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President Obama Reiterates Diplomacy; Vladimir Putin is Again the Russian President; West Liberty, Kentucky Devastated by Tornadoes and Storms
Aired March 04, 2012 - 17:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
FREDRICKA WHITFIELD, CNN HOST: Friday, the president will be in Virginia delivering a speech on the economy and then heads to Houston for some campaign events, pretty busy week for everybody. Watch the CNN election round table as well. A live insider chat comes Super Tuesday, March 6th, at 12:00 eastern time. Not just on the television set, but this special program on CNN.com.
Wolf Blitzer and CNN's political team will dive into the day's implications for the presidential race. Go to CNN.com/roundtable for that.
All Right. Thanks so much for tuning into this special hour of politics. Join us every Sunday at 4:00 Eastern time. Now stay right here for the latest news in the NEWSROOM.
Iran's nuclear program, rising gas prices and the topic of war get President Barack Obama talking tough.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
BARACK OBAMA, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Iran's leaders should understand that I do not have a policy of containment. I have a policy to prevent Iran from obtaining a nuclear weapon.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
WHITFIELD: And your personal finances, if you write of business dinners on your taxes, might it increase your chance of an audit? Eight audit tips to avoid right here in the CNN NEWSROOM.
A busy painful day of cleanup as survivors of a deadly storm system battle grief and immense piles of rubble. Some are seeing their devastated towns for the first time. Others are still being kept away. The number of people killed in this storm now stands at 38.
The National Guard is helping with the cleanup and providing security patrols in at least four of the hardest hit states. We'll have live coverage in just a moment.
Another community reeling, still, from loss right now, one of three students killed during that Ohio high school shooting was laid to rest yesterday. More than a thousand people gathered to say good-bye to 16-year-old Daniel Parmertor. The families of Parmertor and another shooting victim donated the boy's organs. Their decision helped 16 sick people.
President Obama reiterates diplomacy is the way to go in trying to resolve the deepening nuclear standoff with Iran. But in his remarks before the largest American Jewish lobbying group today, he said, quote, "all elements of American power including military action are on the table."
In Selma, Alabama right now, a huge crowd is re-creating the 1965 civil rights protest that you see right here. They are walking across Edmund Pettis Bridge to commemorate the day known as bloody Sunday. That was when Alabama state troopers and local deputies attacked civil rights marchers.
Vladimir Putin declares victory in Russia's presidential election today, telling his supporters, quote, "we have won." Unofficial exit polls show Putin with more than 64 percent of the vote. His closest competitor received less than 20 percent. Stay right here, we're live from Moscow in just a few minutes.
All right, let's get back now to our coverage of community struggling after being hit last week by a deadly storm system.
Prayer in Henryville, Indiana, as survivors head to church amid the devastation. Parishioners are giving thanks.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Thank you for our community. Thank you for our loved ones. Thank you for these hands that we hold every week as we seek your direction and will. God, thank you, that you supply not only our physical needs, but emotional and spiritual needs.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
WHITFIELD: All right. Let's head now to West Liberty, Kentucky, a town so devastated, the town center is still closed to all but rescue crews.
CNN's Jim Spellman was able to get a brief tour of the destruction. Jim, described for us what recovery teams were able to do.
JIM SPELLMAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Fredricka, we're here right in the heart of West Liberty, Kentucky, right now. These crews are still hard at work trying to clear debris, try to get some semblance of order back.
Take a look at this. This is a stained glass window. This stained glass window came out of this now pile of rubble one time church. This is the scene all throughout this town. This is what some people on the outskirts of town are able to come back and this is what they're finding in their own homes. I was able to catch up earlier today with a woman named Doris Scheck who survived the tornado in her own basement. Take a look.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) DORIS SCHECK, TORNADO SURVIVOR: I was standing in my basement and I looked through the back window and I saw a tree just lift up and kind a go up in the sky and that's when I realized it is really going to hit here. And I just got down on my knees and took shelter and just -- the noise was loud. You could hear the cracking of the wood and the glass breaking and just was -- just very horrific, I guess, would be the word.
SPELLMAN: How does it feel to come back now and see your house not only your house gone, but to see the area that you managed to survive in, so many cinder blocks, dangerous objects around, how does that feel?
SCHECK: Well, I feel blessed.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
SPELLMAN: So with destruction like this throughout this community, Fredricka, it is going to be weeks if not months before people are getting back into town, longer before they can really rebuild this community - Fred.
WHITFIELD: All right. Thanks so much, Jim Spellman there, from Kentucky.
All right. So, one of the big concerns for survivors right now there was this clashing of hot and cold air, then a tornado, and now it looks like yet another cold snap is on the way.
Jacqui Jeras with us now. This typically is the way it goes oftentimes, right?
