Return to Transcripts main page
CNN Newsroom
Interview with Bill Richardson; New Hampshire Primary Tonight; Tornadoes Rip Through Midwest
Aired January 08, 2008 - 09:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
KIRAN CHETRY, CNN ANCHOR: ...we sit at this booth every day.
JOHN ROBERTS, CNN ANCHOR: Any ways, we have coverage coming up, right?
CHETRY: Absolutely. It continues right now with Heidi Collins at the CNN Center in Atlanta. Thanks so much for joining us. By the way, our coverage continues 8:00 p.m. tonight with Wolf Blitzer and the best political team. We'll be back here bright and early tomorrow, 5:00 a.m. eastern time for a special edition of "AMERICAN MORNING."
ROBERTS: See you then. Let's turn it over now to Heidi in the NEWSROOM. Good morning Heidi.
HEIDI COLLINS, CNN ANCHOR: Good morning guys. You are in the CNN NEWSROOM. Hi there, everybody, I'm Heidi Collins.
Watch events come into the NEWSROOM live on Tuesday morning, here's what's on the rundown for January 8th. The nation's first presidential primary, voters decide in New Hampshire today. This hour, one of the candidates in a live NEWSROOM interview.
And rare January tornadoes ripping three states. Two fatalities in Missouri. Georgia police say this man led them to the body of a missing hiker. Now he may face murder charges. Death on the trail in the NEWSROOM.
The clock strikes midnight, voters struck a chord in the nation's first primary of this presidential election. A handful of voters in two New Hampshire hamlets make their choices. Barack Obama is the top democrat, John McCain, the top Republican. Statewide the polls close 11 hours from now. New Hampshire, a key weigh station on the road to the White House. CNN correspondents are out across the state to bring you the very latest.
CNN's Jessica Yellin is part of the best political team on television. She is in Manchester following the democrats. Jessica, you are at a polling location. Are voters seemingly pretty excited about things?
JESSICA YELLIN, CNN CONGRESSIONAL CORRESPONDENT: You know they are Heidi. People I've talked to here coming out say that they feel not only that this is an important election because of the issues at stake, but also that they have a good slate of choices. They like the candidates that are running. I've spoken especially to a lot of Democrats, just by chance, and they really do feel that the options they've been given are significantly more satisfying than they've seen in years past.
And that may be one reason why the state is expecting a higher than usual turnout, even a record high this year with voters flocking to polling places across the state. I can tell you, we have a surprise here this morning. Senator John Edwards came in unexpectedly to this polling place.
We asked him, he said he's feeling good about his chances. He said he does not plan to drop out no matter what the result is. He's in it for the long haul. We also asked him something about what the Clinton campaign has been alleging that, in short, the press has been too easy on Senator Barack Obama, that his record has not been vetted.
We asked Senator Edwards if he agrees that frontrunner Barack Obama has not gotten the close scrutiny he deserves. This is what he told us.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JOHN EDWARDS, (D) PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: He's newer to this than I am and Senator Clinton. I think we've -- I'll speak for myself. I've been through a national campaign. I've been vetted by a national campaign. And Senator Obama is newer. I think he's going to be tested and we'll see what happens.
YELLIN: Do you think that he deserves more scrutiny than he's gotten?
EDWARDS: Well I think he's going to get scrutiny. The last thing I am concerned about is whether he's going to get scrutiny. He'll get scrutiny.
(END OF VIDEO CLIP)
YELLIN: And so polling places, they are open until 7:00 tonight. Senator Obama has a very healthy lead in early polls. But of course, this is the first official voting, not caucusing, but voting that's happened. So we'll have to wait and see the results later this evening. Heidi?
COLLINS: Yes we will. We will all be watching very, very closely. Jessica Yellin, thank you.
Still in the fight, Bill Richardson trying to break through in New Hampshire. He's going to be joining me in the NEWSROOM coming up in just about 20 minutes.
In the meantime, Democrats get a new front-runner and Republican primary politics change. CNN's John King also part of the best political team on television.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
JOHN KING, CNN CHIEF NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Well, if it's change voters want, this is a pretty big one.
MITT ROMNEY, (R) PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: There's no way that our party would be successful in the fall if we put forward a long-serving senator to stand up against Barack Obama's message of change.
KING: Wait a minute. Rewind just a few weeks and this was the defining challenge of the Republican race.
ROMNEY: I can't wait to debate health care with Senator Clinton. That will be fun.
KING: Now months of planning for what was considered inevitable is giving way to a change most Republicans find worrisome.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: This is not the campaign we thought it was going to be. This is not the campaign where all you need to do is raise Hillary Clinton's negatives by another four or five points and we make this a one or two point national race. Barack Obama poses some very significant challenges for the Republican Party.
