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Primary in South Carolina; Florida Homeowners Battle with Insurance Cost; Frozen Remains Found in Chicago; Americans Share Ideas on Economy
Aired January 26, 2008 - 10:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Back in the year 2000 I was paying about $2,000 a year, and that included flood and the wind storm, casualty, everything, included. Now I'm paying upwards of $8,000.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BETTY NGUYEN, CNN ANCHOR: Man!
T.J. HOLMES, CNN ANCHOR: $8,000! Home insurance, Betty.
NGUYEN: Just for insurance.
HOLMES: Just for the home insurance. Some Florida homeowners -- yes, this is happening in Florida. Some homeowners say they can barely afford to stay in their neighborhood, much less stay in that state. Well, you know what's going on right now. There are some politicians down there politicking and campaigning, so we'll tell you what these homeowners want from the presidential candidates. That's coming up.
NGUYEN: Also, look at this -- swirling flames, thick, black smoke. We have the latest on what sparked a fire at this Las Vegas casino.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I said, mom, I'm having this baby now. We have to stop.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HOLMES: Yeah, we've got to stop, mom, seriously. Her baby was delivered and now ma has a new appreciation for public service. Stick around for that story.
From the CNN Center, this is the CNN NEWSROOM and you are in it on this Saturday, January 26th. Hello, I'm T.J. Holmes.
NGUYEN: Hi, everybody. I'm Betty Nguyen. We want to thank you for joining us.
It's 10:00 a.m. here in Atlanta as well as South Carolina, and that is where we start, where it's primary day. Democratic and Independent voters making their picks for president right now.
HOLMES: And of course, there's been a lot of bickering and bitterness ...
NGUYEN: A lot.
HOLMES: ...on the campaign trail all week. You've seen plenty of it. But now it's time for the candidates to simmer down a bit and now the voters get to speak up. The polls have been open three hours and will close in nine hours. Our countdown clock at the bottom of the screen right there.
CNN's Jessica Yellin, part of the best political team on television. She joins us now live from Columbia, South Carolina.
Good morning to you, Jessica.
JESSICA YELLIN, CNN CONGRESSIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, T.J.
Well, this is the last election before the Democratic primary goes nationwide on Super Tuesday. All of the candidates are pushing aggressively for a win here. But this state, this day, this election has special importance for John Edwards. He is a native son, he won here in 2004, and even a strong second-place finish would be key to keeping him competitive in the races going forward.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
YELLIN (voice-over): In South Carolina, John Edwards is everywhere.
JOHN EDWARDS (D), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: I was very excited about coming to South Carolina, the state that I was born.
YELLIN: He's in voters' home, by day with Tyra.
EDWARDS: We have got a -- got a big weekend in front of us.
TYRA BANKS, HOST, "THE TYRA BANKS SHOW": Yes.
EDWARDS: So, we will -- I got my fingers crossed.
YELLIN: By night with Dave.
DAVID LETTERMAN, HOST, "THE LATE SHOW WITH DAVID LETTERMAN": Has it ever been messed up?
EDWARDS: No, no, no.
(LAUGHTER)
(APPLAUSE)
(LAUGHTER)
YELLIN: And all across the state, insisting he will do more to fight special interests, and now criticizing his opponents' campaigns.
EDWARDS: Senator Clinton and Senator Obama this week have brought their New York and Chicago politics to South Carolina.
I was very proud to represent the grownup wing of the Democratic Party on Monday night.
YELLIN: He's out with a new ad touting his self-proclaimed grownup performance at Monday's debate.
SEN. HILLARY CLINTON (D-NY), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Your contributor, Rezko...
EDWARDS: This kind of squabbling, how many children is this going to get health care?
YELLIN: And telling CNN the other Democrats have taken on a negative tone.
EDWARDS: A lot of the attacks have been nasty. Some of the attacks have been divisive.
YELLIN: He's also taking aim at Barack Obama, who just weeks ago criticized John Edwards when a special interest group ran an ad on his behalf.
SEN. BARACK OBAMA (D-IL), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: The individual who is running the group used to be John Edwards' campaign manager.
YELLIN: Now a similar special interest group is running an ad for Obama. And Edwards sees hypocrisy.
EDWARDS: If he means what he says, he ought to be denouncing this.
YELLIN (on camera): Are you surprised he hasn't?
EDWARDS: I am very surprised, because if you really believe something, then you stand behind it. If you're doing it for political reasons and only for selfish political reasons, then you do one thing one day and another thing another day.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
YELLIN: John Edwards also had sharp criticism for Hillary Clinton because she left South Carolina earlier this week. He has been on the trail saying, listen, if she leaves you the week before the Democratic primary, why do you expect her to be there for you if she becomes president?
But this race, incredibly tense on all sides. It has taken a much sharper, a much edgier tone since the Democrats got to South Carolina. Polls show Obama leading, but you know these polls have been unpredictable in the past, and Clintons, together, Bill and Hillary Clinton, have been working hard in this state -- T.J.?
