Transcripts For CNN CNN Newsroom 20121108

international. i'm suzanne malveaux. want to get right to it. a major story we are watching this hour in arizona. former congresswoman gabby giffords face-to-face with the man who shot her. giffords and her husband mark kelli are in a tucson courtroom right now for the sentencing of jerry lee loughner. he is expected to get life in prison after he struck a plea deal to avoid the death penalty. loughner pleaded guilty to a shooting rampage that left six people dead and 13 wounded, including giffords, who was shot in the head at point-blank range. it happened at an event she was holding in 2011. giffords will not speak in court today, but her husband will. nor on the sentencing later in the hour. folks in the northeast hit super hard by sandy are dealing with even more misery today. a nor'easter has now hammered the region with fierce winds and heavy snow. thousands of people in new york and new jersey who just got their power back on are once again without electricity in bone-chilling temperatures. debra is talking to folks in the garrison beach neighborhood of brooklyn, and it's right across the water from breezy point, queens. deb, tell us, a lot of folks, it must be devastating. they haven't had power since sandy, and now they're coping with yet another storm and the possibility that they're not going to have a power for quite some time. all right. i understand that we've lost deb there. we're going to get back to her as soon as we can. want to go and see if we can move on and we'll bring that to you later. people who, of course, are struggling because of sandy, they are getting a break from one wireless provider, thank goodness. they get some kind of break. verizon says it's going to waive all charges for text messages and calls between october 29, november 16th for those folks that li in places affected by the storm. so if you want to help storm victims in the northeast, it is easy. it's easy to do. just log on to cnn.com/impact and find all kinds of information, how to contribute to the relief effort. around the world leaders congratulating the president on his re-election, but beyond the congratulations, president obama facing a world of challenges in his second term. from iran's nuclear ambitions to syria's bloody civil war, spilling into neighboring countries now where the president has a lot on his plate. now he has a second chance to tackle a lot of these complex world problems. nicolas burns, former undersecretary for political affairs and was the lead u.s. negotiator on iran's nuclear program. ambassador burns, joining us here. the president has a ton on his plate now. i want to start off with iran. the president criticized throughout the campaign for not being tougher on iran when it comes to his nuclear ambitions for not drawing more of a clear red line, if you will, and we saw israeli president benjamin netanyahu, the prime minister there, famously at the u.n. nick, what do you think is the biggest challenge that the president has to deal with for iran? >> well, you know, suzanne, i think the president has a lot of support here in the united states, and he certainly does around the world for his basic policy, which is we should try negotiations with the iranians before we think about the use of force, and i would expect, suzanne, over the next several months that you'll see the united states try to reinvigorate the negotiating process, whether that's the multi-lateral process with russia, china, britain, fans, and germany involved, but also possibly see if there should be direct talks between the united states and iran. we haven't had those kind of talks really in three decades since the iranian revolution started, and i suspect, suzanne, he will have bipartisan support for that in washington d.c. and he will have a lot of support internationally now that the campaign is over. the big question is whether the iranian government will be willing to come in a serious way to the negotiating table. they have not shown that over the last couple of years. i think the pressure is actually going to be on the iranian government. >> do you think that the economic pressure on iran is coming to a breaking point here, a boiling point, where you will see iran come to the table? >> i think the sanctions are beginning to hit the iranian government very hard. both the e.u., oil embargo, the u.s. central bank sanctions, and just look at the indicators of that. the iranian riel, the -- it has been -- the ranian have been hit hard in their inability to use the world banking system because they've been shut off from that system, and so the sanctions are important because they tell the iranians that they are isolated, that they have very few friends in the world, and that they're essentially operating in a rogue fashion by running an enrichment program, which is against the wishes of the united nations security council and has been for the last six years. >> let's talk about syria. obviously, a very big problem there, a civil war that is brewing. the syrian president bashar al assad warned against what he was calling a foreign invasion. he says he is going to live and die in syria even if given a safe passage in exchange for halting this civil war. this is something that we heard from the british prime minister, david cameron, suggesting. i want you to take a listen. >> i think that the cost of foreign invasion of syria, if it happened, would be the greater of the whole world could afford. >> so last week we heard from the secretary of state hillary clinton who said that they are changing the policy in some ways. they're going to engage more with the op sxwligs inside of the country as posed to the exiles. if awes yad doesn't go, is there anything more that it is president could to to apply pressure to this regime? >> well, this is a very tough issue, and it's, frankly, an issue that i think we'll have to be addressed in the coming days and weeks. the obama administration in my view, suzanne, has made the right judgment that the idea of a military intervention is just not in the cards. it's just -- presents too many difficulties for all concerned, but is there a way for the administration working with turkey, saudi arabia, qatar, and other states, the european union, can we put more pressure on assad? can we get more effective political support to the opposition and help them to unify? is it possible to help turkey, for instance, to establish humanitarian zones? i think there's more that can be done, but i think the administration has been right to be cautious. this is a very different situation than libya a year and a half ago when we went in against muammar gadhafi? >> china is really the emerging power, and today it's a historic week for china. it is once again it's making a change here. it only happens once in every ten years. this transition to power of a new leader. china, the second world's biggest economy, closing fast in on the united states, and you've got this big fight over twrad i will balance between the united states. ewe talking about currency manipulation that's one big problem for the president. what does the president need to do to essentially get china to cooperate in a moyer positive way? >> the first thing, suzanne, is there's a new chinese leadership, a new bureau, and president xijing ping. the president will have to get to know hem and establish a relationship with him and establish an agenda that's workable. the u.s.-china relationship is very complex because there are a whole host of issues where we're working pretty well together, and there are a lot of issues where we're not. you mentioned one, which is the trade imbalance, the currency manipulation by the chinese government. there are others. chinese aggression, i say, needless aggression against japan over the sinkaku islands, against the philippines and others over the spratley islands in the south china sea. the united states will have to be very strong to maintain our predominant position in asia, but yet, willing to work with asia at the same time, and hopefully in a way that diminishes complicates between the two countries. >> really appreciate your insights. i want to go back to the northeast where folks hit hard by superstorm sandy. they are dealing with even more misery today. we're talking about a nor'easter that's hammered the region. fierce winds, heavy snow. i believe we have debra fayrick who is with us. debra, can you hear me? >> yeah, absolutely. it is so difficult to speak to these people and the strain in their voices and the tears in their eyes, and they just keep telling us, we are suffering. we are suffering. you have to send help. they are staying in their homes. their homes that have been flooded. they are completely ruined. a couple of people we've spoken to have lost everything on the first floor. this relief center here at this volunteer fire station, this is the nerve center. if it weren't for this, a lot of these people would have given up hope long ago, but even last night the assistant chief tells me that, in fact, people were crying because it was just so difficult for them to make any sense of this, and to make sense of this for us is state senator marty golden, and where is fema? where is the red cross? we see a couple, but not enough to help the number of people here who need it. >> the red cross has dropped off some material, but they're not on the ground. we haven't seen any of the trucks from fema that are important to us. right behind me is tremendous parkland. those fema trucks up there and these people over 2,000 families