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Rural South Carolina Hurting Financially; Mild Recovery on Wall Street; How Will Stimulus Package Affect Average Taxpayer?; Performance-Enhancing Drug Accusations in Music World; hat's the Obama Connection to Chicago Slum Lord?; Transplant Recipient's Blood Type Changes; Nikki Blonsky Dishes on SAG Awards; Young Kenyans Hope for End to Violence
Aired January 25, 2008 - 13:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
KYRA PHILLIPS, CO-HOST: Tomorrow for the second Saturday in a row, South Carolina voters will step into the spotlight. This time, it's the Democrats. Each of the party hopefuls trying to convince voters that he or she is the best hope for returning a Democrat to the White House.
DON LEMON, CO-HOST: Well, the Republicans, meantime, are in Florida, four days away from their own primary showdown. Candidates McCain and Romney are leading most polls. But Rudy Giuliani, who stakes his presidential hopes on Florida, vows to pull-off a comeback. We shall see.
Hello, everyone. I'm Don Lemon, live in the CNN world headquarters in Atlanta.
PHILLIPS: And I'm Kyra Phillips. You're live in the CNN newsroom.
LEMON: Well, they were expected to attack one another, but the Republican contenders spent much of last night's debate criticizing Hillary Clinton, and when they weren't doing that, they took turns on the economy. A common theme: well, they like the stimulus package announced in Washington, but they think it could have been better.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
MITT ROMNEY (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Well, there's a great deal that is effective in his plan. I just wish it went further.
BRIAN WILLIAMS, NBC NEWS ANCHOR: Will you vote for this compromise?
SEN. JOHN MCCAIN (R-AZ), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Yes, sir, I will. And I'm disappointed, because I think it's very important that we make the Bush tax cuts permanent. I voted to make them permanent twice already.
RUDY GIULIANI (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: I think this package, for what it does, is OK, and I would support it, but it doesn't go far enough. I think in the face of what's been going on which, obviously, is a matter of serious concern, we should be very aggressive. MIKE HUCKABEE (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: One of the concerns that I have is that we'll probably end up borrowing this $150 billion from the Chinese, and when we get those rebate checks most people are going to go out and buy stuff that's been imported from China. I have to wonder whose economy is going to be stimulated the most by the package.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
LEMON: Senator Clinton was a common target. The consensus: she'll likely -- she's likely to be the Democratic nominee. And Republicans need someone who can beat her. John McCain criticized Clinton's policies on the war in Iraq.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
MCCAIN: And I'm so proud of the job that the men and women in the military are doing there, and they don't want us to raise the white flag of surrender like Senator Clinton does. They know we can win.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
LEMON: The Florida Republican primary is Tuesday. Rudy Giuliani has treated the contest as a must-win for his campaign, but polls show John McCain and Mitt Romney leading the field.
PHILLIPS: You already know the economy is a top-tier issue, maybe the top tier issue in the 2008 presidential race, but in some parts of the country it's been that way for years.
Allendale, South Carolina, is a town in economic crisis mode at best. CNN's Deborah Feyerick saw for herself.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
DEBORAH FEYERICK, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Ask anyone who lives in Allendale. They'll likely tell you there's nothing to do here. No movie theaters, no bowling allies. Even many of the doctors have left.
DEWAYNE ENNIS, ALLENDALE, SOUTH CAROLINA, ADMINISTRATOR: We have a local hospital, but we don't have any specialists at it. Some people have to drive as far as 50 to 60 miles to Augusta to get, you know, medical care.
FEYERICK: Dewayne Ennis is Allendale's administrator. The town was once on a main route for tourists heading to Florida. But after I-95 was finished, they stopped driving through here.
ENNIS: This building used to be a hotel.
FEYERICK (on camera): This building over here.
ENNIS: And this one also was a hotel over here.
FEYERICK: So basically, all of that went away, and then Allendale got left with nothing.
ENNIS: With nothing.
FEYERICK (voice-over): Allendale County is the poorest in South Carolina. It has the state's highest unemployment. Most kids here don't finish high school. Two factories recently closed. The economy and education are big issues here.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: P-L-A-Y-E-D.
SCOTTY GRAY, ALLENDALE, SOUTH CAROLINA, RESIDENT: (UNINTELLIGIBLE)
FEYERICK: Scotty Gray, a Democrat, married and mom to an 8-year- old son, has spent two decades making ice machines at a nearby plant. She says she's hearing things that make her anxious.
GRAY: We don't produce our machines better than what China will. Then in ten more years we might have to go to China. We won't have a job.
FEYERICK: Gray says she's OK financially, even though they live paycheck to paycheck some weeks.
But for Paul Bevington and his family...
BARBARA BEVINGTON, ALLENDALE, SOUTH CAROLINA, RESIDENT: Collect $2 million. There you go. OK.
PAUL BEVINGTON, ALLENDALE, SOUTH CAROLINA, RESIDENT: Pay off my student loan.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Yes.
FEYERICK: ... the opposite is true. He moved here several years ago with his mom and twin boys, because the crumbling school system was looking for qualified teachers. He takes home about $22,000 but is being crushed by his student loan.
P. BEVINGTON: There is no fun money. There is no slush money. The only reason, I mean, my boys have what they have is because, you know, Mom helps out. Otherwise, we'd be very, you know, we'd be next thing to a cardboard box.
