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Santorum Climbs To Third in Iowa; Snipers Target Anyone In Syrian City Streets; U.S. Warns Iran Over Oil Channel; Obesity And Bonding With Moms; U.S. Selling Fighter Jets to Saudi Arabia; Michele Bachmann Advisor Defects to Ron Paul Camp; Medical Stories Impact Our Lives This Year
Aired December 29, 2011 - 11:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
RANDI KAYE, CNN ANCHOR: Live from Studio 7, I'm Randi Kaye. Let's get you up to speed for this Thursday, December 29th.
The political landscape is shifting for the Republican presidential candidates just five days before the Iowa caucuses. A new CNN/"TIME"/ORC poll shows Rick Santorum's political fortunes rising while support for Newt Gingrich is falling. Mitt Romney leads the poll 25 percent of likely caucus goers say they support him. He's followed by Ron Paul at 22 percent. Rick Santorum is now third with 16 percent and Newt Gingrich is at 14 percent.
Michele Bachmann is on the campaign trail in Des Moines right now, a day after one of her high profile advisers defected. Bachmann is likely to face questions about the decision by State Senator Ken Sorenson to jump ship and throw his support behind Ron Paul.
We're keeping an eye on Bachmann's media event and we'll take you there live for some of the Q&A session.
He may be the frontrunner but Mitt Romney isn't predicting how he will do in the Iowa caucuses. Romney started the day in Cedar Falls talking about jobs and the economy. In an interview with CNN's Wolf Blitzer he responded to complaints from Newt Gingrich about attack ads from political action committees.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
MITT ROMNEY (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: I don't know why he's so angry.
(LAUGHTER)
ROMNEY: Look, this is a campaign about the things we believe in. I believe the country is being led in a very unfortunate and a destructive way by a president that doesn't really understand our economy or understand America. I can get America working again. That's why I'm running.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
KAYE: Activists say this video posted on YouTube shows Syrian security forces firing on protesters in a Damascus suburb today. CNN cannot independently verify the authenticity of the video. Syria is keeping international journalists out of the country. But we spoke with one journalist there who we are not naming for security reasons who says Syrian cities have been under military siege for days.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED REPORTER: They are trying to randomly put fear into the people and to this neighborhood in order to get them quiet and not getting out of the streets to demonstrate.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
KAYE: The Arab League tells CNN it has at least 75 monitors already in Syria and more are expected in the coming days.
Somber music played over loud speakers as thousands gathered to memorialize North Korea's Kim Jong-il for a second day at Pyongyang. A state orchestrated ceremony once again proclaimed his 20-something son Kim Jong-un the supreme leader.
Kim ruled the secretive nation for 17 years. He reportedly died of a heart attack two weeks ago.
The U.S. is warning Iran not to disrupt a key oil shipping channel. The Obama administration describes Iran's threat to block the Strait of Hormuz as saber-rattling. An administration official says the U.S. will do what it must to keep the Strait open.
In 2009 15 million barrels of oil passed through the Strait every day. Any disruption could affect how much you pay for gasoline.
There may be criminal charges in the country's worst offshore oil disaster. Last year's Deepwater Horizon oil rig explosion and spill killed 11 workers in the Gulf of Mexico. Now "The Wall Street Journal" reports prosecutors are preparing a case against some BP employees. Charges could include providing false information in federal documents.
Take a look at this. These are priests fighting each other in church. About 60 priests from rival denominations started hitting each other with broomsticks when -- while they clean the site where Christmas -- Christians believe Jesus was born, the Church of the Nativity in Bethlehem. Palestinian police quickly broke up the fight and no one was seriously injured.
Hard work pays off. That's how Rick Santorum explains his sudden surge in the polls in Iowa just five days before the caucuses. Santorum has been pounding the pavement for months visiting all 99 counties in Iowa. He has stops in three cities today alone.
Let's bring in CNN political director Mark Preston to talk much more about Santorum's rise.
So, Mark, is Santorum right? Is it all about hard work?
MARK PRESTON, CNN SENIOR POLITICAL EDITOR: Well, you know, Randi, let me just tell you this quick anecdote. Back in 2010, June of 2010, I was here in Des Moines with Rick Santorum. He was speaking to a Republican state party meeting. There must have been 600 people in the room.
