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Sugar Refinery Blast; Surviving the Storms; Killings at City Hall; Louisiana Primary Today; Angelina Jolie's Iraq Mission
Aired February 09, 2008 - 10:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
T.J. HOLMES, CNN ANCHOR: A search is under way right now, crews hoping to find victims of a sugar refinery plant explosion.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: When we were laying on our children, he was on Chase (ph) and I was laying on Hayden (ph). I looked back, you know, after the top came off, the top was ripped off the shelter. I looked back behind me and I could see our house blowing over our heads.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BETTY NGUYEN, CNN ANCHOR: My goodness. Survivors of this week's tornadoes talk about the terrifying moments that changed their lives.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
ANGELINA JOLIE, ACTRESS: It's in our best interest to address the humanitarian crisis on this scale, because displacement can lead to a lot of instability and aggression.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HOLMES: Actor and humanitarian Angelina Jolie visits Iraq. A CNN exclusive interview coming your way this hour.
From the CNN Center, this is the CNN NEWSROOM, Saturday, February 9th.
Good morning to you all. I'm T.J. Holmes.
NGUYEN: Yes, good morning, everybody. I'm Betty Nguyen.
It is 10:00 a.m. here in Atlanta, 9:00 a.m. in New Orleans, where there is another round of primary voting. Want to get you caught up on all the news from around the world. So first up, Louisiana.
HOLMES: Louisiana. We'll start there.
It's not the only state voting today. Got a map here for you, a breakdown of where everybody's voting today.
Voters in five states and territories choosing presidential nominees today. There are caucuses for both parties in Washington State. Kansas, a Republican-only caucus happening there. Nebraska and the Virgin Islands, just Democrats voting. Louisiana, as we mentioned, holding the only primary today.
Here's a glimpse, a live look at one of the polling places there. We've seen people in and out of here. Not too heavy, traffic today, but still, people will have pretty much all day to vote. And we'll have the results for you, of course, at the end of the day.
So, what are voters there looking for in a presidential candidate? Many are still looking for help, as well as hope, as they continue to try and rebuild their lives. We'll take a closer look coming up with that in about 30 minutes.
NGUYEN: Let's turn to this now. Search crews are returning to the rubble of a sugar refinery near Savannah, Georgia, and they're looking for four people missing in just a massive blast there.
CNN's John Zarrella joins us now from Port Wentworth. How's the search going so far, John?
JOHN ZARRELLA, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, Betty, we're waiting for news from fire officials here as to whether they have resumed that search. Some of the good news here this morning, though, is that in Savannah-area hospitals, no more victims remain. They've all been treated and released.
The most serious of the burn victims were all brought to Augusta, Georgia. There are 20 in burn centers in Augusta, Georgia. Seventeen of them are in critical but stable condition. Three of them are in serious condition.
Hospital officials are telling us that most of the victims have burns over at least 30 percent of their bodies. And in one case, one of the victims has burns over 95 percent of their bodies. Doctors are saying that most all of these victims are going to spend the weekend undergoing extensive surgeries.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DR. FRED MULLINS, JOSEPH M. STILL BURN CENTER: The most critical things for these patients over the next 24 to 48 hours will be the blood they need. They'll need multiple units of blood as they undergo multiple surgeries.
By 7:30 this morning, the first patients were in surgery. They will -- through the weekend, or through the night and through the weekend, they'll all be undergoing surgery. During their surgeries, there is blood loss, as well as the burn itself can create a need for blood, and that will require multiple, multiple transfusions.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ZARRELLA: Now, here at the scene they expect to have heavy equipment brought in so that they can begin to start removing the tons of debris -- mangled, twisted steal, fractured concrete everywhere. What hasn't collapsed of this massive sugar refinery is completely charred from the smoke and the flames. And again, there are at least four people confirmed still missing. Perhaps more. Four the last number, four that are confirmed dead. Their bodies removed yesterday from the blast area. And authorities tell us that all four of the bodies that were removed were from one central area where they believe the initial explosion took place.
So again, they are awaiting heavy equipment to come in here so they can start moving some of the mountains of debris out and maybe have a better opportunity to start finding those other victims that still remain trapped inside there -- Betty.
NGUYEN: Well, John, while there's no official cause, a lot of the preliminary investigation says it might have been the sugar dust that ignited. Exactly how does that work? It doesn't seem like you hear about that very often.
ZARRELLA: No. They say it's actually very, very rare.
And what you can have is that those dust particles, they build up in there. And then somehow or other, if you get some static electricity in the air there, that if there is this buildup, that then the static electricity can cause that sugar dust to ignite.
Again, very rare, but a possibility. And federal investigators are here on the scene, and they will begin as soon as they can to get inside the remains of that plant to try and figure out exactly what went wrong -- Betty.