FEYERICK: Paul, a Republican, and his mom, a Democrat, fear a recession and fear the impact it will have on the boys, who have two years before college. For Barbara that means giving jobs back to Americans.
B. BEVINGTON: We're draining our resources, and the -- and the people here are doing without.
FEYERICK: Barbara's like most people here: just looking for a president they think can turn it around and help make things better.
Deborah Feyerick, CNN, Allendale, South Carolina. (END VIDEOTAPE)
PHILLIPS: And of course, once again, we want to remind you: South Carolina primary right here. You can see it all on CNN, Saturday night 8 Eastern. That is tomorrow Democrats square off. We'll be having all night coverage.
LEMON: The "New York Times" is taking sides, and that's a lead item in our political ticker today. Among the Democrats, "Times" offers a strong endorsement of home-state Senator Hillary Clinton, citing her experience as a key reason for the nod over Barack Obama.
The paper's editorial board says it has strong disagreements with all of the Republican hopefuls, but the Republican endorsement goes to Senator John McCain.
"The Time" praises -- "The Times," I should say, praises McCain's willingness to work with Democrats. It also bashes former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani, saying, quote, "Giuliani's arrogance and bad judgment are breathtaking."
He's now run for president twice, picked up celebrity endorsements both -- both times. And once again he's getting out of the race. Democratic Ohio Congressman Dennis Kucinich called off his White House run just a little while ago.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
REP. DENNIS KUCINICH (D-OH), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: To those who supported this campaign with their energies and their hearts, I want you to know that we are transitioning the presidential campaign to a movement based on integrity and based on practical ways in which we can affect policies on a local/national level.
I'm no longer running for president, but I am intent on saving our nation from the destruction of our economic hopes and from the destruction of our Constitution.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
LEMON: Well, Kucinich has some work to do back home. He has a fight to keep his job in the Congress, with four fellow Democrats running against him in that primary.
Democrat John Edwards is trying to capitalize on the bickering between his rivals Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama. He's unveiled a new TV ad in South Carolina that features clips of Obama and Clinton criticizing each other in Monday night's CNN debate. The ad repeats a line that Edwards has been using a lot lately, describing himself as part of the, quote, "grown-up wing of the Democratic Party."
Well, time is winding down and the race is heating up. For the freshest polls, the latest fights, the political ticker blog and more, check out CNNpolitics.com.
PHILLIPS: A breather on Wall Street. Stocks settling in to end a week of triple-digit turbulence. Right now, Dow Industrials down 90 points. The weeklong slide interrupted by news of the stimulus package that's still being crafted in Washington.
Susan Lisovicz on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange with the latest.
Hi, Susan.
SUSAN LISOVICZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hi, Kyra.
Well, you know, in the morning I was talking about three-peat, and the afternoon, I'm talking about, hey, it was nice while it lasted. As you mentioned, yes, the Dow is giving up gains after an attempt at a third day of a rally. The two other major averages following suit.
You know, going into today's session, the Dow Industrials were actually up 280 points, despite those wicked sell-offs that we saw earlier in the week.
We got some very good news on corporate earnings. That's really the major story of the day. Microsoft, which is such a big bellwether for the tech -- the tech sector, its -- saw its quarterly profits rising nearly 80 percent. Now a lot of its revenue comes from overseas, and that's a theme that you see with a lot of these big companies. So we talked about challenging -- a challenging environment here, but a lot of its growth coming from overseas.
Same situation with Caterpillar, which is an old economy company, obviously. This is construction equipment, heavy moving equipment, that kind of thing. It -- it saw its quarterly earnings rise more than 10 percent, but executives of the company say -- say that there's a definite threat of recession.
And finally, for Dell components, we have Honeywell, which is a diversified conglomerate. Makes a lot of aerospace stuff. It saw its net income soar 18 percent. Again, a lot of it coming from overseas. And we've seen those -- those stocks. They initially lifted the Dow but have fallen back.
I want to mention one other company, and that is an American icon, for sure: Harley Davidson weighing in with its quarterly earnings. They tumbled 26 percent. Its CEO says that the fourth quarter was downright dreadful, and it's seeing any growth coming from overseas. The ticker symbol for Harley Davidson -- what else -- HOG, and its shares are down 4.5 percent -- Kyra.
PHILLIPS: All right, Susan. We'll be talking more, of course, and we're going to hit the economy several times as we roll along today, including with our Susan Lisovicz. We're also going to take a closer look at the stimulus package to see what's in it for you. Also the burst of the housing bubble. What should a homeowner do?
LEMON: This is quite a disturbing story to tell you about. The FBI says a 16-year-old boy wanted to take control of a passenger plane, kill himself, everyone else on board and maybe lots of people on the ground.
The teen is in jail today in Nashville, and that's after authorities got wind of his alleged plot to hijack a Southwest jet and crash it somewhere between Los Angeles and Tennessee.
Nothing actually happened on the flight, but the suspect was arrested after landing. FBI agents says he was carrying handcuffs, duct tape and some kind of rope. He could face federal terrorism charges.
PHILLIPS: Southern California is snowbound, saturated with a twist. Chad Myers, this storm is not going away.
