Return to Transcripts main page

CNN Newsroom

President Bush At The U.N.; General Motors Workers on Strike; Supreme Court Taking Up Voter Identification Case

Aired September 25, 2007 - 10:00   ET

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

GEORGE W. BUSH, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: It also requires answering the immediate needs of today.
The nations in this chamber have our differences. Yet there are some areas where we can all agree. When innocent people are trapped in a life of murder and fear, the declaration is not being upheld. When millions of children starve to death or perish from a mosquito bite, we're not doing our duty in the world. When whole societies are cut off from the prosperity of the global economy, we're all worse off.

Changing these underlying conditions is what the declaration calls the work of larger freedom. And it must be the work of every nation in this assembly. This great institution must work for great purposes, to free people from tyranny and violence, hunger and disease, illiteracy and ignorance and poverty and despair. Every member of the United Nations must join in this mission of liberation.

The first mission of the United Nations requires liberating people from tyranny and violence. The first article of the universal declaration begins, "all human beings are born free and equal in dignity and rights." The truth is denied by terrorists and extremists who kill the innocent with the aim of imposing their hateful vision on humanity.

The followers of this violent ideology are a threat to civilized people everywhere. All civilized nations must work together to stop them by sharing intelligence about their networks and choking off their finances and bring to justice their operatives. In the long run, the best way to defeat extremists is to defeat their dark ideology with a more hopeful vision, the vision of liberty that founded this body.

The United States salutes the nation that have recently taken strides toward liberty, including Ukraine and Georgia and Kurzikstan (ph) and Martania (ph), and Liberia, Sierra Leone and Morocco. The Palestinian territories have moderate leaders, mainstream leaders, that are working to build free institutions that fight terror and enforce the law and respond to the needs of their people. The international community must support these leaders so that we can advance the vision of two democratic states, Israel and Palestine, living side by side in peace and security.

Brave citizens in Lebanon and Afghanistan and Iraq have made the choice for democracy. Yet the extremists have responded by targeting them for murder. It is not a show of strength, it is evidence of fear, and the extremists are doing everything in their power to bring down these young democracies. The people of Lebanon and Afghanistan and Iraq have asked for our help and every civilized nation has a responsibility to stand with them.

Every civilized nation also has a responsibility to stand up for the people suffering under dictatorship. In Belarus, North Korea, Syria and Iran, brutal regimes deny their people fundamental rights enshrined in the universal declaration.

Americans are outraged by the situation in Burma where a military junta has imposed a 19-year reign of fear. Basic freedoms of speech, assembly and worship are severely restricted. Ethnic minorities are persecuted. Forced child labor, human trafficking, and rape are common. The regime is holding more than 1,000 political prisoners, including Aung San Suu Kyi, who's party was elected overwhelmingly by the Burmese people in 1990. The ruling junta remains unyielding, yet the people's desire for freedom is unmistakable.

This morning I'm announcing a series of steps to help bring peaceful change to Burma. The United States will tighten the economic sanctions on the leaders of the regime and their financial backers. We will impose an expanded visa ban on those responsible for the most egregious violations of human rights, as well as their family members. We will continue to support the efforts of humanitarian groups working to alleviate suffering in Burma. And I urge the United Nations and all nations to use their diplomatic and economic leverage to help the Burmese people reclaim their freedom.

In Cuba, the long rule of a cruel dictator is nearing its end. The Cuban people are ready for their freedom. And as that nation enters a period of transition, the United Nations must insist on free speech, free assembly, and ultimately free and competitive elections.

In Zimbabwe, ordinary citizens suffer under a tyrannical regime. The government has cracked down on peaceful calls for reform and forced millions to flee their homeland. The behavior of the Mugabe regime is an assault on its people and an affront to the principles of the universal declaration. The United Nations must insist on change in Harari and must insist for the freedom of the people of Zimbabwe.

In Sudan, innocent civilians are suffering repression. And in the Darfur region, many are losing their lives to genocide. America has responded with tough sanctions against those responsible for the violence. We have provided more than $2 billion in humanitarian and peacekeeping aid.

