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CNN Sunday Morning
Chad Fighting Intensifies; Chicago Mall Killings; Immigration Reform Protests; Presidential Race; Missing Alabama Immigrant Workers; Carbon Monoxide Poisoning; Stuck Amtrak Train Moving; Wintery Chinese New Year; Super Tuesday; Medical Expense Bankruptcies; Writer's Strike Negotiations; Whacky Betting; Super Bowl XLII
Aired February 03, 2008 - 09:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
T.J. HOLMES, CNN NEWS ANCHOR: Happening now, leaving the country, avoid the bloodshed. Hundreds of French citizens evacuating the African nation of Chad. Will Americans be next?
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
MARY SNOPL, LANDLORD: I just know they aren't living with us and they aren't working at Cinram.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BETTY NGUYEN, CNN NEWS ANCHOR: Yep, not at home, not at work. So, where are 100 immigrant workers? Is this a security alert and should we be concerned that no one seems to care?
HOLMES: And we're just two days away to Super Tuesday and all of the Republicans still on the campaign trail. All of the Democrats, well, just two, making history just by running, but is that enough to make change?
And do you care more about these two guys than all those other politicians? They're in the spotlight tonight. We'll take you live to Arizona, this hour.
Good morning to you all, I'm T.J. Holmes from the CNN Center in Atlanta Georgia, brining you news from all over the place.
NGUYEN: Oh yes, we have a jam-packed show, it's a good one, folks. So, good morning to you. I'm Betty Nguyen. This is CNN SUNDAY MORNING February 3. Let's get straight to it and get you informed.
First up, rebels with riffles and machine guns, government troops backed by helicopters. the fighting intensifying, this morning in the central African nation of Chad. Rebels fought their way into the capital yesterday, but this morning, a French military spokesman says government troops appear to be gaining some control.
HOLMES: New video we're getting in here from Chad. Plumes of smoke you see in the distance, helicopter flying by. French troops have secured the airport, at least. Then the French government expects to evacuate 400 more foreign nationals from the country, today. Four-hundred others evacuated yesterday. But right now, the U.S. State Department concerned with getting an estimated 500 Americans in Chad to safety. Going ahead now to CNN's Kathleen Koch who's monitoring things for us from Washington.
Good morning to you, Kathleen.
KATHLEEN KOCH, CNN NEWS CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Chad (SIC). And obviously that's why the government is keeping a very close watch on the apparently deteriorating situation in Chad. A state department spokesman, Sean McCormack, in a statement saying, "we call for calm in the capital and support the African Union's call for an immediate end to armed attacks and to refrain from violence that might harm innocent civilians."
A travel alert for Chad has been issued warning Americans to put off all travel and encouraging U.S. citizens there to consider leaving. The U.S. embassy has begun evacuating already all family members of American employees, all nonemergency employees, so they can't say exactly how many have left yet. It says that those who remain are confined to what it calls "safe haven locations." And on the embassy Web site it tells any Americans who want to leave the country to call the embassy immediately.
Now, to that end, one U.S. military official is telling CNN that arrangements are being made to send a U.S. military team to the region to begin final planning to assist just in case a mandatory evacuation of all of those Americans is needed.
Departures are still possible, because as T.J. mentioned, French troops are in control of the airport, in the capita of N'Djamena. A foreign affairs spokesman -- a French foreign affairs spokesman does say that France again evacuated about 404 nationals, yesterday, they're expecting to evacuate another 400 today. U.S. military trying to identify some C-130 aircraft either in Europe or the Middle East that, if necessary, could be sent to Chad.
Right now, American citizens are not thought to be direct targets of the violence, there. Still, the State Department is encouraging any Americans who do choose to remain in Chad to stay indoors in safe locations -- T.J.
HOLMES: All right, hopefully they take that advice while that situation works its way out. Kathleen Koch for us there in Washington. Thank you so much, Kathleen.
KOCH: You bet.
HOLMES: Back in the U.S. now, police say this was supposed to be a robbery. All right bad enough a robbery, but ended up with five women dead at a strip mall outside Chicago.
NGUYEN: And there are a lot of questions. Those women, though, were killed at this Lane Bryant store. And police are describing it as a robbery gone wrong. This morning, the search is on for the suspect. Christian Farr is in Tinley Park, Illinois. He joins us live. You know, a big part of this, one, is yes, where is the suspect? But two, why were these women killed? I mean, it's one thing to have a robbery, but it's another one to kill the women.
CHRISTIAN FARR, CNN NEWS CORRESPONDENT: I think these are still questions they're trying to answer, Betty. Police are still on the scene, here. They still have part of this shopping complex roped off, searching inside of the store for forensic evidence. Not only do they have to do that, they are also trying to find the man responsible for killing these five women.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
(voice over): It started as a robbery, but ended with five women shot and killed in the back room of a store in this suburban Chicago strip mall.
SGT T.J. GRADY, TINLEY PARK POLICE DEPT: Through the investigators inside, they were able to determine pretty substantially that the motive in this case was a robbery and then at some point it went rather poorly.
FARR: Police locked down the shopping center briefly, but determined the gunman had already fled the area. Now, the manhunt is underway, and the police are asking the public for leads. They have a description of the suspect.
