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CNN Sunday Morning
Big Game at Lambeau Field; Senators McCain, Clinton Win Primaries
Aired January 20, 2008 - 07:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
SUSAN ROESGEN, CO-HOST: From the CNN Center in Atlanta, this is CNN SUNDDAY MORNING. It is January 20th. Good morning, I'm Susan Roesgen, filling in for Betty Nguyen.
T.J. HOLMES, CO-HOST: And I'm T.J. Holmes, good morning every. It is 7 a.m. here in Atlanta, Georgia and 6:00 a.m. in Green Bay, Wisconsin. It's cold and Reynolds Wolf always in the middle of something, he's going to be joining us from the frozen land of Lambeau Field. Big game happening today.
ROESGEN: Yes, he's better (INAUDIBLE). Also: Two states, two different outcomes for Republican presidential hopefuls and Senator Hillary Clinton gets to win but there is more to the story.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SEN. BARACK OBAMA, (D) PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Our nation is at war. Our planet is in peril and the dream that so many generations fought for feels like it's slipping away.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HOLMES: And Barack Obama, his campaign rivals and the generation gap, are supporters really divided along age lines? Our Suzanne Malveaux takes a look at age and race in this year's election (ph).
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DENIS LEARY, ACTOR: You have The Edge, you know, an Irish musician coming over here you know, to solve the problems in New Orleans, but we can't get FEMA or you know, our own president to respond. It's not shameful, it's just funny.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ROESGEN: Actor Denis Leary says, people have to come together to do what the government hasn't. He's talking about rebuilding and recovery still in New Orleans and we are Keeping Them Honest.
HOLMES: I'm going to show a little politics this morning. Presidential politics and the Mac, boy, he's back and feeling the momentum. Senator John McCain says, his win in South Carolina's Republican primary will boost his presidential campaign in a major way. Yesterday's contest was the first southern battle and it was a close one here. McCain took 33 percent of the vote, but the "son of the south," Mike Huckabee, the former Arkansas governor, was second with 30 percent. Former Tennessee senator, Fred Thompson had his best showing so far, he still came in at almost a distant third really at 16 percent. Mitt Romney was just behind him with 15 percent. And for us now on South Carolina, we go live to Charleston and CNN's Dana Bash. Dana, How many hours of sleep are you working on this morning?
DANA BASH, CNN CORRESPONDENT - CHARLESTON, SC: You know what, it's easy to count because it's not that many, a couple. But we're doing OK here, T.J. T.J., you know, last night's Republican primary here was certainly a noteworthy but you know, it certainly doesn't settle the race. But one thing it does do is it gives us kind of a new number and that is the number of two. Now, for the first time, John McCain is the only candidate who has won two highly contested early Republican primary contests.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
BASH (voice over): For John McCain, this victory was all the more sweet because of his bitter South Carolina loss last time around.
SEN. JOHN MCCAIN, (R) PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: You know, it took us a while, but what's eight years among friends?
BASH: McCain rallied supporters by reminding them for 28 years, South Carolina's primary winner has become the GOP nominee but warned this jumbled election year is different.
MCCAIN: We have a ways to go my friends and there's some tough contests ahead. And starting tomorrow in the state of Florida where we're going to win with your support. (INAUDIBLE) and we are on our way tonight.
BASH: McCain narrowly edged out former Arkansas governor, Mike Huckabee who waged an aggressive campaign to prove his big Iowa upset was no fluke.
MIKE HUCKABEE, (R) PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: We got awful close. Unfortunately in politics, close doesn't count for the first lot, but it does count.
BASH: Huckabee went out of his way to applaud McCain, gracious in defeat.
HUCKABEE: I want to thank him for running a civil and a good and a decent campaign to elevate politics.
BASH: The former Baptist preacher had hoped South Carolina's vast evangelical community would propel him to victory just like in Iowa.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I voted with my conscience.
HUCKABEE: That's a good thing to do.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I'm an evangelical.
HUCKABEE: Yes.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I'm voting my conscience.
HUCKABEE: Thank you.
BASH: But former senator, Fred Thompson snatched some 20 percent of the vote in key culturally conservative counties fuelling McCain's win.
FRED THOMPSON, (R) PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: You know, it's never been about me or is ever been about you. It's been about our country and the future of our country.
BASH: Thompson stakes everything on South Carolina and came in a very distant third. His future, now in question. Mitt Romney spent $4 million in South Carolina and placed fourth. A consolation was a same day win in Nevada's caucuses.
MITT ROMNEY, (R) PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: They've heard our message that Washington is broken, that we need to have the kind of change that will solve America's problems.
BASH: A victory celebrated in the next contest state of Florida.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
BASH: And that is where this race moves now south to Florida. Rudy Giuliani is now back in the mix. He's been camped out in Florida hoping for sometime that that state is his firewall. But T.J., polls show that in Florida, it is a four-way tie, evidence that this Republican presidential contest is anything but settled. T.J.?
HOLMES: Anything but settled but you'll get some better weather as you report from Florida there. Dana, good to see you this morning.
BASH: You, too.
ROESGEN: Something to look forward to.
Well, now to the Nevada caucuses and the winners are Democrat Hillary Clinton and Republican Mitt Romney. Romney finished far ahead of his Republican rivals. He was the only Republican to make a real play for Nevada and he got 51 percent of the Republican vote. The early entrance polls say Romney did well with voters concerned about the economy and illegal immigration.
On the Democratic side, it was much closer, Senator Clinton edged out Senator Barack Obama by a 51 to 45 margin. Clinton won solid support from Latino voters and from women. But the Obama campaign is claiming victory in Nevada, too. CNN's deputy political director, Paul Steinhauser explains why.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
PAUL STEINHAUSER, CNN DEPUTY POLITICAL DIRECTOR: Call it a split decision in Nevada. SEN. HILLARY CLINTON, (D) PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: I just want to say, how grateful I am to Nevada and all of the people who worked so hard in this campaign. I guess this is how the west was won.
STEINHAUSER: Hillary Clinton won the popular vote of the state's Democratic caucuses, 51 percent to 45. But when it comes to actual delegates won, the senator from New York was edged out by her rival, Barack Obama who took 13 delegates at stake to Clinton's 12. Obama won the ballot for delegates while losing the popular vote, thanks to a complicated system of distributing delegates. Former Senator John Edwards of North Carolina says, he's marching on despite a distant third place finish.
JOHN EDWARDS, (D) PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: There is no do or die. I've said I'm in this for the long term.
STEINHAUSER: There was a record turn-out for the Democratic caucuses and some of them were quite cuckoos (ph).
(on camera): While most of the action was with the Democrats, Republicans here held caucuses as well.
(voice over): The big winner former Massachusetts governor, Mitt Romney, the only candidate to campaign here the last couple of days. Paul Steinhauser, CNN, Las Vegas, Nevada.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
HOLMES: Well, the next race for the Republicans will be the Florida primary as we've been talking about. It's happening on January 29th. While, the Democrats, their first shot at the south coming up next Saturday in South Carolina for the primary there and CNN's Suzanne Malveaux joins now from Charleston. Good morning to you.
