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CNN Saturday Morning News

Battle for the Florida Primary; Democrats Work on Election Strategy; An Emphasis on Education; Barbour Defends Inmate Pardons; Florida Seniors Reflect on Hard Times

Aired January 28, 2012 - 09:00   ET

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

CHRISTIE PAUL, CNN ANCHOR: All right, let's check your top stories with you today here.

One day after hundreds of Etta James fans turned out for a public viewing, the funeral for the legendary singer will take place in Southern California. The Reverend Al Sharpton will preside over the private service.

James died last week at 73. Christina Aguilera will sing James' classic, "At Last" at today's funeral.

Well, Greg Kelly, the son of New York's police commissioner, is being investigated for allegedly raping a female acquaintance. A source said the woman became pregnant and subsequently had an abortion.

Kelly's attorney says his client is innocent and he is cooperating with authorities.

The young man known as the Barefoot Bandit will not be going anywhere for a while. A federal judge sentenced Colton Harris-Moore to six and a half years in prison. The 20-year-old won fame, 50,000 Facebook fans and even a movie deal for alluding police in stolen cars, boats and planes for two years.

All right, let's move on to politics, get you right to the campaign trail now.

Newt Gingrich is in Stuart, Florida, attending a Lincoln Day breakfast and he has another one coming up a little bit later this hour. The big question for a lot of you, I know, is where does this race really stand, with just three days to go until the primary?

Mitt Romney's sporting a nearly 10-point lead in a Quinnipiac poll taken just before the CNN Florida debate. This is a turnaround from just a few days earlier when Gingrich had the lead. So Newt Gingrich may have some ground to make up, it looks like.

Joining me now, CNN's Joe Johns, who's at the site of the upcoming Gingrich event in Port St. Lucie. He'll be there later today.

Joe, good to see you. Has the Gingrich campaign, has it stalled? Is there that feeling at all? What's the problem as they see it? JOE JOHNS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, I mean, if you look sort of objectively, Christi, at the polls, they're up against what you just mentioned. If you look at the organization of Mitt Romney here in Florida, which is daunting, they've really been working on the state for years.

If you look at the air war, the ads the Romney people are running here, they're really outspending Gingrich all over the state. And if you look at the fact that the speaker just sort of lost his mojo in that last debate last week, I'd have to say, yes, the Gingrich campaign is really up against some challenges here in this state.

What they say is, among other things, that the Gingrich campaign is trying to deal with false statements, untruthful statements that have been put out by the Romney campaign. Nonetheless, it's much more than that. It's just the totality of the situation, and a lot of people say Florida is a very tough state to compete in anyway, especially if you're Newt Gingrich. He is looking at this and saying, OK, how do I win - Christi.

PAUL: You know, yes it really shows you what a good zinger can do in terms of, you know, how the numbers changed for Gingrich in South Carolina before this. At this point, how do you think the Gingrich campaign is - how are they going to make up the ground that they've lost to Romney thus far?

JOHNS: Well, they're definitely trying to do a lot of legwork, shoe leather, if you will. Gingrich has something like six stops here in the state of Florida just today as he starts to make his closing arguments. He's going to be moving all over the state, especially out in the panhandle where there are a lot of conservative voters.

They also have a tough new ad that sort of bounces off of the last debate and they're once again raising the questions of whether Romney made some untruthful statements, dishonest statements, if you will. They're also really saying that things might not be as bad as some people suggest. They're hoping that they will be able to get at least a bit of a bounce from, for example, absentee ballots. Everybody figuring in the absentee ballot race.

Romney was the guy who was hands down the leader here. They're saying they might have made up some ground just before they really got started in earnest campaigning for Florida, Christi.

PAUL: Yes. I understand a pretty significant number of Republicans have already voted in that early vote - early voting process.

Thank you so much, Joe Johns. Good to see you this morning.

Here's a quick programming note for you, too. Be sure to tune in for an encore presentation of CNN's Florida Republican presidential debate there. It comes your way today at 5:00 P.M. Eastern, just in case you missed it.

