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Levees Breaks Leaving Water Everywhere; Presidential Candidates Set Sights on Youth Vote; Conflict in International Waters; Presidential Primaries

Aired January 07, 2008 - 10:00   ET

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

HEIDI COLLINS, CNN, ANCHOR: Leaps to a stunning lead. A Republican comes from behind. The new cnn poll, this hour.
And a levee break leaves hundreds of homes under water and coated in mud. Going home on this Monday, January 7th. You are in the CNN NEWSROOM.

Breaking news now I want to get to right away. The U.S. Military accusing Iran of threatening navy warships in international waters. Our Pentagon correspondent, Barbara Starr, has the very latest with this story.

Good morning to you once again, Barbara.

BARBARA STARR, CNN, PENTAGON CORRESPONDENT: Good morning to you, Heidi. A U.S. Military official now calling this in his words one of the most provocative incidents on the high seas the U.S. Navy has seen in recent years. It was 5:30 a.m. Sunday morning in the Strait of Hormuz, international waters in the Persian Gulf when five Iranian small attack crafts that the U.S. Navy says were identified as belonging to Iran's Revolutionary Guard began to harass and provoke. Again, U.S. military words, harass and provoke, three U.S. Navy warships sailing in those international waters.

According to U.S. military officials, the Iranian, the five boats, began to make threatening moves. One of them coming within 200 yards of one of the U.S. Navy warships and also they were sending threatening messages, we are told, over their radio transmissions. One of those transmissions according to the U.S. military, said, "I am coming at you, you will explode in a couple of minutes."

We have some file footage here of some of the ships involved. Also after that transmission, there are also one of the Iranian boats dropped a number of white boxes into the water, according to the U.S. navy. The Navy does not know what was in those boxes. But this began to escalate. One of the U.S. Navy warships was in the process, the captain in the process of giving the order to shoot when the Iranians finally turned away. No shots were fired, we are told. No one was hurt. But the U.S. military considers this to be an extremely provocative incident.

And mainly, Heidi, in large part, they want to remind everyone, they say they were sailing in international waters. And of course, the Strait of Hormuz is one of the most critical choke points for a good majority of the world's oil supplies. A fact that has not gone unnoticed here -- Heidi.

COLLINS: Yes. I have so many questions for you, but maybe just first off. I'm curious about the white boxes. Any indication as to what could happen next? Will the U.S. Navy do any diving to try and recover them and find out what was inside?

STARR: No indication yet. You know, as one U.S. military official said to me, we don't know what was in there. It could have been boxes of books. It could have indeed been some sort of explosives for those U.S. Navy warships. The most immediate thing was to make rapid maneuvers away from those boxes. They didn't want to obviously encounter them or have their ship's hauls encounter them. The crews were at a very high state of alert. Guns were manned. And of course, now the Navy is on serious alert, to say the least, in those waters.

They don't want any repeat of this. We have not heard from the government of Iran. We should point out, on this, we may, in fact, have some statement from them in the hours or days to come about all of this. They have not given their version of events, Heidi.

COLLINS: Yes. That's what I wondered. I mean, typically when something like this happens, and not to underscore how unusual this type of maneuver, if you will, or aggression is, diplomatically, what typically happens? Phone calls are made? Condoleezza Rice gets involved? I mean, what can we see next?

STARR: Well, you know, there's very limited communication between the U.S. military and the Iranian government. But let me add in one thing. The U.S. Military has known for some months now that Iran's Revolutionary Guard Naval Forces, which is not their regular navy, is really sort of in charge of their operations in the Persian Gulf waters. So this is something the U.S. Navy has been watching very carefully for the last several months.

They do have means of communicating through third parties, through other governments. But perhaps one can assume that military - U.S. Military sources are making this information public today because they clearly know that the news media is one channel for the Iranians to watch and see the U.S. view of this matter. For the U.S. Military, the question for them now is, what were the Iranians really up to, were they trying to provoke the U.S. Navy into shooting them or were they just probing U.S. naval defensive measures -- Heidi.

COLLINS: Yes, certainly that is the question. All right, Barbara, we know you're working your sources very hard on this one. Appreciate that. Barbara Starr from the Pentagon this morning.