without electricity could be up there getting bedding, getting food, and at least getting through this terrible, terrible time. >> but why? why is garretson beach not getting the help that it should 1234 is it an afterthought? >> it was not tashgted. when the initial storm came -- the surge came up. the water was up over here, and that was six blocks -- ten blocks up. you wouldn't believe the amount of water that was here. these people just barely got out with their lives, some of them. they were on their rooves asking for help. we were moving boats in to get the people out of this community. obviously, had over 23 people killed in staten island. major, major issue disaster. queens, we lost 700 homes. this was the third worst disaster in our city. >> not just that, but the people here were not even told to evacuate because this is zone b. they figured the parkway would brunt the wave, and it didn't. let me ask you, electricians. now these people are being told that they need to get licensed electricians, licensed plumbers just so they can get back in their homes, and that's one of the reasons that electricity is being delayed. why? think about it. 2,000 homes. >> their own electrician and plumber come in. these lights won't be on until christmas. we need to get them on now. we live in the greatest city in the greatest nation in the world. we need to get major contractors in here working with the city, getting the electricity put on, and that can be done. if you had a major supplier and a major contractor in here right away, we can have these lights on within a week. the way they're going right now, it's going to take us through christmas to get this done. >> is it lack of will as to why this is being done, or is it just that the problem is so huge and so spread out that there just aren't enough resources, whether it be fema or the red cross or the insurance companies? >> well, it's a combination of all. you have to remember, this is 800,000 -- 800 mile slump. when you think about it, the impact of that, and the impact of the city of new york, you know, i got to tell you, it was very, very sad. it's still -- this is over a week, and we haven't been able to put the services together for these communities. we have seniors in here and kids in here. they need services now. the only way they're going to be able to do it is to concentrate. we're having a meeting night at the resurrection church, and hopefully the resurrection church will get some answers as to how do we move forward in getting the electricity up. >> hopefully we'll get those answers too. state senator, thank you very much. as can you see, there's a great deal of frustration. people are holding on really by a thread because they had to ride this out for so many days, and they don't feel -- they don't know which way to turn. they don't even know what their starting point is. do they rip out the walls and wait for fema to assess? it's a combination of all these things that is really playing with people right now. suzanne. >> you can hear the frustration in your guest's voice here. that official. is there any sense that people are listening to him? i mean, he says these lights might not come on until christmas. are there people who he is calling that he has on the phone or has somebody's attention that is going to do something and respond to him? >> yeah. he is trying. look, somebody said something that was very interesting as we were walking. he said are you surprised that all the lights are back on in manhattan? obviously, a reference to the fact that there are so many people who live in manhattan, but there are communities, pockets of communities, where they're really getting just the crumbs of help. that may not be the fairest asetment, but that's what people here feel like. that it's little dribs and drabs of help when had he really immediate more, and suzanne, you know, the people living in some of these houses, those houses are freezing. there's no heat, and they're still living there. they just need a place to go in and get warm. that's not here right now, suzanne. >> all right. we wish the very best for them. we'll be following up on that story, on your story, of course, to see how they are doing, and hopefully there are folks listening to what that official said. they are desperate out there, and desperate need of assistance. it was actually one of the big issues in our election tuesday, and that was the legalization of marijuana. in israeli they legalized medical marijuana more than a year ago. we'll take a look at pot in the holy land. >> how did the cannibus make you feel? >> good. you see us, at the start of the day. on the company phone list that's a few names longer. you see us bank on busier highways. on once empty fields. everyday you see all the ways all of us at us bank are helping grow our economy. lending more so companies and communities can expand, grow stronger and get back to work. everyday you see all of us serving you, around the country, around the corner. us bank. shopping fdon't wait. coverage? open enrollment ends december 7th. now's the time to take action. call unitedhealthcare today. same-sex marriage is making more historic strides this week. you saw washington, maine, and maryland approve marriage for same-sex couples here in the united states. the momentum also in france as well. the french cabinet approved a bill that would give same-sex couples the right to marry and adopt children. it's a decision that is backed by 65% of the population according to a leading french newspaper. many in the catholic church, hundreds of lawmakers, as well, are against it. the bill goes before the national assembly for a vote early next year. smoking marijuana for a recreational use now legal in washington state and colorado. well, did you know medical marijuana has been used in israel now for a decade? scientists in jerusalem have developed a form that now relieves pain and suffering without actually getting the person high? sarah sidner has the story. >> reporter: every morning 80-year-old mosha gets his medicine, stuffs it in his pipe and smokes it. he is using medical marijuana. also known as cannabis. >> how did the cannabis make you feel? >> oh, good. >> he is a holocaust survivor and author and painter whose hands started shaking so much he couldn't work anymore. >> translator: my hands are now steady. i can hold things like tea, he says. >> reporter: the cannabis also makes him high because of the psycho-active effects of the substance thc in the plant. for those that use medical marijuana, the high they experience is the price for the reported help it gives to cancer patients on chemotherapy or others suffering from everything from parkinson's disease to pain. rifka thought marijuana just got people high until she was prescribed a new strain of the plant and tried it. two spoonfuls a day with her other medications. shes the pain that left her wheelchair-bound began to be relieved without leaving her lethargic. >> outstanding. i was turned into a different person. i was resurrected. i was awakened to life, she says. because the new cannabis helped her get back on her feet again. takooma, a company in israel that grows and distributes medical marijuana says the new strain has developed has almost no thc, virtually eliminating the high. the plant produces a high consequence traegs of another substance called cbd. at a press store to -- she's been studying the affects of cbd for more than a decade and is now being paid by the company to continue her research. >> so we are really dealing with nontoxic material. very active as anti-inflammatory and anti-pain, and not expensive to grow. >> reporter: growers say this is the most potent time of medical marijuana, or cannabis, and it's in its traditional form, but just next to it is the wave of the future. we're talking about putting cannabis in capsules and also having it put into chewing gum so that even children can take it. cannabis is being prescribed in israel and used by children who have been licensed. medical marijuana has been legal in israel for more than a decade. it is strictly controlled. a doctor has to prescribe it, and each patient must have an individual license to use it. >> we can't be narrowminded. we have to think about people suffering and how we help them without, god forbid, allowing more use of drugs among those that don't need them. >> reporter: but critics say there's simply not enough research on marijuana of any kind for medical purposes. they say that unlike other drugs, the results of testing including dosing and negative side effects are not yet clear, but growers here hope their new version can be exported around the world one day, but 80-year-old mosha says he will stay with the good old-fashioned medical marijuana. >> live from jerusalem, sarah, really fascinating report when you take a look at that. it is so -- something that here it seems so new, and it looks like they have a lot of practice in dealing with it over there. are people satisfied with the way this system works in terms of the number of people who have licenses to get medical marijuana, those who actually are able to distribute it as well? do they feel like it's in control, that it's working there? >> yes. i think the answer to that really is yes. it hasn't been a fight here. people see it really as a medicine. something just like, you know, you would go down to the doctor to get prescribed something for pain. it is considered a medicine, although there are a lot of people that we talk to inside that retirement home, for example, who said, well, we