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Back-To-Back Debates; Tucson Shooting One Year Ago Today; Giffords Will Attend Vigil Tonight; Mount Rainier Park Is Open; 100 Soldiers Confined To Base; Fuel Tanker To Reach Alaska Soon; Bungee Cord Breaks; "War Horse" Premieres In London; Report: Beyonce Gives Birth To Girl; Unemployment Rate Down To 8.5 Percent; Kodak Shares Fell Almost 30 Percent; Good Year For Auto And Music Industry; Corporate Earnings Fall Short Of Expectations

Aired January 08, 2012 - 14:30   ET

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

FREDRICKA WHITFIELD, CNN ANCHOR: You're in the CNN NEWSROOM. I'm Fredricka Whitfield.

The Republican contenders, presidential contenders, out in the final push ahead of Tuesday's New Hampshire primary trying to win support this after two televised debates there in less than 24 hours.

This morning all six battled it out in an NBC/Facebook debate. Frontrunner Mitt Romney stumped in Rochester with former Minnesota Governor Tim Pawlenty afterwards.

Other contenders including Ron Paul, Jon Huntsman, Newt Gingrich, all holding rallies in the state today as well. The contenders not campaigning in New Hampshire, Rick Santorum and rick Perry who are looking ahead to South Carolina's primary.

So polls show Romney is the frontrunner in New Hampshire, but, here's the reason for his relentless campaigning. WMUR, University of New Hampshire poll showed only 37 percent of likely New Hampshire voters have definitely decided on a candidate.

WMUR's James Pindell joins us now from Manchester, New Hampshire, to breakdown how voters are thinking and feeling. So James, you say politics really is the state's sport.

So if this is the fourth quarter, what are the undecided looking for in these last hours to make up their minds?

JAMES PINDELL, WMUR.COM POLITICAL DIRECTOR: Well, look, obviously they're still trying to find a candidate they can find of fall in love with. You know, the old adage, Democrats fall in love with their candidates and Republicans fall in line.

That seems to be the scenario here for Mitt Romney. Look, he's always had a very big lead in this state. The question now is who is in second, who's in third, fourth and fifth and with so many people undecided, he's right.

You mentioned 63 percent have not made up their minds of where they're going to vote just a couple days to the primary. There's one thing that's predictable about New Hampshire is that New Hampshire primary voters are highly unpredictable.

WHITFIELD: So does that mean that many will be making their decisions come Tuesday? Did this weekend's debates, two in one weekend, did that, perhaps, nail things down for a few?

PINDELL: Look, there's no doubt that a lot of people in New Hampshire looked at these debates in a different way than they may have had the other 800 that we've had this year.

I mean, they're looking for a president, looking to make a final decision, but typically, you know, 15 percent of primary voters will still be making up their minds Monday and when they head to the polls on Tuesday.

WHITFIELD: OK, so, you know, lots of time in the debates whether it be last night or even this morning, spent on foreign policy, gay marriage, contraception. Did these exchanges better reveal the character of any of the candidates in the view of your readers?

PINDELL: Well, look, I think more than reinforced the view that a lot of people felt about these candidates. I mean, the race in New Hampshire as it is much like nationwide, really defined by how you feel about Mitt Romney.

And if you're for Mitt Romney, you're going to be with him. He's been the frontrunner in this state for two years now. But then the question is, if not Mitt Romney then who?

And I think voters are still trying to figure that out. Clearly, New Hampshire voters taking a second look at Rick Santorum, given his strong finish in Iowa.

I'm not sure that Rick Santorum sealed the deal compared to -- as other choices he could have. Particularly Newt Gingrich had some pretty good strong performances.

Jon Huntsman chose to have a bit of momentum. Certainly, poll after poll after poll shows Ron Paul in second place here.

WHITFIELD: OK, so let's talk about Mitt Romney since he's been enjoying a lead according to a number of the polls and as the candidates are really taking off the gloves.

