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American Morning
Clinton and Obama: Last Debate Before Super Tuesday; Clinton Obama Health Care Plans: How do They Stack Up: Microsoft Wants Yahoo; Terrell Owens Unplugged: Talks About Alleged Suicide Attempt
Aired February 01, 2008 - 07:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SEN. BARACK OBAMA (D), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Getting out as we were careless getting in.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
JOHN ROBERTS, CNN ANCHOR: The final battle before their Super Bowl on Super Tuesday.
George Clooney's toughest role.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
GEORGE CLOONEY, ACTOR: It's hard. It's about some slow (INAUDIBLE)
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ROBERTS: Back from Africa and sitting down with Kiran at the United Nations.
Plus, surviving the Super Bowl. Do you munch on tongues instead of potato chips during the game? Boy, do we have some health tips for you on this AMERICAN MORNING.
And good morning. Thanks very much for joining us on this Friday, the very first day of February. Another special edition of AMERICAN MORNING. I'm John Roberts outside the Kodak Theatre in Hollywood. And, you know, Kiran, in some ways it almost is like the day after the Oscars. A lot of bleary eyed individuals walked on the streets this morning.
KIRAN CHETRY, CNN ANCHOR: Yes, exactly. You know, many people stayed up late to get a chance to figure out at least if you're a Democrat, if you're going to go with Hillary or you're going to go with Barack.
ROBERTS: Yes.
CHETRY: And there was a lot to chew over which we're going to talk about throughout the morning.
Meanwhile, there's some --
ROBERTS: And not just --
CHETRY: Go ahead.
ROBERTS: I was going to say not just that, but the after parties as well just like at the Oscars.
CHETRY: Oh, see, I didn't know about the after parties. You got to get me the scoop on that one as well. Not for you, though, of course, because you're getting up bright and early. And we have a lot to talk about today including breaking news off from the business world.
Microsoft making a bid now to take over search engine giant, Yahoo. Stock futures have actually shot up on this news, and our senior business correspondent, Ali Velshi, has been tracking it for us, sorting out what it all means and whether it will be a good move for the company.
Hey, Ali.
ALI VELSHI, CNN SENIOR BUSINESS CORRESPONDENT: This just happened not too long time ago in a letter from Microsoft CEO, Steven Ballmer, to Jerry Yang, Yahoo CEO. Microsoft is offering $44.6 billion for all of Yahoo. That works out to about $31 a share. The significance here is that it's 62 percent higher than where Yahoo stock closed yesterday. Yahoo stock closed at $19.18. This is $31 a share in cash or stock. This is huge.
We've had a very, very rough several months in technology stocks. In fact, we just noted, we just showed you earlier that the Nasdaq has had its worse month ever in January, off almost 10 percent. So this is a big deal indicating that there is some confidence that this economy will continue to get a little bit stronger, and that's why the stock futures are up higher. The interesting thing here is that in the letter or in the press release, Microsoft says, today the market is increasingly dominated by one player. That's a reference to Google. Together, Microsoft and Yahoo can offer a competitive choice while better fulfilling the needs of customers and partners. The press release from Microsoft also says that Microsoft intends to offer significant retention packages to Yahoo engineers, key leaders and employees across all disciplines.
They want Yahoo because it's going to help them compete with Google. This is a big, big deal. It's going to help markets soar. Remember, the big deal today was going to be at 8:30 Eastern, the unemployment numbers for the month coming up. That will still be a big deal. We'll be watching that very closely, but you're going to see markets at least try and chug ahead on this news that Microsoft is looking to buy Yahoo, Kiran.
CHETRY: All right. Thanks a lot, Ali -- John.
ROBERTS: It's 3 minutes after the hour. Kiran, of course, the big night as we said here at the Kodak Theatre, the very last Democratic debate before Super Tuesday and the very first one-on-one between Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton. A lot of talk about policy last night. Were there any fireworks? Let's get to our Candy Crowley, our senior political correspondent. She's got the highlights from last night. Good morning to you.
CANDY CROWLEY, SENIOR POLITICAL CORRESPONDENT: You know, good morning. You wanted issues, we gave you issues. You wanted an end to the bickering, we gave you laid-back L.A. (BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
CANDY CROWLEY, SENIOR POLITICAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Mr. and Mrs. Nice showed up on stage in Los Angeles where it seemed they came not to bury but to praise each other.
SEN. BARACK OBAMA (D), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: I was friends with Hillary Clinton before we started this campaign. I will be friends with Hillary Clinton after this campaign is over.
SEN. HILLARY CLINTON (D), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: The differences between Barack and I pale in comparison to the differences that we have with the Republicans.
CROWLEY: Getting real, it was their last debate before the critical contest Super Tuesday, so they did launch missiles. Particularly on the subject of Iraq, she played her experience card.
CLINTON: It will be important, however, that our nominee be able to present both a reasoned argument against continuing our presence in Iraq, and the necessary credentials and gravitas for commander in chief.
CROWLEY: But after she tried to explain her yes vote on the Iraq war, Obama went after her with a reminder that he opposed the war from the start.
OBAMA: Senator Clinton, I think, fairly has claimed that she's got the experience on day one, and part of the argument that I'm making in this campaign is that it is important to be right on day one.
CROWLEY: He suggested she was AWOL on putting together an immigration bill. She shot back that she worked on immigration before he got to the Senate. She said his health care bill was inadequate because it didn't cover everybody. He said hers was unworkable because you can't force people to buy health care insurance. Still, both campaigns had clearly decided that five days before Super Tuesday was a time to put the best foot forward, making for a high stakes, low volume evening.
