Return to Transcripts main page

CNN Newsroom

Boy Scout Sex Abuse Files Released; Fed Plotter Wanted To Destroy America; Behind The Evolution of a Sting Operation; Ann Romney Tiptoes Like On Abortion; Libyan Rebels Accused of War Crimes; Debate Over "Binders Full Of Women"; Newsweek Ends Print Edition; Cancer Survivor Helps Others; Wall Street CEO's Send Urgent Warning

Aired October 18, 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: Just been released. This happening in Portland, Oregon. Each one of these files gives these details of alleged child sex abuse by more than 1,000 Boy Scout leaders and volunteers. Details given along with some names. Not of victims, not of witnesses here, but the names of some of the scoutmasters who were banned for perversion. It's a lot of information that the Boy Scouts never, ever wanted you to see. CNN's Paul Vercammen has been following the story since it broke, joins me live from Los Angeles.

And, Paul, first let me just be crystal clear to all of our viewers, CNN, we're not releasing any of the names. But tell me this, what do these files tell us about the accused and, more importantly, what it is they are accused of doing?

PAUL VERCAMMEN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, what they're accused of doing, frankly, in most instances, is some form of sexual molestation and abuse. I've read through about 200 of the files already. Sometimes it's physical abuse. There was one instance where a Boy Scout leader just hauled off and punched a young man extremely hard, injuring him and sending him to the doctor. But the rest of them are just unmentionable acts of abuse, often some forms of molestation.

And we do have some redacted parts of the files that we can reveal to you right now. And what the files had shown was that, you know, these are often ingenious, alleged serial pedophiles who had gone to great lengths to try to go ahead and get these victims alone with them. Let me give you an example of one of them. I hope we can show a graphic. In this particular instance, there was a young scout who was going to disrobe, he was going to change, and the scout leader also then began to disrobe. And here's a quote from the files. He says, "what I'm going to do to you now, if I get arrested, after I get out of jail, I'm come after you and your family."

And, you know, what this shows, as far as the lawyers for the alleged abuser are concerned is, that in many instances the leaders in this era from 1965 to 1985 threatened the scouts and their parents. It was a, you know, a different time in America. And you could also see from reading the files that the parents would often write a letters to the scouts and were very reverent. They -- they almost were shy about questioning the acts of a leader and maybe sort of slow to realize what was going on in the first place, which was alleged molestation in these instances, Brooke. BALDWIN: No surprise then, Paul, to know that the Boy Scouts, they didn't want these files to be released. They tried stopping the release, correct?

VERCAMMEN: Yes, that is correct. What the Boy Scouts had said all along is, look, if we release these files, we're going to expose the alleged victims to, you know, unmentionable harm. So they kept these files secret. They also said that they were very concerned with any witnesses or somebody who reported the alleged acts of molestation. So the Boy Scouts had maintained that for a long time.

In Portland, they won in court the right to have the files released from 1965 to 1985. And I know this story has a lot of different aspects to it. Some people watching in other parts of the country may know that in California they're seeking to have more recent files released and also in Texas. So that could be the next sort of shoe that drops in this larger story.

Now, the Boy Scouts, we should note, have said that they have taken huge steps and precautions to fix this situation. And if we have a second here, we'd like to hear you -- let you hear from the Boy Scouts of America, which are headquartered in Dallas.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

WAYNE PERRY, PRESIDENT, BOY SCOUTS OF AMERICA: I am convinced that this organization has a firm and everlasting deep commitment to youth protection. There's no question that there are times in the past -- and these go back to 40, 50 years old, where we did not do the job that we should have. And for that and for -- people were hurt. And for that we're profoundly sorry.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

VERCAMMEN: And when you read the files, you will see that what happened in many instances is the alleged pedophile was able to split off or divide the scout from the rest of the troop, often inviting the scouts to their homes. And so what the scouts have now done, and they say this is going to be a measure that helps immensely with these cases of alleged abuse is, no longer will there be situations where a scout is one on one with an adult leader or volunteer. That there must be two adults present at all times. And they think that this is going to solves a lot of the problems, Brooke.

BALDWIN: They think this is going to solves a lot of the problems. But when you hear from, Paul, the attorney for some of the abused scouts, they say, yes, not so much. Things have not totally changed because they say this group continues -- continued to fight the release of these files and they say some of the accusers, some of the highest decorated.

