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American Morning

Fight for SC: Democrats Make Final Push; GOP Showdown Candidates Debate; Americans to Get Tax Rebates; World Reacts to U.S. Stimulus Plan

Aired January 25, 2008 - 06:00   ET

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


JOHN ROBERTS, CNN ANCHOR: Good morning. Thank you for being with us on this Friday 25th of January. This is a special edition of AMERICAN MORNING. I'm John Roberts in Mt. Pleasant, South Carolina, where we are coming to you today from Alex's restaurant where you can get almost anything you want. Hey, Kiran.
KIRAN CHETRY, CNN ANCHOR: Hey, John. Good morning. You look great. I can't hear you yet because of some technical difficulties, so I'll just hand it back over to you for a couple of minutes.

ROBERTS: All right. A lot of people would say I got nothing interesting to see anyway.

Hey, it's the last full day of campaigning for Democrats here in South Carolina before voters go to the polls in tomorrow's primary. Hillary Clinton is back in South Carolina after a couple of days stumping in the Super Tuesday states. Her super surrogate, Bill Clinton, has been campaigning in South Carolina on her behalf. Barack Obama also brought out his wife, Michelle, to help make his case. John Edwards needs a strong showing in the state where he was born to keep his campaign viable heading in to Super Tuesday -- Kiran.

CHETRY: Meantime, Hillary Clinton and John McCain are waking up to a new endorsement, this one from "The New York Times." This morning's paper says that Clinton would be a strong commander-in- chief. Quote, "Her new openness to explaining herself and not just her programs and her abiding powerful intellect show that she is fully capable of doing just that (leading the nation)."

Now, about John McCain, the "New York Times" writing, he's "the only Republican who promises to end the George Bush style of governing. He would offer a choice to a broader range of Americans than the rest of the Republican field." Now, "The Times" also blasted New York's mayor, Rudy Giuliani, saying the real Mr. Giuliani whom many New Yorkers came to know and mistrust, is a narrow, obsessively secretive, vindictive man who saw no need to limit police officer. Mr. Giuliani's arrogance and bad judgment are breathtaking." During last night's Republican debate, Giuliani seemed to wear the "Times" rejection as a badge of honor.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

RUDY GIULIANI (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: I probably never did anything "The New York Times" suggested I do in eight years of mayor of New York City, and if I did, I wouldn't be considered a conservative Republican.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CHETRY: "The Times" had endorsed Giuliani for reelection for mayor back in 1997 and praised him for his 9/11 role, but the editor said, quote, "that man is not running for president."

Very interesting campaign season with some of these anti- endorsements as well, John.

ROBERTS: Yes. Absolutely, Kiran. Hey, there were five Republicans facing off in Boca Raton last night. Their final debate before the Florida primary takes place on Tuesday. The economy, a hot topic. But unlike the Democratic debate on Monday night, the candidates were surprisingly cool last evening. Here's CNN's John King.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JOHN KING, CNN CHIEF NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Despite the high stakes or perhaps because of them, remarkably polite.

RUDY GIULIANI (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Senator McCain is right.

KING: At times, more economic seminar than debate. The leading Republican candidates called the new bipartisan stimulus deal a good thing, but said it doesn't go far enough.

MITT ROMNEY (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: I just went -- I wish it went further.

GIULIANI: I will support it, but it doesn't go far enough.

KING: Four days until Florida votes, John McCain and Mitt Romney lead the pack, and the former Massachusetts governor did question his rival's history.

ROMNEY: I also support the Bush's tax cuts. Senator McCain voted against it.

KING: The Arizona Senator said he voted no for good reason.

SEN. JOHN MCCAIN (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: The fact is that if had had the spending restrains that I've proposed, we would be talking about more tax cuts today.

KING: The struggling economy dominates now, but Mike Huckabee recalled how his rivals dismissed his alarms at a debate six months ago.

MIKE HUCKABEE (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: I know people acted like I was the only guy at the U.N. without a headset that night. But the truth is I was the only guy on that stage who said, it may be doing great if you're at the top.

KING: No one brought up Barack Obama, but McCain said he would relish debating Iraq with Hillary Clinton.

MCCAIN: 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.

KING: Romney was asked what it would be like to run against both Hillary and Bill Clinton.

ROMNEY: I frankly can't wait because the idea of Bill Clinton back in the White House with nothing to do is something I just can't imagine.

KING: Giuliani is running third despite targeting Florida almost exclusively. He credited his rivals with running strong campaigns and tried a little humor.

GIULIANI: I believe that I'm going to have the same fate that the New York Giants had last week, and we're going to come from behind and surprise everybody. We have them all lulled in to a very false sense of security now.

KING: John King, CNN, Boca Raton, Florida.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

ROBERTS: And stay tuned because this morning, we're going to be talking to Mike Huckabee. That's coming up at 6:30 Eastern right here on AMERICAN MORNING.

