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Battle for New Hampshire; Gas Prices Keep Rising; Santorum Seeks New Hampshire Send-Off; Iran Sentences Alleged U.S. Spy to Death; Sandusky Book Aided Police; Sandusky Book Aided Police; $385 Billion in Unpaid Taxes in 2006; Rivals Target Romney in New Hampshire; Candidates Faith not Big Issue in New Hampshire; Rescue Mission for Nome, Alaska; Tebow Leads Broncos to OT Win
Aired January 09, 2012 - 09:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
KYRA PHILLIPS, CNN ANCHOR: All right, we begin this hour, of course, with presidential politics and the countdown to the first primary of the 2012 race. Tomorrow, voters in New Hampshire will cast their votes for the Republican nominee. And Mitt Romney still leading the pack.
Here is the latest poll conducted by the University of New Hampshire and WMUR. It shows that Mitt Romney has a commanding lead over Ron Paul, 41 percent to 17. Then you've got Jon Huntsman, Rick Santorum, and Newt Gingrich are way behind. They are locked in a statistical tie. And then over the weekend, candidates looked to score of course some last-minute points. They took part in two debates in less than 12 hours.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
MITT ROMNEY (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: But the person who should represent our party running against President Obama is not someone who called him a remarkable leader and went to be his ambassador in China.
JON HUNTSMAN (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: This nation is divided, David, because of attitudes like that.
(APPLAUSE)
RICK SANTORUM (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: We want someone when the time gets tough, and it will in this election, we want someone who's going to stand up and fight for the conservative principles, not bail out and not run, and not run to the left of Ted Kennedy.
NEWT GINGRICH (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Can we drop a little bit of the pious baloney? You've been running consistently for years and years and years. So this idea that suddenly citizenship showed up in your mind. Just level with the American people. You have been running at least since the 1990s.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
PHILLIPS: Well, Mitt Romney is sure trying to seal the deal. He is out rallying supporters in New Hampshire, trying to win over last- minute converts.
CNN's Jim Acosta is at the Romney event there and that's why he's going to join us in just a few minutes.
Also, Joe Johns is with Rick Santorum. We will talk to him coming up in just a few minutes.
OK. Let's talk about the latest strain on your wallet in the meantime, OK. Gas prices on the rise. Some experts are actually saying that we could see new record highs by this summer.
Christine Romans, let's talk about why those prices are climbing.
CHRISTINE ROMANS, CNN BUSINESS CORRESPONDENT: Why do I have to have the bad news?
PHILLIPS: No. You just had good news last week, right, and now we wrapped up a great Friday. What is the deal?
ROMANS: I know. And that's interesting you point that out because you look at the gains in jobs in the market and in the economy overall. Could that be undone by higher gas prices? We're seeing gas prices up about 12 cents over the past three weeks. Why? Because oil prices are moving higher, and they are moving higher, $3.37 a gallon is the national average. That's about 30 cents more -- more than 30 cents more than it was a year ago at this time.
So you're feeling it. This acts as a tax on consumers, Kyra. Because this is the thing that you're most economically sensitive to, right? I mean every week, every 10 days, you're going and you're filling up the gas tank. And so this is money that's out of your pocket immediately, that you're not spending on something else. So it's important to watch.
PHILLIPS: So how high could the prices go?
ROMANS: Well --
PHILLIPS: Because it really has been fluctuating.
ROMANS: It has. We're watching Iran. So believe it or not, the Strait of Hormuz is directly tied to your service station. And I'm not kidding. Because you look at that tiny little strait there. And Iran's saber-rattling about pressuring the U.S. and the international community is putting on its nuclear program, and Iran says we can shut that Strait of Hormuz.
Why does it matter? Because 40 percent of all the world's traded oil goes through there. There's a two-mile wide navigable ceiling there that is incredibly important. Now there's something called the U.S. Fifth Fleet that they have to get past which is -- you know, a problem --
PHILLIPS: Don't underestimate the U.S. Navy.
ROMANS: Yes. But you look at, like, Merrill Lynch, they say the worst-case scenario is maybe $40 a barrel more for oil. We're about $102, $103 right now -- that means significantly higher. That's the worst-case scenario and unlikely, but that's what we're watching here. Some -- you know, tensions in the oil market even as the economy is kind of just barely moving higher.
PHILLIPS: OK. We'll keep talking. Thank you, Christine.
ROMANS: Yes, you're welcome.
PHILLIPS: Appreciate it.
Well, this hour as I mentioned, Rick Santorum is reaching out to the right with a town hall meeting on Faith, Family, and Freedom.
Joe Johns is in Nashua for us.
So, Joe, Santorum is back in New Hampshire this morning. But right after yesterday's debate, he jetted off to South Carolina, right?
JOE JOHNS, CNN SENIOR CORRESPONDENT: That's absolutely right. You know he's sort of trying to straddle the primary races, both here in New Hampshire and in South Carolina. It's been a tough crowd here in New Hampshire quite frankly. He's only up about 10 percent, which is better than he had been doing but not great. Really the only person he is ahead of is Rick Perry, who's about given up on the state for the most part.
