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Defense Secretary Blasts NATO; Top Gingrich Staffers Ditch Him; Expert Says Home Prices Could Drop; Royal Glam Night for Kate and Will; NATO Official: Gadhafi a Legit Target; Syrian Army Launches Revenge Attacks; National Champs Delay Visit to the White House

Aired June 10, 2011 - 08:59   ET

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

KYRA PHILLIPS, CNN ANCHOR: Hi, guys. Good morning.

It's 9:00 a.m. on the East Coast, 6:00 a.m. out West. I'm Kyra Phillips.

And it's a new day and a new beginning for Newt Gingrich after a mass resignation by his senior campaign staff. Today he faces new questions about what went wrong.

And we'll get new insights into Sarah Palin's term as Alaska's governor. Twenty-four thousand pages of internal e-mails about to be released.

And bean sprouts, grown in Germany, now confirmed as the cause of the worst E. coli outbreak in European history. At least 23 people dead. And more than 2300 sickened.

We begin this morning with the secretary of defense calling out NATO and questioning its combat capability in Libya. War planes repeatedly bombed Moammar Gadhafi's Tripoli compound reducing it to rubble. But the dictator still reigns. Secretary Gates, not impressed.

Here's what he said earlier this morning. Quote, "The highest military alliance --, rather the mightiest military alliance in history is only 11 weeks into an operation against a poorly armed regime in a sparsely populated country. Yet many allies are beginning to run short of munitions, requiring the U.S. once more to make up the difference."

Nic Robertson who has been following the war closely joins us now live.

So, Nic, is NATO not striking hard enough? Is that what Gates is saying?

NIC ROBERTSON, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: He seems to be implying that it's taking a long time to take on Moammar Gadhafi.

Moammar Gadhafi is really seen by everyone as the essence or the focal point of winning the fight in Libya at the moment. He has to be killed or he has to be removed before the rebel forces can move into Tripoli and a new government can be established.

And I think the frustration here in NATO and what we're hearing from Secretary Gates is not just that NATO doesn't have -- NATO countries don't have enough ammunition to keep up the fight perhaps, but the region's goal is proving elusive.

And I think a lot of people were worried about this at the beginning, going after essentially what is one man and his will to fight Moammar Gadhafi is tough. None of the -- none of the beating that his army has received at the hands of NATO has made him back down.

In fact just this week, he has said that he will fight to the end. His compound, his palace is in ruins. So I think that's a growing frustration here that we're not able to -- the international community is not able to deliver a final blow to Moammar Gadhafi -- Kyra.

PHILLIPS: Nic Robertson, thanks so much.

Stay with us. In just about 10 minutes from now, we're going to hear from a former NATO Supreme Allied commander. We'll get his response to Secretary Gates' harsh comments.

Well, several top advisers are ditching Newt Gingrich's presidential campaign. And this so-called mutiny is prompting speculation about another Republican entering the race.

CNN's deputy political director Paul Steinhauser with the story from Manchester, New Hampshire, where he is preparing for our GOP debate. We'll talk about that in a minute.

But what do you think about the impact on Gingrich's staff?

PAUL STEINHAUSER, CNN DEPUTY POLITICAL DIRECTOR: Wow, Kyra. That's all I can say. Wow.

A lot has happened since you and I just spoke just 24 hours ago. You're serious here. This is a big deal. We're talking about all of the top advisers and aides to Gingrich's campaign staff now. They all jumped ship. Plus a lot of the key people in some of the early states like Iowa and South Carolina. All leaving Newt Gingrich.

Now they're saying they had a very big difference of opinion with the former House speaker over how he wanted to run the campaign, over how the fundraising was going, over how involved Gingrich was going to get in making calls to fundraisers.

A lot of this, you'll remember, you know, Gingrich only announced about a month ago. There was that huge controversy almost right off the bat when he basically dissed budget chairman Paul Ryan's House Republican budget. And there was a lot of pushback against that.

Then Gingrich basically disappeared from the campaign trail after May 27th. We found out later he was on vacation with his wife Callista. Well, now he's is back. Everybody is jumping ship it seems from the campaign.

But, Gingrich, Gingrich, Kyra, says he is going to march on. He put out a response on his Facebook page yesterday saying that the campaign will continue. He said he will be at a speech in Los Angeles, which is scheduled for Sunday, on foreign policy. And he is going to be right here on Monday for our big debate -- Kyra.

PHILLIPS: Sounds good. And real quickly, Mitt Romney, what's up? Is he dissing Iowa?

STEINHAUSER: Yes, that's the thing. That's really interesting. Romney putting out a statement yesterday saying that he will not be partaking in the straw poll in Iowa. This was a big deal for him last time around. He spent a lot of money in the straw poll. He came in first but was overshadowed by Mike Huckabee, second place finish. And we all remember that Romney did not do well a few months later in the Iowa caucuses.

