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Romney Backing McCain; Interview With Actors Will Ferrell and Andre Benjamin; Obama and Hillary Look to Texas and Ohio

Aired February 14, 2008 - 15:00   ET

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

FREDRICKA WHITFIELD, CNN ANCHOR: Former rivals on the campaign trail get ready to shake hands and fight for a common cause. Mitt Romney is throwing his support to John McCain in the Republican race.
DON LEMON, CNN ANCHOR: Hello, everyone. I'm Don Lemon live at the CNN World Headquarters in Atlanta.

WHITFIELD: And I'm Fredricka Whitfield, in for Kyra Phillips.

LEMON: We have some new developments in the battle for the White House. Sources tell us Mitt Romney is getting ready to endorse his former rival, Republican front-runner John McCain. An official announcement is expected soon and it should happen in Boston. Our Dana Bash joins us now from Burlington, Vermont, with the very latest on that.

Hello to you, Dana.

DANA BASH, CNN CONGRESSIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Hi, Don.

Well, that's right. It's about an hour from now that we are going to see a picture that not too long ago nobody could imagine given the bitter rivalry that John McCain and Mitt Romney had on the campaign trail. But we are going to see Mitt Romney at his headquarters, at least maybe his former headquarters, for his campaign for president in Boston endorse formally John McCain.

Now, what a source involved in these decision, in these discussions tells us that this is something that Mitt Romney wanted to do to and wants to do in order to make it clear to the entire party, the Republican Party, that it's time to unite behind John McCain now, in order to wage the best campaign against whomever the Democratic nominee is going to be in November.

And he also is are going to tell the delegates that he has won along the way that he wants to release them and he's going to encourage them to back John McCain.

Now, this is certainly a big moment for John McCain, given the fact that he has tried so hard over the past couple of weeks to -- to calm some concerns, some real concerns, among conservatives about the kind of Republican he is.

Well, Mitt Romney, given the fact that he was the one who really stoked those concerns during the campaign, he is going to help John McCain a great deal by this picture and by the words that he is going to give today.

But, you know, Don, it's interesting. It is in some ways as much about Mitt Romney as this is about John McCain, because Romney pretty much made clear and at least people made close to him made clear to us when he dropped out last week that he was thinking about his own viability in the future, that he is a young man, that he's not ruling out another run in the future.

And if you're a Republican, being a team player really does matter, and that's what he's trying to show here today. And, Don, one other bit of information. We have a little bit more information from behind the scenes on how this all went down. This comes to us by way of John King. And he learned that this actually was facilitated by somebody who has not been in the McCain world for a long time, his former top political strategist, John Weaver.

Now, to people who are political junkies out there, they know that John Weaver and John McCain have been very, very close for years. But John Weaver left the campaign during that bitter shakeup when John McCain's campaign was in big trouble over the summer.

Well, we are told that John Weaver was enlisted by McCain's current staff in order to go and lobby Mitt Romney's campaign manager, because Republican circles are small. The two actually go back for about two decades to Texas Republican politics.

So, that is an interesting little bit of behind-the-scenes color as to how this all came about, and interesting and telling that John Weaver, somebody who has not been involved in this McCain resurgence, is now at least having at least a very important role in the developments over the past few hours -- Don.

LEMON: All right, 4:00 p.m. Boston, we should hear this, Dana Bash, correct? Is that right, Dana?

BASH: I'm sorry. Can you say it again?

LEMON: Four p.m. in Boston we should hear this announcement?

BASH: Four p.m. In about an hour's time, we are going to hear it and we're going to see that picture of the two of them together. So, stay tuned.

LEMON: OK. Great. Thank you very much for that.

Mitt Romney is expected, as Dana just said, 4:00 -- it was 3:30, but he is supposed to do it at 4:00 and we will bring that to you live. That should happen during "THE SITUATION ROOM"'s hours. That announcement gets under way then.

Also, Republican Mike Huckabee will be taking a detour off the presidential campaign trail for a trip to the Cayman Islands. He will deliver a paid speech tomorrow at the Leadership Awards ceremony.

Defending his trip, Huckabee noted he's the only major candidate who isn't being paid by American taxpayers for Senate work while campaigning. He said he has to work to pay his bills. Huckabee is scheduled to return to Wisconsin on Sunday, two days ahead of that state's primaries.

Chelsea Clinton is getting a nice assignment for her mother's campaign. She's scheduled to spend three days in Oahu ahead of the Hawaii Democratic caucuses on Tuesday. The visit comes after Hillary Clinton's campaign's vowed to fight for every delegate in every state that has primaries or caucuses coming up. Now, Clinton's Democratic rival, Barack Obama, was born in Hawaii and spent most of his childhood there.

Democratic rivals Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama will face off in another debate ahead of the big Texas and Ohio primaries. You will want to watch their face-off a week from today, February 21st. It's in Austin, Texas. Our special coverage begins at 8:00 p.m. Eastern. And you can only see that here on CNN.