Countdown now to New Hampshire. The next cast for the presidential campaign comes at midnight. The first vote in the nation's first primary. Are some candidates seeing their Cinderella story slip away? New poll numbers raise fresh concerns for several campaigns. We have CNN crews covering the candidates as they race the clock.

Let's begin with the Republicans. John McCain is holding a slim lead in a new poll and hosting a whirlwind of rallies this morning. His theme, the mack is back.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JOHN MCCAIN (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: I know that the young people I see in front of me represent America's greatness. I am optimistic about the future of this country. I believe I can lead it. I think it's still a shining city on a hill. And my dear friends, tomorrow is the day when we will tell the world that the state of New Hampshire has again chosen the next president of the United States.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COLLINS: CNN's Dana Bash covered that McCain event in Nashua. She's joining us now live.

So, Dana, does it seem like McCain is feeling some momentum here?

DANA BASH, CNN CORRESPONDENT: He definitely has a bounce in his step, there's no question about it. It's interesting, Heidi, he has a lot of the people who are around him back in 2000 when he actually won here, when he beat George W. Bush. He's got them behind him and he even spoke about the nostalgia that he is feeling because this is a state, New Hampshire, that has been incredibly good to John McCain. Obviously, he did have a win here in 2000. This is a state that he has camped out and really waived a very surprising comeback.

Remember, it wasn't long ago that John McCain absolutely thought that he was absolutely nowhere, that his campaign was over. But he himself reminded voters he had 101 town hall meetings and he spent a lot of time lingering with voters, answering tough questions about some of the things that really got him in trouble in terms of policy. Things like the Iraq war, his support for the Iraq War which he now reminds voters that he right on he says. Things like immigration, which is still a big part of the sparks that are flying between John McCain and his chief rival here, Mitt Romney.

Immigration is an issue that is illegal immigration is very important to voters here in New Hampshire. John McCain, from their point of view, was on the wrong side of that in pushing legislation that allowed a path to citizenship. But again, he is somebody who has stayed here, worked the crowds and has really a connection to the voters here. So, right now you are seeing a sprint, a sprint from John McCain through seven rallies. He is not spending very much time. He had a 2:52 speech here in Nashua. It's probably going to be the same thing all day long.

Basically, he is trying to steal as many votes as he can from his chief rival here, Mitt Romney. And you know, as important as it is here for John McCain, it really is make it or break it for him tomorrow. It is equally as important for Mitt Romney. Mitt Romney had a very big loss in the first caucus state of Iowa. He was expecting and hoping to win there. He poured a lot of resources in there. He hoped that momentum in there would take him through the state of New Hampshire and this would be fertile territory for Mitt Romney because he, of course, is the former governor of the neighboring state of Massachusetts. It really hasn't turned out that way for several reasons. So what you're seeing Mitt Romney do is have the same kind of sprint today. He's got about six events throughout the day. He is making it pretty clear that he needs as many votes as he can. He's trying to sort of set himself apart from John McCain, his chief rival here, as somebody who has outside of Washington experience. He is using that change which we have heard over and over since that is the message many candidates think the voters were sending with the Iowa results.

So, it's going to be a fascinating finish to see what happens between these two men, Mitt Romney and John McCain. Each of whom really, really need a win here in order to continue to be viable in the presidential race. And one last thing, we shouldn't forget about the winner of the Iowa caucuses, and that of course is Mike Huckabee. He is somebody who is hoping to get, to prove that he is not just a one-state wonder. That he can get a bounce of out of his win in Iowa. He can do well in a state that doesn't have the deep evangelical base that really propelled his victory in Iowa. He is hoping at least to place third here. If he does place third and beat Rudy Giuliani, that could be telling about his viability going into the next contest state for him and that's South Carolina -- Heidi.

COLLINS: All right. CNN's Dana Bash covering all the angles for the GOP for us in Nashua, New Hampshire. Thank you, Dana.

And now to the Democrats, the big question they are facing today, is Barack Obama pulling out of reach? CNN's Suzanne Malveaux is in Manchester this morning.

Suzanne, good morning.

