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American Morning
Frigid Temperatures Sweep Across U.S.; Party Complaints: Heavyweights Tell Clinton to Stop Attacks; Florida Strategy: High Stakes For Rudy Giuliani; Six-Alarm Fire in Lawrence, Massachusetts
Aired January 21, 2008 - 07:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
KIRAN CHETRY, CNN ANCHOR: I'm Kiran Chetry here in New York. I was outside last hour where it felt because of the wind chills to be about zero degrees. But for some reason, behind you, the palm tree makes it seem like it's warmer than it really is.
JOHN ROBERTS, CNN ANCHOR: If only that were true. But I can tell you, it's cold. We've got ice on the ground here, which is unusual for this part of South Carolina. You know, this is Myrtle Beach. This is spring break territory, and it better warm up pretty soon because a lot of people are getting set to come down here.
Tonight, the focus is on the building behind me. It's the Palace Theater. Typically, they have Broadway on the beach here. But tonight, we've got some rough and tumble politics. Barack Obama, Hillary Clinton and John Edwards tonight will square off against each other as they try to convince South Carolina Democrats to cast their vote for them. We'll be talking about that this morning as well. We've got Mitt Romney coming up in about 25 minutes' time. But right now, Kiran's got more on this extreme cold from New York. Good morning, Kiran.
CHETRY: Yes, and if you look at the map of the U.S., it really is unbelievable. I mean, you're talking just from the entire upper northwest to northeast is zero degrees. And as you go further down, even the south is dealing with freezing temperatures this morning, and it's deadly weather for some parts of the country. We have cold temperatures and extreme wind chills through North Dakota, Minnesota, Illinois, Indiana, and temperatures hitting below the freezing point in many spots around the country overnight and at least one weather- related death was reported in Wisconsin over the weekend.
Further up north from us, Syracuse, slammed with 35 inches of snow. And while they do get snow this time of year, they get a lot at once, almost three feet in this one system. So when will the arctic blast end? Our Rob Marciano is tracking the bitter cold at our weather update desk in Atlanta. We also have Reynolds Wolf live in Green Bay, Wisconsin. And we start with Rob with the look at the overall forecast. It's very rare that you see the whole country and it's just the entire strip, it seems like it just goes down and gets progressively colder as you move up.
ROB MARCIANO, METEOROLOGIST: You're right about that. Typically, when we get a cold outbreak in one spot of the country, you know, the atmosphere will kind of respond in another part and maybe warm up that area. But it looks like for the most part, you know, 80 percent of the country is at or below average for temperatures right now. And it looks like we'll probably see reinforcing shots of cold air especially across the northeast.
Let's take you to the upper Midwest and show you some of these current temperatures. Nine right now in Chicago, minus four in Green Bay. You couple the wind chill, and yes, it feels even more miserable in places like Duluth and Thunder Bay, into the minus 25 to 27-degree range.
Talk about the big game yesterday at kickoff was zero at the lowest. Temperature during the game was minus four, and the wind chill at the lowest point of the game was minus 24. That's nasty stuff, and extends to the northeast as well.
Right now, it feels like four in New York. It feels like two in Boston. Zero degrees in Albany, New York. We do have lake-effect snow bands that will continue to pile up that snow in Syracuse and Oswego County. And its cold air drives all the way down to the south. Look at this.
It feels like nine degrees right now in Atlanta. Sixteen in Charleston. They have palm trees in Charleston, by the way, and they're shivering no doubt about that. We might see a little bit of light snow across the upper Midwest, but nothing like they saw in Syracuse, 30 inches. They might see a total of four feet of snow in just two days across upstate New York with this bitterly cold air moving across those warm Great lakes. Kiran, back up to you.
CHETRY: All right. And Rob, stay tuned because we're going to be checking our morning's "Quick Vote" question. And it was, when is it time to take your exercising indoors? Because unbelievably, when it's 15 degrees outside, you still see people jogging in Central Park. Well, right now, 28 percent of you say when it's colder than 50. Thirty-eight percent of you say when it's colder than 32 degrees freezing. Twenty-four percent say below zero. And 10 percent - those are the ones I must see out there - say it is never too cold.
Cast your vote, by the way, CNN.com/am. We'll continue to tally the votes throughout the morning. But you're really not supposed to be out there for long periods when you're dealing with below freezing. Are you, Rob?
MARCIANO: Any excuse not to exercise, I think, is the main theme here. So I'm pretty impressed with our viewers. They actually wait until it gets below freezing before they say, no. I'm not going to go outside. For me, it would be closer to 50.
CHETRY: How about it? All right. Well, more power to them this morning.
MARCIANO: Yes, Kiran.
CHETRY: Meanwhile, people had no choice but to be outside exercising. Now, with the football players at yesterday's AFC championship game in Wisconsin, they say it was actually the third coldest on record. But I think if you were out there, it felt like the coldest of your life.
Green Bay Packers fans tailgating in wind chills below 19 below zero. Twenty-three below zero reported at some points during that game. They hoped that the Giants would freeze up. It was actually the Packers who did. They're losing 23-20 in overtime, losing out on a trip to the Super Bowl by just a field goal.
Our Reynolds Wolf is live in Green Bay, Wisconsin, where I guess the outcome of the game just added insult to injury there for Packers' fans. Hey there, Reynolds.
REYNOLDS WOLF, CNN METEOROLOGIST: Hey there. I definitely say so. Kiran, what did you say the temperature was in Central Park right now?
CHETRY: It was 15, and the wind chill made it zero.
