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American Morning
Happy New Year; More Bhutto Video; Final Iowa Push
Aired January 01, 2008 - 07:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
JOHN ROBERTS, CNN ANCHOR: Final push. New numbers just in for '08. Who is still tied? Who's pulling ahead in Iowa? This morning our exclusive new poll.
Crackdown.
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UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Enough's enough.
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ROBERTS: The New Year ushers in one of the toughest new immigration laws on record.
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UNIDENTIFIED MALE: That is not ready.
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ROBERTS: Plus --
Three, two, one!
ROBERTS: Out with the old and in with the new. Celebrating the New Year around the world on this AMERICAN MORNING. And what a celebration it was. The streets of New York City around Times Square just jammed last night. And a tremendous amount of noise coming up off the street as well.
VERONICA DE LA CRUZ, CNN ANCHOR: Yeah, noise that affected our sleep.
ROBERTS: I heard it at midnight.
DE LA CRUZ: Well, I was up at 11:50 to ring in the New Year. But it woke me up, so there you go.
ROBERTS: Look at you. No, they just woke me up and I then rolled over and went right back to sleep. Thanks for being with us, it's Tuesday, the very first day of 2008. Let's hope it's a good year. I'm John Roberts.
DE LA CRUZ: And I'm Veronica de la Cruz in this morning for Kiran Chetry. ROBERTS: This just coming in right now to CNN. An attack on a U.S. embassy official in Khartoum, in Sudan today. According to the embassy, an American was wounded, and an embassy driver killed during a gun attack. The official works for the United States Agency for international development. He is undergoing treatment. Walter Braunochler joins us now on the telephone from the U.S. embassy in Khartoum. He's the public diplomacy officer there. Mr. Braunochler what can you tell us about the circumstances surrounding this attack today?
WALTER BRAUNOCHLER, U.S. EMBASSY, KHARTOUM: Unfortunately, it's too early to tell.
ROBERTS: So you don't have any idea if this might have been a terrorist attack and that this official was specifically targeted or if it might have simply been a criminal act?
BRAUNOCHLER: No. We are working closely with local authorities to investigate the incident. At this point, you know, we're not ruling anything out, but we don't know.
ROBERTS: Can you tell us who this person was, what their position was there, what they were doing in Sudan?
BRAUNOCHLER: As you mentioned, it is an officer with the U.S. Agency for International Development. Out of respect for the officer's family, at this point we're not releasing any details about exactly who it is.
ROBERTS: So you can't tell us what his condition is, other than he's currently undergoing medical treatment?
BRAUNOCHLER: Yeah. Unfortunately, the last I heard is that he was undergoing medical treatment. Hopefully, we'll hear more soon.
ROBERTS: Mr. Braunochler, this attack comes just a day after a morrow bust African Union-United Nations force got on the ground there to try to protect the Darfur region in Sudan. Are you investigating any possible connection with that?
BRAUNOCHLER: As I said, we're working with local authorities to investigate all aspects of the incident. Hopefully, we'll have more to report soon.
ROBERTS: All right, we'll stay in touch with you. And hopefully, as you are able to release more information, we'll be able to get some of that from you. Walter Braunochler, the public diplomacy officer with the U.S. embassy in Khartoum this morning on the telephone.
We're also just getting in some new numbers on what will be the big story of 2008, the race for president. Our new CNN Opinion Research Corporation poll from Iowa shows Republican Mitt Romney making a comeback with a narrow lead over Mike Huckabee. For the democrats, John Edwards falling further behind Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama. That in contrast to polls that recently showed him surging there in Iowa. Overall, it's too close to call for both parties with just two days to go. Our senior political analyst Bill Schneider in Des Moines for us this morning. Bill, you've got the hat on today. How cold is it there? That's what people want to know.
WILLIAM SCHNEIDER, CNN SR. POLITICAL ANALYST: I think it's about 10 degrees here, and it is snowing. It's snowing. So we've got it all.
ROBERTS: I'll be joining you there later on today. So I'm looking forward to that. Let's take a look at the polls. First on the republican side, our new CNN opinion research corporation poll has got Mitt Romney now back in the lead with 31 percent. Mike Huckabee 28 percent, within the margin of error, though. Fred Thompson back at 13 and John McCain sitting back at 10. What do you make of these numbers? Is this a reflection that it's very difficult to gauge where Iowa voters are going?
SCHNEIDER: Well, what it shows is that Romney has picked up some support. Huckabee had been in the lead just two weeks ago. Now it's too close to call. What's driving it? The number one republican issue, John, is the economy, and Romney has a big lead when voters are asked, who do you think would do a best job managing the economy? He's a former corporate executive. So people respect his management skills, and that appears to be his issue. He's made big gains, particularly among women.
ROBERTS: Right. On the democratic side of things, let's take a look at the new numbers there. Hillary Clinton in the lead now with 33 percent. Barack Obama with 31. Again, within the margin of error, too close to call. The race is pretty much where it was the last time we checked December the 14th. But look at this, Bill. John Edwards slipping from 26 to 22 percent. There had been some indication last week that he was beginning to surge a little bit. Has he stalled?