And the Democratic field, now down to three. Dennis Kucinich is dropping out of the presidential race to focus on getting reelected to congress. He'll make an official announcement this afternoon in Cleveland. Kucinich faces four challengers vying to take over his House seat. And now, let's head back up to New York, and here's Kiran.

CHETRY: Thank, John. Well, President Bush heads to West Virginia today. He's going to be talking up the new economic stimulus plan that was unveiled yesterday. The House and the president have agreed to send rebate checks to about 116 million families. Now, individuals will get $600 checks if they earned less than $75,000 a year. Couples get checks for $1,200 if the household earns less than $150,000 a year. Those with children get an additional $300 per child if you qualify within those income ranges.

And also, people who don't earn enough money to pay taxes will still get $300 rebate checks if they bring home at least $3,000. One of those checks going to be in the mail? That's the big question. Apparently, they're going to start going out by mid April.

And now we go to our own Ali Velshi. He's traveling across the country on CNN's Election Express. Ali, I wanted to find out your take on this economic stimulus package.

ALI VELSHI, CNN SR. BUSINESS CORRESPONDENT: Well, you know, Kiran, we're driving across the country, so we've been actually asking people. We're in Abilene, Texas, right now. But we've been asking people what they think about it. Here are the questions that people ask.

First of all, when are the checks coming? If they start rolling out in mid April, that's also the time that refund checks start coming out for taxes. So, as a result of that, it could take 10 weeks. It might be the end of June by the time some people get their checks.

The second question is, what are people going to do with the checks? Assuming that they use them to spend money and stimulate the economy, it could be useful. But what if they don't? So many Americans are in debt that if they use that money to pay debt down, that's not going to help the economy. We talked to one man -- we actually talked to a number of people, but we've got this for you from one man who said he doesn't think it's going to be all that helpful.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

RICK TAUTE: Personally, I think that money is going to be spent in two months or three months and we're going to be right back in the same position. I'm no economist by any means but in my opinion, I think it will be a quick injection of cash into the marketplace and after that, I think unless something else is done that we're in essence going to write that check and it's going to be spent and we're going to be right back in the same position.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

VELSHI: And that's the question. What is the other thing that can be done? We're also expecting the Fed possibly to cut rates again next week. That might help people out. But we need something that is going to stimulate this economy. That's the concern of people we've been talking to across the south as we head from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean this week. People are concerned about whether these few hundred dollars in your pocket is actually going to be used for things to stimulate the economy.

We'll continue our tour. We'll come back to you later on in the show, Kiran, with more about what Americans are saying, what they like the candidates to hear about the economy.

CHETRY: All right. Ali Velshi aboard the Election Express for us this morning. Thanks so much. And our Alina Cho joins us now with other stories that have developed overnight. Good morning, Alina.

ALINA CHO, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hey there, Kiran. Good morning to you. Good morning, everybody. We're going to begin with some breaking news.

There has been a deadly blast in Beirut. Lebanese security forces say the explosion killed Lebanon's top anti-terror intelligence officer and his driver. There may be some civilian casualties as well. The explosion left chunks of twisted metal and burning cars, as you can see there in the video, was felt a half mile away.

Replacing a wall with a human chain. Egyptian soldiers and riot gear are trying to stop tens of thousands of Palestinians that are border-crossing in Gaza. Other soldiers rolled barbed wire along the border and kept the crowd back with water cannons. The chaos comes just two days after Palestinians busted through a concrete and metal barrier and flooded Egypt for supplies.

A 16-year-old is in police custody this morning, facing felony terrorism charges. Police say he planned to hijack a Southwest Airlines jet. Just 16 years old. He was taken off the flight in Nashville after being caught with a bag of handcuffs, rope and duct tape. That's according to authorities. Two CNN affiliates in Nashville have reported he planned to crash the flight into a Hannah Montana concert in Lafayette, Louisiana, but the Feds are denying that.

A private viewing today for the family of Heath Ledger. It will take place at a funeral home in Manhattan. Details about the actually funeral not being released just yet, but there are new details about the timeline of events after a masseuse found Ledger's body. That's the woman there, the masseuse.

Police say she called actress Mary Kate Olsen four times, not two, before calling 911. But police say the calls will not have a major bearing on the investigation because they think Ledger was dead before the masseuse arrived.

For the first time, a federal judge is ordering the Bush administration to explain why they destroyed CIA interrogation tapes. The judge says the tapes could have been relevant to a case of a detainee in Guantanamo Bay. The judge gave the White House three weeks to respond. The tapes showed the interrogation of two high- level Al-Qaeda leaders and included the controversial interrogation technique known as waterboarding, which simulates drowning.

