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SOTU on Jobs; SOTU, Seats and Symbolism; Deadly Blast at Moscow Airport; Cruise Ship Rescues Three Americans Adrift Near Cuba; Housing Market Predicted to Decrease in 2011
Aired January 24, 2011 - 09:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
KIRAN CHETRY, CNN ANCHOR, "AMERICAN MORNING": Meantime the news continues. Randi Kaye is in the "CNN NEWSROOM" this morning.
Hey, Randi.
T.J. HOLMES, CNN ANCHOR, "AMERICAN MORNING": Hey there, Randi.
RANDI KAYE, CNN ANCHOR: Good morning to both of you guys. Thanks very much.
It is 9:00 a.m. on the East Coast, 6:00 a.m. in the West. I'm Randi Kaye, in this morning for Kyra Phillips. Here are some of the stories that have us talking.
Police in Detroit say the four officers shot in a bizarre attack are all likely to recover. The gunman was killed after he walked into a precinct station and began firing. Investigators still trying to identify his motive.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JACK LALANNE, FITNESS GURU: You know what time it is? It's time to leave you. Let's say --
(END OF VIDEO CLIP)
KAYE: Groundbreaking fitness guru Jack Lalanne has died. He first preached the virtues of fitness on TV beginning back in the '60s. He would tell kids to wake their mothers and drag them to the TV to workout. Lalanne was 96 years old.
The Super Bowl is set. It will be the Green Bay Packers versus the Pittsburgh Steelers in the NFL championship game in two weeks. The legendary franchises have some of the most rabid followers in the country.
Breaking news at a Fairport Harbor, Ohio. Officials say at least five homes caught fire and emergency crews can smell gas. So the village about 30,000 miles east of Cleveland now being evacuated. That means up to 3,000 people could be told to get out.
The Lake County sheriff told CNN just moments ago that the fires have been put out and crews were able to turn off the gas. There are no reports of injuries yet. But the sheriff says it's just too early to tell.
We are of course keeping an eye on the situation in Fairport Harbor, and we will keep you updated throughout the morning here.
If you're heading out the door to work in the northeast, well, you better bundle up. It is dangerously cold. Many cities are in the single digits right now with wind-chill factors below zero. The high today in New York not expected to get out of the teens.
Sub-freezing temperatures in the nation's capital are making traffic problem a whole lot worse. A large water main break is spewing water on to I-95 where it's freezing in this morning's 18-degree weather. Road crews have responded with sand and salt.
But the "Washington Post" reports that all southbound lanes of I-95 will be closed for the long morning rush.
Right now temperatures in the region are hovering just below zero. With the brutally frigid winds, some areas may feel the temperature drop to minus 50.
Reynolds, what do you think? Can folks in the north expect a little warm-up any time soon?
REYNOLDS WOLF, AMS METEOROLOGIST: Not in really any time soon. It's -- no, I don't think so. It's going to be the big chill for a lot of places.
(WEATHER REPORT)
KAYE: All right, Reynolds. Thank you for that.
And we also want to update you now. We're following a shooting of several police officers in St. Petersburg, Florida. We want to take you there.
Three officers apparently shot. We are getting information from our CNN affiliate WFTS. As I mentioned, three officers shot. Two of those officers with the St. Petersburg Police Department. The third is actually a U.S. marshal.
Two transported to the hospital, we are told. One officer still inside a house. Also being told that this is an active scene. There is an active shooter who has not yet apprehended still in the area.
This all started to unfold about 7:45 Eastern Time this morning in the 3700 Block of 28th Avenue South there. Gunfire apparently broke out when the officers were trying to serve a warrant.
Also in the area is a middle school, Thurgood Marshall Middle School. That has been put on lockdown. So we have plenty of SWAT and officers in the area looking for this suspect. Again, an active shooter with three officers already shot in St. Petersburg, Florida.
Let's take you to Detroit now. A gunman is dead after shooting and wounding four Detroit police officers inside their station. And any minute now, we're hoping for some fresh details about the case from police officials.
Detroit's police chief says security measures for police precincts will be reassessed as a result of what happened yesterday at this station house.
We'll keep you posted on any new developments.
