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McCain Wins Republican Primary in South Carolina; Hillary Clinton Defeats Barack Obama in Nevada's Democratic Caucuses; Mitt Romney Wins Nevada's Republican Caucuses; Flights Grounded in Atlanta; Iowa Police Pull Man from Burning Car,;Girl Hides in Closet When Burglars Break In

Aired January 19, 2008 - 22:00   ET

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

WOLF BLITZER, CNN CORRESPONDENT: I want to take a quick pause right now because we're going to be welcoming in some other CNN networks that are going to be joining our coverage including our friends at CNN international. Let's pause.
And we want to welcome our viewers in the United States and around the world. We're continuing our coverage of the dramatic developments in South Carolina tonight. The Republican president primary. The big winner, John McCain. John McCain, the long time senator from Arizona emerging as the winner right now with 97 percent of the vote, dining for 7 percent of the precincts having reported already John McCain with 33 percent. And Mike Huckabee 30 percent, Fred Thompson and Mitt Romney distant third and fourth.

This was a win that John McCain desperately needed in South Carolina. It was only eight years ago where this very same state derailed his ambition to become the president of the United States. There you see him walking in to meet with his supporters, together with his wife Cindy. He'll be speaking at length going on to the next stage, which would be Florida, on January 29th. That's going to be quite a competitive state for all of the Republicans.

John McCain, having emerged as a winner tonight, and is obviously very, very happy. It was a close contest with Mitt Romney, but from Mitt Romney's perspective, not closed enough. We heard him just a little while ago. Now let's listen to the winner of the South Carolina Republican primary, John McCain. A very, very enthusiastic, happy John McCain.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

CROWD: Mac is back! Mac is back! Mac is back!

JOHN MCCAIN, (R) PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Thank you, thank you, thank you my friends. Thank you, South Carolina.

(APPLAUSE)

Thank you, South Carolina, for bringing us across the finish line first in the first-in-the-South primary.

(APPLAUSE) You know, it took us a while, but what's eight years among friends? What it really did, what it really did, it just gave us the opportunity to spend more time in this beautiful state. To talk with you and listen to you and to come to admire all the more the deep patriotism of South Carolinians, who have sacrificed so much to defend our country from its enemies.

(APPLAUSE)

My friends, it is a great privilege to have come to know so many of you, and I am very grateful for and humbled by the support you have given our campaign. Thank you. Thank you especially for having the very un-South Carolina-like weather today.

(LAUGHTER)

You came out to exercise the first responsibility of an American; not just those South Carolinians who voted for us, but all of you who voted today for the candidate you believe is best and is suited to lead the country you love.

(APPLAUSE)

I think I can speak -- I think I can speak for all of the Republican candidates when I say South Carolinians are never just fair weather friends.

(APPLAUSE)

You know, I am very grateful to our South Carolina team and to the many dedicated volunteers who gave so generously of their time and labor and kept us competitive in some pretty, pretty challenging times, my friends. And there is a lot of people we want to thank, so many. But among them are my dear and beloved friend, Lindsey Graham, the senior senator in South Carolina.

(APPLAUSE)

CROWD: Lindsey! Lindsey! Lindsey!

My dear and beloved friend, the great, great, great Attorney General of the state of South Carolina, Henry McMaster. Thank you, Henry.

(APPLAUSE)

And the leader in the South Carolina legislature, a leader in the fight to reduce taxes, less government, less regulation has made South Carolina a wonderful place to work and to live, the speaker, Bobby Harrell. Bobby, thank you very much.

(APPLAUSE)

I hope you know -- I hope you all know how much your friendship means to me. The debt I owe you is a privilege and an obligation which I promise you I will faithfully discharge. I want to thank my wonderful wife, Cindy, the best campaigner in the family. (APPLAUSE)

My daughters Meghan and Sidney, who are with us tonight, as well as my son, Doug, and our children who could not be here, and of course, my friends, and of course, my mother, Roberta McCain.

(APPLAUSE)

It is obvious to me and to all who know me we wouldn't be here tonight, where we are tonight, but for your love and encouragement and faith in me. Thank you, Mama. Thank you very much.

(APPLAUSE)

My friends, in the course of this campaign, I've tried as best I could to tell people the truth -- to tell them the truth about the challenges facing our country and how I intend to address them. As I have said before and you have heard me, before I can win your vote, I must earn your respect. And the only way I know how to do that is by being honest with you.

(APPLAUSE)

I've tried to do that throughout this campaign and to put my trust in your willingness to give me your fair consideration. So far, it seems to be working pretty well.