CHAD MYERS, CNN METEOROLOGIST: It isn't. And there's a couple more rounds of this thing. I mean, it's just not moving away, Kyra. It's not moving to the east. Kind of sitting out there in the Pacific and just sending one wheel after the other, kind of spokes on a wheel, just one cog after the next.
And into L.A., some very, very heavy rain. San Francisco, you're getting heavy rain, from the Proscenio (ph) all the way down -- I mean, look, all the way down to -- really, to Carmel. Heavy, heavy rain this afternoon and into this morning.
Had a lot of rain this morning in L.A. It's tapered off now, but this is what the rain did in L.A. in the morning hours. A lot of folks were seeing drains that weren't working very well. This is from KCAL, our affiliate out there.
When it rains, actually some areas -- this is a statistic that I found very annoying. Some areas today, this morning, picked up more rain today from midnight to right now than they had in all of 2007. How about that for how dry it was last year?
One more picture. We've got a nice thing I want to talk about, is some snow. Snow in the grapevine slowing things down, but the I-5 is open.
And snow in Breckenridge, Colorado. Now -- well, they actually put this together and make this on purpose. KWGN, 17th annual snow sculpture in Breckenridge. They start with 20-ton blocks of snow, hand tools and hands only. There you go. Good luck to those guys out there.
It's not going to be warming up any time soon, so those snow sculptures should be pretty safe for now. We will see some snow and some ice developing across parts of the Midwest tonight: Aspen, San Francisco, Houston, Newark and Phoenix, all slowed down, not because of the snow, not because of ice but because of other random weather events.
Now, I want to get to this. A winter weather and an ice storm warning just posted from east Texas all the way into Mississippi and Alabama. And I suspect it will get very close, they will extend this, all the way into Atlanta by tomorrow morning because, well, it's already snowing and icing here south of Memphis through Mississippi, Alabama?
Wow, you know, I thought this was supposed to be a warm winter. Guess not so fast with those long-term predictions. They don't work out so well all the time.
PHILLIPS: Nothing's making sense around the country with weather-wise. That's why we have you. Thanks, Chad.
MYERS: You're welcome.
PHILLIPS: What a glorious sight: the sun once again over Barrow, Alaska. This town at the very top of the state is in the dark for two months every winter. But that's the extreme. The sun peeks out everywhere, every day south of the Arctic Circle.
LEMON: Well, doctors say they've never seen anything like it. We'll tell you the amazing story of a 15-year-old Australian girl who switched blood types.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
LEMON: Well, the Senate wants a crack at the stimulus package. Majority Leader Harry Reid says he hopes to have it done around Valentine's Day. But Reid's Democrats are looking at sweetening the pot beyond what the House and the White House agreed to during painstaking talks this week.
What we all want to know is -- here's the question -- when is the check coming and how much will we get, if anything? To help us out with that, our personal finance editor, Gerri Willis.
So just when can we expect to receive some money, Gerri, and how much?
GERRI WILLIS, CNN PERSONAL FINANCE EDITOR: Well, Don, you might as well not be checking your mailbox every day this week. I've got to tell you, it's going to be a while.
Congress hopes to pass some kind of legislation by mid-February. They can probably cut the checks by April. And that means the checks would be mailed by May, June. But you have to keep in mind, during this time the IRS is busy with tax season. So there's a lot going on. It will take some time to get these checks in the mail.
LEMON: OK. But we're hearing there are other details about this stimulus package that we haven't heard of yet, Gerri.
WILLIS: Well, let's go over some of the limits first, so you can understand how much money people are getting.
First of all, if you're an individual, you'll be getting about $600 if you earn less than $75,000. For couples, they'll earn $1,200 if they earn less than $150,000. And there will be an additional $300 in this check per child.
Now what's interesting about this, because I know people have a lot of questions about what does income mean here? It's actually AGI, adjusted gross income. They're not talking about your top line here, the gross amount that your employer pays you. They're talking about the amount you get after your deductions.
LEMON: OK. So when are we going to know more about these details? When will that date be announced?
WILLIS: Well, we probably won't know much more until next week, early next week.
LEMON: OK.
WILLIS: But there are a few other things they're discussing in here you might be interested in. There may be help in this package for people with jumbo mortgage loans. We're starting to hear some conversation about that. There may be a deal in which folks with jumbo mortgages may be able to get new mortgages for a lower rate of interest. We'll be reporting on that, I'm sure, as the days -- in the days ahead.
But interesting things that are following on this package, and they could mean good things for consumers out there -- Don.
LEMON: Gerri, it's a very, very serious question for you; hope you can answer this. Holy guacamole?
WILLIS: Oh, no. Oh, no.
LEMON: You know what I'm talking about, don't you?
WILLIS: I know what you're talking about. I had so much fun last night.
LEMON: I know. I'm watching "The Daily Show," and there you are, holy guacamole. It was -- you did a very nice job. We're going to play some of that later on, FYI. I don't know. We want to surprise you.
But "Open House," of course. We know that you're the anchor and host of "Open House." What might we expect to hear this weekend from "Open House"?
WILLIS: Well, we'll be talking about what to do with your 401(k), your house, your bank accounts in this unpredictable market.
