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American Morning
Bank Of America to Buy Countrywide Financial; Airline Mergers; South Showdown: GOP Clash Over the Economy; Avalanche Control; Barack's Secret Weapon; Sir Edmund Hillary Passed Away
Aired January 11, 2008 - 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: A blockbuster deal that's been tied to the mortgage crisis that's rocked the economy for the past year. The country's largest bank is about to buy the country's largest mortgage lender. Bank of America is close to a deal to buy Countrywide Financial. That would be for $4 billion in stock. It would save Countrywide from bankruptcy which would have dramatically worsened the credit crisis many analysts say.
We're also watching new talk of a mega merger in the airline industry. This one involves Delta, Northwest and United. Delta's board is expected to meet today, and the news sent airline stocks sky high on Thursday. They had their best day actually in years.
And then on the ground, Nissan and Chrysler are talking. Chrysler needs Nissan to make a smaller, fuel-efficient car to sell in North America. And in return, Chrysler would pick up production of Nissan's full-size pickups.
And also, we heard from the Fed chairman as well sending signals about another rate cut. Our Ali Velshi is watching all of this for us this morning to break this one for us. Let's get to the situation with the Fed chairman. A lot of people ask whether or not we're in a recession. What does he think?
ALI VELSHI, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, funny enough, he's doesn't think we're in a recession, but he's been late to the game on everything else for the last year. So I suspect in a couple of weeks, he might say that we're headed for a recession. What he did do is he took the guessing out of whether we're expecting another interest rate cut at the end of the month. Here's what Ben Bernanke had to say.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
BEN BERNANKE, FEDERAL RESERVE CHAIRMAN: The Federal Reserve is not currently forecasting a recession. We are forecasting slow growth. But as I mentioned today, there are downside risks and therefore it's very important for us to stand ready, as I mentioned, to take substantive action to address those risks and provide some insurance against -- against those negative outcomes.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
VELSHI: All right. Taking substantive action to address those risks and provide insurance against those negative outcomes, that is Fed-speak for cutting interest rates probably by another half a percentage point on January 30th. That's when the Fed's next meeting.
Take a look at how markets reacted to this news. There were sort of bouncing around all day. And then you see that big spike? That's where news came out about that word, substantive action. Then markets went down again. Then they went up closing finally higher, but international markets are down right now across the board.
Asian markets closed lower. European markets are lower, and U.S. futures are lower. For you stock traders out there, this is a tough time to be out there. And the one gauge that tends to be pretty consistent about recession tends to be the price of gold. Gold settled last night at $891.70. That's the highest it's ever settled at. It is now trading within $5 of $900, so the betting is still on a recession.
CHETRY: People move their money to gold.
VELSHI: That's absolutely right because it's supposed to be safer than let's say, the U.S. dollar or bonds.
CHETRY: All right. When we come back, we're going to talk a little bit more about how some of those things like the Countrywide being bought by --
VELSHI: Which is the other big deal. That's true.
CHETRY: Bank of America.
VELSHI: That's the biggest lender in the country, so we'll talk about that. We'll talk about those airline mergers. A lot of business news today.
CHETRY: Ali, stick around.
VELSHI: OK.
CHETRY: You have today.
VELSHI: I do.
CHETRY: So stay put. Well, if taxes, jobs, paying the bills and stopping a recession. The economic issues that can make or break the candidates dominating the Republican debate last night in South Carolina. CNN's Dana Bash is on the campaign trail. She joins us live this morning in Myrtle Beach. That really was the talk of the night. People laying out their plans, a lot of promises about tax cuts and economic stimulus.
DANA BASH, CNN CORRESPONDENT: You're right, Kiran. You know, the economy is a huge issue across the country for voters, particularly because of the anxiety of the economy, but it's especially crucial in the next contest states for Republicans. Here in South Carolina, which is in eight days and Michigan, which is in four days, because in both states, the industry that really has made up the backbone of both of those states is suffering here. It's and, of course in Michigan, it is the auto industry. So what you saw last night was Mitt Romney, the Republican, former governor of Massachusetts, go after John McCain for what he says is pessimistic talk on the campaign trail.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
MITT ROMNEY (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: I know that there are some people who think, as Senator McCain did, he said, you know, some jobs that left Michigan they're never coming back. I disagree. I'm going to fight for every single job. Michigan, South Carolina, every state in this country, we're going to fight for jobs and make sure that our future is bright. We're going to protect the jobs of Americans and grow this economy again.
SEN. JOHN MCCAIN (R-AZ), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Sometimes you have to tell people things they don't want to hear along with the things they do want to hear. There are jobs. Settle the straight talk. There are some jobs that aren't coming back to Michigan. There are some jobs that won't come back here to South Carolina.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BASH: Now, what Senator McCain said is that is why he believes there should be a training program for people who are out of work, even older people who are out of work. He said that you should beef up those training programs at community colleges, for example. But this, Kiran, you know, we talk a lot about issues in this campaign season coming home. It's not so, so much about what's going on in the international stage. It's really, really evident in last night's debate.
CHETRY: And Dana, we also saw McCain making a strong point there about that. How critical is this state for him given his history there?
BASH: Very critical. His history here really makes this a fascinating contest for John McCain. It is here in South Carolina that his bid for the White House back in 2000 effectively stopped. Remember then? Just like now, he won pretty dramatically in the state of New Hampshire. But he lost here in South Carolina. It was a pretty brutal battle with President George Bush.
