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Mitt Romney's Crisis of Confidence?; Six U.S. Marines Killed in Afghanistan Helicopter Crash; Anonymous Attacks Government Web Sites; Child Killer Found Dead; Champion Skier Dies; Chocolate's Child Slaves; Colbert Campaign Rally in South Carolina

Aired January 20, 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: And welcome back. I'm Brooke Baldwin.

Hour two, covering a number of stories, of course, South Carolina primary being story number one for you. Possible confidence crisis for Mitt Romney and Mitt Romney's team today. Also, Rick Santorum needs a spare. We're talking about a tire here on the campaign trail today. And Afghanistan, the deadliest day for Americans in a month.

Time to play "Reporter Roulette."

And I want to begin with Peter Hamby in Charleston, South Carolina.

Talk to me, Peter, about the Romney camp managing expectations going into tomorrow's primary.

PETER HAMBY, CNN POLITICAL CORRESPONDENT: Yes.

After a week ago when they were up for 10 points in the polls, they are bracing for a second-place finish here, which would be a bad loss for them. They are spinning wildly. Last night, after the debate, the Romney campaign said this is a four-person race, we never expected to win here, sure we could lose here, that would not be a big deal. We will go down to Florida, where we have a good organization and money and compete well there.

Governor Romney today in Gilbert, South Carolina, at a rally told reporters that it was always going to be an uphill battle here in South Carolina, sort of echoing the campaign line.

Look, the Romney campaign has competed very aggressively here. They want to win. They are spending a lot of money on television ads in the mail, on radio. Governor Nikki Haley is campaigning around the state Romney.

But Gingrich has really surged. And the people I talk to in both campaigns expect this to be an extraordinarily tight race tomorrow night. Internal polling shows that it is going to come down to the wire. It could be Gingrich, it could be Romney. And you are probably looking at Santorum in third place.

Obviously, things can change rapidly in 24 hours, as we know, in the current political climate, with cable news and the Internet really driving a lot of discussion, but it could be a late night tomorrow, Brooke. So that will be exciting for us.

(CROSSTALK)

BALDWIN: Yes, we will be ready for it, and it is great for any kind of political junkie.

And as you mentioned, we are really hours away from when the polls open in South Carolina. Closing arguments, also closing attacks here. Talk to me about Romney also opening up a new line of attack on Newt Gingrich today. What is that about?

HAMBY: Yes, Romney has been thrown on the heels the last few days after Rick Perry, who is not in the race anymore, Speaker Gingrich has really called on him to put his tax returns now, so Republican voters can see what is in them before he is the nominee in case there's any problems in there.

Romney says, look, I will put these out in April. That's what other candidates have done in the past. But now they are throwing this back in Gingrich's face and saying, hey, you were fined and investigated by the Ethics Committee in the House when you were speaker. Why don't you put out the details of those reports?

Well, the Gingrich people say, hey, this is all in the congressional record. You can go to the Library of Congress and look it up yourself, and the Romney campaign says, no, no, no, we want all of the documents that you provided in this ethics investigation back in the '90s.

But that almost certainly won't happen before people go to the polls tomorrow, Brooke. But you can see that they are really trying to soften up Gingrich here as he is surging in the polls.

BALDWIN: Peter Hamby, thank you.

Want to talk about Rick Santorum now. He is making also a last push to set himself apart from his Republican rivals just hours before that South Carolina primary.

Next on "Reporter Roulette," I want to go to Dana Bash, who is on the road to Charleston, South Carolina.

And I know you are with me on the phone, Dana, because Santorum was running a little late. We hear his daughter, daughter got a flat tire?

DANA BASH, CNN SENIOR CONGRESSIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Two flat tires, Brooke.

BALDWIN: Two.

BASH: Got two flat tires. Thanks goodness everybody is OK, but it definitely meant that Rick Santorum's already harried day of the last day of campaigning is very late, and very delayed. That is why we are on the phone, so I apologize for that, but it really was interesting is to hear his final pitch this morning, Brooke, because you heard Peter talk about the fact that it seems as though Newt Gingrich and Mitt Romney are now vying for number one or number two.

Now, it is almost as if that does not exist in Rick Santorum world, because he is really hitting the idea that he is the reliable conservative in this race. Don't listen to the polls, don't listen to people who say that I'm not electable, effectively, and he told people -- literally told people to go out the put bumper stickers on their car just for a day. Listen to this.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

RICK SANTORUM (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Do not compromise. Lead. You want to be first in the South, lead. Do your part. Help us out. Take a bumper sticker. Heck, you only have to put it on for 24 hours. It will come right off after 24 hours. Take that yard sign, but do your part, get on the phone and talk to your friends.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BASH: And he also made an interesting, rather lengthy analogy or sort of a metaphor talking about the fact that the campaign is like Goldilocks.

