Transcripts For CNNW CNN Newsroom 20111229 : vimarsana.com

CNNW CNN Newsroom December 29, 2011



santorum, gingrich, ron paul, rick perry and mitt romney all have campaign events this hour and we will dip in and listen in where we can. speaking of moving, michele bachmann's campaign is moving on without the former chairman of its iowa operations. he left to work for ron paul and bachmann claims she knows why. >> i had a conversation with kent sorenson. in the direct conversation i had with him he told me that he was offered money. he was offered a lot of money by the ron paul campaign to go and associate with the ron paul campaign. no one else knows about that conversation other than kent sorenson and myself and i know what he said to me about that. >> what does sorenson say? stick around. in just a few minutes he will join me live to explain himself. it is his first tv interview since he changed camps. don't miss it. poll numbers have not been especially encouraging to president obama but the pew hispanic center finds by more than a margin 2-1 they favor the president over mitt romney or rick perry, despite the fact they don't approve of increased deportations on the president's watch. hispanics are the fastest population group in the country and a major voting bloc. arab league monitors on the ground in syria have failed to stop deadly clashes between security forces and anti-government protesters. opposition activists say more than 30 protesters were killed across the country today. in the damascus suburb of douma, security forces fired at demonstrators gathering in the grand mosque as the monitors arrived in the city killing at least 13. the monitors came in after president assad agreed to the monitors. the u.n. says more than 5,000 civilians have died in ten months of unrest. the obama administration says it will do whatever is necessary to keep open the vital oil route of the strait of hormuz. iran threatens to block the strait which links the gulf to the indian ocean. about 40% of the world's oil passes through it. the threat came after the european union and u.s. separately decided to tighten sanctions on iran over its nuclear program. iran is conducting naval exercise in the eastern part of the strait. it briefly pushed up international oil prices. a judge's ruling in arizona could cost public schools in tucson millions of dollars a year. an administer law judge says the district's mexican-american studies program violates a new law prohibiting divisive ethnic studies classes. it is an issue that's upset a lot of people. the judge says the program presents latino history and culture in a biased political and emotionally charged manner. some district board members aren't sure what their next step will be. >> at this point we will review the direction of the administrative law judge and we believe that we are in compliance of this law. >> the ruling upheld a prior decision by the state school superintendent to shut down the program. bp faces hundreds of lawsuits over the deepwater horizon disaster and criminal charges may be on the way. the "wall street journal" reports federal prosecutors are building a case against several bp. engineers and at least one supervisor who allegedly may have lied to regulators about the risks involved in the well that plu blew up. the company's already been fined for safety violations. neither bp or the feds are commenting on the report. in new orleans, about 40 vehicles were involved in this deadly pile-up on interstate 10 early this morning. police say two people were killed, more than 50 injured. 22 were taken to area hospitals. there was heavy fog in the area at the time of the accident. both eastbound and westbound lanes were closed. do you believe in angels? ben made the most out of life after cheating death three times and with messages of hope like this one, he became an internet sensation inspiring thousands. we will share part of ben's last message with you right after the break. but first, it doesn't always take a village. sometimes it takes a metropolis. two weeks before christmas a decorated new york police officer was gunned down while trying to stop a robbery. he left four daughters, two of whom are in college. the others are in high school. new yorkers have now given $1.6 million to pay for their education. to a city that is sometimes seen as cold and uncaring, we say, all of you who stepped up to honor a hero to help out a family you never knew, you're today's rock stars. ♪ you're simply the best ♪ better than all the rest ♪ s ♪ better than anyone by blocking some of the fat you eat. let's fight fat with alli. ♪ [ female announcer ] you use the healing power of touch every day. the healing power of touch can be even more powerful. with precise from the makers of tylenol. precise pain relieving cream works quickly to activate sensory receptors. it helps block pain signals fast for relief you can feel precisely where you need it most. precise. only from the makers of tylenol. aspercreme breaks the grip, with maximum-strength medicine and no embarrassing odor. break the grip of pain with aspercreme. . afternoon in austin, texas, family and friends of ben breedlove will gather to remember a young man none of them will ever forget. you may know ben yourself through the videos he liked to post on youtube. he was handsome, well liked and sick. born with heart condition that ended his life christmas night. he was 18 years old. exactly one week earlier ben sat before a camera one last time an left us all a story. a message that he thought we should hold on to. it's ben's story and he told it without ever speaking a word. i wish we could play it all but here's one bit of it describing the first of three times ben says he cheated death. he had suffered a seizure at age 4. >> ben breedlove, the power of silence and wonderful words. ben closes by asking do you believe in angels or god? his final card says, i do. as 2011 comes to an end, many of you may be thinking about making a donation to charity. what if we told you that only 37 cents of each $1 you give actually goes to the organization? find out who's getting the rest next. as promised, we're keeping a close watch on all of the republican presidential candidates as they make their way around the state of iowa. there's rick santorum right there. he's just started a live event in muscatine, iowa. we'll monitor what he's saying this hour and bring that to you in just a little bit. as the year comes to an end and many of you donating a charity -- consider more of your money may be going to telemarketer than the charity themselves. while new yorkers gave $36 million more in 2010 than 2009, charities only added an additional $3 million to their bottom line. last year new yorkers donated more than $249 million to charities through telemarketing campaigns. the professional fund-raisers' cut -- $157 million. that left just $92 million going to charities. susan hager is president of the u nig united way of new york state. charity got 42 cents of every $1 donated a year ago. >> these numbers trouble us. we have to congratulate the attorney general for doing this report and raising these very important issues. for one thing it is important to understand that this is not all charitable giving. these are charities, 411 of them that chose telemarketers that raise their money. it is very troubling that over a ten-year period this is the trend that such a small percentage of the money actually goes to charities. in fact, 77% of the time the report shows charities receive less than 50% of the money and 40% of the time they receive less than 30% of the money. 