SCHNEIDER: He apparently has stalled. What was a three-way tie now looks like a two-way tie. And one thing that's happening, it's become deeply divided, very polarized, the democratic race, between Clinton and Obama. Edwards turns out to be the top second choice among democrats because Clinton and Obama voters say, if my candidate doesn't win, our second choice is John Edwards. But above all, they don't want their rival to win, Clinton versus Obama. It's a very deeply divided democratic race.
ROBERTS: And what about the undecideds? How many of them are there still out there?
SCHNEIDER: There are a lot of undecided voters, about almost half of the republicans say they haven't firmly made up their minds. More than a quarter of democrats say they haven't made up their minds. And it's an interesting division. Among democrats, they say Clinton has the right experience and the best chance to win. Obama's the most likable and the most honest. So sort of a choice between the head and the heart. The republicans, same division. Mitt Romney has the right experience, the best chance to win. Mike Huckabee is the most likable and the most honest. Again, a division between the head and the heart. ROBERTS: And some of these people may wait until 7:00 on Thursday night to make up their minds too. Bill Schneider for us in Des Moines. By the way, Jacqui Jeras reports Phil that it's 11 degrees in Des Moines. Wind chill makes it feel like it's 6 degrees below zero.
SCHNEIDER: All I know is it's cold.
ROBERTS: Hope you got your wooleys on. Bill Schneider for us this morning. Bill, as always, thanks very much. Veronica?
DE LA CRUZ: Are you ready for that? Do you have the hat at least?
ROBERTS: No. I don't have the hat like Bill does. He's the hat guy.
DE LA CRUZ: He's very stylish. He looks great.
More news on the political front now. Will Mike Huckabee take a hit from his unusual news conference on New Year's Eve? Huckabee said he was taking the high road and wouldn't run a negative attack ad he had prepared against Mitt Romney. But then he showed the TV ad to a room full of reporters. Here's CNN's Dana Bash.
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DANA BASH, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Enough is enough. It was a brand new theme. New placards around the room hitting Mitt Romney's record and a new TV ad to be unveiled attacking him. Instead, Mike Huckabee said, never mind.
MIKE HUCKABEE, (R) PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: If I were to continue this strategy, which is really not what I personally deep in my heart feel like is the right thing to do. It's not what I really want to do. If you gain the whole world and lose your own whole soul, what does it profit you? And ultimately that became just for me the issue, that it's not worth it.
BASH: Huckabee announced to the 50-plus reporters and dozen cameras packed in to see his first negative TV ad that he had a change of heart and decided to pull the ad from Iowa TV stations already planning to run it. But this was the kicker.
HUCKABEE: I know that some of you are saying that, well, did you really have an ad. I want to show you the ad. You'll get a chance to find out exactly what we're doing.
BASH: To that, an eruption of laughter from the press, all likely thinking the same thing. Huckabee wanted credit for staying positive but still make sure the message against Romney got out.
HUCKABEE: I want you to see it. This is what we planned to do. And I think, once you see it, you'll realize this is why we're not going to run it.
BASH: But when he tried to play the ad, technical problems.
Romney's government-mandated health plan provided a $50 co-pay for abortion.
BASH: Huckabee admitted he's been going after Romney aggressively because Romney's attacks on him have hurt, and he's been taking advice from new hardball veteran advisers like Ed Rollins.
HUCKABEE: There's certain conflicts between all the advice that you get from people who tell you, you just have to answer this stuff back. You've got to push back hard and then ultimately deciding, is it really worth it?
BASH (on camera): Huckabee spent all day Sunday, valuable pre- caucus campaigning time, filming and cutting an ad that will now apparently never air. He insists that he made the decision to pull the ad at the last minute, told some of his aides just moments before this press conference. Now, Huckabee is somebody who has been priding himself on positive campaigning. So going after Mitt Romney on the stump the way he has been in the last several days has been very risky, but he also knows not defending himself and going after Mitt Romney may be just as risky. Dana Bash, CNN, Des Moines, Iowa.
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DE LA CRUZ: Also new this morning, a big n-o from New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg. Last night during the Times Square madness, he talked to CNN and tried to put an end to the buzz that he may make a run for president.
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MAYOR MICHAEL BLOOMBERG, (R) NEW YORK CITY: Look, I'm not running for president. What I am trying to do is to speak out and push what I think we need, and that's an independent approach. Where we get rid of partisanship and special interests and we stop this gridlock that you see in Washington where nobody is willing to do anything unless it's in their selfish interests.
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DE LA CRUZ: And speculation gained momentum last summer when he left the Republican Party to become an independent.
New Year, new union. New Hampshire now joins Vermont, New Jersey and Connecticut in legalizing same sex civil unions. Some 20 couples got hitched in midnight ceremonies on the steps of the state house in Concord. Under the new law, they will be able to share medical insurance and file joint city taxes, but their federal tax returns still won't be recognized by the government. John?
ROBERTS: New this morning in Pakistan, a struggle to decide if elections will go on after the assassination of Benazir Bhutto. And news that the United States may have known and shared information with Bhutto about threats against her. The Pakistani government is now offering a reward to anyone who can identify two attackers suspected in her murder. CNN's Matthew Chance joins us now live from Islamabad. Matthew, what is the status of these elections? When are they going to make a decision, and what might that decision be expected to entail?
