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Syria's Deadly Airstrikes; Dems To Move Obama Speech Indoors; Teen With Down Syndrome Denied On Plane

Aired September 05, 2012 - 14:00   ET

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

BROOKE BALDWIN, CNN ANCHOR: Now, I'm asking you again, please stop. Please stop whatever it is you're doing for this moment. Listen. Watch this piece from CNN's Nick Paton Walsh. As I said, it's tough stuff. So, if you have kids in the room, let me give you a moment to just walk them away. Nick pulls no punches in showing us what's happening in Aleppo after Syrian government planes hit civilian neighborhoods with rockets. His camera is there. It's up close when children's bodies are being pulled from the rubble. And I wouldn't ask you to watch this if I didn't think this was so important for all of us to see. Here there, CNN's Nick Paton Walsh reporting from Aleppo, Syria.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

NICK PATON WALSH, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Dawn in Aleppo brings the clatter of gunfire above. Of people hunted by the regime's helicopter gunships. And as dusk nears, it is to the roar of bomber jets.

WALSH (on camera): It's that sound that terrifies ordinary residents of Aleppo daily. Jets coming in low overhead and never knowing really until you hear the blast exactly what their target is.

WALSH (voice-over): There seems to be no pattern to the attacks, unless they are designed to sew fear among the civilians. The helicopter we heard earlier may have fired the rockets that hit this house. It's fathers and neighbors here frantically coordinating the rescue. Hands and shovels inside a building that could still collapse onto them.

WALSH (on camera): They say the air strike came in about four hours ago. But, still, they're racing frantically to pull what they say are nine people still stuck under that rubble, include a father and child (ph).

WALSH (voice-over): Throughout, also, the fear the helicopter could strike again. They find the first body. The little girl is lifeless. The blanket providing a little dignity. Near her, moments later, they find her father's body.

"I swear to God we've been destroyed," this woman screams. "I swear to God Bashar al Assad is killing us."

Then, at the hospital where more bodies from the rubble are brought, the toll of the missile becomes clear. Five, later nine, children, aged from four to 11, from the same extended family. In all, 11 people died.

Then, a brief respite from the carnage. One lone survivor.

"God is great," he says. "Bashar is a dog. God-willing, he'll witness Bashar's death."

They say Husain (ph) survived because when the rockets hit, he was feeding from the breast of his mother, Naja (ph). She was crushed under the rubble and killed, but her body protected him. A year old, he was born into Syria's bloody revolution and may yet survive it still.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BALDWIN: Nick Paton Walsh joins me live from Turkey.

And, Nick, this just -- it makes me angry. I'm angry seeing these images of these children covered in blankets. And you see this. You know, you're there. You see the blood of children being spilled. And I just have to ask, I mean, how deep is the hatred? How deep must it be here? Is the word compromise a word that anyone comprehends in Syria right now?

WALSH: No. I mean, there is no compromises in Aleppo at all. People are, obviously, incandescent with rage. (INAUDIBLE) visited upon them every day. Airstrikes, mortars, shelling from artillery. There is nothing they want apart from to see Syrian President Bashar al Assad dead in the eyes of many people we spoke to. In fact, one of the hospitals we were at has a skeleton hanging from a hook which they've already put Bashar al Assad's face upon. So, deep hatred compounded every day by this violence visited upon the civilian population. And also, I think, a sense of stalemates in many ways, Brooke, because the shelling continues and the front lines fluctuate.

Brooke.

BALDWIN: Well, with the stalemate, we know this has been going on for 18 months pretty much now and counting and UNICEF said last week was the deadliest of this entire 18-month slaughter. Obviously, fear on the ground. But is there any sense of urgency here?

WALSH: Well, obviously, there is a daily sense of panic, hysteria and terror at these explosions that rain in from above. But I think many people see this as not part of daily life, but they don't quite see exactly how this is going to change in the immediate future.

The rebels are poorly equipped. They're trying to get better, but they're poorly managed as well. They have bad communications. The cell phone system is often out in Aleppo, making it hard for basic information to travel around. So they're facing a heavily equipped, well dug in military that are being, according to many reports, continually supplied. So, a massive challenge ahead for the rebel groups inside that city, meaning that this carnage, frankly, every day is set to continue in the weeks ahead. These numbers having dramatically increased since the recent application of jets in the skies above some of the cities. Brooke.