61 charities actually didn't receive any money. >> oh, that's a shame. that really hurts the giving process, doesn't it? when people hear things like this? >> well, that's the other problem with the report. it's good to warn donors, it is good for media to cover it. we thank cnn for the coverage. but it may have an effect we don't want to see which is to discourage people from giving to legitimate charities and this is the wrong time for that message to be sent. here in new york state we were devastated by hurricane irene, tropical storm lee at the end of august and early september. we've had thousands of families that need our help so i would urge donors who are out there to think very carefully and to make sure that they direct their gifts to o legitimate charities. >> how are profession a fund razors able to keep so much of that money? aren't there rules in place to prevent gouging? >> the current set of rules rely on reports such as these. it relies on transparency and sunshine. it assumes the donor will be informed and do their homework. unfortunately, that's not always the case. there has been some reluctance to legislate or make rules about the percentage of funds that a charity can keep, in part because who would determine what's the right amount. is 20% enough. 30%. 40%. so decision makers, policymakers have come down on the side of making sure donors know about this and reports such as attorney general sniderman's is a great help in that direction. but i would like donors to be very cautious of how they make that charitable gift in the future. >> is there any more safety in giving through social net working than a telemarketer? >> not necessarily. so here are the ideas that i would suggest for donors who want to give. the most important thing they should do is they shall ask questions. whether they're approached over the telephone, via e-mail or someone coming to their door. they need to ask how the donation is going to be used. very specifically. and if they're going asked for a second time because they gave last year, they should ask how was last year's gift used. here in new york, we just had a very significant donation from verizon to help us assist those families who are affected by the hurricane. verizon was on the phone for me for a very long time asking about the guidelines, how was the money going to be used and held. if you're called on the telephone, specific ask the clarity to send you additional information in the mail. charities thrive -- legitimate charities thrive on that kind of transparency and if someone is reluctant to do that for you, then you really need to steer clear of that one. >> great advice. >> you should not give your credit card number over the telephone unless you know who you're speaking with and the same goes of e-mail, social networking or texting. again, unless you know that charity, you've dealt with them before, you should be cautious. >> great advice. we really appreciate it, susan hager, president of united way of new york. here's how to vet charities before doling out your dollars. in new york, the attorney general's website is charitiesnys.com. for all 50 states, hln's consumer expert clark howard recommends charitynavigator.org and give.org. sounds like a scene out of a hollywood horror movie. a man dressed as santa claus allegedly opens fire on his entire family on christmas day. now for the first time, we're hearing the chilling 911 call he made. >> you need an ambulance or police? hello? >> more of that call next. it's water from the drinking fountain at the mall. [ male announcer ] great tasting tap water can come from any faucet anywhere. the brita bottle with the filter inside. just a short time ago, a man accused of shooting and paralyzing a u.s. soldier at a homecoming party appeared on court in california and that tops today's crime and consequence. ruben ray gerardo pleaded not guilty at an arraignment hearing, charged with attempted murder. sullivan was awarded a purple heart for injuries suffered during a suicide bombing in afghanistan. five members of sullivan's unit died in the attack. in texas, chilling words from a gunman made clear in an enhanced recording of a 911 call. he whispered to the police dispatcher, "i am shooting people." take a listen. >> hello. grapevine 911. you need help? are you sick? what was that? do you need an ambulance or police? hello. one moment. >> police say the man shown here in this family photo shot and killed his estranged wife, two of his own children and three other family members before turning the gun on himself. the horrific attack happened christmas day in the dallas suburb of grapevine. police say the shooter was dressed as santa claus. the family had apparently just finished opening christmas presents when they were killed. a new poll shows mitt romney leading the pack in iowa and newt gingrich taking a back seat. you will never guess who's number three. is this just another case of rotating front-runners or does romney really have a shot of winning this week is this that is "fair game" and it is next. plus, the advisor who left michele bachmann's camp to join ron paul is telling his side of the story, kent sorenson joins us live next. don't miss this. but first, today's question for all you political junkies throughout. how many of us -- members of the media, that is -- are expected to flood of streets of met crow iowa to cover tuesday's republican caucuses? 