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CNN Sunday Morning

Castro Steps Down; Presidential Campaign Spat; Operation Baghdad Pups; Recession-Proof Your Life

Aired February 24, 2008 - 09:00   ET

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

BETTY NGUYEN, CNN NEWS ANCHOR: A revolution, change, well, the clock is ticking in Cuba for a new leader. Castro is out and we will see another Castro in?
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

HILLARY CLINTON (D), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: So shame on you, Barack Obama. It is time you ran a campaign consistent with your messages in public.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

T.J. HOLMES, CNN NEWS ANCHOR: We got a bit of a campaign clash going on here. Hillary Clinton, firing off at Barack Obama. And guess what? He fires back.

NGUYEN: And it is up, up and away. This takeoff happened about two hours ago. We're going to tell you what makes this flight historic. From the CNN Center in Atlanta, bringing you news from around the world, good morning, everybody. I'm Betty Nguyen.

HOLMES: And hey there, I'm T.J. Holmes. It's Sunday, February 24: let's get you up to date.

NGUYEN: One hour, Cuba's national assembly meets to pick a new president. Fidel Castro relinquished power to his brother Raul back in 2006 when he became ill, but he never left office.

HOLMES: And Castro emerged 49 years ago as a cigar smoking communist revolutionary giving the long anti-American speeches. Now, through the Cuban Missile Crisis and surrogate wars in Africa, he was always a thorn in Washington's side. Last Tuesday, he said decling health prevented him from continuing as president. Well, at 81 now, time has clearly taken a toll on Fidel Castro, yet he remained and likely will remain a towering figure in Cuba. CNN Havana bureau chief, Morgan Neill, joins us now live as Cuba prepares for a changing of the guard.

Good morning to you, Morgan.

MORGAN NEILL, CNN HAVANA BUREAU CHIEF: Good morning, T.J. That's right. We certainly haven't heard the last of Fidel Castro. As he wrote in his registration letter this week, he planned to continue writing these essays, but up until now known as "Reflections of a Commander-in-Chief." Well, this week for the first time, we saw them with a new title, "Reflections of Comrade Fidel." But nevertheless, Cuba's national assembly will name a successor Fidel Castro after nearly 50 years in power. The assembly starts meeting within the hour, we expect a successor to be named sometime after that.

Now, the most likely candidate is Raul Castro, Fidel Castro's brother. Raul's been running the country the last year and a half as provisional president. But both Raul and Fidel Castro talked about the need for a younger...

HOLMES: All right. We just lost our Morgan Neill there, our Havana bureau chief, but we're keeping an eye on what's happening in parliament. Again, they are the ones voting, not the Cubans, today on the changing of the guard after Fidel Castro has stepped down. We'll try to get Morgan Neill back up here, more from Havana a little later.

NGUYEN: But, continuing with the story, as soon as Fidel Castro announced that he was stepping down as president, the U.S. presidential candidates weighed in with their thoughts on future relations between the U.S. and Cuba. Take a listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JOHN MCCAIN (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: The time to aid Cuba, to sit down with the Cuban leadership will only be after they've emptied their prisons, when a human rights organizations are functioning and they have held free elections. Raul, in many ways, has a worst record than Fidel.

CLINTON: I'm hoping that the new leadership will take steps to move Cuba toward Democracy, release political prisoners, lift a lot of the oppressive burdens that have prevented the Cuban people from really having the kind of future that they deserve to have.

OBAMA: One other thing that I've said as a show of good faith that we're interested in pursuing potentially a new relationship. What I've call for is a loosening of the restrictions of remittances, from family members to the people of Cuba, as well as travel restrictions for family members who want to visit their family members in Cuba.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HOLMES: Of course, as you can imagine, the end of the Fidel Castro's regime has people talking in the Cuban-American community.

HOLMES: Yeah, many of those live in south Florida, Cuban exiles, which is just a, you know, that south Florida area, a short distance from Cuba and in recent history, they have favored the Republican Party, but as CNN's John Zarrella found out, that is no longer the case.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

JOHN ZARRELLA, CNN NEWS CORRESPONDENT (voice over): In Miami's Little Havana, the cup was always filled with Republican votes. But for some, it doesn't taste quite as good as it used to.

LOURDES DIAZ, CUBAN-AMERICAN DEMOCRAT: We have been made a lot of promises by the Republican Party. They come here, they say, you know, (speaking foreign language) down with Fidel Castro, and then they ignore us.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: These Democrats that are out there, hiding, because they don't want to come out. We need to bring them out.

ZARRELLA: At a Democratic Hispanic caucus of Florida meeting, they talk of getting out the vote. The simple fact there's a meeting at all, says a lot.

Cuban-Americans blamed President Kennedy and the Democrats for the failure nearly 50 years ago at the Bay of Pigs invasion aimed at overthrowing Castro. Ever since, they have voted overwhelmingly Republican. That was reinforced when Elian Gonzalez was sent back to Cuba during Bill Clinton's presidency. If you are Cuban-American it was sacrilege to be anything but.