And he says there is one candidate that is too hot, and that -- there he is there talking about Newt Gingrich, saying that you don't really know what you will get with him, sort of like what he said in our debate tonight.

And then he said there is one candidate who is too cold, talking about Mitt Romney, saying that he is just too standoffish and he flip- flops on issues. And of course you can guess who the candidate that he was suggesting is just right, Brooke.

(CROSSTALK)

BALDWIN: Just right, Rick Santorum's closing arguments, that he is just right and that he is the reliable conservative.

Dana Bash, appreciate you there even if you are on the phone. We will take you when we can get you. Thank you.

Next on "Reporter Roulette," switching gears. From politics to Afghanistan we go.

Nick Paton Walsh is in Kabul for us.

We know the story today, sad story, six U.S. troops killed in this helicopter crash in the Helmand Province.

Nick, talk to me about where exactly this happened.

NICK PATON WALSH, CNN CORRESPONDENT: This is Helmand, apparently the north Musa Qala. This helicopter, I understand from an ISAF official, experienced mechanical issues that caused this hard landing, claiming the lives of six U.S. Marines.

The U.S. Marine Corps heavily involved in that particularly violent part of Afghanistan, where, over the past few years, they have tried to push back the Taliban, claiming significant success is what is also one of the main drug-cultivating parts of the country.

The Taliban put out a text message claiming that they had shot down this helicopter down. That's something, of course, that ISAF have denied. The Taliban often are trying to claim helicopter crashes here as being part of some new tactical success perhaps of theirs, and that is normally denied by ISAF.

But it is all about the insurgency here trying to remind people of what it was that kicked the Soviets out really, the Soviet occupation here being really heavily hobbled by the Stinger missiles given to mujahideen fighting against them (INAUDIBLE) hard to get helicopters around the country. But today, it does appear that a mechanical issue caused the tragic loss of lives of these six U.S. Marines, Brooke.

BALDWIN: Tragic loss of lives of these six soldiers shot and killed at a military base apparently by an Afghan soldier.

And these soldiers, they're supposed to be on our side, right, Nick?

WALSH: Absolutely. You're reporting to the four French who were killed and 15 injured, according to a French official, on this base where they were training Afghan soldiers, not from far Kabul just out in the East, a place called Kapisa. Apparently, they were not armed, because they expected those Afghans they were training to of course be allies, entirely on their side, to be no threat.

This has caused French President Nicolas Sarkozy to suggest he may perhaps pull out French troops from here earlier, ahead of the currently advertised date. He is sending his defense minister here quickly to investigate and suspending French operations here.

Those 4,000 French troops, not massively significant in their number, but significant in the symbolism. They are one of the big contributors here to the coalition, of course the U.S. the biggest weightlifter here, but they need so they can call themselves a coalition, to have these other NATO members on board, the French very helpful in training, but their early departure here could really see the signs of that alliance perhaps beginning to crumble -- Brooke.

BALDWIN: Nick Paton Walsh, thank you very much.

And that's your "Reporter Roulette" here on this Friday.

Do want to let you know we are getting some new video here into us at CNN of crew members telling passengers on that wrecked cruise ship go back to your cabins. The reason is pretty stunning. Plus, a surprise behind bars. A man confesses to killing a little girl, and then two days later, guards find him dead in his prison cell. We now know how he died.

Also, this:

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Another couple of hours, they will come in and poke around on him and it will hurt. He just lives for that moment.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BALDWIN: This 3-year-old is fighting cancer. His family can't afford the bills. So they are selling something of his to help. What is it? Stay right here.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(NEWS BREAK)

(WEATHER UPDATE)

BALDWIN: And now the feds busting this Web site for illegally sharing movies, TV shows, video games. In retaliation, the hacking group Anonymous attacked government sites.

Amber Lyon talking with a man behind the mask next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BALDWIN: Anonymous strikes again, and the Justice Department and the FBI, yes, they don't think this is funny.

The hacker group claims it temporarily shut down sites at Justice, the FBI, the Copyright Office, the Motion Picture Association, and even more than that.

CNN's Amber Lyon has access to the group that calls itself Anonymous and talked with them about this recent attack.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Hello. We are Anonymous.

AMBER LYON, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): The man in the mask has stepped forward and spoken to CNN on behalf of Anonymous.

