Return to Transcripts main page

CNN Newsroom

Pres. Obama's State of the Union Address; Fallout of Russia's Airport Blast; Pot Soda Under Attack; Missing Girl, First Labeled Runaway, Feared Dead; Oprah Announces She Has Half-Sister; One Girl's Quest to Meet All State Representatives

Aired January 25, 2011 - 09:00   ET

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

MARTIN SAVIDGE, CNN ANCHOR: Good morning to you. It's 9:00 a.m. on the East Coast, 6:00 a.m. on the West. I'm Martin Savidge sitting in for Kyra Phillips.

Here are some of the stories that have us talking this morning.

Gas prices have inched up yet again. The nationwide average now $3.11. That's the highest we've seen since the meltdown in October of 2008. Many experts say don't expect the big spike in the immediate future.

The terror suspect known as the underwear bomber is due in a Michigan courtroom today. Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab is accused of trying to blow up an airliner on Christmas Day 2009. Today the Nigerian man faces a pretrial hearing.

Also all across Hollywood, bleary-eyed stars are rolling out of bed to see if they'll get a shot at an Oscar. Academy Awards nominations are being announced. "The King's Speech" leads with 12 nominations. We'll share some of the other big names.

The president's State of the Union. The nation's state of mind. Just hours before the president addresses the nation. There's a new poll out and it shows a surprising surge of national optimism. Forty-three percent now feel that things are going well in the country. That is compared to 29 percent just last month.

Lawmakers plan a show of unity tonight. Many plan to cross the aisle, sit with members of other political parties. Actually the other political party. The so-called state dates are in response to the Tucson shooting rampage and concerns that constant party bickering may be creating dangerous divisions.

But there are vast differences. For the first time in our history there will be two responses to president's speech. Besides the Republicans, of course, we'll also hear from the Tea Party. Congresswoman Michele Bachmann of Minnesota is a rising star of the movement which has had a huge impact on the November elections.

So the stage is set. The speech, we believe, is already written. So let's get a preview from the White House with our correspondent Dan Lothian.

And, Dan, what will be the president's main talking points tonight? I presume the economy.

DAN LOTHIAN, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Well, certainly, the economy will be the main focus. You know this is a chance for the president to talk about what has worked for this administration over the last year. The progress that has been but also look ahead to some of the challenges that remain and jobs does remain a major challenge.

The president will talk about how to boost jobs here in the U.S. not only over the short term, but over the long haul as well, to bring down that unemployment rate from 9.4 percent.

A couple of words that we'll hear from the president tonight, buzz words that have been floated around here at the White House now for the last few days. Competitiveness and innovation. How to help the U.S. win on the global stage through investments and such things as education.

And then the president will also talk about tackling the federal deficit. That's something that Republicans will be listening very closely to. There have been concern that this administration has been trying to spend its way out of a recession and it will only cause long-term damage to the country.

So the president will talk about making some of those investments, where necessary, but also streamlining the government, saving money, where possible.

And then finally, the president will touch on something that he believes led to much progress during the lame-duck session and that is bipartisanship. How can Republicans and Democrats find areas of compromise to continue the agenda moving forward -- Martin.

SAVIDGE: What about foreign policy, Dan? I mean is the president going to speak about, say, Afghanistan?

LOTHIAN: Well, again, you know, this is a chance for the president to really focus on some of the domestic issues. But I'm told by top aides here at the White House that the president will touch on some foreign policy issues including Afghanistan. He will talk about progress that has been made there and the effort. But also some of the challenges that still remains -- remain.

But the biggest thing for the president is to really convince skeptical Americans that that is a war that's still worth fighting.

SAVIDGE: CNN's Dan Lothian at the White House. Thanks very much.

Well, the White House will host a number of special guests who are tied to the Tucson shooting rampage as Dan just mentioned.

Daniel Hernandez is the congressional aide credited with saving the life of Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords. He will join First Lady Michelle Obama for the speech. Also attending Dr. Rhee. You probably recognize him. He's the Arizona surgeon. He's been one of those who has been attending to Giffords. And then there -- the Obamas also have invited the family of Christina Taylor Green as well. She is the 9-year-old who was the youngest person killed in that attack.