BALDWIN: And a four-year-old added to the numbers here in terms of carnage. You brought this story just yesterday. This four-year-old girl. She's shot presumably by a sniper in her face while playing in her home. Your crew helped this family get this little girl to one hospital. You know, several hospitals later, we learned she died. Have you at all been in touch with her family? How are they doing?

WALSH: No, we haven't been able to reach them. To be honest, when we returned to try and find out how she was, they were very closed off. I understand the male members of the family weren't particularly happy that the women had been talking to the media. That's more a culture issue, I think, in some ways. But also fears, we heard, of reprisals potentially from the regime. We try to respect their anonymity as much as possible. We don't know how they're doing. I'd have to say, they have buried Rina (ph) and there are many other children now for them to look after. So I'm sure that's their priority now, Brooke.

BALDWIN: You just made me think of one final question for you, and that is, why are people willing to talk to you, period?

WALSH: Why are they?

BALDWIN: Yes. Why are they? Aren't they fearful?

WALSH: It's the sense, I think, that there's very little -- very little information coming out of Syria that can be independently verified. When they see reporters, they want to explain what has happened to them. They want that opportunity for their voice to be heard.

But I must add also, there is a great deal of suspicion. This has been a long conflict. People aren't always happy about what's being said, particularly about the rebels. People are deeply reticent to talk sometimes because they're concerned about reprisals. But at the end of the day, yes, there is a feeling amongst the people of Aleppo, they want the harrowing experience they're going through to be heard. And, frankly, they want the outside world to help, Brooke.

BALDWIN: Nick Paton Walsh, thank you for telling their stories. Nick, thank you.

More news unfolding right now. Take a look.

Tonight, a former president speaks about the current one, but will Bill Clinton stay on message?

I'm Brooke Baldwin. The news is now.

Booted from first class. Parents say an airline kept them from flying because their son has down syndrome. Well, the airline sees it differently.

Plus, the 16 that is anything but sweet. What America's new debt marker means for you and me.

And, zero to 60 in 2.8 seconds. An up close look at the new electric super car.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BALDWIN: Day two for the Democrats. And we need not wait until this evening to move things forward because the Democratic National Committee has made some news today. So, no outdoor speech for the president. We've got this live shot here of Bank of America/Panther Stadium, of course, in Charlotte. And if you look very, very closely, you see all that there on the ground in the middle of the stadium -- I don't know if you can quite tell people are moving, but I can tell you that they are breaking down that whole set up.

You'll also notice, you can't see the sky, but I can tell you this, it's kind of gray in Charlotte as the forecast is calling for inclimate weather tomorrow evening. There they are, breaking it down.

So, here's the deal. The president's speech will move indoors to Time Warner Cable Arena. We are getting used to seeing it now, as it is convention HQ, after all. Not too far from that spot is my friend John Berman, who is with me again from the CNN Grill there in Charlotte.

And, you know, John, this is funny because, of course, the Republican chairman, Reince Priebus, is saying, weather, pasha (ph). You know, he's saying, they weren't -- they couldn't fill the 64,000, you know, seat outdoor venue and that -- that is the real reason they're moving to this smaller location. Berman, set me straight. What really is the forecast for Thursday? What's the scuttlebutt you're hearing in Charlotte?

JOHN BERMAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: There's a 30 to 40 percent chance of severe weather, thunderstorms. And I have to tell you, these thunderstorms have come every day right at the time that the convention is being held. And they're really bad. I mean just torrential, torrential downpours. It would be really difficult to have all those people sitting out in the stadium for that kind of weather. There's no dome, by the way. The Panthers play outdoors.

That said, there are the conspiracy theorists who say the Democrats moved it outdoors (ph) because they couldn't fill the stadium or because too many Republican mischief makers had gotten their hands on some tickets. There's talk that college Republicans had a bunch of seats and they were going to -- they were going to yell and scream during the event.

But the Democrats say, no, no, no, no, they were 19,000 people on the waiting list. We were going to fill this place up. It actually was meant to be an important part of voter out reach. What the Democrats do, what the Obama campaign does is every human being who walks in there, they get their cell phone, they get their e-mail, they get ways to contact them later on so they can help with the turnout effort.

Robert Gibbs, a senior advisor to the Obama campaign, of course worked as press secretary of the White House and was a key member of the campaign four years ago, told me that one of the most effective moments of that entire campaign wasn't President Obama's speech outdoors in Denver, it was when David Plouffe, the campaign manager in Denver, talked to the audience and told them how to become activists and stay active and help with turnout for the November election. So I think the Democrats are sad that it won't be outdoors. I'm happy that I'll be dry, but everyone happy in a sense (ph).