While Anonymous is more of an idea than an actual group, and tough to get a handle on, we have been able to determine that this man is in the middle of the action. And he says if the Department of Justice is going to shut down file-sharing sites, they are going to shut down the DOJ.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It is a violation of freedom of speech. LYON: Anons -- that's what the people who identify with Anonymous call themselves -- tell CNN the last bust of Megaupload.com was the straw that broke the camel's back in the collective's fight against anti-piracy legislation, like the Stop Online Piracy Act, or SOPA.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It is a big part of a big picture that's taking place, has been taking place over the last number of years, which is a very big slide toward Internet censorship on a gigantic scale.

LYON: The Justice Department says it targeted Megaupload.com as an illegal hub for copyrighted TV shows, images, computer software and video games, saying that the site generated more than $175 million in illegal proceeds.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Megaupload themselves were not stealing anything. They were simply providing a service for people to upload files to.

LYON: Almost immediately after the feds arrested Megaupload's founders and shut down the site, Anons gathered in a chat room in virtual protest.

Anonymous's favorite weapon for these kinds of attacks is what is called a distributed denial of service, or DDOS, attack, which directs a flood of traffic to a Web site, temporarily crashing the servers. It doesn't actually involve any hacking or security breaches.

And the attacks worked. The Department of Justice and FBI Web sites went down.

(on camera): How long did it take for the Department of Justice's Web site to go down?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I would give it seven or eight minutes, not even.

BALDWIN: Seven or eight minutes?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I would say seven minutes.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Even for some of us, it was shocking.

BALDWIN (voice-over): Anons also tell CNN that they successful attacked entertainment Web sites, like the Motion Picture Association of America and Universal Music.

Anons says software like Low Orbit Ion Cannon, or LOIC, gives average Joes who might not be computer-savvy the ability to help them DDOS attack from their living rooms.

BALDWIN (on camera): Some people consider Anonymous -- you have heard this I'm sure thousands of times -- hackers on steroids. Other people call you guys terrorists. You are laughing at this, I can even see, through that mask. So, why do you laugh at that? UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Well, I would say a vast number of people involved in Anonymous aren't hackers at all. Some don't even have any programming skills whatsoever. And I would not consider myself a hacker.

BALDWIN (voice-over): Anons say this online protest was one of their largest and to expect more.

Amber Lyon, CNN, Los Angeles.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BALDWIN: Amber, thank you.

It is now down to the wire. This time tomorrow, voters will have their say in South Carolina, but as Newt Gingrich is now riding quite a wave, he is facing a big hurdle with a certain group of voters. Find out why.

Plus, by now, you would think Mitt Romney has a stock answer when it comes to his tax returns. No. So why the waffling? Gloria Borger is standing by. She is still there in Charleston. She is next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BALDWIN: All right.

You know this by now, South Carolina primary tomorrow. It is getting interesting, it's getting closer, it's getting fascinating. You want to talk interesting?

Take a listen to the start of our CNN debate last night, a question to Newt Gingrich from CNN's John King about Mrs. Gingrich number two, Marianne Gingrich, seen there in beige wearing a purse standing by her man back in 1987. Take a listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JOHN KING, CNN ANCHOR: As you know, your ex-wife gave an interview to ABC News and another interview with "The Washington Post." And this story has now gone viral on the Internet.

In it, she says that you came to her in 1999, at a time when you were having an affair. She says you asked her, sir, to enter into an open marriage.

Would you like to take some time to respond to that?

NEWT GINGRICH (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: No, but I will.

(CHEERING AND APPLAUSE)

GINGRICH: I think the destructive, vicious, negative nature of much of the news media makes it harder to govern this country, harder to attract decent people to run for public office. And I am appalled that you would begin a presidential debate on a topic like that. (CHEERING AND APPLAUSE)

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BALDWIN: All right. Gloria Borger, you are still there in Charleston, our chief political analyst here.

You heard Newt's response. Score one for the former speaker?

GLORIA BORGER, CNN SENIOR POLITICAL ANALYST: Yes.

Well, I think it played well inside. First of all, Brooke, I want to tell you, we are at the gorgeous College of Charleston. Makes you want to go back to school again, to tell you the truth, but on to Newt Gingrich.

I think that he kind of knocked it out of the park with the audience last night. You saw the kind of ovation that he received. And it is always a good political strategy when you are in a Republican primary to deflect a problem you might have and blame it on the media, which is exactly what he did.

However, that is a good short-term strategy. The question is whether it is actually a good long-term strategy with Newt Gingrich, because I think this notion of free marriages, this question of what Marianne Gingrich was saying about an open marriage, there's a real question about how that plays with women.

