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CNN Saturday Morning News

Two U.S. Officers Killed; Nelson Mandela in Hospital; Last Stand before Michigan, Arizona; Crazy High Gas Prices; Storm Damage in the South; New IRS Laws Could Cost You; Airline Miles and Income Taxes; Fight for Freedom in Syria; Romney, Santorum Showdown; Danica's First Daytona; Sneaker Riots

Aired February 25, 2012 - 11:00   ET

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

ANNOUNCER: From CNN's World Headquarters, bringing you news and analysis from across the nation and around the globe, live from Studio 7, this is CNN SATURDAY MORNING.

DEBORAH FEYERICK, CNN ANCHOR: And good morning everybody from Atlanta. This is CNN SATURDAY MORNING. It is February 25th. Hello, I am Deborah Feyerick.

Former South African President Nelson Mandela is recovering right now from a hernia operation. We're going to go live to Johannesburg in just a few moments.

And the Republican primaries in Michigan and Arizona are just three days away. And the candidates are making their final push for votes.

Also gas prices it's not your imagination they have jumped 30 cents in the last month. We're going to go inside the numbers.

But we begin with breaking news out of Afghanistan at least two U.S. officers were shot and killed inside the Interior Ministry in Kabul, Afghanistan. Nick Paton Walsh is there. And Nick, how did this happen inside?

NICK PATON WALSH, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (via telephone): That is the big question. People I think are still struggling to answer -- senior Afghan police, ISAF, nobody really seems to be able to pin that down.

This is what we do know, we do know that these Americans were inside a secure part of the ministry, perhaps their own separate compound. We do know that the gunman according to ISAF is not a westerner, which suggests they probably are Afghan but that has not been confirmed by any Afghan officials.

And we do know the Taliban have claimed responsibility for this attack. Now it's not to say they necessarily did it, they do have a track record of previously claiming responsibility for things. Sometimes it turns out to be true, other times not, but they are saying in this case, one of their brave fighters is their phrase, shot dead four Americans -- so there is a discrepancy there -- on this interior ministry compound, claiming this is a response for the American burnings of a Koran about a week ago on an air base.

So really a lot of misinformation and confusion here at this point but at the end of the day it has left two Americans dead -- Deb.

FEYERICK: And Nick when we talk about the interior ministry, for those folks in the U.S. who may not know what that is, explain what it is and how many U.S. troops you would have inside that compound?

WALSH: Yes and this is a key part of the Afghan government here, I mean the key ministries, heavily guarded, all around the capital, where many ISAF, NATO, American personnel work, they advise the ministries and many of them in this case training one can imagine the interior ministry. We understand in that particular part where these Americans were, there are about ten NATO foreigners there. So that gives you a slight indication as to how secure this particular part of that ministry must have been in itself. And the questions clearly circulating how did this happen.

An immediate response from ISAF's commander, General John Allen as well as condemning the attack and calling the attacker a coward, has been to withdraw all ISAF advisors from ministries in and around the capital of Kabul.

Unclear how that will affect the absolutely vital American NATO training mission here, trying to get Afghan forces ready to take over security here so NATO troops could withdraw on this very tight time table. Really today though, the message is a deeply psychological impact perhaps on NATO troops working here, this should have been the safest place where they were and it appears according to the Taliban to somehow feed into these nationwide protest against the Koran burning -- Deb.

FEYERICK: Ok interesting. I mean, it's almost as if I guess parallel would be if somebody opened fire inside the Pentagon, slightly the equivalent.

Nick Paton Walsh, thanks so much I really appreciate you bringing us the latest.

Well now to another developing story we're following this morning. Former South African President, Nelson Mandela is in the hospital after undergoing hernia surgery. His doctors say he'll likely be released in just a couple of days. At 93, his health has declined in recent years, but a government spokesman says this time there is nothing to worry about.

And joining me now from Johannesburg is CNN's Nkepile Mabuse. First of all his health is really a matter of national importance. What are you hearing?

NKEPILE MABUSE, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: It is a matter of national importance, South Africans are very worried, wanting more information and in the last 30 minutes or so we received an updated statement from the presidency. The presidency is dealing with all the communication around Mr. Mandela's health, and this is what they're saying Deborah at this hour. "Mr. Mandela is in a satisfactory condition in hospital, he's comfortable, he went through planned procedure." We can only assume that the hernia surgery that our sources have told us about to investigate the causes of this abdominal complaint that the presidency spoke about.

President Zuma tonight saying that Mr. Mandela is fine and fully conscious and the doctors are satisfied with his condition, which they say is consistent with his age. They are stressing today, Deborah that Mr. Mandela is not in any danger and that's exactly what his party the African National Congress has been saying the whole day. Let's take a listen, Deborah.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

KEITH KHOZA, SPOKESMAN, AFRICAN NATIONAL CONGRESS: It's not an emergency and it was pre-planned and it finally happened today.