WHITFIELD: And some movement this hour on a grisly story developing in the Northeast. Police from New York have travelled to Pennsylvania to question a man in the murder of an Upper East Side therapist who was hacked to death in her office.

With more on this story, let's go to CNN's Jason Carroll.

JASON CARROLL, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Oh, yes. Well, Fredricka, the details of this crime have truly been gruesome. There has been an update. Investigators are questioning a man in connection with this horrible murder, one that has really captured the attention of many people here in the city.

Let me just backtrack and tell you what happened here. On Tuesday, psychologist, Kathryn Faughey, was found brutally stabbed in her office on Manhattan's Upper East Side. She had been stabbed multiple times with knives, as well as a meat cleaver. The suspect was captured on surveillance tape entering the building.

The man was also seen on the tape leaving the building after the attack. Another doctor in Faughey's office was hurt when he heard screams and tried to come to her rescue. He was slashed, but he is recovering. New York City police officers have been questioning a man at a police facility in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania. That's about 85 miles from New York City.

A Pennsylvania State Police spokesman did not identify the man being questioned. He said New York City officers had asked state police to provide a location so they could question someone in connection with this murder.

Faughey has been described as someone who was hardworking, someone who really cared about her patients. I took a look at her Web site where she describes herself as having a warm, clear, and lively approach in terms of how she deals with some of her patients.

Also a quick description of the suspect. The suspect the suspect is described quite generally as a white man in his 40s. He has a bald spot, that bald spot seen on the surveillance tape as he was walking away from the scene of the crime in the basement of that building. He was wearing a green coat at that time.

You can't tell at this point what he was wearing at this point. Once again, investigators questioning a man who they are not describing as a suspect at this point, just saying they are questioning a man in connection with this murder -- Fredricka.

WHITFIELD: Wow, horrible investigation. Jason Carroll in New York, thank you.

LEMON: It is the newest chapter in what's become a horror story for people who lost their homes to Hurricane Katrina. Trailers designed to serve as temporary housing are still home to thousands of people. Now the government is telling people that those same trailers could be hazardous to their health.

Our Sean Callebs is following this story for us now from New Orleans -- Sean.

SEAN CALLEBS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Exactly right. A news conference here just a short while ago, FEMA basically confirming what a lot of people here had known for some time. There is a huge concern about formaldehyde inside some of these travel trailers.

Now, it becomes a big concern when it gets warm outside. Formaldehyde is used in preserving wood. Now, as it gets warm, this colorless gas builds up and can be a real problem, especially for the sick, the elderly, and children.

So, FEMA Director David Paulison said that they're going to try and move the remaining 38,000 trailers, people living in the 38,000 trailers. They're going to try and get people out of those as quickly as possible.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DAVID PAULISON, DIRECTOR, FEDERAL EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT AGENCY: As a result, these preliminary findings, FEMA's going to continue our aggressive action to provide for the safety and well-being of the residents of these travel trailers by finding them alternative housing.

Since November, we have moved out -- over 15,000 families have moved out of these travel trailers into some other housing. We're not going to wait for the final results, but we're going to work to continue, or expand our actions with the residents that need to be relocated.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CALLEBS: Now, the ailments include bloody noses, headaches and it can also lead to cancer, long-term exposure to formaldehyde. A lot of critics in Congress say FEMA is doing too little, too late. In fact, they are telling people try to vent these trailers and maybe that will offer some aid.

Listen to what leaders in Congress have to say. (BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

REP. NICK LAMPSON (D), TEXAS: For people who have been through what the Katrina victims have gone through, to be put into facilities that were told to be -- that they were safe, and then later to be told to crack a window if they felt insecure in these trailers when they started learning about the formaldehyde and the gas that was emitted is absolutely absurd.

We feel that too little has been has been done with this. We would like to know why more wasn't done more quickly.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CALLEBS: And Paulison said, indeed, Don, that FEMA may have to get out of the business of providing mobile homes for people for housing after a disaster, may have to find some other method. What? No one knows.

But how are they going to put some people in apartments in this area, in hotels? Right now, both are at a premium. So, what they may wind up doing is moving people from the travel trailers, the kind you see hooked up to the back of a truck, into mobile homes that have been tested.

LEMON: Goodness. OK, Sean Callebs in New Orleans -- thank you, Sean.

WHITFIELD: Meantime, there's a hunk of junk up in space, top secret spy junk that won't be up there for much longer. A dead satellite expected to fall to Earth early in next month. We learned today that the U.S. military may have a say in where and how it comes down. CNN's senior Pentagon correspondent, Jamie McIntyre, is joining us now.

And, so, we heard the general describe how a Navy missile might be used to help bring it down, break it up, so that perhaps it's not as much a danger once it does fall to Earth.

