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Joe Lieberman Endorses John McCain; Gambling With Troops Lives?
Aired December 17, 2007 - 15:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
BETTY NGUYEN, CNN ANCHOR: Well, they left some holes, some dummies, and a note -- a brazen breakout in New Jersey.
Hello, everybody. I'm Betty Nguyen, live at CNN world headquarters here in Atlanta.
DON LEMON, CNN ANCHOR: And I'm Don Lemon. You're in the CNN NEWSROOM.
NGUYEN: Take a look at this, up to 18 inches of snow from the Great Lakes to New England. At least eight people have died on slippery roads -- schools closed, plenty of flights delayed. One Michigan woman just shrugged it off, saying, hey, it's winter.
Well, not exactly. Winter doesn't officially arrive until Saturday. Tens of thousands from Pennsylvania to Maine hope to have their power back on by then. About 126,000 homes in Oklahoma are still waiting, a week after a devastating ice storm.
The worst of it is over for much of Upstate New York. Folks there are busy digging out, so they can go about their business.
Our own Reynolds Wolf has made Syracuse home in the past couple of days. And he shows us around.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
REYNOLDS WOLF, CNN METEOROLOGIST: I'm coming to you from beautiful, snowy Syracuse, New York, where the sunshine is finally starting to pop out here on Marshall (ph) Street.
We're still scraping some snow here and there. And there's quite a bit to move. That's to say the very least, over 17 inches of snowfall here in the city. But, I will tell you, the city and the university did a really good job moving most of it, really didn't cause too many problems.
And many people consider themselves very lucky that the bulk of the snow came on Sunday, where you didn't have the huge rush-hour traffic. That being said, it is still going to be a slippery commute for many people coming back from work today.
And that is certainly something that they have got to watch out for, but they will get a break, weather-wise, over the next 24 to 42 hours. However, as we get a little bit closer to the weekend, we see another possibility for snow. An area of low pressure may move through the northern half of the Great Lakes and bring a couple of more inches to this fine city of Syracuse.
I'm Reynolds Wolf, CNN, Syracuse.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
(WEATHER UPDATE)
LEMON: Straight to the newsroom now, and T.J. Holmes working the details of a developing story.
T.J., what do you have for us.
T.J. HOLMES, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, this story we have been keeping an eye on out of New Jersey, this prison break with some interesting circumstances.
Two men are on the loose right now. One, Jose Espinosa -- Joe Espinosa, I should say -- Jose Espinosa -- pleaded guilty to manslaughter in 2005 in a drive-by shooting. The other, Otis Blunt, awaiting trial for robbery and a weapons charge.
And what you're looking at here is the prison itself. It's a multipurpose prison, Union City Jail -- excuse me -- multi-security prison. They broke out of the high-security area of this prison.
And the details of the prison break are what is fascinating about this story. The two apparently pretty much chiseled their way out of a cell, kept banging and banging on a particular area until they got a hole out. Well, according to authorities they had to then jump down some 30 feet to a ledge. And from there they had to make a 15-foot jump to make it over.
Here's some of the pictures we're seeing here of how they made their way out through this hole. Now, that's a pretty decent sized hole. And if anybody walking by saw that hole in a cell, well, surely they would stop and know something was up.
Well, what the prisoners apparently did was put pinups of women in bikinis to cover those holes that they had chiseled out to make their way out. They also folded up blankets and pillows to put in the bed to make it look like someone was still sleeping in those beds in the cells.
Now, to add insult to injury here, they left a note behind, actually. And it said -- and I quote -- "Thank you, officer, for the tools needed. You're a real pal. Happy holidays" -- end quote.
And, in that quote, they actually did name an officer, but the name of the officer was not released during a press conference we saw a short time ago, because authorities aren't sure -- you have seen the suspects -- they aren't sure if an officer was actually involved in giving them tools or if these two were just poking fun or maybe tried to even get a guard in trouble that they didn't like by naming him.
So we don't know about that, but no guards are on leave. No one has been suspended, no one arrested, even, but these two are on the loose. Authorities say they found tracks, footprints from the point where the two escaped. And the footprints went in two different directions, so at this point they don't believe the two are any longer together.
