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Reality of Syria's Civil War; Obama To Speak Tonight; August Jobs Report Due Out Friday; Recovery Through Art; Biden To Make Case For Obama Tonight; Girl, 4, Found Alive Under Corpses; Fake Bomb Strapped To Bank Manager; Hoax Causes Plane Scare; Tom Brokaw Discharged From Hospital; Art Modell Dies At Age 87; Amazon's New Tech Toys; Romney Talks Economy; Obama Calls Campaign Volunteers

Aired September 06, 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: Those caricatures sure are fun. Suzanne, thank you so much.

Hello to all of you. I'm Brooke Baldwin. And in a very, very important swing state right now, President Obama is getting ready to deliver his speech he will never give again. The president will get a major spotlight in primetime, really to make his case to you, to America, elect me one more time. And just moments ago, he actually hopped on a conference call with supporters, basically these credential holders, thousands of them, not just in North Carolina, across the country, to explain their decision to move his speech tonight from Charlotte's football stadium outside to inside. Take a listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BARACK OBAMA, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: The problem was a safety issue. I could not ask you, our volunteers, law enforcement, first responders, to subject themselves to the risk of severe thunderstorms. And you guys can imagine with all that nagging that goes on and the security issues involved, getting 70,000 people into a place is tough. Getting them out of there is even tougher. And if we started seeing severe thunderstorms and lightning, in particular, it would have been a problem.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BALDWIN: We're going to take you back to Charlotte in just a moment.

But first, we have a new report today. A new report on the fighting in Syria. But before I show you that, I just want to walk you through a couple of items today. You know, all week long on this show, CNN's Nick Paton Walsh has been taking us so close to the fighting there, you can almost smell the fear and the anger on the streets. Look at this woman. Like this extraordinary footage from just a couple days ago.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

NICK PATON WALSH, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): On Aleppo streets, a truck races through traffic. We follow them because we've seen a man leap inside carrying a limp little girl in his arms. But perhaps because our car is new, he now rushes towards us for help. Rina is four.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Quick, quick!

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BALDWIN: Four-year-old Rina would later die. She was just one of the children caught in this battle that Nick showed us. And there was also this moment.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

WALSH: They find the first body. The little girl is lifeless. The blanket providing a little dignity.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BALDWIN: A lifeless little girl right there.

But take a look at this, because Nick's camera also caught this tiny survivor. It provided a rare moment in this reporting really all week long where we could finally, collectively, exhale.

And I want to bring in Nick. He is live for us, once again, from Turkey.

And, Nick, you've spent so much time in Syria. And these are just a couple of examples that you've been able to document this week. What I want to know is this, are you showing us the worst of the worst or is what not's being shown on television, Nick, even more shocking?

WALSH: Obviously there's some footage that we're not able to show you. But we were there for simply five days and, really, these are the stories that we stumbled across. You know, it's a hard place to research the most tragic incidents. But we literally drove into the story of Rina, shot by a sniper. And what you saw, the aftermath of an airstrike is something we also came across as well.

So I think it's fair to say they represent a kind of common view of the kind of tragedy being experienced by the people of Aleppo on a daily basis. And I'm sure there are more tragic examples. But, frankly, the fact that people are being subjected on an average level to this sort of horror, frankly, tells you exactly what life is like for ordinary residents of that city, Brooke.

BALDWIN: We just are committed to sharing your stories, to showing the atrocities that are happening every day. And from these civilians, from the kids to the rebels, I know, Nick, you and your crew, you followed a group of them as they were basically battling over this small piece of -- this small piece of ground maybe 100 yards. Tell me about that.

WALSH: We got a challenge to spend about four days. And one particular rebel unit trying to retake about 100 yards of street which they had moved down the week before and being pushed back down again. Men of great energy and commitment, but also very little military training and at times (INAUDIBLE) and young. Not professional soldiers led by older men with more military experience. But, really, this gives you a sign of the challenge ahead for this rebel army as it tries to dislodge a well-trained, professional Syrian regime military in one of the country's most important city.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

WALSH (voice-over): The new dead lie next to the old. Aleppo's oldest city, thousands of years in the making, coming apart fast. We're with rebel forces as they push into vital terrain and fight a serious commercial capital towards a key police station. They mass in number and assert force. Chaos, but also bravery. They move to retrieve an injured rebel at the very front. Somehow, the superior regime firepower lets them escape with their wounded.

