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CNN Saturday Morning News

New Information on the Shooting Deaths of Two College Students; Pressure to Hold Primaries in Michigan and Florida, But Who Pays for Them?; Blizzard Warnings in Ohio

Aired March 08, 2008 - 09:00   ET

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

BETTY NGUYEN, CNN ANCHOR: Hello. And good morning, everybody, from the CNN Center here in Atlanta. It is Saturday March 8th. I'm Betty Nguyen.
T.J. HOLMES, CNN ANCHOR: And hello to you all. I'm T.J. Holmes. So glad you could start your day right here with us.

And we start with new information coming in to us this morning about the shooting deaths of two college students. Lauren Burton, seen on your left and Eve Carson, on the right. We'll update you on the investigation.

NGUYEN: We'll also have the latest on the delegate mess. And it is a mess. In Michigan and Florida, the pressure on to hold new primaries. But here's the question. Who's going to pay for it?

HOLMES: But reports this morning of a current possible arrest in connection with the killing of an Auburn University freshman.

NGUYEN: Auburn police holding news conferences about two hours from now in the case of Lauren Burke. And so far, campus police are not confirming reports of an arrest. Burke was found shot and wounded Tuesday night and then died a little bit later at the hospital. Police have released pictures of a description similar to Burke's 2001 Honda Civic. Here's a look at a similar vehicle. Her burned out car was found in a campus parking lot.

Now, anyone with information can call the police tip line, the numbers at the bottom of your screen. It's 334-501-7337. We're going to bring you coverage of that police news conference set for 11:00 a.m. Eastern.

HOLMES: Also, new developments this morning in the shooting deaths of another college student. Police in Chapel Hill, North Carolina say they'll announce new information about the killing of Eve Carson. They have also scheduled a news conference coming in about two hours. We'll bring that to you as we get more information as well.

Carson now being remembered at the university of North Carolina where she was student body president and also during a vigil in her hometown of Athens, Georgia.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) MAGGIE PACKER, FRIEND OF VICTIM: She's just a very special person, one of the most generous, the smartest person, brave and funny. She was really funny too. You don't meet a lot of people that have all of these qualities into one.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HOLMES: Carson was shot to death early Wednesday not far from the campus in Chapel Hill. Law enforcement agencies in North Carolina say police are circulating a picture of a possible suspect but they have yet to release that picture to the public.

NGUYEN: Meanwhile, howling winds, blowing snow, parts of Ohio are under blizzard warnings at this hour. Up to ten inches of snow already on the ground in some places in central Ohio. Look at that snow blow there. Many counties are under snow emergencies and authorities are telling residents to stay off the roads. Air travel that has been affected too as you can imagine. Flights in and out of Ohio have been delayed or canceled. A plane skidded off the runway last night in Columbus, but no one was hurt.

HOLMES: Well, also this morning, folks in Lake City, Florida, busy cleaning up from a tornado that killed at least two people. Yesterday's storm damaged several homes, even flipped a home off of its foundation on to its side. The tornado knocked out power as well. Scattered debris just all over the place.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I heard something roaring like a train. I looked out the window and I saw limbs blowing and I got up and run and got in the bathroom.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HOLMES: Officials say the tornado damaged a few businesses as well. Power still much out and in many parts of the community this morning are still working to get that back on for a lot of folks there.

NGUYEN: Well, let's take a look at the weather picture today, because there's heavy snow, rain, a mixed bag for most parts of the country. Meteorologist Reynolds Wolf joins us now. We're also getting some snow right here in Atlanta, Reynolds.

REYNOLDS WOLF, CNN METEOROLOGIST: Yes, a big mix across at least the Eastern third of the country. What we're going to start with first and we're going to talk about the potential for tornadoes this morning. You know, we already touched on Florida.

We had some issues here in Georgia last night in places like Powder Springs and places like Douglasville, Georgia. Running down, it's currently parts of the outer banks that are under the (INAUDIBLE). You'll notice this big red box, that is a watch box for tornadoes that we're watching. A very decent chance of seeing some this morning, because not only have we got the moisture and do we have that frontal boundary, but we got mid-level winds that cause this storm to spin. That's creating the cyclones and possibly spawning tornadoes.

Something else we could see, some flash flooding, a lot of this moisture feeding its way to the north in places like (INAUDIBLE) eventually in places like Greenville. They have had rain there all morning long. So with the additional moisture, you could have some issues with flash flooding.

