Return to Transcripts main page
CNN Saturday Morning News
South Carolina GOP Primary; Man With Nail In Head; 'Red Tails' Preview; Tablets Replacing Textbooks In Schools; Gingrich Surging in South Carolina; Undecided South Carolinians; Swimming with Manatees; Overtime Pay for after Hours E-Mails; South Carolina Votes; Voters Sound Off on Faith and Politics; Positive Turn for Grieving Coach; Hand-Tossed Tebow; Tuskegee Airmen Story at Last on Big Screen
Aired January 21, 2012 - 08:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
GARY TUCHMAN, CNN ANCHOR: From CNN Center this is CNN SATURDAY MORNING. It's January 21st, 2012. Good morning, everybody. I'm Gary Tuchman.
It's 8:00 a.m. here in Atlanta, Georgia and in Lexington, South Carolina, it's also 8:00 a.m. where people are voting on this presidential primary day. The polls have been open now for about an hour for the state's primary. Newt Gingrich is creeping up in the polls after this week's debate, but Mitt Romney is still the national frontrunner. Today, the two battle it out over breakfast. Both candidates will be in the same diner at the same exact time.
Tommy's Ham House, Newt Gingrich didn't know about it until we told him. We talked to Tommy of Tommy's Ham House live this morning. Here's what he has to say about the excitement in his restaurant.
I told you here's what he has to say. I want you to tell you to stay tuned and we'll tell you what he has to say. You'll want to hear Tommy because it's really interesting. Two possible presidents, one possible president, with two presidential candidates in his restaurant at the same time in less than three hours. We start this news cast in South Carolina where polls opened one hour ago. Voters there are choosing a Republican presidential nominee. Let's get right to the palmetto state. Our Don Lemon is at a polling place in Lexington right now. Don, hello to you and what are you hearing from the voters there this morning?
DON LEMON, CNN CORRESPONDENT: I'm getting an earful. You want to hear what this guy has to say. I brought him over right away. Walter Mallard, right?
WALTER MALLARD: That's correct.
LEMON: You're up early and you came to vote. Tell them why you came to vote so early?
MALLARD: I'm fixing to go quail hunting.
LEMON: There you go. You got to get your vote in before you quail hunt and tell them about the jeans.
MALLARD: They're briar britches.
LEMON: Go ahead.
MALLARD: Briar britches to protect your legs, to keep your legs from getting cut up by the briars.
LEMON: Thank you sir. Glad you came out. Can you tell us who you voted for?
MALLARD: No, sir.
LEMON: Why not Walter? Come on.
MALLARD: That's my knowledge only.
LEMON: All right, I'll respect that. Have a good day quail hunter. We appreciate it. OK, so Walter is leaving. Let me explain. They come in right through here. At first it was A through J. Then they had folks come in, but just as we were about to do our live shot, they changed it from A to K. Some busyness going on here. They're getting things adjusted. Oh, it's A through K there. Otis Smith has been here, how long have you been running this place?
OTIS SMITH: This is about 20 years.
LEMON: And I said, are we going to have an Iowa situation here and you said what?
O. SMITH: No way.
LEMON: No way.
O. SMITH: We have never had any problem like that.
LEMON: They run it ship shape.
O. SMITH: When we run the machines through and get a count, everything is accurate and we take it down to the headquarters.
LEMON: You know that lady down there, don't you?
O. SMITH: Yes, I do.
LEMON: Who is that?
O. SMITH: That's my wife of 55 years come June.
LEMON: How many people have we had, Shirley?
SHIRLEY SMITH: Twenty eight.
LEMON: 28 people votes. I'm sorry, ma'am, 29, 30 in line there. That's since 7:00 this morning.
O. SMITH: Most of them on a Saturday they have to go to breakfast first or go hunting or fishing or whatever and then they come here about 10:00 or later. We'll have a larger crowd coming in about 10:00.
LEMON: They got to go quail hunting too.
O. SMITH: Sure. We got all that going on here.
LEMON: You're a good guy. These are good people.
O. SMITH: Main thing, with all the workers, we make sure they laugh. You know, we got to have a group of people with a good attitude in here.
LEMON: The commissioner, the person who oversees it came a few minutes to go on and check on us.
O. SMITH: Always checking on us.
LEMON: And I said --
O. SMITH: Doing it right.
LEMON: I said you guys were ship shape. Gary, I got a question for you and you know the answer to this, but Gary, are you ready for this?
TUCHMAN: I'm ready for it, Don.
LEMON: Ask me who big Bertha is.
TUCHMAN: Don, I have a question for you. Who is big Bertha?
LEMON: You know who big Bertha is, right? Big Bertha is a machine, I'm told by the election commissioner, that counts absentee ballots and I think I'm going to get to meet big Bertha later on tonight. So I just -- it's going to be fantastic. Big Bertha counts the absentee ballots. I just thought it was a funny question. She said I nicknamed that machine big Bertha once we went electronic. That's you Otis, that's Otis Smith, by the way. Otis, he runs things around here. So anyway, there we go. We got some people voting over there. 29, 30. Right, Shirley?
