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Mississippi Stops Freeing Pardoned Prisoners; Marine Corps Investigates Shock Video; Romney Stumps in South Carolina; Syrian Forces Killed French Reporter; Casey Anthony Claims Date Rape; Foreclosures Drop to 4-Year Low; Gingrich Unleashes the Hounds in South Carolina; Tebow-Mania Triggers Run on Jerseys; Ski Resorts Face Snow Shortage; Study: Embryos should be Limited; Packers' Thoughts with Philbin Family

Aired January 12, 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 start this hour in Mississippi and the outrage over nearly 200 pardoned prisoners. The ones who are still behind bars will stay there, at least for now. And a judge has put a hold on their releases. But many convicts are already out.

The injunction is in response to a move made by former governor, Haley Barbour, who pardoned 199 convicts on his way out the door including 14 murderers. The state's attorney general compares it to something out of "Dukes of Hazard."

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JIM HOOD, MISSISSIPPI ATTORNEY GENERAL: Former Governor Barbour -- he kind of ran the state and the governor's office like Boss Hogg. I mean he didn't follow the law. This is a very simple constitutional provision and Governor Barbour just didn't even follow it. I mean it was very clear that he had to have this information. He didn't obtain it before he signed these pardons. And that has caused a public safety issue. These families are afraid out here. And these victims have been through a terrible amount.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

PHILLIPS: Our Martin Savidge is now in Jackson, Mississippi, this morning -- this morning.

Now, Martin, what's the constitutional issue here? And is Haley Barbour giving any explanation? I know you tried to talk to him at the beginning of the week and you couldn't get anything.

MARTIN SAVIDGE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes, in fact, we just tried to talk to him again. We put another request in to his officials. Once again, flatly turned down.

Well, let me point out what the Mississippi Constitution says when it comes to the issue of pardons, especially pardons that are granted as a result of the governor. And it says, in writing in that Constitution, that there has to be a formal 30-day notification published in the newspaper in the county where the offense for the criminal took place. And it must be in that newspaper for 30 days.

The question is, did that actually take place for all of these pardons, for all of these criminals that have been set free as a result of the governor -- former governor's actions? And that's what they're investigating. And they're especially wondering, was it done with those four murderers, the ones that were set free on Sunday?

As for any response coming from the former governor, Haley Barbour, let me read you something that he put out last night. He had a very long statement. He didn't make it himself. It was a press release. And he basically said that people have misunderstood the clemency process. And he went on to say that, quote, "Approximately 90 percent of these individuals are no longer in custody. The pardons were intended to allow them to find gainful employment or acquire professional licenses, as well as hunt and vote."

That last reference, of course, if you're a convicted felon, you're not allowed to own a gun, buy a gun legally. And you're not allowed to vote. By pardoning them unconditionally, you can go out and buy a gun and you can vote -- Kyra.

PHILLIPS: OK, so, Martin, what does this mean for the prisoners who've already been released?

SAVIDGE: Well, and that is the real question here. Right now it means that there are about 21 that have not been let loose from the prisons. They're on hold. They're going to have to stay in place. As far as the other people that were already released, they're real questions. Will they eventually have to turn themselves back in? Will the pardons be null and void?

Those that have served their time won't have to turn themselves back in. Those five people released on Sunday, four of which were murderers, that's the real key. Right now they don't have to turn themselves in but they must daily report their whereabouts to the Department of Corrections. Full hearing set for Monday, the 23rd of this month. That's when we'll know more -- Kyra.

PHILLIPS: All right. Martin Savidge. We'll continue to follow this story out of Jackson, Mississippi.

Well, the U.S. Marine Corps is investigating a shocking video that is now drawing calls of condemnation from around the world. The video seems to show a Marine sniper team urinating on Taliban corpses in Afghanistan.

Now we're not going to show you the video. It's just too disturbing, but, Barbara Starr, we still do have a photo. What exactly do you know about this tape?

BARBARA STARR, CNN PENTAGON CORRESPONDENT: Well, Kyra, as of this morning there is a full blown criminal investigation underway. The Naval Criminal Investigative Service, NCIS, now investigating this looking for potential criminal activity. Defense Secretary Leon Panetta expected to issue a statement shortly. He saw the video last night. He is said to have found it very disturbing. There have been statements from several government officials now, people calling it disgusting. This is something that has really caught the military by surprise. We have seen this kind of misconduct over the years. They did not expect to see it again. And they're going to move very quickly to try and pin down who these people are in the video, what unit they belong to, and what potential charges might, might be brought here because they know these images are flying around the Internet around the world.

They will have a very bad reaction understandably in the Islamic world, desecration of a dead body, really unthinkable, by U.S. Military personnel, so they want to get a handle on it. And they want to exert that kind of disciplinary action as soon as they can determine the facts here -- Kyra.

PHILLIPS: Yes. We'll definitely follow the investigation and try and learn and bring about all those facts.

Barbara, thanks. Appreciate it.

