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South Carolina Lawmaker Proposes Own Currency for State; Lockdown at Middle Tennessee State University; The Rise of Black-Owned Businesses; Protests Erupting Throughout Middle East; New Warning for Parents About the Dangers of Energy Drinks; President Obama Sends Congress His Budget, Republicans Want Bigger Cuts

Aired February 14, 2011 - 13:00   ET

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

MARTIN SAVIDGE, CNN ANCHOR: I'm Martin Savidge. It is, well, 1:00 p.m. here in Atlanta. It's 10:00 a.m. in Los Angeles. Let's begin with the news. Only in Washington, could something so huge, so important, so painstakingly crafted, potentially amount to so little. I'm talking about, of course, President Obama's proposed federal budget for fiscal 2012, which begins on October 1st.

And the first thing you have to keep in mind is, you see these folks (ph) being delivered on Capitol Hill? Well, last year's plan went nowhere. Congress never passed a single spending bill for fiscal 2011, which is, by the way, already a third of the way over. Still, budgets are a presidential duty, and this one says the White House, was painful. We don't know whether it was painful to put together, or it's going to be painful for the rest of us, but it targets more than 200 programs for cuts or outright elimination in the hopes of taming a record deficit.

Proposed cuts include home heating aid for low-income spending. College grants. Even defense spending, $78 billion over five years. It would, also, cap itemized tax deductions for high earners. It would cut the deficit from $1.6 trillion, this year, to just over $600 billion, in 2015, a level which, believe it or not, economists consider sustainable. After that, the rating would creep back up, again, largely, because of interests on the debt.

And how much is the debt, you ask? Well, as of February 10th, the U.S. treasury calculates that you and I owe $14,083,345,766,082.15. For the "Two at the Top," CNN's Christine Romans shows us some of those proposed cuts and how they might hit home -- Christine.

CHRISTINE ROMANS, CNN BUSINESS CORRESPONDENT: Well, let's start with Pell grants. Let's start with something that a lot of kids are relying on. Fifty-five hundred a year is what you can get from a Pell grant per Pell grant. And, as it stands now, you can get two of those. One for the school year, if you qualify, and one for summer school. The president would like to get rid of the Pell grant for summer school. He wants to make sure that as many students as possible can get the Pell grant, if they need it, and that means just one, fifty-five hundred dollars, for the regular session. That will save about $8 billion, they say. Also, saving a couple of billion, reducing some of the subsidies for professional and graduate students. Did you know that some professional and graduate students, their interest, as it's accruing on their student loans, you and I pay for that? Taxpayers pick up the bill for that, and, then, their interest, really, starts accruing when they graduate. From now on, it would be accruing all through college, although they would begin to pay their bills -- pay their interest once they graduate.

Also, you mentioned it, those itemized tax deductions for high- income earners. Among them, charity deductions and the mortgage interest deductions, this is the most beloved tax break out there. It's the loophole for the rest of us, right? It comes to $131 billion a year. The president, at least, taking aim at the top two tax brackets. So, that's if you are -- that's probably if you're a household, a couple making $200,000, $250,000 or more, you would have -- pay -- get less of that.

Now, one other thing people say shows the president is serious, that low-income heating assistance plan that he is trying to get back to 2008 levels. Look, some critics say that it is simply puts money in the pocket of heating oil companies.

They point out, as well, that there are laws to protect low- income people from having their heat turned off in the winter, but many Democrats are not very happy about cutting any kind of assistance -- for heating assistance for low-income folks. That shows -- budget hawks say, that the president is serious about even angering people in his own policy, and serious -- party, rather, and he's serious about a lot of painful cuts.

So, where it goes, I think, it's got 40 committees to go through, Ray (ph), 20 subcommittees, it's got to go through Congress. There's a lot to go from here for this. If a budget is a reflection of the president's values, you can see they've taken a -- they've taken a look at a lot of different programs. Half the agencies will see -- will see funding reduced. Back to you.

SAVIDGE: Let's take a look at it, overall. Say it were to be implemented by letter. Is it really going to make an impact on the long-term problems for the deficit?

ROMANS: Well, I'll tell you something. Budget hawks say that they don't address the big three things which is Medicare, Medicaid and Social Security. That it starts to bend the line, but we still have deficits, as far as the eye can see. A lot of red ink as far as the eye can see. Republicans say it doesn't go far enough.

