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CNN Live Today

Pentagon Spy Unit; Carson Remembered

Aired January 24, 2005 - 10:30   ET

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

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


DARYN KAGAN, CNN ANCHOR: We are right at the half hour on this Monday morning. Good morning once again. I'm Daryn Kagan.
BETTY NGUYEN, CNN ANCHOR: And I'm Betty Nguyen, in for Rick Sanchez today. Here's what's happening now in the news. Two suspected members of Al Qaeda are accused of planning a suicide attack in Iraq. The men appeared before a German court this morning. Prosecutors say, one of the suspects participated in fighting against U.S. forces in Afghanistan before moving on to Germany, where he recruited the other suspect to carry out a suicide mission.

Wanted terrorist Abu Musab Al Zarqawi is taking responsibility for today's car bomb attack in western Baghdad. A suicide bomber targeted the headquarters of interim Iraqi Prime Minister Ayad Allawi's party. Twelve people were injured. Iraq's elections are just six days away.

In the hunt for Osama bin Laden, "Time" magazine says the White House is expected to double the bounty on bin Laden's head to $50 million by the end of January, or February, I should say. The government has been stepping up ad campaigns in Afghan and Pakistani newspapers, offering rewards.

And Europeans are apparently united in wanting to sell weapons to China. That's the message British Foreign Secretary Jack Straw is delivering to the State Department today. In about an hour and a half from now, Straw will meet with secretary of state-nominee Condoleezza Rice, and could discuss roadblocks to lifting the existing European arms embargo.

KAGAN: There is a whole lot of digging going on this morning, people trying to get out from the blizzard that blasted the northeast.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: This is New England. Stay out for as long as you can, go in, get warm, come back out again.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

KAGAN: Forecasters saying the snowstorm 2005 is one for the record books. The governors of Massachusetts, New Jersey and Rhode Island have declared states of emergency. Thirty-eight inches of snow are on the ground in Plymouth and Salem, Massachusetts. At least 14 deaths are being blamed on this storm.

(WEATHER REPORT) NGUYEN: Well, we are learning more today about a clandestine intelligence-gathering unit the Pentagon has run since 2002. The story was first reported in Sunday's "Washington Post." Secret unit expands Rumsfeld's domain, a new espionage branch. "Delving Into CIA Territory," that was the headline.

CNN's Barbara Starr has been working the story, and she has the latest now from the Pentagon.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

BARBARA STARR, CNN CORRESPONDENT (on camera): The Pentagon's Defense Intelligence Agency, for more than the last two years, indeed, has been running a clandestine human intelligence-gathering unit, a unit that will allow it to send operatives around the world anywhere they are ordered to go. That word being confirmed to CNN by top defense officials.

How sensitive is this disclosure? Well, apparently very sensitive. When the story broke in "The Washington Post" newspaper, there was what appeared to be a quick denial from the Pentagon. The Pentagon's spokesman saying, quote, "There is no unit that is directly reportable to the secretary of defense for clandestine operations." Well, this clandestine unit does exist while some officials say it's administrative only.

We have spoken to a number of officials with direct knowledge of the unit, and they say it is deploying teams that go into the field in places like Afghanistan and Iraq, that they are deploying with U.S. military special forces that conduct some of the most secret military operations the United States undertakes.

Everyone denies it is a turf battle between the Pentagon and the CIA, but it does put Pentagon officials into a new area of more robust operations, according to one official. And that now is the core of the debate, whether Pentagon officials, Pentagon personnel, really are equipped to go into these frontline operations with special forces and collect that very crucial human type intelligence.

By all accounts, special forces are going to be very queasy about this, officials say. When they go into the field, they like to operate in small, deadly units. They don't like to have a lot of people along for the ride.

But this may be just the first of the major efforts by Don Rumsfeld to overhaul military intelligence. Officials confirming, there are 60 more initiatives under way in the Pentagon to overhaul those military intelligence programs.

