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CNN Saturday Morning News
Italian Cruise Accident; Iranian Boats Attacking U.S. Vessels; Controversial Haley Barbour Pardons; Romney's Actions At Bain Capital Criticized; New Technology at Las Vegas Consumer Electronics Show; Battle for South Carolina; Colbert Runs for President; Hollywood, Internet Battle over Piracy; $1,500 Diamond Encrusted Business Card; Limiting Power Over Pardons; Tebow Fan's Wish Granted
Aired January 14, 2012 - 08:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
DEBORAH FEYERICK, CNN ANCHOR: And from CNN Center, this is CNN SATURDAY MORNING. It's January 14th. Good morning, everyone. I'm Deborah Feyerick.
A luxury cruise ship on its side off the Italian coast after hitting a sand bank with thousands of people onboard. Three are dead, more than a dozen are hurt. Coming up, passengers describe their vacation nightmare.
Speaking out on controversial pardons that has the whole country talking, former Mississippi Governor Haley Barbour defends his decision to pardon more than 200 people. One of them is speaking out this morning, a convicted murder who says he deserves to be free.
And it is almost there. Two ships now just off the coast of Nome, Alaska breaking through layers of ice to bring precious fuel to the cut off town.
We have been keeping an eye on a rescue operation taking place off the western coast of Italy this morning. Here is the emergency. It's a crowded cruise ship that ran aground and is tipped over on its side. There are around 4,000 passengers and crew on board. We are now hearing that as many as 70 people are still missing.
Journalist Barbie Nadeau is at the port where the survivors are being taken.
Good morning, Barbie. Have you spoken with any of the passengers?
BARBIE NADEAU, JOURNALIST (via telephone): Yes, I've spoken to a number of passengers and they all describe a very familiar scene. They had just finished eating dinner on their cruise, first night of the cruise and the ship's electricity went off and they felt what they describe as a shutter as the ship ran, literally ran aground onto the sandbar which caused a huge gaping hole in the hull of the ship.
Right now, the ship I just saw is on its side, about 90 degrees resting on a bed of rocks and shallow water. You can see the gash in the hull of the ship.
All of the passengers have been taken off the ship. There are still around 50 to 70 people they tell us that are unaccounted for. They are not sure if that's just a discrepancy in the passenger manifesto or if that's actually people missing in the water.
All of the passengers are being brought to the Italian town of Porto Santo Stefano where they are processed and then sent either to Rome (INAUDIBLE) or (INAUDIBLE) here on the Italian mainland. There's very little information being given to the passengers.
Many of them are very frustrated with the way the evacuation process went. The lifeboats, many of them were suspended in air for up to 45 minutes filled with passengers because the ship had been listing so much. Some of them were unable to be used because of the fact that they were under the down, lower side of the ship. People are very, very upset. There are about 100 American passengers who are on the ship, about 1,000 Italian passengers. The rest were German and other European passengers and some British passengers.
FEYERICK: It's interesting. Were they able to get off the boat from what you can tell at least into the calm manner? You can see them preceding there because it doesn't seem that the ship began sort of listing until the majority of the passengers were off, correct?
NADEAU: The people were on the ship that I spoke to. I spoke to dozens of people this morning in the reception center. Many of them said it was lifting before they called for the evacuation of the ship which means that the people on the boat definitely knew that there was a problem on the ship.
Many of these were experienced cruise ship passengers. They knew exactly there was a problem when they felt that shutter. You got confirmation from the Italian Coast Guard that the ship never did call a may day signal. They never cried out for help.
They also told the passengers who were on the ship that they were suffering an electrical or generator problem and that's why the lights went out. There's a lot of misinformation right now. People and passengers that they felt they were being given misinformation at the time of the disaster. People were never called.
The passengers I spoke to were never called to the muster station which is where you go in the event of a disaster like this because they hadn't yet had that drill. They didn't know where they were supposed to meet up in the time of a disaster because the ship had just left shore about two and a half hours before the accident took place.
It was the first night of the cruise. They had just finished their dinner. They hadn't really gone through the emergency procedures. People were settling in and this disaster happened.
FEYERICK: And very quickly, Barbie, do they have divers in the water searching for any potential victims? I know there's a 70 passenger discrepancy. Do they have divers, emergency personnel?
NADEAU: Yes, they do right now have divers going around the base of the ship. The ship is now in very, very shallow water. Because of the size of the ship and just the placement of it, in this very rocky area, it's very difficult to see. It's a beautiful clear day. There shouldn't be a weather issue. Water is not particularly cold.
