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A deadly shooting occurred in Howard County, Maryland; Hours ago brain dead and pregnant mother, Marlise Munoz, was removed from machines keeping her alive; Royal Caribbean Passengers Still in Quarantine; Music Stars Gearing Up For Grammys; Predicting Grammy Winners Via Online Trends; Uptick In Lawyer Suicides Alarms Bar Associations Across The Country; Debate Over Richard Sherman's Post- Game Rant Continues; FitNation Contestants For 2014 Revealed
Aired January 26, 2014 - 17:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
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 in a lot of spaces left unknown after yesterday's deadly shooting in a crowded shopping mall. We now know how the gunman got to the mall, what kind of shotgun he used to kill two store employees and they do know the shooter's name.
CNN's Erin McPike is outside the mall in Columbia, Maryland.
Erin, there is one thing that remains a mystery. What is the latest?
ERIN MCPIKE, CNN GENERAL ASSIGNMENT CORRESPONDENT: Well, Miguel, we learned just a little bit ago that the mall will reopen at 1:00 p.m. tomorrow. Now, that is a day earlier than expected this morning. The police chief bill McMahon explains what they will do to reassure the community here.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
CHIEF BILL MCMAHON, HOWARD COUNTY POLICE: When the mall does reopen, we will ensure that we have a strong police presence here so that people feel comfortable and safe shopping here. Again, we understand as we said before, the mall has a very unique place in the county. It is not just an economic institution. It is really a place of community. So, we understand that. And so, we are working closely with the mall officials to allow them to reopen as quickly as we can.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
MCPIKE: And we also learned to more details from the police chief this morning, He said the shooter purchased his shotgun last month in neighboring Montgomery County that he came by taxi here yesterday morning around 10:15, entered in an upper level entrance, went downstairs and up an hour before the shooting rampage started. He also had two homemade explosive devices on him. They were detonated and police were able to disable them. But that that is part of the mystery here why he had those explosive devices and so much ammunition. Police also have said that they haven't been able to establish a relationship between the shooter and the two victims so they don't yet have a motive, Miguel.
MARQUEZ: All right, Erin McPike for us in Columbia, Maryland. Thank you very much.
Yesterday was the sixth day in a row that the public place or school was the scene of the gun related emergency, take a look at this. Every day of the past week all over the country, police responded to school campus shooting or locked down a campus.
The week began with a student shot and wounded at university in a Philadelphia area. A teacher's assistant was killed Tuesday and student was gunned outside dormitory at South Carolina state university on Friday.
Hours ago brain dead and pregnant mother, Marlise Munoz, was removed from machines keeping her alive. This is what her family wanted and the victory, if it can be called that, came after an emotionally wrenching ordeal. Munoz brain-dead since November and a Texas hospital kept her body on life support to preserve the fetus she was carrying. A judge ruled Friday that Munoz should be taken off ventilators and respirators by Monday. The hospital chose not to appeal the judge's ruling.
I want to bring in national correspondent Nick Valencia. He is joining us from the hospital of the center of this controversy in Fort Worth.
Nick, how is the Munoz family doing?
NICK VALENCIA, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, we haven't heard from them publicly, Miguel. But we did get a statement from the family's attorney and I want to read part of that to our audience here.
it starts by staying 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.
Now, as you know, it has been an almost 8.5 week journey of anguish for the family which has argued with the hospital all that time that Marlise Munoz should be removed from the ventilator because she has been clinically brain-dead since November 28th. That is two days after she was found unconscious on the couple's kitchen floor. The hospital, they have been saying that they are doing the right thing by following state law which requires a pregnant woman to receive life saving treatment. They say they have no case law to go off of her. They believe that they were in the.
About an hour before we heard from the attorney from the Munoz family, we heard from the hospital. They sent CNN a statement which read in part, from the onset, JPS has said its role was not to make or 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. Now, we are trying to get in contact with the Munoz family to get a statement and to learn more about what is next exactly for the family. We do know that they are continuing on with the grieving process that plan on burying Marlise Munoz. We just don't know exactly when -- Miguel.
MARQUEZ: So Nick, has the hospital or the family said who will actually end up paying for the care that she has received over the last couple of months?
VALENCIA: That is a question that is so far unanswered. We have been digging into it before I was here. Our correspondent, Ed Lavandera was asking those questions. And we know that Marlise Munoz was insured by United Health Care. What we don't know because of Hippa (ph) laws who exactly will pay for this and what kind of coverage she has.
Now, legal analyst on CNN has said that perhaps there could be a legal battle that will continue because the Munoz family has fought to take her off of the ventilator. So perhaps they may not want to pay for the bill.
Another interesting note to point out here is that this is really generated a lot of reaction in the community. And I want to move out of the way here so you can see this impromptu memorial that has been set up for the unborn fetus of Marlise Munoz. This is pro-life activist just gathered about half hour ago here. I spoke to a few of them earlier and they contend, Miguel, that if the Munoz family just would have waited two more weeks, that that fetus could have potentially been viable, but no further comment at this time for me to the hospital or the Munoz family -- Miguel.