And I've got to tell you, at the beginning of his speech nobody was listening to him. They were more concerned about eating the food on the table. About 10 minutes into the speech, though, you couldn't hear anything. They were all mesmerized by Rick Santorum talking about how his faith has driven him in public life.
We've seen in this new CNN poll that in fact that that speech perhaps back in 2010 has caught on with the caucus goers here in Iowa. He has risen 11 percent in the last three weeks between CNN's poll that we conducted earlier this month and the new poll numbers that have just come out yesterday.
It shows that Rick Santorum now is at 16 percent, which is huge right now for Rick Santorum. It shows that he is breaking away from the pack and that he is joining some of the frontrunners. He is he nowhere near the top but it shows that he's a viable candidate.
Just a couple of hours ago he was on the campaign trail and let's hear what he had to say about where he stands now in the race.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
RICK SANTORUM (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Iowa provides the spark. There's plenty of tinder on the ground that will start burning in these other states, and if we become the clear alternative, as I'd -- as I hope we will be in the caucus, the conservative alternative to Mitt Romney, there will be a lot of folks who will rally to our -- to our side in New Hampshire.
We'll have, I believe, a strong showing there. I'm not suggesting we'll win New Hampshire. I haven't run one television ad in New Hampshire. But I think we'll have -- we'll get quite a bump and get a strong showing there. And then go down to South Carolina and do even better.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
PRESTON: And there you have Rick Santorum's strategy, hoping to get a strong showing here in Iowa. If he comes in third place here in Iowa that would be a huge win for him. Perhaps propel him into New Hampshire. Perhaps he could do OK in New Hampshire. Gets him down to South Carolina. South Carolina, a lot of born-again evangelical voters down there. That would resonate well with Rick Santorum's message. The problem right now for Rick Santorum, though, is that he still has five days right now to try to maintain that lead -- Randi.
KAYE: And speaking of problems, it seems as though looking at these poll numbers, I mean you look at Santorum, he's up. But Newt Gingrich has a bit of a problem, he's down. Does Santorum's surge come at Newt Gingrich's expense, do you think?
PRESTON: It certainly does. Right now Newt Gingrich is dropping like a rock in the pond as Rick Santorum is rising up. But who else is in trouble from these numbers, and we don't have them up there on the screen, we hadn't showed then, we can't build a graphic that big, but it shows that Rick Perry and Michele Bachmann have not moved in the last three weeks from CNN's previous poll around the 1st of December to where we are today.
And when Rick Santorum is talking about competing as the conservative alternative to Mitt Romney, he's talking about competing for the voters that Rick Perry and Michele Bachmann are vying for. So that's who Rick Santorum is focusing on right now. But he's clearly benefitting from Newt Gingrich's fall -- Randi.
KAYE: Well, maybe as you said if he doesn't have a good showing there in Iowa he was going to pack his bags and go home. So maybe he's not ready to do so just yet.
Mark Preston, thank you very much.
PRESTON: Thank you.
KAYE: And this reminder, tune in next week for the country's first vote in the presidential race. "AMERICA'S CHOICE 2012." Live coverage of the Iowa caucuses begins Tuesday night, January 3rd at 7:00 Eastern Time.
And we're just hours away from a critical deadline that could make someone a multi-millionaire. A $6.5 million Iowa lottery jackpot will expire today at 4:00 if the winner doesn't come forward. If no one produces the winning ticket, it would be the second multi-million dollar lotto jackpot to go unclaimed this week.
A $77 million Powerball prize expired in Georgia on Monday. The Iowa ticket was sold at a Des Moines convenient store and the numbers were drawn exactly one year ago.
So we want to know what would you do with $16.5 million since we know you wouldn't let that ticket go unclaimed. You can post your thoughts on my Facebook page, that is Facebook.com/randikayeCNN. And we'll have some of your comments to share later this hour.
And here's a rundown of some of the stories that we're following.
First, on the frontlines in Syria where snipers rule the streets.
And Iran threatens to block a major shipping channel for oil. We'll look at how this could impact gas prices here.
Then check out this video. A man goes on a rampage in a Colorado neighborhood running into the backs of people's cars.
Also how's your relationship with your mother? Why your answer could have a whole lot to do with whether you are overweight.
And later a store where New Yorkers can roll their own cigarettes is shutting down. We'll tell you why.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
JOE JOHNS, CNN SENIOR CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): In a city where smokers in public can be shot on site, a store opened where people can make their own cigarettes.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I said, wow. Why didn't I think about it?
