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Syrian Forces Unleash Barrage of Mortars and Artillery; Whitney Houston Funeral Set for Saturday in New Jersey; China's Next President Meeting Obama; Former Intern Sues For Paycheck; The Help Desk; Bomb- Sniffing Rats
Aired February 14, 2012 - 12:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
CHRISTINE ROMANS, CNN ANCHOR: Let's get you up to speed on some other stories we're working on this hour.
The funeral for Whitney Houston will be held at noon on Saturday in her native New Jersey at the church she attended as a child. That's according to the family's pastor. The pop star's body arrived in Newark, New Jersey, last night.
Houston was found dead in a bathtub of a Hollywood hotel room by her assistant three days ago. The Los Angeles Coroner's Office is now waiting for test results to determine her cause of death.
We'd like you to stop a moment and look at this video.
(GUNFIRE)
ROMANS: A child running through the gunfire, a man saving the child and then rushing back to get the child's shoe. That child could have been easily killed running down the street with those bullets flying. Bystanders chanted, "God is great!" after that, frankly, heart- pounding save.
This happened in the Syrian city of Daraa. Nick Paton Walsh said it was maybe three or four days ago. An opposition activist group says more than 19 civilians have been killed across Syria just today.
CNN's Arwa Damon, she is inside Syria today, and she's able to report first hand on what's happening.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
ARWA DAMON, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: In the areas where the government crackdown is at its worst, people say that there are snipers positioned on every single street corner. You can hardly cross a main thoroughfare without coming across government snipers. And then, of course, there are all of the tanks and the government checkpoints.
It's an incredibly tense situation here, and it's also incredibly emotional. Anger is running at an all-time high, as is frustration and desperation.
(END VIDEO CLIP) ROMANS: All right. Three explosions rocked Bangkok today. One of the blasts ripped off the leg of a suspected bomber.
Authorities in Thailand say they have two Iranians in custody and they're looking for another suspect as well. These explosions happened a day after bombings in India and the Republic of Georgia. These bombings targeting Israeli diplomats. Israel blames Iran for all of these blasts.
The back-and-forth race for the Republican nomination all tied up right now in the polls. A dead heat between Mitt Romney and Rick Santorum. The latest Gallup daily tracking poll putting Romney at 32 percent, with Santorum at 30 percent. Santorum is gaining ground and he's gaining confidence.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
RICK SANTORUM (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: We're going to compete, obviously, heavily in Michigan. We're going to compete in Arizona. And we think this is a two-person race right now, and we're just focused on making sure that folks know we're the best alternative to Barack Obama, and we have the best chance of beating him.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ROMANS: And a Rick Santorum rally erupted into a shouting match. There was a group of Occupy protesters disrupting this event in Tacoma, Washington.
At first, Santorum tried to appear cordial to the demonstrators, but the shouting continued, so he later called them a radical element that represents true intolerance. Police say three protesters were arrested, two for disorderly conduct. One was arrested for assault.
President Obama tries to give members of Congress a final push toward extending the payroll tax cut. If they don't, it will mean less money in your paycheck.
House Republicans have dropped their demand that the tax cut extension be offset by spending cuts. That clears a major hurdle.
Last hour, the president called on lawmakers to finish that job. He says it will help the economic recovery.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
BARACK OBAMA, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: 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. (END VIDEO CLIP)
ROMANS: Prosecutors in Italy today filed an appeal against the acquittal of American exchange student Amanda Knox on her murder charges. Knox and her former boyfriend were convicted of killing British student Meredith Kercher, but they appealed and their convictions were overturned last October. Knox returned to the U.S. after she was released from prison in Italy.
Back to Syria now.
You're looking at video uploaded today from the besieged city of Homs. People there are said to be paralyzed by fear and horror as government forces again unleash a barrage of mortars and artillery.
Our Nick Paton Walsh is in neighboring Lebanon.
And Nick, you're talking to people inside the country, I mean, as difficult as that can be. And you're hearing that this is the worst day yet of this siege on the city.
NICK PATON WALSH, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: The worst day, certainly, in the last five, which says something in Homs, which after the last 10 days has been hit with so many artillery shells, it appears to have claimed 400 lives in that last 10 days alone.