NGUYEN: Yes. If that is the case, what are the chances of that? Such an unfortunate thing to happen.
John Zarrella joining us live. Thank you, John.
HOLMES: Well, there's a whole lot of shaking going on in Mexico's Baja, California. A moderate earthquake with a 5.4 magnitude rocked that area.
Authorities say about 400,000 people lost power, and factories near the U.S. border were shut down. However, no major damage. No injuries being reported.
NGUYEN: Back here, President Bush says help will soon be on the way in the aftermath of this week's deadly southern tornadoes. He has declared major disasters in the hardest-hit areas. And this morning we are hearing from storm survivors about their ordeal. In particular, one family in Huntersville, Tennessee.
CNN's Susan Roesgen is there. And what a story this is, Susan.
SUSAN ROESGEN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: No kidding, Betty. Imagine spending the tornado inside a tornado shelter. This is really an underground bunker, a concrete bunker that was a storm shelter for this family Tuesday night. It was a mom, a dad, their two small children, and two dogs. Their house is over there. They came running outside, got into the storm shelter, and then the roof of it blew off. They felt themselves almost being sucked out of it. And they watched their house, Betty, fly over their heads and wind up 50 yards away. There it is.
Now, you can see the damage to it, but inside, believe it or not, lots of things moved around, but the mother's shoes were right where she left them.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
BARBIE MCCLUAN, TORNADO SURVIVOR: A pair of shoes that I took off after work were sitting in the same spot. But then, some of my kids' toys were just completely demolished that were sitting right beside it.
Things from my little boy's bedroom were at -- all the way at the end, the left end of the house, ended up all the way to the far right of the house in rooms. Things from other people's houses ended up in our house.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ROESGEN: Just an incredible story here for this family.
And Betty, I've got to tell you, next time they say they are going to rebuild, but they won't have a storm shelter, they'll have a real basement -- Betty.
NGUYEN: I'd say that storm shelter that you're in right now worked pretty well for what they needed at the time. And they are...
ROESGEN: It did. It saved their lives, and that's really all that matters.
NGUYEN: Absolutely. They are lucky to be alive.
And can you just imagine? I mean, that's something out of, what, "The Wizard of Oz," that you look up and the house is flying across the way.
All right, Susan. Thank you for that report.
HOLMES: Well, they are wet and waterlogged, but the rivers are slowly starting to recede in flooded areas of northwest Ohio. Days of rain and water from melting snow sent rivers over their banks. In Ottawa, floodwaters covered dozens of streets and damaged more than 300 homes. But some good news -- the sandbags worked in some areas and kept some downtown businesses dry.
(WEATHER REPORT)
NGUYEN: Hey, the space shuttle Atlantis is closing in on the International Space Station. Look at this, a live picture from NASA today. HOLMES: Yes, Atlantis is due to dock with the space station at 12:25 Eastern. That's a little over two hours from now. Atlanta is carrying a new $2 billion European-made laboratory.
Can we go back to that live picture for a second?
NGUYEN: Yes. It said "Happy Birthday."
HOLMES: Yes. The commander of the space shuttle, the woman there, today's her birthday, her 48th birthday, so there was that "Happy Birthday" sign...
NGUYEN: Sign, yes.
HOLMES: ... as you saw there.
NGUYEN: Happy Birthday.
HOLMES: So she's celebrating in space today.
NGUYEN: I don't think you can beat that. I mean, every other birthday is going to pale in comparison to spending it in space.
HOLMES: Well, Happy Birthday to her.
NGUYEN: Absolutely.
HOLMES: We've got to get her something.
NGUYEN: Well, back here on Earth, two teenagers face a harsh penalty for wearing T-shirts. What's behind their message, just ahead.
HOLMES: Also, a small town gathers to mourn the death of its leaders. We'll take you to Kirkwood, Missouri. That's when we come back.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
(NEWSBREAK)
HOLMES: Well, a deadly campus shooting in Louisiana still has authorities a bit baffled. Police say a 23-year-old woman opened fire in a classroom at Louisiana Technical College yesterday, killing two female students before turning the gun on herself and committing suicide.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
BOBBIE LANDRY, VICTIM'S MOTHER: Tanisha (ph) goes to this school, too. God, please, don't tell me it was my baby. And it was like, we pray for you, give me strength. And it was like, oh, God, no. Not my baby.
I'm proud of her. Just praying (ph) to go to school and then not come back. School's supposed to be one of the safest places to go. (END VIDEO CLIP)
HOLMES: Well, classes at that school are canceled, at least until Tuesday.
Now want to turn to another horrific shooting we saw this week in this in this country, Kirkwood, Missouri, a small town struggling to cope and make sense of the horror that happened at city hall. Five people shot dead while attending a meeting.