Barbara Starr, CNN, the Pentagon.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

KAGAN: Now to Attorney General John Ashcroft. He is bidding farewell to his troops today. He's expected to address staffers at the Justice Department this afternoon. Ashcroft resigned before the start of the second Bush term. In the next hour, we will hear from John Ashcroft in an interview he just completed with CNN's Kelli Arena.

NGUYEN: And still to come, celebrities and hometown friends remember the king of late night comedy.

KAGAN: Up next, we're going to visit the small town where Johnny Carson grew up.

NGUYEN: Plus, it's getting pricey at the pumps. Find out who is paying what.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

KAGAN: An important observation is coming up on Thursday. It will mark the 60th anniversary of the liberation of Auschwitz, Nazi Germany's largest death camp. And this hour at the United Nations, a general assembly will convene a special session to commemorate that triumph against evil. It's the first U.N. session ever dedicated to the Holocaust.

CNN senior U.N. correspondent Richard Roth has the latest from New York. Hello.

RICHARD ROTH, CNN SR. U.N. CORRESPONDENT: Hello, Daryn. That session is under way here at the United Nations. A historic one. They've never done this before at the General Assembly. Not exactly home sweet home for Israel and Jews around the world who feel that there is a bias here in the 191-member establishment.

You're looking live at the president of the General Assembly who is presiding over this session. The United States led the push to have this commemoration event. There was a minute of silence at beginning. This is all to commemorate the liberation, the 60th anniversary, which is coming up in a few days, liberation of the Auschwitz death camp. 6 million Jews, gypsies and others killed in World War II by the Nazis.

The United Nations has never done any type of commemorative event like this. Certainly on the docket have been other special sessions dedicated to Palestinian issues. Many Israelis think this could represent a change, at least they hope so, in the hall. The presiding -- the session opened with U.N. Secretary General Kofi Annan, whose wife, Nan, her uncle was Raul Wahlenberg (ph), a diplomat who did a lot to get many Jews out of the clutches of the Nazis. Secretary General Annan began the session by commenting on what happened 60 years ago.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

KOFI ANNAN, U.N. SECRETARY GENERAL: The date for this session was chosen to mark the 60th anniversary of the liberation of Auschwitz. But as you know, there were many other camps which fell, one by one, to the allied forces in the winter and spring of 1945. Only gradually did the world come to know the full dimensions of the evil those camps contained.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ROTH: Now, also in the audience here, survivors of Auschwitz, several of them met with Kofi Annan last week. They are in the gallery, possibly Jacqueline (sic) Prins, a woman who was in Auschwitz for about a year and a half. In an interview with CNN, she commented on how much she really thought the United Nations does right now to help Jews around the world and what this session might do.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JOSEPHIN PRINS, AUSCHWITZ SURVIVOR: There is a lot of talk and there is very little that is being done. I hope that finally all of countries in the world come to their senses and see that we honestly are all the same. Where is the difference? That we worship differently? That we have a different color? That we eat differently? So what? We are all breathing human beings who want a warm roof over our heads, who want warmth, who want to love our children and who want food. So what is the difference?

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ROTH: Another survivor for Auschwitz, Eli Vessel (ph), is now speaking live here at the United Nations General Assembly on the 60th anniversary this week of the liberation of Auschwitz. A full ceremony's at Auschwitz on Thursday -- Daryn.

KAGAN: Richard Roth, looking forward to hearing more snippets of those comments just ahead. Thank you.

(STOCK MARKET REPORT)

NGUYEN: Well, let's get a look now at some of the other stories making news coast-to-coast.

KAGAN: We start in New York. A day of mourning there. Three firefighters were killed in two separate blazes. One died after battling a basement fire in Brooklyn. Two others died and four more were injured after being trapped in a Bronx apartment building. They were forced to jump from the fourth floor.

NGUYEN: Heading south now to Miami, where history comes tumbling down. Check out these pictures. There it goes. A 78-year-old local landmark, the Everglades Hotel, was reduced to just rubble to make way for a new two-tower condominium. And in another sign of the signs, emergency officials took advantage of that blast, conducting a drill simulating conditions of the World Trade Center disaster.

