Return to Transcripts main page

CNN Newsroom

Thousands Without Power in DC Area; A Foot of New Snow in Boston; Why Winter 2011 So Brutal; Muslim Population in US Expected to Double by 2030; Facebook Turns Posts into Ads; Old Spice Guy Back; Missionary Shot in Mexico; Federer Falls in Australian Open

Aired January 27, 2011 - 09:00   ET

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

KYRA PHILLIPS, CNN ANCHOR: Hey, good morning, guys. Thanks so much.

Well, it's 9:00 a.m. on the East Coast and 6:00 a.m. out West. Here are some of the stories that having us talking this morning.

Massive protests and growing concerns in Yemen. It's the latest Arab nation to be hit with a growing anti-government movement. Protesters already ousted the president of Tunisia and a similar uprising is in its third day in Egypt.

Later today, Homeland Security officials will announce the colored coded threat level is being retired. The much maligned system unveiled after the 9/11 attacks was never embraced by the public. Department source says a new system will be more specific on the threat and the geographic areas involved.

And world economics meetings in Davos, Switzerland. A small explosion at a hotel rattles nerves and causes minimal damage. Former President Bill Clinton has been scheduled to speak tonight. There's been no claim of responsibility.

The rollercoaster ride continues for unemployed Americans. Just minutes ago we learned that first-time unemployment claims rose last week to 454,000. That's an increase of 51,000 from the week before.

Snow, sleet and rain. It's been a wild and crazy 24 hours with another winter storm clobbering cities from northern Virginia to Maine.

In Boston commuters dealing with piles of snow, making travel a nightmare. And school closes and delays are reported. Some counties in the area under advisories and severe weather warnings.

In New York more than a foot of snow fell in Central Park yesterday setting a new record and flight delays and cancellations are being reported at airports in the area. Amtrak suspended some services as well.

Then in Washington, snow falling about an inch an hour, topping out at about six inches. President Obama forced to ride in a motorcade spending an hour in rush hour traffic after returning to Washington from Wisconsin. He usually returns to the White House by helicopter. Our reporters are spread out up and down the East Coast covering this monster storm. Sandra Endo in Washington at the National Mall. Reynolds Wolf in Boston and Rob Marciano right here at the CNN Weather Center.

Sandra, let's go ahead and start with you at the nation's capital.

SANDRA ENDO, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Six inches of snow, Kyra, and pretty much the nation's capital feels like a sleepy little town this morning. You can see it's a beautiful blanket of snow out here on the National Mall. But the conditions are pretty dicey because you can tell right here the snow has turned to ice and it's pretty crunchy and hard.

That is what people are trying to dig out from under this morning and that is why government offices have delayed their openings. Right now this would be height of when people are coming to work but they are allowed to come in two hours later as the commute are anticipated to be hard.

The good news, Kyra, as I can show you this main road right here right on the National Mall, it's pretty much plowed and very clear. So that's good news. Certainly different conditions than yesterday when about an inch of snow was falling per hour here in the nation's capital.

And this is really the starting ground of the winter storm that started here and then moved through the northeast up north. So clearly we are out of the woods right now. But people still digging out. Public schools are closed and about 200,000 homes were without power during this whole ordeal. So people are trying to just get back up and running.

But, of course, with the bad, Kyra, there is the good. And Washingtonians know how to deal with this. We survived the snow apocalypse last year. So they went to Facebook and check this out. It is a partisan town. The proof is right there. A big snowball fight and people enjoying the snow. So of course making good out of a bad situation -- Kyra.

PHILLIPS: Keep monitoring the conditions because still so many people are out of power and out of school, but that's good to see that some people are having a good time as well.

Sandra, thanks so much.

There has been a lot of snow in Massachusetts, as well. Just outside Boston a rescue operation under way in Lynn after a roof partially collapsed at a parking garage. Emergency crews say that two people are trapped inside a car and they're working to get them out right now.

Boston is getting about a foot of new snow from that storm. And meteorologist Reynolds Wolf is watching it all for us.

Reynolds, what do you know? REYNOLDS WOLF, CNN METEOROLOGIST: Well, Kyra, what we know is that heavy wet snow is certainly one of the big issues that caused that roof collapse in Lynn, Massachusetts.

But I'll tell you one thing that heavy snow isn't moving around quite a bit thankfully on these streets. We're going to back out of the way a little bit. But you see what's happening over here. Some of this earth-moving equipment has been doing just remarkable work this morning keeping these roadways clear.

