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CNN SATURDAY MORNING NEWS
Ice-Battered Kentucky Pleads for Help From Storm; Politicians Seethe Over Wall Street Bonuses; President's Half Brother Arrested in Kenya Drug Case; Military To Beam Super Bowl to Far-Flung Personnel; Octuplet Mother Already Had Six Children
Aired January 31, 2009 - 06:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
T.J. HOLMES, CNN ANCHOR: From the CNN Center, on an early Saturday morning, January 31 -- are you adjusting yet to this 6:00 a.m. gig?
BETTY NGUYEN, CNN ANCHOR: Oh, it's tough. But hey, we're here. We're awake. And we got a lot to tell you.
Good morning, everybody. I'm Betty Nguyen. Thanks so much for starting your day with us.
All right. So the country is waking up still in this deep recession that we've been experiencing. And the outrage from lawmakers, that is growing.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SEN. CLAIRE MCCASKILL (D), MISSOURI: These people are idiots.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HOLMES: We'll explain that a little further, exactly who she was talking about.
NGUYEN: Yes, we'll put that in context for you.
HOLMES: Yes, but a way to start a Saturday morning, huh?
Also, we were kind of celebrating this week. Heard the woman out in California had octuplets.
NGUYEN: Right.
HOLMES: Everybody was healthy; everybody was all right.
Well, now, not so much celebrating going on among the fertility -- fertility doctors out there, saying there's an ethical issue going on here and this maybe should not been allowed to happen. So we'll get into that debate this morning.
NGUYEN: Also, millions of people around the world are, for some reason, focused on some football game -- I don't know, happening -- what? In Tampa this weekend?
HOLMES: Oh really? NGUYEN: I think so. Someone told me about it. Well, including thousands of our troops in Iraq and Afghanistan. We're talking about the Super Bowl. Stay tuned for that.
Meantime though, a look at some stories that we've been working overnight.
Out in the Midwest, a blackout in fact. Days of a severe storm, crews have been out and they are still working to get the lights back on for hundreds of thousands of people. And as the ice melts, officials say there are new problems. Trees, they are springing up and knocking out more power lines.
HOLMES: Also, a new test and a major test for a young democracy. You're seeing video there of someone being patted down in Iraq. Well, he's being patted down because he wants to go vote. Security is tight there for parliamentary elections that are going on today. They've been going on fairly without incident for the most part. Did have a bombing -- a couple of mortars that went off. But for the most part, it's been pretty peaceful.
President Obama is watching this very closely. He, of course, is weighing a decision on when to withdraw U.S. troops.
NGUYEN: Well, seven people are dead after a bus carrying Chinese tourists flipped over in Arizona. Look at these pictures. At least nine others were hurt. It happened yesterday on Route 93 close to the Hoover Dam. Police shut down the road in both directions for awhile, and there's still no word on what caused that crash
HOLMES: Well, a lot of people right now -- hey, sorry, let the voice there get his part in about us being the severe-weather headquarters.
But yes, severe weather happening right now. A lot of people in Kentucky not able to see us right now. They are going through the worst power outage in that state's history. Crews working at this hour trying to get service back to hundreds of thousands of people.
NGUYEN: Yes. Many of them live in the central part of the state, and Sheila Reeves (ph) from affiliate WAVE tells us how they're dealing with all of this.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: It is cold. I have took a head cold (ph) over this.
SHEILA REEVES, WAVE CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Nearly all of Grayson County is still in the dark after Tuesday's winter storm.
DAVID CANTRELL, POSTAL CARRIER: It's been disastrous; trees down, power -- electric poles, lines, all of them are down.
REEVES: Downed trees and power lines created situations too dangerous for emergency crews to reach. And 95 percent of the county is still without power.
RANDALL SMITH, EMERGENCY MGMT. ASSN.: We have people on our lakefronts and so on, that we don't know if they're alive or dead. We haven't even got to clear the roads into them.
REEVES: And with more than 600 power lines down, it will be a long time before power is restored.
SMITH: It will possibly be four to six weeks.
REEVES: Local shelters are filling up.
TRACIE BRADY, CONVENIENCE-STORE MANAGER: When I arrived here, there was already, like, 500 people here.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We had 150 cots for 500 people the first night.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: (INAUDIBLE) not open.
BRADY: We're not open, but if you need something -- what do you need?
The National Guard came and picked all of it up. And they're on their way now to pick up the milk.
REEVES: This convenience-store shipment arrived the day of the storm but can't be sold because of the outage.
BRADY: There's probably going to be households that probably lose more than that. At least we didn't really lose it. You know, people get to use it.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Two trays up front, and a full tray here.
REEVES: So workers like this letter carrier are determined to bring Litchfield (ph) back to life.
CANTRELL: We're crawling, ducking under trees. Our postmaster told us yesterday that when you go out into the community, people expect to see you. It gives them a sense that things are coming back to -- to normal.
REEVES: Sheila Reeves, WAVE 3 News.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
HOLMES: All right. Over here in -- in your area. We need to stay over here. A lot going on.
REYNOLDS WOLF, CNN METEOROLOGIST: This particular area.
HOLMES: We don't need to take you out of it. A lot of going on there.
Now we always see in these ice storms, when power is out. It is still going to be cold. You know, sometimes we always see these deaths that come afterwards, unfortunately...
WOLF: Absolutely.
HOLMES: ...because people trying to -- to heat their homes, and whatnot.
WOLF: That's right.
HOLMES: ...they don't have power. So is it still going to be pretty cold for them for awhile, the folks (INAUDIBLE)
WOLF: Absolutely. And -- and because of the vents, that's one of the reasons why carbon-monoxide poisoning...
HOLMES: Yes.
WOLF: ....is still a real threat for a lot of people, and they need to do everything you can to, as you mentioned....
HOLMES: Try to stay warm.
WOLF: ...stay warm. You know, they -- they try to cook in their homes; they try to do everything.
HOLMES: Yes.
WOLF: A lot of people will bring in their -- you know, their -- their -- their gas stoves from outside, the gas grills. Not always the best idea.
Hey, let's show you what T.J.'s been talking about. I mean, it's been a tremendous story that's been affecting millions of people. A lot of homes still without power.
Here are some -- some shots we have. I-Reports sent in from Missy Jones (ph). Missy, thanks so much for these great pictures.
Not so pretty what you're seeing here. This is in Fayetesville (ph), Arkansas. This is along E-16. You can see the damage there. This looks like it was a fountain. Right now, it looks almost like an ice sculpture for the time being. I mean, just some incredibly low temperatures. We have plenty of moisture in place. We have that combination. At times, it's snow; other times, it happens to be ice. Ice can be just a huge mess, as we're feeling this morning. It's going to take some -- in some locations, possibly up to weeks before things get better in many spots around the U.S.
Now let's go form this spot that we see all the ice and all the snow back to the weather maps to show you the temperatures. T.J. was talking about that. He wanted to know if -- if a lot of these people would still be suffering from these chilly conditions. That's going to be the situation for you in places like Lexington where still it's 7 degrees. Cincinnati, you've got 5 degrees. Single digits for you. Baltimore with 21. Currently 27 in Richmond.
Back over to parts of Little Rock and over to Memphis, right below the freezing point at 31 degrees. Thirty-two in Birmingham; here in Atlanta, right at 32.
Now all things being said, things in the Southeast are going to be pretty nice today. Plenty of sunshine; temperatures going to be a bit more mild in spots like Texas. But back in the Great Lakes, looking at another round of some snow showers. Parts of southern Michigan have just been hammered by the snow. It could happen again today, especially up and along the northern peninsula.
Great Basin, high pressure's going to the big story. And things for the most part around the nation weatherwise are going to be quiet. Problem is, when things are quiet, that usually mean something else is about to fall.
Well, we're going to see some changes to the jet stream, a big trough developing over on the eastern half of the U.S. And that cold air is going to come roaring south like a sack of hammers, and with it, we're going to see that storm track a little bit farther to the south. What that might mean early next week, a good chance of seeing some severe storms, possibly some tornadoes, in the extreme southeast.