I look forward to attending a security council meeting that will focus on Darfur chaired by the French president. I appreciate France's leadership in helping to stabilize Sudan's neighbors. And the United Nations must answer this challenge to conscience and live up to its promise to promptly deploy peacekeeping forces to Darfur.

Second, the mission of the United Nations requires liberating people from hunger and disease. Article 25 of the universal declaration states, "everyone has the right to a standard of living adequate for the health and well being of himself and of his family, including food and clothing and housing and medical care."

Around the world, the United Nations is carrying out noble efforts to live up to these words. Feeding the hungry has long been a special calling for my nation. Today more than half the world's food assistance comes from America. We send emergency food stocks to starving people from camps in Sudan, to slums around the world.

I have proposed an innovative initiative to alleviate hunger under which America would purchase the crops of local farmers in Africa and elsewhere, rather than shipping in food from the developed world. This would help build up local agriculture and break the cycle of famine in the developing world. And I would urge our United States Congress to support this initiative.

Many in this hall are bringing the spirit of generosity to fighting HIV/AIDS and malaria. Five years ago in Sub-Saharan Africa, an AIDS diagnosis was widely considered a death sentence. And fewer than 50,000 people infected with the virus were receiving treatment. The world responded by creating the Global Fund, which is working with governments in the private sector to fight the disease around the world.

The United States decided to take these steps a little further by launching the $15 billion emergency plan for AIDS relief. Since 2003, this effort has helped bring cutting-edge medicines to more than a million people in Sub-Saharan Africa. It's a good start. So earlier this year I proposed to double our initial commitment to $30 billion. By coming together, the world can turn the tide against HIV/AIDS once and for all.

Malaria is another common killer. In some countries, malaria takes as many lives as HIV/AIDS. The vast majority of them children under the age of five years old. Everyone of these deaths is unnecessary because the disease is preventable and treatable. World knows what it takes to stop malaria. Bed nets and indoor spring and medicine to treat the disease.

Two years ago, America launched a $1.2 billion malaria initiative. Other nations and the private sector are making vital contributions as well. I call on every member state to maintain its focus, find new ways to join this cause and bring us closer to the day when malaria's deaths are no more.

Third, the mission of the United Nations requires liberating people from the chains of illiteracy and ignorance. Article 26 of the universal declaration states, "everyone has the right to education."

When nations make the investments need to educate their people, the whole world benefits. Better education unleashes the talent and potential of its citizens and adds to the prosperity of all of us. Better education promotes better health and greater independence. Better education increases the strength of democracy and weakens the appeal of violent ideologies.

So the United States is joining with nations around the world to help them provide a better education for their people. Good education starts with good teachers. In partnership with other nations, America's helped train more than 600,000 teachers and administrators.

Good education requires good textbooks. So in partnership with other nations, America has distributed tens of millions of textbooks. A good education requires access to good schools. So in partnership with other nations, America is helping nations raise standards in their schools at home and providing scholarships to help students come to schools in the United States. In all our education efforts, our nation is working to expand access for women and girls so that the opportunity to get a decent education is open to all.

Finally, the mission of the United Nations requires liberating people from poverty and despair. Article 23 of the universal declaration states, "everyone has the right to work to free choice of employment and to just and favorable conditions of work."

In the 21st century, this requires ensuring that people in poor countries have the same opportunity to benefit from the global economy as citizens of wealthy countries have. The United Nations provides vital economic assistance designed to help developing nations grow their economies and reach their potential.

The United States agrees with that position. We've dramatically increased our own development assistance and we're delivering that aid in innovative ways. We started the millennium challenge account, to reward nations that govern justly, fight corruption, invest in their people and promote economic freedom. With this aid, we're reaching out to developing nations in partnership, not paternalism. We're ensuring that our aid dollars reach those who need them and achieve results.

In the long run, the best way to lift people out of poverty is through trade and investment. A nation that is open in trading with the world will create economic rewards that far exceed anything they could get through foreign aid. During the 1990s, developing nations that significantly lowered tariffs saw their per capita income grow about three times faster than other developing countries. Open markets ignite growth, encourage investment, increase transparency, strengthen the rule of law and help countries help themselves.