MABUSE: Is it life-threatening?

KHOZA: It's not. He's fine. He's ok. And that's what we have been communicating to South Africans that there is no need to panic.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

MABUSE: The ruling party, the African National Congress and the presidency telling South Africans and the world not to panic, and that Mr. Mandela is expected to be released from hospital, discharged from hospital either tomorrow or Monday. We are still -- we are still unclear about which hospital he's at. The presidency saying they want to afford him a privacy as he recuperate -- Deborah.

FEYERICK: All right, Nkepile Mabuse thank you very much and we know you're going to be keeping a close eye on this throughout the day. Thank you so much.

Well, Syrian forces relentlessly pound resistant strongholds killing at least 36 people so far today. The violence is so intense it raises question about the effectiveness of the cease fire planned by members of the outside world. Dozens of countries agreed yesterday to increase pressure on President Al-Assad while laying the ground work for political transition in Syria. The plan includes delivering immediate humanitarian aid giving political legitimacy to the Syrian opposition and endorsing a Joint Arab UN Peace keeping force.

In the epicenter of the violence, Homs has been rocked by shelling every day for the past three weeks.

Coming up in our next half hour, Michael Holmes is going to be joining us with the latest on the efforts to try to help people in this growing humanitarian crisis.

The Marine Corps has released the names of the seven men killed in the helicopter crash near the Arizona-California border. The helicopters collided during a training mission Wednesday night. The Marines were preparing for deployment to Afghanistan.

The names of the dead are Major Thomas Budrejko, Captain Michael Quin, Captain Benjamin Cerniglia and Captain Nathan Anderson; also killed, Sergeant Justin Everett, Lance Corporals Corey Little and Nickoulas Elliott. The cause of the crash is still under investigation.

But it's almost time for the next big showdown for the Republican presidential hopefuls. Mitt Romney desperately needs to win Michigan on Tuesday and after Arizona and Washington State next week, well it's on to Super Tuesday.

Our Joe Johns is in Troy, Michigan and boy, if Mitt Romney doesn't do well in Michigan, there are going to be a whole new round of speculation.

JOE JOHNS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, that's for sure, Deb. And as you know, Michigan is a state where Mitt Romney grew up, the state where his father was the governor back in the 1960s, but I have to tell you we've been placing so much emphasis on the State of Michigan that Arizona has sort of been ignored to some extent.

And in fact Arizona has a primary as well on the 28th of February. And we're seeing some new numbers that are very interesting. American Research Group polled, it's just out now, shows that we're looking at statistical tie in the State of Arizona; Mitt Romney leading 39 percent to 35 percent, but within the margin of -- the four point margin of error, so it's basically a statistical tie there, very tight here in Michigan as well.

The other thing we have to say about Arizona is a large number of early voters have already sent in their ballots and according to the polling that we've seen, suggests that Romney is doing better among those people who voted early and Santorum apparently doing better among the people who haven't voted yet.

So we'll have to see how all of that shakes out. Of course today the emphasis is on Troy, Michigan and where I am is at a gathering of conservative activists who have already heard from Rick Santorum. In about an hour or so expect to hear from Mitt Romney. These guys have been going across the state hitting each other pretty hard in advance of the primary. Deb, back to you.

FEYERICK: All right and the -- the -- each of the candidates obviously they -- they have to resonate with -- with the people that they are reaching out to. Are they drawing large crowds at these events?

JOHNS: Yes, I think so. I mean we saw a pretty good size crowd. Honestly I have to tell you yesterday, there has been so much made about at that event where Mitt Romney appeared at Ford Field, the big football stadium, there were about 1,200 people there, which is a pretty good size crowd for lunch time on a Friday, in a big city where people work, but the problem was it was in such a big room that it didn't look like very many people at all. You know that place seats 65,000 folks.

And frankly, they had to put him there because the Detroit Economic Club essentially ran out of space at the smaller venue, was going to put people and that's where they ended up. But here in Troy, Michigan today I can tell you probably about 1,000 people here as well, very energetic, people are interested in hearing what the candidates have to say.

So as you go, you know, you see crowds big and small but I'd say pretty good size. You know not the kinds of the things you would see say in South Carolina outside, I saw huge, huge crowds there.

For Newt Gingrich by the way, he wasn't much of a factor --

FEYERICK: Sure it's a little colder -- it's a little -- yes it's a little colder in Detroit --

JOHNS: Yes, yes.

FEYERICK: In Troy, Michigan.

JOHNS: Exactly. I know you can see the snow.