SUZANNE MALVEAUX, CNN CORRESPONDENT, CHARLESTON, SC: Hey, good morning, T.J. But you know, there's been a lot that's been made about a generational gap within the African-American community. They say that more people are going for Barack Obama, the younger folks and older folks going for Hillary Clinton. We've been to a lot of places, talked to a lot of people and been to local campus and pizza parlor and the Bible study and really, were showing something that is a little bit surprising. While the issues are the same, it seems like a lot of life experience have to do with which camp you're in.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
MALVEAUX (voice over): In South Carolina where nearly half of the Democratic voters are African-American, there's a fierce fight for support. Polls taken last month suggest there's also a generational divide -- older black voters going for Hillary Clinton, younger voters backing Barack Obama. We went to see for ourselves and found 17-year- old Joseph Davis squarely in Obama's camp.
JOSEPH DAVIS, OBAMA SUPPORTER: He had opportunities and chances and sometimes we blew it but I feel that you know, Barack Obama is going to set a trend for more up and coming, maybe myself or one of my family members, may one day be in the same position.
MALVEAUX: Grandmother Sheryl Mack backs Senator Clinton.
SHERYL MACK, CLINTON SUPPORTER: I see her as my sister and also as a peer. But I also think she has a broad appeal.
MALVEAUX: Hillary Clinton's appeal, many older African-Americans tell us comes from their appreciation of her work in the civil rights movement and her husband, President Bill Clinton's policies supporting the black community.
SAMUEL ROBINSON, AWENDAW, S.C., TOWN COUNCIL: It is true on the one hand, because the older people remember. As the Jewish people say, we never forget.
MALVEAUX: Forgetting what the Clintons did some say, is like betraying an old friend.
DR. KATIE CATALON, CLINTON SUPPORTER: I need to tell them, they need to go back 12 years ago to see what that administration did. Because of that administration, that is why they are in colleges and universities today.
MALVEAUX: But some young people like Joseph, see their elder's message as too cautious.
DAVIS: We only know what is either being told to us. We wasn't there a long time ago. So, what the older generation tells us as young kids is that the blacks can do -- we don't have to pay attention to what our grandmothers, our grandfathers said that we can believe it can happen.
MALVEAUX: And the more people we talked to, the more we discovered older voters also believed it can happen. An African- American could be elected president. The church elders at Saint James Presbyterian all talk about the deep affection for Clinton but are supporting Obama.
CHARLOTTE DUNN, SUPPORTS OBAMA: Some of the struggles that we as black women face, I don't believe she can speak to them.
CAROL SMALLS, SUPPORTS OBAMA: Like these ladies say, a change. Hillary has been in the White House.
MALVEAUX: Some see an Obama win as a civil rights victory after years of personal struggle.
SAMUEL ROBINSON, AWENDAW, S.C., TOWN COUNCIL: It is a little more than Obama at this point. It's becoming bigger than him.
MALVEAUX: Is that a good thing?
ROBINSON: It is a very good thing.
(END VIDEOTAPE) MALVEAUX: It's also a complicated thing for many voters I spoke with who say, they really are struggling between competing loyalties to go with Barack Obama or Hillary Clinton. But there is something young and old people that people seem to be saying here, that is give at least Barack Obama a chance. And T.J., you're a nice southern boy, but don't call me ma'am, or you put me in the older category here, OK?
HOLMES: My momma wouldn't have it any other way. But I will oblige to you this morning and say, thank you Suzanne. We will see you again, soon. Thank you.
MALVEAUX: Thank you, T.J.
ROESGEN: Well, the number of presidential candidates is shrinking on the Republican side, one Republican is now leaving the race. California congressman, Duncan Hunter is dropping out. Hunter finished seventh over all in both South Carolina and in his own neighboring state of Nevada. Hunter's best showing was a third place in the Wyoming caucus. His big issue during the campaign was the need for better border security.
Coming up today: The game that really matters. No, not the Packers, the presidential candidates, the presidential campaign and the BALLOT BOWL. You'll hear the contenders talking about issues in their own words, today at 1:00 p.m. eastern only on CNN, your home for politics. It is warm inside for the BALLOT BOWL.
HOLMES: It is warm inside the BALLOT BOWL but it's cold outside, pretty much everywhere else. Icy roads going on out there. You need to be on lookout, folks. People in the southeast, waking up to that and to all kinds of warnings this morning. Snow, rain, sleet spread across parts of Georgia, Alabama and Mississippi. Yesterday, the biggest snow accumulation, five inches. Now, people hearing that in the northeast might be laughing at us down here in the south. But that's the big deal in the south, folks. Wet roads combined with the cold temperatures make things pretty slippery this morning.
ROESGEN: And then throughout the midwest, it has been crazy cold. People in Chicago trying to stay warm in sub-zero temperatures. They've opened these what they call warming shelters all across Illinois throughout the weekend. And wild weather in Florida, the National Weather Service says, tornadoes touched down in two places along the Atlantic coast. There was some damage but no injuries.
HOLMES: And Bonnie Schneider is here with us this weekend, talking to us about the brutal cold. And Bonnie, it seems like it's one extreme or the other. It seems like so warm for the winter or it's just bitterly cold for the winter.
(WEATHER REPORT)
ROESGEN: I think we're going to book a flight, T.J., to Miami. One of the warm places.
HOLMES: I might take you up on that. You're not kidding, are you? ROESGEN: No, I'm not kidding. Thanks, Bonnie.
HOLMES: Thanks, Bonnie.
ROESGEN: Well, he is a firefighter on television and he wants to help real life firefighters.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
LEARY: I gave up on ever hoping the politicians in this country, local, you know, state or federal would step in to help these guys.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HOLMES: Yes, actor, singers, volunteers are working hard to rebuild the city when government agencies are not getting it done. The New York, New Orleans fire house connection, we're Keeping Them Honest.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HOLMES: Yes, we call them our Quick Hits to get you more news in less time.
ROESGEN: Starting with a Detroit injury, they found a 911 operator guilty of neglect for failing to take a boy seriously when he called to report that his mother had collapsed and she later died. The operator, Sharon Nicholas (ph) testified, she couldn't hear the 5- year-old boy when he was on the line trying to talk about his mother. She could get up to a year in jail.
HOLMES: And so a suspected burglar caught in Tempe, Arizona all because he was wearing pajama bottoms that had monkeys on them. Police say, a young woman woke up, found a man in her room, she screamed, he ran of but when she described the pajamas, to a police officer, the officer remembered seeing a guy in the same complex matching the intruder's description who was wearing those same pajamas.
ROESGEN: And a sad note for classic TV fans. Actress Suzanne Pleshette died last night at her home in Los Angeles. She had been fighting lung cancer. Pleshette's biggest TV role that you remember was as Bob Newhart's wife in the Bob Newhart Show. Her own real life husband, actor Tom Poston died in April of last year. Suzanne Pleshette was 70 years old.
HOLMES: It's been more than two years after a hurricane Katrina devastated New Orleans. There are more signs of new life in the big easy.
ROESGEN: Some signs but some of the city's fire stations are back up and running thanks not to the federal government but in part to a television actor. CNN's Sean Callebs reports.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE) SEAN CALLEBS, CNN REPORTER (voice over): Number seven is coming back finally. Katrina destroyed 22 of 33 fire houses in New Orleans. In the months and years that followed the storm, the city rebuilt exactly zero. So entered Denis Leary who stars a firefighter on a TV show called, "Rescue Me" and has a foundation to assist firefighters.
With Leary's help, volunteers from New York's carpenters union and New Orleans bravest had rebuilt five fire houses.