One man we spoke to this morning, we tried to have a conversation with him. And actually, that was constantly interrupted with the loud detonation of artillery shells landing around his house. He described how four women in the last few weeks have actually lost their children when they were pregnant because of the sheer stress and fear of living in Baba Amr, that district which has been the focus of much of that shelling.
Let's listen to what Mr. Omar, one of the activists we spoke to, had to say.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: They are shelling randomly. Why? I don't know.
There is no places here in Baba Amr that is safe hour or shelter or basement. You have to be lucky to stay safe.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
WALSH: And across the country, we're seeing this violence continue. The crackdown, in full swing, it seems, at the moment. Daraa, another city -- a live video stream from there -- in fact, a few hours ago -- showing intense crackdown on a number of houses. It appears the Syrian army, many of the towns across the country now, conducting raids, taking people away -- Christine.
ROMANS: You know, many residents say they're bracing for a full-blown war. The match, though, is clearly in favor of the Syrian government. I mean, they have the artillery, they have the -- you know, the Syrian military, far more heavily armed than these disparate groups of people who are fighting. WALSH: That's absolutely true, although for 11 months now, they have held out against this military.
I think it's more important to point out the Syrian army, to this extent, haven't used the full might of their firepower. I mean, they aren't using the helicopter gun ships. And jets, for example, they've bought at great expense from the Russians. And I think that perhaps points to some of the international outrage already being focused on Damascus, the United Nations, much of the world, frankly, condemning this outrage, condemning this onslaught against these small towns, these pockets of often farmers, shopkeepers resisting the Syrian army's crackdown.
And it's really playing out in the next months or so to see whether the Syrian regime feels it has enough support from within to continue with this crackdown, or whether people will begin to get disaffected and, in fact, actually, these defections from the Syrian military continue -- Christine.
ROMANS: But Nick, I mean, does Bashar al-Assad -- does the president of Syria, has he yielded at all to international pressure?
WALSH: Not really, practically, no. In fact, actually, in the last couple of days, we've seen nothing but complete rejection of complaints from the United Nations and, in fact, the Arab League peacekeeping proposal as well.
The Syrian regime, on state TV, making it clear it considers the suggestions by the United Nations Human Rights Commissions that in fact there are credible evidence of war crimes inside Syria. That was strongly rejected today. And a couple of days ago, in fact, they strongly rejected the Arab's League proposal for a peacekeeping force to try and quiet down this violence.
So, despite the fact that the Syrian regime are keen to point out they're examining some sort of constitutional reform -- and we've heard that before over the past few months -- there's no sign at all that President Bashar al-Assad is looking for a way out of this diplomatically -- Christine.
ROMANS: And in the meantime, we continue to see the images, Nick, of just terrified civilians, children running down the street amidst gunfire.
Nick, thank you so much for your reporting on that.
(NEWSBREAK)
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
ROMANS: As the world remembers a superstar, the family of Whitney Houston is preparing for her funeral right now.
Don Lemon is reporting for us from Los Angeles.
Don, we now know that the funeral is set for Saturday. What more do we know about what it could look like? I mean, I know it's going to be at her hometown church, which is a fitting way to end a career that began there, but it's a career that should have been longer. I mean, this shouldn't be over now.
DON LEMON, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes. You know, but at least, at the very least, we have all of those great recordings of hers are still -- they will live on and on and on. And it's good that her record sales are up. Not good, Christine, that some people are gouging the prices, which is another story I think should be reported here a little bit more on.
But let's talk about -- I think it's very fitting, too, because we see these celebrity funerals and memorial services, and they're larger than life. Michael Jackson's was huge. It was here at the Staples Center. And initially, it was reported by the "Newark Star-Ledger" that Whitney Houston's was going to be at the Prudential Center in Newark. That's not going to be the case.
This is according to Caroline Wingham (ph), who is of the Wingham (ph) Funeral Home. That's where Whitney Houston's body -- they're saying, as you said, her hometown church, New Hope Baptist Church in Newark. And here are the details that we're learning, Christine.
You asked me what it's going to be like. No public ceremony at this point. Not at the Prudential Center.