JAMIE MCINTYRE, CNN SENIOR PENTAGON CORRESPONDENT: Well, Fredricka, this will be the first real-time test of the nation's missile defense system that the U.S. has spent billions of dollars on. They're not going to use it against an incoming missile, but instead the sea-based system will be used to try to take out a satellite that failed when it was launched last year in order to protect the Earth from the toxic hydroxene fuel that's on board that satellite.

Normally, these satellites don't have much fuel by the time they crash back to Earth, but because this one never really worked, it's got a full tank, about 1,000 pounds of that hydroxene. What the U.S. is going to try to do is shoot a standard missile from an Aegis cruiser using all of the missile technology that they have spent, the missile intercept technology they spent billions for, in order to try to hit the satellite at the very end of its orbit, so that any space junk will fall to Earth and not be stuck in space.

The vice chairman of the Joint Chiefs, General James Cartwright, said today he thinks the probability of success is very high.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

GENERAL JAMES E. CARTWRIGHT, JOINT CHIEFS VICE CHAIRMAN NOMINEE: This has no aerodynamic properties. Once it hits the atmosphere, it tumbles, it breaks apart. It is very unpredictable and next to impossible to engage.

So, what we're trying to do here is catch it just prior to the last minute, so it's as absolutely lowest possible, outside the atmosphere, so that the debris comes down as quickly as possible, A.

B, on the intercept, first, if we can hit the satellite, which we believe we have a high confidence we can do, that will slow the satellite down, which means it will de-orbit more quickly and we can predict more accurately where it will de-orbit, so we can potentially put it in a position in the ocean.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

MCINTYRE: Now, this is a spy satellite operation by the National Reconnaissance Office. But the Pentagon insists that the fact that this might have sensitive technology was not a factor in the calculations.

They say the satellite would be so disfigured during reentry that it wouldn't be of an intelligence value to someone else, but they do say it poses a hazard. And while, if they did nothing, there's probably a small chance of any real negative impact, they do believe they have a chance, and there is a small chance, if this landed in a populated area, and that hydroxene fuel got out, it could cause death or injury to people.

So, they figure it's worth a shot. They will probably only get one shot at it, because they're going to try to shoot it at the very last moment before it de-orbits. And it will be shot from a U.S. cruiser in the North Pacific sometime next week. They say the window opens in three or four days. It will stay open for about seven days.

They will take their shot. If they miss, they will recalculate and see if they have a chance to take another shot. And, again, right now, the U.S. is reassuring governments around the world about what they're doing. And they say this is much different, by the way, than the Chinese situation, because it won't leave any space junk in space for decades.

WHITFIELD: All right, one shot. The pressure's on. Jamie McIntyre from the Pentagon, thanks so much.

LEMON: All right, well, forget about the NBA's Kobe Bryant.

WHITFIELD: And speaking of shots.

LEMON: And LeBron James. We have got some real basketball players right here in the studio. Well, sort of. Come on. Look out. You can do an alley-oop for me? There it is. LEMON: Stars of "Semi-Pro," Will Ferrell and Andre 3000 live in the house.

Let's see. Can you dunk it? Wow, he's tall, man.

(LAUGHTER)

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(BUSINESS REPORT)

WHITFIELD: I'm passing it over to you now, Don.

LEMON: Fred, have you seen this many people in the studio ever?

(LAUGHTER)

WHITFIELD: No. We have got some special visitors today.

LEMON: And guess why. Guess why. It's because I'm here. No. The movie "Semi-Pro" is a fictional tale of a real-life merger between the two pro basketball leagues that existed in the 1970s.

Stop trying to get in my shot, man.

WILL FERRELL, ACTOR: Sorry.

LEMON: All right.

FERRELL: No. OK.

LEMON: You had the well-established NBA, and then the upstarts, the ABA, is that right, Will Ferrell?

FERRELL: Right. That's right.

LEMON: The star of the movie -- wait until I say something.

FERRELL: OK.

LEMON: Will Ferrell plays the owner of one of the ABA teams. Take a look.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP, "SEMI-PRO")

UNIDENTIFIED ACTOR: We have all heard the rumors and they are true. The ABA will be merging with the NBA at the end of this season.

FERRELL: Yes. Yes. I did it. I'm a real owner.

UNIDENTIFIED ACTOR: Let go.

FERRELL: I did it.

UNIDENTIFIED ACTOR: All right, let's...

FERRELL: I'm the greatest man in the world!

(END VIDEO CLIP)

LEMON: Will, what was that outfit, man?

FERRELL: That's Jackie Moon.

LEMON: All right.

FERRELL: He's the master of the neckerchief.

LEMON: He is.

FERRELL: Yes.

LEMON: And he's a great basketball player.

Good to see you, Andre 3000, as we call you.

ANDRE BENJAMIN, ACTOR: Yes, sir.

LEMON: Mr. Will Ferrell.

(CROSSTALK)

FERRELL: Will 2000.

