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CNN Saturday Morning News
U.S. Marine Still on the Run; Are People in the Black Community Going to Vote One Way?; Voting in Nevada and South Carolina; Winter Chill Affecting Much of the U.S.; Interview with Mike Huckabee
Aired January 19, 2008 - 07:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
T.J. HOLMES, CNN ANCHOR: Hey there, everybody. From the CNN Center, this is CNN SATURDAY MORNING, January 19th. Great day in South Carolina. Big day in Nevada. But hello to you all. I'm T.J. Holmes.
SUSAN ROESGEN, CNN ANCHOR: And I'm Susan Roesgen, filling in today for Betty Nguyen.
A U.S. marine is still on the run. The police and "America's Most Wanted" want you to help find him. We'll show you the new surveillance pictures.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
AL DOTSON JR, CHMN., 100 BLACK MEN OF AMERICA: It's a great time. It's a great time in America, and even in black America, when you have multiple candidates who are attuned to our issues, who are responding to our issues, and excite the electorate to participate.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HOLMES: He's talking of presidential candidates and black voters. Is everybody in the black community going to vote one way? I'll tell you what I learned when I went to Las Vegas and met with the group, 100 Black Men of America.
ROESGEN: And Arkansas governor, Mike Huckabee will join us live this hour in South Carolina. He's trying to get the evangelical vote to boost his presidential campaign.
HOLMES: As to our big story this morning, Saturday politics. The polls in South Carolina opening as we speak, 7:00 eastern time and in a few hours, voters in Nevada will make their picks but, we're also watching the weather around here. Winter storm and the big chill heading south that could affect the voting in South Carolina.
ROESGEN: Reynolds Wolf is here to talk about that.
HOLMES: He's going to talk about that, keeping his eye on that for us. A lot of stuff is going on. But we will start with that voting going on in South Carolina. As we said, the polls opening right now in the Republican primary, it's the first southern battleground for the presidential contenders.
And our Mary Snow live this morning from a polling place in Lexington, South Carolina, she's kicking off our coverage this morning.
Good morning to you, Mary.
MARY SNOW, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, T.J.
We're at the Seven Oaks precinct in Lexington, South Carolina, just outside of the state's capital of Columbia, and the polls just opened, as you said, they'll be open until 7:00 p.m. tonight. It's kind of unusual since this is a Saturday for South Carolina. This is a heavily Republican district here, so, it will be interesting to see the results of voters here today.
You mentioned weather could play a factor. This is such a crucial test in the Republican primary, a heated contest that the four front-runners see as Senator John McCain of Arizona, he has really been touting his military experience here, it is a state with a very heavy military population, also that's true of this county here. Mike Huckabee has been appealing to social conservatives but also making an appeal to the working class. A lot of the candidates have been talking (ph) up the economy.
Both John McCain and Mike Huckabee were out canvassing the state yesterday, really making their appeal to voters saying, we need your vote, this is going to be a very tight race. Fred Thompson, the former Senator from Tennessee, this is a test that could really make or break his candidacy. He's been staking everything on South Carolina, and Mitt Romney is not here. He went out to Nevada for the caucuses there. The caucuses are pretty much being ignored by Republicans but Mitt Romney has been running ads here. He left the other day saying, he's really going for delegates, that he did not think that he could win here.
So, very tight contest, it's a very open race and this could really shape the Republican race going forward, since, there's no clear front-runner at this point, with three different candidates winning three early states. From here it's on to Florida -- T.J.?
HOLMES: All right. I hope you could still hear me. I saw you adjusting that piece a little bit. But tell us, South Carolina is known historically, or for the past several election cycles at least, to get pretty nasty when it comes to politics. How has this race for the Republicans stacked up in terms of nastiness, if you will?
SNOW: You know, comparing to 2000, the Republican veterans I've spoken to in this state say, overall, it's been fairly tame, because it's not been widespread but still there had been these under-the- radar kind of nasty politics going on in terms of push-polling, that's a group will call and try to implant a negative perception of a candidate, and so, we've seen that and we have seen some of the candidates really going after this tic-tacs (ph) and denouncing it.
There's one independent group that's pro-Huckabee that has been calling homes, the Huckabee campaign says, it has nothing to do with it, it's called on this group to stop but still it's been going on. And you know, John McCain really knows all too well about dirty politics because in 2000, this is where his presidency, his campaign was derailed because of, there were rumors that had been spread right before primary day this time around. He has dispatched what he called is the truth watch to try to knock down any kind of rumors that go around.
HOLMES: Yes, he has been through that before. Mary Snow for us and congratulations on getting a live shot location inside this time around. We'll see you again here soon.
SNOW: You like that, huh?
HOLMES: Yes, I can like that and we did notice. So, it's about time we took a break on you there. All right. Thank you so much, Mary. We'll see you again soon.
Also: a softer Hillary, a tougher Obama? What kind of America do the candidates really stand for? This Monday, the Democrats may face their toughest questions yet when they debate before the Congressional black caucus, that's coming your way Monday night, January 21st, 8:00 o'clock Eastern and that's right here on CNN.
ROESGEN: Well, it's caucus day in Nevada. In just a few hours, voters will gather at caucus sites around the state and this is a state where almost 20 percent of the residents don't have health insurance. That makes healthcare a major issue there.
And we get that story from CNN's Ted Rowlands.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
TED ROWLANDS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Both of these Nevada women in their 50s have health problems. Neither one has health insurance.
DONNA JENKINS, UNINSURED GRANDMOTHER: I know for a fact that my life is going to be cut short due to the fact that I don't have any healthcare and I've got children and great grandchildren. It's just not fair.
ROWLANDS: Donna Jenkins has diabetes and a heart condition. Barbara Trella recently had a brain aneurysm. Jenkins says, she can't afford her heart medication so, she doesn't take it. Trella says, she's supposed to get a follow-up MRI but doesn't have the $450 she says it will cost.
BARBARA TRELLA, UNINSURED WIDOW: This might not seem like a lot of money to people, but it is.
ROWLANDS: Rigoberto Gonzalez is a co-owner of this restaurant. He says healthcare is a major issue because he can't afford to insure his employees or his wife and three kids so, like an estimated 47 million other Americans, he's rolling the dice that nothing bad will happen.
RIGOBERTO GONZALEZ, CO-OWNER, LINDO MICHIOACAN RESTAURANT: You always wonder when you're on the road you know, if you ever get in a car accident, if your kids have to go to the hospital, you know, it's just very scary. ROWLANDS: According to the Census Bureau, more than 18 percent of Nevadans live without health insurance, a much higher number than in many other states. Iowa, for example is at about nine percent. Doctor Ikram Khan has worked for years without much progress advising state and federal policymakers on overhauling healthcare. He says, politicians know that voters, especially in states like Nevada, are expecting the next president to fix the system.
DR. IKRAM KHAN, NEVADA HEALTHCARE ADVISER: I am very optimistic that this will come about. It may not be a 100 percent solution but at least maybe a step in the right direction.
TRELLA: This isn't something new. This should have been taken care of a long time ago.
ROWLANDS: Barbara and Donna are both undecided Democrats. They say, healthcare will help dictate who they support but, they're pessimistic anything will be done in time to help them.
ROWLANDS (on camera): Are you scared?
JENKINS: I'm scared to death, scared to death.
