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CNN Saturday Morning News
President Bush Meeting With Top Deputies on Iraq War Plan, AP: Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton to Take First Step in 2008 Presidential Bid Today, Climate Change Boosts Bipartisanship, New Haven Veterans Memorial Coliseum Imploded
Aired January 20, 2007 - 07:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
T.J. HOLMES, CNN ANCHOR: "Now in the News," winter storm warnings issued in the Southwest this morning. Texas Governor Rick Perry already mobilizing the National Guard as several states prepare for another round of potentially dangerous storms. We'll take a closer look at those warnings in just a couple of minutes.
Kansas Senator Sam Brownback is expected to officially enter the 2008 presidential race today. The conservative Republican has been in the Senate for 10 years. Meanwhile, on the Democratic side, the Associated Press now reporting New Mexico Governor Bill Richardson, of course a Democrat, may announce the formation of a presidential exploratory committee as early as tomorrow.
And a sign Mexico's new president is getting serious about cracking down on its drug cartels, Mexico yesterday extradited 15 major suspected criminals to the U.S., including four major alleged drug kingpins. They'll face trials for crimes they're accused of committing in the U.S.
BRIANNA KEILAR, CNN ANCHOR: And more U.S. casualties in Iraq. U.S. military says two U.S. soldiers and one Marine were killed in separate incidents yesterday and today. So far there have been 27 military deaths in Iraq this month.
A suspected terrorist leader in the Philippines reportedly was killed in a battle with government forces several months ago. The Associated Press says DNA tests confirm -- DNA tests in the U.S., rather, confirm the body of Khaddafy Janjalani, he was the head of the Abu Sayyaf terror group which is affiliated with al Qaeda.
One of the members of the Mamas and the Papas has died. Denny Doherty was 66. His family says he died Friday at his home near Toronto after a short illness. The Mamas and the Papas were inducted to the Rock 'n' Roll Hall of Fame in 1998.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: A deep freeze still gripping the Midwest and the Great Plains, a full week after a huge ice storm.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HOLMES: Still trying to get things back to normal and bracing for yet another snowstorm and ice storm. Winter mess round three. The latest in just a few moments. My goodness.
From the CNN Center this is CNN SATURDAY MORNING. It is January 20th. Good morning to you all, I'm T.J. Holmes.
KEILAR: And I'm Brianna Keilar in for Betty this morning. Thanks for being with us.
Bracing for round two. Another strong winter storm threatening the Southwest. But many people there are still trying to get over the first wave. CNN's Reggie Aqui takes a look.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
REGGIE AQUI, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): A deep freeze still gripping the Midwest and the Great Plains a full week after a huge ice storm.
The number of people without power actually went back up here in southeast Oklahoma, after a main power line failed, 80,000 to 90,000 people with no electricity in Oklahoma alone, and well over 100,000 homes and businesses nationwide.
As power companies use hundreds of contract workers from out of state, Teressa Johnson uses just about the only thing she has left...
TERESSA JOHNSON, WITHOUT POWER: And we have been using lots of candles. I mean, I have been making candles, and lots, lots of candles.
AQUI: ... her ingenuity.
JOHNSON: You take it like so, put it in there, drop all the wax around it, and then all you do is light it up. And that makes the candle last at least three more hours longer.
AQUI: Seven days ago, she didn't just lose her lights, she lost her heat, her food, and her contact with the outside world.
JOHNSON: For the past week, I have been -- me and my two children have been living in this house, freezing, you know, trying to keep this one room warm.
AQUI: Here in Krebs and nearby McAlester, growing concern for those who cannot fend for themselves.
DONALEE BOATRIGHT, MAYOR OF KREBS, OKLAHOMA: Our elderly citizens that -- we're trying to find them all. And I think we have. But we are going to -- sometimes, you don't know.
AQUI: A hundred miles away, in Tulsa, it's the thaw causing problems. A huge chunk of melting ice landed on this Mustang. The driver survived, but 70 other people in nine states have lost their lives in storms over the past week.
Outside Cleveland, people are still digging out, and winter hasn't finished yet. Up to eight inches of snow is expected in some parts of Oklahoma this weekend.
JOHNSON: This is how I cook. This is my cook stove right here.
AQUI: Back in Krebs, Teressa Johnson, who is also battling cancer, now finds nightly refuge in a shelter.
JOHNSON: No matter what life throws at you, you have got to make the most of it.
AQUI: She may not have electricity, but, like so many people here, she does have the power of perseverance.
Reggie Aqui, CNN, Krebs, Oklahoma.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
HOLMES: Well, powerless and facing another blast, we now want to go to Oklahoma City where Adam Slinger of CNN affiliate KOCO joins us now live.
Adam, how's it going there?
ADAM SLINGER, KOCO REPORTER: T.J., good morning to you from a cold, wet, and snowy Oklahoma City. We are expecting up to six inches here in Oklahoma City and the surrounding area. Up to a foot in other parts of the state. We have been seeing this rain -- this light rainfall all morning. It's hoping it will turn into snow. We don't want to see that ice come that we saw late last week, actually. From ice storm 2007 over here, the roads still are recovering.
Here in Oklahoma City, there are 14,000 miles of road that crews need to pave. So far they've only got to about 1,400 miles, though, because there really aren't enough resources. They've been working around the clock to pave them.
We've been getting calls at our station from viewers wondering when their residential streets will be paved. And, T.J., because the ice is so thick on those main streets they don't think they will get to those residential streets at all.
HOLMES: Oh, my goodness. All right. Well, Adam Slinger of affiliate KOCO there in Oklahoma City, thank you. I think we'll be checking back in with you a little later. Hope it is not any worse when we talk to you coming up soon. Thanks so much, Adam.
KEILAR: And we'll go to Bonnie Schneider now in the Weather Center. She's in for Reynolds Wolf.
(WEATHER REPORT)
KEILAR: President Bush discusses his Iraq plan with two top deputies this morning. The president meets next hour with Defense Secretary Robert Gates, and Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice. Gates and Rice just returned from the region, and the president also fighting off criticism of his plan from Democrats. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi accuses him of rushing troops to Iraq so Congress won't cut off funding. The White House calls the comment poisonous.
Growing violence, dwindling faith, the Bush White House and top Democrats increasingly questioning Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki's leadership in Iraq. The latest critic, likely presidential candidate Hillary Clinton. Here's part of her talk with CNN's John Roberts.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
JOHN ROBERTS, CNN ANCHOR, "THIS WEEK AT WAR": Nouri al-Maliki, the prime minister, do you have any faith that he is the guy who can bring Iraq back to a state of security?
SEN. HILLARY RODHAM CLINTON (D), NEW YORK: I don't have any faith.
ROBERTS: No faith in al-Maliki?
CLINTON: Whether there's a gap between his intentions and his will and capacity is the real problem or whether he's doing what he intends to do to sort of mark time and further the -- you know, the dominance of his sectarian supporters, it's hard to tell.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
KEILAR: You can see John Roberts' full interview with Senator Clinton tonight. Tune in to "THIS WEEK AT WAR" at 7:00 Eastern and again tomorrow afternoon at 1:00 Eastern.
HOLMES: It's terror's new breeding ground, CNN's chief international correspondent Christiane Amanpour explores the battle for Islam taking place in Britain. Here now, a sneak peek of tonight's premiere of CNN's "SPECIAL INVESTIGATIONS UNIT: The War Within."