LEMON: I have got something for you. So, you're from Atlanta. You're from Atlanta. So we got you a jersey, a little Hawks jersey.

(CROSSTALK)

BENJAMIN: Well, all right.

LEMON: There you go.

BENJAMIN: Well, thank you.

(CROSSTALK)

BENJAMIN: Appreciate it.

LEMON: And we want you guys to put them on and wear them. We got you one, Will. We got you a CNN jersey.

(LAUGHTER)

BENJAMIN: What happened to the red and gold?

LEMON: So, can you put that on, please? Do you think that will -- that may be a little big for you.

FERRELL: You got me a child size, right?

LEMON: No, that's an extra, extra large.

FERRELL: Oh, that is an extra large, yes.

LEMON: Yes.

FERRELL: Yes.

LEMON: If you guys could put that on.

FERRELL: Wow. That is beautiful. Thank you.

(LAUGHTER)

LEMON: Seriously, this is one of the funniest movies I have seen in a long time. It had to be a blast making it. You're running out of sports, man.

FERRELL: Not really. I have got a rodeo movie in production, women's field hockey. And then I'm doing an underwater sea adventure. So, I'm busy, yes.

LEMON: What are you going to call it; do you know?

FERRELL: Which one?

LEMON: "Aqua Boogie" or...

FERRELL: "Aqua Boogie Nights Underwater." I don't know. We're still working on the title.

(CROSSTALK)

LEMON: All right. Well, it's one of the funniest scenes in the movie, features a big, furry creature.

FERRELL: Yes.

LEMON: Absolutely nothing to do with basketball, and it was you fighting him.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP, "SEMI-PRO")

FERRELL: Flint (ph), Can he dig it? Jackie Moon!

(END VIDEO CLIP)

LEMON: More with Will Ferrell and Andre Benjamin next in the CNN NEWSROOM.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

LEMON: These guys are pretty good. Will Ferrell's character does anything to fill the basketball stadium, including fighting a bear. We saw that. That was hilarious.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP, "SEMI-PRO")

FERRELL: I will come in with crazy fists. huh? This is fine. He's not doing anything. Flint (ph), can he dig it? Jackie Moon.

Spumoni.

UNIDENTIFIED ACTOR: One round. No spumoni.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

LEMON: Spumoni was your safe word, right ?

FERRELL: That was my safe word, yes.

LEMON: And one round. You say they would do one round.

FERRELL: One round.

LEMON: And what happened after one round?

BENJAMIN: Well, he got attacked. But he at least have to -- you have to put it on for the crowd.

LEMON: Yes.

BENJAMIN: I tried to get out of that cage as fast as possible.

(CROSSTALK)

LEMON: This is your fourth sports movies. I said you are going to run out of movies. Seriously, you're going to run out of sports. Do you enjoy obviously doing -- obviously, you do, I would imagine. You did four of them.

FERRELL: Yes. I mean, this one particularly, because I love basketball. I love the crazy history of the ABA.

LEMON: And, by the way, explain what you're wearing.

FERRELL: By the way, this is my attempt to get on that tank top. That's how small it is.

LEMON: The jersey.

FERRELL: But I think it makes a nice ascot.

(CROSSTALK)

FERRELL: Ascot. Crevasse.

(CROSSTALK)

LEMON: Can you say that on TV?

FERRELL: Can you say it?

LEMON: Yes. You can.

FERRELL: I don't want to get you guys in trouble. (LAUGHTER)

LEMON: So, Andre, I met your dad at the movie. He is very proud of your performance. I was walking out of the screening, and he goes, my son did great, my son did great. He's really getting this acting thing. He must be very proud of you. By the way, and you're from Atlanta.

BENJAMIN: Yes, born and raised from Atlanta. My dad, he's pretty cool and proud for me to be here.

LEMON: How is it working with this guy?

BENJAMIN: Amazing. He's one of the funniest men on television...

(CROSSTALK)

FERRELL: ... easily one of the funniest guys.

BENJAMIN: Just to see him improv and kind of go back and forth with him is great.

FERRELL: Some say of all time. Some.

LEMON: The most modest of the funniest of all time?

FERRELL: The funniest.

LEMON: The funniest?

FERRELL: Yes, yes, yes.

LEMON: So, just watching him, you learned from doing that?

BENJAMIN: Yes, a lot, because he lets loose. Of course, we have a script, but sometimes you just go off, whatever you feel. And it turns out great.

LEMON: It seems like it was. There was a lot of ad-libbing in this movie. Did you guy just do things?

FERRELL: Yes, there was the usual combination of once you kind of gets the written scene, you just start going for it, mixing it up.

LEMON: How much of it was you actually doing it? It's not like when you did the skating movie, when you were on ropes and things like that.

FERRELL: Yes, all that stuff.

LEMON: But this is actually you playing basketball?

FERRELL: Yes, this is us out there playing every day.

LEMON: You are a basketball player? FERRELL: I am a player.