FEYERICK: And believe me, I can tell you first hand. So anyway Joe Jones, thanks so much. I bet you're looking forward again going to Arizona. Thanks so much we appreciate it.

JOHNS: You bet. Ok.

FEYERICK: Well, the youngest son of Robert F. Kennedy has been charged with harassment and endangering the welfare of his newborn. Douglas Kennedy allegedly tried to take his two-day old son out of a New York hospital last month, January, despite a nurse's warnings.

According to WNBC, nurses tried to stop Kennedy from taking the boy out of the maternity ward and out of the hospital. Well, he allegedly twisted one nurse's wrist, kicked another in the groin and then fell down himself while he was holding his newborn. Kennedy said his wife -- Kennedy and his wife say they did nothing wrong.

Some wild weather blowing through the south including at least two confirmed tornadoes, we're going to tell you who got the worst of it.

And another story, where oh where, will it end? Gas prices rose 12 cents this week alone.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

FEYERICK: Gas prices are shooting up and Republicans are blaming President Obama. The President talked about the rising prices in his weekly radio address. He's calling for a comprehensive energy policy. Listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BARACK OBAMA, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: You know there are no quick fixes to this problem and you know we can't just drill our way to lower gas prices. If we're going to take control of our energy future and avoid these gas spikes down the line, we need a sustained all-of-the-above strategy that develops every available source of American energy: oil, gas, wind, solar, nuclear, biofuels and more. We need to keep developing the technology that allows to us use less oil in our cars and trucks and our buildings and plants. That's the strategy we're pursuing. And that is the only real solution to this challenge.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

FEYERICK: Well, the GOP was quick to respond.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SEN. KAY BAILEY HUTCHISON (R), TEXAS: President Obama's policy has resulted in an unprecedented slowdown in new exploration in production of oil and gas. Offshore drilling permits are being issued at less than half the rate of the previous administration. The average number of leases issued on public lands is less than half that during President Clinton's term.

Not only will the slowdown in domestic production drive up fuel prices, it also takes away jobs from tens of thousands of oil industry workers.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

FEYERICK: Well, prices have jumped again, rising overnight, another 3 cents. The national average is now 3.67 for a gallon of regular unleaded, but of course you probably know that having filled up your tank, that is up 30 cents from just a month ago. You might not believe how bad it's gotten in parts of the country.

Josh Levs is here with that. Not good. It's also that you have to like rub your eyes because you think you're not seeing what you're actually seeing.

JOSH LEVS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: You know what; it's just a few weeks ago we were talking about this idea here on this show that it's possible that there could be $5 gas by spring in some cities. Now, it's just been a few weeks, we're already seeing some incredible numbers, even higher than that in some places.

Take a look at this video, I want to put it in context. This is something everyone is looking at out of Orlando which shows gas prices up near $6 now. If you're right near a tourist site and there's not a lot of competition in that area, you're going to see higher prices, the average in Florida is a little bit under $4.

But in Los Angeles, we've got prices that are over $4 and the average for California is now over $4. These numbers are just coming at us every day, they keep jumping.

Now we're going to show you some video. I'll tell you what's going on. There's a bunch of factors coming together. Some of it is some uptick in the economy which can get people moving again and can also contribute to what is going where oil is traded on the markets.

There are also some security concerns in oil producing nations, but a lot of this about Iran. We have had analysts say as much as 30 cents in the recent uptick could be because of the concerns surrounding Iran and what Iran might do about its oil and whether it might ultimately close the Strait of Hormuz, the impact that could have is affecting investors.

Now, I want to help you get a sense of where your gas dollar goes. I have this screen for you, take a look here, when you go to the pump, this is where your money goes, by far the biggest factor that determines gas prices is crude oil. Then you have the others: refining, marketing, taxes, those cover the taxes and they also cover the local gas station.

But by far, the biggest factor affecting prices near you is crude oil and I want to help you see how you can determine what it's like in your state. Let's zoom in to this the map. This is from our folks at CNN Money. It's a terrific map, and where it's more red, it's more expensive.

So over here, you have a national average in California at $4.20. Click on any state -- let's jump over to New York, $3.91. Let's go to Texas, you can see the average there, $3.53.

Another way to look at this that I find fascinating is this right here which we've just updated folks for you. Take a look here, this is how much of your income is going to gasoline. In Montana, nearly 11 percent of your income going to gasoline these days.

Jump over here to Mississippi, which is one of the highest, 12 percent. Now, this has to do with a lot of factors including what the average incomes are, a lot of numbers come together. But what this does is it puts in perspective for you what you're seeing here.

So we obviously want you all to have that information, Deb. We want people to have a good broad sense of what is going on and I will tell you. Unfortunately, we don't have a lot of analysts saying this process is going to end any time soon.