It seems the strategy this time is to, not avoid Iowa, but concentrate more here on New Hampshire -- Kyra.

PHILLIPS: All right. Paul Steinhauser, good to see you.

And join us as Republican hopefuls face off to debate the big issues. The New Hampshire Republican presidential debate, Monday night, 8:00 Eastern only on CNN.

Well, today is the day that we could learn a lot more about Governor Sarah Palin. The state of Alaska is about to release 24,000 pages of e-mails from her days in office. They were sent between December of 2006 through September of 2008 when John McCain put her on the ticket.

Now they cover state business on her official e-mail account as well as her private accounts.

CNN's Drew Griffin in Alaska right now waiting to eyeball them actually. Palin has said that she's not worried about what the media will find.

Anthony Weiner, he's still a congressman this morning. But the calls for his resignation are getting louder. Even within his own party. Democratic Senator Dick Durbin didn't say Weiner should quit but he did say this. "Don't murder someone who is already committing suicide."

He was paraphrasing a line from President Woodrow Wilson, by the way.

Weiner has said that he won't resign. And check out a new poll of registered voters in New York. Just over half want him to stay in Congress. But about the same percentage don't want him to run for mayor in 2013.

Homeowners, brace yourself for this punch to the gut. A renowned housing expert says that home prices will likely keep sliding and get this, could plunge another 25 percent.

Alison Kosik at the New York Stock Exchange.

Hi, Alison.

ALISON KOSIK, CNN BUSINESS CORRESPONDENT: Hi, Kyra.

This extremely dire warning coming from Robert Shiller himself. He's the name behind the Case-Shiller home price report that we get every month. And this 25 percent drop in home prices that you mentioned it's huge. How huge? Take a look.

The median home price right now is sitting at about $163,000. A 25 percent drop would be $41,000 less. That takes the $163,000 home down to $122,000.

Now if you're a homeowner, what does that mean? It means a few things. You may feel stuck. You can't sell. It could lead to more underwater homeowners who end up owning -- owing more, rather, on the home than it's worth. And that could lead to even more foreclosures and keep bringing down those home prices even more.

Now keep in mind, Shiller does say this isn't an actual forecast. It's just an observation of what he's seeing right now -- Kyra.

PHILLIPS: All right, well, we talked about a double-dip recession. I -- was it yesterday or the day before? So what do you think? Does this forecast kind of --

KOSIK: (INAUDIBLE)

PHILLIPS: Yes. Revive those fears?

KOSIK: Well, you know, what it revives? It revives the fears of a double-dip recession in housing. And here's why. Take a look. Housing prices actually wound up peeking around 2005, 2006. Then they tumbled and then there was an uptick in 2009. And now what's happening is those prices are falling even more.

What this is, what you're seeing is a classic double dip. So everyone wants to know, why is the housing market not budging. Well, the fact is, people aren't buying. Credit is tight. There are too many foreclosures out there. And there's this big glut of empty homes on the market.

And really when you think about it, the job market isn't really moving quickly in the right direction. It is moving in the right direction but not really at the pace we want to see. And the fate of housing really depends on the job market.

You know what, Kyra? You can't buy a house if you don't have a job. And that's really what it comes down to.

PHILLIPS: Yes. That's true. A tough time. Alison, thanks so much.

All right. Let's shift gears a little by. Shall we do a little royal watching?

Will and Kate actually mark a new first, and for Prince Philip, well, the magic number is 90.

Let's check in with Max Foster in London for some international headlines. And he knows. These are the two talked-about stories today.

(LAUGHTER)

MAX FOSTER, CNN INTERNATIONAL ANCHOR: Yes, absolutely.

A very glamorous night at Kensington Palace last night. It was the first official outing on a public event of the Duchess Cambridge since she got married. She's now a working royal.

It was a fundraiser for children's charities and the guests paid thousands of pounds just to be in the same room as the royal couple. And people gathering around them with their picture phone trying to get a shot.

But very successful evening. In total, they raised, wait for it, $30 million for children's charities. So very successful first outing for Kate and William as a married couple.

Meanwhile, William's grandfather is winding things down, he is saying. Phillip, he's -- Prince Philip, he is 90 today. And talk about winding down his public events and some people will be quite pleased about that. He is quite famous for his gaffes in front of the camera.

I'll give you two famous ones. He went to a factory once and suggested at old-fashioned fused box must be put in by an Indian. He also asked an aboriginal leader in 2002 in Australia whether he still threw spears.

Anyway, the papers are picking up on his gaffes. "The Guardian," Phillip at 90, still the strength behind the thrown in spite of the gaffes. The duke himself does not see the need to apologize or explain or emote. It's generally not what people of his generation do. And resilience and reticence was something he learned earlier.