KING: The Obama effect is both urgent and obvious. Republicans recalibrating to suggest they can compete in the change debate.
ROMNEY: It's going to take a person who is himself an innovator, like myself, who has the experience to bring change to Washington.
KING: While reminding crowds they for years have pushed to change Washington.
MCCAIN: When I'm president, we're going to fix social security.
KING: And for months have been stressing issues critical to the younger voters Obama is attracting in droves.
MCCAIN: One issue we're going to address immediately is the issue of climate change.
KING: Obama's rise makes John McCain's New Hampshire resurgence all the more intriguing. At first glance, a 71-year-old senator is no match in a changed debate with a 47-year-old with remarkable political skills.
SEN. JOHN MCCAIN, (R) PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: I think that Senator Obama has shown that he's a very, very excellent campaigner and is a very persuasive person.
KING: Very different men, but both appeal to the voters who settle presidential elections. Among independents in New Hampshire, Obama has a 74 percent favorability rating. McCain 71 percent.
NEIL NEWHOUSE, REUPBLICAN POLLSTER: There are things I like about that John McCain Barack Obama contrast. It's not exactly like John McCain is a status quo candidate. John McCain has bucked the administration, bucked the establishment for years.
MCCAIN: I know how to do it. I will lead. KING: McCain told us Monday in any Obama match-up, he would stress his experience especially on national security and his more conservative views on taxes and spending.
MCCAIN: I wasn't disparaging the fact that he's a liberal democrat. I mean the fact is that he is of that philosophy and I'm a different philosophy and I think we can have a respectful debate on the issues. And I think that if he is the nominee that he will be very formidable.
KING: New Hampshire has a big say in answering the if part of the equation for both men.
John King, CNN, King, New Hampshire.
(END OF VIDEOTAPE)
COLLINS: CNN tonight. The New Hampshire primary live from the CNN election center. A full night of updates and results as they happen from the best political team on television. Special coverage begins at 8:00 eastern.
What began as a welcome January warm-up gives way to rare and violent tornadoes in the Midwest. Right now, people from Oklahoma to Wisconsin are waking up to a nightmare scene. Southwest Missouri hardest hit. Two people were, in fact, killed there.
Marcus Moore of affiliate KNBC is live now from the city of Marshfield, Missouri. Marcus, what kind of damage are you seeing around you this morning?
MARCUS MOORE, KNBC REPORTER: Heidi, good morning. We're in Webster County, Missouri. Now that the sun is up, we're getting a clear picture of exactly what kind of damage we have. We have a car overturned here. We're also seeing wood chunks like this along the yard here.
But it is damage like this that really gets your attention. This is what is left of a home here a few miles northeast of Marshfield, Missouri. As you mentioned, the hardest hit after these storms and we're looking at what appears to be a stove. We also have a microwave there and some furniture.
And this is what we've been seeing in this part of Webster County. You see the debris left along the trees here. This home took a direct hit from this storm that moved through here. In all, about nine tornadoes touched down here in southwest Missouri on Monday. You talked about those two fatalities. One of those fatalities happened here just on the other side of these trees.
I spoke to a gentleman who slept in his van overnight after the tornado hit his home. He says that the woman who died was inside her home and was thrown from that home when the tornado hit. Said she was a very nice woman and it's a shame that this had to happen. Authorities are now going to begin to get a clear picture of exactly the amount of damage they have here overnight. It was dark. Also severe weather was moving through this area.
So after the tornadoes hit, they weren't really able to know exactly how bad the damage was. So now that the sun is up, we'll get a better picture of that. But this is what we've been seeing here. Definitely a mess here in southwest Missouri.
Heidi, back to you.
COLLINS: Wow, Marcus Moore, all right, from our affiliate KNBC there in Marshfield, Missouri. Appreciate that Marcus.
Meanwhile, our meteorologist Jacqui Jeras is watching all of these storms. And this one apparently, Jacqui, is moving east. We're going to actually have her forecast coming up in just a few minutes. But for now, hope runs out. The search for a hiker ends. How authorities discovered her body. The story ahead in the NEWSROOM.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
COLLINS: You are in the CNN NEWSROOM, I'm Heidi Collins. No word from her husband for four days. Snowy search goes on for a missing hiker in California.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
COLLINS: Roger Clemens speaking out against his accusers.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
ROGER CLEMENS: I don't need the Hall of Fame to justify that I put my butt on the line and I worked my tail off. And I defy anybody to say I did it by cheating or taking any shortcuts.
(END OF VIDEO CLIP)
COLLINS: Hear more from the star pitcher plus a secretly taped conversation with his former trainer. That story still ahead but first, nearly one week after she was last seen, a 24-year-old hiker has been found dead. The suspect in her disappearance led authorities to the body.
