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Obama Campaign Courts Women Votes; Comedy Stylings of Obama and Romney; Lawyers Request Martin's Records; Two Plus Million Americans Already Voted; Goldman Sachs Fires Back
Aired October 19, 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: Top of the hour here on this Friday. I'm Brooke Baldwin.
We begin with politics. Mitt Romney and Paul Ryan getting ready for a big campaign rally tonight in Florida. And we are already hearing from President Obama. Take a look. Here he is campaigning in Virginia today. And he spoke to a popular campaign theme, women. Take a listen.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
BARACK OBAMA, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: When the next president and Congress could tip the balance of the highest court in the land in a way that turns back the clock for women and families for decades to come, you don't want someone who needs to ask for binders of women. You don't want that guy. You want a president who has already appointed two unbelievable women to the Supreme Court of the United States.
(CHEERING AND APPLAUSE)
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BALDWIN: The election may well up hinging on how women vote in these key battleground states, states like Wisconsin.
We sent CNN's Miguel Marquez to the southeastern Wisconsin town of Waterford, where he talked with businesswomen, many of them still wavering on how they will vote.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
MIGUEL MARQUEZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Here we are milking cows in Racine County, Wisconsin. What else are we doing in a place that offers up such delicious dairy delicacies? This is a county and state in play, in a place that hasn't voted for a Republican since Reagan in 1984.
(voice-over): The Ranke family has farmed here since Grover Cleveland was president. Marsha Ranke and Linda Nelson have run the family dairy for 16 years.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Right underneath. MARQUEZ: Twice a day, 3:00 a.m. and p.m., they milk their 80 cows. They want to expand, but it's pricey and credit tight. Their biggest concern, government debt is acting like an anchor on the economy.
(on camera): Either of you made up your mind about who you're going to vote for?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I have a pretty good idea.
MARQUEZ: But still could change it?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Could change it. Anything could change.
MARQUEZ: So what is it they want out of a White House?
LINDA NELSON, RANKE FAMILY FARMS: It's going to take someone who wants to strap on their big boy boots and really take charge and say we are in a world of hurt, we need change.
MARQUEZ (voice-over): Voters here take elections seriously. Turnout is high and most voters independent.
(on camera): To give you an idea of just how swinging Wisconsin is, these counties voted for George Bush in 2000 and 2004. Those same counties voted Obama in '08. There are more Bush to Obama swing counties in Wisconsin than any other state.
(voice-over): Even in the same family votes often split.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I am voting for Romney.
MARQUEZ (on camera): You are voting for Romney. You think because his business credentials?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: He is a businessman first.
MARQUEZ: Did you made up your mind --
MARGIE VAN BLAIRCOM, SLICE CUSTOM CAKES: No. I have no clue who I'm going to vote for. It's kind of teeters depending.
MARQUEZ: Four years ago, Gloria Bart and her daughter, Margie, started their own bakery.
BLAIRCOM: We're making upside down stars.
MARQUEZ: They struggled, but their business grew, now in a bigger space and three new employees.
(on camera): Are social issues or economic issues bigger for you?
BLAIRCOM: I have to go with economic just because of our country, but social issues are important. It isn't anybody's right to tell a woman what they can or can't do with their body. MARQUEZ (voice-over): Carol Hoppe rents out most of her farmland and says she works harder than ever just to keep her head above water.
(on camera): Do you have any sense of the campaign at this point?
CAROL HOPPE, HOPPE HOMESTEAD FARMS: Yes, hot and heavy, in the mail and on the phone.
MARQUEZ (voice-over): Five women, one battleground state, both campaigns in overdrive working for their votes in the final stretch.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
BALDWIN: And Miguel Marquez joins me live, maybe with cows behind you. Looks like you're in some sort of farmhouse in Racine.
Miguel, we're going to get to that in a moment, but first I just want to update our viewers. September unemployment numbers just out here in Wisconsin. I can tell you unemployment dropped to 7.3 percent. So that is an improvement over August, half a point better than the national jobless rate. That's at 7.8 percent.
In talking to these people in Wisconsin, is that reflected overall maybe in improvement in jobs numbers, the mood?
MARQUEZ: Yes. I think most people feel here that they are just keeping their heads above water. So they feel somewhat optimistic but are afraid that things will either slide back or not making enough progress fast enough. That's the biggest concern.
It is reflected in a couple of polls we have had recently. There was a Marquette University poll that showed the race almost tied and then an NBC/Marist poll that took into account a few of the respondents anyway, that second debate, and that showed President Obama up by five or six points here.