HOLMES: Really? The polls haven't been right on the whole time, Jessica?
NGUYEN: You think?
YELLIN: Imagine that.
HOLMES: Jessica Yellin for us. We appreciate you, good to see you this morning.
Meanwhile, the high cost of homeowners insurance is a hot issue for Florida voters heading into Tuesday's primary and one Republican candidate is making it a part of his must-win strategy. Dana Bash reports from Boca Raton, Florida.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
DANA BASH, CNN CONGRESSIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Stroll with Juan Barceras through his middle class south Florida neighborhood and hear typical tales like this.
JUAN BARCERAS, UNDECIDED REPUBLICAN: There's actually a neighbor that I know that used to live a couple blocks down. She actually moved to North Carolina. And, again, it's because of the cost of living.
BASH: The cost of living has skyrocketed for Floridians like Barceras because of through-the-roof home insurance premiums.
BARCERAS: Back in the year 2000, I was paying about $2,000 a year. And that included flood and the wind storm, casualty, everything included. Now I'm paying upwards of $8,000.
BASH: In fact, the Florida Insurance Commission says hurricane- weary insurance companies have more than tripled average premiums in the last seven years.
RUDY GIULIANI (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: People throughout Florida have been telling me how difficult it is to get insurance, how expensive it is.
BASH: Suddenly, the GOP candidate with the most riding on Florida's primary is calling for a national catastrophic insurance fund to help.
GIULIANI: The federal government would be a backstop, so that people could get insurance.
BASH: Mitt Romney and John McCain are two Republicans lukewarm to the federal government stepping in. And Giuliani is now trying to capitalize with this new ad.
NARRATOR: Only one Republican candidate has proven experience dealing with disaster.
BASH: But undecided Republican voters like Juan Barceras are skeptical, calls Giuliani's new pitch shallow.
BARCERAS: This problem didn't just arise this week or last month. This has been an ongoing for years here. And he really hasn't been talking about it.
BASH: He's openly frustrated, saying no candidate is really addressing his economic concerns.
BARCERAS: But I still don't know who I'm going to vote for. I might just go ahead and vote for Ron Paul.
BASH (on camera): How come?
BARCERAS: You know what? Might as well.
BASH: Protest vote?
BARCERAS: Probably.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
HOLMES: That's our Dana Bash there, part of the best political team on television. She'll be in the CNN NEWSROOM this afternoon for Ballot Bowl, our special political coverage that gives you a chance to see the candidates unfiltered on the campaign trail. Ballot Bowl kicks off today at 2:00 p.m. Eastern.
But first, we have the scoop for you on young voters. We'll talk with a couple of student reporters who are taking an active part in the political process. That is coming your way in 25 minutes.
NGUYEN: Well, this just in right now -- French authorities say the trader blamed by a French bank for massive fraud has been taken into custody. Here's a picture of him right there. That, according to the "Associated Press." Now, the 31-year-old man will be questioned as part of a probe into the Societe Generale. Authorities say the alleged fraud cost that bank more than $7 billion. We'll stay on top of this story for you.
And in Chicago, a frozen, decomposed body believed to be a woman was found yesterday along some railroad tracks. Could it be Stacy Peterson, missing since October from her suburban home about 20 miles away? Well, her husband's attorney says no way.
CNN's Susan Roesgen has more.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
SUSAN ROESGEN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: The Chicago Police are calling this an act of crime scene -- this industrial area here where on Friday afternoon, a city inspector discovered human remains, the remains of a woman badly decomposed, frozen to the ground.
Again, this is an industrial area; on one side is a shipping canal. On the other side, are a set of train tracks and it was near those train tracks where the remains were discovered. The Chicago Medical Examiner's Office will perform an autopsy. All they can tell us right now, again, is that the remains were badly decomposed, the body of a woman with a reddish-blonde hair. Also leading to speculation that this might be the body of Stacy Peterson is the fact that the city inspector says a blue container was found nearby, near where he found the remains. And the blue container is important because it has been reported that Drew Peterson and the relative took a large blue container out of his home the day after Stacy Peterson disappeared, and it's been reported that that container might have held a body.
Now, Drew Peterson has denied any involvement in his wife's disappearance. She was 23-years-old. He is 53-years-old, a former Bolingbrook police officer, Bolingbrook, Illinois police officer here, basically forced to resign when he became the main suspect. He, however, has denied any involvement in her disappearance.
Susan Roesgen, CNN, Chicago.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
NGUYEN: Want to show you some dramatic pictures now, but luckily, only minor injuries from a fire at a hotel and casino in Las Vegas. Look at that!
HOLMES: Yes. Black, thick smoke pouring from the Monte Carlo resort and casino. Still waiting for word this morning on exactly how this fire started. Kara Finnstrom has the latest for us. She's live out there on the Strip for us. Good morning to you.
