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Thanksgiving Travel Rush; Former Press Secretary on CIA Leak; New Mexico Wildfire

Aired November 21, 2007 - 11:00   ET

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

TONY HARRIS, CNN ANCHOR: And good morning again, everyone. You're with CNN. You're informed.
I'm Tony Harris.

HEIDI COLLINS, CNN ANCHOR: Hi there, everybody.

I'm Heidi Collins.

Developments keep coming into the CNN NEWSROOM on Wednesday, November 21st. Most of them, though, travel developments.

Rain and snow across the middle of the country. Will weather spell trouble for Thanksgiving travelers?

HARRIS: The FBI offering a reward in the Baby Grace investigation. The toddler's body washed ashore in a plastic box. We will talk to one investigator live.

COLLINS: Peewee patient runs circles around wounded warriors. Like them, he is an amputee.

Little boy, big inspiration, right here in the NEWSROOM.

HARRIS: Oh, let's do this. Let's all -- let's do it, America. Hit the road, get on that plane, gas up the car. It's time for the Thanksgiving travel rush.

Millions of you headed out right now for the holiday, and wherever you're going, you can get up-to-the-minute information in our "Holiday Travel" update right there, the right side of your screen. We have got you covered with reporters all over the country.

Susan Roesgen in Chicago. Allan Chernoff with us from New York City. And Jacqui Jeras keeping an eye on delays in the air and on the roads.

But first let's get the latest weather conditions with Rob Marciano

(WEATHER REPORT)

COLLINS: Let's get a closer look now at what's happening right now on this big travel day. We are talking with our Susan Roesgen, Allan Chernoff, and Jacqui Jeras.

Want to begin though with Susan, who -- it looks like you've moved outside there, Susan.

SUSAN ROESGEN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: I sure have. And I'm with the most important person you'll ever see at an airport, Heidi, I think. This is Newton Boyer (ph), directing traffic.

How long have you been doing this out here?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Oh, about 15 months.

ROESGEN: How do you keep your shoes warm and dry?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Well, with some nice shoes and a couple pair of socks, and you're all ready.

ROESGEN: Is this where you're going to be, Newton, tomorrow, on Thanksgiving?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: No. I'll be downtown and I'll be with my co- workers. And I guess I'll be celebrating Thanksgiving down there.

ROESGEN: Why don't you help me walk across the street here, because you're the man with the neon stick, so I know they'll stop for you.

Listen, have a happy Thanksgiving, and let some people pull over and park, OK?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: OK.

ROESGEN: See you, Newton (ph).

All right.

Hey, Heidi, let's go in again now, and we'll check inside and see what things are doing in the security line. I can tell you that the security lines have grown shorter and people are moving more quickly now.

I think it's just sort of the pre-lunch hour lull, if you will, but, Heidi, there are very few people now in the line, and they are moving really quickly. So things are looking good at O'Hare even though they're still saying that they expect 200,000 people to move in and out all day today, trying to get home -- Heidi.

COLLINS: Wow. Well, that's 200,000 people we definitely have not seen yet. I can't believe how bare it is behind you there. Turn around and look over your right shoulder there.

ROESGEN: I know.

COLLINS: There's hardly anybody -- anybody there.

ROESGEN: Hey, head on out. Come to Chicago and get home...

COLLINS: Yes. I'll be right there.

All right. Susan, thanks so much. We'll check in later on.

HARRIS: And let's get you to our national correspondent, Allan Chernoff. He's at LaGuardia airport in New York.

And Allan, when we talked to you last hour, thing were pretty much clean and green. How is it looking this hour?

ALLAN CHERNOFF, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Tony, it's absolutely great. You know, the last time I was at this airport, I had to wait in a security line five minutes long, as you see. Absolutely no security line right now. The TSA folks have beefed up staffing here. They've been at it since 4:30 in the morning.

Let's have a look at the departure board. On time up and down that board. How about that?