So what he is doing now is he is trying to come back. He himself says things are a bit different now because back then, George Bush had the service establishment here locked up. Now, McCain has a lot of those people behind him. He also says that unlike then, now we're living in a post-9/11 world.
So hear him on the campaign trail touting his experience in the military, the fact that he is a respected senator who understands the world stage. But it can be pretty hard for him to do that because he's up against his chief rival here, Mike Huckabee. He is somebody who has intense grassroots support, especially with evangelicals who are really important in the state -- Kiran.
CHETRY: Dana Bash in Mrytle Beach, South Carolina, for us this morning. Thank you. We want to let our viewers know we're going to be talking with many of the candidates this morning. Mike Huckabee is going to join us in our next half hour, 6:45 Eastern. We're also going to be speaking with Mitt Romney at 7:30 And we'll also visit the now former Democratic candidate, Bill Richardson, in the 8:00 hour.
We're tracking extreme weather right now. There are dangerous thunderstorms and tornado warnings in effect across the southern U.S. National Weather Service crews are now heading to Alabama today. They're going to be assessing tornado damage there. One suspected twister destroyed a supermarket in Wylie, about 40 miles west of Birmingham. The University of Alabama and other colleges suspended their classes. Now, that same storm system also damaged school buildings in Mississippi and is also being blamed on two deadly accidents.
Our Rob Marciano is tracking extreme weather for us right now. He's in Steamboat Springs, Colorado, this morning, and we can see the snow behind you. You're getting some weather where you are as well. Good morning, Rob.
ROB MARCIANO, METEOROLOGIST: Good morning, Kiran. Yes, certainly some weather here. It's been a big story here for the past week. A lot of energy coming out of the Rocky Mountains and bumping into some seriously warm air. I don't have to tell you that if you live in the eastern part of the country.
Record high temperatures, and when you get that kind of warmth this time of year, you don't need much energy to get the atmosphere to pop. And that's exactly what we've seen the last several days. Let's take into the Alabama and Georgia lines, in the southern part of those states. In early towns in Housen (ph) County, right now, there is a tornado warning in effect until 6:15 local time. You see that cell lit up there right along the border.
You can also see the outlined red watch box. We have a tornado watch that's in effect until 8:00 a.m. this morning. That may very well be extended eastward as we go through time. We had 21 reports of tornadoes yesterday, mostly in Mississippi and Alabama. So certainly, plenty of energy in this weather as it continues to move east into some very, very warm air. Atlanta, back to Birmingham, you are out of the severe weather threat. But the Carolinas, you will be under the gun as we go through time.
Here is the change in temperatures. Fifty-seven in Charlotte, 59 degrees in Atlanta. You see, not drastically cold air behind this system but seasonably cool. But it's so warm out ahead of it, we had a record high in Cape Hatteras yesterday of 70. Charleston had a 79- degree high temperature yesterday. Currently at 63. That is definitely warming up there to see some extreme weather today.
We're going to see some damaging winds, some isolated tornadoes as this storm continues to push off to the east. Meanwhile, several inches of snow falling here in the Colorado after two feet falling just yesterday. Avalanche, an issue. We'll talk more about that throughout the hour. Kiran, back over to you. CHETRY: All right. Rob, thank you.
Meanwhile, Alina Cho following other stories for us new this morning as well. Hi, Alina. Good to see you.
ALINA CHO, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hey there, Kiran. Good to see you. Good morning. And good morning, everybody.
New this morning. President Bush is leaving Israel within the hour. He's heading to Kuwait after delivering his boldest Mideast peace plan yet. The president is calling on Israelis and Palestinians to make "painful concessions to reach peace." The latest pictures just in showing Christian holy sites, including the site where it's believed that the sermon on the mount was delivered. Earlier, he attended a ceremony at the Jewish Holocaust Memorial.
A harsh warning from Pakistan. President Pervez Musharraf is telling a newspaper in Singapore that the U.S. has no business going into Pakistan to look for Al-Qaeda without permission. The statement follows a recent report in "The New York Times" that said the U.S. may have the CIA conduct covert operations in the country's tribal regions. Musharraf also said he'll resign if opposition parties try to impeach him after next month's parliamentary election.
Another sign of progress in Iraq. The top U.S. general says Anbar province will be handed over to Iraqi security forces in March. The area was once considered an Al-Qaeda stronghold. The U.S. believes the so-called surge of 30,000 troops in the region has had a positive effect. Some 35,000 U.S. marine and army forces are in Anbar. This is the 10th of 18 provinces handed back to Iraqi control.
A bridge that spans the U.S. and Mexico border will reopen this morning after a fiery and deadly crash. Police say four people were killed last night after two 18-wheelers slammed into each other causing a chain reaction.
The accident happened on the American side of the Farinosa (ph) International Bridge in Texas. The trucks were traveling in opposite directions on the bridge. Police say three of the dead were in a pickup truck that fell off the bridge and landed on the road below. The other person died in a collision with one of the tractor trailers.
A former American figure skating champion has been found dead of a possible drug overdose. Police say Christopher Bowman's body was found in a motel in Los Angeles. An autopsy will be performed over the weekend. He was known as "Bowman the showman" for his flair on the ice. He won the U.S. men's figure skating titles in 1989 and 1992 and also made the U.S. Olympic team in 1988 and 1992.