WOLF: Oh, you lucky devil. You lucky, lucky devil. Right now, as it stands, we got two degrees below zero. That is not including the wind chill. During our last update, we had winds here that were virtually still. It has begun to pick up a little bit, so it certainly is making an impact. It is just frigid out here.
Right now, I'm in the heart of Green Bay. We got the Fox River right behind me. Kind of splits the city in two, and it's just beautiful out here. But, of course, as I mentioned, it is absolutely chilly. We've got the channel marker here across the way. You can see a few buildings at the top. The steam is coming off from the nice heat inside those buildings. Definitely, much warmer than we have out here.
What's amazing is, of course, we had people out yesterday there in the elements. They're playing the game. But yesterday morning, early in the morning, when it was 11 degrees below zero, even at the wind chill, we actually saw people out here jogging around. It's amazing how hardy the people here now they can withstand it. But I'll tell you what? Although a lot of people are leaving today because of last night's game, game's over obviously, that cold air is going to remain.
We're expecting temperatures today to stay pretty much in the single digits, maybe coming up to around 12 or so. Then, we're going to see a little bit of snow anywhere from one to four inches of snow fall. And then as we get through about a week (ph), temperatures warming up to a nice balmy 12 degrees. Back to you, Kiran.
CHETRY: Oh, all you have to compare it to, right? Well, it feels balmy.
WOLF: Everything is relative.
CHETRY: All right. Reynolds, bundle up. Thanks -- John.
ROBERTS: And positively balmy here in comparison yet again.
On the campaign trail today, Senator Barack Obama is fed up and ready to take on former President Clinton. He is complaining that his record is being distorted in campaign attacks. Obama spoke out on ABC.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SEN. BARACK OBAMA (D), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: The former president, who I think all of us have a lot of regard for, has taken his advocacy on behalf of his wife to a level that I think is pretty troubling. He continues to make statements that aren't supported by the facts, whether it's about my record of opposition to the war in Iraq, or our approach to organizing in Las Vegas. This has become a habit and one of the things that I think we're going to have to do is directly confront Bill Clinton when he's not making statements that are factually accurate.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ROBERTS: And it sounds like the senator has got some work ahead of him because Hillary Clinton's campaign says the former president will continue his role, speaking out on behalf of his wife.
Obama is not the only Democrat telling former President Clinton to tone it down. Some in the party think it's inappropriate for a former president and party leader to be so aggressive. "Newsweek" magazine reports that there have been heated phone calls from Senator Edward Kennedy and Congressman Rahm Emanuel, a former Clinton advisor, telling the former president to stop the attacks on Obama.
The Republicans are now turning their attention to Florida. Rudy Giuliani, once the frontrunner, has barely been mentioned since the primaries began. He skipped the early races and gambled on a win in next Tuesday's Florida primary. CNN's John King joins us now live from Orlando. And John, at just about every stop along the trail in the early going, Rudy Giuliani was talking up his national security credentials but now turning his attention toward the economy.
JOHN KING, CNN CHIEF NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Absolutely, John. More and more as the economy is dominating all of the race for president, the candidates are having to discuss it. And Rudy Giuliani in recent days is quite interesting. He is, as you noted, laid back here in the state of Florida. He used a baseball metaphor. Essentially sat out the first five innings and saying he could win in Florida and suddenly turn the Republican race around.
Now, he's taking after his friend, John McCain, over the weekend, campaigning here in Florida, I was with him yesterday, saying John McCain voted against the Bush tax cuts. That is not the position you want a president to take at a time the economy needs some help. So Rudy Giuliani focusing on his record of cutting taxes in New York City, and being much more pointed in his criticism of John McCain. John McCain, of course, won South Carolina last week even though the polls show pretty much a four-way jumble here in Florida with a week to go in the campaign. It is clear that Rudy Giuliani thinks McCain is the greatest threat.
So we will watch them debate over taxes, and we will watch to see if it gets more pointed and personal between two guys, Giuliani and McCain, who always call themselves friends. But look, John, Rudy Giuliani has invested everything in the state of Florida. If he does not win here, many will question what was already quite a risky strategy. He has spent million of dollars. He, himself, is short on cash. He needs to win Florida, and he's getting aggressive because you can see McCain has a little bit of momentum here coming out of South Carolina.
ROBERTS: Yes. Rudy Giuliani has referred to Florida as his firewall. The firewall not quite as firm as it was in the past. But each one of these candidates, if we take a look at a map of Florida, have sort of natural constituencies. Can you stream those and tell us how they may make next Tuesday's election?
KING: Absolutely. This is the most diverse state, both ideologically and geographically that the Republicans will campaign in. And you're right. There are places to watch each of these candidates where they might have natural constituencies. Look at the panhandle.
Start over in Jacksonville in the east coast in the north. Come all the way across to Pensacola. Those areas border Georgia. They border Alabama. Culturally conservative. A nice place to watch Governor Mike Huckabee of Arkansas, the former governor, try to campaign up in those areas. They are the rock solid conservative parts of Florida.
If you see Mitt Romney down in the southwest, say the Fort Myers or the Sarasota area, he might be saying pop instead of soda. A lot of transplanted people from the Midwest, especially his native state of Michigan down there, Mitt Romney could target voters down there. A big state of military installations. You saw where you are in South Carolina.
John McCain does well in areas with military installations and military retirees. Tampa is the home base of the U.S. Central Command. There are naval installations over in Jacksonville, military retirees all across the state for John McCain to target. And down in Pam Beach, Broward County, the areas around Miami, a lot of transplanted New Yorkers and people from the northeast retirees, even John forbid, God forbid, Yankees fans for Rudy Giuliani to target down here.
