ted rowlands, that's interesting. the different jurors in the eyes and the jurors wouldn't look back. ted, thank you so much. blagojevich going away to prison for quite some time. >>> the field of republicans running for president just got a little bit bigger. no huge surprise. you saw it coming. we all saw it coming. we knew this moment was coming. ♪ there she is, michele bachmann. tom petty on the soundtrack. as of today, she is officially in the race for president. jessica yellin standing by for me in washington. we're going to talk with her here in just a moment. but first i want to go to jm jim acosta who is going to set the stage for us were michele bachmann announced her bid for the white house as a near frontrunner in this early voting state. a new poll shows bachmann running neck and neck with the frontrunner in the gop battle mitt romney. she's been known as a conservative firebrand but she toned down her tea party rhetoric to go after the president, predicting mr. obama will be a one-termer. >> we know our c

our ted rowlands is there in the courtroom.rruption-related charges, including fraud, bribery. he has certainly denied any intention of bribery. if you've been paying as close attention to this as we all have here at cnn, you may recall he was taken into federal custody on corruption charges back in 2008. and he went on to have a pretty big book deal. he signed on to "celebrity apprentice" done all kinds of things since then. we'll wait for the verdict to be read and bring to it you as soon as we get it here on cnn. >>> globe trekking now begins with news of a warrant for the arrest of libyan leader moammar gadhafi. the international criminal court in the hague issued the warrant accusing gadhafi of crimes against humanity, including murder and persecution. it also issued similar warrants for one of gadhafi's sons and gadhafi's head of intelligence who also is his brother-in-law. our david mckenzie is on the phone with us from tripoli? no, we have him live. that's even better. is there any reaction to this warrant yet from the

. >>> and also coming up, our own ted rowlands out in toledo, ohio. ted? brooke, coming up, we are on a listening tour. we are at rudy's hot dogs and no better place to get a hot dog and no better place to get an opinion or two. we will talk to kathy and a couple of employees here after the break on what they think about washington, the economy and politics in general. stay with us. >> we are looking forward to it, ted rowlands. thank you. you are watching cnn theseroo"." we will be right back. ♪ there's another way to minimize litter box odor: purina tidy cats. tidy cats premium line of litters now works harder to help neutralize odors in multiple-cat homes. and our improved formula also helps eliminate dust. so it's easier than ever to keep your house smelling just the way you want it. purina tidy cats. keep your home smelling like home. but when she got asthma, all i could do was worry ! specialists, lots of doctors, lots of advice... and my hands were full. i couldn't sort through it all. with unitedhealthcare, it's different. we have access to great s

ted rowlands joins us live from chicago with more. he was shocked. his wife slumped in her chair against her brother, shocked at these 17 convictions. >> yeah. it was really a dramatic scene in the courtroom. a packed courtroom yesterday. the former governor sat there, and he appeared stunned. he basically stared straight at the jury. he was trying to make eye contact with some of the jurors, but none of the jurors would look anywhere close to him as the guilty verdicts came one after another. you mentioned his wife, she was in the front row, she dropped back into her brother's arms. and both of them were very stunned. jurors afterwards talked to the media. one juror said we wanted to find him not guilty. he was a likable guy, keep in mind he took the stand for days in this trial. they say they liked him, they wanted to find him not guilty but the evidence was there and they had no other choice. here is rod blagojevich after the verdict of guilty was read 17 times against him at the federal courthouse. take a listen. >> patti and i ar

. >> our ted rowlands is live in chicago. will there be an appeal, ted? >> reporter: absolutely.e a motion for a mistrial which will likely be denied by the judge. then what blagojevich will have happen is the sentencing. right now, they have a status conference on august 1st. what is going to be interesting is if he comes in and addresses the court during the sentencing hearing, if he talks to the judge, if he admits guilt, it will give the judge an excuse, if you will, to go on the lower end of the sentencing guidelines. if he comes in and think he is railroaded like he actually is shocked that he was found guilty, if he has that attitude, it's not going to give the judge an excuse to publicly say, well, i'll give you the lower end of the sentencing. what is he looking at? probably between 6 and probably 20 years on the top end. 54-year-old man. bottom line is he is going to be incarcerated for an extended period of time. then there is the appeal. a lot of people do think that he has grounds for appeal and they will zero in likely his defense attorneys on one thing and that is

cnn's ted rowlands is covering the blagojevich retrial for us. he's joining us from chicago.e was very sad in his comments after he got the horrible news for him. >> reporter: yeah. inside the courtroom, wolf, there wasn't a lot of reaction from blagojevich. he was trying to make eye contact with the jurors as the of the verdicts. his wife patti, she was in the front row, she was very upset. she fell back into blagojevich's brother robert's arms and there she sat for the remainder of the proceeding. he's looking at a lot of jail time. he's a 54-year-old man. you look at the counts he's been found guilty of, wire fraud, 20 years, extortion, 20 years, extortion, conspiracy, 20 years, solicitation of a bribe, five years. even the low -- the minimums on the sentencing guidelines would put him in jail for pretty much the rest of his life. here is rod blagojevich after the verdicts were read inside the federal courthouse. take a listen. >> patti and i obviously are very disappointed in the outcome. i frankly am stunned. there is not much left to say other than we want to get home t