Millie Herrera says in the past, she was harassed for daring to be different.

MILLIE HERRERA, DEMOCRAT HISPANIC CAUCUS OF FL: I will not cede ground to anybody. I will not accept anyone to tell me that I am less patriotic or less beloving of Cuban-Americans and Cuban freedom, just because I'm a Democrat.

ZARRELLA: The Cuban American National Foundation, a rock solid ally of the Republican Party, since the Regan era, is no longer handing out automatic support.

FRANCISCO "PEPE" HERNANDEZ, CUBAN AMERICAN NATIONAL FOUNDATION: Our community have been changing our outlook toward the Republican Party, because of the failure of this administration to really provide some of the promises.

ZARRELLA: for decades, nearly every Republican candidate and president played to the audience, vowing to bring a few Cuba, and for good reason. Census figures show 1.5 million Hispanic voters in Florida, 36 percent of them, 540,000, are Cuban-Americans, the majority are registered Republicans and political observers say they'll probably stick with the GOP in the general election, but Democrats sense an opening. Bottom line, if the Republican nominee wants that cup filled with votes again, he may for the first time in 50 years have to work for them.

John Zarrella, CNN, Miami.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

HOLMES: Well, coming up in about 25 minutes, we're going to be talking with Fidel Castro's daughter, Alina Fernandez, going to be joining us live in Miami. Stay tuned for that.

Also we want to pass along some information we are just getting here about Ralph Nader. You've heard this before, but he's running for president, again. This is what we're just getting about Ralph Nader, he's making an appearance on "Meet the Press" this morning, saying he will run, again, for president as an Independent, again, understand ent, again, this sounds familiar. He has done this, this is the third time. He has, certainly, a lot more to say this morning in that interview with "Meet the Press," but we were exacting some kind of announcement from him and apparently the interview has taken place and that is the word that, in fact, yes, is he going to run for president, again. We will see how this shakes up the race. But, Ralph Nader, a third run, going to give it another shot. A lot of people say he kind messed things up for Al Gore back in 2000, taking votes away from him. So, we don't know how his candidacy could play this time around.

NGUYEN: But you know, a lot of people were expecting him to come out to make a statement saying that he indeed will run and there you have it, today, he has announced.

HOLMES: We kind of expect it every go round, at this point.

NGUYEN: Maybe the third time is a charm. Who knows?

HOLMES: That's what they say.

NGUYEN: We'll see. We'll keep following the story for you.

Also now this morning, a big step today toward environmentally friendly airline travel. Virgin Atlantic conducted a test flight with a Boeing 747 powered by biofuels, which is a mix of coconut and babassu oil. The plane flew from London to Amsterdam.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

RICHARD BRANSON, CHAIRMAN, VIRGIN GROUP: Biofeel isn't the only answer, but it's one of the building block to our cleaner, lower carbon future. We believe that the U.K. government should be encouraging those businesses which are trying to change their industries, such as through testing new forms of fuel.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

NGUYEN: Virgin Atlantic predicted the biofuel would produce much less carbon dioxide than regular jet fuel. It will take several weeks to analyze data from today's flight to determine exactly if that was the case.

HOLMES: An energy tax plan comes up for vote in the House this week, and the bill would shift about $18 billion in tax breaks from big oil companies and provide more incentives for renewable energy and things like hybrid cars and energy efficiency homes. Democrats say the move would reduce dependence on foreign oil.

NGUYEN: Well, the west coast gearing up for another winter snowstorm. Reynolds Wolf had been watching. It seems like we have been talking about this for a few weeks, now.

REYNOLDS WOLF, CNN METEOROLOGIST: Yeah, I'm telling you, this has been a tremendous storm we've been watching out towards the west.

(WEATHER REPORT)

HOLMES: Reynolds, we appreciate you.

WOLF: Anytime, guy.

HOLMES: Well folks, if you are just tuning in this morning, you are missing a heavyweight championship match shaping up, here. Really, a war of words between the Democrats running for president. Hillary Clinton says Barack Obama is using some political dirty tricks. She says "shame on you," and she does not hold back her anger. Obama says he's just telling it like it is. We'll tell you what's really going on.

NGUYEN: But first, they are heroes to the troops at war. This fury friend and many more just like him are finding new homes after serving on the battlefield.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

NGUYEN: Time now for a quick look at the stories that we're following. Police in Orange County, California, are investigating a suspected murder-suicide this morning involving children. Five dead bodies are found, including three children between the ages of five and nine, a 14-year-old boy who called 911 was found alive and is in the hospital at this hour. He told police he was shot by his father.

