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CNN Sunday Morning
Expert: Video Offers Evidence of Tucson Shooting Suspect's Mental Illness; Brazil Flood Toll Nears 600
Aired January 16, 2011 - 06:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
RANDI KAYE, CNN ANCHOR: Good morning.
An Arizona shooting survivor is now in custody, accused of making threats against a "tea party" member, another sign tensions are still running high in Tucson a week after the Safeway shooting spree.
And this is not the most ghoulish image of alleged gunman Jared Loughner. Coming up, reports of his bizarre poses with a gun and a G- string. Plus, his disturbing new YouTube ramblings.
What happens after catastrophic floods? From Australia to Brazil, thousands of people are finding out they've lost everything, and, in many cases, everyone they've loved. Incredible images from the disaster's aftermath and this morning's new flash-flooding threat.
It's early and we're on it.
From CNN Center, this is CNN SUNDAY MORNING. It is January 16. Good morning, everyone. I'm Randi Kaye.
That is just some of what is ahead. We'll also track the global impact of Tunisia's political meltdown. The U.S. isn't the only country concerned. Libya has fears about the revolution next door.
And here's a question for a Sunday morning: Is heaven for real? A new best-selling book shares one boy's brush with death. It didn't shake his faith; it actually cemented it. He'll tell us why he's certain there is a heaven.
And it's primetime for celebrity watchers. The Golden Globes air tonight. Who will win? What will they wear? What will they say? And does this improve their odds of getting an Oscar? We are dishing on the start of Hollywood's awards season.
But first, let's get you updated on the latest events from Tucson, including a big step forward for Congresswoman Gabby Giffords. Another of the survivors of the shooting is now being held in a mental-services unit after making a death threat during a town-hall meeting.
James Fuller is the man. The 63-year-old Navy vet was shot twice during the attack eight days ago. He reportedly said - quote - "You're dead" to a tea-party member who was speaking at yesterday's meeting. It happened as the conversation turned to gun control. No charges have been filed. A big step forward for Gabby Giffords in her recovery. Doctors say she is now off the ventilator and breathing on her own through a tracheotomy tube. She's still in critical condition, but doctors say her recovery is going as planned.
Emotions overflowed as people gathered to remember the victims during a ceremony at the Safeway store where the shootings occurred. We saw the store reopening live right here on CNN.
They had a moment of silence around the memorial set up outside that store.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: ...to me - and to hear those cries are cries of sadness, because it - we lost some innocence that day. We really did, as a community.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: To come together as a community and show support and pray for all the families and the victims involved, for those who lost somebody dear and for those who are still helping their loved ones.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
KAYE: And day by day, we are learning more about the man charged in the attack. Police are now looking over pictures Jared Loughner dropped off to be developed shortly before the shooting. In one photo, he is seen wearing a red G-string, holding a gun in front of his private parts.
There's also video Loughner recorded on the campus of Pima Community College shortly before he was suspended from the school.
CNN national correspondent Susan Candiotti guides us through that videotape.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
JARED LOUGHNER, TUCSON SHOOTING SUSPECT: This is my genocide school, where I'm going to be homeless because of this school.
SUSAN CANDIOTTI, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): It's creepy and it's confusing.
LOUGHNER: If a student is unable to locate the external universe - when a student is unable to locate the internal universe, where is all my subjects?
CANDIOTTI: With a guitar occasionally strumming in the background, Jared Loughner walks through Pima Community College campus at night, shooting video as he goes. He appears to come across a professor he knows.
LOUGHNER: How's it going?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Good.
LOUGHNER: Thanks for the B. I'm - I'm pissed up.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I'm sorry? (ph)
LOUGHNER: I lost my freedom of speech to that guy. And this is - this is what happens. And I'm in a terrible place.
CANDIOTTI: He rails against the school.
LOUGHNER: This is Pima Community College, one of the biggest scams in America.
CANDIOTTI: A glass door catches a quick reflection of Loughner.
LOUGHNER: We're examining the torture of students. We are looking at students who have been tortured.
CANDIOTTI: He approaches a campus-police office.
LOUGHNER: This is the police station. This is where the whole shaboozy (ph) goes through with illegal activity.
PROF. GARY SCHWARTZ, UNIVERSITY OF ARIZONA: We get to see both his sickness and his sadness.
CANDIOTTI: University of Arizona psychology professor Gary Schwartz looked at the video with us.
SCHWARTZ: Well, on the one hand, he's describing the physical reality in terms of what's present. He says, 'There's a police station,' and that's a police station.
On the other hand, the interpretations that he's making about those places is clearly certainly not mainstream thought.
LOUGHNER: All the teachers that you have are being paid illegally, and have illegal authority over the Constitution of the United States under the First Amendment.
CANDIOTTI: Professor Schwartz takes a broader view of Loughner's video, and people with troubled minds.
SCHWARTZ: And we should have compassion for them, at the same time that we need to protect ourselves and our loved ones...
(CROSSTALK)
CANDIOTTI (on camera): And get them help. And get them help.
SCHWARTZ: Absolutely get them help.
LOUGHNER This is genocide in America. Thank you. This is Jared from Pima College.
CANDIOTTI (voice-over): Susan Candiotti, CNN, Tucson, Arizona.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
KAYE: And today on "STATE OF THE UNION" with Candy Crowley, we devote the entire hour to mental illness in the wake of the tragedy in Tucson. Starting at 9 a.m., Candy will examine the perils of diagnosing and treating mental illness.
Another tense day in the African country of Tunisia. The situation is still pretty chaotic following weeks of anti-government protests and a military crackdown. The central train station in Tunis, the capital, damaged by fire yesterday.
Today, our Ben Wedeman, who is in Tunis, reports the streets are quiet this hour and troops are everywhere.
Tunisia's president fled the country on Friday. His departure came after weeks of growing discontent over economic conditions and alleged corruption at the highest levels of government. Many residents of the city say they are living in fear.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE (through translator): Militias and gangs have been breaking and damaging people's properties and even going into homes. We want to know what they want from us. We are all Tunisians. We must work together to fix things.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE (through translator): Everyone is living in fear and terror. No one wants to get out. Shops are closed. Not enough food.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE (through translator): Neighborhood-watch groups have been formed to defend their areas for their own benefit, not others. We are in a transitional period. We are in a situation like being in a house that fell, and we need to build it back in a good way.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
KAYE: Farther west, in the African nation of Sudan, a divorce is in the works. Polling works across southern Sudan are counting ballots cast in a weeklong referendum on splitting the country between the north and the south. The BBC reports early results indicate the southern region has voted overwhelmingly to split from northern Sudan.
