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Chicago Teachers May Strike; Romney on the Attack; August Jobs Report Reveals Hidden Unemployed; Father Kidnaps Two Children onto Yacht; "Angel of Death" Released to Less Restrictive Institution; Texas, the Fastest State in the Country: Speed Limit of 85 mph

Aired September 07, 2012 - 15:00   ET

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

GRETCHEN PETERS, AUTHOR, "SEEDS OF TERROR": Well, I think that it's helpful of think of a designation as like an arrest warrant.

It doesn't really make a difference until there is action taken by the U.S. government to exploit the authorities that the designation brings.

I think the best way forward will be some sort of task force or group to do a much more in-depth study than what I have done on the Haqqani's financial architecture, on the illicit businesses that support their operations, on the suppliers they work with in order to supply their war effort.

That's going to really put the squeeze on the Haqqani Network. They have been somewhat resilient to the tactical campaign against them, although there have been some successes. Just last month, Badruddin Haqqani, the group's operations manager, was killed in an airstrike in North Waziristan.

However, the network has been very resilient to repeated attacks by the U.S. military and coalition forces and that's in part because they have this enormous elicit business infrastructure that supports them throughout Pakistan and back into the UAE with business partnerships extending as far away as South Africa.

BROOKE BALDWIN, CNN ANCHOR: Right. I think just putting it in a designation like an arrest warrant, that just puts it in perspective to all of us.

Gretchen Peters, thank you so much from Washington.

PETERS: Thank you.

BALDWIN: We roll on, on this Friday. Top of the hour. I'm Brooke Baldwin.

Forget the convention. All eyes suddenly turn to the economy, because we learned today even though the unemployment rate ticked down just a bit last month, the number of jobs added way short of what many predicted, tens of thousands short. We will get to what this means for you and the economy here in just a moment.

But, first, this. The country's third largest school district on the verge of major, major breakdown. This afternoon, kids in Chicago's 675 public schools will be dismissed from class and it's not clear when they will return because right now Chicago's public school teachers are set to strike this coming Monday.

Union teachers have been rallying this week hoping to avoid an impasse. It's looking up. District officials say there's been progress in the talks. Still, a strike looms. And at this point right now, 29,000 teachers are planning to walk out come Monday morning.

How does that impact the kids? That would leave Chicago's 400,000 public school students without classes, without sports, without other activities.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DEMETRIUS HARRIS, STUDENT: I really need this season. I don't need it to go no farther, because this my last year. It's like ain't no more. It just that's it. I am going to move forward to college. I want to get some more experience before I go to college.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BALDWIN: I want to go straight to Chicago. Here he is, Ted Rowlands standing by for us.

Ted, just get to the crux of this issue for me. What is the issue between the teachers and the school district?

TED ROWLANDS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, as you might imagine, pay is one of them. Another one is job security for veteran teachers when schools are consolidated or shut down.

They want those teachers protected. Another thing is Chicago's extending its school day starting this year and they want specifics laid out in a contract which the board has been reluctant to do. The other thing that's going on here, according to teachers, is there is an anti-union sentiment that we have seen in other states and around the country that's been rising up.

And they say, they claim that that is playing a part in these negotiations. Take a listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BRANDON JOHNSON, CHICAGO TEACHERS UNION: It is playing part. I think what's most disconcerting is you have Democratic mayors all over the country leading the charge on attempting to destroy the public sector, particularly public school teachers unions.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ROWLANDS: Now, of course, the Democratic mayor in the city of Chicago is Rahm Emanuel. He didn't want to talk to us specifically about this at an interview request. They did issue a statement, did his office, talking about the kids being out of school. It reads in part, "Every day they're not there is a day taken way from them that they just cannot afford. Leaders on both sides need to stay at the negotiating table to finish their job finding a solution that's fair for our teachers and keeps our students in school."

That negotiation process is ongoing. Brooke, as you mentioned, according to the district they're very hopeful that either today or through the weekend -- and both sides have pledged to go through the weekend -- they can come to an agreement before Monday morning.

BALDWIN: All right. There's of course that possibility. If not, they don't show up.

Just give me a little background, Ted, on the Chicago public school system. I know a majority, a very, very majority of these kids, they are low-income. That tells me the teachers like others across the country they face a lot of challenges other than simply the task which they are paid for, being a teacher.

ROWLANDS: Yes. Absolutely.

