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Yemen's 'Day of Rage'; Beyond the Violence in Egypt; Egyptian- American Business Owners' View; Street Triage and Makeshift Hospitals in Cairo; J.Lo & Marc Anthony Headed to White House for Super Bowl; President Obama Explains His Faith; Some Egyptians 'Willing To Die For Freedom'
Aired February 03, 2011 - 12:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
SUZANNE MALVEAUX, CNN ANCHOR: Top of the hour. I'm Suzanne Malveaux.
Let's get you up to speed.
Tanks are so far keeping Egyptians for and against the government separated today in Cairo's Tahrir Square. The government unleashed security forces on journalists covering the chaos.
Now, according to "The Washington Post," two dozen have been detained or harassed, including crews from CNN, the BBC, and The Post A journalist for state-run TV says she quit today because of intimidation.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: This is Hosni Mubarak! That's what he do. We will die for our freedom!
(END VIDEO CLIP)
MALVEAUX: State television says battles in Tahrir Square left five people dead and more than 800 wounded in the last 24 hours. Makeshift field hospitals sprang up along the sides of the plaza. The primary weapons, rocks and machetes, that left many people with large gashes to their heads.
Well, President Obama is at Penn State this hour. These are live pictures you are seeing from State College in Pennsylvania. He is focusing on clean and efficient ways to make energy.
Mr. Obama briefly mentioned the crisis in Egypt before leaving Washington. He told the National Prayer Breakfast a better day will dawn soon for the Egyptians.
Thousands of protesters are on the streets of Yemen's capital today demanding the country's leader step aside after 32 years in power. They're not satisfied with President Ali Abdullah Saleh's pledge to stand down in 2013. Government supporters also rallied.
Well, an SUV ran off icy Interstate 44 in northeastern Oklahoma today. The vehicle plunged into the Spring River, which is now frozen. Rescuers pulled five people from the SUV and sent them all to the hospital. Three people who were trapped inside died.
Fewer Americans filed for first-time unemployment benefits during the last week of January. The Labor Department reports today it got 415,000 initial applications. That's 42,000 fewer than the week before. Now, the department releases unemployment figures for all of January tomorrow morning.
And here's your chance to "Talk Back" on one of the big stories of the day. Our question for you is about President Obama's faith. He spoke about it today, addressing the belief by some that he is a Muslim and not a Christian.
Our Carol Costello is here with more -- Carol.
CAROL COSTELLO, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Suzanne, it was fascinating, really.
President Obama got really personal this morning about his faith at the National Prayer Breakfast, talking about how he came to accept Jesus Christ in his life and how he's asked Jesus to make him an instrument of the lord. Now public opinion surveys show only a minority of Americans even know that President Obama is a Christian, and a growing number of Americans believe he is Muslim.
The White House denied the tone of the president's speeches in response to those who love to call Mr. Obama, "Barack Hussein Obama."
Oh, but listen.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
BARACK OBAMA, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: My Christian faith has been a sustaining force for me over these last few years, all the more so when Michelle and I hear our faith questioned from time to time. We are reminded that ultimately, what matters is not what other people say about us, but whether we are being true to our conscience and true to our God.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COSTELLO: Suzanne, here is something really interesting, though. It's not just his political enemies who think Mr. Obama is Muslim. According to Pew Research, fewer than half of Democrats and African- Americans correctly identify the president as Christian.
So it is time to "Talk Back." What will it take for people to believe President Obama is a Christian?
You can get in touch with me on Facebook.com/CarolCNN. And we will read some of your responses later in the hour.
MALVEAUX: Carol, we know it's not easy, it's not comfortable talking about his faith. It's something that's personal. But, you know, he feels he has to get it out there, he has to tell people who he really is. COSTELLO: He came on really strong today. He really talked about Jesus quite a bit through his speech, about accepting him into his life. And his pastor sort of suggested that he do that today, although the White House, as I said, is denying that it had anything to do with these polls that most Americans believe he's Muslim.
MALVEAUX: OK. Carol, thank you so much. We'll have to see what the viewers have to say. Thanks again.
