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Former U.S. Special Envoy Seems To Contradict Obama About Mubarak's Immediate Departure; Protesters Defy Curfew Again; Egypt's Uncertain Future

Aired February 05, 2011 - 16:00   ET

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

FREDRICKA WHITFIELD, CNN ANCHOR: Anti-government protesters in Egypt take to the streets for the 12th day, yet another storm is heading to New England in this country. And the very lawmakers bound to repeal health care have a different take on their own insurance coverage.

To the movement to install democracy in Egypt now. It's after 11:00 p.m. there and again the government has ordered protesters to stay off the streets and out of the squares. Journalist Ian Lee is on the phone now from Cairo. What do you see at this hour, Ian?

IAN LEE, CNN CORRESPONDENT (ON THE PHONE): Fredricka, the protesters are still in the street and they're still defying the curfew. They're still very defiant. They were telling me earlier that they're going to camp out around the tanks, so the tanks can't move to help kind of put the squeeze on the protesters.

To kind of give you a little bit more, to show you how defiant they are, tomorrow the Christians are planning to have services there and also there's going to be a wedding celebration there tomorrow as well. So people are really planning a lot for the square. The square has really became a symbol and they're not going to give it up easily.

WHITFIELD: So for those protesters that are camping out, what do the conditions look like for them? Are they, you know, essentially getting ready to sleep through the night there? And what will the Army do? Will they just kind of watch and allow it to happen?

LEE: Well, Fredricka, the army is playing this really carefully. They don't want to - they enjoy a bit of popularity with the people and they don't want to jeopardize that. So the people know that, so they're kind of - they're trying to put pressure on the army so they won't make a move. Besides camping out around the tanks, they're putting the pressure on them so they won't try to force them out or anything because the army really doesn't want to lose that popularity with them right now.

WHITFIELD: Ian Lee, thanks so much from Cairo, Egypt. Appreciate that.

So unrest in the nation the size and importance of Egypt has an impact that goes way beyond politics. Here now is CNN's Mary Snow.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: So a million tourists in nine days have left Egypt.

MARY SNOW, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over):

But the turmoil has exposed an economy with a deep divide. It's estimated that 20 percent of the country's population lives below poverty and the unemployment rate is high. Ian Bremmer runs a global political risk and consulting firm.

IAN BREMMER, EURASIA GROUP: We had over 800,000 young people coming into the workforce in Egypt every year. And so the middle class was shrinking. Poverty was increasing. 5.5 percent growth didn't do it in terms of making the Egyptians feel like they were going to have any future.

SNOW: Egyptians have also been facing soaring food prices, now at record levels.

DAN GLICKMAN, BIPARTISAN POLICY CENTER: It is not the prime cause, initial cause of the rioting in Egypt, but it will certainly exacerbate it and make it a lot more malignant.

SNOW: Dan Glickman is a former agriculture secretary who served under President Clinton. He works on a global agricultural development and hunger initiative and is concerned about unrest spreading as supplies tighten and demand grows.

GLICKMAN: Higher standards of living in countries like India and China that are increasing their consumption of grains and meats, bad weather around the world.

SNOW: Adding to Egypt's economic woes, businesses forced to shut down as protests heated up, and the government belt itself a blow after banks and the stock market had to close because of government- restricted internet access. And while the Suez Canal remains open, there is anxiety that unrest could disrupt the movement of roughly 1.8 million barrels of oil every day. That's caused oil prices to go higher.

Mary Snow, CNN, New York.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

WHITFIELD: Winter weather is making a repeat visit to some parts of the country that have already seen way too much of it this winter. Bonnie Schneider will be letting us know after this.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: With Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak under pressure to step down, there's speculation an Islamic opposition group, the Muslim Brotherhood, could move in to fill the void.

Carrie Wickham is an associate professor of political science at Emory University of Atlanta and she's here with us now to give us a better idea. First of all what or who is this Muslim Brotherhood? How influential? PROF. CARRIE WICKHAM, EMORY UNIVERSITY: The Muslim Brotherhood started out as a group positioned outside the formal political order. It was founded in 1928. And it was committed to the comprehensive Islamic reform of society and state. Its primary method to achieve that goal was through the dala (ph) or religious outreach through preaching in the coffee shops and the mosques. Not to seize power for itself, but with the idea of eventually creating a broad constituency who would themselves want to live in a system under Shariah law.