MARQUEZ: Such a tough, tough story. Nick Valencia, thank you very much.
So much cruise to paradise. Hundreds of passengers sickened aboard a passenger ship in quarantined in their cabin. Ahead, we are talking live at the passenger who is not happy with the way the cruise line is handling the situation.
But first, comparing anything to Nazis is never a very good idea. We are talking about a venture capitalist and what he said that started a fire storm. That is next.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
MARQUEZ: Time to prepare yourself for a fresh round of fiscal bickering in the nation's capitol. Let's call it debt ceiling dejavu. The death of the deal any last call's government shutdown suspended the debt limit battle until February 7th. That's less than two week away. Republicans and Democrats are signaling a possible standoff in the making. Republicans wants to attach legislation for spending cuts or job creation that legislation would raise the nation's borrowing limits, the debt ceiling. The White House says President Obama wants a clean debt ceiling increase with no attachments.
And venture capitalist prepares criticism of the wealthy to Nazi Germany and, of course, outrage in Zeus.
Let's talk about this and all other political topics with our two favorites. Kevin Madden is the Republican strategist and CNN political commentator. He is in Washington, D.C. And Democratic strategist Robert Zimmerman is here in New York.
So the man's name is Tom Perkins. And he is a well-known investor in Silicon Valley circles. Here is what he wrote in a letter to the "Wall Street Journal."
Writing from the epicenter of progressive thought, San Francisco, I would call attention to the parallels of fascist Nazi Germany to its war on its one percent, namely its Jews, to the progressive war on the American one percent, namely the rich.
Robert, Tom Perkins? He is a smart guy (INAUDIBLE). He was responding to an article about Google employees being bused from San Francisco to Mountain View, but he included the Nazis. Never a very smart idea to do this, yes, no?
ROBERT ZIMMERMAN, DEMOCRATIC STRATEGIST: He is not a smart guy. He may be a very good venture capitalist, but he is ignorant, really, immoral comments, really don't deserve any serious consideration. And I quite -- it looked like I am devoted "Wall Street Journal" reader. I don't know why they put that in a letter to the editor.
But the bigger problem is that this comparison to Nazis that you see from this venture capitalist that see from Rush Limbaugh or Glenn Beck, Ted Cruz, these are the Republican thought leaders. And Kevin, if you are not careful they are going to replace the elephant as your party symbol and put in the German shepherd. I mean, it is a reflection of really like irresponsible, really, ignorant rhetoric.
MARQUEZ: I'm impressed that anybody reads letters to the editors.
But Kevin, does he have a point, though in that? Is there a war against the rich in the one percent?
KEVIN MADDEN, REPUBLICAN STRATEGIST: Look. It boggles the mind why anybody would try and draw an analogy such as that to something that isn't pretty real debate in this country which is, whether or not we are having fun warfare. But anytime you have an analogy to Nazi Germany or Hitler, you absolutely lose the audience. There is no need for it.
There is an easier way to make this debate. Look, Robert Zimmerman and I don't always agree on policy. We can have discussions about what we agree on and what we disagree on without ever making an analogy to Nazi Germany.
So, it really does clouds the entire debate. And I would say where I disagree with Robert, respectfully, of course, is that this is not something -- this is not a tactic that is in anyway just relegated to one party. A lot of people do it. A lot of people outside of politics do it and they get in the same trouble. It is just the wrong thing to do when you are trying to make the argument. MARQUEZ: Should the journal have ever published this letter, Robert?
ZIMMERMAN: You know something. Part of the problem in our culture today is there is a focus on being quotable versus being credible. And I think too often, we encourage this kind of bully (INAUDIBLE) moral rhetoric comparing one percent economically to the plight of six million Jews, gypsies and gays who were destroyed in the holocaust. We encourage it by publishing these kinds of resin (ph), encouraging that kind of rhetoric.
MARQUEZ: All right, let's talk about the other big subject this week. That is Mike Huckabee. He made from filamentary remarks and what it means to. They are about women. Here is what he said about claims Republicans are waging of a so called war on women.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
MIKE HUCKABEE, FOX NEWS HOST: And if the Democrats want to insult the women of America by making them believe that they are helpless uncle sugar coming in and providing for them a prescription each month for birth control because they cannot control their libido or their reproductive system without the help of the government then so be it.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
MARQUEZ: Kevin, he was trying to create a strong man argument or to tear him down. He got to the short straw on this one, I think. I mean, not exactly the best speech. What was he trying to say?