WOLF BLITZER, DEBATE MODERATOR: Senator Clinton, that's a clear swipe at you.
CLINTON: Really?
(CROSSTALK)
OBAMA: I wouldn't call it a swipe.
CLINTON: We're having such a good time. Yes, we are. We're having a wonderful time.
OBAMA: Yes, absolutely.
CROWLEY: They debated in the Kodak Theatre where they give out the Oscars for Best Actor and Best Actress.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
CROWLEY: So we'll have to see how this plays out over the weekend. My guess is they will revert to a little bit of form. They've got to be tough on each other. There's really no overcalculate in the stakes Tuesday.
ROBERTS: Because we talked to some undecided voters last night who said, look, there are so close on policy. I really don't need to hear anymore from them on policy. I want to see the differentiation between them in the issues of leadership, personality and electability.
CROWLEY: Well, and you know what's interesting as you find time after time, particularly when you have undecided voters this close to an election, this close to Super Tuesday, that they do in the end go with the gut feeling.
ROBERTS: Yes.
CROWLEY: Who do I like? Who gives me that sense of safety? So it really is important to kind of eyeball these people and see how they react to each other. So I thought it was important on that score because there was a whole part in there about your judgment and a little bit on who you are. And I thought that was probably for voters that haven't made up their mind, the most valuable part of the contest.
ROBERTS: Boy, it certainly did get a lot on policy last night.
CROWLEY: Yes, we did.
ROBERTS: Candy, thanks very much. Remember, stay with AMERICAN MORNING for the "Most Politics in the Morning" as we head into Super Tuesday. The Democrats will compete in 23 contests across the country and in American Samoa, with 1,681 delegates up for grabs. They need 2,025 to clinch the nomination.
The Republicans duke it out in 21 states for 1,020 delegates. They need a total of 1,191 to be the GOP nominee. So when you look at the number of delegates that are up for grabs here, there's a good chance that we'll know who the Republican nominee is as of Super Tuesday.
And Mitt Romney firing back at Republican rival John McCain. Romney accusing McCain of taking comments he made about Iraq out of context. The former Massachusetts governor says he is not for troop withdrawals. He's actually against them, but he supports timetables and milestones for Iraq as a whole, and he said McCain's charges are "reminiscent of the Nixon era.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
MITT ROMNEY (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Anytime between April and now. But to raise it outside of a debate and to do it in a way with, you know, blast it out to people in Florida was something reminiscent of the Nixon era, and I don't think I want to see our party go back to that kind of campaigning.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ROBERTS: A senior McCain adviser shrugged off Romney's comparison saying, "When you get into a hole the size that he finds himself in, it's not surprising to see him lash out."
And, remember, our political coverage continues in primetime. Join Soledad O'Brien and me tonight for CNN's Election Center. Soledad sits down one-on-one with Michelle Obama. It all starts at 8:00 Eastern -- Kiran
CHETRY: John, thanks. Well, we're following extreme weather this morning. China saying that some trains are finally up and running in the central part of the country, but this has been after three weeks of heavy snowstorms literally crippling the country. Thousands of people packing into stations and trying to get home. Forecasters say it is the worst storm that they've seen in 50 years. China says it's costing them nearly $7.5 billion in damages.
Back here in the U.S., snow still a major problem for parts of the Midwest. One person was killed in a massive 40-car pileup that happened on an interstate in Amarillo, Texas. The roads iced over from the storms. It happened just before dawn when a fire truck rolled over as it approached the scene. One firefighter also had some minor injuries there.
And they're bracing for more snow today in Chicago after a travel nightmare of a day yesterday at O'Hare Airport. More than 600 flights were canceled and dozens more were delayed. Some travelers were stuck on the tarmac for up to two hours. Flights were also canceled in Indianapolis. The snow is expected to last until noon today, with another two inches expected to fall bringing the snow total from this storm up to a foot.
Our CNN's Reynolds Wolf is tracking all the extreme weather for us this morning. He's actually live in St. Louis, Missouri. Boy, you're holding up the thermometer and I can see it in your face -- a little chilly out there for you.
REYNOLDS WOLF, CNN METEOROLOGIST: No question about that, Kiran. Now, this morning, we got 28 degrees. Currently, 28 degrees here in St. Louis. Probably anywhere from about three to seven inches of snow fall in and around the city, and things are slowly beginning to taper off. As you at home can see, you can see the arch behind me. You can also notice a few flakes still flying, but the heaviest has now passed. Let's talk for just a few moments about the snow itself. You know, oftentimes, you'll see snow in an area and it can be very different in one part of the country than it can be to others. And the snow we've been seeing here in St. Louis is very similar to what you see in high elevations. I mean, this is real powder, just beautiful snow. It is, obviously, has been and should cause some problems in the roadways. The good thing about that is you've had all kinds of crews out there.
Take a look at this video from the Missouri Department of Transportation. They've been up all morning, all night, doing everything they possibly can to keep the roads clear with getting the big implement on the front of the truck, the plow, and, of course, the salt all over the place. It's really been showing its good effect on the roads.
Now, I don't know if you can see right behind me. The roads are fairly clear from the time being. We've got people moving albeit slowly. When you're traveling in these kind of conditions, everything you do changes, in terms when you deal with dry conditions. When you turn, when you stop, when you start, everything is hampered by the ice and snow. So it's going to be interesting to see how things go.