But you know, do your viewers, do the voters feel like they saw a different dynamic between the candidates in the debates last night or even this morning? Because they really seemed to be a lot more polite when they were face to face versus the ads?

PINDELL: Yes. Look, certainly the last night's debate, the debate we cosponsored, seems like no one was really going after Mitt Romney. You had a sense they were this morning in that debate we'll have a new poll number coming out tonight at 11:00.

Whether a better sense if there's any times of movement, but, look, your own CNN poll in South Carolina actually has dramatic impact on this race showing Mitt Romney up double digits there. Meaning he could go from Iowa to New Hampshire to South Carolina and it's really hard to stop him after that.

WHITFIELD: Would New Hampshire voters be influenced at all by the South Carolina polls?

PINDELL: No, but the candidates themselves would be influenced. I mean, if you're not going to stop him here, if you're not going to get closer here, if conservatives can't consolidate behind one particular candidate, it's hard to see how anyone is going to stop Mitt Romney.

WHITFIELD: All right, James Pindell of WMUR. Thanks so much. Appreciate that. Of course, we're going to replay the debate last night teaming up WMUR and ABC. We're going to replay that actually tonight on this network, CNN, at 8:00 Eastern Time.

And coming up, today on the "Contenders' 2012," the Republican field tackled hot button issues last night.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

RICK PERRY (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATES: When we see this administration not giving money to Catholic charities for sexually trafficked individuals because they don't agree with the Catholic Church on abortion, that is a war against religion and it's going to stop under a Perry administration.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: All right, towing the line to woo both conservative and moderate voters that's on the "Contenders 2012" at 4:00 Eastern Time today.

All right, one year ago today, gunfire at a Tucson, Arizona shopping center left six dead and 13 wounded including Arizona Congresswoman Gabby Giffords.

Today, she and so many others impacted a reflecting on the tragedy and the recovery. CNN's Thelma Gutierrez joins us live now from Tucson with an exclusive interview -- Thelma.

THELMA GUTIERREZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Fred, I can tell you that I talked to the congresswoman's chief of staff, Pia Carusone, and she told me this will be the congresswoman's first major public appearance later tonight, a candlelight vigil.

There had been events that have been scheduled all through the day including an interfaith service, but this event right here on the mall of the University of Arizona, will attract thousands of people later tonight.

And Pia told me that for the congresswoman to come back this weekend, one year after that terrible day, has been a bittersweet homecoming.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE) PIA CARUSONE, GABRIELLE GIFFORD'S CHIEF OF STAFF: Yes. This is certainly the biggest event she's attended since the shooting and coming home for her is always, you know, a warm experience. But any marker or milestone of these tragic events, you know, they are difficult emotionally for everybody. So I imagine for her as well.

GUTIERREZ: How is she doing right now?

CARUSONE: Good. I saw her yesterday. We had -- she wanted to stop by the Safeway. She hadn't been yet. I was with her for that experience and, you know, it's a very intense feeling to stand in the space where, you know, six people lost their lives and 12 others were injured.

GUTIERREZ: Her life changed.

CARUSONE: Her life changed, exactly. And you know, some memories started to come back, actually, yesterday while being there, which was interesting for her.

And then from there we went over to the ICU where, you know, she doesn't really have any memory of being there, but for her family it was an intense environment that ICU over at the University Medical Center. So she was there to thank the doctors and nurses, which was really special.

GUTIERREZ: So much of her time is now spent in Houston where she's undergoing rigorous rehab. How is she able to get her work done on behalf of her constituents? I know it has been a top priority for her.

CARUSONE: Absolutely. I mean she -- you know, when she took office five years ago, her priority, her number one priority, was serving this district and the 600,000 constituents roughly that she represents.

And from day one, hiring staff like Gabe Zimmerman who already at a young age dedicated his life to public service and was able to do the same and her office, who's really, really important to her, so we've it continued that.

You know, we open the office the Monday after the shooting, bright and early like we normally would and began receiving constituents and their concerns like any other week.

