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Extreme Weather Causes Delays; Super Bowl Commercials; Candidates and Voters Getting Ready for Super Tuesday; Violence in Chad
Aired February 02, 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: Why are we stuck here? Why are we stuck here?
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BETTY NGUYEN, CNN ANCHOR: We're going to tell you why they're stuck on a train in the California mountains, a big snowstorm and a plow blocking the tracks. We are live with the latest.
T.J. HOLMES, CNN ANCHOR: Plus, a jet crash lands in Bolivia. Everybody on board, though, survived.
Yeah, got some screams, shouts, maybe some boos out there for people watching commercials during the Super Bowl. We'll give you a sneak peek of some of our favorites at least this morning. We've got some of them out we can give you a sneak peek of.
NGUYEN: That's the great thing, because people wait for those commercials during the Super Bowl. So we're going to give it to you early.
HOLMES: Yes, but from the CNN center, this is the CNN NEWSROOM now. It's Saturday, February 2nd, Groundhog Day.
NGUYEN: Yes.
HOLMES: We talked about that a bit this morning.
NGUYEN: Have you seen? Do you know?
HOLMES: We'll tell you if you haven't. I'm T.J. Holmes, folks.
NGUYEN: Good morning everybody. I'm Betty Nguyen. It is 10:00 a.m. here in Atlanta, 7:00 a.m. in San Francisco.
Let's get you caught up to speed on the news around the world today, first up, still stuck. One of two Amtrak trains remains snow- bound this hour in the Sierras near Donner Pass. This is the west belt train as it turned back to Reno, where passengers were put up in a hotel, the eastbound train still in the mountains.
HOLMES: About 60 people aboard that train decided to take a bus back to San Francisco; 155 other passengers are waiting for the tracks to clear. The two trains were stranded yesterday when a snowplow clearing the rails got stuck. We're going to get an update from Amtrak coming up in just a few minutes. We have a spokeswoman going to be joining us live.
NGUYEN: Well, there is more weather misery to tell you about, this time in China and more of it headed their way. Heavy snowstorms have already led to flood and fuel shortages and more snow may be on the way. The snow has caused massive travel problems in southern China. Hundreds of thousands have packed into a train station there and they are just waiting it out. Look at it. It looks like a riot as people just simply cannot get home for the New Year.
CNN's Dan Rivers managed to get on one train filled with people desperately trying to get there for the lunar new year, which starts on Friday.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
DAN RIVERS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Will you join us on a train that's left Gang Chou (ph). We've been on this train for about eight hours now. It's been miserable conditions. We haven't made much progress. All of the people crowded on behind me are desperate to get home for the New Year.
These are the lucky ones, the ones who've actually made it onto a train, but they've still got many, many hours, possibly days of traveling ahead of them. Looking at people here, they have spent perhaps three, four days trying to get onto a train.
Finally, they've made it, but now we're locked on this train. We can't get off. There is no food or water being provided and no information by the staff. We don't know when we're going arrive, where we are, which route we're taking. So pretty chaotic, but it appears we're stuck in at times a train traffic jam that is crippling the whole of southern China.
Dan Rivers, CNN, Southern China.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
NGUYEN: Man, what a mess! And the weather is wreaking havoc in Chicago, as well.
HOLMES: Yeah. O'Hare International, as we've seen, about 500 flights were canceled there yesterday, 600 flights canceled the day before.
NGUYEN: And the wintry weather is not over. Oh, no. Reynolds Wolf is tracking it all for us this morning and I see above, winter storm warnings.
REYNOLDS WOLF, CNN METEOROLOGIST: Most of the winter storm warnings are going to be in the western half of the U.S. We're talking about the Sierra Nevada, but for the rest of the country from Chicago through the great lakes, what we're seeing at this point, actually no delays to speak of, certainly better news in air travel. Take a look at this. Looks like the United States with a beard or something. Each one of these little planes indicates a plane that's either taking off, landing, or is in mid-flight and right now air travel is going very well. We only have one spot where we are having some travel troubles and that is actually in parts of the west.
We're talking about San Francisco where we have a ground stoppage, ground delay of about 45 minutes, not at Oakland, but at SFO. So if you're going out there, make sure you take your time. You should have no trouble whatsoever getting through security. Just enjoy your coffee and paper and hop on board when they call you.
That's the latest. Back to you.
NGUYEN: At least things are moving today.
WOLF: Yes. There you go
NGUYEN: Thank you, Reynolds.
WOLF: Any time.
HOLMES: Things don't ever seem to stop moving in the political world these days. Super duper Tuesday coming up, of course, in just a couple days. The presidential candidates competing in the closest thing that we've actually seen to a national primary, 24 states holding primaries and caucuses as well as conventions. We're going to start with the Republicans storyline.
For that story, we bring in CNN's Mary Snow is joining us live this morning from New York. Good morning, Mary.
MARY SNOW, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, T.J.
Senator John McCain was actually able to wrap up his day in Chicago. Today he's going to be heading south, concentrating on Tennessee, Alabama, Georgia and he told reporters yesterday that he believes by Tuesday that perhaps the Republican race could be wrapped up. He's the front-runner. He's been picking up endorsements along the way. He believes that he can win.