(END VIDEO CLIP)
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
KAYE: More violence on the streets of Syria. Activists say this video posted on YouTube shows Syrian security forces firing on protesters in a Damascus suburb. CNN can't independently confirm the authenticity of the video.
Arab League monitors traveled through Damascus earlier today. A league official tell CNN a permanent team will remain in place to find a way to end the violent crackdown on anti-government groups.
Foreign reporters are not allowed into Syria but one journalist did manage to get inside the flashpoint city of Homs. Not naming the journalist for his safety, but over the next few days CNN will be showcasing his remarkable stories. Here is his first report on snipers targeting anyone who dares to walk in the street.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED REPORTER: The snipers are on basically every main street. They have checkpoints on both sides. Snipers would shoot everybody who is basically crossing this street between 4:00 p.m. and 8:00 in the morning. And this is an unofficial curfew.
The activists asked -- told me I have to meet this woman. This is the mother of a victim who got shot when she was pregnant in the seventh month. It was during the morning when she wants to go out for shopping.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE (Through Translator): Her brother tried for half an hour to go over the walls and roofs to get to her, but he didn't manage to reach her. Finally they managed to pull her away, but it took another half an hour to get her to my house.
UNIDENTIFIED REPORTER: You arrived, the situation, you arrived at the scene where a half hour ago somebody got shot, and 30 minutes later, people are crossing very normally the street. Me, crossing the street, I have been feeling, basically, literally I've been feeling that somebody is aiming. The snipers are aiming on me, and it's up to him if he's going to pull the trigger or not.
I came to this junction and I realized that somebody wanted to cross the street with a huge bag of cigarettes. So -- I could hear the snipers choosing and who was he -- across the street and the bag of cigarettes was in the middle of the street. So it's, again, one of this -- very impressive scenes where people have been very happily and almost like a sports challenge to get the cigarette bags out from the sniper range. And they've been happy when they could.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE (Through Translator): We need to cross the street to buy bread and other food, but the snipers have surrounded this area. It's a huge danger.
UNIDENTIFIED REPORTER: And they started to throw the bread because they weren't able to cross. So everything they needed on the other side, they throw it over the street.
And the point of no return is already crossed. The people now, there are no option. They started to uprise and so many bloods, so many people got killed already, and that when they stopped to go out to the streets, the regime going to come back and they're going to get killed anyway.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
KAYE: Some areas of Syria have been hit hard by violence while others are left untouched. We'll look into what's behind that in our next hour.
The latest threat from Iran prompts a warning from the U.S. And we'll explain how all this could affect the price you pay for gasoline.
And also, for all you procrastinators out there, there are three simple things that you can do today to save yourself some money come tax time. We'll have them for you.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
KAYE: Welcome back. I promised you three simple things you can do this week to save money on your taxes. Get those donations to charities in the mail or go online to make a contribution today. Don't forget you can also clean out some clutter and take those items to a donation center, too.
If you have the extra cash you might pay your January mortgage early so you can deduct that extra interest in 2011. Also if you have property tax bills due in January, you could pay that early and deduct this year.
And you can stash some cash in a 520 college savings plan by the end of the year.
For more tips on cutting your tax bill just go to Forbes.com.
The U.S. is warning Iran not to disrupt a key oil shipping channel. The Obama administration describes Iran's threat to block the Strait of Hormuz as saber-rattling. An administration official says the U.S. will do what it must to keep the Strait open. Mideast experts say that's the right approach to take.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
MATTHEW KROENIG, COUNCIL ON FOREIGN RELATIONS: Having the straits closed would be a disastrous for the global economy. I don't think any U.S. president could let that stand.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
KAYE: Alison Kosik joins us from the New York Stock Exchange now.
Alison, I bet a lot of people are watching this and saying, well, how could this threat from Iran affect oil prices and ultimately prices at the pump?
ALISON KOSIK, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes. I mean, if this did happen, that Iran did follow through on its threat, yes, you'd see gas prices go through the roof because you'd see oil prices go through the roof as well. But what's happening today is you're not seeing that concern play out in the markets.
Oil trade not too worried about it right now. In fact oil prices are down slightly below $90 a barrel. But I did speak with oil analyst Stephen Shore. He gave the what-if possibility. If Iran does carry through with this threat he says it would drive oil prices to unpredictable levels. In fact he went as far as to say that it would throw the global economy into a deep depression.