S. SMITH: Yes, sir.
LEMON: He's 30. And we're expecting a lot more. You heard Otis Smith, after breakfast we're going to get a bunch more people here voting because this is a bellwether county and this is probably where the decision is going to be made.
TUCHMAN: Don Lemon, it's good talking to you. By the way, there's a slot machine in Las Vegas called big Bertha, those big slot machines you see at some of the casinos. That's what they call them, seriously. That's a common name I guess.
LEMON: Same thing.
TUCHMAN: Thanks, Don.
LEMON: Same thing. It's the same concept. TUCHMAN: Slot machines, counting votes, gambling, politics, Don, thank you. We'll talk to you later.
Newt Gingrich has been surging in the last few days in South Carolina making this a real horse race. CNN political editor Paul Steinhauser is with the CNN election express in downtown Columbia, South Carolina. Paul, thanks for joining us. What are we hearing from the candidates about what they expect today?
PAUL STEINHAUSER, CNN POLITICAL EDITOR: You know, Gary, I got to say I think Don Lemon has had a lot of cups of coffee. No quail hunting here. We're at the University of South Carolina campus downtown. Listen, expectations, Newt Gingrich very happy. He had a strong debate performance on Monday and another strong debate performance most people say at our showdown in Charleston just two nights ago and seems the Romney camp may be tempering expectations here in South Carolina. Here's what all four of the remaining candidates said last night.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
NEWT GINGRICH (R) PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: I think it really began to change dramatically after Monday night in Myrtle Beach the debate. We were pretty good before then, because you could -- we're back home, as a Georgian, I feel pretty good campaigning in South Carolina and we're getting a good, positive response. But Monday night seemed to galvanize people and all of a sudden it got better and then of course Sarah Palin said she would vote for me.
MITT ROMNEY (R) PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: We have a long process ahead of us, 1150 delegates to get. I sure would like to win South Carolina. But I know that if those polls were right, regardless of who gets the final number, we're both going to get a lot of delegates. I want as many delegates as I can get. I want the most delegates coming out of South Carolina. I don't know what the numbers will be. I'm pretty confident, cautiously optimistic.
RICK SANTORUM (R) PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: I feel like we're coming down here to South Carolina and Florida for the next two contests. We have a chance to sort of make the case, now that the field has narrowed and eventually end up as -- which I hope which is a one on one contest with Mitt Romney.
REP. RON PAUL (R) PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: It's a very significant election. We have had two so far in this primary season, Iowa and New Hampshire. And we've been very pleased with how they came out and we hope to do well tomorrow night as well.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
STEINHAUSER: You know, Gary, I tell you, the last couple of public opinion polls here over the last few days basically indicated it's almost all knotted up now between Romney and Gingrich for the top spot. Romney's lead here evaporating it seems over the last week. So much on the line, so crucial, such a crucial primary. You know it's important when you bring the CNN election express bus, it's a big day. Turnout going to be getting out the vote efforts but turnout is going to be crucial and the weather Gary, the weather could play a factor. Supposed to have strong thunderstorms in parts of the state this afternoon.
TUCHMAN: No snows like you can get in Iowa and New Hampshire, right, Paul?
STEINHAUSER: You and I share those times. No snow expected today in the forecast. Thanks for checking, though.
TUCHMAN: That's good. Thank you. We'll have more from Reynolds Wolf about that but I'm glad you told us too Paul. Paul Steinhauser, thank you very much.
South Carolina is the third contest in the Republican race. But South Carolina may be closer to the national pulse than cold Iowa or cold New Hampshire. Here's the unemployment picture for the early voting state. South Carolina is the highest at 9.9 percent. That is well above the national average. But Iowa and New Hampshire are way down in the 5 percent level.
There's also a big difference in racial makeup. This is the percentage of African-American population in South Carolina is 28 percent African-American. That's more than double the national picture. So be sure to stay with CNN all day for coverage from South Carolina. It is crucial, it is important. We are not hyping this unnecessarily. This is a very big primary for these Republican candidates. We will have all the results tonight, the best coverage there is, tune in 7:00 p.m. Eastern time for our special on the winners, the losers of the South Carolina primary.
Now for some other headlines this morning. New arrests in a growing hazing scandal at Florida A&M University. Four members of the famed marching 100 band have been arrested. They allegedly beat other members of the band. These arrests are not related to an earlier incident which led to the death of a drum major. After Robert Champion's death the school promised to crack down on hazing.
A Nevada man has come forward to possibly take the blame for starting a devastating fire in Reno, Nevada. Police say the man admitted to improperly getting rid of fireplace ashes. The fire which started Thursday has destroyed nearly 30 homes, 10,000 people evacuated. Firefighters now think they do have the upper hand on the blaze.
Roads have turned into rivers in parts of Oregon, but floodwaters are slowly starting to recede in the northwestern town of Turner, Oregon. Oregon's governor surveyed the damage there and has declared a state of emergency. The high waters forced hundreds of people from their homes.
