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American Morning

New Poll Numbers: Clinton Sliding; Lebanon Attack: Political Crisis Deepens; Oklahoma Ice Storm: No Power

Aired December 12, 2007 - 06:00   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.


KIRAN CHETRY, CNN ANCHOR: CNN/WMUR New Hampshire presidential primary poll. And this was conducted by the University of New Hampshire, and it shows Clinton's former double-digit lead in that state is history.
Barack Obama eating up her lead and is now just a one point race between the two in the Democratic primary in New Hampshire. Clinton with 31 percent, Barack Obama with 30 percent, John Edwards is in third at 16 percent. Now on the GOP side, Mike Huckabee's buzz in Iowa isn't catching on fire as much as in New Hampshire. That same poll shows that Mitt Romney still has a commanding 13-point lead over Rudy Giuliani and John McCain, with Huckabee trailing fourth place at only 9 percent.

So just how much more pressure does the new CNN/WMUR New Hampshire poll numbers put on the Clinton campaign? CNN's Jessica Yellin joins us live from Des Moines, Iowa, where candidates from both parties are getting ready for the last debates before the caucuses. Good morning, Jessica.

JESSICA YELLIN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Kiran. Well, winning New Hampshire is crucial to Hillary Clinton's campaign. She has banked on that state as a winner for her. It's because as you'll recall back in 1992, that's the state that made Bill Clinton, her husband, the comeback kid. He lost here in Iowa, where I am, which was traditionally the place every winner thought they had to win to get a strong campaign going.

But New Hampshire delivered him a victory, and the Clinton campaign always felt that they could afford to lose Iowa if they had to, but get a strong race going and a win in New Hampshire would send her on to victory and the nomination. So this can't be good news for the Clinton campaign, but they also point out to reporters that at this time four years ago, the person who was strongest leader was Howard Dean. So a lot can happen in the few weeks before Election Day -- Kiran.

CHETRY: Also, and as you said, we were to hear from the Republicans. Tomorrow, we're going to hear the Democratic debate. It's going to be broadcast here on CNN as well. What do we expect to hear from them, now that we're looking at the tightening race?

YELLIN: Well, we expect it to be a fiery debate and a lot of emphasis by the Clinton campaign's especially on highlighting her differences with Barack Obama. As you know, their message is that she has the experience to lead from day one as they put it, but really their polling shows that her experience stands out against him and also that she's the one who could face down a fierce Republican competitor, that she's the most competitive of the two.

So she's going to work as best she can to highlight their differences and remind voters why she thinks she's the more likely winner in a tough field against a formidable GOP candidate. But the challenge for her is to reverse a month of some very rough news for her and to show that she can be also likable in this state. That's one of the big downsides for her is that people don't necessarily trust her, and she needs to show them that she's a trustworthy, likable woman -- Kiran.

CHETRY: Jessica Yellin for us in Des Moines this morning. Thank you.

Also, today at 2:00 p.m. Eastern time, Republican candidates will be going at it in a debate sponsored by Iowa public television and "The Des Moines Register." And then tomorrow as we just talked about, it will be the Democrats turn, the last debates before the caucuses take place January 3rd. You can see both of these debates live right here on CNN, 2:00 p.m. Eastern.

JOHN ROBERTS, CNN ANCHOR: Breaking news this morning. Iraqi TV reports at least 30 people are dead and dozens wounded after three car bombs exploded about six minutes apart in southeastern Iraq. It happened this morning in the mainly Shiite City of Amara, which is under Iraqi security control. The Mehdi army, loyal to anti-American Shiite leader Muqtada al-Sadr has battled both the Iraqi police and a rival Shiite group in the area.

More breaking news overnight, this time from Lebanon. A powerful explosion in the suburbs of Beirut, killing a key military leader and three others. This violent attack comes as pro and anti-Syrian political parties are locked in a struggle for control of the country. Our Beirut bureau chief Brent Sadler joins us now.

Brent, how significant was this assassination and what effect might it have on the fragile political situation there?

BRENT SADLER, BEIRUT BUREAU CHIEF: Good morning, John. Bombers struck at the heart of Lebanon's military establishment, killing the chief of military operations, a general who had been very much involved with battling Islamic militants and supported by U.S. weapons in a month long campaign near the northern city of Tripoli. So the war on terror comes to mind in this assassination but also perhaps more importantly is the deadlock political stalemate here.

Many politicians supporting the U.S.-backed government of Prime Minister Fuad Siniora pointing accusatory fingers at Syria, again they say, trying to destabilize Lebanon with this latest and a long time of assassinations against various security targets, political and media targets going back two years.

This is a very dangerous political vacuum that exists here, John, because there's no president in the presidential palace at this time. It's been like that for three very torturous and dangerous weeks. ROBERTS: Brent, Syrian officials are condemning this latest attack. But how much likely is it that Syria wants to see a stable Lebanon?

SADLER: Well, this is what the enemies, political enemies of Syria are saying in Lebanon. That Lebanon as a result of Syrian involvement, Lebanon has not only a vacant presidential seat, it has no government that's recognized by the whole country. The parliament is blocked, and the very organs of state are being disassembled, one by one they say, as a result of Syria meddling.

