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CNN Sunday Morning
Romney Dominates In Nevada; Putting Veterans Back to Work; A Super Party; Finding Solutions to Pet Obesity; Rice: Blood on Hands of China, Russia
Aired February 05, 2012 - 06:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
SUSAN HENDRICKS, CNN ANCHOR: From the CNN Center, this is CNN SUNDAY MORNING. Great to see you. It is February 5th. A special good morning to our men and women watching around the world on the American Forces Network. I'm Susan Hendricks.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
MITT ROMNEY (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: You know, this is not the first time you gave me your vote of confidence. And this time I'm going to take it to the White House.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HENDRICKS: Yes, you can officially call him the frontrunner. Mitt Romney came away with a dominating victory in the Nevada caucuses. But despite his second place finish, Newt Gingrich says, don't count me out.
And, yes, today is Super Bowl Sunday. One hundred and eleven million viewers will be glued to the TV tonight. Will you?
Also, 111 million viewers are snacking. Can you guess the top three foods that go hand in hand with the game? We'll tell you about them.
But we start with Mitt Romney. He is waking up a very happy man this morning, you could say. The Republican presidential candidate is the winner of the Nevada caucuses. It was predicted yesterday. Forty- three percent of the vote he got. Romney's leading by 43 percent. Newt Gingrich with 25 percent, followed by Ron Paul with 19 percent and Rick Santorum coming in last with 12 percent.
Now, Mitt Romney is the first one of them to score back to back victories. This is big. He rallied his supporters in Vegas last night after the fact.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
MITT ROMNEY (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Our mission is to increase the freedom and opportunity of the American people and our blueprint is the Constitution of the United States. We're going to build an America are hope is a new job with a paycheck, not a faded word on an old bumper sticker. (END VIDEO CLIP)
HENDRICKS: All right, coming up in two minutes, Newt Gingrich says he vows he is not going anywhere. He will stay in the fight.
It is 3:00 in the morning in Oakland, where just four hours ago "Occupy" protesters ended a march through downtown. Take a look. A small fraction of the protesters vowed militant action. Many of them were dressed in all black with their faces covered. They said it was time to rise up against authorities and police repression. But it was mostly a peaceful one. Last week, more than 400 people, you may remember, were arrested in a violent Occupy Oakland demonstration.
A much different scene here. Things were not as peaceful. This is the nation's capital. Eight people were arrested when police clashed with Occupy D.C. protesters. This happened just blocks from the White House. Officers made the arrest after people violated the no camping laws. As you see, police are dressed in riot gear. They took away their tents and their bedding. One officer was injured after being hit in the head with a brick.
This morning, the U.S. is strongly condemning Russia and China for blocking a U.N. Security Council effort to put pressure on Syria to end the violence there. Brutal violence we have been hearing about. CNN spoke exclusively with U.N. Ambassador Susan Rice.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SUSAN RICE, U.S. AMBASSADOR TO THE U.N.: Disgusted, Richard. But that's not the point. The point is that the people of Syria have yet again been abandoned by this council and by the international community.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HENDRICKS: Analyst say both China and Russia have their reasons to maintain good relations with Syria. For one thing, Russia is one of Syria's biggest arms supplier. And China ranked as Syria's third largest importer back in 2010. This is all according to data from the European Commission. Opposition activists say more than 7,300 people have been killed in the 11-month brutal crackdown in Syria, including children as well.
Some strong words towards Russian leaders also coming from inside the country. Thousands of demonstrators gathered in Moscow to rally against Prime Minister Vladimir Putin. They are demanding changes in the wake of the disputed elections that took place in December. There was also a pro-Putin rally. These demonstrations are seen as a test for Vladimir Putin with just with a month to go until he runs for president.
How about this? Fidel Castro has written his life's story. At least part of it. The 85-year-old former Cuban leader unveiled his 1,000 page memoir on Friday. Do not expect to read about the Cuban missile crisis or his decades in power. The two volume memoirs only cover his life from birth to eve of the revolution in 1958. Now back to politics. The Nevada caucuses, as you know, were held last night. The first western contest has produced the same results as the biggest eastern primary. Here is CNN's political editor Paul Steinhauser.
PAUL STEINHAUSER, CNN POLITICAL EDITOR: Susan, another big night for Mitt Romney.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
CROWD: Romney, Romney, Romney!
STEINHAUSER: Mitt Romney does what no other Republican presidential candidate has been able to do so far this year, win two in a row. Less than a week after his big victory in Florida's primary, the former Massachusetts governor won Nevada's caucuses by a landslide.
MITT ROMNEY (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: You know, this is not the first time you gave me your vote of confidence. And this time I'm going to take it to the White House.
STEINHAUSER: The victory wasn't a surprise. Nevada is Romney country thanks to the state's large Mormon population, his big win in the caucuses here four years ago and his strong organization in the state. Romney used most of his victory speech to talk about President Barack Obama rather than his Republican rivals.
ROMNEY: I've walked in Nevada neighborhoods, blighted by abandoned homes, where people wonder why Barack Obama failed them. Well, Mr. President, Nevada has had enough of your kind of help.
STEINHAUSER: Despite another disappointing finish, former House Speaker Newt Gingrich vowed to carry on.
NEWT ROMNEY (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: There's one story that came out today somewhere that I just want to put to rest hopefully for the next few months. I am a candidate for president of the United States. I will be a candidate for president of the United States.
STEINHAUSER: For Ron Paul, a stronger finish than four years ago. The congressman from Texas spent caucus night in one of the next states to vote.
RON PAUL (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Sounds like the revolution has already come to Minnesota.
STEINHAUSER: Rick Santorum spent the night in Colorado, which also votes Tuesday. And the former senator from Pennsylvania didn't let a fourth place finish get him down.
RICK SANTORUM (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: As I said before, this race will come towards us. We're the candidate that provides the real best perspective of beating Barack Obama.
(END VIDEOTAPE) STEINHAUSER: And as the race for the Republican presidential nomination moves east, the field of four remains intact.
Susan.
HENDRICKS: All right, Paul, thank you so much for that wrap-up.
Meanwhile, we go to Europe, where they are in the grip of a deadly deep freeze. More than 120 people have frozen to death in the Ukraine. Another 29 people died in Poland. We have also been seeing unusually heavy snows across the region. This picture is from Rome. And, get this, they haven't had snow there since 1985.
Military helicopters are being used to evacuate people from a hospital in Australia. It is being threatened by what could be record breaking flooding. Thousands of people in Queensland and eastern Australia are being warned they should evacuate, get out fast if they can. Food is also being flown in to some areas cut off by the flooding. Heavy rains have caused rivers in the area to overflow their banks.
Back here in the U.S., a cold, snowy day in parts of the country. Wet and soggy in other areas on this Super Bowl Sunday. Meteorologist Reynolds Wolf is at our weather center.
So, the Giants and the Patriots, they're playing in a dome, but we're talking about the tailgaters, if they even notice the weather there. How's it looking in Indianapolis?
REYNOLDS WOLF, AMS METEOROLOGIST: Well, I mean, it's going to be kind of interesting. I mean it's good that you bring up the tailgaters because that's a whole different game within itself.
HENDRICKS: It is.
WOLF: I mean sure you have the game on the field, but then you have all the people milling about outside the stadium. It's going to be interesting up there. It's going to be a little bit chilly. But in terms of precipitation, not expecting much else. So generally a pretty nice day across much of the Midwest. Of course, including Indianapolis.
That's not to say, though, there isn't some rough weather out there. In parts of south Texas, the heavy rain continues to fall. Also we're also seeing some scattered showers and storms across parts of the Great Lakes. And also some issues with fog.
We're going to give you the whole weather burrito coming up in just a few moments, Susan. Let's pitch it right back over to you.
