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St. Louis Gets Socked; Weak Employment Report; Analyzing Clinton and Obama Health Care Plans

Aired February 01, 2008 - 14:00   ET

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

DON LEMON, CNN ANCHOR: Yahoo! -- well, it finds something to cheer about? Almost $45 billion something.
And Exxon Mobil's gushing over record profits, but the U.S. job market suffers its first net loss in four years.

FREDRICKA WHITFIELD, CNN ANCHOR: And would you rather have a foot of snow or a quarter-inch of ice? None of the above is not an option ins a big chunk of the Midwest and Northeast. Our Chad Myers looks at what's coming down and what's to come.

LEMON: Yes, I was going to say, neither, huh?

WHITFIELD: Yes. Yuck.

Hello, everyone. I'm Fredricka Whitfield at the CNN world headquarters in Atlanta, in for Kyra Phillips.

LEMON: And I'm Don Lemon.

You're in the CNN NEWSROOM.

(WEATHER REPORT)

WHITFIELD: All right. Well, our Reynolds Wolf is in the heart of a city that normally doesn't get a whole lot of snow. Some, but not a lot.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

REYNOLDS WOLF, CNN METEOROLOGIST: Well, I'm coming to you from downtown St. Louis, where the snow is now moving out and the traffic is starting to move in. One of the reasons why the traffic is moving so well here after the three to seven inches of snowfall that St. Louis had last night is due to the great work you see here by these many people in this video that are driving these salt trucks, driving the snowplows, working the late-night hours, into the early morning, pushing all the snow away to make things easier for people going out and about this morning.

Now, we've got hundreds of school closures around the area. And although the snow is moving out, the icy conditions are going to remain. So they're expecting rough conditions for the afternoon.

Right now, as you can see, I'm right here in downtown St. Louis. You've got the Basilica right behind me on one side, we've got the arch. And thankfully, as I mentioned, the snow is going to be moving out.

But places like Chicago, spots like New York State, they're going to be affected by not just snow, but also some ice. Syracuse dealing with a heavy ice storm that they could be experiencing through a good chunk of the weekend.

Reporting from St. Louis, Reynolds Wolf, CNN.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

WHITFIELD: And then take a look at this. A crush of people, thousands of them, in fact, desperate, angry, stranded for days. They're struggling to board trains that finally started running again. This is Guangzhou, China's third largest city, where masses of people are stranded by weeks of killer weather there.

And check out this view of people who have been sleeping in the train stations. And, by the way, a lot of them sleeping standing up -- oh, my God -- because of the crush of so many people there.

Rail stations, airports, all of them have kind of been shut down because of the ice storm there that has just swarmed a good part of China. Millions more are still stranded, even as a major Chinese holiday is now upon them.

We'll have plenty more on this very real crisis coming up in a live report from our international desk.

LEMON: The best of times, well, also -- and the worst of times when it comes to the state of the economy. How you feel may depend on who you are.

Exxon Mobil reports the biggest annual profit in U.S. history. Get this, more than $40 billion. And Microsoft tops that figure with a $45 billion offer for Yahoo!.

But then come figures showing the U.S. economy lost jobs last month for the first time in four years and construction spending was down more than 2.5 percent in 2006. That is the deepest decline on record.

President Bush says the nation can't afford to wait for the economic stimulus. In Kansas City today he called on the Senate to pass a tax rebate plan that sailed through the House.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

GEORGE W. BUSH, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: There are certainly some troubling signs. There's serious signs that we -- that the economy is weakening, we've got to do something about it.

Today we got such a sign when, after 52 consecutive months of job creation, we lost 17,000 jobs. The unemployment rate went down, but nevertheless, a serious matter is, is that for the first time in 52 months that we didn't create jobs.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

LEMON: Well, that stimulus plan the president wants would send checks amounting to several hundred dollars to more than 100 million Americans. The Senate is contemplating add-ons that the White House warns could derail the whole thing.

Let's go straight to Wall Street now for details on that unemployment -- on that employment report, I should say. Susan Lisovicz at the New York Stock Exchange with the latest on that.

Hi, Susan.

SUSAN LISOVICZ, CNN FINANCIAL CORRESPONDENT: Hi, Don.

