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Free Fall Launch Canceled; Jerry Sandusky Gets 30-60 Years; Syrian Palace Insider Speaks Out; Demanding Answers on Libya Attack; First At-home HIV Test Hits Stores

Aired October 09, 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: Hi, everyone. I'm Brooke Baldwin.

And developing right now, man, oh, man, launch canceled, at least for now. What was supposed to be this record-breaking jump from high above us in the stratosphere is now a no go this afternoon. Chad Myers is standing by with me.

Chad, we're going to talk weather and all things helium balloon here in just a second, but let me back up. If you're just tuning in here, we've been talking about Felix Baumgartner. He's this Austrian base jumper. And he was set -- should have happened right this moment -- set to have this balloon, this massive balloon, here it is, take him just about 23 miles above the earth, where he was set to jump.

But here's the big but. The but is that the wind blowing against this super thin material here of this balloon is too, too much. Far too dangerous for him.

I want to go straight to the ground to CNN's Brian Todd who is in Roswell, New Mexico.

And, Brian, just sitting around the newsroom, you know, we were all sort of crest (ph) fallen, sort of anticipating this, you know, hopefully history being made. Set the scene for me there on the ground. Disappointment.

BRIAN TODD, ABC CORRESPONDENT: It sure is, Brooke. You know, we're all about as deflated as that balloon is right now. And we can show you that balloon. Our photo journalist Mike Love (ph) will try to zoom into it. The balloon is completely deflated on the ground over there. And that was essentially the reason that this mission had to be aborted today. You know, once they got the thing almost inflated, it looked like it was just about fully inflated, the winds started really whipping it around I'd say fairly severely. Surface winds that came upon, I guess, fairly surprisingly.

At that point, they decided that -- just was not optimum condition to launch this. Shortly thereafter, they brought Felix Baumgartner out of the capsule on to a crane where he was lowered. He is now in kind of this air stream container we believe that is next to the capsule and so the mission is aborted for today.

Tomorrow, weather conditions not as certain, so this could be delayed beyond tomorrow, possibly to Thursday. We're told that initially now Thursday may look a little bit better for the weather. But we are going to have to keep close tabs on that. So right now, Brooke, this mission aborted for today. A lot of disappointment here.

BALDWIN: OK, Brian Todd, I'm going to come -- I'm going to come back to you because I still think it's important to, you know, underline and italicize the importance, the historic significance of this jump because it will be happening at some point, as you point out.

But, Chad Myers, I just have to go to you. I know you've been watching this so closely, along with the rest of us. Talk to me about how thin that balloon material was. I mean it was like -- I heard it was one tenth of a sandwich baggie in thinness, if that's correct.

CHAD MYERS, AMS METEOROLOGIST: That's right. Yet it still weighed 3,700 pounds, being that thin.

BALDWIN: Wow.

MYERS: That's how big it was. When this balloon got to the top of the atmosphere, it would have filled six Madison Square Gardens in volume. That's how big this would have expanded to be up at the top of the atmosphere.

We knew -- Brooke, we knew that by the time we're talking about now, Mountain Time, that there was going to be heat on the ground. The temperature this morning when they wanted to launch was 45. It's now 83. That air has to rise because hot air rises, just like that balloon is going to.

Above Roswell, New Mexico, was a jet stream today. That air came up to the jet stream, mixed back down. They had a 16-mile-per-hour wind gust. A rolling gust. Two minutes later, it was gone. But that 16- mile-per-hour wind gust destroyed literally the chance of that balloon going into space. We believe that balloon cost almost a quarter of a million dollars and it's done. Can't use it again. It's going back in the box and getting -- just thrown away. Once it's out of the box, can't put it back together. It's like --

BALDWIN: So new balloon for the retry?

MYERS: Yes. They have another backup, thank goodness.

BALDWIN: OK.

MYERS: I don't think tomorrow looks good. I don't even think until Sunday looks good. And let me go back to this. Let me see if this graphic is still here. Shawn (ph), if it's not, help me out with -- no, here it is.

This is what we ran into. We ran into -- trying to open it. We ran into a cold front. We ran into a jet stream that cooled down the entire East Coast. This is the jet stream. Here is New York City. Here's Florida. Here's Texas.

Well, about a month ago when they wanted to do this, the jet stream was 500 miles farther to the north. No wind at all. The capsule on a practice jump was damaged. They had to wait a month to fix it. So they're a month behind where they wanted to be, and that one month caused that early fall jet stream to come down with the cold front and that's where the winds came from, that delay.

BALDWIN: And, I mean, look, even though it's disappointing, it's a precarious situation. This is someone's life, so they have to be extra, extra, extra careful.

MYERS: Oh, sure.