Well, a quick look ahead "On the Rundown."
Street triage -- treating the wounded on the streets of Cairo in the middle of the violence.
And a giant cyclone slams Australia. Chad Myers surveys the damage.
Also, we have got some incredible pictures out of Massachusetts. You've got to check this out. The roof of a building caving in under the weight of all that snow.
And finally, your chance -- this is your chance to "Choose the News." A recap of the three stories you get to pick from.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
MALVEAUX: There is not much time left for you to "Choose the News." Vote via text message for the story that you want to see in detail this hour. So here are the choices.
You've got Pentecostal churches in Cuba on the rise. Many Cubans turning to religion in tough economic times.
Also, second, a young woman searching for her roots, she finds answers on Facebook. The social network connects her with her birth family.
And an Egyptian woman who says she is willing to die for freedom. Her story from the front lines of the protests.
So just vote by texting 22360. Vote 1 for Cubans turn to religion; 2 for family found on Facebook; or, 3, for willing to die for freedom.
(CHANTING)
MALVEAUX: These are scenes from Yemen's "Day of Rage" today. Thousands of demonstrators have taken to the streets in competing rallies. Some demanding the country's leader step down, others rallying in favor of him.
My colleague Mohammed Jamjoom, he's joining us from the capital of Yemen.
And Mohammed, give us a sense of what you are seeing there. What is taking place? I know there was a lot of concern that there might be some violence.
MOHAMMED JAMJOOM, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, that's right.
As of last night and early this morning, officials here, even regular citizens, very concerned this could be a very violent day. They were thinking there could be clashes between protesters and security forces.
But we really saw a minimal security presence out today. And even though there were two very big protests, one pro-government, one anti- government, they did not mix. There were no clashes between the different groups, there were no clashes with security forces.
But even though it was a largely peaceful protest, there was a lot of emotion being expressed, especially by the anti-government demonstrators, demonstrators out there saying they want a better life, they want a new government, somebody that can provide them with food, with money, with opportunities.
On the pro-government side, we saw other thousands of demonstrators saying that, in fact, the opposition, the other demonstrators, were destabilizing this country by calling for the president to step down. They said people should return to the table and have a dialogue, and that things would be better if they followed that route -- Suzanne.
MALVEAUX: But what do you think? The president said he's not going to seek re-election. Do you think that's good enough for the protesters? And do you think the government might make some more concessions?
JAMJOOM: As far as the protesters in the anti-government camp, they said absolutely not. Even though there was a lot of surprise that President Saleh actually came out yesterday and conceded, said that he would not seek re-election in 2013, they said, you know what? He's been in power more than 30 years, he's had enough time to fix the problems in Yemen. He has not done so.
They say they still don't have the food on the table they need in order to feed their families. So they want change. They see the only way of getting change is by getting a new regime there.
As to (INAUDIBLE) President Saleh, who would step up to the plate, there was no discernible leader, there was nobody that everybody was rallying around. And, in fact, I should point out that the opposition here is a fractious group. A lot of different parties argue over a lot of different issues.
So that's one of the concerns by governments that are allied with Yemen, is that even if President Saleh stepped aside, who would step in to fill that void, and would the situation here in fact be more tenuous if he did step aside now?
Suzanne.
MALVEAUX: OK. Mohammed, thank you for that excellent report.
(NEWSBREAK)
(WEATHER REPORT)
MALVEAUX: Well, we have seen the violence. We're going to give you a look at what life looks like outside of those protests in Egypt.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
MALVEAUX: As we watch the uprising in Cairo continue to unfold, my friend Michael Holmes is here for a look beyond the violence in a segment that we are calling "Globe Trekking."
And Michael, the friends that I've spoken with there, having lived in Cairo, they're not a part of these street protests, but they're still struggling. Life is hard now.
Can you give us the big picture?
MICHAEL HOLMES, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: You're right. That's something that we do need to emphasize and bring into context. You can't make the point enough, actually, that while the streets of the capital in Tahrir Square are obviously violent at the moment, look, there. There's some normal life going on.