Plus, we'll hit the streets to find out what questions you have about the economy and your finances. We'll be addressing your concerns Saturday morning, 9:30 a.m. Eastern, right here on CNN.
LEMON: Gerri Willis is star of prime time, including "The Daily Show." She also hosts "Open House." Thank you very much for that.
WILLIS: Thank you.
LEMON: "Open House" airs tomorrow morning, which is Saturday morning, at 9:30 Eastern. She's blushing. Look at her. WILLIS: I am.
LEMON: Also tomorrow -- tomorrow and Sunday at 5:30 p.m. Eastern on CNN Headline News. Thanks, Gerri.
PHILLIPS: All right. Now it's 1:19 Eastern time. Here are some of the other stories we're working on in the CNN NEWSROOM.
One day left until the South Carolina Democratic primary. As Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton slug it out, John Edwards struggles to make his voice heard.
Egyptian forces start to clamp down on the flow of Palestinians from Gaza. Palestinians still finding ways through the border.
And amazing medical news from Australia. Doctors say a teenage girl who got a liver transplant somehow switched blood types to the blood type of the donor.
LEMON: Political turmoil breeds violence in Kenya. Does a younger generation have the tools to build peace?
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
PHILLIPS: Well, you've heard the allegations about big-name athletes using performance-enhancing drugs. But what about big-time stars using those same drugs to stay young and beautiful?
CNN's David Mattingly reports.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
DAVID MATTINGLY, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): In Hollywood, it's all about image. And relatively young stars could be the latest wave of customers turning to performance-enhancing substances.
(on camera) When people come to you, what are they looking for?
DR. ANDRE BERGER, REJUVALIFE VITALITY INSTITUTE: Well, they come for generally two reasons. They want to feel better and they want to look better.
MATTINGLY (voice-over): At the Rejuvalife Vitality Institute in Beverly Hills, Dr. Andre Berger sees a growing number of stars spending up to $15,000 a year on HGH, an injectable human growth hormone that some patients and doctors claim can reduce fat, build muscle and boost energy.
But where he used to see middle-aged patients, Berger is now getting calls from Hollywood 30-somethings wanting HGH and rap artists inquiring about illegal steroids.
BERGER: If they feel that part of being a, you know, a rap star is, you know, looking buff and being -- having big muscles, and et cetera, so anything they can do to kind of bring themselves to look like that is just going to enhance the whole image. MATTINGLY: The "Albany Times-Union" recently reported, citing unnamed sources, that the rapper known as 50 Cent and R&B singer Mary J. Blige were among celebrity customers allegedly identified in a New York probe of doctors and pharmacists who illegally prescribe steroids or HGH.
The "Times-Union" report did not suggest there was evidence Blige or 50 Cent took the drugs. Blige denies taking any performance- enhancing drugs. Fifty Cent has not commented. Neither star is accused of breaking the law.
(on camera) And fans could be taking note. Markers for HGH therapy say it's become more than a billion-dollar-a-year business, thanks in part to ageing Baby Boomers who are willing to spend big bucks and emulate the stars whose looks never seem to fade.
But with this excitement, there also comes some warnings.
DR. JAY OLSHANSKY, UNIVERSITY OF ILLINOIS, CHICAGO: There are serious side effects associated with the use of growth hormone for these individuals, including carpal tunnel syndrome, an elevated risk of cancer, diabetes.
MATTINGLY (voice-over): Jay Olshansky has studied anti-aging for 20 years. He says HGH can only be prescribed legally for adults with a growth hormone deficiency, or adults with muscle loss from AIDS.
Some critics say HGH is nothing more than a placebo.
OLSHANSKY: I think what many of these entertainers don't realize is all these benefits they can get for free with exercise.
MATTINGLY: But older Hollywood disagrees. Suzanne Somers says HGH helped her make 60 the new 40. Sylvester Stallone, who at 61 is playing Rambo again, defends HGH as a way to reduce physical wear and tear.
Dr. Berger says only one in four of his patients has the deficiency and is prescribed HGH as part of a broader treatment program. That leaves many seeking a shot from a fountain of youth disappointed and surprised to learn that all those Hollywood hard bodies still demand good diets and lots of work.
David Mattingly, CNN, Los Angeles.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
LEMON: Chaos at the border. CNN is there as Egyptian security forces try to stop Palestinians from crossing in search of supplies.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
LEMON: Well, one oil executive fears the day when demand for oil is greater than the supply, and he has a solution, Susan Lisovicz. She's at the New York Stock Exchange. We'll check on that but first a check on the markets, Susan. LISOVICZ: That's right. It's Friday, and let's call it a Fickle Friday. We had strong corporate earnings that gave stocks an early lift. But, you know, it's also been a volatile week, and we have seen the direction change very quickly. Three major averages now in negative territory.
Checking the numbers, the Dow industrials, which had been up about 108 points at the high, now, well, down more than 100 -- 108 points. The NASDAQ composite, meanwhile, is down 14. So is the broader S&P 500.
Oil, however, is up about a buck, which brings us to our next story. The CEO of Royal Dutch Shell says the near future for energy is rocky. He said so in an op-ed article in "Project Syndicate." Jeroen Van Der Veer wrote that "After 2015, accessible oil and gas supplies will not keep up with demand." This really is only seven years away.
