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CNN NEWSROOM

Afghans Protest after Quran Burning; Santorum's 2008 Satan Warning; Obama Corporate Tax Plan out Today; Western Journalist Killed in Syria; Santorum Questions Media Scrutiny; Young People and Addiction; Enormous Stakes in Tonight's Debate; Jeremy Lin's Got Game, Got God?; Busted Eyeing Royal Cleavage

Aired February 22, 2012 - 09:00   ET

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


SOLEDAD O'BRIEN, CNN HOST: Let's get right to "CNN NEWSROOM" with Kyra Phillips. She begins right now. I'll see everybody back here at 7:00 a.m. tomorrow morning.

Hey, Kyra. Good morning.

KYRA PHILLIPS, CNN ANCHOR: Good morning, Soledad. We're going to start with the American embassy in Kabul. It's on lockdown right now. Afghans protesting in Koran burnings outside the Bagram military base. At least five people have been killed in these demonstrations. And protesters don't show any signs of letting up. A NATO commander says burning Islam's holy book was a mistake. And now the protests are spreading.

Ben Farmer is in Kabul.

Ben, how intense is it right now?

BEN FARMER, JOURNALIST, "DAILY TELEGRAPH": It's calmed down now as we've approached evening, but it's been a very violent day. Much more violent, much more furious than the protests yesterday. We have a final death toll we believe of six dead and 30 wounded. And perhaps six different protests across the country. So it seems to have escalated significantly today.

PHILLIPS: And President Karzai actually put out a statement, right? What did he say?

FARMER: Yes, he put out a statement this afternoon. A lot of people have been waiting to hear what he'll say about this. And he has said that he condemned the burning and he ordered an investigation into what had happened and he appointed committee of senior clerics to find out what was going on. But I think the key thing was that he condemned the burning.

PHILLIPS: That's actually our Ben Farmer in Kabul there. We apologize. It's not always easy to link up technically, but we will stay with Ben on this story.

Ben, I apologize. We lost your audio.

An American woman who reported on the violence in Syria has now become a victim of it. Marie Colvin worked for the "Sunday Times of London." The paper says that she was actually killed in Homs. She's a French journalist -- or another French journalist, rather, was killed, Remi Ochlik.

Colvin reported from many combat zones. She lost her sight in one of them and she talked to CNN's Anderson Cooper the night before she died, and actually compared the government shelling of Homs to what she saw last year in Libya.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MARIE COLVIN, LONDON SUNDAY TIMES: This is the worst, Anderson, for many reasons. The last time -- I mean I think the last time we talked when I was in Misrata. It's partly personal safety, I guess. There's nowhere to run. The Syrian army is holding the perimeter and there's just far more ordinates being poured into the city and no way of predicting where it's going to land.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

PHILLIPS: Now our Michael Holmes is actually in Beirut. He knew Marie Colvin very well. He's going to join us live a little later this hour.

Well, tonight's big GOP debate features a new figure at center stage. Rick Santorum will share the spotlight with Mitt Romney due to Santorum's recent surge in the polls, but with that spotlight does come more scrutiny. And this week people are listening to this 2008 Santorum speech clip dug up by the "Drudge Report."

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

RICK SANTORUM (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: If you were Satan, who would you attack in this day and age? There is no one else to go after other than the United States, and that's been the case for now almost 200 years.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

PHILLIPS: CNN political reporter Shannon Travis joining us from the site of tonight's debate, Mesa, Arizona.

So, Shannon, what exactly is Santorum saying about this revival of this sound bite?

SHANNON TRAVIS, CNN POLITICAL PRODUCER: Yes. I mean, it raised a lot of eyebrows when we saw this, Kyra, on the "Drudge Report," splashed across the "Drudge Report" yesterday. And it's the kind of comment, frankly, that a lot of other candidates might back down from once it got revealed, but not Rick Santorum.

You know that he's a staunch Catholic, a staunch man of faith. And he's doubling down saying that basically evil lurks in the United States. Last night I was at this event here in Phoenix along with our national political correspondent, Jim Acosta, and Jim asked the senator about those comments that you just played from 2008. Take a listen at how the senator responded.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JIM ACOSTA, CNN NATIONAL POLITICAL CORRESPONDENT: Hey, Senator, any chance you can respond to this headline that was splashed across the "Drudge Report" today about the speech you made in Florida?

