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American Morning
Momentum Swing: Big Gains For McCain and Obama; Fight for Michigan: Focus on Economy; Marine Murder Manhunt: Possible Sighting in Louisianna; Bad Beef Recall Over E. Coli Scare
Aired January 14, 2008 - 06:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
JOHN ROBERTS, CNN ANCHOR: This could get a lot of snow. Welcome, it's Monday January 14th. Thanks for being with us on this AMERICAN MORNING. I'm John Roberts.
KIRAN CHETRY, CNN ANCHOR: And I'm Kiran Chetry. And we start with two stunning shifts in two new presidential polls that are out this morning. It is now a wide open race on both sides according to the latest polling on a national level both after Iowa and New Hampshire. A new ABC News-"Washington Post" survey has Senator Hillary Clinton still on top, but her dominance has disappeared. She's lost 11 points since December's survey. Senator Barack Obama picked up 14, a 25-point swing in the poll since December.
On the Republican side, all doubt is gone that Senator John McCain is for real. His win in New Hampshire helped him become the national frontrunner by eight points followed by Mike Huckabee and Mitt Romney, and Rudy Giuliani at times was the national frontrunner has now dropped all the way down to fourth in the national polling. His decision to concentrate on Super Tuesday, that cluster of many states that are going to be voting February 5th may have caused him 10 points in the polls.
Also, in "New York Times"-CBS poll shows a staggering shift in momentum in favor of both John McCain and Barack Obama. On the Republican side, more than half the voters had a favorable opinion of John McCain, 20 points more than in December. In the Democrats, Barack Obama gaining fast. Thirty-five percent of voters now say he has the best chance of winning compared to just 14 percent last month. Senator Clinton lost 16 points from a whopping 63 percent to now 47 percent right now.
ROBERTS: It would seem this year as we have seen in past elections that there is momentum to be gained from those early primary states.
Well, the politics of race is dominating the Democratic campaign today. The tax between the Clinton and Obama camps escalated all weekend. It began with Hillary Clinton's remark that Dr. Martin Luther King's dream was not realized until President Lyndon Johnson signed the Civil Rights Act. Critics say the comment diminishes the importance of Dr. King. Clinton charges that the criticism is coming from the Barack Obama campaign. He says, that's not true.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) SEN. BARACK OBAMA (D), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: I am baffled by that statement by the senator. She made an ill-advised statement about Dr. King suggesting that Lyndon Johnson had more to do with the Civil Rights Act.
SEN. HILLARY CLINTON (D), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: I was responding to a speech that Senator Obama gave in New Hampshire where he did compare himself to President Kennedy and to Dr. King.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ROBERTS: Well, then it got even hotter when Robert Johnson, the founder of the BET network, jumped to Clinton's defense.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
ROBERT JOHNSON, FOUNDER, BLACK ENTERTAINMENT TV: Hillary and Bill Clinton, who have been deeply and emotionally involved in black issues when Barack Obama was doing something in the neighborhood that I won't say what he was doing, but he said it in the book.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ROBERTS: Johnson denies that he was referring to Obama's past drug use, but the Obama campaign is not buying that. Former President Bill Clinton added fuel to the fire when he called Obama's position on Iraq, "a fairy tale." CNN political contributor Roland Martin is talking exclusively with former President Clinton this morning. We'll be checking in with Roland at about 6:40 to get his thoughts pre- interview this morning -- Kiran.
CHETRY: All right. The Republican candidates making a final push in Michigan on this last day before the Michigan primary. Mitt Romney is campaigning in his native state and running neck-and-neck with John McCain who won Michigan in the primary back in 2000. The economy taking center stage with Michigan feeling the pain with lost jobs and lost homes in the foreclosure crisis. CNN's Mary Snow is live in Southfield, Michigan this morning. Good morning, Mary.
MARY SNOW, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Kiran. And both of those candidates along with Mike Huckabee will be out in full force today here in Michigan on a pretty fresh morning here. And the candidates are really vying for who can best help Michigan and its ailing economy.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
SNOW (voice-over): He tells his Michigan roots and his father's popularity as governor here in the 1960s. Republican presidential hopeful Mitt Romney is hoping it will give him an edge in the state's Republican primary.
MITT ROMNEY (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: This is a place where memories are very, very deep. And where, if you will, I recognize that Michigan is personal. When I grew up, Michigan was the pride of the nation, the envy of the world. We have to be that again. SNOW: That was then, this is now. Detroit's automakers are suffering. Unemployment here is higher than the rest of the country. Republican Senator John McCain is hoping a different memory will boost his chances here.
SEN. JOHN MCCAIN (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: We're back, and I'm happy to be here.
SNOW: McCain won the state's Republican primary here in 2000.
MCCAIN: I do know that we've been through very tough times. But I believe that Michigan can lead this nation in this new green technology economy.
SNOW: Mike Huckabee is hoping his newcomer status to Michigan will work to his benefit.
MIKE HUCKABEE (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: A reporter asked me the other day -- just how do you expect to possibly win the election? You don't have the kind of resources. Well, I said, you know, I guess if I had all the polls and consultants and focus groups and all the television ads and the headquarters and everything that some of these other guys had, I might be as far behind as some of them are.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
SNOW: Mike Huckabee is also courting evangelicals in the state saying that he is hoping to show that he is a viable contender in this state and show that his support goes beyond his Iowa victory. All three of the presidential candidates will also be attending today the Detroit Auto Show that's taking place -- Kiran.