The other candidate in this election, as you know, President Barack Obama. Democrats gathered this week for a retreat to talk about the election and the state of the Democratic Party. No doubt they also talked about Tuesday's State of the Union.

President Obama kicked off the much anticipated address with this, quote, "For the first time in two decades, Osama Bin Laden is not a threat to this country," unquote.

At the Democratic retreat, Vice President Joe Biden offered a little behind the scenes glimpse of the decision to kill Bin Laden.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JOE BIDEN, VICE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA: I said we owe the man a direct answer. Mr. President, my suggestion is don't go. We have to do two more things to see if he's there. He walked out and said, "I'll give you my decision."

The next morning he came down to the diplomatic entrance, getting in a helicopter I believe to go to Michigan. I'm not positive of that. He turned to Tom Donald (ph) and said, "Go," knowing that as loyal as everyone is around that table, when pressed and when books were written later, would have said, "I didn't tell them to do that. I hope no one would have done that," but not knowing that the people around that table said, "Yes, Mr. President, go."

And he knew what was at stake, not just the lives of those brave warriors, but literally the presidency. And he pulled the trigger.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

PAUL: Yesterday's Democratic retreat wrapped up with a speech by President Obama urging Democrats to help him get the economy going.

Meanwhile, anger explodes in Egypt over what's happening in Syria.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

PAUL (voice-over): Dozens of anti-government protesters stormed the Syrian embassy in Cairo yesterday, smashing windows - look at it. Tearing down the Syrian flag, stomping on pictures of Syrian president Bashar al-Assad before they (INAUDIBLE) finally.

They want the Syrian regime to stop cracking down on anti-government protesters there in Syria.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

PAUL: London police, I want to let you know, have made several arrests this morning in the tabloid phone hacking scandal. Among those arrested is a police officer and several past and present employees of "The Sun" newspaper. Now, the investigation is centering on allegations of bribes made to police for inside information.

Police are also searching the London offices of "News International," Rupert Murdoch's publishing company that's been at the center of that hacking scandal.

Help our teachers - that was the message President Obama offered during the State of the Union. Did he hit the mark? Well, we're talking to one teacher who saw this speech up close and personal.

REYNOLDS WOLF, AMS METEOROLOGIST: And we're keeping a sharp eye on your forecast. One of the big stories we have is the wind, the wind in Southern California and also across parts of the North Central Rockies. That's one big story. Another's going to be the heavy snow that's going to be coming again and piling up across parts of the Midwest and into the Great Lakes, even the Ohio Valley.

We're going to talk more about that with you. Stick around.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

PAUL: Well, President Obama laid out a plan for the future of education at the State of the Union Address this week. In fact, here's part of that speech.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BARACK OBAMA, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: At a time when other countries are doubling down on education, tight budgets had forced states to lay off thousands of teachers.

We know a good teacher can increase the lifetime income of a classroom by over $250,000. A great teacher can offer an escape from poverty to the child who dreams beyond his circumstance. Every person in this chamber can point to a teacher who changed the trajectory of their lives.

Most teachers work tirelessly, with modest pay, sometimes digging into their own pocket for school supplies just to make a difference.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

PAUL: Well, Sara Ferguson is one of those teachers. Her school district near Philadelphia is one of those that are facing some really desperate times. Teachers there went the extra mile for their kids, too, even working without getting paid. Her reward was being a special invited guest at the State of the Union.

So Sara, congratulations to you, first of all, for the work that you're doing. I've come from a family of teachers. My mom was a kindergarten teacher for 30 years. My dad taught to make his way through law school, so we know how important your job really is.

Do you think, sitting there in that gallery, that the president had the - the right message on education?

SARA FERGUSON, TEACHER, CHESTER UPLAND SCHOOL DISTRICT, PHILADELPHIA: I think the president had a sound message on education, and I think by virtue of having me there he showed the whole nation that he's committed to teachers and committed most importantly to the students and seeing that they are well educated.