MADDEN: Well, I think if you look the full clip, if you play it, it would show that Mike Huckabee was making a temp to actually be (INAUDIBLE) towards women's right for self determination. And in a way, I think he tried to use some snort in order to make a criticism of a criticism of Democrats and it got lost. If anything, this is a lesson in just how hyper sensitive the media is to this type of language. You know, try and kill bunny and say look, here is another example of a Republican saying things that could be taken as offensive to women. And then also the left, the left --
(CROSSTALK)
ZIMMERMAN: How is it not offensive to talk about uncle sugar and libido? And then try to have an intelligent discussion about women's reproductive rights. Let's remember that 58 percent of women who use the pill use it for health purposes and not just birth control purposes, 58 percent. And I think it is also important to remember. This issue is settled long. And George Herbert Walker Bush put the legislation and to make sure that indigent women will get health care for because it was a health crisis.
MADDEN: Look, I think Miguel is right that he was making an attempt to actually try and make, you know, I think he was trying to use a strong man's argument to make that point. But it was awkward one.
MARQUEZ: It was awkward and the problem is the thought about it was on prompter and why would he write that even. But let's stay with women for a minute in politics, the Democratic candidate in Texas for governor. Wendy Davis made her name launching a filibuster for abortion rights, but a ton of positive press then. Great resume, (INAUDIBLE) to Harvard law school, gets elected to the state Senate and turns out her bio has a few holes in it. Her state attorney was very short and her ex-husband paid for Harvard a few other things that just don't quite square.
Kevin, how much is this going to hurt her?
MADDEN: Well, look, right now, you know, she actually used the language and say I have to tighten up my language. I think that was an admission that she wasn't as accurate that she should have been about her bio. Up to this point, Miguel, her bio has been everything. So, I think if her bio comes into question with voters, it is going to become a challenge. She has to find to really quickly right now and buy a whole set of different issues, maybe an agenda that people can rally around. Because right now, her main selling point, her bio, has come under fire.
ZIMMERMAN: Well, you know, something kept me that can make a very important point here, her bio is very important. There were some, obviously, some areas where she made mistakes their minor, but welcome to the NFL. I mean, this is the nature of running for an 'offices major's the governor of Texas. And you are going pay. It is a lot office has made and you are going to face a lot of got you politics. A good morning in the Texas state house is going to be tough and this is going to make it tougher. Great to be with you. Hundreds sickened on a cruise ship. But you have to transition now with the substantive issues and I think she will that it why think she is competitive.
MARQUEZ: Yes. But a Democrat in a Texas state, it has going to tough and this going to make a tough decision.
ZIMMERMAN: It is the new purple state.
MARQUEZ: Gentlemen, thank you both, very much.
MADDEN: Thank you.
ZIMMERMAN: Great to be with you.
MARQUEZ: Hundreds taken on a cruise ship and no one, including, the CDC knows exactly what the illness is or what caused it. We are talking to an angry passenger live coming up next.
NISCHELLE TURNER, CNN ENTERTAINMENT CORRESPONDENT: And water cooler moment, big stars, huge celebrities and a crazy red carpet. We are talking about the Grammys. We are here live at the 56th Annual Grammy Awards. We will tell you what is going on coming up.
MARQUEZ: And we are taking a look at last year state of the union and promises that President Obama made then. Have they been kept?
Here is CNN's Tom Foreman.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
TOM FOREMAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: The minimum wage has been a very hot issue for Democratic politician all over the country following the president's rallying and crying in his last state of the union address.
BARACK OBAMA, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Tonight, let's declare that in the wealthiest nation on earth, no one who works full time should have to live in poverty and raise the federal minimum wage to $9 an hour.
(APPLAUSE)
OBAMA: We should be able to get back.
FOREMAN: You might thing this has traction with fast food workers, strikes, Wal-Mart workers protesting and the minimum wage going up in 13 states plus four cities.
At the federal level, though, Democrats in Congress have legislation where $10 minimum wage which is the president also backs what republicans have proposal. Nothing had been accomplished.
This proposal stalled.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
VALENCIA: And you can watch CNN's special coverage starting at 7:00 p.m. eastern time. Right here on c CNN.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
ROSA FLORES, CNN CORRESPONDENT: With the Weekly five, I'm Rosa Flores.
Jury selection in the corruption trial for former New Orleans mayor, Ray Nagin, gets underway Monday. Charges include bribery, wire fraud and filing false tax up returns. Nagin is also accused of accepting free trips to Hawaii, Chicago, Las Vegas and Jamaica.
Remember the 83-year-old nun along with two other protesters broke into a nuclear weapons facility and vandalized it in 2012? Her punishment for the crime is scheduled for Tuesday. Sister Megan Rice faces five to seven years in prison.
Happy birthday Oprah. The media mogul turns 60 on Wednesday. Reports say there was a huge party plan with performances by Beyonce and Tina turner. Oprah may cancel the bash opting instead to have a quieter evening with close friends.
You love them yes, yes, yes. You are going to fall in love with the Beatles all over again when CNN features a special with the Fab Four with rarely seen footage and interviews. Take a trip down memory lane this Thursday at 9:00 p.m. for the 60s the British invasion.