So, the president, I think, himself, calls it a down payment on our fiscal discipline and down payment on the tough choices that we have to make, but, you know, there's no question about it. This budget, it looks big. It sounds like politics, Marty, but for everyone in America, we're writing history, right now. How we deal with these budgets, how we deal with these deficits and how we go forward from here. I mean, the time to put it off is over. And, I think, just about everybody agrees on that. SAVIDGE: Right. Yes, as the president has said, the easy stuff has already been done. Now, we're down to the real painful stuff. Christine Romans --

ROMANS: The hanging fruit has been picked.

SAVIDGE: Exactly, yes. Christine Romans, thanks very much.

Well, we want your input on the budget cuts. What should the government cut if you held the scalpel or the ax? What would you get rid of, first? Say, energy, education, health care, military, or unemployment? Head to Ali's blog, www.cnn.com/ali, to leave your comments. You can post them at Ali's Facebook and Twitter accounts.

Well, let's give you a check at other big stories, right now. What a difference a day makes. That is in Cairo, Tahrir Square. Looking very different than it did during last week's anti-Mubarak protests. The huge crowds have dispersed, and the traffic's moving again. The day after the new military-led government dissolved Egypt's parliament and suspended the constitution. Still, lots of uncertainty, though, with members of the opposition calling for more details of the military's plans and still some pockets of protest around the city. Including current and former police. Demanding more and better benefits.

How about this? Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords is making tons of progress in rehab. That according to her husband, Mark Kelly. Just over a month after she was shot through the brain, in an assassination attempt, she is able to chat, even answer direct questions. Kelly spoke to NBC's Brian Williams about it.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MARK KELLY, GABRIELLE GIFFORDS' HUSBAND: The communication is getting better every single day. She, you know, was reported, just a few days ago, you know, that she said, you know, a single word and what the word was, but you know, since then, you know, this is really accelerated. So, you can have, you know, I guess what would be, relatively, a normal conversation with her, on some level.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SAVIDGE: Yesterday, Giffords personally updated her astronaut brother-in-law, who is aboard the international space station. Handed the phone, she told him, quote, "Hi, I'm good." A nice quote.

Quick thinking and good hands helped save a baby boy from a fast- moving fire. It happened south of Portland, Oregon, over the weekend.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: There was smoke coming out. I saw a lady hanging her child out the window. So, I immediately dropped what I had in my hands, ran over beneath her and was, like, drop your baby to me. She shouted out, you sure you're going to catch him? I said, of course, I'll catch him. And at that point, she dropped him, I caught him, wrapped him up in my jacket, and went away from the burning building.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SAVIDGE: Pure luck he was even in the area to respond. His boss had called him into work early. Meantime, the baby's mother is in the hospital in stable -- critical condition. Tragically, her two other little boys didn't make it.

And don't forget what today is, besides Valentine's, I mean. The IRS is finally accepting itemized tax returns. Usually, you can go ahead and file them much earlier, but the agency postponed the date after Congress's last minute tax deal, so they could update their software. Itemized deductions include mortgage interest, charitable donations, medical expenses and college tuition, and that's just to name a few.

Well, if the Federal Reserve ever went bust, could silver and gold save the states? One lawmaker thinks so. Wait until you hear his plan. That's coming up next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

SAVIDGE: A South Carolina lawmaker says that the Federal Reserve is headed for an ugly breakdown, and he wants his state to be prepared when it sinks. How prepared? Well, he suggests that South Carolina take matters and money into its own hands, quite literally.

Republican State Senator Lee Bright says that South Carolinians need to create their own currency, as a backup, in case people lose faith in the dollar. We're talking the U.S. dollar. And, in this new legislation, pushing the idea, Bright claims, quote, "Many widely recognized experts predict the inevitable destruction of the Federal Reserve system's currency through hyperinflation in the foreseeable future." So, is individual state currency a real backup plan? Or is it, as one law maker has suggested, a real waste of time?

Joining us now, South Carolina's State Senator Dave Thomas, who supports the legislation, and, Senator, thank you very much for being with us.

SEN. DAVE THOMAS (R), STATE SENATOR, SOUTH CAROLINA (via telephone): Well, I appreciate you having me. Thank you. And it sounds awfully draconian and it may sound odd, when you first think about it, but, I think, when we look at it, and I asked the South Carolina sound money folks, it's an organization in the state, just to, kind of, make a presentation.

We opened the doors and allowed the House members and senators to sit in on their presentation. And, of course, part of the presentation was the belief that there could be hyperinflation and we've seen, of course, historic examples in the past, even 50 years, but the most credible example, of course, is -- or the most telling, would have been Germany after World War I. And with all the money that has been pumped to the American economy, the issue has become, are we going to see inflation? Not just single, double digit, but just, perhaps, out of control inflation? SAVIDGE: All right, Dave, let me just go through that --

THOMAS: Which is a real --

(CROSSTALK)

THOMAS: -- state matter.