And South Carolina, he went down there yesterday. Right after the second debate. Reaching out to social conservatives. They are more in his wheelhouse, you might say. Traveling there with Gary Bauer, who is a very well known movement conservative that so many people there in South Carolina look up to.
Mr. Santorum has essentially been saying to the people in South Carolina, look, this may very well be the last stand for true conservatives in your state. So he's calling on them to help him out. Let's listen.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SANTORUM: If South Carolina doesn't stand up and say, we want a conservative on the ticket, ladies and gentlemen, we very well may not have one. It's up to you. It's up to you. That the most critical election in the history -- well, maybe since the election of 1860, but certainly in your lifetime, the most critical election in your lifetime, what are you going to do?
(END VIDEO CLIP)
JOHNS: Most critical election in your lifetime. That's the message of Rick Santorum to the people in the state of South Carolina. And after the primary here in New Hampshire tomorrow, he'll be able to devote his full attentions to that state where he hopes he might do better than he's doing in the polls here right now -- Kyra.
PHILLIPS: Well, we should talk about how important it is that Santorum does well in New Hampshire before the South Carolina primary.
JOHNS: Yes. Yes. Well, I mean, it's just hard for him here. We know from last week that Rick Santorum actually got booed at one point because of his positions on same-sex marriage. He's talked a lot about sort of his populist appeal, if you will. The common man here. But it really just hasn't worked for him. And it's interesting too because he came out of Iowa with so much momentum, you know, finishing so close there in that state. And he could have been the winner, you know. But for seven or eight votes. But he's just not looking so good right now in New Hampshire.
PHILLIPS: Joe, thanks.
JOHNS: Still has time, though, huh?
PHILLIPS: Yes -- hey, anything is possible, as we will know, Joe. As we've been watching so far.
JOHNS: Yes.
PHILLIPS: Yes.
JOHNS: This has been quite a primary race.
PHILLIPS: Yes, it has. And it's going to keep getting better. We'll have a lot more from New Hampshire of course throughout the next couple of hours.
And tomorrow night, all eyes are going to be on New Hampshire as the new political year is heating up. So make your best choice for politics. Wolf Blitzer, Erin Burnett, Anderson Cooper, Candy Crowley, John King, all part of our live coverage tomorrow night 7:00 Eastern, right here on CNN.
All right. Iran sentences an American to death. The former Marine convicted of spying was arrested in August while visiting his grandmother.
CNN's Zain Verjee is watching the story for us from London.
Give us -- give us the details, Zain.
ZAIN VERJEE, CNN INTERNATIONAL ANCHOR: Hi, there, Kyra. His name is Amir Hekmati. He is 28 years old and he's from Arizona. Now this is what the Fars News Agency from Iran had to say, OK, Kyra? They say that he was working for an enemy country, for membership in the CIA and also for his efforts to accuse Iran for involvement in terrorism.
Now, Hekmati has done one tour of Iraq. His family is saying this is totally ridiculous. He is not guilty. He just went to Iran back in August to visit two of his grandmas who live there. They also say that they tried to get him legal representation 10 times, they tried to get him 10 different lawyers, and the Iranian government rejected it and eventually they ended up appointing a state appointed lawyer for him. But he only met once at his trial. Now for the U.S., they are saying release him. He is not guilty. The U.S. are represented by the Swiss in Iran, and the Swiss weren't even allowed in the trial. Now Iran is saying that he confessed, he confessed to his crimes on TV. They taped it. But a lot of human rights groups around the world say that that's just a joke, they are forced into those kinds of confessions and they have no credibility -- Kyra.
PHILLIPS: Meantime, Zain, the reports came out this morning that Iran is enriching uranium at a new nuclear site. What's the latest?
VERJEE: Yes, I was just looking at that. And this is a site that they are saying is deep in the mountains in the north of Iran. This is called the Fordo Nuclear Enrichment Plant. And Iran is saying essentially that this is a site that is immune to military attack. They say that they've activated some 3,000 centrifuges.
Now this has got to worry the U.S. and other Western countries that have accused Iran of pursuing a nuclear weapons program.
Kyra, Iran is saying, look, it's OK. Everybody relax, because we are trying to get radioisotopes by enriching this uranium because there are 800,000 cancer patients who need it -- Kyra.
PHILLIPS: Zain Verjee out of London. Zain, thanks so much.
And we're learning about a big break that police had in their investigation of Jerry Sandusky. It was in the pages of the former coach's own book. We'll talk with the reporter who broke the story next.
And Tucson marks one year since a gunman put the city in the headlines. One year since the survivors and the city began the healing process. We'll show you how far they've come.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
PHILLIPS: Now Mitt Romney sure trying to seal the deal. He's out rallying supporters in Nashua, New Hampshire, trying to win over some last-minute converts. Let's take a listen.