JACQUI JERAS, CNN AMS METEOROLOGIST: Yes, a lot of times we'll have a lot of cold air come in after a system like that because that is that clash that you were talking about. And this is the aftermath. This is a weak clipper system and this is not a major storm. It is not going to bring severe thunderstorms, but unfortunately, it is bringing in a little bit of light snow and that kind of complicates things, even with some of this rain, because anything that is unprotected at this point is going to get wet and could sustain some further damage.
So, a lot of what you're seeing here on the radar picture, say, across the great lakes and Ohio valley, that's just very, very light spotty, light rain and showers. But it is the clipper system you see toward St. Louis that is moving in and that will be bringing in a little bit more significant of rain and snow. Accumulations should stay relatively light. But we could see a couple of inches say in eastern parts of Kentucky. West Liberty, right where Jim was, could get as much as 1 to 3 inches. So, that's something we'll be watching very closely.
And temperatures tonight dropping down below freezing, so even though some people are in their homes, there are people that can live in their homes that don't have power, Fredricka. So, that's the concern that folks are going to be real cold tonight in dealing with this wet weather. WHITFIELD: All right, pretty miserable stuff. All right. Thanks so much, Jacqui. Appreciate that.
Michele Bachmann may no longer be in the thick of the presidential race, but she isn't out, completely. She does have some strong opinions still.
Coming up, what she says her role is now, her thoughts on Rush Limbaugh's controversial comments to a coed and what about an endorsement?
And Prince Harry hits the road. It is his first test as royal ambassador.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
WHITFIELD: President Obama says the United States is committed to standing by Israel. He talked to the largest American Jewish lobbying group today amid concern from Israel about where the U.S. stands on threats from Iran. The president said while he prefers peace, military action remains on the table.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
OBAMA: There are, of course, no guarantees that the Iranian regime will make the right choice. But both Israel and the United States have an interest in seeing this challenge resolved diplomatically. After all, the only way to truly solve this problem is for the Iranian government to make a decision to forsake nuclear weapons.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
WHITFIELD: So Iran is sure to dominate talks tomorrow between President Obama and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of the two are meeting in Washington.
Joining me right now to talk about Iran's nuclear ambitions and what it will take to stop Tehran is security analyst Jim Walsh. He is joining me now from Watertown, Massachusetts.
Good to see you, Jim.
JIM WALSH, SECURITY ANALYST: Always good to see you, Fredricka.
WHITFIELD: Yes. So, remind us. What is the urgency with Iran right now? Remind us where that country is as it relates to nuclear advancements.
WALSH: Sure. And I think there is often a lot of excited talk about Iran. But this is a program that is now more than 25 years old, and it has been a slow progress, sort of two steps forward, one step back, and it made progress and it is now building -- built thousands of centrifuges. But we get quarterly reports from the IAEA, the international atomic energy agency, every three months. And they aren't living up to their own boasts, their own announcements about how great the program is, but it is making progress. I think the concern for Israeli leaders and American policymakers is the ford facility, it's an underground facility, and if they -- they have centrifuges there, that would be hard to get at with a military attack. And that makes some people nervous. And the fact they have 20 percent enrichment. You can't make a bomb really functionally with 20 percent enriched uranium but it is getting you closer down that path.
So, there is still some distance here. You know North Korea has nuclear weapons or had a nuclear test. Iran is not there yet but people don't want them to get any closer than they already are.
WHITFIELD: OK. So when Israel's Shimon Peres says Tehran, quote, "must be stopped and it will be stopped," end quote. But President Obama also underscores that sanctions helped isolate Iran, is Shimon Peres, you know, setting the stage for some preemptive action?
WALSH: Yes, I think -- well, he said several things in that speech including the fact that he believes that the U.S. and Israel have the same goal here, which is to make sure this Iran does not get nuclear weapons. The real decision makers here are not going to be Peres. It is going to be Netanyahu, the prime minister, and his defense minister, and Ehud Barak. They're the ones who are rumored to be considering a military strike.
But the U.S. has made it clear that a military strike is not welcome. That was actually a centerpiece of what President Obama said today and the clip that you played I think was really the key clip. He said we have to work primarily or forcedly through diplomacy, and then leave military action as a last resort. Because history shows that the best way to stop countries from obtaining nuclear weapons is for themselves, to come to the conclusion this is a bad idea.
So, through sanctions, through diplomacy, that's the best guarantee we have to prevent Iran from going down the path toward nuclear weapons. If we strike them and Israel also suggests this, if we strike them, that may be the thing that leads to them becoming a nuclear weapon state, for them deciding to become a nuclear weapon state, something that our intelligence community says has not yet been decided.
