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CNN Saturday Morning News

Report: Syria is Bombing Neighborhoods; Nevada Caucus Today; Unemployed Tax Tips

Aired February 04, 2012 - 07:00   ET

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

SUSAN HENDRICKS, CNN ANCHOR: Here are some of the other top stories we're watching for you this morning:

In Syria, anti-government activists say the military is randomly bombing residential neighborhoods in Homs. Homs has been the epicenter of the anti-government uprising in Syria. Activists say as many as 260 people, women and children included, have been massacred, slaughtered, in the past day. CNN has not independently confirmed the accounts.

Here is what one brave person told our Anderson Cooper last night.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DANNY, SYRIAN ANTI-GOVERNMENT ACTIVIST: They have been bombarding an area in Homs for like three hours. They have been bombarding with bombers and tank shells, T-72 tank shells. Because part of the Syrian army defected and went to that state. The civilians went to welcome the Syrian army, so they bombarded it randomly with a lot of bombs and tank shells, tanks T-72.

In the first half an hour, we've got 40 people dead. Now, we've got 200 dead all around Homs. There are still people under the destruction. We can't move them. All the buildings have been falling over human beings. There are kids dead, women dead, men dead.

We can't get medication into Khaldiya. They are shooting at the Red Crescent ambulance. They are shooting at civilian cars and trying to get medication in there and we can't help them.

And now, it's happening all around Homs. They are bombing us.

People are trying to move bodies out of the street and putting their lives on risk. People are getting killed just to remove a body from the street, just to move bodies so they can bury them and they are being killed for moving the bodies. That's bravery.

No one's helping us. The U.N. isn't doing anything about it. The Arab League isn't doing about it. They are discussing, and while they are having a discussion, people sitting here and they're dying.

The Syrian people are not going to stop if they kill millions. That we'll remember that no one did anything about it.

(END VIDEO CLIP) HENDRICKS: He is known as just Danny, says he doesn't mind showing his face if he can help other people there being massacred.

In just a few hours, the United Nations Security Council is scheduled to meet to consider the situation there in Syria. And possibly try to force the government to stand down. We'll have a live report.

Check out the scene in Egypt, protesters have clashed with police in several cities there. They are apparently angry at what is perceived as a lack of police action during deadly riots at a soccer game. Seventy-nine people died in the riots. Nine people have died in these post riot protests.

Police say protesters have been pelting officers with bird shot and Molotov cocktails. The protesters there have been doing that.

The group of hackers known as Anonymous are at it again. This time, they're secretly recording a phone call between the FBI and Scotland Yard, discussing that investigation into hacking attacks.

Here is some of the conversation Anonymous posted on one of their Web sites.

(BEGIN AUDIO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Ryan Cleary and James Davis due in court on the 27th. We've set back the further arrests of Kayla and T-flow, that being (AUDIO DELETED) and (AUDIO DELETED), until we know what's happening.

(END AUDIO CLIP)

HENDRICKS: A law enforcement source tells CNN that this is basically vandalism. The FBI is investigating.

The Army has decided that Private Bradley Manning will face a court- martial for allegedly orchestrating the biggest intelligence leak in the U.S. history. He is blamed for leaking sensitive military and diplomatic material to WikiLeaks. Manning could face life in prison if convicted by the military court. No date has been set for trial.

A warning to tell you here. A massive hardboiled egg recall is now underway. A Minnesota company is recalling around a million eggs that went to 34 states. The eggs could be tainted with listeria which can cause sometimes deadly infections.

None of the eggs went straight to consumers. They are usually used by grocery chains and other stores and things like egg salad or maybe you can find them in salads. For more information, just go to FDA.gov.

The Justice Department has dropped its investigation into claims that champion cyclist Lance Armstrong used performance-enhancing drugs. Armstrong says he is gratified by that decision. He says he can focus on other things like being a father now.

Fellow cyclists claimed that Lance Armstrong was doping when he won the Tour de France seven times. The Justice Department is not explaining why it dropped the case.

Let's turn to politics and the Nevada Republican caucuses. This is the first contest west of the Mississippi. Voting there are still a few hours away from now.

Here is one of the latest polls out of Nevada. You can see that Mitt Romney holds a double digit lead over Newt Gingrich. It's a big one.

CNN's Joe Johns has more on the final rush for support -- Joe.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

JOE JOHNS, CNN SENIOR CORRESPONDENT: Susan, as the race for the Nevada caucuses entered the homestretch, the Mitt Romney campaign was hoping their candidate was well positioned to score a victory here just like he did four years ago.

It was a bizarre week in politics, though, with Donald Trump stirring up a publicity firestorm before finally publicly endorsing Romney for president.