PAUL: It had to be pretty surreal for you, sitting there with the First Lady. What did your students think about their teacher being there? FERGUSON: You know what? I received such a warm welcome from my students. Many of the older students came up and hugged me and thanked me for representing them.

It was an honor for me to be there, to be able to represent students that most of the time don't have a voice, and I'm just humbled to be the person that can represent teachers and students and support staff that work very hard in schools every day all across this nation.

PAUL: You know, we had to think it was something big for your students. What about your experience? What did the president and First Lady say to you specifically?

FERGUSON: The president and First Lady said that they were proud of me, they were proud of the work that we were doing in Chester Upland School District, and they said for us to keep fighting for our students. That was the message that they gave me.

PAUL: Which you have done so much. There aren't a lot of people that would continue to work without getting paid for it, especially when we all have mortgages to pay and people to take care of and our families.

What does your distinct need more than anything?

FERGUSON: Our distinct needs the attention of the whole United States.

This should have never happened to us. This is not just happening here. There are districts all over the country that are struggling, and we need the public to know that we must support our public schools. It is our moral obligation to educate our students, and if we don't do it, it will be to the detriment of our entire country.

PAUL: And let me ask you this, how involved are the parents in your district and how imperative do you think that is to the success of any student?

FERGUSON: You know, parents need to send students to school with the values that make them ready to learn, make them respectful, make them value their education. We need all stakeholders, especially parents, because the schools ultimately belong to them. We need to all partner together and work for our students.

I see more and more parent involvement as more and more attention has come to this problem.

PAUL: Yes. That can make all the difference.

Last question for you, if you were advising somebody who wanted to become a teacher, what would you say to them?

FERGUSON: I would tell them that we need the best and brightest in this profession, and I would tell them that when you enter a classroom and you see those faces eager to learn looking back at you, you will know that you have made the right decision.

PAUL: All right. Teacher -

FERGUSON: It is a difficult job, but it's rewarding.

PAUL: Yes. Teacher Sara Ferguson, kudos to you. Our hats off to you.

FERGUSON: Thank you.

PAUL: The job that you and all of the teachers are doing weighs far more than I think so many people ever give credit for. So thank you for everything you do for those kids (ph).

FERGUSON: Thank you.

PAUL: Sure. Best of luck to you.

And for more on Sara's story, you can check out her blog. It's at CNN.com's School of Thought.

A convicted killer pardoned in Mississippi ordered back to court. Just one problem - where is he? Details next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

PAUL: Welcome back on this SATURDAY MORNING.

Former Mississippi Governor Haley Barbour standing by his decision to pardon more than 200 inmates, including convicted killers. Here's what he told our John King.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

HALEY BARBOUR, FORMER MISSISSIPPI GOVERNOR: They can't come to the (INAUDIBLE) until they did minimum security prison for years. So they have there that these people out the public ought to be afraid of.

And John, you said that we pardoned 200-something inmates. Well, 189 of them are people who are out of jail. Most of them have been released years and years ago. Someone has been out since the '70s.

So 10 people were pardoned and released. We have 21,342 inmates in this city. 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 pardoned were convicted murderers who were still serving time and one of them is this guy, Joseph Ozment. A judge has ordered him to appear in court, but, guess what? Nobody can find him.

Police are not allowed to arrest him, either, so the attorney general is offering a reward.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MARY MCABEE, VICTIM'S SISTER: I'm fearful. At this point, you have a cold blooded murder, in my opinion. He's a cold blooded murderer to do 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.