(APPLAUSE)

You and I are aware that for the last 28 years, the winner of the South Carolina primary has been the nominee of our party for president of the United States.

(APPLAUSE)

CROWD: Mac is back! Mac is back! Mac is back! Mac is back!

MCCAIN: Thank you. We have a ways to go my friends and there are some tough contests ahead and starting tomorrow in the state of Florida, where we are going to win with your support (INAUDIBLE).

(APPLAUSE)

We are well on our way tonight and I feel very good about our challenges. My friends, as pleased as we are about the results, and we have a reason to celebrate tonight, I know that I must keep foremost in my mind that I am not running for president to be somebody, but to do something.

(APPLAUSE)

I am running to keep America safe, prosperous and proud. I am running to restore the trust of the American people in their government.

(APPLAUSE) I am running so that our children and their children will have even greater opportunities than the ones we were blessed with. I am running so that every person in this country, now and in generations to come, will know the same sublime honor that has been the treasure of my life, to be proud to be an American.

(APPLAUSE)

CROWD: USA! USA! USA! USA! USA!

MCCAIN: I seek the nomination of our party, because I am as confident today as I was when I first entered public life as a foot soldier in the Reagan Revolution -- that the principles of the Republican Party, our confidence in the good sense and resourcefulness of free people are always in America's best interests.

In war and peace, in good times and challenging ones, we have always known that the first responsibility of government is to keep this country safe from its enemies, and the American people free of a heavy handed government that spends too much of their money, and tries to do for them what they are better able to do for themselves.

(APPLAUSE)

We want government to do its job, not your job; to do it better and to do it with less of your money to defend our nation's security wisely and effectively, because the cost of our defense is so dear to us; to respect our values because they are this true source of our strength; to enforce the rule of law that is first defense of freedom; to keep the promises it makes to us and not make promises it will not keep.

We believe government should only do those things we cannot do individually, and then get out of the way so that the most industrious, ingenious and enterprising people in the world can do what they have always done, build an even greater country than the one they inherited.

(APPLAUSE)

My friends, I know and you know we are facing challenging economic times, and we must be responsive to the concerns of Americans who fear they are being left behind in the global economy. But nothing is inevitable in our country. We are the captains of our fate.

(APPLAUSE)

We can overcome -- we can overcome any challenge as long as we keep our courage, stand by our defense of free markets, low taxes and small government that have made America the greatest land of opportunity in the world.

My dear friends, I have served our country all my adult life, and I am prepared for the high office I speak. I asked South Carolinians to help give me the opportunity to serve this country I love a little while longer.

(APPLAUSE)

You have done that. You have done that. You have done that and I will never forget it. I promise you that I will always put America -- her strength, her ideals, her future before every other consideration.

Thank you, South Carolina.

(APPLAUSE)

Thank you. Thank you for your trust. I will not let you down, so help me God.

(APPLAUSE)

Good night and God bless you as you have blessed me.

(APPLAUSE)

Thank you. Thank you.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BLITZER: A huge night. A huge night and a big win for John McCain. There he is with his wife Cindy, delivering his victory speech in the South Carolina Republican primary. He started off -- you could see a beaming smile. A lot of people probably haven't seen him this happy in a very, very long time. John McCain. Coming from politically at a very, very bad position only a few months ago, a lot of the pundits had ripped him off, but John McCain certainly has survived and has gone on to thrive, especially tonight in South Carolina. A state that's got an excellent track record since 1980 in picking Republican presidential nominees.

And there you see John McCain very, very happy, getting ready for Florida now. That will be on January 29th. John McCain winning with right now 93 percent of the precincts reporting, with 33 percent to Mike Huckabee's 30 percent and Fred Thompson and Mitt Romney below fighting for third place with 16 percent percent for Thompson. Right now, 15 percent for Romney.

John King has been looking at all of these counties and the tallies in South Carolina.

John, how did he do it?

JOHN KING, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, Wolf, you see Senator McCain beating on the floor there, defeating a ghost from his past if you will from eight years ago. How did he do it? Remember we talked at the beginning of the night about how important the coastal counties were to McCain. Well, let's come down the coast a little bit. This red is John McCain. And look at the margins here, 39 to 22, beating Mike Huckabee by 17 percentage points here in Georgetown County. Let's come down here. This is where Senator McCain is at the moment and he's there for a reason. This is his base in South Carolina.