VERCAMMEN: Absolutely. And there are multiple cases right now of, you know, recent molestation involving Boy Scout leaders and their troops. And what they said is, in some instances you will find that these scout leaders were among the most respected people in the community. They call it a pied piper effect. It's the popular guy, maybe it's even somebody at the little league or it's somebody who's involved with the church who everyone seems to respect. And let's hear from Kelly Clark now, who's the attorney out of Portland, Oregon, who has been at the front of this crusade.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

KELLY CLARK, ABUSED SCOUT'S ATTORNEY: We can learn a lot about the way pedophiles operate. It's consistent. It's almost always somebody that's the pied piper. Everybody's favorite. And kids flock to this person. The parents trust him. Community -- a great guy in the community. Oftentimes these people are highly decorated scouters. Silver beavers. They have the order of the arrow. They're the creme de creme of the scouts.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

VERCAMMEN: And what Clark and others say that parents can learn from all of this is just -- and you can see this in the files -- is the level of calculation, premeditation that goes on with all of these serial pedophiles, how they carefully constructed the opportunity to try to get alone with these young scouts.

BALDWIN: You hear a lot about grooming -- grooming in stories like this. Paul Vercammen, thank you so much for us from Los Angeles.

Developing now here, we do have new details into that alleged plot to blow up the Federal Reserve Bank of New York with a 1,000- pound bomb. The feds and the New York Police Department in this sting operation busted this 21-year-old Bangladeshi man as he allegedly tried to detonate what he thought was a bomb. Police say the man, who is now in custody, he was in the U.S. on a student visa, came for a reason, that being to destroy America.

Maggie Lake, I want do go straight to you for us in New York. And just walk me through this. Who is this guy? How close was he to carrying this out?

MAGGIE LAKE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, Brooke, he is 21 years old, as you said, from Bangladesh. Came on a student visa back in January to study in Missouri, but did not -- he went to spring semester there. Did not return. Instead, was living in Jamaica, Queens. Authorities say he came with the intent to perform some sort of jihad on the United States. He wanted to recruit others to his plot. Reached out via social media to someone who happened to be an informant for the FBI.

That person, in turn, put him in touch with an actual FBI agent who was working undercover, posing as an al Qaeda operative, who he then monitored him, they provided him with the fake explosive which, of course, he didn't know until he got to the point where he parked a van outside the New York Federal Reserve and tried to detonate the bomb, Brooke.

BALDWIN: Why the new York Fed? Why this focus on the U.S. economy? LAKE: Yes, it's a good question because the New York Fed is a fortress-like building but it's not that recognizable if you're just walking around. Many tourists have probably walked past it in New York and didn't even know that's what it was.

But he clearly was looking to cause damage to the economy, to sort of hurt the U.S. right at its life blood, if you will. He first thought about doing the New York Stock Exchange. But as you know, and many of us who go down there and report, very heavy security. And in that case, very heavy police presence.

BALDWIN: Yes.

LAKE: Hercules, you know, armored vehicle down there at all times. He decided that was too risky and, instead, turned his attention to the New York Federal Reserve. Doesn't seem like he had a lot of knowledge about what actually happens at the New York Fed or we're pretty sure he wouldn't have chosen that location. But it looks like he read some stuff online and decided that was what he was going to target.

BALDWIN: Maggie Lake, thank you.

I want to talk a little bit more about this to the -- really the evolution of how these sting operations really work, targeting these alleged terrorists -- it became very tricky here -- to really just for a whole host of reasons to have this thing operate.

Christopher Dickey is here with me to discuss this, from Paris. He is the Middle East editor at "Newsweek" and "The Daily Beast."

So, Chris Dickey, welcome to you.

We should also point out, you were the author of "Securing The City." This is an in-depth look inside the NYPD's counterterrorism strategy, which was very much so put to use here with this thwarted plot.

So, Chris, this guy apparently got in touch with this FBI source, as Maggie was just reporting, about, you know, targets on this, you know, wish list. It wasn't just the New York Fed. Is that how it typically works?

CHRISTOPHER DICKEY, PARIS BUREAU CHIEF, "NEWSWEEK" & "THE DAILY BEAST": Well, I think that's something that's starting to come -- come to pass. I was talking to a very senior investigator, counterterrorism investigator, about this case and he was saying, look, (INAUDIBLE) our whole investigative approach. Used to be we had to go on these obscure al Qaeda blogs and jihadist blogs. Now you've got guys getting in touch with each other on FaceBook saying they want to carry out violent jihad and you not only see what they're saying, you see who their friends are. It's really --

BALDWIN: So you're telling me this thing --

DICKEY: It's an indication of how incredibly stupid these terrorists can be, but there you go.