850, 1,500 or 3,000? find out right after the break. before the break i asked, how many members of the media are expected to flood the streets of iowa to cover the republican caucuses? according to the "des moines register" -- 1,500 of us. that's far fewer than the 2,500 who were there in 2008 when the republican and democrat races were in play. thanks to all the media who are there covering it. we have these three live pictures up of three campaign events. rick santorum is in iowa. newt gingrich is about to take to the podium there in the center of your stream. and mitt romney is in mason city, iowa. we are certainly learning all the names of the towns in iowa as well. we'll monitor all these events and bring you clips from them as we hear from the candidates. speaking of iowa -- i hope you are sitting down when you hear the latest numbers from iowa, you may be shocked. this be brand-new cnn/"time"/orc poll for choice for nominee. newt gingrich has faded, mitt romney is on top. followed closely by ron paul. rick santorum has surged into the top three. with just five days to go before the caucuses, it is looking like a brand-new ball game and it is all fair game today right here. let me bring in republican strategist ron bonjean and cnn political analyst roland martin. rick santorum's climb in the polls was described yesterday to wolf blitzer. >> it is like any small business person, if the money's not coming in, you just have to work hearder. we're up in the morning doing radio shows at 6:00 in the morning here, going until 9:00, 10:00 at night, town meeting after town meeting. 357 town hall meetings i've done in the state of iowa. hard work pays off. >> are santorum's efforts paying off are they just another before the candidate gets his 15 minutes before falling? >> bottom line, i've always said from day one, nobody's been paying attention to this race part of december. we spend a lot of time with these polls, who's up, who's down. frankly be average voter does in the give a damn. all of a sudden a week out everybody's paying attention. it is no shock you are seeing this movement in the polls. more than 50% of gop voters hadn't made their mind up. santorum has put all of his efforts in iowa so it is no surprise he's seeing this kind of movement. i think we'll see even more back and forth leading up to tuesday. so it is no shock. >> ron, do you agree now that folks are putting away the christmas tree they are starting to pay more attention? >> absolutely right. the media's covering it 24/7. you just showed three events on the screen. i think for santorum it is a life lesson. part of being successful is just showing up in life and in politics. he's visited all 99 counties. he's held countless town meetings. i think what you are seeing is voters who are walking away from newt gingrich because of the negative attack ads and exposure he's had. i think gingrich surged a little bit too early. and it is from voters that still can't get to mitt romney just yet. they still can't vote for him. however, i think roland's right -- 43% of iowa republican voters still could change their minds and there's a lot of time left on the clock. even though it seems just like a few days, that's forever in politics. >> you're absolutely right. that's a lot of towns all across iowa. i have to ask, as far as santorum, all of the time that he's spent in iowa, will that hurt him in his chances immediately down the road? >> i think it will. >> no, this is what you're supposed to do. it is the first state. one person who's probably sick to his stomach is tim pawlenty because he was operating from conventional wisdom, i don't do well in the ames, iowa straw poll so all of a sudden i drop out of the race. we have seen what's happened with santorum, with herman cain, with gingrich, when you don't have the big money behind you, the game is changed. you said yourself, 2,500 journalists in iowa four years ago. 1,500 today. the internet has changed the game. cable television has changed it. you aren't running conventional races like you used to. but santorum has put boots on ground and he's seeing results. >> can gingrich do anything to surge sghak. >> he set the expect ace out early that he was going to win iowa. think it was a huge mistake. second one was not responding to these negative attack ads right away. we saw that back lessons past like john kerry, for example. you have to respond to these attacks or else they define you. if you're the candidate, you think people know who i am. no, they don't necessarily and you have to fight back. >> one more question to both of you. defection from michele bachmann to ron paul by the head of the campaign staffer there, we are about to talk with him so i want your thoughts on that. start with you, roland. >> look, had is no surprise. you see this in iowa all the time and, look. you want to jump on the bandwagon of winners. of course the whole accusation in terms of did he get paid for it, let's just be honest. it's not like money doesn't flow around iowa or other states as well. git sounds pretty nutty to be at a michele bachmann rally, then show up at a ron paul rally later on. but we've seen this historically where politicians play for -- play to -- for favors and stuff. understand, a caucus is different from a traditional primary. you can have fortunes change in the room. if you're ron paul, absolutely picking up somebody like this is a good thing for you. but that's iowa so it is no shock. . >> i'd say if he's stuck with bachmann, bachmann is a sinking ship right now in iowa. she's not doing very well. it is understandable he was looking to find a new campaign it is rather surprising where he's going but at the same time it is likely paul will place in the top three at this point. >> stand by. instead of talking about him, let's talk with him. we'll come back to you in a minute. if you haven't been following the gop presidential race, now is a good time to start, of course the iowa caucuses five days away and the polls are as slippery as ever, of course. a candidate who's had her share of ups and downs is lashing out at the top aide. we are talking about who jumped ship. here again, michele bachmann's version of kent sorenson's defection. >> i had a conversation with kent sorenson and in the direct conversation that i had with him he told me that he was offered money. he was offered a lot of money by the ron paul campaign to go and associate with the ron paul campaign. no one else knows about that conversation other than kent sorenson and myself and i know what he said to me about that. >> sorenson had been the chairman of bork machmann's operations. they say you're a sellout, sfru. >> absolutely not, natalie. that conversation never happened and as much respect as i have for michelle, the fact of the matter is it just didn't happen. thi

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