(LAUGHTER)

FERRELL: I am a player in multiple senses of the word, yes, yes.

LEMON: You're not a big basketball player. You said you...

(CROSSTALK)

BENJAMIN: I only play neighborhood -- neighborhood basketball, but I'm more of a football fan.

LEMON: Yes.

BENJAMIN: But my character called for me to be the best player on the team, so I had to -- we actually did two weeks of basketball camp.

FERRELL: Basketball training camp.

BENJAMIN: To make it work.

FERRELL: Yes.

LEMON: Oh, you did?

FERRELL: Yes.

BENJAMIN: Yes.

LEMON: Well, I have to say, both you of you, you always looked great. You voted one of the best-dressed men. How did you get -- those clothes were crazy and the wigs. Was that your fro? Or was that yours?

BENJAMIN: It was a lot of fun.

FERRELL: That was my fro, yes. This head of hair has that ability to do that. So...

BENJAMIN: Mine was a wig.

FERRELL: Andre's was a wig.

(CROSSTALK)

BENJAMIN: But I used to have (INAUDIBLE)

LEMON: Did you really?

BENJAMIN: Oh, yes.

LEMON: Mine would never grow that long.

FERRELL: Really? LEMON: You know Pearl (ph), your landlord, how is she doing?

FERRELL: Sure. Sure. She's tough. I still owe her like six months worth of rent.

LEMON: Do you?

FERRELL: Yes.

LEMON: Yes.

FERRELL: But we're working it out.

LEMON: Are you really?

FERRELL: Yes. Yes.

(CROSSTALK)

FERRELL: I haven't been evicted yet.

LEMON: Hang on. I got something for Pearl right here. Let me walk out of the shot.

FERRELL: I could give her this tank top. It's about her size.

LEMON: No, you can give her this. This may help out. We have got something for her that might calm her down a little bit. So, give to that Pearl.

(CROSSTALK)

LEMON: And we know there's a...

FERRELL: A news van.

LEMON: Yes.

FERRELL: She said she wanted specifically a CNN news van.

(CROSSTALK)

(LAUGHTER)

FERRELL: That's so weird.

(CROSSTALK)

FERRELL: Yes.

LEMON: The movie opens on the 29th, leap year day.

FERRELL: February 29th, yes, in most major cities.

LEMON: Including Atlanta?

FERRELL: Including Atlanta.

LEMON: And all over the country.

(CROSSTALK)

LEMON: No, actually, it was a hilarious movie. And it's good to see you acting.

BENJAMIN: Thank you.

(CROSSTALK)

FERRELL: Yes, he is -- Andre is amazing in the movie. You know, he's done some dramas now and he's done some comedy.

BENJAMIN: Thank you, man.

FERRELL: But he's fantastic.

LEMON: Did you pick up any singing or dance moves from him? He picked up comedy moves from you.

FERRELL: I tried to teach him some moves.

BENJAMIN: But I just haven't had a chance to work them out yet.

(CROSSTALK)

LEMON: Can we see them, Will? You got the moves you showed him?

FERRELL: That I showed him?

LEMON: Yes.

FERRELL: I just showed him how to, like, spin around a lot.

LEMON: That's all you got?

FERRELL: That's all I got. And this. I taught you this. Like lock and pop, right?

BENJAMIN: Yes, yes, yes, yes. I needed that. I really needed that.

LEMON: Will and Andre, best of luck with the movie. Thanks for talking about it.

FERRELL: All right.

LEMON: We hope Pearl likes that. And we're going to play a little bit of basketball here.

FERRELL: OK.

LEMON: Thank you. Appreciate it.

FERRELL: Pearl will love this.

LEMON: Fred, you should get over here and play with us.

WHITFIELD: I think I will, after the break.

All right, you guys are a great team. These guys -- they were not on the same team -- not until now. They had some pretty tough words for each other during their battle for the Republican presidential nomination. Now Mitt Romney apparently is throwing his support to John McCain. We'll check in with our senior political analyst, Bill Schneider, right after this.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

MILES O'BRIEN, CHIEF TECHNOLOGY & ENVIRONMENT CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Even veterans of video game carnage too vivid to show here are surprised by this

UNIDENTIFIED CHILD: Oh, I'm getting shocked.

UNIDENTIFIED CHILD: What does it feel like?

UNIDENTIFIED CHILD: It really feels really weird.

O'BRIEN (voice-over): That's my son Murrah (ph) wearing a new $170 gaming vest from an outfit called TN Games. It's lined with eight air pockets. Just connect it to a compressor and your computer and suddenly you are in the line of fire like never before.

(on camera): Describe it.

UNIDENTIFIED CHILD: It feels interesting. It feels -- it's only a little air bubble. It's like pop, pop, pop.

O'BRIEN (voice-over): The idea came from a surgeon looking for a way to examine patients in remote locations.

JOHN OMBRELLARO, TN GAMES: And he can actually do an exam from far away and actually prod you and poke you, just like he was there in real life.

