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Gingrich Denies Open Marriage Claim; Romney Stumbles on Tax Returns; Six U.S. Marines Killed in Chopper Crash; Inside the Minds of South Carolina Voters; Fact-checking Statements in Debate; Cook: Captain Dined After Crash; Fireworks Fly at CNN Presidential Debate; Inside Gingrich's Tax Returns; Last Round to the Super Bowl; Best Companies to Work for; Remembering Sarah Burke
Aired January 20, 2012 - 08:59 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
KYRA PHILLIPS, CNN ANCHOR: Good morning, everyone.
We are following two big stories for you this morning. Six U.S. Marines are killed in a helicopter crash in Afghanistan over night. That's what a U.S. military official is telling our Barbara Starr now.
We're going to check in with her in just a moment, but first we want to begin the hour with presidential politics. And that bear- knuckled campaign of Newt Gingrich. Right now he's in front of a friendly audience in Charleston, South Carolina, but last night he shared the stage with his three Republican rivals at the CNN debate. But it was an ex-wife making a scandalous claim that actually took the spotlight.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
MARIANNE GINGRICH, NEWT GINGRICH'S FORMER WIFE: He was asking to have an open marriage and I refused.
BRIAN ROSS, ABC NEWS: He wanted an open marriage?
M. GINGRICH: Yes, that I accept the fact that he -- he has somebody else in his life.
JOHN KING, HOST, CNN'S JOHN KING, USA: She says that you came to her in 1999, at a time when you were having an affair. She said you asked her, sir, to enter into an open marriage. Would you like to take some time to respond to that?
NEWT GINGRICH (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: No, but I will. And I am frankly astounded that CNN would take trash like that and use it to open a presidential debate. I am tired of the elite media protecting Barack Obama by attacking Republicans.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
PHILLIPS: Joe Johns is at the Republican Leadership Conference where Gingrich is speaking at this hour.
Joe, Gingrich got a standing O when he was asked about that interview.
JOE JOHNS, CNN SENIOR CORRESPONDENT: Yes, he sure did. I mean, this is -- you can say a lot of things about it, but I think probably the most important thing to say, Kyra, is that this is the south. This is Newt Gingrich's home base. If there's anywhere these charges have been sort of talked about over the kitchen table and elsewhere, it's going to be in his backyard.
So this is a new interview, of course, but these are old charges. And one way of looking at it, at least, is that a lot of Republicans in this state really enjoy seeing a leader of theirs swat down the media, which is sort of what happened there. And they enjoyed it.
So, I mean, does that affect the race? I don't know. Anybody's guess. Kyra, I've been asking that question for about 24 hours and not even the top leaders in South Carolina can tell you whether it's going to have a negative effect or a positive effect, but at least up until now Gingrich has certainly been surging -- Kyra.
PHILLIPS: Oh, yes. Joe Johns, it's going to get really interesting within the next couple of days. Thanks so much.
You know, Mitt Romney also took it on the chin. His punch, taxes.
CNN political editor Paul Steinhauser joining us now.
Paul, Romney pretty much stumbled through that when he was asked about his tax returns?
PAUL STEINHAUSER, CNN POLITICAL EDITOR: He sure did. And this storyline has been going on all week. Let's go back to that first debate in Myrtle Beach on Monday night. He was -- you know he was on the defensive and he's been on a defensive to a degree on taxes since then, Kyra.
Let's take a listen to how it was played out in the debate. This is when Romney was asked by our John King, hey, your father back in 1968 when he was running for president, he released his taxes for numerous years, about 10 or 12 years. Will you do the same? Take a listen.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
MITT ROMNEY (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: You asked me an entirely different question.
(LAUGHTER)
GINGRICH: Beats me. I don't know. Where are we at, John?
(LAUGHTER)
(END VIDEO CLIP)
STEINHAUSER: Well, that's exactly not the bite I was going to toss to, Kyra, but what he was asked about the taxes there, he was booed because he said, well, maybe. He kind of hedged on it. And listen, this has been a trouble spot for Mitt Romney, but overall he did have a better debate, no doubt about that, than he did Monday night. I wouldn't declare him the winner in any way , shape or form. But definitely a much better debate than Monday night -- Kyra.
PHILLIPS: All right. I'll see if I can get this part right for you. Rick Santorum had a good night taking on Newt Gingrich as well. Take a listen to this.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
RICK SANTORUM (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Grandiosity has never been a problem with Newt Gingrich. He handles it very, very well.
I was 2-0 coming into South Carolina and I should get out of the race? I don't want a nominee that I have to worry about going out and looking at the paper the next day and figuring out where -- worrying about what he's going say next.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
PHILLIPS: How's the Santorum camp feeling this morning?
STEINHAUSER: Oh, they're feeling good. We saw Rick Santorum last night. He came to the spin room at the debate hall right behind us here in Charleston.
