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CNN Sunday Morning

Two Americans Killed in Afghanistan; Voting and Violence in Syria; Politics at Daytona

Aired February 26, 2012 - 08:00   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

ANNOUNCER: From CNN's world headquarters, bringing you news and analysis from across the nation and around the globe, live from Studio 7, this is CNN SUNDAY MORNING.

DEBORAH FEYERICK, CNN ANCHOR: From CNN Center, this is CNN SUNDAY MORNING. It is February 26th.

Good morning, everyone. I'm Deborah Feyerick. Thanks for joining us today.

Well, the search is on for a gunman who killed two U.S. military officers in Afghanistan. We're going to get a live report from Kabul.

Also -- the race for president heads to Daytona where a big race of another kind is also taking place.

And tonight is Oscar night in Hollywood. Once again, comedian Billy Crystal taking on the toughest job in showbiz.

We start with the search however for a gunman in Afghanistan blamed for killing two ranking U.S. officers inside the heavily for the fortified interior ministry, in charge of all law enforcement. NATO is pulling advisers from Afghan ministries, and it suggests that it may have concerns over just secure how secure facilities really are.

Let's bring in Nick Paton Walsh from Kabul.

And, Nick, this is really like someone walking into the Pentagon or the Justice Department, going into an office, and then opening fire. What are you learning?

NICK PATON WALSH, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: The Afghan justice department, yes. We're learning some interesting details from senior Afghan counter terrorism official about this gunman named Abdul Saboor, apparently an employee of the interior ministry, turned up to work midday, drove himself in on his car, registered out a pistol, and then went to this secure area of the ministry called the command and control center, where he shot these two senior American military officers who were there in an advisory capacity, and then he left. He appears to have escaped and is still at large.

Now, that pretty much tallies with an explanation given by the Taliban in an e-mail yesterday, both this counterterrorism official, terrorism official and the Taliban both saying the motivation was that he was furious over the American mistaken burning of a Koran nearly a week ago now, Deb.

FEYERICK: Nick, how did this killer get out? There must have been closed circuit televisions or something like that.

WALSH: That's a huge question. I mean, somebody must have heard the gunshots perhaps, unless using a silencer or, all speculation. But, yes, he clearly had authority to be in that part of the ministry and clearly somehow walked calmly out of there as well.

Surely, people must have heard something, perhaps they went into lockdown immediately. It's not entirely clear. There were not report if reports of a lengthy shoot-out there.

I should also bring you, Deb, some breaking news. We've been seeing protests across the country for the past five days. We had four today, but they quieted and after five straight days of violence. But we are hearing reports from ISAF officials of a number of personnel injured at a base in the north after apparently there was an explosion and small arms fire outside this base, known as FOB Fortitude. Outside the base as a protest of 400 people continued in anger at this burning of the Koran.

So if this instant pans out, it appears we are now into our sixth day of violence protests -- Deb.

FEYERICK: And ISAF that you mentioned, those are the military advisers that helped train Afghan officers. Is there a sense or are there questions that maybe the Taliban has infiltrated Afghan forces and does that hurt their ability to even secure the country once U.S. forces leave?

WALSH: That's a huge concern. The Taliban have long suggested they have infiltrated different parts of the Afghan security forces, some dismissed by propaganda. But we've already seen in the last year, months or so, an increasingly regular series of instance in which men in Afghan army uniform, whether soldiers or imposters shot dead ISAF personnel.

Just two or three days ago, two Americans shot dead. A number of French shot dead in the last few months, making France question its presence here. And these instances are being often explained by ISAF as being down to personal disputes or even combat stress.

But this regularity's causing many to wonder what kind of impact it's having on that relationship between the American and Afghan officials here to train Afghan security forces. That trust is so important they work together so Afghans can take over security of Afghanistan and NATO troops can leave.

But instances like we are seeing in the past few months and specifically yesterday's interior ministry can't stress how much that must preying upon the psyche of many NATO soldiers here -- Deb.

FEYERICK: Nick Paton Walsh, thank you so much. Just the ability to figure out who's who there. OK. We appreciate your guidance. Thanks, Nick.

Well, for more on Afghanistan, join Candy Crowley at 9:00 a.m. Eastern for "STATE OF THE UNION." She has an exclusive interview with the U.S. ambassador to Afghanistan, Ryan Crocker.

And to Syria now where today brings a mix of voting and violence. People are voting on a new constitutional referendum. But in Homs the shelling --well, it's still going on. Activists say at least 11 people have been killed there today. And that is after nearly 50 people were killed yesterday. The United States is promising humanitarian aid.

