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CNN Saturday Morning News

Candidates Campaign in Florida; Shipments of O.J. Banned from U.S.; Get Ready to Shell Out More Dollars For Consumer Goods

Aired January 28, 2012 - 07:00   ET

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

CHRISTI PAUL, CNN ANCHOR: From CNN Center, of course, this is CNN SATURDAY MORNING. Saturday January 28th. In fact, 7:00 a.m. in Atlanta, 6:00 a.m. for you in Chicago. And oh, 4:00 a.m. in Phoenix. You are up already.

We are glad to have your company. Good morning. I'm Kristi Paul.

Republican presidential candidates pounding the state of Florida this morning, trying to drum up support before Tuesday's primary. We're going to take you there.

And before you drink that orange juice, here is a story that you got to hear. Shipments of O.J. stopped at the border. We'll tell you why.

So, let's get ready to shell out more money this year. We're going to give you a list of things that are going to cost you more in 2012. It's not just gas prices. So, just trying to make sure that you know how to budget.

All right. And London police, want to let you know, have made several arrests this morning in the tabloid phone hacking scandal. Among those arrested, we now know, is a police officer. The investigation right now is centering on allegations of bribes made to police for inside information. We know authorities are also searching the London offices of News International, that's Rupert Murdoch's publishing company and it's been at the center of this hacking scandal.

The Justice Department released more details last night of failed operation that left hundreds of untracked weapons in the hands of potentially deadly criminals in Mexico. The documents show top officials approved of the plan called Fast and Furious. Attorney General Eric Holder will testify about Justice Department reforms in the wake of Fast and Furious. He'll do it at a congressional hearing next week.

An 18-year-old student, look at him here, accused of planning to detonate a bomb in his school, is out on bail this morning. Dallin Todd Morgan, a 16-year-old student at the Roy Utah High School, was arrested after the plot was uncovered. The 16-year-old is being held in a juvenile detention center while officials considered charges. Morgan is charged with one felony count of use of weapon of mass destruction. Former Mississippi Governor Haley Barbour continues to defend his decision to pardon more than 200 inmates, including convicted killers. In fact, this is what he told John King.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

HALEY BARBOUR, FORMER MISSISSIPPI GOVERNOR: They can't come to the mansion until they have been minimum security prisoners for years.

So the idea that these are people out who the public ought to be afraid of -- and, John, you said that we pardoned 200-something inmates. Well, 189 of them were people who were out of jail. Most of them had been released years and years ago. Some of them have been out since the '70s.

So, 10 people were pardoned and released. We have 21,342 inmates in Mississippi. Pardoned and released, less than one out of every 2,000. So I don't get what the big issue is about.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

PAUL: Well, the state attorney general says the pardons are invalid because Barbour failed to follow the constitution. Four of those pardons were convicted murderers who are still serving time.

One of them is Joseph Ozment. A judge has ordered him to report. But you know what? Authorities can't find them. Police are not allowed to arrest him.

So, the attorney general is offering a reward.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MARY MCABEE, VICTIM'S SISTER: At this point, you have a cold-blooded murderer. In my opinion, he's a cold-blooded murderer to what he's done. And if he thinks that he may go back to prison, what's he got to lose.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

PAUL: A hearing on the pardon controversy by the way will be held next week.

Missouri Congressman Emanuel Cleaver being held as a hero this morning for helping a woman that he found in a ditch at the side of the road. Cleaver noticed her when he and an aide were driving, and they waited with the woman until paramedics arrived. In fact, he said she thought she was going to die.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

REP. EMANUEL CLEAVER (D), MISSOURI: She was in a ditch so there may have been people who drove by and didn't see her. I was fortunate enough to see her, cold. And hopefully she's OK. If she is, then this is probably the best day of my year.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

PAUL: Cleaver also said he thought the first responders were the true heroes. We do not know the condition of the woman right now.

Lawsuits are being filed against the cruise company that owned the Costa Concordia. You kind of knew this was coming, didn't you? At least 16 people died when the ship hit rocks near a western Italian island and rolled over. This was two weeks ago.

The company offered just over $14,000 to each of the survivors. But that lawsuit is seeking more than 450 million bucks.

