sunday, you will face unimagine blg consequences. >> well, now, the academy has caved in. oscars producer brian grazer tells extra, we're thrilled to have him. they do not know what they're in for, if this is any indication. >> did that sound crazy enough? >> that's all for us tonight. i indication. that's all for us tonight. from cnn center, this is "cnn saturday morning." it's 6:00 a.m. in the east, 3:00 a.m. in the west. good morning, i'm debra feyer k feyerick. nelson mandela is in the hospital. we'll have a live report for you. this is three syrian armies made up of civilians going up against

government tanks and troops. we are going to show you more of that very dramatic video. presidential candidate mitt romney addressing an empty stadium. more to the picture than meets the eye. we are going to explain. ever want to hand pick the person sitting next to you on a flight? good news. there's an app for that. from cnns world headquarters bringing you news and analysis from across the nation and around the globe. live from studio 7, this is "cnn saturday morning." good morning, everyone. we start with a developing story out of south africa. former president, nelson mandela has been hospitalized with an abdominal complaint. his health declined in recent years and p has been living

quietly with few appearances. what are you hearing? what's going on there? >> well, deb, as you can imagine, the african nation and many people who love and adore nelson mandela are holding their breath. he was admitted into the hospital. they are telling us it was because of a long standing abdominal complaint they need proper medical attention. they are not releasing anymore information about the hospitalization of mr. mandela. we don't know which hospital he was taken to. normally, he's taken to the hospital just around the road here from the bureau here in johannesburg. we are told he has been taken to the place where the best medical doctors are available here in south africa. we are working on sources to get more information.

i spoke to a family member saying she was with him wednesday and he was in good spirits. she feels doctors may have wanted to take a precautionary measure by taking mr. mandela to the hospital. he is 93 years old. his health is frail. >> last time, when he was hospitalized for chest infection a year ago, there was really almost a panic in the country because he is such an icon. do you expect that same level of concern now? >> reporter: there is always concern around president nelson mandela's health. he's 93 years old. people are very fearful of what will happen to him. but, the main reason there was so much fear and confusion the last time he was admitted into the hospital for an infection is because the communication around what was wrong with mr. mandela

was not properly streamlined. we were told he went in for a routine check up to find out he did have a serious infection. he had been watched by doctors ever since then. this time, it seems the presidency is streamlining information. family members are not allowed to say anything to the media. only senior members of the mandela family have been told exactly what is going on, what the former president. we are hearing rumors he had an operation last night. nobody is confirming that and the presidency is taking charge. they want to release the information when they see fit. >> thank you so much. we'll check in with you later on during this hour. thanks so much. now to some incredible video from inside syria showing the growing humanitarian crisis and battle for freedom. it's something you will only see here on cnn. the images were recorded by a french journalist with

antigovernment fighters. >> reporter: a warfare like this is relentless and terrifying. the fighters appear fearless and take crazy risks. they still find time to look out for many. [ gunfire ] at the headquarters, the battle is raging. syrian forces have detonated a bomb below the rooftop where people are trapped.

[ gunfire ] after more than 12 hours, the snipers are still putting up a fight. uprising for oing on, a p of diplomats met to discuss what to do with the dire situation. here is secretary of state, hillary clinton. only a genuine democratic transition will solve this crisis as the arab league said,

the goal should be the formation of a national unity government followed by transparent and free elections under arab supervision and assad's departure must be part of this. >> the united states is promising $10 million in humanitarian aid. saudi arabia is considering activists. they are trying to get in to aid the wounded and hope to get in today. charged with harassment and endangering the welfare of his newborn. he tried to take his 2-day-old son out of a hospital despite nurses warnings. according to wnbc, nurses tried to stop kennedy from taking the boy out of the maternity ward and out of the hospital. he kicked one of the nurses and fell down holding the child in his arms. kennedy and his wife say they

did nothing wrong. the marine corps released the names of the men kills when two helicoptered collided. the marines were preparing to go afghanistan. the names of the dead are major thomas and captain michael quinn, captain benjamin captain nathan anderson sergeant justin everett. the cause of the crash is still under investigation. remember the story earlier this month of a dozen teens up state new york suffering from unusual ticks? the doctors say many of them are feeling better and the ticks are starting to go away. it's unclear how many of the teens affected have improved. they say stress triggered it. treatments range from psycho therapy to antibiotics.

