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Four People Still Missing in Sugar Plant Explosion; The Remaining Presidential Candidates Continue on the Campaign Trail; Tornado Victims Picking Up the Pieces; Space Shuttle "Atlantis" Heads to ISS
Aired February 09, 2008 - 11:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
T.J. HOLMES, CNN ANCHOR: ...voting today. A very significant Saturday on this Election Day.
BETTY NGUYEN, CNN ANCHOR: And an incredible show of acrobatics from outer space. Ahead in the CNN NEWSROOM, we have live pictures as the space shuttle "Atlantis" prepares to dock with the International Space Station.
HOLMES: First, crews bringing in heavy machinery today, they are desperate to find at least four people missing after an explosion and fire at a sugar refinery in South Georgia. Four other people confirmed dead in this explosion.
CNN's John Zarrella is on the scene for us in Port Wentworth, Georgia. Hello to you, again. What are we learning? Are we learning more this morning?
JOHN ZARRELLA, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Not yet, T.J., certainly not as far as what's going on here at the plant. We're waiting for fire department officials to come out and give us a briefing, perhaps within the next hour or so. At least that's our hope, our expectation.
Behind me you can see a small memorial beginning to grow here. There's some flowers, a little wreath. In fact, just a few minutes ago, a woman, a florist came here and put down over there that red heart with the gold around it and it basically says "Savannah Sugar" on it and then "Dixie Crystal" across it. So a little bit of a memorial growing here to the victims and those that are still missing.
Now, again, waiting today for heavy machinery to begin coming in to start digging out some of that rubble, which will give the rescue teams, the search teams, a better opportunity to get inside that mangled steel and concrete.
When you look at those pictures, it's just incredible that anybody got out of there alive, but certainly, thankfully, many, many people did. The fires even burned 24 hours after the blaze. Up until yesterday afternoon, firefighters were pouring water in there to try and knock out some hotspots. And at one point, there was some eight feet of water in there from all of the water they had to use. So they're having to pump that out, and that's slowing up the rescue effort as well. Now, a little bit of the good news, the hospitals are saying that there are no victims here at the hospitals any longer. They have all been released. 20 burn victims remain in the hospitals in Augusta, Georgia -- T.J.?
HOLMES: Do we know -- have they been able, because I know so many people suffered burns -- but the victims that they did find, the four dead, do we know, have they been able to make positive IDs on those?
ZARRELLA: Not that we know of. They certainly have not released the identities of the four. All they will tell us is that the four that they did recover came from one central area, one specific area where they believe the explosion first started, the explosion, the fire first began. So they were all in that one contained area.
Now, whether the others that they are looking for were in that area or scattered in other parts of the plant, that's unclear. And no, we do not have any identities and we do not know whether they've actually ID'd the victims, although they said at one point they were in the process of notifying families.
HOLMES: OK, John Zarrella for us there in Port Wentworth, we appreciate you. And folks we want to let you know that we are expecting a news conference from officials there to update us on the investigation happening there at that plant. We're expecting that around the noon hour Eastern Time. When that does happen, we will bring it to you live.
NGUYEN: Take a look at this. A candlelight vigil in Kirkwood, Missouri, where people are still trying to figure out why a city council meeting turned into a violent crime scene. Charles Lee Thornton, often called Cookie, was known for his frequent, angry outbursts at city council meetings, and investigators say he killed five people before he was shot by police.
Thornton's victims included two police officers, one of them Tom Ballman, had removed Thornton from two previous meetings. The three other victims included two city council members and public works director Kenneth Yost. Yost will be remembered at a memorial service on Monday. Kirkwood Mayor Mike Swoboda and a local newspaper reporter attending the meeting remain hospitalized today.
We want to tell you about this as well, more political violence in Pakistan just nine days before parliamentary elections. A bomb exploded at a political rally in the country's northern region, killing at least 15 people and wounding some 20. Authorities blame a suicide bomber. Now, there is no word yet on who was responsible, but that region is a hotbed of Islamic militants. They're blamed for the December assassination of former Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto.
HOLMES: Well, four candidates still hanging on in the presidential race, slugging it out today in four states. Both parties are taking part in the Washington state caucuses and the Louisiana primary, plus Nebraska holding democratic caucuses, Kansas holding Republican caucuses. Also Guam, the Virgin Islands and the Northern Mariana Islands also holding caucuses.
Candidates are already, however, looking ahead to future contests. Democrats Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama starting the day in Maine, which will hold its Democratic caucuses tomorrow. Later today, they'll travel to Virginia, which holds its primary on Tuesday. Also holding primaries on Tuesday, Washington, D.C. and Maryland, all those making up the Potomac primaries.
That's where Republican Mike Huckabee, he'll be there a little later. Republican front-runner John McCain is in Washington today. He has no scheduled appearances, however.