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: One day you will conquer Rome!
(CROWD SHOUTING)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: One day you will conquer the White House!
(CROWD SHOUTING)
CHRISTIANE AMANPOUR, CNN CHIEF INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Anjem Choudary is the public face of Islamic extremism in Britain. His group, Al-Muhajiroun, disbanded before the British government could outlaw it under its new anti-terrorism rules. But that hasn't shut Choudary up.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: For myself, Islam (INAUDIBLE) the Prophet Muhammad, ((INAUDIBLE) deserves capital punishment!
(CROWD SHOUTING)
AMANPOUR: That was Choudary's inflammatory rhetoric just days after Pope Benedict's controversial speech about Islam.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Pope Benedict, you will pay!
CROWD: Pope Benedict, you will pay!
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The mujahedeen are on their way!
CROWD: The mujahedeen are on their way!
AMANPOUR: Outside Westminster Cathedral, British Catholics looked on in disbelief.
PAT DILLON, CATHOLIC: They can stand outside our church and abuse us and abuse our religion and abuse people that we hold dear with absolute impunity.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: The simple question to the Christians is, do you condemn what the pope says? Do you condemn the pope?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: What he said.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes or no?
(CROSSTALK)
DILLON: If any of us was to amble up to, you know, the mosque at Regents Park, and sending regards to Allah or Muhammad or what have you, best case scenario, you be taken away by the police for inciting racial hatred, worst case scenario, attacked by a bunch of thugs wearing tea towels on their heads.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Democracy hypocrisy!
CROWD: Democracy hypocrisy!
AMANPOUR: Even away from the bully pulpit, Choudary, who is a lawyer not a cleric, continues to advocate extremist views like calling for Sharia, Islamic law for Britain.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: All of the world belongs to Allah (ph), and we will live according to the Sharia where we are. This is a fundamental belief of the Muslims. You know, if I was to go to the jungle tomorrow, I'm not going to live like the animals.
AMANPOUR (on camera): Anjem, basically a lot of what you're saying is, it's my way or the highway. I mean, how does that kind of logic fit into a democratic state like the one we live in now, and like the one you live in? You live here by choice. Do you not believe in democracy?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: No, I don't at all. We believe that people must live according to the Sharia.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
HOLMES: And get ready for the premiere of "CNN SPECIAL INVESTIGATIONS UNIT." Christiane Amanpour uncovers terror's surprising new breeding grounds where young Muslims are transformed from innocents to extremists. That is tonight at 8. Do not miss "The War Within."
KEILAR: Well, it's been a heck of a ride across Iraq from the battle lines to the headlines. Now overhauled and ready.
HOLMES: Yes, it's ready to roll right onto the auction block. CNN's Warrior One Hummer goes under the hammer today for a good cause. This is a really good cause and a sneak peek for you coming up in about three minutes.
KEILAR: Plus a 29-year-old poses as a 12-year-old kid and tries to get access to a school. The disturbing catch -- he's a reported sex offender. That story out of Arizona in about seven minutes.
HOLMES: And it happened again. This time a high school basketball coach uses the N-word in the locker room. The rest of this story here on CNN SATURDAY MORNING, that story coming up in about 35 minutes.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
KEILAR: From the front lines of the war in Iraq, to an overhaul on national television, tonight, CNN's Warrior One hits the auction block. The Hummer first saw action in Iraq with CNN journalists embedded with U.S. Marines near Baghdad in April of 2003. And last summer TLC's program "Overhaulin'" gave the vehicle a high-tech makeover.
Since then Warrior One has been touring the country. And tonight it's going to be auctioned off in Arizona where it's expected to fetch a record price with all of the proceeds going to the Fisher House.
HOLMES: And the Fisher House foundation is dedicated to helping injured U.S. troops and their families on the road to recovery. The nonprofit organization operates 33 houses in the U.S., another in Germany. Right now, Robin Meade of CNN HEADLINE NEWS takes a tour of the Fisher House at Fort Campbell, Kentucky.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
ROBIN MEADE, CNN HEADLINE NEWS CORRESPONDENT: Hey!
VIVIAN WILSON, MANAGER, FISHER HOUSE: Welcome, Robin!
MEADE: Thanks for having us at the Fisher House. How are you, Vivian?
WILSON: Thank you for coming today. I'm doing great. Thank you. It's wonderful to have you here.
Welcome.
MEADE: Thank you. The honor is all ours.
So this is pretty gorgeous in here.
WILSON: Why thank you. We're very proud of it. The Army's 15th house.
MEADE: So in here you have, like, different living areas?
WILSON: We do. A living room right in here.
MEADE: You were saying this is the Army's 15th?
WILSON: Right, the 35th Fisher House and the Army's 15th Fisher House.
The wonderful thing about the Fisher House, though, is that the support system is the family.
STAFF SGT. HAROLD ORD, U.S. ARMY: It's helped in my recovery a lot. Basically a home setting. We can pretty much come in here and the whole family feels relaxed. And there's other soldiers here which you can kind of talk and socialize.
MEADE: So who would stay in a room like this?
WILSON: This room here is typical of a spouse, a family type of setting, where a spouse comes in and she's able to spend time with her husband.
MEADE: Show me around.
WILSON: Oftentimes they're inpatients, initially. But when the service member gets out and he can join his family -- he or she, then this is a wonderful setup.
MELISSA PRICE, WIFE OF INJURED SOLDIER: Whenever he's in the hospital, or anything like that, I can be close. I can just walk over to the hospital.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Just having my wife close to me everyday really made a difference.
WILSON: All the bathrooms are fully handicapped accessible. Actually, all the rooms, this house has large hallways. The bathrooms, excuse me, are large.
SGT. JASON PEPPER, U.S. ARMY: The fact that I was newly blinded, both arms -- both my arms were in a cast, so I couldn't feed myself, couldn't wash myself. You know, I couldn't do anything for myself. So I needed to have Heather, you know, feed me, bathe me, just everything.
WILSON: You're seeing a lot more soldiers that are coming back who have lost limbs, for instance. And oftentimes, spinal cord injuries or traumatic brain injuries that inhibit them from being as ambulatory as they want to be or can be.
HEATHER PEPPER, WIFE OF INJURED SOLDIER: And thank God the Fisher House is here. Because if it wasn't, we wouldn't -- I don't know how far Jason would be in his recovery.
WILSON: Welcome to our family room. This is the most used room, because this is where the soldier can come back, oftentimes the first time he sees his family since he has returned from war.
MEADE: Is right here?
WILSON: Right here. You have a 52-inch TV. When the houses are turned over, it's turnkey, including all the furnishings.
We like to think of the Fisher House as a home for all service members who are returning back from war who have a place to always come to.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
HOLMES: And coming up a little later this morning we'll take you live to Scottsdale, Arizona, for an up-close look at Warrior One. We'll, of course, bring you the auction results a little later tonight. And you can get more on our Web site, just go to cnn.com/warriorone.
KEILAR: Now let's take a look at a few of the most popular stories on cnn.com. In Arizona a 29-year-old sex offender is busted while trying to pass himself off as a 12-year-old. According to police this guy, and the 60-something-year-old man he was living with, tried enrolling him in a charter school. And here's the kicker, police say the 29-year-old was reportedly involved in a relationship with the man and had him duped into thinking he was a teenage boy.
