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Aftershocks Rattle Haiti; CNN Launches "Stimulus Project"; The GOP's New Star; Plane Disappears from Radar

Aired January 24, 2010 - 22:00   ET

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

DON LEMON, CNN ANCHOR: Tonight, a CNN exclusive. Hope beneath the rubble. A man pulled from a tight dark cavern. Our chief international correspondent Christiane Amanpour standing by with his story and the people who saved his life after 11 days.

A monumental political week ahead for the president. His agenda on the line, his State of the Union days away. And tonight, CNN is investigating what happened to all that stimulus money he approved.

And the worst-case scenario for a day at the museum. A visitor stumbles right into a world-famous Picasso.

Good evening, everyone.

We start in Haiti. Port-au-Prince quivered with another aftershock today, this one 4.7. That may not seem like much, but the severely damaged capital is full of fragile buildings that could collapse at any time.

The city averages several aftershocks a day, each one sending jitters through nervous survivors. Imagine what those aftershocks were like for this man, 24-year-old Wismond Jean-Pierre.

This exclusive video in to CNN shows a tiny space where he survived for 11 days. Each time the ground shook, he must have feared he would be crushed to death. Jean Pierre was fortunate in that he was not injured and had access to food and drink.

A French rescue crew found him yesterday and pulled him out. Our senior international correspondent Christiane Amanpour spoke to two of those rescuers.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

LT. COL. CHRISTOPHE RENOU, CHIEF OF OPERATIONS: After the rescue, we had a chance to get into the hole and to have a look. And we found out that he had access to cookies, beer and Coke.

CHRISTIANE AMANPOUR, CNN CHIEF INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: How is that possible?

RENOU: The building was a grocery shop. And he was a very lucky man because he fell down on the food side of the grocery shop.

(END VIDEO CLIP) LEMON: Now for the latest on the ground, Christiane joins us now live from Port-au-Prince.

Good evening, Christiane.

AMANPOUR: Good evening, Don.

And just an update on Wismond Jean-Pierre. He remains in the French hospital. And our crews, some of our reporters and crews went to his family abode, where he'll go back to once he's released. And it's a little shack crammed with family members, almost below street level.

So he's not going back to much, but at least he's alive. And that resilience, that fortitude, that resolve was celebrated at various church services and masses around Port-au-Prince and around Haiti today.

Up in Petionville, which is the more upscale neighborhood in Port-au-Prince, there were church services. And many, many people went there, not just to mourn all of those people, families and friends who they had lost, but perhaps also to thank for what they had survived and for all that had survived, and also perhaps for their own resilience and resolve.

In the meantime, also up in Petionville, as people are homeless everywhere, a golf course up there has been turned into a makeshift tent city. There are thousands of people who have crammed into that golf course.

And like so many other people around the capital, Port-au-Prince, and in places like Jacmel on the southern Caribbean coast and elsewhere, they're having to make do still with just makeshift shelter.

The U.S. and others are bringing in rolls of plastic, all sorts of food and water. The aid pipeline is gradually opening and spreading much better than it did at the very beginning. And people are grateful for what they are getting.

But people also want to get out. There are many people going to try to get visas. They're camped outside the U.S. embassy, the Canadian embassy and other places to try to get visas to get out.

Now, I spoke today to the U.S. ambassador here, Kenneth Merten, and I asked him about the policy. Of course, the United States has said that it will not allow anyone without visas to leave and to come in to the U.S.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

KENNETH MERTEN, U.S AMBASSADOR TO HAITI: I've gone on the radio several times here and talked to the Haitian people in French and Creole and explained to them they should stay here, there's going to be a lot of money here, a lot of opportunities here when the time comes to rebuild this country. The United States will repatriate people on the high seas because it's a dangerous voyage. As we know, many thousands of people have lost their lives over the years attempting that. And that's not something we think people should attempt. There's a legal way to seek immigration to the United States, and we're going to encourage people to pursue those avenues.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

AMANPOUR: And so even though they want to get out, many people here are just trying to make do as best as they can. There are all sorts of promises that there will be, for instance, money given by the U.N. for certain jobs, some $3 a day, which doesn't sound like much, but is more than what many people get, which is less than a dollar a day to do various jobs like cleaning rubble and other such things.

One of the main issues here is to keep people occupied, busy and employed, and also obviously give them food and water so that that keeps body and soul together, but also keeps the security in this emergency phase of the relief operation -- Don.

LEMON: Christiane, you mentioned people were trying to get out of Haiti, really trying get out of the country. But we're hearing that outlying towns that are outside of Port-au-Prince are being overwhelmed by people trying to get there, too.

AMANPOUR: Well, yes, I mean, it's a combination. Basically, people want to leave the capital for a number of reasons. The aftershocks, as you've been mentioning, as we've been feeling here, the fact that there is very little in terms of the shelter, food, water, there's so much destruction. The whole infrastructure, livelihoods have collapsed.

And so people are jumping on buses, on bicycles, motorcycles, whatever they can -- cars and little trucks -- to try to get out of the capital and go to the other places which are not so badly damaged.

