Return to Transcripts main page
CNN Saturday Morning News
Egypt V.P. Survives Assassination Attack; New Opposition Group Formed; Happy Year of the Rabbit; Countdown to the Super Bowl; Unemployment Rate Drops to Nine Percent; Top Sports Stories of the Week
Aired February 05, 2011 - 08:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
RANDI KAYE, CNN ANCHOR: Good morning, everyone. We have breaking news. We're learning about an assassination attempt on Egyptian Vice President Omar Suleiman, details ahead.
Meantime, Tahrir Square in Cairo is tense but calm right now, but that wasn't the case just hours ago when gunshots could be heard in the night. Military troops firing warning shots at protesters.
Meantime, opposition parties are now agreeing to meet with Egypt's new vice president today, but the violence continues to spread. New this morning a possible terrorist attack shuts down a critical pipeline in Egypt. State television reports it's one of the main gas pipelines running to Jordan and Syria.
And here at home, the football hasn't been thrown yet, but six people were injured when ice fell from the roof of Cowboys stadium. One man was hit in the head, another in the shoulder. None of the injuries are life threatening. The high in the Dallas area today, a balmy 42 degrees. It's early and we're on it.
From CNN Center good morning everyone, I'm Randi Kaye. This is CNN SATURDAY MORNING. It is February 5th. So glad you're with us. It is 8:00 a.m. on the East Coast, 3:00 p.m. in Egypt.
Let's start with some of the new developments out of Egypt this morning. Protesters are gathered again in the main square, the same place they've been now for 12 days. Also there is one of the most recognizable members of the opposition, Mohamed ElBaradei. He announced this morning that he's now part of a group of 10. They are leading opponents of the government who say they represent anti- government protesters.
Just a short time ago, we got confirmation that there was an assassination attempt on the new Egyptian vice president. Several people were killed in that attempt, but there's no word that the VP was injured. Vice President Omar Suleiman is supposed to meet with opposition today.
Speaking today in Germany, Secretary of State Clinton said the transition needs to get under way but admitted that it will take some time. We'll hear more about what Secretary Clinton and President Obama are saying later in the hour. Let's get back to that assassination attempt on Egypt's vice president. CNN foreign affairs correspondent Jill Dougherty joins me now from the State Department.
Jill, can you bring us up to date?
JILL DOUGHERTY, CNN FOREIGN AFFAIRS CORRESPONDENT: Yes, Randi. That confirmation came out of Munich at a Munich security conference. A former ambassador to the United States from Germany, Wolfgang Ischinger, confirming the reports there had been an assassination attempt on the new vice president, Mr. Suleiman and several people were killed.
There is no indication that he was injured, but it's one of these -- it's a sign of how tenuous and insecure people feel in this transition. Secretary Clinton is attending that meeting and here's what she said about this.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
HILLARY CLINTON, SECRETARY OF STATE: And, of course, there are risks. There are risks with the transition to democracy. It can be chaotic. It can cause short-term instability, even worse than we have seen it before. The transition can back slide into just another authoritarian regime. Revolutions have overthrown dictators in the name of democracy only to see the political process hijacked by new autocrats who use violence, deception and rigged elections to stay in power or to advance an agenda of extremism.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
DOUGHERTY: Randi, you can hear in the secretary's comments how they are hoping that this procedure moves forward. You know, the United States has been saying they want the transition to happen quickly, but they also want it to happen in an orderly fashion and this assassination attempt is a very big indication of how the threats to this procedure, the difficult road as Secretary Clinton said to get to elections. So they want it to happen fast, but they also want to have it happen in an orderly process.
KAYE: And, Jill, is there any word on who is behind the assassination attempt?
DOUGHERTY: No, not at this point, but certainly there are a lot of factions involved in trying to stop this and maybe coming out of an investigation we will find out, but at this point, there are a lot of factions vying for power and a lot of people trying to hold back the results of this revolution.
KAYE: All right. Jill Dougherty, thanks for digging into that for us this morning.
It is about four minutes past the hour. Less than stellar weather for tomorrow's Super Bowl in the Dallas Metroplex. Take a look at the snowy tarmac at the Dallas-Ft. Worth airport on Friday. You don't see that very often there. That same weather system blasted nearby Oklahoma and it is now moving eastward. Let's get the lowdown on today's forecast from meteorologist Karen Maginnis. I hope we don't see those conditions for the big game.
(WEATHER REPORT)
KAYE: Time now for the "Weekend Wheel," stories we want you to know as you get your day started.