The average Egyptian, regardless of political leanings, they're not out there in the mob. To get the whole picture, you've got to remember that Egypt is a country of 82 million people, the biggest Arab country in the world. And while you're watching on the television as all hell breaks loose in Tahrir Square, the overwhelming majority of Egyptians are just trying to stay out of the way and get on with their lives and try to feed their families.
MALVEAUX: But even living their lives is difficult, taking your kids to school, or trying to go grocery shopping and that type of thing. I mean, there has got to be almost a tipping point to have some out there on the streets and the others who just want some stability.
HOLMES: There is, and that's true. I mean, they're not going to school because the schools are closed. I mean, schools, universities, banks, the train service, all that stuff has been affected by what's going on, the uprising right across the country.
But Nic Robertson was reporting fishermen in Alexandria saying that their business has been interrupted. These are pictures that Nic shot earlier with Scottie McWhinnie (ph), one of our cameramen there.
A lot of the markets have run short of basic supplies. We're hearing reports that in some places, even getting bread is difficult.
So check out the scene that Arwa Damon encountered near a local hospital, actually just 10 minutes away from the site of the demonstrations. Ambulances were flying up the road to drop off the wounded outside. The streets, though, as you see there, almost eerily quiet outside of Tahrir Square.
MALVEAUX: And tell us what the communication is like, because, obviously, Facebook, Twitter, cell phones, it's been very difficult to reach people. HOLMES: It has. It's improved to a degree.
The "Christian Science Monitor" is reporting that the Internet is back up. Our people have been saying that it is, too.
Facebook finally seems to be back up, actually, for most of Egypt. It's been a weeklong blackout if you are wanting to post your status update in Egypt.
The overall point being that for every protester who might be throwing a rock or a Molotov cocktail, there are thousands of families out there just waiting for this all to end and some stability to come back to the region. How long they're going to wait for that is anyone's guess.
The bottom line, the chaos you're seeing in the daily lives of regular Egyptians isn't going to change anytime soon at the moment, particularly while this security vacuum is in place. The military, not going to get involved. And the police, the hated police, nowhere to be seen. They're not likely to come back, because if they came back on the streets to try to quell this, it would get worse.
MALVEAUX: Absolutely.
HOLMES: And I have that from Egyptian officials telling me that, that if the police did come back, it would get worse.
MALVEAUX: A lot of people are staying away from Tahrir Square. And what a lot of people don't know is that Egyptians -- there are a lot of suburbs, and they're out there. And it's, you know, big driveways and streets just like we have here.
HOLMES: Exactly. Exactly.
MALVEAUX: Just trying to move along with life.
HOLMES: Just get the context and keep it in perspective, yes.
MALVEAUX: Absolutely. Thank you, Michael.
HOLMES: Good to see you.
MALVEAUX: Well, as demonstrators flood the streets of Cairo, business owners with ties to Egypt, they're watching the developments, of course, extremely closely.
Our CNN Money's Poppy Harlow, she joins us from New York.
And Poppy, you sat down with an Egyptian-American entrepreneur who gave their sense of the risk here. Yes?
POPPY HARLOW, CNNMONEY.COM: Yes, exactly right.
We spent the day yesterday with Dr. Hossam Abdel Maksoud. He is an Egyptian-American, Suzanne. He moved here in 1984. But he's in the pharmaceutical business, and he does business constantly between the U.S. and Egypt. He's back in Egypt every few months.
And he talked to us about sort of the economic drivers leading up to this crisis, and also what he thinks needs to change as for his business right now. His family members are in the streets with these protesters, blocking off their businesses, trying to protect them from looters. He said all of his business between the U.S. and Egypt has just come to a grinding halt.
But here is part of our conversation. Interesting to hear his insight on what he thinks especially led to this uprising. Take a listen.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
DR. HOSSAM ABDEL MAKSOUD, EGYPTIAN-AMERICAN BUSINESSMAN: I visit Egypt often, and you see the gap between the rich and the poor getting wider and wider. Sooner or later, you knew a crisis was going to come to surface.
