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Gingrich Leads New S.C. Poll; Rushdie on New Death Threat; Cuba Gooding, Jr. on "Red Tails"; Face to Face with Tuskegee Airman Bob Friend; Wildfire Near Reno Now Under Control; Oregon: Flooding, Power Outages; Mega Upload To "Vigorously" Fight Case; Lawsuit: "Shape Up" Shoes Cause Injury; Heavy Rain For South Carolina Primary; Ex-Marine Arrested Carrying Gun

Aired January 21, 2012 - 15:00   ET

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

FREDRICKA WHITFIELD CNN ANCHOR: Four hours and counting until polls close in South Carolina's presidential primary. New developments today, a poll released this morning gives Newt Gingrich a commanding lead over Mitt Romney. Just days ago, the two rivals were in a virtual tie.

The Iowa Republican Party is confirming that Rick Santorum won the state's caucus. The original result from the contest on January 3rd showed Mitt Romney squeaking out a victory over Santorum by just eight votes, but the final results were not certified until this week. The certifies results show Santorum beat Romney by now 34 votes.

And we're learning of a security alert near Panama City, Florida. The Tyndall Air Force Base is on lockdown right now. The public affairs officials is telling or are telling CNN, quote, "We do have a security incident. We do not have the details on what that entails," end quote. And, of course, we will keep you posted on the information.

All right, now to Italy, where the discovery of a woman's body brings the death toll in that cruise disaster to 12. Italian officials said the woman was still wearing a life vest. Twenty people are missing.

There are growing concerns about the potential environmental threat posed by the wreck. Italian officials say no fuel oil has leaked.

All right, back now to South Carolina and the Republican primary, and the new poll now giving Newt Gingrich a 14-point lead over Mitt Romney. Let's bring in Paul Steinhauser in Columbia, where it is raining already.

So Paul, let's talk about this latest poll indicating that it's very volatile, particularly between those two now leading candidates.

PAUL STEINHAUSER, CNN POLITICAL EDITOR: Oh, it's so true, Fred. So true.

Let's take a look at the numbers. This survey is from American Research Group. It was conducted Thursday and Friday, so that means half before and half after our explosive CNN Southern Republican Debate in Charleston, South Carolina on Thursday night. There you go, at the top, Newt Gingrich with about 40 percent support of people likely to be voting right now in this Republican primary, Romney at 26 percent. Both Ron Paul, the congressman from Texas, and Rick Santorum, the former senator from Pennsylvania, in the teens. As you mentioned, this poll indicating a shift, Gingrich going up seven points, Romney going down six from earlier in the week.

Fred, other polls taken over the last couple of days indicate a closer race between Romney and Gingrich, but every survey - just about every survey here indicates the same thing - Gingrich's numbers going up, Romney's numbers going down.

As you mentioned, it is pouring here. You can see right now, it is raining. There's thunder across the state of South Carolina. That could impact turnout, which could be crucial, and it could hurt maybe Romney, maybe more than Gingrich.

You know, this is a big deal, this primary. Whoever has won this Republican primary since 1980 has gone on to win the GOP nomination. We're here all day. We've got the CNN Express Bus behind us. It's a very important day in battle to the nomination, Fred.

WHITFIELD: And Paul, I know everyone's trying to read the tea leaves, you know, even before, you know, the ballots have been counted. But in terms of a turning point for Newt Gingrich - between Newt Gingrich and Mitt Romney, might it have been that debate that became that turning point as to why now Newt Gingrich has kind of eked out a lead over Mitt Romney?

STEINHAUSER: Gingrich had two very good debates, just about any analyst or strategist or pundit will tell you, this week - the Monday debate in Myrtle Beach, and then our debate Thursday night right - or down in Charleston. And that may have helped, no doubt about it. It may have helped with his surge in the polls - Fred.

WHITFIELD: All right, Paul Steinhauser, thanks so much, in rainy Columbia, South Carolina.

So, as we've been saying all day long, South Carolina can be that game changer for the candidates. Don Lemon is on the ground in Lexington, South Carolina and he's been talking to voters and, oh my goodness, they have been quite forthright. So, do you have rain there? Is it clearing up?

DON LEMON, CNN CORRESPONDENT: I decided to show you, because you said I was going melt. I'm not going melt.

WHITFIELD: Yes.

LEMON: But I want to show you - listen, right after our last live shot at the top of the hour, at 2:00 P.M. Eastern - do you hear that?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes.

LEMON: We heard gunfire over there. It's a little odd.

