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Funeral Services for Christina Green; 9/11 Flag Honors Victim; Record Foreclosures in 2010; RNC Holds Members-Only Meetings Today, Ahead of Tomorrow's Election; President Obama to Meet with Pakistani President at the White House Tomorrow; Brazil's Deadly Flooding; 7.3 Quake in Pacific Ocean; A Year After the Quake
Aired January 13, 2011 - 11:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
CAROL COSTELLO, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Live from Studio 7, I'm Carol Costello. CNN's big stories for Thursday, January 13th.
There will be a funeral mass in Tucson today for 9-year-old Christina Green at St. Elizabeth Ann Seton Catholic Church. An American flag from the World Trade Center site will honor last Saturday's youngest shooting victim. Christina was born on September 11, 2001. Her father says she entered the world on one tragic day and she left on another.
Boston schools are closed today after a classic nor'easter absolutely clobbered New England. The storm piled on 30 inches of new snow in parts of Massachusetts. Boston's Logan Airport expects to resume a normal schedule sometime today. Even veteran winter drivers had a tough time of it.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I see a lot of non-SUVs stuck trying to get into parking areas. Not a lot of cars out. Actually, we saw a couple people snowshoeing.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COSTELLO: Whatever it takes.
Almost 350 people are now dead in Brazil's flood disasters. Hills collapsed into rivers of mud in the rugged areas outside Sao Paulo and Rio. The region got a month's worth of rain in one day. Entire families died as their homes were swept away.
More now on our lead story. A life book-ended by tragedy, but the story in between, full of hope and promise.
Funeral services begin in just a few hours for Christina Green, the 9-year-old killed in Tucson. Next hour, firefighters pay special tribute to the little girl born on 9/11.
CNN's Ted Rowlands is outside the church where the funeral will be held.
Ted, take us through what will happen with this flag. TED ROWLANDS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, first of all, we're going to, as you mentioned, in about an hour from now, see that flag which was from New York. It was from the rubble of the World Trade Center, the 9/11 flag.
That is going to be raised in between two fire engine ladders. They're going to put the ladders up, and then the flag will be draped across. And the family and other people coming to the service will be walking underneath that.
The service will begin. We will see from the outside -- there are no cameras allowed inside the church. We will see not only the families coming in, but the casket of little Christina coming in before the service. And then, after the service, of course, we will see them all departing.
Last night, Anderson Cooper talked to Christina Green's parents about the support that they've been getting from around the world, and they mentioned the 9/11 flag in their answers.
Listen.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
ROXANNA GREEN, CHRISTINA'S MOTHER: We appreciate everything that everyone's done for us, and we do feel the love. And that kind of makes it a lot easier, to have everyone, you know, trying to take care of us and be there for us.
JOHN GREEN, CHRISTINA'S FATHER: People from all over the country have touched our family. It's been a really tough time for us, but, you know, the fire department in New York is sending the 9/11 flag out for Christina, for her service tomorrow. And, you know, people from all over, California, the East Coast -- my parents came from overseas -- the help that we've had here in Tucson has been unbelievable -- law enforcement.
I mean it's just -- I don't think we could have done it without everybody. And it makes us certainly feel good about people close to us, and definitely about our country.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ROWLANDS: And Carol, obviously of all the stories that have come out, all the horrific stories that have come out of this tragedy, this is the most heartbreaking by far, and today, little Christina will be laid to rest.
COSTELLO: What's been so amazing about this, Ted, is Christina has become sort of a symbol of hope from all of this, as a sign that Americans can at least unite over something.
ROWLANDS: Yes. And the president obviously referred to her numerous times last night when he addressed the crowd at the University of Arizona. Throughout this whole tragedy, it has been the one theme that has been constant, that no matter what little tidbit of information came out, that it was just so heartbreaking first to hear of her story, but then it's been so uplifting to get to know her through her parents and her family and the people that knew her. I think it's safe to say that people around the country are feeling a bit of a loss for a little girl they really didn't know but have gotten to know.
COSTELLO: Ted, we'll get back to you. Thanks.