ROWLANDS (voice over): Ted Rowlands, CNN, Las Vegas.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
ROESGEN: Well, besides healthcare across the country, the economy is issue number one for many people, so we've got a special live campaign edition of YOUR MONEY join Wolf Blitzer, Christine Romans, and Ali Velshi from Las Vegas at 1:00 p.m. Eastern and then, at 2:00 p.m. Eastern, Wolf stays with us for special coverage from our election center in New York. That's where you can get the first results from the Nevada.
And be sure to stay around for more of CNN's "BALLOT BOWL." We'll be bringing you the candidates, unfiltered in their own words. CNN's "BALLOT BOWL" kicks off at 4:00 p.m. Eastern.
HOLMES: Can black people support Barack Obama but still not vote for him? I spent some time in Las Vegas during this week's Democratic debate out there and found that for the black candidate getting the black vote, no guarantee.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
HOLMES (voice over): Whether he wins the White House or not, many consider Barack Obama's candidacy a realization of part of Dr. King's dream. Generations of blacks fought for a country to get to this point, the day a black man can be president. But even if it's a day black people have waited for, it doesn't necessarily mean Obama is the candidate they'll vote for.
AL DOTSON JR., CHMN. 100 BLACK MEN OF AMERICA: We are not a monolithic people and we don't think in a monolithic way. We are looking for candidates who are responsive to our community, I am sure. HOLMES: The chairman of the group, 100 Black Men of America, acknowledges the dilemma but says, it's a good problem to have.
DOTSON: It's a great time. It's a great time in America, and even in black America, when you have multiple candidates, who are attuned to our issues, who are responding to our issues, and excite the electorate to participate.
AMB. ANDREW YOUNG: I want Barack Obama to be president - in 2016.
HOLMES: An example of the divide in the black community, Ambassador Andrew Young, who marched alongside Martin Luther King, is supporting Hillary Clinton.
SEN. HILLARY CLINTON, (D) PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Thank you so much.
HOLMES: Several others civil rights (INAUDIBLE) leaders have either endorsed Clinton or have not committed to either candidate. Last fall, polls showed Clinton way ahead of Obama with registered black voters. Those numbers changed drastically after Obama's victory in the Iowa caucuses which proved to many that Obama can win this thing.
HOLMES (on camera): Of course this is not the first black candidate we've seen. We've had Jesse Jackson. We've had Al Sharpton, even more recently. What has Obama been able to do to get traction that those were not able to do?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: He's a new type. Let's say, go back to the new Negro. The old renaissance period, when talked about the new Negro. Well, he is like the new Negro in the 21st century, and I think he's overshadowed those previous runners, and he's brought more to the table.
HOLMES (voice over): Doctor Hailings (ph) says, both the times and Obama's gale and hope (ph) education make a big difference between the campaigns of Shirley Chisholm, Jesse Jackson and Al Sharpton. But Ivy League image or not, others say, anyone who assumes the Illinois senator is an automatic for black voters, better think again.
THOMAS PARHAM, ASS. VICE CHANCELLOR/USC IRVINE: It also represents something of perspective, I've not seen reflected in the media is the profound disrespect for African-Americans generally, where the media would assume that somehow we don't have a brain to think about issues and that somehow, we would just vote for people either because they are related to an ex-president who we have like or because somebody happens to be black.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
HOLMES: And the group, 100 Black Men of America, did sponsor that debate happening out there but, they do not endorse candidates, never officially endorse a candidate. Also, many of people I talked to out there were downright offended at the idea that they would vote for someone just based on skin color.
Also, we have an "ANDERSON COOPER 360" special we want to tell you about. He's going to be looking at race and politics in the 2008 presidential race. Tune in Monday after the Congressional black caucus debate, right here on CNN which is your home for politics.
ROESGEN: Well, when your wallet is empty, doesn't matter which political party you belong to and some relief could be on the way for crash-strapped Americans. President Bush is asking Congress to immediately pass a temporary economic package to try to keep this country out of a recession. And so, $140 plus billion stimulus package with tax breaks for businesses and temporary relief for the taxpayers. The president wants you to put the money in your wallet and go out and spend it.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
GEORGE W. BUSH, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: To be effective, the growth package must also include direct and rapid income tax relief for the American people. Americans could use this money as they see fit, to help meet their monthly bills, cover higher costs at the gas pump or pay for all their basic necessities. Letting America's keep more of their own money should increase consumer spending and lift our economy at a time when people otherwise might spend less.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ROESGEN: You can get more on how the new plan will stimulate the economy, through it'll (ph) affect your taxes and your bank account at CNNmoney.com.
HOLMES: And caught on tape: surveillance video of a suspected marine killer.
ROESGEN: CNN has obtained this video from the TV program "America's Most Wanted." Now, look here, authorities in North Carolina say it shows Corporal Cesar Laurean, circled there, you see him in the front of the screen, lower part of your screen there, buying supplies that could have been used to cover up the killing of Lance Corporal Maria Lauterbach. This video was taken December 16th, two days after Lauterbach was killed, and as you know, she was eight months pregnant.
HOLMES: And police released a frame of a video we want to show you now, this. They say, it shows Laurean withdrawing money from an ATM in Jacksonville, North Carolina, allegedly using Lauterbach's card on Christmas Eve. Laurean is wanted on a murder charge now.
ROESGEN: And back to politics: the polls in South Carolina opened just about, well they've opened about 15 minutes now. So, the early birds are there and the Nevada caucuses will start later today. Presidential candidates are hitting the trail east and west to try to get the votes.
HOLMES: Yes, they are. And Governor Mike Huckabee is one of them. He's going to be joining us a little later this morning from South Carolina, where he has a lot riding on what happens there today. We'll see what he expects to happen in South Carolina.
REYNOLDS WOLF, AMS METEOROLOGIST: And a huge day in South Carolina, not just in terms of the big vote today but also in terms of the big weather. Already, some scattered showers, a few thunderstorms and before the day is out, we may have snowflakes on the Palmetto State. Not only that, but take a look at the shot we have from Hartsfield-Jackson Airport in Atlanta, Georgia where we have cancellations already across the board and maybe even more as we make our way into the late day hours. So much more coming up right here on CNN SATURDAY.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HOLMES: All right, folks, we have more news in less time. Call them our Quick Hits. So, we've got some Quick Hits for you.
ROESGEN: Yes, we mean hits. A clerk in Springfield, Missouri, didn't run when a robber tried to stick up her convenience store. She cracked him on the head with a broom. The would-be robber had a gun, but decided that maybe, he ought to make a hasty exit.
HOLMES: And a new line of work, she's got a broom and he's got a gun. Way to go, lady. Who is this guy? He ought to be -- look at that. OK. He's just keep running. I wish we get his name and his home address. Alright, folks. We will move on.
And this is another hit we're talking about here. This is in Pennsylvania. An elderly man lost control of his car outside a casino, plowed into a bunch of pedestrians. Casino folks said, the car ran into the back of an ambulance that was at the casino on another call. So, we got all kinds of stuff going on here. It jumped the curb, hit five people. One person here was actually critically injured.
ROESGEN: And this now is my friend Flocke, not my friend, Flicka (ph) the dolphin. This is Flocke, the official name for the little baby polar bear in the Nuremberg, Germany zoo. The zoo went through 30,000 e-mail suggestions but then settled on what the zoo had been calling her all along. Flocke is flake in German like snowflake.