After campaigning in Seattle yesterday, Clinton's first appearance today was at a town hall meeting in Maine. Back to the Republican side, Mike Huckabee appealed for help from conservatives today during a speech to the CPAC convention.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
MIKE HUCKABEE, (R) PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: There are only a few states that have voted. 27 have not. People in those 27 states deserve more than a coronation. They deserve an election. They deserve the opportunity to have their voices and their votes heard and counted. I know the pundits and I know what they say, but the math doesn't work out. Folks, I didn't major in math. I majored in miracles and I still believe in those, too.
(LAUGHTER)
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HOLMES: OK, you have to give him that line. The former Baptist preacher there, majored in miracles. You can stay with CNN and the best political team on earth for today's campaign developments. "BALLOT BOWL" begins at 2:00 Eastern. It's your chance to see the candidates unfiltered. At 8:00 Eastern we'll go to the CNN Election Center for election and caucus results.
NGUYEN: Well, the mid south tornadoes now. Want to tell you about them. The National Weather Service says one Tennessee tornado stayed on the ground for 40 miles. It's blamed for almost half the region's 59 deaths.
Our Susan Roesgen is live in Huntersville, Tennessee. So Susan, people cleaning up yet?
SUSAN ROESGEN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yeah, they're cleaning up when they've got something to clean up, Betty. Look at this. This is the wooden railing that leads up the stairs to the front door of a house that isn't here anymore. This is the foundation or what's left of the foundation, not much to it. The tornado Tuesday night was so strong that it lifted up the house that was here, tore it right off the foundation and dropped it about 50 yards away. There it is, dropped standing upright.
Now, there was a family of four in here, a mom and dad, and two young boys. Just seconds before the tornado hit, they raced outside to their underground storm shelter, a concrete bunker under ground. They got in there and then the roof of the storm shelter tore off and this family watched their own house fly right over their heads.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
BARBIE MCCLUAN, TORNADO VICTIM: My little boy that's 9, Chase, he prayed out loud the whole time we were down in there. He was saying, "Please, God, don't take us. Please, God, don't take us." Just over and over repeatedly. It was all over with in about four minutes, but it seemed like we were down there an hour.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ROESGEN: You can imagine it must have seemed like an eternity down there. So they came back, when we met them, the little boys were pretty shaken up. You can imagine that. They had had nightmares. But when they came back and they got a chance to look around and see that they were OK and their house -- well, it looks OK, but inside its structurally damaged, things have moved around. Other things, believe it or not, that you think would move didn't move.
I think the only thing I need to see right now is a pair of legs and ruby slippers to feel like this is really a "Wizard of Oz" sort of event here. That's how strong the tornado was Tuesday night -- Betty?
NGUYEN: It is just amazing that they survived, considering that house was picked up and moved across the way there. And I know that they're thinking about rebuilding and they're going to build a basement. I'll tell you what, I would keep that storm shelter around just in case. Thank you, Susan.
Maybe this can paint a picture of the brute power of the Tennessee tornado. A man found tornado debris in Kentucky.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
FRED CLOSSON, FOUND CANCELED CHECK: I noticed it was a check, and at first I didn't pay much attention to anything on it. Then I started looking at it, and that's when I noticed I saw Macon on there at first, on the -- I guess the cancellation stamp. That's when I started putting it together. I was like, wow, this must have rode up here on the storm, I guess.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
NGUYEN: The check had been processed in hard-hit Lafayette, Tennessee, back in 1990. Get this -- that is 150 miles away.
HOLMES: Wow.
Now we'll turn to a natural disaster of another sort, flood water, finally, actually, falling in northwestern Ohio today. Heavy rain and melting snow led to three days of high water. The same area flooded last August. That was the worst since 1913, but this time damage wasn't nearly as severe or nearly as widespread. (WEATHER REPORT)
HOLMES: We have a few rattled nerves to tell you about here, Mexico's Baja California today. An earthquake shook the region late last night, a moderate quake, 5.4, it was centered about 100 miles from Tijuana. It didn't cause major structural damage but it cut cell phone service to a million folks and about half a million don't have electricity this morning.
Well, an energized electorate. So much so that some voters jumped the gun on Super Tuesday.
NGUYEN: Can you believe it?
HOLMES: They jumped the gun. What's got some of you so eager and yet so confused right about now? We'll talk with the woman in charge of Virginia's voters.
NGUYEN: And saying good-bye to a star who has fallen too soon. Hear from grieving loved ones at Heath Ledger's funeral.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HOLMES: How is that for a Saturday morning there, Betty?
NGUYEN: A lovely shot.
HOLMES: That's a nice picture, shuttle "Atlantis" right now, doing its thing. It will be docking here in a little bit with the International Space Station. I believe we're expecting it around 12:25 Eastern Time. We're keeping an eye on it. And of course, who else keeping an eye, Miles O'Brien. Where would we be without Miles O'Brien?
NGUYEN: He is the expert.
HOLMES: He is our expert. We're going to be checking in with him here shortly about what's happening up there.
NGUYEN: Right now, though it is beginning to look a lot like the Democratic presidential race may go right down to the wire, and if it does, the nomination may be decided by delegates who were never elected. So who are these potential power brokers? They're called super delegates and our Joshua Levs joins us now with a look at these people. I can tell you what, they're some popular folks right about now because everyone wants to get their vote.
