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Unrest in Syria; Gingrich Staying in Race; Queen Elizabeth Celebrates 60 Years on Throne; Child Abuse at L.A. Elementary School; Santorum and Romney Spar; Missing Woman's Husband Torches Home; Tensions Between U.S. and Egypt; Snowboarder Survives Avalanche

Aired February 06, 2012 - 15:00   ET

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

MICHAEL HOLMES,CNN ANCHOR: Top of the hour now. I'm Michael Holmes, in for Brooke Baldwin.

Syria's violence has gotten so bloody, the U.S. is moving out, shutting down its embassy in Damascus.

Embassy staffers have been evacuated, but where can the Syrians go? They have been calling out to the world for help.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Syrian people, we want to see actions, we don't want to see talk. We're really tired of talk and talk and talk. We have seen no actions at all.

The Syrian president still has his legitimacy. Until now, no country said this president lost his legitimacy until now. Why did they not say that? Why does he still have his legitimacy after all the killing he did?

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HOLMES: And that activist is talking about this weekend's lack of action from the United Nations. The Security Council rejected a resolution to call for President Bashar al-Assad to step down, stop the violence.

China and Russia are the reason. They voted against it.

Meanwhile, Syrians scrambling every minute with, the sky falling on them. It seems that way, anyway, with constant shelling. CNN can't confirm the images and the details out of Syria because the government has restrictions on journalists.

We do have some CNN Hala Gorani, though, live in Washington, where the U.N. ambassador to Syria is now based.

But begin with our foreign affairs correspondent Jill Dougherty on the latest on the American reaction to this international crisis.

Still, first up, the decision to close the embassy obviously not taken lightly. It does send a diplomatic message. But it was also done for safety reasons. JILL DOUGHERTY, CNN FOREIGN AFFAIRS CORRESPONDENT: It was.

In fact, what the State Department is saying is that they have now for weeks have been asking the Syrians to protect that embassy better. The embassy is located very near a busy street, and what they wanted was either for the street to be shut down or some type of barricade put up or both, because what they are worried about, Michael, they said, was al Qaeda or al Qaeda-like attacks.

There was no specific threat, but they were very worried about that because there had been some car bombings previously. And that was not done by the Syrians, so they decided, under this deteriorating situation, they simply had to pull out the staff, which they did.

HOLMES: What does the U.S. do now? They can talk all they like. Bashar al-Assad and the Syrian regime continue the killing and Russia and China allowing that, as far as the Syrians are concerned on the ground. They're calling this a green light.

DOUGHERTY: Right.

Well, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton has outlined a number of things that they are going to do. Certainly there is frustration, because at this point, at least, President Obama is saying no military action.

But that said, Secretary Clinton says they're going to be going now to other -- redouble efforts outside of the United Nations to work toward putting pressure on Syria. They will increase the sanctions. And one of the hopes is that by doing this, they will convince the people who support Assad, President Assad, and those are the Alawites, convince them that now is the time to get out, to stop supporting him.

Interestingly, Secretary Clinton also says that they are going to expose the people, the organizations, the countries that are providing funds and arming the Syrians. And you can bet that that definitely means Russia, Michael.

HOLMES: Yes, 10 percent of their arm sales go to Syria.

Jill Dougherty, thanks for that.

And let's go to Hala now in Washington.

You have to wonder, Hala, if President Bashar al-Assad did indeed feel encouraged by the U.N.'s rejection. That seems pretty obvious really. What is your read on it?

HALA GORANI, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, the timing certainly indicates that perhaps the Assad regime felt emboldened by this double Russian-China veto at the United Nations Security Council, but there's other things at play in Syria, Michael.

And one of them is that these rebel defecting soldiers that call themselves the Free Syria Army were truly holding some parts of the key flash point city of Homs. They had actually gained ground. They were holding it, they were defending it. We saw it in some of those reports from our Arwa Damon and others, stationed behind sandbags and the like.