She was taken away from her mother at the zoo because her mother kept dropping her head on the ground. She didn't seem to want her. So, they are raising the sweet, little thing by herself, Flocke. Snowflake. Dropped on the head many times, going to say something that I ...
HOLMES: I appreciate you holding back there.
We'll turn to some weather here. Much of the nation (ph) in mid section in a deep freeze this weekend -- northern plains, upper Midwest, going to see bitterly cold temperatures.
ROESGEN: Yes, and talking about Chicago, thank God we're in Atlanta today. In Illinois, the winter weather in could bring wind- chills of 30 below zero. They have set up what they call warming shelters, 20 of them all across the state, because the temperatures around there are going to just keep going down. This morning was a bone-chilling three degrees in Chicago, but this winter blast, Reynolds, has gone all the way down to, you said snowflakes in Palmetto State?
WOLF: In the Palmetto State, yes, hard to believe. You could see that today in South Carolina. What is so kooky and crazy about this whole thing is Susan and I were in California in Truckee, California, with that one degree feet of snow, T.J. out there, just unbelievable stuff and they regarded that as kind of a calm. Right.
Here in Atlanta we're expecting one to three feet -- not one to three feet, one to three inches of snowfall and people here going cuckoo for coco pops (ph). I mean, believe, the stores here in Atlanta are out of completely out of milk and bread which makes me think that maybe milk sandwiches are really popular, right? I have no idea but it is going to be an interesting morning to see how this plays and not just here but also in the Carolinas where we have the big day today.
HOLMES: They're telling to us prepare in case we can't get to work tomorrow morning. I mean, just cuckoo for cocoa pops (ph), they were going nuts and they're warning us that if we can't get work, you need to get an overnight bag and be here just in case.
WOLF: Well, I don't make too light of this because this is big situation especially of air travel. Take a look this at what we have for you, this flight explorer just kind of gives you an idea of how many planes we have not just in the Atlanta area but of much of the eastern seaboard.
We have a lot of delays. We're seeing cancellations already across the board at Hartsfield. It's going to be an interesting morning, to say the least, to see how all of this pans out. And I'll tell, as we make our way into the mid-morning hours and into the afternoon, we're going to be seeing much of this rainfall, which is what we have now switching over to snow.
To the big weather map, on the big weather map, you do see that big mix, the snowfall mainly into parts of Alabama, some of that mixed in with sleet, as you make your way back into Mississippi, near Jackson. They've had snow this morning. That may continue.
The reason why, because you've got cold air just coming in from the north and at the same time the moisture that's coming in from the Gulf of Mexico and the combination's causing all this. Watches and warnings as you see through (ph) parts of Central Alabama, near Jenison back into Atlanta, event to Carolinas, as I mentioned back over to Raleigh, could see some snowfall there, especially in the late afternoon and evening hours.
We've got all the elements in the place and this is definitely will cause some issues for many people, not just in parts of Atlanta that we just trying to drive around but back into Charlotte, and of course in the Carolinas, it will be very interesting. You've got to keep things in perspective, too.
Many of the spots in the southeast, see if you happen to be in Colorado, this isn't (INAUDIBLE) a really big deal in terms of the snowfall but you don't have the snow removal equipment, you don't have the ability to deal with the ice and snow in the southeast, as do you in parts of the midwest or into the Rockies, so this is going to be a tremendous deal, especially in parts of South Carolina, Columbia, southward into Charleston (INAUDIBLE) for the time being. But into the afternoon, they could see snowflakes out on the parade ground at the central. What a day.
Let's send it back to you to news desk.
HOLMES: Yes. What a day. Reynolds, we appreciate, you know you're going to be a busy man this morning will be taking in often. Thank you, sir.
Well, I've got a border battle like we've never seen before. The issue is immigration but a wildlife refuge is the battleground.
ROESGEN: Some people say a border fence will wipe out wildlife and a $1 million economy. We've got the story for you right here on CNN SATURDAY MORNING.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
ROESGEN: You know, immigration has been one of the hot issues in this presidential race and a year from now, the Department of Homeland Security expects to have 700 miles of border fence along the Mexican border. But a physical barrier affects more than the people who live there.
Here's what's happening in McAllen, Texas.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: There goes a sepultor (ph) flying right.
ROESGEN (voice over): At the World Birding Center near McAllen, Texas, people come from all over the country and the world to see birds they can't see anywhere else.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: The birds are God's artwork. They are just so beautiful.
ROESGEN: But while Mary looks for rare birds, the U.S. border patrol looks for something else. In 2006, along this part of the Rio Grande, the border patrol caught 73,000 illegal immigrants.
RICK AGUIRRE, U.S. BORDER PATROL If I don't have an agent there, if I don't have my sensors there, if I don't have my lights, my cameras right there watching everything that happens, I could bat an eye, come back and the person's gone.
ROESGEN: In fact, right behind the birding center is one of the most popular spots for sneaking into the U.S. UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Probably came a large group, you know. They probably could put between five and 10 people I've seen on a tube. This could very well been 15 people.
ROESGEN: The border patrol wants to put up a series of fences along the river, all around the birding center and other nature preserves. But environmental groups say, fences would destroy native plants, cut off the animals' access to food and freshwater and wipe out an entire wildlife habitat.
JIMMY PAZ, CONSERVATIONIST: The mammals, the butterflies, the birds, everything's savoring (ph) life. The fence would actually block off the mammals.
ROESGEN: At McAllen Chamber of Commerce, the fear is that fences will hurt not only wildlife but also the ecotourism industry.
STEVE AHLENIUS, MCALLEN CHAMBER OF COMMERCE: It has an economic impact about $125 million a year in the economy, it creates about 2,000 jobs. It is one of the emerging industries that we have in this area.
ROESGEN: And there's another way a fence here could cost the rest of the country millions of dollars.
(on camera): For the last 26 years, American taxpayers have been spending $80 million to turn part of this area into a federal wildlife refuge. Now, what happens to that $80 million investment if the fence damages or destroys the refuge?
MICHAEL CHERTOFF, HOMELAND SECURITY SECRETARY: This is a matter of reasonable balancing. Balancing risk and considering not only the environmental consequences, but the human consequences of what we do at the border.
ROESGEN (voice over): Homeland Security director, Michael Chertoff has said he will consider environmental concerns, but locals fear the fences will go up no matter what. In this fight against the federal government, Mother Nature can't be fooled, but she could be overruled.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
ROESGEN: And just in the last couple weeks, in fact, Secretary Chertoff has said the Feds will start suing landowners who have been refusing to let the fence surveyors on their property.
HOLMES: All right, well, time for us now to jump back on the campaign trail, we jump back on the trail with Governor Mike Huckabee. There he is. He's going to be joining us live from South Carolina, probably, he didn't feel like putting a tie on for us on a Saturday morning but that's OK. We're going to talk him here in just a second about today's Republican primary there that could give him another victory -- Josh?
JOSH LEVS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: I cannot blame him for that. And one of the big issues the candidates are dealing with, the economy. And right now, the three scariest syllables to any homeowner, foreclosure. A word we heard more and more these days. I'm going to tell you what happens when your house goes up for auction, that's coming up on CNN SATURDAY MORNING.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
ROESGEN: I think Governor Huckabee just can't outdo you in the tie department. That's why he didn't even try.
HOLMES: He can, trust me, he can, but he didn't want to show me up this morning. I appreciate him being nice to me this morning.
ROESGEN: Well, welcome back. Our top story as you see is the early voting in two states on opposite ends of the country.