And new details also emerging about a journalist killed in Syria. "The Sunday Times"| reporting that war correspondent Marie Colvin was trying to get her shoes in an effort to escape a shelling in Homs last week. Colvin worked for "The Times," she had taken her shoes of entering a building which is part of Syrian custom.

Colvin's mom says she'll likely be buried in Syria because the situation's too dangerous to get her body out.

And a court in Egypt hearing the case of 16 American aid workers who are accused of fraud. Well, that has been adjourned until April. The case stems from a government crackdown of nongovernment organizations or NGOs.

Egyptian officials raided the offices of the NGOs, saying that they were encouraging unrest in the Egyptian country. The Americans are charged with operating in Egypt without being registered.

Earlier this morning, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton talked about ongoing negotiations with Egypt.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

HILLARY CLINTON, SECRETARY OF STATE: We are having intense talks at the highest levels of the Egyptian government because obviously we'd like to see this resolved. Our relationship with Egypt is, I think, very important to both countries and we have a lot of work to do together. We want to support the new Egyptian government. We want to support aspirations of the Egyptian people, and we have to resolve this matter.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Are you going to surrender them for trial if you can't resolve this?

CLINTON: I'm not going into legal issues. We're just trying to get it resolved.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: But this is a country, I mean, how do you feel about this? Thirty years you've been supporting the Egyptians, and this is what they do the Americans?

CLINTON: Well, you know, I don't want to go making this a dramatic confrontation. It's a problem -- we have problems with a lot of friends around the world. We're trying to resolve it. (END VIDEO CLIP)

FEYERICK: Now, the Americans were not in that Egyptian court today. Nine of them have already left the country. The other seven are believed to be at the U.S. embassy.

Former South African President Nelson Mandela, he is heading home. This comes one day after officials said the 93-year-old anti- apartheid activist underwent treatment for an abdominal ailment. Mandela last appeared in public 2010, during the closing ceremonies of the World Cup in South Africa.

And just hours ago, a 5.9 magnitude earthquake struck southern Taiwan. You can see things rattling inside the building near the epicenter.

I'm joined now by meteorologist Alexandra Steele in for Reynolds Wolf.

And what can you tell us about this quake, Alexandra?

ALEXANDRA STEELE, AMS METEOROLOGIST: You can see the images there.

Now, here's what we know. It happened 10:34 a.m. Sunday morning their time. And as you said, 5.9 magnitude. But what was key about this the depth of it, 13.9 miles. So, that is good. The deeper it is, the less damage that's done.

Southern point of the island, about 21 miles west southwest of Taitung, Taiwan. No reports of casualties at this point. Minor damage to property.

So, that's all we know now. Certainly, you know, earthquakes do rattle Taiwan more often than not with little or no damage. So, let's just hope that is the case with this one.

FEYERICK: All right. Alexandra Steele, stay where you are. We're going to be back with you in a couple of minutes for the entire weekend forecast, right?

STEELE: Yes, we're going to have Daytona and Oscar forecasts. So, that's coming up.

FEYERICK: Oh, lots of good forecasts. Thanks so much.

Well, Danica Patrick is looking for a big finish today in Daytona. The race car driver is going to have to avoid doing what she's done twice already this week. Yes, that's right.

Plus, just imagine having Rick Santorum driving along with you at 180 miles per hour. Politics, racing, we're mixing it up, and it's all coming together after the break.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK) FEYERICK: Well, the flag drops today on great American race, the Daytona 500. The past champions are taking a backseat today to a rookie. Danica Patrick has been the hot topic at the track.

HLN sports reporter Joe Carter is live for us from Daytona right now.

Joe, all right, Danica -- she's had a pretty eventful time there already. And the race hasn't even technically begun yet. What's going on?

JOE CARTER, HLN SPORTS: Well, you know I like how you say it has been an eventful time for her because it's been an up and down wild few day for Danica. She's crashed two different cars in three days. That's the bad news.

The good news, neither of the crashes were her fault. On Thursday, of course, she crashed into the wall during the duals and then Friday, she came back, the top qualifier and then again on Saturday, she crashed again. This time, she was bumped by her own teammate, Cole Whitt, just nudged her in the back bumper enough to spin her car to control.

You can see on the camera angle, she gets really frustrated. There was some really heated exchange and chatter between her and her crew chief. And, you know, it just a frustrated Danica Patrick because this is not the way she wanted to start her Daytona weekend. She finished yesterday's race in 38th place. Certainly not how she wanted to not only start here in Daytona but start her first full year in NASCAR.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DANICA PATRICK, FINISHED 38TH IN SATURDAY'S RACE: More than anything, I'm just frustrated because the Go Daddy car was so fast, it was so fast. I could keep up to tandem cars in front of me all by myself and it's so frustrating when you have one of those kinds of cars and it -- and it's gone, because there are other days where you don't have that kind of a car and nobody seems to manage to find your bumper ever.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CARTER: Best part about sports, she gets another crack at it today. You can hear the band Lenny Kravitz and company tuning up, things are starting to pick. The energy level feeling really like race day here, Deb.