And it really is important to say that Haiti is not collapsed. Haiti is not devastated any more than it was before the earthquake. It's parts, major parts of the capital, Port-au-Prince, it's Jacmel, parts of that, the southern Caribbean cultural center of Haiti, Leogane, other such places. But there are places in the countryside for people to go to, to their families, to friends, and that's what many people are trying to do.

LEMON: Our senior international correspondent Christiane Amanpour.

Thank you, Christiane.

The U.S. military in demand and facing big deployment decisions. Troops once headed for Afghanistan now diverted to Haiti. What's the impact on the U.S. military strategy?

CNN takes on the stimulus package. Forget the talking points that this is all facts that we're talking about. We launch a week- long investigation into how your money is being spent.

And President Obama's big week ahead and the one he'd probably like to forget. Mark Preston, April Ryan, our Sunday regulars join me to break down the new realities in Washington.

And as always, we welcome your feedback tonight. Just go right on to the social networking sites.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

LEMON: Starting right now and everyday this week, CNN is going to be your watchdog, holding government officials accountable, taking a very comprehensive new look at the $787 billion stimulus package.

Where has all that money, your money, gone? And is this massive stimulus plan working?

Here's what we're doing now -- we're previewing on CNN. It all begins right here. This is our stimulus headquarters. We want to know the president's biggest success so far in his agenda, where all that money went.

Here's our stimulus team right there working on the wall, where we're going to be updating all the numbers and the research that we have.

Jeff Kemp is here, Pete Seymour and also David Rice are working on that, preparing it for you tomorrow. So, what's going on with that?

Not only is that on the president's agenda, health care as well. Some say it's falling apart.

And the Fed chair may be out of a job.

As I walked over here to the station, where we're going to be manning all of this, our stimulus desk, hundreds of anchors, reporters, producers all on top of this.

So, Josh, I want to ask you this before. It's like all these binders, what is this?

JOSH LEVS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, here's what it boils down to. You and I and everyone out there has so many questions about the stimulus, right? So many incredible billions of dollars, 57,000 projects around the country have already gotten billions of dollars in funding. Take a look.

We got a close-up here. I want you to see this. These binders contain the information on every single project. The city, the state, the amount of money they got, what they're supposed to get doing. We have all these binders here. What we're going to be doing throughout this week is tracing through some of the big projects.

What are they supposed to achieve? What did they achieve? How many jobs did they create? How many jobs did they not create? How long did those jobs last?

We want to really dig into our public money, billions and billions of dollars. What have they done for the economy?

LEMON: And what you can see here is we're doing our homework here and that's a lot of homework and that's why...

LEVS: There's more.

LEMON: Yes, there's more back here and over here. So that's why we've assigned really the bulk of our staff here at CNN to look at this.

And you said we can go online here?

LEVS: CNN.com/stimulus.

Can you get a quick shot of that? I just want everybody to see, it's already up and running. This is going to have a lot of our latest information throughout the week. You already have a lot of features. CNN.com/stimulus. Check over here. We're already starting to break down some of it for you.

But this is just a bare-bones beginning. Big team. And, seriously, CNN as a network is committed to this. As Don is saying here, hundreds of our people all over the world are working on this to get you the facts about what happened to all those billions of dollars in funding.

LEMON: And the information will be coming in by the minute as we research it and tell you where the money goes.

LEVS: Right.

LEMON: Also, don't forget, Wednesday night, 8:00 p.m. Eastern, the president's State of the Union, marking really his one-year anniversary in office.

Thank you. Manning the desk, our Josh Levs.

And you know what? Hollywood is using some of that stimulus money for a facelift. The city is taking a cue from celebrities and having a little work done. As Kareen Wynter explains, not everyone wants the beauty treatment.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

KAREEN WYNTER, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice over): Business owner Mikeal Maglieri has seen it all here on the world-famous Sunset Strip, a tourism magnet of trendy restaurants, bars and nightspots like Maglieri's family-owned Whiskey a Go Go and Rainbow Bar and Grill.

MIKEAL MAGLIERI, SUNSET STRIP BUSINESS OWNER: It is the West Coast Times Square. It's where everyone comes to either see someone or be seen. There are a multitude and into the hundreds of major artists that started right here on this Strip. WYNTER: Artists like The Doors, Fleetwood and Jimi Hendrix -- just some of the iconic acts Maglieri says over the decades helped turn his bars into bustling hotspots.

While his business has come a long way since the 1930s, when the Strip was changed from a dirt road to concrete, Maglieri says the city's most popular boulevard needs a makeover.

A six-month beautification project is under way with plans to replace aging sidewalks and repave the street with asphalt made from recycled tires.

MAGLIERI: It needs a facelift because the economic times are so tough for everyone. They're trying to make it where, OK, we're going to clean the street up, make it more conducive so we get more foot traffic.

WYNTER: And Washington is footing some of the bill. Just over $1 million of $5 million being spent on the project is from federal stimulus funds.

JOHN DURAN, WEST HOLLYWOOD CITY COUNCILMAN: It is jobs and salaries and people being able to provide for their families.

WYNTER: Money well spent, says West Hollywood City Councilman John Duran.

