Return to Transcripts main page

CNN Newsroom

Dow Hits 13,000 Mark; Obama Praises Bipartisanship; Gay Arizona Sheriff Says He's No Hypocrite; High Court Tackling Affirmative Action; Gas Could reach $5 A Gallon; 100's Of Shells Fired Into Neighborhood; Elephants Slaughtered By Poachers ; Accused Of Lewd Acts With Kids; Teen Saves Bus Driver's Life; Breathable Caffeine; Koran Burning At U.S. Afghan Base

Aired February 21, 2012 - 13:00   ET

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

ASHLEIGH BANFIELD, CNN ANCHOR: And hello, everyone. It is 1:00 on the East Coast, 10:00 on the West Coast, and we have a very busy hour ahead. Let's get you right into the zone, shall we?

The Dow hit the 13,000 mark for the first time in almost four years. Pretty exciting stuff because it had been flirting with the benchmark on and off for the past week. Investors just seem to be more optimistic now that the Euro zone finance minister has pushed through the latest Greek bailout deal. If you're wondering, that deal gives Greece the funding it needs to avoid default next month, at least for now.

President Obama praised Congress for working together to pass the payroll tax extension. And he's also challenging Congress to keep the bipartisanship alive. Earlier today at the White House, he and vice president Joe Biden were joined by Twitter users and people who visited the White House Web site. They shared how losing the tax cut would have impacted their daily lives.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BARRACK OBAMA, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: So, Congress did the right thing here. They listened to the voices of the American people. Each side made a few compromises. We passed some important reforms to help turn unemployment insurance into re-employment insurance, so that more people get training and the skills they need to get back in a job.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BANFIELD: The president has promised to sign the bill into law when it hits his desk a little later on this week.

The Arizona sheriff who was publicly outed by an ex-gay lover and then went ahead and quick the Mitt Romney Arizona campaign says he is not a hypocrite. During an interview with Wolf Blitzer, Paul Babeu says the scandal is a smear campaign meant to derail his GOP Congressional bid.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) SHERIFF PAUL BABEU, PINAL COUNTY, ARIZONA: This is outrageous that this has been brought up because I'm a conservative Republican and now they think that somehow there's hypocrisy because I'm gay. I've never worn it on my sleeve, like, this is who am. I don't define myself. I don't think we in America -- we're different in America and we celebrate our differences. And we see it as a strength, the beauty of our country.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BANFIELD: The sheriff's ex-lover, who goes by the name of Jose, says he decided to fight back after Babeu allegedly threatened him with deportation. And by the way, the sheriff denies that that actually happened.

The Supreme Court is going to take a brand-new look at affirmative action, specifically whether the race-conscious admissions policies of the University of Texas violate the rights of white applicants at that school. An applicant sued the university when she was rejected back in 2008. The university says, we're defending our policy. They say that they consider race among many factors like test scores, service, leadership, and work experience in order to create a diverse campus.

So, how high are gas prices set to go? Well, the national average is over $3.50 a gallon right now for regular unleaded. That's around 50 cents more than it was at this time last year. But the experts agree that $4 a gallon is probably just around the corner for everybody. In fact, it's already here for people who live in Dallas. Just check out the price, $4.19 a gallon, and we're not done with the uncertainty in the Middle East, either. That's really a factor here, because the experts agree that $5 a gallon may actually not be that far off.

The Syrian military may be prepping for a larger assault on the city of Homs. That city has been the epicenter of the anti-government uprising. And in a haunting development, the people there say more armored vehicles are being brought to the outskirts of the city right now. Just today, the Syrian military fired hundreds of shells into one specific neighborhood there. The activists say as many as 40 people were killed in Homs today. Several of them children. The Red Cross is asking for a cease-fire so it can create some kind of a route to at least bring supplies in for the civilians who are caught in the middle of this deadly conflict.

A massive crackdown is underway in Cameroon to stop the unprecedented poaching of elephants. It's happening in a national park in that African nation, and we are talking about a lot of elephants. About 300 slaughtered elephants in just the last month. Got to warn you, the images you're about to see are very, very disturbing. By some estimates, it could be one-third of the entire population at risk here. Poachers from Sudan are being blamed for this massacre. They are killing the elephants for their ivory tusks and just about that alone. But the killings are also making orphans out of the elephant calves and officials are fearing that the baby elephants may also soon die because of hunger and thirst. The former Los Angeles elementary schoolteacher who's accused of engaging in lewd acts with his students was supposed to be in court today to enter a plea in this case. Mark Berndt faces 23 counts. Some of the things that he's accused of doing would actually make your jaw drop. Things like having cockroaches crawl across children's faces and other things that were sexual in nature, caught on camera.