There came a time I think within the Assad regime where they thought, look, we cannot continue to accept that these Free Syria Army soldiers, these rebels, some of whom have taken control of a couple tanks, we saw in some amateur video, are able to, for a sustained time, continue to control secure key neighborhoods in Homs.

Then you mentioned the timing of the U.N. Security Council veto by Russia and China, and from a timing perspective, at the very least, it does seem to go hand in hand with this onslaught, this violent attack against Homs, Michael.

HOLMES: Getting worse and worse. The ambassador to the U.N., Susan Rice, says the U.S. is going to continue its push for the president to go. Let's run now what she said today to CNN about Russia and China.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SUSAN RICE, UNITED STATES AMBASSADOR TO THE UNITED NATIONS: They have, by their actions, by their veto, dramatically increased the risk of greater violence and we have seen the manifestations of that, and indeed increased the risk of civil conflict.

The United Nations will continue on this issue. We in the United States and 13 of the 15 members of the Security Council are united in seeking a peaceful resolution of this.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HOLMES: Strong words there, and also we heard strong words earlier that the British former secretary, William Hague, also speaking freely. Is it realistic knowing China and Russia are both refusing to act that they are going to get anywhere on that diplomatic front?

GORANI: It doesn't seem like they will.

It's not clear what the Assad region is doing right now. It does feel in some respects threatened by some of the advances by the rebel soldiers. Remember how it started, in March of 2011. This started as a peaceful demonstration in the southern city of Daraa, when the parents of kids who had been imprisoned and tortured for writing anti- government graffiti said enough is enough.

It has morphed. And this is what I think viewers have to understand, that this is something a lot more complex and a lot harder to resolve. You do have the demonstrations on the one hand, but more and more, these defectors that are leaving the army are saying, we have a right to defend ourselves and our communities.

And the real fear now is, where does Syria go from this point? Does it turn into a sectarian civil war that spills over into other countries, or can something, anything stop what's happening in this country right now? Because the true tragedy is now -- the victims of this true tragedy are so many of these civilians who are dying in Homs and other places across Syria, Michael.

HOLMES: Thousands and thousands of them. And of course thousands and thousands of dead means thousands and thousands more wounded. One thing that we initially said early on in this. We always make the point that President al-Assad, he did have a level of support within the Syrian population. Has that support been eroded as this has continued on?

GORANI: That's an excellent question because when Assad took over from his father in 2000, he was seen as sort of a young, Western educated, open-minded, possibly a reformer, possibly someone who would let go of the old guard in Syria and usher this country so rich in natural and human resources into another era.

But what ended up happening after this unbelievably harsh treatment of the protests in the southern part of the country, when the demonstrations began, is that those who originally supported him started saying, this is too much. Many of them say, there was actually a window of opportunity last March that Assad didn't take for him to treat the demonstrations and the requests for reform more seriously and more peacefully.

Now the only people who support Assad are his own clan, some in the minorities who are afraid of what might replace him, and then perhaps some profit economically from him. But that overwhelming support that he may have enjoyed for a brief moment in time, that is gone.

HOLMES: Yes. Good point to make. Thanks, Hala, as always. Hala Gorani there in D.C.

Up next, there is a deadline tonight, and if a deal is reached, it could mean cash for a certain group of homeowners.

Also coming up, a stunning twist in the case of a missing mom. Police say her husband killed himself and their two young sons just moments after he sent a chilling e-mail.

Also, coming up, parents are livid as a couple of teachers sit behind bars accused of horrible crimes inside the classroom. Find out what's happening at that school today. Stay right here.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HOLMES: Welcome back.

Today is the deadline for a possible deal on help for homeowners. Parents protest a school where two teachers have been arrested, and the queen celebrates her diamond jubilee.

It is time to play "Reporter Roulette."

And we begin with Jessica Yellin live at the White House.

Jessica, let's start with this homeowner deal, all about foreclosures and banks and various goings-on. Tell us about it.

