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CNN Saturday Morning News

Senator Clinton to Host Town Hall Meeting in New Hampshire; U.S. Troops in Iraq Have New Boss; Severe Weather in New York

Aired February 10, 2007 - 09:00   ET

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

T.J. HOLMES, CNN ANCHOR: Now in the news, we are showing you here a live picture From Berlin, New Hampshire, where Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton will be hosting a town hall meeting as she is getting ready to get on her quest to conquer the White House, to take the White House in 2008. This is one of several conversations she plans to be having around the state of New Hampshire. This is her first visit back to that state in some ten or so years, but this is where she's starting in Berlin. She's going to hit other cities, Manchester, King, bouncing all around the state, that all-important primary state. We're keeping an eye on this event. We'll monitor that for you here on CNN.
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GEN. DAVID PETRAEUS, U.S. COMMANDER IN IRAQ: The situation in Iraq is exceedingly challenging. The stakes are very high. The way ahead will be hard, and there undoubtedly will be many tough days.

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BETTY NGUYEN, CNN ANCHOR: U.S. troops in Iraq have a new boss. General David Petraeus officially took over command today from General George Casey. Casey moves to the Pentagon as army chief of staff.

HOLMES: An explosion in Iraq kills three U.S. soldiers and wounds four others. This happened in a volatile area east of Baghdad. Military statement says the explosion occurred when the soldiers were searching a building for weapons.

NGUYEN: Russian President Vladimir Putin says U.S. foreign policy is at least partly to blame for countries like Iran seeking nuclear weapons capability and a global security conference in Germany. Mr. Putin accused the U.S. of "uncontained hyper use of force in international relations."

HOLMES: Meanwhile, in Munich, an international security conference. German Chancellor Angela Merkel warned that Tehran must not be allowed to obtain nuclear weapons. Defense Secretary Robert Gates is attending that conference. He says evidence strongly suggests that Iran is supplying explosives to Iraqi insurgents.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: That's just one more reason to suspect that the housing market is going to remain soft, at least through the balance of 2007 into '08.

NGUYEN: Lenders are tightening the mortgage options, and why this spells trouble for homeowners looking to sell. "Open House" comes your way in 30 minutes.

Right now we're coming to you live from the CNN Center right here in Atlanta. Good morning, everybody I'm Betty Nguyen. This is CNN SATURDAY MORNING.

HOLMES: Hello to you all I'm T.J. Holmes. We're taking a live look this morning from San Francisco; I believe that has to be it there.

NGUYEN: On the left.

HOLMES: That's the left? It's still dark in San Francisco.

NGUYEN: That's the left.

HOLMES: On that side over there.

NGUYEN: It's opposite for us.

HOLMES: We're confused here this morning. We're taking a live look there. Hope you're having a good morning wherever you are.

Clinton, Giuliani, Obama, big name candidates and possible contenders, the major announcement expected in just two hours and a whole lot of politicking going on today. The 2008 presidential election still 21 months away, but the race for the White House is heating up right now this February. CNN's Mary Snow is in New Hampshire where Senator Hillary Clinton is going to be campaigning today, having some town hall meetings. Good morning to you, Mary.

MARY SNOW, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning T.J. Certainly things heating up here in New Hampshire for the next three days, very busy time, as residents here get to meet the two Democratic front runners, Senator Clinton, and later on, Senator Barack Obama. As you mentioned, Senator Clinton in the small town of Berlin, New Hampshire, this morning, crowds there waiting for her. She's having a town hall meeting, residents there saying they are ready for questions on everything from health care to the war in Iraq. Later this afternoon, she'll have a similar town hall meeting, and then tomorrow meet in living rooms with New Hampshire residents.

Now, this comes as Senator Barack Obama will also be coming to New Hampshire. The two candidates will not be crossing paths. He will get here on Monday and have similar events. This is the first time Senator Clinton has visited New Hampshire since 1996, when she was first lady. Senator Obama was last here in New Hampshire back in December. This, of course, though, by the time he gets here on Monday, ill be his first official visit here since he'll announce his candidacy later this morning.

T.J.