These teachers are part of the family of a lot of these students that don't have a great home life. They spend a lot of their time there. They eat their meals at school. The city is very well aware of that. What they're doing in case there's a strike, they will open up 144 schools, faith-based organizations are opening churches as well, give the kids somewhere to go if on Monday their teachers aren't in the classrooms.

BALDWIN: Ted Rowlands for us in Chicago, Ted, thank you.

I want to continue to conversation here because the public school problems in Chicago they are drawing attention across the nation. To explain why, I have Sam Chaltain with me. He's an educator, a consultant, used to be the national director of the Forum for Education and Democracy.

Sam, welcome.

SAM CHALTAIN, EDUCATOR: Thanks, Brooke.

BALDWIN: I know you're saying people across the country are paying attention. Why should teachers specifically across the country pay attention to what's happening in Chicago?

CHALTAIN: Well, actually I think not just teachers. I think what's happening in Chicago is extremely important. It's extremely rare. It's not entirely discouraging.

I think it's extremely important because you have a Democratic mayor pushing for a set of education reforms that his city's teachers, the majority of whom are also Democrat, are just as vigorously pushing against.

I think it's extremely rare because not only has it not happened in a quarter century, but you have 90 percent of the city's teachers that have voted to support this measure which tells those of us on the outside how seriously those of us on the inside see the conflict that's under way.

And I think it's not entirely discouraging because not only are recent reports suggesting that a deal can be done before Monday. But it's a reminder that although we like to think of it sometimes as being very neat and orderly, the process of democratic decision making is messy and contentious inefficient, but it's ultimately the best way to ensure all voice are heard and good decisions are made.

BALDWIN: I want to you just because of your years in education about the kids. Because as Ted mentioned one of the issues is teachers' pay and fundamentally the strike gets down to that. How the teachers should be recognized. Should it be a seniority-based system, a merit- based system? What is better for the kids? Is there a better?

CHALTAIN: I think sometimes we forget that a teacher's working conditions are a student's learning conditions.

These issues are directly related. In way, the battle that you see between the mayor and the teacher, it is not quite this simple, but they are conflicting visions of teaching and learning. In addition to pay, one of the things the teachers are looking for is a more balanced curriculum. More art, more music, more P.E.

They feel the idea of an extended day that is happening in concert with new teacher evaluations where 50 percent of their performance is judged by test scores is just a recipe for more test prep, not a more balanced curriculum. They want wrap-around services.

I think although the immediate potential of this issue is horrible, that the issue that's at stake is competing visions of ultimately what's best for the kids.

BALDWIN: Just bigger picture, Sam. Here we are, we're finally wrapped with these two conventions. I was in Tampa for the Republican National Convention. I was there when Condoleezza Rice was speaking one of the nights.

The President mentioned this, multiple Democrats mentioning this week the issue of education. I just want to play a little something of what former Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice had to say.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

CONDOLEEZZA RICE, (R) FORMER U.S. SECRETARY OF STATE: We need to give parents greater choice, particularly, particularly poor parents, whose kids, very often minorities, are trapped in failing neighborhood schools.

This is the civil rights issue of our day.

(CHEERING AND APPLAUSE)

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BALDWIN: The civil rights issue of our day. Do you agree with her?

CHALTAIN: I do.

There's a debate right now about whether or not that's true. But I think it's undeniable that the reality is for most of American history your zip code determined your likelihood of participating in the American dream.

I think with regard to this issue in education, the school choice genie is out of bottle. The question now to me is in what way can greater choice in cities across America unleash a virtuous cycle that actually improves learning concerns for all kids, whether they're in public schools, public charter schools or private school, and not result in simply another tier in an apartheid system of schooling?

I would say right now the jury is out. It could go either way, but it will never get to that point if we keep debating on whether or not school choice is a good idea and stop there.

BALDWIN: Sam Chaltain, thank you for weighing in. Please come back and we will obviously have the update come Monday whether or not this first in a quarter century happens, if these Chicago teachers strike. Appreciate it.

CHALTAIN: Thanks, Brooke. Fingers crossed.

(CROSSTALK)

BALDWIN: Fingers crossed.

A lot more happening this hour. Watch this.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

BALDWIN: Forget the conventions. Mitt Romney is releasing this blitz of campaign ads in states he needs to take President Obama's job and all of this is happening as both these men hit the road. I'm Brooke Baldwin. The news is now.

(voice-over): Only two jobs report left before the election and hidden inside today's disappointing report is a number that gives Republicans a reason to pounce.