The international community now has an historic chance to open markets around the world by concluding a successful doha (ph) round of trade talks. A successful doha outcome would mean real and substantial openings in agriculture, goods and services, and real and substantial reductions in trade distorting subsidies.

The world's largest trading nations, including major developing countries, have a special responsibility to make the tough political decisions to reduce trade barriers. America has the will and flexibility to make those necessary decisions. Our negotiators are demonstrating that spirit in Geneva. I urge other leaders to direct their negotiators to do the same. And I'm optimistic that we can reach a good doha agreement and seize this once-in-a-generation opportunity.

In the meantime, America will continue to pursue agreements in open trade and investment wherever we can. Recently we signed free trade agreements with Peru, Colombia, Panama and South Korea. These agreements embody the values of open markets, transparent and fair regulation, respect for private property and resolving disputes under international law rules. These are good agreements and they're now ready for a congressional vote and I urge the Congress to approve them as soon as possible.

As America works with the United Nations to alleviate immediate needs, we're also coming together to address longer term challenges. Together we're preparing for pandemics that could cause death and suffering on a global scale. Together we're working to stop the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction.

Together we're confronting the challenges of energy security and environmental quality and climate change. I appreciate the discussions on climate change led by the secretary-general last night. I look forward to further discussions at the meeting of major economies in Washington later this week.

The goals I've outlined today cannot be achieved overnight and they cannot be achieved without reform in this vital institution. The United States is committed to a strong and vibrant United Nations. Yet the American people are disappointed by the failures of the human rights council. This body has been silent on repression by regimes from Havana, to Caracas, to Pyongyang and Tehran, while focusing its criticism excessively on Israel.

To be credible on human rights in the world, the United Nations must reform its own human rights council. Some have also called for reform to the structure of the security council, including an expansion of its membership. The United States is open to this prospect. We believe that Japan is well qualified for permanent membership on the security council and that other nations should be considered as well. The United States will listen to all good ideas and we will support changes to the security council as part of broader U.N. reform.

And in all we do, I call on member states to work for an institution that adheres to strict ethical standards and lives up to the high principles of the universal declaration. With the commitment and courage of this chamber, we can build a world where people are free to speak, assemble and worship as they wish. A world where children in every nation grow up healthy, get a decent education and look to the future with hope. A world where opportunity crosses every border.

America will lead toward this vision, for all are created equal and free to pursue their dreams. This is the founding conviction of my country. It is the promise that established this body. And with our determination, it can be the future of our world.

Thank you and God bless.

HEIDI COLLINS, CNN ANCHOR: There you have President Bush before the general assembly. The conclusion of his speech there. You just saw briefly the president of Iran also going to be speaking in front of the general assembly today a little bit later on. Meanwhile, I want to go ahead and bring in CNN's Suzanne Malveaux coming to us from New York, obviously covering this speech given by the president today.

Suzanne, we were expected to hear, as David Gergen put it, some softer topics, if you will, on the idea of poverty, of disease, also what's happening in Myanmar, otherwise known as Burma. Any surprises in your mind?

SUZANNE MALVEAUX, WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Not really, Heidi.

I mean, the way they were previewing this speech, they said it wasn't going to be a centerpiece on the war, dealing with Iraq or even dealing with the threat from Iran. What the president is trying to do now is really show that he is not a one-note guy here. He is trying to set up a legacy here where he is taking on the criticism, some say he is a warmonger. He is trying to show people that he is also a peacemaker as well.

We head a number of countries, a number of issues that typically you don't hear before the U.N. general assembly, talking about the democratic struggle in Burma. He said many Americans are outraged by this. You know, you have to admit that perhaps a lot of Americans don't even know what is going on there. But he is taking this on as one of the causes that he wants to put to the forefront of this international body to show, look, we're the good guys, too.