Well, a big question now. Was it an isolated incident? Well, last night on Erin Burnett's show she asked Major General Spider Marks about that.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MAJ. GEN. JAMES "SPIDER" MARKS, U.S. ARMY GENERAL (RET.): It doesn't go beyond this team. I need to tell you.

ERIN BURNETT, CNN ANCHOR: You look shocked.

MARKS: Absolutely. Everybody in this -- in this team's chain of command, they're no longer elite. These guys are outside the norm. This really makes you upset. And everybody -- and this team's chain of command right now are trying to figure out why these guys, guys that we trusted, Marines that we put in incredible positions, trained them immensely, they -- we injected them with our military ethos and they do this?

Everybody in that chain of command right now is trying to figure out what broke down.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

PHILLIPS: You can hear more from Major General Spider Marks coming up at 11:00 a.m. in CNN NEWSROOM.

Taking you live now to Greer, South Carolina. Presidential candidate Mitt Romney taking questions from reporters. Let's listen in.

MITT ROMNEY (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: -- fifty delegates and that's a lot -- that's a lot of hit.

(CROSSTALK)

UNIDENTIFIED REPORTER: Governor, you added a phrase to your stump speech last night about the protection of life. And in both last night and this morning you mentioned -- you repeated the word life three times when talking about the Declaration of Independence. Is that a specific play to social conservatives here in South Carolina that you weren't making in New Hampshire?

ROMNEY: The people in New Hampshire know extraordinarily well that I stood for life. It was very highly publicized in New England and particularly in the Boston papers and the Boston stations that I became pro-life, described why I became pro-life. I am proud of that fact and continue to make that message, but, no, I don't have any --

UNIDENTIFIED REPORTER: Is that something you feel you need to emphasize more in South Carolina?

ROMNEY: I understand that there are some attack ads coming my way that question that, and obviously it's important for me to remind people that I'm pro-life.

(CROSSTALK)

ROMNEY: Thanks.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Thanks, Governor Romney, for coming out. Very much appreciate it. Thank you. In South Carolina.

PHILLIPS: All right. Mitt Romney there speaking live in Greer, South Carolina. He doesn't always take questions from reporters. In this live event he did.

Paul Steinhauser, our CNN political editor, was actually listening in as well.

Why do you think he decided to do this?

PAUL STEINHAUSER, CNN POLITICAL DIRECTOR: He does it every now and then. And Kyra, let's be honest. He's been coming under a lot of criticism lately, a lot of questions about his time at Bain Capital. Remember that was the private equity firm he headed in the 1980s and 1990s. And criticism over whether he created or actually destroyed jobs in those years.

He was asked about it right at the beginning of this news conference. And he said, listen, the companies we helped when I was at Bain, you know, over the years they've created over 100,000 jobs.

You've heard a lot of Republican candidates going after him on this. You've heard some very Democrats as well as going after him on this.

As he runs for president he touts job creation. That he can do a better job creating jobs than the current person in the White House, President Barack Obama. It's part of his -- you know, the main part of his push for the nomination and for running for president. So when he gets criticized on this, it goes right to the heart of his campaign.

Last night, Sarah Palin, somebody who's respected by a lot of conservative Republicans, here's what she had to say about all that. Take a listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SARAH PALIN (R), FORMER ALASKA GOVERNOR: Governor Romney has claimed to have created 100,000 jobs at Bain. And, you know, people are wanting to know, is there proof of that claim and was it U.S. jobs created for United States citizens? That's not negative campaigning, that's fair to get a candidate to be held accountable to what's being claimed.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

STEINHAUSER: So when Sarah Palin says something like that, you know, Mitt Romney, maybe he wants to respond because, again, even though she's not running for the White House, she's still pretty credible with a lot of conservative candidates.

Kyra, in South Carolina, the governor there, Nikki Haley, also another conservative who was helped by Sarah Palin in her bid for governorship down in South Carolina back in 2010, she is now backing Mitt Romney. She's been with Romney a lot over the last week or two. You've seen her. And she also was defending Mitt Romney. Take a listen to what she said.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

GOV. NIKKI HALEY (R), SOUTH CAROLINA: But we have a real problem when we have Republicans talking like Democrats against the free market. We believe in the free market.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

STEINHAUSER: Yes. You hear that, Kyra. It's part of the theme here from the Romney campaign.

Listen, you are the guys who are attacking me. You just lay it in the hands of the White House playing into the hands of the Obama re- election team. Stop, stop, stop.

Kyra, Mitt Romney, by the way, heading to Florida now. He's campaigning there a little later today. Remember Florida goes 10 days after South Carolina. South Carolina, nine days away. A lot of action to come, Kyra.

PHILLIPS: Yes. Lots to talk about.

Paul, thanks so much.

We're going to have political updates throughout the morning, of course. And a reminder, for all the latest political news, you can always go to our Web site 24/7, CNNPolitics.com.

Well, a French journalist is struck by a mortar and killed while covering a pro-government rally. Now the Syrian opposition is blaming security forces for the death.

CNN's Zain Verjee is in London.

So, Zain, what do you know?

