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Violent Storms Hit Kansas and Missouri; Romney Wins Michigan and Arizona Primaries; Voters Frustrated with Washington; 911 Calls from Inside School; Romney Wins Michigan & Arizona; Helping Chardon's Children Heal; Dow at 4-Year High; Revolutionizing Reproduction
Aired February 29, 2012 - 09:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
SOLEDAD O'BRIEN, CNN HOST: "CNN NEWSROOM" -- you guys just keep going. "CNN NEWSROOM" with Fredricka Whitfield begins right now. I'll see you back here tomorrow morning at 7:00 a.m.
Hey, Fred, good morning.
FREDRICKA WHITFIELD, CNN ANCHOR: All right. Thanks so much. Good to see you.
All right. Good morning, everyone. I'm Fredricka Whitfield in for Kyra Phillips. We start this hour with a deadly outbreak of tornadoes in the Central Plains.
That's a tornado dropping out of the night sky in Reno County, Kansas. Reports of several tornadoes hitting parts of that state overnight. The sheriff in Harveyville, Kansas, reports a twister destroyed about half the town. And severe weather is blamed in the death of a woman in Dallas County, Missouri. Tornadoes also caused damage in nearby Branson in a popular tourist spot.
The cleanup is beginning today for people in those hard-hit areas. Rob Marciano is here to give us some details about what happened and what's ahead potentially -- Rob.
ROB MARCIANO, AMS METEOROLOGIST: Widespread storm with damage -- tornadoes touching down as far north as Nebraska. By the way, that's the first time on record that we've seen a tornado in Nebraska during the month of February even though this is a leap year.
We are looking at -- right now let's take a look at some of the -- some of the shots. If we have the aerials throw those up because now that sun is off across Harveyville, and that's one of the hardest hit spots. And reports of injuries and widespread damage but no report of fatalities there.
Unfortunately, from that storm moving off to the east we had reports of damage in Branson, Missouri, another separate storm just to the north of that. In Buffalo, Missouri, where there was a fatality. Those storms pushing off further to the east in through Illinois, Indiana, and now in through Kentucky.
Here's what that swath of storm damage looks like on the map. Over 100 wind reports some of which over 70 miles an hour and at least 15 reports of tornadoes right now. Tornado warning in effect right now for Grayson County, that's in central parts of Kentucky with this particular shell that has a history of producing a tornado. We had reports of tornadoes and damage in through this area just south and east of Evansville in the town of Newberg Indiana. No reports of injuries there.
But back in through Illinois and certainly back in through Missouri we've had significant damage there.
All right, where is all this going? We have tornado watches now that have been posted just south and east of the area until 1:00 for parts of Ohio, parts of Kentucky, and parts of Tennessee. As a matter of fact the storms' prediction center has up the ante as far as increasing the threat for seeing severe weather as we go throughout the day today.
The flip side, the north side of this thing, Fredricka, is we got a full on blizzard going across parts of the Dakotas with snow blowing sideways and some interstates and some spots are shutting down because of low visibility. And this is all going towards the east and northeast with some snow for Boston tomorrow -- Fredricka.
WHITFIELD: All right. Crazy weather all across the map. All right. Thanks so much, Rob.
All right, now to the Republican race for the White House. And Mitt Romney rebounds and once again bolsters his claim as the party's frontrunner. In Arizona he breezed a victory. He got nearly as many votes as three challengers combined. In Michigan where Romney grew up the race was tighter and much more crucial. He narrowly edged Rick Santorum 41 percent to 38 percent.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
MITT ROMNEY (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: And in this room are the people who knock on the doors and made the calls and went to the polls. And it made an enormous difference. We didn't win by a lot but we won by enough and that's all that counts.
(CHEERS AND APPLAUSE)
(END VIDEO CLIP)
WHITFIELD: All right. Political editor Paul Steinhauser is with us now on the phone from Pontiac, Michigan.
So, Paul, you know Romney won by a mere three percentage points. Is that really enough to kind of revitalize his campaign?
PAUL STEINHAUSER, CNN POLITICAL EDITOR: It's enough to -- Fred, what if he had lost Michigan, right? Let's just say he had lost Michigan, his home state, what do you think the story line would be this morning? So I think he did what he had to do, which was win. It wasn't pretty. Even he admitted it was an ugly win. But a win is a win and we're talking today about him winning, and not losing. And that would have been a very different story line. But you look at the polls here in Michigan, Romney still has a problem, Fred, with very conservative voters. The exit polls indicate that among those people Rick Santorum was the first choice. So, yes, it was a win for Romney but he still has trouble ahead on Super Tuesday, no doubt about that.