All the schools are close in the area with good reason because of the snow fall. And take a look at the radar, you can see, again, much of it moving off. That snow remaining in place. But in places like Chicago, up in Rockford, back over to Fort Wayne, even into Elkhart. Detroit, this morning, you're going to see some snow there. Also, your watches and warnings, all across the map. It looks like Christmas there with the green and the red indications that you have for all the watches and warnings throughout the Midwest.
We're also going to see some ice near Pittsburgh, back over to Three Rivers Stadium, even into New York. Before all it's said and done, you may be dealing with some scattered snow showers. The heaviest snow forming up in Burlington. OK. That is the latest we've got for you, Kiran. Let's send it right back to you in New York, and, of course, we're going to see watches or rather delays in all your major airports, especially New York, Chicago and even Atlanta. Back to you.
CHETRY: You're already an hour delay in many of those big places. So check online or give a quick call before you head out this morning. Reynolds, thanks.
And our Alina Cho is here following other stories breaking for us overnight. Good morning, Alina, good to see you.
ALINA CHO, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hey, good to see you, Kiran. Good morning, and good morning, everybody.
Breaking news out of Baghdad this morning. The relative calm there interrupted by two massive explosions. Police say female suicide bombers killed more than 60 people in two separate attacks, more than 100 were wounded. The blast happened about 30 minutes apart at two different pet markets. The market has been hit several times in the past year on Fridays. That's the only day it's open.
New details overnight on the death of a senior al Qaeda leader. U.S. officials tell CNN a CIA missile killed Abu Laith al-Libi earlier this week. The missile took out a safe house in Pakistan near the Afghan border. Twelve others were killed. Al-Libi was among the more high-profile figures in al Qaeda after Osama bin Laden and bin Laden's deputy, Ayman al-Zawahiri. The U.S. says al-Libi was likely behind the bombing on the Bagram Airbase in Afghanistan during a visit by Vice President Cheney. Twenty-three people were killed in that attack one year ago.
Twenty-three people are safe this morning after being stranded for hours off the coast of Britain in the Irish Sea. Their ferry was hit by 70 mile an hour winds and 23-foot-high-waves last night. Britain's Royal Air Force and the Irish coast guard actually used helicopters in that rescue. Four passengers and 10 crew members were saved by the choppers, but nine other crew members had to stay behind to help stabilize the boat. They eventually restarted the engines and sailed to a nearby port.
Following up on a story we told you about on AMERICAN MORNING, the FDA is now warning doctors that epilepsy drugs could increase the risk of suicidal thoughts. The FDA looked at 200 studies on 11 different anti-seizure drugs. 28,000 patients took those drugs, 16,000 were on placebos. Four patients who took the anti-seizure medication committed suicide while none on the patients on the placebos did. The FDA says suicidal tendencies, as you just heard there, were rare, but patients on the drugs were twice as likely to experience those thoughts.
And striking Hollywood writers have reached two more interim deals with small studios. The Writers Guild signed deals with Intermedia Film and the film department. The union has already struck several other side deals with studios. It has restarted informal talks with the rest of the studios. Of course, the big hope is that will be, that will lead, rather, Kiran, to formal talks and, of course, a deal they've been on strike since November, early November. And, of course, with the Oscars coming up, everybody is watching this, especially in Hollywood, very closely.
CHETRY: Absolutely. Or maybe they can work something out with everyone and get back in business.
CHO: I think everybody hopes so. It's hurting the economy a lot.
CHETRY: It is. Alina, thanks so much.
CHO: You bet.
CHETRY: Well, Dallas Cowboys' outspoken receiver, Terrell Owens, finally speaking out about an incident where he was rushed to the hospital after what police thought at the time was a suicide attempt.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DON LEMON, CNN CORRESPONDENT: You did not take your own life?
TERRELL OWENS, DALLAS COWBOYS RECEIVER: No.
LEMON: Not at all.
OWENS: I love me -- anyone who know me, I love myself, so why would I want to take myself away from the world? And I have my -- I have my parents, you know, my sister and brother, my family.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CHETRY: We'll have much more with T.O. coming up.
Also yesterday, it was the Republicans. Today, it was the Democrats. How do Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton's health plans stack up? And what do they mean for you? Dr. Sanjay Gupta compares them ahead on AMERICAN MORNING.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
ROBERTS: Seventeen minutes now after the hour. California is among the states with the highest number of people who are uninsured. Yesterday, we spotlighted the Republican's health care plans, and today we tackled the Democrats. Joining us this morning is our chief medical correspondent, Dr. Sanjay Gupta. And before we get started, we just want to say for the purposes of full disclosure, in 1997 and '98, Sanjay worked as a White House fellow, which is a nonpartisan appointment three to four years after Hillary Clinton's health care plan went down in defeat.
DR. SANJAY GUPTA, CNN CHIEF MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT: Right. Yes. Good morning.
ROBERTS: So when we look at this health care plans by the Democrats, there's not a whole lot of daylight between them except on this issue of mandates. So, what is it that both sides are proposing here?
GUPTA: It's essentially -- you're absolutely right. They both use the buzz word, universal, a lot. But it does come down to an issue, about five percent of the population who should be covered, could be covered, if they're forced to be covered, as Senator Clinton's plan would say. And basically, it comes down to this idea that there are people out there who can afford to buy health care insurance who don't, according to Senator Clinton. And if they can't afford it, she says, they should.
Senator Obama says he doesn't believe that anyone who doesn't have health care insurance can actually afford it. And it's a cost issue more than anything else. And that's really what it comes down to. More than anything is that are you going to force people to do it? And if so, what's the penalty if you don't?
ROBERTS: Right.