Ted mentioned President Obama mentioned Christina Green. He did last night.
He said she's a reflection of all of America's children, so curious, so trusting, so energetic, so full of magic. The president spoke at a memorial service last night in Tucson. He told the crowd that Christina and the other victims deserve our best.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
BARACK OBAMA, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: The loss of these wonderful people should make every one of us strive to be better -- to be better in our private lives, to be better friends and neighbors, and co-workers and parents. And if, as has been discussed in recent days, their death helps usher in more civility in our public discourse, let us remember, it is not because a simple lack of civility caused this tragedy -- it did not -- but rather, because only a more civil and honest public discourse can help us face up to the challenges of our nation in a way that would make them proud.
(APPLAUSE)
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COSTELLO: The president says we should talk to one another in a way that heals, not in a way that wounds.
It was President Obama who also told the crowd the latest encouraging news about Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords. She opened her eyes for the first time since she was shot. Giffords remains in critical condition still with that gunshot wound, but a fellow lawmaker who was in the room when she opened her eyes says it was like witnessing a miracle.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
REP. DEBBIE WASSERMAN SCHULTZ (D), FLORIDA: All of a sudden, the slits of her eyes started to open. And you could see the determination, that she was struggling to get them open.
Then Mark started encouraging her and telling her, "Honey, if you can see me, give me the thumbs up, give me the thumbs up." And she didn't at first.
Then we kept talking to her, Speaker Pelosi was talking to her, talking to her about how much her colleagues care about her. And then she opened them more up more, and stayed open a little bit, then opened -- it was about five times that she -- she finally got them almost all the way open.
It was the most amazing thing. And finally, when Mark said, "Honey, if you can see me, give me the thumbs up," all of a sudden her arm flew up in the air. She started touching him.
SEN. KIRSTEN GILLIBRAND (D), NEW YORK: The full arm.
SCHULTZ: It was amazing. Just incredible.
GILLIBRAND: It was amazing.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COSTELLO: I know at one point she reached out and she touched her husband's ring. It must have been such a touching scene.
Our chief medical correspondent, Dr. Sanjay Gupta, says the latest news about Giffords could be a significant step forward. Here's what he told Anderson Cooper about Giffords opening her eyes.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DR. SANJAY GUPTA, CNN CHIEF MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT: It sounds like she was really doing it because she was being asked to do it. You know, she was being -- they were talking to her, relaying stories, and then asking her to open her eyes, which she did.
And that takes it to a whole different level, as opposed to just spontaneous eye opening, which is significant, but doing it to a command, you know, and then reaching out with her hand and touching specific things, the wedding ring, for example -- I heard the story -- those are all very significant. It sounds like she is really hearing, processing everything, and being able to execute these commands in a way that's improving day by day.
Eye opening, again, as I mentioned earlier, you look at people's motor skills, which she is showing, their eye opening, which she is now showing, verbal skills would be sort of a third category. She can't do that right now because of the breathing tube that she still has in, but, you know, forward movement, Anderson, every single day.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COSTELLO: It's just terrific news.
Of course, we'll keep you updated on any new developments we learn about the condition of Congresswoman Giffords. As a matter of fact, we understand there will be another news conference from that hospital in Tucson at noon Eastern Time. Of course we'll be monitoring that for you.
Honoring the youngest victim of the Tucson tragedy with the national emblems of perseverance. (COMMERCIAL BREAK)
COSTELLO: Live pictures from Tucson now. The national 9/11 flag, the largest Stars and Stripes to survive the attack on the twin towers, will be raised at this church in memory of the youngest victim of the Tucson tragedy.
September will mark 10 years since the attack on the World Trade Center. It would have marked the 10th birthday for Christina Green, born on that difficult day in our nation's history.
Two fire truck ladders will be extended into the sky at the entrance of the Saint Elizabeth Ann Seton Catholic Church in Tucson. That's where Christina's memorial will be held. It officially starts at 3:00 p.m. Eastern, I believe.
The flag will be hoisted between the ladders. It will create this archway that John and Roxanna Green, Christina's parents, are expected to walk under on their way into the ceremony.