HENDRICKS: Looking forward to that burrito. Reynolds, thanks.
WOLF: Yum, yum.
HENDRICKS: Yum, yum. If you or someone you know collects unemployment benefits, you may be surprised about what you don't know when filing your tax returns. We're going to tell you just ahead.
And speaking of the Super Bowl. Putting some flash into it. One group is strutting their stuff for the football fans. We will show you their moves. Stay with us.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HENDRICKS: That is the song "You Were Born To Win." But the question is, will it be the Giants or the Patriots?
Good morning to you. It is nine minutes past the hour. Live picture from where the Super Bowl XLVI will be held tonight. Indianapolis, music by Brian Courtney (ph) again, keep pressing on, "You Were Born To Win" is the theme of the song. Who are you rooting for?
Meteorologist Reynolds Wolf is at our weather center.
What's coming up there? It looks pretty nice in Indy.
WOLF: It does look pretty nice. You know what I'm going to do, I'm going to pick up right where you left off and get right to the forecast, give you more of the specifics of what our -- well, our friends outside the stadium can expect today. And there are people who actually go to the Super Bowl, they don't have a ticket, but they just go because they like the -- I guess the spirit. The ambiance, exactly.
Well, the ambiance is going to be great. It's see, Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis, obviously inside, it's going to be between 68 to 72 degrees. Nice and beautiful. But outside, with kickoff around 6:29, we expect the conditions to still be fairly dry for the most part. But around kickoff, 40 degrees, wind out of the north and 5 to 10 miles per hour. So, hey, the more you know, you're wiser for it.
Now, let me show you what else you're going to be wise about and need to be wise about is your travel may be a little bit compromised in places like Houston, Minneapolis, and Miami, mainly due to a mix of showers and fog. In Orlando, near the mouse house along I-4, it's going to be a day where you're going to see plenty of rainfall. But I'm telling you, the heaviest rainfall as you go south towards Miami, it's going to get steadily, I'd say a little more intense.
As intense as what you'll see in Houston or places like South Padre Island or even Corpus Christi, pretty much we're going to see the rain there through a good part of the day. It's the trailing end of a cold front that actually circles back all the way along the eastern seaboard where we're seeing rain this morning in Raleigh, back along parts of 64. And then when you get north of Washington, we see some light snow. Heavy accumulation not in the cards, but we're still going to get a light dusting of that wintry precip as we make our way through the rest of Sunday.
In terms of the action for the Central Plains, in terms of rough weather, we're not going to see it because this area of high pressure is going to keep all precipitation limited, for the most part, keeping it to the east or the south. But as we take a look in terms of visibility, it will be bad in a few spots, especially not far at all from, say, Chicago, near the campus of Notre Dame. In South Bend you can expect the fog to be pretty strong. Also, pretty intense fog in places like the Florida right along the Florida panhandle and Alabama, right along the I-10 corridor. And even back in the northern plains, low visibility and fog will give you an issue. Again, we're not talking about rain at all. We're talking about just very, very foggy conditions on those spots.
Now, in terms of your high temperatures, take a look. Kansas City, 47 degrees, 40 in Minneapolis, and back over to Denver 33 degrees, 50s from Seattle to Portland, 65 in San Francisco. Back out towards the east we go with 52 in Memphis, 49 in Washington D.C., 47 in New York, 69 in Atlanta, 67 in New Orleans and 80 in Miami.
There you go. You're up to speed with the forecast. Susan, it's now your turn. I'm going to hand it off to you.
HENDRICKS: Who you picking, giants or the Patriots?
WOLF: I'm going to go with the Bears. I'm going to go with the Bears.
HENDRICKS: You're going with the Bears.
WOLF: Absolutely.
HENDRICKS: So am I. How coincidental.
WOLF: You know, I think this is really going to be the year for the Bears. I think they're going to do fine.
No, you know, I honestly don't have a favorite. There are a lot of people I like on both teams. A lot of great players. I like, obviously, Manning, but I also like -- I don't know, I like everybody.
HENDRICKS: I like everyone as well.
WOLF: There you go.
HENDRICKS: But Herzlich and he's coming back from cancer with the Giants. I like that as well.
Have you ever been involved in a flash mob?
WOLF: No, no, no.
HENDRICKS: That's a good thing. I was hoping you'd say no.
WOLF: Yes.
HENDRICKS: Well, as you know, the Patriots and Giants are facing off. We're going to show you a flash mob. Some fans gather there. They just couldn't wait to get into the action. Look at this. It is a Super Bowl flash mob. A bunch of Indy locals dreamed up this dance to show off for out of towners. Looks like a lot of work. A lot of practice.
WOLF: It looks like something. I mean, it's just kind of like one of those things that just kind of started. Now it's this craze. Now everyone does it. It's just kind of like, you know, the flash -- the flash of the flash mob is starting to dim, don't you think?
HENDRICKS: I do. According to us, because we just don't want to practice that.
WOLF: I mean nothing against it. It looked great. I'm not dissing the people who did it. But, you know, it's --
HENDRICKS: Well, if you don't already know it, the Super Bowl, it's not just a game, it's about the food. When you think about it, you think of all the parties you can go to.
WOLF: Oh, yes. Yes, I smell that -- I can smell the food right now. Yes. Yes.
HENDRICKS: If you're like the rest of America, there are things that are number one on the list. Chips and dip. There it is. Salsa the most popular of the dips. If you don't know that, you do now. Number two, a new Harris interactive poll. There's a poll about this. Chicken wings is number two.
WOLF: Yes.
HENDRICKS: The National Chicken Council expects fans to eat more than a billion wings today. And number three, pizza. Something about the chicken wings, though, that you like. You've got to dip them and the celery. Love it all.
WOLF: We've seen a great winner here. What you need to do is you need to get a pizza crust. And then with the pizza crust you put some sauce on top. And then you put the chicken wings and the chips and the salsa on top of it.
HENDRICKS: Let me write this down.
WOLF: And you combine the top three together. I mean, to me, it's pure bliss.
HENDRICKS: And then you have face paint and say, go Bears, right?
WOLF: And then you basically do your flash mob dance.
HENDRICKS: And no one invites you to their party.
WOLF: What's not to love.
HENDRICKS: All right, Reynolds.
WOLF: It's good times. Go, Bears.
HENDRICKS: Well, if you are collecting unemployment benefits, there are still things you can write off. Want to tell you about this. But you still have to pay your taxes. Helpful hints ahead.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HENDRICKS: Live pictures of Atlanta. Unseasonably warm for this time of year on February 5th. A little foggy, but it should clear up later today.
All right, "I Need A Dollar." That's the song you're hearing. Tax deadline day will be here before you know it, sorry to say. If you haven't explored your options, financial analyst Clyde Anderson is here to help you out. He has some useful tax tips for those collecting unemployment benefits.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
CLYDE ANDERSON, AUTHOR, "WHAT HAD HAPPENED WAS": Because there's so many things that you can write off that a lot of people aren't aware of as far as the things that you do for a job search. The coaching. Maybe a job search site that you have to pay for. The phone uses. The mileage. The printing of the resumes. All those things you can deduct.
HENDRICKS: So if you're unemployed and you're looking for a job --
ANDERSON: Yes.
HENDRICKS: Those steps that you're taking to look for a job --
ANDERSON: There you go.
HENDRICKS: Could be written off.
ANDERSON: There you go.
HENDRICKS: So if you get some coaching, your cell phone you were mentioning.
ANDERSON: Exactly. You can write those things off because you're using them. As long as you're using them to get that job, you can write them off. And also, if you do get a job and they make you relocate, the moving expenses can be deducted as well.
HENDRICKS: Oh, that's a good point.
ANDERSON: Or if you move 50 miles away from your job or the new job, they can deduct the mileage as well.