GUPTA: If they don't do it. And the message that they really got into it a little bit here -- they both sort of point to the same thing as far as paying for it, rolling back tax cuts, creating a culture of prevention. But that distinction is important.
ROBERTS: And also, we should say, too, that Barack Obama's plan does have some mandates parents have to cover their children.
GUPTA: The children. That's a good point. And it's really about 15 million adults primarily that are sort of in question here. One thing that's important to point out is, if you have universal health care, it's important that everyone is covered, because even if a few people aren't covered if they're accessing the health care system, they're going to defray those costs.
ROBERTS: You know, the one thing I didn't hear about last night and maybe I just missed it was anything on catastrophic care.
GUPTA: I don't think they talked about it very much, but we have investigated that quite a bit. A little bit of difference there, although, I just put it, I think aptly, not a lot of daylight between them. What Senator Clinton will say is look, we'll cover catastrophic costs and we'll ensure that no one's health care premium goes above a certain percentage of their income. So if you have a preexisting condition, for example, you're not going to get these accelerated and very high premiums.
What Senator Obama plan says is we will reimburse the health insurance company for these catastrophic costs as long as it goes toward keeping the premiums low. So sort of the same outcome, just a little bit different strategies in terms of getting there.
ROBERTS: And, of course, universal health care, a huge issue here in California. Sanjay, thanks.
GUPTA: Thank you.
ROBERTS: We'll get you back more, a little bit later on. We've got more topics to go through again this morning. Don't forget, Sanjay Gupta's "HOUSE CALL." It's on Saturday and Sunday morning, 8:30 here on CNN. And now, back to New York, and here's Kiran.
CHETRY: Well, think a quarterback is a refund, think that Tom Brady is Mike and Carol's seventh child. It's OK. You can still bet on the Super Bowl. Some creative ways to make some cash.
Also, you won't see Terrell Owens in the Super Bowl, but you will see him here on CNN. T.O. talks about his family, his rumored suicide attempt in a candid conversation ahead on AMERICAN MORNING.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
CHETRY: It's been called a medical miracle. There's Kevin Everett. He is the Buffalo Bills' tight end who suffered a catastrophic spinal cord injury, told he may never walk again and then five months later, walking on the set of the "Oprah Winfrey" show. Everett spoke with Oprah about his amazing recovery from a spinal cord injury. On Sunday, he will be at the Super Bowl. He's going to be the guest of Commissioner Roger Goodell.
We're also going to be sitting down and talking with Kevin Everett about his injury, how he's coping, and his new book, "Standing Tall, The Kevin Everett Story."
Well, Terrell Owens is an all-pro wide receiver for the Dallas Cowboys but he almost lost it all back in September of 2006. Here's a 911 call that his publicist placed after what's been described as a very bizarre incident at his house.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: II think he took too many pills. Please. Now.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CHETRY: Owens rushed to the hospital after what was originally thought to be a suicide attempt. Later, police classified it as an accidental overdose. Our own Don Lemon sat down with Terrell at his home in Miami. And, Don, tell us a little bit about why he's speaking out now.
DON LEMON, CNN CORRESPONDENT: One reason, I know you're talking about that 911 call, but I think what happened after that really is what cost him at least in the court of public opinion is his publicist saying, Terrell has $25 million reasons to stay alive.
He says that he is doing this because he is a changed person from that incident a year ago. This incident, in particular, caused him to turn around. There were other things, but he realized he could have lost it all, not only his career, but also his life. I sat down with him in this exclusive interview, take a look.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
TERRELL OWENS, DALLAS COWBOY FOOTBALL PLAYER: Just a reaction, you know, to the medicine or the Vicodin that I was taking. And that's all I can really base it off of, it's a reaction. And obviously, you know, I saw one minute it was labeled as a reaction and the next, you know, five to 10 minutes later, it's reported as an overdose. So, other than that, it wasn't a big deal.
LEMON (on camera): Right. So you didn't try to take your own life?
OWENS: No.
LEMON: Not at all.
OWENS: I love me. Anybody who know me, I love myself. So why would I want to take myself away from the world. And I have my parents, you know, my sister and brother, my family.
(END VIDEO CLIP) LEMON: He is cocky, but he's got the stats to back it up. When you look at that, he says, you know I love me and him being cocky. And, Kiran, both you and I were talking about this. He's also a very sensitive person which you don't get at the press conferences, when you see him in the post-game and those kinds of things. He's a very sensitive person, and he had one thing. There's a talk show host, he says, who talks about his mother and his grandmother who has Alzheimer's. He's talking about Tom Joyner, and he says he's tired of the critics mischaracterizing him, and he says making a mockery out of his life and he had a message for this radio talk show host. Take a listen.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
OWENS: You know, and it hurt her, just to hear him say some of those things about my grandmother who has Alzheimer's, to say she's dysfunctional and me to come from a dysfunctional family. And then, you know, just this couple of weeks ago, after my post-game, I did show some emotion. And then, my sister heard it on the radio that they were making fun of that.
LEMON (on camera): Why does that hurt you so much?
OWENS: Because I wouldn't be here if it wasn't for my mom. I wouldn't be able to do none of this stuff.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
LEMON: He talks very openly about his family, his relationship with his mother and his grandmother who has Alzheimer's. And then he talks also, Kiran, about that incident after the game about Tony Romo when he cried and then there was a media storm after that. You don't want to miss it. It's going to happen in the "NEWSROOM" today, 3:00 p.m. Eastern, only here on CNN. I know that you know him, at least, you know, where he's been. And I know you're going to be interested in seeing that.