if you haven't been to the pump lately, check this out. in orlando, near disney, that's right, you are reading it correctly, gas closing in on $6 a gallon. other parts of the country, not so bad but closing in at $4 a gallon. president obama talked about the problem in his weekly address. >> we can't just drill our way to lower gas prices. if we are going to take control of our energy future and avoid the gas prices down the line, we need a sustained strategy to develop every source of american energy, oil, gas, wind, solar, nuclear, biofuels and more. we need to keep developing the technology that allows us to use less oil in cars and trucks, buildings and plants. that's the strategy we are pursuing. it's the only solution to the

challenge. in their weekly republican message, senator hutchinson blames the president. >> president obama's policy resulted in an unprecedented slowdown in new exploration and production of oil and gas. offshore drilling permits are issued at half the rate of the previous administration. the average number of leases issued on public lands is half that during president clinton's term. not only will the slowdown in production drive up fuel prices, it also takes away jobs from tens of thousands of oil industry workers. >> we are going to have much more later in the hour on what's behind rising prices and how you can find the best bargains.

gas prices have been a major part of the republican presidential campaign this week. candidates are using soaring prices to hammer away at president obama. but, they are still firing ammo at one another. here is paul steinhauser. paul? >> good morning, deb. with three days to go until crucial primaries in michigan and arizona. mitt romney spoke as the detroit economic club talked about tax. how important michigan is to romney, he touted his credentials. >> i love this state. this feels good being back in michigan. the trees are the right height. the streets are just right. i like the fact that most of the cars i see are detroit made automobiles. i drive a mustang and chevy

pick-up truck. ann drives a cadillac. >> reporter: demonstrators were demonstrating against him because of his opposition of the 2008 and 2009 bailout of the auto industry. rick santorum came to michigan as well. he hads tough fighting words. he got beat up the other night. >> i don't know what principles when you bail out one group of folks and not another. you are either for them or against them. don't you pick winners and losers. it's what governor romney and others have done. i haven't. you may not like my position but i have been consistent in principle unlike other people in this race. >> reporter: santorum and romney crisscross michigan today. ron paul heads to the state to

campaign. the only candidate not here is newt gingrich. he's got events in california. deb? >> paul steinhauser there for us. call him the youngest crime fighter. a 7-year-old boy sneaks out of his home in the middle of the night to catch bad guys. we'll tell you exactly what he was carrying. plus, nike is out with a new pair of sneakers. demand is so high stores are running out. we know where to go if you have the dough. ever want to choose the person who sits next to you on a plane? yes, there's an app for that. we are going to explain. wow. wow. but you can help fight muscle loss with exercise and ensure muscle health. i've got revigor. what's revigor? it's the amino acid metabolite, hmb to help rebuild muscle and strength naturally lost over time. [ female announcer ] ensure muscle health has revigor and protein to help protect, preserve, and promote muscle health.

keeps you from getting soft. [ major nutrition ] ensure. nutrition in charge! [ male announcer ] aggressive new styling. a more fuel-efficient turbocharged engine. and a completely redesigned interior. ♪ the new c-class with over 2,000 refinements. it's amazing...inside and out. see your authorized mercedes-benz dealer for exceptional offers through mercedes-benz financial services. welcome back, everyone. it is 14 minutes past the hour. this is what families in south carolina are waking up to this morning. damage from two tornadoes that tore through the state yesterday.

winds estimated at 130 miles an hour. no injuries have been reported. meteorologist alexander steele is in for reynolds wolf. boy, has all the bad weather moved out? >> no. we talked about the tornadoes days before. in georgia, there was an ef-1 tornado as well. certainly an active weather. good morning everyone. the big story for two-thirds of the sar ya, the wind storm. we have 11 plus inches of snow. a day and a half ago, chicago drying out. residual flurries around. here is the big picture. the big picture is the wind maker. there's the snow. again, maybe two to four inches in buffalo, syracuse today. that's it. here is the wind. we are going to see gusts 40, 50, 60 miles per hour perhaps from the great lakes to northern

new england and georgia. that's the story. they are making temperatures feel colder than they were. southwest, sunny, beautiful conditions for you there. northwest has been a one, two punch. the first storm system moved in a few days ago. snow coming down to lower elevations than where it was 24 hours ago. in terms of temperature, we are at 75 degrees in georgia. two days ago, dropped to 35. temperatures, believe it or not, as much as they have fallen are at seasonable averages. it's so mild it feels colder than it's been. temperatures in the northeast in the 40s. it feels colder because of the strong, robust winds that could knock down power lines as well. >> a nasa observatory clocked space wind at 120 million miles per hour. what does that feel like? how do you measure something like that? >> it's a black hole.