HENDRICKS: And if you think about the stress, we know the numbers of unemployment. They are up there. It's the number one issue during the presidential caucuses, debates. What will you do for us financially? So many people out of a job. And if you think about the stress, can you actually file for an extension if you're unemployed?
ANDERSON: Yes, you still can find for an extension, just like you do your normal taxes. A lot of people think it's some sort of government benefits, but it's actually a wage replacement. So there are wages that you're earning. So it's a wage replacement. That's why you're paying taxes on them. So you can do the same things that you would do with regular income.
HENDRICKS: It's very easy, Clyde, to get down when you think about it. People out there, we've seen it happen before. They're out of a job. They get discouraged.
ANDERSON: Yes.
HENDRICKS: What advice do you have for them in terms of just continue to keep looking.
ANDERSON: Yes, I mean you've got to keep going. You've got to keep pushing. Right now it's what I call the new normal. It's different, it's interesting out here, but you've got to keep pushing. And you also have to try other things. And maybe this is not the field and you may explore a new field. There's also credits out there that you can apply for, life-long learning credits and things that you can deductions on as well if you learn a new skill or get continued education. So learn more and just keep pushing. I know it's hard, but you've got to keep pushing.
HENDRICKS: That's a good point. So if it's your field that you're used to, your field of expertise, you may want to branch out.
ANDERSON: Exactly.
HENDRICKS: You can also write that off.
ANDERSON: You can write that off as well. So those are wonderful things. And a lot of people are exploring entrepreneurship right now. So they're the unexpected entrepreneurs. The people that kind of fell into the entrepreneurship. So use your gifts and talents and tap into something that you know you can do while you're looking for that job as well. Just don't stop.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HENDRICKS: Some great advice, Clyde, thank you.
You know, it's a new year. We're looking for new heroes. That means CNN Heroes. Meet the woman, though, that you chose as the 2011 CNN Hero of the Year, just ahead.
And defying the odds. A 26-year-old man takes his very first steps. It is amazing. You don't want to miss it. You'll meet him next.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HENDRICKS: Welcome back. It is 6:22 here in Atlanta. It is time to check the stories cross country.
Utah's governor was recently put on lockdown after his life was threatened. Police arrested Brian Biff Baker after learning the 52- year-old allegedly plotted to assassinate Governor Gary Herbert. According to a probable cause statement, Baker said he had firearms and other fireworks in his car and had hidden behind bushes to kill the governor. And police say Baker threatened to use explosives to blow up the governor's mansion. The governor's office was aware of the plot, but had no further comment.
Check out this rescue from Gold Beach, Oregon. Local police called the U.S. Coast Guard after it was unable to find three hikers who had been missing for six days. The hikers were found and airlifted to safety and taken to the hospital. All three were suffering from hypothermia.
An amazing story from Nazareth, Pennsylvania.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
ANDY WEAVER: I wanted to get out of my wheelchair and walk like a person.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HENDRICKS: Twenty-six-year-old Andy Weaver is about to take his first steps ever.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
CROWD: Andy, Andy, Andy!
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HENDRICKS: Doctors told Weaver, who has cerebral palsy, that he'd never be able to do this, walking half the length of the gym. But only after six months of hard core therapy, he was able to stand on his own.
Pretty amazing, isn't it?
Well, this week we start to meet the first CNN Heroes of 2012. But before we start rolling them out, we want to catch you up with the woman who you voted for as 2011 hero of the year. Her name is Robin Lim. She's doing amazing things. Here she is with Anderson Cooper.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
ANDERSON COOPER, CNN: Congratulations. How do you feel?
ROBIN LIM, 2011 CNN HERO OF THE YEAR: Full of gratitude.
COOPER: Did you think you might have a chance at winning?
LIM: Of course not. We've helped so many people since 2005. Almost 113,000 people got free medical care and medicine.
COOPER: What does that feel like to start with one person and then slowly start to build the organization?
LIM: I found that if you have a good idea and you do it with love, a lot of people want to help you.
COOPER: It was a very personal loss that got you involved in this.
LIM: My sister died. She was pregnant. This was 21 years ago.
COOPER: What was your sister's name?
LIM: Her name is Christine. I feel like she really helps me.
COOPER: You carry her with you still?
LIM: Yes. And I think I carry her baby too.
COOPER: What kind of an impact do you think this will have?
LIM: The clinic we have in Achi (ph), in the tsunami zone, that one is really safe. But the clinic in Bali is -- it's falling apart and it's too small for our patient care.
COOPER: You're hoping to maybe rebuild the clinic?
LIM: We've been saving money for years. And we did get a piece of land right in our village. So we're ready to build. And now we have the money to begin.
COOPER: You have $250,000 plus $50,000. So $300,000.
LIM: Yes. Yes. That goes a long way in Indonesia.
COOPER: What keeps you going? I mean in those dark days when, you know, when you don't have money and when you don't have support?
LIM: Some days I don't have money, but I always have support. Just when you think, how are we going to play an electric bill, there's always an e-mail that says, we're sending money. It's just a miracle every day. Just like birth.
COOPER: Congratulations. I'm so happy for you and for the work you're going to do and the lives you're going to save. Thank you. Thank you.
LIM: Thank you.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HENDRICKS: Someone who inspires others like Robin Lim, tell us their story. We would love to hear from you. Help us find the next hero of the year. Just go to cnnheroes.com to find out more.
Yes, today is Super Bowl Sunday. Maybe you're thinking about what parties you're going to, the halftime show with Madonna. But if you think the NFL is all fun and games, think again. After the break, why hundreds of former players are suing the league. Don't go anywhere.
Also, last night, Mitt Romney dominated the field in Nevada, but was it a big enough win to silence his rivals? We'll check it out.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HENDRICKS: Good Sunday morning to you. Great to see you, as always. I'm Susan Hendricks. It is 29 minutes past the hour. We are checking top stories now.
Hundreds of former players are suing the NFL for alleged negligence. They claim the league didn't do enough to mitigate the risks of head injuries or even misrepresented evidence on its effects. The league is denying those claims, releasing a statement saying this, quote, "the NFL has never misled players with respect to the risks associated with playing football. Any suggestion to the contrary has no merit."
To the crisis in Syria now, the U.S. is strongly condemning Russia and China for blocking a U.N. Security Council effort to put more pressure on Syria to stop the violence there. The violence as being described by a witness there is horrific. It includes women and children. CNN spoke exclusively with U.N. Ambassador Susan Rice. Take a look.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SUSAN RICE, U.S. AMBASSADOR TO THE U.N.: Disgusted, Richard. But that's not the point. The point is that the people of Syria have yet again been abandoned by this council and by the international community.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HENDRICKS: The veto by Russia and China is seen as a major diplomatic setback for countries like the U.S., which was hoping to send a unified message to the Syrian government to stop those deadly crackdowns on its citizens there.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
MITT ROMNEY, (R) PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: You know, this is not the first time you gave me your vote of confidence, and this time I got to take it to the White House.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HENDRICKS: Yes, Mitt Romney is celebrating this morning after winning the Nevada caucuses. In the process he became the first GOP candidate to score back to back victories in the campaign.
Newt Gingrich, Ron Paul, and Rick Santorum all vow to remain in the race. They say they're not going anywhere.
So Mitt Romney is on a winning streak, but was his win in Nevada big enough? Joining me now, Patricia Murphy, Founder and Editor of Citizen Jane Politics and Contributor for "The Daily Beast."
Patricia, Romney won, and we kind of expected this, right? We did. No surprises here. What does that tell us, though, that he still didn't top the 50 percent mark? PATRICIA MURPHY, FOUNDER AND EDITOR, CITIZEN JANE POLITICS: Well, it tells us that, yes, it's true, majority of Republicans aren't that excited about Mitt Romney.