FEYERICK: And what is interesting to me is that in parts of the country the national average, as you say, is $3.67.

LEVS: Yes.

FEYERICK: But when you're look at a gallon that is $2 higher than that, and I understand the dynamics of it, you have to also wonder whether in fact there aren't going to be some investigations to just make sure that people aren't trying to gouge folks at the pump, knowing that crude oil I think is now $120 -- European crude is $120 for a barrel, plus you have the demand in Asia. You've got interruption of supply, all of that.

LEVS: Yes.

FEYERICK: Ok. Now, how do people though find the cheapest gas next to -- near them?

LEVS: Right. Well, you're right on both fronts. First of all, absolutely. You know, any time you see the uptick in the prices there's more talk about potential price gouging it is illegal. Congress has taken action before. We will see what happens in the coming days.

As for finding cheap gas, we want to help you find cheap gas. So here's what we've done. Let's show everybody my screen. If you go to that, what you're going to see is Facebook and Twitter, JoshLevsCNN; also the blog, CNN.com/josh. We posted a bunch of links for you there that should help you find the cheapest gas in your area.

And one other thing you can always do that gets updated all the time, if you go to Twitter, just look for #cheapgas. You just might find people in your area who have recently found cheap gas at a station nearby. And some gas stations are getting pretty savvy about this, starting their own Twitter accounts and sending out with that hash tag. So you might get lucky that way. It's all up on those pages for you.

Deb, we obviously want people to save money where they can. That's the goal.

FEYERICK: Right.

Yes and it's smart for gas stations to actually tweet out the prices of their gas because that is how you build customer loyalty.

LEVS: Yes.

FEYERICK: Josh Levs, thank you so much.

LEVS: Thank you.

FEYERICK: Appreciate it.

LEVS: Yes.

FEYERICK: OK. Well, we're going to turn now two confirmed tornadoes caused damage in South Carolina and storms toppled trees from Florida to Virginia.

And y our taxes could take a hit if you opened one of those airline credit cards and get bonus miles -- that's right. We'll tell you about a change in the tax laws, frequent flyers.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

FEYERICK: People in parts of South Carolina will spend the day cleaning up their storm damage. At least two tornadoes ripped up neighborhoods, damaging homes, toppling trees and snapping power lines. Luckily no injuries. Those tornadoes were part of a storm system that downed trees from Florida all the way up to Virginia yesterday. What can we expect today -- Alexandra Steele in the Severe Weather Center? Alexandra.

ALEXANDRA STEELE, AMS METEOROLOGIST: Well, you know, some of those tornadoes was one. There were winds 130 miles per hour, so it's certainly intense. But even today, these aren't not tornadic winds just pressure-gradient winds. Almost 50 mile per hour winds this morning already in North Adams, Massachusetts.

So North Adams, Massachusetts; Pittsfield you can see, 46 miles per hour winds. Albany, 36 miles per hour wind gusts. So really the story today all up and down the Eastern Seaboard this incredible wind storm that we've got.

So here is a look at what we're seeing so far and here is where the threat is. You can see delineated in yellow and orange, wind advisories, wind threat throughout the entire day today and into tonight. Now, we will begin to see these winds abate some.

But even on the eastern end of Long Island, the Cape and island, gusts to 60, not out of the question today. Now it only takes 40-mile-per- hour wind gusts to knock down trees or power lines. So, could see problems.

There are also some problems with the airports. We have had some delays because of some of these at the airports in the northeast. Current wind gust, look at this west wind in Philly at 35 miles per hour. So hold on to your hat, it's pretty blustery. Pittsburgh as well, New York City, so you get the picture. So that's the story there.

Winds also. Also sunny here in the southwest, beautiful conditions there. In the Pacific Northwest, it's kind of a one-two punch. Had a big snow storm the other day, second storm now coming in. Actually snow elevations even a little bit lower this time.

Southeast dry skies, sunny skies, but the winds are the factor. So in Atlanta, Georgia 54 -- won't feel like that. It really will feel like kind of a cold winter day with those winds coming out. 48 in Washington, in the 40s from New York to Boston. But again wind chills lower than that because of the strong westerly winds today.

Temperatures have dropped between about 15-20 degrees from only 48 hours ago. We were in the 70s here in the deep south, cold front moved through, no threat for severe weather, dry atmosphere. That warm buoyancy that allowed for those tornadoes is certainly gone. But temperatures are down but even being so down 20 degrees, we're still at seasonable averages. That is how warm this winter has been.

FEYERICK: That's right. This is normal. This is actually normal. It's refreshing.

(CROSSTALK)

STEELE: Right.

FEYERICK: It's such a relief. Ok. Alexandra Steele, thanks so much.