And one of his themes has been to unify the Republican Party. He's come under criticism from conservatives for things such as supporting legislation on illegal immigration reform. But Senator McCain is vowing to unify the party.
Mitt Romney is hoping that that criticism among conservatives will help him and he has been saying that the conservative branch of the Republican party is rallying around him. He has targeted states where he believes he can pick up the most delegates. Besides the battle between these two candidates in California, Mitt Romney is also targeting some states in the Midwest, West Virginia's another state.
Mitt Romney's actually going to be taking a pause on the campaign trail today. He is in Utah and he's going to be attending the funeral for the leader of the Mormon church, Gordon Hinckley, who died earlier this week. Mitt Romney said he felt it was important for him to be there, so he's going to be in Utah for part of the day.
Mike Huckabee says, listen, it's not a two-man race and he says if it is, it's between him and John McCain. He's vying for some of the very same voters that Mitt Romney is looking for and he's been courting conservative voters, particularly evangelical supporters. He's spending a lot of his time in the south and he's going to be again there today, mostly in Alabama. And later this weekend into Monday these candidates are going to be heading toward the northeast, towards Super Tuesday -- T.J.?
HOLMES: All right, Mary, you don't have as many candidates these days to keep up with but still got your hands full trying to keep up with the Republicans out there.
SNOW: They're all over.
HOLMES: In New York, thank you so much, Mary.
SNOW: Sure.
HOLMES: Jim Acosta is keeping an eye on the Democratic candidates this morning as well. Just two on that side now. He'll join us live with what they're doing today. That's at the bottom of the hour.
NGUYEN: Well, what do young voters think about the issues and the candidates? I went to universities in New York and Georgia this week to find out. Hear what some of these students are saying in about 20 minutes.
And the clock is ticking as Super Tuesday nears. Are you still undecided? Tune in this afternoon to CNN's "BALLOT BOWL," bringing you the candidates in their own words on the campaign trail. Hear what they say about the issues and more than just a 30-second sound bite. Our "BALLOT BOWL" coverage kicks off at 2:00 p.m. Eastern.
HOLMES: Well, a tense situation unfolding in the central African nation of Chad. Security sources say at least 400 rebel fighters have closed in on that capital there.
Yeah. A high-ranking, diplomatic source tells CNN heavy gunfire could be heard earlier and now the parliament building is being ransacked. The U.S. and French embassies are working to evacuate their staff members. Security sources say there are conflicting reports on the whereabouts of Chad's president. Some reports say he's hold up in a presidential palace. Others say that he has left the country.
Violence sparked by a disputed election continues in Kenya, despite an announced peace plan. Overnight a church was set on fire and destroyed in western Kenya. The Red Cross says nearly 900 people have been killed and thousands driven from their homes since violence erupted following December elections. Opposition leaders accuse Kenya's president of rigging the vote.
Former U.N. chief Kofi Annan is mediating the peace talks and Annan says the government and its main opposition group have agreed on a plan to end this violence. It calls for ending the bloodshed and restoring fundamental rights within 15 days.
HOLMES: A jetliner makes an emergency crash landing with 159 people on board. Well, 159 people were on that plane and 159 are going to be getting off. They all survived this crash. It happened in Bolivia. The plane was just three miles from the runway in Trinidad when it lost power. It came down in this swampy area. You see the aftermath here. Earlier, the plane had been turned away from a smaller airport because of bad weather. Again, 159 people on board. Everybody survived.
NGUYEN: That is good news.
Well, here's a reason to pop open a couple bottles of champagne this morning in France, the bachelor president no longer single.
HOLMES: Well, that wasn't long!
NGUYEN: No, it wasn't. The Associated Press is reporting that French President Nicolas Sarkozy has married his model girlfriend Carla Bruni. The major of Paris says he performed the ceremony. Because he wasn't a bachelor for long, as you noted, T.J., just to give you a timeline -- he divorced his second wife in October.
HOLMES: You know, you're the president, you're a single guy, you might want to take that out for a spin a little ...
NGUYEN: You think so? After all, she is a former super model, so congratulations.
HOLMES: Might want to grab her.
NGUYEN: Yeah, well, we've all been feeling the pinch at the pump.
HOLMES: Yes, but one oil company is not feeling much of a pinch, posting record profit. ExxonMobil raking in the dough for a second year in a row now.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
NGUYEN: Do you actually get butterflies when you watch?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I get so excited ...
NGUYEN: Primaries?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Like my knees feel weak like right before the exit polls come in.
NGUYEN: Seriously?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: It's so exciting for me.
(END VIDEO CLIP) NGUYEN: Can you believe it? Has this election really energized the youth vote? Well, I went back to school to see what issues are driving young people to the polls.
HOLMES: Uh-oh. They let you back on campus?
NGUYEN: I can't believe the professors let me back.
HOLMES: Oh, my goodness, folks.
