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New DNA Discovered; Vatican Announces Conclave Date; Dow at a New Record High; Winter Storm Causes Coastal Flooding; East Coast Warm-Up This Weekend; Vatican Conclave Begins Tuesday; Asteroid Fly-By on Saturday; Bin Laden Son-In-Law Arraigned; Clinton States Doma Was Lesser of Two Evils; Supreme Court to Take Up DOMA; Norovirus Forces Cruise Ship Home; Jury Deliberates Cannibal Cop Case

Aired March 08, 2013 - 13:00   ET

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

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FREDRICKA WHITFIELD, CNN ANCHOR: All right, Michael was not killing -- kidding. He bolted. The next discovery may help us understand what happened before the last ice age. Scientists in Antarctica have discovered an entirely new life form. It's bacterial DNA that humans have never seen before. The Russian scientist who is did the work said the samples were taken from the underground frozen lake that has been untouched for, get this, 14 million years.

The CNN NEWSROOM continues right now.

All right. Hello again, everyone. I'm Fredricka Whitfield. You're in the NEWSROOM.

The Vatican has decided when the conclave will start. We'll tell you the date and happy tales on the super secret election of the new pope. A live report from Rome straight ahead.

Then, more people got jobs in February than the start of the year. How the report pushed the Dow to a new record high. Are we starting to see a real recovery?

And an asteroid the size of one city block is hurling toward earth. But have no fear, this one is just doing a flyby.

This is the CNN NEWSROOM. I'm Fredricka Whitfield in for Suzanne Malveaux.

All right, what a week on Wall Street. Four days, four straight record highs. It happened again today, the Dow, the S&P 500, the NASDAQ, they are all up and all in record territory. Also today, encouraging news on the job front. The unemployment rate fell lower than analysts had actually predicted.

Let's go to Alison Kosik now at the New York Stock Exchange. So, Alison, is this really great news, good news? I mean, are these signs of a real recovery?

ALISON KOSIK, CNN BUSINESS CORRESPONDENT: It shows that the jobs picture is getting a bit brighter. That momentum is starting to build. What you really want to see are these kind of numbers continue, not just sort of the one-shot wonder.

So, what we learned is that employers added 236,000 jobs in February. It was really a blow-out number. It was a number that surprised Wall Street. And it is part of the reason you are seeing the Dow continue its move higher, the Dow up 35 points right now. And as you said, the Dow's already hit a trifecta of records and it's probably going for a fourth. And that improving jobs picture has a lot to do with it, especially since the expectation was much lower because the expectation was that employers added only 170,000 positions.

Also, the unemployment rate, it fell from 7.9 percent to 7.7 percent. But, you know, overall, you look at how the market's doing, there's really not much stopping the bulls lately. One analyst puts it this way saying, you know, as we get further and further from the economic crisis, people are getting more confident and they want to -- they want to kind of get on that train before it leaves the station, meaning stocks.

WHITFIELD: And so, how optimistic are people?

KOSIK: You know, it is getting harder and harder to find -- to find the bearers (ph). That's not to say that they are not out there. You know, there's one trader that I talked to this week. He was expecting to see, you know, stocks do anywhere from a 10 to 15 percent pullback by the summer. Plus, right -- affecting the trade today are those bank stress tests that I had mentioned last hour. Those are affecting the trade today making you a little more cautious. You're not seeing the Dow really, really rally on such a stellar jobs report. So, that is affecting the trade, but, at this point, the path of least resistance, at least for the south market, is upward -- Fredricka.

WHITFIELD: All right. Alison Kosik, thanks so much for what is -- I think everyone would agree is good news. Appreciate that.

All right, the winter storm that dumped a foot of snow on the Midwest then moved east is causing some serious coastal flooding today in Massachusetts. Check out this surf out in Sandwich, Massachusetts, a pretty sight. There's a coastal flood warning, however, through this evening on the south shore. Residents are being warned there could be destructive high tides tonight and several towns were asked to evacuate yesterday. And you can see this house that you're about to see right there. Yes, that one actually collapsed and several others are a total loss on Plus Island. Virginia also has a coastal flood advisory until 7:00 tonight. Very treacherous conditions there.

