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Updates On Deadly Mall Shooting; Marlise Munoz Taken Off Respirator and Ventilator; Elementary School Teacher Arrested After Potluck Party; Grammy Awards Tonight; Travel Insider, Denver; Customer Rescues Hard-Luck Waitress; The Beatles Long and Winding Road; Miracle Baby Goes Home; Justin Bieber Arrested
Aired January 26, 2014 - 16:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It is also about your team. I think we were always king of lucky to keep some cool people about you. You know, we always you always that have people around that can check, you know, when they hit you up, they are like hey, you know, fall back.
FREDRICKA WHITFIELD, CNN ANCHOR: Good to see you guys. Always great. Appreciate it.
And if you are wondering on kid's hat there 1973, that is paying homage to the birthday of hip-hop. It was fun to talk with them.
Hello again, everyone. I'm Fredricka Whitfield. Here are the stop stories that we are following at this hour. A heartbreaking face of family's fighting a hospital to get a ventilator is now over. The machines are off for a brain dead pregnant woman. What decisions came today that changed and eight-week long battle?
And police have identified the gunman in the deadly shooting in Maryland. Why did he opened fire in the crowded shopping mall? What police have learned next.
And it has been 50 years since the Beatles took America by storm. Tonight, they will be in the spotlight at the Grammy. So, what is it about those four guys that has changed so much in our world over five decades? More on that coming up?
We begin with breaking news a brain dead pregnant woman has been taken off a respirator and ventilator after an emotional legal battle. A Texas hospital said today it would not fight the judge's ruling to turn off Marlise Munoz's machines. And shortly after, attorneys for her family said the machines were disconnected.
Nick Valencia is live for us now in Fort Worth, Texas outside the hospital.
So Nick, what have we heard from both sides in this?
NICK VALENCIA, CNN CORRESPONDENT: What e have heard from both sides so far, Eric Munoz, the husband of Marlise Munoz did not speak to the media publicly. But attorneys for the family released the statement. I want to read part of that now, Fred. It said at approximately 11:30 a.m. central time, 12:30 p.m. eastern standard time, Marlise Munoz's body was disconnected from life support and released to Mr. Munoz. The Munoz and Machado family will now proceed with the somber task of laying Marlise Munoz's body to rest and grieving over the great loss that has been suffered.
And this journey had been has been about an 8.5 week journey of anguish for the family who has fought the hospital all that time to try to get Marlise Munoz removed from the ventilator.
Marlise Munoz was legally pronounced brain-dead on November 28th, about two days after she was found unconscious on her kitchen floor. Now, the hospital, JPS hospital here behind me, they have maintained that they were doing the right thing all along and simply following state law. They said that they had no legal president or case law to go off of and they felt that keeping Marlise Munoz on the ventilator and giving her life sustaining treatment was the right thing to do.
About an hour before we got the statement from the family, Munoz family attorney, we heard from the hospital and they said in part, from the onset, JPS has set its role was not to make nor contest law but to follow it. On Friday, a state district judge ordered the removal of life sustaining treatment from Marlise Munoz. The hospital will follow the court order. That court order gave the hospital until 5:00 p.m. on Monday to release -- to remove Marlise Munoz from the ventilator. They decided to do that at, as I mentioned, about 11:30 a.m. from Sunday morning -- Fred.
WHITFIELD: All right, any indication about whether there will be a battle coming for that state law?
VALENCIA: You know, that is a great question. And that, you know, some people I have talked to in the legal community say that this is a battle that is far from over. Well, the hospital says that they will follow the court's mandate. I asked them if they have plans to appeal this judge's decision. They said Nick, we are going to follow the court's mandate. There is no word yet from the state capital on whether or the they will intervene -- Fred.
WHITFIELD: All right, Nick Valencia. Thanks so much in Fort Worth.
A day after that deadly shooting inside a Maryland shopping mall, police are releasing new details about the gunman. Investigators have identified him as 19-year-old Darion Marcus Aguilar. And they say he was carrying lots of ammunition and what appears to be make-shift explosives. Police say he shot and killed two people, 21-year-old Brianna Benlolo and 25-year-old Tyler Johnson. Five other people were hurt and the gunman killed himself.
And now everyone is asking why. Erin McPike is live for us now in Columbia, Maryland.
So Erin, what more have we learned leading up to this event?
ERIN MCPIKE, CNN GENERAL ASSIGNMENT CORRESPONDENT: Fred, Howard County police say that Aguilar purchased his shotgun legally a month ago and they transported himself all that ammunition and the shotgun here yesterday morning by taxi.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
MCPIKE (voice-over): The gunman now identified in Saturday's terrifying shooting at this mall in Columbia, Maryland.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Darion Marcus Aguilar id the shooter.
MCPIKE: But police still aren't talking about a possible motive. Although they say the 19-year-old Aguilar lives in the same college park neighborhood as one of the victims, 21-year-old Brianna Benlolo.