Romney did not help his own case with his comments on CNN that he was not concerned about the poor because there's a safety net for them. He later said he misspoke.

Meanwhile, Newt Gingrich, the former speaker of the House, tried to capitalize on the Romney misstep, promoting his own plan to create jobs and improve the economy.

Texas Congressman Ron Paul was also attracting large crowds in the state of Nevada with his anti-war, smaller government message. He actually placed second here four years ago behind Romney.

Former Senator Rick Santorum was not about to be counted out, having already demonstrated his prowess in the caucus environment, if you will, by his big win in the state of Iowa.

But for now it is up to the caucus-goers in Nevada to try to determine which among the Republican presidential contenders they believe should be their standard-bearer as we move toward the general election this November.

I'm Joe Johns in Las Vegas. Back to you, Susan.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

HENDRICKS: Joe Johns, thank you.

And be sure to stay with us throughout the day for updates from Nevada. Tonight, our expanded coverage starts at 6:00 p.m. with the special edition of "THE SITUATION ROOM." Join Wolf Blitzer, Anderson Cooper and the gang for all the results. Don't miss that.

Nothing in life is free, right? Well, maybe some things are. One Arkansas mayor is giving away land if you want to start a business. We'll speak to him in a minute and see how it works. (COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HENDRICKS: Yes, it is February, but the first really big winter storm of the season hits Colorado and hard. It has dumped as much as two feet of snow there, grounded about 600 flights, shut down parts of a major interstate. The storm is nowhere near done yet.

I want to bring in meteorologist Reynolds Wolf.

And we were talking earlier, Reynolds, the ski resorts are happy. If you're traveling, not so much.

REYNOLDS WOLF, AMS METEOROLOGIST: Oh, most definitely. One of the good things about this is that the worst is over in Denver. That's the good news. They still have a little bit of cleanup, no question about it.

But what's even more amazing is when you look at the storm system. It extends well over 1,000 miles and means so many different things to millions of people. For example, on the Gulf Coast, showers and thunderstorms. Anyone headed to New Orleans, you're going to be dealing with some of the rain there, certainly a few thunderstorms.

Along parts of, say, the Ohio Valley, basically the same deal but it's going to be the back half of the system where you have the moisture that's going to be kicking in, with the cold air invading from the north that's going to give you snow.

Chicago, fog is going to be an issue. Some delays expected there. Also, Minneapolis, Cincinnati, Houston and San Diego some because of fog. Others because of thunderstorms like Houston, namely. But Cincinnati mostly just some scattered showers.

Now, in terms of your snowfall totals, Boulder, Colorado, this is the high point -- 20.4 inches in Denver, right along part of the front range. You have 14 inches of snow. Just about a foot in North Platte, Nebraska.

And I'm telling you, we're going to see the heaviness of that in Nebraska later on today, and even into parts of Kansas. In fact, anywhere from eight inches up to a foot with wind gusts from 15 to 30 miles per hour. You might see some drifts that may extend into places like, say, Iowa before all is said and done -- again, right around a foot or so, even more.

That area of low pressure slowly lifts its way to the Northeast, you're going to see those scattered showers and thunderstorms.

Is flooding a possibility? It certainly is, especially in areas that have low lying spots, also poor drainage. So friends of ours in Paducah, perhaps even in say Lexington, get ready for that. Thunderstorms are also possible in Alabama before the day is out.

As we wrap things up, 44 degrees the high in Kansas City, 59 in Seattle, 64 in San Francisco, 49 in Albuquerque, 70 in Houston, 43 in Chicago, 50 in Washington, D.C., 78 in Miami, and 38 in Boston. That is your forecast, Susan. Let's just pitch it right back to you.

HENDRICKS: All right. If you're in Colorado, maybe you're sitting in the airport, you're a little stressed out. We want to bring you back to Zen. Think about fishing.

WOLF: OK.

HENDRICKS: You know how exciting it can be, really, to catch the big one and reel it in, right, Reynolds?

WOLF: Absolutely. Especially you might be referring to fly-fishing.

HENDRICKS: How did you know?

WOLF: Yes, it's a habit -- it's actually a hobby I started taking up back in April and it is addictive hobby. And I'm telling you, it's something you can actually do in places like Colorado even during the wintertime.

Take a look.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

WOLF: You know, when most people think about winter sports in Colorado, they think about skiing, snowboarding, even snowmobiling. We're going to add something else to the list today -- fly-fishing right here on the Blue River.

(voice-over): Scott Gongaware knows this area well and is sharing some of his favorite fishing holes with me.

(on camera): Kind of deep out here.

SCOTT GONGAWARE, MOUNTAIN ANGLER: Yes. That last snowstorm sure did help.

