the same event somebody else has be nominated for a song named in their honor. there is quite literally only one barbra streisand, the queen of american music. happy anniversary, your majesty. from cnn center, this is "cnn saturday morning." it is february 11th, good morning. i'm ted rollins at 6:00 a.m. in atlanta and 1:00 in syria. bloodshed continues in the streets. hundreds of people have died. to d.c. where conservatives are gathering for critical meetings. three of the four gop presidential candidates took their turns trying to woo the

crowd. plus, sarah palin talks today. will she officially endorse anyone? we'll check on reynolds wolf. an avalanche rescue dog had to dig him out on the slopes. we'll explain. syria is in a state of crisis, a steady stream of new video is coming into cnn as the city of homs is under attack. take a listen. [ gunfire ] the scene is disturbing. just yesterday, 110 people were killed, most of them civilians.

we cannot verify the authenticity of these videos, but we have heard from antigovernment activists who say if they don't receive help, they will kill millions. most is in homs but spreading to other areas. stay with cnn throughout the morning. the cias website is back up this morning after hackers took it down. a group known as anonymous claimed responsibility. they may have attacked the website run by the state of alabama. personal data of more than 46,000 people was compromised. the hackers claimed it included social security numbers, home addresses and criminal records. we spoke to a member of the anonymous group about why they attack government websites. >> it's basically the power of a massive group of people coming

together. they are not happy. this wouldn't be possible for one or two people. it's an expression of how many people are there. it's part of the big picture taking place over the last number of years. a very big slide toward internet sensorship. we have seen various things. [ inaudible ] i could go on and on. that's just in the united states. itis happening all over the world. it's a very powerful tool as we saw earlier, it can be used in political movements. >> we'll have more on the goal of anonymous coming up later in the 10:00 hour. president obama's compromise on contraception is under fire by catholic bishops. they call it needless government intrusion. religiously affiliated hospitals and schools are not forced to

offer contraception coverage to employees, insurers will provide it free of charge. an announcement out of iran, the president ahmadinejad is saying stay tuned. a couple hours ago, he said major achievements in the nuclear field would be unveiled in a few days. turning to the white house race, maine's republican voters wrap up their week long caucuses today. mitt romney plans to visit caucus sites, something he has not done. he's hoping to close strongly against ron paul. he's been on the ground in maine more than his rivals and run a well run campaign. gingrich and santorum haven't campaigned there much at all. gingrich and romney took their

turn at cpac. it's the largest, most influential gathering of conservatives in the country. they wrap up with a much anticipated straw poll and a keynote speech by sarah palin. paul steinhauser has more. paul? >> reporter: good morning, ted. the final day here at cpac, conservative political action conference. it's like super bowl for conservatives nationwide. they have been doing it for 39 years. the top leaders and activists are meeting this year. we have the battle for the republican nomination going on. itis quite a contestant. three of the four candidates were here. here is a taste of what they said. >> who has supported the stepchild of obama care? the person in massachusetts who built the largest government run health care system in the united

states. someone who would simply give that issue away in the fall. >> i happen to be the only candidate in this race, republican or democrat, who has never worked a day in washington. [ applause ] i don't have old scores to settle or decades of cloak room deal that is i have to defend. >> all of you have seen the washington establishment pile on top of me. all of you have seen things that are profoundly false. there's a good reason they are doing it. this campaign is a mortal threat to their grip on the establishment because we intend to change washington, not accommodate it. >> a lot of action. later today at cpac, the results of the presidential straw poll. it's watched by reporters and republicans across the country. guess who closes out this conference? sarah palin, the former alaska

governor and vice president nominee in 2008. a lot of action to come here at cpac. ted? >> thanks paul. a lot of people will be watching that. what is cpac. one called it the center of gravity for conservatives now. it stands for the conservative political action conference. it was founded in 1973, a small gathering of dedicated conservatives. it's now an annual gathering of officials from around the country and has grown to include thousands of attendees. it ends with the straw poll today with all of the republican presidential candidates. federal safety investigators are trying to figure out why the driver's side door on one of the best selling cars in the united states may be catching on fire. the probe involves the 2007 toyota camera sedan and the rav4 suv. six fires reported. no injuries.