FEYERICK: Joe, two quick questions. It's interesting watching from the outside and she gets tapped and she's been tapped twice. So, technically not her fault.

But race car drivers they're supposed to be able to recover from those. Are some just -- in some cases, can you simply not recover?

CARTER: I believe you asked me a question about recovering. We expect Danica Patrick to recover nicely because on Thursday, of course, she crashed in the Gatorade duals, came back on Friday and was the top qualifier -- the first woman since 1994 to be sitting as the front car to start a nationwide race. So we saw her recover well.

So we expect her to do good things today. She's been on the course several times. She's run her best on the track. So, we expect her to come back and give the boys a run for their money.

FEYERICK: OK. Very quickly also, political undertones. You know, you can't leave politics alone when it comes to Daytona. What's going on?

CARTER: Yes, there is going to be a political feel here today, Deb.

Presidential candidate Mitt Romney is expected to here today, he's going to be touring the grounds talking to crew chiefs as well as talking to some of the drivers. He's expected to stay for the race and enjoy festivities.

Rick Santorum is also going to have a presence here. He won't be here in person, but his campaign has sponsored the 26 Ford driven by Tony Raines.

You know, political presences felt in other races in 2004. When George W. Bush campaigning for the presidency, he actually waved the green flag here in Daytona. And, of course, last year, Michelle Obama was at homestead to end the season down there in Miami.

So, yes, there's going to be a political feel, as well as a celebrity feel here today. We got John Cena, the WWE star, Kate Upton, "S.I." cover model here, as well as Lenny Kravitz who's practicing about 50 feet to our right, Deb.

FEYERICK: All right. Joe, thanks so much. We'll let you go and get in on those warm-ups. Thanks so much. Appreciate it.

Into politics now because we are only two days from the next Republican primaries in Michigan and Arizona. And we're just a week away from Super Tuesday.

And joining me is Patricia Murphy, founder of Citizen Jane Politics and a contributor for "The Daily Beast".

I want to talk to you about a new report that came out by the Committee for Responsible Federal Budget. And they looked at the Republicans' tax plans, and what they found is rather than reduce the deficit, that it would actually raise the deficit. For Newt Gingrich, it would be raised by $7 trillion over a two-year term.

PATRICIA MURPHY, THE DAILY BEAST: Yes.

FEYERICK: Santorum, $4.5 trillion. Mitt Romney, $2.6 trillion. And that's exactly what they're accusing the Obama administration of.

MURPHY: Yes FEYERICK: So how do you rectify this?

MURPHY: Well, all of the candidates all of the Republican candidates cut federal spending, they all cut taxes. Now, Newt Gingrich cuts taxes so deeply that this report says that will drive up the deficit. So the next person who cuts taxes the most is Rick Santorum, only Ron Paul among the GOP decreases the deficit by $2 trillion with his plan because he both cuts taxes and really slashes federal spending, eliminates five federal agencies, cuts all kinds of military spending. So, he's the only one this center said actually would reduce the deficit.

They also say that President Obama would reduce the deficit by about $2 trillion with his plan.

FEYERICK: Which is rather remarkable because that's going to be one of the key things that resonates with voters come election time --

MURPHY: Yes.

FEYERICK: -- which is how are you going to get the country balanced again.

MURPHY: Absolutely. Well, every Republican voter you talk to says, I am crazy mad about President Obama's spending policies. Under his watch, the deficit has grown by trillions of dollars, which is true. However, his plan, this group says, will cut spending and cut the deficit.

The Republican response to this is that -- Republicans and conservatives really don't believe that cutting taxes should be scored against the federal budget. Their contention is that if you cut taxes, it will jump start the economy, everyone will make more money and pay more taxes.

But economists say you can't count on that. What if there is a global meltdown on the economy? You can't promise what's going to happen to the economy. You can't make assumptions like that.

FEYERICK: So, it really is fair to say, on some levels, that look, if you're going to try to cut taxes you cannot basically predict that, oh, we're going to cut taxes and then we're going to create 5 million jobs or whatever that number is.

Ok. So, next question, Wednesday, CNN, Arizona debate.

MURPHY: Yes.

FEYERICK: Try to get that out. That's the last time the candidates got to go face to face before Tuesday's primary areas and Super Tuesday.