CHETRY: Yes. That's right. I mean, coming from a family of Eagles fans.
LEMON: Yes.
CHETRY: I think they're wondering, does he take responsibility for all the drama that was caused on that team as well?
LEMON: He does and he talks about that. He does take responsibility. And again, he says he's done a 180. He's a changed person. He believes the media has mischaracterized him, but does take responsibility for his actions.
CHETRY: Well, it's going to be fascinating to see more. Don, good job. Thanks so much.
LEMON: Good seeing you, Kiran.
CHETRY: By the way, it's going to be airing on "NEWSROOM" today, 3:00 p.m. Eastern time -- John.
ROBERTS: Twenty-seven minutes now, Kiran, after the hour. You don't have to be a football fan to watch the Super Bowl. Bookies know this, and there are some very creative bets coming out of Las Vegas this year. You know about the coin toss.
Well, did you know that you can bet on how long you can take "American Idol"'s Jordin Sparks to sing the national anthem? The over and under is 142. You can also bet on which advertisement will win "USA Today's" popularity contest Budweiser, the odds on favorite to take that. And you can even bet on whether Eli Manning will have a better Super Bowl than his brother Peyton Manning did last year.
And that brings us to this morning's "Quick Vote" question. Which team will win the Super Bowl? Right now, 37 percent say the Giants will dominate, but 63 percent are rooting for the Patriots.
Cast your vote at CNN.com/am. We will continue to tally the votes throughout the morning.
The bitterness continues in the Republican presidential race. Mitt Romney compares John McCain's tactics to a former president. This, while McCain picks up a big endorsement. Chief national correspondent John King joins me next to break it all down. Stay with us.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
CHETRY (voice-over): Power and politics. George Clooney says he's a Barack Obama supporter, but says he'll never see him stumping for the Illinois senator.
GEORGE CLOONEY, ACTOR: At times, you can harm the person that you're trying to help.
CHETRY: What he really thinks about celebrity and politics. More of my one-on-one with the actor ahead on AMERICAN MORNING.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
KIRAN CHETRY, CNN, ANCHOR: WGN, Chicago, Illinois. 29 degrees today. And some snow expected. A high of 30 degrees. Boy, O'Hare already because of snow and ice looking at two hour and 30-minute delays. Tons of flights affected. In fact, thousands canceled yesterday and many more delays as well. So, if you have to connect through there, or going out of Chicago today, you may want to call ahead and see if you can reschedule anything. Welcome back to a special edition of AMERICAN MORNING. It is Friday, I'm Kiran Chetry. Hey, John.
JOHN ROBERTS, CNN, ANCHOR: Good morning, I'm John Roberts, just outside of the Kodak Theater in Hollywood. Thanks for pointing that out, Kiran, because that's our next stop on the tour of the battlegrounds. We'll be in Chicago on Monday morning. And going into the biggest primary day in American history and we're doing it on a cordial note. In one of the rare, tender moment, Senators Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton embraced last night in Hollywood. They were united and wanted to beat the republicans and emerging frontrunner John McCain and hammered away on Iraq, the economy, health care, immigration, but not really on each other. They were in front of a huge crowd, packed full of A-listers with very deep pockets. We're finding our that Barack Obama made an absolute killing in campaign fundraising last month. He raised $32 million for his campaign in January alone. That was the biggest primary month ever. Do the math, and it's more than $1 million a day. Remember, he's stunned in Iowa just after new year, after the new year. Last year, Obama and Clinton each raised more than $100 million. Kiran.
CHETRY: He's on quite a roll. That's for sure. All right. John, thanks so much.
We have some breaking news from the business world, Microsoft making a bid to take over internet search engine Yahoo!. And stock futures are shooting up on that news this morning. We have senior business correspondent Ali Velshi with us right now who for some surprising reason made it back from Chicago.
ALI VELSHI, CNN, SENIOR BUSINESS CORRESPONDENT: Unbelievable. I got in a little window yesterday where flights weren't delayed, they were before and after.
Huge news, Microsoft making a very, very substantial bid for all of Yahoo! $44.6 billion. For those of you are on the investment side of Yahoo!, the shares closed yesterday at $19.18. This bid is for $31 a share, and in pre-market trading, Yahoo! shares are up more than 50%, I think 60% was the last time I checked it. This is a big deal, Microsoft wants Yahoo! because Microsoft is in a battle for supremacy with Google.
And until now, Microsoft has not been able to do things on the internet side as effectively as Google has. This is a challenge that could make sense. Microsoft has been struggling on that front. Yahoo! has definitely been struggling on that front. A lot of observers saying it's a very good deal and could go through. Stock futures are soaring on this news. We're expecting other business news this morning for those of you investors. However, we have the unemployment numbers out in an hour. We, we'll be on top of all of this, Kiran.
CHETRY: All right, Ali. Thanks so much. John.
ROBERTS: Thank you. They did take a few shots at the other side as the field thins out. Let's listen.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SEN. HILLARY CLINTON (D), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: With all due respect, we have a president that ran as the CEO-MBA president. And look what we got? I am not too happy about the results. SEN. BARACK OBAMA (D), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: I don't think the republicans are going to be in a strong position to argue fiscal responsibility when they added trillions of dollars worth of national debt. I'm happy to have that argument.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ROBERTS: Well, Senator Obama also went right after the GOP frontrunner Senator John McCain for flip-flopping on President Bush's tax cuts. First of all, being an opposition to them, and then coming back and saying he wants to make them permanent.