Join us tonight. That'll be at 7:00 Eastern for our special coverage with the best political team on television. The State of the Union address will be followed by the Republican and Tea Party responses and then post speech analysis.

An empty chair will represent Arizona Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords tonight on the House floor. Her recovery is going well. In fact her progress is surprising. That's what doctors at a Houston rehabilitation center were saying. Her husband Mark Kelly hopes that she can start the full rehab program tomorrow.

And he has a big decision to make. Should he back out as leader of the April 19th space shuttle mission? His twin brother is also an astronaut. In fact, he is at the International Space Station right now.

Scott Kelly talked with CNN's "AMERICAN MORNING."

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SCOTT KELLY, REP. GIFFORDS' BROTHER-IN-LAW: and whichever way -- whatever he chooses, you know, I'll certainly support him. You know, with Gabby being in Houston, he could still be with her, you know, while he trains during -- you know, in the mornings and in the evenings.

So if he does choose to fly it's not like -- you know it would be different if she was, you know, being treated somewhere else, but she is in Houston so he could still be there to support her. Certainly not, you know, 24 hours a day, seven days a week like he's been doing.

But you know as she continues to progress a -- you know, a different level of support on his part might be acceptable.

(END OF VIDEO CLIP)

SAVIDGE: The case against the man accused of pulling the trigger in Tucson, that moves forward. Yesterday a federal judge entered not guilty pleas on Jared Loughner's behalf to the attempted murder charges of Congresswoman Giffords and two of her aides. Prosecutors plan to charge Loughner with murdering six people during the rampage.

Take a look at this new video. It shows the very moment of yesterday's suicide bombing at Moscow's busiest airport. You see people walking around and then a flash of light. Russian authorities say 34 people were killed and more than 100 hurt.

President Dmitry Medvedev promises to find those responsible but he's also blasting security at the airport.

Senior international correspondent Matthew Chance has more from Moscow. (BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

MATTHEW CHANCE, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: One of the big concerns is that this attack at the main Moscow international airport could have a devastating effect on the investment climate in Russia. In fact, the stock markets fell 2 percent after the explosion took place.

An explosion which killed 35 people, remember. Many of them from foreign countries visiting Russia. And it's also been said that the rubble, the Russian currency, lost value as well immediately afterwards. And it's raised also some concerns among investors that the reemergence of the terrorism threat in Russia could actually derail the country's prospects for economic developments and attracting foreign investment in the future.

But I think anybody with even the cursory knowledge of the situation in Russia, the vast resources that this country has, not the least oil and gas, but other resources as well, the huge population and the enormous potential it has economically would quickly dismiss these kinds of concerns as being pretty much unfounded.

If there has been an impact as a result of this risk, this terrorism risk in Russia, if you like, as it's being called by some investors, that risk given the other positives in the Russian economy is likely to be short-lived.

Matthew Chance, CNN, Russia.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

SAVIDGE: Watching the Jets/Steelers game Sunday, well, here's their excuse to call in to work. A water pipe broke sending water into the street. Cars drove by, splashed the water on the car, freezing it in place.

Students in Syracuse, New York, had an expected snow day. The Arctic cold that blasted New England with temperatures as low as minus 50 froze most of the fleet of school buses.

Jacqui Jeras is in our severe weather center.

So, Jacqui, a little tough for the folks up there on the East Coast. Any chance it will get warmer?

JACQUI JERAS, AMS METEOROLOGIST: Well, you know, it's not terrible out there right now. This was really quite a quick hit of that arctic blast yesterday morning that caused all the problems.

(WEATHER REPORT)

SAVIDGE: Fickle storm system? I like that.

Time to pull out the wristbands. The blue starred short shorts and the lassos for Wonder Woman fans.

JERAS: You got this?

SAVIDGE: That's right, Jacqui. And I'm sure you're one of them. The long wait is over. NBC is picking up a pilot for a new "Wonder Woman" series. CNN hasn't confirmed who will play the super heroine. But series creator David Kelly says whoever it is, they have to understand that Wonder Woman -- I love this -- in his words was a real complex woman, not just a super hero.

JERAS: She is. She has two sides, right?

SAVIDGE: You know what I think? Make her a mom.

JERAS: Make her a mom? OK.

SAVIDGE: Yes, that will be a new version of this.

JERAS: And you know it's going to be different than the old campy (ph) one, right? Got to be different.