CHETRY: And, of course, that's another big concern for those in Michigan, the loss of manufacturing jobs and how that's affected the economy as well.
SNOW: Yes, it's really the biggest concern and at each of the campaign stops, that is what voters are asking about is what the candidates are talking about and really dominating the contest here.
CHETRY: All right. Well, we'll see which message gets through and what the Michigan voters pick. Thanks so much for being with us this morning, Mary. By the way, Republican Mike Huckabee is going to be joining us coming up at 7:15 Eastern time.
ROBERTS: AMERICAN MORNING is your home for the most politics in the morning. And tomorrow, we are hitting the road all the way through Super Tuesday, beginning with the Michigan primary. We'll take a look at the issues driving votes there and across the country, especially the economy. What's important to your job, your health, your home, your vote. We have the team to help you decide. Dr. Sanjay Gupta, Gerri Willis, Ali Velshi and Chris Lawrence join me on the road. First stop, Michigan for the most politics in the morning.
From Michigan, we're hitting all of the battleground states -- Nevada, South Carolina, Florida, California, every day through Super Tuesday. We'll be talking with the voters, the candidates and focusing on the issues to help you choose a president. And also join me tonight in "Primetime." I'll be live from Michigan along with Anderson Cooper in the CNN Election Center here in New York, 8:00 p.m. Eastern right here on CNN -- Kiran.
CHETRY: You will be racking up some frequent flyer miles. That is for sure. All right. Thanks, John. No, none of those.
Well, from Philadelphia to New England, a nor'easter is revving up right now. In fact, more than a foot of snow could fall before it's over. Snow is already falling in Providence, Rhode Island, and that's good news for school kids in Providence because many schools are cancelling classes today.
In Boston, the snow and the rain causing a lot of flight cancellations at Logan Airport. There you see both Bedford Hills and Providence, Rhode Island, here's a look at the weather map as well. Rob Marciano is out in the snow for us today tracking the storm from Hartford, Connecticut. You know, I have to say we're a bit disappointed here because we were hoping that we would be looking kind of like you look right now in the city, but nothing doing.
ROB MARCIANO, METEOROLOGIST: Well, Kiran, you know, that's kind of how these coastal storms go. New England will typically get a little bit more than New York. You can see a lot of action behind me here in Hartford, Connecticut. The bus lines are moving. The bobcats are now trying to clear the streets. In the mail delivery, you know, neither rain, nor sleet nor darkened night -- getting it done.
Right here on Main Street in Hartford, Connecticut, mass transit in full force. We have a lot of wet, slushy snow on the ground, so there are some school cancellations. There are some folks without power. But all in all, they've seen a lot worse here in Hartford. Very, very wet.
Temperatures right now, 33 degrees. So even though it's piling up here in Hartford, we're not looking at blizzard conditions. Definitely winter weather -- the worst of it most likely up towards Boston.
Here's the radar. We'll start you off with Hartford, where is obviously snow, where in the back edge of the snow heads down to the south and west, maybe towards Fairfield County. New York City, you are out of it. You will just see a north wind, and temperatures will get a little bit colder.
Up in Boston, we're seeing snow heavy at times just changing over to snow now. Folks up there could see five to eight inches, maybe a little bit more in the higher elevations and interior areas could see 10, maybe 12 inches of snow with this storm system as it heads that way.
Hartford, Connecticut as seen above average snowfall so far. It continues to come down here. You folks in New York, Kiran, you've seen well below normal. Look. A little more than two inches of snow for the winter season. So I can understand your pain not having a little bit of the white stuff falling right now there in the big apple. But folks who are trying to get in and out of New York certainly happier about the lack of snow there. Back up to you.
ROBERTS: Yes. I'm on my way to Michigan at 10:45 this morning, Rob, so if you had something to do with the rain as opposed to snow, I'm very much appreciative.
President Bush is on his way to Saudi Arabia right now, pushing for the Saudis to play a greater role in curbing threats from Iran. President Bush is urging Middle East allies to respect human rights. In his speech in the United Arab Emirates on Sunday, he called Iran the world's leading sponsor of terror.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
GEORGE W. BUSH, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Iran has actually threatened the security of nations everywhere. So the United States is strengthening our long-standing security commitments with our friends in the Gulf and rallying friends around the world to confront this danger before it is too late.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ROBERTS: Iran rejected the criticism saying the president is trying to spread, "Iran-ophobia." A startling statement from the chairman of the joint chief of staff, Admiral Mike Mullen, this morning. He says that he favors closing the prison camp at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba.
Admiral Mullen took a tour of it over the weekend. He says negative publicity about the treatment of terror suspects has damaged the United States reputation around the world. Two hundred and seventy-five prisoners are still being held there.
CHETRY: Well, our Alina Cho is with us for other stories making news this morning. Hi, Alina, good to see you.
ALINA CHO, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good to see you, Kiran, John. Happy Monday. Good morning, everybody. New this morning.