BALDWIN: Chad, we'll be talking about this, I'm sure, throughout the week as we anticipate that next launch date. Thank you.

MYERS: You're welcome.

BALDWIN: Brian Todd, back to you, just because I just think this guy's story is entirely fascinating. He's called Fearless Felix. He's this experienced base jumper. You know has jump -- base jumped off of the Christ Redeemer statue in Rio. And so this was, what, his attempt to sort of supersede anything that has ever happened in history, break the sound barrier, the speed of sound. Tell me more about him and your conversation with him when you asked him if he was afraid of death.

TODD: Yes, Brooke, he's a fascinating guy. I mean, you mentioned it, he base jumped from the Christ the Redeemer statue in Rio. He has base jumped from the Petronas Towers in Kuala Lumpur. This would have been his latest and greatest. The records, we've been, you know, been well reported. Breaking the speed of sound just outside a space vehicle. Breaking the record for the longest ever free fall. And so this was going to be, and hopefully still will be, his crowning achievement. I asked him back in May when I spoke to him at the Air and Space Museum in Washington just about, you know, the key question here, are you scared? Take a listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TODD: Are you scared, you nervous?

FELIX BAUMGARTNER, TEST JUMP PILOT: Actually, I am not scared and I am not nervous because we put so much preparation, we rehearsed everything. I mean just getting out of the capsule is a procedure which includes 43 steps. And we have been properly trained every step.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

TODD: So now they're going through all of those steps again to see what needs to be adjusted for a possible launch later this week, maybe tomorrow, maybe Thursday. We're going to see.

Chad mentioned that the balloon that they were going to use to send this up is now spent. Totally correct. You cannot lose that anymore. What we're told, though, is that they do have a backup balloon. That can be used pretty much anytime from here, Brooke. So they do have backup systems in place.

One other thing to note. They did have another malfunction. There was a radio problem. One of the radios went dead. They didn't seem to think that was enough to delay the mission. That was when he was sealed in the capsule and when they were starting to inflate the balloon or just before that. So that was another issue that they're going to have to work through in the days ahead.

BALDWIN: OK, as they work through those issue, I just have one more question, just because I've been reading and reading and reading about this whole thing. And so when this happens, and when he goes high above us, you know, some 120,000 feet, he's in that capsule and he sort of begins to exit, from what I understand, he's basally going to, I don't know -- I thought cannonball. The proper way is delta position, which is when you maximize your speed, right? So he's trying to maximize his speed as he freefalls, correct?

TODD: That -- that is absolutely right. He does it like -- what they're told -- what they're telling us is, he does a little bunny hop. It's not a dive. He can't dive off like a skydiver would dive and then expand your arms and start to fly right away. He's got to go into a delta position. That means a bunny hop off the platform and then he tries to angle his head forward and down, almost into -- almost like a tuck. And that's where he really achieves maximum speed going into the sound barrier and past the sound barrier.

You know, this is faster than a jumbo jet travels. Six hundred and ninety plus miles an hour is after than a jumbo jet travels. He may go as fast as 720 miles an hour in noting but his suit, helmet and parachute. He's got to be in the right position.

One of the other risks, Brooke, he could, in those first 30 seconds or so, go into a severe spin.

BALDWIN: Right.

TODD: If that happens, he could become unconscious. They might have to operate his -- deploy his chute remotely. These are all risks that could occur. And so they're, you know -- but they've taken all of these risks into account. They seem to be prepared for each one of them.

BALDWIN: OK. Well, we will wait a day, a couple of days. We'll have to wait and find out when exactly he can go up there. Brian Todd, obviously, if you got access to Felix today in the next couple of hours, let us know. We'd love to hear from him as well.

TODD: Sure will.

BALDWIN: Brian Todd, thank you very much. And, Chad, thank you.

Now this.

Romney and Obama. As the candidates blitz the buckeye state and the polls tighten, could this all come down to Ohio? I'm Brooke Baldwin. The news is now.

A man close to Bashar al Assad's regime defects and speaks to CNN.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE (through translator): He seemed worried all day long. We rarely saw him smiling.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BALDWIN: Plus, a consulate's attacked, an ambassador is killed, and this lawmaker wants answers. Jason Chaffetz joins me live, fresh off his trip to Libya.

And the Magic Johnson tells me about his in-home test that could save your life.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BALDWIN: It could have been worse for Jerry Sandusky. The convicted child molester could have gotten 400 years in prison after a jury found him guilty of sexually abusing 10 boys over 15 years. But a judge today sentenced the former Penn State assistant football coach to no less than 30 years and no more than 60 years in prison. Whether 400 or 60 or even 30, simply put, Sandusky, at age 68, will most likely die behind bars. The former coach did not go down without a last minute play, if you will. Last night, on the very eve of his sentencing, Sandusky released an audio recording to a campus radio station. And I just want to play a portion of it for you. Listen to this.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JERRY SANDUSKY, CONVICTED CHILD MOLESTER (voice-over): They can take away my life, they can make me out as a monster, they can treat me as a monster, but they can't take away my heart. In my heart, I know I did not do these alleged, disgusting acts. My wives has been my only sex partner, and that was after marriage.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BALDWIN: CNN's Jason Carroll was inside that courtroom for the sentencing today.