SAVIDGE: Well, actually maybe it shouldn't be.

JERAS: Well, that will be. You know how like the new Superman and everything is different is very different from all --

SAVIDGE: Do you even know --

JERAS: Yes, I do. I love Linda Carter. I had the costume, the silver bracelets and all that, Marty. Come on.

SAVIDGE: No. It's a wonderful piece of television folklore. And by god, leave it to NBC to revive it once more for us.

JERAS: Good times.

SAVIDGE: Yes.

JERAS: I can't wait.

SAVIDGE: Must see. We'll see. OK. Thanks, Jacqui.

JERAS: Sure.

SAVIDGE: Well, it's been a big day in Hollywood. Just a few moments ago we learned the nominees for the 83rd Academy Awards. And here they are. The Oscar contenders for best picture and there are 10 of them.

"The Social Network", "The King's Speech", "The Fighter", "True Grit", "Black Swan", "The Kids Are All Right", "Inception", "Toy Story 3", "127 Hours", and "Winter's Bone."

Show is February 27th in Los Angeles.

And a big surprise from Oprah Winfrey. No, not a trip to Australia or a free car for her audience. This time, a long-held family secret. Plus, a shocking story out of Texas. A teenage girl goes missing and police are accused of ignoring her parents' concern. Now, new details are coming out. We'll have them for you.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(MUSIC - "Baby It's Cold Outside")

SAVIDGE: Instead of lighting up, medical marijuana users may soon be able to bottom's up with a THC-infused soft drink. The controversial beverage tops our look across the country this morning. The California entrepreneur is quickly finding critics for his new soda pot, get it? Which is supposed to launch next month in Colorado. Some fear that children could easily confuse the drink with more conventional beverages.

Well, it wasn't just tires that were squealing prior to this traffic accident yesterday near Kansas City. A little more than four dozen pigs out of some 700 on board escaped when a truck took a ramp too fast and overturned. Officers helped corral the swine that ran wild while the highway patrol closed the interstate. No word on whether the piggies were going to market.

And the day after the Green Bay Packers beat the Chicago Bears for the NFC Championship, Packer-backer John Stone lost his job. The 34-year- old car salesman from suburban Chicago was fired for refusing to take off his Packers necktie. Get it? He's in Chicago. The dealership says Stone's tie might have upset customers loyal to "dah Bears."

Changing gears now to a more serious subject. In Lubbock, Texas, a 15-year-old girl leaves for a baby-sitting job and then, just vanished. Now, a young girl's body has been found, and police say it could be hers.

Let's start you at the beginning. This is Elizabeth Ennen. On January 4th, she went to baby-sit for a family friend at a local motel. She never came home. Her family says she was missing, but police classified her as a runaway.

It was almost two weeks later when she was finally listed as missing and her photo was released to the community. Soon after, police arrested 45-year-old Humberto Salinas. He was the father of the children she was watching the night she disappeared. Police say they have evidence linking him to Ennen's disappearance but won't say what it is.

Joining me via Skype, now, is Captain Greg Stevens with the Lubbock Police Department. And Captain, thank you very much for joining us, Captain. We know it's early this morning. Why has her case -- or why was it first treated as a runaway?

GREG STEVENS, CAPTAIN, LUBBOCK POLICE DEPARTMENT: Well, I think that a lot of people get kind of caught up in simple terminology and what word is used to classify one situation over another.

And really, what happens when an officer goes out to these kinds of calls, and they come in quite often, the initial officer has to make a determination, and this call came in at about 1:00, 2:00 in the morning. The officer has to make a determination, and that determination is based upon whether the child or teenager is absent, voluntarily, or involuntarily. And he's looking for indications that the child is gone against their will or gone involuntarily.

And in this particular case, there were no indications, at least none immediately apparent, that showed the officer that she was gone involuntarily right then. And so, the classification, then, is as a runaway. But again, that's a simple term that's used on how to classify the child in the NCIC, or the National Crime Information Center database system. Regardless --

SAVIDGE: I get the fact that, you're right, the term is simplistic.

STEVENS: Right.

SAVIDGE: But the result is quite complex in the sense that if it's deemed that she may have run away voluntarily, then, of course, this changes the whole attitude, I presume, of your investigation there afterwards and raising possible alarm bells, is that right?