Well, floods in Oregon, winter storm in the Midwest and possible thunderstorms in South Carolina, where the polls have now been open for an hour and 10 minutes. Meteorologist Reynolds Wolf joins me now, lot going on across the country. It looks like winter has finally arrived. I mean chronologically it arrived December 21st, but it looks like (INAUDIBLE) . REYNOLDS WOLF, CNN METEOROLOGIST: Absolutely. You're right. We have the chronological list we watch but nature can have its own way. This is really the first blast of nature, at least winter that's coming in through parts of the northeast and of course the Pacific northwest. We mentioned, of course, the flooding but in the high elevations we're talking about not several inches of rain, but several feet possibly of snowfall. Great news for the Rockies.
As we make our way to the southeast, though, let's take this full for a moment. You're going to see the story is going to be primarily the rain. Gary, moments ago was talking about the palmetto state of North (sic) Carolina people trying to get out and rock the vote, so to speak. It's going to be a rainy day for you heading out there with a lot of umbrellas, no question. But when you go farther along the eastern seaboard, the story is going to be mainly a combination of sleet, even some snow. How long will it last? I'll let you mow coming up. Gary, back to you.
TUCHMAN: Reynolds, thank you very much.
Thousands of confidential medical records are found dumped in the trash. Authorities say they know who did it. But find out why they say they cannot go after him. And look at this, a nail in the middle of a man's brain. It was in his head for 36 hours, a day and a half and he didn't even know it until his fiancee took him to the doctor. He's OK but we have the incredible story next.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
TUCHMAN: Good morning. Thank you for joining us this Saturday morning. It's 12 minutes after the hour.
A live look now from soggy, Atlanta, rainy, foggy but warm. It hasn't felt like winter here in the south yet. As we said right now, 12 minutes past the hour. It's time for a check in with meteorologist Reynolds Wolf for the weather. And Reynolds, big day in South Carolina. I mean weather really affects voting. We were just talking about there's not any blizzards in South Carolina.
(WEATHER REPORT)
TUCHMAN: You've got to see what we're about to show our viewers. This is an X-ray of a 33-year-old man, Dante (INAUDIBLE) was working with a nail gun at his home in Chicago when he apparently misfired. He thought he was lucky and the nail missed him. According to affiliate, WGN, Dante spent more than a day with a three and a half inch nail stuck in the middle of his brain. Ouch. He only went to the doctor after feeling nauseous the next day.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
GAIL GLAENZER, FIANCEE: I'm still in shock. I still can't believe he had a three and a quarter inch nail in the middle of his brain.
(END VIDEO CLIP) TUCHMAN: Well, we're happy to tell you the nail has been removed and Dante's recovering from his surgery at a local hospital. He's apparently eager to get back to work. Don't know how you didn't know it. Glad the guy is OK.
Paying tribute to World War II heroes. The Tuskegee airmen's courage is highlighted in the new film "Red Tails." We'll tell you how Alabama's governor is also honoring them.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
TUCHMAN: Good morning. It's now 17 minutes past the hour. Let's take a look at news cross country. We'll start in Denver. That's where more than a dozen suspected gang members are in custody. ATF agents rounded them up last night. They had been investigating the gang, Hell's Lovers, for over two years. Some of the suspects are expected in Federal court Monday. Details of the case were sealed.
A social worker in Texas is accused of dumping thousands of medical files in the trash. Gilbert Hadeya (ph) found the personal information containing Social Security numbers and home addresses.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I really feel like I'm a close to a lot of them because I know where they live, how many kids, what their problem is, what their diagnosis is from psychology to pregnancies to drugs.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
TUCHMAN: The social worker told CNN affiliate KABB the files were in a storage unit that was auctioned. The state department of health says the person responsible can't be disciplined because he no longer works for the state.
As "Red Tails," a George Lucas film about the legendary Tuskegee airmen hits theaters this weekend, they're also being honored in another way. Alabama's governor signed a proclamation Friday honoring their contribution to World War II. One airman was very happy to see this day come.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: As I retire for the evening, and I look at those 94 years that I have been here, and I say thank you, Lord, for allowing me the opportunity to not only be a part of it, but live to see the results and reaction to some of it.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
TUCHMAN: The Tuskegee airmen flew more than 15,000 missions during the war.
Forget those old-fashioned paper things we used to carry around. In one minute, how tablets could replace textbooks in your kids' schools.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
TUCHMAN: Paper textbooks, so a thing of the past. That's if Apple has anything to do with it. The tech giant wants iPads to help revolutionize how your kids learn. Joining me now from Baltimore is tech guru, HLN digital lifestyle expert and the man who thinks the Ravens are the next Super Bowl champs, Mario Armstrong. Mario, this new push could keep students from having achy backs, from carrying around all those heavy books. But before you tell us, this is important, before you tell us how these digital textbooks would work in schools, do you think by any chance, that the Ravens not only will beat the Patriots, but will go on to win the Super Bowl?
MARIO ARMSTRONG, DIGITAL LIFESTYLE EXPERT: Yes. I absolutely believe that -- I mean Ray Lewis is the man of the team. We got Joe Flacco with the Fu Manchu. We got it covered. Ray Rice can't be held back. I believe purple. It's done.