MATTHEW CHANCE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: The election commissioner of Pakistan is delayed for a second time, making an official decision on whether the elections are scheduled for January the 8th will go ahead in Pakistan. But election officials have indicated that they believe, because of the law and order situation, because of the technical situation with the destroyed election centers around the country following the death of Benazir Bhutto, that it would be almost impossible for the elections to go ahead on the scheduled date. That's obviously very controversial because the main political parties in Pakistan, including Benazir's party, have said that they do not want the elections to be postponed. They want to go ahead with the elections as they were planned in a week from now. And they are saying that those elections must be free and fair. So any backing away from that is going to be interpreted perhaps as the government of Pakistan, which is widely distrusted by many people in this country, as attempting to kind of cling on to power just a little bit longer, and it could well be a backlash. What the Pakistan officials are now doing, the election commission, is working with the various political parties to try and get a consensus on when the election should actually go ahead. John?
ROBERTS: Matthew, what about this reward that the Pakistani government just announced? Were both of these suspects killed in the attack?
CHANCE: Yes, they were. There's been a national campaign now launched to try to get some information so they can identify who these individuals were. I've got a newspaper advertisement here, which has appeared in one of the national newspapers. They've appeared all over the newspapers in Pakistan. Quite a grisly picture of the head of the man who is suspected of being the shooter in the attack on Benazir Bhutto. You may remember from the assassination video, that very dramatic images that came out. He's the man who is clean shaven, dressed in dark sunglasses, who is pictured apparently firing three gunshots towards Benazir Bhutto, the former Pakistani prime minister, before she slumped into her vehicle. And then seconds later, moments later, the suicide blast was detonated. It all comes amid that increasing controversy in Pakistan over the actual cause of death of Benazir Bhutto. Was it a bullet? Was it a piece of shrapnel? Or was it, as the government says, or said in the past, her ducking out of the way of the assassination attempt and hitting her head very violently on a lever on the sunroof of her armored car? This is something that has been really plaguing the investigation and overshadowing the investigation into the circumstances of Benazir's death. John?
ROBERTS: And a piece of information we may never be really clear on. Matthew Chance for us this morning in Islamabad. Matthew, thanks. Veronica?
DE LA CRUZ: A million people have cleared out of Times Square. They got to see the ball drop and ring in 2008. Now the cleanup begins. Workers trying to get Times Square back to normal this morning. Our Lola Ogunnaike is live in the middle of the square. She has a look at some of the best celebrations from around the world. Good morning to you, Lola.
LOLA OGUNNAIKE: Good morning, Veronica. You can't tell it now. The streets are empty. But just a few hours ago, they were covered in two tons of confetti, 1 million people, and a gorgeous ball that dropped from just over there. But it wasn't the only party in town. Take a look.
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Five, four, three, two, one. Happy New Year!
OGUNNAIKE (voice-over): Sydney was among the first to ring in 2008. Doing so in true Aussie style. Balloons filled the air in Tokyo as the bronze bells of Buddhist temples rang out. China countered with a countdown at the millennium altar in Beijing. A prelude to the much anticipated Olympic summer games there. Fireworks lit the sky above Moscow's red square. And in Iraq, U.S. troops shouted out the arrival of 2008.
Happy New Year!
OGUNNAIKE: While marking the end of what has been the deadliest year for U.S. troops in the war. Fireworks rained down from the millennium wheel in London. And Big Ben chimed in the arrival of 2008. And hours later across the pond, more than a million revelers filled New York's Times Square for the 100th anniversary of the world famous ball drop. And this year the big apple celebrated with a new energy efficient ball. Twice as bright as last year's but only using about ten toasters worth of electricity. A bright idea for any year.
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OGUNNAIKE: Veronica, the cleaning crews have been working overtime today to make sure that this place looks as spotless as it looked before the New Year, which has inspired me to clean up my apartment. I think that's going to be my new year's resolution. What's yours?
DE LA CRUZ: That's it? Clean up your apartment?
OGUNNAIKE: Yeah. And get some more sleep. I've got two.
DE LA CRUZ: I'm going to go with get some more sleep, and I think John is too. That's one that we can accomplish for sure. Well, not that one. Cleaning our apartment, I guess. Yeah, maybe that one. Lola O there in "Time Square." Lola, happy New Year. Thanks?
OGUNNAIKE: Happy New Year.
DE LA CRUZ: We can't get enough sleep. We can clean our apartment. But we're lacking on the sleep half the time. That's for sure.
ROBERTS: Who are we to complain? We've got the best jobs in the world. I mean what the heck. You can do this on no sleep and still enjoy it.
DE LA CRUZ: Right, you always do. You're living proof.
ROBERTS: Seventeen minutes after the hour. Homeowners paid the price in 2007, but did the mortgage crisis bottom out last year? Gerri Willis with a look ahead, next on AMERICAN MORNING.
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ROBERTS: In the closing days of 2007, we are asking our AMERICAN MORNING team of correspondents to give us the most important and the most interesting stories on their respective beats from last year. Gerri Willis, of course, has covered the mortgage meltdown since it started more than a year ago. This is a pretty important story.
