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CNN Sunday Morning
Gingrich Wins In South Carolina; Joe Paterno In Serious Condition; Vet Offers Job Advice to Others
Aired January 22, 2012 - 06:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
GARY TUCHMAN, CNN ANCHOR: From CNN Center, this is CNN SUNDAY MORNING. It's January 22nd. Good morning. I'm Gary Tuchman. It's 6:00 a.m. here in Atlanta and also 6:00 a.m. in Columbia, South Carolina, after the South Carolina primary. Let's give you the news.
Newt Gingrich takes South Carolina.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
NEWT GINGRICH (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: And we proved here in South Carolina that people power with the right ideas beats big money. And with your help, we're going to prove it again in Florida.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
TUCHMAN: The former House speaker says he may not have the money, but he can take on Mitt Romney. We'll take you live to South Carolina for the post-primary analysis.
Despite false reports swirling on social media, former Penn state coach Joe Paterno is alive but in serious condition. Students lit candles in his support. We will take you live to Penn State.
And, search and rescue teams continue working on the Italian cruise ship this morning. They stopped briefly overnight for safety issues. We've got the latest in the investigation. Plus, new audiotape from the ship's captain.
ANNOUNCER: From CNN's world headquarters, bringing you news and analysis from across the nation and around the globe, live from Studio 7, this is CNN SUNDAY MORNING.
TUCHMAN: Hello and good morning to everybody.
We start with the runaway victory for Newt Gingrich in the South Carolina Republican primary. Look at the numbers. It was a double digit win for the former House speaker. Easily beating Mitt Romney. And then there's Rick Santorum and Ron Paul. That means we've had three contests and three different winners. Santorum in Iowa, Romney in New Hampshire, and now Gingrich.
Let's bring in CNN political editor Paul Steinhauser, who's live in Columbia, the state capital in South Carolina, this morning.
Paul, good morning to you. What does the South Carolina vote tell us about this race now?
PAUL STEINHAUSER, CNN POLITICAL EDITOR: Gary, I think it tells us we're going to be covering this race for the nomination for a little while longer. You just mentioned, three different winners, three different contests. That hasn't happened in -- dating back at least to 1980 and the modern primary schedule.
How did Newt Gingrich do it? He did it with a lot of force and a lot of action right here in South Carolina.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
NEWT GINGRICH (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Thank you to everyone in south Carolina who decided to be with us in changing Washington.
STEINHAUSER (voice-over): Another comeback for Newt Gingrich. Down in the polls just a week ago, the former House speaker stormed back to take South Carolina's crucial Republican primary by double digits over Mitt Romney. Gingrich praised the former Massachusetts governor, but he also got in a dig.
GINGRICH: We don't have the kind of money that at least one of the candidates has.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We'll get him.
GINGRICH: But we do have ideas and we do have people. And we have proved here in South Carolina that people power with the right ideas beats big money. And with your help, we're going to prove it again in Florida.
STEINHAUSER: But with the expensive fight for Florida ahead, Gingrich put out an online plea for campaign cash.
For Romney, a setback.
MITT ROMNEY (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: We've still got a long way to go and a lot of work to do. And tomorrow we're going to move on to Florida.
STEINHAUSER: And a little taste of what we'll hear in Florida.
ROMNEY: President Obama has no experience running a business and no experience running a state. Our party can't be led to victory by someone who also has never run a business and never run a state.
STEINHAUSER: Rick Santorum finished third, but the former senator from Pennsylvania vowed to keep going.
RICK SANTORUM (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Let me assure you, we will go to Florida and then we're going to Arizona and Colorado and (INAUDIBLE) anywhere else across this country.
STEINHAUSER: Ron Paul came in last, but the Texas congressman was still encouraged.
RON PAUL, (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Looks like tonight we will get four to five times more votes than we did four years ago.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
STEINHAUSER: So, you look at the exit polls and it really tells the story. You know, about two-thirds of the people said they decided just in the last few days about two-thirds of the people we questioned in these exit polls say that the debates were important to their vote. Gary, Gingrich won those people by a 2-1 margin over Romney.
You know what, we're packing up the bus behind me. The CNN Election Express. We're going down to Florida. We've got a debate coming up on Thursday night. Wolf Blitzer moderating. The primary just nine days away.
Gary.
TUCHMAN: Well, first of all, I like the tie you're wearing. I want to make that very clear right now.
STEINHAUSER: Thank you.
TUCHMAN: OK.
STEINHAUSER: Thank You.
TUCHMAN: And, secondly, I am politically blown away by what's happened in this primary. I mean last weekend at this time when we were talking, Gingrich was way behind in the polls. I never would have imaged this. Do you feel the same way?
STEINHAUSER: Yes, you know what, Gary, one of the story lines in this cycle has been debates matter, and they matter a whole heck of a lot. Newt Gingrich had two strong debates here in South Carolina, the one in Myrtle Beach last Monday and our debate in Charleston on Thursday night. Mitt Romney on the defensive with his taxes all week. That really came into play. One of the reasons why we saw the polls turn around and Newt Gingrich come away with a double digit victory.
Gary.
TUCHMAN: Debates matter big-time. You're right. Paul Steinhauser, thank you very much.
And we will hear from both Newt Gingrich and Rick Santorum a little later this morning. They're each going to be talking to our Candy Crowley on CNN's State of the Union. That starts 9:00 a.m. Eastern Time.
So, what fueled Newt Gingrich's strong showing in South Carolina? There were actually many factors across a wide range of voters. Our Wolf Blitzer and John King break down the exit polls.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
WOLF BLITZER, ANCHOR, "THE SITUATION ROOM": We're studying all these numbers, John, and we're learning a lot about what's happened in South Carolina and what it means down the road.
JOHN KING, CNN: That's right. We're trying to look at the South Carolina exit polls and the results and project forward. What does Newt Gingrich have to gain? What should he be focusing on? And, mostly, what does Mitt Romney have to worry about.
Here's a few things. When Gingrich is winning so big, you know he's winning across. But look at this, huge support among the Tea Party. There's a lot of Tea Party in Florida. Governor Romney needs to fix this number. You have Gingrich 45 to 25 among the Tea Party. He has to close that gap. That's one lesson there.
Evangelical Christians, not as big a factor, 64 percent in South Carolina. That will be a much smaller number in Florida. But again, especially up in the panhandle, those voters matter 44 percent for Gingrich, 22 percent for Romney. He would like to improve that number in Florida if he wants to be competitive.
But, Wolf, here's what I think are the biggest game changers tonight. Reinforced not just by South Carolina results. You can say this is a more conservative electorate. Gingrich won big, so discount the numbers. But if you listen to those independent voters -- the undecided voters, excuse me, with Tom Foreman, who has the right experience? Forty-nine percent of South Carolina voters said Newt Gingrich has the right experience. Mitt Romney has been saying you want a governor, not a guy who's been in Congress. You want someone with business experience, not somebody who spent their life in Washington.
Well, Newt Gingrich has convinced at last South Carolina Republicans he has the right experience to be president by a commanding margin over Mitt Romney. This is a challenge going on into Florida. This is a big gap. A 14-point gap there.
These are the only two candidates, if you see Senator Santorum and Congressman Paul, these are the only two candidates that a large number of Republicans think. But this has been the entire underpinning of the Romney campaign. You might not like me, you might not love me, you might not get passionate about me, but I can beat Barack Obama.
If this psychology of the race that he has -- that Newt Gingrich can beat Barack Obama and that Newt Gingrich has the right experience, if that carries over into Florida, Mitt Romney has a problem.
BLITZER: And those electability questions, Mitt Romney did so much better in Iowa and New Hampshire. Newt Gingrich did really well in South Carolina. And that's going to be key presumably in Florida in 10 days.