The city estimates the project has created or saved at least 20 jobs so far. But some Republican critics in the Senate have balked at the beautification, ranking it number 4 on their top ten stimulus bill projects to remember as foolish.

(on camera): So those critics in Washington who believe using the money in this way is nothing -- equates to nothing more than waste. What's your response to them?

DURAN: That's very short-sighted. I mean, really what it's about is money changing hands. The stimulus money into cities like West Hollywood allows us to sort of improve our local infrastructure here in a way that attracts more tourists, means more people in hotel rooms, means hotel workers keep their jobs, means restaurant workers keep their jobs. Money keeps moving around.

WYNTER (voice over): More than money. Maglieri says it's about maintaining an image for a strip that's just as famous as the stars who built their careers on it.

MAGLIERI: It's an image. Keep it alive. It's something that needs to be done.

WYNTER: Kareen Wynter, CNN, West Hollywood, California.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

LEMON: And a programming note for you. Our "Stimulus Desk" kicks off at 6 a.m. tomorrow morning on "AMERICAN MORNING." It will last through our prime and it lasts all week right here on CNN.

President Obama may wish he had never heard of Scott Brown, but he has more in common with the new Republican senator from Massachusetts than you might think.

And a town in Haiti is trying to get back to some semblance of normalcy.

Our Gary Tuchman reports in just a few minutes.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

LEMON: Time to talk state of our nation. It's being called one of the great political upsets ever. Republican Scott Brown came out of nowhere to win the Massachusetts Senate seat once held by Democratic Party icon Ted Kennedy. It has turned the Senate upside down and the nation as well. And it has people comparing Brown to a famous former Illinois senator.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

GARY TUCHMAN, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice over): A handsome but little-known state senator. A law school grad with an attractive wife and two beautiful daughters. Sound familiar?

BARACK OBAMA, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: In no other country on earth is my story even possible.

TUCHMAN: It should.

Like President Obama, Scott Brown of Massachusetts was a little- known state senator who dared to run for the U.S. Senate, and despite political odds surprised everyone and won.

SCOTT BROWN (R), MASSACHUSETTS SENATOR-ELECT: If you would have told me growing up that, you know, a guy whose mom was on welfare and parents had some, you know, marital troubles -- and I had some, you know, issues, you know, growing up -- that a guy from Wrentham would be here standing before you right now and going to Washington, D.C., are you kidding me?

TUCHMAN: Also like the president, Brown's win is historic. Not only does he replace the legendary Ted Kennedy, who held the seat for nearly 50 years, he's the first Republican elected to the Senate from Massachusetts in 38 years. So just hours after his victory, this question --

UNIDENTIFIED REPORTER: Barack Obama, JFK, they started eyeing the White House the day they were elected to the Senate. Do you think you're presidential timber?

BROWN: Listen, I don't want to be disrespectful, but I've had no sleep right now. I haven't even -- I haven't even been down to Washington yet. And I don't want to say that's a silly question. But I'm just so thankful for the support that I've received from everybody. TUCHMAN: When the president did call with congratulations, Brown, also a basketball player, issued a challenge.

BROWN: All kidding aside, I do have a basketball player daughter. I know you play a lot of hoop. And I'd love to -- you pick your best and I'll take Ayla and we'll play you two-on-two.

TUCHMAN: Brown's party is in need of a political star. The once promising Sarah Palin no longer holds office. So Brown is poised to become the new face and hope of the GOP, leaving many to wonder if this seemingly Republican version of Barack Obama will end up running against him in 2012.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

LEMON: All right. More political news now. This just in to the CNN NEWSROOM -- word of another retirement in the U.S. House. A Democrat and another blow to that party.

Let's talk about it now. I'm joined by CNN's political editor Mark Preston and April Ryan, the White House correspondent for American Urban Radio Networks.

Thank you so much for joining us tonight.

So what is going on here, Mark?

MARK PRESTON, CNN POLITICAL EDITOR: Well, Marion Berry, who represents the northeast congressional district in Arkansas, Don, tomorrow will announce that he is retiring. He is the 12th Democrat now in the 2010 election cycle who has decided that, you know, something, they're going to pack it in, does not want to run for re- election.

Now, I should say that on the other side of the aisle, Republicans have 14 retirements. And when you talk to Democrats, they say, you know, we're not the only ones losing members. But still, a major blow for Democrats right now, who are really trying to head off any kind of rush for the door from any of these conservative Democrats who are looking to get out.

LEMON: Especially considering the past couple weeks that they had and then have ahead.

So, let's talk about the week ahead, April Ryan. The president has his State of the Union on Wednesday night. What can he do to pull more people back into his camp? What do you think he's going to say?

APRIL RYAN, WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT, AMERICAN URBAN RADIO NETWORKS: Well, you know what, Don, you hit the nail squarely on the head. It's a rally cry for not only his party but those who voted for him, so that they could trickle down into -- those votes get trickled down into the November elections. And we'll have to see.

But most importantly, I talked to Terry Edmonds, the former head speechwriter for the Bill Clinton, and he said, you know, since this president is saying he's not retreating on the issue of health care reform, the president is going to have to spell out specifics during this State of the Union address so that the American public could understand, especially now that health care seems to be on life support.