But they have several dozen Italian Coast Guard divers who are checking out the perimeter and inside of the ship right now to see if they can find anyone there. The majority of the passengers who have been taken to the shore have already been delivered to points outside of this general area. They've been taken (INAUDIBLE)
FEYERICK: OK. Barbie Nadeau, thank you very much for bringing us up to date. Lots of great information there. We appreciate it. Thanks so much.
NADEAU: Thank you.
FEYERICK: Take a look at this video. You are looking at a different ship as a matter of fact. You are looking at Iranian military speedboats on the trail of the USS New Orleans.
The video was shot just over a week ago in the Strait of Hormuz at the mouth of the Persian Gulf. The U.S. Navy says Iran's military is getting more aggressive with those small boats. This was the first of two incidents like this last week.
Here is Pentagon correspondent Barbara Starr on "ANDERSON COOPER 360" last night.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
BARBARA STARR, CNN PENTAGON CORRESPONDENT: The thinking is that the Iranians really were not looking for a shooting match. They were going to break off but they were going to cause a little heart stopping action before they did that. One of the things here is look, the Iranians gained some intelligence by getting so close to U.S. Navy ships. They were able to gauge the U.S. military response as they came at those ships. That gives them valuable information if the next time it's not just a cat and mouse game.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
FEYERICK: And Iran has threatened to shut down the Straits of Hormuz if international sanctions over the country's nuclear program are implemented.
We have been following the progress of a fuel tanker and an ice breaker making their way through the frozen north to Nome, Alaska. They are almost there. The ships are just outside the harbor in Nome now. It's the first ever attempt to supply fuel to a western Alaska town through an icy sea. Nome is getting dangerously close to running out of fuel after bad weather canceled a delivery last fall.
Former Mississippi Governor Haley Barbour is now defending his decision to pardon more than 200 people. He's says he's surprised at the reaction. A judge has put a halt to the prison releases and the legislature is considering changing their constitution to take pardon powers away from the governor. Barbour says he didn't do anything wrong.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
HALEY BARBOUR, FMR. MISSISSIPPI GOVERNOR: Historic power of gubernatorial clemency by the governor to pardon felons is rooted in the Christian idea of giving second chances. I'm not saying I'll be perfect, that nobody who received clemency will ever do nothing wrong. I'm not infallible and nobody else is. but, I am very comfortable and totally at peace with these pardons, including those at the mansion.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
FEYERICK: Now, you heard him mention the mansion. He's talking about prison trustees who worked at the governor's mansion. Four convicted murderers worked there. They were pardoned, including Anthony McCray, who was convicted of killing his wife in 2001.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
ANTHONY MCCRAY, PARDONED BY HALEY BARBOUR: Everybody deserves a second chance in life.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You think people should be angry at Governor Barbour?
MCCRAY: No, sir. He treats us like we his children.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
FEYERICK: Judge Mike Smith presided over McCray's murder case. Our Martin Savidge asked him about the pardon.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
MIKE SMITH, RETIRED MISSISSIPPI JUDGE: I was disappointed he was pardoned.
MARTIN SAVIDGE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Is there more to that or is that as much as we're going to say?
SMITH: I hope that the attorney general will be successful in having the pardon overturned.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
FEYERICK: Now, here is more of what Barbour had to say about letting those convicted murderers go free.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
BARBOUR: I have absolute confidence, so much confidence I have let my grandchildren play with these fine men. I have let them ride their tricycles out in the driveway with them watching out for them. I have no question in my mind that these five guys are not a threat to society. But, you know, people like you can say what if, what if, what if until the moon goes down.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
FEYERICK: Now, in all Barbour says he granted clemency to 215 people. 189 of them had already finished their sentences. They were out of prison but they no longer have the record. Thirteen of the remaining 26 inmates have chronic medical conditions. Barbour says they were let go so the state wouldn't have to pay for their expensive medical care.
A setback for four of the Republican presidential candidates. They have lost their bid to get on the Virginia primary ballot. A judge ruled that they waited too long to file claims to get their names added to the super Tuesday primary. That means Virginians can only choose either Mitt Romney or Ron Paul.
The others sued saying that the ballot requirements were unconstitutional. To get on the ballot in Virginia, candidates had to collect 10,000 signatures including at least 400 from each of the state's 11 Congressional districts.