Two dreaded words this time of year: tax time and new IRS regulations regarding those airline bonus miles, they could actually cost you. Our financial analyst is next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

FEYERICK: As we close in on tax time, here is something that you probably don't want to hear. But if you've opened up a bank account and gotten airlines miles, you know those frequent flyer miles as a reward, you may have to pay taxes on them. The IRS might consider those miles income, a gift.

Earlier I asked our financial analyst, Clyde Anderson, to explain.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

CLYDE ANDERSON, FINANCIAL ANALYST: So, say for example, a case happened with Citibank where they actually rewarded customers for opening up an account with 25,000 miles. And when you give a reward like that, it's a gift. And, generally, anything over $600 that you receive as a gift or anything is taxable. And so, it's income. And so, you have to report it and usually, you get a 1099.

Now, it was a shock that came to most people when they received those 1099.

FEYERICK: Then, how is the bank going to handle that, how are credit card companies going to handle that? Because, look, I got 20,000 miles just by getting a credit card, and, you know, my wheels started turning.

ANDERSON: Right.

FEYERICK: And I'm sort of planning my next trip.

But that's -- are they going to have to cut back on that?

ANDERSON: Well, it's just the law. What they have to do is disclose it, and what you have to do is make sure you are reading the small print. Make sure that you're asking a tax professional when you're getting these types of things because there are other things that can be, you know. It could be an iPad, it could be concert tickets, other things that may be taxable if they are just giving this to you as an incentive, meaning that you didn't actually do anything to get it besides opening up the account.

FEYERICK: Yes, but one might argue, one could play devil's advocate and say, look, I'm opening up the account, I'm giving the bank my business and this is just, you know, this is like high interest, for example.

ANDERSON: Yes. And you may look at it that way, but the IRS, Uncle Sam, doesn't see it that way. And so (INAUDIBLE) to use a credit card, say, to earn points or do things, you're actually using the credit card, you're paying something, and you get some sort of reward back. That's OK. That's not going to be taxable.

But when you're getting some sort of incentive to just do something, to join, it's really an enticement, almost, that they're giving to you join, so it's income to the IRS. FEYERICK: So what new things are they looking to tax also, home improvement loans, life insurance (INAUDIBLE)

ANDERSON: Well, home improvement loans -- a lot of people -- sometimes you get grants from the state, and these can be taxable. And some people have done upgrades to their home to make them greener and maybe utilities -- utilities, generally, they don't make you pay the taxes back.

But generally, let's say if you upgraded a heater system or hot water system, they don't really tax that, but may tax that free money that people get from the state to do upgrades on their home. And so you really got to be careful and you got to make sure. And also, with life insurance, if you surrender a policy, that money is taxable. And some people just don't understand that.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

FEYERICK: Well, the race for Michigan and Arizona is getting really interesting, with Mitt Romney and Rick Santorum running neck and neck. All that coming up just a moment away.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

FEYERICK: Top stories now -- former South African president Nelson Mandela is recovering from hernia surgery today. His doctors say he could be home in just a couple of days. A government spokesman says this is, quote, "nothing to worry about," but at age 93, people are going to worry about such a revered world leader and Nobel Prize winner. Today's operation was planned to deal with a long-standing problem.

And all military advisers for the international security forces are being pulled out of Afghan government ministries. That is after at least two Americans, both NATO service members, were shot and killed inside the Interior Ministry in Kabul. The Taliban is claiming responsibility for the attack, saying it was in response to the burning of Korans at a U.S. air base.

And protests over the Koran burning are now in their fifth day and they have been deadly, four people killed, 50 others injured. As people took to the streets near the U.N.'s offices in Kunduz. One intelligence official said the crowd tried to burn down the U.N. building. American officials, including President Barack Obama, have apologized for the Koran burning, calling it an unintentional error.

To Syria, where a key ally of the government there is now changing sides. Hamas, the Syrian-backed terrorist organization, now says they're backing the anti-government activists. Those activists are literally fighting for their lives in places like Homs.

We have this incredible video from inside Syria, showing the growing humanitarian crisis and the ferocious battles street by street for freedom, something you'll only see here on CNN, the images recorded by a French journalist named Mani, who was alongside the anti-government fighters. (BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Urban guerrilla warfare like this is relentless and terrifying. The fighters appear fearless and take crazy risks. But they still find time to look out for Mani.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE (through translator): You be careful!

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Back at Mahabharata headquarters, the battle is raging. Free Syrian forces have detonated a bomb below the rooftop position where government snipers are trapped. After more than 12 hours, the snipers are still putting up a fight. Casualties are mounting.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

FEYERICK: And that's a look at the intense violence anti-government activists are facing. And today has been no different, with more shelling by the Syrian military.