ROMNEY: -- had similar ideas in different parts of the country and raised capital and began other businesses. But when Solyndra happens, think what happens then. When the president and his people pick one company in which to invest $500 million, guess what happens to the other people seeking private capital for their solar energy ideas?
Who's going to put money, $2 or $3 million into a solar startup when they hear the government has put $500 million into something called Solyndra? Nobody. So the investment he made not only was lost at Solyndra but also crippled investments in other ideas in solar technology. So rather than encouraging innovation in solar technology, it discouraged it.
This is what happens when people in government who spent their life in government think that government is the answer to our economic challenges.
Government is not the answer. It's the problem, as Ronald Reagan used to say. Let markets work. Have government create the conditions that allow markets to work. Fair tax codes. Updated regulations. Opening markets for American goods. Getting energy at a low and effective cost basis. Having fair labor rules. Not slanting it one side or to the other.
These are the kinds of principles I want to bring to Washington. I happen to believe that the principles upon which this nation was founded are principles that were not temporary in their impact but are permanent.
When I -- when I think back to the Declaration of Independence and those famous lines, where the founders wrote, the creator had endowed us with certain rights, among them life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. Our declaration made it very clear it would not be government that would guide our lives and tell us what we could do or how we could run our enterprises. It would instead be free people making their own choices.
PHILLIPS: Mitt Romney speaking live in Nashua. We'll be checking in with all the candidates as they are holding their rallies to hopefully gain more votes.
All right. One of the biggest breaks for police in the Jerry Sandusky child abuse investigation came from Sandusky himself in his autobiography, "Touched." That's what CNN contributor Sara Ganim learned when we spoke to the mother of one of Sandusky's alleged victims. Sarah actually broke the story for the "Harrisburg Patriot News."
Sara, what exactly did this mother tell you?
SARA GANIM, CNN CONTRIBUTOR: Kyra, this mom told me the story, and she told it to me because she is upset with the -- the allegation that Jerry Sandusky's attorney has been making that a lot of these victims knew each other, and got together after they heard of one allegation and decided to substantiate the allegation and make more stories up, seeing lawsuits and seeing money coming from Penn State.
But she told me this story for that reason. And this is what she said -- she said when police came to her in early 2010 and said, you know, we know your son came forward 10 years ago and made an allegation to police, and wasn't believed. Tell us what happened.
She sat down with them and she said, you know, my son had a lot of friends back then. They all hung out together. They all hung out with Jerry Sandusky. And I think you should talk to these other boys too. Not knowing what they would say, she pointed them in these boys' direction.
And they were from the pages of that book. They actually sat -- she sat down with police and went through the book and identified several of the victims that ended up being in that grand jury presentment.
PHILLIPS: So basically, the key to this case was right there on the shelves of the Penn State bookstore?
GANIM: It's very interesting. A lot of these things were out and obvious, a lot of the keys to this case because, you know, that's one big break. But the other one was finding that mother, finding victim six's mom -- and remember, her name and her phone number was sitting in that police report that was at Penn State's police barracks that had been closed, and no charges came of it. But it was sitting there in the police barracks for over a year after that victim one came forward, after the police investigation began, before they actually contacted her.
So, some of -- some of the keys to this case were out there, which goes right back to that overriding theme that prosecutors are now talking about, that many people knew something, and did nothing.
PHILLIPS: Sara, before I let you go, you know, a number of former Penn State football players are pushing back against the hiring of Bill O'Brien as the new head coach.
How did the search committee come to this decision?
GANIM: They say that contrary to reports, it was not a toxic job. They had a lot of applications. That Bill O'Brien's name was someone -- he was someone that they knew of from the beginning.
And slowly they just became enamored with him. They really fell in love with him, and it had nothing to do with being a Penn State guy, but someone -- finding someone who had Penn State heart is what they said. And they said that's how they landed on their guy.
You know, it seemed like he said all the right things on Saturday when he was introduced, and he did get a loud applause from some Penn State fans. About 100 Penn State fans showed up for that announcement.
PHILLIPS: Sara Ganim, thanks so much.
Checking stories across the country now, a cashier at a Papa John's pizza joint in New York is fired over this racist receipt. If you look closely, you can see how an American Asian customer was identified as, quote, "lady chinky eyes." That customer posted a picture of the receipt on her Twitter account over the weekend, which quickly went viral.
Nearly 100 soldiers are on lock at a Washington state Army and Air Force base right now. Commanders at Joint Base Lewis-McChord are reacting to reports of some missing sensitive military equipment, including night lasers and gun scopes.
Take a look at this planned implosion.
(VIDEO CLIP PLAYS)
PHILLIPS: Just a few seconds in it all took for the 20-story building in Houston's medical district to come down. It had been empty Anderson Cancer Center office space for 30 years. The "Houston Chronicle" says an aging foundation and asbestos made the building too costly to maintain.
Straight ahead, the IRS is coming up short as Americans skirt the tax man. How big is the revenue shortfall? We'll take you live to the New York Stock Exchange.