And yes, the products, the celebrities, the humor, all part of the biggest advertising event of the year and we've seen a sneak peek of this one. This is pretty good. He's good in whatever he does. The guy's just funny. But you'll see a sneak peek at this and the other Super Bowl ads coming your way, right here.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
NGUYEN: Let's get you back to our top story. An Amtrak train is stranded near Donner Pass in the Sierra Nevadas. That's where about 155 passengers spent the night while crews worked to clear a piece of equipment from the tracks. Joining us on the phone is Karina Romero, Amtrak's spokesperson. First thing I want to ask you, though, a large snowplow is what blocked the railroad. How does that happen?
VOICE OF KARINA ROMERO, AMTRAK SPOKESWOMAN: Donner Pass is famous for the snow accumulation. It's one of those incidents that we just look for in the wintertime. But the actual problem we had yesterday was a snowplow that was trying to clear the railroad that became disabled on the railroad and that's why we were not able to get through.
NGUYEN: All right. So you had two trains that were stranded. One of them was able to get back to Reno. But there's still one that's stuck and folks had to stay there overnight. What kind of conditions did they face?
ROMERO: That's correct. Train number six stayed overnight at Gold Run, California. We were able to refuel the train there, so they did have electricity. They had heat. We served dinner last night. We had plenty of snack packs and water on board. These trains are long- distance trains. They're made for overnight trips. So the seats are comfortable. People sleep in them every night, not just in an unusual occurrence such as this.
NGUYEN: That's good that they had some place to sleep. They had electricity. They had heat, I assume. Has this ever happened before?
ROMERO: We have had incidents where trains have been stopped for long periods of time. I don't recall an incident where it actually involved a snowplow causing the incident, but we have had difficulties with snow in that area in the past.
NGUYEN: All right. And I understand that you're hoping to get the line back reopened around 5:30 local time there. Tell me about that and if that's truly going to happen. ROMERO: The snowplow has been removed from the tracks. Crews are there to ensure that the track doesn't have any damage and they're also removing some snow that accumulated overnight. And as soon as the area is clear, we will proceed.
NGUYEN: Any chance these folks will get a free train ride in the future because of all this?
ROMERO: Well ...
NGUYEN: Of course her audio cuts out with that, as the passengers are listening very closely to the answer. That was Karina Romero, Amtrak's spokesperson. We'll try to get an answer to that question, but the good news is, the track, hopefully, will be opened very shortly. The folks are A-OK. They had electricity and heat, although they did have to stay on the track overnight. And that thing's going to get moving shortly and we, of course, will bring you the latest on all of that.
HOLMES: Of course, her answer was yes!
NGUYEN: Right there at the end when people want to know.
HOLMES: She was saying, yes! They get free, round-trip for life. Sorry, folks, don't hold Amtrak to that, that's just me.
NGUYEN: Bill, T.J. Well, it is 16 minutes past the hour on this Saturday morning. Here's what's making news.
Officials in Marin County, California say nearly three million gallons of sewage spilled into the San Francisco Bay -- yuck -- when a pump failed at a waste treatment plant. Tests are being done to determine how far the contamination has spread.
HOLMES: A murdered Marine, Lance Corporal Maria Lauterbach will be buried in her hometown in (INAUDIBLE) Ohio today. Lauterbach's charred remains were found last month buried in the backyard of fellow Marine Cesar Laurean's home in North Carolina. She was eight months pregnant and had accused Laurean of rape. Laurean is believed to be in Mexico.
NGUYEN: And CNN has learned Aruba chief prosecutor wants to re- arrest Joran van Der Sloot in the disappearance of Natalee Holloway. We're hearing this information from a source close to the investigation and that source says there is new evidence linking van der Sloot to the missing Alabama teenager. A judge is expected to rule on that some time this weekend. We'll keep you posted just as soon as news develops.
HOLMES: $20 an hour, $30 an hour, $40 an hour? Some people might consider that a pretty good job.
NGUYEN: Mm-hmm.
HOLMES: $1300 a second.
NGUYEN: Oh my, that's a great job.
HOLMES: If you can get it.
NGUYEN: Where can we sign up?
HOLMES: ExxonMobil. You need to be an heir to an oil fortune, I believe.
NGUYEN: I'm out of luck.
HOLMES: Yeah. ExxonMobil, $1300 a second, that's how much they made in record-shattering profits last year. The oil company says it earned more than $40 billion last year, $11 billion of that in the fourth quarter alone. Those are the highest quarterly and annual profits ever for a U.S. company.
NGUYEN: My, oh, my.
Well, on the heels of that, listen to this. The country lost jobs last month for the first time in four years. The latest employment report is adding to concerns about a possible recession. The Labor Department says employers cut their payrolls by 17,000 jobs in January. President Bush says it's more proof the economy needs help.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
GEORGE W. BUSH, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: There are certainly some troubling signs. There's serious signs that the economy is weakening and we've got to do something about it. A serious matter is, is that for the first time in 52 months that we didn't create jobs.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
NGUYEN: Well, the president is pushing the Senate to approve the economic stimulus plan passed by the House.
HOLMES: And of course, the economy, a major issue on the presidential campaign. Learn about the candidates' plans by clicking on cnnpolitics.com. Again, that's cnnpolitics.com, the place you need to be for this year's presidential election.