Charleston County, 45 percent for McCain, only 16 percent for Mike Huckabee. A 10,000-vote margin in that county. Remember that number, 10,000. And just south of Charleston County, down here, Beaufort County, Senator McCain also posting a big margin over Governor Huckabee. Mitt Romney actually placing second in that county. But a big margins along the coast, which what said was critical to Senator McCain. This was the area critical to Governor Huckabee, Greenville County. McCain led much of the night as the count came in. In the end, Huckabee will win Greenville County, but Senator McCain just behind him. Why? 21 percent for Fred Thompson up there.

And remember that as we move over. Greenville County, part of the evangelical belt of South Carolina. Let's go next door to Spartanburg County. Governor Huckabee was up there yesterday. He did end up carrying that county. But again, Fred Thompson 20 percent of the vote. So the Fred factor will be part of the story of South Carolina. A critical victory for John McCain but hardly, Wolf, as we wait for the final votes to come in. Now at 93 percent hardly a convincing win.

Senator McCain, still, a lot to prove as the campaign moves on. And as you know, this is South Carolina tonight for the Republicans. You see, Nevada flashing out there in the west. This is where it matters next. Hands on McCain build on the South Carolina win tonight, in the state of Florida, or will we have more jumbles in the Republican race? Can somebody have momentum or we go back to having yet another winner as the calendar moves on.

Wolf?

BLITZER: That's right. We all love politics covering this presidential contest as much as we did. Because we don't know what is going to happen next, but we'll let the process unfold step by step by step. And today has been an important day. Let's recap what has happened so far today.

And we'll start out in Nevada. Earlier in the day, a big win for Senator Hillary Clinton in the Nevada Democratic caucuses. Right now, 98 percent of those caucuses are in. She's got more than 50 percent, 51 percent to Barack Obama's 45 percent. A disappointing third for John Edwards.

In Nevada, among the Republicans today, remember, they had a caucus. The big winner there among the Republicans, Mitt Romney, the former governor of Massachusetts. 100 percent of those caucus, those precincts have reported and Romney round up with the majority of 51 percent. Ron Paul came in second with 14 percent. McCain third, 13 percent. Mike Huckabee, 8 percent. A big win for Mitt Romney in Nevada.

But the big win for John McCain in South Carolina is very, very important for the Arizona senator, 33 percent of the vote coming in. 30 percent for Mike Huckabee. And as I said earlier, Thompson and Romney, not doing so well. We're going to be watching Fred Thompson, very, very closely to see what he decides to do next. Anderson Cooper has been with us all night with The Best Political Team on Television.

ANDERSON COOPER, CNN CORRESPONDENT: And let's get their final thoughts on the evening. Gloria Borger, (INAUDIBLE), where do we go?

GLORIA BORGER, CNN POLITICAL ANALYST: Well, as I listen to John McCain tonight, I understood completely that he's going to talk about experience, experience, experience. He said, I have served our country all my adult life. Mitt Romney, you can talk about change, but I've got the experience to be president of the United States.

COOPER: And he certainly looked invigorated. He certainly looked happy. And reading a teleprompter, it's the first time I've seen him doing that in one of his speeches.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You know, it's a good speech. And you do kind of want to salute, you know, yes, sir. And he talks about country. It's his political advantage now. It was gain game McCain, and I think he gets the advantage. The other thing is, again just this story, this guy who can't raise his arms above his head because of those injuries goes into a state and out campaigns the competition. Younger, more vigorous men. That's pretty impressive story.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: He looked very presidential. He was relaxed. He had a great message. I think it resonated with not just his audience but the people who will go out and vote in the next couple of days. Look, in Florida, they're already voting. Florida is one of those early voting states. And I'm sure tonight Rudy Giuliani is probably saying, oh, my God, they're on their way.

COOPER: It would be interesting someday to do an analysis of what makes someone look presidential. But all of a sudden, people suddenly appear. Is that what it is?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Winning. Winning may submerge.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Yes, absolutely.

COOPER: Interesting. Amy, what are your thoughts?

AMY HOLMES, REPUBLICAN STRATEGIST: I mean, he looks fantastic. And as a former speech writer, I heard three major things that he tried to accomplish in this victory speech. Number one, he thanked his peeps first. Those state honchos even before his wife. That he was consolidating that conservative South Carolinian support.

COOPER: Did you ever use the term "peeps" as a speech writer?