KARA FINNSTROM, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, T.J.
Well, overnight, hotel crews started taking some of those guests back up to their rooms to gather up belongings and take them out of the hotel. But as of this morning, the hotel and casino still remained closed. No word yet on when they'll reopen.
Just over my shoulder you can see the black charring all along the top of the hotel. That's the destruction of this fire yesterday that caused people all along the strip to just stop and stare.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
FINNSTROM (voice-over): It was a fire with all the spectacle of Las Vegas. Huge plumes of black smoke, falling chunks of burning debris.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: We ran over to see what was happening, everyone's yelling, and stuff was falling and hit a few of the cars right next to us.
FINNSTROM: And firefighters are dangling out of windows more than 30 floors above the ground.
ED CAGALO, CLARK COUNTY FIRE DEPARTMENT: Our firefighters actually had to hang out the windows to try and cut the fire off or we directed our fire streams at an angle where we could make contact with the fires. FINNSTROM: Flames charred the exterior of the top four or five floors of the Monte Carlo causing SOME frantic moments as everyone evacuated from its 3,000-plus rooms.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You know, the alarm went off and I heard a bunch of you know, rustling out in the hallway. I got out and (INAUDIBLE) the fire escape. I went to the end of the hall, almost down there and looked out the window and I thought there's nothing going on but I could smell smoke and so, I hustled down the stairway like everybody else and got out, turned the corner and looked up and the whole top of the building was on fire.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: We were asking what the alarms for and -
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: And we opened up the curtain and all of a sudden, I see this soot, this soot fall down to the ground and we look out and there's smoke everywhere and the fire department's coming. So, I took my kids, dropped our stuff and we hauled down the stairs and with the stroller, the kids, everything, and all I think about fire and I don't think I'm getting married tomorrow.
FINNSTROM: Lots of big plans may have been put on hold. But fire officials say, everyone was able to get out safely. There were some minor cases of smoke inhalation. Within about an hour, firefighters armed with special equipment for high-rise fire fighting, extra hosing and webbing to anchor them to the windows put the fire out.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
FINNSTROM: Now, firefighters tell us that most of the damage was limited to the facade of the building and to the roof. We do know that there were welders working on the roof at the time the fire broke out, but T.J., as of right now, the cause of this fire remains under investigation.
HOLMES: All right, Kara Finnstrom out there on the strip for us. We'll wait on words of what exactly caused that fire. Thank you so much, Kara.
Meanwhile, folks, four soldiers are arrested in an alleged plot to rob drug traffickers still in jail this morning. Three of them elite army rangers. The four were arrested in a sting operation outside Atlanta on Thursday as well as yesterday. They're charged with conspiring to possess and distribute cocaine as well as carrying firearms in connection with that conspiracy. All four are due in court next week.
NGUYEN: All right, listen to this story. It is a stop for several traffic violations, right, which leads to a huge bust. But you may wonder, was the driver planning to make -- salad? We'll explain.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Down our driveway to our door, this thick, brown mud. (END VIDEO CLIP)
HOLMES: Yes, severe weather causing all kinds of problems out in California. Mudslides, floods, woo! Got a lot to keep an eye on and Reynolds Wolf has the forecast, he's keeping an eye on all of it for us.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: You can always appreciate, you know, the public service and what they can do in times like these.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
NGUYEN: Oh, yeah. What a time it was. This quick delivery is on the other side of the break. You don't want to miss it.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
NGUYEN: Well, it is 15 minutes past the hour on this Saturday morning. So want to get you some "Quick Hits" to give you more news in less time. So let's start with this -- a deadly helicopter crash created this massive traffic jam late last night in south Los Angeles. The small helicopter came down on the 110 freeway. No cars were hit, thankfully, but the debris was everywhere, and the pilot, unfortunately, was killed in that crash.
HOLMES: And take a look at this. There's at least one 240-pound joint that will not get rolled because of this seizure, 240 pounds of marijuana. Police in Texas took all this stuff in. They say it was found wrapped in shelf paper and hidden under loads of what, Betty?
NGUYEN: Lettuce.
HOLMES: Lettuce, on a tractor-trailer. Now I've had some good salads before, but I don't know what this -- I don't know about this one. No, the driver actually charged now with felony drug possession.
HOLMES: I would say.
Well, a special delivery in Florida to tell you about. A 31- year-old woman was on her way to the hospital to deliver that little baby that you see right there. Well, at least that was the plan, but the baby, of course, could not wait. So the woman stopped at a fire station in Port Saint Lucie and the only firefight there, of course he was ready on the spot. That's what firefighters do. Ryan Miller helped deliver the baby and later put up pink balloons at fire house. Now, that's some delivery!
HOLMES: All right, folks, we'll turn back to the weather now and just a mess we've got going on in California, wintry mess. Heavy snow, flooding, mudslides just north of Los Angeles. And two people died in a series of avalanches. Two more people believed to be missing still now. There is flooding north of there in the Bay area. Residents of San Anselmo and Fairfax are urged to leave their homes and businesses. Area creeks overflowing at this point. Also concerns about mudslides. Yesterday a mudslide shut down Highway 1 for several hours.