WHITFIELD: OK. So it was very narrow between Romney and Santorum. So should Santorum feel rather revitalized himself because it was so close?
STEINHAUSER: Oh, yes. In fact, and that's what Santorum -- our Jim Acosta, our national political correspondent, teemed up with Santorum last night after the victory celebration, I guess you could call it a victory celebration, and that's what Santorum said, listen, this was Mitt Romney's home state and he only won by three points. That's not much of a win.
Take a listen to what Santorum said in his speech last night.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
RICK SANTORUM (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: You know, we came into the backyard of one of my opponents in a race that everyone said, well, just ignore, you have really no chance here. And the people of Michigan looked into the hearts of the candidates and all I have to say is, I love you back. Thank you.
(CHEERS AND APPLAUSE)
(END VIDEO CLIP)
STEINHAUSER: Mitt Romney was forced to spend a lot of money in his home state. And so they look at this as almost a win. They're going to get a lot of delegates out of it. Right now of the 30 delegates in Michigan, 11 for Santorum, 11 for Romney with eight still to be divided up. So Santorum campaign very happy.
And, Fred, now we move on to Super Tuesday. We got those 10 states next Tuesday. And guess what, in a couple of them, like the biggest one, especially Ohio, also Tennessee and Oklahoma, as of now Rick Santorum is on top in the public opinion polls. So we move on.
WHITFIELD: All right. Very good. Thanks so much, Paul. Appreciate that. Coming to us from Michigan, Pontiac.
All right, the two other Republican candidates in last night's primaries are already looking ahead to Super Tuesday now just six days away in those 10 states as Paul was saying. Ron Paul and Newt Gingrich say they are picking their battles and expect to score big when those 10 states take part in that one day bonanza.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
REP. RON PAUL (R-TX), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: We're very pleased with our strategy. I mean, we're accumulating delegates and we will continue to work on the caucus states where, you know, our investment can pay off more and that is our strategy. And right now we're not disappointed.
NEWT GINGRICH (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: I'm looking forward to next Tuesday. And we, frankly, made a decision that we'd put our resources into next Tuesday and beyond and recognize that we weren't in a position to compete head to head in Michigan.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
WHITFIELD: All right. Today three of the four candidates will visit Super Tuesday states. Newt Gingrich in Georgia, which he represented in Congress for 20 years. Mitt Romney visits the battleground state of Ohio. And Rick Santorum stumps in Tennessee.
And in just about 10 minutes or so from now we'll take a closer look at Super Tuesday and how last night's results will set the stage. We'll talk to CNN senior political analyst Ron Brownstein.
All right, now to Arizona where Mitt Romney won as well.
CNN's Suzanne Malveaux talked to voters there frustrated with this political process.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Guys want to go swimming today?
SUZANNE MALVEAUX, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): The (INAUDIBLE) family, former political junkies, on the road with no destination.
JIM BELIER, POLITICALLY UNPLUGGED: We lost three friends. They died in their '30s in the last few years, college friends. And we're, like, we're not guaranteed our tomorrow.
MALVEAUX: So they dropped everything, unplugged completely, pulled up their roots, and hit the road.
BLEIER: We're traveling around and seeing sites and home- schooling the kids. And so we moved from an 8200-square foot house with three acres to this. And you'll be surprised --
MALVEAUX (on camera): Wow.
BLEIER: You'll be surprised how little you can live on.
MALVEAUX (voice-over): Living off the rent they make from modest real estate investments, this is their home now.
BLEIER: Lost a lot. Yes. Stock market, real estate values. We've met so many people that have lost their homes and are living full time on the road in a little trailer.
MALVEAUX: Jim voted for Bush and then McCain but this time he sees it differently.
(On camera): What are the choices when you look at -- (LAUGHTER)
MALVEAUX: The politics, the political landscape?
BLEIER: I'm a little unconventional in that regard. You know, to me it's a diary, a milkshake or a (INAUDIBLE) sandwich. Those are the two choices.
MALVEAUX (voice-over): But he's not an Obama fan either.
BLEIER: I think the second term can be worse. I don't believe you can spend your way out of a recession. I think both parties are trying to take the power over many and put it in the hands of a few. And it's just, you know, bigger government and just not interested, not at all.
MALVEAUX (on camera): Don't want to engage?
BLEIER: No. If we thought we could make a difference, then yes. I think the Tea Party movement's good. I don't know what's going to happen and I'm a believer that if we focus on our family and focus on our friends and family and people that we can help, our lifestyles, our life, quality of life will be greatly improved.
