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American Morning

Patriot Act Extension; Troop Reductions In Iraq; Last-Minute Christmas Shopping; 'Minding Your Business'

Aired December 23, 2005 - 07:30   ET

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

KELLY WALLACE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Subways and buses are now back in service. But transit workers are still without a contract and there is still the possibility of another walkout. The workers union already facing heavy fines and workers who were on strike will be docked six days pay.
Wal-Mart says it will appeal a $172 million judgment for missed lunch breaks. A jury found the company wrongfully denied workers their 30 minute meal times. Wal-Mart officials had said, in some cases, employees forget to punch the time clocks during breaks and others skipped lunch so they could leave work early. We will speak with a plaintiffs' lawyer in the next hour.

One million people have signed up for Medicare's new drug program. The Bush administration announcing the figures on Thursday,1 saying it now has 21 million people enrolled in the program and they'll start receiving their benefits January 1st. The government also says it needs about another 7 million to reach its final goal.

And here comes Santa Claus. But forget the milk and cookie, leave some bananas instead. An orangutan wearing a Santa Claus suit gave out presents to children in South Korea. He got some help from a smaller baby orangutan. The two then boarded a sleigh pulled by a pink poodle and gave out sweets. They're so very cute, aren't they.

SOLEDAD O'BRIEN, CNN ANCHOR: I love traditional holiday celebrations.

RICK SANCHEZ, CNN ANCHOR: Like this.

WALLACE: Yes, it's a little different. Cute pictures, though. We thought you'd like to see those.

Back to you guys.

SOLEDAD O'BRIEN: Thanks, Kelly.

SANCHEZ: President Bush is expected to sign a temporary expansion of The Patriot Act. The House of Representatives shortened an extension of the bill from six months, which we told you ti was supposed to be yesterday when they announced that, to just five weeks now. CNN's Elaine Quijano is joining us live this morning from the White House.

Elaine, what happened to the six month extension? And how did it get shortened? ELAINE QUIJANO, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, good morning to you, Rick.

That six month extension went away essentially because of objections by a Republican in the House. Congressman James Sensenbrenner, the powerful chairman of the House Judiciary Committee, insisted the House pass an extension only through February 3rd. The chairman saying he wanted the Senate to take up The Patriot Act sooner than six months.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

REP JAMES SENSENBRENNER, (R) WISCONSIN: I did not want to leave the American public more vulnerable to a terrorist attack because the filibuster went on in the Senate. And I can see the president's point on that. The fact is, is that a six month extension, in my opinion, would have simply allowed the Senate to duck the issue until the last week in June.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

QUIJANO: So last night after the House passed the extension, the Senate followed suit. Most of the senators already out of town. Only a couple required for passage.

Now all of the developments were watched very closely by the White House, of course. A senior administration official indicating last night that President Bush, who is now at Camp David for the holiday, would sign off on the measure despite initially opposing any temporary extension of The Patriot Act.

Rick.

SANCHEZ: All right, Elaine Quijano following that for us. We thank you, Elaine.

Soledad over to you.

SOLEDAD O'BRIEN: All right. Thanks.

A decision from President Bush on reducing troop levels in Iraq. Secretary of State Donald Rumsfeld made the announcement after meeting with military commanders near Fallujah.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DONALD RUMSFELD, DEFENSE SECRETARY: As you know, we made plans for all kinds of possibilities. And when we get specific recommendations from General Abizaid and General Casey, why we have the task then of considering those recommendations.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SOLEDAD O'BRIEN: The planned adjustments including drawing down to about 130,000 troops by the spring. There are currently about 160,000 troops in Iraq. Some additional troops are likely to be sent in for the so-called non-combat missions like intelligence and training Iraqi soldiers. There are the numbers there. Let's put a little perspective. Let's get right to retired Brigadier General James Spider (ph) Marks.

Nice to see you. Thanks for talking with us.

