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CNN Saturday Morning News

Civilians Under Fire in Syria; Twenty-One Delegates at Stake in Maine Today

Aired February 11, 2012 - 07:00   ET

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

TED ROWLANDS, CNN ANCHOR: From CNN Center, this is CNN SATURDAY MORNING. It is February 11th. Good morning. I'm Ted Rowlands.

It is 7:00 a.m. here in Atlanta and 2:0 p.m. in Homs, Syria, where the gunshots, explosions and bloodshed continue in the streets. Hundreds of people have died in their ongoing revolt against their government.

And in D.C. where conservatives are gathering for the critical meeting again today. Three of the four GOP presidential candidates took their turns trying to woo the crowd. But there may be just as much political intrigue up north in Maine. As well, we'll take you there, coming up.

Plus, how does $7,000 sound? Our Clyde Anderson says saving it might be easier than you think.

We are watching a country in crisis -- Syria and a city under merciless siege, Homs. Syrian activists say today marks the seventh straight day that military tanks have pounded Homs. One witness says hundreds of soldiers surrounded the city and there are dozens of tanks in sight. President Bashar al-Assad's regime has severely limited access by CNN and other international news organizations.

CNN's Ivan Watson is monitoring developments from Istanbul, Turkey, and joins us now live.

Ivan, what is the latest that you're hearing as far as the situation unfolding in Homs, specifically?

IVAN WATSON, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Ted.

Well, residents of the besieged city of Homs woke up this morning at 5:00 a.m., like they had every morning for the past week, to the sound of artillery pounding their city, fired from kilometers miles away indiscriminately into a city with a population before this began of around 1 million people.

One of the residents we talked to said there were airplanes flying overhead dropping bombs on the city. We cannot independently confirm that. Another resident we talked to made a desperate plea to help get the children out of this encircled city where hundreds of people have been killed.

Now, one of the voices speaking out trying to raise awareness on the plight of the residents of the city is the U.S. ambassador to Damascus, Robert Ford, who had to shutter the doors of the U.S. embassy earlier this week. He spoke to CNN on Friday and said there's no question that the Syrian army has the monopoly of the use of force in this city.

Take a listen to what he had to say.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ROBERT FORD, U.S. AMBASSADOR TO SYRIA: We know who is shelling Homs. And it is not the armed opposition groups. It's the government. And that's why I wanted that picture put on our Facebook account so that people could see there is the artillery. And that's what's firing at Homs right now.

The armed opposition has rifles, it has machine guns and even has a few rocket-propelled grenades. But it doesn't have artillery. Only one side in this has artillery.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WATSON: Ted, there is an armed opposition growing in Syria. This protest movement started 11 months ago as almost completely peaceful. The Syrian government, though, from the beginning accused the protesters of being armed terrorists and use deadly force to crush their protest movement.

Now, it's fait accompli. There is a growing rebel movement. Opposition activists claimed responsibility for an attack in the north of the country that they say used on improvised explosive device and ambush to kill at least 10 Syrian soldiers.

We can't confirm that. But we are getting more and more reports of these attacks.

Also, a military doctor, the head of a military hospital in Damascus, Syrian state media reporting that he was assassinated, blaming that attack again on armed terrorists. It does look increasingly like this country is headed towards a conflict, something like the civil war -- Ted.

ROWLANDS: A very bleak situation, developing situation. Ivan Watson live for us monitoring what's going on in Syria from Istanbul. Thanks, Ivan.

The largest annual gathering of conservative leaders and activists concludes its 39th convention today. CPAC as it's called will end with a speech by Sarah Palin and by announcing the results of its presidential straw poll.

Three of the four GOP candidates addressed the convention yesterday. Mitt Romney used his speech trying to convince conservatives he's one of them. Newt Gingrich took a swipe at the GOP establishment for lacking toughness and Rick Santorum focused mainly on attacking President Obama.

Ron Paul chose stumping in Maine over speaking at CPAC. And he hopes the long term effort he has put in in the state will lead to his first win on the campaign trail today. But New Englander Mitt Romney is making a final push to capture the caucus as well.

CNN's Shannon Travis is in Portland.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

SHANNON TRAVIS, CNN POLITICAL REPORTER: On Saturday morning, Mitt Romney will wake up here in Maine and do something he hasn't done this entire cycle, attend a caucus site on caucus day. He's actually going to be attending two different caucus sites on the same day that Ron Paul will be s doing the same in the race for 21 delegates in this Maine caucus.