CNN's Jim Acosta is live for us in Kirkwood. Good morning to you again, Jim.
JIM ACOSTA, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, T.J.
It was quite a scene last night, as it seemed the entire town of Kirkwood gathered where we are standing now, this public plaza across the street from city hall, to mourn the victims, to remember the victims in Thursday's rampage that took place at a city council meeting.
It all started Thursday evening when a local businessman, Charles Lee Thornton, blasted his way inside an ongoing city council meeting, shooting and killing five people, city employees here in Kirkwood, before police eventually took him down. And according to relatives of Charles Lee Thornton, he had a long-running dispute with city officials over fines he was racking up at his business.
But during that shooting spree, witnesses saw the city attorney in Kirkwood try to fight off Charles Lee Thornton, essentially throwing chairs at him, trying to get away.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JOHN HESSEL, KIRKWOOD CITY ATTORNEY: He pointed both guns right at me. So I picked up a chair and I threw it at him, and I was lucky enough where the guns then, rather than being pointed at me, was knocked to his right.
So I picked up another chair, and I took a couple steps towards him, because he wasn't aiming any guns at me, and I hit him as hard as I could with that chair. And I picked up a third chair and threw that at him as I was then running back towards the (INAUDIBLE), and I was pulling chairs behind me, hoping that they would cause him to stumble or whatever.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ACOSTA: And you're now looking live at the scene here outside of Kirkwood City Hall. This is the scene we've been looking at over the last 24 hours, as people in this town make their way to this memorial site and pay their respects to the victims of Thursday night's rampage. And the grieving will go on here over the next several days as funeral arrangements are being made for the victims who did not survive -- T.J.
HOLMES: Yes, a lot of people still trying to figure out exactly what was going on there.
Jim Acosta for us in Kirkwood. We appreciate you this morning, Jim.
Well, of course, many of us have been the victim of some kind of theft. You lose, like -- oh, my goodness, where's my wallet?
NGUYEN: Wallet, right. Or my purse, or, you know...
HOLMES: Can you imagine going where's my kidney?
NGUYEN: No, that is one thing...
HOLMES: Somebody steals your kidney.
NGUYEN: ... that no one ever wants to imagine, but that's exactly what authorities allege this doctor right here did for 10 years. We have the details on this horror story, next.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HOLMES: New this morning, a deadly blast to tell you about in northwestern Pakistan. At least 15 people killed in the explosion at a political campaign rally. Police say as many as 20 others were wounded in the blast at the rally for a Pashtun opposition party.
NGUYEN: A doctor from India is back in New Delhi right now to face charges that he ran a ring trafficking in live kidneys. A plane carrying Amit Kumar arrived from Nepal just a short time ago. You're looking at some live video there coming out of New Delhi. That's where he allegedly fled with a large sum of cash, and he was taken into custody in Nepal a little bit earlier this week.
Police say in Nepal that Kumar was -- or had admitted to involvement in about -- get this -- 300 kidney transplants in just over a decade. Alleged victims tell of being duped and drugged and then waking up to find a kidney removed. Kumar has denied doing anything illegal.
HOLMES: Well, Germany is on the job in Afghanistan. And that's the message this morning at an international security conference under way in Munich.
Germany's foreign minister says German troops are playing a key role in promoting stability and reconstruction in Afghanistan, and that Germany has nothing to be ashamed of. Defense Secretary Robert Gates of the U.S. recently criticized Germany and other European allies for not sending their troops into the heart of the Taliban insurgency.
Well, it's your voice, it's your vote. People choosing their presidential nominees today. Voters in Louisiana have put Mardi Gras behind them, now focusing on the future. Will the next president really clean up the Gulf Coast?
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE (singing): Because I've got a crush on Obama.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
NGUYEN: Yes, catchy and all. We're talking about the Obama Girl. But get this -- she isn't the only one singing for this candidate. Our Josh Levs joins us with much more.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HOLMES: Ah, spring break is just around the corner, but higher prices may make it harder than ever to find your place in the sun.
Veronica De La Cruz is on the go with some advice.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
VERONICA DE LA CRUZ, CNN INTERNET CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): College students are heading to their favorite beaches. Basketball fans are hitting the road for tournament games. And families are taking time, too. It gives a whole new meaning to March Madness.
CHRIS MCGINNIS, EXPEDIA.COM: We're looking at a very busy spring break season. Prices are going to be up quite a lot in March, because that's when most people want to go.
DE LA CRUZ: According to expedia.com, the most popular spring break destinations are still Las Vegas, Orlando and Cancun, but no matter where you're going, get the checkbook ready.
MCGINNIS: You're going to have to plan on spending at least $300 on your airfare to go just about anywhere. March airfares this year are up 11 percent over last year.