They've been working around the clock. Roads are very passable but despite that, city schools, public schools in Boston still remained close. City services up in Adam. You've been all kinds of taxis out and about, a lot of buses, too.

So that's certainly some good news. The question is, how much snow did we get last night? I'll show you. Hop over here for a second. Climb over this stuff. Last night when we came into the hotel, this thing was pretty clean. You see right now, pretty heavy.

I'd say it's about -- it's almost microphone depth so we're looking at maybe 11 inches or so of snowfall in this particular spot. South Boston we know for sure had 11.5.

What's interesting, though, is that as this system continues to kick out skies are clearing a little bit. You can see a little bit to our south things are looking good. However, back on this direction, Kyra, out towards the west, we got another storm system that's going to be coming in from the Midwest that could bring another one to maybe two inches of snowfall in the coming days.

Certainly not the magnitude of what we've seen or what we've had over the last couple of weeks. But still a little more snowfall but, typical, it is winter, it is Boston. It does happen.

Let's send it back to you in the studio.

PHILLIPS: Short and sweet, simple, well put. Reynolds, thanks.

Rob Marciano is here actually in the warmer atmospheric conditions here in the studio. Usually you're out there, you know, grinding it as well. So you guys got to take your turns.

ROB MARCIANO, AMS METEOROLOGIST: That's right. That's right. And Reynolds does a fine job out there in the thick of it.

(WEATHER REPORT)

MARCIANO: This winter doesn't even want to end. We're not even into February yet, Kyra, so I guess we just have to be patient as we go through the next month and a half.

PHILLIPS: OK. We'll try. Thanks, Rob.

MARCIANO: Yes. PHILLIPS: All right. So what's going on here? Six snowstorms in 30 days in the northeast. Old snow records buried under new ones, predictions that this could be the coldest January in the U.S. since 1985.

We're bringing in one of our favorite scientists to explain why this winter has been such a bear. We'll have that in just a few minutes.

All right, next hour in Capitol Hill Tea Party activists will gather for the first-ever Senate Tea Party caucus. They'll meet with three senators who are vocal supporters of the movement, Republicans Jim DeMint, Ron Paul and Mike Lee. Other notable senators who were backed by the Tea Party in the Tea Party elections have not joined the group.

Speaker of the House says the Congress is broken and needs to be fixed. John Boehner says Congress has long been carrying out the will of only a handful of the most powerful lawmakers and not the people who sent them to Washington. The Ohio Republican says that fixing the process is his number one goal.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

REP. JOHN BOEHNER (R), HOUSE SPEAKER: What I believe is necessary is we need to open up the House. We need to let all members from both parties participate in the debate, offer their ideas, represent their constituents and let the House work its will.

The House should not be coerced to produce legislation that fits my needs, or to fit any one else's needs.

(END OF VIDEO CLIP)

PHILLIPS: That spirited bipartisanship was on display, at least symbolically, for the State of the Union address. A number of lawmakers crossed the aisle, sat with members of their rival party and we can tell you that one couple from the so-called state date has moved to first base. Watch this.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED REPORTER: So much talk bipartisanship spirit. How did it go -- see? Oh wow.

UNIDENTIFIED REPORTER: OK. So the Democrat kisses the Republican.

(END OF VIDEO CLIP)

PHILLIPS: Oh, my goodness. That was Congressman Bob Fellner on the left and his colleague Brian Bilbray on the right. But we're going to roll out our kiss cam and make them our congressional couple of the day. So there's no word if this means the congressmen are going steady, but we will keep you posted.

Well, no love lost in Pennsylvania. It started calmly enough in the state House of Representatives. That is until a move was made to end debate that created quite the debate all of its own. (BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

(CROSSTALK)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: May I speak? May I speak?

(END OF VIDEO CLIP)

PHILLIPS: Shouting and accusations, flying, even the stack of papers thrown by one furious lawmaker. You'll see that in a sec. Democrats eventually just stormed out in protest.

Well, no dissent in this Pennsylvania family. Every single member born the year of a Steelers Super Bowl win. We're not kidding. So are they expecting a baby and a win this year? You're going to find out.

And leaping lizards. Alligator sized, lizards that is. Imagine waking up to find this in your backyard.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

PHILLIPS: We're keeping you in the burgh as we look at cool stories from across the country. Meet the Baumgartners. They're astrological signs, Steeler Taurus. Get this. Adam was born in a year the Steelers won a Super Bowl, 1979. Wife Trish was born the next year, when the Steelers won another Super Bowl. Their two daughters, yes, both born in years that the team won it all. And guess what? Trish is preggers. Not a good sign for the Packers on Super Bowl Sunday.

