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Jerry Sandusky Sentenced to at Least 30 Years; Battle for Ohio

Aired October 09, 2012 - 15:00   ET

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

BROOKE BALDWIN, CNN ANCHOR: And here we go, continuing on, hour two. I'm Brooke Baldwin.

We have to begin with this: Jerry Sandusky convicted child molester, former Penn State assistant football coach, now heading to prison for at least 30 years.

At age 68, that sentence means Sandusky will most likely die in prison.

CNN's Jason Carroll, who was inside the courtroom this morning for that sentencing, he joins me live where, Jason, I know there was just this outpouring of emotion from Sandusky, from some of his victims.

What did you hear in the courtroom today?

JASON CARROLL, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: I think what affected a number of people in the courtroom was when you heard the victims speak for themselves.

You had victim five who stood up and addressed the court, he was crying, Brooke. He walked up to the podium very slowly, did not look at Jerry Sandusky, who was just sitting to his right, just a few feet away. He looked directly in front of him at Judge Cleland as he read a prepared statement, part of which 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, pain, and private anguish."

And then of course there was victim number four. He spoke as well. He was much more defiant and I have to say, Brooke, this is how he was basically throughout the trial when he testified. He was feisty when he was on the stand, when he testified during trial, and he was again today.

When he went up to the podium, he looked directly at Jerry Sandusky, several times, when he gave his statement, saying: "I want you to know that I do not forgive you. I do not know if I can ever forgive you."

Jerry Sandusky's family was there. They listened intently as the victims spoke. They leaned forward, Dottie Sandusky as well as Jerry's children who were also there in the courtroom. Kara was there and E.J. and Jeff was there as well. They listened as Jerry stood up and gave his statement about 13 minutes.

At one point, he looked over at his family, he became somewhat emotional and he said -- quote -- "I feel the need to 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."

Jerry Sandusky has always maintained his innocence and today when he was in court, he painted himself as the victim here -- Brooke.

BALDWIN: Maintains his innocence, but he's been convicted of molesting 10 boys over 15 years. Finally, Jason, just how did he appear leaving court? I know he had that bulletproof vest on. What is next for him...

(CROSSTALK)

CARROLL: He did.

Well, what is next for him, if you believe what his attorney Joe Amendola says is an appeal. Joe Amendola feels as though and told me outside the court here today, he did not have adequate time to prepare his case, and he said he had to stop with the investigating at one point, which he needed to do, in order to prepare for trial.

So he's going to launch an appeal based in part on that. But many of the people who you speak to out here, including Joe McGettigan, the prosecutor, says that's literally just what he called "bull."

He said Jerry Sandusky is just a common criminal mutt, in his words. That's what he called him as he left the courthouse today and says there are no grounds for an appeal.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JOE MCGETTIGAN, DISTRICT ATTORNEY: The victim's statements were a vivid reminder of the defendant's brutal crimes, though no reminder was needed.

And, frankly, the defendant's behavior and statements today were consistent with the behavior throughout the period of time covered by the trial, that he displayed deviance, narcissism, a lack of feeling for the pain he caused others and to the end an unwillingness to accept responsibility.

JOE AMENDOLA, ATTORNEY FOR JERRY SANDUSKY: The bottom line is this. Jerry never flinched from his position that he was innocent and that he wanted the opportunity to prove his innocence.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CARROLL: So, again you heard from both sides outside the courthouse today.

And if you believe what Joe Amendola says, you will be hearing from them again, Brooke.

BALDWIN: Jason Carroll, Jason, thank you. Also today, a collective sigh came across at least our newsroom, perhaps your office, certainly in New Mexico. What was supposed to be this mind-blowing record-breaking attempt, it was canceled for now. Austrian pilot Felix Baumgartner was suited up, he was ready to go. There is the balloon, this massive helium balloon that was supposed to take him 23 miles above Earth. It was being inflated.

We were all watching, sitting there with bated breath and then the launch was canceled.

CNN's Brian Todd has been in Roswell now for a couple of days, waiting for this thing to go up, up and away.

Brian, I know it has got to be a disappointment for the whole team out there where you are. Have you at all been able to talk to anyone who has spoken to Felix, how is he feeling, et cetera?

BRIAN TODD, CNN CORRESPONDENT: We have, Brooke.