SANTORUM: You know, I'm a person of faith. I believe in good and evil. I think if somehow or another because you're a person of faith you believe in good and evil as a disqualifier for president, we're going to have a very small pool of candidates who can run for president.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

TRAVIS: Now, Kyra, you'll notice he didn't echo those same words about Satan being after the United States as he did in 2008, but he didn't back down from them either. Another thing of note from that event last night, Santorum talked a lot about defending everything that he said. He didn't say directly defending those comments, but he talked about, you know what, I'm not one of these program candidates. He even mentioned the word robotic, that people complain about robotic candidates and he's not one of those people.

And he said that he is not afraid of defending his words. You know, Kyra, that Rick Santorum has found a lot of favor in this Republican race because he has talked so much about religion. So this could be a winning strategy for him.

PHILLIPS: Well, turning to the debate tonight then, there's a lot at stake.

TRAVIS: A lot at stake, Kyra. Twenty-seven days since we had the last debate. We're looking forward to it obviously. But there's going to be a lot at stake for a few reason, a few really quick reasons. Number one, this is the first time that Rick Santorum will be in the hot seat because he's essentially the frontrunner in a lot of polls. Mitt Romney, you can probably expect him to go after him.

Ron Paul since the last debate hasn't won -- still hasn't won any contests. And Newt Gingrich was kind of like the darling since the last few debates. He isn't so much anymore with his poll numbers. So a lot of them, this will be the last time for them to make a really good impression before Super Tuesday -- Kyra.

PHILLIPS: All right. Shannon, thanks so much.

And you can watch tonight's presidential debate right here on CNN. Our coverage begins 8:00 Eastern.

Now in just a few hours we're going to get details on President Obama's plan to cut the overall corporate tax rate to 28 percent. It's a move to create American jobs and help businesses stay competitive. Our Christine Romans is going to break down what's in the package for us.

So, Christine, is it going to help create jobs?

CHRISTINE ROMANS, CNN BUSINESS CORRESPONDENT: Well, here, that's what the White House would like to do, and they would like to incentivize companies to invest in the U.S. and keep jobs in the U.S.

Here's what it does. It lowers the overall tax rate to 28 percent from 35 percent. Thirty-five percent is among the highest corporate tax rates in the world. You will hear people on both sides of the aisle complain about that saying it was inefficient and unfair.

It would eliminate dozens of loopholes and subsidies. And a lot of companies aren't paying 35 percent because of all of those loopholes and subsidies. It means that some industries are favored over others.

They also want to put in there some -- a minimum tax on foreign profits. That's all part of the incentivizing companies to invest and hire here in the United States. There'll also be a little bit lower tax rate for manufacturers, again, trying to keep manufacturing as an important part of the U.S. economy.

It would also simplify the tax code, Kyra, for entrepreneurs and for small business owners. The White House saying it would be to help simplify the tax filing process. But I want to be pretty clear here. You know this would probably raise taxes for some businesses. Remember, a lot of businesses are not paying 35 percent, their corporate tax rate. There are so many loopholes.

In fact, the Congressional Budget Office found that last year, Kyra, companies paid only 12.1 percent of their profits in taxes. That was the lowest in like 40 years. So a big fight here about are companies paying their fair share and how to make sure that you do that in a way that incentivizes business, makes businesses want to hire -- Kyra.

PHILLIPS: All right. Christine Romans, we will bring the president's comments live to our viewers as soon as he steps up to that mic this morning. Thanks so much.

ROMANS: You got it.

PHILLIPS: Well, we have told you every day how difficult it is to cover the crisis in Syria right now. And the journalists that are getting in truly are putting their lives at a very high risk. And sadly today we have to report that two of our own have been killed in Syria today.

CNN's Michael Holmes is in Beirut.

Michael, you actually knew one of those journalists very well.

MICHAEL HOLMES, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Yes. I've known Marie Colvin, as have many in our trade, for many years. I've actually first met her in Ramal, or in the West Bank back in 2002. We were standing out the front of the Mukataa, the Palestinian Authority headquarters, when Israeli jeeps showed up and started throwing stun grenades and firing rubber bullets at the journalists and everybody tumbling into armored vehicles, not necessarily your own.

I didn't make it into the CNN armored vehicle. I ended up in one with, I think, it was ABC. And Marie was there as well. We were all lumped together at a place called Ramatan Studios where journalists were sleeping on the floor and eking out a fairly meager existence there during what was meant to be a 24-hour curfew that we all broke of course.

And Marie was one of those stalwarts of that group. And was funny and talented. And always seemed to have more information than you had, too. She was one of those, I heard somebody say earlier, it was quite true, if you were trying to get to a difficult place and you got there, you found that she had just left and she'd been there before everyone else. A remarkable, fearless woman. I bumped into her again in Libya and Iraq. She was everywhere.