KAGAN: More than 30 years after being mired in the Watergate scandal, former Nixon secretary Rose Mary Woods has died. You might remember she claimed to have accidently erased part of the infamous Watergate tapes that may have shed light on when the president first knew of the break-in. Nixon later said he asked the secretary to inform his family of his decision to resign from office. NGUYEN: Well, memories and tributes continue to pour in on this day after the death of late night legend Johnny Carson. Earlier today, we talked to Rich Little, whose most memorable impersonation may have been that of Carson. Rich Little described to "AMERICAN MORNING" his last encounter with Carson, a chance meeting about six years ago.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

RICH LITTLE, COMEDIAN: He actually said to me, Richard, are you still doing me in your act? And I said, of course. All the time. It's one of my best impressions and the audience loves it everywhere I go. He said are you kidding? And I said no. And he said they still remember me, do they? I said, of course they do, John. He said, gee, that's great to know. I just wondered if, you know, they'd forgotten who I was.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

NGUYEN: How could we forget? Rich little, like so many other entertainers, says he was always waiting for Johnny Carson to return to the spotlight in some form or fashion and says he is amazed, even more impressed, that Carson chose not to do so.

KAGAN: In fact, Johnny Carson did some of his best work in private. People in his childhood home of Norfolk, Nebraska, are remembering his modest showbiz start that took place there and then the generosity he shared after he became a star.

We get details now from reporter Brandi Petersen with KETV, our affiliate in Omaha, Nebraska.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

UNIDENTFIED MALE: Gentlemen, here's Johnny!

BRANDI PETERSEN, REPORTER, KETV (voice-over): It's late night all the time at the Johnny Carson exhibit in Norfolk, Nebraska. This is the town where Carson grew up. Now, a town in mourning. The entertainment icon died Sunday morning in California.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It's going to hit home because I think everybody in this town felt that he was kind of their favorite son.

PETERSEN: For decades Carson was the late night king with his stand-up, his skits as the great Carnac, his interviews with celebrities like Bob Hope.

(on camera): But for people in Norfolk, Carson's legacy extends beyond the number of Emmys he won or how many laughs he gave people across the country. It was how he remembered and treated people back home.

ROB STAUFFER, NORFOLK RESIDENT: He was always looking out for us and he always kept in touch with what was going on in town, despite his celebrity. PETERSEN (voice-over): Carson donated millions to, among other things, a cancer center and a state-of-the-art theater for Norfolk High School. City leaders say he helped build this town.

STAUFFER: We'd want to hand out a check for a $1 million, you'd think the person was going to be there and wanted to get the recognition for it. And Mr. Carson didn't. He made some very large donations totally anonymously.

PETERSEN: People say when Carson did come home, he gave his hometown even more reason to love him.

BETTY BOHAC, NORFOLK RESIDENT: He was so generous with his handshakes and it just made you feel like you were part of him.

PETERSEN: Now that part of Norfolk, of American history, is gone forever.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It's like within you lose a parent, you know it's coming, but when it happens, it's -- when it happens it kind of hits home.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

KAGAN: And that was reporter Brandy Petersen from our affiliate in Omaha, KETV.

And as we go to break, some more pictures of Johnny Carson.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

NGUYEN: Well, it's one thing to talk about a blizzard, but look at these pictures from our affiliate WCVB in Boston. There is so much snow on the ground. In fact, this blizzard dumped two feet of snow across New England. The mayor of Boston has urged people to stay home. And you can see why. They're just socked in with all of the white stuff. In fact, a lot of school days, two school days, today and tomorrow for students there in Boston area.

KAGAN: Weather cleared up in time to get a little football business done yesterday. The Philadelphia Eagles and the New England Patriots have punched their tick the for Super Bowl XXXIX.