LEMON: Well, that's a question. You know -- you heard what April said, mark. Is health care dead? That's what people are saying.

PRESTON: Well, I think she's right. It's on health -- it's on life support. I don't think it's dead necessarily, Don. I think that, again, the White House has invested so much time, so much effort, as have congressional Democrats. They have to produce a bill.

I'll tell you, I spoke to a Republican congressman just a couple hours ago, and he said he expects them to keep on pushing it forward, pushing it forward. I do think we'll see some kind of bill this year. It's not going to be what Democrats initially wanted.

LEMON: Hey, Mark, if I can just get a quick answer here, what are the chances of Ben Bernanke, the Fed chair, being reinstated?

PRESTON: Well, you know, it was a little rocky there for about 24, 48 hours, but I think he will get another term at the Fed, Don. You know, some Democrats have expressed some opposition to him, but I think that the president has shored up enough support and he will get another term.

LEMON: I have to -- I have to ask you this one. You know, it's very interesting considering what we have been seeing in the news recently concerning John Edwards. And then we see him in Haiti. And to many people, it appears to be a photo-op.

What gives here, April?

RYAN: Well, yes, the timing is awkward, and it's a sensitive issue. But you know, there's so much hurt, devastation and destruction there. And if indeed he, being a former federal lawmaker, is able to cut through the red tape and bring many of those critically injured from Haiti into...

LEMON: You know, April, I understand what you're saying and everyone gets it. But why do you need to do it in front of a camera, if you're truly trying to help? That's the question...

RYAN: I agree with you. I agree with you. I agree with you. It looks like it's damage control. But at the same time, I mean, there are lives that are lost. There are people still being pulled out of the rubble there in Haiti. And I mean, you know, it's an awkward situation.

But if lives are saved, if people are rescued, more power to him. I mean, honestly. I mean, it is an awkward situation with the baby mama drama issue. But, you know, lives are more important than the scandal right now.

LEMON: I'm glad you said that. And April Ryan and Mark Preston, thank you both very much.

PRESTON: Thanks, Don.

LEMON: Some severe weather across the south tonight. You have more of this mess to look forward to tomorrow. That's a big question. What's going to happen during your commute? We're tracking it all from our weather center tonight.

And it is a damning new film linking the Mormon Church to California's Prop 8. We're talking with the guys who made perhaps the most controversial movie at Sundance this year.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

LEMON: We have some breaking news in to CNN just moments ago. We're getting word of a passenger plane going down into the Mediterranean Sea. Again, a passenger plane going down into the Mediterranean Sea. The Ethiopian airliner took off from Beirut, Lebanon with 92 people headed for Ethiopia.

Now, news agencies in Lebanon say the plane disappeared from radar about 30 minutes after taking off. We're going to bring you more information just as soon as it becomes available. As a matter of fact, our Cal Perry is trying to get to a telephone now, and we're going to get him up and try to get some information there. As soon as we get him, we'll bring it to you.

Also tonight, a new audiotape is out supposedly from Osama bin Laden. The voice on it claims responsibility for the failed bombing aboard Northwest flight 253 on Christmas Day and threatens more attacks. A Nigerian man, Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab, is charged with the botched attack. The tape calls Abdulmutallab a, quote, "hero fighter." U.S. intelligence has linked Abdulmutallab to bin Laden's al Qaeda network in the Arabian peninsula.

About 20 Haitian orphans are still awaiting permission by the U.S. government to join their adoptive families. Eighty orphans arrived in the U.S. yesterday but immediately became entangled in bureaucratic red tape. Since then, about 60 have been processed and cleared to start new lives with their new families.

Jobs are still hard to find, homes are a little tougher to buy, and a new tech lover's toy is on the horizon. Here's Stephanie Elam with this week's "Getting Down to Business."

STEPHANIE ELAM, CNN CORRESPONDENT: The Fed meets this week amid more bailout backlash, but don't expect any major changes to the interest rates in this still shaky economy.

Last week saw initial unemployment claims hit a two-month high. Look for another jobless report on Thursday to see if the trend continues.

You can also expect big news from the housing sector this week when we get numbers on new and existing home sales. For those of you in the market for a new home, take note. Government-backed mortgages won't come easy. The Federal Housing Administration or FHA recently announced stricter lending standards like charging higher premiums for mortgage insurance and requiring larger down payments if your credit score is too low.

And if you do buy a home and you want to claim it for that special tax credit, you'll need to sign the dotted line by April 30th.

And finally, the folks responsible for those ultra popular gadgets like the iPod and iPhone will reveal their newest product on Wednesday. Apple has been tight-lipped, but insiders say it's going to be a small touch-screen computer that does it all.

And that's this week's "Getting Down to Business."

Stephanie Elam, CNN, New York.

LEMON: All right. We told you about the breaking news just moments ago. Just getting word -- a passenger plane going down into the Mediterranean Sea. The Ethiopian airliner took off from Beirut, Lebanon. Ninety-two people on board. It's headed for Ethiopia. News agencies in Lebanon say the plane disappeared from radar about 30 minutes after taking off.