CNN's Rusty Dornin has the very latest now and has been following this story all along. Rusty, any indication as to why the accused Gary Michael Hilton, is his name, decided to cooperate with authorities?
RUSTY DORNIN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: No and law enforcement officials are very tight-lipped about this whole thing. We got word that he was not being cooperative in the beginning when they first arrested him. And then they began this whole search and branching out in five different counties and that sort of thing. And then we heard yesterday they were concentrating on an area called the Dawson woods.
It turns out after he was in court, Gary Michael Hilton went to court yesterday to stand before the judge for kidnapping with intent to commit bodily harm. Didn't give any kind of plea or anything like that, didn't speak in court.
But sometime after that court appearance, he decided to go ahead and lead authorities, and it was John Cagle of the Georgia Bureau of Investigation who said that he led them to the body of Meredith Emerson that was somewhere in this wildlife recreation area of Dawson Woods. They would not say where. They would not say what condition the body was in. They did not give absolutely any other information.
COLLINS: Yeah, I saw that press conference actually and it was interesting. They said they would take questions but then when people started asking anything, not one question was answered. So maybe there's a reason for that we will find out more information a little bit later on. But I also know and we've talked about this now for a couple of days as well, that police are investigating Hilton's possible involvement in other cases.
DORNIN: That's right. They did meet yesterday with FBI, North Carolina investigators up in north Georgia talking about the possibility that there was a connection with Hilton with the disappearance of a North Carolina elderly couple in October. The woman's body was found bludgeoned to death just a stone's throw apparently from her car where they had gone hiking. They are assuming the husband is dead.
The suspect did take their ATM card and go to the bank and they do have pictures of that suspect before the ATM machine. And apparently he was wearing the victim's coat. So they are also talking to Florida authorities.
A woman, Cheryl Dunlop, who disappeared in early December, her body was found in the Apalachicola forest. They are also going to be talking to Florida investigators. They are saying it's too early to say if there are connections but they are definitely looking to see if there are.
COLLINS: We know that you'll be following all angles of that story definitely and come back and let us know what you find out if you would.
DORNIN: I certainly will.
COLLINS: CNN's Rusty Dornin, thank you Rusty.
(WEATHER REPORT)
COLLINS: Meanwhile, another big name says the nation could be headed for a recession. But this name carries more weight than others. Ali Velshi minding your business this morning.
Good morning to you, Ali.
ALI VELSHI, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning to you. I'm glad Jacqui had a lovely forecast for everybody, made everybody feel a little bit good, because I'm going to bring it all back down again.
COLLINS: Super, thanks for that Ali. VELSHI: You know Heidi we've been talking about recession and whether there's going to be one, who thinks there is and who thinks there isn't. But now there's a gentleman who has come out, he's an economist at Harvard. He's kind of important because he's the head of an organization called the National Bureau of Economic Research.
And why that's important is because the NBER is the group that's responsible for telling us when we're in a recession or when we're having a recession or when we've had one. They tend to have to wait until we're in one to tell us. But he came out and said that there's a better than 50 percent chance now that we're headed toward a recession. He did, however, say that if the fed cuts rates again and there are maybe some tax breaks it could help the situation.
President Bush was out speaking as well yesterday knowing that there's a lot of talk about this recession. He was in Chicago giving a speech about the economy. Here's what he had to say about it.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
GEORGE W. BUSH, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: We've been through this before. People said, are you optimistic? I said absolutely. Absolutely optimistic. Do I recognize the reality of the situation? You bet I do. If during my seven years as president, have I seen the great American economy bounce back? I have. People say, why do you think? I said because our people are optimistic, hardworking, decent people.
(END OF VIDEO CLIP)
VELSHI: Heidi, the president was saying that one of the things that has to happen as we head into an election and as we telegraph the taxes will be kept low. That will keep people sort of enthusiastic about the economy or at least able to keep on spending. But we'll have to see.
There's a State of the Union speech at the end of the month and then the president comes out with a budget. So it's going to be a busy month not just on the campaign trail but for the government to see whether it can step in and do something to shore up this economy -- Heidi?
COLLINS: If you had to hedge your bets though, I mean do you think we'd look towards Washington, we could expect any real new initiatives in response to these growing fears?
VELSHI: You know there might be. It's very hard at this point in the election cycle. And where we are. But I think there's going to be a lot of discussion about what the candidates would like to do to help out the economy. It's going to start revolving around taxes. Whether there will be tax cuts or tax increases. I think you'll see a lot of attention going to -- during this primary season.
COLLINS: Yeah, I think you are probably right there.