All right, meantime, the snow keeps coming for New Yorkers this morning and really strong wind gusts are causing some airport delays from Philadelphia to Boston. Zane Asher joining us now from New York. Zane, good to see you. So, what are New Yorkers saying about this snow? Are they just kind of soldiering through it all?

ZANE ASHER, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hey, Fred. Well, you know, there was a little bit of uncertainty, you know, about how much snow we were actually going to get here in Manhattan. But people here are genuinely surprised, you know, to wake up, draw their curtains and see their city covered in a blanket of snow. It's starting to taper off right now. It's more like rain. But earlier on, we did get roughly around two to three inches. Not that much. Not quite enough for the kids to build a snowman with. But on the streets of Manhattan, you know, it's not really accumulating. That's partly because the temperatures are relatively high here, so the snow isn't accumulating on the ground.

But let's talk about other parts of the country, other parts of the Northeast, Boston. You know, over there it's a completely different story, roughly around 10 to 12 inches of snow. I was in Scituate, Massachusetts yesterday, coastal flooding was the name of that game. Also, as you mentioned, Fred, that house in Plum Island, dramatic video of a house collapsing because of the severe weather. Yes, but I'm going to show you Manhattan right now. You know, a slushy commute so, bottom line, if you are planning heading out, just be careful -- Fred.

WHITFIELD: Oh, and how about for the weekend?

ASHER: Yes. Well, for the weekend, you know, we are expecting a lot better temperatures here in Manhattan, roughly around 50 degrees -- 40, 50 degrees here. In the south, 60, 70 degrees.

WHITFIELD: Oh, my.

ASHER: So, we do have a treat in store for us -- Fred.

WHITFIELD: Oh, a nice little warm-up. It's going to be a slushy mess, though. All right, thanks so much, Zane.

All right, it's getting closer, the vote to elect a new pope just days away now. The Vatican now says the conclave will begin Tuesday. Let's go straight to Rome and our Senior Vatican Analyst John Allen. So, John, even though the conclave starts Tuesday, it will take time to hear the verdict who becomes the new pope to see that white smoke, right?

JOHN ALLEN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes, that's absolutely right. I mean, the way this conclave works is that in order to be elected pope, a candidate has to get two-thirds of the vote.

WHITFIELD: Yes.

ALLEN: Now, there are 115 cardinal who will be voting in the conclave, that means the magic threshold is 77 votes. And there's no shot clock in a painful (ph) election. They'll go as long as it takes for somebody to get here. You know, Fredricka, the shortest conclave in history was two hours, and the longest one was almost three years. So, it's really anyone's guess how long this might take.

WHITFIELD: And so, John, kind of paint a picture for us. What happens once that conclave begins to meet? What transpires during that time?

ALLEN: Well, what'll happen is on Tuesday, the cardinals will hold a special mass for the election of the pope. Then that night, they will go into the 16th Chapel. They will hold one ballot that night. Then the next day, they will hold two ballots in the morning, two ballets in the afternoon, and they'll keep going as long as it takes to get two-thirds.

Now, this isn't a simple matter of just calling the question and having guys raise hands. The way it works is each cardinal has to fill out a ballot. They're given about 10 or 15 minutes to do that. Then individually, they have to process up to a special table placed at the foot of Michael Angelo's famous fresco of the last judgment. They have to swear a note that they are voting in conscience for the man before God they believe should be elected. Then, the ballots have to be counted by a bank of three cardinals. Another bank of three cardinals has to check the vote. Soup to nuts, Fredricka. One round of balloting takes about an hour and a half. So really, the entire day, both morning and afternoon, is consumed doing nothing other than casting these ballots.

WHITFIELD: And then once there is, say, a list of names, if it boils down to that, is there an open discussion? I mean, I know that, you know, you and I have talked before. There is no campaigning, so to speak, but is there kind of an open discussion about these candidates before people fill out these ballots?