Job creator or job killer? That's the debate over Mitt Romney's time at Bain Capital. We'll hear from people in South Carolina who were directly affected.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
FEYERICK: To politics now, Mitt Romney's time running Bain Capital, well as you probably know, it's become prime fodder for his Republican presidential rivals. It's the centerpiece of their anti-Romney strategy.
So what is the real story in South Carolina? Our David Mattingly checks it out.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
DAVID MATTINGLY, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): In the mid-90s when Mitt Romney's Bain Capital was investing in steel, Bain bought this plant in Georgetown, South Carolina. Steel workers local president James Sanderson said things did not go well. Bain is owning the place, do you see them reinvesting in the plant at all?
JAMES SANDERSON, PRESIDENT, USW LOCAL: Not at all. Not at all. They were not investing anything at all.
MATTINGLY: Was the equipment wearing down?
SANDERSON: Yes it was, very much so.
MATTINGLY: Bain spokesman tells CNN the claims of no investment in the plant are not true. Sanderson's view is from the downside of Romney's private sector record on job creation. Were you more or less competitive?
SANDERSON: We were less competitive with Bain.
MATTINGLY: Why?
SANDERSON: Because they did not have us in a position to where we could compete because all our equipment was being neglected. We couldn't do the stuff that we needed to be done and had been doing.
MATTINGLY: Touring a motorcycle dealers in South Caroline, Romney points to Bain's national successes including Sports Authority and Staples, eventually employing thousands in the state. He also acknowledges the failures.
MITT ROMNEY (R) PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: There's some businesses that have to be cut back in order to survive and try and make them stronger. Sometimes you are successful at that and sometimes you are not.
MATTINGLY: In Georgetown, the United Steelworkers union says 50 were sold off and Bain sold the plant at bankruptcy after just four years. It wasn't the first time Bain exited the state quickly. The firm inked a deal in 1987 to bring a photo album manufacturer to Cherokee County, South Carolina.
(on-camera): At the time it was a very big deal for this county when Bain decided to expand and bring a company here. This entire area had not been developed and the county was eager to get this industrial park up and running.
(voice-over): But the company closed just five years later. County officials estimate up to 150 people lost their jobs. What do you say to the people who did lose their jobs in those situations and might view venture capitalism as a job killer instead of a job creator?
ROMNEY: I think anytime a job is lost is a tragedy, for the family, for the individual that loses a job, it's devastating. Every time that we invested in a business, it was to try to encourage that business to have ongoing life.
MATTINGLY: The departure of Bain's company in Cherokee County was a surprise after the county provided $3.2 million in bonds and a $50,000 sewer line as incentive to build. But 20 years later, county officials look back at the deal as a win/win. Even though you lost 150 jobs when this company left, you still consider it something that helped the county?
JIM COOK, CHEROKEE CO., SC DEVELOPMENT BOARD: In the long run, we came out OK.
MATTINGLY: The building Bain built is now home of pen manufacturer, Bic employing 80 people. After changing hands a couple of times in a yearlong shut down, the steel plant in Georgetown is back up and running with 225 hourly workers and some bitter Bain memories that have not mellowed with time. How much do you hold Mitt Romney responsible?
SANDERSON: Very responsible because he was the leader.
MATTINGLY: Decisions and consequences the apparent leader among Republican hopefuls will be explaining in this critical primary state. David Mattingly, CNN, Greer, South Carolina.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
FEYERICK: Oscar winner Gene Hackman gets air lifted to a Florida hospital. A truck rear ended him while he was riding his bicycle. We'll have the latest on his condition.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
FEYERICK: What happened to the warm temperatures that we had in the 50s and 60s that we were all basking in last week? Looks like winter is biting back. Take a look at this time lapse report from Illinois of the snow. This is just a glimpse of what's coming your way.
Meteorologist Alexandra Steele keeping an eye on all of it. Alexandra, I have to tell you, I'm actually a little bit relieved actually that winter has arrived. By this point in January, we are used to seeing snow. So that's a good thing. (WEATHER REPORT)
FEYERICK: Alexandra, thanks so much. We'll check in with you.
Quick, can you name the newest revolutionary consumer electronic device? Did you say the iPad? No. That debuted two years ago. The iPhone, come on. That's so 2007. After the break, a glimpse at the next big gadget all your friends are going to want. But hopefully they are not going to be rioting over it.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
FEYERICK: Well the world's largest annual gadget convention has just wrapped up in Vegas. In case you missed this year's Consumer Electronics Show, HLN digital lifestyle expert Mario Armstrong fought through some 3,000 exhibitors to find some of the coolest new products that you are definitely going to want to check out.