One of the biggest problems is the persistent unemployment. And for some reason, although we've seen growth in Egypt since 2004, this success and this economic growth did not trickle down to the average Egyptian.
HARLOW: From your point of view, someone who has done very well in a capitalist society, what are the economic reforms you think would help most?
MAKSOUD: Infrastructure a little bit.
HARLOW: Too much red tape?
MAKSOUD: Too much red tape. And there is no really straight, direct, clear guidelines for infrastructure. But in my opinion, giving a young man, an educated young man who finished and spent a lot of time in college and school a job is what leads to security and prosperity. In any society they have to have skills, as well as education.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
HARLOW: So, Suzanne, clearly, he says it all comes down to having the skills to get a job. That one thing that he says all of these young men in the streets want is that option to prosper in the future. So he said that that's what it comes down to.
And the irony in the short term, Suzanne, is that they're fighting about the lack of opportunity, economic opportunity in Egypt, and yet this situation it making the economy of Egypt even worse for the foreseeable future -- Suzanne.
MALVEAUX: And Poppy, did he share his vision for what he wants for the country?
HARLOW: He did. Look, he said, "I foresee a prosperous Egypt in the future. We are a resilient people."
As I mentioned, his entire family is back on the streets in Cairo right now, so that they are fighting for their future, but he says it's going to be a while before the dust settles and that can happen. And as you heard, he's calling for fundamental changes to their education system, saying it's not enough to give them a degree. What you have to do is give them skills that they can actually use to be employed and build up our prosperity for themselves and for future generations.
But I think bottom line, he's hopeful -- Suzanne.
MALVEAUX: All right. Poppy, thank you so much.
We're taking a quick look at the markets here. I understand the Dow Jones, down eight points -- sorry, I'm being told nine points now. The Dow Jones down nine points there for the market.
Well, everybody admits that they don't like it, but no one seems to know how to get rid of it. And I'm talking about the federal deficit.
A new interactive poll shows voters are not only willing to take on the deficit, they're pretty darned good at it.
We sent CNN's Tom Foreman to Las Vegas for our series "Building up America."
And Tom, when it comes to economic problems, you could call Nevada the poster child, yes?
TOM FOREMAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes, absolutely, Suzanne. You talk about getting jobs, people here really need them. But this interactive poll which is really interesting -- and we're the first to have it here at CNN -- looked at about 2,000 Americans, including some here in Nevada, and said despite all these hard times, can we deal with the deficit, and how would you do it?
It was done by a group called the Program for Public Consultation at the University of Maryland, and here is how it worked.
They gave everybody a computer program that basically said here is the deficit in 2015. It's going to be well over $600 billion. Now, here are all these parts of the discretionary budget, how you can move things around, make more, make less, make people pay taxes.
Imagine like a great big Rubik's budget cube that people could move things around on the computer. And these folks went to work.
On average, when they looked at cuts, the biggest things they went after were defense, intelligence, and federal highway programs. They said those things need to be cut. The majority of the group wanted to cut those.
Other people wanted little increases, not great big ones, and there wasn't a majority opinion on this. But generally, the group sort of liked the idea of increases for job training and for higher education and for energy conservation, Suzanne. Really interesting on that side of the equation.
MALVEAUX: And Tom, it's not all about spending. What are they saying about the revenue?
FOREMAN: You know, Suzanne, from being up on the Hill all those years around the White House, taxes are the big bugaboo out there that everyone is afraid of. But this group wasn't afraid of it.
And of course they went after people who are wealthier. They want higher taxes on higher earners and on corporations. But not everybody else gets off the hook. By and large, most of them seemed to see that a lot of people are going to pay more taxes, and they'd like to see more taxes on alcohol and sugary drinks, at least in this focus group.
MALVEAUX: And when you consider all the cuts in taxes, what was the bottom line here?