Princess Diana's former butler is due to testify today at the formal inquest into her death. Paul Burrell could get critical information about the final months of her life. He's expected to talk about a letter Diana sent to him in which she said, "my husband is planning an accident in my car." Burrell worked for Diana for more than a decade and during that time, the two became very close friends. The Princess of Wales was killed in a Paris car crash in 1997.
No red carpet, no glitz, no glamour. The writers strike turned the Golden Globes ceremony into a news conference where none of the stars showed up. But our Brooke Anderson was one of the presenters. The awards were still handed out, of course, and Hollywood's foreign press voted "Atonement" Best Drama. "Sweeney Todd" won Best Comedy or Musical. The movie also earned Johnny Depp an award for Best Actor. And Marion Cotillard won Best Actress for "La Vie En Rose." In sports, which Manning will be playing on championship Sunday? Well, if you said Peyton, you lost. The New York Giants and Peyton's brother, Eli Manning, will be playing the Green Bay Packers in the NFC title game after sweating out their divisional playoffs against the Dallas Cowboys yesterday. The winner of that next game, by the way, goes on to the Super Bowl. Big Blue won yesterday, 21 to 17. Peyton Manning's team, the Indianapolis Colts lost yesterday to the San Diego Chargers.
And after yesterday's game between the Giants and the Cowboys, Terrell Owens got a little emotional defending his teammate, quarterback Tony Romo. He said Romo's vacation to Mexico last week with his girlfriend, Jessica Simpson, did not cost the Cowboys the game.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
TERRELL OWENS, WIDE RECEIVER, DALLAS COWBOYS: You can talk about the vacation, and if you do that, it's really unfair. It's really unfair. It's my team. It's my quarterback. And if you guys do that, man, it's unfair. We lost as a team. We lost as a team, man.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CHETRY: Wow.
CHO: The crew needs to stop crying. OK. You're laughing, I mean.
(CROSSTALK)
CHETRY: I'm laughing.
ROBERTS: Such heartless people here.
CHETRY: You hear the click, click, click, click of all those sports photographers today. They were loving that moment. I mean, he's obviously more upset about losing than Tony Romo going on vacation.
CHO: And it's not the first time he cried either. He did it back in 1998 when the 49ers lost to the Packers. He was playing for the 49ers at that time.
ROBERTS: Figured they were the number one seed and they lost to the Giants. So --
CHO: I'm sorry.
CHETRY: They went down to the wire. It would be enough to make me cry if I was a Cowboy too. Whew!
CHO: Whew! OK.
CHETRY: Thanks, Alina.
CHO: You bet.
CHETRY: Well, you're watching the most news in the morning. When we come back, we have a beef recall, a major one to tell you about. In fact, 90 tons of it. We're going to tell you what you need to know before you go out to dinner coming up.
Also, a nationwide search for a marine corporal wanted in the death of a 20-year-old fellow pregnant fellow marine. Police working to confirm what witnesses say they saw over the weekend. We're following major development in the manhunt. We have a live report ahead on AMERICAN MORNING.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
ROBERTS: It's coming up now at 16 minutes after the hour. Police said that they are closing in on a cold-blooded killer. The suspect, a marine, accused of murdering a pregnant colleague. There were major developments over the weekend, some too graphic to repeat. Our Ed Lavandera is live for us in Jacksonville, North Carolina, where pointed questions are now being asked of officials at marine base at Camp Lejeune. Good morning, Ed.
EL LAVANDERA, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, John. It's day four of a nationwide manhunt for Marine Corporal Cesar Laurean. But there's still remain troubling questions about whether the U.S. Marine Corps did enough to help local authorities early on when Maria Lauterbach was first reported missing. Her family doesn't think so. And one local official here over the weekend asked me, where are the marines?
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
LAVANDERA (voice-over): Late Saturday night, reports started surfacing that Marine Corporal Cesar Laurean was seen at a bus station in Shreveport, Louisiana. But North Carolina authorities now say it probably wasn't the man they're looking for. But they're still confident that they're closing in on the suspected murderer.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I do feel comfortable that his vacation will be short, his travel may be long, but I hope we'll be there to help him return.
LAVANDERA: Corporal Laurean vanished just hours before the bodies believed to be those of Maria Lauterbach and her unborn baby were found in the backyard of Laurean's home. Investigators say he left a note claiming he buried Lauterbach's body because she had killed herself. But authorities say blood evidence in the house proves otherwise, calling Laurean a liar and a killer.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: If he's telling it like he wants to tell it, it would be foolish to run from what he claims happened.
LAVANDERA: But why did it take so long for civilian investigators to focus on Laurean? Many law enforcement experts say he should have been an initial suspect in Lauterbach's disappearance. He had been accused of raping her, and she had filed a protective order against him. And Lauterbach's family tells CNN that the marine command did not do enough to protect her.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The marines let Maria down. She was being harassed. She went back on the rape story the week before she disappeared.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE (voice-over): Yes.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: And due to harassment that she was getting.
LAVANDERA: Sheriff Ed Brown says his investigators didn't learn of Laurean's name until January 7th, 20 days after she was reported missing. Investigators say Lauterbach's mother, not marine investigators, gave them Laurean's connection to the case, and it wasn't until last Friday that the sheriff says they were told about the military protective order.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
LAVANDERA: John, we have tried repeatedly since last week to speak with officials at the Camp Lejeune about these questions. Only late last night did they finally issue a statement in regard to this. They said that it was premature to discuss the details and that marine commanders are "currently collecting information and conducting a review to determine when and what information was available to commanders" -- John.