HOLMES: All right. Mary Snow for us there in New Hampshire. Thank you so much this morning.

SNOW: Sure. NGUYEN: Well is he ready to run? Senator Barack Obama is expected to officially enter the 2008 presidential race today. Obama makes his campaign announcement this morning at 11:00 Eastern in Springfield, Illinois. The site where he's expected to launch his bid for the White House. It has historic links to Abraham Lincoln's fight to end slavery. Obama faces a crowded field, as you well know, but polls show him among the top tier candidates along with Senator Clinton and former Senator John Edwards. Obama follows his announcement today with a three-day campaign swing through Illinois, Iowa, and New Hampshire. And you can see Senator Obama's announcement live right here on CNN at 11:00 a.m., 8:00 Pacific.

HOLMES: All right. Let's talk Republicans now. There are some possible Republican contenders for the presidency. They're all over the place, on the campaign trail as well today. Former New York Mayor Rudy Giuliani going to be speaking at the Republican State Convention in California today. Also, two presidential hopefuls making appearances in Michigan. Kansas Senator Sam Brownback speaks at the Republican State Convention in Grand Rapids. And Massachusetts Governor Mitt Romney he will be there as well, he will be speaking at that same convention. Meanwhile, former Arkansas Governor Mike Huckabee is campaigning in South Carolina. He'll attend a county Republican ball in Myrtle Beach.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Historic event?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Historic event. I would say for sure.

NGUYEN: The winter wallop in upstate New York may be one for the history books. Already some areas have seen up to ten feet of snow. It's not over yet. Oh, no. CNN's Reggie Aqui is braving the snow and frigid temperatures this morning. He joins us live from Oswego, New York. Reggie, while it may be beautiful to look at, this can be very dangerous.

REGGIE AQUI, CNN CORRESPONDENT: It can be, but you know what, Betty, the people here are handling this very well. So far, no major injuries to report, no deaths in the county. Things are going pretty well, and the county management folks are very happy about that. Also happy, the business owners here on the strip in downtown Oswego. The Bagelry is open this morning, it is called the Bagelry. I guess they invented that word. They are doing a great job clearing the streets, and this has been something that's going on for 24 hours a day. We're talking about seven to ten feet of snow in the area. As I cross the street, there is no problem on the roads this morning. Part of the reason why we haven't seen major reports of serious accidents or serious injuries.

Now, I am 6'4", and you can see what the snow banks are like on the side of the road here. I'm going to attempt to walk over it, all right, not bad. So this is what people are having to dig out of here. We're talking about snow that just kept on coming and coming and coming. Certainly, they're used to a lot of snow in this area. It's not uncommon to have five or six feet in a short period of time, but this, seven to ten feet in just a matter of about five days, that is really unprecedented here. That's why people are just not really believing what they're seeing as they dig out from this snowstorm.

Now, we are expecting we could see more snow over the next couple of days. In fact, parts of Oswego County are expecting somewhere between a foot and two feet later on tonight, and a winter advisory is in effect until Monday morning. So snow shovels cannot be put away yet, but the good news today, we are seeing some sunshine. There are some blue skies out there. So people are very optimistic that they can finally have perhaps a sort of normal Saturday.

Betty.

NGUYEN: As we saw behind you, a few people on the roadways today, but no major accidents, thankful for that. Reggie, we appreciate your time, stay warm.

HOLMES: A normal Saturday. Bonnie is this going to be a normal Saturday with ten feet of snow on the ground? Like you said, some blue skies, a little sun.

BONNIE SCHNEIDER, CNN METEOROLOGIST: That is true. Can you hear that wind whipping about when Reggie started his live shot? That's because the gusts there are at 24 miles per hour. When the snow starts to fall, which it will, we'll be looking at very limited visibility. Because lake affect snow is really unique for a couple of reasons. One is we can get intense snow in a short amount of time, and I've been talking about how difficult it is to forecast. Imagine a band of lake effect snow similar to a thunderstorm. Very small scale, very isolated and kind of one minute you can have rain in one person's area, and the next town over, they say no rain here at all. It's just like that with lake effect snow. You can have partly cloudy conditions in one town and heavy snow in the other.