Now, I know the FAA is saying that there are delays of a half hour coming into LaGuardia, and we are seeing some minor delays, not too bad. The only disaster up here, Des Moines. The flight was supposed to come in at 9:45 this morning. Guess what? It's now scheduled for 5:00 p.m.

I would not want to be flying from Des Moines into New York. But otherwise here, we're just doing spectacularly.

Outside, check-in at the curb is going very smoothly. Plenty of people on staff over there. Very busy, but no problems at all.

And over here, if you can see just beyond me, American Airlines has added extra kiosks, and at the ticket counter, guess what? There's actually an agent at every position. So when you want to check in a bag, you can actually do it. You don't have to wait.

So things really here are just running perfectly thus far. Let's hope it continues -- Tony.

HARRIS: Let's hope it holds.

Allan Chernoff for us at LaGuardia in New York.

Allan, great to see you. Thanks.

COLLINS: The inside story on the Valerie Plame Wilson case, a blockbuster from the pen of former press secretary Scott McClellan.

CNN's Jessica Yellin is at the White House now with some new developments this morning on the story.

Jessica, good morning.

JESSICA YELLIN, CNN CONGRESSIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Good morning.

This new book from Scott McClellan which is due out next year includes a bombshell of some news about the CIA leak case. You will recall that there were all sorts of stories going on here at the White House. Curiosity after the news of that leak case broke, who may have leaked the name of CIA agent Valerie Plame.

Well, Scott McClellan came to the podium here at the White House and said emphatically that neither Karl Rove nor Scooter Libby were involved in leaking her name. We now, of course, know that to be untrue.

And in this upcoming book, Scott McClellan will say he unintentionally mislead the public. And here's the key bit, that five top government officials were involved in him misleading the public, among them President Bush.

Well, obviously this raises all sorts of questions about what the president knew, when he knew it, et cetera. The White House is saying -- here is a statement from Press Secretary Dana Perino -- "The president has not and would not ask anyone to knowingly pass on false information."

And, in fact, Heidi, Scott McClellan himself had suggested the same in previous interviews. He's made it clear that he thinks the president himself didn't know the truth. Here he is on "LARRY KING LIVE."

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SCOTT MCCLELLAN, FMR. WHITE HOUSE PRESS SECRETARY: I said what I believed to be true at the time. It was also what the president believed to be true at the time based on assurances that we were both given. And knowing what I know today, I would have never said that back then.

I said that those individuals assured me they were not involved in this. I did speak directly with them and I was careful about the way I phrased it at the time, even though I believed what they had told me to be the truth.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

YELLIN: Now, I just got off the phone with the publisher of McClellan's new book, and he tells me that McClellan does not charge in the book that the president was himself involved in any kind of conspiracy to mislead the public. But, of course, in the publisher's words, Scott did go out to take bullets without a proper flak jacket on.

And Heidi, finally, it's no surprise perhaps that Valerie Wilson and her husband are leaping on these new charges, saying that they support the civil suit that the two of them have filed against the leakers -- Heidi.

COLLINS: CNN's Jessica Yellin this morning from outside the White House.

Jessica, thank you.

HARRIS: Let's get you some new pictures on the air for you. These are pictures coming from Mountainair, New Mexico, in an area -- maybe you know this -- the southern Manzano Mountains. That's south of Albuquerque.

And as you can see here, we're talking about a wildfire, and the folks in that area are being told to leave their homes right now. And this is a wildfire that's being fueled by winds, as you can see by the smoke there.

The fire broke out, we understand, early Monday, but at the time it sort of remained small in intensity. But the winds have kicked up, and now fanning the flames here.

The blaze is small no longer. The blaze estimated at more than 1,000 acres right now. More firefighters are being called in to the scene right now.

Again, this is an area south of Albuquerque. No reports right now of any injuries, but residents in this area are being told to leave their homes right now.

We will keep an eye on this situation for you and bring you the latest pictures as we get them right here in the NEWSROOM.