There will be a motorcade, Christine, but the route has not yet been established, and the burial will be private. And again, this is all new information, it's still very fluid. Things could change throughout this process.
ROMANS: I know a source close to the family told CNN that members of the family, they don't like this focus, or they're dismayed by this focus on her history with drugs and her history with addiction. You know, they want to remember -- well, first of all, they're grieving, and they want to remember, you know, this beautiful voice, this beautiful woman, this mother, this the daughter, this aunt, this cousin.
You know, but there's still this mystery about how she died. And 48 years old, this mysterious death. What do we know?
LEMON: And there are two conversations going on here, simultaneously. And I get it.
When I had to report her death on Saturday night, you have to remember, because I had to remember, and I wanted to keep it positive. "Inside Edition," "Entertainment Tonight" asked me yesterday, "What did you want when you were there reporting?" Because so many people were watching us.
And I said, "I wanted to be respectful of Whitney Houston, because we were all shocked and surprised that it happened, that I was sitting there and the world was finding out that Whitney Houston had passed away at the young age of 48." But it's part of her history. But I think there's a time and a place for everything. And I think right now, in the beginning, especially in the first moments, we need to talk about what happened, here's what's going on. And then we can start to evaluate her life after a while, after we find out the cause of death and all of that.
But you can understand, any family would be that way. It was part of her life, but she had so much talent. And, I mean, she broke so many records. And she added so much --
So right now, let's just talk about her and try to find out what happened to her in the investigation. And there's a time to discuss that. And maybe that's after the funeral, and maybe it's as the days and the time passes. You can understand that.
ROMANS: All right.
Don Lemon.
Thank you so much, Don. We'll be talking to you again very, very soon as the story continues to develop.
All right. She had amazing range as a singer, but Whitney Houston's personal life was full of incredible highs and lows.
Randi Kaye takes a look back.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
RANDI KAYE, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Whispers about Whitney Houston's troubles began to surface shortly after she appeared in this Michael Jackson tribute concert. Looking rail thin, the appearance fueled rumors that her health was rapidly declining. She defiantly denied those rumors in this infamous 2002 interview with Diane Sawyer, insisting that she didn't have an eating disorder and didn't have a crack addiction.
DIANE SAWYER, ABC NEWS: "Whitney Dying, Crack Rehab Fails."
WHITNEY HOUSTON, SINGER: First of all, let's get one thing straight. Crack is cheap. I make too much money to ever smoke crack. Let's get that straight. OK?
I don't do crack. I don't do that. Crack is whack.
SAWYER: This says "$730,000 Drug Habit." This is a headline.
HOUSTON: Come on. 730? I wish. You know? I wish whoever was making that money off of me could share it with me.
(LAUGHTER)
HOUSTON: No way. No way.
KAYE: Still, she admitted to battling other demons.
SAWYER: Is it alcohol? Is it marijuana? Is it cocaine? Is it pills?
HOUSTON: It has been, at times.
SAWYER: All?
HOUSTON: At times.
SAWYER: If you had to name the devil for you, the biggest devil among them?
HOUSTON: That would be me.
KAYE: Houston also had a turbulent marriage to singer Bobby Brown. Married in 1992, some pointed to their relationship as a primary source of Houston's troubles. Houston publicly denied that Brown abused her.
SAWYER: Has he ever hit you?
HOUSTON: No, he's never hit me, no. I've hit him in anger.
KAYE: That marriage and her erratic behavior eventually became reality show fodder on Bravo's "Being Bobby Brown." But that show did little to burnish her reputation.
HOUSTON: We've got to live with (INAUDIBLE). We've got to live with (EXPLETIVE DELETED), with the anthrax.
BOBBY BROWN, SINGER: You just watch too much TV.
HOUSTON: Kiss my ass!
KAYE (on camera): In her later years, Houston attempted something of a comeback. She divorced Bobby Brown and released an album in 2009 that debuted at number on the Billboard charts. But her tour was reportedly plagued with vocal difficulties. And in 2011, her publicist admitted Houston was seeking help for addiction.
(voice-over): Before her death, Houston was still trying to rehabilitate her image. She completed another movie, "Sparkle," speaking about it with the TV show "Extra."