HOLMES: Yes, South Carolina, polls already open there. A live look here. And one guy who's voting and trying to find his way around at least at a polling place there in Lexington, South Carolina. He really doesn't know. Somebody get the guy some directions, please!
ROESGEN: Maybe he's looking for the restrooms, T.J.
HOLMES: Maybe so. Well, the voting in the Republican. Stick with the picture. I was enjoying that. It began about 30 minutes ago the voting there is the southern battleground for us who are (ph) Republicans.
ROESGEN: And we also get our first taste of the west today with the Nevada caucuses getting under way in just a few hours, noon eastern. At the end of the day, we will see winners there for both the Republicans and Democrats.
HOLMES: Now, we have three winners in four states, that's what we've seen so far for the Republicans. One of those winners, former Arkansas governor, Mike Huckabee, he took the first win in the Iowa caucuses. Now, he's hoping his southern roots lead him to win number two, but this time in South Carolina, and the governor himself, Huckabee, taking some time out from his schedule to talk to us this morning.
Governor Huckabee, good to see you as always and good morning to you. It is, of course, getting a little contentious there in South Carolina between you and Fred Thompson. Two guys who can claim some southern roots, he might need a win, more desperately than you. But, tell me, do you really not like Fred Thompson? Do you like the guy?
MIKE HUCKABEE, (R) PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Oh, I like him fine. He's taken after me. I've got, you know, been after him so much, but he's had on a position where he's apparently, got to do something to get his campaign going, so, he's trying to do it at my expense.
But there's an old saying that you probably heard, T.J., it says that as long as you're getting kicked in the rear, you can always be glad you're still out front. So, you know, that's kind of the way I look at it, when you're getting kicked in the backside, just look around, because somebody's behind you, not in front of you. And that's a good sign. That's where we are today.
HOLMES: If he's kicking you in the backside, does that mean he's kicking your butt in the state as far as polls and the voters go now?
HUCKABEE: No. I don't think so. We're expecting a win here, T.J. We're seeing the momentum, feeling it, sensing it. And if the voters come out, I know the weather is bad here in South Carolina today, that's not a good sign. But on the other hand, I think our voters are committed. And we're telling our voters, I don't care what the weather is, go vote. But if you're not voting for me, whatever you do, stay home, watch cartoons, just make a big pot of chili, don't even think about going out there.
HOLMES: Don't you think about going out. Now, you see, some people won't go out on a limb (ph), some candidates won't. And like you just did and say, you are expecting a win. So, is anything less than a win going to be a disappointment? As you know, a lot of polls show you and McCain pretty much in a battle here. Some of them are showing him ahead by a significant margin or at least outside the margin of error. So, is that going to be a huge letdown if the southern guy can't win the southern state?
HUCKABEE: Well, it will be a letdown but it won't be, you know, down and out. Obviously, we want to win here and we think we can. We think we should and we think we will. But the voters of South Carolina will make that decision today.
I just think that when they get down to it, they're going to realize that there's a new generation of leadership that's needed in Washington, that I represent that, having governed the state, much like South Carolina, and done it effectively, improving things like education, and healthcare, and transportation, things that matter to people, and especially with the economy on people's minds. Having a governor who has led a state through both good and bad times, is the kind of formula that we need to change some things in Washington.
HOLMES: What you just talked about the economy there, you're the president. If you were the president, how would you have reacted to this, the economy crunch that we're seeing right now, and how similar would your response would have been to President Bush's? We saw his stimulus package come out yesterday and what he's talking about proposing some things, some rebates, $150 billion roughly package. How similar would your package have been to his?
HUCKABEE: I support the president. I think what he's doing is the right step and I think he's getting a lot of bipartisan support for it and that's good. It does two things. First of all, it does react to the fact that we have rising unemployment rates and that's a serious issue when families are struggling. It puts money back into the hands of consumers which is one of the things we need during a recession is to have people stimulating the economy so, you don't have a loss of products and therefore, a loss of jobs.
So, the president's handling this I think about is right. The one thing that isn't happening and it is not all the president's fault, it's Congress. That's why I think we need someone from outside of Congress to be president; the spending is still out of control. And what really has to happen is Washington do what families are having to do, families who are losing their income, cut back their spending, not Congress. They just keep spending and spending and spending, and adding the debt to our children and grandchildren.
HOLMES: Sir, we're running out of time but I want to ask you about one thing and give you a chance to respond to something that's getting a lot of play on the Internet at least. But an interview you did on Belief.net in which you answered a question about same-sex marriage and the response you gave was that you thought it was a radical view as to say that we're going to change the definition of marriage so it can mean two men, two women, a man and three women, a man and a child, a man and animal.
Now, a lot of people took that quote and said, wait a minute, is this guy comparing same-sex marriage between bestiality or something like a man and a child which of course, out there for many, many people, would not equate those two of the same. Are you at all equating man and a man and a woman and woman or something like marriage between a man and a child or man and an animal?
HUCKABEE: Of course not. The context was simply saying that once you change the definition, then you can keep changing it. And the point that I'm making is that I support a marriage amendment to the Constitution, like the one we had in Arkansas, and it just affirms what marriage is, because once you change the definition, my point is that the logical conclusion is that you can keep changing it.
And that's why it is a dangerous thing to redefine family, to redefine life, to redefine marriage and that's the point. It was not making the equation. It was following things to a logical conclusion, and obviously, people take everything out of the context of the statement, and attribute things that certainly are not there at all.
HOLMES: All right, and you think -- but this image or rather not the image but this issue coming up again with something I guess President Bush and Karl Rove got credit for, bringing up a wedge issue, if you will. Do you think that same-sex marriage needs to be an issue we're talking about again in this election cycle?
HUCKABEE: Well, as long as states are trying to pass laws that overturn the tradition definition of marriage, which has already happened in Massachusetts, proposals in other states, we have to deal with it, because otherwise, you have a state where you create a new type of marriage, then, these people go to a state that doesn't have it, and there's mass confusion.
So, we really ought to say, is it that we're going to change the definition or not? I think most of news this culture believes that marriage should mean a man and woman in a relationship and it should mean anything about. It's not that we're against other people or against the way people they choose to live life. But if they choose to live life and redefine the marriage role, that's different than simply making a personal choice of lifestyle.
HOLMES: All right. I will wrap up here by asking you on a much lighter note about some of your endorsements. Rick Flair (ph), Ted Nugent (ph), Chuck Norris. What in the world is going on? Where are you finding these characters, if you will, as far as endorsements? Nothing wrong at all with these guys but you know, not exactly Oprah or, you know, something like that. Where are these characters coming from?
HUCKABEE: Hey, you know what? I think they've got some serious octane that maybe that Oprah doesn't have because if people don't vote for me, how would you like to say, hello, Mr. Norris. Hello, Mr. Flair (ph). I'm not voting for your guy. You could get your lights punched out. I mean, this is easy.
So, they're great guys. They're actually both very solid conservatives, great Republican activists, and they're with me not because of their celebrity status but because of their deeply-held belief in a more conservative approach to less taxes and smaller government, and family-friendly policies. They're great guys.
HOLMES: I don't know if that approach has been tried before just to scare voters into voting for you but, we'll see if it keeps working for you, Governor Huckabee, we appreciate your time this morning, sir. Good to see you and good luck to you today in South Carolina.
