDENT: There is.
In fact, we got a statement today from Katherine Jackson's attorney that basically outlines a modified custody plan they would like to put in place that would essentially make Katherine Jackson and T.J. Jackson co-guardians of Michael's three children, 15-year-old Prince, 14-year-old Paris, and 10-year-old Blanket.
As we have been reporting, T.J. Jackson was appointed temporary guardianship of Michael's children on Wednesday of this week, in his grandmother's absence. T.J. is a 34-year-old cousin to these kids. According to the attorney's statement, while he has been involved in caring for them quite some time, we're told this agreement is based on the wishes of Katherine, T.J. and the children and they plan to submit this petition here in L.A. early next week.
It seems like it is something that's going forward in a positive direction this week.
CROWLEY: That's a good way to end the week. There were some questions about the health of the grandmother, Katherine Jackson. Do we know how she is doing?
WYNTER: That's right. Several of Katherine's children thought she was overstressed, perhaps needed some rest. So they brought her to Arizona for a vacation last week.
Other members though of the Jackson family, they were apparently unaware of this plan, Canada, and they reported her missing. They said when they finally were able to reach her over the phone, that her speech seemed impaired and she didn't seem like herself at all.
Katherine has since been reunited this week with her family here in L.A. and at least according to her attorney while she's in great health, it does seem though like, Candy, the new custody agreement in part it is an effort to offer Katherine some support, alleviate some of the stresses she has been feeling lately.
CROWLEY: Finally in a strange development, Michael Jackson's former doctor, Conrad Murray, saying he would like to meet with Katherine?
WYNTER: Now this, Candy, had a lot of heads shaking, let me tell you.
I get the feeling this is the last thing Katherine Jackson wants to deal with this week. But Conrad Murray, the doctor convicted of involuntary manslaughter in Michael Jackson's death, he is inviting Katherine to meet him in jail.
He released a statement, Murray did, to CNN through his attorneys saying -- quote -- "I have been told she has a desire to speak with me before she departs this life. Seeing that she's up in age and in questionable health and the fact that she's the mother of a very dear departed friend, it would give me great pleasure to sit with her one on one and answer any questions she might have."
So essentially, Candy, Murray thinks a meeting between them would put Katherine at peace. Of course, after the week Katherine has had with her family's very bitter public battles, this is probably not at the top of Katherine Jackson's things-to-do list.
CROWLEY: I wouldn't guess so.
But just to clarify, the two things have nothing to do with one another. He didn't say, hey, this would be great to have this meeting in connection with what went on this whole week with the Jackson family.
WYNTER: That's what makes it a little complicated.
Listen to this, Candy. He actually saw -- was watching the news which they are not allowed to behind bars. But he caught a clip of all of the chaos going on, and said you know what, Katherine looks sad. Maybe one-on-one, some one-on-one time with her, a little face- to-face meeting would make her feel better.
Don't know what's going through Conrad's mind, but that's apparently what prompted this letter, this invitation to Katherine Jackson. There you go, Candy.
CROWLEY: Good luck next week, Kareen. I have a feeling this is going to go on. Thanks so much.
President Obama has a message for Americans watching the Olympics. Will it help voters forget a remark that has been weighing on his campaign?
And we're getting in brand-new pictures of the opening ceremony at the Olympics it happens before it is airs on American TV. We expect to reveal the biggest secret of all, who gets the honor of lighting the Olympic torch. Stay with us.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
CROWLEY: Mixed messages today on the economy with a new setback for the recovery and new gains for the stock market.
The government reports the gross domestic product grew at an annual rate of 1.5 percent from April through June, and that is down from the first three months of the year. Still it's better than analysts expected. On Wall Street, the Dow Jones industrial average closed above 13000, a level it has not reached since May. Traders apparently are hoping the Federal Reserve will take new steps to stimulate growth.
We are now joined by former Democratic Senator Byron Dorgan and former Republican Congressman Tom Davis.