And, Jason, just listening to that audio, I mean, obviously, he's still claiming, you know, he's not a monster, that he is the victim in all of this. But you heard them, the victims had their say in court today. What did you see and hear in there?

JASON CARROLL, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, it wasn't just the victims who had their say in court today, but also Judge Cleland as well. So since you just played that radio address, let me very quickly first give you what Judge Cleland had to say about that. He made it very clear before sentencing that he had actually heard that radio statement that Jerry Sandusky had released. And, you know, in part of that statement, Sandusky felt as though it was some sort of conspiracy between the media and the courts and the victims. That's why he was tried for this original case. And before sentencing, the judge said, like all conspiracy theories, Mr. Sandusky, it flows from the undeniable to the unbelievable. And that's basically how the victims felt about this as well, Brooke. And there were a number of victims who spoke today. Three in all. Victim number five. I'll start with him. This young man stood up in front of the court. Jerry Sandusky just sitting just a few feet to his right. He did not look at Jerry Sandusky as he read his statement. He cried, he sobbed and he said, "the sentence will never erase what he did to me. It will never make me whole. He must pay for his crimes, take into account the tears, the pain and the private anguish."

And then the young man identified as victim number four stood up. This time, this young man did look at Jerry Sandusky, not once, not twice, but several times. He looked at him directly and he said, "I want you to know, I do not forgive you. I don't know if I can ever forgive you."

And then, of course, we heard from Jerry Sandusky himself. He spoke for about 13 minutes. He was emotional at times. Read from a prepared statement that I'm just finding out now that it was a statement that he was just putting the final touches on late yesterday, Brooke.

BALDWIN: Oh, wow.

CARROLL: In fact, Joe Amendola didn't get an opportunity to see the statement in its full entirety until both of them were in court this morning. And then Joe Amendola said I just had a quick opportunity to look over it. Jerry Sandusky, standing in front of the court and basically saying, quote, "I feel the need it talk, not for arrogance, but from my heart. I'm filled with emotion and determination. I did not do these disgusting acts. Others can make me out to be a monster, but they cannot take away my heart." A lot of emotion in the courtroom this morning, Brooke.

BALDWIN: Jason, he is obviously going away for a long, long time. But, you know, as you point out, the judge could have -- could have given him 400 years. There has been some outcry over this sentence that it wasn't enough.

CARROLL: Yes.

BALDWIN: What did the judge -- did the judge address that?

CARROLL: He did. And he said that the law made it very clear that he could have sentenced him to hundreds of years. But he said that he felt as though a sentence like that would have been abstract and he wanted something to issue a sentence that was more realistic and something that would be felt not only by Jerry Sandusky, but the victims themselves. And had an opportunity when the sentencing was over, spoke to many of the victims' attorneys and they're satisfied with this -- with this sentence.

But a woman came up to me just before I was about to go on earlier today and she said, what did he get? What did he get? And I said, well, he got a minimum of 30 years, a maximum of 60. And she said, you know, 30 years times 10, times 100, still wouldn't be enough for what he did to those young men and to this community. BALDWIN: I want to play, if I can here, Jason, I want to play just another portion of that audio that he released last night, Jerry Sandusky released. And, again, you know, suggesting he, again, is the victim here. Listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SANDUSKY: The young man who is dramatic, a veteran accuser and always sought attention started everything. He was joined by a well orchestrated effort of the media, investigators, the system, Penn State, psychologists, civil attorneys and other accusers. They won.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BALDWIN: So despite everything, Jason Carroll, I presume this means an appeal is on the way.

CARROLL: Yes. Oh, most definitely. And Joe Amendola made it very clear that he intends to appeal based on the fact -- you know, a number of factors. But one of the leading factors in his eyes is that he does not feel as though he received enough time to put forth an adequate defense. He felt as though he was rushed through the process and that's going to be one of the grounds for his appeals. Although you speak to a number of legal analysts in that way and they feel as though he's pretty much on thin ice with that type of appeal.

But, once again, you listen to that radio address. That radio address, that statement really seemed to strike a number of people the wrong way. Not just the victims, the victims' attorneys, but the judge himself, Judge Cleland. One final quote here that he had said. Said, "the tragedy of this crime is that it's a betrayal." He said, "it's a crime not just to their bodies, but to their psyche and to their soul." And he made it very clear that he had also taken into account not just Dottie Sandusky's letter that she had written on behalf of her husband, but he also took into account that radio statement that Jerry Sandusky gave late yesterday.