So what happens if she goes into labor during the game?

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ADAM BAUMGARTNER, STEELERS FAN: It's going to be tough. I told her she knows the way.

(END OF VIDEO CLIP)

PHILLIPS: All right. Let's go on to Boise, Idaho, and a dog named Diva rescued from the middle of the street. A rescuer had the dog scanned for a microchip and surprise, surprise, turns out Diva is a California girl.

Somehow she'd gotten from her home in Lancaster near L.A. to Idaho. Are you ready for this? Nearly 800 miles away. And the other diva would have just flown first class. Her owners are hoping to get her back next week.

And check out the cute fluffy critter that was found wandering the streets of Riverside, California. It's no diva and it's not an extra from the TV show "V." Probably someone's pet that got out of a cage. These five-foot long monster lizards are natives of Africa, by the way.

So have you noticed that the weather has been making a lot of news lately? If you live in the northeast you're noticing it snow again today. And this latest snowstorm cold cocking of the northeast is the area's sixth snow storm in 30 days. January of 2011, going down as the snowiest in New York City since they started keeping records.

Old snow records in Connecticut buried under new ones. A prediction this could be the coldest January in the U.S. since 1985.

It's been a lot colder in Atlanta, like we like it. And all coming on the heels of 2010. A year that tied with 2005 as the hottest year on earth since people began tracking these things back in 1980.

Well, Dr. Michio Kaku is here to help us make sense of all this. He's a physics professor, Science Channel host, author, and, well, the guy that we lean on to explain complicated things that we just don't understand. Dr. Kaku, it's great to see you again.

MICHIO KAKU, PHYSICS PROFESSOR: Glad to be on.

PHILLIPS: All right, so, here's what we are wondering. Well, maybe I -- just let me just get your take. What the heck is going on with our weather? It -- we're seeing winters like we've never seen. We saw a summer like we've never seen. Are we going to -- is it going to keep getting worse? Is this going to be the trend from this day forward?

KAKU: Perhaps. Common sense says that it's freezing weather which drives monster snowstorms. The common sense is wrong. When arctic air from Canada hits moist air from the Gulf of Mexico, it's the moisture, which then freezes, causing monster snowstorms.

So if you take ice cubes, if you make ice cubes, the amount of water you put in your refrigerator determines the amount of ice cubes you get, not the temperature of the refrigerator.

So, the earth is heating up. So there is one theory that says that the heating of the earth creates more moisture in the air, which then collides with arctic ice -- winds to create monster snowstorms. Violating common sense.

PHILLIPS: OK. Well, I thought the theories out there -- OK, what's causing all of this? There's two theories out there, right? Random fluctuation is one. And then, of course, global warming. What's your take?

KAKU: Yes, random fluctuations could be it. For example, last year, we had El Nino, another fluctuation.

But this current trend is consistent, also, with global warming. You see, global warming does not mean uniform warming of the earth. It means swings. Very violent swings. I was in Brazil last week, where there's gigantic mudslides, the largest in a generation, caused by flooding. Flooding, in turn, is caused by more moisture in the air.

So, droughts can happen simultaneously with flooding, monster snowstorms could happen simultaneously with heat spells. So, it's not a uniform heating of the earth. But that's one theory. PHILLIPS: Interesting. Because, you know, if you look at here in the United States, we had this Atlanta snow that we haven't seen in decades, right? It literally shut us down. You had the mudslides in California that were horrendous, and all the rain that was happening there.

And then overseas, you were in Brazil. We covered the monster flooding. And then, Australia hadn't seen flooding like it did in decades, and all of the people that lost their lives. So, you tend to wonder, OK, what is happening globally here? And really, there's nothing we can do about it. I mean, this is how we're moving forward from an environmental perspective, right?

KAKU: Right. There's no smoking gun as to the cause. However, 2005 and last year went down as the hottest years ever recorded in science since 1880, when records were first kept. So it's consistent, consistent with global warming, which means more swings in the weather, which means more hurricanes, more droughts, as well as more monster storms. And we're going to have to get used to it.

PHILLIPS; And we're going to be in for a hot summer, aren't we?

KAKU: Probably, right. The weather is changing. There's no debate about that. The debate is of whether or not human activity is driving it. But even the critics of global warming admit that yes, the earth is warming, which means more moisture in the air, which could cause more hurricanes and more swings in the weather, like snowstorms.

PHILLIPS: Better be prepared. Dr. Michio Kaku, always great talking to you. Thanks so much.