COLLINS: Despair now setting in among survivors of the killer cyclone in Bangladesh. Government-run relief centers are struggling to help tens of thousands of people. It's been six days now since the storm hit. And at last count, more than 3,000 people were listed as dead. Some four million displaced and thousands of others still missing.

CNN crews arriving in previously unreached areas report an overwhelming stench of rotting bodies and animal carcasses. Villagers suggest the number of people killed is far higher than officials death toll estimates.

Here now is your chance to help. You can go to CNN.com and find out how you can help the people in Bangladesh that have been left homeless by the cyclone. Just log on and add your name to the growing number of CNN viewers grabbing the opportunity to impact your world.

HARRIS: A toddler found dead in a plastic box near Galveston, Texas. Who is she? We get a live update from the sheriff's office.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(NEWSBREAK)

COLLINS: Three weeks ago a fisherman found a toddler dead in a plastic trunk near Galveston, Texas. Authorities have been calling her "Baby Grace," but who is she? Now the FBI is offering a $20,000 reward hoping someone will identify her.

On the phone with me now is Major Ray Tuttoilmondo. He's with the Galveston County Sheriff's Office.

Major Tuttoilmondo, last we spoke was early November. I just wonder, what has happened since that time? MAJOR RAY TUTTOILMONDO, GALVESTON COUNTY SHERIFF'S OFFICE: The -- we're currently working somewhere on the order of 300-plus active leads out of thousands of calls and e-mails that we've gotten regarding Baby Grace.

COLLINS: Wow.

TUTTOILMONDO: Out of that number, we're particularly focused on about 110 of them that have identified children that are not accounted for, for one reason or another. We've, over the past several weeks, been able to clear up quite a significant number of those, actually reuniting a few families along the way.

COLLINS: Wow.

TUTTOILMONDO: The reward money that's been offered by the FBI for Baby Grace's identity we hope is going to continue to keep those calls and e-mails coming, and as we still look to identify who she is and hopefully fill that empty spot at someone's Thanksgiving table.

COLLINS: Yes, certainly. We hope that's the case as well.

It is rather unusual though, is it not, to offer a reward like this by the FBI? Because we're not really talking about trying to solve this case. Still just trying to get an identity on this little girl.

TUTTOILMONDO: Yes. Certainly is not something very common that the bureau does, and we certainly appreciate their assistance that they have been giving us on this case. And we're hoping that reward is going to help us out.

COLLINS: Also, back to the DNA, obviously once those results come in from the DNA testing, or at least I would hope, anyway, that those results would help in trying to identify her. Any idea when you'll get the results of those tests?

TUTTOILMONDO: We hope to have those, if not by this week, early next week. That goes along with nine other specific cases that we're looking at to do comparisons with. And of course, that number of nine will likely grow as we continue the investigation.

COLLINS: OK. What do you mean by that?

TUTTOILMONDO: The number -- there are several cases of known missing children that we have through a variety of sources obtained DNA samples from parents or whatever other DNA samples we may be able to get our hands on that will allow us to compare on those specific cases those children to the known DNA of Baby Grace to see if they are related or not.

COLLINS: OK. Understood. How many people are working on the case with you?

TUTTOILMONDO: We now have about 16 investigators that are involved with working the case. That's not only from our agency, but from the FBI, and we've got some help from Texas Rangers and a host of other agencies.

COLLINS: OK. Well, we certainly do hope that this $20,000 reward that is now being offered by the FBI just for the identity of Baby Grace will help out, as you said, with more leads in the case, more substantial leads, anyway.

Major Ray Tuttoilmondo of the Galveston Sheriff's Department.

Thank you.

TUTTOILMONDO: Thank you, Heidi.

HARRIS: Helping wounded troops at Walter Reed, this energetic 4- year-old has a secret. But you have to be fast to find out what it is.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HARRIS: A pint-sized dynamo. You saw him just a moment ago in full sprint mode. He is inspiring wounded troops.

