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Komen Reverses Funding Decision; Mitt Romney's Lead Before Nevada; Interview With Tim Tebow; Push for Baby Heart Screening; More Stranded Dolphins Found; The Help Desk; Two Kidnapped Americans Set Free; More Protests In Cairo

Aired February 03, 2012 - 12:00   ET

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

SUZANNE MALVEAUX, CNN ANCHOR: Top of the hour. I'm Suzanne Malveaux.

I want to get you up to speed.

Just minutes ago, the Susan G. Komen Foundation issued an apology and reversed its decision to cut funding to Planned Parenthood. At least 22 Senate Democrats had signed a letter calling on Komen to reconsider.

Here's the statement from Komen. "We want to apologize to the American public for recent decisions that cast doubt upon our commitment to our mission of saving women's lives."

We're going to have a full report on the change of heart in just a few moments.

And encouraging news about the job market today. Hiring ramping up in January, while the unemployment rate going down for the fifth straight month.

The Labor Department says employers added 243,000 jobs. That is actually more than economists predicted. The unemployment rate dipped to 8.3 percent. A strong jobs report set of a rally on Wall Street. Right now, Dow Jones up 135 points.

And we are just one day away from Nevada caucuses. Mitt Romney, Newt Gingrich, Ron Paul all on the campaign trail in Nevada today. Rick Santorum campaigning in Missouri, ahead of the Tuesday primary.

Romney has a big lead in Nevada, but he's been doing some damage control over his comments about the poor. He now says he misspoke. Gingrich trying to recover from his double-digit loss to Romney in Florida.

And two American tourists have now been released in Egypt. Authorities say that gunmen snatched these two women, along with their Egyptian tour guide, earlier in the day in the Sinai Peninsula.

Meanwhile, in Cairo, violence is raging. Thousands of protesters are on the streets for a second straight day. They are outraged over the lack of response from police during a soccer riot in which 79 people were killed. This latest violence has left four people dead, more than 1,600 injured. And Defense Secretary Leon Panetta believes that Israel has a reason to attack Iran, might actually do it soon. He told reporters in Brussels he thinks that Israel wants to destroy Iran's nuclear capabilities before what he called the so-called immunity period this spring.

Denver is getting socked this hour. Fierce, fierce winter storms. Blizzard conditions have shut down 70 miles of the interstate, more than 200 flights have been canceled today at Denver International Airport. Parts of the region could be digging out from as much as two feet of snow by tomorrow.

We're going to keep an eye on the conditions and bring you the updates.

Back to the top story, Susan G. Komen Foundation now reversing a controversial decision not to renew funding for some Planned Parenthood projects. Now, this comes after New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg pledged $250,000 in matching funds to make up for the lot money.

Deb Feyerick, she's joining us from New York with the details.

Deb, this happened very quickly. I mean, this controversy sparked over the last 24, 48 hours. You already have a reversal here.

Give us the backstory a little bit.

DEBORAH FEYERICK, CNN CORRESPONDENT: You know, I think the foundation was just stunned at the swift reaction they got when they decided to stop funding Planned Parenthood, something that a lot of groups really thought was a political decision more than a health decision. And right now, the Susan G. Komen for the Cure foundation, they are in full damage control mode.

They are reaching out to a lot of supporters, a lot of people who they may have alienated because of the decision. And they initially justified the decision saying, look, this wasn't about politics, this was simply about a change in our procedures. There was an investigation of Planned Parenthood to see whether any public funding was going to support abortions, and because it was under investigation, the Susan G. Komen Foundation said, look, we're not going to give grants to this group, and they reversed that, in fact changing their policy on that.

This was all done within the last 24 hours. There was a closed-door meeting, Suzanne, between Senator Frank Lautenberg of New Jersey and members of the foundation. They were able to hammer this out.

And the senator basically releasing a statement saying that, "The Komen Foundation will clarify its policy to ensure that only organizations found guilty in a criminal investigation would be ineligible for funding."

So that's really what it was. Susan G. Komen said it was a policy decision, but a lot of other people have said no, this is a political decision. Remember, the founder, Nancy Brinker, was ambassador to Hungary under George W. Bush. She was also chief of protocol.

So many people thought that this was sort of a move towards the right to stop funding. And because women's health and breast cancer obviously such a huge issue with Planned Parenthood, giving some 170,000 screenings to women every year, really it was a huge hit. And I think the foundation realized they simply could not move forward if they pulled their funding -- Suzanne.