But just the circumstances surrounding this jailbreak are absolutely fascinating, the stuff movies are made of, guys, but this is the real deal. At this point also we should let you know that authorities have changed policy at that jail, and inmates no longer allowed to put pinups on the wall, for obvious reasons, now.
But we will keep an eye on this story, the details again fascinating. If we get any update about these two being spotted or being caught, we certainly will bring it to you.
LEMON: Sounds like they got more problems than pinups, T.J., if that's happening. All right, thank you.
HOLMES: All right.
NGUYEN: Senator John McCain hoping his latest endorsement gives him the edge in New Hampshire. McCain's Republican presidential bid got the backing today of Senator Joe Lieberman, an independent who caucuses with Democrats.
McCain is courting independent voters in the state that holds the first presidential primary. As for Lieberman, the former Democratic vice presidential candidate says it's again a case of country before party.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SEN. JOSEPH LIEBERMAN (I), CONNECTICUT: I know it's unusual for a Democrat to be endorsing a Republican. It's even unusual for an independent Democrat like me to be endorsing a Republican.
You know, political parties are important in our country, but they're not more important than what's best for our country. They're not more important than friendship. They're not more important than our future.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
NGUYEN: The support of independent voters was key for McCain when he won New Hampshire's Republican primary back in 2000.
And you can hear more from John McCain and Joe Lieberman tonight. They are special guests on "THE SITUATION ROOM." That's at 6:00 p.m. Eastern, only on CNN.
LEMON: Well, the polls show him gaining on his rivals, but can Democratic presidential hopeful John Edwards come from behind and score a win in Iowa? He is on the cover of the latest issue of "Newsweek," in front words "The Sleeper." There it is right there.
And today he won the endorsement of Iowa's first lady.
CNN's Suzanne Malveaux is on the campaign trail. She joins us now from Des Moines with the very latest on that.
The sleeper, Suzanne?
SUZANNE MALVEAUX, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: They're wondering if his campaign will really kind of be awakened here.
One of the endorsements he got, a coveted endorsement, as you mentioned, was from Iowa's first lady, the governor's wife, Mari Culver. Now, one of the things that she said, the reason why she's backing him, she says he has a strong, compelling personal story. She really appreciates this kind of anti-poverty platform.
And one of the most important things that she said, take a listen, Don.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
MARI CULVER, IOWA FIRST LADY: Third, and most importantly, I believe John Edwards can win.
(CHEERING AND APPLAUSE)
(END VIDEO CLIP)
MALVEAUX: Now, Don, the big question is whether or not these endorsements really make all that much difference. You may recall back in 2004, it was the former governor's wide, Christie Vilsack, who endorsed Senator John Kerry. He went on to win Iowa caucuses.
But I talked with political analyst Stu Rothenberg, who said, look, he really doesn't think that this particularly endorsement is going to make all that much difference when you look at all the kinds of different groups and what kind of power they hold in swaying the voters.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
STUART ROTHENBERG, EDITOR AND PUBLISHER, "THE ROTHENBERG POLITICAL REPORT": It's an effort for the Edwards campaign to say, see, there are important people in the state that like me. You have got to take a look at me as well.
But in terms of this endorsement as dramatically changing the race, it ain't going to do it.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
MALVEAUX: Don, really, this state is up for anybody's grabs here.
Really, you have Senator Barack Obama, you have Hillary Clinton, as well as John Edwards, all a dead heat when it comes to those polls.
And the one thing that John Edwards has for him here in the state, a very strong political organization, a traditional organization. And he has also been talking about the issues that polls show Iowans really care about. That's domestic issues, health care, education, poverty, those type of things -- Don.
LEMON: OK. Let's talk about Edwards again, his chances nationally, Suzanne. What are his chances nationally?
MALVEAUX: It's interesting, because it's quite mixed.
What you have is a poll, a CNN poll, that shows that he is really the only Democratic candidate that could beat the Republicans in a national race in the primary, but also his organization, dramatically -- he doesn't have the kind of money or the resources that some of the other candidates do, so that really is going to be a handicap that he's going to have to overcome.