GERRI WILLIS, CNN ANCHOR: It really is. So many folks out there suffering through this. As many as 2 million foreclosures this year alone. People really suffering with this debt. We talked to Alice Mills, a woman who you wouldn't be expected to be impacted by this. She's a renter, not an owner. But her landlord went into foreclosure. She was kicked out. Very sad story. We caught up with her recently, and she told us she's found an apartment. She doesn't feel very safe in the neighborhood she's renting in, but she's like so many people out there experiencing the domino effect of this.
ROBERTS: As we did every year, we saw a number of disasters in 2007 as well. You went out there trying to help folks deal with the disaster and prevent themselves from being caught up in the red tape and the difficulty in coming back should a disaster ever befall them. What was the worst to you?
WILLIS: Well, you know, mudslides, there were wildfires. All the floods, you name it. Probably the worst was the mudslide that we went to. Just devastating for that family there. Their entire house, their home was demolished by a huge mudslide they never expected. I'm going to tell you, you see their house right there. Your average homeowner's insurance policy does not cover that at all, period. They have not gotten any money. We caught up with them recently. They got no money for that except a loan from FEMA. They bought a condo. They've moved out. She doesn't want to go back to the area at all. And it's still unsafe because you could still have mudslides there, and, of course, now it's very difficult to get coverage.
ROBERTS: If homeowners doesn't cover that. Does flood insurance cover it?
WILLIS: You have to buy special coverage. And that's something I want to say here, 58 percent of Americans do not have enough homeowners insurance to cover them in the event something happens. A mudslide, you've got to buy special coverage. A flood, you have to have special coverage. You really have to go out and research and find out what are the kind of things that could hit you, what are you prone for, and make sure you've got the coverage you need at the end of the day. It's up to you. You can always go on the website of the insurance information institute, iii.gov, great website to go to, to get basic information on what does my insurance policy cover? What might I be on the hook for myself?
ROBERTS: Great tips. Looking forward to hearing more from you as we transition into 2008.
WILLIS: My pleasure.
ROBERTS: Gerri Willis, thanks.
DE LA CRUZ: Coming up, a story many of you might find very useful on this New Year's morning. Curing the brutal hangover. We are sharing the remedies that you've been e-mailing us. That's next on AMERICAN MORNING.
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DE LA CRUZ: Welcome back. We've been asking for your e-mails this morning on how to cure your New Year's hangover. You know, doctors always say stay hydrated. Here's what some people have been saying.
ROBERTS: Go ahead.
DE LA CRUZ: No. You start with the hair of the dog. I want to know more.
ROBERTS: It's an old -- it's called the hair of the dog that bit you. Some people believe that, if you have another adult beverage it will help to cure the hangover because you're actually sort of easing the withdrawal a little bit. So one person says that they would take a glass of water, two aspirins, a shot of tequila. Definitely the best cure for a hangover. Unless, of course, you got the hangover from tequila to begin with, in which case it would make it very difficult to handle yet another shot of tequila.
DE LA CRUZ: People always say alcohol, bloody marys maybe.
ROBERTS: Again, it's sort of just easing the withdrawal.
DE LA CRUZ: How about this one? Meghan in South Carolina says a big salad with lots of lettuce.
ROBERTS: I have another one here, it says sleep, the cure-all, everything else a case by case scenario. If it's costly and time- consuming, just take the day off and let your body recover. Very simple. Another person suggested Gatorade and a banana for the morning after, which would be good, electrolyte replacement. Gatorade has salt in it, a little bit of potassium, bananas have potassium.
DE LA CRUZ: We talked about peanut butter earlier, the ketchup. Speaking of ketchup, somebody said a very spicy pepper soup would work perfectly. What do you think of that one?
ROBERTS: Quite possibly because the capsaicin pepper in that causes your body to warm up a little bit and that can help to sort of speed up the metabolism and get you through your hangover. My two favorites are right here. One person says, "My hangover cure is all McDonald's cheeseburgers, something powerful about them." Happy New Year to you. And this person, Joel Reed in Sunrise, Florida writes, "The ideal hangover cure that worked every time for me was a Dairy Queen Banana malt. Don't know if it's the potassium or the malt, but my old friend Timmy showed me this after our lake house parties. It was like magic. Felt like a new man after this. Try it once. I swear it works."
DE LA CRUZ: Vanilla milkshake. That's mine. No, I don't even know what a hangover is. Any ways, we want to know what you think. Keep sending us your e-mails. What is your favorite cure for a hangover? Have you tried any of these? The ketchup, the peanut butter, does it work? You can e-mail us am@cnn.com. We're going to keep on reading some of your cures coming up in the show. John?
ROBERTS: Dairy Queen Banana malt. You're watching the most news in the morning.
Just ahead, a school in California sends out a camera to catch kids in the act. We'll tell you what that's all about.
And brand new poll numbers. Another shift in the standings two days before the first votes in the presidential race are tallied. That story and today's headlines when AMERICAN MORNING returns.
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ROBERTS: The party is over, and now the hurting has begun. A lot of people who were there at Times Square last night, the million plus, nursing hangovers this morning. Thank you for your cures, by the way, for e-mailing those into us. It's Tuesday, the 1st of January, the first day of 2008. Welcome back to AMERICAN MORNING, I'm John Roberts.
DE LA CRUZ: And I'm Veronica de la Cruz in this morning for Kiran Chetry. You're not nursing a hangover.
