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CNN Saturday Morning News
Dad Shoots Computer over Facebook; Maine Caucuses Under Way; Killings Escalate in Syria; Hacked CIA Website Back Up; Controversy Over Contraception; Florida Governor to Speak at CPAC; Treat Debt as a Bill; The Sex Diaries Project; Frigid In The Upper Midwest; Avalanche Rescue Teams; GOP Candidates Fight For CPAC Votes
Aired February 11, 2012 - 11:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
TED ROWLANDS, CNN ANCHOR: From the CNN Center this is CNN SATURDAY MORNING.
It is February 11th. Good morning everybody I'm Ted Rowlands.
Two big GOP votes to watch today. The first is the Maine caucuses where 21 delegates are at stake. Ron Paul has been there for more than a week. Now, Mitt Romney is making his case. Also the Conservative Political Action Conference will pick its pick for the Republican nomination.
Activists are pleading for help in Syria as the death toll mounts in the government's vicious crackdown on protests.
If you're a frequent flyer, you will be able to take the fast lane through the airport. We'll tell you what the TSA is doing to get you to your gates in record time.
Well, it is another big day for GOP presidential candidates Mitt Romney and Ron Paul. The Maine caucuses are under way and the results will be announced tonight. Romney is hoping for a win after a trio of losses earlier this week and Ron Paul hopes to break his losing streak.
CNN's Shannon Travis is live in Sanford, Maine. Shannon, Mitt Romney is visiting caucus sites on voting day. That's new for him. What does this mean?
SHANNON TRAVIS, CNN POLITICAL REPORTER: Yes. I mean this -- this could be a possible tweak to his strategy here. I mean, as just you mentioned, he -- he lost those three races on Tuesday -- Missouri, Colorado and Minnesota. This will be the first contest after those races. And he's a favorite son of New England. He was the Governor of Massachusetts. He's campaigned heavily in Republican circles for many, many years.
So this will be an embarrassing loss for him if he did lose the Maine caucuses. Is that part of the reason why he came here last night into Portland, Maine and campaigned and he came here today to this caucus site and addressed caucus voters? This is something that he hasn't done before this cycle, coming to an actual caucus site? Could be. But the campaign tells me you know what this was always on the agenda for them. They planned to come here. They sent other high profile surrogates but you can best believe that this is absolutely an attempt to deny Ron Paul a chance to win this.
Take a listen at something that Mitt Romney, an appeal that he made -- 11th hour appeal, if you will, to caucus-goers here -- Ted.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
MITT ROMNEY (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: And so out of passion for this country, concern for its resurrection, faith for the American people, I come to you asking for your support today. I want to be your nominee. I want to beat President Obama. I believe I can. I believe I'm the one person in this race who actually can beat the President.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
TRAVIS: So Ted, that was Mitt Romney. Ron Paul came to this same exact caucus site he did not address supporters like Romney did. He basically shook hands and greeted people as they came in. But a lot of people are saying, you know what? This is Ron Paul's race to lose. He spent a lot of time here as the other candidates were in Florida a few weeks ago. He was here with his V-neck sweaters that his wife gives him, campaigning here. I was here with him.
So a lot of people think that he might have the momentum here, but again, Mitt Romney is a favorite just because he's a New Englander and has been here for so many years.
ROWLANDS: All right, Shannon Travis, watching all the action as it unfolds for us in Maine in the Maine caucuses. CNN'S coverage of the Maine caucuses begins at 6:00 with a special edition of "THE SITUATION ROOM" with Wolf Blitzer followed by CNN's complete live coverage of the caucus results. That's starting at 7:00.
In just about five hours the Conservative Political Action Conference will announce the results of the straw poll and its choice for the GOP presidential nominee. Three of the candidates spoke at the meeting this week trying to assert their conservative credentials.
Here's some of what Rick Santorum and Mitt Romney had to say.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
ROMNEY: Conservatives all agree that departing from these founding principles would represent a departure from the greatness of America; from our mission, from our freedom, from our prosperity, from our purpose. I know that this President will never get it. But we conservatives aren't just proud to cling to our guns and to our religion. We are also proud to cling to our Constitution.
RICK SANTORUM (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: This is the most important election in your lifetime. It's an election about what kind of country you're going to leave to the next generation. Are we going be a country that believes as our founders did that our rights don't come from the government, they come from a much higher authority?