But at the same time, right behind that, when you have that cold air funneling in from the north, near-blizzard conditions, whiteout conditions at times for parts of the Southeast, the Ohio Valley, maybe even in the mid-Mississippi Valley, and then possibility also of severe coastal flooding. A strong Nor'easter possible into Monday- Tuesday, maybe even Wednesday.
And guys, guess what? You know what that's going to mean? Possibly more power outages, and more issues for a lot of folks. So many people who are without power could get a double dose of it. More damage expected in days to come.
HOLMES: Man, nothing like that ice. It can just paralyze a community and state like that.
WOLF: No question.
HOLMES: All right. Reynolds, we know you're on it this morning. We appreciate you. Talk to you a lot.
WOLF: You got it.
NGUYEN: Let's talk a little politics right now, because Senate Democrats are promising to put more money for roads and bridges in President Barack Obama's stimulus plan.
HOLMES: That was Chuck Schumer you just saw there, New York's senator. He says Democrats would like to add $3 billion to that bill to support mass transit and provide funding for housing. The bill will be debated in the Senate next week. Of course, it passed in the House, with no Republican support, last week.
NGUYEN: And what about the CEOs on Wall Street? Many people are just furious that they'll be rewarded for bonuses with that bailout money. Well, some senators are calling on Congress to revise the bailout plan so that it limits big-time salaries for CEOs whose companies received that money.
CNN's senior White House correspondent Ed Henry explains.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
ED HENRY, CNN SR. WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): While the president used stark terms to warn the American people the crisis is far from over...
BARACK OBAMA (D), PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: This is a continuing disaster for America's working families. As worrying as these numbers are, it's what they mean for the American people that really matters and that's so alarming.
HENRY: Outrage over billions of dollars in Wall Street bonuses continued to build.
MCCASKILL: We have a bunch of idiots on Wall Street that are kicking sand in the face of the American taxpayer. They don't get it. These people are idiots. You can't use taxpayer money to pay out $18 billion in bonuses.
HENRY: Senator Claire McCaskill, who was co-chair of Mr. Obama's campaign, has a simple proposal: No employee of a company receiving a taxpayer bailout can earn more than the president of the United States -- 400,000 bucks a year.
The president's spokesman, Robert Gibbs, made clear the administration is putting together a reform package that will target excessive pay.
ROBERT GIBBS, WHITE HOUSE PRESS SECRETARY: And I think it is very safe to assume that, when a plan is outlined for financial stability, that it will include and address executive compensation and bonuses.
HENRY: Senator Sheldon Whitehouse wants a temporary oversight court that would empower the government to restrain reckless spending.
SEN. SHELDON WHITEHOUSE (D), RHODE ISLAND: If something is going to change, we in Congress have to change it. We need to do it now and we need to do it in a way that sticks.
HENRY: But we've heard similar promises before, such as when Mr. Obama left the campaign trail last fall to vote for the $700 billion bailout. He, like many in both parties, claimed then that the bill would be tough.
OBAMA: Number three, I said that I would not allow this plan to become a welfare program for Wall Street executives, whose greed and irresponsibility got us into this mess.
HENRY: It turns out that expressing outrage is the easy part. Actually taking action and getting it to stick -- now that's tough.
(on camera) The Center for Responsive Politics has put out a new report, showing that special interests paid $3.2 billion lobbying Washington last year -a nearly 14 percent increase. A sign that even if the president has the best of intentions, changing the influence game is easier said than done.
Ed Henry, CNN, the White House.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
NGUYEN: Well, the economy has suffered its biggest slowdown in 26 years, and more companies, they are just slashing jobs.
HOLMES: And we heard more about that this week, thousands more jobs lost. But some people are hiring. Throughout this show, we will be showing you where some of the jobs are.
Here are three of the companies that are hiring right now. Probably need to move out to California to get a couple of them. Cisco Systems is one of them. This is that telecommunications company out in San Jose, California, is where they're based. They have job openings. They say they've got about 500 jobs open right now.
And then, of course, there's Edward Jones. That -- that company is headquartered in St. Louis. Has about 1,000 job openings right now.
And then the drug company Genentech, which is also out in the Bay Area, in San Francisco specifically, says they're looking for about 585 good people.
So some companies are hiring. We'll be showing you where those jobs throughout this newscast.
Now turn back to President Obama and turn to his brother, specifically his half brother, who right now, we're told, is in jail -- arrested overnight in Kenya. Arrested by Kenya police.
According to police there, George Obama is accused of possession of marijuana.
CNN's David McKenzie talked to George Obama at the jail in Nairobi, where he's being held. And David joins us now by phone.
David, what happened?
DAVID MCKENZIE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, T.J., I -- I went to that police station where he's been held, in a holding cell. That's George Obama, half brother to President Obama. He looked a bit -- you know, certainly concerned.
He said earlier this morning, Nairobi time, that police arrested him outside of his house. He said he didn't know why they were charging. But I spoke to an inspector, and he said they were charging him with possession of cannabis, or marijuana, as well as resisting arrest. George Obama doesn't really know President Obama. President -- Mr. Obama had met him earlier in life and had written about him in one of his books, in fact, calling it a painful experience, meeting his young, close relatives.
So as far as we know, George Obama is still in a jail cell in Nairobi, in a slum in Nairobi. He is due to go to court on Monday, and most likely he'll be kept for the weekend -- T.J.
HOLMES: And -- and David, do we have this right that President Obama and this half brother here have only met once?
And also, did George (AUDIO GAP) police because of his famous half brother?
MCKENZIE: There is no indication that he's being picked on because of his -- of his connection to his famous relative. In fact, when we arrived at the station, I don't think the -- the -- the police didn't quite know who they had with them. And it -- it certainly dawned on them when CNN showed up, that there was something special about this particular person they had under arrest.
So I don't think there's any connection at this stage because -- that he was targeted. But certainly, Barack Obama has in fact met him twice, once when he was a very young boy, and once later when he came here as a senator a few years ago.
They -- they shared a similar story in a way, in that they both lost a father at a young age, Barack Obama Sr. This was his last child here in Kenya. So certainly they -- they share the same father, and they had a very different path to where one is sitting in jail now, and another in the White House -- T.J.
HOLMES: All right. David McKenzie, on the story for us this morning. David, thank you so much for checking in with us. And again, we want to reiterate to our audience here, that -- again, they -- like David just said, they only met twice. This is his half brother. They share -- share the same father. But again, this -- this is a brother he doesn't really know, and David found him.
And that video you see on the left, that was during the campaign season, David actually went and sat with him, and -- and interviewed him over there in Kenya. But right now, sitting in jail, and we will see how that plays out.
NGUYEN: In the meantime though, Auburn is one of the oldest universities in the South, founded in 1856.
HOLMES: It has been around awhile. So what year would you think that the first black athlete graduated from that school? Yes -- I'll let you think about that, and then we'll give you the answer here in a minute. And I tracked down that first black athlete that graduated.
Take a look.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The thing about the march is that it was only about 10 or 12 of us. And so nobody knew we were marching. They just figured we were going to lunch, you know? Because it was so -- oh, where else can black people go, you know?
(LAUGHTER)
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HOLMES: He was recalling a story there about -- there were so few black students on campus when he went to school there that they decided to have a demonstration, a march. And you couldn't even tell they were marching. They were having a demonstration.
NGUYEN: That's because there were so few of them.
HOLMES: Just so few of them.
So we have the man who holds the distinction -- you know, we'll talk to him. Now he's got a pretty -- a pretty neat story, and maybe a face you even recognize. Interesting background. That's coming up.
NGUYEN: Also, it is election day in Iraq, and there's a whole lot at stake. Find out the role women play on the ballot.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
NGUYEN: All right. So about -- what? -- a billion people across the world will watch the Super Bowl tomorrow.
HOLMES: That -- that's it?
NGUYEN: A billion.
HOLMES: That's all?
NGUYEN: That seems a lot to me.
HOLMES: That's low ratings for a Super Bowl, don't you think?
NGUYEN: Well, you know, if they had better commercials, you may up the numbers, right?
HOLMES: Well, will our men and women in the military have to miss the big game? Of course not.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: (SPEAKING IN FOREIGN LANGUAGE)
(END VIDEO CLIP)
NGUYEN: Remember that incident? How could you not? Oh, one more time. Well, shoes were thrown at then-President Bush during a visit to Iraq.
