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Scrutiny for Santorum; Death Sentence Sought for Former Egyptian President; Romney's Chances In South Carolina; Santorum Heads To New Hampshire; Did ICE Deport American Teen?

Aired January 05, 2012 - 15:00   ET

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

BROOKE BALDWIN, CNN ANCHOR: Here we go. Top of the hour. I'm Brooke Baldwin.

Rick Santorum, he is expected to speak live this hour. We will take part of that for you. Also, a big surprise concerning jobs in America today. And prosecutors want death by hanging for a famous ex- president.

Time to play "Reporter Roulette."

Jim Acosta, let's begin with you in New Hampshire. You're standing by at the Santorum event. Tell me, what is the buzz like surrounding Mitt Romney's latest challenger?

JIM ACOSTA, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Rick Santorum's rise after Iowa has definitely changed this campaign, Brooke.

You can just tell by seeing this crowd that he had earlier today, over in New Hampshire. It was just filled with folks wanting to hear what Rick Santorum has to say about all sorts of issues. And you're also seeing it in terms of what his other rivals are saying in this campaign.

Newt Gingrich was giving an event, holding an event earlier today where he basically went after Rick Santorum and diminished his role in the Congress when Gingrich was bringing about the Contract With America. Gingrich said that Santorum was really a junior partner in that Republican revolution.

And I had a chance to ask Rick Santorum about that. And senator -- the form he senator from Pennsylvania said, hey, wait a minute. He was involved in other anti-corruption efforts in Congress before Newt Gingrich was even the speaker. There's a bit of a back and forth going on between these two rivals. And there is a good reason why.

Mitt Romney is expected to win this state. The polls all show that. But the fight for number two is an important one. If Rick Santorum can somehow pull off a second-place finish in New Hampshire, that will continue that momentum that he's had coming out of Iowa down into South Carolina, where things might look better for him down there.

So it has definitely changed this race here in New Hampshire, Brooke. BALDWIN: Speaking of South Carolina, and Santorum, I was talking to a reporter who has covered Santorum his whole 20 years and he told me they already have an organization on the ground in South Carolina. Do you know when Santorum will get there?

ACOSTA: I don't believe it will be before there is a debate Saturday night. I don't think it will be before that debate, because if you look at Santorum's schedule, it is very much like the schedule he had in Iowa. He has roughly two dozen events and radio interviews between now and Saturday.

Almost all of them, I believe, are here in New Hampshire. I think there is a chance that he may be doing some South Carolina, maybe a pit stop where he will leave New Hampshire just briefly and go down to South Carolina and come back.

But it is sort of counterintuitive. The conventional wisdom with a lot of folks out there is that, hey, Rick Santorum has a much better chance of doing better in South Carolina. Santorum is saying no, he is going to be up here. He says he is fighting for every vote up here, because he feels his blue-collar lunch bucket Republican message, remember, he talks a lot about rebuilding the manufacturing industry.

He likes that message and the way it plays up here in New Hampshire as well. The fact that he raised $1 million in the last 24 hours is not hurting either. It's giving him the ability to spread things out a bit more, Brooke.

BALDWIN: Yes. Perhaps he will be tapping into some of those themselves you just outlined as we will be taking him live, Rick Santorum at that event you are at. Jim Acosta, my thanks to you there for us in New Hampshire.

(STOCK MARKET UPDATE)

BALDWIN: Next on "Reporter Roulette," death by hanging. This is what prosecutors are now asking for in the trial of former Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak.

CNN's Ian Lee is in Cairo -- Ian.

IAN LEE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Brooke, today is a day that many Egyptians have been waiting for. It is the day that the prosecution asked for the death penalty for former President Hosni Mubarak, the former Interior Minister Habib Adli, and four of his six defendants. They're being charged with the deaths of protesters in last year's revolution.

They also have corruption charges thrown in. All these allegations, the defendants deny. But what we're seeing here is we're seeing the case being moved forward and analysts say this is because the government wants to show results before the anniversary of the revolution on January 25.

Protesters and activists have been calling for a massive demonstration on that day to say that the government hasn't been doing much, but in return, analysts say the government is saying that we have had elections. We have had this trial. They hope their verdict will come in before the 25th, and so they can show these things as results that they have produced since the revolution.

Well, that will all be determined as that day approaches. But Mubarak will be back in trial on Monday where human rights lawyers will present their case -- Brooke.