HUCKABEE: Thank you. Have a great day, T.J.
HOLMES: All right. Thanks so much. And of course the economy issue number one for many, many people. So, we've got a special live campaign edition of YOUR MONEY. You can join Wolf Blitzer, Christine Romans and Ali Velshi from Vegas, that comes your way 1:00 o'clock Eastern time.
And at 2:00, Wolf stays with us for special coverage from our election center in New York. Get the first results from the Nevada caucuses and be sure to stay around for more of CNN's "BALLOT BOWL." This thing is huge. We're bringing you the candidates, unfiltered in their own words. CNN's "BALLOT BOWL" kicks off at 4:00 p.m. Eastern today.
ROESGEN: And well, talking about the economy, Senate majority leader, Harry Reid says he shares President Bush's view that Congress needs to prop up the sinking economy. The president wants Congress to immediately pass a $140 to $150 billion package as we just mentioned, a package of tax cuts and business incentives. And Treasury secretary, Henry Paulson says, the president's stimulus plan could work.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
HENRY PAULSON, TREASURY SECRETARY: The president wants to do something that's meaningful, that's robust, that will make a difference this year. There are no silver bullets. There's nothing that's perfect, but to be quick and to focus on the areas we've mentioned, to give money to consumers, there's plenty of evidence, you give money to people quickly, they're going to spend it.
(END VIDEO CLIP) ROESGEN: And you can get more on how the proposals to stimulate the economy could affect your taxes, your wallets, your bank account at CNNMoney.com.
HOLMES: And mortgage foreclosure could emerge as one of the dominant economic issues of the 2008 presidential campaign because more and more Americans are suddenly losing their homes and a lot of it has to do with the high-risk mortgage.
ROESGEN: And from there goes the stock market and everything else. Voters in the Nevada caucuses in fact, they're really thinking about that today because as we've learn, Nevada's foreclosure rate is number one in the country, four times higher than the national average. So, Josh Levs is here now with a closer look at how the bottom is just dropping out on homeowners, not only there but all over the country.
LEVS: All over the country. I mean, it's bad in Nevada but it's bad everywhere. Every major city is feeling this right now and what we're hearing, the property value loss alone for Americans could be more than a trillion bucks this year. It's crazy. I mean, this is a huge amount of money.
So, what I did this week, I'm going to show you guys this now. We went to an auction where they take foreclosed homes and make them available. And what you're going to find here is if you want to look in America, is there anyone at all who might benefit from the foreclosure crisis? Here are the few people who might come out ahead.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
LEVS (voice over): It's fast-paced, big bucks and the sign of America's new reality, as the mortgage crisis leads to record numbers of foreclosures, more and more people are spotting opportunities and packing up the foreclosure auctions, mostly investors like Reginald Jackson.
REGINALD JACKSON, INVESTOR: You can make an average at least 10,000, 15,000, 20,000 per property. It depends.
LEVS: He's done his homework, scoping out some modest homes for long-term investments. The homes are listed online so, the bidders arrive knowing what they want. Jackson already bought six foreclosed homes this week.
JACKSON: Purchasing at least ...
LEVS: You know, that sounds like a monopoly.
JACKSON: Yes, I do. I'm pretty good at that game too.
LEVS (on camera): All right. So, another property sold. This is one of many auctions take place in the Atlanta area across this week. They're selling off more than 500 homes valued between about $30,000 and $700,000. (voice over): Many sell well-below market value but some folks here want the prices high. Realtors who list the property, Michelle Gilbert now is focusing on foreclosures.
MICHELLE GILBERT, REAL ESTATE AGENT: That's the way to go now. Unfortunately, the market is swaying in that direction.
LEVS: And for the company that runs the auction, it's a booming business.
DAVID WEBB, HUDSON & MARSHALL: Just last year alone, we did about 8,000 assets and this year we'll do 12,000 to 15,000.
LEVS (on camera): And when you look ahead, it's going to be even more, right?
WEBB: It's going to be more. There's plenty on the market and really, the auctions, the institutions that own these properties really like to be able to go into a market area and move a lot of property in a very short period of time.
LEVS (voice over): Which explains why at these auctions, speed is the name of the game.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
LEVS: Now, think about this, there's actually a delay between foreclosure and auction of about 18 months. So, most of these homes were foreclosed back in 2006, so, you can imagine how incredibly many auctions we can now expect this year, and next year, given all of the foreclosures.
ROESGEN: Josh (ph), the bubble hasn't really burst yet.
LEVS: Right, in terms of this kind of thing, absolutely. We're going to see a lot more.
ROESGEN: What about all of the people that have lost their homes? Has anybody tracked where these people are?
LEVS: Yes, I mean, it's tragic obviously, for a lot of families. Because of the delay, by the time the home hits auction, almost all of the people aren't living there anymore as a rule. They've moved on. But we find is they can't afford a home at all so most of these people, if they are, some of them are family, a lot of them have small rental properties. Some move to a different town where it's just cheaper. It can shatter their entire lives to be in that economic situation. That's why it's a critical issue for all of the candidates really.
ROESGEN: No kidding, for everybody. All right. Thanks, Josh.
LEVS: Thank you.
HOLMES: Well, in a hospital bed and in labor here. ROESGEN: It's really strange, what is she wearing? We'll tell you, when one soon-to-be mother said she had to do before she gave birth.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HOLMES: Well, the police found some new evidence in the killing of a Georgia hiker.
ROESGEN: And that's top our Quick Hits. Investigators say, they have found a van belonging to this man, Gary Michael Hilton. He is the man charged with kidnapping and killing 24-year-old Meredith Emerson. She disappeared on New Year's Day while she was hiking the Appalachian Trail.
HOLMES: Also in Florida: A car plunged into a canal trapping two elderly women --an 85-year-old mother and her daughter. Well, the rescuers dove right in. A good Samaritan actually freed the eldest woman. Police rescued the other. Both appear to be all right.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
NICOLE HARGIS, MARRIED IN MATERNITY WARD: I'm like, oh, my God, we have, there's got to be a chaplain, there's got to be a priest or somebody. I don't even care who's going to marry us at the hospital. Like, we have to be married before this baby is born.
CURTIS HARGIS, MARRIED IN MATERNITY WARD: I had to rush here, left work early, rented the car, drove here from Hillsborough and want to make sure I'm here.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ROESGEN: Talking about just in the nick of time, this couple planned to get married today before the baby came but the baby wanted to come first. So, mom got married while she was in labor. The hospital set the couple up with a veil made up of a bed sheet, a bow tie made out up gauze and there you saw the wedding cake. It came from the hospital cafeteria.
HOLMES: OK.
ROESGEN: You do what you got to do.
HOLMES: Whatever that works.
ROESGEN: Coming up next hour: Good-bye incarceration, hello, education.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
GENARLOW WILSON: Yes, I told them to be myself, so, I'm going to be myself and wear my shades and everything.
(END VIDEO CLIP) ROESGEN: If anyone has earned the right to be himself it has to be Genarlow Wilson. An update on his life after prison coming up next hour.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HOLMES: All right, we always talk about we have the best political team on television but the weather team they're not bad either.
ROESGEN: Sure, Reynolds Wolf.
WOLF: You're making me flex, man. Feel powerful this morning.
HOLMES: This is why we can, this is why.