All right Ali, we'll check in a little bit later on. Thank you. VELSHI: OK, Heidi.
COLLINS: Still in the fight, Bill Richardson trying to break through in New Hampshire, he's going to be joining us right here in the NEWSROOM in just a couple of minutes.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
COLLINS: Rocket attack on Israel coming before a visit by President Bush. Israeli police say two katyusha rockets were fired into northern Israel from Lebanon last night slamming on to a porch and along a roadway. There were no reports of injuries. This is the first incident in six months. President Bush is scheduled to travel to the Mideast today to push forward the peace process. President Bush, as we said, leaving for Israel today looking for a peace deal. But is it too little, too late?
CNN's White House correspondent Ed Henry takes a look.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
ED HENRY, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: President Bush's only previous trip to Israel came 10 years ago as governor of Texas. So it's year eight of his presidency for his first Mideast tour.
P.J. CROWLEY, CENTER FOR AMERICAN PROGRESS: He walked away from the peace process. He put it at arm's length and has largely kept it there for seven years.
HENRY: Now the president is racing against the clock, trying to get a peace deal before he leaves office. Building on this handshake at the Annapolis Summit.
STEPHEN HADLEY, NATIONAL SECURITY ADVISER: An opportunity for the president to discuss with Israelis and Palestinians their efforts toward a negotiated peace and achievement of the president's vision of two democratic states, Israel and Palestine.
HENRY: But getting a breakthrough will be difficult given the spiraling violence, as well as the unpopularity of Mr. Bush. Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert and Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas.
AARON MILLER, FMR. MIDDLE EAST PEACE NEGOTIATOR: The reality is the leaders are weak. The gaps are large and the time is short.
HENRY: When he took office in 2001, Mr. Bush's aides were scornful of Bill Clinton's attempt to achieve peace at Camp David in the waning days of his presidency. Charging he tried to do too much, too fast. But former Clinton officials insist Mr. Bush has paid a price for a go-slow approach.
CROWLEY: Even with the Camp David failure there was still a lot of material on the table that the Bush administration could have pursued, had it chosen to give the Middle East peace process a priority in 2001. The president took a different path. HENRY: Bush aides say the president's incremental approach is now bearing fruit because he can work with Abbas, unlike the late Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat who they saw as an obstacle.
HADLEY: The president has been working fairly consistently over seven years to put in place the building blocks of what now offers an opportunity for peace.
HENRY: With his time in office dwindling, Mr. Bush is now taking his own stab at high-stakes diplomacy. But it may be too little, too late.
MILLER: I think the chances should be meaningful progress on this trip are pretty small.
HENRY (on camera): Another challenge for the president will be keeping this trip focused on Israeli-Palestinian peace. Other issues like Iran, Pakistan, Iraq and soaring oil prices may serve as reminders that the Mideast is extremely unstable right now. And Mr. Bush's efforts to bring freedom and democracy to the region are struggling.
Ed Henry, CNN, the White House.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
COLLINS: Still in the fight, Bill Richardson trying to break through in New Hampshire. He'll be joining us in the NEWSROOM in just a few minutes. Stick around everybody.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
COLLINS: Good morning once again everybody. 9:30 eastern time, you're in the CNN NEWSROOM, I'm Heidi Collins. Tony Harris has the day off.
New Hampshire voters have most of the day to cast their ballots. That's giving the candidates a last chance to get their message out. One of those hoping to draw late support in New Mexico is New Mexico Governor Bill Richardson, sorry. Recent polls are showing him running fourth now among Democrats in New Hampshire. That's the state we're talking about.
He's joining us now live from Manchester. Governor, thanks for being with us this morning. If you had to describe it, what would victory mean to you tonight?
GOV. BILL RICHARDSON, (D) PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Well, a respectable fourth or even third. A good showing for me means that I can go on to the western primaries where I'm strong, like Nevada, which is the next one. And then February 5th, New Mexico, Arizona, Colorado, California, 21 states.
But, you know, I feel that I have momentum from the debate that took place. I believe I won the debate. And my crowds have been big. I've got a little surge. But again, this is a 50-state process. This is not going to end here. And I feel that I am strong and February 5th is going to be the big day for me.
COLLINS: What's your strategy, though, from here? I mean, maybe if you had to explain what you are doing with your campaign and what you stand for in, you know, three words, what are those messages you really are going to be hitting as you look forward?
RICHARDSON: Change. That we need to change this country, but you need to do it with experience. And then the third point, Heidi, is that I'm the only candidate that wants to end the war by bringing all the troops home. I've got the most realistic plan on Iraq. I know how to do it. I've been UN ambassador. And this war issue is the one that's dividing America.