MARIO ARMSTRONG, CNN DIGITAL LIFESTYLE EXPERT: Hey, Deb, I am at the Consumer Electronics Show in viva Las Vegas. It's amazing what's happening, 1.7 million square feet of space. It's like 30 football fields full of technology. This is the premier conference where exhibitors, buyers and retailers all come together to really talk about what technology are you going to actually see in the stores.
A couple of key categories that I'm seeing this year, ultra books. These are very thin, lightweight laptops that power on quickly, have great battery life and are really lightweight, easy to carry. I'm seeing a lot of stuff in digital health and fitness, thing where you can track your calories, your pedometer, your heart rate, all of these things. Check your glucose from your wireless phone, exciting things that are happening in health, even car connectiveness is happening here. Vehicles being able to talk to each other through sensors in the actual cars preventing accidents, making congestion go away.
All types of cool stuff and connected home, having your appliances in your house be more intelligent, more smart. We're seeing washers and driers that can let you know when your load is done by signaling you on your device. I grabbed just a select few of a couple things that are happening here. Number one, the power bag. I love this backpack. This is really cool stuff. What they thought of was the fact that they are going to put in a charging device, a battery that goes in the backpack that enables you to carry and power up all of your devices while on the go. Power mat is here. You may have heard of power mat before where you can take your receiver, case, from a phone, place it on the power mat and get charged. Or you can power mat devices like this, take it with you to give power to multiple devices at the same time.
Nokia is here and they have their Luna 900. This is getting a lot of attention with Windows on the device. You can see they have the nice tiles, beautiful screen here, beautiful super (INAUDIBLE) screen on this device, looks gorgeous, operates fast and I think a lot of people are going to like this when it hits the store shelves.
Last but not least, Sony came out with a unique design of a portable tablet that has two screens pretty neat. You can utilize both of these screens for watching concert (ph), playing games, pulling up your e- mail, pretty interesting design and unique device, the type of stuff that you see here at the Consumer Electronics Show. As you can tell, my voice is fading because the show is that exhausting. I'll have more when I get back at headquarters. Until then, I'll see you from the CES 2012 Consumer Electronics Show.
FEYERICK: Mario Armstrong, so many devices, so little time. Join us every Saturday at this time as HLN digital lifestyle expert Mario Armstrong gives us the latest scoop on technology.
First Iowa, then New Hampshire. A week from today, it's South Carolina's turn. Can Mitt Romney seal a third straight victory or will South Carolina change the entire race?
You are looking at pictures from Italy where a cruise ship ran aground on a sandbar. Three people killed, dozens more missing. We'll have an update on the search, next.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
FEYERICK: Well, it's just about 30 minutes past the hour. Welcome back. I'm Deb Feyerick. Thanks so much for starting your day here with us.
Checking "Top Stories", as many as 70 people may be missing right now off the Coast of Italy. They were aboard this cruise ship. These are new pictures of the crippled ship. It ran aground tearing a huge hole in the hull. At least three people were killed in the accident. Thousands of passengers and crew had to be rescued.
Last hour we learned that Italian Coast Guard divers are checking out the area around the ship. As for the number of missing people well, it's unknown right now if they are really missing or if there's just a discrepancy with the ship's log.
81-year-old Oscar-winning actor Gene Hackman is home recovering after being struck by a pick-up truck. Police say Hackman was thrown from his bike in Florida yesterday after a driver hit his rear tire. Hackman's publicist says he is fine, just a few bumps and bruises.
And former Penn State head football coach Joe Paterno has been hospitalized for minor complications from cancer treatment. Paterno is suffering from a treatable form of a lung cancer according to his family. His 46-year career at Penn State ended after the Jerry Sandusky child sex abuse scandal.
The South Carolina primary is just one week away. Voters get their chance next Saturday the 21st. So of course that means the candidates are hitting the state hard this weekend trying to reach as many potential voters as possible. So how are they doing?
Well here is CNN political editor, Paul Steinhauser.
PAUL STEINHAUSER, CNN POLITICAL EDITOR: Hey good morning, Deb.
One week to go until the South Carolina primary. And the Republican presidential candidates are crisscrossing the Palmetto State.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
MITT ROMNEY (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Wow, what a welcome in Aiken. Thank you.
NEWT GINGRICH (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: We're going to win in South Carolina.
RICK SANTORUM (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: South Carolina can completely change this whole tenor of discourse.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
STEINHAUSER: A new survey suggests Romney and Gingrich are battling for the top spot with Ron Paul in third place. But expect more polls and different numbers over the next week.