WOLF (voice-over): It appears that way. On his first cast, he snags a rainbow trout and allows me to bring it in.

GONGAWARE: Yes, slowly bring him in.

(LAUGHTER)

WOLF (on camera): OK, come on, buddy. Unbelievable.

GONGAWARE: Nice fish.

WOLF: Beautiful. Absolutely beautiful.

GONGAWARE: Rainbow.

WOLF (voice-over): The Blue is a catch and release river.

GONGAWARE: She's ready.

WOLF (on camera): Bye, sweetie.

(voice-over): Though it looks easy, it isn't. Trout can be extremely picky, deciding which of these tiny flies to use can make all of the difference.

(on camera): For one of these trout, what is the most important aspect? Is it the color, is it the profile?

GONGAWARE: They both matter. I would say that the most important thing is probably profile. Color second.

There you go. You had him.

WOLF (voice-over): Even with the right fly, success is never guaranteed, especially in winter conditions. With temperatures in the 20s and ice flowing down river, the water feels surprisingly warm compared to the air and the trout still difficult to catch.

And suddenly I got lucky.

(on camera): Magnificent. Beautiful. Unreal.

Come on. Let's get you breathing again. There you go.

GONGAWARE: See you later.

WOLF: Thanks, chief.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

WOLF: Thanks to our friends and the mountain anglers in Breckenridge, Colorado, who gave us the opportunity to go out there. Scott Gongaware, our guy.

I actually was able to go fly-fishing also this week in a different location. This time near Steamboat Springs, Colorado, with a couple of friends there, and this is one that actually pulled out of the Yampa River. Take a look at this.

We need to take a shot of this pool. You'll see it. This is again after about three hours of fishing was able to pull out this small rainbow trout. I was actually with one of my good friends and producer Alicia Aiken (ph) who had never held a fly rod in her entire life. Take a look at her fish.

HENDRICKS: Wow.

WOLF: Shoot me now. Shoot me now. Can you believe that? She caught about five. That was about the best she caught. That was the best one that anyone caught on the trip. Unbelievable.

One of our dear friends who was with us, Mike Lane (ph) of Steamboat Springs and (INAUDIBLE) with us, they caught a few. But seriously, that was the big one that she caught.

I got to be honest with you, when I saw her catch that fish, I was happy for her because she always does everything really well. But I was tempted to bring the fish and leave her in the river, seriously.

HENDRICKS: Maybe you were too analytical. Is it the color? Or the profile? Or what should I do?

WOLF: Absolutely.

HENDRICKS: And she got it.

WOLF: Certainly, she's good at everything she does.

HENDRICKS: Great stuff, Reynolds. Thank you.

WOLF: Thanks so much.

HENDRICKS: If you or someone you know collects unemployment benefits, you may be surprised about what you don't know when filing your returns. We'll tell you about the details just ahead on this one.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HENDRICKS: Sixteen minutes past the hour. We want to take a look at what's happening cross-country.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

HENDRICKS (voice-over): In San Diego, controversial video of sailors dressed in blue uniforms wrestling in an alleged hazing incident. In response to the allegations, U.S. Navy officials discharged eight sailors from the USS Bonhomme Richard. One sailor claims they were just rough housing.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Well, I say -- I say it's horse play and they say hazing.

HENDRICKS: He also told affiliate KGTV the victim lied to investigators and added the Navy rushed to judgment without having all the facts. KGTV reports the sailors have an opportunity to appeal but are unsure whether any of them have pursued that course of action.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: One, two, three, four, and five.

HENDRICKS: An officer beating the odds in South Carolina. After losing part of his leg in a motorcycle accident last February, Keith Soules earned a spot back on his SWAT team. What drove the hero to come back?

OFFICER KEITH SOULES, SWAT: It's the gratification of taking somebody who is wanted for a violent felony and bringing them to justice. So there's always that aspect and it's real rewarding.

HENDRICKS: And a dramatic dog rescue caught on camera in Rhode Island.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It kind of happened quick, so you just, you know, tried to do what you have to do to get out there as quickly and safely as possible. HENDRICKS: Brave firemen breached freezing waters for about 15 minutes to pull this lucky black lab out of the ice. He was about 30 yards off shore and now back on dry land. Lucky guy.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

HENDRICKS: If you or someone you know collects unemployment benefits, you may be surprised about what you don't know when filing your tax returns.

Our very own Clyde Anderson is here to tell us what you should do, the best advice from Clyde, coming up.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HENDRICKS: A great shot right outside of the CNN Center. You wouldn't know it by looking at it, it is February. A mild winter so far. We'll take it.

The song is fitting, I need a dollar, right? It's tax season. That means April 17th filing is the deadline. It will be here before you know it.