BALDWIN: Thank you. That's the word I was looking for. The fact that it's right out there for anyone in the public to see. And so if they're doing that on places like FaceBook and, you know, you wrote the book on operations like this, I want you to just give me the dirt. I mean, what's the timeline in a case, in a sting operation like? How long does it take?

DICKEY: Well, it depends on the people you're dealing with, on the people who want to be terrorists. First of all, most of these sting operations, when you read the criminal complaints and you read the details of the case, I think a lot of people wind up feeling almost sorry for the would be terrorists because you see the way they're pulled in by the confidential informants and by the undercover agents.

In this particular case, you have a guy who's got some bright idea that he wants to have -- carry out jihad in America. He starts out, he wants to assassinate some very high public official. We don't know exactly who that is, but you can guess. Then he thinks, well, maybe I'll do the stock exchange. By now he's in touch through FaceBook with this undercover -- well, not with the undercover informant, but with another informant. And he's basically -- you can see him being steered.

As they get ready to put the things together to try to blow up the Federal -- the New York Federal Reserve, which probably was the informant's idea maybe as much as his own idea, he starts saying, well, I think I'd like to go back to Bangladesh. And the guy who's basically running the sting, the FBI undercover, is saying, well, you know, you can do that, but then you probably wouldn't have the glory of this kind of thing happening and, you know, maybe al Qaeda couldn't trust you and so on.

BALDWIN: Chris, let me jump in.

DICKEY: And basically because these people are naive, they get sucked in.

BALDWIN: Let me jump in because on that point, and we should point out in this particular case it was, you know, the undercover agent providing him with these fake explosives. Is there not -- and we've seen a lot of cases like this recently -- is there not a slippery slope here, you know, between a young man, clearly with nefarious intentions, and U.S. authorities essentially helping him almost carry it out?

DICKEY: Well, you know, there is a slippery slope and it can turn against you in any kind of undercover operation. I mean right now there's a huge scandal about the Fast and Furious undercover operation trying to deal with gun trafficking with Mexico where it all went wrong and you had Americans getting killed with guns supplied by the American officials. So these things can go very wrong.

I mean, one of the classic cases was in 1993. The people who were involved in the first attack on the World Trade Center and tried very hard to blow it up. The first guy who was (INAUDIBLE) organize was a FBI informer. But the FBI got bored with the case, didn't think anything would happen. So the FBI informer left and a man named Ramsey Usif was found to deal with these guys. He wasn't an informer. He was the cousin of Khalid Shaikh Mohammed, the mastermind of al Qaeda.

BALDWIN: Yes.

DICKEY: And we know what happened after that. So these guys can be the (INAUDIBLE) didn't shoot straight. But if they come in contact with somebody who does know how to shoot straight, they can become very deadly indeed.

BALDWIN: I'm just glad it's a point that you bring up. It's something we don't always talk about in cases just like these.

Christopher Dickey for us tonight there in Paris. Author of "Securing The City." Appreciate it.

Just into us here at CNN, a mall in Virginia evacuated after we are told a man dropped a lit bottle of gasoline from the top level of the food court here. This is a Molotov cocktail, in other words. Police tell us three more bottles have been found. No one was hurt. The suspect is on the run. And the FBI is on the scene. As soon as we get any updates here, we will pass them along to you.

Tonight, President Obama and Mitt Romney will be sharing the same stage. And instead of going at one another, they're be looking for laughs.

I'm Brooke Baldwin. The news is now.

Passengers near the end of a long flight suddenly become players in a dramatic search and rescue operation.

Plus, the day care from hell. A stunning scandal sparks fury and a firebomb attack.

And --

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We matched many of those faces of the people in that video against the bodies.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BALDWIN: The same rebels who took down Moammar Gadhafi, now accused of war crimes.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BALDWIN: Nineteen days until the election and today we are hearing some slashing attacks on the campaign trails, specifically in Florida and Ohio. Just within this past hour, Paul Ryan lit into the president in a speech in Ocala. That is, of course, in Florida. Let's listen now to Paul Ryan. (BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

PAUL RYAN (R), VICE PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: What President Obama has been trying to do from the spring on is not to offer the country a vision forward, is not to say here's how we get out of debt, here's how we grow the economy but just don't like Mitt Romney. He's basically trying to disqualify his opponent with this sea of negativity. He's trying to distract this country. He's trying to divide this country, pitting people against each other. He is trying to win this election by default.