MALVEAUX: I'm sitting here. It's hard to understand in some ways because I think, well, maybe I could convince you to, like, vote or look or follow this person, but not really, right, because you feel empowered to take care of your family and your -- the people that immediately around you?
BLEIER: Yes. We don't care about the big picture anymore.
MALVEAUX (voice-over): So each day they head out for another adventure, running from the traditional notion of the American dream. And they're not looking back.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
MALVEAUX: Fred, it was really fascinating to watch and to see the Bleier family. They meet so many people who are on the road. They -- you know, their answer to feeling that the process is not working seems somewhat extreme to a lot of folks, but there are people here who say, look, the Republicans, the Democrats, either way they really feel disappointed. They feel like it's a system and a process that is broken in Washington and that government is not helping them fix their problems.
So on the one hand you have Romney winning here the primary but still a lot of people, Republicans as well as Democrats, who feel like fundamentally there's something flawed with the way things -- with the way politics are playing out in our nation's capitol, Fred.
WHITFIELD: So, Suzanne, other people on the road? Was this mindset kind of the, you know, common thread?
MALVEAUX: What was a common thread was that people really didn't know who they wanted to support. When we talked to people before the primary a lot of people, there's a sense of apathy, if you will, among voters, that they felt like none of these candidates they were particularly crazy about. The Republicans. And there were also a lot of people who were frustrated with president Obama as well.
So kind of the over arching theme, if you will, is that people feel not connected to what's happening in Washington and not connected to these politicians. They're looking for people that they can relate to, that understand their problems, that they get it and that they can help them better their own lives.
WHITFIELD: All right. Suzanne Malveaux joining us from Phoenix, Arizona. Thanks so much.
In Chardon, Ohio, this morning teachers are returning to work at Chardon High. And the school doors are being opened to any students who want to come in and talk with the counselors there about Monday's deadly shooting. A third student, 16-year-old Demetrius Hewlin, has died. Daniel Parmertor was also killed. And doctors say Russell King, Jr. is brain dead. And we have the frantic calls to 9-1-1 from students inside the school when this shooting began Monday morning.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED DISPATCH: Did you see the shooter? Are you a student?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes. Yes, I'm a student. I was right by the shooter when he pulled the gun.
UNIDENTIFIED DISPATCH: OK. Who was the shooter?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: His name is Thomas Lane.
UNIDENTIFIED DISPATCH: Can you tell him any tooth? How many ?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I saw him take out two and then I was -- I was gone. I was out of there.
UNIDENTIFIED DISPATCH: OK. Were the students still alive?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I don't know, ma'am. I didn't even check. I just got out of there as fast as I could.
UNIDENTIFIED DISPATCH: OK. But they went down, right?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes. They were -- they were laying on the ground in blood.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
WHITFIELD: Boy, the voice is so calm.
Ted Rowlands is in Chardon, Ohio this morning.
So, Ted, are all the teachers back in school. As well as I know in a lot of the counselors have showed up as well.
TED ROWLANDS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes, the teachers are arriving just now, actually. They started to arrive at the top of the hour here. And they are being checked off. There's a security perimeter around the school so that only teachers and employees come to the school today. And they are coming here, I just talked to the superintendent a few moments ago, they're coming to heal themselves and to come back and reintroduce themselves, if you will, to the scene of this crime, this horrific shooting. The cafeteria, et cetera. And prepare for students to come back.
Tomorrow parents are invited to come to the school to do much the same thing with their students. So they'll spend the day, these next two days, trying to establish some sort of normalcy and then on Friday classes will resume.
WHITFIELD: And so what more are we learning about that assistant football coach who's being called a hero, Ted?
ROWLANDS: Well, he's been told by the district not to do any extended interviews. I just asked the superintendent that question actually a few minutes ago. Because everybody wants to talk to this guy. The students that witnessed this all have said that he really did push the shooter out, T.J. Lane, he chased him out of the school. He was shot at apparently by T.J. Lane, luckily missed.
We did get a little bit of an interview of such from his home. Take a listen. He didn't say much. But this is what he said to our affiliate yesterday afternoon.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
FRANK HALL, CHARDON HIGH SCHOOL ASST. FOOTBALL COACH: I just want to say that I'm sorry to the families, to the victims. I wish I could have done more.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ROWLANDS: And that's Frank Hall. He is an assistant football coach, an employee of the school here. He was in the cafeteria at the time of the shooting and is being credited for pushing this young man, T.J. Lane hall -- T.J. out of this school and actually chasing him off the ground.
Obviously a lot of people would like a lot more from him, but right now the school district's telling him and all the other teachers not to talk to the media and just concentrate on getting ready for the students' return.