But here's what police are telling us so far. An unnamed gunman was killed inside the station house. He opened fire wounding four officers before he was taken down by police. The most seriously injured, a commander -- he was shot in the back, but his prognosis is good after surgery.
Detroit's police chief is praising his officers.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
CHIEF RALPH GODBEE JR., DETROIT POLICE: Began firing, and as you can imagine, I mean, utter chaos and pandemonium took place, but through it all our officers maintained courageous calm. They returned fire. They took cover. They did all the things that we train them to do under pressure. And we've very fortunate, we've very blessed today to stand before you with the belief that all four of them will be OK.
(END OF VIDEO CLIP)
KAYE: Chief Godbee says it's likely public screening will change at his police precincts.
The woman suspected of kidnapping a 19-day-old infant from a New York hospital in 1987 appears in federal court this morning. Ann Pettway faces federal kidnapping charges. She turned herself in to police in Connecticut yesterday.
Pettway is accused of snatching Carlina White and raising her as her own. White, who is seen here in this composite sketch, recently discovered her true identity. She had an emotion reunion last week with her biological family.
Meanwhile, the man accused of the Tucson shooting rampage is due in federal court today. Twenty-two-year-old Jared Lee Loughner is already charged with the attempted murder of Arizona Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords and two of her aides.
Today he could face murder charges for the six people who died. Prosecutors have said they are moving slowly and cautiously in the case because they could seek the death penalty.
Meanwhile Giffords is still impressing doctors with her recovery. They say she is following commands as she performs her rehab at a hospital in Houston, Texas. She remains in the intensive care unit there because of a buildup of fluid on her brain. Giffords' rehab process is expected four to six months.
The White House has invited Giffords' husband Mark Kelly to attend tomorrow night's State of the Union address and the congressional aide who's credited with saving her life will attend as a guest in the First Lady's box.
Your money, your job, your future. Central themes of that State of the Union address. The president's goal, rally a nation bruised by recession and nagged by doubts. He gave his supporters a preview in an online message posted on YouTube.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
BARACK OBAMA, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: I'm focused on making sure that the economy is working for everybody, for the entire American family. How do we make sure that people have good jobs with good benefits? How do we make sure that somebody who has a good idea can suddenly start a business?
How are we going to make sure that we have the most innovative, dynamic economy in the world? And how do we make sure that our kids are able to compete with workers anywhere in the world?
To do that we're going to have to out-innovate, we're going to have to out-build, we're going to have to out-compete, we're going to have to out-educate other countries. That's our challenge.
(END OF VIDEO CLIP)
KAYE: We have team coverage of the president's all-important primetime address. CNN's Jim Acosta looks at the unusual show of unity among some lawmakers. And Christine Romans looks beyond the politics to the economics.
Let's begin with Christine and the State of the Union when it comes to jobs.
Christine, I know you've spoken to a number of experts in the field. What are they telling you about jobs?
CHRISTINE ROMANS, CNN BUSINESS CORRESPONDENT: We've asked them to help us make a declaration of just what is the state of the American job right now. Is it -- is it weak, is it improving, is it strong, is it very strong as you go up this crescendo of possibility?
And we've asked them to look at how many jobs were lost, what businesses are doing with hiring, and where we are going for 2011, because we know that 2010 the economic recovery in terms of jobs was subpar. It is not what you should see during a recovery.
And basically what many of the economists came to the conclusion that the state of the American job is improving. It is improving with a caveat. The caveat being that improvement is needed and will probably accelerate this year, but you still are going to end up with anywhere from 4 to 5 million jobs lost in the recession that won't be coming back. At least not right away.
This is what Mark Zandi from Moody's Analytics -- this is why he said the jobs outlook in America is improving.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) MARK ZANDI, MOODY'S ANALYTICS: The job market is improving. We've created more jobs over the past year, 1.35 million private sector jobs. And I think all the preconditions for a better job market are coming into place. Businesses are very profitable, their balance sheets are strong. It's increasingly no longer a question of can they go out and hire more, it's really a question of, are they willing? And I think they will become more willing in the coming months.
(END OF VIDEO CLIP)
ROMANS: Just this morning the National Association for Business Economics -- it is a trade group of economists for the business community, anywhere from finance to factories to mining to agriculture. They came out and said that 42 percent of their members surveyed said they will be increasing hiring over the next six months. Forty-two percent say they will increase hiring.