NGUYEN: Let's get the latest on the weather today, because I understand in some areas it's not getting much better. Reynolds has been watching it all today, and I can see the big sign up above you that said "heavy rain."
(WEATHER REPORT)
HOLMES: Well, the election express. Nobody rolls like CNN rolls. This is a bus like no other, heading across the country for the presidential primaries.
HOLMES: Yep. This week our Ali Velshi is on that very bus. Take a look. All right, it's kind of cramped inside there. And he's helping drive, which could be dangerous too. But Ali is on the job finding out what you think about the economy, working very hard. We'll be checking in with him.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
NGUYEN: All right.
HOLMES: All right, yes, by all means. What did you have to say, Betty?
NGUYEN: I was going to say, want to know what people across the country think about the economy?
HOLMES: Yes, we do want to know, Betty.
NGUYEN: Well, here you go. Are you going to get to it?
HOLMES: Well, the part that says Betty is usually for you. The one that says T.J. is for me, but ...
NGUYEN: But you know, it's fluid around here.
HOLMES: It is.
NGUYEN: You've just got to roll with it.
HOLMES: I'm sorry, I didn't roll with it, Betty. But she's talking about this bus and us wanting to know what people out there think, so we loaded up our senior business correspondent Ali Velshi into yes, the CNN Election Express and sent him on a road trip.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
ALI VELSHI, CNN SR. BUSINESS CORRESPONDENT: Well, day five of our cross-country trip in the CNN Election Express. We started on Tuesday night in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina. We've been driving through the south. We're now driving through the southwest.
We're on the way to California and we're going to make it. We're making about 500 miles a day, 2,600 miles in total in 10 states, but we are stopping along the way to talk to Americans about their concerns about the economy and politics, and we are getting very clear messages. The economy is the No. 1 concern to Americans.
We already knew that, but what part of the economy? People don't come home at night and say the economy's bothering me. In some states it was about jobs. It others, it was about housing and interest rates in other states.
In some states it was about the fact that plants have disappeared and there's no new industry coming in. In west Texas, where they make a lot of money off of oil, they weren't feeling the same feeling about the economy in general, but people had investments in the stock markets.
People were interested in the fact that the Fed had cut rates so drastically on Tuesday morning and are expecting them to do so next week. But more importantly, the discussion was about the stimulus program.
We talked to a restaurant owner, a Sonic Burger restaurant owner in Arkansas who said that she hopes that that stimulus package, that check that goes out to her clients will help them and make her business better.
We spoke to a cafe owner in Little Rock who said that the costs of her eggs had more than doubled in two years. We spoke to a truck driver who said they're taking less than 20 percent less home because that's how much more fuel is costing. We talked to Americans who are concerned that this stimulus package might actually be a bail out and it might not have any real effect. We spoke to others who thought it was excellent but that the government had to do more.
We're going to continue this journey across America finding out what Americans are really concerned about and bringing that back to you so that everybody can know where they finish in the economic situation. But I can tell you that while people are worried, there's a lot of optimism, there's a lot of interest in what political candidates have to say.
They want those presidential candidates to speak very specifically to their issues so that when Super Tuesday comes around -- and these are all Super Tuesday states -- these voters will be able to make a more informed decision about who they want to be president.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
HOLMES: All right. That was our Ali Velshi rolling around. Going to check in with him a little later as well. That's the journey, pretty much, he's taking there. We're going to catch him. I think he's taking a bathroom break. He's getting one somewhere along the way in Texas, I believe.
NGUYEN: Cameras are not rolling.
HOLMES: Thank goodness. He might get a shower in there as well, but just so you know, he'll wave at you, actually, you know, if he sees you on the road. Yes, give him a honk if you see the Election Express. He'll give you a wave. But we'll be checking in with him a little later.
NGUYEN: And you know, we are 10 days and counting to Super Tuesday. Millions of voters in 24 states will cast their ballots. So before you go to the polls, watch all the candidates, both Republican and Democratic, debate live from California. It's the CNN debates next week, Wednesday and Thursday nights at 8:00 Eastern on CNN, your home for politics.
HOLMES: Folks, you can click, send, read. Spreading campaign issues and messages through the Internet.
NGUYEN: Hundreds of high school and college students are reporting the political scoop, reaching out to young voters, and I'm going to talk with the young men behind this new Web site, next.
HOLMES: And it's a Middle East border crossing in chaos! That's our Ben Wedeman in the middle of it all. He gets stuck in the middle. Find out what's happening.
NGUYEN: Plus, the stars, they are going to be on the red carpet this weekend. Will it really happen? Yes. It is a huge boost for Hollywood while the writers strike keeps most production on hold.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HOLMES: All right folks, we've got a quick look at some of our top stories.