CNN's Casey Wian is there at the courthouse in Los Angeles. So what happened? We were expecting this to happen. What's the problem?

CASEY WIAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes, we sure were, Ashleigh. We were expecting this arraignment of Mark Berndt to begin about an hour and a half ago. My colleague, Alan Duke, is in court and he sends word that the judge was outside of the courtroom for some part of that time and has now returned to the courtroom and is proceeding with other cases. Mark Berndt has so far not made an appearance in court. We do not know what the delay is at this point.

And just to recap the charges against him, he's facing 23 individual counts of lewd conduct against children at Miramonte Elementary school. He is being held on $23 million bail, $1 million for each count that he is facing. You mentioned those photographs. Investigators have collected now nearly 400 photographs that they say show Berndt with children at that school. Many of them depicting bondage and other very disturbing, despicable acts.

Sheriff's investigators are also very concerned, I should mention, though, that there may be other victims. And some of these parents who are the parents of children who they allege also were victimized by Berndt have not spoken with sheriff's investigators yet. Instead, they have hired private attorneys. Some of them have even appeared on the "Dr. Phil" show. Investigators very concerned about the impact that all of that could have on an eventual jury in this case, Ashleigh.

BANFIELD: All right. Well, Casey, keep an eye on it. Let us know if that arraignment gets underway. Without question, a lot of people following this. Casey Wian in Los Angeles, thank you for that.

It is the size of a tube of lipstick. But take a close look. That thing right there is not makeup. Have you heard about it? They're called AeroShots. And get this, they allow you to inhale your caffeine. Yes, inhale it, in powdered form. But here's the question everybody wants to know. Is it safe? The FDA is taking a closer look.

And up next, I'm going to speak to the man behind the AeroShots, inventor David Edwards. Looking forward to that.

First, though, what began as an ordinary day for a 13-year-old boy in Connecticut took a very unexpected turn, one that he will likely never, ever forget for the rest of his life. Started with boarding the school bus in Norwich, Connecticut. Noah Drayton just had a feeling something was wrong with his bus driver, Steve Kimball. Now, the bus driver repeatedly told Noah, don't worry, I'm OK. All that coughing, not to worry. But it started getting worse and when Noah got off the bus, he didn't stop there, he called his parents, who then called the bus company and Kimball was taken to the hospital. It turns out he was having a heart attack! And he also need emergency surgery! So, that bus driver is now crediting the kid with saving his life. Noah says, eh, I just did what I thought was the right thing to do. And Noah, my dear, for your quick thinking, you are today's Rock Star!

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BANFIELD: Most of us drink a cup or two of coffee every day, and in some people, like morning T.V. anchors, about 10. But now, you can actually breathe your caffeine fix instead of having to drink it. Here's what I'm talking about, something called AeroShots. They're already on the shelves in New York, Massachusetts, and France. It's the size of a lipstick tube, but don't let that small package fool you. AeroShots can deliver 100 milligrams of caffeine or what amounts to about a shot of what you get in your coffee cup, just in a few sniffs. But here's the deal. They're also being sold as a dietary supplement, and that's stirring up some controversy.

Now, the FDA is launching an investigation into whether inhaling your caffeine is really safe for you to do which is why we wanted to give it some Facetime and talk to the inventor of AeroShots, David Edwards. He's joining us live from Paris.

OK. So, David Edwards, that's the question on my mind, and I think a lot of other people's minds. Is it safe to breathe in your caffeine?

DAVID EDWARDS, PROFESSOR, HARVARD UNIVERSITY: Well, it is with the AeroShot, Ashleigh. The AeroShot, just to be really clear, is designed to deliver caffeine and vitamin Bs in a natural lime flavor to the mouth through the act of breathing. So, while we refer to it as breathable energy, the fact is it is the act of breathing, but we're not delivering caffeine to the lungs, we're delivering caffeine to the mouth, as you deliver with an energy drink or with a caffeine pill or with a cup of coffee.

BANFIELD: So, it's sort of like -- I guess as you've been talking about it, like a breathable food. And for anybody who's watching and saying, what does David Edwards know about this kind of stuff? I should mention, you are a professor of biomedical engineering at Harvard, so you're no joke. But are you a little bit concerned that the FDA has taken a closer look at this after Senator Charles Schumer decided he wanted the FDA to look at this a little closer?