Right now we aren't really seeing heavy snow, but we are seeing light snow falling in Watertown. Oswego is just to the south of that. As you see, so far, so good. I am expecting that lake effect snow machine to kick up later this afternoon and into tonight. We could see one to two feet of snow before it's all said and done. A lot lighter snow for the Buffalo area, only one to two inches of snow. So less snow here, a little more further to the north. So keep that in mind.

The other big story temperatures. It's cold out there we've got some chilly numbers here. The current temperature in Boston is 21 degrees, Albany it is 21. Notice the current morning temperature there in Chicago, negative 1, and it feels even colder than that, feels like it is minus 17. So it's another one of those brutally cold Saturday mornings for sure.

As we look off to the west, we've got a really big storm system that has been firing up. This moisture stretches all the way to the south, all the way back towards Hawaii, that's where the moisture source comes from. We'll be looking at a lot of rain for northern California into Oregon as well. And what will happen is the areas that we have for the burn areas into the Ventura and Orange County, watch out. Because you're going to be seeing flash flooding possibly later this afternoon or tonight. Right now it is heavy rain for northern California. Betty, T.J.

NGUYEN: Bonnie we thank you.

HOLMES: Mean while we're going to talk more about the life in the spotlight. Anna Nicole Smith's life and now her death. A Florida medical examiner says it could be weeks before we know what killed Smith. . That's not slowing legal action in the dispute over who fathered her infant daughter. Former boyfriend Larry Birkhead and Smith's most recent partner Howard K. Stern both claim to be the baby's father. Now a bizarre twist, a claim being made by the husband of Zsa Zsa Gabor.

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PRINCE FREDERICK VON ANHALT, ZSA ZSA GABOR'S HUSBAND: I know who the real father is. You mean the real father --

LARRY KING: Larry: so it's not you?

VAN ANHALT: I don't say yes, and I didn't say no. Let's see how the court is ruling. If the court rules in the right direction, not left to Larry, not right to Howard, in the right direction, I stay out of it. If the court rules either to Howard or to Larry, I jump in.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

NGUYEN: You understand that?

HOLMES: Well, we will see. But, man, it is up for grabs right now in this paternity battle. The child's inheritance, which could be in the millions of dollars. Now, as far as a funeral goes here, the legal wrangling could interfere with those plans as well.

And that now takes us to this morning's e-mail question. We've been asking you, how do you think Anna Nicole Smith will be remembered? Please keep those thoughts coming to us at WEEKENDS@CNN.com.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: A place to go to find to do something illegal.

NGUYEN: Online lessons in crime coming up in ten minutes. You might be shocked to find out what kind of how-to videos are showing up on the Internet.

HOLMES: But first, fitness when you're over 40. Jerry Anderson shows you how simple it is to drink from the fountain of youth.

NGUYEN: And foreclosures on the rise in America. Coming up in 20 minutes, why Jesse Jackson says it is time for the Senate to step in and help homeowners in trouble.

REV. JESSE JACKSON: When people lose their jobs with no place to go, they need a rescue. We can rescue them in Iraq, why not Americans?

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UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: If I put it together, you're going to have a time getting it loose. Yes, indeed. I just -- I love to put the nails in there.

HOLMES: Yes. That's a handy Granny there. Who needs knitting needles when you can play with a table saw? Coming up at the bottom of the hour, the grandmother who became her own personal contractor at the age of 73.

Of course, our fitness guru, Jerry Anderson, he's coming up in just a second. He's on deck for us. First, we've got some health headlines you probably need to know about.

Overweight children could benefit from getting more sleep. A five-year study found those going to bed earlier and sleeping more were less likely to be obese. Many youngsters need ten hours or more per night. Also, the FDA has approved an over the counter fat fighting pill. It's a half strength dose of Xenical and will go on sale this summer. Experts warn the drug known, as Alli will probably not work unless it is part of an exercise and diet routine.