ZAIN VERJEE, CNN INTERNATIONAL ANCHOR: Hi, Kyra. A major Syrian opposition group is essentially blaming the government of Bashar al- Assad for the attack and trying to intimidate the media. It's also calling for an independent probe into the French journalist's killing.

Let's take a look at some of the newspaper headlines around the world today, Kyra. Let me just give you an idea of what they're saying, OK?

"The National" has this headline. They really slammed the Arab League and pretty much say they're useless. This is the headline. "The Arab League's indecision is fueling Assad's belligerence." It says, "When lost, continue walking around in circles. That is the motto of the Arab League in dealing with the crisis in Syria. There is no "our momentum" to side with the Syrian population against their leaders."

"The International Herald Tribune" has this headline. "Assad appears in public addressing rally." It says, "Mr. Assad has not deviated from the notion that he remains popular. A victim of a conspiracy financed by outsiders offering the same kind of logic that was heard in Libya and Egypt before uprisings brought down longtime autocrats."

Finally, "The Globe and Mail," Kyra, has this. "A dangerous delusion." "The Arab League's half-hearted attempt to monitor the conflict in Syria has evidently encouraged President Bashar al-Assad to threaten to govern with an iron fist."

That's just an idea of some of the newspapers and what they're saying today -- Kyra.

PHILLIPS: Zain Verjee out of London. Zain, thanks.

Well, new shocking allegations about how Casey Anthony got pregnant. That's just ahead.

And glass from a high rise building in Sacramento shattering the sidewalk. Workers say it's not the first time either. We'll go "Cross Country" right after the break.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

PHILLIPS: All right, let's head "Cross Country" now for stories that you may have missed.

Starting in Pittsburgh, Penn State alumni vented frustrations over the school's handling of the Jerry Sandusky child sex abuse scandal. Take a listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: How could the board have not had a crisis plan?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The bond between the administration and the board has sometimes been too close. UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I was disgusted at the lack of response from the university.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

PHILLIPS: University President Rodney Erickson told the alumni that they need to remind people about the positive aspects of a Penn State education.

And protesters angrily reached a -- reacted, rather, to the Tucson's School Board vote to suspend the Mexican-American Studies Department. A judge had said that the program violated a new state law, and the state had threatened to withhold $15 million in annual aid.

Glass falling from a building in Sacramento smashing onto the sidewalk. Nobody was hurt. But people that work in that building say glass also fell from it seven years ago.

Casey Anthony's back in the headlines. Just days ago, she surfaced on the web in a video diary talking about her life and keeping her whereabouts secret.

Now, new shocking details are released. Psychiatric notes claiming that Anthony was drugged and raped while unconscious during a party. A date rape, she says, may have left her pregnant.

Joining me from New York, CNN's Ashleigh Banfield.

So, Ashleigh, you've covered this for months. Why is this information coming out now and why didn't we hear about it during the murder trial?

ASHLEIGH BANFIELD, CNN ANCHOR: That's a great question. I mean, these were psychiatric reports that were commissioned by the court, you know? When you have to determine someone's competent to stand trial, they send in the doctors. And the doctors ask you all sorts of questions.

And these two doctors who analyzed Casey took copious notes about their meetings. And these came -- these allegations or at least claims came from those notes. But why they never came out at trial is still a bit of a mystery to me because they certainly do support all of the allegations that Casey through her attorney made in court as to her defense. She kind of blamed her whole family for everything that was wrong, blamed her family for why she was a liar.

And now, she's going even further and blaming her father for possibly even murdering this little girl.

PHILLIPS: I mean, she made these pretty explosive allegations against her father during two separate jail house interviews with psychiatrists. So, what more do we know about that?

BANFIELD: Well, the weird thing is, is that in her defense, Jose Baez, when he, you know, took to the floor and addressed that jury and questioned all those witnesses on the stand, you know, went to the point where he alleged that her dad, Casey's dad George, George Anthony, used to molest her and that that's why she became this chronic liar that none of us could believe because the lies were proven. I mean, we knew she was a liar. That's a fact.

And so, Jose really had to clean it up in court. And he basically blamed all of it on her father who had to walk up to the stand several times and listen to all of these allegations that he molested Casey. But now, Casey while speaking privately to these psychiatrists said not only did he molest me, but I think he molested my baby, and that he drowned her to cover it up. I mean, this is really brutal stuff.

PHILLIPS: All right. The second topic I want to address with you, Natalee Holloway. Today, an Alabama judge will consider whether to declare Natalee Holloway dead nearly seven years after she disappeared in Aruba.

Now, who's requesting this declaration and why? How does this work?

BANFIELD: Well, it's such a tender thing because she is technically still missing. They never found a body, but her father, Dave, petitioned the court for this declaration to basically put an end to it all. Her mom, Beth, was not too fond of this idea, pushed back as we're told quite a bit at the beginning, but now has just sort of decided not to contest it.

And there are a couple of reasons for it. You might say the emotional reason of closure. But then there's also the technical stuff, like they have a college fund for Natalee, which is still tied up. And they have, you know, Natalee has a sibling and they might want to use the money for the sibling. And there are medical insurances that could be tied up with the declaration of death.