MALVEAUX: And Deb, were they surprised, Susan G. Komen Foundation, that you had that many senators who were now signing on to this letter and making a lot of noise over this?

FEYERICK: Well, I think that also came as a shock. There were 26 senators who sent a letter yesterday basically saying that they shouldn't politicize what amounts to a crucial issue regarding women's health. And the Susan G. Komen Foundation, they said that it was really deeply upsetting to them, the reaction, the vocal reaction by so many people based on this new policy. So they're changing the policy.

So, sure, an organization can be under investigation, but only if they're found guilty in a criminal investigation, which is a very different threshold, as you can imagine, that's when funding will be reevaluated -- Suzanne.

MALVEAUX: All right. Deborah Feyerick, thank you.

Tomorrow, voters in Nevada get to have their say in the Republican race for president. The Nevada caucuses come on the heels of the Florida primary, where Mitt Romney was the big winner.

Jim Acosta, he is live out of Vegas.

So, Jim, Romney leading in Nevada. Gingrich, trying to keep up the fight here.

How do we think this is shaping up?

JIM ACOSTA, CNN CORRESPONDENT: That's right. Well, Suzanne, we had that big distraction yesterday out on the campaign trail when Donald Trump came out and endorsed Mitt Romney. That basically sucked all of the oxygen out of that news cycle.

But Newt Gingrich and Rick Santorum, who were also trying to do well here in Nevada, are going to go back to work today. And they are already seizing on Mitt Romney's comments a few days ago after the Florida primary, where Mitt Romney said he was not concerned about the very poor because they have a safety net.

Newt Gingrich, at an event last night here in Las Vegas, went after those comments, saying basically that Mitt Romney and Barack Obama have the same approach when it comes to taking care of the very poor. Here's what he had to say.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) NEWT GINGRICH (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: I really believe that we should care about the very poor, unlike Governor Romney. But I believe we should care differently than Barack Obama.

Both Governor Romney and Barack Obama seem to believe that a "safety net" is all the poor need. I don't believe that. What the poor need is a trampoline so they can spring up and (INAUDIBLE). So I'm for replacing the safety net with a trampoline.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ACOSTA: Now, at his own event, Rick Santorum made the remark "Out of touch much?" in reference to those comments from Mitt Romney. But I will tell you, Suzanne, Romney did do an interview with a local affiliate here in Las Vegas last night, a CNN affiliate, in which he basically said that he misspoke when he made those comments to Soledad O'Brien a few days ago.

So, the Romney campaign trying to put those comments behind them. The Gingrich and the Santorum campaigns, they are trying desperately not to let that happen, because obviously that issue works for them as everybody is talking about the economy today.

I should point out, we're inside a country western bar. This is where Newt Gingrich is going to talk in about 90 minutes from now. I only point that out because it's sort of an unusual setting Suzanne. It sort of reminds me -- and I'm dating myself a little bit here -- of that scene from "The Blues Brothers" when they had to put the steel cage up in front of the band so the beer bottles wouldn't hit them.

(LAUGHTER)

MALVEAUX: That's pretty cool.

ACOSTA: Sort of how it feels this morning. It is pretty cool.

MALVEAUX: Well, hopefully they're not going to throw any --

ACOSTA: They've got a mechanical bull on the other side of the bar as well.

What's that?

MALVEAUX: Hopefully they're not going to be throwing any beer bottles your way or anything like that.

ACOSTA: I don't think so.

MALVEAUX: That's great.

A quick question for you before you go. So, what do you suspect some of the voters who are there -- what do they want to hear from these candidates before they actually vote?

ACOSTA: Well, I mean, this state has the high unemployment rate in the country, it has the highest foreclosure rate in the country. So they want to talk about the economy, quite frankly, Suzanne.

They haven't been getting a whole lot of that here from these candidates because of all of these distractions and the sharp personal nature of this campaign, the way it's been unfolding in the last week or so. But I will tell you that it's going to be very interesting to watch, all of these campaigns today respond to that unemployment news, the fact that the unemployment rate has dropped down to 8.3 percent.

That's obviously very good news, politically speaking, for the president, and it's going to be interesting to see how these candidates respond. Mitt Romney putting out a statement this morning saying that if it were not for the president's policies, the economy would be doing better. That's going to be a tough case to make if this unemployment rate continues to drop.

So we'll be watching to see how they respond out here -- Suzanne.

