Return to Transcripts main page

CNN Newsroom

Gingrich Divorce Papers; Observing Syria's Crackdown; Who Hacked Stratfor?; London Subway Strike; Retailers Lure Shoppers; Online Gamblers Hit The Jackpot; Soldier Shot At Welcome Home Party; Family Killed After Opening Gifts; Gingrich's Problem in Virginia as Ron Paul Rises; Another Deadly Bomb Attack in Iraq; Illegal Immigrant's Surgery Rejected by U.S. Government

Aired December 26, 2011 - 13:00   ET

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

NATALIE ALLEN CNN ANCHOR: Hello, everyone, I'm Natalie Allen, in today for Randi Kaye. It is 1:00. Let's get straight to the news.

Newt Gingrich's campaign for president is standing by its claim that it was Gingrich's first wife Jackie who requested the couple's divorce back in 1980. So what? Well, for decades, Gingrich has been hounded by this story of having served his wife with divorce papers while she was on a sick bed with cancer. Lately, the couple's daughter has been denying that story forcefully. But CNN obtained the actual papers from the Carroll County courthouse here in Georgia. They show Newt did the filing claiming the marriage was irretrievably broken. Jackie Gingrich opposed the petition. We will get much more on this in our next segment, moments from now.

Well, overseas a large delegation from the Arab league is due in Syria today. It is supposed to observe, and therefore, discourage the government's brutal crackdown on its own people. A crackdown that seems to be in full force despite a promise to the Arab League just last week. This is amateur video reportedly from the flash point city of Homs. The opposition says 22 people have been killed here today alone.

The Global Intelligence Web site, Stratfor, is still down after hackers stole thousands of client names and credit card numbers. Exactly who those hackers are is unclear, but a posting attributed to the group called Anonymous says it has no brief with Stratfor who it considers an unbiased source for information.

Earlier today, my colleague, Drew Griffin, spoke with the New York Bureau chief for Wired.com.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JOHN ABELL, WIRED.COM: Stratfor is in the business of providing geopolitical information the way the sort of state department does about political climates, business climates, on a very granular real- time basis. Both to the general public in a more broad way and, more specifically, in their e-mails that people pay for. So in a sense, they are in the security business, and so that makes them kind of a ripe target for headline purposes, I guess.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ALLEN: Stratfor says it is diligently investigating the breach.

It is boxing day in Britain, an annual holiday that is one of the biggest shopping days of the year. But a strike by London's subway drivers is creating a major headache for millions of shoppers. The drivers walked out over a pay dispute. City officials are warning of severe disruption for those seeking bargains in London's shopping centers. Several subway lines shut down completely while a few are running a limited schedule. But stores in London's Tony West end say the strike has not made much after dent in their business.

In New York, subways are running normally and shoppers are out in force, either returning Christmas presents or taking advantage of the sales. Alison Kosik is in the thick of it all for us. And Alison, what's it like right now?

ALISON KOSIK, CNN BUSINESS CORRESPONDENT: Well Natalie, if you ever wondered why retailers call the week between Christmas and New Year's the second season, your answer is literally all around me. See all these people around me? They're all window shopping or actually shopping themselves here in the Macy's here in New York City. I did a little reconnaissance on my own walking into Macy's. I don't think I want to do that again on the day after Christmas. I'm telling you, there was a crush of people -- a sea of people inside this department store.

And what they're doing is, yes, what you said, they're returning gifts. But what they're also doing is buying, because what retailers are doing is they're marking down their merchandise, even more than they did before the Christmas holiday because they've got a lot of stuff on their hands and lots of consumers are taking advantage of it. I talked to a few of them earlier today.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: We just thought that maybe there would be sales but instead I think it is a big return day so lines are crazy, to just get in line and pay, and then the fitting rooms are crazy though, too. So, I don't know. It's just craziness.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Well, apparently there's big deals so we want to go for the deals.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

KOSIK: And one thing, working in retail's favor, the retailer's favor right now is actually the good weather that we're having across the country. You think of what was happening last year around this time, at least up and down the eastern -- the east coast, we had blizzard conditions. But even then during the week between Christmas and New Year's last year, retailers in that one week brought in $62 billion. Natalie, this week they are expecting to bring in $72 billion. The numbers will start coming in the next few weeks when they're all tallied up -- Natalie.