But how coincidental that it would happen today when just yesterday the guy who is widely suspected to be involved with this but never charged ended up in a Peruvian courtroom making some pretty strong statements?

PHILLIPS: Now, Joran van der Sloot is a suspect in Holloway's death but has never been charged.

BANFIELD: Right.

PHILLIPS: And you and I talked about this. Last week, he pled guilty to killing this Peruvian woman and faces a 30-year sentence. So, if Holloway is declared dead, will that impact van der Sloot in any way?

BANFIELD: It's kind of hard to say. No, really not, because if they had any good evidence that Natalee was murdered, you don't have to have a body to bring murder charges. So, the fact that they have an officially dead person doesn't change the fact that they don't have any goods on Joran van der Sloot in Aruba.

What could happen to him though involves our good old U.S. of A because there is a case that's been indicted here whereby Joran van der Sloot tried to extort Natalee's mother, allegedly, by suggesting if she gave him I think around $250,000, he'd give her information as to where the body of her daughter was. That was all on tape. You know -- so the evidence is there and they still want to potentially pursue prosecution against him.

But they can't. He's in Peru. So, if they extradite him from Peru before or after this very long sentence, then there could be another thing coming here in America for Mr. van der Sloot.

PHILLIPS: Ashleigh Banfield, thanks so much for being with me.

BANFIELD: Pleasure.

PHILLIPS: New numbers in on the estate of the economy. Foreclosure filings, rather, plunged last year to the lowest level since 2007. What's in store for 2012? Stay with us.

And a grounded cargo ship split in two spills tons of oil off the coast of New Zealand. Now, there he is a safety concern about containers that could go overboard. That's right after the break.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

PHILLIPS: Well, grounded cargo ship has spilled tons of oil off New Zealand's coast. The ship has split in two. As you can see, it's sinking in pretty rough waters.

Zain Verjee following the story from London.

So, Zain, the ship has been grounded for some time, right?

ZAIN VERJEE, CNN INTERNATIONAL ANCHOR: Yes. This happened about three months ago. It hit a reef around New Zealand. And it's been stuck ever since.

Now, the reason this is back in the news, Kyra, is because over the weekend, there were massive waves. And that precipitated the ship breaking in two.

So if you look at this video, you can see the front of the ship that's up something about 100 meters or so. But the bridge and the back of the ship is all underwater.

The thing right now is oil. The oil is leaking out and there is still about 100 tons of oil inside the containers on this ship. So what people are trying to do right now, the salvage crews, are really focusing on trying to secure this. They're putting out beacons and buoys, they'll figure out a time where they can bring it to shore safely.

But this is a bad situation. New Zealand is calling it its worst maritime disaster ever -- 400 tons of oil did leak out and it has been spreading. A lot of sea life has been destroyed.

PHILLIPS: We'll stay on the story. Zain, thanks so much.

Let's head to the New York Stock Exchange. Alison Kosik actually following a pretty positive headline on the state of the housing market.

Hey, Alison.

ALISON KOSIK, CNN BUSINESS CORRESPONDENT: Hey, Kyra.

So, I'm going to temper that a little bit because if you look behind the headline, you're still going to see a little of the bad stuff. But, first, I'm going to give you the good.

Believe it or not, this is the good, 1.9 million foreclosures. That's how many there were in 2011. That's a big improvement relatively speaking. The number of foreclosures is down 34 percent from 2010. It's actually at its lowest level since 2007.

OK. Here comes the bad news. The reason behind the huge drop is because of big processing delays have followed that robo-signing scandal back in 2010. Banks are taking their time. They're making sure they make no mistakes.

And, of course, that slows the process. But analysts are saying banks are now actually working their way through that backlog, so we're actually likely to see foreclosures pick up again.

Still, analysts do expect home prices to bottom out this year.

Another positive in this situation, those government modification programs and low mortgage rates. They're helping people to refinance into more affordable monthly payments. That, of course, Kyra, keeps them in their home where they need to be -- Kyra.

PHILLIPS: We're hearing there's new numbers on retail sales and the labor market. How's that playing out in the markets today?

KOSIK: Not playing out too well because the numbers on retail sales and the labor market, that came out a little while ago are a big disappointment. Stocks are backing off their earlier gains. Those jobless claims numbers jumped last week. And those retail sales number from December, they rose only a little bit despite it being the big holiday shopping season.

That comes as a big surprise because you know how it's been lately, Kyra. Other economic reports have recently shown a pace of recovery that's really picking up speed. So, this came as a big disappointment. We'll really see how the market reacts in four minutes when the bell rings -- Kyra.

PHILLIPS: Alison, thanks.

Well, Newt Gingrich's positive campaign is pretty much a distant memory now. He's not just going after Mitt Romney in South Carolina. He's going after Mutt Romney, too. Yes, the family dog.

Oprah Winfrey's network finally has a solid hit. Who's the star of the show? Take a wild guess.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK) PHILLIPS: Checking top stories now.