Well, it's an outright contraction in job creation. The latest employment report showing employers trimmed 17,000 jobs last month. Barring revisions, it would be the first monthly decline in four years, and the losses were widespread.

Manufacturers, construction firms, the government all cutting jobs. Wage growth and the amount of overtime available also slowed, other signs that employers are tightening their belts.

The job report follows the much weaker-than-expected read on fourth quarter GDP. We talked about that a couple days ago. Taken together, they add to concerns that a recession is on the way, or perhaps already here.

One silver lining, the unemployment report, which is a separate survey, slipped last month to 4.9 percent from 5 percent. So we have a dismal report on jobs, but then you pair that with news on Microsoft's $45 billion bid for Yahoo! -- not surprisingly, there's been some volatility on Wall Street today.

(STOCK MARKET REPORT)

LEMON: Susan, you know what? This was eye-popping when it came across the wires this morning, when we found out about it. I think this is like in history ever recorded.

And not everyone is hurt by the slowing economy, certainly not Exxon Mobil. It posted record-breaking profits. How much money are we talking here?

LISOVICZ: We're talking about $40 billion in profits last year, not in revenues, pure profit. That is the largest annual profit ever for an American company. It works out to about $1,300 a second.

LEMON: OK.

LISOVICZ: The results topped the previous record high set last year by Exxon Mobil. The big reason, of course, that big oil's making so much money. Big oil prices soaring nearly 60 percent last year. The surge helping prices to break through the $100 a barrel mark last month. Crude is sliding today, down about $3 a barrel. But you can expect more big profits from Exxon since it hit the $100 a barrel in this quarter.

So it's cyclical, that's what big oil will tell you. There were times when oil was really cheap. Right now they're enjoying, you know, a lot of demand for oil, big prices -- Don.

LEMON: Yes. OK.

All right, Susan Lisovicz at the New York Stock Exchange.

LISOVICZ: I'll talk to you later.

LEMON: Yes, we'll check back with you. Thank you.

LISOVICZ: You're welcome.

WHITFIELD: Well, leading our Political Ticker, it's been talked about in Democratic circles for a while now, a Clinton/Obama or Obama/Clinton dream team?

Our Wolf Blitzer asked both candidates about it in last night's Democratic debate in Los Angeles. They both sidestepped the question, but they didn't rule out the possibility, either.

And a first for moveon.org. For the first time, the liberal activist group is endorsing a candidate in the presidential primaries, and it's Barack Obama.

The group says more than two-thirds of its members favor Obama over Hillary Clinton. It says it has almost two million members in the states that will take part in Super Tuesday next week.

And Republican presidential candidate John McCain has won the backing of a well-known conservative, former solicitor General Ted Olson. Olson is a member of the Federalist Society who has supported Rudy Giuliani until Giuliani dropped out and endorsed McCain. Olson helped steer the 2000 Florida recount efforts for President Bush.

And the Republican ad wars are heating up ahead of Super Tuesday. Sources in the McCain campaign, which at one time was strapped for cash, tells CNN that they're buying ad time in every Super Tuesday state except Utah. They're not saying how much it will cost, only that it's a seven-figure buy.

Mitt Romney's campaign says it too is making a significant ad buy in California and some other Super Tuesday states.

And check out cnnpolitics.com for the latest on the presidential race and for a look ahead to Super Tuesday. It's the place to go for the latest endorsements, freshest polls, the Political Ticker blog, and much more, of course.

LEMON: Much, much more, of course.

And Fredricka, we have some breaking news into the CNN NEWSROOM. It involves a plane crash in North Carolina.

You're looking at new pictures there. Boy, look at that, right on the ground. They got up close with this one.

But here's what we're learning, according to The Associated Press, as you look at this new video coming into the CNN NEWSROOM. We're hearing that a twin-engine plane crashed in northwest North Carolina.

Federal officials, of course, are investigating reports that up to six people died on board the plane. Some of this information coming from Surry County sheriff's officials. They said that the plane is a King Air C90A. It crashed in a neighborhood near the Mount Airy Airport about 11:00 a.m. local time.

The plane appeared to split in half after crashing into the front yard of a home, where you see it right there. Imagine that, being in your home or your neighbor's home and then a plane comes crashing right down in the yard.

The reports say it did not hit any homes, no one on the ground was hurt, they don't believe, at this point. But a Federal Aviation Administration official is investigating this.