A witness who saw him leave the store say he is an African- American male, roughly 5'9" tall, and weighing between 230 and 260 pounds. He was seen wearing a waist-length black winter coat, a black cap and dark jeans.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
Now, we do know the name of one of the victims involved in the shooting because her family came forward and released her name. She is 33-year-old Carrie Hudek Chiuso, she is describes as a local, very popular social worker who works at one of the biggest high schools in the area. She was a customer at the time.
Now, the four other victims, we do not know their identities because police have not released them just yet. They are contacting the next of kin. We hope to get more information at a 2:00 press conference, Central Time, that the Tinley Park police plan to hold. Hopefully get more information about the investigation as well as who the gunman might be -- Betty.
NGUYEN: Christian, let me ask you this very briefly. What about surveillance video? Any chance any of that will be able top help in this search?
FARR: Well, there was no surveillance cameras inside of the store, but there were surveillance cameras in some of the other stores around here. They're hoping to gather that information from that surveillance video and get some leads to try to identify this suspect. NGUYEN: Yeah, we hope to learn more at that news conference taking place a little bit later today. Christian Farr joining us live, thank you for that.
Also, I want to tell you about this story. It is an emotional issue in the presidential race, and the fight over immigration reform turned into a very heated exchange at a rally in San Diego.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: (speaking foreign language)
(END VIDEO CLIP)
NGUYEN: Marchers at a pro-immigration demonstration, confronted by anti-immigration protesters, yesterday. There was some yelling and name-calling between the two sides, but police kept the groups separated and there were no physical confrontations.
HOLMES: Of course, many immigrants come to the U.S. to work and then have work Visas, but once they are here who's keeping track of them? In Huntsville, Alabama, 100 workers have gone missing from a plant, they all have temporary work Visas. No one knows where they are, but the disappearance causing some concern. CNN's Bill Tucker investigates.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
BILL TUCKER, CNN NEWS CORRESPONDENT (voice over): Approximately 100 guest workers from Nepal at this Cinram plant in Huntsville, Alabama, have abandoned their jobs and their apartments. No one knows for sure where any of the workers have gone. The owners of the apartment complex, where the workers were living, say they left without notice and claimed that they stripped the furnished apartments much furniture and TVs.
MARY SNOPL, LANDLORD: I don't know if they are living in Huntsville or somewhere else. I just know they aren't living with us and they aren't working at Cinram.
TUCKER: The initial news of their disappears touched off security concerns. One local county official, who'd been opposed to the company bringing in the workers, raised concerns of a terrorist threat.
MO BROOKS, MADISON CO, ALABAMA COMMISSIONER: Cinram insisted there were long background checks and Cinram was vouching to the citizenry of Madison County that they had this program under control when apparently they did not.
TUCKER: Cinram dismisses those concerns, noting that each worker underwent a background check by the Department of Homeland Security. The company issued the following statement: "All of the H-2B Visa applicants must be screened by the Department of Homeland Security, the U.S. Department of Labor, the U.S. Counselor in their local country, as well as the U.S. Embassy in their local country. " A spokesman for the United States Citizenship at Immigration Service confirms. DHS does do back ground checks, but that doesn't answer the question of where the 100 workers went or why. A company spokesman says he believes as work slowed down and the workers just decided to sight see the country rather than work.
(on camera): Nor does it answer the question why the company had to hire 1,141 foreign workers from five different countries to work at its plant in Alabama instead of hiring American workers. The company says there weren't enough local workers to fill the jobs that pay $8.50 an hour, so they went to Nepal. We should point out that the terms of the H-2B Visa allow for travel, but we have no idea of where these workers have traveled to nor if they will leave the country once their Visas expire.
Bill Tucker, CNN, New York.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
HOLMES: All right, how about this story here to share with you? You go out for an expensive steak dinner, beautiful night, wraps up with a ride in the ambulance.
NGUYEN: Oh, what'd you eat?
HOLMES: Well, I don't know if it was the food here, all respect to Ruth Chris, but 13 diners at a steak house in Baltimore were rushed to the hospital because of carbon monoxide poisonings. Dozens of other diners and employees fled the building. Fireworkers evacuated the restaurant, chaos pretty much, inside.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
ERIC EDMONDS, EYEWITNESS: A lot of people were panicking, don't get me wrong, especially when they saw the ambulance and fire trucks, you know, first time we ever had that kind of a situation down at the end of the harbor.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
NGUYEN: Well, the Amtrak train stuck overnight in the northern California mountains, it is on its way to Chicago. Workers were finally able to move a snowplow blocking the tracks. Two Amtrak trains and about 400 passengers were initially stranded after the accident on Friday. The other train was pulled to Reno.
HOLMES: And a memorial unveiled in Lady Lake, Florida, marking the one-year anniversary of a killer tornado that tore through that area. The memorial honors 21 victims of that tragedy. Some of the family members were there for the unveiling.
NGUYEN: Well, the Chinese New Year is just a few days away, and the lines are still e-normous (sic) at a bus and train station, in fact, several of them in China. Huge winter storm is causing major headaches for people just wanting to get home for the New Year. REYNOLDS WOLF, CNN METEOROLOGIST: That's right, a lot of people in California are going to be watching the Super Bowl party, they're going to be getting their chips and their dip ready for the big game, but they're also going to need the snow shovels and the goulashes, maybe even an umbrella. We got rain, sleet, snow, all in store for the big state, today, Golden State and it's all moving to the east. I'll let you know how it's going to affect the rest of the country on Super Tuesday? That's coming up in just a few moments.