President Obama spoke about Christina's death last night.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
OBAMA: I want to live up to her expectations. I want our democracy to be as good as Christina imagined it. I want America to be as good as she imagined it. All of us, we should do everything we can do to make sure this country lives up to our children's expectations.
(APPLAUSE)
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COSTELLO: Joining me now is Jeff Parness of the New York Says Thank You Foundation. The group's mission is to send volunteers from New York to help rebuild struggling communities on the 9/11 anniversary. It's also responsible for transporting the 9/11 flag to Christina's funeral.
Thanks for joining us.
JEFF PARNESS, NEW YORK SAYS THANK YOU FOUNDATION: Thank you for having us this morning.
COSTELLO: So when did this idea come to mind?
PARNESS: Well, you know, on Sunday, I heard a television interview with Roxanna Green where she talked about how Christina, even though she was born on 9/11, she would always strive to look for the positive that came out of the tragedy, very hopeful. She would refer to her birthday as a holiday.
And when I heard more about her sense of service and voluntarism and her community spirit, her love of government, we just realized we had to have this flag at Christina's funeral. So we reached out to their pastor, who shared the opportunity with the family, and then the family called us two nights ago and asked for the flag at the funeral.
COSTELLO: Tell us a little bit about the history of the flag.
PARNESS: It's really the modern day version of the Star Spangled Banner. It was the largest American flag to survive the attacks of the World Trade Center.
It was actually hanging at a building just south of the World Trade Center before 9/11. When the towers collapsed, the flag was shredded to pieces.
Seven years later, little old ladies in Greensburg, Kansas, stitched the flag back together. When our foundation was helping to rebuild Greensburg as our way of saying thank you to the people who came to New York, the folks at Greensburg sewed in American flags that had survived the Greensburg Kansas, tornado into the pieces of the American flag from New York. So they literally created this new piece of American history.
COSTELLO: And which you bring all over the country to disaster areas --
PARNESS: Sure.
COSTELLO: -- to bring people a bit of hope. And it's interesting to me, because whenever you mention 9/11, you think tragedy.
PARNESS: Right.
COSTELLO: But that's not what you want to first come to mind about 9/11.
PARNESS: That's right. You know, I tell people that New York Says Thank You Foundation, what the national 9/11 flag, is really about is about 9/12, about what it looks like when Americans come together and help each other recover from tragedy and disaster.
And when you look at this beautiful flag, it literally shows what it's like when you connect all these people. We had a father on December 7th in Hawaii, Pearl Harbor Day, stitch the flag in Pearl Harbor. He lost his son in Afghanistan.
In November, a young mother, Katherine Martin (ph), who lost her 2-year-old son in a tornado in Indiana, she stitched the flag.
Tomorrow, we're stitching it Atlanta with newly naturalized citizens at the Martin Luther King Center.
So it's really about the process of bringing people together and showing what's possible out of a tragedy like this.
COSTELLO: And it's such a fitting sentiment, because I think much of the country thinks that way about this little girl, Christina Green.
PARNESS: That's right.
COSTELLO: Because she talked of being born on 9/11, as you said, and she talked about how we shouldn't dwell on tragedy but we should think of hope for the future. And it fits in so neatly.
PARNESS: Kids get it. Kids get it.
Listen to your children. They understand about helping, they understand about when people are in need, what can you do to help?
And I think after the funeral, and as the community in Tucson and the country starts to heal after this, we're going to look back and say, what would -- what could we do, the simplest thing every day, to make Christina smile on us? And just to be kind to your neighbor, to volunteer.
There's a wonderful organization, My Good Deed, that this year, on 9/11, are trying to create the largest day of volunteer service in the country. I mean, everybody should sign up and do something in Christina's honor. This is just our small way of helping out today.
COSTELLO: The whole country, and Arizona in particular, trying to find a way to deal with this tragedy. I mean, you lived through 9/11. You're still dealing with it.
PARNESS: Sure.
COSTELLO: What advice would you give to the people of Arizona?
PARNESS: You know, personally, I don't think about 9/11. I think about 9/12. I always think about the day after.