ALLEN: Well, first of all, Fredricka, let's be clear. There is no campaigning that you and I are going to see, --

WHITFIELD: Yes.

ALLEN: -- but there is campaigning going on --

WHITFIELD: Ah hah.

ALLEN: -- in sort of sodo vocho (ph) fashion, obviously. You know, the campaigning doesn't go on inside the 16th Chapel. Where the politics of conclave happen, they're happening right now as cardinals get together privately in various places around Rome to talk to one another. Once the conclave begins, they will happen inside la Casa Santa Marta, that's the hotel on Vatican grounds where cardinals will be staying during this process. And at breakfast, lunch and dinner in the very large hotel, you will see them meet in twos and threes and 10s and 20s and that's really where the conversation goes on. What happens inside the 16th Chapel is ceremonial. The politics is everything that happens on the outside.

WHITFIELD: All right, John Allen. Thanks so much for bringing that perspective to us from Rome.

All right, the earth will get another close encounter with another large asteroid this weekend. Rest easy though, the giant space rock which is about the size of a city block won't get closer than 600,000 miles. The moon is less than half that distance away. It won't be like what we experienced or witnessed a few weeks ago when a meteor slammed into southern Russian area near Kazakhstan. That explosion shattered windows, as you heard in the vide videotape, for miles. About 1,500 people were hurt as well.

All right, coming up this hour, Bill Clinton is speaking out in support of same-sex marriage. Why the former president wants to overturn the law that defines marriage between a man and a woman.

Then, while parts of the country are trying to limit access to guns, one town in Georgia is trying to require, make it mandatory, that citizens own them.

And the battle over sugary drinks in New York is now affecting coffee drinks. Why a large coffee with sugar may be rather hard to find.

This is the CNN NEWSROOM, and it's all happening now.

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WHITFIELD: All right, this man related to the most notorious terror leader the modern era faced an American judge a couple of hours ago in New York. Sulaiman Abu Ghaith is Osama Bin Laden's son in law. We're told he was captured this week in Turkey and turned over to U.S. officials in Jordan. The charge, conspiracy to kill Americans. He pleaded not guilty to that charge this morning.

Bill Clinton is having a change of heart about the defense of marriage act that he signed 17 years ago. He now wants the U.S. Supreme Court to overturn the law that defines marriage as only between a man and a woman. Clinton wrote in this "Washington post" editorial saying, quote, "On March 27th, doma will come before the U.S. Supreme Court and the justices must decide whether it is consistent with the principles of a nation that honors freedom, equality and justice above all and is therefore constitutional. As the president who signed the act into law, I believe -- I have come to believe, rather, that doma is contrary to those principles and, in fact, incompatible with our constitution." End quote. That from the former president, Bill Clinton.

CNN's Senior Legal Analyst Jeffrey Toobin joining me now from New York. So, Jeff, very interesting. Clinton said in this op-ed that 1996 was a very different time. So, how influential will the former president's words be when the justices take this up?

JEFFREY TOOBIN, CNN SENIOR LEGAL ANALYST: Well, it's really in a remarkable, just event in American history to have a president of the United States say that a bill he signed was unconstitutional. I can't think of another example of a president doing that. You know, as a technical legal matter, this is not relevant to the justices. The justices are dealing with the law of the constitution and the precedence of the Supreme Court. But in the real world, the changes in all attitudes towards gay rights, towards same-sex marriage, I think, will have a big impact.

WHITFIELD: And to what degree? Because, you know, we are talking about an evolution of thinking.

JEFFREY TOOBIN, CNN SENIOR LEGAL ANALYST: Well, it's really in a remarkable just event in American history to have a president of the United States say that a bill he signed was unconstitutional. I can't think of another example of a president doing that. You know, as a technical legal matter, this is not relevant to the justices. The justices are dealing with the law of the Constitution and the precedence of the Supreme Court. But in the real world, the changes in all attitudes towards gay rights, towards same-sex marriage, I think will have a big impact.