Well, the number of Muslims in American expected to double by 2030. We're going to talk to a man who actually took to the road to meet Muslims and talk about Islam in some pretty Podunk towns.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

PHILLIPS: Ramadan road trip. This past fall, Bassam Tariq and Aman Ali traveled on a 1200-mile mission to document how Muslims across the United States celebrate Ramadan. They call it "30 Mosques in 30 States," and this is what they wanted non-Muslim-Americans to learn from their trip.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BASSAM TARIQ, "30 MOSQUES IN 30 STATES": I really hope that non- Muslims draw from this project that -- I think if there's one thing that they draw, it's that a lot of this is just a part of their community, and I hope they accept that. That what we're covering is not some fringe group, but it's a part of the American fabric.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

PHILLIPS: Well, Muslims are going to play even larger parts of American communities. A new study from the Pew Forum on Religion and Public Life predicts this. The number of Muslims living in the United States will more than double during the next 20 years, reaching 6.2 million in 2030. And in the same time period, Muslims will become more than a quarter of the world population, reaching 8.3 billion by 2030.

Now, the mosque trip road warriors visited us here in the studio in September and, today, fully rested and recovered, Aman Ali joins me again to talk about these new numbers. Aman, great to see you. So, what's your reaction to this report? Does it surprise you?

AMAN ALI, "30 MOSQUES IN 30 STATES": It surprised me at first, Kyra. But then I thought about it. It kind of makes sense, because we've done a lot of traveling. Even my own life, I'm one of five kids. My mom raised five boys that gave her five headaches. And this idea of Muslims having large families, that doesn't surprise me.

Islam is a very multicultural religion in terms of followers. And a lot of us come from South Asia, like myself, and the Middle East and Africa. And traditionally and culturally, they have large families. It has nothing to do with the religion, but the cultures are large families. So this idea of the Muslim population doubling, I thought about it, and I was like, no, it doesn't really surprise me. So, it is, actually, kind of exciting.

PHILLIPS: And what do you think that that says about the perception of Muslim people in the US?

ALI: I think it's a lot of good news for Muslims in the sense that a lot of ignorance, especially after 9/11, with all these hate crimes and the backlash against Muslims. I think a lot of it had to do with the fact that, currently, in this day and age, we're not a very large percentage of the population. And so, hopefully, I think Muslims are hopeful that as the population continues to grow among Muslims, we'll start to be more widely accepted and better integrated in society.

But even as Americans -- let's put Muslims and Islam aside for a second. Even as Americans, look at this from an economic perspective. You read all this news about India and China being these great super powers. Well, here's this statistic that shows that there is a huge influx of people that are coming here to the United States and staying because Muslims, you know, predominantly Arab, South Asian, African, we hold very high paying jobs in the medical, science, engineering and technology industry.

So, here's an opportunity to show that America continues to be this beacon of being on the forefront of technology, medicine, science and all these other things. And we are a shining example for the rest of the world. So, I think this is something that everyone should be excited about.

PHILLIPS: And it's interesting, too, because we know of certain areas where there are large Muslim populations, like Michigan. But what area did you find through your travels that you were surprised there was a large Muslim population, and we probably wouldn't have ever imagined it?

ALI: Yes, throughout -- especially parts of the Midwest and the northern plains, like when we went to North Dakota, we found out that the first mosque that ever built in the United States was in Ross, North Dakota, a town of 48 people.

Imagine that three or four Muslims, three or four families, I should say, in a town of 48 people have a mosque. And they've had it for decades. That always surprising. There's a photo of it that you guys just cut to right there. That's what so surprising to me.

And after that, I felt it was almost shocking to not find a community that didn't have Muslims. Like, we went to Montana, and I was surprised that there's no mosque in the entire state. And so, it's not a matter of "Oh, my God, I'm surprised there's Muslims here." I'm almost surprised that there's not Muslims in a particular town in this day and age.

PHILLIPS: Aman Ali, great to see you again, and it's interesting to see these numbers and the growth, and appreciate your input, today.

ALI: Thank you. My pleasure.

PHILLIPS: All right. And this is an ongoing conversation. CNN's Soledad O'Brien is working to bring us a documentary centered around the controversial building of a mosque in Tennessee. It's called "Not Welcome, the Muslims Next Door." Look for it Sunday, March 20th, right here on CNN.

Now, most of the northeast, cold as ice and pretty darn tired of the snow. We're going to talk inches, power outages, and even a thing called "thundersnow."

(MUSIC - "Cold as Ice")

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

PHILLIPS: Facebook looking to boost its advertising dollars with a little help from you. Whether you want it or not, your posts could become ads. Stephanie Elam is in New York to explain. So, Steph, how exactly does this work?