it's the equivalent of a category 5 hurricane. 20 million-mile-per-hour winds have been measures. we have winds measured that strong, believe it or not. in bigger black holes, this one is smaller so it's doing more than the expectation was for a black hole of this side. it's ten times faster than reported for a hole this size. relatively small. what's fascinating is the winds are coming from a disk of gas surrounding the black hole. they are tearing more debris away from the black hole. it's against contrary belief of a black hole absorbing everything in sight. it's bailing. fascinating science we are learning all the time. this is one thing that is off the charts in terms of what was seen or expected. totally remarkable. thanks so much for that. check in with you in a bit.

well, a chicago pastor spends 94 days camping on a roof send i sending a message to prostitutes, gangs and drug abusers. what made him come down off the roof. [ ding ] oh, that's helpful! well, our company does that, too. actually, we invented that. it's like a sauna in here. helping you save, even if it's not with us -- now, that's progressive! call or click today. no mas pantalones! you noticed! these clothes are too big, so i'm donating them. how'd you do it? eating right, whole grain. [ female announcer ] people who choose more whole grain tend to weigh less than those who don't. multigrain cheerios... five whole grains, 110 calories.

so i used my citi thank you card to pick up some accessories. a new belt. some nylons. and what girl wouldn't need new shoes? we talked about getting a diamond. but with all the thank you points i've been earning... ♪ ...i flew us to the rock i really had in mind. ♪ [ male announcer ] the citi thank you card. earn points you can use for travel on any airline, with no blackout dates. let's take a look now at stories making news across country. we are going to start in chicago. reverend cori brooks is waking

up after 94 days camping out on a roof of a motel. he remained on the roof until he raised $450,000 to buy and tear down the building. he wants to build a community center in its place. it's a magnet for prostitution and violence. >> for those who have given $5, $10, $100, $1,000, i want to say thank you. >> actor and director tyler perry helped put the mission over the top donating nearly $100,000. in california, the days of the milkman may become extinct. the gas prices are spoiling his business delivering milk to 5,000 customers. he's cut back deliveries from twice to once a week. in oregon, dressed in all black, a nerf gun he hit the

streets to catch bad guys. he had to smeek out of the house first to find them. >> i had no idea he was gone until my husband opened the door. there he was with the police officer. >> he visited the police station for a lesson in police work. gutsy little kid there. taking medicine to remote areas isn't keeping this cnn hero from making his rounds. take a look. >> i'm dr. benjamin la brot. i don't make a salary. i started an organization called floating doctors to use a ship to bring health care to communities that have been denied access to health care. floating doctors has a 76 foot

100 ton ship we refurbished. we use it to transport all of our supplies. our mission has been continuous. two months in haiti. we have been working in panama for eight months. in the last two years we treated nearly 13,000 people in three countries. i find patients who have never seen a doctor before in their life. that's as good of a result as we could hope. they are usually living with no electricity, running water or sewage. none of the requirements we understand. we have built schools and done community projects. we provided health education. floating doctors is an all volunteer organization. nobody gets paid. medical supplies are donated. i had to postpone aspects of my

personal life. i gained everything. >> well, riots for a pair of sneakers. the new nike galaxy is causing scenes like this across the country. that is coming up next. [ beep ] [ mom ] scooter? the progresso chicken noodle you made is so good. it's got tender white meat chicken. the way i always made it for you. one more thing.... those pj's you like, i bought you five new pairs. love you. did you see the hockey game last night? [ male announcer ] progresso. you gotta taste this soup.

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>> looking at a live picture of miami. a little bit gray. the sun not up quite yet. a good way to get going. a lot of friendships there. well, talk about friendship, we all like a good pair of sneakers. a new nike sneaker has crowds in an outright frenzy. we are talking riots. yes, it is over a shoe. here is martin savidge with a look at the chaos. >> reporter: this is what all the foot fuss is about. the nike foamposite one. it retails for $220 if you can find it. it's finding the shoe that led to problems. in orlando, home to this weekends nba all-star game, sheriff's deputies holding helmets and wearing shields as the crowd is waiting for the

shoe to go on sale there. they had to move in after authorities say shoe fans became disorderly. outside a mall in suburban washington, d.c., the crowd began growing thursday for the shoe to go on sale friday. when the number of people got to 1,000, the store canceled the release out of safety concerns. >> i was out here at least seven hours waiting on the shoes and no shoes. >> reporter: elsewhere, in other cities, there were reports of long lines but no real problems. nike issued a statement calling for calm saying we encourage anyone wishing to purchase our product to do so in a respectful and safe manner. >> michael bradshaw. >> reporter: it was to keep things orderly. >> this guy got his hands on a

pair but they weren't for his feet. >> online, they are $1,000 to $2,000. >> reporter: this is ebay. take a look at this one. i don't know if it's a capitalist or optimist. if you want to buy it right now, $10,000, that's canadian. more in the u.s. this one person put it the foamposite one is the most anticipated shoe of the year until the next must have sneaker comes along. martin savidge, cnn, atlanta. the california plastic surgeon defending his decision to operate on both of his daughters. "20/20" aired the story last night. his adopted daughters are 23. one underwent her first cosmetic procedure at 10. the other got breast implants for her 18th birthday.