Astronaut Mark Kelly is a go for launch. There was some speculation that Kelly would skip the scheduled space shuttle mission to be with his wife, Congresswoman Gabby Giffords. She's recovering at a Houston-area rehab clinic from injuries suffered in last month's shooting in Tucson.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
MARK KELLY, NASA ASTRONAUT: I started to think about STS-134, about the mission, my crew, the fact that I've been training for it for nearly a year and a half and considering a bunch of other factors, including how, what Gabrielle would want me to do and what her parents and her family and my family would like. You know, I ultimately made the decision that I would like to return and command STS-134.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
KAYE: Commander Kelly will resume his flight training Monday for space shuttle "Endeavour's" scheduled launch April 19th. It's the next to last scheduled flight on NASA's launch schedule.
New York City is one step closer to an outdoor smoking ban. The city council approved a measure to ban smoking in public places like beaches and parks. Once Mayor Michael Bloomberg signs the bill, then it is lighters out. After that, anyone caught puffing in public faces a $50 fine. Chicago and San Francisco are the only other big cities with outdoor smoking bans.
A high school soccer player is out on bond after being arrested for his part in a post-game fight in Suwannee County, Florida. The 18-year-old goalie, he is the one, one of the guys there in the orange. He's facing a felony battery charge for hitting another player in the mouth. He allegedly knocked out the other player's two front teeth. The brawl started after insults were started during the post-game handshakes. That's not supposed to happen.
In the market for a new car with a little something extra? How about this 1965 Ferrari? It's a good first car. At least it was for John Lennon. The former Beatles first ride is up for auction in Paris today with an expected price tag of just around $200,000. That's around three times what it might go for if it was previously owned by some guy named Larry from Chicago, say.
Also from England, the next time you drink a cup of coffee, think about this. Researchers say caffeine improves women's brain power in stressful situations, but it sends men into a meltdown, impairing their memories and slowing down their decision-making. I'm not going to touch that study. By the way, that study, based on research involving 32 men and 32 women.
Days of violence in Egypt have not discouraged anti-Mubarak protesters. Despite that he hangs on. Is chaos really the only alternative, as he claims?
Also, they're giving the economy a power punch. We take a closer look at grandparents and the economic muscle they bring to the market.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
KAYE: Ten minutes past the hour.
Though Cairo has returned to relative calm, the violence of the past few days has killed at least 11 people. Hundreds more have been injured. Mona Eltahawy is an Egyptian-born freelance journalist and a former columnist for (INAUDIBLE) newspaper. She joins me now from Los Angeles.
Mona, good morning to you. Even as pro-Mubarak forces push back, the call for a new leader continues. So what are Mubarak's options? What can he do next?
MONA ELTAHAWY, EGYPTIAN BORN FREELANCE JOURNALIST: I think the pro-democracy protesters aren't going anywhere until he steps aside and I think he needs to get this message. He's getting it very loud and clearly, because for 12 days now, whenever the pro-democracy groups have called out Egyptians they've come out in the hundreds of thousands. Yesterday's turnout was the largest so far since the demonstrations started on January 25th.
So I think what we need to see clearly now is that Hosni Mubarak is the main reason for this chaos that he claims he is staying to prevent Egypt from falling into. You mentioned earlier about this committee of opposition members. I think, there are 10 people there now willing to represent different political factions in Egypt. He needs to step aside now to allow them to carry out the negotiations for a transitional government.
KAYE: Who are these 10 people? Can you give us any of the names who might rise to the top here?
ELTAHAWY: The one that most people would probably be familiar with is Mohamed ElBaradei who used to be head of the United Nations nuclear watchdog and was a Nobel Prize laureate. Another one is a veteran Egyptian opposition politician called (INAUDIBLE) who spent 10 years in the Egyptian parliament and was jailed by Mubarak for running against him in the 2005 parliamentary elections. And there are other people who represent that wide diversity of opinions on Egyptian streets, but more importantly, they have to also include the youth movement that was instrumental in launching these protests. And while they are trying to hold talks with the youth movement, the Mubarak regime is arresting and detaining members of that youth movement which says to me they don't want these talks to go smoothly.
KAYE: Right. What are the odds, do you think, that Hosni Mubarak would transfer power to an interim government? ELTAHAWY: Well, I don't think he wants to do it willingly. We've see him really digging in his heels over the past few days and this idea that he's staying for the sake of stability. What I think he's trying to do is trying to divide Egyptians and trying to, you know, create one side that says, we just want to get back to normal life, while the other side is adamant that it's time for him to go after 30 years of their strangling political life in Egypt. So I think the international community needs to step up and say you are the cause of chaos and there are Egyptians out there now who want their country to move forward. You must step aside now, Hosni Mubarak.