He says because consumers in the end wouldn't be able to afford it. That would lead into economic activity. But once again, this is the worst-case scenario. He doesn't see that actually happening -- Randi.
KAYE: But when you look at this, though, I mean, if they're threatening -- if Iran is threatening to close the Strait, I mean wouldn't that actually damage Iran's economy as well? I mean don't they export oil?
KOSIK: Exactly. And Iran is a huge exporter of oil. In fact, Iran is the fourth biggest oil exporter. Closing the Strait would obviously hurt Iran in the end. And then you think about it, China is Iran's biggest customer and guess how Iran gets that oil to China? Through the Strait of Hormuz.
So, yes, other exporters use the Strait as well. Saudi Arabia in particular. And Shore said no way would the Saudis just sit back while Iran threatens its bread and butter. So that's also why he's thinking that the Iranians will not carry through with their threats -- Randi.
KAYE: Alison Kosik, thank you very much.
So there is a 4:00 p.m. deadline today to claim the Iowa hot lotto grand prize. Lottery officials are hoping that the winning ticket holder does come forward. So we want to know what would you do with $16.5 million since we know, of course, that you wouldn't let the ticket go unclaimed.
You can post your thoughts on my Facebook page. That is Facebook.com/randikayeCNN. We'll have some of your comments later this hour.
Checking stories our affiliates are covering across the country. A Marine who managed to avoid getting shot in Afghanistan and Iraq is shot three times in a robbery in south Florida. Karl Trenker actually took the bullets out with his own fingers. The good news he's doing OK now.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
KARL TRENKER, U.S. MARINE CORPS: I go to Iraq and Afghanistan multiple times and I haven't been shot or blown up, and I'm here at home in Florida and here I am dragged away in an ambulance with gunshot wounds.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
KAYE: And check out this crazy video out of Centennial, Colorado. This is not an accident. It's actually a guy going on a rampage trying to find cars just to run into. He totaled this woman's car and hit five others. He even tried to hit a few pedestrians. Luckily no one was hurt. The guy is now in jail on $50,000 bond.
And the helmet cam captures a firefighter in frigid Fargo, North Dakota, suiting up to rescue a black lab. The dog had fallen into the Red River. Fire officials say the helmet cam will help train off-duty firefighters and give the public a better view of how chaotic emergency situations are. That is one lucky doggy.
Want to fight the battle of the bulge? Well, when is the last time you spoke with your mother? A new study links obesity with how you bonded with mom as a kid. I'll talk to psychologist Jeff Gardere about it.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
KAYE: Here's a rundown of some of the stories that we're working on.
Next the family matter that's raising eyebrows. How a child's relationship with mom could lead to obesity.
Then on the campaign trail a high level Bachmann adviser trades side and backs a different presidential contender.
And later from medical marvels to cell phone safety, Dr. Sanjay Gupta looks back at some of the top medical stories of 2011.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
KAYE: We want to go beyond the headlines now in a fascinating story about another possible cause for obesity, your relationship with your mother. A study published in the journal "Pediatrics" has found only 13 percent of teens who had close bonds with their mothers when they were young became obese, whereas 25 percent of teens who had a low quality emotional relationship with their moms became obese.
That is two times the rate of obesity. But why would that be? Psychologist Jeff Gardere joins me now from New York to talk about this. So, Jeff, what do you make of this study, first off?
JEFF GARDERE, CLINICAL PSYCHOLOGIST: Well, I think it follows what we've known as far as bonds between mother and child. If there is not a healthy bonding, an emotional, stable relationship in the very early years, especially not going past the toddler years, then that child will have issues, may have issues with stress and how they handle stress.
KAYE: So what exactly is happening in the brain of these children that affects their emotions and their responses to stress?
GARDERE: Well, what the -- what we believe is happening, according to this Ohio state study, is that simply the children who do not have a healthy bonding with their mothers do not develop the brain functions that allow them to be able to deal with stress better. The hormones are not released in a proper way therefore they have issues with things such as emotion, the sleep wake cycle, appetite and metabolic issues. All of those things in fact cause a child or a person to gain weight.
KAYE: So if we had interventions maybe to improve the relationships and the bonds between the mother and child, or maybe even just a more sensitive mom, would that help?