That compares with 29 percent a year so you can see that improvement in that survey. And only 7 percent said that they would be laying off more workers over the next six months. That's the biggest spread between hiring and firing in 12 years. So that shows some growth there.
Bill Rogers, who is an economist at Rutgers, a former Labor Department economist in the Clinton administration, he said the first beneficiaries, Randi, of this improved hiring situation will be people with the right education, the right experience and the right skills. It'll be people who are networking. It will be people who have been most recently laid off.
You still have this concern that you're not going to take a lot more jobs creation that we have right now to get below 9 percent. But, again, the State of the Union on jobs, according to the top economists we polled, they agree the State of the Union on jobs is improving -- Randi.
KAYE: All right. Well, that is certainly some good news.
Thanks, Christine.
The State of the Union address is a critical showcase for the president and his agenda. But this year it may also serve as a statement for something much longer. Some lawmakers are vowing to cross the aisle and sit with their political opponents as a show of unity and bipartisanship.
CNN's Jim Acosta in Washington with a closer look at -- I guess, Jim, what we might want to call musical chairs?
JIM ACOSTA, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes, a little bit of that, Randi.
From all indications, President Obama will be striking a centrist tone at the State of the Union tomorrow night. That's a theme that's been working for him. And in the wake of the Tucson tragedy national unity will be the dominant theme. One idea that's caught on -- it's not in the speech -- it's this bipartisan seating arrangement that they're talking about tomorrow night. Members of Congress in both the House and the Senate won't be sitting in their usual spots with the parties sitting on separate sides of the aisle.
Instead roughly 60 Democrats and Republicans will be sitting side by side. And folks in Washington have dubbed these pairings state dates.
Check out some of the political odd couples that we're talking about here. New York Democrat Chuck Schumer and Oklahoma Republican Tom Coburn, Illinois Dick Durbin, the Democratic senator there, he says he's looking forward to sitting next to his colleague, Mark Kirk, who is a new Republican senator.
Even though there are some of the GOP who are concerned that the Washington theatrics here are going a bit too far.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SEN. DICK DURBIN (D), ILLINOIS: My new Senate Republican colleague from Illinois, Mark Kirk, and I are going to sit together. I'm bringing the popcorn. He is bringing the Coke with two straws where -- just kidding, of course.
SEN. MITCH MCCONNELL (R), MAJORITY LEADER: More important than the appearance of sitting together is what we do together. And the American people are more interested in actual accomplishments on a bipartisan basis here in the next six to nine months than they are in the seating arrangement at the State of the Union.
(END OF VIDEO CLIP)
ACOSTA: As you can tell there, not everybody on Capitol Hill is into this idea. Republican Congressman Paul Brown has called it a Democratic attempt to silence Republicans and the symbolism is only going to go so far. That's because Republicans and Democrats are already locking horns over spending.
Randi, you heard the president say in that video address you played earlier, he's talking about investments and competiveness. Republicans are talking about cutting spending. Randi?
KAYE: All right. Jim Acosta for us in Washington, D.C., thank you.
Of course, stay with CNN and The Best Political Team on Television. We'll have complete coverage of the president's State of the Union address. That's tomorrow night starting at 7:00 Easter.
The traffic stop that became what some are calling a beat down. We'll show you the video that has one state trooper justifying why he hit a 53-year-old woman in the face, not once or twice, but several times.
The 9/11 memorial at ground zero, thousands of people have donated, giving what they can, even if it's only just a few pennies or maybe a couple of bucks. Well, they probably think that money is going towards construction. But we pulled the charity tax forms. It turns out some charity executives are making big money. We're breaking it down.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
KAYE: Good morning again. We have some breaking news coming to us out of Moscow. The Interfax News Agency is reporting that at least 10 people have kill -- have been killed at a blast at Russia's Domodedovo Airport. That is in Moscow. At least 10 killed, 20 injured. And now we're being told that a suicide bomber is behind this attack. That information coming to us from the Interfax News Agency. Again -- once again, that is in Moscow, and we have a blast at Russia's Domodedovo Airport.