HOLMES: I don't know if the Senator Chris would go along with that. And number two, he really hit on those poll-tested themes that he knows works for him. We're going to be talking about honesty, trust, respect, and as glory aside, his patriotism and Americanism. And number three, what he did at the very end of it is he tried to convince the listeners about his conservative bona fides. He said he was a Reagan foot soldier and he understands those conservative principles.

COOPER: Carl Bernstein?

CARL BERNSTEIN, CNN POLITICAL ANALYST: I just read my profile of McCain on my website over again in which he says, I have a certain amount of confidence that I don't have to have a majority opinion on my side. And you know, he goes against the grain. That's how he got where he is. And that's what we're seeing.

COOPER: And our coverage continues right after this short break. A lot more from CNN and politics. Stay tuned.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

TONY HARRIS, CNN ANCHOR: And Hello, everyone, I'm Tony Harris in the CNN NEWSROOM. Voters in two very different parts of the country, in two very different states get their chance to influence the race for the White House. And tonight there are three big winners in South Carolina. As you just saw here on CNN. John McCain claims victory in the Republican presidential primary. Out west in Nevada, Hillary Clinton defeats Barack Obama to win that state's Democratic caucuses and Mitt Romney wins Nevada's Republican caucuses. A contest most of his rivals mostly ignored.

Let us start in South Carolina. It was very close and it wasn't easy, but John McCain has edged out Mike Huckabee in South Carolina's Republican primary. McCain's stronghold of support along the Carolina Coast came through for him today; giving him his second victory in this campaign season, following his earlier win in New Hampshire. Just minutes ago, we heard from John McCain who spoke right after Mike Huckabee addressed his supporters.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MIKE HUCKABEE, (R) PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Well obviously tonight, we wanted to come here and to declare a South Carolina victory. We got awful close. Unfortunately, in politics, close doesn't count for the first slot but it does count. And the reason that I want to encourage you tonight is to remind you that politics, and particularly this year more than perhaps any other, this is not an event. It is a process. And the process is far, far from over.

MCCAIN: Thank you, South Carolina, for bringing us as cross the finish line first in the first-in-the-South primary. You know, it took us a while, but what's eight years among friends, huh?

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HARRIS: We are all over the South Carolina primary results. Mary snow is in Columbia at Mike Huckabee's headquarters and Dana Bash is standing by at John McCain's victory party in Charleston. Dana, let's start with you. How big a boost is this for the McCain campaign?

DANA BASH, CNN CORRESPONDENT: A huge boost. There's no question about it, Tony. Because, you know, up until tonight, we have been talking about the fact that there were three big winners in the Republican race and no front-runner. Well, tonight it's probably a little bit too early to call John McCain the front-runner, but clearly he is somebody who has the potential to get momentum. We have said so many times but it's worth repeating and John McCain repeated here tonight that the history of South Carolina in the Republican Party is such that this is the state that generally elects the Republican nominee or at least has since 1980.

Now, John McCain said tonight that it's not necessarily going to be the case this time. They're obviously already looking ahead to the next contest state in Florida. But this is important, obviously, for many, many reasons. First of all, John McCain lost this state in the year 2000 and lost it very big to George w. Bush and so this is sort of retribution, if you will, for John McCain but also perhaps proof that he can do well in the south.

Obviously, the senator from Arizona has done well in the north, in New Hampshire, a couple of times, but the south, this is the very first contest state for the Republican Party in the South, Tony, and John McCain proved that he can do well here. And that matters not just for the Republican primary contest season but also for the general election because Republicans need the south in order to do well in the general election.

So that's one reason why it's critical. And you know, he obviously appealed to the veterans here, he appealed to the fiscal conservatives here, and he did better than maybe others thought he would in the more socially conservative areas against his chief rival, who appeared to be Mike Huckabee

HARRIS: And we'll take a closer look at those numbers in the days to come. Dana Bash, appreciate it, thank you.

And Mary Snow now, Mary, Mike Huckabee expected religious voters to put him over the top this evening. What happened?

MARY SNOW, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes. And you know, Tony, his campaign, his supporters were holding out, hope to the very end that those counties with social conservative voters would really come out and put him over the top. What is happening, though, they say they were hurt by Fred Thompson. They were vying for those votes with Fred Thompson, and that, they say, is part of the reason why he didn't do as well with the evangelicals.

Throughout the day there had been a lot of nervousness just because it was such a close race. But, as you heard Mike Huckabee say, this is far from over, that he's vowing to go on. He said he didn't want to second guess what happened. He said, now look at what's next. He's going to Texas tomorrow. He's going to have a fund-raiser, then move on and concentrate on Florida.