Bowman admitted to having drug problems during his career. He even checked into the Betty Ford Center before the 1988 Olympic games. Christopher Bowman was 40 years old.
The exact cause of death for rapper Kanye West's mother still unclear. According to the Los Angeles County coroner, there was no sign of, "surgical or anesthetic misadventure." The autopsy reports 58-year-old Donda West died from heart disease while suffering "multiple postoperative factors" after undergoing cosmetic surgery just the day before.
Unclear whether the findings will clear Dr. Jan Adams. Of course, he performed the surgery. The state Medical Board is still investigating whether to revoke his license after two alcohol-related arrests in the past four years.
New details this morning about the government's controversial plan to change our driver's licenses. The Fed are revising the minimum standards today. Drivers born after December 1964 will have until the year 2011 to get the secure licenses. Older drivers will have until 2018 because the government says they're less likely to be criminals.
So-called Real IDs would have digital photos, birth certificates and the statement on penalty of perjury that the information provided is true. Critics say the Real IDs, machine-readable technology threatens privacy and amounts to a defective national ID.
Listen to this one. He earned less than two percent of the vote in New Hampshire, but Democratic Congressman and Democratic candidate Dennis Kucinich wants a recount. Kucinich says there are enough credible reports on-line about disparities and hand counted ballots which tended to favor Barack Obama and machine ballots which went to Hillary Clinton. The state says Kucinich is entitled to recount. But guess what, under state law, he's going to have to pay for it himself.
And the world this morning, one of its most famous adventurers, Sir Edmund Hillary, he was the first man to conquer Mt. Everest. He reached the summit way back in 1953 with his Nepalese guide, Tensing Norgay. And what's interesting is that until Norgay's death in 1986, Hillary actually refused to confirm he was the first to the top insisting they've gotten there as a team. He was known for his humility, a legend among climbers and a national hero in Britain and his native New Zealand. He was even knighted by Queen Elizabeth.
Hillary died of a heart attack. He was 88 years old. And I want you to take a close look of the picture we're about to show you there. The man in the middle, of course, is Hillary. Recognize the girl on the right there? Her face is partially covered. That's our very own Kiran Chetry. She met Sir Edmund Hillary when she was a kid. And how old were you?
CHETRY: I think I was about 11 or 12 or 13 in that picture judging from the bad perm. That was my bad perm years. You know, he was a legend in our household, too. I was born in Nepal. And my father --
(CROSSTALK)
CHO: Right. Of course.
And you met him at the Nepalese Embassy, right?
CHETRY: That's right, and it was a very exciting situation because he's not only known as this incredible adventurer but somebody who did a lot for Nepal and for the Sherpa people. He'll be missed.
CHO: He will. He was an ambassador, the country's ambassador to India, to Nepal, to Bangladesh. Interesting. I didn't know this until I started reading the research. You know, more than 3,000 people have climbed Mt. Everest since he has, including his very own son.
CHETRY: Very exciting, of course, wanting to follow in his father's legendary footsteps and they named one of the hardest parts of the climb after him, the Hillary step, the last thing you have to get to where you get to the summit. So he'll be missed but what a legend.
CHO: A man of humility, certainly.
CHETRY: Thanks, Alina.
CHO: You bet.
CHETRY: We'll check in with you in about 30 minutes.
CHO: OK.
CHETRY: Meanwhile, much more AMERICAN MORNING ahead. An explosive fight to knock out an avalanche through out west. There you see the amazing pictures. Our own Rob Marciano got to go to the front lines of the race to keep people safe. He has even more incredible pictures for us straight ahead.
And we also get up close and personal with Michelle Obama. Why she could be her husband's secret weapon in South Carolina. That's ahead on AMERICAN MORNING.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
CHETRY: Wow. The incredible pictures right now from avalanche destruction taking place, in an effort to make sure that other avalanches don't get out of control and injure people. Rob Marciano live in Steamboat Springs, Colorado. The snow is falling there right now, and you had a chance to see how they do this. It's fascinating where they head off these avalanches in the high country.
MARCIANO: Yes, I mean, that's pretty much what you have to do. They've seen a tremendous amount of snow here in December. One of the biggest on record as far as how much snow they've seen in January. Certainly getting off to a big start. I mean, just the other day, a day and a half ago, we had just a little piece of energy come through and it dumped two feet of snow in this area.
And all season long, they've had a pretty high avalanche threat. So what do you do when you get two feet of snow on top of mountains that's already are unstable? Well, you blow it up. So, they set up a number of charges, different kinds of charges too. Basically, an air charge which sets it up above the ground which actually will compress it or release the snow. The other kind, they'll toss them, you know, by hand so we had to go through -- oh, man, that's nice. We had to go do this yesterday. They used a mixture of kerosene and also fertilizer. So this is some highly potent stuff that the government actually is very interested in where it goes. So they have to actually record every charge that they set so that the government knows and all that explosives can be held accountable.
Now, they tape them up. And then they give them a toss. So this kind of activity happens not only here but at ski resorts across the west. And also, they do it to help relieve avalanche threat along the highways. The Department of Transportation will have this sort of program along I-70 here that cuts through Colorado, which has some steep terrain on either side. They have to do similar things.