JESSICA YELLIN, CNN CHIEF WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: First of all, I applaud you for doing this story. It matters to millions of Americans, and it is about whether the Department of Justice and states' attorney general across the country will sign a deal with the biggest banks in the country and sort of forgive them for what is called robo-signing when auto pen machines basically signed foreclosure papers with an auto pen without any checking on the documents behind them, and sort of releasing them for liability from it.

It looks like that's going to happen with most of the states in the country, and that will happen by the end of business today, but in exchange, banks would then have to put aside a big pot of money to help out some ailing homeowners, so you can imagine why there's some controversy behind this.

HOLMES: There was politics at play. There is politics at play in everything, let's face it, but where is the White House in all of this? What are their support for the deal? And others have been holding off for various reasons.

YELLIN: The White House isn't itself commenting, but the administration has been pushing hard for this deal, because they do want that pot of money set aside because they believe this is the best way to get help to homeowners, that state attorneys general couldn't get banks to do more than this on their own and this will create faster action.

On the other hand, there are some folks, critics who believe this is letting banks off the hook too easily. Some attorneys general who are holdouts are signalling they might sign on now, Michael, because they feel they got enough waivers to go after banks in their own states for separate misdeeds, and so you will still see prosecutions coming down the line, Michael.

HOLMES: Jessica, thanks. It is an important story. Appreciate it, Jessica Yellin there at the White House.

More fallout today at a California elementary school where two teachers have been arrested in child abuse cases. This is a sickening story.

Next on "Reporter Roulette," Casey Wian in South Los Angeles.

Casey, angry parents gathering outs the school, what do they want to see happen? And just sort of bring us up to date on the story itself?

CASEY WIAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: That's right, Michael.

Here at Miramonte Elementary School, you can see there is a law enforcement presence outside this school. Parents have been coming and going all day. Earlier this morning, as you mentioned, angry parents gathered here for a protest and to try to get answers about what exactly has been going on as this school. As you mentioned, two teachers have been arrested, the first one a week ago, the second one on Friday, When that second one was arrested, that caused many parents to fear that it may not be safe to send their kids to this school at all.

The school has remained open today, but some parents have their kids home. What these parents want are answers. How could this go on for as long as it has been alleged to have gone on, years in some of these cases? They will be meeting with school district officials later tonight to try to get answers. Of course, the investigations are ongoing. We're not sure how many answers they will be getting. We also knew that at least three lawsuits have been started on the behalf of some of the parents of the students at this elementary school, Michael.

HOLMES: We're hearing the school itself is closed tomorrow and Wednesday. Is that just a cooling off thing?

WIAN: No, it's not just a cooling off period. A lot of parents wondered why they didn't close the school today. A lot of parents also said it's a good thing they didn't because these allegations that came out over the weekend, they wouldn't have known what to do with their children while parents were at work.

What authorities are saying is the school will be closed Tuesday and Wednesday to allow the investigation to continue. One of the thing that authorities, and, of course, parents, want to know is whether any other teachers are involved.

They will be shutting down the school, interviewing school personnel and combing through this school, these school grounds looking for evidence. It will be interesting to see how many parents actually are willing to send their kids back to when classes resume on Thursday.

HOLMES: Incredibly disturbing story. Casey Wian, thanks for that.

Next on "Reporter Roulette" my old mate Max Foster, where Queen Elizabeth is celebrating 60 years on the thrown. Diamond jubilee starts today, goes right here until June.

Max, celebrations today. You tell me all about it.

MAX FOSTER, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes. And it all started off really with a 41-gun royal salute out there in Hyde Park not far from Buckingham Palace. This is marking a full year of celebrations, really building up actually to the main event, which is the full weekend of June. You will see full pomp and pageantry a la the royal wedding about first weekend of June.