ALLEN: Truly amazing. A lot of shopping bags walking past you behind you. Alison Kosik, thanks so much, Alison.

Well, coming up here, could newt Gingrich's past hurt his future? We will talk more about the court documents casting doubt on Gingrich's version of his divorce details.

But first, today's rock star. 16-year-old Alex Newman of New Orleans caught the football bug when she was only 8. She is a vocal fan of New Orleans Saints' tight end, Jimmy Graham. So, over Christmas break, Alex and her sister, slash backup singer, Stella, posted a YouTube tribute to Graham.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I want to shake hands with Jimmy Graham, I want to take a double photo in front of the super dome.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ALLEN: Well now, Saints' Jimmy saw the video and became St. Mick. The girls will be at tonight's game against the Falcons courtesy of St. Jimmy. And it's our opinion, you're all "Rock Stars."

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

ALLEN: The presidential race and personal responsibility. Newt Gingrich is squarely at the center of debate on fidelity an family. His failed marriages have been the subject of veiled attacks by some of his rivals who are now trotting out their wives on the campaign trail, and in campaign ads. For Gingrich's part, he has admitted to making mistakes in the past and says he's different now as the 68- year-old grandfather. But it hasn't ended the questions, especially about his first marriage.

Joining me now is CNN reporter Alan Duke who has personally looked into the court records surrounding that first failed marriage. Alan, what did you learn?

ALAN DUKE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, I started looking at this because I saw a new defense by the Gingrich campaign emerge the last few months. I've been covering this for 30 years and that's how long I've been on this story covering Newt Gingrich, and I've never heard them suggest their new defense, and that's that Jackie Battley Gingrich, his first wife, was the one who wanted a divorce and that newt filed it for them.

So, I decided to go to the Carroll County Georgia courthouse to look at the file itself. And I had a little bit of trouble finding it, it seems a retired clerk stashed it away to protect it. But when I did finally found -- find it, what I found was actually contradictory information to what Newt Gingrich's campaign is now saying. In fact, Jackie Gingrich, 75 years old now, told the court 31 years ago that she did not want the divorce and in fact looking at the document, defendant shows that she has adequate and ample grounds for a divorce but that she does not desire one at this time. This is before Georgia adopted no-fault divorce laws and she could, in effect, keep him in the marriage if the judge allowed it. And that's what she was trying to do through court papers which indicate that what Gingrich is saying now, that he did not -- that it was she that wanted the divorce and that he was just obliging her, that seems to be rewriting history at least according to the court papers. But then, I talked to people who were close to the couple at the time, including Gerald Johnson. He was in their Sunday school class at the First Baptist church in Carrollton. He talked with me about this and said he was surprised to hear that anybody suggested that Jackie Gingrich was the one wanting the divorce.

ALLEN: And has the Gingrich campaign responded to this find on your part?

DUKE: They say the court papers say what they say but that the case is, that Gingrich was simply hiring the lawyer and filing the divorce. But what -- at her request -- they specifically say it, at her request. And it's also something that their daughter then 13, now an adult, campaigning for her father's presidential campaign has repeated that she was 13 at the time, and people who were adults then, they're laughing at this, people who knew the Gingrich's at the time.

ALLEN: All right. Alan Duke, we appreciate it. And we're going to be talking about the relevance of this and how it may play out on the campaign trail a little bit later on, but we appreciate it. And if you want to read more about Alan's reporting and what he has found, check out our Web site at CNN.com. You can read more about it.

Coming up at the bottom of the hour in our "Fair Game," we will talk with our political insiders about the effects this will have on the Gingrich campaign. So of course, stay with us for that.

Well, if you are a poker player, listen up. A new ruling has states eager to bet on Internet gambling. How they plan to cash in with your money, that is next.

But first, you may be helped to the store today to exchange all those unwanted Christmas gifts for something better? Not that you don't appreciate the thought, of course, but you just don't need another polka dot neck tie. Some of the not so hot items also most likely to be returned, clothes that don't fit or make you say, yuck, stinky perfume is another, bad toys or games. So, today's the day to say lousy gifts, your 15 minutes are up.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

ALLEN: Almost anything you can do legally, you can do virtually. That is online. But a federal law that long predate to the Internet has pretty much forbidden online gambling, until now. Now the Justice Department is reinterpreting the Wire Act of 1961 to bar Internet sports betting only. So what? Well, when it comes to online poker or lotto, all bets may be on. And several states are working on ways to cash in.