He was -- Kyra, he had a huge day yesterday because, first of all, he won Iowa. Took him 2 1/2 weeks but he was -- declared the winner in Iowa, in the caucuses back on January 3rd with that certified vote. And he had a strong performance in our debate. People are saying maybe it was his best performance in all of these 17 presidential debates to date.
He went after Gingrich. You just played that. He was also very aggressive at going after Mitt Romney. It was a big night for him. He needed it. He's doing -- he's down in the polls here so he needed a big night. He got it. Let's see what happens tomorrow when we get those results tomorrow night from the primary here in South Carolina.
And, you know, Kyra, it's live TV. Sometimes you get the right sound bite, sometimes you don't.
PHILLIPS: And you know what's great about you? You just roll with it. Whatever happens.
Paul, thanks so much. We appreciate you.
Well, the road to the Republican nomination for president's stop next in South Carolina for its primary election. Watch CNN Saturday night 7:00 Eastern as the contenders and you wait for the final results.
Six U.S. Marines have lost their lives after their helicopter crashes in southern Afghanistan. They were serving as part of NATO's International Security Assistance Force when their chopper went down.
Pentagon correspondent Barbara Starr joining us from the Pentagon -- or from Washington, rather.
Barbara, what exactly happened?
BARBARA STARR, CNN PENTAGON CORRESPONDENT: Well, Kyra, the investigation is underway. The U.S. military, though, strongly believes it was some sort of mechanical failure or other type of technical failure that brought this CH-53 down in Helmand Province in southern Afghanistan.
Six Marines losing their lives in this crash. Now the Taliban very quickly claimed responsibility for it saying they shot it down, even e-mailing our producer in Afghanistan saying that they were claiming responsibility but, again, military officials say they have every reason to believe this was brought down by some sort of mechanical or technical failure.
Six U.S. military families, of course, getting the worst news possible -- Kyra.
PHILLIPS: Yes. Worst news possible for sure. And we will follow more into that investigation with you, Barbara, as it develops.
Well, a state of emergency in parts of Nevada as a fast-moving and deadly wild fire nears Reno. Most of the dramatic pictures or more of the dramatic pictures you'll see right after the break.
And Newt Gingrich attacking the media and South Carolina voters cheer. Radio host Keven Cohen says his listeners just don't care about Gingrich's affair.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
PHILLIPS: Internet, TV, radio, the 24-hour news cycle has been filled with Newt Gingrich's ex-wife saying that he wanted an open marriage. The story is everywhere, but our next guess says that South Carolina voters, well, they just don't care.
Keven Cohen hosts an afternoon drive show on WBOC in Columbia.
Keven, you say that Gingrich is a master at spinning the news. And -- well, your listeners liked it last night.
KEVEN COHEN, NEWS RADIO WBOC: Well, good morning, Kyra. You're right. I think at this point when you look at what happened in that debate and you look at what happened, he was just on my radio program yesterday afternoon. This is a guy that is a media manipulator at his best. And I don't mean that in a mean way. I mean that in a complimentary way.
This is a guy that's been able to take what should have been a story that everybody was waiting to hear, sitting on the edge of their seat, to hear an answer to. And instead, he turns it and makes it look like the media is the bad guy and had nothing to do with him. So you got to give him his props.
PHILLIPS: Well, you also told me last week that Mitt Romney and his campaign is the most organized there on the ground. So what happened here? We didn't -- when he didn't give a straight answer on tax returns?
COHEN: That's really hard to believe that a guy that's been through a presidential election already in 2008 and now here in 2012 really hard to understand why he wasn't prepped and ready for this question. I mean, the way it was phrased was beautifully done by John in the debate. And I have to tell you, my answer would have been, hey, father knows best. You asked me about my dad. He's right. I'm going to release these things first thing next week.
As long as he's got nothing to hide, as long as there's nothing of an impropriety, it needs to come out now just to put it to rest. These are issues that are coming up whether it's Bain Capital or its his taxes, these shouldn't be part of the Republican GOP debate. This is something you'd expect to come when the Democrats start calling in the general election but he should not have to worry about this stuff amongst his own party. He needs to put it to rest.
PHILLIPS: Yes. Still no specific answers. All right. Two candidates drop out in South Carolina this week. Tell you what, this state is tough, Keven.
COHEN: Kyra, I told you last time this state can eat you up and spit you out. We're not very big. But I'll tell you what, if you can't handle it here, you can't handle it in the White House. And we saw that with Jon Huntsman and with Rick Perry. And they're gone. That leaves four. We'll see what happens in about 24 hours when we get some results starting to come in.
But this is -- I wouldn't be surprised to see something still happen between now and when the polls open at 7:00 a.m. here in the Palmetto State. It is a state where just anything is possible. And it will go down to the wire. This could be a very interesting race before it's all over.
PHILLIPS: What's your gut? Who's going to take South Carolina?