You know what? We're not going to let him get away with that. What Mitt Romney and I owe you, our fellow country men and women, is a choice. A clear agenda for how we fix this country's problems.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BALDWIN: So, Paul Ryan accusing the president of dividing America and trying to win this election by default. Very, very strong words. Wait until you hear what Bill Clinton had to say about the Republicans. We have that for you in just a moment. But first, I want to go straight to Jim Acosta with the Romney campaign there in New York.

And, Jim, we heard today from Ann. Ann Romney doing sort of a --

JIM ACOSTA, CNN CORRESPONDENT: That's right.

BALDWIN: It was a delicate dance on the issue of abortion. Take me there.

ACOSTA: That's right, Brooke. You know, ever since that moment at the debate on Tuesday night when Mitt Romney talked about those "binders full of women," well, as you know, the Obama campaign has been running with that ever since, you know, trying to apply that to various issues like the Lily Ledbetter Pay Equity Act that affects women, and also this issue of abortion. So it's no surprise when Ann Romney was out on "The View" earlier this morning, and, you know, keep in mind, she is widely considered perhaps the campaign's best surrogate out on the campaign trail, it's no surprise she was asked about this issue. And here's what she had to say.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ANN ROMNEY, WIFE OF MITT ROMNEY: Mitt has always been a pro-life person. He governed -- when he ran as a pro-choice. But it -- when a decision came across his desk --

BARBARA WALTERS, HOST, "THE VIEW": Explain that to me.

ROMNEY: When a decision came across his desk to use embryos for experimentation, he --

WALTERS: That's stem cell research.

ROMNEY: Stem -- he could not have the -- on his conscious, creating human life for experimentation. And that's when he came out with an editorial in saying he was pro-life.

I think we all have to understand that this is an issue that is so tender and there are people on both sides of the issue that have -- that come with very good conscience come with a different opinion. And I think the most important thing we can do is have respect for each other in this dialogue and understand that we are talking about two separate lives.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ACOSTA: So sort of a heartfelt explanation from Ann Romney as to why Mitt Romney opposes abortion rights for women. And, you know, in that interview, Brooke, she goes on to say, you know, there are a lot of voters out there who are going to vote on that issue. She is saying that this election year is different. There are a lot of voters out there who are struggling because of the economy. And she's trying to get those voters to focus on the economy. And that issue is being the determining factor in this election.

And, Brooke, that is what Mitt Romney and Paul Ryan have been doing for day after day after day now, trying to say that the issue for women now is not abortion or reproductive rights or other health care issues, it's about the economy.

BALDWIN: Well, while we are on the subject of women voters, let's quickly go back to Mitt Romney's comment the other night at the debate, you know, asking for and receiving the "binders full of women" as potential job applicants back when he was governor of Massachusetts. Here we are two days later. Does the Romney campaign worry that that specific comment may have been damaging and that they need to then try to undo it?

AVILA: Well, you know, I think there are a couple of things going on, Brooke. I mean one thing that the Romney campaign did late yesterday is they put out a web video -- actually Mitt Romney tweeted out this web video and it showed female cabinet members from his days as governor of Massachusetts talking about how Mitt Romney understands the issues of working women.

And so I think that is a reaction to what happened on Tuesday night. Not only because of that awkward phrasing of, you know, saying "binders full of women." I mean, keep in mind, Mitt Romney has done this before. He has been known to say things awkwardly out on the campaign trail. But because it was in response to a question on pay equity for women, you know, they feel like they've got to get that out there. That Mitt Romney has helped women throughout his political career.

BALDWIN: OK.

ACOSTA: You know, they point to the fact that his lieutenant governor, Karry Healey, was a woman. His chief of staff when he was governor, Beth Myers, was a woman. And so I think that's an indication they do realize it's a problem.

BALDWIN: We're going to talk a little bit more about that with someone who works with MassGAP. That's the group that created -- was part of helping get -- you know, have those women working in those higher offices.

But, Jim, just quickly, why are you in New York? Why is Mitt Romney in New York? Isn't this -- isn't this, you know, in President Obama's column here?

ACOSTA: It's a great time of year, that's why. Well, you know, it's fall in New York, Brooke.

BALDWIN: Why not.