HOUSTON: I think over the years being a mother and married as a mother, the whole thing -- you know what I'm saying? I have matured in so many ways. And my daughter is my greatest inspiration. She has trained me for this role. She has trained me. She trained me good.
KAYE: Randi Kaye, CNN, Atlanta.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
ROMANS: Valentine's Day, a time for love and togetherness, right? Well, not to our next guest, this angry scrooge. There he is.
He says it's terrible for those who are single and for those who aren't. We're going to get to the bottom of this in a minute. (COMMERCIAL BREAK)
ROMANS: My next guest says he hates Valentine's Day. Comedian Dean Obeidallah joins me now.
And Dean, in full disclosure, I did tweet today, "Honey, don't buy me any roses. Can you put the money in the 529 for the kid?" You know, save your money, honey.
You wrote a piece on CNN.com about your hate for Valentine's Day. You sound a little bit like a scrooge. I kind of see your point.
Why do you hate Valentine's Day?
DEAN OBEIDALLAH, COMEDIAN: Well, I'm not the scrooge of romance. I'll be honest with you, I mean, I'm wearing a red tie today. I have boxer shorts with red hearts on it.
But the idea that we have to celebrate on February 14th is beyond me. It has nothing to do with my relationship with my girlfriend. It's a day imposed on us.
I think romance should be organic, sort of like a Cialis moment. You know, like in the commercial where their eyes meet, and bingo, a Cialis moment. That's what we want.
But you know what? I think most people are annoyed by the fact that we're told by big companies, this is the day you have to celebrate, you have to buy jewelry, buy flowers. It has nothing to do with my relationship. That's the problem with it.
ROMANS: Do you think it's any coincidence it's between the Super Bowl and March Madness. Like, it's a time when maybe women have all of the undivided attention of their significant others or the male species?
OBEIDALLAH: Maybe, there could be some. But if you look at the history, it's really muddled.
One idea for why Valentine's Day, one of the genesis ideas, is that it's because that's the day birds mated. So for some reason, because birds pick that date to get it on, I've got to pay $100 --
(CROSSTALK)
ROMANS: On February 14th?
OBEIDALLAH: I'm not kidding. There's like different -- there's one that's a Christian (INAUDIBLE) Christian martyr died St. Valentine's Day. Others say it's because of nature. I'm not kidding.
If you look it up -- in my article, I talk about it. There's disputed reasons for this.
But, I mean, to me, we should go out and oppose it. We should occupy Valentine's Day. This is what I'm proposing. We protest Godiva chocolate, the Build-a-Bear stores across America -- (CROSSTALK)
ROMANS: Those employed people, it's economic activity, Dean. Come on. Are you against the economy?
OBEIDALLAH: I'm pro-economy and I'm pro-romance, just not on a day we're told it has to be today. Why today?
And I did a whole thing on Twitter. I went out and I asked people. And I was surprised by the response, because I thought it was going to be, honestly, men against it, women for it. Mostly women responded and said they're not for it for various reasons.
ROMANS: Dean, we want romance all through the year. We don't want you to be able to buy me --
OBEIDALLAH: That's it. That's it.
ROMANS: -- an over-inflated dozen roses and then you think you've done your job, because that's not going to cut it.
OBEIDALLAH: I agree with you. And that's probably the most common response we got, was that, hey, if you're going to be nice to me one day, and the rest be a jerk, good-bye, buddy, I don't need you. I think there's something to that.
I also -- I mean, one part of Valentine's Day that is nice, and I wish everyone a Happy Valentine's day if you're choosing to celebrate this, is that it can make you more romantic. But don't impose your views on me, because I'm not celebrating it. I don't care. But it's something you should discuss with your loved one before you unilaterally choose not to celebrate it.
ROMANS: I know. So, for people like you who believe that cupid rhymes with stupid, tell me, what are your viewers tweeting about your thoughts?
OBEIDALLAH: Well, I mean, it was very interesting. Some said things like -- one woman said she hated Valentine's Day -- and it was my favorite tweet -- she said, "Because that's the day I'm forced to wear leopard lingerie once a year," and she doesn't enjoy wearing it that one night. Because her husband makes her wear it. That's what she tweeted to me.