Back in the US, a Utah state trooper says he was fearing for his life when he punched a 53-year-old woman last summer during a traffic stop. The story and the dramatic dash cam video tops our look Cross Country this morning. Utah state trooper Andrew Davenport is on paid leave and under investigation after this video of him hitting a female DUI suspect multiple times came to light.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
BRIAN HYER, SPOKESMAN, UTAH DEPARTMENT OF PUBLIC SAFETY: Pursuits can be very, very dangerous. And for that reason, this review process is essential in what we do.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
KAYE: Charges were eventually dropped against the driver, who told one Salt Lake City TV station that she doesn't remember what happened.
To North Carolina, now.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
RONNIE PRESNELL, BLIND MAN: Things in life happen that you just can't do anything about, and you just have to pick the pieces up and keep walking.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
KAYE: Ronnie Presnell doesn't let his blindness get in the way. A 1998 auto accident left him blind, but it hasn't stopped him from doing all the things he loves to do, like restoring this old Camaro or building birdhouses. Most recently, Ronnie built a storage shed for a buddy down on his luck.
A Carnival cruise ship to the rescue. Here's home video of the cruise liner rescuing three Americans who were adrift in a boat off the coast of Cuba, Saturday. The trio and a cat were brought aboard. Carnival passenger Carl Ray, who shot this video, calls their rescue a near miracle. Pretty amazing stuff.
The 9/11 memorial at Ground Zero pulls in donations from all types, kids, adults, corporations, communities. But I bet the school children raising money don't think it's going to executives' six- figure salaries. Up next, we're talking to a New Jersey gym teacher and fundraiser who says this doesn't sit right with him.
Too close for comfort. An out-of-control truck jumps the median and into oncoming traffic. Video that makes you go, "Whew!" when you see it.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
KAYE: It's been nearly ten years since the September 11th attacks, and the nation is still healing. A big part of that recovery, the tribute at Ground Zero. You're looking now at live webcam pictures of the construction site.
The memorial and museum will spread across eight acres in Manhattan, with massive waterfalls flowing into the footprints of the Twin Towers.
It's costing hundreds of millions of dollars, much of it donated by individuals, collected at community bake sales, some school car washes, and even just knocking on doors. Donors probably expected their money would go toward building the memorial, not toward six- figure salaries for executives.
"The New York Post" first dub up this story. Check out what the highest earners pocketed in 2009. Foundation president Joseph Daniels made more than $371,000, the highest salary of the four bigwigs who made over $300,000.
Shawn Clancy teaches health and physical education at Mary E. Volz School in Runnemede. New Jersey. His middle schoolers raised $1,000 just by going door to door. And Shawn, I have to ask you -- thanks for joining us.
SHAWN CLANCY, TEACHER, MARY E. VOLZ SCHOOL (via telephone): Not a problem.
KAYE: I have to ask you, what did you think when you first heard about where much of this money is going?
CLANCY: It's a little crazy, if you ask me. That doesn't sit well with me. My kids, actually, like you said before, went out to family and friends, knocked on doors, even kids -- and you're talking about sixth, seventh and eighth graders, actually went into their own pockets and donated their own money for what they thought was a worthy cause.
And it still is a worthy cause. But when you hear that these executives are making so much money, anywhere close to 400 grand to do what they're doing, it just -- like I said, doesn't sit well with me at all.
KAYE: Sure. And your kids, we said, raised about $1,000 going door to door. We have a picture from your school lobby of a mural. Can you tell us a little bit about that? CLANCY: It's just -- it's pretty much a mural of the Trade Towers, and it has the certificates that were sent to us, I guess, by the foundation explaining our cobblestone number.
When we went to collect money, we wanted to make an impact, and we definitely wanted to get enough money raised so that were able to purchase a cobblestone just to make a significant impact on the memorial.
We thought that all our money was going towards the memorial not, like, you know, as you said, towards these six-figure salaries, if you would.
KAYE: Have you broken the news to your students, to the kids?
CLANCY: Actually, today was the first day I -- when we did the donations or collected donations, the kids that are in my eighth grade class now were only sixth graders at the time. And I talked to a couple of them first period today.
They were just like, "Really?" You know what I mean? They were kind of blown away by it. And like I said, I didn't think it would sit well with them either, and it didn't. You know what I mean? Because they thought all their money was going towards putting the memorial together, not towards somebody's salary. Not towards these lucrative salaries, at that.