BALDWIN: Ian, thank you very much for us.

And that is today's "Reporter Roulette" on this Thursday.

A major announcement involving our security both here and abroad. The military is shrinking. No longer will the U.S. be able to fight two ground wars at the same time. Huge changes are coming. We're live at the Pentagon for what this means for us.

Also, a gang of white racists brutally kill a teenager on the street. Now, as they learn their fate, a key fact is sparking outrage.

Also, this:

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: If there is any man out there that has had a vision for this country, it is definitely him.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BALDWIN: A soldier stumping for Texas Congressman Ron Paul. But he could be in big, big trouble for breaking Army rules.

Police are warning this is a serious and dangerous -- there is also a serious and dangerous serial killer on the loose, another story we're following for you today. They're telling a certain group of people, watch your backs. Live in Los Angeles coming up.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BALDWIN: A serial killer is now preying on homeless men in Orange County, California. Police believe the same person is responsible for killing these three men.

The first murder happened back on December 20, the others within 10 days after that. All three victims stabbed to death and left to die on the streets. The mother of this most recent victim said she saw him last two weeks ago at a family reunion.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ANTOINETTE SMIT, MOTHER OF VICTIM: Had an enjoyable my time with him. And that was the last time that I saw him. And then he met -- just on the phone, he wished me a merry Christmas. That was the last time that I spoke to him. He is really for me my son, and I love my kids all the same.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BALDWIN: Let's go straight to police headquarters there in Anaheim, California.

And, Casey, what leads if anything do police there have?

CASEY WIAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, Brooke, believe it or not, they actually have surveillance video of the first murder, December 20, actually taking place.

Now, they have released still photographs from that surveillance video. They're not going to release the entire video. But it shows the victim, a man named James McGillivray, a homeless man, standing up outside of a strip mall where he apparently normally slept.

Then it shows the image of apparently a large man wearing a black-hooded sweatshirt walking away. So the police have released those images to the public, hoping that perhaps someone can identify who this person is that is doing this killing. They're also looking for a white Toyota Corolla.

They have released pictures of that, that was parked near the murder scene. They say it is a 2000 to 2003 model year white Toyota Corolla. They're looking for anyone who may recognize this person or this vehicle to contact police here in Orange County.

That's all the leads that they will admit to having at this point, Brooke.

BALDWIN: What about future potential targets? We are talking about homeless men in Orange County. How at all can they protect themselves?

WIAN: Well, it's interesting. The homeless community here is obviously very, very concerned.

And you might wonder how they might know about this. Police and community organizations have been reaching out to them, passing out fliers warning them to seek shelter at night and not sleep outside at night. And because of that, the shelters are trying to bring in extra beds to accommodate this rush of people that they are expecting.

Also, this afternoon, the Orange County rescue mission is going to be passing out flashlights and whistles for those homeless people who do choose to remain outside at night, hoping they can at least alert someone or perhaps scare a potential attacker off -- Brooke.

BALDWIN: Flashlights and whistles, I hope that is enough. Casey Wian, thank you so much live in Anaheim.

A question for you: Did the White House break the rules and reveal secrets about the killing of Osama bin Laden? The Defense Department today announcing it will investigate whether Hollywood got classified information about that particular raid. We will tell you what may have been revealed.

Plus, Rick Santorum expected to speak live during this hour as he plays catch-up in New Hampshire. Remember that primary coming up Tuesday. But is he wasting his time? Should he be focusing on what could really be the big prize for him? Joe Johns is standing by for us in that state of South Carolina. He's going to join us after this quick break.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BALDWIN: If it's interesting and happening right now, you're about to see it. "Rapid Fire," let's go, beginning with renewed violence in Iraq today, all in the wake of the U.S. troop withdrawal.

A series of bombings in Baghdad killed 24 people, left dozens of others injured. Car bombs exploded in the two busy squares in a Shiite neighborhood and three bombs were detonated near a group of day laborers in another Shiite neighborhood. But the day's deadliest attack happened to the south in Nasiriyah. At least 36 people were killed there in a suicide bomb attack aimed at Shiite pilgrims.

Inmates armed with makeshift weapons riot in this prison. This is northern Mexico -- 31 prisoners in all were killed in this vicious fight broke out after one group of inmates broke a ban on entering another area of the prison. More than a dozen other prisoners were injured in the brawl. The prison is in Altamira just about 300 miles south of Texas.