You know one thing is for sure, winning helps. Romney is going two for two edging out Rick Santorum to come out on top on the Iowa caucuses and almost lapping the rest of the field Tuesday in the New Hampshire primary. Those back-to-back victories have propelled Romney back to the top spot in our brand new CNN/ORC National Poll far ahead of the other Republican presidential candidates.
Following a jam-packed weekend on the campaign trail the candidates tee off in a presidential debate Monday in Myrtle Beach and Thursday, they face-off again at a CNN debate in Charleston -- Deb.
FEYERICK: And of course, you can see that Charleston debate live right here on CNN Thursday night at 8:00 p.m. Eastern.
Well, the Material Girl speaks out about Lady Gaga. You've got to hear how Madonna describes Gaga's hit "Born this Way".
And if you really want to make an impression the next time you network, hand out one of these, yes, a diamond encrusted business card. But it doesn't come cheap. See who's buying them, just ahead. (COMMERCIAL BREAK)
FEYERICK: Welcome back. It is 34 past the hour.
Let's talk Madonna and Lady Gaga. Many critics say Gaga copies Madonna's style in music. That accusation grew when the young pop star released her song "Born This Way". Many say the song is a remake of Madonna's 1989 hit "Express Yourself". Listen for yourself.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
(LADY GAGA'S "BORN THIS WAY")
(MADONNA'S "EXPRESS YOURSELF")
(END VIDEO CLIP)
FEYERICK: Now, recently Madonna told "Newsweek" that Gaga reminded her of herself when she was young. She left it at that. But when the Material Girl spoke to ABC's "20/20" she was not as diplomatic.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
MADONNA, SINGER: It feels reductive.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Is that good?
MADONNA: Look it up.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
FEYERICK: Well, we looked it up. And ouch, according to Webster dictionary, "reductive" means describing or making something complicated simple. Now, we all know how Madonna really feels.
And comedian Steven Colbert made a huge announcement this week.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
STEVEN COLBERT, COMEDIAN: I am proud to announce that I am forming an exploratory committee to lay the groundwork for my possible candidacy for the President of the United States of South Carolina. I'm doing it.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
FEYERICK: Now Colbert says voters in his home state of South Carolina saw him as an alternative to current GOP front-runner, Mitt Romney. But of course this is all tongue-in-cheek. Plus South Carolina law, well, it prohibits write-in votes in primaries and political parties for the presidency.
A big issue that can affect big stars like Madonna and their work -- piracy. It's been a huge problem for years. Congress is now debating the issue and is in the process of revising the "Stop Online Piracy" act legislation. Brian Todd gives us a look at the piracy battle between Hollywood and Internet giants.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
BRIAN TODD, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Taylor Hackford's career track shouldn't have him worried about his livelihood. One of Hollywood's legendary directors, he's put out well known hits like "An Officer and a Gentleman". But he is worried because of experiences like what happened in 2004 when his biopic "Ray" was released. Because it had taken him 13 years just to get the financing for it. He was in New York on the day it opened in theaters.
TAYLOR HACKFORD, MOVIE DIRECTOR: I went to Canal Street. And before the box office opened for its first day in the movie theaters, I could buy "Ray" on the street at canal, had great art work on the cover, had a DVD.
(CROSSTALK)
TODD (on camera): For how much?
HACKFORD: They were charging $20.
TODD (voice-over): Hackford says he watched people buy pirated copies of his movie. He and other directors are now joining forces with executives from the big entertainment conglomerates that produced movies and TV shows on a crusade against pirating.
They are supporting bills being debated in the House and Senate which tighten up enforcements by going after the Web sites where people can play stolen content.
JIM GIANOPULOS, CEO, FOX FILMED ENTERTAINMENT: Well, we lose millions of dollars, billions of dollars cumulatively as an industry. But virtually every film is pirated from the day it's available. From the first screen that it goes on.
Jim Gianopulos, head of Fox Filmed Entertainment says his company's movie "The Descendants" was pirated from the moment it came out. Warner Brothers is joining the effort to fight piracy. Warner Brothers, like CNN is owned by Time Warner.
(on camera): The industry leaders who produced movies, TV shows and other contents say it's not just about their product, it's about all the people who work behind the scenes. The people who run and work in movie theaters across the country having their jobs threatened.
On the other side, it's an argument about free speech.