ROBERTS: Ed, one more. Can you tell us about this protective order that we're just learning about? Was there any kind of procedure under the uniform code of military justice regarding the charges of rape to begin with?
LAVANDERA: Well, this is a process that was ongoing. If you remember, Maria Lauterbach, from what we understand so far, was supposed to testify in an Article 32 hearing, which is essentially like a grand jury hearing at some point in December after she had gone missing. This was a sexual assault case dating back to April.
During that time, between April and December, there was a military protective order. From what my understanding is, it's kind of like a restraining order and then it expired in September, several months before she had gone missing. But of all of this is under the military investigation. Civilian authorities don't have access to that. So that's why these questions here, why wasn't some of that background information provided to them early on?
ROBERTS: A lot of questions remain. Our Ed Lavandera for us this morning in Jacksonville, North Carolina. Ed, thanks. We'll talk with you a little bit later on this morning -- Kiran.
CHETRY: Danger on the dinner table. There's a warning about potentially tainted ground beef, and a huge recall is under way. We're going to tell you what to look out for.
Also, it sounds like science fiction but it's real. Researchers experimenting on rats were able to grow a beating heart in a lab. Could the same be done for humans? We're going to have more on that ahead on AMERICAN MORNING.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
CHETRY: Well, a massive red meat recall over an E-coli scare. Rochester Meat Company in Minnesota is recalling 90,000 tons of ground beef. The move comes after five people were reported sick in Wisconsin, another in California. The USDA says the bad beef was produced between October 30th and November 6th, that was only sent to restaurants and food service, so it was not on the supermarket shelves but it was served at restaurants.
ROBERTS: Twenty-three minutes after the hour. Bad finish to the week on the markets on Friday. How are they looking today? What does it mean to the future particularly with all of this talk of recession looming? Stephanie Elam this morning in for Ali Velshi "Minding Your Business." Good morning, Stephanie?
STEPHANIE ELAM, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning to you John and Kiran. I can tell you for sure. Last week, we saw the markets get slapped. On Friday, we actually saw the fourth biggest drop, or I should say, fourth over 200 points drop for the Dow on Friday. So as you can see the numbers there, that's because American Express gave us a profit warning. Perhaps Merrill Lynch may report a writedown of $15 billion that's reviving fears of a recession. So if you take a look at those numbers, you could see, we lost a lot. So if you're wondering for the week, where do we stand? Let's take a look at that too.
As you can see, the Dow losing about 1.5 percent. Nasdaq off 2.5 percent, and the S&P under one percent there. The economic forecast for this week, we do have some data coming in telling us about inflation. We also have retail sales. This is the kind of information that analysts, investors want to see so they can crunch this data and figure out if we can really figure where the economy is going.
Also, the earnings season is going to take off. We've got a lot of banks reporting this week. We'll see how that subprime issue is affecting us. And we also have Intel, GM. I'm sorry, General Electric. We have a lot of Dow components reporting.
As of now, we can tell you the Asian markets, they got slapped overnight. Euromarkets, we know, the DAX in Germany is up. London is up. World Pose (ph) for hire opening. There's rumors that the Fed may step in with an emergency rate cut. So that's giving the futures a little bit of a lift.
ROBERTS: Fed funds or discount?
ELAM: They don't know yet. I'll have to take a look. But we're just seen as slow, we're coming out. So keep an eye on that and see what's going to happen.
CHETRY: All right. Stephanie Elam, great to see you, thanks.
ELAM: Thanks. ROBERTS: Time now for our "Hot Shot." It's a rare sight in Australia or anywhere in the world for that matter.
A blue-eyed koala. Look at that. Magical eyes. The blue comes from reduced pigmentation overall on the koala. It was born back in April at the Dream World Theme Park on Aussie's Gold Coast, but its rare eyes were only noted recently. Aren't they pretty?
CHETRY: Gorgeous. Yes, if it hangs out in the tree all day. No one notices. Not bother to look in the face. Poor little guy.
ROBERTS: And if you got a "Hot Shot," send it to us. The address is 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, please make sure that the image is yours and not someone else's.
CHETRY: This is a fascinating story -- harvesting a heart. Researchers experimenting on rats were able to create a beating heart in a laboratory. And now the question is, could it lead to more donor hearts for humans? We're going to take a look.
Also, some surprising names linked to steroids. Surprising because they don't play sports but they are famous. That story and today's headlines when AMERICAN MORNING returns.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
CHETRY: The shot this morning from Hartford, Connecticut, where our Rob Marciano is going to be checking us in just a couple of minutes. A snowstorm -- well, a snowstorm that wasn't at least for New York. But in the more northern area, they are getting some. Not as bad as they thought yet, two to four inches expected to fall later today. Thirty-three degrees but it feels like 24 right now in Hartford.
But let's take a look at New York City right now. There's the beautiful shot this morning. We thought we got to put on our snowsuits. Not the case, though.
ROBERTS: No sledding in Central Park today.
CHETRY: Unfortunately, no. It's 35 degrees right now, getting to be about two degrees warmer today. Some showers, possibly snow showers. I'll believe it when I see it.
