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Details Trickle Out In Houston Death; Houston Funeral Expected Friday; Fear, Violence Paralyze Syria; U.S. Spies On Syrian Regime; New Hope To Extend Payroll Tax Cut; New Jersey Senate OKs Same Sex Marriage; Tree Slices Through Home; Obama Talks Budget, Payroll Tax Cut
Aired February 14, 2012 - 10:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
KYRA PHILLIPS, CNN ANCHOR: And two fronts in the Whitney Houston story this morning, Los Angeles where investigators are trying to figure out why she died and New Jersey where details about her funeral are coming together.
We top the hour with our Deborah Feyerick joining us live from Newark in a moment, but first, let's get to Don Lemon in Los Angeles -- Don.
DON LEMON, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning to you, Kyra. The latest on the investigation here is that the coroner came out and held a press conference as did Beverly Hills police.
Beverly Hills police saying they have wrapped up their investigation at the Beverly Hilton where she was found dead on Saturday afternoon. They are saying they are done there and this investigation is now in the hands of the coroner.
The coroner coming out yesterday saying it's going to be six to eight weeks before they get toxicology results to get final notice on exactly what killed Whitney Houston. They are saying she was, of course, found in the bathtub by a family member, a member of her staff.
Taken out of the bathtub and they weren't able to revive her. And of course, Whitney Houston pronounced dead at 3:55 p.m. The coroner also saying that they did find prescription drugs in Whitney Houston's room, but it's not out of the ordinary.
And as Deborah Feyerick will tell you her body has now been flown back to New Jersey. The interesting thing though, Kyra. Good friends, friends in the entertainment world are stepping up and talking about it.
Last night, a very interesting and heartfelt interview from Chaka Kahn on the Piers Morgan show. "PIERS MORGAN TONIGHT" saying, listen, Chaka said I am a former addict and I love Whitney, but there should have been people around Whitney at all times protecting her when they know that she had problems with drugs and alcohol. Take a listen to Chaka Kahn.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) CHAKA KHAN, SINGER: And whoever flew her out to perform at that party should have provided someone to be there to somehow keep the riffraff out of the situation. Just keep some of the dangerous people away.
PIERS MORGAN, HOST, CNN'S "PIERS MORGAN TONIGHT": Was she very vulnerable do you think Whitney? Even to the end to that kind of situation?
KHAN: Absolutely. I am. I'm very vulnerable. I mean, I will never do cocaine again, I know that, but we're sensitive people, entertainers.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
LEMON: Chaka Khan, of course, concerned about the images coming out about Whitney being inside of the nightclub, Club True, here in Hollywood, not far from where I am. Kyra, had a chance to go over yesterday afternoon and see the nightclub.
One of the managers took me around and showed me where Whitney was. He said it was almost capacity crowd, 400 people. It was very hot. Everyone was trying to get at Whitney because she is Whitney Houston, of course.
As she left, the photography took the pictures. That's only a snapshot, but he said everyone left that club hot and sweaty. And he also said Kelly Price and everyone there were toasting.
They were having champagne. Whitney had a little bit to drink. But as far as he knows, nothing was out of the ordinary -- Kyra.
PHILLIPS: All right, our Don Lemon there in Los Angeles for us. Don, thanks. Now let's check in with Deborah Feyerick. She's actually in Newark, New Jersey for us. Houston's body arrived there last night. So Deb, what are we learning about the funeral?
DEBORAH FEYERICK, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, you know, Kyra, the plans are still very, very fluid. This happened so suddenly. The family really just trying to come to terms with exactly what is happening and how they best want to memorialize and preserve the legacy of Whitney Houston.
We can tell you that a source is now confirming that when she arrived yesterday, she was flown from Los Angeles on board Tyler Perry's private plane. She arrived here just before midnight and was met by her mom, Cissy Houston.
The family was here until about 1:30. This is the same funeral home where her father was also honored. The cemetery where he's buried is not too far from here. But right now, they are not confirming whether in fact that is where her final resting place will be as well.
We can tell you the mom overwhelmed, but staying strong for her and for all those around her. A friend that I spoke to earlier said that really she's the one who is providing strength for so many. She's relying on her faith at this time, a very deeply-religious woman and a gospel legend in own right.
One thing that is sort of troubling the family is the focus on Whitney Houston's drug addiction, her former drug addiction and allegations of potentially current drug abuse, but the friend telling me that she was off the hard stuff.
She was not doing cocaine or not doing marijuana. She did have some prescription medications including Xanax for anxiety and to help with sleeplessness and an infection for sore throat. She was taking medication for that.
But otherwise, in his words, she was clean, certainly clean of the hard stuff, Kyra. Right now, we're waiting to find out whether the funeral will be at the New Hope Baptist Church, which is where she was part of the choir or whether it will be in a larger venue, the Prudential Center, which can seat up to 18,000 people -- Kyra.
PHILLIPS: All right, Deb Feyerick in Newark. Deb, thanks.