And guess what? A monument was erected on Thursday in honor of that journalist who threw the shoe. It was unveiled outside an orphanage in Tikrit. Well, one day later, the Iraqi government had to take it down.
It was a copper replica of the shoes that were thrown. Orphans helped build the statue, and it cost about $5,000.
HOLMES: They took it down already?
NGUYEN: Took it down. It is gone.
Well, Americans serving overseas won't have to miss out on the Super Bowl tomorrow.
HOLMES: Yes. As our Pentagon correspondent Chris Lawrence tells us, the military is going all out to bring the football field to the battlefield.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
CHRIS LAWRENCE, CNN PENTAGON CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Iraqi cities, Afghanistan mountains and the open seas. Wherever American troops are stationed Sundays, the Super Bowl will find them.
The Armed Forces Network broadcasts the game to nearly every service member around the world. But there were always a few units too remote to tune in.
Now, the same technology used in Predator drones is being used to bring the big game to ships and even fully submerged subs.
GUY DUBOIS, RAYTHEON INTELLIGENCE: Satellite TV to the military.
LAWRENCE: Raytheon's global broadcast service downlinks real- time intelligence and video, then beams it from a satellite to a military receiver.
DUBOIS: The big ones that'll sit at a battalion command for the Army, all the way through a laptop, which somebody on top of a mountain in Afghanistan may be using.
GRANT SHANNON, PETTY OFFICER, 1ST CLASS, USS MAHAN: Super Bowl day is -- has really become a holiday militarywide over the past couple years.
LAWRENCE: We spoke by phone with sailors thousands of miles out to sea who will get the game in the middle of the night their time.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes, it's a little bit, you know, lonely out here, whenever -- you know, you want to be at your Super Bowl party with your family.
TOM MEGHAN, SR. ENLISTED ADVISER, USS SAN ATONIO: When the game's actually on, it almost feels like we're right back there with them.
RYAN WRIGHT, PETTY OFFICER, 3RD CLASS, USS SAN ANTONIO: Knowing that everybody else is back home, having a good time, just like we will be.
LAWRENCE: And the biggest party may be in Baghdad, where General Ray Odierno has ordered a few thousand cases of beer. He lifted the alcohol ban so troops can have two beers during the game.
(on camera) And the technology just keeps getting better and better. The company says another major upgrade is coming next year. And after that, they think they'll be able to send a high-def signal just about anywhere in the world.
Chris Lawrence, CNN, Arlington, Virginia.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
NGUYEN: All right. Never mind the Super Bowl; imagine giving birth to eight babies.
HOLMES: Yes.
NGUYEN: The last one, though, was a surprise to doctors. But that is not the only surprise.
HOLMES: Surprise -- seven just came out. You just -- and you're surprised by eight?
NGUYEN: Well, they couldn't find it in any of the sonograms, you know? So all of a sudden, boom, there you go. Ma'am, you're going to have eight instead of seven.
HOLMES: How -- how do you make sure. Do you -- like, do you take a good look? I mean, how do you -- I don't know how that works.
But -- yes, she just had eight. But she already had six at the house. Now that just sounds crazy enough to some people. But there is outrage for a different reason, on an ethical level. We'll explain that.
And often, we know parents, when -- when the baby pops out, often times -- speaking of babies -- yes, you saw that right, Betty.
NGUYEN: Did I see that right?
HOLMES: You saw it right.
NGUYEN: Oh my goodness.
HOLMES: Parents often do count the fingers and toes.
NGUYEN: Why?
HOLMES: First thing they do after the kid is born.
Well, this...
NGUYEN: Show that again. Count those.
HOLMES: Yes.
NGUYEN: I believe I see more than five.
HOLMES: It took this mother a little longer to count...
NGUYEN: Wow.
HOLMES: ...her baby's digits. The story coming up.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
NGUYEN: Well, the fertility treatment that resulted in the birth of octuplets in California this week is being hailed as a medical triumph and an ethical outrage at the same time.
One of the doctors who helped deliver them is speaking out. Take a listen.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DR. HAROLD GENRY, KAISER PERMANENTE MEDICAL CTR: The options were to continue the pregnancy or to selectively abort. The patient chose to continue the pregnancy. We as physicians, our goal is to provide the best possible care for our patients, no matter what the situation or circumstances are.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
NGUYEN: Well, David Mattingly takes a closer look at this controversy surrounding the story everyone's been talking about.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
DAVID MATTINGLY, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Eight babies, one mother, the news was startling enough. And then we learned the mother already has six children at home, and that's produced a frenzy of questions.
ED SULEMAN, OCTUPLETS' GRANDFATHER: She's fine. The babies are fine. Everybody's fine, except us because of you.
MATTINGLY: The grandmother told "The Los Angeles Times" that the mother had undergone some kind of fertility treatment, why we don't know. Hospital doctors say the mother came to them in her first trimester, and they advised her she could selectively remove some of the fetuses. She declined.
(on camera) What kind of a risk was this woman taking when she chose to have these babies?
DR. MICHAEL TUCKER, REPRODUCTIVE PHYSIOLOGIST: In my mind at that point, with seven and ultimately eight babies on board, an extreme risk.
MATTINGLY (voice-over): Reproductive physiologist Michael Tucker says the case goes against modern fertility treatment practices of limiting multiple births. He says the case will be scrutinized for how fertility drugs might have been used or how many embryos might have been implanted.
TUCKER: Somebody who's already known fertile, to transfer more than one or two embryos is -- is quite, quite unreasonable, to say the least.
MATTINGLY: Guidelines of the American Society for Reproductive Medicine says doctors normally would not implant more than two embryos at a time for any woman under 35.
(on camera): Her age has not been confirmed, but with eight new babies, she now has a total of 14 children. So far, she's trying to hold onto her privacy, but through the California hospital where she's recovering, she called the octuplets "a miraculous experience."
(voice-over): But the questions about these births address more human concerns. The baby's grandfather says multiple births were not part of the plan.
SULEMAN: She did not seek to have more children. She thought she was going to have one more child, and it happened.
MATTINGLY: And the surprises continued up until delivery on Monday. Mom thought she was having only seven babies. She was carrying so many that the eighth escaped detection until the landmark C- section.
David Mattingly, CNN, Atlanta.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
NGUYEN: All right. So there's a lot of talk, and we want to know what you think about the mother who had octuplets. E-mail us. Our address is weekends@cnn.com.
HOLMES: All right. So we turn to a family who just had one baby.
NGUYEN: One baby.
HOLMES: But...
NGUYEN: Extra-special baby.
HOLMES: Had some extra stuff.
Take a look at this child and you do the baby. But the kid was born with six fingers on each hand and six toes on each foot.
NGUYEN: Wow.
HOLMES: Now this is a little strange-sounding to some people. It's not that uncommon; it's actually called polydactyl. It just means you have some extra digits.
But the baby's name is Kimani Hubbard (ph). He was born out in San Francisco, at St. Luke's. This was three weeks ago. He also -- Betty, as you pointed out...
NGUYEN: Appropriately, six pounds when he was born.
HOLMES: Weighed six pounds.
And you pointed out, one of the questions in your mind -- I don't want you -- when you think of somebody with six fingers and toes, what do you do about gloves?
NGUYEN: You just had to say that.
HOLMES: But that was your question.
NGUYEN: It was my question. And -- because a lot -- we've learned that a lot of people will have that extra finger ...
HOLMES: Removed, yes.
NGUYEN: ...or -- or toe removed so that, you know, they would appear quote-unquote normal, whatever that means.
But this child, obviously, fully functional. And it -- it's quite -- you know, it's quite a remarkable site.
HOLMES: It is. And it's just -- you look at it, it -- it takes you a second.
NGUYEN: Yes. You 're -- you're -- you're counting there, going, am -- am I seeing what I think I'm seeing?
HOLMES: You are seeing it.
NGUYEN: Yes, you are. There you go.
HOLMES: But I'm told -- trying to find some numbers, exactly how common this is. But it is -- it's a fairly -- it's not that uncommon of a thing.
But he's perfectly healthy. It just happens.
NGUYEN: Six pounds. All right.
Well, what is in the $800 billion stimulus bill? Josh Levs is breaking it down for us.
Hey, Josh.