DE LA CRUZ: If you plan your trip during the off-peak times, you could save money.
MCGINNIS: If you have the flexibility to travel in early March or in mid-to-late April, that's when you're going to find the smallest crowds and the very best prices.
DE LA CRUZ: You might also want to consider traveling to less popular spring break destinations such as the Bahamas or Puerto Vallarta, Mexico.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
HOLMES: She's a movie star, she's a mom, she's an activist. Does Angelina Jolie ever slow down?
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JOLIE: I don't see borders. And I see lives and I see children. And this is, you know, an environment where there's a war, but there is also a humanitarian crisis. (END VIDEO CLIP)
HOLMES: A world-famous woman travels to Iraq to get a firsthand look at the displaced people there. She talks about it only on CNN.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
NGUYEN: Welcome back, everybody. I'm Betty Nguyen.
HOLMES: And I'm T.J. Holmes. Here's some of the stories we're keeping an eye on this morning.
A minor earthquake in northwest Mexico left hundreds of thousands of people without power. The quake was centered in Baja, California, about a 100 miles from Tijuana. There have been no reports of injuries, however, or major damage.
NGUYEN: We're also watching voting today. Primaries and caucuses are being held in four states and the Virgin Islands. The Louisiana primary is the only contest under way right now.
So, what about Louisiana's recovery from Katrina? That is a question on the minds of many of those voters, especially in New Orleans.
CNN's Sean Callebs has more.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
SEAN CALLEBS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: This is Super Tuesday in New Orleans. As much of the country went to the polls, people in Louisiana hit the streets for Mardi Gras.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: ... down here in New Orleans, man!
CALLEBS: On this day, Louisiana's February 9th primary was the last thing on minds here.
CLANCY DUBOS, "GAMBIT WEEKLY": If we were trying to have a primary here during carnival season, that would be like trying to have a papal mass in the middle of an Ozzy Osbourne concert. It just wouldn't fit, you know? It wouldn't work, bad idea.
CALLEBS: Clancy Dubos is a columnist with a local alternative newspaper.
DUBOS: You can look at the last two elections. If Louisiana had gone the other way in either of those elections, George Bush wouldn't be president.
CALLEBS: Louisiana could be the key again, something not lost on both Democratic campaigns, here to drum up last-minute votes.
SEN. BARACK OBAMA (D-IL), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: When the storm came, what happened? WILLIAM JEFFERSON CLINTON, FMR. PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: You hire a president in part to make good decisions in a hurry under duress.
CALLEBS: With a convoluted caucus and primary process here for Republicans, GOP candidates largely stayed away and shied away from comments about recovery and rebuilding. Voters say both sides need to say and do more.
TROY MCGOWAN, NEW ORLEANS RESIDENT: They need to do better than what they're doing, because we could be a lot further along than where we are right now.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: People here in New Orleans are taking it upon themselves to make a difference, as well as all throughout the Gulf Coast, regardless if the government is participating or not.
CALLEBS (on camera): Whoever wins the White House inherits Curran Boulevard here in New Orleans and all of its problems. Sadly, an image like this is all too common here in this region, a full two and a half years after the storm.
Folks here have heard a lot from the candidates about the economy, religion, immigration, Iraq, but almost nothing about the issue closest to them. What about the promise to make the Gulf and all of this whole once again?
(voice over): Waiting and wondering if they will ever hear or get what they feel they need.
JEFF CROUERE, POLITICAL ANALYST: People are concerned about coastal restoration and flood protection. And one disappointing thing about this race is these issues have pretty much been forgotten.
CALLEBS: Voters here are desperate to hear candidates' plans for a city still on the brink and a state in desperate need.
Sean Callebs, CNN, New Orleans.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
HOLMES: Well, Mike Huckabee has almost become the forgotten man. He swept the Deep South on Super Tuesday, and he could do well today in Louisiana. But he's still way behind John McCain.
Speaking at the Conservative Political Action Conference in Washington this morning, Huckabee pledged to keep going.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
MIKE HUCKABEE (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: I know that there is some speculation that I might come here today to announce that I would be getting out of the race. But I want to make sure you understand -- am I quitting? Well, let's get that settled right now. No, I'm not.
(APPLAUSE) (END VIDEO CLIP)
HOLMES: Well, and a thousand apologies to Mike Huckabee right now, but he's pretty much a non-factor in discussion among the Democrats. But Senator John McCain's momentum has given Democratic voters a different issue to consider now.
And joining us live now from Washington to talk about that, CNN Senior Political Analyst Bill Schneider.
Bill, good morning to you, kind sir. And tell us now, who can use this to their advantage? Barack Obama, Senator Clinton say, hey, I'm the one that can beat John McCain.