When we rejoin them a few days later, they have fallen back the 100 feet they gained. Civilians in uniform, they're taking potshots at nothing in particular, goading their enemy with revolutionary song, even offering them a number to call if they want to defect.

But they can't advance again. It's not just the regime's bomber jets that hold them back. Up on the roof, we see how snipers, deadly accurate here, can freeze the front line.

WALSH (on camera): In this historic part of this city, the rebels are trying to inch forward, but so often pushed back by government forces. In this case, held back by a government sniper positioned in the buildings opposite us.

WALSH (voice-over): Even from the rebel sniper positions, the regime is close but well dug in. (INAUDIBLE) was a conscript years ago, but now an electrician. A sniper is shooting at them and he moves across the road to take aim. But his discipline and marksmanship is the exception. He thinks he got him.

It's the older men here who are in charge. Hakim , a local commander, briefly visits and tells me his brigade has given up on outside help from the west. "This is our final word," he says. "We don't want any help from anybody. We're no longer waiting and we have the means to topple the regime."

He outlines a plan to the men. Shortly afterwards, this bus appears. One rebel tells us they plan to fill it with explosives, then tie a prisoner's hands to the wheel and force him to die driving the bus bomb at the regime. But even though we saw the brigade take prisoners earlier, that doesn't happen here when the bus leaves.

A garbage truck arrives instead, which they plan to place down the street as cover for their gunmen. Preparations (INAUDIBLE) operation. Handmade grenades, homemade bombs, highly volatile canisters full of fertilizer explosive.

But the men still lack focus. Shooting in the dark. Later that night, we leave, but they drive the truck down the street. At dawn, it's in place and they hold position.

WALSH (on camera): Overnight, they've tried to gain the advantage by moving that dump truck about 100 feet down the street, past their last position. But, still, these men who have been unable to advance over this incredibly small amount of terrain.

WALSH (voice-over): The regime fires grenades, setting it to light. The rebels decide to fight back. This is an anti-aircraft gun. They seem to prefer noise than accuracy. They run forwards to fire rocket-propelled grenades. There's too much smoke to know what they hit. More a game here than a fight to the death. But this is a city of millions, pulled apart by every pitched battle for every 100 feet.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BALDWIN: So, Nick, in looking at this piece, and you point this out, this is truly a small portion -- a sliver, if you will, of terrain here, in a very key city. I'm just curious, with the bloodshed of battle, what do these rebels consider a victory?

WALSH: You know, I think small victories are enough for them in many ways. You saw it just them, then running down the street firing a rocket propelled grenade. They get bolstered by things like that. They feel that perhaps that might lead to something more significant. But I think at the end of the day, they consider the fact that they're still there and still fighting and still able to put the regime within its defended position. That that in itself is a victory. There's very little doubt in their minds that they will eventually prevail. And I think that's fair to suggest as a general observer (INAUDIBLE) comment as well. But it's really how long is this conflict going to go on for? The Syrian regime and its military showing no signs at this point of weakening.

Brooke.

BALDWIN: Nick Paton Walsh for us from Turkey. Nick, thank you. A quick reminder tomorrow, we're having a guest on talking specifically about the children of Syria. Part of this culture now as these very young people talking about growing up in this culture of fear and culture of hate.

Got a lot more for you in the next two hours. Watch this.

First, it was his wife. Then, a Democratic predecessor. And now it is up to President Obama to sell himself once again to the American people. And he's going to give it a go tonight in a very important swing state.

I'm Brooke Baldwin. The news is now.

Just moments ago, Amazon revealing its new product in the fight against Apple.

Plus, masked men kidnap a bank manager, strap a device to her stomach and then she goes face to face with her own employees.

And, we're keeping a close eye on Wall Street as investors gear up for tomorrow's big time jobs report.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BALDWIN: Folks, we are starting to get down to the wire. Two months here until the day of the election. That being November 6th. Tonight, Barack Obama will state his case for a second term in office to his party and to the country. They haven't told us what time the president will speak. Indeed, they might not know themselves. But we do know this. We do know the president will follow Vice President Joe Biden, tonight's other big speaker. Also we've learned today Gabrielle Giffords, the former congresswoman from Arizona, will be leading the Pledge of Allegiance. We all, of course, know her story. And I'll get to the president's speech. And maybe the biggest question is this, can he top this? Quite a moment here.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BILL CLINTON, FORMER U.S. PRESIDENT: You must vote and you must re-elect President Barack Obama. God bless you and God bless America.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BALDWIN: What a moment. My colleague, John Berman, I know was in there, in the hall last night when Bill Clinton absolutely brought the place down. And then you top the things off. You have -- the president walks out. We'll show it here in a moment. You can see the big embrace, Berman. I mean, being in there, what did that sound like? What did that feel like?