But the queen wasn't in London today. She was out and about on a visit in Norfolk, a day of mixed emotions always for her, really, because her father died on this day. It's not just the day that she seated to the throne. But as you watch these images, Michael, you have seen them year upon year, always doing the same thing since the 1950s, never putting a foot wrong, the constant really in British and arguably commonwealth history, many people would say.

HOLMES: Pomp and circumstance in the royal family, please, really. Surprise, surprise on that.

You and I were talking earlier on CNN International and you pointed out a great bit of detailed trivia. She was in a portrait and there are a couple things interesting in that portrait.

FOSTER: If we bring up the new official portrait that came out today, you will see the queen. It's a pretty standard picture. But look over her shoulder. You see there the Victoria monument and she very carefully stood in front of that.

Queen Victoria is the only other monarch to have had a diamond jubilee, and Queen Elizabeth actually wearing the same necklace that Victoria wore in her diamond jubilee photo. So, Elizabeth very much saying, I'm in the Victoria club. There is only two of us.

And interesting to hear Elizabeth as well say today that she is renewing her commitment to her people, so certainly no plans for retirement any time soon.

HOLMES: Great stuff. Max, thanks for that. And thanks for staying there late at work for us, Max Foster, our royal correspondent in London.

Up next, President Obama makes a big move, and it's against Iran. It comes as both the Israelis and the U.S. talk publicly about military action against the Islamic republic.

Also, as tensions grow on all sides, one expert says get ready for a chaotic spring at the gas pump. Find out how chaotic.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(NEWS BREAK)

(STOCK MARKET UPDATE)

HOLMES: Newt Gingrich swears he's going to stay in the Republican race all the way until the convention. But is that doable? Is it realistic? Gloria Borger says yes, but he needs to do two things.

Also, Mitt Romney may be the front-runner, but his camp going back and forth with another candidate who is not Newt Gingrich. Gloria with me live next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HOLMES: All right. In case you missed it over the weekend, Mitt Romney collecting another 14 delegates in the caucuses held in Nevada. Romney won 50 percent of the vote, garnered half the state's delegates for his party convention in August.

Now, trailing Romney in the delegate hunt, Newt Gingrich, of course, Rick Santorum, Ron Paul, in that order.

Gloria Borger, chief political analyst, Romney solidified his status as the front-runner, but there are signs that some of the attacks might be hurting him. Is that right? Is that fair to say?

GLORIA BORGER, CNN SENIOR POLITICAL ANALYST: Yes.

Really, there are lots of signs. And it's hurting him right now in the general election population because everybody has been watching all of these fights and all of these attacks from Newt Gingrich, for example.

"Washington Post" did some polling today which was really kind of interesting to me. First of all, he is now neck and neck with Barack Obama on independent voters. Those are the people who are going to determine the election, right? It used to be about a month ago, he was up 12 points with independent voters, because they didn't like Barack Obama.

Now Barack Obama is looking a little better to them. Also, another important question we always ask is, does this candidate care about the economic problems of people like me? And Barack Obama does a lot better than Mitt Romney on the answer to that question right now.

HOLMES: Well, but Mitt Romney keeps saying stuff, doesn't he?

BORGER: Yes, he does.

(LAUGHTER)

BORGER: He does. He has a very difficult time discussing wealth, his own personal wealth. And people are listening to these answers. Does he care about the poor? Does he fire people? All of these kind of gaffes. Clearly, they've sunk in a little bit.

HOLMES: Yes, yes, it really does. You know, we've seen Romney's firing with Newt Gingrich, of course. The camp going back and forth with Rick Santorum. We've got a little clip here. Rick Santorum speaking today in Rochester, Minnesota. Have a listen and we'll chat.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

RICK SANTORUM (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Here's the problem. The problem is that we have a candidate who is running, who is now seen by the media as the prohibited favorite, who is the worst possible person in this field to put up on this most fundamental issue of this campaign, and that is Governor Romney.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HOLMES: And talking here about health care.

BORGER: Right.

HOLMES: Is there a concern in the Romney camp that Santorum could provide a bit of a threat in the upcoming vote.