NGUYEN: All right. So what's your idea of life after 40? Time to start winding down, or are you just revving up? If you want to be fit and healthy, studies show regular exercise could help you avoid the over 40 health hazards, things like high blood pressure and severe menopause symptoms. Exercising as well, as you age, could also help you fall asleep faster and even sleep longer and deeper. Those are good reasons to get going. Who better to help us jump-start an exercise program after 40 than our fitness guru Jerry Anderson?

JERRY ANDERSON, FITNESS EXPERT: Yes!

NGUYEN: He's with us live from Los Angeles this morning. How you doing, Jerry?

ANDERSON: I'm fantastic. I'm raring to go, Betty. This fitness over 40, its show time. Let's deal with it.

NGUYEN: So the first thing you need to do is pump up your BMR. Talk to us about what that BMR means.

ANDERSON: The BMR is your basal metabolic rate. That's how many calories you burn from the time you wake up until the time we go to bed. That's what we have to pump up. That's your lean muscle mass. Studies are showing after the age of 30, your body loses a half-pound of muscle in every year you age. You get close to 40 and over; you are starting to lose muscle. You got to kick the muscle in. If you lose five pounds of muscle Betty that burns 20 pounds of fat a year. Pump up the BMR, and you'll see a difference.

NGUYEN: How do you pump up the BMR?

ANDERSON: Great question, it's easy to do. You've got to do resistance training. When you start lifting weights, it increases your lean muscle mass and also increases bone density. So that is how you pump your BMR and a lot of people what they do is they think, as you get older you should you lose your muscle mass, it's not true. I do it every day. You can build more muscle and increase bone density. That's your BMR, there you go. You've got the calorie burning system working, boom, boom, and boom.

NGUYEN: You definitely haven't lost your muscle mass at that age. That's for sure, Jerry.

ANDERSON: Hello, yes.

NGUYEN: The next thing though is you need to regain your balance. How so?

ANDERSON: Regain the balance. What happens is most people over 40, when they were doing a high labor job, now they're doing more keyboard work. The calorie intake should equal the calorie expenditure. What happens is the calorie expenditure is greater than the calories that are burning so you got to reduce your calorie intake a little bit, exercise more and reduce the waistline. This is a biggy because the calorie intake should equal calorie expenditure. That's one of the major problems with over 40 we take in too many calories. You got to watch it.

NGUYEN: It makes a lot of sense there. Also, though, you have to make this a priority, correct? If you don't, you're not going to do the things you need to do to stay in shape.

ANDERSON: Perfect, this the big thing. Because a lot of people, as you get older, you say well, work is taking over my exercise. You've got to keep it a priority. Betty, I was talking to the guy the other day, he said, Jerry, I'm 120 pounds overweight, I'm 44 years old, I got high blood pressure, high cholesterol, and he says he works 16 hours a day. He says, I don't have time to work out. Of course, he's not going to live very long. You have to make it a priority. Even for myself, Betty, as I got older, I do less physical work and I'm speaking a lot, I have to reduce my calories almost 800 calories a day just to maintain a healthy look. You have to make all these adjustments, which you can when you're over 40, because you've got this and this, and you get the results. Hello. We can do it.

NGUYEN: And 40 is very young. You've got to look into that future. What do you see?

ANDERSON: Right. You got to look into the future. The key is you have to look at from where you're at to where you're going. The bottom line is exercise is the difference. From a walker and walking, people who don't exercise, they're in a walker. Ones that do, they're walking. You have to look into the future. Where's it going to go? When you pump up your BMR, it is going to increase your main mass; you regain your balance, calorie intake versus calorie expenditure, and the priority to be healthy.

So you've got to look into the future. That's where the motivation is coming from. Look into the future, watch the results, I'm 40 and over. Hey Betty I was thinking about this, wait a minute I'm talking about 40 and over, I'm over 40 too. NGUYEN: Yes.

ANDERSON: Forty year olds get up, do it. You can do this. Don't let these kids look hot. You know they're not. We got them. We got these kids. They can do it.

NGUYEN: You've got some guns on you today.

ANDERSON: Don't let them have it.

NGUYEN: As you look into the future, no wheelchair, no walker, no nothing. You're good to go.

ANDERSON: Good to go. We can keep it for a long time. We can't give the position up to the kids. We got to beat them on the front, beat them on the back. Let's just take it all the way home. Yes!