What I do think was very good news for Mitt Romney last night that we didn't quite expect was that he won among people who called themselves very conservative, and he won among Tea Party supporters, and people who are strongly supportive of the Tea Party. I think that is the area that he needed to start showing real improvement, and he did show real improvement. He won across every single group.
So it wasn't maybe as big a victory as he would have liked. He loves to run up the score, but in terms of the people that he needed to get on his side, he showed improvement in the areas that his supporters wanted him to run up some scores.
HENDRICKS: Because Newt Gingrich has even called him, I believe, a liberal in the past and saying the only way to beat Obama is with a conservative.
MURPHY: Yes.
HENDRICKS: So with a conservative vote, it looks like Mitt Romney has a good play against Newt Gingrich, but he says he is not going anywhere.
MURPHY: That's exactly right. Newt Gingrich had a press conference last night instead of a victory speech. Or even being surrounded by supporters, he was surrounded by reporters, which is not where any candidate wants to spend election night.
Newt Gingrich, you can just feel it inside of him. He's not going anywhere. If he can continue to raise just enough money to keep going, he's not going anywhere. He believes in his heart that Mitt Romney is not conservative enough. He believes that he is conservative enough.
But if he continues to lose one and another and another and another, it's going to be very hard for him to say, yes, I can beat Mitt Romney because at this point he can't beat Mitt Romney.
HENDRICKS: I think Americans, though, overall, whether they're Democrats, Republicans, they want a positive leader, and I got the sense from Newt Gingrich listening to that speech that he was very negative. He said I'm not out of the race. It is Romney's fantasy that I will be out of the race. He said that - that Nevada, the only reason why he won was because of the Mormon vote there.
MURPHY: Yes.
HENDRICKS: So he's kind of negative, and I think that Americans really want to rally around someone who's going to lead them in a good direction.
MURPHY: Yes. And the people in the electorate who most want a positive leader are women, women voters. Gingrich has a massive deficit among women voters. I think this is his biggest problem right now, 36 point loss last night to Mitt Romney. You're not going to win this race without more support from women.
And I've talked to some of the Gingrich's staff, and they said we know that women aren't responding to this message. They had wanted him to be more positive already. Is he going to be able to be more positive? That's what they want him to do. Obviously, Newt Gingrich is going to do what he wants to do. He's got to be, though, more positive and present a message that women are going to respond to much, much better than he has so far.
HENDRICKS: So we've seen Ron Paul time and time again. He continues to, you know, come in third or fourth, but it doesn't stop him in terms of his message. He really stays on point, and I believe he stays positive, so I don't count Ron Paul out at this point. Do you?
MURPHY: I do not count Ron Paul out. I don't think Ron Paul is going to win this nomination. He has not really cracked the 25 point mark yet. You're not going to win the nomination if you're losing 75 percent of your Republican-based voters.
But Ron Paul does have this core group of people who are so - so brutally loyal to him. They're not going to go anywhere. So Ron Paul is able to say to anybody who is the nominee, you need to bring me along. You need to bring my supporters along or else you're not going to win in November.
If Ron Paul mounted a third party bid against the Republican and President Obama, that could very easily upset the Republican in the race.
HENDRICKS: That could be really bad.
MURPHY: Yes.
HENDRICKS: Some great points. Patricia Murphy, thank you.
MURPHY: Thank you so much.
HENDRICKS: Great seeing you.
MURPHY: Great to see you.
HENDRICKS: Thanks.
Well, coming up, we want to talk about weather now. It is snow out west, rain in the east. Your Sunday, Super Bowl Sunday, travel forecast is next. Stay with us.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HENDRICKS: Great shot at the Statue of Liberty. Thirty-seven minutes past the hour. You're looking at a live picture from New York. And Giants fans, we know you're excited. You're probably up bright and early on this Super Bowl Sunday getting ready for the big game. I know you are thinking about Mark Erlich, one of the players there who overcame cancer.
You're listening to music by Brian Courtney Wilson singing "So Proud." We're so proud of you.
So how is it looking in New York? And maybe if you're traveling, Reynolds, for Super Bowl Sunday, how is it looking there in Indy? They're over - under a dome when watching the game, though, right? If you're attending the Super Bowl.
REYNOLDS WOLF, AMS METEOROLOGIST: Exactly. And you're not going to have any problems obviously there.
Outside the stadium, if you're planning on doing some tailgating, the kind of thing in the Super Bowl, it's going to be kind of chilly. Highs are going to fall in the 40 degrees or so. It's not going to be super warm. And trying to fly out of New York will not be an issue.
These places, you might have some back-ups. We're mainly referring to Houston, Minneapolis, Miami, and Orlando. And the reason is very simple. It's either showers or fog or a combination of the two.
What we're seeing heavy rainfall this morning, mainly two spots. One spot will be along parts of the Outer Banks, North Carolina. In Washington D.C. not really rain, but rather some light snow that's moving through. No, you're not going to see several feet of snow, only that damper (ph), possibly several inches of a light dusting in some places. Also near Pittsburgh and back in the West Virginia you might expect that.
South Texas, it's all rain. No snow there to speak of, and some of the rain fairly heavy. Thankfully the heaviest moving off shore away from Houston. Corpus Christi, you still have another hour or so with the heavy rain. As far south as South Padre Island, you've been seeing those scattered showers and those storms.
Now what we're going to be - what we can anticipate for the rest of the day is really not a lot of action at all for the Central Plains, and here is the reason why. Big area of high pressure. We've heard this is a dome because, well, in an atmospheric sense, it's kind of like a dome. Well, it's almost like a giant lid that you put on top of a pot or something. It's going to limit any of your deep, deep convection.
You're not going to see much in terms of precipitation at all anywhere in the Central Plains, Southern Plains. Obviously, near the frontal boundary. The situation is going to be altogether different.
What about temperatures? What can you expect today? Well, as we take the next 30 seconds or so, you can expect a high of 50 degrees for our friends in Billings, Montana; 55 in Seattle; 54 in Portland; 65 in San Francisco; some mid to low-70s around Los Angeles and south for the points like, say, San Diego; in Denver, 33 degrees; 47 in Kansas City; El Paso with 54 degrees; 40 in Minneapolis; 49 in Washington D.C.; 52 in Memphis; 67 in New Orleans; 80 degrees in Miami; and Boston, home of the Red Sox, you can expect your temperatures - get out of there. There we go. Temperatures mainly in the 30s.
Let's send it back to you, Susan.
HENDRICKS: All right. We're going from traveling to fishing. And if you love it, you know how exciting it can be to reel the big one in, and Reynolds, you did just that. Kind of big, right?
WOLF: Absolutely. Yes, definitely. Did some - a little bit of fly fishing in parts of Colorado. Well, it seems like it would be sort of unusual this time of year. It seems like a spring sport, a summer sport, thing you do in the fall.
But, hey, proof positive, you can have a lot of fun fly fishing in the winter. Take a look.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
WOLF: When most people think about winter sports in Colorado, they think about skiing, snowboarding, even snow mobiling. We're going to add something else to that list today. Fly fishing right here on the Blue River.
(voice-over): Scott Gongaware knows this area well, and he's sharing some of his favorite fishing holes with me.
(on camera): Yes. It's kind of deep out here, right?
SCOTT GONGAWARE, MOUNTAIN ANGLER: Yes. That last little snowstorm sure did help.
WOLF (voice-over): It appears that way. On his first cast, he snags a rainbow trout and allows me to bring it in.
GONGAWARE: Yes. Slowly bring it in. It feels like it wants to go, don't let her.
WOLF (on camera): OK. Come on, buddy. Unbelievable.
GONGAWARE: Nice fish.
WOLF: Beautiful. Absolutely beautiful.
GONGAWARE: You know, Rainbow.