And really was -- I mean, we throw around the word legendary sometimes a bit too much. But I think she really did fit into that category.

And Arwa Damon, who you know well, our colleague at CNN, had just come out of Baba Amr and had seen Marie in there. In fact, they bounced around in the back of a pickup truck covered in mud at one point as they were getting around in there.

One of our other colleagues was trying to get Nescafe into her at Baba Amr because she said it was cold and she needed coffee. Just a remarkable journalist and somebody who's going to be sorely missed, not just by us individually but by the world for her stellar reporting. She was a teller of truth --, Kyra.

PHILLIPS: And you know, when we cover these battles in these countries and it's so hard to get in there, as you know, Michael, and maybe not everybody knows, we're lucky enough to have body guards and to have protection. And so the fact that she was killed, what does that tell us about the situation in Syria and how it's getting worse?

HOLMES: Well, as you know, Kyra, when we go to these places, be it Libya, more recently for me in Iraq and Afghanistan, you take as a journalist as much of a calculated risk as you can. You try to prepare for eventualities that you can understand.

The problem in Baba Amr which everyone is finding is it's random shelling and there's no retreat, really. There's no easy retreat once you're in there. You can't prepare for random shelling. I think back to Tim Hetherington, the photographer killed in Misrata. If a mortar is going to land at your feet or the rocket is going to land at the front door as you're walking in or out, there's not much you can do about it.

These are the many risks that journalists take covering these sorts of stories. And the situation inside Baba Amr and Homs is about as bad as it gets for everyone in there. We talk about Marie and Remi who were killed today. But you know several Syrians were killed in there as well today. And this is happening every day. There were 20 people so far today, it's, what, nearly just after 4:00 p.m. here local time, and at least 20 people killed today in Baba Amr today. So this is an ongoing thing and it's extremely hard to prepare for that. You can wear all the body armor you like or have all the security advisors you like. It's not going to help you if a rocket lands at your feet.

PHILLIPS: Michael Holmes, appreciate the perspective. Thanks so much.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

PHILLIPS: Straight ahead, Rick Santorum, bigger poll numbers, more scrutiny. And he's complaining about the media. But one conservative writer says, Santorum's got to stop whining. She joins me next.

And gas inches towards four bucks a gallon so thieves are stealing it. They've come up with a pretty quick and easy method, too.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

PHILLIPS: Checking stories cross-country now.

El Paso, Texas -- a woman is shot in the leg while walking in her neighborhood. And police say it looks like it was a stray bullet from a carjacking shootout in nearby Juarez. The woman's injuries are not life-threatening.

In Eureka, Missouri, thieves have come into a new way to steal gas. Drill into a gas tank. It's quick, it's easy. Pickups and SUVs are favorite targets because the tank are easier to reach. Repairing a tank is pretty costly, about 1,000 bucks.

In Anaheim, California, and Orlando, something for those who can't get enough Disney. On leap day, February 29th, Disneyland and the Magic Kingdom will open for 24 hours straight. It's the first time both parks will do that at the same time. The first 2,000 visitors will get special commemorative Mickey Mouse ears by the way.

Women in combat, abortion, Adolf Hitler -- presidential candidate Rick Santorum has definitely spoken out on some issues that have left many people stunned by his statements.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIPS)

RICK SANTORUM (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Free prenatal testing ends up in more abortions and, therefore, less care that has to be done.

It's the churches money, and forcing them to do something that they think is a grievous, moral wrong. How can that be a right of a woman? That's not -- it has nothing to do with the right of a woman.

I do have concerns about women in front line combat. I think that can be a very compromising situation.

It's not about your jobs. It's about some phony ideal, some phony theology.

(END VIDEO CLIPS)

PHILLIPS: Well, of course, those comments have made headlines. And Santorum is not too happy about that. Matter of fact, he says he's the victim of liberal media bias.

My next guest says Santorum should stop, quote, "whining."

Jennifer Rubin is a conservative blogger for "The Washington Post" and she says we are now entering the no whine zone.

Jennifer, you think he's a whiner?

JENNIFER RUBIN, CONSERVATIVE BLOGGER, "THE WASHINGTON POST": Well, he sounds like he's starting down that road. I think it's a mistake.

First of all, one of the qualities that I think the Republican base is looking for in the candidates is someone who is going to stand up to Barack Obama and wear well in a general campaign. If he's upset now, I can only imagine what it's going to be like in a general campaign when he has the full attention of the White House and the very formidable Obama campaign machine behind him.