the investigation could involve 830,000 vehicles. just how cold is it in europe? it's been so frigid the black sea is actually squeaking. take a listen. creepy. this youtube video shows the black sea near odessa ukraine. it's from large sheets of ice crashing together. winter returns to the ohio valley and the northeast. reynolds wolf joins us now. what do we have coming up? >> the snow moving into parts of the appalachians. the highest numbers in west virginia six to ten inches of snow. great for ski resorts. people driving around, it's going to be tough. the intense cold move sboog the upper midwest. places in northern minnesota and

dakota, the wind 20 to 30 below in some locations. >> oh, winter is here. >> indeed. coming up this morning, dangerous roads in michigan caused hundreds of headaches. we have details on that. it's a bird, it's a plane, no, it's a drone coming to a city near you. find out why. snow finally showed up across america. you probably don't think about dogs when you think about skiing. why you should coming up. don't get stuck in the slow lane. the tsa is changing the way we go through airport security. how you can get in the fast lane. stay tuned.

zero to frantic in a matter of eight seconds. that's the way they are describing the scene in flint, michigan. the highways are open now. look at what littered the roads

yesterday. ice and snow made for a perfect combination that led to a chain reaction of accidents. about 100 in all. so far, no reports of serious injuries or fatalities. it is ten minutes past the hour. time for reynolds wolf and a check on the weather. winter is definitely back. it's back in my hometown of chicago. >> on the other side of lake michigan, back into michigan itself, we have another weather story that is going to blow your mind. take a look at this. people in michigan love to go to warmer climates. take a look at the situation at the airport. an airtran flight trying to get to florida. believe it or not, this plane delayed, delayed, delayed. as it started moving, slid off the runway. just a nightmare. old man winter holding on to the plane, preventing a take off. there were no major injuries. again, a typical winter we are seeing this time of year.

the winter has been brutal for some places. here in the deep south, it's taking forever to show up. today, here in atlanta, more specifically at the cnn center, it's getting cooler by later in the afternoon. here is the reason why. this is the mechanism making it work. the low pressure going to the south. the big weather maker is going to work with the high pressure that's going to act like two five wheels bringing in the cold air into parts of the southeast. if you take a look at the boundary, ahead of it, plenty of dry air ahead of it. scattered showers. there's problems. in terms of expected delays, the rain, snow, new york rain and snow. cleveland same situation but wind is an issue. in chicago, the wind will give you a few problems. miami, the showers, the wind will keep you with a few headaches. something else we are seeing through the afternoon hours, plenty of sunshine across the

plains. it's good news. snow and rain switching over along the eastern sea board. the dry air from 81 to west virginia is going to move in, giving you a break. it doesn't mean you are done. the second boundary is going to come through. it's where the snowfall totals could decrease. cincinnati, two to four. as we wrap things up, the national perspective is going to show the warm air in places. currently five degrees below zero in duluth. six below in fargo. 17 in indianapolis. ted, your turn. >> thank you, reynolds. given how mild the winter has been, i don't think there will be a lot of complaining. a bear sleeping in a wisconsin drainpipe. you can just make him out. it is a 300 pound black bear. it's where he chose to hibernate this year. the lights may have messed up his sleep. neighbors noticed him while

driving by. bears like to sleep in dry places like this tunnel. he may look cute, but stay quiet and do not disturb, he's sleeping. let's meet the cnn hero of 2012. peace from past addiction and a new sober life through sports. he's now giving back to others. we'll have that right after the break. can you enjoy vegetables with sauce 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. 8% every 10 years.age 40, we can start losing muscle -- 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!

good morning to folks in washington. a live shot of the capital there as people are just waking up. thanks for joining us on cnn this saturday morning. today, we are honoring the first cnn hero of 201. an every day person changing the world. after beating his addiction to drugs and alcohol, he used sports to fill the void. what worked for him is working for hundreds of others to stay sober while experiencing a healthy high. >> i get on my bike and ride up in the mountains. it really brings peace. in my drug and alcohol use, it was the opposite. i got into it pretty young. by the time i was 15, i was using serious drugs. when i got sober, i lost my group of friends because they were still out drinking and using. i got into boxing, triathalon,

climbing. i had a new group of friends. i redefined myself. i thought how can i give it to other people. i want to help people find a better life being sober. >> welcome to friday night climbing. it's good to see y'all here. we offer 50 events a week. all the programs are free to anybody who has 48 hours sober. you can see you are capable of whatever you put your mind to. we have a common connection. it's easy to make new friends. we do bike rides, hiking, triathalon training, strength training. it's a new community of folks to hang out with. i'm an example of hitting rock bottom. i had a heroin overdose. they had to jump start me. going out biking and boxing, hitting the bag, fills the void. it's the best sport i could

have. we have having fun and proud of being sober. come out and go climbing with us. >> remember, cnn heroes are all chosen from people you tell us about. to nominate someone making a difference in their community, go to c nrcnnheroes.com. down by one with seconds to go in a game, what brought an entire gym to their feet. we'll take you across country, next. plus, drones have killed some of the world's most wanted terrorists. now, they will fly in the u.s. they could create scores of new jobs. details, next. [ male announcer ] imagine facing the day