Let's take you overseas now to Syria where CNN has now managed to penetrate that government ban on foreign journalists. First the latest on the regime's crackdown though. Take a listen to one city that just descended into a war zone.
You can actually hear the bullets ricocheting off the buildings. That's the sound of government security forces sweeping through a neighborhood in Daraa, one of the several cities under siege.
Pro-democracy activists said that civilians are too terrified to venture outdoors, even for food. Our Arwa Damon was able to slip into Syria, but for her own safety, we're not telling you her exact location. She's able to report though firsthand on what's going on and what they are thinking.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
ARWA DAMON, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: They believe that at the end of the day, at some point in time, who knows when, the regime is going to fall. Quite simply, they cannot go back to the way that it was.
But one young activist I was speaking to put it this way. He said if there is military intervention, yes, there will be a lot of bloodshed, but it's going to be over a lot quicker. If there isn't military intervention, there's going to be even more bloodshed and it's going to take a lot longer to bring down the regime.
What a lot of people are realizing and accepting at this stage is that this is going to be a bloody battle. More lives are going to be lost and that perhaps the biggest challenge for Syria, too, is going to be after the regime topples.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
PHILLIPS: Well, Syria's decent into violence impossible collapse catches the attention of U.S. intelligence officials. They are now spying on the embattled regime and terrorist groups that may try to fill the void. CNN's Pentagon correspondent, Barbara Starr explains.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
BARBARA STARR, CNN PENTAGON CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): All eyes and ears on Syria. CNN has learned that spied on Bashar Al-Assad's moves in the brutal war against his own people is now a top priority for U.S. intelligence and the military.
The State Department released these images showing Syrian artillery guns outside a town. American officials tell CNN classified higher resolution images show military targets being tracked in case U.S. action is ordered.
The U.S. is looking to involve more satellites, drones, and U2 spy planes. Sources tell CNN that the U.S. is already secretly eves dropping on telephone and electronic communications of Assad's regime. It comes as a United Nations official accused Syria of crimes against humanity.
NAVI PILLAY, U.N. HIGH COMMISSIONER FOR HUMAN RIGHTS: Children have not been spared. Children have been killed by beating, sniper fire, and shelling from government security forces in several places throughout Syria.
STARR: Assad's government is not the only focus. U.S. intelligence picked up on cell phone communications of al Qaeda in Syria. After several suicide bombings including this police station, there are growing indicators a small group of al Qaeda operatives from next door Iraq are now inside Syria.
SETH JONES, RAND CORPORATION: What's already been clear is that al Qaeda in Iraq, in particular, has pushed in operational and tactical- level units into Syria right now and appears to have conducted some of the high-profile bombings.
STARR: Al Qaeda's leader now calls Al-Assad the butcher son of a butcher and praises Syrians for waging Jihad. But there is little indication Syrians endorsed al Qaeda or he will have much impact just as he did not when he endorsed Egyptian opposition forces.
JONES: I think a safe bet that Sawahari is definitely not involved in operational and tactical level efforts in either Iraq or in Syria right now only urging action.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
STARR: Now U.S. officials across the board are saying, Kyra, that there is no military action being contemplated at this time. But by releasing those images, they certainly put the Syrian regime on notice that the U.S. intelligence community is watching its moves closely -- Kyra.
PHILLIPS: Barbara Starr at the Pentagon. Barbara, thanks. Well, some good news for you this morning. That your paycheck is not about to shrink. On Capitol Hill, House Republicans right now removing a key obstacle. They are going to no longer demand that the cost of extending the payroll tax cut be offset by slashing spending elsewhere.
So if a deal is not reached by the end of the month, a family making $50,000 a year would see about $40 a week taken from their take home pay. President Obama is due to talk about this extension this hour, 10:40 Eastern Time. We'll carry that speech live.
Coming up, bullets everywhere in parts of Syria. Civilians are too terrified to even go outside even for food. We'll have more on that coming up.
Plus the fight over same sex marriage heating up in another state, but even if it passes the legislature, it still faces an uphill battle. I'll explain next.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
PHILLIPS: Checking stories cross country now. New Jersey in legalizing same sex marriage, the state senate approved the bill yesterday. Now the state assembly will vote. But Republican Governor Chris Christie promises to veto the measure if it lands on his desk. He says voters should decide in a state-wide referendum.
In Virginia, take a look at what happened to one family's home. Strong winds toppled a tree slicing right through the house trapping a 52-year-old woman in her bed. Her legs were actually pinned under the tree. It took rescuers more than an hour to free her.
More than 70 years after their service in World War II, the Utah legislature honored a group of Japanese-American vets for their bravery on the battlefield. One hundred infantry battalion breached a German fort in Italy and help rescue more than 200 soldiers.
Back to Syria now. Cities under siege, families fleeing their homes, kids with bloody wounds, we have seen it all and now we're seeing this.
You can actually hear the bullets ricocheting as security forces are doing sweeps through residential areas. Government security forces sweeping through a neighborhood in Daraa there and pro-democracy activists saying that civilians are too terrified to venture outdoors even for food.