Plus, buckle up. One state just okayed the highest speed limit in America.

And:

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Doctors telling us the children's hospital has been closed by the government.

BALDWIN: Those who survive the killings in Syria turn up here inside a hospital where some lives are saved and others end.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BALDWIN: Mitt Romney back on the campaign trail today. He is back to dogging the President today with brand-new ammunition, the disappointing point on August jobs creation.

Here is Mitt Romney in Iowa.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MITT ROMNEY, (R) PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Did you see the jobs report this morning, by the way? Well, 95,000, I believe net new jobs created and almost 400,000 people dropped out of the work force altogether.

It's just simply unimaginable. The President said by this time we'd be at 5.4 percent unemployment, 5.4 percent. Instead, we're at about 8 percent. You know the difference that that makes and how many people would be working in America? Nine million people.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BALDWIN: Let's go to Jim Acosta. He's covering the Romney campaign for us and is live at what looks like a baseball park in New Hampshire.

I think your head is right in the middle of the I in M-I-T-T.

Where are you?

JIM ACOSTA, CNN CORRESPONDENT: We're at a minor league baseball park in Nashua, New Hampshire. You could say that Mitt Romney is making a meal out of this jobs report today.

He's trying to hit this one over the park. He's been doing it all day long. You heard that event that he had up in Iowa earlier this afternoon.

Just a quick little clarification. He talked about -- he said that the President said that with the stimulus plan the unemployment rate would lower to 5.4 percent. Actually, that was a report that came from the administration. The President didn't actually utter those words.

But nevertheless he is basically saying President Obama has had since 2009 to fix this economy and he just hasn't gotten the job done. I talked to a senior Romney adviser earlier today and asked him, doesn't this jobs report sort of give you an opening to talk about the economy over the coming days and that adviser came back to me, Brooke, and said, yes, the next 60 days.

That is where this is headed during the next few weeks of this campaign.

BALDWIN: Let's talk about the big ad blitz coming out of the Romney campaign today. What's the strategy here?

ACOSTA: They announced this ad blitz almost as soon as the President was finished with his speech last night.

We're talking about eight battleground states. All of these states were won by the President back in 2008. It just shows you the uphill climb that Mitt Romney has. And they are all essentially tailored to those individual states. So, for example, Virginia has three different ads from the Romney campaign that will be airing in that state over the coming days and weeks.

And one of those ads, for example, has to deal with the defense industry, which is a big industry down in Virginia.

But let's play a sample of these ads just to give you a taste of what's coming to a TV set near you.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ROMNEY: This president can ask us to be patient. This president can tell us it was someone else's fault. But this president cannot tell us that you're better off today when he took office.

NARRATOR: Here in Florida, we're not better off under President Obama. Home values collapsed. Home construction jobs lost.

NARRATOR: Here in Colorado, we're not better off under President Obama. His defense cuts will weaken national security.

NARRATOR: Here in Virginia, we're not better off under President Obama. His war on coal, gas and oil is crushing energy and manufacturing jobs.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ACOSTA: So there's just a sample of that advertising blitz from the Romney campaign.

And, Brooke, we were all wondering what would happen, what would be the difference when Mitt Romney switched from primary campaign money to general election campaign money, which is what he was able to start tapping into when he got that nomination down in Tampa? That gives you a sense right there. They can blanket all of these states with all of these ads tailoring these ads to individual states with that kind of money at their disposal -- Brooke.

BALDWIN: Jim Acosta covering camp Romney for us.

But I do want to get to the other team off and running today, Barack Obama. Joe Biden made a farewell this morning in Charlotte, making a stop in New Hampshire and now pushing on to Iowa.

Here is the President now. This is his take on the new jobs number. This is much different from that of Mitt Romney.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BARACK OBAMA, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Today, we learned that after losing around 800,000 jobs a month when I took officer, business once again added jobs for the 30th month in a row, a total of more than 4.6 million jobs.

(CHEERING AND APPLAUSE)

OBAMA: But that's not good enough. We know it's not good enough. We need to create more jobs faster. We need to fill the hole left by this recession faster. We need to come out of this crisis stronger than when we went in.

And there's a lot more that we can do. When Congress gets back to town next week, you need to send them a message go ahead and give middle-class families and small businesses the confidence of knowing that their taxes, your taxes, will not go up next year.

Everybody agrees we shouldn't raise taxes on the middle class. Let's go ahead and get that done. Let's get it done now.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BALDWIN: So, the President used the new jobs number to prod Congress along. But the first move could come from the Federal Reserve. They meet next week amid growing pressure to provide a form of economic stimulus.