So it's a very diverse state. There are targets of opportunity in terms of the population for all of the candidates, and that's what makes it so fascinating. Ideologically, very diverse too. The immigration debate is different in the state of Florida than it would be in South Carolina, so it will be a fascinating week watching these Republican candidates campaigning here.
ROBERTS: It certainly will. And John, you got to be feeling pretty good about your Patriots as well, heading to the Super Bowl. John King for us this morning. John, thanks very much.
KING: Thank you. ROBERTS: Yes. The Democratic candidates face off tonight here in South Carolina in a CNN debate before the Congressional Black Caucus. That's at 8:00 Eastern. And coming up in about 20 minutes here on AMERICAN MORNING, I'll be talking live to Republican presidential hopeful, Mitt Romney. But right now, back to New York and Kiran.
CHETRY: All right. We look forward to it. Meanwhile, our Alina Cho is here with some other stories developing this morning. Good morning, Alina.
ALINA CHO, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hey there, Kiran. Lots to watch this morning. Good morning, everybody.
We are following some breaking news out of Massachusetts this morning. We have in to us new video of a massive fire. It's burning in the town of Lawrence. That's about 30 miles north of Boston. Fourteen buildings were burning this morning. One home for the mentally disabled. One person was taken to the hospital.
Just minutes ago, CNN affiliate WCBV-TV spoke with the fire chief there. He says heavy winds and freezing temperatures made it really tough on the firefighters and the equipment but the fire, we're hearing, is now contained. That blaze started in the nightclub, and the fire chief calls it suspicious.
Mixed messages from Iran. The U.S. military says there's been a dramatic drop in Iranian-made weapons reaching Iraq, but the military says Tehran is continuing to train and finance Shiite militants. Washington says the weapons which are called explosively-formed penetrators or EFPs have killed hundreds of U.S. soldiers in Iraq. The top U.S. commander there, General David Petraeus, says EFP attacks have increase in recent weeks but have dropped in recent days.
All these made movies about Presidents Kennedy and Nixon. Now, the Oscar-winning director, Oliver Stone, has set his sights on the current president. Actor Josh Brolin, we're hearing, is in talks to play the lead role. That would be President Bush, of course. Stone tells the "Daily Variety," a trade publication, that Bush will focus on the president's relationship with his father, his drinking days, and his conversion to Christianity. The script, by the way, was finished before the writers strike. And if financing comes through, production could begin as early as April and the movie could be in theaters in time for the November election.
And the New York Giants are going to the Super Bowl. Big Blue beat the Green Bay Packers in overtime last night. 23-20. It was the third straight week the Giants won on the road. And the game winner, Giants kicker Lawrence Tynes, hit a 47-yard field goal in overtime after missing two earlier attempts.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
LAWRENCE TYNES, GIANTS KICKER: Great win! I just hope in two weeks that we can win the Super Bowl and get the Patriots to 18 to one. (END VIDEO CLIP)
CHO: Even I know a 47-yard field goal is a good thing. The Giants will face the New England Patriots in Super Bowl XLII. The Patriots, by the way, beat the San Diego Chargers, 21-12, keeping their perfect record of 18 and 0. And if the Patriots beat the Giants, Kiran, it would be their fourth Super Bowl win in seven years. Of course, as you mentioned earlier, they're not favored to win. But even Brett Favre, the very cute quarterback of the Green Bay Packers said...
(CROSSTALK)
CHETRY: Even you know that. You know, I know that.
CHO: You know, you can't rule them out. You can't count them out. You know, they might win.
CHETRY: We were actually discussing it. The crew and I trying to figure out. Should I even bother to hold a Super Bowl party, or will it be over before it's even begun? They said don't rule out the Giants.
(CROSSTALK)
CHO: That's right. This is a Giants crowd.
CHETRY: All guys are shaking their heads now. Alina, thank you.
CHO: You bet.
CHETRY: Well, Americans overseas are getting a chance to do something they've never done before. We're going to tell you how the Internet is giving them a chance to get involved with the primary process of picking a president back home.
Also, there is a new warning out for pregnant women in their first trimester. Why they're being told to limit caffeine intake. It's because of a new study. But is there more to it than what's at face value? We brought an Ob-Gyn in. We're going to be talking with here about what she recommends for women who are expecting. Coming up.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
CHETRY: Welcome back to AMERICAN MORNING. There's a new study out about caffeine and pregnancy that is attracting the attention of a lot of people in the pregnancy field, Ob-Gyn in particular, as they figure out what the best recommendations are for their patients who are (A) trying to conceive and also patients who are already pregnant.
Researchers say, according to this study, that as little as eight ounces of coffee a day can double a woman's risk of miscarriage. Joining me now, Dr. Jennifer Wu, Ob-Gyn at New York Lenox Hospital. I just want to make sure. Maybe, I should amend that -- 200 milligrams of caffeine is I guess what they studied here as possibly crossing over the danger zone. Explain some of the study for us.
DR. JENNIFER WU, OB-GYN LENOX HILL HOSPITAL: Well, the study looked at women who had various different intakes of caffeine, and it looked at their rate of miscarriage. Women who drank up to two cups of coffee a day had an increase of miscarriage and it doubles at two or more cups of coffee a day.
CHETRY: And when we say cups - this is the interesting thing - you're referring to eight ounces. Yet, this is probably your standard cup that you would get in the workplace. This is actually 12 ounces, and of course, this is a Starbucks, I believe, this might actually be a very large -- this might be a 24-ouncer here. But when you're talking cups, are you saying eight ounces?