EDWARDS: Well, I think there are a couple points, Ashleigh. I think number one, just to point out, I have started several companies related to inhaled insulin and T.B. vaccines, and so I'm very familiar with medical aerosols and the idea of delivering drugs and vaccine to the lungs. I think that Senator Schumer, at the end of December, before the product launched, was sort of rightfully concerned about the energy drink problem with particularly young people, and mixing energy drinks with also alcohol. And neither of which we are encouraging, whatsoever, with the product. But nevertheless, there is, as you know, an atmosphere of concern about that combination.

The second thing, I think, is that this is a very new way of consuming food and drink. The idea of breathing it into your mouth. And so, it is natural that the senator was concerned and wanted to understand better what the product really was about. And so, we really welcome the dialogue with the FDA. It's completely normal and the FDA, indeed, said at the end of the summer that they would respond to the senator's questions. We think that's appropriate. And so, we think that the public deserves to understand the safety of the product, and I really thank you for giving me the opportunity to talk about it right now.

BANFIELD: Well, and I'm glad to talk to you, but I also want to play the devil's advocate. Because while I am a huge consumer of caffeine, I get up at 1:00 in the morning to come and do my job, I also know that I have to drink it. And so the delivery vehicle takes a little time. I actually e-mailed my colleague, Sanjay Gupta, who's going to be on the show a little later, and I said, how dangerous is this to take in a lot of caffeine, and if you want to take it in fast, take it in fast. And he told me, you've got to worry about the cardiac rhythm issues, things like Atrial Fibrillation, heart attacks can be a concern, also hypertension, anxiety. All these things don't sound very good. I've got to be honest with you, David. And if I had the access to do this every couple of seconds, I'm worried what it could do to me. Am I wrong?

EDWARDS: Well, I think that your concerns about having caffeine enter your body too quickly are absolutely justified. I'll reassure you that this product doesn't deliver caffeine into your body faster than other energy drinks or coffee. And so, we do -- we have, of course, done clinical studies internally to validate that the caffeine is being absorbed as it should. We're simply putting it into the mouth. We've done nothing to the caffeine to make it go into the body faster than it otherwise would.

What happens with the drink, and, you know, if I just say that the reason for this product, and it's not to replace coffee, but the advantage of the product is you don't have to drink. And so you can put caffeine in your body and you don't need to put it all in your body. And so you don't need to take an entire caffeine drink, energy drink, or an entire coffee, which we normally would because you can't really carry it with you. The advantage of this product is that you can actually take a little puff, have a little bit of caffeine, and take some caffeine later on and not have to have it all in your body at once. And so, in fact, you can actually get more boost out of less caffeine than the opposite. So the main point is that it doesn't enter your body faster than it would with a drink.

BANFIELD: Well, I'll be interesting to find out what the FDA discovers, if anything. And then maybe you -- there's some controversy, we'll have you back and we'll find out how things are going. But thanks and have fun in France while you're there, David.

EDWARDS: Thank you very much. Thank you, Ashleigh.

BANFIELD: All right. Take a look at some of the images now coming out of Afghanistan today. Yes, that's never good. Hundreds and hundreds of furious Afghans. They're demonstrating outside of our air base there, the Bagram Air Base. That's where all our guys are. And it's all because of what went on inside that air base. Korans and other religious material burned by U.S. troops. What were they doing and why? We'll explain in a moment.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BANFIELD: The burning of the Koran and other Islamic religious materials by U.S. troops has sparked outrage in Afghanistan. Take a look. Yes, that right there is hundreds of protesters swarming into the streets just outside the U.S. air base at Bagram. And they're shouting "death to America" and "death to the Afghan government" too. A military official says some of the material that was burned contained, quote, "extremist inscriptions," and that they may have been used to communicate extremist messages. Bagram is the major airfield for U.S. and NATO forces who are waging war against the Taliban. The U.S. commander of NATO forces was quick to apologize for this.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

GEN. JOHN R. ALLEN, ISAF COMMANDER: I offer my sincere apologies. As I have this morning in phone calls to a number of the senior Afghans here in Kabul, I offered my sincere apologies to the president, to the government of Afghanistan, but, most importantly, to the people. The noble people of Afghanistan.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BANFIELD: That may be the general saying that, but we also have the White House as well. The spokesperson saying, "we apologize to the Afghan people and disapprove of such conduct."

And, by the way, take a look at this picture, because it isn't the first time that Afghans have taken to the streets in protest for misuse of the Koran. This Florida pastor burned the Koran last year, and that triggered deadly protests right across Afghanistan and all around the world, in fact. Violence erupted in several Afghan cities, including an attack on a U.N. compound that killed 12 people.

CNN's Nick Paton Walsh joining us now for more on today's protests.

And I've got to say, Nick, that when I saw those pictures, I thought, they don't look good. But I'm just sort of curious if they're in check, if it's under control, or if this thing's getting out of hand?