You will be happy to know I'm not going to ask you to explain why the stock market goes up when the news is all bad, but nonetheless, let me start with this GDP because it leads to politics, because, as you know, the Republicans want this race to be about the state of the economy, and the Democrats would like it to be the choice between you can either have Mitt Romney or me.
How does the president go about explaining these kind of continuing bad numbers?
Well, bad numbers.
BYRON DORGAN (D), FORMER U.S. SENATOR: I mean, we do have some economic growth. It's slower than everyone would like. But, again, go back to what the president took over. I mean, he inherited an economy that the month before he showed up was shrinking. I think 700,000 people lost their job in that month alone.
CROWLEY: but do you think people are buying that now, four years ago, it was really horrible, because there was a lot of talk about how this was going to get fixed?
DORGAN: No, I understand that.
But the fact is it was shrinking at almost 7 percent a year. Now it has been growing. All of us would like it to grow more rapidly. There's a lot of other things happening in Europe and elsewhere that have an impact.
But I think this president has done a really extraordinary job working very hard to try to get a Congress to work with him to address some of these issues.
CROWLEY: Congressman Davis, two things when I look at the polls, and I talked earlier with somebody about this, and that is that generally as bad as the economy is, this is still a dead-heat race.
When you ask folks who might have better ideas to fix the economy, very often they will pick Mitt Romney. But when you ask them who has the interest of the middle class in mind, it's always President Obama. How do you break out of that if you're Mitt Romney?
TOM DAVIS (R), FORMER U.S. CONGRESSMAN: Right.
Well, the administration has been plagued by bad outcomes. You can argue they did the right policies and it's this or that, but it's below expectations, 8 percent unemployment for almost three-and-a-half years. So -- but that's not an automatic for the Republicans. They're looking around, and Romney still needs to make the sale. And as of today, he hasn't made the sale.
Now look, he has a convention speech coming on, we've got debates. All the elements are there. A president has not been re- elected with unemployment higher than 7.2 percent since Roosevelt. So, that's kind of the marker. And if it hovers around eight percent, that bar gets lower for Romney to meet, but he still has to make the sale. And that's what Obama camp is trying to keep him from doing.
CROWLEY: I want to play for you all a little bit of an Obama team ad that's going to play during the opening ceremony of the Olympics this evening.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
BARACK OBAMA, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: We're a nation of workers, doers, dreamers. We work hard for what we get. And all we ask for is that our hard work pays off. I believe the way you grow the economy is from the middle up. I believe in fighting for the middle class because if they're prospering, all of us will prosper.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CROWLEY: It is the Olympics, a big positive ad out there, we can understand that part. But, a lot of people listen to this ad, and thought they heard some push back about what apparently may be hurting President Obama, and that's the you didn't build this remark.
Do you see some signs there that the Obama re-elect team sees that as a negative?
DORGAN: I don't think so. I mean, you didn't build this, I understand what he was saying about this. But you know, this ad at the Olympics, the Olympics is a remarkably positive event. The demographics of who you would want to talk to about yourself, about what your aspirations are for the future. It makes sense for him to advertise here. And I think this is also a time when all of us together take a look at those folks wearing jerseys that say USA and kind of wish we had politicians that wore that in Congress especially, both sides getting together to root for America, the old USA.
CROWLEY: What do you think when you are looking at? This seem to be something that the Romney camp certainly thinks has resonance, that somehow the president sort of showed his hand, I think that is how they're sort of framing it. That this is not a man who believes in, you know, the private sector, but believe that the generator of jobs and the economy is the public sector and that this fit into that.
DAVIS: Well Candy, I think to the base that this resonates well, this race to a large part is mobilization, but it is a very closely divided country right now. And that 10 percent or so that haven't made up their minds probably don't look at this until after labor day and after the conventions. So, positive ad, I think it makes sense that as Byron said, at the time of the Olympics where everybody is wearing the red, white and blue.
CROWLEY: I want to ask both you, how Congress gets off this fiscal cliff as a closing question. But first, to you, Congressman, looking at Mitt Romney's trip overseas so far, grade him for me.