"The International Herald Tribune" talking about the prince of politically incorrect. There are those who celebrate his habit of speaking his mind, saying that, in an age when everyone is a victim when the slightest off-collar remarks seem to require elaborate over- the-top apologies, having a proud, all-purpose offender, at the top of the royal food chain, is refreshing and inspiring, they say.

It's almost as if we expect it now, Kyra. So it's not offensive when he says it.

(LAUGHTER)

PHILLIPS: I mean I have to laugh because the queen is so demure. And you know, she speaks -- she is very sophisticated. Could you just imagine being a part of sitting with those two and having tea and seeing what really happens behind --

FOSTER: I know. It must be excruciating.

PHILLIPS: Yes. Exactly.

(LAUGHTER)

FOSTER: That's how he gets away with it, though, isn't it?

(LAUGHTER)

PHILLIPS: Yes. He just keeps smiling.

All right, Max, thanks a lot.

All right, well, with weeks until retirement, Defense Secretary Robert Gates clearly feels free to speak his mind. His farewell speech to NATO, well, more like a smackdown.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

PHILLIPS: Well, Defense Secretary Robert Gates is ready to retire. But he's not going quietly. After meeting with American troops in Afghanistan, he then moved on to NATO headquarters in Belgium. Yes, to say good-bye and one more thing. Get with it.

Our Pentagon correspondent Barbara Starr joining us.

Barbara, talk about a -- kind of final slam against the alliance.

BARBARA STARR, CNN PENTAGON CORRESPONDENT: Well, yes, you could say that, Kyra. He really did.

You know Bob Gates is on that farewell tour, scheduled to leave office at the end of this month. And he's getting more and more candid as that deadline gets closer. He was speaking at NATO in Brussels and talking about a long-standing issue that rubs the U.S. the wrong way sometimes, which is how much the U.S. is contributing to NATO versus how much other countries are contributing to NATO.

Let me read you a little bit of what he had to say and let me quote from him directly. He says, quote, "In the past I have worried openly about NATO turning into a two-tiered alliance. Between those willing and able to pay the price and bear the burdens of alliance commitment and those who enjoy the benefits of NATO membership but don't want to share the risks and the costs. This is no longer a hypothetical worry. We are there today and it is unacceptable."

What's the secretary really talking about here? Look, NATO and the U.S. have bickered for the last 20 years about who is doing enough. But right now, it couldn't be more sensitive because when Leon Panetta walks into the Pentagon to be the next secretary of defense the day after Gates leaves, he still needs NATO. He needs the NATO commitment in Afghanistan and he needs the NATO commitment for the operation in Libya.

So, it may be a candid Bob Gates, but candid at a very awkward time -- Kyra.

PHILLIPS: No doubt. Barbara Starr at the Pentagon -- Barbara, thanks.

And I guess we could only imagine how Gates speech went over with the NATO council. But we've got NATO's former supreme allied commander -- General George Joulwan here to tell us what he thinks.

So, General, you know, Gates is being pretty direct here. He is basically saying, "Hey, NATO, you're not pulling your weight." Is that fair?

GEN. GEORGE JOULWAN, FMR. NATO SUPREME ALLIED COMMANDER: It is fair. I think it has been going on ever since the fall of the Berlin Wall.

I think what has to happen is NATO is not a club, it's a military alliance. It has commitments. It has obligations. And what you have to do is match those requirements or missions with resources.

And NATO has not been doing that. Libya is a good case.

PHILLIPS: OK. So, let me ask you this. I'll just be blunt. Is the mission here to sort of destabilize Gadhafi and his forces and send a message? Or is the mission here to kill him, to take him out?

JOULWAN: I think you have to be very clear. And clarity of mission is extremely important. I think Secretary Gates and others will agree, it's what is in U.N. Resolution 1973, which is take all necessary measures to protect civilians.

Now, what they are doing here is having an air campaign against all the related targets that are shelling the safe areas of Libya where the rebels are. But they are running out of ammunition. They don't have enough smart munitions -- precision munitions of our allies. And this is a concern.

They haven't been willing to spend the money to ramp up for this sort of extended air operation. But it's not just regime change. It is trying to protect civilians.

PHILLIPS: OK. So, gotcha. You want to protect civilians. Of course, you don't want to take out innocent people's lives.

So, I guess that leads me to my next question. Is Gadhafi and his -- I guess, his posse, shall we say, that smart to know how to put him in certain places where a lot of civilians would be killed, even if forces had intelligence of where he was? Because you think about Saddam Hussein, right? He had all these doubles. He had an entourage that knew how to move him around until -- you know, he was finally found in a spider hole.

But is that the situation with Gadhafi here?

JOULWAN: He is probably moving in several different places. But, again, you have an alliance of 28 nations which the United States is the leader. And I think you have to be very careful not to do the indiscriminate bombing that would cause all kinds of collateral damage and kill a lot of civilians.