WOLF: It's all about love, man, that's what it is. Today in the southeast, all about the possibility of snow, maybe even a touch of ice. This is a big weather situation we're seeing unfold. Got a lot of gulf moisture coming in. A lot of cold air in the north and already watches and warnings scattered across parts of Alabama, into Georgia and the Carolinas. A huge day with of course all of the action going on in the polls today in South Carolina, I'm wondering how that's going to affect the turnout and no question it will have some effect, mainly in the form of rainfall right now that may slow people going out to the polls.
We're seeing a combination, not just rain, but also sleet and snow into portions of Alabama. (INAUDIBLE) just to the north of I-20 in Tuscaloosa, seeing a touch of snowfall, that could continue into the afternoon hours. No snow falling yet into the Carolinas but that could occur also that's around (ph) 2:00 or 3:00 this afternoon, something we're certainly going to watch. Something you're definitely going to be watching, at least, many of you, some of the football we'll be dealing with this weekend, the Chargers and Patriots.
Take look at this game time, temperature, 20 degrees, wind-chill of going to about 14 but in Green Bay, Wisconsin, this is mind- boggling. Check out the game time conditions. Temperatures are going to be just frigid. We'd already see some video of some people out there trying to keep Lambeau Field clean and certainly, free of snow. That's going to be a tough call for them especially when you have these kind of conditions.
Let's go back to the weather computer very quickly. Temperature kickoff, one degree below zero. But when you factor in the wind, we're talking 22 degrees below zero. That's one of those type of scenarios we can get a cup of water, throw it up in the air and by the time it lands it's going all be ice. Brutal conditions.
We're going to give you the latest coming up very soon. Let's send it back to you at the news desk.
ROESGEN: I wanted to try that. Go to Green Bay and try that.
WOLF: Yes, I think you're thinking about sending someone on the weather team to do that. I don't know who it will be but ...
ROESGEN: So, we saw the video in Green Bay, they're scraping the ice off the bleachers. Packers fans you know, will do anything to win and that includes taking away the Giants quarterback's Eli Manning's favorite show "Seinfeld" but Manning says he's not phased.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
ELI MANNING, NEW YORK GIANTS QUARTERBACK: You know, I don't think it matters. I've seen every episode anyway. So, I'm not going to miss anything on it. But again, you take it all in, you smile at it and you don't really give it a second thought.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HOLMES: Yes, we'll explain that a little more. The Giants/Packers, Green Bay/New England, the quarterbacks stacking up in this thing, we're going to be talking to our sports analysts pretty Ricky coming up in just a moment. There he is, wearing a pink hat and that's why we call you pretty, Rick, that's why we call you pretty.
RICK HORROW, CNN BUSINESS SPORTS ANALYST: Packer gloves. It's going to be cold!
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HOLMES: Now: Showdown for the Super Bowl. Of course, you better bring your long johns. Weather expected to be brutal in for Foxborough and Green Bay. There it is. Reynolds just telling us about it, that for the game at Lambeau field, 22 below with the wind- chill and the teens actually for the Patriots and the Chargers. Woo! Sports business analyst Rick Horrow, pretty Ricky what they call him, he's here. Now, folks, I want to tell you, this man has on gloves but he's sitting in Florida right now, talking to us. Rick, please, you're not fooling anybody.
HORROW: Yes, well, clearly not anymore. OK, so -- who would have brought Packers gloves to a live hit for you? I'm covering all of the bases. Well, I'm just glad I'm watching the game, OK, on my couch as opposed to Green Bay. And we've got the winning Super Bowl hat.
HOLMES: The pink super bowl hat?
HORROW: Yes, the pink Super Bowl hat. We'll do this when we're live in Glendale in a couple of weeks. It might be Patriots and Packers over here. We'll see.
HOLMES: Well, Patriots/Packers, is that what the NFL wants? Tell me, how much is the NFL loving the match-ups right now? You've the undefeated Patriots. You've got by far of a story everybody loves and you've got the big market -- New York Giants still alive in this?
HORROW: I'll tell you what the NFL wants. The NFL wants to perpetuate their $70 billion worth of television contract. It's what they want. And it is the year of the quarterbacks; you've got Manning and Favre, and Brady (ph) in the top 10 and their jerseys (ph) sales everywhere else. It's the other Manning. Well, you know, Eli Manning is there and the bottom line is there is controversy about winning and losing but the bottom line again is that the NFL is generating substantial dollars from television and ratings and they want to keep it that way.
HOLMES: And now, is that what's driving it this year, isn't really the Patriots? Now, everybody is the team people love to hate but still, they'll watch them and then, people know they're watching history.
HORROW: You can't get enough of the Patriots. You see the video. Obviously, they are the top in merchandise sales now that the Cowboys and Colts and Stealers are gone.
More importantly, they're the top left as far as franchise value, $1.3 billion according to "Forbes" for the Patriots value today. And of course, the top four regular season televised games this year all included the ...
HOLMES: You know, we just lost pretty Ricky.
ROESGEN: I wonder what that means in terms of the game ...
HOLMES: That's unfortunate.
ROESGEN: ...that's kind of like bad mojo there.
HOLMES: That is. But he has a lot of good stuff to say. As always, we hate we didn't get to finish up with him. Maybe we'll get him back, but thank you, pretty Ricky. But for now, the next hour of CNN "SATURDAY MORNING" starts now.
ROESGEN: Good morning, from the CNN Center in Atlanta, this is CNN SATURDAY MORNING and I'm Susan Roesgen filling in today for Betty Nguyen.
HOLMES: And I'm T.J. Holmes.
A big day in South Carolina, polls opening right now for the Republican primary. There you see. But if you're planning to vote today, you better get out early, a winter storm headed your way. Got kind of a mess going on in South Carolina. We'll be talking about it weather wise.
ROESGEN: So we're starting right away with politics and these two states now at opposite ends of the country making some choices today. South Carolina is holding its Republican primary and Nevada is holding caucuses for both parties. The voting in Nevada starts in about four hours. But in South Carolina, it's already underway as you saw.
And CNN's Mary Snow is live at a polling place in Lexington, South Carolina -- Mary.
SNOW: Hi there, Susan, good morning. We're in Lexington County, right outside the state's capital of Columbia. You know you're talking about storms, it is raining here steadily. Still about two dozen people have come out in the first hour at this polling station. This is a precinct where those running the polls here say about 1,500 voters live.
How many will show up for this Republican primary, not really known in terms of the turnout, what is expected. But the polls will be open through 7:00 p.m. in this very critical test in the Republican race.
This is the first real test in the south and so many candidates have so much riding on this state. It is a heated race and a tight race between Senator John McCain and Mike Huckabee. Senator John McCain lost here in 2000. He is hoping to reverse that after he lost here in 2000, that really derailed his candidacy. Senator John McCain has been courting voters across the state, appealing to them to show up today to turn out.
A couple of themes that have been hitting on here. He's been striking the theme of national security, touting his military experience, Mike Huckabee has been really making a push for social conservative voters, but is also saying his message is broader than that. He has been also appealing to blue collar workers, middle class workers in terms of the fears about the economy.
Fred Thompson is really staking his candidacy on the state. He's been campaigning heavily here in South Carolina. Mitt Romney left the state a few days ago to Nevada after he won Michigan, saying he's really going after delegates. He didn't think he could win here but he has been running ads. So this is a wide open race as we all know and what happens here could really whittle down a few of the candidates perhaps and perhaps change the face of this Republican contest -- Susan?