always thought marijuana was for criminals and robbers and killers, but when we found out the effects and the beneficial affects, they tried it, and many say they've had incredible results and that much of their pain is gone without feeling lethargic or tired. quite surprised. a lot of the older generation. you also heard that children are also being prescribed medical marijuana as well, and, many of the, we heard from the deposit about 10,000 people have licenses to take medical marijuana, but you have to remember it also has to be prescribed by a doctor. suzanne. >> sar yashgs another thing that was interesting, we were talking about it here, is the fact that these patients don't want to get high. that is a side effect that they do not want, and that's quite interesting when you look at it, because some people in this country would think, well, that's what marijuana is for, but, you know, there's clearly a dis i could that they're making between medicinal purposes and actually something recreational. >> it's true, but there's a lot of arguments about this. as you might imagine, you know, this is something that a lot of people are looking into. scientists are looking into. the high some people say really does help more with pain. other people say we don't want to feel that way. we want to be able to fublgz in our daily lives and not feel disoriented in any way, and this company is saying, look, if we're able to take the high out of it, then why can't it be considered just another drug out there like anything else without the psychoactive effects. it is something that i think a lot of countries will have to look into as to whether or not they can consider this as a new product to give to people as a medicine. suzanne. >> including children. all right. sarah, thank you. appreciate it. he went on the a rampage, and a congress congresswoman was one of the victims. of course, you know this story. gabrielle giffords now confronting her attacker today. when you take a closer look... ...at the best schools in the world... ...you see they all have something very interesting in common. they have teachers... ...with a deeper knowledge of their subjects. as a result, their students achieve at a higher level. let's develop more stars in education. let's invest in our teachers... ...so they can inspire our students. let's solve this. happening right now. the sentencing for jerry lee loughner in tucson, arizona. he is the man who shot former congresswoman gabby giffords in the head back in january of 2011. giffords was in the courtroom on the second row of a packed courtroom with her husband by her side. she just left the courtroom, we are told, with help of aides. at least ten victims and witnesses of the shooting are in court as well who are still traumaized by what happened that day. >> every time there's a loud, sudden noise, it's shocking, and it takes me back to that morning and the sound of that gunshot. >> loughner pleaded guilty to the shooting wham page that left six people dead, 13 wounded, including giffords. she has had one remarkable road to recovery ever since. see her there, like this moment. unbelievable. [ applause ] >> i was in the audience on the floor when this erupted. the applause when she read the pledge of allegiance at the democratic national convention in september. >> i pledge allegiance to the flag of the united states of america. >> she continues to fight for her recovery. as you see there, she was voting. she voted this week in tucson. giffords is not going to speak in court today. we understand. we are waiting for her husband, mark kelly to speak for her very soon. paul cowan is with us. first of all, we have casey would ian in the courthouse. he is literally blackberrying all of the observations. he said at one point there was a victim who said our mental health system has failed us. you have gabby gifford there's in the second row with her husband. you've got about ten victims inside of that room. we are told that gabby giffords, that there wasn't very much emotion on her face before she left the courtroom, but we are told that loughner looked sulen. that is according to folks who are inside of that room. i can't imagine what it is like to be there. how, first of all, did he strike a plea deal and avoid the death penalty? >> this was a fortunate move probably for both sides. loughner was facing possible death if he were convicted. he almost certainly would have been convicted. why would prosecutors agree to this? why would the victims agree to give hem a life sentence, which is ultimately what he will have. it takes the risk out of the trying the case. it takes the horrific trauma away from the victims who would have to relive the shooting and the loss of their loved one during the trial, and i think the final thing is when you are pragmatic about this, he is a schizophrenics. he has had a long history of mental illness. it's highly unlikely that a jury would impose the death penalty and it's also quite probable that it would never be imposed. in the end this plea deal is a good deal for all because he will be sentenced likely to the same sentence he would have gotten after a trial, so i think that's the reason, suzanne, that this occurred. what i'm really interested about and n watching the proceedings today, though, is will he melt down in court? he has had outbursts on prior appearances. sometimes he is competent. sometimes he's not. it will be interesting to see what happens in that courtroom. >> you know, paul, if something like that does happen in the courtroom, what does that mean for his future? does that mean he stays in a psychiatric type of facility, or does anything change because of his behavior today? >> well, here's how the law works on this. you have to be found competent to stand trial or to enter a guilty plea or to be sentenced, and that means you understand what's going on and you can consult with your attorney. it's a pretty low standard. he didn't even meet that standard in the early part of the case because he was found incompetent and he was sent to essentially a psychiatric facility. he was forcibly medicine indicated with psychotropic medications, and that brought him to the level where the judge said he is competent to stand trial and when that decision was made, he entered this guilty plea, but what would happen today if he had a mental breakdown and prove to be incompetent? well, he couldn't be sentenced. everything would be called off. he would be sent back to a psychiatric facility, and he would remain there until he became competent once again. now, that can happen in a month, a week. there are some cases where it takes years for somebody to be restored to competence. it's an iffy proposition sometimes. owner system is quite unique. gabby giffords, a remarkable woman who has been through such a traumatic experience and now she is such a fighter. she's in the same room with that man who literally put a gun to her head and pulled the trigger. do you think that this is an appropriate cathartic way in some ways for victims to meet with those attackers, their accusers, one-on-one, in this kind of very intimate forum? >> well, i think it's a very important thing for the victims, and, you know, i prosecuted a lot of murder cases myself as a prosecutor, and what people don't realize is that many cases are handled sort of in empty courtrooms throughout the united states. it's just occasionally the victim's family will be there, but pretty much nobody knows what's going on, and there was a time when victims weren't even told when the defendant was being sentenced, but in virtually every state now we have laws that require victims to be notified and that allow them to speak to the judge and to express to the judge how their lives have been destroyed, how their families have been destroyed by whatever the criminal act is that is before the court, and it's a cathartic experience for victims. it's important for them psychologically, and i think it will be important for even congresswoman giffords today. >> all right. paul cowan, thank you so much. we're going to be watching, and, of course, as all this unfolds, we're going to be getting more details from our reporter casey winan who is actually inside of the courtroom. we know that gabby giffords' husband, mark kelly, the retired astronaut, was by her side. he is expected to make a statement on her behalf as this whole proosz unfolds. we are also following this. a brutal dictator now speaking. >> i'm not puppet. i wasn't made for any other country. i'm syrian. i made in syria, and i believe in syria, and i am syrian. >> he says he will die in syria. we will bring you the latest on the crisis in that country. year. time for campbell's green bean casserole. you'll find the recipe at campbellskitchen.com. ♪ campbell's. it's amazing what soup can do. and the candidate's speech is in pieces all over the district. the writer's desktop and the coordinator's phone are working on a joke with local color. the secure cloud just received a revised intro from the strategist's tablet. and while i make my way into the venue, the candidate will be rehearsing off of his phone. [ candidate ] and thanks to every young face i see out there. [ woman ] his phone is one of his biggest supporters. [ female announcer ] with cisco at the center... working together has never worked so well. one of the few international aid groups on the ground in syria is now sounding a serious alarm the international committee of the red cross says it can no longer reach nvrn need because of security threats. meanwhile, syria's