But Rick Santorum is now saying his rivals seem to be kind of ganging up on him.

MURPHY: Yes. And, of course, they're ganging up on him because he is the front-runner. So, once you're in the front of the pack, you've got a big target on your back, and everybody is shooting at you. And they were hammering him. All of the other guy on the stage were going after Rick Santorum.

He was right. Yes, they were ganging up on him.

FEYERICK: But at the same time, you know, let's say you're sitting in a situation with world leaders, you can't say like that France and Germany are teaming up against you, or -- you know? It's a little bit --

MURPHY: That doesn't usually. That doesn't usually sell among voters.

FEYERICK: OK. Now women --

MURPHY: Yes,

FEYERICK: -- which is going to be so fascinating to watch come elections time. But what's interesting in the near term is that women are actually increasingly moving towards Rick Santorum. Why is that for Republicans?

MURPHY: Yes, I find it fascinating. Well, these are Republican women who are moving to Rick Santorum, Republican women who are largely pro-life, who largely agree with his policies. And, listen, all of these candidates are pro-life.

But when I talk to Republican women at Santorum's events they say, listen, I relate to him as a person. They know about his family, they feel like he's a good man and they feel like he relates to their lives, their middle class lives, he's somebody who knows has struggled. And they feel like he is fighting for them.

They look somebody like Mitt Romney, that they don't feel the same connection. So, we're seeing Rick Santorum even in the midst of this big controversy over contraception, which -- conservative women used contraception -- but in the midst of the controversy, his support among GOP women is skyrocketing and Mitt Romney's is falling. So nobody predicted that was going to happen.

FEYERICK: Right. Fascinating. And it's lovely to say your wife drives a couple of Cadillacs which is what Mitt Romney has done.

MURPHY: Doesn't everyone drive a couple of Cadillacs?

FEYERICK: Yes, they do, but they don't. Thank you so much, Patricia Murphy.

MURPHY: Thank you.

FEYERICK: You've got that article online right now.

MURPHY: On "The Daily Beast."

FEYERICK: On "The Daily Beast." And everybody can look at and see just how Rick Santorum's doing with women. Thank you so much. I appreciate your time.

MURPHY: Thank you.

FEYERICK: Well, an 86-year-old World War II vet -- he was attacked, carjacked, and then forced to crawl to safety. Nobody helped him. It all happened in broad daylight.

We're going to hear from him, next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

FEYERICK: Detroit police are trying to find the person who carjacked a World War II veteran in broad daylight at a gas station. Eighty-six-year-old Aaron Brantley on his way home from church and that's when someone jumped him from behind, broke his leg, and drove off in his car.

To top things off, no one bothered to help him as he crawled away. Look at those. Those people just looking at him.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

AARON BRANTLEY, CARJACKING VICTIM: I opened the door and proceeded to get in, all I knew I was on the ground.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

FEYERICK: Tough man. Well, according to affiliate WXYZ, the car was found a few hours later. The tires and radio were gone but his Bible was still there.

Twenty-two passengers from a Carnival Cruise are robbed in Mexico. The cruise line says the victims were on a guided excursion in Puerto Vallarta when their passports and valuables were taken. No one was harmed.

Just two weeks ago, the State Department issued a travel warning to Mexico because of all of the increased violence there. More than 47,000 people were killed in drug-related violence in Mexico between December 2006 and then last September.

Well, pay attention to where you park -- unless this could happen to your car. We're going to explain in a moment.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

FEYERICK: Lake Winnebago in Wisconsin could soon start being called Lake Ford, Lake Buick, Lake Toyota.

Dozens of cars parked on the frozen lake, they are now soaking wet or -- well, even worse, after the ice broke under their weight. There were as many as 150 cars parked there for a popular fishing tournament.

Meteorologist Alexandra Steele is in for Reynolds Wolf. And, Alexandra, you call up your insurance and say I parked on a frozen lake -- pretty sure it's not best place to park. Is that ever safe?

STEELE: They would say, did you see Alexandra Steele's list of ice thickness and how safe it is? Or when you look at those cars, I just saw a Jeep Cherokee, and these are medium sized trucks.

So, Deb, take a look at this. Ice thickness, how safe is it? I just did some research. Lake Winnebago on the whole right now, people reporting the depth of the thickness is about nine inches. So, I want to show you where that is.

All right. This is new, clear ice. Clear ice is the safest ice, two inches less, stay off. Four inches, ice fish, anything on foot is safe. When you get up to five inches, that's when you can go safely with an ATV or snowmobile.

And then eight to 12 thickness is a car/small truck. Lake Winnebago now 9 inches. So, not a lot of wiggle room there. And 12 to 15 inch ice thickness, that's when you can have medium sized truck.