WOLF (voice-over): The Blue is a catch and release river.
GONGAWARE: She's ready. She's ready.
WOLF (on camera): Bye, sweetie.
(voice-over): Though it looks easy, it isn't. Trout can be extremely picky, deciding which of these tiny flies to use can make all of the difference.
(on camera): Well, for one thing, trout, what is the most important aspect? Is it the color or is it the profile?
GONGAWARE: They both matter. I would say that the most important thing is probably profile, color second.
There you go. You had him.
WOLF: Shoot.
(voice-over): Even with the right fly, success is never guaranteed, especially in winter conditions. When temperatures in the 20s and ice flowing down river, the water feels surprisingly warm compared to the air, and the trout still difficult to catch. And suddenly I got lucky.
(on camera): Magnificent. Beautiful. Hey, buddy. Unreal. Come on. Let's get you breathing again. There you go.
GONGAWARE: See you later.
WOLF: Thanks, chief.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
WOLF: OK. Just to keep in mind, again, it's a catch and release river. That's the way that I like to fish also.
HENDRICKS: I like that.
WOLF: The hooks are also non-barbed, so they're non-barbed so it's easy to take it out of the fish and you release the fish. The idea is to let them swim and find another day.
Actually, when fishing, not just here in the Blue River, but earlier this week was in steam Steamboat Springs and when fishing going in the Yampa River with a dear friend and producer Alicia Egan. Take a look at these pictures that we have for you.
We've got one shot of a fish that I caught. I think we have the still shot. Do we have the still shot of the one I caught? There it is right there. Yes. It's a sardine.
HENDRICKS: You thought it was good (INAUDIBLE).
WOLF: I was very impressed. And then Alicia, who has never gone fly fishing in her life, that was the very first time she went fishing. This is actually - it looks bigger in person than what you see right there, but it's a trophy, trophy fish. It's an amazing, amazing rainbow, and she put it back.
HENDRICKS: Reynolds is not too proud to show that.
WOLF: Yes. No, really, yes.
HENDRICKS: We like you even more, Reynolds.
WOLF: It's like striking hands, a slow pitch in softball or a bad haircut. It's a humbling event. It truly is.
HENDRICKS: Thanks for sharing it, Reynolds.
WOLF: You bet.
HENDRICKS: An Iraq War vet offers his thoughts on President Obama's plan to help fellow service members find jobs when they return from the battlefield. Stay with us.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HENDRICKS: Welcome back on this SUNDAY MORNING.
With the encouraging news on the overall jobs market, President Obama is unveiling a plan he hopes will help one specific group of unemployed Americans. Veterans, we're talking about.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
BARACK OBAMA, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Our veterans are some of the most highly trained, highly educated, highly skilled workers that we've got. These are Americans that every business should be competing to attract. So we're going to do everything we can to make sure that when our troops come home, they come home to new jobs and new opportunities, and new ways to serve their country.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HENDRICKS: Now, the Veterans Job Core Initiative will help. An estimated cost of at least $5 billion of cost that will help a lot of people. It will offer community grants for hiring former service members. It targets also the first responders and law enforcement fields and proposes $1 billion for the creation of tourism-related jobs.
Now, preferences will also be given to the communities that are post-9/11 veterans, which when you think about it, who can be opposed that?
Joining me now from Washington is Tom Tarantino, an Iraq - he is an Iraq War veteran. He's in Washington D.C. He's also a Senior Legislative Associate for Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans of America, a nonprofit, nonpartisan organization whose mission is to improve the lives of Iraq and Afghanistan veterans and their families.
Tom, I want to ask you, what do you think of this from President Obama? Is the timing suspect at all to you? Or are you for it altogether?
TOM TARANTINO, IRAQ WAR VETERAN: I mean, this isn't suspect at all. This is actually part of something that the administration has been doing for the last several years, which is working out ways to help veterans transition from being in the military to getting a civilian job.
You know, the interesting thing about this particular program is that it's actually helping keep the investment that we've made in these men and women. We spend billions and billions of dollars and countless man hours training our military to be the most highly educated, highly proficient military we've ever had.
But for some reason we're OK with losing that investment when they go into the work force, and so they've been working on various programs to help veterans translate their jobs skills into something in the civilian world, and this is right in line. You know, veterans work great as first responders. Veterans were our first national park rangers.
And so being able to transition those skills into the Department of Interior is great and veterans are also nine percent of the business owners in this country. So helping veterans start small businesses is just a natural fit, and it's a continued investment in these men and women.
HENDRICKS: Tom, that is what President Obama said. He said these men and women risk their lives for our country. We should help them out as well. If you're a veteran in your home watching, what should you do to take advantage of this program? Of what President Obama is proposing?
TARANTINO: Well, there's a lot of things that you can do where you can go to the Department of Labor's website. It's the DOL Vets website, and there you can find particularly job training, job training information. You can find information on a veterans job bank where you can find jobs.
You can go to IAVA.org Combat Career website. And we can, you know, help you find resources and job - you know, job skills there. Veterans basically what we need to do is you need to go - go to school or go get training if we need to. We can use our post-9/11 G.I. Bill and go ahead and retrain for the work force, but, you know, keep at it. It's getting better.
Businesses want to hire you. But what we need to do is try to bridge that gap. This is the first generation of business leaders that is largely not served in the military. So while they want to hire vets, we need to make an effort to educate them on what skills men and women who are in the military can bring into their work force.
HENDRICKS: All right, another key component is owning our own business, becoming an entrepreneur. President Obama is backing you, that's what you would like do as well.
Tom Tarantino, thank you. Appreciate it.
TARANTINO: Thank you very much.
HENDRICKS: So you think you're throwing a big Super Bowl party. Wait until we show you how big and bright and colorful the celebration is gearing up for this year's Carnivale. We'll tell you where it is as well. That's Rio.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HENDRICKS: Time for this "Morning's Passport" with Nadia Bilchik.
So as America gets ready for Super Bowl parties, Nadia, you have to hear the story of how Brazil and Trinidad are getting ready for an entirely different kind of celebration. And Nadia has got the shoes for the celebration. They are so tall. We've been admiring them. Great shoes.
NADIA BILCHIK, CNN EDITORIAL PRODUCER: All colorful, aren't they?
But, you know, Madonna told Anderson Cooper the Super Bowl was the greatest show on earth. Well, that is exactly what Brazil calls its Mardi Gras of Carnivale.
HENDRICKS: Carnivale.
BILCHIK: And the word "carnivale" - you say that so beautifully - is without meat because it takes place in the period before Ash Wednesday and Lent where you're not supposed to have meat. So it's in preparation for that period of abstinence.
But it's quite beautiful. Look at the costumes and the detail and the opulence, and what happens is they're actually organized into samba schools so people get together and whether it's their neighbors or an actual dance school and they work in groups, and look at those feathers. That green and just absolutely quite exquisite, and I love the themes. The themes are sometimes movie themes or mythical figures.
How is this one? The enchanted island of witches and dreams come to those who dream.
HENDRICKS: And we're looking at the streets there. When I think of Carnivale, I think of Rio, which we're showing here. How many tourists show up here?
BILCHIK: Well, it's literally millions of people, and the one in Trinidad, which is the second biggest Carnivale in the world, about a million will show up in 2012 this month for Carnivale.
And interesting, you are see Rio still, look at that particular one. Just the magnificent jewels. They can cost anywhere between $150 and $1,000 or more per costume.
HENDRICKS: It is amazing, the intricate details that go into this. And this is part of a competition. People actually compete here.
BILCHIK: Yes. And you're looking now at the one in Trinidad, and the Trinidad has a strong African influence from the slaves that were in Trinidad and Tobago. When they were emancipated in 1833, they, in fact, became an even greater part of the Carnivale, but just the color, the opulence.