Just minutes ago, Defense Secretary Leon Panetta condemned the shocking video that's stirring outrage around the world. He said it was, quote, "utterly deplorable". The video seems to show a Marine sniper team urinating on Taliban corpses in Afghanistan. It isn't clear who shot or posted the 39-second video, but the military says it wants to find out.

And a judge has issued a temporary injunction stopping the release of any more prisoners pardoning -- pardoned, rather, by outgoing Mississippi Governor Haley Barbour. The state's attorney general says Barbour violated the state constitution when he pardoned close to 200 criminals, including 14 convicted killers, four of them are already free.

And the FDA says it's now testing orange juice headed into the U.S. for an illegal fungicide. This fungicide in question is actually legal in Brazil and other parts of the world but considered an unlawful pesticide chemical residue here in the U.S.

So, do you get the feeling that Newt Gingrich turned to his staff in South Carolina and said, unleash the hounds? Even the Romney family dog isn't safe from Gingrich's ads now.

A new one actually needles Romney for putting his Irish Setter in a crate on top of the car for a 12-hour road trip.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MITT ROMNEY (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: We love the dog. It was where he was comfortable. We have five kids inside the car. My guess is he liked it a lot better in his kennel than he would have liked it inside.

Who let the dogs out? Who? Who?

(END VIDEO CLIP)

PHILLIPS: Will Cain and Roland Martin are with us this morning.

So, guys, you've got to laugh. The music's classic.

(LAUGHTER)

PHILLIPS: All right. Newt Gingrich, you know, the angry little attack muffin strikes again. I had to steal that line. It was Peggy Noonan's, of course.

ROLAND MARTIN, CNN POLITICAL ANALYST: He's more like Chucky.

PHILLIPS: What happened to nice guy? Is this the voice of angry desperation, Roland?

MARTIN: This is the Newt we all know and have come to adore. He's more like Chucky from those horror films. That's what he's turned into when he gets upset.

Newt Gingrich's only goal in life right now is to destroy Mitt Romney. He does not care about anything else. Forget the GOP, forget beating President Barack Obama. He is so mad, they smacked him around in Iowa that he says, "I'm going destroy the rich guy with the square jaw."

PHILLIPS: Will, what about Reagan's 11th commandment not to speak ill of another Republican? Is Newt becoming a heretic now?

WILL CAIN, CNN CONTRIBUTOR: Forget about Reagan's 11th commandment, right? Who was the one touting Reagan's 11th commandment like a month or two ago? Who was the one who said this is the commandment? Thou shalt not.

It was Newt. I cannot understand this. It's political jihad. It's self emulation. I'll blow myself up along with everybody else to take this man down.

And the question is why? What got you so mad?

Let me say this though, it's also a favorite of Romney. This is really going to play well for Romney. Newt Gingrich and also, by the way, Rick Perry are basically joining the left, pre-arguing Obama's argument and putting free markets and private enterprise on trial through Mitt Romney.

It's given Mitt Romney his voice. That speech after New Hampshire was great.

MARTIN: I have to push back, Kyra.

PHILLIPS: Hold on a second. I'll let you respond to that. Let's just take a look at this campaign ad, OK, that Gingrich supporters are running in South Carolina. It's actually called "King of Bain". And it talks about Romney's career as a venture capitalist. Take a listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

NARRATOR: Story of greed, playing the system for a quick buck. A group of corporate raiders led by Mitt Romney, more ruthless than Wall Street. For tens of thousands of Americans, the suffering began -- when Mitt Romney came to town.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

PHILLIPS: So, Roland, I'll ask you. You know, is all of this going to hurt Romney or maybe backfire and get him some sympathy?

MARTIN: No, he is going to have to answer to this. But here's why I have to push back on what Will said and this ad plays into it. He says, oh, they're parroting the left.

No, there are people in the Tea Party who also don't like big business who came in and whacked jobs and got rid of people. That's a whole bunch of broke conservatives right now across the country not happy with companies that came in, piled on debt, got rid of people and then sold the company for a higher amount.

So I think it's a ridiculous argument to say, oh, this is all about the left. There are a lot of people in this country who do not like what has happened when you look at these venture capitalists. And so, I'm not going to play that game, but I will say, he has to answer to this.

And look, white, blue collar voters, not necessarily happy with President Obama, trust me, when they have a hack to their jobs, they're going to say, Mitt, you explain to us why we should vote for you and what you get to us.

PHILLIPS: All right. So --

CAIN: Roland --

PHILLIPS: Go ahead, Will.

CAIN: Roland, this is going beyond -- the right doesn't like business collusion with government. They don't like cronyism. They don't like cheating.

The right has no problem with success. They have no problem with someone coming in and even if it's creative destruction, capital markets. This is what they're indicting.

Newt Gingrich has gone beyond cronyism. He's indicting free markets.

Let me just say this. I'll give you, me as your example. I have a hard time mustering enthusiasm for Mitt Romney, but I've got no problem mustering enthusiasm for a defense of free markets. That's what they put on trial.

MARTIN: But separate these two. Even Bill Kristol said we need to be very careful trying to somehow associate with this with a free market. There's also a difference there.