My next guest may be the world's top authority on gambling and the law which happens to be the name of his Web site. I. Nelson Rose has written several books and hundreds of columns, and is a distinguished senior professor at Whittier Law School in California. Professor Rose, thank you for joining us.

PROF. I. NELSON ROSE, GAMBLINGANDTHELAW.COM: Thank you for inviting me.

ALLEN: Well, first of all, no new laws have been passed, no old ones repealed. So how did the landmark change come about?

ROSE: Well, there was one law. The Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act was rammed through Congress a couple of years ago actually by conservative Republicans designed to outlaw Internet gambling, and it may have accidentally legalized it because it's got an exception for gambling that is 100 percent within a single state, if it's legal in a state. The Department of Justice had always said the wire act makes all forms of gambling illegal. And even if the wire just happens to go into another state and come back, it's illegal. And on Friday, they issued a kind of Christmas present to the legal Internet gambling community saying, no, no, we don't care if the wire crosses into another state, as long as it's all the better or the operator in one state and we only care about sports betting anyway.

ALLEN: So the feds went after the big three online poker operations. Are they now saying they were wrong?

ROSE: No. They used a different law. They used the New York state anti-gambling law to piggy back and try to make it into a federal crime. It still has to be legal on the state level to be legal under federal law.

ALLEN: So what is allowed now and what isn't? That's probably what a lot of people are wondering.

ROSE: Well, this pretty much opens the door to everything. Everything at least until -- except sports betting, an even that is under challenge in New Jersey in the courts. It means that -- well, we've got two jurisdictions already -- Nevada and the District of Columbia have legalized internet poker and other forms of online gambling. They're just -- they're not up and operating yet. But this means now they're legal. They are legal under state law, they're legal under federal law. They can make agreements between the various states.

We're about to see a real explosion of Internet gambling. This is also a gift to the states to help them balance their budget. So what we're going to find is California, Iowa -- Iowa will probably be the next state, New Jersey will have it on the ballot in November and then every other state, Florida and the others, are going to follow, looking at probably starting with Internet poker but also other forms. Certainly the lotteries are going Internet and we're going to have Internet casinos. And it will start being intrastate and then the states will make agreements among each other, and with foreign countries, to let anybody play on any site as long as it's legal.

ALLEN: So you mentioned a few states that are prepared to cash in. Do you expect to be this onslaught of states moving to join in the others who get a jump on them?

ROSE: Well, it took -- we are in what I call the third wave of legal gambling. This is the third time in American history that gambling has spread everywhere. It took almost 40 years to have 46 of the states have state lotteries. We are going to see -- well, we've already got district of Columbia and Nevada. Next year will probably be Iowa, California and New Jersey. And then pretty quickly we'll see a lot of other states. Massachusetts, Florida, Michigan, Oregon, Washington. It will probably -- it will still take a decade, but, yes, we are about to see a lot of states jump on the bandwagon.

Understand there's so much legal gambling in this country that legalizing one more form -- Internet poker -- is no big deal and the slates are absolutely desperate for revenue to try to balance their budgets. Gambling is seen as a painless tax, so this is the easiest way for states to raise some money. The only question is, who gets the license. The big operators want a federal law because they know they're going to have to compete in 50 states against powerful local gambling operators.

ALLEN: We appreciate you explaining it to us, I. Nelson Rose. Professor Rose, thanks so much. And again your website, if people want more information, gamblingandthelaw.com. Thanks so much.

ROSE: Thank you.

ALLEN: Well, before we move on, if you bought a Powerball ticket from a truck stop on Interstate 20 in Georgia six months ago, think about it, did do you that? Check the numbers. Whoever holds the winner from the drawing on June 29th never collected his or her $77 million jackpot. And the deadline, well, it's today. The winning numbers -- 24, 30, 45, 57 and 59 and Powerball 26. The clock is ticking.

Well, the Christmas weekend wasn't all holiday cheer. A rare string of violence swept across the country, including a bizarre family murder- suicide in Texas on Christmas Day. We're getting new information about what really happened.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

ALLEN: Time now for today's "Crime & Consequence." In Richmond, Virginia, police say a gunman is on the loose after he robbed two people and shot them dead on Christmas Eve. Jamal Clemons is also accused of hijacking a car and taking off without realizing a two- year-old boy was in the back seat. After an Amber Alert was issued, police found the get-away car ditched in a nearby cemetery and the boy was found safe. Police say the 27-year-old suspect is armed and dangerous.