MALVEAUX: All right. And enjoy the country western music as well when it all kicks up in about an hour.

ACOSTA: All right. We will.

MALVEAUX: All right. See you, Jim.

Stay with CNN for complete coverage of the Nevada caucuses. Tune in at 6:00 p.m. Eastern Saturday for a special edition of "THE SITUATION ROOM" with Wolf Blitzer. That's followed by CNN's complete live coverage of the caucus results at 7:00 with Wolf, Erin Burnett, Anderson Cooper, Candy Crowley, John King, and more.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(BUSINESS REPORT)

MALVEAUX: Want to dip into an event that we are watching here, Mitt Romney out of Sparks, Nevada, talking about the state of the economy.

Let's listen.

(BEGIN LIVE SPEECH)

(JOINED IN PROGRESS)

MITT ROMNEY (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: -- getting people back to work.

He used his mandate -- being elected -- he used that to put through a series of programs that he and his base and his friends thought were important, but frankly made it harder for economy to recover. And so we've suffered.

For three years, American families have been -- many of them -- unemployed or underemployed. Today, we have about 24 million Americans that are out of work or stopped looking for work or can only get part-time jobs and need full-time work. I don't have to tell you what happened to home values in Nevada and across the country and the number of people that wonder whether they're going to have a home at the end of the day.

I was in Florida with one man who was there with his son. He said his wife was -- this was her due date. She was going to have her second child, but they had been foreclosed on by the bank. He didn't know whether the home would be available to them or locked when they got home that night.

I mean, this is the nature of what's going on in America. We're the strongest economy in the world, and yet people have suffered, in my view, unnecessarily.

Now, I spent my life, 25 years, in business. I had the experience eof starting a business and being a little nervous about whether it would succeed or not. And fortunately, it did. It became one of the most successful of its kind in the world.

I also went into a business that I once worked for that got in real trouble, it looked like it might hit a real crisis, and they asked me to come in and help lead it, and I was able to help lead it, and turned it around. And then, because of those turnaround experiences, I was asked by friends to come out to Utah and help run the Olympic winter games and turn around that enterprise when it got in trouble. Some of you saw that.

(APPLAUSE)

ROMNEY: And then after that, came back to Massachusetts, my home state, and asked to help get it back on track because we were looking at a big deficit and we didn't want to raise taxes because we knew that would kill jobs and hurt working families, and had the experience of helping lead in that instance. And I've learned through those experiences something about leadership and also something about business and jobs, and why businesses lose jobs and why, instead, we're able to grow.

And first, about leadership, I've learned that a leader doesn't just work with the people that are in his party or the people who agree with him. A leader has to be able to convince people across the aisle, people who disagree with them, has to be able to lead both kinds of folks to try and get things done. And right now in our country we are highly divided.

If you look at Washington, you've got Republicans and Democrats --

MALVEAUX: You're listening to Mitt Romney there in Nevada talking to the voters there before the big caucus day. That is tomorrow.

And next, Tim Tebow. He's joining us live from Indianapolis. He's answering your questions.

We're going to ask him who he thinks is going to win the Super Bowl.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

MALVEAUX: Occupy Wall Street protesters rally around the slogan, "We are the 99 percent." But not everybody in the 99 percent is equal. Fifteen percent of Americans live in poverty. But among African- Americans, that number jumps to 27 percent.

So, now a new movement, Occupy the Hood, is trying to reach out to minorities. It's today's "What Matters."

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

MALVEAUX (voice-over): The Occupy Wall Street movement began in New York and quickly spread. One of its messages is drawing attention to the gap between the richest one percent of the country and the rest of America.

And that's what attracted Malik Rhasaan from Queens. But once there, he didn't feel represented.

MALIK RHASAAN, OCCUPY THE HOOD: I went down to Zuccotti Park, and the first thing I noticed is that there wasn't many people that looked like me. So I went home and basically got on the Internet and complained, like, why my friends weren't out at Wall Street.

MALVEAUX: After a Twitter rant, Rhasaan realized that people in the inner city feel disconnected with the Occupy Wall Street movement.

RHASAAN: My job was to bring it in a little closer. So, to say the reason why your neighbor is losing their home is because of Wall Street.

MALVEAUX: So he created the Twitter hashtag "Occupy the Hood" to spread the Occupy message to people of color. Instead of setting up camp, they took their message straight to the streets, looking to help those in need.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: A peanut butter and jelly sandwich is the best thing I could have.