ROESGEN: OK. We'll see what happens and we'll check in with you later Mary, thank you -- T.J.?
HOLMES: Well, Governor Mike Huckabee says he will win South Carolina. The former Arkansas governor shared his prediction with us last hour, but didn't just talk about this horserace going on in South Carolina, also asked him about some issues in particular the economy. Here's what he says should be done right now.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
HUCKABEE: The one thing that isn't happening and it's not all the president's fault, it's Congress. That's why I think we need someone from outside of Congress to be president. The spending is still out of control and what really has to happen is Washington, do what families are having to do, families who are losing their income cut back their spending, not Congress. They just keep spending and spending and spending and adding the debt to our children and grandchildren.
(END VIDEO CLIP) HOLMES: We also talked about the same sex marriage issue as an issue in this election. That part of the interview coming up a little later this morning.
ROESGEN: Interesting interview, want to see more of it. And as we mentioned, in just about four hours, the people of Nevada will get to have their say in the presidential race. The Nevada caucuses are the only contest today for the Democrats.
HOLMES: And the stakes are high out there as so much else is in Las Vegas and the surrounding area and campaigns are certainly (INAUDIBLE) CNN.s Jessica Yellin reports now for us from Las Vegas.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
JESSICA YELLIN, CNN CONGRESSIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): On the campaign trail, the candidates are promising to heal economic wounds.
SEN. HILLARY CLINTON (D) PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: I think your government that you pay tax dollars to should do more to help small businesses.
JOHN EDWARDS (D) PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: We modernize our unemployment insurance laws to cover more people, then we get help to the states directly.
SEN. BARACK OBAMA (D) PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: I call for a tax rebate. Every American immediately gets $250 and then an additional $250 if the economy keeps on getting worse.
YELLIN: Sounds substantive, right? While the candidates are talking issues, the campaigns or their supporters are on the attack. The ad says Hillary Clinton supporters went to court to prevent working people from voting and Hillary Clinton has no shame. The ad is paid for by a labor union that supports Barack Obama. Now John Edwards is calling Obama a hypocrite since the ad is paid for by one of those reviled special interest groups.
EDWARDS: I hope Senator Obama will call for this ad, first denounce the ad, second call for it to be stopped.
CLINTON: But don't take it from me.
YELLIN: And camp Clinton is getting in on the circular firing squad, leaping on this from Obama.
OBAMA: I think Ronald Reagan changed the trajectory of America in a way that, you know, Richard Nixon did not and in a way that Bill Clinton did not.
YELLIN: Clinton supporters say they're stupefied, baffled that Obama would praise Ronald Reagan, a man they say made life worse for women, minorities and the homeless and proves she's the real Democrat in the race. (on-camera): The tit for tat doesn't end there. Now Senator Clinton is calling Senator Obama on the mat saying those Spanish language ads endorsing him are shameless, offensive and untrue and he should demand that they stop. Bottom line, there's not a lot of love lost out here on the campaign trail.
Jessica Yellin, CNN, Las Vegas.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
ROESGEN: So that is the story from Nevada and as you know, we have got one in South Carolina, the Republican primary today. But voters across the country are starting to say the economy has become their number one issue. So we have got a special live campaign edition of "Your Money." Join Wolf Blitzer, Christine Romans and Ali Velshi from Las Vegas. That comes your way at 1:00 Eastern.
Then at 2:00, Wolf will stay with us for special coverage from our election center in New York. And you will get the first results from the Nevada caucuses and be sure to stay around then for more of CNN's "BALLOT BOWL." We're bringing you the candidates unfiltered in their own words. CNN's "BALLOT BOWL" kicks off at 4:00 p.m. Eastern.
HOLMES: President Bush of course asking Congress to immediately pass a temporary economic stimulus package.
ROESGEN: Trying to keep the country out of a recession. It's a $140 plus billion proposal and he calls for tax breaks for businesses and temporary relief for taxpayers.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
BUSH: To be effective a growth package must also include direct and rapid income tax relief for the American people. Americans can use this money as they see fit, to help meet their monthly bills, cover higher costs at the gas pump or pay for other basic necessities. Letting Americans keep more of their own money should increase consumer spending and lift our economy at a time when people otherwise might spend less.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HOLMES: Meanwhile Democratic presidential candidate John Edwards agrees, yes, the economy needs some help, but he's concerned about the president's plan.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
EDWARDS: I think the dollar amount is in the right ballpark, but there are a couple of things that are of real concern and I hope they can be worked out. Number one, there are about 50 million families, low to moderate income families who get little or no help from the president's proposal. The second is, there seems to be no lasting impact.
(END VIDEO CLIP) ROESGEN: You can get more on the proposals to stimulate the economy, how it might affect your taxes and your bank account at cnnmoney.com.
HOLMES: Well, folks who will apparently need some economic help are some folks over at Sprint Nextel. Pink slips are going to be handed out over there. The wireless phone provider says it plans to cut 4,000 jobs and close 125 stores, all because of an expected slowdown in subscriber growth, profit and income. Sprint says the move will save the company up to $800 million a year.
Meanwhile, caught on tape, this surveillance video here of a suspected Marine killer.
ROESGEN: It's a little hard to make out, but we've got this video from the TV program "America's Most Wanted." The police in North Carolina say it shows Corporal Cesar Laurean circled there, buying supplies that could have been used to cover up the killing of Lance Corporal Maria Lauterbach. This video was taken December 16, two days after Lauterbach was killed and she was eight months pregnant.
HOLMES: Also, police released a frame of video here. They say this shows Laurean withdrawing money from an ATM in Jacksonville, North Carolina allegedly using Lauterbach's card and this was on Christmas even they say. Laurean as you know is wanted on a murder charge.
ROESGEN: And now we go to Reynolds Wolf again for a look at not just the football weather, but the voting weather in South Carolina.
(WEATHER REPORT)
HOLMES: Of course folks we here at CNN are following Genarlow Wilson, his whole case from a jail cell, his release and now he's moving on with his life.
ROESGEN: And we are following Genarlow now to college, see how he's moving into the next phase of his life only here on CNN.
HOLMES: But first here, we got Dr. Sanjay Gupta with a preview of today's "HOUSE CALL."
DR. SANJAY GUPTA, CNN CHIEF MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT: All right, thanks.
It sounds like science fiction, but in fact, a rat's beating heart may offer new hope for people suffering from chronic heart disease. We'll tell you how.
And health officials now say food produced by cloned farm animals is safe to eat. But are you going to buy it? We take a closer look at the controversy.
Plus, the emergency room wait. You'll be surprised how long some patients just sit around. How to empower yourself before making a visit.
All that and much more coming up on "HOUSE CALL" at 8:30.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HOLMES: Quick look here now at some other stories making news.
ROESGEN: In the Middle East in Gaza, hospital officials say at least one person was killed in two Israeli air strikes in that Palestinian-controlled territory. Fourteen other people were wounded. The strikes came after Israel sealed off Gaza, hoping to stop rocket attacks on Israeli border towns.
HOLMES: And in Los Angeles, striking writers could begin informal talks, that's informal talks, but that's something. The Hollywood studios as early as next week, word of a possible break in the stalemate came after a tentative agreement was reached between the studios and the directors' union. The writers of course went on strike two months ago.
ROESGEN: And a clerk in Springfield, Missouri did not run when a robber tried to hold up her convenience store. No, she cracked him on the head with her broom. The guy had a gun, but he decided that he had better get out of the store pretty quick. They think that this same guy has robbed or tried to rob eight stores this month, but maybe this one will be his last.