COHEN: Well, I mean, the emphasis right now, the ump right now belongs to Newt Gingrich. I wouldn't put it past him to pull this thing out in the 11th hour. I still think Mitt Romney is the most organized and has boots on the ground everywhere around the state. So I still, if I had to guess, I'd say Romney ekes it out. But I wouldn't be the least bit surprised, Kyra, to see Newt Gingrich pull out South Carolina.
PHILLIPS: WBOC in Columbia, you can listen to Keven's show.
Keven, thanks so much.
COHEN: Great visiting with you.
PHILLIPS: Likewise. All right. Coming up right after the break, shocking new allegations against the captain of the doomed cruise liner. As water poured in, he sits down for a romantic dinner. That story coming up.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
PHILLIPS: Facts and figures. Presidential candidates like to throw them out a lot during the debates, but sometimes they're not exactly correct. So let's go fact-checking now with our Tom Foreman.
TOM FOREMAN, CNN ANCHOR: When the Republican candidates were not lighting into each other, they were taking shots at the White House and President Obama.
And Rick Santorum in particular had one of the sharpest attacks when he went after the president on military spending and on entitlement programs.
And Rick Santorum, in particular, had one of the sharpest attacks when he went after the president on military spending and on entitlement programs.
RICK SANTORUM (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: And the president of the United States can't cut one penny out of the social welfare system and he wants to cut $1 trillion out of our military and hit our veterans and that's disgusting.
(APPLAUSE)
FOREMAN: But is that really the case? Let's take a look at it.
The truth is the president has proposed $580 billion in cuts as they try to figure out how to balance this budget -- $72 billion for Medicaid, other health programs, $42.5 billion from federal workers. You can argue about the specific definition of these cuts and when they're going to go into place. But they're not off limits. Clearly, the president has had to talk about them.
What about the military part of this equation? That's a different matter. On the military front, what we have is a situation where there are $1 trillion of military cuts in the works here. But half of those cuts are automatic. Remember the super committee last fall that was supposed to come up with a new budget? When they didn't, this kicked in.
Some of the cuts who are related to the scale down of Iraq and Afghanistan. And, oh, by the way, veterans administration funding up under President Bush and President Obama.
The bottom line is when you add all of that up and you consider this big grand statement by Mr. Santorum, you have to say in the end, it was simply false.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
PHILLIPS: Our Tom Foreman.
Now, a shocking new claim against the captain of that doomed cruise ship off the coast of Italy. A cook aboard the Costa Concordia says as the water poured in, the captain sat down for dinner less than an hour after the ship's disastrous impact on those rocks.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
ROGELIO BARISTA, COSTA CONCORDIA COOK (through translator): The captain insisted on having a meal at around 10:30. He arrived with a woman who I didn't recognize. I did wonder, though, what the captain was doing, why was he still there. Anyway, we gave him his drink. After that he was also still waiting for the dessert to be served to the woman he was with.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
PHILLIPS: Dan Rivers is following all the latest developments. He's joining us from Giglio Island.
Dan, what are you hearing? What have you been able to find out about these allegations, he might have been involved with a romantic dinner while all hell was breaking loose?
DAN RIVERS, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (via telephone): Absolutely. Yes. It seems that was the case.
The woman who we think he was having dinner with is a 25-year- old Moldovan woman who is a Costa employee but was not on duty at the time of this disaster. She had bought a ticket, an on board ticket, to spend more time on board with her friends on the ship, having completed a previous passage. She's also come out speaking about what happened, defending the actions of the captain, suggesting he didn't abandon ship as early as the coast guard would have us believe.
Here's what this woman, Domnica Cemortan said.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DOMNICA CEMORTAN, FORMER COSTA CONCORDIA CREW MEMBER (through translator): I've heard in Russian media that the captain left the ship first or among the first, but this is not true. I'm a witness. I don't know if I'm invited to testify in the court or not, but as a witness, I can say that I left the deck at 23:50 following an order from the captain who told me to go to the third deck to get into a life boat that could take more people.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
RIVERS: And that is at odds with the accounts that we've been given by the coast guard. You'll remember those recordings earlier in the week where the coast guard was berating the captain, ordering him several times to get back on the ship after he told the coast guard he had gotten off into a life boat and that there was still people on board.
And so, we've got two conflicting accounts which don't seem to add up and, clearly, you know, this is going to be the subject of a court case. One would imagine he's already on the house arrest with manslaughter charges pending. He hasn't been charged yet. But I'd imagine this is all going to come out in a court case over in the next few months.
PHILLIPS: Well, you mentioned you got off a boat ride with the coast guard. Did you get a better look at what exactly happened, Dan?
RIVERS: Yes, we got really close up to the decks of the Costa Concordia. You get a real sense of, firstly, what a steep angle she's lying at and how difficult it would have been for people on the deck to fight their way back up onto the side of the ship to try and escape. You also got a good look at the hole that they've blasted in, one of the many holes they've blasted in with explosives, the navy divers, to try to get access to the underwater section.