STEPHANIE ELAM, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes, well, Kyra, if you're one of those people who likes to go on there, and say you "like" things or that you checked in at places. Well, now there's these things called sponsor stories, and this is what's going to happen.

You post on your page that you like going to Starbucks, and a Starbucks ad will basically pop up on the top right corner of your page. It'll link it to its page, and then it'll also tell your friends, hey, guess what? Stephanie is at Starbucks for the second time today. And guess what? She's got Kyra with her.

And so, your friends will all know where you are and, then, this is another way for them to have an advertisement out there. Facebook says it's only going to go out to your friends. The kicker here, though, Kyra, you can't opt out of it.

PHILLIPS: Oh, you can't? OK. All right, well, one ad that was very popular last year, as we remember, came from Old Spice. And now we're hearing that the Old Spice guy is back.

What's the latest?

ELAM: Yes, hello, ladies, he's back. His name is Isaiah Mustafa. That's his name, and yes, he's back.

PHILLIPS: And there he is.

ELAM: There he is. He's the suave, shirtless, Old Spice guy, and he's going to have new commercials starting February 7th. There's so much buzz around this guy that the Old Spice released a preview to the commercial. It's like an ad for an ad. It's very interesting. It's all over YouTube. And he's once again in the shower talking about his striking brown eyes. Again, he talks about them a lot in the commercial. But the commercial will show him in a grass skirt in exotic locations promoting the new Old Spice Fresh collection. Last year's commercials drew in millions of viewers online and won advertising awards and really boosted sales by more than 100 percent for a brand that is over 70 years old, Kyra.

PHILLIPS: Wow. I know. It's amazing the comeback that it's made.

All right. Over to the biggest advertising day of all. Of course, Super Bowl game day. And it's amazing how much it costs for just a 30-second ad.

So, what should we expect to see this year? Anything new, inventive, exciting, outrageous?

ELAM: Maybe just running the gamut. And I think any time you put Ozzy Osbourne it could be crazy. We are going to see a lot of celebrities. Best Buy is going to have their first-ever Super Bowl commercial.

And, you know, if you want to have everyone watch it, just throw in a little Justin Bieber along with Ozzy Osbourne. That's what they're going to have together. Who knows where that's going to take us.

Kim Kardashian, you know, Shape Ups, we all know why she's known so we want to promote things put together well. So that's what Sketchers is doing.

And Danica Patrick will appear in a Go Daddy spot. And Faith Hill will be advertising for Teleflora.

PHILLIPS: All right. Danica. Our Formula One driver.

ELAM: Right, exactly.

PHILLIPS: All right. We heard the opening bell -- right, exactly. OK, it's going to be interesting.

How are the markets looking? We just had the opening bell.

ELAM: Yes, you know what? All of that excitement we were just talking about and for all of that, we're going to have a flat open. The Dow is down three points. It's more exciting talking about those other things, I guess.

PHILLIPS: Let's go back to the Old Spice guy.

ELAM: I know. Now back to me.

But yes, there are worries about debt this time in Japan. We also have durable goods orders, a gauge of manufacturing which fell last month. And Proctor and Gamble, the company behind Old Spice and AT&T are reporting disappointing earnings, nevertheless.

So taking a look at all that, that's not nearly exciting. But, it is kind of fun to talk like this, Kyra.

PHILLIPS: And it works to well with you.

Thanks, Steph.

(LAUGHTER)

ELAM: Sure.

PHILLIPS: It's 9:32 on the east, 6:32 out west. Just about time for the color coded terror system in the United States to go away. Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano is making the change official today. The new system expected to take effect in April, and focus on specific threats and geographical areas. The current system, of course, has been around since 2001.

And the rollercoaster ride keeps going for unemployed Americans. A few minutes ago we learned the first time unemployment claims rose last week to 454,000. That's an increase of 51,000 from the week before.

Another monster snowstorm pummels the northeast covering Washington, right up to New England. This time, even reports of thundersnow, which is exactly what you think it is. A full-on thunderstorm, except with snow. And it was happening right in the middle of the Snowmageddon that's hitting the northeast.

(WEATHER REPORT)

PHILLIPS: There's some troubling news in a country that is already linked to terrorism. Yemen the latest Arab state rocked by the anti- government protests. In fact, an activist there says that the country is now in revolution. We can't confirm how widespread the protests are or what threat they pose to the Yemeni president, but activists demanding that he step down. A similar movement succeeded in Tunisia, with the longtime president actually fleeing the country.