ROBERTS: It looks like it's going to be mostly a rain event here in New York City.
CHETRY: Which is good for you because you're traveling.
ROBERTS: Well, it's not just for me, but a lot of people traveling in and out of New York City. And it's lovely to have the snow. But you know, better on a weekend or weekends than Monday.
CHETRY: That's very true, and it is a Monday. It's January 14th. Thanks for joining us on AMERICAN MORNING. I'm Kiran Chetry.
ROBERTS: And good morning to you, I'm John Roberts. Lots to talk about this morning including lots in politics. Governor Mike Huckabee will be joining us in about 45 minutes time. Of course, the big Michigan primary tomorrow. We'll see how he's doing and how things are shaping up there in that state.
CHETRY: And we also joked about the politicians. What? Shaking hands and kissing babies. Well, one family actually took their 5- month-old on the road. And this baby has probably met more presidential candidates than most of the voters out there, so we're going to be checking in with them a bit later as well.
ROBERTS: It's kind of the baby version of the rubber duck that gets photographed everywhere in the world, right?
CHETRY: Exactly.
ROBERTS: All right. Lot's of stuff happening this morning. Now, our Alina Cho here with the stories new for you this morning. Good morning.
ALINA CHO, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hey, there. That's one lucky baby. Good morning, Kiran, John. Good morning, everybody.
New this morning, there's a pretty good chance you're paying more at the pump. Gas prices have jumped nearly ten cents in past three weeks going back over the $3 mark. According to the fuelgaugereport.com, the current national average is $3.07 a galloon. Now, Hawaii has the highest average, $3.48, as you can see there. And if you're looking for a deal, head to Missouri where the average per gallon of gas is $2.88.
Legendary Brooklyn Dodgers pitcher Johnny Podres has died. Podres was just 23 when he pitched game seven of the 1955 World Series with the hopes and dreams of an entire borough on his shoulders. Podres went the distance to shut out the then hated Yankees. After that, Padres became a big hero. It was Dodgers only World Series title and Podres was the first most valuable player in World Series history.
His career spanned 15 years with the Dodgers and Brooklyn, Los Angeles, the Detroit Tigers, and the San Diego Padres. Johnny Podres was 75 years old.
A senior advisor to Hillary Clinton is facing drunk driving charges in New Hampshire. Police pulled over 59-year-old Sidney Blumenthal for speeding last Monday just the day before the New Hampshire primary. They arrested him when he failed sobriety tests. Blumenthal was also an aid to former president Bill Clinton.
Celebrity is linked to steroid shipments. The Albany New York Times Union reports that rappers 50 cent, Timberland, Wyclef Jean, as well as singer Mary J. Blige all received steroids or human growth hormone. None of the celebrities is accused of breaking any laws. The investigation is going after the anti-aging clinics and pharmacies that prescribe the drugs. The investigation has already exposed several major baseball players, as many people know as having received steroids or HGH.
And a potential medical breakthrough to tell you about this morning. Scientists looking at new treatments for heart disease have actually grown a rat heart in a jar and got it to start beating. It's incredible. Here's how they did it. Apparently, the University of Minnesota researchers took a rat, dead heart, stripped away all of its cells then injected heart cells from newborn rats. Within a week, the heart was beating and pumping again.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DORIS TAYLOR, UNIVERSITY OF MINNESOTA RESEARCHER: What we've done is hopefully open a door to the idea that we can actually begin to build not just pieces of tissue and organs, but build organs. It's really been science fiction in the past. And we'd like to think that we'd help to make it science.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CHO: Sounds like science fiction in the present. And next step by the way is repeating the process with the pig heart which researchers say looks and acts like a human heart. They hope to one day create new organs that could save millions of lives. In fact, experts say an estimated 100 million people around the world do not have hearts that beat well enough to work on their own. So this could help a lot of people. It's an incredible story.
ROBERTS: That's really a great story.
CHO: It is.
CHETRY: Alina, thank you.
CHO: You bet.
CHETRY: Well, the politics of race dominating the Democratic campaign today. Attacks between the Clinton and Obama camps escalated all weekend. It began with Hillary Clinton's remark that Dr. Martin Luther King's dream was not realized until President Lyndon Johnson signed the civil rights act. Critics say that she diminished the performance of Dr. King. Clinton charges the criticism is coming from the Barack Obama campaign. He says that's not the case.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
BARACK OBAMA, (D) PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: I am baffled by that statement by the senator. She made an ill-advised statement about Dr. King and suggesting that Lyndon Johnson had more to do with the civil rights act.
HILLARY CLINTON, (D) PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: I was responding to a speech that Senator Obama gave in New Hampshire where he did compare himself to President Kennedy and Dr. King.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CHETRY: Well, it got even more heated when Robert Johnson, the founder of the B.E.T. Network jumped to Clinton's defense in a speech.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
ROBERT JOHNSON, FOUNDER, BLACK ENTERTAINMENT TV: Hillary and Bill Clinton who have been deeply and emotionally involved in black issues -- when Barack Obama was doing something in the neighborhood that I won't say what he was doing, but he said it in his book.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CHETRY: Johnson denies that he was referring to Obama's past drug use but the Obama campaign is not buying that.