(voice-over): Big Internet companies like Google and Yahoo! are fighting these new enforcement measures. That makes this a clash of entertainment titans, the high-tech companies versus the big studios. But the free speech concerns are Internet wide. Brandon Butler with the Association of Research Libraries says if these bills passed, the movie studios would have the power to squeeze pay services like MasterCard and Visa and ad companies to stop doing business with even legitimate Web sites which might post an occasional link to a pirated film. He calls those sites free speech platforms which could be shut down by those actions.
BRANDON BUTLER, ASSOCIATION OF RESEARCH LIBRARIES: So there are hundreds of thousands, millions of blogs, millions of people using these sites to talk about their life, to talk about their art, to share their art, to make art. And when you take down the whole thing to target a few pirates, all those people go with it.
TODD: Movie industry officials say the new measures would only take down Web sites that are exclusively dedicated to posting stolen content. But the Internet free speech advocates say they interpret some language in these bills as giving the studios some latitude to go after legitimate Web sites which only occasionally post pirated films.
Brian Todd, CNN, Washington.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
FEYERICK: Well, everyone wants to make an impression at a job interview and OK, maybe impress friends and family a little also. But how about handing them, and I'm not kidding, a diamond encrusted $1,500 business card?
Our very own Nadia Bilchik joins us with more in this "Morning's Passport". And Nadia, I don't know who's giving these out but I want one. I want several of these cards.
NADIA BILCHIK, CNN EDITORIAL PRODUCER: Don't you want a friend who gives you a diamond encrusted card that has a couple of karats per card? Now we've spoken about diamond encrusted contact lenses and cell phones and even shoes but this takes it to a whole new level.
Now there's a company in England called "Black Astrum" and their first client was Saudi Arabian. And they custom-made cards, they had 100 cards made with 30 carats of diamonds between the cards.
FEYERICK: Remarkable.
BILCHIK: And since then, there has been a demand and they work at around $1,500 per card. The most popular color is the black. And it's made from precision cast acrylic. But I'm just happy to tell you, you can also get it in metal.
FEYERICK: Yes, well that's a relief. But it's -- so $1,500 per card.
BILCHIK: Per card.
FEYERICK: So that means if you buy 100 cards, that's $1.5 million.
BILCHIK: Exactly.
FEYERICK: Exactly.
BILCHIK: And you can buy them in 25 card increment, 50 or 100.
FEYERICK: Oh absolutely.
BILCHIK: And at an additional price, instead of the black you can have it color matched.
FEYERICK: You know I really like that. I want to see, this I can see turning into like art or jewelry.
BILCHIK: Absolutely.
FEYERICK: So you have like business card jewelry.
BILCHIK: And there are people -- I mean there are people that would like to leave a calling card, I mean I was thinking possibly some of the entertainers you spoke about earlier -- Madonna, Lady Gaga, I can see that. And the price will go to make an impression and this is a legitimate business. People are buying these cards.
And again, 30 karats of diamonds for 100 cards; so if you get one for a gift, what would you do with this piece?
FEYERICK: Oh I would be -- I would turn it into a ring virtually, immediately. The thing is that if you have enough money to buy these cards my sense is you are already making an impression.
BILCHIK: Exactly.
FEYERICK: Nadia Bilchik.
BILCHIK: You need a card but this company also makes invitations. So if you've got a high level event coming up, you can also have diamond encrusted invitation -- just when you have it all.
FEYERICK: Right exactly. If you're buying those, then you definitely have it all because you have too much money. Anyway Nadia Bilchik, thank you very much. We really appreciate you bringing that to us.
Now, limiting a governor's power to pardon; we're going to talk with one state senator who wants to take that task away so his state can avoid the mess Mississippi is now in.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
FEYERICK: And we're continuing to follow this developing story this morning out of Italy. The pictures are just remarkable. As many as 70 people may be missing right now after a cruise ship ran aground on a sandbar off the Italian coast. And these are new pictures of that crippled ship it ran aground tearing a big hole in the hull, the base of the ship. At least three people were killed in the accident. Thousands of passengers and crew had to be rescued.
Last hour, we learned that Italian Coast Guard divers are checking out the area around and inside the ship. As for the number of missing people, it's unknown right now if they are really missing or if there's just a discrepancy in the ship's log.
Just to bring you up, the passengers didn't know where to go because the cruise had really just left port. And they hadn't even yet done their first drill to know where to go for life rafts in the event of an emergency.
Well, it is 44 minutes past the hour.
Pardons this week in Mississippi have legislators there and in other states considering major changes to state law. Among the people pardoned by outgoing governor, Haley Barbour were 26 current inmates including some convicted in killings.