president bashar al as yachted has given a defiant interview to "russia today." >> i think the invasion, if it happens, is going to be -- if you have problem in syria -- secularism and stability in the region and coexistence. it will have domino effect that will affect the world from the atlantic to the pacific. >> his interview comes as syrian rebels are stepping up attacks on residential areas of damascus that are dominated by allies of the president. cnn has obtaineded this video from youtube, appearing to show rebels launching mortar attacks in the capital, while the violence intensifies back at home, members of syria's op sdmrigs, they have been meeting in qatar, working on a new national assembly that is more inclusive. mohammed is tracking the story from our our lebanon bureau. you have a lot of people involved in the talks here, and that doesn't mean that it's going to come to any kind of revolution or conclusion. how likely will it be that you'll have folks that say, look, we've got a solution here, and so many people have failed before them. >> it has to be very difficult. today is day five 6 this meeting that's going on. this is considered to be the key day. for the last four days you had the syrian national council. this is the group that's been considered to be the sort of umbrella opposition group for all the other opposition groups in syria. they've been meeting trying to bring unity among their ranks. they've come under increased pressure from international government. today you have members as well trying to make sure that some sort of temporary national assembly can be set up, that the snc will meet with other opposition groups today and they can try to form some kind of group that away act as a transitional government, if there is a post-al assad world in syria. it's a process that will be set with difficulties and fighting, and right now we're still waiting to hear what exactly will come out of these meetings tonight. i don't think weave heard assad agree to that. >> in fact, you heard assad today reject that completely. it's not yet known when exactly this interview with russia today was taped, suzanne, but clearly you hear him saying in this interview that he is no puppet of the west, that he was made to live and die in syria. that he will die in syria. these are not the remarks of a leader in syria that is looking for a safe passage out of syria. not surprising, the rhetoric that we hear from al assad in the portion of the interview released today very much in line with what he said in the past. what's more ominous is the fact that he says that if there's any kind of military intervention in syria, that it won't just be cat frofk store the region, but also for the entire world. suzanne. >> thank you so much. china is soon going to have a new leader, but right now the communist party there could be in crisis. ally bank. why they have a raise your rate cd. tonight our guest, thomas sargent. nobel laureate in economics, and one of the most cited economists in the world. professor sargent, can you tell me what cd rates will be in two years? no. if he can't, no one can. that's why ally has a raise your rate cd. ally bank. your money needs an ally. [ male announcer ] act for kids, with maximum fluoride for up to 40% fewer cavities act. stronger teeth and better checkups in every bottle. we just wrapped up the elections here in the united states, but in china there's a whole other shake-up going on in the leadership. >> reporter: i'm christy with a look at the future of china. the country is about to undergo a monumental change in its leadership. the party congress comes together every five years. the last meeting came in 2007. it was ten years ago in 2002 when hu jin tao became china's top leader. this will be the largest transition of power in the past three decades. almost three-quarters of the committee members will be replaced due mainly to their age. 68 is the unofficial cutoff for retirement. among those stepping down, china's president hu jin tao and remere wen jao boa. they are already members of china's most important decision making body. the bureau standing committee. seven to nine members of the standing committee will be selected at this party congress, and at least five of those spots are up for grabs. this is of key importance because this is the team of people who will lead china for the next ten years. >> much of this historic transfer of power will happen behind closed doors, so we'll be closely watching to see who will join china's fifth generation of party leaders. i'm christy lou stout, cnn, hong kong. a chinese leadership meeting will continue for the next week in beijing. in his opening address earlier hu jin tao asked china to strengthen its presence off the sea. they said they should build china into a maritime power. a new u.s. congressional draft report says that china appears to be within two years of deploying submarine launched nuclear weapons. well, it was a ballot measure that could someday change the number of stars on the american flag. that's right. puerto rico votes for statehood. hello!!!! 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[ male announcer ] alka-seltzer plus. ♪ oh what a relief it is! ♪ [ male announcer ] to learn more about the cold truth and save $1 visit alka-seltzer on facebook. the world focuses attention on the major results of the u.s. election, but one important referendum was overshadow the on the island of puerto rico voters decided they are in favor of statehood. currently the island, it's in u.s. territory, so could puerto rico be on its way to becoming the 51st state? carlos lopez here to break it down for us. can puerto rico actually change its status? is that an easy thing to do, or is it pretty tough? >> well, it's not actually up to puerto rico. it's up to the u.s. congress. when you look at the results, suzanne, of this election, yes most puerto ricans who voted say they don't favor the current commonwealth status the way it's framed, and, yes, the highest number of votes were for statehood. over 800,000 votes. when you count the votes of those who won a modified version of the commonwealth status right now and those who voted blank who decided row protest with this vote, you have 46,000 people submitted blank ballots, so there were more people voting against these changes than for statehood. now, what would happen now? it comes to the u.s. congress. the u.s. congress has to decide. president obama says he supports puerto rico's self-determination rights, but it's township the u.s. congress to decide if puerto rico can become the 51st state. obviously, this has political implications. with the population in puerto rico over 4.5 million people, they're going to have a big representation in congress, two u.s. senators, and that, obviously, creates a very troubling issue. if washington d.c. hasn't been able to get one representative to the house of representatives, can you imagine if puerto rico immediately abboted a high number? very complicated thing. >> do we know whether or not there is a favoritism in this? it congress leaning either way? >> there are hearings and conversation on it, but i don't see that this is something that congress is moving towards, and i think a lot of puerto ricans would want this to go in a certain way, and what they want is an answer. they want to know is puerto rico a colony of the u.s., or isn't it? that's part of the debate. many would like to be a state. others wouldn't. there's still not a clearance on that. >> all right. carlos lopez, thank you. they are twins born in kenya the day after the american election, and their mom just named them in honor of the presidential candidates. ial was founded back in 1894, they've been committed to putting clients first. helping generations through tough times. good times. never taking a bailout. there when you need them. helping millions of americans over the centuries. the strength of a global financial leader. the heart of a one-to-one relationship. together for your future. ♪ [ male announcer ] can a car be built around a state of mind? ♪ announcing the all-new 2013 malibu from chevrolet. ♪ with a remarkable new interior featuring the available chevrolet mylink infotainment system. this is where sophisticated styling begins. and where it ends? that's up to you. it's here -- the greatest malibu ever. ♪ your doctor will say get smart about your weight. i tried weight loss plans... but their shakes aren't always made for people with diabetes. that's why there's glucerna hunger smart shakes. they have carb steady, with carbs that digest slowly to help minimize blood sugar spikes. and they have six grams of sugars. with fifteen grams of protein to help manage hunger... look who's getting smart about her weight. 