Shipments of Canadian orange juice aren't being allowed in the country after they tested positive for a banned fungicide. Presence of that fungicide is legal in Canada, but is not the U.S.

Some Brazilian orange juice, you might remember, tested positive earlier this month. The government says low levels aren't dangerous, and the test of the Canadian juice did all came in below the danger levels.

(MUSIC)

PAUL: All right. Let's head together to the political arena and the Florida primaries just around the corner. On Tuesday, we are going to check in on Romney and Gingrich's planned events throughout the morning.

But CNN political editor Paul Steinhauser has more on the battle in the Sunshine State.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

PAUL STEINHAUSER, CNN POLITICAL EDITOR: Hey, good morning, Christi.

Just three days away now from Florida's crucial primary. It's a winner-take-all primary, 50 delegates at stake. That is the biggest haul so far in this primary and caucus season.

You've got former Massachusetts Governor Mitt Romney and you've got former House Speaker Newt Gingrich campaigning in the state all weekend. But you know what? They are the only two.

Santorum, the former senator from Pennsylvania, he's up in Pennsylvania right now today. He's doing his taxes, he said, and he's also doing a little bit of fundraising. You'll actually see him back here in Florida tomorrow afternoon.

As for Congressman Ron Paul of Texas, he's not here in Florida at all next week. He's up in Maine. He's kind of looking ahead. Maine holds their caucus next month. And, well, Paul is up there doing a little politicking.

Take a look at this. This is a new number from Quinnipiac University. All right. Look at the numbers on the left. That is Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, just before our explosive CNN debate in Jacksonville.

And look at that. You can see Romney with a nine-point advantage. Look at the column on the right, that was back on Sunday and Monday.

And you can see at that time, Gingrich had the advantage. It really indicates that Newt Gingrich had the big momentum coming out of South Carolina, his double digit victory there. But it seems that momentum appears to be fading, at least for people likely to vote in the primary here in Florida -- Christi.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

PAUL: Thank you, Paul. I want to give you a quick programming note here.

Be sure to tune in for an encore presentation of CNN's Florida Republican presidential debate. It comes your way today at 5:00 Eastern, in case you missed it or want to see it again.

Just ahead, winds so strong in southern California, one university forced to close classes. And that's not the only concern.

Reynolds, what does it look like?

REYNOLDS WOLF, AMS METEOROLOGIST: Well, the other big issue is the very low humidity, coupled with those strong wind gusts and temperatures in the 80s could really give us a good fire threat in parts of California. Not only the L.A. basin, but as part south as San Diego. So, that is certainly something to watch.

Also, some snow showers across parts of the Great Lakes and the Ohio Valley. We'll give you the full scoop in just a few moments.

You are watching CNN SATURDAY MORNING.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

PAUL: Certainly thoughts and prayers going out to all the families in Alabama after this week, a state that was hit so hard by deadly storms. A 16-year-old girl was among those killed. And friends and family of Christina Heichelbech celebrated her life. She died Monday after a tornado struck her family's home.

Our Reynolds Wolf spoke with her father after the tragedy.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DARRELL HEICHELBECH, CHRISTINA'S FATHER: Since she was a little girl, every day, we would set her up. I always told her, study hard, we love you. I don't get to do that for her anymore.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

PAUL: You just cannot imagine what it's like for all those folks, Reynolds. But I have to believe that community is really coming around for that family. WOLF: Absolutely. I mean, that's the only happy note I can think of. Just the overwhelming support the family has gotten from the community. It's a devastating loss, there's no other way to put it for the people across that part of Alabama.

And, you know, one thing is even more mindboggling. It is the second deadly tornado event in the state of Alabama in less than a year's time. Tornadoes can happen any place on the planet. They can happen anytime of the year.

You always do your best to be ready. And again, can't say it enough. You're always going to be in the center most room, lowest to the ground you possibly get, below the ground. If you say, a cellar or even a basement is your best be -- but certainly a heart-wrenching story.

And today, thankfully this weekend, the weather is going to be a little more sedate. We're not expecting any tornadic activity around the nation. We do however expect that we are going to see strong winds in parts of southern California, even into San Diego.