ROBERTS: No, not me.
DE LA CRUZ: Trying to get some sleep. I know, I know.
ROBERTS: I went to bed early last night.
DE LA CRUZ: I know. We missed the new year.
Getting to you some news. This is what is new this morning. An attack on a U.S. embassy official in Khartoum, Sudan today. According to the embassy, an American was wounded and a Sudanese driver was killed during a gun attack. The official who works for the United States agency for international development is undergoing treatment. Not clear yet if the attack was random or targeted but earlier we talked to an embassy official who said the embassy is working with local authorities to investigate the shooting. This comes a day after a joint African-United Nations Force took over peacekeeping duties in the Darfur region of Sudan.
Also new this morning, the start of a brand new year. Celebrations across the country and around the world. Perhaps none more famous than the one that took place right here a few blocks south. An estimated 1 million people packed Times Square for the countdown. Our own Kiran Chetry, she was in the crowd. She was there for the party. And she got to check out your i-party pictures. We're going to take a look at well Kiran's wild night straight ahead.
And a defiant new year's message from Cuban leader Fidel Castro. In a written statement read on Cuban TV, Castro saluted his people for 50 years of heroic resistance against the United States. The communist leader came to power on January 1st, 1959. Cuba plans to celebrate the 50th year of the revolution throughout 2008. The 81- year-old Castro hasn't been seen in public since having emergency intestinal surgery 17 months ago. John.
ROBERTS: Traffic moving again this morning on i-70 in Colorado. A 60-mile stretch of road west of Denver was shut down due to avalanche fears but it reopened yesterday afternoon. Thousands of travelers were stranded at Red Cross shelters Sunday night and into Monday, not quite sure how they were going to spend New Year's eve. High winds that raised fears of an avalanche subsided, and many of those travelers were able to get out on the road before midnight.
32 minutes after the hour. Jacqui Jeras is tracking snow in the Midwest. I guess everything that was in the Rocky Mountain states is moving to the Midwest.
JACQUI JERAS, CNN, METEOROLOGIST: Yes, it always moves off to the east, doesn't. And that's a good reminder for those of you that live in the northeast. Because all these stuff is going to be heading your way by this afternoon. If it's not already in your neighborhood just yet. The snow has been extremely heavy here, particularly across parts of lower Michigan. You know, it looks like it's starting to fade out a little bit. We're kind of dry spotting, as we call it, across the Detroit area. There you can see another line of snow showers that will be pushing on through. This white line that you see right there has been incredibly heavy. The snowfall totals have been coming down so intense that we've seen as much as four inches in one hour in a few locations.
Look at these numbers. Brighton, Michigan, 11 inches since last night. White Lake had 11 inches. And you folks had an inch of snow in just 15 minutes. Wild Lake had 9 inches, and about 2.5 inches there in Merrill. We think Detroit will end up with about 4 to 8 inches overall. All right. Here's the moisture starting to work its way into the northeast. A little icy go of it here, especially along the i-80 corridor. That's starting to change over to some of that rainfall. Snow coming down in Syracuse and Binghamton, just pushing to Albany. What you're seeing in New York City, not hitting the ground just yet.
So lot of the warnings in place here for the heavy snow. That's going to be this afternoon and tonight. So, if you've got to get somewhere, get ready to go back to work tomorrow. The earlier you do it, the better off you're going to be. John.
ROBERTS: All right, Jacqui. Thanks very much. Veronica. DE LA CRUZ: We have new poll numbers on the presidential race just out within the hour. Iowa is too close to call. That's according to our CNN opinion research corporation poll. Among republican caucus goers, Mitt Romney has regained the lead from Mike Huckabee. But it is a statistical dead heat. Romney with 31%. Huckabee with 28%. Fred Thompson at 13%, and John McCain at 10%.
Now on the democratic side, Hillary Clinton is clinging to a two- point lead over Barack Obama. She has 33%. He has 31%. Also a statistical dead heat. John Edwards has lost ground. He stands at 22%. John.
ROBERTS: We're getting more insight on Iowa from the "Des Moines Register" today. It's also out with its brand new poll this morning. Mike Huckabee in the lead 32% to Mitt Romney's 26%. John McCain in at 13% in the register poll. For the democrats, Barack Obama expands his lead over Hillary Clinton 32-25. John Edwards at 24%. We should mention that those leads too, Obama over Clinton and Huckabee over Romney, are outside of the margin of error. So the numbers in the "Des Moines Register" poll just a little bit different there.
Jessica Yellin is following the democrats for us. She's live on the trail in chilly Des Moines this morning, where the wind chill is minus 6 degrees. I take it there's going to be no sleeping in for the campaigns on this New Year's day, Jessica.
JESSICA YELLIN, CNN, CORRESPONDENT: No sleep at all. They are barnstorming the state, all these candidates, holding New Year's day events, and they're going to go nonstop until caucus night. Now, we should talk a bit about these polls because they're raising a lot of eyebrows and triggering a barrage of e-mail and chatter, as you can imagine, all over the state. One of the things that's most interesting about the "Des Moines Register" poll is, first of all, they predicted or they called it for Kerry last time around. They showed the trend of Dean going down and Kerry going up right before the caucuses were held. But what's fascinating about this poll is something that's brand new about this election and maybe about something we're going to see to come, which is they're showing an enormous rise in the number of independent and first-time caucus goers who are saying that they're going to show up and caucus this time.