GARDERE: Absolutely. That would help and that's what this study is saying. Let's not use this as a way to blame mothers for causing their children to be obese. Let's take this as a signal that we need to do more to help mothers, more to help children. have programs that are out there that stress to the mothers -- and pediatricians need to do this -- stress to the mothers how important it is to be in contact with their children in a constant way instead of leaving them with caregivers. How to touch them more, how to coo with them more, how to verbalize with them more so that they can have more of these emotional bonds and, therefore, learn to deal with stress better so they don't get into the emotional eating and not getting enough rest. And all of those things may cause them, in fact, to gain weight.
KAYE: So it sounds like that it may not really be the child's fault for overeating, if these studies hold true, that the relationship between the mother and the child is definitely to blame here?
GARDERE: Well, what we do know is, again, we don't want to look at the issue of blame. We just need to know how important it is in those very formative years for the child to be close to the mother. If that doesn't happen, this is yet another factor that may cause our children to be obese.
Of course, we have to look at the genetic issues that also cause obesity, as well as sometimes mothers may love their kids so much or a little bit too much that they do the wrong things, such as feeding them all the time as a form of reinforcement or trying to keep them quiet. So this is great information for mothers, and certainly we need to encourage mothers to be closer to their children and love them in the proper way so that they don't end up being at risk for obesity. KAYE: We've been talking quite a bit here about young children, but I bet there are some over weight adults who might be watching and saying, well, is it too late for me? If I had a bad relationship and I'm overweight, is there anything I can do now, even if I didn't have a good relationship with her, to break the cycle?
GARDERE: That is the issue, breaking the cycle in itself. A lot of the parents perhaps had bad upbringings and, therefore, they act that out on their children. People now, adults, who have had very poor relationships with their parents, what they need to do is break the cycle. Break their cycle with their own children but to reach out to their parents knowing that their parents were emotionally damaged. Of course, they can take care of themselves physically. So a combination of all of those things can begin to reverse the obesity. We know that, that there is always hope in these human interactions and relationships between parent and child.
KAYE: Fascinating study and a fascinating conversation.
Jeff Gardere, thank you very much.
GARDERE: Randi, thank you so much.
KAYE: Michele Bachmann loses one of her top campaign advisers to rival, Ron Paul. Bachmann accuses the ex-adviser of selling out. We'll hear why he says he jumped ship.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
REP. MICHELE BACHMANN, (R), MINNESOTA & PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: You're exactly right --
(END VIDEO CLIP)
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
KAYE: Bitterly cold wind chills are making teeth chatter across New England.
Chad Myers, we're talking temperatures, what, that are 20 below zero or so? How bad is it?
(WEATHER REPORT)
KAYE: Chad, thank you very much. Appreciate that.
We do have some news just in to CNN related to the U.S. sale of defense equipment to Saudi Arabia.
Brianna Keilar has much more on this for us. She's in Honolulu.
Brianna, what can you tell us?
BRIANNA KEILAR, CNN CONGRESSIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Hi there, Randi. We just got word from the White House that a $30 billion sale of F-15 fighter jets to Saudi Arabia has been authorized. I want to caution, because this is something that Congress approved all the way last year. This is something that was expected as part of a deal that Congress approved in 2010. This will include, according to the White House, 84 new fighter jets, upgrades for 70 more fighter jets.
Saudi Arabia is someone that the U.S. looks to in its opposition to Iran and its efforts towards building a nuclear weapon or apparently building a nuclear weapon. There were some when this deal was approved last year who were worried about really what this meant in terms of Israel's security. But the White House putting out a statement from the principal deputy press secretary, Josh Ernest, here in Honolulu, saying that this is important for the regional security of the Middle East, that Saudi Arabia's aided in this way -- Randi?
KAYE: All right, Brianna Keilar, thank you for the update on that.
A shakeup in Michele Bachmann's campaign staff. Paul Steinhauser is live from Des Moines, Iowa, where the caucuses are just five days away.
Paul, Bachmann's adviser left her for Ron Paul. She's accusing him of going where the money is, but what's he saying about this decision?
PAUL STEINHAUSER, CNN DEPUTY POLITICAL DIRECTOR: Yes, he's saying, and the Ron Paul campaign is saying, no, no, no not at all. We didn't do it for the money.