LEARY: I gave up on ever hoping the politicians in this country, local, you know, state or federal would step in to help these guys.
CALLEBS: After the storm, FEMA estimated it would take 10 years and millions of dollars to rebuild the devastated stations. In the interim, New Orleans firefighters are working and living in trailers attached to decimated fire houses.
CHUCK BROKMEIER, FIREFIGHTER: (INAUDIBLE) and having spent time in the house personally, it's - you walk in and see it, and you can't believe it.
EDWARD BLAKELY, DIRECTOR OF NEW ORLEANS RECOVERY: This is more inviting environment.
CALLEBS: Doctor Edward Blakely is a New Orleans recovery czar. The city only days ago reopened its police headquarters. That was New Orleans' top priority. Rebuilding fire stations he says, will take about two more years.
BLAKELY: We say to citizens, look, we'll have a better city. You don't want us to put it the way it was. We're going to improve it, that's we're going to do that takes a little more time but it's worth it.
CALLEBS: District chief, Tim McConnell says, rebuilding fire stations is essential to bringing New Orleans back.
TIM MCCONNELL, DISTRICT FIRE CHIEF: I mean, people look around and they see the fire house not done, if I have an insurance check in my hand, I will spend it.
CALLEBS: He says where they'll feel protected. It's a said commentary, Leary says, when actors and artists are leading the way in New Orleans.
LEARY: We have the edge, you know, an Irish musician coming over here to help you know, solve the problems in New Orleans, but can't get FEMA or you know, our own president to respond. It's not shameful, it's just funny.
CALLEBS: Every time they pound (INAUDIBLE), workers want to drive home a point. If the city can't bring fire houses back sooner, someone has to. Sean Callebs, CNN, New Orleans.
(END VIDEOTAPE0
ROESGEN: Well, the president says, he wants to put more money in your wallet to stimulate the economy.
HOLMES: But what if the bubble isn't quite down bursting, we'll have a look at the difficulties we all could be facing if that's the case. Then, we say good morning to Mr. Josh Levs. Hello, sir.
JOSH LEVS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning to you, guys. So, how do they break a tie at the caucus in Nevada, with a deck of cards? No joke. The queen of hearts versus the ten of spades, that's coming up right here on CNN SUNDAY MORNING.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
ROESGEN: You know the primaries and caucuses are supposed to be about studying the issues, voters really thought (ph) of the candidates, they think about what the issues are and then they choose the best person, right?
HOLMES: Of course, that's supposed to be the case, but sometimes and maybe only in Las Vegas, it is just luck of the draw. Please explain.
LEVS: They used cards to determine who won at one of precincts yesterday. Can I just say, I hope our international viewers are watching so you can see how American democracy functions. This is crazy, this is amazing, so, it happened when 96 people show up for this one caucus and they're completely evenly split, 48/48 Obama versus Clinton. So, what to do, in Las Vegas, in Nevada, the rule is, it's actually written into the Democratic Party rules, you take a deck of cards and you just do a random card draw to see who comes out ahead. So, we got this from our I-reporter, Tom Comenda (ph), let's listen in to last night to exactly what happened.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
TONY HARRIS, CNN ANCHOR: So, let's break this down. So a supporter of Barack Obama went first, and drew, what card?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE (on the phone): They ended up drawing the ten of spades.
HARRIS: The ten of spades and what was the reaction in the room?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Well, my reaction was oh, shoot.
HARRIS: And tell me -- full disclosure here, why was that your reaction?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Well, because I'm a Clinton supporter.
HARRIS: OK. So, now the Clinton supporter pulls a card and the card is?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The queen of hearts.
HARRIS: The queen of hearts and there you go.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
LEVS: OK. Now, the cards weren't exactly looking like this. Can we get a shoot of this? (INAUDIBLE) There you go. These are true cards that our director had here. So, this is how the it was decided last night. This is how ultimately, the delegate race was determined because the queen of hearts vested the ten of spades which meant, in the end at that particular precinct, Clinton got one more delegate than Obama did. Welcome to Vegas.
ROESGEN: You're kidding?
HOLMES: I'm sure there are plenty of Americans that wouldn't mind just choosing our president that way. Let's just pull some cards out.
LEVS: I think there are voters who do choose our president that way. I mean, hey, this is relevant to some of the other random reasons that people jumped on.
ROESGEN: That's why this whole caucus, primary thing is so difficult for most of us. A lot of us to figure out why it's so important and how in the end it led to feel the electoral vote ultimately that leads to our president.
LEVS: It is and remember, we were talking yesterday about how it's really a delegate race and now, we're seeing they got about the same number of delegates, so, really, we'll keep an eye on that. But just so I can emphasize, this didn't actually determine, that this was one little city delegate of the thousands of delegates who choose the dozen or so.
HOLMES: But, still, they pull a deck of cards.
LEVS: That's how you decide, yes, I mean, this is our Democratic system in Nevada.
(CROSSTALK)
ROESGEN: Thank you, Josh.
HOLMES: Josh, thank you.
ROESGEN: Well, we will go behind the numbers in Nevada caucuses and the South Carolina primary. You can get complete results and all the latest political news including when a queen of hearts trumps a ten of spades at CNNPolitics.com, it's your online destination for the presidential race.
HOLMES: It's actually in the rules. They didn't just make that up on the fly. It's in the book. My goodness.
ROESGEN: Kind of cool.
HOLMES: Well, folks, we'll turn to the economy. You're seeing the dismal economic news as of late but what if it really is the economy stupid. That's next. ROESGEN: And Reynolds Wolf is going to join us live from Green Bay, Wisconsin. Got to be bundled up.
REYNOLDS WOLF, CNN METEOROLOGIST: Guys, we've made it. We're here. Green Bay, Wisconsin, we're outside Lambeau Field the side of the NFC Championship for the Green Bay Packers and New York Giants and it is absolutely freezing. We've got temperatures here that are well below zero. Wind-chill factors, they're even colder. We're going to tell you how the fans, those die-hard fans that are going to brave the cold, how they're dealing with this big bite of old man winter. That's coming up in just a few moments. Let's send it back to you.
HOLMES: Yes. Poor guy. He didn't know he was supposed to go to commercial break. He's not thinking clearly out there. Few degrees below, yes.
ROESGEN: He's frozen. We'll be right back.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
ROESGEN: They may have used a deck of cards for part of it, but we now know that the first major contest in the west for the presidential candidate, in the Nevada caucuses went to former Governor Mitt Romney and Senator Hillary Clinton.
HOLMES: And Clinton's former senator Barack Obama 51-45%. John Edwards is a distant third as you see there. Clinton won support from women as well. Early polls showed her winning the Latino vote almost 3 to 1. However, the Obama campaign also claiming victory in Nevada, saying he won the most delegates 13 to Clinton's 12. Meanwhile, among republicans in Nevada, Mitt Romney took 51% of the vote and his GOP rivals finished far behind. Romney scored well on the economy and illegal immigration, top issues among Nevada republicans.
ROESGEN: And the other match-up this weekend, of course, was in South Carolina, only for the republicans, the republican primary. The democrats still face off next weekend. Here is how this one shaped up. Senator John McCain won outright with 33% of the vote. Mike Huckabee was second, just three points back. Fred Thompson had his best showing with a third place finish and Mitt Romney was fourth. A big win for McCain. His New Hampshire momentum is carrying over to South Carolina and that could help him in the next primary battle they say in Florida.