The two regions are culturally and religiously different.
In Lakewood, New Jersey, the search is on for a suspected cop killer who goes by the nickname "Sav." That's short for "Savage." Police say 27-year-old Officer Christopher Matlosz was shot three times at close range execution style after stopping a pedestrian. Lakewood's police chief says it appears the two were having a routine conversation when the officer was shot while sitting in his patrol car.
Police are now looking for this man, 19-year-old Jahmell Crockam. Crockam was charged in December with illegal possession of a rifle and hollow-point bullets.
The elephants at the Knoxville Zoo in Tennessee are being kept away from people for now after a handler was accidentally crushed. Stephanie James was fatally injured when one of the elephants pushed her against a wall. Zoo officials say the animals weren't being overly aggressive, but there is going to be a full investigation.
James' father says his daughter died doing what she loved.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
RON JAMES, VICTIM'S FATHER: We had pets when she was growing up, and she just - she just loved any kind of animal.
I'm so surprised that anything happened, because she was so concerned with safety. That was - that was her first priority, was safety.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
KAYE: GM is recalling more than 25,000 SUVs and trucks because of the rear axle. It could lock up, causing an accident apparently. You are looking at the models affected by that recall. It includes Chevys, Cadillacs and GMC trucks.
This move is actually an expansion of a recall announced by GM just last month for the same problem. Owners of any of these vehicles are encouraged to contact the company to set up repairs.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Your Miss America 2011 is Miss Nebraska (INAUDIBLE).
(END VIDEO CLIP)
KAYE: Oh, that pause. The drama of it all.
Nebraska high-schooler Teresa Scanlan is the new Miss America. Three she is. Just 17 years old. She's the youngest to win the crown since the pageant's first year back in 1921.
Miss Arkansas was the first runner-up.
And during the broadcast, we learned that the new Miss America likes to make clothes out of colored duct tape, and one day hopes to be a Supreme Court Justice. Very interesting.
It is playoff time in the NFL. We'll tell you who's moving on and who is packing their bags.
And Karen Maginnis is tracking some severe weather for us - Karen, you have a preview?
KAREN MAGINNIS, CNN METEOROLOGIST: And Randi, it looks like we are shifting our focus from the ice and the snow of the past week across the Southeast to the Pacific Northwest, where flooding rains and avalanches are mentioned in the forecast.
We'll have more just ahead.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
KAYE: Just about 12 minutes after the hour. Welcome back.
(WEATHER REPORT)
KAYE: Win or go home. It's the second big weekend in the NFL playoffs, and another big upset.
The Green Bay Packers crushed the top-seeded Atlanta Falcons 48- 21. It is the highest-scoring playoff game in Green Bay's long NFL history. The Falcons had absolutely no answer for Aaron Rodgers. The Packers' quarterback went off on drive after drive and completed - get this - 31 of 36 passes.
And in Pittsburgh, poise and mental toughness - you need them in the playoffs, right? Well last night, it took the Steelers all the way to the AFC title game. Pittsburgh edged the Baltimore Ravens in a slugfest between two defensive-minded teams that went all the way down to the wire. Yes, our producer here on this morning show, Angie (ph), is still crying. We feel - we feel her pain.
After trailing most of the game, the Steelers scored the winning touchdown with just two minutes to spare. Final score - this hurts - 31-24.
More playoff action this weekend. At 1 p.m. Eastern today, it's the Chicago Bears vs. the Seattle Seahawks. And at 4:30, the New York Jets and New England Patriots go head-to-head.
Well, we are going cross country. There's nothing like a high- speed police chase - especially, oh yes, when there's snow involved.
A University of Colorado study of almost 700 bloggers suggest the words they use most often are a pretty good indicator of personality. Among extroverts, the top words are "bar," "restaurant," "drink" and "dancing." For those bloggers deemed "agreeable," it's "wonderful," "together," "morning" and "spring."
Ahead, we'll run down the words used most often by "conscientious" and "neurotic" bloggers.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
KAYE: Welcome back.
You can blog but you can't hide. A recent study suggests the words used most often by bloggers can reveal their personality. Among "conscientious" bloggers, those words are "completed," "adventures," "stupid" and "boring," while "neurotic" bloggers like to use the words "lazy," "depressing," "awful" and "worse."
What kind of blogger are you? The study's author says our personalities don't change just because we've turned on a computer.
As we head cross country now, these stories are making news this morning.
Chesterland, Ohio: Eighty people will have a story to tell around the breakfast table. They were stranded on a ski lift that jammed yesterday. The fire department had to rig some ropes and pulleys to get them off the lift at the Alpine Valley ski area. Some dangled 30 feet in the air for up to three hours. Wow.
In Aiken, South Carolina, a fire at a chicken house killed as many as 20,000 birds - about a third of the business. Fire investigators say heaters inside the building used to keep those chickens warm during the recent cold weather may actually have started the fire. Firefighters say once it going, the wind quickly spread it.
Last stop: Weirton, West Virginia - and I do mean "stop." Take a look at this dash-cam video of a high-speed police chase. It ends when the driver spins out in the snow, then gets out of the car, hands in the hair, as you saw right there.
The charges include reckless driving and fleeing from police. What a scene.
But the real problem, actually, was that the car was stolen.
"PIERS MORGAN TONIGHT" premieres Monday. Piers' very first guest: Oprah Winfrey. After their sitdown, Oprah told CNN it was one of her toughest interviews in recent years - 20 years, actually.
Here's a sneak preview. Oprah talks about her longtime love, Stedman Graham.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
OPRAH WINFREY, TALK-SHOW HOST: I had been betrayed by somebody in my family who had gone to the tabloids and for, you know, $20,000 had sold me out. And Stedman came into the room, with tears in his eyes - we knew that it was coming out. Stedman came into the room with tears in his eyes, and he said, "The story's out. I have a copy of it if you want to see it. And I'm really sorry. You don't deserve this."
It was that moment.
PIERS MORGAN, CNN HOST: And you looked at him and you thought, "I love this man."
WINFREY: No, I looked at him and I thought, 'Here's somebody who is willing to stand in and stand up for you.' And that's what love is.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
KAYE: After Oprah, Piers' premiere-week guests include Howard Stern, Condoleezza Rice, Ricky Gervais and George Clooney. It all kicks off Monday night, 9 Eastern, on "PIERS MORGAN TONIGHT."