WHITFIELD: So more of a spiritual force than it would be a political force.

WICKHAM: Well, it's very interesting. According to the brotherhood, according to their understanding of Islam, Islam is both (INAUDIBLE) it is both religion and state, meaning a comprehensive guide to the social, economic and political affairs of society.

WHITFIELD: So do they have a lot of support from the general populous of Egypt or is it that because they have been around since the 1920s, that makes them a force to reckon with?

WICKHAM: Well, it's both. It is certainly the largest, most effective, best financed and most popular opposition group in Egypt today. But the exact percentage of the Egyptian population that supports it is really unknown. We don't have reliable public opinion information.

WHITFIELD: So has this brotherhood been a threat to Mubarak? Does he acknowledge the brotherhood? Because there are members of Parliament who are members of this -

WICKHAM: That's right.

WHITFIELD: Muslim Brotherhood

WICKHAM: The important thing to remember is the Muslim Brotherhood is technically an illegal organization. It is not a political party. It does not have a legal party status but it has been able to participate in the system by running candidates either as junior partners to legal parties or more recently as independents.

The Mubarak regime has painted the Muslim Brotherhood as part of the same, you know, group - placing it in the same category as a group like Islamic Jihad or Al Qaeda. But the brotherhood in fact has taken a very different path.

WHITFIELD: That's Mubarak who has painted that picture.

WICKHAM: Yes.

WHITFIELD: Does anyone else believe that the Muslim Brotherhood would be tantamount to Al Qaeda or jihadist?

WICKHAM: I don't think at this point that that's really a terribly credible portrayal of the brotherhood. If you remember it now has a close to 30-year record of participation not only in Parliament but also in professional syndicates and in faculty clubs and has begun - there's important changes that have occurred.

One is that while before it portrayed democracy as a system imported from the west and in violation of Islam. Now the brotherhood is saying that its top objectives are to achieve an expansion of public freedoms, peaceful alternation of power through free and fair elections. Basically, the same -

WHITFIELD: Many of the things that we're hearing from the populous taking to the streets.

WICKHAM: The things that secular democrats are calling for.

WHITFIELD: So if the brotherhood is what 300,000 strong? Is that (INAUDIBLE) number?

WICKHAM: That's the number I've seen but again we need to take any numbers with a certain degree of caution.

WHITFIELD: OK. If Mubarak were to step down, would there be a leader, an identifiable face, name with the brotherhood who would be able to step forward and say I'm in the race.

WICKHAM: Well, it's very interesting. The brotherhood itself does not want that to happen. The brotherhood is taking a deliberately low-key role in this whole uprising and transition period. It wants above all for the transition to succeed.

WHITFIELD: It doesn't necessarily want to be on board with being part of that transition in terms of leadership.

WICKHAM: It does not want to be the public face. In fact, it has said that this is an Egyptian revolution, not an Islamic revolution. It has chosen to back Mohamed Elbaradei and to allow him to negotiate on behalf of the united opposition and it wants and it doesn't want to jeopardize this transition in any way.

WHITFIELD: And quickly what would that mean for Israel? Because I've read and seen that Israel does not necessarily like the Muslim Brotherhood. They feel threatened or -

WICKHAM: Well, the Muslim Brotherhood has been the least pragmatic in its rhetoric on foreign policy issues, including on Israel. So it's an open question whether it will continue to be dogmatic or will move in a more pragmatic direction.

WHITFIELD: Carrie Wickham, Emory University, good to see you.

WICKHAM: Thank you.

WHITFIELD: Thanks so much. Thanks for coming in. Appreciate it.

WICKHAM: Thank you.

WHITFIELD: All right. We are also tracking support rallies, as a matter of fact, across America today for the issue of Egypt. The biggest star in New York and Washington, D.C., CNN's Sandra Endo is with the protesters in D.C. who actually marched from the Egyptian embassy all the way to the White House which is where they are right now. Sandra.

SANDRA ENDO, CNN CORRESPONDENT: That's right, Fredricka. They are starting to chant once again after observing a moment of silence for what they say are the people who have lost their lives since this uprising began in Egypt. And for also the many lives they say have been lost the past 30 years under Mubarak's regime. They are calling for his immediate resignation as well as sending a message to President Obama. They say they want this White House to make sure they stand in solidarity with the people of Egypt. Let's talk to one of the protesters here. (INAUDIBLE) why have you come out here today? What is your message?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: This is my message for him. He thinks that he doesn't want to leave the country because he can create more chaos. Obviously, it's not happening. And everybody (INAUDIBLE) yesterday everybody was protesting in peace back in Egypt at Tahrir Square. So I guess his point is wrong, he should leave now and guess what, it would be much better than him staying right now.