Kung Hei Fat Choy! Friday mark the Chinese lunar New Year. 2014 is the year of the horse. According to the calendar it is a lucky year. Those born under the sign are described as a little untamed, popular and talented.
And that is your weekly five.
MARQUEZ: And also this week, we are going to be hearing a lot from angry cruise ship passengers. Royal Caribbean cruise line says sick passengers and crew on one of the ships are responding well to over the counter medications. More than 300 people have become ill with a stomach bug since setting cell from New Jersey on Tuesday. Explorer of the seas is now docked in the Virgin Islands where U.S. health officials are trying to figure out the cause of the illness.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
MARQUEZ (voice-over): Drama on the high seas. Passengers on board of Royal Caribbean explorer of the sea has set out for an island voyage of a lifetime instead tonight the ship docked. Illness sickened hundreds onboard.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Never come back again, not on this cruise line.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Yes.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We were here with them two years ago, the same thing. Ship was only run with that sickness.
MARQUEZ: That sickness which can spread very quickly is what health officials from the CDC are investigating boarding the ship today in St. Thomas along with epidemiologist.
DR. WILLIAM SCHAFFNER, VANDERBILT UNIVERSITY: What happens is that a passenger comes onboard unknowingly having the virus. The virus spreads so readily and then you have all of those people in a confined space over a long period of time.
MARQUEZ: More than 300 potentials and crew felt victim to the illness. The royal Caribbean spokespersons tell CNN they have responded well to over the counter medications administered on board. The cruise line saying there is no known cause for the outbreak and apologizing with the disruption to its guests.
This latest outbreak comes in the wake of another royal Caribbean ship in the headlines last week or a Noah (ph) virus outbreak. The majesty of the seas docked in Miami after 60-plus passengers and crews got sick suffering from severe gastrointestinal symptoms.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I spent the whole night on the toilet.
MARQUEZ: The Noah (ph) virus is a fast moving bug has caused nearly 21 million illnesses and as many as 800 deaths says the CDC. This weekend's incident has delayed the cruise liner which is undergoing extensive sanitizing or some passengers, though, damaged. Already done.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You know, any sicknesses can involve but it is the most disorganized trip I have been on in my life I'm almost 80 years old. It is sad.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
MARQUEZ: Justin Angelo is one of those who got sick on board this cruise. He joins us now on the phone from St. Thomas.
Justin, how are you feeling?
JUSTIN ANGELO, PASSENGER (via phone): I feel a little better but still not up to par. We were confined for three days.
MARQUEZ: And you are still quarantines, I understand?
ANGELO: No. We quarantined finally yesterday, but we had a little bit of problem with that because we were supposed to be quarantined by phone call. Nobody notified us. They got off the ship yesterday. They are going to tour and they stopped us and we lost the tour. It was -- nobody called us to contact. We felt we were (INAUDIBLE).
MARQUEZ: What were the symptoms? What did you actually have? What do you think it is?
ANGELO: At first I thought it was food poisoning because I had dinner around 8:30 or 9:00. And around Tuesday night in 1:00 in the morning I started with an upset stomach and vomiting and it had been lasted all night and into the morning. And then we were gone into the sick bay and there were over 200 people there with the same symptoms.
MARQUEZ: Dear.
ANGELO: And we called room service and we will be able to get anything we need and what they specified for us. That was impossible. They never answered the phone.
MARQUEZ: And have you seen any officials from the CDC? Did they test you in anyway? Did they ask you questions?
ANGELO: We went to a doctor. She looked on us and took our temperature and she gave us a needle and she gave us over-the-counter medication to take for vomiting and diarrhea and people were going into CVS yesterday in port and they were buying all medication, over- the-counter for the same symptoms and even the kids. The shows have been cancelled here. The entertainers couldn't perform because they have been sick. They need to call for an extra help to sanitize the ship.
MARQUEZ: Doesn't sound pleasant.
ANGELO: No, it is not. If I could get off I would get off.
MARQUEZ: I'm sure you would like to get off that ship. How has the response from the cruise line been?
ANGELO: They just said it was brought on by somebody, you know and they pushed the button on the elevator and then it spread to somebody else infected by, but I don't know. I don't buy that because I mean, a lot of the crew was sick. They brought in extra help to try and sanitize the ship and now if you go into the line for your food, you are not allowed touch anything. Everything is handled to you. They cancelled showed because the entertainers had got sick. They aren't able to perform.
MARQUEZ: but there have been people complaining and concern about the way the cruise line has handled it. Obviously, it is a very difficult situation for everyone. Do you think they are doing everything that they can in order to make you as comfortable as possible and to get this thing resolved?
ANGELO: Well, as an example, my wife's case and mine, we weren't able to get through to room service to get the supplies that they wanted to give us. And I got out of my room one day and the porter stopped me and he said you are confined to your room. And I said we need drinks and stuff. You know, we are supposed to have the stuff. I just want to get it and bring it back.