he says performing it on the 18-year-old was not intimidating. >> being in practice 30 years i thought who would give them the time and patience their father would give them? >> they receive regular injections of botox to prevent wrinkles because they are 23, after all. what do you think? how old should someone be to get cosmetic surgery and should cosmetic surgeons do procedures on their own families? i cannot wait to read your tweets. i'm going to read all your thoughts later on. some of them, i'm going to talk about on the show. the michigan and arizona y primaries are days away. both are critical contests for romney and santorum. the race is far from clear cut and will give perspective, just ahead. you can with green giant frozen vegetables. over twenty delicious varieties have sixty calories or less

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well, it is now 32 minutes past the hour. welcome back, everyone. i'm deborah feyerick. thanks for starting your day with us. checking the top stories, former south african president nelson mandela is in the hospital this morning. a statement was issued saying the 93-year-old icon had a long

standing abdominal complaint. doctors felt medical attention was necessary. also, we want to show you extraordinary new video out of syria. you will only see that video here on cnn. this is a horrifying reality many syrians are living right now. the video is from a freelance camera man able to slip into the city of homs. we are getting a rare, close-up look at the syrian army made up of military from president assad's regime. gop presidential candidate mitt romney's economic speech was dwarfed and overshadowed by the location of ford field. romney drew a crowd of 1200 people, 65,000 empty stadium seats is hard to notice those.

the speech was scheduled to take place in a smaller venue. it reached capacity, so the event was moved to a larger one. >> republican presidential hopeful rick santorum has been surging in the polls. that made him a target. at this week's cnn presidential debate, romney went after santorum on his economic credentials. >> i'm looking at a historic record. voting to raise the debt ceiling five times without compensating for cuts. bacon cost $100 billion over ten years. a series of votes voting to fund planned parenthood. during his term in the senate, spending grew by 80% of the government. >> santorum fired back on romney's record as governor of massachusetts. >> you balanced a budget for four years.

you have a constitutional duty to do that. don't go around bragging about something you have to do. michael dukakis balanced the budget for ten years. does that make him qualified to be president of the united states? i don't think so. >> we have conservative blogger, kyle winfield. we are going to start with rick santorum. did he miss an opportunity with the debate? he was a little bit on fire. he was fooeisty, what do you think? >> he came in knowing he was going to be attacked. he was ready for some of that. the problem where he may have missed an opportunity, he got caught up in inside baseball-type arguments with particularly with mitt santorum with who he endorsed in the senate race and how the

earmarking process works in congress and a few reasons why it may not be the worst thing in the world. in the tea party era, it's not what republican voters want to hear. he missed a couple opportunities to make a broader message. >> i think a lot of people looking for that broader message. >> mitt romney, from from chicago, excuse me, from michigan i should say. he's having a tough time there. it's interesting. the venue he was having a big speech at was too small. he moved to a larger one. the visual impact of seeing those people in such a large venue, how big is michigan for him and does it send a message? >> that picture really represents a miscalculation on behalf of mitt romney. michigan, his home state, you would expect he would be far out in the polls. but, he's battling with rick santorum. it has a lot to do with his position on the economic

policies regarding his position with the bailout of the auto industry. i think it also has to do with his conservative credentials. every election on average in the states in the republican primary, two-thirds of the electorate are not voting for him. they are seeking for someone, the republicans are seeking for someone to call their conservative candidate against the president of the united states. mitt romney is not doing that for them. >> you have three strong voices out there. sometimes you feel like newt gingrich is hoping that if the two of them devour each other, he's the last one standing. santorum has been making a lot of gains as a result of his stand on social issues. the same issues, birth control, separation of church and state, they could be turned into negatives by the obama

administration. boy, they have a boat load of opposition research. what santorum says is a bust. the rest of the nation may not. what do you think? what is your take on that? >> he's going to have to, you know, he's going to have to explain those things in a way that will resinate to people beyond the republican base. we got a glimpse of how he would start doing that at the debate when he talked about the family and the breakdown of the family. not wanting to get caught up in would he ban this, would he talk about that, but really take it much more broad er and say something that will resinate with a lot of people. a lot of changes in the family around them. >> basically, he's going to have to humanize it, say this is you, this is you, this is you. speaking of that, gas prices. that's a big one. we are seeing it go up. that's going to be an