JOHN BERMAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: It was really an incredible thing to watch, I have to say, Brooke. It's like watching a veteran major league pitcher use every one of his pitches perfectly. You know, Bill Clinton may be out of office, but he is not out of tricks. This guy is a political maestro.

I was hanging out in the Arkansas delegation just before the speech and I asked a long time delegates, someone who supported Clinton from the '70s, I said to him, you know, does Barack Obama need Bill Clinton? And this old man, this long time delegate turned to me and said, are you kidding me? He's Bill Clinton.

And he was right. I mean Clinton delivered everything he possibly could for Barack Obama. And as I was leaving the arena last night, I heard people quoting back lines that Clinton had said. And today, talking to not just delegates but a lot of pretty senior Democratic insiders, they say they're frankly relieved that someone articulated the argument that they've been hoping to hear from the White House for the last several years.

BALDWIN: Yes, just reading what people said, he did it in such a perfectly statistical, wonky but folksy kind of way that is Bill Clinton, right? And also, Berman, when the other side says that you hit it out of the park, to continue with your baseball analogy, you probably hit it out of the park. I want you to listen to this. This is Republican strategist Alex Castellanos just moments after Bill Clinton spoke. (BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ALEX CASTELLANOS, REPUBLICAN STRATEGIST: Tonight, when everybody leaves, lock the door. You don't have to come back tomorrow. This convention is done. This will be the moment that probably re-elected Barack Obama. Bill Clinton saved the Democratic Party.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BALDWIN: This convention is done. Did you hear that? I mean that pretty much speaks for itself. No doubt uttered in the heat of the moment. So let me just move on from that.

What about the president? What does he need to do? What does he need to say tonight? What can the president do to persuade his supporters to mobilize, you know, other folks, persuade the swing voters out there to win over this really narrow band now of undecideds out there?

BERMAN: What they're telling us he's going to do tonight, let me read this to you, he says he's going to provide tangible, concrete things in his speech. What the White House or the Obama campaign is saying is that Mitt Romney didn't really provide any path forward in his convention last week, just a lot of complaints about the way things have been going but no actual ideas for moving ahead. So we're told tangible, concrete things tonight.

We've been asking, does that mean policy proposals? Is this going to be like a State of the Union? They're like, no, don't expect, you know, a 12 point plan, (INAUDIBLE), you know, a hundred pages of details here. But it's a path forward with specific ideas. So specifics. That's what we're expecting tonight. And, you know, and, frankly, I think a lot of people here are expecting the type of speech that Obama has given in the past. The kind that uplifts the crowd. That gets activists excited. There are people here who still want to be excited. There are people here -- Democrats who came in uneasy and want to get that loving feeling back from four years ago and that's what they want to hear.

BALDWIN: OK, so they want the loving feeling, but they'll also get some specifics. And I know I said we were done with Bill Clinton, but go with me here because I just want to -- I want to get to a point -- I want to play just a short snippet of his speech. This was Bill Clinton's answer to the nagging question that Republicans just keep on posing. Take a listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BILL CLINTON, FORMER U.S. PRESIDENT: When President Barack Obama took office, the economy was in free fall. It had just shrunk 9 full percent of GDP. We were losing 750,000 jobs a month. Are we doing better than that today? The answer is yes.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BALDWIN: So this is just something, John Berman, that I noticed, and I want to see if you notice it too, because you have Romney and you have Ryan and they're asking the voters, are you better off than four years ago? The Democrats, Clinton, you heard the pronoun, the "we." He's saying, you know, yes, we are. We as a country. Is that more, you know, more of -- more than just a rhetorical difference? Are Republicans focusing on the "you," the Democrats with the "we"?

BERMAN: You know, that's an interesting point. It really is. And I didn't notice it until you just asked me that and played it back. I think this again gets back to Bill Clinton's unbelievable strength, his gift as a politician, which is to make everyone feel like he's one of us, like he's your friend, like he touches you, he feels your pain, he know what's going on in your psyche. I think that may have been a very specific thing. I would think the Republicans don't want to create this as an "us" and "them" thing, so I don't think they were saying, you guys versus us guys. I think what you saw last night was someone with a lot of skill, innate skill, Bill Clinton, trying to make people feel like they're invested in this election.