KING: Yes, to changing that and change it fast.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
TUCHMAN: Fascinating information.
Now, let's take a moment to look ahead to the next contest. The sunshine state. The Florida primary. January 31st. A week from Tuesday. The latest CNN/ORC Poll does show Mitt Romney with a commanding lead. But, remember, this poll was conducted before the South Carolina primary. So I'm guessing there is a great likelihood those numbers will change. But as our Erin Burnett shows, Mitt Romney does have a head start in the sunshine state.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
ERIN BURNETT, ANCHOR, "OUTFRONT WITH ERIN BURNETT": With South Carolina all in, you saw the numbers, Mitt Romney, by far, spending the most money. This is Mitt Romney, including all the super PAC spending on his behalf on television ads, $2.7 million.
Now, to buy 30 seconds of advertising in South Carolina, it's $300. It's a different story when you look at the state of Florida.
Now, here are our four candidates, all of them, as you have been saying, going on to Florida. Mitt Romney's campaign has already spent $2.4 million of television ads in Florida. And when you add in these super PAC, $4.9 million.
BLITZER: Wow.
BURNETT: That is more than he spent, obviously, in the entire state of South Carolina, he's already spent in Florida. That's going to buy him a lot of ads.
Now, some of his ads are already playing in Florida. He's got it now airing in Spanish to try to win over some Hispanic voters. But the real question is, you go to newt.org tonight. I was there a couple of minutes ago. Wolf, what does it say? We want a million dollar money bomb. Using the Ron Paul term, to try to get more money to buy advertising in the state of Florida. But right now, Mitt Romney is the only one with a television presence in that state.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
TUCHMAN: Erin, thank you.
Now that early spending advantage could be even bigger when you consider that early voting in Florida actually started yesterday. On top of that, more than 100,000 absentee ballots have already been passed. The absentee ballots by themselves are almost as many as all the votes that were cast in the Iowa caucuses.
And, remember, you can see all the candidates face off in Florida. They'll all be at the CNN debate in Jacksonville, Florida. That's this Thursday night. It begins at 8:00 p.m. Eastern Time.
One other news. Joe Paterno is not dead, but he is in serious condition in the hospital this morning dealing with complications from lung cancer. Several websites reported that the former Penn State football coach had died. Then it pretty across social media sites like FaceBook and Twitter. The family says it's absolutely not true. Last night students and non-students gather around the Paterno statue on the state college campus. Jay Paterno, Joe's son, tweeted that his dad was inspired by the support.
Joining me now on the telephone is my friend and colleague, Susan Candiotti.
Susan, what else is the family saying about Joe Paterno's condition right now?
SUSAN CANDIOTTI, CNN CORRESPONDENT (via telephone): Well, good morning, Gary.
It certainly has been a difficult day and night for them. But they seem to be buoyed by the support that they're getting from all the people who have, for one thing, as you mentioned, gone over to that iconic statue of Joe Paterno over on campus. And many of them going up, as they traditionally do, to touch the hand of that statue.
I talked to many of them last night and overnight. They were there very late, saying they were there to pay their respects to the family and certainly are praying for him and hope that he can pull through.
TUCHMAN: Susan, do we have any idea right now how dire his condition is?
CANDIOTTI: We don't really because the family is only speaking to their spokesperson. We know that it is, indeed, very serious. We know that he is being visited and is with family members and other close friends of the family at the hospital. And the hospital has asked for privacy. They're not allowing reporters anywhere near there. We know that over at the home, that's also being protected by the state police, as they often do when the media comes to inquire. And even area residents come down to inquire. People who love Joe Paterno.
So it's a very quiet and respectful time over on campus right now as people hope that someone they consider to be the heart and soul of Penn State can pull through.
TUCHMAN: Susan Candiotti in State College, Pennsylvania. Susan, thank you very much.
Well, meteorologist Reynolds Wolf is in the weather center right now.
Reynolds, what's coming up?
REYNOLDS WOLF, AMS METEOROLOGIST: Yes. Well, we've got two big things we're following. One is the potential of a severe weather outbreak for parts of the Midwest and into the deep south. That could really occur later on this afternoon, evening, and into tomorrow. And then the other big story is that it is game on for ski country in central Colorado, where they could be seeing anywhere up to say a foot or maybe even a big more of snowfall for the central Rockies. That coupled with winds of 30 to 40 miles per hour and, Gary, get this, some gusts approaching 70 miles per hour. Almost hurricane force. We'll have more on that coming up in a few moments, Gary.
TUCHMAN: Seventy miles per hour in ski country you're talking about?
WOLF: Oh, yes, Yes, absolutely. A tough day for snowboarders.
TUCHMAN: Oh, yes. No, yes, you're a snowboarder. I'm a skier. And I'm not skiing in that stuff. Got to wait till that wind calms down.
WOLF: I hear you, man.
TUCHMAN: OK. Thanks, Reynolds.
WOLF: You bet.
TUCHMAN: Well, a massive eruption from the sun is causing a dazzling light show that may be visible in your city. That's next.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
TUCHMAN: Good morning. It's now 14 minutes past the hour. Let's take a look at, well, some chilly news cross country.
The snow has stopped falling right now in the Pittsburgh area, but police are warning drivers to be careful -- look at this -- because of the icy road conditions. They responded to several accidents, like this major pile-up. About four inches of snow fell in the city of Pittsburgh yesterday.
They're also shoveling snow in Iowa. Some parts of the state got up to seven inches this weekend. And in the bay state, Massachusetts, it's also a cold winter weekend. But these kids and this dog did not seem to mind. Many people, and animals, decided to take it easy and enjoy the snowfall. About half a foot fell in the middle part of the state.
And, after all, Reynolds Wolf, you know, it is winter, so we should expect this kind of thing, that it's been so warm that this has become a story, that it's snowing in the end of January.
WOLF: It really has been. I mean it's amazing. And some places, especially like Colorado, have been waiting all year long for mother nature to show up, or at least old man winter. Old man winter is definitely here.
In parts of the Rockies, you're going to see anywhere from eight to 16 inches of snowfall. That coupled with some strong wind gusts. Check out this number right here. We're talking about 70 mile an hour gusts. That is some serious business. So anyone making a drive right along parts of I-70 from Denver trying to make their way back into parts of Utah, it's going to be tough going, especially in those high mountain passes where I wouldn't be surprised if we get some gusts that are even stronger than 70. So it's going to be a tough day. Both hands on the wheel. Yes, you've got to be careful on a day like today.
Something else that's a big reason of concern is the potential for some severe weather into the afternoon. The atmospheric setup that we're going to see across parts of the Midwest and the deep south is going to be very interesting to say the very least. We've got a lot of moisture coming in from the Gulf of Mexico. We've got this frontal boundary which is going to provide a bit of lift. But the real kicker is going to be a couple of things. We've got this area of low pressure. And you could even fold in the jet stream, and that low level jet could cause the possibility of some severe storms by late afternoon.
To give you a more exact look at what we're expecting, it's going to be mainly later this afternoon where the atmosphere is going to really destabilize. And that low level jet is going to kick in. It's going to be a nocturnal event, possibly overnight and into tomorrow morning, the moderate risk for severe storms. And to highlight a few key spots, we could see it really pop up in places like over towards Memphis. Perhaps even Jackson, Mississippi. Maybe even Little Rock before the day is over. So, gain, slight risk of severe storms, but a moderate risk in parts of Tennessee, Mississippi and into Arkansas. Even a sliver of Louisiana. And tornadoes certainly a possibility as we make our way into the end of the weekend and into the start of the next week.