SUZANNE MALVEAUX, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Heidi. This really is a fascinating race. It is a race that has evolved even over just the last 24 or 48 hours here. The Clinton campaign taking on a very aggressive stand now. They are sending out thousands of e-mails to their surrogates, to their supporters. With talking point saying it is not about talk, it's about action. It's not about words, it's about deeds. Not about rhetoric but reality. You're hearing from Senator Clinton, words like reality check, false hope. She is obviously responding to what is really being a pick-up here for Senator Barack Obama.

I got a chance to speak with her yesterday. There's a lot of big, big crowds that she's drawing. The two things that they're reacting to is one is a debate that happened over the weekend. Quite contentious at times. Among the democrats, Barack Obama and Senator Edwards ganging up on her at times saying she was the status quo, they are the agent of change. The other obvious thing that's happening here is they're looking at what happened from Iowa, trying to get some lessons learned. And that is one of the things that I asked her about.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MALVEAUX: Let's talk about Iowa. Third place finish here. Barack Obama came on top and came to young voters and women voters as well. You courted those voters. You got the name recognition. You've got the money. You grew up in the neighboring state of Illinois. What happened in Iowa?

SEN. HILLARY CLINTON (D), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Well, I'm not looking back in the rearview mirror. You know, one of the reasons why you have so many contests in a short period of time because every one of them leads to another one. We're going to fight this campaign out until February 5th when there will finally be a decision. I'm thrilled to be here in New Hampshire. I feel very much at home here.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

MALVEAUX: Well, Heidi, there are certainly things that her campaign is doing in response. Those lessons learn from Iowa. One of them is obviously reaching out to those young voters that she lost. She's traveling with Chelsea but also they are courting some of those young voters. They are aboard the campaign bus. She had a specific stop, at an add on, at a bagel shop to talk to those young voters.

We're also seeing her open up her campaign events and so she's taking lots and lots of questions from folks. The idea behind that is they believe that they can put her out there, to show that she's got experience, knowledge, some ideas about specifics that she'll be able to convince them that she is the one that has the kind of experience to be president on day one. Heidi.

COLLINS: All right. CNN's Suzanne Malveaux covering the democratic candidates for us in Manchester, New Hampshire.

Thanks so much, Suzanne.

For more information now on the New Hampshire primary, just go to cnnpolitics.com. It is your one-stop shop for all things political.

California utility crews using a break in the weather today to get power to more customers. Tens of thousands of homes and businesses still without electricity since a severe storm hit on Friday. At one point, nearly 500 miles of power lines were down. At least four deaths have been blamed on the storm. Rain has increased the threat of floods and mudslides in areas of southern California, ravaged by wildfires. This video shows what San Diego fire officials are calling a slippage of land. No homes were damaged.

Heavy snow from the same storm system is complicating efforts to reach people in southern Colorado. Two families haven't been seen since going out on snowmobiling trip on Friday. And two skiers are also missing in that area.

Some higher than normal temperatures though are moving into some parts of the country now. Meteorologist Jacqui Jeras is live in our weather center with a look at that.

Hey there, Jacqui.

JACQUI JERAS, AMS METEOROLOGIST: Hey, Heidi. The warmth and the moisture is coming in from the Pacific. And we're putting those things together and it's spelling an ugly mess right now across parts of the Midwest. There you can see the rain drops on the camera from WISN-TV in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, where the temperature is up there. It's going to be around 40 degrees at this hour. There's a lot of fog and poor visibility, as you can see.

The rain showers are continuing to push in and it's kind of a stormy day here. Temperatures are much warmer than average, around 52 degrees will be our high temperature today in the Milwaukee area. And then we're going to start to drop back down like a rock. Temperatures are going to fall down into the 30s. OK, let's go ahead and take a look at the map and see what's going on there and show you the showers and thunderstorms all across the area.

Here you can see Milwaukee right there. The heaviest of storms have just pushed on off to your east but redevelopment is going to be likely. There's a little concern that some of these storms could become severe a little bit later on this afternoon. But difficult travel. And we do have some delays at Chicago O'Hare Airport of about an hour and a half right now. The greatest threat for severe storm will be south of Wisconsin. Say just southwest of Chicago into St. Louis area and down towards Little Rock.