TUCHMAN: It's hard to explain to our viewers, we've had Dolphins on our air predict the game and they predict the Patriots over the Ravens.
ARMSTRONG: I know, but that's a Dolphin. I'm a human. I pick the Ravens. We should really go with what humans say, not animals.
TUCHMAN: We'll leave it at that. Let's get to the topic at hand. That's what we're here to talk about. Is this the end of paper books in school and when would that happen?
ARMSTRONG: You know, I don't know if this is the end right now, but certainly people have a choice and this is what we're talking about. Do we want to start carrying textbooks or do we want to start carrying tablets that could have thousands upon thousands of these textbooks inside of one device. What we do know for sure is that education hasn't really changed when it comes to curriculum and textbooks. Textbooks themselves are flat. They're just pieces of paper. You cannot interact with them. You can't search them, they're not digital. This is to me a welcome shakeup to an industry that is so important and that is education.
TUCHMAN: How would that work? Are they practical to use in school?
ARMSTRONG: Yes. So I've downloaded a couple. Using an app that's called iBooks 2. This is an actual page in an iBook that you're looking at. So for example, this is biology. If I was to want to dig into this cell, I could actually tap this image, go into the cell and actually start to manipulate -- let me go back here - and actually start to manipulate the cell so I could actually see the changes inside of the cell. If I wasn't getting enough, I could actually tap on this person and start playing back a video. So it kind of does impress me on the different ways that I can actually interact and learn and we know that many learners have different modes of learning. Different students learn different ways.
TUCHMAN: So, is there an affordability issue, though? Will parents have to pay for this in the public schools or will the taxes have to go up to afford for the schools to afford to pay for them? ARMSTRONG: Yes. That's the big question and that's one of the major concerns. We have schools right now as you know that don't even have digital classrooms. They don't even have laptops in the schools. Is this only going to go to private schools that can afford this? That's a big, big issue. I don't know yet if Apple is planning to do any major special pricing. None of that has really been announced in terms of schools. We know you can get educational pricing for certain things. But will they go beyond those discounts? Will there be new grants made accessible and will there be other creative ways like public/private partnerships where maybe companies step in and donate iPads or other tablets. I'm not trying to make a commercial for Apple. I would be happy to see any device whether it's the Nook or the Kindle, which both have education apps and educational tools that are being used in the classroom. I just think we need to be moving towards an electronic course and curriculum future.
TUCHMAN: I think it's really cool. When I started kindergarten back in 1965 or 1966 --
ARMSTRONG: You're putting it through there.
TUCHMAN: I'm putting it out there. It's relevant. There were still textbooks that said in my classes in my school that said there were 48 states and we got 49 and 50 back in 1959. So I think this is a good thing, updates things right away.
ARMSTRONG: I think it's a great thing. I think a lot of people are concerned does this lock people into Apple and the Apple world? I understand that sentiment. The bottom line is someone needs to shake up the industry. They had three major publishers on board. They have 1.5 million iPads in the educational system and over 20,000 educational apps. If anyone's really going to usher in any change, let it be Apple. That's fine. Bring the competitors in and let's just really make change for education in the classroom that's for the better.
TUCHMAN: Mario, very interesting. thanks so much for joining us. We really appreciate it.
ARMSTRONG: Appreciate it.
TUCHMAN: And don't forget to join us every Saturday at this time as our digital lifestyle expert Mario Armstrong gets the scoop on the latest technology.
It is voting day in South Carolina and momentum may be swinging in Newt Gingrich's favor. He has been surging in the polls. Can Mitt Romney fend him off for a critical win in the south?
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
TUCHMAN: It's 29 minutes past the hour. Welcome back. I'm Gary Tuchman. We thank you very much for starting your day with us.
Polls opened in the South Carolina Republican primary around 90 minutes ago and the candidates are trying to squeeze every last vote out of the state. You're taking a live look at a polling place in Lexington, South Carolina. And there are full slates of events today. We're now are going to take you to Spartanburg, South Carolina, which is in the northwestern part of the state, right off of Interstate 85.
A Newt Gingrich event: he's at a restaurant right now in Spartanburg it's called the Grapevine Restaurant and this is one of several stops the former Speaker of the House will be making. He will later be -- and this is a great, unusual, fascinating story -- Newt Gingrich and Mitt Romney will both be at the very same time, 10:45 Eastern Time about two hours and 15 minutes from now, at the same restaurant, Tommy's Ham House, and that should be a raucous occasion getting the supporters of both those candidates and both those candidates in the same restaurant.
Now it is pretty close at the top of the polls right now, so it really is anyone's game. But Newt Gingrich has been surging this week while a big question swirls around his campaign.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
TUCHMAN (voice-over): A new tactic from Newt Gingrich on the question of his relationship with his second wife.
(on camera): Mr. Speaker, is it valid -- is it valid to bring up personal issues in the campaign?
(voice-over): A reporter who tripped seemed to get Gingrich's attention. So we asked again.
(on camera): Mr. Speaker, are personal issues valid in the campaign to bring up?
(voice-over): His refusal to answer is a 180 from Thursday when he was standing with his wife and asked a similar question by a man attending one of his South Carolina rallies.