Brazil is still reeling from heavy flooding. We'll take you to one small town to show you how people there are coping.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
KAYE: The massive floods that devastated Australia are leaving an equally massive cleanup effort and now threaten Victoria, to the southeast. Engineers say the floods severely damaged infrastructure and destroyed 20,000 homes. It will take months, they say, to clean up Brisbane. One called it "a reconstruction task of postwar proportions." All caused by this
Remember these frightening images? A 14-year-old boy terrified of water because he couldn't swim drowned when he told rescuers to save his little brother first.
Flooding in Brazil and the resulting mudslides have killed nearly 600 there already. And rescuers haven't even reached some hard-hit areas. They expect the death toll to rise once they do.
More rain is predicted. Teresopolis, in the mountains north of Rio, suffered some of the worst damage.
Reporter Helena De Moura has the story from there.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
HELENA DE MOURA, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): There is a collective state of shock at the sudden catastrophe that descended upon Teresopolis and nearby towns overnight on Tuesday, when a heavy, persistent outpour unleashed deadly mudslides, followed by a shower of massive boulders, razing homes and killing entire families in a single strike.
Impatience and frustration prevail here. Residents are kept at times from returning to their homes. They demand the right to bury their loved ones while survivors are often left to pick up the pieces of their homes only with the help of a handful of volunteers making their way through the drenched roads.
Here, a volunteer is delivering food and water to an elderly man who lifted his paraplegic brother to a rooftop after a sudden flash flood swept away his home.
Jagina Maria Mano (ph), also a volunteer, has made her rounds through the hills of Teresopolis, but mostly to retrieve bodies - a horror scene, she says, as dozens of corpses were found trapped in trees and cars - some strewn over grassy areas.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
KAYE: Hmm, what a scene there.
The mayor of Teresopolis declared his city a natural-disaster area.
The right to bear arms - arguments for and against gun control are back in the spotlight after the shooting in Tucson. But do we need to arm ourselves against our own government? I'll explain that one right after the break.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
KAYE: Welcome back. I'm Randi Kaye. It is half-past the hour.
Checking top stories for you now.
Police in Tucson are reviewing pictures Jared Loughner took shortly before the January 8 mass shooting. In one photo, he is seen wearing a red G-string holding a gun in front of his private parts. There's also video Loughner recorded on the campus of Pima Community College shortly before he was suspended from that school.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
LOUGHNER: This is genocide in America. This is Jared from Pima College.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
KAYE: The video was released to the "LA Times" after a public- records request. It had been cited in campus-police records as among the reasons college officials suspended the 22-year-old student.
Tunisia's new acting president has ordered the removal of filters on websites like Facebook and YouTube. Social websites were used to spread word of discontent with Tunisian leadership. Tunisia's interim leader is calling for - quote - "a better political life."
Our Ben Wedeman is in the capita, Tunis, and tells us military troops are evident in much of downtown.
And in Iran, the country's acting foreign minister says a tour of its nuclear facilities by international dignitaries is a sign of Tehran's goodwill and transparency involving its nuclear program. None of those touring the facilities, however, came from the U.N. Security Council or other nations that have suspicions about Iran's nuclear intentions.
The mass shooting in Tucson is renewing and intensifying the arguments for gun control. What is surprising though, is one of the counter arguments, that guns can protect us from our own government. Here's CNN's Brian Todd.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
BRIAN TODD, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice over): On Chris Plante's conservative radio show, the discussion is on gun control, and the phones light up all morning.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The Nazis outlawed guns.
TODD: It's a hot topic in the wake of the Tucson shootings. Plante says many of his callers feel the Second Amendment, the right to bear arms, could now be under renewed attack from the left. But a couple of callers put the debate on another plane.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Of course the left wants to take away high- capacity magazines because that is the only way that the peasants, or the general public, can protect themselves against a tyrannical government.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: They don't even understand the intent of the constitution which was to allow citizens to form a militia in case the government gets out of control.
TODD (on camera): How intense has the rhetoric been in the conservative media about gun control recently?
HOWARD KURTZ, CNN RELIABLE SOURCES: Second Amendment rights have always been a hot button for conservative radio talk show hosts who are in the business of hitting hot buttons. And their listeners, many of them, feel very strongly about guns because they feel like it's their protection against a tyrannical government.
TODD (voice over): It's a sentiment that's been voiced since President Obama took office. By politicians --
REP. PAUL BROUN, (R) GEORGIA: It's not about ability for me to protect my family and my property against criminals, which we have the right to do. But it's about -- it's all about us protecting ourselves from a tyrannical government of the United States.
TODD: And by conservative media stars like Glenn Beck on his radio program.
GLENN BECK, RADIO TALK SHOW HOST: He will, slowly but surely, take away your gun or take away your ability to shoot a gun, carry a gun.
TODD (voice over): With all of the sentiment on conservative talk radio that the Second Amendment is under siege, Chris Plante, here at WMAL, says it's a false narrative to think that conservatives who favor guns want to overthrow the government. He says the angry political rhetoric in the wake of Tucson certainly isn't confined to the conservative side.
(Voice over): Plante says the mainstream media may use those calls on tyranny and seek to tar conservatives but --
CHRIS PLANTE, CONSERVATIVE RADIO HOST: I know the news media will not do the same when it comes to, for example, this Web posting on our Web site which calls repeatedly for Sarah Palin to be assassinated and to die terrible, painful deaths, in a hundred different ways. TODD: And you're getting a lot of these Tweets, about her especially?
PLANTE: Well, look, I mean, the hatred for Sarah Palin is so outsized and the obsession with Sarah Palin that some on the left have, is really unhealthy at this point. The fact that we're talking about Sarah Palin in the aftermath of the Tucson shooting is sick.
TODD: In the post-Tucson debate, is the left really up for a political fight over gun control?
(On camera): How does gun control play politically for the Democrats right now?
STUART ROTHENBERG, ROTHENBERG POLITICAL REPORT: Right now congressional Democrats and the White House have really avoided the issue. Going back to 2000, Democrats concluded this was a loser issue for them, and really they steered clear even after the most recent incident.