ACOSTA: We figure, why go to a battleground state when we can just hang out in the big apple. No, the Al Smith Dinner is tonight. And this is a tradition in politics where you get both candidates in front of an audience and instead of exchanging verbal jabs at each other, they're exchanging punch lines. And so we're going to be hearing from Mitt Romney tonight and President Obama and what they consider to be funny. And it is interesting to note, Brooke, Dennis Miller, remember him from "Saturday Night Live," the weekend update guy?

BALDWIN: Yes. Yes.

ACOSTA: He was traveling with Mitt Romney yesterday and he was, you know, giving his --

BALDWIN: Giving him some pointers?

ACOSTA: You know his feel on why mitt Romney should be elected president. And he had a few one-liners out there. And I asked the Romney campaign if Dennis Miller was helping Mitt Romney write some of his jokes for tonight and they told me, no, that they already had a draft written and that Dennis Miller was not a consultant for tonight's comedy routine.

BALDWIN: OK. OK.

ACOSTA: So, there you have it.

BALDWIN: We'll see if they've got those --

ACOSTA: Back to the news and I'm out of here.

BALDWIN: We'll see if they've got the zingers tonight. Jim Acosta, thank you. Enjoying the fall in New York.

ACOSTA: You bet.

BALDWIN: By the way, a little later we will look at some of the highlights of the 2008 Al Smith dinner. Speeches by then candidate Barack Obama and John McCain, very humorous, very interesting, I will promise you.

OK. So, the president spoke this morning, Manchester, New Hampshire. And you see the crowd. He told these folks -- there he is -- willing to do more than he has already to tackle the debt and the deficits problems. But, once again, he said he will not cut education spending, won't cut other investments, and will ask the wealthy to pay more taxes to get the nation's books in balance.

And I mentioned Bill Clinton a moment ago. Here he is. We'll hear from him in just a second. But I need to tell you first that Bill Clinton introduced Bruce Springsteen this afternoon at a rally in Ohio. So listen quickly to "The Boss." He is an Obama supporter.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BRUCE SPRINGSTEEN, MUSICIAN (singing): They busted out of class, had to get away from those --

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BALDWIN: So, Bruce Springsteen cranking up his song "No Surrender" to Obama partisans in Ohio. And now Bill Clinton. His scathing attack against Republicans. He is essentially saying they have tried to blunt job creation, keep Americans unemployed for strictly political purposes. Bill Clinton.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BILL CLINTON, FORMER U.S. PRESIDENT: They worked so hard to keep the unemployment rate above 8 percent. And they were crushed when it dropped to 7.8 percent. Did you see that? And all of a sudden they had talked about the unemployment rate for three and a half years as if it were scripture. It was right up there with the tablets Moses brought down from Mount Sinai.

Then all of a sudden it dropped below 8 percent and they say, oh, the whole thing was rigged. Now, you can understand that. We've all worked hard for something. And just almost gotten there. And it broke our heart. They came so close. They almost kept unemployment above 8 percent all the way to the election, but they failed. And I want you to know that the drop from 9.0 to 7.8 doesn't sound like much. We're not satisfied. A lot of people still need a job. It is the biggest one year drop in unemployment in 17 years.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BALDWIN: So, that's Bill Clinton going off on the Republicans and defending the president's economic record in a speech in Ohio. As you know, we'll have more politics later.

But coming up next, were war crimes committed in Libya? Investigators are looking into that possibility involving the very same people who took down Moammar Gadhafi. CNN investigates, next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BALDWIN: In the months leading up to Moammar Gadhafi's death, we are now hearing the very same rebels who took him down are accused of murder. Here's CNN's Dan Rivers.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

DAN RIVERS, ABC CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): The chaos of Sirte a year ago. Rebel forces surround Colonel Gadhafi's dwindling band of soldiers for the final act of a bloody uprising.

The former Libyan dictator was captured, beaten and then killed. Rebels later claimed he was shot in the crossfire, but many suspect he was executed by the mob of rebel fighters. Later, where Gadhafi was killed, we filmed several massacre sites. Bodies with hands bound and shot in the head. Now, though, Human Rights Watch says has definitive proof at least 66 men were executed by rebel forces at the Mahari hotel in the city. Peter Bouckaert has spent a year investigating the massacres and has uncovered this cell phone footage, which shows a group of captured Gadhafi loyalists at the hotel in Sirte.