Here's your wind threat. We got gusts topping 60-70 miles an hour. We're talking about winds that could be tropical storm force, possibly hurricane force winds into the afternoon, as the winds pass right through the San Gabriel Mountains along the coastal range.

Some places with the low humidity and with the high winds, you got a real danger in terms of wildfires. Let's give you just a little bit of a rundown to the latest we've had. Camp Nine, California, 68-mile- per-hour gusts, also 61 miles per hour gust in Newhall Pass. Warm Springs, Malibu Hills and Whitaker Peak, got up there to the 40s and 50s in terms of your wind velocity.

Well, we anticipate is that wind to continue through the weekend. The snow however that we're seeing across parts of the Great Lakes is going to subside a little bit in places like Chicago later this morning. But could be back again for Sunday. And with that, we're going to see some delays in spots like Chicago.

Even Detroit, due to the snowfall could see delays, but pretty much under an hour. The guys down on the tarmac, and both airports in Chicago and Detroit, they've got that down to a science. They're going to clean up the planes as fast as they can. You're going to have the delays, but you've got to be patient out there.

We're talking about the wind in Los Angeles, possibly the threat of wildfires, and threat of some delays. Delays under an hour expected in those spots.

The big weather maker that we have in Great Lakes though in terms of your snow making process is due to an area of low pressure that's going to drift its way right across the Ohio Valley. That's one mechanism. Second is the moisture that we have in place. Then, on top of that, as we wrap things up, you see that frontal boundary coming through. But that's the first installment. Second installment comes right behind it. That's going to be a snow maker again for Chicago. So, along Michigan Avenue, today and tomorrow, you can expect the chance of snow flakes. You always have slippery spots.

The wind also a big deal in parts of the Northern Plains and into the Central Rockies and some wind gusts topping 50 miles per hour.

High temperatures, we've take a look at the national perspective: 41 degrees in Billings, 65 in San Francisco, 49 in Albuquerque, 34 in Chicago. Your high in Atlanta, 62 degrees. New York and Boston, right even at 46 degrees.

That is the latest of your forecast. Christi, let's send it back to you.

PAUL: All right, Reynolds. Snow on Michigan Avenue, that sounds like a good excuse to go inside and buy something.

WOLF: Always a good excuse.

PAUL: You got to find one. Thank you, Reynolds.

WOLF: You bet.

PAUL: Wild winds in southern California forced Cal State San Bernardino University to cancel classes. The National Weather Service issued a high wind advisory that is still in effect today. Officials are concerned that the strong Santa Ana winds combined with those dry conditions, as he was talking about there, could escalate fire danger in some areas. So, the National Weather Service says wind gusts could hit 50 miles per hour. Operations at the Cal State campus do remain, want to let you know.

But did you know this? Pizza is still considered a vegetable on the school lunch menu. Oh, yes. But there are some new rules that will stuff on this tray better for the almost 32 million kids who eat school lunches. I'm going to show you why.

Stay close.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

PAUL: I know you are probably just eating lunch right now, but schools around the country are preparing for a massive overhaul of their lunch program, which is going to force them to serve more of the good stuff. Fruits, veggies, skim milk. Here's the thing. Pizza and French fries will still be served because Congress passed legislation classifying them as vegetables.

Our senior medical correspondent Elizabeth Cohen showed me exactly what the changes are and whether they're going to make a difference.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

ELIZABETH COHEN, CNN SENIOR MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT: There are a lot of changes. This is the first time in 15 years they have revamped school lunches. Isn't that amazing?

PAUL: Yes.

COHEN: And, you know, childhood obesity is one of the biggest public health threats out there. And, can you believe it, Christi, as we speak, there are no limits on calories in school lunches. The sky is the limit.

PAUL: They can have like 2,000 calories if they want?

COHEN: Sure, absolutely.

PAUL: What?

COHEN: Isn't that crazy?

PAUL: Is that changing under this thing?

COHEN: That is changing. So, now, there are limits on calories and limits are different from the little kids and the big kids. But I -- we've made this is an old school lunch.

(CROSSTALK)

COHEN: I ate this three times a week in school, right?

So, this is what kids could be eating right now in school. This is too many calories for elementary school student right now. You couldn't for the new lunches -- you couldn't make this under the new rules. There's just too many calories.