SAVIDGE: I got that, because that does make sense, and, historically, we've seen precedent for it. But just tell me, how would the currency in South Carolina look? I mean, would you go to an ATM and it spits out coin and currency from South Carolina?

THOMAS: Well, the authorities that we were talking to weren't so much into coinage. Now, that's what Lee Bryce legislation proposes. I think, the better way to think of this would be to have electronic exchanges. Because your nuances of gold, as well as silver, could be fairly small, but in terms of say, a credit card that would access your gold account, or the state gold account. So, if the state wanted to pay in its gold reserve that it would simply transfer to one who, also -- to a creditor, who, also, had the gold account set up and it would be a backup. Don't think of it as a replacement of the dollar.

SAVIDGE: I got you, it's a backup plan.

THOMAS: They think of it as a backup.

SAVIDGE: All right. And emergency planning does have a backup plan. Does South Carolina have a gold reserve at this particular point?

THOMAS: No, no, no. This was -- this is all models novel with all 50 states. So, it would be something we would have to -- you would have to go to a company that handles gold reserves. You would buy a certain amount of gold from them. Then you -- it would be just like the positive money in a bank account.

SAVIDGE: Right. Now, what do you think the study, though, is going to cost? Because I've read that South Carolina, right now, is facing $700 million deficit. So, can you really afford to look into what some might consider a pie in the sky idea?

THOMAS: That would sort of be ironic, wouldn't it, if the very thing you put forward to save the state turned out that you couldn't afford it. Well, my proposal -- I haven't put my bill forward, yet. Lee jumped and he put his in.

My proposal, if I do one -- but I've still have to look at all the issues in this, and, so, it's kind of on the front end for me. I mean, in theory, I can understand the concern. I like going in this direction. I'm probably still at stage one or two.

And the issue would be, how much? It could cost nothing. And here's why it costs nothing. You would ask experts to participate. Under my proposal, it would be, perhaps, under the treasurer's office. You would have experts to own their own dime come into the state and explain what could be done.

Now, remember, this would be a theoretical construct by experts who were in the field, who would willing to give up their time, simply, because one state stepped forward.

SAVIDGE: I got it. You've got the experts and they come in and they volunteer. But what's the bottom line goal for this? I mean, some might say that what you're hinting at, here, is the first stages of succession. And, historically, South Carolina has been there, before.

THOMAS: That's quite ironic. I mean, and I had my great, great, grand heritage from both sides of the family, as a matter of fact, were in that category. But, trust me, this has nothing to do with succession. This is not radical, in that sense. What this is, merely, a backup concept we're using to gold, silver standard, and that's what this country used to have. And all it is saying is, if we get out of control, we should have something that would be a quick fallback that's already being used. And, so, that's what this concept is about.

SAVIDGE: Plan B. All right. Dave Thomas. Thanks very much for joining us and talking to us about the idea. Thank you.

THOMAS: Thank you.

SAVIDGE: Thank you.

Moving on. Black-owned businesses. They are one of the fastest growing segments of our economy. Want to know why they are such a big success? Stay tuned. We'll have the answer in two minutes.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

SAVIDGE: According to the latest from the U.S. Census Bureau, black-owned businesses grew much faster, both in number and sales, than U.S. businesses as a whole between 2002 and 2007. In these years, the number of black-owned businesses increased by 60.5 percent to 1.9 million. More than triple the national rate of 18 percent. And receipts generated by black-owned businesses increased 55.1 percent to $137.5 billion.

What does this all mean? Well, joining us now to give his perspective is Alfred Edmond Jr., and he's editor at large of "Black Enterprise."

And, first of all, Alford, why did we see this boom?

ALFRED EDMOND JR., EDITOR-AT-LARGE, "BLACK ENTERPRISE": Well, Martin, there's a variety of factors going on. And we should point out that these are numbers through 2007, which is prior to the most recent recession. But you had an overall activity in business growth and you have many African-Americans who, particularly younger African- Americans, who are far more entrepreneurial than previous generations. They're far less likely to want to get a job and work in the same place or 20 or 30 years. They're more likely to get a job, get some experience and contacts and then try to launch out into their own business ventures.

SAVIDGE: Well, you mentioned that these figures take us right up to the brink of the great recession. And I'm wondering, is there any way, do we know, how black-owned businesses have fared in the financial collapse?