BORGER: Well, there is, in the upcoming states this Tuesday, particularly the State of Minnesota, where Santorum seems to be picking up speed. But the larger concern really with Santorum is that he raises a very good argument which is that Barack Obama's health care plan was based in part on Mitt Romney's health care plan in the State of Massachusetts calling for mandates, which every Tea Party member in America hates -- mandate.

And he's making a very good argument against both Romney and Gingrich on this point because Gingrich also at one point in his career did support health care mandate.

HOLMES: Yes. And speaking of Gingrich, he still says he's going all the way to the convention.

BORGER: Oh, yes, all the way. All the way.

HOLMES: And I supposed he has point, he should do better in the south, and there yet to come. You know, he has got to at some point, is this viable?

BORGER: Right, but right now, his very angry man. And I think it's getting really personal. He doesn't like Mitt Romney. He doesn't like, in particular, the ads they've been using against him saying that he resigned in disgrace from the speakership. But what Newt Gingrich has to do is win somewhere else. He's got to start raising some money other than threw his super pack. He's got to give people a sense of momentum. Right now, he's really struggling with that. He's trying to hang on until Super Tuesday, which I should point out there are some of those states that would be more beneficial to his candidacy.

HOLMES: Because he's from the South.

BORGER: Sure.

HOLMES: We will go wrap it up, but I keep saying that this pound shop, this very public beating up of each other who are on the same team, it's just part of the whole political landscape.

BORGER: It's part of the caucus. I'll tell you what, though, what's interesting to me is, it's really different this time for Republicans. Usually it's democrats who beat up on each other and Republicans kind of fall in line eventually. This time it's the Republicans who are really beating up on each other, because those tea party activists did not want an establishment candidate to represent them in the election, and guess what? They might get one.

HOLMES: Exactly, yes. Yes, that's fascinating to watch.

All right, good to see you, Gloria Borger.

BORGER: Good to see you.

HOLMES: And you're about to meet a guy who says Americans had become consumers instead makers. Is that a surprise, really? He's not going to make it easy for anyone with an idea now to be heard. Here's a sneak peek of CNN's "Next List."

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DR. SANJAY GUPTA, CNN CHIEF MEDIAL CORRESPONDENT: So this looks like a pretty interesting place. What goes on in here?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Well, this is our lab. And really what happens here is we have interns that take things that we think might be in the magazine and they try to recreate them. They take the author's recipe, in a sense, and test it. So we're like a test kitchen for makers.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HOLMES: Don't forget to catch CNN's brand new show, "THE NEXT LIST," featuring some of America's brightest minds. He got bright mind, Sanjay Gupta is the host. Sundays, 2:00 p.m. Eastern, right here on CNN.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I can't imagine anyone killing their children. I just -- that's beyond anything I can imagine someone doing.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HOLMES: The case of a missing mom takes a stunning twist. Police say the only person of interest in the case, her husband, blew up the family's home with himself and their two young sons inside. We're hearing now what happened moments before the explosion. Sunny Hostin is on the case. She's up next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HOLMES: "On the Case" today, a tragic ending in a story that began more than two years ago in Utah. Two young boys and their father have been killed in a home explosion in Washington State. Now what police believe is this.

Josh Powell intentionally set fire to his house, a gas explosion, after his children were brought over for what was meant to be a supervised visit. Now, his wife, Susan Cox Powell, has been missing since 2009. Josh Powell in the interim has been the lone person of interest in her disappearance.

Sunny Hostin is "On the Case."

Sunny, you know, Powell apparently sent out an e-mail saying, I'm sorry. Goodbye.

Is there a way of knowing for sure, but could this be a way of, sort of admitting guilt, or could it just be a hugely stressful time?

SUNNY HOSTIN, CNN LEGAL ANALYST: Well, we just don't really know at this point. As you mentioned, he has been the sole person of interest in the disappearance of his wife, Susan Powell. What we do know that he was under a lot of pressure recently.