WU: Six to eight ounces, so it's a very small Styrofoam cups that we always used to get at the office.
CHETRY: I got you. What did they say was the reason behind this increase in miscarriage if you are taking in large amounts of caffeine?
WU: We think that caffeine affects cellular developments and also that it can constrict the blood vessels in the placenta so there's decreased flow to the babies. So there's probably a couple of mechanisms that are behind the miscarriage rate.
CHETRY: It's interesting because there seems to be a lot that's unknown about pregnancy, even though we have learn so much about what exactly affects. Maybe there are some who argue that most miscarriages take place because of genetic abnormalities in the actual egg and that those probably wouldn't be carried to term anyway. Or is there a risk of unnecessarily, I guess, or in some ways scaring women that everything they do is a potential to lose a child?
WU: Well, basically, the majority of miscarriages are genetically based, and caffeine would have nothing to do with that. But we do know that caffeine is linked to later miscarriage in the first trimester and that typically is not genetically based. I tell patients, you want to be as healthy as possible when you're starting the pregnancy. That often starts before you're even pregnant. So if you want cut down on caffeine and all of the side effects that you get from cutting down on caffeine, you probably want to do it before you're even pregnant.
CHETRY: This is interesting. The study also had a few people weighing in about it. One of them was another Ob-Gyn who said that the human race wouldn't have succeeded if early pregnancy was so vulnerable to a little bit of everything. We're more robust than that making the argument toward moderation. And as you talk to your patients, how do you help them balance lifestyle with, of course, wanting to do whatever they can to ensure a safe pregnancy?
WU: I tell patients the best way to ensure a healthy start would be to eat as healthy as possible and probably cut down on stimulants as much as possible. If you absolutely have to have your coffee in the morning, go with one small cup a day or less. CHETRY: And we're going to show a graph right now if we can at just about how much caffeine is in things that you may not realize it. But popular around New York City and in many big cities, Starbucks. One 12-ounce cup, which is the smallest that you get at Starbucks, actually the tall, has 260 milligrams of caffeine. So that would be a no-no. That would be over the limit. Regular brewed coffee, I guess, in your house, 161. This is for a 12-ounce serving, but I don't think people realize when you pour a mug, that's not eight ounces, that's actually more.
WU: Exactly.
CHETRY: And Coke as well. It looks like Coke seems to have the least amount. Sodas, 34 milligrams. What do you tell your patients about sodas?
WU: Most sodas don't have a whole lot of nutritional values, so you don't want to be getting a lot of calories and that sort of thing from sodas. You really want to switch to healthier alternatives.
CHETRY: All right. Well, thanks so much for joining us. We appreciate it. Dr. Jennifer Wu, Ob-Gyn at Lenox Hill Hospital. Thank you -- John.
ROBERTS: So you vote online. It is now a reality. Coming up, Veronica De La Cruz explains how some Democrats are getting to do something that has never been done before.
And a Sunday snowstorm pounds Syracuse. Three feet of snow there this morning. We'll get a live report ahead on AMERICAN MORNING.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
ROBERTS: Twenty-three minutes after the hour this morning. Here's our live location in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina. Not feeling like Myrtle Beach normally does. It's only 26 degrees here. The wind chill factor, 16 this morning. Bone chillingly cold here with the ocean breeze coming in.
The new editor of "GolfWeek" magazine says his main task in the first week in the job is to apologize. The magazine's previous editor was fired on Friday after green lighting this controversial cover depicting a noose. The cover illustrated a series of stories about the "Golf Channel" anchor who joked that the best way for other golfers to beat Tiger Woods was to take him out into a back alley and lynch him.
There's a new job in the works for General David Petraeus. According to the "New York Times," the Pentagon is considering nominating Petraeus for the top command in NATO. The move would give him the position even after President Bush leaves office. The 55- year-old Petraeus is currently the top American commander in Iraq where he has overseen the troop buildup.
And the cost of relocating is going up. Fourteen percent of employers say they're willing to pay more this year to get their employees to relocate. According to a new survey, the reason workers are reluctant to move is because they worry about having to sell their homes in this weak housing market -- Kiran.
CHETRY: All right. Well, the Internet is actually helping Americans overseas get involve in the primary season here in the U.S. Democrats abroad, the overseas branch of the U.S. Democratic Party is now holding the first global primary ever, and Veronica De La Cruz is here now with details of how this is going to work. Hey, Veronica.
VERONICA DE LA CRUZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hey, good morning to you. Nice to see you. You know, this is a pretty big deal because this is the first time this is going to happen. And by logging on the Democratsabroad.org from February 5th to the 12th, registered members of the group will be able to cast their vote for a presidential nominee online. And until recently, U.S. expats had allowed absentee ballots and then mail systems of other countries which can tend to be pretty unreliable.
Now, votes from the global primary will be represented at the August Democratic National Convention with 11 delegates, and unfortunately, GOP expats are out of luck. Republicans abroad operates independently of the party and can't hold in person or Internet votes overseas.
All right, Kiran, pay attention to this. I've got this great new video game to tell you about. It's taking white collar workers by storm. According to its Web site, "worldgolftour.com" allows multiple players to compete on replicas of famous courses around the world for prizes. So we checked it out. The graphics quality is pretty amazing. And because you don't have to download any applications to play, most people are going to be able to access the site from any computers, and that includes work computers.