interesting way that president obama has to negotiate. how is that playing out? >> the economy is getting better. unemployment is getting better. he has one nag, gas prices. this is what people see each and every day. he has to come forward with aggressive approaches to allow the gas prices to lower. he's going to have to go into our oil reserves, releasing the oil reserves to give us temporary reduction in the gas prices. he needs to go aggressively to alternative fuel resources. things that allow us to rely on oil. >> it's going to be interesting to see how both sides negotiate this. obviously, the fragile economy right now, gas prices going higher is not a good thing for anybody. gentlemen, thank you so much. appreciate you being here with us. >> thank you. >> thanks for sharing your insights. here is another story.

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and protein to help protect, preserve, and promote muscle health. keeps you from getting soft. [ major nutrition ] ensure. nutrition in charge! welcome back. it is now 42 minutes past the hour here in atlanta. time for news that might not have been on your radar. ten members of congress are striking a pose for marital equality. lawmakers posed for the pictures as part of the no hate campaign. it's against california's proposition eight which makes it illegal for same-sex couples to marry. they overturned the decision. s ever wonder why your cell

phone call drops? the mobile phone industry is running out of the air waves necessary to provide enough speed for your phone. there was demand for e-mail, apps and video increases, mobile traffic is slowing down. fcc is working on a solution to find more space. ♪ i was strolling on the moon one day ♪ >> check out this amazing video. two apollo 17 astronauts singing, skipping and dancing on the moon. apollo 17 was the last apollo mission and the last time humans set foot on the moon. that was back in 1972. well, after a pretty snowless season, some states are becoming winter wonderland. in connecticut, six inches of snow fell across the state. in michigan, cars crashed and

tractor trailers flipped in bay county after a hefty snowfall there. check this out. more than four feet of snow reportedly dropped on steam boat springs, colorado this week. alexander steele is in for reynolds wolf. weather like this is unusual after such a mild winter. >> lackluster. from connecticut to colorado, they are thrilled for snow. let's talk about it. we finally had a big snow in chicago between nine and 11 inches. how much of the snow is left? is there a lot of robust snow left? there's not. chicago only 25% of the snow season remains. of course we have the biggest snow of the whole season thursday into friday. before that, we had ten days this winter with an inch or more of snow on the ground. this is certainly lackluster for sure. in new york city, 27% of the season remains. there's not a lot. we have had 7.5 inches this

whole winter. 40%, almost half of what we should have had. this time last year, 57.7 inches, four feet more than this year. certainly benign snow season. but, there's not a lot left. what we are going to get is what we are going to get. maybe one big snow left, ho hopefully, right? in terms of the snow, it's not the story today. the story is robust. it's just a kind of wind storm all the way from the northeast, the great lakes, new england to the deep south, believe it or not. to give you perspective, 40-mile-per-hour winds can drop power lines and dree limbs. gusts 55 to 65. more if you go to the cape and islands. hampton, strong robust winds for you. georgia to the carolinas, 30 to 40 miles per hour wind gusts.

an inch for rochester, that kind of thing. benign compared to anything. windy along the eastern sea board. dry in the southeast. the winds feel cooler than it is. temperatures dropped ten to 15 degrees from where we were two days ago, the 70s in the south. we are at unseasonable averages. it's been warm. >> i bought two sleds and i hope we have one more big snowfall for those sleds get stowed away. >> ergonomic shovels in chicago so it doesn't break your back. it's a wet, heavy snow. >> thanks so much. it's on the minds and hurting the wallets of americans from coast-to-coast. we are going to talk about what's behind the soaring gas prices and give you tips on where you can find the best deals.

they have jumped again. gas prices rose overnight by three cents. the national average is now $3.67 for a gallon of regular unledded. that is up 30 cents from a month ago. you might not believe how bad it's gotten in parts of the country. josh levs is here with that. josh, what kind of prices are we seeing? jaw dropping is the first word that comes to mind. >> it was weeks ago i was talking about the fact we might see $5 gasoline in some places. check that out in florida, 5.68.