BALDWIN: John Berman, thank you. Have fun tonight in there. We'll be watching for you.

BERMAN: Thanks, Brooke.

BALDWIN: And speaking of tonight, President Obama was expected to address 70,000 supporters tonight in Charlotte's open air football stadium. But as we've been telling you, his speech is now moved indoors to the convention arena. One Charlotte newspaper editor wrote about this today. The word he used was "buzz kill." Taylor Badden not backing down. He's going to join me next hour live from Charlotte. He was on that conference call just a little while ago when the president spoke.

And now I'm about to give you a number. It's a number you'll want to keep in mind from now really until Election Day. Here it is, 316,000. That is 316,000. It could help decide the election. What am I talking about? That's next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BALDWIN: President Obama is trying to chip, chip, chip away at that unemployment rate as, of course, election day is nearing. And, today, a bit of good news for you when it comes to the job front. Take a look at this. The Labor Department says 365,000 people filed for new unemployment benefits. That was last week. That is down 12,000 from the week before. And with jobless claims down, the markets are going up.

Alison Kosik, let me bring you in to tell me exactly how far up.

ALISON KOSIK, CNN CORRESPONDENT: OK. So, first of all, I just want to put this out there because I've been getting a lot of tweets today, Brooke, about people saying, Alison, how can you say there's improvement? I'm sitting here out of work, I can't get a job. So when you hear these numbers, look, they're probably not going to resonate for you if you don't have a job. Those first-time unemployment claims falling, it's not going to resonate with you. But what it shows is that there is improvement for the jobs picture in this country.

We also got a report that showed -- that was from ADP. That's a private -- that's the payroll processing firm. It said that private employers last month added 201,000 jobs in August. That came in better than expected.

Brooke.

BALDWIN: And then, of course, tomorrow, a huge day. Not just for the markets but for Americans, for the president or Mitt Romney, depending on how it comes out, the big monthly jobs report. Do we have any idea what to expect?

KOSIK: OK. So what this ADP report basically is, it's kind of an appetizer to the main course. The big jobs report coming tomorrow. And what's really coming out for tomorrow is much more cautious. Analysts surveyed by CNN Money are expecting that the economy added just 120,000 in August. That's a bit of a disappointment after adding 163,000 jobs in July. The unemployment rate, Brooke, is expected to hold steady at 8.3 percent.

BALDWIN: So to be clear, if you're using that number, we talk about the race to zero. The president needs to add 316,000, that's the number we showed before the break.

KOSIK: Right.

BALDWIN: That's the number to get the job loss, you know, to get all of those, you know, negated basically since he took office. Can he do it by the end of October, just before Election Day?

KOSIK: And that's a great question. You know, to get 316,000 jobs before the election, it means we really need to average 105,000 jobs in each of the next three months. Now this year, if you look at the year, we've averaged about 150,000 jobs. So, believe it or not, it is doable to get there. And if he gets there, it would be a huge milestone for the Obama campaign. But the truth is, both campaigns are going to make hey whatever the numbers are. They're going to spin it the way they want it. Republicans would likely say the glass is still half empty. Not enough job creation going on to bring down the unemployment rate. You probably get the Democrats saying it's glass half full. That, look, we were losing 800,000 jobs a month when the president took office and now, look, the economy is adding jobs. But, guess what, both of those sides would be right if they spun it those ways.

Brooke.

BALDWIN: So that's why tomorrow is so, so key.

KOSIK: It really is.

BALDWIN: And, of course, also those October jobs number, which we'll be looking for down the road as well.

KOSIK: Oh, yes. BALDWIN: Alison Kosik, thank you. Appreciate it.

KOSIK: Sure.

BALDWIN: And a woman -- a woman badly injured in a helicopter crash, bruising or breaking most of her body. Now, Laura Sharpe is using art to recover and spread her message of hope. Dr. Sanjay Gupta has today's "Human Factor."

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

DR. SANJAY GUPTA, CNN CHIEF MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Memorial Day weekend 2008, Laura Sharpe and her stepdaughter are headed out of town on a 14 minute flight from Long Beach, California, to Catalina Island.

LAURA SHARPE, SURVIVED HELICOPTER CRASH: There were four of us traveling with two of the helicopter company's staff. And life changed. There was some mechanical failure and we lost power.

