crowd. plus, sarah palin speaks today. will she officially endorse anyone? but there may be more political intrigue in maine, as well. we'll take you there, as well. >> from cnn's world headquarters, bringing you news and analysis from across the nation and around the globe. live from studio 7, this is cnn saturday morning. >> and maine is where we'll start this morning. maine's republican voters are heading to the caucus site this morning to choose their candidate for president. it's pretty much a two-man race for the state's 21 delegates. ron paul has a strong ground game white mitt romney is making a last-minute push. shannon, good morning to you. set the scene for us. people very excited up there in maine and the country, as well. >> you're right. the caucus goers are just getting started. you just had the pledge of allegiance and this is about to get under way. this is no ordinary contest like we've seen. this is a little different. for one, we're expecting mitt romney and ron paul to come here to this caucus site here in sanford, maine, around the same time. we expect them to be maybe about 45 minutes to an hour separated. they'll both be here talking to caucus goers. this is mitt romney's first time coming to a caucus site on voting day. he hasn't done this. he hasn't done that this entire election season. and in terms of another first, obviously, ron paul hopes to make this his first win. he's zero for eight right now in all of these contests. another interesting thing, ron paul essentially had this state all to himself, right, ted, while his other three opponents were in florida a few weeks ago. ron paul was here and i was here with him. he was campaigning for those delegates that you mentioned. basically at the 11th hour, mitt romney's campaign said, you know what? we're going to go up there and campaign. so he came here this first election season and campaigned last night in portland. he'll be here today. so there are a lot of firsts here. it's rather unique. it's a two-man contest between ron paul and mitt romney because rick santorum and newt gingrich are not campaigning here. >> why not, shannon? why did newt gingrich and rick santorum decide to forego maine? they basically made a calculation that maine was not in the cards for them. so that left it would it wide open for ron paul and mitt romney. again, in terms of -- if you think about who might have the edge here, ron paul has a huge following, a lot of young people, a lot of libertarians up here in maine. but mitt romney is from a nearby state. he was the governor of massachusetts, as you know. and he's been here campaigning in republican circles for many, many years. >> shannon, thanks. cellular phone's coverage of the main caucuses begins at 6:00 p.m. with a special decision of the situation room with wolf blitzer followed by cnn's situation room followed by complete coverage at 7:00. cpac will end with a speech by sarah palin and by announcing the results of its presidential straw poll. three of the four gop candidates address the convention yesterday. mitt romney used his speech to try to convince conservatives he's one of them. newt gingrich took a swipe at the gop establishment for lacking toughness and rick santorum focused mainly on attacking president obama. so what exactly is cpac? one activist calls cpac the center of gravity for conser conservatives right now. cpac stands for the conservative political action conference. it was focused -- or founded in 1973 as a small gathering of dedicated conservatives. it's now an annual gathering of party activists and elected officials in the country has gone to thousands of pendees each year now. as we mentioned, the conference ends today with the highly anticipated straw poll and the results of the presidential candidates. a rising republican star florida governor rick scott addresses cpac today. we'll talk to him two hours from now, as well. there is no end in sight to the bloodshed in syria. prodemocracy advocates say 64 civilians are among 110 people killed in syria on friday. here is restrictions on journalists making it impossible to verify reports or video. this amateur video shows the total chaos in the northern city of alapo. that's where a state media is plaming terrorists gangs for suicide bombings believed to have killed 28 people. ivan joins us live from istanbul where he's keeping track of the developing situation in syria. what are you hearing in terms of the latest as the day progresses in syria? >> good morning, ted. we just got word from activists in the southern provinces, which has been a real hot bed of protests from the very beginning. five minute were killed in a village town of mouseffa. we can't confirm this because we're now allowed in by the syrian government. the siege-like conditions continue in the city of homs, the third largest city in syria, which has been she would day after day by tanks, artillery, rockets and mortars with one resident making a desperate plea to us to please help get the children out of that city with the syrian military, saying not allowing for food and medicine in to help the beleaguered hospitalization of that city. the syrian government has reported state news agencies that a senior military doctor who ran a hospital in da ma damascus was murdered outside his hope. this does not bode well for the future of this country in the heart of the middle east. >> reports say that saudi arabia has drafted a new u.n. resolution for the general assembly. will we see any difference here? what can you tell us about that? >> if this is proposed in the u.n. general assembly rather than the security council, which we saw last week, there is much more of a chance of this going through. what we saw last week was russia and china vetoing a resolution and that many have argued has allowed the syrian government, given it a blank check to move forward and intensify its attacks on the opposition. the saudi propousal would coincide with the u.n.'s high commissioner for human rights who is expected to address the general assembly on monday. she has repeatedly accused syria of crimes against humanity. while saudi arabia is criticizing syria for its human rights abuses, it's not saying anything about bahrain, its ally and a u.s. ally which has committed numerous human rights abuses and the anniversary of the bahrainy protest movement is a couple days away in bahrain. no mention about the ongoing crackdown