And this is the video we can't stop watching. Not only did a young woman's bungee cord snap, it snapped over a river full of crocodiles. You just can't get any closer to death than this, but she's OK and she's talking about it, next.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
PHILLIPS: Now to that unbelievable story of survival in Zimbabwe. A young woman goes bungee jumping over a river full of crocodiles, and the cord breaks. That's where the thrill ends and the fight for survival begins.
CNN's Zain Verjee has all the details and, of course, the video.
Oh, my gosh, Zain.
ZAIN VERJEE, CNN INTERNATIONAL ANCHOR: Oh, my God, Kyra.
Take a look at this video. I mean, it tells it all. I mean, she's from Australia. Erin Langworthy just jumped off into the Zambezi River. And the cord that was frayed just snapped and down she went into the water.
You know, that is a place near Victoria Falls. You have Victoria Falls behind you, and she's actually jumping into the Zambezi in front. And sometimes there's no water there. It's totally dry. She is so lucky.
Listen to how she put it.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
ERIN LANGWORTHY, SURVIVED BUNGEE ACCIDENT: It went black, straightaway. And I felt like I had been slapped all over. I actually had to swim down and yank the bungee cord out of what it was caught into. It's definitely a miracle that I survived.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
VERJEE: It is a miracle, Kyra, because those rapids are so powerful. The rocks there are so large. And she also had a towel wrapped around her feet just that she could do the bungee jump. So that as well as the rope was still there.
And so, she had to just swim her way through. And she was so lucky she didn't get thrown against a rock. And, by the way, there are crocodiles there too. Not necessarily on the rapids but in other parts of the Zambezi.
So she is very lucky. That's a very exciting New Year's Eve, though, Kyra.
PHILLIPS: Almost as exciting as your vacation, hanging out with the giraffes. I'm sorry. After you sent me this picture, I had to go there.
What is the story with this? Are you that desperate for a little loving?
VERJEE: Well, no. I mean, look, this guy is the kind of guy who I like the height of, you know? He's Ibrahim, got a little bit of action over here in an area called Carran (ph).
This is my New Year's Eve kiss, Kyra. Come on. I men, we had chemistry. He is a little bit tall for me maybe and, you know, I put some little giraffe food in my mouth. It was a pellet, and he came and gave me a big old wet kiss.
And by the way, if you ever kiss a giraffe, its tongue is like sandpaper. It's very long. This I a Rothschild giraffe. There are only 650 in he world. This is one of 10 in Kenya, Giraffe Manna (ph).
So, Kyra, I think we can agree this takes necking to a whole new level.
PHILLIPS: Yes, it does. You made my Monday. Thank you, Zain. I'm glad you're back.
(LAUGHTER)
PHILLIPS: Big sloppy wet kisses to you.
All right. A lot of Americans skirting the tax man, leaving the government billions of dollars short.
Alison Kosik is not kissing any giraffes, thank goodness. But she is trying to kiss --
ALISON KOSIK, CNN BUSINESS CORRESPONDENT: You know, I always wanted to kiss a giraffe. She beat me to it. What can I say?
(LAUGHTER)
PHILLIPS: Well, give us some good news about the markets. Try to here.
KOSIK: Well, I'll get to the markets first. You know, let's talk about the IRS, our next favorite subject next to giraffe kissing, of course.
Did you know that 15 percent of federal taxes went unpaid in 2006? So in real dollars, that means the IRS didn't get $400 billion. Meaning that money just didn't get to the IRS.
Now the biggest reason that this is happening is because many people and businesses, they underreport their income, meaning they don't include all of their receipts, they overstate their expenses. And they claim incorrect amounts of deductions as well. And, of course, this is all coming as the U.S. government is $15 trillion in debt. And that is one of the biggest reasons why politicians are calling for tax reform.
That $400 billion unpaid, yes, it's a lot of money. But get this -- Americans are still among the best in the world at paying their taxes, what they owe. Give ourselves a nice pat on the back, Kyra.
PHILLIPS: Oh, well, yes. The last thing we want is to be chased by the IRS.
All right. Let's talk about the markets now. What kind of day are we expecting?
KOSIK: OK. Looking at a mixed open in about five minutes when the opening bell rings. I'm not expecting any huge move at the open. One thing, though, that may trump all the attention on Europe, you know what? The start of the fourth quarter earnings season gets underway after the closing bell today.
Now, overall, expectations for corporate earnings, they have been falling because of the weak global economy. So that is going to be on the radar. Those corporate earnings. But still, Europe is still going to be front and center in many ways.
German and French leaders, they met today. They say negotiations are going well, and an agreement could be reached by the end of this month on a broad financial overhaul. We shall see -- Kyra.
PHILLIPS: Alison, thanks.
And coming up, we're going to talk about all the hits that Mitt Romney has been taking in New Hampshire, and whether the damage from his own party could hurt his electability if he becomes the nominee.
And reports say Jay-Z and Beyonce produced their biggest production yet. Details coming up.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
PHILLIPS: Checking top stories now.