A judge has halted the release but five had already gotten out. The state has found almost all of them. 32 states give the governor full power to do this. In eight states, the governor and an advisory board share the authority. And in ten states, the governor has no hand in granting any pardons. Mississippi's new governor says he would support a new law limiting his own power over pardons.
Joining me now Oklahoma state senator Harry Coates who is pushing new legislation to change the law in his state; and sir, are you trying to remove the governor completely from the pardon process?
HARRY COATES, OKLAHOMA STATE SENATOR: Well, that's what the Senatorial (ph) Resolution 46 would do. We would send it to a vote of the people as to whether or not they want the governor micromanaging Pardon and Parole Board.
FEYERICK: And sir, what's interesting is that part of the governor's thinking was that these are men who have served their time. So, if you give them a pardon, if you basically give them clemency, they have done their time but at least now they can go and apply for jobs and not have to put down, yes, I was a felon or yes, I served time. Is there logic to that thinking?
COATES: Well, I think there's a logic to it but that is the responsibility, I feel, of the Pardon and Parole Board. The governor in Oklahoma still has tremendous ability to manage the Pardon and Parole Board in that the governor appoints three members, the Supreme Court chief justice appoints one and the Court of Criminal Appeals appoints one.
And so it's not that the governor would be completely out of the process. But it seems somewhat arrogant that when a Pardon and Parole Board recommends a pardon or release of an inmate that the governor would second guess the people that they appointed and it creates a huge bottleneck in the governor's office.
FEYERICK: You know, it's interesting because a number of these people actually worked in the governor's mansion which means he got to know them personally. I'm sure it's a very fun assignment if you are going to be working close to the governor because then, at least, if nothing else, he can weigh in, say this is a good guy without necessarily knowing either the minute details of the case or the facts of the law.
Is there an inherent conflict in having folks work in the governor's mansion?
COATES: Well, I view it as a conflict. And the governor most likely doesn't know the background of these individuals. The Pardon and Parole Board does. They have all the time in the world to research and recommend parole for worthy individuals. And to have the governor step in and do a mass release as Governor Barbour did, just creates chaos and really doesn't allow the Pardon and Parole Board to do their job.
FEYERICK: All right. Well, Oklahoma state senator, Harry Coates, we appreciate your weighing in on this. Clearly, a lot of states now, looking at their own policies and how they move forward.
Thanks so much, sir. We appreciate it.
COATES: OK. Thank you.
FEYERICK: Tim Tebow. Tim Tebow. Tim Tebow. Seems that's all you hear from the NFL these days. He's back in action in more ways than one. And that's coming up ahead in sports.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
FEYERICK: The NFL playoffs continue this weekend and for a Denver area special needs teenager, her wish came true. She got to meet Broncos quarterback, Tim Tebow before last week's game.
For more on this, I'm joined by HLN Sports anchor, Ray D'Alessio. And Ray, it really appears that these two have now developed a very close and unique bond. And this is a guy to get to know right now.
RAY D'ALESSIO, HLN SPORTS: Yes, he is. I mean he is the phenomenon of not only NFL, but really just in sports in general, Deb. And as you mentioned, he's developed a very special relationship with this teenager, 17-year-old Bailey Knaub.
She was diagnosed with an auto immune disease ten years ago --
FEYERICK: Right.
D'ALESSIO: -- when she was 7 years ago. And Tebow even mentioned her in his press conference last week saying that she was a huge inspiration. She was diagnosed again, as I mentioned, with this auto immune disease.
Tebow heard about her through his foundation, invited her to the game last week. They met beforehand. He signed a football for her. You see he gave her a hug, gave her a signed rookie card. But more importantly, Deb, what he gave this young lady was memories to last a lifetime.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
BAILEY KNAUB, TIM TEBOW FAN: At first I couldn't believe it that he would take time after such a big win to see me. He came over and said "Hi, Bailey," and gave me a hug and "It's such a great opportunity to meet you."
(END VIDEO CLIP)
D'ALESSIO: As I mentioned, the relationship in there, they got together again this weekend, did a sit-down interview together for a pre-game interview and a pre-game story. So just a special bond and just Tebow going out of his way not only saying that it was a great win but this is what really inspired me to win this game against the Steelers was her.
FEYERICK: And what's really remarkable is when somebody of his stature reaches out --
D'ALESSIO: Yes.
FEYERICK: -- to someone and make them feel that special. There's just got to be healing power in that, whether it's optimism or hope or just -- you know, you feel different after you meet them than you did the day before.