And, you know, that raises concerns that other unpopular governments in the region could be at risk. Egypt is now in a third day of massive protests. Thousands of people marching there. Riot police confronting them, sometimes violently. It's unlike anything that that country has ever seen.

And then here, too, protesters demanding the ouster of the president. Hosni Mubarak a key U.S. ally in that region. Protesters say that his government is corrupt and his economic policies have failed. Now, this is video that was posted on YouTube. And for activists, it has become a powerful weapon along with other social media such as twitter and Facebook. And the Arab world is definitely taking note.

We want to take a closer look at that. CNN's Mohammed Jamjoon is a correspondent based in the Middle East. He just happens to be in Atlanta today. It's always great to have him and get his insight.

So, Mo, let me ask you. We saw what happened in Iran last year. We saw how violent and deadly it got. We saw for the first time also a censored voice being heard globally. We saw people being killed, we saw the violence. But, you know, it sort of died out. And now we're seeing this happening in Yemen and Egypt.

Could we see a different outcome possibly?

MOHAMMED JAMJOON, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, Kyra, it's well known how volatile the region the Middle East is. How many problems are there, social, economic and otherwise. How much strife that there is and warfare.

But, really what's going on the past few days, the past week, countries like Egypt, like Yemen, is shocking so many observers and so many people, longtime residents of the Middle East, seasoned journalists. Nobody thought that what happened in Tunisia could inspire this kind of a well spring of anger.

And what you're seeing, right now in Egypt and in Yemen, thousands of people protesting. And Egypt, the third day of protests. They've been going on, they've been calling for more protests. They're so angry with President Mubarak and what they call his corrupt regime. Even after so much clashes that have gone on with the authorities there. People are still protesting.

In Yemen today, four separate protests in different part of the capital staged by the opposition. They are calling for the President Saleh of Yemen to step down. He's been in power for more than 30 years in Yemen. People are tired.

And what's interesting is the left of the rhetoric here. They're not saying that the government needs to change or reform. They're actively seeking for their president to step down. That before has been a red line that people dared not cross because they were afraid of reprisals. Now you're seeing that fear has died down and people out in the streets and they are promising to continue to march to make these changes happen -- Kyra.

PHILLIPS: All right. Now, social media, Mohammed, and you remember because we were all covering this story. It really made us care about Iran because we saw what was happening to the people there. We saw that young woman shot in the head. We saw people dying on the streets. We heard the gunfire on innocent people.

So is that what's going to bring sort of more attention to what we're seeing here? Could it change the face of how we view what is happening overseas?

JAMJOON: It's very interesting the role that social media has been playing in all of this. Now, social media didn't play as much of the role in the Tunisian uprising as some people think it did. Originally it started with call for protests on Facebook. But, then it morphed into a lot of text message being sent out.

But in Egypt, thee calls that happened for these protests happened on Facebook, then started happening on twitter. And what's interesting that in the past few days, you had a lot of people that were tweeting about this and they were saying that basically their accounts were being blocked and that Egypt had blocked those sites, not let people tweet, not let people get on Facebook.

Now the government responded and said that wasn't the case. But nonetheless what you're seeing are people tweeting and they're giving advice to Egyptians who could not tweet. And they're telling them how to do this, how to get a proxy server, how to get around the authorities, around the blocks in order to get people out in the streets, in order to get people demonstrating and to get this message across.

Now, social media not playing such a role in Yemen. People text messaging there, as far as trying to get out on the streets. But they're very much inspired about what happened in Tunisia and by what's happening in Egypt. And what's happening in Egypt has really been fueled a lot by social media -- Kyra.

PHILLIPS: Got it. Mohammed Jamjoon, great to have you here for a little while.

Well, attack in Georgia during a murder trial. What set one man off, enraged enough to jump a barrier in a courtroom and attack a man on trial.

And later, it's the most water-logged piano bar. Two filmmakers come out and claim responsibility for putting this huge piano out there in Biscayne Bay. But then two more claim that they did it as well. Now, the mystery is solved.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

PHILLIPS: And time for today's Caught on Tape. If Wiley Coyote were a smuggler, well, this is how he might do it. Surveillance footage you're seeing here, showing drug traffickers using a catapult to launch packages over the international border fence. Well, border agents, the National Guard, and Mexican authorities worked together to try and catch these guys. The smugglers fled but left about 45 pounds of uncatapulted marijuana.