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[ male announcer ] glucerna hunger smart. ♪ (train horn) vo: wherever our trains go, the economy comes to life. norfolk southern. one line, infinite possibilities. try running four.ning a restaurant is hard, fortunately we've got ink. it gives us 5x the rewards on our internet, phone charges and cable, plus at office supply stores. rewards we put right back into our business. this is the only thing we've ever wanted to do and ink helps us do it. make your mark with ink from chase. if we want to improve our schools... ... what should we invest in? maybe new buildings? what about updated equipment? they can help, but recent research shows... ... nothing transforms schools like investing in advanced teacher education. let's build a strong foundation. let's invest in our teachers so they can inspire our students. let's solve this. >> this was a fun story. the presidential election sparked a new wave of baby names. this mother in kenya decided name her sons after the president and his challenger, so, yeah, if anybody even wonder what the birth ordinary was, she named the boys based on the election results, so barack is the first born. mitt is the second. yep. brothers barack and mitt. um suzanne malveaux. nature's one-two punch, and that is one official describes them zapping power across the northeast. a region still reeling from superstorm sandy. the latest on the efforts to reach a compromise and to prevent a financial crisis from massive tax hikes and automatic spending cuts. finally, sentencing day for jared loughner. he killed six people, wounded 16 others, including former congresswoman gabrielle giffords. he is in court this hour. just a short time ago congressman gabby giffords returned to that courtroom in tucson, arizona, to face the man who shot her. squared lee loughner is being sentenced life in prison for the january 2011 haqq. giffords, she left the courtroom, we are told. we are told this is a packed courtroom. she left with the help of aides. had he is back now, we are told, seated in the second row with her husband, mark kelli, by her side. at least ten victims and witnesses of the shooting, they are reading statements today in court. some still very traumatized by what happened that day. >> every time there's a loud, sudden noise, it's shocking, and it takes me back to that morning and the sound of that gunshot. loughner pleaded guilty to the shooting rampage that left six people dead and 13 wounded, including giffords who was shot in the head at point-blank range. she has had a remarkable road to recovery ever since. take a look at this. it is a magical moment. a standing ovation. i was actually there in the audience as she read the pledge of allegiance. this was at the democratic national convention in september. just listen. >> i pledge allegiance to the flag of the united states of america. >> she continues to fight, fight every day, for her recovery. as you see her there, she actually got a chance to vote this week in tucson. we saw her. gifforded is not going to speak in court today, but we are waiting for her husband. he is going to speak for her very soon. i want to bring in our cnn legal contributor paul cowan who is with us from new york, and, paul, first of all, we've heard some extraordinary descriptions from casey winan, who is inside the courthouse, talking about the kind of testimony from these victims and from these witnesses saying this essentially changed their lives forever. why do they do this in the first place? is this part of a healing process, if you will, before he has marched off to life in prison. >> the judge has a certain amount of discretion, although prosecutors and defense attorneys have agreed that they are going -- in fact, the agreement is there are going to be seven life sentences running consecutively. plus, 140 years. the judge looks at a number of sentencing guidelines, and one of the factors he can weigh victims' statements at the time of sentencing. he really can have an impact on the actual sentence. in normal case, it would have an enormous impact, but it's been predetermined, i think, what the sentence is going to be. of course, the second thing is probably the more important than what you talked about, the cathartic effect, the psychological effect that this has for the victims. this is really the only time they're going to have to publicly state and talk about the trauma and the horrible tragedy that was inflicted on them by this crime. it's important for the victims. >> and, paul, i just want to give our viewers a sense of what these victims are saying here. you have victim mandovel stottart who was shot several times, and her husband died while shielding her. when you shot my precious husband, dorwin, stoddard, you ruined my life. i was scream, oh, god, oh, god, help me. i said to him breathe deeply, and he did. therefore, i believe he heard me say i love you. it was about ten minutes later that he died in my arms. then i passed out because you shot me three times. you took away my life, my love, my reason for living. then we are told she looked directly at loughner and said i am so lonesome. i hate living without him. no one to hold me, no one to love me, no one to talk to me, to care for me. i forgive you. i am a christian. i am required to. what kind of impact do you think this makes in a courtroom when people go through that kind of shared experience? >> i think it's a stark reminder that six people were killed that day. 13 were shot. there were stories of individual heroism that occurred like this story, which, you know, if she hadn't spoken in court today, i wonder how many people would have know, you know, that her husband was on top of her shielding her while the shots were being fired. in essence, he gave his life protecting her. i think for all the victims to be able to tell their stories to the judge, it's an important thing. it's certainly something the judge can weigh when he looks at the sentence in the case, and it's something that gets looked at by prison officials later on when loughner is sent off to a prison facility. >> loughner, he lives, he lives in prison for the rest of his life. how is it he was able to get the plea deal out of the death penalty? >> had they opted to go to trial in this case, federal prosecutors could have sought the death penalty. they could have made a compelling case here given the number of victims and the tragedy inflicted on the people who were shot as well that the death penalty was warranted. but it wasn't without risk. you have to show that loughner knew he was shooting a federal -- or murdering a federal official and giffords survived. you also would have to show at the time of sentencing that death is appropriate for someone who suffers from severe mental illness. now, the court-appointed psychologist, even though he found loughner competent to stand trial, said he remains severely mentally ill, and sentencing someone with severe mental illness to the death penalty is always an uphill battle, so this is a guaranteed life sentence, and i think it was a good deal for all concerned. >> paul, very quickly here, do you think that loughner understands what happened and what he did in light of his mental state? >> well, i think there are two loughners. i think there's the unmedicine indicated schizophrenic loughner who lapses into delusional behavior, and i think when he is not on his meds, i don't know what he understands. he is medicated now. he has been found by court psychiatrists to be competent to stand trial, which means he understands the proceedings. i think he knows exactly what's going on, and i think, you know, you raise a point that's an interesting point. this is another form of punishment that's going to be inflicted on him listening to what he did to all of these human beings and how he destroyed their lives. >> paul, we are learning from a reporter inside of the courtroom now that at this very moment gabby giffords and her husband mark kelli are walking up to talk about that day, that horrific day and what their life has been since, and as soon as we get the details, we will, of course, bring them to all of our viewers here, and, again, talk about this really pointed moment for a lot of people. the victims, the families who this tragedy has upturned their lives, and what this means for them moving forward. we're going to have more on this story throughout the hour. here's what we're also working on as well. >> here's what we're working on for this hour. >> we got back our power last friday, and it's back out again today, so frustrated is a fair word. >> the northeast gets slammed again. this time with snow and ice. how the second storm is setting back recovery after sandy. >> now it's time for the finger-pointing. the backlash against mitt romney and mending the fractured gop. and big bird may be breathing easier with president obama's win. the bird's nest on sesame street is being threatened again. this is cnn, and it's happening now. capella university understands rough economic times have led to an increase in clinical depression. drug and alcohol abuse is up. and those dealing with grief don't have access to the professional help they need. when you see these issues, do you want to walk away or step up? with a degree in the field of counseling or psychology from capella university, you'll have the knowledge to make a difference in the lives of others. let's get started at capella.edu ♪ you make me happy [ female announcer ] choose the same brand your mom trusted for you. children's tylenol, the #1 brand of pain and fever relief recommended by pediatricians and used by moms decade after decade. with odor free aspercreme. powerful medicine relieves pain fast, with no odor. so all you notice is relief. aspercreme. this just in, miami dade election officials say they have now finished counting the final 500 absentee ballots. that is right. they say the results have now been submitted to state officials. we still do not know florida's outcome of the election. the county's canvassing board says it's going to meet today at 3:00 this afternoon. provisional ballots, they're going to be done tomorrow. we are told. there's still three other counties that are still counting the absentee and provisional votes. that is palm beach as well as duvall and broward counties, and, of course, florida 29 electoral