this is in a very, very short time. the prices have been jumping. here is part of what's going on. a little bit of it because of the economy. some the stock market. remember the issues in the way oil is traded. there's also problems involving oil-producing nations. a lot of what we are seeing is because of iran. 30 cents on the gallon can be blamed on iran. there are more and more sanctions on iran. a passage weight, the straight of hormuz. the price of crude ail is determining it. the other thing, the taxes, the amount taken by the gas stations add to the price. the biggest factor is crude oil. when you see the prices jump, it's almost always because of

where it comes from. take a look here. this is a map on cnn.com that shows you what gas prices are like in the different states across the country. click on a state and it shows the average prices in that state. the blue map, look here. have you ever wondered how much of your income goes into gas? mississippi 12% goes into gas. take a look at montana. almost 11% of your income going to gas prices. it's taking a bigger and bigger chunk of your pay. we are all feeling it. it's an election year. we'll see how that plays out. >> prices have never gone this high so early in the year. what i don't understand is what happeneds in terms of why prices are so random across the country and where do you go to find the best prices. >> in the 8:00 hour, i'm going to show you why things are

different all over the country and why it's impacting you differently from others. as we are finding cheap gas prices, i have links on twitter. i have a link to this map which will help you find the cheapest gas near year. the u.s. federal government has the link. take a look right now. hopefully, it will help you find the cheapest gas in your area. >> thanks so much. >> you got it. ever want to hand pick the person sitting next to you on an airplane? there's an app for that. more two minutes away. we had to create it. introducing the 2013 lexus gs, with leading-edge safety technology, like available blind spot monitor... [ tires screech ] ...night view... and heads-up display. [ engine revving ] the all-new 2013 lexus gs.

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okay, so we have all been there. the worst person sitting next to you on an airplane flight. they might be loud, they might be rude. they may talk and talk and talk and be boring. apps like facebook may be putting an end to this. nadia bilchik joins us. not only can you choose your seat, but your seat mate. >> only on one particular airline. that's klm. only certain routes. the idea is, what you do is opt into the program where you look at the facebook and linked in of other people who opted into the program. go on to the website. then, through that, you decide

who your seat mate is going to be. why isn't this private? if i'm flying on a plane, why is the airplane allowed to give out my name that i'm flying? >> only if you opt into the program. you can do it like that, which is anonymous or you opt into the program. if you opt into the program and the person sitting next to you and you decide you don't want them sitting next to you, you can't reject them. that's what's interesting about the process. what you can do is request another seat and become anonymous. it sounds complicated. if you go on to the klm meet and seat website, it's very self-explanatory. only 200 people have used it. it's certainly interesting to say would i want my facebook or linked in revealed to the person

sitting next to me and i wonder how many people have met and done business this way? >> that is interesting. it could be interesting for people in first class. you are flying business to begin with. who you are sitting with is intere interesting. i check a very small, limited boundary conversation with people. i did have somebody who was very nice to me sitting across from me and helped me put my bag up. are other airlines going to do it? do you think it's going to catch on? >> i don't know. whether it will catch on in this country remains to be seen. malaysia airlines has mh buddy and they have been doing it since 2010. so, it's for longer flights you may want to know. you could have the best linked in profile and not be as great in person. >> of course. >> this is like e harmony for

travel. >> e-date. thanks. when i fly, i like a certain measure of anonymous. i fall asleep like this. >> maybe we'll experiment. >> i'll sit next to you on an airplane anytime. think this idea is a future of air travel? would you use it? tweet me. i'm going to read some of your responses on air. can't wait to hear from you. ahead in our next hour, an extraordinary snapshot into the growing chaos and destruction in syria. major humanitarian prices. plus, why frequent flyers may have to pay more to the tax man. it's kind of interesting. coming up also, sanjay gupta, md. i'm dr. sanjay gupta. the fda is solving critical

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from cnn center, this is "cnn saturday morning." it's 7:00 in the east. 4:00 in the west. morning everyone. i'm deborah feyerick. here is what's happening now. nelson mandela is in the hospital. we are keeping a close eye on the story. mandela is 93 years old. also -- the fight for freedom in syria. the army takes on government troops and tanks. also, if you open up a bank account and receive airline

miles as a reward, tell the irs. it is now taxable. we start with the developing story out of south africa. nelson mandela has been hospitalized for an abdominal complaint. the 93-year-old's health declined recently. he's made few public appearances. here is the latest from johannesburg. >> reporter: as we are told by the presidency today, nelson mandela was admitted into the hospital. all they are telling us is it's because of a long standing abdominal complaint and he needs special attention. they are not releasing anymore information about the hospitalization of mr. mandela. we don't know which hospital he was taken to. normally, he's taken to the hospital just around the road here from the bureau here in

johannesburg. we are told he's taken to the place where the best medical doctors are available here in south africa. we are working on sources trying to get more information. i spoke with a family member saying she was with mandela wednesday and he was in good spirits. she feels doctors may have just wanted to take a precautionary measure by taking him to the hospital. of course, he is 93 years old. his health is frail, deb? >> a spokesman for the govern telling cnn there is no need to panic. this is not an emergency but it was, in fact, planned. there was no operation involved. the spokesman says they are not disclosing the name of the hospital so he has the space and privacy to recooperate. to syria now. the red cross is hoping to get back into homs today.