TODD (voice over): But conservative callers may soon have new talking points. Democratic Congresswoman Carolyn McCarthy wants to outlaw high-capacity gun magazines, and Republican Pete King is pushing legislation banning people from carrying guns within 1,000 feet of federal officials. Brian Todd, CNN, Washington.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
KAYE: The fight over "don't ask, don't tell" is far from over. Now one congressman is trying to stop the repeal with the help of three of the four military services. That's one of the hot topics ahead in your CNN "Political Update".
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
KAYE: Welcome back. It is 35 minutes past the hour. A pretty calm weather weekend across most of the country. We are seeing some more severe weather in the Pacific Northwest, though. Karen Maginnis in the CNN Weather Center with the latest forecast for us--Karen.
(WEATHER FORECAST)
KAYE: CNN is your home for politics. Let's take a look at the ticker.
New RNC chairman Reince Priebus is getting right to work, attending a Republican congressional retreat one day after being elected to replace Michael Steele. GOP aides tell CNN that Priebus wants to be less visible than Steele, instead focusing on building relationships and raising money.
Republican Congressman Duncan Hunter is working on a bill that could derail the repeal of "don't ask, don't tell". Under the new law passed last month the president, Defense secretary and Joint Chiefs chairman have to sign off on the policy change. Hunter wants the chiefs of all four services to weigh in as well. The heads of Army, Air Force, and Marines have all expressed concern over the change. Hunter is a Marine Corps veteran.
Former president Bill Clinton is heading to Chicago Tuesday to support Rahm Emmanuel's run for mayor. He is a former chief and staff and also worked in the Clinton White House. A letter sent to supporters says a campaign donation could get them a personal meeting with the former president while he is in town.
A first in the Arab world. Tunisia's authoritarian leader ousted after 23 years. Can a nation in crisis enter a new era of freedom? How will this affect the country's role as an American ally? We'll be taking a look on our "Morning Passport".
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
KAYE: Tunisia is a country in turmoil this morning. Three leadership changes in less than three days. And now there are reports of violent street outbreaks and brutal military crackdowns. It's unclear what direction the country is headed and the implications here in the U.S. Nadia Bilchik joins me with more.
So, you know everything about this whole situation.
NADIA BILCHIK, CNN INT'L.: About Tunisia. Well, it's the northern most part of Africa. It's extraordinary when one looks at the story. You have President Ben Ali on Friday departing the country. So, you know, Malcolm Gladwell spoke about the tipping point. What was the tipping point here that a month ago Tunisia is relatively stable.
KAYE: Right. It happened in just weeks, right?
BILCHIK: In just weeks. In December of last year, a young man, a university graduate, put himself on fire, killed himself, because he said that he wasn't making a living and that his groceries, all his things were --
KAYE: They took away his food cart.
BILCHIK: Exactly. So he did that. But that was really the catalyst for what is a greater problem, which is Tunisians begging, asking for democracy, and asking for freedom. Take a look at the sound bite about what are these people asking for. This exemplifies it so well. A man in the street who is asking for freedom.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I want bread for 500, but I want freedom, freedom only, freedom.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: All the people want freedom.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: All the people. Democracy, democracy like you. Like you, like you, like USA, like Europe, like you are human.
(END VIDEO CLIP) BILCHIK: Interesting perspective because he's saying yes, so Ben Ali did lower the bread price, but that's not what we want. We want democracy. We want what you have. President Bush said the Arab World would want democracy. So we're seeing it in play, aren't we? But looking at the Ben Ali corruption, the best description I've heard of his government was mafia-esque and a kleptocracy, a government that steals.
Some of the stories that emerged of the opulence of the Ben Ali presidency, his daughter had a dinner party. She has a tiger for a pet. She has a dinner party, the American ambassador reported this, she flies in desert gelato from St. Tropez.
KAYE: Oh, my.
BILCHIK: And there was another story about the Ben Ali family, why the Tunisians are so furious. The nephews of Ben Ali see a yacht in the Tunisian harbor. Remember it's a great tourist attraction. And (AUDIO GAP) they repaint it, they (UNINTELLIGIBLE) So these are the kinds of stories that are emerging about this man, and people want him out.
KAYE: And he's where, now?
BILCHIK: They say Saudi Arabia. That's what they say. They say he's in Saudi Arabia. The family, apparently, are in a Disney resort in Saudi Arabia. It's going to be interesting to see, Randi, what happens now to the regime. Are they going to be seen as part of the old regime? We first had Ghannouchi with the prime minister taking over. Now the speaker of the house has declared himself president.
KAYE: Right.
BILCHIK: What happens? Is there going to be an election in the next 60 days as promised?
KAYE: Right. And also, how would it affect the relations with the U.S. as well? Because Ben Ali was an ally, right.
BILCHIK: Exactly. That's why we care. When he came to power in 1987, he actually banned Ahnokta (ph) which was a Muslim fundamentalist political group. He didn't want them to be any part. So although a Muslim himself, he was very anti-radical Muslims, radical Islam.
KAYE: So we'll probably expect to see pretty big changes there. They're already allowed to use social networking sites.
BILCHIK: Did you see that today?
KAYE: That's a very big deal.
BILCHIK: So this government appears to be wanting to appease this group of people. Let's see what happens, if it's good enough.
KAYE: All right, Nadia. Thank you so much. Terrific insight. The desire for luxury hasn't disappeared just because times are tough. We're going to the boat show to see who is checking out yachts like that one.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
KAYE: Welcome back. Great to have you with us this morning.
How can we tell if the economy is really on the mend? Just ask the people who sell luxury boats. CNN's Don Lemon did just that at the Atlanta boat show.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
DON LEMON, CNN CORRESPONDENT (on camera): People can afford boats now?
LARRY BERRYMAN, ATLANTA BOAT SHOW: Well, there's a boat for every budget.
LEMON: And people are buying them?
BERRYMAN: Absolutely. The show opened, and half a dozen dealers posted four or five sales each. We got off to a great start. It's just a reflection, I think the economy, like you said, it's coming back slowly.
LEMON: Even in this economy, you're going to buy a boat. Is it for family?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes, mostly family and friends.
LEMON: Why do you feel that way instead of taking a long vacation or something?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We went on a cruise last month, and it wasn't quite as long. But with a boat, we can go out every weekend and spend time with them.
LEMON: What kind of boats are selling?
BERRYMAN: Pontoon boats, ski boats, center consoles, jet boats, tow boats. A little bit of everything.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: If you want it, you're going to get it. That's the bottom line.
LEMON: How's the industry doing overall, bottom line?