This has long since been denied by the Syrian authorities, but those that are supporting the government of Siniora, those that are enjoying the continued support of the U.S. administration say that Syria is slowly but surely weakening the state to serious eventual interests -- John.

ROBERTS: All right. Brent Sadler for us this morning in Beirut with the latest on that car bombing there. Brent, thanks very much. Now, let's go over to Kiran.

CHETRY: Well, Alan Greenspan has some strong words about the subprime mortgage crisis. He says it was an accident waiting to happen. In an editorial in today's "Wall Street Journal," the former fed chairman says that a period of global economic growth seduced investors into underpricing risk.

Greenspan predicts that the credit markets won't recover until the inventories of newly built homes have been liquidated and deflation in housing prices ends. Well, the fed cuts a critical interest rate, amid growing fears of a recession. Expecting the markets to react and they did, but perhaps not in the way we expected.

Ali Velshi in the business update desk to explain. Was that a reaction, the nose-dive we took yesterday?

ALI VELSHI, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes.

CHETRY: To the news that they were cutting a quarter point?

VELSHI: It was, Kiran. We got that quarter point, percentage point cut, as we were expecting. The fed rate is now 4.25 percent, which means that the prime rate is now 7.25 percent. That's kind of what we've all been talking about. Right, Kiran? Some people thought the cut was going to be higher and that could have contributed to the nose dive on the Dow.

Take a look at what happened on the Dow. All morning, it had been sort of around the break-even point. It was doing well and then right there, 2:15 p.m., the announcement comes and the thing just goes all the way down, below 300 points lower, one point closing about 294 points lower.

The fed when it cuts rates also issues a statement, and the first sentence of the fed statement was that incoming information suggests that economic growth is slowing. Well, you know, this fed has been late to the party all year and this is one of those impressions that they are just not on the ball. Now overnight, there is news and there are reports this morning that the fed is considering other action that it may take within the next few days. As a result of that, Kiran, futures are way up this morning. You got to fasten your seat belts to take a look at this market.

CHETRY: So investors on Wall Street were hoping it would be a higher percentage cut? Half a point?

VELSHI: They were either hoping for half a point, or they were hoping for an admission from the fed that we are getting into some financial trouble and they're going to be there to do everything necessary. They got neither.

CHETRY: All right. Ali Velshi, checking with you throughout the morning. Thanks.

VELSHI: OK.

CHETRY: John?

ROBERTS: Eight minutes after the hour, new this morning. The House intelligence committee gets a crack at CIA chief Michael Hayden today, asking questions about the Al Qaeda interrogation tapes that were destroyed by the CIA. Hayden told the Senate intelligence committee yesterday that the tapes were destroyed before he took over the agency.

After their closed door session, Committee Chairman Senator John Rockefeller said Hayden's testimony was useful but did not answer the key question of who authorized the destruction of the tapes back in 2005 and why Congress was not told at the time. The tapes had hundreds of hours of video showing the interrogation of two senior Al Qaeda members. In our 8:00 Eastern hour this morning, we'll be talking with committee member Ron Widen of Oregon about all of that.

But right now, police in Las Vegas are looking for at least two people who they say opened fire on students getting off a school bus. Six people were shot. An 18-year-old man is in critical condition this morning and a 17-year-old boy in serious condition. Four others were treated and released. One doctor described the injuries.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

VOICE OF DR. JAY COATES, UMC HOSPITAL IN LAS VEGAS: This look like they were, and from all reports, sounded like either automatic or semiautomatic weapons. The individuals that we operated were shot both in the chest and the abdomen. The other individuals that were discharged home or they're here were more minor injuries, either shot in the limbs or, you know, soft tissue injuries.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ROBERTS: Police say the shootings happened after a fight over a girl at a high school. An explosive claim from Stacy Peterson's sister. She says Stacy's husband, former police sergeant Drew Peterson, nearly shot her several months before she disappeared. Stacy's sister says Drew was in a bedroom when his gun went off. The bullet pierced the floor and landed a foot behind where Stacy was standing in the garage.

The incident was never reported to police. Drew's attorney says it's just a rumor. Meantime, Peterson tried to make a public plea for money for his legal defense on a new Web site. It's called defenddrew.com, but the site was suspended last night because it was generating too much traffic -- Kiran.

CHETRY: Well, at least 24 people are dead as a massive ice storm moves across the Midwest. Officials say that many of these deaths are traffic-related. The storm dumping some sleet and freezing rain from Oklahoma to Illinois. In Chicago, in fact, hundreds of flights have been canceled at O'Hare Airport. Oklahoma, one of the hardest-hit states, in fact, nearly 600,000 homes and businesses there had no electricity.

Utility crew say it could be at least a week or 10 days before they get power back on to everybody. In all, about a million utility customers throughout the Midwest without electricity. Police also say that thieves are taking advantage of the dark streets and the homes and businesses that don't have burglar alarms.