It was a mess. And I really don't think they are really cooperating that much with us. And I just see every day there is more and more people. We go for dinner some we can hardly eat. We want to eat. Who doesn't eat, you know? There are a lot less people in the dining rooms.
MARQUEZ: Mr. Angelo, thank you very, very much for taking a little time with us and helping us understand this. I wish you well. I hope you get off the ship and you are back in good health and spirits soon. Take care.
ANGELO: I just hope they let us off when we get in Bayonne.
MARQUEZ: We will all be hoping with you, my friend. Thank you.
ANGELO: All right, thank you very much.
MARQUEZ: We'll have more on that story in the next hour when we speak with a medical doctor who used to work for one of the cruise lines.
What do the Grammys and the animals or the octopus have in common? The answer, just ahead.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
MARQUEZ: Well, right now, music's hottest stars are gearing up for the 56th Grammy awards tonight. Jay-Z leads the pack with nine nominations. Other big nominees include Beyonce, Justin Timberlake, Drake, and Taylor Swift. And of course, this little diddy by Macklemore and Ryan Lewis.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
(SINGING)
(END VIDEO CLIP)
MARQUEZ: I don't think I've heard that one. That, of course, is "Thrift Shop" nominated for best rap performance and best rap song. Of course, the superstar fashion may be almost as buzzworthy as the songs themselves. Our entertainment correspondent, the ever-fashionable and fabulous Nischelle Turner. Look at you! You're transformed! She's at the Staples Center in Los Angeles. Gorgeous!
Nischelle, what's outrageous on -
NISCHELLE TURNER, CNN ENTERTAINMENT CORRESPONDENT: Because you usually see me in sweats and -- go ahead I'm sorry?
MARQUEZ: Aww, come on! You look great no matter what you are wearing. But you look transformed tonight. What are you spotting on the red carpet?
TURNER: First of all, if my attention span is a little short, it is because I do have celebrities all the way around me. To my right over here, first name Charlie, last name Wilson. Charlie Wilson, one of the best R&B singers ever. I just got done interviewing the Mount Rushmore of country music. I'm talking about Willie Nelson, Merle Haggard, and Kris Kristofferson. They will be performing tonight on the same stage with Blake Shelton. You know that is going to be a great performance. Also just finished interviewing Tamar Braxton, who of course is one of the famed Braxtons and is nominated tonight. Not her sister Toni, but Tamar is nominated. She is so excited.
So there is a lot going on here tonight. But you know, the Grammys, Miguel, is hoping to have the water cooler moment. They're hoping to have the moment that everyone is talking about tomorrow.
And you talked about Macklemore and Ryan Lewis. Well, they are nominated for seven Grammys. They are going to be performing their song "Same Love" onstage tonight. But within that performance is a whole other performance -- 34 couples, black, white, straight, gay, old, young, will be getting married during their Grammy performance. Queen Latifah will be officiating it, and guess who their maid of honor will be? None other than Madonna.
So all of that going on in one performance. Madonna will also be singing her song, "Open Your Heart" kind of set to the tune of "Same Love." So that's really going to be interesting.
Also, we are hearing that opening the show could be Beyonce, Jay-Z or the two of them together on stage. I'm hoping for the latter, but I'll take either one of them. So it's going to be a really interesting night tonight.
There's some big performances. I talked about Blake Shelton. One of the more interesting categories I think is Best Country Solo Performance that he is up for, and he is up against his wife, Miranda Lambert. So, that should be very interesting what happens that one.
MARQUEZ: All right. I'm going to vote for you to be the water cooler moment for the show tonight.
(LAUGHTER)
MARQUEZ: Have a great time out there.
TURNER: Well, I almost already knocked Kris Kristofferson off our platform. So, I almost had a water cooler moment because I almost took him out. So --
MARQUEZ: That would have been great. We've got to keep that one. Fabulous. Thank you! Talk to you later.
TURNER: All right, darling.
MARQUEZ: Now, with so many great performers and albums this year, it is hard to predict who will go home with the Grammy. Or is it? Every year, we kind of have that groundhog sort of thing that predicts the spring and whether it will arrive early. Right, there he is. Philadelphia Phil.
And then there is that octopus, Paul, who correctly predicted all seven of Germany's matches in the 2010 World Cup in South Africa. And now Google may just be able to predict the winners of tonight's Grammy awards.
Zayna Aston is a Google trends expert. Zayna, how does this work? And if you are right I want to know what the Super Bowl outcome is so that I can place a bet.
ZAYNA ASTON, GOOGLE TRENDS EXPERT: Well, essentially what we're looking at here is a people's choice predictions for tonight's awards, based on general viewing behavior on YouTube, what people are listening to on Google Music, and general search trends as well.