And Newt Gingrich in this state of South Carolina has a real gender gap.

BALDWIN: How does it?

BORGER: It doesn't -- well, we have not polled specifically on this whole controversy, but before this controversy erupted, I can tell you that Newt Gingrich does twice as well with men as he does with women.

BALDWIN: Huh.

BORGER: Now, Mitt Romney has the opposite problem, I should add.

He does really well with women, and not as well with men. So, Newt Gingrich needs to get some more women voting for him, and Mitt Romney needs to get some more men voting for him. So that's kind of where the race is right now.

BALDWIN: So, let me, though -- look, speaking of the race -- and when you look sort of here at the margin now, in this latest poll between Gingrich and Romney, it is getting closer. Let's war game this just a little bit. What happens if Newt Gingrich wins?

BORGER: Oh, yes.

Well, then we have a really, really interesting race on our hands, don't we? And it will be interesting, because, given the recent results in Iowa, you will have had somebody different winning Iowa, New Hampshire and South Carolina, should Newt Gingrich win here.

And I don't know when the last time that was that that happened.

BALDWIN: I was wondering.

BORGER: So I think it is kind of history-making.

I think what that means is that you go on to the state of Florida. When you talk to the Romney people, they will tell you, we are the only campaign that is in it for the long haul, should this take the long haul, and they say they fully expect it to.

I mean, they are sort of -- today, they're downplaying expectations. They're saying that South Carolina could be a blip, which means maybe a loss, and that they would take it to Florida, which is a very large state, and very diverse and takes an awful lot of money to win in a state like Florida.

So, they say, you know, we are in it for the long haul. We're going to be dividing up all of these delegates, and we are the only ones who can finance that kind of a run. But you know what? Overnight is a lifetime in politics. We have seen what has happened here in South Carolina, and you don't know what is going to happen when you go onto Florida.

And then after Florida, I just have to have -- I have my list with me, Nevada, Colorado, Minnesota, Arizona. Mitt Romney has been very conservative on immigration. Michigan, home state, and on and on.

BALDWIN: OK. Well, before I let you go, though, we have talked a lot about Gingrich and Romney.

What about Rick Santorum, other than the fact that his daughter had two flat tires and he is running a little late to his events, according to Dana Bash?

(LAUGHTER)

BALDWIN: We know he really put his -- he put finger on the elephant in the room last night. He really came right out of that debate, said some of things that Gingrich is sort of known for saying...

BORGER: He did.

BALDWIN: ... are way out there.

Here he is, Rick Santorum.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SANTORUM: These are -- there are not -- there are not cogent thoughts. I mean, and -- and let's just be honest. I mean...

(LAUGHTER)

(CHEERING AND APPLAUSE)

SANTORUM: Newt's a friend, I love him, but at times, he just has got -- you know, sort of that, you know, worrisome moment that something is going to pop. And we can't afford that anomaly.

(END OF VIDEO CLIP)

BALDWIN: Something is going to pop. Did that hit Gingrich where it hurts, Gloria?

BORGER: Yes, I think -- it think it did. And you know, I spoke with Santorum after the debate and I asked him, what did you mean by that? And it was very clear to me what he's saying is that this is a person who is undisciplined, and as the Romney campaign keeps saying, unreliable.

I asked him if that meant that as president Newt Gingrich would be erratic, and he kind of danced around that a little bit, but I think the answer he would give you is yes. And what he's trying to say people is that Newt Gingrich was controversial when he was speaker of the House, and after four years, these Republicans tried to dethrone him, and he is saying, look, this is a controversial guy.

And I'm afraid if he gets into the general election, you never know what's going to come out of his mouth, and that's why you ought to go for Rick Santorum. He had a very, very good debate last night. I would argue the best debate he's had this season.

BALDWIN: And there are four South Carolina claiming two victims here. Gloria, I will see you. Say good-bye to reminiscing over college, you got to come to Atlanta and be with me tomorrow.

BORGER: Yes.

BALDWIN: It's primary. Let's just remind all our viewers.

BORGER: I am.

BALDWIN: Thank you, Gloria.

BORGER: I am. I like it here, though.

BALDWIN: I know. So do I, actually. But tomorrow night, 7:00 Eastern, complete coverage of the South Carolina Republican primary, covering it only like we can here on CNN. Now this.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

RYAN BRUNN, MURDER SUSPECT: I was just so terrify and scared that I wanted to go home to tell her mom or dad on me.