It is a bit of a mixed bag here. Republicans still think they can pick off the state, though.
BALDWIN: If it is a mixed bag and again that's reflected as you mentioned here in the different polls coming out of Wisconsin, bottom line, what is keeping these men and women from deciding today who they like?
MARQUEZ: It is uncertainty. It is a weak preference as pollsters would call it. They're saying, look, they like one candidate or another, but they are still swayable.
And can I just show you, Brooke, two that are not swayable? Actually, they're very swayable because they're very hungry right now.
BALDWIN: Oh, boy. Oh, boy. Oh.
MARQUEZ: These are two -- that story we just showed you, these two were born two days ago, just a few hours after we shot that story. This one with the white bit, here is Mitt. This little guy here is Barack. They don't really care about polls. All they care about is milk. They have been chewing on my knees for the last 15 minutes that we have been waiting for you -- Brooke.
(LAUGHTER)
BALDWIN: Miguel Marquez with his two little baby cows. Miguel, thank you so much. Talking politics in a barn. I love it.
Just a quick reminder. You can watch the third and final presidential debate right here on CNN. Live coverage from Boca Raton, Florida, begins Monday night at 7:00 p.m. Eastern.
A car bombing in Beirut, Lebanon, has killed at least three and led to protests in the streets. About 100 others were hurt, including this woman here. Among those killed, a brigadier general who is the chief of the internal security forces information branch. The bomb was in a car, parked in front of a library in a bustling area of the city. Some people have fired guns into the streets of Lebanon's Tripoli protesting the attack.
Now to the U.S. effort against terrorists. The CIA wants more drones. If you read "The Washington Post" this morning, they're talking about CIA Director David Petraeus asking the White House to bolster its fleet which could result in 10 more of the unmanned aircraft. The fleet currently contains about 30 to 35 drones, and "The Post" also is reporting the request is a sign that the CIA is concerned about al Qaeda's impact, specifically in North Africa and the Middle East.
Here's what one unidentified U.S. official tells the paper -- quote -- "With what happened in Libya, we're realizing that those places are going to heat up." That of course is reference to those four Americans killed at the U.S. Consulate in Benghazi just last month.
I want to go to Fareed Zakaria, host of "FAREED ZAKARIA GPS," columnist for "TIME" magazine.
Fareed, first just drones in general, how successful has the program been thus far?
FAREED ZAKARIA, CNN WORLD AFFAIRS ANALYST: In the Afghanistan/Pakistan area, Brooke, they have been spectacularly successful.
Al Qaeda central, the main organization, the organization that planned and plotted 9/11 was decimated, and 70 percent of its senior leadership has been destroyed, of course Osama bin Laden. Now, bin Laden was killed by a team of Navy SEALs. Almost every other senior al Qaeda member has been killed by drones as have senior al Qaeda people in Yemen, in other parts of the Arab world. So very, very successful.
BLITZER: But here's the but. There is this study. It was Stanford University and New York University law schools. This was a study from last month reported that drones in Pakistan alone have killed anywhere from 400 to 800 civilians, this is what they call collateral damage over the last eight years.
Fareed, if the study is accurate, wouldn't drones on the flip side just create more hate for the U.S.?
ZAKARIA: Yes, I'm sure the study is accurate. That number does not seem like a wild exaggeration.
But, look, here is the problem. These are people plotting to kill Americans, Westerners, innocent civilians all over the world. You have to go and get them. The other way to get at them is to send in teams of Navy SEALs, Rangers, Marines. Those operations are very hard to do because you to have incredibly good intelligence. You have to get behind enemy lines often and there will often be many, many more casualties for U.S. troops.
What the drone allows you to do is to go deep behind enemy lines, and at relatively low to no cost to American servicemen, you're able to pinpoint these people. So it is a trade-off. But it is not as though you can sit back and do nothing. These groups are actively planning to -- terrorist attacks against the United States. Either we do it in a way that is more risky for us or it has some collateral damage.
It is a tough trade-off. But I think at the end of the day, the administration is doing the right thing. There's one caveat, which is if other nations start doing it, that's when we start getting to worry. Right? If the Russians using drones...
(CROSSTALK)
BALDWIN: A domino effect, right. It is a tough issue. It may come up Monday night, foreign policy debate, Boca Raton, Florida. You have Syria, you have Libya, you have all the different issues percolating foreign policy wise.
What is the one, pick one question that the presidential candidates need to answer Monday night.
ZAKARIA: I think probably the single most important one that they have to confront, which the next president will confront is what are you going to do about Iran because they have both drawn pretty bright lines and said we will not allow it to acquire a nuclear weapon. Well, fine.