That is a quick snap shot of your forecast. Gary, again, this is what happens when we have this change of seasons. We always have the potential for these storms. And tonight and tomorrow could be one of those periods.
TUCHMAN: OK, Reynolds, have you seen these pictures of the solar flare?
WOLF: They're pretty impressive, aren't they?
TUCHMAN: Yes, they're pretty impressive. We want to show our viewers. They come from NASA. The University of Alaska's Geophysical Institute predicts if you live in the Seattle area, Des Moines area, Chicago or Cleveland, those specific areas. You may get a light show tonight at nighttime. A solar eruption from the sun is creating these spectacular auroras this weekend.
WOLF: Wow. You know, beautiful, but I know a lot of people say that whenever you have these big solar flares, you might have some interruption in cell phone service. Sometimes you get issues with all kinds of transmissions, your cable TV, your satellite. But, my gosh, is it worth it? Beautiful when you see. I mean, come on, let's give up a little bit of disruption for some of our football games maybe to watch some great events from the sun. Beautiful (INAUDIBLE).
TUCHMAN: Yes. Well, I don't know if it should disrupt the football game today.
WOLF: Yes, let's be serious. Come on. You're right about that. I hear you, man.
TUCHMAN: Thank you very much.
WOLF: You bet.
TUCHMAN: Well, one school is canceling sports to save money. Your chance to weigh in just ahead. Plus, with concerns that gas prices could hit $4 a gallon on the average, see how dolphins, yes, dolphins, could help keep prices down.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
TUCHMAN: What you pay for gas at the pump is directly related to this right here. It's called the Strait of Hormuz and it's a key transit point for a fifth, one-fifth, 20 percent of the world's oil. Iran is threatening to block it, which would result in sky-high prices. But the U.S. Navy has a plan to thwart those threats and it involves these guys right here. This is a serious story. It involves dolphins. And Nadia Bilchik joins me now for this "Morning's Passport."
Explain this. The Navy wants to use dolphins?
NADIA BILCHIK, CNN CORRESPONDENT: OK. Because what Iranians are saying is, we'll block it. And one of the ways they're going to block it is with underwater mines. And the best detectors of underwater mines are not submarines or satellite communications. They are dolphins.
So what the U.S. Navy has done is ramped up their training of dolphins. They've been training these dolphins for years. And interestingly enough, Gary, whales and dolphins are the only animals in the entire world that have echo location and sonar underwater. Bats have it above water. So they are -- and these particular dolphins, Atlantic bottle nose dolphins, are the only dolphins that can be trained to do this.
And I had the pleasure of speaking to Kay Larsen, who spent -- who is a former U.S. Marine and CNN special reporter, he spent time with the Navy SEALs training these dolphins. And he said it was absolutely extraordinary seeing what they were capable of doing.
TUCHMAN: So you're saying, though, that these dolphins are being trained to help U.S. military, basically?
BILCHIK: Absolutely they are. They have this unbelievable, as I say, echo location and sonar. They are perfectly designed to do this. And the way the Marines do this is by classic conditioning. They reward them. They reward them with fish. Kaj was telling me they love sardines.
Now, if you want to understand how a dolphin sees, I spoke to Dr. Moby Salangi (ph) and he's the marine biologist --
TUCHMAN: I actually know him.
BILCHIK: You do?
TUCHMAN: This is really interesting. Dr. Salangi used to run the aquarium in Gulfport, Mississippi. That aquarium was destroyed by Hurricane Katrina. Many of his dolphins ended up in the Gulf of Mexico and they were able to rescue all of the dolphins. And most of those dolphins now, it's a long story, but most of those dolphins now are at the Atlantis resort in the Bahamas. How about that?
BILCHIK: Wow, what a superb expert when it comes to dolphins, as you well know.
TUCHMAN: Yes. No, he's a smart guy.
BILCHIK: He says, imagine this. A dolphin -- when you go for an ultrasound -- so imaging a pregnant woman goes for an ultrasound. He says that is what a dolphin can see. That is literally the kind of x- ray vision that they have. So, the U.S. Navy is training these dolphins. Now, it's interesting to see how would they transport them?
TUCHMAN: Yes, and how would -- how do they go to the Strait of Hormuz?
BILCHIK: They would basically -- they could be there in 72 hours. They would transport them into circular giant pools, around fifteen of them, which are seven to eight feet each. They would put them on a C- 130 and then airlift them to the ship. And they've got it all planned because dolphins have been used since the Gulf War.
TUCHMAN: Nadia Bilchik, that's an amazing story. Thank you very much. Hopefully we won't have to use them to do that, but it's nice to know that the U.S. has dolphins on its side.
BILCHIK: Absolutely.
TUCHMAN: Thank you.
Well, New York City police and the Pentagon are teaming up to make the big apple safer. And what they're coming up with could reveal who's carrying a concealed gun on the streets. We're unveiling that, next.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
TUCHMAN: Welcome back, everybody. It's 26 minutes after the hour. And it's time to check what's going on cross-country. We'll start in Wisconsin.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
TUCHMAN (voice-over): More than a million people signed a petition to recall Wisconsin Governor Scott Walker. But check out this scene.
CROWD: Walker, Walker, Walker, Walker.
TUCHMAN: Thousands of his supporters braved the bitter cold to rally for the embattled Republican governor. Walker came under fire last year after signing a law that stripped state employees of their collective bargaining rights.
The New York City Police Department is teaming up with the Department of Defense to develop technology that will scan a person's body from a distance. If it's green like this, it means that person is carrying metal, which could mean a gun. Privacy advocates are ringing the alarm.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Oh, my God, if this goes forward, the government will know what's in your pockets and what's in your body.
TUCHMAN: But New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg says it's an invaluable tool that's worth the sacrifice.
MAYOR MICHAEL BLOOMBERG (I), NEW YORK: We can argue that's an invasion of privacy. But in the world we live in, the alternative is intolerable.
TUCHMAN: $160,000. That's how much an unnamed buyer paid for this hearse that carried the body of President John F. Kennedy. It was sold in an auction in Scottsdale, Arizona. The price doesn't include added on fees. Normally, a Cadillac hearse like this costs roughly $40,000.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
TUCHMAN: High school sports in the state of Texas go hand in hand. But according to "The Corpus Christi Caller" newspaper, the Premont Independent School District in south Texas is canceling, yes, canceling its sports department to save money and focus on academics. After this basketball season, students will go without tennis, track, baseball in the spring and volleyball and the big sport in Texas, football in the fall, canceled.
Other activities like fine arts are not affected. We want to know what you think. Is this a smart move or a bad decision? Tweet me @garytuchmancnn and we will air your thoughts.
There's brand new audio from that deadly cruise ship disaster in Italy. You'll hear from the captain, who's accused of abandoning ship, fleeing to safety and leaving his passengers stranded.
Plus, Newt Gingrich heads to Florida with a South Carolina win under his belt. We'll look at how his upset of Mitt Romney could up end the race for the Republican presidential nomination.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
TUCHMAN: Welcome back. I'm Gary Tuchman. It's 31 minutes past the hour.
Checking top stories, Joe Paterno is alive. Several news outlets scrambled last night to report that the former Penn State head football coach had died. Not true.
It all started with an initial report by a Penn State student website that turned out to be very wrong. The managing editor has since apologized and is stepping down. Paterno's family says he is in serious condition, though, suffering from lung cancer. Students concerned about his health put candles around his statue on campus.
We have new audio today recording the morning from the Italian cruise ship disaster. The captain who is blamed for last weekend's wreck, the captain is under house arrest. He faces possible charges of manslaughter causing (ph) and abandoning the ship wreck. The audio you're about to hear is the captain telling a Coast Guard official he would do the right thing.
