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Marquis Endorsement For Mitt; Attorney General In Hot Seat; 60 Arrested In Child Porn Sweep; Ending U.S. Combat In Afghanistan; Cairo Demonstrations; Syria's Bloody Uprising; Facebook Going Public; Homeowners' Loss, Freddie Mac's Gain

Aired February 02, 2012 - 13:00   ET

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

FREDRICKA WHITFIELD, CNN ANCHOR: Hello, everyone, I'm Fredricka Whitfield. It is 1:00, let's get straight to the news right now.

With the next presidential contest now just two days away, the four main contenders are mining for votes in Nevada. Newt Gingrich is attacking President Obama over gas prices and hammering Mitt Romney over his comments to CNN about the very poor. But Gingrich has very little time to make up a lot of ground.

A new Nevada poll by the "Las Vegas Review-Journal" and Channel 8 gives Romney a 20-point lead with Rick Santorum and Ron Paul in a virtual tie for a distant third.

And right now, Gingrich is due to appear at a Hispanic leadership round table in Las Vegas. When that happens, we'll bring you live pictures.

Later today, Romney will pick up the backing of a fellow businessman who toyed with the run himself. Donald Trump signaled his support on Monday when he said, it's a great thing to be successful and make a lot of money and employ a lot of people. Whether trump's endorsement will mean anything, it's still unclear. In a recent poll, 64 percent of likely Republican voters said it would not, 20 percent said it would make them less likely to vote for whomever Trump endorsed. We'll bring you the announcement live at 12:30 Las Vegas time, 3:30 Eastern time.

Fireworks on Capitol Hill over the Justice Department's botched gun running operation. House Republican Darrell Issa demanded that attorney general Eric Holder turn over documents about the sting operation known as Fast and Furious. The program was designed to monitor the flow of illegal weapons from U.S. gun stores into Mexico. Hundreds of weapons were lost or unaccounted for.

And Holder says firings and charges against justice officials who oversaw the program are likely to come in the next six months.

At least 60 people have been arrested in one of the biggest child porn busts in Canada's history. Here's a look at how far-reaching this ring was. The arrest came after sweeping raids on alleged child pornography rings throughout Ontario. Police say at least 22 victims had been identified and they are now receiving treatment. More children are believed to have been abused. Police also say they have confiscated large amounts of money, drugs, and weapons.

There is sharp reaction today to Defense Secretary Leon Panetta's plan to end the combat war in Afghanistan more than a year before American troops are scheduled to come home. Panetta said yesterday that the U.S. and NATO plan to end their combat mission next year and that troops will shift to a training and advisory role. Some critics on Capitol Hill say the plan makes no military sense. Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney says that the proposal plays into the hands of the Taliban. President Obama has said U.S. troops would begin leaving Afghanistan in 2014.

And take a look at live pictures at the (INAUDIBLE) police confronting demonstrators close to the interior ministry in Cairo. This triggered by outraged Egyptians who blame the government and security guards for riots at a soccer game that left 79 people dead. The violence erupted at the end of the game when rival fans invaded the playing field, attacking each other with rocks and chairs. Witnesses say security guards did nothing to stop the melee (ph). The government has declared three days of national mourning. Our Ben Wedeman is in Cairo monitoring the situation. We'll checking in with him shortly.

And more clashes today in Syria between rebels and forces. They are loyal to President Bashar al Assad. This was the scene in the embattled city of Homs yesterday where more than 30 people were killed. Anti-government protests continue throughout the country.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

CROWD: (Chanting.)

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: And thousands took to the streets of Homs, another hot spot of anti-Assad protests.

Back in this country now. In Texas, it can feel like a year's long drought will never end, but today officially in one small area of northeast Texas it actually has. The state climatologist has said a rainy fall and -- and winter rather, have refilled the reservoirs there in and around Dallas, Fort Worth. Folks there are thankful but that's just five percent of the state. The other 95 percent, including the town of Spicewood Beach near Austin, is still painfully dry.

Every day we try to show you things that you don't see every day. Well today, it's the far side of the moon captured by two NASA orbiters that a fourth grade class in Montana claim to name ebb and flow. And if you remember fourth grade, you know the moon spins on its axis but since it revolves around the earth at exactly the same speed, the same side always faces us. Students from more than 2,000 elementary and middle schools are calling the shots on this mission, directing the cameras and studying the photos as well.

And Facebook, as you know by now, is going public. And if you didn't already like Facebook, this could change your mind. Buying in could make you make big bucks.