COSTELLO: How long did that take, though?
PARNESS: It's still taking. It's 10 years later. I still don't think about how my friend died in the towers that day. I would rather think about all the Americans who came to New York to help us, whether they were from small towns or from large cities.
And I think the community of Tucson, when they look back after the funerals, and weeks from now, there's that natural ebb and flow. And you have to say, what's the positive that you could extract out of the lives of all these people, and out of the service of all the people who responded? And what can we do every day, no matter how small, to live up to that expectation, like President Obama said last night?
COSTELLO: That sounds so simple.
I remember the days after 9/11, the months, actually, when America was truly unified, there wasn't any of this harsh political rhetoric going on.
PARNESS: That's right.
COSTELLO: And I don't know, you think out of this tragedy in Arizona, maybe this will draw the country together. At least for a time.
PARNESS: Well, you know, that's -- in a bizarre way, this is a tremendous gift that Christina is giving to us, to be able to show the country this flag, to take the flag around the country to let people in local communities nominate service heroes who do something special in their community, to place a stitch in this flag so that we can heal it and make this flag whole again by the 10th year anniversary, at which point it's going to become part of a national memorial.
Because there's so many things we will never be able to make whole again by the 10th year, but this flag we can. And I think in Christina's honor, and all the people who are going to be able to put a needle and thread into this flag over the next couple months, as a country coming together, you can make things whole again. You will never be able to replace the tragedy, but you can inspire people to do positive things going forward.
COSTELLO: Thank you so much, Jeff. And you're going to stick around, right?
PARNESS: Thank you.
COSTELLO: You're going to be sticking around for us.
Because we're going to check back with Jeff when the flag-raising ceremony actually happens. That's expected to happen around noon Eastern Time.
Also coming up next, New England digs out after the second major snowstorm in less than three weeks. We'll show you how Boston is coping this morning.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
COSTELLO: A snow emergency lifted now in Boston, but all of New England still digging out from a huge winter storm. More than two feet of snow reported in many parts of that region.
Schools in Boston are closed today. The city's international airport reporting hundreds of flight cancellations. And crews are working to get the power back on to thousands of homes and businesses across Massachusetts.
(WEATHER REPORT)
COSTELLO: Insurance giant AIG says taxpayers will get their billions back shortly with a tidy profit to boot. The company plans to complete a re-capitalization plan with the Treasury Department and brokerage houses on Friday.
The deal paves the way for the government to begin selling off its majority stake in AIG. The firm received the largest government bailout, $182 billion. "The Wall Street Journal" says AIG's stock offering this spring could be the biggest in U.S. history.
Now to the housing market. And this won't come as much of a surprise to you. A new report shows home foreclosures hit a record high last year.
Alison Kosik is at the New York Stock Exchange with details.
Alison, some of these cases went all the way to repossession, right?
ALISON KOSIK, CNN BUSINESS CORRESPONDENT: Oh, yes. I mean, one million people, Carol, last year lost the roofs over their heads. But if you go ahead and include defaults and auctions, almost three million homeowners got a foreclosure filing in 2010. That's a record high.
But would you believe it could have been even worse? Because some foreclosures were actually stopped at the end of last year because of robo signing. We remember that scandal, where that paperwork was processed without dotting the Is and crossing the Ts. So what happened was lenders had to go back and double-check their paperwork -- Carol.
COSTELLO: So, will those foreclosures that were halted eventually go through, making these numbers even worse?
KOSIK: They will. Those foreclosures are going to go through, and you can expect the number of foreclosures this year to rise.
Analysts are saying that 2011 is actually going to be the worst for foreclosures and home prices. I know, I know, it sounds bad, but it's not completely bad, because what we really need to see happen is we need to find a bottom before we see a recovery in both housing prices, and to see those number of foreclosures start to level off and slow down.
So the big question here, of course, will housing recover, or will it wind up sort of bobbing along the bottom line for a while? Of course much of that answer is going to depend on how well the job market is doing -- Carol.