NICK PATON WALSH, CNN CORRESPONDENT: No, so far, we understand, in Bagram, the protesters have gone home, understandable given the cold, the snow, frankly, and the fact it's long been dark in that part of the world. But exactly the area where NATO does not want to see a large number of angry Afghans. It's their operational hub, frankly, for much of the country, Bagram Airfield, where a lot of their operations from the east are supplied and controlled from. So a very bad scene for them, indeed. And as you can obviously image, as you alluded to yourself, the fear will be if this spreads over the coming weeks. We've seen protests like this happen before. Much of the transparency NATO has tried to have in the recent hours may not have a huge amount of impact in calming the anger of Afghans because we understand, actually, in the crowd, they were hearing that there'd actually been a mass burning of Korans inside the base, perhaps fueling some of that anger, untrue as the information was, actually.

BANFIELD: So, Nick, I want to add that the White House sort of put out this comment saying this was an unintentional action. And Jay Carney, the spokesperson at the White House says, this is under investigation by the International Security Assistance Force. And we just saw the general, who leads that force, apologizing. Apologies all around, it looks like, Nick.

But I am curious as to what the heck happened. Accident? Were they just getting rid of a lot of junk that piles up when you bring in people who bring in their material and leave it behind? Is there some thought this could have been intentional? What is the story?

WALSH: Well, it does almost beggar belief, to a certain extent, that something quite so culturally insensitive could be done by a force that's been there for a decade now. One military official gave me an explanation which seems to make some sense. He says that these were materials gathered inside the detention facility known as Par One (ph), adjacent, connected to the base, where many Afghan insurgents are held.

Apparently these pieces of religious texts were being used to pass messages they referred to as an extremist nature around and perhaps even out of that particular detention facility. They learn of this, they gather up the material, and then go to dispose of it. We don't quite know exactly what they originally planned. But it appears that disposal plan went wrong and these bags ended up, it seems, at the usual incinerator for trash on the base, causing local Afghan workers to find it and all of this furry to be sparked, Ashleigh.

BANFIELD: Well, it then makes sense that they would want to burn the stuff, especially if there were these naughty messages. But at the same time, I guess I understand the apologies for the way it was done. But clearly this isn't over.

Nick Paton Walsh, thank you very much. Appreciate that.

Got a shocking statistic for you. Are you sitting down? Out of all of America's teachers, less than 2 percent are black men. So there is a big push to get that changed. And, up and next, you will meet one amazing teacher leading the way and you'll find out why it is a critical move.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BANFIELD: Now, either I'm crazy or that's Jimi Hendrix and I'm feeling awesome right now. So this is a fundamental question, especially during an election year. What does it mean to be American? Over the past month or so, we asked our i-Reporters that question. We wanted them to share their personal stories. How they've seen the country change, ethnically, religiously, economically. And all this week we're sharing some of their stories with you. So today we head to Washington, D.C., and the story of a teacher. A teacher whose passion transcends his kindergarten class. Now, statistically, he is only one of a few African-American men at the head of that classroom, and he knows his role is as much as a mentor as an educator. And he says more black men need to step up to the plate and teach. George Howell explains.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

GEORGE HOWELL, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): In the heart of Anacostia, one of Washington, D.C.'s toughest neighborhood --

TERRIS KING, TEACHER, BISHOP JOHN T. WALKER SCHOOL: I'm not talking, so you shouldn't be talking.

HOWELL: Teachers are sometimes the last line of defense for children.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: G -- g -- g.

KING: It's a "g."

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: G -- g.

KING: A lot of them don't have a man at their home. A lot of them don't have a man to go to, to talk to.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We have art today.

KING: So it's going to be hard, guys, we have to focus, OK?

For a lot of them, I'm big brother or, you know, or dad. But it's important --

HOWELL (on camera): Dad?

KING: Well, for some of them. For some of them. For some of them, they don't have a father figure at home. And so when they get to school, for some of them, I am that figure.

Can we find another chair, Kyle (ph)?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes.

KING: Can you find another chair?

They need someone in their lives who's strong. They need an African- American man in their lives.

You can start on the second line.

HOWELL (voice-over): Terris King not only teaches the basics, but also finds himself teaching life lessons to the kindergarteners here at Bishop Walker School for boys. A school that serves just over 50 children from low-income homes. Statistically, King is what the secretary of education describes as a rarity in American classrooms.

ARNE DUNCAN, EDUCATION SECRETARY: About 17 percent of our children, our public school students across the nation are African-American. About 7 percent of our teachers are African-American. So less -- you know, very disproportionate. But if you look just on the male side, less than 2 percent, less than one in 50 of our teachers is an African-American male.