(BEGIN AUDIO CLIP)
FRANCESCO SCHETTINO, CAPTAIN OF COSTA CONCORDIA (through translator): I just want to have on the deck to see if we were leaning towards the mountain, to see what was going on.
COAST GUARD OFFICIAL (through translator): Please hang on a second. Captain, one question. Everybody will abandon the ship or somebody will remain on board?
SCHETTINO: I will stay here.
COAST GUARD OFFICIAL: Will it be just you or somebody else will remain on the ship?
SCHETTINO: I think it will be just me.
(END AUDIO CLIP)
TUCHMAN: At least 20 people are still missing after divers recovered a 12th body from the Costa Concordia Saturday. Officials say they may shift focus to removing more than 2,000 tons of fuel from the ship and they may start doing that very soon.
Afghan President Hamid Karzai is meeting with a top U.S. envoy for a second day today. They're trying to find ways to end the bloodshed and achieve a peaceful resolution to Afghanistan's very long conflict. Karzai has made it clear his country should be in the driver's seat when it comes to talks with the Taliban.
Well, we've now had three different winners in the first three contests for the Republican nomination. Joining me from Florida right now is Patricia Murphy. She's the founder and editor of "Citizen Jane Politics" and she's a Daily Beast contributor. And next to her is CNN Political Editor Paul Steinhauser. Paul is the guy on your right and Patricia is the girl on your left.
Patricia, let me start with you. What's the first thought that comes to mind when you look at these results - stunning results, especially compared to just a few days ago in South Carolina?
PATRICIA MURPHY, FOUNDER AND EDITOR, CITIZEN JANE POLITICS: Yes. Two things come to mind. The first is how big this win was for Newt Gingrich. Twelve points, which is double what the most positive poll said for him, which tells us that Gingrich is on a swing, and he's on the swing on the way up, and he's not done yet.
And the other thing that these results - what I was surprised by actually who were the people voting for Newt Gingrich. The people who said that the economy was the most important to him and the people who said that electability was the most important to them. Those were the two areas that we really thought Mitt Romney would have wrapped up, so the fact that Newt Gingrich won big and that he took over Mitt Romney's turf is what I find fascinating, and it's got to be worrisome to the Romney camp going into Florida.
TUCHMAN: And it certainly is politically fascinating. I want both of you to listen to this sound from last night from Newt Gingrich.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
NEWT GINGRICH, (R) PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Rick Santorum showed enormous courage in Iowa when he had no money, nobody covered him, and he just kept campaigning. And here's a guy who articulates the values of social conservatism, who articulates the importance of manufacturing and who may have been as right about the dangers of Iran as anybody in this country in the last 10 years.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
TUCHMAN: So, Paul, my question for you is Newt Gingrich trying to be a nice, kind guy, or are there political motivations for talking like that about his opponent, Rick Santorum?
PAUL STEINHAUSER, CNN POLITICAL EDITOR: Yes, a little politics here. What a surprise. You know, Gary, one of the storylines this past week was Newt Gingrich saying, hey, Rick Santorum, get out of the race. And Rick Santorum in our debate pretty much say, no, no, not happening. Thank you, but no. No thanks.
Listen, I spoke to some Santorum aides yesterday. As you know, they've already - they have ads already in Florida. They're up with ads in Florida. They say they're going to do more. And you heard Rick Santorum last night, I mean, on to Florida. So, Gary, I don't think we're going to see Rick Santorum stepping out of the race any time at least in the next few days.
TUCHMAN: We just heard from Gingrich. Let's hear, Patricia and Paul, a little bit from Rick Santorum from last night.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
RICK SANTORUM, (R) PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: This is a long race, and this is one of the things I think people have to understand. As a result of what happened here tonight, this race isn't going to be over next week or the week after. This race is going to be - is going to be long. It's going to be the best thing that can happen for whoever the eventual Republican nominee is.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
TUCHMAN: OK. Now, the best thing that could happen. Now, if we did have a Republican presidential nominee, that particular person could start spending all their money and devoting all their time to beating Barack Obama, so is what Santorum says true? Is this good for the Republican Party, a long - a long battle? I'll ask you, Patricia.
MURPHY: Well, I feel like - oh, sure. Well, I feel like the amount of time that's coming at these candidates really is going to be the best thing and the worst thing for them. It's going to help them strengthen themselves as candidates. It's going to help them tighten up their arguments.
But then you reach a level of diminishing returns at a certain point, then it starts to get really bloody, really ugly and this mutually assured destruction. So I think that they can tighten up these candidates and help them refine their own messages, but then there will be a point where the Republicans, especially the establishment Republicans, want to wrap this up, get their nominee ready to go up against President Obama.
TUCHMAN: Bloody. That sounds scary, Patricia. Paul, is Mitt Romney scrambling now?
MURPHY: Yes, it's scary.
TUCHMAN: Is he concerned? Is he worried?
STEINHAUSER: Listen, they knew it the last couple of days that things were not going to go well here. They had their own internal polling and it indicated he was going to lose maybe not by 14 points, but they were aware.
They know also that Florida is a very different state than South Carolina. Not nearly as conservative. It's a much more expensive state to run a campaign in. Big markets like Miami, Tampa, St. Pete, money - money is needed there. The Romney campaign has got a lot more cash right now than the Gingrich campaign, so they're looking to more favorable climates.
But, yes, Gary, let's - maybe you're going to see Mitt Romney release his tax return soon. Maybe you're going to see Mitt Romney - we saw a touch of it last night, even more feisty against Newt Gingrich, and really point out where Gingrich has faults and go on the attack more. He was more on defense right here in South Carolina - Gary.
TUCHMAN: Well, Patricia Murphy, Paul Steinhauser, it is fascinating week and two days away from that very important primary in Florida. Thank you both for joining us. Appreciate it.
MURPHY: Thank you.
TUCHMAN: Well, strong storms could threaten the South and the Midwest again today. Some areas are bracing for possible tornadoes, hail and thunderstorms. Reynolds Wolf joins me with your weekend weather forecast next.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
TUCHMAN: Good morning, everybody. It's 40 minutes past the hour.
Strong storms could pound the Midwest and Deep South again today, just like yesterday. Right, Meteorologist Reynolds Wolf? REYNOLDS WOLF, AMS METEOROLOGIST: Absolutely, News Anchor Gary Tuchman.
Absolutely and certainly giving you a possibility. You know, Chicago is actually still digging out after Friday's big snowstorm. In fact, much of the area was just covered by the snowfall. In fact as we take these images full, you'll notice that up to nine inches fell in the City of Joliet, that was just outside Chicago. Temperatures today are expected to remain above freezing. Still some scattered showers and some thunderstorms, but the snow, thankfully, will be long gone by that point.
Now it just didn't stay here. The bad weather spreads into parts of the northeast and caused all kinds of problems in the roadways. In fact, take a look at this scene in Southwestern Pennsylvania. Tractor-trailers carrying cars slid right off the highway. Anyone hoping for that car there on the top might have to wait for a few days. They might have to reorder that thing. That's right.
State police are urging drivers to be very cautious because roads are still very slick. But given another 24 to 48 hours, temperatures will be above freezing, and conditions should be a bit better.
Now there is more snow expected today for the heavy areas of the Sierra Nevadas. We're talking up to the Sierra Nevadas, all the way into the Wasatch Range. In fact, the National Weather Services issued a winter storm watch for the Sierra Nevadas and into the Central Rockies through noon today.
You know, the story is not just going to be the snow, though. It's also going to be the strong winds. Where in parts of the Central Rockies, they can get winds of 30 to 40 miles per hour sustained, but gusts could be even stronger, almost doubling that. Gusts possibly up to 70 miles per hour. So it could be some very rough times to say the least.