But first, how excited would you be if someone simply handed you Super Bowl tickets? Well, Kyle Parrish was probably ecstatic when he won two tickets to the big game in a raffle. With the average ticket selling at $4,000, it's a football fan's dream, right? Well, Kyle is a big fan but despite that, he gave away the tickets to a 13-year-old boy with kidney disease.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

KYLE PARRISH: By giving one set of Super Bowl tickets and knowing I can change this kid and his mom's life for just an afternoon and evening. For me, it's the biggest thrill ever.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: Oh, which makes you, Kyle Parrish, today's Rock Star.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: All right. Facebook is finally going public. The company filed for its IPO to raise $5 billion but it could be even bigger. And a lot of people want a big piece of the pie. CEO Mark Zuckerberg pinned this to his desk after the filing, saying, quote, "Stay focused and keep shipping."

So, what are Facebook users saying? Mark just passed his baby to the world, says one. One of the best tech company in past seven years, that from a Cameron. And dude, solid moves, you're our main man. Now how about giving back? How about offering an opportunity for IPO based on how long people have been loyal to you? And congrats on the IPO and thanks for going public, Mark. Looking forward to adding my favorite tech company in my stock portfolio. Thank and congrats again. That from Priya. Big day with the IPO and a nice reminder on your desk. Keep up the good work. That from Troy.

So, let's bring in editor in chief of "Mashable," Lance Ulanoff, and our own Ali Velshi joining us from New York. Good to see you. I wonder from the two of you, who is the most excited about this?

ALI VELSHI, CNN CHIEF BUSINESS CORRESPONDENT: Larry said it last night.

(CROSSTALK)

WHITFIELD: You're both chomping at the bit. I want you first to know, Facebook, you know, it's getting valued at $100 billion. That would be several times Google's IPO valuation. So, what's the rationale here?

VELSHI: So, here's what is happening. People are conflating the stuff that Lance is going to talk about or the stuff that I'm going to talk about, whether or not Facebook is going to be the same type of operation. Am I -- something sounds weird here, I'm not sure what it is but I'll carry on talking, you guys can --

WHITFIELD: I'm hearing you OK.

VELSHI: All right. So, I'm going to take this ear piece out which means I can just with impunity. Here's the issue. An IPO is an initial public offering. It means the first time that a company's going to sell stock to the public. They are always secondary offerings later on, this is the initial public offering. If you read the filing that Facebook made, you'd think that the stock could be valued at about $30, but that doesn't take into account all the emotion, all the hype that we're going to talk about.

So, we're thinking that the lowest it's going to be is about $45. History says$100 billion. What is the rationale here? History says these things get priced higher than what you would think. Google is the logical comparison. Lots of people are saying it's going to end up like Zynga or Groupon. That's nonsense. This is a bigger deal. Facebook is pa a part of our life. If it traded at $45 on the first day, which is conservative, that would be 87 times its earnings.

Now, the reason that's important, the way you decide whether you're going to buy a stock to compare it to other stocks in the industry. Google at $581 today is 20 times earnings. So in our industry, Facebook is about 45 bucks. History says that these things get priced a lot higher than what you would think. Now, Google is the logical comparison. Lots of people are saying, this is going to end up like Zynga or like Groupon and things like -- that's not -- that's nonsense. This is a bigger deal than most deals have ever been in life -- Facebook is a part of our life.

So, Facebook, if it came out at 45 bucks, if it traded at 45 bucks on the first day which is conservative, that would be 87 times its earnings. Now, the reason that's important is the way you decide whether you're going to buy a stock is to compare it to other stocks in the industry. Google, at $581 today is 20 times earnings.

So, in our industry parlance, we would say that Facebook at $45, now remember, I'm just making that figure up, it could be a lot higher, is trading at 87 times its earnings. That's the thing you have to remember. Is it worth it at that point? Everybody is asking me, do you buy Google when you come in, do you buy Facebook when you come in? I just want to show you what happened to Google on its day. Priced at about $85, closed at $100 on its first day which I thought was expensive, and $280 a year later. So, it depends, is Facebook a revolutionary stock or is it just a tech stock that might come out overpriced?

WHITFIELD: OK. And so, Lance, we know the big investors are going to cash in here and see this as a great opportunity, but what about, you know, for the individual investor out there, how might they be able to kind of cash in or take advantage of this opportunity?