WHITFIELD: But then, I wonder do we hear both messages coming from today's APEC meeting or at least opening in that conference that while the president says diplomacy is the first thing to push and that there is still room for diplomacy, at the same time, that he said the U.S. would not hesitate to defend itself, is that any kind of inference that, you know, Iran is in a position to strike Israel or perhaps even strike the U.S.?
WALSH: Yes, I don't think yet. Not yet, Fredricka. And that's not going to be true for some time. Remember, Israel has the biggest military in the region, qualitatively and quantitatively the biggest military. As President Obama pointed out in his speech, the U.S. and Israel have engaged in joint exercises. We have made military transfers there.
And so, this is more a message to Iran, it is part good cop/bad cop, bad cop putting pressure on them, sanctions, threat -- letting them know that no options are off the table, but really trying to focus on diplomacy, because as the president said, in the end, historically, case after case, Libya, South Africa, all the other countries that started down that path, the way you get countries to stay away from nuclear weapons is you decide this is not in their interests, that they have more to use than to gain by that. So, that is going to continue to be the focus, I think.
WHITFIELD: All right. Jim Walsh, thanks so much, from Watertown, Massachusetts. Get a chance to visit your beautiful campus of MIT recently. So, sorry I didn't get a chance to see you while I was there.
WALSH: I'm sorry, I did not see you. Yes.
WHITFIELD: Maybe, next time. It's a gorgeous campus. I enjoyed it. Next time, I'll have to stay there longer.
All right, Jim Walsh, thanks so much.
Much more of the NEWSROOM right after this.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
WHITFIELD: All right. It is day three of Prince Harry's overseas trip, celebrating his grandmother's diamond jubilee. First stop was Belize. Now he arrived in the Bahamas. We have been following his goodwill trip to countries once ruled by Great Britain.
Ralitsa Vassileva is here from CNN International. Anyone who gets to cover this one, quite the boondoggle because all the cool, beautiful, tropical places that Harry gets to see and they're really rolling out the welcome mat for him, aren't they?
RALITSA VASSILEVA, ANCHOR, CORRESPONDENT, CNNI: The excitement is palpable. And he's trying to shed his image of the playboy prince. I mean, he is a serious person also. He's seen action in Afghanistan. He is an apache pilot who just got his certification. But he has this image that has been following him from his youth, you know, these London nightclubs, partying with celebrities that he's the playboy prince.
This is the first time the queen is trust him to go and represent her solo, by himself, in those Caribbean nations. So far he's done very well, even though in Belize they tried to have him drink a lot of rum in the street.
WHITFIELD: Yes. I noticed that. They were trying to --
VASSILEVA: He did very well. He danced. He drank, but --
WHITFIELD: The party image.
VASSILEVA: But seriously today, in the Bahamas, he went to church, he gave a speech, but he also has a lot of fans, ladies really like him.
WHITFIELD: Everybody loves Harry.
VASSILEVA: For example, Miss Bahamas went there. She's totally smitten with him, said she wants to marry him. No response so far.
WHITFIELD: He doesn't want to make any commitments?
VASSILEVA: Not yet.
WHITFIELD: And surely, not on, you know, grand mama's diamond jubilee. So, how long does this go on?
VASSILEVA: Well, it is months. It is a whole year of diamond jubilee celebrations. The royals will be fanning out across 12 nations, representing the queen. The queen, herself, will be staying within Great Britain. She would be traveling --
WHITFIELD: She is not big on traveling long distances right now.
VASSILEVA: Well, she's 85. Some say this is part of a strategy for --
WHITFIELD: What do you mean?
VASSILEVA: Well, basically celebrating the past, but also introducing her successors. But this is a huge thing. She's only the second monarch that Britain has had that has reached this milestone, 60 years in power. But last one to reach that milestone was her great, great grandmother, Queen Victoria, another woman.
WHITFIELD: She probably wants to maintain some stamina because she will be the grand dam during the Lenten games, that's right around the corner.
VASSILEVA: That's right. She's 85 years old, yes, yes.
WHITFIELD: Everyone looking forward to that too. All right. Well, it has been fun traveling with Prince Harry vicariously this way, seeing these beautiful places and seeing how they love him.
VASSILEVA: Stunning. If you saw him climb up that Mayan temple when he was in Belize, so beautiful, I wanted to be there.
WHITFIELD: Maybe next time.
VASSILEVA: Maybe next time.
WHITFIELD: Other nations to tour.
VASSILEVA: Absolutely.
WHITFIELD: Put your dibs in now for those credentials, Ralitsa. Thanks so much. Good to see you.
VASSILEVA: Pleasure.
WHITFIELD: All right. Now, to a big political event right here in the U.S., Super Tuesday, just 48 hours away.