We spoke to a gentleman named Art Thompson, and he's the technical project director of this whole thing. He said that Felix was really disappointed and he could see it in his face as he was looking at him in the monitor there, with the monitor right inside the capsule.

And everybody at mission control was disappointed. We could see a live feed of it from where we are and their body language and they're shaking their heads. You can really just see the whole story on their faces. A real sense of disappointment here on the ground.

Just about an hour-and-a-half ago, this was scheduled to be launched, the balloon and capsule together, scheduled to be launched about an hour-and-a-half ago when they had to abort the mission because a gust of wind at the surface created what they call a spinnaker effect and you could see it from here, the winds just whipping that balloon around fairly severely.

That balloon is now totally spent. They just hauled it away a few moments ago on a truck. That cannot be used again. They have a backup balloon, but, Brooke, they tell us they have only one backup balloon. So monitoring the weather conditions, the ground conditions in the next couple of days is going to be critical.

What we're told now is that tomorrow is out because of the weather, number one, but also because the crew, the 300-person support team needs to rest. They're going to try to aim for Thursday. They think the weather conditions might be a little better and the winds may be a little more tame then. So Thursday the day that they're aiming for right now, Brooke.

BALDWIN: OK. As they aim for Thursday, you talked to Felix. He's an experienced base jumper, but a lot of people, myself including, thinking, is this guy crazy?

Obviously, this is life and death situation here. You asked him if he's afraid of dying. What did he tell you?

TODD: I did.

I had a chance to speak to Felix about five months ago at the Air and Space Museum in Washington. We talked about all sorts of things about his preparations and about all of that. That central question, you know, are you afraid of dying on this? Take a listen to what he said.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

FELIX BAUMGARTNER, BASE JUMPER: Well, dying has always been part of my life. As a base jumper, you always face death on every base jump. And therefore it is important that you do your homework, because you need confidence. You have to have confidence in the team, in your skills, in yourself.

And you're always hoping that you're not going to die. It might happen, but I'm going to put everything out there to make sure it is not going to happen.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

TODD: So Felix Baumgartner and his support team now monitoring everything possible,also working through some of the technical issues that they may have been going through in the moments leading up to this potential launch this morning.

One of the issues that we were told about was a radio went dead, so they will have to work through that as well. Right now, the target for the next attempt, Brooke, is Thursday morning.

BALDWIN: Wow. Brian Todd, hopefully we will be talking Thursday, we will be talking about a successful attempt to break the sound barrier. Brian, thank you.

(WEATHER UPDATE)

BALDWIN: Now this:

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

BALDWIN: 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.

(voice-over): Should race play a role in college admissions? The nation's highest court set to hear a complaint from a white student.

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 take your salary, multiply it by eight, boom, that is how much Fidelity says you need to retire.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BALDWIN: Just a short time ago, we mentioned that President Obama and Mitt Romney both will be in Ohio today.

Keep in mind, Ohio, the 18 electoral votes considered up to now a tossup, despite the fact that many polls have given an edge to the president.

I promised you last hour John King. I deliver, of course.

John King, good to see you. He's in Columbus right now.

And, hang on, John King, because I do have to get this in. Paul Steinhauser, our colleague back in Washington, he's just updated our CNN poll of polls, and this is an average of nine national polls.

And for the first time, in my recollection, this CNN poll of polls shows a lead for Mitt Romney, Romney leading Obama here, 48 percent to 47 percent in our CNN poll of polls.

And, John, I'm just wondering, since we're seeing this post-debate swing, it appears, toward Romney, are the pre-debate polls in Ohio that showed that Obama lead, are those pretty much null and void?

JOHN KING, CNN CHIEF NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: I would wait until the top of the hour when we will release our new CNN poll from the state of Ohio.

But I talked to the Romney campaign, some sources in the Romney campaign a short time ago, Brooke, and they say they have Governor Romney now down one point in Ohio. We will show you our numbers at the top of the hour. There is no question the national polls show a debate bounce and there's no question you feel it on the ground, talking to people here, talking to Republican strategists in the state and even the Obama campaign concedes -- they may dispute the numbers, but they concede this is among the places where Governor Romney got a bounce after the first debate.

And this is a place where he needed it, because no Republican has ever won the presidency without Ohio. You go back to those pre-debate polls, seven points, eight points, minus-10 for Governor Romney. Just a week ago, some Republicans were having conversations like, oh my God, is there any way to win without Ohio?

Forget about that. This will be a battleground until the end -- Brooke.