JOSH LEVS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Oh everybody wants them, they're calling them like crazy. And all their surrogates are calling them and you have to wonder what they're being offered behind ...
NGUYEN: Oh, stop it.
LEVS: Hey, come on, there's always something.
NGUYEN: There's no corruption in this just yet. LEVS: I didn't say corrupt. I just said they're trying to offer -- like I'll listen to your ideas on this when I'm president, that kind of thing. Let's get away from these guys before they pretend I said something else.
So here's the thing, we want to take a look this morning at how Democratic this process is ultimately going to be, because you know you've got all these voters going to the polls, weighing in, saying who they want it to be, but now what we're seeing is that it could increasingly come down to these super delegates. So if it does, in the end, will this process truly be democratic?
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
LEVS (voice-over): Senators Clinton and Obama are almost neck- and-neck in the delegate count and may split several primaries and caucuses over the next several weeks. If they slug it out well into the spring that may hurt the Democrats, as the presumptive Republican nominee begins to build a national campaign. Democratic Party Chairman Howard Dean says if there's no clear winner by April he'll ...
HOWARD DEAN, DNC CHAIRMAN: Get the candidates to get together and make some kind of an arrangement.
LEVS: Arrangement? Shouldn't voters elect the nominee? They elected the delegates, but not the super delegates. The lawmakers, governors and other party VIPs who get votes at the convention. There are about 800, about a fifth of the total. Clinton has more on her side, but most remain uncommitted and they can switch allegiance. If it would help resolve a deadlock, they just may. Obama wants to win them over.
SEN. BARACK OBAMA, (D) PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: If we come into the convention with more pledged delegates, then I think we can make a very strong argument that our constituencies have spoken.
LEVS: Not necessarily. Take the Nevada caucuses for example. In the vote, Clinton had a six-point victory, but Obama got one more pledged delegate. They're not always handed out in proportion to the vote. So maybe the arrangement would award the nomination to whoever gets more votes. That's one way Clinton said she won Super Tuesday.
SEN. HILLARY CLINTON, (D) PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Ending up once again with, you know, a total of more votes and more delegates.
LEVS: If party leaders considered overall votes, would they include Michigan and Florida, where primaries were held with no campaigning and no delegates were awarded? So many possible factors between the votes and the ultimate decision. There could be passionate debates over just how democratic the party selection process proves to be.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
LEVS: And this really could become an increasing issue in the presidential race itself. For example, in the spring, it's possible you may start to hear candidates or their surrogates push people to come behind one candidate for the sake of party unity. But guys, even if they do that, they have to be careful, because there's a question about democracy. Clearly, you want to give everyone a choice and not to vote for someone just to skip an election process.
NGUYEN: OK, so we've got all these concerns, all these questions. And what are party leaders doing to address this?
LEVS: They are concerned about this, because the Democrats don't want to end up looking like they had to make a wheeling and dealing kind of thing behind the scenes.
NGUYEN: Right.
LEVS: You're hearing some things. For example, our own Donna Brazile at CNN is a super delegate. She has gone public and said if super delegates decide this, she's leaving the party. So what you have are some prominent people saying hopefully this will really be worked out, something will be done so it doesn't get that far. So there is that kind of pressure.
There's also something interesting going on that I read about in Maine, in which a major Democratic Party official in Maine is calling on voters to contact Maine's super delegates and say vote in accordance to the way we do. That, ultimately, might make it so that they can't just do whatever the candidates want them to do.
Even within that idea, it's complicated. Because then what do the super delegates do, find out the breakdown of their state and vote in that order? No one has any idea. So there's pressure, there are ideas being batted around, but right now there's no solution at all, nothing.
NGUYEN: And this is key because this race is so very close.
LEVS: This could seriously happen. Obama is almost sure to win several contests in the next few days. But supposedly, the beginning of March is a firewall for Clinton. She's got Ohio and Texas, major delegates there. She's way ahead in the polls. So in March they could really be back on track with each other. We'll see how any of these contests go. And yeah, this could happen.
NGUYEN: All right.
HOLMES: Donna Brazile had some strong words. She said I will quit the Democratic Party.
LEVS: Says she'll leave the party, yeah.
NGUYEN: Hopefully, it won't have to come down to that. People want to feel like their voice matters, you know?
LEVS: After all this voting, record voting, you want the vote itself to have that kind of value.
NGUYEN: Right. OK, Josh, thank you.
So, do you want to learn more about delegates, super and otherwise? All you have to do is go to your computer and go to cnnpolitics.com.
HOLMES: Well of course a lot of folks involved in the process right now, a lot of people revved up to vote. But hey, people, you've got to wait your turn! Coming up, why some of you are so excited about casting your ballot, the calendar doesn't even mean a thing to you.
NGUYEN: Can you imagine showing up before the primary's even open to you? But you're standing in line. What?
And Miles O'Brien will explain what is about to happen here. Look at this, an incredible live view from space as the crew of "Atlantis" performs a bit of a space choreography, if you will, for us. We'll have the details on that.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HOLMES: Ahh. Well, a back flip. Can you do one with no gravity? Probably a lot easier. Probably a lot easier for the space shuttle to do one as well. It's doing a bit of a back flip, celestial gymnastics right about now. That's just a beautiful picture.