DAVIS: Incomplete. I am going to be generous. It was a tough first day. He is finding out in campaign mode, everything is parsed and so on, but I think the next two countries, and he's be able to recovered, he walked it back. I don't think it will have any consequence over the long purpose.
CROWLEY: And so, Mitt the twit and all those headlines that we saw.
DAVIS: Flavor of the day. Will have no bearing on the election.
DORGAN: He'd probably like a do-over, I think all of us understand that.
CROWLEY: Well, he is going to Israel. So, you know, next stop. Exactly.
So let me ask you, we talked endlessly about the fiscal cliff that's coming. It is automatic spending cuts as well as tax increases that are going to go up, I'm sorry, as well as tax increases as tax cuts expire. You put on your former congressional, senatorial hats, and tell me how does it end, Congressman?
DAVIS: Well, I think it crashes and burns before the first of the year. Looks like they're doing a six month continuing resolution, so they will take those 12 appropriation bills --
CROWLEY: So the government won't shut down.
DAVIS: Government won't shut down but it is hard to run a government with six month appropriation. Agencies really can't function where they don't know what they get for the year. It just more punting and let's see what the election if they can decide decisively or not.
Candy, the problem is there are no good answers and no easy answers, no popular answers or Congress would have done it. They're faced now with some stark choices that are all unpopular. So, why decide before the election when they can put it off until after the election.
CROWLEY: I got less than 15 seconds.
DORGAN: Look, the president and Congress have to have straight talk to the American people. We can't allow the country to fall off the economic cliff at the end of the year. And Republicans and Democrats have to come together to the pieces together and fix what's wrong. I mean, this is not easy, but it has to be done.
CROWLEY: Senator Dorgan, Congressman Davis. Formers in front of you both, that's why you all look so happy and rested. Thanks very much for joining us.
The woman who is leading Mitt Romney's search for a running mate may be tipping her hand on twitter or just trying to create buzz. Beth Myers tweeted this listed name today. All of them have been mentioned as possible VP picks. They include the likely suspects such as Rob Portman and John Thune, and long shots like Newt Gingrich. It was an odd but intriguing post for a campaign has been tight lipped about the VP surge. I suppose they're having fun with this.
Romney's VP picks is just one of many questions Wolf Blitzer will have for Mitt Romney when he interview him in Israel. You can see that interview Monday right here in the SITUATION ROOM.
We are seeing amazing pictures from the Olympics opening ceremony, and you don't have to wait for the replay. Find out who is lighting the torch and see highlights from opening ceremony. We have a live update next.
Stay with us, you're in the SITUATION ROOM.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
CROWLEY: James Bond, Lord Voldemort, Mary Poppins, Mister Bean there, all part of the British and on-going opening ceremonies for the summer games in London, but who is lighting the torch? You don't have to wait for tonight's replay. The brave of the nation is just wrapping up.
And CNN's Alex Thomas is live in London with highlights right now - Alex.
ALEX THOMAS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes, Candy. I don't know if it is going to be critically acclaimed opening ceremonies, but as a Brit, I loved it. Because they knew they couldn't match the theatrics of Beijing four years ago. But movie director Danny Boyle with a modest $40 million budget has still put on a pretty impressive display at the opening ceremony, meaning London 2012 is firmly under way.
It all started 9:00 at night local time with the ringing of the world's largest harmonic tuned bell weighing in it 23 tons. The first Brit ever to win cycling stole a bronze only last week, Bradley Wiggins struck it. And then, we were treated to a ride through Britain's parks. We have (INAUDIBLE).
And one of the highlights of the night, a prerecorded sequence involving James Bond actor Daniel Gray and her majesty, Queen Elizabeth II herself. They got into helicopter to Buckingham palace, and then that same helicopter then appeared for real life above the stadium here. Two people parachuted out with union flags.