And police shot and killed an eighth grader after he allegedly waved this weapon in Brownsville, Texas, in his middle school. But it turns out, he was waving a pellet gun. Police say it looked so real, they believed 15-year-old Jaime Gonzalez was a clear threat. So they shot him, then rushed him to the hospital, where he was later pronounced dead.

A soldier who spoke up during Republican presidential candidate Ron Paul's campaign rallies in Iowa might be in a bit of trouble now.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: If there is any man out there that has had a vision for this country, it is definitely him.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BALDWIN: We have now learned that Army Corporal Jesse Thorsen actually violated the military ban on political activity. According to the federal Hatch Act, members of the military are permitted to attend political rallies, but they may not make political speeches and must not be wearing their uniform. No word yet on any punishment for this particular soldier.

A Denver woman is in jail charged with damaging a $40 million painting at a city museum. Here's what she did. Stay with me. Police say 36-year-old Carmen Tisch was apparently drunk when she approached this abstract painting, scratched it up, urinated on the floor beside it. Not all she did, by the way. Tisch is charged with felony criminal mischief. Repairs to the painting are expected to cost about $10,000.

And how did this happen? How did this happen? Look at this video with me. A car winds up on the roof of a house. This is Fresno, California, right around 1:30 in the morning. Police say the driver was speeding in foggy conditions, missed a turn, hit some large rocks, obviously went airborne. The driver was wearing -- here's the best part -- boxer shorts, boxer shorts when he fled the scene.

He was picked up just a short time later, faces several charges. The people in the house got quite the rude awakening, but thank goodness no one was hurt.

And a whopping big price for tuna in Japan. This 600-pound bluefin was sold at auction today for a record $736,000. That is better than $1,200 a pound. The successful bidder was a Tokyo-based sushi restaurant chain operator. He said he wanted to help liven up the country's stagnant economy.

Now we have Mitt Romney now arriving in South Carolina. Let me just remind you real quickly, we had the Iowa caucuses here in the CNN Election Center this past Tuesday, and I'm sure you stayed up late, late, late that night with us. We have the New Hampshire primary coming up this Tuesday. Then January 21, we have South Carolina, very, very important.

Let's go to Joe Johns standing by for us in the beautiful city of Charleston.

Here is Mitt Romney's welcome from the chairwoman of a local Tea Party chapter. Pardon the facetiousness here -- quote -- "I do not personally know anyone who does not despise Mitt Romney," does not despise Mitt Romney.

Wow, Joe Johns, ouch.

JOE JOHNS, CNN SENIOR CORRESPONDENT: Yes. Those are tough words. And very interesting. I talked to her. That's Karen Martin. She is the organizer of the Spartanburg Tea Party. And she is pretty much adamant about it.

Her justification is, South Carolina did not like Mitt Romney very much in 2008. Now it's 2012 and she said the only thing that has changed is that South Carolina has basically gotten more conservative, more concerned about fiscal responsibility, about reducing taxes, more concerned about protecting the Constitution, so many of the things the Tea Parties -- the Tea Party members are really concerned about.

We're talking about 57 percent of this state identifies itself as either a member of the movement or sort of a sympathizer, if you will. These are real problems. That said, Nikki Haley, the governor of the state, actually endorsed Mitt Romney and it was a big splashy event. So he's trying to make inroads. He's certainly reached out to Tea Partiers every way he could. He has actually said he believes once Tea Partiers actually hear his message, they will be more inclined to come on board.

The question is whether he will be able to sell himself to this constituency in this state that really believes in a smaller government and less taxes -- Brooke.

BALDWIN: You mentioned you spoke to that organizer, the Tea Party organizer out of Spartanburg. Let's just -- let's hear a piece of that interview.

(BEGIN AUDIO CLIP)

KAREN MARTIN, TEA PARTY ORGANIZER: We don't really think too much of Mitt Romney down here in South Carolina as a presidential candidate. I don't know any Tea Party people in the state, save one I talked to this morning, who is supporting him in his presidential bid.

JOHNS: Why?

MARTIN: Well, it's easy to point to Romneycare as the issue why the Tea Party doesn't like Mitt Romney. But it goes much deeper than that. The Republican Party didn't like him in 2008. Not much has changed about him between then and now in 2012, but the electorate has changed a lot. We're more conservative.

(END AUDIO CLIP)

BALDWIN: So Joe, if not Romney, who does the group support? Santorum?