Well, of course, most people, commercials come on, click, click, you know. We all do it, unfortunately.
NGUYEN: Until ...
HOLMES: But when the Super Bowl comes around ...
NGUYEN: Yes, whole different story.
HOLMES: Probably the only time you don't change the channel because sometimes the commercials are just as good or better than the game. NGUYEN: Which is hard. Because when do you get in a bathroom break, right? Those Super Bowl ads, they keep you in the seat and they are the biggest marketing event of the year! Take a look at this. This was a big hit last year. Do you remember this commercial?
HOLMES: I remember all the Budweiser commercials.
NGUYEN: I'm sure you do. They're some of the best commercials.
HOLMES: Always!
NGUYEN: Will Budweiser score again tomorrow? We'll take a look.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
MTV.COM.SOBE: The big commercial, a Super Bowl commercial.
Isn't that wonderful? He's doing an ad for a Super Bowl!
Yeah, but there's just one little thing ...
What's wrong?
OK, well, in the commercial, I have to be naked.
What kind of naked?
I'll be naked, naked, mom, you know, like in a natural way.
Natural, what, under the covers?
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HOLMES: The naked lizard, folks. Yes, by Monday morning, all of America will know what that means. But you -- well, are you going to really remember what the naked lizard is selling? That's just one of the ads you can look for during tomorrow's Super Bowl, considered the event for maximum exposure for advertisers. A lot of money, of course, involved here.
And Stephanie Kang of the "Wall Street Journal" joins us to talk about some of this year's stand-outs. Good morning to you, ma'am! Tell us, who do you think's going to be the winner? Is it, as always, Anheuser-Busch is going to come up with something?
STEPHANIE KANG, "WALL STREET JOURNAL": Hi, T.J..
Yeah, I mean, the Super Bowl is the one event where the off-field competition is just as fierce as the on-field action. You have 90 million people watching the game and the stakes are very high for advertisers with 30 seconds of commercial time costing up to $2.7 million.
One of the biggest players this time around is definitely going to be Anheuser-Busch. They're the biggest advertiser of the game. They've got seven spots in it. Expect to see, you know, their trademark, humorous ads. We're going to see a couple ads that feature, you know, Bud light, giving you the ability to have super normal powers.
So for instance, you'll see a guy who has the ability to breathe fire, but that kind of goes awry during a romantic dinner date.
HOLMES: Now, are they, the advertisers, like Anheuser-Busch, are they really competing against other beer brands or are all of these companies, no matter if they have competing products, if you will -- you're competing against everybody to be the commercial or commercial or two that everybody's talking about the next day.
KANG: Absolutely. You know, there's several metering polls that go on and one of the things that advertisers are looking for are people that come in and vote what their favorite commercial is. So in this case, Anheuser-Busch isn't just competing with, you know, any other beer maker, because they're the only one in the game. They're competing with every other ad there.
In the past, the most successful ads are the ones that use slapstick humor, so expect to see, you know, a lot of funny ads, a lot of cute and cuddly animals and tons of celebrities.
HOLMES: Yeah that was one of my questions, celebrities always proven to work for Super Bowl ads?
KANG: You know, they can work very well or they can work not as well. In this case, you know, I think we're going to see a strong lineup from Pepsi. They've got one particularly funny ad from pop star Justin Timberlake and it's for Pepsi stuff and you basically see Justin kind of doing an action-packed ad where he gets pulled all over town based on the magnitude of the drink.
HOLMES: Now, we talk about $2.7 million for 30 seconds or 60 seconds for the $2.7 million?
KANG: 30 seconds.
HOLMES: That's 30 seconds. All right. That sounds just like an exorbitant amount of money for that little amount of time. But is it worth -- I mean, how much more advertising do you get if you do have that ad that people are talking about the next day? That $2.7 is a pretty good investment.
KANG: Advertisers feel like they're definitely getting bang for their buck. And this year this is particularly important because the writers strike has made it even more important for advertisers to be able to get their ads on the air where people can see them live. People are DVRing shows and watching them later more than before. So if you're a marketer, you want to make sure that people are going to be able to see your ads live and there's no better place to do it than the Super Bowl.
HOLMES: We're going to get folks a chance to see ads right now. We got a couple of clips. I want to roll at least, give folks a little preview here. We'll check these out right quick and talk about them.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
TACO BELL: We're late.
Going somewhere with your fiesta platters?
A meeting?
A meeting can wait. Fiesta platters are truly meals meant to be enjoyed.
What's going on?
Hola.
Taco Bell's new ...
Fiesta platters!
GATORADE.COM: People like to talk about the game. Talk about this play and that play.
Nice game, nice game.
Watch highlights in slow-mo, fast-mo, and any kind of mo there is. That's cool. But for me, the next game begins when the last one ends. Introducing G-2 from Gatorade.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HOLMES: Of course, they're introducing a new product there. Derek Jeter awfully popular, but did you really have to go -- are we going to see that many ads that are that serious or take any kind of a strong social stance or is this just all about having fun and you've got to be funny in these things?