MAJ. GEN. JAMES MARKS, U.S. ARMY (RET.): Hi, Soledad.

SOLEDAD O'BRIEN: All right. Let's get to these numbers. First, the 7,000 to 10,000 soldiers who will not be deployed now. Are you surprised by that?

MARKS: No, not at all. In fact, if you'll recall, for the last 15 years, we've had a presence in Kuwait as a staging area for the possibility for combat operations, not only in Iraq, but for any contingency that might arise in the region. So retaining a brigade in Kuwait vice (ph), moving that brigade into Iraq is not unusual. And then giving the order to retain a brigade or at least cancel their deployment orders to go into Iraq, that unit still remains very combat ready and literally it's just an airplane ride from Ft. Riley, Kansas, into the region. So it remains on what we would call a string. So that's not surprising.

SOLEDAD O'BRIEN: All right. So none of those soldiers are going home any time soon. How about the 20,000 soldiers that will be sent back home from Iraq? Give me a sense of what you think of the timing here.

MARKS: Soledad, that's going to take probably, you know, six to eight weeks. You know, a couple of months. And the intent was to spike the number of troops, both marines and soldiers on the ground and all service members in the region, but to spike them for the elections and then to have that presence remain in place during the period of the parliament sitting in place and getting going, frankly. And so over the course of the next couple of months, you'll see that draw-down. So what you saw was a spike and now back to what I would call a level of normalcy that we're going to see.

And then what you really need to do is kind of step back from that and say, what is the new normal that we're going to see in Southwest Asia? Clearly there will be a presence over the horizon for contingencies and you'll see in country increased number of soldiers and troops that are involved in the training of Iraqi forces. Soldiers and marines embedded in units. Those Iraqi units as they stand up to get those organizations on the ground and more combat ready. And then certainly you're going to have units that are in place conducting combat operations as well.

SOLEDAD O'BRIEN: So this is the beginning of the draw-down. Are draw-downs generally done this way, little bits here and there?

MARKS: They are. What you're not going to see and what you truly want to avoid is the image from April of 1975 on the embassy compound in Saigon where there just was a precipitous withdraw because everything went really bad really quick. So you're going to see this metered, very, very disciplined. You're going to see the forces draw down and assume what I would call a new normalcy.

SOLEDAD O'BRIEN: Is there a sense that then when you talk about monitoring this new normalcy, do you monitor the violence too? I mean if there's an uptick in violence after some soldiers have been brought back out, that potentially they could be brought back in? In other words, the cancellation of the deployment orders could be canceled? You know, reinstated?

MARKS: Like that, Soledad. Absolutely. And that's why you have those possibilities. I mean, you walk your way through all the potential contingencies, good and bad, and you provide yourself options with the placement of forces in different locations to respond to those kinds of possibilities.

SOLEDAD O'BRIEN: And is this because of pressure from the American people, pressure from lawmakers, because this has become the draw-down issue, become such a headline issue now, do you think? I mean what part does that play?

MARKS: Soledad, that's a great question. Certainly a soldier would never respond in a way that says, look, we have some political pressures or there are other pressures that would dictate what it is we're going to try to accomplish. But, clearly, there is political and economics, security, informational. There are all these elements of power that come into play that allow our political leaders and masters to make those decisions on the specific military presence that exists.

SOLEDAD O'BRIEN: Retired Brigadier General James Spider Marks. Nice to see you, as always. Thanks.

MARKS: Thanks, Soledad. Happy holidays.

SOLEDAD O'BRIEN: Thank you. And likewise, sir.

Rick.

SANCHEZ: Let's do a check of the weather now if we can. And for that Bonnie Schneider is going to be standing by. She's at the weather center in Atlanta.

Good morning, Bonnie.

(WEATHER REPORT)

SOLEDAD O'BRIEN: Still to come this morning, willing to bet you haven't finished all your Christmas shopping because you spent one critical week here.

SANCHEZ: No, I'm pretty close. Pretty close.