I also think that, of course, he invited this. Not only in all of these clips that you just showed were the things that he was saying, but he's made a broader theme in his campaign, and that is that social issues and economic issues are linked. So, I don't think the press is taking these out of context nor are they on some tangent. This is an issue and a set of issues he has made central to his campaign.

PHILLIPS: And you saw -- we've been talking about so much this morning, and that's this old sound bite that has come back regarding Satan. And, you know, conservative blogger Erick Erickson, who's one of our CNN contributors, says that when it comes to Santorum's theology, quote, "The humorous thing is that there are many on the left who are trying to claim Santorum's view is nutty, whacked out, or bizarre. There's actually a stronger case for saying Satan is trying to corrupt the United States than that Barack Obama is a Marxist. Pick your poison."

Who do you say to that?

RUBIN: Well, first of all, I don't think the president is a Marxist. He may be a liberal Democrat or he may be bad for America, but I don't think that sort of language helps in an election context.

As far as Santorum goes, I think there are two problems with that statement. One is that he talks about America being in decline since its onset. Republicans are supposed to push back against the notion of America being in decline. So, that part of the statement I think was very unhelpful for him.

And secondly, we generally don't attribute the decline of institutions in America or to our opponents the work of the devil. We've made it a very good practice in this country of separating public policy from this sort of incendiary religious rhetoric. So, I don't think it's helpful and I don't think it's rhetoric that even puts many conservatives at ease.

I think he'd do better to get back on to his economic platform and talk more generically in terms of things we can do to support families, tax policy, the importance of reforming schools, giving parents school choice. That's when he was making an impact.

I think these comments are big trouble for him and I say that even within the Republican Party because, number one, they're looking for a winner. And number two, a lot of these statements, contraception, are not popular issues even within the Republican Party.

PHILLIPS: Jennifer Rubin, she writes for "The Washington Post." You can check out her blog. And I've been reading all the comments -- whoo -- do you create some conversation.

Jennifer, thank you so much for your time.

RUBIN: My pleasure.

PHILLIPS: All right. Straight ahead, we're going to continue our in depth look at addiction. Why are young people more vulnerable? And as a parent, are you a passive pusher?

Our Dr. Sanjay Gupta has information you need, next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

PHILLIPS: We're going to continue our in depth look at addiction this morning. One in 10 Americans are addicts. The most vulnerable? People under the age of 25. It's an epidemic that we definitely can't ignore.

We want to talk more with Sanjay Gupta. Of course, he hosts the medical show on the weekend, all things doctor for us.

You work on these.

DR. SANJAY GUPTA, CNN CHIEF MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT: Yes.

PHILLIPS: And you're saying younger brains are more susceptible?

GUPTA: Young people can be so resilient to so many things. But when it comes to addiction and being exposed to various substances at a young age, something different happens in the brain.

So, it's the outside of the brain here. But there is a pleasure reward center in the brain. We talked about this yesterday.

Young people are particularly vulnerable. So, when they take substances, their reward system activates a little bit differently, wires a little bit differently because their brains are still forming. And by young, we mean up to the age of 25 while your brain is still laying down neurons, weeding away neurons. So, they get affected by this more so.

PHILLIPS: What should we avoid as we're raising children, they're young and they're developing? Are there things we can do to prevent certain kinds of addictions?

GUPTA: Well, you know, it's interesting because even up to the age of 25, the frontal lobes which are responsible for your judgment aren't fully developed yet. So, there's the rational thinking of making wiser decisions is not always developed.

For parents or people who are watching who are concerned about this -- I mean, one thing you realize is that a lot of parents unwittingly, a lot of relatives, other friends are often passive pushers of these substances. This is something that people have talked about.

But between the ages of 12 and 17, the number of people taking these types of substances has skyrocketed over the last decade. They are getting these substances from their own medicine cabinets in their homes.

PHILLIPS: Such as?

GUPTA: Pain pills, anti-anxiety pills. And a lot of times it's unrecognized that they're disappearing.

So, one thing you can do is keep some sort of count on your pills, lock your medicine cabinet, whatever it takes. The second thing is we know that parents that simply talk to their kids, it has a huge impact -- 42 percent less likely for these kids to abuse those substances. Only a quarter of kids in this age range say their parents have ever talked to them.

So, he conversation, keeping tabs on the pills, maybe locking the medicine cabinet. And recognizing that 64 percent of these kids are getting medicines from their own homes.

PHILLIPS: What about just our behavior? You know, every night having a cocktail with dinner or a couple cocktails? You know, some parents a lot more than that. Kids are watching this. They're seeing that. They're learning that behavior.

GUPTA: No question about it. There is a lot of sort of emulating of behavior, recognizing that certain things are OK. But you know there's also this belief that when do you intervene as a parent? When do you intervene as a friend?