The other part of the story we have been talking about, the other side of this system, you got the moisture in place, but there's something else too. You got a lot of cold air that's feeding in from the north and with this moisture going right over that cold air and sinking into the low levels of the atmosphere, boom, we got snow. And some of these had been pretty intense.

In fact, as we zoom in on places like Cincinnati, Cincinnati, you're about to get a little bit of a break on the action. In fact, I would say in the next ten minutes or so, you're going to see some more sunshine moving in. In fact, a little bit of dry air, just south of the city near Florence will be feeding its way to the north. But look on the other side of the Ohio River in north Kentucky, you're not done with it just yet. You still got more snow that'll be feeding it's way to the north.

Also winds have been strong, wind-chill factors mainly in the single digits for many locations. So you have got blowing snow. That's going to be another problem lowering visibility and it's going to be causing all kinds of problems in the airports. Take a look at the shot here of the roads moments ago. Airports not just in Cincinnati, but in Philadelphia, Atlanta and Cleveland all beginning to stack up.

Let's send it back to you at the news desk.

NGUYEN: What a morning. OK. Reynolds, we'll stay on top of that. Thank you.

HOLMES: As always, we're on top of politics around here. We got two contests on the agenda today, one republican caucus happening in Guam and the other in Wyoming where the democrats are holding their caucuses. Twelve delegates up for grabs there. Now 12, in the grand scheme of things, that sounds like a whole lot but as you may have noticed things are pretty tight. So 12 delegates are a very, very big deal. The Wyoming caucuses set to begin in just a couple of hours. Republican caucuses were held in Wyoming two months ago.

NGUYEN: All right. Let's give you a quick review of nomination math for these democrats. Keep in mind the figures are subject to change. But right now as it stands, a total of 4,047 delegates are expected at the convention in Denver. 795 are of them are superdelegates. Securing the nomination requires a simple majority of 2,024 delegates. HOLMES: All right. And on the campaigning trail today, it's actually kind of quiet. Would you believer that Wyoming has, of course, been the focus.

NGUYEN: Yes, Senators Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama spent all day Friday trying to win over voters there. But today, Clinton is taking some downtime in Washington while Obama is home in Chicago. As for Senator John McCain, he's also relaxing a little bit. He's in Sedona, Arizona.

HOLMES: Well, in a democratic run to the White House, Pennsylvania, the biggest race left, 158 pledged delegates at stake when voters hit polls there next month. Our Jim Acosta is in Philadelphia for us this morning.

Good morning to you, kind sir. This thing is six weeks away, you're already there covering the story?

JIM ACOSTA, CNN CORRESPONDENT: That's right, T.J. and I'm not getting any rest. Even though the candidates are resting, we still have to put in an honest day's work here. That's right, Pennsylvania the keystone state, looking very key to this nomination. 158 pledged delegates. That's more than the prize that Hillary Clinton took in Ohio.

And so, we're going to see these candidates go tooth and nail to try and capture this state. It's going to be very important even though we have these caucuses happening today in Wyoming. There's a contest coming up in Mississippi. Hillary Clinton was down there earlier this week. We're going to see a lot of these days ahead focused very heavily on Pennsylvania, just because there aren't that many prizes left, aren't that many states left with this many delegates at stake.

HOLMES: Again, we know we're still a good month and a half away, we don't see the candidates there campaigning just yet. But are there surrogates there on the ground? I mean, is there active campaigning going on in Pennsylvania already?

ACOSTA: There is, former President Clinton was here. Chelsea Clinton was here. Hillary Clinton will be here on Monday. We haven't seen Barack Obama in the state since the primaries in Ohio and Texas, but he will be here as well. You know, when there's a lot of talk about well this state shapes up as a contest that favors Hillary Clinton. This is a blue collar state. You know, this is an aging population in places like Pittsburgh and out in the middle of the keystone state.

But don't forget, Philadelphia is the number four largest media market in the United States. It is definitely a city where African- American politicians have done very well. The previous mayor here, John Street was very popular. And so you're going to see Barack Obama in the city of brotherly love reaching out to the African-American community and trying to get his supporters out.

And this is also a state outside of Philadelphia where you have a very well to do middle to upper class suburbanite type of demographic at play and that has also worked for Barack Obama. He does well with that portion of the electorate. So, you know, while a lot of people say the state should be Hillary Clinton's meat and potatoes, this is her bread and butter, Barack Obama certainly cannot be counted out here.