NEWT GINGRICH (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: I've been very open about the mistakes I have made, and I've been very open about needing to go to God for forgiveness and to seek reconciliation.
TUCHMAN: And then talked about it with reporters.
GINGRICH: So it's an issue I confront every time it comes up and I confront it exactly the same way every time it comes up and people seemed to be satisfied, whether you watch the audience.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The next president.
TUCHMAN: During the last two days, Gingrich's crowds have grown bigger and louder as the stakes get higher.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: This is the kind of event where it's --
TUCHMAN: On the eve of the Iowa caucuses and the New Hampshire primary, Newt Gingrich knew he wasn't going to win but now he believes victory in South Carolina is within his grasp. GINGRICH: If we win on Saturday with your help, I believe I will become the nominee because I do think South Carolina, in fact, has an enormous impact. You've picked the winner every single primary since 1980. And I believe that we will go on to win Florida and then we'll go on to win the nomination.
TUCHMAN (on camera): Do you think it's critical that you win here in South Carolina?
GINGRICH: I think it's critical you win as often as you can. I think that this is -- the number one thing we now know is, that when this becomes a two-person race, that Romney has a huge problem because he's too liberal for most Republican voters.
TUCHMAN (voice-over): As Gingrich's poll numbers have increased so it appears have his spirits. He's eagerly belted out the one-liners; in this case, talking about President Obama's Thursday visit to Walt Disney World.
GINGRICH: I was thinking about the President's standing with Mickey Mouse on one side and Goofy on the other.
TUCHMAN (on camera): Gingrich doesn't want to be backed into a corner. But if he doesn't have a strong performance in South Carolina which neighbors his home state of Georgia, he'll be increasingly unlikely to hear things like this for real.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Mr. President --
GINGRICH: No, not yet. But with -- but with your help.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
TUCHMAN: It's interesting, these rallies how many times people call the candidate Mr. President. It just seems to happen a lot, not just this year, other election years too.
So now it's time to throw out the polls for right now. We want to narrow it down to one voter, one undecided voter in South Carolina, of the four choices. Joining me on the phone is Lin Bennett, and Lynn is the South Carolina GOP Chairwoman for Charleston County. Ok Lin thanks for joining us.
But firstly, are you still undecided at this moment?
LIN BENNETT, GOP CHAIRWOMAN, SOUTH CAROLINA (via telephone): I am. I am. I've narrowed it down to -- I picked two candidates. I've been studying them and watching them and I've got until 7:00 p.m. tonight to make a decision.
TUCHMAN: Well, firstly, I mean you've led me to my next question, who are the two candidates you've narrowed it down to?
BENNETT: I've narrowed it down to Newt Gingrich and Rick Santorum.
TUCHMAN: Ok and what made you decide to eliminate Ron Paul and Mitt Romney from your repertoire?
BENNETT: Well, I just -- I want to say that I think they're both great candidates. I just have issues in their background and their past history that bother me. Some of their votes -- the way that Romney has done governing in Massachusetts bothers me. I know he's changed his mind, but my concern is, will he change his mind again? I love a lot of the stuff that Dr. Paul has to say, but I am concerned about his foreign policy issues.
TUCHMAN: Ok so now you are going to vote today. You have to figure it out. How the heck are you going to figure it out? You only have -- I'm looking at my watch right now, the polls are only open for about another ten and a half hours. You have to make the decision pretty quick, what will lead you to that final decision?
BENNETT: I have no idea. I'm -- I am listening to, you know, to news. I'm checking my iPad all the time to see if something breaks or something happens that will help me make this decision. But you know, it's -- it's -- we've got good candidates. I woke up this morning and saw Paul that there's still 20 percent of South Carolinians undecided. So I thought thank God I'm not the only one.
TUCHMAN: You're in good company, Lin. And I suggest is get -- do you have a quarter or a dime, nickel, penny near you?
BENNETT: I do.
TUCHMAN: Take it.
BENNETT: And I might use that.
TUCHMAN: Yes by the end of the day if you can't decide, take it and flip it, ok?
BENNETT: I will do that. Thank you.
TUCHMAN: Ok Lin, it's nice talking to you. Thank you so much.
BENNETT: You too. Thank you, have a great day.
TUCHMAN: You too.
Be sure to stay with CNN all day for coverage from South Carolina.
And tonight, we have got the results. It is the best election program in television I modestly say that. Tune in at 7:00 p.m. Eastern Time for our special coverage of the winners and losers of the South Carolina primary.
If you own a computer, Smartphone, Tablet, ok or basically any gadget, your employer probably calls and e-mails you afterhours about work. But should you get paid overtime for that kind of work? One country says yes.
But first, time for "Travel Insiders". CNN reporters and producers often have the inside scoop on great places to go. Our Karen Waygood gets an up close at sea manatees in Florida.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
KAREN WAYGOOD, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Kings Bay in Crystal River is one of the best places in Florida to find manatees. The water is 72 degrees year-round, pretty warm by manatee standards, a bit chilly otherwise. So I picked up a wet suit on the drive down.