STEVENS: Well, to some degree. But not as much as I think some would believe. There's a misconception that if it's considered a runaway, that it's simply shoved to the side and put in a drawer, and that is simply not the case. The case is assigned to an investigator right away. And this was no different. And the process of looking for the child has begun.

Now, there's some criticism that a search party wasn't launched right away. The problem therein is if the officer doesn't have any place to start looking, if there's no report that a person was dragged into a car or was dragged from the theater, was dragged from the park, or something like that, there's no place to start looking right then, so --

(CROSSTALK)

SAVIDGE: But her purse was reported --

STEVENS: The next day --

SAVIDGE: Her purse was reported missing, which would imply that she left this behind and, if you're a runaway, you wouldn't necessarily do that, would you?

STEVENS: You wouldn't necessarily take it either. There was a -- one instance is that she didn't take her phone with her. We get runaway reports a lot of times where a teenager leaves the house because they got their phone taken away that disciplinary -- for disciplinary reasons. So, there's no one or two things that would say that, OK, automatically it's a missing endangered. And again, there's --

SAVIDGE: All right, we have to leave it there, sir.

STEVENS: So many factors that can come into play, here. Nonetheless, the child's name and information --

SAVIDGE: Captain Stevens?

STEVENS: Are listed into the same database. And the detectives did begin looking for her when that investigation began. And her photo was released a lot sooner than everybody believes that it was.

SAVIDGE: How much sooner, then? We were told two weeks.

STEVENS: It was sooner than that. Now, how soon the media puts that photo up, they're under the same -- they react the same, whether it's termed a runaway or termed a missing person, as well. They're under the same assumptions as we are, and that's kind of, I think, a human fallacy as to when you hear the word "runaway" versus "missing," you have a predisposition about that, I think.

SAVIDGE: But how much sooner than -- the photograph?

STEVENS: I have to -- the photograph was available as soon as we had it available, and I don't know the exact date of that. I'd have to look at that. I believe it was on that Friday right after the 5th. I'd have to look and see exactly what date that was.

SAVIDGE: All right. Captain Stevens, thank you very much for joining us this morning. We will take a break --

STEVENS: Yes.

SAVIDGE: Be back with more, after this.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

SAVIDGE: What on Earth could make the queen of talk speechless? Well, the revelation that she has a half-sister. Oprah's big news has a lot of us talking, and one of the interesting points of the story is that Oprah's sister didn't try to exploit the situation. CNN's Alina Cho now joins us with the story from New York. Good morning to you, nice to see you.

ALINA CHO, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hey, Marty. Good morning. It's a secret that's been hidden in Oprah Winfrey's family for more than four decades, and it's something she revealed in a way only she can, really. On her show.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

OPRAH WINFREY, HOST, "THE OPRAH WINFREY SHOW": Just before Thanksgiving, I was given some news that literally shook me to my core. A bombshell family secret that left me speechless.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CHO: That's right. That secret is that she had a sister she never knew about. Oprah's half-sister Patricia -- these are childhood photos of her -- was adopted at birth, and she always wanted to be reunited with her birth mother. So, she searched and searched, and when she finally found out who her mother was, she got heartbreaking news. The adoption agency told her that her mother was not ready to meet her.

But incredibly, that very same day that she was rejected, Patricia saw a local news story about Oprah's mother. And as she watched and listened, she began to notice that much of Oprah's story matched her own. It was right there in her birth documents.

Patricia, then, realized that Oprah's mom was her mom, which meant, of course, that Oprah was her half-sister. Imagine learning that news! Now, Patricia has known about this since 2007, but she wanted to protect her new famous relative from the tabloids. So, outside of her immediate family, Patricia didn't tell a soul.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

WINFREY: What is so extraordinary about Patricia and Andre and Aquarius is that they have known this secret since 2007. She never once thought to go to the press. She never once thought to sell this story.

(APPLAUSE)

WINFREY: She never once.

PATRICIA LLOYD, OPRAH'S HALF-SISTER: It's family business, and family business needs to be handled by family.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CHO: Andre and Aquarius, by the way, are Patricia's children. Now, when Oprah found out that this was the case, she said, "I've got to meet this woman." And that's exactly what happened.

