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Surviving the Harrisburg Tornado; Snooki May be Pregnant; Russell Simmons Co-Hosting Reception for Barack Obama Tonight; Gingrich Betting on Georgia to Keep Campaign Alive; Revolution in Reproduction; Interview With Illinois Governor Pat Quinn, Senate to Vote on Blunt Amendment

Aired March 01, 2012 - 11:00   ET

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

SUZANNE MALVEAUX, CNN ANCHOR: Live from studio seven, I'm Suzanne Malveaux, want to get you up to speed for this Thursday, March 1st.

Warning sirens, seek cover, tornadoes on the ground. This is overnight in Frankfort, Kentucky. The second night of violent weather slashing across the middle of the country. A twister touching down here, 80 miles away in Elizabethtown, Kentucky, tore up several buildings. Chopped a two-mile path of destruction.

At least 12 people are dead in the wake of the storms, hundreds are hurt, and people in the hard-hit areas are counting their blessings today.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

(UNKNOWN): After I rolled five times, I can remember everything about it. I was -- once it hit the ground on the fifth time, everything just -- I saw daylight and I was sitting up against the stove down there just leaned up with my back against it like I was sitting in a chair. I don't know how I'm here.

(UNKNOWN): Someone from above, huh?

(UNKNOWN): No doubt. The good Lord just didn't call me is all I know. Wasn't my time.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

MALVEAUX: Wasn't his time. Parts of Southern Illinois are declared a disaster areas today. The governor of Illinois is going to join us in a minute.

Two more American troops have been killed in Afghanistan. It is the latest in a series of attacks against NATO, following last week's burning of Korans at a U.S. military base in Afghanistan. Now, authorities say that the troops were gunned down by a suspected afghan soldier and another man believed to be a language instructor. Coalition forces killed both of the shooters.

Syrian activists say that opposition fighters have withdrawn from a neighborhood in the city of Homs after weeks of relentless attacks by government forces. The attacks have left hundreds of people dead in that neighborhood. Today, the U.N. Human Rights Council adopted a resolution condemning Syria's widespread and systematic violations against civilians.

A teenager accused of shooting up his high school and killing three classmates is going to be formally charged today. The county prosecutor says T.J. Lane will face charges of aggravated murder and is going to be tried as an adult. Now, Lane is 17 years old. Witnesses say he opened fire in the school cafeteria Monday morning, shooting five people. Three of them have died, all teens.

More than 1,000 people are breathing a sigh of relief. This disabled cruise ship, "Costa Allegra," finally reached the Seychelles Islands in the Indian Ocean. Now, the ship lost power on Monday after a fire broke out in the engine room.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

GORDON BRADWELL, "COSTA ALLEGRA" PASSENGER: Not having enough food. Not being able to rest well at night. The heat is unbearable, so we had to spend most of our nights on the top deck of the ship.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

MALVEAUX: Tough stuff. The passengers and crew expected to be put on planes and sent home soon.

Mitt Romney chalking up another victory. He won the Wyoming caucuses that just wrapped up, picking up ten delegates to Santorum's nine. While Romney won the primary in Michigan on Tuesday, he's only getting half of the 30 delegates. The other 15 are going to Santorum who finished a close second.

Both Santorum and Newt Gingrich have Georgia right here on their minds today. Santorum is holding a rally right now here in Atlanta. Gingrich has an event about 30 minutes from now, 30 miles away in Woodstock, Georgia.

Now, the Georgia primary coming up next Tuesday, Super Tuesday. You're going to want to watch.

And remember these disturbing images that federal regulators wanted tobacco companies to put on the cigarette packaging? Well, now, a federal judge has just ruled that requiring them violates the company's right to free speech. The American Cancer Society is calling the decision bad for public health. Well, a government appeal is expected as well.

Back to the top story now. Killer storms that pounded several states overnight as well as the day before.

On the phone with us now, Illinois governor, Pat Quinn, who joins us. Governor, thank you very much. I know that you have been dealing with a lot of heartache, a lot of people who are suffering right now.

Can you give us a sense, overall, of the kind of damage that you're seeing in your state today?

GOVERNOR PAT QUINN (D), ILLINOIS: Well, it's devastating. You know, the area, the path of the tornado was -- took everything in its path. Commercial buildings just leveled to the ground and obliterated. We had many homes just destroyed completely.

But what is inspiring is the tremendous effort of people in Harrisburg, Illinois, and all across our state that help their neighbor. We all kinds of volunteer efforts going, as well as our state government working to help people recover and rebuild and, anybody watching, they should think about the Salvation Army of Southern Illinois and the Red Cross of Southern Illinois. Both of those are on the front line providing -- administering to people who are devastated.