WHITFIELD: Maybe that was -

(CROSSTALK)

LEMON: -- right after our live shot - yes. It's - no it sounds like it was gunfire.

WHITFIELD: OK.

LEMON: It started - the rain started coming down, I mean really pouring, and it's been steady ever since. We got some thunder, we got some lightning. And then we've been getting from our - from our producer, Shawna - Shawna Shepherd spoke to some of the officials here, an official turnout. At least so far they're saying Allendale seems a little bit light, but mostly overall light. Anderson, light; Bamberg, light; Dillon, light; Fairfield, steady; Florence, moderate.

Here in Lexington, it's light but it's been steady in some places. And Ottis Smith, he's the official poll manager. We spoke to him earlier. It was - this morning people lined up. It looked good. It was steady. And then, all of a sudden, the rain came and -

OTTIS SMITH, POLL MANAGER: Now it looks like we got 591 who's voted so far. We've got about four hours left, so apparently it's going to be light to moderate. And it looks like - I thought at one time we would have at least 1,000 that would have voted, but because weather just moved in, with the thunderstorms and so forth, so now it looks like we may not get over about 700 or 800.

LEMON: Wow. And you said 2,500 registered voters?

SMITH: We have about 2,800 registered voters.

LEMON: Twenty-eight hundred. The last time, what you got, 1,900?

SMITH: Sometimes in heavier voting we get somewhere around 1,800 voting.

LEMON: Wow. So now, Fred, there you go. Thank you, Mr. Ottis.

SMITH: Yes. OK.

LEMON: So now we've got - what? About 500 so far. It's not a lot of folks.

And you saw our earlier live shots. At one point - again, I hate to turn my back. It's the only way we can walk in, though.

But you saw there were people lined up behind us. And look, in here so far they're just sort of sitting around, waiting. It's empty besides the workers, and there you go. These guys were busy earlier, working their little fingers off, and right now not so much.

So they're asking people to come out and vote. It's important. We've been talking to some people - talking to a lot of folks here, Fred. They - some of them have been saying, you know, I'm going to vote for Santorum. He seems like the guy who's the most real, most conservative, real conservative. Mitt Romney, because they think he's the guy who can win.

But, overall, I've got to be honest - I have to be honest with our viewers - we've been hearing a lot of Newt Gingrich, especially from women, which is sort of opposite of what people had been saying. They thought women wouldn't vote for him, given what happened with his ex- wife in that interview. That's not what we're hearing here.

WHITFIELD: Oh, interesting. OK, well, it's empty now, but voters there still have four hours to go before the polls close.

LEMON: 7:00 P.M.

WHITFIELD: Right? OK, there you go.

So Don, we'll keep checking with you. It might get busy again. Thanks so much. Stay where it's dry now anyway.

All right, so CNN has crews, of course, all across South Carolina, taking the pulse of voters. Dana Bash is in Charleston, South Carolina where - oh, good. You're inside. You don't have to worry about the rain, and hopefully turnout will pick up there because I know last hour we spoke it was kind of thin.

DANA BASH, CNN SENIOR CONGRESSIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Yes, and it still is kind of thin. And here in Charleston there's no excuse when it comes to the weather. It's beautiful outside. In fact we'll be going outside and give you live shots, Fred.

But, as I mentioned, the - the turnout is not that great here, and I want to bring in somebody who can talk to this a lot better than I can. Ivy Wright-Coleman, thank you very much for joining us. You're the precinct leader here?

IVY WRIGHT-COLEMAN, PRECINCT CLERK: Yes, I am.

BASH: Now, you have been - you've been doing this for how many years?

WRIGHT-COLEMAN: About 27 years.

BASH: Oh, that's all. Twenty-seven years.

WRIGHT-COLEMAN: Yes.

BASH: So, you have, obviously, great experience -

WRIGHT-COLEMAN: Yes.

BASH: -- in turn out and how things are going.

WRIGHT-COLEMAN: Right.

BASH: How would you rate the stream of people coming here versus years past?

WRIGHT-COLEMAN: Moderate. Much higher in the past right now. But I think it's because it's a Saturday.

BASH: So are you surprised by that, given all the attention to this primary here?

WRIGHT-COLEMAN: Yes, I am. Very much.

BASH: And do you think it's possible because this time around it's just a Republican primary? Obviously four years ago it was both.

WRIGHT-COLEMAN: Yes, possibly.

BASH: And I'm just looking at your screen. I want to show you, Fred. This is really fascinating, just the technology here. Every time somebody comes here to vote - in fact, you can - you can describe it better than I can.