And a man caught stealing money that was meant to help the poor and the homeless finds himself sentenced to a night of living on the street. 28-year-old Nathan Smith admitted he stole a Salvation Army donation kettle in Painesville, Ohio. That's near Cleveland. Can you believe this? The judge offered him a choice. Ninety days in jail or three days in jail, and one night on the street.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE JUDGE: So listen, in this community and every other community, donate for that and you take that money. How sick is that? Get your coat. Get your hat, get your gloves, and I'll see you here tomorrow at 11:00. You find out and you figure out where you're going to spend the night. You figure out where you're going to eat, and you figure out where you're going to stay warm.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CHO: That judge certainly doesn't mince words. Smith, by the way, was fitted with GPS to make sure he didn't go home to spend the night. He later said he didn't think the punishment was too harsh. He was just hoping to find a warm place to sleep. But you saw there, Kiran, snow on the ground, 20 degrees. To add insult to injury, this happened on Christmas. Apparently, he was a bell ringer for the Salvation Army. At the end of his shift, took the kettle.

CHETRY: Unbelievable.

All right. So, he doesn't think it's too harsh, though.

CHO: No.

CHETRY: People have to do it every day.

CHO: That's right. And three nights in jail, but he said, I did something wrong, punishment wasn't too harsh.

CHETRY: Creative judge, by the way. The judge was mad. Alina, thank you.

CHO: You bet.

CHETRY: John?

ROBERTS: Eleven minutes after the hour now. Kiran, of course, all the focus is on South Carolina -- tomorrow's primary. Then Florida coming up next Tuesday. And then we're on to California for a couple of debates. And the weather there has not exactly been California-like. Time now to check in with Rob Marciano who's tracking extreme weather along the west coast. What's it looking like today, Rob?

ROB MARCIANO, CNN METEOROLOGIST: Yes, same as yesterday. This thing just doesn't want to move. Hopefully it will be done by the time you head out there for those debates. But this is a slow-moving system and continues to batter much of the west coast to California.

Here it is on the satellite picture. You see the blobs of clouds basically moving in to northern California. The center of the low is back here, and it's kind of drifting this way. So until it actually kicks out, we're going to be in this for a while. It looks like it will be through at least today, probably through tomorrow. And again, right in through San Francisco, right in through L.A., so the major metropolitan areas are seeing the most action this morning. Actually more rain right now than we saw yesterday.

There was a report of a tornado that came on shore just north of Malibu Beach at Point Mugu. It did a little damage to the naval air station there and also some damage as far as heavy snow continues to fall across the Ventura and Los Angeles mountains. I-5, the Grapevine, still an issue. We're getting reports of over a foot of snow there at about 4,500 feet.

Winter storm warnings remain posted for this area. IN fact, they've been extended back through this area. And high winds are going to be an issue today. We've really got some strong winds coming in through the mountains, not only snow, but winds in excess of 50 or 60 miles an hour, and another foot or two of snow possible in that area. Freezing rain advisories across parts of north Texas. I told you about that yesterday. It looks like most of the action will be north and west of Dallas. John, back up to you. ROBERTS: Rob, thanks. If the weather were terrible in California, it would be pretty typical because literally, everywhere we have been going along this trip, the weather has been cold and awful.

(CROSSTALK)

MARCIANO: That's right.

ROBERTS: Thanks. Let's see if you can make it better somewhere else.

MARCIANO: All right.

ROBERTS: All right. Appreciate it, Rob. Thanks.

MARCIANO: You got it.

ROBERTS: Kiran?

CHETRY: Still ahead, the global economy depends on a strong financial situation in the U.S. World business leaders are getting their first look at the U.S. economic stimulus package now. Up next, we're going to find out what they're saying this morning at the World Economic Forum in Switzerland.

Also, it's a house call without having to make a call. Veronica De La Cruz takes a look at how your cell phone could help you stay healthy ahead on AMERICAN MORNING.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SEN. BARACK OBAMA (D), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: I have said that I am going to put forward a plan so that every single American can get health care that is at least as good as the health care I have as a member of Congress, and we are going to put more money in the prevention so that we are preventing disease instead of just curing diseases.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ROBERTS: Welcome back to AMERICAN MORNING. That is Barack Obama touting his health care plan in the final push before the South Carolina primary tomorrow when voters go to the polls.

The candidates also talked about your financial security. They're all talking about it, and the new $150 billion economic stimulus plan that's coming out of Washington. The plan is getting attention from world leaders and corporate executives who have all gathered at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland. CNN's Richard Quest joins us now from Davos. And Richard, how is that new stimulus plan being received by leaders of that forum?

RICHARD QUEST, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, you got to put into perspective, John. First of all, everyone arrived in Davos and frankly, what was happening in the U.S. economy was the only issue on their agenda. At least that psychological agenda. That, and market turmoil. In the bars, in the hotels, in the bilaterals room, even in the conference center, all they want to talk about was that.

So, $150 billion stimulus package came out overnight, bearing in mind, it's lunchtime here in Switzerland, I wanted to know from people like Steve Forbes, was it enough and what more needed to be done.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

STEVE FORBES, CEO, FORBES: The Fed created too much money which helped to fuel the housing boom, put it on steroids. These things you pay a price for. So shoring up the dollar, the president should announce, we're going to have a strong dollar again, work with the G- 7, get the Fed to soak up some of the excess liquidity. That would go a long way to getting stability back in the markets.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

QUEST: Now, look at this chart, John. Highly unscientific. But this is a chart I've been tallying all week as bankers, analysts, leaders have been coming through my studio. S stands for slowdown. R stands for recession in the United States. We started the week with the R's making all the running. But, by the time the Fed had cut interest rates by three-quarters of a percent, and the stimulus package, the S's has had it. The slow downers versus the recessionites in this particular unscientific poll of the Davosian participants, the slowdown has won.