You know, we spend a lot of attention and time talking about Iowa caucusing, but not that many people here actually go and do it. And the poll is showing huge numbers of people feel motivated and inspired this year to go and do it. That's what's bumped up Obama's numbers significantly. He is relying on those people, and if they really do turn out not only could that be a huge victory for Obama but also would be historic for this election here and possibly, you know, a sign of what's to come in the broader race.
No, we shouldn't be surprised to note that the Edwards and the Clinton and the other campaigns are casting huge doubt on these numbers and saying, there just is no way to believe that this many new caucus goers would actually show up. But it's something that's fascinating because you also see it when you attend these events, just large audiences of people who say they've never been interested before, but they feel like this year it matters, and they really want to play a role. They feel a responsibility this time around. We'll see, John.
ROBERTS: We should point out too, Jessica, that in the way that these caucuses operate, you have to be a declared member of either party to participate, but you can wait up until the moment that you walk into that caucus to actually declare which party you're for. And we see this enormous as well "get out the vote" operation that's going to be in place for Thursday. Tell us a little bit about that.
YELLIN: You're right. Huge "get out the vote" operation. The Hillary Clinton campaign, for example, handing out shovels to organizers because so many of the people Clinton is relying on are older people, especially older women, who might be afraid of windy conditions and snowy conditions like this. So, you don't want the weather to get in the way. The Obama campaign says they've had the most people on the ground organizing and clearly identifying every single voter who's a possible person for them, finding them a buddy, somebody that they're friends with who will offer to do daycare if they have kids at home and they don't want to leave, or drive them.
And the Edwards campaign, well, Edwards has been in this state almost nonstop since 2004, and they have found their own ways to identify their folks. Every single campaign is telling reporters exactly how organized they are and that they know they're the ones who are going to get out the vote that night. And because they think the margins can be so small, every last voter or caucus goer really does matter. And they're organized to try to turn it out. John.
ROBERTS: I have read some analyses that say as many as few, at least, of 5,000 people could make all the difference. Jessica Yellin for us this morning in Des Moines. Jessica, thanks very much.
And what can only be described as a bizarre news conference by republican Mike Huckabee took place in Iowa. Huckabee catching some heat this morning for showing reporters an ad attacking Mitt Romney. An ad that he had already decided that he wasn't going to air. The news conference was originally called to release the ad, but Huckabee says he changed his mind at the last minute and didn't want to put it out on television. You can hear some reporters laugh as he then goes on to play it for them and their cameras.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
MIKE HUCKABEE (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: I know that some of you are saying that, well, did you really have an ad? I want to show you the ad. You'll get a chance to find out exactly what we're doing. No, I want you to see it. This is what we planned to do. And I think, once you see it, you'll realize this is why we're not going to run it.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ROBERTS: And with that, he got the ad played across the country without having to spend a penny of his campaign's money to put it on TV. It would have been Huckabee's first negative ad. Huckabee says the decision to pull it was made just an hour before that news conference.
Well, cheers to a healthier you and a healthier world. Kiran talked with Dr. Sanjay Gupta about his favorite medical stories of last year and what we can expect to hear more about in 2008. That's coming right up.
And it's a new law just going into effect that could ripple across the country. We'll take to you one of the toughest immigration crackdowns ever on the books. Ahead on AMERICAN MORNING.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
ROBERTS: Well, welcome back to the most news in the morning here on CNN. "Quick Hits" now.
Factional fighting erupting amongst Palestinians just one week before President Bush's trip to the Middle East. Fighting between Hamas and Fatah in southern Gaza killed seven people last night and today.
Worldwide pressure was to end the violence in Kenya. At least 124 people have been killed since disputed elections over the weekend. Kenyans cautiously left their homes today looking for food. International observers are concerned that Kenya will descend into all-out ethnic fighting.
42 minutes after the hour now. Over to a conversation that Kiran recently had with our Dr. Sanjay Gupta.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
KIRAN CHETRY, CNN, ANCHOR: In the closing days of 2007, we're asking our AMERICAN MORNING team of correspondents to give us the most important and the most interesting stories on their respective beats from the last year. And Dr. Sanjay Gupta, who joins us here on AMERICAN MORNING has been running down his top five health stories this week and joins us now with his number one pick. Hi, Sanjay.
DR. SANJAY GUPTA, CNN, CHIEF MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT: Hey, good morning again, Kiran. You know, it's been such an interesting year from a health standpoint. We've talked about health care overall for the country, which so many people cared about this upcoming election season. We've talked about food recalls. We've talked about so many interesting topics.
I think, personally though, one of the stories that really touched me, I think, was a story about a woman named Amanda Bags. She's a woman who's classified if you have to call her, give her a classification as a low functioning autistic woman. I'm a neurosurgeon, as you know, Kiran, and she completely opened my eyes to the world of autism. You look at her, and so many people look at this woman and they immediately discard her as someone who may be retarded mentally. But once I started to communicate with her using the device that you see there. It's amazing, Kiran. She is well read. She is well versed. She is witty. She is communicative. She is anything but what you would think by just looking at her. She communicates with that device that you just saw there. It actually speaks for her, and we carried on these long conversations, Kiran. So, I think, autism is, I'm a parent now. I'm a father of two young girls, and I think about autism a lot. You know, not because my children have it but just because I'm curious about it, and I wanted to learn more about it. Amanda taught me more about this neurodisease, you know, this neural disease, this neural problem, than any textbook ever taught me.