Now let's change gears a little bit. Take a look and a listen at this.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
ART BUCHWALD, HUMOR COLUMNIST: Hi. I'm Art Buchwald and I just died.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HOLMES: Art Buchwald, best known for poking fun at Washington politicians, and of course, that interesting sense of humor. He has died, and he left his family and friends a video obituary announcing the obvious. The popular humorist was 81 years old.
KEILAR: And the Donald is paying a heavy price for his patriotism. The City of Palm Beach, Florida, voted to fine Trump $1,250 for each day he continues to fly an American flag on top of an 80-foot flagpole. The flag isn't the problem. It's the height of the pole that is.
HOLMES: And the commander of a U.S. nuclear sub has been relieved of duty after two of his sailors drowned. The men were swept overboard off the coast of England. The Navy says the commander made a bad decision in rough seas. For more on any of these stories, go to our Web site, cnn.com. KEILAR: A rather large ad for shoe cushions is making folks a little uncomfortable. We'll tell you all about it, and then you can examine the size of this controversy.
HOLMES: Also, surviving a high flying feline adventure. Pumpkin the cat on a plane. We'll have the big meow for you in about 20 minutes.
KEILAR: And driving in snow and on ice. A no-brainer here, it's very dangerous. So dangerous, that we should all consider going to winter driving school, as it turns out. So get ready to buckle up and tackle the tough stuff, that's coming your way in about 15 minutes.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
KEILAR: Using shocking images to sell, but of course, shoe inserts.
HOLMES: That makes perfect sense, right? This Los Angeles ad is getting a lot of attention and it is getting a lot of criticism. You can see this, a woman's feet in red high-heeled shoes displayed hanging in a noose. The ad is for a shoe cushion and says "don't commit shoe-icide," implying that the woman's shoes are so painful she hangs herself by the feet, I guess.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Suicide isn't really something to be joked about like that or to be taken lightly. There's a lot of people who suffer from it. And I don't really think it's appropriate.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: First reactions to it was seeing the Saddam Hussein hanging, I saw it with the cell phone, and that's just all I can think about right now is Saddam Hussein.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HOLMES: Hmm. Well, the company responsible for the ad, Foot Peddle (ph), says the billboard is not going anywhere.
KEILAR: A piece of New Haven history coming down today. They're gathering in Connecticut this morning to watch the implosion of the city's centerpiece. That steel structure in the background there, the Veterans Memorial Coliseum. Now the 15,000 seat arena was supposed to revitalize the downtown area but it never quite fulfilled that promise. We get more from Erin Cox of CNN affiliate WTNH in New Haven.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
ERIN COX, WTNH REPORTER (voice-over): The demolition will mean 48,000 tons of steel and concrete coming down.
STEPHEN GOLDBLUM, STAMFORD WRECKING: You feel some vibration but you are not -- it is not going to be like a horror movie. It's very quick and easy. COX: It may not be a big vibration, but you've got to have nerves of steel to be part of the team wiring the coliseum to demolish it Saturday morning. Meet your implosion crew. A brother and sister selected in a drawing to push the plunger, igniting the explosives. They've got the hard hats, but are they ready?
BEN STANIEWICZ, COLISEUM IMPLODER : Maybe, I might like push it like a moment like too late or too early.
TORI STANIEWICZ, COLISEUM IMPLODER: I'm worried that like the power might go out. Because (INAUDIBLE) that part.
COX: New Haven has a plan in place. There will be road closures, 40 firefighters and 50 police officers on demolition duty. You can't get too close. But the city is opening the Temple Street Garage to the public and it offers this great view. But could there be anything to hold off this historic implosion?
GOLDBLUM: So far everything is perfectly on track. The only concern that any of us have is weather. And we don't expect that to be an issue, either.
COX: In just 10 seconds a piece of the past will be brought to its knees with the helping hand of a third grader.
(on camera): Can you show me if you have muscles to do this? Let me see. You have the muscles?
(LAUGHTER
T. STANIEWICZ: No.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
KEILAR: Thanks to Erin Cox of affiliate WTNH in New Haven, Connecticut, for that report. And we'll be keeping an eye on things in New Haven this morning. And as soon as they get ready to bring down the house, we'll take you there live. So stay tuned, nothing like a building going down on Saturday morning.
HOLMES: Yes. On a Saturday morning. How's that for a start to your day?
KEILAR: All right. Yes.
HOLMES: Getting the weekend off to a good start. Well, another winter blast. We're talking about that as well.
KEILAR: Texas, Oklahoma and New Mexico brace for more snow and ice. We're tracking the storm. Your weather update in about eight minutes.
HOLMES: Plus a high school basketball coach accused of using a racial slur after his team loses a game. Now, there are calls for him to lose his job. The whole story on CNN SATURDAY MORNING. That is coming your way in about 20 minutes. Don't go anywhere. (COMMERCIAL BREAK)
KEILAR: These are live pictures of the Veterans Memorial Coliseum in New Haven, Connecticut. We're expecting this to be going down soon, a controlled implosion.
HOLMES: Yes, our -- some of our folks here don't know how much you all enjoy implosions but some of our people here certainly like them. And we're going to see one controlled chaos, as it is, but this is in New Haven, Connecticut. An old arena there that didn't really quite bring the good vibrations to the downtown New Haven area like they thought it might. So they're going to bring it down. Implosion expected, a brother and sister, some little ones going to hitting the button to bring that thing down here in just a bit. We're keeping an eye on it. Hope to bring that to you when that live picture does happen. Stay here for that.
KEILAR: "Now in the News," winter storm warnings issued in the Southwest this morning. Texas Governor Rick Perry already mobilizing the National Guard as several states prepare for another round of potentially dangerous storms.
And Kansas Senator Sam Brownback is expected to officially enter the 2008 presidential race today. The conservative Republican has been in the Senate for 10 years. On the Democratic side, the Associated Press now reporting New Mexico Governor Bill Richardson, as we said, a Democrat, may announce the formation of a presidential exploratory committee as early as tomorrow.
And President Bush, he meets with two top deputies to discuss his Iraq plan. He's sitting down with Defense Secretary Robert Gates and Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice next hour. Both of them are just returning from the region. The president's plan to send more troops to Iraq is of course under fire from Democrats and even some Republicans.
HOLMES: More U.S. deaths to report from Iraq. The U.S. military says two U.S. soldiers and one Marine were killed in separate incidents yesterday and today. So far there have been 27 U.S. military deaths in Iraq this month.
Four alleged drug kingpins in Mexico are now in the U.S. to face federal charges. They were among 15 suspected criminals extradited yesterday from Mexico. The U.S. ambassador to Mexico called the extradition a monumental movement.
Signs of progress in the nuclear stalemate with North Korea. A top U.S. envoy says North Korea is ready to resume six-party talks and resume them soon. Assistant Secretary of State Christopher Hill met with North Korean officials this week. He says the next round of talks could begin later this month, or in early February.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The first thing that comes out of his mouth is, "I hope that our players will never act like them ignorant 'N- word' that we just performed against tonight."
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HOLMES: A locker room comment raising concerns in one Tennessee community. We're going to get into this story for you here in just a little bit.
But welcome back to you all, hello. I'm T.J. Holmes.
KEILAR: And I'm Brianna Keilar in for Betty this morning. Thanks for joining us.
HOLMES: We will start with the weather. The weather is a big, big deal. A big, big story moving east. Causing problems for a lot of folks. We're not even close to being done just yet. Bonnie is with us this weekend.