CHIEF BILL MCMAHON, HOWARD COUNTY POLICE: We have not been able to verify any type of relationship at this point between him and either of our victims. We can't establish that there is one or there is not one. That is an open question.
MCPIKE: Surveillance videos, police say, revealed that Aguilar arrived by taxi at this upper level mall entrance around 10:15 Saturday morning walking by a children's carousel and carrying a backpack with two homemade explosive devices.
Over the next hour, they say, he went downstairs and then going back into skateboard shop, Zumiez where Benlolo worked alongside the other victim, 25-year-old Tyler Johnson of Mount Airy, Maryland.
Aguilar fired six to eight shots, investigator said, killing Johnson and Benlolo. And the gun fire injuring another woman in the foot on the floor below.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: People started running and they said somebody is down there and he has a gun. And I heard at least eight to ten gunshots.
MCPIKE: As witnesses ran away in the chaos, authorities say he then killed himself with the (INAUDIBLE) 12-gauge shotgun he bought last month in neighboring Montgomery County. Police finished searching the mall early Sunday morning but it remained closed.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
MCPIKE: Now, Howard County officials plan to hold another press briefing in the next couple of hours and they are expecting to talk about the protocol for reopening the mall -- Fred.
WHITFIELD: All right, Erin McPike, thanks so much in Columbia, Maryland.
19-year-old Russian man in Pennsylvania has been arrested and charged with possessing a weapon of mass destruction. Police now say they found a homemade bomb and bomb making materials while investigating an alleged marijuana growing operation. They say this man told them that he wanted to blow things up, but later said he planned to detonate device in the field and was not going to blow anything. He is being held on a half million dollars bail. And health investigators are trying to figure out what is making hundreds of people sick on a royal Caribbean cruise ship. A crew from the center for disease control is boarding the explorer of disease in St. Thomas within the hour to investigate the gastrointestinal illnesses. They will be looking at cleaning and sanitation progress and then if there have been any new cases. A resident of St. Thomas caught up with a frustrated passenger and sent this video to CNN.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: They would just like and they were like, what has been like being on the ship with the virus and everything, if they are really terrible? Yes.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You will never come back again.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Yes.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Not on this cruise.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Yes.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We were here with them two years ago. The same thing. The ship was overrun with this sickness. You know, any sickness is going to involve. But it is the most disorganized trip I have been on in my life. I'm almost 80 years old. It is sad.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Thank you.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
WHITFIELD: The ship left New Jersey on Tuesday. It is get to stop in Haiti and went straight to San Juan, Puerto Rico to be sanitized yesterday. This is the second royal Caribbean ship to get hit with sickness this month. Dozens of people suffered similar symptoms on the majesty of disease a few days ago.
France's former first lady visits India a day after the country's president announces the couple's separation. Francois Holland said yesterday that -- Saturday rather, that he was ending his partnership with long time paramour Valerie Trierweiler. Trierweiler is helping support an anti-hunger charity in India. Her departure comes after a week's long media frenzy filled by allegations that the president was having an affair.
All right, the Seattle Seahawks and the Denver Broncos are arriving in New Jersey today, ahead of next Sunday super bowl. Even though the big game will be played in the town of east Rutherford, New Jersey another city across the Hudson River is actually getting all of the attention.
CNN's Alexandra Field has the story.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
ALEXANDRA FIELD, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Amid all the excitement, there is a little confusions.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Super Bowl XLVIII in New York. Congratulations!
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I can only send one of you to cover the game in New York.
FIELD: This is met-like (ph) stadium in east Rutherford, New Jersey., the host of super bowl XLVIII.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Tell them they better get a geography lesson. \
FIELD: Did you think this would put you on the map?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Absolutely.
FIELD: It is a small town, just nine thousand people.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The stadium is right down here, less than a mile away.
FIELD: A detail that looks to some as if it has been over looked.
MAYOR JAMES CASSELLA, EAST RUTHERFORD, NEW JERSEY: I was just talking a radio host in Seattle and he didn't even realize that the stadium was in New Jersey until a couple of weeks ago. That says something.
FIELD: In New York City, the NFL is transforming Time Square into Super Bowl Boulevard. But in East Rutherford there isn't a single banner in sight. Only one small sign that the mayor had to other himself. And because it used the trademark phrase, Super Bowl, the NFL could object.
What happens if they told to take it down?
CASSELLA: Well, I think it could be dopey of them to tell us to take it down.
FIELD: Do you feel like you are left out in the cold here?
CASSELLA: I'm used to it.
(CROSSTALK)
CASSELLA: You kind of used to it. And you know, you accept it. Life goes on.
FIELD: Hey, is there a little New York, New Jersey rivalry playing in here?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Well, our answer is I'm sure glad I'm next to the biggest city in the world because that is how I make my living. But my New Jersey answer is I'd like to kick them in the shins.