One of the things also that he'll be focusing on, according to some of his advisors, he's going to be fine-tuning his economic measures, giving some specifics since some of his rivals have been coming out with economic packages. But clearly, this is a state that Mike Huckabee really wanted to win here, this to show that his victory in Iowa was not just a one-state win. But he feels that he's built up a lot of momentum. He says he's encouraged by these final days and he is determined to go forward.

He also made the point that his organization was not as big as John McCain's and saying though, that he is very happy or pleased with the grassroots support that he's been getting. HARRIS: And there she is. Mary Snow for us this evening. Mary, great to see you. Appreciate it. Thank you.

And, yes, in the Nevada caucuses, a second straight victory for Republican Mitt Romney after his win in Michigan. Also, another win for Democrat Hillary Clinton. Romney is actually in Jacksonville, Florida tonight where he thanked his supporters.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MITT ROMNEY, (R) PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Well, we love Nevada. What a great state. And they have just made a wonderful day for us. In the last week, that means two of the battleground states have come out strongly for our campaign. They've heard our message of change.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HARRIS: Senator Clinton won Nevada with among 51 percent of the vote. She addressed her very enthusiastic supporters earlier.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

HILLARY CLINTON, (D) PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: There are so many people to thank, but I especially have to thank my two greatest supporters -- my husband and my daughter. They believe, as I do, that politics is what makes our Democracy work. We may get frustrated. We may get upset. But at the end of the day, the people's voices must be heard.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HARRIS: So here's the thing. Senator Clinton won the overall statewide popular vote, but Senator Obama won in two key areas. CNN senior political correspondent Candy Crowley explains it all.

CANDY CROWLEY, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Look, she won the state. There's no doubt about that. But what's happened here is that they took one of the districts in Nevada and split it up into three. And Obama got the advantage in two of those. So, you know, he came in, including the super delegates that have been already pledged. He came in even with her.

Now, the Clinton campaign says, wait a second, this are not national convention delegates. That must decided until April so this is not about those delegates that are going to the convention. So you have sort of two different ways actually to interpret the same numbers. Bottom line is that Hillary Clinton won overall, but certainly in the delegate count at this point and in Nevada, we're talking about state- pledged delegates, there was a tie. It's as simply as I can explain it.

TONY HARRIS, CNN ANCHOR, NEWSROOM: That certainly works for me. Only in Vegas. One caucus precinct there couldn't break a tie so they relied on a good old-fashioned card draw. Are you kidding me? Joining us on the phone from Las Vegas is Tom Komenda, a Hillary Clinton supporter. Tom, good to talk to you.

TOM KOMENDA: How are you today?

HARRIS: I'm great. I'm great. You've got to tell me more about that. Five delegates available to Senators Obama and Clinton at the end of the day. This is at the precinct at Mojave High School in north Vegas, correct?

KOMENDA: Correct.

HARRIS: All right, hang on. Stay with me. Are you really telling me you guys pulled out a deck of cards?

KOMENDA: Yes, we did.

HARRIS: No, you didn't.

KOMENDA: Yes, we did. We pulled out a deck of cards and drew. Highest card won the extra delegate.

HARRIS: Let's break this down. So a supporter of Barack Obama went first and drew what card?

KOMENDA: She ended up drawing the 10 of spades.

HARRIS: What was the reaction in the room?

KOMENDA: My reaction was, oh, shoot!

HARRIS: Full disclosure here. Why was that your reaction?

KOMENDA: Well, because I'm a Clinton supporter.

HARRIS: So now the Clinton supporter pulls a card and the card is?

KOMENDA: The queen of hearts.

HARRIS: The queen of hearts and there you go. Now, let me ask you something -- do you get to go now to -- do you get to go to Denver?

KOMENDA: No, I don't get to go to Denver. The way it goes right now is the Clinton supporters there asked me to be one of their delegates, which is a city delegate. From there, I will be nominated as a city delegate going from there. If I'm elected there, I become a county, then I'll go to the state. If elected at the state, I would then go on to Denver and see you guys in person.

HARRIS: All right. How do you like your chances?

KOMENDA: I love my chances!

HARRIS: You love your chances. Any shenanigans with the cards? Who was shuffling?

KOMENDA: You know what? It started out as -- they started shuffling the cards and you could actually see the actual playing cards. I was, like, stop, stop, stop. What casino do you go into where they're going to show you the playing cards when you're playing blackjack? HARRIS: Oh, my goodness. Only in Vegas.