The two met face-to-face for the very first time over Thanksgiving weekend. Dinner at Oprah's mom's house in Milwaukee, incredibly just ten minutes away from where Patricia lives.

Now, this is actually Oprah's own home video of the reunion. Martin, you might ask, if this is family business, why did they go public with this? Oprah said on her show yesterday that the reason why she went public is that, Oprah being Oprah, of course, she knew that this would get out eventually, and she wanted to tell it her way. Martin?

SAVIDGE: Yes. Very true, I'm sure. And also very moving. Thanks, Alina, very much.

A 12-year-old girl on a mission to meet all the officials who represent her, from city council members to the school board and on up the ladder. Tonight's State of the Union could take her to the top. We'll explain and meet her, next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

SAVIDGE: Stocks got the week off to a pretty solid start on Monday with the Dow slowly clawing its way up towards the 12,000 mark. And right now, after 108-point gain yesterday, the Dow opens this morning at 11,980.

Moving on. Checking top stories right now. Gas prices in the U.S., they edged up over the past two weeks. Self-serve regular went up about three cents a gallon. National average is $3.11, that according to the Lundberg Survey. That's the highest price since the financial meltdown of October 2008.

Anti-government protests are under way across Egypt today. The demonstrators say they want an end to government corruption and police brutality. Organizers hope to capitalize on the momentum for regional political change sparked in Tunisia 10 days ago.

And the Oscar stage inset (ph). "The King's Speech" could produce a bunch of Oscar speeches next month. It's up for Best Picture. Actors Colin Firth, Geoffrey Rush and Helena Bonham Carter, along with the director Tom Hooper, are nominated, too. "The Social Network," also a best picture contender. Its star Jesse Eisenberg is up for best actor.

Winning the future. That will be one of the main talking points of tonight's State of the Union address. The White House says that President Obama is ready to lay out his plan for innovating and outbuilding, out-educating the rest of the world. Reducing the deficit will also be part of that spotlight.

And the annual let's all work together message for Republicans and Democrats will have its place, as well. A new CNN/Opinion Research Corporation poll measures the level of optimism in this country. And you might be surprised that there is a big pickup there. Forty-three percent now feel that things are going well in the country. That is compared to just 29 percent just last month.

And there will be a special young lady there tonight. One day, Lilly Arbor was watching television with her father. And the two were watching the 2008 election results and she thought, you know, I don't know these people. None of them. So the seventh grader, Lilly Arbour, decided to change that and decided to meet all of the 115 elected officials who represent her. Tonight, she will be at the State of the Union and she will be a guest of Congressman Gary Peters.

Lilly and her dad and also Representative Peters joins us now.

It's nice to see you. That's Lily and dad we're looking at right now.

Lilly, just tell us what has this quest been like for you?

LILLY ARBOUR, WANTED TO MEET ALL OF HER REPRESENTATIVES: It's been great. A great learning experience and it's just been amazing to see how big the government really is.

SAVIDGE: And what is the hardest part of all of this? I imagine just getting access?

ARBOUR: Getting access and getting to all of the meetings and that's -- yes, just getting to the meetings. The drives have been pretty long.

SAVIDGE: And dad, tell us -- apparently this was an epiphany that came to you as you watch the results come in, in 2008. What many people may not think of is that, of course, you have the stars like Congress people you would meet and senators.

But a lot of very low-level politicians that you have met well, correct?

PETE ARBOUR, LILLY'S FATHER: Well, I don't know if they like to be called low-level.

SAVIDGE: I don't mean to insult them but, what I mean is that they're not all there at the level of Congress people.

P. ARBOUR: Oh, absolutely, absolutely. And we started this, we really didn't know how to do it but we went to city council and school board meetings and got to meet some people and they have helped us meet other people.

SAVIDGE: And Lily, what sort of questions do you ask them?

L. ARBOUR: Well, we ask them why they wanted to be what their occupation is. And then we have funny question, what's the funniest thing that has ever happened to you when you're doing your job?

SAVIDGE: And I want to bring in Congressman Peters.

You're there as well, right, sir?

REP. GARY PETERS (D), MICHIGAN : I am. Yes, I am.

SAVIDGE: All right. We're going to widen the camera shot just a little bit and bring you in so that we can see you here.

What do you think this quest that this young lady is on?