FIELD: Town officials say there has been no effort to promote east Rutherford, but the NFL insists that New Jersey isn't getting the short straw telling CNN there are more activities in New Jersey than New York.
Players are staying in Jersey City training and media appearances will be held in state.
Come game day the mayor said this town will feel proud, even if East Rutherford has taken a backseat even though the mayor will have to find his owned seat.
CASSELLA: I also will probably be sitting in my lounge chair on my recliner watching the game.
FIELD: Alexandra Field, CNN East Rutherford, New Jersey.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
WHITFIELD: And a teacher has new meaning the word potluck. What he is accused of doing something at a recent dinner party.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
WHITFIELD: A recent potluck dinner party in California left several guests sick. And now police are accusing one guest of adding an illegal ingredient to her dish. Andrea Borbeau (ph) from CNN affiliate KTIX has more.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
ANDREA BORBEAU, REPORTER, CNN AFFILIATE KTIX (voice-over): Benicia detective say the trouble began on November 21st at a party involving several teachers from Matthew Turner elementary. It was a potluck. After the party, several of the 20 people there began feeling ill, seriously ill.
LT. FRANK HARTING. BENICIA, CALIFORNIA POLICE: One of the party goers was rushed to the hospital with severe reactions. She was hospitalized. The very next morning, another party goer was taken to the hospital because she continued to feel like she was under the influence of something. She wasn't sure what it was.
BORBEAU: Hospital blood tests confirmed the presence of THC, the active ingredient in marijuana. And it wasn't just the holiday party goers who ate the allegedly laced food.
HARTING: One of the attendees took some of the food home and their 15-year-old juvenile ingested this food and became ill.
BORBEAU: That is when the police investigation began and the person who brought the laced dish was identified 47-year-old Teresa Badger, an elementary school teacher. Witnesses told Benicia detectives after the party, Badger admitted to them that she put pot in the dish. Badgers' neighbors said the charges, three felony counts of poisoning don't fit the woman and mother they know.
DAVE PADILLA, NEIGHBOR: What I'm hearing from you, guys, is totally out of character. Teresa is about as kind and she is a dedicated teacher. She is someone who keeps to herself.
BORBEAU: Badger was arrested Friday afternoon at her home. When our cameras were there, a light was on, but nobody answered. Benicia police department is not commenting on exactly what item badger may have brought to the party saying they have still people to interview in the investigation.
In Benicia, Andrea Borbeau, KPIX 5.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
WHITFIELD: President Obama gives his state of the union address Tuesday and he is playing a new playbook. What does he need to say, I'll ask presidential historian, Alan Lichtman.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
WHITFIELD: All right, we've been talking today about President Obama's state of the union address coming up Tuesday. CNN's political editor, Paul Steinhauser breaks down how the president is doing in the poll as he prepares to address the nation.
PAUL STEINHAUSER, CNN POLITICAL EDITOR: Hey, Fred. It is traditionally the biggest speech of president gives each year.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
BARACK OBAMA, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: We have cleared the way the rubble of prices. We can say with reviewed confident that the state of our union is stronger.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
STEINHAUSER: And as President Obama gets ready to give a primetime address in front of Congress and the nation, when it comes to his poll numbers, there is not so much to brag about.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
OBAMA: That I will faithfully execute --
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The office of the president of the United States.
STEINHAUSER: At his second inaugural, a year ago soon after this re- election victory, Mr. Obama ratings stood in the low to mid 50s. But after the NSA and IRS controversies and the deeply flawed roll out of the healthcare law, the president's numbers tumbled. According to a new CNN poll of polls which averages the most recent surveys, Mr. Obama's approval ratings stand at 43 percent with 50 percent giving his performance a thumbs down.
The president's approval rating has slightly rebound from late last year when it was at or near all time lows at many surveys. He said last year that he doesn't obsess over polling.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) OBAMA: I mean, if I was interested in polling, I wouldn't run for president.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
STEINHAUSER: So, how does Mr. Obama compare to his most mediate two term predecessors in the White House as they started the six-year of their presidencies?
George W. Bush's numbers were also under water. But Bill Clinton and Ronald Reagan's numbers were sitting pretty.
Why do we spend so much time talking about these numbers? Because the approval rating remains one of the best indicators of the president's standing with the public and club right here in Washington -- Fred.
WHITFIELD: All right. Thank you. So much. Paul Steinhauser.
And a reminder, Tuesday night, President Obama delivers his state of the union address. What impact will that have on the midterm election? CNN will have the details live from Washington starting at 7:00 on Tuesday night.
All right, the annual state of the union speech is the president's chance to get a jump on his initiatives for the year. But according to today's "Washington Post," the White House staff won't be doing what it did last year relying on Congress. They have a new plan.