I wanted to show you some of the upcoming costumes for this year in Trinidad because they are so exquisite. This particular one is one that's going to be featured this year, and, again, anywhere between $150 to $1,000. They say the average person spends about $600, $700 on their costume for Carnivale, the Greatest Show on Earth.
HENDRICKS: It puts the Macy's Day Parade to shame a little bit I would think after seeing those costumes.
BILCHIK: And you said you once went to one when you were a little girl?
HENDRICKS: I did. I was in Brazil when I was 14 and saw the costumes and saw the great event. It's a sight to see. Certainly, you see why millions of people gather there.
BILCHIK: They even samba (INAUDIBLE) in Rio.
HENDRICKS: Wow.
BILCHIK: So a lot of opportunity to celebrate, which, let's face it, we can't have enough of it.
HENDRICKS: You're right. Nadia Bilchik, thank you.
We're talking pets again today. A lot of you responding to this. Is your pet overweight? Josh Lev talks about the growing epidemic of pet obesity and how to get your dog or cat's weight under control and why it matters.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HENDRICKS: It is an epidemic in the U.S. Obesity, but we're talking about pets here. A brand new study shows just how bad it's gotten and what can be done about it.
Josh Levs is here with more. Josh, we talked about it yesterday.
JOSH LEVS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Right.
HENDRICKS: We got a huge response.
LEVS: Everyone is talking about it. You know what? More people will talk about it today because of the Super Bowl ad. Take a look at this. Take a look at that. This is what we're going to be seeing on Super Bowl today.
This ad from Volkswagen. Doggy can't get out the door to go get in the car. So doggy starts a little exercise regiment. It's great.
So the people will be talking about this, but we have a new study that shows that obesity among pets in America is a major growing problem. We want you to know what to do. Take a look.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE) LEVS (on camera): This is Dodger, a mixed breed rescue dog, and this is his owner, Kim Stevens, and talk to me about him. What's his weight right now?
KIM STEVENS, PET OWNER: His weight is about 82 pounds right now, and he should be 62 pounds.
LEVS: So that's - that's a lot of extra weight.
STEVENS: That's a lot of - yes, that's obese.
LEVS: How does this happen? How does a dog become so fat?
STEVENS: Too much food, not enough exercise.
LEVS: What do you think? Do you think you should eat less? Do you think you should get more exercise? What do you think?
So we're now going to talk to a vet who is an expert at this and get some advice for Kim.
OK. So this is Ernie Ward. He's a veterinarian and the head for Association for Pet Obesity Prevention, and he is going to talk to us about what's going on with Dodger here.
ERNIE WARD, VETERINARIAN AND HEAD FOR ASSOCIATION FOR PET OBESITY PREVENTION: This is one of those cases where they're deceptively obese or overweight. And, you know, he is a big dog to start with, but the fact is he's carrying a lot of extra fat here in his abdomen. And this is what it gets us all in trouble.
It's the belly fat that's the most dangerous because that's the type of fat that secretes all those harmful chemicals. The foods that we're eating today are so different than what we ate 40, 50 years ago, certainly what we fed our pets. They've got more calories in a smaller amount, and the other part of the equation is, you know, we think exercise. Gosh, let's go walk Dodger for 30 minutes. That will burn off all that extra energy.
Well, the problem is output does not beat input when it comes to losing weight. You are not going to get in this type of shape, Josh, if you just go exercise every day. It also has to be what you eat.
LEVS: OK. What about treats during the day or like the dog learns a trick, you want to give it a little treat? What's the right way to reward a pet if you want to give a treat (ph)?
WARD: Yes, you know what I call treats?
LEVS: What?
WARD: These are calorie grenades. They just blow up in excess weight. So we've got to be careful. Think about single ingredient treats. Crunchy vegetables like baby carrots, broccoli, celery, asparagus. We've got to calculate out the number of calories and then we're going to gradually reduce those calories so that Dodger - diet is not starvation or deprivation. It's about a gradual, safe weight loss.
I want you to commit, both of you to commit, to a 30-minute brisk walk per day. If you can do that, you'll see Dodger lose weight. You'll be fitter, for sure.
LEVS: In the end, what do you think will be your motivation? What will motivate you to help him turn around?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Well, I need to turn myself around too, so we'll work together as a team. You know, just because he is a really awesome dog, and I don't want to lose him. I love you.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
LEVS: And we have a lot more info for all of you pet owners on CNN.com. Just take a look. Everything you need to know help get those pets in shape.
SUSAN HENDRICKS, CNN ANCHOR: Loving dodger. Looks good to me.
LEVS: Yes. Cute, great little boy.
HENDRICKS: All right. Josh, thanks.
LEVS: Thank you.
(MUSIC)
HENDRICKS: From the CNN Center, this is CNN SUNDAY MORNING. It is February 5th, 7:00 a.m. on the East Coast. Great to see you. I'm Susan Hendricks.
Big back to back wins for Mitt Romney. Did you watch it last night? Well, the Republican presidential candidate is now celebrating after taking Nevada, the first big Western contest.
So, just how big of a win is it? Here is CNN political editor Paul Steinhauser, the hardest working person out there.
Paul, did you get much sleep last night?
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
AUDIENCE: Romney, Romney, Romney!
PAUL STEINHAUSER, CNN POLITICAL EDITOR (voice-over): Mitt Romney does what no other Republican presidential candidate has been able to do so far this year. Win two in a row. Less than a week after his big victory in Florida's primary, the former Massachusetts governor won Nevada's caucuses by the landslide.
MITT ROMNEY (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: You know, this is not the first time you gave me your vote of confidence. And this time, I got to take it to the White House.
STEINHAUSER: The victory wasn't a surprise. Nevada is Romney country, thanks to the state's large Mormon population, his big win in the caucuses four years ago and his strong organization in the state.
Romney used most of his victory speech to talk about President Barack Obama rather than his Republican rivals.
ROMNEY: I walked in Nevada neighborhoods blighted by abandoned homes where people wonder why Barack Obama failed them. Well, Mr. President, Nevada has had enough of your kind of help.
STEINHAUSER: Despite another disappointing finish, former House Speaker Newt Gingrich vowed to carry on.
NEWT GINGRICH (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: There's one story that came out today that I just want to put to rest hopefully for the next few months. I am a candidate for president of the United States. I will be a candidate for president of the United States.
STEINHAUSER: For Ron Paul, a stronger finish than four years ago. The congressman from Texas spent caucus night in one of the next states to vote.
REP. RON PAUL (R-TX), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Sounds like the revolution has already come to Minnesota.
STEINHAUSER: Rick Santorum spent the night in Colorado, which also votes Tuesday. And the former senator from Pennsylvania didn't let a fourth place finish get him down.
RICK SANTORUM (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: As I said before, this race will come toward us. We're the candidate that provides the real best perspective of beating Barack Obama.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
STEINHAUSER: So, now, the road for the Republican presidential nomination moves east, and it does with a field of four. We still have four candidates remaining -- Susan.
HENDRICKS: Paul, there you are, one of the hardest working guys in the business. Staying up late for us -- or early, I should say.
What should we look for in the coming weeks in Super Tuesday, Paul?
STEINHAUSER: Well, here's how the calendar lays out. On Tuesday, we've got three states. We've got Missouri, which is holding a nonbinding primary, and then caucuses in Minnesota and Colorado. You saw Ron Paul and Rick Santorum already there. You'll see Romney and Gingrich campaigning those states over the next two or three days.
Then, there's a little bit of a downtime, I guess you could say. Nothing really until the 22nd of the month. And that's our planned CNN presidential debate out in Arizona. And then at the end of the month, Arizona and Michigan hold primary contests. And both of those seem to favor Romney a little bit. Remember, he was born in Michigan. His father was the popular governor there, and he's got a lot of support in Arizona as well. He's got the backing of Senator John McCain out there, and his stance on immigration may be more friendly to Republicans in Arizona.