On the other side, we saw that enormous, long gash in the hull. It's about 17 meters. It's almost 200 feet long. There's a huge lump of rock embedded in the hull that's about the size of a small car, and that gives you just a real sense of what force it hit the rock and just how quickly the water must have been pouring in under the waterline -- perhaps unknown to the captain which might explain why he continued to sit there and have his dinner, but the water was pouring in. It must have been by the size of that hole. That's why the ship ended up listing over so dangerously and eventually tipping over so completely.
PHILLIPS: Dan Rivers reporting to us there from Italy -- Dan, thanks.
Well, dinner, drinks, desert -- you just heard all the allegations. What's the worldwide media saying now?
Zain Verjee has been tracking the responses about this dinner date the captain had during all of this. What have you found?
ZAIN VERJEE, CNN INTERNATIONAL ANCHOR: Good morning, Kyra.
I looked at a few of the newspaper headlines today, and a lot of them were really focusing on the human element of the disaster and asking what would any individual have done in that kind of a situation like that? They're not really defending the captain here, but they are asking interesting questions.
This is what "The National" in the United Arab Emirates is saying. Its headline is "The Ark of Humanity." It says, "Sudden disaster brings out the best and the worst of human natures. Tales of villainy may also emerge human nature being what it is. Who among us can say with certainty how we would react in such a test?"
The "Sydney Morning Herald" says this: "Courage untested until ship goes down. Captain Schettino's story appears human, all too human," it says, "possibly a vainglorious man who panicked at the one crucial moment of his career and who will now spend the rest of his life in a state of bitter remorse and regret."
The captain still has a lot of very tough questions to answer. His friends and his family are defending him, but survivors and families of victims are absolutely furious, as are so many people who are horrified learning of things today, for example, the details about having dinner after the ship struck rocks -- Kyra.
PHILLIPS: Zain Verjee out of London -- Zain, thanks.
And stories happening cross-country now.
Just outside of Reno, Nevada, 10,000 people evacuated because of these wild fires, including Vice President Joe Biden who had to cut a speech short as the fire neared the building where he was. So far, one person has been killed. Firefighters have stopped the fire's progress, they say, and they're now fighting the hot spots.
In New Brunswick, New Jersey, the pretrial hearing for former Rutgers student Dharun Ravi gets underway today. You'll remember he's accused of that hate crime and the cyber bullying of his roommate, Tyler Clemente. Clemente later died by suicide. Ravi turned down a plea deal where he could have avoided jail time.
And in Nome, Alaska, the fuel transfer is complete. Took a tanker with the help of the U.S. coast guard, 11 days to get through the sea ice. And they finally reached the city to make the 1.3 million gallon fuel delivery.
Well, if you missed last night's Southern Republican presidential debate, you missed some serious fireworks. But don't worry, we've got you covered.
All the replays straight ahead.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
PHILLIPS: Checking top stories now.
Six U.S. Marines have lost their lives after their helicopter crashed in southern Afghanistan. Taliban claiming responsibility but NATO says the cause of the crash is likely mechanical, not enemy fire.
Rescue workers have suspended their search off the Costa Concordia after the cruise ship moved. Italian authorities are trying to decide when to call off the search for survivors and start removing fuel from the ship.
And the Occupy movement has its next target, the Supreme Court. Protesters plan to gather there today. They're protesting the high court's ruling that allowed corporations to donate unlimited amounts of cash to political action committees.
Fireworks are flying at last night's CNN presidential debate. And if you missed it, here's how it all started.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIPS)
NEWT GINGRICH (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Let me be quite clear. The story is false. Every personal friend I have who knew us in that period says the story was false.
We offered several of them to ABC to prove it was false. They weren't interested because they would like to attack any Republican. They're attacking the governor, they're attacking me, I'm sure they'll probably get around to Senator Santorum and Congressman Paul. I am tired of the elite media protecting Barack Obama by attacking Republicans.
REP. RON PAUL (R-TX), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: I think too often all of us are on receiving ends from attacks from the media. It's very disturbing because sometimes they're not based on facts and we suffer the consequences.
JOHN MARCOUX, RETIRED STOCK TRADER: Gentlemen, when will you release your tax returns specifically?
GINGRICH: An hour ago.
PAUL: I haven't thought it through. I don't have an intention of doing it, for a different reason. I'd be embarrassed to put my financial statement out --
RICK SANTORUM (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: I do my own taxes and they're on my computer and I'm not home.
MITT ROMNEY (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: If I'm not nominee, I'll put these out at one time so we have one discussion of all of this.
SANTORUM: Grandiosity has never been a problem with Newt Gingrich. He handles it very, very well. That's really one of the issues here, folks. I mean, a month ago, he was saying that, oh, it's inevitable that I'm going to win the election. I'm destined to do it.
I don't want a nominee that I have to worry about going out and looking at the paper the next day and figuring out what -- worrying about what he's going say next.