So according to "Fortune" magazine, the site has seen more than 100,000 users, many adults with full-time jobs. And the magazine jokes that when the site goes full live in six months, production here in the United States may come to a screeching halt. So watch out golden tee (ph). Everybody kind of logging on to their computer.
All right. Finally, technology complicating the process of divorce in Egypt. Under Islamic law, men can end their marriage by simply stating three times, I divorce you, I divorce you, I divorce you. A Cairo man says when his wife wouldn't pick up the phone, he decide to text message her that. And now, Egyptian courts and religious scholars are trying to decide if divorce by text message is legal. In some other cases, it had come up in other Muslim countries with various results. In fact, this actually happened in Malaysia, and there it is illegal and you are fined.
CHETRY: To do it by text message?
DE LA CRUZ: To do it by text message.
CHETRY: But you can do it by phone?
DE LA CRUZ: Yes. You have to say it, I divorce you, I divorce you, I divorce you. Not all at the same time. But three different times, you have to relay that message. And now, because of technology, they're trying to figure out, if you do it by text message, does it stand?
CHETRY: Oh, wow. All right. Veronica, thank you.
Well, Nevada was another gold medal as he puts it for Mitt Romney. He missed the podium though in South Carolina. More proof that the Republican race is wide open. Coming up, we'll get his take on it. Mitt Romney joins us live after the break when AMERICAN MORNING comes back.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
KIRAN CHETRY, CNN, ANCHOR: Beautiful shot this morning coming to us from Myrtle Beach, South Carolina. It actually is deceiving because of the bright sunshine and the bright blue skies and the palm trees, you think it may be warm but actually the south is in a deep, deep cold, deep freeze if you will as is much of the country on this Monday, January 21st. I'm Kiran Chetry in New York. The only thing that gave it away, I saw your breath when you were breathing outside, John. So, it definitely must be below freezing out there.
JOHN ROBERTS, CNN, ANCHOR: Well, we just cranked up the lights in here a little bit more. So perhaps a little bit more heat locally. But, yes, for Myrtle Beach, South Carolina, this is unusually cold weather. We're here at the Palace Theater which typically hosts Broadway on the beach. People who have come down here to Myrtle Beach may be familiar with that. Tonight, it's going to host the democratic debate, Barack Obama, Hillary Clinton, and John Edwards squaring off against each other tonight. Each of them vying for the votes here in South Carolina. Who will be able to pull it off during the primary this coming Saturday? We'll wait and see.
Of course, we all know who won Saturday here in South Carolina on the republican side, it was John McCain. And it was Mitt Romney who won in Nevada the same day. After that split victory over the weekend, all eyes now on Florida in the upcoming race for president. That primary takes place next Tuesday. Mitt Romney plans to be in the state until the primary just over a week from now. He joins me now from Jacksonville, Florida. First of all, Governor, congratulations on your win on Saturday. You must feel good to have racked up, what is it? Three golds now for you.
MITT ROMNEY (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: That's exactly right. Thanks, John. You're very kind. I'm pleased to have done well in Nevada and Wyoming and of course in Michigan and delegates, we're trying to get as many as I can.
ROBERTS: You're going to be talking in Florida today in a series of campaign events about the economic stimulus plan you came out with on Saturday. It's a plan that if we've got the math correctly, adds up to about $250 million in stimulus which is almost double what President Bush has proposed, certainly double what Hillary Clinton proposed and almost three times what Barack Obama has proposed. You're planning on spending a lot of money here. ROMNEY: Well, actually, there are two parts to it. And one part is a short-term economic stimulus which I think would help us from sliding into recession which has obviously enormous consequences if we do that, but also it has a long-term growth component which allows us to really kick our economy into gear, and keep our economy growing over a long period of time. So, the two parts together do add up to about almost $250 million. And I think are needed right now to strengthen this economy, make sure we have good jobs for all of our people.
ROBERTS: The short-term economic stimulus. To you, what is the most important component?
ROMNEY: Well, the key in the short-term economic stimulus is to help people get back to work, to make sure we have good jobs. We don't see our unemployment rate going up and up and don't kick people out of their homes. So, I put additional support to the FHA so that it could guarantee loans to people and they're going to be able to stay at homes instead of having them foreclosed. And number two, we're going to create incentives for businesses to start hiring people. We do that in a number of ways. One is by allowing to expense their capital expenditures right away. So, they buy more products from other businesses, hiring more people. And also we say for people over 65 years old, neither the business nor the individual should pay any payroll taxes and that encourages people to stay in the workforce. It also encourages businesses to hire people who are 65 and older.
ROBERTS: Now, some critics have suggested Governor that this is too oriented towards business. What do you say?
ROMNEY: Well, it's oriented towards jobs. You know, I'm not concerned about the owners of businesses, I'm concerned about the jobs that we have in this country. And the best way to grow an economy is to have good jobs and the best way I know how to do that is to encourage businesses to buy products, to grow, and then to hire people. And so in some cases, we're providing checks to individuals, taxpayers, so they can go out and buy more. And the other is to encourage businesses to make their purchases now and to grow the economy that way.
ROBERTS: Governor, you're running on a message that Washington is broken. It doesn't sound like the typical message that you would hear from a candidate who is trying to succeed an incumbent president. Are you suggesting that what President Bush has been doing for the last few years is different than what you would do? Are you happy with his record?