votes. none of this will make a difference. the president still won the election, but those are the details coming out of florida as they begin to wrap up the vote count. two huge storms in just ten days. nightmare scenario that is now the brutal reality for thousands of people in the middle east. there's a nor'easter that is hammering areas that are still recovering from the storm. the superstorm sandy. it has buried parts of connecticut, emergency new jersey, new york under heavy, heavy snow. thousands of people who just got the power back on once again now without power. in bone-chilling temperatures. debra is talking to folks in brooklyn right across the water from breezy point, queens. deb, how are folks coping? >> yeah. well, frankly, folks aren't coping all that well. thief been doing the best they can. they're running on adrenaline right now. their patience is running thin. you have to imagine these cars all here, they were covered with water. people don't know which way to turn. overhere you some somebody delivered a light. this is the relief center by the volunteer fire department, and if it were not for this, really a lot of these people would have given up hope. the relief center has been handing out food, has been gathering clothing. the people here in garretson beach say they don't have enough help from fema or from the red cross or from insurance companies and other officials that they desperately, desperately need. about 2,000 families here. i'm joined by cathy ina, and do you feel like you are getting all the help you need? >> no, we need more help here. we need electrical boxes, and we need electricians to come in and to replace all the submerged electrical equipment of the homes. we can't get our electricity turned back on until all that's replaced, and we're waiting for fema to come and help us and give us money. in the meantime we need donations. >> when you look at everything that's happening here, do you feel that other parts of the city were handled much better, perhaps than garretson beach? >> i think that garretson beach should have been evacuated. we're zone b, but we're right on the water's edge. we're a little tiny peninsula right behind breezy point. the entire peninsula was stick arounded by water. everybody was flooded out. my house had four feet of water in it, and i evacuated. >> do you feel that it was an oversight on some levels, because, again, we're looking for the electricians. we don't see any here. we're looking for sort of fema. we've seen one person in a jacket, but for the most part it seems like everybody is sort of doing it on their own, and getting frustrated. >> we're a small community, and no one has come down here and publicized our plight. it's a working lass neighborhood. we don't have a lot of people out there advocating for us, so we're trying to do everything ourselves. the fire department has been great. it's a volunteer organization. they have a relief center for the people here, but the people need shelter. people's homes have no electricity. they have no heat. many homes are still flooded. people do not want to leave their homes, and even if they wanted to, we don't have transportation because the cars were flooded as well. we need shelter down here. >> thank you very much, and that's what they're trying to do. we spoke with the state senator earlier today, and he said there is plenty of room. bring fema shelters and bring fema trailers down here. folks like cathy and other folks really, you know, we spoke to one man, and he broke down. another man saying we're suffering, we're suffering, and that's the message that they're trying to get out. they don't understand why it's taken more than ten days to get even basic services. they're not even close to getting electricity, suzanne, and the state senator said if they don't do it quickly, they're not going to get it until christmas. >> that is a tough, tough way to go. we know if you want to help folks out in the northeast, it's really not that hard to do. just log on to cnn.com/impact. you can find all kinds of information on just how to contribute to this relief effort. we've got some news here. jared lee loughner sentenced as part of a plea deal in a sueson courtroom. one of his victims, of course, a former congresswoman gabby giffords. she is there. she is there with her husband, mark kelli, by her side. the retired astronaut. the two of them are inside of the courtroom now. they just approached and twoent take the stand to essentially talk about what this means for them. how this has impacted their life, and we are told that mark kelli said of loughner who tried to sass nature his wildfire. s mr. loughner, you may have put a bullet through her heat haed, but you have not put a dent in her spirit, and her ability to do good. that coming from her husband, speaking on behalf of that couple. there were six people killed in that shooting. 16 others wounded. it was a political rally outside of a supermarket that happened back in january of 2011. we have another quote from another eyewitness here. this is actually more from mark kelly. he goes on to say, "then is what you took away from gabby, her life has been forever changed. immeasurably altered every day is a continual struggle to do those things she was once so good at. if she was not born with the name gabby, someone would have given it to her. now she struggles with each and every word. gabby struggles to walk. she is partially blind. you sought to extinguish the beauty of her life. you tried to create for all of the world darkness and evil on your own. know this and know this always. you failed. that from mark kelly, her husband, as he explains her recovery, her pain, and her spirit to move on. we're going to have more of this story, and we're going take a quick break. [ woman ] it's 32 minutes to go time, and the candidate's speech is in pieces all over the district. the writer's desktop and the coordinator's phone are working on a joke with local color. the secure cloud just received a revised intro from the strategist's tablet. and while i make my way into the venue, the candidate will be rehearsing off of his phone. [ candidate ] and thanks to every young face i see out there. [ woman ] his phone is one of his biggest supporters. [ female announcer ] with cisco at the center... working together has never worked so well. people in the northeast struggling to recovery from superstorm sandy now dealing with even more storm damage. a nor'easter with heavy snow and ferocious winds hit the region saving its most powerful punch for new york and new jersey. the exact neighborhoods hit the hardest by sandy. 66,000 people in those states still without power. 59,000 more people than before. we went to red hook houses. awe woman who lives there walked through the dark hallways to check on her neighbors. >> we are in red hook houses west. we're walking into the lobby. last sunday at 7:00 they turned off the elevators. this is a stairwell. this is what we see living in the towers. we made it to the third floor. this is what the third floor looks like. >> we have no heat, no water. i'm many my two socks, hoodies, pajamas, everything. >> hello! excuse me. i hear voices. >> heavy. >> had you are you doing? >> where you from? >> well, we're from green city forest, and we're just helping out everybody we could. >> everybody is sticking together, and everybody is trying to do the best that they can, but we need help here in red hook, especially in the towers. you have people that can't go to the bathroom. they can't wash themselves. it's just so -- it's emotional for me to be right here, but this is all i have. that's me. >> that is sarah hoy reporting for us. thank you, sarah. if you would like to help, the storm victims in the northeast, can you do that. just log on to cnm.com/impact. you'll find all information on how to contribute to the leaf effort. stay with cnn for more on the nor'easter. >> this has been a week from hell. i mean, you know, i'm grateful that i have my family. my doctor told me calcium is efficiently absorbed in small continuous amounts. citracal slow release continuously releases calcium plus d with efficient absorption in one daily dose. citracal slow release. with efficient absorption in one daily dose. capella university understands back from rough economic times. employees are being forced to do more with less. and the need for capable leaders is greater than ever. when you see these problems do you take a step back, or do you want to dive right in? with a degree in business from capella university, you'll have the knowledge to go further in your career than you ever thought possible. let's get started at capella.edu stocks stoil shaky ground plunging over 300 points yesterday, the day affect election. alison is talking about this with us. tell us how the stocks are performing now and the outlook do we think for the rest of the year? >> well, one thing is for certain. things are a lot calmer today on wall street even though the dow is down 87 points, and it looks like the trend really is going to be to the down side. you know, all of a sudden certainty, suzanne, over whether these higher taxes and federal spending cuts, the so-called fiscal cliff, will go into effect all at once. that's really keeping the market on edge, and although the expectation is that president obama and congress are going to wind up hammering on the a deal. until we're there, we're not going to satisfy i real conviction to buy stocks. that's weighing on the market. there's a bigger impact with this. there's also a trickle down. right to the jobs market. you know, companies right now they don't to hire until the tax picture is clear, so that's an issue that can drag on the economy as well as stocks. suzanne. >> thank you, alison. >> big bird became a political star after this comment. you recall. >> i'm going to stop the subsidy to pbs. i'm going to stop other things. i like pbs. i love big bird. i actually like you too. i'm not going to keep on spending money on things to borrow money from china to pay for it. >> well, now big bird, he is in the news again. see how sesame street is relating to kids about superstorm sandy. ♪ we're lucky, it's not every day you find a companion as loyal as a subaru. love. it's what makes a subaru, a subaru. ♪ you make me happy when skies are gray ♪ [ female announcer ] you know exactly what it takes to make them feel better. ♪ you make me happy [ female announcer ] that's why you choose children's tylenol. the same brand your mom trusted for you when you were young. ♪ how much i love you [ humming ] [ female announcer ] children's tylenol, the #1 brand of pain and fever relief recommended by pediatricians and used by moms decade after decade. 