PETERS: It is incredible. I had the good fortune of meeting Lily very early, one of the first that people she met and encouraged her. But now to see her near the end of that quest of 113 of 115 people that she's met, is really an incredible accomplishment. That she just stuck with it, cares about government and figures the best way to learn about government is get out and meet people individually. It's really an incredible story.

SAVIDGE: And I understand you've got a special gift to present to her right now?

PETERS: I do. She is two people away. The vice president and the president, she hasn't been able to meet. We're still working on that. But we're going to be presenting this to her right now, which is a ticket to the gallery for the State of the Union tonight. She is my guest, she'll be up there.

We're still working on her to meet the vice president or president. But if she doesn't, she's going to be in the same room with them. She'll also have a chance to see the Supreme Court, the cabinet officials, the chiefs of staff, and all of the Senate and the House.

So Lily, it's with great pride that I give you this ticket for the State of the Union tonight.

L. ARBOUR: Thank you.

SAVIDGE: Well, good luck to you, Lily. We hope that you finally get the top two names on your quest which, of course, the vice president and the president. You'll be in the same room. And congratulations to you. You are an inspiration to all of us. Thank you.

Thank you, all.

ARBOUR: Thank you.

PETERS: Thank you.

SAVIDGE: Here's question -- how would you like to pay? Paper or plastic? Or Smartphone? The pay by phone trend is skyrocketing and for the first time the credit card may face an uncertain future!

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

SAVIDGE: Americans have whipped out credit cards to buy everything from gas to groceries. But that is so last century. Nowadays, tech savvy shoppers use their Smartphones to pay. And the trend is so big that the days may be done for that piece of plastic in your wallet.

Christine Romans is part of the CNN Money Team and joins us with a closer look -- Christine.

CHRISTINE ROMANS, CNN BUSINESS CORRESPONDENT: You know, Martin, and cell phone companies are even trying to figure out how to put that little contact list gizmo on the corner so you can just tap your cell phone and purchase something right away, or walk by a store and your cell phone will give you an e-mail saying, hey, your favorite pair of jeans in your size are 30 percent off with this coupon if you come in. You can board an airplane now with your cell phone instead of bringing a paper ticket.

And, in fact, many of the experts say the financial services are changing forever. That the credit card could be dying a slow death to be replaced by a mobile wallet. Everything you need in your cell phone.

Look, you can already do lots of different kinds of mobile payments. They have scan bar codes on there you can use. You can also bump funds to a friend. You can buy a latte with your phone. But could it be the end of the credit card forever? A fantastic story on CNNMoney.com says it's almost like final records. So last century. You're absolutely right. And, in fact, one firm forecasts basically exploding growth in how much money will be spent on your phone in the future.

Now, here is the caveat. It takes a long time to change customer behavior. This is probably likely to take hold first in younger generation Y-type customers first. And you've got to watch out for privacy issues and the danger of maybe having all of your information in one spot and stolen if it's not encrypted or protected properly.

But all of those concerns aside, there's no question that everybody from financial services to the tech companies are trying to figure out a way to have your little gadget be the passport to your money -- Martin.

SAVIDGE: Wow. Fascinating idea.

Thanks, Christine.

A government push to catch health care cheaters is showing huge returns. The Health Care Fraud and Abuse Control program recovered $4 billion last year. A variety of doctors, hospitals and drug and device manufacturers were guilty of overcharging the Medicare program. Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius says that $5 was seized for every dollar spent on fighting fraud.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

KATHLEEN SEBELIUS, HHS SECRETARY: As the report we are releasing today shows, the fraud efforts more than pay for themselves. That means going after fraud is one of the best investments we can make and this is just the start. In the past, we didn't always take these responsibilities as seriously as we should have. But that, indeed, is changing.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SAVIDGE: Well, a year has passed since the president's last State of the Union address. Coming up, we'll address the state of the promises that he made in January of 2010. Which ones were kept and which ones were broken, and well, which ones just fell by the wayside?

But first, time for some State of the Union trivia. Yes, it's that time again. Believe it or not, some presidents have opted out of a speech and issued a written message instead. So which president released the longest and shortest State of the Union message? The answer after the break.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

SAVIDGE: As I mentioned before the break, some presidents released written State of the Union messages rather conduct a speech. And believe me, these could be wordy. According to the American Presidency Project, Jimmy Carter had the longest scripted message. In 1981, he released a 33,667 word message. That was before Tweeting. President John Adams has the shortest message at just 1,790 words.