ROMNEY: Well, I really think that it's not so much the White House as it is Washington in itself. The process in Washington which is so tied to the lobbyist there, to the partisanship, to favors, to discourse settling just hasn't been able to deal with the long-term problems we had with the issues of growing the economy, with getting the end of illegal immigration, to helping us get off our dependence on foreign oil. We talk about these things year after year but we don't get them done. And I'm going to Washington to bring some of the private sector know-how and get the job done attitude that I think is necessary to finally get Washington off of the dime.
ROBERTS: I wanted to ask you Governor, your opinion on an issue that popped up last week. Your competitor, Mike Huckabee, was talking about his thoughts on amending the constitution. Here's what he told me Friday morning on AMERICAN MORNING.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
MIKE HUCKABEE (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: My point was that the constitution was a document, a living, breathing document written in order that it could be changed.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ROBERTS: So, the governor calls the constitution a living, breathing document. Where do you come down on that issue?
ROMNEY: Well, those words are code words to some folks. To some folks, that means you could depart from the constitution and you can, if you will, make law from the bench. I think that's a very bad idea. I believe in following the constitution and the rule of law and think our justices should not depart from the constitution itself. Of course, there's an amendment process but I don't believe that we're going to look for a wholesale, if you will, rewrite of the American constitution. It is, if you will, a pretty darned good document. And I'll keep it just the way it is.
ROBERTS: And so do you not believe it's a living, breathing document then?
ROMNEY: Well, it's a piece of paper which has a lot of words on it. And of course, we follow the constitution and if want to make changes to the constitution, if for some reason, we think there's something that needs to be adjusted and there's an amendment process for doing so. It's a very complicated and extensive process. But we don't have judges unelected take the constitution and use the phrase which they often do that it's a living document and then make a new law, separating themselves from what is actually written in the document. So, I'll follow the document rather than depart from it.
ROBERTS: All right. Governor Romney for us this morning from Jacksonville. Governor Romney, good to see you again. Thanks.
ROMNEY: Thank you, John. Good to be with you.
ROBERTS: All right. Now, let's head back up to New York. And here's Kiran.
CHETRY: Hey, we want to give you a snapshot of where the candidates stand right now in the race for the nomination. For the democrats, Barack Obama has 38 committed delegates. Hillary Clinton with 36, and John Edwards with 13. On the republican side, Mitt Romney leads with 66 committed delegates, John McCain has 38. Mike Huckabee with 26, Fred Thompson at 8, Ron Paul at 6, and Rudy Giuliani, just one. The key dates coming up though Saturday, South Carolina primary for the democrats, and January 29th, a week from tomorrow, both parties will be voting in the Florida primaries.
And the democratic candidates face off tonight in South Carolina. There's a CNN debate for the congressional black caucus. It's all taking place at 8:00 Eastern right here on CNN.
Still ahead, some new clues in the search for missing British girl, Madeline McCann. Her parents Kate and Jerry McCann now releasing new images of a man they say may be involved in the 4-year- old's disappearance. It's a new sketch similar to a previous description of a man they say was seen carrying a child on the night Madeline vanished. Our Emily Chang is following the story for us from the "World Update" desk in London. Emily.
EMILY CHANG, CNN, CORRESPONDENT: Well, Kiran, these new sketches are based on the new account of a British tourist who is on vacation in Portugal about two weeks before the McCann's arrived. 50-year-old Gail Cooper said she saw a suspicious, scruffy looking man hanging around children's outings organized by the resort, the same outings Madeline attended while she was there. Cooper also said this man approached her saying he was collecting money for a local orphanage. Investigators have since found that that orphanage does not exist.
Now, the McCanns say they only found out about this woman's information recently. Apparently, she gave her statement to British police who turned it over to Portuguese police. What's striking is that the man depicted in these new images is very similar to a man depicted in a previous sketch given by another witness. Jane Tanner was staying with the McCanns that night Madeline disappeared. She said she saw a man walking away from the resort with that same scruffy dark hair carrying a child. Now, the McCanns say they just want to find out who this man is, what he was doing at the time of Madeleine's disappearance. They're distributing millions of copies of these new sketches across Spain, Portugal, and Morocco.
Now, Kate and Jerry McCain, Madeleine's parents, of course, remain official suspects in the case. They however deny having any involvement. Madeline has been missing for nine months now. And still there is no sign of her and no one has been arrested or charged. Kiran.
CHETRY: Emily Chang for us in London. Thanks you.
Still ahead, grab the gloves, the scarves, the hats if you're heading out today. The cold, can't even begin to described what it feels like out there this morning. Most of the nation will be seeing wind chill temperatures in some places up to 20 below zero. We're tracking the extreme weather with a live report coming up. Also, most people think the Sundance Film Festival is about the movies? Hey, what about the parties? What about the swag? Well, Lola Ogunnaike has been hitting up those parties and we're going to get a live report from Lola in Utah. Coming up on AMERICAN MORNING.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
CHETRY: Good morning to you. You know, actually you're lucky it's a holiday for many workers. Because you might want to think about climbing, race back under the blankets again. Much of the nation looking at extremely cold weather and the wind chill factored in, making it 0 here in New York City. A live shot at Columbus Circle this morning. Our Reynolds Wolf is tracking the extreme weather for us right now. Green Bay, Wisconsin, probably another one of the spot that is one of the coldest in the country this morning. And boy, a pretty sad day in Green Bay, Wisconsin, if you're a football fan.