The other way to do it is actually shoot off cannons which we didn't do yesterday. We actually went to the top of the mountain and crisscrossed across some of the steepest terrain and released some of that snow so the folks here could enjoy some of the fresh powder. We'll talk to the actual people who do this, get into their mind set. That will be in a piece that we'll put together for next week.
But in the meantime, more snow falling now. We've got another six inch last night. So the way they described it to me was they had some snow, some warm air early in the season, and that snow underneath is kind of rotting. So they're pretty much going to have a high avalanche threat all year long. So they'll continue to battle it. Kiran, back over to you.
CHETRY: Looks like they're having way too much fun judging from the sights and sounds of what they're doing. Serious work but it looks like they enjoy it.
MARCIANO: They do. And they were pretty excited to be out there with that much snow. Twenty-five inches here in the Colorado Rockies. You get that much in the Sierras, but here in the Rockies, that is an epic event, for sure. So they were pretty pumped.
CHETRY: Pretty cool. All right, Rob. We'll look forward to your piece. We'll check in with you throughout the morning. Thanks.
Still ahead, watch what you say or you could get a mouthful of soap. One mom used to -- well, our moms used to warn us about using bad words. Remember? We'll wash your mouth out with soap. Well, now, one St. Louis area town is thinking about making it a law. We're going to tell you why they want swearing stamped out.
Also, campaign staffers call her "The closer." Find out why Barack Obama's secret weapon is not Oprah but his wife Michelle. That's ahead on AMERICAN MORNING.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
CHETRY: Twenty-three minutes past 6:00 here in New York. And our "Hot Shot" of the morning. Check it out.
It's a tow truck driver surveying the damage done to a car that was lifted off of the ground by an uprooted tree in Vancouver. There it is. This tree was one of many that was uprooted by a tornado that hit the area yesterday, so the car was just parked. The tree falls over, out comes the roots, and boy, there you go.
If you have a "Hot Shot," send it to us. The address, amhotshots@CNN.com. Be sure to include your name, where you're from, a little bit about the picture or video. And one more thing, make sure the image is yours and not someone else's.
I'm sure he came home and said, all right, now. I've seen everything.
CHO: I was born in Vancouver, Washington. My hometown.
CHETRY: Did you ever have to clear uprooted trees?
CHO: Not that I can recall.
CHETRY: OK. Good news. Good news for Alina.
Well, Barack Obama calls his wife, Michelle, his secret weapon. His campaign staffers actually call her the closer. The $1 million question is can Michelle Obama really help him win South Carolina and ultimately the White House. Well, AMERICAN MORNING's Alina Cho has been talking with voters and with Michelle Obama's -- one of her close friends as well as others on her campaign as well. What's her secret?
CHO: Oh, she's a fascinating woman. A combination of factors, Kiran. You know, there's no denying the Obama campaign is taking advantage of what it calls Michelle Obama's personal appeal. After all, she's a working woman who's also a mom and that could play well with undecided black female voters, especially key in South Carolina, the first critical test of the south, a place where nearly 50 percent of all Democrats are black.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
CHO (voice-over): A month ago, the most important woman in Barack Obama's political life may have been Oprah. Today, it's Michelle.
SEN. BARACK OBAMA (D), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: The lock on the Obama family. The closer on the campaign trail. Give it up for Michelle Obama.
CHO: Those who know her best say Michelle Obama is funny, fiery and blunt.
MICHELLE OBAMA, BARACK OBAMA'S WIFE: He's running to be the president of the United States to help fix up those corridors of shame.
CHO: Valerie Jarrett (ph) is a close family friend.
VALERIE JARRETT, OBAMA FAMILY FRIEND: I think what's good about Michelle is that when you get to know her, there really aren't that many surprises because what you see is what you get. She's so authentic.
CHO: The product of blue collar roots, Michelle grew up on Chicago's south side, graduating from Princeton and Harvard law. She met Barack at her law firm. Though three years younger, she was assigned to mentor him. They married in 1992. The Obama campaign hopes their story will resonate with and inspire black women in South Carolina, a place where many have strong ties to the Clintons. Black women could be the key swing vote. Enter Michelle Obama.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Very good strategy. Smart on his point to send a woman ahead.
ROLAND MARTIN, CNN ANALYST: She's going to tell them point blank -- look, I'm you. My daughters are you. And so, my husband is going to be thinking about you every single day because he's looking at you every single day.
CHO: A strong message sprinkled with strong words.
M. OBAMA: If you can't run your own house, you certainly can't run the White House.
CHO: Some interpreted that as a swipe at the Clintons. What is clear is unlike the Clintons, the Obamas are not promising a two-for- one White House.
JARRETT: She's not interested in attending cabinet meetings or being, you know, integrally involved. I think she sees herself very differently. She's really his partner. She's a sounding board, but she's not interested in being a co-president.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
CHO: Friends say their ability to compromise makes their relationship so great. And they call them kindred spirits. Now, Michelle Obama limits her time on the campaign trail to two to four days a week. Now, that allows her to get home to Chicago to be with her two young girls, Malia and Sasha.
Friends say she often leaves very early in the morning. That allows her to be back home at night to put her kids to sleep. And, Kiran, that way, her children don't know any different. They think she's just off to work.
CHETRY: That is adorable. You talk about how they met at that law firm. He talks about how he courted her and she said no, I don't want to date anybody from the office.
CHO: Oh, that's right. She was very concerned about that.