ROBERTS: The Davosian participants? That's an interesting way to put it. You know, Richard, what is interesting to observe here is that with increased globalization, the weakness in the American dollar, a lot of people were wondering if the American economy would still what drove the global markets? You know, there was the old saying that if America sneezes, the world catches cold. It would seem to hold that the American economy still is driving the global engine.

QUEST: I would say that if the American economy sneezes, the rest of the world has to put a muffler on. It doesn't necessarily get a cold and it certainly doesn't get pneumonia. And that's for two reasons. Because the rest of the world has a lovely little pill bottle in their medicine chest called India, Brazil and China.

So, when the American economy is starting to look a big wheezy and chesty, you don't take one of those other countries and they cannot pull the U.S. economy out of recession and they cannot put everything right. But as China and India and the other advanced developing countries move forward for places like the European Union and in Asia, well, there's no question about it. These other economies will pick up the slack.

ROBERTS: Take two Indias and call me in the morning. Richard Quest from Davos, Switzerland, for us this morning Richard, good to see you. Thanks. Now, let's go back up to New York, and here's Kiran. CHETRY: All right. You know, we're talking about the economy all morning and the stimulus plan. And considering that it could be months before your rebate checks are in the mail, this morning's "Quick Vote" question asks, if the U.S. economy goes into a recession, how long do you think it will last? Six months, nine months or more than a year? Cast your vote, CNN.com/am and we'll get a tally of the first votes a little later in the hour.

Meanwhile, a judge in Arizona sentencing a convicted drunk driver to a longer jail sentence after a recorded jail conversation surfaced of her seeming to laugh about accidentally killing a bicyclist. Melissa Arrington was caught on tape telling a male friend the incident wasn't, quote, "a bad thing." Let's listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

CALLER: John says, as far as he's concerned, you did the world a favor because you took out a (expletive) tree-hugger, a bicyclist, a Frenchman and a gay guy all in one shot. We're proud of you. MELISSA ARRINGTON: (laughs)

CALLER: He says as far as he's concerned, they should give you a medal and a (expletive) parade.

ARRINGTON: (laughs)

CALLER: I know that's terrible. But he's just trying --

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CHETRY: Well, Arrington could have gotten as few as four years behind bars. But the judge sentenced her to 10 1/2 years, a year shy of the maximum. The judge called her comments, quote, "breathtaking in their inhumanity."

AMERICAN MORNING's legal analyst Sunny Hostin will weigh in on this story for us a little later in the hour.

Republican Mike Huckabee making his case to voters in Florida. The state may be critical to his campaign's survival. We're going to talk to Governor Huckabee live at the bottom of the hour.

Also, could better health be just a text message away? Veronica De La Cruz takes a look ahead on AMERICAN MORNING.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

ROBERTS: Twenty-three minutes after the hour here on AMERICAN MORNING, and your "Hot Shot" of the day now in an early morning stretch. Majestic side in Manhattan, Kansas, as a Canadian goose stretches its wings in the morning fog. Dozens of geese gathered there at the Rocky Ford fishing area because it was one of the few watering holes that wasn't frozen solid. They all took off. Just a couple of moments later, there's somebody who got you to cover your head. And if you've got a "Hot Shot," be sure to send it to us. Go to CNN.com/am. Scroll down the page, click on "Hot Shots" and it will give you all the instructions that you need to know to upload your picture and get it here on AM. And now, here's Kiran in New York.

CHETRY: Yes, thanks for that mental picture. I was enjoying the beautiful majestic birds, and then you have to remind us -- duck. Thanks, John.

Well, there are lots you can do to improve your health. You can eat right. You can exercise. And now, thanks to modern communication technology, you can get some medical help right in the palm of your hands. Our Veronica De La Cruz is here to explain this morning. Hey, Veronica.

VERONICA DE LA CRUZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning to you. Pretty obvious. Obviously.

CHETRY: The blackberry. Right? Or your cell phone.

DE LA CRUZ: It's really, really -- it's obviously how popular text messaging is. Now, some doctors and health officials are trying to take advantage of it all by making medical alerts and medical advice available to you almost any time anywhere. And nowadays, many doctors will send text alerts to remind patients about appointments and prescription refills. You can also sign up for reminders to take your medicines or things like maybe, your insulin shots on time.

For example, you have a type of birth control and you can actually sign up on their Web site to get daily reminders of when to take it. The San Francisco Health Department started using telemedicine. This is what they're calling it. They started using it last year to provide information to sexually active teens who otherwise might be too embarrassed to ask for it.