FREDRICKA WHITFIELD, CNN ANCHOR: And to what degree? Because, you know, we are talking about an evolution of thinking. You know, we are talking about even the justices, you know, some might acknowledge that their legal opinions change just as times change. Contrary or -- you know, whether it's contrary to what the law states.

TOOBIN: You know, this is a philosophical debate that goes on at the Supreme Court all the time. You have justices like Antonin Scalia who say the Constitution means what it meant in the 18th century when it was ratified by the states and that's all it means. It doesn't evolve. It doesn't live. You have other justices like Ruth Bader- Ginsberg who say of course the Constitution means something different. The society changes, so our understanding of words like equal protection change.

That's a philosophical split. The court is split about four to four to one on that issue. Anthony Kennedy is the justice in the middle usually and his vote will probably determine the outcome of this case.

WHITFIELD: And is this one - is this an argument that you see will take an awful long time before there's a real conclusion coming from that court?

TOOBIN: Well, I don't think it will be all that long. The Supreme Court term ends always at the end of June, we'll have an answer. Both on the constitutionality of the Defense of Marriage Act, as well as the constitutionality of Proposition 8. The law that said no -- no same-sex marriage in California. Both of those cases will be resolved legally. But the political fight certainly will be -- will continue long after June.

WHITFIELD: Wow, so as early as this summer.

Jeffrey Toobin --

TOOBIN: Absolutely.

WHITFIELD: Thank you so much. Appreciate it.

All right. Let's take a look at live pictures right now for Caracas, Venezuela. That's where the funeral for President Hugo Chavez is under way. Vice President Nicholas Maduro says the former president will be embalmed and his body put on permanent display.

A New York City officer is accused of plotting to kidnap, and yes, cook and eat women. And now his fate is in the hands of a jury. A live report from the court.

Then a cruise ship returning to ports early? The cause this time, norovirus. What that means for the passengers next.

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WHITFIELD: All right. Trouble again on another cruise ship. This time the Royal Caribbean's Vision of the Seas cruise ship apparently more than 100 people have gotten sick from a virus.

Elizabeth Cohen is with us now on what the virus is all about. We're talking about the norovirus. People have heard about that.

ELIZABETH COHEN, CNN SENIOR MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT: I'm sure.

WHITFIELD: Maybe they don't have a real clear understanding about what that means. How sick do you get when you have that?

COHEN: You get pretty sick. I mean, most people who are healthy will feel awful for a couple of days and recover. But it's a pretty bad couple of days. I mean, it's bad vomiting and diarrhea. It is not pleasant.

WHITFIELD: And it's so bad that now this ship is coming back to port -- Port Everglades there --

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COHEN: So many people are sick. Right?

WHITFIELD: Yes.

COHEN: Right. So many people sick.

WHITFIELD: Oh boy.

COHEN: This is extremely contagious. And if you get this, there's an excellent chance that everyone around you is going to get it. I mean, you have to be scrupulous about hand washing and cleaning down surfaces. It's a tough virus to prevent. It really is.

WHITFIELD: My goodness. So I mean, now -- how will these people be treated on board as they make their way to port?

COHEN: They're treated with your sort of basic over-the-counter things that any of us would take if we had, you know, stomach problems, diarrhea, vomiting. There's nothing really special. The people you're going to look out for are elderly people, the very young and people with immune problems.

And in fact, those people, like people with immune problems, are told not to go on cruises because this is -- it is so common that they're told, hey, just don't -- don't even get on there.

(CROSSTALK) WHITFIELD: I was going to say, why would we care about the norovirus so often as it pertains to cruise ships? Because of, you know, closed quarters or what's going on there?

COHEN: Exactly. Closed quarters, it's sort of like, you know, the germs have a great chance. Right? If I were a germ, I'd want to be on a cruise ship, right?

WHITFIELD: Yes.

COHEN: Where you've got tons of people in a small space. They can't go anywhere else. It's a great place to get a bug.

WHITFIELD: What drag. People were looking forward to a 10-day trip.

COHEN: I know.

WHITFIELD: Going to the Caribbean, Virgin Islands, all kinds of incredible places and then only to get sick and come back home.