EDMOND: Well, just like all businesses, black-owned businesses took major hits. In part because of the slowdown in the economy, in part because of the sudden even less access to capital and minority businesses have traditionally had difficultly accessing capital. But what I think we're going to see, and we saw it at the Black Enterprise Entrepreneurs Conference, which will be held this May in Atlanta, this coming May, and we had if in Atlanta last year, we were surprised at the numbers growing for those people attending conferences like that.

And here's what we're -- you're seeing. In a good economy, people get into business because they think there's great opportunities. In a difficult economy, like we've seen in the last couple of years, there are many people who have been displaced from their jobs, displaced from corporate and professional careers and those people will often go into business either out of desire or out of necessity. So, ironically, we're expecting even a higher turnout at the Black Enterprise Entrepreneurs Conference this May than we did maybe a year or two ago.

SAVIDGE: Yes, people obviously wanting to reinvent themselves in tough times.

Well, what do you think needs to improve to make business even better?

EDMOND: Well, the issues are very much the same, again, for all American businesses. Small businesses in general and minority businesses in particular are still having trouble accessing capital. You know, getting banks to do more small business lending.

One of the great examples of trying to turn this around is the Florida Black Business Investment Board, which the Florida legislature established to try to really organize more capital to help support black business growth. So I think you're going to need more of that, not only just on the federal level in terms of what we can expect from the White House, but on local levels, on state level and county and city levels in terms of creating an environment where minority-owned businesses can get access to capital.

SAVIDGE: Yes, you just saw that those states that were leading were, I believe, New York, Florida and Georgia there.

Do you think that this trend is going to continue? I mean once the economy begins to recover, do you think the black business leaders and their companies are going to grow as they did, you know, in the 2007 to 2008 period?

EDMOND: Well, I think it will. But here's the two conflicting factors. On the one hand, we know that black businesses were hit hard by the recession. And -- but on the other hand, because so many African-Americans who are underemployed or unemployed have looked at entrepreneurship as their way out of this economic morass, you're going to see some people, you know, really pushing entrepreneurship.

My take is that we'll continue to see growth in the years going forward simply because the recession probably has weed out the weaker businesses and if you're still standing after these last two years, you probably got a pretty good business concept and are prepared to take advantage of the improving economy.

SAVIDGE: Alfred Edmond Jr., editor at large, Black Enterprise. Thanks very much for joining us. Appreciate the conversation.

EDMOND: Thank you, Martin. Appreciate it.

SAVIDGE: And be sure to join Christine Romans for "Your Bottom Line" each Saturday morning at 9:30 Eastern and "Your Money" with Ali Velshi Saturdays at 1:00 p.m. Eastern, Sundays at 3:00.

Time to check these developing stories that we're watching right now.

Today, President Obama unveiled his $3.7 trillion budget for 2012. It includes deep cuts to programs like heat subsidies for low- income families and Pell Grants. It is part of the president's promise to freeze non-security domestic spending. Of course, we'll have much more on the specific cuts, what they could mean to you, a little bit later in the program.

The Egyptian military is dispersing protesters from Tahrir Square today. They're also calling on people to get back to work. The ruling military council says that they'll appoint a committee to propose changes to the constitution that they suspended yesterday, but they reserved the right to impose new laws in the meantime.

And the first sights and signs of spring are coming out of Florida and Arizona today. Pitchers and catchers report for 11 teams getting a jump on baseball spring training. Among them, the Philadelphia Phillies, Chicago Cubs and St. Louis Cardinals. The regular season starts March 31st. I can smell that fresh cut grass already.

Well, are your kids getting as much caffeine as a morning cup of coffee? Could be. And they're getting it from a source you probably never considered.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

SAVIDGE: Breaking news coming into CNN here. There is a lockdown ongoing at Middle Tennessee State University. That's in Murfreesboro. There was a shooting there at the Basic and Applied Science Building this morning. Now the school is currently under lockdown right now. Reportedly one student was shot. We do not know the condition of that student. And the shooter, meanwhile, continues to be on the loose. The building is in a cluster of other nearby university buildings. And that is pretty much as we know at this time. So the Middle Tennessee State University on lockdown in Murfreesboro. We'll continue to follow that. One student shot. Condition unknown. Shooter still on the loose.

All right. Let's turn to more pleasant things. A new warning for parents about the possible dangers of energy drinks and what they may pose to their children's health. A study says that kids could actually O.D. on caffeine, which could be much higher than the amount found in soda. Senior medical correspondent Elizabeth Cohen joins us now.

And, Elizabeth, what happens to kids who drink a lot of these drinks?