GUPTA: Three of the six aboard died in the crash. Laura's stepdaughter, badly injured herself, saw her unconscious mother, and dragged her from the wreckage by her hair. Critical care specialist, Dr. Andrea Feinberg assumed responsibility for Laura's treatment.

DR. ANDREA FEINBERG, INTERNAL MEDICINE, PULMONARY & CRITICAL CARE: She had literally fallen out of the sky and every part of her body was either fractured or suffering in some way. I just wasn't really sure how she would survive everything.

GUPTA: Laura suffered burns over nearly half her body, sustained major brain trauma, severe damage to her eyes and face, dozens of fractures, collapsed lungs, not to mention severe psychological trauma.

SHARPE: I am newly configured from head to toe. They did such a beautiful job putting me back together, I'm like humpty-dumpty. I'm -- it definitely took all the king's horses and all the kings' men.

You should never fly faster than your guardian angel can fly.

GUPTA: Today, Laura is moving forward, healing by expressing herself through art. Laura believes in art therapy so strongly that she founded Artists for Trauma. It's a non-profit dedicated to helping other trauma survivors heal. Shelly Jones lost her ability to see following a stroke as the result of a bacterial infection in her heart. She's been paired with potter Ki Cho .

SHELLY JONES, "ARTISTS FOR TRAUMA" PATIENT: It will be difficult for me to see exactly when a make a clay , but I can feel it.

GUPTA: And Laura feels she's found her life's purpose.

SHARPE: To bring some joyous interaction to distract the survivor from their pain. Bring them the love.

GUPTA: Dr. Sanjay Gupta, CNN, reporting.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BALDWIN: Sanjay, thank you.

The vice president of the United States should have the president's back and do no harm, right? Well, see some Joe Biden moments here as a one man gaffe machine. Just what will he say tonight?

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BALDWIN: Just before the president takes the stage at the Democratic National Convention tonight, we will hear from Vice President Joe Biden.

And of course, we all know the vice president has had a few slips of the tongue, but he's a professional. He certainly knows what's at stake tonight.

Suzanne Malveaux has more now on how the vice president can win voters for President Obama.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

SUZANNE MALVEAUX, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): In a form that's all about talking the talk, the biggest challenged facing Vice President Joe Biden, may be just keeping quiet.

JOE BIDEN, VICE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA: Unchain Wall Street. They will put you all back in chains. This is a (inaudible) deal.

She's easily qualified to be vice president of the United States of America and quite frankly, it might have been a better pick than me.

MALVEAUX: That wasn't the first time where Biden made repeated gaffes.

THOMAS BASILE, POLITICAL SPEECHWRITER: The goal of a vice- presidential speech is the same goal for the vice-presidential candidate generally, and the first goal is do no harm.

So even among Democratic circles, Joe Biden is seen as this one man gaffe machine. So his first job is to get into and out of the convention without any major verbal stumbles.

MALVEAUX: But the six-time senator can also be an effective weapon for the party, when he trains his sites on the opposition and fires.

BIDEN: They call their plan new, they call it bold and they call it gutsy. But the neighborhood I come from, there's nothing gutsy about giving a millionaire another tax break. MALVEAUX: Figuring out when to shut up or put up is never easy when you're the number two. Geraldine Ferraro had to focus on her ticket, but still remind people of the history making moment.

GERALDINE FERRARO (D), VICE PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: The promise of our country is that the rules are fair.

MALVEAUX: Gore also took the vision route and led a Macarena dance to shake off his wooden personality.

AL GORE (D), VICE PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Billions of people are losing faith in the very idea of democracy, but you can't kill hope that easily, not in America, not here.

MALVEAUX: For Biden, the best advice may be just to stick with what's in the script.

COSTAS PANAGOPOULOS, FORDHAM POLITICAL SCIENCE PROFESSOR: We know that the vice president is prone to gaffes, but the conventions are very scripted. And so there will be fewer opportunities for those types of errors.

I think if the sticks to the crypt and comes across as competent and supportive of the president and their achievements over the past few years, I think that he'll be fine.

MALVEAUX: Or since it's Biden, fine enough.

BIDEN: Every presidential election has come down to one fundamental look as it relates to the candidates. Who has the most character? Who has the character to conviction -- of their convictions and who has the vision? Folks, it will not surprise you on that score, I don't even think it's close.