GUTIERREZ: -- video conferences.

CARUSONE: And as the year worn on, we were able to plug the congresswoman in more. So now we talk regularly over video chats and telephone obviously, so she's gotten more and more involved the better she gets.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

GUTIERREZ: Now the big question that many of the congresswoman's constituents have is whether or not she will run again. She has until May to decide. I asked Pia that question. She told me it really does depend on her physical progress.

Right now, she's undergoing very rigorous physical and speech therapy in Houston, and she says, so it depends. It's a ways out. But she didn't close down that possibility -- Fred.

WHITFIELD: So, Thelma, Gabby Giffords is expected to be at an event this evening there on the university campus. Is she expected to speak at all or what will be her role during this evening's vigil?

GUTIERREZ: You know, it's going to be such a poignant event, so many people, many of the families of those who lost people will be here on the mall and so Gabby Giffords will be here with them.

I'm told that she will participate in some way, not scheduled to speak, though, Fred, but just a huge thing for her to be here. Thousands of people will be coming out tonight just to catch a glimpse of her.

WHITFIELD: And so Thelma, what are other witnesses or even survivors from one year ago saying about what's been the toughest thing for them in the past year?

GUTIERREZ: They say the toughest thing probably is trying to cope with the memory of all of those people who are lost. You know, you talk to people who actually witnessed this terrible event.

And so many of those folks saying, it's just been, you know, trying to come to grips with what they saw, what the experienced, what they heard and knowing that it's something that's going to live on probably forever. Something that this city certainly, Fred, will not forget.

WHITFIELD: And I wonder for the folks who whether they work, or they continue to frequent the Safeway, where that shooting took place, how tough it's been for them to kind of resume normalcy over the past year, or is its case that a number of people have decided they just can't go to that space again?

GUTIERREZ: You know, I think that that's what was so interesting to me in talking to Pia. She said that the congresswoman went back yesterday for the very first time in a year, went back to that Safeway and said it was surreal for her to stand there and to remember what had happened.

She said, she has no memory of what happened after the event just leading up to it, but she said it was very emotional for her to be there and in that parking lot.

I was there a week after when they opened that Safeway, Fred, a year ago, and people say that it's just not something you forget. They still continue to shop there.

It's open. Business is going on as usual, but people will never forget that was a scene of this absolutely horrific crime.

WHITFIELD: Thelma Gutierrez, thanks so much, reporting from Tucson, Arizona. We'll check back with you throughout the day and evening. Meantime, coming up at 5:00 Eastern Time, we'll hear from Gabby Giffords' former intern, Daniel Hernandez. You may recall that a lot of people were calling him a real hero for helping to save Giffords' life. We'll find out what life has been like for him since the shooting.

And breaking ice, why two ships are getting some help plowing through a frozen sea.

And a thrilling stunt goes terribly -- could have been worse, but does go terribly wrong, a bungee cord snapping right there. Find out what happened to the woman at the end of the bungee cord.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: Mt. Rainier National Park's gates are open again one week after a park ranger was killed there. Margaret Anderson was shot to death on New Year's Day.

A memorial service is planned for Tuesday in Washington. Authorities believe Anderson was killed by a former soldier by the name of Benjamin Barnes. His body was found face down in a creek not far from where he allegedly shot Anderson.

About 100 soldiers on lockdown at a military base in Washington State that means no one in, no one out. Commanders at joint base Lewis- McChord are looking for anyone who may have possession of some sensitive military equipment that didn't turn up during an inventory last month.

And a Russian fuel tanker carrying much-needed fuel to an Alaskan city is expected to get there tomorrow or, perhaps, even Tuesday. A U.S. Coast Guard ice breaker is helping it to plow through the thick ice to reach its destination.