Ahed Al Hendi is a Syrian activist and dissident who lives here in the U.S. We have been talking about Syria for a number of weeks.
First of all, the security sweeps, what does that mean exactly for residents? Are they just kicked out of their homes? How violent did they become and did it ever happen to you?
AHED AL HENDI, SYRIAN ACTIVIST AND DISSIDENT: Yes. They broke into houses. They broke doors. They come arrest people, kids, they kill sometimes family members. They raped a girl in front of the eyes of her father.
And later, when her father, he was handcuffed, he reacted to them and they killed him. And this is how they broke them. They entered through the houses like thugs and thieves and mafias.
PHILLIPS: Have you been able to talk to anybody in the country while this has been happening, your friends or your family? Can you give us any insight to what's happening right now?
HENDI: Well, in some areas of Syria, all the land lines are disconnected by the government. I was able to communicate with some activists who have sat phones in Homs and in Daraa.
They are telling us about the situation. It's miserable there. They are saying we're left alone. No one is helping us. The regime is using tanks, using armored vehicles, using heavy guns to shoot on civilian houses while we have nothing, no one is helping us.
PHILLIPS: Now you say when the sweeps are taking place that you never know what's going to happen. Women are raped. Individuals are killed. You know, there have been a number of people risking their lives inside Syria to put things on YouTube.
To Skype with us, to give us this type of information, now, what happens to those individuals when these sweeps take place and they see computers in the house? They see this type of technology, are these individuals immediately killed for what they are doing?
HENDI: A lot of them were tortured inside the headquarters and were killed. A lot of others were killed on the scene. When they are seeing any man who has a camera on his hand or any woman who has a camera, they shoot directly on people.
The most important thing for the Syrian regime is not showing the atrocity that is committed by him. They have succeeded in killing thousands of people without anybody saying a word to him because nobody showed anything of what's happening in Syria.
Now we have every single person with a cell phone. They are recording. They are reporting. So the biggest fear for Assad is to stop these people who are showing the whole world what's happening in Syria.
PHILLIPS: Real quickly Ahed, I have to get to some other developing news. Is Syria ready for Bashar Al-Assad to fall or do you fear it could it get even worse than what we're seeing now with no one running the country?
HENDI: If the international community would stay like this doing nothing, I fear that the country would go into (INAUDIBLE), it might go to a civil war, maybe more extremists coming to the country. The international community is doing nothing.
There's a statement in support. He knows that he has no support inside the Syria. It's a secular country. The people are very secular. We have a lot of Christians and a lot of Jews and the majority of the others are al Qaeda.
Now we have extremists. They are sizing this opportunity to get some popularity inside the country because the international world is silent. They are just verbally speaking against what's happening in Syria.
There's no action. We have Russian and Islamic Republic of Iran helping Assad while nobody is helping the Syrian opposition. Nobody is helping the defectors. So I'm afraid that the defector would be left for the extremist groups outside the country.
PHILLIPS: Ahed Al Hendi, a Syrian activist an dissident, once again, joining us on the situation in Syria. We'll keep talking ahead. Thank you so much.
HENDI: Thanks, Kyra.
PHILLIPS: This just coming into CNN. We've got new information on the funeral of Whitney Houston. Let's get right to Deb Feyerick in Newark, New Jersey -- Deb.
FEYERICK: And Kyra, the owner of the funeral home just came out a couple minutes ago and said she was going back inside to speak with Whitney Houston's mom, Cissy Houston, on the phone about the funeral arrangements, which are just being made right now.
The funeral is now going to be taking place at 12:00 noon, not at the larger Prudential Center. It's going to be taking place at Whitney Houston's church, the church where she grew up at 12:00 noon.
The funeral director saying that right now no wake is planned here at the funeral home, however, all of this is fluid. But we do know that Whitney Houston will be memorialized at the church where she learned how to sing as a little girl, a church that meant everything to her in a town she loved. That's the latest for now.
PHILLIPS: All right, Deb Feyerick in Newark for us. Thanks so much.
And also ahead calls for Newt Gingrich to bow out of the Republican presidential race and it's not coming from the left. Is he staying in as some conservatives asked? Is he trying to avenge his wounded pride?
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
PHILLIPS: Later this hour, President Obama due to talk about the payroll tax cuts. Dan Lothian is at the White House. Dan, what do we expect the president to say?
DAN LOTHIAN, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Well, I think the message that you'll hear from the president is similar to what we heard at the end of last year. That is that now is not the time to be raising taxes on hardworking Americans.
They believe that if the payroll tax cut is not extended nor employment insurance that this will raise taxes on 160 million Americans. So the president will be holding an event within the hour, much like we saw at the end of last year.
Where he'll bring in Americans who will tell stories of how they would be negatively impacted by losing $40 from their paycheck. Again, the president had a similar setting like this the last time around.
He was able to pressure members of Congress to pass a two-month extension. The president wanted a long-term extension, so he's pushing for that again. That's what will be happening in less than an hour.