But if they continue to enrich, what is the negotiated path? We understand what the military path is, but what are you willing to put on the table? Put it another way, any negotiation, the other guy has to get something as well. What are you willing to give the Iranians. We know the stick. What is the carrot?
BALDWIN: Iran, definitely Monday night. Before I let you go, your prime-time special coming up this Sunday on CNN, tell me about it. ZAKARIA: We went all over the world to ask this question, how are we going to deal with the fact that all of us -- there is so much more growth on planet, there's so many more people, and everybody wants to live like Americans, everyone wants the American dream.
As Tom Friedman, "The New York Times" columnist, says if everybody wants the American dream, we need another planet. So how do we power, how do we find the energy to allow all these other countries and including ourselves, how do we continue to grow? We are going to have 390 million people by 2050. How do we find space and how do find the energy solutions for it?
We're going to look at Denmark for wind. We look at France for nuclear. We look at Germany for solar power. And then of course we go back home in America to look at this incredible natural gas explosion that is powering America.
BALDWIN: It is called "Global Lessons: The GPS Road Map for Powering America." You can watch it Sunday night 8:00 or 11:00 Eastern and Pacific right here on CNN.
Fareed Zakaria, thank you.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
BALDWIN: You think the presidential debates are getting testy? There are some congressional races that are downright nasty. We're about to explain why every race matters. I'm Brooke Baldwin. The news is now.
(voice-over): The Pentagon fights back after a female soldier sues for being left off the front lines and I will speak with her live.
Plus, just 10 days after being shot in the head, the girl targeted by the Taliban stands up and communicates. A neurosurgeon tells me how.
And Erin Burnett joins me live on which man most benefits from early voting.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
BALDWIN: It seems everyone's been talking about the Mitt Romney comment, the binders full of women, at Tuesday's presidential debate. We looked at number of women that worked in high-level positions for Romney when he was governor of Massachusetts.
But here is a different number to chew on when it comes to women, 14.5 That's the percentage of U.S. Army personnel on active duty who are women, less than 15 percent. And they can't serve in the majority of Army jobs because they are women.
Earlier this year, the Pentagon opened 14,000 combat-related jobs to women, most of them in the Army. But there is still a great big brass ceiling women are fighting to break through.
One of those women is Army Colonel Ellen Haring. She is suing the Pentagon for discrimination.
Colonel Haring, welcome. And thank you for coming on.
I want to begin with just first the job in Afghanistan. What was the job in Afghanistan that you wanted?
COL. ELLEN HARING, U.S. ARMY: Well, I had applied to be the program coordinator for a new program that we had in Afghanistan. It was the cultural support teams, which were female engagement teams that were engaging with Afghan women and Afghan locals in Afghanistan.
And I applied for the position, been accepted for it and then shortly before my deployment, I was told that they had decided I was not qualified for the position.
BALDWIN: Three weeks. Three weeks before you leave, you're told your assignment is canceled. What was the explanation you got?
HARING: Well, I was told that I was -- that the positions weren't available, and then that I was not qualified, two different stories from different people.
BALDWIN: So on the one hand, you can just be frustrated and angry, but just go along. On the other hand, you can take this to the level in which you have taken it, which is sue. Why sue?
HARING: Well, actually, that wasn't what precipitated the lawsuit. That was just one instance.
BALDWIN: One.
HARING: Right.
What really precipitated it was my understanding and knowledge of what women were doing broadly across the military and what they had been doing for the last 10 years and that really the final straw was the report released in February which said we're going to open some jobs, but we're not going to open all of the jobs, even though the recommendations were that all jobs should be open to women, because it did present this barrier to our advancement.
BALDWIN: OK. So this was the final straw. You sue. Let me just brush off a little bit of from what I can tell from your resume. You're a West Point grad. You're a career officer, wife of an Army colonel, doctoral student, and I will just add this, you're a mom.
But here's what we hear from the Pentagon. This is what they told "The L.A. Times." "The department is committed to removing barriers that prevent service members from rising to their highest potential based on each person's ability and not constrained by gender-restrictive policies."
So, Colonel Haring, how do you argue with someone? I have had folks come on this show and say, look, it is the sheer physicality of it, women cannot do what the men can.
HARING: The only thing that we're asking in the lawsuit is that we create one standard this and we let all people, men or women, compete against that standard. We're not asking for any unique opportunities, we're not asking for anybody to lower standards. In fact, we don't want anybody to lower standards. We just want to be allowed to compete against the existing standards.
BALDWIN: One standard that men and women have to meet. Quickly, Pentagon has moved to dismiss your suit. Where does it stand now?