And all the other issues that are talked about in the campaign. Universal health care becoming energy independent. Creating new jobs and improving our schools. You can't deal with them until we end this war and we get all our troops out. So I'm making this war the referendum on my campaign. And it's starting to resonate and the fact that they're there are now fewer candidates, that there are four of us left, that that helps me get that message out.
In the past, when there were many other candidates, many other qualified candidates, I couldn't do it. This debate we had in New Hampshire has opened up enormous doors, not just visibility. It's helped our fund-raising. It's like a new infusion of blood for the campaign.
COLLINS: Yes. Let's talk about the other candidates just for a moment if we could. Are you surprised by the numbers that Senator Barack Obama is getting or surprised by the numbers that Senator Clinton is not getting?
RICHARDSON: Well, certainly in Iowa. We got all our votes out. You know, we got 21,000 votes, close to 10 percent of the vote. But then Obama came in with huge numbers. And that made our -- what is called viability lower. Here in New Hampshire, it seems like there's increased voter turnout. So he probably will do very well here.
You know, Senator Clinton, I wouldn't count her out. I mean, this is a long campaign. This is going to be 50 states. And she's got a lot of durability. She's a very strong candidate. But don't count me out, too. Don't count Senator Edwards.
Look this thing is you got to test yourself in all regions, not just here in the northeast. You got to test yourself in the west, in the south and I think my message of change and experience. You can get both with Bill Richardson.
COLLINS: You know, I think you really hit on sort of a key note that we are starting to see already because it is pretty early on. It is really a campaign about endurance. We're seeing some of the candidates tire.
In fact, I want to bring a little bit of something that you said last weekend in the debates during an exchange on stage there. Let's listen in for just a moment. (BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
RICHARDSON: I've been in hostage negotiations that are a lot more civil than this. And you know, I think one of the things we need to remember, I'm going to say this again because I said it in a previous debate. Let's stay positive. You know, there will be plenty of time to get negative with the Republicans.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COLLINS: You know, we wonder what it's like, really, to be up there. I mean, things get ugly. They get heated. How do you choose the right words? How do you really resonate and stand out to those voters at home?
RICHARDSON: Well, first of all, Heidi, you can't rehearse anything. It's got to be spontaneous. If you go into one of these debates saying, I've got to give this line, then it's not going to work. I just felt at that point in the debate, they were just throwing darts at each other. They were being petty. They were taking personal shots that -- what I should do is highlight my experience, you know, that I'm a hostage negotiator. I bring countries together. And say that, you know, let's be civil.
And my last point, if we start getting negative, if we start getting personal, grandstanding personal attacks, it's going to hurt us. And we need strong candidates to emerge for the general election. The Republicans are going to throw the kitchen sink at us. They're going to get personal. They're going to get nasty. We don't have to do that. Americans want positive campaigns. They don't want to see us tear each other down. And that's how I'm going to be throughout this campaign. I'm going to be positive.
COLLINS: It was a pretty darn good line, though. You got to admit. Hey, bear with me as I ask you this next question, because we have agreed it is obviously early on, in all of this campaign. If you do not win the Democratic nomination, any chance we could look to you as a vice presidential candidate?
RICHARDSON: No.
COLLINS: No.
RICHARDSON: You know, I am going to win, first of all. But secondly, no, I'm not interested. I've been in Washington. I love to be governor of New Mexico. I can get on my horse, be with my family, look at the New Mexico sunsets, do something with New Mexico, a state I love.
You know, you guys are obsessed that Washington is the end for everyone. It's not for me. I'm going to win this nomination. So that's going to be academic. And you watch. We've got 50 states to go. You guys are already crowning winners. Let's wait. Let's see what the rest of the country has to say about electing a president.
COLLINS: No crowning winners here. And you know, I'll take those five years in New Mexico that I spent over Washington any day. All right. Thanks so much, Governor Richardson. We appreciate your time here today.
And we are tracking the candidates this morning and talking with the campaigns as well. David Bonior is John Edward's national campaign manager. He is in Manchester this morning as well.
Good morning to you. I guess I'd start by asking you the same question. What does victory mean for your campaign tonight?
DAVID BONIOR, JOHN EDWARD'S CAMPAIGN MANAGER: Good morning, Heidi. Well, we are in a long marathon. And John Edwards, just as you know, finished a marathon for the middle class. He did 36 straight hours crossing New Hampshire talking to voters, bringing his message of change. There's really two change candidates, Heidi, in this race, John Edwards and Barack Obama. And the question is the kind of change we're going to have.