Hello there, Bonnie.
BONNIE SCHNEIDER, CNN METEOROLOGIST: Good morning, T.J. and Brianna. We have winter storm warnings now in effect all the way to the West from Arizona, eastward, including Oklahoma. Now, this means we're going to see some very heavy snow for today as this low pressure area works its way to the north and east. It will produce up to a foot of snow in parts of New Mexico and even into Oklahoma where we're expecting some heavy snow, as well. So this is a very serious storm situation.
Let's take a closer look at the winter weather advisories from Albuquerque, Santa Fe, and Amarillo where the light know is falling right now. Expect six inches of snow before the afternoon is over. Oklahoma City reporting light freezing rain right now. But that will quickly change over to snow as we work our way through much of the afternoon.
And you can see the winter weather advisories for snow have now extended all the way to the east, including St. Louis, Indianapolis, and Louisville, Kentucky. Now this is more a Sunday event for snow across much of this region. Let's take a live picture of St. Louis now to show you what's happening right there, right now. It's still pretty dark outside. But get ready for snow. This will occur late tonight into Sunday. Something we'll be watching very closely.
(WEATHER REPORT)
KEILAR: Thanks, Bonnie.
HOLMES: Thanks, Bonnie.
SCHNEIDER: Sure.
KEILAR: And our winter weather certainly makes it difficult to drive. Thinking perhaps you can handle going 50 miles an hour, sliding? Well, think again. And CNN's Rob Marciano straps on a seat belt and takes us to driving school.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
ROB MARCIANO, CNN METEOROLOGIST (voice-over): You think you've got winter driving skills? Or is this more your style? No worries. The pros are here to help.
KURT SPITZNER, WINTER DRIVING INSTRUCTOR: We have a saying in the business, it's called "hands and feet follow the eyes." If you are staring at what you're about to hit, you're going to hit it. If you make yourself look somewhere else, almost instinctively, your hands and your feet will figure it out and it will help you get to where you want to go.
MARCIANO (on camera): Look away from the bad stuff.
SPITZNER: Look away from the bad stuff.
MARCIANO (voice-over): Of course, slowing down is essential. Winter driving instructor Kurt Spitzner explains how to use today's anti-lock brakes.
SPITZNER: When you use anti-lock brakes, in other words, you're feeling that chatter against your foot that you leave your foot firmly on the pedal until the slowing down or stopping situation has come to an end.
MARCIANO (on camera): Don't pump the brakes?
SPITZNER: Absolutely not.
Come on down, and brakes. Let's try just a little bit slower this time. And brakes.
MARCIANO: Damn it.
SPITZNER: The thing to remember about anti-lock brakes is that it doesn't necessarily shorten your stopping distances but it does improve your control.
MARCIANO (voice-over): In other words, don't tailgate.
(on camera): Kurt, what's the first thing that somebody should think about when they start to feel their car slide.
SPITZNER: Well, they need to identify what kind of skid they're having. Yes, there are two types of skids. One is called under- steer, one is called over-steer.
MARCIANO (voice-over): Over-steer is when the back end slides out. Under-steer is when your wheels are turned but the car keeps going straight. And Kirk says in that situation, you need to get off the brake.
(on camera): It's tough to do when you got a car closing in on you.
SPITZNER: Very hard to do. Very counter-intuitive. MARCIANO: But the only way to do it.
SPITZNER: Only way to do it.
Go for the brakes, go for the steering, nothing steers, let go to of the brakes, car steers.
MARCIANO: Takes you right out of it.
SPITZNER: Absolutely.
MARCIANO (voice-over): An over-steer slide is one most people have experienced. Instincts tell the driver to hit the brakes, but you need to get the weight on the rear tires. You need to hit the gas.
SPITZNER: Back end comes around. Turn to the right, add a little bit of throttle, settles right down, beautiful.
MARCIANO: Easier on a closed track than in traffic. Here are the tips you need to remember on the road this winter. When braking, don't pump. Under-steer slide, release the brake. Over-steer slide, touch the gas. And look where you want to go. Not at what you're afraid of hitting.
Rob Marciano, CNN, Steamboat Springs, Colorado.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
KEILAR: And we are waiting on an implosion that we're going to see. Of course, a fun way to start your Saturday morning. This is -- we're going to have some live pictures a little later of the Veterans Memorial Coliseum in New Haven. It's going to be going down here in a little bit. And we will be watching for that. We'll bring that to you.
HOLMES: All right. Meanwhile, is Congress going green, really? There were signs this week that global warming could become a central issue and create some new political alliances changing the dynamics for lawmakers, and the president. Joshua Levs, he's going to tell us what is really up, keeping it real for us in his "Reality Check."
Good morning, sir.
JOSHUA LEVS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, T.J. You know, what I love, the pacing, "the president, Joshua Levs." Wasn't that like a split second where it -- no?
HOLMES: No, I didn't. It didn't sound right to me. It didn't feel right.
LEVS: Wishful thinking. Wishful thinking. Hey, everybody, good morning to all of you. Let me tell you what's going on here. It is true that concern about global warming right now, and no exaggeration, could be causing dramatic changes to U.S. politics. And part of the reason is that President Bush announced a policy five years ago that so far has not shown signs of achieving its goals.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
LEVS (voice-over): You've seen the images. Melting ice caps. Habitats disappearing. The fears of an environmental doomsday. To help combat global warming, President Bush vowed in 2002 to cut U.S. greenhouse gas emissions by 18 percent over 10 years. It's been five years. How are we doing?
From what we've seen so far, not well. The latest figures the government has released are from 2004. They show that for the two years after President Bush announced his plan, emissions went up. Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Stephen Johnson said economic growth led to increased emissions and that progress is being made.
But many Americans want more. And that's changing the political reality.
SEN. JEFF BINGAMAN (D), NEW MEXICO: I believe strongly we need to adopt a limit on greenhouse gas emissions.
LEVS: With control of Congress, Democrats are putting climate change front and center.
SEN. HARRY REID (D-NV), MAJORITY LEADER: Our moral and ethical responsibility requires us and all other major nations to take mandatory action to control emissions starting now, not in 10 or 20 years.
LEVS: Democrats are not alone. Republican Senator John McCain has called for much tougher environmental policies. And evangelical Christians, a critical part of President Bush's base, are taking on this issue.
RICHARD CIZIK, NATL. ASSN. OF EVANGELICALS: We will not allow it, the creation, to be degraded, destroyed by human folly.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
LEVS: So it really is becoming increasingly bipartisan issue. You could say that both blue and red are turning green. Right now, all of the presidential candidates are talking about this more and more. And now we're hearing mumblings from the White House that, get this, Tuesday night, in the State of the Union Address, President Bush will be talking about some new environmental things, including specifically addressing global warming.
And of course, T.J., right here on CNN we'll be all over that. Keep an eye on it.
HOLMES: All right. Blue and red make green.
LEVS: Well, this time.
HOLMES: All right. Thanks, Jeff. LEVS: Thanks.
KEILAR: Here are a few stories making headlines across the globe. First stop, Berlin, Germany, where something like a hurricane has swept through. So far there have been seven weather-related deaths, power is out in more than 60,000 homes, and for some folks traveling in and out of the area by rail and air, it may be a while.
And take a look at this. This happened in the middle of a soccer game in South Africa. The wind got so bad, 65 to 70 miles per hour that instead of running for the ball, players were running away from those flying signs. Just amazing video there.