Teens can text in questions like, what do you do if your condom breaks? Also, you can have your responses texted back for free. Now, others are relying on telemedicine for motivational messages they might need if they're dieting, maybe starting a new exercise program. Sites like Quitext.com offers support for smokers trying to kick the habit. Healthhonesolutions.com offers a similar program called stop. It allows participants craving a cigarette to text messages and then instantly receive advice on beating craving. There's a Web site called My Mobile Sponsor that tries to help people beat addiction. You can sign up for support of text messages or even voice messages like this one.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

VOICE MESSAGE: This is your mobile sponsor. Sheer force of will won't bring about lasting change. You are more likely to change by slowly observing your fears and shifting from --

(END VIDEO CLIP)

DE LA CRUZ: So text messaging has been popular in Europe for a while. It's finally gaining speed here in the U.S. It's fast. It's cheap. It's private, and texts are easier to recall and respond to than voice mails or even e-mails. I mean, wouldn't you agree?

CHETRY: Yes.

DE LA CRUZ: Texting is so quick and simple.

CHETRY: It is easy. So that's why it's been catching on is because...

DE LA CRUZ: Yes.

CHETRY: It's probably easier than checking your voice mail.

DE LA CRUZ: Exactly.

CHETRY: Do you always get a voice mail from your dentist reminding you it's time --?

DE LA CRUZ: Yes.

CHETRY: Maybe just a text.

DE LA CRUZ: So much easier.

CHETRY: Thanks, Veronica. John?

ROBERTS: Kiran, you're watching the "Most News in the Morning" here on CNN. A new benefit for women who take birth control pills. New information out today about the long-lasting effects of the pill and the risk of ovarian cancer.

And his campaign is low on money and volunteers. He even cancelled the press plane. It sure looks like Florida is a must-win for Mike Huckabee. There he is live this morning from Florida, and he talks with us about his message for voters. That's coming right up on AMERICAN MORNING.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

KIRAN CHETRY, CNN ANCHOR: Welcome back. It's, Friday, January 25, a special edition of AMERICAN MORNING. I'm Kiran Chetry in New York. Hey, John.

JOHN ROBERTS, CNN ANCHOR: Hey Kiran, how are you? I'm John Roberts in Mt. Pleasant, South Carolina where Alice's Restaurant starting to gather for a little bit of breakfast, fuel up, talk some politics before we head to South Carolina, the all-important South Carolina primary tomorrow. I had a bowl of cheese grits a little while ago. That's as close to the perfect energy food as you get. If you can run a car on corn, you should be able to run a human being, right?

CHETRY: Your favorite.

ROBERTS: I love it. CHETRY: You need nice warm hearty food. Going to be a long morning.

ROBERTS: The grits are much better here in South Carolina than they are in the New York cafeteria.

CHETRY: They're supposed to be. Check in with you in a couple of minutes. Meanwhile, presidential candidate Mike Huckabee running hard in Florida with campaign staff. What's his message for voters and can his campaign survive a poor finish in Florida looking ahead to Super Tuesday? Governor Mike Huckabee joins us from Boca Raton where republican candidates debated last night. Great seeing you again. Thanks for being with us.

GOV. MIKE HUCKABEE (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Well, thank you Kiran. Great to be back with you.

CHETRY: Last's debate you were talking about the economic stimulus package. You said you supported it but you were concerned that it would stimulate other economies, mainly China, it would be financed by borrowing from China and consumers would buy products, spending the rebates from products from China. How do you ensure that the U.S. economy will be stimulated by this plan?

HUCKABEE: What I suggested was if we're going spend $150 billion, maybe the best thing to do is rebuild I-95 from Bangor, Maine to Miami. Virtually 2/3 of the population live within 100 miles of the freeway. It's -- 1/3 is. But one of the things that's interesting, think of how much money would stimulate the economy if you put it with American labor, American cement, American steel, you rebuilt the infrastructure of this country. That's economic stimulus.

We have a lot of people stuck in traffic, makes our products more expensive. We lose the social capital of people who never get home to their kids at night, who lose productivity in the work place. We pollute the environment by burning millions of gallons of fuel up in the air. I wish we would start thinking about something other than borrowing $150 billion from the Chinese wand the money and the rebates, let's face it, a lot of the money will turn around and buy imports from China. I want to make sure we're stimulating the right economy.

CHETRY: The centerpiece of your economic plan has been this national sales tax, 23% tax on goods, replacing an income tax among other things. How would that help stimulate the economy?

HUCKABEE: Well first of all, it is the underground economy so that everybody is only paying their taxes and not the taxes of the drug dealers, the illegals, prostitutes, pimps, and gamblers. It doesn't penalize productivity. One of the reasons that our economy is sucking air, instead of you know working hard for us is because other economies in the world are dumping things on us that they're not paying taxes for in their home country. But there's an embedded tax of 22 percent of everything, plus every American never gets to see his whole paycheck. The deductions take out a significant amount so, the average American is paying over 33 percent in his or her own income just to cover the tax bill. That's why we need a complete overhaul. I want to abolish the IRS. Get rid of them completely go, to a consumption tax. That way we don't have this incredibly hidden as well as burdensome tax obligation and all of the paperwork and lost productivity that goes with just complying with the mountain of paperwork from the IRS.

