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NYC Braces for Another Storm; Atlanta Scrambles to Recover; House Condemns Arizona Attack; Tucson Shooting Reignites Gun Control Debate; Handgun Sales Jumped Monday After Shooting; Haiti One Year Later; Wall Street Ready to Rally; Tips for Air Travel Amidst Winter Weather; Larger than Life Ice Chess Board in Michigan; Cashing in on Tucson Tragedy?; Sixteen Inches of Snow in Massachusetts; Australia's Historic Flooding; The Business of Piracy

Aired January 12, 2011 - 09:00   ET

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

FREDRICKA WHITFIELD, CNN ANCHOR: Meantime it is 9:00 a.m. on the East Coast, 6:00 a.m. out west. I'm Fredricka Whitfield in for Kyra Phillips. Here are some of the stories that have us talking this morning.

Take a look at these images. They're getting pretty old across the northeast. New York is digging out of its third storm already in as many weeks. And blizzard warnings blanket much of New England. We'll check in on the hardest hit cities.

And could this be coming to your state? Lawmakers in Illinois approved massive tax hikes to help dig the state out of debt. Both individuals and companies will be footing the bill.

And President Barack Obama heads to Tucson to meet with the families of those killed in Saturday's shooting rampage. Meanwhile, lawmakers in the House will vote on a resolution condemning the attack.

All right. Let's talk nasty weather first. A blizzard warning and lots of fresh snow blanketing parts of the northeast this morning.

By the end of today Boston and parts of the Massachusetts coast could be buried under 18 inches of snow. Philadelphia has declared a snow emergency. As much as eight inches of snow could pile up there. Philadelphia's airport is one of the many in the northeast that have already canceled flights.

In and around New York, most domestic flights are canceled at the three major airports, JFK, LaGuardia and Newark. The city could see up to a foot of snow there just as the local anger has died down just a bit over the city's bungled response to the blizzard just a few weeks ago.

New York's mayor Michael Bloomberg is promising a much swifter response to this storm.

CNN's senior correspondent Allan Chernoff has a view from Brooklyn as he gets around with this very fancy camera of his driving skills in the snow.

Allan? He was using a signal. That's good.

ALLAN CHERNOFF, CNN SENIOR CORRESPONDENT: Fredricka, I can tell you the city certainly has delivered this time around. We've been driving around since 6:00 in the morning and I can tell you certainly the streets have been cleared all over Brooklyn.

We have been to virtually every single neighborhood in Brooklyn. Right now, we are driving through Brighton Beach and people, instead of getting ready to go to the beach, they are shoveling out all over the place. The plows have been here. And we've been seeing them over the past few minutes actually coming around for a second, third time.

What a difference compared to that massive storm we got right after Christmas. Many of these streets were untouched for days. This is what New Yorkers are used to. They are used to service. They are used to seeing that snow picked up very rapidly. Through the night without question.

The plows were out. The Sanitation Department hard at work doing what it normally does. That storm -- there's no doubt about it that something went terribly, terribly wrong and, indeed, that was discussed and widely, widely disseminated and there was heavy criticism just two days ago at a city council meeting, where top officials from the city basically got their heads chopped off publicly.

But what we've seen today with about eight inches all over the city, clear streets. Pretty easy driving. The tough job really is people just digging their cars out. That's the toughest part. But otherwise, the streets, as you see the snow -- some of those side streets that we've been on they certainly are passable -- Fredricka?

WHITFIELD: All right. Allan Chernoff, thanks so much. So he's getting around pretty good there in Brooklyn. You get a bird's eye view of how the commute is in the New York area with all that snow thus far.

All right. Meantime, the northeast, further north from that and further south, the southeast, well, it's iced in. Believe it or not, 49 of 50 states are reporting at least a trace of snow right now.

CNN meteorologist Rob Marciano is on the ice-covered streets of downtown Atlanta where getting around is still pretty tricky. Rob?

ROB MARCIANO, AMS METEOROLOGIST: It is very much so. And strange thing today. We've got the actually -- the actual sun is coming up and beaming down on us, left side of my face. Not really getting warmed by it. The right side, nasty wind-chill. We've got wind chills around 10 degrees.

This street pretty -- pretty well -- traffic is moving along. They've dropped a bunch of gravel and sand on there last night and they've made some efforts in the last 24 hours, hiring farm equipment basically to come in here and try to make the streets a little better.