On Friday night, Governor Romney did something else that he hasn't done in awhile, have a town hall meeting where he took questions from the audience. He answered questions about American energy independence. He talked about regulation in America. But he also was heckled repeatedly by a few people in the crowd.

Take a listen at one man who pestered Governor Romney repeatedly.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It was not --

MITT ROMNEY (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: You know what? It's my turn to speak. You have had your turn. Just hold on my friend. Let's let somebody else speak.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You are not speaking the truth.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: USA! USA!

(INAUDIBLE)

TRAVIS: After Romney's appearance here in Portland, Maine, I got the chance to ask the former governor of Massachusetts about the rowdy reception that he got here in Maine. Take a listen at what the governor said.

ROMNEY: Bye, guys. Thanks, guys. Hi, how are you. Wonderful reception in Maine.

Of course, of course there are always going to be people who are in favor of President Obama. But if people want to replace President Obama, they are going to vote for me.

FOSTER: Romney and Ron Paul are the only two Republican presidential candidates competing in these Maine caucuses. Those results will be released later Saturday.

Shannon Travis, CNN, Portland, Maine.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

ROWLANDS: And we'll be, of course, watching what happens in Maine and at CPAC throughout the day here on CNN. Well, the CIA's Web site is back up and running this morning after hackers took it down. The computer hacking group known as Anonymous claimed responsibility. They may have also attack the Web site run by the state of Alabama. Reports say that personal data of more than 46,000 people was compromised. The hackers claim data included Social Security numbers, home addresses and criminal records.

President Obama's compromise on contraception is under fire from the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops which call the proposal both needless government intrusion. In a change to the original plan, religiously affiliated hospitals and schools will not be forced to offer contraception coverage to employees. Instead, insurers will provide the service free of charge.

An ominous announcement out of Iran this morning. President Ahmadinejad is saying to stay tuned. At a rally in Tehran just a couple hours ago, he said major achievements in the nuclear field would be unveiled in the next few days.

Just how cold is it in Europe? It's been so frigid that the Black Sea is actually squeaking. Take a listen.

(VIDEO CLIP PLAYS)

ROWLANDS: This YouTube video shows the Black Sea near Odessa, Ukraine, frozen over reportedly for the first time since 1977. The noise is from large sheets of ice crashing together.

Well, it's an icy start to the weekend in Michigan where a few inches of snow if forcing drivers near one city have to find news way to get around.

Plus, meteorologist Reynolds Wolf is in the weather center with more on what's coming up. Go ahead, Reynolds.

REYNOLDS WOLF, AMS METEOROLOGIST: Absolutely. It looks like a lot of that cold air to the North has made its way to the Southeast. And we're going to be dealing with that this morning. And I'll tell you, millions of Americans are going to feel the cooler temperatures.

Some of those people in parts of Michigan, you saw the video moments ago that showed people trying to get through traffic. There are people on a plane in Grand Rapids trying to get to Orlando, to the sunshine and to maybe Disney World. Sounds like a good idea. They had a tough time leaving. I'll show why, coming up.

Stay tuned.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

ROWLANDS: Zero to frantic in a matter of eight seconds. That's how they are describing a scene near Flint, Michigan. Highways are open now. But just look at what littered the roads yesterday. Ice and snow made for a perfect combination that led to a chain reaction of accidents around 100 in all. So far, there have been no reports of serious injuries or any fatalities, luckily. And folks living in and around Flint are bracing for another chilly morning as they wake up here.

Reynolds Wolf is back here with more on that and the rest of your weekend weather.

Good morning again, Reynolds.

WOLF: Indeed, Ted. You know, I actually lived in Michigan for three years early in my career. And I got to tell you that when you're in Michigan, during the wintertime, there's one thing to do if you don't like the cold. And plain and simple, that is basically get on a plane and fly out of the state. But that's exactly what some people try to do in Grand Rapids.

Take a look at this video, I'm going to show right there. You look through this chain link fence. And if you can take this full, we get a better (INAUDIBLE).

You can see this AirTran flight, 117 people are hoping to hop on board the plane. When they were going to hop on board, they had five people to watch a couple pilots and, of course, the flight attendants, they're going to take off. But they thought their flight would go farther than just skidding off the runway.

The plane never took off. It just skidded on the ice and snow. And sure enough, they were delayed. They had to wait for another plane that had to be rerouted.

They finally did make it to Orlando, but they did about 10:00 at night or so. So, late, but they go there safely. So, it all ends well.