So, certainly safe out there. We have seen shots of arctic air in the upper Midwest but it's kind of been a diet of pretty mild weather.

All right. Here into the Southeast, rain and racing -- they just don't mix. So, what we've got is a batch of rain, area of low pressure off the coast, moving into Florida, Jacksonville is wet. You can see Orlando, Tampa, south Florida dry.

But what will happen to Daytona? Now, this is the kind of the prognostication for the day ahead into tomorrow. Here's the time on it -- 8:00 this morning, here's Daytona. You can see 1:00 to 3:00 where the rain is. It's just right there. So, it certainly looks as though rain is likely today. So, keep an eye on that as we kind of look.

And as we head toward tomorrow, more rain in the forecast as well. So, if it does get postponed or delayed today, tomorrow really doesn't look better.

And more look as we look around the country. There is a rain in the Southeast, sunny and cool in the Northeast. And the winds continue. A little bit of snow in the Upper Midwest where it belongs.

FEYERICK: All right. Alexandra Steele, thanks so much. We appreciate it.

By the way, would they cancel it or delay?

STEELE: Yes.

FEYERICK: Do they delay it?

STEELE: Absolutely, they could move it. And we have a lot of rain -- especially later on in the day. That's the balance of the rain.

Also, Oscar forecast, sunny, 60 on the red carpet today. So, no issues there as well.

FEYERICK: Thank God. I was worried for myself. OK, I'm not walking.

Alexandra Steele, thanks very much. Appreciate it.

Well, just ahead, our one-on-one with former President Jimmy Carter. He opens up about his new book, his faith, and a near-death experience during his time in the Navy. That's coming up.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

FEYERICK: Checking our top stories, a junior intelligence official has been named as a suspect in a deadly shooting at the Afghan Interior Ministry. Officials say the shooting, which killed two American officers, was apparently in response to a Koran burning by NATO troops. That incident has sparked violent protests across Afghanistan, killing 29 and wounding nearly 200. President Obama and other U.S. officials did apologize for the Koran burning, saying it was an unintentional error.

A fraud trial for 16 American aid workers in Egypt has been adjourned until April. None of the workers, including the son of Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood, appeared in court today. Egypt is cracking down on nongovernment organizations which it says helped spark unrest.

And former South African President Nelson Mandela has been released from the hospital. A family member says Mandela had hernia surgery but officials have declined to give any more specific detail saying only that he had a, quote, "diagnostic procedure", unquote.

Former President Jimmy Carter is no stranger to writing books. He has penned more than two dozen of them. His latest: "Through the Year with Jimmy Carter: 366 daily medications from the 39th president." But also mixed in is politics from the presidential office and instances where faith helped President Carter through tough times and hard decisions. He shared his lessons on faith with our Martin Savidge.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

MARTIN SAVIDGE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: First of all, Mr. President, thank you very much.

JIMMY CARTER, FORMER PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: It's a pleasure.

SAVIDGE: This is your -- what number of book?

CARTER: 26th, I think. I've written another one since then.

SAVIDGE: This is definitely a book that interests you. It's an inspirational book. It's very deep in your faith. And it seems to be a book that's not only written for people to read but a book for people to use in their life. And I'm wondering just how you hope people will use it.

CARTER: Well, my hope is that people will take it and maybe read through it first and then maybe put it on their bedside table and read a few pages each night, if they are inclined to do so. It really is -- each page is an abbreviation of a 45-minute lecture.

SAVIDGE: These were the Sunday school.

CARTER: Sunday school lessons, yes bible lessons.

SAVIDGE: You put the date of the lesson I presume.

CARTER: Yes.

SAVIDGE: At the top of the page. What was the reasoning for doing that?

CARTER: Well, you know the lessons are not arranged chronologically. In fact 14 of the lessons I taught in the First Baptist Church in Washington when I was president. And I just felt like it was worthy if a reader wanted to explore at what point in Jimmy's life did he write this they can look at the actual date to see whether it was 1990 or whether it was in 2010 that I wrote the lesson and maybe judge by my development for more and more maturity if I got increased wisdom and so forth. Or maybe they wanted to compare to what they remembered from that particular era.

SAVIDGE: There are other instances you mention in the book, life and death ones especially in the Navy. And there's one you talk about, I believe you're on the deck of the submarine and a wave sweeps you off into the ocean.

CARTER: Yes.

SAVIDGE: Did God save you?

CARTER: Well I think there was a skill of my captain that really saved me because in those extremely rough seas I wasn't really on the cutting (ph) tower, which is 15 feet above sea level and an enormous wave surprisingly came and picked me up and I floated in the wave and when it came down, I landed on the backside on the stern of the ship.