CHETRY: All right. I want to ask you about something that's made political hay lately. It's comments about whether or not amending the constitution is the right idea. You said it would be easier to change the constitution than it would be to change the word of god. We need to amend the constitution so it's in god's standards. As I understand it, you were talking about gay marriage and abortion when it comes to those two issues. If you were elected president, would you change the constitution to ban abortion and gay marriage?

HUCKABEE: Presidents don't get to do it all by themselves. It's a pretty thorough process. But it's been done 27 times in 221 years. Thank goodness we've amended the constitution to give women and African-Americans it right to vote. There are two things that I do support in terms of amending the constitution, and it's to solidify positions that I believe are fundamental to our long-term really civility in this country. One, is to solidify the sanctity of human life, the dignity and worth of every person, and the other is to once again affirm that marriage means male and female relationship in the context of a committed relationship. I'm not talking about changing the whole constitution. But those two areas, a human life amendment that's been part of the republican platform since 1980, and the marriage amendment, which would clear up the confusion of some states wanting to have same-sex marriage and others saying no, we won't recognize it, those two things I do support and in fact, would lead.

CHETRY: Today's "Washington Post" said you came from nowhere, you will continue to matter in this election. But you're not going be president because, quote, with the ceiling of 14 percent among non- evangelical republicans, Huckabee's base is too narrow. Is that a fair assessment? If it's not, how can you broaden your base?

HUCKABE: Well, some national polls came out yesterday, "Wall Street Journal" and NBC show I'm second nationally and second in the delegate country. This thing is a long way from over. With all due respect to the Washington insiders, they've been wrong about me and my campaign every time they tried to figure it out. What they don't get the people who support me are not those folks sitting around in dc, the folks in the chattering class. They're the people out here driving trucks, waiting tables, they tier folks who do believe that this country needs to once again gain some sanity by putting people in office who have lived a real life and who don't necessarily breathe the rarefied air of Washington and would like to go up there and change it.

CHETRY: Governor Huckabee, real quick, you know that for your presidential ambitions, February 5 is a huge day. Now for your personal ambition, April 21, you're going to be running the Boston marathon. How's that going for you, the training on the campaign trail?

HUCKABEE: Fairly well, Kiran. I really have to find the time to do the long-distance training. I've done some of the long runs like last week in South Carolina. I have to have a chat with my staff and explain to them I can't run Boston in April if I don't get the long runs in on the weekends. We have an issue of blocking out the time, which is important to me. I'm excited about being able to run Boston. I'm not going to run fast. They may have swept the streets by the time I finish, but one of my goals in life to get done.

CHETRY: I hear you. I can't imagine running 26.2 miles for no good reason except, of course, health. Good luck to you. Mike Huckabee, presidential candidate. Governor in Boca Raton this morning. Thanks. John?

ROBERTS: It doesn't matter what kind of time, the fact that he gets to the finish line is an accomplishment in and of itself.

New this morning Kiran, President Bush heading out to West Virginia today to talk up the new economic stimulus plan. The house and the president have agreed to send rebate checks to 116 million families. Break it down for you. Individuals will get $600 check if they earn less than $75,000. Couples would get checks for $1200 if they earn less than $150,000 combined. Those with children get an additional $300 per child. People who don't earn enough to pay taxes would get $300 rebate checks if they bring home at least $3,000. The checks could start going out by mid April.

The Food and Drug Administration considering posting inspectors overseas to ensure the safety of food and medicine entering the United Sates. The agency's chief wants, quote, boots on the ground in countries like India and China, as well as Central and South America and the Middle East. It would open satellite offices in U.S. embassies. Less than 1 percent of food coming into the United States is now inspected.

Questions this morning about a new radar system at Chicago's O'Hare airport. The new radar is designed to prevent collision at the second busiest airport. The controller's union said it may not be able to detect snowplows, baggage carts, and other vehicles in the event of a snowstorm.

And a stunning upset at the Australian. Roger Federer lost this morning to Novak Jokevic. Federer had been dominating men's tennis. He won 13 grand slams including the last two opens. He will play joke Tsonga in today's final. Wow that is an upset.

Coming up now on 20 minutes to the top of the hour, Rob Marciano is tracking extreme weather in California for us today. Rob, after all of that drought, they're getting hit with rain, it seems, every day.

ROB MARCIANO, AMS METEOROLOGIST: They are. At least the last couple of days, that's for sure. San Francisco getting it. San Diego almost getting it. But mostly Los Angeles and San Francisco. The two biggest cities in the state are getting hit hard. This is a stubborn area of low pressure that's entered right here and everything spinning around. Now we're getting a pretty decent one across the L.A. area, pretty much everybody in the basin getting hit from almost Santa Barbara to Malibu. There was a tornado reported just north of Malibu at Point Magoo. It did some damage to one of the hangars, how about that?