GINGRICH: I do think government can kill jobs and I do think government can create the environment where entrepreneurs create jobs. And the truth is, you did very well under the rules that we created to make it easier for entrepreneurs to go out and do things. You'd of been much poorer if Jimmy Carter had remained president.
ROMNEY: Mr. Speaker, you're a speaker of four years.
GINGRICH: Right.
ROMNEY: I was in business 25 years. So you're not going to get credit for my 25 years, number one. Number two, I don't recall a single day saying, oh, thank heavens Washington is there for me.
(END VIDEO CLIPS)
PHILLIPS: All right. Now the story that has water coolers buzzing today. And you just heard it there at the CNN Southern Republican debate in Charleston. It was hot from the get-go. Those allegations from Gingrich's ex-wife saying he wanted an open marriage.
Andy Shain is the political writer and blogger for the state in Columbia, South Carolina.
Andy, Gingrich's response, it was a hit with the audience. Will it be a hit with the rest of the state?
ANDY SHAIN, POLITICAL WRITER & BLOGGER, "THE STATE": You know, I think -- I think it will. You know, an anti-media rant is going to be popular among Republicans in this state. But I think they're going to have some questions about what's happened with Marianne Gingrich. When a woman talks about the fact that she's talking to her husband and he says "I love you" and she realizes there's another woman in his bed. That's probably going to turn off some voters.
PHILLIPS: All right. Now, there's been a lot of upheaval since you and I last talked last week. You would have bet on Romney. Now, you say you're not so sure.
SHAIN: Yes. I feel like we should take back our $10,000 bet at this point. I mean, the past 48 hours have been incredible. Romney before the Monday debate had a well into the double digits lead, a teen's lead. With his performance on Monday and with Gingrich's standing ovation, you know, that lead has dwindled or in some cases in some polls, Gingrich is now leading.
I really think we're going to have a dead heat here coming tomorrow and that's been a big surprise so far.
PHILLIPS: All right. So a week ago we talked about South Carolina and its rich history of dirty politics and nasty attack ads. Now, we're getting down to the wire.
How low do you think it's gone? Has it worked for anyone in particular?
SHAIN: You know, low is I guess in the eye of the beholder. What it has been is constant and constant. We'll have blocks between shows where it's just all ads between the PACs, the campaigns, so forth.
And it's just been -- we've been inundated. There's robocalls. I'm getting complaints from voters who are saying they're getting five, six robocalls. They're in a sense tired of it. I wonder if that's going to actually work against some of the candidates.
I don't know who it's hurting or helping as much. But, obviously, a lot of it was focused on Mitt Romney because he was the front-runner and a lot of that has taken some hits, especially, again, with his debate performance and questions about his wealth and about, you know, the idea that he paid 15 percent taxes. I mean, he's the one who's taken the hits while Gingrich's numbers have gained.
PHILLIPS: All right. Final question. Overall -- taking a look at everything over all there, Mr. South Carolina insider, what do you think is going to happen tomorrow?
SHAIN: You know, again, if you asked me on Monday, I would have thought Romney was going to go three for three. Now with the situation in Iowa, it looks like he could come out of South Carolina only one for three.
I really do think it's going to be very, very close. I think Santorum's debate performance will help his numbers a little bit. You know, obviously, the Marianne Gingrich thing is in there. It's really now almost anybody's guess.
I think it's going to be an interesting night to watch the tabulations.
PHILLIPS: Oh, yes. We'll all be watching minute by minute.
Andy Shain, great talking to you again.
SHAIN: Great, great. Thank you very much. Thanks for having me.
PHILLIPS: You bet.
Let's go ahead and check back in with Joe Johns. He's at the Republican Leadership Conference there in South Carolina where Gingrich was supposed to speak this hour, Joe, but it has been canceled? What's going on?
JOHNS: It has been canceled. It's kind of odd.
We're told that former Congressman Bob Livingston, who's out of Louisiana, he's a lobbyist now in Washington, D.C., spoke to reporters just a little while ago inside the arena here, at the College of Charleston -- big arena where the stage was set up for Newt Gingrich scheduled to speak.
Livingston told reporters that he was not going to be there, that the former speaker was not going to come due to a scheduling conflict. There was scuttlebutt behind the scenes also about a question of the size of the crowd. We really didn't see that many people inside at all. And it's a very large room. Looks like a basketball arena, which would have been an embarrassing picture for the former speaker of the House to go and basically give a speech to an empty arena.
So, they decided they were not going to do it. And we're trying to find out more than that. They're not saying it was because there was no crowd, although that was sort of the unofficial scuttlebutt, if you will.
Back to you, Kyra.
PHILLIPS: OK. Joe, thanks so much. Keep us posted.
JOHNS: You bet.
PHILLIPS: Well, the Sundance Film Festival is underway. And Robert Redford is already making news. Not for his directing, but politics.
And Newt Gingrich releases his tax returns. He did that just as last night's debate got underway. We'll take a closer look at them with Poppy Harlow, next.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
PHILLIPS: The Annual Sundance Film Festival is getting underway today in Salt Lake City. And Robert Redford is already making news. Not for his directing but for his drama -- political drama.