NGUYEN: The remains of a woman's body has been found near some train tracks in Chicago. Could it be missing mom Stacy Peterson? Well, her husband's lawyer says no.
HOLMES: Also, fire on the strip. Still no word on what caused this blaze at the Monte Carlo in Las Vegas yesterday. No one was seriously hurt in this fire, and this morning the hotel's still closed.
NGUYEN: We are keeping an eye on the clock in South Carolina, and you can see it there at the bottom of the screen. Well, we were going to put it up. There you go. 8 hours and 29 minutes to go until those polls close in that Democratic primary there. Those polls opened about three and a half hours ago. Our Suzanne Malveaux in Columbia told us to expect heavy voter turnout today. It is the Democrats' first southern showdown in their last big contest before Super Tuesday.
HOLMES: And on the Republican side, the focus is Florida. This is the candidates' last weekend to wrangle votes ahead of Tuesday's all-or-nothing primary. Fifty-seven crucial delegates at stake there. And winner takes all. Mitt Romney is hoping to put a stop to the mack attack, if you will. John McCain's momentum is going pretty good right now. At an event in St. Petersburg this morning, he talked again about the need for change in Washington.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) MITT ROMNEY (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Washington is fundamentally broken. I'm not talking Republican or Democrat, I'm talking the whole institution. And I don't believe for a minute that we're going to change Washington, strengthen our economy, get us off of foreign oil, fix social security, get health care for all our citizens that's portable and affordable, live by high ethical standards, reign in excess of spending by just sending back more politicians. I don't think somebody from the inside is going to be able to turn Washington inside out.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HOLMES: Well the other candidates got plenty to say today as well. John McCain, Mike Huckabee, Rudy Giuliani are all fanning out across the state for rallies and events from Ft. Myers to Orlando.
NGUYEN: And the Democrats are in South Carolina, the Republicans in Florida. But we are bringing them all together in one place today, and that, of course, is CNN's Ballot Bowl, bringing you the candidates in their own words on the campaign trail. Our Ballot Bowl coverage kicks off today at 2:00 p.m. Eastern. And be sure to stay with us for the complete results of today's South Carolina Democratic primary. Join Wolf Blitzer and the best political team on television from the CNN election headquarters in New York. Our special coverage gets under way at 6:30 p.m. Eastern.
HOLMES: Well, they are all dressed up and nowhere to go. That's been the case in Hollywood lately, and for a lot of those Hollywood stars, the awards shows are canceled because of the writers strike, but tomorrow night the show will go on.
CNN's Kareen Wynter previews the Screen Actors Guild awards.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
KAREEN WYNTER, CNN ENTERTAINMENT CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): How times have changed. Hollywood gears up for what could be the biggest awards show this season. No, not the Academy Awards, the Screen Actors Guild Awards. You heard right. It's the only show so far to receive a waiver from the Writers Guild of America, allowing striking writers to pen the show.
They're kind of leading the show this year because it's the first real show. We're going to have celebrities, we're going to have the red carpet. What could be better?
GALINA ESPINOZA, SENIOR EDITOR, PEOPLE: Often, the SAG Awards is kind of like a warm-up to the Oscars, but this year it may end up being the main event. Nobody knows if the Academy Awards are going to happen, so we suspect that the celebrities are going to pull out all the stops when they hit that red carpet on Sunday night.
WYNTER: Finally, a star-studded awards show with glitz, glamour and glowing acceptance speeches, the stuff awards season is made of. But this hasn't been your typical year honoring Hollywood's elite. Take the recent Golden Globe awards. UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: It's a different Golden Globes than we're used to watching.
WYNTER: Not so much golden as a glorified news conference with journalists instead of stars announcing the night's winners. The People's Choice Awards were also a pale echo of previous years.
ESPINOZA: I think the ratings did say it all. The public was not interested in watching awards shows without any stars.
WYNTER: Both events were denied waivers from the Writers Guild, which has been on strike since November 5th. The union is at odds with the producers alliance over a new contract. Likewise, the Oscars, scheduled for the end of February, have yet to receive the green light, meaning fans and famous faces may be forced to endure another stripped-down telecast, although some in Hollywood aren't complaining.
SUSAN SARANDON, ACTRESS: There was a little bit of a collective sigh of not having to get dressed up by some people.
WYNTER: Relief for others will come when writers are writing and television returns to normal.
Kareen Wynter, CNN, Hollywood.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
NGUYEN: It does look like the show will go on there.
All right, so what would you do for basic necessities like food, water, fuel? People in Gaza are doing anything and everything they can because it is chaos at the border and we are bringing you the international news as only CNN can.
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UNIDENTIFIED MALE: At night, we're bringing home the soldiers that's been missing in action now for 65 years.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HOLMES: Sixty-five years, folks. A U.S. sailor missing in action. Today, he will finally return home.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
NGUYEN: All right. Empowering young voters. That is the idea behind the Web site where scoop08. It's where young people can become political correspondents. The co-founders of scoop08 are here from Boston. Alexander Heffner and Andrew Mangino I should say. And we want to thank you both for being with us today.