HOLMES: Johnnie Carr, considered one of the mothers of the civil rights movement has died. Carr joined childhood friend, Rosa Parks, in the historic Montgomery bus boycott and became a prominent civil rights activist. Johnnie Carr died Friday in Montgomery, Alabama, after suffering a stroke earlier this month. She was 97 years old.

NGUYEN: Well, we have a couple of heroes to tell you about. In East Saint Louis, Illinois, a 12-year-old girl broke out I second- floor window and helped her brother and sister jump out of their burning house. Her 9-year-old brother suffered a broken ankle in that fall, but here's what he did. He went back into the house looking for another sister. Luckily, she was already gotten out. The boy, though, is in the hospital with burns on his arms.

HOLMES: Well, Iraqis celebrating a Shia religious holiday were the target of a suicide bomber, today. At least 27 people were killed, more than 30 injured. It happened south of Baghdad. The Muslims headed toward Karbala.

And this looks like humanitarian relief truck, but inside there was a deadly suicide switch and 5,000 pounds of exslowives. U.S. forces say the truck was parked in the heavily populated part of Mosul. They removed it and detonated those explosives.

NGUYEN: Well, some of the dogs that have known only war in Iraq are getting a new life right here in the United States. The Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals has launched Operation Baghdad Pups. Now, the plan is to bring some of the animals that have meant so much to the troops back to the U.S. I spoke with Terri Crisp, a rescue specialist with the SPCA, earlier this morning, about the dogs that they are bringing home.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TERRI CHRISP, SPCA: SPC International, we have very strict criteria, because we really, we don't want to become the animal control agency for Baghdad. We're being very selective in the animals that come. And the soldiers that request the help, they are the ones that will be giving these animals a home. They're not coming back here to the states and then we're going to try and see if we can find them a home.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

NGUYEN: Crisp says the SPCA hopes to have about two dozen soldiers bring dogs home.

HOLMES: Well, it's that time in the campaign season where the candidates are squaring off and they're also sounding off.

NGUYEN: Oh, man, are they? The hits are becoming very direct. But is any candidate hitting a bull's eye?

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

CLINTON: Let's have a real campaign, enough with the speeches and the big rallies and then using tactics that are right out of Karl Rove's playbook. This is wrong and every Democrat should be outraged because this is the kind of attack that not only undermines core Democratic values, but gives aid and comfort to the very special interests and their allies in the Republican Party who are against doing what we want to do for America. So, shame on you, Barack Obama. It is time you ran a campaign consistent with your messages in public. That's what I expect from you. Meet me in Ohio, let's have a debate about your tactics and your behavior in this campaign.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HOLMES: All right. Well that is Hillary Clinton, there, responding, to some charges from Barack Obama. Now, we have this new twist to this campaign. Senator Hillary Clinton lashing out at Senator Barack Obama over a mass mailing. She says Obama is lying about her positions on universal healthcare and trade. Obama's campaign says the information in the fliers is accurate and that the Clinton campaign is going negative.

The next primary contest, of course, coming up on March 4, Ohio and Texas heading to the polls along with Rhode Island and Vermont. Let's get to it here. Ken Rudin, National Public Radio's political editor, he joins us now live from Washington.

And Ken, good to see you as always. Now, I don't know if I'm reading too much into this, but she seemed upset. So tell me, how much of what we saw there was a tactical move as Obama alleges, or she is genuinely peeved?

KEN RUDIN, NPR POLITICAL EDITOR: Well, she is peeved and, of course, anybody who has lost 11 contests in a row should be peeved. But, she's also upset about what she says is Barack Obama mischaracterizing her record on trade, on healthcare, things like that. But, you know, this attack comes only a few days after the debate where she was proud to be on the same stage as Barack Obama, will still remain friends. I think there is some tactics involved here because the stuff that Barack Obama had been saying about her healthcare plan is not new, it's been out there for awhile and she seemed to really, you know, maybe this is a way to make a change, but obviously with Ohio and Texas so important on March 4t, she's got to do something to change the dynamic.

HOLMES: OK, some people might see this and read this and go, wow, she is passionate and she is really upset and, wow, he really must have done something to get under her skin and they might appreciate the passion. Others might see this and say lady, calm down, why are you so upset? So, how do you think this is going to play with voters out here to see a candidate obviously angry?

RUDIN: It's a good question. Nothing seems to be working. I mean, clearly, I mean, for her to say that these are Karl Rove tactics, I think anytime when you -- you know, you attack the Clintons, it's a Karl Rove tactic. But the point is that there is some mischaracterizations of her policies, as there is in every campaign. I think she has mischaracterized Barack Obama's positions on some occasions. She's also -- now, when the Clinton administration passed NAFTA in 1993, now she's saying, oh no, Bill Clinton didn't really have much to do with it, it was a George H.W. Bush thing. So, there is a re-writing of history going on.