Large hail and damaging winds will be the greatest concern but an isolated tornado or two certainly can't be ruled out. Now, that warm that's moving in across parts of the north is pushing on top of the really good solid snow pack. And when that happens, we tend to get very foggy conditions. There you can see fog advisories in effect across northern Wisconsin and also into Michigan. That's going to last for the next couple of hours. But also with the warm temperatures and the snow pack, it also means a lot of melting.

We've had a lot of snow melting across southern Illinois and also in the northern parts of Indiana over the last 24 hours with additional melting. That's why we have the flood watches is effect. OK, the good stuff is just how warm those temperatures are going to be. And that's 30 degrees above average in the corn belt states and Ohio Valley. We're going to see a lot of records broken today, Heidi. Unfortunately it's going to be kind of a quick shot. We're going to watch for cooler temperatures to move back in the Midwest tomorrow but the east has a good day and a half to two days.

COLLINS: Oh, good. Just enough time to get my golf game right back on track.

JERAS: Hey, there you go.

COLLINS: All right. Jacqui, thank you.

Headed home after a weekend ski trip. A tour bus rolls off a wet highway in Utah. At least seven people were killed when the bus rolled down an embankment and crashed, 20 others were injured. It happened near Mexican Hat. It's an area known as four corners. Emergency crews from those nearby states rushed in to help.

State of emergency in Nevada. One small community almost washed away. Are gophers to blame? (COMMERCIAL BREAK)

COLLINS: Pakistan's president says Benazir Bhutto's assassination two weeks ago was her own fault. President Pervez Musharraf talked about it in a CBS "60 minutes" interview.

He says the former prime minister acted irresponsibly when she stood up through the sun roof of her armored car to wave to supporters.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

PERVEZ MUSHARRAF, PRESIDENT OF PAKISTAN: Why did she stand outside the car?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Why did she stand up in the half roof?

MUSHARRAF: Who is to blame?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Who is to blame?

MUSHARRAF: Only she.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: So Benazir Bhutto, in your words, should bear some responsibility for what took place, for her own death?

MUSHARRAF: For standing up outside the car, I think it is she to blame alone, nobody else. The responsibility is hers.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COLLINS: Bhutto died after shots were fired at her and a suicide bomb was detonated. Detectives from Britain's Scotland Yard are helping in the investigation. They met with Pakistani Police today. Detectives from Scotland Yard are meeting today with Pakistani investigators looking into Benazir Bhutto's assassination.

CNN's Matthew Chance reports hundreds of other Pakistani's have been the victims of suicide bombers recently.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

MATTHEW CHANCE, CNN, CORRESPONDENT: Three gunshots, then a powerful blast. Alongside Benazir Bhutto, more than 20 others were killed, mostly loyal supporters scrambling for a final glimpse. Supporters like Assif Rajput (ph), a 28-year-old member of Bhutto's party. Now his widow clings on to newspaper clippings of her husband's political career, cut short by a suicide bomber.

Assif was always ready to sacrifice his life for his political party, she told me. But a Muslim can't do this to another Muslim, she says. Many Pakistanis are shocked, a gunman and a suicide bomber reached such chaos. But the attacks that killed Assif and Benazir Bhutto, was by no means an isolated incident.

Pakistani officials say there have been 19 suicide bombings in the country in the past three months alone, killing close to 400 people, leaving nearly 1,000 injured. All are blamed on pro-Taliban militants linked with Al Qaeda, targeting political parties, military installations, or anyone seen as a threat.

Azhar Hamdani was caught up in a suicide blast in July as he took part in a political protest in the capital, Islamabad. He lost his left eye and can hardly walk. Chaos, he says, is what the bombers want.

But why would they want to do that that? What do you think their motive is?

AZHAR HAMDANI, BOMBING VICTIM: They would like to destabilize our country and maybe they have their own aims and their own goals and their own achievements. But I hope it will try to stop these cowards.

CHANCE: Before even more Pakistani lives are ruined or lost.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

COLLINS: CNN's Matthew Chance is following the assassination investigation. He is in Islamabad now.

Matthew, any reactions to the report that the CIA is considering stepping up their covert operations?