Newt Gingrich, he is looking ahead, Susan, to Super Tuesday. He's got 10 states voting, including Southern states, like Georgia and Tennessee, where he thinks he can do better -- Susan.
HENDRICKS: And as you said, it seems like Mitt Romney focused really when he won on President Obama and not his opponents. It seemed like Newt Gingrich was really focusing on Mitt Romney.
So, it seems like Romney is kind of pulling ahead and thinking ahead to battling the president for the White House.
STEINHAUSER: Yes. Oh, exactly, a great point. That's what we saw last year for a while when Romney was a frontrunner, but then when Gingrich surged just, you know, after South Carolina, Romney really had to turn his attention to Newt Gingrich. That's where we saw Romney really go on the offense against Gingrich in Florida.
But here in Nevada, it was a different story and very much last night maybe a taste of things to come for Mitt Romney if Newt Gingrich doesn't catch up -- Susan.
HENDRICKS: Yes, I think so. When talking about the economy, you said Obama should not be celebrating just yet. Paul, thank you.
We want to take you to Oakland now. Just a few hours ago, Occupy Oakland protesters ended a march through downtown.
A small faction of the protesters vowed militant action. Many of them were dressed in all black with their faces covered. They said it was time to rise up against authorities and police repression, but it was mostly peaceful manner. Last week more than 400 people were arrested in violent Occupy Oakland demonstrations.
(VIDEO CLIP PLAYS)
HENDRICKS: But things were not as peaceful in the nation's capital. Eight people were arrested when police crash clashed with Occupy D.C. protesters. This happened just blocks from the White House, by the way.
Officers made the arrest after people violated the no camping laws. Police dressed in riot gear. They took away their tents and their bedding. One officer was injured after being hit in the head with a brick.
This morning, the U.S. is strongly condemning Russia and China for blocking a U.N. Security Council effort to put more pressure on Syria to end the violence there. CNN spoke exclusively with U.N. Ambassador Susan Rice. (BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SUSAN RICE, U.S. AMBASSADOR TO THE U.N.: Disgusted, Richard. But that's not the point. The point is that the people of Syria have yet again been abandoned by this council and by the international community.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HENDRICKS: Susan Rice not mincing words, saying she is disgusted.
Analysts say both China and Russia have their reasons to maintain good relations with Syria. For one thing, Russia is one of Syria's biggest arms suppliers and China ranked as Syria's third largest importer in 2010. This is all according to data from the European commission.
Opposition activists say more than 7,300 people have been killed in the 11-month brutal crackdown in Syria -- 7,300.
And strong words towards Russian leaders also coming from inside the country. Thousands of demonstrators gathered in Moscow to rally against Prime Minister Vladimir Putin. They are demanding changes in the wake of disputed elections that took place in December. There was also a pro-Putin rally. These demonstrations are seen as a test for Putin, with just about a month to go until he runs for president.
How about this? Fidel Castro has written his life story, at least part of it. The 85-year-old former Cuban leader unveiled his 1,000 page memoir on Friday. Don't expect to read about the Cuban missile crisis, though, or his decades in power. The two-volume memoirs only cover his life from birth to the eve of the revolution in 1958.
To Europe now where they are in the grip of a deadly deep freeze. More than 120 people have frozen to death in Ukraine. Another 29 people have died in Poland. We have also been seeing unusually heavy snows across that area.
This picture is from Rome. They have not seen snow since 1985.
Military helicopters are being used to evacuate people from a hospital. This is Australia. It is being threatened by what could be record breaking flooding. Thousands of people in Queensland and eastern Australia are being warned they should evacuate if they can. Food is also being flown into this areas cut off by the flooding. Heavy rains have caused rivers in the area to overflow their banks.
One of the highlights of Super Bowl week is the election of new members to the pro-football Hall of Fame. Here they are. Former Patriots and Jets running back Curtis Martin got in. There were four linemen on the list as well. Steelers' Demontti Dawson, Viking Chris Doleman, Cortez Kennedy of the Seahawks, and Willy Roaf of the Chiefs also getting elected, with Jack Butler, Steelers' defensive back from the 1950s. The Super Bowl is more than just a game to a lot of people. It's also time to eat, right? A snack fest. What should be on your buffet list?
REYNOLDS WOLF, AMS METEOROLOGIST: Unbelievable. We're going to tell you what's going to be on your weather buffet list? We're going to be seeing some rain over parts of Texas and along parts of the outer banks, even along the Virginian coast, too. But at the same time, much of the country should be just picture perfect.
What about people in Indianapolis? Not those inside the dome, but the ones outside? We'll give you that forecast coming up in just a few moments.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HENDRICKS: Looks like it will be a stormy weekend across the South.
Reynolds Wolf joins us. He has the details.
But -- plus, what Giants and Patriots, Reynolds, can expect in Indianapolis if they're there for the Super Bowl.
WOLF: Yes, absolutely. Let's get to the good thing first. We're going to talk about some of the stormy weather in parts of the South and along the East Coast in the second.
But, first, let's pick up where you left off, the Super Bowl. For people going to the game inside it's going to be great, but outside the stadium if you are walking around enjoying the tailgating scene, and trust me, Super Bowl it's not.
We're expecting skies mostly clear to partly cloudy, temperatures by kickoff at 40 degrees. It might be a little bit cooler during parts of the day, but -- so, you're going to want to bring a jacket obviously. Wind in the north at five to 10, inside different scenario, anywhere from 68 to 72. It's a controlled environment. It should be beautiful for that.
Now, in terms of the rough weather, we do have a bit of that to talk about, and we're seeing some scattered showers. A few thunderstorms right along Virginia Beach, southward to the outer banks, and places like you can expect the rain to continue for the next hour or so. Farther north you go, up towards Pittsburgh, what we're seeing there is a little bit of cold air at the surface, but the overrunning moisture which means, yes, you got some snow.
In Texas, certainly not snow in the forecast but rather some rain. Some of this especially heavy, south of Houston near Galveston, clear down to, say, places like Corpus Christi and even into South Padre Island. That's going to stick around also for a couple of hours before the frontal boundary drives out to sea.
Now, for the rest of the nation, though, which really is going to be just a beautiful day. A few backups though as you mention, as mentioned, in Houston, Texas, back towards Miami, even Orlando due to the shower, and a few scattered showers and then back up into Minneapolis, mainly the fog.
But for the center of the U.S., not a problem at all. High pressure is going to be your dominating feature of that. Not much in terms of precipitation for the Central Plains, out towards the west, pretty nice. Plenty of sunshine in California. East Coast from about the Mid-Atlantic southward, you have a shot of rainfall from points northward back up to New York. We're looking at some sun.
Now, in terms of your high temperatures, east coast first. Let's work our way from east to west. Boston with 36, New York with 47 degrees, 70 in Atlanta, 53 in Memphis, 47 in Kansas City, 33 in Denver, 41 in Salt Lake City, and 50s from Seattle to Portland, San Francisco, and L.A. into the 60s and 70s.
You did it again. Let me get this thing out of there. And there we go.
All right. Let's send it back to you, Susan.
HENDRICKS: All right. Reynolds, thank you.
WOLF: You bet.
HENDRICKS: You know, they're expected to be around 111 million people watching the Super Bowl today. It seems that a majority will have their mouths full. The Super Bowl ranks as the second biggest eating day of the U.S. behind Thanksgiving, believe it or not. But, of course, we're eating wings today instead of turkey. We're also eating chips and dip. Around 14,000 tons of the stuff and nearly 70 million pounds of avocados for guacamole.