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ROWLANDS: Texas Congressman Ron Paul skipped the D.C. event. He won the CPAC straw poll the last two years in a row.
A program note, join Fredricka Whitfield every Sunday afternoon at 4:00 Eastern for a special hour dedicated to the presidential contenders in the 2012 election.
While diplomats talk, the killing goes on today in Syria. Warning, you may find some of the next images disturbing.
Opposition leaders say at least six people died in Homs today. The U.N. is trying again to condemn what it calls the Syrian government's massacre of its own citizens. The people in Homs say today is the seventh day in a row the Syrian army has shelled their city leaving much of it in rubble. One expert says there's little hope of international intervention.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
PAULA BROADWELL, AUTHOR: You have to look very closely at what an intervention -- a military intervention would look like. I don't think that it's very likely from the U.S., much less the neighboring countries because you know we're on, it's unlikely that we'd target the right forces and be effective with strikes but if an alternative is arming opposition groups there, well, that doesn't seem to lead to anything but a militarized protracted stalemate.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ROWLANDS: The opposition claims hundreds have died in the last week alone.
Iran's President says a major announcement on its way is coming out later this week, and it's about the nuclear program in Iran. Mahmoud Ahmadinejad made the comments during a rally today to mark the 33rd anniversary of Iran's Islamic Revolution. He gave few details, only saying that Iran will reveal several major nuclear advancements. The West says Iran is developing a nuclear weapon. Iran denies that.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
MAHMOUD AHMADINEJAD, PRESIDENT, IRAN (through translator): The whole world has witnessed that the hegemonic powers have tried to put pressure on us. They have exerted different types of pressures in order to prevent the Iranian nation from acquiring the nuclear knowledge. But today you see that the Iranian nation has become nuclear and can supply many of its -- meet many of its demands and hopefully the near future. With the grace of God all the Iranian's nation's demands will be met by Iranian scientists, and God willing, in the next few days the whole world will witness the inauguration of several major achievements in the nuclear domain.
(END VIDEO CLIP) ROWLANDS: The CIA -- the CIA's Website is back up and running after hackers brought it down. The group "Anonymous" is claiming responsibility. Hackers also hit Websites run by the state of Alabama and the Mexican Mining Ministry.
CNN's Amber Lyon spoke to a member of "Anonymous" about why the group attacked government Websites.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It's basically the power of a observing massive group of people coming together. They're not happy. That this wouldn't be possible with one or two people, you know. It's -- it's one of those things which is very generally an expression of how many people are angry.
It's part of the big picture that's taking place -- it has been taking place over the last number of years which is a very big slide towards Internet censorship on a gigantic scale. I mean, we've seen various things (INAUDIBLE); I could go on and on, and that's just in the United States. It's happening all over the world. The Internet is a very powerful tool as we -- as we saw them in the Arab spring earlier this year. It can even be used in political movements.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ROWLANDS: Both the CIA and Alabama government officials say they're working to find those responsible for the cyber attacks.
Five employees of Britain's best selling newspaper "The Sun" are under arrest. It's part of an investigation into alleged illegal payments to police and other officials. "The Sun's" parent company News Corporation is already being investigated for alleged phone hacking by its employees. The metropolitan police also arrested a police officer, defense ministry employee and a member of the armed forces.
The new Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial in Washington is being updated. That's because the paraphrased quote on it caused such an uproar. It reads now "I was a drum major for justice, peace, and righteousness." Critics say that changed the meaning of Dr. King's words so it will be replaced with the exact quote. "Yes, if you want to say that I was a drum major, say that I was a drum major for justice, say that I was a drum major for peace, I was a drum major for righteousness. All of the other shallow things will not matter."
The controversy over contraception is not over yet. Catholic bishops are crying foul. We'll tell you what they're saying coming up after the break.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
ROWLANDS: The U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops is not happy with President Obama's compromise over contraception funding. A statement on their Website today says the plan raises, quote, "Serious moral concerns". The government's new health policy originally wanted hospitals and schools with religious ties to offer full contraception coverage, but after days of opposition from the Catholic Church, the White House dropped that requirement, leaving insurers to pick up the tab. President Obama says the core principle of the policy remains unchanged.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
BARACK OBAMA, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Now, today we've reached the decision on how to move forward. Under the rule women will still have access to free preventive care that includes contraceptive services, no matter where they work. So that core principle remains.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ROWLANDS: There will be a one-year transition period for religious organizations after the policy formally takes effect on August 1st.