ENDO: Don't you think though that Egypt is on the brink of change, that change will happen soon, do you feel?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I'm hoping, I'm praying, I'm definite, they will. I just spoke to my little brother back home and he told me "Kareem (ph), I just came back from Tahrir Square and guess what, we won't leave." They are taking turns. A group goes takes a rest at home and the other group comes back. (INAUDIBLE) for him to leave and he thinks he's not going nowhere. We're not going nowhere neither.

ENDO: I see your sign, we won't leave until Mubarak leave. What is your message lastly for President Obama. You're here in front of the White House. What are you trying to say?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Egyptian people are very peaceful. We're not terrorists. And he's worried about who's going to run the country after Mubarak. Egypt is full of smart, intelligent people who can handle a new government and make a new constitution which will run the country to a better future, definitely.

ENDO: All right. Kareem (ph), thank you so much. Again, Fredricka, Kareem (ph) is just one of hundreds you see here all day long making their message and voices heard. As you mentioned, they marched from the Egyptian embassy earlier today down to the White House. Again, still chanting, still energized, trying to get their message out. Fredricka.

WHITFIELD: All right. Sandra Endo, thanks so much outside the White House.

All right. Well, here, take a look, here's why drivers should stay off the roads in dangerous weather. A Rhode Island man had to be rescued with a raft after his car got stuck on a flooded street, and icy flooding right there. Conditions turned even more treacherous later on in the day when the mercury dropped and all of that water indeed froze to ice.

And heavy snow caused an entire section of a commercial building to collapse. Employees knew something wasn't right when they heard the sound of metal bending. They managed to get out just in time so no one was hurt.

And another big winter storm is rolling across the Ohio Valley and into the northeast. Let's check in with our Bonnie Schneider who also has a Super Bowl forecast which actually is now sounding a little promising, right?

BONNIE SCHNEIDER, AMS METEOROLOGIST: It definitely help melt the snow. That's for sure. Let's go ahead and we'll start there since you mentioned it, Fredricka. 42 degrees, cloudy skies. A little sun peeking out tomorrow which is great after snow and ice hit the Dallas area very hard. A lot of flight cancellations unfortunately on Friday but things are looking better today and I think will look even better tomorrow, which, of course, is fantastic news.

It's not so great elsewhere, though, if you're traveling. A lot of delays right now on a busy Saturday. There's a ground stop in Detroit. And even in Dallas we're getting some delays. Not that bad, 20 minutes. New York City, an hour and 10 minutes. An hour and 40 in Philadelphia and Newark, New Jersey.

I'm going to open up the scope and show you the reason why it has to do with a lot of snow coming through and some freezing rain if that's not enough. We're seeing some freezing rain up towards Concorde, New Hampshire, north of Boston. (INAUDIBLE) Boston, Philly and into New York, it is more of a rain event but north and west, you may see freezing rain and sleet mixed in but it is snowing for sure in Detroit. Expect two to three inches before it's all said and done and really cold temperatures. So that snow will stick. And we're seeing that across Buffalo as well.

But once we get past the Super Bowl, we're going to be talking about a brand new storm system that will be affecting the south. The first one now is zipping across areas through the Ohio Valley into the northeast and it will be gone by late tonight into tomorrow. We won't even be talking about it anymore. I tell you what we will be talking about once we get into Monday and Tuesday, the plunge of brand new cold Arctic air dropping down southward taking temperatures 20 degrees below normal.

It is very much still winter and with that in the middle of the week we may see a brand new winter storm emerge right out of the Gulf of Mexico just like the others before it and it could bring some snow to the south, freezing rain and possibly a coastal nor'easter as we go Thursday into Friday. A busy week ahead. We're tracking it for you here.

WHITFIELD: Oh, boy.

SCHNEIDER: Fredricka, it's definitely one busy winter. The groundhog said we'd be over with winter in just a few weeks.

WHITFIELD: Deja vu. All right, thanks so much, Bonnie.

SCHNEIDER: Sure.