There's a massive cleanup effort under way this morning in Oregon after a mudslide slammed into homes. You can see the rivers of mud moving around, sometimes almost as high as the roof in some areas, blocking a highway to the coast. This was about 65 miles outside of Portland. At least two homes wiped out, others covered with mud up to their roofs. No injuries reported. The region was hit hard by last week's storm.

Rob Marciano is here with us in New York today, tracking the extreme weather. And the amazing thing, a lot of people had just cleaned up from the storms in Oregon and then mudslides roll through. Some had to evacuate and some as you can see, their homes are just wiped out.

ROB MARCIANO, METEOROLOGIST: Yes. They are waiting for that one. It was on the brink of moving and they evacuated those people in time, thank goodness, but the rainfall that was across the pacific northwest that has for the most part ended. How about that freezing rain that we saw yesterday across the Midwest, that big ice storm from Kansas city all the way up through parts of Iowa and even through Oklahoma, one of the biggest ice storms there in history?

There's still a sliver of frozen precipitation being shown on the radar scope here, although not as bad as yesterday. From Oklahoma City south toward Bridgeport, Texas, some mixed precipitation but most of the freezing rain and ice storm warnings have been dropped, so that's the good news. Mostly just a cold rain from Little Rock, up through Louisville, Cincinnati, Columbus, Ohio, even Cleveland, just a cold rain this morning across parts of Ohio. In upstate New York, there were freezing rain advisories earlier today, but for the most part either just a couple of isolated spots where temperatures are below freezing.

We are watching a storm that is developing for the northeast that will get here, looks like during the day tomorrow and another one over the weekend, so winter will be tasted here in the New York area as well. John and Kiran, back over to you.

ROBERTS: Rob, thanks very much. We'll keep checking back with you. Important news you got this morning.

Roughly 600,000 people in Oklahoma without power this morning after that massive ice storm and could take more than a week for all of them to get power back on.

Joining us now on the telephone is Gil Broyles. He's a spokesman for Oklahoma Gas and Electric, the largest electric utility in Oklahoma. Mr. Broyles, obviously, a lot of your customers are wondering this morning what you're doing to get the power back on. Can you tell us?

VOICE OF GIL BROYLES, SPOKESMAN, OKLAHOMA GAS AND ELECTRIC: Absolutely. We have a massive effort as you might expect under way, in which we have all of our crews mobilized, and we've also brought in our mutual aid partners from surrounding states to begin to address this massive restoration effort. We have crews in that have arrived over the last 24 to 36 hours from Texas, New Mexico, Louisiana, Mississippi.

ROBERTS: Yes.

BROYLES: As far away as Indiana, to begin to work on this problem.

ROBERTS: So, sir, how many people do you have working on the problem? How many hours a day are they working? How much of an impact is the ongoing weather problem, and how soon do you expect to get a lot of those people reconnected?

BROYLES: All great questions. We have about 1,000 crew members out in the field right now. That number increases by the day. They're working primarily on repairing lines that have been weighted down by caked ice, also that have been dragged down by limbs and trees. We expect that the work will continue at this pace, with a great sense of urgency for a period of the next seven to 10 days as we begin to restore power in hopefully greater chunks across our service area, and that's the real focus for us right now.

ROBERTS: All right. Gil Broyles from Oklahoma power and Electric for us this morning. Keep up the good work there. Hope to get a lot of people back on because when it's this cold, you need to have that electricity. Thanks for joining us this morning -- Kiran.

CHETRY: Well, a clerk uses a tip jar to teach a would-be thief that crime doesn't pay. But wait until you hear why he says he fought back. The story coming up on AMERICAN MORNING.

Also, a civilian contractor accusing her co-workers of raping her in Iraq. Her employer appears to be denying it happened and now, it looks like the accused could slip through the legal cracks. A very disturbing story out of Iraq. We're going to break it down with our legal analyst, Sunny Hostin, coming up on AMERICAN MORNING.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

ROBERTS: Some of the best shots of the AMERICAN MORNING, and your "Quick Hits" now. The Denver City and County building, all lit up last night with a light snowfall on the ground. Beautiful colors there. The 30,000 lights will stay lit through the end of the year.

From lights to no lights, utility crew in Tulsa, Oklahoma, working on snapped power lines caused by the ice storm. More than 600,000 people without power in the state, and as we just heard from Oklahoma Gas and Electric, it takes seven to 10 days to get the power back on to all of those customers again.

And a frightening moment during an NBA game last night. Toronto's T.J. Ford was headed for an easy basket when Atlanta's Al Horford tried to prevent the lay-up, ended up smacking him right in the face. Ford fell and hit his head hard on the court. Ow! He was carried off the floor in a stretcher, but team officials say he did have feeling in his arms and legs.

Nearly four years ago in a similar on-court situation, Ford injured his spine and missed an entire season. We'll have to get more information about his condition a little bit later on today -- Kiran.

CHETRY: Well, it looks like it hurt, though, for sure.

Well, two members of Congress are demanding answers about contractors accused of raping a coworker in Iraq. Jamie Leigh Jones, now filing a federal lawsuit, there she is picture there, against Halliburton and its former subsidiary Kellogg Brown and Root, accusing co-workers of drugging her and raping her at Camp Hogan, Baghdad back in 2005.