Heavy rain, flash flood watches, high winds too. High wind watches, advisories posted. That's the yellow. The red winter storm warning for one to two feet of snow. We've already seen reports of 18 inches of snow, as low as 4500 feet. Santa Barbara, record rain here, 5.41 inches. Talk about a drought reliever there. Downtown L.A., just over an inch and a half. Over to Dallas we go, a rain is falling in DFW. But you go to Ft. Worth, getting a little bit of freezing rain mixing in here. We do have winter weather advisories for the potential of freezing rain this morning, especially west as you go to Abilene.

Folks who live in New Jersey, down in Atlantic City, saw about 2 1/2 inches of snow on the boardwalk. That snow has missed the rest of the northeast. And it looks like South Carolina, John, will be good with the exception of the coastline. A little bit of rain in the morning. But the bulk of the state should be okay. Back to you.

ROBERTS: Well, that probably makes for a good turnout because last Saturday for the republican primary, pouring with rain, cold, windy, all day long. It kept a lot of people at home. The turnout tomorrow as we engage in the political process. Thanks, check back in with you. Kiran?

CHETRY: Still ahead, the drunk driver caught on tape laughing about the man she killed. What the furious judge did when he heard it for himself. Live from Alex's Restaurant from Mt. Pleasant, South Carolina. What are the issues driving the voters? We'll talk to some of them coming up.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

ROBERTS: The key to South Carolina at least for the democratic primary tomorrow is shaping up to be somewhat like the New Hampshire primary from the standpoint of 36 percent of people who will participate tomorrow are undecided. How will they swing the outcome here? Will they break for Barack Obama? Will they break for Hillary Clinton? Might a lot of them go to John Edwards. Here with a couple of undecided voters. Darla Wiles is an inner city schoolteacher and over here Maura Magrane is a college student. Let's go to Darla first. What are the issues of the importance to you? By virtue of your employment is it education?

DARLA WILES, UNDECIDED VOTER: Education is very important to me. I like the stands from all three candidates, but I start to look at the education, might lean towards Edwards because of that. But they all are wanting to reform education, which is great. Some want them to fix no child left behind. I don't know if you can fix it.

ROBERTS: Some people say it's pretty broken. But a lot of people work in education. They say they're not hearing enough about this issue from the candidates. What do you think?

WILES: I really had to research it. You don't hear much in speeches and all because there are so many hot issues.

ROBERTS: All about Iraq and now the economy.

WILES: Now the economy, exactly. You hear a little bit about the environment, which is important. So you have to search the websites and do some research to find out how you feel about education.

ROBERTS: The business administration. What there issues important to you. Is it by virtue of what you're studying in the economy?

MAURA MAGRANE, COLLEGE STUDENT: Actually, I have a lot of family members in the military. So that's very important to me what goes on there.

ROBERTS: You wouldn't seem to be a natural democratic voter?

MAGRANE: I'm pretty independent. Try to go by the candidate and not by the party.

ROBERTS: Are you hearing anything from the candidates that you like?

MAGRANE: Hillary's plan for Iraq. I like how Obama has been sticking up for the middle class man too with the tax breaks and everything. So --

ROBERTS: You were saying off-camera you try to decipher between the truth and what the candidates are saying to try to get elected.

MAGRANE: Right. You know a lot of it is just politics and some of it is not really -- you know, realistically will be happening as they want it to. So, I mean, I'm trying to figure out what is really realistic and what's politics.

ROBERTS: Research over the years has proven that the candidates over-promise in order to satisfy the groups to get them to the white house and try to detract voters, but once they get there, they try to make good on all of the promises. So you say Hillary is piquing your interest here in the plans for Iraq. What about on the economy? Who are you listening to?

MAGRANE: I think Obama. He's pretty good. I like him. I liked his education.

ROBERTS: So you got just a little more than 24 hours from now. Be your first election the first time you voted on the primary. What's going to put them over the top as far as one candidate over the other?

MAGRANE: I'm going have to go back and do some more research and try to make up my mind. I'm not sure. ROBERTS: Got a lot of work to do.

MAGRANE: Yeah.

ROBERTS: Darla, what about you? You said that you are leaning to Edwards. There are other candidates out there. What will push you over the top, one candidate or the other?

WILES: I'm not really sure. I think like Maura, I have to do some more research and do some soul searching before tomorrow morning.

ROBERTS: So you'll have to hit the library today when you go to school and go on the internet and look up the policy positions. Well, good luck to you. Thanks for talking to us, Darla Wiles and Maura Magrane. Good to seek with you. Back to New York. Here's Kiran.

CHETRY: All right, John. Thanks so much.

Coming up, a heartless drunk driver laughs at her victim and the judge hears it all.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: John says as far as he's concerned, you did the world a favor because you took out a tree hugger, a bicyclist, a Frenchman, and a gay guy all in one shot. I'm proud of you. He said --

CHETRY: After hearing that tape, the judge was furious, understandably. We're going to tell you what happened coming up.