And John Edwards has fought a valiant fight and will continue to be fighting hard and all the way to the nomination and to the White House. And the reason we did very well in Iowa, we, as you know, we finished a strong second ahead of Senator Clinton in the state of Iowa. We're working hard here and we believe our message of change have taking on the entrenched money interest is one that resonates and will do us well here in this state and in the other 48 as we go forward.
COLLINS: So how significant is it then tonight to be ahead of Senator Clinton once again?
BONIOR: Well, we obviously would like to be ahead of the pack, but we, you know, she has outspent us tremendously in this state. Although we have an incredible good ground game and field operation. And we've had wonderful support from folks all over this great state of New Hampshire. So we're looking forward to a good night this evening and good results.
And then onward to Nevada and South Carolina and then, of course, the February 5th states, where I believe we'll have 23 separate states making their decision. And John Edwards' message basically is that we've got to do these things to move forward on a better tax policy, a better trade policy, universal health care and global warming.
But the only way we're going to get that done, and he's led on those issues, is that if we take on the entrenched interest, the money interest, the corporate interest. There are good corporations in this country like Harley-Davidson, Kaiser Permanente and a few others. But there are others who have stopped us from moving forward and somebody has got to do that like T.R. did it, a hundred years ago, and FDR did it back in 1932. And John Edwards is the person to do that.
COLLINS: But let's talk for a moment if we could about 2004. Senator Edwards also came in second in Iowa in 2004. But then he ended up fourth in New Hampshire. What is different about him this time around? BONIOR: Well, I think this time around -- for instance in New Hampshire, we have 80 people on the ground. We had ten people on the ground, four years ago. We have a better infrastructure here. And what's different to answer your question specifically about John Edwards is that if things have gotten worse over that four-year period. We got 47 million people now without health care. 35 million who live in poverty today.
The problems have exacerbated themselves have gotten bigger. And if they would have been -- if we would have gotten together like Senator Obama, who is a good man who wants to do and put everybody at the table and try to work out a solution, these things would have been done already. You know, the only way you're going to beat these folks and get these issues done is to take them on head on.
John Edwards has done that basically his whole life. And if we don't take on the insurance industry, the pharmaceutical industry, we're not going to get these agendas done. And John Edwards is the strongest candidate to do that. He's done it his whole life and he'll do it as a president.
COLLINS: OK. Well then, maybe you can help me understand one of the recent ad campaigns that John Edwards has out now. And it says something like, I'm the underdog. What's the strategy of going that route?
BONIOR: Well, clearly we are. I mean, we're being outspent by enormous. Running against two candidates here, Senators Clinton and Obama who have raised over $100 million each and are spending -- were outspending us. We were out spent in Iowa by five to one, but yet we came in a strong second. Now we've got a great grassroots campaign.
We got support from workers all across this country. Nurses, teachers, housekeepers, janitors, auto workers, iron workers, building trades people. They are out there working for us because they understand what a great fighter John is.
I mean, he fought to get the minimum wage on the bill and got it pass. And then he passed in six days. He fought to help the workers organized. He went down to New Orleans and worked very hard to rebuild neighborhood. He brought 700 kids from colleges. So he's got a record of activism, not just talk.
COLLINS: All right. Well, we will -- as we have said it already, many times this morning, we'll be watching very, very closely tonight. And we certainly appreciate your time as well.
BONIOR: Thank you, Heidi.
COLLINS: David Bonior, John Edwards' campaign manager. Nice to see you. Thank you.
And CNN tonight, the New Hampshire primary live from the CNN election center. A full night of updates and results as they happen from the Best Political Team on Television. Special coverage begins at 8:00 eastern. Quickly we want to get you to this breaking news that we are just now learning about. Jacqui Jeras joining us live from the extreme weather center. Apparently a tornado -- is it Arkansas, Jacqui?
(WEATHER REPORT)
COLLINS: No word from her husband for four days.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Anyone who knows Dean, loves Dean. And especially, he's my very best friend. We've been married -- oh, excuse me. We've been married 20 years.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COLLINS: Snowy search goes on for a missing California hiker.
Want to take a moment to look at the opening bell there. Kind of an interesting scene. This is the New York Titans captain, Casey Powell and Titans Rookie, Mitch Belisle. Sorry guys. I thought I was looking at a mascot there.
Anyway, some excite there. The New York Stock Exchange opening bell. We are now 48 points to the positive. Dow Jones Industrial Averages resting at 12,877. Yesterday closed down about 27 points. The NASDAQ, I'm told, up by 3 points. We will be checking in with Susan Lisovicz a little bit later on for more of the day's business in just a few minutes.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
COLLINS: Grateful for the rescue. Overwhelmed by the rescue effort.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: All these people away from their families, their jobs.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Do you feel loved? Do you feel like everybody cared?