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[ male announcer ] taste it and describe the indescribable. could've had a v8. presidential election not much of a cliffhanger, but a possible financial crisis facing the country certainly is. president obama, congressional leaders have to come up with a compromise to avoid the so-called fiscal cliff. we are talking about those massive automatic spending cuts, the tax hikes that are going to affect 90% of americans. athena jones is joining us from capitol hill. athena, good to see you. we saw the house speaker, john boehner. he says he is willing to accept new revenue, but not from higher tax rates on wealthy americans, so where is the compromise here. what is the offering? >> well, exactly. i mean, that's what we were standing what we are several months back. both sides say they want to find common ground and both of them remain dug in over this big issue of taxes. they should have to share the burden of bringing down the dead, and let's listen more of what speaker boehner had to say in his speech yesterday. certainly won't do in a lame-duck session of congress. it won't be solved simply by raising tacks or taking a plunge off the fiscal cliff. >> you mentioned they are open to new revenue, and it's very important where that revenue comes from, and it has to come from the right place. to him the right place is not raising taxes on higher earners, it's tax reform that would lower rates for everyone, and it's economic growth that would bring in more sales taxes and that sort of thing. >> harry reid says this is kicking it down the road, if you will. is there anything that's going to be done immediately, or are we essentially going to be in a holding pattern until next year? >> the hope is that they can get something done immediately. we're going to see how that plays out. this is the opening gambet. one question will be how -- we heard from speaker boehner saying we're ready to be led. >> it will be interesting to see what happens. he did reach out, president obama did, to the leaders in congress on both sides, but the question is what kind of compromise will we see, will they change the definition of rich, for instance. maybe raise it to people making a million or more. there are a lot of questions that remain, and everyone understands the consequences. the hope is that this can be avoided. athena, thank you very much. one of the items mitt romney would have cut had he been elected was government money to pbs. you might recall the now famous debate moment about cutting big bird. >> i'm going to stop the subsidy to pbs and stop other things, and i like pbs. i love big bird. i actually like you too, but i'm not going to keep on spending money on things to borrow money from china to pay for it. >> that was followed by an ad by the president's camp slamming him on it. now big bird trending again. is hes me street has a special episode airing tomorrow to help the victims of hurricane sandy cope. in it big bird is heartbroken after the storm destroys his nest. even offer him a temporary place to eat and sleep and play. the episode even sends a city nest inspector out afterwards who says it's not safe because the mud isn't yet dry. in the end snuffy tries to blow the nest down, but it stays and it passes inspection. according to cnn exit polls, mitt romney got 59% of the white vote on election day, but he did not rank well among african-american or female voters. what does the party need to do to rebuild and reconnect? nd you a picture. floor to ceiling bookshelves... floor to ceiling bookshelves... original windows... original windows... and this... is that a... fireplace face -- yes, yes it is. fireplace shaped like a face. i know right! [ male announcer ] only at&t's network lets you talk and surf at the same time on your iphone 5. rethink possible. to volunteer to help those in need. when a twinge of back pain surprises him. morning starts in high spirits, but there's a growing pain in his lower back. as lines grow longer, his pain continues to linger. but after a long day of helping others, he gets some helpful advice. just two aleve have the strength to keep back pain away all day. today, jason chose aleve. just two pills for all day pain relief. try aleve d for strong, all day long sinus and headache relief. try aleve d for strong, all day long well that was uncalled for. folks who save hundreds of dollars switching to geico sure are happy. how happy, ronny? happier than gallagher at a farmers' market. get happy. get geico. chances are, you're not made of money, so don't overpay for motorcycle insurance. geico, see how much you could save. republican party doing some soul searching after this week's loss in the presidential election. the defeat of mitt romney highlighted the party's problems with latino voters and african-americans. joining us to talk about the gop and where it goes from here, conservative radio host lenny mcalister, senior contributor for "politics 365.com," adolfo franco, a spokesman for romney-ryan, and a spanish surrogate speaking team, and matt loo wisconsin, conservative commentator and senior contributor for "the daily call are." good to see you guys. you're all in the house today. lenny, want to start off with you here. there are surveys that show anywhere the percentage of black republicans from 4% to 7% for younger african-americans. explain to members of your own party what do they need to do to attract more african-americans? >> we have to understand the conservative message a lot better than we do. i think we're very good at giving the talking points. we're not very good with giving the nuances to show how the conservative messages, really the essence of the american dream, and how the american dream applies to a diverse america. we have to learn how to show specific examples to african-americans, urban-americans, latino americans, young americans so we can start building the same exact coalitions that president obama won with on tuesday night, except have them vote republican. >> where did the party go wrong? >> listen, i'm not going to get 47% of the electorate, so let me not focus on them. let me focus on the people that i can get to beat me. what happened was that 47% came out and beat him. we cannot give away 47%. we cannot give away whole congressional districts or whole states. we have to start competing throughout america, not just in red america. >> all right. i want to mention here. this is what crystal wright, a conservative black chick wrote this morning on the washington post here. she says mitt romney gave lip service to hispanic outreach, and she says here even more insulting was romney's refusal to work for the black vote beyond giving an naacp speech and announcing a black leadership council which amounted to nothing more than cosmetic wall paper. matt, weigh in here. this is, you know -- this is one of your own. >> i think there's a lot of blame to go around. i think that it's healthy for the republican party to make this a learning moment. i think it would be a mistake to dwell on it and become demoralized, but we should be introspektive about it. this was a bumping that republicans got, and my take is i think you need to look at a couple of things. number one, you need to be cosmopolitan conservative. you simply cannot write off young people, college-educated people, and urban people, people living many cities like i do, and you also can't write off hispanics who are i think romney lost, like, 71% of hispanics. >> sure. >> the good news is there is a possible fix, and his name is marco rubio. if you look to the future, if you look to the bench, it's a very strong republican bench. i think mitt romney was always a transitional figure, and it's possible that republicans could nominate future candidates that will attract hispanics and also cosmopolitan conservatives, so i'm actually a little bit depressed today, but i think the future could be brighter. >> we're going to get to that with adolpho, but i want to follow-up with you, matt, here. a lot of people have really been dumping on mitt romney that he wasn't the right guy, he wasn't the right candidate to attract all of these different kinds of voters. do you buy that argument? >> i do, but i think it's not fair. i mean, look, it was an incredibly weak field that republicans had. you can't tell me that rick santorum or newt gingrich, as much as i like them, would have donnie