HARING: Well, right now we have until the 31st of October to respond to their move to dismiss, and, of course, we're challenging their move to dismiss. They will get seven days to respond to our challenge. And then the judge, D.C. circuit court judge here will decide whether she's going to hear the case.
BALDWIN: If you win, what is the first thing you will be thinking?
HARING: Well, if we win, it means that all these opportunities that have been closed to women will now be open. So my hope is that it will open all kinds of opportunities to women across the military services.
BALDWIN: Colonel Ellen Haring, we will follow it. We will follow it indeed. Thank you very much.
HARING: Thank you.
BALDWIN: He is the highest paid baseball player and touted as one of the best. So, Yankee fans, want to know why A-Rod was benched? They also want to know why during a losing game A-Rod was reportedly trying to hook up with female fans all while he was sitting on the bench. And it doesn't stop there.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
BALDWIN: In 2008, the New York Yankees signed the heavy hitter known as A-Rod. And that contract made Alex Rodriguez the highest paid baseball player in the world. Do the math, 10 years, a cool $275 million.
Bad decision? Perhaps, because just this week the Detroit Tiger swept the Yankees, four games, over. A-Rod spent much of his time on the bench.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I don't appreciate what he's been doing. He's not hitting.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: It is embarrassing. It is upsetting. Big fan, good looking guy, but he's got to step it up on the field.
(END VIDEO CLIP) BALDWIN: Not much better on the field for A-Rod either. He's admitting to steroid use, saying it was before his Yankee days. He's known as quite the playboy, dating high-profile actresses and models.
But just this week, "The New York Post" reported in the middle of the playoff game with the Tigers, while his team was losing, A-Rod was on the bench trying to hook up with some female fans in the stands. He sent a baseball into the stands trying to get their number. But despite the problems on and off the field, A-Rod says he wants to stay with the Yankees.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
ALEX RODRIGUEZ, NEW YORK YANKEES: I love New York City. And I love everything about being a Yankee. And the highs are very high and the lows are extremely low.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BALDWIN: Five seasons left in A-Rod's contract, he's owed $114 million.
President Obama, Governor Romney, both in New York at the Al Smith charity dinner roast. Let me tell you, the candidates had more than a couple of jokes. Take a listen.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
BARACK OBAMA, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: I hear the same thing everywhere I go. Honestly, we were hoping to see Michelle.
(LAUGHTER)
MITT ROMNEY (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Usually when I get invited to gathering like this is just to be the designated driver.
(LAUGHTER)
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BALDWIN: And the jabs didn't stop there.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
(STOCK MARKET UPDATE)
BALDWIN: And now to politics, politics of a different kind. You have President Obama, Mitt Romney normally cutting each other down, not for votes this time, but for laughs.
In back-to-back speeches last night, with Romney on first, they spoke to gala of bigwigs. This is the Alfred E. Smith Memorial Foundation Dinner, a white-tie fund-raiser hosted by the Catholic Archdiocese of New York.
So, here is now your chance to see which candidate is the better comedian, and, yes, that is Katie Couric in the background.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
ROMNEY: I'm pleased that the president is here. We were chatting pleasantly this evening as if Tuesday night never happened.
(LAUGHTER)
ROMNEY: And I credit that of course to the cardinal.
He has -- it has taken New York's highest spiritual authority to get us back on our best behavior.
(LAUGHTER)
ROMNEY: I was actually hoping the president would bring Joe Biden along this evening, because he will laugh at anything.
(LAUGHTER)
ROMNEY: Of course, we're down to the final months of the president's term.
(LAUGHTER)
(CHEERING AND APPLAUSE)
ROMNEY: As presidents -- as President Obama surveys the Waldorf banquet room, with everyone in white tie and finery, you have to wonder what he's thinking. So little time, so much to redistribute.
(LAUGHTER)
ROMNEY: And don't be surprised if the president mentions, this evening, the monthly jobs report, where there was a slight improvement in the numbers. He knows how to seize a moment, this president, and already has a compelling new campaign slogan "you're better off now than you were four weeks ago."
(LAUGHTER)
ROMNEY: Let's just say that some in the media have a certain way of -- of looking at things. When suddenly I -- I pulled ahead in some of the major polls, what was the headline?
"Polls Show Obama Leading from Behind."
(LAUGHTER)
ROMNEY: And I've already seen early reports from tonight's dinner. Headline -- "Obama Embraced by Catholics, Romney Dines with Rich People."