JOSH LEVS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes, some people are saying there's extra digits in here, too, huh? You guys like that.
NGUYEN: Ba dum bum bum.
LEVS: Yes, that was really lame. But what can I say? I didn't know that was coming.
All right. But here's what is in here: new cars for the government, funds to help prevent sexually transmitted diseases and also a specific line in this bill about now-former Illinois Governor Rod Blagojevich.
I'm going to break down those billions for you.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
NGUYEN: Hello, everybody. Welcome back. I'm Betty Nguyen.
HOLMES: I'm T.J. Holmes.
A couple of things we're following this morning. Our top story, that salmonella outbreak associated with peanut butter, there's a criminal investigation going on right now. The FDA is looking into that Georgia company. A spokesman for the company says they will in fact cooperate with the Justice Department investigation.
The name of the company is Peanut Corporation of America; it's here in Georgia. The CDC reports 530 people have been sickened and at least eight deaths have been linked to the outbreak. Military commanders are asking service members to throw away any treats that contain peanut butter.
NGUYEN: California police used flash grenades to break up a mob of angry demonstrators. About 10 people were arrested. They were protesting a judge's decision to grant bail to a transit officer charged with shooting, and killing, an unarmed man. That incident happened New Year's Day on a subway platform in Oakland. Police say surveillance tape shows the accused former transit officer shooting a 22-year-old in the back as another officer holds him down.
HOLMES: Also security tight in Iraq today. Some people having to get patted down, but they are still going to the polls. They are voting today. This considered to be a crucial indicator of the country's stability, this young democracy. President Obama watching this very closely along with the rest of the world. President Obama, of course, is weighing his decision on when to withdraw U.S. troops.
And President Obama also urging the Senate to act quickly on a much anticipated economic shot in the arm. He says quick passage of his American Recovery & Reinvestment Plan, also known as the stimulus plan. It was passed by the House earlier this week and shows that members are moving with a sense of urgency equal to the challenges. Now it's up to the Senate to make a move.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
OBAMA: It's time to move in a new direction. Americans know that our economic recovery will take years, not months, but that they will have little patience if we allow politics to get in the way of action and our economy continues to slide. That's why I am calling on the Senate to pass this plan so that we can put people back to work and in the long, hard work of lifting our economy out of this crisis. No one bill, no matter how comprehensive, can cure what ails are our economy.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HOLMES: The Senate is now expected to begin debate on the recovery plan coming up next week.
This huge economic stimulus bill Congress has been battling over. Would it be money well spent? Some Republicans complaining that it is full of -- you know the word well, "pork."
NGUYEN: Well, they point to money for the Smithsonian, climate research, new cars for the government. What does the legislation actually say though about these programs. We're going to check in now with our Josh Levs with some answers on that.
Good morning, Josh.
LEVS: Good morning to you guys. This is it. Behind me, is this massive bill. It is close to 700 pages. You guys have probably heard that. This is one that went through the House. We have yet to see what is actually going to make it through the Senate.
But these things that you keep hearing about, like the ones Betty was just saying. They're in here. So, I'll pull out some quotes for you so you can see the key parts. Check this out: $150 million for the Smithsonian for deferred maintenance projects and for repair, revitalization, and alterations of facilities. Let's go to this one now, $400 million to go to NASA, including at least $250 million for Earth science climate research missions.
Now, here is the part on cars, $600 million for the acquisition of motor vehicles including plug-in and alternative fuel vehicles, and that is for the federal motor vehicles fleet. Let's do two more here, $335 million for domestic HIV-AIDS, viral hepatitis, sexually transmitted diseases and tuberculosis prevention programs.
Then this is the last one that got a lot of attention, $50 million for the National Endowment for the Arts to fund art projects and activities, which preserve jobs in the nonprofit arts sector. When you look at any of these you can really see an argument for how any could be an economic boost as a job creator, but the question is what belongs in this specific bill and will these ultimately stimulate the economy, guys. That's the debate there.
NGUYEN: So they removed a couple of things from that bill?
LEVS: They did. They removed a couple of things. They removed $200 million to spruce up The National Mall. Also, I don't know if you'll be able to see it, but they removed a section of it, called Section 5004, which involved family planning, included free contraception for low-income families. Big debate about that. They pulled it this week.
NGUYEN: Speaking of debate we're asking people to weigh in on this whole idea of what's a stimulus package and what's the pork in it? LEVS: Yes, a lot of people have a lot to say about that. Here's our e-mail question to you about this. When it comes to the bill, what do you think counts as pork? You can write us as weekends@cnn.com. Think of in terms of stimulus what do you think is money well spent. What is legit, what is not? I'll be back in two hours to read you that this morning.
HOLMES: All right. Also a section of the bill which refers specifically to now former Governor are Blagojevich. He lost his job this week.
NGUYEN: Interesting.
LEVS: Yes, no kidding. It is amazing. Another piece of political theater in there. People were having a field day with this. There's a section of the bill right here. That says Illinois doesn't get a penny as long as he's the governor. They actually wrote that into the federal stimulus package.
HOLMES: They can get their pennies now.
LEVS: Now they can get it.
NGUYEN: It's a done deal.
HOLMES: All right. Josh, thanks.
LEVS: Thanks, guys.
NGUYEN: So where the economy is concerned, it seems like an endless cycle of bad news. Starting with stocks yesterday. Take a look at that, which took another dive to end the worst January ever. The Dow lost almost 148 points. Nasdaq down 31 and S&P 500, 19.
Now, California is just days away from handing out IOUs to bill collectors and those who qualify for tax refunds. Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger is in emergency meetings as he tries to close a $15- billion budget deficit for this year alone. And the feds have closed three more regional banks. That brings the total, this month, to six. The most recent, Suburban Federal Savings Bank in Maryland, Ocala National Bank in Florida, and Magnet Bank, which is based in Salt Lake City.
Well, President Obama's pick for Health and Human Services secretary has tax issues that will need to be reviewed before he is confirmed. That's according to the Senate Finance Committee, which is said to look at former Senator Tom Daschle's tax records Monday. Among these concerns, Daschle failed to disclose use of a driver on his income tax returns. And he failed to pay taxes on about $80,000. Daschle has since paid back about $150,000 in back taxes as well as interest.
You're watching CNN, your severe weather headquarters.
HOLMES: Yeah, about a million homes an businesses from The Plains to the Northeast are still without power right now. After a nasty, nasty storm made its way through.
Yeah, a nasty storm caused a mess and it was deadly on some occasions; swept through the nation's midsection this week. And in West Virginia, four-year-old was killed yesterday when his mom lost control of their car on an icy interstate there.
Also in Kentucky, utility crews trying to restore power to thousands of homes, still in the dark after ice snapped power lines, officials say at least 42 people across that region have died because of the storm.
Reynolds, I don't know, I've covered a bunch of ice storms when I was in Little Rock. You get ice, that's the worst thing. You can't drive, the power is out. It just has the ability to paralyze an area and it takes a while to recover from that.
WOLF: It really does. What is even worse is that we may see another round of this covering coming as we get through Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday.
HOLMES: Same areas?
WOLF: Some of the same areas, the exact same areas. And couple with that a strong Nor'easter for parts of the Northeast and even for parts of Florida and even into Alabama and Georgia, could see a chance of tornadoes. So, a big mess.
T.J. was really focusing on parts of West Virginia and parts of Kentucky a moment ago. Let's show you some video that we have out of Cincinnati. That's going to show you the story, again, very similar pictures, this could be a scene that played out in parts of Arkansas, Tennessee, Kentucky, you take your pick. Plenty of ice, some places up to an inch thick on those branches.
Your average tree of say about 40 feet can hold up to say five tons of ice. Of course branches eventually give way. Gravity takes its toll and then down come the power lines. And you've got all kinds of issues. This video from Cincinnati, Ohio, as I mentioned, may play out again.
This morning in Cincinnati, you still have a lot of people without power; 4 degrees, the current temperature, 20 in Charleston, West Virginia; 7 in Pittsburgh, Cleveland with 8 degrees. A bit farther right now from Cleveland and say from places like Cincinnati up to north of Detroit, too, right along 75, we will see some scattered snow showers, that should continue through a good part of the day.