WHITFIELD: All right. Ted Rowlands, thanks so much from Chardon, Ohio.
All right. Next more political coverage. We'll preview super Tuesday, and a look at how last night's results will set the stage for that big political day.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
WHITFIELD: All right. Back now to presidential politics. Mitt Romney likely has a new spring in his step this morning. The Republican won yesterday's primaries in both Michigan and Arizona, and fortified his claim to being the party's front-runner. Rick Santorum finished second in both contests.
Let's take a closer look at what all of this might mean.
Ron Brownstein is a senior political analyst and editorial director of "The National Journal," joining us from New York.
Good to see you.
RON BROWNSTEIN, CNN SENIOR POLITICAL ANALYST: Good morning, Fred.
WHITFIELD: OK. So, Ron, you know, Romney won the night but are the results enough to tamp down the threat from Santorum? It was awfully close?
BROWNSTEIN: It was. It was a very narrow victory for Romney in Michigan. It was probably necessary but not sufficient to stabilize him in this campaign. As Paul Steinhauser noted earlier, there were lots of reasons for Rick Santorum to feel good about what happened in Michigan.
But I would add, there was one reason/sign for real concern which is that Santorum did very well with the groups, really the ideological vanguard of the GOP coalition. Evangelical Christians, Tea Party activists, voters who call themselves very conservative. He didn't reach enough beyond that in Michigan. He didn't -- he lost, for example, Catholics. He only ran about even among blue collar Republicans.
And in the end, if all he can do is mobilize that very conservative core, he can threaten Romney but he probably can't beat him. He's going to have to expand his reach to really overcome Romney's other advantages, especially with more upscale Republican voters.
WHITFIELD: All right. So, perhaps that chance comes next week, Super Tuesday. Ten states, 437 delegates up for grabs.
So, last night's results, do you see it making an influential impact on the upcoming races?
BROWNSTEIN: Well, yes. This has been -- look, in the history of presidential primaries it's sort of like billiard. Each shot resets the whole table for everything that comes later.
The demography here is key. There are states that look like Michigan but are tilted further in that socially conservative direction like Oklahoma and Tennessee where Santorum will run very well. Romney has advantage in places like Massachusetts, Vermont, and Virginia, where he and Ron Paul are the only ones on the ballot.
There are some caucus states, but that leaves you like Ohio, probably as the critical battleground -- very similar to Michigan, a heavily blue collar Republican Party. There are slightly more evangelicals in Ohio than in Michigan. So, that helps Santorum. Romney doesn't have the home state advantage in Ohio so that helps Santorum.
But ultimately, Rick Santorum is going to have to show that he can hold his lead in Ohio for a week as Romney concentrates that organizational and financial fire power on the state, which is what enabled him to turn around Michigan and for that matter, Florida before against Newt Gingrich.
WHITFIELD: Well, you talk about Ohio being a pivotal, important state. However, a lot of the candidates are focusing on other more specific states -- specifically in the South. Big mistake or is that just what a candidate has to do, have a strategy?
BROWNSTEIN: I think you'll see both. As I said, I mean, I think that Rick Santorum has a lot of opportunity in places like Oklahoma and Tennessee where the electorate is very heavily tilted toward those Christian conservatives.
But if that's all he can win, Fred, in the end, he will threaten Romney but probably not overtake him. Santorum has to go beyond that and show he can win that working class Republican constituency because Mitt Romney showed again in Michigan for the managerial side of the party, people are college educated, 100,000 plus, more secular, he is a strong candidate. He'd run very well with them. He's run well with them in every state he's won.
In every state with an exit poll, he's won voters that consider themselves evangelical Christians. Santorum has to go beyond his ideological vanguard to really topple him.
WHITFIELD: So if not for presidential politics, this really would be the lead. Republican Senator Olympia Snowe of Maine, you know, saying she is not going to seek re-election. So, what does this do to the balance of power?
BROWNSTEIN: Yes. This is potentially a critical development. Look, Democrats have a number of seats that are vulnerable. They now hold 53 seats in the Senate. They have to defend 23 in November. And they have a bunch that they could lose.
One of the keys is how many Republican-leaning states they could pick, Republican-held states they could pick up. Massachusetts and Nevada have been their only two opportunities so far. But with Olympia Snowe leaving the race, they might be able to win Maine as well.
Of course, if they can pick up three seats or even two of those three seats, it steepens the hill that Republicans have to climb to take control, especially if Obama wins re-election and could break the tie in a 50-50 sense.
So, yes. So, this significantly increases the odds of Democrats holding the Senate because it gives them the opportunity to offset what will certainly be some losses of their own with victories and potential victories in Republican hill terrain.