HOLMES: All right, thank you, kind sir. We'll see you soon.
And 48 hours until some polls open for Super Tuesday in the presidential candidates making stops across this country.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HOLMES: Well, the Chinese government calling it the war on the wintry weather. More than 300,000 troops have been deployed to southern China.
NGUYEN: Yeah, they are there to deal with the crush of people trying to get home for the Lunar New Year holiday which starts on Friday. CNN's Hugh Rimington has more from Guangzhou.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
HUGH RIMINGTON, CNN NEWS CORRESPONDENT (voice over): The good news, here at least, in southern China is the weather has broken. Clear, there are blue skies today, it's the first time we've seen that in well over a week. However, crowds of people continue to come crashing in, trying to get onto trains to get to other parts of the country for this Lunar New Year holiday. In fact, the crowds are likely to peak over the next 24 hours.
Tradition requires families to be in place for the Lunar New Year's Eve, that means Tuesday and that means the next 24 hours is really their last chance to get on trains to get them home and that means the desperation levels are likely to increase. We've seen a massive police presence here in Guangzhou train station. They are some 12,000 police and (INAUDIBLE) militaries just at this station alone. They are exerting greater control over the crowds, here; however, the crowds continue to come.
And we can report that a woman who was trampled in a crush of people a couple of days ago, taken away unconscious from the scene, has died in the hospital. She had not recovered consciousness and has died. That has been confirmed. As (INAUDIBLE) said, that having seen the way these crowds have been coming out the recent days, it seems almost a miracle the death toll is not higher.
Hugh Remington, CNN, Guangzhou, China.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
NGUYEN: Let's get the latest from Reynolds Wolf with the latest on the weather. It's not only affecting China, but places here in the U.S.
But, that situation in China, let me ask you, because they're really gearing up for the Lunar New Year, which takes place, I believe on Friday, which is -- here in the U.S. it starts on Tuesday. Let me -- or Thursday, I should say, is that just sitting and spinning over China, so that the situation is not going to improve?
WOLF: Well, basically, what we have, is we have a big trough, a dip in the jet stream. And hat happens when have you one storm system that forms it actually rides that jet stream almost like a product on an assembly line. Like imagine, you know, the cars that you see in Detroit on the assembly line, at some plant or something, well, you have, in stead of cars, obviously, one storm system after another, following the tracks, following the jet stream, and until the jet stream changes its pattern, well, they're going to see more winter- like precipitation. Although it does look like they're going to get a break today. Certainly that live shot we saw moments ago, showed skies are becoming sunny.
But, what a mess it's been. We're talking weeks and weeks of that wintry mess and they've certainly had their hands full. What's bad enough is not only the weather situation, but of course everyone trying to get home in time for the holidays, heavens help them.
Right now we got people in parts much the Central Plains been trying to go to the grocery store to pick up some supplies for the big Super Bowl party. And if you're in Manhattan, Kansas, maybe up in Lincoln, Nebraska, take it easy, be careful going to the store, because you're going to have slick roadways, a lot of ice forming there.
Out in California it's going to be a problem with rain, mainly central coast, San Luis Obispo, southward into say, Santa Barbara, even in Santa Paul and Oxnard. Scattered showers, maybe some flash flooding in few spots where you have poor drainage, but in the high mountains, we're talking snow, some places heavy. In fact, into the Sierra Nevada, we're looking at anywhere from two to three feet of snow, into the Cascades, about a foot, maybe a little bit more in some spots and into the Rockies, one to three feet. You see the watches and warnings posted through much of the Western U.S. and not only are you going to have just the snow, you're going to have the winds, some locations, gusts up to 100 miles-per-hour. Let's send it back to you.
NGUYEN: Wow, that's hurricane force.
WOLF: Yeah, truly. It's going to be rough.
NGUYEN: Ok. Thank you, Reynolds.
Well, OK, here are the numbers. Twenty-four states, plenty of delegates, and you in the voting booth.
HOLMES: We are talking about Super Tuesday. We're trying to break down some of these numbers for you, right after the break.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK) HOLMES: Well all right, we want to talk some numbers, now. Super Tuesday, just a couple of days away, 24 states in play on Tuesday. Put that in perspective for here, Super Tuesday, 2004, was just 10 states.
So, political editor, Mark Preston, Tuesday is a very big deal. But is it a big enough deal that we are going to get a nominee on either side out of it? Can you answer that first?
MARK PRESTON, CNN POLITICAL EDITOR: Well, t. Judge, that's asking a lot of me.
HOLMES: That's why we got you here, man.
PRESTON: Well, T.J., that's asking a lot right now of me.
HOLMES: That's why we got you here, man.
PRESTON: Yeah, that's true, that's true. Well, I'll tell you, you know, if you talk to some people, they think if John McCain on the Republican side can run the tables, then he will, in fact, have enough momentum to be the nominee. On the Democratic side, it's a little but more complicated. Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton in a much tighter race. So, it really is up in the air. Although, I tell you, I think Mitt Romney and Mike Huckabee might stay in past Super Tuesday, so even if McCain does well on Super Tuesday, we still have a race.