ROMANS: That's too much information.
OBEIDALLAH: She tweeted it.
Others say it's because of the commercialism of the day, the fact that it has no connection to their relationship, but they're being told to be romantic by greeting card companies. You know, it's one big commercialized scheme.
That was a very common response by people. And I don't know if there's any connection to the Occupy movement and the fact that people are opposed to corporations on some level, but I don't think this is 99 versus 1 percent. I think 100 percent of us can say, look, if it makes you happy, it helps your relationship, celebrate it, have a great day, but if it doesn't, don't make us celebrate this day, which has no connection.
I actually propose we move it from February 14th to February 29th so it's only every four years for Valentine's Day.
ROMANS: There you go. And I like your Occupy Valentine's Day. I would say, occupy your marriage or occupy your relationship all year round.
OBEIDALLAH: That's better.
ROMANS: There you go.
OBEIDALLAH: I agree with you. All year round, make it everyday romantic, or a little bit if you can.
ROMANS: All right. Dean Obeidallah, nice to see you. And the piece --
OBEIDALLAH: Nice seeing you, Christine.
ROMANS: I'm going to tweet out the link to the piece, too, so everyone can see it.
OBEIDALLAH: Thanks very much.
ROMANS: Good stuff.
OBEIDALLAH: This is you for calling me young earlier.
ROMANS: Oh, great!
All right. Here's your chance to "Talk Back" on one of the big stories of the day.
It's Valentine's Day. Singles looking for love, love birds are storming their local flower shops and jewelry stores, desperate to find a last-minute gift. It's a stressful day for everybody. Dean hates this day.
So we want to hear from you. Our "Talk Back" question: Valentine's Day: love it or hate it?
Send us your thoughts to Suzanne's Facebook page at Facebook.com/SuzanneCNN.
All right. A big meeting at the White House right now. We're going to look at how President Obama's get-together with China's vice president could play a key role in the future of both countries.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
ROMANS: President Obama meets the man set to become China's next leader, Xi Jinping, the current vice president is expected to take over when President Hu Jintao's term ends later this year. Talks between the two leaders at the White House today focused on China's growing military presence and trade. Listen.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
OBAMA: On the basis of that understanding, we have established very extensive strategic and economic dialogues between our two countries. We have been able to pursue a significant consultation on opportunities for both countries to improve their economic relationship and their strategic relationship, and also manage areas of tension in a way that is constructive.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ROMANS: Just look how intertwined the two economies of these two countries are, second only to Canada. China is our second largest trading partner. China also the world's second largest economy and economists predict China could beat out the U.S. for the world's largest economy within the decade.
China is our second biggest creditor. The Chinese fund a good portion of how our government runs, quite frankly. Peter Morici joins me now from Washington. He's the professor of International Business at the University of Maryland and served as the director of economics at the U.S. International Trade Commission.
And I should say, you know, we always talk about China as America's bank, but we're really first our biggest owned banker. You know, we lend the money to ourselves. First, they're our biggest foreign banker.
How important is this visit from Xi? Because there's a long list of things that the U.S. has been concerned about, hacking and stealing of U.S. technologies, that has been coming from somewhere inside China.
Cyber espionage, trade, patent and intellectual property rights, the currency, China's military modernization. The list goes on and on
PETER MORICI, UNIVERSITY OF MARYLAND, INTERNATIONAL BUSINESS PROFESSOR: Well, we've been in dialogue with China. The president mentioned initiating dialogue. We've been in dialogue on all these issues going back to Clinton days and before, and not have accomplished as much as we would like.
The importance of this visit is to get some indication as to whether next year things will change because the president can continue diplomacy, or he take much more assertive action if he chooses.
The fact that China is our banker is really not that big an issue. China essentially buys a lot of dollars to keep its currencies cheap. If it didn't convert those to bonds, they'd go out of circulation and the fed could print new dollars and buy the same bonds and it's all a wash.
So that's not really an issue and what we're really doing is these two men are feeling each other out. They both come from backgrounds where they were very challenged as children.
ROMANS: That's an interesting point. You know, the other thing, though, these two systems are very, very different. You know, you've got a communist, you know, government in China that is growing.