We want to go now to our Cal Perry. He joins us by phone from Lebanon.

Cal, what do you know?

CAL PERRY, CNN REPORTER (via telephone): Well, what we understand is that this plane, as you said, about 30 minutes after takeoff just literally dropped off the radar. Now, we're guessing the plane probably took off about five hours ago. That's when the sort of daily flights run between Beirut and Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. Ninety-two people on board as you mentioned.

We're hoping to hear something from Rafic Hariri International Airport. That's the airport in the Lebanese capital. But all we know now is it looks like about 30 minutes after that flight took off, it disappeared off the radar. That would put it somewhere over the water in the Mediterranean.

As of right now, no signs of terrorism, no signs of any foul play at all. Certainly that's going to be something that people in and around Lebanon, of course, are taking a look at. There have been heightened tension in Lebanon with the Israelis.

A lot of Israeli newspapers in the past few days sort of reporting heightened tension along that border. This seems to be unrelated at this point to any kind of difficulties, diplomacy-wise, between Hezbollah and the Israelis.

LEMON: All right. Our Cal Perry with our breaking news tonight. We will update you on this story and get Cal back if the situation warrants it. In the meantime, we're going to move on and talk about the earthquake now. They made it through the earthquake alive. Now it's time to find a way to make a living. How commerce is making a slow comeback in Haiti.

And a huge gear change for some U.S. forces. Instead of going to Afghanistan, their mission is now Haiti. Should disaster relief trump the war effort?

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

LEMON: Getting commerce flowing again into Haiti is going to be a slow drip of a process. And let's just be honest. It wasn't exactly booming before that earthquake. But they are trying in some parts of the country to revive the local marketplace. Here's CNN's Gary Tuchman.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

GARY TUCHMAN, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Thomas Street in Port-Au-Prince, Haiti. Like so many streets in the city, the destruction is everywhere you look. But the residents need to figure out how to make a living. So they're trying to make money in the streets. Here, they're using sewing machines from another era to make T-shirts. Here they've reopened a mini restaurant.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE (through translator): I have spaghetti.

TUCHMAN (on camera): And here -- what are you selling here?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE (through translator): I sell "Moonshine." Hard liquor.

TUCHMAN: On this block that has been devastated, capitalism is alive and well. You can buy clothes. You can buy hot dogs. You can buy spaghetti. You can buy candy and gum. You can buy liquor. When I say capitalism is alive and well, I probably should have said the concept of capitalism is alive and well, because while there are plenty of sellers and product there are very few buyers.

(voice-over): The family that is sewing together doesn't really have anyone who is ready to buy their T-shirts.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE (through translator): We need someone to help us.

TUCHMAN: The spaghetti guy also says nobody has money. And he's paid twice as much as he used to for his inventory. Like so many here, he is personally suffering.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE (through translator): My house is gone. My mother died. And my brother died.

TUCHMAN: While we were on Thomas Street, aid came in the way of a water truck. But it's for bathing, not drinking. This is Isla, and her extended family. (on camera): And where do you live?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: (SPEAKING IN FOREIGN LANGUAGE)

TUCHMAN (voice-over): Right across the street is her house. Or was her house. Now she says she and her family sit outside, hungry and thirsty.

(on camera): Right next door, they're selling spaghetti.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE (through translator): I have no money.

TUCHMAN (voice-over): The only businessman we found making some money on Thomas Street.

(on camera): Do you drink that?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Oui.

TUCHMAN: Is the "Moonshine" man. He says it's because people need to put their minds at ease.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

LEMON: Gary Tuchman live tonight in Port-Au-Prince.

Gary, there seems to be so much aid finally getting in country now, but it's not getting to everyone, is it?

TUCHMAN: No. That's the amazing thing. Is we keep hearing about all this international aid and local aid and the Haitian Red Cross. But what happens in a lot of neighborhoods is aid comes, they get food for the day, and then the next day the families are at it again looking for food because they don't have any more food for this day.

And that's what happened to that woman I interviewed with her family. They had no food. They had no water. They were hoping some aid comes tomorrow. But that's the thing. There's so much destruction and so many people homeless, even with a lot of aid in this country, it just doesn't get to all neighborhoods every day.

LEMON: Yes. And you're talking about all neighborhoods. And, you know, I talked a little bit about this at the top of our broadcast with our senior international correspondent Christiane Amanpour.

There are people who are trying to flee the area, Port-Au-Prince and the area that was centered around the earthquake into smaller towns, and the smaller towns can't absorb them. They're poorer towns as well.

What's going on with that?

TUCHMAN: Well, that's right. I mean, Port-Au-Prince has about a third of this nation's population. So when people move into these small towns, and all of a sudden you get tens of thousands more people, it creates huge problems in these small towns near Port-Au- Prince.

But the fact is that the same number of people who are in Port- Au-Prince alive after the earthquake stay, there's no way that the city can support them because there's no infrastructure at all.

I mean, here's one basic fact. We don't talk about this very much because it seems small compared to the rest of it. There's no electricity still. It's been dark every single night. The only reason we have lights to be on TV. But these people have no refrigeration, they have no lights. There's just no way to live here effectively.