better. okay? romney was always i'm a redskins fan, a washington redskins fan. he is like donovan mcnabb. he is not the quartback of the future. rg3 is, right? i think it's the same way with the republicans. mitt romneying, they were hoping he could get them a win, but he was never the candidate of the future, and i think that if you look at not just marco rubio, but bobby jindahl, and i would have said chris christie two weeks ago, but today i probably won't. there are strong candidates out there, young republicans, who can appeal to a much wider audience and be inspiring and inspirational. >> i want to bring you into the conversation here. first of all, let's just lay out what things have looked like for the last eight years, and president bush in covering him, he really did a lot of outreach with the hispanic -- 31% latino vote, and mitt romney 27%. that was compared to president obama's 71% here, so matt talks about marco rubio and some of the others in the party. is that the way forward? is that the grand hope, the direction is, like, lift up the latinos who are already there? i mean, how do you bring in all the others who are just not buying what the republicans are selling right now? >> well, first of all, i don't think we surrender our core principles. after all, half of the american people, nearly half, voted for mitt romney. now, in terms of the populations, which i am part of, the latino community and others, we need to reach out to that community, but reaching out doesn't mean surrendering your core principles. i love senator rubio. i agree with my colleagues on this. i think he would be a great president for candidate of the united states. of course, there's jeb bush, if he runs, or others or rising stars in the republican party, but i think our problem has been -- and i think lenny used the word -- or matt -- cosmopolitan. i think in a sense when you look at the campaigns a bit, it seemed as though barack obama was hip, in tune, 21st century. i love mitt romney, but somehow there was a disconnect, particularly with young voters, whether it be young or women voters, across the board, latinos and, of course, african-americans in particular. what i find frustrating is that our message is the message that i think actually resonates with young people, which is entrepreneurship, lower taxes, more opportunity, and i think it's the right message. i don't want to surrender that. after an election there's a tendency tore people to come back and say, you know, the candidate that lost everything was wrong and the candidate who won everything was right. i think both did good things and bad things, but ultimately, you know, we did better in terms of electoral votes and in terms of popular vote than be we did in 2008. what we are demographically challenged, particularly with the latino community, which is growing so rapidly, is understanding, particularly on the question of immigration, that republicans are not anti-immigrant, that republicans are not nasty, because what happens is our message was never able to be conveyed, because there was a perception that we were somehow racist, and that has to be erased with some unfortunate comments by some extremists in our party, and i think the rising stars that are now on our bench will do a good job of dispelling that that's what republicans believe. >> all right. we're going to have to leave it there. i know a lot of soul searching going on. a great discussion, adolpho, matt, as well as lenny. we'll talk to you soon again, and we'll have 346 your female counterparts as well. >> thanks, suzanne. >> thank you. >> sure. former penn state president is arraigned on new charges now tied to the sex -- child sex abuse allegations against jerry sandusky. the incoming president. attorney general's now has a plan to investigate. ♪ you are my sunshine, my only sunshine ♪ ♪ you make me happy [ female announcer ] choose the same brand your mom trusted for you. children's tylenol, the #1 brand of pain and fever relief recommended by pediatricians and used by moms decade after decade. we're following what is going on inside a tucson loughn the shooting in tucson killing sick people, wounding 13 others and one of the victims, well-known victim, former congresswoman gabby giffords who arrived at the courthouse with her husband mark kelly by her side. both of them going to the podium of making a statement of what this meant for them and their family and mark kelly saying here, this horrific act warns us to hold our leaders and ourselves responsible. we have a political class refuses to even have a debate about our gun laws. as a nation, we have repeatedly passed up the opportunity to address this issue. gaffe columbine, virginia tech, tucson, aurora, we have done nothing. we must, must change the way we do politics. he said gabby and i give thanks for her life, her spirit, her intellect which are still a force in this world despite what you have done. mr. loughner, you may have put a bullet through her head but you have not put a dent in her spirit and her ability to do good. gabby and i are done thinking about you. the two of them making that statement together. mark being the one to actually say those words. both of them returning to their seats, holding hands, determined to move on and to recover from this horrific, horrific incident that killed, left six people dead, 13 others wounded. and that was the conclusion of the victims who went forward to face loughner after he spends the rest of his life in prison. investigating the investigation. a former penn state coach jerry sandusky. that is actually what pennsylvania's attorney general elect has now promised to do. kathleen cain says she is going to find out if politics played a role in how the state handled the child molestation allegations against sandusky. cnn contributor is joining us from pennsylvania. sarah, you know everything about this case. you have now interviewed kathleen kane. she focused on the sandusky case in the campaign. what is intent of her investigation? >> well, kathleen kane has been saying for the last couple of months, really, leading up to her election she believes that this investigation might have taken a little too long. remember, it was nearly three years between when the first victim came forward to when jerry sandusky was finally charged. and in that time, the governor, the current governor was elected to his post as governor. he had been the attorney general. and she's been talking about going back to the beginning and starting from the first day and seeing what happened, who knew what and when and were the proper resources allocated to this. this is important to pennsylvanians and to give you an example, she actually got more votes in the state of pennsylvania than barack obama did in the state of pennsylvania on a presidential election year. the attorney general's race had more votes than the presidential race. here's what she has to say about hearing from people on the campaign trail. >> i campaigned for over 20 months and i have been to 60-some counties in this commonwealth and i'll tell you everywhere i went people from every profession, almost every county, asked me what happened and why it took so long and how i felt about it because they knew that specialized in the prosecution of child sexual assault cases. it was something that bothered them. it was something that was on their mind. >> and now, you know, another issue here is that penn staters feel like their university was criticized a little bit more than some of the other organizations that had a role or contact with jerry sandusky over the last several decades. and so, i asked kathleen kane if she would be looking in to issues like whether or not the foster care program in the state gave him appropriate clearance or whether or not his charity, the second mile, knew more and didn't do enough. she said, she's going to go back to the beginning, start from the beginning and take a look at the entire investigation. >> real quick here, is she nervous she's taking on the governor? >> i know. and i asked her and that she said she went in to this and defeated both in the primary and in the general two people that had run before. this is her first time and done public corruption cases as a prosecutor and that she knows that she's going to follow the letter of the law. she is going to follow the facts no matter where they lead and no matter who it is. >> thank you so much. excellent reporting, as more. we'll have more after this quick break. questions? anyone have occasional constipation, diarrhea, gas, bloating? yeah. one phillips' colon health probiotic cap each day helps defend against these digestive issues with three strains of good bacteria. approved! 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[ children laughing ] right now, she just dreams of an office. get a free trial at constantcontact.com. nbc comedy "parks and recreation" having a vip making a cameo next week. it's joe biden to guest star in the november 15th episode playing himself. the main character of the sitcom has a big crush on the number two. she once noted her ideal man has the brains of george clooney and the body of joe biden. this isn't the first time the season did a washington politician made an appearance. senators barbara boxer, olympia snowe and john mccain popped in on episodes, as well. great show. cnn "newsroom" continues right now with brooke baldwin. thank you. i'm brooke baldwin. in arizona, the man that killed six and injured 13 in tucson back in january of 2011

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