That is not the intent here. So, you have to be smart about it in how to go about putting pressure. I think, looking at the strikes that have been going on recently, they are treating not just the artillery piece but his command and control, his gas, his ammunition dumps, all of that will take a toll. And NATO has extended the mission for 90 more days.

PHILLIPS: All right. And that's what we will do. You and I will be talking for the next 90 days. We'll see what happens when the time is up and if indeed it's achieved its goal.

General, always good to see you. Thanks so much.

JOULWAN: Thank you.

PHILLIPS: You bet.

In Pakistan, a 17-year-old man begs for his life while a gun is pointed at his neck. He is shot anyway and killed. We'll tell you who is to blame.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

PHILLIPS: The killing of a 17-year-old unarmed man sparks outrage in Pakistan. Paramilitary soldiers actually caught on tape harassing and shooting him as he begs for his life.

CNN's Max Foster has more on this from London.

And, Max, I know that the videos just coming in. We are all taking a look at it. I know we are trying to get it translated because, of course, we want to know what is it he is saying, what is it the soldiers are saying, to add more context to what happened here.

FOSTER: Yes. Absolutely, to understand this story, you really need to just watch the video and it's raw form. If you imagine, this is being played wall to wall in Pakistani TV, you can understand once you have seen it how the Pakistanis are feeling.

Just to explain what you got here is a teenager Sarfaraz Shah surrounded by Pakistani rangers. Let's see what happens.

(VIDEO CLIP)

FOSTER: The pictures speak for themselves. And the rangers are saying he was accused of carrying a gun and robbing people beforehand. But, clearly, he didn't have a gun there.

The president and the prime minister are promising an investigation. But this really does show what many people think of as a "trigger happy" rangers and police just bypassing the judicial system. And it's causing outrage, of course, in Pakistan.

PHILLIPS: Well, you say there's an investigation going on. Have we heard from the family? Has the family said anything about this shooting?

FOSTER: We had some pretty appalling video coming in from the family. We saw his sister just breaking down and screaming. She is furious. She is angry. She doesn't understand what happened. And people just want the police to understand, it's not their role to execute people. It's their job to send them to the courts.

PHILLIPS: Max Foster, live from London -- Max, thanks.

And back here in the U.S., we are checking stories cross country:

Alabama's governor signs in a legal immigration bill said to be tougher than Arizona's. It allows police to check the immigration status of anyone stopped for another reason. Critics promise a court challenge, of course, and supporters say the law will survive.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JOHN MERRIL (R), ALABAMA LEGISLATOR: We want anybody that wants to make their home here to be able to do that. But we want every one of them to do it the right way, through legalized immigration, through processed employment. We don't think that's asking too much.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

PHILLIPS: Firefighters are battling the wildfires in eastern Arizona. Well, they say they are making inroads now and that the fire is now 5 percent contained. Thousands of people have been evacuated. That has charred at least 525 square miles of the state already.

And in San Diego, a homecoming for more than 270 Marines stationed at Camp Pendleton. They helped deliver aid to Japanese disaster victims from the March earthquake and tsunami.

The Syrian military seeking revenge in a town near the Turkish border. Thousands of people running out as the troops and tanks roll in.

And call it tough love. Parents can keep their adult kids on their health insurance until the age of 26. But many parents are saying, no way.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

PHILLIPS: Syrian army launching revenge attacks near the Turkish border. The government says armed groups massacred at least 120 soldiers just in one town. So, it's sending in more forces to restore security.

Thousands of people have left their homes and they are trying to get into Turkey as the tanks and troops continue to barrel in.

That's where we find our Ivan Watson. He's right there at Syria's border with Turkey.

So, Ivan, what can you tell us?

IVAN WATSON, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, Kyra, I am standing in front of a refugee camp. This is one of three that the Turkish government is putting up.

Why do they have refugees here? Well, the Syrian government won't stop killing its own citizens. There are more than 2,700 Syrians who have fled across the border in recent days. And the Turks fear more are on the way. The Turkish military is bearing down on the rebellious northern border city of Jisr al-Shughour this morning.

The Syrian government says it's attacking terrorists, armed groups that it claims killed about 120 Syrian security forces. But take a look at this video that I got from a Syrian activist who smuggled himself across the border yesterday. If we roll on this, we see in the beginning thousands of men apparently unarmed, walking up the road in the town of Jabal al Zawya.

Now, take a listen to this. This was filmed last week, the man says.

(VIDEO CLIP)

WATSON: Fire breaking out -- wild gunfire. And you see the crowd running for cover. These men, the activist says, we are unarmed. I don't see any weapons in this video.

Moments later, we see a man being carried away, bleeding. You don't know how many people were killed or injured in this.