BALDWIN: John, I want to throw another poll your way because this is one of the findings of the Pew poll released about 24 hours ago. What it does is it shows Mitt Romney pulling even with the president among women voters, which is astonishing given the fact that Romney trailed Obama by 18 points among women.

We talked about women so much in this race. That was just last month. As I understand it, women could really be crucial to delivering Ohio, its 18 electoral votes come November 6, correct? KING: No question. All other things being equal, meaning the president gets a significant African-American turnout, Romney gets a significant evangelical conservative base turnout, then elections in a state like this, and in many states, Colorado is another one, Virginia you could say is another one, are decided in the suburbs.

Who are the key votes in the suburbs? Suburban women. So the Pew finding was interesting to show at least in that poll bye-bye to the gender gap. In other polls, we have consistently seen the president ahead. That's one of the problems when you talk to people on the ground here. Again, we will have our new numbers in a few minutes.

On the ground here, they say Governor Romney has made up support among independents, he's made up some support of the suburbs, he's holding his own at least among older voters. White women, white women are an area that is traditionally -- especially white working-class women traditionally a Republican vote that has been trending the president's way.

Brooke, the 47 percent remark, that is one of the things, when you just talk to people here about why, why do you have doubts or why are you going away from Governor Romney, woman after woman after woman mentions the 47 percent. They take it personally.

BALDWIN: White working class women.

John, we were talking, there was a group of us talking this morning about Ohio specifically and really how it could be the mother of all swing states. Obama and Romney, they're both there today. I will guess they will be back there presumably multiple times again before the election, don't you think?

KING: They will be paying state income taxes here by the time they're done.

I was stunned yesterday, I was looking at Colorado and I was stunned when I saw $33 million spent on TV ads in the state of Colorado. Forget about that. Here is Ohio. The last six months since we knew Romney was the Republican nominee, $91 million spent on the presidential campaign in TV ads in the last six months, $91 million, about roughly evenly divided, pro-Obama spending $46.6 million, pro- Romney spending $45 million.

In just last two weeks, as people start to tune in for the final stretch here, $20.5 million spent on TV ads in Ohio alone in the presidential race again, about an even split, slight advantage for-pro Obama forces. But guess what? Two weeks left, you cannot turn on the TV here without being bombarded. That won't stop.

BALDWIN: Two weeks, two weeks left. Four weeks left. You're fast- forwarding time on me here, John King.

KING: Four weeks.

BALDWIN: Four weeks. The mother of all swing states, Ohio.

John, thank you so much.

Tonight, folks, must-see TV, Wolf Blitzer live interview with Mitt Romney, 6:00 Eastern, only here on CNN, and then fast-forward to Thursday. It is the vice presidential debate, Joe Biden vs. Paul Ryan. CNN's special live coverage starts 7:00 p.m. Eastern, 4:00 Pacific.

BALDWIN: Got religion? For more Americans apparently not -- a surprising new study out on Americans and religion shows just how many people are checking out of religious services altogether.

That story is next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BALDWIN: Here is a question for you. What is the fastest growing religious group in America? Think on it. What is the fastest religious group here?

Would you be surprised if I said none, as in not affiliated, not identifying with any one religion? Here's what Pew found, it just recently conducted this survey. In the last five years alone, the unaffiliated have increased from just over 15 percent to just under 20 percent of all U.S. adults.

So translation, that is one in five. The ranks now include more than 13 million self-described atheists and agnostics and another 33 million who say they have no religious identity whatsoever.

I want to bring in Jay Thomas. He's an actor and host of his own radio show on Sirius.

Jay Thomas, good to have you back on.

Religion, I know you talk about it on your show. We were just talking about it the commercial. You said you were brought up, raised Catholic, went to Jesuit school. Just with that background, what do you make of the figure, 13 million Americans who call themselves atheists? Do you think there are more out there that are just afraid of the atheist label?

JAY THOMAS, RADIO TALK SHOW HOST: You know, I'm not so sure it was -- I'm not sure it was atheism that I saw.

What I saw was between 18 and 30 years old, that was the largest group of non-affiliated people. I have three sons that are in that age group. And it is kind of like religion is not inclusive enough for them. I feel badly about eating at Chick-fil-A after what was said, right, because when you hear stuff like that, that is not what my Bible taught me, you know, the one umbrella, all inclusive.