The plane left Dallas, Georgia. Dallas, Georgia, is where it left, was headed for Mount Airy, there in North Carolina. Again, crashing, Mount Airy, North Carolina, into a front yard.

Incredible pictures, a close-up coming to our affiliate -- what's the affiliate's name -- I saw it on the pictures there -- real quickly? Do we know what the affiliate was?

News 14. We want to thank them for those pictures.

Meantime, we'll keep investigating this and bring you the very latest right here in the CNN NEWSROOM.

WHITFIELD: All right. Meantime, if the reports are true, it could be a new low in Iraq. Mentally disabled women used as remote- controlled bombs? Well, they may have had no idea that they were about to carry out the deadliest attacks in months.

We'll check into those details.

Plus...

LEMON: Yes, the Democratic debate on health care might have left you feeling just a little bit dizzy. Dr. Sanjay Gupta keeps the candidates honest in the CNN NEWSROOM.

WHITFIELD: And is Britney Spears finally merging onto the road to recovery? One expert says she's now in some very good hands.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

LEMON: All right. New video and breaking news into the CNN NEWSROOM.

As we just reported a short time ago, a twin-engine plane crashed in northwest North Carolina. That's according to The Associated Press. And look at these pictures, how close these photographers got.

That's because it crashed right into someone's front yard, we are told. The pictures courtesy of our affiliate WXII, Mount Airy, North Carolina.

Up to six people, we are told, according to The Associated Press, died in this plane crash. We'll continue to update you.

WHITFIELD: And it's about 16 minutes after the hour. Here are three of the other stories we're working on in the CNN NEWSROOM.

At least 98 people are dead and more than 200 hurt after a pair of bombings at Baghdad markets. Iraqi officials say the bombers were mentally disabled women, probably unaware that they were carrying remote-controlled bombs.

And President Bush calls today's employment report troubling. The U.S. economy lost jobs in January, the first decline in four years. Mr. Bush called on the Senate to complete work on a stimulus package.

A winter storm has been making its way across mid-America, leaving a blanket of snow as far south as Oklahoma and Texas. Those pictures out of Oklahoma City. Remarkable there. The storm is blamed for several traffic deaths.

LEMON: Well, you saw in last night's debate Hillary Clinton, Barack Obama both say they have the prescription to fix America's health care system.

CNN Chief Medical Correspondent, Dr. Sanjay Gupta, fact-checks both candidates' plans. But first, full disclosure. We have a disclaimer.

Dr. Gupta was a White House fellow, which is a nonpartisan appointment, in Hillary Clinton's office in 1997 and in 1998. That was three to four years after Mrs. Clinton's original health care overhaul collapsed. Full disclosure.

Here's the story.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

DR. SANJAY GUPTA, CNN CHIEF MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT (voice over): Let's break down the health care plans for the leading Democratic candidates. Let's start with universal coverage.

Senators Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton both promise to provide health care to the estimated 47 million Americans without health insurance. Clinton would require all Americans to have health coverage. Obama's plan is a little different. It guarantees coverage but does not require it. SEN. BARACK OBAMA (D-IL), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: I don't think that the problem with the American people is that they are not being forced to get health care. The problem is they can't afford it.

GUPTA: According to the U.S. Census data, that may not always be the case. More than nine million Americans who make more than $75,000 a year have no health insurance.

Clinton estimates that her plan would cost $110 billion. Obama says his plan will cost $50 billion to $60 billion. Neither of these plans call for government-run health care, like France or Canada.

How about health care affordability? That's the ability to take your health insurance with you if you change jobs or lose your job. Again, both candidates say their plan gives you that freedom.

Paying for medical care during a chronic or catastrophic illness can result in financial ruin, even if you have excellent health insurance. In fact, paying for health care is the number one cause of personal bankruptcy in the United States. Clinton says her plan would insure coverage of catastrophic costs and would guarantee insurance premiums would never rise above a certain percentage of income.

SEN. HILLARY RODHAM CLINTON (D-NY), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: I am not running for president to put Band-Aids on our problems. I am running for president to solve them, starting with solving the health care financing problem that stands in the way of too many people being taken care of.