But look, you know, she's not doing well, she's gone down, lost 11 straight contests, even Bill Clinton said that she's got to win in Texas and Ohio and there's a lot of -- you know, morale is low in the campaign. She's got to fire them up and she never seems -- Hillary Clinton never seemed to have lost faith, so she's still fighting the fight.

HOLMES: Ken, how do you -- and this was something, I mentioned "Saturday Night Live," they did a skit last night where people were just kind of swooning over Barack Obama, everybody just in love with Barack Obama. In a way, he is the Teflon Democratic Don, if you will. You can't touch him. It seems like if you try to attack him, then there's a backlash against that candidate. How do you go about not necessarily just attacking, but just bringing him to task on certain issues without seeming like you're trying to bring down Mr. Inspiration in everyone's eyes?

RUDIN: Well, if you just go back to the CNN debate of last week. I think Hillary Clinton is always most effective is when she argues her own case. Her closing argument in the debate, I though was very heartfelt, very effective I thought, but when she attacks Barack Obama, she says you can't be campaign like a Xerox machine, it just seems petty and almost desperate. I think, you know, Hillary Clinton does not do well when she goes on the attack, when she defends herself, there's nobody better.

HOLMES: All right, well finally here, he got a new twist this morning. I don't know if it's something we should really consider breaking news. Ralph Nader says he is going to joining the presidential race as an Independent, again. We've been down this road before, but what can we expect, or what role can we expect him to play? I know it's early and we're just getting word, but still, what role could he possibly play, now?

RUDIN: Well, I think this could really hurt Al Gore. No, I'm sorry, 2000 joke. I haven't using that joke for eight years.

HOLMES: It hasn't worked in eight years, man. No, I'm kidding.

RUDIN: A nominal effect, really. He had 0.3 percent of the vote in 2004 when he ran. But every Democrat hates him because they still blame him for Gore's defeat in 2000.

HOLMES: All right, Ken Rudin, sir, it's always a pleasure to have you. Haven't seen you in awhile, here, but good to have you back, as always. You have you a good one.

RUDIN: Thanks a lot.

HOLMES: And a reminder to you folks, you can watch the candidates uncensored this afternoon, CNN's BALLOT BOWL begins at 2:00 p.m. Eastern, then we're re-airing the Democratic debate from Austin, Texas. You can tune in at 8:00 Eastern, tonight, to see that -- Betty.

NGUYEN: All right, well it is Black History Month, and we are taking you to the top to meet a man who is honoring the past through his work in theater and now in movies. Brooke Anderson as the story.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BROOKE ANDERSON, CNN NEWS CORRESPONDENT (voice over): Actor- director Kenny Leon, once thought he would be a lawyer.

KENNY LEON, TRUE COLORS THEATRE COMPANY: I went to college in Atlanta, Georgia, where I met people like Samuel L Jackson and Bill Nye (ph) and Spike Lee, and was in the same class and I knew law was not for me. Especially, once I was introduced to theater and those guys.

ANDERSON: Leon later co-founded the True Colors Theatre Company, based in Atlanta and D.C.

LEON: Directing allows me to embrace everything that I've learned along the way. So, if I can take an actor from point B to point B, that brings joy in me.

ANDERSON: Leon's big break came in 2004 on Broadway. He directed "A Raisin in the Sun," a revival of Lorraine Hansberry's 1959 classic, the first Broadway play written by an African-American woman. Leon went on to direct a TV movie version of the play which airs this month on ABC.

LEON: Ultimately, I would like to leave some footprints on the planet. All of this is about honoring the past and that we can make a better world in the future for all Americans.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HOLMES: All right. Hollywood. All a buzz for tonight's big ceremony. One film that's in the spotlight is about former Beatles, John Lennon. We have the details and a CNN exclusive.

NGUYEN: But first, we are 30 minutes away from the vote on Cuba's new leader. This woman, Fidel Castro's daughter, will join us live from Miami, right after this.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HOLMES: Well hello there and welcome back, everybody. I'm T.J. Holmes.

NGUYEN: Yes, good morning, everybody. I'm Betty Nguyen. Cuba gets a new president today after almost a half century under the rule of Fidel Castro. Cuba's national assembly convenes in about 30 minutes to choose the new president. Now, it is widely expected to be Castro's younger brother, Raul. The 76-year-old has been running the government since Castro got sick last year. Fidel Castro announced his resignation last week.

And the end of Castro's rule as president of Cuba probably won't soften the U.S.'s position toward the communist country.

HOLMES: At least not right away. CNN's Brian Todd takes a closer look at how a new Cuban president might get along with a new U.S. president.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

BRIAN TODD, CNN NEWS CORRESPONDENT (voice over): He unseated himself before any American president could, but the next American president could face similar challenges with Fidel Castro's brother, Raul. And Barack Obama is the one White House hopeful who says he'll immediately take a new tact with the old communist regime.

OBAMA: When I am president, I'll grant Cuban-Americans unrestricted rights to visit family and send remittances to the island.