Florida's Governor Rick Scott will address the Conservative Political Action Conference, CPAC later today. I spoke to him earlier about his message and the 2012 elections.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
GOV. RICK SCOTT (R), FLORIDA: Running your state like you run a business. Keep your costs low and in our case keep our taxes as low as possible. Get rid of regulation, treat business people like you want them in your state, and, gosh, it works. You know, our unemployment dropped the fastest, other than one state last year we dropped 2.1 percent. We generated 141,500 private sector jobs.
So what I'm going to talk about is if we want our federal economy to get going, we've got to reduce taxes, reduce regulation, reduce litigation, and say we want American companies to be more successful than companies anywhere in the world.
ROWLANDS: And you're a rising star in the Republican Party, how important is this opportunity for you to address the folks at CPAC?
SCOTT: Oh, well this is -- you know, this is -- this is a great opportunity. It's -- you know, the conservative bedrock of the country. It's the individuals that are going to -- you know, they're going to help elect the next president. You can hear behind me they're applauding.
They're very active. They're activists. They care about our country. They care about the Constitution. They care about limiting government, lower taxes, less regulation.
And so this is a great opportunity for me. I'm really -- I'm really honored to be here.
ROWLANDS: We've heard from a lot of people. Just tell us what's the overall message that you hear coming out of the conference this year?
SCOTT: I think -- I think the message is, one thing that's great about our country is people are active. We're having a healthy debate in the country. Do we want larger government or smaller government? Do we want more of government regulation or less government regulation, higher taxes or lower taxes, more litigation or less litigation? And so it's a clear choice this year.
And I think what everyone's talking about is the fact that if we want jobs, which is the biggest issue we have in our country, we've got to change the direction of the country and really say how do we make American businesses be more successful so they can hire more American workers.
ROWLANDS: You did not endorse before the Florida primary. Instead you let the voters choose. They picked Romney. Do you agree with their choice?
SCOTT: Well, look, I think that across the country, voters ought to be, you know, looking at all these candidates. They ought to look at them based on are they going to help turn our economy around? It's the biggest issue we have. It's jobs, jobs, jobs.
I think the debates were healthy. I think having the candidates come to your state and campaign is really healthy as we did in Florida. I know they're going do that across the country.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ROWLANDS: Florida Governor Rick Scott failed to endorse anyone during our interview. We'll see if he does it later today in his speech at CPAC.
Well, saving money is easier than you think. We'll have some tips to help you.
And it's not Lebron or Kobe. This guy has suddenly become an overnight and some say unlikely star in the NBA. Great story. We'll have it coming up.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
ROWLANDS: Well, let's face it. For a lot of us money is tight right now. But even in tough times, it's easier to save money than you might think.
Earlier, our money expert, Clyde Anderson shared some tips that can stretch your savings. It starts with two words, "round up".
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
CLYDE ANDERSON, FINANCIAL ANALYST: And so, when you round up, you're not missing money. So, you go ahead and replace that money and you (INAUDIBLE) 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 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 out to myself every month, it becomes a bill.
And I'm making sure I pay myself because I won't 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, 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, iron attracts (ph) iron. 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 things, these 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 them, 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 do you think someone could save if they just put their mind to it a year? ANDERSON: At least about $7,000. Save $7,000 easily with those tips that I just gave you right there.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ROWLANDS: All right. Well, would you kiss and tell? You'd be surprised to find out how many people do. It's all part of something called the Sex Project, and we'll take a peek coming up next.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
ROWLANDS: Are you bored with your job? Well, not Arianne Cohen, far from it. Her job is collecting sex diaries. She's amassed over 2,000 of them already and now they're coming out in her new book called "The Sex Diaries Project".
Arianne told me the books provides a snapshot into people's most intimate moments.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
ARIANNE COHEN, AUTHOR, "THE SEX DIARIES PROJECT": And what you get out of that is a snapshot of how they're connecting and disconnecting from people. And when you get 2,000 of those, you get a portrait of what Americans are doing behind closed doors.
And we all assume that people are doing something similar to what we're doing. But let me tell you, you have no idea what people are doing behind closed doors.
ROWLANDS: Let's read a couple of the things that people have wrote in to the diaries. This is one entry. "Last night it appeared to me that Nancy purposefully rolled over on her stomach so I couldn't touch her." That's from an 81-year-old Sarasota County, Florida man.