GUPTA: We'll give Obama's plan a half a checkmark. It would reimburse employer health plans for a portion of catastrophic costs above a certain level, if that money goes towards reducing the costs of workers' premiums, and it would forgive the debts of families who go bankrupt because of medical bills.

How about quality of care? Clinton says she would establish an independent best practices institute. That's a public-private partnership to research the best drugs, the best operations, and the best treatments. Obama also says his plan would spread the word about best practices.

And how about prevention? It's now less than 5 percent of health care spending. Clinton says she'd require insurance companies to pay for preventive medicine and promote programs to help stem the obesity epidemic among children.

Obama says he will increase funding for community-based prevention programs and expand federally-supported plans like Medicare and Medicaid to cover prevention efforts like cancer screenings and smoking cessation programs.

Both these plans are complicated and very expensive, costing tens of billions of dollars. The candidates say they plan to pay for them by making the system more efficient and by eliminating the Bush tax cuts on the wealthiest Americans.

Dr. Sanjay Gupta, CNN, reporting.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

LEMON: Make sure you catch Dr. Sanjay Gupta's special "Broken Government: Health Care Critical Condition," Sunday night at 11:00 Eastern, right here on CNN.

And we want to hear from patients and caregivers just like you. What are your questions about health care in the U.S.?

Send your questions. The e-mail address is cnnnewsroom@cnn.com. Again, cnnnewsroom@cnn.com.

Next hour we'll speak with a patient advocate to answer your e- mails.

WHITFIELD: A famous face, a godforsaken place. We'll tell you about George Clooney's new starring role on a global stage, and there is nothing showbiz about this.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

LEMON: OK, an update now on our developing news coming to us from Mount Airy, North Carolina. A small twin-engine plane crashed right into the front yard there. Here's the information that we're getting into the CNN -- into CNN.

The plane took off at Polk County Airport in Cedartown, Georgia. It was landing at Mount Airy. And according to the FAA, it was overcast there, they had 2.5 miles of visibility. It was about 1:30 p.m. The plane was under the control of approach control, we're being told, which is not on site, but it's at another location. It wasn't there at the airport. They cleared the plane to land. The airport managers saw the plane come out of the clouds, but it was too high to land, so the pilot attempted to go around, disappeared into the clouds, then the airport manager heard a crash and it crashed into a subdivision east of the airport.

Again, a small plane crash, twin-engine plane. The Associated Press is reporting up to six people killed in this. All of these pictures coming to us from our affiliate WXII, Mount Airy, North Carolina. More details as soon as we get them right here in the CNN NEWSROOM.

WHITFIELD: Well, almost 100 people killed in the deadliest day in Baghdad since the U.S. troop surge. The city's relative calm was shattered this morning by grisly bombings at two outdoor and very crowded markets.

CNN's Arwa Damon is in Baghdad.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

ARWA DAMON, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): The aftermath of bombings in Baghdad, a familiar sight, but this time there may be a sickening, new twist. The spokesman for the Baghdad Security Plan says the latest attacks involved mentally disabled women, blown up by remote control, possibly unaware of their fate.

The twin blasts happened at two popular pet markets, crowded with Iraqis enjoying the Muslim weekly holy day, the first and deadliest coming at 10:30 in the morning, striking the al-Ghazl (ph) pet bazaar in central Baghdad, leaving behind the carnage of animal and human body parts. Half an hour later, the second bomber struck in another pet market. Firemen and soldiers moved in to secure the site after the disaster. The wounded poured into hospitals across the capital.

Despite security measures put into place, such as blast walls to prevent vehicles from entering some markets and body searches, this is an insurgency notorious for exploiting weaknesses. Often, women are not searched and are carrying out more and more of these attacks. While an Iraqi official says the women likely did not know they were being used as deadly weapons, the U.S. military called the women suicide bombers and puts the blame on al Qaeda in Iraq. The U.S. ambassador to Iraq tells the Associated Press there's nothing al Qaeda won't do to create carnage.

(on camera): The capital had enjoyed a period of relative calm, with the civilian death toll gradually decreasing since September, but Friday morning's violent attacks have really shattered whatever feeble hopes Iraqis may have had that perhaps the worst was behind them.

Arwa Damon, CNN, Baghdad.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

LEMON: A sprawling city in southern China, police are doing all they can to control enormous crowds of frustrated passengers, some of whom have been stranded for weeks by a brutal cold snap that froze parts of the country. It's just completely frozen solid. Movement is slowly resuming on the rails and roads, but not altogether smoothly.