CNN's Ray D'Alessio has highlights of the NFL championship games.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

RAY D'ALESSIO, CNN CORRESPONDENT: In what amounted to the first all Pennsylvania championship weekend, only the Philadelphia Eagles advanced to Super Bowl 39. In doing so, they put to bed three straight years of disappointment in the NFC title game. They also led themselves back in the Super Bowl for the first time since the 1980 season.

In beating the Falcons, Philly proved they can handle the pressure of dealing with a supernatural quarterback. After his 119- yard rushing performance against the Rams, Michael Vick Sunday totaled just 26 yards.

Next up for the Eagles are the New England Patriots and their superstar quarterback, Tom Brady. After beating the Steelers in the AFC title game, New England must now prepare for their third Super Bowl trip in four years.

At 8-0, Tom Brady remains perfect in the playoffs.

As for the Patriots as a team, they're hoping to become the first back to back Super Bowl winner since the Denver Broncos in 1998 and 1999.

In Philadelphia, I'm Ray D'Alessio, CNN Sports.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

KAGAN: OK, so folks in New England and Philadelphia trying to figure out they need a ticket to the Super Bowl. Well, I hope you have a lot of cash. They're going for about six grand and up on the Internet, and then you have to find a place to stay in Jacksonville. That is not easy. Word is that a room within a couple hours of Jacksonville, Florida could set you back about four grand, if you're willing to share with three other people. Another warning, the NFL says hundreds of fans were turn away from last year's Super Bowl because their tickets were fakes.

NGUYEN: OK, four grand, you're still a couple of miles away, or a hundred miles away.

KAGAN: Right, there was a lot of criticism in the city of Jacksonville that they don't have enough hotel rooms.

NGUYEN: And you still have to share.

KAGAN: You have to share, so they're bringing in cruise ships for people to stay.

NGUYEN: That's an idea, all right.

Well the legacy of an American entertainer, why Johnny Carson meant so much to comedy and the nation's culture.

KAGAN: Plus, looking for a vacation for the body and soul? You're spa experience when the second hour of CNN LIVE TODAY begins after a quick break.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com


Aired January 24, 2005 - 10:30   ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
DARYN KAGAN, CNN ANCHOR: We are right at the half hour on this Monday morning. Good morning once again. I'm Daryn Kagan.
BETTY NGUYEN, CNN ANCHOR: And I'm Betty Nguyen, in for Rick Sanchez today. Here's what's happening now in the news. Two suspected members of Al Qaeda are accused of planning a suicide attack in Iraq. The men appeared before a German court this morning. Prosecutors say, one of the suspects participated in fighting against U.S. forces in Afghanistan before moving on to Germany, where he recruited the other suspect to carry out a suicide mission.

Wanted terrorist Abu Musab Al Zarqawi is taking responsibility for today's car bomb attack in western Baghdad. A suicide bomber targeted the headquarters of interim Iraqi Prime Minister Ayad Allawi's party. Twelve people were injured. Iraq's elections are just six days away.

In the hunt for Osama bin Laden, "Time" magazine says the White House is expected to double the bounty on bin Laden's head to $50 million by the end of January, or February, I should say. The government has been stepping up ad campaigns in Afghan and Pakistani newspapers, offering rewards.

And Europeans are apparently united in wanting to sell weapons to China. That's the message British Foreign Secretary Jack Straw is delivering to the State Department today. In about an hour and a half from now, Straw will meet with secretary of state-nominee Condoleezza Rice, and could discuss roadblocks to lifting the existing European arms embargo.

KAGAN: There is a whole lot of digging going on this morning, people trying to get out from the blizzard that blasted the northeast.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: This is New England. Stay out for as long as you can, go in, get warm, come back out again.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

KAGAN: Forecasters saying the snowstorm 2005 is one for the record books. The governors of Massachusetts, New Jersey and Rhode Island have declared states of emergency. Thirty-eight inches of snow are on the ground in Plymouth and Salem, Massachusetts. At least 14 deaths are being blamed on this storm.