TODD: Right now, a Cuban in the U.S. can only visit immediate relatives on the island once every three years.

(on camera): Obama also says he'd open direct talks, unprompted, to send a message that relations could be normalized, sanctions could be reduced if the Cuban regime moves toward Democratic freedom.

(voice over): Hillary Clinton support the tough sanctions now in place, and signals the Cubans have to move on reform before she'll talk.

CLINTON: The people United States would meet a new government to talk about what needs to happen if that new government takes some action that demonstrates they're willing to change.

PETER KORNBLUH, GEORGE WASHINGTON UNIVERSITY: Hillary Clinton has calculated that she does not want to make the mistake of losing Florida like Al Gore did to just a handful of Cuban-Americans votes. When she's president, would she follow in the footsteps of her husband, who did try to start to open trade and exchanges with Cuba? I think she will.

TODD: As governor of Arkansas, Mike Huckabee felt the sanctions on Cuba hurt his state's rice industry. Now, he wants to keep the sanctions in place. John McCain's stance? Tough sanctions, no carrots for Cuba until the regime takes clear steps toward Democracy, a position consistent with the GOP's traditional hard line, but also in formed, an aide says, by John McCain's experience as a POW.

MCCAIN: There's a person I want you to help me find when Cuba is free, and that's that Cuban that came to the prison camps of North Vietnam that tortured me and killed my friends. We'll bring him and bring him to justice, too.

TODD: That was at a recent event sponsored by the Latin Builders Association in Miami. Analysts say with Florida holding such a crucial position in the race, few candidates want to risk the presidency on a drastic change in Cuba policy. Analysts say the older generation of Cuban exile there, traditional aligned with the GOP, still has influence and money. But, polls in Florida also show younger generation may become the majority of Cuban-American voters in Florida within a few years and analysts say they want a real change in American policy toward the regime.

Brian Todd, CNN, Washington.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

NGUYEN: Well, and Cuban exile Alina Fernandez joins us now to share her thoughts about the end of Fidel Castro's reign. As a radio talk show host in Miami, she does bring a rare perspective, because she is the only daughter of Fidel Castro.

Thanks for being with us, today.

ALINA FERNANDEZ, FIDEL CASTRO'S DAUGHTER: Thank you. At least, the only one who lives in America.

NGUYEN: This is true. So, as you're watching this, today, and you know, it's not like the people of Cuba are going to vote, this is something that is going to be done by assembly. Do you expect any major change?

FERNANDEZ: Not any major changes. I think that the -- the government will remain mostly the same, but I think they are going to bring on a civilian face, which they need if they want to, you know, accomplish this condition that the United States is placing to...

NGUYEN: What do you mean a civilian face?

FERNANDEZ: I mean Carlos Lajay (ph) (INAUDIBLE), people that were born in 1951, for example, and they'll belong to the military.

NGUYEN: Well, some have said that Raul could bring about economic changes. Do you think he will, or is he pretty much going to stay the course in which his brother has pretty much forged for the past 50 years?

FERNANDEZ: I think he will. He will as long as he won't lose any political power. He will secure of that.

NGUYEN: And do you think your father will be ruling from behind the scenes? And the reason I ask this, is because in his letter to the communist paper where announced his resignation, he says "I wish only to fight as a soldier of ideas and perhaps my voice will be heard." Do you think he'll be pulling strings behind this new leader?

FERNANDEZ: I think that he's still doing that, but less and less, definitely. Definitely, you can see that Raul is standing in a strong position.

NGUYEN: Why do you think your father decided to announce this in a letter to the paper? Why didn't he come out in public in front of the cameras and make an official announcement?

FERNANDEZ: My assumption is that he can't, that he's really ill.

NGUYEN: Do you think he's deathly ill?

FERNANDEZ: Definitely.

NGUYEN: That he's near death at this point? And is that the only reason why you think he would...

FERNANDEZ: I wouldn't speculate about it, but I think he doesn't want to be seen publicly.

NGUYEN: I got you. Because, a lot of historians will say when it comes to leaders in positions, many of them won't leave unless they're pushed out or unless they do indeed die in office. And you think this has a lot to do with his health, the reason why he's decided...

FERNANDEZ: I think it has a lot to do with his health, and I think we're also seeing something very surprising, because nobody saw that -- this was going to be the way he will step out of power, really.

NGUYEN: As we look at the leadership changing in Cuba, and the leadership changing, perhaps, here in the U.S., whether that be a Republican or a Democrat, is this an opportunity for the U.S. to really step in and try to enhance relationships with Cuba? FERNANDEZ: Well, under this administration, and only under this administration, the trade between Cuba and the United States had amount to 15,000 million dollars (ph), so you know, everything is politics.

NGUYEN: That indeed, especially during a political year. Alina Fernandez, Fidel Castro's daughter and a CNN contributor. Thanks for your time today.