This is just one of the routine incidents that take place on Fridays around Syria when anti-government protesters tried to peacefully demonstrate.

The man who filmed this said they are going to demonstrate again on Friday despite the fact that Syrian tanks were witnessed nearby shooting into villages earlier this morning -- Kyra.

PHILLIPS: Ivan Watson there live for us on the border. We'll continue to follow the story, of course, with you. Thanks so much.

We want to check some other top stories at the half hour.

New signs that Moammar Gadhafi's days of power are numbered. A senior NATO official is hinting that Gadhafi is a target since he is in charge of command and control in Libya. NATO spokesperson however says the alliance is not specifically targeting the Libyan leader.

Newt Gingrich says his campaign begins anew. There has been mass resignation from the Republican presidential candidate's staff, including all of his top advisers.

And in Florida, the Casey Anthony murder trial resumes, proceedings were cut short yesterday when Anthony got sick. She cried and looked away when pictures of her daughter's decomposed body were displayed in court.

Last year's health care overhaul included a key provision for family. Parents could keep their kids on their insurance until the age of 26. Parents were excited about that at first, but now a change of heart for some as we hear the opening bell there at the half hour.

Alison Kosik is at the New York Stock Exchange to tell us exactly what has changed. Alison?

KOSIK: You know what has changed, Kyra? Parents found out just how much it cost. 43 percent of parents in a recent survey said they will only keep their adult kids on their insurance if it is free. But guess what? It is not free. That old idea of graduating and being on your own, that's gone. So, parents wind up being on the hook financially for a longer time.

And it is a time when they kind of want to cut the cord with their kids. You know, when many parents are beginning to think about retirement. Now, some parents are willing to help, at least for a little while. Thirty percent of parents say it is okay to help their kid for one year. But an even bigger issue was for the college grads who can't find work and then don't have that employer-provided health insurance. You know what, Kyra? Many of those kids just go without because the parents just can't pay for their health insurance after a while. Kyra?

PHILILPS: And it is still a new phenomenon, right? Is it going to stick?

KOSIK: Well, you know what? Because it is so new, it is too soon to say whether or not this is going to stick. Many employers say what will happen is they will pass the added cost on to workers. It may mean that employees are going to be paying higher premiums when you add a dependant.

Now, analysts say we will really find out in the fall how popular that is because that, of course, is open enrollment time.

All right, it's time for the opening bell as you just heard a few seconds ago. The Dow down 41 points. Continuing this downbeat attitude about the economy. I will tell you what, the market needs a solid gain today, Kyra, to avoid a sixth straight weekly loss. Kyra?

PHILLIPS: Yes, we do want to avoid that. Alison, thanks.

Sports blogs are giving props to a college basketball coach. And you know what? It has nothing to do with his team. Jeff Fischel from HLN Sports is here. So, what's going on?

JEFF FISCHEL, HLN SPORTS: Yes, it is about Indiana coach - basketball coach Tom Crean. He didn't have to get involved when he heard Lauren Speer, a student at the school was missing. Instead though, he's joining the IU community in searching for the last student.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TIM CREAN, INDIANA UNIVERSITY BASKETBALL COACH: Anytime you can do something to help people, that's first of all what we are supposed to do. But most importantly, I just agonize over the fact that there is a mother and father out there that have no idea where their daughter is.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

FISCHEL: Crean has gone out on at least two of the volunteer searches with his wife and with an assistant coach. Spierer was last seen early last Friday morning walking back to her apartment.

Kyra, we are talking about coaches doing what they can to help, right? I know you have an interview comiong up with Auburn's football coach Gene Chizik. He's been helping out with tornado victims in Alabama. I know you're talking to him coming up.

PHILLIPS: Yes. He talks about how it impacted the players and how it impacted the storm victims. I mean, we're talking about - as you know -- huge college football area here. Auburn, Alabama. You know the rivalry. Exactly. So, you know, you had these home (ph) from Alabama with the Tigers coming in. And it was pretty special. Coach said a lot of the players got really choked up.

FISCHEL: It's good to hear. We will have more sports coming up in about 15, 20 minutes.

PHILLIPS: Sounds good. Thanks, Jeff.

Next up, the CNN Listening Tour. Today's stop, New England and old-school politics.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JUSTIN MCISAAC, WGIR RADIO: We like the voters to speak to us. I mean, if you are a politician and you are running for president and you make a big national speech, it doesn't play well in New Hampshire. I mean, New Hampshireites like to be -- we like it when the candidate will go to the pancake breakfast that maybe only 15 people will show up for. We like to see what you are made of, if you can handle stuff like that.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

PHILLIPS: Don Lemon takes the pulse in New Hampshire, the site of CNN's first presidential debate of the season.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

PHILLIPS: Well, Newt Gingrich's presidential campaign headquarters is empty. At least seven members of his senior staff have resigned. Apparently, there was a difference over the direction of the campaign. On Facebook, Gingrich says he will start his campaign, quote, "anew."