(WEATHER REPORT) MARCIANO: We're hoping that the sun may heat up the streets just enough to help things melt just a little bit. But as we saw last night, any melting just causes -- this is refrozen during the overnight period and this has been quite an event not only across the south, of course, but the final blow I guess so to speak putting a ribbon on this nasty, winter week is the blizzard that's impacting the northeast right now.

WHITFIELD: Impacting in a big way.

MARCIANO: Fredricka, back to you.

WHITFIELD: All this within just the past three weeks. Folks have been inundated with ice and snow all along the eastern seaboard.

All right, thanks so much, Rob Marciano. Appreciate that.

So, of course, in and around Atlanta roads, as you heard from Rob, are treacherous. Businesses are shut down. Schools are still closed.

Our Martin Savidge is in the elements paralyzing the city.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

MARTIN SAVIDGE, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Officials knew Atlanta wasn't prepared for the storm. In fact, over the years the city has made a conscious decision not to be ready.

(on camera): Historically, what's been the attitude of the city when it comes to snow or ice?

MAYOR KASIM REED (D), ATLANTA: Well, I mean, when I was a boy growing up here it was -- it was a day off. A day or two off but now that I'm mayor that's fundamentally different.

SAVIDGE (voice-over): Atlanta has relied on two basic facts. Southern snowstorms are rare and the best way to get rid of the snow is to simply let it melt. That logic fails about once a decade. This time, the city remained shut down for days as roads became impassable. In fact, the roads are still so bad I couldn't get to the experts I wanted to interview so I called them.

(On camera): Do we have any idea of what this snow event for the city of Atlanta may cost?

TOM CUNNINGHAM, FEDERAL RESERVE BANK OF ATLANTA: No, not right now.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

WHITFIELD: All right. Nasty stuff. Martin Savidge there. So Atlanta leaders say they have seized upon one strategy that's used by snow-challenged cities in the north. They have scrambled to higher and mobilized private contractors to try and clear those streets.

The parents of the accused Tucson shooter are breaking their silence. Jared Loughner's mom and dad have been in seclusion since the weekend shooting but now they have penned a statement saying they're just as perplexed as everyone else, saying this, quote, "We don't understand why this happened. It may not make any difference but we wish that we could change the heinous events of Saturday. We care very deeply about the victims and their families. We are so very sorry for their loss." End quote.

Six people died in the weekend shooting, 14 others are hurt including Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords. Now friends of the Loughner family are speaking up saying Jared was a good kid but something changed.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: He was a great kid. I don't know what happened to him. I don't even recognize him now. But we'll probably never know what happened to him. He was never like that as a kid. He was brought up good. His family was always good to him. He was -- everyone was good to him. He was good to everyone.

(END OF VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: Meanwhile, a grief-stricken Tucson tries to recover. A Catholic Church held the first official religious service in honor of the victims last night calling it a mass healing for our community.

President Obama heads to Tucson later on today to mourn with the jolted city. He arrives in Arizona this afternoon. He'll speak at a memorial event and meet with the victims' family members.

Meanwhile, doctors for Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords say she is showing signs of improvement after taking a bullet to the brain. She's reportedly able to breathe on her own now.

Her office released these two photos from inside her hospital room giving us an intimate look at her husband, astronaut Mark Kelly, sitting beside her and holding her hand.

Well, some say that a heated political climate factored in to the Tucson attack and now Sarah Palin is weighing in. She's accusing her critics of blood libel. Her words.

In a new video posted to her Web site this morning, the former Alaska governor has been criticized using crosshairs on a map showing districts where she wanted the GOP to win midterm elections.

Representative Gabrielle Giffords' district was on that graphic.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SARAH PALIN (R), FORMER VICE PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: There are those who claim political rhetoric is to blame for the despicable attack of this deranged, apparently apolitical criminal.

And they claim political debate has somehow gotten more heated just recently. But when was it last heated? Back in those calm days when political figures literally settled the differences with dueling pistols? In an ideal world, all discourse would be civil and all disagreements cordial. But our founding fathers knew they weren't designing a system for perfect men and women. If men and women were angels, there would be no need for government.

Our founders' genius was to design a system that helps settle the inevitable conflicts caused by our imperfect passions in civil ways. So we must condemn violence if our republic is to endure.

(END OF VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: Palin also says that, quote, "Acts of monstrous criminality stand on their own, they begin and end with criminals who commit them." Her words.