Michael Holmes is following developments from Beirut. And Michael what are we hearing out of Syria today?

MICHAEL HOLMES, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes, Deb, in short, more violence. You know, while the world leaders met in Tunisia on Friday to talk about humanitarian aid and a united front, the Syrian regime is talking the same language it's been talking for months, and that is violence, shells pounding into the city of Homs and in particular, the besieged neighborhood of Baba Amr, where the Western journalists, wounded and uninjured, are still waiting to be taken out.

The shells were coming at a rate of one a minute earlier this morning, according to an activist we were speaking to. They said they started at 5:00 AM. We spoke to him about half an hour ago, 13 hours later, the shells are still falling. Seventy-five people have died around Syria today, 31 of those in Homs alone. They've also been dying in places like Hama and Idlib, as well.

So despite the talks, there is no sign of the violence letting up inside Syria, and the bodies continue to pile up -- Deb.

FEYERICK: Michael, what's fascinating is in that clip of video, you hear the fighter ask the photographer, Are you OK? It's almost as if those fighters are desperate to get their story out because you've got President Assad, who is killing his own people. He's killing journalists. And it's almost as if there's a fence around Syria, where people can't really get in to take a clear look. And humanitarian efforts -- they can't even get in.

HOLMES: Yes, that's right. When it comes to those activists, you know, the ones we talk to each and every day who are inside Homs, they are very brave people going out there and shooting these videos that you see uploaded. Several of them have been killed doing so and many others have been wounded doing so.

These were ordinary people before all of this started. Now they've been turned in war correspondents, basically, and uploading those videos at great risk.

As far as the humanitarian situation in Homs, and Baba Amr in particular, the Red Cross, of course, we know went in -- it was about 24 hours ago now that they went in and pulled out seven wounded Syrians and 20 ill Syrians from Baba Amr, four Syrian Red Crescent ambulances going in and doing that.

Now, they were hoping to go back in again at first light and start bringing out more wounded Syrians from Baba Amr. That just hasn't happened. The shelling has continued. It's simply too dangerous.

I spoke to the International Committee for the Red Cross representative in Damascus a little earlier. He said negotiations were still ongoing. This is, like, an hour-and-a-half ago. He said he still had hope of getting into Baba Amr today and getting out more people.

You can see behind me it is dark. I think the chances of them getting in are fairly slim. They haven't given up hope, but they say they will try again tomorrow -- Deb.

FEYERICK: All right. Michael Holmes for us there. Thanks so much. We'll be touching base with you later on. Thanks a million.

Well, Rick Santorum and Mitt Romney running neck and neck in the polls. So what does next week's primaries in Michigan and Arizona have in store for them? Well, I spoke to CNN political contributor and Democratic strategist Maria Cardona and responsibility analyst Lenny McAllister earlier. So did they feel Santorum missed an opportunity with this debate?

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

MARIA CARDONA, DEMOCRATIC STRATEGIST, CNN CONTRIBUTOR: It didn't seem like he was all that well prepared to receive the attacks, to be the big target. Going into this as the front-runner, nationally, he should have understood that he was going to be the one that was receiving all these attacks from all sides, and he should have been ready with a lot more pivot. It seemed that Romney was able to get under his skin.

Having said all that, I do think that he still performed well in terms of showing that he is the consistent conservative, that he is still the candidate that can be the "anybody but Romney."

And what we've seen from Romney, especially this week in Michigan, is that he still hasn't been able to seal the deal. So I think that Santorum still has a chance here. He's still neck and neck in Michigan and Arizona, and he's looking forward to super-Tuesday. So we'll see.

FEYERICK: And Lenny, you know, Mitt Romney is from Michigan. A lot people have been talking about that. He tried to make the connection with the state, that the trees are better, the streets are better, he drives their cars. But he still hasn't sold himself to voters there. Why, do you think? LENNY MCALLISTER, REPUBLICAN ANALYST: He hasn't sold himself to voters because just like the other 49 states that he's campaigned in and he's sent ads into, he doesn't inspire voters. And I even go back to the debate on Wednesday. You look at the one-word adjective that all the candidates had to say about themselves. Mitt Romney picks "resolute." Rick Santorum picks "courageous." Neither one of them picked "presidential." And that's the whole point.

When they look at these candidates, if you don't see presidential going up against an incumbent president in the White House, if the economy's getting better and he's done fairly well overseas, he's going to be a hard guy to beat.

And Mitt Romney, despite the structure, despite the money and despite the Republican establishment getting behind him, he has not done a good job inspiring people that he's actually presidential, the one- word adjective he should have picked on Wednesday.

FEYERICK: And Lenny, we just want to point out to our viewers that you're the Republican analyst and you're the one who's saying that about these two men.