Two wins for Mitt Romney last night, plans to end the U.S. combat mission in Afghanistan sooner -- a lot has happen happened in this past week. Maybe you missed a little. Up next, we'll take a look back at the week that was with comedian Pete Dominique.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HENDRICKS: Seven-eighteen in Boston this morning. Good morning to you. I know you are looking forward to the big game today. Go, Patriots, and go, Tom Brady. We know you're saying that if you are from Boston. Good morning to you.
What a week it has been. It has been five days since Mitt Romney took Florida. Three days since Defense Secretary Leon Panetta announced plans to end the U.S. combat role in Afghanistan by 2013. Two days since a (INAUDIBLE) on jobs report was released and less than 12 hours since Mitt Romney won Nevada.
And while more than 50 years since my next guest, football team won the Super Bowl, who we talking about here? Comedian and Sirius XM political radio host, Pete Dominick, joins me now.
Great to see you, Pete. PETE DOMINICK, COMEDIAN: Susan, I wasn't ready for that. Good to see you too. But, yes, I'm a Jets fan, and I'm only 36 years old. So, sadly, I have never seen them win.
HENDRICKS: There's always next year, right?
DOMINICK: Let's go back at this -- we Jets fans say that every year, and we're torn with who to root for tonight. But let's take a look back at this beak and specifically starting with Mitt Romney's week.
What a roller coaster week for Mitt Romney who sings, wins, and fumbles. Let's take a look at Mitt Romney. I can't get enough of this one. Singing "America the Beautiful" in Florida on the day of the vote on Tuesday.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
ROMNEY (singing): O, beautiful, for spacious skies, for amber waves of grain, for purple mountain's majesty, above the fruited plain.
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DOMINICK: All right. Well, listen, Susan, clearly he is not running to win "American Idol," but, nonetheless, did he get his frontrunner status back when he won big-time in Florida. But then the very next day everybody knows, he comes on "STARTING POINT" with our own Soledad O'Brien and fumbles the ball big-time with his not being concerned about the poor comment. Walks it back and said he misspoke later on this week.
But a roller coaster week for Mitt Romney, who, again, won big last night in Nevada.
But I want to mention two other stories from this week that maybe didn't get as much coverage as the Facebook IPO, the deaths in Egypt, and the Susan G. Komen-Planned Parenthood drama which are Washington state senate actually voted to pass marriage equality, that will go to the state assembly and then the governor who said she'll sign it, Christine Gregoire, which is always fund to say. So, look for that.
And the other big story. We always bash Congress, Susan. This week, the Senate got something done. They passed the insider trading ban, and that will go to the House this coming week -- of Representatives. They look like they're going to sign it. So, let's give the Senate some credit.
And, of course, Groundhog Day, Susan, I don't know how it is in Atlanta, but unseasonably warm here in New York. I'll have to ask Reynolds Wolf to explain what the groundhog was saying to my daughters, because I can't figure this out. Finally, we end --
HENDRICKS: It is here, too.
DOMINICK: Is it really? HENDRICKS: Yes, there's the map for you.
DOMINICK: We end the -- there you go. We end the week on a high note with another, the incumbent president, who we've also seen singing.
HENDRICKS: Yes, my favorite.
DOMINICK: And probably was singing in the West Wing -- yes, everybody loves this. We've got a clip of him sing. But this was not him singing this week, but I'm sure he was again because those job numbers, 243,000. They're great for the country, but they're certainly great for the Democrats.
And, lastly, Susan, if anybody is up right now, they're only up because they're getting ready for what the Super Bowl and you have not committed to who you are rooting for, Susan. I heard you earlier. Come on.
HENDRICKS: Come on. I'm from New Jersey. I have to go with the Giants. Don't judge.
DOMINICK: OK, all right. And do you agree with so many of our viewers who have been tweeting, except for the part where they haven't, that I look exactly like Tom Brady? Yes or no?
HENDRICKS: I would say yes to that, and I would like to hear a sound of Obama singing "Let's Stay Together" from Al Green.
DOMINICK: Oh, do we have that? Oh, great. Let's listen to that.
HENDRICKS: Do we have it, guys? I don't know, if we don't --
DOMINICK: Do you want to hear it one more time.
HENDRICKS: -- we'll have it soon.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
BARACK OBAMA, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES (singing): I --
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HENDRICKS: Oh, there it is.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
OBAMA: -- so in love with you.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HENDRICKS: We can't get enough of that, Pete, can we?
DOMINICK: No, we can't, but I'll tell you what, I think if we are going to vote for the -- who the better singer is, it's going to be -- it's not going to be much of a toss-up here between Romney and Obama. But hopefully, they'll both stop singing and they'll continue to campaign. We know that.
HENDRICKS: All right. Go Giants.
DOMINICK: Maybe that will be a fun thing --
HENDRICKS: -- and Jets.
All right. Thank you. Appreciate it.
DOMINICK: All right. Thanks, Susan.
HENDRICKS: Fidel Castro's life in 1,000 pages, believe it or not. We'll tell you what is in his memoir next.
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HENDRICKS: Checking the top stories for you this morning.
U.S. Republican presidential candidates placed their bets in Nevada. Mitt Romney, the winner, 43 percent of the vote last night. Romney is out front with 43. Newt Gingrich, 25. Ron Paul with 19 percent. Rick Santorum in fourth with 12 percent.
Next up, caucuses in Minnesota and Colorado and a nonbinding primary in Missouri on Tuesday.
Libya now says Saif Gadhafi could go on trial within the next few weeks. Moammar Gadhafi's son has been held since his capture last November. The International Criminal Court wanted to try Gadhafi on charges related to his father's attempt to put down the revolution, but the new Libyan government wants him tried in Libya.
Former Cuban leader Fidel Castro has released his memoirs. The two volume set is 1,000 pages long. Castillo's memoirs only cover his life from birth to the eve of the revolution in 1958. Fidel Castro was president until 2008. That is when the job was turned over to his brother, Raul.
Las Vegas is going to be buzzing with Super Bowl fans today. But last night, they got a taste of politics instead. Here's a quick look at what happened.
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ROMNEY: You know, this is not the first time you gave me your vote of confidence, and this time I'm going to take it to the White House.
PAUL: We just have to wait and see how these numbers come in and see if we do have a good second place coming up.
GINGRICH: I am a candidate for president of the United States. I will be a candidate for president of the United States. You will go to Tampa. SANTORUM: I expect to win the nomination. I feel very, very good about it. You may able to win a nomination, but that's not what Republican voters are looking for.
GINGRICH: I didn't have any good mechanism to turn to somebody who has been blatantly dishonest to the entire country as a candidate for president.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Newt Gingrich, Newt Gingrich, Ron Paul.
ROMNEY: This election, we must fight for the America we love. We believe in America. Thank you so much and God bless us. Thank you. Thank you.
(END VIDEO CLIPS)
HENDRICKS: That was Mitt Romney last night.
So, Newt Gingrich says I'm not quitting, but the folks at "Saturday Night Live" have a different idea for him based on the moon base plan, remember that, that he unveiled in Florida?
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UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Hello, moon president, Gingrich.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: What do you do, little girl?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I go to school.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: And when you're not at school?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I work as a janitor in the school per your moon decree.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You know, on Earth, they thought the idea of the student janitors was crazy. I guess that's why they didn't want me to be their president.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: The people of South Carolina wanted you to be president.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Not all of America is as forward-thinking as South Carolina.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: A good moon to you.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: And may divorce be with you.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Mr. Moon President.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Vice Admiral Herman Cain.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Blast off.
(END VIDEO CLIP) HENDRICKS: May divorce be with you, he said.
More top stories at the top of the hour when CNN SUNDAY MORNING continues. But, first, you don't want to miss this. One rookie is getting ready for the Super Bowl after making a comeback from cancer.
Dr. Sanjay Gupta begins right now.