It's, you know, its economy is growing, but it's still a poor country, right? And you've got the United States, you put these two political systems back next to each other, you've got the Republican candidates, you know, arguing about who's going to be toughest with China.
MORICI: Well, it's always that way. When Mr. Clinton was running for president and Mr. Obama ran for president, they both talked about getting tough with China and how the Bushes aren't tough enough. So that's nothing new.
What's interesting here, and what will be unique, is that China will be the world's largest economy in about 10 years, even if the U.S. economy gets itself going and grows at 4 percent. China, 15 years will be the largest, but it will still be on a per capita basis, very poor.
And we've never had before the world's largest economy at the same time a relatively poor economy in terms of per capita income, which makes its agenda and its interest in stability very different than we are accustomed too in state craft.
ROMANS: Well, and stability is the key here. I mean, the Chinese always say that the most important thing is using their prosperity for stability within their country.
But in the United States, we look at their stability within their country, and we see repression in Tibet, we see human rights violations. We see things that aren't necessarily conducive to the American world view.
MORICI: Well, the Chinese people have a lot more freedom than they did 20 years ago, but only within certain boundaries. Behavior that is considered to be inconsistent with internal stability and the continued dominance of the Communist Party is not permitted.
And you have to remember, the Communist Party is not just a political entity. Great wealth is being created in china, just as it is on Wall Street, and a lot of that wealth flows to the children and relatives of party leaders. This is very much a feudal governing system, superimposed on an emerging capital society.
ROMANS: Peter, let me ask you really quickly because we have to go, but there's sort of this anxiety, I guess, in the United States among some people who say the 19th Century belonged to England, the 20th Century belonged to the United States, it is China's century. The Chinese know it. Do you agree with that? MORICI: No, I don't. I believe that whether or not -- first of all, the world needs for America to lead, because we are the protectors of democracy and human rights. Whether or not we continue to lead is up to us.
The British stopped leading not because they were not capable, but because they got too tired. The question is, are Americans still up to the task? Do we still have the energy?
ROMANS: Peter Morici, thank you so much. It's nice to see you.
MORICI: It's nice to see you.
ROMANS: If you know fashion at all, you know DKNY. The woman behind that label never intended for it to get this big. You can hear Donna Karan talk about what inspires her.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
ROMANS: All right. She's a fashion icon who started off only wanting to make seven easy pieces of clothing for her friends. Now Donna Karan is an international star. Alina Cho found out what inspires this designer for New York Fashion Week.
(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.
(on camera): You failed 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, menswear, fragrance, home, and a separate company, Urban Zen, a socially conscious line. More than 100 stores worldwide and more than $2 billion a year in retail sales.
KARAN: You know, it 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 were just for me and my friends and 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: 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 could no longer just dress. It was dressing and a dressing 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 once a month. Karan supports Haitian artisans, helping them market their products by selling them in her Urban Zen stores.
KARAN: A 100 percent of the profit all goes back to the Haitian artisans. So not only are we buying product from Haiti, but we're also foundationally 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)
ROMANS: You can watch Alina's "Fashion Week Special Backstage Pass." It's Saturday, February 25th, at 2:30 p.m. Eastern Time.
All right, internships, those are those low or no-paying jobs that help you get your foot in the door. Are they legal? One former intern is taking to it court.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
ROMANS: Ah, internships. That time in your career when you're the lowest life form in the office. You get paid nothing or minimum wage at the best. Sometimes you feel like you're invisible. You're begging for something to do. We all had to do that, right? But one former intern says, no more. According to Reuters, a former intern at "Harper's Bazaar" is suing saying her internship violated labor laws because it was unpaid. She wants minimum wage plus overtime for her 40 to 55-hour weeks. Alison Kosik joins me now from the New York Stock Exchange. Alison, it's so interesting because this is a rite of passage in many careers --
ALISON KOSIK, CNN CORRESPONDENT: I agree.
ROMANS: Especially in some of these media jobs where you would never get the foot in the door without doing it for free.