PETER BOUCKAERT, HRW EMERGENCIES DIRECTOR: We matched many of those faces of the people in that video against the bodies, the photos of the bodies that have been recovered from the hotel so now we had a very clear chain of event.

RIVERS: It's strongly suggests that, for example, this man with long hair seen in rebel custody in the cell phone video was then murdered by his captors.

The New York-based campaign group says they've asked the Libyan government to investigate, but so far it has not sent any investigators to Sirte. The government didn't respond to CNN's request for comment.

BOUCKAERT: These were men taken in to custody. They were brutally beaten and spat upon and abused and then they were moved to a separate location, bound and executed. That's a crime that takes organization and it's a crime that takes decision.

RIVERS: A decision that so far has gone unpunished despite evidence that it may constitute a war crime. Dan Rivers, CNN, London.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BALDWIN: During this week's presidential debate, Governor Romney mentioned these binders full of women that he says he used to help fill the staff.

Well, there has been a lot of speculation about this. So we will talk to the woman whose office in charge of creating the so- called binders. We have a lot of questions. That's next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BALDWIN: We have seen the tweets, the Facebook comments, the Tumblr account or the mediums. Mitt Romney's debate comment about binders full of women all over the social media lexicon and we're going to be talking about it for next couple of minutes so we might as well revisit this. Hear exactly what Mitt Romney said Tuesday night.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) MITT ROMNEY (R), PRESIDENTIAL NOMINEE: Thank you and important topic. And one which I learned a great deal about, particularly as I was serving as governor of my state because I had the chance to pull together a cabinet and all of the applicants seemed to be men.

And I went to my staff and I said, how come all the people for the jobs are all men. They said, these are the people that have the qualifications. I said, gosh, can't we find some women that also qualified?

And so we took a concerted effort to go out and find women who had backgrounds that could be qualified to be members of our cabinet. I went to a number of women's groups and said can you help us find folks and they brought us binders full of women.

I was proud of the fact after I staffed my cabinet and my senior staff that the University of New York in Albany did a survey of all 50 states and concluded that mine had more women in senior leadership positions than any other state in America.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BALDWIN: Let's talk Priti Rao. She is the executive director of Massachusetts Women's Political Caucus, which is the lead sponsor and provided the binders of women to Mitt Romney as governor.

Welcome, Priti. Good to see you. And just to be crystal clear, we point out you were not with the organization when Romney first took office, but before we get in to this, quickly, these were binders. Binders full of resumes of women, yes?

PRITI RAO, MASSACHUSETTS WOMEN'S POLITICAL CAUCUS: Yes. It was a bipartisan coalition that we founded in 2002 and our work was really to go out and recruit women to apply for senior level positions in government. And, yes, we did vet women and put the resumes together in binders and delivered them to folks in the administration for consideration.

BALDWIN: OK, so there were binders and we just heard Mitt Romney, we heard Mitt Romney in the debate, you know, clearly say and other folks within the camp saying that he directed these people to find the qualified women, but your group says or I should say they say it's not exactly how things went down.

RAO: Well, as I said before, it was a bipartisan coalition founded in 2002 to address the issue of the fact we don't have enough women in the leadership positions in government.

In September of 2002, Masgap approached both candidates to bring up the issue and request that they consider and commit to working with us and really to make an honest effort to put women in leadership positions.

We were very excited when they agreed to work with us and then following Governor Romney's election, we worked with him and the lieutenant governor to address this issue. BALDWIN: And you know, we've heard from folks including Romney himself saying, you know, he had a record in terms of placing the most women on the team, was the best in the country.

But I just want to read the statement that was released by Masgap saying, "Prior to the 2002 election, women comprised approximately 30 percent of appointed senior-level positions in Massachusetts government.

By 2004, 42 percent and goes up quite a bit, 42 percent of the new appointments made by the Romney administration were women. Subsequently however, from '04 to '06 the percentage of the newly appointed women in these senior appointed positions dropped to 25 percent. Started out well, but then they ended up with fewer women than when he began. Why?

RAO: So again, 30 percent when he started, rose to 42 percent. You know, Masgap, our role was really to vet these women and get their information in front of the right people.

We were not privy to or part of the internal hiring process of the administration. We hope that when there were any other positions to fill them with women.

But we actually have seen research there are trends that show across various administrations that even though we may get a bump at the beginning that those numbers do drop down because it's less likely that a woman is replaced by another woman.

So that's something that we're trying to address through the project. We really hope that we can come up with strategies to really help and change this.