"Showbiz Tonight's" A.J. Hammer is joining us.
What's he up to, A.J.?
A.J. HAMMER, "SHOWBIZ TONIGHT": Well, Kyra, as you well know, the fact is Robert Redford has always been one to speak his mind when it comes to politics. So, he used some of his time during the Sundance Film Festival's opening remarks to get a bit political. He actually tweaked Republican front-runner Mitt Romney and his, as Redford put it, mushroom cloud of ego.
Well, "Showbiz Tonight" sat down with Redford at Sundance. He told us he is extremely frustrated at how he thinks the Republican Party is parlaying the political process. Listen to what he told us.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
ROBERT REDFORD, FOUNDER, SUNDANCE INSTITUTE: What I was taught to believe from a child is that there are two parties representing America's view of itself, Republicans and the Democrats, OK? So those two parties fully developed are supposed to be working together to make something happen. So that's what -- politics is supposed to be the art of compromise.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HAMMER: And I think, Kyra, there are a lot of people who might say Robert Redford is on to something.
PHILLIPS: A.J. -- all right. Let's talk about "American Idol," shall we? This has always been a big ratings giant. But apparently, the premiere show didn't do as well as last year?
HAMMER: Yes. Let's keep in mind it's all relative when it comes to "American Idol." These are in fact the lowest ratings for the show since its premiere back in 2002, lowest premiere numbers. 2002 is when the show day debuted.
"Idol" attracted around 20.5 million viewers for its debut, which was certainly enough to be rated the top show on the air on Wednesday night. But I'm thinking that has to be some kind of disappointment of sorts for the people behind the show. At its height, "Idol" saw more than 37 million people tuning in for premiere episode. That was back in 2007.
The FOX Network had actually been trying to manage expectations. They publicly admitted that they expected ratings to be down.
And the truth is if you want to watch a singing competition show these days, you know, we have "The Voice" on NBC, we have "X Factor." They just wrapped their season on FOX few weeks ago. And we have a few weeks ago. And we have a few others.
So, Kyra, there may be some fatigue among viewers for these kinds of shows. Honestly, I don't think, at least from my perspective, they did the same kind of advanced press that they normally do. I don't think people were as generally aware that "Idol" was firing back up.
But, wow, if you didn't see the show, there's serious talent on it to be reckoned with this season.
PHILLIPS: And they're young, too. Oh, my gosh.
HAMMER: Real young.
PHILLIPS: There are so many teenagers that are doing incredible auditions.
HAMMER: Yes. I think it's going to be quite a season. And I think there's going to be a lot of drama, too, particularly given the age of some of these contestants this year.
PHILLIPS: We'll keep following it, A.J. Thanks.
If you want information on everything breaking in the entertainment world, A.J.'s got it. Every night, "Showbiz Tonight" on HLN, 11:00 p.m. Eastern.
While Romney is getting hammered on releasing his tax returns, Newt Gingrich releases his. He posted them online as the CNN debate got underway last night.
CNN Money's Poppy Harlow has been going through them, sifting through them and crunching all the numbers for us. What did you find out, Poppy?
POPPY HARLOW, CNNMONEY.COM: You know, first of all, that he's a pretty wealthy guy. What strategic timing right before the commercial break in the debate. Everyone tuned in, by the way. Newt Gingrich releases his tax returns.
Let's take a look at the numbers, folks. Almost 3.2 million. That's what Newt brought in in 2010. He paid a relatively high effective tax rate, almost 32 percent.
Look at his tax bill for 2010. Almost 1 million bucks. I dug into that a little bit more. He got about $218,000 in deductions. He gave a little over 80 grand to charity.
But now, let's take a look where this places him among other millionaires, other people in his bracket. He paid almost 32 percent. Folks that made between $2 million and $5 million a year in this country on average pay about 26 percent. So, he paid a lot more than that.
And here is this important 15 percent, because we all heard this week, Romney say that he paid about an effective tax rate of 15 percent. We won't know for sure until he releases his tax returns come April, which he said last night that he would do.
But 80 percent of Americans pay under 15 percent in terms of their effective tax rate. More than 40 million Americans, Kyra, pay no federal income tax.
So, this is very interesting. This puts Newt Gingrich in a very, very high tax bracket, above even some of his peers.
PHILLIPS: Well, how did he make the majority of his money?
HARLOW: That was so interesting -- $2.5 million came from something -- from his businesses. A large part of that came from something called Gingrich Productions.
So, I Googled it, looked into it. This is where all of his 20 plus books, his wife's book, all of their speeches, where all of that money goes. He gets speaking fees. He said on the campaign trail, up to $35,000 per speech, board of director's fees, he made 10 grand from that. Rental property, financial investments.