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have more fiber than other leading brands. they're the better way to enjoy your fiber. let's take a look now at what's happening across country. we start in louisiana where the biggest two week celebration of the year is under way.

new orleans is in full mardi gras mode. they draw crowds by the thousands for two weeks, beads, parades and overindulgence. in south carolina, a quick-thinking school bus driver is hailed as a hero after hustling six kids off a burning school bus. she was able to stay calm and guide the kids out of the back door. >> you don't want to be hysterical and make them hysterical. yes, you know, i was calm. they were calm. that's what aided in a safe delivery for the kids. >> next week happens to be school bus driver appreciation week. the fire department plans to honor her during a ceremony. a middle school basketball team knows how to pull one off with seconds left on the clock. watch this.

the seventh grade team was down by one when the player decided he had nothing to lose, making the shot from across the court helping his team win by two. military drones helped hunt down terrorists on the battlefield. soon, it may help cops chase down suspects on the run. that's not all. we have how drones could become part of our every day lives. >> reporter: when most people hear the word drone, they think of large scale vehicles like the predator. it's used to transmit live video from the battlefield or track down al qaeda leaders killed by a cia operated drone in yemen last year. new, smaller remote control devices are being developed for widespread use outside war zones like in u.s. cities and rural

areas. a drone was used in alaska for an ice sheet. >> the civil applications are dwafing the military applications. >> reporter: farmers could use them to monitor their crops or spray fertilizer remotely. police could use this drone developed by a california based company. >> i was a visual on a suspect -- >> reporter: to track down suspects on the run at the fraction of the cost of a hoptder. the federal aviation administration must draw up rules to allow them to fly in about two years. give public agencies faster device and integrate them by september 2015. a lot of our manufacturers are eager for this market. i think it's one of these things once we get access to the air space, you'll see a new industry

pop up. >> reporter: ben says the industry will be a big job creator in coming years generating tens of billions of dollars. proponents admit it raises obvious concerns. among them is safety. remotely piloted aircraft has the potential to negatively affect safety, could cause an accident, could cause damage to a cargo plane, a passenger plane. it could be disastrous. you need to be sure it's done right. >> reporter: among other things they want drones and operators to go through a training process similar to what they are required to do. >> if you are going to enter the air space, everything you do needs to be safe. >> reporter: it's these concerns the faa will address. cnn washington. coming up, the photo many have been waiting for.

beyonce and jay-z's baby girl. we'll show you that after the break. plus, results from the maine caucuses straight away. could romney be facing a fourth straight loss? stay with us. [ 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. o0 like splenda® essentials™ no calorie sweeteners. this bowl of strawberries is loaded with vitamin c.

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it is 20 minutes past the hour. welcome back. i'm ted rollins. thank you for starting your day and saturday with us. all eyes on syria today as the endless crackdown on civilians continues. the military surrounded the city of homs with tanks and heavy weapons days after leaving the country and shutting down the u.s. embassy. robert ford told wolf blitzer how bad things are getting. >> we know who is shelling homs. it's not the armed opposition groups. it's the government. it's why i wanted that picture put on our facebook account so people could see, there's the artillery and that's what's firing at homs right now. the armed opposition has rifles and machine guns and rocket

propelled grenades. it doesn't have artillery. one side has artillery. the kind looking at the films and bringing down whole apartment buildings on people. hundreds of people have been killed in the city of homs in the last couple days. itis horrifying. the international community cannot stay silent about this. >> some fear the syrian army could be about to move in and wipe out the resistance. stay with cnn throughout the day for updates on this developing story. president obama will propose a budget monday that forecasts a $901 billion deficit in 2013. among other things, plans to make target investments in areas like infrastructure while hiking taxes on the rich. california school at the center of a child abuse scandal is working with detectives to find out if anymore children were victims of alleged teacher

sexual misconduct. two teachers charged with felony lewd acts on students at the school. the district set up hot lines for parents to call if they have additional information. after months of debate and complaints, inspirational but inaccurate phrase inscribed will be removed. it reads i was a drum major for justice, peace and righteousness. it will be replaced with his exact quote as delivered in 1968. yes, if you want to say that i was a drum major, say that i was a drum major for justice. say that i was a drum major for peace. i was a drum major for righteousness. all the other shallow things will not matter. time to meet blue ivy. the new baby girl. the pictures were posted on their website along with a note