More on that from the stock exchange here at the bottom of the hour.

To Syria and the civil war there absolutely shattering lives.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Mohammad, age 8, was hit by shrapnel fired from Syrian regime mortars. He is quiet, brave. But this hospital isn't equipped for the surgery he needs.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BALDWIN: Sometimes, those injured must return to the war zone to get the help they need. We're taking you inside these hospitals next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BALDWIN: Now to Syria, where opposition forces claim at least 106 people were killed there today.

And I want you to look at this. This is the aftermath of a massive car bomb explosion near the Palace of Justice. This is in the capital of Damascus. Heavy, heavy fighting reported across the country as this 18-month conflict and counting continues to uproot civilians and create a humanitarian nightmare.

And now this YouTube video, look at the flames. Whoever uploaded this claims it's from a Damascus suburb showing this fire allegedly caused by helicopter shelling. And this gets me to our latest reporting out of Syria. This is from our correspondent there. We have been hearing from him all week, CNN's Nick Paton Walsh.

And he will take us inside a hospital where injured people have been going in droves, even though the hospital itself is under siege.

Again, have to warn you these stories are very, very, very tough to look at. But again it's so important for us to see them. Take a look.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

NICK PATON WALSH, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Dar al-Shifa Hospital is where many in Aleppo run when they're caught by the constant shelling.

Even though the hospital and the area around it have also been fired upon.

(on camera): The shells hit this part of the hospital. Still, on this day, we see many civilians flooding here for treatment, some of them very young, doctors telling us the children's hospital has been closed by the government.

(voice-over): Some terrified. Some starving. Mohammed (ph), aged 8, was hit by shrapnel fired from Syrian regime mortars. He is quiet, brave, but this hospital isn't equipped for the surgery he needs.

His thighbone is shattered. So the doctors have no choice but to exacerbate his ordeal and send him across the front lines to the government hospital, hoping perversely that those who hurt him can also heal him.

President Bashar al-Assad is history in the minds of locals, but his regime still has the best hospitals where one doctor works during the day before sneaking here to help this rebel hospital in the evening.

He tells me, wanting even his voice hidden, that in the regime hospitals, 50 soldiers are brought in every day, but sometimes doctors mercy kill by injection those they can't treat effectively and that if they found he was working in the rebel hospital, they'd kill him.

Ahmad's (ph) head has been hit by shrapnel from shelling, his ear almost blown off. They struggle to clean the wound and to find enough anesthetic. At any point the power could cut.

Still, the doctors carry on. "It hurts," he cries. But he's yet to learn the worst about what the shelling did.

They killed his father, who's mourned just outside the hospital. The dead here, so many the doctors must leave them on the street. His brother arrives. There's no room for privacy or dignity here.

They remove the body before Ahmad (ph) can learn what happened.

The blood remains on the street unnoticed by some. The people of Aleppo are numb, looking to the skies, checking what next may befall them.

Nick Paton Walsh, CNN, Aleppo.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BALDWIN: And as the civil war rages on in Syria, CNN's Nick Paton Walsh is going to give you a look at the horrors of what life is like inside of Aleppo specifically. We have put these pieces together now as part of this special report. We're calling it "Crisis in Syria."

Please watch it tomorrow night 7:30 Eastern time.

Prince Harry, a fully clothed Prince Harry, might I add, now in a military uniform in Afghanistan. Harry, a helicopter pilot, arrived in Helmand Province today for a four-month deployment. The British prince faced a scandal last month after he was photographed naked while partying it up in a Vegas hotel room.

A Buckingham Palace spokesperson says Prince Harry will be treated like any other soldier and is proud to serve. His deployment is expected to be a morale boost for British forces.

And back to that August jobs report. It is out today. The unemployment rate edge downward. And while that sounds good, Alison Kosik says it's not all that positive. She is going to explain next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BALDWIN: Want to talk to you about this August jobs report that is out there.

And there is one jobs number that looks pretty good. That's the unemployment rate. It did fall last month from 8.3 to 8.1 percent. But, before any of us starts to celebrate, consider this. The drop is mainly due to people giving up even looking for work.

CNN's Alison Kosik is live at the New York Stock Exchange. And, Alison, talk about the hidden unemployed. How big is that group?