WHITFIELD: All right. Perhaps catching a movie is something on your to do list this weekend. You'll want to hear which new flick or what new flicks are worth your time and money. We'll have that after the break.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: All right. Find out what is and isn't worth watching at the movies this weekend in just a moment. But first a hook at our top stories.

It is day 12 of the protests in Egypt and their demands have not changed and they haven't been met either. Egypt's Hosni Mubarak is still president. There was a gesture of concession today. Mubarak's son, Gamal, and other top leaders of the ruling national party stepped down. That means Gamal Mubarak is not eligible to replace his father.

And while the crisis in Egypt has cast a shadow over a global security conference in Germany today, other work was accomplished. Secretary of state Hillary Clinton and her Russian counterpart exchanged documents officially putting the new Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty into effect. S.T.A.R.T. trims a total of 650 war heads from both sides' stockpiled.

And astronaut Mark Kelly says he'll finish what he started and command the final flight of the shuttle "Endeavor" and he expects his wife, Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords, to be at the April launch. Kelly says Giffords is making remarkable progress in rehab after her brain injury. He credits that and his family support for his decision to stick with the mission.

All right. A few thrillers hit the theaters this weekend. Matt Atchity is the editor in chief of rottentomatoes.com and he is joining us live from Los Angeles. All right. Good to see you, Matt.

Let's begin with director James Cameron's latest film, "Sanctum," it's a 3-D adventure about a diving team that experiences a life- threatening crisis during an expedition to an unexplored cave system. Oh the trailer really is pretty riveting, but let's take a look.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

(INAUDIBLE)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Let me take a look.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Get me to the -

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: (INAUDIBLE) you'll never make it.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Come on, frank. Get me there.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: She's not no bailout.

(INAUDIBLE)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Mast up.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Frank, don't do it. We're going to lose you both.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: OK. It seems like a thriller. What do you say, did you like this one?

MATT ATCHITY, ROTTENTOMATOES.COM, EDITOR-IN-CHIEF: Well, there were parts of this that I really enjoyed but unfortunately the momentum doesn't stay throughout the whole film and that's what's really disappointing about it. You know, this is not directed by James Cameron, he only produced it. There are scenes in the movie that, you know, it's underwater, you're in caves, it's very tense and very claustrophobic and you think it's going to be a story about the brutal decisions people would have to make to survive in a situation like this but then it starts to get really sappy, they start getting too much into the emotions of the characters. The characters are relatively one-dimensional and ultimately it doesn't really sustain the promise of the setup of the movie.

WHITFIELD: It looks like it's got kind of the "Anaconda" film kind of feel.

ATCHITY: Yes. Although it's not really very campy. I will say one of the things the movie does effectively is that since the cast is mostly unknowns, probably the biggest name is Owen Griffin, who had played Mr. Fantastic in the "Fantastic Four" movies from a few years back. You can't really tell who's going to survive. Because you don't have any big names. You can't look at somebody like a Brad Pitt and say "well, I know he's making it to the end of the movie."

WHITFIELD: Yes. Well, it seemed like a cool movie with the 3-D effect. So what was your grade on this one?

ATCHITY: My grade is a D. You know, it's not unwatchable, but it's not particularly good.

WHITFIELD: I don't know, D says unwatchable. What would you give it if it were unwatchable, you'd give it a flat-out F?

ATCHITY: I'd give it an F and not to tease the next movie we'll talk about.

WHITFIELD: Oh, no. So that would be "The Roommate." Let's talk about "The Roommate" and when I see the trailers on this one, I'm thinking is this the movie that was done way back when but now it's got a new twist? It's a college student finding her safety jeopardized because she's assigned to a dorm room with a new roommate who might be a little creepy. Let's take a peek.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Well, thank you for helping me not study.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Oh, any time.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yeah?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Mmm-hmm.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Where were you?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Hi.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I kept on calling and calling.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Rebecca, this is Steven.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I'm going to bed now. I'm glad you're OK.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: Oh, boy. Someone's a little irritated. How about you? Did you like this or did this movie irritate you?

ATCHITY: Not at all. I did not like this movie at all. This was a much better movie when it was called "Single White Female" with Brigitte Fonda.

(CROSSTALK)

WHITFIELD: That's what it was. So this is a remake of that?

ATCHITY: Well, it's kind of a half-baked remake. This is a terrible, terrible movie. It's not scary at all. The characters - you don't understand their motivations. Honestly, by the end of the film, people were laughing and not in a good way. It's not even campy enough to laugh at.