FOREMAN: Well, the bottom line is, if this group were put in charge of the deficit -- despite the fact that many of the politicians in Washington say voters have no stomach for this, these were average people out here who took part in this big interactive test. If they were in charge of everything, they were able to produce results that said they could average out to reducing the deficit by about 70 percent.
That's pretty big and that's pretty hefty. But I will tell you this, Suzanne -- it wasn't even all the way across the board.
The people who were in this self-identified as to how they were involved in it -- and I want to bring up our last little graphic here to show you. In the end, the Republicans were able to cut the deficit by more than half. The Democrats, by a good bit more than that. But the real winners were the Independents. The Independents, more than anyone, seemed to be able to work this puzzle out.
That doesn't tell you what the real parties, the real representatives would do in the real world of politics, but it is a very interesting study. And I think more than anything, Suzanne, it shows that a lot of people out here who want to build up America again know that part of the equation is going to be this tough battle with the deficit and getting it under control, whatever formula we use.
MALVEAUX: Absolutely, Tom. We're going to see a real battle there at the White House as well.
So thank you very much. We'll see if they can actually get that done. Thank you, Tom.
Well, forget the hospital. We're going to show you the first stop for treatment for many of those wounded on the streets of Cairo.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
MALVEAUX: A quick look at what's on the rundown. Street triage. Treating the wounded on the streets of Cairo in the middle of violence.
And a giant cyclone slams Australia. Chad Myers is going to survey the damage. Also, your answers to our Talk Back question. What will it take for people to believe that President Obama is a Christian?
And, finally, the Choose the News winner -- yes, that's right, the story you picked to air this hour.
Battles are under way in the streets of Cairo, Egypt. This is day 10 of protests against the government. Right now, tanks are keeping those for and against the government separated in Tahrir Square. The situation turned violent when pro-government demonstrators stormed the square. State media says at least five people have been killed, more than 800 wounded despite the military presence.
International journalists are being targeted. Some are being arrested, others beaten. Now, we want to show you what happened to some of our own correspondents, not because we think they're unique, but because it shows how quickly things can turn.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
HALA GORANI, CNN CORRESPONDENT: I'm a little bit (INAUDIBLE) because I was just shoved out of the way here. This is just a completely surreal experience.
OK. I'm being told, walk, walk. Don't stay. OK. OK.
This is a little chaotic. I have someone helping me out here. This is the scene.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
ANDERSON COOPER, HOST, "AC360" (voice-over): I was shooting this video on my Flip camera so as not to attract too much attention. Suddenly a man jumped out of the crowd and tried to grab Neil's camera. That's when all hell broke loose.
(on camera): Hey, calm down. Calm down.
(voice-over): We only had about a block left to go when another guy came up and punched me in the head.
(on camera): I've been hit now like 10 times. The Egyptian soldiers -- the Egyptian soldiers are doing nothing.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
MALVEAUX: What a shame. We understand that everybody is OK, but obviously very difficult reporting circumstances there.
This morning a U.S. State Department spokesman condemned those attacks calling them a concerted campaign to intimidate international journalists. While many of Egypt's wounded are being treated in makeshift hospitals, our senior international correspondent Bed Wedeman gives us a look inside of those.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
BEN WEDEMAN, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (on camera): All right. Well, we're right in Tahrir Square, at what is a mosque that a few days ago was turned into a makeshift field hospital for people wounded in clashes and protests and whatnot.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: (SCREAMING).
WEDEMAN: What we've been told is some of our other crews who are inside Tahrir Square were roughed up by crowds, thrones of people. And certainly, as you know, our experience was, yes, they're not very friendly to the media.
So we've been told to get off the square, to stay away and we were told to come back to the office. But given that to go back to the office we would actually have to cross through some of this hostile territory, our determination is that it is better to stay here where people are more media friendly than to go out there where we're watching every few minutes somebody comes in with a great big gash on their head from a rock. So, we're going to stay here.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
MALVEAUX: Unbelievable. Obviously a very difficult situation but some people doing a fantastic job at just trying to deal with the circumstances there.
Well, time is running out for you to Choose the News. Cast your vote by texting 22360.