KOMENDA: So I went up there and I said, no, if we're going to shuffle, we're going to shuffle the way they do in the casinos where you can't see the face cards or the playing card at all. So I shuffled. Then an Obama representative shuffled. Then one from the Obama picked the 10 of spades and one of the Clinton supporters picked the queen of hearts.

HARRIS: Well, Tom, what a great story. Only in Vegas!

KOMENDA: Only in Vegas.

HARRIS: And good luck. Maybe we'll see you in Denver.

KOMENDA: Sounds great.

HARRIS: All right, Tom. Have a great evening.

KOMENDA: You, too.

HARRIS: Both races interesting for different reasons. Let's get CNN political analyst Bill Schneider in here. Bill, good to see you, good to talk to you. Point-blank here -- what's the biggest surprise of the afternoon, the evening, if any?

BILL SCHNEIDER, CNN CORRESPONDENT: McCain winning South Carolina has got to be -- I'm not sure it's a total surprise, but it is an impressive victory. It was a narrow victory. And what was remarkable about it is he did it without carrying conservatives. South Carolina is the homeland of conservatives. That's why it exercises so much influence in the Republican party, in every Republican race, whoever wins South Carolina since 1980 has won the nomination. But McCain didn't carry conservatives. Mike Huckabee did. He only got a quarter of the conservative vote. How did he do it? He did it with retirees. He did it with veterans. He did it with people who are not born again or evangelical Christians. He did get a respectable share of the evangelical vote, much more than he did last time. But essentially McCain did it on a personal vote. It wasn't ideology; it wasn't issues. It was a vote for him personally, which has always been his strongest appeal.

HARRIS: What a night for John McCain. Boy, Bill Schneider in New York, Bill, great to see you. That's a great way to put a button on our coverage here. Bill, appreciate it. Thank you.

And straight ahead tonight in the CNN NEWSROOM, it's an incredible act of heroism. Two Iowa police officers ignore raging flames and put their lives on the line to try to save an injured driver.

But first -- wow, this story, snow in the south and negative temperatures in the north. We'll take a look at how today's wicked weather almost brought the nation's busiest airport to a standstill.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK) HARRIS: Wow, snow, rain, sleet, and tornados in the south? The kind of weather that cancels up to 1,000 flights, 1,000 flights, at the world's busiest airport. But Atlanta's Hartsfield-Jackson isn't alone. Snow, black ice and bitter cold have drivers from the Carolinas to Mississippi thinking twice about going anywhere this hour and in Florida an entirely different weather headache. We're talking tornados. There she is, let's get Jacqui Jeras in here. What's going on here?

(WEATHER REPORT)

HARRIS: Thank you. Crazy, crazy day gives way to what looks like a pretty peaceful night. Our tower cam tonight pointed at Atlanta's Hartsfield-Jackson international airport, daytime photos there. See the planes there on the ground? That's where they were earlier today as well, up to 1,000 flights cancelled. CNN's Richard Lui is at Hartsfield-Jackson tonight where it has been some kind of day. Richard, great to see you. I suspect there are a lot of stranded passengers inside that airport tonight.

RICHARD LUI, CNN CORRESPONDENT. Good evening to you there, Tony. There are some stranded passengers inside, but you hit it right there -- 800 to 1,000 cancelled flights today. If you do your math, that's 30 to 40 percent of the flights that come in and go out of Hartsfield- Jackson each and every day. Now those cancellations, you add on the delays of up to four hours is what we heard earlier, that also was a part of the deicing delay that we were reporting earlier today of up to 90 minutes. What that all led to -- people sitting around inside of the airport. Some of them were happy. Some of them weren't. Some of them were waiting for flights coming in from international locations, such as Amsterdam, waiting an extra hour and a half, some were waiting for domestic flights. And there were even some limo drivers that had been here since 10:00 a.m. in the morning They're still in there tonight like Doralee Molina.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DORALEE MOLINA, LIMO DRIVER: I've been here since about 10:00 this morning, and I will be here until about 11:00 tonight. And possibly longer just due to the cancellations, having to stay here and wait for everybody to come in.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

LUI: And Tony, that is the snow that's left outside here today, just sprinkles on top of the branches here. Tomorrow morning, of course, that will be a different story. What they're going to do is go out into those runways, go down to the ground, see how cold it is. If it's from 36 to 39 degrees, they're OK. But they also have to measure about 10 to 20 feet underground to see if it is actually warm enough. Then they'll decide whether flights will be cancelled again.