KANG: Well, most of the fact that ads you're going to see are going to be pretty funny, but you can also argue that if you've got, you know, a strong ad, a kind of serious ad, that you may be able to break through the clutter. It's risky, though, because you got to remember, people are going to be watching the game in a party setting. They're going to be drinking, eating, talking to their friends. You have to make sure that your ad is going to break through all that party clutter.
HOLMES: All right. Stephanie, are you going to be eating and drinking?
KANG: And watching.
HOLMES: And watch -- all right! Forgot to throw that in there as well. Stephanie Kang, again, from the "Wall Street Journal." ma'am. Thank you so much. Good to see you this morning and enjoy the game. KANG: Thanks, T.J.
HOLMES: All right, folks, so watch tomorrow, then go to cnn.com and you can actually vote for your super commercial. Tune in to "American Morning" on Monday to see if the rest of the country agrees with you. Betty?
NGUYEN: I only saw, what, a couple there, and I kind of like the Taco Bell one, hola. That was funny.
From Super Bowl to Super Tuesday. Candidates aren't the only ones gearing up.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I have strong feelings about, you know, my responsibility in terms of taking a direct effect in this election and the way the country's going.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
NGUYEN: Alert, active, and in charge. Oh, yeah. Just ahead, my conversation with college students. Hear what's driving them to vote in this year's election.
Are you feeling like that? You might as well because it is Groundhog Day. Bill Murray reminding us of it. What do those furry forecasters have to say about spring? We'll give you the answer right after this break.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HOLMES: Hey there. Welcome back, everybody, I'm T.J. Holmes.
NGUYEN: Yes, hi, good morning, everybody. I'm Betty Nguyen. We want to give you a quick look at our top stories today.
Passengers stranded on an Amtrak train in the mountains of Northern California. Two trains got stuck when a snowplow fell through the tracks. The train you see here was pulled back to Reno. Crews do hope to get the other train moving soon.
HOLMES: Also rebel fighters have closed in on the capital of Chad in South Africa. A sources tells CNN that heavy gunfire could be heard earlier. The parliament building also being ransacked.
And a plane carrying more than 150 people crash lands in Bolivia. Everybody survives who is on board. The plane was turned away from its original destination because of bad weather.
Of course, a busy weekend for presidential politics. Super Tuesday showdown three days away. We're talking about contests in 24 states, and the candidates spanning out all across the country, campaigning for those last-minute votes. We're going to get an update first here from the Democrats. We heard about the Republicans earlier, but now it's time for us to hear about the Democrats. And CNN's Jim Acosta keeping an eye on them for us live in Hartford. Good morning.
JIM ACOSTA, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, T.J.
It's going to feel like Groundhog Day for these candidates, because every time they land in a different state, they're going to have to give the same speech over and over, and they'd better have their running shoes on, because they've got a lot of ground to cover between now and Super Tuesday.
Consider Barack Obama's schedule. He's going to be in Idaho, then Minnesota, then Missouri. Hillary Clinton is out in Los Angeles. And both of these candidates are starting out west, then making their way east to, of all places, here in Connecticut, which is where both candidates are expected to be here on Monday. Connecticut has emerged as a battleground state in these final days before Super Tuesday. There is a Barack Obama event scheduled for just a few moments from now.
The candidate won't be here, but many of his surrogates will be, trying to stir up support for his campaign. But with so much up for grabs, 20 states, all of those delegate delegates, and Connecticut just 60 of those delegates, it goes to show that every vote and every delegate is counting as the days tick down to Super Tuesday, which is why Barack Obama is out there making the case for his candidacy. He took a gentle swipe at Hillary Clinton, asking voters at one rally whether they wanted to go back to the divisive politics of the '90s.
Hillary Clinton also making some -- drawing some contrasts between herself and Barack Obama, saying that she has the experience to deliver real change.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SEN. HILLARY CLINTON, (D) PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Are you ready for change? Are you ready for good, green-collar jobs? Are you ready for universal health care? Are you ready for college affordability? Well, if you're ready for change, I am ready to lead, and let's make history together!
SEN. BARACK OBAMA, (D) PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: This race is not about genders or religions or races. It's not about young, old, rich, poor. It is about the past versus the future. Are we going to look backwards with the same old divisions and distractions and drama that have come to pass for our politics? Or are we going to look forward? Are we going to look ahead at what is possible?
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ACOSTA: And that reference there that Barack Obama made to the divisions of the 1990s, he didn't say the 1990s, but he essentially when he was talking about the past, he was basically making a reference to Bill Clinton's administration. So interesting there that he would go that route. But in the meantime, these campaigns would love to be able to send their -- candidates to all the states up for grabs, but they can't do that, so they're sending their chief surrogates to different states and Bill Clinton, the chief surrogate for Hillary Clinton, is campaigning down south in Alabama and other states where he can lend a hand to his wife's campaign. And then John Kerry, the 2004 Democratic nominee, he is stumping for votes for Barack Obama out in California. T.J.?