Presidential historian and American University professor Alan Lichtman with us now from Washington.
Good to see you, professor.
ALAN LICHTMAN, HISTORIAN: Thank you.
WHITFIELD: So apparently, the president, according to this new FedEx (ph) at the White House, he will be relying lesson on a-piecing Congress and perhaps using the power of the executive office. So, that is something he is not likely to lay out in his address or was he in your view?
LICHTMAN: I don't think he is going to make a big point of it in his address. Because already that has been a lightning rod for the criticism from Republicans fro going back, they say to the imperial presidency. But I think he will talk into it because as you correctly point out, as long as the Republicans control the house and that is likely to continue throughout his second term there is little he is able to get through the Congress and a president has enormous powers to act through executive orders. Few people know, for example, that the peace core back in the 1960s was actually initiated by executive order before it was suggested by the Congress.
WHITFIELD: All right. So then, what do you envision for this president's state of the union? What does he need to say, you know, versus what does he want to say in your view? LICHTMAN: Well, I think what he needs to do is the following. He needs to explain by the American people that the medicine within the affordable care act really is good for them. He has done a miserable job to this point of selling his most important initiative. He has to explain why this act is early good for most of the American people and why the early roll out problems really don't matter. After all, Social Security had a terrible roll out too. And has been amended numerous times.
In addition, he has to explain what he is going to do some to revive the slow economy, particularly how to help the great American middle class whose really, whose economic prospects have been stagnant for many years.
And finally, he has got to address some of the bug issues of our time like immigration and of course climate change which could be in the future humanity's greatest challenge.
WHITFIELD: And over the years, how important is the state of the union speech in terms of defining the presidency.
LICHTMAN: Not all that important, you know. They are rarely memorable. And in recent years, what we tend to remember is kind of ironic statements like Bill Clinton talking in the mid 90s about the era of big government being over. And of course, the government budget exploding since then or George Bush defining the access. Occasionally though, occasionally a state of the union can define a presidency and even define history like Franklin Roosevelt's for freedom speech in 1941. We still remember it and talk about it.
WHITFIELD: Professor Alan Lichtman, thanks so much from American University. Appreciate it from Washington.
LICHTMAN: Anytime, Fred.
WHITFIELD: A one-of-a-kind wedding is happening on stage tonight with the Grammys with the mega star maid of honor. Details live from the red carpet coming up.
And a legally blind teenager in Georgia sees the world very differently. But it doesn't stop her from helping others. She has collected and donated about 10,000 pairs of shoes for the homeless. Her impact is inspiring others.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE REPORTER: Meet 13-year-old McClain Hermes (PH). Lover of all things, Justin Bieber and fears competitive swimmer. But behind that smile lies a deeper story. McClain She is legally blind. Her vision began to fail when she was eight and doctors say in a few years she won't be able to see at all.
But this 7th grader from Georgia doesn't want your sympathy. She wants your old shoes. In 2009, her father showed her an article about foot wear soles being recycled.
MATT HERMES, MCCLAIN'S FATHER: They were giving people, you know a $5 discount or something on a new pair if they turned in shoes.
MCCLAIN HERMES, SHOES FOR THE SOULS: And so, we decided to like recycling them, we collect them and given to people that needed them.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE REPORTER: Shoes for the souls was born. They say around 10,000 pairs of shoes have been collected over the past four years. Today, McClain is making a special delivery to an Atlanta homeless shelter. And McClain challenges all teens to make a difference.
HERMES: If you have a dream and you think it is unrealistic keep on doing it because you will get there.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
WHITFIELD: Another retailer may be a victim of hackers. This time it is the craft chain store Michaels. The company is not confirm the security breach yet. But it said it has learned of possible fraudulent activity on some of this customers' payment cards and wanted to alert them in time.
And starting today, it will cost you 49 cents to mail a first-class letter. The three cents jump is the biggest increase in more than a decade and it comes as fewer Americans are using snail mail to pay bills and keep in touch, one way around the hype forever stamp. You buy them at the current rate and they are valid forever even if the price does goes up again.
Two race car drivers are recovering after a bad crash at Daytona today. This accident happened less than three hours into the race. Officials say one driver has a broken back and he'll need more surgery before he can actually go home. The other driver has a concussion. Both were awake and responsive this morning. The drivers had complained yesterday that they couldn't see because of the sun.
And now we're just a few hours away from music's biggest night, the Grammy Awards. And one of the night's highlights happens when Beatles' Paul McCartney and Ringo Starr accept a Lifetime Achievement Award. Grammy producers are hoping for a watercooler moment with a mass wedding of gay and straight couples on air. The marriages will take place during Macklemore's performance of "Same Love".
Hey, CNN correspondent Nischelle Turner joins us live from the Grammy red carpet.
Good to see you, Nischelle. We understand there will be a --
NISCHELLE TURNER, CNN ENTERTAINMENT CORRESPONDENT: Hello.