If you are unemployed, we know a lot of people are, the numbers are out, and collect benefits, you are not exempt from paying taxes.

Financial analyst Clyde Anderson is here to give us some useful tips on those unemployment benefits. And I was shocked to read this, that you could actually get money back.

CLYDE ANDERSON, FINANCIAL ANALYST: Yes, yes.

HENDRICKS: How is that?

ANDERSON: If you itemize your tax return, itemize deductions, you can get money back. There are so many things you can write off that people aren't aware of as far as the things that you do for a job search, the coaching, maybe a job search site that you have to pay for, the phone, the mileage, the printing of the resumes. All those things you can deduct.

HENDRICKS: So if you're unemployed and you're looking for a job --

ANDERSON: Yes.

HENDRICKS: Those steps that you are taking to look for a job could be written off.

ANDERSON: There you go.

HENDRICKS: So you get some coaching, your cell phone, you were mentioning.

ANDERSON: Exactly. You can write those things off because you're using them, as long as you're using them to get that job you can write them off. And also, if you do get a job and they make you relocate, the moving expenses can be deducted as well. Or if you move 50 miles away from your job or the new job, they can deduct the mileage as well.

HENDRICKS: And if you think about the stress, we know the numbers of unemployment, they are up there. It's the number one issue during the presidential caucuses, the debates. What will you to for us financially?

So many people out of a job and if you think about the stress, can you actually file for an extension if you are unemployed?

ANDERSON: Yes, you still can file for an extension, just like you do your normal taxes. A lot of people think it's some sort of a government benefit, but it's actually a wage replacement. So, they are wages that you are earning. So, it's wage replacement. That's why you are paying taxes on them.

So, you can do the same thing as regular income.

HENDRICKS: It's very easy, Clyde, to get down when you think about it, people out there you've seen it happen before. They're out of a job. They get discouraged.

What advice do you have for them in terms of just continuing to keep looking?

ANDERSON: Yes. I mean, you got to keep going. You got to keep pushing.

Right now, it's what I call the new normal. It's different, it's interesting out here. But you got to keep pushing.

And you also have to try other things. And maybe this is not the field and you may explore a new field.

There are also credits out there that you can apply for lifelong learning credits and things you can get deductions on as well if you learn a new skill or get continuing education. So learn more and just keep pushing. I know it's hard but you got to keep pushing.

HENDRICKS: That's a good point. So, if it's your field you are used to, your field of expertise, you may want to branch out. You can also write that off?

ANDERSON: You can write that off as well. So those are wonderful things.

A lot of people are exploring entrepreneurship right now. So, they are the unexpected entrepreneurs that people that kind of fell into entrepreneurship.

So, use your talents and tap into something that you know you can do while you're looking for that job as well. Just don't stop.

HENDRICKS: If one door is locked, try the other door. It may open. Clyde Anderson, thanks so much.

ANDERSON: My pleasure.

HENDRICKS: Encouraging sound from you. Thanks.

And you can file for an extension, by the way. Great news.

ANDERSON: Yes.

HENDRICKS: Republican presidential hopeful Rick Santorum is focusing on Nevada today, but he's fighting to get on the ballot in another state. We'll tell you why.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HENDRICKS: Twenty-eight minutes past the hour. Checking the top stories for you on this Saturday morning.

While all political eyes are on the Nevada caucuses today, Rick Santorum may have Indiana on his mind. He is vowing to challenge the Indiana Republican Party. It says he did not get enough verified signatures to qualify for a spot on the ballot for the May 8th primary.

There is a ray of sunshine on unemployment, you could say, with nearly 250,000 private sector jobs added last month. The unemployment rate has dropped to 8.3 percent. That is down from 8.5 in December.

CNN's chief business correspondent Ali Velshi points out that at this rate, all 4.6 million jobs lost during the Obama administration could be recovered by Election Day, believe it or not.

Here's the president.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BARACK OBAMA, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: These numbers will go up and down in the coming months, and there are still far too many Americans who need a job or need a job that pays better than the one they have now. But the economy is growing stronger. The recovery is speeding up. And we've got to do everything in our power to keep it going.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HENDRICKS: I want to break it down for you. Here are the groups that saw the biggest gains: African-American unemployment is still the highest of any ethnic group, but it came down to more than two full percentage points in January. Hispanics dropped half a percent. While white men over 20 dropped 0.3 percent.

More top stories at the top of the hour when CNN SATURDAY MORNING continues. But, first, you got to hear this one -- a rookie is getting ready for the Super Bowl after making an amazing comeback from cancer. You don't want to miss it. "SANJAY GUPTA, M.D.:" begins right now.