A news agency in Iran reporting a former U.S. Marine accused and convicted of spying in Iran has been sentenced to death by hanging. Amir Hekmati is an Iranian American who was arrested in August while visiting relatives. His family says he is not a spy, and they tried without success to hire a lawyer.
And check your medicine cabinets. Over-the-counter drugs in your home may contain broken pieces of other pills in their bottles. Novartis is recalling Excedrin and NoDoz with expiration dates between now and December of 2014. Bufferin and Gas-X are also being recalled with an expiration date of 2013 or earlier.
And the winner is the Hyundai Elantra. It's just been named the North American car of the year at the Detroit auto show. The Range Rover Evoque was named truck of the year.
Well, in case you haven't noticed yet, things are getting nasty in New Hampshire. Mitt Romney isn't just the guy to beat. He is the guy taking a beating.
Listen to this.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIPS)
NEWT GINGRICH (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Mitt, I realize the red light doesn't mean anything to you because you're the front- runner.
(LAUGHTER)
GINGRICH: But can we drop a little bit of the pious baloney?
MITT ROMNEY (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: The person who should represent our party running against President Obama is not someone who called him a remarkable leader and went to be his ambassador in China.
JON HUNTSMAN (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: This nation is divided, David, because of attitudes like that.
(APPLAUSE)
(END VIDEO CLIPS)
PHILLIPS: Let's bring in CNN contributors Will Cain and L.Z. Granderson.
Guys, it's sounding more like the others, especially Gingrich, is out to destroy Romney. Will it work -- L.Z.?
L.Z. GRANDERSON, CNN.COM CONTRIBUTOR: I don't think so. I think what it does is make Mitt tougher, it helps his campaign figure out where the holes are and where President Obama may actually hit him in a general election. But I don't think that anything that's going to happen barring some scandal is going to derail Romney.
I mean, the Gallup polls just finally released today, and he is up to 31 percent, which is kind of a career high for him. So, I think if anything, he is just picking up steam and he's learning to get tougher because he's the front-runner. He is a front-runner who is taking a beating in the primary.
PHILLIPS: Will, given Romney's ahead in polls in New Hampshire and South Carolina, could a "destroy Romney" strategy backfire?
WILL CAIN, CNN CONTRIBUTOR: Yes, it will back fire. It's not going to work in New Hampshire. Look, I feel like it's too late in New Hampshire. He is way up in this state.
The question is, will it help down the line? Will these attacks hurt Romney in South Carolina and Florida? And I think you have to weight that potential against the unprecedented momentum Romney would have coming out of Iowa and New Hampshire as a winner, and also the ugliness of looking like the attack dog, the mean Newt effect, that you don't look appealing when you're going after somebody so hard.
PHILLIPS: All right. Let's take a listen to Newt talking to NBC's David Gregory about Romney.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
GINGRICH: The fact is, President Obama is going to have a very hard re-election effort. But I do think the bigger the contrast, the bolder ideas, the clearer the choice, the harder it is for that billion dollar campaign to smear his way back into office.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
PHILLIPS: Now, assuming Mitt survives the energy of the GOP attacks, will it be so damage he isn't electable -- L.Z.?
GRANDERSON: No. Because I think that what we're looking at is really, there's an "anybody but Romney" campaign in the primary. And I think there's a general election focus that is anybody but President Obama.
So I think that for a lot of people who have already made up their minds that regardless of who the candidate is coming out of the GOP, they don't want President Obama back in the White House.
And so, I think Newt is just actually kind of once again campaigning for himself, and not really being genuine. He knows that there's a -- most of the Republican Party are looking and saying, we just don't want President Obama. We're not happy with the candidates here, but we're really unhappy with the guy that's in the White House right now.
PHILLIPS: Will?
CAIN: I totally agree with L.Z. I mean, come the general election, it's a referendum on Barack Obama. People will be voting largely on whether or not they want Barack Obama to remain in office. I don't see anything that Newt or Huntsman or Santorum is doing or saying that could hurt Mitt Romney enough that people are going to vote saying, I just can't allow this Mitt Romney guy to sit in the White House.
PHILLIPS: All right. Final question, guys. Chris Christie campaigning for Romney in New Hampshire -- pretty interesting combo, such different guys.
Let's take a listen to Christie pushing back against hecklers.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
GOV. CHRIS CHRISTIE (R), NEW JERSEY: Needing to get this done.
(INAUDIBLE)
CHRISTIE: Really? You know, something may go down tonight, but it ain't going to be jobs, sweetheart.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
PHILLIPS: All right. Sweetheart, L.Z., it looks like Christie is defending Romney like some kind of political bodyguard.
GRANDERSON: He had a little bit of Soprano -- Tony Soprano energy going right there, that's for sure. You know what? There's a reason why the Republicans wanted Chris Christie. And I think that epitomizes it right there.
He's tough. He's not afraid to confront, you know, in an unconventional manner. The problem is, you know, while that may make him appear to be a good V.P. choice, and I'm sure a lot of people are wondering, you got to remember what Chris Christie said about himself, and that is he's not ready. So, if he's not ready to run for president, he shouldn't be put in position to be a heartbeat from the presidency.