BALDWIN: OK, so no umbrellas for Thursday.

Let's stay indoors, because here's my next question. You know, breaking news. I'm being facetious. We all know Bill Clinton is speaking tonight. And just if I may play the role of Grinch here, you know, I want to take all this back to the Democratic Convention. This is back in 1988. This promising young governor from the good state of Arkansas, dotting the final "I" on the 35-minute nominating speech. Take a look.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BILL CLINTON, FORMER U.S. PRESIDENT: In closing --

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BALDWIN: In closing, he says. So, Berman, Bill Clinton was so long winded that night that his own crowd -- his own Democrats booed him as we hear some cheers, but when he finally signaled he was, you know, in closing, finally wrapping up, tonight you can tell, though, they're expecting this preverbal grand slam from Bill Clinton, the big bopper, right?

BERMAN: You know -- yes, I mean, they're expecting something -- yes, I love that moment in history. It's one of my favorite all-time moments. And a reminder that even politicians who are considered skillful in (ph) great orders, they can deliver a dud every now and then. And boy was that a dud. Thirty-five minutes while nominating Mike Dukakis.

But they are expecting big things from Bill Clinton. Why? He talks to exactly the kind of voter that the Obama campaign needs to reach. That can be young, white, undecided, working class, people that Clinton's always sort of had that magic touch with. So they are expecting some big things from him. That, you know, of course, the primetime speech tonight in the 10:00 hour right here, Brooke, on CNN.

BALDWIN: So a little something else is happening tonight. You're a big Giants fan, right? Just kidding. Just kidding, by the way.

BERMAN: Oh, no. I'll let you finish the question and then I'll --

BALDWIN: OK. So, Bill Clinton tonight. He's up against some football. Not just any, you know, football, this is the kickoff to the season this year, NFL season. You have, you know, Super Bowl champs, the Giants, they're up against the uber (ph) red state team, the Cowboys. Are Democrats concerned that the nation might be distracted a little bit? BERMAN: I think the answer is -- whether they're concerned or not, you know, the nation will be distracted. I mean these football games draw, you know, 27 million viewers, which is more, generally speaking, than the conventions do, especially on a Wednesday night. There will be a lot of eyeballs on that game. So NBC will not be broadcasting the convention speeches tonight. They're doing two hours tomorrow night instead. I should say there are plenty of watches -- plenty of places to watch the convention tonight.

I guess if there's one silver lining for the Obama campaign, it's as you said, it's the Cowboys versus the Giants. It's a red-red state that's never going to vote for Obama against a blue-blue state that's definitely going to vote for Obama. So they're not losing any swing voters who may be playing for one team or another. If you're interested in the campaign, you'll be watching CNN, presumably.

BALDWIN: We hope so. John Berman, we'll be looking for you and the rest of our a-team. Thank you very much.

BERMAN: Thanks, Brooke. Go Patriots.

BALDWIN: Tonight, just a quick note, you can watch John -- go Patriots, he says. That's my Massachusetts friend. You can watch John early morning 5:00 a.m. on "Early Start." And just to remind you, primetime coverage here on CNN of the Democratic National Convention kicks off tonight, 7:00 Eastern, with Wolf Blitzer and Anderson Cooper and the rest of CNN's political team. And then, as John Berman mentioned, 10:00 tonight, former President Bill Clinton. The big speech addressing the delegates inside the arena. And then Piers Morgan at midnight tonight wrapping up here night number two of the 2012 Democratic National Convention tonight on CNN.

Now to this. This first class ticket was supposed to get him home. Instead, a California teen gets labeled a flight risk. He has down syndrome and his mother is claiming discrimination.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BALDWIN: A teenage boy with down syndrome told he can't board an American Airlines flight. Why? Because he is a quote/unquote "flight risk." Now the boy's parents are absolutely furious. They plan to sue the airline for discrimination. The airline says they couldn't calm this boy down, but his parent's cell phone video tells another story. Carolyn Costello with our affiliate KTLA has more.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

CAROLYN COSTELLO, KTLA REPORTER (voice-over): This home video shows BD (ph) Vanderhorst at a Journey concert. A 16-year-old boy called up on stage and given a guitar by the band. His parents describe him as outgoing, fun loving and charming, but they say the son they love was singled out and discriminated against because he has down syndrome.