The reason, of course, a growing population and only so much oil. He says we need to add other sources of energy such as renewable energy but also nuclear energy. He also advocates cap and trade emissions that put a price on CO2 emissions, Don.
LEMON: Not the kind of thing you want to hear from the oil companies, right?
LISOVICZ: That's right. A lot of them usually stay neutral on these rather hot-button subjects. He said he feels the need to speak out now, saying that with cap and trade policy and governments encouraging companies to bury CO2 in the ground, you get the best balance between economics, energy and the environment. And he says this way the process will be more orderly.
Without regulations, he fears uneven distribution of energy and little help for the environment. And that is according to one big oil executive.
Coming up, how one trade -- one trader, I should say -- rattled markets in Europe and beyond. The scary power of one in the next hour of news room. It's really frightening. The numbers are huge and all because of one person.
Kyra and Don, back to you.
LEMON: Are we talking millions or billions?
LISOVICZ: We're talking billions.
LEMON: Oh, my goodness.
LISOVICZ: We're talking billions. It's a record, actually.
LEMON: All right. Look forward to that. Thank you, Susan.
LISOVICZ: You're welcome. PHILLIPS: All right. Our T.J. Holmes working the national desk for us. A number of stories, besides what we've been talking about up here.
T.J., what's going on?
T.J. HOLMES, CNN ANCHOR: Yes, I'm not really working the national desk. I'm just standing by it, actually.
PHILLIPS: You're monitoring it.
HOLMES: Yes. But it's actually worked by these good folks like my man Jay right here. One of our -- one of our newest to the national desk, Kyra, and one of our best and brightest here at CNN.
But give you an idea of some of the things they're working on.
Over here, a story, sex, lies and text messages, Kyra. Yes. We're going to take to you Detroit, where the mayor is having some issues right about now. This story here out of Detroit, Michigan, county prosecutor now planning to open up an investigation of the mayor, Kwame Kilpatrick. Now, Kilpatrick and his chief of staff, Christine Beatty, are accused of lying under oath about their sexual affair.
Now this all happened last year when they were having this -- this trial that the mayor and the city were being sued by a couple of officers over this whistleblower -- this whistleblower case. Well, at that point both these two, Kilpatrick and his chief of staff, were under oath and said, "No, we did not have a sexual affair."
Well, now the "Detroit Free Press" has gotten a hold of all these text messages, has released them, and all of them seem to point to, yes, in fact, these two did have a back and forth. These text messages were pretty graphic, sexual in nature. So now there is a case being opened up of possible perjury.
Now, that is very serious and, if convicted, found guilty of perjury, it's punishable by up to 15 years in prison. So we have a scandal going on there in Detroit. Certainly, a lot more to come on that.
Also, let's take you to this story here. This was a kid who was arrested in Nashville, actually, a hijacking plot foiled here. This is a teenager who's accused of trying to actually hijack a plane and fly it into a Hannah Montana concert that was happening in Louisiana.
Now, the teenager actually took a plane initially from -- from California over to Nashville. He was arrested then when he got on the ground in Nashville. Authorities say no incident on that particular flight, but they are not saying exactly how they unraveled this plot and knew about this but that he planned on.
He did have a ticket, actually, to go to Louisiana. And they say he did, in fact, plan on hijacking a plane, possibly overpowering the crew and trying to fly it into a Hannah Montana concert, of all things.
But just a couple of the stories they're working on over here at the national desk. So I'll hand it back over to you for now over at that desk.
PHILLIPS: OK. You mentioned your man Jay. Let's talk about Jason for a minute.
HOLMES: Let's talk about Jason for a second.
PHILLIPS: He started out over here as a video journalist.
HOLMES: Yes.
PHILLIPS: That's right. And worked his way up to the national desk.
HOLMES: Yes.
PHILLIPS: He is our rising star.
HOLMES: He is a rising star. And there's no question he will be anchoring my show on the weekends.
LEMON: He'll be running the network.
HOLMES: That's what's going to happen.
PHILLIPS: We're going to be -- we're going to be...
HOLMES: Let's see your face now. Come on, Jay.
PHILLIPS: That's right.
HOLMES: That's right. Right there. OK.
PHILLIPS: That's a president that we all love right there.
HOLMES: Jason Green (ph). Remember that name.
PHILLIPS: We already do look up to him because he's, like, seven feet tall.
HOLMES: He is; 7'4," I believe it is. But...
PHILLIPS: Good for us (ph). All right. Let's not forget Georgette (ph) over there, too. We love her.
All right. Thanks, T.J.
HOLMES: All right.
LEMON: Well, tomorrow for the second Saturday in a row South Carolina voters will step into the spotlight. This time, it is the Democrats. Each of the party hopefuls is trying to convince voters that he or she is the best hope for returning a Democrat to the White House.
Republicans, meantime, are in Florida, four days away from their own primary showdown. Candidates Romney and McCain are leading most polls. But Rudy Giuliani, who staked his presidential hopefuls -- hopes, I should say, on Florida vows to pull off a comeback.
Ever heard of Tony Rezko? Well, people in Chicago certain have. His name came up on Monday night in that spirited Democratic debate, but depending on where you live and what you do and how closely you follow politics, you may have heard it long before that.