(LAUGHTER)

FEYERICK: But what's so interesting to me is that you look at Mitt Romney, you look at Rick Santorum, and it's clear that neither of them has a lock. And so what does that mean when they have to go up -- when either one potentially has to go up against President Obama?

What do you think about that, Maria? I mean, it almost seems like they're fighting for something -- that -- I don't even know what they're fighting form, on some levels.

CARDONA: Yes. And I think that's exactly the difficulty that the whole Republican Party finds themselves in right now, Deb, which is the more that Americans look at what these candidates stand for -- in the debates, in the campaign rallies and in all of the events -- the more that these candidates are focused on a smaller and smaller section of the Republican Party -- meaning that in all of their events and all their talking points, they're alienating Latinos, they're alienating women, they're alienating independent voters -- and as President Obama continues to speak to the middle class and to working- class voters about the problems that they care about -- which is the economy, which is creating jobs, which is continuing on this path to economic growth -- the Republican candidates are beating each other up.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

FEYERICK: Right now, Romney is leading with 39 percent over Santorum's 35 percent in Arizona. That's according to the ARG polls.

And if NASCAR had a Super Bowl, well, this would be it. Fans are gearing up for tomorrow's Daytona 500. An added attraction is Danica Patrick's first 500. (COMMERCIAL BREAK)

FEYERICK: Well, if you're a NASCAR fan, it is the Super Bowl and the World Series all wrapped up in one single race. And tomorrow's Daytona 500 even bigger this year because of a major first-timer.

Joe Carter of HLN Sports in Daytona. And boy, Joe, Danica had a close call in qualifying.

JOE CARTER, HLN SPORTS: She did. She's had a crazy 24 hours. Thursday, she wrecked her car. Friday, in qualifying, she quickly proved that she's a big stage, big moment athlete. She was the fastest car on the track in yesterday's nationwide qualifying event. She ran 182 miles an hour on the track.

She won the pole, which means in just over an hour, she will be just the second woman in the history of the sport to lead the race when it starts. So she's quickly proving that she is certainly a contender among the boys in this sport.

FEYERICK: And you look at her, even the inside pictures of that crash, she was prepared. She knew exactly what to do when that car hit that wall.

CARTER: Yes, on Thursday, when she smashed into the wall, you'll see in the video that she removes her hands from the steering wheel. There was some speculation that, Oh, it looked like she -- she was afraid to hit the wall, like most of us would, but not a professional stock car driver would.

But she said, actually, that was a safety maneuver she learned during her time in the Indy car circuit. By removing the hands from the steering wheel, it actually protects her wrists and her hands from getting injured.

So quickly, she's showing us new things in the sport we haven't seen. I don't see -- I can't say that I've ever seen men do that when they crash into the wall, Deb.

FEYERICK: And it makes perfect sense, obviously. For those of us who don't follow NASCAR religiously, love watching it, OK, the car is kind of totaled. So what do they do? Do they travel with other cars?

CARTER: Of course. Yes. So for the Daytona 500, which is on Sunday, tomorrow, she'll be using her backup car. When she races in just over an hour for the Nationwide series, she'll be using a different car, Nationwide car. So yes, they do travel with several different types of cars, so she's not out of the -- you know, she's -- it's not like she's not going to able to race today. She has other cars prepared for her.

FEYERICK: And just out of curiosity, is it -- you know, again, we all have our favorites. Does it put her at a disadvantage to not have the initial car that she was working out with, or are they basically mirror images of one another? CARTER: I mean, there are little differences, obviously, one car to the next, but yes, you'd hope that your crew chief and all your engineers put together the same kind of car, whether it's the original car or the back-up car.

So she feels like -- she even joked with us in the media room the other day after she crashed on Thursday about how she said, Well, let's hope the back-up car is faster. So that's all you can do is really hope. It's up to drafting. It's up to pole position. You know, a whole lot of factors go into it.

FEYERICK: Right. And just very quickly, what is the mood there of the people? Are they excited to see her race?

CARTER: Absolutely. I mean, NASCAR loves what Danica Patrick does to this sport. Whenever she races -- because she's been on this NASCAR circuit here for a couple years. This is obviously her first full season.

But whenever she's around, TV ratings go up, merchandise sales go up. So NASCAR loves the new eyeballs that she brings to the sport.

She's the talk of Daytona. When I got off the plane a couple days ago, that's all people were talking about. She's on the front page of pretty much every newspaper here. People are buzzing about Danica Patrick because, you know, they really want to see her do well.

I read an interesting article that NASCAR polled its fans back in 2011, in August of 2011, its avid NASCAR fans, and 80 percent of them say that they think Danica helps the sport, 87 percent of them said that they want her to do well this season.