Meet Pumpkin, a 12-year-old tabby cat. She had quite an ordeal on a flight from England to Germany last month. The cat's owner said once the flight landed she found Pumpkin's carrier broken and empty. United Airlines crews searched but couldn't find her. Though three weeks later, workers at Denver International Airport found Pumpkin starved and dehydrated. But she was taken to the vet and she is now said to be fine.
HOLMES: Well, back in business. The alleged "Mansion Madam" says one career is ruined but another is booming.
Plus a mistake by Consumer Reports leaves parents wondering about their child's car safety seats. That's coming up in about four minutes here on CNN SATURDAY MORNING.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HOLMES: Well, well maybe not. We're going to talk about this live. This implosion we're keeping an eye on here at New Haven, Connecticut. The Veterans Memorial Coliseum. They're planning on bringing this thing down this morning with an implosion. An old coliseum, been there for 30-plus years in downtown New Haven. But we're keeping an eye on it. And when they get ready to hit that button, we hope to go back and watch this happen for you live. And I believe we're kind of being given the word now that this is going to happen pretty soon.
KEILAR: That's right. And it should be a pretty sizable implosion. And sort of this interesting tidbit that I read, they've trucked in 15,000 rented tires to absorb the impact.
HOLMES: Guess it's better than putting a bunch of pillows down there, you can go with the tires. But this is an old arena. What else have they got? They have got 2,000 pounds of explosives they are going to use to bring this thing down. Expect it to take only 18 seconds for a building that's been there that long. And also we know that the little ones are going to be hitting the button today.
KEILAR: That's right. That's going to be fun. You know, if you were a little kid, maybe back when you were, you might want to push the button that brought down the house. And that's what -- we have a brother and sister I believe who are going to be doing that. HOLMES: I think from elementary -- a couple of elementary school kids. We saw a piece earlier with one of the little girls. And the reporter was asking her if she had enough muscles to actually hit that button and bring that thing down. But some little ones are going to do it. We're keeping an eye on this because we think that we're being told that this is going to happen at any moment now.
Again New Haven, Connecticut, at the Veterans Memorial Coliseum. This is a 35-year-old building that's actually been home to some minor league hockey most recently. But closed down in 2002. Just hasn't produced for downtown New Haven, Connecticut, like they thought it might. They're going to move this thing out of the way really and use it for more housing and what they call "taxable properties," if you will.
KEILAR: That's right. And it does have a little bit of history with it. Frank Sinatra sold it out. It was home to the Knicks. It was home to Larry Bird, and the Celtics. And it's about to go down. Any time now, right, T.J.?
HOLMES: Any time now, yes, this is -- we're keeping an eye on this thing here. And as soon as it happens we're going to bring it back to you. Just ought to be an interesting picture this morning, some history coming down. We're going to take a quick break. Stay here.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HOLMES: All right. Any minute now, Brianna.
KEILAR: Any second.
HOLMES: Any minute, you all want to hit that button, we'd sure appreciate it here at CNN. We're watching this at New Haven, Connecticut. This is the Veterans Memorial Coliseum. They're bringing it down. Old coliseum, been there since the -- or built there 30-something years ago. But just not getting it done for them anymore. They can't use it really like they thought they might. So they're going to bring it down, put other things in place. But we're expecting this implosion any minute now. Like we say here.
KEILAR: And the problem is, we know that if we go away from these pictures, it's just going to go down.
HOLMES: Yes. So -- and we don't want you to miss that. We don't want to miss that.
KEILAR: We really don't.
HOLMES: But we really can't sit here and -- Brianna and I, chat about it all morning even though we're having such a good time watching this gorgeous picture of beautiful Connecticut this morning, actually. New Haven looks pretty good. Great morning for an implosion. But we're keeping an eye on this and we'll get back to it when we get a better word of when this might be coming down. KEILAR: All right. Moving on now, a major mistake at Consumer Reports. Their well-publicized tests on child car seats were disputed by the federal government. Now a retraction and an investigation.
CNN's Mary Snow has the story.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
MARY SNOW, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): It was a warning that horrified parents when Consumer Reports asked, "What if this were your child? " Side impact crash tests, it said, found most infant seats failed disastrously. So alarmed, the government conducted its own test and says Consumer Reports was wrong.
NICOLE MASON, NATL. HIGHWAY TRAFFIC SAFETY ADMIN.: They really didn't run their test properly. And when we calculated what they had done, we realized they were simulating crash tests at speeds somewhere between 70 and 80 miles per hour.
SNOW: The mistake? That's twice as fast as the 38-mile-per-hour speed Consumer Reports says they clocked in their test. The consumer advocacy group has done an about-face, withdrawing the entire report.
KEN WEINE, SPOKESMAN, CONSUMER REPORTS: Of course, what we have to do is commit ourselves, as we are, to as quickly as possible finding out what went wrong in these tests.
SNOW: Spokesman Ken Weine says an internal review has been launched and is now handling a crisis in confidence at Consumer Reports, a publication with a widespread following.
PHIL ROSENTHAL, CHICAGO TRIBUNE: It's sort of the gold standard of product ratings these days. And I think that's why the initial report had such impact.
SNOW: Some safety advocates fear because the warning had such an impact, that parents...
(END VIDEOTAPE)
KEILAR: Oh, and we are looking now, there's the implosion. This is the Veterans Memorial Coliseum in New Haven, Connecticut.
HOLMES: Wow. They say it was supposed to take 18 seconds. That was pretty quick. We've been waiting on this since about 7:30 this morning, they were expecting to do this. Stopped some traffic around the area, downtown New Haven, the Veterans Memorial Coliseum. Been there 30 years. Only takes seconds for it to go bye-bye.
But this was it. And a couple of young kids got the honor of actually hitting the button to trigger some 2,000 pounds of explosives and bring down the Veterans Memorial Coliseum, which has been used most recently for minor league hockey. But over the years, like Brianna said earlier, Frank Sinatra played to crowds there. We -- certainly basketball players, some legends, got to play in this arena, as well. But they're bringing it down because it's just not financially viable like it used to be.
KEILAR: And we actually have some tape, we can replay it so that we can see it all over again. And that is all that is left of the Veterans Memorial Coliseum. There were concerts there, Elvis Presley, Grateful Dead.
HOLMES: Elvis played there, wow.
KEILAR: Frank Sinatra, and that's all that remains.
HOLMES: And so history has gone down right before your eyes here this morning on CNN SATURDAY MORNING. But, the Veterans Memorial Coliseum is no more. Whew. I'm so glad we got to see that.
KEILAR: Yes, me, too. We've been waiting and waiting and waiting and waiting. All right, that was nice.
All right, well one scratch-off lottery ticket, 20 bucks. Winning the jackpot, quarter of a million dollars. Doing the right thing, priceless.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: When I knew what was going on out West with people without electricity, there was no hesitation. I didn't do it for myself. I didn't do it for the money. I did it to give them people back in shape so they can get back to normal.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
KEILAR: Even all the money in the world couldn't keep one Nebraska man from his day job. That's next in "The WaterCooler."
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HOLMES: Taking a look at "The WaterCooler" here, taking a break and seeing some of the more unusual news items that you may have missed.
KEILAR: Now first up, what would you do if you won the lottery? You know, a lot of people say they'd quit their jobs.
HOLMES: Wouldn't be sitting next to you right now, Brianna?
KEILAR: Really?