Well, I don't know what happened to James Bond after that. Because all we then we saw was the Queen and IOC presidents, Jacques Rogge in to the stadium.
As we speak, some of the 204 national Olympic Association competing here at the games are all parading around the stadium in alphabetical order. We have seen Spain with NBS stars carrying the flag come through. The party isn't over yet. We still don't know, Candy, who is going to light the Olympic flame. CROWLEY: I cannot believe you're leaving me hanging on this. I want that tweeted immediately when you have it.
THOMAS: I promise, cross my heart.
CROWLEY: Thank you very much.
You know, in the olden days, we all had to wait for prime time place to see and hear about the Olympics. This is after all the age of twitter and social media. Everybody is sending in pictures and commentaries in real time.
Our Tom Foreman is watching. What are you seeing from opening ceremonies, Tom?
TOM FOREMAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: My budget here is considerably less than 40 million, but I have a great view. This is the U.S. team lining up before they went in, sent in by one of the members of the swimming team.
There is the team outside with the banner getting ready to go in. Look, this is the flag bearer for the team, that's Mariel Zagunis with 10 more houses. Both answers outside right before they went in, 10 more houses, flip this over here. You have at least are sending in lots of things.
Look at this group. This is my favorite picture so far. Do you know who this is? The U.S. men's basketball team. They will never look like this ever again on this planet! That's them all lined up here.
Look at this. Here is Don Harper, gold medallist hurdler for the U.S. in Beijing. Here she is seated with James Harden over here, and look at that, King James over, Lebron James, standing outside the gauge. You can see the athletes are having there, cooling out in their room, not at the ceremony, why? Because they compete tomorrow morning, right there, that's Michael Phelps and Nathan Adrian, remember they are of the swimming team, watching just like we do.
Frankly, my living is a little more posh than that. But you see how they do in the morning. Beyond that, there is low a Jones, local constabulary checking on how the security situation is working out. These athletes are doing a great job getting us in contact with what's going on.
Here's Hope Solo, who you know, is kind of in her way sort of the bad girl of the soccer team. She is hanging out there having a good time. We will see how the soccer ladies do as they move along.
And you have to look at the some of the competition, and Jamaica's Usain Bolt, fastest man on the planet right now, cooling out with the fans. I think we are going to see a lot more pictures like this. But this one from Kelly O'Hara on the women's soccer team, took a picture pointing her camera up to a reflective ceiling of the team gathered there. That says it all. The comment right there, Candy. Opening ceremonies, looks like a great time. I wish I were there. Would have such a good time. And I am fast, I could have run something.
CROWLEY: Yes, well, OK.
FOREMAN: Could have run for beers.
(LAUGHTER)
CROWLEY: Exactly. That's one of the reasons that I love twitter is that, sure, you get big beautiful overviews with TV, we love television, we should say, and the pictures are great, but you get such personal looks at it over twitter.
FOREMAN: This is the experience. This is what they're going through. And it's funny, because in some ways you at them and think, you know, a lot are young Americans. These are in many ways kids having just a magnificent time for you to peak in just a little bit.
CROWLEY: Yes. We want them to bring home some gold. Thanks, Tom Foreman. Appreciate it.
First lady Michelle Obama is on the run at the London Olympics where she's leading the U.S. delegation at the opening ceremonies. She hosted a let's movie vent for American military children and British students encouraging them to be active.
She had breakfast with members of team USA offering some personal advice on how to cope with the competition that happens every four years.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
MICHELLE OBAMA, FIRST LADY OF THE UNITED STATES: You all take advantage of everything, stop, look around you. I know in my position, sometimes I don't get a chance to breathe or take it in. You know, this only happens every few years so, try and have fun. Try to breathe a little bit. But also win, right? In the end, winning is good.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CROWLEY: Have fun, breathe, win.
Back here in Washington, the White House says President Obama loves the Olympics, and plans to watch the games on TV as much as he can. We are told he may even watch the horse co-owned by Ann Romney compete in dressage competition.