FEYERICK: That's wonderful. All right. Well, absolutely, we -- I'm sure there will be a lot of people watching to see how she does. Joe Carter, thanks so much.

And with so much to worry about these days, question is, is a pair of shoes really worth this? Take a look. Even rare Nikes? It resulted in a stampede, fights, even police.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

FEYERICK: And NEWSROOM continues at the top of the hour with Richelle Carey. And Richelle, lots of interesting things coming up this afternoon.

RICHELLE CAREY, CNN ANCHOR: You have seen "Titanic," at the very least, right?

FEYERICK: Yes, yes, yes.

CAREY: Everyone and their mom has seen "Titanic," except for Princess Samantha Kennedy (ph). I want to give her her props. She has not seen the movie. And why that matters is she claims that now that she has seen it, this is actually her family. She says that this was ripped from her autobiography and she is suing to have the movie destroyed. I kid you not.

FEYERICK: Well, yes, well, it's already made a couple of billion dollars.

CAREY: Right!

FEYERICK: So that may be a tough sell.

CAREY: Exactly.

FEYERICK: All right, but there's also -- and switching gears a little bit, there are issues about retirement, as well, that you're going to be covering.

CAREY: Yes. They often -- we all know that we should be saving for retirement, but there's a big disconnect between knowing that and the execution, right? So gen X, gen Y, we're talking to you today about how you need to be saving for retirement, some tips on maximizing your financial opportunities. It's not too late. It's not too late.

FEYERICK: Well, that's -- and talking about the "Titanic," and huge, a big blockbuster movie, it is, right, the Oscars.

CAREY: This weekend!

(CROSSTALK)

CAREY: I think that's when people realize all the movies they haven't seen that we should have seen.

(CROSSTALK)

CAREY: ... do that this weekend. But in the meantime, we are going to be talking to the pros who have seen all of the movies, all right? That would be Gray Drake (ph) and Matt Achie (ph). They're going to tell us their picks for Best Actor, Best Actress, Best Picture and Best Animated Picture. So we got a lot of good stuff coming up.

FEYERICK: All right, well, we really look forward to it. Thanks so much, Richelle Carey.

CAREY: Thanks.

FEYERICK: We're going to tuning in.

Well, the promised debut of a new Nike sneaker causes absolute chaos. Fights broke out. Police were called. And in the end, yes, nobody got the shoes. We'll tell you what happened.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

FEYERICK: So how far would you go to have the most stylish pair of sneakers? Well, Nike's latest, the Galaxy, is pricey, more than $200, but people cannot wait to get their hands on them. The long wait led to short tempers and fights over a shoe.

Here's Martin Savidge with a look at the chaos.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

MARTIN SAVIDGE, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): This is what all the foot fuss is about, the Nike Foamposite 1. The shoe retails for $220, if you can find it, and it's finding the shoe that has led to problems.

In Orlando, home to this weekend's NBA All-Star game, more than 100 sheriff's deputies wearing helmets and holding riot shields stood guard outside the Florida mall as a crowd waited for the shoe to go on sale there. They eventually had to move in after authorities say shoe fans became disorderly.

Outside a mall in suburban Washington, D.C., the crowd began growing Thursday for the shoe to go on sale Friday. When the number of people got to a thousand, the shoe store canceled the release out of safety concerns.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Huge disappointment. I mean, I was out here at least seven hours waiting on the shoes. And no shoes. So it's pretty sad.

SAVIDGE: Elsewhere, in other cities, there were reports of long lines, but no real problems. Nike issued a statement calling for calm, saying, "We encourage anyone wishing to purchase our product to do so in a respectful and safe manner." In Miami, they resorted to name calling.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I'm going to say it two more times, Michael Bradshaw!

SAVIDGE: As in a lottery system to keep things orderly. This guy managed to get his hands on a pair, but they aren't for his feet.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: If you go right now on line, they're going to be worth, like, $1,000, $2,000.

SAVIDGE (on camera): We decided to look online, see what the shoe was going for. This is eBay. And pretty hefty prices -- $1700, $1200.

Take a look at this one. I don't know if this person's a capitalist or just an optimist. If you want to buy the shoe right now, $10,000. That's Canadian, by the way; even more in the U.S. As one consumer put it, the Foamposite 1 is the most anticipated show of the year, at least until next month when the next must-have sneaker comes along.

Martin Savidge, CNN, Atlanta.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

FEYERICK: Pretty sure that guy's an optimist.

"CNN NEWSROOM" continues for Richelle Carey, who's in for Fredricka Whitfield.

Hi, Richelle.

RICHELLE CAREY, CNN ANCHOR: Have a fantastic weekend. Thank you so much.