HOLMES: And are we still talking about -- you said, the momentum to go forward and possibly be the nominee, but nobody mathematically, at least from the polls we're seeing, nobody mathematically is going to be able to collect all the delegates they need to be the nominee.
PRESTON: No, no. and that's right, it is all about momentum. You know, in the month of January, it was all about momentum it wasn't necessarily about delegates. It was trying to win as many contests as possible to look like they're the perceived nominee. We're going into Tuesday, now, it's all about delegates. You know, at that point, you know, we'll see who can collect enough delegates to try to keep the momentum going. But they won't have enough to actually win it. What they are looking for is for people to drop out of race and say, look, it's inevitable that so and so is going to win the race. So, that's what we're looking at.
HOLMES: OK. We know nobody on the Democratic side will drop out, it's just got two, but on the Republican side, I mean, how much more can Ron Paul keep doing this? How much longer can Mike Huckabee keep doing this? He's come out and said, this is a heavyweight ballot, I'm staying in it and he seems like he might be getting beat up and bloody pretty good right now. How long can they stick?
PRESTON: Well, you know, they can stay as long as they want. Certainly someone like Ron Paul, who is not expected to go on to win the nomination, but he's really trying to push a message, could stay in it all the way through the convention. He picked up some delegates. You know, he certainly has raised enough money and has this following on the Internet that could just kind of help propel him forward.
Someone like Mike Huckabee is hoping do real well Super Tuesday in Alabama, Georgia, Tennessee, states like that where he can pick up delegates and to keep it going. So, they can stay in as long as they want.
HOLMES: Tell us about a couple of key places. We know a lot is at stake in New York, a lots at stake in California. But we have some states that will split it up, percentages. You get a percentage of the vote; you get a percentage of delegates. Others? Do we have others that are winner take all states?
PRESTON: Yeah, none on the Democratic side, on the Democratic side it's proportional, depending on how well you do on each state is how many delegates you get. The Republicans are a little bit looser in allowing their states to do what they want. A state like New York, for instance, a little over 100 delegate votes, winner take all. If someone can go in and sweep that, that's a big cache for them, so, state like New York we'll certainly be looking at.
HOLMES: All right. What will be the headlines, do you think, Mark, when we get up on Wednesday morning? What's going to be the headline on both sides.
PRESTON: "The race isn't over". The race is not over. Hillary Clinton, Barack Obama, you know, well get more bloodied, more bare knuckled. I think someone like Mitt Romney will have to make a strong decision does he want to dig deeper into his pockets to take more money to try to take on John McCain, the race will not be over.
HOLMES: OK, but where do we go from there? And again, we have to ask because this is so new to people, we are so used to people picking up Iowa and New Hampshire, getting sine momentum, and it's done. But here we are on Super Tuesday, and it all matters. After those 24 states vote, it's still not clear who the frontrunners are, no clear nominee. Where do we go from there? What states are next? And now some of these other states that historically haven't been that important now play a huge role.
PRESTON: Well, I'll tell you what. There's no question. When we were in California, just a few days ago, I was talking to people out there, California never played a role in this, so, you know, when people head to the polls on Super Tuesday, someone was telling me, they won't know what to do. They're not used to playing in the primary. We're going to see this in states such as Kansas and Louisiana, as well, states that have not played in it. But this could play all the way out to the end of the month, when we see Texas, and Ohio, Rhode Island, all holding contests which could lead into March 4. We may not know a nominee until March 5, T.J.
HOLMES: Oh, that's funny. They're not use to it. Oh, my goodness, what do I do? My vote actually matters. All right, Mark Preston, we always got you here to answer those though questions. We appreciate you. And enjoy the Super Bowl and enjoy Super Tuesday.
PRESTON: All right, thanks, T.J. HOLMES: All right, of course folks, this is the place to be for Super Tuesday. The best political team on television covering every race all day, all night, 40 straight hours of coverage and it all gets underway at 6:00 a.m. Eastern on Tuesday, right here on CNN.
NGUYEN: Well, sometimes the road to success gets a little sidetracked it happened to country music star Garth Brooks and Brooke Anderson shows us how the Grammy award winner got back to the top.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
BROOKE ANDERSON, SHOWBIZ TONIGHT (voice over): Garth Brooks attended Oklahoma State University on a track and field scholarship and planned to go into advertising.
GARTH BROOKS, MUSICIAN: I was one hour short of graduating. I even went through commencement, so I had to go back up for a whole summer. I didn't have a scholarship anymore, so I had to find some way to pay for room and board and everything on my own and started playing around town at night. And next thing I know, I'm playing six nights a week.
ANDERSON: Brooks went on to sell more than 100 million albums, even more than Elvis Presley. Now, he's hoping to open children's play rooms in hospitals around the country through the foundation Teammates for Kids.
BROOKS: Kids are our future. The more love I think our children are shown, the more love they'll show when they are the adults.
ANDERSON: Brooks hopes to spend more time with his own kids and his wife, Tricia Yearwood, while continuing to use his talent to help others.
ANDERSON: Getting to play music is like eating ice cream. It's like breathing. It's the easiest thing I've ever done.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
NGUYEN: That's why he is so good at it. Well, everyone has a dream. We all have dreams. And one couple thought they were living theirs. Just look, they have a family, a nice home, but a medical emergency puts them in a huge bind and Dr. Sanjay gupta warns it could happen to you.