reading we welcome you to share in our joy. thank you for respecting our privacy during these beautiful times in our lives, the carter family. all right, today we get results from the maine caucuses and the cpac straw poll. for many, cpac, conservative political action conference, may be the most closely watched conference. three of the republicans running for president addressed the conference yesterday. >> who has supported the stepchild of obama care. the person many massachusetts who built the largest government run health care system in the united states. someone who would simply give that issue away in the fall. >> let me tell you, any politician that tries to convince you that they hated

washington so much that they just couldn't leave, well that's the same politician that will try to sell you a bridge to nowhere. >> i don't care what deal he tries to cut, this is a man who is deeply committed. if he wins re-election, he will wage war on the catholic church the morning after he's elected. we should not trust hichl. we need to know who he is and the country needs to know who he is. >> that was newt gingrich attacking president obama. let's start with cpac, phil, you are there. after the speeches, did you get a sense one of the three or any of the three struck a chord with people there? >> ted, there's a lot of excitement. one unifying factor is the defeat of barack obama in november. i don't think p gov mitt romney closed the deal at all with the

conservatives at the conference. it's a three-way race that's going to continue through super tuesday. >> is it a case where he hasn't closed a deal that he will close and everybody in the room knows he's going to close it? is it one where he's going through the paces or he may not be the nominee? >> i tend to what you say about putting him through the paces. romney has become a better candidate over the last month or so. his debate skills have improved. he has a new debate coach. he's connecting with lines and talking points. conservatives want to make sure that barack obama is defeated and they want to point out and underscore his policies. they are trying to find out who is the best messenger to do that. >> lee, what about cpac and the effect come later in the year, the things the candidates do to woo the conservatives. can that come back to haunt

them? anything you have seen so far from the conference that could potentially come back? >> cpac is indicative of the indecisiveness of republicans in this primary. you could call this primary indecision 2012. republicans can't decide if romney is a true conserve tiff. they can't decide if rick santorum can beat the president in the general election. they can't decide if gingrich is stable enough or who or what ron paul is. the longer this continues to build, the stronger the president becomes in this election. you know, as mitt romney and newt gingrich and all them battle back and forth, it gives the president continued ammunition to run for the general election. >> let's switch gears a little bit and talk about the white house. they expanded the religious

exemptions from health care requirements. it came after pressure from the religious and conservative groups. is this a good move by the white house or a sign of weakness? phil? >> the whole obama administration attacking religious liberty is outrageous and struck a chord with the political center, let alone the right. i'm glad vice president biden and leon panetta tried to talk the hard left out of it. they failed. now, it's a sign of weakness. it's hurt the obama re-election effort. i think it's a fig leaf, the new announcement. i my obama is in trouble with sen tryst voters they need in november. >> lee, was this a mistake by the white house? >> no, i think the president was battling between his long held belief that all woman should have access to birth control. the majority of americans

believe in access to birth control even three quarters of catholic women part with their church in access of birth control. he made a decision that is best for women. he heard from various religious leaders and he decided to make an adjustment to the policy. it's what real leaders do. does it hurt them in the general election? i don't believe so. i think people will see what his desires were. it was not to limit religious freedoms. it was to give greater access to all. >> lee, it's about the government trying to tell a religious institution what to do. it's an attack on freedom. you are in fantasyland. >> fill, come on now. for people who make this a political wedge issue are not authentic in what they are trying to do. republicans j jumped on this as a political wedge issue.

this is a health care issue. >> you have no respect for the religious institutions here, lee. i'm surprised. >> phil, i am christian. i'm a lead er in ministry as well. do i think this had an issue in the religious community? yes, it did. you saw an adjustment in the policy. >> we have to leave it there. pretty exciting. thanks to both of you. big day today. >> thanks, ted. we have made reynolds wolf do a lot of things, stand outside in hurricane force winds, chase tornadoes and hunt down a colony of over 2 million bats. he loved every second of it. but, he may not be able to say that about the latest assignment, getting buried alive under three feet of snow. we'll have that coming up. oh will you grab us some yoplait?