MARQUEZ: So, this is sort of the social media approach to -- or the crowd sourcing approach to picking winners?
ASTON: Exaclty. We are checking out what is the most popular.
MARQUEZ: And who's on top?
ASTON: Well, for record of the year, we are predicting that it is "Blurred Lines" by Robin Thicke, featuring T.I and Pharell. And this was done on the basis of YouTube views. So we looked across the nominees. And in fact, all of the nominees had upwards of 120 million views. But it was "Blurred Lines" that came out on top with 258 million views.
MARQUEZ: And who just might win album of the year?
ASTON: For album of the year, we are predicting "The Heist" by Macklemore and Ryan Lewis.
MARQUEZ: Well, that makes sense.
ASTON: And this was done on the basis of Google Music predictions. And this was both the music that people bought as well as stuff that they were streaming through our subscription service on All Access.
MARQUEZ: And best new artist? ASTON: For best new artist, looking at Google search trends, we are predicting that it is Kendrick Lamar. Google is a place that people go when they're interested to find out more about something or learn something new. And it was Kendrick Lamar that came out on top of that.
MARQUEZ: And what am I going to have for dinner? (LAUGHTER)
ASTON: Well, I'm not sure. Have you Googled that?
MARQUEZ: I haven't Googled that, actually.
Andy other surprise predictions that you guys have?
ASTON: Well, we'll see. If it was the People's Choice that predicted the outcome of the Grammys, I think we might have it close. But ultimately, it's up to the recording academy to see what happens tonight.
MARQUEZ: All right. Thank you very much. Very nice to meet you. Good luck. We'll see if you guys are right. We are holding our breath.
Now, we are one week away from the Super Bowl. and the excitement is starting to build. The Denver Broncos arrived in Newark, New Jersey just a little while ago. All eyes, of course, on the Denver quarterback, Peyton Manning. Their opponents, the Seattle Seahawks, will land in just a couple of hours. The game is going to be played outdoors next Sunday in New Jersey. The NFL rolling the dice on if the weather it will be good enough for the biggest game of the season.
And be sure to watch CNN next Saturday at 4 p.m. Eastern. It is a special Bleacher Report on Super Bowl Boulevard. That is next Saturday 4:00 Eastern time. Right here on CNN.
One by one, lawyers around the country found dead. Mostly trial lawyers, all male. But the most shocking revelation is this. They took their own lives. Why? That's next.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
MARQUEZ: With news of death penalties on the decline and murder rates dropping in cities like Chicago, it might be surprising to hear there's one death rate going up. Lawyers are killing themselves at alarming rates across the country. The same smart, driven, and successful people who litigate life and death issues in America's courtrooms everyday. As CNN's Rosa Flores reports, CNN has uncovered unnerving statistics, showing the profession has a mysterious dark side.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
ROSA FLORES, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): The string of obituaries seemed endless. One after the other. About 15 in all successful Kentucky lawyers all found dead.
JOHN MYERS, DIRECTOR, KENTUCKY BAR ASSOCIATION: To a large degree, it's been trial attorneys. The men are primarily middle-aged.
FLORES: But the biggest shock was yet to come. They're all suspected of taking their own lives. Harry Rankin, by hanging. Jim Didwoody, a single gunshot wound. As for Dan Schwartz?
(On camera): How did he kill himself?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Shot himself upstairs here.
FLORES (voice-over): We discovered similar patterns in Montana, Florida, North and South Carolina, Mississippi, Ohio and Oklahoma, which in 2004 and 2005 saw one lawyer suicide every month.
The terrible outcome of high rates of depression, which this lawyer's colleague battled before killing himself.
ERIC DETERS, OHIO LAWYER: The biggest factor in the profession and why there is a problem in this country, and it is called stress.
FLORES: The Centers for Disease Control calculated available suicide data. Among all professions for CNN, lawyers were in the top five. Lawyers also suffer from depression, the root cause of suicide, at a rate 3.6 times higher than non-lawyers.
YVETTE HOURIDN, KENTUCKY LAWYER ASSISTANCE PROGRAM: You know, you're dealing with a judge, opposing counsel, witnesses who may or may not say what you thought they were going to say. A jury you're trying to persuade. It is all very high drama all the time.
FLORES: Some of these attorneys are highly functional until the very end. Tabitha Hocksheid's legal partner Ken Jameson generated $600,000 of billable hours his last year.
TABATHA HOCKSHEID, KEN JAMESON'S LEGAL PARTNER: His wife gave his eulogy and she talked about how proud he was of his children, and his best friends got up and talked how -- what a wonderful man he was. And then you think, why would this person take their own life?
FLORES: Two more lawyers in her office building also killed themselves. Hocksheid formed a mental illness assistance group in Jameson's name for when the stresses of a profession surrounded by coNFLict is just too much.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
MARQUEZ: Now Rosa Flores joins us live on set. So, Rosa why the stress? Is it due to the workload, the money stress? Why?