If you think back, there were reasons in the Bible for slavery, for women not having position, for only white males being able to own land, and stuff like that. I think it is really foolish for organized religion not to wake up and go, we better be more inclusive or people like my sons or children that are coming up are not going to join an organized religion.

They're not going to be atheists. It is going to be personal, and, you know, they're going to have their personal beliefs.

(CROSSTALK)

BALDWIN: What does that mean, though? Talking about your own children, they totally fit this age range, they want that all- encompassing, I won't say religion, they're calling themselves spiritual.

When you read the study further, it says that they do pray. Someone in the newsroom was saying, who do they pray to? Perhaps just a higher being, maybe not a specific God. Is that what your kids tell you?

THOMAS: They pray to me. How about that?

(LAUGHTER)

BALDWIN: Jay. No, seriously.

Is this just -- is this young people's need to be independent, or is it just they're being lazy?

THOMAS: No, it is more about the fact that they're inclusive. We have taught them to be inclusive. People are not for hitting. You're not supposed to make fun of people. You can't bully anybody.

Accept all races and everybody's orientation. And that's what they're taught starting in nursery school now. But then you have states like Kansas, which teaches creationism over evolution in the public schools. On our radio show, we make fun of that.

In Texas, they have negated how important Thomas Jefferson is because he took the miracles out of the Bible because he said they were kind of silly stories made up where if you want to believe, you should believe in God without the miracles.

The Texas public schools don't really teach Thomas Jefferson the way he ought to be taught. And I think our kids are living in the here and now. And they look at kind of the old farts, if you will, that are screaming and yelling on television, and they go, that's not what we see in our everyday life. We're inclusive.

BALDWIN: Do you think that this is a good thing? Because I know that there would be a chunk of society that would say this is not a good thing, that all these young people are growing up, and that we will have this godless society. What do you say to those people?

THOMAS: Gee, my kids don't kill anyone, my kids don't steal, my kids are truthful, they're kind, and I have never heard my children mention that they do it because of God or religion.

I don't think anybody listening's child or good relative has to believe in God to be a good person. I think I'm excited by this. I think that organized religion does great things. They're very charitable. They will they will gain if they become inclusive. I wasn't kidding about Chick-fil-A.

It really stuns people that these guys would talk about gay people not being able to marry and causing you not to want to go eat a sandwich because of some religious thing. It is a big umbrella.

And the God that I believe in, and the spirit I believe in is more, I guess, inclusive than I am as a person. And so -- and I fight against being totally cynical and I fight against saying that you're doing something wrong. And I look up and I go, OK, you're right, whatever ever that is. I'm supposed to be more inclusive. That's what organized religion needs to do.

BALDWIN: All right, so you say it is a good thing and you have proof in your three children that it is a good thing.

Jay Thomas, I love that no topic is taboo with you. We appreciate it. And we will come back. Jay Thomas, thank you very much.

Coming up here...

THOMAS: The church of sensible Christianity is what I'm promoting.

BALDWIN: Jay Thomas, thank you.

Race and college admissions, should schools be required to promote diversity in higher education? The nation's highest court taking up affirmative action and a white student is at the center of the whole case. We're on it next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BALDWIN: Mexican forces confirm they killed the boss of the notorious and exceedingly brutal Zetas drug cartel. Heriberto Lazcano died in a shoot-out Sunday in this small town in northern Mexico just about 130 miles from the Texas border.

The kingpin is allegedly responsible for countless gruesome crimes, including the decapitation and dismemberment of dozens of people back in May and, in an odd twist, a group of armed men have stolen his body, stolen his body from a funeral home, though authorities have taken fingerprints and photographs to confirm his identity.

Convicted killer, Joran van der Sloot, may have fathered a child while serving a 28-year sentence in that Peruvian prison. A Dutch newspaper is reporting that he met a woman behind bars and she became pregnant after an unsupervised visit.

The paper does say his lawyer did not confirm the pregnancy. Van der Sloot is well known globally for the murder of Stephany Flores in Peru. He was arrested, but never charged in the 2005 disappearance of U.S. teenager Natalee Holloway in Aruba.

Talk about a high-stakes court case, determining what role government should play when promoting diversity in higher education. The U.S. Supreme Court will hear the case of this 22-year-old. Her name is Abigail Fisher and this happens tomorrow.