WHITFIELD: Superstar maid-of-honor at that special matrimony ceremony, yes?
TURNER: And officiate. Yes, Fred. Definitely. You know, it is going to be -- and they hope -- one of those watercooler moments that we're talking about tomorrow. I think they're already starting to generate buzz for this moment in the Grammys because you and I are talking about it right now.
The show is still a few hours away. But we're talking about Macklemore and Ryan Lewis' performance of "Same Love" tonight on the show. Now they're nominated for seven Grammys tonight. They're one of the freshest best bands out there. They're going to be performing their hit song on the show tonight, but during this performance 34 couples will be getting married.
Black, white, straight, gay, old, young, all different types of people will be getting married during their performance. Queen Latifa will be officiating the ceremony and yes, you said it, a superstar maid-of- honor will be bearing witness and that is Madonna.
Madonna will be joining the festivities with them and also singing, joining in the performance singing "Open Your Heart," her song, kind of with a flip twist to the same music as "Same Love."
WHITFIELD: Yes.
TURNER: It's going to be a big night, it's going to be a big moment. So I'm so looking forward to seeing it.
WHITFIELD: Yes. Well, the Grammys are always a really big night. But what else is expected? I understand the opening performance, LL, you know, Cool J, you know, who's the host, had said you cannot miss the opening. Have you learned any sense about what may be, you know, entailed?
TURNER: Yes, a little bit.
WHITFIELD: Yes?
TURNER: So I don't have officially exactly what's going to happen. But I can tell you either Jay-Z or Beyonce or both of them together could be the very first thing that you see when the show opens tonight. So everybody has been speculating. Will they perform together. We do know that both of them will be performing. Will they perform together? We're not sure.
But you're right. LL Cool J, he's the master at selling the show. He's been saying, everywhere you hear him, don't miss the opening, don't miss the opening. But there's going to be -- you know, the Grammys always has a moment or two or three.
WHITFIELD: Yes. Yes. And so memorable.
TURNER: And so, you know, some of the things I'm looking forward to, too -- exactly. I'm a big fan of country music and Blake Shelton is one of my favorites. And I think it could be very interesting tonight because he is actually up against his wife, Miranda Lambert, for Best County Solo Performance.
WHITFIELD: Boy.
TURNER: So I don't know. You better hope wifey wins, because happy -- happy wife, happy life. So --
(LAUGHTER)
WHITFIELD: There you go. I'm sure they'll be cheering for each other.
And then let's talk about the fashions.
TURNER: Yes.
WHITFIELD: Because you know what, there are also a lot of glamour don'ts.
TURNER: Sure.
WHITFIELD: You know, on the red carpet when it comes down to Grammys. So it's not like you are looking for the best.
TURNER: Sure.
WHITFIELD: Sometimes you're looking for the worst in fashion. Have you seen anything.
TURNER: Well -- well, you're looking for the outrageous.
WHITFIELD: Not to put you on the spot but you know.
TURNER: I mean, you -- well, hey, listen. I love to people watch. And that's the great thing about the Grammys. The red carpet, right, it is fantastic. People watching.
This is the award show, Fred, that I could actually rock my tennis shoes that you always give me grief about.
WHITFIELD: Yes.
TURNER: And be just fine.
WHITFIELD: That's right.
TURNER: Because people wear anything here. I mean, this is where we saw Lady Gaga come out in an egg. She literally was in an egg.
WHITFIELD: I remember that.
TURNER: And this is where Nicki Minaj wore the nun's habit and she also had that dress like a lioness or whatever she was doing.
WHITFIELD: Yes. What was that?
TURNER: So, you know, this is one of those red -- I know, we still don't know. This is the one where anything goes but we also see some glamour. I mean, some of these songs, Taylor Swift always comes now and she's turned into a major fashionista.
WHITFIELD: She looks like a princess. Yes. TURNER: The older she grows. So yes, so we might see some really glam moment and we might see some what was that.
WHITFIELD: Yes.
TURNER: Some "what now" moments. We definitely will see that.
WHITFIELD: Yes, because, you know, that whole egg moment, that was actually happening live on our air and I remember the correspondent at the time was talking just like you and I and then all of a sudden this egg --
(LAUGHTER)
You know, with folks carrying the egg was going by and it was like, oh my gosh, what is that? So -- all right, well, I guess, they're -- you know.
TURNER: Well, it's going to be a good night, Fred.
WHITFIELD: They're a little mild for now.
TURNER: This can be a really good night. This is a long red carpet.
WHITFIELD: Yes.
TURNER: Exactly. It's a big red carpet.
Actually, Chris, can you just pan down just a little bit. We've got E! next to us, MTV on the other side, and go all the way down, I mean, this is a very long, very big, very chaotic red carpet. And so it's going to be a lot of fun. It's going to be a lot of fun.