But, again, you have to compare this to Mitt Romney who makes the majority of his income off of financial investments. So, his money from those investments is capped at a tax rate -- capital gains tax rate of 15 percent, Kyra. Legally in this country, they can't pay any more than 15 percent on capital gains, Kyra. So, that's a big difference you're going to see, I think, when we get those numbers from Romney.
PHILLIPS: Poppy, thanks.
All eyes on the Q.B. But our next guest says, hold on a second. There's a lot more to watch in Sunday's playoff game. We've got a preview right after the break.
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PHILLIPS: Just in to the CNN NEWSROOM, an online protest that probably got your attention earlier this week has succeeded, at least for now. Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid postponing Tuesday's scheduled vote on the PIPA bill. Major Web sites such as Wikipedia, as you may remember, launched an online blackout on Monday to protest the anti-piracy measure. They say its restrictions would actually put them out of business. Media companies such as Time Warner, that's our parent company, support this legislation. Ok, time to separate the men from the boys in the NFL playoffs. Sunday's winners actually advance to the Super Bowl if you're paying attention. And whether you're a big football fan or not, well, Mike Pesca says you'll be watching the quarterbacks.
Our favorite NPR sports guy with us once again. So Mike, you know, we've got Brady, and Eli, and Flacco and Smith. You know QBs get so much of the hype, but they're not the only hero in the game here.
MIKE PESCA, NPR SPORTS CORRESPONDENT: Yes, that's right. Before you went to break I noticed you put up a picture of Tom Brady. And everyone watching said oh, that's Tom Brady. Now if you had put one of his linemen, like Matt Light, or Logan Mankin up I'm sure most viewers would have said why are they showing lumberjacks on TV.
Some of the players who are really valuable are more anonymous and in the current NFL the quarterback, who's always been the face of the franchise, and the cover boy, has really gotten to be more important than he's ever been before.
So if you want to talk about the four quarterbacks who are playing, all are at least good. Brady is fantastic. Eli Manning is a very good to almost fantastic quarterback. Then you have the other two guys who aren't talked about a lot but Joe Flacco can make some throws. You know when we're talking about something like Tim Tebow, the line is well, he wins so much, he must be a good quarterback. Flacco's been to the playoffs every year of his career but no one applies that metric of he wins, therefore, it's good to him.
And then, Alex Smith has actually never been good since he was the number one draft pick. But he worked very hard and this year he's shown that he's an above average quarterback. And in last week's game he made a couple of throws that I don't think anyone thought he could make but he did. And now people are saying, wow, Alex Smith. This guy's a really good quarterback. I think the pendulum might -- might have swung a little too far for Alex Smith. He almost went from underrated to overrated instantly.
But the quarterback play will be interesting to watch. Not the most important thing, as you say. And everyone can at least make the throws that could hurt the defense.
PHILLIPS: Ok, so who do you think can give us the most interesting Super Bowl?
PESCA: Yes, there's no such thing as an uninteresting Super Bowl with two weeks of hype.
PHILLIPS: Never?
PESCA: But of course -- never. I mean you know. The game might stink, but for two weeks everyone will be talking about it. And that, by the way, is why I like this weekend better. There are two games, there's only a week between games. You have less time to get distracted. Obviously the Patriots and the Giants; that will be a rematch of the 2007-2008 Season where the -- the Giants eked it out. And Boston wants that rematch so bad. Don't look past the Ravens though, Boston, I would say.
Baltimore and San Francisco, well, that would be the Harbaugh Bowl because you have brothers Jim and John facing each other. Brothers have never played each other, head coaches, in a regular season game until this year. If those guys matched up in the Super Bowl we'd be on Harbaugh overload.
The Giants have also played the Ravens. I think the Patriots and 49ers is the one match-up without a lot of history to it. But I do have to say it's the Super Bowl. There's no such thing as at least an un-hyped match-up.
PHILLIPS: Mike Pesca, good to see you.
PESCA: Thank you.
PHILLIPS: Free food, free laundry, free health care. The best companies to work for next.
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PHILLIPS: It's out. Fortune's annual list of the best companies to work for. Felicia Taylor has all the top -- the top bids here. Any surprises?
FELICIA TAYLOR, CNN BUSINESS CORRESPONDENT: Not really because I think people kind of know that Google is a fun place to work. And that's the number one company. It slips back into that top spot that it held back in 2007 and 2008. It may have disappointed on the earnings front, but when it comes to perks, the company offers free food, free laundry, even Bocci ball and a bowling alley if you're into that kind of thing.
And then there is Boston Consulting and software company SAS. SAS, for me this a real perk, it has unlimited sick time and free health care. I think that's just amazing frankly. The best perk of all, these companies have all been hiring. The CEO of "Great Place to Work" which conducted the study with "Fortune" magazine says that's where the real feel-good moment lies. Take a listen.