She says that after it happened, she was held in a shipping container with guards without food or water by KBR, until U.S. embassy workers in Iraq came to her rescue, and that was after her dad called the state department. Well, now due to a legal loophole, the accused may never face justice.

AMERICAN MORNING legal analyst Sunny Hostin is here to explain what is -- first of all, a horrible story when you hear her tell it. What is the legal loophole here?

SUNNY HOSTIN, AMERICAN MORNING LEGAL CONTRIBUTOR: It's interesting. She signed an employment contract, and there is a mandatory arbitration clause in that contract. And this is really a take-away for the viewers, you probably have that in your own contract in your employee handbook, that sort of thing. And what it says is if there's any dispute arising out of your employment or related to your employment, that dispute doesn't go before a jury, doesn't go before a trial judge, it goes before an arbitrator. CHETRY: Well, this is more than a dispute. She's alleging a gang rape in which she was drugged. I mean, when does the criminal nature of something take precedence over a contract?

HOSTIN: Well, that's a great question, Kiran. And the bottom line is I am surprised that the justice department and that the prosecutors have not investigated this to its completion and brought charges, and I have to say I think that is coming. I think after all the press that we've seen, that is going to come, but this is a civil action. This is an action that she is bringing.

And typically when you bring a civil action, you can bring it according to the constitution or according to your rights...

CHETRY: Yes.

HOSTIN: ... you can bring it in a court of law. But she signed that right away with her employment contract and people do it all the time. You have to look at your employee contract. You have to look at your employment manual.

CHETRY: The other confusing part is -- so then, she says a rape kit was done afterward. She was seen by army doctors. They say evidence of rape happened.

HOSTIN: Yes.

CHETRY: A rape kit was then lost by her company.

HOSTIN: Well, it's seems like -- a cover-up.

CHETRY: And they're now saying, you know, their wording about it is that they feel that they're going to vigorously defend against these false accusations.

HOSTIN: Yes.

CHETRY: So it seems as though they've already decided this didn't happen.

HOSTIN: And that's what it seems. It's really odd to me that they would continuously say that this has not happened, that these claims are meritless, because we know the two embassy officials had to come and rescue her from this container.

She has a great case, but it is a case that's going to be heard in front of an arbitrator. But let me also say this, Kiran, arbitrators sometimes are former judges so that is not to say that she won't have her day in court, albeit an arbitration hearing.

CHETRY: Yes.

HOSTIN: But she will have her day in front of a judge.

CHETRY: But you're talking money, not prison time for the accused if they are found guilty? HOSTIN: That's right, but I think we're going to see them in court soon.

CHETRY: All right. Sunny Hostin, great to talk to you, thanks.

HOSTIN: Thanks.

CHETRY: John?

ROBERTS: Twenty minutes after the hour. Some incredible news for Kevin Everett, the Buffalo Bills tight end hurt in the season opener. He's now walking on his own again. Take a look at some of these amazing pictures from "Sports Illustrated."

A remarkable comeback, just months after a spinal cord injury so severe, doctors thought that Everett would never walk again. He was even on life support for the first few days after being hurt back in September. His Bills teammates say they're thrilled about the recovery and hope to see Kevin in person soon.

Well, you would think that Bill Clinton has seen it all, perhaps not. He was heckled by a robot last night or more accurately a man dressed as a robot. We'll tell what you his beef with the former president is. That's ahead on AMERICAN MORNING.

And a New Jersey clerk fights back against a would-be robber but it's why he says he did it that's a little surprising. That story is coming up. You're watching the most news in the morning here on CNN.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

CHETRY: Well, the arctic is screaming. That's how one scientist describes new data about melting ice sheets in Greenland, seen here in this new NASA animation. The "Associated Press" says that the amount of ice, the amount of summer ice as they call it in the arctic, is now just half of what it was four years ago.

ROBERTS: Now for our "Hot Shot" of the morning. How do you get a pair of boots on an elephant? Very carefully. A veterinarian at the zoo in Singapore is giving two of the zoos' elephants Gortex booties. They say that the boots will fix heal ongoing foot problems and help heal lesions on the elephants' feet. Very fashionable.

CHETRY: How about that?

ROBERTS: Give me two shoes.

And if you've got a "Hot Shot," e-mail it to us at amhotshots@CNN.com. Include your name, where you're from, a little bit about the picture or video. And one more thing, please make sure the video is yours. Don't rip it off the Internet and send it to us saying you took the picture.

CHETRY: And please make sure the boots are big enough to fit the elephants' feet. How about the gutsiest if not stupidest robbery imaginable? It happened in North Carolina, right in front of a police officer. Check it out.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We got a carjacking on our hands.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Are you serious?

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CHETRY: "We have a carjacking here" as the police officer tries to tap on the hood. The guy drives away. They literally chase this man down. He walks right past an officer, got in a woman's car and stole it. There you see it again.

She had stopped to report a crime, left her car running, and the guy just hopped in and took off. Well, all's well that ends well because he was eventually caught.