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ski resorts around the country had little snow until recently. it's covering the peaks from california to maine just in time for the height of ski season. the fresh snow created the worst avalanche hazard in years. incredible. that is where rudy comes in. rudy is the avalanche dog trained to find people trapped under the snow. reynolds wolf met rudy the hard way. >> absolutely. they have a great team. great teams across the country that handle avalanches. the people, the animals that handle rescues better than anyone else are canines. take a look at the story. 10,000 feet above sea level, breckenridge is home to views,

rugged peaks, great skiing and p a remarkable rescue team. six certified avalanche rescue dogs work together. these two have been together for eight years. >> he has been tested mission ready since 2004. he has been on three live missions and three body recovers. >> a harsh reality in this environment. the threat of an avalanche is always present, even this year when precipitation is scarce. >> the snowpack is very shallow in the colorado rockies. shallow snowpacks don't dictate to stable avalanche conditions once they are weighted with new snow. if we get a few storms, not a big deal. a couple big dumps, we go through a cycle. >> he says it type of dog they use varies, no matter the breed, it must ride on ski lifts,

snowmobiles and at times, helicopters. >> we chose smaller, more agile breeds. good girl. >> they are chosen for their temperment and eagerness to work. their efforts are rewarded with play. he's more than a pet. he's a co-worker. >> he is. absolutely. he gets dressed every day and comes to work every day ready to work. >> all right. let's see how good he works. let's see his skills. >> this is to cover you up. >> all right. >> rudy, we have to work. ready to go work? search! >> it isn't fun. the snow is tight around my legs and chest. clost phobia is setting in. rudy picks up my scent and the rescue begins. >> there we go. all right. >> dude. wow.

great job. thanks, buddy. >> you like doing this stuff, but you didn't like that. >> i'm clauser phobic. it was a little bit bizarre. i have to tell you how incredible these dogs are. one thing that is neat is they are employees of breckenridge. one great story from a handler is he got to work early, got coffee, forgot where the dog was, saw him riding on the lift by himself to the top of the mountain, sitting by himself. they are trained to do that. the handlers let him hop up. he went to the top of the mountain. a moment later, he was hanging out with his friends. they have the run of the resort. they are great ambassadors of breckenridge. incredible animals. >> they are working dogs. >> yeah. >> they save lives. >> no doubt. >> welcome back.

i'm glad they found you. >> warmer here, no question. hate the long lines at the airport? who doesn't? what's in the works to get you on the plane faster? next. plus, this -- relentless shelling bombards a syrian city of homes. residents beg the president, just let us move our children to safety. now, there may be a new twist in the fighting. that's coming up.

syria's escalating violence is sparking global concern. government forces are shelling

neighborhoods. innocent civilians are dying in the street. joining us from washington is foreign policy correspondent to give us insight. the anti-government forces are more united. will they continue to gain support and strength? >> they are finally gathering together, rallying around one big group. until this point, they have been disjointed, unified. the syrian president has been doing a good job of splitting them and dividing them against one another. this is the first time they have come close to demas kus. it's the first time it's shown they have the power to put a crack in the va near of assad's power saying we are not disunified and a bunch of tribes. we are come sboog the suburbs of the main capital and making a dent. >> do you think this is the beginning of the end for assad? >> it could be. international observers note the

arab league turned against him in ways that is unprecedented. they want observers originally a couple weeks ago. the violence was too much there. they didn't send the observers in. the sticking point is trying to get international support to go around a u.n. resolution. until this point last week, china and russia vetoed that resolution. >> why did russia and why are they still holding support for syria? >> russia -- syria is russia's biggest ally in the middle east. they are home to the last remaining naval base in the mediterranean. they are a big training partner with russia. they have a $500 billion deal for airplane parts. they are an important strategic and economic ally and russia doesn't want to give that up, the foothold in the middle east. it's a strategic play for russia. they have elections coming up

next month. putin doesn't want to seem weak with the west. >> at some point, with all this video coming out and the world watching this, doesn't it put russia in a precarious condition, yeah, they want to help out their buddy and partner, but to what end? >> certainly, it becomes more and more embarrassing. it's the strategy you see with the u.s. and the west. you bring up resolution after resolution forcing russia to say look, this is getting bad. it's a humanitarian crisis. do you want to support this guy, assad? the last time they brought up the resolution last week, russia vetoed it, you saw the foreign minister with harsh comments about assad. they are starting to realize this is a bad appearance for them to veto these resolutions with so many people dying in syria. >> thank you. we'll talk to you again later this morning, getting your perspective on iran. that is coming up.