JOAN VANDERHORST, MOTHER: We were not --

ROBERT VANDERHORST, FATHER: We never went down the ramp.

J. VANDERHORST: We were not allowed on the plane because this man saw my son and made a decision.

COSTELLO: Joan and Robert Vanderhorst, who spoke with us through Skype, tell us as they waited to board an American Airlines flight with their son, they were told they weren't allowed on.

J. VANDERHORST: OK, my question is, why are you singling me out and saying --

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I'm not singling you out.

J. VANDERHORST: Why aren't you telling them and them and them and all these people that have children that they have to --

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: In a security controlled area, you cannot be recording this.

COSTELLO: Joan pulled out her cell phone and began to videotape, documenting what she believes was a violation of her son's civil rights and the Americans with Disabilities Act. Her son labeled a flight risk can be seen in the video sitting at the gate quietly playing with his hat. In the video you can hear John sobbing and her husband expressing disbelief.

R. VANDERHORST: It's amazing. He's demonstrating he's not a problem.

J. VANDERHORST: I kept saying, is this only because he has down syndrome?

COSTELLO: The family has flown together dozens of times. The only thing different, they had upgraded, for the first time, to first class.

J. VANDERHORST: That this little boy had a seat in first class area and for some reason they didn't want that. That wasn't acceptable.

COSTELLO: American Airlines released a statement that reads, in part, "the young man was excitable, running around and not acclimated to the environment. The pilot attempted to calm him down and acclimate him to the surroundings. His efforts were not successful. For the safety of the young man and the safety of others, American Airlines offered to book another flight for the family."

But the family says that statement is untrue. They say they'll sue American Airlines and hope their experience will teach the company and people in general a valuable lesson.

R. VANDERHORST: To respect each person's dignity. Every one of us should be treated with equal dignity.

(END VIDEOTAPE) BALDWIN: CNN reached out to American Airlines as well. And I just want to read you this statement here. Quote, "the young man was agitated and running around the gate area prior to boarding Flight 119 from Newark to Los Angeles on Sunday evening. Our pilot noticed and asked a customer service manager to talk to the family to see if we could get help calming him down and get better acclimated to the situation. That effort was ultimately unsuccessful and we made the decision to have the family rebooked on a different flight out of concern for the young man's safety and the safety of others." American Airlines says it has refunded the upgrade fee to first class. The family tells our affiliate KTLA they have not seen it yet. Also want to let you know, we reached out to the family. I would love to talk to this mother, have her on the show. They have not returned our phone call yet.

Still to come, we're taking you back to Charlotte, North Carolina. The Democratic National Convention. And our favorite political couple talking to us about the hits and misses among the speeches so far. And we'll look ahead to tonight.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BALDWIN: It started mild but really started to get going. This is how one hotel owner describes a strong earthquake today just off of Costa Rica. Take a look at this here. Obviously the shaking. The damage estimates, you can see the effects. This is the capitol of San Jose. The quake was centered 87 miles west of the capital city with a magnitude of 7.6. The Red Cross tells Reuters that two people died, one from a heart attack. Bill Root (ph), who owns a hotel in Samara (ph), says items were falling off shelves, the ground was rolling. Tsunami warnings issued for the region were canceled just about an hour and a half ago.

One man is dead after what appears to be an assassination attempt in Canada. The premier of Quebec had just won her seat last night. She was at the podium giving her victory speech when this happened. Take a look.

(VIDEO CLIP)

BALDWIN: Pulling her off. Police say it's not clear at this point if Pauline Marois was the target, but police said a man in his 40s was killed and another person was hurt. Officers arrested the suspected shooter, a 62-year-old man, on site. Our affiliate, CBC, reports he shouted in French, quote, "the English are waking up."

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JOELLE MORIN, EYEWITNESS: Well, I heard a big bang and I saw the, you know, secret service and all the agents run towards Pauline and whisk her away and she kept her cool and she -- what's really amazing about all of this is that she came back almost immediately after and took care of the room before she took care of herself. She said to everyone, please get out calmly. And she was very like a mother towards all the crowd.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BALDWIN: Pauline Marois' party is pushing for the French speaking province to succeed from Canada with its English speaking majority.

And baseball sized tar balls washed up on a Louisiana beach. That's the latest here. The fallout from Hurricane Isaac. Look at these. This is 12 miles of Louisiana's coast closed to fishing and other activities after these tar balls appeared. They say it's still way too soon to tell whether the tar and the oil are linked to that 2010 Deepwater Horizon spill. BP says if tests show a link, it will clean up the mess.