Well, it's not a two-person race on the republican side, but the frontrunners are still focusing their attacks on each other. Speaking in Long Beach, California, Mitt Romney accused John McCain of dirty tactics saying his bogus claim that Romney once favor the troop withdrawal from Iraq is something that Richard Nixon would have done.
He doesn't seem to be facing the Arizona Senator and McCain picked up a big nomination yesterday in the form of California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger. McCain used the event to reach out to conservatives in his party that may still be unsure about him.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SEN. JOHN MCCAIN (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: I believe I can get a significant and overwhelming majority of those people who are members of our party to join together with all of us in a big tent party -- in a big tent party. That's the party of Abraham Lincoln and Theodore Roosevelt and Ronald Reagan. And I believe I can do that.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ROBERTS: And joining me now to talk more about all of this is CNN's chief national correspondent John King. So, you know, he's saying, I'm talking about the republican big tent here. But talk like that sometimes scares conservatives because it indicates a shift to the middle there.
JOHN KING, CNN, CHIEF NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: That picture will alienate some conservatives because Schwarzenegger has battled with the cultural conservative wing of the party. Giuliani has battled with the cultural conservative wing of the party. And yet McCain is trying to do things at once -- consolidate the party on the right and also is starting to reach out to democrats and independents. He believes he can put California at least in competitive play in a general election. But he does have that battle and conservatives are watching this. Their big question is this -- can Mitt Romney do well enough on super Tuesday to carry on. They often make the comparison of Ronald Reagan hanging in there, against Gerald Ford in '76, ultimately not successful, but winning at the end. Romney first has to prove himself on super Tuesday.
ROBERTS: What about Romney on super Tuesday? How is he looking? A lot of winner-take-all states. It's very difficult unless you get a win to rack up those delegates.
KING: We learned last night that he is now over $35 million of his own money. Infusing more money to his campaign, roughly $4 million in advertising in super Tuesday states. They hope to get some delegates here in California. They think McCain will win the state. But they think they can get some delegates because in this state, the republican rules are proportional. And they're going to try to win six or seven other states on super Tuesday, take that as a moral victory to carry on. They're actually hoping, they won't say it publicly that Mike Huckabee picks up a couple in the south, they pick up some of the south, they pick some in the mountain west.
If McCain gets a sweep and Romney faces a big calculation. The public line now though John is that they're in. They believe that McCain will be short of the delegates after super Tuesday and they believe then you have more space between the primary and they'll have some time.
ROBERTS: And the tough talk that we saw at the great debate at the Reagan Presidential Library on Wednesday night continues on the campaign trail. Romney using the republican "n" word to describe John McCain. Let's take a listen to how he put it.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
ROMNEY: A question about this he could have raised it any time between April and now. But to raise it outside of a debate, and to do it in a way, you know, blasted out to people in Florida was something reminiscent of the Nixon era. And I don't think I want to see our party go back to that kind of campaigning.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ROBERTS: So Mitt Romney likening John McCain to Nixon over this idea that Romney was calling for a timetable for a withdrawal from Iraq. I asked McCain about it after the debate. And he said, absolutely, he got the word timetable and leave Iraq within the same paragraph, that's withdrawal.
KING: And Romney is furious and I asked him that question about it. I asked if you think McCain is lying, does he have the character to be president? And he wouldn't answer the character part of it but with a Nixonian attack. But look, Romney says McCain is lying about this or being dishonest about this. McCain is trying to do something very calculated. His threat is on the conservative side. He's trying to tell conservatives, look, you might not love me, but Mitt Romney was squishy on Iraq at a critical moment in the debate, he didn't support our President when I did. He didn't support our troops when I did. That is the message aimed directly at keeping conservatives from sprinting to Romney.
ROBERTS: So was the democrats engaged in the debate version of a group hug last night talking mostly about policy. The republicans are out there squabbling. How is it all playing? KING: Well, it depends on how soon you clinch and how fast you can bring it together. The democrats are doing niche marketing last night. Obama going after hope voters, new voters. Hillary Clinton reminding women who she needs big time on super Tuesday about the potential history on her side. The democrats, I mean the republicans are a little bit more feuding at the moment.
The democrats were just last week. Give it an hour or two. You may have democrats back in again later today. The question is how soon do you clinch and how bad is the blood? Obama and Clinton did a very good job last night of saying we will get over this. There's been a lot of tension. We will get over this. That's still a huge question, Romney and McCain, do not like each other. It's increasingly evident. So, it'll be very interesting.
ROBERTS: And you're headed for the south. Are you going to Alabama later on today?
KING: Alabama over the weekend because Huckabee and McCain will be there. And might even get to Boston. We got John McCain going to Mitt Romney's territory over the weekend. A lot of geographical places for super Tuesday.
ROBERTS: It would be a good place to drop down for the "Super Bowl." It might be a nice place.
All right. Thanks, John.
KING: See some people who talk normal.
ROBERTS: Safe travels.
Our reminder to stay with AMERICAN MORNING for the most politics in the morning as we head into super Tuesday. The republicans battle in 21 states from 1,020 delegates. It takes 1,191 delegates to be the nominee. So, a good percentage of them will be allocated on Tuesday. Will that mean we have a republican nominee by late Tuesday night, or early Wednesday morning? We'll see.
The democrats will compete in 23 contests across the country and in American Samoa. 1,681 delegates up for grabs but they need 2,125. That's their magic number to clinch the nomination. So, their contest could go well beyond super Tuesday. Kiran.