Next one, "I must be the odd man out because sex and relationships don't compete for my time as much as the kids, the dog, and my house." That's from a 43-year-old in Atlanta.
"Came home, had some vodka, played pretend with the husband, wow, I needed that." That from a 30-year-old Baltimore, Maryland woman.
And "All I think about is sex. I feel like I'm going to explode," a 23-year-old from Dayton, Ohio. I guess -- were you surprised -- maybe not from the last one, but were you surprised by what people were saying and were open about and what they're doing behind closed doors?
COHEN: Absolutely. I think I was really surprised by two things. The first is that I grew up with this idea that people are either in a relationship or dating to be in a relationship, and that's abjectly not true. About 20 percent of the diaries are what I call "solo" which means they're not looking to be in a relationship and they're meeting their own emotional and sexual and lifestyle needs and that doesn't they're celibate. It just means they're not trying to be in a relationship right now. The second thing that really surprised me is that couples aren't similar. One couple is not the same thing as another and I was able to map out the three different kinds of couples that I found and track their goals and the pros and cons of their relationship. And think it's really helpful for people to know what kind of couple they're in and how it works.
ROWLANDS: How do you know that people are telling the truth and how do you get them to do it in the first place?
COHEN: I ask everybody I see at the grocery store, on the street, and I like to say that "no" is the first step of the path to "yes". People, I ask them and they say no. And they say that they're single or that they're busy or that they're not an exhibitionist. I say, that's great, you're really perfect for this project.
We often talk about how everything we learn is from what we see other people do in their careers or in their lifestyle. You see somebody do something and you say, oh, I really want to do that. Or oh, I shouldn't do that. And in our private lives we're really closed off from information and it's a disservice to people to not know what their options are.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ROWLANDS: Well, from zero to hero, in the span of a week, you'll meet Jeremy Lin, basketball's newest star. You'll also meet Blue Ivy, the new princess born into music royalty.
Stay with us.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
ROWLANDS: The latest news from Syria is grim. At least six are dead today as the government steps up its brutal crackdown on the opposition. Diplomatically, if you thing of Syria as a puzzle, Russia seems to be the one piece that just doesn't fit in. It refuses to condemn the government's attacks. Still, those opposition forces are making gains.
Earlier, I talked with "Time" magazine's foreign policy correspondent Jay Newton-Small.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JAY NEWTON-SMALL, TIME MAGAZINE FOREIGN POLICY CORRESPONDENT: Really this is the first time they have come close to Damascus and it's the first time that it's even sort of within Syria shown that they have the power to kind of put a crack in the veneer of Assad's power and say, look, we're not completely disunified (ph), we're not just a bunch of tribes and providences. We're coming into the suburbs of the main capital here and we're making a real dent.
ROWLANDS: So do you think this is the beginning of the end for Assad?
NEWTON-SMALL: It could be. Certainly international observers and, you know, the Arab League has turned against him in ways that is pretty unprecedented. They wanted to send in observers originally a couple of weeks ago. The violence was too much there. They didn't send those observers in.
The real sticking point right now is trying to get international support to coalesce around a U.N. resolution, which, up until this point last week, China and Russia actually vetoed that U.N. resolution.
ROWLANDS: Now, explain that. Why did Russia and why is Russia still withholding support for the force transition in Syria?
NEWTON-SMALL: Well, Russia is -- I mean Syria is Russia's biggest ally in the Middle East. They are home to Russia's last remaining naval base in the Mediterranean. They're also a big trading partner with Russia. They just inked a $500 billion deal for airplane parts. And so they're a pretty important strategic and economic ally for Russia, and Russia just doesn't want to give that up, that foothold in the Middle East. So it's a strategic play for Russia. And also they have elections comings up too next month and Vladimir Putin doesn't want to seem weak with the west.
ROWLANDS: But at some point, with all of this video coming out and the world is watching this, doesn't it put Russia in a precarious position? Yes, they want to help out their buddy and partner, but to what end?
NEWTON-SMALL: Certainly it becomes more and more embarrassing and that's the strategy you see with the U.S. and the west and the United Nations is to just bring up resolution after resolution, embarrassing Russia and sort of forcing them to say, look, you know, this is getting really bad. This is becoming a humanitarian crisis. Do you really want to be supporting this guy, Assad.
And you'll notice the last time that they brought up the United Nations resolution last week, even though Russia vetoed it, you saw Russia's foreign minister have some really harsh comments about Assad. And so Russia is even wavering or starting to at least realize that this is a bad appearance for them to keep vetoing these kinds of resolutions, especially with so many people dying in Syria.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ROWLANDS: We're checking top stories now this morning.