And back in Washington, the House of Representatives will address the Tucson shootings with a vote.

CNN's senior congressional correspondent Dana Bash joins us with more on that story.

So, Dana, what are lawmakers planning today?

DANA BASH, CNN SENIOR CONGRESSIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, Fredricka, I think you can see a live picture of one of the things that we have seen in terms of members of Congress paying -- and others paying tribute to the victims of this tragedy in Arizona.

You see now the Democratic leader Nancy Pelosi, she's signing one of several condolence books that are over in the House office building. So this is something that we have seen people come and sign for the past several days now. We see Nancy Pelosi doing it.

But there's also going to be a resolution that is going to be on the floor of the House in the next hour. It is going to condemn the attacks and honor the victims, and it will not only honor the service and leadership of Gabrielle Giffords, but it will also talk about the six people who were killed in this attack and name them by name. Very interesting, go through some of the pieces of biography of who these people were.

Also the resolution is going to applaud those who helped on the scene. Also name them by name and talk about the First Amendment -- Fredricka.

WHITFIELD: All right. And Dana, stick around because we want to talk more about how the Tucson shootings have rekindled the gun control debate in the country. We'll check back with you momentarily on that.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(MUSIC - "Hello Sweet Georgia")

WHITFIELD: Atlanta, Georgia, the capital of the South. Well, today, it looks more like a snow-bound city in the North. We'll continue to keep you updated on the efforts to break free of the ice that have stopped southerners in the tracks throughout the hour.

The shootings in Tucson have rekindled the gun control debate. The suspect allegedly had a Glock and a magazine with 31 rounds. Some people, like CNN's Eliot Spitzer of "Parker Spitzer," wonder if bullet control might be an answer. He asked an Arizona gun expert and author if limiting the amount of ammunition sold is a solution.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ALAN KORWIN, AUTHOR, "THE ARIZONA GUN OWNER'S GUIDE": A limited supply of ammunition is actually quite dangerous in many respects. We give the police magazines that hold 18 rounds, and many of them carry 2 spares, so they've got almost 50 rounds of ammunition because if you're in a confrontation and run out of ammo, that's extremely dangerous.

So, if you limit a citizen, a mom, a grandmother, a person, to two bullets, two rounds of ammunition because you think it's safer, that puts them in jeopardy, violates their rights, and I'm not sure that's a good idea. What number would you pick and on what basis would you say this is all you need to protect yourself or to exercise your rights?

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: CNN Senior Congressional Correspondent Dana Bash has been following the issue in Washington. So, Dana, it -- this is also a very sensitive issue right now.

DANA BASH, CNN SENIOR CONGRESSIONAL CORRESPONDENT: It is. You know, Gabrielle Giffords is a big supporter of the second amendment. Still, there are some of her colleagues here agree with what you said about Eliot Spitzer, that at least one law needs to be changed because they say that that would help -- would have helped to make the tragedy much less strong.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

BASH (voice-over): Accused gunman Jared Lee Loughner opened fire with a gun using a magazine holding up to 30 bullets before he was tackled while trying to reload. Some Democrats in Congress argue such high- capacity magazines should not be legal and are pushing for a ban.

SEN. FRANK LAUTENBERG (D), NEW JERSEY: That enabled him to do the kind of damage that he did. So there is no earthly reason for these weapons to have that kind of bullet capacity.

BASH (voice-over): In 1994, President Clinton signed an assault weapons ban that did make high-capacity magazines, like the one Loughner allegedly used, illegal. But the ban lapsed in 2004 without much of a fight.

Senior Democrats who had been front and center on gun control concluded it was bad politics. Democratic strategists believed Al Gore and other Democrats lost critical votes in rural America by pushing for stricter gun laws. AL GORE, FORMER PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: We believe it is time for some common-sense gun safety measures.

BASH (voice-over): And are still wary of the issue. Liberal senator Patrick Leahy supports gun rights.

SEN. PATRICK LEAHY (D), VERMONT: Gun control is probably not a winning issue.

BASH (voice-over): Senate Democratic leader Harry Reid is a gun rights supporter, too. In fact, even before Republicans took control of the House, pro-gun forces had gained ground, passing measures like allowing firearms in national parks and in luggage on Amtrak.

Still, in the wake of another tragedy, the 2007 shooting spree at Virginia Tech, Congress did act to strengthen reporting requirements for gun background checks. Gun control advocates want to seize the moment again.