LANCE ULANOFF, EDITOR IN CHIEF, "MASHABLE": I think -- I think it's going to be honestly be very hard for them just because there's going to be so much activity around there. You know, I'm not -- I'm no investment expert but I will tell you that Facebook is not like some of the other companies we talked about. I agree that, you know, it's not like Zynga, it's not like Groupon. This is a -- it's not even -- you know what? It's not even like Google in that this is a place that you go to and you stay.

You know, Facebook's strategy over the last few years has been to engage people, to pull them in, and having them doing more than just simply reconnecting with people but doing things together.

So, they're chatting together, they're e-mailing, they're looking at photos, they're posting videos, they're watching movies together, they're playing games. You know, when you go to Google, you search and you leave. Now, Google's trying to build something Facebook-like on Google plus, but it's a long way off from 845 million users. And that's what we'll look at with -- you know, Facebook is the world's social network right now. It is the world's dominant leader, and that's what makes this IPO so exciting.

Because we've never had a product at this level go public, you know, where it's touching so many people's lives every single day. And I -- you know, I've got to say that Facebook has a real strategy, I think, for continued growth because with the open graph, you know with the APIs, with gestures, doing things that show up on your timeline, they're going to hook people and hold them as long as possible and, of course, make money with advertising and virtual goods.

WHITFIELD: Yes. OK. So, quickly underscoring that message of, you know, how it has reached the world and made an impact. In fact, Mark Zuckerberg's letter for the IPO filing said just this. You know, Facebook was built to accomplish a social mission to make the world more open and connected. We think it's important that who invest in Facebook understand what this mission means to us, how we make the decisions and why we do the things that we do. S

o, like one Facebook user had asked when we asked for comments, you know, Ali, if you can hear us now, I think you have your earpiece there. You know, how does Facebook try to give back to society even more than connecting society?

VELSHI: This is always where it gets tricky. I couldn't help but laugh when I read that Mark Zuckerberg had said that, because while I agree to some degree he is right, it is earth changing, it's world changing what Facebook does, but this is an IPO. It's about getting rich. These guys already have more money than god, now they're going to have more money than several gods.

WHITFIELD: Now changing the world.

VESHI: But they do change the world. So, I wouldn't get too carried away about this. This still remains a business venture that I think, even though the earnings don't live up to the price of that stock will likely be, these guys, as somebody earlier to me today, haven't even touched the gas pedal. They have a long way to grow. I would not underestimate that.

WHITFIELD: All right. Lance, real quick?

ULANOFF: You know, I was just going to say, we're at the turning point in the world where social networking does seem to have an impact on world events. So, Facebook going public at this time is kind of very important because they are going to have the tools, the money and the reach to actually have some kind of impact. Of course, you know, governments may make it harder for them to do some of that as they control them, even our own government with all the privacy issues. But I do think --

WHITFIELD: Yes.

ULANOFF: -- that he's being sincere here.

WHITFIELD: OK. All right, Lance Ulanoff, Ali Velshi, gentlemen, thanks so much. Always great to see you.

ALI VELSHI, CNN: Our pleasure.

ULANOFF: A pleasure.

WHITFIELD: U.S. Defense Secretary Leon Panetta says the U.S. hopes to end combat in Afghanistan by 2013, but it was -- but, rather, is that a good idea for the U.S. to reveal its cards. And with the drawdown, could this open the door to the Taliban? A live report straight ahead.

Plus, demonstrations erupting in Egypt. A live report straight ahead.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: All right, breaking news out of Cairo. They have begun three days of mourning after 79 people were killed during a soccer game that turned violent. But this by some estimates doesn't appear as though it is mourning. You're looking at some more recent images. And now live images of what we have been told has been some conflict, violent conflict between police and demonstrators there in Cairo. Our Ben Wedeman is there in Cairo to give us a better handle of what's taking place here.

So, Ben, help us understand. We know that these three days of mourning were to begin today as a result of that soccer game that turned violent. But now what is this conflict all about?

BEN WEDEMAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, what we have is demonstrations all day long in Cairo against the killing of these soccer fans in Port Said yesterday evening. But it quickly transformed into demonstrations against the supreme council of the armed forces, the military body that took over from Hosni Mubarak a year ago after the revolution. Many of these soccer fans are blaming the military for failing to provided adequate security at Port Said and in general throughout the country.

There has been a dramatic decline in law and order in Egypt over the last year. Now, the demonstrators said they were going to go to the ministry of the interior and basically what's going on now is they are trying to get through a series of barriers that have been set up in recent months because of similar clashes in November and December and they're trying to get to the ministry of the interior.