And find out which Republican candidate has the most to lose and which one is gaining ground next.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
WHITFIELD: All right. The biggest voting contest of the primary season is just two days away. Super Tuesday is a battle in ten states with hundreds of Republican delegates at stake.
CNN political director, Mark Preston, join me here at Atlanta.
All right. So, good to see you. This is an incredible day. There is a lot at stake. We're talking about 416 delegates, ten states, each candidate working very hard for the most pivotal state such as Ohio and even Georgia which has the most delegates to a state up for grabs, right?
MARK PRESTON, CNN POLITICAL DIRECTOR: Up for grabs. And you know, they all have a different strategy about what they will determine what is success on Super Tuesday.
In fact, let's look at three polls for three states we're looking at very quickly if we can right now, Fred.
Let's look at Ohio as you said an extremely important state. Rust Belt state is very important in the general election seen as a state that Mitt Romney needs to do well in. Let's go down south and look at Tennessee right now. You know, we heard a lot from Newt Gingrich saying he would do well in Tennessee. He's kind a ceded that a little bit.
And look at the numbers right there. So, if you look at the numbers right there, Rick Santorum and Mitt Romney are now fighting for Tennessee. And then of course, where we sit here in Georgia, which is really the make or break state for Newt Gingrich, Newt Gingrich right now is doing very well in that latest poll.
WHITFIELD: So, it seems Newt Gingrich has the most to lose if he doesn't do well, particularly in the southern states? Because while he's banking on Georgia, he's also kind of banking on the other southern neighbors too.
PRESTON: He is. You know, in he's talked about Tennessee, he's talked about Oklahoma. Yes. He's playing a southern strategy. And the fact of the matter is Newt Gingrich has said that he has to win Georgia in order for his campaign to show viability. He's also kind of downgraded the fact that Rick Santorum has done well in states like Michigan as we saw last week and is he's in least in polling well now.
WHITFIELD: Why is that?
PRESTON: Up in Ohio. Well, because he's not doing well up there and Rick Santorum does very well in these Rust Belt states. And that's where Newt Gingrich and Rick Santorum are fighting for the conservative vote. But what it really comes down to though, is we'll be looking to see what Mitt Romney does up in Ohio. Because if he's able to win Ohio, he might be able to put the naysayers to sleep, so to speak, and say he's the inevitable nominee for the Republican nomination.
WHITFIELD: The argument has been about, who is the most authentic, the most conservative? When you have Virginia's Eric Cantor coming out today, and saying I'm throwing my support now behind Mitt Romney, that really would seem to kind of shake things up because the conservative movement, the party as a whole has been extremely reluctant to throw its support behind Romney.
So, is this kind a like an opening? Why would Cantor step out like that and might there be a domino effect to end up helping Romney?
PRESTON: You know, potentially. But, you know, it wasn't a big leap for Eric Cantor to come out for Mitt Romney for this reason and this reason alone. Mitt Romney and Ron Paul are the only two candidates that will appear on the ballot in Virginia, which is -- which will have a lot of delegates at stake.
WHITFIELD: Registration problem there.
PRESTON: Yes. Rick Santorum and Newt Gingrich weren't able to get on the ballot. So, Eric Cantor has a little cover. But the fact of the matter is he did come out for Mitt Romney today. And you do hear this from the Republican establishment, conservative Republican establishment saying we need to get behind one candidate, we need to start preparing for November.
WHITFIELD: Incredible. It is going to be an exciting day on Tuesday.
Mark Preston, thanks so much. Appreciate that.
All right. Super Tuesday, March 6th, 12:00 Eastern time. If you're not in front of the television set, you do want to check out CNN.com. Wolf Blitzer and CNN's political team are going to be there too, hosting the CNN election round table on CNN.com. It is a live insider chat about the day's implications for the presidential race. Go to CNN.com/roundtable for that.
All right. Foreign policy was a big focus of the Sunday morning talk shows. U.S., Israel relations, President Obama's apology over the Quran burning in Afghanistan. So, here are some of the highlights.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
CANDY CROWLEY, CNN HOST, STATE OF THE UNION: Do you doubt the president or the United States' commitment to Israel?
NEWT GINGRICH (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Of course.
CROWLEY: Why?
GINGRICH: You know, the president's new budget, which cuts aid to Israel for its ballistic missile defense shield. You had no evidence that the president has prepared to take steps to stop Iran from getting nuclear weapons. They talk and the Iranians build. They talk and the Iranians build. And they were being played for fools.
REP. RON PAUL (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: I don't want to interfere with what they need to do for their defense and I don't want to interfere with Israel when they want to have peace treaties. But if I were forced to, I would give my personal opinion about it. I would say, you know, doesn't make any sense to bomb a country that is no threat to anybody.