At 5:00 in the morning yesterday, this 180-mile-per-hour tornado came tearing through their community, and wreaking havoc.

MALVEAUX: Governor, what do the people need there on the ground most?

QUINN: Well, I think right now it's clean up. Even yesterday afternoon and evening when I was there, there was chain saws going, cutting the trees and debris out of the way. And then carpenters, volunteer carpenters on the roofs of building pounding nails and fixing up the roofs, so there's a lot of clean-up supplies needed.

We are talking to some our major companies, Walmart, Office Depot, Walgreens, to help people at these volunteer centers. We have a lot of volunteers. They are always welcomed to come to Harrisburg. It's in deep southern Illinois. I would say that contributions to the Red Cross and Salvation Army both are well-received as well.

MALVEAUX: Governor, I understand you toured the area of the devastation in Harrisburg and you also declared a state of emergency, a declaration of disaster in your state.

What does that allow you to do? Do you have more resources? Do you have what you need on the ground?

QUINN: Well, we had a terrible flood in southern Illinois last year, so our emergency management people know exactly what to do in emergencies like this. We have our state police deployed. We have our Department of Transportation and lots and lots of other people.

We declared it a state disaster area, but we also have to really size up and measure all of the damage that's been done in the next couple weeks because we want to file a federal disaster relief request, as well.

I did receive a call from the White House yesterday pledging their total help and cooperation. We're very pleased with our federal help, our local help, but the most inspiring is volunteer citizens.

We had an 80-year-old woman yesterday. Before 5:00 a.m., she got the alert, she went door-to-door knocking on doors, making sure that people did get to safety in their homes. We were able to, I think, save a lot of lives by that friend douse outpouring of every day people doing their best to help their neighbor.

MALVEAUX: Governor, do you a sense of how many people have been impacted in your state by these tornadoes? How many people have lost their lives or have been injured and the kind of damage there?

QUINN: Six people lost their lives yesterday and we mourn their loss and pray for their immortal souls. We have about 100 injured right now in hospital. And then the property devastation is immense.

But it takes more than a tornado to put down the people of Illinois, especially Southern Illinois. We all believe in just banding together, working together to rebuild and recover, so that's really our mission right now.

And I saw firsthand yesterday in the eyes of so many people who were scared to death. If you had 180-mile-per-hour freight train coming right at you, you know, people could only pray. And those that survive, we want to make sure that we go forward.

MALVEAUX: Governor Pat Quinn of Illinois, thank you very much for joining us and, obviously we wish you and everybody on the ground there the very best. I know there a lot of help that's necessary, but it certainly sounds like there are people who are rising to the occasion.

Thanks again, Governor. Appreciate it.

Here's a rundown of some stories we're covering.

First, hear from some of the tornado survivors who lost their homes and almost their lives.

And the fight over whether or not employers should be required to cover birth control goes up to a vote in the Senate, just in a minute now. We're going to tell you what's going on and we also want to ask what you think about it.

And then a woman is thanking her 3-year-old grandson for saving her life. You're not going to believe this amazing story about this little boy.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

MALVEAUX: Well-known conservative blogger, Andrew Breitbart, has died in Los Angeles. He was just 43-years old. He was the first to post this infamous Twitter photos of Congressman Andrew Weiner last year in which the congressman sent pictures of himself, apparently, in is underwear. Weiner eventually stepped down amid the uproar.

And Breitbart was also behind the scandal involving Department of Agriculture official, Shirley Sherrod. I sat down with Sherrod shortly after the scandal broke and it was Breitbart who posted portions of a speech she gave before the NAACP. Now, the online video was edited to appear as though Sherrod was making racist statements. She was quickly fired, but when her entire speech went public, it became clear she was telling a story of racial reconciliation.

Well, Sherrod was offered her job back. She later filed a defamation lawsuit against Breitbart.

Sherrod has just issued a statement, saying, quote, "The news of Mr. Breitbart's death came as a surprise to me when I was informed of it this morning. My prayers go out to his family as they cope during this very difficult time."

Here's your chance to "Talk Back" on one of the big stories of the day. Should employers be able to deny insurance coverage on moral or religious grounds? Right now the Senate is getting ready to vote on an amendment that would do just that.

Carol Costello is here in the house in the ATL.

CAROL COSTELLO, CNN CORRESPONDENT: I'm in the ATL.

MALVEAUX: With a question. With a "Talk Back" question. So nice to see you, Carol.