WILLIAM SCHNEIDER, CNN SR. POLITICAL ANALYST: That's right. Well, with John McCain now the likely Republican nominee, the Democrats are debating the issue, who can beat him?
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
SCHNEIDER (voice-over): John McCain is the latest issue in the Democratic race.
SEN. HILLARY RODHAM CLINTON (D-NY), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: And, for Democrats, who would be our best candidate to stand on the stage with Senator McCain?
SCHNEIDER: Two polls this month asked registered voters nationwide how they would vote if the choice were between Republican John McCain and Democrat Hillary Clinton. The CNN poll conducted by the Opinion Research Corporation shows Clinton three points ahead of McCain, within the poll's margin of error.
The "TIME" magazine poll shows a dead heat between Clinton and McCain. Barack Obama believes he can do better.
SEN. BARACK OBAMA (D-IL), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: I have got appeal that goes beyond our party.
SCHNEIDER: Let's see. Obama leads McCain by eight points in the CNN poll, outside the margin of error. He leads McCain by seven in the "TIME" poll.
Why does Obama look stronger than Clinton?
OBAMA: I think there's no doubt that she has higher negatives than any of the remaining Democratic candidates. That's just a fact. And there are some who will not vote for her.
SCHNEIDER: That was three weeks ago. Now only two Democratic candidates remain. Forty-four percent of the public say they don't like Senator Clinton. That's higher than the 36 percent who don't like McCain and the 31 percent who don't like Obama.
The big reason why Obama does better against McCain than Clinton does, men. Among men, McCain has an 18-point lead over Clinton. Against Obama, McCain's lead among men nearly disappears. Women, on the other hand, vote for either Clinton or Obama by similar margins.
Some Democrats may be worried about how Obama will fare with white voters. Let's see. Whites give McCain a 15-point lead over Clinton. Obama actually fares better than Clinton with white voters. McCain still leads, but by a smaller margin.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
SCHNEIDER: Obama argues that he can reach across party lines. And he does do a little better than Clinton among Independents and Republicans, at least in these polls.
But the big difference is that Clinton does not draw very well among men. Obama does -- T.J.
HOLMES: Well, these match-ups we're talking about, the possible match-ups now, McCain, pretty independent guy, can pull in some Independent folks. He has traditionally. Also, we're talking about Barack Obama, who has pulled in -- or has Independent appeal.
So, how would they match up, I guess, in that regard with the Independents? Would that be a pretty big battle?
SCHNEIDER: Yes, it would be, because if it's a race between Barack Obama and John McCain, they're competing for Independent voters, and the Independent voters are split. They're narrowly right now -- narrowly favoring McCain. But that would be a real battle, because Independents like both those candidates.
HOLMES: And finally here, looking at those polls you named and who could beat who -- and it looks like Barack Obama would be ahead, head-to-head with McCain -- can that really work for either one of those candidates, to point to polls like that and say, look, I'm the one who can beat McCain? Is there any indication that they will use that as a campaign issue, and could it actually work?
Will Democrats actually listen and say, OK, Barack's our guy, he can beat McCain?
SCHNEIDER: Well, they'll use anything they can, I can guarantee you. Every weapon matters in a political battle. And sure, both candidates will try to argue they're in a better position to beat McCain.
Hillary Clinton is already making that argument because she says she's more experienced. He's been around a long time, so has she. She knows a lot about international affairs and can fight McCain on those grounds.
Sure, they're both going to do that, and it's going to be an argument. But one of the interesting things we found in the primaries is very few voters, either Republican or Democratic voters, cite experience as -- or, I'm sorry, electability as something that really matters to them when they pick a candidate. It's usually in single digits.
Electability, so far, at least, has not been a major driving force in the primaries.
HOLMES: So far it hasn't been a big deal. We'll see if it becomes a big deal.
Bill Schneider for us, senior political analyst. Good to see you this morning, sir.
SCHNEIDER: Sure. My pleasure.
HOLMES: Well, "BALLOT BOWL," it is back. Your chance to see the candidates unfiltered in their own words. CNN's "BALLOT BOWL" kicks off today 2:00 Eastern Time. And then a little later tonight you can see all the important results from today's primary and caucus voting.
Results and analysis live from the CNN Election Center. Special coverage comes your way 8:00 Eastern.
NGUYEN: Well, we are seeing more political ads these days, but you may notice something a little unique about some of the newest ones.
Josh Levs joins us now from the .com/DESK. You've been checking all of it out.
JOSH LEVS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes.
NGUYEN: All right. So give us the goods. What's so unique about this?
LEVS: Well, you know, usually -- I mean, traditionally, ads are ads.
NGUYEN: Right.
LEVS: And they were paid for ads. But now everybody's finding ways without spending all the money to use YouTube. You know? And part of what I think led to this was this whole phenomenon early over the summer with the Obama Girl.