WHITFIELD: Oh, no. So, OK, grade? Something tells me -

ATCHITY: Grade? This one is worse than "Sanctum," I'd give it an F.

WHITFIELD: I thought you were going to do that. Oh, man. Oh, that's too bad. So don't even try it.

ATCHITY: Yes.

WHITFIELD: Don't even wait until it's out on DVD, huh?

ATCHITY: No. Don't even wait for that. Avoid it at all costs.

WHITFIELD: Avoid it like she should avoid that roommate, eh? All right, Matt Atchity, thanks so much. Editor in chief of rottentomatoes.com. So fun going to the movies with you.

ATCHITY: Thank you for having me. WHITFIELD: All right. And an online shoe company is seeing profits, big profits during this very tough time. Tom Foreman reports that it may be because the employees are having so much fun.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

TOM FOREMAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): 24/7, two by two, zappos.com is moving shoes. More than a billion dollars annually in internet sales, fueled by a wide selection, free shipping and money- back guarantees.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Thank you for calling zappos.com.

FOREMAN: Not bad for a company started a dozen years ago with a radical concept. Success is about service.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: OK, no problem.

FOREMAN: Not selling. CEO, Tony Hsieh.

TONY SHIEH, CEO, ZAPPOS.COM, INC.: And for us, (INAUDIBLE) it's actually the number one priority of the company.

FOREMAN: The culture is raucous, infectious and everywhere. Employees decorate as they choose, enjoying an unbelievable array of company services, including free lunch, ice cream, massages. We asked our guide, Ray Andre (ph), about the business environment.

RAY ANDRE (PH), GUIDE: This is a business meeting.

FOREMAN (on camera): This is a business meeting.

There's a lot of giggling going on in there.

ANDRE (PH): There is.

FOREMAN (voice-over): Getting in is not easy. Zappos takes months to screen applicants. And even in training, new hires are offered $4,000 to quit just to weed out those who might not really want to be here.

ANDRE (PH): So we figure we can train most people to do their jobs, but we can't train somebody to fit into our culture.

FOREMAN (on camera): What is your key philosophy about running this business?

HSIEH: Internally we have a saying that we're a service company that just happens to sell shoes.

FOREMAN: You realize nobody in America who sees this is going to want to go to work tomorrow.

(voice-over): So they can laugh at comments like that because everyone here seems eager to come to work every day, building up this runaway success.

Tom Foreman, CNN, Henderson, Nevada.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

WHITFIELD: Ice and snow in Dallas this week. We'll find out if the weather is going to cooperate for tomorrow's big game.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: A quick update on the situation in Egypt. This is the port city of Alexandria. Two separate demonstrations there today. Just like in Cairo, people are demanding the resignation of President Hosni Mubarak. Just like Cairo, they say they will keep it up until he steps down.

In the United States, New York, Egyptian Americans and ex-pats gathered near the United Nations headquarters today echoing the same sentiment that is rising up from Cairo. They want Mubarak out.

All right, now the latest on the crisis in Egypt, including this. The government has ordered protesters to stay off the streets on the out of the square. Ian Lee is on the phone now, from Cairo.

Ian, is anyone adhering to that?

IAN LEE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Fredricka, a lot of people aren't adhering to that right now. Tahrir Square is still a bustling area, as usual. A lot of people are still there. They're not -- they say they're not going to leave until President Hosni Mubarak steps down.

WHITFIELD: Give me an idea, what kind of size crowd are you seeing out there, comparing it to nights previous?

LEE: Well, you know, it is a smaller crowd than usual. But, you know, they may be small, but they tell me they are very determined to be out here. You know, they're going to be spending the night. Tomorrow they have some activities planned. They're going to have mass, the Coptic Christians are going to hold mass. And in addition there's going to be a wedding. So it's definitely an area that has become a symbol and people are very defiant to remain there until President Hosni Mubarak steps down.

WHITFIELD: Ian Lee, thanks so much from Cairo.

President Obama's special envoy says President Mubarak should stay in office at least for now. Jill Dougherty joins us now from Washington.

More to be said on what the envoy said and did he speak out of turn?

JILL DOUGHERTY, CNN FOREIGN AFFAIRS CORRESPONDENT: Yeah, Fredricka, I think you have to look at the fine print here. Because a lot of what's going on is very subtle diplomatically, but essentially you had Frank Wisner, who is the special envoy to Egypt for the president, addressing a security conference. And in that, as you mention, he said President Mubarak remains utterly critical in the days ahead, as we sort our way toward the future. And that's the transition that's going to be pushing on toward free and fair elections. At least that is the hope.