KAYE: There are reports that the military wants to reduce his authority. Does he really even have all that much power still?
ELTAHAWY: Well, he was -- he used to be the head the air force. So he does have loyalists in the armed forces. For the past few decades that he's been in power he's made sure to keep them happy, but the armed forces have been sending mixed signals. I'm hearing from there Tahrir Square today that they've been preventing people from moving in. So they're blowing hot and cold and, again, we need to see international pressure. The United States gives the Egyptian armed forces $1.3 billion in aid. That aid can be used to sway them, to convince them to take the side of pro-democracy Egyptians and to convince them to tell Mubarak, you are now the cause of chaos in Egypt.
KAYE: We heard President Obama say that the transition must begin now. But really is there anything more that the U.S. can do? The Senate has already passed a resolution calling for Mubarak to immediately begin a transition. So besides withdrawing aid, what's left?
ELTAHAWY: I think the international community should also seriously look into freezing the Mubarak family assets because the Mubarak family has amassed a huge fortune over the past few decades, while 40 percent of Egyptians live on $2 a day. So (INAUDIBLE) Europeans are doing this to the topple dictator of Tunisia (INAUDIBLE). I think it should seriously consider doing that to the Mubarak family so that he feels pressure both from the outside, the international community, that he's already feeling inside from pro- democracy Egyptians.
KAYE: Mona Eltahawy, thank you so much. Good to chat with you.
ELTAHAWY: Thank you, Kaye.
KAYE: They are the new "it" generation. We'll show you why entrepreneurs and advertisers are pitching products to grandma and grandpa.
Looking to get rid of some old tech gadgets or computers around the house? Coming up, we have tips on how your trash can add a little cash to your pocket.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK) KAYE: The unemployment rate fell to 9 percent in January down from 9.4 percent the month before. But the Labor Department reports employers added only 36,000 new jobs, far fewer than expected.
There is a growing powerhouse in our economy -- grandparents. The latest figures show a big spike in the number of grandmothers and grandfathers and they pack an economic punch. Josh Levs is here to tell us about the grandparent economy.
JOSH LEVS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: I've been hearing about this term, the grandparent economy. I just heard it the first time a few weeks ago.
KAYE: They got some power.
LEVS: They have more power than ever. It has a lot to do with baby boomers reaching a certain age, starting to have grandkids and now the business world has taken notice.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
LEVS (voice-over): Ron and Beverly Bachman are doting grandparents. Their three grandchildren can't wait to come over and --
UNIDENTIFIED GIRL: -- play.
LEVS: It's a scene that plays out in millions of homes, but it's also part of a new trend in our economy. The number of grandparents is increasing at more than double the rate of the general population. Three in 10 U.S. adults are now grandparents according to a study commissioned by grandparents.com which markets to them. McClatchy newspapers and the "New York Times" blog recently reported on this idea of the grandparent economy, older Americans carrying more business clout.
BEVERLY BACHMAN, GRANDMOTHER: It's an emerging market. I haven't seen much out there at all.
LEVS: Some entrepreneurs are taking notice. The Bachmans used GrandCamp, a new website that says its products help grandparents and grandkids connect, have fun and generate lifetime memories. Creator Patricia Babuka.
PATRICIA BABUKA, FOUNDER, GRANDCAMP ADVENTURES: And then you look at how many grandparents there are in the market and it's staggering.
LEVS: Seventy million according to the study. There's a reason some are looking for products for play time. They have to compete with technology, like games systems.
RON BACHMAN, GRANDFATHER: The reality, is certainly younger kids get involved with technology pretty quick. They're pretty capable these days. But it's kind of fun to get them away from that. LEVS: Of course, products aren't needed for fun, but as the idea of a grandparent economy catches on, expect more to target the growing demographic.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
LEVS: And Randi, just to show you how much money we're talking about, take a look at a couple of statistics here. This is amazing. First of all, grandparents spend $2 trillion a year in total according to the study from grandparents.com. Of that, the next stat, $52 billion on their grandkids.
KAYE: Wow.
LEVS: They are looking, they are buying. But I don't want to leave everyone with the impression that you have to buy a product to have fun with your grandchildren or your grandparents. So I've listed a bunch of free activities sites that suggest free activities. I put them up on my Facebook and Twitter pages at JoshLevsCNN, but I'll tell you, traditional advertisers, younger demographics, but as these grandparents numbers grow and grow and as the baby boomers --
KAYE: Even in this economy it's amazing when you look at those numbers.
LEVS: Exactly. In this economy, when businesses looking, where can we go right now to find a new market?