ALISON KOSIK, CNN BUSINESS CORRESPONDENT: The group is very big. It's why there's not this big celebration about the unemployment rate dropping from 8.3 percent to 8.1 percent. You know, 368,000 people just gave up looking for jobs. They are frustrated. They said forget it. I'm not going to keep looking for work. I can't find a job. So, they're not counted in that number and that's not the reason you want to see that unemployment rate fall.

And then, of course, there's that big group, that underemployment rate. Some say it's the real unemployment rate. It includes the unemployed and it includes people in part-time jobs who want full-time work. Yeah, it dropped a smidge from 15 percent, but it's 14.7 percent. That's huge. That's an eye-popping percentage of people, Brooke.

BALDWIN: So, with the hiring slowing. We all look ahead, right, when the Federal Reserve meets. We pay attention. The Fed is meeting next week and, obviously, they can't lower the interest rates any lower than what they already are.

So, might we see some stimulus, stimulating the economy? KOSIK: And you may. You know, many believe that this weak report that we got today could force the Fed's hand. You know, when the Fed meets next week, it may introduce a bond-buying program, essentially a stimulus to try to jump start job creation in this country.

It's something the Fed has already done twice since the recession started, but it's benefits have been limited because, if it buys treasury bonds like it did the last two times, what would essentially happen and I'm simplifying this, the money would be put into banks. The banks are supposed to use that money to lend out.

And you know what? As much as the market would just love this because what it winds up doing is driving investors from bonds to investing into stocks. Skeptics say this isn't going to work to boost the economy, to boost job creation because the reality is it doesn't help with the underlying problem.

And the problem here is demand. It doesn't mean that, if the Fed suddenly announces a bond-buying program, all of the sudden businesses and consumers suddenly are going to take out all these loans.

Many believe they're not going to do this because confidence is low that the economy is solid ground, so there's some big questions whether any bond-buying program would work in the long-term.

Brooke?

BALDWIN: We'll look to the Fed meeting and see if any of that even happens. Alison Kosik, thank you.

Now, I want to focus on your debt, as in your credit card debt. What is the best way to get rid of it? Poppy Harlow with our "Help Desk." Hey, Poppy.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

POPPY HARLOW, CNNMONEY.COM CORRESPONDENT: Hey, there, everyone. Today on the "Help Desk," we're talking about the best way to tackle your credit card debt. A lot of people have this issue.

Joining me this house, Donna Rosato and Ryan Mack. Donna, this woman told me when I talked to her that she's got about $4,000 in debt, so take a listen to her question.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: If you've got multiple credit cards, what's the best way to work out a plan where you can pay it off?

HARLOW: Yeah, I think she's wondering which do I pay off first?

DONNA ROSATO, SENIOR WRITER, "MONEY": That's right. Well, there's actually two schools of thought on this.

Generally, it's better to focus on the highest-rate card and pay that down as quickly as possible because you'll pay less interest over time and, of course, you want to keep paying the minimum payment on your other ones. HARLOW: Right.

ROSATO: But then there's -- a lot of people get a psychological boost by paying off the smallest balances first, just getting rid of them, and that's very motivating.

But the best plan is whatever makes you stick to it. If you can -- whichever one helps you then that's the most important thing is pay that rate -- those cards down.

RYAN MACK, PRESIDENT, OPTIMUM CAPITAL MANAGEMENT: You know, this question is important because it amazes me how few people actually write the debts on paper so they can see exactly what the debts are, see exactly what the interest rates are and, before you pay a cent, call each one of those credit card companies and be aggressive. Call them three or four times ...

HARLOW: Try and negotiate.

MACK: ... to lower those interest rates so you can get something a little bit less -- more money in your pocket.

HARLOW: You know, a lot of people don't want to look at it, but it's not going to go away. It's going to get worse and worse every month.

MACK: An ostrich in the sand never works.

HARLOW: Absolutely.

Guys, thank you.

If you've got a question you want our experts to tackle, you can just upload a 30-second video with your question to iReport.com.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BALDWIN: Poppy Harlow, thank you.

Next, a manhunt underway for a guy police say kidnapped his two children then sailed away on a 40-foot yacht. Find out what happened just before the getaway.

Plus, remember that passenger on a plane home for his birthday? Gets a trip to now to jail instead after a fake bomb threat is phoned in. We're going to tell you why the hoax victim is still under arrest and why police say he was targeted.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BALDWIN: The search is on right now for this father from California who police believe stole a yacht, kidnapped his two kids then sailed away with them. San Francisco police say Christopher Maffei abducted his three-year-old daughter and two-year-old son from their mother's home Tuesday.