HOLMES: Also, Kobe Bryant. Is he going to score more points in tonight's Lakers game than the Giants and patriots combined? You can put some money on it.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HOLMES: Hey, everybody. Welcome back. I'm T.J. Holmes.
NGUYEN: Yes, good morning everybody, I'm Betty Nguyen. Here's a quick look at our top stories: Get out of harms way. Hundreds expected to leaf the central African nation of Chad, today. The U.S. State Department is also evacuating embassy staff and family members because of fighting between rebels and government troops.
HOLMES: Also, a deadly building collapse in India. According to reports, at least six and as many as eight people were killed. Others were trapped in the debris when the hotel and bank building collapsed.
NGUYEN: Egyptian troops closed the last breach in the border with Gaza the barricade was breached 11 days ago by Palestinians desperate for supplies after Israel closed its Gaza borders because of Hamas rocket attacks.
HOLMES: And we return to politics, and the calm before the storm. The critical Super Tuesday battle is two days away, but candidates are slimming down their schedules a bit. After all, you know, it's Super Bowl Sunday, everybody wants to watch the game. Here's where they'll be today: Mike Huckabee in Georgia, John McCain in Connecticut. Mitt Romney in Missouri as well as Illinois and that's where Mary Snow is, as well. Glen Ellyn, Illinois, near Chicago, following the Romney campaign.
Good morning to you, Mary.
MARY SNOW, CNN NEWS CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, T.J. Mitt Romney trying to sway undecided voters, here. Candidates being so targeted in their final push for votes. Mitt Romney saying that he believes on Tuesday he'll have enough support and delegates needed to show that his campaign is succeeding in Maine, while he was showing a big, big lead there, he declared victory for the 18 Republican delegates in the state.
Meantime, his rival, Mike Huckabee is taking aim at Mitt Romney this morning, telling CNN, in his words, he calls it ludicrous that Mitt Romney is calling this a two-man race that excludes Huckabee. And Senator John McCain is expressing confidence, saying his campaign believes that McCain will get enough support to defeat his main rival, Mitt Romney on Tuesday.
Senator McCain made a sweep through the South, yesterday, hitting a couple of themes, two of them being his conservative credentials, he voiced opposition to abortion and also he talked about supreme court justices, saying he's going to be very direct in appointing judges who will interpret the constitution. Here's a little bit of what they had to say on the campaign trail.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JOHN MCCAIN (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: My friends, I want to tell you, I will try to find clones of Alito and Roberts. I will try to find people just like them. We'll have judges serving on the federal bench that do not legislate from the bench.
Now, it seems to have narrowed down by and large to two fellows, myself and Senator McCain.
(BOOS)
MITT ROMNEY (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: He's a good man with a great record and an American hero, but he and I disagree on a number of issues. And frankly, as you look at his issues, you recognize that he's pull our party sharply to the left.
MIKE HUCKABEE (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: And I think it's time for Mitt Romney to step aside, you know, I'm leading in the states that are going to be real critical on Super Tuesday throughout the South, substantially ahead of Mitt Romney in these states...
(END VIDEO CLIP)
SNOW: Now, Mike Huckabee, the complete interview will be shown later this morning on CNN on LATE EDITION with Wolf Blitzer, so you'll want to catch that. And T.J., as you mentioned, the Super Bowl putting a dent in schedules today. Senator John McCain, although the Super Bowl is being played in his state of Arizona, he's going to be watching the game up in Boston, Massachusetts, of course, Mitt Romney's home turf, he was governor, there.
Mitt Romney meantime, is going to be having a kickoff party in Missouri, then heading to Tennessee. Doesn't think he'll catch the whole game, will watch some of the on tape -- T.J.
HOLMES: On tape. That is just -- I don't understand it. That's Governor Romney. Mary Snow, I know you're going to catch the game, as well, so you enjoy. Thank you so much this morning.
And of course, again, folks, as she mentioned there both Mike Huckabee and Mitt Romney going to be on LATE EDITION with Wolf Blitzer, that's coming your way at 11:00 Eastern.
NGUYEN: So, what with Democrats? Well, just a couple of stops today for Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama. Clinton is in Missouri and Minnesota. Obama is in Wilmington, Delaware. Both trying to give voters a last look before Super Tuesday.
And here's an interesting note for you. In South Carolina's Democratic primary, exit polls show that 21 percent of voters made their choice in the last three days. And 11 percent made up their minds on the day of the primary. A critical last few days for the candidates as we head into Super Tuesday.
Well, CNN does equal politics and we are giving you a chance to hear from the candidates talking about the issues in their own words, we call it BALLOT BOWL. So, tune in today 1:00 p.m. Eastern, only on CNN.
And a little bit later today, catch replays of this week's Democratic and Republican debates from California. They're the last debates before Super Tuesday. And we'll be showing them to you back to back starting at 5:00 p.m. Eastern.
HOLMES: A veteran Nixon era has died. Earl Butz has agriculture secretary during the early '70s. His policies helped transform the U.S. landscape from modest family farm to corporate agribusinesses. But he was best known for his earthy manners and off colored humor. A racist joke ultimately forced him to resign in 1976. He was 98 years old.
