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American Morning

Mayors Discuss Impact of GM Cutbacks; Police Drop Kidnapping Charges Against Teen Murder Suspect; Oprah Surprises Hurricane Katrina Volunteers with Gifts

Aired November 22, 2005 - 08:30   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

SOLEDAD O'BRIEN, CO-HOST: This morning we're talking to a couple of mayors because they have been hit hard. The mayor of Oklahoma City and also the mayor of Lansing, Michigan, absolutely devastated now by this news out of General Motors. Big cuts. What it means for them, even though on paper, they lose only a couple of thousand of their -- of the employees have been cut from their cities, the impact is going to be huge.
CAROL COSTELLO, CNN ANCHOR: Thirty thousand workers in all. And this may not be over. There may be more.

O'BRIEN: Yes. In fact, Andy was telling us earlier that Wall Street sort of felt wasn't enough. Tough news for people. We're going to talk about that ahead.

COSTELLO: Let's talk about this controversial story now, because this will get a lot of people talking. A teacher fired after telling a principal she was unmarried and pregnant. She's now suing a New York City Catholic school.

Michelle McCusker says she was told she was being let go for violating Catholic morality.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MICHELLE MCCUSKER, FIRED FOR GETTING PREGNANT: I have been devastated over this incident. This is my first teaching position, and I was very excited. I'm still in shock over St. Rose's decision to terminate, especially since part of the termination letter said that my teaching ability and love for the children was of a high degree of professionalism.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COSTELLO: The 26-year-old was fired just a month into her first full-time job as a pre-kindergarten teacher. And of course, as you heard, maybe some legal action being taken? We'll keep you posted.

O'BRIEN: Wow.

COSTELLO: Vice President Dick Cheney firing back in the war of words over the Iraq war. Cheney slamming Democrats who accused the Bush administration of deceiving the American people on prewar intelligence. Cheney also said an early pullout of U.S. troops would play into the hands of Iraqi insurgents. President Bush, just back from his Asia tour getting ready for the holiday weekend. Here you'll see Mr. Bush wrapping up his trip in Mongolia on Monday. Today he heads to his Crawford, Texas, ranch but not before pardoning the turkey. Take a look at these pictures from last year, just so you get a sense of what will happen this year, because it's always the same.

O'BRIEN: Fifty-seven times...

COSTELLO: Fifty-seven times?

O'BRIEN: ... they've done that.

COSTELLO: Well, anyway, two turkeys because, you know, the main turkey has a backup.

O'BRIEN: Got to...

COSTELLO: It was Snowball and Blizzard last year. We don't know the names yet this year. But anyway, they will be spared the stuffing and they will head this year to Disneyland. There, they will lead a parade and then they will retire to a petting zoo.

RICK SANCHEZ, CO-HOST: Why do they need a backup?

O'BRIEN: Just about a year. Did you hear Andrea Koppel saying that apparently...

COSTELLO: That was the big controversy, because PETA said that the turkeys were sent to this farm in Virginia and they were so fat they died after a year. So PETA for five years has been petitioning the president to move the location, so they moved it to Disneyland. And now the turkeys will be placed in the petting zoo and hopefully they'll lose some weight, because they'll be running from the children.

SANCHEZ: Right. Got to put it on some kind of weight program.

O'BRIEN: We'll monitor this story, and next year we'll have an update for you on the condition of those turkeys.

SANCHEZ: All right.

COSTELLO: As you're eating your turkeys this holiday season, we'll be keeping an update on these two turkeys.

Anyway, a pre-holiday court appearance coming up in just over an hour for Congressman Tom DeLay. A judge is expected to decide whether money laundering and conspiracy charges against DeLay should go forward.

In the meantime, a former aide to DeLay, Michael Scanlon, pleaded guilty to a separate conspiracy charge on Monday. In a plea deal, Scanlon agreed to pay $100,000 fine and $19 million in restitution for kickbacks he admitted receiving from clients. A brief reprieve for thousands of Hurricane Katrina victims facing a deadline to move out of hotels two weeks from today. FEMA now giving 53,000 evacuees an extra two weeks. That means they'll have until December 15 to find more permanent housing. FEMA says it's already spent $274 million on hotel and motel rooms for storm victims. So they'll just have a couple more weeks.