(END OF VIDEO CLIP)

BALDWIN: That man whose voice you just heard brutally killed a little girl. With just two days after apologizing in court, guards found him dead inside his prison cell. Authorities were pretty tight-lipped about what had actually happened until now.

Plus, a receptionist fired for skipping her lunch break. Yes, skipping her lunch break. Well, she just found out whether or not she won the lawsuit. Joey Jackson is on the case for us today. He is next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BALDWIN: With all of the stories in the news cycle, I know it takes a lot to really sort of shock us anymore, but this latest development in a suburban Atlanta child murder case, it did shock us.

The man who stood up in court just this past Tuesday told the child's parents he was sorry for killing -- brutally killing their 7-year-old daughter. He is now dead. Police say Ryan Brunn committed suicide in his jail cell. An autopsy just released says he hanged himself with his sweatshirt.

Joey Jackson is on the case with us today.

And Joey, the first thing I thought when I saw this news come down is why wasn't he on suicide watch?

JOEY JACKSON, DEFENSE ATTORNEY: Yes, it's very true. And there could be civil liability. I mean, first, Brooke, if you look at it, it's very difficult to feel sorry for him, and you know I hate to say that, but it's true.

BALDWIN: Yes.

JACKSON: You look at what he did to the 7-year-old victim, and that's where the focus needs to be. You talk about molesting a girl, slashing her throat, beating her over the head with a skate, throwing her body away like trash, and you know, having the nerve to then join your roommates and go out and party and smoke pot all night. So that's abhorring conduct.

What's interesting, though, Brooke, as you mentioned about the suicide watch is there could be some civil liability here. Interestingly enough, you could have a municipality, the jail that's accountable in a wrongful death action to the family and his family could end up collecting dollars as a result of what could be negligence on the part of the jail.

Not saying that's the case, however, if somebody should be on suicide watch, the jail has an obligation to secure them. And so the crazy thing about this, Brooke, is despite his horrific and abhorrent actions, his family could come out victorious here with regard to making money, and it's shameful.

BALDWIN: I wondered if the family could do anything, because he was just sentenced to life, so here you go. Perhaps they could come with at least that. But of course nothing will bring their girl back.

Second case, this one had us -- threw us for a bit of a loop, Joey. So I'm going to throw this one at you. A Chicago woman got fired for eating her lunch at her desk which we were all joking, we kind do here at CNN every day, you know, never a moment to really get up. This week, this woman actually won a two-year battle to get unemployment benefits, so I guess first question, I mean, come on, is it really legal to get fired for eating at your desk? There has to be more to the story?

JACKSON: Absolutely not. Listen, I think she has a lot of fortitude. I give her a lot of credit, first of all, Brooke, because a lot of attorneys wouldn't take the case. Why? They felt, listen, it's a freedom-at-will state, it's called employee at will. And if you're in Illinois like a lot of other states you can be hired or fired for any reason or no reason.

But you have to think that somebody eating lunch, right, working through their lunch break in order to serve the interest of the employer to be fired for that sounds to me, Brooke, like something called pretext. And what that means is we really want to fire you anyway, we just kind of think of a reason to do so, and so now not only is she fired, but there's a denial of unemployment benefits.

What's great about the story about is she took them on, she took them on alone, and guess what, right, with regard to the job, it's hers, unemployment benefits she got them, it's all good.

BALDWIN: Could she sue -- could she turn around to sue the employer?

JACKSON: Oh, absolutely. Listen, what happens is that not withstanding the fact that it's employment at will which means you could be hired or fired for any reason as long as it's not discriminatory, the reality is that there has to be some type of policies and procedures. And when you go and you act -- the real issue here, though, Brooke, was insubordination.

They were couching her dismissal saying that, you know what, she was insubordinate. We needed her to take a break and you know we have these laws that say that you need to break and if you don't, we can be held accountable because we didn't pay you properly.

BALDWIN: Yes.

JACKSON: Nonsense. The reality is, is that it seems as though they wanted her gone, they used this as a basis to do so, and as a result of that, you know what, she has a cause of action, and so I think that she's a strong woman, a good woman, with a bright future, and what's even sadder about it, Brooke, is the fact that she has a stroke going this time, she loses all this weight during this time, she's on the verge of bankruptcy.

BALDWIN: Oh no.

JACKSON: But guess what, the courts which amends for justice served her right.

BALDWIN: Wow. Joey Jackson, thank you. Nice to meet you. Come back any time.

JACKSON: Pleasure, Brooke. Thank you.

BALDWIN: Now this.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SARAH BURKE, FREESTYLE SKIER: This sport is very dangerous, but you know that she's good at what she does, and it's shocking.