I tell you, Randi, this is like the hot story since last night. We're five days away now from these Iowa caucuses. Here's how it played out. The guy's name is Ken Sorensen -- not a household name. In Iowa, kind of influential on the Republican side, a state Senator. He was Bachmann's top surrogate in this state, chairman of her campaign. Whenever you saw her on the campaign trail, you often saw him. In fact, yesterday, we saw the two of them together. Then last night, guess what, he shows up at a Ron Paul rally and endorses Ron Paul.
Take a listen to what he said.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
KEN SORENSON, FORMER BACHMANN CAMPAIGN ADVISOR-TURNED RON PAUL ADVISOR: Tonight's a little tough for me. I have been serving as Michele Bachmann's state chair over the last year. And while Michele has fought for my conservative values, I believe we're at a turning point in this campaign. When the Republican establishment is going to be coming at him over the next few days, I thought it was my duty to come to his aid.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
STEINHAUSER: But it gets better. Moments after that happened, Michele Bachmann's campaign basically, as you said, Randi, said Sorenson got paid off by the Ron Paul campaign. They say, no. He says, no, it didn't happen that way. One of Bachmann's top campaign aids this morning says that's not true either. He says he's sticking with Bachmann, but he doesn't believe that story as well.
Bachmann, she's sticking by her guns and her story. Take a listen to what she said right here in Des Moines about an hour ago.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
BACHMANN: The last time I spoke with Ken Sorenson, he told me that he was on board our campaign. That's -- that's the last time I spoke to him.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
STEINHAUSER: Well, we'll see where it goes from here. Randi, as you know, she's in the single digits here. She needs a strong finish in Iowa to continue on.
Good reporting on this story from our Peter Hamby and our Shannon Travis -- Randi?
KAYE: Paul, let's talk about Newt Gingrich a little bit. He's been blasting Mitt Romney over the negative ads by the so-called Super PACs. How's Romney responding to the complaints by Gingrich?
STEINHAUSER: Romney's been saying, listen, I can't control this Super PAC. It's an independent group. That's been his stock answer. That group, it's called Restore our Future. It's a super PAC. They went up this morning with a brand new ad hitting Gingrich. Take a listen.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
AD NARRATOR: Freddie Mac helped cause the economic collapse but Gingrich cashed in. Freddie Mac paid Newt $30,000 an hour, $1.6 million. Gingrich not only teamed up with Nancy Pelosi on global warming, but together they co sponsored a bill that gave $60 billion a year to a --
(END VIDEO CLIP)
STEINHAUSER: Just a little taste of these ads that Gingrich says are hurting his campaign. We've seen Gingrich's numbers, Randi, as you know, drop in our most recent CNN/"Time" poll that came out yesterday.
KAYE: Yes, definitely going in the wrong direction for him as the calendar moves towards that caucus. What about President Obama. Latino voters certainly played an important role in his election. Can he hang on to their support in 2012?
STEINHAUSER: You are so right on that one. Latino voters, Hispanic voters were crucial to his victory back in 2008 in the presidential elections. Exit polls indicate he took two-thirds of the vote. A new poll by the Pew Research Center, just out a couple of hours ago, indicates that if there was a hypothetical election between President Obama and Mitt Romney -- very possible -- the president would grab about the same percentage, about two-thirds of the vote, which is good news for President Obama. He's going to need strong numbers of Hispanics if he is going win re-election -- Randi?
KAYE: Paul Steinhauser with a whole bunch of good stuff from Des Moines, Iowa for us.
(LAUGHTER)
Thank you, Paul.
This reminder, tune in next week for the country's first vote in the presidential race, "America's Choice 2012." Live coverage of the Iowa caucuses begins Tuesday night, January 3rd, at 7:00 eastern.
Throughout the year we witnessed medical advances. We rooted for a congresswoman's recovery after she was shot in the head. We learned more about football hits and related brain injuries. We'll take a look at how the top medical stories of 2011 affected us.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
(SHOUTING)
(END VIDEO CLIP)
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
KAYE: We want to highlight medical stories that impacted our lives this year. We witnessed a devastating tsunami in Japan, learned more about brain injuries in sports and saw challenges to our health care laws.
Chief medical correspondent, Dr. Sanjay Gupta, has more.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
DR. SANJAY GUPTA, CNN CHIEF MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): January 8th, gunfire at a campaign event for Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords. Six people are killed.
DISPATCHER: Is anybody injured? Did you say Gabrielle Giffords was hit?
CALLER: She's hit. She's breathing. She does have a pulse.