Two of the former Gingrich aides have been advisers to Texas governor, Rick Perry. Their exit is fueling speculation now that Perry may enter the White House race. Perry has said he plans to consider it.

And Mitt Romney says he won't take part in the straw poll. Romney won the Iowa poll back in 2007, but lost the state's caucus five months later. His campaign manager says Romney won't participate in any straw polls this time around.

All right. CNN In-Depth and on the road. All this week, our crews have been on a listening tour to see what Americans are saying about the economy and politics. Today, our Don Lemon is taking the public pulse in New England.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

DON LEMON, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Let's see how people start their day in Manchester, New Hampshire. Union Lead, got the paper. Let's go to the Red Arrow Diner, voted one of the top ten diners in the country.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We need to clean house out there.

LEMON: Out of all the candidates who are declared so far, who do you like?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Rick Santorum.

LEMON: What are you talking about over breakfast?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Probably graduation.

LEMON: No politics? No debate.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I am not interested in that stuff. I can't vote yet.

LEMON: What are you talking about over breakfast?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Business, finding business opportunities.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The economy is very stagnant right now. How do you grow in a very down ward economy? How do you stay stable? How do you keep the lights on? That's really the issues.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It's about jobs, and stop spending.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I want to see what they are going to do. I mean, for us younger people. We are what's going to be supporting the rest of the people after everyone else retires an everything.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Nobody else is talking in this town except for us.

LEMON: People why the outside looking in, what should they know about New Hampshire?

JUSTIN MCISAAC, WGIR RADIO: We like the voters to speak to us. If you air politician and you are running for president and you make a big national speech, it doesn't play well here. We like it when the candidate will go to the pancake breakfast that only 15 people will show up for. We like to see what you are made up of, if you can handle stuff like that.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

PHILLIPS: Don Lemon joining us from Manchester, New Hampshire, the site of CNN's first presidential debate. Don, I love the Guinness T-shirt he was wearing. But aside from that, you actually ran into Rick Santorum on the streets of Manchester. Are you serious?

LEMON: I actually ran into him in the airport. The interesting thing after talking to people here for a couple days, everybody -- all the candidates are campaigning on these social issues, especially socially conservative issues. And people said, you know what? I want to hear about jobs and the economy.

So, when I posed that question to Rick Santorum, I said, some people might find it contradictory because you're running on social issues, you say you want to change the Constitution so that, as he says, it supports traditional marriage. I said, you know, but you are running on limited government. So is that a contradiction. And then, he got to the point where he talked about that and about gay marriage and said, "You know what? I actually have some gay friends." Take a listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

LEMON: Do you have any gay friends?

RICK SANTORUM (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Yes. In fact, I have had gay people work for me.

LEMON: Yes. And friends?

SANTORUM: Yes!

LEMON: You know, people say I have black friends.

SANTORUM: I - I, well, in fact, I was with a gay friend of mine just two days ago. So, yes. I do. They respect that I have differences of opinion on that. I talk about these things in front of them, and we have conversations about it. They differ from me, but they know that I love them because they are my friend.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

LEMON: So he says he loves them because they are his friends but yet he doesn't think that they should be able to get married and he doesn't support as he says, the act. But, you know -- he says that is what he is running on and he sticks by that and he will get to the economy all those issues. But that's what he stands for. But people here say, hey, listen, when you can't find work and the economy is bad, I want to hear about that first. I'm not really interested in social issues that much.

PHILLIPS: Don that was so your style. "Some people just say I have black friends." We have gay and black friends, hey! We are politically correct.

LEMON: I got something for you, Kyra! Can I do something for you? I know - you know what? Congratulations on the twins. I know you are trying to get rid of the baby weight, but I am going to set you back here because I got -- these are from the diner, from the Red Arrow Diner. They are homemade Twinkies, and they say there is no preservatives. So, they are kind of healthy.

And then I got this just for you. Ali and those guys get these. You get the whoopi pie from the diner.

PHILLIPS: Oh, yes!

LEMON: So, I will set you back a little bit. I will bring it back for you, a couple of them. For you and the twins.

PHILLIPS: I can't wait! And you know what? I don't care about that baby weight. You know I will eat whatever you give me. I am all over it.

(LAUGHTER)

LEMON: I know! I know!

PHILLIPS: Thank you, Don.

LEMON: Good to see you. Good to have you back!

PHILLIPS: All right. Likewise. Great to be back.

Well, tune in Monday as Republican hopefuls face off to debate the big issues. The New Hampshire Republican presidential debate Monday night 8:00 Eastern only on CNN.