PHILLIPS: OK, Dan. Appreciate it. As you just mentioned, President Obama due to talk at 10:40 Eastern. We'll carry that speech live.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
PHILLIPS: It's time for "Political Buzz," your rapid fire look at the best political topics of the day, three questions, 30 seconds on the clock.
And playing today, comedian and Sirius XM talk show host, Pete Dominick, Political Sci. prof (sic) and chief political correspondent for "Politics 365," Jason Johnson, and CEO and bestselling author, Tom Blair.
All right, guys, first question out of the gate. Conservative magazine, "The National Review" says it's time for Newt Gingrich to get out of the race. Here's the quote. "It is not clear whether Gingrich remains in the race because he still believes he can become president next year or because he wants to avenge his wounded pride." All right, so what's his motive? Tom, kick us off.
TOM BLAIR, CEO AND BESTSELLING AUTHOR: Well, I would suggest that in the universe, there's nothing more powerful than the male ego. Some males wear a top hat. Some socks. I would suggest that Newt wears his ego as a top hat.
The same ego that made him successful during his 30s and 40s and 50s really won't let him surrender. In politics unlike most professions, where let's say a baseball player passed his prime.
The manager can call him in and say you're through. In politics, you need to spend a few million dollars and have a few million folks vote against you before you realize it's time to go. He's a prisoner of his ego.
PHILLIPS: Pete?
PETE DOMINICK, SIRIUS XM TALK SHOW HOST: I just love that metaphor. That's fantastic. The fact is Newt Gingrich doesn't need a hat. His head is that big.
But anybody running for president has to have a huge ego. But I was reading news from 1995 when Newt Gingrich admitted that he participated in it the government shutdown in influence because of a snub on Air Force One by President Clinton.
He literally held the government and the American people hostage because of the way he didn't get attention from the president on an airplane.
So I wouldn't put that aside. It's all about Newt. He's out there to make money and sell books. With this campaign, anything could happen.
PHILLIPS: All right, let's go to humble, Jason Johnson -- JJ.
JASON JOHNSON, POLITICAL SCIENCE PROFESSOR, HIRAM COLLEGE: Look. This is all about ego. This is all about anger. He's like old man angry. He's out for revenge.
All he wants to do is take down Mitt Romney for what he did to him in Iowa. So it doesn't really matter. Newt Gingrich has no problem running a shoe string campaign. He did that all last year, but he's not getting out of the race. They are going to have to pry it out of his hands.
PHILLIPS: All right, here we go. Question number two, Rick Santorum firing back at "Occupy" protesters who interrupted his rally in Tacoma last night. Take a listen.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
RICK SANTORUM (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: I think it's really important for you to understand what this radical element represents because what they represent is true intolerance.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
PHILLIPS: Wow. We heard radical and tolerance. Has the "Occupy Movement" run its course? Tom?
BLAIR: Well, there's another part of that quote, which said, you need to go out and get a job, which I think is going to cost him because it's insensitive when you have 8 percent or 9 percent unemployment. He almost sounded like Wallace in the 1960s saying if you don't like Alabama, leave or Nixon saying, you're nothing but a bunch of drug- crazed hippies protesting the war.
Does the Occupy Wall Street have momentum? They really don't have a national spokesman. If they had a national spokesman, they have a national mission I think they may have a chance. But I think with spring coming they are just going to evaporate.
PHILLIPS: Pete?
DOMINICK: Well listen, first of all, the Santorum campaign has a little -- a little problem with lighting in that video. They need to help him out. Rick Santorum calling other people intolerant, Kyra, is like me bragging about how many hair style choices I have. It's just the height of irony.
And with the Occupy Movement, who knows. Anything can happen. But it has already made a huge, huge impact, more A-1 newspaper stories about income inequality than -- than ever before. And that is a really important thing. We're seeing that in the campaign right now.
PHILLIPS: Jason?
JOHNSON: Occupy Wall Street Movement, they've already won. They won by changing the narrative for the election.
PHILLIPS: That was -- that was a mistake, by the way.
JOHNSON: I guess they didn't win.
PHILLIPS: You know the audio operator might be an occupy protester. He is freelancing, they've infiltrated the control room.
JOHHNSON: Angry at my statement. But they already won. Everybody knows what the 99 percent and the one percent is now. They have changed the narrative. And it's been specially dangerous for somebody like Mitt Romney. So Occupy Wall Street -- they already have their victory whether or not they are camping out in state parks anymore.
PHILLIPS: You want to add anything else? You get an extra 10 seconds Jason.
DOMINICK: Tell your -- tell your audio guy to get a job.
JOHNSON: Exactly, get a job, audio guy. Really, really.
PHILLIPS: Ok, time for your "Buzzer Beater" 20 seconds on each. We probably we'll get -- we will get it right. Mitt Romney still can't shake this video, guys, showing how he handled his poor little dog statement nearly 30 years ago.