HOLMES: All right. You mentioned Bill Clinton there. There he is at a live event right now in Alabama. We showed that shot. There he is again. As you say, the main surrogate, trying to get everybody out to cover as much ground as possible. Jim Acosta there for us in Harvard. Good to see you again this morning.
Folks, she is Well, Barack Obama's running mate, not of course on the presidential ticket, excuse me, but in life. In an interview with CNN's Soledad O'Brien, Michelle Obama talked about the Democrat's history-making run for the White House and she also talked about the importance about giving every child a chance to succeed.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
MICHELLE OBAMA, SEN. BARACK OBAMA'S WIFE: I'm not supposed to be sitting here. You know, I am beating the odds at every turn. But at the same time, there's no reason why I couldn't be here. I was always bright. I had parents who loved me. But the world doesn't work that way. And it should, you know. All the kids born in this country should have the same opportunity to be here or wherever they want to be, regardless of their neighborhood, their race, their gender.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HOLMES: And you can hear much more of this exclusive interview with Michelle Obama this afternoon during CNN's "BALLOT BOWL."
NGUYEN: This election season we are seeing a lot of young people energized by the campaigns. In fact, 44 million Americans between the ages of 18 and 29 will be eligible to vote. That is a lot of ballots at stake, especially with so many delegates up for grabs on Super Tuesday.
So I traveled to several universities to see what issues are driving the youth vote.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
NGUYEN (voice-over): Whether it's on college campuses in Georgia or New York, here's what matters the most to young people across party lines.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Resolve this Iraq War.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Economy.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Immigration is a super important issue. UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Making sure both our borders and our economy are secure.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Pro-gun.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Our education system.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Health care.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: War on terror.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Fighting back against corporations.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Ready to go!
NGUYEN: While the issues may vary, many students agree there is a certain excitement surrounding this presidential election.
(on camera): When it comes time to vote ...
(voice-over): Just listen to Ian Rivera, a sophomore at St. Johns University in Queens.
IAN RIVERA, ST. JOHN'S UNIVERSE: This year, you look at the primaries, record turnout in Iowa, record turnout in New Hampshire, over 500,000 people voting down in South Carolina, and the number of young people that are actually turning out and being engaged. I think that people are seeing more so than they did before how this is affecting them.
NGUYEN: Rivera is a Hillary Clinton supporter who interns with her campaign twice a week. After class he heads to a bus and then takes two subways for the hour-long trip to her headquarters in Manhattan.
RIVERA: I have strong feelings about, you know, my responsibility in terms of taking a direct effect in this election and the way the country's going.
NGUYEN: And he's willing to go the distance. Once he finally reaches the Clinton camp ..
RIVERA: All right, big man.
NGUYEN: He mans the phones in an effort to dial up support.
RIVERA: So we're happy and we're ready to go on the fifth.
NGUYEN: But phone banks are now getting help from Facebook and other internet tools that reach the masses in split seconds.
AMANDA SOPKO, EMORY STUDENTS FOR BARACK OBAMA: I think it's really, really changing the campaign this year. It'd changing how people are campaigning. It's changing how volunteers are talking to each other. And I think it's going to end up when we look back being a vital part in how the younger people are going out to vote. NGUYEN: And the candidates know it. All have their own Facebook pages. But it's more than just a Web site.
(on camera): Politically, you can get messages out by using this.
LAUREN SALZ, COLUMBIA UNIVERSITY YOUNG REPUBLICANS: Oh, definitely. Say you join a campaign group. They can send messages to remind you to vote or ask you if you can find people to fund-raise or volunteer for the campaign.
NGUYEN (voice-over): It's a tool that Columbia University student Lauren Salz uses to raise her enthusiasm for the election.
(on camera): You actually get the butterflies when you watch the primaries?
SALZ: I get so excited. Like my knees get week right before the exit polls come in.
NGUYEN: Seriously?
SALZ: It's so exciting for me.
NGUYEN (voice-over): OK, so not all that young people are that thrilled about picking the next president. But with a little music and some nudging, that could change. A non-partisan group called Headcount goes to concerts around the country registering young people to vote. Sebastian Fried is a volunteer who says the goal is to get 200,000 people registered this year.
SEBASTIAN FRIED, HEADCONT VOLUNTEER: It's not just about voting. It's about sort of raising awareness, you know, registering to vote is just a catalyst for people to get involved in democracy.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Who's the best candidate to lead the country?
NGUYEN: So far, the primaries have shown young people are involved. They're turning out in record numbers. And that's what keeps Rivera going.
RIVERA: You know, getting one voter who gets one voter who gets one voter is something substantial. Vote your senator for president.
NGUYEN: Regardless of who wins, he knows young people have real power in this election and he's not afraid to step up to the responsibility.
RIVERA: See ya.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
NGUYEN: Well, having real power in this election, it's important to note that a non-partisan research group called Circle did some reviews and some research looking into the 2004 election and voter turnout was the highest it had been in more than a decade, 11.7 million young people voted. That was 47 percent of the population eligible.
HOLMES: Forty-seven. We're doing good!
NGUYEN: That's a lot, exactly. So when you talk about young people not making it to the polls, not being invested in this election, I will tell you, the ones that I spoke to are going to be at the polls and they are excited about this election, as you saw with Lauren.