REYNOLDS WOLF, CNN, METEOROLOGIST: No question about it. It certainly is a tough time for the Green Bay Packers. The fans certainly have a very heavy heart. You know, yesterday at Lambeau Field, they had over 70,000 people that were there. They even had more outside of the stadium. And let's be honest, you had different loyalties on each side. But there was a common thread, everyone was battling the cold.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
WOLF: What's the strategy? Like when you're at home and you start getting dressed. You start with several pairs of socks, you wear -
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You wear layers, layers and layers.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Lots of layers and hot chocolate. Open up and stay warm.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You got to dress in layers. It's a mental game.
WOLF: Layers seemed to be the phrase of the day. But it wasn't the only way to ward off the cold. That's too for the frost. Some were normal, some were scary, and others were just plain cheesy. But regardless of how it looks, they did serve a common purpose, providing warmth in an icy day, mighty important in these conditions.
JOHN FREDERICKSON, PARAMEDIC: More to cover the face. The exposed skin is, you know, in no time flat could freeze.
WOLF: Normal body core temperature is 98.6 degrees, moderate hypothermia occurs when the core temperature drops below 95 degrees. Severe life-threatening hypothermia, that occurs below 92 degrees. So to keep that from happening, you must do all that you can, even if it requires a little bit of ingenuity.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Let's go
WOLF: We're talking wind chills that are going to be nearly 20 zero. What's the plan?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: A lot of jumping up and down and rooting the home team. You got to keep moving. You sit on those cold benches up there. If you've seen them, they are nothing but aluminum.
WOLF: For the winners of the NFC championship game, all that jumping for warmth would have been worth it and enjoy the sunny Arizona climate in Super Bowl XLII. (END VIDEOTAPE)
WOLF: You know, someone should have given that same advice to these bananas. You know, we've picked up these bananas from the hotel just yesterday. These things are frozen. They're frozen solid. You can use these things as hammers, seriously. Just unbelievable. That's how it's been. Right now, temperatures have actually gone up a little bit. Now they're just one degree below 0. We're expecting a much warmer day today with temperatures possibly going up to 12 degrees, but there's a chance of snow in the forecast, only 1 to 4 inches if possible for the area. A little bit of a warmer spell as temperatures get up closer to 14 degrees as we get to mid week. That's the latest we've got for you. Let's send it back to you in much warmer New York. Back to you.
CHETRY: That's right. I guess when you're in the teens, there really isn't much of a difference. You feel bad for all those dog owners. These are days, you wish the dog would walk itself. Hey, we ask people about this Reynolds so I'd like you to weigh in the morning "Quick Vote" question was when is it time to take your exercise indoors.
There are a lot of people who likes to jog, run, bike, do things all year round. Well, right now, 27 percent of you say you take it inside when it's colder than 50. 32 degrees will spend 44 percent of the people who we asked inside. 22 percent of you say it has to be around 0 degrees before I take it inside. And 7 percent saying never too cold. Cast your vote by the way at cnn.com/am. We'll tally your votes throughout the morning. Where do you stack up on that scale there?
WOLF: Well, I'm pretty much a couch potato man. I got to tell you this. Yesterday, when we were out here not this location, but yesterday we were on live, we have temperatures around 7 rather 11 degrees below zero. There are people out there jogging, jogging like crazy. And it seems they certainly fit into that lower category. Nothing will stop them.
CHETRY: There are some people who say that nothing like a run outdoors. It doesn't matter how hot or how cold. More power to you. Thanks, Reynolds.
WOLF: You bet.
CHETRY: John.
WOLF: Anytime.
ROBERTS: Hey, Kiran, diversity training doesn't help men and women - doesn't help women, rather, and minorities move up the corporate ladder, according to a new study. The study looked at 30 years of data and found that after mandatory diversity training exercises, the number of women and minorities in management actually declined. It didn't go up at all.
And as a start, we'll tell you how hundreds of thousands of homeowners got a break on their mortgages. Coming up on AMERICAN MORNING.
The long lines to free drinks, the celebrities. It's the party scene at the Sundance Film Festival. And our Lola Ogunnaike is right in the middle of it. We'll get a live report ahead on AMERICAN MORNING.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
ROBERTS: Ten minutes now to the top of the hour. If you're just joining us, here's a look at what's making headlines this morning.
The FBI is investigating the death of a border patrol agent who was killed by a suspected smuggler's vehicle. The agent was hit on interstate 8, near Yuma, Arizona on Saturday. The Fed says he was trying to place spike strips in the path of two vehicles believed to have cross the border illegally when one of those vehicles hit him. The suspects are believed to be in Mexico.
U.S. military planes targeting Al Qaeda havens on the southern outskirts of Baghdad. It is part of a new countrywide offensive called "Operation Phantom Phoenix." Sunday's air strikes followed two others in the same region. The military says more than 80,000 pounds of bombs have been dropped on 64 targets.
Global financial markets take a plunge on overnight trading on fears of a possible U.S. recession. In Japan, the Nikkei index dropped nearly 4 percent. Hong Kong's Hang Seng index lost 5 percent. Analysts say investors dumped shares because they're skeptical about President Bush's economic stimulus plan. U.S. markets are closed for the day for the Martin Luther King holiday. Kiran.
CHETRY: Well, it's not just the movies drawing the crowds at the Sundance Film Festival in Utah, lots of parties going on in Park City. And our Lola Ogunnaike went to some of them She joins us now from Park City with the look at, I love the coat, by the way. We can use it actually here in the East Coast.
LOLA OGUNNAIKE, CNN, CORRESPONDENT: Oh, thank you, Kiran.