And in California, a soldier who came home after being injured in Afghanistan was shot by someone at his own welcome home party. Twenty- two-year-old Christopher Sullivan is now paralyzed and in critical condition after Friday's shooting. Police have identified the suspect and Sullivan's family is begging him to turn himself in. We get more on it from affiliate reporter Jim Nash.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Turn yourself in. He's a good kid. He didn't deserve this. He didn't deserve this at all.

JIM NASH, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): While an uncle holds the sobbing mother of an injured Afghanistan veteran, Army Specialist Christopher Sullivan remains on life support in a San Bernardino area hospital. He came home this week from Kentucky, where he's been recovering from brain damage in a suicide bomber explosion that killed five of his fellow soldiers in Afghanistan. Friday night at a welcome home party for Sullivan in this house, two men began arguing about football. A gun was pulled. Sullivan stepped in to stop the fight and was shot twice, once in the neck, paralyzing possibly his entire body. Now police are looking for the gunman.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

ALLEN: That was Jim Nash from our affiliate KTLA.

Coming up next hour, Sullivan's mom talks with CNN about her son and the latest in the investigation.

Well, more holiday crime to report. A family of seven near Dallas just finished opening gifts Christmas morning when all of them were shot and killed by one of their own. That according to police in Grapevine, Texas. They say the suspect was among the dead and was related to the family by marriage.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I can't imagine anybody doing that to their family. I think it just puts people on alert, like, to be more aware of who's around them. You never know who lives next to you.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Any day of the year it's very tragic and it's certainly amplified because it is Christmas.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ALLEN: He killed four women, a man, and a teenage boy. They ranged in age from 15 years old to 59. Reporter Selena Hernandez from our affiliate KTVT joins us now from just outside of Ft. Worth, Texas.

Selena, what more do we know about the investigation?

SELENA HERNANDEZ, KTVT REPORTER (via telephone): Well, we do know that, you know, this was a very tragic situation. Grapevine Police are still trying to piece together the events that unfolded early yesterday morning. They do tell us, at this point, that they have reason to believe they have a motive, but at this point they are not releasing it.

Again, we do know that -- what has been confirmed by Grapevine Police -- was that the gunman was dressed in a Santa suit and the family had just completed its traditional Christmas celebration. There were unwrapped packages and a tree in the living room area when the gunman, according to police, opened fire on the family members. Again, just a very horrific situation out in Grapevine, outside of Ft. Worth, Texas.

ALLEN: And what more do you know about how he was related to the victims or what his relationship was with the victims?

HERNANDEZ: Well, at this time, Grapevine Police have identified all the victims, but they are waiting the medical examiner to release the names of these individuals as they track down next of kin. Now we do know that they are a family. But the extent of their ties at this point is not yet clear. But we do know that they were all related by blood in some fashion.

ALLEN: Wow, such a tragic story. We appreciate your information for us. Selena Hernandez from KTVT out of Dallas. Thank you.

New problems right now for Newt Gingrich. First, a big failure in his new home state. Now new questions about his personal life. Two big questions. Can he pull it together before Iowa? That's in "Fair Game" and our discussion is next.

But first, our political junkie question of the day. Which state passed a law establishing the first official presidential primary? We'll have the answer for you just ahead.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

ALLEN Before the break I asked what state passed a law establishing the first official presidential primary. The answer -- Oregon. They did it in 1910. By the time the 1912 presidential election rolled around, a total of 12 states had primaries in place.

It is time for the part of the show where we go to the heart of the political debate where all things are "Fair Game."

It is eight days until the Iowa caucuses, but one candidate is having a bit of trouble staying focused on Iowa right now. That's Newt Gingrich. He has seen his big Iowa lead evaporate and now he's also got a little problem in Virginia.

Joining me today, Democratic political consultant, Ed Espinoza; and Republican analyst, Lenny McAllister.

Guys, thanks for joining us.

I'll start with you, Lenny.

Newt Gingrich didn't meet the requirements to get on the ballot for the Virginia primary. What does that mean for him?

LENNY MCALLISTER, REPUBLICAN ANALYST: Well, what it means for him is this -- people are going to look at him and understand why they don't like him. People say that this was a situation where it was a lack of organization. To me, this is at the height of arrogance. He overlook this because he was so focused on catching back up and he just took it for granted that he was going to be on this Virginia ballot, that he basically stepped in it.