PHILLIPS: Touchy issue.

GUPTA: It's a touchy issue.

PHILLIPS: How do you advise somebody?

GUPTA: There's all these myths out there. One of the myths that drives a lot of people crazy is that you wait for somebody to hit rock bottom before they ever pull themselves up by their boot straps. That's just not true. In fact, that is a myth listed on the National Institute of Drug Abuse website.

You can intervene at any time. Recognize that addiction is a disease. That you be treated as one. So, send the person to a doctor or special list. If they refuse to go, get some information from that doctor or specialist that you can give to the person.

Also, don't completely enable them. Don't take over all the responsibilities for them because then they lose their dignity. Don't resort to emotional appeals, like you need to do this for your children. That hardly ever works, according to the research we've looked at.

So, there's lots of things you can do starting by recognizing it's a disease and taking away obvious sources of these pills for young people and older people alike.

PHILLIPS: Sanjay, thanks.

GUPTA: You got it. Thanks.

PHILLIPS: Tonight's debate is pretty critical one for the GOP presidential candidates. And coming up next, we're going to tell you who has the most to win and the most to lose.

Also, California man ran for office on his record of military honors. Problem is, he never served in the military. A lot of people understandably have a big problem with that.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DOUG STERNER, SUPPORTS STOLEN VALOR ACT: It's impersonation. On this memorial it says, "Uncommon valor with a common virtue." Well, conversely, we could say, "Among thieves, stolen valor is a common lie."

(END VIDEO CLIP)

PHILLIPS: Now his case is going to the Supreme Court. We'll talk about it.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

PHILLIPS: Checking stop stories now.

Two Western journalists have been killed in Syria. Marie Colvin was an American who worked for "The Sunday Times" of London. She and a French photographer were killed in Homs.

And an opposition group says more than 130 people have died in that government crackdown in just the last 30 days.

American embassy is in lockdown. Afghans have been protesting the burning of those Korans outside of Bagram Airfield for days. Five protesters have been killed. A NATO general says burning those books was a mistake.

Four more bodies have been found on the Costa Concordia, including a little girl. That makes 21 confirmed deaths in last month's ship wreck off the Italian coast. Eleven people are still missing.

The four GOP candidates face off tonight in what could be the final debate of the primary season. The latest CNN/"TIME"/ORC poll shows that Mitt Romney and Rick Santorum are neck in neck at the top of the race.

CNN political editor Paul Steinhauser is covering tonight's debate in Mesa, Arizona.

Paul, it's going to be a big one.

PAUL STEINHAUSER, CNN POLITICAL EDITOR: Oh, such a big one. Kyra, listen, it has been 27 days. That's how long it's been since the last debate. That was our CNN debate in Jacksonville, Florida. That's a lifetime, an eternity in campaign politics.

What's happened since then? Well, Mitt Romney, he won big. He won big in Florida and Nevada. But then he stumbled a little bit. Rick Santorum, he swept those February 7th contests and he surged in polling as you just mentioned, nationally and in the states. And Newt Gingrich has kind of faded.

So, for all of this, there is so much that's happened. And remember, this, as you mentioned, this is the last debate before the primaries here in Michigan Tuesday, and also before all those primaries and caucuses on Super Tuesday, 10 states.

And, Kyra, look at this -- from that same poll you just mentioned, look at this number from here in Arizona among people likely to vote in the primary. Look at that, almost four in 10 say they could still change their minds, another reason why this debate tonight is so important.

PHILLIPS: So, let's go ahead and run through the candidates and talk about who's got the most to gain and most to lose, Paul.

STEINHAUSER: Let's start with Rick Santorum. And every other debate, he has not been the man in the middle. He's been standing on the side. That changes tonight. He's going to be right smack in center stage with Mitt Romney.

So what that means is more attention, more scrutiny. Not only for his record in Congress but for a lot of the controversial things -- some people say are controversial things -- that Rick Santorum has said over the last week on social issues and on religion and faith. So, expect a lot of that, expect a lot of attention and fireworks towards Santorum from the other candidates.

Mitt Romney, listen, he was very effective in the last two debates in Florida in bringing Newt Gingrich down to size. Will he do the same thing tonight to Rick Santorum? So look for that.

For Newt Gingrich, Kyra, this is his chance once again to try and shine, to try to bring some mojo back to his campaign. He's done very well in debates until the last two. He needs a big performance tonight -- Kyra.

PHILLIPS: We'll be watching. Paul, thanks so much.