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COLLINS: The snowmobilers tell their story of survival coming up in just two minutes.
Meanwhile, an update on the deadly San Francisco tiger attack. Investigators tell CNN they will not file criminal charges against two brothers who were hurt. They say there's no evidence the brothers taunted the tiger. It apparently scaled the wall at the San Francisco Zoo on Christmas Day. The animal killed a 17-year-old and injured the brothers before it was shot and killed by police. Carlos Sousa Jr., the teenager who was killed, is being buried in California today. The week-long search for a missing hiker ends with the discovery of her body. Meredith Emerson's autopsy is planned today. The 24- year-old woman's body was found in a wooded area, last night, about 30 miles from where she had gone hiking on New Year's Day. Investigators say Gary Michael Hilton led them to Emerson's body.
Witnesses reported seeing Hilton and Emerson with their dogs on a trail last Tuesday. Hilton is now jailed on a kidnapping charge. The DA says more charges are likely. 61-year-old Hilton is also being investigated in connection with unsolved murders.
A teacher's survival skills being tested. A hiker missing in California's San Bernardino Mountains since Friday. Reporter Greg Mills from affiliate KCAL has the story.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
GREG MILLS, AFFILIATE KCAL: Searchers on the ground and in the air have not spotted the missing hiker. He is 62-year-old Dean Christy of north Hollywood. He went for a walk here Friday, just as the first of three winter storms hit. He became disoriented, called 911. Said he had walked about three miles and was able to describe his surroundings.
BRYAN LANE, SAN BERNARDINO SHERIFF'S DEPARTMENT: Unfortunately, there's a lot of forest out there. A lot of area. There's many places that fit that description.
MILLS: The Christy's love this area. They just bought a second home here in Green Valley Lake. They're both retired schoolteachers who taught in Glendale.
JOAN CHRISTY, MISSING HIKER'S WIFE: Anyone who knows Dean loves Dean. And especially, he's my very best friend. We've been married -- oh, excused me, we've been married 20 years.
MILLS: Her husband is dressed for these conditions. He is taught wilderness survival courses. So even though he's been lost for four days, nobody has lost hope.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
COLLINS: Searchers expected to go back out at first light this morning. We'll stay on top of that story for you.
Meanwhile, stranded for three days in the middle of a blizzard. Now safe, snowmobilers share their story. CNN's Thelma Gutierrez reports.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Was everybody in good health or do we need to send EMTs up there?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Negative. Everyone was fine.
THELMA GUTIERREZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT: News the six missing snowmobilers were found, brings relatives to tears.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Mom, they're safe. They're coming down.
GUTIERREZ: Alive after being lost in the mountains, in a blizzard for three nights. One by one, they appeared on the snowy hills. The Groens, The Martins and their children.
SHANNUN GROEN, RESCUED SNOWMOBILER: And I'm just was really worried about my family.
GUTIERREZ: Overwhelmed, the sight of all the volunteer rescuers who had been searching for them.
JASON GROEN, RESCUED SNOWMOBILER: All these people away from their families, their jobs.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Do you feel loved? Do you feel like everybody cared?
J. GROEN: Awesome, yes.
GUTIERREZ: The group got lost just north of the Colorado/New Mexico border Friday. Then a storm dumped four feet of snow, so they were forced to find shelter in an old train station.
MELISSA MARTIN, RESCUED SNOWMOBILER: We broke into the big building first.
GUTIERREZ: How did you break in?
MARTIN: Well, my husband, Jarred, open a window and we were able to climb through the window without breaking anything. So that was good. And found some blankets and some, you know, we lit a fire in the ash tray.
GUTIERREZ: What were you able to eat?
J. GROEN: We found some chicken broth and gravy mix. We heated it up. Then we were -- think we were sharing Granola Bars everyday, which were like half a Granola Bars or something.
GUTIERREZ: Did you have to melt the snow to get water?
ASPEN GROEN, RESCUED SNOWMOBILER: We had to melt the snow to get water.
GUTIERREZ: The two families huddled together to stay warm. Then Monday, a break in the weather.
MARTIN: Jason goes, I want to get up and get out and see if I can get into some cell phone range. And so he did and made the call.
GUTIERREZ: He called 911. Immediately, rescuers took food and fuel to the stranded group.
MARTIN: Hello? We're like, hello, we're here, we're here. Yes. Good to see you.
GUTIERREZ: Now reunited with loved ones. The Groens and Martins say their prayers were answered. A happy ending to a harrowing adventure.
Thelma Gutierrez, CNN, Antonito, Colorado.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
COLLINS: Love those happy endings.
Imagine driving along and ending up stuck in a flood. Scary moments. So how did it all turn out?