So, instead, here's an example of what you could make. You would have a turkey sandwich, it's turkey and low cheese on whole wheat. And notice there's whole wheat. That's one of the new rules is that it needs to get some whole grains in there. That wasn't a concern before.

Refried beans, green peppers, cantaloupe and jicama. You don't have to have jicama. Jimaca, right, like how many kids know what jimaca is.

PAUL: Jimaca, right.

COHEN: And you don't have to have jimaca, or any of these specific foods and veggies. But you do have to have more fruits and vegetables than you did under the old rules.

PAUL: A bigger variety?

COHEN: A bigger variety? Yes. Bigger variety and also just more of those.

PAUL: I'm glad you told me what the refried beans were.

COHEN: It's a little hard to count --

(CROSSTALK)

PAUL: And you have burrito or something.

COHEN: Right, exactly. And so, there's also ranch dipping sauce.

And this milk is low fat. It's got to be either skim or 1 percent under the new rules, whereas before they could do 2 percent or whole.

PAUL: So, is this an everyday thing? Or are there holdovers that will continue -- you know, that were in the old menu that will continue under the new rule?

COHEN: There are some holdovers, the old way of doing things. And there's a lot of people that are pretty upset about this. Under the current rules and under the new rules, pizza counts as a vegetable.

PAUL: Come on!

COHEN: It does. I'm serious. I'm not making this up -- because you see that red stuff, that's tomato paste. So, two tablespoons of tomato paste.

PAUL: No, it's sugar.

COHEN: There's also sugar in there, right. But two tablespoons of tomato paste make this a vegetable. And a lot of people, including the Obama administration, had a problem with that. And they said that's, you know, that's not right. It shouldn't be that way.

But the food lobby is pretty powerful. And some people say they are the ones -- they are the reason why pizza is still a vegetable. Also, tater tots and French fries, I know they are delicious. Those are also still considered a vegetable.

So, you can have that as one of your vegetables. And there are more rules about how often and all that, but still they are a vegetable.

PAUL: So, the big changes, more fruits, more veggies?

COHEN: More fruits, more veggies, a calorie limit and also low fat milk. And that's huge, because, you know, kids drink a lot of milk. Low fat milk and also getting more whole grains in there.

PAUL: What about chocolate milk? Is that out, too?

COHEN: It's OK as long as it's low fat.

PAUL: Elizabeth Cohen, thank you.

COHEN: Thanks.

PAUL: Good information. We are going to have lunch now.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

PAUL: Let me give you good news if you are looking to save money. Prices are going to be falling on some items this year. Here, take a look with me.

First up: wine. Retailers are slashing prices on bottles priced over 30 bucks.

Also, car rentals. With plenty of vehicles sitting idle in lots right now, you can look for some deep discounts this year.

Then, you got the iPad 2 -- iPad 3 is rumored to hit store shelves this year. So, watch for some price cuts on the popular iPad 2, particularly refurbished models.

3D TVs, slow sales coupled apparently with new designs and more makers. I mean, prices on this TV are going to plummet.

Finally, you know, this is good -- this is bad for a lot of people. Homes. Home prices falling nearly 3 percent last year. Don't expect that to change in 2012.

Of course, you know, it's not all good news as we indicated there. These items may be decreasing in prices. Other items are expected to hit record highs, and we're just not talking about gas that we did a little ago.

Don't worry, that guy right there, see him? Clyde Anderson, he's joining us right after the break to tell us what's going up, I should say, and what to look out for. He's got our backs.

We are back in a moment.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

PAUL: So, we just talked about it. Wine, iPads, TVs, all expected to drop in price this year. But a lot of other items are going to cost you more.

Financial analyst Clyde Anderson is here.

Good to see you in studio here, Clyde.

CLYDE ANDERSON, FINANCIAL ANALYST: Good to be here.

PAUL: All right. Let's talk about the first one here.

ANDERSON: Yes.

PAUL: Really? Air fare? Really?

ANDERSON: Yes. And we've been seeing it. Anybody that's looked online or anything for a ticket recently has seen these increases.

PAUL: Yes.