BALDWIN: Jason Carroll, we appreciate all your reporting there.

And just to point out to our viewers, we're seeing these pictures of Jerry Sandusky and underneath the prison garb is a bulletproof vest presumably to protect him from anyone in the crowd today seeking revenge. He goes to jail and then finally to federal prison.

Coming up next, the race for president truly neck and neck. Folks, less than a month. The polls are tightening. Both candidates are zeroing in on one state. Can you guess? The state that could be the difference.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BALDWIN: Mitt Romney up and running. Running, of course, for the White House. Take a look. Mitt Romney, Newport News, Virginia, shaking some hands on the tarmac, hopping on a plane to Iowa. Juxtapose that picture with the president, boarding Air Force One. This is San Francisco here on his way to Columbus, Ohio. And before the day is out, Romney, like Obama, will venture into the buckeye state with 18 electoral votes there. CNN's John King is in Ohio for us today. We'll be talking to him a little bit later and talk about the importance here of the buckeye state come November 6th.

But right now, Mitt Romney, trying to ride that wave of post debate momentum. In a speech last hour, just west of Des Moines, a blustery afternoon there, and a pitch to Iowa farmers.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MITT ROMNEY (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: People have been waiting a long time for a farm bill. And the president has to exert the kind of presidential leadership it takes to get the House and the Senate together and actually pass a farm bill. That's something I will devote my time to, to make sure that we get that bill passed so farmers know what they can expect. There are big differences between the president and me. He has no plan for rural America, no plan for agriculture, no plan for getting people back to work. And I do. You know I've spoken about it all over the country and I'm going to make sure I help the American farmer and I help our economy and I get America working again.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BALDWIN: Again, Mitt Romney in Iowa today.

And now big news from the world of political polls. We're watching all these polls. So within just this past hour, Gallup has published its daily tracking poll. Boom, here you go. This is a nationwide poll. This is registered voters. And you see it here, Obama at 49 percent, Romney at 46 percent. That is up one point from yesterday. One point down, actually, for the president.

And hang with me because now, as we're counting, 28 days here until the election, Gallup now has unveiled a tracking poll of likely voters here. Likely voters added to the mix. And you see the numbers. Romney now at 49, above Obama at 47 percent. Again, among, as it points out, likely voters. And it's at least the third poll since Sunday showing Romney leading Obama. Very, very significant.

So, is team Obama, you know, pushing the panic button? Apparently not. At least not from the ad the campaign released today. Take a look.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MITT ROMNEY (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Big bird.

Big Bird.

Big Bird.

BIG BIRD: It's me, Big Bird.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE, POLITICAL AD: Big, yellow, a menace to our economy. Mitt Romney knows it's not Wall Street you have to worry about, it's "Sesame Street." (END VIDEO CLIP)

BALDWIN: The satirical ad follows Romney's pledge to cut funding for PBS. But "Sesame Street" declaring itself nonpartisan is asking Team Obama to take that ad down. A Romney spokesman says it's alarming that the president is talking about "Sesame Street" a month before the election.

Tonight, Wolf Blitzer has a live interview with Mitt Romney, 6:00 Eastern, only here on CNN. Tune in for that. Then jump ahead to Thursday. It is the vice presidential debate. Joe Biden versus Paul Ryan. CNN's special live coverage begins 7:00 Eastern, 4:00 Pacific on CNN.

Spinning lies and publishing propaganda. A Syrian palace insider defects from the Bashar al Assad regime and spills his secrets to CNN. That's next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BALDWIN: A Syrian defector is now telling his tale of intrigue and betrayal and of Syria's president wandering the halls, kicking chairs. This defector claims he witnessed firsthand what's going on inside the Bashar al Assad regime. The defector is now in Turkey and that is where he spoke with our Ivan Watson.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

IVAN WATSON, ABC CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Abdullah al Omar used to rub shoulders with some of the most powerful people in Syria -- government ministers, foreign dignitaries, and even the Syrian president. For five years, Omar claims he worked in the presidential palace. His main job was propaganda.

ABDULLAH AL OMAR, SYRIAN DEFECTOR (through translator): I was a member of the press office in the presidential palace. We met and manufactured news and see how we could distribute and publish these lies. We invented stories that would help justify the crimes committed by the Syrian regime.

WATSON: Omar says he was a member of a 15-person team working under long time government spokeswoman Bethaynia Shaban (ph). When high- ranking officials, like the former prime minister, defected, Omar's job was to trash the defectors' reputations.

OMAR: We contacted regime loyalists from Lebanon and Syria to appear as guests on al Jazeera and al Arabiya to say these defectors were bad and corrupt.