BERRYMAN: A little bit better than last year. In general, the 2011 outlook looks much, much brighter than certainly probably 18 months ago.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We've had a phenomenal year.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Nothing better than being on the water. UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The motor home industry and the boat industry that's the barometers we're using. When those pick up, we're seeing an uptick in the economy. We're seeing that in boating and RV industry at this particular time.
LEMON: You're upgrading?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I want to, let's put it that way.
LEMON: Can I come hang out with you?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: No.
(LAUGHTER)
(END VIDEOTAPE)
KAYE: Hot cars and cool housing market. Lots going on in the world of business. Here's our round-up with CNN's Alison Kosik, Stephanie Elam, and Poppy Harlow.
ALISON KOSIK, CNN FINANCIAL CORRESPONDENT: It was another winning week on Wall Street. The Dow and S&P 500 are now up for seven straight weeks. This all comes as the corporate earnings season kicked off. ALCOA, Intel and JP Morgan Chase all posted upbeat quarterly profits this past week.
Foreclosures hit a record high last year. Almost 3 million properties received a notice of default, auction, or repossession. Just looking at repossessions, 1 million Americans completely lost the roof over their heads. Foreclosures are expected to peak this year.
And finally, the numbers are in for the holiday shopping season. An industry trade group said sales jumped almost 6 percent in November and December, the biggest increase in six years. Clothes, sporting goods, and books and music were popular. It's a good sign for the economy as consumer spending drives growth-Stephanie.
STEPHANIE ELAM, CNN BUSINESS NEWS CORRESPONDENT: Thanks, Allison.
Also making headlines this past week, we all heard the rumors for months and months. Now it's a done deal. Verizon Wireless will finally start selling the iPhone next month. Since Apple unveiled the device four years ago, AT&T has been the only U.S. carrier.
New signs the American auto industry is coming back. The Chevy Volt, General Motors' highly publicized plug-in vehicle was named car of the year at the Detroit Auto Show. GM also announced that it will advertise in this year's "Super Bowl". The automaker pulled its "Super Bowl" spots three years ago ahead of its impending bankruptcy. Meanwhile, rival Ford's new Explorer snagged truck of the year. Ford also plans to hire 7,000 workers over the next two years.
Poppy has a look at the upcoming week-Poppy?
POPPY HARLOW, CNNMONEY.COM CORRESPONDENT: Thanks so much, Steph.
The housing market will be front and center this week. We'll get reports on December home sales and also construction. But some analysts say housing lately has taken a few steps forward and then a step back. Since we saw sales rise in November, this December report could be a step back. Let's hope that's not the case.
And we'll also get earnings from a number of companies this week, including Apple, Google, Bank of America, Morgan Stanley, and Citigroup.
And finally, this year some Americans will be able to get their 2010 tax refunds on a prepaid debit card. The government is sending out letters this week to 600,000 low income Americans giving them the option to sign up for the card. Lower income families are less likely to have a bank account. So this would help them, and it's also expected to save the government millions of dollars. Back to you.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
KAYE: Thank you.
A hero from Tucson will be laid to rest today. Stay with us for the story of Dorwin "Dory" Stoddard.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
KAYE: It is one of the most endearing stories to come from a horrible act of violence. Today Dorwin "Dory" Stoddard will be buried in Tucson. When the gunfire broke out at the Safeway store last week, he threw himself on his wife shielding her from harm. Dory died. His wife, sweetheart since the sixth grade, survived. Mavy Stoddard knew Dory would do anything for her, even sacrifice his life. She talked with our Ted Rowlands.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
TED ROWLANDS, CNN CORRESPONDENT (on camera): This is one of many stories of heroism that came out of last weekend's tragedy. Dory Stoddard got in front of his wife to get in between the shooter and his wife. Doctors say he saved her life.
(Voice over): 76-year-old Mavy Stoddard said she and her husband dory were living a fairy tale.
MAVY STODDARD, WIDOWED SHOOTING VICTIM: We had as good a marriage as I believe anyone in this world could have.
ROWLANDS: They were classmates who shared a first kiss in school but didn't marry until they were in their 60s. Both were widowed, both had raised four children. But the past 15 years Mavy says she and Dory had a ball. Last Saturday the couple decided to go meet their Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords.
STODDARD: Tell her how we admired her for going in person out among the people. ROWLANDS: When the shooting started Mavy says Dory put himself between her and the bullets.
STODDARD: He threw himself over me. I don't know whether he threw me down. My first thought was get down, when I saw what was happening. I think it was the last shots that killed him.
ROWLANDS: Dory was pronounced dead at the scene.
STODDARD: He died in my -- on my leg, actually, on the side of my leg. With me talking to him and telling him I loved him, and kissing him. So he saved my life and gave his for mine. You can't ask for much more. And he would have protected me with his dying breath. He loved me.
ROWLANDS: Mavy says she feels sorry for everyone involved, including the man responsible.
STODDARD: It's a horrible thing that happened. It touched so many lives. It hurt so many people. That's why I feel no real animosity. I do forgive the young man. I hate what he did, but I don't hate him.
STODDARD: Mavy was shot three times in the leg. She'll make a full recovery, but she'll be without the love of her life.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
KAYE: And good morning.
An Arizona shooting survivor is out of the hospital and now in custody, accused of making threats against a Tea Party member. Another sign tensions are still running high in Tucson a week after the deadly shooting spree.
An astronaut's earthly accident jeopardizes his role in an upcoming shuttle mission. What went wrong, and what's NASA's backup plan?
And here's a question for you on a Sunday morning. Is heaven for real? A new best-selling book shares one boy's brush with death. It didn't shake his faith. It actually cemented it. He'll tell us why he's so certain there's a heaven.
It's early, and we're on it. From CNN Center, this is CNN SUNDAY MORNING. It's January 16th. Good morning. I'm Randi Kaye.
Let's get you updated on the latest events from Tucson. Including a big step forward for Congresswoman Gabby Giffords.
Another of the survivors of the shooting is now being held in mental services unit after making a death threat during a town hall meeting. James Fuller is the man. The 63-year-old Navy vet was shot twice during the attack eight days ago. He reportedly said, quote, "You're dead." to a Tea Party member who was speaking at yesterday's meeting. It happened as the conversation turned to gun control. No charges have been filed.
Doctors say Gabby Giffords is now off the ventilator and breathing on her own through a tracheotomy tube. She is still in critical condition, but doctors say her recovery is going as planned.