KAYE: I think you found it. You found the grandparent economy. Josh Levs, thank you. Good to see you.
Making sure no one can steal information from your old hard drive. The method, we'll show you the very little wiggle room from would-be hackers.
And we'll talk to our digital lifestyle expert. Also trying to stay warm during the biggest game of the career. Both teams have a common enemy at Super Bowl XLV, that brutal, bitter, bone-chilling cold. We've got your forecast and all the preparations.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
KAYE: Our crew is rocking out this morning. Have you ever tried to get rid of that old hard drive? It's hard not to worry a few unscrupulous hackers might still be able to access your very old and very personal information. Some people take absolutely no chances.
All that work, just to destroy a hard drive. Think that's a little extreme? Think about the consequences if you don't get rid of your old information safely. In today's "Tech Time" we're going to try and show you the best way to throw away old technology. Here now, tech guru Mario Armstrong.
Good morning, Mario.
MARIO ARMSTRONG, CNN DIGITAL LIFESTYLE EXPERT: Good morning, Randi. How are you?
KAYE: I'm well, thank you. So is there really a way to safely wipe your hard drive clean and not worry about your diaries and all that personal information that might be on there?
ARMSTRONG: Yes, there is way to actually do that and to do it safely. I want to caution people. A lot of people think that just by deleting files or removing programs and they go to the recycle bin on your trash can, just by doing that will effectively wipe those files clean. That is not true.
You really need to use a software to clean the hard drive or if you really want to fully clean that hard drive, do what's called a reformat. You want to format that hard drive, whether it's on an Apple system or a PC system, but don't get caught thinking just deleting files actually removers those files. It only removes where those files can be found, but eventually those files can be brought back to life, if they're not safe.
KAYE: That is good to know. So we just saw somebody who was trying to clean their hard drive by having their dog bite it, their children step on it. There's also the myth that you can put it in the dishwasher to wipe it clean. I'm tempted to try that. Any truth to that?
ARMSTRONG: No. Cascade and hard drives don't mix, Randi. Don't want to do that. If you really are wanting to, you know -- the sure fire way to destroy a hard drive, beyond cleaning it, is to take a sledgehammer to it. You can do it the old Department of Defense old style way of just taking a sledgehammer to it. You really want to destroy all the data on there. None of those myths are good myths, no.
KAYE: You might not want to destroy it actually because now I understand that some stores like Target and Radio Shack are actually giving you cash or credit, even, for your old technology, maybe an old wiped clean hard drive?
ARMSTRONG: Yeah, absolutely. And they're doing that for not only just the hard drives but other electronics as well. So maybe you have old iPods or old digital cameras, whatever you have.
KAYE: You just walk around with gadgets in your pocket? You always have something to pull out.
ARMSTRONG: At any given time, I have about four, five gadgets on me. You're right.
KAYE: Sorry to disrupt. Continue with what you were saying.
ARMSTRONG: Target, Radio Shack, even some of the wireless providers like AT&T and others are now saying, hey, bring your electronics to us. If you are going to bring your hard drive in, folks, you need to make sure. All of these companies say they will reformat that hard drive, but I still say the onus is on you to do that step first. But if you feel comfortable they will recycle that and you can use that towards the credit of another purchase or you can simply do it online Randi. There's a website called gazelle.com and they will send you and envelope. You fill this envelope with any of your old technology, send it in to them and they will send you a check for the amount of the value of that piece of electronics.
KAYE: That sounds like a great idea.
ARMSTRONG: It is. It's a great idea, and with the wireless stores, if you really want to help out our troops, many of our troops still take old cell phones. So if you have old cell phones laying around the house, you can take those to your wireless store, have those recycled and ask for them to be specifically be put into their troops for cell phones program because what they'll do is they'll refurbish that cell phone if it needs to be, send it with a pre-paid card to the U.S. troops so that they can call overseas.
KAYE: Very cool. Mario Armstrong, thank you so much. Appreciate it.
ARMSTRONG: Thank you, Randi. Have a grade weekend.
KAYE: You, too. "Tech Time" every Saturday if you want to tune in. Mario will be here to give us the scoop on the latest technology.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
KAYE: It is 30 minutes past the hour. Welcome back, everyone. I'm Randi Kaye. Thanks for starting your day with us.
Checking "Top Stories" for you right now: Protesters have gathered for a 12th day of anti-government demonstrations in Tahrir Square in Cairo.
There was gunfire earlier this morning, but that was the military firing into the air as a warning to pro-government demonstrators heading into the Square.