COSTELLO: And I guess the answer will depend on, you know, how -- well, the stock market reacting will depend on the answer to those questions.
(STOCK MARKET REPORT)
COSTELLO: Most parents say they would take a bullet to protect their children. You'll hear from one mother who actually did.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
COSTELLO: She was born on September 11th and died in the tragedy in Tucson. The funeral for 9-year-old Christina Green later today.
In the next hour, a flag that survived the attack on Ground Zero will be raised in her honor. The flag will be suspended between the ladders two of fire trucks, forming an arch, and that Christina's family will walk beneath it as they enter the church.
We'll bring you the memorial tribute for Christina Green live in the next hour.
One of the many touching stories emerging from the mass shootings in Tucson, a mother who shielded her daughter from the gunfire and was shot three times.
Mary Reed shoved her daughter Emma against a wall and covered her when she spotted the gunman.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
MARY REED, SHOOTING SURVIVOR: She was probably 10 feet away, and I was facing him, speaking with the Stoddards. Unfortunately, Mr. Stoddard passed.
I was shot, and then Mr. Stoddard immediately jumped in front of his wife and was shot. And he continued down -- the gunman continued down the line.
You have to imagine how small a space this was. We were between a brick wall, which was the store, and a stanchion, which was only a person and a half wide.
When they were cleaning my wounds, the medic who cleaned my wounds is a war veteran, and he kept saying, "Oh, my God, look at the amount of gun powder on her." So he was quite close. He went down the line shooting and --
ANDERSON COOPER, HOST, "ANDERSON COOPER 360": He actually was just walking down the line shooting?
REED: It wasn't quite walking, but it wasn't running either. He was moving quickly and he shot me first here, and then Mr. Stoddard jumped in front of his wife. We had just been speaking about college for Emma. And then -- and then I shoved Emma against the wall and put my arms on either side of her. He shot in this arm and then he shot me in the back as he passed. After he passed the lady behind me standing in line, grabbed the next magazine -- you could hear him releasing the magazine in order to come back, to a put a new magazine in and come back.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COSTELLO: Oh, boy. She's standing there talking after being shot three times. If you're wondering how that's possible, she told Anderson that not a single bullet hit a major blood vessel or an organ, so she was out of the hospital in no time. An amazing story.
It's been raining in Brazil since January 1st. Hundreds are dead, thousands have lost their homes. We'll show you some amazing new video.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
COSTELLO: The number of dead is rising in Brazil, where heavy rains have triggered massive mudslides. Almost two weeks of rain in Rio de Janeiro and Sao Palo have claimed almost 400 lives. Weather people say rain could continue to lash parts of the country until the end of the week. More than 100 of the deaths are blamed on a landslide that also displaced thousands of people. Authorities fear thousands more living on the mountain slopes are at risk of being washed away.
Now to Australia, where weeks of rain have left most of the state of Queensland a disaster zone. Emergency services and Australian military personnel have stepped up their search for dozens of people.
More from CNN's Phil Black in Brisbane.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
PHIL BLACK, CNN CORRESPONDENT (on camera): The Brisbane River is now dropping slowly. It peaked at a level lower than was expected, but still high enough to flood more than 20,000 homes. The people who lived in them are now scattered across the city, staying in big evacuation centers, as well as with family and friends and for many of them, it could be weeks before their homes are considered safe enough for them to return to.
Now, even while the floodwaters were dropping here, they proved just how dangerous they can be by claiming their first life in this city. That of a 24-year-old man, who was swept away and drowned while trying to check on his father's property.
Brisbane, the state capital, is now one of more than 70 towns and cities across the state of Queensland that are flood affected. The Queensland government says the recovery operation after weeks of floods across a massive area involving multiple river systems is now a post-war proportions. And it's going to take years.
Phil black, CNN, Brisbane, Australia.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
COSTELLO: Here in this country Republicans get ready to pick a new leader. Details in our political update live from the Republican National Committee meeting.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
COSTELLO: Taking a look at top stories.
Live pictures in Tucson, of the American flag that was almost destroyed after the September 11th terror attacks. It's being raised at the memorial for nine-year-old Christina Green. Christina, of course, the little girl who was killed in Saturday's shooting. She was born on September 11th, 2001.