The grandmother told our affiliate, KPIX, that she has bruises from Maffei pulling the kids away from her. The next day, investigators found Maffei's rental car at a marina parking lot where a yacht happens to be missing, a yacht Maffei checked out weeks before.

Now, police believe Maffei could be sailing out of their reach and the mother of the children is desperate.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JENNIFER NIPON, MOTHER OF ABDUCTED CHILDREN: I want the Coast Guard, the Navy, anyone who has a boat, please look for my children and bring them back to me.

I don't know what he's going to do if he's backed into a corner. I'm afraid for my children's lives.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BALDWIN: Defense attorney Joey Jackson is "On the Case." You know, you want to -- you feel the mother. Mom thinks that dad has now taken these kids and is headed to, what, Mexico or Thailand. What do police do at this point?

JOEY JACKSON, CRIMINAL DEFENSE ATTORNEY: You know, these are tough cases and you know what, Brooke? The statistics are horrible. About 200,000 abductions a year, not necessarily flying to the high seas, but just, when people divorce and they have these issues, it's really sad. And that's the latest statistic in 2010, Department of Justice.

But it gets more difficult when it's an international issue, so, in the event, for example, that a father or a mother would take their child out of state, we have here laws within domestically, but when you start going internationally, now, you have to examine extradition treaties, which is our ability in the U.S. to pull someone back into our jurisdiction to get justice.

Fortunately, if he does go to Mexico, Brooke, we do have an extradition treaty with Mexico. Where else he might go, it could present some very difficult problems.

BALDWIN: So then, add the layer to that, in these custodial abduction cases, right, where you might have a parent as the abductor, alleged abductor, do prosecutors treat the parents as they would a stranger kidnapping a child or is that different?

JACKSON: You know what, Brooke? It's a bit different because what you have in federal law, even state law to a lesser extent, you have what are call aggravating and mitigating factors. So, when there's a prosecution, there are some factors that aggravate it, meaning they're going to treat it more harshly, and there are other factors which mitigate. Of course, parents they have issues with each other. There may be an abduction predicated upon potential abuse, not suggesting that's what's here, but there are other factors, love of the child.

So, they'll assess the entire situation, but the answer is, yes, they're treated differently. At the same time, Brooke, you don't want to condone it because you don't want to encourage this type of behavior.

BALDWIN: OK. Can we talk about the passenger on this plane? Let's talk about this. This is the -- I know, I know. This is the case, this is the fake bomb threat that led to a real criminal charge, or charges, I should say.

Follow me here. So, we talked about this yesterday. The scare on board that U.S. Air flight. Remember, they had to go back to Philadelphia. Someone called, saying one of the passengers, Christopher Shell, was carrying a liquid bomb.

Yeah, you can imagine the reaction onboard. Teams come in, draw their weapons on this guy. Turns out he is wanted for some warrants in Texas, but he had no bomb. He was a target of caller, a man dating Shell's ex-girlfriend.

That man, Kenneth Smith, is charged now with a with federal crime. So, yikes, how much trouble is this Kenneth Smith in now?

JACKSON: You know, Brooke, big trouble and here's why. Look, in the wake of 9/11 ...

BALDWIN: You don't do this.

JACKSON: You can't do it, especially, you know, we're on heightened alert, heightened security. Just, in general, our way of life has changed since 9/11. Of course, we're coming to an anniversary of that. But even if -- you know what? He's got motivations. Apparently, this guy, the hoaxer, right ...

BALDWIN: This was revenge or something.

JACKSON: Exactly. Apparently, he's dating an ex-girlfriend of the person that he hoaxed and, apparently, this person who was hoaxed posted some Facebook pictures that were not too flattering of his girlfriend now and, so, he does this. But on the legal side of it, it's not funny and it's not funny because a lot of things can happen. In this particular case, Brooke, you have a flight that's flying off.

Of course, what they do, our officials, they take it seriously, so, of course, they reroute the flight heading to Dallas right back to Philadelphia. Everyone comes off and he -- how horrifying -- at gun point, get off the plane, get off the plane.

So, you can imagine the resources involved. You can imagine how people felt with the plane coming back. Oh, my goodness, what's the matter. And there's a federal statute, of course, that addresses this issue with regard to filing false information and it's not going to be pretty.

BALDWIN: All I can do is shake my head. All I can do is shake my head. This is some girlfriend, boyfriend, ex-, don't, don't. I would be furious.