MALVEAUX: Suzanne Malveaux, CNN.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BALDWIN: Again, it is the vice president and then the president this evening, in our primetime coverage, starting at 7:00. We have the ball rolling with Wolf Blitzer and Anderson Cooper and the rest of CNN's political team.

And then President Obama will officially accept his party's nomination for re-election in the 10:00 hour. And then at midnight, Piers Morgan will put a wrap on the 2012 Democratic National Convention all happening tonight on CNN.

Next, a little girl hides for hours in a car where three adults were shot and killed. One prosecutor says it goes well beyond anything you would see on television.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BALDWIN: A British cyclist just out for a spin in the French Alps comes across this murder scene. It is so horrific it's making international news because here's what he found.

Four people shot dead. Three shot in the head execution style, one of the dead, a cyclist who might have witnessed the killing and an 8-year-old who have been wounded eight times just walking on the road.

But here's what so incredibly astounding, eight hours after police locked down the crime scene waiting for forensics to arrive, this 4-year-old girl was discovered lying completely still but uninjured, hiding under the body of her own mother.

The family was in that car. They were from Britain and CNN'S Dan Rivers is there hometown of Claygate, England -- Dan.

DAN RIVERS, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Brooke, this is the house where (inaudible), his wife (inaudible) and two daughters, 7 and 4 lived. It's in a very quiet part of southwest London, Claygate.

Really no clues at all as to why any would want to have him and his entire family shot in this kind of execution style manner. We've spoken to neighbors who described them as quiet and nice. He was a devoted father to his two girls.

Spoken to his accountant, who really had no clue at all, as to business interests or conflict of business interests, which would have led to any fallout with anyone.

He was a mechanical engineer, draftsman and worked for a number of clients, including airbus we're told. He came to this country from Iraq in 2002, before the U.S. invasion, but no suggestion of anything in his past life so far in Iraq.

He wasn't involved with politics and no suggestion of sectarian involvement in Iraq. His wife was training to be a dentist here. Really, the profound sense here is one of shock from the neighbors and people that knew the family, but they have been caught up in such awful appalling violence in France.

The prosecutors in France are keeping an open mind. There was a French cyclist also found shot at the scene. The French authorities don't know whether it was the cyclist who may have been targeted and the family happened to turn up and were witnesses to that and killed as a result.

Or whether the family were targeted first and the cyclist was a witness and therefore he was killed, at the moment, really no sense at all why this has happened. The only two witnesses to this are the two girls, one of whom is in hospital with three gunshot wounds to her shoulder.

The 4 year old, the youngest one is in a profound sense of shock from all this, been given counseling and, of course, the authorities will want to talk to both of them as soon as they're able to -- Brooke.

BALDWIN: Absolutely awful. Dan Rivers, thank you so much for us in England.

Next to California, really just this bizarre bank robbery. Police were searching for two men who strapped what they said was a bomb to a bank manager and then made her walk in and rob her own bank.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BALDWIN: It is a bank heist straight out of a screen play. Right now, there's no Hollywood ending. The bad guys are yet to be caught. The good news, the victim here, a bank manager was not hurt.

Police say two masked men, they kidnapped her outside of her home yesterday and then they strapped a device to her body that they said was a bomb and then told her to walk into her bank and rob her own co-workers. This is East L.A.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

LT. NEAL MONGAN, HUNTINGTON PARK POLICE: She was told to drive to the bank on her own with the device, to the bank and given instructions what to do.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BALDWIN: Police then say the woman walked out with a substantial amount of money, handed it off to the kidnappers who have yet to be seen. Bomb teams detonated the device, which they later learned was not a bomb.

An airplane sure isn't the best place to fake a security scare. A caller identified a passenger on board a U.S. Airways flight and said he was carrying some sort of explosive substance.

The plane then turned around returned to Philadelphia this morning and the guy was called off by police. Now, they say it was just a nasty trick played on the passenger. The FBI says the caller will be prosecuted when and if they are found.

Tom Brokaw has been allowed to leave a hospital in Charlotte, North Carolina, after a bit of early morning scare. Brokaw tweeted, quote/unquote, "all is well."

And then he said he mistakenly took a half dose of Ambien, the former anchor and current NBC News special correspondent reportedly felt lightheaded during his appearance this morning on MSNBC's "Morning Joe." Brokaw is 72 years old.