WRIGHT-COLEMAN: I pull up - get whatever they have, registration card or driver's license or state ID, and I use this scanner and the bar code, and put it in and everything comes up.

BASH: And, if you can see - I don't know how much you can see here, but it - it counts the votes, 127 voters participating. This is lagging behind a little bit, 8.9 percent of the voters in this particular precinct. So that just show you this, and then of course over here is where the voters - if you can - Phil, just point around there, that's where they actually cast their votes.

So it's hi-tech. You know, things go in pretty quickly, which is probably why we expect to get our results pretty fast here.

WHITFIELD: All right. We'll look forward to that. And maybe after, you know, the results, you'll get a chance to go to, you know, Shem's Creek, get a little she-crab soup, you know, check out some of my friends there. Maybe you'll run into yet another one of my former producers or former co-workers there while in Charleston.

Dana Bash thanks so much.

BASH: I might.

WHITFIELD: All right.

BASH: Thanks, Fred.

WHITFIELD: All right, so be sure to stay with CNN all day for coverage from South Carolina. And tonight we've got results. Tune in at 7:00 P.M. Eastern Time for our special coverage of the winners and losers of the South Carolina primary.

All right, no matter who wins the South Carolina, primary our Candy Crowley will be talking to two of the contenders. Newt Gingrich and Rick Santorum are guests on "STATE OF THE UNION" tomorrow morning, 9:00 A.M. Eastern Time, right here on CNN.

And a new death threat against Salman Rushdie. In my "Face to Face" interview, he talked about how he lived in hiding for years and details the worst part of life under tight security detail, and now he's facing yet a new threat.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: International headlines now.

In Northern Nigeria, coordinated bombings and gunfire at various government sites kill at least 156 people, and a military official says he fears that number will go up. An Islamist group claimed responsibility for yesterday's attacks in a phone call to Nigeria's "Daily Trust Newspaper." A 24 hour curfew is now in place.

And on to Syria now, the capital of Damascus, the U.S. is considering closing its embassy there because of the ongoing violence and worsening security. Today alone an opposition group reports the bodies of 54 people were found in Syria.

And in India, more than 1,000 people have been rescued from a highway linking Kashmir to the rest of India. Heavy snowfall and landslides have blocked the highway over the past few days. Forecasters there say even more snow is on the way.

Controversial author Salman Rushdie is once again under the threat of an attempted assassination. Rushdie backed out of plans to attend a literature festival in India when intelligence sources told him killers had been hired to, quote, "eliminate him."

Rushdie's 1988 novel "The Satanic Verses" caused an uproar in the Islamic world because some Muslims found it sacrilegious. Iran's Ayatollah Khomeini ordered Rushdie to be executed and offered a bounty to anyone who killed him.

Well, Rushdie went into seclusion, as you'll recall, and lived under police protection for several years. I sat down with Rushdie "Face to Face" in November of 2010, and then he reflected on what it is like to live under the threat of assassination.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

WHITFIELD: How does one do that, go into seclusion or -

SALMAN RUSHDIE, WRITER: Most difficult.

WHITFIELD: -- go into hiding for a period of time and then eventually emerge?

RUSHDIE: Yes, well it was tough, you know? I wouldn't recommend it. I mean, if - on the whole, if you can avoid being sentenced to death by a tyrannical leader of a foreign county, then, you know, avoid it, if you can.

WHITFIELD: Well, did you end up having a lot of security?

RUSHDIE: There was security for - yes, for nine years. Nine years. And that's also - you know, I've talked to a lot of people who've had to enter that world of security and - including, you know, politicians and public figures. So it's the - the thing that is worst about it is the loss of spontaneity. You - I mean, it's not that you can't do things, it's that you can't do them when you want to do them. You know, if you want to go for a walk, you say, I'd like to go for a walk, and they say, well, give us 20 minutes, then you go for a walk.

WHITFIELD: Or did it mean even going into disguise?

RUSHDIE: No, no.

WHITFIELD: You didn't do that?

RUSHDIE: I look like this. It would be ridiculous to try and disguise me.

And - no. There was never any attempt to do that.

WHITFIELD: And how about for your family at that time?

RUSHDIE: No, they were - you know, fortunately, touch wood, they were sort of OK. I mean, that was - really, it seemed to be OK.

WHITFIELD: What perhaps may have been the most difficult thing about that loss of spontaneity and worried about with every turn or if I, you know, step in front of this window - I mean, there were all - just about every tiny, little minute thing became an issue of security for you.