FLORES: You know, one of the best ways that all of these people explained it to me is like this: they say there's a lot of professions out there that have stress. But what differentiates attorneys and specifically trial attorneys in this case is coNFLict. And they said this. So imagine a surgeon, right? There's a lot of stress involved with having somebody's life in your hands. But in their surgical suite, they don't have another surgeon trying to kill the patient while they're trying to save their life. And that's what they say you see in the courtroom.
And is there any - obviously the trial associations have great power and great money. In some of these states, is there any effort afoot to try to help these people?
FLORES: Yes, you know, bar associations started seeing attorneys dying. And so what they started doing was they started changing the mental illness component to the continuing legal education that's required. And so they added mental illness, meaning that now attorneys would be learning about this, so they would be learning about not only the symptoms in themselves but also in other attorneys so they could do something, say something.
Other bar associations said we're not going to do that. We're not going to make it mandatory. But we're going to offer a hotline or counseling or something. In all the states that I talked to in which something was done, it was very clear that the suicides stopped. The good news in Kentucky - we talked to a lot of people in Kentucky - they haven't seen a suicide in nine months, which is a great feat for all of those folks.
MARQUEZ: Rosa Flores, thank you very much for joining us. Interesting story. Thanks.
What is the most popular sport in America? A new poll reveals a clear winner.
Plus, one player's post-game rant sparks a wider discussion about sports, athletes and role models. Charles Barkley says leave Richard Sherman alone. But Terrance Moore, who joins me next, says Richard Sherman and Charles Barkley, they are both dead wrong. We'll chat with them.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
MARQUEZ: The Seattle Seahawks' dramatic victory to earn a Super Bowl berth has been overshadowed a bit by the post-game rant by the team's star player, Richard Sherman. The outburst just moments after saving the game for his team has sparked a wide range of reaction. Everything from racially-tinged Internet postings, calling him quote, "a thug" to statements of support from columnists and other athletes.
Sherman sat down with our Rachel Nichols this week to talk about the criticisms he's received.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
RICHARD SHERMAN, SEATTLE SEAHAWKS PLAYER: I think it used to be the n word. Now they are using thug instead of the n word as a more accepted way of saying it.
It's still sad. What was thug about what I did? Because I said something about guy, about a football game. I didn't go talking about him like I'm going to fight the guy after the game. I'm going to go blow his car up or anything like that. (END VIDEO CLIP)
MARQUEZ: Now, the whole Richard Sherman debate has opened up a much wider discussion that goes beyond sports.
I want to bring in Terrance Moore in Atlanta. He's a sports contributor on CNN.com and a columnist for MLB.com.Terrence, you wrote a column for CNN.com this week saying whether we like it or not, somebody is always studying us. The more visibility we have in life, especially when it comes to the fields of athletics and entertainment, the more responsibility we have to present ourselves in a way that will iNFLuence others for the positive.
You also wrote that the whole affair reminds you of the old Charles Barkley ad for Nike where he proclaimed he was not a role model. And on Wednesday, you made your point further with CNN's Brooke Baldwin.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
TERRENCE MOORE, CNN.COM CONTRIBUTOR: This goes back to 1993 when Charles Barkley made that ludicrous statement that I am not a role model. Because we are all role models. And the thing is, particularly black youngsters, you've got latest statistics that show that about 70 percent of black youth born today are to unwed mothers. OK? They don't have a positive role model in the household. So they turn to these rappers and to these athletes as their role models --
(END VIDEO CLIP)
MARQUEZ: Oh, but it didn't end there. Charles Barkley, who happened to be watching CNN, didn't like what you had to say. He was on Brooke's show Friday. Take a look at that.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
CHARLES BARKLEY, FORMER BASKETBALL PLAYER: And I saw Terrance on your show the other day. And Terrance doesn't have a clue what my commercial is about. I'm the only guy in the history of civilization that ever got criticized for telling kids to listen to their parents. That's how you know a lot of these people are full of it. I told kids to listen to their parents.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
MARQUEZ: Now Terrance, you've been going back and forth with Mr. Barkley on this issue for a couple of decades now. What is going on there? What's the beef?
MOORE: It goes back to what I just said. He does not get the fact that we are all role models. And particularly, if you're a high-profile person, you have to be a role model. And I'm not talking off the top of my head here. As I pointed out in the CNN.com piece, I've dealt with black youth for decades here in the Atlanta area.
Just earlier today, I taught Sunday school. Teenagers - I've been doing that for 20 something years. And the thing that I see with these kids as I pointed out, a lot of these kids come from single-parent backgrounds.
And I'll tell you something else, Miguel, that I didn't mention in the article or last week is that when you go to career days - and I go to a lot of career days, elementary schools, junior high schools and high schools - you see a lot of these kids wearing the jerseys of their favorite athletes. What does that tell you? These kids look at that particular athlete or athletes as their role model or role models.