Also caught on tape, a clerk fighting off a robber in New Jersey, and wait until you hear why. This was at a Dunkin' Donuts in Elmwood Park, New Jersey. The clerk just grabbed the tip jar.

Well, there you see a guy lunge over the counter. The clerk grabs the tip jar, whacks the guy over the head with it. He runs. The clerk says that he fought back because he didn't want to look like a coward on the security video. He said he knew it would end up on the Internet. The clerk's name, by the way, the brave, brave clerk, Dustin Hoffman. How about it? Dustin Hoffman.

ROBERTS: That is the most unusual reasoning for beating somebody over the head that I have heard.

CHETRY: It would have been better if he looked up, smiled at the security camera and then hit.

ROBERTS: "Watch this, mom."

Presidents are used to criticism but not usually like this. Check out just who or maybe it's what was heckling Bill Clinton the other day.

And it seems like it happens every day, and in fact it did. Just yesterday, two more planes close to colliding. We have newly released tapes from panicked traffic controllers. We'll tell you what they said ahead on AMERICAN MORNING.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

CHETRY: Welcome back to AMERICAN MORNING. We have some breaking news out of Lebanon on this Wednesday, December 12th. Glad you're with us. I'm Kiran Chetry.

ROBERTS: Good morning to you. I'm John Roberts. It was a powerful car bomb that killed a key military leader and three other people in the suburbs of Beirut overnight. According to Lebanese officials, the country's president resigned last month. And last night, pro and anti-Syrian political parties backed away from a deal that might have brought a new president.

The minister of communication blames the attack on parties influenced by Syria and Iran.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MARWAN HAMADEH, COMMUNICATION MINISTER: Syrian/Iranian accesses are now after having hit civilian institutions; the press are targeting the Lebanese army. It is the only body in Lebanon who can balance the power of Hezbollah and other militias in the country. This is why I believe that what we have witnessed today is a translation of the threats that were given yesterday by Vice President Sharaf (ph) of Syria and comes at the moment where Lebanon is seeking its road to stability and peace through electing the president.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ROBERTS: Syria issued a statement this morning, condemning today's assassination. A series of deadly bombings in southeastern Iraq this morning. Iraqi TV reporting 30 people dead and dozens injured. Three car bombs went off within minutes of each again in Amarah. Rival Shiite factions are battling for control there. The British left the area in Iraqi hands in August of 2006.

President Bush wants Iran to explain its nuclear weapons program. This comes after a report showing that Iran stopped developing the program several years ago. Mr. Bush wants Iran's president Mahmoud Ahmadinejad to explain why it had the program in the first place. Yesterday, Ahmadinejad called the intelligence report that's the recent National Intelligence estimate here in the United States a step forward for U.S./Iranian relations.

Kiran?

CHETRY: Some shocking allegations have seven New Jersey state troopers suspended right now, with pay. A 25-year-old Ryder University student accusing them of sexual assault at this home in Trenton last week. Investigator says, the troopers were off duty. The suspensions come even before any formal charges have been filed, investigators say, because of the high profile nature of the case.

Also, a bombshell about to drop on Major League Baseball. The "New York Daily News" reporting that baseball officials have gotten a copy of the Mitchell report on steroid allegations and that the report names 60 to 80 current or former players. Now, the report comes after a nearly two-year investigation by Former Senator George Mitchell. It's expected to be made public in the next few days.

Republican presidential candidate Mike Huckabee says he is very willing to meet with the mother of Ryan White, the young man who put a face on the AIDS crisis back in the 1980s. Huckabee is feeling the heat for comments he made back in 1992 that said AIDS patients should be isolated. He has said that it was based on research at the time, but that's alarmed the mother of Ryan White. Her son died of AIDS two years before Huckabee made those comments. We're going to ask her what she will want to say and hear now when she joins us in our next half hour.

Hillary Clinton's campaign is not waking up to good news this morning. The results of a poll released just within the hour show the one time front-runner, now just a point ahead, one point ahead of Barack Obama in the granite state. The new CNN/WMUR New Hampshire Presidential Primary Poll conducted by the University of New Hampshire shows Clinton at 31 percent, Obama at 30 percent in New Hampshire. John Edwards well back at 16 percent. On the GOP side, Mitt Romney has a commanding 13-point lead over Rudy Giuliani and John McCain in New Hampshire.

Mike Huckabee's Iowa buzz has yet to reach the granite state. He comes in with just 9 percent. But all of the trends for Huckabee do seem to be on the upswing. And that brings us to this morning's quick vote; will the poll results from the early primary states influence your vote? These questions obviously would be for people in the later primary states, a big Super Tuesday states of New York and Florida, California, and maybe later on in Pennsylvania. Cast your vote for us at cnn.com/am. We'll have the first tally of votes coming up in the next hour.

The Republican contenders are getting ready today for their last debate before the Iowa caucuses. CNN's Dana Bash is live in Des Moines where the candidates face off this afternoon. Dana, let's take a look at Mike Huckabee, who is now in many polls in the lead there in Iowa, coming under withering attack. Mitt Romney released his very first attack ad against Huckabee. You spent some time with the former governor yesterday. How is he responding to these attacks?