Emotions overflowed as people gathered to remember the victims during a ceremony at the Safeway store where the shootings occurred. We saw the store reopening live here on CNN. They had a moment of silence at the memorial set up outside that store.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: To me to hear those cries, they are cries of sadness, because we lost some innocence that day. We really did as a community.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: To come together as a community and show support and pray for all the families and the victims involved, for those who lost somebody dear, and for those who are still helping their loved ones.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
KAYE: A red G-string and a rambling video from a college campus. Those are just the latest troubling images of shooting suspect Jared Loughner. Loughner's G-string pose was in a photo he had developed just before the shooting. Even more disturbing was this video released by Pima County Community College. The video was released to the "LA Times" after a public records request. It had been cited in campus police records as among the reasons campus officials suspended the 22-year-old student. In it, Loughner walks about the grounds talking about how teachers stole his free speech rights. It's just another glimpse into his troubled mind.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
PROF. GARY SCHWARTZ, UNIVERSITY OF ARIZONA: We get to see both his sickness and his sadness. On the one hand, he's describing the physical reality in terms of what's present. He says there's a police station, and that's a police station. On the other hand, the interpretations that he's making about those places is clearly certainly not mainstream thought.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
KAYE: Today on "STATE OF THE UNION" with Candy Crowley, we devote the entire hour to mental illness in the wake of tragedy in Tucson. Starting at 9:00 a.m., Candy will examine the perils of diagnosing and treating mental illness.
Another tense day in the African country of Tunisia. The situation is still fairly chaotic, following weeks of anti-government protests and a military crackdown. The central train station in Tunis is damaged by fire yesterday. Today, our Ben Wedeman, who is in Tunis, reports the streets are quiet this hour, troops everywhere. Tunisia's president fled the country on Friday. His departure came after weeks of growing discontent over economic conditions and alleged corruption at the highest levels of government. Many residents of the city say they are living in fear.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIPS)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE (through translator): Militias and gangs have been breaking and damaging people's properties and even going into homes. We want to know what they want from us. We are all Tunisians. We must work together to fix things.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE (through translator): Everyone is living in fear and terror. No one wants to get out. Shops are closed. Not enough food.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE (through translator): Neighborhood watch groups have been formed to defend their areas for their own benefit, not others. We are in a transitional period. We are in a situation like being in a house that fell, and we need to build it back in a good way.
(END VIDEO CLIPS)
KAYE: Tunisia's former parliamentary speaker has been sworn in as the interim president.
The death toll from flooding and mudslides in Brazil's Rio de Janeiro state has risen to at least 591 people. Government officials fear the toll will rise. There may be many more people killed by mudslides and flash flooding in the region's mountainous areas. Rescue workers have been unable to reach some of the worse affected areas. Torrential rains are expected to continue for days.
The search is on for a suspected cop killer in Lakewood, New Jersey, who goes by the nickname "Sav." That's short for "Savage." Twenty-seven-year-old officer Christopher Matlosz was shot three times execution-style after stopping a pedestrian.
Lakewood's police chief says it appears the two were having a routine conversation when the officer was shot while sitting in his patrol car. Police are looking for 19-year-old Jahmell Crockham. Crockham was charged in December with illegal possession of a rifle and hollow point bullets.
The elephants at the Knoxville zoo in Tennessee are being kept away from people for now after a handler was accidentally crushed. Stephanie James (ph) was fatally injured when one of the elephants pushed her against a wall. Zoo officials say the animals weren't being overly aggressive, but there is going to be a full investigation. James' father says his daughter died doing what she loved.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
RON JAMES, VICTIM'S FATHER: We had pets when she was growing up, and she just -- she just loved any kind of animal. I'm so surprised that anything happened because she was so concerned with safety. That was -- that was her first priority, was safety.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
KAYE: Actress Susannah York has died of cancer. The British star was most recently seen guest-starring in a couple of British TV shows. But she may be best known for her Academy Award nominated performance in the 1967 movie "They Shoot Horses, Don't They?" Other classics include "Tom Jones" and "The Man for All Season." She also played Superman's mother in the Christopher Reeve "Superman" movies. Susannah York was 72.
Astronaut Tim Kopra may have to miss his ride on one of the final space shuttle missions because of a bicycle accident. NASA says the mission specialist will be OK, but offered no other details about his injuries. He was supposed to go up in the space shuttle Discovery in late February, the next to last scheduled shuttle flight. In 2009, he rode the shuttle for a two months tour of duty aboard the International Space Station.
And Hollywood comes together tonight for the Golden Globe Awards. The best picture nominees are "The King's Speech," "The Social Network," "The Black Swan," "The Fighter," and "Inception."
CNN's "Showbiz Tonight" host A.J. Hammer is there for the glamour and glitz. And he will be sharing his insights tomorrow on CNN.
Ahead this hour: Dr. Sanjay Gupta speaks with the trauma doctor who treated Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords after she was shot.
And our Karen Maginnis is tracking some severe weather.
Karen, you have a preview.
KAREN MAGINNIS, AMS METEOROLOGIST: Yes, we do have flash flood watches and warnings, the potential for avalanches. And we'll tell you about bitterly cold air across the Midwest. Winter weather is pounding the U.S. We'll let you know all about that right after this.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
KAYE: Coming up on eight minutes after the hour -- we are talking about weather.
What does Sunday hold for all of us? Karen Maginnis is here to bring us the forecast.
You're talking avalanches? Did I hear you say that?
MAGINNIS: Yes, in the Cascades. And the primary reason, Randi, is we've already seen a layer of snowfall. It's fallen down to as low as 2,000 feet already this season. But, now, this is warm moisture coming up from the subtropics.
So, as a result, the snow levels have crept up. That means melting. That means the potential for some rivers really just start to fill up.
But across the Cascades, it's going to make for a very uneven snowfall and very prone to avalanche. So, we'll watch that. A lot of the rivers across eastern Washington state, they're going to be filling up in the next 24 to 48 hours. And they've already issued flash flood warnings out for all the rivers coming off of Mt. Rainier, and that includes the Nisqually, the Cowlitz and the Puyallup rivers as well.
Take a look at the next 48 hours as we look at the forecast radar. We get a little break, but the next storm system is going to have kind of a cold core. So, the snow levels, instead of being around 8,000 or 9,000 feet, they're going to drop to around 2,000 feet. So, we've got the warm moist snow that falls and the drier snow. So, that makes it very, very unsettled.