COSTELLO: Thank you. The weather's certainly much nicer here ...

MALVEAUX: Yes.

COSTELLO: ... than in Washington.

MALVEAUX: We're going to see a lot more of you.

COSTELLO: Yes.

Well, let's talk about that administration, shall we? The Senate is just about to vote on the Blunt Amendment. Haven't heard of it? Oh, yes, you have. Two words, birth control.

If passed the Blunt Amendment would allow employers to withhold insurance coverage for any health care service that violates their religious beliefs or moral beliefs like birth control.

The Catholic Church supports it. Republicans like Rick Santorum and Mitt Romney do, too. It's a matter of religious liberty, they say.

But Democrats say the Blunt Amendment is really a war against women and they have plenty of ammunition to prove that, thanks to folks like Rush Limbaugh who blasted a young woman who called birth control a health-care issue.

(BEGIN AUDIO CLIP)

RUSH LIMBAUGH, TALK RADIO HOST: What does it say about the college co-ed Susan Fluke who goes before a congressional committee and essentially says that she must be paid to have sex. What does that make her?

It makes her a slut, right? It makes her a prostitute. She wants to be paid to have sex. She's having so much sex she can't afford the contraception. She wants you and me and the taxpayers to pay her to have sex. What does that make us? We're the pimps.

(END AUDIO CLIP)

COSTELLO: See what I mean? Some Democrats argue the Blunt Amendment opens the door to insurance discrimination. In other words, let's say your boss is morally opposed to smoking. Can he or she deny you insurance if you get sick?

But Senator Blunt says not so. Employers would be required to prove that their objection was rooted in long-held moral or religious convictions.

So, the "Talk Back" question today, should employers be able to deny insurance coverage on moral or religious grounds? Facebook.com/carolCNN. Facebook.com/carolCNN. I'll read your responses later this hour.

MALVEAUX: Oh, boy. I can only imagine. Wow. You know ...

COSTELLO: You're still reeling from the Rush Limbaugh thing.

MALVEAUX: It's all very shocking. I mean, I imagine people have strong opinions about it. Big difference, right? Birth control, having sex. We'll see what happens. Right?

COSTELLO: I can't wait for the responses.

MALVEAUX: Thanks, Carol.

COSTELLO: Sure.

MALVEAUX: A man in Harrisburg, Illinois, says he is lucky to be alive. His town of 9,000 took the biggest hit from a series of tornadoes that tore through the Midwest yesterday. Twelve people were killed, more than 100 hurt. Several hundred homes and businesses also destroyed.

(BEGIN VIDEO TAPE)

(UNKNOWN): It sounded like a train. She headed to the basement. I headed to grab our daughter who was in bed. She's handicapped.

(UNKNOWN): I was down in the basement and I'm screaming at him, "Grab her. Grab her. Just grab her."

(UNKNOWN): Then we went down the basement, then all the water runs through the floor and started flooding the basement. So, then we came up out through the cellar door and noticed the church was all gone. (UNKNOWN): I just wanted to cry. I'm just so thankful. All of the stuff that is right here and in there was on top of me. I was inside that bathtub. I couldn't move. It was just really rough.

SOLEDAD O'BRIEN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: What was going through your mind?

(UNKNOWN): I swore we were going to die. All I could do was pray.

(UNKNOWN): I wasn't just heartbroken for my mom, you know. I was praying for everyone that had lost a loved one because, I mean, this is just -- you don't imagine something like this happening and hitting so close to your family. You see it on the news. You don't ever think it's going to happen to you.

(UNKNOWN): The only thing that is getting me through this is knowing she's in heaven with God and Jesus Christ has given me the strength to be able to endure all this.

O'BRIEN: I can't imagine. So sad to see.

(UNKNOWN): Forgive me.

(UNKNOWN): Our bedroom was in that far corner.

(UNKNOWN): It was chaos. There were men from all over town, not just emergency crews, but men, women, children all here trying to find anybody. We dug for two hours at least before they found her body.

(UNKNOWN): The lives that are lost. That's the main concern right now. It's -- everybody down here, we're like a family. So --

O'BRIEN: A tight-knit group?

(UNKNOWN): Yes.

O'BRIEN: You knew everybody personally?

(UNKNOWN): Yes.

(UNKNOWN): I was standing at the back door looking out. I had just got out of bed, the sirens were going off. My husband was in the bathroom.

O'BRIEN: And then what?

(UNKNOWN): Then I felt the trailer shaking. And I woke up underneath the trailer.