NGUYEN: Obama Girl. I'm still singing that song.
LEVS: Francis (ph), do we have Obama Girl?
I know, it can't leave your head. It's stuck there.
NGUYEN: Yes.
LEVS: And now it turns out, as you probably heard -- the woman who was Obama Girl, Amber Lee Ettinger, she actually didn't vote. So...
NGUYEN: Do you believe? OK, so this...
LEVS: ... she said she's going to vote.
NGUYEN: ... is a woman who gets on YouTube, sings a song, you know.
LEVS: I know.
NGUYEN: Becomes somewhat semi-famous because of it, and she doesn't even vote?
LEVS: She doesn't vote. But she said -- the thing is, the people who organized that video said it was satire in the first place, but nobody got that. So everyone just figured, oh, they're trying to get everyone to vote for Obama.
So that's not shocking. But here's what happened.
A lot of people saw the power of YouTube through this. Now we've got a real ad for Obama he put front and center on his Web site called "Yes, we can."
Let's go to that, guys.
It's basically become an ad. It's in the middle of his Web site. This was created by Will.i.am, the musician. And let's listen in for a few seconds.
(MUSIC)
LEVS: OK, it's already had a couple million views on YouTube and elsewhere, and what they're doing is they took one of his speeches and celebrities sang it along with him.
You know my beef in this whole race -- and we talk about this every weekend -- that I really want voters to be empowered and educated, look at issues, ideas, experience. This kind of thing doesn't have any of that. It's pure message. It's message marketing.
It's people who support him, celebrities, stepping forward, saying words along with it. So his general message, this is a person we can believe in.
And very often, that is the kind of thing you're hearing from celebrities. They're getting -- let's take a quick look at Larry King here if we can.
For example, last night you had a lot of celebrities coming forward. So what -- there you go, on different sides, America Ferrera for Clinton and John Legend for Obama, talking about different angles on this, what the message is.
So we're asking people out there, if you have a take on this, are celebrities helping sway your vote? Because that's a lot of the power of YouTube. People love seeing celebrities in it.
Do celebrities impact your vote? Let us know how that impacts you or doesn't impact you -- weekends@cnn.com. We're going to be bringing some responses to you.
And before we go here, just to be fair, I want to show you -- this is fun -- a little clip from a Hillary Clinton video that she has up now. It's a joke, it's funny.
NGUYEN: OK.
LEVS: They're making fun of her not being the most hip person in the world.
NGUYEN: Oh, no.
LEVS: It's a fake band saying that she was their lead guitarist and that she's leaving. Let's take a quick look at that.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Dude, Hillary just quit the band.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I was like, "Why?" He goes, "Hillary's running for president."
(END VIDEO CLIP)
LEVS: All right, then the words come on. OK, she doesn't -- but here's what she's going to do: make college more affordable, fight global warming, end the war.
NGUYEN: So she's fighting back with the issues.
LEVS: With satire.
NGUYEN: At least trying to get something out there dealing with what her platform is.
LEVS: See how we talked about satire?
NGUYEN: Yes.
LEVS: We have come full circle back to satire. There you go.
NGUYEN: All right. We'll see if it makes a difference when it comes to folks actually voting, unlike the Obama Girl, who didn't vote in the primary.
LEVS: Vote at least.
NGUYEN: Interesting, isn't it?
LEVS: I know. It's something.
NGUYEN: All right. Thank you, Josh.
LEVS: OK.
HOLMES: Making videos.
(CROSSTALK)
LEVS: She's a model. She's busy. HOLMES: OK.
All right. Well, searching for homes through the comforts of the kitchen, folks.
NGUYEN: Yes. From abandoned child to adopted daughter to world traveler and even a cook, a woman finds herself and shares her story. That is ahead.
HOLMES: Also, later, it was the most watched Super Bowl ever. So, did you actually have a favorite commercial?
Maybe -- I didn't like this one. It's kind of nasty, isn't it? It's very strange. But the game was actually better than the commercials this year, thank goodness.
But stick around, folks. We'll be talking about the commercials.
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NGUYEN: All right, imagine this, sitting on a bench with her hand full of crumbs. That's how our next guest was found when she was just a little girl, but now she is a top food critic and author.
Kim Sunee writes about her life and the foods that have shaped her in the book "Trail of Crumbs," and she joins us from New York today.
Thanks for being with us.
KIM SUNEE, AUTHOR, TRAIL OF CRUMBS: Hi, Betty. Thank you.
NGUYEN: Hi. Good morning.
OK, so take us back to when you were a child. You were so young, but you were sitting there on that park bench. What happened?
SUNEE: You know, I don't really know. I just know that I was abandoned at the marketplace in Seoul and I was taken into an orphanage.