NGUYEN: Jerry, you've got a plan. Thank you and of course we'll see you next weekend. And our question to you, the viewer, what's your problem? Whether you have an exercise issue or a nutritional nightmare, we do want to hear from you so e-mail us at WEEKEND@CNN.com. We'll take those questions straight to the expert, Jerry Anderson.

Well, from bypassing a bolt lock to stealing a car, you might be surprised to find out what criminals can learn online. That story is next.

And later --

GERRI WILLIS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Coming up at 9:30 a.m. Eastern, "Open House" the latest on the mortgage meltdown in this country. The Senate is finally addressing the issues of predatory lending and rising foreclosures. We'll talk with the Reverend Jesse Jackson.

Plus we're tracking the progress of the recovery at the site of those Florida tornadoes.

And everything you need to know about dealing with cold weather problems in your home. That is "Open House" 9:30 am Eastern right here on CNN.

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HOLMES: A live look here in Berlin, New Hampshire, where there she is Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton is holding a town hall meeting. It's her first trip back to that state in some ten-plus years. She's there on a campaign swing, going to hit several crowds across the state at these town hall meeting as she campaigns. Hot on her heels in New Hampshire will be Senator Barack Obama, who will be making a visit there next week after he makes an announcement today. Expecting an announcement from him at 11:00 Eastern time in which he will officially say that he is a candidate for president before then heading out on a campaign swing, which will take him to New Hampshire. Stay with CNN for that announcement live at 11:00 a.m. Eastern Time. Call a few taps, a twist, and you're in. It's called lock bumping. It is an old locksmith trick, and thanks to the Internet anybody can learn how to do it. It's not always a good thing. In this morning's "Tech Effect," CNN's Greg Hunter shows us the negative effects of technology.

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GREG HUNTER, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice over): Video of how to break into a car, carjacking. How to swipe an expensive bag of coffee, and bump or open a lock with a doctored key, all available on YouTube. Causing some new stations to show how easy it is to bump a lock with a doctored key. Is this harmless Internet fun or law enforcement's worst nightmare?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Completely irresponsible.

HUNTER: We watched some of these clips with former FBI Agent George Bauries, who calls them how-to videos for potential criminals.

GEORGE BAURIES, FORMER FBI AGENT: Information like that should not be publicly available. It just bypasses a lot of security precautions.

HUNTER: YouTube's written guidelines worn users not to cross the line by posting videos showing dangerous or illegal acts. Bauries says that's not enough.

What does this say about YouTube?

BAURIES: YouTube, the place to go to do something illegal.

HUNTER: The locksmith industry is also worried the lock bumping reports may scare the public.

BAURIES: It can cause undo alarm, and it can cause those who may not be predisposed to do this to try it.

HUNTER: In a written statement, YouTube told us, "Our community controls the content on the site, and they're the ones, not us, who flag content they deem inappropriate. Once a video is flagged, YouTube reviews the material promptly and reserves the right to remove videos from the system if they violate our terms of use." A first amendment expert says YouTube is doing nothing illegal, but there could be a public backlash.

SIVA VAIDHYANATHAN, NEW YORK UNIVERSITY: The government doesn't tell CNN, for instance, what it can or can't put out there. There are simply repercussions if CNN crosses the line. And that's true of every publisher on the Internet as well.

HUNTER: We contacted YouTube again; asking for comment on videos on their Web site that show lock bumping, lock picking, and how to steal a car. A spokesperson declined to talk about specific clips, but once again referred us to YouTube's community guidelines.

Greg Hunter, CNN, New York.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

NGUYEN: It is getting harder for some Americans to get a mortgage. Coming up in three minutes, "Open House" explains why that's bad news if you're looking to sell your home this year.

HOLMES: And look at the video of the morning here. This is what happened when a reporter confronted the focus of a consumer fraud investigation. At the top of the hour, we'll tell you why the police eventually had to be called in.

NGUYEN: And coming up at 11:00 Eastern, don't miss it. Senator Barack Obama makes a major announcement about his plans for '08. We're going to bring it to you live when it happens.

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