He talks about the fact that the United States feeds some of those who are hungry in Africa, that they tackle AIDS, as well as malaria, education, all of these type of issues here. And it really is a president who is trying to mold his image, change his image in some way on the world stage. We did not hear that typical discussion which is often the centerpiece, and that is the very controversial war in Iraq -- Heidi.

COLLINS: All right, CNN's Suzanne Malveaux coming to us from New York today, uncovering the president's speech in front of the U.N. general assembly, just concluded.

Now, Suzanne, thanks so much for that.

Also want to let you know coming up right after the break here, we're going to be speaking with former presidential adviser David Gergen. He'll give us his insight on what we've just heard from the president, back in just a moment right here in the CNN NEWSROOM.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

COLLINS: We've just brought to you President Bush's live speech in front of the U.N. general assembly, concluded just a little while ago. So we want to get back to CNN's David Gergen. He is a former presidential adviser, the Harvard Kennedy School of Government as well, coming to us from Cambridge, Massachusetts.

Nice to see you again, David.

DAVID GERGEN, FORMER WHITE HOUSE ADVISOR: Thank you, Heidi.

COLLINS: So, how did he do?

GERGEN: Well, he was -- it was a welcome speech, but also an odd one. Welcome in the sense that he focused on issues that are not very much discussed in the Bush presidency but are very important to the world. The extension of human rights to places like Burma, where we now know is not officially Myanmar necessarily. I notice the representative who was sitting there with a Myanmar sign.

CHETRY: Yes, I saw that too.

GERGEN: But also the questions of poverty and dealing with HIV/AIDS, and Malaria and bed nets and the like. All those are issues that, as I say, don't receive a lot of attention and do deserve to be higher on the international conversation. But it was odd in the sense that, from the president's point of view, he's generally treated those issues as rather secondary in his presidency. And he didn't deal with the primary issues, you know, the ones that are staring us in the face. He didn't really deal with Iraq. He didn't really deal with the threat of nuclear weapons in Iran and the spread of radicalism in key parts of the Middle East.

COLLINS: It was kind of like the white elephant in the room. Why the change now?

GERGEN: Well, I have to assume that -- in part, let's take Suzanne Malveaux's interpretation, that he wants to be the good guy. You know, he wants to show the soft power side of the United States. And I think that's laudable. But I have to say, I think speaking a little more cynically, that it strikes me the president thinks he's not going to win any converts at this point. He's not looking to the United Nations for much help anymore. He's playing out his own hand with General Petraeus.

COLLINS: Yes, in fact, when you mention that you don't think that he's really assuming that he'll get any help from the U.N., let's listen just for a moment about some of his criticisms of the U.N. and get your comments here.

GERGEN: Sure.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

GEORGE W. BUSH, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: The United States is committed to a strong and vibrant United Nations, yet the American people are disappointed by the failures of the human rights council. This body has been silent on repression by regimes from Havana, to Caracas, to Pyongyang and Tehran, while focusing its criticism excessively on Israel. To be credible on human rights in the world, the United Nations must reform its own human rights council.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COLLINS: David, does he have a point here about the condition and the impact of the U.N.? GERGEN: Absolutely. Especially he has a point about the sort of double standards with regarding Israel continues to be singled out and anti-Zionist resolutions and people don't talk about the progress Israel's made or about the failures in other countries.

But I also think here, Heidi, that he really doesn't -- you know, he sent John Bolton to the U.N. to try to reform that and that didn't work. And now he's got Ambassador Khalilzad there, who is very good, but there's no more reformist zeal in the Bush administration. I think they just -- once again, they're taking things off their agenda. They're trying to -- back in Washington, they're trying to focus on those things they think they can still get done. I don't think U.N. reform is on their can-do list anymore.

COLLINS: Yes. All right. Well, we appreciate you sticking around today.

GERGEN: OK. Can I say one other thing, Heidi?

COLLINS: Absolutely.

GERGEN: Yes. I just think the other thing that was really missing from the president's speech, other than just a sentence or two, was climate change. Because this has been central to the U.N. conversations this week. And the president simply does not want to join that U.N. conversation. He wants to conduct his own conversations in Washington (INAUDIBLE).