JACKSON: There are better ways to get back at someone. This is not the way. BALDWIN: Yeah, taking it to the extreme. Joey Jackson, thank you.

JACKSON: A pleasure, Brooke.

BALDWIN: Thank you very much, "On the Case" with us on this Friday.

JACKSON: Always.

BALDWIN: Vice President Joe Biden made a claim that caught my eye last night, a claim against Republicans and Medicare, specifically. We are about to fact check his statement and what this means for you.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BALDWIN: In watching the convention last night, I heard this from Joe Biden. Did you? This is the vice president critiquing Team Romney's plan for health care.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JOE BIDEN, VICE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: What they didn't tell you, what they didn't tell you is the plan they are proposing would cause Medicare to go bankrupt by 2016.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BALDWIN: Medicare bankrupt by 2016? You heard that. So, that kind of made me wonder. Elizabeth Cohen, our senior medical correspondent, you're fact-checking this. Is it true or false?

ELIZABETH COHEN, CNN SENIOR MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT: The fact-check organizations have said this is not quite true. The word "bankrupt" or "go broke," which was also used at the convention, means no money, right? And that's not the case. So, these organizations have said that Medicare will not go broke, will not be bankrupt by 2014 -- 2016, rather.

Now, what would happen, if Obamacare was reversed, is that it wouldn't -- Medicare wouldn't have enough money to 100-percent pay its bills, but it could pay most of its bills and this has happened in the past and Congress has always figured out some way to make it work. They wouldn't be bankrupt. They wouldn't have enough money to pay all their bills, but they would be able to pay most of their bills.

BALDWIN: And this is also related to the number -- let me get it -- $716 billion number that we've been hearing from the Romney camp, right? Their allegation is that Obama cut that out of Medicare. This is related, yes?

COHEN: It is related because here's what happened. So, Obama, as they put it, cut it out of Medicare. Obama's team would say that he found that much in savings. So, he looked at Medicare in the same way that you might look at your household budget and said, where can we save money, according to the Obama campaign? And they found $716 billion to save, which I'm sure you haven't found in your household account. BALDWIN: Not yet. Not yet.

COHEN: Not quite that much. But they said they found that much to save and, so, in fact, what Medicare analysts have said is, OK, with those savings, you can actually go further along without running into financial trouble. So, yes, so, it's an Obama savings, in his words, means that Medicare will be sort of financially healthier for a longer period of time. Of course, Romney's camp says those are cuts that will hurt seniors. Obama camp says, no, seniors won't feel these cuts, these savings.

BALDWIN: Got it. Elizabeth, thank you.

COHEN: Thanks.

BALDWIN: And he called himself "The Angel of Death." "The Angel of Death" here. And, now, a young man who killed several people being transferred to a less secure facility.

Coming up next, we're going to speak to the mom of one of his victims. Find out why she thinks the judge made this surprising call.

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BALDWIN: When David Attias killed four people in 2001, he reportedly called himself "The Angel of Death." He was found guilty of the deaths, but the California jury decided a week later he was not guilty by reason of insanity. So, he was then sent away, not to a hospital -- he was sent away not to a prison, I should say, but to a hospital, but now he is one step closer to being out on his own.

A judge ruled this week that Attias will be leaving that hospital for another less restrictive facility. Attias' attorney, Deedrea Edgar, told CNN the decision was, quote, "medically recommended, unanimously" by a team of doctors and that, if Attias stays where he is, quote, "he would become an institutionalized independent."

Now, one of the people David Attias killed was Nicholas Bourdakis, a pilot, a trainer of guide dogs and a college student when Attias ran him down. Bourdakis was 20-years old and his mother, Tricia, is on the phone with me from Alamo, California.

And, Miss Bourdakis, why do you think this judge let the murderer of your son be moved?

TRICIA BOURDAKIS, MOTHER OF MURDER VICTIM (via telephone): My feeling is that it's a travesty of justice that Judge Adams decided to let him out. And I feel that he didn't want to listen to this case again because David would be allowed every year to petition the courts for his release.

BALDWIN: Beyond a travesty of justice, though, do you think that the public safety will be at risk at all when he's released?

BOURDAKIS: Oh, absolutely. Absolutely. The point that was made in the hearing by the expert witness, Margaret Hagen, who her whole career -- and she's very highly educated, very knowledgeable in the study of statistics and scientific testing and she looked at the records and said that, with the history of his, there's no question that it's just a matter of time before he'll re-offend.