it's been the epicenter of the upswing in syria. the red cross was able to get in yesterday to get some of the wounded out. still, there are a pair of wounded journalists while that was going on. a group of diplomats called the friends of syria are deciding what to do about the dire situation in syria. here is hillary clinton. >> we agreed on getting pressure on assad, getting humanitarian aid in as quickly as possible and preparing for a democratic pran decision. that was my message and the message of the chairman's statement that reflected the consensus reached here. we wanted political solution. we know it's what's best for the syrian people, their future, the region and international peace and security. i don't think anyone wants to see a bloody protracktive civil war.

>> the united states is promising $10 million in humanitarian aid. saudi arabia is considering arming the activists. we are going to bring you amazing video, more of that amazing video from inside syria shot by a french journalist who is side-by-side with an activist. it's something you will only see here on cnn. the youngest son of robert kennedy is charged with harassment and endangering the health of his newborn. he tries to take his 2-day-old son out of the hospital despite a nurses warning. nurses tried to stop kennedy from taking the boy out of the hospital. he kicked one of them and fell down himself with the newborn in his arms. kennedy and his wife say they did nothing wrong. the marine corps released the names of the men killed when two helicopters collided during a training mission. it happened along the

arizona-california border this week. the marines were preparing to go to afrg. the names are thomas budrejko, michael quin, benjamin cerniglia, nathan anderson, justin everett. the cause of the crash is still under investigation. remember the story earlier this month of teens suffering from unusual ticks? their doctors say many of them are now feeling much better and the ticks are starting to fade. it's unclear how many of the teens have actually improved. doctors believe stress triggered the unusual body movements. treatments range from several drugs. gas prices have been a major part of the republican presidential campaign this week. candidates are using the soaring

prices to hammer away at president obama. but, they are also firing ammunition at one another. here is cnns political analyst paul steinhauser. >> good morning, deb. with three days to go to the primaries in michigan and arizona, it's a busy day on the campaign trail. romney was in michigan and spoke in front of 1200 people. he talked about the tax policy and plans to boost the economy. the fight of how important michigan is, he touted his credentials. >> i love this state. this feels good, being back in michigan. you know, the height. the streets are just right. i like the fact that most of the cars i see are detroit made automobiles. i drive a mustang and chevy pick-up truck. ann drives a couple cadillacs. >> reporter: outside, protesters were out there doing that,

demonstrating against romney because of his opposition to the 2008 and 2009 government bailouts of the auto industry. santorum got to michigan as well. here are tough fighting words. he got beaten up at the debate on wednesday night. listen to the new language attacking romney. >> i don't know who principles you have when you can bail out one group of folks and not another. you are for them or against them. don't you start picking winners and losers. it's what governor romney and others have done. i haven't. you may not like my position, but i have been consistent and principles unlike other people in this race. >> reporter: santorum and romney crisscross michigan. ron paul will be here later. gingrich will not, he has events in california.

deb? >> paul steinhauser, thanks. a debt pratt fight for freedom. coming up, incredible video from inside syria showing you the lengths opposition is going to in their fight against the government. white meat chicken. the way i always made it for you. one more thing.... those pj's you like, i bought you five new pairs. love you. did you see the hockey game last night? [ male announcer ] progresso. you gotta taste this soup. why let erectile dysfunction get in your way? talk to your doctor about viagra. ask if your heart is healthy enough for sex. do not take viagra if you take nitrates for chest pain; it may cause an unsafe drop in blood pressure. side effects include headache, flushing, upset stomach, and abnormal vision. to avoid long-term injury, seek immediate medical help for an erection lasting more than four hours. stop taking viagra and call your doctor right away if you experience a sudden decrease or loss in vision or hearing. this is the age of taking action.

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[oinking] [hissing] [ding] announcer: cook foods to the right temperature using a food thermometer. 3,000 americans will die from food poisoning this year. check your steps at foodsafety.gov. now for a rare glimpse inside syria and the growing humanitarian crisis this. this is shot by a french journalist who, for a month, was dodging bullets along the anti-assad fighters. take a look.