Police arrested one of three men allegedly seen taking part in a brutal surveillance camera beating. Police say the tape shows the trio attack 20-year-old Brandon White outside a convenience store in Atlanta a week ago. The attackers shouted anti-gay slurs as they beat White. A rally is planned outside the store today. The FBI is looking into whether the beating was a hate crime.
Funeral services will be held today for Charlie and Braden Powell. They are the two boys allegedly killed by their father in a fiery murder/suicide. Investigators say Josh Powell set his house on fire last Sunday. Also there's word today that police found blood in a storage unit belonging to Powell. He was suspected in the disappearance of his wife Susan.
A Navy vessel is being named for former Arizona Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords. It will be called the USS Gabrielle Giffords. Giffords survived an assassination attempt in Tucson a year ago. Six other people died in that attack. The ship will be the 17th named ship for a woman and the 13th named for a living person.
Jeremy Lin is the talk of the town in New York today. He's the New York Knicks player who has gone from basketball obscurity to the top of the game in just a month. Since coming to New York Knicks, Lin has helped his team rack up four wins, including a big one last night over Kobe Bryant and the Los Angeles Lakers. The Harvard grad's last job, a player in the d-league, Erie Bayhawks. Now he is the toast of the town in New York. They're calling it "Lin-sanity."
And meet Blue Ivy. Beyonce and rapper Jay-Z have finally released pictures of their new daughter. The pictures were posted to the website, along with a note reading, "we welcome you to share in our joy. Thank you for respecting our privacy during this beautiful time in our lives, the Carter family."
Well, winter has suddenly burst onto the scene in some mountainous areas across the country and that makes dogs like this one invaluable when there's a danger of avalanche. We'll have that story coming up after the break.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
ROWLANDS: Well, things are going to get downright frigid in the upper Midwest today. Reynolds Wolf is in the severe weather center.
How cold are we talking, Reynolds?
REYNOLDS WOLF, AMS METEOROLOGIST: Oh, Ted, you are so right. Take a look at some of these temperatures. If you were just to look at this map and your eye somehow hopped over towards say Detroit or Chicago, it's very cold. Fourteen degrees, current temperatures. But when you really take a gander at this part of the map, it gets a little bit crazy. We're talking single digits in Bismarck, in Fargo, in Duluth. It's zero for the time being.
But that's not only part of the story. The second half you have is the strong winds. Winds some 20 miles per hour. It's going to make it feel like it's about 25 or 20 below at some points. So, again, very, very cold.
But it's on the move. It's not going to stay just locked in, in parts of the north. No, it's not going to be this cold say in parts of say Denver or maybe even into -- back towards St. Louis. What's going to happen, though, is we're going to see some of it just begin to slowly head back (ph) toward the south. And the reason why is because you have an area of high pressure in the central plains. Wind spins clockwise around that. An area of low pressure. Counter clock-wise. So that's going to funnel in a lot of that cold air into the deep south.
What we have -- some pretty interesting scenarios, too, where it happens to mix in with some moisture, we might see some snowfall. The highest place we're going to see the snow is going to be in the Appalachians, where you could get up to a foot. And that's going to be kind of random. I'd say most places, six to 10 in the high spots of the Appalachians.
Plenty of sunshine across the central plains. Back out west, the situation is a little bit different where we have this area of low pressure tapping into moisture, not only from the Pacific, but from the Gulf of California. That combination could give you some snowfall in parts of the southern Sierra Nevada, back into the (INAUDIBLE), even into the central Rockies.
One thing that's very interesting to mention about that part of the world, Ted, is that we have seen a really weird season in terms of snowfall in the Rockies. Today's addition (ph) is going to help, but it's been kind of a light season for the most part. In Denver, certainly cold enough to snow, 22 degrees. Twenty-five your high expected in Billings, 52 degrees in Salt Lake City, 59 in San Francisco.
Let's make our way a bit more to the east. Chicago with 22 for a high, 34 in Memphis. Easy for me to say. Thirty-seven in New York. Forty in Washington, D.C. And 60s and 70s in Tampa and into Miami.