Clashes have taken place. The security forces are firing tear gas and rubber bullets at the demonstrators. We're getting reports that only within the last two hours at least 100 people have been injured. We have seen ambulances rushing to the scene. It looks like we're back into the same cycle of protests, clashes, which lead to more protests and more clashes.

-- Fredricka.

WHITFIELD: And so, Ben, if you could, give us some clarity as to what sparked the violence at the soccer games in the first place.

WEDEMAN: Well, this was a game between two bitter rivals. A team from Port Said, a city on the Suez Canal, and Al-Ahly, which is the big Cairo team. Now, according to Al-Ahly fans. What happened is when the game ended with a victory for Port Said, thousands of fans from that city poured into the stadium, into the field, and started to attack the players and the fans.

Now, they complain that the police facilitated this attack by opening gates that separated the two groups of fans. And apparently there were very little in the way of screening of people entering the stadium. So we're hearing reports that they were able to bring in sticks, fireworks, stones, bottles, and even firearms to the stadium. And a blood bath ensued.

Exactly where the fault lies, it's not clear. The government insists that they're going to -- they're conducting an investigation. Already we've seen senior security officials from Port Said arrested and charged with dereliction of duty.

Fredricka.

WHITFIELD: OK. All right, Ben Wedeman, thanks so much for that update out of Cairo.

All right, the U.S. and NATO are now trying to decide when it's OK to pack up and leave Afghanistan. U.S. Defense Secretary Leon Panetta is under fire from administration critics for saying the U.S. hopefully can transition out of a combat world by the end of next year. Thousands of U.S. troops would stay, at least through 2014 in a backup in training role, speeding up the previous timetable. Some critics say that gives the Taliban and al Qaeda all the more reason to sit tight and wait the American's out. I'm joined now by my colleague, Nic Robertson, in London.

You've been covering this war for a very long time. So how do you compare the differences to U.S. troops stepping aside 2013 versus 2014, knowing what you know about the landscape?

NIC ROBERTSON, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, it certainly does give anyone in the Taliban the idea that if they were going to wait out U.S. forces leaving, then this is just going to make it so much easier.

On the other side, one of the things that the Taliban have to weigh, particularly now that they have opened the door to getting into talks with U.S. officials, took a long time to organize, is that one of their demands had been that U.S. troops and foreign troops altogether would have to be pulled out of Afghanistan before they ever get into the talks. Well, they're compromised on that clearly already.

So, now they're being told at the top level that those troops will go even sooner. So, do they take that as something that's good and a note of good faith in any talks they may get into, or do they just say, we sit tight. W

hy they may not want to sit tight, why they may get into talks is because the Taliban took control of Afghanistan in the 1990s, partly through money that they got from Pakistan, while the Taliban the United States is talking to will not get that money in the future from Pakistan and they know that the people they're up against in the north of the country, the Afghans there, are much better armed, much better equipped than they were in the past. So the Taliban may make the calculation, after so many decades of war, that they can actually get more of the table than they can fighting. And so this knowledge that the troop reduction is definitely coming maybe, maybe something that they can trust and follow through with more talks.

WHITFIELD: So, Nic, there are some arguments stateside here that this is a military strategy. Others argue this is about politics, a political strategy. At least one observer thinks that Panetta is right to actually speed things up. Let's take a listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

GEN. WESLEY CLARK (RET.), FMR. NATO SUPREME ALLIED COMMANDER: Remember why we went into Afghanistan. We went there because of Osama bin Laden. We got Osama bin Laden. President Obama made a really tough decision. He got him. He took him down. Al Qaeda's much weaker and much different today. So it's time to transition away from this mission.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: So I'm wondering, Nic, the people of Afghanistan, the government of Afghanistan, do they feel like, OK, mission accomplished, time for the U.S. and NATO to go ahead and depart?

ROBERTSON: Well, there's certainly one thing about the government of Afghanistan, President Karzai, who's sort of recently, and many occasions over the past year, has seemed to work at odds with what the United States is trying to do.

He's trying to work on his own track of talks with the Taliban, which risks undermining what the United States is doing and risks undermining the United State's long term strategy in Afghanistan. So along those lines, a very clear message is being sent to President Karzai and the government that there is going to be a drawdown and it's perhaps going to happen sooner.

There's been many a time U.S. diplomats in Afghanistan have been criticized for not taking a tougher line with Karzai. For allowing him to get his way. And this looks like a stage now where they're really showing tough love to Karzai. This drawdown means you're on your own. If you've got your own plans, then good luck to you, because this is what we're going to do. And some people have been saying this is a long time and coming, Fredricka.