So now "Dogs Against Romney", ok their owners, but this is what they the group are going to protest at the Westminster Dog Show. So how does Romney prove to America that he is dog's best friend? Pete?
DOMINICK: Well first of all, he's got to reject the Michael Vick endorsement. Maybe he can get a Bo, the Obama's dog endorsement that would get a huge (INAUDIBLE). Maybe he can get out there and start shaking some paws and playing some fetch, put than on video.
He needs to play this up. This is a good thing. It was the great American story taking your family on the trip. It's not like the dog was in a separate car with the Romney family chauffeur. Hey, dogs love the air and not one voter is going to care about this at all.
PHILLIPS: Tom?
FLAIR: He can make a -- he can make a positive out of this negative. What he needs to say is the dog was under the kitchen table all the time is begging for scraps and looking for handouts. Given that, I just assumed it was a Democratic dog. I didn't want him in the car with us.
DOMINICK: Fair. Fair.
PHILLIPS: Jason?
JOHNSON: This is killing him. Because the image of him driving with his dog on the roof it makes me think of Clark Griswold. You know on the "National Lampoon Vacation".
Look, dog owners are more likely to be Republicans than Democrats. So Mitt Romney can't lose his group, he needs to talk about the fact that Bain Capital actually owned a dog food creating company. He needs to talk about the fact that in 2006 he made responsible pet owners month in Massachusetts, he has a good record on dogs.
PHILLIPS: Jason, if you remember vacation at the end, the dog is no longer there.
JOHNSON: I know, exactly.
PHILLIPS: Ok. Let's make the point that Romney still had a dog.
JOHNSON: That is true. That is true.
DOMINICK: Impressive knowledge, Kyra. Impressive.
PHILLIPS: What can I tell you -- I'm such a hard-hitting journalist. Gentlemen, thank you, that was fun.
JOHNSON: Thanks Kyra.
PHILLIPS: All right, straight ahead, millions of Americans love their Smartphones. They can surf, read e-mails, even watch movies. But now some cell phone giants are actually trying to throttle the heaviest users. Christine Romans is here in Atlanta to explain. I'm sorry, I'm a little thrown off by the --
CHRISTINE ROMANS, CNN BUSINESS CORRESPONDENT: I know I started laughing so hard.
PHILLIPS: Do you -- do you remember the vacation? I remember the movie. Come on, that was one of the funniest parts. You see the leash and the color -- and anyway. I'm sorry, focus.
ROMANS: Anyway, we need a buzzer for this one. Now this is -- this is kind of -- this is such an interesting story. It's about, are you in the top five percent, the top five percent of data hogs. You might have an unlimited plan for your Smartphone, right. And have you notice that things are slowing down for you maybe early on in your billing cycle?
It's because you probably reached this limit. AT&T is doing this. They told their customers they would. You've reached this limit or you've used up a whole lot of your -- of your -- of your data and your plan and they are slowing you down.
Kyra, they are putting up like this speed bumps. And so people are getting these messages, text messages on their phone saying you've reached -- you've reached a big limit. And there you go, this is the data cap is it's called. Your data usage is among the top five percent of our users.
Data -- can you read it?
PHILLIPS: Read over here.
ROMANS: Data speeds for the rest of the current bill cycle may be reduced. So then it takes you back to the data plans and customers kind of complain a little bit they say that they are being pushed into some other of the tiered planned.
PHILLIPS: This is only AT&T.
ROMANS: But this is -- no, T-Mobile is doing it too, Verizon is doing it too. Like look at you're -- if you're down loading a lot of stuff, and you're using it at your Smartphone, you're GPS all the time. If you're playing a lot of games, if you're in the top five percent of those data users, they are managing the traffic and then so they are probably slowing you down. Interesting, right?
PHILLIPS: Yes.
ROMANS: We're using our phones in so many different ways now. I mean, it's really amazing. And some have said they've got to spend more money on building in their infrastructure so we can just pick up our phone and use it however we want, you know and always have it fast. But that's not necessarily the way it --
(CROSSTALK)
PHILLIPS: What a segue, because coming up in about ten minutes, that is if the President doesn't start speaking about the payroll because we're going to take that live. We're actually talking with someone who wrote a piece for CNN.com about the fact that traditional courtship has just gone out the window.
ROMANS: I know.
PHILLIPS: Everybody is doing it by phone.
ROMANS: I know.
PHILLIPS: You know sharing love and dates and romance.
(CROSSTALK)
ROMANS: Breaking up and making up.
PHILLIPS: Breaking up, exactly all doing it by phone.
ROMANS: Like, you have done it too. Honey can you get some milk. PHILLIPS: Sometimes you've just got to write a love poem or a love letter or something.
ROMANS: I love you, can you bring home some two percent milk.
PHILLIPS: You're speaking from a mom. Thanks, Christine.