But I loved that moment. And I think a lot of people who vote GOP loved that moment as well.
PHILLIPS: Now to my sweetheart Will. You know, when Romney is being attacked for being not authentic and not trustworthy, is Chris Christie the guy to, you know, step in and help him out?
GRANDERSON: You know what?
CAIN: I don't think anybody watches this Chris Christie stuff as stepping in as a surrogate for Romney and says, you know, boy, he is really helping out Romney, or his bodyguard necessarily. People see those clips, and you know what they think? They think, man, I wish Chris Christie was running for president.
PHILLIPS: Hmm. L.Z., Will, always great to talk to you guys on a Monday. We've always got something good for you guys to go on. Appreciate it.
GRANDERSON: Thank you.
PHILLIPS: And CNN tomorrow night, all eyes on New Hampshire as the new political year heats up. Make the best choice of politics. Join Wolf Blitzer, Erin Burnett, Anderson Cooper, Candy Crowley, John King for all the live coverage. That's tomorrow night, 7:00 Eastern, right here on CNN.
The GOP presidential candidates' faith isn't the big issue for most voters in New Hampshire. See how the candidates are changing their pitches to woo the voters.
And fans have been waiting for months. You only have to wait just a few minutes here. Beyonce and Jay-Z's big news, next.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
PHILLIPS: So you remember this revealing performance on MTV just a few months ago?
(VIDEO CLIP PLAYS)
PHILLIPS: A.J., what a moment that was. They knew how to get everybody excited, didn't they? And she finally gave birth after all those baby bump rumors.
A.J. HAMMER, HOST, "SHOWBIZ TONIGHT": Yes. I guess she actually really was pregnant, Kyra. You know, it was something they never officially confirmed, but yes, it's true. The year's most anticipated celebrity baby has arrived, according to reports.
Beyonce Knowles and Sean Carter, who of course we all know as Jay-Z, welcomed their daughter Saturday night at New York City's Lenox Hill Hospital. The little one's arrival coming through a scheduled C- section, according to E News.
And the hip-hop princess' new name is Blue Ivy Carter. At least that's what Jay-Z is reportedly telling pals, and people are tweeting about it. The couple's reps haven't responded to our calls seeking comment just yet, but you might be wondering, how did they come up with the name?
And, of course, there are already plenty of theories floating around out there. Now, conventional wisdom suggests that the couple chose the name Ivy because of the number four or the Roman numeral IV. That has some significance in Beyonce and Jay-Z's lives. Beyonce's birthday is September 4th, Jay-Z war born on December 4. The two married on April 4 back in 2008. They reportedly have matching IV tattoos on their wedding fingers and Beyonce, for some reason, named her latest album "4".
Well, as far as the significance of baby's first name Blue, Jay- Z's three albums with the word blueprint in the title. So, maybe blue is a favorite or a lucky color for Jay.
In any event, Kyra, we obviously offer congratulations to all three of them.
PHILLIPS: Holy cow. That was a long explanation. Thank you, A.J.
Now, one of our favorite shows, I understand, we're going to be sort of upset at something going on with "Glee." Do tell.
HAMMER: Yes. Well, there was this "Glee" spinoff that was buzzed about for the characters Rachel, Finn, and Kurt, who, of course, are played by Lea Michele, Cory Monteith, and Chris Colfer. And that spinoff is now officially not happening.
The deal is that the head of Fox Entertainment just announced the news to gathering of reporters on Sunday. And here's what he said, "We are graduating the characters that are arcing to graduation." Adding, "There will not be a spinoff."
So, Kyra, that basically puts an end to all of the speculation about the possibility of another show.
However, we have also learned that Lea Michele will be sticking around, because there was some buzz maybe she wasn't. Chris Colfer, that remains to be seen. Obviously, again, you and I love the show. So, we want them all to stay.
PHILLIPS: That's right. I want everything to get back in its place.
A.J., thanks so much.
And A.J. is coming back next hour to talk about Khloe Kardashian apparently she gets punk'd. Pretty embarrassing, chaotic. A.J. Hammer will have all the juicy details for us.
And there's no doubt that religion helped shape the men Rick Santorum and Mitt Romney became. But their faith will not be a key factor for most New Hampshire voters. We'll explain coming up.
And breaking the ice. A U.S. Coast Guard vessel helping clear the way for a Russian oil tanker. The mission, an emergency fuel delivery for Nome, Alaska. A live update from the ship next.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
PHILLIPS: All right. Checking stories across country now.
Dozens of teachers in Bucks County, Pennsylvania, already hitting the picket line. Teachers say they have worked without a contract for nearly four years, meaning no pay raises. Big sticking point: health care benefits. About 9,000 students are affected by this walkout.
And it's even not spring yet, but cedar trees releasing the pollen in a big way in Austin, Texas, causing misery for allergy suffers. The pollen count just hit its second highest level this season.