All right. When the president met with college football's national champs last week, it was a meeting postponed by the team almost six weeks ago. Why? Well, you are going to find out coming up next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

PHILLIPS: Well, it's a sports tradition. You win a championship, your team visits the president. Except the Auburn Tigers. When one of the most devastating tornadoes in U.S. history, rather, hit Alabama, these football champs delayed the White House visit to help their fellow Americans. It was a unique play that Coach Gene Chizik thought was definitely the better call.

Had the chance to talk with Coach about the change in strategy: helping storm victims first; meeting the U.S. President second.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

BARACK OBAMA, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: There you go.

PHILLIPS: Ok, so, coach, what did the players say to you when you said, sorry, guys, we're holding off on the president? We're going into Alabama to help.

GENE CHIZIK, COACH, AUBURN TIGERS: Well, Kyra, it's very important for us here at Auburn in the Auburn family to always want to give back. And our players obviously with all the devastation that happened, you know, our players were really excited about trying to go around and help and actually give back.

So it was really one of those times where we just felt like, hey, we know there's a lot of craziness out there. Let's just get on some buses and let's go to some communities, let's pitch in a hand and help any way we can. So they were really excited about -- really about the chance of just going and being able to give back.

PHILLIPS: So you watch your players on a daily basis get fired up on the gridiron. How did it impact them personally as they -- they came into Alabama and started interacting with these storm victims and helping them out.

CHIZIK: Well, you know, we were able to go to a few different communities and really the devastation that -- that we saw and experienced is really beyond belief. It was just so unbelievable. And I think that the impact, we literally had young guys standing there looking over piles of rubble with just tears coming down their eyes.

And I think that the impact that it made on our guys for them to stand there and look at it and realize that this is real life. That this happens to real families and these sort of things happen, you know, across the country in different ways, you know, all the time.

And so I think it was a reality check. And I think that for them to be able to sit there and look at that and say, wow, people are going through this. How can I help? I think it was a big part of the reason we went as well.

PHILLIPS: Well, and coach, you know, all of us football fans, we know about that rivalry you know, between Alabama and Auburn and obviously that was totally put aside. They came in to help. How did the storm victims respond to the champs coming in there and helping out?

CHIZIK: Well, it was really -- it was really unbelievable. You know, I talk about tears from our player's eyes. There was tears from people around the community is just -- just knowing that we were there to help. And their response was unbelievable.

It didn't matter what kind of fan they were. You know, football is crazy in this part of the country. And there are other -- other fans out there besides Auburn and Alabama fans as well. And they were all very welcoming and just very appreciative that we -- that we would take the time to come and try to help in any small part or any way that we could. And our -- our reception was very warm.

PHILLIPS: Well and you've got the best of both worlds. You've got to help storm victims and then, all of you finally did get to meet the President. And he actually praised you for delaying the trip.

CHIZIK: It was a great day for the Auburn family. You know, again, we did get delayed. And we were just so very appreciative that we were able to make it work knowing the President's time schedule. So we rescheduled it. It was a great day for the Auburn family. It was a great day for the administration, the coaches and players.

I know our players were very appreciative of just being able to go to the White House and spend a little bit of time with the President.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

PHILLIPS: And coach always said his players will, of course, always remember the championship. But it's meeting the President they are going to tell their kids and their grandkids about.

Well, baseball's biggest rivalry is looking one-sided right now. The Boston Red Sox wrap up a second sweep of the Yankees. Highlights and sports seven minutes from now.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

PHILLIPS: We're following many developments in the next hour of CNN NEWSROOM. Let's go and check in first with deputy political director Paul Steinhauser -- Paul.

PAUL STEINHAUSER, CNN DEPUTY POLITICAL DIRECTOR: Kyra, many of Newt Gingrich's top campaign officials and advisers, they jumped ship but the former House Speaker and presidential candidate, hey, he remains defiant. Now, could this open the door to another Republican to run for the White House? All of that and more at the top of the hour.

NIC ROBERTSON, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: I'm Nic Robertson in Abu Dhabi, a group of leading international diplomats meeting here on Libya believe Moammar Gadhafi's days are numbered, believed he is on the way out. More on that at the top of the hour.

ROB MARCIANO, AMS METEOROLOGIST: And who doesn't dig a rocket launch. We're going to have a live one for you in about 30 minutes. I'm Rob Marciano. We'll show you the launch and explain why it's important in the next hour -- Kyra.

PHILLIPS: It sounds good, thanks guys.

Also next hour, they risk their necks. While the stars sit on their (INAUDIBLE); stunt men and women are action movies real heroes but the academy won't honor them at the Oscars. We're going to talk to a veteran Hollywood stunt guy who's been trying to twist their arms for 20 years.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

PHILLIPS: All right. Jeff Fischel, don't diss, doubt Dirk.