The Egyptian government is accusing terrorists of setting a gas pipeline on fire in the northern Sinai town of El Arish. The line services nearby Jordan and Syria. The blast just halted the flow of fuel temporarily.
Friday's "Day of Departure" has come and gone but Egypt's embattled President Hosni Mubarak still clings to power. Friday's demonstrations were tense but mostly peaceful. A spokesman with Egypt's Interior Ministry says the Egyptian army remains to prevent clashes between opposing groups.
There's word this morning of an assassination attempt targeting Egypt's new vice president. We are hearing that several people were killed in the attack, the VP escaped.
CNN foreign affairs correspondent, Jill Dougherty, joins me now from Washington. And Jill do you -- do have any update for us on this?
DOUGHERTY: You know Randi, there's no word yet on who tried to carry this out but we do know now, confirmed by the former German ambassador to the United States that there was an attempt to kill the vice president, and that several people were killed in that attempt. He apparently was not injured in that attack.
And it really drives home the high stakes that are going on right now in Egypt, because, after all, Omar Suleiman, the Vice President, is the person who's really going to be doing the negotiations, for forming a -- a new government and the structures that would move to -- to new elections and he's the crucial person right now in that government.
So the word came out from the Ambassador, as I said, at the Munich Security Conference taking place right now. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton is there, and this is what she said about the assassination attempt.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
CLINTON: But there are forces at work in any society, and particularly one that is facing these kinds of challenges that will try to derail or overtake the process to pursue their own specific agenda, which is why I think it's important to support the transition process announced by the Egyptian government, actually headed by now Vice President Omar Suleiman, who was the target of the attack that Wolfgang (ph) apparently, just learned of.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
DOUGHERTY: -- secretary is saying is what's going on right now. Today, they're supposed to be having meetings and this is the thing that the U.S. was really worried about and wants to proceed as quickly as possible, bringing the opposition and the government together, forming the structures that can lead to an election, a free election as soon as possible -- Randi.
KAYE: And Jill, I just want to ask you quickly what is the latest from the State Department on this video of a -- of a white diplomatic van that apparently had -- had run into protesters in Cairo?
DOUGHERTY: Yes. It's a -- it's a very disturbing video. You know, it's all over YouTube and a lot of other sites.
KAYE: Yes.
DOUGHERTY: And maybe we can roll that video so you can see it. This was taken on a street going into the Square where the demonstrators have been and you can see that van coming towards us now. It just plows directly into people. We understand that there were about two dozen people who were injured and then just keeps going, and it does look like a U.S. embassy van.
We talked with the embassy and with officials here in Washington, and they said that last week when -- in -- in fact, the very day that this video was shot, January 28th, that they had 20 vehicles that were owned by the embassy that were either stolen or destroyed, and they say potentially, of course, that somebody, you know, who stole it did that. They categorically say that nobody from the embassy was involved.
KAYE: That is really disturbing video, as you said.
All right, Jill Dougherty, thank you for the update on both those stories.
Whether it happens today, next week or in September, the question remains who's going to lead Egypt after the end of the Mubarak era? One group that will likely have a big say in Egypt's future is the Muslim Brotherhood. This morning, their leader joined a newly-formed opposition group.
But who exactly is the Muslim Brotherhood and where do they stand on Middle East peace?
CNN's Mary Snow has a look.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
MARY SNOW, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): The Muslim Brotherhood seen here last year has been part of Egypt's political scene for more than 80 years, it's the largest opposition group inside the country but it's also technically illegal since Egypt bans parties that are based on religion.
Now with the possibility of the group playing a role in Egypt's future we wanted to know whether they would support freedom of religion and freedom of the press. A spokesman for the organization answered that question on CNN's "PARKER/SPITZER".
ELIOT SPITZER, CNN CO-HOST, "PARKER/SPITZER": For all religions?
MOHAMED MORSY, SPOKESMAN, MUSLIM BROTHERHOOD: Sure for all religions? Yes, yes.
SPITZER: And for the -- Christians, Jews, Muslims.
MORSY: Yes, yes, yes. Why not?
SPITZER: So that when --
SNOW: But when pressed about Israel --
SPITZER: Will you then right now disavow the use of violence against the state of Israel?
MORSY: We do not use violence against anyone. What's going on, on the Palestinian land is resistance.
SPITZER: All right.
MORSY: The resistance is acceptable by all mankind and it's the right of people to resist imperialism.
SNOW: As for the question of whether the group could recognize Israel, one Middle East scholar says he doubts it. As to how radical the group is, there is a history of tension between al Qaeda and the Muslim Brotherhood.