JOHNS: Well, yes, there are some people who support Santorum. There is support in this state for Newt Gingrich among others.

But I also have to tell you, though, I talked to another congressman, Jason Chaffetz of Utah. This is really, you could call him a Tea Party darling out of Utah. He's a Republican. And he is very much in support of Mitt Romney. He is traveling around the country with him. He has brought dozens of other members in to endorse Mitt Romney for president.

So, just because you hear this one voice as people will tell you over and over again with the Tea Party, they can be all over the place on everything, except lower taxes and smaller government, which is something they very much believe in, the thing that unites them pretty much.

BALDWIN: No, and it's a good point to underscore. It is just one voice. Joe Johns, thank you.

A quick reminder. As Joe is there in South Carolina and that is a huge primary, the primary coming up in just five days New Hampshire. We are waiting for an event in which Rick Santorum will be speaking. We will take that live as soon as we see him begin to speak.

Now this:

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I just don't understand how it could happen. Someone made a goof.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BALDWIN: A teenage girl runs away. She is then deported from the United States. But there is now a new twist. As she is sitting in South America, in Colombia, it turns out she may be pregnant now. That's ahead.

Plus, ever since a jury found her not guilty of killing her daughter, Casey Anthony has been in hiding, until now. Video surfaces of her, blonde bob, giving her thoughts about a pet in a video diary of sorts. Sunny Hostin is all over this one "On the Case" next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BALDWIN: We talked so much about this trial. A Connecticut man who lost his wife and daughters in that brutal home invasion is now engaged. A family friend tells CNN Dr. William Petit will marry a photographer who worked on the foundation dedicated to his family.

His sister-in-law told a newspaper she has seen a huge change in Petit, that he has a reason to be happy again. Who could forget the story? 2007, two men broke into his home, held his family hostage, killed his wife and two young daughters before burning the house down. Both of those men have been sentenced to die.

And now to this one. How in the world does an American teenager who doesn't speak a lick of Spanish end up being deported to Colombia? That is just one of the questions this family out of Texas has about this 15-year-old runaway named Jakadrien Turner.

Sunny Hostin is "On the Case."

Sunny, good to see you first and foremost.

SUNNY HOSTIN, CNN LEGAL ANALYST: Yes.

BALDWIN: It's been a while, I know.

Let me just set this whole this up. So, Jakadrien, she ran away from her home in Dallas more than a year ago. She winds up in Houston. Gets arrested for shoplifting. Immigration officials, ICE, they say she gave this fake name, claimed she was this woman, 21-year- old woman who is from Colombia.

An immigration judge then kicked her out of the country because she maintains that false name through the whole process. So a lot of questions. First one is, how? How does this girl go through this entire deportation process, including showing up in court, lying all the way, using this fake name, no one figures it out?

HOSTIN: Isn't it remarkable?

BALDWIN: Crazy. HOSTIN: I have got to tell you, I called some of my immigration lawyer friends today to try to figure out how this happened. Everyone was stumped. Every one was floored. This just doesn't happen, Brooke.

Apparently, her fingerprints were taken, but they were not matched to the person that she claimed to be. So most of my folks are saying that that is where the ball was dropped. That you have to confirm someone's identity, especially if you're going to deport them out of the country. And so, really, this is an anomaly. This is something that just doesn't happen.

At least that's what my immigration lawyer friends are telling me.

BALDWIN: So what do those immigration lawyer friends tell you then about the deportation process? Does the judge issue an order? Or you just get plane tickets and you wind up in Colombia?

HOSTIN: Yes. Well, it's a multistep process, I have learned.

And certainly she had to have appeared in front of an immigration judge. And that immigration judge makes the final determination after hearing evidence, by the way, as to whether or not she should have been removed from the country.

And then ICE, the immigration unit, does charter its own jets and deports people, so that she is not given a plane ticket. She is taken to the country that she is -- hails from, allegedly. And so it really is a multistep process. And it is interesting in this case that it wasn't figured out step by step by step. Because she was deported and then given a Colombian passport once she arrived in Colombia. I think that's another fascinating piece of this.

Now she is sort of recognized as a Colombian citizen. This 15- year-old runaway. She ran away from her home, ends up in Houston, gets arrested, and ends up in Colombia. Really just a fascinating case.

Apparently she is in custody down there. They're not letting her go either. It begs the question how often does this happen, and we're not talking about it.