WHITFIELD: All right. Ron Brownstein, always good to see you. Thanks so much from New York.
BROWNSTEIN: Thank you, Fred.
WHITFIELD: All right. Kids from Chardon High School are facing a long road after the shock from Monday's deadly shooting. Straight ahead: a specialist will tell us about the steps to healing and recovery for them.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
WHITFIELD: All right. This just in: James Murdoch, the youngest son of Rupert Murdoch, has announced that he is stepping down from his position as executive chairman of News International. News Corps, as you know, have been at the center of a hacking scandal. We're working to get further details and bring them to you as soon as we can.
An interesting story coming out of Brazil this morning.
CNN's Zain Verjee has a story of what could be the worst fake ID in history -- but for a moment it was effective, wasn't it, Zain?
ZAIN VERJEE, CNN INTERNATIONAL ANCHOR: Some people just can't handle the truth, Fred. They can't lie very well either.
You know, this is basically what happened. There's this guy called Ricardo Barros, he's 41 years old. He went off to a bank to try and open the account. And so, they asked the basic question, can we see some ID.
So, he fishes out some ID and he hands them a picture of Jack Nicholson, which, of course, nobody would recognize, right? Well, anyway, they -- in Brazil, they looked at it and said, wait a minute, this is Jack Nicholson, not you.
It ended up breaking open a case that police had been pursuing for about three months or so because there was a guy out using people's IDs, opening credit cards, had various correct books.
They basically busted him and are investigating the situation, and how he managed to do this.
With all of these credit cards under various names and identities, the only thing, Fred, to his credit was that he didn't sign the name Jack Nicholson. He used another one, Eduardo Pedro dos Santos.
Who cares, but it was the worst fake ID effort ever.
WHITFIELD: But then that's just one of his stack of fake IDs. So, somewhere along the line someone brought that --
VERJEE: Something is working.
WHITFIELD: Yes. All right. Zain, thanks so much.
VERJEE: It was dumb to use Jack.
WHITFIELD: Right.
All right. Back in this country -- kids from Chardon high are facing a very long road to get over the shock from Monday's shooting. Straight ahead, a specialist will tell us the steps to overcome grief.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
WHITFIELD: Checking our top stories now.
One person is dead and three others are missing after a Coast Guard helicopter crashed in Mobile Bay, Alabama. The crew was on a training mission when the chopper went down last night. A search continues for the missing crew members.
Egyptian authorities and state media report that investigators have arrested an al Qaeda leader. They say Seif al-Adel was arrested at Cairo's airport after arriving on a flight. But authorities are still working to confirm the man's identity.
Opposition activists in Syria say children are among the victims of attacks by government forces. A witness says this video shows a boy under rubble in the city of Homs. The opposition says another boy, a 13-year-old, was killed by sniper fire today.
Shock, numbness, a state of disbelief, feelings that your safe world has been shattered. These are emotions the students at Chardon High could be feeling in the aftermath of Monday's shooting.
Dale Atkins is a psychologist who specializes in focusing on families and managing stress. She's joining us right now from New York.
Good to see you.
DALE ATKINS, PSYCHOLOGIST: Good morning. Nice to see you.
WHITFIELD: So let's begin by asking you, you know, the grief counseling that is being offered -- what are the signs that someone actually needs it?
ATKINS: It's a very good question, and with every child or person, adult, it's very different. With young children who aren't necessarily as able to articulate their feelings, we have to watch for maybe a reversion to earlier behaviors, maybe bedwetting, maybe baby talk, maybe fear that they don't want to go to situations that they used to go to.
WHITFIELD: In high school aged kids you're saying?
ATKINS: No, no, those are younger kids who may be the siblings of or community members in the community.
But with high school kids, you definitely would see children who are anxious, maybe physical symptoms that their heart may be racing. They feel very panicky. They are losing sleep. They don't want to eat.
They can feel very, very tired. They don't want to get involved with things that they used to. And parents need to be very conscious of watching their children.
WHITFIELD: And it's going to be very typical that some may be very withdrawn and may not want to express themselves at all. So, what does a parent do in that case?
ATKINS: It's a good question. You really need to be available to your kids, to let them know that you are a safe haven for them to talk about if they care to talk about what's going on.
And you can also not watch the news too much, by the way. But if you see something, after you see it, talk about it and see what the community is talking about. And you can engage them and try to get at the root of their anxiety.
What does this mean to them? What do they feel? What are they fearful of?
For so many kids, especially high school kids, they feel that they have a lot more control over their world and then the world shatters. So, we need to let them know that what they're feeling is normal and that it's a normal reaction to a very abnormal situation.