We're learning more about the shooting suspect Jared Loughner. His high school girlfriend says she knew him as a nice kid with a big heart. But she says he was very opinionated. And she thinks Loughner intended to die last Saturday.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: He was a smart kid. I think he did his homework and I think he's actually playing everything. I think he's trying to get sent to a psych ward because he doesn't want to go to jail because he didn't die like he wanted to.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COSTELLO: And a new development in the fight against terrorism in Pakistan. We've just learned President Barack Obama will meet with Pakistani President Asif Zadari at the White House tomorrow. And Vice President Joe Biden met with Iraq's prime minister in a surprise visit to Baghdad today. It's his first talk with Nouri al Maliki since the new Iraqi government was formed last month. Biden says he was in Iraq to celebrate the country's progress.
The Republican Party gets ready to pick a new leader. Peter Hamby part of the Best Political Team on Television, live from the RNC meetings in National Harbor, Maryland.
What's crossing right now, Peter?
PETER HAMBY, CNN POLITICAL PRODUCER: Hey, Carol. How are you?
Yes, we're out here in suburban Washington. Republican National committee members, 168 of them, have started to come in today. They're having a bunch of private meetings today ahead of tomorrow's much-watched election.
As you know RNC Chairman Michael Steele has had a pretty rough tenure, to say the least. There are four Republicans who have lined up to challenge him. Today they're going to have a closed door, members-only interview session where all the candidates are going to get grilled. That will be telling to see who comes into tomorrow with the momentum because this is a race that's going to go through multiple ballots. And we won't know until tomorrow night who the next chairman of the Republican National Committee will be.
Something else we are watching today, we're always reading the Republican 2012 tea leaves, as you know. Haley Barbour, the governor of Mississippi, showed up in South Carolina yesterday. Why does that matter? No one goes to Iowa, New Hampshire, or South Carolina -- those early nominating states by accident. He was there for the inauguration of the new governor Nikki Haley.
But I also learned yesterday that Haley Barbour assembled a private meeting with a number of state Republican legislatures there, some power brokers, to kind of introduce himself to some of the movers and shakers in that state, should he decide to run for president in 2012 -- Carol.
COSTELLO: I know we must talk about it. But there is some advice coming from Republican quarters for Sarah Palin?
HAMBY: That's right. As you and all of us who watch politics know, Sarah Palin kind of dominated the news cycle yesterday ahead of President Obama's speech in Tucson. Chris Christie sat down -- Chris Christine, the governor of New Jersey, of course, with the "New York Times" yesterday. And they asked him about that controversial video message that Palin released yesterday, using the term "blood libel" and defending her against some of the attacks against her. Christie said, you know what, Sarah Palin, it's time that you stopped doing these scripted responses via Facebook, you know, FOX News. Get outside of the bubble and interact with the media, interact with folks in a town hall session. You know, that's where voters really get a chance to know you. And he was saying, you know, until she does that, she can't win the White House.
And lord knows if she does run for the president, we're all going to be following her around Iowa with microphones. So, at some point she will have to confront, you know, voters and the press.
COSTELLO: Got to love Chris Christie though. He just says what's on his mind. He just says it. It's so refreshing.
HAMBY: Yes. Never afraid to do that.
COSTELLO: Thanks so much, Peter.
Your next political update in an hour. And for the latest news you know where to go, CNNPolitics.com.
A year after an earthquake took lives and destroyed homes, Haitians pause to pray for their country and their recovery.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
COSTELLO: You're online right now and of course, we are, too. We're tracking the hottest stories trending online.
Sandra, what are you finding?
SANDRA ENDO, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, Carol, trending online is grumbling and rumbling in Italy. Take a look, it's trending on CNN.com at this hour, Carol, and iReports have been sent in from Italy where monitoring -- scientists are actually monitoring a Sicilian volcano. Take a look at those shots. And basically, Mount Etna erupted Wednesday night and right now, they are still monitoring the situation, but the trembling started Tuesday, so look at those pictures. Wow.