(UNKNOWN): Me and the two dogs I have and the trailers started rolling down the hill. You can see what's left. After I rolled five times, I can remember everything about it. Once it hit the ground on the fifth time, everything. Just saw daylight. Sitting up against the stove down there, with my back against it like I was sitting in a chair. Don't know how I'm here. No down. Good lord just didn't call me. That's all I know. Just wasn't my time.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

MALVEAUX: Checking stories our affiliates are covering across country.

In Apache Junction, Arizona, rescuers managed to pull this man to safety after he jumped off a mountain with his parachute was on backwards. They say he would have plummeted to the ground had a gust of wind not pulled him to the break in the mountain. Amazingly, the guy only hurt his ankle.

(BEGIN AUDIO CLIP)

OPERATOR: 911, what's your emergency?

CALLER: Nana needs help.

OPERATOR: Mama needs help?

CALLER: Nana needs help.

(END AUDIO CLIP)

MALVEAUX: Nana needs help? Can you believe this 3-year-old in Townsend, Massachusetts, saved his grandmother's life by calling 911 when she had a seizure.

Ethan LeBlanc stayed on the line with dispatchers until paramedics showed up. He even unlocked the front door for him, found his grandmother's medication list in her purse. Police were so impressed with Ethan they got him a brand-new bike.

And this grandmother is hoping to become the oldest cheerleader in NFL history. Sharon Simmons said she always wanted to try out for the Dallas Cowboys, but she had to put her dream on hold to raise her daughter instead. So, Simmons has got 10 more weeks to rehearse before the May tryouts. The oldest NFL cheerleader to ever make the squad was 42-years old.

It is the story that everyone talking about, Jersey Shore and beyond. Reality star, Snooki? Well, they say she's glowing. Jeanne Moos checks out the rumors that she may be pregnant.

Before that, time to get to "Travel Insider." As CNN reporters, producers, we often have the inside scoop, great places to go. This time Brianna Keilar shows us where she goes to unwind.

(BEGIN VIDEO TAPE)

BRIANNA KEILAR, CNN CORRESPONDENT: I'm Brianna Keilar and I cover the White House for CNN and one of my favorite place in the D.C.-area is Old Town, Alexandria, Virginia. It's about seven-and-a- half miles south of the White House.

This is a place where you can come and get a great meal, do a little shopping, and even get a history lesson.

This is, after all, the hometown of George Washington and, here at the Old Presbyterian Meeting House, you can find the gravesite of his personal physician, James Craik. It's a little spooky. It's one of the stops on the ghost tour here in town, but I say we get out of here and go find some other spirits.

This is one of my favorite places in Old Town to end the evening. This is the PX Speakeasy. It's completely unmarked and the blue light means that they're open, so you can just knock on the door and come on in.

When you get upstairs at PX, you might be lucky enough to show up on a night where Todd Thrasher, the owner and bartender here -- thanks, Todd -- is here to mix you a drink.

So, what are we having tonight?

TODD THRASHER, OWNER, PX SPEAKEASY: I don't know. What are you in the mood for? Rum, vodka, gin?

KEILAR: Let's try gin.

THRASHER: Gin tonight? OK.

So, this is the Le Blanc. It's a fortified wine from France. Purple basil. Put a little dash of gin just to give it a backbone. Three drops of citric acid in there. Orange flower water. A little bit of ice to start. Stir 30 more times, not that I'm counting. You smack it, wave it to the cocktail gods. Then sweet basil.

KEILAR: That's amazing.

THRASHER: Thank you very much.

KEILAR: Cheers from old town Alexandria, Virginia.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

MALVEAUX: People in Harrisburg, Illinois are digging through mounds of rubble this morning. People are helping neighbors begin the recovery after yesterday's tornado.

Now, Les Winkeler is a long-time resident of Harrisburg. He is the sports editor of the town newspaper, "The Southern Illinoisan," and his poignant account surviving this storm appears in today's edition.

As Winkeler wrote, he knew immediately, quote, "this wasn't a drill." He's joining us live from Harrisburg and, first of all, I'm just really happy to see you and that you are OK because I know how traumatic this was for you in your writing. And you write it so eloquently. Tell us, first, what happened when this tornado hit. LES WINKELER, SPORTS EDITOR, "THE SOUTHERN ILLINOISAN": Well, first of all, I'd like to say that I just appreciate how totally lucky I am. Just two doors down from me, my neighbors houses were devastated. That's the first thought that entered my mind this morning when I woke up. I'm so lucky. I woke up in my own bed.