What he has to do now, you're finding this -- the situations with his personal life as well. He needs to step back and be more humble, come across as the humble Newt all over again. That's what he was earlier in some of these debates when he came to people attacking him personally. He took it on the chin for the Republican Party, the Republican candidates. He can go back to being that humble Newt again, which other folks don't think he can do. If he does that, he can rebound from this. If he doesn't do that, you'll continue to see him slip down the polls?

ALLEN: What about you, Ed? Is this a big deal and can we see a humble Newt?

ES ESPINOZA, DEMOCRATIC POLITICAL CONSULTANT: Humble Newt doesn't really exist. But what -- it shows us, in Virginia, if you look back to 2008, every single Democratic candidate qualified for the ballot in Virginia. Maybe a couple of not-real candidates weren't there, but everyone you ever heard about or that was in the debates was on that ballot. Five of the seven Republican candidates are not on the Virginia ballot. This demonstrates a very weak field. And in Gingrich's case, probably the first time in presidential primaries where somebody who is still in the race is not on the ballot in his home state. This is a problem.

ALLEN: OK. That's the Virginia problem. Let's talk about the divorce situation that doesn't seem to go away. Earlier in the show, we talked about the details of Gingrich's first divorce and saw the court records. Fidelity was a hot topic at one of the last debates. But will this latest divorce story mean anything to voters. From my perspective, from just watching people being interviewed in Iowa, it depends whom you ask. What do you think?

Let's start with you, Lenny.

MCALLISTER: It all depends again on who you ask, number one, and how he handles this. Listen, Herman Cain gave the blueprint on how to fumble this situation. Let's see if Newt Gingrich follows the right way to do it versus following the Herman Cain way to do it. Listen, admit the fact that this happened decades ago. That you made indiscretions years ago and the person that made those indiscretions years ago and, in some instances, decades ago, is not the individual running for president today.

He has to create separation from what he did in the past and admit some contrition and say, but I'm a different man today, I've grown in my faith, I've grown if my personality and my convictions, and that's why I'm running for the presidency of the United States. If he can message that way, he'll rebound and he'll be OK. And even the Virginia flub will make a difference and he'll be able to move past that and move forward again. People keep looking at this as the biggest thing in the world. At this time four years ago, Hillary Clinton was being coronated to be the Democratic nominee. And we had Fred Thompson that was one of the frontrunners for the Republican Party.

ALLEN: Ed, yes, a long time ago but, yes, he has had three marriages. Is this going to be an issue that will haunt him in Iowa?

ESPINOZA: Unfortunately, divorce is a very common thing in this country so I done think anybody's going to hold it against him about having gone through divorce.

The bigger problem here is how he talks about it, how he addresses it. We've seen some inconsistencies in the messages that he gives on things that he's done in the past. Same thing with Freddie Mac. Did he lobby for Freddie Mac or did he not? How did he handle his divorce? How is he handling his campaign organization in places like Iowa and Virginia? So I don't know that his divorce is the issue as much as it is about how he says things or how he deals with things that becomes a bigger issue, and then maybe the voters end up divorcing their support from him.

(CROSSTALK)

ESPINOZA: So we'll see how it works in Iowa.

(LAUGHTER)

ALLEN: Bottom line, Iowa looks like a mess right now. What do you make of where things stand now? Does anyone have an advantage in a close race like this one? This is our last one before we go -- Lenny?

MCALLISTER: We don't know yet. That's the beauty of American politics when people are actually involved. You can't decide a race on one campaign or one election. It's going to be a process. And the good thing for people such as Romney, such as somebody like a Newt Gingrich, and others, you have an opportunity to develop who you are as a candidate and show the American people what type of leader you would be in the Oval Office. I think this is a good thing. I think even what we find out in Iowa next week will not necessarily dictate what it is going to look like when we head to Tampa.

ALLEN: Ed?

ESPINOZA: It doesn't dictate things but it definitely sets momentum for candidates. The nice thing about small states like Iowa is it gives candidates, who have big ideas but maybe small war chests, an ability to express themselves and get some traction. What we are seeing in Iowa right now is Gingrich on his way down, Mitt Romney flat-lining, and Ron Paul on his way up. I think Ron Paul's going to have a big surprise in Iowa next week. We've seen this before. Mike Huckabee did it in 2008. John McCain did it in 2000. Some could even say Obama is president today because of the strength of his organization in Iowa in 2008. So let's see what happens. And my money's on Ron Paul.