And no shame in their game. Some metro riders in D.C. and other cities dropped their pants and showed off their undies over the weekend. It's an annual event, what's called the No Pants Subway Ride.
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PHILLIPS: All right. Faith and family, it sure worked in Iowa. Just take a look at Rick Santorum's jump. But New Hampshire is quite different. As a matter of fact, in 2009, a Gallup survey found that New Hampshire is the second least religious state in the country. So, will religion matter as candidates preach their politics?
CNN.com's religion editor Dan Gilgoff says probably not.
So, Dan, why the reticence about religion?
DAN GILGOFF, RELIGION EDITOR, CNN.COM: Yes. It's such a fascinating dynamic in the presidential race, because these candidates are all starting off in Iowa, where 60 percent of the Republican electorate is evangelical. The third state is South Carolina, where they head directly after New Hampshire, where again about 60 percent of Republican voters there are evangelical. The third state is South Carolina, where they head directly after New Hampshire, where again about 60 percent of Republican voters there are Evangelical.
And then in the middle, they find themselves in New Hampshire, where Evangelicals only represent about a quarter of Republican voters where most voters in 2008 who were casting ballots for the Republican presidential election said they were actually pro choice.
So it kind of causes this political whiplash where these candidates have to adjust their message and some of them just kind of skip New Hampshire entirely and head straight to South Carolina in order to connect with more Evangelicals.
PHILLIPS: So it's going to be all about fiscal matters, bottom line.
GILGOFF: In New Hampshire, it largely will. And you asked why. And all of it is because of history. I mean for centuries, the New England states have been dominated by this Protestant -- Yankee Protestantism. And unlike Evangelicals, mainline Protestants don't really talk a lot publicly about their faith. Some of them even refer to themselves somewhat jokingly as the "frozen chosen".
And so you know -- and also there's been a huge Catholic influx into New England over the last 150 years. And there were all of these fears about how Catholics and Protestants might fight because of religion. And so there was basically this tacit agreement let's not talk about it. And to this day a lot of New Englanders abide by that. They just don't talk about religion much.
PHILLIPS: So then could -- I guess taking that all into consideration, could Ron Paul become New Hampshire's Santorum?
GILGOFF: In a way, I think he can. He might not finish that strongly. But, you know, someone like Mitt Romney has a lot of obstacles because of his Mormon faith. Someone like Rick Santorum has a lot of opportunities because of his deep Catholicism, his ability to connect with pro-life Evangelicals. Then you have a much more secular candidate, Ron Paul. And he is outside of those dynamics.
So in a state that's very religious like Iowa, he does pretty well, about 20 percent. His polling in a mostly secular state, New Hampshire, around that same level, about 20 percent support. And so his support is not super high. But it's kind of locked in there because he's outside of all of these religious effects in the race.
PHILLIPS: Dan, thanks so much. GILGOFF: Kyra, thanks for having me.
PHILLIPS: You bet. For more on issues related to faith, just go to our belief blog at CNN.com/belief. You can also share your thoughts.
Making an emergency fuel run for Nome, Alaska: the U.S. Coast Guard ice breaker helping a Russian oil tanker make the delivery. We're going to check in on the mission, next.
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PHILLIPS: Well, a rescue mission is under way right now to get emergency fuel to Nome, Alaska. A U.S. Coast Guard ice breaker is actually helping to clear the way so a Russian oil tanker can deliver the fuel. Pretty amazing pictures we got from the U.S. Coast Guard right here.
Joining us on the phone, Captain Craig Lloyd, he is actually coordinating this operation. So Captain, tell me, you know, I've been on a Coast Guard ice breaker before. It's a pretty incredible experience. How thick is this ice and how tough has this been?
CAP. CRAIG LLOYD, U.S. COAST GUARD (via telephone): Well, essentially under the ice a couple of days ago, they have encountered ice that has grown in thickness from about six inches up to -- what they are encountering as of last night is ridges that are three to four feet and plate ice that is upwards of two feet thick.
The ice conditions day before yesterday were relatively decent and they were able to make good progress. Yesterday the ice was a little more dynamic. Wind -- wind-driven currents pushes the ice against the side of the Renda (ph) after the Healy (ph) breaks the channel and stops the Renda which requires a direct assist by the Healy.
PHILLIPS: And just for our -- for our viewers that may not understand all those buzzwords, I mean, it's pretty incredible when the ice breaker goes up against this ice. I mean, it's like crashing in to a brick wall, that feeling on the ship. Now, the preps in Nome have got to be pretty difficult as well?
LLOYD: We -- yes there's -- there are all the -- we have been coordinating the operation and planning with a whole -- a number of partners for the last month to get to this stage. And the city of Nome, the State Alaska Department of Environmental Conservation, the native corporation industry, the Department of Defense, National Weather Service -- I mean the list just keeps going on and on. We have a phone conference every morning with about 30 or 40 different partner agencies.
PHILLIPS: Wow.