(on camera): What would you tell someone who wants to look cute in a wet suit?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It's not going to happen.
WAYGOOD: I'm going to use it.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Wet suits are not flattering.
WAYGOOD: You kind of feel like a sausage when you're wearing one of these?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes, you do.
WAYGOOD: Let's just say wearing a wet suit is part of the adventure. And you don't have to buy one. You can rent one. And everything else you need for a terrific manatee vacation, right on the Crystal River National Wildlife Refuge.
Ok. I have my snorkel gear, wet suit and stand-up paddle board. But first things first.
MICHAEL LUSK, U.S. FISH AND WILDLIFE SERVICE: There are certain things that you cannot do. You cannot harass a manatee in any way. So you don't want to change its behavior. If it's sleeping, you absolutely don't want to wake it up. You don't want to swim over to it and scratch it and try to get it to come up to the surface nothing like that.
You just want to hang back, watch it in its natural environment and if he wants to come over to you, that's fine. But just -- just let it do the interactions and don't -- you don't even initiate it.
WAYGOOD (voice-over): Keep in mind, harassing a manatee is illegal. You can be fined up to $150. It's $10,000 in extreme cases, plus a year in jail.
(on camera): Well, mission accomplished. We found a manatee cow and her calf in an inlet right off the river. It was nice and quiet. We were the only ones here and we got some great pictures.
(voice-over): Karen Waygood, CNN, Crystal River, Florida.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
TUCHMAN: Pretty soon, hearing this sound -- will make some folks hear this sound. Let me explain. Brazil's president has signed a law -- this is a true story -- that could make afterhours e-mails and calls eligible for overtime pay. A law, you heard me right. Money for that extra work that you do over the weekends in your cell phone -- your computer.
And our very own Nadia Bilchik joins us for this "Morning's Passport". This is amazing I mean, I think a lot of people might want to move to Brazil.
NADIA BILCHIK, CNN EDITORIAL PRODUCER: But I want to qualify. She said that overtime you will be eligible, you can qualify, but what it takes to qualify is pretty odious (ph). It's not as simple as that.
So yes, Dilma Rousseff the President of Brazil has signed a law saying that if you work overtime and if you have a great deal of action that has to be taken afterhours, it does make you eligible.
So who's going to really benefit from this? The lawyers, because what are you going to have to go through? Think about that. But also, Gary, in the last five years, think about how much your life has changed now that you are accessible 24 hours a day?
TUCHMAN: I think it makes it easier, though, for me.
BILCHIK: Yes.
TUCHMAN: Because I can do a lot of things over the weekend, and I don't have to worry about it when I wake up on Monday.
BILCHIK: Well, that's fair enough.
TUCHMAN: Yes.
BILCHIK: But really what they're saying is if it is being abused and you have a case, now they're really formalizing something that was happening in Brazil anyway. A lot of employees were suing employers for taking advantage. So they simply legalized it. But it does need to go through the Supreme Labor Court of Brazil to review and that's going to happen in February.
But what lawyers in Brazil are saying is you're going to see more employees suing employers for overtime. So what it's going to make people do is think twice before they request an action taken. But how are you going to actually prove it? Because somebody can say, I didn't send you that e-mail at that time, there's a glitch on your computer.
TUCHMAN: I mean, is it practical?
BILCHIK: So there is so much more, it's going to take a lot to prove. But Brazilians typically do work many hours after work and they're also apparently very late for meetings. So what she's trying to do is instead of wasting your time and waiting for two or three hours for meetings, it's a way of just formalizing the whole situation and making it easier for the employee.
And by the way, Brazil is a labor-friendly country already, so there's concern about what is this going to do.
TUCHMAN: They are labor friendly, no kidding.
BILCHIK: Yes exactly.
TUCHMAN: I mean could this happen -- could this happen in the United States?
BILCHIK: I can't see it happening, but it would be nice if it happened here. I like Don Lemon's tweet. He said, if it happened to him he would be a gazillionaire answering all the e-mails.
But I want to go back to we now do publicly what we used to do privately. Think about this you used to answer e-mail where you would have to go into an office or even office in your home.
TUCHMAN: Right.
BILCHIK: But you'd have to open your computer. You can now both send e-mails and receive e-mails publicly from anywhere. So what this really is doing is just saying to people, let's not abuse the system. And what happens to these workaholics, crack berry addicts, Smartphone addicts what is this doing to us long term. It's hard to quantify because it's unprecedented.
TUCHMAN: Nadia will you excuse me for a second I have an e-mail I have to send.
BILCHIK: Exactly.
TUCHMAN: Oh I'm sorry.
BILCHIK: I mean, how many times are you having a conversation with somebody.
TUCHMAN: Yes.
BILCHIK: And I love how Seinfeld says it, that you know you're having a conversation and suddenly they just do that and it's almost perfectly acceptable.
TUCHMAN: It's rude. It's rude.
BILCHIK: Exactly. So we won't be doing that.
TUCHMAN: That's my editorial comment for the day.
BILCHIK: But no afterhours e-mails, that aren't necessary. That's what it's going to hopefully stop in Brazil.