FOUAD AJAMI, PROFESSOR, JOHNS HOPKINS UNIVERSITY: Al Qaeda has a special animus for the Muslim Brotherhood. And the relationship between, Ayman al-Zawahiri, the leading figure in al Qaeda who's Egyptian, his -- his animus towards the Muslim Brotherhood has run very deep.
SNOW: As for the U.S.'s relationship with the group, John Alterman, a Middle East scholar, attended a White House meeting this week on the situation in Egypt.
JOHN ALTERMAN, CENTER FOR STRATEGIC AND INTERNATIONAL STUDIES: I think there's a sort of confidence that if the Muslim Brotherhood were involved in politics there -- it wouldn't necessarily take over politics and there would be ways to -- to deal with the Muslim Brotherhood more effectively than it -- than people do currently suppressing the organization.
SNOW: But others watching the uprising urge caution about the Muslim Brotherhood including Leslie Gelb who served as an assistant secretary of state in the Carter administration.
LESLIE GELB, COUNCIL ON FOREIGN RELATIONS: I don't know for sure whether we do need to worry about them. What I'm saying is there's plenty in their background, there's plenty in what they've said publicly to make us very, very skeptical about what they would do.
SNOW (on camera): And the Obama administration has been cautious when talking about any future role for the Muslim Brotherhood. Earlier this week, White House Press Secretary Robert Gibbs would only say that all parties must accept democracy and reject violence.
Mary Snow, CNN, New York.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
KAYE: And we have some breaking news for you. We want to take you live now to Cairo where our Arwa Damon is standing by with some news of a -- a standoff there in Tahrir Square. Arwa good morning, what can you tell us?
ARWA DAMON, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Randi.
Well, the standoff was actually very brief. What we did see happen is on one of the overpasses a group that appears to be part of the pro-Mubarak crowd -- gathered we saw the tanks moving forward, we saw the anti-Mubarak demonstrators standing their ground, physically standing their ground, forming a human chain to try to prevent anyone, tanks and the pro-Mubarak demonstrators from getting any closer to their positions. It only lasted for a brief moment. Everything appears to be quite calm now, as it has been for most of the day. That is of great relief to everyone involved. The battles that have been raging in downtown Cairo, the heart of this city, have really taken the entire nation by surprise, and at this point it seems as if there is truly no end in sight.
We were just down amongst the demonstrators. They are digging in getting ready for the long haul, setting up a makeshift (AUDIO GAP). There are donations that are being brought in. People telling us how difficult it is to traverse the capitol when it appears that you are carrying in food coming to the demonstration site.
There are a number of checkpoints. Some of them set up by the police, some of them by security official in plain clothes. Some of them by demonstrators and they are trying to stop a food and medical supplies from getting into the demonstration grounds. There are also a number of makeshift clinics that have been set up; the walking wounded getting their wounds treated on site because they say they're absolutely not going to leave the demonstration site.
If anything, the violence that we saw erupt only served to further harden the anti-Mubarak demonstrators, push them even farther away from the government, farther away from any sort of compromise, to the point where one woman said she was willing to die in the Square than give it up -- Randi.
KAYE: They certainly are digging in. Arwa Damon there in Cairo for us live this morning. Thank you, Arwa.
China in full celebration mode this weekend, the year of the rabbit officially kicked off Thursday. We're taking a look on our "Morning Passport" at the Chinese New Year.
And rest in peace Paul, the octopus.
There's a new big game psychic on the block, Jenny the elephant. Yes an elephant has made her Super Bowl predictions. We'll tell you what she likes.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
KAYE: Welcome back.
` Out with the old and in with the new. It's about that time for billions of people around the world with Chinese origins, a New Year started for them on Thursday.
Take a look at the majestic celebration in Hong Kong. Isn't that beautiful? The city skyline lit up with fireworks.
Nadia Bilchik is joining me again with details about the year of the Rabbit.
NADIA BILCHIK, CNN EDITORIAL PRODUCER: The year of the Rabbit and Chinese New Year. And it's a beautiful celebration full of rich symbolism and tradition.
So we're looking at all kinds of things. I mean, the color red is very significant. We see the fireworks which bring in light and are festive and people wear red because red is the color of passion and life and vibrancy. And on Chinese New Year, all kinds of things are done, so people get money in red envelopes.
KAYE: It's all about red.
BILCHIK: All about red and prosperity and the crisp new dollar notes if you live in the United States. See all the red people are wearing and then you're seeing the Chinese Dragon dance and the Dragon is strength and wisdom and courage.
So we see the Dragon as a symbol and if you're born on the year of the Dragon which is next year, you have strength and wisdom and courage. They also have Lion dances, and the Lion is the chasing away of evil. So, all the wonderful symbolism that takes place.