COSTELLO: They're so beautiful. Scary, but beautiful.
Sandra, thanks. We'll get back to you.
We're getting word now of a 7.3 magnitude quake. Rob is tracking that right now. Where did it happen?
MARCIANO: Over in the -- Vanuatu, which is an area by Australia, between Australia and Fiji basically, and this is a pretty strong quake. So concerns about this certainly.
There it is, there's Fiji. And it's pretty shallow at seven miles deep and very strong at 7.3 magnitude, but no tsunami warnings have been issued by either the tsunami warning system in Hawaii or in Australia.
The last time this happened was about last year. So last year, when it happened, they had a similar quake and it's because these islands here are pretty volcanic, they're all part of this ring of fire that's very active around parts of the Pacific.
But last time they had a 7.3 quake, they had about a six-inch rise in water as far as tsunamis do. So that's part of the reason they haven't issued a tsunami warning with this.
But nonetheless, a major quake happening about 20 minutes ago at 11:16 local time or about half hour ago there in the Vanuatu Island. And with a 7.3 magnitude, that's certainly enough to shake things around. Likely there was a small local tsunami, but likely also not a destructive one, but shaking the ground nonetheless.
COSTELLO: So Australia is having flooding problems and now it's got to worry about this.
MARCIANO: Well, they're worried about it, but they're not concerned with this size quake, this far away, cause it's still over a thousand miles away from Australia. So they've got their hands full with the flooding issues, this isn't going to be a big deal for them.
COSTELLO: Thank you, Rob.
A year after an earthquake crippled Haiti, the country still isn't back on its feet, far from it. Life today is barely any better than it was 365 days ago.
Here's CNN's Ivan Watson in Port-au-Prince as Haitians remember that horrendous day.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
IVAN WATSON, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): A circle of faith, a year after a catastrophic disaster. Thousands of Haitians gathering in a stadium for a multi-denominational prayer service one year after the earthquake. Some wore their Sunday best, others wrapped themselves in the flag of their wounded nation.
(on camera): This is a chance for Haitians to come together and take comfort in each other's company and in prayer, on the anniversary of a day that traumatized an entire society.
(voice-over): "I'm very sad for all the people who died," says this woman. "And I must thank god for saving me and the lives of my family."
For some Haitians, this was a day for more intimate gatherings. This Forkan (ph) family gathered by the grave of their mother and tried to tell jokes.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: She had said that she didn't want us to be crying over her tomb and stuff like that and she wanted us to gather and have fun and talk about nice things and joke, you know, and things like that. So that's what we did.
WATSON: They buried (INAUDIBLE) Bernard and her husband next to the rubble of the house where she died. Memories of that terrible day still haunt the survivors.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: And till today, I'm stressed, you know? Because images of what happened a year ago keep popping in my head and it will -- it was -- I can't find words to explain what I've been -- what I've gone through.
WATSON: Close to a quarter million people died in that earthquake. A cemetery where countless unclaimed bodies once lay to rot, now displays quiet reminders of the victims.
One year later, despite billions of dollars in aid money, there's been little improvement for more than a million Haitians made homeless by the earthquake. So on this somber day, some Haitians sounded a note of protest. Hundreds of residents of the city's squalid makeshift camps carries signs that say, "If I don't stand up now, I'm condemned to live my life in a tent." They marched through a city still scarred by the earthquake of January 12th, 2010.
Ivan Watson, CNN, Port-au-Prince.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
COSTELLO: Online magazine "Maximum PC" has come out with a list of technologies they think will go the way of the dinosaur by 2020. Here's three that surprised us a little: Stereoscopic 3-D television, because the glasses are a hassle; eBook readers, because that's all they do, think pocketknife versus Swiss army; and keys, well, we already have cars you can start with a button.
Next, three technologies that seem like they're on death's door but are not.
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COSTELLO: Online magazine "Maximum PC" is listing technologies that seem like they're on the brink of extinction, but will still be in 2020. You might be surprised.
Digital music players, for their simplicity, that's why it will stick around. Who wants to go jogging with a smart phone clipped to their tank top.