COHEN: Right. And they do the best they can. The cruise lines. They wash everything down. When you board the cruise, they say, have you had any gastrointestinal issues in the past three days, and you're supposed to not board if you have, but I imagine some people, you paid for it. You might just say yes, right?

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WHITFIELD: Like I've been waiting for this trip. Exactly. All right.

COHEN: I'm not telling you.

WHITFIELD: All right. All right. Elizabeth Cohen, thanks so much. Not life threatening but very uncomfortable.

COHEN: Right. Very uncomfortable. And life threatening if you were sick to start out with.

WHITFIELD: All right. Got it. All right, thanks so much, Elizabeth.

COHEN: Thanks.

WHITFIELD: All right. A jury is now deliberating the fate of a man known as the cannibal cop. This is New York City. Gilberto Valle is a police officer charged with planning a long list of violent acts against women. Kidnapping, murder and eating the bodies of his victims.

Our legal analyst Sunny Hostin is there outside the courthouse.

So, Sunny, the jury now has the case. It has been long -- a very drawn out process. Has there been lot of mounting evidence or was this something that was, you know, speculative based on a lot of eyewitness accounts? SUNNY HOSTIN, CNN LEGAL ANALYST: You know, it's very interesting. I thought going into this that we would get a verdict pretty quickly because it was a case that was pretty cut and dry, in my view, having tried so many cases. It was about whether or not Gil Valle was fantasizing or whether or not he really intended to kidnap and rape and murder and eat these alleged victims.

Well, interestingly enough, the jury has already over two days been deliberating almost five hours. And I've got to tell you, it seems like they have dug in. They've asked for a white board. They've asked for a flip board. They've asked several questions. They've asked for the transcripts of seven witnesses. So it seems to me that they have have been paying attention but that they don't think that this is an easy case.

And they may, in fact, be digging in. So I thought we were going to get a verdict perhaps yesterday. Clearly I was wrong. So while it's windy and snowy out here in front of the courthouse, it's probably pretty hot back there in the jury room.

WHITFIELD: So what seems to have been the most, I guess, damning piece of evidence, if there is such a thing, against him to allow or to help prosecutors try to make their case?

HOSTIN: You know, I will tell you what I think this jury is struggling is the fact that while he was perhaps fantasizing and perhaps on these Web sites and in these chatrooms discussing these plans, the prosecution says he went a step further. He got into his car, traveled to Maryland and actually had brunch with one of his alleged targets.

And I believe from one of the jury notes that they sent out today that they are struggling with that. Is that perhaps crossing the line for Gil Valle? Will that lead to a conviction on that alleged conspiracy to kidnap? Perhaps. But it is very interesting that the jury did ask a question about that particular element of the crime.

WHITFIELD: All right, Sunny Hostin, thanks so much. Keep us posted as the jury deliberates.

All right. The young woman killed by a captive lion in California two days ago was not mauled to death, but Dianna Hanson was certainly killed by the 350-pound cat that suddenly attacked her inside the animal's enclosure.

Her father talked to CNN's Anderson Cooper last night.

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PAUL HANSON SR., DAUGHTER KILLED BY LION WEDNESDAY: There's no mauling by the lion. It was more likely a quick suffocation and neck fracture. And there was no blood. And they think it was a quick death followed by just some injuries of a lion that was probably just playing too hard. And also she was so happy. Her last two months there as an internship at Cat Haven were the happiest of her life. Her mother and I agree that we have never seen her happier than the two months she has been there since January 2nd when we got there.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: Paul Hanson told Anderson that he had a premonition that something bad would happen to his daughter while working with those lions. The 24-year-old Dianna Hanson died Wednesday in the animal enclosure at a big can sanctuary. She was working there as an intern.

While parts of the country are trying to limit access to guns, one town in Georgia is trying to mandate guns that every citizen has one.

Then, an African-American child that is bullied at school gets invited to a party. Sounds good, right? Well, no. His mom says the party had a racist theme. We'll explain next.

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