Now what's interesting, Ted, we were talking about that snowfall. One big issue that we happen to have with the snow, especially in places that are really steep, you have the threat of avalanches. Well, in Colorado ski country, to be more specific, Breckenridge, Colorado, they have an avalanche rescue team. And they're pretty amazing. Check them out.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
WOLF (voice-over): About 10,000 feet above sea level, Breckenridge, Colorado, is home to amazing views, rugged peaks, great skiing, and one remarkable rescue team. Six certified avalanche rescue dogs work with the Breckenridge ski patrol. Patroler Kevin Kerr and his partner Rudy (ph) have been together for eight years.
KEVIN KERR, BRECKENRIDGE SKI PATROL: He has been tested, mission- ready, since 2004. And he has been on three live missions and three body recoveries.
WOLF: A harsh reality in this alpine environmental. With the steep terrain and heavy snow, the threat of an avalanche is always present. Even this year when the precipitation has been scarce.
KERR: Oh, our snow pack right now is -- it's very shallow. And in the Colorado Rockies. Shallow snow packs don't dictate to good, stable avalanche conditions once they get weighted with new snow. So, if we get a few little storms here and there, maybe not a big deal. But a couple of big dumps, we're going to go through a really big cycle.
WOLF: While most think of St. Bernards and avalanche rescue, Kerr says the type of dog they use varies. No matter the breed, it must be able to ride on ski lifts, snowmobiles and, at times, helicopters. KERR: That's why we've chosen smaller, more agile breeds. And it just makes their mobility both on a vehicle and on the snow a lot more efficient.
WOLF: They're also chosen for their temperament and eagerness to work. Their efforts are always rewarded with play.
WOLF (on camera): But he's more than just, say, a pet. I mean he's a co-worker.
KERR: He is. Absolutely. He gets dressed in a uniform every day and comes to work every day ready to work.
WOLF: All right. Let's see how good he works. Let's see his skills.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: And this will be just to cover you up so I don't dump snow on your face, OK?
WOLF: All right. All right.
KERR: Come. Rudy, we've got to go to work. We've got to go to work. Are you ready to go to work? Let's go. Search.
WOLF: It isn't fun. The snow is tight around my legs and chest. Claustrophobia is setting in. Luckily, Rudy picks up the scent quickly and the rescue begins.
KERR: Nice. Whoa. All right, there we go. All right.
WOLF: Oh, dude, wow. You did a great job. Oh, thanks, buddy.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
WOLF: You know the weird thing about this, Ted, is whenever I think about a rescue dog, I have this idea of how they should look. Should be a St. Bernard. Should be an Alaskan malamute. Something like that. Shouldn't be these kind of dogs. But the thing that's amazing is, these are all dogs. Many of them rescues. Many of them mutts. We saw a variety of them. No Chihuahuas yet. It would be kind of strange to be rescued by a Chihuahua, I would think, but --
ROWLANDS: Yes. And you were petrified, you say, because you're claustrophobic.
WOLF: Absolutely. Scared of that.
ROWLANDS: How long were you going to last before you actually dug yourself out?
WOLF: To tell you the truth, when they put me in here, they started encasing me in the snow, I said, guys, I'm not going to be around too long for -- to be able to deal with this. I was about to lose it. So they were very accommodating and they made it happen -- the extraction pretty quickly. But thanks to all our friends in Breckinridge. They were wonderful to us.
ROWLANDS: And to Rudy for finding Reynolds.
WOLF: Rudy's the best. He's the man -- or the dog. There you go.
ROWLANDS: Thanks, Reynolds.
WOLF: Well, it is snowing and temperatures are hovering around freezing, but Maine voters are leaving their homes to caucus for their favorite Republican candidate. We'll have more on that coming up after the break.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
ROWLANDS: Although not a favorite, Rick Santorum hopes to add to his momentum in tonight's Maine caucuses. He's already surging after his sweep in Minnesota, Colorado, and Missouri. Still, some wonder if he can really win the nomination. Earlier I talked with CNN political contributor and Democratic Strategist Maria Cardona, and Republican analyst Lenny McAllister. Lenny likes to draw a Hollywood analogy.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
LENNY MCALLISTER, REPUBLICAN ANALYST: Well, he's no longer Rick Santorum. This is Rocky Santorum. He is the underdog that keeps fighting against all odds. He needs to run down -- and I keep saying this. He needs to run down the streets of Philadelphia in a sweater vest and sweat pants with his arms up in the air and run up to the Rocky statue because he keeps coming from behind and showing that an underdog can do it in America.