And the next contest for the democrats is their own South Carolina primary next Saturday. And they have one more chance before that to tell voters what they are all about. The congressional black caucus sponsors the last democratic debate before South Carolina and we will have it live right here on CNN tomorrow night at 8:00 p.m. Eastern.
HOLMES: After hearing the saying the U.S. economy remains strong the White House is admitting we're in a bit of trouble here. President Bush is calling on Congress to pass a multi-billion dollar stimulus package aimed at preventing a recession. But what if that's a little too late. CNN's special correspondent Frank Sesno reports. (BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
FRANK SESNO, CNN, SPECIAL CORRESPONDENT: What if the ripple effect from the housing collapse, the credit crunch, the market meltdown, record losses in the financial sector, $3 a gallon gasoline become an economic tsunami. It's the question that's got everyone worried. The President wants to put money in people's pockets.
PRES. GEORGE W. BUSH, UNITED STATES: Passing the growth packages are most pressing economic priority.
SESNO: The candidates are making promises.
SEN. BARACK OBAMA (D), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: The $10 billion fund that would help prevent foreclosures.
SEN. HILLARY CLINTON (D), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: A $30 billion fund to help hard hit communities.
MITT ROMNEY (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: I will fight to bring back good jobs.
JOHN MCCAIN (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: The old jobs won't come back.
SESNO: And the Fed chairman says if there's going to be a stimulus package, there's no time to waste.
BEN BERNANKE, FEDERAL RESERVE, CHAIRMAN: For this to be useful, you would need to act quite quickly.
SESNO: But what about a $13 trillion economy won't turn on a dime. Or $100 or $150 billion stimulus package. It means from Wall Street to Main Street, tighter belts and hard decisions lie ahead. For a preview, turn to the states where tax revenues are down and governments are cutting. In California, the governor proposes across the board cuts. They may close state parks, cut money for schools, stop paying dental care for the poor. In Rhode Island, state workers may be forced to take unpaid days off. In Kentucky, rescue squads and emergency management are among the agencies getting cut. From Ohio to Alabama, Maryland to Arizona, less hiring and services from border security to child support enforcement cut back.
What if this is a preview of 2008? Maybe it will scare the politicians to actually doing some something. It will change the nature of the campaign. But someone should tell the truth, this bubble isn't done bursting. It will probably get worse before it gets better. Frank Sesno, CNN, Washington.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
HOLMES: You get more economic news and learn how the government's proposal may impact your wallet by checking out our website cnnmoney.com.
ROESGEN: And football fans brace yourself really, literally. Tonight's NFC championship game at Green Bay they say will not be the coldest ever in the NFL but it will be cold enough.
HOLMES: Yes, the temperature is expected to be around a degree maybe at kickoff. When the Packers take on the Giants. CNN meteorologist Reynolds Wolf is at Lambeau Field, and Reynolds we hope you got at least a ticket to the game out of this.
REYNOLDS WOLF, CNN, METEOROLOGIST: Yes, we're working on that, T.J.. A ticket from this game is going to be a hard thing to find. It's a complete sell-out, no surprise when you got two of the greatest fan bases in all of professional football. You got the Green Bay Packers, who actually many of them very excited about this weather. It's all part of home field advantage. Then of course, you got the New York Giants who are making the trip over. It is going to be a wonderful, wonderful game. We actually are going to be speaking to a fellow here who drove some 20 hours from New York. He's surrounded by a bunch of Packer fans but he's here for his beloved Giants.
So, let's talk about Lambeau Field. Lambeau Field, again, this is not the coldest game that they had. The coldest on record was the 1967 Super Bowl called the Ice Bowl where temperatures fell to 13 below zero, wind chill factors approaching 50 below 0. And tonight it's going to be absolutely brutal. There's no question about that. But certainly not a record breaker. The big question is who has the advantage in a game like this. I mean, you have to think the Packers is going to have some kind of advantage, again, home field advantage. So many of the fans welcome this and they are so into the teams and they're crazy about. They'd be here even if it was 50 degrees colder. They have no problem with it.
But you have to remember, the simple things of the game. Just taking the ball and giving it to the running back or just trying to catch a perfect spiral or even throw the ball is going to be a very difficult thing to do. It's going to be really interesting to see how this game goes down. Most of the pundits say it's going to be a low scoring affair by defensive battle. That's usually the situation we have with these extreme weather conditions.
ROESGEN: And Reynolds, you got to wonder about the fans coming? I mean, how much can you really bundle up when you're butt is in a seat that's freezing? You know.
WOLF: Oh, absolutely. That's a great question. You know, people, the game plan for so many people is very simple, you huddle together the best you can. Many people will be wearing snowmobile suits and putting on as many layers of clothes. Layers, that's the key to it. And just trying to take it easy. Certainly, not a lot of movement in there, just come staying in place and staying as warm as you can and enjoying some of the best football anyone could ever offer.
ROESGEN; Hey, I know what else is going to be up, those little pocket flasks, you put a little something strong in your hot chocolate.
HOLMES: Oh, yes. That's how you get down. WOLF: Guys, I love my job. I really love my job. We don't need to be talking about that during this live shot. It's cold enough as it is.
HOLMES: All right. Reynolds, we appreciate you.
ROESGEN: Warm up. Any way you can.
WOLF: Talk to you guys soon.
HOLMES: But you know what, it never fails, there will be somebody at the game, fans with their shirts off and their bodies painted.
ROESGEN: Painted.
HOLMES: No doubt about it. I don't think that's how Bonnie attends most of her football games but...
BONNIE SCHNEIDER, CNN, METEOROLOGIST: I can't even remember if I've been to one. Oh, gosh.
HOLMES: Hello to you. I know you're keeping an eye on our cold temperatures all over the place in the country.
SCHNEIDER: Good morning to you. I'd like to watch the game from inside like any fans will. I know and we're looking at super cold conditions. Reynolds is a very good support to be out there. Because the wind chill factor in Green Bay right now is negative 22. That's what we're looking at actually throughout much of the morning. And as we put this map motion for the game and throughout much the day, you don't see much of a change really. Temperatures stay cold and the wind chill factor will stay cold as well.
Let's take you in order of the clock, when we'll see the first football game today. And for New England cold. Certainly, the windchill factor over Foxborough will be at 9 for the Patriots and the Chargers 25 degrees. It's windy, that will make it feel colder. But much worse of course Green Bay where the wind chill factor pretty much will stay where it is but you can see we'll be looking at a temperature of negative 2, dropping down that wind chill to negative 28. So, two cold games. Two ice bowls happening for the championship games for us today.
Let's talk about the southeast, here in Atlanta, we had snow. Big big news across the area. Not that much accumulated. More on grassy areas but it did break a record. A trace in Birmingham but measurable snow in places like Hattiesburg, Southern Mississippi. That doesn't happen too often. Current temperatures this morning across Mississippi and Alabama are cold. So, watch out for ice if you're up early this morning. You'll find it maybe right on your sidewalk or driveway and especially on bridges and overpasses.