PAUL HELMKE, BRADY CENTER TO PREVENT GUN VIOLENCE: It has directly involved a member of Congress, it involved a Congressional staffer, who's now dead. It involved a federal judge, who's now dead. The 9- year-old who's dead. I think when it hits that close to home, hopefully the folks on the Hill will wake up.

BASH (voice-over): But opponents argue high-capacity magazines are already out there and banning them is pointless.

REP. MIKE ROGERS (R), MICHIGAN: Bad guys are going to get guns, they're going to get clips, they're going to do bad things, if that's what their intention is. We should not divert our attention from what the real problem is here. We had an individual who has expressed a violent intent, who clearly had some mental instability along the way.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BASH: A House Republican leadership aide tells me that any new gun control legislation has, quote, "zero chance" of passing in the House. And even Democrats tell me, look, that is a pro-gun Congress.

That's why, even in the Senate, Fredricka, where Democrats still maintain control, sources there say that it is unlikely this will come up, definitely even more unlikely that it will pass. As one senior Democratic source said to me, we're going to fight -- focus on the fights that we can win. Fred?

WHITFIELD: That won't stop many proposals from coming forward, especially at this point. Dana Bash, thanks so much, on Capitol Hill.

BASH: Thank you.

WHITFIELD: Take a look at this data from the FBI. The Monday after the shootings, handgun sales jumped 60 percent in Arizona compared to the same day a year ago. One gun shop owner told "Bloomberg News" his Glock sales doubled this week. Authorities say a Glock 19 was used in the Tucson shootings. Ohio, Illinois, and New York also saw gun sales jump on Monday. And nationally, they were up five percent.

One year ago today, the ground shook, buildings crumbled, and Haiti suffered. It's the anniversary of the massive earthquake that forever changed a nation and we're taking stock of where things are now.

And this is one way to ring out the season. Putting a competitive edge on tossing the tree. '

(MUSIC - "Against the Wind")

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: It's been one year since a monster earthquake rocked Haiti, changing the Caribbean nation forever. This was Port-au-Prince January 12th, 2010. Rubble where a city once stood. 220,000 people died nationwide, more than a million people left homeless.

After the earthquake came cholera and then, a disputed presidential election. Our Gary Tuchman is live in Port-au-Prince. So, Gary, this is your seventh assignment to Haiti. What has changed along the way?

GARY TUCHMAN, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, that's what's amazing, Fredricka. Very little has changed. People here are still in shock. And I would have told you a few weeks ago, the only thing that was changing was that, when we arrived 12 hours after the earthquake, there were thousands of bodies all over the street. It was an absolute nightmare.

The fact is, just five days ago, right next door to where I'm sitting right now, when the owners of this hotel were putting up a security fence, they found three more bodies. That's an important fact to point out. They still haven't recovered all the bodies. Every day they find more.

In addition to that, though, you still have this homeless problem. This park across the street from me, when we arrived here on January 13th, 2010, it was empty. Since then, it has become a campsite. These are just some of the one million homeless people still in the nation of Haiti.

Keep in mind, there are only 10 million people who live in Haiti. One out of every ten is homeless and living in very terrible conditions. Some of the people are literally living on median strips, living under gas station canopies.

And you just mentioned it yourself, Fredricka. On top of it, you have the cholera epidemic that just broke out last month. You now have 3,600 people confirmed dead from cholera. Another 170,000 infected.

So we have here, Fredricka, is still much shock, and the conditions here are still terrible. It really hasn't improved much after exactly one year.

WHITFIELD: And now, what about, Gary, aid? What about all the assistance, all this pledged money that was done over the past year? Has it made it to the people there? TUCHMAN: Well, here's what's incredible, Fredricka. More than $2 billion has been pledged from nations throughout the world. But only 42 percent of that aid has gotten to Haiti.

And the problem presents is this. You cannot start rebuilding this country until you remove the rubble, and this is an incredible fact. There's so much rubble here. Only five percent of the rubble, according to international aid organizations, has been removed. Ninety-five percent of the rubble is still here. You can't rebuild until you get rid of the rubble.

And the problem is, not only do you only have 42 percent of the money that has come in, but a lot of the money is designated to more quote, unquote "glamorous projects," like homes and hospitals and businesses. But you can't build those projects until you remove the rubble, and a lot of people don't want their money going to the removal of rubble. So it's a real catch-22 here. You can't start the project until you remove the rubble, but almost all of the rubble's still here. It's absolutely ridiculous.