(END VIDEO CLIP)
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) BARACK OBAMA, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: This is the third time that Governor Romney and I have met recently. As some of you may have noticed, I had a lot more energy in our second debate.
(LAUGHTER)
OBAMA: I felt really well rested after the nice long nap I had in first debate.
(LAUGHTER)
OBAMA: Yes. Although, it turns out millions of Americans focused in on the second debate who didn't focus in on the first debate. And I happened to be one of them.
It's been four years since I was last at the Al Smith Dinner. I'll have to admit, some things have changed since then. I've heard some people say, Barack, you're not as young as you used to be.
Where's that golden smile?
Where's that pep in your step?
And I say, settle down, Joe, I'm trying to run a cabinet meeting here.
(LAUGHTER)
OBAMA: Ultimately, though, tonight is not about the disagreements Governor Romney and I may have, it's what we have in common, beginning with our unusual names. Actually, Mitt is his middle name. I wish I could use my middle name.
(LAUGHTER)
OBAMA: Of course, world affairs are a challenge for every candidate. After -- some of you guys remember, after my foreign trip in 2008, I was attacked as a -- a celebrity because I was so popular with our allies overseas. And I have to say, I'm impressed with how well Governor Romney has avoided that problem.
(LAUGHTER)
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BALDWIN: Good stuff, right?
Presidents and presidential candidates have been speaking at this Alfred E. Smith Dinner since 1952. A little background on Smith. He was a Cath -- the first Catholic to receive a major party's nomination for president, way back in 1928.
And sure, the presidential candidates were joking and yucking it up last night, while some Congressional races got mean and downright nasty. Verbal punches flying last night when Missouri senator, Claire McCaskill, debated Republican challenger, Congressman Todd Akin. The candidates did not mention Akin's controversial comments about, quote/unquote, "legitimate rape," but they did dig deep in other areas.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP, COURTESY K50X)
REP. TODD AKIN (R), MISSOURI: Claire McCaskill was the first to endorse Barack Obama. And she was his strong right hand, passing legislation, voting with him 98 percent of the time.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP, COURTESY K50X)
SEN. CLAIRE MCCASKILL (D), MISSOURI: I don't even agree with my mother 98 percent of the time, much less the president of the United States.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP, COURTESY K50X)
AKIN: I really didn't say that she agreed with Barack Obama 98 percent of the time, I said she just voted with him 98 percent of the time.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP, COURTESY K50X)
MCCASKILL: Congressman Akin voted to raise his pay and five days later voted against fully funding the veterans program.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP, COURTESY K50X)
AKIN: And she talked about the -- the stimulus bill. It had a million dollars in there. She cut funding for veterans and teachers, but managed to get a million dollars in for her home business. So much for transparency.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP, COURTESY K50X)
MCCASKILL: He supports the boss being able to decide whether or not you get paid less just because you're a woman. And if you look at Congressman Akin's office, in fact, he is the boss that does that. His women staff make 23.4 percent less than the men in his office.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP, COURTESY K50X)
AKIN: Claire McCaskill seems to think this is a crisis if you don't have everything done by the federal government. (END VIDEO CLIP)
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP, COURTESY K50X)
MCCASKILL: What did they do with the money?
They gave Kim Kardashian another tax cut.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BALDWIN: From Missouri to battleground Ohio, a challenger called an incumbent a liar. Ohio State treasurer, Josh Mandel was responding to charges from Senator Sherrod Brown that he skipped meetings as treasurer and was trying to skip rungs on the political ladder.
Here they were.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP, COURTESY WBNS)
JOSH MANDEL (R), SENATE CANDIDATE: Senator, you are a liar. You are lying to the people of the state of Ohio. You are falsely attacking me. And I won't stand for it. You might want to try to push people around in Washington, but you're not going to push me around.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP, COURTESY WBNS)
SEN. SHERROD BROWN (D), OHIO: It's just a pretty remarkable thing for a young man to say, or for a man of any age to say in a political debate.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP, COURTESY WBNS)
MANDEL: Senator, the reason you're agitated and frustrated tonight is because the people of the state of Ohio disagree with you.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP, COURTESY WBNS)
BROWN: So I don't really need a lecture from somebody who can't wait to get to the next job and run for a higher office and continue to try to move up the ladder.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BALDWIN: Challenger Mendel, in case you're curious, is 35 years old. In Minneapolis, it got nasty between Democrat Congressman Keith Ellison and Republican challenger Chris Fields, boiling over when Fields accused Ellison of being behind a recent story involving Fields' divorce.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP COURTESY KFAI RADIO)
REP. KEITH ELLISON (D), MINNESOTA: You're real stupid for bringing up...