His children had been living and being raised by his wife's parents. They were then removed from his custody entirely pending an court's orders to have him take a polygraph test and a psychosexual examination and evaluation. And that is because he was living with his father, Steven Powell, who has been arrested on 14 counts of voyeurism, a count of child pornography. And apparently, his father had been spying on women for approximately a decade, and one of those women would have been Susan Powell. So certainly Josh Powell was under a tremendous amount of pressure.

HOLMES: And now, the spokesman for the Pierce County sheriff's office seems to have no doubt that it was Powell all the while when it comes to his wife. Have a listen to this.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ED TROYER, PIERCE COUNTY SHERIFF'S SPOKESMAN: This is all on him. He set this up. He did it. He is the one who started the fire and didn't tell anybody.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HOLMES: Those seem like strong words from law enforcement, you know. But what do we know about Josh Powell and his mental state at the time all of this unfolding?

HOSTIN: Well, we are learning that the boys ran to him for the supervised visit and he immediately closed the door on the person from social services that was supposed to be supervising the visit, the social worker. She immediately called her supervisor and immediately heard the home explode. And so our understanding at this point is that he went under a tremendous amount of pressure, but certainly, I don't believe that anyone expected him to take the lives of his two small children.

HOLMES: All right, Sunny, thanks. That's Sunny Hostin there.

Well, a huge development in the case of 19 Americans forbidden to leave Egypt. And one of them is related to an Obama cabinet member. What Egypt is accusing Ray LaHood's son of and why they might be sending him to trial? We're live at the State Department, next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HOLMES: The low-running alliance between the United States and Egypt is being tested today. Egypt's military rulers and the siege from the streets have also been announcing they're going to perhaps try 19 Americans. That's the indication at the moment. They include the son of transportation secretary Ray LaHood.

Elise Labott is standing by for us at the State Department.

Elise, please outline these charges and what the reaction is from Washington.

ELISE LABOTT, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, Michael, these charges, these groups, the International Republican Institute, the National Democratic Institute, Freedom House and some other international groups are receiving foreign funding and they're not registered.

Now, this has been a long-running issue for many years, but under President Mubarak, he kind of let them operate. Now this military government which is supposed to be handing over to the civilian government is investigating these individuals and these groups, charging them where they're receiving foreign funding. They haven't been officially notified yet, but they're very concerned they can't leave the country.

Let's listen to what White House Press Secretary Jay Carney said today about this issue.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JAY CARNEY, WHITE HOUSE PRESS SECRETARY: Now we continue to communicate at all levels with the Egyptian government. Our grave concerns regarding the crackdown against NGOs in Europe. We have underscored how serious a problem these actions are. We have said clearly that these actions could have consequences for our relationship, including regarding our assistance programs. So we'll continue to work with the Egyptians.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

LABOTT: Michael, serious consequences. We're talking about 1.3 billion in U.S. aid to the military in Egypt and also the U.S. signs up on billions of dollars of loans from the international financial institutions like the IMF. So the U.S., really not in a position to be able to let this aid go through if these groups are not let free and those charges drop. So the U.S. really having a serious dilemma right now, enormous pressure on The Hill right now for the Obama administration to cut funding. There was a military delegation in town last week talking about this. And now, as you heard Jay Carney say, this could have serious consequences.

HOLMES: Yes. At one point $3 billion, it's not fair to think Egypt is the second biggest recipient of U.S. after Israel. I don't think Americans who might be tried, they're not actually being held. It's unlikely they're in jail. They just can't leave, right?

LABOTT: They can't leave the country. Some of them are taking refuge in the U.S. Embassy so they can kind of avoid being arrested, but right now they don't really know. They haven't even been notified about the charges. They've just been heard about through sources and through media reports. What U.S. officials are telling us that they hope that they'll be charged with something smaller and kind of let go or the charges would be drop. But really right now they're not sure. Officials thought that this would have been finish by now. They could have resolved this.