CHETRY: Right.
CHO: Remember, you know, she was working there. He was just a summer associate. He was still in law school. Even though she's three years younger, he was in law school at the time. But yes, this is time to mentor him. CHETRY: They have a very unique and adorable love story. Now, what is her work? And is she able to still do that?
CHO: Well, it's obviously very difficult. She's on leave of absence right now. She was recently named the vice president of the University of Chicago Medical Center. Initially, she cut back and cut down to about a 20 percent workload. Friends and aides admit it's really impossible to work right now and that she's committed to making sure her husband becomes president.
CHETRY: She is the closer. And you gave us a closer look at that. Thanks so much.
CHO: You bet.
CHETRY: Well, fighting words when it comes to issues at the Republican debate in South Carolina, specifically about which candidate has the best plan to help the nation's economy. Fred Thompson tore into Mike Huckabee for being too liberal on the economy as well as foreign policy and other issues bubbled to the surface, too. Rudy Giuliani, Mitt Romney and John McCain all talked about tax cuts. Ron Paul says we're in a recession.
And it brings us to this morning's "Quick Vote" question. Which issue will affect your vote the most this election year? Will it be the economy? Will it be Iraq, terrorism and security or health care? If you have to pick one of the ones that stands out in your mind as probably the pivotal issue for you as a voter, go ahead and do that for us. Cast your vote. CNN.com/am. We'll have a first tally of the votes coming up later in the hour.
And you're watching the most news in the morning. Mike Huckabee branded a liberal by some of the other candidates in last night's debate? We're going to hear how he plans to fight back when he joins us in our next half-hour.
And there's only one Super Bowl commercial slot left. If you have the money to pay for it, there's only one. We're going to tell you how much it's going for. That and today's headlines when AMERICAN MORNING comes right back.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
KIRAN CHETRY, CNN ANCHOR: Oh, there's a beautiful shot this morning. This comes to us from Steamboat Springs, Colorado where the snow is coming down. We check in with Rob Marciano a couple of moments ago. He says that they were looking at 25 inches, unheard of for the Colorado Rockies right now. 19 degrees, high of 22 and more snow expected that's why they're going over there and trying to set some of these explosions, controlled explosions to make sure the avalanche danger is cut down in the places where the people like to ski and walk around this time of year there.
Beautiful shot on this Friday, January 11th. Thanks for being with us this morning on AMERICAN MORNING. I'm Kiran Chetry. John Roberts is off today. We have our Alina Cho with us following some of the latest developments and the top stories this morning. A lot of news on the economic front.
ALINA CHO, CNN CORRESPONDENT: And that's right, Kiran, good morning. And good morning, again, everybody. New this morning, the country's largest bank is about to swallow up the country's largest mortgage lender. Government watchdogs are expected to OK Bank of America's planned purchase of countrywide financial for $4 billion in stock. The sale would save countrywide from bankruptcy. Something experts say would have caused another mortgage disaster. The deal shrinks the number of mortgage lenders but experts say that's less risky than countrywide going under.
President Bush is leaving Israel right now, headed for Kuwait. His latest Mid-East peace plan calls on Israelis and Palestinians to make, quote, "Painful concessions." Israel would have to redraw its borders for a Palestinian state and Palestinian refugees would have to accept compensation instead of returning to their former land in Israel. Overnight, the president visited Christian holy sites and the Jewish Holocaust Memorial.
Questions about how a tiger escaped at the San Francisco Zoo and killed a teen could finally be answered. Public hearings on the Christmas Day attack will begin today. Zoo officials have suggested that the animal was provoked. But the mother of the teen killed by the tiger says one of two friends injured in the attack told her that none of them had done anything to taunt the tiger.
Common decency or government going too far. A St. Louis area town wants to ban, get this, Kiran, swearing in bars. St. Charles, just outside of the city, is molding a bill that would ban table dancing, drinking contests, profane music, and, yes, cursing. The city councilman there says that downtown area sometimes gets a bit rowdy and the bill is meant to keep things from getting out of control. Bar owners say it violates their civil rights.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It's not necessarily that everything is really out of control. But if we have these rules and everybody knows what they are, that we won't ever get to that point.
MARC ROUSSEAU, BAR OWNER: We're dealing with adults here, once again. And I don't think it's a -- a city or the government job to determine what we can or cannot play in our restaurant.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CHO: Well, no word on how they exactly enforce that. But the city is now letting bar owners in on the discussions about the bill. The next meeting, by the way, is on Monday.
CHETRY: No table dancing, drinking contests, profane music, or cursing. What would young Hollywood do? That's what the L.A.
CHO: That's right. Lindsay Lohan would be in trouble. But more story we want to tell you about, Kiran. (INAUDIBLE) just before the break. If you've got $2.7 million and a product to sell, there's only one Super Bowl ad left. Fox has reportedly sold all by but one of the 63 commercial spots for the Super Bowl. The $2.7 million estimated price for the 30-second spot is up slightly from last year. Super Bowl XLII by the way will take place on February 3rd in Arizona. Of course we're looking at some of the ads there. But you had mention during the break.
CHETRY: (INAUDIBLE).
CHO: Yes, maybe one of the candidates might snap that up.
CHETRY: It's an expensive spot but it certainly would get a lot of eyeballs on it.
CHO: A lot of eyeballs. Yes, millions and millions.