Let me start with Andrew. Scoop08, talk about how this works, because any student really can become a correspondent and report on this political process, correct? ANDREW MANGINO, SCOOP08.COM: That's right. Students all across the country can join scoop08.com and cover a candidate, an issue, or a big topic related to this unprecedented 2008 presidential race, and they can cover it just as a professional would.
NGUYEN: Well let me ask you about that, because we're looking at the Web site now and there's lots of stories up on there. How do you make sure the information is correct?
MANGINO: Sure. We have interviewed everyone who is a writer or correspondent on the site to make sure that they are, you know, going to report the right information, and ...
NGUYEN: So it's vetted?
MANGINO: What's that?
NGUYEN: So it's vetted?
MANGINO: Well, it's vetted in the sense that we're just talking to all the young people out there and making sure that they are as excited as we think they are about this race, and they are.
NGUYEN: Well, let me bring you in, Alexander. How excited are young people in this race, because if you look at the track record, it's not very good when it comes to getting young people to the polls.
ALEXANDER HEFFNER, SCOOP08.COM: Betty, thanks so much for having us. They are indeed excited, empowered, as you suggested earlier in the segment. Scoop08.com is an opportunity for them to vent, for them to express their sentiments on the election, for them to express a point of view and also to do some substantive reporting into the race, looking at immigration, health care, foreign policy, all issues that affect young people in their core.
We're going to see today as Democrats and Independents vote in South Carolina, if the momentum we saw in New Hampshire, Iowa, and Nevada will carry into South Carolina in the primary this afternoon, and as we see the results this evening.
NGUYEN: Yeah, does seem like there's a lot of energy, especially among the young people, and we've seen the candidates actually courting young people in this election specifically because they are a powerful block. And I have to ask you, Andrew, let's talk about the issues. When it comes to young people, specifically, what are the issues that matter in this election? And are they political or do they deal with the characteristics of these candidates?
MANGINO: Well, I think that it first has to do with authenticity. Authenticity is what young people above all are gravitating toward, and once you have the authenticity down, then it becomes the issues. And the issues are rebuilding America's image abroad. It is the war. It is education and it is health care and the economy and the environment, but also authenticity really has to come first, I think. NGUYEN: Alexander, you are a high school student, and this time around we're seeing a lot of the candidates really go after high school students who will be eligible to vote come November. What issues matter to you and other people within your age bracket?
HEFFNER: Well, I think Andrew said it right, they're issues of character when you look at the candidates. There are also very substantive, critical issues. We're facing foreign policy, education, health care. I think if you visit scoop08.com, you'll find that there is a whole range of issues that do affect young people. Part of Senator Obama's strategy in Iowa and his continued strategy in the upcoming states, and as we approach Super Tuesday, is to court high school students, as you mentioned, as well as college students.
NGUYEN: Is he one of the better ones when it comes to, I guess getting out that vote? What candidates are doing the best job, Alexander?
HEFFNER: Well, I think Barack Obama's tapping into enthusiasm among young people. I think you've seen that among young Evangelicals who are supporting Mike Huckabee, the former governor of Arkansas.
But I think that it's the message that the candidates are promoting and endorsing as we move forward. Obama has tapped into a sense of bipartisan unity. He's promised on the campaign to unite the country. I think young people are craving that unity and that effectiveness as a legislator and as a commander in chief who can bridge the divide between Democrats and Republicans.
NGUYEN: Well, let me get Andrew in here. Do you agree? I mean, when it comes to the candidates, who's doing the best job of trying to get that youth vote? Because it's very important. It could be about 25 percent of the eligible electorate when it comes to voting in November.
MANGINO: It could. And I think that Alexander's right. It's that young people want a candidate who can transcend partisan politics. And once you transcend partisan politics, you can speak of unity. And Barack Obama has done that, John McCain has done that.
But more and more, you're seeing that from each of the candidates, and I think in this upcoming couple of primaries and especially going into Super Tuesday, that's going to matter a lot more because young people are now at their schools, whereas in the primaries before, they were at home or on vacation. Now they're at their schools and they're in a position to be mobilized. So this really could matter.
NGUYEN: That's a good point. Andrew Mangino and Alexander Heffner with scoop08, which is a Web site that allows students to participate in this by being correspondents on the political process, we thank you both for being with us today.
MANGINO: Thank you.
HEFFNER: Thank you. HOLMES: All right, about a quarter to 11:00 now on this Saturday morning. "Quick Hits" for you, a quick look at stories happening across the country. We'll start in St. Paul, Minnesota, where a dad who allegedly threatened to shoot his son's little league coach ...
NGUYEN: Why?
HOLMES: ...has been found guilty of making terrorist threats. Yes, you asked why?