RUSHDIE: Well, for a while it did, because for a while we didn't know how serious the threat was and, you know, you had to take very extreme precautions. And then - I mean, it didn't end overnight. It sort of gradually got better. And so it's - and there's a whole political campaign dimension which, you know, I have to go around the world and talk to politicians and get them - governments on my side.

WHITFIELD: Do you find yourself every now and then kind of looking over your shoulder or worrying or wondering?

RUSHDIE: You don't look dangerous to me.

WHITFIELD: I'm glad about that.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

WHITFIELD: So, once again, Rushdie says he doubts the accuracy of this latest threat against him but he is taking it seriously. Instead of actually being in India for that literature festival live, he is making an appearance, but by video.

All right, coming up after the break, actor Cuba Gooding Jr. is in the new movie "Red Tails" and he talks what it was like to portray a real Tuskegee airman.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: They've been overlooked for years. The Tuskegee Airmen were the nation's first black fighter pilots battling segregation at home and war overseas. Their experiences in World War II are unfolding on the big screen in "Red Tails."

George Lucas says Hollywood refused to fund his back movie cast, so he paid for it himself.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Come on. Just a little.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Congratulations, Captain. You are the first Negro to shoot down a (INAUDIBLE).

WHITFIELD (voice-over): Cuba Gooding Jr. is one of the actors who stars in that film. We caught up with him during a special screening just for the Tuskegee Airmen.

CUBA GOODING, JR., ACTOR, "RED TAILS": We've been given the frag order to provide air cover for (INAUDIBLE).

I'm Cuba Gooding Jr. and I'm here to introduce "Red Tails," which is the heroic tale of the Tuskegee Airmen.

They were the 332nd Fighter Group, which was the first all-black fighter group that was stationed in Italy. They had to fly with the B-17 bombers as they did their raids on Berlin.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Come on, Junior. Fly (ph).

GOODING: They helped to save a lot of these airmen who were in these B-17 bombers.

CAPT. ROSCOE C. BROWN, JR., VETERAN, TUSKEGEE AIRMAN: This is a B- 51D, with the bubble canopy. It has the red tail, and it's a great airplane.

I'm Dr. Roscoe C. Brown, Jr., Tuskegee airman. I was commander of the 100 fighter squadron, and some of my exploits are portrayed in the movie.

We won lots of medals, shot down lots of planes, blew up lots of trains. In my generation, in the generation of segregation, there were many African-Americans who knew that we could do anything that whites could do. All we wanted was the opportunity.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Stay with the bombers.

BROWN: They called us the Red Tail Angels because we stayed so close to them and protected them, and I'd like to say that the message of this is excellence overcomes prejudice. Excellence overcome obstacles.

GOODING: Their legacy will be of heroes, American warriors, who were sacrificing their lives for our country, and they did it selflessly, and they did it as a unit of African-American men, which have been an accomplishment that helped, you know, win the war. (END VIDEOTAPE)

WHITFIELD: Ninety-two-year-old airman Bob Friend says "Red Tails" reveals a pivotal chapter in American history, not just Tuskegee history. The recipient of the Air Force's Distinguished Flying Cross Honor tells me "Face to Face" why the experiences of the pilots, mechanics and gunners must be shared.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I can't afford the kind of losses my bombers have been suffering. Can you help save lives?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You get us new planes.

WHITFIELD: Do you remember that moment when the P-47s were replaced by these new P-51s?

LT. COL. BOB FRIEND, TUSKEGEE AIRMAN: Oh, sure.

WHITFIELD: What was that moment like?

FRIEND: It's great. It's - you know, you didn't fly - you didn't get into a P-51, you put it on. You wore it.

WHITFIELD: You wore it.

FRIEND: See, we only flew P-47s for one month, OK? And then, on July the 4th of 1944 we flew our first P-51 mission.

WHITFIELD: Do you recall your feelings when you first targeted another aircraft?

FRIEND: Yes.

WHITFIELD: First took that aircraft down?

FRIEND: The first - the first airplane I encountered, we were meeting head on and I didn't know it.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Bogeys inbound, 12:00.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: They coming in mighty fast.

FRIEND: I said, "Damn, he's shooting at me." But anyway, now my problem was are we going to have a collision?

WHITFIELD: So what are you concentrating on most, not hitting him or trying to target him?

FRIEND: Well, at this point I was starting to worry about not running into him. So I let him know what I was going to do. I just wing tipped, like so, and when I went like that he went the other way. And I turned around as fast as I could, and he's gone.

WHITFIELD: You remember all of this as if it were yesterday. FRIEND: It was.