And it brings us to this morning's "Quick Vote" question. Did you find the Clinton's comments offensive to either Obama or Martin Luther King? Cast your vote at cnn.com/am. We're going to have the first tally of votes later this hour.
ROBERTS: Well, it's a final day of campaigning for the Republican candidates in Michigan. Just one day to go to the Michigan primary. It's a must-win for native son Mitt Romney after coming in second in Iowa and New Hampshire. Romney, John McCain, and mike Huckabee are focusing on the economy. Michigan has got the highest unemployment rate in the nation at 7.4 percent. Mike Huckabee is running third in Michigan behind Romney and John McCain. He spoke to members of a church on Sunday, expressing his concern for laid-off plant workers and homeowners.
And Republican presidential candidate Mike Huckabee joins us this morning coming up at 7:15 Eastern. We'll talk about the issues not only there in Michigan but across the country as well.
AMERICAN MORNING is your home for the most politics in the morning. And tomorrow, we are hitting the road all the way through Super Tuesday beginning with the Michigan primary. We'll take a look at the issues driving votes there and across the country, especially the economy.
Mitt Romney calls Michigan a one-state recession since it's been in one for a decade. We'll be taking about what's important to your job, your health, your home, your vote. And we've got the team to help you decide, Dr. Sanjay Gupta, Gerri Willis, Ali Velshi, and Chris Lawrence all on the road. So join me, first stop Michigan, for the most politics in the morning.
And for Michigan, AMERICAN MORNING hits all about the grand state, Nevada, South Carolina, Florida, California, everyday through Super Tuesday. It is the most politics in the morning. A.M. on the road. And join me tonight in primetime. I'll be there live from Michigan along with Anderson Cooper. We'll be here in the CNN election center in New York. It starts at 8:00 p.m. Eastern, right here on CNN.
And of course, you can find all of the day's political news around the clock at cnn.com/ticker.
CHETRY: Well, right now President Bush is in the Middle East. He just left Dubai. He is headed for Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. President Bush blasted Iran in a speech Sunday saying that the country promotes terror while its people suffer.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
GEORGE W. BUSH, U.S. PRESIDENT: Iran is today the world's leading state sponsor of terror. It sends hundreds of millions of dollars to extremists around the world, while its own people face repression and economic hardship at home.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CHETRY: Senior international correspondent Nic Robertson joins us now from Riyadh where the president is expected to arrive in the next couple of hours. Tell us a little bit more about the purpose of his visit there to Saudi Arabia, Nic.
NIC ROBERTSON, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, Kiran, he's going to meet with the king. He'll be greeted at the airport here when he arrives by King Abdullah. He'll have a long dinner this evening with King Abdullah. And as you have quite an almost relaxing time competitive phase of his trip until now, he'll spend some time in the king's farm. But the issues about Iran will come up. The Saudi position on that is they don't want another war in their region. They are wondering about what the United States is thinking.
On the one hand, a tough speech by President Bush. On the other hand, the National Intelligence estimate many Saudi is saying that has the United States has gone soft on Iran. Of course, Saudi Arabia concerned about Iran's expansion, or potential expansions in the region. Now, before President Bush comes here, he touched down in Dubai. He was greeted there by the prime minister of United Arab of Emirates.
Sheikh Maktoum (ph) greeted very warmly, kiss on both cheeks. Then they went to a cultural center where President Bush was given some flowers by some local girls. The girls then performed a traditional dance for President Bush. Sheikh (ph) tapping its foot in time. President Bush spoke to the girls. Talk to them about the paintings, the pretty paintings they had on their hands. Then he went on to a meeting with young Arab leaders.
Also Condoleezza Rice having an opportunity to meet with the crown prince -- crown prince Saeed (ph) there. The two of them sat together in the cultural center. They shared strawberry juice and were able to have a conversation. But right now, President Bush in the air on the way here to Riyadh.
Kiran?
CHETRY: Nic Robertson for us in Saudi Arabia this morning. Thank you. ROBERTS: A snowy Monday morning in New England. Up to a foot of snow, perhaps even a little bit more expected. How are we doing in New York City? A live report from Rob Marciano on the snow coming up.
And Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama lobbing political hand grenades at each other. Did she make a racially insensitive remark? Did he overreact? How the Clintons are fighting back this morning? Coming up next on AMERICAN MORNING.
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CHETRY: A nor'easter in New England this morning. Up to 14 inches of snow could be expected in Connecticut before the storm moves out this afternoon. And of course, wherever there's a storm, that's where you'll find Rob Marciano. And he's live in Hartford, Connecticut for us today.
And you're getting snowed on. I love how they called it a light snow when you read the description. But it looks like it's -- I don't know, it just looks like you're getting a lot of snow around you.
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ROBERTS: Coming up on 44 minutes after the hour. Charges are flying on the campaign trail. Hillary Clinton accusing Barack Obama supporters of playing the race car. Obama says Clinton's remark about Dr. Martin Luther King is ill-advised.
CNN contributor Roland Martin is the host of "Roland Martin Radio Show." He plan to talk with former president Clinton coming up in the next hour. He joins us now for a preview.