O'BRIEN: I'm not sure that that really -- I mean, it's good news, but it doesn't necessarily buy a whole lot, to have two extra weeks. And guess what? It's even closer to Christmas.

COSTELLO: Yes. Exactly.

SANCHEZ: Yes.

O'BRIEN: Good luck. You're evicted.

COSTELLO: Yes.

SANCHEZ: I got to tell you, one wonders why they went the hotel route to begin with when there's all that real estate all over the south that they could have had so much cheaper like apartments.

O'BRIEN: There are a million questions.

All right. Carol, thank you for the update.

Let's talk now about General Motors. As we reported yesterday, slashing 30,000 jobs in North America. Take a look at this map here. Here are just some of the cities that are being affected. Oklahoma City, Oklahoma; Lansing Michigan; Flint, Michigan; Ypsilanti, Michigan; Doraville, Georgia; Spring Hill, Tennessee; Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania; Portland, Oregon; St. Louis, Missouri; Oshawa, Ontario and St. Catharine's, Ontario, as well. Thirty thousand job cuts.

The general -- the CEO, rather, of General Motors, Rick Wagoner, had this to say yesterday.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

RICK WAGONER, CEO, GENERAL MOTORS: I regret the impact that today's actions will have on many of our employees and their families and communities. We will work our hardest to mitigate that impact.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

O'BRIEN: What is the impact going to be? Let's get right to some mayors of some cities that are going to be affected. The mayor of Oklahoma City is Mick Cornett, and Lansing, Michigan, Mayor Tony Benevides joins us. Both are losing GM plants in the next year.

Gentlemen, thank you. Certainly appreciate you talking to us. A tough time for your cities.

Mayor Cornett, let's begin with you if I can. How many people will lose their jobs in this move by GM? MAYOR MICK CORNETT, OKLAHOMA CITY: Two thousand hourly employees, 200 salaried employees, and then you have the peripheral jobs, people who work for companies who supply parts to General Motors. So it will be several thousand families impacted negatively here in the Oklahoma City area.

O'BRIEN: And what does that mean in terms of impact for your community, Mr. Mayor Cornett?

CORNETT: Well, we have a very robust economy. We've been on a roll of about six or seven years of positive economic news. We probably will be able to absorb this better than most communities, but, still, it's a significant impact, and all of the robust news is of little consequence to the thousands of Oklahoma families who enter the holiday season here, knowing that their jobs are very short-term.

O'BRIEN: We should mention that the population of Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, is just over 500,000.

Let's turn to Mayor Benevides. And as we mentioned, he's the mayor of Lansing, Michigan. Your city, population of about 118,000, how many jobs are you losing, sir?

MAYOR TONY BENEVIDES, LANSING, MICHIGAN: We are talking about 1,800 jobs in the two plants. We are talking a situation where it will affect a third of our city employees.

O'BRIEN: Wow. A third of your city. You know, when you hear from Mayor Cornett -- let me just ask you a quick question. Give me a sense. It sounds like Mayor Cornett is saying it's bad news but at least they have a robust economy to fight it. How about Lansing, Michigan?

BENEVIDES: Well, we have a number of questions that we still have to resolve. But as it is right now, we're talking a loss of anywhere from $200,000 to $250,000 a year in revenues for the city.

We're hoping that we could talk to the people in Detroit and be able to come up with a plan in which the majority of these people that we're talking about will be able to continue on living and continue on working for GM products here in Lansing.

O'BRIEN: Let's talk more about that in a moment. First, let's get back to Mayor Cornett. Were you surprised by this move by GM?

CORNETT: I was surprised. I had met with GM officials this summer. I left those meetings optimistic that our plant was going to be spared. We have a very qualified work force that was putting out a very high-grade product.

But in the end, there just wasn't the market demand for the trucks that were being built in Oklahoma City. They were building SUVs here. We know the worldwide market demand for SUVs is down, and as a result, our jobs have been eliminated.

O'BRIEN: So Mayor Benevides, when you talk about a plan to make up that shortfall of $225,000 and you're talking about to the company about that, how is that negotiation going? What will that plan entail, do you think?

BENEVIDES: Well, we have always, you know, we have a 100-year history of being the capital city for the automakers. And we are one of the first assembly plants in the country.