CHETRY: Also, let's talk about the most interesting story that you've worked on all year. I know you've talked about this on a personal level, but also in terms of a big impact worldwide.
GUPTA: You know, one of the series that sort of literally took me away most of the summer, as you know, I was playing hooky, was because of working on a series called "Planet in Peril," which literally was looking at the global climate change and trying to figure out what is really happening, why is the earth warming? What are the causes of this? I've traveled, what you're looking at there is a place called the Carteret Islands, which is a chain of islands in the South Pacific that are literally disappearing because of rising seas.
And I also went to China. China is one of the places where we have so much manufacturing. You have unregulated coal factories. You have pollution that's unbelievable. 14 of the 17 most polluted cities in the world are in China. And I also got a chance to visit Lake Chad. The reason that was so important, Kiran, is that this used to be the sixth largest lake in the world. It has shrunk by 90% over the last 40 years. Also, Kiran, I should tell you now, we're going to do it again in 2008.
I just learned that just a couple of days ago that we're going to continue our focus on "Planet in Peril" and do a very similar series and documentary again in 2008.
CHETRY: Well, it was simply fascinating. The pictures were unbelievable. And it was wonderful to see. So, we look forward to that. Sanjay, as always, great to see you.
GUPTA: Great to see you. Happy New Year.
CHETRY: You, too.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
DE LA CRUZ: Here's what's straight ahead on AMERICAN MORNING, back in business. San Francisco Zoo is about to reopen to the public. What are they doing to address security concerns after a deadly tiger attack on Christmas Day?
Plus a strict new immigration law kicked in at midnight, but can it work?
We're in Arizona to find out. It's all coming up on AMERICAN MORNING. (COMMERCIAL BREAK)
DE LA CRUZ: 48 minutes after the hour now. Happy New Year to you. If you're just joining us, here's a look at what is making headlines this morning.
Two tons of confetti being cleared from New York's Times Square. Here's a live look at the cleanup continues this morning. Take a look at that. Barely a trace of trash left. Unbelievable. It was a far different scene just a few hours ago when 1 million people counted down to the New Year. We're going to have a live report on the aftermath. That's coming up in the next hour of AMERICAN MORNING.
New CNN poll numbers on the presidential race in Iowa just out. Republican Mitt Romney has come back to take a three-point lead over Mike Huckabee, but that is a statistical dead heat. And democrat Hillary Clinton is holding a two-point lead over Barack Obama. John Edwards has lost some ground to both of the frontrunners.
Major development to tell you about out of Pakistan. We're waiting to hear if parliamentary elections will be delayed there. The announcement could come tomorrow. The assassination of former Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto could push them back from January 8th to sometime next month.
And a New Year's message from North Korea signals a standoff in nuclear disarmament. North Korea says the U.S. should end its hostile policy toward them. That comes as Pyongyang misses a deadline in its disarmament agreement. North Korea was supposed to declare all of its nuclear program by the end of the year. The U.S. State Department says it is disappointed by the missed deadline. John.
ROBERTS: And the San Francisco Zoo will reopen to the public on Thursday. It has been closed since a tiger escaped its enclosure on Christmas day, killing a teenager and injuring two of his friends. Zoo officials say they are working with the city on plans for a new security barrier to protect visitors and the tigers.
Just back to politics for a second. Remember all day long today, you'll have an extraordinary opportunity to hear the candidates talk about what they would do as president in their own words at length as CNN and the best political team on television bring you Ballot Bowl '08. From 9:00 this morning until 4:00 Eastern this afternoon.
Whether you're a democrat, republican, or an independent, don't miss the chance to really get to know the candidates. Ballot Bowl '08 starting today at 9:00 Eastern and running all day here on CNN. It's 50 minutes after the hour.
Tough new immigration laws kick in today in Arizona. They could be the toughest ever, and they could have some serious ripple effects. Businesses in the area say they feel like war has been declared on them as they scramble to make sure they are not breaking the new law. CNN's Ed Lavandera takes a closer look for us.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE) ED LAVANDERA, CNN, CORRESPONDENT: Before the New Year champagne started pouring in Arizona, business owners had last-minute work to do. Jason Levecke and a legal team had to make sure the 1,200 people who work in his 68 fast food restaurants are all legal workers.
JASON LEVECKE, ARIZONA BUSINESS OWNER: they're making us guinea pigs in a system that is not ready.
LAVANDERA: There's a race against the clock because starting this new year, Arizona employers stand in danger of losing their entire businesses if they have any illegal immigrants on the payroll. The law was designed by state representative Russell Pearce.
RUSSELL PEARCE, ARIZONA STATE HOUSE: Just like Disneyland learned a long time ago, if you want the crowds to go home, turn off the lights, shut down the rides. And that's enough. We're not going to tolerate it.