SOLEDAD O'BRIEN: Oh, was that helpful to be here away from everybody in your family.

SANCHEZ: Yes, got a chance to get some things done.

SOLEDAD O'BRIEN: Oh, interesting.

Well, for procrastinators, we got some pretty good news. Going last minute has its rewards this year. We're going to tell you where you can find the great deals.

SANCHEZ: And then, put on your jacket because we're going to walk you through the winter wonderland that is New Orleans. That's right.

But, first, a holiday message from one of our troops overseas.

SGT. TRACY DAVIS: Hi. My name is Sergeant First Class Tracy Davis and I want to say hello to my daughter, Kyra (ph), who's in Texas. And I want to say Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays.

MAJ. F. DELGADO: This is Major Frankie Delgado, United States Marine Corp and Combined Joint Task Force One (ph) of Africa (ph). I want to wish my parents, Billy and Lou Johnson (ph) of Eastland, Texas, a Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays. I love you and I'll see you soon.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

SANCHEZ: Okey-dokey, all your procrastinators out there. We've got some news for you, Santa knows who you are. Two days left to pick up those last-minute Christmas gifts. Too late really to ship online. But how about the low tech way, like just go to the malls like they used to do? No, they still do. Don't want to get any letters on this. Danielle Romano of dailycandy.com is back to help us out. Give us a sense of what's going on with the shopping so far.

DANNIELLE ROMANO, DAILYCANDY.COM: I'm always here to help.

You know, we look to a lot of online sites and gift resources and ideas. As you said, it's too late. But I have to tell you, I don't think the procrastinators like are being called procrastinators at 7:40 in the morning.

SANCHEZ: Then what do they want to being called?

ROMANO: They're getting nervous. They want to be called special waiters. Special waiter to the last minute. But I think they actually -- what we want to talk about today . . .

SANCHEZ: Sounds like someone who wears an apron, though?

ROMANO: No. . It's different.

SANCHEZ: But let me -- here's the thing. It sounds to me, and I've been told this by a couple of people this week, that people who procrastinate actually might make out better this year.

ROMANO: In fact, it pays off. This year, and the past few years, you know January, after the holidays, is traditionally a major discounting time. We all know that. We grew up like . . .

SANCHEZ: Yes, the after Christmas sales.

ROMANO: That's when everything goes on sale because they're getting their spring inventory, they just need to get rid of it. Well they realized it's sort of like someone woke up and said, hey, December is when everyone shops. If we discount this stuff just a little bit, we can lure more people in and really capitalize on the holiday shopping. So in the past few years, retailers have been discounting a lot earlier and a lot more heavily in December.

SANCHEZ: So, hold on. Let me get this right. What they do is, the January sale is now in late December.

ROMANO: Sort of.

SANCHEZ: So what do you do in January?

ROMANO: They will -- never fear, January is still -- consumers have come to expect further discounts in January.

SANCHEZ: So if something costs $50 in January, it will be $45 or $40 in -- pardon me, $50 in December, it will be $45 or $40 in January?

ROMANO: The discounts will deepen in January and they'll widen, so more items will be discounted. And, you know, the December sales, yes, they want to move things, they want to take advantage of the holiday shopping but it's not the fire sale that happens in January. It's not the everything must go. So the discounts will be deeper and the extent of the sale will be much broader.

SANCHEZ: Well, let's do this. Let's come down the ladder of abstractions, if we may, somewhat. You ready?

ROMANO: Oh, yes.

SANCHEZ: Let's talk specifics. What type of items might we be talking about? What type of stores are going to be doing these things that you say they will do?

ROMANO: Good old electronics retailers like Best Buy, for example, are classic examples of this. They do a few items. I suspect that if you've procrastinated, you're not going to be terribly picky anyway, but I suspect you will find an acceptable model of that camera or that MP-3 player on sale right now. They will . . .