HOLMES: And we always hope, we say this so many times before an election and we're always disappointed sometimes by the numbers afterwards, but hopefully, it bears out this time around.
NGUYEN: Well, there's a lot of excitement surrounding this one, so we'll see how it goes.
Get ready though to vote this Super Tuesday, including you young people out there. Here's how you can do it. You can tune in this afternoon for CNN's "BALLOT BOWL" because we'll bring you the candidates in their own words on the campaign trail. Hear what they say about the issues and more than just a 30-second sound bite. You can get down to the real issues. Our "BALLOT BOWL" coverage kicks off today 2:00 p.m. Eastern.
HOLMES: All right. February 2nd, which according to folklore is Groundhog Day. Each year a winter-weary nation turns to Punxsutawney, Pennsylvania, looking for some good news from that thing. The resident groundhog. Boy, he's just having a blast.
NGUYEN: You don't seem to have a lot of faith in Punxsutawney Phil.
HOLMES: I mean, Punxsutawney, just let him do his thing.
NGUYEN: Well, we did do a fact check and he's only right a third of the time.
HOLMES: A third of the time? We're putting all this attention to somebody who is right a third of the time. Reynolds is right at least ...
NGUYEN: Fifty percent of the time.
WOLF: I do a lot better than that couch pillow with eyes we just showed moments ago.
NGUYEN: That's why you are our resident expert.
WOLF: That's what I'm talking about. No couch pillows at least on this forecast.
HOLMES: Tell us, what did Punxsutawney -- tell the folks what he said.
WOLF: He said six more weeks of winter.
HOLMES: Six more weeks.
NGUYEN: Not what I wanted to hear.
WOLF: Go figure. Only a third of the time, though, Betty.
NGUYEN: So get out the bathing suits, folks.
WOLF: Exactly.
(WEATHER REPORT)
NGUYEN: Thank you, Reynolds.
WOLF: You bet!
And the spotlight will shine in the Arizona desert tomorrow night as the New England patriots take on the New York Giants.
HOLMES: Between the Pats, the Red Sox, you even got the Celtics, you had Boston College, everybody's doing well up in that area! Well, are Boston fans getting spoiled these days?
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Every year you sit there, you know, and you watch things and you say, well, wait until next year. We've done a lot of that. What we're getting now we deserve.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
NGUYEN: He sounds pretty confident, too.
HOLMES: Yeah, he does. And CNN's Larry Smith. He is going to be joining us live next with more on the Boston marathon of wins.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
NGUYEN: All right, so in case you haven't heard, they are preparing for a huge party in Arizona.
HOLMES: Yes.
NGUYEN: Called Super Bowl XLII.
HOLMES: Yeah, a little something. So we've been talking a lot about, you know, we've got the best political team on television.
NGUYEN: Of course we do. Yes.
HOLMES: We've been talking about Super Tuesday with the elections. Let's talk super Sunday.
NGUYEN: Sunday.
HOLMES: Giants/Patriots, kicking it off 6:18 tomorrow night and CNN Sports' Larry Smith joins us live in Glendale, Arizona.
NGUYEN: He is living the dream.
HOLMES: The game, of course, is Sunday, but they've been partying all week, as we know.
NGUYEN: And he's being paid to do it.
HOLMES: His name is L-Boogie.
NGUYEN: Oh, is it?
HOLMES: L-Boogie. That's his name.
NGUYEN: Shall we ask him about that name? Huh?
LARRY SMITH, CNN CORRESPONDENT: You'll have to ask T.J. about that. That's a good question.
NGUYEN: This should be off the record I assume.
HOLMES: Good morning. So what's going on out there?
SMITH: Good morning to you. Yep, that's right, we're ready for the big party tomorrow night at University of Phoenix Stadium, which, by the way, you might be wondering what this shape is. It's shaped like a barrel cactus, very cool design here. It is a retractable roof, the field retracts actually as well and comes out.
And it will be the Patriots and the Giants. Speaking of the fans, the thing with the Boston fans, if they felt like second-class citizens in the 1990, they had good reason to. Not a single pro sports title was won for these very die-hard fans in that decade. While the hated New Yorkers wracked up six pro sports titles in the '90s, but my, how times have changed.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)\
SMITH (voice-over): Forgive me for bringing it up, but remember when Boston fans were sore because the other guys won all the championships? These days their mood has changed. A Patriot's win on Sunday would be the city's sixth pro sports title this decade, leaving their fans a bit spoiled?
TOM BRADY, PATRIOTS QUARTERBACK: I spoil the crap out of my fans.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Never enough. We want it all. We're going to expect it next season and the season after.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I have a 15-year-old daughter that thinks the patriots have been good forever, and I keep telling her, you have no idea. The Patriots were the laughing stock of the city. They were fifth place behind soccer and college sports.
SMITH: The Patriots' unlikely dynasty, coupled with the Holy Grail for Boston fans, not one, but two World Series titles for the Red Sox, has made ancient the history when Boston teams struggled just to taste victory, let alone championships.