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good morning, everybody in atlanta. a shot of the international airport on this saturday morning. the sun just starting to come up. welcome to cnn news room on this

saturday morning. the transportation security administration is changing the way we go through airport security. it could help thousands speed through lines, the long lines we dread. nadia bilchik joins us with m e more. how is the tsa speed line working? >> this tsa precheck is a wonderful thing. you do not need to take off your shoes, your jacket, take out your toiletries or laptop. it's only in seven airports at this point. dallas, miami, lax, vegas, minneapolis, atlanta and detroit. the good news is, by the end of this year, there will be 28 more airports and 35 all together. right now, the seven are in association with delta or american or in socases both. >> you have to do all this other stuff. you have to do those things normally. how are they able to do it and still provide the safety

measures? >> they have checked you. there are two way this is works. the airlines opt you in usually if you are a frequent flyer, you will get a notification and they opt you in. that is the one way of doing it. the second way is you actually sign up for the custom border protections trusted traveler program. in that case, you go on to glob globalentry.gov. that costs you $100. they have to do an entire precheck. >> frequent flier status gets you in? >> not automatically. i have found talking to people if they are frequent flyers like you are or i am, i have been opted in. i have been through the system twice. the the first time, i was surprised. i walked through the precheck. i was about to take off my shoes. an assistant said you don't have to.

there's a wonderful sign that says keep those shoes on you busy traveler you. it's such a great sign. >> there it is. yep. >> we are so conditioned at this point. >> it's nerve-racking, too. you have to take everything off, put it on, someone behind you is pushing you along. >> exactly. what a pleasure. you either get opted in by the airlines or go to globalentry.gov. the tsa website has information. it's going to cost you 100 bucks. about 300,000 -- i spoke with greg from tsa, over 330,000 people have been through. >> i have to tell you, the tsa administrator says at the end of the day, precheck moves us closer to our goal of delivering the most effective and efficient screening recognizing most passengers do not pose a threat

to security. >> all right. perfect. $100 well spent. thanks, appreciate it. mitt romney puts in two minutes of offense hoping for a winning drive in maine. ron paul defends the turf he's held through much of the campaign. 21 delegates at state today. the picture from portland coming up in ten minutes. [ 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?

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let's take a look now at what's happening across country. we start in south carolina where a bank kill add man, sort of. bank of america declared this guy dead. his credit report says quote, file not scored because subject

is deceased. arthur says he is alive. he's been fighting this for 100 days. it's hurt his credit and blocked him from getting a mortgage. >> that is your laptop. you see it's out here on the ground. this right here is my .45. that was the first round. oh, yeah, after that comment you made about your mom, she told me to be sure i put one in from her. that's from her. i have one left. >> tommy jordan posted a video reading his daughter's disrespectful facebook post and shooting her laptop with a handgun nine times. he's make iing his daughter payr the bullets. cnn reached out to him but he is not talking.

>> from cnn center, this is "cnn saturday morning." it is february 11th, good morning. i'm ted rollins at 7:00 a.m. here in atlanta and 2:00 p.m. in syria where the gunshots explosion and bloodshed continues in the streets. hundreds of people have died. to d.c. where conservatives are gathering for critical meetings. three of the four gop presidential candidates took their turns trying to woo the crowd. there may be just as much political intrigue up north in maine. as well, we'll take you there. plus, how does $7,000 sound? clyde anderson says saving it might be easier than you think. we are watching a country in crisis. syria and a city under mercyless

siege. today marks the seventh straight day military tanks pounded homes. one witness says hundreds of soldiers surrounded the city. dozens of tanks in sight. the president limited access by cnn and other international news organizations. ivan watson is monitoring from istanbul, turkey. what is the situation unfolding, specifically? >> reporter: good morning, ted. well, residents of the city of homs woke up every morning this week to the sound of ar tillie pounding their streets fired from kilometers away fired into a city with a population of around 1 million people. one of the residents we talked to said there were airplanes flying overhead dropping bombs on the city. we cannot confirm that.

another resident we talked to made a desperate plea to help get the children out of this encircled city where hundreds of people have been killed. one of the voices speaking out to raise awareness on the plate is the u.s. ambassador to damascus who had to shutter the doors of the u.s. embassy earlier this week. he spoke to cnn on friday and said there's no question that the syrian army has the monopoly of the use of force in this city. take a listen to what he had to say. >> we know who is shelling homs. it's not the armed opposition groups. it's the government. that's why i wanted that picture put on our facebook account so people could see there is the artillery. that's what's firing at homs right now. the armed opposition has rifles, it has machine guns and a few

rocket propelled grenades. it doesn't have artillery. one side has artillery. >> reporter: ted, there is an armed opposition growing in syria. this protest movement started 11 months ago as almost completely peaceful. the syrian government accused the protesters of being armed terrorists and use deadly force to crush their movement. there is a growing rebel movement. opposition activists claimed responsibility for an attack in the north of the country that they say used on improvised explosive device and ambush to kill at least ten syrian soldiers. we can't confirm that. we are getting more and more reports of these attacks. also, a military doctor, the head of a military hospital in damascus saying he was assassinated blaming that on