Tony Rezko is sometimes described as a power broker in Chicago, but what does that mean and what's Rezko's connection to Barack Obama? CNN's Drew Griffin is "Keeping Them Honest."
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
DREW GRIFFIN, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): She could have held back, but instead, Hillary Clinton hit back.
SEN. HILLARY CLINTON (D-NY), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: I was fighting against those ideas when you were practicing law and representing your contributor, Rezko, in his slum landlord business in inner city Chicago.
SEN. BARACK OBAMA (D-IL), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: No, no, no, no, no.
I have to respond.
GRIFFIN: Senator Obama explained it was just legal work on a low-income housing project and Tony Rezko just another client.
OBAMA: I did about five hours' worth of work on this joint project. That's what she's referring to.
GRIFFIN: But "Keeping Him Honest," there is a lot more to it than that.
Tony Rezko has pleaded not guilty to federal charges of conspiracy, influence-peddling and demanding kickbacks from companies seeking Illinois state business.
He's given hundreds of thousands of dollars to Illinois political power brokers. He's done multiple real estate deals with politicians, even their wives. And his indictment has Illinois politicians nervous, including officials in the administration of Illinois's governor, Rod Blagojevich.
Think of Tony Rezko as the Jack Abramoff of Chicago politics.
JAY STEWART, BETTER GOVERNMENT ASSOCIATION: That's a pretty close analog, yes. He wasn't a registered lobbyist, as Jack Abramoff was, but in terms of a wheeler and dealer who had influence over the Blagojevich administration... GRIFFIN: The investigation has reached closer and closer to Illinois's governor, who has not been charged with a crime. There has been nothing linking Illinois's senator to anything illegal.
So what's this all about? Money, of course. Rezko has been a major money-raiser in Chicago politics, and he saw a star before the nation took notice.
STEWART: Tony Rezko was his first significant campaign contributor. So, you know, that certainly helped start Senator Obama's career.
GRIFFIN: But the federal indictment alleges Rezko was getting tainted cash, some illegal, some just unsavory.
(on camera) So you guys made a decision that...
TIM NOVAK, INVESTIGATIVE REPORTER, "CHICAGO SUN-TIMES": We decided...
GRIFFIN: ... he was a slum lord?
NOVAK: Right.
GRIFFIN (voice-over): "Chicago Sun-Times" investigative reporter Tim Novak helped label Tony Rezko a slum lord. One of Rezko's businesses got government loans to develop low-income housing.
Barack Obama worked on some deals as a lawyer and wrote letters supporting some deals as a state senator. "The Sun-Times" found two- thirds of the buildings were foreclosed on, boarded up or both.
NOVAK: The city and the state had told us they never had any other low-income developer go that bad that quick that much.
GRIFFIN (on camera): This is one of those buildings, and it does seem to fit the description. At the same time tenants in this building were complaining about the heat being turned off, the building's owner, Rezko, was actually giving money to the Obama campaign.
NOVAK: Now, the senator says he doesn't know -- he did not know any of this stuff.
GRIFFIN (voice-over): Now that he does know, the senator is donating Rezko's donations to charity, $86,000 so far.
But the bigger embarrassment for Obama was his own land deal with Rezko. Shortly after his election to the U.S. Senate, Obama bought this house at $300,000 below the asking price. Perhaps not coincidentally, the very same day, Rezko's wife bought the lot next door for full price. Months later, Barack Obama would buy a sliver of the Rezko land to expand his own yard.
(on camera) There was nothing illegal about the deal, and nobody is alleging that there was anything illegal, but the deal happened at the same time that Rezko was knowingly under investigation. And for that, the senator says, whatever the deal was, was boneheaded.
(voice-over) His campaign declined to talk about this story. Senator Obama may regret ever getting involved with Tony Rezko.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The problem with Chicago politics is it's hard to stay 110 percent perfectly clean.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Thank you very much, Senator Obama.
GRIFFIN: Drew Griffin, CNN, Chicago.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
LEMON: And just before we move on here, full disclosure. A photo apparently exists of Rezko with Bill and Hillary Clinton. Mat lawyer sprung it on Hillary Clinton. Matt Lauer sprung it on Senator Clinton this morning on NBC's "Today Show," and she said she doesn't know anything about it.
Quoting Mrs. Clinton, she says, quote, "I've probably taken hundreds of thousands of pictures. I don't know the man. I wouldn't know him if he walked in the door."
PHILLIPS: New liver, a new blood type. A surgical side effect unheard of until now.
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PHILLIPS: Fifteen-year-old Demi-Lee Brennan is being called a transplant trailblazers -- or trailblazer, rather. Doctors in Australia believe that Brennan may be the first person ever to change blood types since getting a liver transplant six years ago.
CNN's medical correspondent, Elizabeth Cohen, joins us now.
How is this possible?
ELIZABETH COHEN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Isn't it amazing? Because your blood type is supposed to be set in stone. You're born A- negative, you're A-negative forever. But this girl actually converted to the blood type of her donor.
So let's take a look at her. We saw her before. She was 9 years old -- that was six years ago -- when she had the liver transplant. Demi-Lee Brennan had severe liver disease, got the transplant from a 12-year-old boy. She was O-negative; he was O-positive. And she switched. It's just amazing. Doctors say this is a medical first. So she switched from O-negative to O-positive.