And CNN's Isha Sesay is following developments in China from our International Desk. And just -- I mean, looking at those pictures next to you, Isha, it's hard to believe that many people are stranded. It's unbelievable.

ISHA SESAY, CNN INTERNATIONAL ANCHOR: It is unbelievable, Don. I mean, these are really desperate times in China, and the continuing snowstorms are crushing the hopes of millions of people who are trying to get home to their families for the Lunar New Year. I mean, those pictures you showed just now, I want to share them with our viewers once again and give them a little bit of context.

I mean, the police, the authorities struggling to maintain some kind of control. You can see the desperation. You can see the anger and frustration. You know, people have been crowded in these bone- chilling conditions with just the clothes and their luggage, and they desperately want to get home. Why, because it's the Lunar New Year and there's a belief that it's good luck to be with your family at this time of year.

The other thing to say is that, you know, there's an estimated 178 million migrant workers in China, and this is for most of them, the only time in the year they can get back to their families. So, they desperately want to get home.

According to the state-run Xinhua News Agency, 400,000 people were stranded at Guangzhou Railway Station on Friday, and you think to yourself 400,000, well, that's actually half the number that were there at the height of this crisis. China's trains, their expressways, their roads have all been jammed, and this snow has really snarled up China's central regions, its southern regions, its eastern regions, and the snow has been falling for over three weeks.

Interestingly enough, China's Premier Wen Jiabao has been out on the roads doing meet-and-greets, being out there, you know, really trying to tell people do not panic, you know, the authorities are doing everything they can to try and get the situation moving as quickly as possible. And you know, on some of the Web sites that I've been reading, that has actually worked. His words have actually calmed a number of people down who've really been moved by the fact that a Chinese official is out there taking an interest in the situation of their citizens.

Now, this storm, we should point out, even though according to the state-run news agency, 95 percent of the railways are back moving. Things are far from normal, as you would imagine, with such a backlog of over a week. Think of all those people trying to get on trains. Think of the roads, they're jammed bumper to bumper.

And you know, the other thing Chinese authorities are worried about is that in some areas, this could really turn into a really critical situation, because fuel supplies, food supplies are running low, and the power is out in some places. So you know, we really are looking at chaos in many parts of China. The cost to the economy, over $4.5 billion.

For more on this story, go to CNN.com. Back to you, Don.

LEMON: Oh, my goodness. OK, Isha, thank you very much.

WHITFIELD: After seeing those images, what I'm about to tell you about with the weather here in this country, it's kind of dwarfed. It is bad, right, Chad, who's in the ...

CHAD MYERS, AMS METEOROLOGIST: Absolutely.

WHITFIELD: ...weather center. It's bad, but dwarfed by the standards of what's happening in southern China.

MYERS: Yes, and you know, they're not really used to it. That's a one in 50-year storm they're seeing here. Sure, it's icing in Syracuse and Binghamton, but that's a once a year or twice a year storm for them. So they kind of get it.

Remember last hour, maybe half an hour ago, I showed you a shot from WSYR, our affiliate, their towercam. You can still see the buildings, you can still see cars going by. Now take a look at this. Looks like you're looking into a shower.

WHITFIELD: Oh my gosh. MYERS: It is completely iced up. You cannot see through that lens now ...

WHITFIELD: The lens. Oh, wow.

MYERS: ...anymore. And that's happening to the trees, the power lines, and your car if it's sitting outside. There is a major ice storm event going on in New York, northern Pennsylvania, parts of Vermont, and even into New Hampshire. North of it, it's all snow, so you're OK ...

WHITFIELD: Yes.

MYERS: ...but I'd rather drive in snow, not 20 inches like Montreal might get.

WHITFIELD: Right ...

MYERS: They're still going to have a hard time.

WHITFIELD: ...than ice.

MYERS: But the ice is really, really troublesome today here and it's not going to go away any time soon. A lot of schools are already let go. Many people didn't even have to go to work or to school today because they knew it was coming. Thank goodness the forecast was good on that. The ice storm warnings were out. And there you go, there's your snow, Montreal up the St. Lawrence Seaway. A bunch of it coming up tonight.