But the storm just hit just incredibly quickly. Didn't have time -- didn't even have time to panic. We just kind of did what we knew we had to do. We just hunkered down and just kind of waited for the glass to quick breaking around us and then we got up and started checking on neighbors and doing what we needed to do.

MALVEAUX: How did you know when you were first in trouble?

WINKELER: It just sounded different than anything I'd ever heard in my life. It was so intense. The wind was just so strong. And when the sirens were blowing, it was just -- it was just -- we have storms here all the time. There's nothing unusual about that. But it just -- you could just tell it was on top of you.

MALVEAUX: Les, I want viewers to know, we're seeing photos that you were able to take of some of the damage that was around you. And at one point, you write in your article that you were worried about your dog. You wrote this account, you had actually said that it was -- you -- "had not seen our dog in a few minutes. We had been out of bed. We both started calling him in a few moments we heard the clicking of toenail against hardwood floor. It was a reassuring sound." Your dog was OK. Y'all got out safely, yes?

WINKELER: Yes. We have a golden retriever who is just a little over a year old. He's still -- let's call him enthusiastic. He usually sleeps by our bed. We didn't know where he was. We both started calling for him. It took -- it was only seconds, I guess, but it seemed like forever. All of a sudden, that annoying click of his toenails against the floor, all of a sudden sounded pretty good. We were happy when he started crawling up and nuzzling us.

MALVEAUX: When he crawled up and started nuzzling you, what gave you the wherewithal to even collect yourself and start writing about this?

(LAUGHTER)

WINKELER: Oh, I talked to my boss and he said he wanted a first- person account. That's what I did. You know, when you write that so fresh afterwards, you're not really thinking about it. You're just putting what you feel on paper and it really wasn't a hard thing to do. It was so fresh in my mind and vivid. You know, you understand when you're there. You know, that is one it's most vivid and it was easy to do.

MALVEAUX: Did you talk to your neighbors? I know you feel so lucky and fortunate, but the neighbors beside you lost everything.

WINKELER: Yes. We walked around a bit yesterday and, you know, it's universal. A lot of people are really -- one guy told me, he said, everything I have, I lost. But at the same time he was quick to note that I'm fine, my wife is fine. And another neighbor, he has dogs, and they were fine, too. A lot of people spent time yesterday walking around the neighborhood, checking on everybody, making sure everybody was fine.

MALVEAUX: What are you doing today? We've heard a lot of stories about people reaching out and trying to help each other.

WINKELER: We're -- I'm just basically -- I still have a lot of work to do at my house. We're hanging out there and sort of getting things together for insurance company and just cleaning up what we can clean up. And, you know, just trying to salvage the few items we did lose outside.

MALVEAUX: Les Winkeler, thank you very much. We are so glad you're OK, that your dog is OK, too. And we did enjoy your article, your firsthand account.

(LAUGHTER)

I guess you have a boss who is kind of demanding there.

(LAUGHTER)

Keep writing. Keep getting through it. We appreciate you were one of the fortunate ones.

WINKELER: OK. I will give Bo your regards.

(LAUGHTER)

MALVEAUX: All right. Les, thanks again. Appreciate it.

More women are trying to have babies, and they're turning to cutting-edge technology to get the job done.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

MALVEAUX: All right. Love her or hate her, reality TV star, Snooki, has become a household name. Yes, we know. Now there's word that she might be pregnant.

Here's CNN's Jeanne Moos.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

JEANNE MOOS, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Even if the idea of watching "Jersey Shore" makes you ill --

(CROSSTALK)

MOOS: -- there's no playing hooky from Snooki.

SNOOKI, ACTRESS: Oh, my god!

MOOS: You can't escape her or the rumors of her pregnancy that have been reproducing like rabbits.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Looks like Snooki has a meatball in the oven.

MOOS: Now page six of the "New York Post" says it's confirmed and several websites also say she's three or four months pregnant. This, despite previous denial --

SNOOKI: I definitely do want kids, but I'm not pregnant.

MOOS: -- after denial.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: So you're saying no? You're saying no to this?

SNOOKI: No.

MOOS: She acted offended saying people must think she looks fat.

SNOOKI: It's like an insult kind of. It sucks, because being pregnant should be a real thing and a happy thing. And I'm not.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Don't women always lie when they're pregnant?

KELLY RIPA, HOST, LIVE WITH KELLY: Well, the first trimester, you want to get through it. You don't want to jinx anything so don't say anything.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: So isn't Snooki entitled to the same thing everybody else is?

MOOS (on camera): Normally, people are all goo goo gaga over birth announcements. But instead of people talking about a bundle of Jersey joy, already the kid is being called Jersey spore.