COLLINS: Would that align him with the other side of the fence, if you will?

GERGEN: It aligns him in an interesting way with China and India, who have been reluctant to push forward on climate change and don't want to join some sort of international pact which requiring them to reduce their carbon emissions or to join the -- you know, they want to grow. Economic growth is their number one goal. So the president is throwing himself into that group. It's an interesting development. And I think it has implications for what will happen, though, to the next administration, Democratic or Republican, in Washington.

COLLINS: Are you saying we have an election coming up? Oh, yes, we do, don't we?

GERGEN: I think so (ph).

COLLINS: All right, David Gergen, we appreciate your time here, as always.

GERGEN: Thank you.

COLLINS: Thanks for helping us break that down. David Gergen is our former presidential advisor. Thanks again.

GERGEN: Thank you.

COLLINS: Also still ahead in the CNN NEWSROOM, a Virginia grand jury considers an indictment against Michael Vick today. Will the NFL quarterback face new dog fighting charges? We'll tell you about that.

Also, Bill O'Reilly and the face factor. Provocative remarks about the way African-Americans behave? Hear what came out of his mouth after this.

ALI VELSHI, CNN CORRESPONDENT: And I'm Ali Velshi just outside of Detroit where negotiations are back underway between the United Auto Workers and General Motors. I'll have more on that when we're back in the NEWSROOM.

T.J. HOLMES, CNN CORRESPONDENT: And does this sound familiar? The Supreme Court making a decision that affects the outcome of the presidential election. Not talking 2000 this time. We're talking 2008. Yes, the court is taking up a case that some say could affect the 2008 presidential election. I'm T.J. Holmes in the NEWSROOM. That story coming up.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

COLLINS: Good morning once again, everybody. 10:30 Eastern time now. I want to get straight to the news room with some information coming in to us here. T.J. Holmes is following it for us.

T.J., is something happening with the voter-identification laws?

HOLMES: Yes, voter I.D. law, this one in particular in Indiana. There have been several passed in this country, but Indiana's law is now being challenged to the Supreme Court, and the Supreme Court has decided, yes, they will take up this case. What happens here with these voter I.D. laws. Several states have passed them, saying that they want to cut down on voter fraud on Election Day at the polls.

Well, many have challenged these laws, saying that they unfairly target poor and minority Americans, and deter poor and minority Americans from voting, because the ones who are less likely to have proper I.D. are the poor or minorities, and saying also that those are ones that often skew Democratic. So this is set up really a contentious Democrat versus Republican debate and a showdown at the Supreme Court. And the Supreme Court is now going to have to figure this thing out. There have been several state laws that have been challenged on voter I.D. laws, on voter identification, and even the courts, the lower courts, have been split about if these laws are constitutional.

So now the Supreme Court will be the final say-so in this, and they are going to make this decision, and we'll expect this ahead of the 2008 election, next year's presidential election. So this could have implications for next year's presidential election.

Again, Indiana's law being challenged because the Democratic Party there and civil rights groups saying these are unfairly targeting poor and minority, and they say the Indiana state legislature passed this law without even proving that voter fraud even happens at the polls. Normally people just have to show up and just sign -- put their name down, have a signature. Their signature was on file, no I.D. having to be shown. But the Indiana legislature really didn't prove that fraud was happening. So Democratic Party saying, well, why did you need the law in the first place unless you're just trying to deter poor and minorities from voting in the first place.

So now it seems like the Supreme Court is going to settle this thing and sell it ahead of the 2008 presidential election, and certainly will have implications there.

So, Heidi, the term starts, the session starts, with the Supreme Court on Monday. They will take this case up. We will wait to hear what happens there -- Heidi.

COLLINS: Yes, we will. All right, T.J. Holmes, thanks so much for that.

On strike, and a lot on the line this morning, that's for sure. Negotiations resuming today between General Motors and the United Auto Workers union; 73,000 workers off the job right now. It's the first nationwide auto workers strike in more than 30 years. Operations shutdown at more than 80 plants across 30 states. A lengthy strike could cost the struggling auto maker billions.