in that country. >> ivan watson, watching the situation for us from turkey, a developing situation in syria. thanks, ivan. homs, a city under siege. here firsthand accounts of the government crackdown from those living and suffering through it. that is tonight 10:30 p.m. eastern. the cia website is back up and run this morning after the hacking group known as anonymous took it down yesterday. haeshgs also claim they crashed the state of alabama website. hackers got access to the personal data of tens of thousands of people in al, including social security numbers and criminal records. icy roads near flints, michigan, have caused a massive pileup. a local sheriff's office says it has reports of at least 100 accidents on local highways. the road is still open, though. drivers are being told it may be best to go around. we have no reports of any serious injuries from any of these crashes. snow in the northeast in the ohio valley in the south is feeling chill, as well. let's bring in meteorologist reynolds wolf. reynolds, a lot of people here in atlanta got up this morning and felt a little chill. >> of course. a lot of people here in atlanta have been wondering when is winter going to get here? winter is thumping this morning all around the southeast. we've got the cold, a little colder in parts of the midwest, then we have bone chilling stuff, especially in parts of the northern plains into the upper midwest. we're going to give you the whole deal coming up in just a few moments. you're watching cnn saturday morning. see you in a little bit. ters tht and rushes relief to the site of your tough pain. it's proven to relieve pain twice as fast as before. bayer advanced aspirin. about its stated intemgzs of handing over a government to a civilian power or to a civilian body, even though presidential elections are scheduled for later this year. now, today, there's supposed to away general strike, an open ended strike until the military council steps down. but by the looks of it, congress seems pretty normal. it doesn't appear that with the exceptions of some universities and schools and other workers groups that many people have responded to that. many citizens worry that with continual unrest, the economy is beginning to suffer. in fact, it is suffering severely and there is a consensus among the majority that the country needs to just get back to work. >> and quickly, ben, why is there a low turnout in your estimation? >> i'm sorry, could you repeat the question? >> you say the scheduled strike today, there was anticipation that there would be a lot of people coming out and you're saying not too many have come to the streets. why is that, do you think? >> it's very difficult to say. it might be a case of revolutionary kaufton. here in cairo over the last year, we've seen almost every single friday, large demonstrations in tahrir square. parts of the city are now walled off to protect, for instance, the ministry of the interior to protect the parliament from demonstrators. normal life has been severely disrupted over the last year and many are simply weary of it. they're frustrated with some of the actions of the military rulers. their tendency to play revolutionary for all the country troubles. but at the end of the day, i think people are simply tired of this turbulence. ted. >> live this morning, up next, your weekend forecast plus cnn's bonnie schneider wrote a book about how to survive extreme weather conditions. she'll join us in a few minutes with some tips. stay with us. lemon burst, hm, cherry orchard, blackberry harvest... my daughter's grabbing some yoplait. pina colada, orange creme. i can't imagine where she is... strawberry cheesecake. 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[ major nutrition ] ensure. nutrition in charge! and a beautiful shot of atlanta this morning. good morning, everybody. it is 16 minutes past the hour. welcome back to cnn's saturday morning. it is, yeah, just after 8:15 here. time to check our weather with reynolds wolf and, reynolds, we have a messy winter storm. >> we really do. i have to tell you, there are a lot of people that look at this storm system and think, this is kind of late in the season. well, it's here, folks, and we just have to deal with it. the question many people have is how many precipitation, namely snow, how much are we going to see? right along parts of the ohio valley, you would imagine we'll see snow from there. when the moisture makes its way up into the higher spots, he'll see the snow back up a little more. we're forecasting anywhere from 6 to 10. we have a few random spots where you'll get up to a food or so. as we fast forward from saturday into sunday in this map, we have that big cold blast. and you're feeling it this morning in duluth where temperatures are at 6 below. 1 degrees is the current temperature for you in minneapolis. 8 in milwaukee. 10 in chicago. 13 in springfield and 11 in detroit. take a look at this map. you see a big trough that we have in the center view. that's where you have that big trough, a lot of that cold, polar air coming in for many people. iefrt the first time of the season you're dealing with it. maybe a thunderstorm or two, but you can't argue with 72 degrees. 59 in san francisco. our friends in seattle, good morning to you. 47 degrees, the expected high. boston and into new york into the mid to upper 30s. with that high pressure, it's going to be nice and comfortable for you. expect those scattered showers to continue for south florida. north florida, though, fire threat, very, very dry companies. one thing you'll be dealing with is really a few travel problems possible in parts of south florida later on today with those thunderstorms. atlanta, not too much of an issue. speaking of travel, i want to talk about a friend of mine who has been doing a bit of traveling. get that thing going. and that would be a friend of main named bonnie schneider. bonnie schneider is here to talk about her new book, you see the name right there, "extreme weather." she's here to basically give us an inside look to her survival guide. bonnie has always had this incredible ability to take a complex subject and make it understandable. tell us about this new book. >> well, yeah. this book i wrote as a survival guide to everyone. you know, here at cnn, we cover every type of extreme weather nationally from tornados all the way to snowstorms wherever you are in the country. so