(voice-over): Comments online were merciless. "Didn't Governor Christie declare her uterus a disaster area"?

According to page six, the father is her boyfriend, Jionni Lavalle, seen on the show as too wasted to return Snooki's affection.

SNOOKI: Hi, you're supposed to kiss me. You're just a sucky boyfriend tonight.

MOOS: Well, no baby that night.

On "Live with Kelly," the hostess analyzed Snooki's recent behavior on the show when they played a game trying to bust balloons squished between partners.

RIPA: She refused to play with us.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Because she didn't want to bust the balloon.

MOOS (on camera): And if Snooki snookered interviewers by lying, interviewers tried to snooker her back.

(voice-over): Wendy Williams used beer to trap her in a Super Bowl toast.

WENDY WILLIAMS, HOST, THE WENDY WILLIAMS SHOW: So you're not pregnant! That was the pregnancy set-up.

MOOS: Snooki makes no bones about it. She wants babies.

SNOOKI: Guido babies.

(LAUGHTER)

RIPA: If your babies come out not tan, what will happen?

SNOOKI: I'll spray them.

MOOS: From the delivery room direct to the tanning salon.

Jeanne Moos, CNN --

(on camera): Who are you calling a spore, huh?

MOOS (voice-over): -- New York.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

MALVEAUX: All right. You have been signing of on our "Talk Back" question, should employers be able to deny insurance coverage on religious grounds?

Eric writes, "Employers should not be able to deny coverage. It's health insurance not moral insurance."

More of your responses just moments away.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

MALVEAUX: All right. Hip-hop mogul, author and activist, Russell Simmons, is on the phone joining us from New York.

We discovered, and we're following your tweets here. You just tweeted that, "Tonight I'm co-hosting a reception for Barack Obama. In 2008, we started a mission, made headway, but now we have more work to do."

I understand you are actually going to be part of a big event with a lot of celebrities in New York this evening. What can you tell us about it?

RUSSELL SIMMONS, HIP-HOP MOGUL, AUTHOR & ACTIVIST (via phone): Well, this is -- I don't know how many we've done but I did one recently with the fashion community. And I'm doing this one with Chopra, with the spiritual community. A lot of different -- if I was in Hollywood, it would be a Hollywood community event.

A lot of creative industries support the president and a lot of spiritual people support the president. He's done a lot of good work. He's the compassionate president who was working on health care for all of us, who is concerned about lifting us up from the bottom up. He's doing a lot of work to help the middle class, protect the middle class and help the underserved communities. He's done a great job so far. What he's done to give women equal pay, what he's done for the gay community, what he's done to try to fight the prison industrial complex. I have a list that we had going into the first campaign.

(CROSSTALK)

SIMMONS: A lot of those things are accomplished, but there's a lot more to do.

MALVEAUX: Sure.

SIMMONS: So this event is an effort to raise money so that he can be competitive with his opponents and we can continue our work.

MALVEAUX: Russell, I understand it starts off with a dinner and the price tag for that dinner, for that seat, $35,800. Are you going to be putting up that money tonight along with 80 other folks?

SIMMONS: Well, listen, the price tag goes from 38,000 down to $250 for students and for young people. We want everybody included. But, you know, I've long been a supporter of getting all the money out of Washington. I don't like that there's super PACs or any of these things. The president has to be competitive. If one of his legacy issues is getting the money out of politics or changing campaign finance laws, he has to be funded to do so. You know, so the criticism is he shouldn't have a super PAC or raise as much money as he can. Well, his opponents are proving that the people with the money win. We have to get the money to win. Then we can work on campaign finance.

MALVEAUX: Russell, one of the things that back in 2008 that was so fascinating was that there was so much enthusiasm around Barack Obama and he was new. A lot of young people came out and were a part of the process here. We've seen some of that enthusiasm diminish. How do you get that back? How do you get that going again? Generate the kind of enthusiasm you had four years ago?

SIMMONS: I think a lot of people are a bit inpatient if they look at what he inherited and what he did. And we'll make sure as we campaign -- I will go on the road, work. A lot of other young people are. I think when we remind people where we were, how far we've come, how much we've accomplished, I think people will be excited to come back in the fold. I think they will. The polling is telling you the president's approval rating is going up. The work he's doing is being magnified, as we talk more about it. We will get it all back.

MALVEAUX: All right. Russell Simmons, great to see you. We are following your tweets. Follow our tweets if you will at Suzanne Malveaux. And we'll be keeping up with new that event this evening.

Thanks, Russell.