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
COLLINS: Heavy snow and steady rains made for some messy driving in Arizona, believe it or not. A driver in the Phoenix area had to be rescued after his pick up got carried away by floodwaters. Powerful storm blamed for a number of minor accidents throughout the state. A portion of the Apache trail is still closed because of flooding.
In Hollywood, the show won't go on. The writers strike forcing a major change for the season's first big awards show. CNN entertainment correspondent Brooke Anderson has the story.
BROOKE ANDERSON, CNN ENTERTAINMENT CORRESPONDENT: The writers strike has claimed its first victim of the Hollywood awards season. The Golden Globes. The star-studded bash has been canceled and replaced with a press conference. The Hollywood Foreign Press announced it will not hold its traditional dinner and envelope opening ceremony.
Instead, winners will be announced at a one-hour long press conference covered by the news division of NBC. That division of the network is not on strike because it's covered under a different contract than the entertainment division of NBC. Now the decision to scrap the traditional ceremony comes after actors showing solidarity with the writers vowed not to cross picket lines to attend the show.
The Hollywood Foreign Press tells CNN, quote, "We are all very disappointed that our traditional awards ceremony will not take place this year. We take some comfort, however, in knowing that this year's Golden Globe Award recipients will be announced on the date originally scheduled.
Press conference will take place Sunday evening. It's unclear at this point if the nominees will choose to attend this scaled-back event. OK, if the writers strike, which began November 5th continues, the Academy Awards could face the same fate as the Golden Globes.
Reporting from Hollywood, I'm Brooke Anderson. Back to you.
COLLINS: Thank you, Brooke.
And love is in the air in France. The now President Nicolas Sarkozy says it's serious. A love connection with model turned singer Carla Bruni. Just days ago, a French paper reportedly plans for a February wedding. And today, the newly-divorced Sarkozy hinted to reporters those rumors could be true.
Roger Clemens speaking out against his accusers.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
ROGER CLEMENS, MAJOR LEAGUE BASEBALL: I don't need the hall of fame to justify that I put my butt on the line and I worked my tail off. And I defy anybody to say I did it by cheating or by taking any shortcuts.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COLLINS: Hear more from the star pitcher. Plus, a secretly taped conversation with his former trainer, that story, still ahead.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
COLLINS: A sawed off shotgun. A daring jailbreak. A story worthy of Hollywood. It unfolded in the heartland. We'll tell it to you in just a moment.
Meanwhile, Roger Clemens on the offensive once again. He's denying allegations of steroid use. This time unveiling a taped conversation with his accuser.
CNN's Ed Lavandera has the story.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
ED LAVANDERA, CNN CORRESPONDENT: You could see the raging anger in Roger Clemens' eyes.
ROGER CLEMENS, MAJOR LEAGUE BASEBALL: I put my butt on the line and I worked my tail off. And I defy anybody to say I did it by cheating or by taking any shortcuts.
LAVANDERA: The all-star pitcher again denied accusations made by his former trainer Brian McNamee. Seen here with Clemens and video- recorded by CBS "60 Minutes" program. McNamee says he injected Clemens with performance-enhancing drugs at least 16 times in 1998, 2000 and 2001. Now McNamee is in seclusion on the east coast, but last week, he and Clemens spoke and a recording of the 17-minute phone conversation was released by the player and his lawyer at a news conference.
BRIAN MCNAMEE, CLEMENS' FORMER TRAINER: All I did was what I thought was right. And I never thought it was right, but I thought that I had no other choice. I mean, I don't want this to happen. But I'd also like not to go to jail, too.
CLEMENS: I just don't know why you did it. I mean, I just can't, you know, like I said...
MCNAMEE: What do you want me to do? I'll go to jail and I'll do whatever you want.
CLEMENS: I just need somebody to tell the truth.
LAVANDERA: Clemens' attorney notes that during the call, McNamee did not challenge the pitcher's denial that he ever used steroids, but Clemens never accused the trainer of lying either. McNamee's attorney tells CNN his client stands by his story. He said the tape was an attempt to manipulate the situation and adds nothing to the case. After the tape was played, Clemens took question from reporters, sounding defiant.
CLEMENS: I cannot wait to go on to the private sector and hopefully never have to answer it again. I've said enough.
LAVANDERA: And this fight isn't over. Clemens and McNamee are both expected to testify before Congress next week.
Ed Lavandera, CNN, Houston.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
COLLINS: Good morning, everybody, I'm Heidi Collins. You stay informed all day right here on the CNN NEWSROOM. Here's what's on the rundown now.
New Hampshire decides, voting this hour in the nation's first presidential primary of 2008. I'll talk with the member of Mitt Romney's team in just a moment.
TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.voxant.com