So, here's the back story. She sued the University of Texas at Austin after her college application was rejected -- this was a couple of years ago in 2008 -- claiming racial preference admission policies violate her rights because she's white.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ABIGAIL FISHER, PLAINTIFF: I was taught from the time I was a little girl that any kind of discrimination was wrong.

And for an institution of higher learning to act this way makes no sense to me. What kind of example does this set for others?

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BALDWIN: CNN legal analyst Sunny Hostin is "On the Case" with me and, Sunny, this comes a decade after the U.S. Supreme Court approved the use of race as a factor in college admissions.

What's different about this case?

SUNNY HOSTIN, CNN LEGAL ANALYST: Well, I've got to tell you, you know, it's sort of -- the issue remains the same, pretty much, whether or not race can be used as a factor, just one of many factors in determining the admission of a student; whether or not it is really a compelling state interest to have a diverse student body; are there educational benefits to having diversity?

So, that issue remains the same. What really is different here, Brooke, is that the players have changed because the Supreme Court has changed. In 2003 when this was dealt with, it was the University of Michigan law school, but it was Sandra Day O'Connor that wrote the opinion.

She retired in 2006 and she was replaced by Justice Alito, so the players have changed and their decisions could be different based on that, I believe.

BALDWIN: Speaking of the players, though, Justice Anthony Kennedy, he's very much still around and he was a dissenter in the last case that dealt with affirmative action.

Might he likely be -- we talk about Justice Kennedy being the swing vote a lot, might he be the deciding vote this time around?

HOSTIN: You know, I think there's no question, Brooke, that he is the pivotal vote here. You're right. He was the dissenter in 2003, but it's really difficult to anticipate what his decision will be because in his dissent, he said, you know what, race can be a factor. It just cannot be the predominant factor.

But in his entire career -- in his entire career, he has never voted in favor of race-based decisions, so I'm never really inclined as you know to guess what the Supreme Court is going to do.

BALDWIN: Right

HOSTIN: I never think that's a smart thing to do.

BALDWIN: We don't do that here at CNN.

HOSTIN: We don't do that, but in this case, you know, there's no question that his is the pivotal vote.

BALDWIN: OK. This young woman, Abigail Fisher, she's suing as an individual. It's not part of a class-action claim. Does that help her?

HOSTIN: I don't think it helps her or hurts her. I mean, she has brought the issue to the forefront. She certainly will have a place in history when it comes to this really important Supreme Court decision.

But I don't know that it really matters that it wasn't a class-action lawsuit. This decision is in front of the Supreme Court and they're going to be hearing argument on it tomorrow.

BALDWIN: Tomorrow. Tomorrow. Sunny Hostin, "On the Case." Sunny, thank you.

HOSTIN: Thanks.

BALDWIN: From a drunk-driving arrest to the economy, events that became what are called "October surprises."

With just 28 days to go, what else could go wrong, what could go right that could shape this presidential election?

Aaron Blake from "The Washington Post" joins me to discuss.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BALDWIN: It is certainly no secret that modern presidential campaigns try to minimize the unpredictable, but really, just like life, anything can happen at any moment to knock the candidates really into a tailspin.

When that something happens just a couple of weeks before election day, it is called an "October surprise."

And "The Washington Post's" Aaron Blake joins me now to talk about it. Your colleague Chris wrote this article this morning, but, Aaron, we appreciate you coming on.

I understand that the credit for the first "October surprise" actually goes to Richard Nixon's campaign, specifically to Henry Kissinger. Tell me what happened.

AARON BLAKE, POLITICAL REPORTER, "THE WASHINGTON POST": I don't know if it was call an "October surprise" back then, but, basically, during the campaign, it was at the height of the Vietnam war and Kissinger, who was then secretary of state, said that peace was at hand in Vietnam, shortly before the election.

Democrats, of course, pounced on this and said it was geared towards helping Nixon's re-election campaign and, obviously, he wound up winning, so this is something that can certainly have an effect on the election.

BALDWIN: An effect both ways, right? Eight years later, everyone expected Jimmy Carter to pull his own "October surprise," you know, announce the release of all of those Americans that had been held hostage in Iran.

But that didn't actually happen until after the election and, of course, Carter lost the White House. How much of that was a surprise versus perhaps just, you know, dashed expectations?

BLAKE: Yeah, it was kind of the October surprise that didn't happen. It was something, you know, people were looking for the redux of what happened when Richard Nixon was president and there was this big thing at the end of the race that really helped out the incumbent president.