HOLMES: I would be out. Out.
KEILAR: Would be it completely vacant right here?
HOLMES: You would be by yourself right now. But hey, not Dean Schultz (ph) of Nebraska. He recently won, well, $250,000. But he actually went right back to work.
KEILAR: And that's because his company makes equipment for power lines, and as you know, that terrible ice storm has knocked out electricity across the region.
HOLMES: Yes, he says he could not abandon his post during an emergency. And besides, he says, he likes his job, wouldn't quit anyway. Now we'll move on to speaking of some more ice.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I've played with all sorts of chess pieces before, wood, plastic, human beings.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
KEILAR: Yes, but what about ice pieces? Ice sculptures in winter are not that unusual. But this display demands a little bit of a closer look. The large frozen chess pieces shaped like famous buildings provided the perfect format to help thaw relations between Britain and Russia.
HOLMES: Hey, that looks kind of cool. This outdoor match was played simultaneously the other day in London and Moscow. The satellite video link between the two teams, chilly weather kept the game moving at a brisk pace. It ended after an hour and it ended in a draw.
KEILAR: Of course, that was a lot quicker than this next story we have for you.
HOLMES: Yes. Another story generated a lot of talk around "The WaterCooler" this week. It's actually "Grey's Anatomy," we probably don't need to say any more than that.
KEILAR: That's right. Because you have probably no doubt heard about the backstage drama at the hit TV show re-ignited at the Golden Globes this week. A star of the show using an anti-gay slur against a castmate. We're going to run down all the latest on this story a little later this morning.
HOLMES: And it's the focus of our e-mail question. What is your take on this "Grey's Anatomy" feud? Please send us an e-mail at cnn.com and we will read your responses on the air, that's coming up a little later in this newscast.
KEILAR: If you're just waking up, it's about five minutes before 8:00 on the East Coast. We're going to get back to our top stories in just a moment.
HOLMES: Yes, we're going to give you another look at that implosion that just happened in New Haven, Connecticut. That's what's left. We're going to show you the rest of it. The before pictures here coming up.
KEILAR: That's right. We have watched it a couple of times. It's definitely worth waiting for. Also, more women than ever are living the single life. We're going to talk to a relationship expert to find out what's behind the trend and if women are any happier because of it. HOLMES: That's all ahead when CNN SATURDAY MORNING rolls on.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HOLMES: "Now in the News," a big bang in New Haven, Connecticut. This was just a short time ago. You saw the implosion live here on CNN. The old Veterans Memorial Coliseum imploded to make room for another project aimed at revitalizing downtown New Haven.
KEILAR: And Southeast Asia's most wanted terrorist is reportedly dead. The Associated Press reports DNA tests have confirmed the head of the al Qaeda-linked group Abu Sayyaf was killed in a clash with Philippine troops several months ago.
HOLMES: "Fighting for his life." That's how Venezuelan president Hugo Chavez is now describing the health of his friend Fidel Castro. Chavez says he spoke to the Cuban leader on the phone days ago, just a few days ago, and he says Castro is in a difficult situation, and it's progressing slowly.
A barrel of crude oil is about $10 cheaper than it was three weeks ago, and that means paying less at the pump. Some stations in suburban Atlanta have regular gas at $1.95 per gallon.
KEILAR: Emma Faust Tillman is officially the world's oldest woman. She was born in 1892, which makes her 114. Tillman was one of 23 children of former slaves in North Carolina who moved to Connecticut when she was a child.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DR. SANJAY GUPTA, CNN CHIEF MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT: The question is, do I have some disease right now? And the more important question is, is there something that can be done about it? I decided to have this done because of my own family history. Let's see what we find.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HOLMES: So what did a cutting-edge heart scan tell Dr. Sanjay Gupta about his heart, and how could that possibly help your health? Today's "HOUSE CALL" coming your way in 30 minutes.
KEILAR: From the CNN Center in Atlanta, this is CNN SATURDAY MORNING. It's January 20th, 8:00 a.m. in New Haven, Connecticut...
HOLMES: Yes.
KEILAR: 7:00 a.m. in Lubbock, Texas.
Good morning. I'm Brianna Keilar, in for Betty Nguyen.
HOLMES: Good morning to you. Thank you so much for being here.
And I'm T.J. Holmes.
Thank you all for being here with us. Severe weather is once again our top story this hour. Winter weather warnings issued across parts of the Southwest. That region still recovering from last week's icy blast. In fact, more than 100,000 people are still without power, trying to survive the cold in the dark, and now another storm could make life even more difficult.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
TERESA JOHNSON, WITHOUT POWER: For the past week, I've been -- me and my two children have been living in this house freezing, you know, trying to keep this one room warm.
MAYOR DONALEE BOATRIGHT, KREBS, OKLAHOMA: Our elderly citizens, we're trying to find them all. I think we have. But sometimes you don't know.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
KEILAR: And there could be some more snow heading that way.
Let's go to Bonnie Schneider now in the CNN weather center.
(WEATHER REPORT)
KEILAR: And at least some of those commuters aren't going to be dealing with this snowy weather, but we know of at least one guy -- well, probably two -- Adam Slinger, of CNN affiliate KOCO joining us live. Him and his cameraman dealing, of course, with some of these conditions -- Adam.
ADAM SLINGER, REPORTER, KOCO: Brianna, good morning to you.
We are expecting up to six inches of snow here in Oklahoma City. Right now we're seeing a mix of sleet and freezing rain. And just this past half hour, this guardrail over here, right above I-35, on the city's southeast side, started to have some sleet hit it, but it's now being covered by freezing rain, so it's getting very bumpy.
This is, of course, what we're expecting on most Oklahoma City streets this morning. Of course, this is a flashback to that ice storm we saw last week.
Still this morning, there are 15,000 people without power in eastern Oklahoma. At its peak last week, it was over 100,000.
And Oklahoma street crews are on -- are working constantly around the clock. They have up to 30 trucks. They expected to use 6,000 tons of salt last week. So far, though, they've used 10,000. And as it stands now, they don't know how much they'll use by the end of this storm -- Brianna.
KEILAR: Adam Slinger, thanks so much for braving the elements for us out there in Oklahoma City.
Adam Slinger, from our affiliate KOCO. Now new allegations about politics and the government's response to Hurricane Katrina. The allegations come from former FEMA director Michael Brown.
Hey says partisanship influenced decisions about whether to take federal control of areas devastated by the storm. He talked specifically about Louisiana and Governor Kathleen Blanco.
Speaking at a New York college, Brown said, "Unbeknownst to me, certain people in the White House were thinking we had to federalize Louisiana because she's a white, female Democratic governor and we have a chance to rub her nose in it." And the White House says Brown is making false statements about the event surrounding Hurricane Katrina. A spokesperson says, "Doing what was best for the citizens of the Gulf region was the only consideration."
HOLMES: A huddle at the White House on the president's new Iraq war plan. President Bush expected to meet this hour with two top deputies. Both of them have just returned from the Middle East.
White House Correspondent Elaine Quijano joins us now live with all the details for us.
Good morning to you, Elaine.
ELAINE QUIJANO, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Hi there, T.J.
That's right, this morning President Bush is sitting down with his secretary of state, Condoleezza Rice, as well as defense secretary, Robert Gates, to talk about, among other things, of course, Iraq. And aides say that this really is a chance for the secretaries to update the president on their recent trips to the Middle East region.
