Looking for the Next Justice
ROBERTS: Coming up on 27 minutes after the hour. Your stop stories just three minutes away now. We're following a developing story, one that could leave hundreds of children and potential parents in limbo. Russia says it is not allowing any more Americans to adopt children from that country after one mother from Tennessee disowned her 7-year-old son and sent him back to Moscow, put on a plane alone -- a one-way ticket, a 10 hour flight. The boys' adoptive grandmother says he terrorized the family, even threatened to burn down the house. Martin Savidge is following the story for us this morning.</s>MARTIN SAVIDGE, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): It began when this 7-year-old little boy stepped off the plane in Moscow Thursday, alone, with a note from his adoptive American mom saying she was returning him because he was mentally unstable and violent. Russians were outraged. The country's foreign minister even threatened to suspend all adoptions to the U.S., and the media flocked here to the small town of Shelbyville, Tennessee, looking for the family that sent the kid back, only that family doesn't want to be found. We'd like to get the family's side of the story, because, right now, they don't look too good in the headlines.</s>SAVIDGE (on camera): So what we've been trying to do is track down the Hansen family with former addresses that they have. They're listed in at least four different states, and there are a lot of listings also here in Tennessee. This is one of them, 2441Q. It's Murfreesboro, Tennesse, but it's not a home. It's a post office box.</s>SAVIDGE (voice-over): Another address we had for them turned out to be a vacant lot. And we aren't the only ones looking for Torry and Nancy Hansen here, so are the Russians. Reporter Evgeny Popov is one.</s>EVGENY POPOV, REPORTER: We need to get more -- to get more attention on American</s>SAVIDGE: You see, that's why the Russians are so upset by this case. Russian authorities say since the mid-1990s, at least a dozen children adopted from Russia have died at the hands of their American families.</s>SAVIDGE (on camera): But in this case, the family says the Russian child was threatening them. In a phone call to CNN, Nancy Hansen, the boy's adoptive grandmother, described him as violent and psychotic --</s>SAVIDGE (voice-over): -- that he had a hit list of people he wanted to hurt. Number one on that list, his American mom, who Nancy says the boy threatened to kill for her house. The last straw, last week, when they caught him in the act of trying to start a fire in the home. Nancy said she was afraid he was going to burn the house down and kill everyone in it.</s>SAVIDGE: And this, by the way, is another address for the Hansen family. We've knocked on the door for two days, nobody's responded. Nancy Hansen did say in the phone call to CNN that she believes honestly that putting that little boy on a plane, sending him back to Russia all by himself, was the very best thing for their family and for the little boy. Meanwhile, the attorney representing the Hansen family and the local law enforcement are expected to get together sometime this week to talk about this case -- John.</s>ROBERTS: Oh my (ph), they're certainly getting a lot of disagreement as to whether or not that was the best thing for the child. But any truth to the Russian claims that a half a dozen adopted Russian kids have died in America since the mid-1990s?</s>SAVIDGE: We did some digging on that, and it turns out that it appears that the Russians are right. We found at least half a dozen cases with indications of more in which Russian children adopted by American families have died, apparently at the hands of those American adoptive parents. The most recent case took place actually in August of last year. It was in Pennsylvania. A 7-year-old Russian boy died, authorities say, due to abuse and malnutrition. His adoptive American parents are currently in custody awaiting trial for his death -- John.</s>ROBERTS: All right. Martin Savidge for us this morning in Shelbyville, Tennessee -- Martin, thanks so much. Coming up at 8:30 Eastern, we're going to be talking with Michael Kirby. He is a State Department official about the welfare of this boy and so many other children in the same situation. Does Russia need to be more transparent? Do parents need to be more careful?</s>CHETRY: And you can just imagine how heartbreaking it is. I mean, what happens when adoptive parents change their minds because they find that they are unable to properly raise or control the kids that they get? Now, a new program could help keep these families together -- an "AC 360" special tonight, at 10:00 Eastern. We also want to know what you think about this adoption controversy. Join the conversation on our live blog right now, CNN.com/am</s>FIX. ROBERTS: Top stories for you right now as we cross the half hour. Right now, President Obama and leaders from 46 different countries are getting ready to attend a two-day nuclear security summit in Washington. They will address what the president calls the biggest threat to the United States, keeping nuclear weapons out of the hands of terrorists in rogue nations, like Iran and North Korea. This week's gathering comes one week after President Obama and his Russian counterpart agreed to cut the number of nuclear weapons in both countries by about a third. We're getting a first hint of who the Republicans may want to run for president in 2012. Mitt Romney beat Texas Congressman Ron Paul by one vote in a weekend's straw poll at the Southern Republican Leadership Conference in New Orleans. Sarah Palin came in third. Ron Paul joins us this morning, at 7:10 Eastern, to talk more about that. And CNN has obtained a warning letter written four years ago by Toyota assembly line workers in Japan and sent to their CEO. It points out how corner cutting and outsourcing were compromising safety. The letter also predicts the crisis facing the company today, but it was ignored. Toyota acknowledges it received the letter, quote, "We are not perfect" -- Kiran.</s>CHETRY: John, thanks. Well, a new challenge for a busy administration: Supreme Court Justice John Paul Stevens announcing that he is going to retire at the end of his term. His departure, of course, gives President Obama another chance at shaping the high court's direction.