The reason why is because this frontal boundary and this area of low pressure we see that is going to be moving right across the U.S.- Canadian border. Warm front first is going to bring some scattered snow showers through the Arrowhead of Minnesota, and then spread from west to east across the Great Lakes.
Southeast, not much of an issue. Plenty of sunshine. High pressure going to be dominating feature also in parts of the Great Basin with plenty of sunshine there.
But as we look ahead from today in these temperatures, like 50 degrees in Nashville (ph), 53 in Atlanta, big changes are ahead as we see that big drop in the jet stream, a big trough developing. That storm track is going to bring one area of low pressure after another providing that chance of severe storms as we get into Florida.
Right along parts of the I10 corridor. Then right behind it near blizzard conditions for many of those same areas we mentioned without power. And the potential flooding along parts of the East Coast. So lots to talk about weather-wise, certainly into Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday of next week.
Let's send it back to you at the news room.
HOLMES: That looks like a mess.
WOLF: No question.
HOLMES: And tornadoes? As well, a possibilities.
WOLF: Yes, affecting millions.
HOLMES: All right. Reynolds, we appreciate you this morning. We'll talk to you again soon, buddy.
WOLF: I'll be back, guys.
NGUYEN: Well, change for the Republican National Committee and they have selected a leader who could take them in a new direction.
There's a direct connection between the economy and depression. I talked to former Surgeon General David Satcher about mental health and America's economic crisis.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HOLMES: Who's singing that song?
NGUYEN: The Beatles.
HOLMES: That's the Beatles?
NGUYEN: Uh-huh. I think so.
HOLMES: Sorry, I don't have the greatest hits collection.
NGUYEN: Apparently not.
HOLMES: I'll get on that. Well, we're just showing you where some of the jobs are; we'll be doing that throughout the morning.
This guy has a new job, Michael Steele. He is being called "The Man of Steele" swooping in to possibly save the Republican Party. The Republican National Committee has now elected its first-ever African- American chairman. He is, of course, the former Maryland lieutenant governor. He was chosen as the new face of the GOP.
And certainly right now, they're looking for a face to lead that party. Six pretty heavily contended rounds of voting -- they went through yesterday in Washington, D.C. -- to pick their new chairman. The incumbent chairman was Mike Duncan. He actually dropped out of the race early after support for him began to trickle to some of the other candidates.
So a fresh face and a new start. What does this mean for the GOP? We'll bring in a familiar face to our show, but new face to our 6:00 a.m. hour, at least. Our Senior Political Producer Sasha Johnson.
Thank you for being with us early this morning.
SASHA JOHNSON, CNN SR. POLITICAL PRODUCER: Good morning.
HOLMES: So tell us, I mean a lot to this story. He is a different voice for one thing, but certainly a different face for the GOP?
JOHNSON: Sure, as you said, he's the first African-American ever to run the Republican Party. What is interesting about this is that the younger generations of Republicans really spoke out in this RNC chair race, and in this election from the outside.
I mean the members aren't that young. They members are predominantly older and white, but the outside pressure for the Republican Party to do something different to really shake things up to show the swing voters, to show minority groups that they too can be part of the Republican Party. They finally realize that they can cede all the ground to Barack Obama, which they really had been doing for a while, and they need a shot in the arm.
HOLMES: Now, will this be viewed -- because I was anchoring yesterday on Rick Sanchez's show, and you know he is very interactive on his show.
JOHNSON: Right.
HOLMES: With his audience with Twitter and Facebook, and some of the responses were about this just another stunt by the GOP, something similar to what -- again, what these viewers thought -- like they did with Sarah Palin, just wanted to throw somebody in there, maybe not qualified. Is this going to be viewed as maybe he's not who they really want, maybe he's not the best qualified, maybe they don't like his message, but they needed a new face, different face and maybe a minority and a black face to put on the GOP here?
JOHNSON: Well, I think that was part of it. If you looked at these rounds of voting, there was a time where Katon Dawson, who is a South Carolina Republican Party chair, a white, Southern male, was actually leading Michael Steele. And then when Ken Blackwell dropped out, the other African-American in the race, he said we need to back Michael Steele, and it was sort of a call to the RNC members to say are we really going to put another white man in charge of the party in the era of Barack Obama, when we're saying we need to reach out to minority voters?
Michael Steele is very qualified. He's a conservative attorney, former lieutenant governor of Maryland, former Senate candidate. He's very steeped in politics, but it's a question of whether he can broaden the party's message to bring other people in, which so far the party has not been able to do.
HOLMES: As far as a leader goes, will he be seen as the leader of the party now? I know we're talking about the Republican National Committee, you have many high-profile members of the Senate, and other high-profile members of the House, and other Republican leaders out there, but this? Is he really going to be the one for the next couple of years seen as the face and messenger for the Republican Party?
JOHNSON: He's going to have to try very hard to do that because we've got Sarah Palin, we've got John McCain, we've got John Boehner, as you said there's a sort of disparate group of people leading the party right now. But if Michael Steele can energize the grassroots, bring more people into the Republican Party, get a focused message, modernize the party, bring it into the age of the Internet, as much as the Democrats have gone, then he does have the capacity to be the leader. But he's going to have to try very hard because not a lot of people don't know who he is right now.
HOLMES: All right. Well, they will learn who he is. Sasha, you going to be back with us a little more this morning? Are we talking to you?
JOHNSON: Yes.
HOLMES: OK.
JOHNSON: At 7:00 and 8:00.
HOLMES: 7:00 and 8:00, all right. Thank you for that. We will see you shortly.
JOHNSON: See you then.
HOLMES: All right. Thanks.
All right, coming up here, again, we were talking about this earlier, the first black athlete to graduate from a Southern university, from Auburn University.
NGUYEN: Right, from Auburn.
HOLMES: I started doing this story. There he is there. I was on the field with him. And a lot of people were surprised when they heard the year.
NGUYEN: I was actually surprised when I heard the year.
HOLMES: Yes. A lot of people might actually recognize his face. He was on a very popular television show in the '90s. My conversation with Thom Gossom, coming up. We look kind of cool there, don't we? (COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HOLMES: Thom Gossom, I don't know if you know the name, but you might know the face. His story is that he enrolled in Auburn University for two reasons, first up, he wanted to play football. Second, he wanted a good education. In the end, he accomplished both, but it was not easy.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
THOM GOSSOM, PIONEER OF SOCIAL CHANGE (voice over): First day of orientation, it was not hard to imagine 60,000 screaming fans in the stands. And me, streaking towards the end zone, ball in tow, an imaginary "Touchdown, Auburn!" rang in my ears.
I pulled my new year's resolution from my wallet and read it again. I was ready.
HOLMES (voice over): And that New Year's resolution? To play football at Auburn University, but in the process he became a pioneer.
(On camera): The one reaction I've gotten, in telling people I'm doing this story.
GOSSOM (On camera): Yes?
HOLMES: I say I'm going to talk to the first back athlete to graduate from Auburn. They would say when was that? 1975.
(LAUGHTER)
GOSSOM: You expect them to say the '40s and 50s.
HOLMES: '75?
GOSSOM: '75.
HOLMES (voice over): It was a different time. Auburn was a different place. Campus life was tough for Gossom in the '70s. He knew he had the talent but he need more than physical gifts to excel here.
GOSSOM: The games we played were more important than who won and who lost. It was social experiment that had to work. It had to work for the ones who came after us. I think we were very, very, very aware of that.
HOLMES: The social experiment on the field also spilled onto campus. Gossom remembers there were only are 30 black students in Auburn, 30, out of 13,000.
GOSSOM: Funny thing, we had a march on the president's office, Dr. Phil Abbott (ph), he's a great guy. We marched to talk to him about the university lack of classes, lack of administration, so forth. The thing about the march is that it was only about 10 or 12 of us. And so nobody knew we were marching. They just figure we were going to lunch, you know. (LAUGHTER)
They were like, oh, where are those 10 black people going? You know.
HOLMES: He can laugh about it now, but the name calling, the disrespect, wasn't funny to him then. After he grabbed his diploma in 1975, Gossom rarely went back. Finally in 2002, he attended a football players' reunion, it was then and only then he finally felt like a true member of the team.