Bottom line, though, there are people out there, Kyra, who have lost their jobs. And Mitt Romney is going to have to explain trashing the G.M. bailout to those people whose jobs were saved, who send their kids to college as a result of keeping those jobs, those dealerships, but also the companies that still survive because of auto plans.

He has some explaining to do. It's not as simple as saying, oh, no big deal.

PHILLIPS: All right. Quickly, a look at ahead, guys. I want you both to weigh in on this. If Newt loses Armageddon, that's his word by the way, for the battle in South Carolina, is it over for him, Will?

CAIN: Yes.

PHILLIPS: Roland?

CAIN: Is that quick enough? PHILLIPS: That's quick enough -- Roland.

MARTIN: He has no choice to step out because this will affect his future in the party and as a conservative voice. He can't lose that. If he loses all credibility, he's toast.

He has to go back to those funders when he's all done.

PHILLIPS: Kyra, if he wants to take down Mitt Romney, he should drop out now. Drop out now to take down Mitt Romney.

MARTIN: Chucky is not dropping out, Will.

PHILLIPS: Will and Roland will continue.

Meanwhile, CNN is the place not only for debate, as you can see, but for the Southern Republican presidential debate in Charleston. It's a week from today 8:00 Eastern, right here on CNN. The candidates get another chance to debate the issues two days before the South Carolina primary.

And, of course, we'll bring Roland and Will back and they'll go at it again.

It's been a pretty mild winter so far. And while you probably aren't missing shoveling your sidewalk, it's not good for an industry that relies on snow. Can ski resorts expect some fresh powder any time soon? Poor Rob Marciano has a gig in Breckenridge this week.

And presidential power meets a list of star power at the White House. Why Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie paid president and Mrs. Obama a visit.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

PHILLIPS: Well, Oprah Winfrey's got a hit on her hands. It's her own show on her OWN network.

"Showbiz Tonight's" A.J. Hammer is here to explain a little bit from New York.

I mean, A.J., I guess we had to expect this. Have you watched any of Oprah's next chapter?

A.J. HAMMER, "SHOWBIZ TONIGHT" HOST: I actually have. I've seen both of the episodes that have aired so far. Last night, Kyra, I just happened to accidentally stumble upon the Steven Tyler episode. And I was just fascinated. It's really well done. Tyler, obviously, is a fascinating character.

But, listen, everybody knew that the big attraction to the Oprah Winfrey Network would ultimately be Oprah herself. The question always was exactly how was she going to put herself out there. And now, we see she's done it in a terrific way.

Her new show, "Oprah's Next Chapter" is the network's first breakout hit. She got around 1.6 viewers for her second episode of the series that aired on Sunday night. And that is now the biggest audience ever for any show on the network since it was first launched back in 2011.

But, Kyra, I'm actually really curious now to see how the next show does. She's featuring Governor Chris Christie in that. A fascinating character to be sure, but I was thinking of all the possible people out there to interview so early in the show's life. I mean, for me, it was just an interesting choice. We'll have to see if the audience does come for it.

PHILLIPS: Well, those are definitely two people that make headlines for sure in totally different ways. All right. So, what's the deal with Brangelina going to the White House? Paying the president a visit?

HAMMER: Yes. Got to drop in on President Obama, absolutely. Angelina Jolie and Brad Pitt were in Washington spotted by the White House press corps.

And I'm looking at this video right here. It's kind of stalkerish to me, but it's the press corps. So, we're happy to know that.

They're actually in the Oval Office. It was an unannounced visit.

The White House said Jolie was in Washington to screen her film "In the Land of Blood and Honey." That film was all about the ethnic conflict in Bosnia.

CNN also learned that Jolie and the president had a chance to chat about her efforts to protect women from sexual violence around the world. The charity that these two do has certainly come to the attention of the White House before. You might remember a few years ago, the president and Pitt actually met to talk about his work building houses in New Orleans.

And, Kyra, I wouldn't be surprised, at least I wouldn't be surprised that much, if a bit of the chat last night involved Hollywood support of the president in the upcoming campaign.

PHILLIPS: Oh, you think?

HAMMER: Rob L recently told me it's not a problem. President, we've got your back. But I have a feeling that may have come up.

PHILLIPS: I bet you're right. A.J., thanks so much.

And, Trekkies, get ready to envy the great white way. William Shatner setting his phaser to stun on Broadway. That more in showbiz headlines with A.J. in our next hour.

Well, iced-in for months, now help is on the way for people in Nome, Alaska. We're going to have the latest on that desperate scramble for badly needed supplies.

And ski resorts from Colorado to Vermont facing the same problem, not enough snow on the slopes. Now, they're turning to some interesting tactics to try to get that white stuff to fall. We're going live to Colorado, next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

PHILLIPS: Checking stories cross-country now.

A sobering wakeup call for people in western North Carolina. Powerful storms and possible tornadoes slamming into that area yesterday. Several homes were damaged or destroyed. As many as 10 people were hurt.