LAVANDERA: Employers must check workers' names and social security numbers through a federal database called e-verify. Supporters say it's a fast, accurate way to check someone's legal status. But many business owner say it doesn't accurately check farm and industry workers where you find the largest number of illegal immigrants. And the punishment is a two strikes and you're out policy. The first time an employer is caught knowingly hiring an illegal immigrant, their business license is suspended for ten days. The second time, the license is taken away for good. Jason Levecke has already had to fire ten people, almost 50 others left voluntarily. And he stopped building new restaurants in Arizona, instead moving out of state.
LEVECKE: This is a war that politicians have declared on the business community, and unfortunately, the real victims of all of this is going to be the entire American, populous voters, country's citizens.
LAVANDERA: But Pearce argues the economy will adjust and survive. He says the first step in cutting down illegal immigration is to take away the jobs.
PEARCE: The employers have to be held accountable. They're the lure.
LAVANDERA: And with the bait off the hook, thousands of immigrants are already leaving the state, starting the New Year looking for work in another place. Ed Lavandera, CNN, Maricopa County, Arizona.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
DE LA CRUZ: Trying to save a wayward whale. That's in your "Quick Hits" right now. Marine biologists are monitoring a 25-foot long sperm whale spotted just a half mile off St. Pete Beach in Florida. Wildlife officials say it could be a young whale based on its size. An adult could reach 60 feet and live seven decades. A lot of living to do for a whale that is listed as an endangered species. And a rare find in a raw bar. A Florida couple says it found a precious purple pearl in a $10 plate of steamed clams. The catch came from waters off the Florida panhandle. It could be worth thousands of dollars. They plan to have appraised and may sell it.
Some shows go on despite the writers' strike. Both David Letterman and Jay Leno will have new shows tomorrow night. We're going to tell who's going to be joining them. Coming up.
And however you celebrated the New Year, we are sure it was nothing like what Australian daredevil Robbie Madison did. We're going to show you Madison's record motorcycle jump. That's straight ahead on AMERICAN MORNING.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
DE LA CRUZ: Welcome back to the most news in the morning. Some good news for home sales to start the new year. Sales of existing homes edged higher in November. The National Association of Realtors said they were up about 0.5%, beating October, when many analysts were expecting a decline. It's still not clear whether this is an exception to the slump or a sign of recovery.
After nearly two months off the air due to the writers' strike, David Letterman is coming back tomorrow night. His first guest, Robin Williams. Letterman's production company reached a deal with the writers' guild, so his show will be fully staffed with writers. Jay Leno will also be doing a new show tomorrow but without his writing staff. Leno is expected to have presidential hopeful Mike Huckabee as his guest. Also coming back tomorrow, the late night shows hosted by Jimmy Kimmel and Conan O'Brien.
ROBERTS: Television not quite back to normal, but getting there to some degree.
DE LA CRUZ: Not quite.
ROBERTS: One giant leap for Australian daredevil Robbie Madison. Take a look at this.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
ROBERTS: Look at how fast he's going. Oh, my god. Madison set a world motorcycle jumping record. He jumped 322 feet at the Rio Casino Hotel in Las Vegas. He tried another jump right after but came up a few feet short. He also said there was a slight headwind that kept him from going further. He says he's planning to beat his record when he competes in an event in Australia in two months' time. He actually jumped 350 feet in a practice on Sunday, but apparently that one didn't count.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
DE LA CRUZ: In practice? Oh, gosh.
ROBERTS: Often you jump, often you do better in practice because the stakes are lower.
DE LA CRUZ: Right. Nobody's watching you. And you know, they asked him how far he thinks he can go, and he said 400 feet. So, we'll have to see.
ROBERTS: It's pretty incredible.
DE LA CRUZ: Yes, it is. Absolutely.
Well, what are Michael Bloomberg's plans for 2008? New York City's mayor tries to settle rumors about his possible run for president. And how to cure the New Year's hangover. We want to hear your remedies. You can e-mail us am@cnn.com is the place. We're going to be sharing some of your remedies straight ahead. The next hour of AMERICAN MORNING begins right now.
ROBERTS: By the numbers.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
MIKE HUCKABEE (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: This is an exciting time.
ROBERTS (voice-over): 2008. Two days to Iowa.
BARACK OBAMA (D), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: I've got to go for Obama.
ROBERTS: New results from our exclusive poll. Tough crowd.
MIKE HUCKABBE: You'll get a chance to find out exactly what we're doing. No, I want you to see it.
ROBERTS: Why reporters turned on Mike Huckabee?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: 5, 4, 3, 2, 1
ROBERTS: Plus, New Year's resolution. The promise of 2008 rings out from coast to coast on this AMERICAN MORNING.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
ROBERTS: Thanks for joining us on this Tuesday, the 1st of January. A Happy New Year to you. I wonder what kind of shape a lot of people are in if they're watching this morning.
DE LA CRUZ: Probably not too good. We're getting some pretty funny hang-over remedy.
ROBERTS: Yes, I would expect a lot of people are still just on their way to bed this morning. I'm John Roberts. Thanks for being with us.
DE LA CRUZ: I'm Veronica de la Cruz, in this morning for Kiran Chetry. Happy New Year. Thanks for waking up with us.
ROBERTS: A high stakes election is in limbo this morning with the nuclear arsenal.
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