CNN's Ali Velshi is live for us this morning in Warren, Michigan.

Ali, any word about progress?

VELSHI: Well, we know that they're back at the table. They've walked back into the negotiation center in Detroit, both sides. But after this walkout yesterday morning at 11:00 Eastern, they went back to the table, negotiated until 8:00 last night, still no resolution. So if the United Auto Workers felt that by walking off the job they were somehow going to get GM to pay specific attention to their problems, it hasn't worked yet.

Now here's what it comes down to -- we had heard that in all of the lead-up to this walkout yesterday, that progress was going to be made on this proposal by General Motors to sort of shift the responsibility for the health care and pension benefits of all these retired workers over to the union. It seemed like they were making progress on that.

But according to the UAW president, Ron Gettelfinger, they were missing the big point, and that is plain, old-fashioned job security. They wanted undertakings from General Motors that they're not going to continue to close plants and lose jobs to Mexico, Canada or elsewhere.

Let's have a look at this picture. Back in 1994, there were a quarter of a million unionized General Motors workers. That has dwindled down to the 73,000 who are on strike today. And in fact, if you add those unionized workers who are not on strike, the ones from Ford and Chrysler, you still don't add up to 200,000.

So, the automotive manufacturing work force has shrunk over the years, and the united auto workers is saying we need that to stop, we need some guarantees of work in factories and investment. They're not getting that, and that's why they walked off the job yesterday morning. We don't know whether there is any progress on that right now, but we do know that we are in a strike that a lot of people didn't expect -- Heidi.

COLLINS: Yes, that is certainly the case.

Hey Ali, you know the markets opened a little more than an hour ago. Broader implications for the economy?

VELSHI: Yes, absolutely. In fact, initially what tends to happen in a strike situation is a company's cash flow increases. GM has about two months' worth of cars available to sell to people, so they could theoretically be selling cars and not pay any wages. That's actually initially good for the company. And if somehow this strike allows them to cut some fat, that's good for the investors, but that may not happen.

If this drags out, that's bad for the workers, that's bad for investors, that's bad for an auto industry that's trying to retain new customers and get new customers. So, all in all, in 2007, a strike is not good for anyone. We've heard that from GM and we've heard that from the United Auto Workers. Nobody's digging in for a long strike here. But they're going to have to get some resolution to the problems on the table, otherwise, we're all going to start to feel it.

COLLINS: Yes, certainly.

All right, CNN's Ali Velshi coming to us from Warren, Michigan, this morning. Ali, I know you'll get in touch with us should anything happen there.

VELSHI: Absolutely.

COLLINS: Thank you.

VELSHI: Yes.

COLLINS: Meanwhile, want to tell you about this story. The blogs apparently buzzing over Bill O'Reilly this morning, controversial comments about African-Americans made on his nationally syndicated radio program. O'Reilly was talking with NPR's Juan Williams about rap culture that led to these observations on dining at Sylvia's, that's a famous restaurant in Harlem, and also a trip to an Anita Baker concert.

(BEGIN AUDIO CLIP)

BILL O'REILLY: I think black Americans are starting to think more and more for themselves.

The band was excellent, but they were dressed in tuxedos, and this is what white America doesn't know, particularly people who don't have a lot of interaction with black Americans. They think that the culture is dominated by Twista, Ludacris, and Snoop Dogg.

JUAN WILLIAMS, NPR JOURNALIST: Oh, and it's just so awful. It's just so awful because, I mean, it's literally the sewer come to the surface, and now people take it that the sewer is the whole story.

O'REILLY: That's right, that's right. There wasn't one person in Sylvia's who was screaming, "M-fer, I want more iced tea." They were ordering and having fun. And there wasn't any kind of craziness at all.

(END AUDIO CLIP)

COLLINS: CNN's "AMERICAN MORNING" talked about it with CNN contributor and radio talk show host Roland Martin.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ROLAND MARTIN, CNN CONTRIBUTOR: Here's the deal, though. And so, OK. First of all, it's not true, all right? When you look at -- you talk about Ludacris, excuse me, I believe a Stanley O'Neal, who runs Merrill Lynch, I believe a Kenneth Chenault who runs American Express, in a Dick Parsons who runs Time Warner, have a heck of a lot more power and influence than Ludacris or some other rapper.