(WEATHER REPORT) NGUYEN: Well, we are learning more today about a clandestine intelligence-gathering unit the Pentagon has run since 2002. The story was first reported in Sunday's "Washington Post." Secret unit expands Rumsfeld's domain, a new espionage branch. "Delving Into CIA Territory," that was the headline.

CNN's Barbara Starr has been working the story, and she has the latest now from the Pentagon.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

BARBARA STARR, CNN CORRESPONDENT (on camera): The Pentagon's Defense Intelligence Agency, for more than the last two years, indeed, has been running a clandestine human intelligence-gathering unit, a unit that will allow it to send operatives around the world anywhere they are ordered to go. That word being confirmed to CNN by top defense officials.

How sensitive is this disclosure? Well, apparently very sensitive. When the story broke in "The Washington Post" newspaper, there was what appeared to be a quick denial from the Pentagon. The Pentagon's spokesman saying, quote, "There is no unit that is directly reportable to the secretary of defense for clandestine operations." Well, this clandestine unit does exist while some officials say it's administrative only.

We have spoken to a number of officials with direct knowledge of the unit, and they say it is deploying teams that go into the field in places like Afghanistan and Iraq, that they are deploying with U.S. military special forces that conduct some of the most secret military operations the United States undertakes.

Everyone denies it is a turf battle between the Pentagon and the CIA, but it does put Pentagon officials into a new area of more robust operations, according to one official. And that now is the core of the debate, whether Pentagon officials, Pentagon personnel, really are equipped to go into these frontline operations with special forces and collect that very crucial human type intelligence.

By all accounts, special forces are going to be very queasy about this, officials say. When they go into the field, they like to operate in small, deadly units. They don't like to have a lot of people along for the ride.

But this may be just the first of the major efforts by Don Rumsfeld to overhaul military intelligence. Officials confirming, there are 60 more initiatives under way in the Pentagon to overhaul those military intelligence programs.

Barbara Starr, CNN, the Pentagon.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

KAGAN: Now to Attorney General John Ashcroft. He is bidding farewell to his troops today. He's expected to address staffers at the Justice Department this afternoon. Ashcroft resigned before the start of the second Bush term. In the next hour, we will hear from John Ashcroft in an interview he just completed with CNN's Kelli Arena.

NGUYEN: And still to come, celebrities and hometown friends remember the king of late night comedy.

KAGAN: Up next, we're going to visit the small town where Johnny Carson grew up.

NGUYEN: Plus, it's getting pricey at the pumps. Find out who is paying what.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

KAGAN: An important observation is coming up on Thursday. It will mark the 60th anniversary of the liberation of Auschwitz, Nazi Germany's largest death camp. And this hour at the United Nations, a general assembly will convene a special session to commemorate that triumph against evil. It's the first U.N. session ever dedicated to the Holocaust.

CNN senior U.N. correspondent Richard Roth has the latest from New York. Hello.

RICHARD ROTH, CNN SR. U.N. CORRESPONDENT: Hello, Daryn. That session is under way here at the United Nations. A historic one. They've never done this before at the General Assembly. Not exactly home sweet home for Israel and Jews around the world who feel that there is a bias here in the 191-member establishment.

You're looking live at the president of the General Assembly who is presiding over this session. The United States led the push to have this commemoration event. There was a minute of silence at beginning. This is all to commemorate the liberation, the 60th anniversary, which is coming up in a few days, liberation of the Auschwitz death camp. 6 million Jews, gypsies and others killed in World War II by the Nazis.