ALLEN: We'll see.

Ed Espinoza and Lenny McAllister --

(CROSSTALK)

MCALLISTER: Ron Paul will win.

(LAUGHTER)

ALLEN: That's got to be "Fair Game."

(LAUGHTER)

(CROSSTALK)

ESPINOZA: If Ron Paul wins, Natalie, it is not going to mean that much.

ALLEN: OK, the Ron Paul question. We will leave it there.

Remember, next Tuesday night the country's first real votes taking place in the Iowa caucuses. Watch it all unfold live right here on CNN, "America's Choice 2012." Coverage of the Iowa caucuses begins Tuesday night, January 3rd, 7:00 p.m. eastern. Stay with us for that here on CNN.

Another deadly bomb attack in a country that has lived with war for nearly nine years. Find out where the attack happened and what it could mean for a very fragile government when we go "Globe Trekking." That's next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

ALLEN: Time now to go "Globe Trekking."

And we start in Iraq. Just days after the last American troops pulled out of the country, another deadly suicide bombing in Baghdad today. Incredibly, the bomber drove through six security checkpoints before detonating the bomb.

CNN's Arwa Damon is there for us.

Arwa, where did this latest attack happen and what is the latest on the number killed and wounded?

ARWA DAMON, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, Natalie, at least five people were killed, dozens more were wounded. But what makes this attack especially disturbing, as you were mentioning there, the suicide bomber is believed to have been able to get through six checkpoints.

The target was a checkpoint just outside of the heavily fortified ministry of interior. An official from the ministry was telling us that they believe the suicide bomber came from outside of Baghdad, which is why he would have had to go through so many checkpoints. They said he was driving an ordinary car, the kind you would find on the streets. They're trying to investigate what kind of I.D.s he may have been carrying, how he was able to get through these checkpoints because the Iraqi security forces are supposed to be on high alert following those devastating attacks that took place on Thursday. Security searches are supposed to be more stringent.

So this not only is raising questions about the capabilities of the Iraqi security forces, it is also raising that ongoing question, to what degree have the Iraqi security forces been infiltrated -- Natalie? ALLEN: Absolutely. Everyone was hoping this would not be the case. Now we have had two issues. As you say, this one got through six security checkpoints. Any government reaction to the fact that the bomber was able to infiltrate in that way?

DAMON: None at this stage, Natalie. The Iraqi government usually tends to say that they just have ongoing investigations trying to figure out how security breaches do take place. These are, of course, words that fall fairly flat with the Iraqi population because they are not hearing any sort of reassurance, any sort of plan the government has to prevent this from happening in the future.

ALLEN: Arwa Damon for us live from Baghdad. Arwa, thank you.

Coming up here, the government will pay to keep a kidney patient alive, but it won't pay less money to save his life. Did I mention the patient is an illegal immigrant? So many issues, so many questions. We will talk about them next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

ALLEN: A New York waiter, called Angel, needs a kidney transplant. He's got a lot of people on his side -- family, co- workers, customers, doctors. The U.S. government, however, is split. Angel, whose story appears in the "New York Times," has end-stage renal disease and is an illegal immigrant. Medicaid will pay for his dialysis. Medicare pays for transplants, but not for immigrants. Put the immigration debate aside for the moment and just look at the numbers that we're showing you here. Left column -- the kidney transplant, plus yearly anti-rejection drugs -- he can't get that. Right column, he can get -- a lifetime of dialysis at $75,000 a year. That accumulated cost is enormous compared to the surgery, which he does not qualify for.

Angel's legal status makes this a sticky case, just the sort Art Caplan specializes in. He's the director for the Center of Bioethics at the University of Pennsylvania.

Art, there are people who will see this and say, why doesn't he head back to Mexico and get the surgery there?

ART CAPLAN, DIRECTOR, CENTER FOR BIOETHICS, UNIVERSITY OF PENNSYLVANIA: Well, he could. Let's make one thing clear. He is going to get his transplant from his brother. So he's not going to take the kidney out of the pool that would be available from people who donate organs. He's going to get a live transplant. That is in his favor. He's not, so to speak, taking from anybody else.