So we comfort them. We have to as adults in their lives remain calm. It doesn't mean we can't be angry and we can't be upset, but we have to be calm so that they can talk to us and we need to listen to them.
WHITFIELD: Some funerals may take place, the first funerals may happen tomorrow for a lot of parents who are trying to watch their child's behavior, see what they're exhibiting emotionally, tomorrow could be a whole different day and new exhibition of emotions.
What should parents, teachers, guardians expect? What do they do? How do they respond?
ATKINS: Really, what we can expect is any number of emotions. Kids can be sad. They can be chatty. They can be very quiet. They can be overwhelmed with emotion. They may be very quiet, as I said before.
But that doesn't mean they are through the process of grieving. The process of grieving takes a long time and it's different for every family, every child. Kids model also what they see with their friends and also with their other children in the school and with their parents.
And I think in the community, if the community is doing something that is together, like memorializing the children who were killed or trying to do something to bring the community together, if you watch your children and see how they're responding, you can encourage them to write condolence cards. You can encourage them to express through art. You can encourage them to write in a journal what they're feeling if they're not typically kids who talk.
And I think that it's important to keep your finger on your children's pulse because it will take time. It's not just a day or a week or a month. We need to pay attention.
WHITFIELD: Yes. It's a long road potentially for a lot of people.
ATKINS: It is.
WHITFIELD: Dale Atkins, thanks so much for your time, appreciate it -- and advice.
ATKINS: My pleasure.
WHITFIELD: Another milestone on Wall Street. The Dow closed above 13,000 yesterday for the first time since 2008.
Alison Kosik is at the New York Stock Exchange with more on this. Alison, how big is this?
ALISON KOSIK, CNN BUSINESS CORRESPONDENT: You know, how big is it? It really depends, Fredricka, on who you ask. Some say it doesn't matter. Others say, you know what, at very least it helps with confidence and investor confidence.
But you know what? It's also significant because it shows how far the market has come, meaning the Dow. Look at the Dow back in March of 2009. The Dow was at 6,500.
Look what it's done. It's doubled in just three years. Now, it's over 13,000 and trading higher.
But also look at some perspective here. The Dow also topped 14,000 before the recession, so the Dow still has not made back all of what was lost.
So, yes, stocks are rising again today. The ECB is pumping $700 billion into the European economy, helping sentiment here. Also, we learned that he pace of recovery here in the U.S. is picking up. GDP the final few months of last year was revised higher to 3 percent -- Fredricka.
WHITFIELD: All right. Alison, thanks so much.
All right. In a moment I'll tell you how a new unique technique could revolutionize reproductive technology and how long women can wait before having babies.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
WHITFIELD: All right. Talk about rehabilitation. What a real shocker.
Lindsay Lohan tells "People" magazine that she's out of the party scene altogether. We have to get the inside story now from A.J. Hammer, host of "Showbiz Tonight." He's joining us from New York.
OK. Give us the scoop on this.
A.J. HAMMER, HOST, SHOWBIZ TONIGHT: Well, according to Lindsay, yes, she is on the straight and narrow right now. Fred, of course, we're all rooting for her. Given her track record, I think everybody is taking a wait and see attitude towards Lindsay's recovery.
But she is saying publicly that she's done with partying. In fact, she sat down this morning with "Today" show's Matt Lauer and told him that it is not her thing anymore. She went out to a club with a friend and not because she was tempted, but because it's the same thing over and over for her. She really is not into being out in the clubs.
So, at least, Fred, it sounds encouraging. Lindsay is in the home stretch her probation. All she has to do is stay out of trouble with the law and then she can get on with her life and career. Hopefully she can do that.
In fact, she's hosting "Saturday Night Live" this weekend. So, Fred, maybe if that goes well, we'll all get to witness Lindsay kicking of her comeback again, but maybe this time for good.
WHITFIELD: The transformation. All right. Sounds good.
Meantime, let's talk about something else out of Hollywood. What appears to be a real baby boom. Yesterday, Uma Thurman says she's pregnant. And now, Ben and Jen welcome baby number 3?
HAMMER: That is correct. "People" magazine breaking the news that there's a new member of the Affleck-Garner family today. The couple had a baby boy yesterday. Affleck and Garner got married back in 2005.
This is their third child but it's their first boy. This new bundle of joy has two older sisters, Seraphina who's 3, and Violet who's 6. So, he's got two experienced young ladies looking out for him.
We did reach out to the couple's reps. Fred, we wanted the usual details. We wanted to congratulate them. We haven't heard back just yet.
So, we'll say it here and now, congratulations Ben and Jen and the entire family.