Internal combustion car engines, they're still way cheaper than hybrids.
And landline telephones? Yes, when was the last time your cell phone worked in a prolonged power outage. So expect those technologies to stick around in 2020.
Time to go cross country and check stories our affiliates are covering today. First up, Tanner, Alabama, where experts are looking into another mass bird kill. Thousands of birds have been found dead in four states over the past two weeks. About than 300 blackbirds turned up dead along I-65 just west of Huntsville.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
BILL GATES, WILDLIFE BIOLOGIST: Typically, large numbers of birds die from disease, from poisonings, and from being hit by objects, or flying into objects. And really, you can't rule any of those out until the birds are examined.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COSTELLO: In San Diego, a U.S. border patrol agent has been arraigned on federal charges of harboring illegal immigrants, including his deported father. Prosecutors say authorities found an illegal immigrant hiding in an underground bunker behind the agent's home on Monday. The father's missing.
And in Florida, a small plane that had just taken off crashes into the water off Venice Beach Wednesday injuring three people. Reports say the plane lost power, an investigation is underway.
The hottest stories online, we have them right here, so you don't have to spend a lot of time looking for them. Sandra Endo has one about Ted Williams, you know, the homeless man with the golden voice.
He's been all over Dr. Phil, Sandra.
ENDO: Yes, absolutely, Carol, and he is trending big-time today on CNN.com. But it turns out Ted Williams doesn't completely have the Midas touch, Carol.
After getting discovered on the street for that golden voice and getting job offer after job offer, well he was interviewed on TV and he said he battled alcoholism and drug addiction and that's what separated him from his family and he ended up homeless, right? Well, he said he was sober for two years, but the 53-year-old is still battling the bottle.
He checked himself into rehab after a lengthy chat with Dr. Phil who he was taping a show with and all of a sudden his drinking was apparent because his behavior, well, the cops were called in. He was detained because he got in a scuffle with his daughter in a Hollywood hotel room. So a little taint or varnish on that gold, right, Carol?
COSTELLO: Sadly, I was watching Dr. Phil. I watched the entire interview.
ENDO: You're trying.
COSTELLO: He promised to try really hard to make it this time. So I'll be following this story, the homeless man gone good. Hopefully good anyway.
ENDO: We all like second chances anyway, right? COSTELLO: There's another bizarre story out there about actor Peter Fonda.
ENDO: Yes, take a look. This is trending on TMZ today, and an exclusive story really.
Peter Fonda -- you can't make this up, this is not a Hollywood script, but it's a real true Hollywood story -- because the actor was driving on Sunset Boulevard in Pacific Palisades and he saw a car parked on the side of the road. Well, he stopped to check it out and he found a dead man slumped over the wheel. That's when he called 911 for cops to come, and TMZ is reporting that the man was three days old in terms of his death and the death was a suicide.
COSTELLO: Oh.
ENDO: So yikes.
COSTELLO: Let's whiz right past that one. That's a sad one.
Another topic near and dear to my hot is hot on Twitter right now. It's about real men and what constitutes a real man.
ENDO: Yes. And where are they, Carol? That's what people are talking about on Twitter. And you know, it could be a very hilarious outlet, this social media gizmo here that people tweet on. And everyone's talking about real men, that's the hash tag.
Take a look at one tweet here, "Real men buy diamonds for their women, make food, wash dishes, give feet massages, never complain and don't cheat. Sadly they don't exist."
And here's another one I liked, "Real men are good communicators." Huh.
And Carol, this one, "Real men don't wear skinny jeans that are tighter than chicks' jeans."
So there's some definitions out there that are pretty funny.
COSTELLO: Real men don't wear fancy scarves either, and tie the scarves in artful ways that I cannot master. Real men don't do that either.
ENDO: Yes, they shouldn't look better than us.
COSTELLO: Exactly, they should look much worse than we do. And they shouldn't be thinner than us either.
(CROSSTALK)
(LAUGHTER)
COSTELLO: Thank you, Sandra.
ENDO: You got it.