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SUSAN LUCAS-CONWELL, CEO, GREAT PLACE TO WORK: We also work very hard to keep and retain talent because while we know it's a tough environment, the glass isn't just half full. It's -- well, it's just not half empty, it's half full. And so we see companies like Google at the number one spot, created 30 percent job growth last year. All told the top ten, over 100,000 jobs, the average job growth, 13 percent.
(END VIDEO CLIP) TAYLOR: So if the company is doing well, that means they're adding to their employees. And this survey is all about employee satisfaction with their jobs. And let's face it you know we spend a lot of time in the workplace, so if you're happy at work it's important for overall morale and it's also important for productivity -- Kyra.
PHILLIPS: All right, so from a business standpoint then, why is it so important to make this list?
TAYLOR: Well because, frankly, you know your reputation precedes you, right; whether it's an individual or it's a company. And happy employees like I said make productive employees even in a weak economy which is what we're seeing. They're also more loyal. For example, turnover at these top companies is pretty low. SAS, Intel and General Mills have a turnover rate of less than three percent. Take the average for the rest of corporate America which is more like 20 percent turnover rate as the normal -- normal sort of barometer.
Bottom line, greater satisfaction that it can help the bottom -- the company's bottom line. So if -- if you're having productive employees, the company itself is likely to be more profitable in the long term. So it's all good news really. And a happy workplace is a nice thing. I mean, don't you look forward to going to work? I do.
PHILLIPS: Of course. That's the right thing to say, right some Felicia, thanks.
TAYLOR: Of course.
PHILLIPS: We're following lots of developments in the next hour of CNN NEWSROOM. Let's go ahead and check in first with our Dana Bash. Hey Dana.
DANA BASH, CNN SENIOR CONGRESSIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Hey there Kyra. Well, last night, Rick Santorum, the Republican presidential contender really took off after two of his rivals accused him of playing footsies with the left. We are here at his first to five events today and we'll have more on what he plans to do today at the top of the hour.
DON LEMON, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Newt Gingrich takes on John King. Newt Gingrich takes on the media and CNN. You know what I'm talking about. It was the question of the night. You've heard from the pundits. Now you're going to hear how it's playing among the voters in South Carolina. I'm Don Lemon, I'll have that coming up at the top of the hour.
AMBER LYON, CNN CORRESPONDENT: I'm Amber Lyon in Los Angeles. The Internet collective Anonymous says they're able to shut down the DOJ's Web site in a matter of minutes. Find out how coming up next hour.
PHILLIPS: All right. Thanks, guys.
We're also going to talk to one of the stars of the new movie "Red Tails" and ask what it meant to play a Tuskegee air man and to do those American heroes right by putting their story on the big screen.
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PHILLIPS: Well, one of the best free style skiers in the world has died after an accident on the slopes in Utah.
Jeff Fischel is here to talk more about Sarah Burke and all the reaction. She was practicing for the X Games.
JEFF FISCHEL, HLN SPORTS: She was. She's one of the best in the world. She has been for years and truly a trailblazer. Back on January 10th, she fell while trying a trick at Park City Mountain Resort's Super Pipe. That was last week on January 10th.
She underwent surgery, but died yesterday surrounded by her family. She's truly one of the best ever coming out of Canada. She was a pioneer of the sport. You know, she's won four gold medals in the Winter X Games. She was the world champion in 2005. ESPN's honored her as the best female action sports athlete.
And she's not just great out there doing what she was doing. She also wanted to make a difference. She was really a driving force in getting the ski half pipe event added to the 2014 Winter Games. So she was truly someone who was making sure her sport that she loved was going to carry on. And those who knew her say she was more than just a great skier.
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UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: She lived every day of her life to the fullest with her amazing husband, Rory, and her incredible friends and family. And everybody in the world. For sure it's a huge tragedy.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: She was so grounded. She was so modest. That's why people are endeared to her more than anything. And that's what made her such a phenomenal positive influence on people.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
FISCHEL: So those are some other athletes. The second -- the man you saw there is a coach who teaches in Canada some of the extreme sports that we're seeing her being a leader. And of course, she didn't just impact those who do the free style skiing. Some other athletes are talking about what it meant.
New York Knicks forward Amare Stoudemire, he tweeted about her saying she had an impact on his life. They met on ESPN the magazine photo shoot. Quote, "The world lost a great athlete and innovator today. Prayers go out to her family."
And, of course, tennis legend Billy Jean King also knew her. She tweeted, "She was a great friend and gave so much of her time to the Women's Sports Foundation and helping young people. She was a champion on and off the slopes and will be greatly missed."
Sarah burke, a fantastic athlete that the world was really just getting to know because of the growth in popularity of these sports.
PHILLIPS: And not only that, the medical bills. Her husband is having a hard time paying for all that, right?
FISCHEL: Yes, incredible. It's great to see a Web site has started where people are helping raise money for him because through the last 10 days, the medical bills have been incredible. There you see the Web site, giveforward.com/sarahburke. They're trying to raise $550,000 to help him pay the medical bills.
PHILLIPS: Wow. Oh, my God.