LEMON: CNN's Suzanne Malveaux -- Suzanne, thank you very much for that.
And for all the day's political stories, go to CNNPolitics.com, who is endorsing who, who is surging ahead, and who is falling behind. Again, the address is CNNPolitics.com.
MALVEAUX: Is the U.S. military gambling away our soldiers' sanity and, in one case, a life?
Our Drew Griffin has an eye-opening report about military casinos.
LEMON: Trying to solve the puzzle of autism. Researchers are looking at babies' brains.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
NGUYEN: It's 14 minutes past the hour. Here are three of the stories that we're working on in the CNN NEWSROOM.
It was a tight fit. New Jersey authorities now hunting for two escaped Union County Jail inmates. They left dummies made of pillows and sheets in their beds, squeezed through holes they made in the walls -- look how tiny that is -- and then covered them with pinups. They also left a note thanking a guard for giving them tools.
Well, winter hasn't even officially arrived, but you wouldn't know it looking at this. From the Great Lakes to New England, a massive storm has dumped up to a foot and a half of snow. Eight people have died on icy roads.
And good news for you night owls out there. NBC says Jay Leno and Conan O'Brien will return with new shows on January 2, despite the ongoing writers strike.
LEMON: Solving the autism puzzle. Clues can be found in a baby's brain.
CNN's Kara Finnstrom reports.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes. I went first, and then you go second and you go third.
KARA FINNSTROM, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Like most people who meet J.P., I wouldn't have suspected it.
(on camera): I have got to pick one of these A's and then I have got to move a P over here? Is that the idea, like...
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes. A P comes next, mom?
FINNSTROM (voice-over): But J.P. has autism.
TRACI TASTO, MOTHER OF AUTISTIC CHILD: Early intervention is what pulls your child out of that deep, dark hole and brings them to the other side. It's what can give your child a normal life.
FINNSTROM: The dilemma? Figuring out how to catch autism at its earliest stages and treat it.
DR. CYNTHIA CARTER, UCSD THERAPIST: The child never referring his parent, never saying, isn't this great, never smiling.
FINNSTROM: Well, many parents and doctors haven't recognized red flag behaviors like these until age 2 or later. A push is under way to start screening as early as one year. Now U.C. San Diego researchers are using brain scans to study what may be another set of warning signs, physical changes in the brain.
DR. ERIC COURCHESNE, UCSD RESEARCHER: Autism is due to early brain overgrowth. What causes that early brain overgrowth is probably the key to understanding the cause of autism.
FINNSTROM: Dr. Eric Courchesne's early research suggests the areas of the brain responsible for language, social and emotional development are growing erratically.
COURCHESNE: In one example of an autistic 3-year-old boy, the brain size is tremendously enlarged as compared to the typically developing boy.
FINNSTROM: By just looking at the brains of 2, 3, and 4-year- olds, Dr. Courchesne says his team could predict whether they were autistic more than 90 percent of the time. But he believes real answers lie in the brains of babies.
COURCHESNE: It's in the creation of brain circuitry in the first two years of life that something is going wrong. And we want to know what that is, and we want to know what genes are responsible for it.
FINNSTROM (on camera): So, in a first-of-its-kind effort backed by the National Institutes of Health, San Diego pediatricians are now giving out this questionnaire to parents at their baby's first-year checkup. The questions on it are simple, like, do you know when your child is happy? Babies found to be at risk could take part in this ongoing study.
Dr. Karen Pierce (ph) says researchers will scan the baby's brains for responses to social and emotional cues, run other tests and track them.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: When they turn 3, we know who has autism. And we say, aha, and we look backwards and collect all the data.
FINNSTROM (voice-over): For the babies, this could also prompt early treatment.
Scans of J.P.'s brain at 3 1/2 showed it was the size of most 7- year-old's brains. While therapy eases his symptoms...
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Look what I can do.
FINNSTROM: ... the hope is, by studying the brains of autistic children, scientists may gain the understanding ultimately needed a cure.