And basically, this is fascinating. It cancelled out her immune system. The immune system she had before doesn't exist any more. So she actually has to retake all of the childhood vaccines that she had as a little girl, because they're gone. Whatever those vaccines did, they're gone. They have to redo them all.
PHILLIPS: Wow. COHEN: So it really is amazing. And they think that the reason behind this is that she had an infection after her transplant and that somehow his cells from his liver made their way into her bone marrow.
PHILLIPS: So that's how it happened?
COHEN: That's what they think. They don't know. It's a first. So that's what they think.
PHILLIPS: Wow. Well, is there something that they've learned from this that can actually help other patients?
COHEN: Yes, there is something they've learned. And what they've learned is that they're hoping that they can take from her some hints, basically, from her body, some hints for how to make other transplants go well.
Because she doesn't need immune suppression drugs. Those are the drugs that transplant patients usually have to take. She doesn't need to take them, because she's basically got her donor's immune system. So they're trying to see how they can rig this, basically, make this happen for other patients. They wouldn't have to take drugs, and there'd be a lower chance of having the organ rejected.
PHILLIPS: And she's feeling good?
COHEN: She's doing well. She's doing well.
PHILLIPS: Wow. Elizabeth Cohen, thanks.
COHEN: Amazing.
PHILLIPS: Yes, interesting stuff.
LEMON: We're there as they roll out the red carpet for this year's SAG Awards, and we have "Hairspray's" Tracy Turnblad, a.k.a. actress Nikki Blonsky, live, in person, in living color right here in the CNN NEWSROOM.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
LEMON: Well, the stars will be out for this year's SAG Awards. Next hour, we'll tell you why the writers' strike is not affecting Sunday's ceremonies. But this hour, we have a very special guest: "Hairspray's" Tracy Turnblad, also known as nominee Nikki Blonsky.
Let's kick it out to Kareen Wynter, live at the Shrine Auditorium in Los Angeles.
Great get, Kareen. And since you're there with her, I know you're going to be interviewing her. Can you tell her we want her to...
KAREEN WYNTER, CNN CORRESPONDENT: I am.
LEMON: I want her to belt out some "Good Morning Baltimore" while she's there.
WYNTER: I will, and I can hardly contain myself, this sweet deal (ph) we have. We'll peak, but you have to wait a few seconds. We have the set-ups behind us. And you know what, Don? This is such a big deal. We're all-stars, right? This is the real, the first award show this season. You saw what happened with the Golden Globes. So we can't wait.
And Hollywood is buzzing. We're going to have the red carpet. We're going to have the stars out. Check out those chandeliers. It's all a part of the set-up. And organizers here promise me they'll have it all done by Sunday's ceremonies.
OK, now for the best part. Nikki Blonsky, she is the cutest thing.
NIKKI BLONSKY, ACTRESS: Thank you.
WYNTER: Thank you so much for joining us.
BLONSKY: Thank you.
WYNTER: Now, Nikki, you are going to be presenting on the big night on Sunday but also the movie "Hairspray." Tell us about the nomination.
BLONSKY: Yes. It's very exciting for us. Sunday night is going to be a really fun night, I guess. To up on stage and present with my movie mom, John Travolta, and we get to present the clip of "Hairspray," which is nominated for Best Cast Ensemble in a Motion Picture. Wow. We're excited.
WYNTER: It would be -- it's such an understatement, too, to call you the new breakout star, because you've done so much. Tell us about how big 2007 was for you.
BLONSKY: 2007 has been huge. I not only did "Hairspray," I did two other movies: one that's coming out this summer; one that just came out on Lifetime. I'm just having a lot of fun being an actor, being a member of SAG and just getting ready to come to the SAG Awards.
WYNTER: Oh, yes, you're doing it all and doing it well.
BLONSKY: Thank you.
WYNTER: Who are you looking forward to seeing Sunday?
BLONSKY: I'm looking forward to seeing everybody from John Travolta, who I haven't seen in a little while, getting to present with him again, to everybody from Charles Durning to Angelina Jolie. It's going be a fun night.
WYNTER: I have to ask. As all the women out there, even Don is wondering, do you have the dress ready? That's a big part of the ceremony. BLONSKY: It's ready. It's ready and waiting in my closet.
WYNTER: Fantastic. Not too many details.
BLONSKY: No. We're waiting. I got to save it for the big night, the big reveal.
WYNTER: Of course. So glad, chatting with you.
BLONSKY: Thank you.
WYNTER: Congratulations. Best of luck.
BLONSKY: Thank you. I appreciate it.
WYNTER: We'll be rooting for you on Sunday.
LEMON: Hey, Kareen?
WYNTER: And you know, we can talk about the SAGs -- Don. Go ahead, Don.
LEMON: Yes. Did you hear me? Can you ask her what was her favorite number in the movie? Is she right there? Did she leave yet?
WYNTER: Yes, she is. Come on over. We can't let you go just yet.
LEMON: Ask her what her favorite number in the movie was and if she can sing us a few bars of it, if she wouldn't mind.
WYNTER: Sing us -- sing us a few little numbers from the movie, your favorite part, whatever scene that you enjoyed the most.
BLONSKY: My favorite part in the movie?
WYNTER: Take it away, Nikki.