BALDWIN: My other question, how can this be prevented? Without, Sonny, without infringing on everyone's rights. We'll have to go through some massive finger printing system or I.D. checks every time we try to leave the country.

HOSTIN: That was a question I had for the immigration lawyers that I spoke to. They said, again, this is something that they don't believe is happening. That it is a multistep process with a lot of checks and balances. And typically, identities are verified. Because it is a legal process, because people are in court, your average American citizen is not necessarily subjected to this, but mistakes do happen. There are flaws in the system. Apparently the system is constantly being reviewed and ICE has indicated that they will be review this, and perhaps making changes to make sure this doesn't happen again, ever, to anyone else.

BALDWIN: Let's get straight to the next story. Casey Anthony, video diary made public. Take a look.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

October 13th which is a Thursday, 2011. And I'm just starting to figure out my new computer. And I don't know, I guess I'm liking it so far. It's obviously -

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BALDWIN: So, from the pieces I've seen, Sonny Hostin, she talks about her computer, talks about her dog, no mention of Caylee. What do you think of this?

HOSTIN: Yeah, you know, as you know, Brooke, I followed this case from the very beginning. And I wasn't expecting her to talk about her daughter. I was surprised to hear this. We've received comment from her attorney, Cheney Mason, who said this was part of her therapy. That certainly this wasn't intentionally released, that this was illegally obtained, as we're showing they are just sort notes and memoirs from her personal counseling.

I think many people are having trouble believing that. Many people are thinking she's testing the waters to see if there is interest. Is this going to turn into some sort of pay-per-view; is this going to turn into an ongoing video blog. She does indicate, right, that this was the first of many installments. She also talks about the fact that she said some tape-recordings as well. A lot of questions out there as to the motive here. Is she looking for that payday or really just trying to get better?

Sunny Hostin, we'll see if there are more to come. Thank you very much.

Meantime we have been talking that the former Pennsylvania senator would be speaking there, in New Hampshire, and he is. Let's listen in.

(BEGIN LIVE FEED, IN PROGRESS)

RICK SANTORUM, (R) PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: What I find in New Hampshire, is that-and those of you who may not be from New Hampshire, just here going to college, is that New Hampshire is a full contact citizenry, when it comes to politics. I would say just about everybody here in New Hampshire has been elected to some office or not in the state.

You have big legislature, you have all sorts of town councils, and local elected officials and boards. And it is really full contact and it is wonderful that you have either elected officials or former elected officials who understand that at a participatory level, the importance of citizenship and importance of governance. And as a result you have a lot more insights than a lot of other states in the country. That's why I've been a very strong supporter of both Iowa, New Hampshire, and South Carolina.

You know, being in that order, Iowa is a caucus. You folks here as the first primary, to really vet the candidates. I've never had a problem as I've traveled around the state of New Hampshire and actually finding, doing town hall meetings and finding people who are big to show up, and ask tough questions, and spend a lot of time.

I've just done a couple of town hall meetings since I flew in from Iowa yesterday. The crowds were great. The questions, we went on two hours last night over in Brentwood. I was in North field earlier today. The crowd would have gone on for a lot longer, too, we had a lot more questions. I'm going to open up for questions here and so we can do that.

But there never seems to be an end when I do town hall meetings in New Hampshire. The people are willing to stay for long periods of time. That is a real testament to the interest of the voters here. Because you understand this is an important election.

I think you understand that your process here, when you fight to be first, you have an obligation to do it right. So I would challenge you in that regard, to do it right; which is to look at the candidates and examine them carefully. Look at their records across the board. Look at not just what their policies are, but why they hold those beliefs. Why they have those public policy positions. What is it that underlies it? Because you're going to have a president who is going to have to make a lot of decisions, both from the standpoint of national security, as well as on economic and moral and cultural problems that we're dealing with. We may not be aware of now. That may not even be on the table. I'll give you an example.

The presidential debates the last time around for Republicans, do you know how many questions there were on health care? One. In all the debates leading up to the general election, there was one question on health care. So most people had no idea what the policy positions were with respect to presidential candidates on the issue of health care. Yet it became a huge issue and it is going to be a huge issue. I say that because there will probably be issues that may be important, that a president will have to work on in this next four years that, you may not even-no one has ever asked.