Kara Finnstrom, for CNN, San Diego.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
NGUYEN: Well, he's used to pushing snow off the road, not pulling drivers out of their cars. A newly minted hero tells us his side of the story and why he had to do it.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
NGUYEN: All right. Wherever there is snow and ice, you can be sure the snowplows aren't far behind. Those drivers have saved many a day, and, over the weekend, one saved a life after spotting a car on the side of the road with flames and smoke coming out of the engine.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DEMETRIUS DUPLESSIS, SNOWPLOW DRIVER: I got out of the truck and I ran over to the young lady in the car. And she was on the cell phone. So, when I -- when I -- I kept yelling, get out of the car, get out of the car, car on fire, she just looked at me and started to lock the door. So, I smashed the door open and snatched her out.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
LEMON: Wow.
NGUYEN: Well, it's a good thing he did. The woman, who was on her way to take a college exam, says she didn't realize her car had caught fire. She thought it just had broken down. She's alive because of that guy right there.
(CROSSTALK)
LEMON: Because of that guy. Like he said, car's on fire.
(BUSINESS REPORT)
NGUYEN: In the meantime, though, is the military gambling away our soldiers' sanity, and, in one case, an actual life? Our Drew Griffin has an eye-opening report about military casinos.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
LEMON: Hello, everyone. I'm Don Lemon, live at the CNN world headquarters in Atlanta.
NGUYEN: Hi, everybody. I'm Betty Nguyen, in for Kyra Phillips. You are in the CNN NEWSROOM.
Well, many U.S. troops enlist for the paycheck, but it turns out the military is getting some of that money back. Slot machines on American bases overseas bring in about $130 million a year. But they've also brought some real trouble for troops. One Congressman has introduced a bill to ban one-armed bandits on base.
Here's our investigative correspondent, Drew Griffin.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
DREW GRIFFIN, CNN INVESTIGATIVE CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): It is named after Carrie Walsh's ex-husband, Aaron, a decorated Army helicopter pilot and an addicted gambler, who last year finally gave up trying to kick his habit.
CARRIE WALSH, WIDOW: I think he had been doing really well staying away from it. And then I think that he went and had like a gambling binge and then realized what he had done and decided he wasn't ever going to get better.
GRIFFIN: Aaron Walsh was 34. Shortly after placing his last bets at this casino in Bangor, Maine in September of last year, Walsh took a gun into a rural park and killed himself. It was the end of a gambling addiction that his wife says began when he enlisted in the Army, on posts in Germany, then in Seoul, South Korea.
Walsh became addicted to some of the 3,000 casino style slot machines the military operates on its bases. Last year, the Army took in $130 million from these machines. Walsh says her husband lost tens of thousands of dollars with the military in full knowledge and actually profiting from her husband's addiction.
WALSH: The military has this culture of taking care of their own. But it seems like when it comes to this, they just -- you know they profited from his addiction and then threw him away.
GRIFFIN: The Air Force and Navy have their own gambling programs -- the profits used to pay for morale, welfare and recreation programs like bowling allies and dances. But now a Tennessee Congressman says enough is enough. Congressman Lincoln Davis this week introduced the Warrant Officer Aaron Walsh Stop DOD-Sponsored Gambling Act, a long name with a single point -- the U.S. military shouldn't encourage soldiers to gamble and certainly shouldn't be in the gambling business. "If American men and women are willing to serve our country overseas, we should not be dependent on them to pay for recreational activities they deserve," Davis said in a written statement. "The risks are simply too high and too many to ask that of our soldiers." University of Illinois business professor John Kindt couldn't agree more. He says studies show members of the military -- mainly because of their youth and passion for adventure -- are more prone to gambling addiction than others. And he says poorly paid soldiers supporting young families should not have to support recreation programs by losing money.
PROF. JOHN KINDT, UNIVERSITY OF ILLINOIS: Because it's all about the buck. And in our military, it should be about service to our country. It shouldn't be about exploiting our service personnel and putting their families and their children at risk.
(END VIDEO TAPE)
NGUYEN: Well, in a statement to CNN, an undersecretary of defense said military gambling provides "a controlled alternative to unmonitored host nation gambling venues and offers a higher payment percentage, making it more entertainment oriented than that found at typical casinos."