WHITFIELD: Nic Roberson, thanks so much.

All right, back in this country, Freddie Mac. The government-backed mortgage lender is supposed to make owning a home easier, right? Well, one investigation concludes Freddie may have been hedged its bets. Was the taxpayer funded corporation working against struggling homeowners?

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: If you've had trouble trying to refinance your mortgage, you might be able to identify with this. And you're going to want to hear this story.

Many of you know about Freddie Mac. The mortgage giant has a lot of pull in deciding who does or doesn't get approved for refinancing. But an NPR and ProPublica joint investigation concludes that Freddie Mac essentially made it harder for many of you.

Their report, which looked at Freddie Mac's investments, revealed they bets struggling homeowners would fail to refinance their mortgage at lower rates. It's a story we feel is "Under Covered." Keep in mind, Freddie Mac is owned by you, the taxpayer. In fact, their mission includes stabilizing the housing market and helping homeowners refinance their loans.

But what NPR correspondent Chris Arnold dug up, along with ProPublica, suggests that is far from reality.

Chris, thanks so much for joining us.

CHRIS ARNOLD, NPR CORRESPONDENT: Thanks, Fred.

WHITFIELD: So how is Freddie Mac, or how has it been, betting against homeowners to fail?

ARNOLD: Well, our story basically uncovered that on the one hand Freddie Mac has been making it harder for homeowners to refinance their loans. And that's not a big secret. A lot of the industry has been making it harder and tightening. But what we showed was that Freddie Mac, based on public documents, had at the same time that it was making it harder to refinance, was also placing bets to the tune of 3.5 billion. Now it looks like it might be $5 billion in these bets that make a lot of money if people are unable to refinance, and that lose a lot of money if people can refinance.

WHITFIELD: So that essentially was sending a message that Freddie Mac wanted people to fail? They didn't even want to throw them a lifeline?

ARNOLD: Well, you know, I wouldn't feel comfortable going that far, but these bets just show that at least in this one investment that Freddie Mac is making, it's got this $5 billion investment tied to $20 and $30 billion in home loans. So probably more than 100,000 American families who have mortgages, they are directly involved in these bets where their 6 percent mortgage payment or 7 percent mortgage payment is going right into Freddie Mac's pocket. Freddie Mac placed a bet that, if they can't refinance and they stay stuck, Freddie Mac wins and they make a lot of money.

WHITFIELD: We reached out to Freddie Mac several times. This is the latest statement, saying, "Freddie Mac is committed to doing everything we can to ensure that creditworthy borrowers can refinance their mortgages. And we've been successful in that effort, refinancing for more than 78 percent of our business in 2011 and 80 percent of our business in 2009 and 2010. We are proud of our record of refinancing more than 4.3 million mortgages in this span totaling about $930 billion. The fact is a borrowers' ability to re-fi mans is dependent on their financial condition."

It's important to point out their statement, at the time, is this and whether Freddie Mac did anything unlawful or unethical?

ARNOLD: No. We're not alleging in our reporting or nothing in our reporting turned up any evidence that there was anything illegal going on here. We should absolutely say that. And to be fair to Freddie Mac, they say, look, there's a firewall between the part of our company that looks after homeowners and the mortgage market and tries to make lending assessable to people and the investment side of the company that made these bets. But a lot of economists will tell you there is a basic conflict in the way Fannie and Freddie are set up. You have gatekeepers that control their ability to refinance and, at the same time, in the hedge fund side of the business, they are betting against those homeowners trying to refinance. We raise that question, is that a problem. And in particular these investments that are more extreme and more troubling because they are just a clear bet against homeowners.

WHITFIELD: And how is it different from regular hedging?

ARNOLD: That's a good question. We have that same question that's come up a lot in blogs and in the last couple of days. We said that, too. How is that not just regular hedging? To answer that question, we went to four expert bond trader guys. This is not like a professor at a university. We are guys who have four computers in front of them and three types of coffee and they're trading bonds all day and dealing with billions of dollars. And some are top investors at very prominent companies, prominent hedge funds. We're told that these are not hedges.

This does not make sense as hedge funds for several reasons. One is they are expensive. They cost more for Freddie Mac to engage in than a regular hedge. And they are illiquid. You can't these inverse floater trades they make. One quick analogy that people can wrap their heads around, it's like if you wanted to get an auto insurance policy as a hedge against you crashing your car, this would be like buying the most expensive auto insurance policy out there, and one that you could never get rid of. You're locked into forever. And that creates all sorts of other risks for you. as a hedge it just doesn't make sense.