What you must not do on Chinese New Year --
KAYE: OK, tell me.
BILCHIK: You're not supposed to wash your hair because that's a washing away of good fortune. You're not supposed to sweep during Chinese New Year, particularly the first few days because that's a sweeping away of good fortune.
KAYE: I love all the meaning behind some of the simplest tasks.
BILCHIK: Isn't that beautiful. And you're not supposed to cut your hair, again the cutting off prosperity.
There are a couple of things that are not done the first three days of the festival. But prior to Chinese New Year, yes, you do clean.
And as you said, 2011, the year of the Rabbit, what that means is, if you were born in the year of the Rabbit, that's 2011, then 12 years back, based on the -- 12 months back -- based on the lunar calendar, 1999, '87, backwards 12 years, moderate, kind, have good taste and are modest.
KAYE: Neither one of us are Rabbits. We might have some of those qualities but we're not Rabbits.
BILCHIK: You said you were a Sheep.
KAYE: I'm a Sheep.
BILCHIK: Now what's beautiful again about the Chinese tradition is the best of Sheep's qualities. It's kind, it's conciliatory, it's a team player. Even the snake is seen as wise and smart, those type of things. So the Dragon is strength.
KAYE: You're a Dragon. BILCHIK: I am a Dragon and I did look up Hosni Mubarak as well, and he is a Dragon. So next year we go to the year of the Dragon. But I must Kung chee fat choi or Kung chee fat chai to all our Chinese viewers or viewers of Chinese origin.
KAYE: And what does that mean?
BILCHIK: Happy New Year. Cantonese or Mandarin, fat choi or fat chai.
KAYE: Kung chee fat choi. All right.
BILCHIK: Very good.
KAYE: I'm learning something every day with you. Thanks, Nadia. Appreciate it.
One of the biggest and brightest animals in the world weighs in on the Super Bowl. Just ahead, find out who Jenny the elephant picked as this year's Super Bowl winner.
And stick around for some Super Bowl super dishes at the top of the hour. We'll show you great tasting quick recipes that you can pull together for tomorrow's game.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
KAYE: Talk about going crazy. Talk about going wild. We want to show you a once in a lifetime basketball shot.
This is a high school game in Corcoran, California. Check it out. A full court no-move (ph) toss that just beats the buzzer, the fans go wild. That's Corcoran High's Marvin Lafridge (ph) rebounding and then launching a Hail Mary 90-footer. Wow. As you can imagine, home team crowd just loved it.
Forget all those paid football experts making picks for the Super Bowl. We've got the pick from the biggest prognosticator. Her name is Jenny and she's actually an elephant at the Dallas Zoo. Like Paul, the octopus, remember him during World Cup?
Jenny is picking the winner of the big game. She had a couple of watermelons with the Steelers and Packers logos painted on them. This is very scientific. And Jenny chose, by squashing the loser. So, hate to tell you, sorry, Steelers. It looks the pachyderm picked the Packers. Go Jenny.
Football fans are counting down to the Super Bowl; just one day left. But they probably didn't count on colder than normal temperatures being part of the plan. Thankfully, the roof is going to be closed at Cowboys Stadium.
Our Mark McKay joins me live now from Arlington, Texas. Good morning, Mark. How is the weather affecting fans there?
MARK MCKAY, CNN WORLD SPORTS: Good morning, Randi. We're hovering at 18 degrees this early Saturday morning. One day before the Super Bowl here in the greater Dallas-Ft. Worth- Arlington area. It's affecting the roadways and still affecting just getting around doing events.
It's been below freezing, Randi, since we arrived early in the week. As you can see behind me, we've got the pond here at the Arlington Convention Center completely frozen over. You can also see a bit of snow and ice still on top of Cowboys Stadium.
That became an issue yesterday when the sun came out. We finally saw the sun yesterday afternoon. It was a good and bad news proposition, Randi, as the melting began of that snow and ice and it cascaded down on to the plaza area.
Six people injured. A few were sent to the hospital with non- life threatening injuries. The plaza area around Cowboys Stadium is shut down until all of that snow and ice melts. And we're expecting it to get into the upper 30s to low 40s today here in the Dallas-Ft. Worth area. That will help the situation greatly, Randi.
KAYE: Sure. Still well below the average, I understand, but not bad. Of course, we said the roof will be closed. Huge crowds expected inside the stadium and, of course, Mark, they'll get to enjoy that massive HD screen and all that great technology there. How many people are they even expecting?