HOLMES: Well, we know the phrase, "what's in your wallet?" We know that from the commercial, that catch phrase. Well, it's not just a catch phrase anymore. Between gas, groceries, cars, and your house, is there any cash left in that wallet? Coming up, some quick ways to keep your money. It's our "Financial Security Watch."

NGUYEN: Plus, one person's chance encounter with a Beatle could be an Oscar winner. Yeah, we have the story behind "I Met the Walrus." That's right after this.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HOLMES: Well, 40 minute past the hour now on this CNN SUNDAY MORNING. A brief look at some stories we're following here, some other stories. Boston police looking for a Northeastern University student who has been missing since the day after the Super Bowl. Nicholas Sova is from Connecticut, he disappeared February 4 and described as being six feet tall, 200 pounds, and brown hair. And you're taking a look at his picture, there.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: $2 for $270 million. What a blessing. Now, I won't have to get out there and work.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

NGUYEN: That's the best $2 that men has ever spent. There was only one winning ticket in Friday's Mega Millions lottery drawing, and I meant to play. What was I thinking? Well, Robert and Tonya Harris are thinking, hey, we got it, $270 million in the bank. Well, after taxes, of course. They used the birthdays of their grandchildren to pick those lucky lotto numbers. So, what's next? Well, a new truck and certainly retirement.

HOLMES: Well, I'm kind of glad you didn't win it, because you're still here.

NGUYEN: Oh, you think I would leave here. There's no way. Even if I won it, I wouldn't leave. Right.

HOLMES: You would you not be here.

Well, Lindsay Lohan, Eddie Murphy, they cleaned up at an award show last night. But the Oscars is tonight. The Razzie Awards were last night. So, Lohan actually snagged three spray painted statues for her role in "I Know Who Killed Me." NGUYEN: Hey, those statues cost four bucks apiece.

HOLMES: They're about four bucks, we're told. And she got three. But Eddie Murphy, not to be outdone, he got three as well for playing three characters in the comedy "Norbit". Razzie's, of course, if you're not familiar, they're handed out for the worst movies and worst performances of the year.

NGUYEN: And we all know the big stars are up for the Oscars tonight and we wanted to tell you about a smaller film with a big meaning.

HOLMES: It's called "I Met the Walrus." It's nominated for "Best Animated Short Film." CNN entertainment correspondent, Brooke Anderson, has our exclusive look.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

JERRY LEVITAN, FILMMAKER: Here we are, going back in time.

ANDERSON (voice over): This footage of music legend John Lennon and Yoko Ono has never been seen on American television. It's part of a story that begins in Toronto in 1969 and ends at this year's Academy Awards.

I can feel after all these years exactly what I felt whether I was there. It was unbelievable. It was miraculous.

ANDERSON: When he was 14 years old, Jerry Levitan says he heard a rumor that his hero, John Lennon, was in town. Posing as a reporter with his brother's super eight camera, he set out to see if the rumor was true. We asked Levitan to retrace his steps.

LEVITAN: I went downtown Toronto, the King Edward hotel, 7:00 in the morning, went to the top floor, and started knocking on every door, and then ultimately a maid came up to me, and I though she was going to throw me out and she said are you looking for the Beatle?

ANDERSON: Heart pounding and head racing, Levitan says he made his way to Lennon's room.

LEVITAN: I knocked on the door and I said, "Canadian News," it opened up a bit more, and just barged in. I shuffled in like a 14- year-old would and I sat down on the floor cross legged and I looked up and three or four feet in front of me sat John Lennon and Yoko Ono.

ANDERSON: The pair had come to Canada to attract media attention to their campaign against the Vietnam War. Levitan not only met his hero, he says Lennon invited his admirerback for an exclusive interview.

Levitan returned with a reel to reel audio recorder later that evening.

Nearly four decades later, a Canadian filmmaker Josh Raskin has turned Levitan's audio recording into the Oscar nominated short "I Met the Walrus".

With America now in another war, Lennon's plea for peace continues to resonate, today.

LEVITAN: John Lennon gave me a gift when I was 14. He was generous with his time and kind to me in an extraordinary way and after all of these years, I'm responsible for bringing his voice back in a way that has meaning and in a way that does him honor.

ANDERSON: Brooke Anderson, CNN, Hollywood.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

HOLMES: And as CNN covers the Oscars race, you can check out our interactive special, Academy Award spotlight, at cnn.com, lots of fun galleries and quizzes for all you movie buffs out there, that address again, cnn.com/academyawards. And join our Brooke Anderson, Kareen Wynter, A.J. Hammer for the red carpet special tonight, HOLLYWOOD'S GOLD RUSH, live, 7:00 Eastern.

NGUYEN: And CNN, of course, is serious about your finances, as well. So, we are giving you ways to save your money.