ELIZABETH COHEN, CNN SENIOR MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT: You know what, they get shaky, which is not surprising, and they can get nauseous and they can get dizzy. And really you have to be an empowered parent because when you see that, you might think, oh my kids has the flu, my kid has a virus. But what really what parents should be thinking is maybe they've had too many of these. Because a lot of kids, and I must say a lot of parents, too, don't realize what's in these things. So today the American Academy of Pediatrics is telling parents, look out for these symptoms. Look out for nausea, dizziness, rapid heart rate, even seizures from the caffeine and the other stimulants that are in these drinks.

SAVIDGE: Goodness gracious. Well, how can you tell a sports drink, say, from an energy drink?

COHEN: Right, because sports drinks are good.

SAVIDGE: Right.

COHEN: Things like Gatorade and Powerade. That's great hydration. All of that's good. What you want to do is read the labels because sometimes the packaging is very similar. But a label for these energy drinks that will have something like -- it will have caffeine in it. It may have taurine in it. And it may have another ingredient called guarana in it. All three of those are stimulant. And some of these, Martin, have all three of these in them. So you can imagine your kids getting all three of these. Now, imagine also, let's say your kid is one of the millions of kids who has ADHD and is taking a Ritalin-like drug, which is also a stimulant. Imagine how hyped up your kid is going to be when they're getting all of that in their body.

SAVIDGE: And what are the energy drink makers saying about all of this?

COHEN: What they're saying is, look, everybody's got choice. You know, we label, we put the ingredients in the label and kids drink sodas and kids drink coffee. But what pediatricians point out is that there's a lot of caffeine in here and there's also these other stimulants.

SAVIDGE: Yes, and, you know, I see -- I mean we had them in our refrigerator. I see a lot of kids who drink them and they drink a lot of them is the problem and so they may necessarily be feeling peer pressure here as well.

COHEN: That's true. I mean if all your friends are drinking these, and as you can see, they're kind of, you know, they're kind of -- they're fun looking, right? I mean they don't look like they've got all that stuff in them. And so a kid is going to think, well, my friends are doing it, they look like fun. And some of them are quite small. I mean some of them are larger, but some of them are small. You can really chug those down.

SAVIDGE: All right. Well, we'll keep an eye on that problem. It's one that I see in my own refrigerator. So I take it very close to heart. Great to see you.

COHEN: Good to see you.

SAVIDGE: Thank you very much.

Well, the shockwaves from Egypt, they continue to ripple through the Middle East. We'll go globe trekking to bring you the very latest on how other countries are being affected.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

SAVIDGE: Happening now, breaking news in Tennessee. Middle Tennessee State University in Murfreesboro is under a lockdown after a shooting at the Basic and Applied Science building. Police say that one student was shot. His condition isn't known. The suspect is still on the loose. We'll keep you updated on this throughout the hour.

President Obama sends Congress his $3.7 trillion budget for 2012. He says the plan will cut projected deficit -- the deficit, that is, by $1.1 trillion over the next decade. It trims a number of popular programs but it doesn't tackle Medicare, Medicaid or Social Security -- the big three. Many Republicans say his cuts are not nearly deep enough. We expect to hear from Republicans next hour.

And the man keeping watch over the government bailout program is, well, bailing out of the job. The Inspector General of the Troubled Asset Relief Program, Neil Barofsky says that he's resigning effective March 30th. In a letter to the president, Barofsky says that the TARP program is in far better and more transparent place today than anyone could have reasonably hoped in December of 2008.

All right. Time for Globe Trekking now. With so many others now inspired by Egypt's revolution, protests are growing across the Middle East today. After weekend demonstrations in Algeria, that resulted in an estimated 100 arrests. They're promising Algeria's 20-year-old state of emergency will be lifted within days.

In Bahrain, the official news agency reports that protesters attacked a police station and police fired back with rubber bullets. The report says three police officers and one protester, were hurt. Bahrain is located on the Persian Gulf and, by the way, hosts the U.S. Navy's fifth fleet.

And there were also protests today in Yemen and Iran, as well, as new developments in Egypt come along. We have three reports now, starting with CNN's Mahmoud Jamjoon -- that's Mohammed Jamjoon -- sorry -- on the phone from Yemen.

Mohammed, what can you tell us?

MOHAMMED JAMJOON, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well Martin, it's the fourth time protests have broken out in as many days here in the capital of Yemen. What started out as a peaceful protest this morning at the gates of Sana'a University soon turned violent as pro- government demonstrators converged on a group of anti-government demonstrators. It turned quite violent.

Pro-government demonstrators were seen wielding knives and daggers and machetes. Anti-government demonstrators had sticks. There was a brief skirmish. Police were called in. Military police came in. They tried to disperse the crowd. It's really concerning the officials here that the protest movement, especially the anti- government protest movement, is picking up steam, especially since president Hosni Mubarak of Egypt stepped down four days ago.