And so what we're basically saying here is that we want to come to the table. And we have retained a quick response team for GM on a local level, which is composed of 15 or 20 movers and shakers of this community. And we plan to sit with them and go through whatever it's going to take in terms of either early retirement or going through their situation of attrition and then again, making sure that our people at the end will have a job, will have an income and will be productive citizens of our community.

O'BRIEN: I certainly wish you both the best of luck. I got to imagine people there really reeling today in the wake of this news out of GM. Oklahoma City Mayor Mick Cornett and Lansing, Michigan, Mayor Tony Benevides. Gentlemen, thank you both for talking with us.

BENEVIDES: You're welcome.

CORNETT: Welcome.

O'BRIEN: Rick.

SANCHEZ: There are new details in the case against 18-year-old David Ludwig. He is charged with shooting and killing his girlfriend's parents in Pennsylvania last week. Authorities now say, though, that they're not going to pursue kidnapping charges against him.

CNN's Jason Carroll has the story.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

JASON CARROLL, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Kara Borden, just 14 years old, allegedly told her 18-year-old boyfriend, David Ludwig, she wanted to go with him, to drive west, to get as far away as possible, get married, and start a new life. That, according to a statement Borden gave to police, released Monday, and that's why prosecutors plan to drop the kidnapping charge against Ludwig.

But he still faces two counts of homicide, after allegedly confessing to shooting and killing Borden's mother and father, Cathryn and Michael Borden after an argument at their home in Lititz, Pennsylvania. No word yet on whether Kara was involved in the murder.

DAVID SHEAFFER, FAMILY FRIEND: She's a child of God, and we've forgiven her. We all make mistakes. And if it comes out that there was a situation there, then so be it, but we still love her. And we're going to pray for her and do whatever we can for her.

CARROLL: A police affidavit shows Ludwig told them the murder weapon, a Glock model 27 semiautomatic pistol, was under the driver's front seat of the car in which they drove 600 miles before being caught.

Also in Ludwig's car, police found a rifle, numerous rounds of ammunition, a black hood and a black stocking mask.

Back at the teenager's house, police found a videotape in which they say Ludwig and a friend planned an armed forcible entry. Ludwig also discusses having an intimate relationship with Borden.

In another development, a Warwick Township, Pennsylvania, police chaplain confirmed that Ludwig also had run off with a former girlfriend last spring before his relationship with Borden. That situation was resolved by his and the girl's families.

Borden's attorney declined to comment on the case. Ludwig's attorney did not return calls.

On Saturday, two silver hearses carried the bodies of Borden's parents in a funeral procession. Hundreds of people in this small, religious community mourned their deaths and tried to understand how this double murder could have happened here.

TINA SHYVER-PLANK, FAMILY FRIEND: We're all completely devastated. It's like it's just ripped down through the center of our hearts. But we're all like a family there, a big Christian family, and we're pulling together.

CARROLL (on camera): Ludwig has not entered a plea to the two homicide charges against him. As for Borden, her attorney says she's devastated and what's she's going through would send an adult into a tailspin. But he also says she's being well cared for by relatives.

Jason Carroll, CNN, Lititz, Pennsylvania.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

O'BRIEN: Wow. The details of this case, and I bet as even more information comes out, because you know, you start hearing more sides of the story.

SANCHEZ: The question now is, is there a possibility that she may be charged with something? Now that it looks like she went willingly with him.

O'BRIEN: One would imagine.

SANCHEZ: As an accessory in some form or another.

O'BRIEN: Yes, yes. And the stocking -- they talk about the details of having a stocking mask and a black hood in the car, which means he -- this was not an argument over the relationship between the teenagers that dissolved and then he, in a moment of rage, shot them.

SANCHEZ: There may have been some premeditation.

O'BRIEN: This is someone who had potentially was premeditating, something very bad. So wow, that's a tough story. Obviously, more details to come out.

At 42 minutes past the hour, it's time to get another look at the weather for the day ahead. Jacqui's got that.

Good morning again.

(WEATHER REPORT)

JACQUI JERAS, CNN METEOROLOGIST: If you're traveling along the East Coast, tomorrow is your best day to do so -- Soledad and Rick.

O'BRIEN: Yes. We're working for the holiday, so we don't need that information.

SANCHEZ: Me, too.

O'BRIEN: Thanks a lot, Jacqui. We appreciate it.

SANCHEZ: Good day to travel, no place to go.