The United Nations has never done any type of commemorative event like this. Certainly on the docket have been other special sessions dedicated to Palestinian issues. Many Israelis think this could represent a change, at least they hope so, in the hall. The presiding -- the session opened with U.N. Secretary General Kofi Annan, whose wife, Nan, her uncle was Raul Wahlenberg (ph), a diplomat who did a lot to get many Jews out of the clutches of the Nazis. Secretary General Annan began the session by commenting on what happened 60 years ago.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

KOFI ANNAN, U.N. SECRETARY GENERAL: The date for this session was chosen to mark the 60th anniversary of the liberation of Auschwitz. But as you know, there were many other camps which fell, one by one, to the allied forces in the winter and spring of 1945. Only gradually did the world come to know the full dimensions of the evil those camps contained.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ROTH: Now, also in the audience here, survivors of Auschwitz, several of them met with Kofi Annan last week. They are in the gallery, possibly Jacqueline (sic) Prins, a woman who was in Auschwitz for about a year and a half. In an interview with CNN, she commented on how much she really thought the United Nations does right now to help Jews around the world and what this session might do.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JOSEPHIN PRINS, AUSCHWITZ SURVIVOR: There is a lot of talk and there is very little that is being done. I hope that finally all of countries in the world come to their senses and see that we honestly are all the same. Where is the difference? That we worship differently? That we have a different color? That we eat differently? So what? We are all breathing human beings who want a warm roof over our heads, who want warmth, who want to love our children and who want food. So what is the difference?

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ROTH: Another survivor for Auschwitz, Eli Vessel (ph), is now speaking live here at the United Nations General Assembly on the 60th anniversary this week of the liberation of Auschwitz. A full ceremony's at Auschwitz on Thursday -- Daryn.

KAGAN: Richard Roth, looking forward to hearing more snippets of those comments just ahead. Thank you.

(STOCK MARKET REPORT)

NGUYEN: Well, let's get a look now at some of the other stories making news coast-to-coast.

KAGAN: We start in New York. A day of mourning there. Three firefighters were killed in two separate blazes. One died after battling a basement fire in Brooklyn. Two others died and four more were injured after being trapped in a Bronx apartment building. They were forced to jump from the fourth floor.

NGUYEN: Heading south now to Miami, where history comes tumbling down. Check out these pictures. There it goes. A 78-year-old local landmark, the Everglades Hotel, was reduced to just rubble to make way for a new two-tower condominium. And in another sign of the signs, emergency officials took advantage of that blast, conducting a drill simulating conditions of the World Trade Center disaster.

KAGAN: More than 30 years after being mired in the Watergate scandal, former Nixon secretary Rose Mary Woods has died. You might remember she claimed to have accidently erased part of the infamous Watergate tapes that may have shed light on when the president first knew of the break-in. Nixon later said he asked the secretary to inform his family of his decision to resign from office. NGUYEN: Well, memories and tributes continue to pour in on this day after the death of late night legend Johnny Carson. Earlier today, we talked to Rich Little, whose most memorable impersonation may have been that of Carson. Rich Little described to "AMERICAN MORNING" his last encounter with Carson, a chance meeting about six years ago.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

RICH LITTLE, COMEDIAN: He actually said to me, Richard, are you still doing me in your act? And I said, of course. All the time. It's one of my best impressions and the audience loves it everywhere I go. He said are you kidding? And I said no. And he said they still remember me, do they? I said, of course they do, John. He said, gee, that's great to know. I just wondered if, you know, they'd forgotten who I was.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

NGUYEN: How could we forget? Rich little, like so many other entertainers, says he was always waiting for Johnny Carson to return to the spotlight in some form or fashion and says he is amazed, even more impressed, that Carson chose not to do so.

KAGAN: In fact, Johnny Carson did some of his best work in private. People in his childhood home of Norfolk, Nebraska, are remembering his modest showbiz start that took place there and then the generosity he shared after he became a star.

We get details now from reporter Brandi Petersen with KETV, our affiliate in Omaha, Nebraska.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

UNIDENTFIED MALE: Gentlemen, here's Johnny!

BRANDI PETERSEN, REPORTER, KETV (voice-over): It's late night all the time at the Johnny Carson exhibit in Norfolk, Nebraska. This is the town where Carson grew up. Now, a town in mourning. The entertainment icon died Sunday morning in California.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It's going to hit home because I think everybody in this town felt that he was kind of their favorite son.