GUPTA: The Congresswoman was shot in the head but she survives.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: She was just exceedingly lucky, right? When I saw that trajectory of where one hole was and where the other hole was, I was like, oh, my gosh. However --
(CROSSTALK)
GUPTA: Wait a minute, because it was so far apart? UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes. It wasn't little scathing thing. It went through a lot.
GUPTA: 3.5 months later, the first public steps in the congresswoman's remarkable recovery.
(SHOUTING)
GUPTA: In 2011, I tried to put a spotlight on big hits in the brain. Finding growing evidence that football puts young people at serious risk and professional players as well. In February, former Chicago Bears Safety David Duerson committed suicide. He left his brain to scientific research. When the findings came back, his brain had telltale signs of chronic injury. And as stories like this rolled in, the NFL put in new rules to try and protect its players.
(SHOUTING)
GUPTA: Then, it was March, and I witnessed the aftermath of an astonishing disaster in Japan.
(on camera): Dumped right here in the middle of the street.
(voice-over): Our first hours on the ground were just scary.
(on camera): So we are going move at this point. These seem like official warnings now.
(voice-over): There was no tsunami. We were safe but more than 16,000 people lost their lives. Thanks to leaks from a crippled nuclear plant, the district around Fukushima will be unlivable for years to come.
In May, the World Health Organization said cell phones might, might cause brain cancer. Brain scans can actually spot the impact of radiation from phones. And some studies found a cancer link. It doesn't mean cell phones are dangerous, but to be on the safe side, I always say, use an earpiece.
July brought questions about cancer in 911 just ahead of the tenth anniversary of the attacks. Federal authorities say there's not strong evidence connecting dust from the fallen twin towers and cancer. First responders with cancer would not receive special compensation. But just a month later a big study of New York City firefighters found the opposite.
DR. DAVID PREZANT, CHIEF MEDICAL OFFICER, FDNY: We found a 19 percent increase in all cancers in our exposed firefighters as compared to our non-exposed firefighters.
GUPTA: The decision on compensation could still be reversed.
In October, the spotlight landed on the PSA test to detect prostate cancer, a test undergone by more than 20 million men each year. A federal advisory panel said the PSA test just isn't worth it. And then November, exciting news of a stem cell break through. Two studies using infusions of a patient's own stem cells. One found the cells could re-grow dead heart tissue, once thought to be impossible. And the other study found the cells could reverse heart failure.
One story that was left unresolved, the fight over the health care law. Critics call it Obama-care.
MITT ROMNEY, (R), FORMER MASSACHUSETTS GOVERNOR & PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: And I've said time and again, Obama-care is bad news. It's unconstitutional. It costs way too much money, a trillion dollars. And if I'm president of the United States I will repeal it for the American people.
GUPTA: In November, the Supreme Court agreed to decide the law's fate next year.
I'm Dr. Sanjay Gupta, CNN, reporting.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
KAYE: And this weekend, Sanjay takes a look back at the top medical stories that caught his attention and changed all of our lives in 2011. "Sanjay Gupta, M.D.," this Saturday and Sunday, at 7:30 a.m. eastern, right here on CNN. Checking stories from across the country now.
A man who lost his family when a Marine Corps jet crashed into his house has been awarded $17 million from the government. The crash happened three years ago in San Diego. His wife, two infant daughters, and mother-in-law were all killed. The pilot ejected before impact. Military documents show he tried to steer the plane away from the home.
In New Market, Tennessee, three trapped miners were rescued after they were cut off by fire and smoke 800 feet below the ground. They're fine. 51 others got out of the zinc mine when the fire broke out yesterday.
And in some of Florida's biggest attractions had to close yesterday. Why? Just too many people. The Magic Kingdom and Animal Kingdom at Walt Disney World had to stop admitting customers, along with at Leggoland.
Well, you could call it a smoker's dream. It's not a cigar bar but a cigarette shop where the customer really is king. We'll tell you how one savvy store owner's cash cow is going up in smoke.
But first, Torrentfreak.com has released its list of the most pirated films of 2011. Coming in a number three, with $8.2 million, is "Thor." The number-two most pirated film of 2011 was a fan favorite at the box office and the Internet. Take a look.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED ACTOR: Now I'm scared.
Stu, come out. Get up. We got a situation.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
KAYE: Yes, "The Hangover, Part II" had 8.8 million downloads.
We'll have the top-pirated movies of 2011 right after the break.