WHITFIELD: Wow. What a terribly sad situation. All right, Gary Tuchman in Port-au-Prince, thanks so much for that update.

Making smart decisions about traveling by plane, especially when the weather continues to worsen along the eastern seaboard. Stick around, we'll get an education from the executive editor of Smarter Travel.com, coming up.

(MUSIC - "Hard Day's Night")

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(STOCK MARKET REPORT)

WHITFIELD: Half past the hour and millions of Americans are dealing with nasty weather. In fact, believe it or not, Florida is the only state in the country right now not to have a measure of snow on the ground.

Take a look right now at the view of Hartford, Connecticut. As the storm churns up the coast, blizzard warnings are in place across much of New England. Boston could see up to 18 inches of snow. And then there's Atlanta. The concern here is about the ice-covered roads and the arctic blast that continues to keep these roads very treacherous for yet another day. Much of the metro area has been paralyzed since Monday morning. New York could see another foot of snow. It's the third big storm in three weeks. Most domestic flights are canceled at the three major airports the area -- JFK, LaGuardia, and Newark.

So if you do have some air travel plans and they get disrupted by the big storm, what are your options? Anne Banas is the executive editor of SmarterTravel.com and joins us via Skype from Boston. Of course, via Skype, because you can't get anywhere either.

So, what's the first thing you, Ann, when it looks like snow is jeopardizing your flight, your travels? ANNE BANAS, EXECUTIVE EDITOR, SMARTERTRAVEL.COM: I think the first thing to do like me to stay home and -- you know, right now we have over a foot of snow already and, you know, if travel plans, do not go to the airport.

Call your airline immediately to find out if your flight is canceled and then try to rebook because a lot of the airlines, in fact, every single domestic carrier that I've seen has already waived change fees. Some waving the fare difference, like Continental. So you want to get rebooked as quickly as possible because the lines are going to be long and you're probably have to wait a little bit while on the phone anyway.

WHITFIELD: Yes, and you have to rebook because they're giving you a narrow window of opportunity. You can't just say, you know, I just want to use it somewhere before June. You've got to come up with a specific date. So have a plan in place.

And you say, you know, if you are on the road or maybe you are, you know, in the airport already, you can use your cell phone, you can use the Smartphones to try to rebook your flights. How?

BANAS: That is so important to do.

No matter where you are, you know, keep your charger and, you know, call the airline via your cell phone. And even if you're at the airport, get in the customer service line and be on your cell phone at the same time because what you want to do is get serviced as quickly as possible. So really, whether it's on your cell phone or wind up getting close to the counter, doesn't matter as long as you get rebooked soon.

WHITFIELD: And often times if it's because if inclement weather, the airline is not obligated to put you up for a night in the hotel, et cetera. But, you say, ask anyway if there are food vouchers or hotel vouchers.

BANAS: Absolutely. You know, weather delays are considered a force majeure event. It is not in control of the airline so they're really not obligated to give you anything but a refund, basically, and they will try to rebook you.

But, that said, it doesn't hurt to ask. A lot of customer service agents do have some discretion. Just be polite, don't make any demands and ask specifically for what you want. You know, if you want to try and get a hotel voucher or food vouchers, ask for that specifically.

WHITFIELD: And if you're not getting help from them, then you want to call a hotel and you want to ask them for a distressed traveler's rate. I never knew there was such a thing. How big a discount is it?

BANAS: Yes. It's a very -- it's not a well-known -- it's like a very, great secret in the travel industry that a lot of hotels have agreements with airlines, you know, hotels that are near the airport. And sometimes these situations like these, they will offer what's called the distressed traveler's rate, which a discount.

And if they do have availability, often with times like this, you know, availability is limited so you want to be one of the first ones to call and ask for this rate. If not, you can still go online if you have your laptop handy or your smartphone, and see if you can book because some of the discounter sites do have hotels available say, today or for tomorrow.

WHITFIELD: And then if you have hotel reservations or car reservations on the other end, you want to make sure that you cancel because there may be penalties involved if you don't?

BANAS: Yes. That's really important. I mean, you know, everyone thinks about the airline and the airports are closed, but it is important to remember to call all the components of the trip. So, call providers for your hotel, a car rental, and even if you're taking a cruise, you want to call the cruise line directly and make sure you know what kind of flexibility in a situation to get you rebooked or get you the refund you need.