We were talking about this, it almost doesn't even look real, it's such a good picture. It's all for the cameras that they're doing this back flip actually and our space correspondent ...
MILES O'BRIEN, CNN SPACE CORRESPONDENT: T.J., you're going to start some rumors now, start some rumors.
HOLMES: No.
O'BRIEN: We're going to get all these e-mails about Capricorn One and they never went to the moon, and it's all fake and that's a green screen -- thanks a lot, pal.
HOLMES: Look at that, though, Miles! That looks unbelievable, but it's the real thing. Trust us, folks.
O'BRIEN: T.J. Holmes at, what is it?
HOLMES: Good morning, sir. What's going on?
O'BRIEN: Let's talk about the very real world of space.
HOLMES: Yes.
O'BRIEN: Yes, it is almost surreal looking. 17,500 miles an hour, 300 miles above us, skimming along over South America right now. That's the space shuttle "Atlantis." let me give you a quick little tour of what you're seeing there.
These are the doors, radiators are inside the doors. This is the Columbus laboratory, a billion-dollar European laboratory, which is the primary mission here is to deliver that component to the International Space Station. And the space shuttle "Atlantis," driven by a guy by the name of Steve Frick, is just beginning -- he's up there. Actually, he's probably there in that viewing area. It is beginning a nine-minute back flip.
This is not to prove these guys are the right stuff, even though we all know they are. This is an opportunity, this comes post- "Columbia." Remember back in February 2003 when that heat shield was terribly damaged. Which gives an opportunity for the crew on board the International Space Station to take some pictures downward of the heat shield, upwards of 3, 400 images with a 400-millimeter camera, an 800-millimeter camera, to see if there is any damage to that heat shield.
They want to know that before making the decision to return to mother earth. So that's what they're going to be doing right now. You can go back and there you see how they take the pictures. This is the real thing live now from space as they make their way across South America into the Atlantic.
And this is kind of a cool little thing to point out here. You see that right there? That little dish there, that's the antenna on the space shuttle "Atlantis," the KU antenna that allows us to see live pictures from it. Just a little piece of space minutia for you there as they begin this spin around. There is the robot arm that you hear so much about. I'll tell you what, I want to go back quickly. I saw a cool shot just a little while ago.
HOLMES: Right, is this the real thing we're looking at now?
O'BRIEN: Yes, this is real.
HOLMES: This is the real thing.
O'BRIEN: There is no green screens, here T.J.
HOLMES: The flip is happening as we speak.
O'BRIEN: Happening in the real world.
HOLMES: All right.
O'BRIEN: Now, a couple things I should tell you. First of all, let's go back. I want to show you one cool shot I saw just a little while ago. Take a look at this. I want you to look right over here. That's the space shuttle from the international -- oh! Did you see that? Did you see that pulse? I wonder if we could rerack that one more time.
HOLMES: What is that?
O'BRIEN: Look at that pulse. Now, I want to ask you T.J., what is it, what are we seeing here?
HOLMES: What was that? O'BRIEN: That was the terminal initiation burn. That was the rocket thruster firing, the final thruster firing before -- there it is, boom!
HOLMES: Wow.
O'BRIEN: Which sends them on their course to the International Space Station. Another piece of space minutia. Now, there are a couple serious things we need to watch over as they continue this back flip. Can you put me a little box so we can watch the live and I'll put it in the model here for a moment?
I just want to tell folks what they're -- slightly -- well, I wouldn't say worried about, but they're going to be focusing on. There are two areas where there's an apparent damage on the space shuttle "Atlantis." One is right up here by the steering jets in this area. There appears to be a tile that is chipped.
And back here on this bump-like thing -- they call it the omspod, it's for big course corrections in orbit -- there is a blanket which apparently has come up. If this sounds familiar to you, back in summer of '07 there was a piece of blanket, and this is the stuff right here, insulating blanket that kind of lifted up on its edge. Spacewalker by the name of Daniel Leavis got out there and actually took a surgical staple gun and stapled that thing back into place.
HOLMES: We remember that.
O'BRIEN: You remember that one? Well, we don't know, we may have a repeat of that mission this time. Interestingly, back in summer of '07, same orbiter, "Atlantis." So Atlantis apparently has a blanky problem.
HOLMES: How do we deal with the tiles this time around, the falling foam and all that? How did we do this time around?
O'BRIEN: Well, this clearly, there's always foam that comes off, and apparently, we have a couple of places where some damage has occurred. We don't know what fell or how it fell. They'll figure that all out, but this is what this is all about here.
Now, I'll tell you what they're going to be looking for here. The areas they really focus on here, right by the landing gear doors. Those are really critical spots, because obviously, there are seams there, and they want to make sure that the tiles all around those seams are really good and are not providing any way for hot gases to get in there. That's a very critical area.
HOLMES: So that area up front where you were talking about there is a chip, that is a pretty critical area.