KOSIK: Oh, yes. Exactly. You know what, I had some great, positive internship experiences. Sure, they included running for coffee and, you know, and making those copies. And we all hated that. But, you know what, I think in the end, you know, you take that experience with you and you know what, you just suck it up. I know it sounds like tough love, but suck it up, just do the work. The great thing is, is that you get great experience and you can either stay at the place you're working at or take it with you. No one's forcing you to stay in it, right?
ROMANS: It's interesting, though, because if this -- in this particular case, you know, if it's doing real work and companies are getting free labor, basically --
KOSIK: Right.
ROMANS: I mean then that company's just using people when they could be hiring someone else and, you know, paying into Social Security and everything.
KOSIK: And that is a very good point. It's a very fine line. But, you know what, I'm all about hard work and if it means that you're kind of doing the job that someone else could be doing, getting paid, you know what, I'm all for it. But, you know what, I work real hard, so that's just me.
ROMANS: Well, there are also paid internships, and that's -- and that's one of the issues here, the distinction between paid internships and unpaid internships, right?
KOSIK: Right.
ROMANS: I mean sometimes there are unpaid internships where you're getting, for example, college credit in return, where you are getting some sort of payment for the experience.
KOSIK: Right. Right. And unpaid internships, you have got to ask the question in the end, you know, did you get a job after that internship? And the reality is, most do. The National Association of College and Employers says that 67 percent of interns are actually offered a full-time job. So you say you didn't get a job offer, some still say internships wind up paying themselves back in the long run because what you get is more work experience to make yourself more marketable, looks pretty good on the resume. Also, you get to network. You know, it could lead to something at another company or down the road, right, Christine?
ROMANS: Yes. And I will say one thing in favor of paid internships over unpaid internships is that, you know, sometimes people who can afford to actually have an unpaid internship, you're limiting your pool of candidates, you know what I mean, and so you want to make sure that --
KOSIK: That's right.
ROMANS: Everybody can -- has the same opportunity to get that kind of experience.
Alison Kosik, a great discussion. Nice to see you.
KOSIK: Yes. Sure.
ROMANS: All right, move over bomb-sniffing dogs, meet the new four- legged recruit joining a police force to save lives. They're lighter on their feet and they've got a very keen sense of smell.
POPPY HARLOW, CNNMONEY.COM: Time now for "The Help Desk," where we get answers to your financial questions. Joining me this hour, Donna Rosato is a senior writer with "Money" magazine, David Novick is a certified financial planner and an adjunct professor of finance at New York University.
Thank you both for being here.
Donna, your question comes from Emily in Minnesota. Emily wrote in, "I'm taking a trip to England next month. Is it better to change my money now or wait until I arrive?"
DONNA ROSATO, SENIOR WRITER, "MONEY": Ah. Well, it's actually better to change your money -- you'll get a better rate if you wait until you go overseas. But you really don't need to have a lot of pounds in your pockets these days. The best way to get a good exchange is to use your -- a credit card or your debit card when you're overseas. You'll get more favorable exchange rates and the fees will be lower for converting.
Now, one thing you have to keep in mind today, though, is that a lot of the European countries and South America and Asia are moving to credit cards that have a chip and a PIN in them.
HARLOW: Right.
ROSATO: And the U.S. cards only have the magnetic strip on them. So you may run into a little problem unless you have that. If you have a person who could swipe your credit card, that'll be fine. But if you're at like a gas station or a kiosk without an attendant, you may not have one. So just make sure you have enough currency to meet those kind of short-term needs.
HARLOW: That was a good point.
And, David, your question comes from Winer (ph). Winer wrote in, "I have a UTMA account that I started for my son to pay for college before the days of the 529 plan. He'll be 16 next month. What can I do with a UTMA account so that it doesn't hurt us when we apply for financial aid in two years?" They don't want this money to account against them.
DAVID NOVICK, CERTIFIED FINANCIAL PLANNER, PROMETHEUS CAPITAL MANAGEMENT: Well, probably the best thing to do would actually be to convert it to a UTMA 529 plan, that way it would be considered the parent's asset for financial aid purposes, you get the tax advantages of a 529 plan.
The issue with doing that, though, is you have to transfer it in cash and there could be some tax consequences. An alternative might be that you may be able to spend that down on items for the child now before they go to college so it doesn't exist.
HARLOW: Interesting.