And you can all watch tonight's presidential debate right here on CNN. Our coverage begins at 8:00 Eastern.

And next hour, Franklin Graham is joining me live. He's had a lot of influence and still does on evangelical voters. Within the last 24 hours or so, he's put questions about President Obama's faith back out there. So I'm going to ask him about all that, 10:15 Eastern Time.

And believe it or not, people lie about receiving military honors. And now, one man got busted for lying about his military service and it's changing the law. And he says it's -- well, about protecting free speech. The Supreme Court is going to decide though.

Kate Bolduan reports.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

KATE BOLDUAN, CNN CONGRESSIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): When Xavier Alvarez ran for a local California utility board, he campaigned on his military service. Not only a Marine for three decades, but even the military's highest award for combat bravery.

XAVIER ALVAREZ, RAN FOR CALIFORNIA UTILITY BOARD: I'm a retired Marine of 25 years. I retired in the year 2001.

Back in 1987, I was awarded the Congressional Medal of Honor. I got wounded many times by the same guy. I'm still around.

BOLDUAN: Here's the catch: Xavier Alvarez was lying. He never was in the military.

Bob Kuhn says Alvarez hurt the board's credibility.

BOB KUHN, THREE VALLEYS MUNICIPAL WATER DISTRICT: He liked about the fact that he had been in three helicopter crashes, he had been shot 15 or 16 times, the graduation from school. These were all things that he put down on literature to get elected.

BOLDUAN: Alvarez' lies eventually caught up with him. He was prosecuted under a federal law called the Stolen Valor Act, which makes it a crime to falsely claim military honors. His attorneys appealed and the case is now before the Supreme Court.

The issue: when does lying cross the line and become a crime?

Doug and Pam Sterner, who pushed for the law, say lying about military honors goes too far.

DOUG STERNER, SUPPORTS STOLEN VALOR ACT: It's impersonation. On this memorial it says, "Uncommon valor with a common virtue." Well, conversely, we could say, "Among thieves, stolen valor is a common lie."

PAM STERNER, SUPPORTS STOLEN VALOR ACT: When someone claims that they have a Purple Heart, they're actually devaluing the sacrifice that that particular person made.

BOLDUAN: But Alvarez' attorney argues no matter how offensive, his lies are protected free speech.

JONATHAN LIBBY, ALVAREZ' ATTORNEY: If the court were to uphold this law, then it's certainly possible that Congress could pass all sorts of laws. It could make it a crime to just tell a lie on your Facebook page or on dating Web sites, and it doesn't have to necessarily be a serious lie and it doesn't necessarily have to harm anybody.

BOLDUAN: Alvarez maintains his lies hurt no one.

LIBBY: What it comes down to is Mr. Alvarez has so much respect for the troops, that he wanted to be one and wanted to be looked at an someone who does good things.

BOLDUAN: It's an emotional battle, pitting free speech against protecting the honor of battlefield bravery.

(on camera): The justices have traditionally protected even the most unpopular speech, such as protesting at military funerals or burning a flag.

The ultimate solution though to this stolen valor issue may be more high tech. Congress is considering creating a national database of military award recipients to ensure the right men and women are honored and, as in this case, the frauds exposed. We should get a ruling in this case by June.

Kate Bolduan, CNN, Washington.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

PHILLIPS: And coming up, it's the number one killer of men and women, that when women have heart attacks at a hospital, they're more likely to die. Results of a startling new report, next.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I found through design a way to tell stories, a way to bring people to new places.

There's no reason why design can't be attainable, why a great design can't be something that everybody can have. I mean, that's something that I truly believe.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

PHILLIPS: So, what's with all these musicians giving the finger lately? Now, it's the current queen of pop music.

A.J. Hammer, what is going on?

A.J. HAMMER, HOST, "SHOWBIZ TONIGHT": Well, we're talking about Adele this morning, Kyra. And I've got her back this time.

Adele got so upset at the Brit Awards she used her middle finger to let the whole world know how upset she was.

Now, here's what happened: she was accepting the Brit Award for best album. That is the final and most prestigious award of the night. Kind of like of best album at the Grammys. But her acceptance speech was cut off.

The show, as every awards show does, was running long, so they need to go to the next musical act. Apparently they don't play you off with an orchestra, like they do it so many award shows. So, the host of the show had to step in and end her speech as Adele was telling the crowd how proud she was to be British.

Of course, Adele didn't like that very much, so she gave the cameras a single digit salute.

And here's what she told reporters backstage about it: "I flung the middle finger. That was for the suits at the Brit Awards, not my fans. I'm sorry if I offended anyone but the suits offended me."