WHITFIELD: Whew, one word, Chad.

MYERS: What's that?

WHITFIELD: Miserable!

MYERS: Friday (ph)!

WHITFIELD: Maybe two. Horrible! Three's bad! OK, that's just terrible. All right, thanks a lot, Chad.

MYERS: You're welcome.

WHITFIELD: All right, let's talk politics. Putting Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton to the dial test now. We'll show you how some Democrats who haven't made up their minds reacted to last night's debate.

LEMON: You're not talking about the soap, are you?

WHITFIELD: Not that dial.

(LAUGHTER)

(COMMERCIAL BREAK) WHITFIELD: All right, perhaps you watched them both, and we don't have to tell you that last night's face-off was vastly different from the Clinton-Obama war of words last week in South Carolina, and the high road got high marks from the undecided Democrats that we armed with people meters.

Here's CNN's Chris Lawrence to explain.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

CHRIS LAWRENCE, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): The candidates declared a ceasefire in their civil war and our undecided Democrats responded.

SEN. HILLARY CLINTON (D), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Just by looking at us, you can tell, we are not more of the same. We will change our country.

LAWRENCE: There were a few mild attacks, but Barack Obama nose- dived when he criticized Hillary Clinton's health care plan.

SEN. BARACK OBAMA (D), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Hillary says that she's got enough subsidies. Well, we've priced out both our plan and Senator Clinton's plan, and some of the subsidies are not going to be sufficient.

LAWRENCE: And what he calls her flip-flops on giving driver's licenses to illegal immigrants.

OBAMA: Senator Clinton gave a number of different answers over the course of six weeks on this issue, and that did appear political. Now, at this point, she's got a clear position.

LAWRENCE: But voters liked his leadership style, when he talked about being a president not afraid to accept help.

OBAMA: Part of what I'd like to do is restore a sense of what is possible in government, and that means having people of the greatest excellence and competence, it means people with integrity, it means people with independence, who are willing to say no to me so that, you know, no more yes men or women in the White House, because I'm not going to be right on every single issue.

LAWRENCE: Clinton was asked, why can't you say you made a mistake voting to authorize the Iraq War? She kind of avoided a direct answer, and voters were unimpressed.

CLINTON: I think that you try to figure out how to move bad actors in a direction that you'd prefer in order to avoid more dire consequences.

LAWRENCE: Dial testers preferred a more direct answer.

OBAMA: We should not have had this government installed in the first place. We shouldn't have invaded in the first place.

LAWRENCE: Clinton got some of her highest marks when she took pot shots at the Republicans.

CLINTON: And you know, it did take a Clinton to clean after the first Bush and I think it might take another one to clean up after the second Bush.

(APPLAUSE)

(END VIDEOTAPE)

WHITFIELD: Oh, my goodness. We're just adding a little commentary to the people meters.

All right, well, whether any of our undecided respondents made up their minds based on what they heard, that we just don't know.

LEMON: While the remaining Democratic and Republican candidates are looking ahead to Super Tuesday and a nationwide battle, California's the biggest prize with the most delegates. Twenty-three other states also will hold contests. CNN will have round-the-clock coverage. That's Super Tuesday, February 5th.

And there's a good reason why next week's primaries and caucuses are called Super Tuesday or even Super Duper Tuesday. A super duper number of delegates are up for grabs.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

LEMON (voice-over): On Super Tuesday, 24 states coast to coast will hold primaries or caucuses. In the Democratic races, more than 1,600 delegates are up for grabs. For the Republicans, a tad over 1,000.

To win the Democratic nomination, a candidate needs 2,025 delegates, 1,191 are needed to secure the Republican nomination. Right now, John McCain is on top with 97 Republican delegates, Mitt Romney has 74. That number includes an estimate of unpledged delegates who can support any candidate at the convention.

For the Democrats, Hillary Clinton is out front with 232, and Barack Obama has 158. When you add in their unpledged or super delegates who are mostly party officials and members of Congress, of course, all that changes on Tuesday.