I think a lot of folk would say go back to Mexico. They do do transplants there. They can certainly do this kind of kidney transplant there. But he's been here, I think, a dozen years. Everybody who works with him loves this guy. He has a brother who wants to help him. And the state has said -- New York State -- yes, we'll do the dialysis. So I think a case can be made that not all immigrants are the same. This is a guy I think who probably should get his transplant here. He's been here long enough. His kids are U.S. citizens. He's got a job. He's made the contribution. But we certainly may not want to see people sneaking into the country to get health care. I think this guy's situation is a little different.

ALLEN: What about the possibility of getting insurance? Can illegal immigrants get health insurance?

CAPLAN: He can. The problem this guy faces is, he's got a failing set of kidneys. No one's going to insure him. So he's caught in a catch 22. If he applied for this health insurance, he could have gotten it even if he was an illegal immigrant. But now with his kidneys going out, he's not likely to get that.

ALLEN: Let's take a look at this from a purely cold bottom line stance. This doesn't make any financial sense, if you look at the numbers we put on the screen. Isn't there someone they can go to say, this is nuts. We've got to make this happen?

CAPLAN: I like that technical ethics term -- nuts. I think it is kind of nuts.

(LAUGHTER)

He wants to stay. Everybody who knows him wants him to stay. He's exactly the kind of hard working person that, I think, in some ways, we want to say, yes, become a citizen. Stay. let's open a track for him, but that hasn't happened. Unless that happens, he's kind of operating in the shadows all the time. He doesn't want to flag immigration to send him back. He doesn't want to lose his kids, who are American citizens. They're going to be staying here.

I think it is an appeal to common sense of either of state bureaucracy in New York state, saying save itself some money, let this brother donate to him, or trying to be in a situation where he makes an appeal to a hospital somewhere in New York an says, look, can't you waive fees, can't you do this for me. I'll pay you back over time, but it is going to be cheaper for everybody and better for me if I get this.

ALLEN: So cheaper, yes. Everyone has compassion for what is certainly a good guy who's done very well in this country. But you alluded to a bigger problem, and that is, if you help someone like this, aren't you opening the floodgates for people who want to come to this country and get education and health care and other things that they could get in the U.S. that they can't get where they are now?

CAPLAN: Great question, Natalie. I think I'll draw a line here. I'll say, you've got people here more than a decade, they've got a job and kids who are American citizens, let's realize -- let's be practical here. Let this guy get a cheaper way to get his health care. He's got a brother that's trying to take a risk and donate him a kidney. No, we should not be opening the borders so that anybody who has a health care need gets in here. We have Americans who can't get health care when they need it. We've got to pay for them first. But let's use some common sense. This guy has been around a long time. He's been a great citizen. His kids are now Americans. His brother's trying to donate a kidney to him. That seems to be a set of facts that we should be able to absorb and get this done. ALLEN: It is an interesting story. And I'm sure there are many others like his that we don't about, a typical situation with health care in this country and illegal immigrants.

Art Caplan, thank you for your perspective. We'll follow with the story.

CAPLAN: My pleasure.

ALLEN: Only eight days left until the first votes are cast in the GOP race for president. So why is only one Republican candidate hitting the trail in Iowa today? We'll take you there next.

Then, an airline takes care of a pet for the holidays. How this pup wound up stranded at the airport.

But first, this year, you made a huge difference in helping report history, from the Arab Spring to the Occupy movement. Here is the year that was in iReports.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

(SHOUTING)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I'm so excited. I'm so proud to be an Arab today. For the people of Egypt to have a better life.

(GUNFIRE)

(SHOUTING)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa!

(SCREAMING)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Oh, my god. Holy crap. Oh, my god. The building is going to fall!

(SHOUTING)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The whole ground was shaking so much, it was -- it was unreal.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It's something that you would not wish upon your worst enemy.

JASON SAUTER, IREPORTER: We're apparently being escorted by the local authorities here down to the media area to get as close to Buckingham Palace as possible.

(SHOUTING)

CROWD: Congratulations William and Katherine.

(SHOUTING)

UNIDENTIFIED PROTESTER: We're fighting for jobs. We're fighting for peace.

(SHOUTING)

(SHOUTING)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It's over. The tyrant is gone!

(END VIDEOTAPE)

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

ALLEN: Let's check stories making headlines at "Street Level."