</s>BARACK OBAMA, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: And while we cannot replace Justice Stevens' experience or wisdom, I will seek someone in the coming weeks with similar qualities. It will also be someone who, like Justice Stevens, knows that in a democracy, powerful interests must not be allowed to drown out the voices of ordinary citizens.</s>CHETRY: So, who will it be and how could the president's pick influence the midterm elections? Joining me now to discuss all of this: CNN senior legal analyst, Jeffrey Toobin. Welcome. Good to see you. We also have with us, A.B. Stoddard, associate editor and columnist with "The Hill." Great to see you as well,</s>A.B. A.B. STODDARD, ASSOCIATE EDITOR AND COLUMNIST, "THE HILL": Thank you.</s>CHETRY: So, let me start with Jeffrey. He sure is going to run down some of the picks. Let's start with many are saying is the frontrunner, although in these things, you never know -- Elena Kagan. She's the first female solicitor general. She's also the former dean of Harvard Law School. And her name was also in the running for Souter's seat. Sotomayor got that one. But, what do you think about her and her chances?</s>JEFFREY TOOBIN, CNN SENIOR LEGAL ANALYST: She is younger than the other candidates. She's 49 years old. She was just confirmed by the Senate last year to be solicitor general. She has a reputation as someone who can get competing ideological factions along. She seems very much in line with Obama's moderate Democratic politics. I think she's going to be the choice.</s>CHETRY: You do. So, you think that she is.</s>TOOBIN: I think she's going to be.</s>CHETRY: One of interesting things, A.B., is that she was never a judge -- meaning, that she really has no record to attack. Is that a good thing or a bad thing?</s>STODDARD: The administration sees this as a very appealing aspect of her candidacy because, really, the liberal left has no idea what she thinks and nor does the conservative right. They won't be able to box her in because of her past decisions. And I think they think -- see this as sort of the easiest pick.</s>CHETRY: All right. Let's go to another one that's been getting talked about a lot, and that is Diane Wood. She's also supposedly on the short list. She's a former colleague of President Obama. They actually taught constitutional law together. Some say that this is the favorite pick for people on the left.</s>TOOBIN: You know, I think the ideological distinctions are probably less than meets the eye. But she does have a longer paper trail. She's also older. She's going to be 59 years old. And presidents care a lot about age in Supreme Court nominees because the longer they serve, the longer their influence lasts on the court. Yes, she's from Chicago. Yes, she is a former colleague. I just think, for whatever reason, perhaps unfairly, she looks like a much tougher confirmation fight than either Kagan or someone like Merrick Garland.</s>CHETRY: Well, let me ask you about that, A.B. Given the political climate and the timing being so close to the midterm elections, will the president get resistance no matter who he chooses?</s>STODDARD: That really depends. Someone like Kagan who doesn't have a long record to pick over, will be much tougher for Republicans to fight. Someone like Wood is much easier. The anti-abortions will come out very energized against her pro-choice record. And that's -- that's going to be a problem. They're very energized. The Republicans say they don't want to filibuster and put up a big fight, but they will be under tremendous pressure from their own pressure groups, their own conservative interest groups, and any time that you can raise abortion in a Supreme Court battle like this, that side is going to do it, and the Republicans will have to respond. That's why someone like Kagan is just easier for the administration to get through much faster.</s>TOOBIN: You know, John Paul Stevens was confirmed 98-to- nothing. We have -- we have seen the last of those kind of confirmations. There is no question there will be a lot of votes against any Obama nominee, but I think a filibuster is very unlikely.</s>CHETRY: Let's talk about the third person on the short list that sort of many judicial analysts say is a possibility, Judge Merrick Garland. And we'll show his picture here. He's seen as the most acceptable to Republicans? Tell us more about his background.</s>TOOBIN: Well, you know, he is a former Justice Department official. He supervised the Oklahoma City bombing cases in the Clinton administration. He's been a judge for a long time now, for 13 years.</s>CHETRY: How old is he?</s>TOOBIN: He is 57 -- born in 1952. So, he's 57, 58. Again, very solid, unexciting record, but not someone who the left or the right would probably get very excited about.</s>CHETRY: You know, it's also interesting because there's a lot of focus on gender and ethnicity that came up during Sonia Sotomayor's nomination. Do you think that background, A.B., in terms of where you're from and also, your racial and gender makeup, factor big into this particular pick?</s>STODDARD: I think they always do with the liberal left of the Democratic Party. I do think there's not the pressure this time to nominate a woman as there was last time. Obviously, Justice Sotomayor is now on the court and I don't think -- I think that that gives someone, like Garland, a better chance at coming on board. The other thing that keeps -- the other question people keep talking about is the court of appeals and why they're not -- the administration should move away from picking those who are serving there. And that's why it gives Kagan, I think, a better shot at this point.</s>TOOBIN: You know, the whole idea that there should be only one or two women, I just think that's a real obsolete concern. It's like religion, too. John Paul Stevens is the only Protestant on the court. Again, I think those are kind of antique concerns. The Canadian Supreme Court has half women. I don't see why in the legal profession, in America, that is almost half women, you know, the idea that two or three should be considered some sort of maximum.</s>CHETRY: All right. Well, we'll have to wait and see. But a great conversation this morning. Jeffrey Toobin, as well as A.B. Stoddard -- thanks for being with us, both of you -- John.</s>ROBERTS: Coming up next on the Most News in the Morning, bringing the emergency room to front lines. We'll show you a new armored vehicle that's saving American lives in Afghanistan.