Both of them visiting a number of countries, including a stop by Secretary Gates to Iraq. The international stops coming as the political debate, though, certainly here at home is intensifying. But even abroad, as Secretary Rice visited a number of countries in the Middle East, there has been skepticism about the president's plan to add some 21,000 troops to Iraq to try to quell the violence there.
Secretary Rice meeting on her trip with a number of Arab allies in particular, trying to garner international support for that strategy. And all of that really on the table this morning as the president sits down with his top aides.
Now, at the same time, this weekend, President Bush will be heading to Camp David, and he'll be putting the finishing touches on his State of the Union Address, preparing to deliver that, of course, on Tuesday. Aides say that the address will not focus solely on Iraq, a reflection perhaps of the new political reality facing President Bush.
He will be giving that address before a Democratic Congress, so it will be a different dynamic certainly. And senior officials say that the president will focus on domestic issues, areas where there can be common ground between the White House and the Democratic Congress.
It will not be a laundry list of proposals, according to these senior officials. And instead, talking about domestic issues, including immigration, education, and energy policy -- T.J.
HOLMES: All right, Elaine. Thank you so much from the White House.
And speaking of the White House, we're talking 2008 presidential politics. And this is word we're just getting from The Associated Press, reporting that Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton will take her first step in her presidential bid today.
We're trying to get more specifics right now. CNN trying to confirm exactly what -- what move will be made today. Oftentimes the first step is to form an exploratory committee that would allow officially and legally to raise the funds to run.
We saw the Senator Barack Obama of Illinois, the junior senator, just make this move not long ago. Expecting an official announcement from him. These two, actually. Even although she had not yet entered the race, she had always been seen as a frontrunner.
Barack Obama, whose star is rising, has been seen as one who could certainly challenge her. But the AP now reporting that Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton of New York is -- will be taking the first step towards a 2008 presidential bid. Today we are working this one hard, trying to get as much information as we can confirmed about what may be happening. But this is something that has long been anticipated, certainly a lot of speculation about, but possibly could be official today.
Again, the word coming from the AP. We are certainly working this one, and we'll bring you as much information as we get -- as soon as we get it.
KEILAR: And T.J., some other hats in the ring today. Kansas senator Sam Brownback expected to announce his candidacy for president. The self-professed Ronald Reagan conservative will become the first Republican to officially enter the 2008 presidential race.
Meanwhile, New Mexico governor Bill Richardson also expected to be a player in the 2008 race. The Associated Press reports the Democrat is expected to open his exploratory committee tomorrow. Richardson has been mentioned as a possible running mate for several of the expected frontrunners.
And South Dakota senator Tim Johnson making strides in his recovery from a brain hemorrhage. He's now spending several hours a day in outpatient physical and occupational therapy. Johnson's wife says the family is delighted by his progress, but it may be several more months before he returns to the Senate.
HOLMES: Help the organization that helps American men and women injured in battle. We'll tell you how. That is coming up next. KEILAR: And women living without a husband in America. Coming up in 10 minutes, why for the first time in history you're now the majority.
HOLMES: Now here's a preview of today's "HOUSE CALL."
GUPTA: T.J., thanks.
You know, you and I have something in common beyond our work. That is, that we're both at higher risk of heart disease just because of genetics. Because of that and a family history, I had a new type of heart scan, something that can see heart disease at its very beginning.
Coming up on "HOUSE CALL" I'll take you through the process and tell you how things turned out.
Plus, we've got the latest medical news, from encouraging news on cancer, to a clue in the mystery of SIDS.
All of that coming up on "HOUSE CALL" at 8:30.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HOLMES: Just in to us here at CNN, if you are just waking up, just tuning in to us, we are getting word, Associated Press reporting, that Senator Hillary Clinton is taking her first steps today towards a 2008 presidential bid. It has widely been assumed, it has widely been speculated that she would be in the 2008 race.
She has never said officially whether or not she would be in that race. We may get official word today.
Again, AP reporting she's going to take her first step toward a 2008 presidential bid. That often means setting up a presidential exploratory committee, which then would allow the candidates to officially raise the funds for such a run.
We are also possibly hearing word -- you're looking at her Web site there, but the first step could be as well simply her making the announcement of her intention to form that exploratory committee. Right now, not exactly sure on the specifics, but AP is reporting, at least, that the first step will be made today, and it will be made official that Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton of New York, the former first lady, the wife of former president Bill Clinton, will be entering the 2008 presidential mix.
We're keeping an eye on this, hoping to get a lot more. We will get a lot more information on this and bring it to you as soon as we get it.
KEILAR: From an embed assignment in Iraq, to sustaining artillery fire, then a complete overhaul, we're talking about CNN's Warrior One.
Veronica de la Cruz joining us now from the .com/DESK -- Veronica.
VERONICA DE LA CRUZ, CNN PIPELINE ANCHOR: Hey there, Brianna. Good morning.
As you know, Warrior One, one of our CNN Hummers used during the Iraq war, is being auctioned off this weekend. And it's had a pretty substantial facelift. Let's take a look.
This is what Warrior One looked like before the overhaul. It was used by a CNN journalist embedded with the 1st Battalion 7th Marines until it came under heavy fire near Baghdad in April of 2003.
Last summer, TLC's program "Overhaulin" took the vehicle from CNN's Atlanta headquarters and gave it a complete transformation. At CNN.com, you can check out video clips of the entire process -- a new engine, body makeover with air brushed images of the soldiers and journalists, and a new state-of-the-art entertainment system.
Since the overhauled Warrior One has been touring the country, CNN.com also has a map with each location it's visited. Recently, it went to Ft. Campbell, Kentucky, before heading to Scottsdale, Arizona, where it will be auctioned tonight. And all the proceeds will go to the Fisher House Foundation, which is an organization providing temporary residence for families of military patients receiving care.
Now, to read more about the auction and more about the vehicle itself, head online to cnn.com/warriorone -- Brianna.
KEILAR: Thank you, Veronica.
And coming up, the number of American women living with husbands drops yet again. What's behind the trend? We're going to talk with a psychologist doctor, Joy Browne, next, and she'll tell us.
HOLMES: That ought to be interesting.
And then, getting a good look at your heart without going under the knife. "HOUSE CALL" and Dr. Sanjay Gupta will show you an amazing cutting-edge scan that could save your life.
That is coming your way in about five minutes.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Good.
CAROL COSTELLO, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice over): Have you ever wondered what it takes to be a top athlete?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: This is an NFL player in the making right here.
COSTELLO: Justin Johnson is the number one high school running back in the country, according to "Sports Illustrated."
JUSTIN JOHNSON, HIGH SCHOOL FOOTBALL PLAYER: If you want to be the best, you have to train.
COSTELLO: Chip Smith has trained over 600 professional NFL players at Competitive Edge Sports. Most of these elite athletes spend four to six hours a day training. While studying at the Soviet Sport Institute in Moscow, he uncovered three key components that he believes are essential to athletes enhancing their sports performance.
CHIP SMITH, COMPETITIVE EDGE SPORTS: So we try with resistance in the movement, over-speed in the movement and reaction.
NATE WAYNE, NFL LINEBACKER: He has this thing he calls Chipometers (ph). You know, it's a resistance band. And you put those on and it keeps constant resistance on your muscles. And, you know, we run with them, then we take them off, and it feels like we can run a two-flat 40 -- 40-yard dash.