LEMON: Another sign of the nation's reexamination of capital punishment. New Jersey has just abolished the death penalty. Governor Jon Corzine signed a bill this morning making New Jersey the first state in more than 40 years for outlaw executions. It comes as the Supreme Court considers whether lethal injection is cruel and unusual punishment. Polls show New Jerseyans split on the death penalty, but Governor Corzine deemed it on moral issue on which he had to act.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP, COURTESY NEWS 12 NEW JERSEY)
GOV. JON CORZINE, NEW JERSEY: Today New Jersey is truly evolving. We evolve, if you believe as I do, that government cannot provide a foolproof death penalty that precludes the possibility of executing the innocent.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
LEMON: Officials in Rome plan to celebrate New Jersey's remove by flooding the famed Coliseum with light. Italy and the rest of the European Union support a global ban on the death penalty.
NGUYEN: A barbaric crime followed by what could have been a barbaric punishment. But Saudi Arabia's king stepped in today, setting aside the lashing and prison sentence for the victim of a gang rape. The young woman has become the unwitting icon of the inequities of the Saudi justice system.
CNN's Paula Newton has the story.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
PAULA NEWTON, CNN CORRESPONDENT, (voice over): She's become known as the girl from Qatif -- gang raped by seven men at the age of 19, sentenced to 200 lashes and six months in prison because at the time she was abducted, she was with a man who was not a relative. Her case has caused international outrage and, significantly, inside Saudi Arabia, a debate about justice, led by her attorney.
ABDEL RAHMAN AL-LAHEM, RAPE VICTIM'S LAWYER, (THROUGH TRANSLATOR): We want to highlight the rape crimes in Saudi Arabia and the way they are handled and sentenced in court. This is a new era for all of us.
NEWTON: Al-Lahem had his attorney's license revoked for daring to appeal the court's sentence. The woman's lawyer went on Lebanese TV to debate the issue with a former Saudi judge who said the victim's punishment served to defend her husband's honor.
SHEIKH ABDEL MUHSIN EKEBAN, FORMER SAUDI JUDGE (THROUGH TRANSLATOR): Would anyone allow someone to spoil their marital bed? This action coming from a married woman dishonors her marriage. When a woman meets up with an unrelated male in secret, what is she going to do with him? Will she be performing an act of chastity with him?
NEWTON: The victim's husband has been unusually vocal by Saudi standards in defending his wife. He intervened by phone in the televised debate to say that she had met the man to retrieve a photo he had of her.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE (THROUGH TRANSLATOR): She was trying to protect her marriage. I don't know what you're talking about when you say that she admitted her guilt.
NEWTON: But at issue here, the essence of Saudi justice. This Saudi scholar says women are still treated as possessions of men.
MAI YAMANI, SAUDI POLITICAL ANALYST: These women in Saudi Arabia want the right to walk in the street, to drive a car, to vote like all of us, like their neighbors -- even in the most conservative Arab countries.
NEWTON: It's the debate in the court of Saudi public opinion that may drive some judicial reform in the royal kingdom.
Paula Newton, CNN, London.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
LEMON: President Bush tried to reassure Americans today about the state of the U.S. economy. But even as he spoke of a long streak of job gains and high productivity, Mr. Bush also referred to storm clouds and cause for concern. And he stuck to warning Congress about raising Americans' taxes.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
GEORGE BUSH, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: The Congress cannot take economic vitality for granted. There's some positive things Congress can do to make sure that the economy continues to grow and people are working and realizing dreams. And there's some negative things they can do. And the most negative thing Congress can do, in the face of some economic uncertainty, is to raise taxes on the American people. (END VIDEO CLIP)
LEMON: A little later, Senate Democrat Charles Schumer cited home foreclosures and the credit crunch to say the president's seeing things through rose-colored glasses.
NGUYEN: Well, actor Tyler Perry's favorite straight-talking character Madea doesn't pull any punches. And now Tyler is taking off his dress and getting serious to help America deal with a shortage hitting particularly hard at the holidays. He's going to join us in THE NEWSROOM.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
LEMON: Well, every year about 25 million people in the United States turn to food banks for help. But some of them may not get them. A nonprofit network of food banks says it's short 15 million pounds of food. And it estimates that the shortage could be as high as 11 million meals by the end of the year.