Behind the scenes of the hit show time series "Home Land" with nine Emmy nominations, kind a fan in the White House. The creative team behind it shares their secrets.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
CROWLEY: A workplace shooting threat near Washington with echoes of the Colorado theater massacre.
CNN's Erin Burnett is going "OUTFRONT" on that story tonight. Erin, what do you have?
ERIN BURNETT, CNN HOST, OUTFRONT: We are talk to go the chief of police of Prince George's County who is going to give us new details on the shooting. Pretty shocking, the man who was intending so he said to go into the workplace where he was being fired and shoot people, called himself the joker. Police do believe it could have been a copy cat event from the Colorado shooting.
The cast of weapons that he had, Candy, it is really shocking. Twenty five guns, a lot of them automatic guns, thousands of rounds of ammunition. We're going to find out from the police chief exactly how someone could amass this amount of weaponry, an arsenal like this, going completely undetected, and considering, Candy, he hadn't shot anybody yet, can they press charges or will this man go free. So, we are going to get answers to all of those questions.
Plus, the U.N. today coming out and saying that there is going to be a humanitarian disaster in Mali if there isn't more funding. The funding shortage there is still incredible, considering what we saw on the ground. So, we are going to have the very latest on that in the crisis there, back to you.
CROWLEY: Some amazing stuff you have there, Erin. We will be there top of the hour.
Erin Burnett, "OUTFRONT". Thank you.
CROWLEY: Mary Snow is in New York monitoring other top stories in the SITUATION ROOM right now - Mary?
MARY SNOW, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Candy, the Dow ended today above 13,000 points for the first time since May. Yet investors aren't liking what they see from facebook. Shares tumbled Friday, despite facebook's initial earnings report that was slightly better than analysts predicted. Shares finished at $23.71, down 12 percent for the day. Worries loom over future quarters and specifically how the company will make money from its mobile platform.
Confirmed tornadoes in two Pennsylvania towns after a day of violent and deadly storms across the northeast. One woman desperate to find shelter at a camp site was crushed to death in her car.
In New York state, a tornado packing winds of at least 110 miles per hour bent trees sideways. Two people were killed in that storm, including an assistant New York state attorney general.
The iconic bakery that made mouths water in the big easy since 1922 was destroyed in a fire this morning. The five-alarm fire may have started in the fryer room. The company which close briefly after hurricane Katrina vows that it will rebuild. And we hope it does -- Candy.
And we have one more. Some tense moments for Boston Red Sox fans after their beloved Wally the green monster mysteriously disappeared. Police say they caught a man driving with the costume that was shortly after they put out an all-points bulletin about Wally. He's named after the 37-foot green wall in Fenway park's left field. I guess Boston Red Sox fans can sleep soundly tonight.
CROWLEY: Thank heavens they settled that. Thank you so much, Mary Snow.
Now, we want you to take a look at this unbelievable video. It is both amazing and so sad at the same time. It's near Seattle. A home on the verge of falling debris over a cliff as the front yard complete disappears breaking of in huge chunks.
Our Lisa Sylvester has details.
LISA SYLVESTER, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Candy, the homeowners told us they think they might lose their little green house by the end of the day today. But as the rate there going, they could soon lose much more. The garage, the workshop, even the house, and they are powerless to stop it.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
SYLVESTER (voice-over): Hour by hour, more of the yard is eroding away.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Oh, look at this one. Oh. Holy.
SYLVESTER: Bit by bit, their beautiful property at the top of a cliff is breaking off and plunging down a 200-foot ravine to the beach below. Just over a week ago, Roy and Rosalie Ballinger noticed the first chunks breaking off.
ROSALIE BALLINGER, HOMEOWNER: Oh, I said, Roy, the trees are gone. And it took part of the fence with it. And everything went downhill from there.
SYLVESTER: The culprit is apparently an underground water source that just appeared without warning.
ROY BALLINGER, HOMEOWNER: All of a sudden, one day, just out of God's wonderment, there was this geyser coming out of the side and probably squirting 25 feet in the air.