CHETRY: Thanks so much, Alina.
CHO: You bet.
CHETRY: Meanwhile, taxes, jobs, overall economic health, major focuses in last night's South Carolina G.O.P. debate. The Fred Thompson campaign had said that he is all in on South Carolina. Last night in front of an audience full of southern voters, Thompson used the "L" word against Mike Huckabee.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
FRED THOMPSON, (R) PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: He would be a Christian leader, but he would also bring about liberal economic policies and liberal foreign policies. He believes we have an arrogant foreign policy and the tradition of blame America first. He believes that Guantanamo should be closed down and those enemy combatants brought here to United States to find their way into the court system eventually. He believes in taxpayer funded programs in illegal as he did in Arkansas.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
MIKE HUCKABEE, (R) PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: The Air Force have a saying that says if you're not catching flak, you're not over the target. I'm catching flak; I must be over the target.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CHETRY: Well, we're going to talk to Mike Huckabee. He is going to be joining us live to respond to some of the charges and to talk more about his plan and what he would do to battle some of the growing economic problems that we've been talking about all morning in the coming weeks and months. He's going to be joining us at 6:45, just a couple of minutes from now on AMERICAN MORNING.
And the next primary is Michigan. It's on Tuesday. Mitt Romney was born there. His dad was governor of the state but it's a state that John McCain actually won back in 2000. Poll show that Mike Huckabee does have a shot and that Rudy Giuliani can't be ruled out yet either.
On the other side of things, a couple of leading Democrats are sitting this state out. Of the top three finishers in New Hampshire, only Hillary Clinton is on the ballot. CNN political analysts John Dickerson join us live from Washington now with more on this.
Would you just explain for us in a nutshell why Barack Obama, John Edwards, and some of the others one are actually removed themselves from the ballot for the Democrats in the State of Michigan?
JOHN DICKERSON, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Sure. The Democratic Party penalized Michigan for moving its primary up. Removed its delegates and so those candidates who took the names off the ballot did so in keeping with the rules of the party. Hillary Clinton did not take her name off of the ballot. She's on there. And so they called it a beauty contest because it doesn't have any meaning in terms of apportioning delegates.
All right. So let's talk about the Republican side then because there was a lot of words thrown back and forth last night at the debate in South Carolina.
John McCain beat Romney in New Hampshire over questions of character. Those were some of the things that they said. So even if voters seem to agree with Mitt Romney on the economic plan, will John McCain who said, look, if I'm being honest with people in Michigan, there are a lot of manufacturing jobs that may never return to the state. How will that play?
DICKERSON: Here's where debate is with them. McCain landed in Michigan said as you point out, a little straight talk, as he calls it. These jobs aren't coming back. So I'm going to focus on retraining. I'm going to give you the skills to get a new job. Mitt Romney, from the business world, which often is the place were they make such an argument said no, just the opposite. I'm going to fight for every job.
Romney here is looking for some way at some wedge with McCain, because Michigan is a crucial state for Romney. He's got to win there. He says he's going to go all the way. But he's really got to win in Michigan and so he picked up on this. He has mentioned it on Michigan. And he mentioned it again last night's South Carolina debate.
CHETRY: So you're saying that if he doesn't win Michigan, do you think his campaign is over or is he going to still make his way to Super Tuesday?
DICKERSON: Well, he said he'll make his way to Super Tuesday. He certainly has his own money and can do that. It's just that after three straight losses, it would be in the big primaries and caucuses everybody pays attention to. He did win Wyoming. He's just keep going to have lost the momentum.
The Republican Party is looking to get itself back together. The primary is wide open right now. But whoever comes out of South Carolina with win or Michigan with a win will have that kind of momentum that will be hard if it's not Romney for him to be back.
CHETRY: Now, was that a good thing or a bad thing in terms of being wide open right now among the Republicans. Does that make some of the party uneasy?
DICKERSON: Yes, indeed. It makes some in the party uneasy and partly because there are those who would be terrified if he Rudy Giuliani got the nomination. Others who wouldn't like Mike Huckabee to get the nomination. And so for those groups, this has been an unsettling situation for Republicans as this primary process has been a big question mark and only seems to get more complicated as the primaries continue.
CHETRY: John Dickerson, great to see you as always. Thanks for being with us.
DICKERSON: Thank you.
CHETRY: The Republican presidential race is wide open, as we've been talking about and John just mention as well heading into Michigan as well as South Carolina. So how will Governor Mike Huckabee plan to break out from the pack? We're going to ask him when he joins us in just a couple of minutes. There he is live. We'll be talking to him in just a few minutes.
Also the wild weather pounding the southeast. Snow falling in the Rockies. Rob Marciano tracking the extreme weather for us, live from Colorado. Hi, Rob.
ROB MARCIANO, CNN METEOROLOGIST: Hi, Kiran. Cold air would certainly warm out east and that has helped trigging some of those thunderstorms. Over 20 tornado reports just yesterday from the east coast to the Colorado Rockies, where the details coming up. AMERICAN MORNING will be right back.
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CHETRY: Well, time now, 43 minutes after the hour. Rob Marciano getting snowed on right now in Steamboat Springs, Colorado. Not the only place though dealing with some weather this morning across the country.
Hey, Rob.