As we ramp up to CNN's coverage of tonight's State of the Union address, we take back one year ago. Our political team has been sifting through the promises and pledges made in the 2010 address. Which promises were kept and which ones were broken?

Our Tom Foreman looks at, "Don't Ask, Don't Tell." TOM FOREMAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: President Obama started off last taking heat over not moving quickly enough to end the prohibition on gays in the military. So he launched an offensive in his State of the Union.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BARACK OBAMA, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: This year, I will work with Congress and our military to finally repeal the law that denies gay Americans the right to serve the country they love because of who they are.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

FOREMAN: The President saw that effort through Congress, officially killing "don't ask, don't tell" just before the end of this past year. But a ban is in effect while the military sorts out how to implement it and while the Pentagon investigates whether it will affect readiness or recruitment that could take months so this is a promise kept in one sense but more of a work in progress.

SAVIDGE: Next hour, we'll look forward as we check in with our CNN political unit. CNN political producer, Shannon Travis will get you up to speed on the latest of tonight's State of the Union address.

And then a reminder: for all the latest political news go to our Web site at CNNPolitics.com.

After a day on the run authorities in Japan track down and capture an escaped serial biter. A monkey notorious for chomping more than 100 people; we'll get to the "teeth" of this story ahead on your "Morning Passport".

But first, today's "Flashback". It was 39 years ago today President Richard M. Nixon first made public his plan for peace in the war at Vietnam. And as history suggests, it didn't work out well. Nixon would win re-election later that year, only to resign from office in disgrace two years later and then, Saigon eventually fell to Communist forces in 1975.

We're back after the break.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

SAVIDGE: We now have surveillance video of yesterday's deadly bombing at the airport east of Moscow; 35 people were killed, more than 100 others wounded. And Russia's President is pointing the finger of blame at airport security officials.

CNN international anchor, Zain Verjee now joins us live from London with that story and more in your "Morning Passport". And Zain, I'm wondering any claims of responsibility in that attack?

ZAIN VERJEE, CNN INTERNATIONAL ANCHOR: Hi, Martin. Good to see you. No, there -- there haven't been any claims of responsibility but suspicion is falling on militants in an area that's known as the North Caucuses in Russia.

That's been an area of a lot of instability. Many groups there are fighting either for a breakaway republic like in Chechnya. Some people want to create an Islamic state.

But really the point of this terror attack was to grab the headlines and say, we can get you whenever we want and show you how we can do it in a way that will hurt.

This is that dramatic surveillance video. And you can see as people are just getting their stuffs from baggage claim. There's a huge ball of fire and then total chaos.

Russia's President Dimitri Medvedev is now saying, Martin, that security was really to blame here and adding that maybe what Russians need is an Israeli style security at airports.

SAVIDGE: Well, let's lighten things up a bit here. I know that in Japan people are sleeping much easier now because Japanese officials have corralled their serial-biting monkeys. So what's up with that?

VERJEE: Yes. Yes, lucky the monkey just ran out of luck. He has been on the run for about a day. And this is a monkey that escaped from a park in Japan and was biting people on their hands and their legs, you know, about 100 people or so.

Now, when he escaped, they really put out an alert and they were worried that this monkey might go out and bite other residence as he's known to have in the past. But he didn't. He's ok, he's captured. And there he is. That's the story from Japan today -- unlucky, lucky.

SAVIDGE: Oh, yes, that's a sad looking little fellow there.

Well, how about this one? Pope Benedict XVI giving his verbal, at least proverbial blessing to social networking? Is that right?

VERJEE: That's right. Because you know, it's better the devil you know, at least that's what the Pope is communicating by saying, it's ok to embrace social media. He also, though, Martin, specifically said, that you can't have social media and a Facebook, and Twitter, and -- and blogging or anything as a replacement to face-to-face conversation.

He said this, "Virtual contact cannot be a substitute for direct human contact." Now, the Pope himself, you know, isn't really into this personally. He even says that he writes in long hand. But he has by his very presence of being at the Vatican has boosted its online presence. He's even got a Web site, PopeToYou.net and basically the Vatican post the speeches and things like that.