SANCHEZ: I did some Best Buy shopping. I went there and bought some electronics.

ROMANO: You walked into the store . . .

SANCHEZ: For someone very special in my life.

ROMANO: We won't -- speaking of specifics, we will not speak of specifics. What did you get? And how did it go?

SANCHEZ: We got like laptop kind of things. ROMANO: Kind of things.

SANCHEZ: And I thought I paid a lot of money for it and I'm worried that now I'm going to go back and find out it's half price or something like that.

ROMANO: I suspect that that will indeed happen. You know, many models are on sale now, so you will find something acceptable if you haven't already. Not to make you feel bad for doing what you should have and, you know, getting it in gear in time. But then in January, you know, even more models, makes, the newer things will be on sale.

SANCHEZ: So we can expect to see some things out there?

ROMANO: Electronics especially. But really, you can't walk through, you know, a Manhattan street without seeing sale, sale, sale, which is such a delight to see, right?

SANCHEZ: Yes. And the early they do it, the easier they hook you and the earlier they hook you. So I can imagine, yes, you've got to do what you've got to do.

ROMANO: We're shopping experts, come on.

SANCHEZ: Hey, thanks for being here.

ROMANO: Any time.

SANCHEZ: I really appreciate you coming in. Dannielle Romano of dailycandy.com. And Dannielle is going to be back on AMERICAN MORNING with some more tips on our 9:00 hour as well.

Soledad, back over to you.

Now, see, I'm not a procrastinator.

SOLEDAD O'BRIEN: That was very quickly done. Yes. Thank you.

Well, obviously the holidays would not be complete without the sounds of the seasons.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JIM BRICKMAN, SINGER: The snow is falling down, children laughing all around.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SOLEDAD O'BRIEN: Coming up on Saturday morning, CNN brings you the music of acclaimed pianist and singer Jim Brickman. There he is right there.

And then on Sunday, listen to this.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BYRON CAGE, SINGER: Come on, sing it to me. Sing it.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SOLEDAD O'BRIEN: Oh, yes. He's called the prince of praise. And he holds one of gospel music's highest honors. Singer Byron Cage will be on Christmas morning, the sounds of the season on this weekend beginning at 7:00 a.m. Eastern right here on CNN on Saturday and on Sunday morning too.

Andy's "Minding Your Business" just ahead on AMERICAN MORNING.

What you got coming up?

ANDY SERWER, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Soledad, as Dannielle's been telling us, there's plenty of time left to shop. We'll tell you where you can go right until Santa loads that sleigh. Stay tuned for that on AMERICAN MORNING.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

SANCHEZ: Susan Lucci. Has she gotten an award yet?

SOLEDAD O'BRIEN: Yes, she did.

SERWER: Yes, she did.

SANCHEZ: Good for her.

SOLEDAD O'BRIEN: She broke the bad luck run and is did very well. She's 57-years-old today. So happy birthday, Susan. Happy for you.

SANCHEZ: Happy birthday Susan Lucci, "All My Children."

SERWER: There we some Pearl Jam too, right? Eddie Vedder.

SANCHEZ: Yes.

SERWER: Excellent.

SOLEDAD O'BRIEN: Forty-one today.

SERWER: Wow.

SANCHEZ: Well, we've been establishing the fact that if you wait this year, you actually get better deals because there's so many procrastinators out there. Andy is joining us now "Minding Your Business" with picking up the theme again.

SERWER: That's right. And it's amazing how late the stores are staying open to accommodate those procrastinators. Of course, the season is a little different this year in that Saturday is Christmas Eve Day, so you can shop right up until the final bell. Let's check out how some of these stores are changing their hours to accommodate everyone here now. K-Mart, look at this, today open till midnight. Tomorrow, 9:00 p.m. I mean, that's cutting it really close. So 9:00 p.m. at K-Mart on Christmas Eve. You're like picking some stuff up.

SOLEDAD O'BRIEN: Oh, so not cutting it close.