O'BRIEN: The vest works with about eight games -- just for PCs so far. They'll take aim at consoles next. The vest was also a hit for the non-gamer in the household, Connery. The company is working on a helmet and a vest that will mimic the forces you feel in a race car.

Miles O'Brien, CNN, New York.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: All right, new developments in the battle for the White House. Sources tell us that Mitt Romney is throwing his support to Republican frontrunner John McCain. An official announcement expected this afternoon from Boston. Romney, who suspended his campaign after Super Tuesday, picked up a lot of support from conservatives before he suspended that campaign. Well, right now McCain has a commanding lead in the race for the Republican delegates, with Romney in second place and Mike Huckabee third. Reports say Romney is expected to ask his delegates to switch their support to McCain.

Well, perhaps you've heard this one before -- the winner of the popular vote doesn't win the presidential contest. Well, it could happen again for the Democrats -- this time at their national convention.

CNN's Joe Johns explains.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

JOE JOHNS, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): This is what they don't want -- the Democratic national convention in Denver this year descending into infighting and confusion like the 1972 convention in Miami Beach. It took so long to finish the party's business that the nominee, George McGovern, didn't get to deliver his acceptance speech until 3:00 in the morning.

Today, the fear among Democrats is that in the contest between Obama and Clinton, the loser of the popular vote could end up winning the nomination when super-delegates are counted.

JULIAN EPSTEIN, DEMOCRATIC STRATEGIST: If there was a perception that one candidate won the popular vote and won the vote of delegates and that that decision was then overturned by a smoke-filled room of super-delegates, I think it would lead to a civil war within the party.

JONES: Supporters of the system say it's no smoke-filled room at all. Super-delegates get one vote each. They're just party insider. Lanny Davis is a friend of the Clintons and one of the guys who helped set up the super-delegate system back in 1982.

LANNY DAVIS, FORMER BILL CLINTON AIDE: It was a considered decision by liberal activists such as myself on the Democratic National Committee, who believed we needed some more moderate counterpoint to all of the liberal activists like myself who were dominating in the primaries.

JONES: So have super-delegates really mattered in choosing a nominee? If you're, say, Walter Mondale, you probably think they were a good thing. In 1984, Gary Hart won 16 primaries and caucuses; Walter Mondale, 10. But Mondale had locked up a bunch of super-delegates early and came out the winner nice and smooth -- the political version of "Kumbaya." On the other hand, the last Democratic nominee isn't so sure about the super-delegate thing. He supports Obama.

SEN. JOHN KERRY (D), MASSACHUSETTS: Ultimately it would be a mistake on either side, whether it's Hillary Clinton or Barack Obama, for a super-delegate suddenly to come in and to say to hell with you, the people. You all voted across the country and we're going to change the outcome. JOHNS: Joe Johns, CNN, New York.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

WHITFIELD: And this reminder again -- Mitt Romney is expected to announce he is backing John McCain, 4:00 Eastern, from Boston. We'll bring you live coverage when that announcement gets underway.

LEMON: A 15-year-old boy shot this week at an Oxnard middle school has been declared brain dead. Lawrence King is being kept on a ventilator while he's considered for a possible organ donation. Police say he was shot in a computer lab by a 14-year-old classmate, who was charged earlier with attempted murder.

WHITFIELD: An amazing scene overnight in Chicago. Take a look at this. Police rescued several people, including children, from a burning apartment building in the city's Cabrini Green housing development. Details are still sketchy, but the blaze broke out in a fifth floor apartment around 2:30 this morning. Some remarkable images here.

Police got there before firefighters and they rescued several of the children, as you saw there. Not clear at this point how many. Amazingly, no one died in this fire. Two people were hospitalized with what are described as minor injuries. One police officer said "We're not heroes. We just happened to be the first ones there."

LEMON: Florida's attorney general is investigating whether sheriff's deputies violated the civil rights of a paralyzed man who was dumped out of his wheelchair. Surveillance video shows a deputy pushing Brian Sterner out of his chair last month following his arrest on a traffic warrant. Yesterday, the Hillsborough County sheriff issued a formal apology to Sterner. Four deputies have been suspended over that incident.

WHITFIELD: Boy, it's hard to see every time.

LEMON: Yes.

WHITFIELD: All right, a plea for help in California on behalf of three foster children. Authorities say the siblings, ages two through 11, were abducted at a McDonald's by their biological mother and her husband, who drove away in a green Land Rover. It happened yesterday afternoon in a Southern Los Angeles suburb. The children are 2-year- old Angel, 9-year-old Julissa and 11-year-old Rebecca.

LEMON: A terrifying night and the frantic calls for help as tornadoes raked the South. Hear them in THE NEWSROOM.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: Across the South, it's going to take time and a lot of help for some communities to recover from a string of deadly and destructive tornadoes. In Arkansas, folks are still reliving that terrifying night a week ago Tuesday with the release of 911 calls.