NGUYEN: One of the biggest issues of the election season. What to do about the nation's healthcare system. Well, about 47 million Americans have no health insurance and for now, even if you have health insurance, sometimes that may not be enough. CNN chief medical correspondent Dr. Sanjay Gupta reports.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Are you OK, Mommy?
DAWN ZIEGLER, : I'm OK. Are you OK?
DR SANJAY GUPTA, CNN SR MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT (VOICE OVER): Dawn and William Ziegler were living the quintessential American dream as real estate brokers in Las Vegas. Plenty of money, nice houses, fancy cars. And then Dawn got pregnant with twin girls.
WILLIAM ZIEGLER, : I was excited. I was excited whether we found out it was twins and then I was nervous.
GUPTA: But Brooke and Alexa arrived early, too early. And little baby Brooke was in serious trouble.
D ZIEGLER: When she came out, she was blue.
W ZIEGLER: They had to resuscitate her. We didn't know we would that we'd have to have surgery within 10 hours.
GUPTA: And then another surgery and then another. Over the next 18 months, she had nine operations, including two open heart surgeries. She was airlifted to hospitals in California and Indiana. The Ziegler's never thought about the cost, because they had insurance, excellent health insurance.
(on camera): Did you worry about it at all?
D ZIEGLER: Not at all.
GUPTA (voice over): And yet today this well-to-do couple is now broke and filing for bankruptcy. Insurance paid for a while, but there was a lifetime limit of $2 million for Brooke's expenses. And it may sound like a lot, but it was nowhere near enough.
W ZIEGLER: Especially some days it was $30,000 and $40,000 a day to keep her in the ICU. You know, the days of the operation were $100,000 days. In the end, it cost us everything. We're lucky to still have our house and our cars, but that's about it.
GUPTA: That wasn't the worst of it. After months in intensive care, Brooke's heart finally gave out. Brooke Ziegler was just 18 months old when she died. A year later, a bill arrived, in the form of a legal judgment.
(on camera):You owe Riley hospital $700,000?
W ZIEGLER: $708,000 (INAUDIBLE) for unpaid medical expense.
GUPTA (voice over): Consider this, in 2006, almost a million people filed for bankruptcy And almost half, according to a Harvard study, were sunk in large part by medical expenses.
Dr. Sanjay Gupta, CNN, Las Vegas.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
NGUYEN: And for more on America's healthcare system, tonight on CNN, join Dr. Sanjay Gupta as he hosts BROKEN GOVERNMENT, HEALTHCARE, CRITICAL CONDITION. That comes up after our replay of both the California Democratic and Republican presidential debates, they starting at 5:00 p.m. Eastern.
HOLMES: Well, of course, big night for a lot of folk, including Jordan Sparks, Tom Petty.
NGUYEN: Hey, huge night for them. They're performing at the Super Bowl, but many people are also places bets on those performances.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HOLMES: All right, 40 minutes past the hour on this Sunday morning, here's a look at some of our top stories.
The sheriff of Hamilton County, Tennessee, facing some legal trouble. The FBI arresting Billy Long, he allegedly took payoffs from ethnic Indian store owners to protect their video poker businesses and other illegal activities. Long faces bribery, money laundering and other charges.
NGUYEN: There may be a breakthrough in talks between striking writers and Hollywood studios. A source close to the negotiations tells the "Associated Press" that the two sides have reached tentative agreements on the toughest issues and the major one is pay for projects distributed on the Internet. The source says the tentative deal could be reached as early as this week.
HOLMES: And don't bet against Princess. A New Jersey camel on a hot streak in the NFL picks so far this year. Now, admittedly here, the method is not scientific.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JOHN BERGMANN, ZOO GENERAL MANAGER: In a year, we would pick one game a week and write the names of the teams we were playing in the palms of our hands, covered with a graham cracker and Princess loves graham crackers, so she would -- whatever graham cracker she's pick was her pick. And she's been pretty successful this year, she's 18-9, at this point.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HOLMES: Eighteen and nine, but in the playoffs, say Princess 8- 2. And who in the Super Bowl is Princess picking? The New York football Giants.
NGUYEN: Oh.
HOLMES: The G-men, yes.
NGUYEN: We'll see if princess continues to reign with that kind of pick.
Well, $100 million bucks, jot that down, because that's how much is expected to be bet in Las Vegas today on the Super Bowl, alone, and it's no wonder everyone is looking for an edge, whether it's Princess or, you know, a nun.
HOLMES: A nun, earlier we had. Yeah, but not just the game that's giving the people a chance to risk money. There are quite a few odd ball bets. Out there.
NGUYEN: Like how many coughs you'll have in the show?
HOLMES: Before this show is over. Are you going to take the over or the under?
NGUYEN: I'll take the over. Allan Chernoff takes a look.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
ALLAN CHERNOFF, CNN NEWS CORRESPONDENT (voice over): A Super Bowl bet, how long will take American Idol's Jordan Sparks to sing the National Anthem?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: After losing last year on the Billy Joel bet, I'm not doing it again.
CHERNOFF (on camera): You did it last year.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yeah.
CHERNOFF: What color sports drink will players pour on the winning coach?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Probably grape, which is my favorite.
CHERNOFF: Football fans and those who couldn't care less are laying down serious money on such propositions known as "props" in the betting world.