DAVID AXELROD, OBAMA CAMPAIGN CHIEF STRATEGIST: No one should doubt the president's resolve, not just because of the security of Israel, but because of the security of the United States of America. It is important that Iran not get a nuclear weapon.
OBAMA: Thank you!
GINGRICH: I think the president was totally wrong as commander in chief to apologize to religious fanatics while our young men are being killed in Afghanistan and I think it was a disaster of an apology.
CROWLEY: You think the president was wrong to apologize for the accidental burning of the Quran in Afghanistan?
PAUL: No, I don't think it was wrong, but it is pretty much irrelevant. But I think the Republicans who are condemning it are a little bit over the top too.
AXELROD: The commanders on the ground felt that a high level apology was warranted and necessary for the security of those troops and the president acted on their recommendation.
REP. ERIC CANTOR (R), MAJORITY LEADER: Mitt Romney is the only candidate in the race who put forward a bold pro growth, pro jobs plan for the future. And I'm here today to tell you that I'm endorsing Mitt Romney in his candidacy for the presidency of the United States.
RUSH LIMBAUGH, RADIO SHOW HOST: Meeting and surpassing all audience expectations.
CROWLEY: Can you tell me what you think of Rush Limbaugh in this whole case?
GINGRICH: I think he's indicated himself, he made a mistake, and I think he did the right thing.
PAUL: I would say he used a very crude language and I think he gets over the top at times. But it is in his best interests. That's why he did it. I don't think he's very apologetic. He's doing it because some people were taking their Advertisements off his program.
REP. DEBBIE WASSERMAN SCHULTZ, CHAIRWOMAN, DEMOCRATIC NATIONAL COMMITTEE: I know he apologized. But forgive me if I doubt his sincerity given he lost six advertisers.
CHRIS WALLACE, HOST, NEWS SUNDAY: The centers for disease control say 99 percent of women in this country between the ages of 15 and 44 who have had sexual activity and this includes catholic women, they say that 99 percent of them at some point in their lives have used artificial birth control. Are you saying all those women have done something wrong?
RICK SANTORUM (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: I'm reflecting the views of the church that I believe in. It used to be tolerant of those beliefs. I guess now when you have beliefs that are consistent with the church, somehow or another, you're out of the mainstream and that, to me, is a pretty sad situation where you can't have personal held beliefs.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
WHITFIELD: And Michele Bachmann isn't saying who she'll endorse now that she has suspended her presidential campaign. She told me she wants to wait until after Super Tuesday to say who she'll back.
During my conversation with her, Michele Bachmann said her goal now is to unite the party. I also asked her about conservative radio talk show host Rush Limbaugh's offensive comments about a coed. Does his language taint the conservative movement or Republican Party?
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
MICHELE BACHMANN (R), FORMER PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: The Republican party isn't tarnished at all. The Republican Party is amplifying the voice that says one person, one health care dictator, should not be telling all Americans what we can and cannot do in health care. That's the problem with Obama care. And that's why it has to be repealed, because I want to return to every woman and every man in the United States the freedom to be able to make their own health care decisions. That's what this Obama care --
WHITFIELD: Do you support what the Georgetown student was saying, even as a student that she should be able to have access to birth control in the manner in which she was speaking on Capitol Hill?
BACHMANN: Well, that's exactly my point. I want every individual to be able to have their access to health care. And their decision- making power to health care. That's exactly what Obama care takes away from women across the United States.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
WHITFIELD: All right, Congresswoman Michele Bachmann earlier today.
Kentucky's first responders and National Guard troops are clearing tornado debris right now. Up next, the governor of Kentucky tells us what other help storm victims are getting.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
WHITFIELD: A look at our top stories right now from Indiana to Georgia.
Millions of people are dealing with the aftermath of tornadoes and that big killer storm system. The National Guard is helping with the cleanup and providing security patrols in at least four states. Thirty eight people died in that outbreak. Many have lost their homes and are living in shelters as well. And they could be facing cold temperatures tonight.
Jacqui Jeras will be joining us with more on that.
But right now, Kentucky governor Steve Beshear is joining me now on the phone.
Mr. Governor, our hearts go out to you because your state suffered the most deaths of all of those killed during these couple of days of storms. What is the greatest need for you right now?
GOV. STEVE BESHEAR, KENTUCKY (via telephone): Well, right now we are moving from a search and rescue part of the operation. You know, we finished that now and unfortunately at least today we had 21 fatalities from the storm and more than 300 injuries. But we are now going to be moving into a recovery cleanup and damage assessment mode to get our people back on their feet. You know, we may be down here in Kentucky, but we're not out. Our people are resilient. They pull together. And we're going to get through this.