Reporter Pamela Jones with KATV has that.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

PAMELA JONES, KATV CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Just frightening moments before many neighborhoods and their communities would be ripped to shreds a week ago Tuesday, 9-1-1 operators in Pope County were flooded with calls.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Pope County 9-1-1. What's your emergency?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: My wife just called me. She's on Highway 64 traveling from Morrilton to Atkins. She says there was a tornado a block away from her vehicle and she was screaming on the phone and I can't get a hold of her no more.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: OK, sir, we have had a confirmed touchdown there and we've got emergency personnel responding to that area, OK?

JONES: Director David Freeman says they doubled their normal staff of five to field the flurry of inquiries and reports.

DAVID FREEMAN, DIRECTOR, POPE COUNTY 9-1-1: They just all hung in there. It was nonstop. The phones were ringing off the hook. They were able to disseminate what was a priority of the calls, dispatching those first.

JONES: Calls that likely saved many lives. Unfortunately for four in the Atkins community, it was too late. This chilling call describes a grim scene that fateful day.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I found a body.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Who am I speaking with, sir?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Jimmy.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Is this a family member, Jimmy?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: No, it's not.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: OK. Is the person breathing, Jimmy?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: No.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: OK.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Definitely deceased.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: No need for an ambulance?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Not that I can tell, no.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: OK. Can you check for a pulse?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: There's not one. JONES: And while dispatchers were busy helping others, Freeman tells me he experienced his own close call. His wife was en route home from Conway when the storms hit.

FREEMAN: Two bystanders helped my wife get up underneath an overpass for protection. So I'm not sure who they are, but I'd like to thank them.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

WHITFIELD: Well, 13 counties in Arkansas have been declared state disaster areas. It's going to take some time to add up all the losses and figure out exactly what is deductible, so Arkansas has extended the tax filing deadline for storm victims until the middle of August.

LEMON: Well, a powerful winter storm races across the U.S. It looks like the upper Midwest is in for it again.

CHAD MYERS, AMS METEOROLOGIST: Yes.

LEMON: Again. That's the word right -- Chad?

MYERS: Right.

(WEATHER REPORT)

LEMON: All right. Thanks, Chad.

MYERS: Sure.

WHITFIELD: So, she says having a baby changed her life. But a school principal says she's being glamorized. The controversy over a high school yearbook in the NEWSROOM.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: All right. Sound familiar -- a high school yearbook causing controversy? But this time in Texas, thanks to a short profile on two students' parents. Chris Hawes of WFAA has the story.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

CHRIS HAWES, WFAA CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Brittani Shipman admits she was, in her words, a wild child.

BRITTANI SHIPMAN, TEEN MOM: I was going through a rough time because my parents had a divorce and going out and being crazy was my way to get over it.

HAWES: Then she got pregnant. She planned on adoption, until her daughter's birth.

SHIPMAN: Green.

HAWES (on camera): What did you think when you looked at her? SHIPMAN: How could I make something so beautiful?

HAWES: Brittani says she became a different person.

SHIPMAN: I made all As and Bs.

UNIDENTIFIED CHILD: Momma.

HAWES: The yearbook staff took note, including her in a brief yearbook story about two student parents. But when the principal saw the rough draft, he called the editor.

MEGAN ESTES, YEARBOOK EDITOR: He said the article glamorized them and that putting it into print made it seem like we agreed with what they did.

SHIPMAN: Glamorizing this situation? What is there to glamorize? It's hard work. You know, I mean, paying attention to me woman.

HAWES: The yearbook student editor, along with Brittani, took the case to the Burleson school board.

SHIPMAN: You know, I want to have the opportunity to help others who might benefit from my experiences.

HAWES: The superintendent, Mark Jackson, declined an on-camera interview, but told Channel 8 the district teaches an abstinence-based curriculum and that if the yearbook wants to do a story on overcoming obstacles, they may need to get another example. He has offered to meet again with the editor.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

WHITFIELD: Wow! All right, well, the yearbook said she hopes the issue is resolved by Friday. She also says that she has been in contact with a group called the Student Press Law Center.

LEMON: Royalty in the house at CNN. And, no, I'm not talking about Larry King. Britain's Prince Andrew -- he's in the States to talk business. But the Duke of York has a lot to say about the war, Prince Harry and how our two countries are getting along these days.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

PRINCE ANDREW, UNITED KINGDOM: There is an increasing importance of democracy.

LEMON: Right.

PRINCE ANDREW: And people are actually taking an interest. People want to know who these people are, what their policies are and who the people that are around them. And I think that is extremely good news for the United States and for the world in general.

(END VIDEO CLIP) LEMON: Well, that is just a small part of my interview with Britain's Prince Andrew. We'll share the rest with you tomorrow. Make sure you join us in the CNN NEWSROOM tomorrow for that.