O'BRIEN: I could walk home in 20 minutes, Jacqui, but thanks. Check in with you later.

SANCHEZ: Coming up, talking about Wal-Mart once again. Wal-Mart adds a new wrinkle to its day after Thanksgiving sale. And Andy's going to tell us what it means for shoppers in "Minding Your Business."

O'BRIEN: Cattle prods to move them. I'm kidding.

Also, Oprah Winfrey. She springs a giant surprise on her audience. We're going to show you why some Katrina relief workers were jumping for joy. That's ahead on AMERICAN MORNING.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

O'BRIEN: It is the show that Oprah fans wait all year for and go absolutely nuts over. It's her "Favorite Things" show. Like every year, Oprah showered the audience with extravagant gifts, but as CNN's David Haffenreffer reports, this surprise audience was a very deserving crowd.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

OPRAH WINFREY, TALK SHOW HOST: Every single person that you see here, every single one is a real life American hero.

DAVID HAFFENREFFER, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): These are real life American heroes, each of them volunteers who put their lives on hold to provide help in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: You just did what you had to do because you knew you had to do it.

HAFFENREFFER: They each came to the Oprah Winfrey show taping thinking they were there to talk about their experiences. But what they got was a pat on the back and the shock of their lives.

WINFREY: Because of everything that you did, obviously, nobody can repay you, but I wanted to at least try with a few of my favorite things!

HAFFENREFFER: With screams! And more screams! Oprah's audience of Katrina volunteers were floored as Oprah surprised them with the news that they are this year's recipients of "Oprah's Favorite Things." It's Winfrey's annual holiday gift show, where her studio audience makes off with the must-have items of the season.

WINFREY: There ain't nothing wrong with a little bit of bling!

HAFFENREFFER: Oprah gave every member of the all-k=Katrina volunteer audience a $2,000 diamond encrusted watch, a new video iPod, expensive Burberry coats, a Sony laptop and a bunch of other gifts.

TIM MCFADDEN, HURRICANE KATRINA VOLUNTEER: She really, really loves doing stuff like this for people.

HAFFENREFFER: The aftermath of Hurricane Katrina is a subject near and dear to Oprah Winfrey's heart. Days after the hurricane, she went to New Orleans and got an emotional firsthand look at the devastation.

WINFREY: Makes me so mad! This makes me mad! This should not have happened.

HAFFENREFFER: And though she's now rewarding the work done by the volunteers, Tim McFadden says they didn't do it for the reward.

MCFADDEN: We didn't volunteer for any of this. We volunteered because it came from a pure place of love and compassion. Our friends, you know, we talked a lot about our feelings, about getting these gifts, you know? Well, should we keep them? Should we donate them? Should we do something with them? And I think we're still all wondering. I haven't opened my stuff yet.

HAFFENREFFER: Still, it was the spirit of giving that each of the volunteers exhibited through their work.

WINFREY: Thank you for your generous heart, your courage, for showing the world, the whole world, once again, what the American spirit is all about.

MCFADDEN: Sometimes, when you give, you get back way beyond what you could have ever imagined.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

O'BRIEN: That was "SHOWBIZ TONIGHT'S" David Haffenreffer reporting. "SHOWBIZ TONIGHT" airs each week night at 7 p.m. on Headline News.

Interesting to see he's a little conflicted about what to do with those gifts. SANCHEZ: Yes.

O'BRIEN: I mean, it does feel sort of weird to get gifts for something that you went out to do to help people who now, really, in many cases have lost everything.

SANCHEZ: Right. That's not why he did it.

O'BRIEN: No. Of course not.

SANCHEZ: Yes, yes, yes.

O'BRIEN: Another good Oprah show. You go, girl!

Business news is just ahead. Andy, what have you got cooking?

ANDY SERWER, "FORTUNE" MAGAZINE: We're going to be talking about Wal-Mart. The big retailer says it won't get fooled again this holiday season.

Plus, forget about shopping. Let's go Googling! Stay tuned for that on AMERICAN MORNING.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

SANCHEZ: We welcome you back. We're going to talk a little business now. Wal-Mart making a bold move at the start of the holiday shopping season. Also, Google is trying to help shoppers with their -- with their trips to the mall.

O'BRIEN: I'm so excited about the Google thing.

SERWER: It's very cool, isn't it?