BALDWIN: Now, Tricia, as he is, you know, will be heading into this less restrictive facility, what do you think should happen if he shows he's getting better? No longer insane?

BOURDAKIS: Well, personally?

BALDWIN: Yes.

BOURDAKIS: I just don't think that's going to happen.

BALDWIN: You don't?

BOURDAKIS: No. And when you look at his history, his whole -- the reason for the commitment was because he had a history of violence from early childhood through his college days and I don't think that's going to change.

BALDWIN: Is there anything you, other victims' families could do to stop his release from the institution?

BOURDAKIS: No. No.

BALDWIN: Nothing?

BOURDAKIS: No, it's only up to the courts and the court has decided what they want to do in this case. And I think the only thing that I would like to see done is I think we need to change the whole NGI plea that is allowable by the courts.

In my mind, I don't care whether you've got a mental illness or not, it's not a license to kill and nowhere in any mental illness description does it say that this condition will lead to murder. These are people that -- there's lots of people with mental illnesses that don't commit murder and, with the NGI plea in our courts, it's basically in my mind almost a license to kill. You can get away with it.

BALDWIN: Interesting. It's not a license to kill. Not a license to kill. Your son, Nicholas, what do you think he'd be doing today?

BOURDAKIS: I'm sorry. I couldn't hear you.

BALDWIN: What do you think your son would be doing today if he were not murdered?

BOURDAKIS: Oh, he would be a very productive member of society. He was funny. He was bright. He enjoyed life. He had had many accomplishments already. He would be an active member and productive member of society. As would Chris and Elie and Ruth and Bert. And people forget that, you know, absolutely nothing was charged or happened to David for what he did to Bert.

BALDWIN: Tricia Bourdakis, we appreciate you calling in. We are sorry, again, for the loss of your son. Thank you.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BALDWIN: Hurricane Isaac shoved oil on to the Louisiana coast and some of that oil, we now know, is from the BP spill more than two years ago. You see the tar balls here. The state did preliminary testing on two samples of the oil washed up on Elmer's Island. That's one of the wildlife refuges there. BP says it was still working in the area on cleanup from the 2010 spill before this past hurricane hit.

And let's talk about driving because who can deny there are times when you're driving and you just kind of want to push it a little bit, but that darn speed limit just gets in the way. You don't want to break the law. Well, it isn't going to get in some way of some drivers in Texas anymore because it is getting the highest speed limit in the whole country. You see the sign, 85-miles-per-hour. But it's only approved for the specific 41-mile stretch of highways that's connecting Austin to San Antonio.

Chad Myers, I saw this, this morning and I thought, my goodness. We were joking this morning that so many people go 85 in a 70, 75, so we just worry, if it's posted at 85, what could people be going?

CHAD MYERS, AMS METEOROLOGIST: Well, the normal speed between Austin and San Antonio is about 10 on the interstate, on I-35, so they have built now this private road. It's going to be -- you're going to have to pay for it to get on it from the south side of what now is Highway 130, already a toll road, all the way down to I-10 and then connect there.

It's a longer trip, but if you can go 85, if you can go 80, you have now saved yourself half of a lifetime by the time it takes you to crawl from Round Rock through Austin and you keep going and keep going and going.

BALDWIN: Is that why they approved it? Because of the traffic?

MYERS: Yes. Because the traffic really is horrific here. Here's the old 130 already open. Nobody uses it. It's just not -- you can see like ten cars on it if you go the entire distance. There's the airport there at Austin. Now, they're breaking off from that 130 and going south. So it doesn't go back to I-35 anymore. It goes down here.

There's Lockhart. It turns to the south, keeps going. There's the road. You can see the road there on the Google Earth just being built because those pictures aren't obviously in real-time. Kind of a swervy little road all the way down to I-10 and it's going to save a lot of time.

BALDWIN: Don't you know, though, if it's posted at 85, are there going to be police posted through that stretch to make sure you're not going too much faster than that?

MYERS: I don't care about 85. I care about 55 and 85. It's that difference. It's the delta between two different drivers that makes it a lot more dangerous. Not clearly it's dangerous at 85 more than 75, but it's the difference, those slow people and then the fast people.

BALDWIN: Chad, thank you.

MYERS: You're welcome.

BALDWIN: Thank you, thank you. And thank you so much for watching us this week. I'm Brooke Baldwin.

Let's go to "THE SITUATION ROOM". It begins right now.