LEMON: Yes, Gary. And we talked about going into those outlying towns. And they're going to start showing up on American shores as well.

Gary Tuchman in Port-Au-Prince, tonight. Thank you, sir.

Haiti is getting help from some U.S. forces who were slated for Afghanistan, but at a time when the U.S. is turning up the heat in Afghanistan, can the military do without them on the war front? That's the question.

Our Atia Abawi joins us now live from Kabul.

What are you hearing from the military? What are they saying about this?

ATIA ABAWI, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, Don, General David Petraeus himself said that the mission in Haiti will not really affect -- no serious impact, actually, on the mission in Afghanistan. He said that one plane was diverted to help with the airport in Haiti, but other than that it was a 24-hour delay. And even the 24th marine expeditionary unit in Haiti at the moment that was on its way to the region here in the area near Afghanistan. But it was a theater reserve unit, meaning that they weren't going to come to Afghanistan unless something really bad happened here.

That being said, we're ready seeing the first part of the surge. President Obama promising 30,000 additional troops into the country. Just the other day, we met with some of these soldiers who are here to train Afghan forces. But when you look at the ground here in Afghanistan, things seem to be going on the way -- on the track that they've been intending for it to go on.

Don?

LEMON: Anything about the reactions from the Afghans?

ABAWI: There isn't really much reaction when you talk to the Afghan people. Many do know that there is a situation in Haiti at the moment. When they look at the military presence in Afghanistan, it's all the same to them. What they do know at the moment is that more U.S. and coalition forces will be coming into the country. They don't know -- the average Afghan, at least, does not know that there's military force in Haiti at the moment. They do not feel like it will affect the mission here in Afghanistan. They do expect more and more U.S. and coalition troops to come. Some Afghans approving of that, others not looking forward to that.

Don?

LEMON: Atia, thank you very much for that.

Crime and punishment in Saudi Arabia. An extreme sentence for a school girl convicted of assaulting her teacher.

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LEMON: One of those stories that's really simply too hard to believe. You can't believe it. A schoolgirl in Saudi Arabia sentenced to 90 lashes and two months in prison for reportedly assaulting her teacher in a dispute over a cell phone.

CNN's Mohammed Jamjoom is covering this story for us.

So here's the question. The Saudi Arabian king has promised reform. So then why a verdict like this? What's going on? It seems rather harsh.

MOHAMMED JAMJOOM, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Right. Well, Don, despite the fact that the Saudi king is seen as a reformer, and he promotes himself as a reformer, the fact of the matter is that he's actually -- there's a discrepancy between what he wants to do and what the courts want to do in Saudi Arabia.

Now the courts in Saudi Arabia are governed by Islamic Law. That is Sharia Law. That means that judges have wide discretion to do whatever they want. Because of that they can issue these verdicts. There's very little that anybody can do to overturn these verdicts. Now right now, the king is in a position where if he wants to, he can pardon the girl. But that's about the only recourse really that she has at the moment.

LEMON: Tell us more about her. Do you know more about this girl? And what exactly happened?

JAMJOOM: We don't know a lot about what's happened right now. What we know is it was reported in a Saudi newspaper called "Al Watan." They broke the story.

What happened is a girl got into a confrontation with her school teacher because she had a cell phone with her. The cell phone had a camera. That's not allowed in these schools. Now, because of that, they confiscated the camera. Apparently she confronted the teacher the next day. There was some sort of altercation. They say that she hit the teacher over the head. Because of that, she was banned from going to school, then she went to court. She was taken to court, and she was sentenced with these 90 lashes which is supposed to happen in front of her classmates at the school, and then also two months in prison.

LEMON: Which is basically flogging. JAMJOOM: Yes.

LEMON: So what are the chances of this verdict, of this sentence actually being carried out?

JAMJOOM: Well, right now it looks very good like the sentence will be carried out. The judge was actually quoted in a Saudi newspaper today as saying that it will be carried out, that it will be happening probably in the next week. Again, the only recourse the girl has right now, because she has accepted it, she's not going to appeal the case according to her. The only recourse is if the king pardons her.

Typically, in cases like this, they get a lot of media attention in Saudi Arabia, the king will issue some sort of a pardon. We don't know if that will happen in this case.

LEMON: Mohammed, thank you. And CNN will be following this story and we'll keep you updated. We really appreciate it.

So listen, we want to talk now about something that a lot of people have been awaiting. It's very interesting. It has to do with a computer. It could change the way that you use your cell phone and your computer. CNN talks about it right after the break.

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LEMON: Ah, there's a big smile on my face right now, and my mom as well. Congratulations, mom. I know you're watching. I called her tonight, and she hung up on me in the middle of this game because the New Orleans Saints are going to the Super Bowl! They beat the Minnesota Vikings 31-28 tonight in the Superdome. You can see those live pictures there. There's the Superdome. There's the French quarter.

It's probably -- that's Bourbon Street. Look at that. And that's courtesy of our affiliate WDSU. Again, the New Orleans Saints going to the Super Bowl. And this really means a lot to that city. Devastated, still trying to recover from Hurricane Katrina. Really Hurricanes Katrina and Rita. It gives some confidence. It gives them a lift. Congratulations.