HOWELL (on camera): So a few years back, you launched this campaign to recruit more black male teachers. Has that been successful?

DUNCAN: Well, we have a long way to go, but it's been encouraging. So I think, again, the goal is not to have a black male teacher, the goal is to have a great black male teacher, or a great Hispanic male teacher or a great whatever teacher.

HOWELL (voice-over): To that end, Duncan says in his new budget the Department of Education will offer brand-new incentives to encourage school districts to raise the pay scale for starting teachers.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: All of our information is on there. And there's a link that says teacher training course.

HOWELL: As a teacher himself, working to recruit graduates at Morehouse College in Atlanta, Brandon Gillespie (ph) believes more pay is only part of the solution.

GILLESPIE: Some are pretty hesitant as based on the salary but, at the end of the day, salary shouldn't be one of the hugest factors. We should give back to our communities and educate our community.

HOWELL: Back in Washington, Terris King says he's trying to do just that.

KING: They love to learn, as you can see. My goal here every day is to make sure that they love to learn and that they're having fun but, at the same time, making sure that they can compete with anyone across the country when it comes to academics.

HOWELL: And King believes through his work here, he's preparing his boys to change their community.

KING: I am Terris King and we are America!

(SHOUTING)

HOWELL: George Howell, CNN, Washington.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BANFIELD: And for more of what it means to be American, just go to ireport.com/iamAmerica. Now, as we told you a little earlier, we've got an update from breaking news to tell you about. Los Angeles elementary school teacher who was accused of engaging in lewd acts with his students, he was supposed to be in court today to enter a plea in the case and, a few moments ago, this man did it, Mark Berndt entered a not guilty plea. He's facing 23 different counts.

And some of the accusations are so vile, we can't even describe them to you. But we can say this. At least some pictures show cockroaches crawling across children's faces. Other photographs depicted sexual acts in nature. He's being held on $23 million bail. It is $1 million for each of the charges he's facing. And now we at least know this. There's a preliminary hearing that's been set for him and it will get underway on March 28th.

Coming up, for voters out there who do not like Mitt Romney, there is Rick Santorum or Newt Gingrich. And if you don't like them, there's Ron Paul. So if you're still on the fence and you don't like any of them, what's in there for you? Apparently, you are not alone. So could a new candidate be entering the race? A whole bunch of whisper rumors going on. We'll sort it out, give you the facts, talk about. It is "Fair Game." It's all up next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BANFIELD: All right. So, this is the part of the show where we go to the heart of the political debate where all sides are "Fair Game."

Rick Santorum opened up a double-digit lead over Mitt Romney in the latest Gallup poll. But you know something, that might be good news, but there's other news out there that might not be so good, not for him, anyway. Check this out. "USA Today" and Gallup have this poll showing that 55 percent of people just aren't satisfied with any of them, the four candidates. None. So they can't all be Rick Perry or Herman Cain supporters, now, can they? So just exactly who do people want if they don't like the four they've got?

Joining me now, CNN contributor and Democratic strategist, Maria Cardona, and Republican strategist, Ana Navarro.

We are going to have some fun, ladies. You ready?

(LAUGHTER)

Since those four aren't doing the trick for a lot of Americans or at least GOP voters, anyway, I have lined up a flip chart for us to take a look-see at some of the other super heroes that could swoop in. Sarah Palin as well as Chris Christie. I wish I had a drum beat or something.

(LAUGHTER)

Indiana Governor Mitch Daniels, much talked about. And also, former Florida governor, Jeb Bush. All of them glossy, lovely, wonderful. People are begging for these people to enter the race. But I'm going to start with you, Ana.

They have warts too. The grass is not always greener. So what's everybody's freaking out over?

ANA NAVARRO, REPUBLICAN STRATEGIST: Well, it's worse than they have warts. They don't want to do it. I ran into Jeb Bush just a couple of days ago and he thinks all this talk is crazy. He's not open to it at all. So we just have to stop being wishful thinkers and get on to what we have on our plate.

BANFIELD: So not only him, but also Marco Rubio, right? I hear the way politicians answer those questions, and I'm sure you are astute in the way you asked the question. But did they say something cagey, like, this time, it's not my attention, or were they really definitive?

(LAUGHTER)

NAVARRO: No, listen, Jeb Bush is a great guy. He's a serious guy. He doesn't play games. It's not like he's scheming in his office and counting up delegates and figuring out how he's going to jump on stage and run away with the trophy while the other four are bickering amongst each other.

(LAUGHTER)

He's just not open to that. It's not in the cards for him.

BANFIELD: So you got the straight dope.