LLOYD: And -- and coordinating what's going to happen, what's -- getting the latest weather. We predicted a probable -- a wind chill probably be about 40 below. PHILLIPS: Oh, my gosh.
LLOYD: Up in Nome.
PHILLIPS: But that's -- and that's why it's such a well- coordinated effort.
Final question, Captain, you know just put in perspective why this is such an important mission and when that fuel may arrive.
LLOYD: Well, the 1.3 million gallons of fuel is equipment that's there is -- it's going to be used to power their -- a lot of heavy equipment, the equipment that keeps the runway clear, the fire trucks that's used for -- at the school. So there's -- there is some fuel there.
It's not going to run out next week, but it's -- if -- if they don't get this fuel in, what's going to happen is by March it's going to run out and the -- and the conditions to try to deliver it then would be even more difficult.
PHILLIPS: Captain Craig Lloyd, U.S. Coast Guard, we'll keep tracking the mission. Thanks so much for calling in, Craig.
LLOYD: You're welcome. Have a good day, Kyra.
PHILLIPS: You bet.
All right, let's flash forward to what other events that are happening later today that we're following.
Louisiana Governor Bobby Jindal will be sworn in for a second term around noon Eastern. The Republican first took office in 2008 as the nation's first elected Indian-American Governor.
Also around noon, President Obama will welcome the Dallas Mavericks to the White House. He's going to congratulate them for winning the 2011 NBA championship.
Brad Pitt and Meryl Streep, among the stars expected at the New York Film Critics Circle Awards. That ceremony is at 5:00 Eastern.
All right, we're following lots of developments in the next hour of CNN NEWSROOM for you. Let's check in first with our Zain Verjee. Hey Zain.
VERJEE: Hey there, Kyra. An American-Iranian has been sentenced to death in Iran. He has been accused of spying for the CIA. I'll bring you all the details in just a few minutes.
KOSIK: I'm Alison Kosik at the New York Stock Exchange. Top honors were just doled out to the world's automakers. I'm going to tell you which vehicles drove off with car and truck of the year honors at the Detroit Auto Show. That's coming up -- Kyra.
PHILLIPS: Ladies thanks.
Also coming up at the top of the hour, we are taking you on a rare look inside Syria's violence. Our Nic Robertson is there. We'll have more on the developing story.
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PHILLIPS: Tim Tebow working his magic or maybe we should say his prayers again -- Jeff Fischel.
JEFF FISCHEL, HLN SPORTS: It was a magic moment watching what happened in overtime yesterday against the Steelers. You know, Tebow's Broncos lost their final three regular season game, at least for his first playoff game, Tebow came through in the clutch.
This is the second quarter. Tebow runs it in for the touchdown to put Denver up 14-6 on the Steelers. He was so fired up on the sidelines. He actually had his best passing game as a Bronco, you'll see the best passing play of the day.
This is in the fourth quarter, the Steelers tied up, Ben Roethlisberger to Jericho Cotchery (ph); that forces overtime. This is the very first snap of overtime. There goes Tebow. He finds Demarius Thomas, who is gone, 80-yard touchdown. Tebow, of course, known for his faith, his fans pointing out the stats yesterday. He passed for 316 yards -- 316.
And of course, Thomas scored the winning touchdown born on Christmas, fans have put it together. Broncos win the thriller, 29- 23.
The other play-off game yesterday, the Giants and the Falcons. Eli Manning, Hakeem Nicks for the touchdown, New York goes up 7-2. You don't see that often in football it is a safety. Then Manning again. This time it's Knicks again and he is taillights on highway, 72 yards. Someone stop him.
Manning threw for three touchdowns in the game. The last to Mario Manningham. The Giants actually win this one pretty easily, 24- 2.
So, next week, here is what we have. Saturday, the Saints are at the 49ers followed by the Broncos and Patriots. Yes, Tebow versus Brady.
And then on Sunday, the Ravens host the Texans, then the Giants at Aaron Rodgers and the Packers.
Tonight, of course, college football crowns its national champion in New Orleans, number one LSU against number two Alabama in the BCS title game. The Tigers beat 'Bama 9-6 back in November.
Kyra, I don't know if you watched "Saturday Night Live" Saturday night. Charles Barkley was the host.
PHILLIPS: I have twins, I was sound asleep. So bring us up to date.
FISCHEL: Check out his postgame translation app.
PHILLIPS: Ok.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
CHARLES BARKLEY: So many postgame interviews are full of nonsense and they are just boring. That's why you need this, the Charles Barkley postgame translator app. Use my app for football.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You've got to start fast finish strong. Some of both, some of neither.
BARKLEY: "I got three super bowl rings, you guys don't know anything about football but I got to talk to you."
(END VIDEO CLIP)
FISCHEL: That's so Barkley. Just being completely honest. A coach or player is going to say something that you have to kind of figure out what it means, Barkley is just going to say exactly what he's really trying to tell you, which is basically, you guys don't know what you're doing. I'm the man.
PHILLIPS: Jeff, thanks.
FISCHEL: Ok.
PHILLIPS: You're our man.