KAYE: Let me share what Michael Bloomberg, they mayor of New York, has said about this. He says that they're only paid a fraction of what they're worth, but at a level similar to people at comparable non-profits.
But the watchdog group Cherry Navigator says those salaries are actually on the high side, saying the base salary for a mid-sized foundation like the memorial is about $160,000. So, when you see the salaries for the 9/11 museum folks, the museum director, we're taking a look at them again.
$351,000, the vice president of capital planning, $337,000, development director, $322,000. Obviously, you don't think the pay if fair, so what do you think needs to change here going forward so when kids go door to door or have bake sales to raise money for something like this, should they be more upfront?
CLANCY: I would think so. You know what I mean? They're definitely not upfront, like in -- on their website, there's nothing. I didn't receive any information regarding, you know, any of our money going towards these kind of salaries.
I don't know want to -- I don't want to -- I'm sure these people are doing a fantastic job.
KAYE: Sure.
CLANCY: Doing what they're doing and putting this together. And I don't want to make it seem like they're not doing a wonderful job. But when you're talking about this much money that they're getting in their salaries. Like I said, your gut reaction is it doesn't sit well with you. At all. I don't --
KAYE: Right. I'm sure it doesn't sit well with a lot of people. We do thank you, Shawn Clancy, for talking with us this morning, and thank your students for raising all that money.
CLANCY: Absolutely. Thank you for having me.
KAYE: Right now, we're awaiting our first pictures from Moscow, and we are continuing to follow the breaking news this morning. The very latest, now, coming to us from the Interfax News Agency, is that a suicide bomber is behind an attack -- a blast at Russia's Domodedovo Airport. We're being told that at least 10 people may have been killed, and 20 injured. Once again, waiting for our first pictures of that. And we'll bring them to you as soon as we get them. In the meantime, we'll take a quick break.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
(STOCK MARKET REPORT)
KAYE: As we've been following all morning, that breaking news out of Moscow. A blast at the airport there. We want to get to our Matthew Chance for a quick update on this.
Matthew, what can you tell us? What's the very latest there?
MATTHEW CHANCE, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Hey, Randi. Not very much, actually. There's still very sketchy information about what exactly has taken place at the airport. But it does seem according to investigators on the scene, there's been an explosion, we understand, from the Russian investigative committee, which is the body that's kind of overseeing the crime there. There are, in fact, about 20 casualties.
What we don't know is how many of those are dead and how many of them are injured. The report saying there are at least two people who have been killed. Some reports in the Russian news agencies say the death toll is much higher than that.
The explosion, again, it's not clear where it took place. But the Interfax News Agency, which is one of the main news agencies in Russia is reporting that a suicide bomber may have been responsible for the explosion. There are other reports, again in the Russian media that the explosion took place in the baggage reclaim area of the airport, as well.
So again, details a little bit sketchy at the moment. But clearly, this is a major incident at Russia's Moscow's main international airport.
KAYE: And Matthew, what is the situation, if you can tell us, at the airport right now? Is the airport open, closed? Or -- what is the situation there? CHANCE: I'm not clear, Randi. I wish I could tell you. I've just come out of a meeting when this news broke. It only happened within the past hour or so. And so we're still trying to gather what information we can.
But you can imagine the scenes of chaos taking place right now in an airport like Domodedovo where it is Moscow's most important international airport. It's very busy, particularly at this time of night. People coming into Russia, people leaving Russia. This is the main gateway that opens Russia to the rest of the world. And so, clearly a very high-profile target if, indeed, somebody did carry out what appears to be a bomb attack, Randi.
KAYE: Sure. And if this was indeed a suicide bomber, you said that the Interfax News Agency is reporting that it might have happened in the baggage claim area?
CHANCE: Yes. There were a couple of reports. The Interfax News Agency is saying a bomb is responsible. Another report saying the explosion took place in the baggage reclaim area.
So, again, we don't really know what's happened. But, it wouldn't be the first time, of course, the Moscow's transport system has been hit by suicide bombers. Just last year in March, in fact, there were multiple suicide bomb attacks on the Moscow metro system, the underground train network, killing dozens of people, injuring many, many more, of course. And devastating suicide attacks on the transport system at rush hour in the Russian capital.