TOM KALINE, BOSTON: You know, you think back to those times, the lean years, you never can imagine that we have a chance to go 19-0? It's unbelievable.
STEVE BUCKLEY, "BOSTON HERALD": It was just a few years back that Boston was known as loserville, all the teams were bad. We went through a period of, I don't know, exactly like two years, three months and 22 days where none of the four Boston sports teams had a single playoff game.
JOE CANTON, JAMAICA PLAIN, MASSACHUSETTS: Every year you sit there, you know, and you watch things and you state, well, wait until next year. We've done a lot of that. What we're getting now we deserve.
SMITH: Such success tends to run in cycles, but can Boston break that curse, too? Next up seems to be the Celtics, owners of the best record in the NBA this year and the most titles in league history, but without one since 1986.
JACKIE MACMULLEN, "BOSTON GLOBE": You can never say it's never going back, because if I told you in 1986 the Boston Celtics would not win another championship or get close for the next 20-some odd years, you would have laughed at me and that's exactly what happened.
DENNIS SOUZA, STOUGHTON, MASSACHUSETTS: It almost starts to get boring. I'm not lying. All we need is the Bruins to win a Cup and the Celtics to win one.
BRADY: This is a great time, like you said, for Boston sports. It's a great time to be associated with the New England Patriots. Hopefully, they'll be very proud of us next week.
SMITH: They certainly won't be disappointed if Boston's marathon runs longer than expected.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
SMITH: Can't believe that one guy said it's almost boring. To win championships. Well, it should be a great game inside. The Patriots are about a 12-point favorite to win their fourth Super Bowl title in seven years here at the University of Phoenix Stadium out here in Glendale, northwest of the city, it's about a 30-minute drive. It's a fantastic building inside, a state of the art stadium. Let's go back to you.
NGUYEN: We'll see how boring it is. That's almost arrogant, you know? For someone to say we've won so much, it's just boring.
SMITH: Yeah, old hat ...
NGUYEN: We'll see how it plays out. All right. Thank you, Larry. Stay out of trouble while you're there party-hopping. SMITH: I will.
NGUYEN: OK.
We know accidents can happen, right?
HOLMES: They do.
NGUYEN: But rarely do they involve cows.
HOLMES: But you've got to hear this one, folks. How this cow got in the back seat of a car.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
NGUYEN: OK, folks, look closely at these photos from Massachusetts, OK? That is a real cow in the back seat of a compact sedan. You couldn't even do that if you tried!
HOLMES: These folks aren't weren't trying, either. Mother and daughter, just tooling down a back road at night when they actually hit two cows.
NGUYEN: Man!
HOLMES: One of the cows flipped over the car, smashed through the back window and ended up in the back seat.
NGUYEN: Can you believe that? All right, so you're wondering, did they end up, I don't know, becoming hamburger because of it? Well, the good news is one of them did survive.
HOLMES: OK.
NGUYEN: And guess which one it was?
HOLMES: The one in the back seat with the seat belt on.
NGUYEN: I was about to say. You took the words out of my mouth.
HOLMES: We're starting to think alike.
NGUYEN: That's frightening, isn't it?
HOLMES: A little bit.
NGUYEN: I feel sorry for you folks at home.
Let's go onto this next story. A hundred people missing. They cleaned out their apartments and haven't returned to work. So what's the problem here? What happened? Well, they are workers in the U.S. on special visas.
HOLMES: Also, the on again-off again case, Natalee Holloway. Seems to be on again. The Alabama teen disappeared in Aruba. Our legal guys will talk about the possible re-arrest of one of the key suspects.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HOLMES: All right, it's Saturday! It's Saturday morning for everybody. You're enjoying your day. But you know, some CNN folks already getting ready for Monday. We're going to check in with Kiran Chetry now in New York.
KIRAN CHETRY, CNN ANCHOR: It's another busy week here for the home for the most politics in the morning and the sprint to Super Duper Tuesday. More than 20 states up for grabs in what everyone's calling a national primary.
And we're on the ground in what could be the tipping point. Now, they call it the four corners. It's where Utah, Colorado, New Mexico and Arizona all come together. The big question is, though, who will the voters come together for? Ed Lavandera is hanging out with some folks who are suddenly the center of attention.
Also, it's the center of a cross-town rivalry. We're live in the windy city where Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama are both looking to claim a home field advantage. We're going to take a look at what made Obama Obama and peek into Hillary's hometown history.
And if all the politics is not enough, we're also looking for your vote, too. Do you have a favorite Super Bowl ad? You can check them out, then vote online at our Web site, cnn.com. We're going to reveal your favorites Monday morning when John and I see you on AMERICAN MORNING. It all begins at 6:00 Eastern.
HOLMES: Hey there, folks! You are in the CNN NEWSROOM. News is unfolding live on this Saturday, the second day of February, Groundhog Day. We'll be talking about that, as we have all morning.
NGUYEN: And we'll see if he's right. That will take a few days to discover, but in the meantime, thanks for joining us. I'm Betty Nguyen.
Well, hundreds of people on Amtrak trains stranded in the mountains near Lake Tahoe. The snow keeps coming. So what happened?
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