PETERSEN: For decades Carson was the late night king with his stand-up, his skits as the great Carnac, his interviews with celebrities like Bob Hope.

(on camera): But for people in Norfolk, Carson's legacy extends beyond the number of Emmys he won or how many laughs he gave people across the country. It was how he remembered and treated people back home.

ROB STAUFFER, NORFOLK RESIDENT: He was always looking out for us and he always kept in touch with what was going on in town, despite his celebrity. PETERSEN (voice-over): Carson donated millions to, among other things, a cancer center and a state-of-the-art theater for Norfolk High School. City leaders say he helped build this town.

STAUFFER: We'd want to hand out a check for a $1 million, you'd think the person was going to be there and wanted to get the recognition for it. And Mr. Carson didn't. He made some very large donations totally anonymously.

PETERSEN: People say when Carson did come home, he gave his hometown even more reason to love him.

BETTY BOHAC, NORFOLK RESIDENT: He was so generous with his handshakes and it just made you feel like you were part of him.

PETERSEN: Now that part of Norfolk, of American history, is gone forever.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It's like within you lose a parent, you know it's coming, but when it happens, it's -- when it happens it kind of hits home.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

KAGAN: And that was reporter Brandy Petersen from our affiliate in Omaha, KETV.

And as we go to break, some more pictures of Johnny Carson.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

NGUYEN: Well, it's one thing to talk about a blizzard, but look at these pictures from our affiliate WCVB in Boston. There is so much snow on the ground. In fact, this blizzard dumped two feet of snow across New England. The mayor of Boston has urged people to stay home. And you can see why. They're just socked in with all of the white stuff. In fact, a lot of school days, two school days, today and tomorrow for students there in Boston area.

KAGAN: Weather cleared up in time to get a little football business done yesterday. The Philadelphia Eagles and the New England Patriots have punched their tick the for Super Bowl XXXIX.

CNN's Ray D'Alessio has highlights of the NFL championship games.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

RAY D'ALESSIO, CNN CORRESPONDENT: In what amounted to the first all Pennsylvania championship weekend, only the Philadelphia Eagles advanced to Super Bowl 39. In doing so, they put to bed three straight years of disappointment in the NFC title game. They also led themselves back in the Super Bowl for the first time since the 1980 season.

In beating the Falcons, Philly proved they can handle the pressure of dealing with a supernatural quarterback. After his 119- yard rushing performance against the Rams, Michael Vick Sunday totaled just 26 yards.

Next up for the Eagles are the New England Patriots and their superstar quarterback, Tom Brady. After beating the Steelers in the AFC title game, New England must now prepare for their third Super Bowl trip in four years.

At 8-0, Tom Brady remains perfect in the playoffs.

As for the Patriots as a team, they're hoping to become the first back to back Super Bowl winner since the Denver Broncos in 1998 and 1999.

In Philadelphia, I'm Ray D'Alessio, CNN Sports.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

KAGAN: OK, so folks in New England and Philadelphia trying to figure out they need a ticket to the Super Bowl. Well, I hope you have a lot of cash. They're going for about six grand and up on the Internet, and then you have to find a place to stay in Jacksonville. That is not easy. Word is that a room within a couple hours of Jacksonville, Florida could set you back about four grand, if you're willing to share with three other people. Another warning, the NFL says hundreds of fans were turn away from last year's Super Bowl because their tickets were fakes.

NGUYEN: OK, four grand, you're still a couple of miles away, or a hundred miles away.

KAGAN: Right, there was a lot of criticism in the city of Jacksonville that they don't have enough hotel rooms.

NGUYEN: And you still have to share.

KAGAN: You have to share, so they're bringing in cruise ships for people to stay.

NGUYEN: That's an idea, all right.

Well the legacy of an American entertainer, why Johnny Carson meant so much to comedy and the nation's culture.

KAGAN: Plus, looking for a vacation for the body and soul? You're spa experience when the second hour of CNN LIVE TODAY begins after a quick break.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com