O'BRIEN: Yes, it is as well, because inside there is -- obviously, wherever you see black tiles, that's where it gets hottest. And up in that front area, there is all kinds of tanks that contain the hydrazine fuel which powers these rocket thrusters. Hydrazine is kind of a nasty substance. These are all critical spots. So we're going to be watching this closely and as these pictures come back, we'll probably know a little more this afternoon, we'll have a sense of how much of a concern this damage might be and whether, in fact, there will be any additional spacewalks. Now one thing, by the way, if you're in space and you're on a long duration mission and it's your birthday, what do you do?
HOLMES: What do you do?
O'BRIEN: Peggy Whitson was up there today. Let's take a look at her. She is the commander of the International Space Station. And ...
HOLMES: Ahh!
O'BRIEN: ...she's 48-years-old today. She was at work, but her birthday present, I guess, is the arrival of the space shuttle "Atlantis." I guess they'll have a little something for her, don't you think?
HOLMES: That's not a bad place to spend it. My birthdays have not been in such fascinating places, Miles.
O'BRIEN: No green screens. They're really in space.
HOLMES: That's the real thing, folks? All right? I'm glad we could see this, it actually did the back flip. We got the actual live shot of it actually happening. Miles, we appreciate you walking us through that. As always, we know you're keeping an eye on it. We'll talk to you again, man.
O'BRIEN: All right, my pleasure.
HOLMES: You can check out Miles' blog. He calls it Miles from Earth. Go to cnn.com/tech and click on the "Miles from Earth" link and happy reading to you, folks.
NGUYEN: Good stuff there.
And this, too. Possibly, we are getting word now that there may be a tentative deal in the writers' strike, so we're going to have the latest on that right after the break.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
NGUYEN: All right. It looks like, according to the presidents of the Writers Guild, that there may be a tentative deal in the works that could end the writers strike.
Let me read you a little bit from what these two presidents from both the Writers Guild of America East and West said, "To our fellow members, we have a tentative deal." It says, "It is an agreement that protects the future in which the Internet becomes the primary means of both content creation and delivery."
It also goes on to talk about the meetings that are to come and they're going to discuss how they're going to proceed regarding lifting the strike, but it does mention that much has been achieved. And while this agreement is neither perfect nor perhaps all that we deserve for the countless hours of hard work and sacrifice, our strike has been a success."
So, it looks like there is a tentative deal in this writers strike. There is no word yet on exactly when that strike might be over, though there was some early speculation that it could be as early as Monday. But of course, all of this must be ratified.
But this is what we're getting word from the presidents of the Writers Guild of America, that there is a tentative deal. Some of it has to still be worked out, but it looks like things are on the path to ending the strike that is currently under way.
HOLMES: Well, something else folks, we're of course keeping a close eye on, today's presidential contest. Both parties taking place in the Washington State caucuses and Louisiana state primary. Plus, Nebraska holding democratic caucuses, Kansas holding Republican caucuses. Also Guam, the Virgin Islands and the Northern Mariana Islands also holding caucuses.
NGUYEN: Well, almost everybody now expects John McCain to be the Republican nominee, the democratic nomination remains up for grabs. And that has democrats asking themselves, who has the best chance of beating McCain, Hillary Clinton or Barack Obama?
CNN's senior political analyst Bill Schneider has been looking into that.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
WILLIAM SCHNEIDER, CNN SENIOR POLITICAL ANALYST (voice-over): John McCain is the latest issue in the democratic race.
SEN. HILLARY CLINTON, (D) PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: And for democrats, who would be our best candidate to stand on the stage with Senator McCain?
SCHNEIDER: Two polls this month asked registered voters nationwide how they would vote if the choice were between Republican John McCain and Democrat Hillary Clinton. The CNN poll conducted by the Opinion Research Corporation shows Clinton three points ahead of McCain, within the poll's margin of error. The "Time" magazine poll shows a dead heat between Clinton and McCain. Barack Obama believes he can do better.
SEN. BARACK OBAMA, (D) PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: I've got appeal that goes beyond our party.
SCHNEIDER: Let's see. Obama leads McCain by eight points in the CNN poll, outside the margin of error. He leads McCain by seven in the "Time" poll. Why does Obama look stronger than Clinton?
OBAMA: I think there is no doubt that she has higher negatives than any of the remaining democratic candidates. You know, that's just a fact. And there are some who will not vote for her.
SCHNEIDER: That was three weeks ago. Now only two democratic candidates remain. 44 percent of the public say they don't like Senator Clinton. That's higher than the 36 percent who don't like McCain and the 31 percent who don't like Obama. The big reason why Obama does better against McCain than Clinton does -- men. Among men, McCain has an 18-point lead over Clinton.
Against Obama, McCain's lead among men nearly disappears. Women, on the other hand, vote for either Clinton or Obama by similar margins. Some Democrats may be worried about how Obama will fair with white voters. Let's see. Whites give McCain a 15-point lead over Clinton. Obama actually fairs better than Clinton with white voters. McCain still leads, but by a smaller margin.