JEFF FISCHEL, HLN SPORTS ANCHOR: That's right. Don't mess with Dirk, Dirk Nowitzki.

PHILLIPS: I can't believe this.

FISCHEL: Yes, you know, it's hard to believe the way the series is going we would see this happening.

Well, remember game four. Nowitzki was really sick, he played with 101 degree fever, he was hacking but he helped the Mavs tie the series after an incredible performance.

Well, yesterday his team shoot around before game five, Lebron and D-Wade were seen covering their mouths, faking cough, Wayne said Lebron, do you all hear me cough? Do you think I'm sick? They're mocking Dirk? How can you -- and he's had an incredible series. Hey guys you've got to win something first.

Game five last night in Dallas. Dirk says he's healthy. Maybe his mom's chicken soup? And the Heat had no answers for him. He's led everyone with 29 points, teammate Jason Terry. Look at this huge three.

The Mavs win, they lead the series. Three games to two. That sick feeling may be Lebron and D-Wade, that may be real.

The Boston Red Sox on the new Yankees stadium this year. They completed their second three-game sweep last night. Boston put up seven runs in the seventh inning. Most of the damage off Yankees ace CC Sabathia. The Sox started the season in the ALE cellar now they lead the division by two games.

This has to be one of the coolest shootout goals you will ever see from an Italian league, toink. Tremono's Michael Palma hits a cross bar -- the other team's goal tender celebrates. Palma disappointed. But keep an eye on the ball. After it hit the cross bar, it has all of this backspin on it and it starts bouncing toward the goal and it goes in. That actually ended up being the game winner.

PHILLIPS: Wait a minute.

FISCHEL: Then the goal tender stopped. Their team shot. That's it. Celebration, all because of a ball that bounced off the cross bar. Craziest kick I've ever seen.

PHILLIPS: Goalies already on the sidelines, drinking a beer.

(CROSSTALK)

FISCHEL: As far as he -- wait, what happened? PHILLIPS: Thanks, Jeff.

FISCHEL: Ok.

PHILLIPS: Two weeks ago today, that picture showed up on Anthony Weiner's Twitter page. This week, the congressman confessed but the comedy and tragedy just keep coming.

Jeanne Moos wraps up Weinergate, week two.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

JEANNE MOOS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: You know the scandal has peaked when the Weiner puns start to shrivel, though every day there's a little something new to keep the story alive.

The scandal has been physically painful for comedian, Jon Stewart, who was making margaritas during the spoof of the Weiner press conference when he broke some glass.

JON STEWART, COMEDIAN: That's not good.

MOOS: The show went on. By the next night --

STEWART: Oh --

MOOS: Stewart was showing off his stitches.

STEWART: Here's what happened there. That's --

MOOS: The psychic cuts suffered by Anthony Weiner were self- inflicted.

It's bad news for the Congressman when the liberals are the ones whining about Weiner, begging him directly --

ED SCHULTZ, MSNBC HOST: Please resign, please, please do. It's bigger than you.

JOY BEHAR, HLN HOST: Get out now, Anthony. Out.

WHOOPI GOLDBERG, CO-HOST, "THE VIEW": You got the goal, Anthony, good-bye.

MOOS: We said hello with a bunch of guys with Anthony's same name, though unrelated to him. And in almost every case --

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Hello, this is Anthony Weiner.

MOOS: Anthony Weiner?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: No, Weiner, pronounce it correctly.

MOOS: And spelled w-e-i-n-e-r, just like the Congressman.

This kind of wiener is spelled w-i-e-n-e-r. The point is that if Anthony Weiner pronounced his name like the rest of the Weiners the whole scandal would have lost much of his pun-laced appeal.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: If it's e-i, it's Weiner -- you say it like that. If it's i-e it's Wiener. So I'm clearly a Weiner not a wiener.

MOOS: And what's that make Anthony -- the other Anthony?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: For what he did and being a Democrat he's definitely a wiener.

MOOS: Stephen Colbert was whining about how his show came up in text messages Weiner exchanged with one woman.

STEPHEN COLBERT, COMEDIAN: -- who claims she told Weiner, quote, "I was so psyched to see you on Colbert, you were so funny", to which he says, "You watch it naked?"

Oh, my God.

MOOS: While Colbert was squirting sanitizer and spraying Lysol, Barbara Walters didn't sound so grossed out.

After the totally nude close up of Weiner's alleged privates circulated online, Barbara noted that Weiner didn't deny it was him.

ELISABETH HASSELBECK, CO-HOST, "THE VIEW": Then it must be a flattering photo -- back to my original point.

BARBARA WALTERS, CO-HOST, "THE VIEW": Let me tell you something, it is.

BEHAR: But even if he did deny it --

MOOS: Who knew the hosts of "The View" would enjoy this view.

Jeanne Moos, CNN, New York.

(END VIDEOTAPE)