If we hadn't been precisely on course I would have been swept to the side and my life would have been lost because it was at night, in the middle of the Pacific Ocean and by the time they -- anybody realized I was gone, it would have been too late.

SAVIDGE: So how do you balance that with your faith? And it was -- it was good fortune? It was --

CARTER: It was good fortune. And I don't have any doubt that God's hand was on it. But I don't attribute it to supernatural causes. I try to -- to put it into kind of mundane perspective of a -- of an engineer or a navy officer.

SAVIDGE: Do you think that as a society we've become too morally permissive?

CARTER: Well I think so. But that's probably been the case throughout history. And even in the Old Testament and in the New Testament as well -- 4,000 - 2,000 years ago, there was a permissive society that displeased deeply religious people including Jesus Christ himself and -- and Abraham and -- and Moses and others, as they witness the departure from moral values of the people that they led.

So yes, we are perhaps too permissive in our society but I wouldn't say just relating to sexual images and things of that kind. I think we're too permissive in our society in condoning or promoting conflict, war when we Christians worship the Prince of Peace, not combat. But quite often some of the most prominent Christian entities are the ones that encourage conflict as they are now speaking out openly in favor of maybe taking military action against Iran, for instance.

And -- and the other thing is the departure from justice; the equitable treatment of people regardless of what their status in society might be; the economic status or their educational status or their race. Those are the kind of things that bother me much more than say, the licentiousness of some of the television or movie images that you have.

SAVIDGE: Thank you Mr. President.

CARTER: It's a pleasure. Thank you.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

FEYERICK: And go to our belief blog, at CNN.com/belief, and that's where you can also share your thoughts.

Well two American officers killed in Kabul, deadly protests over a Koran burning, a lot happening in Afghanistan and "STATE OF THE UNION's" Candy Crowley has an exclusive interview with the top diplomat there. She joins us for a live preview, next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

FEYERICK: "STATE OF THE UNION" with Candy Crowley is coming up right here at the top of the hour. And Candy has an exclusive interview with U.S. Ambassador to Afghanistan, Ryan Crocker. She joins us now.

And Candy this shooting at close range in a building almost like the Pentagon, that's got to be so unnerving. Is the ambassador expected to have new information on the two American officers who were killed?

CANDY CROWLEY, CNN HOST, "STATE OF THE UNION": Well we certainly hope so. We know that the Afghan government has said that the perpetrator of this was a member of the Afghan Intelligence Service who in fact had spent a couple of months over in Pakistan.

So the question here is and it seems that he had a free pass into the building. I mean, this is -- this is a building where apparently you had to pass through multiple checkpoints, you get patted down and then you went through a metal detector. This man apparently worked there.

Now as you know, NATO has said ok, every -- every -- all of the U.S. soldiers out, all of the NATO soldiers out of the ministries, Afghan ministry. And it sets up a dynamic where we are working with a government but we don't trust that U.S. soldiers are safe inside that government's buildings.

So it is -- it is a sticky wicket over there, as they -- you know the U.S. tries to sort of move towards withdrawal and now this whole burning of the Koran and the riots in the streets. So I imagine the ambassador has a lot to say about this.

FEYERICK: Yes and it's going to be interesting to see whether in fact how he sort of assesses the situation, whether it was just because of the Koran burning or whether it's just this pent-up frustration amongst the people there.

CROWLEY: Sure.

FEYERICK: That's going to be interesting. But you also have President Obama senior campaign adviser, somebody that -- that we more familiarly, know as his press person, Robert Gibbs, he's joining you there today. And what are you expecting from him?

CROWLEY: Well look, we want to talk about obviously how the Democrats now view the Republicans up and down race. We want to talk about gas prices with him and the President has said there's nothing he can do.

But we also know, from a lot of economists, that once the national average hits $4 or above, if indeed it goes that far and everyone thinks it will, it begins to really undermine the economy. So does the President have something up his sleeve? How big of a political issue is this? We've seen it on the campaign trail already. So that's one of the issues we'll be talking to him.

We'll also be talking to him a bit about the situation in Afghanistan.

FEYERICK: All right. Candy Crowley thanks so much. We really look forward to those interviews.

CROWLEY: Thanks.

FEYERICK: Appreciate it.

CROWLEY: Thank you.

FEYERICK: Well, keep it here for "STATE OF THE UNION" with Candy Crowley, it starts in just about 17 minutes at 9:00 a.m. Eastern, 6:00 a.m. Pacific. And it's only here on CNN.