HOLMES: Meat and potatoes, bread and butter or whatever any other food you want to throw on the table.

ACOSTA: That's right.

HOLMES: Jim Acosta, setting up shop, a new residence in Pennsylvania for at least the next six weeks. Jim, good to see you this morning. Thank you so much.

ACOSTA: You got it. Sure.

NGUYEN: Well, it's your chance to hear from the candidates unfiltered and in their own words, we call it "BALLOT BOWL" and it kicks off today at 2:00 p.m. Eastern, only on CNN, which is your home for politics.

HOLMES: Changing the rules on affirmative actions, in November voters in five state may have a very big decision to make.

NGUYEN: And police say it started with the theft of a tip jar, how a small gesture let to a major impact for three people, one life lost, two lives changed.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

NGUYEN: Time now to get you some "Quick Hits," the other stories that are making headlines today.

HOLMES: Yes, first here. Chaos on the streets of Malaysia. Police fired tear gases to a crowd of protesters supporting a hardline Islamic party. The police chief says the demonstrators started the violence by throwing rocks at the officers. At least 20 people arrested and the protesters claim vote rigging in today's general elections.

NGUYEN: A 19-year-old from Georgia facing charges in the death of a good Samaritan in Missouri. Listen to this story, police say the teen stole a tip jar at Starbucks and then drove over a man who tried to stop him from getting a away. Charges against the teen include involuntary manslaughter, theft and leaving the scene of an accident.

HOLMES: A former track star, Olympic champion and American sweetheart, now she's an inmate, Marian Jones arrived at a Texas prison yesterday. She's serving six months for lying to federal agents about her use of steroids. She pleaded guilty in October and was stripped of her Olympic medals.

NGUYEN: So does affirmative action discriminate against white males? Well, in November, voters in five states may have a very big decision to make. Our Kate Bolduan has the story.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

SEN. BARACK OBAMA (D), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: This is our moment. This is our time.

SEN. HILLARY CLINTON (D), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: I will stand and fight for our futures every single day.

KATE BOLDUAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama are two presidential candidates making history. Ward Connerly says they're also two perfect examples of what he's fighting for.

WARD CONNERLY, ACTIVIST: They are perfect examples of the fact that America is not institutionally racist or institutionally sexist.

BOLDUAN: Connerly is of black native-American descent so you might be surprised to learn that he's leading a nationwide effort to limit affirmative action. He wants government jobs and contracts as well as public education admissions to be color blind and awarded only on merit.

CONNERLY: What marginalized these people? We developed that notion that if you are black or in some cases, you could have not obtained that unless somebody gave it to you, somebody gave you affirmative action. I think that's wrong.

BOLDUAN: Connerly said he does not want a complete ban of affirmative action and because he supports fighting discrimination, instead his measure eliminates preferential treatment based on race or gender. It's called the "Civil Rights Initiative" and it's already passed in California, Washington and Michigan. There are petitions circulating in five other states for a vote on this November's ballots but critics say those states are targeting for the majority of white voters. Affirmative action supporters like Shanta Driver are outraged.

SHANTA DRIVER, BY ANY MEANS NECESSARY: We intend to do what Marshall and the NAACP did, 60 years ago and sue in every single one of these states and Ward Connerly and his backers know that we will fight them tooth and nail.

BOLDUAN: Driver says this initiative will only serve to erase progress made in the decade since the 1964 Civil Rights Act. It's obviously a huge step backwards. It's creating the (INAUDIBLE).

Well, this issue might have some support in the Supreme Court last June. Justices threw out public school choice plans that relied on race. This leaves many states uncertain on whether their affirmative action policies will stand up in court and against political scrutiny this election season.

Kate Bolduan, CNN, Washington.

(END VIDEOTAPE) NGUYEN: Before the check's in the mail, the notice about that check in the mail. OK, are you following this?

HOLMES: I think we got you.

NGUYEN: The tax rebate information. But it's coming at a cost.

HOLMES: Also "OPEN HOUSE" is coming up at the bottom of the hour and Gerri Willis is here now with a preview.

GERRI WILLIS, CNN PERSONAL FINANCE EDITOR: Coming up at 9:30 a.m. Eastern, are you financially desirable to lenders? With credit typing, we'll show you how to boost your credit score and score a good loan.

Then, whether we are in a recession or heading into one, job loss is a real concern. We'll show you how to bounce back after getting the pink slip.