And it is probably the only repair job where your tools could just up and float away. Two astronauts worked outside the International Space Station today for more than six hours to install a spare power unit. This was the team's second attempt at this. Last week, some damaged bolt thread got in the way and part of today's job required fixing that problem.

Back to Charlotte here in just a moment. We're talking more about Michelle Obama's speech from last night. We're not just talking about her dress, folks. But first, a quick check on the New York Stock Exchange. Dow right above that 13,000 mark.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BALDWIN: Back to Charlotte we go, day two of the Democratic National Convention. With us now live from Charlotte, Margaret Hoover, CNN political contributor and a Republican strategist, and John Avlon, senior political columnist for "Newsweek" magazine and the "Daily Beast" and also a CNN contributor.

So, guys, welcome back. Let's begin with this because we know that the Democrats took some shots last night at Mitt Romney and then they turned to the woman of the hour.

The first lady said some we'll call them Mormon warm and fuzzy musings, you know, some stories about her husband. Let's listen to this. We're going to begin with the hardball stuff first.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

TED STRICKLAND (D), FORMER OHIO GOVERNOR: If Mitt was Santa Claus he would fire the reindeer and outsource the elves.

GOVERNOR DEVAL PATRICK (D), MASSACHUSETTS: He's a fine fellow and a great salesman, but as governor he was a lot more interested in having the job than doing the job.

MAYOR JULIAN CASTRO (D), SAN ANTONIO: A few months ago, he visited a university in Ohio and gave students there a little entrepreneurial advice. Start a business he said, but how? Borrow money if you have to from your parents he told them. Gee, why didn't I think of that?

MICHELLE OBAMA, FIRST LADY: When Barack was a senator and presidential candidate to me, he was still the guy who picked me up for our dates in car that was so rusted out. I could actually see the pavement going by in a hole in the passenger side door.

He believes that when you work hard and done well and walk through that doorway of opportunity you do not slam it shut behind you. You reach back and you give other folks the same chances that help you succeed.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BALDWIN: Margaret Hoover, a Republican strategist to you first. I'm going to give you a free shot here. Would you like to take on the first lady?

MARGARET HOOVER, CNN POLITICAL CONTRIBUTOR: Of course, I don't want to take on the first lady. She's fabulous first lady. I hardly disagree with her politics as most Republicans do. What I would say is she didn't mention once in her entire speech that 23 million Americans are unemployed.

She didn't mention 8.4 percent unemployment. Nobody mentioned that the debt clock ticked to $16 trillion in U.S. debt not once yesterday even though they talked a lot about investing in Americans, which of course, we all believe in investing.

But when the government invests that means the government is spending and it continues to take in debt that we are borrowing some 40 cents on a dollar of China to pay for government programs.

So something is going to have to be done and the Democrats didn't take on any of those hard issues in any of those speeches.

BALDWIN: So let me follow up with that then, Margaret, because we played this whole mash up. You heard, you know, Deval Patrick, the governor of Massachusetts saying to his predecessor.

Let me quote him again that Romney was a, quote, "a lot more interested in having the job of governor than doing the job." I'm just wondering what do Republicans consider to be Romney's number one accomplishment as governor of Massachusetts? Just give me one.

HOOVER: I think Mitt Romney would say that his number accomplishment with closing an egregious, terrible budget gap that he inherited when he came into governorship and he did it without raising taxes.

By the way, he also did it with a legislature that was 80 percent Democrat. My husband laughed. Now here is his rebuttal.

BALDWIN: Go ahead. Go ahead, John Avlon. I want to hear your --

JOHN AVLON, CNN CONTRIBUTOR: Look, the reason that Deval Patrick line really did lay a blow because it had the added advantage of being true. Mitt Romney did treat the Massachusetts governorship as a way station for running for president. Objectively his most impressive accomplishment as governor was health care reform, the individual mandate, which is now, of course, politically incorrect to speak about. That objectively is what he would have been remembered for as governor if he never decided to run for president.

And look, you know, I think the criticism of Mitt Romney were the most effective last night. Everyone in the convention they throw the red meat. It's been alienated dependents of rallies of the base.

But where you really lay a glove is when you actually speak the truth and the implicit criticisms. The refraining of the American dream from a Democratic perspective that was all very, very effective, that line from Michelle Obama you played where she talked about the rusted out car.

That was very effective because it was real and relatable. That is why one of the reason it was very effective speech last night.