Nome has been iced in for months and runs the risk of running out of fuel before spring. Listen to what Nome's mayor told us earlier.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MAYOR DENISE MICHELS, NOME, ALASKA (via telephone): We have enough diesel fuel for the power plant to run. Right now it's not an emergency, but come March we would have a serious issue because the first barge, fuel barge, can't get here until June until the ice is cleared.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: North Korea is marking the birthday of newly installed leader Kim Jong-Un. A video documentary that aired on a North Korean television today shows the son of Kim Jong-Il in his role as military leader driving a tank and inspecting troops and riding horses. Most analysts put the new North Korean leader's age at roughly 28 or maybe even 29.

And fans have been awaiting months for this news. We'll tell you all about Jay-Z and Beyonce's latest production next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: In one split second a fun stunt becomes a nightmare. This is Erin Worth taking the plunge right there over the river in Southern Africa on a bungee cord and you saw it right there, breaks. Erin hits the water 300 feet below and guess what? She survives.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ERIN LAUNG WORTH, SURVIVED PLUNGE INTO RIVER: It went black. Straight away, and I felt like I had been slapped all over. I actually had to swim down and yank the bungee cord out of whatever it was caught into. I think it's definitely a miracle that I survived.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: She is so lucky. She just got scraped up there. It turns out that cord broke at just the perfect moment if there is to be a perfect moment for the bungee cord to break apparently just as she was very close to the surface of that water.

One more thing, a CNN correspondent actually made that very same jump on it that same cord apparently just a few days ago, and I'll be talking to him a little later on today about his version of events what his experience was like.

And it's New Zealand's worst ever environmental disaster. This cargo ship hit a reef of New Zealand back in October sending debris and oil into the ocean. The ship has now split in two and officials fear the rest of the ship's oil will also leak out.

And the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge are the red carpet guests, but the star is actually a horse by the way. This is the new Steven Spielberg film "War Horse" premiering today in London.

And they looking ever so charming as always and along with Will and Kate there Spielberg. About 600 British military personnel attending the screening in London as well. We don't get a chance to see the horse?

OK, who can forget that very cute moment? From MTV's Video Music Awards last August. Beyonce announcing to the world she and hubby, Jay-Z expecting after she rubbed her belly there.

After performing the song "Love on Top." Well, today, she's reportedly a mom and crazy in love. "E Online" says the super star gave birth to a girl last night in New York. It's her first child with rapper Jay-Z. "E Online" also reports Jay-Z is it telling friends the baby's name -- any guesses? Jacqui?

JACQUI JERAS, AMS METEOROLOGIST: I know the answer.

WHITFIELD: Don't sneak it. All right, well, I guess we can say it in unison. The baby's name might be Blue Ivy Carter.

JERAS: Blue Ivy.

WHITFIELD: Yes.

JERAS: Unusual.

WHITFIELD: OK.

JERAS: Nobody wants an ordinary name anymore.

WHITFIELD: I know.

JERAS: I hope they call her Ivy though.

WHITFIELD: Like the only john as far as the eye can see.

JERAS: I hope they call her Ivy, not Blue.

WHITFIELD: Well, I know. It could be sweet, but Blue are you happy today. We could go on.

JERAS: I'm sorry, Beyonce. I love you. I love Jay-Z.

WHITFIELD: I know, sorry, but we are so happy for them.

JERAS: We are very happy.

WHITFIELD: Congratulations for their new baby bundle. OK, let's talk about New Hampshire and the weather up there because sometimes weather can stand in the way as to whether people show up for the primaries.

JERAS: Absolutely. Probably not, you know, New Hampshire, used to a lot of heavy snow. They're used to cold this time of the year, and overall, the weather not too bad over the next couple of days.

This is our future cast basically as we're going to call it, showing you the cloud cover. We've got this area of low pressure, a cold front that's going to sneak on through here on Tuesday and that's going to be enough to kick up scattered snow showers.

Further north you are in New Hampshire the more likely you are to see some accumulating snow. But we're only looking at for the most part snow showers. So I don't think that's going to hold off those voters. It's going to be a little chilly in the morning hours.

WHITFIELD: We're used to that.