CNN Pentagon Correspondent Barbara Starr with our story of the day.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

BARBARA STARR, CNN PENTAGON CORRESPONDENT (voice over): At Walter Reed Army Medical Center amputees undergo hours of painful rehabilitation. Many struggling to walk again. But not all the patients are casualties of war.

Meet John Yetmar, a 4-year-old amputee who is inspiring these wounded warriors.

CPL. CHAD WATSON, U.S. MARINE CORPS.: Oh, yes. I didn't even know he was an amputee. That is awesome. That's awesome, because I have been at it now for almost a year since my injury. So I've got some catching up to do to that little guy.

STARR: John was born without all the bones in one leg. Doctors thought a prosthetic leg would give him the best quality of life. Because his dad's in the military, John is treated at Walter Reed and gets the same care as the troops. The staff has a special touch with this tiny patient.

JOHN YETMAR, AMPUTEE INSPIRING WOUNDED TROOPS: What happened?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I'm just turning your foot in a little bit. Nice and new and shiny. See that. Isn't that nice?

YETMAR: Yes. It's nice.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes.

STARR: John's dad Paul says a bond has developed between his son and the troops. PAUL YETMAR, JOHN'S FATHER: He comes here and he sees double, triple amputees, you know, folks that are really going to have a challenging time. And I think -- I think in the long run it's going to keep him from developing any self pity.

I think the soldiers kind of like having him around because a lot of what they do is so stressful and just painful. And he kind of brings a cheery demeanor with him wherever he goes.

STARR: What does John think? He tells you he is as fast as a train.

J. YETMAR: (INAUDIBLE) right there.

STARR: And then this little 4-year-old boy does exactly what all little boys do, he takes off once again.

Barbara Starr, CNN, Walter Reed Army Medical Center.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

(NEWSBREAK)

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HARRIS: Coming up on the bottom of the hour.

Welcome back everyone to the CNN NEWSROOM.

I'm Tony Harris.

COLLINS: Hi there, everybody.

I'm Heidi Collins.

The rush is on. Millions of you on the move today. Thanksgiving travel expected to break yet another record this year.

Want to go ahead and check in with meteorologist Rob Marciano now. He is watching all of the weather across all of the country as he's making his way over to the map, looking at the...

HARRIS: There you go.

ROB MARCIANO, CNN METEOROLOGIST: Well, we want to get you the very latest weather information.

COLLINS: No, that's good. That's good. I like the planes, trains and automobiles. Is your plane late? All of that up above.

MARCIANO: You know, the ...

COLLINS: You love that, don't you?

MARCIANO: The super-writing (ph) producer who's -- we don't have to name him, you know, wanted ... COLLINS: Sean Maurice (ph)?

MARCIANO: ...us to use that a little bit more.

COLLINS: Sean Maurice?

MARCIANO: Jim Lehman (ph).

COLLINS: Oh, Jim Lehman, yes.

MARCIANO: Marching around the NEWSROOM ...

COLLINS: Yes.

MARCIANO: ...barking orders, making television, as he likes to say.

(WEATHER REPORT)

JACQUI JERAS, CNN METEOROLOGIST: Great information. In fact, we just found a very significant accident at this time. It's just north of the Philadelphia area. So let's go ahead and zoom in. This is on Interstate 78. This is a major west/east thoroughfare through here. It is actually closed at Route 611 in the Easton area. There's a tractor-trailer overturned there.

There you can see all the red lines along the interstate where the traffic again eastbound is stalled out at this time. There are a couple of alternate routes. There you can see maybe seven miles per hour is what our real-time traffic is estimating. They're suggesting using 33 North to US 22 East to try to get around that accident. Also, our affiliate has their chopper on the way to the scene. Once we get the pictures, we will bring them to you.

Let's take you out west. We haven't checked a lot of things out west because it's been so calm and quiet. And San Diego, you can see still a lot of green dots here across much of the metro area, a couple of holdups maybe outside of town there, but there has been some fog and visibility issues. We're going to check in along I-5, and this is a time lapse over the last three to four hours. There you can see some of that hazy fog. So make sure you give yourself a little extra time to get where you're going and keep a little extra distance between you and the car in front of you. There you can see 805 also looking at those very foggy conditions.