WHITFIELD: All right. Anne Banas, thanks so much. Enjoy the snow there in Boston. Executive editor of SmarterTraveler.com. (sic).

All right. Thanks, Anne.

All right. Kings and queens and knights taking center stage in Michigan for a royal battle on ice. We'll check it out next as we go cross country.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: Kings, queens, and knights. That tops our look at the stories cross country this morning. Ice sculptures in Grand Rapids, Michigan, created a larger than life chess set with pieces carved from ice, as you see there. The company Ice Sculptures Limited then took on the West Michigan Chess Masters. They may be talented ice carvers but their chess game is lacking. The Chess Masters called checkmate five minutes into the game.

In north Ft. Lauderdale, Florida, a young thief didn't just snatch Alicia Campbell's (ph) gold cross, he took one of her most precious possessions. Campbell gave her mom the gold cross and necklace five years ago last summer as her mom lay dying in a hospital bed. Her mom gave it back to Campbell and she says that she vowed to never take it off. Well now Campbell just hopes the thief has a change of heart.

And it was a bad day for Seattle's self-proclaimed crime fighter. Phoenix Jones is the guy who dresses in spandex and fights bad guys where he finds them. Well, he was breaking up a brawl over the weekend and was holding one unruly guy on the ground when another pulled a pistol. And one of the bad guys then kicked him in the face, breaking his nose, in fact. Police say Jones should call police instead of trying to be that superhero.

Critics say Senator Bernie Sanders is trying to cash in on the tragedy in Tucson. We'll see why he refers to the shootings in a fundraising e-mail.

And we're taking you on the road to Armenia for a lesson in early man. The question this morning is, when was the first glass of wine made? The answer just might surprise you.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(VIDEO CLIP, PUNCHLINE)

WHITFIELD: OK, well this is no laughing matter. This really is happening right there. Look at those waves crashing. This is Scituate, Massachusetts. This nor'easter is causing problems in so many different ways. The snow coming down through much of the northeast and it's not letting up any time soon. The city is also expected in the Boston area to get somewhere like 16 inches of snow or more today from the nor'easter pounding Boston. And just take a look at that raging water there. This is what happens during that nor'easter whether it's summer or winter.

All right. We'll get back to weather in a moment. Meantime, politics now. A Republican governor who may make a White House run is taking a few swipes at President Obama.

Our senior political editor Mark Preston is at the CNNPolitics.com desk with more on that story -- Mark.

MARK PRESTON, CNN SENIOR POLITICAL EDITOR: Hey, good morning, Fred. Yes, Haley Barbour he's the Mississippi governor, he is giving indication that he's at least considering running for president in 2012.

Well, last night in his final state of the state address down in Mississippi, he took a couple of pot shots at President Obama. On the issue of health care reform, he said if the Obama administration's health care mandates actually go into effect, it's going to impede hiring, and it's going to hurt employers from being able to grow their businesses.

On the issue of energy, he said the Obama administration's energy policies are driving up the cost of energy. So Haley Barbour hasn't said if he's going to run, if he's not going to run and in fact we haven't seen any major candidate from the Republican side say they've gotten into the race but Haley Barbour is someone was certainly keeping an eye on.

Look, we -- the whole idea of the shooting out in Tucson and did politics play a part in it, we saw the Sarah Palin video just released a short time ago. Well, the whole issue about security on Capitol Hill, should members of Congress get more security? Is it safe enough?

Well, one member of Congress, Senator Patrick Leahy of Vermont told our own Ted Barrett that he thinks that things should stay the same. Now what's interesting is that Patrick Leahy back in 2001 was a target of an anthrax letter, a letter had been sent to his office. It was addressed to him and it was laced with anthrax. And so Ted Barrett talking to Patrick Leahy about this last night; Leahy said, look, I think it puts you in a cocoon and it separates you from the people you served. He went on to say is that one of the problems is that the American people feel too isolated from their government as it is and let's not add more isolation.

Of course this is a debate that's going to continue. How do we protect our members of Congress in light of this violent act we saw in Tucson -- Fred?

WHITFIELD: In the meantime, Senator Leahy's colleague from Vermont Bernie Sanders is coming under some criticism from the GOP over an e- mail that he sent yesterday. Tell us more.

PRESTON: He did. You know, Bernie Sanders, he is an Independent from Vermont; he aligns himself w. the Democratic Party. He sent out an e- mail to his political supporters. Now, in this e-mail he addressed the Arizona crisis, he actually called into question whether it's safe to be anything but Republican in Arizona.