BALDWIN: John, what is your take so far on the convention?

AVLON: There's a lot of optimism. That was a home run first night. Julian Castro had an unbelievable great keynote, low expectations. San Antonio mayor unknown in national circles, he stepped up and hit up into the plate and he smiled.

I mean, he hit the ball hard. It was enormously effective. Michelle Obama, a brilliantly written speech, a brilliantly delivered speech. And so over and over, I think that was a very strong first night.

Margaret's right to say they ignored thing like the debt clock getting 16 trillion. They're going to have to get more specific in nights ahead, but there's a lot of optimism here.

Now they may be in denial about the big money they are going to be facing from "Super PACs." The polls are tight, but this was a strong optimistic first night for the Democrats.

HOOVER: I do think also it's fair to comment on the content of the first lady's speech too. Well, you know, riled the crowd and of course, the convention hall is enormously supportive.

I mean, she's talking to her base. She was introducing the president of the United States of America. He's been our president for four years. We know a lot about him.

BALDWIN: Was she really saying hang on, this guy that you've known for the last four years here are eight reasons why you need to keep him in this job?

HOOVER: She's trying to remind them about the hope and change that they are afraid may be lacking this time around because everything shows that there is a 22 percent enthusiasm drop and gap between '08 and '12 and the Democrats and the Republicans right now.

AVLON: Last night speech did a lot to help close that enthusiasm gap at least in the hold though.

BALDWIN: Let me ask you, John Avlon. My final question is this because, of course, we're doing all this polling and since the end of last week's Republican convention, we were there in Tampa.

Mitt Romney, he is up 7 points among likely voters who make more than $50,000 a year. In fact, if you see this the numbers have totally switched. It's now 52 to 45 in favor of Romney whereas before the convention it was 52 to 45 Obama.

I've got one more graphic for you because you can look at this and among voters making under 50 grand a year, President Obama has widened his lead to 15 points. That is since the Republican convention. What do you make of those numbers?

AVLON: Yes, those numbers are significant because, of course, the median family income in America is $50,000. It's one more sign of the latest growing gap between rich and poor is starting to polarize along partisan lines.

So one of the real challenges of the Obama campaign and this convention is going to be the start closing those gaps, this can't be a middle class versus rich election. We know those fault lines exist.

They got to reach out. That's why there was such an emphasis last night on reframing the American dream along Democratic lines. Will it be successful? We'll see, but those numbers are start and it's split right along that median income.

BALDWIN: OK, 20 seconds more, Margaret Hoover.

HOOVER: What this tells us, Brooke, is sort of what we already know. This election is going to be about jobs. It's going to be about the economy and pocketbook issues. It's going to be who will be the person able to turn around the economy.

I think what it also shows this bump, this middle class and the economy and when it shows this bump is how is this going to affect the person who wants to know how the next four years are going to be different than the previous four years.

The Romney campaign got a lot of traction in that coming out of Tampa and what's what I think you see in that poll.

BALDWIN: Well, you know who will be talking about the middle class, Bill Clinton tonight. We will look for that, of course, in the 10:00 hour. Thank you, guys. Margaret Hoover and John Avlon, see you tomorrow from Charlotte.

Just a reminder, primetime coverage here of the Democratic National Convention kicks off tonight 7:00 with Wolf Blitzer, Anderson Cooper and the rest of CNN's political team.

As we mentioned, that 10:00 hour all eyes on the screen here for Bill Clinton addressing the delegates there inside that arena. Tonight, Piers Morgan stayed up late. He's wrapping up the second night of the 2012 DNC. Do not miss it tonight on CNN.

And it could be the autumn of tablet wars. The new Kindle is out tomorrow. There are also rumors of a new iPad and a new iPhone. Our favorite tech guru, Katie Linendoll takes on Apple and Amazon, next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BALDWIN: Yes, Apple is at it again, the hype, the rumors. Apple shares booming in anticipation of the latest product and look closely at this with me, the invite from Apple to attend a major event next week for the unveiling of, we all know Apple never really tells, never spills its secrets until its ready.

You see the 12 as in September 12th. Look closely at the shadow reflected off in the 12th. It's a five as in perhaps the new iPhone 5. Katie Linendoll, let me bring you in. We have this invite in your inbox yesterday. Do tell. What should we be expecting?

KATIE LINENDOLL, TECH EXPERT: I know I always call it like getting the golden ticket from the biggest tech events of the year. We were all kind of expecting the iPhone 5 to be unveiled next week, but what does this mean for the consumer.