Murder trial turns into a courtroom brawl. Suspect Zyderrious Platt, on trial for the murder of Gerald Carter's sister. Looks like Carter couldn't stand sharing the same air with the suspect. So he jumped the barrier and attempted to beat the you know what out of Platt with the chair. Officials say if deputies hadn't jumped in quickly to stop the fight, there would have been, quote, "damage." Changes in latitudes, changes in attitudes. Wednesday night, singer Jimmy Buffett fell off a concert stage in Sydney, Australia. The 64- year-old Buffett spent a day at the hospital but he was released just a few hours ago, according to a statement on his web site. An announcer on Radio Margaritaville said that Buffett received several stitches for a cut to his head. He simply misjudged where the stage ended because of those foot lights.

A cover-up is over in Arkansas. The issue of "US Weekly" featuring Elton John and his same-sex partner David Furnish, holding their new baby had been covered by a shield in some Harp's food stores. Well, when news of the cover-up reached the internet, complaints started pouring in. The grocery chain's manager said they reviewed the manager featuring Elton John with his partner and decided to remove the shields.

For Congressman Dennis Kucinich, a sandwich made in a Congressional cafeteria was the pits. Now he's pushing a six-figure lawsuit over olives.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

CONAN O'BRIEN, TALK SHOW HOST: Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg had his own Facebook fan page hacked into. Yes. Yes, Zuckerberg immediately ordered the hacker to be tracked down, seized, and hired. So --

(END VIDEO CLIP)

PHILLIPS: Top Tea Party activists coming to Capitol Hill to huddle with three senators. We're going to find out what that's all about with our Mark Preston; he's following the story for us out of D.C.

Hey, Mark.

MARK PRESTON, CNN SENIOR POLITICAL EDITOR: Hey, good morning, Kyra.

Yes, in about 15 minutes up on Capitol Hill just a few blocks from where I'm standing, Rand Paul and Mike Leach two freshmen senators along with Jim DeMint, a veteran, a south Carolina senator will be meeting with Tea Party activists.

Some of the things they're going to discuss is spending proposals, options for balancing the budget, bringing an end to the nation's deficit and limiting the size and scope of the federal government.

Now, we'll have coverage of that all throughout the day. Our senior Congressional correspondent Dana Bash is at that meeting. Again, that meeting takes place in about 15 minutes up on Capitol Hill.

You know, Jim DeMint has generated a lot of headlines. He is really frustrated at the GOP establishment back in 2010 when he was backing some challenges to incumbent senators. Well, some people thought that Jim DeMint might be thinking about running for president in 2012. He was in "THE SITUATION ROOM" yesterday with Wolf Blitzer. And Wolf just asked him flat out are you going to run for the Republican presidential nomination? Jim DeMint said no, "No I'm not."

Well, we'll see if he changes his mind Kyra, after today's meeting up on Capitol Hill.

PHILLIPS: Ok. Well, is Dennis Kucinich is going to change his mind about taking the Congressional cafeteria to court over olives. What is this about?

PRESTON: Well, I'll tell you, well, I think Dennis Kucinich, Kyra, wishes he probably got a tuna fish sandwich. But in fact, just a couple of years ago he got a sandwich with -- with olives in it. However, he didn't -- he was led to believe there was no pits in these olives in this sandwich.

And he bit into the sandwich and he cracked one of his teeth. What he's doing now is that he's suing the management company that runs the cafeteria for $150,000 for among other things damages to his tooth but also the suffering and loss of enjoyment. I don't really know what the loss of enjoyment is though, Kyra, but I'm sure it was pretty painful.

PHILLIPS: Maybe he should save the olives for the Martinis, Mark. You might want to tell him next time you see him on the Hill.

PRESTON: That's true.

PHILLIPS: All right, Mark Preston thanks.

We're going to have your next political update in one hour. And a reminder: for all the latest political news, just go to our Web site, CNNPolitics.com.

All right, this day, 1984 -- 3,000 fans piled into Los Angeles, the Shrine Auditorium to see Michael Jackson shoot a Pepsi commercial. Well, a pyrotechnic blast set Jackson's hair on fire. Crews rushed around him, put out the flames on his head. In the end, he suffered second and third-degree burns on his face and scalp.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

PHILLIPS: All right, time now to chat about other stories happening around the world. CNN international anchor Zain Verjee joining me from London with a number of stories in our "Morning Passport"; we probably start with this terrifying story out of Mexico involving this missionary couple -- Zain.

ZAIN VERJEE, CNN INTERNATIONAL ANCHOR: Yes. It's a really sad story, Kyra. Basically, what happened was, was that an American missionary woman was just driving along a highway in Mexico with her husband when she was shot and killed. Now, apparently what happened was, was that a car approached them, and gunmen got out and shot her in the head. Her husband tried to get to a hospital, but she died.