GOSSOM: We were like I imagine some veterans are of battles, or what have you, when we come together, there's this closeness of having been through a similar thing, as well as with all athletes. But, yeah, it took a while. It's amazing that it has taken this long, but we're here now.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
HOLMES: Reynolds actually grew up in Alabama. He is the one that actually brought this story to our attention. He wrote a book called "Walk On." About his experience there. A lot of people might recognize him because he actually had a starring role in the show "In The Heat Of The Night" during the '90s.
NGUYEN: That's where, yeah.
HOLMES: And he also shows up on shows like "CSI." I mean, just a bunch of network shows. So, he's an actor, still working. But it was tough for him to go back to Auburn, finally in 2002, during that reunion. He said it was the first time. Some of the guys who disrespected him, just came up to him and hugged him. They a moment finally, and they just cried about it. And it was finally in the past. But he left with some hard feelings.
NGUYEN: Yes, it was the first time he felt a part of the team. I mean, going to Auburn, was this a man someone that you knew about on campus? And you looked into the history books and went, wow? It happened here?
WOLF: He's the bomb. He's a great guy. And he's obviously a big part of Alabama-Auburn folklore. This is a great rivalry in the state. I mean the guys is just a tremendous athlete. He looks fantastic.
HOLMES: He looks great.
WOLF: Looks like he could still strap on a helmet and go out there and -
NGUYEN: He's fit, isn't he?
WOLF: Oh, he looks phenomenal.
HOLMES: He's got a bad knee now, but other than that, he's good. But even walking around town, walking around campus with him, people know him there. They know the history. Walking through campus, everybody, hey, Mr. Gossom. Some people say, hey, are you the -- everybody knows who he is. So, he laid a lot of groundwork there for the students -- black athletes now? So many colleges, D1 (ph) schools, dominated by black athletes on those teams, what they don't realize, there was always a guy like him who came first.
NGUYEN: Led the way.
WOLF: He's a great personality, too. I mean, he's one of those guys who actually fills a room. You know? He's got such a great presence to him and certainly a wonderful man.
HOLMES: Thank you for brining it to our attention.
NGUYEN: Yeah, great story.
WOLF: War eagles (ph).
(LAUGHTER)
WOLF: That's what it's all about.
HOLMES: Aahh!
WOLF: Good times.
Hey, guys, coming up, we're going to talk about, we've got a lot of weather to talk about. That is what we're going to tease forward, ahead, we have a lot of people that can be affected by a major, major winter storm that is going to be developing.
You see the snowfall right here, some ice. It is going to be a big, big mess for tons of people.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
NGUYEN: There are some troubling questions this morning about an increase in suicide rates. Some are blaming a surge in depression on the state of the economy.
Well, I spoke with former Surgeon General Doctor David Satcher about this growing crisis.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
NGUYEN (On camera): Doctor Satcher, talk to me about this. Something specific that we've been noticing lately is the suicide rates seem to be edging up. And a lot of people are equating that with the situation people are facing with the economy. Is there a correlation there?
DR. DAVID SATCHER, FORMER SURGEON GENERAL: Well, I don't think it's unusual to see an increase in suicides during periods like this. Let me just give one example, of course, when we had Hurricane Katrina, we saw a dramatic increase in depression and, of course, 80 percent to 95 percent of people who commit suicide are suffering some mental illness, usually depression.
So, I don't think it's unusual for depression to increase in times like this. And I think, whenever increases, we're at -- people are at greater risk for suicide.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
NGUYEN: And, you can hear more of my interview, including what may push some people to their breaking point, during "CNN NEWSROOM" at 10:00 this morning.
HOLMES: Hi there, everybody. Good morning. From the CNN center, this is CNN SATURDAY MORNING for the 31st, this last day of January. I'm T.J. Holmes.
NGUYEN: I can't believe January is gone.
HOLMES: It's over.
NGUYEN: Super Bowl tomorrow ...
HOLMES: Yes.
NGUYEN: ... and a lot of people are getting ready for that.
Good morning, everybody. I'm Betty Nguyen. Thank you for starting your day with us.
Well, it is one of the stories that has a lot of you talking this morning. And this is it -- a woman with six kids takes fertility drugs and has eight more.
HOLMES: Also this morning, Republican resistance leading to another push by President Obama to get the Senate to pass that $800 billion economic stimulus plan.
Meanwhile, speaking of the president, a relative of his is in jail today. We're talking about his half-brother. He was arrested overnight in Kenya. New video we're getting here. According to police there, George Obama, again, he's Barack Obama's -- the president's half-brother was accused of possession of marijuana.
CNN's David McKenzie is on this story, and he talked to George Obama at a jail in Nairobi where he's being held and said he has denied the allegations. George Obama is scheduled to appear in court on Monday. He and President Obama barely know each other; they've only met a couple of times.
NGUYEN: Well, seven people are dead after a bus carrying Chinese tourists flipped over in Arizona. Here are some pictures of that. At least nine others were hurt. It happened yesterday on Route 93, close to Hoover Dam. Police shut down the road in both directions for a while. And there's still no word on what caused that crash.
HOLMES: And security is tight as provincial elections take a place today in Iraq. So far, so good. Fourteen thousand candidates from different parties on these ballots. Essentially, this is the equivalent of like state legislature is being selected here in the U.S. But that's what's going on today. But a major test for the young democracy. And, of course, President Obama is watching this very closely as he is trying to figure out when to pull out U.S. troops from Iraq.
NGUYEN: Severe is right.
HOLMES: Yes, severe and deadly weather to tell you about. Kentucky officials are still looking into possibility of more weather- related deaths. Three people in Louisville may have died of carbon monoxide poisoning while trying to stay warm.
Chris Turner from our affiliate WDRB is in Kentucky with the story.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
CHRIS TURNER, WDRB REPORTER (voice-over): A 6,000-watt portable generator sits on the street. It's wrapped in plastic and red evidence tape. Officers say that generator produced enough carbon monoxide from inside a closed garage to kill 62-year-old William Matthews, his 54-year-old wife Beverly and their 42-year-old daughter Mona.
About noon on Friday, police found Mona in a dead room and William and Beverly in the garage. The couple are lying next to that generator. They died as early as Wednesday.
PHIL RUSSELL, LMPD SPOKESPERSON: Apparently, the door was left open, and probably after they were overcome and passed out, fumes entered the house and the person inside was overcome in their sleep.
TURNER (on camera): And deputy coroner also said it may have taken as little as 10 to 20 minutes for the carbon monoxide to build up and then claim those lives.
JONATHAN HOUSE, LOUISVILLE RESIDENT: It's scary to me.
TURNER (voice-over): Jonathan House lives a couple of blocks from the Matthews home. His generator is not in a garage or indoors at all.
HOUSE: I keep the generator as far away from the house as possible.
TURNER (on camera): Outside?
HOUSE: Outside, yes.
TURNER (voice-over): The generator runs a couple of space heaters and TV and the fridge. House and his brother and his mother are like many folks, they're reluctant to leave.
HOUSE: We have no heat. We will have nothing, you know. And generator is the best thing going right now. RUSSELL: And make sure that people know and do not have those generators indoors. Make sure they're in a well-ventilated area. And certainly, indoors is absolutely the wrong way to utilize that power source.
HOUSE: Generators hum for hundreds if not thousands of homes still without electricity. Frustrated officials in Louisville can't seem to repeat the safety rules enough.
MAYOR JERRY ABRAMSON, LOUISVILLE, KENTUCKY: We had three deaths today. We've lost three citizens because people aren't listening to the fire department when they look in the camera and they talk to the radios, and they say, "Listen up, carbon monoxide kills."
(END VIDEOTAPE)
HOLMES: Reynolds, we were just talking about this a few minutes ago. And it's just -- it's inevitable almost you see this. But what should people do? And you're not supposed to have those things indoors. How do people try to stay warm right now?
WOLF: You know, the best thing to do is have a plan, you know.
HOLMES: Yes.
WOLF: A plan to get you -- at least, get you a place where you have a generator, a generator that's going to be outside. You can't -- that's the key thing, it's the ventilation.
HOLMES: Yes, yes.