And as we see the Egyptian economy in shambles, no one really understands why, with everything going on right now, with the political situation, the chaos, the riots that we've seen, why anybody would want to pick a fight with the U.S. when billions of dollars of aid at stake?

HOLMES: Yes, politics, of course. The recent election. The Muslim brotherhood waiting handily, and that could be playing into this, too.

Elise Labott, thanks so much. Good to see you, Elise.

Up next, the former congressman running for a Senate seat in Michigan, but he is getting some heat today for a Super Bowl ad that some are calling racist. You'll see it and hear his response.

Plus, Wolf Blitzer is here in the NEWSROOM.

Hey, good to see you.

WOLF BLITZER, HOST, CNN'S THE SITUATION ROOM: Great to see you, Michael.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HOLMES: "THE SITUATION ROOM" with Wolf Blitzer coming up at the top of the hour. And Wolf joins us now with a preview.

Now you've got Nancy Grace talking about this home explosion story.

BLITZER: Terrible story out in Seattle, Washington. Awful, awful story. These two little boys were killed, their father, and there's a lot of suspicion. She's got strongly held views, as you know, Michael, on what's going on. We're going to speak to Nancy about this.

I don't know if you read, not this weekend, but last weekend, the cover story in "The New York Times," Sunday magazine, Israel and Iran...

HOLMES: Oh, yes.

BLITZER: An Israeli journalist Ronen Bergman who wrote that piece. Really an amazing article, incredible details in there...

HOLMES: Right, access to government.

BLITZER: Unbelievable access and he's going to be joining us. How close is Israel to actually launching a pre-emptive strike against Iranian nuclear facilities? Does Israel have a green light from the Obama administration? What would happen in terms of Iranian retaliation if Israel were to do so? With missiles start flying into Israel from Lebanon? Hezbollah allies of Iran. So there's a lot of good stuff. I mean, it's bad stuff but a lot of good material to discuss.

HOLMES: And subsequent to that material reading, a lot of concerns from others who were in the Israeli defense force whether it is a good idea or not.

BLITZER: Right. There's a big debate in Israel, including a former Mossad chief, Meir Dagan, who says, you know, he's not convince that Israel has not other options. He supports these covert operations as opposed to a military strike. So there's a big debate in Israel underway right now.

And Ron Paul keeps harping on that. Correctly, there is a significant discussion in Israel going on and this Israeli journalist is very good. This Ronen Bergman is going to be joining me. We'll talk about all of this and a lot more.

HOLMES: It's a tense time. Very scary consequences.

Wolf, good to see you.

BLITZER: Thank you.

HOLMES: Wolf Blitzer there.

And political pop, a Super Bowl controversy that has nothing to do with the halftime show. This is about an ad that aired during the game. A campaign spot for Michigan Senate candidate Pete Hoekstra. It has some people calling racially insensitive. Check it out.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Thank you, Michigan Senator, W spend it now. W spends so much American money. You borrow more and more from us. You're economy get very weak. Ours get very good. We take your jobs. Thank you W spend it now.

PETE HOEKSTRA, MICHIGAN SENATE CANDIDATE: I think this race for U.S. Senate is between "Debbie Spend it Now" and "Pete Spend it Not." I'm Pete "Spend it Not" Hoekstra, and I approve this message.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HOLMES: Well, in an interview posted on the Detroit "Free Press" Web site, Hoekstra said the ad has a straight forward message about what he calls reckless spending and that there was, quote, "Nothing racist about it."

Here's a breathtaking video here. What you see there is a snow border and an avalanche chases down that snowboarder, and you can see what happens at the end. We're going to speak live with the woman who survived that -- next. Great story.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HOLMES: And now, tomorrow's news today. Let's fast forward for a moment. Python's wreaking havoc in the Florida Everglades. Wildlife is flat-out disappearing from the National Park as the python population grows out of control. John Zarrella will bring you the story as only he can from Florida.