Take a look at the snowfall amounts that we're expecting from the Bitterroot to Big Horns down to Yellowstone and in towards the Tetons, it could be heavy at times, and they're expecting one to three feet.
Now, I talked about how -- winter really is not giving up across a good portion of the nation. And these temperatures across the Midwest, in addition to snowfall, they're in the single digits and below zero.
Right now Fargo is minus 15. I took a look just about an hour or so ago, and Fargo was minus 13 degrees outside. Chicago only reporting six. You've got these lovely 20s down into St. Louis and also in Cincinnati. So, yes, the big chill is on and even into the eastern Great Lakes, we've got some lake effect snows, and we could see on the order of six or 12 inches of snowfall. But it primarily confined across this eastern Great Lakes region.
Well, into the Pacific Northwest, as I mentioned, flash flood watches and warnings out, Snohomish Rivers extending over towards Spokane. Number of rivers under flash flood watches and warnings there. The warnings in this bright yellow shaded area.
And this is a result of the ground already being saturated and additional two to four inches of rain expected here and right around Spokane, extending over towards Coeur d'Alene. We could see one to three. But near the Cascades, there could be four to six inches of rainfall expected. So, quite an unusual situation with some fairly mild weather.
And then, Randi, we're looking at back to the cold temperatures again. Instead of 50s and 60s for highs, we'll be 30s to 40s for highs in the Northwest, which is more like it for this time of year. Back to you.
KAYE: All right. Thank you, Karen.
This next story proves that you can make art out of pretty much anything. Check it out. It is a 14-foot long rendition of the Last Supper. It is on display in Florida. Now, it's not your eyes. You may think it looks a little fuzzy, and that's because it is. It's actually made of fuzz, or more specifically, laundry lint.
The Michigan woman who made it actually bought towels in the colors that she wanted and needed, and then she washed them. It took about 800 hours to get just the right amount of dryer lint. And to think Leonardo da Vinci just used boring old paints for the original. Well, maybe he just didn't have enough time or maybe not enough laundry detergent.
So, does heaven actually exist? That's a pretty big question. In just a moment, I'll introduce you to a little boy who says it does exist because he has been there and back.
You have to hear his story. It is a remarkable story. We'll share it with you when we come back.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
KAYE: Does heaven exist? This morning on "Faces of Faith," we meet a young boy who says heaven is real, and he goes further than that. He says he's actually been there.
Colton Burpo says he saw heaven and met Jesus while undergoing surgery. And now, his father Todd has written a book about his son's experiences.
I spoke to both of them about the book "Heaven is for Real."
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
KAYE: Todd, this whole experience came out of an emergency surgery that your son needed when he was just 4, but it took some time, actually, before you realized what had happened. So, when did you first realize that your son was trying to tell you that he had been to heaven actually and seen the real heaven?
TODD BURPO, AUTHOR, "HEAVEN IS FOR REAL": Well, after we got out of the hospital, we went back to North Platte about four months after we had left the hospital. We were on another trip, and we started talking about the hospital. And Colton made the statement, well, dad, the angels, they sang to me while I was there. That's the first time we started realizing that we might have missed something that was really big.
KAYE: And did he describe the angels to you as if he really had seen them?
T. BURPO: He had. As we were talking, I asked him what they look like, and he made -- he answered there, and he said, they sang to him because he was really scared. And he said, you know, Jesus had them sing to him.
And all this information he gave to us at first just caught us completely unprepared. And I didn't know where this was coming from, and I had to ask him more. And eventually, he even shared with us in that first conversation that he could see us in the hospital, and he could tell me where I was and what I was doing, and where his mom was, and all that information was accurate.
And we're like, how do you know that? And he says, "Well, dad, I could see you."
KAYE: And I know, Colton, that you told your father that you had actually met Jesus. What was he like in heaven?
COLTON BURPO, SAYS HE WENT TO HEAVEN: Well, Jesus, he was one of the most powerful people there, and he had really pretty eyes.
KAYE: And a horse, too, I understand -- from what you've said.
C. BURPO: Yes. He also had a white horse with rainbow-colored hair that I liked seeing.
KAYE: Colton, a lot of us imagine that heaven is a beautiful place, where everyone wears wings. How would you describe it? From what you saw.
C. BURPO: Well, heaven has a lot of colors, and almost everybody up there has wings, all except for Jesus.
KAYE: And did you wear wings when you were there?
C. BURPO: Yes, I did.
KAYE: Todd, how would you describe what happened to your son exactly? Because he didn't actually die on the table during surgery. So, what's the explanation as to how he got to heaven?
T. BURPO: Well, he was really -- he was very, very sick. And maybe as how close to death, we're not sure. But, obviously, he left his body, saw these things, explained things to us. And -- no, he did not code or anything like that, but we worked through that. I used to believe to that someone had to die before they went to heaven.
And when you look, even in the Bible, there's accounts of Isaiah, John in "Revelation," people that had special opportunities to see amazing things, and that's how I discounted that must be what Colton's story is.
KAYE: I was really touched, Todd, when I read the part in the book where your son tells you that he met his great grandfather, who actually died when you were a young boy. Had you ever talked about him, and what did that mean to you?
T. BURPO: Yes. Oh, occasionally we brought him up, but when he started talking to me about pop and how nice he was, I'm like, how do you know that? Well, dad, I got to meet him. I spent time with him. And he started talking about how -- what I'd done with my grandfather.
But when he could recognize a picture of pop as a young man, it was just another stunning piece of evidence for us because a child can't make that up. He either knows that information or he doesn't.
KAYE: And I know that your son described doing homework with Jesus.
Colton, what was that like?
C. BURPO: I'm not that much of a fan of school, but I liked it because Jesus was my teacher.
KAYE: Pretty amazing teacher.
Todd, you know, a lot of people listening to this might say homework with Jesus, angel wings -- what do you say to those who doubt your son's story?
T. BURPO: Well, for us, we were skeptics, too, and these are pictures of heaven that we didn't have in our mind. You know, obviously, Jesus was teaching because of all the different things Colton was allowed to see, he said Jesus showed him. And so, we've had to adopt these things very slowly, too. It took us a while to adjust to these new pictures of heaven that we hadn't thought of either.
KAYE: And just quickly, I know that, Todd, your wife had a miscarriage years ago, but Colton told you that he met that little girl and had a baby sister who was never born.