CHRIS FIELDS (R), CANDIDATE FOR HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES: Now, I will tell you this...
ELLISON: -- your domestic violence allegations.
FIELDS: I will tell you this.
ELLISON: I wasn't going to say a thing about it.
FIELDS: You know what?
ELLISON: I wasn't going to mention it.
FIELDS: If you want to talk about the worst...
ELLISON: I don't want to talk about it.
FIELDS: Talk about your own. Talk about the fact that you only pay...
ELLISON: You are a scumbag.
FIELDS: -- $500...
ELLISON: You know what?
You are...
FIELDS: -- for child support.
ELLISON: You are...
FIELDS: Talk about that...
ELLISON: -- you are...
FIELDS: You used that money...
ELLISON: -- a massive...
FIELDS: -- to hurt my ex-wife...
ELLISON: -- you are a low life...
FIELDS: -- who I still love.
ELLISON: -- scumbag.
FIELDS: And, you know, I didn't...
ELLISON: You are a...
FIELDS: -- I didn't spend...
ELLISON: -- low life scumbag.
FIELDS: -- I didn't spend money...
ELLISON: You are a...
(CROSSTALK)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: All right, let...
(CROSSTALK)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: -- let's move on.
(CROSSTALK)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: -- money...
(CROSSTALK)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: We want to talk about...
(CROSSTALK)
ELLISON: You are a gutter dweller and you're...
(CROSSTALK)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: We do...
(CROSSTALK)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: For bringing up your domestic violence charges.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BALDWIN: Whoo. Eighteen days left until the election.
George Zimmerman back in court today. His lawyers going after Trayvon Martin's school record and Twitter account in this stand your ground case.
How relevant are Martin's records here?
We're on the case, next.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
BALDWIN: New developments today in the George Zimmerman murder case. A new judge and more requests here. Zimmerman's attorney requested Trayvon Martin's school records today. I'm talking grades, attendance, discplary -- disciplinary action. Zimmerman, here he was in court. This is just a short time ago. Now this request has absolutely outraged the Florida teenager's parents. They held a press conference just a short time ago. They say their son's character is being attacked and that his school records are not at all relevant to this case.
CNN legal analyst Sunny Hostin joins me now, on the case today -- and, Sunny, you saw this hearing. Zimmerman's attorneys, they want access to Trayvon Martin's Twitter, Facebook. We talked about his school records.
Why is this relevant?
SUNNY HOSTIN, CNN LEGAL ANALYST: You know, and not only did they want access to the school records, they're going to get access to the school records, Twitter accounts, Facebook accounts. And they say that it is relevant to show his reputation, whether or not Trayvon Martin was an aggressive person, because that is really going to be the central issue in this case -- who started this confrontation?
Who was the initial con -- pursuer and confronter?
And that is because, Brooke, we all know that a confrontation took place. We all know that George Zimmerman had injuries. We all know that Trayvon Martin died.
What we don't know is how it started and who started it. And under Florida law, interestingly enough, reputation evidence of a victim is relevant to show whether or not he or she was aggressive on the night, on the day in question.
So this was pretty fascinating to me, because where I've practiced law, that just isn't the case. And I think we're hearing a lot of outrage. I'm hearing it on my Facebook page. I'm hearing it on my Twitter account. People are feeling the way Trayvon Martin's parents are feeling, that this is sort of a trashing of the victim, this is revictimizing the victim's family.
So this has really been just a hot button issue today.
BALDWIN: And I know medical records, the state has asked for George Zimmerman's medical records.
Sunny Hostin on the case.
Sunny, thank -- thank you very much.
HOSTIN: Thanks.
BALDWIN: A major newspaper in a key battleground state endorses Mitt Romney days before this final presidential debate. But this endorsement comes with a twist. I'll tell you what it is.
Plus, CNN's "ERIN BURNETT OUT FRONT" on who benefits from early voting. She joins me next.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK) BALDWIN: Mitt Romney gets a surprise Florida endorsement. The "Orlando Sentinel" endorsed Romney for president. The twist -- that same paper endorsed Barack Obama just four years ago.
Here's what the editorial board of the paper writes. Quote, "The core of Romney's campaign platform, his five point plan, at least shows he understands that reviving the economy and repairing the government's balance sheet are imperative now, not four years in the future."
To another swing state here. We've been talking a lot about Colorado. "The Denver Post" endorsing Obama, saying, quote, "It would be a stretch to say we are bullish on the entirety of his first term. Obama is a steady leader who keeps the interests of a broad array of Americans in mind," end quote.