Some of the Super Tuesday states offering the richest prizes include California with 370 Democratic delegates, 170 Republicans, New York with 232 Dem delegates, 101 Republicans, and Illinois, where 153 Dem delegates are at stake, 57 Republican.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

LEMON: Make sure you check out CNNpolitics.com for the latest on the presidential race and for a look ahead to Super Tuesday, Super Duper Tuesday. It is a place to go for the latest endorsements, the freshest polls, and the political ticker blog, and of course, much, much more. WHITFIELD: An ambulance, 10 motorcycle cops, two police cars, and a van, all part (ph) of the convoy escorted Britney Spears down the road to recovery? An expert says she is in excellent hands now.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

LEMON: OK, Britney Spears is in her second day at UCLA Medical Center. Doctors are trying to figure out how her life has gotten so out of control and how best to fix it. A licensed therapist in Beverly Hills says Spears is in very good hands now.

Harold Young of the Maplewood Counseling Center joins us from our L.A. Bureau. And of course, I want to tell you thank you for joining us.

HAROLD YOUNG, MAPLEWOOD COUNSELING CENTER: You're welcome.

LEMON: Getting a lot of feedback from viewers saying why are you covering Britney Spears? What's going on? There are more important things. Well, it's to a point now this is not just the paparazzi chasing her. It's to a point now where they're actually taking some very serious means to try to get her some help, correct?

YOUNG: Correct, that would have been her treating psychiatrist who made the decision to involuntarily hospitalize her at UCLA.

LEMON: Yes, because we're seeing all these things happening, the paparazzi, everyone following her -- and I know that you don't want to make a diagnosis here, but just from what you're seeing, would it appear that she may have some sort of issues as it comes to maybe being bipolar, or you know, do you think so?

YOUNG: Well, clearly, she has issues, whatever that may mean. I would be loathe to make any sort of diagnosis and I think any mental health professional, it's tough enough to make a diagnosis with somebody sitting in the room with you, but we've all seen the same things on the TV.

LEMON: Yes.

YOUNG: She has some real problems.

LEMON: Yes, OK, Mr. Young, I'm glad you said that, because I want you to look at this. You know, we've seen the pink wigs and and you know, and all of this and sort of different personas that she's taking on. Let's listen and I want to get your response.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Let's go, guys. Watch your back, watch your back, watch your back. Let her go to the restroom ...

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Whoa. You almost ...

BRITNEY SPEARS, POP STAR: Excuse me.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Guys.

SPEARS: Excuse me, where's your lou?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Do you have a restroom that she can use, please?

(CROSSTALK)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Look out, guys!

SPEARS: Do you work here? Obviously not.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

LEMON: OK. So that's Britney Spears. Do you work here? You know -- a British accent which is -- people around her, close to her have been saying she's taking on these different personas. And, does it appear to be that way? And the second question is, can a judge maybe use this, or a family, or whoever's trying to take control over, custodial control, use these pictures as evidence that there is definitely something out of order with Britney Spears?

YOUNG: I think somebody could use it as evidence, but obviously, we also need to know what the context of what is this happening within? That isolated behavior is very hard to define. And again, I would not be willing to say what's going on at the moment. If we knew what was going on prior, if we knew something about her mental status -- it can be used, though, as evidence to possibly continue the hold on her.

LEMON: Yes. OK, so those pictures, I want to make it clear, courtesy of HollywoodTV -- HollywoodTV -- and we saw it up there on the thing. OK, so we're talking about -- about custodial issues here, custodial control.

YOUNG: Right.

LEMON: What -- is it possible, especially what happened with her going to the hospital the other night, that the family can do that? And what's the bar here?

YOUNG: Well, she's right now on what's called a 5150, which is an involuntary three-day, 72-hour hold. A psychiatrist has to admit her into the hospital. And for her to be released, the psychiatrist also has to write the paperwork to release her.

They will ask her during her stay whether or not she wishes to volunteer. They must, in fact, ask her. If they don't, she'll be let out in 72 hours. The family will not have much to say in regard to her hold, but this is -- my understanding is it's involuntary at the moment.

LEMON: OK. So that's a pretty high standard to get to in order to get someone, because she will still have rights, no matter -- unless she is clearly breaking the law or in danger of harming herself, correct? YOUNG: There are four criterias that someone gets admitted to for a 5150 -- if they're a danger to themselves or others, if they're gravely disabled, if they're under -- if they have a severe mental disorder, again, if they're going to harm themselves or someone else. But they do not lose their rights.

LEMON: OK.