The finger of blame, of course, points on all of these occasions in a country like Russia, towards Chechen separatists, Chechnya are a breakaway part of Russia, in the south of the country and the surrounding north caucuses there's been an Islamists insurgency for several decades now. Again, I think if this is a suicide attack, again the finger of blame will point to Chechen suicide bombers.
KAYE: All right. Matthew Chance, I know you'll continue to follow this and we'll continue along with you and we'll get an update from you, as soon as you have more information.
For now, we'll take a quick break.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
KAYE: Time for some stories from politics. Former secretary of state Colin Powell gave a big boost to Barack Obama when he supported his presidential bid. But the prominent Republican says many of those campaign promises are still unfulfilled. And he's not ready to offer an endorsement for 2012.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
COLIN POWELL, FORMER U.S. SECRETARY OF STATE: I will always vote -- as I have throughout my life -- for the person I think is best qualified to be President of the United States. And I don't adhere to a certain party line. I'm not committed to Barack Obama, I'm not committed to a Republican candidate. I will see who emerges.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
KAYE: President Obama will deliver his State of the Union speech tomorrow. And the primetime address will focus on the economy; jobs, business, housing. It's all under our microscope as we check in with the experts.
Christine Romans is part of the CNNMoney team. Good morning to you again, Christine.
What is the state of the union in terms of housing?
ROMANS: We've checked with the top experts on housing and asked them to rank for us the state of the union. Is it weak, is it improving, is it strong, is it very strong -- just looking at housing.
And we have found from the panel of experts we have surveyed is that to a person, they agree the state of the union, the stay of the industry for housing is weak and continues to be weak. A few said it was improving slightly, but that overall in any kind of measure of where we've come over the past 20, 30, 40, 50 years of housing in this country, that it remains weak here.
Some of the reasons they say, we still have a very high percentage of people who are underwater on their loans, meaning that their house price has fallen so far, that they owe more on the mortgage than the house is worth. We saw a record number of foreclosures last year and we'll likely see another million, probably beating last year's record again this year in foreclosures.
And the range for prices. This is what interests everyone, Randi. The range for prices on a survey of two dozen economists was for prices this year to fall another 11 percent, all the way up to rising to about five percent. So you can see, that's the kind of range they have.
Listen to Mark Zandi from Moody's Analytics. (BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
MARK ZANDI, MOODY'S ANALYTICS: Housing is the economy's weakest link. Of course, it was ground zero for the financial panic and great recession. And we still have more work to do. Home sales and housing construction, they have stabilized at incredibly low levels. But unfortunately I think we've got more house price declines coming. We have over four million mortgage loans in the default process. Many will go through to a distress sale and that will put downward pressure on housing values. So, unfortunately more house price declines are coming. The housing sector is weak.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ROMANS: There you go, Randi. We asked the experts. Weak, improving, strong, or very strong. To a person they agreed the housing market in this country remains weak -- Randi.
KAYE: Not what we want to hear.
All right. Thanks, Christine.
New Hampshire Republicans hold a straw poll a year before the state's presidential primary. Mitt Romney's the winner. We'll tell you why it's not such a huge surprise.
And too close for comfort. An out of control truck jumps the median straight into oncoming traffic. Video that makes you shake your head and cringe when you see it.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
KAYE: Forty-four minutes past the hour. Former secretary of state Colin Powell endorsed Barack Obama for president in 2008. But Powell is not ready to endorse his re-election bid. Our senior political editor Mark Preston joins us from the CNNPolitics.com desk with all the details.
Good morning, Mark.
MARK PRESTON, CNN SENIOR POLITICAL EDITOR: Hey, good morning, Randi. Yes, Colin Powell, who was the Secretary of State under George W. Bush came under a lot of criticism when he endorsed President Obama back in 2008.
While he was here in this building with Candy Crowley yesterday, he was on the "STATE OF THE UNION," he had a couple of observations about the president's first couple of years in office. First of all, he said we didn't elect a superman and he said that he thinks that President Obama is working hard to fix the whole unemployment situation.
He also said that he thinks that the President is focusing on governing, but as you said at the top, Colin Powell says that right now he isn't prepared to get behind his re-election bid in 2012. However, he went on to say that he doesn't see a Republican out there right now that he thinks that can rise to the top.