Roland, good morning to you. Let's take a look, first of all, at the pertinent quote here. And the one that kick everything off. It was when Hillary Clinton said quote, "Dr. King's dream began to be realized when President Lyndon Johnson passed the civil rights act of 1964. It took a president to get it done." What impact is that statement having in the African-American community?
ROLAND MARTIN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, anytime you touch Dr. King, you must be extremely careful. African-Americans are very, very cautious and protective of his legacy. And it came across as if it was LBJ who was the one -- who actually made that happen. And of course, it took a president to sign a civil rights act into law. What's also interesting though, that the Obama campaign, they have not brought it up. But the people who are angered by this, and I may mention this, that had Hillary Clinton's choice for president in '64 actually won. You never would have had civil rights bill, because she's a Goldwater girl. That's one of interesting little item there.
But really, that's what really bothered people. They came back and said, no, that's not what she meant. Later on the campaign trail, she did praise Dr. King for his work, for his action, for going to jail. But it was the comments after that. It was the -- you know, Bill Clinton's comments and then, of course, this came on the heels of Bill Shaheen's comments, brings up the whole issue of drugs. That seemed to add fuel to the fire. And so it really is not just about this comment, you know, it's a combination of several others as well.
ROBERTS: Well, speaking of that, bringing up drugs. I wanted to play Barack Obama's response to what Hillary said. But let me jump ahead and play something that Robert Johnson, the founder of Black Entertainment Television said at a Clinton campaign event just recently. Let's take a listen, I'll ask you about it.
MARTIN: Sure.
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ROBERT JOHNSON, FOUNDER, BLACK ENTERTAINMENT TV: Hillary and Bill Clinton who have been deeply and emotionally involved in black issues -- when Barack Obama was doing something in the neighborhood that I won't say what he was doing, but he said it in his book.
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ROBERTS: Well, there you go. You had Shaheen up there in New Hampshire talking about the drug thing. Now its looks like Robert Johnson is tilting toward it. Is that the appropriate response? How is that going to play?
MARTIN: Well, it's not going to play well because now here's what happened, John. The Clinton campaign about an hour later sent out an e-mail from Bob Johnson saying that I was talking about Obama's time as a community organizer and it would be irresponsible if it was anything else. Look, I'm not buying that.
Bob Johnson is a smart guy. If you listen to his voice inflection, listen to his tone. That was sort of a wink-wink-nod-nod, you kind of know what I'm talking about. He's not fooling me. And it's utterly ridiculous, OK, to sort of throw it out there, then send a statement out by saying that's not really what I meant. And that's what we're having here.
What Andrew Cuomo, attorney general of New York, who make the Shuck and Jive comment, all right. Same thing, Well, I was not talking about Obama. That's not what I meant. I was sort of mandating the questions. There was a pattern here where that's not what I meant. Well, you make a statement. But then you release a statement, sort of clarify really what I meant.
Look, if you want to say it, go ahead and say it. So Bob Johnson, trust me, is going to get a lot of heat this morning on talk shows, on blogs for that comment. You're going to have people talk about, wait a minute, here's a guy who's got a lot of heat and criticism, you know, for the booty-shaking videos that made him a billionaire, making that kind of comment. So look, I don't buy it. He knew exactly what he was saying when he made that comment.
ROBERTS: And you'll be asking President Clinton about it. About an hour from now...
MARTIN: That's the first question I'm going to ask him, about that Bob Johnson comment. ROBERTS: We'll get you back in about two hours to talk about how the interview went. And hopefully, we'll be able to play a little bit some from it. Roland Martin for us this morning. Roland, thanks. We'll see you again soon.
MARTIN: Sounds great. Thank you.
ROBERTS: Kiran?
CHETRY: All right. And we invite people to weigh in, by the way, on what they think this morning. It's our "Quick Vote" question at cnn.com/am. Right now, it's split pretty much half and half. 42 percent say the comments were offensive to Martin Luther King, 58 percent saying no.
The man hunt intensifies this morning for a missing marine charged with killing a fellow marine who was eight months pregnant at the time. There was a rape allegation involved as well. And now there are a lot of questions being ask like why didn't the marines do more to protect her? Why didn't the civilians authorities get involved a little bit sooner in the case? And what about the legal implications? Whose jurisdiction does it fall under? AMERICAN MORNING legal analyst Sonny Hostin is going to be taking a look, coming up.
Plus, it was not nearly the same without all the glitz and glamour. But the Golden Globe Awards were given out last night. We're going to tell you who won ahead on AMERICAN MORNING.
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CHETRY: Well there's no red carpet, there were no screaming fans, there were no teary acceptance speeches or fancy dresses.
ROBERTS: And it all went on and ended on time too, didn't it?
CHETRY: That's the only good thing. The Golden Globes went on in a very different way and that was all, of course, because of the writers' strike.
ROBERTS: They were handed out last night at an understated news conference to say the least. Our Lola Ogunnaike joins us now to talk more about this. Before we get to the winter, this is extraordinarily unusual night for Hollywood.
LOLA OGUNNAIKE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: It was really, really bizarre and I have to say really boring on every other network except for NBC. The show was over in about 32 minutes. NBC stretched it out for an hour. I mean, talk about padding the show. That Nancy O'Dell and Billy Bush is going on and on with mundane comments about these films. And actually it should have been over, like I said in 32 minutes. We (INAUDIBLE) was over in 32 minutes. But you know, there was no glamour, no dresses, no people, and no nothing. It was just a big ole snooze.