NGUYEN: Yeah.
HOLMES: Wade Campbell says he was angry the coach didn't let his son play more.
NGUYEN: Really?
HOLMES: A lot of parents get upset about that stuff. They just don't threaten to shoot the coach.
NGUYEN: My goodness.
HOLMES: Campbell will be sentenced in March.
Also, something in the air over Charleston, West Virginia. And authorities are worried it could make people sick, but just don't know what it is. The mysterious, blue haze some people say smells like chlorine. Officials don't know what it is, don't know where it came from, but they're urging residents affected by the haze to stay inside.
Finally here, a veteran returns home after 65 years. U.S. navy officer Preston Douglas disappeared during World War II. His ship was sunk by enemy torpedoes in the Pacific Ocean and his remains never found until last year. He's being buried in Tennessee this weekend. Somebody just happened to find his dog tags. DNA tests were done and confirmed it was in fact him. And he is now coming home.
NGUYEN: We are getting word this morning that an American woman has been kidnapped in Afghanistan. An Afghan interior ministry spokesman says gunmen grabbed the aid worker and her driver from her car on the outskirts of Kandahar. He says police are trying to find the two. The State Department says it is aware of a kidnapping but does not have any details. We will keep you updated on this story.
HOLMES: All right, reports this morning that more than three dozen Egyptian security personnel have been injured along the border with Gaza. Egyptian forces are trying to clamp down on Palestinians streaming back and forth across the border and Egypt's government is offering to host talks to try and resolve this border crisis.
Our Middle East correspondent Aneesh Raman on the phone with us now from Egypt. And Aneesh, what can you tell us? Have things settled down any at all on the border?
VOICE OF ANEESH RAMAN, CNN MIDDLE EAST CORRESPONDENT: Yes T.J., the Egyptians are trying, but it's not succeeding yet. Earlier today we were physically right at that border. It is not at all secure yet. I stood on the main part of that wall that so many people have seen now that came tumbling down on Wednesday. There were less than a dozen Egyptian security forces on the Egyptian side and even fewer Hamas security forces on the Gaza side.
Meantime, that wall that had for so long represented a barrier is now a playground of sorts. Kids were sliding down it. And through that wall still thousands upon thousands of Gazans are pouring into Egypt. And further complicating things today, for the first time, Palestinian vehicles are making their way in, taxis, flatbed trucks.
So you can imagine the gridlock that exists in and around that border area. Egyptian forces are, it seems, quite literally overwhelmed and their president is in a very difficult spot. It is for the Egyptian president a Pandora's Box of sorts that is now open, and it's up to him to secure that border to appease his international allies, the U.S. and Israel among them who are gravely concerned over security issues, but also to not do so with a heavy hand because Egyptians as a whole have great empathy for the Palestinian people.
So that is in part why it has taken this long for the Egyptians to secure that border. But they're playing catch-up. This is a situation they are not in control of. And as they try to secure it but fail to do so, the Egyptian president then changes his tone and says, well, we're going to keep it open for a day more. They don't have their act together on the ground because there are simply so many Palestinians that continue to pour in, T.J.
HOLMES: And Aneesh, remind folks, again, what these Palestinians are pouring in for, the reason why they are desperate to get into Egypt in the first place.
RAMAN: These are a people that since June -- and that's when Hamas, the Islamic organization, took control of Gaza -- that is when the international community really began to sanction, to isolate, to siphon off all the supplies, to suffocate the people, as they describe it. And they have been living without fuel, without electricity, some of the hospitals there are working on candlelight.
So you can imagine that built-up need to survive that bursted on Wednesday that continues today. And I've got to tell you, T.J., the Gazans I spoke to say they have tasted freedom after that eight-month siege and they've been isolated for years prior. They say even if this border gets sealed, now that they know what it is to have freedom, they will find another way to get into Egypt.
So this is a very complicated situation and the Egyptian government has never been in the recent years in the midst of international crises. They don't have much clout. You used to mention the Egyptian president calling for talks between Hamas and Fatah. That's not really going to happen because the Egyptians don't have the clout to bring that together.
Meantime, these Gazans who were really living day to day, if that, are smiling for the first time in eight months. It's a feeling, you just get the sense that there is reveling in it and to seal this border is not going to be the end of this issue.
HOLMES: It is not the end. Complicated situation, but at the end of it, people are just trying to survive out there. Aneesh Raman for us on the phone from Egypt. Aneesh, we appreciate it this morning.
RAMAN: Thanks.
NGUYEN: Well there are plenty of American families waiting for loved ones to return from conflict.
HOLMES: And watch this little girl. She's sitting on her dad's lap. Everything is OK. But life's about to get a whole lot better when she turns around. We'll show this to you next in the NEWSROOM.
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UNIDENTIFIED MALE: This country relies on a workforce that is not necessarily from this country.
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NGUYEN: The immigration issue is certainly a hot topic this election year, especially in produce states like Florida. And we are bringing you the issues and the candidates.