Big concern we have, though, is right here in parts of the Southeast into the upper - or actually the mid-Midwest. We have a chance of some severe storms into the afternoon. We're talking between the hours of 3:00, 4:00, 5:00, possibly overnight into tomorrow morning. Places like Memphis, Tennessee, Little Rock, maybe even Jackson, Mississippi maybe with some strong storms, maybe even the possibility of a few tornadoes.
As we wrap things up, a quick glimpse of your temperature shows that cool air is going to remain locked in place with the Upper Midwest. Minneapolis, going to 31 degrees; 42 in Chicago; 35 in New York; 69 Memphis; 40 in Salt Lake City; 62 in Los Angeles up by the Staples Center; 64 in El Paso; and Houston with 76.
That's the latest in the forecast. Gary, let's send it right back to you.
TUCHMAN: It's cool air, but it's not frigid air, Reynolds.
WOLF: Very true. Very true. TUCHMAN: Thank you.
WOLF: You bet.
TUCHMAN: Let's talk about a warm place, the State of Florida and Florida voters are on the clock right now. They've got the next Republican primary. So did what they see last night change their minds? We'll find out next.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
TUCHMAN: Newt Gingrich got the big prize last night in the State of South Carolina. Look at the numbers. A double-digit win for the former House Speaker. Very much like the polls we were shown yesterday. Almost exactly similar, the numbers. He easily beat Mitt Romney, and then third place Rick Santorum, fourth place Ron Paul, 13 percent of the vote.
And that means we have three contests, three different winners. Santorum in Iowa, Romney in the Granite State of New Hampshire, and now the former Speaker of the House. This is the first time that has happened. Three different winners in the first three contests or precisely Iowa, New Hampshire and South Carolina since the modern primary system kicked in back in 1980, which of course is 32 years ago.
Now, let's take a look ahead to the next contest, the Sunshine State of Florida. Florida Primary January 31st, that is a week from Tuesday. And the latest CNN/ORC Poll shows Mitt Romney with a huge lead by 24 points, 43 to 19 percent. But, of course, this poll was conducted before the South Carolina Primary.
So what do Florida voters think about last night's results? Here's CNN's Tom Foreman.
TOM FOREMAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hey, Gary, we gathered all these voters here in Florida, all Republicans and all undecided with the night began, and look at this. How many of you feel closer to making up your minds now? Look at that. That's the prize that these candidates have been after.
I want to point out something that happened. When we had them do this dial test where they told us minute by minute how they felt about the speeches of the candidates, one thing that was clear, many people here are hungry for a positive message of hope, of things getting better, and Newt Gingrich tapped into that. Watch.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
GINGRICH: You sort of just now captured the heart of this campaign. The fact is we want to run not a Republican campaign. We want to run an American campaign.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
FOREMAN: What is it that you like about Newt Gingrich's message? UNIDENTIFIED MALE: There's two reasons. One is his debate performances over the last two debates where he was the first conservative candidate to really bring out the media bias over the last two campaigns. The other was the speech he gave tonight and he was the most eloquent I've ever heard.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I really like that he kind of included the aspects of the other candidates' campaigns. You know, the positives of Ron Paul with his financial. Rick Santorum with family. And then the business savvy of Mitt Romney -
FOREMAN: Mitt Romney also seemed to hit on a key here. One of the strongest reactions from our group last night was when he defended his income and the idea that that's what America is about.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
MITT ROMNEY, (R) PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Ours is the party of free enterprise and free markets and consumer choice. The Republican Party doesn't demonize prosperity. We celebrate success in our party.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
FOREMAN: All in all a fascinating evening seeing what the voters here in Florida think and, again, I want you to see those hands one more time, Gary. How many of you are now closer to making up your minds? That's what this contest is about now, Gary, and that's what it's going to be about as the campaign steamed into Florida.
TUCHMAN: Tom, that's fascinating information. Thank you very much for that report.
Remember, you can see all the candidates face off in the Sunshine State. They will all be at the CNN Debate, Jacksonville, Florida. That's this Thursday night. It all begins at 8:00 P.M. Eastern. Stay with us.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
TUCHMAN: A man is fighting to keep his sister buried in a Jewish cemetery. A lawsuit has been filed to remove her body because she wasn't Jewish and had no ties to the congregation that owns the cemetery.
Our National Correspondent Susan Candiotti has the story of this inter-faith fight.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
SUSAN CANDIOTTI, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Paul Steer followed his sister's wishes when he buried Juliet, a Christian, in this Jewish cemetery. She was only 47 and died of lymphoma.
(on camera): Paul, what did your sister like about this place?
PAUL STEER, EXECUTOR: It's nice, peaceful, quiet. CANDIOTTI (voice-over): But there's been little peace since congregation board member Maria Balaban did what some consider the unthinkable. Suing to get Juliet Steer's remains dug up and moved out.
MARIA BALABAN, PLAINTIFF: She's not supposed to be buried there. She's not Jewish. I had no idea what she was.
CANDIOTTI: Paul Steer was flabbergasted when Balaban's lawyer called him.
STEER: So what is all this about? Well, my client don't believe your sister accepted the faith and she have to be exhumed. We're going to take her. I said, man, get out of here. You ain't nobody. You can't do that.
CANDIOTTI: Balaban is also suing her own congregation, even though they say she voted two years ago to create an inter-faith section.
ARTHUR LIVERANT, CONGREGATION AHAVATH ACHIM: This to our right is the Jewish section, and to our left is the newly opened inter-faith section.
CANDIOTTI: But Balaban says this inter-faith section was never supposed to include non-Jews without any ties to the congregation.
BALABAN: I would never approve that, and I did not approve it.
CANDIOTTI: Paul Steer is troubled that Balaban hasn't objected to four other plots in the inter-faith section. They're reserved by white families.
STEER: Well, my sister is black and the other four that that have reserved plots is white.
CANDIOTTI (on camera): You think that the woman who is behind this lawsuit is racist?
STEER: Well, my belief, yes, I think so.
CANDIOTTI: Are you racist?
BALABAN: No, I am not.
CANDIOTTI (voice-over): Balaban says the other four plots reserved by white families have ties to the Jewish congregation and that her long track record as a social worker helping black teens speaks for itself.
BALABAN: I did not want to hurt poor Juliet who is buried there that she thought she was going to be buried in a peaceful place. I'm fighting for those who approved that.
CANDIOTTI: Balaban's fellow board members maintain she knew what she was voting for. LIVERANT: Anybody of any faith can be buried in the inter-faith cemetery.
CANDIOTTI (on camera): Do you think that Juliet - do you think that Juliet should be moved?
LIVERANT: Absolutely not.
STEER: The judge will give us justice, and I know my sister will be at peace.
CANDIOTTI: Next month, a judge may decide whether Balaban's religious objections will force Juliet Steer from her final resting place.
Susan Candiotti, CNN, Colchester, Connecticut.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
TUCHMAN: A troubling story.
Well, high school sports and Texas, they seem to go hand in hand, right? But according to the "Corpus Christi Caller" newspaper, the Premont Independent School District in the southern part of the state is totally canceling its sports program. No more sports. The idea is to save money and focus on the academics.
After this basketball season, students will go in the spring time without tennis, track, and baseball and then in the fall there will be no volleyball, and then the big sport in the Lone Star State, no more football. Other activities like fine arts will not be affected.
So we've been asking for your thoughts about the story. William told us in a tweet, "Finally, sports are canceled first. They can learn to play football on the weekend and physics during the week. Smart move."
But Brian disagrees. "Bad idea. Games bond students - rallies help instill pride. Have bake sales, car wash, and find young coach who will work for less."