So, I'm not going to give some hip-hopper that much credence. That makes no sense to me whatsoever, OK. Also, use your platform, Bill O'Reilly, to talk about those individuals as well. No, he's fixated on rappers, somehow thinking that is actually what black culture is all about. That's what doesn't make any sense to me.

And what bothered me was when he said that he was surprised that there was no difference between Sylvia and someone else. Well, why would you be surprised? Have you not gone to a black restaurant before? I mean, I don't go to a Mexican restaurant and somehow think that there is a van in the back stuffed with 20 folks who just crossed the border. No, I don't operate on stereotypes. I see that as a business and I say people have napkins and forks and knives and they sit down and they eat. But he was surprised.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COLLINS: O'Reilly told our own Rick Sanchez his remarks were taken out of context, he calls it a hatchet job by the Web site mediamatters.org.

And now, new this morning, more trouble for disgraced quarterback Michael Vick. This time, prosecutors in Virginia seeking an indictment on dogfighting charges. Vick pleaded guilty to federal charges last month. He admitted helping kill dogs and funding the operation. He faces up to five years in prison. Sentencing is set for December 10th. Convictions on state charges could potentially add decades more to Vick's sentence. His hopes of ever returning to the NFL sacked.

Another Hollywood star in trouble with the law. Actor Kiefer Sutherland booked this morning on suspicion of driving under the influence. He was pulled over by police in west Hollywood. The "24" star -- you know the show -- was released on $5,000 bail.

Jacqui Jeras is joining us now to give us an update. I still see all the swirling and whirling of Karen there behind you.

JACQUI JERAS, AMS METEOROLOGIST: Yes, say hello.

COLLINS: Yes, hi.

JERAS: Good morning to Karen.

COLLINS: Stay right where you are.

JERAS: Exactly, wouldn't that be great?

COLLINS: Yes.

JERAS: And just do nothing. That's not going to happen, but the good news is it doesn't look like it's going to be bothering anybody, either. We just got the 11:00 advisory, and Karen still holding with winds at 40 miles per hour, so just kind of a weak tropical storm. And it's moving on up towards the west-northwest and it's going to stay out in the middle of the open waters, at least for the next five days. We'll have to see what happens after that as our subtropical ridge begins to build in, too.

We've got a couple other areas of disturbed weather, one toward the Leeward Islands and one into the western Gulf. Both of those have some potential for some slow development over the next couple of days.

(WEATHER REPORT)

COLLINS: Meanwhile, I need to tell you about this, deadly attack in Iraq, a meeting between Sunnis and Shiites torn apart by a suicide bomber.

And remembering the Little Rock 9 50 years later. A look at a new movie on the integration of Central High School.

SUSAN LISOVICZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT: I'm Susan Lisovicz at the New York Stock Exchange where we're seeing retail stocks get slapped three months to the day before Christmas. We'll tell you why investors are heading for the exit, next.

You're watching CNN, the most trusted name in news.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

GERRI WILLIS, PERSONAL FINANCE EDITOR: We all get too many credit card offers in the mail, but what if these solicitations could actually do you some good, like lower your interest rates? The average fixed rate now is around 13.5 percent. If your rate is higher, now is the time to pull out those solicitations. It's time to negotiate.

Call your current credit card company with one of those low-rate offers handy. Say you want them to match or beat the offer or you might just switch. Once you've secured that lower rate, keep it low by paying at least the minimum on time every single month.

That's this week's Saving Money Now. For more on saving money, watch "OPEN HOUSE" every Saturday at 9:30 a.m. Eastern right here on CNN.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

COLLINS: The housing problems continue to erode the economy with falling home prices and a decrease in consumer spending.

Susan Lisovicz is at the New York Stock Exchange now with the very latest news for what someone would say is a troubled economy at this point.

Hi there, Susan.