I think it's an important part of our history, and - and I don't mean to only (ph) Tuskegee, but I mean it's a part of the American history.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Hold your fire. They're ours.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Red tails. I don't recognize the markings.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: He's colored.

WHITFIELD: So, if you don't tell these stories, then no one really can. There are an awful lot of Tuskegee airmen who have not shared their stories for various reasons, my dad being among them.

FRIEND: Yes, I know. My - my brother-in-law was that way, because he didn't get a Purple Heart for all - and he had been wounded twice. He said that was another part of my life. I don't want to -

WHITFIELD: And that's what my dad has said, and he was gunnery sergeant. And he said, you know what? I don't live in the past. But it didn't mean that he was not proud of being a Tuskegee airman.

FRIEND: Believe me, I understand. I understand. You know, because you don't sell it. That's a - you don't try to use it as an advantage.

WHITFIELD: What are you hoping young people who perhaps really can't identify with the '40s, they can't identify with World War II, Korean War, and they go to this movie, "Red Tails." What do you want them to really understand and grasp?

FRIEND: I think - I think it's important for them to know that these things happened. I think that we can say look back and ask ourselves was this a positive phase? And it's a positive phase. That's all that matters, because I think we all grew in some way, both sides. And I say both sides, I'm really and truthfully talking about racial. Yes.

WHITFIELD: Mr. Bob Friend, thanks so much.

FRIEND: Thank you. Bless you.

WHITFIELD: Pleasure meeting you and talking with you.

FRIEND: Nice talking to you, dear.

WHITFIELD: Thank you.

FRIEND: Bless you. Thank you.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

WHITFIELD: Mr. Friend says serving as an airman was really just, in his words, one phase for a good number of the original 3,000. Mr. Friend would continue technical career with the U.S. Air Force, become assistant deputy of Launch Vehicles and Space Shuttles.

And my dad, Mel Whitfield, who you saw in that starter block position, a Tuskegee gunner, would become the first active duty armed servicemen to win gold, silver and bronze as a U.S. Olympian, and then go on to be a U.S. diplomat.

Other airmen would become extraordinary things as well after that first phase of being an airman. They become inventors, entrepreneurs, CEOs and public servants. We salute all of them and their service.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

FREDRICKA WHITFIELD, CNN ANCHOR: Let's get caught up on our top stories. Polls close in South Carolina's presidential primary in just about three and a half hours from now. Heavy rain across much of the state may be keeping some voters away.

A new poll release this morning gives Newt Gingrich a 14-point lead over rival Republican Mitt Romney. Be sure to stay with CNN all day with coverage from South Carolina and then, of course, tonight we have the results.

Tune in at 7:00 p.m. Eastern Time for our special coverage of the winners and lowers. Actually that would be 6:00 p.m. Eastern Time from that South Carolina primary.

OK, this morning fire fighters contained a 3,000 acre wildfire burning near Reno, Nevada. Flames destroyed nearly 30 houses. About 10,000 people actually had to leave their homes, but evacuation orders were lifted just a couple of hours ago.

Investigators think they know what caused that fire. They say a man came forward yesterday admitting that he improperly discarded fireplace ashes.

Let's check in with Jacqui Jeras right now because boy, it is really -- while it may be frigid in some corners of the country with lots of snow, it is just wet and miserable in other parts.

JACQUI JERAS, AMS METEOROLOGIST: Yes, and spring like with severe thunderstorms had been kicking across parts of the southeast. W We'll get right to the map and talk about this severe weather threat that is in rambling across parts of Georgia and on into South Carolina.

That tornado watch is in effect until 8:00 local time. We also see some very heavy downpours. Some isolated damaging winds possible here, but we're more concerned about some flash flooding to be associated with that as well.

If you're trying to get out and vote, you live in Charleston perhaps, hurry up and get it done now. Those thunderstorms are just a couple of hours away. So the sooner you do it, the better off you're going to be.

I would say within an hour and a half or so things are going to start to dry up in places like Columbia. So Western Carolinas will be starting to fare a little bit better. In the northern end of this storm we've been dealing with some really wintry weather in parts of the northeast. Take a look at our picture from Columbus circle in New York City. You can see nice fresh dusting of snow. Isn't that gorgeous?

Love it, 4.5 inches in Central Park, by the way. But of course, a nightmare unfortunately still for travellers trying to play catch up from this thing. Take a look at the delays. We got a ground stop now at JFK until 4:00.

That means planes can't take off from other cities to get into New York City, Atlanta looking at about an hour and a half delay now, Philadelphia pushing two hours and arrival delays at Laguardia around 30 minutes.