But staying on the whole theme of 2012, up in New Hampshire, Mitt Romney won the straw poll on Saturday. It's a straw poll that was conducted by WMUR TV in New Hampshire, Republican Party and ABC.
Mitt Romney garnered 35 percent of the vote. And of course there are a whole host of characters that were engaged in this poll. Let me just throw a couple out at you, Ron Paul came in at 11 percent and Sarah Palin came in at seven percent.
Now, Mitt Romney, of course, is from the neighboring state of Massachusetts. So a lot of people would say that he is the front- runner right now as he's running. And as far as why Sarah Palin only got seven percent in New Hampshire, if you talk to politicos up there they'll say that she hasn't spent any time trying to court them nor does she have an organization in New Hampshire -- Randi.
KAYE: And Mark, a handful of senators way out the door have some thoughts on bipartisanship. What are they saying?
PRESTON: Yes it is really interesting, whenever you have members of Congress that are retiring and all of a sudden they talk about why there needs to be bridges -- bridges built to -- to the other side and they talk about bipartisanship.
But yesterday we had three of them on the Sunday talk shows. Let's hear a couple of what they said. Joe Lieberman said when we begin to act in that way, working across party lines, then it not only gets -- not things not only get done but it also increases the characteristic of American optimism and confidence.
So three senators heading out the door and they're all talking about bipartisanship.
KAYE: Mark Preston for us this morning.
(CROSSTALK)
PRESTON: Thanks Randi.
KAYE: Thank you Mark.
We'll have your next political update in just one hour. And a reminder for all the latest political news, go to our Web site, CNNpolitics.com.
Staring down a near head-on collision with a big rig, the video that is sure to make you shiver. What happened and how it ended next in our "Morning Passport."
We're also following this breaking story out of Russia where an explosion at a Moscow airport has killed at least two people. We will keep you up to the minute with any new details as they come in.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
KAYE: Back to our breaking news now. We've been following out of Moscow where there's been an explosion at Domodedovo airport.
CNN international anchor Zain Verjee is live in London with more on this for us. Zain what is the latest? It seems as though the numbers of the injured and possible fatalities are going up.
ZAIN VERJEE, CNN INTERNATIONAL ANCHOR: Hi there, Randi. Yes, because of that blast at the airport in Moscow we're hearing now from state TV in Russia that 31 people, at least, are dead and more than 100 are injured.
This blast happened at the baggage claim area of this airport. It's called the Domodedovo Airport that's actually one of the two busiest airports in Moscow. It's on the south side of the city. It's the most modern one in -- in Moscow.
We're trying to get more information and more details. But we're just getting them in now and we'll -- we'll let you know. But right now, at least 31 dead. The Russian investigators are calling this a terror attack.
KAYE: All right, Zain, let's -- let's go to Canada. I understand there's some pretty incredible video of -- of an out-of-control truck there.
VERJEE: Yes. Just take a look Randi, at this really closely. It was the most dramatic video that we saw all day. It's actually from a dash board camera. And what you see is a tractor trailer basically comes crashing through the guardrail here on a road sort of north of Toronto.
It's about 8:00 in the morning. And it just totally loses control, crashes over and goes into oncoming traffic. The most amazing thing about this video is that nobody got hurt. You hear a lot of bleeps there. If there was any time and you know, in any situation you'd swear that much, Randi, it would probably be something like this, but a lot of people today in the morning really lucky.
KAYE: It is amazing that that car got out of the way without anyone being injured.
(CROSSTALK)
VERJEE: Yes.
KAYE: Incredible.
More scary video, actually; sadly, 32 people died when a -- when a bus collided with a tanker truck carrying oil.
VERJEE: Yes. What is it with today? You know, I mean, this is -- this was really sad, actually. There was that collision. And if you look at the video, you can see what a blazing inferno it is. The bus slammed into the oil tanker. This is in southern Pakistan. There are reports that the driver fell asleep at the wheel, Randi, and just totally lost control of the vehicle.
Apparently the passengers who escaped said that they had told the driver, you know, just pull over and rest because you need it, and he didn't.
KAYE: That is amazing. Very sad, though.
And lastly, let's talk about the Pope. Pope Benedict pressuring priests on the topic of marriage; trying to get couples to stay together more, apparently.