You know what, Kyra? Adele has been nothing but humble and gracious with all of the accolades she has received for her album, "21" over the past year. She's so excited about it all. I'm giving her a pass on this one. In fact, I'm here to tell you I like Adele more this morning because of what she did.

And this on the heels of the news we just received that she is breaking sales records since winning her Grammys. Just last week, she has sold more albums in the past week than she has in the entire time her album "21" has been out.

PHILLIPS: We'll salute that.

Charlie Sheen making a little bit of noise again. No surprise?

HAMMER: Yes. He's been pretty quiet lately so this was, you know, refreshing to hear. Last week, Sheen called in to TMZ to slam his old show "Two and a Half Men" and its new star Ashton Kutcher.

This week, Sheen is apologizing. Well, at least he's apologizing to Ashton. He released this statement.

He said, "Dear Ashton, my bad. I was disrespectful to a man doing his best. I got excited and threw you into a crossfire. The rest of my statement I stand behind. You, however, deserve better. Safety in your travels, good sir."

And he signed it the late Charlie Harper. I'm not exactly sure why he tried to partially impersonate him.

Now, Warner Brothers, the studio behind the sitcom, and Charlie Sheen, as we know, have been legally sniping at each other recently, Kyra. That led to Sheen's outburst last week. But I was getting a little worried because we hadn't heard him put his foot in his mouth anytime recently.

So, good to have you back, Charlie.

PHILLIPS: Oh, yes. The roller coaster continues. A.J., thanks.

And A.J. will be back with us next hour with more showbiz headlines. This time, two of the Kardashian sisters could face a lawsuit over their work with a diet plan.

And Jeremy Lin is making believers out of doubters in the NBA. We're going to talk live with his pastor about the point guard's faith.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

PHILLIPS: Some surprising findings this morning about how heart attacks impact women. A study of U.S. heart attack patients find that women are more likely to die in the hospital following an attack. They are also more likely than men to show up at the hospital without the classic symptoms of chest pain and discomfort.

A national database is sponsored by Gentec. It's the maker of a heart drug. That drug was not discussed in the study.

All right, we know he's got game. He's also got God. This morning we're talking about NBA sensation, Jeremy Lin and his faith. It's what keeps the New York Knicks point guard centered. And Pastor Stephen Chen is holding the new star accountable. The Pastor of the Redeemer Bible Fellowship has known and counseled Jeremy for the last decade.

Pastor Chen, it's great to see you. You're joining live us from Mountain View, California this morning. Let's talk about what makes this basketball player so special.

STEPHEN CHEN, PASTOR, REDEEMER BIBLE FELLOWSHIP: Well absolutely. You know, I'm just -- everyone here is so proud of him. And we're so happy for him. We really rejoice with all of his success.

And what really makes him special, I believe, is -- is -- is his faith. It's a -- it's the center of who he is. It's not even that he's a basketball player and that he's humble, it's that -- or that he's even Asian-American or whatever we may think of him. But what's most important to him, what's central to him is his identity in Christ and that really makes him special.

PHILLIPS: Well and you know his heart. And -- and you have pastored him for the past decade. And you've taken the opportunity now that he's playing in the NBA where there's a lot of temptation, a lot of money, a lot of parties, you've actually pastored him on that subject.

CHEN: Sure.

PHILLIPS: What did you tell him and how did he respond to you?

CHEN: Well, it may be not something that we directly talked about immediately within the past couple of weeks or anything, but he knows. He understands that as a -- as a Christian, that all Christians face temptations. And -- and even him himself, he understands that he's going to face a certain type of temptation now that he is in the limelight, now that he has a little bit of fame and things like that.

And he is being cautious. He knows that -- that he's human, that he's a sinner and that he's saved by grace and so those are the things that are kind of keeping him grounded, keeping him centered.

PHILLIPS: So Pastor Chen, we see him on the court. We've heard a little bit from him, but from what I'm hearing, he's had a tremendous impact on the Asian Christian community, not just the Asian community, but the Asian Christian community. Tell me what you've seen and how you've seen sort of what he's doing influence that.

CHEN: Sure. I think everyone is really excited. Again, he is an example to a lot of people, especially Asian-American Christians in the sense that he's had a little bit of success. He's -- he's in the limelight. And he's also has an opportunity to be bold and faithful about what he believes.

I think when you see Jeremy, what you see is the genuine deal. And when he says he's thankful to God for a game or he says that he's -- he's really thankful for even the opportunity to play basketball, I think those are -- that's who he is.

That's -- that's Jeremy.

PHILLIPS: Wow, well, he's -- he's definitely made an impact on his home culture in addition to everyone else.