WATSON: But now Omar is one of those defectors and he's offering details impossible for CNN to independently verify about how the Syrian president has coped with the uprising.

WATSON (on camera): How did Bashar al Assad's behavior change over the last year and a half? OMAR: He seemed worried all day long. We rarely saw him smiling. He paced up and down the corridors and stared out the windows at Damascus. He was always anxious and tense. One day I saw him kick a table. He was cursing, swearing against the Syrian people.

WATSON (voice-over): Omar shows photos of himself with top Iranian officials, like the Iranian ambassadors to Damascus and Beirut.

WATSON (on camera): Were the Iranians meeting with Bashar al Assad frequently?

WATSON (voice-over): Almost daily, he tells me, four and five times a week.

Omar says the biggest crisis came in July, after a bombing killed this man, presidential security adviser Hassan Turkmani (ph), as well as three other top security officials. He says the bombing also seriously wounded Assad's brother, Maher, a military commander who hasn't been seen in public in months.

OMAR (Through Translator): Two days after he returned from medical treatment in Russia, Mahare al-Assad came to the presidential palace. He'd lost his left leg in the bombing and also the use of his left arm.

WATSON: Last month Omar deflected and fled to his hometown of Atareb in northern Syria, now a ghost town devastated by the civil war.

(On camera): How did you feel when you saw the destruction in Atareb?

OMAR (Through Translator): I swear, I cried when I entered Atareb and saw all the houses and shops abandoned and everything destroyed and burned. When I saw with my own eyes, I cried. And asked how could Bashar al-Assad do this? I want to apologize to the Syrian people because I worked for this butcher, this killer regime.

WATSON (voice-over): A tearful apology, but his sincerity is questionable, especially when coming from a man who admits to spending years lying for the Syrian regime.

Ivan Watson, CNN, Istanbul.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BROOKE BALDWIN, CNN ANCHOR: Ivan Watson, thank you.

U.S. consulate attacked, an ambassador killed and now some lawmakers were demanding answers from the Obama administration over what exactly happened and that includes Congressman Jason Chaffetz who just returned from a fact-finding mission in Libya. He'll join me live. He'll tell me what he discovered next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BALDWIN: It has been almost a month now since four Americans were killed n Libya, U.S. Ambassador Chris Stevens, foreign service officer Sean Smith and former Navy SEALs Ty Woods and Glen Doherty. But it's clear no one is forgetting about the sacrifice they made including Mitt Romney who today revealed he randomly met Doherty at a holiday party just a couple of years ago.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MITT ROMNEY (R), PRESIDENTIAL NOMINEE: You can imagine how I felt when I found out that he was one of the two former Navy SEALs killed in Benghazi on September 11th. And it touched me, obviously, as I recognize this young man that I thought was so impressive, had lost his life in the service of his fellow men and women. He -- according to the reports on CNN International that I read, he was actually in a different building, in an annex, a safe place somewhere else across town when he and his colleagues there heard that the consulate was under attack. And they went there.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BALDWIN: Mitt Romney getting emotional there in Iowa today. Tomorrow there will be a hearing on Capitol Hill to look into, quote, "the security failures that preceded the attack," end quote. This is from the Oversight Government Reform Committee's Web site.

As the committee is very much still searching for answers, what is known is that it took the Obama administration eight days before acknowledging the attack was, in fact, a terrorist act. A detail, a senior law enforcement source tells CNN, investigators knew from day one.

I want to bring in Utah Congressman Jason Chaffetz, he is a member of the oversight panel, chairman of the subcommittee, and just got back from Libya after spending the weekend there on a fact-finding mission.

So, Congressman, welcome back to the show. Let's just begin with where specifically in Libya did you go and what did you find?

REP. JASON CHAFFETZ (R), OVERSIGHT AND GOVERNMENT REFORM COMMITTEE: Went to Tripoli, could not get into Benghazi, it's still too dangerous. And the very first thing we did is I -- I too, I got emotional and in -- you know, in talking to the people there on the ground. They lost four loved ones. Their ambassador, they're away from their families, they're serving their country, and after we did that, then we toured the embassy itself, looked at what was going on with the security and had some good lengthy discussions about what did and did not happen leading up to the event on 9/11.

BALDWIN: What was your biggest takeaway from the trip, biggest takeaway, biggest frustration?

CHAFFETZ: You know, I was -- actually upon reflection, I walked out of there. There was not a single person that ever mentioned this video that the Obama administration claims sparked the whole thing. Nobody on the ground ever mentioned that as one of the issues there on the ground. I also walked away with my own personal impression that really politics was driving the security decisions. The need and desire by the Obama administration to have the perception of normalization as quickly as possible as opposed to letting the security personnel dictate what security should look like in Libya.