CHETRY: So it focused people on the actual winners of the movies and the TV shows, so maybe that was a good thing. But any surprises.
OGUNNAIKE: Well, "Atonement" was a huge surprise. I mean, I think a lot of people thought that the best film award would go to "No Country for Old Men" or "There Will Be Blood" and actually went to "Atonement" which went in with seven nominations. But for it to win, I think is a huge surprise.
ROBERTS: All right, what about some of the other winners. It seems that in the television category, a lot of the winners were on cable.
OGUNNAIKE: Yes. Cable had a huge night. You "Mad Men," "Extras," "Californication," "Entourage," "Damages," they all won awards. And David Duchovny actually won for "Californication". It's a new series. I think most people assumed that the award would go to Alec Baldwin for "30 Rock." But David Duchovny, he slid in there. He actually won in 1997 for "X-Files." So the Hollywood Foreign Press may still have a favor for David.
CHETRY: Scully and Mulder. Hey, quick question about the Oscars. What does it mean now for the other huge award shows? I mean, this is sort of a kickoff of the awards season. Is it just a bust this year?
OGUNNAIKE: Well, its scary thought. I mean, if they're not able to work out something with the guilds, this awards show could actually look as bad as the Golden Globes. And no one wants to see the Academy Awards look awful. But I think, it's also safe to say that Daniel Day Lewis actually is a shoo-in for the Best Actor Award for his work in "There Will Be Blood". I mean, this is really his award to lose. So clear out a space on his mantel for this award.
ROBERTS: And we'll see if "Atonement" repeats at the Oscars.
OGUNNAIKE: We'll see actually if -- but they're pretty even about spreading out the love this year. I mean "Atonement" got two awards. "Sweeney Todd" got two awards. "There Will Be Blood" got two awards. So there was enough to go around. But, again, not anything like what we're used to seeing and hopefully the Academy Awards will look at anything like this.
ROBERTS: You know, great to see Johnny Depp wins. He's one of my faves. Lola, thanks.
CHETRY: They had to recycle old dresses in the papers this morning. For pass the Golden Globes. It was so sad.
ROBERTS: Terrible in the scope of things.
The fight for Michigan, what Mitt Romney calls the one-state recession. Well hear Mike Huckabee's plan to bring Michigan back. He joins us coming up in our next half-hour. But up next, the search for a marine, accused of killing a fellow marine who was pregnant. Who was in charge of the investigation? AMERICAN MORNING legal analyst Sonny Hostin weighs in. That's next on AMERICAN MORNING.
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CHETRY: More now on one of our top stories this morning. The sad case out of Camp Lejeune. A manhunt now for a marine charged with killing a fellow marine who was eight months pregnant. The victim had accused him of rape and was getting ready to testify against him.
And the question, just what are the legal implications of this case? And whose jurisdiction does it fall under. AMERICAN MORNING legal analyst Sonny Hostin joins us now. You know, the details keep getting more disturbing as you found out about the fact that she felt harassed, apparently. Maria Lauterbach felt harassed by this suspect? And some in her close circle are asking why didn't the marines do enough to protect her? What was going on there?
SONNY HOSTIN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: You know, I don't think we know the answer as to why the marines weren't doing more. Everything that seem to be happening to her was classic. A classic thing that you find in a rape case. She reported this rape in April. According to marine procedure, apparently they issued this military protective order and it was reissued and reissued and reissued. But during that time, they were still sort of seeing each other, still working together. And by all accounts, once she became missing, they didn't seem to do enough.
In fact, what I've learned after looking at the search warrant by the Onslow City Sheriff's Department is after her mother went to the Ohio Police Department and said my daughter is missing, the Ohio Police Department then text messaged the North Carolina, Onslow City sheriff's office which apparently really picked up that ball and went running with it. But I think that perhaps the marines dropped the ball somehow. Holiday leave happened between 12, 14 when she was reported missing.
CHETRY: But even before that, she claims that this pregnancy that she had was a result of that rape, of this Lieutenant Laurean, is his last name. And so they were living on the same base and simply had contact with each other for months.
HOSTIN: For months, they didn't arrest him in April. And apparently, the reason for not arresting him is because they were somehow friendly to each other. But again...
CHETRY: She filed a harassment. I mean, some sort of a protection order against him. So how was that friendly?
HOSTIN: What my understanding is that she did file a complaint in April and then part of the procedure is to automatically have this military protective order issued and that was done. And it was reissued three times. And then by September, it was not issued again because there was some sort of friendly banter between the two. Again, I have to say having prosecuted rape cases this is highly, highly unusual.
CHETRY: All right. We'll keep following latest developments. Again, this person still remains at large. A little bit later, we're going to be speaking with the local sheriffs who were handling this case now. Thanks a lot.
HOSTIN: They seem to be handling it pretty well.
CHETRY: Thanks, Sonny.
HOSTIN: Thank you.
ROBERTS: The next hour of AMERICAN MORNING starts right now.
Rush hour snow storm.
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Michigan: Focus on Economy; Marine Murder Manhunt: Possible Sighting in Louisiana; Bad Beef Recall Over E. Coli Scare>
