New York Mayor has Big Green Dream
COLLINS: Democrats trying to win one election and looking ahead to the next. Party leaders are considering some primary changes now, after the grueling battle between Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton. Among the ideas, revising the calendar and reducing the number of superdelegates. Josh Levs is here now with more details on all of this. There would have to be a whole lot to consider. here.</s>JOSH LEVS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: A lot. It's a lot to consider. And we still have to see that it'll actually happen. But, what they're talking about is big. I mean, this could be a sea change if it's actually seen through. What they're talking about here, is conquering the three biggest things in that incredibly complicated primary process that most people complain about. Let's go to this first graphic. This is what the GNC and the Obama campaign are saying right now. They want to tackle these three things. First of all, brand new calendar. We'll talk more about that in a second. Also, the'yre going to cut back the number of super delegates. Who will lose superdelegate status? We'll see. And that's a biggy, because if democracy is supposed to be one person, one vote. Right now the caucus system is not that. So how would they change it? Let's look. Let's go to this next graphic, because I want you to see what they are saying they want to do with the calendar. They want to create this thing called a Democratic Change Commission. And it would basically recommend changes, but they say right now the goal is to ensure that no contest takes place before that first Tuesday in March next time around, before that big Super Tuesday. But they do say there would be some that are approved as pre-window states and they would have to wait until February. We'll see what states those would be. Now, I will say to be fair, some people say the process as it was paid off for the Democrats, including Ed Rendell. Here's what he says.</s>GOV. ED RENDELL (D), PENNSYLVANIA: In Pennsylvania, we headed 300,000 Democrats to the registration roles. We now have 1 million vote margin over the Republicans in the state, the largest, I think we've ever had in the history of the state. That's a good thing.</s>LEVS: And DNC Chair Howard Dean also put out a statement. He's -- let's go to the graphic -- now he started off by saying that actually this process has strengthened the party. But then he went on to say, "we must continue to strengthen the process and ensure a fair process in which the diverse voices in our party and nation have a chance to be heard." So, Heidi, right now we're going to see what this leads to. They're going to try to set up this commission when they meet next week throughout the convention and then they're going to say it's now your job to tackle these problems, let's get some changes in.</s>COLLINS: And how long will that take? Maybe the next election.</s>LEVS: They have until January 1st, 2010 to make the recommendations, which is a long time. How much time do you need to figure out -- well, who knows? And then they are hoping --</s>COLLINS: It's politics, Josh. A long time.</s>LEVS: Lots of meetings, lots of</s>COLLINS: Yes, appreciate it. All right, Josh Levs -- thank you.</s>LEVS: Thanks.</s>COLLINS: Incredible video and a motorcyclist who says it all happened because of a video game.</s>COLLINS: A California convenience store clerk fights off an armed robbery suspect. The clerk, a woman, the man, 6'5 and 215 pounds. But, she actually broke his shotgun while trying to grab it. After an exchange of blows, the clerk ran the guy out of the store. He was later picked up by police. Game over for a bullet bike rider. He led police on a chase and ended up under an oncoming SUV, putting a family in danger. Why did he do it? Sandra Yee of Salt Lake City affiliate, KSL, has the story.</s>SANDRA YEE, KSL REPORTER (voice-over): If you blinked, you might have missed it. Here, it is again, in slow motion -- a bullet biker, not wearing a helmet, speeds past a sheriff's deputy on State Road 13 in Corinne. Going more than 100 miles an hour, it's hard for troopers to stay on his tail.</s>TROOPER CAMERON RODEN, UTAH HIGHWAY PATROL: Our cars can travel pretty fast, but he was definitely exceeding what our speeds are.</s>YEE: But the chase ends seconds later. By the time this deputy, who has the dash camera rolling, turns around to join in the chase, the guy on the bike has lost control. The bike ended up underneath a green Ford Expedition, then burst into flames. You can see the female passenger running back to the vehicle to get her child. She carries the kid to safety, then goes back for her second child. Meanwhile, the deputy goes to help the male driver. Troopers say before the crash, the driver of the SUV tried to avoid the bullet bike a couple of times as it weaved in and out of traffic and almost hit another car.</s>RODEN: They're lucky that they were all conscious and able to get out of the vehicle in time before it was fully engulfed in flames.</s>YEE: As for the biker, he tried to run away, but troopers found him 1,000 yards away with road rash. The man gave police a fake name but he's been identified as 27-year-old Daniel Sivino (ph). As for motive, he said Sivino told troopers this was his own video game adventure.</s>RODEN: I don't know whether he was trying to act out a scene in a video game or what he was trying to do. But he said it has always worked for him in video games.</s>COLLINS: Thankfully none of the people in that SUV were hurt. An update now on a heart-tugging story we told you about last week. A New Jersey man reunited now with his two young daughters. The girls were trapped by fighting in the Republic of Georgia. 7- year-old Ashley and her 3-year-old sister, Sophia, were visiting their grandparents when Russian troops invaded. This week, a Russian general gave them permission to travel to the U.S. Embassy in Tbilisi. There, they were greeted with McDonald's Happy Meals and cake. Their father says they are fine and will be back in New Jersey in just a few days. Good for them. New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg wants an energy fix. His idea, wind turbine farms. Here now, CNN's Carol Costello.</s>CAROL COSTELLO, CNN CORRESPONDENT: New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg dreams big and bold and green.</s>MAYOR MICHAEL BLOOMBERG, NEW YORK: It would be a thing of beauty if when Lady Liberty looks out on the horizon, she not only welcomes new immigrants to our shores, but lights their way with a torch powered by an ocean wind farm.</s>COSTELLO: Imagine a massive wind farm offshore in the Atlantic lighting up the Lady. That's not all. How about windmills that top the Brooklyn Bridge? Heck, why not put them on top of the Empire State Building? OK, the mayor said today that's overkill. But it's an idea to create renewable energy in New York.</s>BLOOMBERG: We're not saying not in my backyard, we're saying it's our problem and we can't do -- if nobody else wants to do it, we want to do it.</s>COSTELLO: And that means creative problem solving. Giant wind turbines marring the city's skyline, especially atop historic landmarks -- big problems. But what if the turbines were the size of an egg beater? It is possible.</s>DALE JAMIESON, NEW YORK UNIVERSITY: This idea of putting windmills on top of skyscrapers and on top of bridges and so on and so forth, yes, that's a reasonable idea, it's plausible, it's something we should think about. But the big benefits are really going to come from thinking about putting wind farms offshore.</s>COSTELLO: That costly endeavor would entail the same level of difficulty as drilling an oil rig. Still supporters say, the mayor is on the right track.</s>JAMIESON: He stirs the pot, he gets the discussion going, he gets people talking about the kinds of problems that we're going to have to face in the next decade.</s>COSTELLO: There are people who think Mayor Bloomberg is mostly bluster. But he has already realized more than one green dream, city cabbies -- they are required to drive hybrid cabs by 2012. The mayor's ultimate goal, to reduce New York's energy use by 10 percent in 10 years. Carol Costello, CNN, Washington.</s>COLLINS: CNN NEWSROOM continues one hour from now. "ISSUE #1" with Gerri Willis and Christine Romans starts right now.