(END OF VIDEOTAPE)
SCHNEIDER: Obama argues that he can reach across party lines, and he does do a little better with independents and Republicans than Clinton does, at least in these polls. But the big difference is that Clinton does not draw very well with men. Obama does -- Betty?
NGUYEN: Yeah, that's a big point there. Bill Schneider breaking it down for us. As always, we do appreciate it. Thank you. And you want to stay with CNN, the best political team on television for today's campaign developments.
"BALLOT BOWL" begins at 2:00 Eastern. It's your chance to see the candidates unfiltered. Then at 8:00 Eastern, we will go to the CNN Election Center for election and caucus results. You don't want to miss any of it.
HOLMES: All right, Super Tuesday, it was just a few days ago. Do you know folks, can you remember how many states actually voted on Super Tuesday? All right.
NGUYEN: Just in case you can't.
HOLMES: How about this one, then -- when does your state vote? Did your state vote on Super Tuesday? If not, do you know when it votes? Well, there is some confusion out there, and maybe this is a good thing. It's a sign of an energized electorate. Just not very informed, maybe.
NGUYEN: And a somber day in Perth as Heath Ledger's loved ones joined together to remember and bury a favorite Aussie actor.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
NGUYEN: Take a look. These are live pictures from the Gintilli neighborhood of New Orleans. Voters heading to the polls for Louisiana's primary today. You see a few of them right there. They have all day. So they'll be streaming in. This neighborhood though was hit very hard by hurricane Katrina. Five states have presidential contests today. HOLMES: All right, well, all of you whose state voted on Super Tuesday this week, please raise your hand. Whoa! Not so fast, Virginians. 24 states held presidential contests. Virginia was not one of them, but the problem is that that message didn't get to a lot of the Virginia voters. They showed up on Super Tuesday ready to cast their ballots.
Nancy Rodrigues, we've got a bone to pick with you. She's the secretary of the Virginia State Board of Elections. She joins us from Richmond. Ma'am, good morning. What is going on? Did you not get word out to your people? Were they so excited?
NANCY RODRIGUES, VIRGINIA BOARD OF ELECTIONS: They're very excited, and I can only say that Virginians have always been ahead of their time.
HOLMES: They were ahead by about a week this time around, though.
RODRIGUES: Well, I think the national press has done such a great job in getting the word out to citizens about how important it is to vote that Virginians took it to heart and showed up at the polls sooner rather than later, and ...
HOLMES: Can you say that again? We rarely get credited for the national press doing anything right, so just repeat -- no I'm kidding. Well tell us exactly what happened around your state last week? People showed up. Did you have really pretty good numbers of people I guess calling in and asking around and actually showing up at polling places?
RODRIGUES: Well, what I can tell you is that we had an unprecedented amount of phone calls into the state board of elections last week. Normally, we expect to receive about 1,000 to 1,500 phone calls just before an election. We registered off the charts at 8,000.
HOLMES: At 8,000!
RODRIGUES: At 8,000 during this past week, and I can also tell you, T.J., that our officers in the field, our general registrars -- there are 134 of them -- also received a lot of phone calls. So there is tremendous energy here in Virginia.
HOLMES: And what are you attributing that to? You said the energy. Is it the people -- there's so much press coverage that people just thought Super Tuesday, I'd show up and they didn't pay attention? Are they excited about the actual candidates? What is it?
RODRIGUES: I think all of the above. I also think that Virginians received e-mails from their loved ones and friends across the country who may have been participating in Super Tuesday and asked them to attend and make sure they got to the polls that day. So I think that created some of the confusion. Also, Virginia added 37,000 new registered voters in the first 14 days of the year. So I think we're also doing a learning curve with some of our new voters. HOLMES: Some of the new voters. Well, ma'am, I apologize, we've got some breaking news I've got to get to. I wish I could spend more time with you. But we appreciate you spending a little time. Just let your folks know, when are they voting?
RODRIGUES: This Tuesday, and the polls open at 6:00 and close at 7:00 and we hope to see them all there.
HOLMES: As well, we hope they get there and some of those who showed up last week will show up again and get it right this time. Nancy Rodrigues, good luck to you, thank you so much.
RODRIGUES: Thank you.
HOLMES: See you soon.
NGUYEN: That would be a bummer if they don't show up this time around when they actually do get to vote.
HOLMES: Hey, I voted last week.
NGUYEN: Yeah, exactly. If only in my mind.
All right, let's get to that breaking news. We understand that a deal has been struck in the writers strike. Let's take you on the phone now to CNN's Brooke Anderson. She's been following all of this.
So, does this mean the strike is over or are there a few other steps they need to go through?
VOICE OF BROOKE ANDERSON, CNN ENTERTAINMENT CORRESPONDENT: There are a few more steps, Betty, but everyone is very optimistic and thrilled that they're nearing the end of this three-month strike. The Writers Guild and the Producers Alliance have reached a tentative agreement, and this is better news than we have heard since November 5th, when the writers walked off the job.