WHITFIELD: All right, the closing bell and a wrap of the action on Wall Street -- all that straight ahead.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: Well, what a coincidence.

(LAUGHTER)

WHITFIELD: One of our guests here today.

All right, well this story takes the line about a woman scorned to a whole new level. A radio morning show here in Atlanta ran a Valentine's Day promotion called "Ax Your Ex's Stuff." Well, lots of women showed up with pictures, video games, iPods to have them literally axed by the radio crew. But the whole scene took a nasty turn when a woman arrived with this pooch right here -- her ex- boyfriend's dog and she wanted it destroyed.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MARCO, ATLANTA'S STAR 94FM: People wanted to come down to the station and ax the woman that brought the dog. I mean everybody was pretty passionate. You know, I'm a dog lover myself. It was -- it was pretty insane, people calling. I mean the rest of the show obviously went toward how to somebody do that to a dog.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: No kidding.

The Humane Society came to the dog's rescue and we're happy to report that Marco from Star 94 says a dog lover with four acres of land will now provide a new home for that pooch. Who in the world would do that?

LEMON: I guess that lady.

(LAUGHTER)

WHITFIELD: I don't get it.

LEMON: Yes, that's a little whacky.

WHITFIELD: Well, thanks (INAUDIBLE)...

LEMON: You don't take it out on the dog, you know?

WHITFIELD: Yes. Hope -- you know, thank goodness there were a lot of ears out there who reacted and said I'll take the pooch.

LEMON: What is it? WHITFIELD: The pooch is happy now.

LEMON: Hell hath no fury, right? The closing bell is about to ring on Wall Street.

WHITFIELD: Susan Lisovicz is standing by with the final look.

Hey, Susan.

SUSAN LISOVICZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hey, Fred and Don. You know, today is a very busy day. There's a lot of money to be made, especially if you're in the candy business. Ringing the opening bell today, Godiva chocolates. This is -- Valentine's Day is like Christmas, New Year's and Thanksgiving all rolled up into one for them.

I spoke to the president of Godiva earlier today.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JIM GOLDMAN, PRESIDENT, GODIVA CHOCOLATIER: We had 36 million boxes of chocolates sold today. And to give you an example of a product other than chocolate we sell, we have dipped strawberries. We do 15,000 dipped strawberries an hour.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

LISOVICZ: That's a lot of chocolate covered strawberries. You know, one of their most indulgent, by the way, is this...

WHITFIELD: Oh, no don't you tell me.

LISOVICZ: Oh, yes. Oh, yes.

WHITFIELD: Oh, girlie, I am (INAUDIBLE).

LISOVICZ: Chocolate mousse. And he said that was really one of the most decadent. And I'll show you the inside.

WHITFIELD: Oh, you're killing me now.

LISOVICZ: It's almost all gone, OK?

WHITFIELD: Yes.

LISOVICZ: So there you go.

LEMON: Who ate them, Susan? Did you eat a lot of them?

LISOVICZ: I actually had none, truly.

WHITFIELD: Oh, no.

LISOVICZ: I shared it with the traders.

WHITFIELD: You got gypped. LISOVICZ: It's OK. It's OK. Well, the night is still young, OK?

WHITFIELD: All right.

LISOVICZ: Well...

LEMON: Yes. Did you get your flowers yet or your present?

LISOVICZ: I got my flowers from the FTD yesterday...

WHITFIELD: OK.

LISOVICZ: ... because FTD rang the opening bell yesterday.

WHITFIELD: Oh, no, please.

(LAUGHTER)

LEMON: Susan, you've got all kinds of swag.

WHITFIELD: A sweet couple of days.

LISOVICZ: We're just -- we're just making out like bandits. But ringing the closing bell, guys, you're going to have to listen up to this, because there was a commotion on the trading floor about 15 minutes ago when the "Sports Illustrated" swimsuit model...

LEMON: Oh, yes. There you go.

LISOVICZ: ... stepped out. You had Will Ferrell. You had Andre 3000. Well, we had...

WHITFIELD: Oh, I see.

LISOVICZ: Yes, there are. They're wearing considerably more than they do in that famous issue.

WHITFIELD: So the gals on the floor got Godivas, the dudes got the sweet treats from the "Sports Illustrated" models and everybody is happy.

LEMON: And they got to look at the models.

(LAUGHTER)

WHITFIELD: Right.

LISOVICZ: I mean what sell-off? I think that's what a lot of people were saying. It's actually a huge franchise, of course, for "Sports Illustrated." Obviously, it's the best selling issue.

WHITFIELD: Yes.

LISOVICZ: And that's something we should be happy about, because that's one of the -- it's part of our parent company, Time Warner.

LEMON: I bet there's not a lot of trading going on right now, huh, Susan?

(LAUGHTER)

LISOVICZ: Well, there's a lot of applause and I'm not sure if it's because of the selling we saw today.

(STOCK MARKET REPORT)

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