MARQUEZ: All right. So let's go to Richard Sherman. Nobody likes a sore loser - they hate a sore winner even more, I suppose. But look, this guy just made a great play. There's endorphins, it's the biggest, giant game. His blood was pumping. He's a well-spoken guy. Is this - what is the sin here?
MOORE: Well, it's this. Let's start with something we can all agree upon, even Charles Barkley. If you really care about kids, okay, which is the better scenario for Richard Sherman? Richard Sherman looking and acting like the Stanford grad that he is, matriculating toward a master's degree, standing before the cameras acting like that? Or the Richard Sherman that we saw looking like a raving maniac and an idiot? Okay?
Here's the other thing. I'm getting sick and tired of people talking about, well, he was just in the heat of the moment. I've been covering -- I've been a professional journalist for over 35 years. I can count on one hand the number of players in that situation acting like that, particularly with the sort of intellect that this guy has. And I'll tell you, there's a lot of people out there who think that a lot of this is PR driven to help his marketability. I hope that's not true. If it is, shame on him. If it's not, he's got the entire week with the visibility of the Super Bowl to get this right for the youth in particular.
MARQUEZ: Mr. Sherman told our Rachel Nichols that the term thug that's been tossed around is just another term for the n word. Do you buy that?
MOORE: Oh, I would agree with that. However, if you go into the barbershop, you should expect to get a haircut. You put yourself in these situations, all this stuff starts coming out. It does not justify it happening, but it tells you if you put yourself in these positions, bad things are going to happen if you act bad and silly.
MARQUEZ: Yes. A new Harris interactive poll FSG finds NFL is America's favorite sport, far ahead of auto racing, baseball and racing. Does this surprise you?
MOORE: Not really. Two words: NFL films. NFL films has been around for 50 years. The NFL has done a better job through NFL films and other mechanisms of marketing itself than any other sport that's out there. Then you have the fact the NFL is a very easy sport to bet on. It's a controlled violence sport. Whether people like to admit it or not, they like the violence of it all.
The one thing, Miguel, I would point out, though. You mentioned the Harris poll. There was an Sssociated Press poll that came out last week that showed that the NFL dropped seven points in popularity, which tells you that maybe this concussion thing in the short run, if not the long run, is going to have an effect on the popularity of the sport.
MARQUEZ: The always sensible Terrence Moore. Thanks very much for being with us today.
MOORE: Thank you.
MARQUEZ: If you're a child of the 60s, here's an event you would remember very, very well.
(VIDEO CLIP OF BEATLES SINGING LIVE)
MARQUEZ: Madness. That's The Beatles singing Can't Buy Me Love. It's hard to believe next month will mark 50 years since John, Paul, Ringo and George landed at JFK, then Idlewild, I believe. We'll tell you why Paul McCartney is disappointed when he looks back at the British Invasion.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
MARQUEZ: CNN has selected six everyday people to compete in the NauticalMalibu Triathalon in September. We're following their personal journey to the finish line. In this week's Fit Nation, Dr. Sanjay Gupta introduces us to a team known as the six pack.
DR. SANJAY GUPTA, CNN CHIEF MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT: Hundreds of viewers sent in videos into our iReport site. But in the end, only six were chosen. I watched your video, and I want to officially welcome you to our 2014 Fit Nation Triathlon Team.
(SCREAMING)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Oh, my God! Are you serious?
GUPTA: Nearly everyone on our 2014 team has been through a major health crisis.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I received my second hip replacement.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I was diagnosed with Stage 3-C testicular cancer.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I had a stroke. A hole in my heart. And a clot passed through, went up to my brain.
GUPTA: For others, the pain was emotional.
CONNIE SIEVERS, FIT NATION PARTICIPANT: My daughter, when she turned 3, was diagnosed with leukemia. At age 5, she relapsed, and then at age 6 she passed away following a bone marrow transplant.
GUPTA: The tragedy sent Connie into a tail spin. She gained 70 pounds.
Ron Cothran had gastric bypass surgery. But it wasn't enough. RON COTHRAN, FIT NATION PARTICIPANT: I always wanted to live the second half of my life better than my first. I vowed that to myself.
SIA FIGEIEL, FIT NATION PARTICIPANT: 16 months ago, I decided on a beach that enough is enough.
GUPTA: I call it hitting the reset button. Just take a look at me several years ago. I didn't look good. I weighed too much. Fit Nation changed my life.
It all starts up here. I'm going to show you how to do it. Whether you just want to get in better shape, or you want to inspire a nation.
JAMIL NATHOO, FIT NATION PARTICIPANT: You can be fit again. You can be healthy again. Cancer is not the end.
GUPTA: The last word goes to Coach Wilbs.
MIKE WILBER, FIT NATION PARTICIPANT: I'm afraid my weight situation right now, I'm not going to be around much longer unless I make a change.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