CHANCE: Well, yes, Heidi. There's been an angry reaction here in the Pakistani capital to those reports first carried in "The New York Times." The Pakistani government is angrily rejected any idea that the CIA could step up or even start its covert operations in the western tribal belt territory bordering Afghanistan and Pakistan.

It's a very strategically important area. It's believed to be the place where it's most likely the top leadership of Al Qaeda, including Osama Bin Laden are hiding out. But nevertheless, the Pakistani authorities say they are the ones and they alone will be fighting the pro-Taliban/Al Qaeda-linked militants there. Heidi.

COLLINS: All right. CNN's Matthew Chance with the story for us this morning from Islamabad, Pakistan. Matthew, thank you.

Your wallet, your worries. Are we slipping toward a recession? What you need to know about the dreaded "R" word.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

COLLINS: Let's take a minute and check out the big board. Looks like the Dow Jones industrial average is down, just about six points or so, resting at 12,791. Not quite as bad as Friday's close. Yikes, down 256 points or so. Nasdaq, I'm hearing is also down about 17. We will continue to watch those numbers for you. Throughout the day we're going to talk to Susan Lisovicz shortly.

Unemployment is soaring, foreclosure is mounting, stocks falling. Is the economy really facing a recession? CNN's personal finance editor, Gerri Willis, tells us what you need to know about the "R" word.

So, Gerri, what does it really mean when we talk about recession?

GERRI WILLIS, CNN, PERSONAL FINANCE EDITOR: Well, hi, good morning there, Heidi. Well, you got to know the terms. The reality is you really don't know you're in a recession until it's practically passed. The economists say that it's two back-to-back quarters of negative growth is measured by GDP. You know, we went right to the source, the folks who are the recession referees.

According to them, the National Bureau of Economic Research, a recession is a broad-based economic declinement last for more than a few months -- Heidi.

COLLINS: Well, how do you know exactly, Gerri, if we are really in a recession?

WILLIS: Well, declaring a recession is looking at a rearview mirror. It can take six to 18 months to declare a recession. So, let's say the economy took a nose dive today, we wouldn't know we were in recession until July at best. As a consumer though, there are a few things you can watch. First, is the economy producing jobs? We just got news last week it's not. The Feds trying to lowering rates is also a sign that policymakers are a little worried about the economic weakness. We may get more clues as to what the Fed will do on Thursday when the Fed chief gives his speech.

Finally, you have to look at catalyst. The recessions of 2001, 1990, 1981 were preceded by a bubble, real estate bubble, text stock bubble and inflation. Of course, this time around, Heidi, the concern is housing. The recession may be the economy's way of relieving these excesses.

COLLINS: All right. So if we are headed for a recession, let's just say, any indication as to how long it could last?

WILLIS: Well, there's some good news here. Recessions have become shorter and milder since 1981. The recessions in 1990 and 2001 lasted about eight months. They were relatively small declines in the economy. Economists say that's because the Fed has been more pro- active in preventing problems -- Heidi.

COLLINS: So, if you are a consumer who really is worried about falling into a recession, Gerri, what can you do? Is there anything you can do?

WILLIS: Well, probably the number one problem is losing your job because people take lay-offs all across the economy. See when it raised your profile at work. Make sure your boss knows your value. Make it a point to work on the best and most high-profile projects. Renew connections, join sites like linkedin.com or push your professional profile at dix.com. That's a professional networking site.

Now, if you're afraid you're going to lose your job it's a good idea to investigate no cause HELOC, or home equity lines of credit. This way you'll be able to pay your mortgage in case you lose income. And if you have any questions send them to us at toptips@cnn.com. We love hearing from you -- Heidi.

COLLINS: All right, great. CNN's personal finance editor, Gerri Willis.

Gerri, nice to see you. Thank you.

WILLIS: My pleasure.

COLLINS: Good morning once again, everybody. You are in the CNN NEWSROOM. I'm Heidi Collins.

Lethal injection, cruel and unusual? The Supreme Court takes it up today. Two Kentucky death row inmates claim the three-drug system can cause excruciating pain. They want states to use different drugs or change the way injections are delivered. Right now executions across the country are on hold.