MCKAY: How about a crowd perhaps, a Super Bowl record crowd of 105,000. We were in the stadium earlier this week for media day. It is an impressive facility that Dallas Cowboys' owner Jerry Jones has put on.
He said he did it visually for everyone; for millions to experience this stadium. That's why he put in as much money as he did; $1.4 billion I believe for this stadium to be built and to experience it. It is an incredible facility. It will be a good show.
Hopefully the Packers and the Steelers will put on as good a show, and The Black Eyed Peas, by the way, at halftime, Randi.
KAYE: Well, we know you're cold. Of course, you know, we still all want to be there. So do tell me, what are we missing by not being there?
MCKAY: you're missing a lot of cold but also the excitement that goes into the Super Bowl. There's been the party scene, that was on the -- the roads last evening were horrendous, Rand, trying to work your way around the Dallas Metroplex but that didn't stop the partiers from coming out.
The party scenes in the evening have been going at full bore. Now we count down to the kick -off of Super Bowl XLV on Sunday.
Fortunately the airport is also up and running. There were hundreds of cancellations to both Dallas-Ft. Worth and at Love Field on Friday. You know, Randi, fans coming in all across the country trying to get into the Super Bowl city. That will improve today as again, we're expecting temperatures to get above freezing for the first time since Tuesday.
KAYE: All right. Well, you enjoy yourself. Get inside and warm up. Thanks Mark.
MCKAY: OK.
KAYE: Let's see how tomorrow's forecast is shaping up. Meteorologist Karen Maginnis is live in the CNN Severe Weather Center. So it looks like a little warm-up, maybe?
KAREN MAGINNIS, AMS METEOROLOGIST: A little bit, but it's not going to last very long at all. And some of those secondary roads are still very treacherous. And if you look at any of the Web sites of the local TV stations you'll see car after car after car just kind of spinning off the road.
All right. We've got a picture of Dallas. We've got this live picture. Yes, looks like it's a little chilly out there. The afternoon temperatures expected around 40 degrees or so, but Dallas, you know what? Wednesday, you are expecting another round of winter weather. It is just one of those winters where we just can't shake it.
All right. Coming up tomorrow could, see a rain, snow or sleet combination in the forecast. Speaking of airports, for Atlanta, we've got some fairly dense fog. Look for some ground stops if you're watching us from JFK or LaGuardia. Well, it looks like you're going to be waiting just a little bit longer -- Randi, back to you.
KAYE: All right. Thanks, Karen.
Super chef for the Super Bowl; we'll show you some quick and very delicious recipes that will have others, your friends, possibly thinking that you spent all day in the kitchen. So stick around; Super Bowl party recipes at the top of the hour, and our studio smells delicious.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
KAYE: Getting close to the top of the hour. If you use a debit card -- and we all do, right -- you need to hear this. According to the "San Francisco Chronicle", Bank of America has agreed to pay $410 million to settle a lawsuit over fees. The bank is accused of manipulating debit card transactions in order to boost the number of overdrafts and in turn the penalties paid by debit card users.
They are accused of not telling customers they could opt out of overdraft protection. Bank of America was just one of the banks named in the lawsuit.
Well, we got kind of a mixed bag in the new monthly jobs report. The unemployment rate is down but job growth was slower than expected. We only added 36,000 jobs most of them in the manufacturing sector, while the unemployment rate actually dropped from 9.4 percent to an even 9 percent.
Economists, of course, having a hard time explaining this drop. CNN's Christine Romans sorts through the numbers for us.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
CHRISTINE ROMANS, CNN BUSINESS CORRESPONDENT: Randi, it was a jobs report with an awful lot of conflicting information. You have the unemployment rate fall but only 36,000 jobs were created.
What does that mean for you? Well, it means the economy still is not creating a whole bunch of jobs, enough jobs to employ all those people who lost their jobs during the great recession.
But there is one thing in this report that is interesting. The unemployment rate for people with a bachelor's degree fell to 4.2 percent. 4.2 percent is very, very low. It means that people in science, technology, engineering, math; people who have -- are in professional trades are starting to see some movement again in their jobs.
Where do the jobs go or come by industry? Well, manufacturing added some jobs. You saw retail trade add some jobs. Business and professional services added jobs. We lost jobs at construction and transportation warehousing; the reason most likely is because of all of those winter storms in the northeast that meant that many companies simply were not calling people in for a job interview and hiring people when they were hunkered down under all those storms.
Bottom line here, it's a very confusing report. Even economists are saying don't make too much of it because it's the first report of the year. There were some statistical problems in it. But overall, the economy is still not adding the jobs that you would like to see 19 months into an economic recovery -- Randi.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