Does it feel like you're constantly charging your mobile device in the car, at home, at work? Well, change might be coming that you might like. According to a filing with the U.S. Patent and Trademark office, Apple wants to power their devices with hydrogen fuel cells, so instead of hours or days, iPods and iPhones might last for weeks on one charge. Hydrogen fuel cells have been studied for years and they're in a handful of cars. Now it looks like Apple wants to put them in your hand.

The maker of Enfamil says it ran tests on its baby formula but can't find a bacteria blamed for an infant's death in Missouri. Another baby in Illinois got sick but is recovering. You may remember, Wal-Mart pulled cans of Enfamil off its shelves last week. But so far state, federal and now company tests have not found any evidence of the bacteria. The CDC suggests both cases could just be a coincidence.

In Boston, a stranded puppy got some love from Continental Airlines workers. That's Whoppers. That's his name. Whopper's owner was taking him to Spain to visit family, but she didn't have the right health certificate and she couldn't send him to a kennel because he's too young for all his shots.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JANE BOSSI, CONTINENTAL AIRLINES EMPLOYEE: In our hearts, as you would say, and just say, well, he's beautiful. If you trust us, we'll take him. You go to Spain and go to have Christmas, New Year's, and he'll be here healthy when you come back.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ALLEN: Continental babysitting Whoppers. Love it. They are sending Whopper's owner e-mail updates and pictures.

(LAUGHTER)

And in California, the State Supreme Court will decide if a man notorious for fabricating magazine articles is fit to practice law. You may remember the story of Steven Glass, his lies and downfall were featured in the 2003 film, "Shattered Glass".

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) HAYDEN CHRISTENSEN, ACTOR: Then he jumps up on the table and he's like, I want my "Playboy." He's like, I want a trip to Disneyworld. Show me the money! Show me the money!

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ALLEN: In that screen, Hayden Christensen portrays Glass pitching a fake story. Glass is now a 39-year-old law clerk. He passed the bar exam, but the state bar is questioning if he is morally fit to be a lawyer. He could have a hearing next fall. Glass has not commented. But character witnesses have said he's learned his lesson.

Time now for our "Political Ticker." Only eight days left until the first votes are cast in Iowa, opening the presidential caucus and primary season. Fasten your seat belts. Here we go

CNN political contributor, Paul Steinhauser, is in Des Moines, Iowa, for us this afternoon.

Paul, with the race winding down there, what's the race looking like now?

PAUL STEINHAUSER, CNN DEPUTY POLITICAL DIRECTOR: It's anybody's guess, Natalie, with one week and one day to go until the caucuses.

Look at this. Here's the most recent poll. It came out on Friday from American Research Group. This is of people likely to take part in the January 3rd caucus. Look at the three-way traffic jam at the top there. Ron Paul, the congressman from Texas, at 21 percent, former Massachusetts Governor Mitt Romney at 20 percent, and former House Speaker Newt Gingrich at 19 percent. That's basically a dead heat for the top spot in Iowa. Everybody else in single digits.

Natalie, the big talk around here is Ron Paul. Check this out. This is the headline this morning from the "Des Moines Register," the big paper here in Iowa's capitol. Can Ron Paul do it? Can he win? That's what everybody is talking about. His poll numbers have really jumped over the past month here in Iowa and also nationally. Remember four years ago, he ran for the White House. A lot of people said he was too outside the mainstream Republican Party. But a lot of Republicans are now seeing the issues the way he has seen the issues and continues to see them. It is a big topic of conversation here in Iowa -- Natalie?

ALLEN: Yes, and so much for a quiet holiday for Iowans this year. So what's it like and where are the candidates fanning out across Iowa?

STEINHAUSER: It's been nonstop here. Two days off for Christmas for the weekend. Today is a federal holiday. Much of the candidates are down, except for Rick Santorum, the former Senator from Pennsylvania. He's campaigning today. He is campaigning today here. He has a pheasant hunt, which is a popular thing among some in Iowa. A bunch of other candidates get into the mix tomorrow -- Natalie?

ALLEN: All right, we'll be watching.

Paul Steinhauser for us there in Iowa. Thanks so much, Paul.

And thank you for watching. I'm Natalie Allen, in for Randi Kaye. Now more CNN NEWSROOM with Asha Sesay.

ASHA SESAY, CNN ANCHOR: Thanks, Natalie.