WHITFIELD: Chris Arnold, thanks so much for your time.

ARNOLD: OK. Thank you, Fred.

WHITFIELD: Politics around the corner. Mitt Romney is going after the Obama administration after new plans to end combat operations in Afghanistan.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MITT ROMNEY, (R), FORMER MASSACHUSETTS GOVERNOR & PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: -- is putting in jeopardy the mission of the United States of America and our commitment to freedom.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: Will his remark hurt or help his campaign? That's "Fair Game," next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: All right. Mitt Romney is in Nevada but he has his eye on President Obama and that's "Fair Game" today.

Let's bring in Democratic strategist, Robert Zimmerman, and CNN contributor, Will Cain.

Good to see you, gentlemen.

ROBERT ZIMMERMAN, DEMOCRATIC STRATEGIST: Good to be with you.

WILL CAIN, CNN CONTRIBUTOR: Hi.

WHITFIELD: Mitt Romney really going after the president after Defense Secretary Leon Panetta said that U.S. and NATO would like to end the combat mission in Afghanistan next year. Here is Romney.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ROMNEY: The secretary of defense said that on a date certain, the middle of 2013, we are going to pull our combat troops out of Afghanistan. He announced that. He announced that. He announced that. So the Taliban hears it. The Pakistanis hear it. The Afghan leaders hear it. Why in the world do you go to the people that you're fighting with and tell them the day you're pulling out your troops?

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: Robert, you first. Mitt Romney obviously sees an opening here. Is the president vulnerable on this issue politically?

ZIMMERMAN: Well, what Mitt Romney should be aware of, not only did the Afghanistanis and Pakistanis know that we are phasing out of our mission, every American knew that. At one point, Mitt Romney used the word naive, but what is truly naive is to see him go back to the dangerously incompetent policies of the Bush administration. Most of his senior foreign policy advisors are from that era. What does he propose? To have an un-ended involvement in Afghanistan? He wants to keep our troops in Iraq? After 10 years, it's incumbent upon the Afghanistan government to stand up and have their own defense. We've achieved our mission in Afghanistan.

WHITFIELD: Will?

CAIN: I don't think he's saying that they should stay there for some indeterminate period. If he is saying that, then he is naive. In that case, we'd be trying to take a society that debates whether or not to throw homosexuals off the town tower and turn them into a Jeffersonian idea. Not going to happen.

What I hear Romney saying is the timing and messaging of this is odd. Why would you make this message? There are two possible explanations for announcing your intentions to leave. Some people are saying it's to put pressure on the Afghanis, saying we're serious, this is when we're leaving. Others are saying it's a political message. In the end, wars are political. So I don't know if it's right or wrong here but I don't know how this affects things on the ground.

WHITFIELD: All right.

ZIMMERMAN: The reality, Will, is the only reason to move forward to this level was to keep this NATO coalition together. The days of go-it-alone foreign policy that we tried under George Bush is not the strategy that works effectively for the issues today. And it doesn't work under the Bush administration either.

WHITFIELD: OK.

ZIMMERMAN: So the issue for Mitt Romney is not just to leave it open, not to leave it that way. It's not enough to say it is odd. What he's saying in his statement is we should continue our presence there.

WHITFIELD: All right. We know they are going to try to hash this out on the campaign trail. Something else. Now you have Romney trying to clarify or back pedal on something he said on this network, saying he doesn't care about the very poor. Is this an issue, Robert, of Mitt Romney being gaff prone or is he just misunderstood?

ZIMMERMAN: You know, at one point, a pollster can only take you so far. A candidate has to know what that person believes in. And in Mitt Romney's case, does this consistent pattern of gaffs reflect he doesn't know what he believes in or what he's about. For example, his defending the social safety net is protecting people in poverty is against conservative orthodoxy. He talks about protecting the middle class, yet the Ryan plan advocates cutting off Medicare for future retirees and cutting off Social Security and putting it into a voucher system and cutting off people to move into the middle class.

(CROSSTALK)

WHITFIELD: Will, do you see this as a big problem for Mitt Romney that he is now -- or at least there is more ammunition for people who say that he is out of touch?

CAIN: Do I see it a problem that the day after his biggest political victory, he instead he gets to talk about whether he's concerned about poor people? Yes. I see that as a big problem. Is Mitt Romney --

(CROSSTALK)

WHITFIELD: A lingering problem?