HARRIS: What a story. Richard Lui for us this evening at Hartsfield- Jackson international airport. Richard, appreciate it, thank you.

Straight ahead tonight, trapped in a car as flames engulfed the vehicle. Look at this. Then two heroes come to the rescue. The story next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HARRIS: There's a car engulfed in flames and someone trapped inside, but the flames aren't enough to keep two Ames police officers from putting their lives on the line. Reporter Angie Hunt of CNN affiliate KCCI in Des Moines has the story.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

LT. JEFF BRINKLEY, AMES, IOWA POLICE: When I got there, the vehicle was fairly well engulfed in flames at least on the rear half of the vehicle. It looked to me like somebody stole it and maybe wrecked it and walked away from it. It was kind of hard to tell.

ANGIE HUNT, KCCI CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Not knowing if anyone might be trapped inside this burning car, Lieutenant Jeff Brinkley knew he had to get a better look.

BRINKLEY: The thing was just filled with smoke and I couldn't see at all.

HUNT: So Brinkley started breaking windows hoping to vent the car, but still couldn't see through the thick black smoke. It's all captured on the dashboard cam inside Brinkley's car.

BRINKLEY: (INAUDIBLE) I think there might be.

HUNT: That's when Officer Clint Hertz arrived. He immediately rushed to open the passenger door and quickly realized someone was inside.

OFC. CLINT HERTZ, AMES, IOWA POLICE: I wasn't thinking too much, other than just, there's somebody in there. We've got to get them out.

HUNT: It took a few seconds for Hertz to free the driver, 21-year old Justin Halberg (ph) from his seat belt and drag him from the car. Halberg was unresponsive but alive.

BRINKLEY: One of the doctors that treated the patient said that he estimated he had 30 to 60 more seconds before he would have succumbed to the smoke inhalation.

HUNT: After pulling Halberg to safety, Officer Hertz went back to see if anyone else was still in the car. Watch closely as Hertz puts his head back inside the vehicle and you see a small burst of flames right in front of his face.

HERTZ: I never noticed how much the car just went up in a ball of fire after we got him out. It was real quick, probably 20 seconds and then it was completely engulfed.

BRINKLEY: I went back and looked at the tape, from the time that I got out of the car to the time that little poof kind of went over Clint's head was, like, 62 seconds. Start to finish. To go back and look at that from the third-person perspective was really kind of sobering to me in that we were really close, knowing full well that there was risk to us as well at that point.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

HARRIS: Whoa. Once again, that was Angie Hunt from our affiliate KCCI.

The driver was treated for smoke inhalation but he wasn't burned. Meantime Officers Hertz and Brinkley will receive the award of valor next week, the highest honor an officer can receive.

And a quick reminder, one of those brave officers, Lt. Jeff Brinkley, will be a guest Monday right here on CNN. Check out Monday's NEWSROOM PM to hear Lt. Brinkley talk more about that dramatic rescue. NEWSROOM PM airs from 1:00 until 4:00 Eastern every weekday afternoon right here on CNN.

A couple of surprises on the campaign trail today. Good news for Senators John McCain and Hillary Clinton. Not so much for everyone else. One more look coming up next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HARRIS: The South Carolina Republican primary lived up to its billing, the first big southern showdown in the Republican race for the White House. It was only within the last hour or so that we learned John McCain was the winner with Mike Huckabee coming in a close second. How did McCain do it? Charles Bierbauer can help us with this one. Charles is the dean of a college of mass communications at the University of South Carolina. He is joining us from Columbia. Charles, great to see you back on CNN, my friend.

CHARLES BIERBAUER, UNIV. OF SOUTH CAROLINA: Thank you Tony.

HARRIS: Hey Charles, give us the benefit of your time in that state. How did McCain do this?

BIERBAUER: Well, South Carolina perhaps owed John McCain a little bit of a debt from the 2000 election when he was stopped in his tracks here by some would say a rather mean-spirited effect of the Bush campaign and he lost badly and lost momentum. Now he gets momentum out of South Carolina. In fact, he's got two strong wins, New Hampshire and here. He did it by appealing to the core constituency. That's a term we throw around pretty handily. Good, solid core Republicans military, of which there are a lot in South Carolina, retirees, military retirees, a lot of them here, economic issues and staying pretty strong on his view on what we need to do in regards to foreign policy and Iraq.

HARRIS: With so many races still to come, we're looking at Florida, we're looking at super Tuesday in February, I'm wondering, does John McCain feel like a front-runner to you tonight?