And badly needed fuel may arrive in Nome, Alaska, today. The town is surrounded by a sheet of ice and has been cut off from supplies since major storms hit in November. A Coast Guard ice breaker is actually help get that Russian fuel tanker to reach the town through the treacherous Bering Sea.

And Tim Tebow mania triggering a run on Denver Broncos Jerseys -- Denver Broncos Jersey rather. The excitement over the playoff game against New England Patriots this weekend is only probably to blame for the shortage. Reebok actually stopped making the Jerseys after losing its partnership deal with NFL. So Nike is going to start supplying NFL gear this spring.

Well, if you planned a ski trip this winter, you may be in trouble. There's not a lot of snow out there. Ski resorts are -- across the U.S. are struggling to make their own white stuff now since there isn't enough actually falling from the skies. Meteorologist Rob Marciano in Breckenridge, Colorado, so where's the -- where's the snow, pal?

ROB MARCIANO, AMS METEOROLOGIST: Well I tell you -- they've got 18 feet in Alaska. They wish they could have a little bit of that here. You know we come out here every year in Colorado for the weather and climate summit. So we come regardless of snow. The last two seasons have been absolutely epic.

But ski resorts are struggling across the country from the northeast to the northwest and inter mountain west as well. Barrier resorts alone are reporting 15 percent drop in skier visits. But places like Breckenridge and the town here, skier visitations as far as lodging is concern is right on par with last year. So people are still coming to play in the snow and certainly in a place like Breckenridge at 10,000 feet, when it's minus two degrees, making snow is not a problem.

All right, let's look at the maps and compare last year to this year. Last year we had over 70 percent snow cover across the U.S. Absolutely epic, unbelievable ski year and also water shoring here in the mountains because that's where we get our water out west, from the snow. This year only 24 percent, a remarkable drop.

So what do the locals do here in order to get more snow? Well a local youth Native American tribe, they do a snow dance, Kyra. That's what they did over the weekend. And they do it right before the Ulur fest which is happening right now. And low and behold, it worked. Yesterday eight inches of fresh powder falling out of the skies come on. Look at the mountain behind me. How spectacular is that. The ten mile range and you know what; with Ulur fest -- this festival, it celebrates the Norse mythical God of snow. What a way to do that than a set of Viking ears. Come on a Viking horns, check it out, specially made, Kyra, by a local artist for CNN. They love us here. We love them as well. Happy Ulur fest everybody hopefully the snow -- I command the snow gods.

PHILLIPS: Yes.

MARCIANO: To bring more snow.

PHILLIPS: I'd like to see you now on the slopes. All right, I'd like some video, please, in your -- your special .

MARCIANO: All right.

PHILLIPS: Outfit coming down on a snowboard, no less, please. Next hit.

MARCIANO: I won't be the only one wearing this, I guarantee you that.

PHILLIPS: I just hope you don't go head first. Thank you Rob.

MARCIANO: All right, Kyra. See you.

PHILLIPS: Well, new recommendations for women considering IVF. We'll tell you what they are next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

PHILLIPS: Well if you are thinking about rather undergoing IVF, a new study is recommending actually limiting the number of transferred embryos during the fertility treatment depending on the woman's age.

CNN's senior medical correspondent Elizabeth Cohen here to talk more about this. So how many embryos are safe, according to the study?

ELIZABETH COHEN, CNN SENIOR MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT: You know, this is very controversial. And this study was done in Britain where they regulate medicine to a much higher degree than we do here. They wanted to know how many embryos do you need to put in to get a baby. Because you want a baby, but you want to avoid multiples if you can because that's more dangerous for the mom, more dangerous for the baby.

And what they say is that three doesn't -- that one or two is good, and three doesn't help you. That on average three does not increase your chances of having a healthy baby and avoiding multiples. So they say one for women under the age of 40 and two for women 40 and older. They -- and they -- they think that ought to be the legal limit.

PHILLIPS: But that doesn't it depend on the quality of embryos? I mean, for a full disclosure I went through IVF, right. And we transferred five.

COHEN: Right.

PHILLIPS: But that's because some didn't look so good. Others did look good. So we kind of --

COHEN: That's because your doctor looked at you as a person rather than a statistic.

PHILLIPS: Ok.

COHEN: And so your doctor said, you know, I have -- for various reasons I think that this woman is not going to be so successful with IVF. And we're going to need to put in five which is a relatively high number to get a baby. And you were blessed with two.

PHILLIPS: True.

COHEN: And that -- and that's -- that's wonderful. But statistically speaking, they say as an average more than two doesn't help. But your doctor said Kyra Phillips is not an average. She is her own person. And so that's why in this country we do things very differently.

PHILLIPS: So could we see this happen in the U.S.?

COHEN: It's not going to happen.

PHILLIPS: No.

COHEN: It's not going to happen in the U.S. I mean, everyone agrees, you don't want Octomom, right, I mean, she had 12 transferred which was ridiculous considering that she was a healthy young woman.

PHILLIPS: And that was considered very unethical.

COHEN: Yes it's crazy unethical.

PHILLIPS: Right, right.