COSTELLO: Chip says all athletes can improve their sports performance by staying committed to training hard.
Carol Costello, CNN, New York.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HOLMES: Of course we've been telling you we're just getting word that the possibility we are going to be hearing from Hillary Rodham Clinton today, Senator Clinton of New York, about her possible and highly anticipated possible 2008 presidential run.
On the line with us right now, our John Roberts, who's joining us from Arizona, on the phone with us now.
John, you just talked to Senator Clinton not too long ago. What are you hearing about some announcement that could be made today?
JOHN ROBERTS, CNN SR. NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, I did an interview with her on Thursday regarding her trip to Iraq, T.J. And at the end of the interview, you know, any time you interview Hillary Clinton, you've got to ask her if she's going to run. And I asked her, and she said she hadn't made up her mind yet, but that the decision was going to be made very soon.
It looks like they have made some decision to test the waters, to put their foot in. I don't know if it's an exploratory committee at this point, though that would be the logical assumption. And that's what The Associated Press is reporting. But we can confirm that the Clinton campaign will be making some kind of an announcement today regarding the '08 campaign.
So it definitely looks as thought she is going to, at the very least, dip her foot in the water. And she -- it had been widely believed that she wasn't going to make any kind of decision until the end of this month, and maybe that schedule was pushed forward by the fact that Barack Obama last week announced an exploratory committee with a final decision on whether or not to run for president by February the 10th.
So the schedule for the Clinton folks could have been accelerated somewhat by that, because, as I said, the conventional wisdom was she wasn't going to announce anything until the end of this month. Just a couple of days ago, playing it very coy, but we're getting information from very good sources connected with Senator Clinton that they are going to be making an announcement today regarding the '08 campaign.
And again, that could be an exploratory committee. It could be that she jumps all the way, though that's probably the less likely course that they would take.
Exploratory committees seem to be the way to go for many people here, particularly ones who really believe they have a chance. And if Obama hasn't totally jumped yet, they may want to keep their powder dry just a little bit longer.
So, we'll see what this day brings, but definitely a big announcement from Hillary Clinton coming sometime today.
HOLMES: And you just mentioned -- tell us again about the timing of it all. The announcement wasn't expected maybe until a little bit later, something from her. So, has Senator Barack Obama just really shaken things up in the Clinton camp to where they have to change things, shake things up, move a timetable up a little bit because of just the rock star power that this guy has and all the attention that he's generating?
ROBERTS: I think that Barack Obama really has changed the dynamic for the Clinton folks. She was sort of cruising along, engaging in her duties and carrying out her duties as a senator, saying that she was concentrating on that.
Remember all of the speculation prior to the 2006 campaign, was she going to run? Was she not going to run? Her answer was always, I'm just, you know, going to concentrate on getting reelected to the Senate.
Many people thought that it was the margin of victory that was going to make the determination as to whether or not she would jump. But she was really sort of biding her time here, the presumptive frontrunner. People thought that she could probably easily cruise to victory as the Democratic nominee.
Suddenly, in comes Barack Obama, steals a lot of the limelight. And he's just one of those guys that the spotlight loves. You know, he doesn't love the spotlight so much as the spotlight loves him, if you understand what I mean.
And so all of the attention is directed toward him now, and now you see editorials being written that, you know, it's not a lock for Hillary anymore, that there's a real dynamic that's changing here. So perhaps that has pushed ahead their decision a little bit to get her a little bit more out there, to get people thinking about her, to take some of the news away from Barack Obama because, by and large, he has been winning the news cycle every day on this idea of running for president.
So it looks like they are going to jump in some way today to get her name out there, to get a buzz going about her. And, you know, perhaps what it will also do is prevent Obama from grabbing up some of the campaign cash that was beginning to swing his way.
She has got an amazing fund-raising machine. She has got all of the big fund-raisers locked up. But if people were looking at it saying, maybe Obama's really got a chance here, that some of the -- some of the future money may go to him instead of her.
So, you know, there's a lot of different things to consider here with running for president. And if somebody is out there with a long lead and they look like they are a viable candidate, you don't want to sit there in the background and let them get all the news.
HOLMES: All right.
I need to let our viewers know as well, we're talking to our John Roberts, who just talked to Senator Clinton two days ago, sat down with her. But we're monitoring her Web site as well.
And again, folks, if you're just joining us, just waking up, just turning the TV on, need to let you know that we are getting word, AP reporting that Senator Clinton is going to make the first step towards the presidential bid. We are hearing that certainly the announcement is going -- some kind of announcement will be made today.
And again, John, while I still have you here, is there a chance here -- of course the first step is already a presidential exploratory committee. That doesn't mean you're going to be in it for sure. But if she takes that first step of an exploratory committee, is there a real chance she's just testing the waters, or once she dives into that, she's in?
ROBERTS: Well, everybody expects that she's going to dive in. And you don't always have to go with an exploratory committee first. You can just go right out there and announce for president.
But an exploratory committee allows you to do a lot of the groundwork that you would need to do to really launch a viable bid. It allows you to line up people. It allows you to line up fund- raisers. It allows you to do a lot of the groundwork that you would have to spend the first few weeks of your presidential campaign doing.
So if she -- if she, you know, does undertake this direction of exploratory committee, versus jumping right in, it will give her a few weeks to really get a buzz going with the idea that, if things do not go the way that they hope they'd go, that she could always pull out. I mean, take a look at Evan Bayh. He was in there with an exploratory committee for just a couple of weeks. He went in there just to test the waters, to get a look at what kind of money was out there, and found he was really left wanting.
So, it does give you a bit of an escape clause here, and -- whereas if you throw your hat in for president, and then you have to pull out, or you go all the way and you fail, well, that can affect you for a long time to come.
HOLMES: And we've been talking, or you told us so much about Obama and how many people he's been exciting and dominating the news cycle. We heard from him. We know he's setting up an exploratory committee, going to officially make his announcement on the 10th of February.
Who does this announcement, possibly from Senator Clinton -- if she announces today, as we anticipate now, that she is going to be in the 2008 presidential game, then who is excited to hear that? I guess you can imagine folks on the left and probably some on the right excited to hear that she's getting into it.
ROBERTS: Well, there are many Republicans who consider her unelectable, and there are some Democrats who are wondering the same thing. Remember, that's why John Warner, the former governor of Virginia, was thinking of getting in the race. But he wanted to be the anti-Hillary, and then he decided that it wasn't worth it, and he decided not to go in.
But, you know, if Obama represents the anti-Hillary, you know, that could energize a certain segment of the Democratic Party. Hillary getting in could energize a certain segment of the Republican Party, who doesn't want to see her become president.
So it really sets off this interesting dynamic, T.J. But it's a dynamic that people have been expecting for some time.
It's always different when it happens than just thinking about it. So if she does get in and Obama is in as well, and then you have McCain and Romney and all those other people, you know, the Democratic field is wide open. And this election coming up is the most wide open than it's been in my generation and probably two or three generations before that.
So, it's going to be a really incredible dynamic here in the 2008 race. You're going to hear a lot of firing back and forth.
I mean, look at John Edwards. He took a shot at Hillary Clinton -- Hillary Clinton's campaign, where her people fired back at him. And then Barack Obama had a statement right after Hillary Clinton announced her plan to limit troops for Iraq. He was tilting toward this idea of a terrible mistake to give President Bush this open-ended broad commitment or ability to wage war in Iraq.
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