Fight Over Child Killer's Burial Site; Underwear Bomber Being Sentenced
BROOKE BALDWIN, CNN ANCHOR: Hello, everyone. I'm Brooke Baldwin, at the top of the hour here. Let's get you caught up on everything making news. As always, we begin with "Rapid Fire." Let's go. Video and pictures of Whitney Houston's final days coming under scrutiny as investigators piece together what caused the singer's death. We are learning much more today about her final hours. They included boozing, mismatched clothing, and erratic behavior. This is all according to a source briefed on Houston's activities. And another source tells us that Houston's co-star in "The Bodyguard," actor Kevin Costner, will be speaking at her funeral this coming Saturday. The crisis in Syria now hitting the northern part of the country. Opposition groups are rising up against the government. In fact, much of the north has been out of government control for months. CNN's Ivan Watson and his crew are now in the region. Take a look.</s>IVAN WATSON, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: The countryside here in northern Syria is in open revolt. And this is a rebellion of farmers, of carpenters, of high school teachers, entire communities, villages and towns and stretches of northern Syria that tell us they have not seen presence of central Syrian government authority in months.</s>BALDWIN: Ivan Watson there in country. Today alone, at least 65 people were killed in Syria. That is according to an activist group. And a fight -- you heard about this? -- really developing here in Washington State over where one man who murdered his two young sons should be buried. I'm talking about Josh Powell. His family wants to bury him beside the sons who were killed when he blew up their home with them inside two Sundays ago. But a Crime Stoppers group has now bought the burial plots on either side of the sons to stop the Powell family from doing so. The boys were buried Saturday in the town of Puyallup.</s>CHUCK COX, FATHER OF BOYS' MOTHER: I can't see this happening. And I just hope that, you know, it goes away quickly.</s>STEVEN DOWNING, COX FAMILY ATTORNEY: And it's unacceptable to have him anywhere near these boys and their mother.</s>RALPH DANNENBERG, PUYALLUP CITY MANAGER: I feel it's in the best interests of the city and both parties to let -- if they file that, let the judge decide, and we will abide by that decision.</s>BALDWIN: Talking to a member of that Crime Stoppers unit in this show. Stay tuned for that. Also, we should tell you Josh Powell was also a suspect in the disappearance of his wife, Susan. That dates back to 2009. And new numbers show President Obama's job approval rating on the rise. Take a look. You can compare month to month here. A new CNN poll has the president at 50 percent for the first time in eight months. That is up three points from last month, six points from November. The poll also shows the president beating the Republican leaders, topping Mitt Romney 51 percent to 46, and leading Rick Santorum 52 percent to 45 percent. Here's some good news. A California couple missing since Sunday found alive back home today. Mark Schroeder and his girlfriend Janette DeGrace were just out taking an afternoon drive just west of Lake Tahoe when their car got stuck in the snow. And according to reports, Schroeder eventually hiked nearly six miles through two feet of snow until he could finally get a cell phone signal and could call 911. Obviously, the couple's family and friends relieved.</s>UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Relieved.</s>JOHN SCHROEDER, FATHER: Relieved. Much relief.</s>UNIDENTIFIED MALE (voice-over): John and Jean (ph) Schroeder can finally breathe again after a tense three days of not knowing where their son Mark and his girlfriend Janette DeGrace have been.</s>SCHROEDER: He said, "Hi dad. I did a stupid thing."</s>UNIDENTIFIED MALE: John says his son --</s>BALDWIN: The pair was treated and released from the hospital just this morning. And America's leading fake news pundit abruptly suspends his show, and it's not clear why. Comedy Central confirms "The Colbert Report" shut down production due to imploding unforeseen circumstances. A rerun aired last night, another one now scheduled for tonight. "The Wall Street Journal" is reporting an emergency in Colbert's family, citing people familiar with the show. And sentencing under way right now for the so-called "Underwear Bomber" in Detroit. Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab pleaded guilty to trying to blow up a Detroit-bound plane back on Christmas Day of '09. Remember, with a bomb hidden in his underwear? The now 25-year-old Nigerian is facing a life sentence. And CNN's Deborah Feyerick is in the courtroom. We're going to bring you the sentence, obviously, that news, as soon as it's announced live here on CNN. And got a lot more to cover for you in the next two hours including this --</s>BALDWIN: A serial killer draws a map that leads to hundreds of bones, jewelry, even a purse. And I'll speak live with a father who believes some of those remains belong to his missing daughter. I'm Brooke Baldwin. The news is now. (voice-over): New revelations about Whitney Houston's final days, including her erratic behavior by the pool, plus what she was like behind the scenes of her last movie.</s>UNIDENTIFIED MALE: If we seek the light, we often have to be prepared for --</s>BALDWIN: Have you ever heard of the lunchbox police? A firestorm is brewing after a school confiscates a preschooler's homemade lunch. Plus, beneath those flames. More than 300 inmates tried to escape before dying, and some of them may have been locked up without a single charge. And Adele is everywhere -- top of the charts, the radio, even the cover of "Vogue." But many accuse the magazine of airbrushing her figure and changing her curves. Plus-sized model Emme chimes in live.