DANA BASH, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, he actually said that he thinks that this ad is desperate. He tried to make the point that he thinks that Iowa voters are going to really be repulsed by this kind of negative campaigning, as he called it. He also tried to sort of pat himself on the back a little bit to say that this shows how well he's doing in the polls but John, for all of his bravado, he understands on the substance of this ad, immigration it is potentially dangerous for him. Because, what Mitt Romney says in this ad is that Mike Huckabee supported tuition breaks for children of illegal immigrants in Arkansas. That is true, and Mike Huckabee stands by that. That's why it was really interesting yesterday.

There was a massive ice storm, as you know here. They canceled all of the event, but he quickly, hastily arranged a press conference yesterday morning as kind of a counter punch to Mitt Romney and had the founder of the minutemen there, staunchly anti-immigration group, to sort of back him up on his plans for illegal immigration in the future.

ROBERTS: All right. So, Huckabee is trying to back himself up there by getting Jim Gilchrest on board. Romney just got the significant endorsement. The most conservative magazine in the country "National Review" has now come behind him. What does that endorsement do for Romney? And is he getting any kind of a bounce there in Iowa from the speech that he gave last week on religion?

BASH: You know, it's really interesting. It's still really hard to tell whether or not that speech on religion is helping him much here at all. On the "National Review" endorsement, certainly, anything could help any candidate at this point especially an endorsement from a very well-respected publication like "The National Review" especially in the conservative community, but the reality is Mitt Romney can point to that and say look at what the national review said, they said that I am the most well-rounded conservative, if you will, on issues from social issues to economic issues and pretty much ditched the other candidates like Giuliani and Mike Huckabee on those issues.

But what Mitt Romney really needs right now on the ground here, three weeks out, is passion. He's got organization. He's got the machine, but he needs the passion and right now, that is going to Mike Huckabee.

ROBERTS: All right. We'll see where things go today. Dana Bash for us this morning in Des Moines. Dana, thanks.

And you can catch the Republican debate today. It's at 2:00 p.m. live from Des Moines. Tomorrow it's the Democrats also at 2:00 p.m. And we'll be covering it here on CNN.

Kiran?

CHETRY: Well, Hillary Clinton may have lost the robot vote, while giving a speech for his wife in Iowa, Former President Bill Clinton was heckled by a man who is dressed like a robot. Take a look.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Bill Clinton, I want to you apologize for Sister Souljah. Robots of the world want you to apologize for Sister Souljah. We want to you apologize.

CROWD: Boo.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CHETRY: Don't forget the confetti. Nothing screams protest like throwing confetti. The robot was referred to comments that Clinton made back in 1992 about black rapper sister Souljah. The rapper asked for a kill white people week which Clinton called racist. The robot then started throwing confetti in the crowd, as you can see, prompting the former president to respond.

You need to find more environmentally responsible ways to protest than throwing graffiti around. And there he was. Quickly, ushered at. You know, all robots need a bike helmet. I mean, you never know, if you're going to trip and it could save your life. But what I wonder is, when they're letting people in, OK, you're dressed as a robot, go on in for the speech, take a seat.

ROBERTS: How did you sneak in? Anyway, they can turn the other way around.

CHETRY: Of course, Former President Clinton like, been there, done that, I've seen it all.

ROBERTS: He's very good. He's really good at it.

CHETRY: Well, still ahead, many parts of the Midwest dealing with this huge ice storm, nearly one million people still without power. Cleanup, still under way in many, many, many cities. What's in store for today? We're going to talk to Rob Marciano about it when we come back.

ROBERTS: Coming up on AMERICAN MORNING, when planes nearly collide.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Something needs to be done before there is a major catastrophe in this country.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ROBERTS: So, what is being done to protect passengers? The answer will shock you. The report you need to watch before you fly, ahead on AMERICAN MORNING.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

CHETRY: Welcome back to AMERICAN MORNING. Take a look at some of the damage left behind from that ice storm, ice and falling trees. This is in Oklahoma. That tree took out a power line, crushed a car in Norman. Ice is melting now, but the cleanup will take weeks, it's estimated. There are still 600,000 people, most of them in Oklahoma, without power. About one million people throughout the Midwest still dealing with power issues because of that ice storm. 41 minutes past the hour. Rob Marciano is following this for us. And it's amazing a lot of the picture that we showed where ice is literally either, you know, frozen on to statues, about an inch thick on the roads what, a mess.

(WEATHER REPORT)

ROB MARCIANO, CNN METEOROLOGIST: Ice is tough, and you know, so we decided what can you do in the ice? We went to an ice skating rink yesterday and dealt with some folks who are specialized in tires, they kind of get the do's and don'ts on what you should do in the worst possible conditions, and in this case, it was a skating rink.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

MARCIANO: So, this car has the all-season non-barking we're going to skid more tires.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: And this is where, you're going to find, really about, 90 percent of the vehicles out there. So, lets go see how we do. This is a speed of, you know, roughly 10 to 11 miles an hour that you'd find yourself driving in your neighborhood.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

MARCIANO: It's just a feeling that you get sick to your stomach when you're that out of control.