YOUNG: In fact, they have a number of patient rights.

LEMON: You -- that's sort of the meat of what we're -- what we're trying to convey here, because there are many people who suffer from problems and who seem to be out of control, but this is something that we're seeing every day in the media. So if people can learn, again, you're saying four different criteria -- if you have a family member who may be exhibiting signs of trouble, again, please tell us, what are those four criteria again?

YOUNG: OK. Well, it's somebody who's a danger to themselves or a danger to others. They're unable to provide shelter, food or clothing for themselves. And it doesn't mean that they're necessarily homeless. That they are gravely disabled or they're displaying a mental disorder. But the family cannot admit somebody on a 72-hour hold. I want to be clear about that. It has to be they're a licensed professional or possibly a police officer can initiate a 5150.

LEMON: OK. Is this only in California or is this ...

YOUNG: As far as I know, this falls under the Lanterman-Petris Act in California. Other states do have similar type of laws and welfare acts.

LEMON: OK. I think this is sort of the best information we've gotten here and ...

YOUNG: Thank you.

LEMON: ... not tabloidy. So we appreciate you joining us. And I think I misspoke, it is the Maple Counseling Center, correct?

YOUNG: That's right. That's correct. Thank you.

LEMON: Dr. -- Harold Young thank you, from the Maple Counseling Center. Very good information about Britney Spears, and also if you have a family member who may be exhibiting some signs of trouble that's what you do.

YOUNG: You're more than welcome.

LEMON: Yes. Thank you very much.

And love them, that's probably the best thing to do.

YOUNG: There you go.

LEMON: Thank you very much. All right we're going to move on now and talk about another football person, not in trouble, different subject. Terrell Owens, the star wide receiver for the Dallas Cowboys, at the top of his game, really, but he almost lost it all back in September of 2006. That's when he was treated for a reported -- a reported -- drug overdose. I spent some time with T.O. this weekend in Miami. The NFL player opened up to me about what happened that day.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

LEMON: Explain to people what happened.

TERRELL OWENS, DALLAS COWBOYS: The reaction I really can't explain it to you. All I know is I had come home and I was getting some treatment and I think I dozed off, kind of got up, had taken some more medicine.

LEMON: You didn't try to take your own life?

(END VIDEO CLIP)

LEMON: His answer? Well, it's ahead in the NEWSROOM in our next hour right here on CNN. He says he is a changed man. Plus, I talked to him about his much-publicized crying episode at the recent news conference after Dallas was eliminated from the playoffs. It's an interview you don't want to miss, coming up in our 3:00 hour.

WHITFIELD: All right. We look forward to that, Don.

Well, who can forget these images? Buffalo Bills' tight end, Kevin Everett, right there, going down in the first game of the season last fall. And then not getting up. At the time, doctors said it was unlikely he would ever walk again. Well, fast forward to yesterday, right there. Extraordinary moment. Everett walking onto the set of the "Oprah Winfrey Show."

He says he still has quite a ways to go. He knows he won't be playing football again, but he just might coach. First, though, he's going to the Super Bowl on Sunday and yes, he will be cheering for the Giants because they are the underdogs.

LEMON: Of course he's going to be cheering for the Giants.

Civil activist or criminal?

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You don't think he was defacing property?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Heavens to betsies, no. I told him to do the other three.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

LEMON: We'll tell you why a prosecutor says one man's paint job crosses the line. WHITFIELD: And it's not exactly the Statue of Liberty or Mt. Rushmore. But if you love Hello Kitty, then you love this and you think it is the coolest ever!

LEMON: Cool kitty. It's giant, I'll tell you that

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: Hello Kitty! Oh, my god, you're huge!

You'll find this eight-foot statue of the famous feline in front of the ImaneZanrio (ph) store in Tokyo. If Hello Kitty doesn't ring a bell, just ask your daughter or your granddaughter. Everybody knows Hello Kitty! by now, right? Well company officials say the character's fame is worthy of a big statue and they hope fans from all over the world come to see it. And they will. The tile-covered kitty cost about $28,000.

LEMON: Ooh!

WHITFIELD: Yes. The next hour of the CNN NEWSROOM starts right now.

Big oil strikes it even richer, and weak tech (ph) hit the jackpot. The layoffs plagued the labor force and stimulus stalled in Congress.

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