T. BURPO: He did.
KAYE: Tell me about that.
T. BURPO: That was a shocking day for us. He comes bouncing into the front room, kind of like he typically would as a 4-year-old. Walks right up to his mom, and he says, "Mom, I have two sisters." And she was trying to, again, understand what he was saying. And he made this announcement, "You had a baby die in your tummy, didn't you, mom? And all of a sudden, time stopped.
And she's just asking, "Who told you that? How did you know that?" And he's like, "Well, she told me she died in your tummy, mom."
KAYE: Oh, my.
C. BURPO: And I'll never forget those moments, yes.
KAYE: And, Colton, before we let you go, have you told your friends about this? What do they say about you seeing heaven?
C. BURPO: My friends know because they grew up around me, and I talked to them a little bit about it.
KAYE: All right. Well --
T. BURPO: This is something that he has shared for a while.
KAYE: I'm sure. It certainly sounds like a beautiful place, the picture that you paint of it. Todd, Colton, thank you both for your time. (END VIDEOTAPE)
KAYE: What a story.
"PIERS MORGAN TONIGHT" premieres tomorrow. Piers' very first guest, Oprah Winfrey. After their sit-down, Oprah told CNN it was one of her toughest interviews in 20 years. Here's a sneak preview. Oprah talks about her longtime love Stedman Graham.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
OPRAH WINFREY, TALK SHOW HOST, ACTRESS, MEDIA MOGUL: I had been betrayed by somebody in my family who had gone to the tabloids, and for, you know, $20,000, had sold me out. And Stedman came into the room with tears in his eyes. We knew that it was coming out.
Stedman came into the room with tears in his eyes, and he said, "The story's out. I have a copy of it if you want to see it. And I'm really sorry. You don't deserve this." It was that moment.
PIERS MORGAN, "PIERS MORGAN TONIGHT": And you looked at him and you thought, "I love this man."
WINFREY: No. I looked at him, and I thought, here's somebody who is willing to stand in and stand up for you. And that's what love is.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
KAYE: Piers has a really exciting week planned. If you take a look at his guests, after Oprah, they include Howard Stern, Condoleezza Rice, Ricky Gervais, and George Clooney. It all kicks off tomorrow night, 9:00 Eastern on "PIERS MORGAN TONIGHT."
Checking out some of the extreme videos of the week. New Yorkers have an unspoken agreement with subway rats. Yes, it's true. Tracks are for rodents. Trains are for people.
Now, one rat has gone and broken all the rules. Yuck!
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
KAYE: Now, for our "Extremes of the Week," the video that made us sit up and say, what the?
We've all heard about the rats in the subways, but this, oh, my gosh, I can't even look at this video. It's ridiculous. Yes, that rat crawled up that guy's leg right up on his shoulder. Not the kind of thing you really want to have wake you up while you're trying to catch a few winks on the way to work. Yuck!
Amazingly, the guy went right back to sleep. Maybe he just thought it was all a bad dream, and, yes, it was.
A lot of us across the south went a little stir crazy in the snow. That's pretty much the only way this guy in South Carolina makes any sense.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: He got up at 9:30 to do this.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Don't do it. Don't do it. Don't do it, Steve.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: There you go.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Oh, my gosh.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Oh, God darn.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
KAYE: Oh, yes. He did it. He sure did.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Are you calm?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Really calm.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Really calm? Oh, God.
(INAUDIBLE)
(END VIDEO CLIP)
KAYE: You'd better run inside. Oh, my. That is the polar bear plunge. You just get freezing cold just watching that guy.
Where is he? He still doesn't have a towel on him. Crazy!
Now, let's take a look at a shot that would make any weekend bowler proud. Just watch as the guy actually gets a strike. Although, you got to love this, it's in the wrong lane.
The guy's name is Josh Scanlan, and he was trying to make team USA's bowling squad. He didn't make it, not even close. He finished 49th overall. Poor guy. But we'll all remember that one shining strike.
Checking top stories for you now:
One of the victims from that January 8 shooting in Tucson, Arizona, now in a mental services facility today. Police say 63-year- old James Fuller was committed after allegedly threatening a Tea Party member at a town hall gathering. Fuller allegedly took a picture of the city's Tea Party leader and said, quote, "You're dead."
ABC News, which sponsored the meeting, said Fuller's comment came when the Tea Party leader began talking about gun control.
In the African nation of Tunisia, the streets are quiet after days of demonstrations and a change in the top leadership spot. Our Ben Wedeman is in the capital Tunis and tells us troops are out in force. Tunisia's acting president has ordered the removal of filters on Web sites like Facebook and YouTube. The social Web sites were used to spread word of discontent with Tunisia's president.
And in Knoxville, Tennessee, elephants at the city zoo are being kept away from visitors after a handler was crushed to death. Stephanie James was fatally injured when an elephant pushed her against the wall.
Well, the snow isn't gone. We're looking at some lake effect action. Karen Maginnis is back with more on that.
MAGINNIS: Yes. Do you remember probably towards the beginning of December, we had some staggering amount of snowfall totals being reported in Buffalo? Well, it's not going to be quite like that, but still going to see some fairly significant amounts when you get some of these snow bursts off the eastern Great Lakes. It can be amazing. Six inches of snow here, maybe 12 inches of snowfall there.
But look at these temperatures mostly in the teens. A little clipper system is moving across this region. So, it feels a whole lot colder than that. You have to make it all the way to the Northeast before you start to see those temperatures in any significant numbers, even approaching the freezing mark, 37 in Washington, D.C. Portland, Oregon, is currently reporting 20 right now.
But across the nation, looking at this, this is highly unusual. Seattle is reporting 57. Well, they normally would see temperatures maybe in the 40s. So, running about 10 to 15 degrees above where it should be for this time of year.
Some of the coldest air across the Upper Midwest and Mississippi River Valley with teens and 20s being felt there, 50s and 60s finally return to more normal temperatures across the southeast where people were just locked into the cold and the snow over the last several days.
I do want to show you a quick look at what we're expecting into the Great Lakes region. Just a couple of little snow bursts here and there -- just about 12 inches in the worst case scenario.
Randi, back to you.
KAYE: OK. Thank you, Karen.
Stay right there. CNN's chief medical correspondent Sanjay Gupta interviews the trauma surgeon overseeing the critical care unit where Congresswoman Gabby Giffords is being treated. "SANJAY GUPTA, M.D." begins right now.