I think this time sales are at an all time high for this device. A lot of consumers were holding out. The iPhone 4 to 4S, it was a nominal upgrade. This I think we expect to see a complete redesign.

If you're saying is it worth the upgrade, which I will be looking forward to. I put a little breakdown together, some tech specs I think that are going to be coming out for the iPhone 5 and again, let's start with that big redesign.

I think we see a taller screen, a bigger four inch screen, thinner, lighter, faster, that always happens when you upgrade to a new model. I think we see a new batch of headphones coming out. Apple's headphones not the best, new headphone design.

There is going to be a headphone jack at the bottom this time around. Retail availability September 21st, but also some dirty things like 4G, faster download speeds for downloading movies will be faster.

NFC technology, if you want to pay with your phone and if you also want to share context wirelessly with other iPhones will be a tech speck in there.

Two-tone metallic back, again, going back to the fact that we are going to see a big redesign here, but again, sales expectations through the roof. This is also the time where Apple also does an iPod refresh. We could see a new iPod Touch, but also potentially a new iPod itself.

BALDWIN: So just being selfish, thicker glass for those of us that like to drop our iPhones. LINENDOLL: Yes, we're looking at gorilla glass too so people that shatter their iPhone, I've heard that a thousand times, you can expect it to have better glass this time around as well.

BALDWIN: OK, good. What about an iPad mini?

LINENDOLL: Yes, so the highly rumored iPad mini. You have to remember Steve Jobs said that a seven-inch tablet wouldn't be of interest. The iPad Mini was highly rumored for this event as well.

However, I think we see the iPad Mini come out around October definitely before holiday. They're moving into this realm because Amazon's Kindle Fire, Google just had a 7-inch Nexus small tablet.

The competitiveness and also the portability of a seven-inch iPad Mini is actually becoming pretty desirable for consumers. So I think we see that come out, however, I don't think we see that next week, October.

BALDWIN: OK, so the Amazon a little later as well, the Amazon tablet.

LINENDOLL: Yes, so it's like I say this is an advent calendar for technology. There are so many unveils happening in the next few weeks. Looks like everybody there's a new thing.

Amazon has a huge press release tomorrow. They are press events. They are actually will probably announce a new Kindle Fire, maybe two, maybe three.

Also HTC has an event coming up. Nokia announced two new phones today and Microsoft Surface Tablet, which is again expected to be in a very competitive price is also out in October. So for us techies and consumers, stuff to be excited about.

BALDWIN: I love it. I'm looking forward to the next iPhone as I'm in need of one. Let's just put that way. Katie Linendoll, thank you very much.

We want to pull away from Katie because we want to take you to Charlotte. Take a look. It is Air Force One just touched down in North Carolina. Do we see him? Not quite yet.

President Obama, of course, is there to accept his party's nomination for president. That happens tomorrow. We are getting some nuggets, if you will, about the president and his speech in terms of his prep. So this is according to two senior campaign officials. We'll keep our eyes on this picture here because we want to see the president.

Here's what I can tell you. The president has heavily to the writing of his speech for tomorrow. David Axelrod, John Fabro, they are involved in the writing process for this speech. It is the same process as the president has prepared for other major, major speeches he's given over the last couple of years.

He is, as one might imagine, you know, going over this speech with close aides and he will be tweaking the language today and Thursday. So you saw the picture of him last night watching his wife, the first lady deliver the big speech.

He was sitting in the White House with his two little girls, Malia and Sasha. I promise we're waiting for this because don't you want to see the president here in Charlotte. Shall we stay with this, guys? OK, we'll come back. We'll see the president arriving in Charlotte.

Let's move onto this. One of Mexico's largest drug trafficking organizations could be without a leader. The man known as the fat one is in police custody today.

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BALDWIN: Here we go. I want to take you back. Just as moments ago, we see the president. He is getting off of Air Force One there. This is Charlotte. This is the eve of his big speech. His big speech where he accepts, of course, the party's nomination to become president or to remain as president, I should say, for the next four years.

Here are live pictures thanks to our affiliate in Charlotte, WCNC. You can see him. There are some Secret Service, of course, surrounding him, shaking some hands, meet and greet. Again, the quick news here with regard to the big night being tomorrow, we now know that the Democrats have decided to keep this thing indoors.