We are going to be seeing in that part of the world, though, possibly more delays, especially back over towards Chicago, and even Cleveland. Snow and wind, it's going to be the primary culprit where you could be delayed for about an hour or so, maybe less than a few spots. And Boston, rain and snow. New York, the issue is going to be rain and snow. Miami, showers and rain, some pop up thunderstorms might keep you grounded. Look for more of those in the afternoon.

But this morning, for much of the, well, parts of the Ohio Valley and into the Appalachians, it's going to be snow. You already have the watches, the warnings, the advisories in effect to the tune of about six to 10 inches in the highest elevations. But everyone else getting roughly two to four inches of snowfall.

That's a quick snapshot on the forecast. We've got more coming up all day. Ted, let's send it back to you.

ROWLANDS: Thanks, Reynolds.

WOLF: You bet.

ROWLANDS: Today's Powerball drawing has a $325 million jackpot, one of the largest jackpots in U.S. lottery history. Here's another number for you. Officials with the multistate lottery say your odds of winning that jackpot are 175 million to one, which you probably don't want to hear that.

Well, Ron Paul has made a stand in Maine. But Mitt Romney is hoping to pull out the win. We'll talk about today's Maine caucuses with a radio talk show host who knows the political scene. That is coming up next.

Stay with us.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

ROWLANDS: GOP voters are caucusing today in Maine to pick a presidential candidate. The independent-minded voters of the state may provide an upset for Massachusetts neighbor, Mitt Romney.

Talk radio host Paul Westcott joins us live from Maine. His show is heard in Maine on 96.7 The Wave.

Paul, what are you hearing? What are your callers saying about the vote today?

PAUL WESTCOTT, TALK RADIO HOST: Well, really, Maine, you are right, it's the independent-mindedness, because this is a state that went to Mitt Romney back in 2008 by 50 percent. So, more than anything, Mainers know that they are going to be providing a headline that may potentially hurt the Romney campaign. And it just shows that massive enthusiasm gap that he has throughout the Northeast and really throughout the country.

ROWLANDS: So, Ron Paul, he's spent a heck of a lot of time there. He's really invested there and he's doing well. Is he the favorite here or is it Romney?

WESTCOTT: Oh, no, Ron Paul is the favorite this time because he's got the organization. He's on the ground. He notably skipped the CPAC convention in Washington, D.C.

I mean, people -- conservatives in particular know that Ron Paul is in it to win it in Maine. And when you talk about a passionate group of supporters among Mainers, even though there's been very little formal polling in the state, Ron Paul always seems to come out on top when you have the enthusiasm, when you're talking about the excitement. And, quite frankly, those now infamous bridge signs that his supporters have been putting up.

ROWLANDS: If Romney does lose in Maine, what does that really say?

WESTCOTT: More than anything, it's a headline. I mean, Maine has 24 delegates. So, really, it's about bad press and just another bad round of headlines for Mitt Romney throughout this weekend. And, really, that's the biggest thing he's looking to prevent because this is in his background. Maine is just two states away, or one state away, I should say, from Massachusetts. He should easily win this. But when you have Ron Paul out there, once again, it starts the questions -- well, maybe somebody else could step in. Maybe a brokered convention. And Maine just paves more of the way for that headline.

ROWLANDS: Any hope for Santorum or Gingrich?

WESTCOTT: Right now, no. They have not -- I don't want to say they've ignored the state, but they certainly haven't played it up as much as they have some of the other larger primary and caucus states that they knew they could win those western states. They have not -- either with those candidates. Gingrich has been on a slide throughout New England polling wise. And then you look at Maine with Santorum, that's just not his type of conservatism.

This is that libertarian minded Northeastern New England conservatives that's going to turn out in force for Ron Paul.

ROWLANDS: Now, your caucusing in Maine is a little different than we've seen in states like Iowa where they can do it in a day. It takes you people a little longer.

Explain the process.

WESTCOTT: It's called the lazy caucus. Basically, it takes place -- the last seven days have been the official GOP window. But caucusing has taken place as early as January 29th and will go into March quite frankly. So, the caucus will continue but it will end tonight with an official straw poll of Maine's delegates to see who's going to win.

This is something that's new for Maine. And, you know, it's a state known as vacationland. So, they certainly are taking their time.

ROWLANDS: The lazy caucus. I like that.

What time do we find out -- what I understand is that there's a delay from when the caucusing is done and the actual results are out?