armed terrorists. it looks like this country is headed toward a conflict, something like the civil war. a bleak situation. ivan watson live for us monitoring what's going on in syria from istanbul. thanks. the largest annual gathering of conservative leaders concludes the 39th convention today. cpac will end with a speech by sarah palin and by announcing the results of the presidential straw poll. three of the four gop candidates addressed the convention yesterday. romney used his speech to convince conservatives he's one of them. gingrich took a swipe at the gop and santorum focused on attacking president obama. ron paul chose maine over speaking at cpac. he hopes it leads to his first win on the campaign trail today. mitt romney is making a push to

capture the caucus as well. shannon travis is in portland. >> reporter: on saturday morning, romney will wake up here in maine and do something he hasn't done the entire cycle, attend a kau sus kus sight. he's going to attend two on the day ron paul is doing the same in the race for 21 delegates in the maine caucus. on friday night, romney did something else he hadn't done in awhile, have a town hall meeting where he filtered questions from the audience. he answered questions about energy independence, regulation in america and he was heckled by a few people in the crowd. take a listen at one man who pestered governor romney. >> it was not -- >> it's my turn to speak. you have had your turn. hold on my friend. let's let somebody else speak. >> you are not speaking the

truth. >> usa! usa! after romney's appearance in portland, maine i got the chance to ask the former governor of massachusetts about the rowdy respepr reception he got here in maine. >> hi, how are you. wonderful reception in maine. of course, of course there are always going to be people who are in favor of president obama. if people want to replace president obama, they are going to vote for me. >> romney and ron paul are the only two candidates competing in the maine caucuses. the results will be released later saturday. shannon travis, cnn, portland, maine. >> we will be watching what happens in maine and at cpac throughout the day on cnn. the cias website is back up and running after hackers took it down. the group known as anonymous.

reports say personal data of more than 46,000 people was compromised. the hackers claim data included social security numbers, home addresses and criminal records. president obama's compromise on contraception is under fire from the u.s. conference of catholic bishops that call the proposal needless government intrusion. in a change to the original plan affiliated hospitals and schools will not be forced to offer contraception coverage to employees. instead, insurers will provide the service free of charge. an ominous announcement out of iran. president ahmadinejad is saying to stay tuned. at a rally a couple hours ago, he said major achievements in the nuclear field would be unveiled in the next few days. just how cold is it in europe?

it's been so frigid the black sea is actually squeaking. take a listen. this video shows the black sea frozen over for the first time since 1977. the noise is from large sheets of ice crashing together. it's an icy start to winter in michigan. drivers near one city have to find a new way to get around. plus, meteorologist reynolds wolf is in the weather center with more. >> looks like the cold air to the north made its way to the southeast. maine's americans are going to feel the cooler temperatures. people in michigan, people trying to get through traffic. people on a plane in grand rapids trying to get to orlando,

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zero to frantic in a matter of eight seconds. that's how they are describing a scene near flint, michigan. look at what littered the roads. ice and snow made for a perfect combination that led to a chain reaction of accidents around 100 in all. no reports of serious injuries or any fatalities, luckily. folks living in and around flint are bracing for another chilly morning as they wake up here. reynolds wolf is here with more on that and the rest of your weather. good morning, reynolds. >> i lived in michigan for three years early in my career. in michigan, during the wintertime, there's one thing to do if you don't like the cold. plain and simple, get on a plane

and try to fly out. it's what people in grand rapids tried to do. look through the chain lin fence. you can see this airtran flight, 117 people hoping to hop on board the plane. when they were going to hop on board, five people and a couple pilots, the flight attendants were going to take off. they thought their flight would go farther than just skidding off the runway. the plane never took off. it skidded on the ice and snow. they were delayed. they had to wait for another plane to be rerouted. they finally made it to orlando at 7:00 or so, so late. it all ends well. we are going to see more delays toward chicago. snow and wind is the primary culprit where you could be delayed. boston, rain and snow. new york rain and snow. mime knee, rain and wind. this morning, for much of the, well, parts of the ohio valley

and the appalachians, snow. you have the watches and warnings to the tune of six inches. everyone else getting two to four inches of snowfall. that's a quick snapshot on the forecast. we have more coming up all day. back to you. >> thanks, reynolds. today's power ball has a $325 million jackpot, one of the largest in history. here is another number for you. officials say your odds of winning that jock pat are 175 million to 1. you probably don't want to hear that. ron paul made a stand in maine. romney is hoping to pull out the win. we'll talk about today's maine caucuses with a radio talk show host who knows the political scene. that is coming up next. stay with us.