CHEN: Yes absolutely.

PHILLIPS: Pastor Steven Chen, thanks for your time this morning.

CHEN: Thank you.

PHILLIPS: And if you want more on Jeremy Lin, just head to our belief blog. Lin was playing for a struggling Harvard team when he sought fellowship with a Christian group. Checkout the story CNN.com/belief.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

PHILLIPS: Here are some stories we're working on later today in the CNN NEWSROOM.

11:00 Eastern, Attorney General Eric Holder making remarks to the Justice Department's Black History Month, a commemorative program.

At 2:00 a Moroccan immigrant charged in last week's attempted suicide bombing near the U.S. capital is expected to appear in court. He is accused of trying to use a weapon of mass destruction.

And tonight at 8:00, watch CNN for the 20th Republican presidential debate live from Mesa, Arizona.

We're following lots of the development in the next hour of the CNN NEWSROOM. Let's go ahead and check in first with our Ivan Watson -- Ivan.

IVAN WATSON, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Kyra, the deadly Syrian bombardment of the city of Homs continues to claim lives. This morning among the dead are an award-winning French photographer and Marie Colvin, a veteran American newspaper reporter. I'll have that story for you at the top of the hour.

MARK PRESTON, CNN POLITICAL EDITOR: I'm Mark Preston in Mesa, Arizona. This is the final debate before the Republican presidential nomination Super Tuesday and of course the big primaries in Arizona and Michigan. This could be the biggest debate of the four remaining presidential candidates' political life. I'll have more in the next hour.

ALISON KOSIK, CNN BUSINESS CORRESPONDENT: And I'm Alison Kosik at the New York Stock Exchange. The mobile phone industry is running out of space to provide services, like talking, texting surfing the web; many things many of us can't do without. I'm going to have more on what it means for your cell service and your wallet coming up in the next hour -- Kyra.

PHILLIPS: All right, guys thank you so much.

Also next hour Franklin Graham is going to join me live. You know he's got a tremendous amount of influence on evangelical voters. And within the last 24 hours or so he's put some questions out there about President Obama's faith. I'm going to ask him about all that at 10:15 Eastern Time.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

PHILLIPS: Well, it can be pretty awkward when a man is caught staring, especially when he's the husband of the Finnish president.

CNN's Jeanne Moos explains.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

JEANNE MOOS, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Did the husband of Finland's president get caught sneaking a peek at a gal? Sure it happens to teenage boys with raging hormones. One minute you're zoning out while zooming in, in math class. The next minute -- you're nabbed.

But this was the husband of Finland's president, seemingly ogling Princess Mary of Denmark. The giveaway may be the guilty look up to the ceiling as she covers her bosom. Maybe he was inspecting her jewels. At least the princess didn't tell him to focus, as singer Nicole Scherzinger did to Conan.

NICOLE SCHERZINGER, SINGER: They asked me to be a guest judge -- focus, Conan -- to be --

CONAN O'BRIEN: Finally, let's be real here.

SCHERZINGER: Speaking of --

O'BRIEN: You didn't think I was going to look down there?

MOOS: Poor guys, betrayed by even a subtle lowering of their eyelids.

NIECY NASH, TV HOST: My eyes are up here, Donnie. Bring it up. Bring it up.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Hey if a woman is going to show cleavage like that, a man is allowed to look.

NASH: But this is a girl's best accessory.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes.

MOOS (on camera): Up, up, up. Pictures can make guys look like boobs even when they are innocent.

(voice-over): Remember President Obama's "Tail to the Chief" moment?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It's causing quite a buzz

MOOS: There was the President at a summit --

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Giving young woman a serious once over.

MOOS: When "Good Morning America" showed video of the same instant --

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Seems to be a little different story. Obama may be watching his footing.

MOOS: You can't blame guys for lowering their gaze when the fierce "Sports Illustrated" swim suit cover model challenges them in a Web ad. UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Do you think you could beat me in a staring contest, remember, eyes up here. Ready stare.

MOOS: For 45 seconds, try to get your eye balls to resist the magnetic pool of cleavage.

Perhaps the best advice about cleavage came from Seinfeld after George got busted.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Get a good look, Costanza?

JERRY SEINFELD, COMEDIAN: Looking at cleavage is like looking at the sun. You don't stare at it, it's too risky. You get a sense of it then you look away.

MOOS: Unlike cleavage, the problem with looking at the sun is the naked eye, the eye is naked.

Jeanne Moos, CNN.

O'BRIEN: My god, I just threw my neck out.

MOOS: New York.

(END VIDEOTAPE)