TUCHMAN: Ok, Nadia Bilchik, thank you very much.
Well, we asked for your thoughts on this story and Twitter and some person as Nadia just said, I believe his name is pronounced Don Lemon. Don Lemon, said, "You and I would be gazillionaires so I say yes." All right Don, Don Lemon, I agree with you there. But one of our viewers, Jazz Shaw he disagrees. He says, "If companies" -- I think Jazz is a he and if you're not a he, I apologize. "But if companies want to pay people for OT calls, tweeting, fine. Making them do it? Forget it. Systemic abuse alert."
So we want to hear what you think. "Should companies be forced to pay overtime for after-hours calls and e-mails?" Tweet me @GaryTuchmanCNN. We'll use your answers on the air and I must remind you these tweets are not eligible for overtime pay. So don't ask us or your bosses for pay to tweet us on the weekends.
Faith in politics in South Carolina -- we gave voters an open mike to say whatever they wanted. And we'll play some of that for you.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
TUCHMAN: It's primary day in South Carolina. And as we will throughout the day, we're going to be checking in on the Republican presidential candidates.
So we go live to an event in Greenville, South Carolina, and that's Mitt Romney, a Mitt Romney event. Greenville is in the northwestern part of South Carolina near Spartanburg, which we just showed a Gingrich event there a short time ago.
This is an election office where he's meeting with campaign workers and supporters. Later this morning in Greenville, he's expected to be not far away from where he is right now at a restaurant called Tommy's Ham House and Newt Gingrich is also expected to be at Tommy's Ham House at the exact same time. They did not plan that.
As a matter of fact, one of our producers, Shawna Shepherd let Newt Gingrich know yesterday that he and Romney were going to be in the same place at the same time. It wasn't planned. It will be a hoot when it happens. I promise you that. We'll be reporting about it when that visit happens at 10:45 a.m. Eastern time.
Well, religion plays a big part in many people's personal lives, but what is its place in politics? The Republican Party is close to a first. Mitt Romney is Mormon, Newt Gingrich and Rick Santorum are Catholics, the GOP has never had a nominee from either religion. By the way, Ron Paul is Protestant but the other three are not.
So what role do voters think faith has in this election and in the government? We opened up our mikes to let people sound off and here's some of what they said.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I'm a Christian and I think that our government was founded on Christian values. I mean, my preacher said to pray for Obama. I prayed for the government and I -- I have a hard time praying for you because you're not a Christian. It's apparent in everything you do. UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Well, I believe in God very much. And I believe that's what our country's lacking to start off with. I pray for the right leadership. I pray that we keep -- quit borrowing so much money and start paying our debts.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The most important issue is what America does with God. We may fix the economy in the short term, but unless America turns back to God, our economy repairs will be wasted.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I think faith and politics is something that used to be huge but it's just not anymore. Some schools are taking the Pledge of Allegiance out, not praying stuff like that, taking the word "God" out from the pledge. I think that religion should be a big thing, but it's just not anymore.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: A person's faith or belief in a God or divine entity is not a big issue for me from the standpoint of who I would support. I think they all need to try to compromise a little better.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Faith is an important part of my life, but when voting it's not something that I necessarily focus on as the primary reason for voting for a candidate. I kind of lean more towards moderate candidates.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
TUCHMAN: Joining me now -- that's fascinating -- is CNN.com video producer Jarrett Bellini. He sets up the mike and he puts together these great pieces for us. Jarrett, were those responses typical for the people you saw there in that part of South Carolina?
JARRETT BELLINI, CNN.COM VIDEO PRODUCER: It was typical for the people in that restaurant. I don't think that they necessarily speak for everybody in the town but at this restaurant Charlie's, it was sort of an upscale restaurant for Lancaster. And I don't know that, you know, the -- everybody's hurting there, but jobs wasn't the only thing on their minds. Faith and social issues were important to many people that we spoke to at Charlie's.
TUCHMAN: Tell us more about that town.
BELLINI: This town used to have one of the world's largest cotton mills. This is cotton town. And the mill is now in Brazil. The jobs are gone and they're really hurting there. We were on Main Street on a Friday afternoon, and I looked left and right, and it's empty.
The guy who owned the restaurant actually said that the place closes down at 9:00. There's nothing happening in this town. So, you can feel there's a little bit of desperation and there's no life.
TUCHMAN: Is there a difference between the younger people and older people?
BELLINI: You know, I was actually surprised; there wasn't that much of a difference. The people that we spoke to, faith was important to everybody. I spoke to a youth pastor who was about my age and he echoed a lot of what the older residents were saying.
God is important, faith is important, but I also don't want people to think that, you know -- that they're not forgiving of other people and that they're very hard on their stances because they were forgiving of the people and more accepting.
TUCHMAN: And that's an important part of their faith, that's for sure.
BELLINI: And it is an important part of their faith. And I would also encourage viewers to go to CNN.com and check out the article that Mona Vassou (ph) about the town because it gives a much deeper understanding of the people who live there.
TUCHMAN: Jarrett Bellini, fascinating. Thanks for joining us.
BELLINI: Thank you.