Well, he's back. Yes, that's how Billy Crystal continues to simply pass the Oscar hosting test when others have failed.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

FEYERICK: A familiar face returns to the Oscars tonight as Billy Crystal once again hosts the telecast. Our entertainment correspondent Nischelle Turner has more on the bright spotlight for those who take center stage during Hollywood's biggest night.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BILLY CRYSTAL, ACTOR: This year Oscar and I reunited.

NISCHELLE TURNER, CNN ENTERTAINMENT CORRESPONDENT: It's been called the toughest job in showbiz --

CRYSTAL: But it's Hollywood, so how long can it last?

TURNER: -- hosting the Academy Awards. Producers Brian Grazer and Don Mischer might be teaming with host Billy Crystal but agree it's a tough gig for anyone.

DON MISCHER, PRODUCER, 84TH ACADEMY AWARDS: It's the wrong place to make a mistake, if you know what I mean? But with Billy, we've got one of the three greatest Oscar hosts of all time, the other two being Bob Hope and Johnny Carson.

TURNER: Bob Hope faced off with sensitive studio execs, temperamental A-Listers and a global audience of millions 19 times.

MISCHER: It's seen in over 200 nations. It's translated into I think 73 languages. And you know, it's -- it's weighty. It's got gravitas.

WHOOPI GOLDBERG, ACTRESS: I loved it. I had a great time and if they said come do it again I would.

TURNER: After becoming the first woman or African-American to host alone, Whoopi Goldberg did do it again but her third time followed 9/11 and the somber mood led to the longest show on record.

ELLEN DEGENERES, TALK SHOW HOST: I'm like vibrating inside.

TURNER: From national crisis to overwhelming expectations Ellen DeGeneres was hired after wildly popular gigs at the Grammys and Emmys but critics called the show predictable and the Academy hasn't asked her back.

DEGENERES: We're saying good night. That was my best moment.

TURNER: Jon Stewart's first hosting moment in 2006 blocked but unlike Ellen, Jon got a second chance.

JON STEWART, TALK SHOW HOST: Look, I've bombed in front of better and bigger crowds than this.

TURNER: But in 2008, Jon faced a new challenge and had to tough it out with the writer's strike. In the end he only had four days to rehearse. But critics loved it.

STEWART: Just tired of getting my ass kicked in Oscar polls. I figure if I'm here, nobody can say anything.

TURNER: In all, more than 70 hosts have graced Oscar's stage but no one is more widely considered a better host than --

CRYSTAL: The Oscars, not just an awards show. Well, ok, it is but it's the best one.

TURNER: Billy Crystal has faced obstacles but look up any top ten list and you'll see his name a lot. Like in 1998 when "Titanic" won big and the Oscars won even bigger hitting a record 55 million viewers. Of course the question now is, what about 2012?

BRIAN GRAZER, PRODUCER, 84TH ACADEMY AWARDS: It's pretty spectacular and it's funny.

TURNER: While producers aren't spilling all of the show's secrets you can count on one thing for sure --

CRYSTAL: I'm Billy Crystal and I approve these Oscars.

TURNER: Nischelle Turner, CNN, Hollywood.

FEYERICK: And the countdown is on to Hollywood's biggest night. "SHOWBIZ TONIGHT" will be live at the Oscars for "SHOWBIZ TONIGHT: ROAD TO GOLD". A.J. Hammer, of course, live from the red carpet starting at 6:30 p.m. Eastern right here on CNN.

And one of Robert F. Kennedy's sons facing charges over a recent hospital confrontation; now it's turning into a "he said/she said". So who is the one telling truth? You're going to decide. That is coming up on the other side of the break.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

FEYERICK: Checking our top stories, more violence against U.S. Troops in Afghanistan. Police say demonstrators threw a hand grenade at a military site injuring seven American service members. It happened one day after two American officers were shot at close range and killed inside an interior ministry building in Kabul.

The suspect in that shooting, a junior intelligence official with ties to Pakistani religious schools, remains at large. Officials say the shooting was in response to a NATO Koran burning.

Shelling continues in Syria where opposition activists say at least 29 people have been killed today. Those deaths come as Syrians vote on a constitutional referendum that the Assad regime says would enable reform but critics dismiss the plan as superficial. GOP presidential candidate Rick Santorum is sponsoring a car at today's Daytona 500. As you can see, the number 26 Ford will have "Santorum 2012" on the hood. It can cost between $2 million to $20 million for that kind of exposure. So we'll see how many laps it gets.

Secretary of State Hillary Clinton going out on a limb, saying President Obama will win in November. It's not something you normally hear from cabinet members this early in the game. She talked about her comments this morning with our own Elise Labott.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ELISE LABOTT, CNN CORRESPONDENT: You said yesterday that president Obama will be re-elected. It's not -- it raised a lot of eyebrows. It's not really the Secretary of State to say anything about an election and it seemed to be kind of a campaign statement.