You know, there were dozens of parties here. Any given evening and some of the most popular clubs from L.A. and New York set up outposts here. Places like Tao, Hide, Marquis, Hysteria. They don't call it Sundance for nothing.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
OGUNNAIKE (voice-over): The crowds were enormous. The lines were endless and the drinks were flowing. From elegant dinner soirees to bashes featuring rock stars Maroon 5 and Fifty Cents, the parties at Sundance were in full swing. Even a temporary blackout didn't stop the fun. The festivities lasted well into the wee hours.
EVAN MATTHEW, STAR MAGAZINE: We're going to have dinner with Paris Hilton at 3:00 in the morning at her house tonight. We can't wait.
OGUNNAIKE: The less connected weren't as lucky. Some standing outside for hours to get to the uber-exclusive event.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Oh, yeah, I'm on the owner's list of Tao. I'm just like waiting. They don't care unless you're like you know Rachael Hunter who just walked in. Then you have to wait with everybody else.
OGUNNAIKE: Partygoers need patience and the right wristbands. But you didn't need to look all that glamorous. People dressed for the weather and not to impressed.
RACHEL HUNTER, SUPERMODEL: The great thing about it, you don't have to wear the right type of dress.
OGUNNAIKE: The long nights made for some tough morning.
WOODY HARRELSON, ACTOR: Jesus, I'm 46 years old. I can't keep going like this.
OGUNNAIKE: Celebrity blogger, Perez Hilton said the party always provide the best material.
PEREZ HILTON, BLOGGER: Usually open bar. So everybody gets kind of a little tipsy and they get into trouble. And it's so much fun.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
OGUNNAIKE: You know, Kiran, it's nearly 6:00 here. And there are partygoers who are still just making their way home. Something tells me there's not going be a lot of movie watching today. Kiran.
CHETRY: Right. And sometime after 2:00 p.m. when everybody gets up, right? All right, Lola. Have fun. Thanks for giving us a slice of party.
OGUNNAIKE: I will.
CHETY: John.
ROBERTS: All right. Thanks, Kiran.
A legal victory for "Borat" tops your "Quick Hits" now. Actor Sasha Barron Cohen was sued by an etiquette teacher from Alabama. She unknowingly appeared in the "Borat" movie and claimed that she was humiliated by it. The Alabama State Supreme Court said she cannot sue in Alabama. If she wants to pursue it, she has to take the case to New York.
And finally, some good news for troubled homeowners. We'll tell you how some people at risk of foreclosure got a break from their lenders. That's coming up.
And race and politics. Democratic battle lines are drawn in the pews of black churches. What do parishioners think of Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama. A live report ahead on AMERICAN MORNING.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK) ROBERTS: Stephanie Elam in for Ali Velshi, "Minding your Business" this morning with some news about the mortgage markets. Good morning, Stephanie.
STEPHANIE ELAM, CNN, "MINDING YOUR BUSINESS": Good morning, John. Yes, we're taking a look at your finances here on CNN. We have news that maybe better than you might have expected. It seems that more homeowners have been getting help than we previously expected. Let's take a look at what we've seen here from Hope Now, the alliance organizing the industry response to the mortgage crisis.
Well, they're saying, according to them, the mortgage companies negotiated easier terms with 370,000 sub prime borrowers in the second half of 2007. That actually includes 250,000 repayment plans and 125,000 modifications to loans. In fact, mortgage services modified subprime loans in the fourth quarter triple the rate that they did in the third quarter. It also shows that 39 percent of delinquent borrowers were assisted in the second half of 2007 as well.
This data coming from the none of the larger servicers that handled about 58 percent of the outstanding sub prime loans. So, that's about 4.1 million loans that we're looking at there. This is as of September 2007. And they submitted the status. A little bit of good news here, John, that people are actually getting some help out there. One thing that I do need to remind everybody, markets are closed in observance of Martin Luther King Day. John, back to you.
ROBERTS: So, they're closed here in the United States. So, we're not going to see any wild ups or downs, which we're thankful for. But what's going on in the markets overseas today in reaction to what happened Friday in the markets?
ELAM: Right, we did see four down weeks now in the markets. And so overnight, after the recession worries still hit the markets in Asia. We saw some big, whopping drops over there. So obviously, the recession worries that we've seen here still affecting the markets over there. It's an open day across the world.
ROBERTS: All right, Stephanie Elam for us this morning. Stephanie, thanks. You're watching the most news in the morning. A special ceremony today to honor Martin Luther King Jr. at the church where he used to preach. We'll have a live report coming up.
And the son of the most wanted man in the world speaks out. And he has a message for his father. One-on-one with Osama Bin Laden's son. The next hour of AMERICAN MORNING starts right now.
Deep freeze, bitter cold grips a huge (inaudible) of the country. We're live in one of the coldest parts of the U.S.
Battle lines, who will take South Carolina's crucial black vote.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: A vote for Hillary is not a vote against Barack Obama.
ROBERTS: The most politics in the morning on the road in Myrtle Beach.
And one on one with the son of Osama Bin Laden.
UNIDENTIFIED REPORTER: Do you think that your father is a terrorist?
ROBERTS: From Al Qaeda fighter to peace activist. What he really thinks of his father on this AMERICAN MORNING.
And good morning, thanks very much for being with us. It's Monday, January 21st. I'm John Roberts, in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina. Kiran Chetry is just going outside to Central Park to talk some more about the cold weather there.
But first of all, let me set the scene for you here in Myrtle Beach. We're outside of the Palace Theater in Myrtle. It's a place where they typically hold Broadway in the beach. Perhaps, you've come down here on vacation or for spring break or something and you've seen this theater light up with the sounds of Broadway. Well, tonight it's going to be all about political discourse.
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