MALVEAUX: Queen Mother (ph) is from Harlem. She's a Goodwill ambassador for the U.N. who is living in a building without heat or water. When the landlords refused to fix the problem, she turned to Occupy the Hood.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I said, "Since you're all the hood, I'm in the hood. Come on and occupy in the hood. They came to Harlem and they occupied until we got a boiler.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The first night it was cold. I had been sleeping in the park, in Zuccotti. And I was surprised it's actually colder inside than out.

MALVEAUX: It's actions like these that Occupy the Hood thinks will connect with people and get them involved in their communities.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You may see another person that looks like you fighting this fight and actually taking action that provides a tangible result that will empower that community to then stand up and do other things just like that. (END VIDEOTAPE)

MALVEAUX: Occupy the Hood is spreading quickly with organizations in more than 15 cities around the country.

So, we are helping you kick off Super Bowl weekend with a special guest joining me live in just in few minutes in CNN NEWSROOM, Tim Tebow. He's the Denver Broncos quarterback who took the NFL by storm. We're going to ask him everything from football to faith. Also, find out who he thinks is going to win the Super Bowl.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

MALVEAUX: Super Bowl Sunday just a couple days away. The sports world is waiting for the rematch between the New England Patriots and the New York Giants. Die-hard fans are busy analyzing the specific match-ups. They want to figure out who's going to win, of course, the big game.

It doesn't take a football fanatic to recognize this guy, this player, Tim Tebow, the Denver Broncos starting quarterback. He went from NFL benchwarmer to the most popular athlete in America at a record pace. He earned the starting job after his team got off to a slow start, and then he led the struggling Broncos into the playoffs, even an upset over the Pittsburgh Steelers.

Tim Tebow, he is joining us live from Indianapolis as part of Disney's "I'm Going to the Super Bowl" promotion.

Tim, first of all, OK, a lot of women in this studio very excited to see you. They're kind of swooning right now. We'll talk about that later.

I want to talk about football first and sports. I don't watch football really. I know who you are. You are one of the biggest sensations this past year, goes well beyond football.

So, you know people either love you or they hate you. Why do you think people have such a strong reaction and opinion about who you are?

TIM TEBOW, QUARTERBACK, DENVER BRONCOS: You know what? I'm not sure.

I think it has to do a little bit with my faith. And some of the teams I've played for that are very polarizing teams. The University of Florida and the Denver Broncos, I've had a lot of support in both those places, and I'm very thankful for that and just thankful that I get to live my dream every day, and playing quarterback in the NFL, which has been a dream for me since I was 6 years old.

And I'm very thankful for that, and thankful that I get to play for a great organization in the Denver Broncos.

MALVEAUX: Some people have criticized you saying that you're not a sound quarterback. What kind of quarterback do you want to be? TEBOW: I just want to be the best quarterback that I can possibly be, and put in as much work with great coaches, and Coach McCoy, and try to get better every single day and just maximize my God-given athletic ability and my God-given talent, and try to be the best quarterback I can be.

MALVEAUX: You know, there are some big sports figures, guys like Charles Barkley, who have taken a hit or two at you -- a punch or two at you.

I want you to listen to what he said.

(BEGIN AUDIO CLIP)

CHARLES BARKLEY, FMR. PROFESSIONAL BASKETBALL PLAYER: The national nightmare continues.

Hey, listen, I like Tim Tebow, but there comes a point -- listen, quit making -- he had a great game. He's supposed to have a great game.

They want to make it seem like, oh, the world is aligned correct. I'm like, you know, he does play quarterback. He's supposed to play well.

(END AUDIO CLIP)

MALVEAUX: Tim, are they just hating here? How do you respond to some of this, where people are kind of giving you a hard time?

TEBOW: I'm thankful I don't have to respond to too much of it. He was a great basketball player and, you know, I loved watching him play. And, you know, I even love watching him swinging a golf club, as funny as that can be. So I just think that he was a great player and I think he does a good job announcing.

MALVEAUX: You know, we want to talk about your faith, because it is such a part of you. And when you were at the University of Florida you painted the bible verse John 3:16 under your eye to call attention to your faith.

Why is it important for to you to advertise and put out there what you believe?

TEBOW: Well, I think, number one, what I do, and just putting that bible verse under my eyes, or whether it's getting on a knee and praying, I do that personally for myself to just give the Lord the credit and humble myself before big situations. And then also, you know, just to be a good example and to be a great role model and to set a great example for the next generation.