JERAS: Down in the 20s to the south, but that's just when you wake up. Temperatures are going to be well above average into the afternoon hours. So look at that, you know, Concord, 41 degrees, 44 in Manchester, 32 in Berlin. People are going to get out and vote.

WHITFIELD: Yes. They are hearty, very hearty. So those are very minuscule kind of temperatures for them. All right, thanks a lot, Jacqui.

JERAS: Sure. WHITFIELD: All right, the president of Iran arriving in Venezuela today. Washington is definitely watching the partnership of Mahmoud Ahmadinejad and Hugo Chavez. Details on the Iranian leader's trip to South and Central America coming up.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: Unemployment, the auto industry and corporate earnings our money team keeping an eye on all of that. Let's start with Alison Kosik in New York.

ALISON KOSIK, CNN BUSINESS CORRESPONDENT: Hi, Fredricka. The jobs report confirmed that 2011 was the year of improvement. The unemployment rate finished the year at 8.5 percent, the lowest it's been in almost three years.

Two hundred thousand positions were added in December, bringing the tally for the year to 1.6 million jobs. The jobs situation has come a long way from 2009 when the economy lost 5 million jobs. Kodak shares took a beating falling almost 30 percent. There was talk of a possible bankruptcy filing although nothing was confirmed. The New York Stock Exchange did, however, warn Kodak that it's in danger of being delisted because its stock has traded below $1 a share for 30 days -- Felicia.

FELICIA TAYLOR, CNN BUSINESS CORRESPONDENT: Thanks, Alison. The 2011 was a surprisingly good year for the American auto industry. GM, Ford and Chrysler, all posted double digit sales increases with Chrysler sales rising 26 percent.

The big three also gained market share for the first time in decades. There was also a milestone in the music industry. Digital music outsold physical CDs last year. The first time that's ever happened.

Billboard and Nielsen say digital sales accounted for more than 50 percent of all music sales. Poppy Harlow has a look at what's coming up in business news -- Poppy.

POPPY HARLOW, CNNMONEY.COM CORRESPONDENT: Thanks so much, Felicia. Wall Street turns its attention to corporate earnings this coming week. Aluminium giant, Alcoa and JP Morgan Chase will kick things off.

Overall, analysts expect companies in the S&P 500 to report 12 percent growth in fourth quarter earnings. It's not bad, but just a few months ago expectations were higher.

We'll also get the latest look at retail sales, the fed's beige book, look at economic activity across the country and latest consumer sentiment reading.

And in Detroit, the auto show kicks off. CNN Money will have a team of reporters in Detroit tracking it all for you. Fred, back to you.

WHITFIELD: All right, thanks so much, ladies. On to New Hampshire how, the top story, Republican presidential candidates are scrambling to get those last-minute votes ahead of Tuesday's primary.

And two back-to-back debates this weekend opened the field for candidates to take shots at each other. Frontrunner Mitt Romney came under attack the most with rivals saying he can't beat President Obama.

And one year ago today, gunfire at a Tucson, Arizona, shopping center left six dead and 13 wounded including Arizona Congresswoman Gabby Giffords. Several events are happening today to remember that tragedy, including a vigil tonight, Giffords and her husband will be there.

The president of Iran is scheduled to arrive in Venezuela within the next two hours. Mahmoud Ahmadinejad will also visit Cuba, Ecuador and Nicaragua. The U.S. State Department calls Ahmadinejad's itinerary interesting and see his tour as a response to international pressure on Iran's nuclear program.

I'll be back in one hour from now with our 2012 presidential contender special, will this race come down to the Evangelicals against the liberals? We'll talk about this and all things political at 4:00 Eastern Time.

Also one of the biggest breaks in the child rape investigation of Penn State's Jerry Sandusky may have come from Sandusky himself in the pages of a book he wrote called "Touched." Full details at 5:00 Eastern. Stay with us.

I'm Fredricka Whitfield. "YOUR MONEY" starts right after this.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)