Vote 1, for Cubans turning to religion during tough times.
Vote 2, for the woman who found her biological family on Facebook.
Or vote 3, for the Egyptian woman who says she is willing to die for freedom.
The winning story is going to air later this hour.
Well, do you know where you're going to be watching Sunday's Super Bowl? This power couple is heading for 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue. One of our entertainment headlines.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
MALVEAUX: An apology on "American Idol." An appearance on "Saturday Night Live," for a singer with a mixed reputation, and an invitation, yes, to the White House for a superstar couple.
Kareen Wynter. She's in Los Angeles with all the entertainment headlines. Kareen, it is great to see you. Tell us what happened on "American Idol" last night because I didn't see it. I didn't get a chance to see it.
KAREEN WYNTER, CNN ENTERTAINMENT CORRESPONDENT: Well, I will break it all down for you. Don't worry.
Here's the deal. "American Idol" made a very public apology last night. But this morning, Suzanne, no one seems to think it was, well, very sincere. They promoted this big apology pretty heavily, in fact, yesterday, leading to a lot of speculation as to just what the show was actually apologizing for. Then at the beginning of last night's show they ran a statement apologizing for Steven Tyler's -- he's one of the hosts -- his behavior. But unless you were plugged in you had no idea what was really going on.
Apparently Tyler told a contestant named Jake Muck his last name rhymed with the profanity -- we're not going to say it. But most people didn't notice or didn't care because it wasn't like it caused a lot of controversy. So, this apology is being seen as either a publicity stunt -- shocking -- to promote just how unpredictable Tyler is or a weak joke. But this one really baffles me. What's going on here, Suzanne?
MALVEAUX: That's very interesting. Now I understand that Chris Brown is trying to revive his career and clearly his reputation.
Can you tell us what happened?
WYNTER: Well, he's trying and what better way to do it than on "Saturday Night Live." It was just announced, Suzanne, that the singer will be the musical guest on the show February 12th. Russell Brand, by the way, will be the host. Brown, of course, he saw his career and life just take a nose dive, go off track after beating up his then-girlfriend Rihanna. We don't know if brown will appear in a sketch on the show or if he'll perform. But this is a huge deal, a big, big public appearance for brown who has a new album coming out in March. So, good for him.
MALVEAUX: Certainly is. So the Super Bowl this weekend. The president -- he's having a few famous friends over. Not you and I. Unfortunately, he didn't invite us. Somebody else.
What do we know?
WYNTER: What's going on? I know, I checked the guest list. We're not on there. But, J.Lo and Marc Anthony, they sure are. They're going to a very, very special Super Bowl party at the White House. Lucky them. J.Lo.'s reps confirmed to us that President Obama, he's invited the celebrity couple to watch the game at his place.
We know the president is a huge football fan and since his Chicago Bears, Suzanne, didn't make it to the Super Bowl, it looks like he'll make the best of it with Marc and J.Lo. Not bad company.
MALVEAUX: Yes, no. I think they'll be fine. WYNTER: They'll be OK. Not chopped liver.
And, they're not just football fans, but Anthony is part owner of the Miami Dolphins. And, you know the White House better than I think anyone at the network, Suzanne.
So what do you think would be the perfect dish to bring to the White House Super Bowl party?
MALVEAUX: Well, it's funny because they have all these snacks that they have anyway. So they've got salsa and chips and what I understand they've got these huge chocolate chip cookies that they serve around on plates and everybody loves that. That's like the favorite. So everybody's eating those chocolate chip cookies.
But, hey, you know, I guess you could bring anything if you can get it through security, though. Because I don't think the president is just going to eat anything.
WYNTER: That's a good point. Yes. J.Lo. and Marc, they'll be snacking all Sunday night long.
MALVEAUX: All right. Thanks, Kareen.
WYNTER: Great seeing you.
MALVEAUX: Nice you see you, too.
Today on "Showbiz Tonight," the heat is on Lindsay Lohan as police name her a suspect in a grand theft case. Could this drama land Lohan in prison? "Showbiz Tonight" has Lindsay's new legal limbo live at 5:00 p.m. Eastern on HLN.