And speaking of the snow, it's not often that a family in Florida gets to see the snow but the Green family drove up from Florida to northern Alabama to see the know and have the kids play in the snow. They made snow balls and a of course, a snowman. Well, it consists of a lot of mud mixed with snow but that's OK. What fun for the family to finally get to experience snow. As you know, in the south, we don't get to do that too often. And one of the things in the south is temperatures don't stay cold for long. It is going to be 37 in Atlanta for today. And we'll start to have a little bit of a warm up but it will stay cold where Reynolds is at Green Bay. That's where temperature will be cold also. Also into Minnesota and Chicago, teens and single digits. How do you like that? Pretty cold.
ROESGEN: Too bad the games can't be in San Diego for the chargers, I bet they were wishing it was San Diego.
HOLMES: Let's see how they do in Foxborough. Yes, all right. Bonnie, thank you. We will see you here again soon.
And folks, we got an unusual place of prayer to show you here.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Texas lamb of god, oh lord touch Minnesota. Sweet Jesus.
HOLMES: Is this a highway to heaven?
ROESGEN: Find out why this road they say leads some people right to the bible right after this.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HOLMES: There's an interstate running through middle America and leads to many places of course. Is heaven one of them? Some believers actually think, yes, this is the highway to heaven. CNN's Gary Tuchman explains.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
GARY TUCHMAN, CNN, CORRESPONDENT: interstate 35, which runs through six states from Texas to Minnesota has existed for about a half century. But did god know about i-35 before that? This Texas minister had a revolution about it.
CINDY JACORS, MINISTER/ORGANIZER, LIGHT THE HIGHWAY": We were reading Isaiah 35, which is a passage in the Bible and we live in Dallas and we have this highway that's behind us called i-35.
TUCHMAN: Part of Isaiah 35 verse 8 declares a highway shall be there and road and it shall be called the highway of holiness. The unclean shall not pass over it. So Isaiah 35 has becomes a biblical partner of interstate 35 for some Christians.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Move the power, God. Millions live up and down this highway, lamb of god, touch Oklahoma, lord Jesus, And touch Texas lamb of god. Touch Minnesota, sweet Jesus.
TUCHMAN: The fulfill the prophecy of i-35 being the highway, many of the faithful think it would take intensive prayer first.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Move in the hearts, gods. TUCHMAN: Churches in all six states have organized prayer vigils on the side of the interstate. They pray for safer neighborhoods, more godliness and want the quote, unclean to take note.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: We are here for holiness and father god.
TUCHMAN: The businesses are the kind you often see driving up and down America's interstates. Some of them have been visited by the prayerful participants in so called purity speeches.
It would please me if some of the businesses would go out of business.
TUCHMAN: No thank you says the owner of Dallas's Diamond Cabaret.
RODNEY WILLIAMS, DIAMONDS CABARET OWNER: For those to impose views on others, it makes me angry. In some cases, we help the community out more than church groups. Fundraisers, food drives.
TUCHMAN: Not everyone here literally thinks i-35 is the highway of holiness. But it has pointed out to tragedies ranging from the assassination of John F. Kennedy in Dallas to the recent bridge collapse in Minneapolis have happened at or near interstate 35.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: And we just want to say, wow, why would this happen on one highway? Let's pray that there be safety for everybody on these highway.
TUCHMAN: On youtube you can see Pat Robertson publicizing the campaign on his Christian Broadcasting Network.
PAT ROBERTSON, CHRISTIAN BROADCASTING NETWORK: What an amazing story, but wouldn't that be wonderful to cut a line right there in the middle of America and let it spread to both coasts.
TUCHMAN: Isaiah 35 is not the only part of the Bible that mentions of the highway. In Isaiah 40 verse 3, it is said, prepare the way of the lord, make straight in the desert a highway for our god. But there have been no national prayer vigils on interstate 40 yet. Gary Tuchman, CNN, Dallas.
HOLMES: Hmm, I-40, that's how I get home. And although the prayer vigils took place in the fall, church groups still gather alongside the highway 35 from time to time.
ROESGEN: Well, the legacy of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. is about people coming together. So, why is a national memorial to him driving people apart. We'll show you the dividing line next.
SCHNEIDER: I'm CNN meteorologist Bonnie Schneider with a look at your cold and flu report for Sunday. We have outbreaks of the cold and flu across much of the northern sections of the country where temperatures are naturally the coldest. But check this out in Texas, widespread activity has been reported as in New York. We're also looking for regional outbreaks in areas to the west like California and all the way out to Alaska. That's a look at your cold and flu report for Sunday. I'm meteorologist Bonnie Schneider.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
ROESGEN: To celebrate the life of Martin Luther King Jr., events commemorating the civil rights leader's birth are taking place all across the country on the national holiday. You know that he stood for racial harmony and peace but race and no peace has become an issue in the design of his memorial in Washington.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
ROESGEN (voice-over): Denver sculptor Ed White has made probably more statues of Martin Luther King than anyone else. Through years of practice, he knows the shape of King's face as well as his own. And he has designed King's memorials all around the country.
ED DWIGHT, SCULPTOR: Each one of these things, there's a characteristic that you can associate with one thing or the other.
ROESGEN: The tallest King monument in the country right now is right here in Denver. It is this one and the sculptor is Ed Dwight. With so much experience, Dwight thought he would design the statue for the new national King memorial in Washington, a 30-foot tall monument which shall stand right between the statues of Lincoln and Jefferson. The catch is the memorial will be carved in granite and Dwight works only in bronze.
HARRY JOHNSON, MLK MEMORIAL PROJECT FOUNDATION: We looked all around for artists who could do this in America. We found there were a lot of African-American artists that are able to do it in the medium of bronze but not in granite. And we were looking for someone who could do this in granite.
ROESGEN: The memorial foundation contacted Dwight initially and Dwight said he believed he would be named the sculptor of record while some anonymous sculptor will carve Dwight's design in the granite. Instead, the committee chose sculptor (Lei Yu Shing) who lives and work in China to do the whole thing.
DWIGHT: They got enamored with this Chinese guy and they thought they were going to offend him by asking him to do something that somebody else has already done.
ROESGEN: The foundation says Lei is an award winning sculptor whose work has been on display at China's National Art Gallery but that doesn't satisfy critics like Gilbert Young.
GILBERT YOUNG, KINGISOURS.COM: They chose this Chinese artist over our artist in the United States. That really got me upset.
ROESGEN: Young said he has gotten 800 signatures on an online petition to replace Le Yu Shing with an African-American sculptor. But the memorial foundation says the criticism isn't fair.
JOHNSON: Forbid it for as African-Americans to say that we're going to take the bigotry roll and say that only African-Americans are to be involved in this process. This ought to be a process that is inclusive of all people if they bring something to the table.
ROESGEN: Memorial foundation president Harry Johnson says Dwight's disappoint is sour grapes, but Dwight's says Lei's initial design is just a copy of one of Lei's earlier works.
DWIGHT: Exactly the same stance.
ROESGEN: Dwight points out this figure's arm and sleeve seems almost identical to Le's design for the king memorial. To Dwight, it looks as if King's head is stuck on someone else's statue. In Lei's defense, the foundation says the design is not nearly finished and two African-American artists will be consulting with Lei on the project. But there's one more thing that bothers critics, the center piece for the memorial, the figure of King himself will be made from granite that comes from China. When it's finish, critics say the base of the sculpture should say made in China.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
ROESGEN: Now, the actual construction is said to begin this spring, and by the way we tried repeatedly to reach the King family to find out what they think of a planned memorial, but we have never had a response.