CAIN: Yes. Yes. I mean, no, Fredricka. I mean, yes, this is a problem consistent throughout this process. Mitt Romney seems to have a lack of ability to connect with people. That sounds like a cliche, but this is an example of that. He doesn't know how to default back to connecting, to emoting, to using the right words. Substantively, he didn't say anything that conservatives or other people don't think, but his language comes of as stiff, country club, patrician, Republican.

WHITFIELD: All right. Will Cain, Robert Zimmerman, thank you, gentlemen.

CAIN: Thank you.

WHITFIELD: Talk to you soon.

I know you're going to be glued to the television set. Not just looking for the Nevada results but I know you'll be watching Super Bowl, too. You're looking for the material girl, the pop diva, Madonna, admitting -- she says she's nervous about performing the half-time show at the Super Bowl. Madonna? Nervous? We'll let her explain after this.

(SINGING)

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: All right. There's aren't many stars bigger than Madonna. She'll be the latest in a long line of big names to perform at the Super Bowl half-time show. She told Anderson Cooper that she's nervous.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ANDERSON COOPER, HOST, A.C. 360: Are you nervous about being in the Super Bowl?

MADONNA, SINGER: Oh, my god, I'm so nervous. You have no idea. I am.

(APPLAUSE)

COOPER: Really?

(APPLAUSE)

MADONNA: Yes. Yes. I mean, first of all, it's the Super Bowl. The Super Bowl is kind of like the holies of holies in America. Right? (LAUGHTER)

So here I am, I'm coming in halfway between like the church, the church experience, and I'm going to have to deliver a sermon. It has to be very impactful.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: Yes, OK, Madonna nervous, half-time show. Catch Anderson, his talk show. Just check your local listings.

We're used to seeing people like Madonna and other megastars at half-time at the Super Bowl. But remember last year the Black-Eyed Peas put on quite the show. Plenty of over-the-top glitz and glamour, but it wasn't always this way. For example, back in 1970 -- I'm taking you back now -- Super Bowl IV, Carol Channing. And then in Super Bowl X, the musical group Up With People made their first of four Super Bowl appearances over time. And in 1988, the one and only, Chubby Checker with the Rockettes and 88 grand pianos, doing the twist.

Our own star, Mark McKay is there. He's not going to be at the half-time show, but he'll be taking us through the games, the ins and outs of Super Bowl XLVI.

When the Giants and Patriots take to the field, they have an incredible, inspiring story to tell?

MARK MCKAY, CNN SPORTS CORRESPONDENT: He's been telling it here in Indianapolis. Hello, Fred. Yes, nearly three years ago, after being diagnosed with a rare form of bone cancer, the goal to play football once again drove Mark Herzlich to play again. They saved his leg and maybe even his life.

Here he is in Indianapolis preparing to play in the Super Bowl on Sunday.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MARK HERZLICH, NEW YORK GIANTS LINEBACKER & CANCER SURVIVOR: When the cancer came, it wasn't just my Super Bowl dreams are dead. Well, it was all my football dreams are dead. I was told that I could never play again. I probably would never even be able to run again. And you don't think Super Bowl at that point. You just think survival.

When I first told them I wanted to play again, they said you won't play again. After two months of chemotherapy, I was supposed to get my femur removed and some prosthetic replacing that. I knew that radiation would be my only chance at playing again. A lot of doctors told me they weren't going to do it. They said, we're not going to do radiation, and if we do radiation, there's no way we're drilling a hole down your femur and putting a rod in there because the cancer will spread and you will die. But my doctor at Pennsylvania Hospital said it hasn't been done very often but I believe this can work and I believe this will give you the best shot. And I had September 4th written in my head. By this time, I'm going to be better and I have to do everything that I can to be better.

(SHOUTING)

HERZLICH: Football drove me every second of every day and I needed something. I need a goal to get back to. And the coach called all the time and says, you know, a goal is a dream with a deadline. And my dream was to play football again. And that's what I held on to.

I want to be a guy that's here on the field. I want it. That guy crushed that guy. They go, oh, he's the one that had cancer, right? There are such things as miracles and I believe that this is one of them.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

MCKAY: On Monday of this week, Herzlich walked off the Giants Super Bowl charter after being told by doctors, Fred, that he may never walk again. Is there any reason why he's such an inspiration for so many, especially cancer survivors across the country?

WHITFIELD: An inspiration to everyone, period.

Mark, we'll see you again tomorrow.