It never came along with Carter and, of course, he wound up losing.

BALDWIN: And, now, we jump all the way, October 2000, news broke. George W. Bush had been arrested for drunk driving. Granted, that had happened way back in the '70s, but how was he able to overcome that story so close to the election?

BLAKE: Well, you know, he can't really overcome it. He just didn't pay a high enough price.

Everybody will recall, of course, that he actually lost the popular vote in that race, even though he won the electoral vote, whereas he was up by about five points before that story broke.

So, I think it's pretty clear that that cost him some votes, but it didn't cost him quite enough to actually cost him the election.

BALDWIN: So, Aaron, what is our October surprise? Or have we already seen it?

BLAKE: I don't know that we have yet. You know, some people are talking about the debate as the October surprise. Some people are talking about the jobs report.

I'm not sure that either of those are really a huge game-changing event, in and of themselves.

You know, the beauty of the October surprise is that we don't know what it is before it happens, but a lot of times these things happen that have to do with foreign policy.

Obviously, the release of the Osama bin Laden tape in 2004, that kind of changed the shift -- the picture of the election.

You know, right now, obviously, there's something going on in Libya that could have a significant impact on the election. We're seeing the Romney campaign talk more about foreign policy now, so we don't know what it is going to be. A YouTube video, perhaps, that's being held until the last moment.

It's going to be really interesting to see if there is, in fact, an October surprise, as there often is at the end of a campaign.

BALDWIN: Ah, the strategy and the spin of the October surprise, we'll be looking out for it. Aaron Blake, columnist for "The Fix," "The Washington Post." Aaron, thank you.

BLAKE: Thank you.

BALDWIN: Speaking of Libya, one question, what went wrong? What went wrong with the security in the consulate in Libya, Benghazi? Four Americans killed there last month, including U.S. ambassador Chris Stevens.

Were there warning signs that were missed? Congressman Jason Chaffetz just returned from a fact-finding mission in Libya and talks about what he saw.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BALDWIN: It has been almost a month now since those four Americans were killed in Libya, U.S. Ambassador Christopher Stevens, foreign service officer Shawn Smith, and former Navy SEALs, Ty Woods and Glen Doherty.

But it's clear that no one is forgetting about the sacrifices they made, including Mitt Romney, who, today, emotionally revealed, he randomly met Doherty at a holiday party just a couple of years ago.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MITT ROMNEY, REPUBLICAN 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 recognized 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: So, that was Mitt Romney just a couple of hours ago.

Let me tell you what's happening tomorrow. There will be a hearing on Capitol Hill to look into, quote, "the security failures that preceded that attack." This is from the oversight and government reform House committee's website and I spoke with committee member, Congressman Jason Chaffetz. He spent just this past weekend in Tripoli, Libya, on a fact-finding mission, saying that Benghazi was too dangerous for him to even enter.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

REPRESENTATIVE JASON CHAFFETZ (R), UTAH: 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? Is this based upon people you spoke with, details you know that you can't share or just a gut feeling?

CHAFFETZ: Well, 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.

BALDWIN: 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 date 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 the Democrats to come to that.

BALDWIN: How -- let me jump in.

CHAFFETZ: Of course, we need them to be involved in this whole thing.

BALDWIN: 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. That's what I got, as well.

Given the security parameters there, 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 would be knowing that we would be there on the ground.

I did go down with General Hammond. In fact, the State Department sent an attorney from their office and joined us the entire time.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BALDWIN: Congressman Jason Chaffetz with me earlier today. Again, Congressman, thank you.

He went on to acknowledge he has voted to cut spending on security at embassies and diplomatic outposts worldwide and the killings in Benghazi now show a need to reprioritize where money is being spent.

Just ahead, families, including young children, going hungry. Today, thousands in Greece taking to the streets to protest, absolutely outraged over austerity measures orchestrated by German Chancellor Angela Merkel.

Plus, let's talk a little down the road for you and I, retirement, funding your retirement, Fidelity announcing a magic number that you should have in your retirement account. Question is, are you there yet?

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BALDWIN: Heavy fighting near the capital of Syria overnight. You can't see a lot because it's very dark, but you can hear plenty. This is Damascus. Take a listen.

It was a firefight near an air force compound just outside of Damascus. Opposition groups say two huge car bombs exploded in this area.