ted rowlands has been covering the trial for us at cnn. the courtroom, you gave us that excellent color after the verdict came down. we're here 24 hours later after the dust was settled. you caught up with blago this morning? >> i didn't. but some reporters that were camped outside his house did. he was leaving to take his daughter to algebra, he said. take a listen to what the former governor said the day after he was found guilty on 17 counts. take a listen. >> a lot of what life is is how you deal with your adversities, it's a true test of who you are, and an example to your children how you deal with the tough times. one of the things that motivates me and has motivated me and continues to motivate me and patti, is to show our kids as tough as things can get, sometimes, as unfair as you think things might be, you just keep doing the best you can, and dealing with the adversity, and through that adversity and hardship can come good things, and that's kind of how i'm approaching this, and we better get to school because she's got algebra

we have ted rowlands on the phone, who has been covering this story as well. he's now in chicago. what can you tell us? >> well, suzanne, the jury has talked to the judge and sent a message this morning to the judge saying that they have come to an agreement on 18 of the 20 counts against blagojevich, meaning that there are two that they're still hung on. what the judge has done, doesn't give a lot of information about these things. he sent out a note and says he hopes to read the verdict between 1:00 and 2:00 central time. so between 2:00 and 3:00 eastern. presumably he's gone and told these jurors, all right, let's spend a few more hours on the last two counts and we'll call it a day and read the verdict. we don't know what the two counts are that they haven't come to an agreement on, but they, after a long period of time working on this, they now have a verdict in this case and there is a lot, obviously, at stake for blagojevich. many of these counts have 20-year maximum sentences, some have 10, some have 15 but a lot have 20. if they come back with guilty verdicts in those, th

so today our ted rowlands is at a to leledtoledo, ohio institut. rudy's hot dog stand. lucky, guy, ted. we know the president was there choug down last week. what are you hearing today? >> reporter: well, randi, everything. this is the place to come, boy. this is real food and real people here in toledo, ohio. we heard opinions from both republicans and democrats who have come here to eat lunch, and they vary across the board. but there are some themes, jobs is a big one. this is rick suitor, he works at the smucker's plant. tomorrow is his 25th anniversary working there. you say you're doing well. but you're concerned about young people like your daughter who don't have career opportunities. is that your number one issue? >> yeah, i think all of the young people need to stay in school. they're not going anywhere without an education. and i think president obama is doing a fine job. they're trying to spur the economy on, jobs just aren't there. i think they're going to be coming. and overall, they need an education. they've got to stay in school. keep the heads up, i thi

ted rowlands, want to begin with you in chir. of illinois governor rod blagojevich. he's accused of trying to sell president obama's former senate seat. what was the case against the governor this go around? >> reporter: last time, brooke, the jury came up with one conviction out of 24 charges, and afterwards they talked to the prosecutors and the defense, and the jury said it was just too complicated for them on all of those other charges. this time around, the prosecution made a concerted effort to dumb things down a bit, if you will, especially in their close. the prosecutors took their time in laying out the groundwork with what they believe is a clear case against blagojevich. they dropped a few of the charges. he's now facing 20 charges. that said, it is still very complicated. there are ten wire fraud charges. the jury is now into their sixth day of deliberation. they have about an hour to go today and still no verdict. so we'll see if their strategy worked when it does come time for an actual verdict in this case. you mig

ted rowlands is on the scene for us there. what are you seeing and what are you hearing? >> reporter: well, wolf, we are at rudy's hot taug dogs and this is an institution in toledo. we have been here all day and getting a lot of opinions from people. republicans and democrats across the spectrum, getting a lot of voices as we go on this. this is harry, he's got a job in the health care industry. he's got a 26-year-old son, is it? >> yes. >> who does not have a job. that's your biggest concern is jobs, jobs, jobs. >> exactly. >> reporter: and for your son, how difficult is it for young people and not only in toledo feeling the same thing, here specifically for your son and in toledo, how bleak is it for him trying to get gainful employment? >> we have one of the highest rates for young people for unemployment. >> reporter: and that's your biggest concern? >> that's my biggest concern. yes. >> reporter: a lot of people have said that, wolf, getting jobs and for young people. this s. of course, a town, an auto town. christy works on the line and has three kids. your biggest

correspondents, fanning out across the country, visiting diners, job fairs and sporting events, ted rowlandsoins us from toledo, ohio. what are folks telling you? >> well, suzanne, you can imagine the economy, a huge issue, we're talking to people here at rudy's hot dogs, six locations since 1920. what a deal. robin white has been working here for more than 30 years. 39 years. she hears concerns and knows what people are worried about. what are you hearing? what are their concerns? >> most part is the gas. gas prices have to go down. that's ridiculous. >> i put $25 in my car, i didn't even get half a tank. >> obviously, have a lost opinions, what would you tell politicians in washington, what message from you would you send in washington? >> i sent everybody together to work on this. get the gas prices lowered and get our guys out of iraq? >> get them out of iraq and afghanistan. >> we've heard from republican, democrat, one of the themes we're hearing, is people want the two parties to get along a little better, and get something accomplished. bob huntley, who works at the chrysler plant, w