Now this storm system is going to be on the move today, but a new one rides as we head into tomorrow. That's going to be a real concern with severe weather once again. The west coast, we've had quite a week just getting slammed over and over with storm after storm.

And we're going to quiet it down a little bit now today in through much of tomorrow, but by tomorrow night look at that, the purple popping back up meaning another storm arriving with feet of snow possible into the cascades.

The valleys have been a problem in terms of rainfall. Look at the flooding rains they had in Turner, Oregon, from yesterday. Look at that high water. Many, many roads are still closed. Rivers are very high.

It's starting to recede, but we're concerned with that next storm coming in that will be continued problems. So it's going to be an ugly weekend on both coasts of the country once again as we head in tomorrow. The nation's mid-section mostly dealing with wind.

WHITFIEDL: My goodness, OK, miserable all the way around, right? Thanks, Jacqui.

All right, an intense legal battle is under way between the online file sharing web site known as "Mega Upload" and the U.S. government.

The Justice Department has shut down the site and charged several "Mega Upload" officials with online piracy. The arrests came after a massive raid at a New Zealand mansion. CNN's Brian Todd reports.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

BRIAN TODD, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): At a swank mansion in Auckland, New Zealand a vintage Cadillac, other high end vehicles worth millions are hauled away. The man living there arrested police say after barricading himself in a safe room and being found next to a shotgun.

He calls himself kim.com., former known as Kim Smiths, and U.S. officials believe he's one of the top content pirates on the internet. New Zealand police say this about kim.com and the three other men arrested with them.

DETECTIVE INSPECTOR GRANT WORMALD, NEW ZEALAND POLICE: They have been arrested on warrants related to breach of copyright offenses in the United States, money laundering, and racketeering.

TODD: It's one of the U.S. government's biggest anti-piracy crackdowns ever. Officials say kim.com ran the popular file sharing web site "Mega Upload," a favorite of pop stars who sing its praises in a promotional video.

But officials say "Mega Upload" was also a popular hub for illegally downloaded movies, shows and music costing copyright holders more than $500 million in lost revenue. The company's lawyer says the charges are without merit.

(on camera): Experts say part of "Mega Upload's" operation is legitimate. People can send non-copyrighted material like personal videos there to be shared with others.

But U.S. law enforcement officials say that "Mega Upload" also allowed people to send links to copyrighted movies like the new "Twilight" film there.

Others could then be directed to those links even if the material was copyrighted because officials says "Mega Upload" duplicated those links and then paid outside people to steer internet traffic to those links.

(voice-over): U.S. officials say that meant people at "Mega Upload" not only knew they had pirated material, but helped to distribute it. Federal officials have now shut down "Mega Upload's" web site.

But when they did that it, activists from the group "Anonymous" temporarily knocked the Justice Department's web site offline.

(on camera): Are we going to see hacker words like this every time officials go after people who allegedly traffic in copyrighted material?

PETER TOREN, FORMER CYBER CRIME PROSECUTOR: Yes, I definitely think we are and I think it's an example of the digital wars that exist all over the world with a whole variety of topics not just copyrighted material.

TODD (voice-over): Justice Department officials reject speculation that the "Mega Upload" take down is timed to coincide with a battle in Congress over anti-piracy legislation with CNN's parent company, Time Warner supports. Justice officials say this investigation has been going on for nearly two years. Brian Todd, CNN, Washington.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

WHITFIELD: All right, they are special shoes that promise to help shape you up, but now people who wore them are suing saying the shoes caused injuries. Our legal guys weigh in on that case.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: A security alert that put the Tyndall Air Force Base near Panama City, Florida on lockdown is now over. CNN has learned a domestic call of a man with a gun caused that lockdown. The man was apprehended and the incident is now over. Tyndall Air Force Base is there in the Florida panhandle.

A class action lawsuit filed against the company that makes Skechers shoes, Lisa Bassett is one of the plaintiffs in the suit. She claims the Skechers Shape Up shoes left her with some pretty serious injuries.

Thirty six other people who bought the shoes are claiming they were injured too and they are part of that suit. Our CNN legal contributor, Avery Friedman weighed in.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

AVERY FRIEDMAN, CIVIL RIGHTS ATTORNEY: The key that Holly and the class, which she represents will have to undertake is to look at the so-called safety tests that were undertaken by Skechers. This is exactly the reason why the Federal Trade Commission whacked Reebok with about $25 million in fines because the question of the science.