NOVICK: The issue is that it does vary by state and it can't be what's known as a support obligation. But if it's something, paying for child's care or school or whatever, typically you can do that and it may be a way to exhaust the account.
HARLOW: Yes, that's a very good point.
Thank you both.
And, folks, if you have a question you want answered, just send us an e-mail any time to cnnhelpdesk@cnn.com.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
ROMANS: OK. I got the shivers over this next story. Rats have been used in all sorts of experiments, but imagine them being used to sniff out bombs. That's exactly what Colombian National Police are trying to do with rats. Our Rafael Romo reports on the four-legged trainees.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
RAFAEL ROMO, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): On a base at the Colombian National Police, a new recruit is being trained. Today's mission for this four-legged trainee is to find the scent of an explosive device hidden underground. Which it does in less than a minute. The white rat is showered with praise and a reward.
Though safer than a decade ago, Colombia is a country where land mines and car bombs a still a threat.
EDGAR RAMIREZ, LIEUTENANT, COLUMBIAN NATIONAL POLICE (through translator): Colombia still faces conflicts, such as guerillas and criminal and paramilitary groups. There are many disputed territories because of the drug trade, or simply to take control. And many groups set up land mines in these territories.
ROMO: In the past, the Colombian Police used bomb-sniffing dogs, but their weight would often trigger the explosives. That's not a problem for these rats, which weigh slightly less than a pound. And according to the trainers, their sense of smell just as good as a dog's. Rats have already been used in Mozambique to detect land mines. One disadvantage is their short life span. RAMIREZ: These animals live only three to four years, which is a relatively short period of time from a human perspective. On the other hand, they're very prolific. They reproduce themselves exponentially in a very short time.
ROMO: So far, the rats have been trained to detect seven different kinds of explosives. In the process, they've become relaxed around humans and even get on with the cat that protects them from other predators.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
ROMO: And officials with the Colombian National Police say they expect to take the bomb-sniffing rats into the field in the second after of this year. They also say they've been able to successfully train about 70 rats in the last four years since the project began.
Christine.
ROMANS: Oh, the picture of the rat and the cat! Little friends! These look kind of like high-class rats.
ROMO: That's right.
ROMANS: They're not like the Brooklyn, the dirty Brooklyn rats that I know.
Are police officers going to keep those rats in the lab and use them only when they're needed?
ROMO: Well, they'll going to work like a K-9 team would. Each officer is going to be assigned one or two rats and they're going to spend time together and get used to each other. And then, when need, they're going to go into the field and try to detect explosives.
ROMANS: Just in the cities, in the countryside too? Anywhere, really.
ROMO: For now it's in the cities. But the idea is to go to the countrysides where there's a lot of fields with land mines. And that's the main objective here.
ROMANS: Fascinating. What amazing technology right there, very smart little animal. All right, thank you so much, Rafael Romo.
ROMO: Thank you.
ROMANS: All right, you've been sounding off on our "Talk Back" question. Valentine's Day, love it or hate it?
Jordan, "love it!" He says, "hey, it's a great day to go to the bar." Oh, come on. That's kind of cynical! "Everyone's looking for someone with they're single." We're going to have more of your responses coming up.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
ROMANS: You've been sounding off on our "Talk Back" question, Valentine's Day, love it or hate it?
Charles says, "it's a commercial holiday that preys upon the emotions of both genders."
Jeff says, "I never liked St. Valentine's Day, except in college, when, as a waiter, we made big bucks off the love birds."
And Chuck says, "I love Valentine's Day. Whether I'm in love or out, I share my love with someone special in my life on this day."
All right, you can see all the responses on Suzanne's FaceBook page, facebook.com/suzannecnn.
CNN NEWSROOM continues right now with Michael Holmes.
Hi, there.
MICHAEL HOLMES, CNN ANCHOR: Hey, good to see you. Yes, I'm filling in --
ROMANS: Happy Valentine's Day.
HOLMES: Oh, and for you too. Yes, I'll be like that guy who's going to the bar later, because that's where all the single people are.
ROMANS: You can take this with you if you want.
HOLMES: Could I? Oh, good.
ROMANS: I'll leave it for you.
HOLMES: Drop it down. Good to see you.