BLONSKY (singing): Good morning, Baltimore.
WYNTER: More, more!
BLONSKY: And we danced a lot in "Hairspray." Hopefully, when we get up there, to present because of "Hairspray," I hope that John and I get to dance again. That would be fun.
LEMON: She is such a trooper.
WYNTER: Thank you for all -- you've got to love her.
LEMON: Tell her thank you so much.
BLONSKY: Thank you.
WYNTER: Such a treat.
LEMON: Yes.
WYNTER: I just wanted to throw in there, you know, the Academy Awards, of course, we're talking about this, even though this is the show of moment. Still no word on whether they'll receive a waiver, which is what the SAGs received. And that's why the show is going on, allowing writers to work on the show for that night.
So we're still in suspense over whether or not the Academy Awards, Don, will take place.
LEMON: Kareen, you know, you and Brooke and A.J., you guys have a pretty cool gig there, man. You get to interview all the stars and hang out.
WYNTER: We have the best gigs in town. I'm all set. I interviewed Nikki Blonsky. I don't need to do anything else.
LEMON: Yes. And tell her thank you for that. She's such a trooper.
WYNTER: I will.
LEMON: And thank you, as well.
WYNTER: I will. You're welcome.
PHILLIPS: Well, some positive labor news out of Hollywood. Both Long Gate [SIC] and Marvel Studios say that they've struck a deal so union writers can work on their projects. The Writers' Guild of America says that the interim agreement is similar to deals with United Artists and World Wide Parts -- or Pants, rather.
The writers' strike has gone on now for almost three months.
LEMON: Political turmoil breeds violence in Kenya. Does a younger generation have the tools to build peace?
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
PHILLIPS: Scenes of desperation at the Egypt/Gaza border. Egyptian forces in riot gear started clamping down on the flow of Palestinians crossing over in search of supplies. At one point, the troops used water cannon and rolled a barbed-wire along parts of the border.
The Palestinians knocked over new sections of the wall, which militants blew open two days ago.
Gazans are short on food, medicine and other necessities, one week after Israel sealed its borders. Israel says it took the action to halt rocket attacks from Gaza.
We're going to have a live report from Ben Wedeman, straight ahead.
LEMON: A hospital security camera sees a deadly explosion in Beirut. Listen.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
(EXPLOSION)
(END VIDEO CLIP)
LEMON: Lebanon's top anti-terror intelligence officer was one of four people killed; 38 others were wounded.
Authorities say a car bomb ripped a giant crater in the middle of a Christian neighborhood. A dozen vehicles were burned. Such attacks have increased, with Lebanon's pro- and anti-Syrian lawmakers locked in a battle to elect a new president.
PHILLIPS: Now we're hearing reports of new fighting in Kenya today. Kenyan TV says that 15 people are dead in the city of Nakuru. That formerly stable East-African nation has been in turmoil since last month's presidential election, an election the incumbent is widely accused of stealing.
But CNN's Zain Verjee reports voices of moderation are beginning to surface, especially among the young.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
(MUSIC)
ZAIN VERJEE, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Eric Wanaina sings of hope in Kenya amid the brutal violence that erupted after disputed elections in December.
(MUSIC)
VERJEE: The musician and activist tells me Kenyans of different ethnic groups have lived together for years. Eric blames politicians for fanning tribal flames to build their political base.
ERIC WANAINA, MUSICIAN: In a sense, for them it's sport. But for everyone else, it's -- it's -- it's life or death.
VERJEE: He insists the conflict is really about the gap between rich and poor. Kenyans need to stay calm, he says, and talk.
WANAINA: There's one way that we're beginning to address it, is by sort of making jokes about the stereotypes more and more. Just sort of having that sort of discussion, that frank discussion about what different communities think about each other.
CAROLINE MUTOKO, RADIO SHOW HOST: KISS-100. Hello.
VERJEE: On the air, Caroline Mutoko, a popular radio show host, says she's fed up with politicians who won't make peace.
MUTOKO: We will not let them hold us at ransom.
VERJEE: She says politicians have failed Kenyans.
For most Kenyans it's back to work, even as violence continues in some parts of the country.
MUTOKO: Got to be a moment where you say "shame on you" to both parties. Because right now they're acting like brats.
VERJEE: Caroline says her listeners are more irritated than interested in demonstrations.
MUTOKO: I had a woman who called last week and said, "What's wrong with these people? I want to work (ph)."
VERJEE: Caroline has a message for the rest of the world.
MUTOKO: Don't give up on us and give us a chance. And Kenyans are so resilient. As a people, we will come back from this, and we will not go to the edge.
(MUSIC)
VERJEE: Back in his studio, Eric says he's confident Kenyans will find a way out through diplomacy.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
PHILLIPS: And that's our CNN's Zain Verjee, doing an incredible job there in her home land.
Kenya's president, Mwai Kibaki, met yesterday with opposition leader Raila Odinga for the first time since the election, but there are no signs that anything has yet been solved.
The next hour of CNN NEWSROOM starts right now.
LEMON: So much for the welcome mat. Egypt slams the door on Palestinians who've been pouring into that country from Gaza. Gazans won't take it lying down.
PHILLIPS: Talking about protection. New proof birth control pills protect women against ovarian cancer, years after they stop taking them.
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