CHETRY: Did it make a difference?

MARCIANO: You know, it some cases, some of the tricks I learn last year, didn't make a difference as far as, you know, speeding up, slowing down, but the tires make a big difference. And we're going to talk more about that in the next hour. What kind of tires you should have on your car in the winter months.

CHETRY: Erie, Pennsylvania, we had actual studs on our tires and we used to throw, I think like, fertilizer in the trunk to weigh it down.

MARCIANO: Oh, that's always popular environmentally. But studs are less popular now, but they have new technology without studs that are safe for the roads and safe for your car.

CHETRY: All right. We're looking forward to it. So, we're going to see more on how you fared trying to drive in ice in the next hour.

MARCIANO: Not well. Rob, thanks.

ROBERTS: Coming up on 15 minutes before the top of the hour. We are hearing about them more and more every day. Airplanes coming so close that they are just seconds from hitting each other on the skies or on the runways. It happened again just yesterday. AMERICAN MORNING's Alina Cho has been looking into this, happening with increasing frequency and two of these planes were to collide, my goodness.

ALINA CHO, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes. Several in the past couple of days, John. And you know, if you're looking to place blame, air traffic controllers are certainly an easy target after all. They are the ones directing air traffic, but they say they're doing the best they can with what they call limited resources. And that's only part of the problem. The biggest concern is that the Federal Government says, no matter who is at fault, it could be only a matter of time before a near miss becomes a catastrophic collision.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

CHO: The latest close call took place Tuesday, southwest of Greensboro, North Carolina. The FAA says a U.S. Airways pilot said he had to bank to avoid a Falcons business jet. On Sunday, at New York's Kennedy Airport, a near collision involving two planes landing on perpendicular runways.

CONTROLLER: Eagle 73, Heavy 747 off to the right on a missed approach 13 left, Eva 632 climb and maintain 200 feet.

EVA AIR: Climb 2000 feet. EVA 632.

CONTROLLER: Eagle 73 you're clear to land. You're clear to land. Just caution wake turbulence.

CHO: The FAA called Sunday's incident a controlled situation. And just last Thursday at Newark Airport in New Jersey a third near miss. The FAA confirmed two planes came within 300 feet of its other, and when a pilot operating a departing continental express jet near collided with an arriving plane from Toronto.

SEN. CHUCK SCHUMER (D) NEW YORK: New York's skies and New York's runways have become the wild west of American aviation.

CHO: Nationwide, there were 370 incursions so far this year, according to a recent government study. That's an increase of 12 percent over last year. Air traffic controllers say they're overworked and understaffed.

PAUL RINALDI, NATIONAL AIR TRAFFIC CONTROLLERS ASSOCIATION: You don't have an extra set of eyes to watch the air field or watch the radar scopes. The air traffic controller, which is the most stressful job in the world, is feeling this two, three, even ten times the amount of stress they'd normally feel.

CHO: And passengers say, this is just one more concern.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Something needs to be done before there is a major catastrophe in this country.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I'm going to keep my window shade open and keep looking and praying a lot.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

CHO: Well, that's one way to deal with it. Well, things are so bad that air traffic controllers have actually called for an urgent meeting with the FAA. The controllers say, not only are they overworked, there's a technology problem, too. Ground radar and runway lights are simply outdated. They need to be updated. The problem is, John, major improvements like that, as you well know, can be years away.

ROBERTS: Oh, it's just an amazing situation. Alina Cho, you illuminated so well for us this morning, thanks.

Kiran?

CHETRY: All right. Much of the Midwest as we've been talking about still on ice. Our Veronica De La Cruz is going to be taking a look at some of the amazing I-reports from the storm. We just saw a limb fall right off that tree due to the heavy, heavy ice that's hit much of the Midwest.

Also still ahead, Mike Huckabee making an offer to a mother who has become his harshest critic, a woman whose son died of AIDS. We're going to be talking to Ryan White's mom coming up in the next half hour of AMERICAN MORNING.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

CHETRY: Welcome back to AMERICAN MORNING. If you're just joining us right now, a look at the headlines. Ten minutes before 7:00 here on the east coast. A powerful car bomb killing a key military leader as well as three others in the suburbs of Beirut today. The assassination further destabilized the country with no president, as pro and anti-Syrian political parties struggle for control of the government. We're going to get a live report from the scene coming up at the top of the hour.

Also, a series of deadly bombings in southeastern Iraq this morning. Iraqi TV reporting three people dead and dozens of others hurt. Three car bombs went off within minutes of each other. This was in Amarah. Rival Shiite factions are battling for control there. The British left the area in Iraqi hands back in August of 2006.

John?

ROBERTS: Approaching eight minutes before the top of the hour now. Our Veronica De La Cruz has been watching the winter storm that's been plumbing the central part of the country, from your advantage point; she joins us now with some of your I-reports. Great pictures coming in.

VERONICA DE LA CRUZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Oh, my goodness, they are. And it's just horrible what we're seeing out there. You know, the nation's mid section still dealing with the effects of the ice storm. We have been lucky to get a look it all through the eyes of you, our I-reporters. Take a look at this. First, the pictures now from Beth Speiser (ph) in Hiawatha, Kansas, who says this is the worst storm she has seen since 1991. Take a look at this photo. The weight of the ice snapping branches right off many of the trees which you'll see in this next picture she sent us.