And as I mention, we are waiting for the President to talk about the payroll tax. That's scheduled to start in just about five minutes. We will bring you those remarks live as soon as he steps up to the podium.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
PHILLIPS: Well, Aretha Franklin paid a special tribute to her goddaughter Whitney Houston last night during a private concert. A.J. Hammer, this must have been an emotional tribute for the queen of soul. What did she sing?
A.J. HAMMER, HLN HOST, "SHOWBIZ TONIGHT": Yes it has been really tough Kyra. Aretha pay tribute to Whitney by singing the song that obviously Whitney will most be remembered for "I Will Always Love You". And I think it was as therapeutic for Aretha as it was for her audience. She could have cancelled the show, she didn't do that. It was for around 600 people in Charlotte.
Aretha reportedly told organizers you know what there is nothing like music to comfort the soul. One of our local affiliates was allowed to shoot this part of the show. They weren't allowed to be there when Aretha honored her goddaughter.
In addition to singing Whitney's signature song, Aretha asked the crowd for a moment of silence to pray for Houston's family telling them that Whitney was kind, good, and gentle and she added this. "When the gates swing open, I'm going to walk through. They sure opened the other day for her and she walked in." Sweet, sweet remembrance from Aretha Franklin -- Kyra.
PHILLIPS: You also spoke to Gloria Estefan too last night right?
HAMMER: Yes, I did. I had Gloria booked on the show long before the shocking news broke about Whitney Houston. Of course, we had to talk about her. She was on everybody's minds last night. And she was a friend and colleague of Whitney's. She actually attended her wedding to Bobby Brown along with her husband Emilio.
Gloria has been saying that she thought that Whitney has one of the best voices that she's ever heard. But Gloria understands the pressure that Whitney must have been under, not just as a star but as a singer. Here's what she told me about that.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
GLORIA ESTEFAN, ENTERTAINER: Her gift, which was a true gift since she was a little girl, she had this amazing voice. So when you lose that as well, it has to be pressure. Lately, the entertainment -- the music business particularly has taken major turns. And we have all had to adapt to the new world in music.
And all those things put pressure and add to that the fact that, you know, everyone is watching your every move. So I'm sure that there are pressures. And like anyone else, we go through a lot of tough times. But in the public eye, it's tough.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HAMMER: And Kyra, this is understandably a common fear among singers. If you watched Anderson Cooper's interview with Adele the other day. She talked about how she was always worried about being able to hit those high notes and I think she was always worried about disappointing her fans. A lot -- a lot of pressure.
PHILLIPS: Yes. Indeed. A.J., thanks.
If you want all information breaking in the entertainment world, A.J. has it. Every night "SHOWBIZ TONIGHT" at 11:00 Eastern on HLN.
And we are waiting for the President to talk about the payroll tax. It's scheduled to start any minute now. We'll bring you those remarks live. As soon as he steps up to the podium.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
PHILLIPS: It's Valentine's Day. And I think it's probably safe to say that many mothers in this country want their daughter to date and marry Tim Tebow. And if it's not your mother, well it's airmen like Jamie Walden.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
AIRMAN JAMIE WALDEN, U.S. AIRFORCE: Tim Tebow, will you be my date to the 2012 Military Ball, my first ever military ball here in Shreveport, Louisiana in April? I would be the luckiest and happiest girl if you were to say yes and be my date. So please say yes.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
PHILLIPS: Ok. How's that for bravery? 20 years old and she wants Tebow to escort her to her first military ball. Walden says that she chose Tebow because it's important to her that her date has the same values as the U.S. Military.
No word yet on whether Tebow has accepted her invitation. Stay tuned. We'll follow up.
Ok. TD2M, KOTL, BCOY. Ok, I'm in my 40s and I have no idea what any of that means. What happened to poems, love letters, romantic dinners? You know, courtship, simple meaningful courtship. Our love lives have been downgraded to text speak.
Here's the question. Are these changes in tradition cheapening love and romance? Danae Matthews blogs about the adventures of dating for "Women's Health Base" on line.
Danae you're in your 20s, right.
DANAE MATTHEWS, RELATIONSHIP BLOGGER: Yes, I am.
PHILLIPS: Ok. And you blog about relationships and dating. So how did we lose our traditional footing? What happened?
MATTHEWS: You know, I think somewhere along the way, this just became a lot easier. I think we mistook maybe being a little shy and this became a great way to kind of get around that. And maybe that's how it started. But now, I think that texting is just like a great way to get in contact with someone and calling is just too much work. So I don't know, it's unfortunate.
PHILLIPS: Yes. I mean tradition is being replaced by technology. So doesn't that make us or maybe I say you, the younger generation, less intimate, less emotional?
MATTHEWS: Totally. I mean I had a one-week misadventure on match.com. And these guys that would contact me would want to have five days of texting back and forth before even going on the date. So by the time we would actually get on the date, I was like what do we have to talk about. We've been texting for five days.
I feel like I already know you and you were boring on text. So, I don't know. I don't think it's intimate or exciting anymore.
PHILLIPS: So what do you suggest then?