It is important therefore to understand, not just what the person's position is on a particular issue. But what is their foundational structure-how do they view the role of the presidency? What do they see as the mission, or the vision, of the, of their presidency? And so let me just share that with you. Because I think it answers another question that I get a lot, which is, how are you going to work together? You have very strong positions. I would argue strong principled positions. And you're going to have folks who won't agree with you. How are you going to find that common ground? People are sick and tired of the acrimony in Washington.

They're sick and tired of the divisiveness that we see taking place. And the dysfunctional nature of what is going on in Washington. And it seems to increasingly be getting worse and worse. How are you going to fix in. And still have principles that you can stand by. Aren't you going to have to compromise to get those things done? I would make the argument, I don't think you have to. I think you can do things that actually bring people together and lead in a way that brings the American public with you, to influence the more acrimonious nature of members of Congress toward the other party.

And let me share with you a contrast. I would make the argument that President Obama's vision is one that is rooted in, as far as his vision for, as president, is rooted in the beliefs that government can in fact and should in fact do, be the allocator, the arbiter of what is going and fair. That government needs a very proactive role, because the basic structure of American and free markets and free economies, and the inequality the president talks about, has created a situation where government needs to go in and sort of level things out.

The president of the United States said, in running for one of this races, a few years ago, remember the president was a constitutional law flaw professor and he argued that one error in the constitution was that there was no provision that allowed for redistribution of wealth. That's the president's view. It is a very heavy oriented government position. That government needs to be more involved. And he has played that out. He put forth the health care policies, very top down. He wanted something even more, he couldn't get it, so he compromised for something which I think gets him, pretty much 90 percent of the way there. He did not compromise much. He didn't try to get Republican votes at all. He didn't need them, so he didn't try. He just did what he thought he could do consistent with his values. Which is that government could be controlling these thing.

They should allocate resources. People shouldn't make profits in health care. Government should allocate it. Government is more efficient. Government is fair.

(END LIVE FEED, IN PROGRESS)

BALDWIN: We have been eves-dropping in on Rick Santorum. We hadn't been talking a lot about him. He didn't create much of a blip on the political polling radar until we saw this past week in Iowa. The former two-term senator out of western roots, Western Pennsylvania.

And now he is speaking in New Hampshire. His eye is clearly on capitalizing on that momentum, as he lost to Mitt Romney; an eight- vote loss, in Iowa here. As we are five days away from that New Hampshire primary. We'll see how he does. You look at polling. At least the latest polls we've seen. The Suffolk University poll, he is number 3. That is a distant third. We'll see how he fares come Tuesday night going into the next South Carolina.

Still ahead, is America about to be less secure? That is what some Republicans are suggesting as President Obama announces big, big changes that affect the future of warfare.

Plus, a gang of white racists brutally murder a teenager, and the killers, just learning their punishments now. Verdicts that are sparking all kinds of outrage. Tim Lister is here to break down this case with me. It has completely changed the issue of race in one place. Stay here.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BALDWIN: This murder happened nearly 20 years ago, but the outrage in the U.K. is as raw as ever before. This goes back to 1993. This band of racists stabbed a 19-year-old black man by the name of Steven Lawrence, setting off more than a decade of controversy with claims of institutional racism inside Scotland Yard. Now two of the killers have been sentenced, and Richard Pallow of ITV News has the story.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

RICHARD PALLOW, ITV NEWS: There is nothing about this crime that makes you want to cheer. Nothing perhaps except that a dignified family can now start to move on.

DOREEN LAWRENCE, STEPHEN LAWRENCE'S MOTHER: It is the beginning, I think, of starting a new life. Because we've been in limbo for so long. So today is where we can look to start moving on. And just, I don't know, try to take control of my life once more.

PALLOW: The hard truth is that the convicted killers of her son may well serve less than the length of his life. Gary Dobson will be in jail for a minimum of 15 years, two months. David Norris, some 11 months less. Both mandatory life terms, both lessened because they were juveniles at the time.

NEVILLE LAWRENCE, STEPHEN LAWRENCE'S FATHER: One of my greatest hopes is that these people have now realized that they've been found out. And it is now going to go and lay down in their bed and think that they were the ones responsible for the death of my son. And they're going to give up the rest of the people, so when I come out here in a year's time, and talk to you people again.

PALLOW: In sentencing, Mr. Justice Treacy said, "A totally innocent 18-year-old youth on the threshold of a life was brutally cut down in the street by a racist, thuggish gang." He went on to say, "The way in which the attack took place strongly suggests to me that your group, if not actively out a victim, was prepared if the opportunity arose to attack in the way in which you did."