And one of the most important figures in the history of the National Football League has died. Art Modell was the owner of the Cleveland Browns for 35 years until he moved the team to Baltimore back in 1996. The move angered many fans in Cleveland. Modell was beloved in Baltimore. Art Modell was 87 years old.

And moments ago, Amazon revealed its new product, a move that could make the fight against Apple even hotter.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BALDWIN: All right, all of you who love a good new tech toy or two. Amazon has something up its sleeve for you to play with now. The company just launched a new Kindle Fire HD. Also debuting the backlit Kindle Paper White.

Amazon claims its battery lasts eight weeks. Eight weeks! Dan Simon joins me live from Santa Monica, California. That is a mighty nice promise from Amazon with regard to that battery.

But talk to me about the new toys, the Kindle Fire HD, what about the features? What about the updates?

DAN SIMON, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, I have to say, you know, the biggest surprise is the price of the basic Kindle Fire, Brooke, $159. Amazon cannot be making much money on this device.

What they are trying to make money on is the content and what we saw with all these devices today is there is deep integration with all the Amazon services from books to apps to movies to music.

But these are impressive devices no doubt and really sort of up the game for Amazon. The Kindle Fire HD also coming in two sizes, a 7-inch screen and a 9-inch screen.

We should tell you that the Kindle Fire HD is going to start at $199, a little more expensive than the other one, which is $159, but also a lot cheaper than the iPad.

The entry level iPad starting at $400, yes so there are some good bargains to be had if you're looking to buy a tablet.

BALDWIN: What about this backlit paper white reader? What is that?

SIMON: Well, you know, a lot of complaints people have had, not just with the Kindle, but all devices are the ability to read in direct sunlight and also read in the dark.

So this new Kindle allows you to do just that. You can read at the beach or you can read in bed. So that's kind of a nice feature. It gives you all the Kindle features you're accustomed to.

We should also tell you that according to Amazon, with these new Kindle Fires that they've reduced the glare by about 25 percent so in theory, you should be able to read it in direct sunlight. But we'll have to get our hands on one of them and take a look.

BALDWIN: I know that pesky glare when you're sitting at the beach. Dan Simon, thank you so much.

Here's something you can definitely chew on today. Have you heard about this, Mitt Romney's tax returns, apparently being held for ransom, yes, for ransom. One group says, want them back? It will cost you. Now, the Secret Service is involved.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BALDWIN: Mitt Romney just made a public appearance. He's been up in New England preparing for the debates, the upcoming debates and sort of charging the batteries.

Jim Acosta is with us. OK, we are going to talk to Jim Acosta in just a second, but here's the sound from Romney. Let's roll it.

Do we have the sound? We're trying. We're working on it. We know that Mitt Romney has been practicing for the speech. We know that Rob Portman has been the one who's been practicing as President Obama.

And we know that he has been holed up in a home from a lieutenant-governor of Massachusetts, and that is where they're doing a lot of prep in anticipation of the debates, which are just about a month away.

Here we go. Here are the pictures from earlier. Do we have the sound? Let's listen in.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MITT ROMNEY (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Thank you.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Thank you, Mitt. Look forward to your inauguration.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We'll look for you at the White House. Will you salute them because Obama don't salute them?

ROMNEY: Army here. We have every branch.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We make all the noise.

ROMNEY: I do know that. All right, great, guys. Thank you.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BALDWIN: All right, we're going to take you live to New Hampshire here in just a moment. But first, he has big, big night looming, first things first talking about the president right now.

The president today has had to reach out to some disappointed campaign volunteers, some of the folks who traveled to Charlotte, but now will not be attending his speech tonight because of yesterday's decision to move it inside.

This picture where you're seeing, this is the Time Warner Cable Arena. Now, the president talked by conference call just a little while ago to the folks, many of whom called in from across the country who are just plain out of luck.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) BARACK OBAMA, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA (via telephone): The problem was a safety issue. I could not ask you, our volunteers, law enforcement, first responders, to subject themselves to the risk of severe thunderstorms.

You guys can imagine, with all the nagging that goes on and security issues involved, getting 70,000 people into a place is tough, getting them out of there is even tougher. If we had started seeing severe thunderstorms and lightning, in particular, it would have been a problem.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BALDWIN: Jessica Yellin, let me bring you in, our chief White House correspondent. You know, I listened in to this call just a bit ago and it was the president himself whose voice you heard talking to these credentialed holders. Is there a specific reason why he himself talked to these disappointed volunteers?