BALDWIN: Perception of normalization.

CHAFFETZ: Yes.

BALDWIN: Is this based upon people you spoke with?

CHAFFETZ: Yes.

BALDWIN: Details you know you can't share or just a gut feeling?

CHAFFETZ: A little bit of all of the above. But clearly there was an ask to secure the physical facilities and have upgrades to those, those were denied. They had made requests for additional American personnel who knew how to handle a gun and protect those. That was also denied. In fact, there was a reduction, for instance, in Benghazi, the plan that was laid out by Ambassador Kennedy in December of 2011 said that we would have five personnel there on the ground, protecting Americans.

They never reached that goal of five. What they were encouraged to do is go hire more Libyans. Well, it's after a revolution, there isn't exactly a rent-a-cop around the corner. How do you vet and train people in a proper way? And then part of the consequence is, I mean, look, we've got four dead Americans in a consulate, an outpost there that we can't still to this day get to.

BALDWIN: And I understand this happened after the revolution. But to your point about, you know, not relying on home country security, it is fairly typical having talked to people at the Pentagon, our folks at the Pentagon, it is fairly typical to rely on local security and not always U.S.

But that said, Congressman, I have this letter. This is the letter dated October 2nd that you and Chairman Issa, Darrell Issa, sent specifically to Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, and let me just read part of it for you and just for our viewers. Obviously you helped write this. It reads, "Multiple U.S. federal government officials have confirmed to the committee that prior to the September 11th attack, the U.S. mission in Libya made repeated requests for increased security in Benghazi. The mission was denied, these resources by officials in Washington."

And you go on to, you know, state these different examples. It says, "Confirmed to the committee." The question is, did you -- did Congressman Issa talk to Democrats about sending the letter?

CHAFFETZ: We have fully informed the Democrats. In fact we interviewed somebody this morning, the Democrats were there. I went to Tripoli, we invited Democrats to come to that.

BALDWIN: How --

CHAFFETZ: Of course we did that to be involved in this whole thing.

BALDWIN: Let me jump in. We're hearing a different story from Democrats who are telling CNN that they got a 24-hour heads up.

CHAFFETZ: That's what I got, too.

BALDWIN: That you were going on this fact-finding mission.

CHAFFETZ: That's what I got as well. Given the security parameters there, I couldn't -- I could barely talk to my wife to tell her I was going in there, that's about all the security would allow us to go in there. Imagine the targets that we'd be knowing that we would be there on the ground. I did go down with General Hamm. And in fact the State Department sent an attorney from their office and joined us the entire time.

To suggest the Democrats weren't with us, the State Department had their attorney with me the whole time.

BALDWIN: So you were given a 24-hour heads up to go to Libya just as some of these Democrats are telling that --

(CROSSTALK)

CHAFFETZ: Yes. Now I --

BALDWIN: And in addition to that, they told us they were just CC'd on this letter to Secretary of State Clinton and informed in any other way.

CHAFFETZ: Well, it's the way we communicate. We share the letter with them just as we did to the White House.

BALDWIN: Just confirming.

CHAFFETZ: There are policies and procedures -- yes. There's policies and procedures to do this. We're going to have the hearing here. I wish somebody else had come with me on the trip but nobody dropped everything and joined me. I did, but they didn't.

BALDWIN: Since -- I understand. Since the Republicans took control of the House in 2010, have you, Congressman Chaffetz, have you personally voted to cut funding for embassy security worldwide?

CHAFFETZ: I've absolutely -- voted to cut spending at the Pentagon and on other things within the State Department. But what we have to do in this station is we have to prioritize things. So for instance, in Baghdad, we have 15,000 contractors and there are over 6,000 security contractors there on the ground. This is President Obama's essentially private army. Yet we're arguing about whether or not we can get one dozen, maybe two dozen people into Libya.

You have to make this -- you have to make financial decisions and prioritize things. What my point is, we have to prioritize, security should be dictating security, not allow politics to dictate security. And that's what I'm afraid happened in this situation.

BALDWIN: So sadly because of what happened in Benghazi, you agree that security needs to be reprioritized whether you're a Republican or a Democrat.

CHAFFETZ: Absolutely.

BALDWIN: More funding needs to continue. And sadly --

CHAFFETZ: You have to prioritize. You have to prioritize this. We spend more than $30 billion in U.S. aid. Maybe we can't give out as much aid as we want, maybe we should say, we need to protect the assets and people that we have, that's a bigger priority than handing tens of millions of dollars as we do on a -- on a yearly basis to China.

We give U.S. aid to China, we're not protecting our people there on the ground in Libya. And I'm worried that there are other embassies and other situations around the world that aren't getting this security parameters that they're asking for.