(END OF VIDEO CLIP)

BALDWIN: A popular, extreme daredevil skier dies after a tragic fall. You're going to hear Sarah Burke's chilling words about her love life and what she and her skier husband said they would die.

And then someone drops off a baby on the steps of an orphanage after the little girl loses her leg in a fire. What happens next in her life? Sanjay Gupta has got the story. Don't miss this one, next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BALDWIN: How about this story. Someone drops off a baby at an orphanage, baby had lost her leg in a fire, and now years later, she is taking the world by storm.

Dr. Sanjay Gupta has the story in today's "Human Factor."

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

DR. SANJAY GUPTA, CNN CHIEF MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): On a hot Los Angeles day, you will find Scout Bassett outside on the roof of her apartment building logging miles on her bike. She is a dedicated multisport athlete, but take a closer look. Scout has run marathons and raced triathlons all with one leg.

SCOUT BASSETT, PARA-ATHLETE: This has been very good to me. It's gone a lot of long miles.

GUPTA: Scout lost her leg when she was just a baby. It was the beginning of a difficult childhood.

BASSETT: I was burned in a fire in China, and when I turned 1-year- old, I was placed on the streets in front of the government orphanage. When I came here to the U.S., I was 7 years old and weighed 22 pounds.

GUPTA: Scout had never left the orphanage before being adopted. Overnight she found herself with a new family in a new country surrounded by strangers and unable to speak any English.

BASSETT: Everybody just looking at you, wanting to know what's going on, who you are, where you come from, and I mean, I was like, I'm not even sure what is happening to me, how I am I supposed to explain that to you?

GUPTA: Exercise became a refuge. She saw other para-athletes race a triathlon with the Challenged Athletes Foundation.

BASSETT: Being able to see that was something that changed my life forever, seeing what was possible out there.

GUPTA: She started to race triathlons herself, swimming without any artificial leg because it would weigh her down. Switching into a leg with a foot made into a bike cleat and then switching again to an artificial running leg for the end of the race.

BASSETT: Race by race, training day by training day, I started to gain this confidence that I really had lacked for much of my life. And became just this person who really believed in myself for the first time.

GUPTA: And she has no plans of slowing down.

Dr. Sanjay Gupta, CNN, reporting.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BALDWIN: Sanjay, thank you with a great story there. But this next one, this is just tragic all the way around. She was just -- she was too young.

Talking about Sarah Burke, young and vibrant, at the top her game in every way. A champion freestyle skier who won four gold medals at the Winter X Games. She died yesterday to a training accident that happened 10 days ago. And we should point out, she was a pioneer, bringing women to freestyle skiing as well as helping to bring freestyle skiing to the 2014 Olympics.

But most of all, she was one half of a fantastic love story, as you see in the Ski Channel film about Burke and her skier husband Rory Bushfield.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BURKE: That's where we're the happiest. That's how we met, was on the mountain, whether it's in an X Games contest or out snowmobiling together or Rory is out doing a heli-ski trip somewhere. It's what our lives are. Skiing -- and there's a reason for that. It's amazing. It's where we met, it's where we play, we live, and --

RORY BUSHFIELD, SKIER: Hopefully where we die.

BURKE: Where we'll die.

(END OF VIDEO CLIP)

BALDWIN: Burke was just 29 years old. She had been training on the super pipe here, this super pipe in Park City, Utah, when she fell doing a trick. Her heart stopped causing irreversible brain damage. Her family says, in a statement, "Before her death, Burke talked about the dangers of her sport with CBC Radio."

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BURKE: Everything that you see has been well calculated. I would hope from any athlete, but it's always risky and it's a tough sport on the body. You're going to take a lot of crashes learning and perfecting things.

(END OF VIDEO CLIP)

BALDWIN: A Web site has now been set up to help raise money necessary to pay for her $550,000 -- dollars, excuse me, in medical bills.

And the next time you eat chocolate, think of this. A young boy works brutal days for food and the shirt on his back. No money and he has never eaten chocolate in his life.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DAVID MCKENZIE, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: His legs bear machete scars from hours clearing the bush. The emotional scars seemed much deeper.

(END OF VIDEO CLIP)

BALDWIN: This young boy is a child slave. A CNN Special Investigation reveals how he got here and what's being done to get him out.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BALDWIN: A man who woke up in South Carolina and somehow, poof, like magic, you are here in Atlanta. Nice to see you.

WOLF BLITZER, HOST, CNN'S THE SITUATION ROOM: Amazing. We got lot of music coming up in the "SITUATION ROOM" today. You love the music, too. We got a whole show --

BALDWIN: We were just -- we might have just been singing in the commercial breaks.