We want to know what you think. Is this a smart move or a bad decision? Tweet me at GaryTuchmann@CNN and we'll air your thoughts.
Finding a job after returning home from war and leaving the military, what a former Marine is doing to help make the transition easier. He joins us live next.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
TUCHMAN: A former U.S. Marine who had trouble getting back on his feet after serving in the Iraq War is giving back to fellow vets. Lamar Jones was once homeless. He's now working with Spike TV on a campaign designed specifically to help men and women returning from combat to find jobs here at home.
Lamar, thank you for joining us, and tell us about this campaign. How does this work?
LAMAR JONES, JR., CO-FOUNDER, L. JONES & ASSOCIATES IN 2008: Thank you. Thank you for having me.
Well, the campaign is really simple. We - at Spike TV, we came up with something called "Salute Our Troops," and "Salute Our Troops" is something that we have always done at Spike. It's a tradition that we've had for a while and saying, you know what, let's give back to the men and women who serve our nation.
And during events such as Guys Choice last year, we did a big thing around saluting the troops. And we said, you know, can we beyond that? You know, we give them a thank you, but - but how about a paycheck? And Hire a Vet is really about that. Getting companies to hire veterans and say, you know, let's try to give back to Americans' heroes, something that's actually tangible. They can go out every day and provide for their families the way that all Americans want to provide for their families, and their future.
So what we've done is we've said if you are a company who has a veteran hiring practice, we want to salute you. We want to honor you. What we would like to do is we would like to know more about your program, know more about how you are actually helping veterans and we're giving you free on air promotion. We're giving you on-line promotion, and we're doing it free of charge as basically Viacom saying we're going to be the hub or the bull - or the horn, if you will, to what you're doing and as great organizations out there doing so many things for veterans.
TUCHMAN: So, Lamar, there are incentives then for the companies who work with this campaign.
JONES: Correct. There are huge incentives. It doesn't even have to be a Fortune 50 company. You can be a small mom and pop shop and you'll have a veteran hiring practice and the price of admission is one. If you can hire one veteran, we're willing to give you free exposure on Spike and honor you.
And if you go to hire a vet, our website is www.hireavet.spike.com. You'll see that we've already honored companies like Pepsi and we've honored companies like Citigroup, and the list goes on. American Airlines who does a huge amount in that space for veterans.
And we're honoring more and more companies, and we - I really hope that a lot of small businesses will come out and really honor veterans by giving them a job.
TUCHMAN: Lamar, how did you end up homeless?
JONES: We - we came home to a market - a job market that was really dismal, and - and with no college education at the time, you know, we thought that we were going to be able to have every company in the world trying to hire me because that's what your recruiter tells you, but the reality of it was that it just didn't happen. It just didn't happen. And, you know, you didn't want to bug family and friends and, you know, you have a lot of pride and a lot of honor to you, so you figure, you know what, I'll just deal with in on my own. But job market was horrible, and, you know, we did the unemployment thing for a while, and that's really what it was.
TUCHMAN: Lamar Jones, your story is important and very inspiring. Thank you very much for joining us.
JONES: Thank you.
(MUSIC)
TUCHMAN: From CNN Center, this is CNN SUNDAY MORNING. Today is Sunday, January 22nd, 2012. Good morning. I'm Gary Tuchman.
And Newt Gingrich takes the state of South Carolina.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
NEWT GINGRICH (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: We have proved here in South Carolina that people power with the right ideas beats big money, and with your help, we're going to prove it again in Florida.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
TUCHMAN: The former speaker of the House of Representatives says he may not have the money, but he can take on Mitt Romney. We will take you live to South Carolina for the post-primary analysis.
Despite false reports swirling on social media, former Penn State coach Joe Paterno is alive, but in serious condition. Students lit candles in support. We will take you live to Penn State.
And search and rescue teams back on that doomed Italian cruise ship this morning. They stopped briefly overnight for safety issues. We've got the latest in the investigation. Plus, new audiotape from the ship's captain.
(MUSIC)
TUCHMAN: We start this hour with the runaway victory, quite a stunning victory for Newt Gingrich in the South Carolina Republican primary. Look at the numbers, a double digit win. Forty percent of the vote for the former House speaker. Mitt Romney, 28 percent. Rick Santorum, a third place, 17 percent. Ron Paul ended up with 13 percent of the vote.
But Newt Gingrich, a big win. That means we've had three contests now -- Iowa, New Hampshire, South Carolina. Three different winners -- Santorum in Iowa; Romney, New Hampshire; Gingrich, South Carolina. And now it's the first time that's happened since 1980, the modern era of political primaries and caucuses.
We will bring in political editor Paul Steinhauser, who knows it better than anybody. He is live in the state capital of South Carolina this morning.
Paul, what is the South Carolina vote telling us about how the race is now progressing?
PAUL STEINHAUSER, CNN POLITICAL EDITOR: This race is going to go on for a little while longer, Gary. You know, South Carolina usually, usually, brings clarity to the Republican race for the nomination. Think George Bush's victory here back in 2000, and four years ago, John McCain's victory. But it sure wasn't the case this time around.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
GINGRICH: Thank you to everyone in South Carolina who decided to be with us and change in Washington.
STEINHAUSER (voice-over): Another comeback for Newt Gingrich. Down in the polls just a week ago, the former House speaker stormed back to take South Carolina's crucial primary by double digits over Mitt Romney. Gingrich praised the former Massachusetts governor, but he also got in a dig.
GINGRICH: We don't have the kind of money at least one candidate has. But we do have ideas, and we do have people. And we proved here in South Carolina that people power with the right ideas beats big money. And with your help, we're going to prove it again in Florida.
STEINHAUSER: Well, with the expensive fight for Florida ahead, Gingrich put out an online plea for campaign cash.
For Romney, a setback.
MITT ROMNEY (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: We still got a long way to go and a lot of work to do, and tomorrow, we're going to move on to Florida.
STEINHAUSER: And a little taste of what we'll hear in Florida.
ROMNEY: President Obama has no experiences running a business, and no experience running a state. Our party can't be led to victory by someone who also has never run a business and never run a state.
STEINHAUSER: Rick Santorum finished third, but the former senator from Pennsylvania vowed to keep going.
RICK SANTORUM (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Let me assure you, we will go to Florida, and then we're going to Arizona and Colorado and Maryland and everywhere else.
(CHEERS)
STEINHAUSER: Ron Paul came in last, but the Texas congressman was still encouraged.
REP. RON PAUL (R-TX), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: It looks like to not we will get four to five times more votes than we did four years ago. (CHEERS)
(END VIDEOTAPE)
STEINHAUSER: So, how did Newt Gingrich do it? Well, the exit polls tell the story. Listen, about two-thirds of the people there in South Carolina say they decided in the last couple of days, and those people went to Gingrich over Romney by a 2-1 margin.
Gary, we're hear in the campus of the University of South Carolina. Got the CNN Election Express right behind me. We're packing up and we are heading to Florida.
TUCHMAN: Heading to the Sunshine State.
Hey, Paul, everyone knows that Ron Paul is going to be sticking around no matter what happens, but can Rick Santorum really stick around in Florida and beyond if he doesn't have good showings coming up right away?
STEINHAUSER: He needs a strong showing in Florida, no doubt about that, but as of now, you heard Rick Santorum on CNN air last night saying he was going to Florida. They've already put his campaign telling us they put up ads in Florida and they're going to put up more in Florida.
But it's tough right now. Santorum, Gingrich going after that same conservative crowd trying to be the conservative alternative to Mitt Romney. Only one of those two can survive -- Gary.