(on camera): The whacky prop bets are offered online on gambling sites that are illegal in the United States, but very popular with Americans.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It's fun just to be stupid and bet money on dumb things, I guess.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Just makes it more fun for people who don't like football, but are being forced to watch it with their boyfriends.
CHERNOFF: Who will the MVP of the game thank first?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Probably his mom.
CHERNOFF: So, you would take the bet?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I probably would, yeah.
CHERNOFF: Bet on mom? Everybody bets on mom.
(voice over): It's true mom and dad are odds on favorites. God is a long shot.
Even in Las Vegas, gambling on such propositions is illegal. Props here have to have something to do with athletic competition, and there's no shortage of those permutations.
CHUCK ESPOSITO, SPORTS BOOK DIR, CAESARS PALACE: You name it. They are on the board. The cross board props are a big part and are extremely fun for the betting public.
CHERNOFF: Vegas this year features multisport props. Will Kobe Bryant score more points in tonight's Lakers game than the Giants and Patriots combined total.
Back online, you can put money on the halftime show. What songs will Tom Petty sing? Might he smoke a joint? And could he have a wardrobe malfunction as Janet Jackson did four years ago?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I think that's hysterical.
CHERNOFF (on camera): Would you take the bet?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I'd take the bet, because I'm a girl, that's what I live for, halftime.
CHERNOFF (voice over): Even if the game say boar, there's plenty of action for those wagering on Super Bowl Sunday.
Allan Chernoff, CNN, New York.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
NGUYEN: Look, all I'm saying is please, no wardrobe malfunction in tonight's Super Bowl.
HOLMES: Oh, come on.
NGUYEN: Come on, Tom Petty.
HOLMES: Well, not from Tom Petty.
NGUYEN: Yeah, well CNN's Larry Smith is in Arizona for us this morning and he's talking to the other Manning.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You want to practice every day, and all of a sudden they just say it's got to end. It was humbling and it was an adjustment.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
You bet is was different for the older brother of Peyton and Eli. We have his story right after this break.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: We're big sports fans at home and we're looking forward to it. And our little buddy can participate, as well.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
NGUYEN: How cute is that? This dog owner is just one of many buying the hottest thing offer the rack. Patriots coats for Fluffy, of course. The boutique owner says she is pleased the coats and sweaters are a big hit. In fact, they are such a hit she is making more. Oh, and yes, there's even a Red Sox coat for the baseball loving pooch. No word on whether the pooch enjoys wearing them, but hey, that's beside the point, right?
HOLMES: Wish we could ask. Well, the Giants are actually the dogs, the underdogs today, facing the undefeated history-making Patriots.
NGUYEN: The Giants hopes really wresting on quarterback Eli manning, his brother, Peyton, of course, MVP of last year's Super Bowl.
HOLMES: Hey, big shoes to fill.
NGUYEN: Yeah, a lot. A lot to do there, and our MVP, Larry Smith, is live in Glendale, Arizona, today, with a view the stadium and I know it's really early out there I can hear a lot of noise in the background. Are they already tailgating?
LARRY SMITH, CNN NEWS CORRESPONDENT: Almost. You are probably hearing other crews here, talking in our media compound. But, you know, you have more traffic than you would expect this time of the morning, before 8:00 Local Time. Yeah, no question about it.
Boy, what a big game this is. Super Bowl XLII, you can already predict its going to go down as one of the biggest in history, because either we'll see one team complete the first 19-0 season ever, the New England Patriots, or the team that kept them from doing it, the Giants, they'll go down in history as the David who slew Goliath.
Now, every player on the field in today's game is going to have family or friends rooting for them, either in the stands or at home, but for one family member, his situation is a bit unique.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
(voice over): Everyone knows Peyton Manning.
PEYTON MANNING, FOOTBALL PLAYER: Bummed about that gut.
SMITH: After an incredible playoff run, most have gotten to know Eli Manning. But there's one Manning brother that few people know of at all.
COOPER MANNING, BROTHER OF ELI AND PEYTON: Go! Got kids.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Go, go!
C MANNING: I think with Eli, I'm much more his big brother. Peyton and I are kind of peers.
SMITH: Cooper Manning is two years older than Peyton and seven years older than Eli. And his relationship is different with each than the outgoing Peyton is to the reserved Eli.
Eli didn't get beat up too much, he was a little too young, you kind felt guilty being kicking him around. But, Peyton and I were at each other's throats on a pretty consistent basis.
ELI MANNING, GIANTS QUARTERBACK: I just thought, you know, Cooper and Peyton liked being around me. It was the weekend and they were kind of at home and my parents were out, and they would want to, you know, sit and watch over me and my buddies because they liked being around. Later I found out they were grounded and had to stay home.
SMITH: Cooper was an all-state receiver in high school while catching passes from Peyton. He earned a scholarship to play at Ol' Miss (ph), but his football career ended before his season began with a diagnosis of a congenital narrowing of the spinal canal.
C MANNING: You go off to school, you're ready to play football, your friends on the team, you went to practice everyday, and all of a sudden they say it has got to end. It was humbling and it was an adjustment.
SMITH: He forged a career as a security and commodities broker in his hometown, New Orleans. And although that will never earn him a Super Bowl ring, he doesn't mind being known as the other Manning, at home, he's happy just being known as dad.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: This is the Packers.
C MANNING: (INAUDIBLE) the Packers.