And one of my ultimate goals is just to be a role model that a mom or dad can look to their kids and say that's someone trying to do it the right way and someone who is trying to have character, strength, and honest.

MALVEAUX: Does that seem weird in some way, Tim, that you actually have people that call it "Tebowing," the act of getting on a knee and praying, that actually has become a verb and it has your name attached to it?

TEBOW: I think sometimes it is a little bit unique, but at the same time it's pretty cool that people are at least talking about prayer now and people are doing it. I guess I'm kind of thankful for it.

MALVEAUX: What are you praying for?

TEBOW: What's that?

MALVEAUX: What are you praying for when you get down on a knee? Are you praying to win? What are you praying for?

TEBOW: I think more than anything, you know, that regardless whether we win, whether we lose, whether I'm the heel or the goat, that I'll be the same person, genuine, treat people the exact same way and be able to honor the Lord, win or lose, good or bad and that I don't change and that I'm the exact same.

MALVEAUX: You have said before that you are saving yourself for marriage. Are you dating anybody? Do you have a girlfriend? I know a lot of women in the studio want to know.

TEBOW: No, I'm single right now and just a little busy right now, but who knows. We'll see.

MALVEAUX: What would you like for in a girlfriend?

TEBOW: That's a good question. You know, I think just kindness and compassion and someone that is very -- has an outgoing personality and someone that is very sweet, those are big things that I look for.

MALVEAUX: I talked about a sports writer who said your biggest vice is vanilla ice cream. Is that really true? Do you have anything else you can share with us here?

TEBOW: You know, growing up my parents didn't let us have a lot of desserts a lot, but every Sunday when we got home from church, we could eat as much ice cream as we wanted.

So we'd go in the couch and watch football and eat ice cream together. We did a lot. That was a great memory for me and, yes, I still like eating ice cream. I try not to have it as much now, but I still love it.

MALVEAUX: So if you're not playing football, looking into the future, what would you be doing? What would be your passion? What would you want to do?

TEBOW: Well, you know, football is definitely my career. But what I want to do in life is what I'm doing with my foundation. That's finding a way to bring faith, hope, and love to those needing a brighter day in their darkest hour of need and that's my foundation's mission statement and that's what I want to do with my life.

MALVEAUX: All right, you know, it's amazing because your name has even been in both the presidential campaign. I want you to listen to what, one of the former candidate, Rick Perry had to say about you.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

RICK PERRY, FORMER PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: There are a lot of folks who said Tim Tebow wouldn't be a very good NFL quarterback. He won two national championships. That looked pretty good. We were the national champions in job creation back in Texas. I'm ready for the next level. Let me tell you, I hope I am the Tim Tebow of the Iowa caucuses.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

MALVEAUX: Are you following politics? I know you've had a chance to meet President Obama as well.

TEBOW: Yes, I do follow it somewhat and I try to stay informed and see what is going on. That can be an educated voter and understand everything. And more than anything, I think it's pretty funny and any time someone mentions me like that, I think it has to be a pretty big compliment.

MALVEAUX: Do you like any of those guys that you've seen, Republicans for the president?

TEBOW: You know, I think a bunch of them are great guys and handle themselves very well and I respect them a whole lot and --

MALVEAUX: Do you have a favorite?

TEBOW: No, I don't have a favorite right now, but I definitely respect a lot of different men that are running and I wish them nothing but the best.

MALVEAUX: You know, you might consider running for office yourself. That was a very good political answer there, Tim. We asked viewers, of course, what they wanted to ask you as well. We'll go with a couple of those. John asks, who is your role model besides Jesus?

TEBOW: You know, when I was actually young, I was a huge Gator fan and one of my big role models was actually Danny and he was awesome on the field and extremely humble and gave his glory to the Lord after every game and handled himself so well and that is someone that I really looked up to.

MALVEAUX: Michael's asking you, Tim, who was your favorite NFL player growing up?

TEBOW: Actually, it was another Gator and that was Emmitt Smith. I was a big Dallas Cowboys fan and Emmitt Smith was probably the best (INAUDIBLE) of all time. He was a huge role model for me and one of the few guys that I actually had his jersey.