WHITFIELD: Nice big old congrats.
All right. Thanks so much, A.J.
And we'll see you again next hour. More showbiz headlines coming your way.
Arguably the best gangster movie ever made, well, it's making a comeback on the big screen. It's limited release of a restored version of "The Godfather."
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WHITFIELD: Women are only able to get pregnant for as long as they produce viable eggs. By the time they are 45 years old, the chance of getting pregnant is less than 1 percent.
Kyra Phillips profiles a doctor trying to help women beat those odds.
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DR. JAMIE GRIFO, DIR., NYU FERTILITY CENTER: If you don't hear, freeze the eggs.
The IVF day starts with ultrasound monitoring, checking the ovaries for development of eggs, blood tests and going upstairs and retrieving eggs, using surgery, getting those eggs into the lab.
KYRA PHILLIPS, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Dr. Jamie Grifo may sound like an ordinary fertility doc.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Freeze the eggs.
GRIFO: Freeze the eggs.
PHILLIPS: But he's not. He's one of the world's leading scientists with the knowledge to stop a woman's reproductive clock.
(on camera): When you first discovered you could do this, what was your reaction?
GRIFO: Well, when we had our first baby from it, it was very exciting because we knew that this would help a lot of people.
PHILLIPS (voice-over): Grifo uses a technique developed within the last decade called vitrification, which freezes eggs about 100,000 times faster than the old method. It's still considered experimental by the American Society for Reproductive Medicine.
GRIFO: We weren't very good at freezing eggs, the ice crystal damage to the cell that was the problem. Using this technique where you dehydrate the cell and then flash freeze it without ice crystals allowed it to survive the freezing and thawing process so that it could be as viable as if it had never been frozen.
These are our storage tanks.
PHILLIPS: Grifo is the director of NYU's Fertility Center. Since using this fairly new egg freezing technique, he has seen a surge in new patients. There are now more than 900 frozen egg cycles safely secured in these liquid nitrogen tanks. He's made it his life's work to tell women when it comes to having children, you've got options.
(on camera): Would it be fair to say you're actually stopping that biological clock from ticking for a moment?
GRIFO: Well, we're freezing that reproductive potential in time so, you know, if a 30-year-old freezes her eggs, she freezes her 30- year-old potential.
PHILLIPS (voice-over): That's important because as a woman gets older the quality of her eggs diminishes, making it harder to get pregnant. And many experts would suggest if you're a woman who wants to wait to have kids, you should freeze your eggs in your late 20s or early 30s.
So how did I meet Dr. Grifo? I was 42 years old and wanted to get pregnant. And it was under his watchful eyes I was blessed to have these beautiful twins through traditional IVF. It was during my pregnancy Dr. Grifo told me about vitrification.
GRIFO: It's hope, not a promise. It's an option, not a requirement. It allows women to be more thoughtful about how they conduct their lives and how they think about their fertility.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Does tie in at all to that --
PHILLIPS: Women like 37-year-old Katherine Cooper.
KATHERINE COOPER: The information that I'm looking for is a --
PHILLIPS: Who has a high powered job in New York's frenetic banking industry. With two sisters and a really tight family, Katherine knew she wanted a family. She also wanted a career. Babies would have to wait.
(on camera): How do you balance your want for a baby but also your want to have a really successful career?
COOPER: The balance part is tricky so obviously I really want to have a baby, I just don't want to have one right now.
PHILLIPS (voice-over): So her gynecologist sent her to Dr. Grifo, the leading specialist in the New York area.
COOPER: She brought up the fact that my fertility was going to decline rapidly over the next several years and that I should consider freezing my eggs.
PHILLIPS: She decided to take the leap, but it took three months to get an appointment. Then Katherine started the process to harvest the most eggs she could, a daunting series of hormone shots.
COOPER: Once I had everything all mixed up I'm looking at this needle saying I know this is the wrong needle. It's so big. And so I just decided to insert it halfway and hope for the best.
PHILLIPS: Bottom line, it wasn't easy?
COOPER: No. No, it wasn't easy.
PHILLIPS: After two weeks of ramping up egg production, Katherine's lucky number was 13.
PHILLIPS: That's 13 chances at having a baby.
COOPER: Sure. Yes. It's a -- I think the -- the odds are pretty good if I choose to use them, plus it's not as if I'm doing this because I'm infertile. I don't -- I don't know that I have fertility problems. I'm doing it to create options in my life.
PHILLIPS: 13 options frozen in time until Katherine says go.
(on camera): So considering the cost, the shots, what it felt like, it was not an easy process. Was it worth it?
COOPER: Completely worth it. No doubt in my mind. Worth it.