Also, freezing the power lines there and right now, about one million people total across the Midwest without power. And like we've been talking about all morning, John, it could be more than a week until they get it back on. Marilyn Ferguson (ph) sets the scene for us in Versailles, Illinois. She says she won't dare went out onto her patio, because it looks like an ice rink. I mean, take a look at that. Chair completely frozen over and she says that this little guy was disappointed to learn all of the bird seed was frozen. She and her husband had just restocked the bird feeder and, unfortunately, all of the bird seed was frozen.

Betty Chaze (ph) sent us this photo from Lincoln, Nebraska. At first glance, it looks like a couple of icicles but John, take a look. Actually, it spells out "hi." Can you see that "Hi." So, hello to you, Beth. Finally, this snapshot from Charles Riviera (ph) in Lawton, Oklahoma. It looks like even where the buffalo roam, it's icy.

And as Rob Marciano mention earlier, warmer air is on the way. So, hopefully these folks will fine out soon. Actually, I have a surprise for you. Because, I know how much you love Led Zeppelin. So, take a look at this. We got in a couple of I-reports from our Linda Nadalski (ph). She's one of our I-reporters. July 23rd, 1977, John, Oakland, California, this is their last show they did together, Oakland, California, 1977. Can you name the folks on those shots?

ROBERTS: OK. John Paul Jones, Jimmy Page was the earlier one with the Gibson ES 1235; I think that one, that guitar. That looks like Jason -- John Bonham there on the right and Page on the left. Good shots.

DE LA CRUZ: Favorite led zeppelin song, John?

ROBERTS: "Rock 'N' Roll."

DE LA CRUZ: Really? All right. "Stairway to Heaven," Kiran. I like "All of My Love," I don't know.

ROBERTS: That's a good song.

DE LA CRUZ: It's a good one right? "In Through The Outdoor" my favorite album.

ROBERTS: But got to like those I-reports. Keep them coming folks. Its good to see your pictures. Veronica, thanks.

DE LA CRUZ: Of course.

ROBERTS: Kiran?

CHETRY: I love how he even knows the exact make and model of the guitar. You can't put anything past, John.

Still ahead. Great news this morning in the sporting world. Injured Buffalo Bills' player, Kevin Everett is now walking on his own. This is just months after doctors initially said he may never walk again. We're going to show you more of his amazing recovery coming up in just a bit.

Also still ahead, Mike Huckabee makes an offer to a mother who has become one of his harshest critics, a woman whose son died of AIDS. We're going to be talking to the mom, coming up in the next hour of AMERICAN MORNING.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

ROBERTS: Coming up to a couple minutes to the top of the hour now. It brings good things to life, but apparently the life may be dimming just a little bit. Ali Velshi here "Minding Your Business." Good morning to you.

ALI VELSHI, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning. Talking about general electric, which is the second biggest company by market capitalization in America. It is one of the most highly -- see I said, I knew this would happen. One of the most highly welded stocks. Its one of the most widely held stocks in people's 401K and mutual fund. General electric, CEO yesterday, saying a bit of a problem in 2008. They've cut their profit forecast.

He was saying, (INAUDIBLE) was saying that the broader industrial economy is OK, but his quote is "I'm not going to put a happy face on this. Consumers are going to be a problem in 2008." However, the reason GE will continue to make money in 2008 is because global growth is very strong. That company makes a lot of money elsewhere. Jeff Immelt was saying particularly they have problems in their health care division. GE healthcare and at NBC universal between declining ratings and advertising revenues and the writers strike. He is saying, those two areas are a bit of a problem.

Investors are a bit concerned that more than half of GE's earnings these days, come from financial services, so GE is looking to shed some or all of its credit card business. For those of you who don't know, GE runs the credit card business of many stores that you shop at, Wal-Mart, Ikea, EBay, American Eagle, Brooks Brothers, JC Penney. They're thinking they might want to get out of that business, too much exposure to credit and get back into the industrial business which is what they're known for.

ROBERTS: GE stock not exactly leaping ahead. But still pays a good dividend, right?

VELSHI: It pays a good dividend. It's been sort of up and down and hasn't gone. I mean today, it's the same price that it would have been in December of 2003. But yes, GE is not imploding, it's not going anywhere. So, interesting stock, many of you hold it, so I thought I'd give you an update on what's going on.

ROBERTS: All right, thank you. See you soon.

CHETRY: All right. Another bombshell accusation in the Stacy Peterson disappearance. Her husband makes a public plea for money. We're going to get details on that coming up.

Also, police in Las Vegas tracking down the gunman they say opened fire on a school bus just as people were walking off. Six people were hit. We're going to update their condition. The next hour of AMERICAN MORNING starts right now.

ROBERTS: Political fortunes. New polls, new signals, in the race for president. Plus, Mike Huckabee eye-to-eye with the mother of Ryan White. What she wants to hear from him now.

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