TUCHMAN: You're right. You know, we also heard Jon Huntsman saying New Hampshire that his third place finish was enough to punch his ticket to South Carolina, and he dropped out. So, sometimes when candidates say those things, we don't always know if they're exactly true. So, either way, Paul, we really appreciate you talking to us and giving us analysis. It was really a stunning primary in Florida. It couldn't be even more stunning. Thank you very much, Paul Steinhauser.
As Paul was mentioning, the Sunshine State primary next on the political calendar. It's set for January 31st, a week from Tuesday. Voting is actually started already. Early voting got underway in Florida yesterday and run through next Saturday. Then there's a break before the primary election day on Tuesday.
The "Miami Herald" reports that more than 11,000, to be precise: 11,836 ballots cast on Saturday. There have also been more than 185,000 absentee ballots cast. That's very significant.
In the state of Iowa, and the caucuses, there were only 120,000 votes cast total, already just absentee ballots, more of that cast in Florida. This is a big primary. Lots of people voting.
It's a small percentage. The absentee ballots of 185,000 of the registered Republicans in Florida, you are talking a few million. So, Mitt Romney was leading the early polls in Florida, but that's certainly can dramatically change given what we saw in South Carolina last night.
In other news, we must tell you, Joe Paterno is not dead. There were lots of rumors about it. You may have seen it on the Internet or your BlackBerry or your iPhone. He is, however, in serious condition in the hospital this morning dealing with complications from lung cancer.
Several web sites did report last night the former Penn State football coach had died. It spread across social media sites like Facebook and Twitter, and the family says not true.
Last night, students and nonstudents gathered around the Paterno statue on the state college campus. Jay Paterno, Joe's son, tweeted that his dad was inspired by all the support.
Joining me now live is CNN's Susan Candiotti.
Susan, what else is the family saying right now about Joe Paterno's condition?
SUSAN CANDIOTTI, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Gary.
Well, they're saying that he is continuing to fight this battle against complications from being treated for cancer, and in fact, one of his sons, Jay Paterno, also tweeted that he had driven by this statue we're standing now, this iconic statue of Joe Paterno that stands here on campus, and said that when he saw all the people that were here last night, he told his father about all the support he was getting, and that, as you indicated, it was inspiring him.
Of course, Joe Paterno has been hospitalized twice in the hospital since November, being treated for complications from lung cancer. What they said at the time was a treatable form of it, and also being treated for a broken pelvis.
And now, this news from a family spokesperson that doctors have placed him in very serious condition and the family is gathering here at the hospital to be with him.
Overnight as we mentioned, dozens and dozens of people here at this statue paying homage to Joe Pa, saying they were coming here by to pay their respect and give their support. Here's what some of them told me.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
CANDIOTTI: You know, when you say Joe Paterno, what comes to mind?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Just greatness and honor.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: People think of him more as a coach. They think of him as a leader, and they think of him as devoted his life to the community.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Everything that Joe stands for academically and everything off the football field and all the good things that he and Suzanne have done for this university and the library and everything else, it just means so much to me that I just felt compelled to be here.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CANDIOTTI: Among the many reasons that people were coming out here in the bitter cold to pay their respects to him. And one man even shoveling the snow around the statue so people would have a place to stand. They've been placing flowers here, candles, all kinds of memorabilia from Penn State.
As you know, the back drop to all of this, of course, a terrible Penn State scandal that started late last fall. Joe Paterno fired during the midst of that scandal over allegations of children being sexually assaulted here at Penn State, and the allegation or concern about Penn State in his regard is that perhaps he could have done more about these allegations when they were brought to his attention. But Joe Paterno has consistently said that he told others about it as he was legally bound to do by university standards and he thought that other people would take care of it.
Well, now, everyone is rallying here to support Joe Paterno and praying and hoping that he will get better -- Gary.
TUCHMAN: Susan, so much sadness at that university. Thank you very much for your report -- Susan Candiotti, from State College, Pennsylvania.
We have a new audio recording this morning of the Italian cruise ship captain who was blamed for last weekend's wreck. The captain is under house arrest and faces possible charges of manslaughter, causing and abandoning the ship wreck. In the audio you're about to hear, he is telling a coast guard official that he would do the right thing.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
FRANCESCO SCHETTINO, SHIP CAPTAIN (through translator): I just went out on the deck to see if we were leaning towards the mountain, to see what was going on.
UNIDENTIFED MALE (through translator): Please hang on a second. Captain, one question. Everybody will abandon the ship or somebody will remain on board?
SCHETTINO: I will stay here.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Will it be just you or somebody else will remain on the ship?
SCHETTINO: I think it will be just me.
(END VIDEO CLIP) TUCHMAN: At least 20 people are still missing, after divers recovered a 12th body from the Costa Concordia yesterday. Officials say they may shift focus to removing more than 2,000 tons of fuel from the ship and they may start that very soon.
Parts of the United States look like a winter white-out, and storms could threaten more parts of the country today. Reynolds Wolf is tracking it all for us -- Reynolds.
REYNOLDS WOLF, AMS METEOROLOGIST: Right. And the biggest and baddest storm we're following is one that won't provide too much in terms of snowfall. More than anything, possibly some heavy rain, some scattered storms and possibly tornadoes later this afternoon and into the evening and by tomorrow morning. We're going to give you the full scoop coming up in just a few moments. We'll see you then.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
TUCHMAN: Let us take a look at, well, some chilly news across the country.
The snow has stopped falling in Pittsburgh, PA, but police are warning drivers to be careful because a very icy and treacherous road conditions. And you can see the cars are piling up on each other. Police responded several accidents like this major pile-up. About four inches of snow, it's not that much, fell on Pittsburgh, but the ice flew down.
They're also shoveling snow in Iowa. The Hawkeye State got up to seven inches this weekend.
And in Massachusetts, also a very cold winter weekend. But these kids, this doggie, they don't seem to mind. Many people decided to take it easy, enjoy the snowfall. About a half a foot fell in the middle part of the state.
Meteorologist Reynolds Wolf is with us now.
And, Reynolds, you know, it's January 22nd. You know, we expect this kind of weather, but it's just been so mild in much of the country this year. So, that's why this is such big news.
WOLF: It really has been. And you're right. It's kind of sad when it's a welcome change to have winter-like conditions in the middle of winter. It's very strange, but that's the situation.
Folks, my friend Marco Lulanis (ph) on the other side of the camera. Marco, let's show people what's happening. We've got a couple of things. Snow is going to be forming in the western Great Lakes. At the same time, we got very dry conditions in parts of, say, central and eastern west Texas.
But this is the big concern, a chance of severe storms across portions of the southern Midwest and into the central Mississippi Valley, mainly into the late afternoon, evening, and then into tomorrow. There will be a chance of strong storms, and perhaps even some tornadoes. The reason why all that's going to happen is very simple. We got that frontal boundary driving eastward, moisture coming in from the Gulf of Mexico.
As we get to the late evening hours, it's going to have that low level jet stream that could cause a few of these storms to span some of the super cells, and that's going to give us a chance of those tornadoes popping up. Right now, just an isolated chance of the tornadoes, but, still, you never know, we -- if one falls in the wrong place, it could be problems for a lot of people. So, we'll keep a sharp eye on it.
It's very easy to see the snow that's forming across the Overhead of Minnesota. Thankfully, as Gary mentioned, we are seeing some back in the ski country, places where thief been desperate for the snow. The snow is going to be coming in, especially to the Sierra Nevada, up near the Donner Summit. It could be very heavy. Several feet possible over the next 48 hours.
But in Denver, now, we're seeing snow farther to the west and to the mountains, but right in Denver itself, some delays. Major delays expected over an hour in Atlantis, Chicago, Minneapolis, even into Los Angeles and San Diego. Could have some back-ups. San Francisco, may have delays anywhere from, say, an hour to perhaps even a bit longer.