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CHETRY: Well, he's not looking past Michigan but Mike Huckabee does have a lot riding on the outcome in South Carolina. Like Iowa has a strong evangelical base. The six Republican candidates held a spirited debate last night in South Carolina. And it was actually the economy that was the hot topic of the night. And Mike Huckabee joins us now from Myrtle Beach. Governor, thanks for being with us, getting up early with us this morning.
HUCKABEE: All the time, Kiran. Always up early in these campaigns. CHETRY: Yes, absolutely. Bed late and up early. Well you know, you took some criticism at last night's debate about raising taxes as governor of Arkansas and last night Fred Thompson suggested that you only signed a pledge to not raise taxes as president because of some pressure. So let's listen to what he says.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
FRED THOMPSON, (R) PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: He is going to be a dangerous thing to make a tax pledge because you couldn't foresee what was going to happen in the future. Well what happen in the future was later on in that year, when the pressure got building he signed the tax pledge.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CHETRY: Can you clarify this morning for us where you stand on not raising taxes?
HUCKABEE: Absolutely, Kiran. And you know, Fred's finally waking up and kind of realizing there's a race going on. But after eight years in the senate, I guess he has nothing to show for it, other than he attended some meetings and casts the votes, made a few trips and become a Washington lobbyists, because he has not told us one thing he did in eight years as a senator. He has attacked me. And the point is if you look at my record, he would know that he is really, really needing some folks to come off the writers strike and give him some better lines.
Look here's the facts. The fact is I did make that pledge not to raise taxes (INAUDIBLE), because we don't need to raise taxes. In fact, if anything, it would be devastating to our economy to raise the marginal tax rates right now. So I took that pledge. I mean to keep it. In fact, my tax plan would eliminate the IRS. It would have us go to a consumption tax and we wouldn't be paying taxes on our productivity.
CHETRY: There have been some critics of your fair tax plan bill as well, saying that it would hurt small businesses and it would open up the doors to black market on sale goods. People will find a way to cheat that way. What do you say to that?
HUCKABEE: Totally opposite. In fact, it would be the best thing that ever happened to small business. The reason that my campaign is catching fire, it not because of evangelicals, it's because of small business owners who make up 80 percent of our job in this country. Ask them what's tough for them and they'll tell you, its government paperwork. The fact that their toughest competitor isn't the guy across town; it's their own government, the tax system, the complications of it, the cost of compliance. $250 billion to $500 billion a year just to comply with 66,000 pages of a tax code. Small business would benefit greatly if they didn't have the incredible burden of the paperwork.
CHETRY: Let's say you're struggling, you're working -- you know, you're working to put your kids through school or to pay your mortgage. And if you know, you're going be taxed, let's say 30 percent on everything you buy, wouldn't it make sense that you stop buying as much.
HUCKABEE: First of all, it's not 30 percent. Secondly, you get your whole paycheck, something that no American worker gets. Thirdly, when you don't have corporate taxes, which are now folded into the cost of everything you buy that rate of about 22 percent, then the items that you buy actually end up being less expensive, more than they used to be. And American-made goods will finally be competitive, because things shipped in here don't have the value-added tax, let's say, from Europe. But American-made products do have that tax built in that people never see.
The other piece about the fair tax that really makes sense is that it untaxes the poor, the elderly, and the low income because of the prebate provision which gives money back on the front end for things like medicine, food, basic necessities of life. So it actually helps the people at the bottom most and that's why folks out there, who are struggling just to make the rent payments, a lot of single moms, small business people embrace this. It picks no winners or losers. It's a lot better than the system we have now. 80 percent of Americans say our current tax system is broken, and truly something has to be better than the IRS.
CHETRY: You know, governor last night in attack ads started running in South Carolina by a 527 group called Victim's Voice, criticizing you as governor for allowing a convicted rapist to be released. That person then later raped and murdered a woman. Let's listen to a portion of that ad.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: If not for Mike Huckabee, Wayne Dumond who have been in prison and Carol Sue would be with us.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CHETRY: Your -- your other candidates are trying to hit you with criticisms that you're soft on crime. How do you respond to that?
HUCKABEE: Well, what a tragedy that happened. The fact is he was commuted by my predecessor, Jim Guy Tucker when Bill Clinton was the governor. My heart goes out to this family. Not only for the horrible loss, but you know, the saddest thing in politics is when people take the grief of a family and then exploit that grief with misinformation in order to try to make a political case. I've never seen such desperation and such pathetic attempts to really politicize the murder of a young woman.
CHETRY: Did you support Dumond's release?
HUCKABEE: I supported his parole. Not his outright release. I actually denied his commutation four times, Kiran, and the ad doesn't tell you that. But here's the thing, if soft on crime? I'm the only person running for president, Democrat or Republican, that carried out executions and I carried out more than any governor in my state's history. That's hardly soft on crime.
Meth Labs went down 48 percent during my ten year as governor. Crime was down. We had far more people in prison that we locked up than when I came in to office. And that's for -- of all the things that are thrown with me, a lot of them are right now, that goes with the territory of being out in front, but the problem is most of these things are really excuses when people don't have a reason to run and all they do is attack somebody else. And then I make up stuff like this, and it's unfortunate.
And most of all, because of the tragedy that a family went through, losing a loved one, and then trying to make a political case out of it with this anonymous special interest groups, it's the state of politics I think that most Americans find disgusting.
CHETRY: Are you going to be allowing 527s on your behalf to run ads against your competitors.