CHETRY: Well, super Sunday can be extra stressful for some football fans. There's a new study that says all of the excitement surrounding the big game may be hazardous to your health. Sanjay Gupta is going to be explaining that for us coming up.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
CHETRY: Coming up on AMERICAN MORNING -- more candid talk from George Clooney.
GEORGE CLOONEY, ACTOR: So far it's meant sleeping in tents and ditches which wasn't what I thought it meant. CHETRY: Life on the road as the messenger of peace. And life on the campaign trail. And why he won't be on it.
CLOONEY: At times, you can hurt the harm the person you're trying to help. More of my one on one, ahead on AMERICAN MORNING.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
CHETRY: Oscar-winning actor George Clooney has a new role. It's the United Nations messenger of peace. And he was at the U.N. yesterday for a ceremony that was marking his designation for the special job. He also talked to the press about the importance of highlighting what is going on in the Darfur region of Sudan and the terrible refugee crisis that's happened there, as well as other trouble spots around the world. He sat down with me and we talked one-on-one about those issues and we even had a chance to talk a little politics.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
CLOONEY: A part of this is tricky, which is it's not really -- it's not fun to watch, and it's not pretty. And it's not entertaining. It's ugly and it's mean, and people at some point get fatigued from it. So, your job is to try and bring it back up as often as possible so it doesn't go completely off of the register. People walked away from doing a big rally, and 50,000 people will show up and say that was great. You know, we really did something and agree on some sort of a peace treaty that falls apart and the truth is nothing's really changed at all.
CHETRY: Switching gears from the crisis there is what's been going on in our nation and with our political process right now. We're at a very interesting time.
CLOONEY: Oh, yes.
CHETRY: You voiced your support for Barack Obama. Are you campaigning for him?
CLOONEY: No, I really, you know, everybody has to sort of go by their own sort of -- what they believe in. And I think everybody has a right to do it. I have a history of being around it. And I feel that at times you can harm the person that you're trying to help. And, so, I'm very careful not to go out and stump for Senator Obama. I just find it's a slippery slope. My father ran for congress, and they sort of run against him as Hollywood versus the Heartland. So I don't want to damage anybody.
CHETRY: Between Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton, Hollywood is going to be involved, I mean, with both campaigns? I mean, do you feel that...
CLOONEY: Hollywood has always been sort of involved because they're a pretty good place to go get money. You know, there's a fairly -- there's money out there. You can find it. So usually they're involve in that. Usually it's easy to get cameras to follow. Sort of what like what I'm doing the U.N. So, they're always going to be around and involved. There's a responsibility. You know, just because you're asked doesn't mean you necessarily should get on a train and ride across the country.
CHETRY: What is it about Obama that is inspiring to you?
CLOONEY: I would just say that he is, for me, you know, there are a few people in my lifetime that I've heard speak that made me want to get up and do something. Mario Cuomo in 1988 when he spoke, you know, obviously Bobby Kennedy, I was very young for John Kennedy, but he's one of those people who inspires. It's not knocking the other candidates, just one that really truly inspires me. But I don't want to - I don't want to hurt him by saying that.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
CHETRY: We'll have much more with my candid did chat with George Clooney coming up in the next hour of AMERICAN MORNING. John, I know you talked to him as well. Very down-to-earth guy, very much a gentleman. And you know, he really is doing this for no other reason than to draw attention to what he sees as a major, major crisis that the world really hasn't yet done enough and done what they need to do to help what's going on in Darfur.
ROBERTS: Certainly, he doesn't need the attention, and I don't get the sense that this is a ticket punch for him. That he really is committed to it. And did you get a chance to meet his folks as well? They're just these lovely people.
CHETRY: Lovely people. Yes. His mom and dad, they tell me they watch the show every day. So, we were thrilled to hear that. Very wonderful people as well. And it was hours yesterday that he was at the United Nations taking questions, talking about this, not to mention as he said, this comes on the heels of several weeks in places that most of us would never want to be seeing what it was like in those refugee camps between Chad and Sudan along that border and also in the Congo and as well as India.
ROBERTS: It's great that he actually get out there to see the whole thing. Good interview with him, Kiran. Hey, coming up. Greener days ahead. Now, you can stay connected and look out for the planet at the same time. We're going to check out some new high-tech environmentally friendly gadgets.
And big game, big health risk. Getting all worked up for the "Super Bowl" on Sunday could double your risk for heart attack. We're paging Dr. Gupta about a new study. That's ahead on AMERICAN MORNING.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
ROBERTS: Well, you've heard sportscasters describe the heart- stopping action on the field. Well, a new study suggests that big time games like the "Super Bowl" may actually have a heart stopping effect, as in heart attack. Our chief medical correspondent Dr. Sanjay Gupta joins me now with the details. Are people really at greater risk of heart attacks? DR. SANJAY GUPTA, CNN, CHIEF MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT: This was an interesting study. It was actually done about the "World Cup," which was a month long event.
ROBERTS: Oh, that's a totally different event than football.
GUPTA: It is different is some ways.
ROBERTS: Nobody throws hammers at a football.
GUPTA: It's more dangerous for sure. So, it's obviously a longer event. But we talked to researchers about this. Does this apply, perhaps, to the "Super Bowl." And they said, yes. A lot of different sort of emotional things in our lives can cause problems with our hearts. But the "Super Bowl" and sporting events may be a little bit different, more important because of this sort of multiplying of factors. You have this intense game. You have people who are eating pizza or some sort of food that's high in fat. Oftentimes, they're very emotional, may be drinking alcohol, smoking. All those sort of things in combination may actually lead to an increase in heart attack. Get a load of the study, the study actually showed the number of heart attacks actually doubled for women and tripled for men. Again, in this Munich study, looking at the German World Cup.