SERWER: Oh really?

SOLEDAD O'BRIEN: Some drugstores sometimes are open till midnight.

SERWER: You go to the Duane Reed and buy stuff there?

SOLEDAD O'BRIEN: You could if you had to.

SERWER: All right, Sears is open today until 11:00 and tomorrow until 6:00. And Wal-Mart has normal hours today. But tomorrow, Christmas Eve, 6:00 p.m. But also, Wal-Mart opened at 6:00 a.m. on Monday after Christmas for returns, no doubt, right?

SOLEDAD O'BRIEN: Well.

SERWER: Or maybe you just want to keep on shopping?

SOLEDAD O'BRIEN: Or more shopping. Absolutely.

SERWER: You can shop for New Year's.

SOLEDAD O'BRIEN: You get those gift cards, you've got to go use them.

SANCHEZ: Yes, I got one of those. I got a beautiful card from my wife yesterday at Duane Reed. A beautiful poem in it. It was almost like I was a romantic or something.

SANCHEZ: Do you have it committed to memory yet?

SANCHEZ: No, and I'm not reading it.

SOLEDAD O'BRIEN: You want to share it with us?

SERWER: Can you share it with us?

SOLEDAD O'BRIEN: Yes, we have time for that.

SANCHEZ: No thank you.

SERWER: But Duane Reed's a drugstore in the city, of course.

SANCHEZ: I shouldn't of said this on TV.

SOLEDAD O'BRIEN: No, maybe not.

SERWER: Especially if your wife is listening.

SOLEDAD O'BRIEN: Let's turn and talk about New Orleans. And, obviously, Christmas in New Orleans this year can't be what it usually is. But there is one tradition that's going to persevere. The celebration in The Oaks is an annual walk-through wonderland. It's built for children and it took some pretty generous contributions and tons of hard work but the show is on. And we have a video montage. It was shot by CNN's Rick Blackburn.

(VIDEO OF THE OAKS WONDERLAND)

SANCHEZ: Wow.

SOLEDAD O'BRIEN: They did an amazing job, didn't they.

SERWER: Great stuff.

SOLEDAD O'BRIEN: Take a look at this. This is from last year. Really, a pretty amazing. And honestly, aside from the show, you really can't tell much of a difference between what they did last year and this year. There are only 22 of 240 staff members back at the New Orleans City Park, which is where the wonderland takes place. But they got some volunteers to help them out and then they worked around the clock to get the park ready for Christmas 2005. It looks great. They did a great job this year. Under certainly difficult circumstances and a big shout out to Rick Blackburn who shot the videotape for us.

SANCHEZ: Truly a tale of two cities still down there, though.

SOLEDAD O'BRIEN: Oh, gosh, yes.

SANCHEZ: You see the people who are still able to enjoy themselves and bring the city back, and then there's those who . . .

SERWER: Are still struggling.

SANCHEZ: Yes, very much.

SOLEDAD O'BRIEN: Yes. It's going to be a long struggle for sure.

A short break. We're back in just a moment.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

SOLEDAD O'BRIEN: If you're looking to shed a few pounds in the new year, coming up next week on AMERICAN MORNING, we're going to tell you about five diets that absolutely really work. No fads. Just sound, sure-fire tools to help you get in shape. We've got a nutritionist to help us out. That's all next week on AMERICAN MORNING. A reminder, we begin at 6:00 a.m.

And still to come this morning, good news for military families just in time for the holidays. The Bush administration says it's going to cut back the number of U.S. troops in Iraq. How are they going to do it? We'll explain just ahead on AMERICAN MORNING.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK) SOLEDAD O'BRIEN: Good morning. I'm Soledad O'Brien.

Driving or flying or on a train, the holiday travel crunch is on this morning. We're going to see some long lines already, especially at the airports. A travel report just ahead.

SANCHEZ: I'm Rick Sanchez in for Miles O'Brien this morning.

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