HOLMES: Don't let the "R" word bring you down. There are ways to stop recession from taking your cash.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HOLMES: This story just in to us, here. Police in Houston on the lookout for this child, here. This is a two-year-old baby girl. The name here is Eliyah Majia, two years old, Hispanic child out of the Houston area is now missing, and an Amber Alert issued, but the child was taken after the truck that she was left in was stolen. The circumstances here, according to police, was that at 5:00 in the morning, there in Houston, the child's father arrived at a home, left the child in the truck in the driveway, while he went inside the home to argue with the child's mother. So, while the parents were inside the home arguing, the child was left in the car, outside. Somebody comes, steals the truck, and the child is in the truck and now we have an Amber Alert and this little child is missing, 2-year-old, again, Eliyah Majia. Right now police don't have any reason to think that child was in particular targeted or in danger. It just may just been a situation, someone trying to steal a truck, that's bad enough, but the child was left in there and happened to be taken along with the truck. We're keeping an eye on this story and hopefully this will resolve itself quickly and happily.

NGUYEN: In the meantime, saving big money by doing small things. Yes, our "Financial Security Watch," this morning. Elizabeth Blake is an editor, writer for "All You" magazine, and joins us live from New York. The magazine lists 36 simple things that you can do to recession-proof your life.

Elizabeth, good morning.

ELIZABETH BLAKE, EDITOR, ALL YOU MAGAZINE: Good morning, Betty. NGUYEN: All right, as we mentioned the "R" word. Give it to us, what are some of the first things that you need to do?

BLAKE: Well, you know, it seems like everywhere you turn these days, there's talk of a recession. But our readers told us that they just wanted some help recession-proofing their lives and so, we have come up with some smart tips to help them scale back and cut costs.

NGUYEN: Well, one of them is aggressive driving wastes gas? Really?

BLAKE: It does. Aggressive driving does waste gas. The faster you go, the less fuel efficient you're going to be and it does, it wastes gas and every penny counts, so it does add up really quickly.

NGUYEN: I have got to stay off the road. Another thing, drop one movie channel and that could save you as much as $100 per year?

BLAKE: Yeah, exactly. You know, it's something that you would probably never miss, just one of those premium channels, but it goes a long way. $100, you know, here and there it does add up, so you're not going to miss...

NGUYEN: All right, now you're taking away some of my cable, and now you want me not to go to the movies as much?

BLAKE: Well, I'm not saying go to the movies as much, but try to scale back a tiny bit. You know, there are other options. Try to rediscover maybe your library. There's so many movies and, you know, there's so much that you can get from there and it's all free.

NGUYEN: Put that graphic back, if you could, please, because if you don't go to the movies as often, it could save you as much as, what, 300 and something bucks a year, really?

BLAKE: It really adds up, that popcorn isn't cheap these days, you know?

NGUYEN: Wow, my goodness. OK, and some of the other things: program your thermostat, that could save you as much as $150 a year.

BLAKE: Yeah, that really adds up, as well. You know, there's no sense in paying for heating or cooling when you're not at home or when you're sleeping. So, just by programming your thermostat to stay at certain temperatures, those costs are going to add up, as well.

NGUYEN: Well, you know, with more money in your pocket, what do people like to do? Shop, of course.

BLAKE: Who doesn't?

NGUYEN: And when we see the sales, I am a sucker for a good sale, but you say you may want to just step back from that.

BLAKE: Yeah, you know, everybody is very inclined, you know, you see a sale, you want to stock up and in some cases that's fine, you know, for food, for things that you're certainly going to use. But, in a time of recession when we're trying to tighten the belt, there's really no sense in buying two sweaters just because the second one is going to be a little...

NGUYEN: But, they're two different colors. Come on, Elizabeth.

BLAKE: I like to shop with best of them, but we're talking about tightening the belt, here.

NGUYEN: All right, all right. And well, you know, grocery shopping is a big deal, too, because when it comes to that, that can be a large portion of your budget for the month. And you say generic items are just as good as those brand name ones?

BLAKE: Yeah, you know, you're really just paying for the marketing to be perfectly honest. The quality is at least comparable, if not pretty much the same. And so, just by choosing generic when you're grocery shopping, you can scale back your bill by at least 10 percent, if not more.

NGUYEN: My goodness. All right, you know, I usually stick to a list, because if I go grocery shopping when I'm hungry, I'm buying everything and would I assume that's the best way to go, just to make sure that you stay on point and only buy what you need.

BLAKE: Well, stay on point, and don't buy things just because you're hungry, but also studies have shown that after you're shopping for the first 30 minutes, for every additional minute that you stick in that store, you are spending 50 more cents.

NGUYEN: Really?

BLAKE: Per minute. I mean, so just think how quickly that can add up. So, you can apply that not only in grocery shopping, but to all of your shopping.

NGUYEN: Who shops more than 30 minutes or more in a grocery store?

BLAKE: Oh, gosh. I do.

NGUYEN: Really, you? I am in and out. But, that's why I have a list, right?