He also remarked, "It did not matter if either of them had not held the knife, adding that neither had shown the slightest regret or remorse."

From almost day one, these five gang members were the chief suspects. With two now behind bars, what are the chances of further prosecutions? Of Neal Acourt (ph), his brother, Jamie, and Luke Knight (ph). And perhaps even others there that evening.

Despite covert police filming, there remains no hard evidence linking the other three to the murder. CMDR. BERNARD HOGAN HOWE, METROPOLITAN POLICE: Other people involved in the murder of Stephen Lawrence should not rest easily in their beds. We are still investigating this case.

PALLOW: But who wielded the knife that killed Stephen Lawrence may never be known, unless either of those convicted confess and breaks a silence that still haunts so many. Richard Pallow, ITV News.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BALDWIN: I want to bring in Tim Lister. You just shared with me, during the piece, that you lived five mile from that scene.

TIM LISTER, CNN EXECUTIVE EDITOR: That's right, yes.

BALDWIN: When it happened in 1993. Help us just understand the context and the outrage for so many years.

LISTER: I think people were outraged and I think this case was a seed change in Britain for a variety of reasons. Here was an innocent teenager. This was not a fight or an argument. This was a guy attacked, unprovoked.

BALDWIN: Wrong place, wrong time.

LISTER: Wrong place, wrong time, but by a gang whose sole intent was to cause harm to people of a different race. And that is what they did. They killed him that night.

I think the other thing was that his parents were so dignified and so determined in their pursuit of justice in this case. And they kept going even when it looked like there was no possibility they would bring these people to justice.

And you've shown in that report a little of the video of how they did behave subsequently. They mocked the inquiry that followed, the inquest. They continually managed to evade any sort of prosecution, even when the Lawrence family brought a private prosecution.

Then there was the aspect of the police bungling, incompetence, complacency, institutionalized racism. The London police in those days was a very different police force than it is now. All those factors made people think, do we want to live in a society like this, where this sort of attack can happen?

BALDWIN: How is this police force now? How has this affected they will, improved them?

LISTER: The spotlight was particularly on the Metropolitan Police, which polices London, by successive governments. And I think it is a very different police force now. For start, there is much more legislation on the books, which prosecutes racial offenses. We have seen it in the recent case involving a very well known soccer player in England, who now faces a charge.

The legislation is there and it has been made by successive governments that's the police have to treat racially motivated crime much more importantly. And a number of prosecutions has doubled in the last five years for cases of racial abuse, racial attacks, and so forth. There is a really different mentality. Are we living in a post-racial paradise in the United Kingdom? Absolutely not, but there has been change.

BALDWIN: Thank you. Tim Lister, appreciate that.

Did the White House break the rules and reveal secrets about the killing of Osama bin Laden? The Defense Department today announcing it will investigate whether Hollywood got classified information about the raid. This is all over this movie by the woman who directed the "Hurt Locker".

Also, Wolf Blitzer with a preview, as he mentioned to me last hour, of some big, big, big guests coming at you next in THE SITUATION ROOM. Be right back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BALDWIN: A new investigation by the Department of Defense into whether or not Hollywood filmmakers got confidential information about the Osama bin Laden mission. New information in to CNN saying, the Pentagon wants to know if there was any impropriety, in details, allegedly given to these filmmakers, who have been working on this movie, specifically about the operation that led to the death of Osama bin Laden.

The probe comes after questions were raised in August by Representative Peter King, citing a "New York Times" article on the leak, demanded to know what, if any, classified information was leaked.

Remember this. We talked to Congressman King about this last year. He said quote, "This alleged collaboration belies a desire of transparency, in favor of a cinematographic-"

Say it in my ear. "Cinematographic? Am I saying that correctly? "view of history." I'm hearing nothing. That tells me you guys don't know either.

Katherine Bigelow, director of "The Hurt Locker" was among those that received the details of the yet to be named movie, is set to release in December.

Wolf Blitzer, let's go to you with a big preview of THE SITUATION ROOM.

I know you mentioned and you have been Tweeting up a storm about all these big guests, including Richard Cordray, newly appointed director of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau.

WOLF BLITZER, CNN ANCHOR, "THE SITUATION ROOM": The first interview with Cordray, the former Ohio attorney general, as you know. Yesterday, the president did what's called a recess appointment, to get him in the job. Although it's controversial because it's a different kind of recess appointment. Different than anything that has been done before.