WESTCOTT: Yes, exactly. There is a big delay between when caucusing ends and really when the vote total comes out. The vote total is expected to come out somewhere around 7:30 tonight and it's going to be announced in Portland.

ROWLANDS: All right. Paul Westcott, the country will be watching Maine today as they deliver their results in their caucusing. Paul, thanks for joining us this morning.

WESTCOTT: Not a problem. I'll send you some lobster.

ROWLANDS: Yes, right. Sounds good.

If you are looking to save more money, there are several small changes you could make that could lead to big financial results this year. Here are a couple of them:

Give yourself an allowance for fund. Set aside a small amount from each paycheck to spend on yourself. But once it's gone, that's it. You can't dip into your savings.

Open an account that carries penalties for early withdrawal. It will keep you away from spending your actual cash.

And open checking account that offer bonuses or rewards. Those rewards can be transferred to cash.

That's just a little of what's to come. Clyde Anderson is here with more simple tricks to save you money. We'll have him and them right after the break.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

ROWLANDS: Well, time now to help you manage your money if you continually spend on things that are unnecessary, then you get less money in the end. And your true priorities and your future, it's all ruined.

What do you do? Well, you talk to Clyde.

Clyde Anderson is here, our financial analyst, with some tips on how we can save money.

Start us off.

CLYDE ANDERSON, FINANCIAL ANALYST: Start us off. First thing is round up.

What is round up? Round up -- if you are writing a check for $11.09, round up and just, you know, make $12 when you do your registry. And I know check is something that's a little bit antiquated and people are saying, what's a check? And they don't use it anymore.

You have, it was the registry that you use. Use the same type of registry when you are making debit payments. And so, when you round up, you're not missing money. So, you go ahead and replace that money and it's like you saved it.

ROWLANDS: A simple, a little bit here and there. You also say give it meaning. If I retire at 65, save $65 a week.

ANDERSON: There you go. Save $65 a week. Make it really simple. I want to retire at 65, save $65 a week. And you'll be amazed at the difference that can make.

ROWLANDS: So, this, a lot of this just changing your mindset.

ANDERSON: It is. It's change your mindset, changing your habit, getting the habit of doing it and if it becomes routine, and it becomes almost like a game.

ROWLANDS: What's savings is a bill.

ANDERSON: Savings is a bill. Pay yourself first. A lot of people will hear that, and they don't listen. Pay yourself first. But when you make it a bill, when I'm actually writing a check to myself every month, it becomes a bill. I pay myself because I will come after myself for money. So, I need to make sure that I'm conscious of saying I got to save that money.

ROWLANDS: So, to figure out the amount of money you want to save and boom, you pay yourself first.

ANDERSON: I pay Clyde Anderson incorporated every month.

ROWLANDS: Savings support group?

ANDERSON: Get around people, like minds, think alike. So, if you have a goal, get that energy, that synergy going on, (INAUDIBLE). So, you want to be around people that have the same goal and hold each other accountable. We need accountability partners to make it happen.

ROWLANDS: A lot of times people feel like they're under water, it's so deep, there's no way out. How important is it to just start small and stick with it?

ANDERSON: I think it's really important. Start somewhere. And people say, well, it's not a lot of money, I'm not saving a lot. But when you add up some of these, the simple tips that were are talking about, we're talking about almost $7,070 that you can do by these simple things. I saved on my silver change last year and had about $650 at the end of the year.

ROWLANDS: Wow. So, save your dollar bills and your silver and put them in a piggy bank.

ANDERSON: Put them in some sort of piggy bank. You think about it, you break a $20, you really don't know what happens to a lot of those dollar bills once the $20 is broken, it's gone. So, take those dollars and put them away. Save 'em, or just save the quarters, the nickels and the dimes and you'll be amazed at what you have at the end of the year.

ROWLANDS: All right. Quickly, how much could someone save if they just put their mind to it?

ANDERSON: At least about $7,000. Save $7,000 easily with those tips that I just gave you right there.

ROWLANDS: All right. Clyde, thank you. As always, you are here every week at this time.

So, if you want some great tips on how to save money, join us every time on Saturday morning, Clyde Anderson giving his latest saving tips.

More top stories at the top of the hour when CNN SATURDAY MORNING continues. But, first, Michelle Obama isn't kidding around with her "Let's Move" initiative. Or maybe she is just a little bit.

"SANJAY GUPTA, M.D." begins right after this break. (COMMERCIAL BREAK)