MATTHEWS: I think we should just -- I think it's fine technology to get in contact really quick. Hey, I'll meet you there in five minutes. That's fine. I just think we should go back to living our dating lives in the real world. Figuring out how to go up to each other and talk to each other and find interesting conversations. You know, "Hey, you're beautiful and I like what you're wearing." I would love it if someone came up to me and said that, you know. Why not?
PHILLIPS: Is that what would sweep you off your feet? Is that all it takes?
MATTHEWS: I think that's what -- that's what would sweep me off my feet. You know, not a text.
PHILLIPS: All right. So do you have a date tonight?
MATTHEWS: I don't have a date yet, but I'm taking applications until 8:00. So I'm sure something will come through.
PHILLIPS: I just lost it there on the teleprompter. Let me see if I've got my notes here. I'm going to plug it here. Danae's Corner, that's where you want to go to folks.
MATTHEWS: Yes.
PHILLIPS: Womenshealthbase.com. Do not text her. Somehow try to get in touch with her.
MATTHEWS: Don't text me.
PHILLIPS: That's right. Show up at her door with something. Give her a phone call. Let us know how it goes, Danae.
MATTHEWS: Yes. Ok. I will.
PHILLIPS: There you go. Blogger Danae, appreciate it so much.
All right. Well, we're waiting for the President of the United States to talk about the payroll tax. That's scheduled to start any minute. We're going to bring you those remarks live as soon as they happen.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
PHILLIPS: Ok. Here's what we're following for you a little later in the CNN NEWSROOM.
12:30 Eastern opponents of Alabama's anti-immigration law rallying outside the state house and urging lawmakers to repeal it.
Then at 1:30 Eastern time, the creator of "The Simpsons", Matt Groening, will receive his star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.
Then at 3:30 Eastern, Apple CEO Tim Cook delivering the keynote speech at a Goldman Sachs Technology and Internet Conference in San Francisco.
Hundreds of designers showing off their new fall collections at Fashion Week in New York. But one fashionista is making headlines for more than just her signature style. Alina Cho has the story.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
ALINA CHO, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): The reigning queen of Seventh Avenue. She's been called America's Coco Chanel. Donna Karan is not just a designer, she's a one-woman empire.
CHO (on camera): You failed at draping.
DONNA KARAN, DESIGNER: Yes.
CHO: How is that possible?
KARAN: You've got to fail to move forward.
CHO (voice-over): In the early days, Karan trained under women's sportswear pioneer Anne Klein. In 1985, the now 63-year-old designer launched her own label, Donna Karan New York, a global empire that today includes DKNY, men's wear, fragrance, home, and a separate company, Urban's End, a socially conscious line.
More than 100 stores worldwide and more than $2 billion a year in retail sales.
KARAN: You know, I started as a dream. CHO (on camera): But did you ever think?
KARAN: No. Because I started Donna Karan. I wanted to design seven easy pieces that work just for me and my friends. That's the truth. And then all of a sudden, everybody wanted them.
CHO (voice-over): Seven easy pieces that women could easily mix and match.
KARAN: Oh my god. I'm working and I have to go out. And I have to pack. How do I pack? What do I need? You know, how do I make it simple?
CHO: She has a legion of celebrity fans, including Hillary Clinton. She advised President Clinton on the campaign trail. And when he won, he wore a Donna Karan suit to his first inauguration.
KARAN: I have a crush on him. I mean President Clinton has been so supportive but he is my inspiration.
CHO: One of the big reasons Karan decided designing just wasn't enough.
KARAN: With the world that we're living with today and you talk about dressing, I can no longer just dress. It was dressing and addressing. The health care problem. Our educational problem. The cultural problems. The impoverished lands of people.
CHO: Like Haiti. Since the earthquake in 2010, Karan has visited Haiti numerous times and makes it a point to go back about once a month.
Karan supports Haitian artisans. Helping them market their products by selling them in her Urban's End stores.
KARAN: 100 percent of the profit all goes back to the Nation Artisans. Not only are we buying product from Haiti, but we're giving all the money back to Haiti.
CHO (on camera): : What do you get out of it then?
KARAN: My heart. Serving my heart and everybody else. Because they really do need help and support.
CHO: Alina Cho, CNN New York.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
PHILLIPS: Straight to the President of the United States. About to talk about extending the payroll tax cut.
(BEGIN LIVE SPEECH)
BARACK OBAMA, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: And I speak from experience here. It's important that you remember this and go big. That's my advice. You know, lately, I have been saying that this is a make or break moment for the middle class in America. And for folks who want to be in the middle class. We face a choice. We can settle for a country where a few people do really, really well and everybody else struggles just to get by. Or we can restore an economy where everybody gets a fair shot and everybody is doing their fair share and everybody's playing by the same set of rules.
And that second option is -- I strongly believe the kind of America that we want for our kids and our grandkids. That's who we are. That's the America that we believe in. That's what we have to roll up our sleeves and get back to doing is creating an America where everybody is doing their fair share, everybody gets a fair shot. Everybody is engaging in fair play.