BLITZER: Al Green.

BALDWIN: I'm not good. That's all you got.

BLITZER: That's good.

BALDWIN: It's horrible.

BLITZER: Yes.

BALDWIN: Oh, stop. I don't want you to do this. Anyway, so a lot of singing.

BLITZER: A lot of singing. The president was doing -- you know.

BALDWIN: And Herman Cain due today?

BLITZER: Herman Cain singing.

BALDWIN: In South Carolina?

BLITZER: Life is good. BALDWIN: What else you got?

BLITZER: Got a lot of politics.

BALDWIN: Huge night last night, by the way.

BLITZER: Big debate, you watched?

BALDWIN: Of course, I did. Watched and tweeted. Always.

BLITZER: You tweeted the whole time?

BALDWIN: Always.

BLITZER: I'd like to just watch it, observe it, learn from it, study it, you know, that kind of stuff.

BALDWIN: I like to hear it from people.

BLITZER: You're like multi-tasking, Brooke.

BALDWIN: I can't help it.

BLITZER: Yes.

BALDWIN: Anyway, who do you have coming up next?

BLITZER: We got a big -- two hours of a lot of politics.

BALDWIN: Yes.

BLITZER: But we're not just going to do politics, we have some other news as well. Arwa Damon, you know, she's in Syria right now, and I want to talk to her, see what's going on over there because a lot of our viewers are really interested what's going on. It's a sensitive moment. Look what happened in Afghanistan today.

BALDWIN: I know.

BLITZER: Do you still realize that America has about 90, 95,000 troops left, another 20,000 NATO troops? How much is it costing American taxpayers every week to stay in Afghanistan?

BALDWIN: How much?

BLITZER: $2 billion.

BALDWIN: Every week.

BLITZER: Not million.

BALDWIN: Billion.

BLITZER: Billion a week or $100 billion a year. And you know, people are wondering.

BALDWIN: These lives lost.

BLITZER: Is that money well spent, not so well spent, what's going on?

BALDWIN: OK. We will see you.

BLITZER: Sarkozy wants to get the French out of there.

BALDWIN: I know. Well, it's this whole Afghan soldier, you know, violence that a lot of people are talking about and very worried about. We will see you in 10 minutes, and I'll see you all nightlong tomorrow night.

BLITZER: You got rehearsals coming up, too.

BALDWIN: I know. I --

BLITZER: You're part of our coverage tomorrow night.

BALDWIN: I will be there. See what goes on.

BLITZER: Are you excited?

BALDWIN: Thrilled.

BLITZER: OK.

BALDWIN: See you then, friend.

BLITZER: Right.

BALDWIN: OK. Now to this. This is actually -- this is a tragic story.

Americans, I know I'm included, perhaps you like chocolate as well, but we eat 11 pounds of chocolate a year, but do you know where it actually comes from? The cocoa industry employs thousands of children in the slave labor camps across Africa and only CNN can take you inside them.

Here now David McKenzie reports. This is all part of a "CNN FREEDOM PROJECT" documentary, it's called "CHOCOLATE CHILD SLAVES."

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

DAVID MCKENZIE, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): On this farm, we find Abdul (ph). He survived three years of work. He's just 10. He earns no wages for his work, he says. Just good. The occasional tip from the owner. And the torn clothes on his back. Put in the simplest of terms, Abdul is a child slave.

We move away from the group so he can speak more freely and through our translator he tells us his story.

(On camera): If he had a choice, he wouldn't work. (Voice-over): Abdul says he's from neighboring Burkina Faso. When his father died, he says, a stranger brought him to Ivory Coast. Abdul has never eaten chocolate. He tells us he doesn't even know what cocoa is for.

We met Yaku (ph) on the same farm, also from Burkina Faso.

"My mother brought me when my father died," he tells me. Yaku insists he's 16, but he looks much younger. His legs bear machete scars from hours clearing the bush. The emotional scars seem much deeper.

"I wish I could just go the school," he says, "to learn to read and write." But Yaku says he's never spent a day in school.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BALDWIN: David McKenzie there. You can learn more about the "FREEDOM PROJECT", what you can do to end child slavery and human trafficking at CNN.com/freedom.

And folks, something is in the air. Watch this.

Why these guys are all singing today. That is next, but first, a quick look behind the scenes on how we put the show together. You asked me questions via Twitter. We call it the week wind down. Here you go.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BALDWIN: Alicia wants to know who picks the music that you go to break to. Who picks the music that we pick to go to break, you ask. Ta-da. You a lot.