HILLARY CLINTON, U.S. SECRETARY OF STATE: Well, remember the context of it, you know, I was asked whether the comments in the primary campaign, some of which have been quite inflammatory, represented America. And I represent America and I know what happens in campaigns. I've been there, done that, and I know that things are said that, you know are not going to be put into practice or policy, but I did think I needed to point that out to the audience. And probably, you know, my enthusiasm for the President got a little out of hand.

LABOTT: Well -- no political juices flowing there?

CLINTON: Well, you know, I'm trying to dampen them down; I'm trying to have them taken out, you know, blood transfusion. But you know, occasionally they rear their heads.

LABOTT: Does that suggest maybe going back in at some point.

CLINTON: No, it just suggests that I want what's best for my country.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

FEYERICK: This morning Robert F. Kennedy's son, Douglas, is facing child endangerment and harassment charges. He's accused of knocking down a New York nurse during a confrontation over his newborn son. Our national correspondent Susan Candiotti has the latest.

SUSAN CANDIOTTI, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Deborah, good morning. Was he defending his right as a parent and protecting his child, or refusing to follow a nurse's order?

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

CANDIOTTI (voice-over): Douglas Kennedy was visiting his wife Molly in the maternity ward about two days after her C-Section and said he wanted to take his baby outside for some fresh air. It was about 7:30 on a Saturday night last month in a hospital in a New York City suburb. Baby Bo was swaddled in his blanket and cap. Kennedy says some nurses were willing to let him go, but when others disagreed, things took a nasty turn.

In sworn depositions to police, nurses say they convinced Kennedy to leave an elevator but then he headed to stairwell. The nurses say that's when things got physical.

ELLIOT TAUB, NURSES' ATTORNEY: This particular father grabbed her wrist, her arm, and twisted it so severely that she had tremendous pain in her arm. She then backed off with the other nurse standing right there. This gentleman then proceeded to kick her, and kick her so hard with so much violence that she flew through the air and landed in the middle of the corridor.

CANDIOTTI: Kennedy's lawyer says Kennedy was trying to protect Baby Bo and used a knee, not a foot to stop the nurses who were grabbing for his baby.

ROBERT GOTTLIEB, DOUGLAS KENNEDY'S ATTORNEY: The only aggressors were the nurses and in fact, initially the nurses said that he could go outside and it only changed when another nurse and then another nurse after that became aggressive and blocked Douglas from walking with his baby outside to get fresh air.

CANDIOTTI: The nurses told police the baby's head was, quote, "shaking violently from side to side". Kennedy's lawyer denies it, adding the baby slept through the whole them. Attorneys for both sides agree the baby was not injured. An emergency room doctor, who was visiting Kennedy and saw what happened, defended his boyhood friend in a statement. Quote, "I can state unequivocally that the nurses were the only aggressors. To charge Mr. Kennedy with a crime is simply incomprehensible".

Seven weeks later the local D.A. charged Kennedy with a misdemeanor for child endangerment and harassing the nurse.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

CANDIOTTI: It's not clear whether the nurses will sue Kennedy civilly but last month sent him a letter suggesting he might want to hire a lawyer -- Deborah.

FEYERICK: Thanks, Susan.

Well, it's good weather if you're walking the red carpet, not if you're racing in Daytona 500. Alexandra Steele in with the latest; what's going on?

ALEXANDER STEELE, AMS METEOROLOGIST: Rain and racing do not mix. And you know what? This batch of rain has a direct highway right toward Daytona. Here's the radar picture; here's Daytona right there where that 95 sign is moving right directly toward it. So, certainly we'll see rain today, whether it hits at wrong time or not. Here's the forecast. This is the model showing you where the rain is, 1:00 to 3:00 you can see right on Daytona. And if they do postpone it until tomorrow unfortunately more rain in the forecast then as well. So, could be a tough go. It would be interesting to see how that pans out.

Sunny in the northeast today and beautiful conditions, Deb, for the Oscars but other stars to line tonight, look high in the western sky, a beautiful sight. The crescent moon and Jupiter and Venus, I saw it last night and tried to take a picture. It was gorgeous. So, kind of a neat sight in the sky -- stars of a different sort, too.

FEYERICK: All right. Alexandra, thanks so much. Appreciate it.

I'm Deborah Feyerick. "STATE OF THE UNION" with Candy Crowley starts right now. She's got Robert Gibbs and U.S. Ambassador to Afghanistan Ryan Crocker.

Thanks so much for spending part of your morning here with us in Studio 7.