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KAYE: Before the break we listed the top-pirated films of 2011, and here is number one --
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(MUSIC)
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KAYE: "Fast Five," the fifth installment of the fast and furious series, is the number-one pirated film, with 9.2 million downloads.
It began as a novel idea by a New York store owner, who wanted to cater to a specific clientele -- the smoker. His idea, let the customers roll their own smokes. The concept caught on quickly, but, as Richard Roth reports, the make-it-yourself cigarette shop is being snuffed out.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
RICHARD ROTH, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): You could call this story the mirage of Staten Island. In a city where smokers in public can be shot on site, a store opened where people can make their own cigarettes.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I said, why didn't I think about it.
(LAUGHTER)
ROTH: By rolling their own, smokers said their cigarettes were healthier, tasted better and --
AMANDA MUSSO, CUSTOMER: You can't beat price. So a half-an-hour out of my week really doesn't turn me away at all. If anything, it is fine. I just roll my carton and I go.
ROTH: How big a price break when customers make their own cigs?
JONATHAN BEHRINS, ATTORNEY FOR ISLAND SMOKES: In the city of New York, in five boroughs, it is $14 to $15 per pack of cigarettes. It's approximately, $4 here.
ROTH: Prepackaged cigarettes in New York cost so much because of city and state taxes of more than $6 a pack. Tobacco makers are passing costs on for treated smoke-related illnesses. The reason for the store's low prices is that the shop says it doesn't actually sell cigarettes but the paper tubes and a lower-taxed loose tobacco to fill them. Customers themselves use the machines to assemble or roll them into finished form.
Business boomed. The owners opened another store and planned further expansion. Then New York City got wind of the smoke house and challenged the concept.
MUSSO: That's very upsetting.
ROTH: New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg has been an outspoken critic of secondhand smoke and has successfully pushed for smoking bans throughout New York. The city charged Island Smokes with violating cigarette tax laws and being a manufacturer of cigarettes.
ERIC PROSHANSKY, NEW YORK CITY ATTORNEY: The stores are really no different than a salad bar. When you go to a salad bar, they don't sell you a salad assembly process. They sell you a salad. And that's -- these stores are not selling you a cigarette assembly process, they're selling you cigarettes.
BEHRINS: All of what they make here on their own with use of machines and by purchasing the product to make the cigarettes are for their own personal use.
ROTH: in the end, the smoke shop decided to not fight city hall. Court costs would have been devastating. The eight-month-old store will close in February.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I may have to roll my own at home.
(LAUGHTER)
ROTH: Richard Roth, CNN, New York.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
KAYE: So check this out. You may have heard stories of crocodiles eating strange things. But this reptile from the outback tried to eat a lawn mower. Yes, you see it there. It almost took the operator of the mower along with it. The croc, affectionately named Elvis, surprised rangers who were mowing around his enclosure at an Australian reptile park. Elvis grabbed the mower. And then he keeps a pretty close watch over his new prize. Needless to say, it was not the usual day at work.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
BILLY COLLETT, CROC RANGER: I'll tell you what, it happened that fast. It was that scary. But find out (INAUDIBLE). When I'm feeding him, it's all -- I can see him coming, but when you're focused on the mower and you're going around the tree, trying to dodge a tree, trying to dodge the water, and then a crocodile all of a sudden is hanging off the end of the mower, oh, my heart almost jumped out of my chest.
(END VIDEO CLIP) KAYE: Yes, I don't think I would have argued with that croc. I would have just given the mower. Rangers were finally able to rescue the mower and, we should mention, Elvis is doing just fine.
A lot of have you been responding to our "Talk Back" question today. In a few hours the deadline expires on claiming a $16.5 million lottery prize. The winning ticket was sold in Iowa a year ago and, so far, it has gone unclaimed.
Brian says, "Start three businesses, one for me and one for each of my two children."
That's what he would do with the money.
Brian also says, "I would keep a couple million for myself. You can always earn the rest back with the principle. The rest would go to St. Jude's Children's Hospital. Those little people need all the help we can give them."
Maryann writes, "Hire a new Congress. This one needs a pink slap and a slap on the back with a granny purse."
Whoa!
I should mention I'm having just a few technical problems with my Facebook page, but you can continue to post your thoughts on Suzanne Malveaux's Facebook page. That's Facebook.com/suzanneCNN. We'll have many more of your comments later this hour.