Now, why don't we listen to what he said.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

FRANK WISNER, PRES. OBAMA'S SPECIAL ENVOY TO EGYPT: The president must stay in office in order to steer those changes through. I therefore believe that President Mubarak's continued leadership is critical. It's his opportunity to write his own legacy.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

DOUGHERTY: So it sounds like, maybe some wishful thinking and maybe encouragement to President Mubarak to be a statesman and get on board all of this change.

Now, the State Department Spokesman, P.J. Crowley, issued a statement saying, "We have great respect for Frank Wisner, and for his work last week. He has not continued in any official capacity with the government, following the trip. And the views he expressed today are his own. He did not coordinate them with the U.S. government."

So, obviously they are distancing themselves. Coincidentally, or maybe not coincidentally, at that very same security conference in Munich, Fredricka, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton made statements, but she was not paying attention really much at all to President Mubarak. She was concentrating on the vice president, and the vice president, Mr. Suleiman is the man who is going to be leading that transition, talking with the opposition.

As she put it, they want a stable transition. They want it to happen as quickly as possible, but they also want it to be stable. So perhaps Wisner was much more overt, about talking about President the Mubarak, than certainly Hillary Clinton.

WHITFIELD: Jill Dougherty in Washington, thanks so much. Appreciate that.

Let's talk weather now. Nasty, winter weather moving across the Upper Midwest, into New England. Here we go again. Guess what, travel delays again. Bonnie Schneider in the Weather Center.

(WEATHER REPORT)

WHITFIELD: Well, bad weather has certainly been putting a chill on the Super Bowl activities. The big game is tomorrow, but just yesterday take a look at what happened. Gusty winds were blowing these big chunks of ice off the roof of the Cowboys stadium. Our Mark McKay is actually live in Arlington, Texas. He's gotten rid of the overcoat. He said this is feeling like summer now. He's happy and so are the fans.

MARK MCKAY, CNN SPORTS CORRESPONDENT: Well, how about springtime, Fred. I wouldn't go as far as saying summer.

WHITFIELD: OK, let's not get carried away. OK, spring. MCKAY: Not quite yet. But it really has, I mean, last time we visited, it was chilly. There was a lot of snow around. Take a look. As we can see behind me Cowboys Stadium, I think all of that ice and snow that we saw falling yesterday at this time is pretty much gone. Really a lot of smiles on the faces of fans, organizers, the National Football League, everybody involved in this game as the sun has returned at least for a day.

They say the clouds will return tomorrow, low 40s, but we'll enjoy one day as the Super Bowl buildup here in North Texas, has been challenging at best, Fred, with all of the ice and snow that had fallen. But it is now I wouldn't say long gone, but almost all gone, and it's full steam ahead to Super Bowl XLV tomorrow between the Packers and the Steelers.

WHITFIELD: Oh, good stuff. I also understand you've uncovered a green story of sorts out there. What would that be?

MCKAY: We sure did, yeah. It's all about recycling. Fred, you know when NFL players and the Super Bowl team that's crowned, they immediately, right after, the celebration begins on the field. They're wearing hats and T-shirts specially printed. Well, that's all printed ahead of time, right? That's all pre-produced. So what happens to the apparel from the team that didn't win the Super Bowl? Well, that goes to a very worthy cause. For the better part of 15 years the National Football League has been working with the World Aid organization called World Vision, so all of the material from the team that didn't win the Super Bowl will be distributed to parts of the world, kids that will certainly be worthy and certainly happy to have even a shirt on their backs, Fred.

And one note, World Vision's international distribution center is in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. I wonder which type of apparel they'd like to be shipping out next week when they send out the team that didn't win the big game, huh?

WHITFIELD: I know, I know. We'll see what ends up happening, if it's going to be that Green Bay or that Pittsburgh. All right. Mark McKay, thanks so much. Appreciate it.

All right. They say they're fighting to cut the cost of big government, but there's one government perk that many lawmakers are not willing to give up just yet.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: A look at our top stories now. Protesters took to the streets of Egypt for the 12th straight day. They are still demanding that Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak leave and this is new fissure in the regime there in Egypt. Mubarak's once heir-apparent son, Gamal, and key members of the ruling National Democratic Party have resigned and the country's new vice president has started talks with opposition leaders.