Thirty to 40 percent chance of rain so they will not be outside at the big Bank of America Stadium. They will keep it inside what has been DNC HQ inside the Time Warner Cable arena.

Of course, Republicans are seizing upon this. They are saying, well, it's not the weather. It's the fact they couldn't fill the 64,000 seats stadium. The Democrats are saying that's not the case. They actually had a waiting list and yes, indeed, it was the rain. There you have it, the president.

Let's go to Mexico here because the war on drugs you could safely say the country's Special Forces nabbed a huge one. His name is Mario Cardenas Guillen. Here he is in the middle with the bullet proof vest also known as "El Gordo." So in English that means the fat one, whatever you want to call him.

This man is accused of being one of the top two leaders of Mexico's gulf cartel. I want you to know a little more about "El Gordo." So we asked CNN's senior Latin American Affairs editor, Rafael Romo to join us here.

Obviously, he's the big cheese, forgive me. He's the big deal with the drug trafficking, drug trade. How big of a deal? How huge is this arrest?

RAFAEL ROMO, CNN SENIOR LATIN AMERICAN AFFAIRS EDITOR: People who live in the Brownsville area of south eastern Texas have seen the vileness across the border. It stems from a fight between the gulf cartel, which is associated with this guy who was captured yesterday.

Mario Cardenas Guillen and Loseta's cartel, now Mario is part of a big influential family in the criminal world in Mexico. His brother is already serving a 25-year sentence here in the United States for surprise, surprise, drug trafficking, money laundering and planning to kill federal agents.

BALDWIN: So it runs in the family?

ROMO: It runs in the family. His other brother by the name of Tony "The Storm," Antonio Cardenas Guillen was killed in 2010 in a shoot out with federal agents in Mexico. So it runs in the family.

Right now, he was the leader of the gulf cartel in north eastern Mexico. But there's a fight between the leaders of this cartel and also the other cartel, which is very ruthless, very violent. That's the reason you see so much violence in that part of Mexico.

BALDWIN: Here's what I want to know though because taking out this one guy, arresting him, how does big of a dent does that really make here in the vacuum? Does someone else immediately become the next leader?

ROMO: That's an excellent question because what we have seen historically especially at the last six years is that a good idea is to get rid of a drug lord. The problem is there's a power vacuum that gets left and somebody immediately replaces the one who left.

But then the surrounding drug lords, those second in command, third in command also want a little bit of the piece of pie and this battle ensues. We haven't seen what's going to happen in this case, but I would bet my bottom dollar like we've seen in previous cases there's going to be huge violence.

BALDWIN: OK, Rafael Romo, still a huge arrest rundown, many more to go. Appreciate it. Thank you.

We just got some new information from the CDC, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention on the West Nile virus. More of you are coming down with it. What can we do to prevent it? Why this jump in numbers? Our senior medical correspondent, Elizabeth Cohen, is going to explain that, next.

Plus, we touched on this a moment ago. Look at it ticking away. The country's debt topped $16 trillion. Will the U.S. face another financial downgrade? What does this mean for you, for me? That's ahead in our next hour.

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BALDWIN: Just in to CNN, new numbers from the CDC on the West Nile virus. The number of deaths from the disease now stands at 87. That's up 32 percent from last week. Senior medical correspondent Elizabeth Cohen here with me. Why the jump?

ELIZABETH COHEN, CNN SENIOR MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT: You know, as the season continues, we're going to see more and more of these deaths and cases until the weather gets cold and the mosquitoes go away. It's likely we have peaked.

You and I when we talk next week, it may not be the same story next week so let's go over these numbers again. You mentioned the numbers of deaths have gone from 66 to 87. That's a 25 percent increase the number of cases have gone.

This is in the course of one week from 1,590 to 1,993, a 32 percent increase.

BALDWIN: And again, the 4 Ds.

COHEN: The Ds, let's do it Deet, insect repellent with Deet, dress in long sleeves and long pants between dusk and dawn is when mosquitoes tend to be out, be especially vigilant then. And also drain standing water like bird fountains and kiddie pools.

BALDWIN: OK, just things people can do. When we hear this jump, you say this is, the peak is really mid-August.

COHEN: They think now is the peak. T hey think what we're seeing is the peak. We don't know for sure. W e won't know until next week, but it's likely this is the peak. I'm going to add a 50. Don't freak out. Most of us bit by an infected mosquito, 80 percent of the time, you're totally fine.

BALDWIN: OK, Elizabeth Cohen, thank you.

COHEN: Thanks.