We're seeing more and more normal Yemeni citizens, the youth here, activists come out into the streets. Yesterday, they were marching toward the presidential palace, calling on the president Ali Abdullah Saleh of Yemen to step down. They say he's been in power for 32 years but this country is in disarray. It's the poorest country in the Middle East. Very few job opportunities. Very deep poverty.

Really, it's a level of anger that's risen through the streets here. People are out more and more day-by-day. Security forces really concerned that this could gather momentum, pose a serious threat to the regime of Ali Abdullah Saleh here in Yemen -- Martin.

SAVIDGE: Mohammed Jamjoon in Yemen. Thanks very much for that.

Reporting from Iran, meanwhile, is extremely difficult. The Iranian regime sharply restricts visas for journalists and even journalists legally in the country were denied permission to cover today's street demonstrations.

CNN's Reza Sayah is at our Iran desk in Islamabad, Pakistan. And we know how difficult it is to cover this story, Reza, but what have you been able to piece together?

REZA SAYAH, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, a lot of drama on the streets of Tehran today, Martin. A day that marks the comeback for Iran's opposition movement, the so-called green movement that burst on to the scene in 2009, after the disputed presidential elections.

This is a movement that hadn't protested in the streets of Tehran for more than a year because of a brutal government crackdown. But they came back today, according to witness accounts, and they came back in large numbers. One witness telling us the crowd at one point swelling into the tens of thousands.

Video clips have been posted on YouTube over the past couple of hours. Most of the people, according to witnesses, marching peacefully, quietly, toward Azari Square, the final destination point for this rally that was called for by Iran's two opposition figures. It was rejected by Iran's government.

The Iranian government warned people not to come out. They defied them. Witnesses tell us that at points it did get ugly. Whenever people chanted, Death to the dictator, death to the supreme leader," they were attacked by Iranian security forces. Within the past 30 minutes, we spoke to another witness who told us that most of the protesters didn't make it to the Azari Square, their final destination, because they were blocked by security forces.

Martin, we're trying to keep in touch with our witnesses we're speaking to on the ground to see what is happening now. But certainly a movement that many thought was dead, making a statement today that they are still alive, that they are still a thorn in the side of this Iranian regime who's still trying to make them disappear.

SAVIDGE: All right, Reza. We know that you'll keep us updated.

Thanks very much, reporting on the situation in Iran.

All right. Now back to Egypt and the military council that replaced President Hosni Mubarak. It's working to stabilize the country. CNN's Fred Pleitgen is in Cairo.

Fred, is life now returning to normal?

FREDERIK PLEITGEN, CNN CORRESPONDENT Well, it's sort of returning to normal, Martin, however, we have to say the military council, as you said, that's trying to bring life back to normal is also becoming a little more, I would say, heavy handed in trying to do so.

We saw several smaller protests on Liberation Square, which is, of course, where the massive demonstrations have been happening over the past couple weeks, broken up by military police. And they did that in quite a heavy handed way, apparently.

One of the interesting things is that among those who are protesting and staging protests are now police officers. Now that's significant because of course the police here was really a symbol of state repression when Hosni Mubarak was still in power. And now those same police officers are going out on the street, they're demanding more pay, better working conditions. Also apparently some police officers have been sacked and they were protesting for these officers to get reinstated.

This is also very important in light of the fact that in many places there is no police force on the streets right now, and a lot of people here in Egypt, are trying very hard to get police officers back on to the streets. There's even volunteers who are refurbishing looted and burned out police stations to try to get cops back on the street.

However, right now, no beat cops are walking the streets here in Egypt. And at the same time, the police officers, many of them are demonstrating. And finally the military government also issued a statement today on the one hand urging people to get back to work, get back to their jobs in a bid to try and stop these demonstrations and also announce that they were suspending the stock exchange here in Egypt indefinitely -- Martin.

SAVIDGE: Fred Pleitgen, right there in Cairo. Thank you very much.

Well, internet messages and the spoken word, they all played a part, important roles, actually, in Egypt's revolution. But, you know what else was important? Music.

CNN's Ivan Watson explains.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

IVAN WATSON, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): For 18 historic days and nights, this was the soundtrack for a revolution. An explosion of musical defiance that helped bring down a dictator. Songs of protest composed in the ferment of a popular revolt.

(MUSIC)

Egyptians issuing their musical challenge in front of the gates of government power.

(MUSIC)

Singing on a bridge over the Nile River.