And he called on John McCain to step up and act as a senior leader on the issue. But what Republicans are mad about, Fred, is that Bernie Sanders also asked for money in this e-mail so Republicans are attacking him on that -- Fred.

WHITFIELD: All right. Mark Preston thanks so much at the Political Desk.

Right. Meantime, they're calling it Australia's Katrina. Take a look at these images; the worst natural disaster in that country's history. We'll take you down under for a look at the devastation.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: Some unbelievable pictures and unbelievable stories as floods waters tear through parts of Australia. It tops our "Morning Passport".

CNN anchor Zain Verjee joins us now from London. So Zain -- how bad is it? These images are just unrelenting, unbelievable.

ZAIN VERJEE, CNN INTERNATIONAL ANCHOR: It really is incredible. This is the worst flooding in Australia in about a century. Just take a look at some of the dramatic footage that we're seeing coming out of Australia. This is Brisbane.

Fredricka, it's like D.C. or Atlanta, it's like -- it's the third largest city in Australia. There are hundreds of thousands of people that live in the central business area and in the downtown parts of Brisbane.

But as you can see it is totally under water, 12 are dead. Dozens of people are missing. I mean, you can see people are trying so desperately to across the roads, but the currents are so powerful, it's difficult for them even to get through.

Many people have evacuated already. The waters are still rising, Fred. It's going to take a few days for it to go down.

But the city itself is a total ghost town. There are only a few residents and they are trying to paddle their way out of their homes, some of them are trying to salvage their businesses. But it's a really terrible situation for Australia and they're bracing themselves for a cleanup that could take more than two years and billions of dollars.

WHITFIELD: Wow. That is unbelievable and horrible.

Meantime, we're going to shift gears quite a bit now because now we're learning a little bit more about the birth place of wine. Just in case anyone wanted to know.

VERJEE: Yes, this is actually a really interesting story. You'd think France, right? But no, Moiseurs and Madames; it is actually Armenia. There are a bunch of researchers that checked out this cave in the south -- southern part of Armenia.

(CROSS TALK)

WHITFIELD: Good.

VERJEE: And they found clay pots and they found these vats and these foot stomping equipment and things like that. And they figured out that this is actually older than what is currently thought as the oldest one, winery and that's in Israel that was discovered as far back as being in existence as 1650.

WHITFIELD: Oh my God.

VERJEE: So this one a little bit older.

WHITFIELD: Very, ok.

And now let's talk a little bit more about -- you've got a series going on right now about the pirates and what's taking place and how this really is a fairly sophisticated business.

VERJEE: You know it is. And that's what I found the most astonishing part of the three months or so research that I've been doing, Fredricka. And you know, normally you turn on the TV and you see these Somali pirates and they're just a rag tag bunch of teenagers on a rickety boat in the Indian Ocean.

But actually behind them is a well-oiled machine that has an incredible business plan. Even Wall Street would be impressed. Just watch.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TIM HART, MARITIME UNDERWATER SECURITY: It's nearly a corporate business plan. They have -- they have a -- and it's run in a -- and with military precision.

VERJEE (voice-over): Like any good business it attracts investors and suppliers. A pirate gang leader oversees the operation that includes a pirate's action group: about eight to 12 men on two skiffs, an on board commander, a logistics manager, an accountant and an interpreter.

(on camera): Pirates will get close in the dead of night to emerge (ph) a ship like this one, they approach it, they look for one that moves slowly and is kind of low. They throw a rope with a hook or a ladder to climb up on to it.

(voice-over): Their skiffs have powerful engines, weapons, GPS navigators, extra fuel.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

VERJEE: They're able to, Fredricka, so efficiently capture very large ships just using the operating procedures that they have. Right now they have 28 vessels and 650 hostages according to one maritime security organization that I've talked to.

And the reason all of this even matters to viewers in the United States and people at home, Fred, is because the more pirate attacks there are, it means prices of things like gas and goods that you get will go up because people have to pay for insurance, there's a threat of piracy on the high seas. Security is such an issue that all the costs get built into the shipping industry and then the consumer ends up with it.

The other difficulty is that some of the ransom money, the millions that they get, they could be giving it some of it to Al-Shabab which is a terrorist group according to the State Department.

So it's -- and they target Americans. So it's a --

WHITFIELD: Wow.

VERJEE: -- it's a real danger.