A program note, don't miss "MLK Papers, words that changed the nation." A rare look at Dr. Martin Luther King's personal writings. That is tonight at 8:00 Eastern, only on CNN.
HOLMES: All right, folks. I don't know how clean you keep your toilet. But I don't want to drink out of the toiled at my house but if you live in Orange County, California, toilet water is going to be coming out of your faucet in a few months. It is going to be purified actually. But could this be the way of the future? We'll have a look next hour.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HOLMES: All right, folks, we want to update you here. Live picture, you're looking at. This is the jet, the Boeing 777 that crashed last Thursday at Heathrow Airport in London. The plane was coming from Beijing to London when it suffered engine failure just about two miles away from the actual runway. It crash landed there. It's been sitting at the edge of the runway where it crashed, in a grassy area since Thursday while investigators took a look at it, trying to figure out what happened.
But now it is being removed from that grassy area and certainly a process as you see it happening there. Bringing in some equipment and several workers trying to get the thing off of that grassy area. Of course, there are 136 passengers on board, 16 crew. There were some injuries, none, most of them not very serious. But all did survive that crash but the investigation will continue, but initially engine failure is what caused that. We have a live picture and update here for you of that Boeing 777 is now being removed from Heathrow.
ROESGEN: OK. So, you heard about diamond in the rough, how about a diamond in the muck. A man in Washington state showed just how devoted he was to his wife when her wedding ring fell down a storm drain.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
RYAN SEVERN, DESPERATE TO FIND WIFE'S RING: If I can slow motion, you don't think. It's heading that direction but there's no way exactly going to drop in the drain. I mean that would be something from a TV show or something but sure enough it does. I stripped down to my underwear and went in. Yes, I did.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ROESGEN: When that didn't work, he called in the pros and the company sent a crew to pump the water out of the drain and then one of the guys had to sift through the muck and debris until they finally found the ring. Operation ring rescue was a success.
From the CNN Center, this is CNN Sunday Morning. Good morning, I'm Susan Roesgen, filling in today for Betty Nguyen.
HOLMES: And good morning to you all. I'm T.J. Holmes. We've got a lot of stuff going on today. We're going to be talking about a lot of the politics. Who is exactly is the front-runner these days? Two different contests, two different primaries, two different winners. We got caucuses to tell you about and we got all kinds of stuff to mix in here. We're breaking it all down for you this morning with the best political team on television.
ROESGEN: And: Do you know where your drinking water comes from? You might think you do but one county takes the water from the toilet to the tap. Would you drink it?
HOLMES: Hmm, tasty.
Also: A car burning out of control. We'll show you how the driver gets out.
But: We're going to start with some politics for the Big Mo for the Big Mac. Senator John McCain on a roll with a win in South Carolina now. Here's the rundown. McCain took 33 percent of the vote. Meanwhile, former Arkansas governor, Mike Huckabee was hoping his southern roots would carry him to a win. Not quite. And he ended second, three points behind McCain. Fred Thompson had his best showing so far in this primary season with a third-place finish. Mitt Romney who left the state to campaign in Nevada came in fourth there in South Carolina. And for McCain, it is his second straight primary win following his big comeback victory in New Hampshire. Now he has the first southern win.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SEN. JOHN MCCAIN, (R) PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Thank you, thank you, thank you, my friends. Thank you, South Carolina. Thank you, South Carolina for bringing us across the finish line first in the first in the south primary. You know, it took as you while, but what's eight years among friends, huh?
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HOLMES: Yes, eight years certainly a different outcome eight years ago of course in 2000. McCain lost to George W. Bush in the South Carolina primary.
ROESGEN: So, the Republican race is over now in South Carolina.
Next up: The Democrats. Their primary in South Carolina will be next Saturday. CNN's Suzanne Malveaux joins us live this morning in Charleston. Suzanne?
MALVEAUX: Good morning, Susan. Well, obviously, the candidates are not talking about this, really trying to put it aside. That is the issue of race. But we decided too come here and find out for ourselves whether or not it is still a factor if people take that into consideration. It is not something like comparing one candidate's healthcare plan to another. It's something that is very uncomfortable for a lot of people to talk about. But we asked them and we found some surprisingly candid responses.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
MALVEAUX (voice over): While the candidates may be down playing the race factor, make no mistake, for some voters it's bubbling just below the surface.
SAMUEL ROBINSON, AWENDAW, S.C., TOWN COUNCIL: It's not going to go away, pigmentation. One of the truisms of this life is I can't wash off this black, I can't bleach it off. I can't even pray it off.
DIANE WIGGINS, SOUTH CAROLINA VOTER: There's too much history with the fact that there's -- there is too much racism and I believe that the blacks are more racist than the whites.
MALVEAUX: Almost everyone we talked to said, race is not factor in deciding who goes to the White House.
CHERYL MACK, CLINTON SUPPORTER: I think the qualifications are what's important.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: We're united regardless of our race, color or creed.
MALVEAUX: But some who think race is a factor say, it's almost a little embarrassing to admit.
CAROL SMALLS, OBAMA SUPPORTER: If Obama get in there, it's truly a change. And that's what I would like to see. And it has nothing to do with his color. Well, you know what? I'm going to be honest. And that's all I can be. Yes, I think I would like to see a black man in there. But also, I like what he stands for.
MALVEAUX: Understandably, Barack Obama is a source of black pride, but he has transcended race and won the support of many white voters, as well. But in South Carolina, dig beneath the surface and you find an unease.
WIGGINS: I feel that they have so much anger towards us, what is it? African-Americans, they're not African-Americans. They're Americans. This is what I'm saying. They play such a big card on being an African-American. They're not. And this is what makes me angry.
MALVEAUX (on camera): Why does it anger you?
WIGGINS: Because they say that they, you know, everybody should be equal and so forth. We're not equal.
MALVEAUX: When you say we're not equal, I don't understand. What do you mean by that?
WIGGINS: Because everybody's playing the white card, the black card.
MALVEAUX (voice over): There is mistrust on both sides. Some suspect Obama's win in almost all white Iowa was a fluke.
Why do you suppose there were whites there in Iowa who are publicly supporting a black man.
ROBINSON: It was fashionable.
MALVEAUZ: There is also among some black voters a nagging doubt about whether whites in South Carolina will give Obama a chance.
ROBINSON: When we close the curtain, when the lights go down low and we can vote our prejudices because we're hidden.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
MALVEAUX: And Susan, he's referring to the fact that South Carolina is a primary. It's a closed process like New Hampshire, for example, and so, a lot of people fear that they can't really get a good sense of who is getting the kind of support that means whether or not that's going to Barack Obama, Hillary Clinton or John Edwards. Susan?
ROESGEN: Really interesting story, thanks, Suzanne.
And: We will have an ANDERSON COOPER 360 special looking at race and politics in the 2008 presidential race. Tune in tomorrow after the Congressional black caucus debate. That is right here on CNN: Your home for politics.
HOLMES: But first: Major contest in the west for the presidential candidates, the Nevada caucuses. They went to former Governor Mitt Romney and Senator Hillary Clinton. Clinton edged fellow senator, Barack Obama 51 to 45 percent, John finished a distant third place there. Clinton won solid support from women and early entrance polls show her winning the Latino vote almost three to one. The Obama campaign also claiming victory here in Nevada because they say, he won the most national delegates, 13 to Clinton's 12. And now: Among Republicans: Mitt Romney took 51 percent of the vote. His GOP rivals finished way behind him. He scored well on the economy and illegal immigration, top issues among Nevada Republicans.