HUCKABEE: We have -- don't have any control. In fact, there have been a couple that tried and we've asked them specifically, publicly, don't do anything like that. Stop it. I think they're horrible. It's one of the pieces of the McCain-Feingold act that absolutely has just about to destroy politics in this country. People ought to stand up, they want to take an ad out, tell us who you are. Quit hiding behind this nonsense. It's disgusting. I would like to repeal them all. Every candidate, put his name on his ad, and either be honest about or just don't talk.
CHETRY: Well, governor, we're out of time. Wish we had more with you. But we want to thank you once again for talking with us this morning. Governor Mike Huckabee, presidential candidate in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina this morning, thanks.
HUCKABEE: Thank You, Kiran.
CHETRY: Coming up. We're going to be speaking with Mitt Romney as well. 7:30 eastern time. We'll also visit with former Democratic president Bill Richardson that's on 8:30.
Still ahead, chances are you know someone who takes statins to help manage cholesterol. Now there's word that it could help with another major medical problem. Dr. Sanjay Gupta has that story, coming up.
Plus, is it OK to dish about your divorce on-line? How about jokingly accusing someone of being a child molester? There are two very controversial cases testing the limits of free speech as it relates to the Internet. Our legal analyst Sunny Hostin is going to be joining us to take a look coming up.
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CHETRY: Well, a big debate raging this morning about free speech on the Internet. There are two cases that are testing the limits of what you can and cannot say on line and looking at who can get hurt in the process. AMERICAN MORNING's legal analyst Sunny Hostin is here now with your "Legal Brief." Thanks for being with us, Sonny.
SUNNY HOSTIN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Thank you.
CHETRY: Well, the first one is about this divorce battle and you know how it goes. It oftentimes gets ugly when people are divorcing. And there's whisper campaigns. People say horrible things about their soon-to-be ex-spouse. This case is a little bit different, because it relates to blogging. And this wife claim that the blog that her husband was saying about their failed marriage was harassment and judge actually ordered him to stop blogging about his wife. Is that protected under free speech?
HOSTIN: You know, I think it is. If you look at the law and I've been fascinated by this case. And I think it's very interesting and I have a copy right here of the judges order. And what the judge says is, the court orders defendant to remove any and all Internet postings about plaintiff issues in the party's marriage. And that is a very, very broad ruling.
What's interesting is that in this divorce case, as you mention, harassment is prohibited and spouses get into it and start harassing each other. But this is a little different. What he did was he posted these -- these postings and actually have copies of them. And then I went on and I looked at it. And he says these are fictionalized events. He doesn't mention her but it's obvious that he's talking about his wife.
CHETRY: Is that an escape? If you say all of these things about somebody and say by the way, this is fiction.
HOSTIN: I don't think so. I don't think so. But really what the course of action would be a defamation suit. And the only way that he would -- she would win that is to prove that the allegations were false. And by his account, they are not false. But that really is the first step. What he did do wrong in this case is that apparently he also posted her private diary on sections of it on his blog. Now, that's an invasion of privacy. And he has a real problem there.
CHETRY: It is legally you can't post somebody's diary?
HOSTIN: You're not supposed to. That really is an invasion of privacy. Again it's not criminal, but certainly is civil. But I think this is a little too broad what the judge did. Because we do have that pesky first amendment and people are allowed to express themselves freely.
CHETRY: We came up again in another story. It was interesting in Ohio. These three teens were suspended from school. They say they jokingly called their teacher a pedophile. And they argued that it should be considered free speech number one because it was parody. They actually appealed their suspension in this case. But another way that people try to -- sort of try to justify what they're doing is saying that it was a parody, it was a joke. Does that pass muster?
HOSTIN: You know, it doesn't. And I have to say having prosecuted child molesters, calling a teacher that is around children a pedophile is not funny. And it can be defamation, slander, that sort of thing. But, again, there is free speech. And there are exceptions to free speech. But the free speech is very, very broad and the first amendment is broad. What happened here though is that the school board disciplined the students and school boards have the right to do that.
And in this case, I think apparently, there was a school board rule that students couldn't do things outside of school to harm employees. But that was a very serious, serious parody.
CHETRY: Exactly.
HOSTIN: Calling someone a pedophile.
CHETRY: You're right. Working around children and then making that claim.
HOSTIN: That's sure.
CHETRY: I'm sure we're talking about this a lot, when it comes to the Internet. We've been seeing a lot of this stuff lately.
HOSTIN: We have. We have. And I think we'll be seeing more of it. The Internet is sort of the Wild, Wild West right now, especially in the law because it has not really been tested. And so we're going to be seeing a lot of this.
CHETRY: Our legal gray areas when it comes to being on-line.
HOSTIN: That's right.
CHETRY: Sonny, great to see you. We'll see you coming up in another hour as well.
Meanwhile, coming up, statins, they are used to help treat high cholesterol. Well now, there's a breakthrough. It's a new use for the drugs that could help millions of people with a devastating chronic illness. Dr. Sanjay Gupta will tell us what else it's now being used to treat coming up.
And the latest in the search for a missing and eight-month pregnant marine. We're going to tell you what. Police are now looking at the possibility that she left Camp Lejeune on her own. This case has a lot of twists and turns. We're going to try to break it down for you, coming up on AMERICAN MORNING.
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