ROGER STRAUSS, CNN CREW: Yes, I do, a lot.

BALDWIN: This is Roger, by the way.

STRAUSS: Hello.

BALDWIN: You've been at CNN, how many years?

STRAUSS: Thirty-two, coming up.

BALDWIN: He is also the guitarist and the bassist in Exodus 5, the band.

STRAUSS: You're making some plug.

BALDWIN: You're welcome.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BALDWIN: James Brown, the Jackson 5, Aretha Franklin, Reverend Al Green, they all have sung at the historic Apollo Theater in Harlem. And now you can add the president to that list.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BARACK OBAMA, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: To know that Reverend Al Green was here.

(CHEERS AND APPLAUSE)

OBAMA: (Singing)

(END OF VIDEO CLIP)

BALDWIN: Not too bad, Mr. President. Even his communications director was surprised. He tweeted this. Quote, "I've worked with President Obama for five years and until last night I had no idea he could sing."

Well, now we all do.

And it is getting down right surreal in South Carolina hours before the polls open there, and one of the big reasons is Stephen Colbert blurring the line between politics and satire. He held his rally -- tons and tons of students from the College of Charleston urging people to vote for Herman Cain, but Cain, remember, dropped out of the race in December.

So what is Colbert up to here?

I want to bring in Joe Johns to -- is actually standing by in Orangeburg, South Carolina, and we know he said, you know, Colbert said a vote for Herman Cain is a vote for him or something like that. Am I -- is that right?

JOE JOHNS, CNN SENIOR CORRESPONDENT: Yes, I know. It's so confusing. OK. But the bottom line is we do know that Colbert is considering a run for president of the United States of South Carolina. The problem is he started talking about this way too late. His name is not on the ballot.

Now Herman Cain's name is on the ballot, so what Colbert is basically saying is, hey, if you vote for Herman Cain, then you are actually voting for Colbert. Got it? It is that simple. I think.

BALDWIN: Aha.

JOHNS: Cain is not on the ballot because he suspended his -- yes, right.

BALDWIN: Right. But then Cain actually came forward, he said hey, actually don't vote for me, please just vote for someone else, every vote counts.

JOHNS: Right.

BALDWIN: But it seems, though, Joe Johns, that Colbert is trying to make a bigger point. Here's what he said earlier. (BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

STEPHEN COLBERT, HOST, "THE COLBERT REPORT": We must not go back to those dark days when we discriminated against corporate persons based on the color of their skin or because they didn't have skin or a head or a face. And if you share that belief, then tomorrow, you have no choice but to vote for Herman Cain.

(END OF VIDEO CLIP)

BALDWIN: It seems like -- I don't know, maybe part of the point of his whole like pseudo -- I hear you laughing, pseudo campaign and he's right here pointing out the role --

JOHNS: Yes.

BALDWIN: -- big, big money plays in elections.

JOHNS: Well, absolutely. I mean it's very, very silly, but when you think about it, he's been making this point for quite some time. It's about super PACs, corporations, the amount of unlimited money they can put into federal campaigns now because of all the court decisions.

So you know he's been pointing this out as we go along. There's always been sort of a method to the madness, if you will, and sort of the latest iteration of that was when he transferred control of his own super PAC to Jon Stewart.

BALDWIN: Right.

JOHNS: So big laugh, but America, I think, is getting the point, because without this, a lot of people would never have understood what the whole meaning of super PACs really was -- Brooke.

BALDWIN: Yes, I mean I was talking to an associate professor at the College of Charleston last hour, and she was telling me, you know, yes, Brooke, these kids get their news from, you know, from Comedy Central, and I was sort of, you know, joking with her.

JOHNS: Absolutely.

BALDWIN: Are you worried at all about that? And she said, well, at least they're getting the news, at least they're learning about the process, you know. And as we saw with Iowa this week, you know, every vote counts. And it seems to me, possibly here, Joe Johns, 30 seconds, Colbert could affect the outcome of the primary partially.

JOHNS: Well, that is an interesting question, but I have talked around to people here on the ground in South Carolina. Republicans really don't think he's going to have any great measure of effect in the primary, although the Republicans have been suggesting that Democrats ought to sign up and vote if they wanted to.

That causes a problem for Democrats because if they switch their allegiance, they can't vote on the Democratic primary or whatever, you know. So complications. BALDWIN: Complications. Joe Johns, we will see you through the rest of tonight. Of course tomorrow the big primary in South Carolina. See you then. I will see you as well. For now to Wolf Blitzer, "SITUATION ROOM" starts now.