WHITFIELD: Well, Governor, as the cleanup seems un-daunting. I don't know where you begin and where you put all that debris. But, you know, first and foremost, people need a place to stay. Do you have enough shelters? Do you have enough of that kind of emergency response for the many survivors who are displaced?
BESHEAR: Yes, we do. Fortunately we knew the storms were coming. And they were being tracked, but even before they entered Kentucky. And so we had communicated with all our local emergency management folks and everybody was ready, as ready as you can be, for an overwhelming situation like this.
And so, as soon as these storms passed, all of our folks were in there, and in a coordinated effort. We opened shelters. We have food and water and all of the things, those kinds of necessities that are needed. We are on top of that kind of situation. We had one town that was just almost destroyed. It looks election a bomb dropped right in the middle of town. And another area somewhat like that and so it is going to take a while for us to rebuild, but we're going to take care of our folks and we're going to rebuild.
WHITFIELD: And now with the cold snap on the way, and possibly snow, how does that compound things for you tonight?
BESHEAR: Well, obviously we have got to make sure that people are in the shelters. Our transportation folks are going to be making sure that the roads are kept clear so that our first responders and emergency people can get back and forth and have access to these areas.
But we saw that coming also and Red Cross and a lot of other volunteer folks work with us. They do a fantastic job and they're manning these shelters. And everybody who needs a place is going to have one. WHITFIELD: And so National Guard troops are on the ground by the hundreds. Is that how they are being best utilized by helping to clear that debris, make some of those roads passable?
BESHEAR: Yes, they're providing security to make sure that we don't have any looting and I'm happy to say that we really don't have any of that kind of thing going on. It is at a very minimum. They're also providing traffic control and debris removal. Our National Guard are great folks. They know how to do these things. We have over 400 of them there already.
WHITFIELD: OK. Kentucky governor Steve Beshear, thanks so much for your time. And, again, we're wishing you and all those in Kentucky who are suffering through so much right now the very best.
BESHEAR: Well, we appreciate your thoughts and prayers.
WHITFIELD: All right, we're going to talk overseas politics.
Vladimir Putin says he is the president of Russia again. It is Election Day there. We are going to be taking you to Moscow live.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
WHITFIELD: In Southern Poland, two passenger trains collided head on overnight. Sixteen people were killed including an American citizen. At least 60 others are hurt.
Mourners in Japan marked the solemn anniversary of a triple disaster.
(VIDEO CLIP PLAYING)
WHITFIELD: It was a year ago today a killer earthquake, tsunami and nuclear meltdown rocked Japan, leaving nearly 16,000 people dead and towns in ruins. Japan's prime minister says many lessons will be learned from that devastation.
And voters in Russia overwhelmingly elected Vladimir Putin back into the office of president today with over half of the votes counted. Putin has more than 64 percent. That's much more than he need to avoid a runoff.
Let's talk to CNN's Phil Black who is live for us now from Moscow. OK. So Phil, is this what people expected or are there real surprises?
PHIL BLACK, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, certainly a very strong showing for a politician who in recent months has been dealing with unprecedented opposition and dissent on the streets of Moscow and other cities. Tens of thousands of people have been out regularly protesting against Vladimir Putin. So I think if you ask his supporters, and he still remains the most popular politician in the country, they're not too surprised by this. But for those who oppose him, who oppose his continued leadership of this country, they firmly believe something is not quite right here and we'll be hearing more about this in the coming days. They firmly believe that there was cheating. There was fraud. There were falsifications in vote here.
But, regardless, Putin has accepted this with a great deal of happiness. Seal a period before, tens of thousands of his own supporters earlier tonight. He appeared very emotional. Some people who say, he even appeared to be crying. Let's take a little listen to what he said then.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
VLADIMIR PUTIN, RUSSIAN PRIME MINISTER 9through translator): As the victory honors, as tense, we are appealing to all people to unite for our people from motherland. We will win.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BLACK: A passionate declaration of victory there from Vladimir Putin, the man who has already been president from 2000 to 2008, spent the last four years as prime minister because of term limits. And now, returning to the presidency again for a historic third term. He could potentially be president again for another 12 years who bring his total time as the dominant political person in this country to 24 years, thus sure as the record held by (INAUDIBLE) - Fredricka.
WHITFIELD: SO Phil, I know you said some of the opponents that kind a doubt that this was a legitimate win, yet, might there still be some protests as earliest tomorrow? Do people dare to do that?
BLACK: Yes. Well, that certainly what the opposition leaders say they are going to do. They are just going to take to the streets as early as tomorrow evening. And then they will go from there, they say, is to maintain the momentum of the protest movement that has developed in this country over the last three months or so. They would have hold regular gatherings like this.