MALVEAUX: All right. We can't let you go without asking this one. So who is going to win the Super Bowl this weekend? What do you think? TEBOW: That's actually a very good question. I think they are both two great teams with two great quarterbacks. I've had the privilege of going up against Tom Brady twice this year and fell a little short both times. I think he's pretty darn good and you have two great titans and you know a bunch of playmakers. I think it's pretty hard to go against them.

MALVEAUX: All right. We'll put some money on it. We'll see who does the job. Tim Tebow, thank you so much for joining us. A lot of excitement here in the studio about your presence and great to just be able to chitchat about all kinds of things, including football. So thanks again, Tim.

TEBOW: Thank you so much. God bless you all.

MALVEAUX: Thank you.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

MALVEAUX: The Egyptian government says that the two kidnapped Americans have now been freed. It comes as the government tackles more violence on the streets of Cairo.

This is now day two of protests sparked by the deaths of 79 people during a soccer riot. CNN's Ivan Watson is joining us live from Cairo.

Ivan, first of all, let's talk about the kidnappings here. It did not take long for authorities to catch up with these guys who kidnapped these two American women. How were they freed? How did this happen so quickly?

IVAN WATSON, CNN CORRESPONDENT: We don't have details on how they were released. We've learned about the release from the Egyptian authorities. As you just said, hours after they were captured, apparently by an angry veteran tribe that wanted some of its tribesmen released from prison that they claim were framed for a previous crime.

We've seen this pattern before just this week, 25 Chinese workers in the Sinai Peninsula also taken hostage for less than 24 hours and later released, but it's a sign of a bigger law and order problem threatening Egypt.

And we have seen the fate of daylight armed robberies here in Cairo and the kidnappings of wealthy Egyptians for ransom. Something that is taking place quietly throughout the Egyptian capital.

MALVEAUX: Ivan, what is it taking place on the streets of Cairo? I understand that the protests are turning very violent and you've got more than a thousand people who have been injured over the last 24 hours?

WATSON: Yes, deadly protests, not only here, but in places like Suez as well where two people were killed by gunshot wounds at a protest in front of the state security headquarters. Here less than a mile from where I'm standing, they are running battles between demonstrators hurling petrol bombs, hurling rocks at riot police in front of the Ministry of Interior headquarters.

They are firing back with tear gas, with bird shot. More than 1,400 people injured. At least two deaths in connection with this and the police claim that demonstrators have taken over a tax building near the Ministry of Interior and throwing bombs down, Molotov cocktails on the police.

We've seen protests like this against the Ministry of Interior, deadly clashes in months past. The difference here is that you have soccer fans mixed in with politics for the first time because more than 70 people were killed at a soccer stadium on Wednesday.

And the soccer fans are blaming the police for not doing their job keeping rival fans apart. Suzanne, two rival teams here, the biggest teams in Egypt who hate each other have joined forces against the police. It's as if you had the New York Yankees and Boston Red Sox together fighting against the police in the U.S. -- Suzanne.

MALVEAUX: That's a very big deal. Ivan Watson keeping an eye on all things there in Cairo and across Egypt really, a bloody situation that is taking place there.

Some women are wearing red today. They are trying to get a certain type of health screening for all newborn babies. They say it could save hundreds of lives.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

MALVEAUX: Today is Go Red for Women Day. People around the country are wearing red to raise awareness for heart disease, but this year, one group of women is wearing red for their babies. Elizabeth Cohen is joining us to talk about what these women are trying to draw attention to. Tell us a little bit about the campaign.

ELIZABETH COHEN, CNN SENIOR MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT: It's really interesting. A lot of people don't know this. The most common birth defect is heart defects. One in a 100 children is born with some kind of heart defects. Many of them are fatal.

Now what is interesting, there is a screening test that can screen for whether children have some of these defects. For newborn babies, I should say. But it's not uniformly used in this country.

So what happens is that experts estimate that hundreds of babies die because they were not caught soon enough and I want to introduce you to three children who were affected by this. And the first one is a little boy named Mason Johnson (ph). And so Mason looked fine when he was first born in the hospital. It didn't look like there were any problems. His parents got him home. And when he was three weeks old, he stopped breathing. He was born with half a heart it turns out. That's the way his parents phrased it. And he needed two open heart surgeries. And his treatment would have been a lot easier if they had caught it at birth rather than three weeks later.

The second young man is a little boy named Harrison Shager (ph). And he also looked fine when they brought him home. But then, when he was about four days old, they couldn't wake him up. And he also had a heart defect.