We're still fighting our way back from the worst economic crisis in our lifetimes. We still have a lot of work to do and a long way to go. It's going to take time to recover all the jobs that were lost when the recession was at its depths.
But the fight is beginning to turn our way. Over the past two years, our businesses have added over 3.7 million new jobs. Our manufacturers are hiring more new workers to make more new things here in America than at any time since the 1990s. So our economy is growing stronger.
And the last thing we need, the last thing we can afford to do is to go back to the same policies that got us in this mess in the first place. The last thing we need is for Washington to stand in the way of America's comeback. First and foremost, that it means Washington shouldn't hike taxes on working Americans right now. That's the wrong thing to do. But that's exactly what's going to happen at the end of this month, in a couple weeks, if Congress doesn't do something about it.
The payroll tax cut we put in place last year will expire. A typical American family will shell out nearly $1,000 more in taxes this year. You'll lose about $40 out of every paycheck if congress does not act. And that can't happen. Not now. And it doesn't have to.
Congress needs to extend that tax cut along with vital insurance lifelines for folks who have lost their jobs during this recession. They need to do it now without drama and without delay. No ideological side shows to gum up the works. No self-inflicted wounds. Just pass this middle class tax cut, pass the extension of unemployment insurance, do it before it's too late and I will sign it right away.
Now the good news is over the last couple of days, we have seen some hopeful signs in Congress that they realize they have to get this done. You're starting to hear voices talk about how can we go ahead and make this happen in a timely way on behalf of the American people. That is good news.
But as you guys know, you can't take anything for granted here in Washington until my signature is actually on it. We have to keep on making sure that the American peoples' voices keep breaking through until this is absolutely, finally, completely done.
Until you see me sign this thing, you have to keep on speaking up. Until you see that photograph of me signing it at my desk -- you know. Make sure it's verified and certified. If it's not on the White House Web site, it hasn't happened. And I'm going to need to make sure your voices are heard.
Last December when we had this same fight, your voices made all the difference. We asked folks to tell what it was like, what it would be like if they lost $40 out of every one of their paychecks. Because we want to make sure that people understood this is not just an abstract argument. This is concrete. This makes a difference in the lives of folks all across the country in very important ways.
Tens of thousands of Americans flooded us with their stories. And some of them are here with me today. And their feedback has been pretty unanimous. Allowing this tax cut to expire would make peoples' lives harder right now. It would make their choices more difficult.
It would be $40 less for groceries to feed your kids. It would be $40 less for medications you depend on. $40 less to cover bills and the rent. $40 less to take care of an elder parent or to donate to a church or a charity. And when gas prices are on the rise again, because as the economy strengthens, global demand for oil increases. And if we start seeing significant increases in gas prices, losing that $40 could not come at a worse time.
One local entrepreneur named Terry -- where's Terry? He's right here.
He told us that $40 would cover the gas to get to his day job or, alternatively, the Internet service that his small business depends on. So he would have to start making a choice, do I fill up my gas tank to get to my work, or do I give up my entrepreneurial dream?
Forty dollars, he wrote, means a heck of a lot. It means a heck of a lot. And that's what this debate is all about.
This is what's at stake for millions of Americans. And this is why it matters to people. It matters a heck of a lot.
And I'm asking the American people to keep their stories coming. Tell us what $40 means to you.
If you tweet it, use the hashtag $40. Call, tweet, write your congressman, write your senators. Tell them, do not let up until this thing gets done. Don't let taxes go up on 160 million working Americans. Don't let millions of Americans who are out there looking for work right now, and the economy is starting to improve, but they don't have a job yet, don't leave them without a lifeline in terms of cutting off their unemployment insurance.
You know, when a plane is finally lifting off the ground, you don't ease up on the throttle. You keep the throttle on full, you keep going. And our plane is up there, but we're not at cruising altitude yet.
After all, extending this tax cut and the unemployment insurance is the least of what we should be doing for working Americans. It's just a start.
We need to rebuild an economy where middle class folks can focus on more than just getting by. And folks who want to get in the middle class have those ladders to get into the middle class. We've got to rebuild an economy where the middle class thrives and more Americans have a chance to earn their way into it, an economy built to last.
Yesterday, I released a blueprint for how we get there. It's a blueprint for an economy built on new American manufacturing and new American energy sources and new skills in education for American workers. And a new focus on the values that are the bedrock of this country, values like fairness and responsibility for all and from all.
We're going to be better off if we start building that economy right now. And we can do it because we have done it before.
We have a common challenge. It's time for us to meet it with a common purpose, and to show a sense of seriousness that's equal to the task.
So on behalf of all of the hard-working Americans who are standing behind me, I want to thank you for helping to tell your story and tell the story of why this is so important. And I just want everybody all across the country to keep the pressure up so that we get this done. It is going to make our economy stronger and it's going to put us in a position where we can start really rebuilding on behalf of not just this generation, but future generations.
Thank you very much, everybody. God bless you. God bless America.
(END LIVE SPEECH)