COHEN: Exactly. But then again, you don't want to transfer for one because your chances of failure are high. So there's some magic number out there but it's going to be different for everyone. In this country we don't regulate medicine the way they do in the U.K.

In the U.K. you could not have had five embryos transferred. That would be considered illegal. But that's the way they -- that's the way their medical culture works and here things work very differently. But you have Octomom in this country. You didn't have it in England.

PHILLIPS: Right.

COHEN: Right so and that's the reason.

PHILLIPS: Elizabeth thanks.

COHEN: Thanks.

PHILLIPS: Let's go ahead and fast-forward and tell you about some events that are happening later today.

At 2:00 Eastern Major League Baseball Commissioner Bud Selig is going in front of the cameras. He's actually expected to announce a two- year extension that will keep him in charge through 2014.

And then in Alabama at 2:30 Eastern, a judge will hear a request to declare Natalee Holloway dead. She vanished in Aruba in 2005.

And 5:30 Eastern Defense Secretary, Leon Panetta, visiting Fort Bliss for a town hall meeting. The focus will be on future challenges faced by soldiers, family members and civilian workers.

All right, we're following lots of developments in the next hour of the CNN NEWSROOM. Let's go ahead and check in first with Ed Lavandera -- Ed.

ED LAVANDERA, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Kyra, we'll have the latest on that scandal in Mississippi over Governor Haley Barbour's almost 200 pardons. It's getting nasty. One former prosecutor has called him insane. And a stop -- and a top official in Mississippi says Barbour is like Boss Hog from the "Dukes of Hazard".

PAUL STEINHAUSER, CNN POLITICAL DIRECTOR: I'm Paul Steinhauser at the CNN Political Desk. Sarah Palin tells Mitt Romney to be more transparent. I'll have the latest controversies on the campaign trail at the top of the hour.

ALISON KOSIK, CNN CORRESPONDENT: And I'm Alison Kosik at the New York Stock Exchange. The tax man is catching more of the mistakes you make on your tax return but hey, it could actually mean more money in your pocket. Kyra, I'll have details in the next hour.

PHILLIPS: All right guys. Thanks so much. Also next hour an anonymous group of hackers coming out from behind their computers and joining the Occupy Wall Street Movement. We'll go inside the group for a revealing look at their fight against police crackdowns.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

PHILLIPS: Well, it doesn't have to do with the game, but rather personal reasons. The Packers dealing with a bit of a tragedy.

JEFF FISCHEL, HLN SPORTS: This is really personal as they prepare for the playoffs. A really sad story. The team is getting ready for Sunday's playoff game against the Giants without offensive coordinator Joe Philbin. The body of Philbin's son Michael was found in Wisconsin river, Monday. He apparently drowned after a night out with friends.

Packers quarterback Aaron Rodgers spoke to reporters after practice.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

AARON RODGERS, PACKERS' QUARTERBACK: It's important in this business to separate the personal from the professional. When you're at work to try to focus on work. But, you know, we're human as well. Everybody misses Joe and thinks about him and Diana, the kids and we know it's a tough time right now. So we're just trying to when we're here to focus on getting ready to play. And obviously we're thinking about him when we're not here.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

FISCHEL: They play Sunday night. Joe Philbin is away from the team indefinitely.

NBA highlights last night. Kobe Bryant coming off a 48-point game Tuesday night going into Utah with the Lakers. Under a minute left in the fourth quarter. There he is. Kobe hits the jumper to put L.A. up two. This one actually goes to overtime.

Kobe not only plays great with the ball. He is also a great defender. Blocks the shot at the buzzer. The Lakers win 90-87. Kobe 40 points on back to back nights -- nicely done.

The Lakers aren't the only show in L.A. anymore. Blake Griffin, Chris Paul and the Clippers taking on Lebron James and Dwyane Wade and the Heat. Seriously, can we just have two on two between those guys? That's like pay-per-view. But watch Paul Degriffin for the alley-oop.

At the other end thought, it's Lebron's turn on the fast break. Look at him get free and flying. But once again King James flamed out in the fourth quarter for the Heat and they go to overtime.

In OT it was all Clippers. Deandre Jordan caps it all for L.A. The Lakers and Clippers are 1-2 in their division. It's now a two-team city I would say for sure. All right. Kyra.

Did you see this. Conan O'Brien had his very own version of Tim Tebow's game-winning touchdown pass against the Steelers.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: With the game tied at 23, Denver quarterback Tim Tebow took the snap and faked the hand off to (INAUDIBLE). Before miraculously finding wide receiver Demaryius Thomas open at the 40 yard line.

Thomas raced into the end zone to give the victory. As the crowd went wild, (INAUDIBLE) he went down on one knee to give thanks for his victory.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

FISCHEL: Conan says he can't actually afford to show the video on his show, so he uses peanuts instead. Makes a lot of sense.

PHILLIPS: Well, he definitely doesn't make peanuts. That's for sure.

FISCHEL: No, no, no.

PHILLIPS: Thanks, Jeff. FISCHEL: Yes, sure.

PHILLIPS: Appreciate it.