It was an epic adventure for this little lost dog. Not really little but it was a lost dog. More than 1,000 miles, and a lot of help from some friends. See how he was finally reunited with his owner, next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: Now it's time to check stories making news at "Street Level."

In Los Angeles, a big win for a Honda Civic hybrid owner. Heather Peters won a lawsuit against Giant Honda in small claims court. And said the company misled customers when it said the car would get 50 miles per gallon. She got almost $10,000 in damages. Honda plans to appeal that decision.

In Wisconsin, a 12-year-old girl says she was scolded by her teacher for saying "I love you" in her Native American language.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MIRANDA WASHINAWATOK, STUDENT, SACRED HEART CATHOLIC SCHOOL: I said (SPEAKING FOREIGN LANGUAGE). And it means I love you. She threw her hands down on her desk and said, don't be talking like that. How would you like it if I start talking polish?

(END VIDEO CLIP) WHITFIELD: The family says they're extremely upset by the way the officials at the school treated their daughter. The principal released a statement saying, "I regret if there was any perception by a student or family that this in any way promoted an atmosphere of cultural discrimination. If that perception was allowed to exist, then it is deeply regretted by Sacred Heart School, and for that, we apologize."

A 9-year-old Maine girl has been given a second lease on life in a Boston hospital with an incredible six-organ transplant. When Alana was 5, she was diagnosed with a massive tumor that doesn't respond to chemotherapy. It wrapped around your esophagus, pancreas, liver spleen and small intestines. She waited 15 months for a donor. Her surgery lasted 14 hours.

And Grizz, the dog, is heading home to Montana. But it's been quite the journey, 1200 miles actually for this 1-year-old. A couple moving to Texas picked him up thinking he was a stray, but by the time they got to Kansas, they decided that they couldn't care for him and left him at the SPCA. Well, guess what? That microchip that sometimes you contemplate, should I get that chip, told where Grizz came from. Now a volunteer is driving him home to be reunited with his owner.

A big turn of events in the GOP race for president. The buzz was that Donald Trump would endorse Newt Gingrich today. But we're live from Tampa where Trump apparently is expected to throw his support behind Mitt Romney. And actually, it's not going to be Tampa. He'll be in Las Vegas. And that's where we'll take you right after this.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: Big endorsement today sources tell us coming from Donald Trump. It comes just before the Nevada caucuses on Saturday.

Jim Acosta is in Las Vegas.

So, Jim, what do we know about how this endorsement may unfold?

JIM ACOSTA, CNN POLITICAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, I think we've got a pretty reliable source confirming that Donald Trump will be endorsing Mitt Romney here at the Trump Hotel in Las Vegas. Donald Trump himself just came into a room a few moments ago and confirmed that he is endorsing Mitt Romney. He also said if Mitt Romney is the nominee, he will not run for president as an Independent. That's interesting news from The Donald.

I asked him during a brief exchange with reporters, you know, about this change of heart, because Donald Trump has not always said complimentary things about Romney. He went on to say he liked his performance in the last two the debates. Obviously those performances served Romney well and helped him win the Florida primary. He said he likes Romney policy on trade with China. It was an interesting few moments with The Donald. He'll be out in just about an hour and a half to confirm that he is endorsing Mitt Romney for president. WHITFIELD: Jim, real quick, is there any back story to why some believed he was going to be endorsing another candidate, and then come to find out it's this other one?

(LAUGHTER)

ACOSTA: You know, it has sort of a realty show quality to, it doesn't it, Fredricka?

(LAUGHTER)

I wonder why that is.

WHITFIELD: That rolling of the dice.

ACOSTA: Exactly. Yes, we don't exactly know at this point. Just adding to the drama, I should point out the Trump Hotel is behind me on one side of the Las Vegas. The Venetian Hotel is on the other side of the strip. That is a hotel by a big Gingrich backer. So this is almost becoming the battle of the strip. That is a hotel owned by a big Gingrich backer. So this is almost becoming the battle of the Strip here before the Nevada caucuses -- Fredricka.

WHITFIELD: What a gamble. All right. Thanks so much, Jim Acosta. Appreciate that from Las Vegas.

All right. Thanks so much for watching. Much more of the CNN NEWSROOM straight ahead with my colleague Don Lemon.

DON LEMON, CNN ANCHOR: Hello, Fredricka Whitfield.

WHITFIELD: Hello, Don Lemon.

LEMON: I love how everybody says "The Donald." "The Fred," thank you very much.