And there's another little girl who sadly didn't make it at all. She also looked fine. That's the little boy I was just mentioning. The little girl was named Cora McCormack (ph). And when she was a few days old, when they got in their home, her mom was feeding her and she died in her arms of -- and they later realized it was a congenital heart defect.

MALVEAUX: What does the testing involve? Is this difficult? Is it complicated?

COHEN: You know, the testing is very easy. It only takes a few minutes. It's incredibly cheap. You know, patients in the hospital often have what's called a pulse ox monitor on them.

MALVEAUX: Yes.

COHEN: That little red glowing light.

MALVEAUX: I've seen it.

COHEN: Right. And here we're going to show one on an adult. And that's all you do. You just put it on the baby. That lets you know whether the oxygen is getting to their fingertips. The only part -- this is fast, it's easy, it's cheap, all of that. The only issue is that it does sometimes yield false positives and then that baby needs more follow-up and it turns out it was nothing. But the CDC doctors, everyone agrees, that those false positives are worth the hundreds of babies lives that you could save.

MALVEAUX: So, why isn't this particular test required?

COHEN: You know, a doctor was saying to me, this is motherhood and apple pie. You know, everybody wants this. The problem is, you have to introduce legislation in 50 different states, because you have to do this state by state. New Jersey does make it mandatory. They're the only state that does. It's just sort of the bureaucracy of having to do this, that these moms are really pushing for it. I mean they are out there saying, we want this done now. It's too late for our child, but they want to help other babies.

MALVEAUX: All right. Good for them.

COHEN: And if you want more information on this, I know that pregnant women are going to wonder, gee, should I have this for my baby.

MALVEAUX: Sure.

COHEN: Cnn.com/empoweredpatient.

MALVEAUX: All right, thank you.

COHEN: Thanks.

MALVEAUX: I'm not wearing red, but I'm down for the cause.

COHEN: I know, I can tell.

MALVEAUX: Thank you, Elizabeth.

Well, you may have heard about the dozens of dolphins that are now washing up on Cape Cod. Today there are more strandings to tell you about. We are live with animal rescuers, up next.

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MALVEAUX: Just today, more stranded dolphins washed up on the shore of Cape Cod. Since January, more than a hundred have stranded themselves here in Wellfleet, Massachusetts. Such a high number, very unusual. Mary Snow, she is live in Wellfleet with a group that is trying to save these dolphins that have just gotten stranded.

And, Mary, tell us what's happening there. Have they been successful?

MARY SNOW, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, Suzanne, we just got a firsthand look at what marine biologists and volunteers here on Cape Cod are facing. For the last three weeks, as you m mentioned, more than 100 dolphins have been stranded. This is a very high number. Just this morning, there was another report of 10 more dolphins stranded.

We just were with some of the rescuers with the International Fund for Animal Welfare, where they were able to get one of these dolphins that had been stranded. What they do is they take them, if they are still alive, they check them, you know, for blood tests, ultrasounds. You might see a little bloodied up because these dolphins are beaching on shore. But we're told this one is going to be OK and they plan to re- release the dolphin in deeper waters.

They are able to rescue a number of these and they are releasing them back into the water and they're tracking them. They're finding that some are going as far north as Maine. That is a good sign. But, you know, they are constantly getting these calls. And there are about six dolphins that were out there. A boat was able to kind of herd them into deeper water.

But this is kind of setting the scene of what has been happening here on Cape Cod.

MALVEAUX: And, Mary, can you help us understand this. Do the scientists know -- do they know what's going on here, why this is happening?

SNOW: They really don't. They are baffled by this. You know, there are stranded dolphins every year on Cape Cod because the shape. It's kind of shaped like a hook. But the number is what is really baffling scientists.

The other thing is, tides. When these tides goes out and it's low tide, these water reseeds very quickly and that is also adding to this. But, you know, is it a matter of weather conditions with winter being warmer than usual? Is it a factor of pollutants in the water? They just don't know. And they're running these tests. So far they say that, for the most part, the dolphins that have survived are healthy. So they really can't explain why this is happening.

MALVEAUX: And I -- obviously those are experts, those are folks out there who know what they're doing. Have you seen people go to the beach, congregate? Are they getting in the way or are they recommending that they stay back and let these professionals deal with this situation?

SNOW: You know, they were saying that they have 350 volunteers here on Cape Cod who are constantly helping. These marine biologists, only six of them, with this organization. So they're really relying on these volunteers to help them.