Negotiations have been very contentious. People storming out of the room and not being able to get through an official meeting. So this is great, great news. And a letter was sent out to Writers Guild members very early this morning from the leadership, saying that the agreement "protects the future in which the Internet becomes the primary means of both content creation and delivery, creates formulas for revenue-based residuals in new media, and establishes the principle that quote "when they get paid we get paid."
And basically, this is what the writers have been fighting for since they walked off the job -- new media. They wanted more money for their work that's distributed online, on MP3 players, DVDs, iPods, that sort of thing. This agreement will be discussed with Writers Guild members today in meetings, both in New York and Los Angeles. New York, 2:00 p.m. Eastern meeting, Los Angeles 7:00 p.m. Pacific meeting.
And at that time, they will decide how to move forward. Take the temperature of the membership. If it's something that the majority agree with, they will move forward to ratify this agreement and then end the strike.
Now, the leadership says, hey, this is not a perfect deal, but it is a success, and that the strike as a whole has been a great, great effort by everyone and well worth the time and all the money that has been lost. So basically, the members, it's up to them now. If they decide, oh, we need a few days to digest the points in this agreement, then it may be, you know, midweek before we see writers going back on the job.
But if it's something that the writers wholeheartedly think this is great, this is what we've been fighting for, they might be back to work on Monday. So everyone is gearing up, all the Hollywood studios, everyone is gearing up for scripts to start pouring in, everyone to get back to work, and then get things going again, because hundreds of millions of dollars have been lost.
It's been a big hit for the economy. It's paralyzed Hollywood for three months. So everyone is enthusiastic and hopeful that this means it will come to a definite end.
NGUYEN: Well, without a doubt, this is definitely a step in the right direction. It could be an end to that strike. And as you mentioned, people on both sides just really want to get back to work, but they want to get back to work on the right terms. So Brooke Anderson, thank you for explaining how this tentative deal could work out, and we'll be following that for you here at CNN. Stay tuned. There is much more to come.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HOLMES: The family says let them grieve in private now. A funeral today for "Brokeback Mountain" star Heath Ledger.
Here now Jeff Perry from Australia's 7 Network.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
JEFF PERRY, AUSTRALIA SEVEN NETWORK (voice-over): Police escorted Heath Ledger's immediate family to the memorial service in a fleet of black BMWs. The details of the funeral for the 28-year-old Perth actor had been a closely guarded secret until just hours earlier. The chapel at Penrose (ph) Ladies College was chosen, it's just a few kilometers from the Apple Cross home of Heath's mother.
Michelle Williams, Heath's former partner and mother of his only child Matilda emerged, she was clutching the arm of Heath's older sister Kate. There was no sign of two-year-old Matilda. Heath's mother Sally, father Kim and their respective partners have been in the spotlight since Heath's death.
KIM LEDGER, HEATH LEDGER'S FATHER: It's a pretty sad time and we're finding it difficult to cope with everybody around the world.
PERRY: Hundreds came to mourn. Actors, politicians, sports stars. From friends whose only brush with celebrity was to know Heath Ledger all the way up to the stars of Hollywood and the catwalk. Model Jemma Ward, rumored to have been dating Heath Ledger. Cate Blanchett, Brian Brown, star of the Australian movie "Canny Shane Jacobson."
K. LEDGER: We do really appreciate the outpouring and the emotional support from all over the globe, which, suffice to say, we're luckier than most families. Most families that are in our position, in the grieving position, don't receive that kind of support. I thank you all very much.
PERRY: Heath Ledger died alone in his New York apartment. The medical examiner ruled his death an accident, an abuse of prescription drugs that included painkillers, sleeping pills, and anxiety medication. Non lethal in isolation but taken together a deadly mix.
The service lasted about an hour and a half. Cate Blanchett spoke. So did Heath's sister Kate. There were musical and video tributes, including clips from some of Heath's movies.
BARBARA SCOTT, AUSTRALIAN STATE LAWMAKER: It was poignant, moving, and appropriate. Mixed.
PERRY: The immediate family left for a private burial service at Fremantle Cemetery.
K. LEDGER: The funeral will be very, very private. There will only be 10 people there, which is our immediate family and nobody else.
PERRY: Jeff Perry, 7 News.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
NGUYEN: Sad, sad story there.
Well, the NEWSROOM continues at the top of the hour with Fredricka Whitfield. She joins with us a sneak peek.
Hi, Fred.
FREDRICKA WHITFIELD, CNN ANCHOR: Good to see you guys.
HOLMES: Good morning.
WHITFIELD: Well, truly never forgotten. An American general in Iraq is paying tribute to the more than 100 troops who have fallen in Iraq. A remarkable tribute that he pays to them. For starters, he knows each of them by name. We'll introduce you to him.
And this is indeed a significant Saturday. Four states have contests, and some of the other islands as well. Contests today -- Louisiana, Nebraska ...
NGUYEN: Virgin Islands ...
WHITFIELD: Virgin Islands ...
HOLMES: Kansas and Washington.
WHITFIELD: Thank you so much for filling in the blanks. It's teamwork. That's what it's all about.
NGUYEN: That's why we're part of the best political team -- kind of sort of.