So I don't know how -- how much you're on social media and do your social networking, Martin, but I know you have a lot of friends so you have a lot of face-to-face communication.

(CROSSTALK) SAVIDGE: Yes, I -- I do it all this -- I do it all the time. I do (INAUDIBLE) to see if I could friend the Pope. I'll have to do a search. Zain Verjee thanks very much.

VERJEE: I don't -- I -- I don't think he may -- he may not accept you as a friend, though.

SAVIDGE: Oh, ok. Well, we'll have to see, I'll sweet talk him. Thanks very much. Good to see you.

Lots of developments in the next hour at the CNN NEWSROOM. Let's check in first though, with Jim Acosta in Washington -- Jim.

JIM ACOSTA, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Martin, the White House says one of the themes at the President's State of the Union address will be winning the future but will he win over Republicans? I'll preview the speech and the Republican responses. Yes, responses. Coming up.

JACQUI JERAS, AMS METEOROLOGIST: I'm meteorologist, Jacqui Jeras. Severe weather possible in Florida this afternoon and evening plus, a southern soaker set to rip up the coast. We'll find out what kind of wintry mix you can expect coming up in your forecast.

STEPHANIE ELAM, CNN BUSINESS NEWS CORRESPONDENT: I'm Stephanie Elam in New York. Downsize me. The home of your dreams may be a little less grand. I'll explain; that's coming up in the next hour, Marty.

SAVIDGE: Thanks Stephanie. And we're talking sports right after this.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

SAVIDGE: A tennis star is closing in on making history but his main rival still stands in his way.

Jeff Fischel from HLN's Sports is here. And Jeff, of course, another duel here; this is really a classic rivalry between the two --

(CROSSTALK)

JEFF FISCHEL, HLN SPORTS: They have been going at it for years, Rafael Nadal and Roger Federer. They have been great at the Australian Open. In fact, they've been great and we expect to see them again.

Rafael Nadal is three wins away from an Australian Open title and a grand slam, meaning he'll own every major title at the same time. But standing in his way, arguably the greatest player ever, Federer.

Federer is looking great Down Under. He just toyed with Stan Wawrinka in the quarterfinals. These guys are actually pretty good buzz. They played together in the Olympics and won a gold medal together for Switzerland. But clearly Federer frustrating Wawrinka; watch him just toss the racket in. It just shatters.

Wawrinka, yes, he pretty much tossed it in. Federer cruises. He and Rafael Nadal could meet in the final. That's what every Aussie fan wants to see.

Steelers and Packers in the Super Bowl; let's check out former Steelers Super Bowl star, Jerome Bettis showing he still has game. Look at him go after the Raptor's mascot. Grizzlies' Raptor's game. As for the game itself; Grizzlies forward, Rudy Gay, goes to the baseline; the jumper with less than a second; the buzzer beater. Helped Memphis win by two; nice play by Gay.

Ok. Check this out. Half time of a women's college basketball game, John Smallwood has to make a half-court shot for a set of tires and he's decided I might as well try it backwards because there's no way I'm going to make it and he does. The crowd such as it is goes nuts.

Watch it again. Over the head, the heave, off the backboard and good; give that man a set of tires, nicely done.

The Ohio State Buckeyes are the number one men's college basketball team in the country. Here are three of the players singing the Miley Cyrus hit, "Party in the USA".

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

(OSU TRIO'S "PARTY IN THE USA")

(END VIDEO CLIP)

FISCHEL: Now, (INAUDIBLE) got Jared Sullinger who's arguably one of the best players in college basketball. There's also Aaron Craft and Jon Diebler. You've got to credit them for their bravery.

Of course now we're all bad (ph) after you see that.

Ok, one last thing because we do not want to leave you with that. How epic is this? Miniature golf shot, yes putt-putt. The ball's on the fountain and they're just excited he hit it but keep an eye on the ball it goes in. They called this one, they posted this on YouTube. They weren't bashful, they posted it the "The greatest miniature golf shot ever" and how can you argue. I mean up the fountain and in.

SAVIDGE: Give that man a set of tires.

FISCHEL: Exactly. At least, right?

SAVIDGE: At least an oil change.

Thanks Jeff very much.

FISCHEL: All right.