My -- not my hometown. Close to my hometown. But my home state of Louisiana and the New Orleans Saints, awesome, awesome, awesome.

Also tonight, we want to tell you that The Colts won as well. They beat the New York Jets, 30-17. So they're partying there as well. So congratulations to them. That will be the big showdown in Miami in two weeks. Indianapolis, New Orleans headed to the Super Bowl.

This is also a very interesting story we want to talk about. They said it was coming forever. Here it comes. In the world of cool electronics nothing is hotter right now than The Tablet. Apple is said to be about to roll out its version.

So Joshua Topolsky is the editor-in-chief of EduGadget -- is that right? Engadget. There we go.

JOSHUA TOPOLSKY, EDITOR-IN-CHIEF, ENGADGET: Engadget.

LEMON: There we go. It looks a little weird in the prompter.

He joins us in New York.

Sorry, Engadget.

TOPOLSKY: No problem.

LEMON: So, listen, is it going to be called the Islate? Is it going to be called The Tablet? What is it?

TOPOLSKY: We don't know. That's the thing. We've heard Islate. We've heard iPad, iTablet. A million names have been bounced around, but nobody knows for sure. Apple is keeping this extremely close to their chest. So it could be called anything at this point.

LEMON: You know, I had trouble with my hard drive right on my laptop, so I took it in and I said come on, guys, can somebody tell me something? You're right, they're really keeping it close to the vest.

But they're saying it's probably going to be something 7 x 10 possibly inch screen. But here's the thing. That's kind of too big to carry as a cell phone, and really almost too small if you're -- as a laptop.

TOPOLSKY: Yes. Well, the rumor is that -- we've heard seven- inch screen, ten-inch screen. Anything in between, bigger, smaller. But this is -- it's definitely going to be something that's closser to a laptop than, say, your cell phone. So you can expect this maybe around the size of a Kindle. But it probably won't be as big as your typical Mac Book or Mac Book pros that's 13 or 15 inches. It's going to be smaller than that.

LEMON: Well, it's interesting because they're saying some of the information is getting out because people are looking at who Apple might be partnering with, companies they're partnering with, like trying to partner with publishing houses to bring books like you said, like The Kindle and what have you. And that's where some of the information is coming from.

TOPOLSKY: Yes.

LEMON: Again, when is the announcement?

TOPOLSKY: Well, the announcement is the 27th, this Wednesday. And it's a special event that Apple -- you know, they just sort of up and announced this event. We don't know anything about it really. But the rumor from everybody is we're going to see The Tablet there. And like you said, they may have partners like publishing partners, content creation partners like movie studios. It's up in the air right now, though.

LEMON: Yes. And no images. I wish we had some images of what it might look like because --

TOPOLSKY: I mean, look, we've been -- look, we've been trying like you wouldn't believe to get images of this thing. I mean, Apple is the best at keeping secrets, probably the best company in the world at keeping their stuff secret. So if you can find an image, let me know because I'd like to see it.

LEMON: Yes, it's really interesting. I remember when the iPhones first came out, it was a big, big deal. I was anchoring live here on CNN when it came out, and people were lined up around the country at Apple stores finally to get the new iPhone. So we really appreciate it -- go ahead.

TOPOLSKY: I was going to say they're masters of hype, and they're masters of keeping this stuff secret, and then blowing everybody away with it.

LEMON: Joshua, thank you.

(CROSSTALK)

Editor-in-chief of Engadget.

TOPOLSKY: Appreciate it.

LEMON: Have a good one.

You know, they're picking a fight with the Mormon Church over California's ban on same-sex marriage, and they're talking to us after their controversial movie debuted at Sundance.

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LEMON: Another developing story in to CNN.

Martin Savidge has been following the progress on these orphans who were fast-tracked from Haiti into Orlando. He has an update for us.

What do you know now, Marty?

MARTIN SAVIDGE, CNN CORRESPONDENT (via telephone): Well, good evening, Don. It's interesting you say fast-tracked because they were fast-tracked to come to the United States, and then the moment they got into the Orlando Sanford Airport 30 hours ago, it seems everything came to a screeching halt.

But now it appears that the bureaucratic logjam, if that's what you can describe, has been broken, and is being reported tonight by officials here that we expect momentarily for many of these orphans to now be released.

There were at least about 26 of them, almost two dozen families that had been waiting here for 30 hours now for these children that came in on a military airlift from Port-Au-Prince to go through all the documentation process. It's been very slow. It's been very difficult and painful. And their families have been camped out here at the airport waiting for this moment.

But now we've noted, parents are no longer in the baggage claim area, which had been their headquarters. They're back with the children. They're changing the diapers. They're getting ready. And the excitement is that they're about to all become families, united after years of waiting for this moment to adopt these children that have gone through the horrors of Haiti in the aftermath of the earthquake. They'll arrive in this country, and soon, very soon they'll go to new homes.

Don?

LEMON: Martin Savidge tonight.

Thank you, Martin.