Well, from felon to freshman, Genarlow Wilson started college this week after a two-year detour through the school of hard knocks.
HOLMES: As a teenager, Wilson went to prison for sex with an under aged girl. It took the Georgia legislature and finally the state supreme court to free him. Here now CNN's Rick Sanchez with an exclusive update you will only see right here on CNN.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
RICK SANCHEZ, CNN ANCHOR (voice-over): A freshman at Morehouse College in Atlanta. But this student took a road here like none of his classmates. Not even out of high school, Genarlow Wilson found himself in prison serving a 10-year sentence. He was ensnared by a law designed for adult sexual predators.
Georgia legislators later changed that law because of his case. Wilson was convicted of having consensual oral sex with a teenaged girl. He was 17 at the time. She was 15.
At no time did you tell that young lady that she had to give you oral sex?
GENARLOW WILSON: No, sir.
SANCHEZ: There was an international outcry over Wilson's sentence. But when Georgia legislators changed the law, they did not make it apply retroactively to Wilson.
I confronted the president pro tempore of the Georgia senate after hearing him say this.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Are you aware that these boys videotaped that rape?
SANCHEZ: I reminded Senator Johnson that the jury convicted Wilson of aggravated child molestation, not rape, for a consensual act. Do you feel bad about the fact that you characterized this as a rape when you were talking yesterday in the senate?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: No.
SANCHEZ: You don't have any problem with that?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: No.
SANCHEZ: Because wasn't a rape.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It's a rape in my mind.
SANCHEZ: Genarlow Wilson sat in prison for more than two years through countless legal ups and downs before a judge ordered him free and said he did not have to register as a convicted sex offender.
But the legal roller coaster Genarlow was caught up in was far from over. To the shock of most people, Georgia's attorney general appealed Wilson's release and he remained behind bars. Finally last October, the Georgia supreme court ruled that Genarlow Wilson's sentence was cruel and unusual and grossly disproportionate to what he did.
WILSON: On day one, I said not just me, but all of us, we made decisions that I felt like could have been better. But, you know, I felt like we have all learned from the experience. All we can do is move forward. You can't step back.
SANCHEZ: So how do you restart your life? For Wilson, it's here as a freshman at Atlanta's Morehouse College in his dorm room preparing for his first day of class.
WILSON: You told me to be myself, so I'm going to be myself. I wore my shades and everything.
SANCHEZ: Wilson was an honor student in high school and the foundation of radio host Tom Joyner gave him a scholarship for college. Wilson's new mentor, Morehouse dean Alvin Darden. Dean Darden expects a lot of his new charge.
ALVIN DARDEN, MOREHOUSE COLLEGE DEAN: Regardless of what has happened in his past, here's here today and believe I expect him to march on this (INAUDIBLE) campus one day, not five or six years, but I expect four years to be a Morehouse graduate.
SANCHEZ: It's Genarlow Wilson's plan as well, a plan that includes getting to the head of the class.
WILSON: I'll try to sit as close as I can to the professor or the teacher.
SANCHEZ: After a long, painful road, Genarlow Wilson is back on track.
Rick Sanchez, CNN, Atlanta.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
ROESGEN: And it is a big day in politics, the primary polls are open in South Carolina and we're live in Lexington County at the top of the next hour.
LEVS: Google and Wikipedia, that suggestion now from a university professor has sparked some real controversy. Is it maybe a good idea? We'll have that debate coming up.
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ROESGEN: You're sitting here with our lap top, the Internet makes everything so easy. If you're a parent, you know how easy, too easy it makes things, just the click of a mouse. But sometimes easy is not better.
HOLMES: I don't know about that, Josh?
ROESGEN: No, it's not. It sounds fast and maybe not accurate.
HOLMES: But an educator has his campaign, wants kids to go old school. Come on now.
LEVS: Want to get rid of that. She's talking about the university of Google. This happened in England and it's stirred up controversy all over the west. And I found out about it through Google News and I just found more information about it by Googling it.
But here's the basic idea. The professor is (INAUDIBLE). Her position is this, that students are becoming really lazy, that they're not looking for information that you can actually trust. Instead, whenever she gives them an assignment, they're just going to Google, taking whatever happens to come up at the top, right, whatever like the first or second thing is.
So in some of her words, she says Wikipedia and user generated content are creating an age of banality and mediocrity. And students need to be retrained to be critical thinkers. There you go, that's her line. Google is white bread for the mind.
Now she's giving these speeches, started off in England. But they're videoing them. More and more people are catching on and her position is that people are becoming lazy because they're not bothering to check out what's real and what's not real. We all know Wikipedia can't be trusted as 100 percent solid source because people can go in there and put whatever they want. But it is a controversy.
We're hearing from some other folks. Let me read you this thing that Google said actually. We found this again by Googling it. Google had already issued this statement.
HOLMES: You can get anything besides Googling...
LEVS: I got this whole thing this morning. We got this from the university, too. But let's take a look at what we got from Google. We believe that more knowledge is more power for people around the world. That's why we're committed to democratizing access to information. One of the great advantages of the Internet is that anyone can publish what they know.
So due diligence is covered. So this is where we are right now. So we have people arguing over whether ultimately it is right to let students get information from Google or whether they should be forced to not even use the Internet, maybe get information solidly only from books.
ROESGEN: Google says we're putting it out there so everybody can get it, but they're not saying that it's accurate. We, I think -- do we remember the days of going and getting the Encyclopedia Brittanica and looking under S for spiders and doing a paper on spiders?
LEVS: I did, but I doubt T.J. ...
HOLMES: But still, you sourced it. You can trust cnn.com, but you might not be able ...
ROESGEN: You can't trust Wikipedia because I can put in my own entry for myself. You can do the same for you.
LEVS: And what (INAUDIBLE) is pointing out is right now there is no such thing as an Internet search for trustworthy, solid information, which is interesting.
ROESGEN: There's no Internet ...
LEVS: There's no Internet search engine right now for trustworthy, solid information. There's nothing that's called scholarly search only. There's nothing that's called ...
ROESGEN: That's been vetted.
LEVS: Right, exactly. So what this suggestion is, since that doesn't exist right now, maybe the only way to get it is to get first- hand sourcing.
ROESGEN: The encyclopedia, hello, Encyclopedia Brittanica.
Is it performance art or some kind of protest or both?
HOLMES: Whatever this is, it's pretty colorful. Thousands of balls bouncing down the Spanish steps in Rome. We'll tell you what the artist had in mind here.
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ROESGEN: Well, high school wrestling doesn't normally make our water cooler segment. But wait until you see this one. You've got to look at the young man in the green and yellow.
HOLMES: Let's see here. Check him out. Did you see that? The guy does a back flip and then he pins his guy. It's kind of quick, you can see his uniform. He wore the bright yellow and the bright green, so we can pinpoint him, but look at him, he does a back flip and he pins the guy.
ROESGEN: He's going to be on the high school diving team next.
HOLMES: Or the gymnastics team. He says he's been practicing that move for a while and looking for the right moment to try it and he found the moment. That is absolutely impressive.
ROESGEN: Now to Italy, to Rome where the famous Spanish steps were not walkable. They were the backdrop for this unauthorized performance art. An artist and some accomplices dropped thousands of colored plastic balls down the Spanish steps.
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