NGUYEN: But you had a brother as well, though, correct?
SUNEE: You know, I remember having a brother, but I don't think he was with me at that time.
NGUYEN: All right. So from that park bench in Seoul, South Korea, this trail of crumbs, if you will, took you to New Orleans. Tell us how that happened.
SUNEE: Well, I was adopted by a couple from New Orleans, and my sister was also adopted. She's not my blood sister, but we were both taken to New Orleans and grew up there.
NGUYEN: And I imagine, you know, in this book you talk so much about the foods that have shaped you, going from just a little child in Korea to, you know, the rich foods of New Orleans. That must have made some kind of impression on your life.
SUNEE: Definitely. You know, my grandfather was a really great cook, and it was just about generosity and great flavors. Of course, we all know New Orleans has such a great culinary food history.
NGUYEN: OK. And so, I mean, we're going to go on a trip around the world here, because then you later in life you go from there to France, and you fall in love. It's quite a love affair with a married man, in fact. And that, too, in a hard way, helped you find a little bit about yourself.
Walk us through what happened and the man you met.
SUNEE: Well, Olivier (ph), whom I write about in the book, we fell in love. And I was living in Stockholm at the time. And it was a grand love story, but, you know, without the fairy-tale ending.
NGUYEN: And this wasn't just any man. I mean, this was a mogul, correct?
SUNEE: Yes. Yes.
NGUYEN: Tell us a little bit about him, who he was.
SUNEE: Olivier (ph) founded a company called Lexiton (ph). It's a French soap and body company. And he had actually sold it right when we met.
NGUYEN: And this was something that was difficult for you. I mean, it took you a bit on a life journey, because this is a man who also brought you back to Korea for you to experience that.
And I found it really touching, because you said when you landed in Korea, a place that is supposed to be your homeland, there was no family waiting there for you. While it is your home, it did not feel like home.
Has this journey been therapeutic for you, at least to put it down in book form, with not only the recipes, but the memories?
SUNEE: Definitely. I think that writing is -- you know, you write for yourself, first and foremost. You don't write for a reader. But I think what's been really therapeutic and touching is I've received so many letters since the book was published in January from Korean adoptees and parents of adopted children, and just men and women in general who are trying to find out where they're from and where they belong in the world.
NGUYEN: Have you found your own personal home?
SUNEE: I think it's inside my heart right now, but I'm still searching, but in a much better and happier way.
NGUYEN: I am so glad to hear that.
And here's another thing that I find fascinating, too. Your book is going to be translated into Korean. And are you hoping that maybe by that book being out there that you could possibly find your mother?
SUNEE: Possibly. You know, now with the Internet and everything -- you know, there was a story of Toby Dawson -- do you remember a couple years ago he became an Olympic champion and he found his family? So you never know. I mean, there's that hope.
NGUYEN: All right. Well, best of luck to you and thanks for sharing this.
Man, it's quite a journey, but it's a journey that helped you find yourself. And I think with a lot of other people getting these recipes, it's going to be a journey that they're going to enjoy as well.
So thanks for sharing that with us today.
SUNEE: Thank you, Betty.
HOLMES: We have to make sure we follow up with her to see what happens.
NGUYEN: Yes. See if she finds her family. What a story.
HOLMES: Well, folks, last week we previewed some of the possibilities. So what was your favorite Super Bowl commercial?
Was it this one, the "Rocky"-themed Budweiser commercial?
We're tracking all the viral videos coming up next.
NGUYEN: Plus, an exclusive interview with Angelina Jolie. She spent part of her week in Iraq.
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(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
AMY WINEHOUSE, SINGER (singing): They tried to make me go to rehab. I said no, no, no.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HOLMES: She ended up in rehab.
NGUYEN: Yes, she did.
HOLMES: They tried to make her. They made her. She went, eventually. But now she's out and she's nominated for several Grammys
Our Brooke Anderson has what you need to know about the Grammys, first thing tomorrow on CNN Sunday morning.
However, though, you know, she is not going to attend the ceremony, at least according to her representatives now.
NGUYEN: Oh, really? HOLMES: Because at first she couldn't get a visa to come to the U.S. It was then granted, but now she's not going to be coming to perform anyway. That's the latest from her reps.
NGUYEN: You know what? With Amy Winehouse, you just never know. The story just always continues on and on.
HOLMES: It's a good song, though.
NGUYEN: Oh, it's a great song. And she's very talented.
HOLMES: Yes.
NGUYEN: So hopefully, everything will work out for her.
In the meantime, though, some I-Report photos to share with you. And it's dealing with a small plane crash last night in Tallahassee, Florida.
Look at this. The pilot survived, and police say he was the only person on board.