And if he takes part of the play book from 2008 from President Obama and say, listen, I can be the inspirational figure to win back the White House, he can take this momentum and move forward. We've seen his fund-raising numbers come up over the past week. I think if he continues to do well in the debates and continues to do well with momentum moving into Super Tuesday, Rocky Santorum can do a number in March.
ROWLANDS: Yes, but can Rocky Santorum really go all the way to the White House, Maria? I would think that he would be the candidate that the administration would love to go up against.
MARIA CARDONA, CNN CONTRIBUTOR: Well, there's no question about that, Ted. That's certainly true. Now, I -- the surge is for real. And I think that Mitt Romney and Newt Gingrich need to take him seriously. And clearly they are because we're seeing now that Mitt Romney is focusing all of his fire on Rick Santorum, which means that they are taking him seriously.
What we've learned from this political season is that conventional wisdom has just completely gone out the window. And who knows what's going to happen. I believe, though, that still the smart money is going to be on Mitt Romney, who's going to end up being the nominee. But the problem with that, and we saw it during his own speech at CPAC, is that he still has a tremendous way to go to convince conservatives that he can carry their mantle. He talked about being severely conservative when he was governor of Massachusetts. What does that even mean? That's such an awkward phrase to use. And you could see people in the audience kind of awkwardly applaud. But they really didn't understand what that meant and I don't think liked it very much.
He still has a problem connecting with conservatives. And for the general election, if he is the nominee, more importantly than that, he has a huge problem connecting with everyday Americans who are struggling in this economy.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ROWLANDS: And NEWSROOM continues at the top of the hour with Fredricka Whitfield.
FREDRICKA WHITFIELD, CNN ANCHOR: Good to see you.
ROWLANDS: Fred, good to see you. I'm sure you'll be talking politics. What else?
WHITFIELD: Oh, yes. We've got that all day long. Of course we'll be, you know, learning of the results later on this evening with the main caucuses. And then there will be the straw poll with the CPAC later on today too. So we'll take you there for all those places and those updates.
And then, of course, you know, you're a parent. You know what it's like to try and get your kids off to school on time.
ROWLANDS: Yes.
WHITFIELD: So if you're late a lot, particularly if you're in Loudoun County, Virginia, you could be facing a fine. Our legal guys will be along to explore the case of some Loudoun County parents who are staring at a potential $3,000 fine for getting their kids to school too late, too many times.
ROWLANDS: What are we talking, five minutes.
WHITFIELD: By about three minutes.
ROWLANDS: No.
WHITFIELD: But 30 times.
ROWLANDS: Still.
WHITFIELD: And there are strict rules in that district. So we're going to find out how unique that is to a school district.
ROWLANDS: Three minutes?
WHITFIELD: I Know. Aren't you late sometimes?
ROWLANDS: Yes. WHITFIELD: Are you ever late getting your kids to school?
ROWLANDS: Well, actually, no, we're not late.
WHITFIELD: Oh, really? Oh, OK.
ROWLANDS: My wife makes sure we're not late.
WHITFIELD: Well, you're good in that.
ROWLANDS: If I'm taking, I'm out the door.
WHITFIELD: Yes, OK. Well, sometimes I make my little guy late and it's usually because of me. But, anyway, we're going to explore that case and find out just how harsh is it.
And then everyone wants to earn, you know, or try and hold on to their money. You want to get some better deals. So the Dolans will be back with us, the financial duo that they are, will be with us later on today to give us five great tips on how to save money. One involves traveling. The best time to get the best deal on your air travel tickets.
ROWLANDS: All right.
WHITFIELD: And then, did you grow up with "Fame"?
ROWLANDS: Yes. Absolutely.
WHITFIELD: Fame. Remember my name.
OK, Debbie Allen, she, of course, was Lydia, the tough-love, you know, teacher in fame. Well, I sit down with her face to face and she talks about "Fame," she talks about dance, she talks about Michael Jackson. He was a great friend and one of her best dance students. Hard to believe that he --
ROWLANDS: Really, one of her students? Wow.