A deadly fire in South Korea to tell you about. At least 40 people are dead in the blaze about 50 miles south of Seoul. The fire swept through a refrigeration warehouse in an industrial district this morning. A fire officials say the exact cause is not yet known. But workers were injecting urethane foam into basement walls when the fire first began.

High stakes on the high seas. The U.S. accusing Iran of threatening its warships. An international security expert has perspective.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

COLLINS: One of my favorite things to do, start off the half hour here with some good news. And that is what we have for you, regarding that incident we've been telling you about. For a couple of days now, in southern Colorado, there were six missing snowmobilers. We now have reports that those snowmobilers have been found alive. This is all happening, if you're familiar with the state at all, Conejos, Colorado. Again, that's southern Colorado. Six snowmobilers who were last seen on Friday, apparently they were able to find a cabin of some kind and took shelter there.

But we had not heard anything from them over these past couple of days until now. We are understanding that all six of them, as you can see on the bottom of your screen there, are in good health. One of our correspondents, Thelma Gutierrez, is in the area. We're going to bring her up just as soon as possible with more information that she may have directly on this story. So once again, those six snowmobilers that have been missing since Friday have now been found alive. So, some great news there. We're going get more details for you just as soon as they become available here at CNN.

Meanwhile, the U.S. is calling it a case of high seas hostility. The U.S. Navy says five Iranian Revolutionary Guard boats harassed and provoked three warships in international waters. U.S. officials say the incident happened early yesterday morning in the Strait of Hormuz. It's a key waterway for oil shipments. The Navy said that the Iranian boats made threatening moves and threatening radio transmissions including this statement that says, "I am coming at you. You will explode in a couple of minutes." The U.S. warships were preparing to fire when the Iranian boats turned away. We are still awaiting some comment on this story from the Iranian government. So far, we have heard nothing as of yet.

We want to bring in Jim Walsh now. He's an international security analyst and regular guest here on CNN NEWSROOM.

Jim, nice to see you as always. Hey, these are international waters. If you would, Jim, begin by explaining what exactly that means.

JIM WALSH, INTERNATIONAL SECURITY ANALYST: Well, remember every country that has water on it, has an ocean on it, has part of that shore that they can claim as their own national waters and then, beyond that limit, it's international water in which any ship is allowed to travel. Now, the Strait of Hormuz is one of the narrowest pieces of the water on the planet and you have ships, cheek by jowl up and down this strait.

And so, the Iranian Revolutionary Guard, which controls these naval vessels, they don't like the U.S. there, they don't like the U.S. with its big ships patrolling what it sees as its waters. And so my guess is this has been going on for a while. Sort of tit for tat and faking and fainting and harassment. And frankly, it's unwelcome but it's not surprising.

The question is, does it stop here or does it escalate? I'm guessing that this has more to do with naval commanders in the water than it does some sort of big political judgment on the part of Iran's supreme leader. And so we've had this before with the British sailors being captured, you will remember. So we're going get these flare-ups now and again.

COLLINS: Yes but it seems like, Jim, with that incident, the questions came out about the boundaries of those international waters. That was really the question at the heart of that incident. This, not so much. Everybody knows that definitely, these are international waters. That's not in dispute.

WALSH: I think you're right, Heidi. Although, I won't be surprised if we get a different story from Iranian spokespeople. But I think what you have here is the Iranian Revolutionary Guard doesn't like the U.S. The U.S. doesn't like the Iranian Revolutionary Guard. You will remember even during the Cold War, obviously two very different players, but the U.S. and Soviet subs engaged in games where they would harass each other. This is part of that.

And one reason why I say that, Heidi, is, if you look at the big picture, U.S./Iranian relations are actually improving a little bit. U.S. military commanders on the ground in Iraq have reported that they see a real dramatic drop-off in the IEDs and in the number of people who are flowing from Iran into Iraq, that this was part of this dialogue between the U.S. and Iran and actually it resulted in a drop- off of transferred explosives and terrorists.

So, things had been moving in a positive direction there. But sometimes commanders take their own discretion and act on their own. My concern is that politicians in Iran might jump on this. They have Parliamentary elections coming up in March. And of course, you know, we've got just a few miles North to me, Heidi, there's a certain election going on. And there may be candidates who want to seize on this and make it big deal. I think we ought to show a little caution here.