All right, so, jump in, Maria, because this constant nattering sound of brokered convention keeps coming up. And I'm sort of curious as to just exactly what that would solve in all of this. Because I don't see any of these four or anybody else, for that matter, swooping in and saying, vote for me.

MARIA CARDONA, DEMOCRATIC STRATEGIST & CNN CONTRIBUTOR: Well, I don't know. The last time Sarah Palin jumped in and opined about this, she kind of left quite a big opening, in case there was this sort of talk when we got to the convention and people were not satisfied with the candidates.

Look, this is a real possibility now. A month ago, it might have been, at least for Democrats, wishful thinking. But we are seeing more what the polls show, which is there is no enthusiasm for any of the GOP candidates. And frankly, it's because they're not talking to the people they need to be talking to. You had Rick Santorum yesterday comparing the Obama administration with Hitler, for god's sake. His positions on women, oh my God.

(CROSSTALK)

BANFIELD: You're jumping! You are good at your job.

(LAUGHTER) But he backed off on that. So let's get Hitler out of this show.

(LAUGHTER)

This is not FOX News channel. Stop, already! Let me move to the money, OK?

CARDONA: His words, not mine.

(LAUGHTER)

BANFIELD: Yes, but he really did tamped it down and mitigated what he said about that.

Let's move to money. There's been a whole lot of shaking going on when it comes to the piggy bank. Mitt Romney was leading the way in January, raising money for his campaign. $6.5 million coming in. Newt Gingrich behind him at $5.6 million. Both Rick Santorum and Ron Paul were tied at $4.5 million apiece. This year, particularly, super PACs are the big story. It doesn't count that the super PAC money. And Rick Santorum has picked himself up another $1 million man out there, a big, big money giver. So I thought with all this mojo that Rick Santorum would be pulling in a lot more money. But it still looks like Mitt Romney is out in the lead.

Ana, is that going to change any?

NAVARRO: Well, that was the picture for January. And it was, I think, an accurate snapshot in time for January. But, you know, January was just three weeks ago. And that seems like it was a century ago.

BANFIELD: Yes.

NAVARRO: Back in January, Gingrich had the mojo for the first two weeks. Romney had it for the last two weeks. He left Florida the conquering hero and now look where we are. So a lot has changed since January. I think the numbers you just read are an accurate reflection of what happened in January.

BANFIELD: But is that going to change? Yes, January was a century ago in politics, especially on this rollercoaster, but I tend to think the money takes a little time to catch up.

Maria, what do you think?

CARDONA: Yes, I think that's exactly right, Ashleigh. But what was interesting to me about the numbers -- and Ana's correct -- that last month or in January, Romney was still seen as the conquering hero, especially coming out of Florida. But he didn't really outpace his Republican -- the other Republican contenders by all that much. They are sort of equal, which tells me that his money is starting to diminish.

Now, we haven't taken into consideration the super PACs, though. Clearly, the super PAC money here is what is going to make the difference. And what we're seeing, the kind of money that Mitt Romney's super PAC is spending in Michigan, he's going to try to do to Santorum exactly what he did in Florida, which is just eviscerate him and carpet bomb him until the only thing, the only outcome possible is for him to come out the winner. We'll see if it works, because Santorum really is, I think, surging, because clearly, none of the other candidates are speaking to the issues that are so important to conservatives right now.

NAVARRO: I'll tell you what it speaks to me --

(CROSSTALK)

NAVARRO: One of the big problems is that Romney --

(CROSSTALK)

BANFIELD: Go ahead, real quick.

NAVARRO: A lot of his money comes from traditional donors, comes from the large Republican donors. And you tap out those donors sooner or later. Whereas, you've got folks like Santorum, even Ron Paul, who do money bombs through e-mails and raise millions of dollars through e-mail. Romney seems to not have been able to tap into that base for money donations yet.

BANFIELD: There's the big "Y," the big yet. And not only that, we haven't even touched on the Sheldon Adelsons of the world some day.

(LAUGHTER)

That's all I'm saying. This is what this says to me.

(CROSSTALK)

NAVARRO: I want to be adopted by the Adelsons.

(LAUGHTER)

BANFIELD: I am -- you get behind me in line, my friend.

Ana Navarro and Maria Cardona, it's good to talk to you.

CARDONA: You guys can compete for that.

(LAUGHTER)

BANFIELD: Talk to you soon!

OK. Seeing all the physical signs of addiction, often very painful and very obvious. But what about on the inside? What's going on in the body? Coming up next, some fascinating new research that actually shows what addiction does to your brain physically. My pal, my colleague, Dr. Sanjay Gupta, joining me for that story.