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gop voters are caucusing today in maine to pick a presidential candidate. the independent minded voters of the state may provide an upset for massachusetts neighbor, mitt romney. talk radio host joins us from maine. his show is heard on 96.7. what are the callers saying about the vote today? >> you are right, it's the independent mindness. this is a state that went to romney in 2008 by 50%. they know they are provide iing

headline that may hurt the romney campaign. it shows the massive enthusiasm gap he has throughout the country. >> ron paul, he's spent a heck of a lot of time there. he's really invested there and he's doing well. is he the favorite here or is it romney? >> oh no, ron paul is the favorite this time. he's got the organization. he's on the ground. he skipped the cpac convention in washington, d.c. conservatives know ron paul is in it to win it in maine. when you talk about a passionate group of supporters, there's little polling in the state, ron paul always comes out on top when you have the enthusiasm. quite frankly, the infamous bridge signs supporters are putting up. >> if romney loses in maine what does that say? >> maine has 24 delegates, it's

about bad press and another bad round of headlines for romney throughout this weekend. really, that's the biggest thing he's looking to prevent. this is in his background. he should easily win this but when you have ron paul out there, it questions maybe somebody else could step in. a brokered convention. maine paves the way for the headline. >> any hope for santorum or gingrich? >> no. i don't want to say they ignored it but they haven't played it up like the larger states. they have not -- gingrich has been on a slide throughout new england polling wise. you look at maine with santorum, it's not his type of conservatism. it's libertarian minded conse e conservative that's going to turn out for ron paul. >> your caucusing in maine is

different from iowa where it takes a day. explain the process. >> it's called the lazy caucus. the last seven days have been the official gop window. caucusing has taken place as early as january 29th and will go into march. the caucus will continue but end tonight with an official straw poll of maine's delegates. this is something that is new for maine. it's vacationland so they aren't taking their time. >> the lazy caucus. what time do we find out? there's a delay from when the caucusing is done and the results? >> there is a delay from when caucusing ends and when the vote total comes out. the vote total is expected to come out around 7:30 tonight and announce announced in portland. >> paul, the country will be watching maine as they deliver their results. paul, thanks for joining us this

morning. >> not a problem. i'll send you some lobster. >> sounds good. if you are looking to save more money, there are small changes you could make that could lead to big financial results this year. here are a couple of them. give yourself an allowance. set aside a small amount from each paycheck to spend on yourself. once it's gone, that's it. you can't dip into your savings. open an account without penalties. open checking account that is offer bonuses or rewards. the rewards can be transferred to cash. that's just a little of what's to come. clyde anderson is here with more simple tricks to save you money. we'll have him and them after the break. [ male announcer ] imagine facing the day

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time now to help you manage your money if you continuely spend on thing that is are unnecessary. you get less money in the end. the true priorities and future is all ruined. what do you do? you talk to clyde. clyde anderson is here with tips on how to save money. start us off. >> round up. what is that? if you are writing a check for $11.09 make it $12 when you do your registry. use the same type of registry when making debit payments. when you round up, you are not missing money. it's like you saved it. >> a little bit here and there. you also say give it meaning. >> save $65 a week. make it simple. you want to retire at 65, save

$65 a week. you'll be amazed at the difference. >> change your mind set. >> change your mind set and your habits. if it becomes routine, it's like a game. >> savings is a bill. >> pay yourself first. a lot of people hear it, but don't listen. when i write a check to myself every month, it becomes a bill. i pay myself. i need to make sure i'm conscious of saying i have to save that money. >> to figure out the amount of money you want to save and boom, you pay yourself first. >> i pay clyde anderson incorporated every month. >> savings support group? >> get around similar people. like minds. you want to be around people that have the same goal and hold each other accountable. we need accountability partners to make it happen. >> a lot of people feel under water, it's so deep, there's no way out. how important is it to start

small and stick with it? >> it's really important. start somewhere. it's not a lot of money, i'm not saving a lot. when you add up the tips we are talking about, $7,070 you can do. i saved all my silver change and had extra money at the end of the year. >> save your dollar bills and silver and put them in a piggy bank. >> you break a 20 and you don't know what happens. put them away. save the quarters, nickels and dimes. you are amazed at what you have at the end of the year. >> how much could someone save if they put their mind to it? >> $7,000 with the tips i gave you there. >> all right. clyde, thank you. as always, you are here every week at this time. if you want tips on how to save money, join us on saturday morning, clyde anderson giving his latest saving tips. more top stories at the top

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