i really wanted to write a book that everyone can use anywhere they are in the country. each chapter begin wes a real life survivor story, a little bit about the science of the phenomenon and then it gets into tips, what to do if you find yourself driving in the road or if you're stuck on foot in a snowstorm. i give practical bullet points on how to take care of yourself and your family and even your pet. >> create basic emergency supply kit. when you say emergency supply kit, what are you referring to? >> food, water, things like that, but how much you should have per person per household and what you should have for your pets, as well. basic supplies. a lot of people i interviewed that were caught in these dangerous situations didn't have these things at home. i know it says a lot of air, but it's important to make sure you have this. especially now that we're in the winter season because during a snowstorm we can lose power for days or week at a time. make sure you have a family disaster plan and that means perhaps what you would do in the event of a natural disaster in your home. everybody should have a role and now how to execute their plan. practicing that plan is so important. >> basically, if they hear tornado sirens, you want the kids to know instinctively where to go. >> right. and some family ves basements, which is the ideal place you want to go. but, for example, here in the south, many people don't have basements. so i give other visits on what to do if you're in that situation. or for the hurricane chapter, a lot of people in florida live in mobile homes or high rise kones condos. be aware of the forecast, it's obvious, but some people find themselves in that mode where you're driving out for a vacation and, for example, if you're out camping, it's important to have that noahh weather radio and be aware of the forecast and keep checking it if you are about to travel. that's very important. >> this is all about survival. i'm sure in the course of doing research for your book, you came across some pretty interesting survival stories. do you have a favorite? >> well, there were some really compelling stories that i got the chance to interview and talk to people from all over the country, all different types of weather sdraefrts. one of them was a land slide occurred and i interviewed a young woman who was 18 years old, santa barbara, she found herself in a home and she thought she was about to undergoing an eshg. the wall caved in, she felt dirt on her face and the house collapsed on top of her. miraculously she survived. a neighborhood saw the landslide, he rushed to her and literally clawed her out to safety. they had a reunion, actually, years later. so it was an incredible story that you'll read about in "extreme weather." >> if you don't have one of these books, you need to pick one up. bonnie, unbelievable book. congratulations for your success. and still reach your weight loss goals? you can with green giant frozen vegetables. over twenty delicious varieties have sixty calories or less per serving and are now weight watchers-endorsed. try green giant frozen vegetables with sauce. you're looking at a live picture of presidential hopeful ron paul at a caucus spot in sand ford, maine. we're expecting that mitt romney will be arriving in the same location in about an hour from now. this is turning out to be a two-candidate race in maine where they are caucusly throughout the day. ron paul and mitt romney going head to head. we'll have more on this throughout the day. as you can see, mr. paul shaking heads, asking people for their support in maine as they go to the polls. a mystery in the waters off of san francisco. take a look at this. it's a car in the water on the beach. the driver is in the hospital right now with unknown injuries. firefighters came to his rescue, but they're not sure or they're not saying how the car got there in the first place. oceans across the globe got a little smaller in the past year, even as heavy rain sparked flooding on several continents. what's behind the change? john zarrella talked to scientists about the causes and the potential impact. >> standing on the shore looking out at the water, you see a difference? no, there's no way you'd notice it. despite all that talk of rising sea level, scientists found that last year, it actually fell just an itsy bitsy bit, about .2 of an inch. why? just one of thoughts freak things. more water happened to fall on land. >> so about a trillion tops of extra water fell on land that normally would fall into the ocean. >> the biggest recipients of all that extra water, australia where it caused terrible flooding that's still going on and the northeastern part of south america. >> we can see the rainey seasons and the dry seasons over the continent. >> but it was just a hiccup in an otherwise steady rise in global sea level, which has been faster during the past 100 years. snas sa scientists say that any signs during the past 2,000. >> so what this paints is a picture of sea level rise that looks like a hockey stick. it's pretty stable for several thousand years. then at the end, it goes up. that is us. >> a new satellite study of the earth shows why. the blue shade indicates places where the land ice is being lost. red is where it's gaining. human amounts of the planet's land ice, greenland, antarctica and the ice caps are, the study indicates, melting annually and contributing to sea level rise. some spots in the u.s., alaska, louisiana, could be hard hit. south florida already is seeing it. >> during these extreme high tide events, it will be completely inundated with water extending from one waterway to another. >> here is what it looked like two years ago. jennifer herrato is responsible for helping broward county deal with rising water. the county is one of four from palm beach to the keys, developing a regional climate action plan. drainage improvements, roads elevated, well fields moved inland. it's hoped federal dollars could cover much of it, but some improvements, like raising a sea wall -- >> it may be a community would need to come together and jointly agree to fund an improvement like that. >> study indicates sea level rises in florida from 9 inches to two feet by 060. john zarrella, cnn, ft. lauderdale. >> so is the u.s. headed towards world war three? iran's nuclear warning today could make keeping the peace even more difficult. time magazine's foreign