WHITFIELD: OK. Very fun. Well, we will be watching. We'll be watching you throughout the evening as well.
Thanks so much, Nischelle. Have a good time out there.
TURNER: Absolutely. Sure, darling.
WHITFIELD: All right. Well, they are arguably the best group in music history. I'm talking about the Beatles. And they're celebrating the 50th anniversary of their American invasion. So what is it about fab four that makes them so timeless? We take a look back.
But first, if you're thinking about taking a trip here are three reasons why you should choose Denver -- beer, burritos and ice skating.
Chris Grundy, the host of "Cool Tools" is our travel insider in the Mile High City.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
CHRIS GRUNDY, DIY NETWORK: Hey, Chris Grundy with ACTV and DIY Network in snowy Denver, Colorado. Follow me as I give you some travel trips in my town, the Mile High City.
On a cold day there is nothing like a hot brunch Steuben's style. One of my favorite dishes the smothered breakfast burrito. Very Denver.
What makes Steuben's unique, man?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It's regional American, so it hits all of the favorite foods all over the country.
GRUNDY: I'm looking around. Very retro.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Except it really has that ;ate '60s, early '70s feel.
GRUNDY: Dig into this burrito. Now that's what I'm talking about.
Time to work off some of that grub. Here at the Evergreen ice skating rink.
The place is 8.5 acres. It's got has 12 hockey rinks and I giant free skating area. Now that my leg, size and (INAUDIBLE) are on fire, I'm topping my day off at the Renegade Brewing Company.
Denver has about 50 microbrews in the metro area. You can't come to Denver without sampling a little bit of brew.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: We have four beers to try today. We have the Redacted Rye IPA, Russian Imperial Scout, elevation triple IPA and black gold the imperial peanut butter cup style.
GRUNDY: I heard that you had this. And that is good.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Every keg has a pound of peanut butter cup.
GRUNDY: There you have it. A perfect day in Denver. For "Travel Insider," I'm Chris Grundy. Cheers.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
(MUSIC)
WHITFIELD: It's been a long and winding road for the Beatles. The super group first landed in the United States 50 years ago, sparking a music revolution.
Well, tonight Paul McCartney and Ringo Starr will accept a Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award. But many people all right asking, what took the recording academy so long?
Robert Thompson is the director of the center for media studies at Syracuse University and has been called a pop culture ambassador. Good to see you.
Good to see you, too. WHITFIELD: So answer the question what did take so long before they could get a Lifetime Achievement Award at the Grammys?
ROBERT THOMPSON, SYRACUSE UNIVERSITY: Well, I don't know what took them so long to give them a Lifetime Achievement Award. But they have been given a lifetime achievement award by many, many, many other aspects of the culture for a long time. I mean, I would say the Beatles -- some of the songs that they created are right up there with those written by, I don't know, Irving Berlin and George M. Cole Haan. Then have become part of the standards of the American sound track.
WHITFIELD: And they really did influence music in so many different ways. What stands out to you as -- I guess the most influential aspect of their music?
THOMPSON: Yes. Well, it's interesting. I mean, obviously rock n' roll was already brewing and in fact started on this side of the Atlantic in the United States. Hill Billy songs. Blues. African- American songs going way back to the plantations. And Elvis of course had already introduced of element of that being co-opted into a more mainstream level.
But what was interesting is the American rock n' roll then goes across the Atlantic for a little cultural laundering and then it comes back in the form of the British invasion. The Beatles and the stones and all the rest of them there. So this homegrown American music type has to somehow get its conversion credibility over there to come back and I think that was a really important step in the emerging new music that would become rock n' roll.
WHITFIELD: Yes. And they didn't just influence music. They really did influence, I guess, pop culture as a whole, they influenced fashion. In what way did you see that everything they brought just resonated so much?
THOMPSON: Yes, well, you're right. Fashion, haircuts certainly. Means of talking, kids in middle schools in Chicago suddenly started having these English and --
(CROSSTALK)
WHITFIELD: Hilarious.
THOMPSON: Right. And so it was all of that and it also I think really kicked in the idea of the garage band. If you and three of your friends can get together with a drum and a guitar and a voice who knows what could happen. Maybe you could get all those women to be streaming for you as well.
(LAUGHTER)
WHITFIELD: And it's not the Beatles at that time or soon after than who? What group would have been as influential as them?
THOMPSON: Well, I'm not sure if any would have quite hit the spot that they did. Simply because they were both dangerous but they were also loveable. They seemed innocently boyish but at the same time they didn't seem like they might trash your town like the Stones or one of those places.
They fit in to this nice little space until they get a little weirder later. But, you know, we ought to remember. As important as that Sullivan was, too, he was the delivery system to -- of anybody into the main stream culture.
WHITFIELD: Right.
THOMPSON: But the Beatles have happened, Ed Sullivan or no Ed Sullivan.