>> reporter: gorilla warfare like this is relentless and terri terrifying. the fighters appear fearless and taking risks. [ gunfire ] but, they still find time to look out for many. [ gunfire ] back at headquarters, the battle is raging. free syrian forces detonated a bomb below the rooftop position where government snipers are trapped. [ gunfire ] after more than 12 hours, the snipers are still putting up a fight. [ gunfire ]

casualties are mounting. three syrian fighters entered the government building. [ gunfire ] it's room-to-room fighting now, stairwell-to-stairwell. [ gunfire ]

it's a humiliation. with bullets still flying, fighters make off with much needed ammo. >> reporter: it's the morning after. the secret police building has been gutted as the local post office. down the street, a long cue for bread. you can no longer get to neighboring districts.

a couple of blocks away, a district where many belong to p president, they have not been attacked. homs, now patchwork dividing a long sectarian lines. this doorway is as far as sunni muslims can go. one step into the street and they are in sniper alley. >> that was just part of the breathtaking piece shot by the french journalist manny. you can see the entire report on cnn.com. we'll take you live to the reg on next hour for the latest on the efforts there to stop the bloodshed. republican presidential hopeful, mitt romney, addresses

a near empty state yum. this doesn't tell it all. more on that next.

well, let's get a check of our top stories. nelson mandela is in a south african hospital this morning. the former south african president was admitted because of an abdominal complaint. a spokesperson says it was not an emergency but planned. the 93-year-old last appeared in

public in 2010 during the closing ceremony of the world cup. it's probably not the kind of headline mitt romney wanted to make. the republican presidential candidate outlining his plan to boost the economy in a major speech at ford field to 1200 supporters. the problem, the stadium holds 65,000. it was moved after a smaller space filled to capacity. the campaign had a hard time finding a large enough place to meet. dutch airline klm hopes to make your flight friendlier thanks to a program called meet and seat. here is how it works. you up load information from your facebook or linked in account and the airline matches you. you can pick your seat based on the matches. it's available on flights from amsterdam to new york. sanjay gupta md is coming up in

a few minutes. here is a preview of what's ahead. sanjay? >> we are looking at the shortage of life-saving cancer medicines and how close we are to a fix. something we have been talking about, new treatments for addiction, what works, what doesn't. all that and more coming up at the bottom of the hour. deb? >> see you in a few minutes. if you like racking up frequent flyer miles and who doesn't? you are not going to like this. paying the tax man. little known items that could affect your rebate. [ female announcer ] people who choose more whole grain tend to weigh less than those who don't. multigrain cheerios... five whole grains, 110 calories.

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you are now looking at a picture of downtown atlanta. the sun is just coming up. we have a little music there to help you get the juices flowing as you stretch awake today. listen, if you have opened up a bank account and received airline miles as a reward, you have to tell the irs. the agency announced those miles could be considered income. therefore taxable. our financial analyst clyde anderson is here. what is the reason? we are talking about if you are opening up a bank account or getting a credit card. we are not talking about miles we already have, are we? >> say a case happened with citibank where they rewarded customers for opening up an account with 25,000 miles. generally anything over $600 you receive as a gift is taxable.

it's income. you have to report it. usually, you get a 1099. it was a shock to most people when they received that. >> how are banks and credit card companies going to handle that? >> i got 25,000 miles by getting a credit card. are they going to have to cut back on that? >> what you have to do is make sure you are reading the small print. ask a tax professional when you get these types of things. it could be an ipad, a concert ticket. other things that may be taxable if they are giving it as an incentive. you didn't do anything besides opening up an account. >> yes, but one might argue and say look, i'm opening up the account, giving the bank my business and this is just, you know, it's high interest, for example. >> you may look at it but the irs doesn't see it that way. if you use add credit card to earn points or do things or use

the credit card, then you get a reward back. that's okay. it's not taxable. when you get an incentive to do something, to join, it's an enticement to join. it's an income to the irs. >> what new things are they looking to tax? >> home improvement loans, a lot of times you get grants from the state. people have done updates to their home to make them. if you upgraded a heater system or hot water system, they don't tax that. they may tax the free money people get from the state. you have to be careful and make sure. with life insurance, the money is taxable. some people don't understand that. >> how can we protect ourselves? is it just a question i'm asking? are they obligated to tell you, here is your gift? >> you have a ask, ask, ask.

consult a tax professional if you are not sure or unsure. you want to make sure before you receive. >> the point being not all gifts are free. clyde anderson, thank you so much. we appreciate those insights. at least my miles are safe temporarily. clyde joins us every saturday. clyde anderson gives us the latest money saving tips. we asked and you answered. how old should a child be to get a cosmetic surgery and should surgeons do procedures on their own family? [ female announcer ] purifying facial cleanser from neutrogena® naturals. developed with dermatologists... it's clinically proven to remove 99% of dirt and toxins and purify pores. and with natural willowbark it contains no dyes, parabens or harsh sulfates. dirt and toxins do a vanishing act and my skin feels pure and healthy. [ female announcer ] purifying facial cleanser

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