TUCHMAN: And there's lots more from Jarrett and the voters in South Carolina on CNN.com as Jarrett was just saying. So check it out.
Well, how would you like a slice of Tim Tebow? I'm serious. This is what one pizza shop is offering its customers. Where can you find this hand-tossed Tebow? We will tell you, it's not in Denver.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
TUCHMAN: In need of some great food for your NFL playoff party this weekend? Well, HLN sports guru Joe Carter joins me now for an interesting pizza option for you.
But first, something more seriously, something more serious, the Miami Dolphins had just hired a head coach who went through just an incredible tragedy just recently, right?
JOE CARTER, HLN SPORTS: Yes, 12 days ago, Joe Philbin, offensive coordinator for the Packers had to bury his 21-year-old son Michael. He drowned in a Wisconsin river, very unfortunate situation. He left the team for a week, then went back, joined the squad. Obviously the Packers were then knocked out of the playoffs, they were Super Bowl favorites.
It's just been a really grueling couple weeks for this man. But then he came to find out that the Miami Dolphins were interested in hiring him. Jeff Fisher turned down the job, took the job in St. Louis. So Miami officially announced that they were going to hire him as the new head coach yesterday. They'll introduce him to the media later on today.
But this is a man who has got great credentials when it comes to running an offense; obviously, the Packers a great high-flying offense. They've been in the top ten the last seven years. He's been a coordinator for them since 2007. He has the coaching credentials.
But this is a man who is praised by his players, praised by other coaches for what he's been through, his reputation in the league, his reputation as a family man. They went to Twitter yesterday, giving him all kinds of compliments, personally and professionally, and the Dolphins saying they just really appreciated how well he's handled the situation, how professional he's been through it all. Like I said they'll introduce him today as the new head coach.
TUCHMAN: So, on a lighter note, what is this about Tebow pizza?
CARTER: You know, Tim Tebow, he's fascinating; no matter what, if you're a Tebow fan or not, he is fascinating. There is a pizzeria in Alabama of all places; it's called Famous Joe's Pizzeria in Madison, Alabama. Long ways away from Denver and a pretty long way away from Gainesville or Jacksonville where obviously Tebow has some ties.
But you have a little pizza sauce, you've got a little cheese, you see the Tebowing there as well as his face. It's a great way for you to get a slice of Tebow mania.
TUCHMAN: All right. Well, at the very least we'll have some pizza. Even if it's not Tebow pizza for the games tomorrow, right?
CARTER: Well, at least the fans in Alabama. This guy, he does all kinds of faces. You have to give him 24 hours notice. But he'll do any kind of face on any kind of pizza for you. So, pretty creative stuff.
TUCHMAN: Joe, thank you very much. Got us hungry even though it's early in the morning here. Thank you.
CARTER: You bet.
TUCHMAN: The voters of South Carolina are writing their own story today. It's Republican primary day. We'll take you there live to hear from the voters and from the candidates.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
TUCHMAN: Overlooked in history, and couldn't even get a break, decades after the civil rights movement. Well, the Tuskegee Airmen, the nation's first black fighter pilots, struggled to fight for our segregated country in World War II. That struggle lasted decades. Not just for the airmen but also for those who wanted to tell their story on the big screen.
George Lucas says Hollywood refused to fund his black cast. So what did he do? He paid for it himself. The result -- "Red Tails".
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Come on. Slip just a little.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Congratulations, captain. You are the first Negro to shoot down a jet.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
TUCHMAN: Cuba Gooding Jr. is one of the actors who star in that film. We caught up with him during a special screening just for the Tuskegee airmen.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
CUBA GOODING JR., ACTOR: We've been given the frag order to provide air cover for the Atlantic.
I'm Cuba Gooding, Jr. And I'm here to introduce "Red Tails" which is the heroic tale of the Tuskegee airmen.
They were 332nd fighter group, which is the first all-black fighter group that was stationed in Italy. They had to fly with the B-17 bombers as they did their raids on Berlin.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Come on, junior, fire.
GOODING, JR.: They helped to save a lot of these airmen who were in these B-17 bombers.
DR. ROSCOE C. BROWN JR., VETERAN TUSKEGEE AIRMAN: This is a B-51D, with the bubble canopy. It has the red tail and it's a great airplane. I'm Dr. Roscoe Brown Jr., Tuskegee airman. I was commander of the 100th fighter squadron and some of my exploits are portrayed in the movie.
We won lots of medals, shot down lots of planes, blew up lots of trains. In my generation, and the generation of segregation, there were many African-Americans who knew that we could do anything that whites could do, all we wanted was the opportunity.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Stay with the bombers.
BROWN: They called us the Red Tail Angels because we stayed so close to them and protected them. And I like to say that the message was excellence overcomes prejudice, excellence overcomes obstacles.
GOODING, JR.: The legacy will be of heroes, American warriors who were sacrificing their lives for our country and they did it selflessly and they did it selflessly and they did it as a unit of African-American men, which meant an accomplishment that helped, you know, win the war.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
TUCHMAN: "Red Tails" is in theaters nationwide this weekend.