HOLMES: I-Reporter Zack Carr says he was at a symphony concert when the power went out. When the lights didn't come back on, he was told it was because of the plane crash. The plane came down in an intersection in a heavily-populated residential area. No one on the ground, thank goodness, was hurt.
NGUYEN: All right. So this year's Super Bowl was the showcase for dozens of clever and memorable commercials.
HOLMES: OK. But we've got one here from E-Trade that was apparently...
NGUYEN: I love these.
HOLMES: You liked these? OK.
NGUYEN: I did. I love these.
HOLMES: Now this one's all over the Web.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: A lot of people are like, oh, you're too young to invest in the markets? And, you know, A, don't worry about. You know, I just look young. I mean, you don't know how young I am.
And B, I use E-Trade. Yo, check it. Click.
I just bought stock. You just saw me buy stock.
No big deal. I mean, you know, if I can do it, you can do it -- oh, ah -- whoa.
(END VIDEO CLIP) (LAUGHTER)
NGUYEN: I love that.
HOLMES: That became kind of a trend a few years back, having babies talk...
NGUYEN: Yo, check it, I just bought stock.
HOLMES: Yes. And then when he throws up, that was pretty good.
NGUYEN: I love that.
HOLMES: Well, we're about 90 minutes away now from the space shuttle Atlantis docking at the International Space Station. The next hour we'll get an update from our space guru, Miles O'Brien.
NGUYEN: Plus, dozens of alleged mobsters rounded up in New York and Italy. Our legal guys join us to lay it on the line.
You'll want to stay right here in the CNN NEWSROOM.
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(NEWSBREAK)
NGUYEN: Speaking of a mission to Iraq, she is an Oscar-winning actress and an activist. Angelina Jolie is trying to focus attention on Iraqis who are displaced by the war.
HOLMES: Yes. During her visit to Iraq this week, Jolie talked about her mission in an exclusive interview with CNN's Arwa Damon.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
ARWA DAMON, CNN CORRESPONDENT: What is the message that you would want to carry out of here back to the states, or even the message that you would want to get out internationally in terms of what's happening here, the refugee crisis, how serious it is, and the consequences that could happen in the future if it's not properly addressed?
JOLIE: I always hate speculation on the news, so I don't want to be somebody who speculates. But I think it's clear. I think, you know, a displaced, unstable population is -- you know, is a very -- what happens in Iraq and how Iraq settles in the years to come is going to affect the entire Middle East. And a big part of what it's going to affect, how it settles, is how these people are returned and settled into their homes, into their community, and brought back together, and whether they can live together, and what their communities look like.
So it does have broad implications.
DAMON: On a personal level, why is this so important to you? You're willing to come here and risk your life. JOLIE: What about you? Why are you here?
It was an easy choice to make. I felt I had to come here because it is very difficult to get answers about especially the internally displaced people.
As I said, even units (ph) here, who I traditionally work with, they're not able to be inside at the moment. And so I was very frustrated and just getting a bunch of ideas and papers, but not really knowing what's really going on. And so today I'm able to talk to all different people from our government and their government and really get some answers as to what is holding up the processes to really, really assist these people properly.
DAMON: Do you think that, you know, you in your position can try to push this process forward, put pressure, perhaps, on the U.S. government to let more refugees into the U.S., to address the situation within Iraq, and of course, the situations in Syria and Jordan?
JOLIE: I spoke to the State Department today about meeting our goal of -- you know, the U.S.' goal of 12,000 people, and they still intend to reach that goal, and they have -- and, you know, there are many different people who are going to be cynical or say, well, how are they going to do it? And I will ask them, how are you going to do it, and is there some way we can help -- you know, is there something we all need to understand more?
Is there ways we can help to process different people in different countries better? Is there -- because we do need to get those people and we do need to, in eight months, get to as close to 12,000 as possible. We should. And I have to believe that there are people working towards that goal.
DAMON: Why is Iraq important?
JOLIE: Well, as I said, if it is not stable, it can affect the entire Middle East, and that will affect our entire world. If you don't simply want to look at it as, of course it's important because there are human beings living here -- and I don't see borders and I see lives and I see children. And this is, you know, an environment where there's a war, but there's also a humanitarian crisis.
And they have to be addressed simultaneously. We can't wait for one to end to then finally take the time to address the other. It has to start right now.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
NGUYEN: You are in the CNN NEWSROOM. The news is unfolding live on this Saturday, the 9th of February.
Good morning, everybody. I'm Betty Nguyen.
HOLMES: And I'm T.J. Holmes.
Hello to you all.
Let's take you to New Orleans, a live picture of voters heading to the polls. A busy day for the candidates. Not that busy, really, in this polling place.
We've been keeping an eye on it, seeing voters come and go, but they are voting today. A very significant Saturday on this election day.
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