JESSICA YELLIN, CNN CHIEF WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Yes. These were the people that they recruit as their grassroots force to get out the vote. They were planning to hold the event inside that outdoor stadium for the very purpose of having all these campaign supporters present.

So that they could ask them to text, earthquake-mail, call their friends, do all those sorts of things you remember from the 2008 Obama campaign and have them there. So the fact it's moving indoors means those supporters won't get to attend the president's speech so you can imagine a lot of folks might be disappointed.

This is a way for the campaign to reach out to them and have the president directly say -- sort of touch base with them, in a way apologize, and the campaign says they'll be invited to other events another time. But it's a way to connect to those grassroots volunteers they're counting on -- Brooke.

BALDWIN: We're actually talking to a credential holder who says, yes, she's bummed over this. We'll ask her if that at all changes, you know, her vote come November in a matter of minutes.

But let me take me back to last night, Jessica, because we're hearing today about this quote-unquote "chaos" that is some people are calling it that erupted at the convention, this was yesterday afternoon actually.

So here's my idea of chaos. Let's roll this tape because this goes back to Chicago, if we can see it, this was 1968, riots in the streets there, here you go.

Really, much of the same inside that '68 convention as contest met in the midst of the Vietnam War. Jessica, tell me what happened yesterday.

YELLIN: That is so worth pointing out, Brooke. This is only -- beautifully done. Compared to given that everything you are used to seeing at conventions is so perfectly choreographed. What happened was the convention platform was changed on two points, which I will come to.

And delegates were not briefed in advance. When it came up on the screen, some shouted yes in support, some shouted no. They had to say three times, do you agree? So there was just yes, no, yes, no, and finally the speaker gaveled it, the chair gaveled it passed.

The two points were going back to language from 2008 that said Jerusalem is the capital of Israel, very important to some supporters of Israel, and also putting the word God back into the platform in a phrase that said God-given, that is very important to many religious supporters of the president and Democrats.

And we're told that the president himself intervened to ensure those two changes were made, Brooke.

BALDWIN: Specifically on the Jerusalem point, was that important, because Florida very important state for the president come November 6?

YELLIN: Well, yes.

Politically, it's very important because the president has been criticized and doesn't want to open himself up to more criticism from Republicans who could try to say that this is somehow evidence that the president doesn't stand firmly with Israel, when it should be noted that the language in the platform and the policy of the U.S. have never been consistent because -- or the policy of the U.S. is that this is part of a negotiated settlement, where the capital will be.

But, yes, the politics is you don't want to risk not just the Jewish vote, but also many evangelical Christian voters who are strong believers in the state of Israel as it stands.

BALDWIN: Let's talk, fast-forwarding to tonight, when the president will be speaking indoors, what is it he needs to do? I'm hearing the White House is saying he will be giving out specifics.

Do we know what those specifics may be? The Democrats have dogged Mitt Romney for supposedly lacking in specificity in his acceptance speech. Tell me about the president.

YELLIN: I think we should look for the president to do a few things.

One is build on the case Bill Clinton laid out for him yesterday, that his vision of building the economy will bear fruit if you give him another four years. And so he will, I would expect, try to drill down on exactly what that means.

In terms of specifics, no, I don't think he will say there'll be this many new jobs created, but you could say what that means in terms of sectors of the economy he would see grow or how he plans to work on developing different parts of the U.S. economy and get a little more detailed on that.

Also, you know, Brooke, he's never laid out a second-term agenda. Will he tackle immigration reform? Will he commit to that? Will he commit to energy reform in a second term? Those are the kinds of things I would be listening for.

And then finally, he has to also bring the heart we saw Michelle Obama touch on. In 2008, he was this candidate that inspired so much passion in people. That has waned is an understatement in the four years, some people feel bitterly disappointed. Can he reconnect and resell that brand and make people sort of have that crush on him again they had in 2008?

BALDWIN: Ah, the crush on Obama. We will look for those three points tonight. Jessica Yellin, we will look for you as well, thank you, part of our prime-time coverage of the Democratic National Convention.

Really the whole thing kicks off 7:00 Eastern tonight. You have Wolf Blitzer, Anderson Cooper, the rest of CNN's political team for all the action inside the Time Warner Cable Arena.

Then 10:00, that is the hour in which the president will officially accept his party's nomination for reelection. Then at midnight, Piers Morgan, he will put a wrap on the 2012 DNC for us tonight on CNN. I will be watching. I hope you will be as well.