And more than two million Americans, perhaps you included in this, you've already voted. Early voting could really make a difference in some of these key battleground states. Just look at this line, around the corner. This is Charlotte, North Carolina just yesterday. And in what we've been calling the mother of all battleground states, in Ohio, early voters lined up to cast ballots there this week.
Let's go to Erin Burnett, host of "ERIN BURNETT OUTFRONT," to talk a little bit about, you know, hitting this point home that -- that early voting, it could be pretty important here when it comes to November 6.
ERIN BURNETT, HOST, OUTFRONT: It really can, Brooke.
I mean we've been looking into this, just to try to get the numbers. Because I saw some of those pictures, just like you're looking at, and said, my goodness, how significant is this?
And the answer, it turns out, incredibly significant. There are 22 states plus the District of Columbia that allow early voting. Nineteen of them have already started. Some of those lines like you just were looking at there in Charlotte, North Carolina. On Monday, it -- it's going to be another big day, because you're going to have eight more states that start early voting. And as you pointed out, Brooke, more than two million Americans have already cost ballot -- cast ballots. And that does include absentee. So I want to make sure that's clear.
But this is a big number of people. And early voting can be very, very crucial for one party, actually, more so than the other, it seems.
BALDWIN: Which one?
BURNETT: All right. So that's the -- that's the key question.
BALDWIN: That's the next question.
BURNETT: Yes. It appears -- it appears from the analysis that we have so far that early voting tends to swing Democratic.
Take North Carolina, Brooke. This is pretty amazing, since you're looking at those lines there. In 2008, on Election Day, John McCain won 58 percent in the state -- of the vote in the state of North Carolina. He won it handily. But as you know, he lost the state of North Carolina, because President Obama had built up such a lead in early voting that he ended up winning the state by 14,000 votes.
So that goes to show you it turned an entire state.
When you look at Iowa right now -- I'm just going to pull up the numbers up here -- 45 percent of the early voting ballot requests that have come in have come from registered Democrats, versus 30 percent from Republicans. So it does tend to swing Democratic. And experts say, well, that's partially because some of the Democratic voters that are involved have -- have jobs that don't have the flexibility for them to go to the polls on Election Day and they need to take advantage of early voting.
But it also, Brooke, seems to be linked to the fact that in a lot of these key states, there are a lot more offices. There's a stronger ground game, perhaps, for the Democrats.
So this is something to watch for on Election Day (INAUDIBLE).
BALDWIN: It's incredible to watch for it. It's incredible to watch the lines. And even in terms of the electoral votes, just talking to Jessica Yellin yesterday, you know, following the president, four -- just four electoral votes, but they matter and they will very much so matter, right, just in a -- a matter of 18 days. We are counting.
BURNETT: Incredible.
BALDWIN: So are you.
Erin Burnett, thank you so much.
BURNETT: (INAUDIBLE). It's good to see you, Brooke.
BALDWIN: And I know Erin is going to have -- good to see you.
She'll have much more on early voting tonight. Tune in to "ERIN BURNETT OUTFRONT," 7:00 Eastern, here on CNN.
A pretty tough week, you could say, for Lance Armstrong, after big time sponsors drop him. Armstrong is expected to make his first appearance today.
Will he talk about this doping scandal?
Those details are next.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK) BALDWIN: Talk about burning a bridge. That is exactly what ex- banker Gregg Smith did when he publicly resigned from Goldman Sachs just a couple of months ago. Well, now Goldman is fighting back.
Christine Romans has more on what the firm is saying about Smith -- Christine.
CHRISTINE ROMANS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Brooke, Goldman Sachs hitting back at former employee, Gregg Smith. Smith resigned from Goldman through a critical op-ed in "The New York Times" in March. The bank now revealing the results of its own internal investigation into Smith's very high profile departure.
Goldman says Smith asked for a raise and reacted badly when he didn't get it. The bank released an internal e-mail, first to Bloomberg News, and then confirmed to us. It was written by one of his managers.
It said, quote, "Gregg Smith off the charts. Unrealistic. Thinks he should trade at multiples. We told him there is very little tolerance for reactions like that and he needs to tone it down."
Goldman Sachs, of course, led by CEO, Lloyd Blankfein. It's a famously private and powerful investment bank. When Smith quit last spring, he did it in the most public way, in an op-ed in "The New York Times," that said things like this. "It makes me ill how callously people talk about ripping their clients off. Over the last 12 months, I've seen five different managing directors refer to their own clients as 'Muppets,' sometimes over internal e-mail."
He got a book agent and wrote a book by the same name as that op- ed, "Why I Left Goldman Sachs." That book is due out Monday.