Plus actor Hayden Panetierre joins us live. The "Heroes" star wants you to declare yourself. She's going to explain tomorrow on "CNN SUNDAY MORNING."
And somewhere inside the pile of concrete, we're going to show you that pile, is a tiny litter of puppies. Look at those! So cute. The mother either gave birth to them there ...
HOLMES: A rat.
NGUYEN: ...or hid them there. Just wait. They'll grow up into a little puppy.
HOLMES: They'll grow up.
NGUYEN: Later, she wouldn't find them.
HOLMES: So the Broward County, Florida, fire department took to the rescue. It took about an hour to retrieve seven rats -- excuse me, they're puppies, puppies.
NGUYEN: Puppies!
HOLMES: Puppies from the pile and returned them to mommy.
NGUYEN: They are cute.
OK, we're going to take you to Maine, where a surprise homecoming was taking place. Debbie Russell (ph) had been away from her family for six months with the naval criminal investigative service. Her assignment in the war on terror took her overseas to Kuwait.
HOLMES: OK. Her daughter had no idea she was coming home until she showed up at the school and there is the reaction.
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UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Didn't even recognize her!
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NGUYEN: Oh, I just love these reunions!
When one of the girls asked if she had to leave again. Mom said, nope, I am done.
HOLMES: And that was certainly welcome news.
Well, we'll go from reunions to commitment.
NGUYEN: Wow, a lot of them.
HOLMES: You've seen mass weddings before, but this one is like no other. Plenty of people in one country celebrating. This story in the next hour of the NEWSROOM.
NGUYEN: Rock on. Musicians from three continents can join together on the Internet and you can lead a double life on "Second Life."
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HOLMES: Well, it's that time for us to check in with Kiran Chetry in New York to see what's coming up next week on "AMERICAN MORNING." Hello there, Kiran.
KIRAN CHETRY, CNN ANCHOR: Hi, T.J.
It will be another busy week here at the home for the most politics in the morning. On Monday we're in D.C. We're going to be previewing President Bush's State of the Union. Expect the economy to dominate.
We'll also be looking at what was supposed to be the big issue of this political season, the war in Iraq.
Also, we'll look at how the Dems did in South Carolina. And on Tuesday, we're going to be heading to Florida. Will it be Rudy Giuliani's last stand in the primary there? The most politics in the morning live from Orlando, T.J.
HOLMES: Also, Kiran, I thought the whole point of us stripping down at airport, taking off the belt, the shoes, taking the laptop out of the bag and all that was so that things like this don't happen. But a guy gets through the airport security with a gun? CHETRY: It does make you wonder. They'll confiscate your cologne if it's more than three ounces, you know that. But it did happen, actually, this weekend at Reagan National Airport in Washington. The only thing that ended up stopping him from getting on a plane was his own honesty. He realized that he had his weapon with him. He went back to tell the screeners about it. How about that one? CNN's homeland security correspondent Jeanne Meserve is getting exclusive access to the TSA and will give us an insider's look at how they test the testers, T.J.
Also, we're looking at a financial security issue, a big one that's going to be happening. Ali Velshi is rolling down the road in the CNN Election Express. And he's going to be talking about what he's hearing from Americans across the country about these tough times ahead.
Also, T.J., the stars are coming out in Hollywood, finally back on the red carpet, it looks like. So if you're ready, the SAG Awards may mean a big party down there, the first one and perhaps the only one of the Oscar season, awards season.
HOLMES: I'm more of an Oscars and the Golden Globes guy. The SAG, I'll skip those.
CHETRY: Well, they're finally getting their due. Because of the writers strike, it could end up being the only party in town this year. We're going to make the most of it -- the gowns, jewelry, the hair, the speeches -- and of course, T.J., the winners. Our Lola will have a complete wrap-up, just in case your party gets out of hand and you missed some of that.
HOLMES: Oh, that's certainly the potential. I didn't know you heard about my parties up there in New York, but it seems like you have a good idea of what's going on here, Kiran.
CHETRY: Hey T.J., have a great weekend.
HOLMES: You do the same. Thank you Kiran, always. And folks, you can catch Kiran Chetry and John Roberts Monday on "AMERICAN MORNING." That begins at 6:00 a.m. Eastern time.
NGUYEN: You are in the CNN NEWSROOM. The news is unfolding live on this Saturday, the 26th of January.
Hello, everybody. I'm Betty Nguyen.
HOLMES: Hey, there. I'm T.J. Holmes.
We will start in South Carolina. It's primary day, and that primary is underway. Democrats making their pick for president, and we are live in Columbia.
NGUYEN: Plus, a legal trouble and the text messages one mayor never wanted you to see. Oh, you got to see it, though. The messages could lead actually to some prison time. We have the details.
HOLMES: Also, look out below! Mudslides, avalanches, stuff is coming down. All this ahead in the CNN NEWSROOM.
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