Police have confirmed some heartbreaking news for California mom. A body found in a canal Tuesday is that of her four-year-old son. DNA from the body was matched to that of the boy's mother. The mother's former boyfriend allegedly abducted the boy last month.

A moderate earthquake shook up things in central Chili today. According to the U.S. Geological Survey, the 5.6 magnitude quake hit about 55 miles southwest of the city of Concepcion. So far no reports of any damage or injuries.

We've got much more of the NEWSROOM straight ahead, with my colleague, Don Lemon. He's got all kinds of tools and goodies here.

How are you doing?

DON LEMON, CNN ANCHOR, CNN NEWSROOM: I'm here. I'm researching this interview that I'm doing. I'll tell you about that later.

First I want to tell you about a teenager in Houston we've been talking about. I don't know if you've seen the video. Let's take a look at his video. It happened in Houston on the 24th of March. This was last year in southwest Houston. This was a teenager. Look at this video. Is this excessive force? That's what people want to know.

This guy, this teenager was a suspect in a robbery, or burglary, I should say, eventually convicted of that. What they're trying to figure out, did the cops use excessive force. That's not the exact language that they use in the court, but did they have to go this far with this teen in order to subdue him. There was one teen on the ground, one teen involved in this. Unarmed, so the officers are facing a grand jury and also facing indictment.

So we're going to go over the video and talk to Sunny Hostin, that's our legal analyst here on CNN.

This is what I wanted to tell you about, this book called "Incognito." It is by Michael Forsberg. He is an actor. He was in a movie with Meg Ryan. He's an actor. He has a play, it is called, "Incognito". It is his one-man show, so to speak, and a memoir.

Do you want to know why?

WHITFIELD: Why?

LEMON: Because all of his life he thought he was white. At 30 years old he found out that he wasn't, he was black.

WHITFIELD: It had something to do with --

LEMON: He was raised by his biological mother and his stepfather, but his mom never told him that his dad was black. So he only had a name. So he started researching who his dad was. He had a city and a name. He called his dad and his dad said, well, guess what, I'm your dad. I've always wanted to be in touch with you.

WHITFIELD: So he's written about it and something tells me he's going to say this was very cathartic, or this was a real journey of discovery. LEMON: At first it was very shocking. Not that he had anything against being black, right? But if you find out you're something that you thought that you're not, you thought you were something all your life and you're not, it would be shocking. But, yes, it is very cathartic. So he's written about it and it's a very interesting book.

There he is right there. Does he look like a white man? Does he look like a black man? Who knows? He thought he was white for most of his life.

WHITFIELD: We'll look forward to that. Throughout the evening. Don Lemon, good to see you.

LEMON: Good to see you, Fred.

WHITFIELD: In the CNN NEWSROOM, straight ahead, 12 minutes, or so away from you.

LEMON: Just a few minutes.

WHITFIELD: OK, good. Thanks.

GOP lawmakers are trying to repeal the new health care plan but when it comes to their own coverage, that's a different story.

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WHITFIELD: A quick update on the situation in Egypt. This is the port city of Alexandria. Two separate demonstrations there today, just like in Cairo. People there are demanding the resignation of President Hosni Mubarak, and just like in Cairo, they say they will keep it up until he steps down.

Tahrir Square isn't the only protest site in Cairo. There have been demonstrations outside the parliament building as well. Here's CNN's Senior International Correspondent Ben Wedeman.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

BEN WEDEMAN, CNN SR. INT'L. CORRESPONDENT (voice over): It's hard to ignore the racket of angry workers and pro democracy activists, and the generally disgruntled. All of whom have turned this street outside the Egyptian parliament into a stage for protest.

These workers have been keeping it up around the clock for more than two weeks. Their agricultural machinery factory was privatized and sold to foreign investors. Production halted, and it's been months since anyone has been paid.

"Empty promises are all we've gotten," says Sayid Muhammad. "The investors are stronger than us all."

Abu Ziyad used to work for another privatized factory.

"The workers haven't been paid in four months, and the owners won't budge," he says. This is the spring of Egypt's discontent, fueled by political stagnation, rampant corruption, and uneven economic growth.

Across the street, another demonstration, this one by activists angered by a pro-government member of parliament who said Egyptian security should use live ammunition against protesters. Here, however, the normally heavy-handed Egyptian police are taking a gentler approach.