And ways to save from your mortgage to your morning coffee. That's "OPEN HOUSE," the show that saves you money 9:30 a.m. Eastern and right here on CNN.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

NGUYEN: All right, so is it a way to explain or just a waste of money? You know those tax rebate checks that come to you in the mail? Well, the government is sending out notices to say the check is almost in the mail. Did you get that? Not there yet but we're going to let you know that it's almost there. And the cost of just the mailers, $42 million. So you decide.

HOLMES: Are you kidding me?

NGUYEN: $42 million. Just to let you know the check is almost there, it's not there yet.

HOLMES: $42 million? I don't even know how to say it.

NGUYEN: Tax dollars at work.

HOLMES: Oh, my goodness gracious. All right, folks, well, you know your check is in the mail now.

NGUYEN: Almost.

HOLMES: And it cost more to tell you that than your actual check is going to be. Oh my goodness, we'll let's take a listen to some other type of financial news here. You managed to avoid the mortgage mess. OK, great but what if your neighbors get to exactly do the same? Foreclosures in your neighborhood could lower your property value.

Personal finance editor Gerri Willis with advice on protecting the worth of your home.

WILLIS: Hey, T.J.

With foreclosures at an all-time high, many people don't realize that foreclosures don't just affect one homeowner but all the homes around them, especially their property value. It's estimated homeowners living near foreclosed properties will see their property values decline about 5,000 bucks or 1 percent for every foreclosure in the area. That's according to the Center for Responsible Lending. So, what can you do to protect the value of your home? Well, little things add up.

Join a neighborhood watch program. So you'll be able to spot foreclosed properties beginning to decay, pull weeds, plant flowers or mow the lawn of the foreclosed home. This may help bolster your own property value in the long run. Also, if the foreclosed property is becoming a safety hazard or if you have more than one, contact fleet.

If your own home, don't spent a lot on large home improvement projects if there are a bunch of foreclosures in your area. Study show you won't recoup as much of the cost for remodeling as you might expect.

And finally, if you have heard of people in your area having trouble paying their mortgage, or even if you might be heading into foreclosure, seek help now, contact the Home for Ownership Preservation Foundation at 888-995-HOPE, the Department of Housing and Urban Development that can also set you up with a counselor. Now, their phone number is 800-569-4287.

Coming up on "OPEN HOUSE," with credit tightening, we'll show you how to boost your credit score and get a good loan. Then, whether we are in recession or not, job loss is a real concern. We'll show you how to bounce back after getting the pink slip. And ways to save from your mortgage to your morning coffee, that's "OPEN HOUSE" 9:30 a.m. Eastern -- T.J.?

HOLMES: All right, folks, and tonight before you go to bed, remember you need to set your clocks ahead.

NGUYEN: We're losing an hour.

HOLMES: Daylight saving time, spring forward. Blah, blah, blah. You are losing an hour. This weekend is also a good-time to replace the batteries in your home smoke detectors as well. Just a good time to do that.

NGUYEN: Here's a question for you, T.J. There's one state in the continental U.S. that doesn't observe Daylight Saving Time. Do you know which state that is?

HOLMES: Which state is it?

NGUYEN: Arizona.

HOLMES: Really.

NGUYEN: I did a trivia for you. Hawaii as well but I said the continental U.S.

HOLMES: All right. That's kind of a trick question.

NGUYEN: So today, you know John McCain is in his home state of Arizona and doesn't have worry about setting his clocks.

HOLMES: He'll sleep just fine.

NGUYEN: A second chance for democratic voters in Florida and Michigan. But will it really be.

HOLMES: OK. We'll look at why primary do overs seem doubtful.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

NGUYEN: OK. So here's a question for you, as you're following the election, should Florida and Michigan have a primary do over as they would say? Well, if they do, time is definitely running out.

HOLMES: And the voters now laying down the law. Here now, CNN's John Zarrella.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

JOHN ZARRELLA, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): What did voters in Florida and Michigan do wrong? Was it their fault the votes didn't count? At a popular breakfast spot in north Miami, the talk often turns to the delegate mess in Florida and Michigan. The consensus is there's only the way to fix it.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The only fair way to do it is to have a re- vote.

ZARRELLA: But the folks here say, not with my nickel.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: If they want another election, let the democratic party pay for it. That's the bottom line.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: As longs as they pay for it, it's their party. It's their club. They can do whatever they want. But they shouldn't ask the taxpayers to pay for that.