And did we mention that Tuesday is an election day? Really? Another one? Colorado, Missouri and Minnesota voters casting their votes in those three states primaries and caucuses. Live coverage right here on CNN.

Also, Brooke, is back with a shocking statistic about child abuse in this country. The government has put a figure on the cost to the nation, $124 billion. The lifetime cost for just one year's worth of cases. We can do better tomorrow. She's going to have a look at how we can work out to wipe out the mistreatment of kids.

Well, confusion and frustration surrounding a mystery illness in LeRoy, New York, boiled over this weekend at a town hall meeting. Officials telling parents their children's school is safe despite several students developing those involuntary twitches and gestures. You probably saw the story. Doctors diagnosed most of the children as suffering from conversion disorder, that's a condition induced by stress. But some parents suspect the problem could be link to a trail deraignment 40 years ago which spilled toxic chemicals just a few miles from the school. Officials insisted environmental factors were not the cause of these Tourette Syndrome-like conditions. Frustrated parents not convinced.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

KIM COX, LEROY SCHOOL DISTRICT: What I have to do as the superintendent is take the experts, what the experts are telling me. And the experts are telling me and the data is showing me that there is no environmental cause here linked to this condition.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: You guys need to do something. My child, my children, all of them, I run a business in this town. It is not safe. Why is it you need to prove to us that it is safe to put our children in this school.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HOLMES: All right. Would you check out this incredible video. Professional snowboarder, Michelle or Meesh Hytner was riding Colorado slopes last month when she triggered an avalanche. You've seen this happen before. They cut up the snow and the avalanche comes down. It almost buried her alive, but it didn't.

Why? Well, she deployed an airbag that shoots out behind her, and what it does is it kind of makes you float on top of the snow. She made it out perfectly OK.

In fact, I mean, she's joining us right now by phone.

Meesh, thanks for being with us. First of all, how does this work? It's not -- do you have to pull it? Does it fire automatically? And how does it keep you above the snow?

MICHELLE "MEESH" HYTNER, PROFESSIONAL SNOWBOARDER (via telephone): Well, it's a pull tab on the right shoulder strap of the back pack, kind of like just if you've even been sky diving. It looks a lot like that.

HOLMES: Right. So you are skiing down there. Why were you wearing this? Is this something that's becoming standard issue? It's the first I've heard of it.

HYTNER: It is definitely not commonplace yet. I was wearing it, it was my first day on it, my first run on it. I was wearing it because I had a guardian angel that day, I think, and their name, mom and dad.

HOLMES: And so how does it work?

HYTNER: Basically, it's a CO2 cartridge that just shoots pressurized air up and inflates a balloon and it keeps you above the snow, hopefully. And it did this time.

HOLMES: How does it do that? Is that just a matter of surface area, I'm thinking?

HYTNER: I would imagine so. I think it's a lot like just riding a raft like, obviously you want to be on a bigger raft rather than a smaller raft.

HOLMES: Just to clear up any confusion, because I was reading on the Web, those usual doubters saying, yes, it was a setup. This actually was no setup, right?

HYTNER: Oh, no, no, no. This was no, no, no way was this a setup. I think those comments are just funny.

HOLMES: Yes, yes. So don't go -- don't leave the slopes without it?

HYTNER: You know what, I would say this year I wouldn't want to be anywhere in the back country without this backpack.

HOLMES: Yes. I saw a guy on a snow mobile just recently. We saw that video, and he ended up getting buried by one of things. You worry about that? You won't be anymore I supposed.

HYTNER: Well, you know, you always want to make sure the slope you're on doesn't bury you, but in any instance where stuff like this happens, I'm just glad that I had the right equipment.

HOLMES: Yes, and you got the snowboard, too. Mitchell Hytner, good to see you. It's good to talk to you. Thanks and congratulations.

HYTNER: Thanks so much.

HOLMES: All right, let's go now. Wolf Blitzer is back in his studio now. "SITUATION ROOM" about to begin.