WHITFIELD: Really?
THOMPSON: These people screaming on that first night already loved the Beatles. That's why they were screaming on the first night. And while Sullivan was important to accelerating their baptism into American culture, the Beatles were more powerful than any of that stuff. And may have happened anyway. They were inevitable.
WHITFIELD: It was a really big show, it really was.
All right, well, Robert Thompson, thanks so much. Appreciate that.
And of course, you don't want to miss the CNN original series, "The '60s: The British Invasion," premiering this Thursday night, 9:00 Eastern Time, right here on CNN.
All right. A Tennessee waitress was known for spending her time and money helping the homeless. Well, next stop the amazing story of what happened after she fell down on her luck.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
WHITFIELD: After eight months overseas Lieutenant Colonel Katina Jenkins Sellers wanted her homecoming to be memorable. So she snuck up on her son Derek at the free throw line at his middle school basketball game.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: That's all right, Derek.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
WHITFIELD: That is so sweet. Katina said that she was worried Derek might cry right there in the gym. It's going to happen. Right in front of his friends. And of course the girls. But in the end it was a celebration for everyone. Everybody was crying. You know it.
All right. In Tennessee we've got a story of a good hearted waitress who was down on her luck. That is until one of her customer came to her rescue.
Reporter Jim Matheny from affiliate WBIR in Knoxville has details . (BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JIM MATHENY, WBIR REPORTER: Khadijah Mohamed devotes her life to service on and off the job. When she's not working at a server at Cheddar's, she's making homemade pies, soup, muffins and serving it to the homeless on her own.
KHADIJAH MUHAMMAD, WAITRESS RECEIVED $1.075 TIP: 130 And I'll stop and say hey, want some soup? You want a hot cup of soup?
MATHENY: But all that service stopped this month when Khadijah's mother in Ohio had a heart attack.
MUHAMMAD: And all I wanted was just to see my mother one more time.
MATHENY: She saw her mom and helped her pull through. But in the process Khadijah missed a lot of work and did not have enough money to pay her bills.
MUHAMMAD: Second and final notice of past two bills to prevent service disconnection.
MATHENY: Still she went to work Wednesday and delivered service with a smile.
MUHAMMAD: This one table sat down. It was a man and a woman, they had a small child. The father ordered a country steak, the mother and the son, they split a fish taco. They were really humble people. You know, they signed their receipt. They was sitting on the stable but it was turned upside down, and normally as a server whenever a ticket is turned upside down that means you didn't get a good tip.
MATHENY: When Khadijah turned over the receipt it turned her life upside down.
MUHAMMAD: And I was like, oh my god, and I just lost my balance and I was like, does this say $1,000?
MATHENY: Actually it said $1,075 along with a note.
MUHAMMAD: It says, "Jesus has blessed us and we were led to give it to you. God bless. I mean, what I'm thinking now yes, I believe it. I do believe God sent them my way.
MATHENY: Khadijah said she has no clue who the generous tippers are but she knows what she wants to tell them.
MUHAMMAD: Thank you. Thank them so much. Because I'm humbled. I'm grateful. You were -- I do believe that God led you to me at this time in my life but I do -- you know, I hope and pray that someday I'm able to do this for somebody. And at the first opportunity I would do it.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
WHITFIELD: Well, sometimes strength can come in very small packages. A premature baby is now at home after eight months in a hospital.
Carlos Saucedo of our affiliate KXTV has her story.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
CARLOS SAUCEDO, KXTV REPORTER: It's been an uphill battle for this 8- month-old baby when Amiracle My Blessing Faith Jackson was born last May she weighed 10.5 ounces. The smallest surviving baby ever born in northern California.
FELICIA BROWN, MOTHER: It was scary because they were giving us all these different percentages and just basically telling us that babies that small don't usually, you know, make it.
SAUCEDO: Parents Felicia Brown and David Jackson were told by doctors at San Joaquin General Hospital that the baby's chances of survival were slim.
DAVID JACKSON, FATHER: I held her like this on the first time. I had to use this hand to keep it -- to steady this hand. I held her in the palm of my hand.
SAUCEDO: But this baby has defied all odds and after right long months in the intensive care nursery little Amiracle is now going home.
JACKSON: It's like winning the Super Bowl. We -- like you're just excited.
SAUCEDO: The family now has a home based oxygen machine the baby need to live. And while it's been a roller coaster ride they never lost faith.
Today a true miracle as she finally gets to go home.
BROWN: It's exciting and just -- because we've waited for this for a long time.
SAUCEDO: A blessing that even baffled the nursing staff.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Survival for these babies this small we were not really -- we were very doubtful. But she's definitely her name Amiracle is a miracle.
SAUCEDO: And while the baby is not out of the woods just yet the family says miracles come in all shapes and sizes.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
WHITFIELD: Wow. She is a miracle. And that baby was born 15 weeks early. And we're told that she is now 12 pounds and still she faces however some health problems but she's going home and she's doing well there.