(On camera): The sidewalks in front of the Egyptian parliament have become something of a speaker's corner. Everyone with a grievance, big or small, now comes here.

(voice over): Rafat Atif has enlisted the help of his three children. He said he couldn't afford to enroll his six-year-old daughter in a government school, where education is supposed to be free.

"The teacher wanted me to pay her 4,000 pounds, around $700," he says. "Where can I get that? I'm a poor man."

"Your policies," he chants to the government, "are in the potty."

Even an authoritarian government as demonstrably deaf as this one will find it hard to ignore the noise in the streets. Ben Wedeman, CNN, Cairo.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

WHITFIELD: Time for a CNN=Politics update. We're keeping an eye on all the latest headlines on the CNN.comPoliticalTicker. Here's what's crossing the right now.

Tribute to a presidential legacy. Alaska's former governor, Sarah Palin, appeared at an event celebrating the life of President Ronald Reagan last night. It was at the Reagan Ranch in California. Palin called President Reagan one of a kind. Tomorrow would have been his 100th birthday.

And what does Congress want from Facebook? The co-chairs of the House Privacy Caucus want Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg to give up some secrets about his social network's privacy policy. Zuckerberg has 15 days to comply.

A source close to Mississippi Governor Hailey Barbour says it's probably going to happen. Barbour for President in 2012; the governor advisors says he's, quote, he's doing the things you have to do", unquote, to prepare for a run at the White House. For the latest political news, go to CNNpolitics.com.

All right, Democrats call it hypocrisy. Republicans are vowing to repeal last year's health care law. But when it comes to their own health care coverage, many are accepting Uncle Sam's subsidized insurance plan, but not all. Here's our Senior Congressional Correspondent Dana Bash.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

DANA BASH, CNN SR. CONGRESSIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice over): Government subsidized health insurance for new lawmakers like Joe Walsh kicked in this week, but the Tea Party-backed Republican campaigned hard against the health care law, so he's opting out of benefits for himself.

REP. JOE WALSH, (R) ILLINOIS: This piece of legislation that we passed last year is so critical, and I think it's going to do such harm to our country that I think we need -- we need a few of us to lead by example, to point out some of its flaws.

BASH: So despite his new congressional perks, Walsh is buying his own health care. His wife has a pre-existing condition, so private insurance won't cover her.

WALSH: If I'd have taken the congressional plan, then I've taken the group policy, my wife's condition would have been covered and life would have been a heck of a lot easier. But this is a pledge that I made.

BASH: Walsh is only one of 17 House Republicans not accepting the congressional health care benefit. CNN checked with them all, and most are opting out because they have other insurance that's more practical, not out of principle. The vast majority of Republicans are enrolling, and Democrats are crying foul.

REP. JOE CROWLEY, (D) NEW YORK: I personally think it's hypocritical when they all voted to undo the bill we did.

BASH (On camera): Members of Congress are eligible for the same health benefits as some 8 million other federal employees. A wide range of private plans to choose from, subsidized by the federal government but cheaper because the pool of people is so large. That's the same theory behind the so-called exchanges in the new health care law, which Republicans oppose.

CROWLEY: Much of which we were modeling it on is what we as members of Congress have. And so, you know, the idea that they're coming here, and they're fighting against providing those opportunities for the average American, who doesn't have it today, I just feel is hypocritical.

BASH: Most Republicans scoff at that. Aides to al 13 new GOP senators tell CNN they will accept congressional health benefits. All Republicans voted to repeal the health care law. But Tea Party favorite Rand Paul insists it's apples and oranges.

REP. RAND PAUL, (R) KENTUCKY: I've always had my health care through my employment. When I was my self employer I provided and I'll get it through my employer. I don't really get the connection, though, between that and the health care debate since the health care debate is about whether or not you can force people to buy insurance, not about whether or not you get your insurance through your employer.

BASH (on camera): In conversations with dozens of Republican aides and lawmakers accepting congressional health benefits, the response was similar to Rand Paul's. They insist there's nothing contradictory about opposing what they call a flawed health care law and accepting health insurance from their employer, which in the case of the members of Congress, is the federal government. Dana Bash, CNN, Capitol Hill.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

WHITFIELD: That's going to do it for us. I'm Fredricka Whitfield. See you back here tomorrow. Don Lemon is up next with more of the NEWSROOM.

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