WOLF: I mean, if you use, say -- I don't know, a space heater or whatnot, that happens to have, I guess, propane. You might definitely make sure you have some windows open. It seems like it's going to defeat the purpose that you're generating some heat. But still, you know, it escapes the house. That's the thing. You don't want these fumes to get out, and of course, you have the issues with carbon monoxide poisoning.
Right now, we've been talking about parts of the Midwest, parts of the Ohio valley that's being rocked by these tremendous storms. Still, lots of people are without power.
We got some video for you from Grayson County, Kentucky. This is going to show, again, more of the dicey mess. And, of course, one of the first things to go, the power lines, the trees, and without that power, we're basically knocked back to the Stone Age. Many of us still this morning, still struggling to stay warm at this time, to prepare those meals, to take care of those families, it's going to be tough.
And we've got another blast of cold air, that's going to come through with that is a shot of more precipitation, more snow, possibly blizzard-like conditions and yes, even more ice could be in the mix.
Let's go right to the weather computer. Take a look at what we for you in Kentucky. Lexington is currently seven degrees at this hour. Back in Cincinnati, you've got four degrees.
But keep in mind -- these temperatures happen to be in areas where you have plenty of cement. You have a lot of steel in the area, the downtown areas. These are places that kind of hold on to heat. Outside, the surrounding areas, you've got single, other places that are one, even two degrees. A little further to the south, in Nashville, you've to 23, 37 in Dallas, 30 in Charleston, Atlanta with 32 degrees.
Plenty of sunshine in the southeast. It's not going to be an issue in the Midwest. But in parts of the Great Lakes, especially the northern half of the Great Lakes, you've got this storm system that's going to roar from west to east. It's going to bring some heavy snow to parts of the Upper Peninsula. Thirty-three degrees your high in, let's say, Chicago, 26 in New York, 56 in Denver.
Coming up, we're going to talk about the big issues. We're going to be dealing with the with the next tomorrow system. The power outage as you see, county by county, in places like Kentucky, could see more of those in days to come.
Let's send it back to you at the news desk.
HOLMES: And no more, huh? We do appreciate your staying on top of this thing.
WOLF: You bet, guys.
HOLMES: Talk to you again soon.
NGUYEN: Well, parts of Kentucky have been called a "war zone," with so many downed power lines. Staying safe is really a top concern.
Brian Quail is with the American Red Cross and he joins us now today.
Brian, talk to me about the safety concerns that you have? Because I know some people have sought shelter but, at the same time, 11 people have died, one woman was found dead in her bed, froze to death inside her own home.
BRIAN QUAIL, AMERICAN RED CROSS: Yes. Throughout Kentucky and seven other stales, we've had a lot of work going on here. We have 86 shelters that we have opened. Last night, over 4,900 people stayed with us. So, here in Kentucky right now, it's 14 degrees. So, it's pretty cold.
NGUYEN: Yes. We understand today, it will be the first time in several days that it will get above freezing. But you said that 86 shelters, 4,900 people have taken refuge in those shelters. That doesn't seem like a whole lot considering we've got over 100,000 people without power.
QUAIL: Well, I think, one of the things that we're looking at here is, people come in, get warmed up, they want to go back to their home, make sure it's good overnight. So those numbers fluctuate obviously up and down.
Here in Kentucky, we have over 43 shelters, and our viewers should know as well that many of our shelters, we have challenges with communications and ongoing communications may go up and down because power lines are getting snapped. So, we have those challenges, currently, that we're working through. So those numbers could be more than the 4,900 that I just gave you but we're all working hard and trying to keep people warm and safe. And that's what we do as part of our mission here at the American Red Cross.
NGUYEN: Yes, it's tough getting the word out, especially when the power is out. People don't have television and whatnot. But for those who do, you know, remain at home and want to stick this thing out, what kind of safety tips do you have?
QUAIL: The safety tips that we're telling people obviously is, especially those that have generators, is to make sure that they're well ventilated, that they're outside, to keep them and their families say. If you do have power, please go next door to neighbors if their power is out, bring them in, check on your fellow neighbors. We have neighborhoods here that do have power, some homes that don't.
So, we're encouraging people now to get out there and do that. And I just can't say enough about our volunteers who -- we have over hundreds of volunteers across our area, across our state that are challenged and don't have power. And yet, they are here, working with us and doing the things.
And just want to say thank you to the American public as well because all Red Cross disaster services are free. You can go to RedCross.org and get information. Also, you can make a donation to help this great work continue through our national disaster relief fund. And know, that's how people can help and that's how we're reaching out.
NGUYEN: That's good important work especially as this storm continues to be on the move. Brian Quail with the American Red Cross -- thanks so much for your time today.
QUAIL: Thank you.
HOLMES: Well, a lot of attention paid to this story this week. A California woman who gave birth to a rare set of octuplets. Now, that's eight, just in case you didn't know. But they were born this week and she's not really talking, not a lot of information has come out about her just yet. And you can imagine, a lot of media attention.
Well, some of her family members are talking and all they're saying is "Leave us alone."
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE REPORTER: You're granddaughters today?
ED SULEMAN, OCTUPLETS' GRANDFATHER: (INAUDIBLE). UNIDENTIFIED MALE REPORTER: No, we just wanted to ask ...
SULEMAN: I know, but it's too much. She's fine. The babies are fine. Everybody is fine. Except us because of you. That's all.
ARACELI CASTRO, NANNY (through translator): If there is a doubt that she is a good mother, there is no doubt she's a perfect mom. She adores her babies and she is the maximum.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HOLMES: Yes, that was the grandfather of the babies you saw first and then the nanny actually. The nanny is already taking care of the woman's other six children. You're hearing me right. Before the lady had the eight, she had six others at the house between the ages of two and seven.
Now, her father says that she only wanted to have one more child, didn't expect to have the eight. A lot of questions now about the ethical lines maybe have been crossed in this story. She's certainly got some kind of fertility treatment doctors, believe, don't know exactly what, but they don't see any reason, a lot of doctors, why this should have happened and should have been allowed to happen. So, a lot of questions out there still. And we're asking a few about it.
NGUYEN: Yes. Well, you know, multiple babies are obviously a concern when have you fertility drugs. But, you know, when you've got six children at home and you want one more and you end up with eight more, that's a whole lot of babies. So, what do you think about the California mother who gave birth to octuplets. We want you to weigh in this morning. Send us your e-mails: Weekends@CNN.com.
Well, they helped him get elected and now, President Obama is helping labor groups. So, is there a new White House attitude toward workers?
HOLMES: Also, that Georgia couple put everything up for sale? Well, they found a buyer.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
NGUYEN: President Obama hopes to win Senate approval next week for the more than $800 billion economic stimulus plan that he says will help create or save millions of jobs. Well, the House passed its version of the bill this week without a single Republican vote for the package. Now, in his weekly radio address, the president called for quick Senate approval of the plan.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
OBAMA: It's time to move in a new direction. Americans know that our economic recovery will take year, not months. But they will have little patience if we allow politics to get in the way of action and our economy continues to slide. That's why I am calling on the Senate to pass this plan so that we can put people back to work and begin the long hard work of lifting our economy out of this crisis. No one bill, no matter how comprehensive, can cure what ails our economy.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
NGUYEN: President Obama pledged to continue to work with both Democrats and Republicans to get the strongest possible stimulus package signed into law.
HOLMES: Well, he's been in office less than two weeks and President Obama reaching out to workers. Yesterday, he issued some pro-labor executive orders and, of course, the first bill that he signed into law dealt with equal pay for women.
CNN's senior political producer, Sasha Johnson, is back with us again now from Washington.
Sasha, labor helped this president get into office. So, they certainly think they have a friend in the White House. And, I guess, they're expecting some things from him and he's, so far, delivering in the first two weeks.
JOHNSON: Yes, he's delivered really quickly. You mentioned those executive orders. Labor leaders were happy because some of those orders reversed policies that were implemented under the Bush administration and made things better for workers in the workplace. You mentioned the Lilly Ledbetter Act, the Equal Pay Act.
What's actually going to be really interesting though is that Obama pushed these things through really fast, but there's something coming down the pike called the "Card Check Bill" or the Employee Free Choice Act, which are something that labor leaders really, really want, because it would make it easier for workers to unionize in the workplace and sort of change the structure by which that happens.