ELLEN MANNING, COOPER'S WIFE: I'll tell you one thing about Cup is that, he not for one second is ever jealous. He loves every minute, I mean, he thinks he is the luckiest guy in the world because he has two brothers playing in the NFL.
C MANNING: All three of us are wired very differently. And I think that's a credit to our parents not raising -- you know, they kind of let everybody go their own way and let them be themselves and everybody is pretty comfortable in their own skin.
E MANNING: I think that cooper is very proud of us. Cooper has a great life, but, you know, he's gotten to go to a lot of games and see a lot of big wins, and it's been fun for him also. I know it has.
C MANNING: I really don't even ever sit back and say, golly, how neat is is that you know, Peyton won a Super Bowl or now that Eli is in a Super Bowl, I probably ought to, you know, one day I'll sit back and think how great it was, but right now I'm just kind enjoying the ride.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
SMITH: Well, what a ride for the entire Manning family. By the way, there's a chance of rain this afternoon so we're hearing right now that the roof may be closed for this game. It is a retractable roof, we may be it playing indoors. Let's go back to you.
NGUYEN: Oh, that was a great story, Larry. Really just to get to know the other member of the three boys in that family. Terrific job out there. And I know you've been having a go ahead time, right?
SMITH: Had a great time, went to the Playboy party last night...
HOLMES: Ah!
NGUYEN: What party? What party was that? The playboy party?
SMITH: Playboy party.
NGUYEN: Is your wife watching?
SMITH: The Maxim party. Yes. Maxim party. Also went to Russell Simmons party.
NGUYEN: Oh my goodness.
SMITH: (INAUDIBLE) birthday party.
NGUYEN: And you're up talking to us?
SMITH: Well, you walk in for an hour, you drink water and go home and go to bed. So, I didn't say I closed it down. I just said I went.
NGUYEN: I like how he clarified that. He drinks water.
HOLMES: And he needed to.
SMITH: Absolutely. Work is first. Work is first.
NGUYEN: Absolutely.
SMITH: Great seeing you guys. NGUYEN: Have fun today at the Super Bowl.
SMITH: All right, thanks. Enjoy the game.
NGUYEN: All right, Reynolds Wolf is joining us with the weather. Some folks enjoying it from inside because there's no tailgating for them.
WOLF: Yeah, I'll tell you what, we are looking at rain there, unfortunately, today, but again, you're right they have a retractable roof on the stadium, certainly a good thing. That thing is goinf to be closed tonight, because we are expecting some showers. Overall, though much better they have for the NFC or ACF championship where we had this freezing conditions in both Boston and Green Bay. But for today, high temperature into the lower 60s with the chance of showers. All right guys, who are you going to pul for in the game?
NGUYEN: Oh, that's tough.
WOLF: Come on, you got to...
HOLMES: New York football Giants.
NGUYEN: I was going to say New York.
WOLF: Me too. Absolutely. Got to go with the underdog.
NGUYEN: First time we agree on something. Wow.
WOLF: All three of us.
NGUYEN: Wow, well, all right. Well, it's going to be a great game, nonetheless. Thank you, Reynolds.
WOLF: You bet.
NGUYEN: Now, it's time to check in with Howard Kurtz in Washington to see what is ahead on RELIABLE SOURCES.
Hey there Howie.
HOWARD KURTZ, RELIABLE SOURCES: Good morning, Betty. Coming up, in the final sprint to Super Tuesday, Barack Obama has Ted Kennedy Caroline Kennedy out on the trail. Is the press casting Obama as the new JFK? Rush Limbaugh and other conservative radio is trying to derail John McCain has the media already crowned him as the Republican nominee?
Plus, thousands of journalists, as you mentioned, invading for today's Super Bowl. We'll look at the media circus and it can get pretty strange. That, and more ahead, on RELIABLE SOURCES.
NGUYEN: Media circus? Yeah, thank you, Howie.
HOLMES: Of course, some people partying for the Super Bowl, other folks partying for Super Tuesday. NGUYEN: Yeah, big deal. There is no party like this, though. It's the last few days of Mardi Gras.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
NGUYEN: All right, folks. Time to strike up the bands and...
HOLMES: (speaking foreign language)
NGUYEN: Let the good times roll.
Carnival celebrations are in high gear in New Orleans leading up to Mardi Gras, or fat Tuesday, one of the biggest parades this evening.
HOLMES: New Orleans isn't the only place showing off Mardi Gras madness, though. Officials in Galveston, Texas, expect about 250,000 people to take part in that city's festivities this year.
NGUYEN: Well, if you are following the Republican presidential campaign, you can't miss it. There is plenty of criticism for John McCain. Is he conservative enough? Will he support the grand ol' party? Well, Howard Kurtz talks about it next on RELIABLE SOURCES.
HOLMES: And Ralph Nader, still with us. Will he enter the presidential campaign? He joins...
NGUYEN: It always seems to come up.
HOLMES: Every four year, we're going to be talking about Ralph Nader. He joins Wolf Blitzer at 11:00 Eastern on LATE EDITION, but first, right now, we got a check of the morning's top stories.
NGUYEN: "Now in the News," French troops are in Chad helping with the evacuation of hundreds of foreign nationals including some Americans. Chad was plunged into chaos when rebels invaded the capital city, but a French military spokesman says government forces now appear to be regaining some control.
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