(MUSIC)

Lyrics inspired by the politics of change.

HUSSAM AL HOSSAINY, HIP HOP ARTIST: What is a revolution without music? Everybody's singing, if you see at night, everybody's, like, they're writing new songs. People are making the melodies for it and it feels beautiful. It feels like so, you know, energetic. It gives people energy.

(MUSIC)

WATSON: Not all of the songs were new. This patriotic tune from the '70s became an anthem in Tahrir Square. Even the soldiers couldn't escape its pull.

Protesters heralded 23-year-old Remy Esam as the singer of the revolution.

REMY ESAM, MUSICIAN: Can sing anything you want. Without being afraid.

WATSON: Egyptians instantly know the words to this song.

(MUSIC)

Because they are the much repeated chants from the protests. This is the sound of a revolution. Ivan Watson, CNN, Cairo.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

SAVIDGE: Meanwhile, back in this country, tracking down criminals. It just got a whole lot easier. Fingerprints can now be detected on fabric. We'll explain how in today's "Big I" right after this quick break.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

SAVIDGE: Some breaking news out of Tennessee. Middle Tennessee State University, that is in Murfreesboro is under a lockdown after a shooting at the basic and applied science building. School officials say that one student was shot, his condition not known. The suspect still on the loose and S.W.A.T teams have been called in. We will of course keep you updated on this situation throughout the hour.

Other top stories that we are following. In Washington, President Obama's proposed 2012 budget is hot off the presses and more than 2,000 pages long. It totals $3.7 trillion and includes some wide ranging spending cuts. Half of all government agencies would see their funding reduced from 2010 levels.

An attack on the Afghan capital has killed at least two people. A suicide bomber blew himself up inside a Kabul shopping mall. The Taliban have claimed responsibility. President Hamid Karzai quickly denounced the attack as "un-Islamic."

Crime scene investigators, they are drooling all over themselves at this next story. Imagine being able to pick fingerprints up off of fabric. Well, a group of researchers in Europe have done just that. It is today's "Big I."

Joining us live to talk about this and how it works is David Bremner. He is a professor and research leader at Scotland's University of Abertay Dundee. And he joins us live from the university. Welcome. And let's start with how this process works. How do you get fingerprints from fabric?

DAVID BREMNER, RESEARCH LEADER, UNIVERSITY OF ABERTAY DUNDEE: Well, it seems very, very complicated, but actually it's relatively simple. What you do is you get the fabric material and you put it into a large oven, it's called. But in fact it's like a trash can but very thick steel. And it has a glass window in it.

And then what you do is you heat small amounts of gold under a very high vacuum, and this deposits small amounts, as I say, of gold on the surface of the garment. And then bizarrely, you then add zinc in the same way. And the fingerprint -- or sometimes it's better to say that the hand print or the mark of the hand -- then appears clearly as if by magic in terms of being sort of a negative on material that you're investigating.

SAVIDGE: How accurate is this process? How often do you get good results? BREMNER: Well, it really depends on the type of material and what you actually want to find. And the best material, fabric, is actually probably silk. As long as it's smooth, you can get very, very good results often. But if you think of cotton, for example, then you probably can't get a very good fingerprint but can get a mark indicating that a hand has been at that particular point on the fabric.

SAVIDGE: You know, we hear about DNA testing, of course, all the time. It's all the rage in all criminal investigation programs on television. So, how important are fingerprints, really, in investigations?

BREMNRE: Well, they're really pretty important for, how shall I say, smooth surfaces.

Can I go back to your DNA point, because the main thing that we feel is the biggest breakthrough from a crime scene investigator's point of view is the fact that when we get the fingerprint -- actually it's not that important that you can see the finer edge detail and so on. But what's most important is that underneath the fingerprint, we can actually get that DNA from the person who actually put the print there. So, as well as be it potentially useful for finding a fingerprint, it's much more important in that you find DNA underneath.

SAVIDGE: Wow. Well, let me ask you this, and it's probably going to be our last question. Any possibility of using this on cold cases?

BREMNER: Well, yes, although there are certain limitations. And Joanna Frazier who's done the work with me, found that she takes her sample and restore them for about-- about a month before we process them. That's not a problem at all.

But the biggest sort of difficulty would be if the material, the fabric, had been wetted or washed in some respect. So, if there was a corroboration for a crime, then actually getting the garment from a victim as soon as possible and dry would be the critical thing.

SAVIDGE: Professor David Bremner, thanks very much for talking to us about the remarkable technology of gaining fingerprints from fabric. He was joining us from the Scotland's University of Abertay Dundee. Thank you, sir.

BREMNER: Thank you.