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DAVID LETTERMAN, "THE LATE SHOW WITH DAVID LETTERMAN": What a storm all across the country. As a matter of fact, in Chicago -- in Chicago alone there was so much snow -- here's how much snow there was in Chicago. No new relatives have been able to reach Oprah. That's amazing.
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MALVEAUX: This week's blizzard will go down as one of the worst in recent memory. It broke records in a lot of places. Chicago, as he was mentioning, got its third biggest snowfall on record. Almost two feet in some areas. While the storm has moved on, there are still some serious concerns. Driving, of course, is dangerous. A lot of roads, highways still covered with snow and ice.
Well, a lot of you are responding to our "Talk Back" question about President Obama's religion. What will it take for people to believe that President Obama is a Christian?
Edward says, "unfortunately, for this president, it will take an act of God."
More of your responses ahead in our "Talk Back" segment.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
MALVEAUX: We have some new information coming out of Egypt to tell you about. Another incident of a journalist being attacked. As we have already reported today, there are journalists who are attempting to cover the unrest and they are now being targeted in Egypt -- across Egypt. The latest today in Imbaba. This is a poor neighborhood of Cairo. According to our photojournalist Mary Rogers, a woman by the name of Marie Colvin, she is a journalist for "The Sunday Times" of London, was almost killed by a gang of men with knifes. And she says that one of them was a policeman in uniform.
And our Mary Rogers tells us that if it was not for the kindness of these strangers to help this fellow journalist out from "The London Times," a group of other men, they were trying going to -- they were trying to grab her and so they took her, they put her in a store, they locked it so that she would not have been killed, but they believe that she was just in that kind of danger. That is the kind of situation on the ground that is taking place throughout Egypt, but specifically in places that we have seen the kind of video here -- the chaos. And these are people who are just trying to bring the story to you from both sides who obviously are facing some very difficult conditions.
Well, when the rocks and machete's flew in Cairo's Tahrir Square, American Hunter -- the American, rather, Hunter Moore, he was in the crowd. Hunter is a young American who was working as a teacher in Cairo. He and a friend, they shot this video that you're watching for a CNN i-Report while helping the wounded yesterday. And he plans to jump in again today if necessary. I spoke with Hunter Moore just within the last hour.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
HUNTER MOORE (via telephone): We've been out there since last Tuesday, the 25th, and sort of assessed the need of what we could do to help. And we realized that we could get some medical supplies and some food to distribute. So that's kind of the role that we played in --
MALVEAUX: What kind of injuries did you see?
MOORE: I beg your pardon.
MALVEAUX: What kind of injuries did you see? Were they serious?
MOORE: Mostly head injuries. Easily 90 percent head injuries. Some that required much more medical attention than we could offer. A lot of it was, you know, many needed stitches. But it was mostly head injuries and a lot of them had come two or three times because they'd get -- they'd get patched up and they'd run right back out there and come back with another head injury minutes later.
MALVEAUX: And this was from what? I understand there were machetes, there were rocks. So --
MOORE: Mostly rocks.
MALVEAUX: And what were people saying to you? Was there a sense of despair? Were they determined? You said they went back out and would fight again.
MOORE: Yes, they went back out over and over again. They were screaming about freedom, screaming about democracy. There were -- there was a lot of solidarity in the crowd. They were thanking me. It was a really -- an amazing time to be out there.
MALVEAUX: And, Hunter, in light of your experience here, you've been in Cairo for quite some time. Do you have a sense that this is -- it's time for you to go? That you should leave this country?
MOORE: Not quite. You know, I'm kind of -- just this past day we've been -- we haven't been able to get down to Tahrir due to some rumors. And we've tried to go, but we were warned by many people that they were being pretty hostile to foreigners. So we set kind of an ad hoc food drive and also a Facebook group called Medical Aid for Cairo, that we're trying to organize getting some medical aid and food to the people of Cairo that need it right now.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
MALVEAUX: Hunter is working on a master's degree in middle eastern studies at the American University of Cairo. He teaches English on the side.