SIMMONS: Thank you so much. MALVEAUX: You've been sounding off on the "Talk Back" question, should employers be able to deny insurance coverage on moral or religious grounds. The Senate is considering that very thing, an amendment that would do just that.

Carol Costello is joining us.

A lot of people I know --

(LAUGHTER)

-- the quotes you had from Rush Limbaugh, people are weighing in on this.

COSTELLO: Yes. Rush Limbaugh's comments have evoked passionate responses.

Michael says, "Does the employer receive federal funds or tax credits or deductions for insurance programs? Then, yes they must. If they do not, do what you please"

This from Francis, "This is a Pandora's box. An employer could deny cancer coverage because they think prayer is the cure."

Godwin says, "Employers should not have to pay for health care that violates their religious beliefs, particularly on the issue of contraception. If they were forced to, it would add up to a violation of their own rights to free expression."

Sean says, "If this bill passes, I predict that many businesses will officially declare moral alignment with Christian science, making practically any medical procedure or medicine morally objectionable. Imagine the savings."

And Amy says, "Why should anybody be obligated to provide you anything for free? If you don't want to pay for your own birth control, you have the right to work for someone other than a religious organization."

Facebook.com/carolCNN if you would like to continue the conversation. I'll be back with you in about 20 minutes or so.

MALVEAUX: You stay there.

(LAUGHTER)

Sit down here. We would like you to stick around. We always like you stick around for really good stuff.

COSTELLO: The weird stuff.

MALVEAUX: Sometimes weird, too, but it's usually fun. And you're moving to Atlanta, soon. You'll be looking to buy a house. Check out this house. This is not Atlanta. It is in Chicago. This is Michael Jordan's mansion that is up for sale. We're talking nine bedrooms, 15 bathrooms. You know, you never can have too many bathrooms.

(LAUGHTER)

COSTELLO: 15 bathrooms?

MALVEAUX: 15.

COSTELLO: A lot of toilets to clean.

MALVEAUX: I suppose he didn't have to clean them. Look, there's the famous number 23 on the front gates. You got seven acres out there -- a kitchen island, breakfast bar, swimming pool, indoor pavilion, guest house. Check out the basketball court. We were just seeing that basketball court. For all the high rollers there what are we talking -- the price tag, I think, $29 million. Cool $29 million.

COSTELLO: Just unbelievable to me. I always wonder, you have that humongous house, do you use all of the house?

MALVEAUX: I can't imagine. You take turns, I suppose. One bathroom for this day. One bathroom for the next day.

(LAUGHTER)

COSTELLO: It would take you a half a month to use every bathroom in your house.

(LAUGHTER)

MALVEAUX: Yes. Hopefully, that's not necessary.

(LAUGHTER)

He's probably playing basketball or something. It's cool though, huh?

COSTELLO: It is cool. I won't probably be purchasing a home like that.

MALVEAUX: Yes. Who can afford that?

COSTELLO: Not me.

(LAUGHTER)

MALVEAUX: All right, Carol, see you.

Newt Gingrich, counting on Georgia to keep his campaign going, but he's battling Rick Santorum for the conservative vote. The race to Super Tuesday is in our "Political Ticker" up next.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

NEWT GINGRICH, (R), FORMER HOUSE SPEAKER & PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: He said his plan --

(END VIDEO CLIP)

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

MALVEAUX: 437 million delegates, stakes are high for the Super Tuesday race. Five days away now. Newt Gingrich is betting on Georgia to keep his presidential hopes alive. He's campaigning in Woodstock, Georgia, at this hour. Gingrich said that he's the candidate that represents real change.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

GINGRICH: If I were to capture in one simple way to explaining why I'm running and why, frankly, I don't think the other candidates in the end are particularly relevant -- one of them may win, because money matters. But I don't think it's relevant. They are just the same old baloney. One is a Massachusetts moderate baloney. The other is Pennsylvania big-labor baloney. They're baloney. There are not going to fundamentally change Washington.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

MALVEAUX: Rick Santorum is challenging Gingrich for conservative votes in the south. Santorum is campaigning in Atlanta. In an earlier stop, he said, number-one question, who can beat Barack Obama?

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

RICK SANTORUM, (R), FORMER PENNSYLVANIA SENATOR & PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: The next question is, who would be the president that you trust, who would go to Washington, D.C., to make the kind of dramatic changes that are necessary in this country? Who would have the ability to go out and rally the American public? Who would be able to have the fortitude to stand up to the tough abuse that you're going to get? Yes, from the media and from the left, and maybe from those within your own party, and stand up and stay strong and have a record that you can stand for your convictions.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

MALVEAUX: Next hour, we're going to talk with a conservative political columnist about whether Tuesday is a make-or-break day for Newt Gingrich. For the latest political news, you know where to go, CNNpolitics.com.