And then there's this. More intense fighting again near but in the suburbs outside Damascus. Activists say at least 60 people were killed in fighting across Syria today.

German Chancellor Angela Merkel's trip to Greece today was met by thousands of very angry Greeks. Riot police -- look at this -- clashed with an estimated 25,000 protesters.

Why are they angry? Because they're angry at this woman they really see as the enforcer of this massive budget cut imposed by the E.U., the European Union. They are designed to help end the debt crisis, but also caused unemployment to soar.

And speaking of money, will you be financially ready for retirement? CNN's Christine Romans has an easy way to find out if you're stashing away enough for your golden years.

CHRISTINE ROMANS, CNN BUSINESS CORRESPONDENT: Brooke, what's your magic number? Not your ideal weight, not your age, it's the number you need to comfortably retire and the number to remember is the number eight. To meet basic living expenses in retirement, you need eight times your pay saved. Fidelity has this rule of thumb.

For the typical wage-earner to stay on track by age 35, you should have saved one time your annual salary in your 401(k) or IRA. By the age 45, three times. By 55, you need five times your pay.

And by retirement age, that's how you get to the number eight. You should have eight times your salary saved.

Financial planners say for higher earnings, say between $150,000 to $200,000 a year, you should aim for at least ten times the last year's pay and, yes, that's well over a million, maybe $2 million.

Chances are you aren't there. Hardly anyone is, Brooke, but financial planners are buzzing about this new way to think about it. Eight times your final year's pay. It might be too simplistic, but it is some place to start.

The earlier you start the better. And remember, eight times salary does not include al' that college savings for your kids, Brooke. That's separate.

BALDWIN: Christine Romans, thank you.

Americans living with HIV, now there's this in-home test that offers private results and early detection. Earvin ""Magic"" Johnson tells me this new test is in his words a "game changer."

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A couple of minutes away from "The Situation Room" with Wolf Blitzer and, Wolf, not that "The Sit Room" isn't always must-see TV, but 6:00 Eastern, you have a huge interview.

WOLF BLITZER, HOST, "THE SITUATION ROOM": A live interview with the Republican presidential nominee, Mitt Romney.

We're going to go through a bunch of the major issues right now on the agenda the national security issues, some domestic issues, as well. I've got some other questions. 6:00 p.m. Eastern, he'll be live right here in "The Situation Room," my interview with Mitt Romney.

Coming up, though, at the top of the hour in less than three minutes, we have a brand new CNN/ORC poll on Ohio. Ohio, Ohio, Ohio, what's going on in this critical battleground state?

Our own John King is standing by. He'll join us live. No Republican, as you know, Brooke, has ever won the White House without capturing Ohio. You're about to see what impact a debate has had on voters, at least according to this snapshot in Ohio. Stand by for that.

BALDWIN: Yes. We are calling Ohio the mother of all swing states this election.

Wolf Blitzer, we will see you in a few. Thank you, sir. But before I let you go, finally, here's a startling statistic. One- in-every-five Americans with HIV has no idea they're infected. We told you last hour about this new HIV test that just hit drugstores today.

It's FDA-approved, it's about $40 and you can get the results at home in about 40 minutes.

And NBA legend, "Magic" Johnson, joined me from New York to talk about it. And, you know his story. He stunned the world, now more than 21 years ago, when he announced he was HIV-positive.

And, now, "Magic" Johnson is a paid sponsor for the maker of this new test. It's called OraSure, OraSure Technologies and here's what "Magic" told me.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

EARVIN "MAGIC" JOHNSON, NBA HALL-OF-FAMER: Brooke, it's 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's 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 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.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BALDWIN: So, the last word from "Magic" Johnson. We talked for a while.

He really said whatever HIV test you use, whether it's this one in- home or go to the doctors, he just says make sure you get tested, so "Magic" Johnson, my thanks to you.

You can watch any and all of our videos with the upload to the Brooke Blog. Just go to CNN.com/Brooke.

I talked to "Magic" in addition to the test about politics and who'd win in a one-on-one pickup game with his buddy, Larry Bird, so that would be at CNN.com/Brooke.

Coming up here in just about two hours time, that big interview, the live interview that Wolf has with Mitt Romney. Definitely stick around for that. "The Situation Room," must-see TV.

I'm Brooke Baldwin. Thanks so much for being with me today. I will be back tomorrow.

In the meantime, here's Wolf.