Earlier in the CNN NEWSROOM, I talked with actor Tyler Perry about why he's at the Atlanta Food Bank.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
TYLER PERRY, ACTOR/WRITER: A lot of people who are receiving these gifts of food are not -- homelessness is only a very small part of this. But these are a lot of hardworking people who work every day, who just need a little hand to make ends meet.
LEMON: Yes. And, again, it's no secret -- just reading about you, knowing about you, you were homeless at one point and you faced dire poverty, as well.
I'm sure that played into your getting out there today and doing this, because you're a big star. People say you're a big star, you have lots of money now. They don't understand why you're doing this.
PERRY: No, no, no. Because I want to -- you know, I think that you have a level of responsibility when you have been given things. And the place that I'm at now in my life, I feel there's a huge responsibility to give back and to make sure that a lot of people -- there's attention brought to this situation, so that a lot of people are being fed.
And it's really a thing -- you know, I know a lot of people may be embarrassed about having to come to get the food.
But what's so great about it, look at these thousands of volunteers that come through here a week to make sure that so many people are getting food, that so many people are eating. It's a great thing. It really is -- especially during thousand holiday season.
LEMON: Yes. OK. Tyler, let's talk about what people need. You told me peanut butter, right?
PERRY: Yes.
LEMON: A lot of stuff with protein, like canned tuna, canned soup, dry soup packets.
Go ahead.
PERRY: Yes. A lot of things -- like sardines. A lot of things with protein so that -- because a lot of people are giving a lot of things. But there's a lot of people who have childhood obesity -- a lot of children. So what we're trying to do is to bring in as much protein as we can to make sure that we're spreading it out, so that the food is healthy as well as filling.
LEMON: Yes.
And maybe some folks will -- you know, everybody knows who you are. But I want people who may be at home going Tyler Perry, I'm not used to seeing him that way...
PERRY: Where is this going? Where is this going?
LEMON: Oh, you know where it's going. Come on, man.
You already know where it's going, right?
So I want people -- I'm just going to play a little clip about what you're known best -- besides for giving. You're a very charitable person. We know that. But we want to share what you're known best for.
Let's take a listen.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP FROM "MADEA," COURTESY LIONS GATE FILMS)
PERRY: This here is a friend of mine. And she's been telling me that a few of y'all have been saying some stuff about her.
I'm going to tell you right now, if I catch any of one of y'all saying something, it's going to be me and you, you hear me?
UNIDENTIFIED CHILD: Shut up, old lady.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
LEMON: Tyler, I see you laughing. I mean come on, that has to make you laugh.
What would Madea say -- what would Madea say today to get people out there?
PERRY (IN MADEA'S VOICE): Get down here and bring some food to these people right now.
That's what she would say. That's absolutely what she would say.
(LAUGHTER)
(END VIDEO TAPE)
NGUYEN: That is great.
LEMON: The funny -- he said we caught him off guard the Washington. He's got to be used to that. Come on, Tyler. He is doing a good thing, right?
NGUYEN: Absolutely.
LEMON: And to find out how you can help, go to Second Harvest -- here it is -- secondharvest.org, right there on your screen.
NGUYEN: Well, nothing stops a die-hard football fan from going to the game, especially a little snow. I'd say that's a little more than just a little snow.
LEMON: And it's called the Money Bomb and Ron Paul hopes it lights a fuse under his long shot presidential bid. We'll tell you how much he brought in.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
NGUYEN: Did you get a chance to watch?
What a game. The wind was gusting nearly 40 miles per hour.
LEMON: What game?
You can't see anything.
NGUYEN: Exactly. You can barely make it now. The snow was blowing so hard, you couldn't even see the yard line. Look at this -- just the way some fans like their football.
Dan DeRoos with WOIO caught the action as this blizzard fest.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
DAN DEROOS, WOIO CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): We're calling them the Blizzard Browns -- fans so dedicated they're staring a blizzard in the face on the way to the game and they're unfazed.