You know, we're just a few days away now from the Florida primary. There's clearly been a lot of focus on the GOP presidential candidates, but it's your voice that counts. So we left an open mic and asked the senior citizens of Palm Beach County to put things into perspective for us about living through hard times.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: There's almost too much government, and we have all kinds of social structures that support many of the aspects of life that are difficult. But what that eliminates is the opportunity to deal with those problems yourself.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I did 35 years with one company. That just doesn't happen anymore. You find so many people that say, well, I was a computer programmer and I'm not going to take a job working at a gas station because I'm too good for that. And these kinds of times, you have to put that kind of pride aside and take care of your family first and your pride second.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Having started out as a - sweeping floors myself, there's never a job beneath you. A personal low point is when I used to have to go down and put a $5 check into the Insurance Bureau for my folks and reach up over the counter.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: There was the time when I had two dresses that I wore to work. They were identical. One was brown, one was green. Nobody knew which dress I was going to wear the next day.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I think, unfortunately, my generation has spoiled the children, and I have it with my own grandchildren. They want to be sports stars, they want to be Kim Kardashian-type of people. They don't realize that isn't life.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Mother served us food on our table that we would have to share a pork chop, me and my brother, Mike. Stay out of debt.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: There were many times when my best meal was the free lunch in school. If I got hungry later on when I got home, my mother would say, take a piece of dry bread and rub it with some garlic.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: You could get a half a gallon of milk for the same price as a pack of cigarettes, so I just had to give up smoking so I could give my children milk. UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I didn't have much time to do anything more but take care of my family. But we lived in a cellar, we lived in a basement.

You didn't spend. You only bought things that were on sale.

Even adults, they have to have their toys. They walk around with their iPhones and they have - I mean, they don't think of what it costs.

But, you know, it's our fault. We wanted to give them more than we had.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

PAUL: Boy, words of wisdom there, aren't they? All right, thank you to all of those folks there.

Let me ask you, have you looked outside the window? What's it look like? The big question is, is it going to look like that for you the rest of the weekend?

Meteorologist Reynolds Wolf, here in Atlanta with us. There's what we're seeing, and he's going to have your forecast for you in just a moment.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

PAUL: A look at some of the stories that we're going to be following later today in the "CNN NEWSROOM," at 1:15 P.M. Eastern music great Etta James is going to be laid to rest in Southern California.

Christina Aguilera will be performing James' signature song, "At Last" in the 3:00 hour, so stay tuned. CNN is going to bring that to you live.

Also at 3:00, the Florida A&M drum major killed in a suspected hazing incident will be remembered during a college band competition here in Atlanta.

And then at 7:15 tonight, President Obama and the First Lady will attend the 99th Annual Alfalfa Club dinner in Washington.

All right, so how's it look outside where you are, and will it stay that way? Meteorologist Reynolds Wolf is keeping his eye on the forecast. Are we going to continue to see some sunshine here?

WOLF: You know, it's going to be kind of mixed bag.

You know, one place around the country where it's going to be absolutely beautiful is going to be Southern California. It's going to be pretty, but it's going to feel very windy. In fact, just yesterday, take a look at some of these wind gusts.

Camp Nine, you get up to 68 miles per hour. We're talking tropical storm force winds. Newhall Pass, 61; 59 in Warm Springs, Malibu Hills and Whitaker Peak, also very strong wind gusts, and you know what? The show is not over.

We're going to see it happen again today, and the reason's very simple. We've got that area of low pressure. That is moving well to the north, but high pressure moving over the desert is going to help push a lot of this wind right through those mountain passes. Very strong gusts approaching 60, maybe even 70 miles per hour, by the way, in the day. That, combined with very low humidity, will give us a fire danger. We're through (ph) fire threats for today, for tomorrow, perhaps even into Monday, although we do anticipate those winds are going to subsist just a little bit.

Something else you're going to have in L.A., some delays. Under an hour due to the wind. But you're also going to see delays stacked up in Detroit, Cincinnati, even into Cleveland, but not because of the wind, really because of the snowfall, the chance of snow moving across the lakes.

We have an area of low pressure in the frontal (ph) boundary. First you're going to see it move from Chicago. Chicago, you're in the clear for now. It's eventually moving into Cleveland, Detroit. That's where you'll have the backups, but then there will be another front that will come through by the end of the weekend, so it looks like you're going to have two doses of snowfall.

We'll talk more about that coming up. Christi, back to you.

PAUL: I know my parents will be inside, then. Thank you very much for letting me know.

WOLF: You bet.

PAUL: Solutions to the housing crisis - what plans do the Republican presidential candidates think are going to work? "YOUR BOTTOM LINE" starts now.