ROESGEN: And: The presidential field is shrinking. One Republican is leaving the race now. California congressman, Duncan Hunter is dropping out. He finished seventh overall in both South Carolina and in his own neighboring state of Nevada. Hunter's best showing was a third place in the Wyoming caucus. His big issue during the campaign was the need for better border security.
Coming up today: The game that really matters: the BALLOT BOWL. You're going to hear the presidential contenders talking about the issues in their own words. That's today, 1:00 p.m. eastern only on CNN: Your home for politics.
HOLMES: I'm just say, it's cold and leave it at that. It's cold. It's real cold.
ROESGEN: It's winter, it's cold. Some places colder than others. And that's what the fans and the players are expecting in Green Bay, Wisconsin when the Packers take on the Giants for tonight's NFC championship game.
HOLMES: And our poor Reynolds Wolf, he's braving cold like so many of those fans will be doing in a little bit. I know you try, it's hard to keep warm out there, buddy.
WOLF: It will really is. But I'll tell you what, for many people, there's no other place they'd rather be. I mean, this is football Mecca. This is it. I mean, take a look right behind me. It's Lambeau Field. The sun is coming up on the other side of the stadium. I don't think it's going to make too much a difference in those temperatures unless you go from the negative temperatures to the positive side of things, maybe going from 11 degrees below zero right now, which is what we have to about three. One thing that's going to be interesting about the game is how the players themselves are going to handle it. I want you to take a look at my hand for example. You see this glove that I have on. Pretty standard and pretty similar to what many of the linemen are going to be wearing. Now, when it gets to wide receivers and the running backs, they're going to have a glove pretty similar to this. This will offer a great deal of warm but still helps them get a little bit of a grip on the ball and for the wide receivers and running backs, try in too (ph). However, when you get to the quarterbacks, Brett Favre is going bare-handed in this game. Think about that for just a moment. Bare-handed in a game like this. I think Eli Manning is going to have a glove on his guide-hand but throwing hand is going to be bare. But in these types of conditions dealing with those kinds of -- that extreme cold, I don't know how they'll do it. And they've been doing that in Green Bay here for years and years and years. This is what they do. They've been here since 1919 and battle in this cold. Another interesting tidbit when you think about the ice bowl in 1967, T.J. and you of course, you were an athlete, you think about the two big quarterbacks, Bart Starr who was the quarterback of Green Bay then, then of course, Brett Favre now, quarterback of green bay, both southerners, one from Alabama, one from Mississippi, I don't know how they, with their upbringing can deal with something as extreme as this cold. I'm just glad you didn't have to play basketball outside in sub-zero conditions for Arkansas. Back to you.
HOLMES: I'm a southern boy and had to go to Iowa a few weeks ago and thought I was going to lose my mind.
ROESGEN: Well, you know, what I don't understand with these things is why does New Orleans, for instance, have a covered stadium, the Super Dome and then, you've got Green Bay out there in the elements?
HOLMES: Hey, it's tradition.
WOLF: That's great question. (INAUDIBLE). Great question. What's funny here is you ask any Packer fans if they could have a dome instead, I guarantee you they'd say absolutely not. They do not mind to this cold. We've got a fan over here saying no way, it's part of the home field advantage.
ROESGEN: That's more fun.
WOLF: We're going to talk to some of these guys coming up very soon. You don't want to go anywhere.
HOLMES: There somebody there already at 7:00 in the morning?
WOLF: T.J., they've been here for days. This has been just a mass -- this is a religious experience to these folks. They've been coming here in the singles, the dozens, now, the hundreds and later, thousands. Here's one over here. You got a Giants' fan. Say, hey, Giants' fan.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: How you doing?
WOLF: Trust me, folks, he has a good understanding of how George Armstrong Custer felt during the battle of the little bighorn, completely surrounded. That's what he is because we've got Packer fans from way, way back that there we're going to talk to and a few Packer fans here this morning. How are you Mr. Packer fan? Who's going to win tonight?
ALAN SAUNDERS, PACKER FAN: There's no doubt, no doubt.
WOLF: Why am I not surprised. Who could not love a guy like this? Name?
SAUNDERS: Alan Saunders.
WOLF: We love you, man.
SAUNDERS: Thank you. Grew up in the Green Bay. Go Pack.
WOLF: Go Pack! It's that kind of town (ph).
ROESGEN: All right. Get the brats and beer going. HOLMES: And he needs to get that hat, as well. All right. Reynolds, we'll see you again here shortly.
WOLF: You bet.
HOLMES: Well, our Bonnie Schneider is in much different conditions, thank goodness, she's over in our severe weather center. A lot of stuff going on. You can call these temperatures, this is severe weather.
(WEATHER REPORT)
ROESGEN: OK. Thanks, Bonnie.
HOLMES: All right. Can you imagine this folks? One day you flush it. The next day, you drink it. How one community is turning pee water into drinking water? We'll explain.
ROESGEN: But first: A preview of today's HOUSE CALL with Dr. Sanjay Gupta.
DR. SANJAY GUPTA, HOUSE CALL: When your weight keeps you from enjoying life's simple pleasures, what are your options? We share one woman's amazing weight loss story.
Plus: Do you know what it takes to keep your heart healthy? Some tips for preventing heart failure. And: The HPV vaccine. It's been available for over a year. But only the young women. Could a vaccine be on horizon for men? For these and many more medical headlines tune into HOUSE CALL at 8:30.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HOLMES: As we call them our Quick Hits, getting you more news in less time.
ROESGEN: First up: A British newspaper has released this sketch of a man two witnesses say was seen at a Portuguese resort the day this child, Madeleine McCann from Britain disappeared. That was last May and at the time, one witness told police, she saw a man carrying a girl from the apartments where Madeleine disappeared.
HOLMES: And for you classic TV fans, a sad note here, Suzanne Pleshette died last night at her in Los Angeles. She's been fighting lung cancer. Pleshette's biggest TV role was as Bob Newhart's wife in the Bob Newhart show. Pleshette was 70 years old.
ROESGEN: And following up on a story we had here yesterday, an Oregon couple now is the proud parents of a baby boy. You remember, mom and dad got married in a Portland hospital's maternity ward after mom went into labor. Just hours later then, they had the baby -- Jackson. Hospital officials say all three are doing well.
HOLMES: We know women aren't good at multitasking but that's pretty good.
ROESGEN: Get married and have the ceremony during labor.
HOLMES: And have a baby. That's impressive. Congratulations to them all around on a number of things yesterday.
Well, a water shortage in Orange County, California, led officials to look for new ways to quench the region's thirst.
ROESGEN: Now, they say it's cutting edge way to turn toilet water into tap water. CNN's Kara Finnstrom has the story.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
KARA FINNSTROM, CNN CORRESPONDENT (on camera): Clean, clear water. It is in short supply here in Orange County. So, any new source like this one is normally welcome. That is, if you can get past where this water comes from.
(voice over): That's right. What's now destined to become Orange County's drinking water started out as sewer water -- brown waste water from toilets, dishwashers, bathtubs, you name it.
PHIL ANTHONY, ORANGE CO. WATER DISTRICT: We will explain from the beginning, this is actually sewer water that's been treated by the sanitation district and purified even more by us until it's really almost distilled water.