When we were just out there less than an hour ago, not far from where we're standing and, you know, people are come by and are helping out. You know, these dolphins are about 250 pounds. So it takes several people to lift them, get them on stretchers. So people are just pitching in and helping and being very cooperative.

MALVEAUX: And, Mary, finally, we saw that dolphin being rescued and wrapped and put back in the water. Are they likely to survive once they're put back there or do they have a good chance of surviving?

SNOW: Well, so far -- you know, they're tracking. They're putting tracking devices on some of these dolphins so they can see and monitor where they've been going. And those monitors work for about two or three weeks. And they're saying they're getting -- they're seeing some very positive signs that these dolphins are going back out into deeper water. So that is a very positive sign.

MALVEAUX: All right. That's good news. Mary, thank you so much. We appreciate it.

Some high school students in Memphis, they want the people of Haiti to walk in their shoes, literally. We're going to tell you what they're doing to make that happen.

POPPY HARLOW, CNNMONEY.COM: Time now for "The Help Desk," where we get answers to your financial questions. And joining me this hour, Manisha Thakor is a personal finance expert and Lynnette Khalfani-Cox is the found of the financial advice blog askthemoneycoach.com.

Thank you for being here. We appreciate it.

Lynnette, you question comes from Greg in Illinois. Greg wrote in, "we co-signed our daughter's student loans. We recently were refused a loan despite good credit. Our daughter has a good job and has been paying off the student loans every month. What can we do to get off those loans?"

LYNNETTE KHALFANI-COX, FOUNDER, ASKTHEMONEYCOACH.COM: I hate to tell this person this, and they're not going to like the answer, but really you can't. You co-signed. You're on the hook. You're equally responsible for it to the same extent that your daughter is. With other kinds of loans, If it was a mortgage, let's say, or even a car, their daughter would be able to potentially refinance that loan and put it in her own name exclusively.

HARLOW: Right.

KHALFANI-COX: That's not the case with these student loans.

The fact that they got denied for a loan tells me that there's probably some other issue. Not the student loans if they say that they had good credit.

HARLOW: Right.

KHALFANI-COX: If it was a mortgage, maybe they didn't have enough equity in the house or maybe they didn't have the right debt-to-income ratio to show a lender. So I would look at the other areas and not worry so much about those loans.

HARLOW: Interesting.

Manisha, your question comes from Jim in Lake Elmo, Minnesota. Jim wrote in, "I'm 65 years old and retired. I have some CDs coming due in 2012. With CD rates so low, is there another safe investment option for this money?" It's hard, you look at CDs, you look at Treasury rates, you look at the market over the last year.

MANISHA THAKOR, PERSONAL FINANCE EXPERT: Right. I mean your options are fairly limited when it comes to cash equivalents. But there's one thing that I'm noticing, Poppy, and that's that we have an increased percentage of folks heading into retirement that still have a mortgage outstanding. And while people love that mortgage interest tax deduction, if you want safe, a really great investment is to start paying off any remaining mortgage. It will give you a guaranteed rate of return right there. You can't bet that and it's certainly more than you're going to be getting in cash equivalence.

HARLOW: And especially if you have an adjustable rate, pay as much off as you can now.

THAKOR: Exactly.

HARLOW: Thank you, ladies. Appreciate the advice, as always.

Folks, if you have a question you want answered, just send us an e- mail any time to cnnhelpdesk@cnn.com.

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MALVEAUX: Now for some stories making news across country.

Scary landing for 10 people aboard a Leer jet at an airport in Pueblo, Colorado. The plane skidded off the icy runway last night. One engine caught fire. Everyone on board got out safely.

In Kenosha County, Wisconsin, a dramatic rescue. Two motorists pulled a 90-year-old man from his car after it plunged into the river. One official says the rescuers just happened to be the right place at the right time.

Finally, in Memphis, high school students are collecting new and slightly warn shoes to donate to the people of Haiti still recovering from the devastating earthquake two years ago. The student's hope to gather 500 pairs of shoes. Good for them.

CNN NEWSROOM continues right now with Ashleigh Banfield.

Hey, Ashleigh.

ASHLEIGH BANFIELD, CNN ANCHOR: Hi, Suzanne Malveaux. It's very nice to see you.

MALVEAUX: Nice to see you. Have a good weekend.

BANFIELD: Thank you. And you too. And we're going to be busy before we get that weekend.