Some of the believers they can gradually chip away at Vladimir Putin's political power over time, forced him to compromised, forced him to raised democratic (INAUDIBLE) greater democratic reforms. Others are hoping for something a little bolder, something even more ambitious they - they want to maintain pressure to the point. Build up the level of public opposition here to a point where it resembles something like a peaceful revolution. And I can actually ban him from taking office in May this year.
WHITFIELD: Wow. What a contentious election. Thanks so much, Phil Black, coming to us from Moscow.
All right. Back in this country, home prices and interest rates are plunging in this unstable economy. So is this the best time to buy, sell or rent a house? The answer, straight ahead.
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WHITFIELD: We're in an economic recovery. What does it mean if you're looking for a home? In this week's "Smart is the New Rich", Christine Romans takes a look at whether you should buy, sell or rent in this housing market. (BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
CHRISTINE ROMANS, CNN BUSINESS CORRESPONDENT: Are we finally seeing the bottom in the housing market? Let's get right to the bottom of it.
Mike Aubrey is a realtor and host of GHTV's real estate intervention. Mike, would you say it is time to buy, sell or rent in this market?
MIKE AUBREY, REALTOR: An equitably, you must buy right now. We're never going to see prices as cheap as they are and we're never going to see mortgage money as cheap as you can get it.
ROMANS: I know, but we have been thinking this for a few months now, years now that home prices couldn't go lower and keep going lower. That's the big fear if you buy a house now. It could be a less expensive house in one or two years.
AUBREY: Well, you know what, I mean, I think that it depends on who the buyer is, Christine. I mean, if you're an investor and you're someone who is savvy and out in the marketplace, I think you may have a different viewpoint than someone who is looking to buy a house that they intend to live in.
If you intend to live in a house now, you'll get a mortgage interest rate deduction on that house that you're going to live in. I think that what you're going to do is cut your nose off despite your face. Say the market continues to drop even through the end of 2012, which it may very well.
I know that mortgage rates aren't going to go any cheaper than they are right now. And when you talk about the gift that keeps on taking, even a quarter point mortgage interest over 30 years, which by the way, right now is about 3.88 percent on a fixed loan, you are going to end up paying more even if you pay $20,000 or $30,000 less for the house you buy.
ROMANS: Yes. To get the mortgage rate, you need money in the bank, money to put down, pretty good credit score and of course, you have to a house that you can sell. Already, you can't have a house you can't get rid of. But you're right, these mortgage rates have never been so low and home prices have -- home sales starting to pick up a little bit.
Mike Aubrey, thank you so much.
I'm Christine Romans with this week's "Smart is the New Rich".
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WHITFIELD: All right. We are also finally getting some good news from the auto industry and hoping for better news on the job front. Here now is Alison Kosik and Poppy Harlow.
ALISON KOSIK, CNN BUSINESS CORRESPONDENT: Hi, Fredricka. A big headline on Wall Street this past week was the jump in auto sales. Automakers reported their best February in four years with industry wide sales rising almost 16 percent. Chrysler led the PAC with a 40 percent jump, Ford, General Motors and Toyota, all posted increases as well.
GM says the job market is doing better, credit is easing and consumer confidence is rising. The increase came as a bit of a surprise because gas prices are soaring, but many buyers want more fuel efficient vehicles.
Poppy Harlow has a look at what's coming up in business news now - Poppy.
POPPY HARLOW, CNNMONEY.COM CORRESPONDENT: Thanks so much, Alison. Well, the February jobs report will be released this coming week. The unemployment rate has been improving and Wall Street will be looking for that to continue. Unemployment is at 8.3 percent compared to more than nine percent just a year ago.
Also, we're expecting big headlines out of Apple. The company is holding an event in California on Wednesday and all bets are that it will release the ipad 3. Anticipation of the new device has been helping drive Apple stock way up. Shares hit a record high of nearly $550 last week.
We'll track that and all the business news of the week for you right on CNN money. Fred, back to you.
WHITFIELD: All right, thanks so much, ladies.
All right. Tax advice that could help you avoided an audit by the IRS. Straight ahead, eight tax pitfalls to look out for.
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WHITFIELD: All right. Its tax time and you have just over five weeks until your return is due, so what can you do to avoid an IRS audit?
According to learnvest.com there are eight things that could flag your return. Reporting the wrong taxable income for one, trying to deduct a lavish steak dinner with clients as a business expense, deducting your car as a business expense when you also take the kids to soccer and run errands and all that, and making errors like filing the wrong deduction or math errors. It can all cost you.
So what are the other four tax audit triggers in Alexa Von Tobel, the CEO of learnvest.com, a personal finance and lifestyle Web site for women, laid it all out for me earlier.