We'll talk about that. What he's planning on doing.

Also, a separate interview with the British Defense secretary. Phillip Hammond, Brooke, he's in D.C., he's meeting with Leon Panetta at the Defense Department. And we go through the whole world. The British Defense secretary has some strong views on what's going on in Iran, Iraq, North Korea, Syria. We're going to do a little tour of the world right now. He's very, very hard lined when it comes to Iran right now. He wants to stop, basically, Iran's oil exports.

So we're going to get into that and a lot more on the world of politics, of course, which is our bread and butter. Looking forward to New Hampshire, South Carolina and Florida.

By the way, have you noticed our new CNN THE SITUATION ROOM graphics?

BALDWIN: Yes, I noticed, just yesterday. Pretty fancy, schmanzy.

BLITZER: Look at that. Look at how that moves.

BALDWIN: The whole open of the show.

BLITZER: Watch that. Tell me what you think.

BALDWIN: I think it's fantastic. I think our graphics department is pretty amazing.

BLITZER: First class.

BALDWIN: There you go, whole new look, but you remain the same, and we're grateful.

Wolf Blitzer, we'll see you in a couple of minutes. Thank you.

The U.S. military, it's shrinking. America will no longer be able to fight two ground wars at once. President Obama, today, announcing big, big changes, but critics say it makes this country less secure. We'll take you live to the Pentagon. We'll break this down for you, next.

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BALDWIN: Shrinking the size of the military, and likely ending America's ability to fight two ground wars at once. President Obama, today, unveiling this at the Pentagon to deal with deep cuts to the Defense budget over the next decade.

Now, this new strategy would scale back ground forces and it would shift more resources to both air and sea. It would also result in 47,000 fewer troops in the military within the next five years. Let's go straight to the Pentagon to Chris Lawrence.

Chris, what does this mean? The Pentagon is letting go the capability of fighting these two ground wars simultaneously?

CHRIS LAWRENCE, CNN PENTAGON CORRESPONDENT: Brooke, you could argue they never really had that capability. I mean, if you look the Army had to add some 90,000 soldiers just to get through the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan; and those countries weren't fighting with the navy or air force of any means.

But what this in policy means is that the United States will focus on being able to fight one sustained ground combat operation, while still having enough troops left to what they call spoil-that's the new buzz word-spoil the intentions of a second adversary.

In other words, if the U.S. was involved in a ground combat, major ground combat in the Korean Peninsula and Iran started acting up, they could deploy enough forces, or make it enough of a deterrent to Iran to hold them at bay, or hold that off, until those ground forces could be redeployed. But overall, what this strategy does, probably pulls some troops out of Europe, rebalances the force and really puts a lot more emphasis into Asia.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BARACK OBAMA, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: We will be strengthening our presence in the Asia-Pacific and budget reductions will not come at the expense of that critical region.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

LAWRENCE: Critics say this ignores history, that when you say oh, there won't be the number of ground conflicts, it really ignores how ground conflicts continue to pop up. It also says critics will say it will make allies wonder about our commitment and embolden some of the U.S.'s enemies.

BALDWIN: I'm wondering about the 47,000 soldiers and Marines? In terms of those troop reductions, where do they go?

LAWRENCE: Yeah, if the Pentagon has its way, if some officials get their way, that will be done very carefully. Stretched out over time, so that some could leave on their own, that were planning to get out of the service any way. Retirements can happen. Things like that. Because what they don't want to do, if it's done too quickly, is you push all these mid-career people out into a horrible civilian economy. It has the effect of basically laying off a lot of these soldiers. So what they want to do is sort of stretch this out.

But really, Brooke, the elephant in the room is the rising cost, the personnel costs, of paying for troops and their families. The pay, the housing, the benefits, the retirement. Those costs are spiraling and really long-term, it's pretty unsustainable.

So current troops, probably, their commitment, their retirement, probably safe. But new troops coming in, probably the Pentagon's going to have to take another look at their benefits and the secretary said today, everything's on the table.

BALDWIN: Everything is on the table. Chris Lawrence for us at the Pentagon. Christ I appreciate it.

LAWRENCE: Yes.

BALDWIN: That does it for me. I'm Brooke Baldwin here at the World Headquarters in Atlanta. Now to Wolf Blitzer, THE SITUATION ROOM starts now.