ANDERSON: And they are going up, they're going up rapidly. So, we are talking about at least 5 percent in some areas, sometimes with $15 surcharges and we know with bags and other things. So, it's crucial right now. And so, some of the things, I tell people is look at sites like Travelocity to save a little bit of money. And be flexible. That's the key with this new economy. You got to be a little bit flexible. So when you go in there and put in that you are flexible for dates, to see what the date that is pop-up for availability. That's a great way to do it.

PAUL: All right. That's good to know.

Data plans.

ANDERSON: Yes, data plans are increasing. No more than three bandwidth. No more that.

PAUL: Oh, man.

ANDERSON: It's going away in the lot of places, where they -- everybody is using it. We see -- everybody has a smartphone. These lines are getting jammed up.

So, what they're doing is -- Sprint still has unlimited data plans right now. But also, T-Mobile and Wal-Mart are teaming up to offer unlimited data plans. It's not unlimited but it's better. They kind of throw at you and stop you at about 250 megabytes.

PAUL: But how can they say it's unlimited, but really unlimited?

ANDERSON: They give you talk, text and data to a certain point. They are giving you more than their competitors, I guess they say. And that's their term. So, it's something to look out for there, to save a little bit of money right now on those data plans.

PAUL: OK. Right now may be the key. Yes.

ANDERSON: Yes.

PAUL: It might be going up.

OK. Gadgets like desktop computers, that kind of thing?

ANDERSON: Yes, desktop computers, .as well as hard drives. It's crucial. There was a flood in Thailand. So, it's causing a shortage right now on some of the hard drives, as well as desktop computers.

What's happening is they are consolidating a lot of the big, you know, bulky models are consolidated to just a screen. They are going to some of the touch screens. And so, what we are going to see, an increase in desktop computers as this new technology is implemented.

PAUL: OK. The last one always gets me. It's shipping and I have to tell you, I will be at the computer and I will spend a half hour on an order and I'll get to shipping. If it's too much, I cancel the whole thing.

ANDERSON: Yes, I mean, it's crucial. Gas prices are going up. So, we're shipping increasing at least 5 percent. So, you want to be careful about that.

When you're going online and go to some of the retailers that offer free shipping, L.L. Bean, Lands' End, some of the other ones that offer free shipping. Just do your homework. Do your due diligence. So, be patient and do your homework in this new economy and you'll be OK.

PAUL: Yes. And holidays, they always have free shipping around the holidays.

ANDERSON: They do. So, look for it.

PAUL: Clyde, good to see you. Thank you so much.

ANDERSON: Pleasure as always.

PAUL: All righty.

You can join us every Saturday at this time as Clyde Anderson, our financial analyst, gives us his latest money saving tips. Hope they help you here.

A popular baby lotion is being recalled because of a possible bacterial contamination. We'll have those details in a second.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

PAUL: Top stories for you this hour:

Anger over Syria erupts in Egypt's capital.

(VIDEO CLIP PLAYS)

PAUL: Dozens of protesters storm the Syrian embassy in Cairo, upset with Syria's deadly crackdown on opposition demonstrators. The protestors smashed windows and tore down the Syrian flag before they were dispersed.

Jerry Sandusky wants a Pennsylvania judge to modify his bail so he can spend more time with his grandchildren. The former Penn State assistant coach is accused of sexually abusing young boys. The judge has forbidden from having unsupervised visits with his grandkids or having them at his house overnight.

Johnson & Johnson is voluntarily recalling some of its Aveeno Baby Calming Comfort lotion. The reason: possible bacterial contamination. The recall affects one lot that went to stores particularly in the South and Midwest. The company says there have been no injuries reported so far.

And in southern California, music great Etta James will be laid to rest today. The Reverend Al Sharpton will preside over her funeral service. And Christina Aguilera will sing James' signature hit "At Last". Hundreds of fans attended a public viewing yesterday.

Remember, James died January 20th of complications from leukemia. She would have been 74 this past Wednesday.

More top stories at the top of the hour when CNN SATURDAY MORNING continues.

First, though, a special look at the dangers of youth sports. As our Dr. Sanjay Gupta found out, it's not just a problem for boys. "SANJAY GUPTA, M.D." begins now.