This usually affects women 40 and over. There's a real question of whether or not there are defects, it's a products liability case. We'll find out in discovery when the safety tests emerge. At that point, we're going to be able to judge whether or not the case is meritorious.

WHITFIELD: OK, so Richard, quickly, what is the responsibility of a shoe manufacturer to ensure your safety when you're wearing their shoes?

RICHARD HERMAN, CRIMINAL DEFENSE ATTORNEY: Well, it's their obligation to test it to make sure it's sound and it's a viable product and not injure people. Skechers is saying this is a very sketchy case, Fred, because millions and millions of people wear these shoes and go unharmed and uninjured.

We don't know the physical history of this small group of plaintiffs. We don't know if they were walking eating doughnuts. We don't know what they were doing. We don't know their physical body systems.

So all of that's going to come into play here. But, you know, Avery is right, Reebok got banged for $25 million in a similar case, so I think Skechers will probably settle this.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: All right, you're going to have to catch our legal guys every Saturday, maybe next Saturday they will have something that catches interest as well, noon Eastern Time. They always have something profound say on every case.

A teenager whose life was saved by an organ donor has found a unique way to pay it forward. You'll meet him next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: All right, many of us say we want to make a real difference in the world. Well, this week CNN Heroes recognizes a teenager who is doing that right now.

Michael Caraway was in the Sixth grade when he received a life-saving liver from an organ donor. Well, now, 14 years old, he's using new lease on life to help others.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: When Michael was born, he was normal, active, ran around, played football, he was just like any other child. And one day he just got sick.

UNIDENTIFIED CHILD: In 2008, when I was 1l years old, I was diagnosed with liver failure.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: They told me straight up if he doesn't get a liver transplant, he will die.

UNIDENTIFIED CHILD: It was Halloween and the doctor came in, the liver specialist.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: He walked in and said I hate to sound like the grim reaper, but it's raining outside. It's Halloween. He says I've been doing this for 30 years. Somebody's going to die. Your son is going gate liver.

UNIDENTIFIED CHILD: This guy right here, his name Johnny Hernandez. He was 18 years old and killed in a motorcycle accident. This family gave me something that I needed, which was a liver from their son. So I really couldn't pay them back. So I feed the homeless in honor of their son Johnny Hernandez.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It was his idea to feed the homeless and his vision.

UNIDENTIFIED CHILD: December 25th, 2008, we packed up 25 meals, put them in my mom's truck and drove around. Ever since then we launched Mickey's meals and we fed all 4,000 people in the city of Auckland. Every time we feed we promote donor awareness.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: We sign up 30 people to become donors at each event that we have.

UNIDENTIFIED CHILD: It's really important to help your community because without you there's no community.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Mickey is truly a young wonder.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

WHITFIELD: My goodness how inspirational. Do you know somebody making a big difference in the lives of others? Go to cnnheroes.com and tell us about them. Your words just might change the life of someone working every day to help others. Nominate a 2012 CNN Hero today.

Meantime, we continue to watch South Carolina today as voters there make their pick for the GOP primary, but in Florida another place to watch with the click of a dial undecided voters will be weighing in ahead of their primary scheduled for January 31st. How does that work? We're going to explain to you right after this.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: We are about three hours and 10 minutes away from the polls closing in the South Carolina Republican primary. Let's bring in Don Lemon joining us again from Lexington where it's been spotty, the turnout.

We've been telling you that rain storm has been moving in and it is impacting the voter turnout and apparently, it's also impacting our signal. So we may not be able to actually hear from Don right now.

We'll try to reconnect later. No matter who wins, the South Carolina primary, our Candy Crowley will be talking to two of them first thing in the morning starting 9:00 a.m. Eastern Time.

OK, now, it looks like the clouds and rain are giving us a break. Let's go back to Lexington in South Carolina where we'll find our Don Lemon. He's inside because it's stormy outside. So what's happening? More people, are they trickling through? We have a signal!

DON LEMON, CNN CORRESPONDENT: We've got some voters. They are trickling through. We've got a signal and we've a local Atlanta reporter over there who says hi and we've got our rain outside.

It's raining and I'm hearing myself, but I'll try to bear through it. So anyway, we're here at a polling place in Lexington as you know and when you came us to last time, you saw there were zero people here.

But there are a few people, maybe one person who's in here, but there had been some people who are just going in. It's a little bit odd listening to myself. I'm listening to myself like three or four seconds after I can hear --

WHITFIELD: I know that's tricky.

LEMON: Hard to keep your concentration, but we told you earlier that the turnout was really low because of that weather you have outside and around the state, basically. They are a little bit concerned about that here.