It's unclear what the motive was. Her name is Nancy Davis. And many people are saying that this was -- this area that this happened in was an area where drug cartels operate.

But it's very sad. And a lot of people say that here was a woman, she may have been petite, but she was a real bulldog, and she made a real difference in the lives of people in Mexico.

PHILLIPS: Oh, that is heartbreaking.

Then we've got this volcano in southern Japan blowing its top and got a lot of people scrambling. What's the word there?

VERJEE: Yes, just take a look at these -- these dramatic pictures coming out of Japan. This is Mt. Shinmo. You can see its erupting and belching smoke and ash. It's reaching something like 10,000 feet in the air.

There are people that were told to evacuate. They took off. And then they've actually all returned now. There's actually also no government -- official government order to evacuate everyone.

So we're going to watch and see what happens here. But it has been something like 52 years since this volcano has erupted like this. So we'll keep an eye on it, Kyra, and let you know what happens.

PHILLIPS: And, of course, it has nothing to do with international stories, but you as an international journalist are obsessed with the piano on the sandbar. Why?

VERJEE: How did it get there? Was it a publicity stunt? Well, it was -- it was just too perfect, Kyra. You know, that shot was breathtaking, you know. Something's got to be up with that. What gives? What's the mystery? What's your take on it?

PHILLIPS: So -- so you're not investigating overseas? I thought you were going to have some theory. I thought you were launching some sort of global investigation into this, Zain.

VERJEE: No, Kyra, I'm only saving that for the Somali pirates on the high seas which, as you know, I'm obsessed with as of late. So I'm not changing my tune. I'm going to stick to that high note. Yes.

PHILLIPS: Oh there come the cheesy puns. I knew it was coming. By the way, it's a teenager that had a wild party apparently with some friends that caught fire. And well, there's the rest of the story. So I -- I'm blowing the whole mystery. That's what happened. Nothing too exciting.

VERJEE: All right. Thanks, Kyra.

PHILLIPS: See you tomorrow. Bye. Also ahead, imagine finding out that your medical insurance has been canceled literally minutes before you're about to go under the knife for a critical procedure. That's exactly what happened to a vet in Colorado. And the kicker, he only owed the insurance company 2 cents.

We've got his story. We've got him. And we're going to tell you how to avoid what happened to this couple.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

PHILLIPS: Oh, boy, Roger Federer going down.

JEFF FISCHEL, HLN SPORTS: It's unbelievable right? Rafael Nadal goes down yesterday and now the number two player. You know, it's going to be the first men's grand slam final in three years that doesn't have either Federer or Nadal.

Nadal out yesterday. Roger Federer taking on Novak Djokovic in the Australian semis today. Djokovic's only career major three years ago at the Australian. And he completely dominates Federer, 7-6, 7-5, 6- 4. Everyone's asking, does this mean this is the end of the Federer/Nadal dominance? Roger is not rogering that. He says ask him again after the French and Wimbledon. Federer is still confident and Djokovic going on to the final.

Last night in the NBA, star forward Kevin Durant, he poured in 47 points to lead the Oklahoma City Thunder to an overtime win over the T'Wolves. But after the game, you know what? Durant tweeted, quote, "Jimmer Fredette is the best scorer in the world."

Fredette is the BYU guard, college basketball's leading scorer. He put up 43 points last night for the Cougars to hand number four San Diego state its first loss. As you see Fredette is awesome.

Well, while the Steelers and Packers prepare for the Super Bowl in Dallas, a different kind of football teams are facing off in another Texas city on unicycles. It's the Unicycle Football League, Kyra, on the streets of San Marcos. It's somewhere between San Antonio and Austin. All right, so there are five teams in the league. They're going five on five. The league's in its fourth season. I love the team names. The Narwalls (ph) and the Hot Dogs. But my favorite, the Unipsychos (ph). Oh, there you go.

PHILLIPS: There's the ref. That just kills me. Smoking a cigarette.

FISCHEL: With all this talk of the Super Bowl, theirs is called the Stuper Bowl. It's coming up in a couple of months.

And my favorite, you know, it's free for the fans. But they say, you know, if we ever get big enough to charge, we'll still let in clowns for free. I don't know.

(LAUGHTER)

PHILLIPS: Jeff Fischel, HLN Sports. Thanks, Jeff. You always make our day at the end of the hour.

Thank you.

FISCHEL: You got it.