WHITFIELD: I like the way you put it earlier, T.J. ...
NGUYEN: The universe?
HOLMES: On earth.
WHITFIELD: On earth!
NGUYEN: No, no, it's the best political team in the universe, ever!
WHITFIELD: There you go, period. All right, all that straight ahead. And of course you want to watch throughout the day, because "BALLOT BOWL." Folks are really addicted to this political season.
HOLMES: What is it again?
WHITFIELD: "BALLOT BOWL"!
HOLMES: OK.
WHITFIELD: I'm pumped about it.
HOLMES: I like how you put the emphasis on it.
WHITFIELD: It's an addictive political season, isn't it?
NGUYEN: Absolutely.
WHITFIELD: I'm hearing from folks of all walks who are saying they just cannot get enough coverage and so we're giving it to them.
NGUYEN: That's why "BALLOT BOWL" is so important. Because you get to hear it unfiltered. I mean you really get to hear from the candidates.
WHITFIELD: Sounds like a promo. I like it.
HOLMES: We've been doing it all morning.
NGUYEN: Yeah. We kind of know this by now, Fred.
HOLMES: We'll see you shortly, Fredricka. Thank you.
NGUYEN: Hey, we're also following a political hoarse race of a different kind. And the keyword here is hoarse.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
NGUYEN: Well, the candidates are trying to get a clear message across. First though, they've got to clear their throats.
HOLMES: Clear their throats. CNN's Jeanne Moos, of course, explains.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
JEANNE MOOS, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): With her voice ...
(COUGHING)
SEN. HILLARY CLINTON, (D) PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Can I get a lozenge or something?
MOOS: Hillary Clinton put the hoarse into the presidential hoarse race. Remember back when she told New Hampshire voters she'd listen to them?
CLINTON: I found my own voice.
MOOS: Yeah, well then she lost it.
CLINTON: Go ahead.
MOOS: And Hillary's not alone.
SEN. BARACK OBAMA, (D) PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Let me apologize for my voice.
MITT ROMNEY (R), FMR. PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: I haven't gone to bed yet. My goodness.
JOHN EDWARDS (D), FMR. PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Excuse me, I've been a little under the weather.
MOOS: For those who remain in the race, losing their voice is nothing to sneeze at. Barack Obama had a doctor come to his hotel room in New Hampshire to check out his throat.
OBAMA: So I asked a doctor yesterday what they would prescribe and they said "shut up." So I can't do that.
MOOS: And Hillary couldn't do it leading up to Super Tuesday.
CLINTON: It comes and goes.
MOOS: It really came while she was doing an interview with a San Francisco TV station.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: How will you use your husband Bill Clinton in the administration?
MOOS: The coughing fit got coughed up on YouTube.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I won't hold you on here any longer because you probably could use some water there.
CLINTON: Sorry.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Senator, thank you. Hillary Clinton live from New York.
MOOS: Just barely live. Hard-core Hillary haters suggested the coughing fit was contrived to avoid answering questions. A theory that's enough to make us choke.
DAVID LETTERMAN: You sound a little froggy -- are you coming down with a thing?
CLINTON: Every New Yorker has a sore throat after last night.
MOOS: From cheering the Super Bowl champion Giants. Bill Clinton was always talking himself hoarse.
BILL CLINTON: I may have lost my voice, but with your help on Tuesday we will win a new day for America.
MOOS: Wall Street Journal reported Bill's throat specialist used to make him hum to reduce vocal strain. John McCain takes a table spoon of olive oil. Of course, reporters aren't immune.
WOLF BLITZER, CNN ANCHOR: Suzanne, what might have happened?
MOOS: CNN's Suzanne Malveaux had a coughing attack while covering Barack Obama. Dr. Wolf to the rescue.
BLITZER: I want you to drink a little water. All right, clear your throat. Take a deep breath.
MOOS: Those on Hillary Clinton's press plane describe it as a hotbed of colds and flu, typhoid Mary. Imagine all the germs exchanged during all that handshaking and hugging.
It's OK to suck those cough drops, wipe your nose. Only nine months left until Election Day. Forget Decision '08, make way for infection '08.
Jeanne Moos, CNN, New York.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
NGUYEN: Good point there, Jeanne. Well, the CNN NEWSROOM does continue with Fredricka Whitfield.
Hi, Fred.
WHITFIELD: OK, I'm getting the hibby jeebies now just thinking about all the germs they pass around.
NGUYEN: Don't cough on us, OK Fred?
WHITFIELD: OK, thank goodness. You guys have a good day.
All right well, the search continues for possible survivors of a sugar refinery explosion near Savannah, Georgia. Four people were killed in the blast on Thursday.
CNN's John Zarrella is in Port Wentworth, Georgia. John, what is the latest?
ZARRELLA: Hey, Fredricka.
A lot of heavy equipment is just now arriving behind me heading in we've been expecting that all day today. They need that equipment to start removing a lot of that heavy debris. Now we're awaiting a news conference expected shortly here where we'll be updated on what the situation is again. Still, four confirmed dead at least four missing.
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