We'll be right back.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
ANNOUNCER: This is CNN breaking news.
WHITFIELD: This breaking story, the Maryland shopping mall where three people were killed in a shooting will open tomorrow. Police say the mall in Columbia will reopen at 1:00 Eastern Time.
The mall closed yesterday after a gunman started shooting inside a store killing two workers and then killing himself.
And U.S. Congress returns to work tomorrow after taking a week-long break for the Martin Luther King holiday. And there is much more in our week ahead.
Also on Monday, former New Orleans mayor Ray Nagan goes on trial for corruption. He is accused of accepting more than $200,000 in bribes in exchange for helping contractors get multi-million dollars city contract.
Tuesday President Obama delivers his State of the Union address. The White House says the speech will spell out ways to grow the economy and strengthen the middle class. While it insists the president's message will be optimistic, a senior adviser also made it clear President Obama will pursue his agenda with or without congressional consent.
You can watch the speech live right here on CNN.
Wednesday we'll find out whether the Federal Reserve will continue to scale back its massive stimulus program if the Central Bank decides to cut back that bond buying program. Interest rates could rise and we could see a strong reaction from Wall Street.
Also Wednesday, Oprah Winfrey celebrates a major milestone. She turns 60 years old.
And on Thursday night, CNN premieres an extraordinary one-hour special, "The '60s: The British Invasion." It re-ignites the landmark musical revolution of 1964 starting with the Beatles' ground breaking trip to the U.S.
And on Friday, Ben Bernanke wraps up his term as the chairman of the Federal Reserve. Her instead vice chair, Janet Yellen, will take over the top job in February.
And Justin Bieber is out on $2500 bond after his arrest Thursday for DIU and (INAUDIBLE) from tweets to TV coverage, you couldn't escape the minute-by-minute coverage of the pop star including the moment that he jumps on his car like there and waved to fans after being released from jail.
Here's Jeanne Moss.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
JEANNE MOOS, CNN SPECIAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): In his jail jumpsuit, Justin Bieber faced the music and we don't mean his own.
WHOOPI GOLDBERG, TV HOST: Baby, this is the biggest mistake you could make.
MOOS: At 19, his first mug shot. Anchors alternated between analyzing his expression.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: He's smiling from ear to ear.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Well, I wouldn't be smiling if I were you, young Justin Drew Bieber.
MOOS: And analyzing his hair.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Look at that hair. I mean really.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: His hair looks spectacular.
MOOS: Reminiscent of young Frank Sinatra when he was arrested for adultery in 1938.
One joker tweeted, "The Justin Bieber mug shots are in and they're incredible."
The press wanted more than a mug shot. Photographers clung desperately to police station gates.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We love you, Justin.
MOOS: They rested their cameras on their heads, got yelled at by police.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Hey. Get off the frigging car.
MOOS: They peered through jail house chain link fencing.
And when Bieber was freed they finally got a decent shot when he momentarily perched on top of an SUV.
Remind you of anyone? Say, Michael Jackson waving after pleading not guilty to charges of child molestation?
Bieber sped off, leaving photographers in his dust.
(On camera): And then there's the minor matter of how to refer to the pop star.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: OK. We have to talk about Biebs.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Police say the Biebs friends --
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: But he was apparently with the Biebs this morning.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Mr. Bieber, you are charged with the following.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: What's going on with Justin? UNIDENTIFIED MALE: So I would say Justin Timberlake, if he decides --
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Bieber. Watch out.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Justin Bieber. Please.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Timberlake's a great guy.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I apologize, Timberlake.
MOOS (voice-over): Online jokes like this circulated, caption photo of Justin Bieber being arrested. The arrest and mug shot will have the impersonators mugging -- from "SNL" to Jimmy Fallon.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I'm Justin Bieber and I'm going to reflect for a minute if that's cool with you.
MOOS: But will the real Justin Bieber reflect on his downward spiral? While we obsess about his hair or PhotoShop his makeup? At least his mug shot didn't look like Nick Nolte's.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: What kind of volumizer that Justin Bieber uses in his hair? Because a lot of us go through great lengths to try to get that sort of height.
MOOS: Height? Seems like a new low.
Jeanne Moos, CNN, New York.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
WHITFIELD: My, my, my. Hey, well, there's a lot more news straight ahead in the next hour of the NEWSROOM. I'm Fredrick Whitfield. My colleague Miguel Marquez is joining us from New York -- Miguel.
MIGUEL MARQUEZ, CNN ANCHOR: Thank you very much, Fredricka. Have a great couple of days off.
You are in the CNN NEWSROOM. I'm Miguel Marquez. Police in Maryland are filling a lot of spaces left unknown after yesterday's deadly shooting in a crowded shopping mall.