(on camera): There's no way you can stay for the whole thing.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Oh, hell, yes. You don't even know about Cleveland. I'm used to this stuff. It doesn't matter.
DEROOS: Zoom in on this man's beard. Look at this. You have snow stuck in your goatee.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: That's right.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Here (INAUDIBLE).
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: All game, baby.
DEROOS: You haven't even gotten to the game and your hat is crusted.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You know, I'm a diehard. I never leave early. I never leave early.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Ah, what, halftime?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Halftime.
(CROSSTALK)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Yes.
DEROOS: Finally somebody honest.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes. Then we'll sell these at halftime.
DEROOS: As bad as the weather is, we can only hope that people aren't compounding how bad it's going to be to driving with alcohol. Down here, we've got two free beers somebody left out here before they went in the stadium. Perhaps people are using their head and aren't going to drink as much today.
What's it going to be like trying to drive home in this?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Very, very bad.
DEROOS: How are you going to get home tonight?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Oh, we're not going home. We're going to sleep in our cars tonight. Let's go, Browns!
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I'm taking the train.
DEROOS (voice-over): But bottom line, was it worth it?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Absolutely, man. We've got the playoffs now. It's cool.
DEROOS (on camera): Why was it worth it?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Because the Browns won. We're going to the playoffs.
DEROOS: Would you do it again?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Definitely. Next week. Come back the 30th. Go Browns!
(END VIDEO TAPE)
LEMON: N-O.
NGUYEN: Yes, no way.
LEMON: Maybe if it was the LSU Tigers.
NGUYEN: And, you know, listen to that. I mean we showed it right there. The Browns beat the Bills, 8-0 even after all of that.
And get this -- more misery for the Bills.
OK, so after losing the game, right, their flight was canceled...
LEMON: Oh, no.
Due to snow?
NGUYEN: Then it's not over, Don.
LEMON: No!
NGUYEN: This morning, their charter plane got stuck in the mud.
(LAUGHTER)
NGUYEN: So the Bills ended up having to take the bus home -- a three hour trip instead of just a 25 minute flight -- Chad Myers, you know, we're crying tears here for the Bills. But, you know, they're not the only ones.
Folks are still stuck at the airports today.
CHAD MYERS, CNN METEOROLOGIST: Unfortunately, they canceled so many flights yesterday across the Northeast because of the snow and the wind, a lot of people didn't make it out -- like, obviously, including the Bills. So it doesn't matter what you pay for your ticket, or if you pay for the plane, for that matter.
(WEATHER REPORT)
LEMON: A one day fundraising record for Republican presidential candidate Ron Paul -- $6 million, according to his campaign.
Will it translate to a real political victory?
Some of his supporters say it already has.
More now from Mary Snow -- part of the best political team on television.
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MARY SNOW, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): The marked the anniversary of the Boston Tea Party to rally for Republican presidential hopeful Ron Paul and call for a modern-day revolution. They raised millions in a single day online and gathered in Boston to make a statement.
RAND PAUL, RON PAUL'S SON: Well, I think my dad, Ron Paul, has always been one who believes at times there are -- there are times in our history when we have to say no -- no to a government that's run away.
SNOW: Rand Paul represented his father, whose image was never far away.
His followers weren't deterred by the sleet and snow -- or by Paul's underdog status in the presidential race. If this is a revolution, then Linda Hunnicutt its daughter.
She calls herself the granny warrior and travels in this bus to spread Ron Paul's message.
LINDA HUNNICUTT, RON PAUL SUPPORTER: How many other candidates would you know of that would have people come out and stand in this mess, drive from North Carolina up here?
I mean it's just -- it's phenomenal. Ron Paul cannot lose. Even if he loses, he wins, because he's opened up the box.
SNOW: Paul's call to end the Iraq War and his libertarian views are what attracts these followers. And while his numbers have been stronger in fundraising than polls, some of his supporters say their revolution goes beyond the presidential election.
STEPHEN DUPONT, RON PAUL SUPPORTER: Ron Paul is a -- he's a -- he's conduit. But the grassroots and the actual support, it runs deeper than that. It's throughout the whole United States.