Sanjay, I can't wait to talk to you, my friend.

DR. SANJAY GUPTA, CNN CHIEF MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT: We've got a lot to discuss.

BANFIELD: We're going in depth, next.

GUPTA: All right.

BANFIELD: Be right back, my friend.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BANFIELD: Whitney Houston's battle with drug addiction may or may not have played a role in her death, but either way, it has brought to the light the issue of addiction in the United States. According to the national survey on drug use and health, 23 million of us are battling with addiction to drugs and alcohol. Break that down, that's approximately one in every 10 Americans over the age of 12. Staggering numbers. And now new research is revealing that substance abuse causes lasting changes in brain function. The result, cravings as powerful as thirst or hunger.

Dr. Sanjay Gupta is here to explain.

You know, up until now, I did not know that it could be this critical, that it could be this serious, Sanjay.

GUPTA: Well, people don't think of this as a brain disease. Just calling it that, as you just did, changes the way people think about this in the first place. And we have real science now to sort of back that up, Ashleigh. And this is obviously a very fertile area of research.

But here's the way I put it. And this is somewhat simplistic, but I think important. You know, people have what they call an anticipation of taking some sort of thing, whether it be sugar to a drug, the anticipation that it's going to make you feel good. And take a look at this animation. We showed this a little bit earlier, but let me explain this, Ashleigh. You take something and you see these white particles that are released? That's dopamine. That's the feel-good substance. It makes you euphoric. It makes you feel good. You say, I like that, I like the way it makes me feel. But now take a look at this picture. I want to explain this to you. On the left, a nondrug user. See how it stays bright, Ashleigh? That sense of well- being persists. But on the right, a person who is an addict, it starts to diminish. Why is that important? Because it doesn't last very long, and as a result, the person takes more and more of the substance to preserve that feeling of well-being.

And that's sort of a little bit of an example or an explanation of how addiction develops in the brain and what it looks like.

BANFIELD: I've always been concerned about the permanence of this kind of damage. And I remember the ads long ago, this is your brain, and this is your brain on drugs. It is something that you can recuperate from?

GUPTA: Well, this is a -- you know what, a somewhat controversial area of science. But here's the way that I would put it is the sort of idea that the brain can eventually go back to a brain that has normal senses of euphoria in response to whatever, response to sugar, in response to whatever it may be, I think that can happen. People say three days after leaving a substance, there's acute withdrawal, which is painful. Three months is the most sort of vulnerable people where someone could have a relapse. And three years before that brain could go back to what it was.

But what doesn't change, Ashleigh, is the memory of the addiction. Let's say you're a cigarette smoker. You stop smoking for 10 years, but pick up a cigarette again, and very quickly you can go back into a state of addiction. Whereas, if you were never a smoker and you pick up a cigarette, it would take you some time to build up to an addiction. If that makes sense, it's this idea that your brain doesn't forget, even though it can heal itself.

BANFIELD: So that old adage that once an addict, always an addict, that's the plain and simple truth?

GUPTA: I think there is truth to that. Again, that's more than anecdotal. I think there's physiology now, actually scanning people's brains and being able to prove that. So it's not a disease. Again, a disease is the important term here, that can be cured, so to speak. But it is one that can be very effectively treated so people can live a normal life, they can live a normal life span. But, again, the relapse rate is very high because of some of those brain images that I just showed you.

BANFIELD: Can I just throw food in there as well? Is it as strong as the other afflictions?

GUPTA: Some people say sugar, for example, the addiction to sugar can even be stronger than some elicit drugs. They've shown this in animal studies across the world. Now they're showing it in human studies as well. I just visited a place in Oregon where they're showing that exact thing.

BANFIELD: That's just fascinating.

Sanjay, thanks so much. Really appreciate that.

GUPTA: Thank you, Ashleigh. Really good to see you.

BANFIELD: I should say, Dr. Gupta.

(LAUGHTER)

GUPTA: Call me Sanjay.

(LAUGHTER)

BANFIELD: You got that right.

I want to let our friends out there, also, Sanjay, know that you've got your "Sanjay Gupta, M.D." every Saturday and Sunday morning, 7:30 eastern, right here on CNN, so folks can tune in for that as well. So if anyone's going to offer advice to up-and-coming superstar, Jeremy Lin, it's this guy right here. You know him, Tim Tebow. He's got a message to the Knicks' new phenomenon and you're about to hear it.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BANFIELD: Time now to check our top stories making news at "Street Level."