You know, labor leaders and businesses are going to be spending millions of dollars lobbying for this particular piece of controversial legislation and it will be interesting to see whether Democrats and the president sort of go to bat for labor when that comes up. And, you know, when that's actually going to happen, we're not sure.
HOLMES: So, that will be a much bigger test.
JOHNSON: Yes.
HOLMES: But right now, is there any danger -- I mean, is there any danger in saying you're just returning political favors here?
JOHNSON: Well, no, I mean -- you know, Joe Biden and Barack Obama have always talked about how they were on the side of workers. You know, Barack Obama created this middle-class task force yesterday which Joe Biden is going to head up. They look at unions and middle- class and workers in general as the backbone of the economy, and they do want to pay them back and they look at them as the way to kind of build the economy up. But that Employee Free Choice Act is going to be something to watch.
HOLMES: All right, something else to watch. Everybody is going to be watching tomorrow.
JOHNSON: Yes.
HOLMES: The Super Bowl. The president, he's been in office about two weeks and he likes throwing parties. He's having -- he's having another one tomorrow for the Super Bowl. The list of invitees has been released. Tell us who's going to be going to the White House?
JOHNSON: Well, there are about 15 lawmakers or so and their families will be coming. Of course, it is a bipartisan group, although there are definitely more Democrats than Republicans. You know, you kind of look at the states, they're from Arizona and Pennsylvania, lot of them -- so, that makes sense.
What's kind of interesting, though, the first lady and the president will be hosting this group, they'll be talking a little business, watching the game. But Bob Casey, who's the Democratic senator from Pennsylvania, a big supporter of Obama in the campaign, had been telling reporters on the Hill according to our Ted Barrett, that he was try to get to the Super Bowl, but when that White House invitation came down, forget it, he's going to the White House. But as I told you, he's bringing terrible towels with him.
HOLMES: Oh, my goodness.
JOHNSON: And Eat'n Park cookies which are big deal, I guess, in Pittsburgh. So, it's going to be a wild party, I guess, at the White House.
(LAUGHTER)
HOLMES: A wild party at the White House.
JOHNSON: Yes.
HOLMES: We have a partying president.
JOHNSON: Yes.
HOLMES: There's nothing wrong with that. All right, Sasha Johnson, thank you so much for those details.
JOHNSON: Thanks.
HOLMES: Betty, what do you do? Do you go to the Super Bowl or do you go to the White House?
NGUYEN: Oh. How about the White House?
HOLMES: The White House is going to be there though, right? You don't get an opportunity. Your team is in the Super Bowl to go.
NGUYEN: Yes, but you can watch it on television, right?
HOLMES: I don't know. NGUYEN: Is it a great seat?
HOLMES: Yes.
NGUYEN: The parties this year aren't as grand as they have been in the past.
HOLMES: As grand, you're right.
NGUYEN: Hey, I'd go to the biggest party of them all -- at the White House.
HOLMES: At the White House -- all right.
NGUYEN: And speaking of football's biggest stage, you know, the Super Bowl, a little game is going on tomorrow.
HOLMES: Yes.
NGUYEN: Some people are having parties. And Big Ben may have a party come Sunday night. Why? Steelers quarterback Ben Roethlisberger wants to add another ...
HOLMES: Wait, wait. What's that last name, Betty?
NGUYEN: Roethlisberger -- it's hard for me to say.
(LAUGHTER)
NGUYEN: Add another ring to his collection.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
(MUSIC)
NGUYEN: You know what they want? They want some jobs.
HOLMES: Yes.
NGUYEN: Here's an opportunity for you to check out some of the companies that are actually hiring. Jot them down because there are some good ones out there -- the Mayo Clinic, Men's Wearhouse and National Instruments, a software company.
HOLMES: Yes, Mayo Clinic looking for 1,000 folks. That's a lot of jobs over there.
NGUYEN: Absolutely.
All right. So, from jobs to one of the best jobs out there, right? Playing in the Super Bowl. Well, this guy already has one Super Bowl under his belt and he's only 26-years-old.
HOLMES: He's 26, that's it.
NGUYEN: Considered a veteran though. HOLMES: And who is he? What's his name again?
NGUYEN: Roethlisberger.
HOLMES: Say it again.
NGUYEN: Roethlisberger.
HOLMES: Roeth ...
NGUYEN: That's what I said.
(LAUGHTER)
HOLMES: Well, our Larry Smith, tell us more about the guy with the funny last name she can't pronounce.
NGUYEN: Roethlisberger.
(LAUGHTER)
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
LARRY SMITH, CNN SPORTS CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback Ben Roethlisberger was born to play football, but he wasn't always the star.
BEN ROETHLISBERGER, NFL QUARTERBACK: I played wide receiver in high school because the coach got one (ph) for quarterback, then finally, I got to play quarterback my senior year.
SMITH: Roethlisberger went on to play college football at Miami of Ohio. In 2003, he was picked 11th in the NFL draft by the Steelers. The rookie was set to back up the team's two other quarterbacks. But when they were injured, he became the starter in only his third NFL game. A season later at age 23, Big Ben became the youngest quarterback to ever win a Super Bowl.
ROETHLISBERGER: When you win the Super Bowl and you hold that trophy, that makes you feel like "Wow, I've done it." Every year, every NFL player, every team, says their goal is to win a Super Bowl. To actually do it makes you feel good. That's one point, so far on my football career that has really made me take a step back and smile.
SMITH: Roethlisberger made headlines again in 2006 when a motorcycle accident and an emergency appendectomy threatened to keep him off the field, but he bounced back.
ROETHLISBERGER: A lot of people started talking about -- well, maybe he was just a one-hit wonder, and that stings you a little bit, but it fuels the fire. You just learn to use it as motivation. That's what I did. You know, I like when people will talk about me.
SMITH: But the quarterback's true inspiration is his father.
ROETHLISBERGER: As a father, as a husband, as a son, as a -- you know, everything, he just inspires me to be better. His hard work and determination I kind of rubbed off on me. I'm not settled. I'm never going to be satisfied with where I'm at, I'm always going to try and get better.
SMITH: And he's doing just that.
ROETHLISBERGER: I always wanted to, you know, play in the NFL. I count my blessings every day that I've gotten the opportunity to be here to do it.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
HOLMES: And you can just call him Big Ben.
NGUYEN: Yes, I like that better -- Big Ben.
HOLMES: Everybody calls him Big Ben Roethlisberger. Next hour: Our Larry Smith, who is going there for us, is going to take us to a really small city that produces a relatively large number of NFL players. We'll see the secrets of their success.
Also, at 10:00 Eastern, Larry is live in Tampa, the big game is tomorrow. And the city is a little different. We talked to him yesterday live on the air.
NGUYEN: Yes.
HOLMES: It's not like it's been in years past.
NGUYEN: It's not all that fanfare that you would see in years.
HOLMES: Yes.
NGUYEN: Especially when it comes to those pre-parties and all the hoopla around it. But the game, no doubt, is going to draw a huge crowd.
HOLMES: Everybody is going to be watching.
NGUYEN: You're going to be watching.
HOLMES: You're going to -- everybody is going to be watching.
NGUYEN: Everybody, right. President Obama is having a big party.
HOLMES: Yes.
NGUYEN: So, a big day for tomorrow.
In the meantime, though, it's tough out there for people looking for a job. We're going to tell you some of the best places, though, to work coming up in the 8:00 hour of CNN SATURDAY MORNING.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK) NGUYEN: All right. I don't know if you've heard about the story, but it is really a sweet one. They put a "for sale" sign on their lives, in fact. But now, Greg and Britney Peters -- they have a buyer. Yes, the Georgia couple accepted $20,000 for everything that they own except their house. The winning bidders say they will pay up, but they're actually letting the Peters keep all their stuff.
HOLMES: Yes, they turned to eBay -- this family did -- to pay the mortgage and some high medical bills. They have three children and two of them have serious disabilities. So, that was kind of desperate move on their part, really trying to make some money and trying to pay for what they need to pay for. But a Good Samaritan here stepped in and is going to help them out.
NGUYEN: Yes, winning bid, $20,000. They also got another $10,000 in donation. So, good for that family.
Well, "HOUSE CALL" with Doctor Sanjay Gupta starts right now.