And startling new evidence about how well birth control pills prevent one of the leading causes of cancer deaths in women. Dr. Sanjay Gupta shares the news coming up at the top of the hour.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

CHETRY: An Arizona woman was drunk driving when she swerved off of the road and killed a bicyclist got more than ten years in jail in part due to a phone conversation. We're going to listen to that conversation. It was recorded between Melissa Arrington and a friend about the tragedy and you can clearly hear her laughing about it.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: John says as far as he's concerned, you did the world a favor, because you took out a (EXPLETIVE) tree hugger, a bicyclist, a Frenchman, and a gay guy all in one shot. He's proud of you.

ARRINGTON: (laughing)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: He says as far as he's concerned, they should give you a medal and a (EXPLETIVE) parade.

ARRINGTON: (laughing)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I know that's terrible but he's trying to ...

ARRINGTON: No, it's not. CHETRY: Arrington went on to say I'm not supposed to be laughing at stuff like that, but I would have to agree. Joining us to discuss the impact this may have had on the case AMERICAN MORNING legal analyst Sunny Hostin. Very interesting because yesterday we asked this same question about audio and videotapes about the types of the impact they can have in the courtroom. She was only going to get four years before the judge heard this.

SUNNY HOSTIN, CNN LEGAL ANALYST: What's wonderful I think about this is we're talking about judicial discretion and that's what we want judges to have. We want judges to have a range of sentences, but we want them to take in all of these factors, whether or not a defendant is remorseful, what are the circumstances of the crime. In this situation, she would have gotten on the lower end. If you hear the tape like that, the callousness, she killed someone because she was drinking. The other part that's interesting is this was not her first conviction for this. She had a suspended license for doing this another time. So when you put that all together, I think of course the judge did the right thing. But it's really a wonderful tool when you have a judge's discretion which is why so many people have a problem with the sentencing guidelines, at one point away it puts it away from the judges.

CHETRY: You know the judge I believe called it reprehensible in its callousness and some other things like that. It does raise a larger question about phone calls being recorded and what rights you have as a person on the phone even if you are in jail for your phone calls to be recorded.

HOSTIN: Well you know Kiran, I've been through many prisons, both as a prosecutor and more as a defense attorney. When you're in a prison, you see all over each prison that I've been to at least, big signs that say you have no expectation of privacy. They may be taped. They're randomly taped. If this were a discussion she had with her attorney, we would be in a different situation because of what we talked about yesterday.

CHETRY: If she was having this with her ...

HOSTIN: It would have depended on the circumstances. You need a court order to do that when you talk to your attorneys. Attorneys try not to in jail to talk to them over the phone. It's usually face-to- face and that's something that even prisons protect. But when she talks to a friend, those calls are typically recorded randomly. I'm sure they were on notice and that for me lend more to the fact that she was so callous about this.

CHETRY: They recorded largely for security sake? Kept or have they attempted to use them in the future?

HOSTIN: It varies from place-to-place, from prison-to-prison. All of the rules are not really streamlined but they are randomly recorded and prison officials listen to these tapes. Everyone knows this. There's no expectation of privacy. It's a prison.

CHETRY: So she's doing more than double the time because of this.

HOSTIN: That's right, that's right.

CHETRY: Thank you.

HOSTIN: Thank you.

ROBERTS: Coming up to four minutes to the top of the hour. Your marriage, sonny is married, anybody out there who's married and thinking about it -- let the anger out. That's the message from a new study of married couples. The study looked at 200 couples and found those who fought more lived longer. Researchers say the couples who kept their anger bottled up suffered more stress and ultimately suffered health problems because of it. It tracked couples 35 to 69 years old, span, 17 years. So the message there, if you have something to say to your spouse, go ahead and say it. Don't keep it bottled up inside. They also didn't say, maybe these people live longer because they ultimately got divorced, Kiran?

CHETRY: Well, I was looking at the bright side of it. I thought, we'll be together forever. We're going to live to be 105.

HOSTIN: Same here.

CHETRY: You got to love it.

ROBERTS: There you are.

All right. The republicans went easy on one another in last night's debate attacking Hillary Clinton instead. Take a listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SEN. JOHN MCCAIN (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: I'm so proud of the job that the men and women in the military are doing there. They don't want us to raise the white flag of surrender like Senator Clinton does. They know they can win.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ROBERTS: But where were they on the issues? And what do republicans in Florida think about the candidates? The live report with CNN's John King coming up at the top of the hour. Stay with us.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

ROBERTS: To the rescue, D.C. has a big fat check to boost the economy. But is the lifeline too short? Money on their minds. Republicans tackle taxes.

RUDY GIULIANI (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: I will support it but it doesn't go far enough.

HUCKABEE: I know I made tax cuts that impacted families.

ROBERTS: And the competition. MITT ROMNEY (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: The idea of Bill Clinton in the white house with nothing to do is something I can't imagine.

ROBERTS: Plus, the last day to sway before South Carolina decides.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: This election is not about them, it's about us.

ROBERTS: What voters really want to know. The most politics in the morning, live from New York.

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