Well, here is your chance to talk back on one of the big stories of the day, President Obama's religion. He spoke about people doubting his Christian faith at the National Prayer Breakfast earlier today. Carol Costello following this.
Hey, Carol.
CAROL COSTELLO, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Oh, it's time to talk back and people are really talking back. And we appreciate it because the comments are -- they're actually fabulous and thoughtful and I love them.
At the National Prayer Breakfast, as you said, Suzanne, President Obama got really personal about his faith and Jesus. Some suspect he did that because one in five people in this country think President Obama is Muslim. So the "Talk Back" today, what will it take for people to believe President Obama is a Christian?
This from Brad. He says, "the president of the United States is elected to run the executive branch of this country, not be the American version of the pope. Whether he is Muslim or Christian should not matter."
This from Lea. "If his name was John Smith, we wouldn't have this problem." This from William. "As an atheist, I'm supremely offended by this question. The ability and capacity to govern does not solely rest on the leader's faith but in his skills and expert craft in legislation and public speaking."
And this from Caesar. "The heck with religion. There are still people out there that don't believe Barack Obama is American."
Keep them coming. FaceBook.com/carolcnn.
MALVEAUX: OK. Thank you, Carol.
Our producers are tallying the votes right now on the story you wanted to see this hour. "Choose The News" winner, that's up ahead.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
MALVEAUX: OK, you voted for it. Now we are going to air it. The payoff. "Choose The News" winner here. An Egyptian woman who says she is willing to die for freedom. That's the choice. CNN's Arwa Damon has her story from the front lines of the protests.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
NOHA TAREK, PROTESTER IN EGYPT: My name is Noha Tarek and I'm 25 years old. I'm doing a masters in political science.
ARWA DAMON, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): And she wants her country to change.
TAREK: It's written President Mubarak and his police, the ones around him, in trial (ph).
DAMON (on camera): So what's it like for you to see this stuff spray painted all over the capital?
TAREK: It's great. I mean at least -- and finally we have the freedom to do this.
DAMON: You're saying that, you know, you found your freedom now. Why now? Why aren't we -- why haven't we seen this kind of demonstration before?
TAREK: We don't know. It's -- we are all amazed. Before the government is (INAUDIBLE). The beaters themselves are amazed.
DAMON: Noha has been living here among fellow protesters in Cairo's Tahrir Square since last Tuesday.
TAREK: It makes me feel more safe than going back home, you know, (INAUDIBLE) the way (INAUDIBLE).
DAMON: What do your parents say about the fact that you're out here all day, all night? I mean they must be worried about you.
TAREK: My father is dead, actually. DAMON: Oh, I'm sorry.
TAREK: But my mother, sometimes she's worried and sometimes she says the country is changing and I'm proud of you.
DAMON: Are you willing to die for this?
TAREK: I guess so, yes. I've seen people dying in front of me. On Friday it was -- it was like -- Friday was like a war. It's something (INAUDIBLE) something unbelievable to see people dying for freedom.
DAMON (voice-over): Later at what's been dubbed the million man march, we caught up with Noha again.
TAREK: I think, yes, it might be the day. But even if it's not again today, we'll stay in the streets until it's over. Even if we stay in the streets for months. We have our ammunition.
DAMON (on camera): And what is your ammunition?
TAREK: I have, you know, those masks because when they do tear gas we have (INAUDIBLE) to put them on our -- in our nose.
It's the people's revolution. It doesn't have anything to do with politics even or religion.
DAMON: You were telling us that your father passed away. What do you think he would say if he could see you right now?
TAREK: I think he'd say, I'm really sad that I didn't live to see this day.
DAMON: Do you wish that he could be here with you as well?
TAREK: Sure. Sure. But anyway, I'll meet him in heaven and tell him all the things that happened.
DAMON (voice-over): Arwa Damon, CNN, Cairo.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
MALVEAUX: CNN NEWSROOM continues right now with Ali Velshi.
Hey, Ali.