BLAKE: Well see, you're probably saving money. We should all try to be more like that.

NGUYEN: I can buy more sweaters in all different colors.

Elizabeth Blake, style editor for "All You" magazine. Thanks for joining us, today.

BLAKE: Thanks for chatting with me.

NGUYEN: And for more ways to keep your hard-earned money, join Gerri Willis all the week, it is a special CNN FINANCIAL SECURITY WATCH every weekday at noon Eastern.

HOLMES: Well, it's not time for us to check in with Howard Kurtz in Washington to see what's ahead on CNN's RELIABLE SOURCES.

Good morning, Howard.

HOWARD KURTZ, RELIABLE SOURCES: Good morning, T.J. Coming up, the fallout over the that "New York Times" story on John McCain and lobbyist Vicky Iseman is now hurting not the senator, but the newspaper. Should the "Times" had relied on unnamed sources in suggesting McCain had an affair nine years ago.

And Hillary Clinton gets mad, really mad, over the criticism by Barack Obama of her healthcare and trade plans. But have journalists bothered to check the facts? Plus, will Jon Stewart make those smug Hollywood celebrities laugh at tonight's Oscars or will he bomb? That's all ahead on RELIABLE SOURCES.

HOLMES: Smug Hollywood celebrities, Howard? Come on.

NGUYEN: They're people too, Howard.

HOLMES: I had to go there. All right, we'll see you here shortly.

NGUYEN: Well, for those of you just waking up, writers for "Saturday Night Live" returned last night and they were focusing on what else? Politics.

HOLMES: Politics. What everybody's talking about. Republican presidential candidate, Mike Huckabee, he was there, he was live. We'll show you how he did.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HOLMES: All right, politics as we know, as we've seen, certainly this morning, can be pretty serious stuff. You got to laugh at this, too. Here's something funny, Mike Huckabee, "Saturday Night Live," last night.

NGUYEN: Did you see it? Hopefully you did. If you did, need we say more? Here he is , getting a little lesson in delegate math.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SETH MEYERS, COMEDIAN: Basically it takes 1,191 delegates to clinch your party's nomination and even if you won every remaining unpledged delegate, you would still fall 200 delegates short.

MIKE HUCKABEE (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Wow. Seth, that was an excellent explanation. But, I'm afraid that you overlook the all- important superdelegates. Don't forget about them.

MEYERS: Well, I won't forget about them, but the super delegates are only in the Democratic primary.

HUCKABEE: They can't vote in the Republican primary?

MEYERS: They cannot.

HUCKABEE: Uh-oh. That's not good news. You know, Seth, I was counting on those superdelegates.

MEYERS: Sorry to break that to you.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

NGUYEN: He is good. I mean, that timing was on.

HOLMES: He is a funny guy. And again, we were just talking I spent time with him in Arkansas. I covered him for three years, he was the governor there, and you know, politics, it gets nasty, but he is a funny, funny guy.

WOLF: He needed to lift the veil a little bit, so you could just see them as people, not as the...

NGUYEN: Yeah, the public figure.

WOLF: Yeah, exactly.

NGUYEN: Right, exactly. Good stuff. And another skit was when they were saying, you know, he doesn't know when to bow out, meant to get out of the race and they were trying to get him off the set. It good (INAUDIBLE) on "Saturday Night Live."

HOLMES: But yeah, he did some -- again, the delegates aren't working out too well for him, but that gives him free publicity, people talking about it so his name is still out there and he's still in the game.

NGUYEN: Mike Huckabee. Well, you know, Huckabee's challenger in the Republican presidential race, didn't have much to laugh at this week. The "New York Times" focused on John McCain and allegations about his relationship with a lobbyist. Howard Kurtz has the story, next on RELIABLE SOURCES.

HOLMES: Also President Bush's domestic surveillance program and the war on terrorism, director of national intelligence, Admiral Mike McConnell talks about those issues and more with our Wolf Blitzer, that's ahead on LATE EDITION. But first, we got a check of the morning's top developments.

Cuban officials meeting today to select a new president to replace Fidel Castro. Castro, 81 years old, in poor health, he's stepping down after nearly half a century in power, there. Castro's likely successor is his younger brother, 76-year-old Raul who has been acing president since 2006.

Well, a suicide bomb attack, south of Baghdad, has killed at least 27 Iraqis, most of them were Shia Muslims heading to Karbala on annual religious pilgrimage. Also this weekend, a truck bomb disguised as a Red Crescent relief truck as found parked along a road on Mosul. A U.S. bomb disposal team took care of that without incident.

And this is a first for any commercial airline flight. A Virgin Atlantic 747 flew from London to the Netherlands today, powered by biofuel. It will take weeks to analyze the data, but the use of biofuel could make air travel more environmentally friendly.

We'll have more to stories for you coming your way in about a half an hour. RELIABLE SOURCES starts right now.

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