COLLINS: Yes, I bet that that will happen next. But that all being said, Jim, when we look at this and what happened and we are hearing out of the U.S. Military, one of the most provocative incidents that they've seen in quite some time, reported to us from our Pentagon correspondent, Barbara Starr.

Also, it came within about 200 yards of one of our Navy vessels. The radio transmission, if you can put that back up on the screen and actually look at those words, "I am coming at you. You will explode in a couple of minutes." Boy, you know, provocative to say the least.

WALSH: Provocative, unprofessional. You know, I think any military person in any normal military would be embarrassed by that sort of behavior. So -- and remember, in Iran, there are two militaries, there's not one military. There's the regular military and then there's the revolutionary guard. And as I say, it's the revolutionary guard who is in charge here. And the revolutionary guard, remember, Heidi, they're much more ideological, they are committed to the revolution and all that that means. And so I think they're going to act differently than a regular military officer in the Iranian military.

COLLINS: Acting autonomously. All right, well thanks so much for that. We appreciate it and of course, we will keep our eye on the situation with you as well as CNN's Barbara Starr from the Pentagon.

Jim Walsh, our international security analyst and regular guest here in the CNN NEWSROOM. Thank you, Jim.

WALSH: Thank you, Heidi.

COLLINS: Want to go back to the story that we have been telling you about out of Colorado. Some very good news. Those six snowmobilers that had been missing since Friday have been found alive. Our Thelma Gutierrez has been following this story. She's in the area and joining us now by telephone.

Thelma, tell us what you know.

THELMA GUTIERREZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Heidi, we just got the call from the sheriff's department up here and we are told that 36-year-old Jason Groin (ph), his wife Shannon and their 14-year-old daughter, Aspen, as well as their friend Mike Martin, his wife Missy, and their 13-year-old Jesse son, have all been contacted. They are alive and they are well. Apparently, they had been missing since Friday. The couple had friends out looking. They had had volunteers out looking for them but no word. And people here were very concerned because they were up high in a pass, at 10,000-foot pass up here between Colorado and New Mexico. And there was a huge snowstorm. They had not been heard from. And it turns out that this family, somehow, made their way on their snowmobiles, is what the sheriff department tells us, out to a train station.

It's called the Ozur Station. And anybody who knows trains perhaps is familiar with this station. It is between Antanedo (ph) and Chama (ph). And it is called the Cumbris (ph) and Tollteck (ph) Scenic Narrow Gauge Railway. And I'm told that it's a pretty popular tourist destination in the summertime. The families made their way to this train station. They dialled 9-1-1. They were put in touch with the sheriff's department. They said that they are fine. All six are doing fine. They are cold. They are hungry. They need fuel for their snowmobiles.

And right now search-and-rescue teams are heading up to the mountain to take food and fuel to them, and hopefully bring them back down. So very good news for the families and also for their friends.

COLLINS: Yes. Boy, that's incredible news, Thelma. Having done some backcountry snowmobiling myself in that state of Colorado, it is unbelievably dense snow that you often find there, as well as incredibly remote. So some of these initial reports, Thelma, I just want to clarify, saying these snowmobilers may have found a cabin. Indeed, it was not a cabin. It was this train station that you talk about.

GUTIERREZ: Yes, that's according to the sheriff's department. Remember, one of the rescue members was telling us that they were up there and working in white-out conditions, that visibility was almost zero up in this area, and they said that, you know, the conditions were absolutely treacherous up there.

So perhaps they're surmising that the conditions were suddenly clear. The family was able to spot this train station and get to it and call for help.

COLLINS: Wow. Well, it's fantastic when stories like this end up with everybody being OK. So great news there. We appreciate the reporting. CNN's Thelma Gutierrez calling in from Colorado there for us.

Thanks so much, Thelma.

After the Nevada levee break...

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: What's not high is lost. So it's pretty ugly.

(END VIDEO CLIP) COLLINS: What's not high is lost. Homeowners return to a muddy mess. The cleanup, in the NEWSROOM.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

COLLINS: Democrats versus Republicans, and a lot of Americans turned off and tuning out the partisan politics. Enter center stage a billionaire politician flirting with the presidential bid as an independent, or is he?