WHITFIELD: Yes, went to her for tap dance lessons, et cetera. And she also talks about why it's important to impart on the next generation of dancers something that she had a chance to indulge in and benefit from as a kid.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DEBBIE ALLEN, ACTRESS: I know when I was 12 and I could not go to dance class because I was black, I know I needed someone to see me and to give me an opportunity or else I could not become who I am right now. And that happened for me. And I want to give that opportunity back. I really do.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
WHITFIELD: She is extraordinary. She has now the Debbie Allen Dance Academy there in California. And she invited us to her home. She invited us to the studio there. And you can see right there, she is teaching the kids and they are listening intently because they have an incredible experience there. And we actually talked to one of the students from that dance academy who says being a part of that really changed his life and he is one of her most --
ROWLANDS: Not just because of the dance, because of --
WHITFIELD: Right, because of the discipline that it taught him that he takes outside the dance studio.
ROWLANDS: All right.
WHITFIELD: So all that straight ahead beginning at noon.
ROWLANDS: All right.
WHITFIELD: You can stick with us 2:00, 3:00, 4:00. The whole day.
ROWLANDS: And on and on and on. Absolutely.
WHITFIELD: Yes.
ROWLANDS: A day with Fred.
WHITFIELD: All right. Good to see you, Ted.
ROWLANDS: Can't get any better than that. Thanks, Fred. Appreciate it.
Well, dream of breezing through airport security? You don't have to dream anymore. It's actually happening. You don't have to take off your shoes, your jacket. We'll tell you exactly how you can do that coming up after the break.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
ROWLANDS: The Transportation Security Administration is changing the way we go through airport security. It could help thousands speed through those long lines we all dread. Earlier I talked with Nadia Bilchik about how it works. She's gone through it before and now certain passengers won't have to, believe it or not, take off their shoes or jackets anymore.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
NADIA BILCHIK, CNN CORRESPONDENT: First of all, it's only in seven airports at this point. And those are Dallas, Miami, LAX, Vegas, Minneapolis, Atlanta and Detroit. But the good news is, by the end of this year, there will be 28 more airports and there will be 35 altogether. And right now the seven are in association with Delta or American or, in some cases, both.
ROWLANDS: Now, so how does it -- you know, do you have to do all this other stuff? You do have to do those things normally. How are they able to do it and still provide the safety measures that one would want. BILCHIK: Well, they have checked you. So there are two ways that this actually works. The airlines opt you in usually if you're a frequent flier. You will get some kind of notification and they opt you in. That is the one way of doing it. And the second way is, you actually sign up for the Custom Border Protection's Trusted Traveler Program. And in that case, you go onto globalentry.gov. But that one costs you $100 because they have to do an entire pre-check.
But, Ted, I have to tell you my --
ROWLANDS: So, wait, a frequent flier status gets you in.
BILCHIK: Yes. Not automatically.
ROWLANDS: Oh, OK.
BILCHIK: But I have found, talking to people, that if they're frequent flyers, like you are or like I am, I have been opted in. So I have been through the system twice. The first time I was so surprised, I walked through the pre-check and I was about to take off my shoes and one of the assistants said to me you don't have. And there's this wonderful sign, my favorite sign that says, "keep those shoes on, you busy traveler you," which is such a great sign.
ROWLANDS: Oh, that's beautiful.
BILCHIK: You see, there it is.
ROWLANDS: Oh, yes, there it is. Yes.
BILCHIK: And -- because, also, you know, we're so conditioned at this point.
ROWLANDS: Well, it's nerve-racking too. You've got to take everything off and put it back on so quickly. And someone behind you is pushing you along and --
BILCHIK: Exactly. And what a pleasure with this. But, remember, you either get opted in by the airlines or you have to go on to globalentry.gov. And, by the way, the tsa.gov website also has a lot of information. But again, that's going to cost you $100 because --
ROWLANDS: $100. Just a one-time fee or is that annual?
BILCHIK: It's a one-time fee and they do an entire background check on you. And already about 300,000 -- in fact I spoke to Greg Soule from the TSA yesterday. He said over 330,000 people have already been through.
But I quickly have to tell you that the TSA administrator, John Pistole, says, at the end of the day, "pre-check moves us closer to our goal of delivering the most effective and efficient screening by recognizing that most passengers do not pose a threat to security."
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ROWLANDS: All right, CNN NEWSROOM continues right now with Fredricka Whitfield.
WHITFIELD: That might come in handy for you since you travel so much.
ROWLANDS: Yes, probably worth the $100.
WHITFIELD: Yes. All right. Well, you'll have to update us if you end up indulging in that.
ROWLANDS: All right.
WHITFIELD: All right, thanks so much, Ted.
ROWLANDS: All right, have a great day.
WHITFIELD: See you tomorrow morning.
ROWLANDS: All right. See you.