VERJEE: What Pope Benedict XVI said, marriage is not a right. He basically wants priests to do a better job of figuring out who should get married and who should tie the knot. He also says that there should be more counseling for people so that they just don't get divorced.
Basically, many analysts are saying that this is directed actually to the U.S. where the divorce rate is the highest in the world. I was just looking at some numbers, Randi. And in 2006 there were more divorce cases in the U.S. than the rest of the world combined. Why do you think that is?
KAYE: I think we need a little help; apparently maybe a little counseling. Maybe the Pope is on to something. All right --
(CROSSTALK)
VERJEE: Maybe we're too selfish, too unhappy. Yes.
KAYE: -- Zain Verjee. There you go. Zain thanks so much. Enjoy the "Morning Passport".
We're following lots of development in the next hour of CNN NEWSROOM. Let's check in first with Chris Lawrence live at the Pentagon. Good morning, Chris.
CHRIS LAWRENCE, CNN PENTAGON CORRESPONDENT: Hey, Randi. Just less than 36 hours now to the President's speech. And we wanted to take a good hard look at where the military stands right now before the President speaks. And when it comes to caring for its troops, what is the military's state of the union? I'm going to answer that question in just a couple minutes.
STEPHANIE ELAM, CNN BUSINESS CORRESPONDENT: And I'm Stephanie Elam in New York. Is owning a McMansion part of your American dream? You may have a hard time finding one in the next few years. I'll explain. That's coming up in the next hour.
BROOK ANDERSON, CNN ENTERTAINMENT CORRESPONDENT: And I'm Brooke Anderson at the Sundance Film Festival in Park City, Utah. In the next hour Rosie O'Donnell tells us about her newest role with Oprah Winfrey's network; and actor and upcoming Oscar host James Franco reveals to me why all his advisers told him not to host the Oscars.
KAYE: Thanks to all of you.
Also ahead, as more and more doors open to education and professional opportunities for women, it's what's happening behind closed doors that may be getting in the way of actually finding a suitable mate. Next hour: how men are getting the upper hand in the current sexual economy.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
KAYE: Did you catch the big games last night? We now know which teams will be playing in the Super Bowl. It will be the Steelers and the Packers. Jeff Fischel from HLN Sports is here to show us just how they did it. That was pretty exciting stuff
JEFF FISCHEL, HLN SPORTS: Randi, between them, nine Super Bowl titles so it is a great match-up. The AFC title game started like a tale of two halves. At first it was the best of time for the Steelers and the worst of times for the Jets. Then the Jets came roaring back.
Warning: Disgusting moment caught on camera. Jets quarterback Mark Sanchez -- look at him, wipes it on -- yes, backup QB Mark Burnell. Burnell's reaction did you just do that? Ok, as for the game, Ben Roethlisberger -- what a year. He could have been in court right now -- remember, he was never charged for sexual assault. Now instead he'll be in the Super Bowl. Touchdown for Big Ben, leading the Steelers to a big 17-0 lead.
Then it's the defense for Pittsburgh. Mark Sanchez back to pass; He gets hit and hit hard, loses the ball. William Gay picks it up and scores. Pittsburgh goes up 24-0, holds on barely to win. Pittsburgh headed to the Super Bowl with a 24-19 win.
In the NFC, great rivalry, Bears and Packers. First time they've ever played a game this important. Green Bay's Aaron Rodgers has been fantastic in the playoffs with his arm. This time uses his feet to get in. Bears' QB Jay Cutler was knocked out of the game with a knee injury in the third quarter.
Some bear fans questioning his heart, his manhood. Third string QB Caleb Haney picked off by BJ Rodgie (ph). There you see (INAUDIBLE) with a pick for the Bears, it didn't turn into points.
The Packers would hold on to win, 21-14. Great game by the Packers, Randi and I'll tell you what, Packers fired up about having Aaron Rodgers. People are starting to forget Brett Favre. It's hard to believe.
KAYE: And I'm sure you have a pick for the Super Bowl already, don't you.
FISCHEL: Right now if you made me pick I'll go with the Steelers. But I'm not promising I won't change my mind over the next two weeks.
KAYE: That's not fair. All right Jeff.
FISCHEL: Ok.
KAYE: Thank you.