BALDWIN: And therefore you have this --

CHAFFETZ: That's what they need.

BALDWIN: You know, this meeting, this massive meeting tomorrow, where I'm sure there will be many, many questions --

CHAFFETZ: Yes.

BALDWIN: -- answered and many -- many witnesses testifying. But final question to you, can you just confirm for me that the FBI did, in fact, visit the compound in Benghazi for I believe it was five hours with guards last week? Did that happen?

CHAFFETZ: I cannot confirm the length of time, but it is my understanding that they were able to be there for some point of time. But I have no idea how long.

BALDWIN: OK. Congressman Jason Chaffetz, thank you so much. We appreciate it.

CHAFFETZ: Thank you. Thank you.

BALDWIN: Be right back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

ALISON KOSIK, CNN BUSINESS CORRESPONDENT: Hi, there. Here on the "Help Desk" we're helping you pay off your student loans. And with me this hour are Liz Miller and Greg McBride.

Greg, here's a question for you.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: What's the fastest way to pay off my student loans?

(END VIDEO CLIP) KOSIK: Well, first of all, should she be in such a -- in such a hurry to pay off her loans?

GREG MCBRIDE, SENIOR FINANCIAL ANALYST, BANKRATE.COM: Well, look at the private student loans, first, and focus on getting those paid down. Not only do they tend to have higher and variable interest rates but they lack the flexibility of things like forbearance that lets you suspend payments if you have a period of financial difficulty. A lot of federal student loans have that provision in there.

Rank your debts from highest interest rate to lowest, focus the excess payments on the highest rate obligation. When you get that paid off, then focus on the next highest and so on down the line.

KOSIK: Any other additional advice?

LIZ MILLER, PRESIDENT, SUMMIT PLACE FINANCIAL ADVISORS: Well, the only other advice that a lot of people forget is if you're really focused and you have a lot of debt, you know that you can make a commitment to work in a nonprofit or a number of government service jobs and after 10 years of service, the remainder of that debt will be forgiven. And a lot of people who feel strapped forget that that's a potential opportunity out there.

KOSIK: I was just going to say, I forgot about that as well. And good advice, thanks very much.

And if you have an issue you want our experts to tackle, upload a 30- second video with your "Help Desk" question to ireport.com.

BALDWIN: Alison, thank you.

A Newt at-home HIV/AIDS test could help more people find out if they are, in fact, infected and help cut down on the spread of the disease.

And the one, the only, Magic Johnson, so nice to meet you. Such a pleasure. Going to join me live next to talk about the test that could save your life. That's next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BALDWIN: We know that better testing and treatment has significantly increased the number of Americans living with HIV. Still, one of every five people who has HIV doesn't know it and we told you in -- excuse me, we told you in July that the FDA approved the first completely in-home HIV test. And well, the big news here is that that test, which can deliver results within 40 minutes with a swab of your mouth, has now officially hit drugstores.

And joining me to talk about it, none other than NBA legend Magic Johnson, who, of course, who can forget that day, '91, stunned the world when he announced he had HIV, just about 21 years ago.

Magic Johnson, it is a pleasure. It is an honor. Thank you so much for joining me today. And just so we're all clear, so everyone knows, you are being paid by the test maker, OraSure Technologies, for your support here. So --

EARVIN "MAGIC" JOHNSON, NBA HALL OF FAMER: Yes.

BALDWIN: Magic Johnson, let's just begin with, how does this work, this in-home test?

JOHNSON: Well, first of all, Brooke, it is a real game-changer because of the fact that a lot of people will go to their doctors and we want to encourage them to continue to do that. But then there is a lot of people who are afraid to go to the doctor to find out if they are HIV positive or not. So when OraSure made this home oral quick swab that you can just take -- you know, swab your mouth, both upper and lower, it's really great because now you can find out in your own home, or your office, wherever you want to do it, and it's available right now in drugstores today, you know, from Walgreens, CVS on.

But it's really important because now we take away a lot of the fear of going to the doctor and that's very, very important.

BALDWIN: How accurate is it if I do this at home?

JOHNSON: It's about 90 percent. And that's really wonderful. Ninety plus. And that's great. Because that's what's important.

Look, doctors are already using this. So this is nothing like new. And the great thing about it, they have been using it for many, many years. And so now it's just available to the public. And so it's great because when you think about the fear factor, and you think about early detection can save your life, that's why I'm here 21 years.

BALDWIN: Wow.

JOHNSON: I found out early, I jumped on it, I started taking my meds, I make sure I still work out, and I make sure I was comfortable with my new status. And that's what we want to point out to people here. We want you to go take this test, or even go to the doctors, whichever way, but we want to make sure you take an HIV and AIDS test to find out your status.

BALDWIN: So Magic --

JOHNSON: And do something about it.