SYLVESTER: So far, it has cost them 50 feet of land, a 500-year- old tree and some rhododendrons.
ROSALIE BALLINGER: We planted all those.
SYLVESTER: But every day, it is getting closer to their buildings. Their property used to look like this. Now, the cliff edge has come up to their outbuildings, including the greenhouse and Roy's shop.
ROY BALLINGER: I don't think it's going to get to the house but it sure is going to take over my shop and that's my pride and joy.
SYLVESTER: They cleared out the shop Thursday. But there's nothing they can do about the underground propane tank that used to be 12 feet from the edge. Now it's 12 inches, fire officials say. MIKE COTTON, ASSISTANT FIRE CHIEF: It could explode. A valve could bust off or the tank just slides down the hill innocently. Don't know.
SYLVESTER: So far the erosion has been moving at a steady pace.
ROY BALLINGER: I don't know of any way to stop it. I think, you know, it was God that started it and God will have to stop it.
SYLVESTER: No one knows whether the house they have lived in together for 12 years will be next.
ROSALIE BALLINGER: We cry and we laugh and -- it's all we can do. It's devastating. Absolutely devastating.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
SYLVESTER: So far, they are still living in the house. They say today has started out pretty quiet. Then again, that's what they thought yesterday, until evening came and they had another slide -- Candy.
CROWLEY: Lisa Sylvester, thank you.
We're only a few minutes away from learning the secret of who's lighting the Olympic torch. You'll find out right here on CNN.
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CROWLEY: It's one of the biggest homeland security inspired dramas on television. Here's CNN's Suzanne Kelly.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
CLAIRE DANES, ACTRESS: My name is Kerry Matheson. I served as a case officer in Iraq.
SUZANNE KELLY, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): She's a CIA officer with a secret of her own. Claire Danes plays Kerry Matheson.
DANES: How soon after you were taken did the interrogations begin?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Pretty much right away.
KELLY: Sergeant Nicholas Brody played by Damian Louis is a man who's come home from Iraq a hero or is he? His life, along with Kerry's, collide in show time's "Homeland." Their dramatic relationship fueled by the minds of just six writers including "24" executive producer Howard Gordon and "Homeland" show runner and executive producer Alex Gansa. Season veterans of television drama, they're not your younger racier Hollywood crowd.
HOWARD GORDON, EXECUTIVE PRODUCER: We are definitely more scotch than red bull, definitely older than younger, definitely maler than femaler. KELLY: Just days before the first episode of season two was scheduled to be shot, Gordon said the script wasn't quite finished.
GORDON: I won't, you know, deny that there's panic. I mean, that -- we try to keep the panic at bay and in denial.
ALEX CARY, EXECUTIVE PRODUCER, WRITER: Like to just make it up and then try to sell it as believable.
KELLY: Louis's performance recently landed him a seat at a state dinner in Washington, D.C. for British prime minister David Cameron. But what turns out that another world leader may be a bigger fan.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Well, this is the quote from "Rolling Stone" magazine and when we learned that the president was a fan of the show.
KELLY: It's not just the president who's watching. "Homeland" has been nominated for nine Emmys. What's their secret?
ALEX GANSA, EXECUTIVE PRODUCER: We don't try to answer much. We try to raise questions, you know, how should America project its power overseas. What is the -- you know what is the result of these wars that we fault. How safe are we? Are we safer or are we less safe?
KELLY: So, here's the good Intel on season two. Look for story themes dealing with the Middle East specifically the relationship and tensions that exist between Israel, Iran and the United States.
CARY: We deal with Kerry Matheson trying to operate at an even more intense level as she gets more intelligence but working from further outside the CIA.
KELLY: But don't press for more. After all, some things are meant to be kept secret.
Suzanne Kelly, CNN. Aspen, Colorado.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
CROWLEY: I'm Candy Crowley in THE SITUATION ROOM. "ERIN BURNETT OUTFRONT" starts right now.