SNOW (on camera): Some supporters say they would like to say Ron Paul run as an Independent if he doesn't win the Republican nomination. But that's something Paul has repeatedly said he wouldn't do. And if he doesn't, some of the grassroots organizers here say they would use their fundraising ability to help candidates in state races.
Mary Snow, CNN, Boston.
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LEMON: More from the best political team on television coming up in "THE SITUATION ROOM" in just a few minutes.
And you can hear Senators John McCain and Joe Lieberman tonight. They're special guests at 6:00 p.m. Eastern in "THE SITUATION ROOM".
NGUYEN: We all know the Postal Service gets busier this time of year. But check out the date on this postcard.
You see it right there -- 1914. We'll tell you how it got delivered after 93 years.
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LEMON: Most kids get all starry-eyed at the thought of blurting out their wish list to Santa. Betty did. She just told me.
NGUYEN: I sure did.
LEMON: But some sitting in the lap of a bearded stranger dressed in an odd red suit is just too scary.
NGUYEN: Oh, look at that.
LEMON: Like for little Dylan (ph) here.
NGUYEN: Who is this stranger?
LEMON: He's going yes, get me away from this man.
Do you have similar pictures of your child or your grandchild screaming in Santa's lap?
Or maybe you've got an old family picture of yourself or a sibling. We want to hear from you.
NGUYEN: Yes, we do.
LEMON: Mom, do not send mine.
NGUYEN: Yes.
LEMON: I have seen it. I was scared of Santa Claus when I was...
NGUYEN: Were you crying?
LEMON: Oh my gosh, I was like this agh!
NGUYEN: Well, you know, it's kind of ironic because, you know, your parents tell you, you know, don't go near strangers, and yet they want to sit you on a complete stranger's lap...
LEMON: Right.
NGUYEN: ...dressed up in this crazy uniform.
LEMON: On his lap.
NGUYEN: Yes.
LEMON: Anyway, become an I-Reporter and send your photos to our CNN.com/ireport. But please make sure they're photos of you or a family member -- that you took them. Just go to CNN.com and click on I-Report, upload your photo. We'll be featuring some of them throughout the holiday season, right here in the CNN NEWSROOM.
I was afraid of the Easter Bunny, too. Now that is weird -- a big old bigger than life sized rabbit.
NGUYEN: I want to see that picture, though. I -- mom, if you're listening -- that's Don's mom -- be sure to send that picture in.
LEMON: Nope.
NGUYEN: In the meantime, though -- and send it in timely, because here's a story that -- this post-card did not get there on time. Talk about the mail being slower than Christmas. A postcard sell from Alma, Nebraska back in 1914 has finally arrived in Oberlin, Kansas. But there's a mystery connected to it. Nobody knows where it's been. The card's intended recipient, Ethel Martin -- of course she died. We're talking over 90 years ago. So the post office delivered it to her sister-in-law. She thinks it was found in Illinois. It was mailed to her in an envelope with the right postage. The original -- listen to this -- one cent stamp was still on it. That just couldn't cut it these days. Nope.
Can you imagine back in the days when it would only cost you a penny to mail a letter?
LEMON: Yes. And if Ethel Martin was still around, that might be a story...
NGUYEN: In itself, right?
LEMON: In itself, as well. Wow! one penny. Hmmm.
NGUYEN: Well, it finally it got there, I guess. A little bit of family history you can tuck away.
The closing bell is about to ring on Wall Street.
LEMON: Susan Lisovicz standing by with a final look at the trading day -- Susan, I've gotten mail -- have you gotten mail that's come like a long time after you -- like someone sent it to you?
SUSAN LISOVICZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Oh, yes, after the vacation that was a year ago and somebody just heard about it?
LEMON: Yes.
LISOVICZ: Yes. I've got a few postcards coming from my look at this one.
(LAUGHTER)
LISOVICZ: But, hey, guys, I wanted to tell you about another document that's gone up in value. And that is the Magna Carta. The basis for modern democracy goes on sale tomorrow. Estimates are $20 million.
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