O'BRIEN: So excited. What are you going to talk about first?

SERWER: Let's talk about Wal-Mart, first of all.

SANCHEZ: Good one, Andy.

SERWER: 'Tis the season for shopping. Last year, Wal-Mart was not aggressive at all when it came to the holiday season. Didn't advertise well, didn't price well. And consequently, it sort of was a big fizzle for the retailing giant.

This year they vow to do it right. They say they will match any of their competitor's prices on products. The ad campaign is already out. You've probably seen it already. And they're doing like opening the Sam's Clubs at 5 a.m., for those of you who want to get there. This is on black Friday.

O'BRIEN: Right.

SERWER: Which, of course, is the Friday after Thanksgiving where everyone goes to the mall. They're going to be serving breakfast. You know, a lot of retailers doing that, people line up and pouring in. Of course, they have those real specials, you know, the real cheap stuff that gets sold out by, you know, 10 in the morning so you have to get there early. Wal-Mart's doing that. Of course, Target and all the other retailers doing that, as well.

O'BRIEN: They're going to make back every dime they lost last year, because they've had such an aggressive advertising campaign...

SERWER: Right.

O'BRIEN: ... about how great it's going to be this year. They're done.

SERWER: I think that's right.

O'BRIEN: I think that's true.

SERWER: Now let's talk about this Google thing, because this is really cool. It's actually a sister web site of Google's called Froogle, which is a shopping web site. And here's how it works.

If you put in an item and the name of your town or a ZIP code, bingo, it will help you find it. We did a couple of examples.

For instance, say you want to buy an Xbox in Boise. We put in Xbox, we put in Boise. We found 45 locations. They give you the prices of the Xbox at these different stores so you can compare shop and then maps of how to get there.

Next, we went over to Kalamazoo to find a cashmere sweater. A cashmere sweater in Kalamazoo. We only found four stores.

O'BRIEN: What?

SERWER: In Kalamazoo that had cashmere sweaters.

O'BRIEN: That cannot be right.

SERWER: Maybe if we put in cashmere scarves, we'd get a whole lot more. You know, you have to play around.

O'BRIEN: Cashmere -- everybody has got a cashmere sweater!

SERWER: Everyone has cashmere.

But anyway, you can see how this works. You play around on it. And the pricing and the maps. Save a lot of time, right?

O'BRIEN: Did they have links that you can go and order online from the stores?

SERWER: I'm not sure about that. Oh yes, they do. I'm being told in my ear that they, in fact, do have links.

O'BRIEN: Brilliant. You don't have to leave your desk.

SERWER: Or leave work ever. SANCHEZ: I have a tie-dyed T-shirt. I don't have a cashmere sweater.

O'BRIEN: OK.

SERWER: I think he's asking for one.

O'BRIEN: Thanks for sharing.

Anyway, ahead this morning, our special series, "A Week of Giving." No, I'm not giving you a cashmere sweater. We're going to continue. We're going to take you to an elite prep school doing its part to help young Katrina victims. In fact, what they're giving is a $35,000 education. We'll explain, ahead on AMERICAN MORNING.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

O'BRIEN: This Saturday night, at 8 p.m. Eastern, a special look at sound bites that transformed our world over the past 25 years. "THEY SAID WHAT?" With Larry King. We'll take a look at sound bites that are a crucial part of our history, the country, even pop culture. Here's a little bit of a sneak peek.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

RODNEY KING, BEATEN BY POLICE: Can we all get along? Can we get along?

CANDY CROWLEY, CNN CORRESPONDENT: He was the wrong one in this if you looked at it. If you had seen the Rodney King beating, many people felt this was over the line.

REV. JESSE JACKSON, RAINBOW/PUSH COALITION: The thing I remember the most are these four police beating him into submission and then these four police being set free.

BILL SCHNEIDER, CNN POLITICAL ANALYST: There was rioting in Los Angeles after the Rodney King verdict. And it was a terrible situation.

JEFF KOINANGE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: People looting. People beating people up because of one verdict. It was an America that we had never seen before at the time.

JACKSON: What I thought was missing was how do we see that picture in the first place? A white photographer named George Halliday, who saw it out of his window. He could have said, "That neighbor was in the wrong neighborhood. They caught him. Why is he out here?" The white photographer was the hero. Rodney King was the victim.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

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