(BUSINESS HEADLINES)

COLLINS: Meanwhile though, crossing -- or causing, I should say -- a traffic tie-up in L.A. This guy -- gotcha!

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MICHAEL SHEN, BLOGGER: Someone going down the wrong way in one- way traffic. So I was like, cheese.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COLLINS: Blogging against bad drivers? Interesting.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

COLLINS: Remembering the legacy of the Little Rock 9. Fifty years ago today, they made civil rights history. Nine African- American students integrated, all white Central High in Little Rock, Arkansas, federal troops standing by as they went into the school.

Commemorations began last night. The nine, honored at a gala in Little Rock. Former president Clinton and Reverend Jesse Jackson among about 1,300 guests. There are more ceremonies set for this morning. We'll stay on top of those for you.

Well, think of it as citizens arrest on the Web. A blogger capturing L.A. traffic no-nos on his cell phone.

CNN's Chris Lawrence went along for the ride.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

CHRIS LAWRENCE, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): They've been called rude, even reckless. L.A. drivers are just as liable to forget you're there, and flip you off.

SHEN: That guy, did he just curse at us? LAWRENCE: It was enough to drive this transplanted New Yorker crazy.

SHEN: And it's not about L.A. bashing, I like L.A.

LAWRENCE: But not its roads. So Michael Shen created a Web site where he could vent. He takes pictures of people he considers bad drivers and posts his rants on a blog.

SHEN: Oh, here we go. Here is someone going down the wrong way of one-way traffic. So I be like, cheese. OK, this is a one-way road. I took his photo, and I let him pass.

LAWRENCE: Shen has seen drivers speed up to keep cars from merging into their lane.

SHEN: If they are safely signaling and there's plenty of room, you should not be accelerating and blocking them.

LAWRENCE: His personal favorite: the car trying to beat the light and ends up stuck in the middle of an intersection.

SHEN: I mean, there's just blatant, do not block!

LAWRENCE (on camera): Come on, L.A.'s an easy target. But are we really that bad?

(voice-over): Well, yes and no. According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, you're almost twice as likely to be killed in a car crash in L.A. as in New York City. San Francisco, Chicago and Philly all have lower rates, too. But L.A. is safer than San Diego, Houston, Detroit and Dallas.

Somehow, that doesn't register with the frustrated folks who post on Shen's Web site.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: The driver attempted to back up out of the middle of an intersection, but then she had to stop to avoid hitting cars that were navigating around her idiotic (EXPLETIVE DELETED) from behind.

LAWRENCE: Bloggers say these roads are home to an infinite number of idiots.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I just valet parked my car when I looked up and saw the minivan in the photo accelerate and rear-end the SUV in front of him. Get this: both were stopped at a red light.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

COLLINS: Walking the picket lines. Will there be a quick resolution?

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: You don't like being out here and we don't want to be out here, but we do want them to be fair with us.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COLLINS: Auto workers on strike. The future of the workers and General Motors at stake.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

JUDY FORTIN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: We all get those persistent e- mail offers, selling cheap drugs or natural herbal remedies. Well, authors of a new study on medical-related spam warn buyers beware, purchasing drugs online is often too good to be true.

Researchers attempted to buy products offered through spam, and found the medications did not always arrive and were often not what they anticipated. The FDA also warns online buyers don't have legal protection if they receive outdated, contaminated or counterfeit products.

Doctors may one day be able to listen for the signs of cancer. That's according to researchers at Georgia Tech who have created a device that detects cancer-related molecules by monitoring frequency changes in blood samples. The device is still being tested, but inventors hope one day, it will facilitate a quick blood sample screening for cancer.

Flu season is right around the corner, and there are plenty of flu shots to go around. The CDC reports more than 130 million doses are available. That's enough to vaccinate a third of the U.S. population. Trouble is, officials are concerned not everyone who needs the vaccine will get it. Officials recommend the annual shot for almost everyone, but especially for people over 50 and children under 5 who are at highest risk for complications. The flu kills an estimated 36,000 Americans each year.

Judy Fortin, CNN.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.voxant.com