SAVIDGE: To check out the technology, for the technology for yourself, you can head to Ali's blog at CNN.com/ali. We'll link you to the information.

Donald Trump, he let it all hang out at a major conference of conservatives, talking about long shots for 2012. But now, one of those long shots is firing back. It's a touche moment in our Political Update, next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK) SAVIDGE: Time now for a CNN Political Update. The budget is big news on Capitol Hill today with plenty of influential people weighing in on the president's plan. CNN national political correspondent Jessica Yellin joins me now from Washington. Nothing like trillions of dollars to get people's tongues wagging, right?

JESSICA YELLIN, CNN NATIONAL POLITICAL CORRESPONDENT: That is right, Marty. There's something in this budget for just about everybody to hate, or so it would seem, based on the emails that I'm getting in my inbox right now.

On the left, groups are slamming the White House for proposing a budget that includes sharp cuts for home heating aid to low-income people and increases the costs of certain education grants. On the right, there's a lot of frustration that it would allow the Bush-era tax cuts for the wealthiest to expire. And Sarah Palin has just sent out a tweet, which everybody seems to watch with bated breath. She's upset that there's not enough cuts in this year's budget.

And she's not the only one. Even the president's own debt commissioners are critical because it doesn't do anything really to take on the biggest drivers of all the spending and all of our real debt, and that is the entitlements that the U.S. -- someone in the U.S. has to have the political courage to talk about Medicare, Medicaid, Social Security. Seems that both parties are waiting for the other one to go first.

And then a story, Marty, that you teased and is a lot lighter. Donald Trump as you know spoke at the Conservative Political Action Committee last week. And he said that Ron Paul, who was a favorite in that audience, he could never really get elected.

Well, Ron Paul is hitting back, speaking on CNN. He asked, you know, I've been elected 11 times. How many times has Donald Trump ever been elected to office? Does he really earn the right to criticize? Hmm.

I think this kind of back-and-forth actually generates headlines for both of them. So, I doubt either of them really minds this public tiff.

SAVIDGE: Yes, no such thing as bad publicity, as they say. You're going to be in "THE SITUATION ROOM" today. You've got a special guest, right?

YELLIN: Actually, we'll be revealing -- I have the TV first exclusive interview with the guys behind that Mama Grizzly video. Do you remember Sarah Palin made everyone abuzz over this amazing video? Which, whatever you think of her politics, it was a new kind of political ad that really had a lot of energy, and it used music and video in new ways.

Anyway, nobody ever would reveal who was behind it. And I finally got to meet them. One of them is the son of Larry Gatlin of the Gatlin Brothers and he actually used music video - a country video music maker to do this. We talk about whether this is the new trend in political advertising, going - music video. I don't know.

SAVIDGE: That's great! Larry Gatlin, that's very interesting.

YELLIN: Blast from the past. Right.

SAVIDGE: Yes, very much so! Jessica, thanks very much.

Well, your next political update from The Best Political Team on Television is just an hour away.

Meanwhile, one Beijing-based artist disappears, literally. See exactly how he transforms into the invisible man.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

SAVIDGE: "Odds & Ends" begins with one artist who struggles to -- I love this -- blend in. You'll see why.

Distressed over his failed social relationships and feeling that nobody cared, 35-year-old Leo Boland said he just wanted to disappear. So he did. Take a look.

Can you see him? He is now invisible. He's known as The Invisible Man for his ability to disappear into his surroundings. Mr. Leo paints onto his clothes and then positions himself in a backdrop until he's invisible. The Chinese artist spends hours completing each pose. You can see why. Carefully crafting each detail to ensure the chameleon-like quality his work is known for. Some of his projects can take up to ten hours, and some as long three months.

(MUSIC PLAYING)

SAVIDGE: Oh, reunited and it feels so good. A NASA probe is revisiting the Temple 1 comet after six long years. Of course, on Valentine's Day. The meeting will be an intimate discovery with all the trappings for a special Valentine reunion. Fierce solar heat from the sun supporting gases. Heat vaporizes the ice, and deep impact. Whoo! Stevie, stop!

Where in 2005 an 820-pound copper projectile was released from the deep-impact space craft onto the comet surface. The impact was supposed to punch a hole through the surface so that scientists could take a look and collect core and surface samples. Due to the thick cloud afterwards (ph), Deep Impact had to make the lonely trip home before the cloud could dissipate. Tonight will be the first time the two meet again. And this time, scientists are looking for intimate exploration with (ph) that comet. Oh! Data obtained by the Stardust Next (ph) craft will provide clues and possibly reveal more about the comet.