BALDWIN: So to be clear, even though in the years as governor of Massachusetts and all these women up to 42 percent. All these women hired in the end, if someone is rehired in the position it sounds like it was a man, just to be clear. There was a bump but it certainly did go down.

RAO: Yes.

BALDWIN: You mentioned Kerry Healey, Lieutenant Governor, Mitt Romney's. I want to play a sound from her. This is what she said about this just last night with PIERS MORGAN.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

KERRY HEALEY, MITT ROMNEY'S LT. GOVERNOR 2003-2007: If you look at Governor Romney's record in office, he not only asked me to run with him as the lieutenant governor, but his chief of staff was a very distinguished woman who ran his presidential campaign last time.

Chief policy adviser was a woman and half the people on the cabinet were women so I think that it's a stretch to make this an issue and it also is a misdirection because if you look at the women and the economy in our country today, there's 500,000 more women unemployed who lost their jobs during the Obama administration.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BALDWIN: Is she right, Priti, quickly? Is she right it's a stretch talking about women being hired?

RAO: You know, again, I think that our work at Masgap is to really address the issue of women in leadership positions in government. This is a systemic problem.

Here in Massachusetts and across the United States, we really strongly believe that it requires a bipartisan coalition and effort to address that.

BALDWIN: So that's a yes? Forgive me, but that's a yes that we should be talking about it. Am I hearing you?

RAO: You know, we are excited there's scrutiny about this and we feel like it's not a one-day issue. This is something we've been working on for 10 years. We are going to continue to work on it and we hope that other people will joins us in that effort.

BALDWIN: OK, Priti Rao, Executive Director of Massachusetts Women's Political Caucus, Priti, thank you.

Times are changing. "Newsweek" says it's finished with print. Is this a sign of things to come? That's next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BALDWIN: A staple item on the American news stand is missing come December. Talking about "Newsweek," they have announced after 80 years of print, they're going digital.

Today, the editor in chief had to say. Quote, "Exiting print is an extremely difficult moment for all of us who love the romance of print and the unique weekly camaraderie of those hectic hours before the time of close on Friday night."

In the past, the magazine has struggled to find an online presence. Now a merger with the incredibly popular "Daily Beast" we site here, but I can tell you that job cuts are expected. Be right back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BALDWIN: A teenager dreams of becoming a baseball player, but a medical condition changes his life forever. CNN's chief medical correspondent Dr. Sanjay Gupta has his story in today's "Human Factor."

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

DR. SANJAY GUPTA, CNN CHIEF MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): As a drum major of marching Mizu, University of Missouri's famed marching band. Paul Heddings is living his dream. It's a new dream because his original dream of playing professional baseball was disappearing.

PAUL HEDDINGS, UNIVERSITY OF MISSOURI DRUM MAJOR: September 7th, 2007, just -- just barely in to my junior year of high school.

GUPTA: The 17-year-old woke up and the world was changing.

HEDDINGS: Everything was just a little blurry, didn't seem like anything was wrong.

GUPTA: But something was terribly wrong. His retinas detached and started to tear apart in both eyes.

HEDDINGS: I didn't know how my life would change and could and couldn't do. I could go blind.

GUPTA: Paul said this was not caused by disease or trauma but by genetics.

HEDDINGS: Happening to my mom, grandma and uncles and my little sister having similar issues.

GUPTA: They didn't lose much vision. Paul, on the other hand is now legally blind. Sight in the best eye can't be corrected beyond 20 - 200.

HEDDINGS: My left eye has blind spots. The peripheral vision is great and that's why I'm so high functioning. The right eye is just kind of there.

GUPTA: He can read but not well by digitally scanning books into a computer that has screen magnification software. He says family, friends and music saved his life. He joined his high school drum line taking the music home, magnifying it, memorizing it.

HEDDINGS: I just strapped up my boots and went to work.

GUPTA: He made the drum line first playing cymbals and then after an interview process clinched the coveted drum major spot. Most in the band didn't even know he was legally blind. He suffered three detachments and cataracts in both eyes. One has now been removed. So far he's had more than 10 operations and countless laser procedures.

HEDDINGS: I could wake up tomorrow and have significantly more vision. I could walk away here today and I could lose vision.

GUPTA: Heddings hopes the time on the ladder changes the perception of visually impaired people.

HEDDINGS: I want to be able to say when I leave here that I did something special and that I didn't let this hold me back.