FINNSTROM: To do that, Orange County launched a first of its kind facility -- a nearly half billion dollar reclamation plant that can turn 70 million gallons of treated sewage into drinking water every day.
ANTHONY: It's going to become a model for the entire world. Singapore has already built a smaller version of our exact plant and there are several others around the United States being planned.
FINNSTROM: The plant runs sewage that would have been discharged to the sea through a three-step purification process. First it heads through micro-filters to sift out solid matter.
MICHAEL MARCUS, ORANGE CO. WATER DISTRICT: Any solid particle larger than one/300th the size of a human hair would remain on the outside -
FINNSTROM: Then it runs through another filter to remove any viruses or pharmaceuticals and finally the water gets a purging bake in high intensity light, breaking down anything that's left. The result?
UNIDENTIFIED: Yes.
FINNSTROM (on camera): How does it taste?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It tastes like distilled water.
FINNSTROM: How long ago was that at sewage?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Probably about two days ago.
FINNSTROM (voice over): Soon, water officials won't be the only ones tasting it. This water will now mix with groundwater and should run out of Orange County taps in as little as six months. The water must meet safety standards. One environmental group has reservations about what they call the limits of such tests.
RENEE SHARP, ENVIRONMENTAL WORKING GROUP: It brings up concerns of what are we looking for, what we are not looking for, what we don't know.
FINNSTROM: While there is no doubt Southern California needs more water, some say, this is a little hard to swallow.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Even though I know that they've filtered it three times, it just kind of is creepy.
FINNSTROM: But many say the benefits just may outweigh the creepiness.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I think it's about time we recycled everything.
FINNSTROM: That's still due in part to a massive campaign touting the benefits of less discharge to the sea and more water for a thirsty Orange County. Kara Finnstrom for CNN, Orange County.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
ROESGEN: See, it was just the idea of it that got you.
HOLMES: No, three steps? Toilet to here in three steps?
ROESGEN: Well, very sophisticated steps.
HOLMES: Well, there should be more steps, at least 92 or so.
ROESGEN: Don't go to Orange County.
HOLMES: All right. I will not. All right, folks. I'm sure it's a lovely place though.
Well, we're going to talk about the legacy of Dr. Martin Luther King. It's about people coming together, of course.
ROESGEN: So, why is this national memorial to the civil rights pioneer driving people apart? We'll show you the dividing line in the next hour.
LEVS: I'm Josh Levs now at the dotcom desk. You know, the game in Green Bay isn't just for football fan, it's also expected to be a life changing experience for a group of dogs. Puppy power for the Packers right here on CNN: The most trusted name in, oh.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK) HOLMES: All right. Always talking about politics this morning, talking about a lot of extreme weather but we always have time to get in a little viral video.
ROESGEN: We got Josh Levs here again with the dotcom desk.
LEVS: Yes, I don't know if you remember this, but this is T.J.'s second favorite thing about CNN SUNDAY MORNING. First implosions and then cute baby animals, right T.J.?
HOLMES: You got animals.
LEVS: Cute baby animals.
ROESGEN: I like baby animals too.
(CROSSTALK)
LEVS: Yes, last week we showed you the baby polar bear. (INAUDIBLE) It's hot on dotcom. Take a look at this. All right. So, along with the big game, there's this going on today. This is from our affiliate, we got this from WISN. Take a look. What they're doing is the humane society in Wisconsin brought together all these little puppies that need homes and they'd actually have events that they're doing around the game, they're going to be handing things out as people go in. They're playing some stuff around half-time, they're planning on gathering crowds, talking to the media outside and bringing all the little puppies that they gather just for the Packer's fans to find them homes. (INAUDIBLE) All right. And real fast, I'm going to show you something else, one of the viralest videos in America right now, it's catching on. Everybody is seeing it this weekend. The radical rodent. These are actual rodents that are actually surfing on the gold coast of Australia. No camera tricks involved, nothing crazy. There you go, I knew he would eat this up.
ROESGEN: Who taught them to do it.
LEVS: OK. So, apparently they've been trained by an Australian guy who is trainer out there. His name is Bunsen Harry Curly (ph) and chopstick. And information about him and how he trains them is going up on a Web site: Radicalrodents.com.
HOLMES: See. I have to defend this to a friend of mine. And I hope she's not watching. Because she gets on to me every time we show something like that.
LEVS: T.J. lost the right to judge me when he started talking about his own toilet on the air.
ROESGEN: Anyway, the dogs are cute, really cute.
LEVS: Thank you.
HOLMES: Next: We've got an interesting story. An officer we tell you about who went above and beyond the call of duty. ROESGEN: We showed you a little bit of this video yesterday. Now, we got the full story. How they saved a guy from a burning car. We'll be right back.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HOLMES: Two police officers in Ames, Iowa are being honored for heroism this week. They saved a man from a burning car, it happened just few days after Christmas.
ROESGEN: And as you're about to see, the officers had only seconds to react. Angie Hunt of our affiliate, KCCI has the dramatic story.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
LT. JEFF BRINKLEY, POLICE OFFICER: When I got there the vehicle was fairly well engulfed in flames, at least on about the rear half of the vehicle. It looked like somebody maybe stole it or maybe wrecked it or walked away from it or. It was hard to tell.
ANGIE HUNT, KCCI CORRESPONDENT (voice over): Not knowing if anyone might be trapped inside the car, this lieutenant Jeff Brinkley knew he had to get a better look.
BRINKLEY: The thing was filled with smoke and I couldn't see in it at all.
HUNT: So, Brinkley started breaking windows, hoping to vent the car but still couldn't see through the thick black smoke. It's all captured on the dashboard cam inside Brinkley's car.
HUNT: That's when Officer Clint Hertz arrived. He immediately rushed to open the passenger door and quickly realized someone was inside.
OFFICER CLINT HERTZ, POLICE OFFICER: Other than just there's somebody in there. We've got to get him out.
HUNT: It took a few seconds to free the drive, 21-year-old Justin Hallberg from his seat belt and drag him from the car. Hallberg was unresponsive but alive.
BRINKLEY: One of the doctors that treated the patient (INAUDIBLE) said that he estimated he had 30 to 60 more seconds before he would have succumbed to the smoke inhalation.
HUNT: After pulling Hallberg to safety, Officer Hertz went back to see if anyone else was still in the car. Watch closely as Hertz puts his head back inside the vehicle and you see a small burst of flames right in front of his face.
HERTZ: I never noticed how the car just went up in a ball of fire after we had him out. It was really quick, probably about 30 seconds, and it was completely engulfed. BRINKLEY: I went back and looked at the tape from the time that I got out of my car to the time that little poof kind of went over Clint's head, it was like 62 seconds, start to finish. To go back and look at it from kind of that third person perspective was really kind of sobering to me, and we were really close, knowing full well that there was some risk to as well at that point.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
ROESGEN: And again, the victim did survive. He was treated for smoke inhalation, but amazingly, he was not burned. He's OK.
HOLMES: And one of those officers, Jeff Brinkley, is actually going to be with us tomorrow here on CNN. You can see him live in our 1:00 p.m. Eastern hour.
But coming up next hour here on CNN Sunday morning, our Dana Bash talks with South Carolina GOP primary winner, Senator John McCain. We'll take you live to South Carolina.
ROESGEN: But first, "HOUSE CALL' with Dr. Sanjay Gupta starts right now.
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