PHILLIPS: I was thinking about this. You're like the ultimate ladies man. You have gotten so many women pregnant.
GRIFO: Well, you know.
PHILLIPS: Have you ever thought of it that way?
GRIFO: No. Other people have.
PHILLIPS: But actually Dr. Grifo is very old-fashioned. He hopes his patients, like Katherine, can conceive naturally, but if they can't, he's at least been able to freeze a little bit of hope.
Kyra Phillips, CNN, New York.
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WHITFIELD: And a high school team is putting its faith ahead of its game. They give up their shot at state title because of a conflict with the Sabbath. The story straight ahead in sports, nine minutes from now.
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DAN AGOLA, FOUNDER, MATIBABU FOUNDATION: I'm Dan Agola and I'm the founder and the biggest director of Matibabu Foundation. Matibabu is a Swahili word for treatment. Matibabu Foundation is a community health initiative that creates a healthy productive and prosperous society. I'm trying to address two things, one is health, two is education.
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(COMMERCIAL BREAK) WHITFIELD: We're following lots of developments in the next hour of the CNN NEWSROOM. Let's check in first with Paul Steinhauser -- Paul.
PAUL STEINHUSER, CNN POLITICAL EDITOR: Hey Fred, I'm live in Michigan. And you know for Mitt Romney it wasn't pretty but a win is a win. But you know what Rick Santorum says coming in second is as good as first. Details at the top of the hour.
BARBARA STARR, CNN PENTAGON CORRESPONDENT: I'm Barbara Starr at the Pentagon. I will have exclusive details to CNN of U.S. military planning at least planning for operations in Syria. Coming up in the next hour.
LIZZIE O'LEARY, CNN CORRESPONDENT: And I'm Lizzie O'Leary in Washington where Congress is taking a hard look at cruise ship safety. We'll have the story of one couple who survived the Costa Concordia and what they would like to see changed coming up in the next hour.
WHITFIELD: All right thank so much everyone.
Also ahead, a rare trip to the very bottom of the sea. We're talking seven miles deep to a place only two men have gone before. And producer James Cameron is taking CNN along for the ride.
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WHITFIELD: All right. It is high school tournament time. Jeff Fischel is here now with the big plays of the day.
JEFF FISCHEL, HLN SPORTS: Yes, you know, teams across the country going for state titles right now. They're very excited. Players on one team they are so close to the dream but they chose to give it up because of their faith. The boys at an Orthodox Jewish school, the Barren Academy, made it to the championship game but they won't play because the game is Friday night, the Sabbath.
Tourney planners voted unanimously not to move the game. The coach and players say missing the game wasn't even a tough decision.
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CHRIS COLE, BASKETBALL COACH: You get put in adversity and the way you handle things says a lot about your character. And so this is an opportunity for us to show our character.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We give up this opportunity for keeping our religion, it shows how much we deeply care for it.
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FISCHEL: Now, there have been accusations of anti-Semitism, but tourney organizers say the Barren School knew when it joined the athletic conference that championship games are on Fridays and Saturdays. The team is still practicing just in case the game gets moved.
More high school tournament news from Indiana, watch as Gary Harris crosses midcourt for the win. Gets it. The Hamilton Southeastern fans go bonkers. They chase him across the court. Harris had 35 points. He is a school hero. He is one of the best high school players in the country in fact headed to Michigan State.
And how about this one? A high school championship on the line in Florida. LaKaris Salter needs a two to tie, a three to win. No one stops her. She is going for the win. The three-pointer at the buzzer. She gets it.
Her coach at Florida's Panhandle high school calls her "Big Ticket". Congrats to the Baby Rattlers for the championship.
You have to get to know Anders Broman. You will hear a lot more from this high school junior when he gets to college. Broman scored 71 points in a game Saturday night, but his team still lost 114-110.
We have to squeeze this in before I go. The best, the longest paper airplane throw ever. Look at this. This is not the kind you build in school. A former Cal quarterback --
WHITFIELD: I was just getting ready trying to fold my paper.
FISCHEL: (INAUDIBLE) going for the longest paper airplane ever. 226 feet.
WHITFIELD: Wow.
FISCHEL: Watch this thing fly. Watch it go. You think it's done. And it just keeps going and going and going. It was built by John Collins, (INAUDIBLE) a new producer. He's called the paper airplane guy. He is obsessed with paper airplanes.
And there's a new world record. That's it.
WHITFIELD: So is it all in the folds of the design. Ok. We're out of time, but I want to know. Or is it in the throw. We'll find out next segment.
FISCHEL: Sure.
WHITFIELD: All right Jeff. Thanks so much.