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ALEXA VON TOBEL, CEO, LEARNVEST.COM: Let's say this year you donate, write a check to your alma mater and then lose your job. That ultimately makes sense and you're not really triggering something that seems odd. What does seem odd and where it's not OK, is let's say you decide to write off your 1995 Camry that you donated for $15,000. Large donations like that when you're not making a lot of money really trigger the IRS' attention and the take away here is if you're going to donate anything over $500, you're going to need to fill out form 8283 to ultimate substantiate that donation. So, just make sure that the dollars made sense.
WHITFIELD: OK. And what about your home office? A lot of people work from home and they want to be able deduct, you know, that workspace from I guess their overall home expenses. How do you do that or can you do that anymore?
VON TOBEL: So you can do that, but here is again when it's perfectly OK. Let's say you do have a home office where your computer is your office is, all your office supplies, and here is the key where you do the majority of your work. What does not make a home office is the laptop in the corner of your living room that you work on from time to time while watching TV at night.
I think it's really important. This is one that again, the IRS pays a lot of attention to. And if you have any questions about whether or not you have a home office, check out IRS publication 587 on their Web site. Read through it and they actually have a nifty flowchart that helps walk through a series of request he is to ultimately tell you if you're on the up and up and can claim a home office.
WHITFIELD: OK. And then a big red flag is when all of your numbers seem to, you know, look perfectly perfect. There are no cents. Everything is dollars. It's all rounded off, but that's a big red flag. I thought maybe you do that just for the sheer idea of convenience.
VON TOBEL: Yes. So here is why that's a big red flag. Here is when it's perfectly OK. If you're going to round a dollar amount let's say $6,301.25 to just $6,301, that's OK. What's not OK, and again, not rocket tier, the IRS will pay a lot of attention if all of your numbers on you tax forms are rounded to the nearest hundred or thousand or 50.
If everything looks tidy and all your numbers look convenient, they're going to wonder one, if you just made things up but then two, if you're not keeping good records. And again, they want you keeping the best records possible. So, just use the actual numbers and if you need to round to the nearest dollar, that's OK but be careful about rounding other numbers.
WHITFIELD: And what's this about a business that's losing money?
VON TOBEL: So, again, if you have a business and here is when it's OK to claim a business that's losing money. If you have a business that is legally set up as a business where you run it like a business and you intend to be profitable and you happen to have a bad year or two and you're going to claim losses, that's OK.
What's not OK is when you have a business that you think of as a business that's not set up as a business that maybe is more of a hobby for you. So let's say fixing antique bicycles or running a small vineyard business or a cupcake business that you don't have set up like a business and that's not intended to be profitable. And you claim losses against that.
So the real take away there is make sure you have a legal business set up as a business and the real way to think about it is it has to be profitable three out of five years to really qualify as a business.
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WHITFIELD: All right. So for more tax advice, check out irs.gov.
All right, back to the tornado zone. We've been telling but that miraculous find of a 20-month-old who had survived the storm. She was found in a field.
Well, now a terrible sad turn. Today she was taken off life support and died. We understand that at least 20 people were there with her, including her grandparents on either side. Just heartbreaking. This being an Indiana state hard hit by that devastating storm system where tornadoes were spurned there and lots of devastation, too many deaths, and now this 20-month-old among them.
And then, another big worry for a lot of survivors, now they're looking at a cold snap that is on the way and possibly even snow.
CNN Meteorologist, Jacqui Jeras is back with us.
JERAS: Yes. Later on this evening and into tonight, Fredricka, right there in Indiana, they could see a couple inches of snow coming in. And you know, a lot of people are out of their homes because of the damage, but many people who are in their homes are without electricity still. This is going to be a long recovery process so being exposed to these types of elements is going to be an issue.
This is not a terribly strong system so nothing severe, no more tornadoes, no lightning even we don't think with this storm. We have some spotty showers there. You can see them in eastern Kentucky at this hour, and then the main system is what you see coming in across parts of Illinois over towards St. Louis. So, starting with rain and then changing over to that snowfall.
Here, you can see where we have the winter weather advisories in effect, West Liberty, Kentucky, one of the areas hit hard. That's under the advisory so, on to three inches in all of that entire purple area.
Here is where the storm system is going to be tracking. This is going to be out of here by tomorrow morning. There you can see it moving over towards the mid-Atlantic and then off the coast. So it's a clipper system as we call it, moves pretty quickly. Temperatures tonight, look at that, down below the freezing mark. So, it will be very cold, but they will recover tomorrow with sunshine and temperatures back in the 50s and 60s -- Fredricka.
WHITFIELD: All right. Thanks so much, Jacqui. Appreciate that.
I know you're going to be keeping us posted throughout the evening. We'll have much more of the NEWSROOM straight ahead. I'm Fredricka Whitfield. Thanks for being with us this afternoon. Don Lemon is coming up next. Have a great week.
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