It's the new age of baby making. See how more and more women are getting pregnant later in life.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

MALVEAUX: We're living in a new age when it comes to baby making. Women who are deciding to have children later in life are increasingly using other women's eggs to get pregnant and other women are freezing them for the future.

Dr. Sanjay Gupta takes a look. DR. SANJAY GUPTA, CNN CHIEF MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT: Suzanne, sperm donation has been around since the 1960s, but surrogacy and egg donation is relatively new. For most couples, egg donation meant finding a donor ready to start the process to harvest fresh eggs while also stimulating the female partner to carry the baby. But now with this new egg freezing process, called vitrification, the freezing of the egg without the crystallizing of ice, it makes the egg much more stable and, therefore, reproductive specialists are able to store donor eggs.

I want to show you what this means for one couple who was struggling. They had something known as secondary infertility, the inability to carry pregnancy to term even though they've had the birth of one or more children in the past. Take a look.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

GUPTA (voice-over): Michelle and Mike Herring, now have the family they always wanted, but it wasn't easy. At 30, she had to use hormone therapy to get pregnant. The result was their son, Levi, now 7 years old. Two years later, they again had a hard time conceiving a second child. They tried hormone therapy and IVF, in vitro fertilization.

MICHELLE HERRING, FERTILITY PATIENT: By the third time, I sort of knew it was becoming -- it was stressful.

GUPTA: After rounds of unsuccessful treatments, she learned she had premature ovarian failure. She couldn't produce any viable eggs so she chose to use an egg donor and May was born.

HERRING: It was just emotionally taxing journey. I knew that one day I would look back and forget the struggle, and I did. It's hard for me to think about it now. But we have a wonderful family. I can't imagine it being any other way.

GUPTA: The decision to use an egg or sperm donation is a personal one. Embryologist Dr. Peter Nagy says it's often the best solution since donor egg and sperm can offer higher success rates.

DR. PETER NAGY, EMBRYOLOGIST, REPRODUCTIVE BIOLOGY ASSOCIATES: Donor eggs are coming from females who are donating and those women are typically around 21 to 28, 29 years old.

GUPTA (on camera): So a 40-year-old woman, I'm not making eggs, good quality eggs anymore, so I'll take a donor egg from a 25-year-old woman. You combine it with sperm from her partner.

NAGY: From her husband or her partner.

GUPTA: Is this something that happens a lot or --

NAGY: Oh, yes. Absolutely. About 10 to 15 percent are involved in egg donation.

GUPTA: 15 to 20 percent? NAGY: Yes

GUPTA (voice-over): Reproduction specialist, Dr. Mitchell-Leef, says more and more families are choosing this route to have a family.

DR. DOROTHY MITCHELL-LEEF, FERTILITY SPECIALIST, REPRODUCTIVE BIOLOGY ASSOCIATES: They have a baby picture they can choose from and a list of background history, what their genetic makeup is or interests, maybe their education.

GUPTA (voice-over): And they get to choose?

MITCHELL-LEEF: They get to choose.

GUPTA: How much does that process cost?

MITCHELL-LEEF: It's $16,500. And that includes everything.

GUPTA: If a woman in her mid-40s is pregnant, has a baby, is it almost assumed that woman had an egg donor?

MITCHELL-LEEF: I would think probably overall in 30 years they have a pregnancy of 45 with their own eggs. That's not a lot.

GUPTA (voice-over): Michelle and Mike say they will share their conception stories with their children.

HERRING: It needs to be OK to -- and not be looked at as not some weird thing to use alternate methods. You know, non-traditional ways to have family.

MIKE HERRING, FERTILITY PATIENT: When we describe it in 10 years, hopefully it's like prescribing to the doctor.

MIKE HERRING, FERTILITY PATIENT: People describe it in 10 years, hopefully, it's like describing to the doctor, that it becomes so prevalent, the stigma is gone. So, that will help, too. It's nothing we've worried about.

DR. SANJAY GUPTA, CNN CHIEF MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT: And I should point out, Suzanne, the doctors that we've met said they've been able to achieve 66 percent pregnancy rate from frozen eggs. This is pretty remarkable. In fact, it's right around the same percentage that had with the fresh cycles they were doing before. So, that makes the process cheaper and also more successful for those waiting to use donor eggs.

Suzanne, back to you.

(END VIDEOTAPE)