GUPTA: Dr. Sanjay Gupta, CNN reporting.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

(COMMERCIAL BREAK) BALDWIN: Fiscal cliff, hardly come up at the presidential debates. Yet, we are close to what many call disaster. Ben Stein joins me next with what he thinks will happen to average Americans and a new book on how to ruin Ben Stein, your financial life. He's next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BALDWIN: Some big time Wall Street CEOs have an urgent message for you and your Washington lawmakers. We have to avoid the fiscal cliff we've been talking about or the nation as we know it will crumble in just over two months.

In fact, 16 CEOs signed the strongly worded letter. Let me read part of it for you, quote, "Solvency, productive capacity and stability of the United States as well as its moral authority as a global leader require that its fiscal challenges be credibly met.

Hello. The solvency of the U.S.? Let's bring in economist and author, Ben Stein here with this. We'll get to your book in a second. But, you know, the fiscal cliff, it actually is not gotten a lot of play in the presidential debates.

Will you cut through the bull for me and just tell me what happens to regular, hard working Americans if this fiscal cliff hits first of the year?

BEN STEIN, ECONOMIST AND AUTHOR: Well, not much will happen to regular, hard working Americans, but the taxes on upper income people will rise substantially because the taxes of Obama care.

The Bush era tax cuts lower the tax on the well to do people will expire and they'll go back to the upper rate. The tax on capital gains rises very, very markedly.

But the big thing is that there will be a so-called sequester in which there's drastic cuts in federal spending on defense, which is a catastrophically bad idea and federal spending on civilian expenses.

And that's also a bad idea so there needs to be a compromise worked out of which there's a tax increase phased in gradually over time and --

BALDWIN: You say yes to a tax increase, yes, yes, yes?

STEIN: There has to be a tax increase. Look, Mr. Romney would say, I'll have a tax increase only do it by cutting loop holes. There aren't enough loopholes to cut. He'll say I have a tax increase of a certain kind.

Mr. Obama says a tax increase of everyone on $250,000 or above, but both of them agree not tax increases. I think they have to do bigger tax cuts than either of them is foreseeing. The situation is dire.

BALDWIN: It is dire and I think a lot of Americans --

STEIN: Extremely --

BALDWIN: -- hopefully we're not talking about this through, you know, but I bet we will through the end of the year, right?

STEIN: Well, I hope we're not talking about it through a day on a default of U.S. Treasury debt and through the day when China says we won't buy anymore U.S. bonds and the day of inflation 10 percent because people are so worried about the credibility of the U.S. dollar.

BALDWIN: Ben Stein, let's talk about your book. This book is called "How To Really Ruin Your Financial Life And Portfolio." So, chapter 1, trade frequently. Let me quote you.

"Just do something. Likewise, when there is any kind of news in the papers or online, is there a war in Syria. That could mean about oil prices. Do something.

Don't pretend. You can't sit it out. You have to be in there trading, trading, trading, trading. You are being entirely facetious.

STEIN: Here's some good ways to ruin your financial life. Trade frequently. Trade foreign exchange, unless you're a great expert on it. Trade commodities, unless you're a great expert on them. Trade with complex financial instruments, unless you're a great expert on it.

Perhaps one of the worst ones, try to pick stocks individually yourself. Don't just go with broad index funds, but try to pick the hot stocks of the future yourself. It never works. And yet people try it over and over again. If your last name is Buffett, yes, you can do it. Otherwise, don't try to do it.

But probably the most catastrophic one of all is, don't set up a plan to match your future liabilities, namely your retirement, with your assets. Just let that take care of itself. When you get to be 65, you're going to be in such miserable fear you won't believe it.

BALDWIN: Chapter 18, believe that those people you see on TV can actually tell the future.

STEIN: Right. I can't tell the future. I don't think you can tell the future, although I'm sure you can tell it better than I can.

But just because a man or woman is on TV doesn't mean he can tell the future. There are certain channels -- I'm not going to mention any names -- where they have people on routinely who all through the day from very early in the morning until late in the afternoon will tell you they can tell the future. They can't. Don't believe them. The future is entirely unknowable, except we know that very long periods of time, if you buy the indexes, if you can keep on buying them and if you're especially buy them when the stock market is down, you will make money.

BALDWIN: Again, the book, "How to Really Ruin Your Financial Life and Portfolio." We take your advice and do the opposite. Ben Stein, thank you.

STEIN: Thank you so much. Thank you.