It's not a surprise, then, why we're getting details of Goldman's investigation now, ahead of that book release -- Brooke.
BALDWIN: Christine Romans, thank you.
Now to Lance Armstrong, expected to make his very first public appearance the day after the U.S. Anti-Doping association laid out hundreds of pages of what it calls doping evidence.
Armstrong will be part of the Livestrong 15th anniversary event in Austin, Texas. That happens tonight. Even though he has officially stepped down now as chairman of the charity he began, Maria Shriver, Sean Penn, Robin Williams, just a couple of names here of the celebrities scheduled to attend tonight's fundraiser.
Several huge sponsors have bailed on Armstrong this week, including Nike. But Nike says it will continue to support Livestrong.
Now I want to take a moment to remember a Texas icon. Big Tex has stood five stories tall over the Texas State Fair for 60 years, his booming voice greeting visitors and conversing with children. But...
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Well, it looks like old Big Tex had a rough day today.
BALDWIN: I'd rather hear that voice than mine. It only took 10 minutes this morning for fire to burn Big Tex to his core. No more 50 pound belt buckle. No more 75-gallon hat. Big Tex's arms, hands and metal skeleton are all that remain. That is a sad, sad picture. Fair officials say the fire started in a motor that makes Big Tex's head move. Aha! They vow he will be back next year in time to crown the successor to deep fried Coke -- ugh -- fried bubble gum and this year's food contest favorite, the fried bacon cinnamon roll.
My goodness. I am missing a lot by not being in Texas.
Now to this, though. This is an awesome story. Remarkable progress here now for that girl, that teenager that was shot by the Taliban.
Ten days now. She is standing. She's communicating. A neurosurgeon explains how, coming up next.
But first, you asked, I answer. Here's a clip from our behind- the-scenes videos. It's what we like to call The Week Wind-Down.
Brian, asks, "Would you ever want to do something really crazy, like moderate a presidential debate?
What would be top on your question list?"
So something I'm really interested in is the use of drones. So I would ask the candidates, let's say you use a drone and you take out a -- a high profile target, someone who is bent on killing Americans. But you do that, and in doing so, there is collateral damage. Let's say you kill children. I would want you, speaking to the mother of that child, to defend your stance on using drones.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
BALDWIN: A couple minutes away from the top of the hour and this man, Wolf Blitzer -- Wolf, happy Friday.
What are you working on today?
WOLF BLITZER, HOST, "THE SITUATION ROOM": Lots happening in -- as far as the investigation into Benghazi, Libya, what happened, what did the U.S. know in the weeks and months leading up to the killing of the United States ambassador and three other Americans, in two -- including two members of the Green Beret?
And there's new information coming out. The chairman of the House Intelligence Committee, Mike Rogers, he's standing by. We'll be speaking with him live here in THE SITUATION ROOM during our -- during our 6:00 p.m. Eastern hour. Anxiously awaiting that interview. Also, Fareed Zakaria.
And right at the top of the hour, we've got new poll numbers on the critically important state of Florida, a brand new CNN poll, Brooke, is about to come out. Our own John King is over at the Magic Wall.
BALDWIN: Wolf Blitzer, we will see you in a matter of just about 60 seconds here.
Thank you, sir.
But before I let you go, we have to talk about this young woman. She's become a symbol of the resistance against the Taliban. She is Malala Yousufzai, that Pakistani schoolgirl who was shot in the head by one of its members.
These are new pictures of her in that hospital room.
And some great news for you today. She is now standing. She is even able to write coherent sentences. And so once some of the tubes -- you see the tubes. Once they come out, doctors believe she will be able to speak. I talked to a neurosurgeon earlier, explaining to me just how -- how she's come so far in 10 days.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SANJAY DHALL, CHIEF OF NEUROSURGERY, GRADY MEMORIAL HOSPITAL: What may have happened is, is that she was fortunate in that it was somewhat of a grazing injury and it damaged some of her frontal lobe, but spared some of the other areas. Like, if you look at the brain, there are areas back here and here that are related to language function. And so it may have damaged areas adjacent to that but spared those...
BALDWIN: But it missed.
DHALL: It also probably -- it sounds as though it may have spared the motor areas, the areas that control her arm and leg on the opposite side of her body.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BALDWIN: Dr. Sanjay Dhall, Emory University, thank you.
This attempt to silence Malala was all because she declared her right to go to school. The Taliban have vowed to shoot her again.
And on that, thanks so much for being with me this week.
I'm Brooke Baldwin.
Let's send you to Washington -- Wolf Blitzer, to you.