WHITFIELD: Yes. Some fascinating reporting. Zain Verjee, thanks so much for bringing that to us and the rest of the "Morning Passport".

And of course we're following lots of developments in the next hour of the CNN NEWSROOM. Let's check in first with Susan Candiotti.

SUSAN CANDIOTTI, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Hi, I'm here at the University Medical Center in Tucson. And Fredricka I'll bring you the latest on the condition of all the shooting patients that are being treated here including Congresswoman Giffords and share with you literally a touching moment between her and her husband.

And that will come up in the next hour.

ALISON KOSIK, CNN CORRESPONDENT: I'm Alison Kosik at the New York Stock Exchange. Rapper 50 Cent tweeted his way to an $8 million pay day earlier this week. We'll tell you just how he cashed in, in the next hour. BONNIE SCHNEIDER, AMS METEOROLOGIST: I'm meteorologist Bonnie Schneider. We are tracking a huge winter storm as it bears down on New England. Watch for heavy snow and strong wind. More on that and the impact on travel coming up.

WHITFIELD: All right. Thanks, ladies. We'll also talk about what could be the next big courtroom trial involving a celebrity, Michael Jackson's doctor, Conrad Murray, ordered to stand trial for the singer's death.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: All right. LeBron James keeps on winning with his new team and his old team well, keeps on losing. Jeff Fischel from HLN Sports is here. So, Jeff, I don't know. I guess LeBron is talking smack now. There was a lot of hating early on.

JEFF FISCHEL, HLN SPORTS: Yes, Cavs fans and team owner incredibly angry after he left. Last night his old team, the Cavaliers, took on the Lakers and if we can read between the lines LeBron was watching and enjoying every Laker basket. They absolutely crushed the Cavs.

Kobe Bryant off the backboard to Andrew Bynum (ph) for the Laker dunk. L.A. was up 36 at this point. It was a total blowout by him again, 112-57. Yes, the Cavs lost by 55 points. LeBron's old team has the worst record in the league.

And here is what LeBron tweeted afterward. "Karma is not pretty. Karma is a "b". Get you every time. It's not good to wish bad on anybody. God sees everything."

Cavs fans, if they were upset before, you know this is just going to make them even more upset. LeBron not making any friends in his hometown.

College hoops now. Check out BYU star, Jimmer Fredette, 32 points in the first half, capped off by this one at the buzzer. Oh, yes. Fred he's great. Deserves to get some attention for the season he's having. 47 points in the BYU win over Utah.

So it turns out Cecil Newton, the controversial father of Heisman Trophy winner, Cam Newton was at the BCS championship game Monday night. We were all told he'd stay away. He didn't want to steal the spotlight. Remember he tried to get the school to pay $180,000 to get Cam to go there. But a camera spotted Cecil after the game, celebrating Auburn's win with his son. So he can't hide. Cam, getting all the accolades including making a visit to "The Tonight Show". Jay Leno asked him if he's ready to turn pro.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

CAM NEWTON, AUBURN QUARTERBACK: Right now, I really can't say.

JAY LENO, HOST, "TONIGHT SHOW WITH JAY LENO": Can't say?

NEWTON: But I must say this. LENO: Yes?

NEWTON: When I do make my decision, I will let you know.

LENO: You will let me know?

NEWTON: I will let you know.

LENO: Do you have a place to stay? Want to stay at my place for a couple of days?

NEWTON: Sure.

LENO: Chill out until you make up your mind?

NEWTON: I don't think that's -- that's against NCAA rules.

(LAUGHTER)

LENO: Well, we'll work something -- I got a guest house (INAUDIBLE)

(END VIDEO CLIP)

FISCHEL: Baseball now. Baseball's all-time --

(CROSSTALK)

FISCHEL: The all-time sage (ph) leader will not add to his record total. Forty-three-year-old Trevor Hoffman says he's done, he's retiring. Hoffman saved 601 games in his career. Only one other guy has saved even 500. That one man is Mariano Rivera. He could break Hoffman's all-time record this year.

Fred, I got to tell you, you got to see some tree throwing footage, but maybe we'll get to that sometime later on. It's great stuff. I'll try to save that for tomorrow.

WHITFIELD: Oh, OK. All right. Well, yes, it's become a new sport this time of year.

FISCHEL: Incredibly competitive, to say the least.

WHITFIELD: Go, figure.

All right. Thanks so much, Jeff. Appreciate that.