CNN's Jim Acosta has the story.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

JIM ACOSTA, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): For a politician who claims he's not running for president...

MYR. MICHAEL BLOOMBERG, NEW YORK CITY: I wanted to present a key to the city.

DAVID LETTERMAN: Thank you, sir.

BLOOMBERG: This is not for you; this is for your beard.

ACOSTA: New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg sure doesn't act like it. Venturing outside of the city's five burroughs, he's barnstormed the world stage, with whistle stops in China, Paris and Bali. Today the mayor is sitting down in Oklahoma with political centrists at a so-called bipartisan forum, where some participants are welcoming a new voice in the campaign.

DAVID BOREN, BIPARTISIAN FORUM HOST: We might have to have a timeout from the two-party system. We might have to have some shock therapy through an independent candidacy.

ACOSTA: Everywhere Bloomberg goes, the question is asked...

BLOOMBERG: I am not a candidate.

ACOSTA: The billionaire turned mayor, the Democrat turned Republican turned Independent isn't ruling it out. But ever the tease, Bloomberg sounded like a national candidate last week.

BLOOMBERG: How do you fight terrorism and stop wars? I'm going to be tougher than next guy is not an answer. Congress has been unwilling to come up with an immigration policy that makes some sense.

ACOSTA: The centerpiece of a potential campaign, bipartisanship.

BLOOMBERG: What we want to do is find a way get the partisan out of politics, to get the special interests out.

ACOSTA (on camera): This meeting is scheduled one day before the New Hampshire primary. What do you think is going on there?

DAVID GERGEN, CNN POL. ANALYST: I don't think it's accidental at all.

ACOSTA: But CNN political analyst David Gergen who has worked in both Republican and Democratic administrations says, there may be something bigger going on in Oklahoma.

GERGEN: I think there's no question that this is a clever way to put pressure on both parties.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

COLLINS: Jim Acosta is joining us now live in Norman, Oklahoma.

So, Jim, when will we know for sure if Bloomberg will run? Is this really a possibility?

ACOSTA: Well, didn't you hear him, Heidi? He's not running for president. I don't know if you heard that. I'm just kidding.

COLLINS: They always say that.

ACOSTA: There may be a need for a forum for reporters who don't take no for an answer. But anyway, that's beside the point.

No, the host of this meeting, former Senator David Boren, told us on Friday, that what may happen is after Super Tuesday, once he and these other fighting moderates, if you want to call them that, get a sense of what the field looks like, they will then make another determination as to whether or not they think an independent candidacy is viable.

Having said all of that the mayor will continue from this point forward saying he is not run for president. But if you listen to him carefully, not running for president, that's sort of in the present tense. He hasn't really issued one of those Shermanesque denials that he will not run for president.

So it's really sort of a wait-and-see mode that we're in right now. But you can see the people lining up behind me. It's a pretty good line of folks waiting to get inside this forum, which we'll have a press conference in about half an hour from now. And I can tell you this, Those people are not just waiting in line for a bipartisan forum -- Heidi.

COLLINS: Fascinating, isn't it, Jim?

ACOSTA: Absolutely.

COLLINS: All right, reporting to us live from Norman, Oklahoma.

Thanks so much, Jim Acosta.

For more on the New Hampshire primary, you can go to cnnpolitics.com. It is your one-stop shop for all things political. And remember, cnn.com is the place to check out if you want even more from the candidates. You can watch the final speeches before the New Hampshire primary, including a Barack Obama event about to get under way -- you can see the picture there -- in Lebanon, New Hampshire. Campaign events and rallies streaming all day and night on cnn.com.

(NEWSBREAK)

COLLINS: The rocket launches a lawsuit. Baseball's Roger Clemens indignant and defiant over steroids allegations.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(BUSINESS HEADLINES)

COLLINS: Meanwhile, John McCain's New Hampshire prediction...

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SEN. JOHN MCCAIN (R-AZ), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: We'll win here, we'll win.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COLLINS: Fresh poll numbers, a campaign revived, in the NEWSROOM.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

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