D'ALESSIO: Absolutely.
FEYERICK: Pretty much.
Well, the Broncos are going to take on the Patriots today. This is how some of their fans are, what?
D'ALESSIO: This is how they're gearing up for the game -- something very interesting. These are the Salem witches. Take a look at them. Their goal was to actually cast a spell on Tim Tebow's magic. They were also hoping to un-curse Tom Brady who recently appeared on the cover of "Sports Illustrated". A lot of sports fans think there's a thing called the "SI sports jinx". In years past, when athletes have appeared on the "Sports Illustrated", the next game or next outing, whatever, they have often had bad games. They have gotten injured.
They figure they would create a voodoo doll with Brady's face on it and uncast that bad spell and give him some good karma, I guess.
FEYERICK: You know, the same thing happens to me when I'm ahead in a tennis match. I just choke. Now, clearly --
(CROSSTALK)
D'ALESSIO: So you need the Salem witches on your side. Give them a call.
FEYERICK: I need the Salem witches. But you know what; listen, any good juju is good --
D'ALESSIO: Absolutely. Absolutely.
FEYERICK: -- when it comes to something like that.
That's it, thank you.
D'ALESSIO: There you go. How's that? Hopefully that helps.
FEYERICK: That's right. Exactly.
Well, Ray D'Alessio, thank you so much. I know you are heading off to a shoot. We really appreciate your stopping by.
D'ALESSIO: Appreciate it.
FEYERICK: Of course, we'll check in with you again next week.
D'ALESSIO: OK.
FEYERICK: OK. Very good, thanks so much.
Well, we want to take a look at some really incredible pictures coming out of Turkey and we think we have those. Take a look at that. Millions of people in Istanbul now without power because of this snowstorm that has hit; and this is a huge city. I mean the per capita number of people.
So this snow is really doing a lot of sort of damage but heck, you know what, every now and again it's good to kind of just enjoy the weather, no matter how bad it really is. And if you are out instead of watching the games inside today here in the United States, expect it to be freezing cold. Meteorologist Alexandra Steele is monitoring the forecast for us from our Severe Weather Center.
Alexandra, snow in Istanbul.
ALEXANDRA STEELE, AMS METEOROLOGIST: Those big fat flakes, did you see them? The moisture content in that is incredible. Our flakes here have been much drier.
But you know, we're talking about the games. I want to just talk about forecasts. Broncos versus Patriots, 8:00 tonight kick off: temperature at that time 20 degrees. But throughout the game, those temperatures are going to drop into the teens and then single digits. And a robust wind, sustained about 10 to 15, gusts more than that. So it's going to be pretty cold.
In just a little bit next hour I'm going to talk about kind of Patriot wins by the numbers and how the temperatures impact that. That's coming up in a bit.
But let's kind of take it out a little wider, show you the big picture. A few weather systems, of course. This much needed snow. We have been anticipating Chicago finally getting a month late, the first snow of the season, 4.6 inches. Still lake-effect snow kicking off; the lakes are open for business, as we say, meaning Lake Erie is not frozen like it normally is, water temperature about 40 degrees. So it's well warmer than where it should be this time of year.
So snow around the Great Lakes and those lake-effect band areas, of course Rochester, Syracuse picking up a few inches. Also here Seattle and Portland going to get about an inch of snow today as well and even the snow working down to Kentucky. So, some snow in the forecast for Kentucky around Louisville, maybe an inch or two there as well today.
There's the big picture of how much we'll see -- Deb.
FEYERICK: All right. Alexandra, thanks so much.
It is not 55 minutes past the hour. A cruise ship runs aground causing fear and panic; now a number of people are dead, scores more missing. We'll have the latest on what happened and the search, just ahead.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
FEYERICK: We'll get to our top stories in just a moment. But first, Christine Romans with a look at what's on tap for "YOUR BOTTOM LINE" in around 30 minutes?
CHRISTINE ROMANS, CNN HOST, "YOUR BOTTOM LINE": Good morning, Deb. We are two weeks now into the New Year. Are you still on track with your New Year's resolutions? Coming up, the best investment you're going to make in 2012 is to get out of credit card debt. We're going to show you how you can do it, and you can.
Plus, how you can retire with more than $1 million in the bank and how a great teacher affects your child's teacher paycheck. You might be surprised how much a good teacher is worth. That's all coming up at 9:30 a.m. Eastern -- Deb.
FEYERICK: Thanks so much Christine.