BALDWIN: I can just hear the people thinking, well, gosh, you know, should I really be getting the news? If I am HIV positive, is this something that I really should be finding out? Let's say I'm alone, in my own home, not -- you know, no mandatory counseling for me to get this test, you know. Is that necessarily a good thing?

JOHNSON: Well, you know what, be home and have somebody -- if you're afraid to get it yourself, have a a friend, both of you can take one or your husband, your partner, so to take the fear factor out of it, like you don't have a support system sitting there, you can do it with a friend, do it with somebody from your church, whatever it is that's going to make you comfortable. All we want you to do is get a test. And I think this is what is really important because a lot of people -- what our problem has been, a lot of people going to get tested when they have gone to the doctors, but they won't go back for the results. So right here, now we're saying in your own home, you can get the test, take it, find out your results, have somebody sitting there.

If you need somebody sitting there, which is good.

BALDWIN: Yes.

JOHNSON: And so they can support you if you are HIV positive.

BALDWIN: And that is why this is such a big deal. And that's why this is the first because not only are you taking this test at home, you're getting the results at home as well.

And, Magic, as you point out.

JOHNSON: That's right.

BALDWIN: You know, look, you're living proof, my new friend here, that you can really manage HIV, live this healthy successful life, but I imagine, Magic, that a lot of people look at you, and I already got tweets telling people I'm talk to you, and they say, well, Magic, he's a superstar athlete. He's got has all kinds of money, he has access to the very best drugs.

So I want to ask you if you really do. But do me a favor hold that thought?

JOHNSON: OK.

BALDWIN: I want that answer after the break.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BALDWIN: Back with Magic Johnson. We've been talking about this at- home HIV test that just drugstores out today so you can buy it.

And, Magic, where did -- where did I leave off? We were talking about magic drugs, which I have a feel you're about to tell me you are not taking magic drugs. Is that correct?

JOHNSON: That's --

BALDWIN: You take drugs that anyone out there that can take.

JOHNSON: That's right. The same 30 or so that's available to anybody else, that's the same 30 that is available for me. I'm on three of those drugs, what we call the cocktail, and I've been on those three and the cocktail has really changed the way we all can live today in terms of living with HIV. It's really been a game-changer there for us because it's prolonged life. So that's what I've been on.

Money can't save me. It has got to be the drugs. It has got to be my mindset. It has got to be my attitude and it's got to be me being comfortable with my status. I've been comfortable for the last 20 yeas, the first year was difficult for me. But after that, I've been comfortable. I still got the big smile on my face.

(LAUGHTER)

JOHNSON: And that's what I want people to realize about people who are living with HIV, is they got to first be comfortable with their new status.

BALDWIN: Yes.

JOHNSON: And then go on and live your life because you can still have a productive life. But the key is, early detection. That's why we're talking about this test. Right? You got to get this test, find out your status and then go to a doctor or health care provider and let them get you on some regiments.

BALDWIN: Deal.

JOHNSON: On a regiment.

BALDWIN: I think a lot of people heard you and listened. But since I have you, I do have a couple of other questions.

JOHNSON: OK.

BALDWIN: So we're going to turn the corner because, you know, look, you're a basketball legend, NCAA champion Michigan state, NBA champion, MVP with the Lakers, Olympic gold medalist, '92 dream team, since you've retired and I sort of say that in air quotes because you're kind of a busy guy, you know, you're very successful businessman owning movie theaters and Burger Kings and gyms, and now your Dodgers -- sorry about your Dodgers, by the way.

(LAUGHTER)

JOHNSON: That's all right.

BALDWIN: With the presidential election less than a month away, Magic Johnson, as a businessman, I'm just curious, which candidate do you align with more when it comes to economy and business policies?

JOHNSON: Well, you know, I've always been a President Obama supporter. I'm still that today. I think that, you know, he needs four more years to really make a change in the economy and get this country moving in the right direction. We definitely need more jobs. And so I'm still supporting him. And I know that he will do even better job if he can get four more years.

BALDWIN: OK. And just final question, your greatest rival in college, and then in the pros, Larry Bird. You guys are now both in your mid-50s, I believe. Best buddies.

JOHNSON: Yes.

BALDWIN: You know, just between us, Magic, who would win in a one-on- one game today? You think you could still sink a three?

JOHNSON: Wow.

BALDWIN: He could still sink a three?

JOHNSON: Well, if it's everything from the outside, Larry would win. But anything going to the basket I will win.

(LAUGHTER)

BALDWIN: Magic Johnson. I love your smile. I love your optimism. Thank you so much.

JOHNSON: Thank you.

BALDWIN: Appreciate it.

JOHNSON: All right, Brooke. Thank you for having me.

BALDWIN: Now this.