That's the latest in the forecast. Gary, your turn.
TUCHMAN: Reynolds, thank you very much.
Ramping up the pressure on Iran. The country could soon face tougher international sanctions, but is it already the target of covert bombings and assassinations? We'll explore that next.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
TUCHMAN: Well, I'm here with my friend Josh Levs.
We're going to be talking about a big new step in the world's effort to pressure Iran. Tomorrow, the European Union is expected to announce sanctions on the country's oil industry, and this is just part of an extensive campaign against Iran, which analysts say includes covert methods like bombings and assassinations.
Josh Levs have been piecing through the web of pressure that's mounting over Iran.
LEVS: It's mounting and it's going to get bigger once this announcement comes out of the European Union, as you were just talking about. And what I want to do is here is talk about these extensive sanctions. They're coming from the United States and the United Nations and that expected announcement after the European Union, adding even more.
And all of these are aimed at one major thing -- getting Iran to cooperate on its nuclear program. Iran says it only wants nuclear energy. Officials in the U.S. and other countries say they believe is building nuclear weapons. Here's what Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said just the other day.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
HILLARY CLINTON, SECRETARY OF STATE: Iran does have a choice to make. It can come back to the table, as we have consistently made clear to them, and address the nuclear program concerns that the international community rightly has, or face increasing pressure and isolation.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
LEVS: So, that is what officials are talking about openly, but overtime the last couple of years, there have been some unexplained events in the country. And I have been talking to analysts who tell me they believe those events are often coming from other countries and are part of this growing web of pressure.
Let's talk through just a few of these. There have been mysterious explosions at some nuclear and military facilities. Here's one of our stories about that on CNN.com, with some satellite images that we have for you after a blast at a facility.
Iranian officials have called explosions accidents, but analysts say they could be targeted attacks. That's one thing. We've also seen these mysterious assassinations of three nuclear scientists. Iran blames Israel, which generally doesn't comment on those claims.
But after one assassination recently, an Israeli official said he did not know who was behind it, but he would not shed a tear. The U.S. said it had no involvement.
There was also a cyber attack, a computer attack on a nuclear facility in Iran. Analysts are saying they believe all that is part of this web of pressure that they can just guess who is behind it.
We know the U.S. does surveillance over Iran. Remember this drone crash we've been seeing in the country. Iran showed what it said was the drone that crashed. They showed one on state TV. U.S. officials said the drone was on a mission to survey suspected nuclear sites.
So, keep in mind, when this announcement comes out tomorrow out of the European Union, that Iran is facing more and more pressure, and Iranian officials have said they're willing to go into talks, but European officials saying, U.S. officials say not quite clear what that means.
We got a lot more for you about this on CNN.com.
So, Gary, ultimately, what this boils down to is a mounting web of pressure on Iran, and what we are seeing is tomorrow, there will be this announcement and the U.S. and Western official is hoping it will get Iran to sit down at the table and talk out nuclear issues.
Whether that will be the case, we'll have to see.
TUCHMAN: It's a big story. It's huge. Josh Levs, thank you very much.
LEVS: You bet. Thank you.
TUCHMAN: Take a look at this.
(VIDEO CLIPS PLAY)
TUCHMAN: Watch out, "American Idol." President Obama was just one of many to break into song and dance this week. We play more on a look back at the week that was after this short break.
(COMMERCIAL BRESAK)
TUCHMAN: What a week. It's been seven days since team Tebow lost to the Pats. Six days since Republican Jon Huntsman jumped out of the race. Four days since Wikipedia went black. Two days since comedian Stephen Colbert got on the Herman Cain train.
And 12 hours since CNN projected Newt Gingrich the winner in South Carolina.
And 45 minutes since my next guest burned himself drinking hot coffee in the car ride to the studio, and he joins me now. Comedian and Sirius XM political radio host Pete Dominick.
Pete, I haven't seen you in person in a while. But it's good to see you on TV with me right now.
PETE DOMINICK, COMEDIAN: Gary Tuchman, you're off the road. You're in the studio. It's great to see you this morning. I'm loving that tie.
TUCHMAN: What a week.
DOMINICK: What a week. What a week. I mean, this time -- Gary, this time last week, OK, Mitt Romney had won Iowa. He had won New Hampshire. He was on the way to winning South Carolina.
And then on Monday, on the FOX News debate, he goes after Juan Williams. Standing ovation on Thursday night he goes after my pal John King, tries to rip his face off, gets another standing ovation.
Mitt Romney stumbles with a tax question, and now, you have Newt Gingrich winning big in South Carolina. And people are saying, well past Super Tuesday into May. A former GOP head says this might be an open convention, Gary Tuchman.
So, we go from kind of what a boring campaign thinking it's conventional wisdom, it's going to be Mitt Romney. It gets exciting. It's anybody's race now, Gary.
TUCHMAN: It may not --
(CROSSTALK)
TUCHMAN: I mean, it may not be a conventional convention. Exactly right. Are you stunned by this, Pete? Are you surprised?
DOMINICK: I really am. I mean, I'm really surprised, and, frankly, really impressed. I said on CNN, I don't think Newt Gingrich is going to be last much longer than that whole, you know, the Tiffany's thing and he had so many problems. He had no money, no organization. I thought he was on a become tour.
Now, it looks like he could be the nominee. It's an impressive comeback for Newt Gingrich with an impressive debate performances and going after the moderator and really going after Obama -- really, really aggressive. That's what these GOP primary voters are really looking for, Gary.
TUCHMAN: By the way, talking about your friend and my friend, John King, I take it a bit cynical, though, about his motivations for attacking John King at that opening question.
DOMINICK: Well, I mean, this is always Newt Gingrich's whole formula. John King knew that. I mean, he knew that what he asked that question, that Newt Gingrich is going to come after him like that.
He is always, always gone after, you know, the elite media, the mainstream media, which he is going to be on later on today here on CNN.
So, you know, that's always worked for him.
But, Gary, I just want to mention, a couple of the stories this week that kind of go under cover. Of course, all this campaign stuff covering up the whole grassroots campaign, we haven't seen anything like this that overturned this major online piracy, the SOPA and PIPA acts completely turned on their head and put on the shelf because of grassroots. Not to mention nobody knows probably paying attention to six marines lost their lives in Afghanistan on Thursday, and, of course, yes, President Obama singing. That did get a lot of coverage.
Do we have that? I wouldn't mind seeing it one more time, Gary.
TUCHMAN: Let's listen.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
BARACK OBAMA, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES (singing): I so in love with you --
(CHEERS)
(END VIDEO CLIP)
DOMINICK: Oh, my --
TUCHMAN: Barack Obama's own people said they didn't know the guy sang.
DOMINICK: Unbelievable. He is singing to the Reverend Al Green at the Apollo Theater at a fundraiser. He is there, Reverend Al Green, and if original he could sing one more bar.
TUCHMAN: Well, Pete Dominick, it's wonderful talking to you on TV. I appreciate it.
DOMINICK: Thank you, Gary.
TUCHMAN: I appreciate what you're telling us, and we'll keep an eye out this week and have you back next week. Thank you, Pete Dominick.
DOMINICK: I think you're wearing sneakers, by the way, Gary. I'm guessing. I don't know.
TUCHMAN: You know I'm going to keep it secret. Maybe shorts, too.
DOMINICK: All right. All right.
TUCHMAN: More top stories at the top of the hour when CNN SUNDAY MORNING continues.
But, first, "Big Hits, Broken Dreams." "SANJAY GUPTA, M.D." is next.