They are trying to get people to come out to the polls. They want us to get the message to come out and vote. It's very important you make your choice to be the Republican nominee. There you go.

They've still got people coming in and still have three hours before the polls actually close. They are hoping more folks turn out. There you go.

WHITFIELD: Good. Don Lemon wants some company there at that polling station in Lexington, South Carolina so join him. Don't let the rain scare you away before as Jacqui Jeras said, the rain is going to get worse.

So you got to get to the polls right now if you're there in the Lexington, South Carolina area. All right, thanks so much, Don. Appreciate that. We'll check back with you throughout the evening.

Of course, you want to stay right here with CNN for the coverage of that South Carolina primary. We're going to have our special coverage beginning at 6:00 Eastern Time.

And of course, you want to stick with us because we will give you the results as early as we know them. The winners and losers of the South Carolina primary.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: As voters decide in South Carolina, some undecided Florida voters will gather there tonight to gauge what they see and hear from the four remaining GOP contenders. Tom Foreman joins us actually from Jacksonville, Florida.

So explain what's happening or going to happen? I hope the weather is not impeding our audio transmission communication there with Tom Foreman. We can see him, but he can't hear us. We'll try to check back with him a little bit later.

Of course, you want to watch our South Carolina primary coverage. We're going to have that throughout this afternoon into tonight, our special coverage of the winners and losers of the winners and losers of the South Carolina primary beginning 6:00 Eastern Time.

So no matter who wins the South Carolina primary, our Candy Crowley will talk to two of the contenders, Newt Gingrich and Rick Santorum. They are guests on "STATE OF THE union" tomorrow morning 9 a.m. Eastern right here on CNN.

All right, New York City has one of the toughest gun laws in the country for a reason to cut down on violent crime. But an ex-Marine, a tourist is caught up in a three-month-long legal fight because he mistakenly brought a gun to a tour of the Empire State Building. Here now is Susan Candiotti.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

SUSAN CANDIOTTI, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Whether it's Times Square or the Statue of Liberty, visitors to New York City are welcome. Their guns are not.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I was in utter disbelief.

CANDIOTTI: Ryan Jerome is in shock because the ex-Marine is licensed to carry a gun in his home state of Indiana, but says he didn't know New York doesn't recognize any out-of-state gun permits, including the one for his .45 Caliber like this one.

He found out the hard way when he and his girlfriend visited the Empire State Building.

(on camera): When Ryan Jerome went inside the Empire State Building, he says he didn't try to hide anything. He asked where he could check his hand gun.

Instead, he was pulled aside, cops were called, he was arrested, taken downtown and spent two days in jail trying to raise enough money to get out of jail.

RYAN JEROME, CHARGED WITH VIOLATING GUN LAW: I was praying, God, why is this happening like this?

CANDIOTTI (voice-over): He could face a mandatory 3-1/2 years in prison if convicted. Jerome is not the only tourist in trouble. Last month at the 9/11 memorial, a Tennessee medical student tried to check her gun and also was promptly arrested. She goes to court in March. The fate of former Marine Jerome is still on the line. His lawyer says he hopes prosecutors won't take his client to trial.

MARK BEDEROW, JEROME'S ATTORNEY; The legitimate interest they have in gun control and getting illegal guns off the street and reducing violence is not going to be furthered by making an example of Mr. Jerome. It's just isn't.

CANDIOTTI: A fellow ex-marine has started an online letter-writing campaign to help Jerome.

DAVE BRUCE, SUPPORTS JEROME: We are asking that Ryan Jerome's case be moved from the prosecution file to the "to be dismissed" file. It's as simple as that.

CANDIOTTI: The head of a gun control group sympathizes with Jerome, but adds this.

RICHARD ABORN, PRESIDENT, CITIZEN CRIME COMMISSION: If you decide to have a gun, there is a lot of responsibility that comes with that. One of the responsibilities is knowing where and when you can carry that gun.

JEROME: I just hope everything works out for the best.

CANDIOTTI: Prosecutors deciding whether it's best to fully enforce a gun law in some cases where it may have missed its mark. Susan Candiotti, CNN, New York.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

WHITFIELD: It's primary day in South Carolina. Polls close in about three hours from now. Poll workers tell CNN the turnout is lighter than it has been in past primaries. A new poll released this morning gives Newt Gingrich a 14-point lead over rival Republican Mitt Romney.

CNN, of course, is the place to be for the South Carolina primary results. Keep it right here as CNN's Southern Republican debate starts right now.