Now, it seems to make a difference if your team is involved and how emotionally invested you are in the teams. I guess, you're OK because I guess you're not really that invested. It also seems to occur in the first couple of hours of the game. So, if something is going to happen, it usually occurs pretty quickly.
ROBERTS: Yes, I have said that I'd like to see the Patriots go 19-0. Perfect season but I'd also like to see the Giants win. So.
GUPTA: Right. I'm a Patriots' fan.
ROBERTS: It's a win-win for me. And everybody else is going to call me a weasel.
GUPTA: Tom Brady, a Michigan guy. I'm a Michigan guy. So, I'm not planning on having a heart attack but I've invested in those games.
ROBERTS: So, what's a fan do?
GUPTA: Well, a couple of things. One is that fans get a little bit lackadaisical on days of big games. Then they forget to take their medications, for example. It's important to take those medications especially medications like aspirin. John, we were just talking about alcohol and some of the beneficial effects a couple of days ago.
ROBERTS: Oh, yes.
GUPTA: A little bit of alcohol...
ROBERTS: You meant the party last night. GUPTA: A little bit of alcohol can actually be beneficial. Too much obviously is going to take you in the wrong direction. So those are a couple of important things. I think the biggest thing is on big days, people tend to ignore symptoms. If you're starting to have some chest pain. If you're starting to feel clammy, if you're starting to feel nauseated, not from the pizza, these are things that you know, could be warning signs of a heart attack. Don't ignore them on this day as you should on any other.
ROBERTS: So the heartburn might not just be the wings, it might be something else.
GUPTA: Especially if you're at risk.
ROBERTS: Sanjay, good advice. Thanks.
GUPTA: Thanks.
ROBERTS: Kiran.
CHETRY: Not to put a damper on your "Super Bowl." But, still ahead, the candidates weren't the only stars at the Kodak Theater last night. Some Hollywood A-listers showed up for a front row seat to the big debate.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JASON ALEXANDER, ACTOR: I can't remember when I've been thrilled by politics in a very long time. This is thrilling.
CHETRY: More on John Robert's interviews with the celebrities ahead.
Also, some of your favorite gadgets with the environmentally conscious twist. We're going to check out some new high-tech toys coming up.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
CHETRY: The first ever Greener Gadgets Conference is getting under way here in New York City. Environmental groups, entrepreneurs, and representatives from several major consumer electronics companies are all getting together. And they got some neat stuff to show us. Veronica de la Cruz is here with a sneak peak of some of the more innovative green gadgets that will be featured today. Hey, Veronica.
VERONICA DE LA CRUZ, CNN, INTERNET CORRESPONDENT: Hey, Kiran. Nice to see you. You're right, hundreds of people converging, all the talk about ways to live a greener lifestyle. You know, one of the big themes, solar power. So, I want to start with this. This is the Soleo solar power charger. And, you know, instead of plugging your cell phone into the wall why not do this? It's definitely the better alternative and it works just like your cell phone charger except you're going to go ahead and plug this directly into these Soleo solar power charger. And this is going to start at about $80.
CHETRY: Does this need to be via direct sunlight, or can it just stay charged up just by being in your house?
DE LA CRUZ: Yes. Throw it in the window. You do want to keep it in the sun. Or you know it is compact. It's portable. You can fold it out, take it with you wherever you go. And you know, you can even put it in your car, maybe your dashboard while you drive, right?
CHETRY: Exactly. Pretty cool.
DE LA CRUZ: So, that's the solar powered charger. This is a wind-powered charger. This is the HiMini charger, it's about $50. Same idea. Probably for somebody who is a little bit more active because you can actually attach this to your bike.
CHETRY: You are generating the wind and it charges.
DE LA CRUZ: Exactly.
CHETRY: I got you.
DE LA CRUZ: So, exactly. Same idea, but this is just -- this is just wind power. Now, this is my favorite gadget. This is the Excel laptop and this is part of the one-child, one laptop per child project that I think you've heard a lot about this, right? You're going to spend about $400, and you're going to get two lap tops, one for your child and one for a child in a developing nation. So, this is a kid- friendly design. As you could see -- bright colors, also eco-friendly material. And check this out, these are rabbit ears and that's going to supply the wi-fi. And this uses really, really low -- really low energy source. It's actually powered by hand because these are for people in countries who may not have access to electricity. So, there's a hand cranker attachment and also there's a battery pack holder in the back. If you would like more information, you can always head to the web and check our greenergadgets.com and you can also log on to inhabitat.com
ROBERTS: Coming up now to the top of the hours. We are tracking everything from the political candidates to your "Super Bowl" pizza. The next hour of AMERICAN MORNING starts right now.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
ROBERTS: Showdown before super Tuesday.
OBAMA: What is at stake? Right now, is whether we are looking backwards or we are looking forward.
CLINTON: We are not more of the same. We will change our time frame.
ROBERTS: The stars come out for a White House audition.
Who is George Clooney's choice?
CLOONEY: There are a few people in my lifetime that I've heard speak that made me want to get up and do something.
ROBERTS: The Newly anointed U.N. peace messenger on the '08 race and his mission in Africa, on this AMERICAN MORNING.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
ROBERTS: It is Friday, the 1st of February. I'm John Roberts outside of the Kodak Theater in Hollywood. Good morning to you, Kiran.
CHETRY: Good morning. I'm Kiran Chetry here in New York. It's funny George Clooney said there's few people that make me want to get up and do something as if he is just sitting back and watching television.
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