BIERBAUER: I suppose I wasn't down in Charleston where Senator McCain has been. I suppose John McCain feels pretty good tonight. I was over at the Huckabee rally and before that at Fred Thompson's rally and very different feelings there. Huckabee ran a good, credible second-place finish here, 3 percent is close but you don't get prizes for coming in second.

HARRIS: Absolutely.

BIERBAUER: Although, as he described it, he says it's not an event, it's a process and the process has a long way to go.

HARRIS: Charles, what do you think of Fred Thompson? Can he survive with this finish in South Carolina? There were several of the analysts on the program earlier this evening essentially saying he's done. What do you think?

BIERBAUER: He's done when he says he's done, but he surely looked and sounded done this evening. He said in his remarks absolutely nothing with in the future tense. Everything was sort of describing the state of affairs and how he felt about the issues that had been addressed, thanking everyone who was involved in his campaign, without saying that it's over. Tonight wasn't the night to do that. Tomorrow very well may be. That's a call he's going to make, but he's never broken out of the mid teens anywhere, running neck and neck with Romney here for third place. This was the place where people were at one point -- and it was only last Labor Day that he got into the race -- thinking that he might be the answer. Well, Huckabee came along and changed a lot of people's views on that and Fred Thompson, as I say, remained a mid teens candidate and is unlikely to get beyond that.

HARRIS: Charles, did Mitt Romney ever have a chance in South Carolina?

BIERBAUER: Mitt Romney was ahead in South Carolina at one point. He was the first candidate to run television ads here. He ran a lot of them. As it turned sour looking, he ran to Nevada. So he gets to claim Nevada today, but if you look at it in a big picture way, this was a state that at one point Romney thought he had a chance in. He got some endorsements here, even though he's not exactly the kind of religious conservative evangelical type that a lot of South Carolinians were looking for. He had some support. But it waned; it wavered and that really becomes a question of how he regains that moving forward. But in his parlance, he's now got three gold medals.

HARRIS: Charles, maybe we can have you back next weekend, talk the Democratic primary.

BIERBAUER: We get to do it twice here, twice the fun.

HARRIS: Let's bring you back next week. Charles, great to see you again.

BIERBAUER: Thank you, Tony.

HARRIS: All right. Take care. Have a great evening.

A burglar broke into her home. She jumped into the closet. Before it was over, homeowner and crook got much, much closer. You won't believe this one.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK) HARRIS: Man, it is a horror movie staple. A young woman hides in the closet while the bad guys roam the house. But for one Utah woman, this scary movie was real, especially since one of the bad guys was hiding in there with her. Here's Sarah Dalif (ph) from our Salt Lake City affiliate, KSL.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

SARAH DALIF, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): That's the 911 call 21- year-old Brittney made yesterday. Police say these three men rang her door bell and when no one answered, let themselves in. The suspects smashed the window, climbed inside and headed upstairs to see what they could find, all while Brittney was home.

BRITTNEY: It's all surreal. I can't even comprehend the feelings.

DALIF: As the burglars got closer, Brittney hid in an upstairs closet. At one point, you can hear the three on the 911 recording arranging for a ride. John (INAUDIBLE) was the 911 operator on the other end.

911 OPERATOR: It got pretty intense sometimes throughout the call.

DALIF: Listening as one of the men opened the closet where Brittney was hiding looking for stuff to steal.

BRITTNEY: I was just standing right here. He pushed it open and he was just bumping my legs, my boots.

911 OPERATOR: I do have officers in the backyard and an the corners of your house, OK?

DALIF: The burglars spotted police and scrambled, one jumping into the closet, inches from Brittney.

BRITTNEY: He was standing right here, like, I could probably kiss his cheek if I would have stood on my tiptoes.

DALIF: She stayed still and silent until officers entered the room. Then --

BRITTNEY: He just looked at me with a complete dumbfounded expression, like, what? Where did she come from?

DALIF: The three were taken into custody without any problems. And today Brittney met John.

BRITTNEY: Hi.

911 OPERATOR: Hi. I'm John.

BRITTNEY: Hi, John. Nice to meet you.

911 OPERATOR: You, too.

DALIF: The man who kept her calm during those tense minutes.

BRITTNEY: I felt OK being on the phone with someone. It helped.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

HARRIS: Man, is that a story or what? That was Sarah Dalif reporting from our affiliate KSL. The suspects are charged with aggravated burglary. Police say they had two knives and a set of brass knuckles on them. I'm Tony Harris. Thanks for joining us in the CNN NEWSROOM.

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