You know, there's a reason museums want to put as much distance as possible between you and the art. We'll tell you what happened to a famous Picasso.

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LEMON: We want to update our breaking news tonight just in to CNN. We're getting word again of a passenger plane going down into the Mediterranean Sea. We're being told that the Ethiopian airliner took off from Beirut, Lebanon. It had 92 people on board. That it was heading for Ethiopia.

Here's what news agencies in Lebanon say. They say the plane disappears from radar about 30 minutes after taking off. Again, a passenger plane going down into the Mediterranean Sea. It is an Ethiopian airliner that took off from Beirut, Lebanon with 92 people on board. That includes passengers and crew headed for Ethiopia.

Getting some word from the news agencies in Lebanon that the plane disappeared from the radar, just dropped off the radar about 30 minutes after it took off.

In just a short time ago, our Cal Perry from the region updated us on that. And he is working on that as well. Make sure you keep it tuned right here to CNN. We'll have an update for you on "AMERICAN MORNING" beginning at 6:00 a.m. on that breaking news.

You know, it might be the most controversial film at this year's Sundance Film Festival. It's called "8: The Mormon Proposition." And it links to church to California's ban on same-sex marriage.

Earlier, I spoke with the Oscar-winning narrator. His name is Dustin Lance Black, along with co-director Steven Greenberg and Reed Cowan, who lost some fans and family members over the film.

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REED COWAN, CO-DIRECTOR, "8: THE MORMON PROPOSITION": My family has opted to not see the film. As of today, they haven't seen the film. And I don't know if they will. This has been a very difficult process for them. When they first heard that I was going to direct this film and get it out there, they were heartbroken because this is something that is sacred to them. And so we're still doing the work of family. And my family's no different than a lot of other Mormon families who are connected to gay children. And in that, there's a lot of work to do in families and this issue is a very difficult one.

DUSTIN LANCE BLACK, NARRATOR, "8: THE MORMON PROPOSITION": I've got to say it's not just an indictment of the Mormon Church. I think it holds them accountable. I think mostly what it does is tells the very personal stories of a couple that is affected by this, families that are affected by this, the children of families who are affected by this sort of policy and these sorts of -- like Proposition 8, what it does to families.

And you know the Mormon Church says family is its greatest shing honor. It's what they value above all else. And this film shows that it's actually splitting families, including Mormon families.

STEVEN GREENBERG, CO-DIRECTOR, "8: THE MORMON PROPOSITION": Well, we tried -- you know, for the film itself, we tried for months and months and months to get an interview with the film. And we were always flatly denied an interview and were not able to access them as of yet. I think they released a brief release saying that I guess based on the trailer that the film is full of inaccuracies. And I don't think they've seen the film yet. So we have yet to hear I guess more from the church.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

LEMON: All right. The "Salt Lake Tribune" says the premiere did get demonstrators, but they were gay rights advocates, not opponents.

OK. Listen, this is really your worst nightmare. It's kind of an oops, my bad story. It's what you say after accidentally damaging a one -- damaging one of the most famous works of art here.

Picasso's "The Actor" was damaged at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York. We're going to show you what it looks like. But a visitor lost her balance and hit the portrait, causing a six-inch tear. Museum staff say that the focal point of the piece was not damaged. The irony, though, is that "The Actor" depicts an acrobat posed ever so gracefully, and too bad the visitor wasn't as graceful as that. So we hope all is well.

All right, you guys are tweeting. You guys are Facebooking. You guys are iReporting. You're doing everything. Thanks for weighing in tonight, especially since we had the game going on. People were sending in tweets about the game.

"Apps are going to look great on the new device." Remember? That's what some say.

"Congrats to your New Orleans Saints, Don." Thank you very much.

"Don Lemon you are so crazy, but congratulates on the team's win. You're wonderful." Thank you very much. You are, too. "Listen to the happiness in your voice." Talking about The Saints and their win." I'm very excited really more for the city and not for the team. This is really going to mean a lot to New Orleans.

So, listen, we thank you for joining us tonight. And I want to remind you that we have some breaking news to tell you about. About that Ethiopian airliner.

There's a look at live pictures now. We'll look at live pictures real quick. Let's talk about that airliner real quickly because we're getting some breaking news, some information. Our international desk is working on trying to get some information on that Ethiopian airliner that went down with 92 people on board. Make sure you stay tuned to CNN for that.

And now as we go back to New Orleans, let's get the live pictures right there on Bourbon Street because folks are going to be partying. And as I said, this is more than a football game, more than just a Super Bowl. This is maybe the rebirth of a city that really needs it so much after what happened after this hurricane devastated the entire region.

Look at these beautiful pictures now of the New Orleans Superdome. And juxtaposed to the ones that we saw right after Katrina.

Also, we want to remind you that tomorrow we kick off our "Stimulus Desk," our "Stimulus Project" right here at CNN. It will happen all week. It starts tomorrow 6:00 a.m. on "AMERICAN MORNING" and goes throughout prime all the way through "AC 360."

I'm Don Lemon at the CNN world headquarters in Atlanta. We thank you so much for joining us tonight. Congratulations to The New Orleans Saints. I'll see you right back here next weekend.