ZARRELLA: With Obama and Clinton raising money hand over fist - there's even this sentiment.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: They want those delegates? Let them pay for it. Let them fight it out. That would be fair.

ZARRELLA: But guess what? Even if some good Samaritan came up with the $20 million bucks for a revote in Florida, it probably couldn't happen. Forgotten, in all the re-do hullabaloo, the calendar. The Secretary of State's office says it will take 90 days from the moment someone says go to be ready for a primary. But the parties' window for holding a primary closes June 10. If you don't go by oh say Monday, you don't make the window, and perhaps the greatest stumbling block. STEVE GELLER, FLORIDA STATE SENATE: I guess we can go, one, two, three, four, but we're going to run out of fingers and toes pretty quickly. We have no way of counting the ballots. Because we don't have voting machines.

ZARELLA: 15 counties are changing over to optical scanners with paper trails required by law to be in place by July 1st. Too late, and the law that requires these new machines, it's the same one that moved the primary up to January 29th and caused all this miss. In Michigan, the move has been toward a caucus, a deal appeared close until state democratic party leaders apparently balked at the cost, $8 million to $10 million.

MARK BREWER, CHAIRMAN, MICHIGAN DEMOCRATIC PARTY: We would have to find thousands of election sites, train thousands of workers, print thousands and millions of ballots. So, it's daunting logistical problems.

ZARRELLA: The money for the caucus would come from the fundraisers, the two campaigns and the party, not the taxpayers. That's one thing everyone agrees on, taxpayers in the two states won't foot the bill.

John Zarrella, CNN, Miami.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

HOLMES: Well ...

NGUYEN: What a mess.

HOLMES: And the democrats still have 12 more primaries and caucuses between now and June 3rd in places that follow the rules. More than 600 delegates still on the line and another 357 superdelegates up for grabs.

NGUYEN: You can try to handicap the outcome yourself, it's called the delegate game on cnn.com and Josh Levs is here to explain how this works. Hey there, Josh.

JOSH LEVS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes. Hey to you guys.

You know, it's just a reminder what we're seeing there from John is the same thing besides that in a lot of ways some of our election systems were not really built for very close races. You know, a lot of people are taking close look now at how this democratic race has worked for a long time. I got a camera facing this computer right here.

I'm going to show you something very cool you can do right now to predict how this race might go. Let's switch to this camera and let's take a look here. This is called the "delegate counter game." It's on cnn.com.

Now, when you look here, you're able to see which states have not voted yet. Now, I know you can't see too many, but the top one here, Wyoming, a race coming up right there. All you have to do is slide the bar based on how you think the race might go. It's basically your chance to be a pundit. Any time you want to predict how a state might do, how the voting might go in one of those states, you slide this over and boom the totals right over here keep changing.

See the light blue bar? The dark blue bar? That's Clinton and that's Obama. That shows you, as you take a look at this that even with these states coming up with any kind of legitimate breakdown based on what we have seen in the past, short of suddenly somebody getting 90 percent of the vote, this is really going to be a 60-40 kind of thing anywhere. You're going to keep seeing these bars incredibly close to each other even if you go through all of the other states yet to vote. Pretty powerful stuff.

Now, when you're there, click on cnnpolitics.com. this is where you can get the latest news, whatever is going on in the race right now. We have a story right here called "Fellow legislator saw little "bold" about Obama." It looks at some of his past different views of what he has actually achieved back in the Illinois State Legislature.

And then, you can't miss that. All you got to do, CNNpolitics.com. It'll take you to the delegate game, have a little fun with it and check out the headlines while you're there -- Betty, T.J.

NGUYEN: And speaking of headlines, you remember Youssif, don't you, Josh?

LEVS: Oh, how could we forget?

NGUYEN: Yes.

LEVS: He's like a star here.

NGUYEN: Well, the five-year-old Iraqi boy was attacked and set on fire.

HOLMES: Now, this is new video, exclusive video of Youssif in school, enjoying school. Such a contrast from some of those first images we saw of him. Thanks to your donations, he's getting the medical help he needs.

We're going to be speaking to his doctor, Peter Grossman and our own Arwa Damon who first brought us Youssif's story. That's at 10:00 a.m. Eastern only right here on CNN.

NGUYEN: But first, "OPEN HOUSE" with Gerri Willis starts right now.

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