In New Brunswick, New Jersey, jury selection begins in the case of a former Rutgers University student, Dharun Ravi. He allegedly streamed images of his roommate, Tyler Clemente, with another man in 2022 and then secretly broadcast the images, sexual images, live over the Internet. It wasn't long before Clemente committed suicide, sparking a debate over cyber bullying and gay teen suicide. Ravi is accused of bias, intimidation and a hate crime as well as invasion of privacy and other charges, too.

A report from Des Moines, Iowa points to a nationwide trend. More and more women are buying and carrying handguns. Manufacturers call it the pistol-packing princess movement. I'm not kidding, pistol-packing princess movement. Women can buy purses now with special holsters built in. You can even buy paint handguns. In Des Moines -- get this -- twice as many women as men now have a permit to own a gun.

Frightening story from Rockingham, North Carolina. Bats infesting a hospital. Staffers caught a bunch of bats and they're on the hunt for more. It got so bad over the weekend that Richmond County Hospital all but shut its doors. Only the E.R. stayed open. Patients had to be evacuated. One obvious concern, rabies. But also bat droppings can make you sick. There is no decision yet today from the health department on when that hospital would be able to reopen.

Now to Santa Monica, California, and the Hall of Game awards. On the red carpet, quarterback, Tim Tebow, has advice for the sudden superstar, Jeremy Lin. Be true to yourself, he says. And after all, Tebow knows a little something, something about handling overnight celebrity. Here's something for you, you might not know. Trivia, courtesy, ESPN. In Lin's and Tebow's fifth pro games, both went 9 for 20 and scored the winning points. How about that?

So this time last week we were all scratching our heads over "The Colbert Reports'" serious blackout. But have no fear, the show is back, and so is Mr. Colbert. And he had a pretty good excuse, too.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BANFIELD: In New York City, the audience absolutely loved it -- Steven Colbert back at his desk. Take a look.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

(APPLAUSE)

STEPHEN COLBERT, HOST, THE COLBERT REPORT: Thank you, ladies and gentlemen.

(APPLAUSE)

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BANFIELD: That dude is a movement, isn't he? The star of Comedy Central's "Colbert Report," disappeared for a couple days, shutting down production. People were worried. The rumors started to fly. Is he in rehab? Is the show canceled? Is he having plastic surgery? It was none of the above, folks. It was his 91-year-old mom. She wasn't feeling well, and Colbert went to be by her side.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

COLBERT: Evidently, having 11 children makes you tough as nails. Confidential to a lovely lady.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BANFIELD: Adorable. And by the way, Colbert is the youngest of those 11 children. He tweeted that he is touched by the concern of his fans. And they are thrilled that he is back.

So all eyes now are going to be on Arizona for tomorrow night, big GOP debate. Haven't had one in a while. Pretty excited about it. The last one, too, before Tuesday's primaries. And not surprisingly, the new frontrunner, Rick Santorum, catching some heat.

We're going to have an updated Gallup poll on the race, and our Paul Steinhauser is live from Arizona.

Do you have some of those fresh polls right out of the oven?

PAUL STEINHAUSER, CNN DEPUTY POLITICAL DIRECTOR: I've got some brand new numbers, Ashleigh, just for you, and our viewers, of course. Take a look at this. This is the Gallop daily tracking poll. They do it every day. That's why it's daily. Here you go. Once again, Rick Santorum, former Senator from Pennsylvania, in the top spot. Ten points ahead of Mitt Romney.

This is Republicans nationwide. You can see Gingrich and Ron Paul, the congressman from Texas, down lower. Not much changing in the national polls. But, Ashleigh, this is, as you know, a race between the delegates. That's why this debate tomorrow night right behind me here in Mesa, Arizona, is so crucial. Polls indicate it's a pretty tight race here in Arizona and Michigan one week before those big primaries.

BANFIELD: Any buzz about who is going to be doing what? It seems there is always a big moment that comes out of these debates.

STEINHAUSER: Oh, yes. And I think you're going to look to see if Newt Gingrich can have a big breakout performance. He needs something to generate some mojo right now. As for Rick Santorum, he's going to be in the spotlight. He's definitely going to be coming under attack, probably from Mitt Romney, and the other candidates as well. This is the last debate before the primaries and the Super Tuesday primaries as well -- Ashleigh?

BANFIELD: And that is why you are the political editor of CNN.

Paul Steinhauser, thank you so much for that.

(LAUGHTER)

Appreciate it. You're going to busy in the next few days.

Thank you everyone for watching today. It's nice to be stepping in for Randi. CNN NEWSROOM is continuing right now with my colleague Brooke Baldwin, who's doing the duty from Atlanta. Hey there, Brooke.

BROOKE BALDWIN: Hey there. Good to see you again. I saw you from my treadmill nice and early, and here you are again Ashleigh Banfield. Thank you.