Let's go to the airways real quick and show you an update on some of the airport delays because we've started to see a few more cities added into the list now. Newark is the worst at 55 minutes. Philadelphia, the departure delays are on the increase. They're now up to 45. Atlanta just getting in on the mix at 30 minutes. Those delays are on the way up, and ground delay at LaGuardia at about 30 minutes. But everybody is still under an hour. Knock on wood. That's not too terrible.

COLLINS: That is pretty good. Actually at this point in the day, it is. We know you'll be watching it. Thank you. If you're hitting the road or flying the skies, make CNN.com your first destination. Check out our special report holiday travel and get online travel kits with tips on how to get where you're going. Plus send us an I-report showing us your travel experience so far. That and more at CNN.com/holidaytravel.

HARRIS: A bad rap hip-hop artist TI says police violated his rights when he was arrested on weapons charges last month. Clifford Harris, that's his real name, is accused of trying to buy unregistered machine guns and silencers, but he wants a judge to throw out the evidence. His attorneys say his car was searched illegally. They're also questioning whether his detention and police interviews were handled properly.

Prosecutors with the Michael Vick case are worried with all of the suspended NFL star's legal problems there might not be enough money left to care for his pit bulls. They're asking a judge to freeze almost a million dollars. Vick agreed to pay for the dogs' care as part of his plea deal on federal dog fighting charges. He's scheduled to be sentenced December 10th and still faces state charges.

COLLINS: Italian police trying to unravel a murder mystery today. An American student among the suspects. CNN's Jennifer Eccleston has the story.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

JENNIFER ECCLESTON, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Amanda Knox's MySpace page tells of her love of things Italian. Italian police tell a depraved tale of sex, drugs, brutality, and murder, inside an apartment just north of Rome. Two conflicting pictures of the exchange student from Seattle.

ANTONELLA NEGRI, AMANDA KNOX'S TEACHER: I changed my mind. I thought maybe she has two lives.

ECCLESTON: That's one of Knox's teachers, Antonella Negri. She says the American was a good student and well-liked, but there was a darker side to her. One that came out on her blog where she posed with a machine gun and called herself Foxy Knoxy. One that police say led to a night of debauchery and then her roommate's murder.

On November 2nd, at this quaint hillside villa just steps away from the university where both students attended, Meredith Kercher's lifeless body was found half naked lying in a pool of blood with a stab wound on her neck. A judge's report found she died fighting off a sexual assault involving not only her American roommate, but Amanda Knox's Italian boyfriend, Raffaela Sollecito and Patrick Lamumba, a bar owner from the Congo.

The report says Knox and her boyfriend had had smoked hash that evening and then went to her house in search of Kercher and a new sexual experience. The judge said Lamumba was there, too, seeking Knox's help in persuading Kercher to have sex with him. But Kercher fought back and died trying. Amanda Knox told police Lamumba had killed Kercher and then she told her mother she wasn't even there. Lamumba says he wasn't either. He's been released for now for lack of evidence. Knox, Lamumba and Sollecito all maintain their innocence.

Now a fourth suspect has emerged. He is Rudy Herman Quday, an African immigrant joking in a You Tube video posted nine months ago. Police say they found traces of Quday's DNA as well as a bloody fingerprint at the murder scene. He's in consist in Germany awaiting extradition. Every twist in this bizarre case has captivated the European media.

BEPPE SEVERGNINI, COLUMNIST: It's the perfect plot for the perfect murder story. The sad and dramatic thing it's not a murder story out of the book. It really happened.

ECCLESTON: When Amanda Knox blogged a few weeks ago, she said she was in one of her happiest places in life. She was, and her roommate was alive.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

COLLINS: Both Knox and her boyfriend are still in police custody this morning. They both deny any involvement in Kercher's death.

HARRIS: Strange doings in the Senate. Democrats taking on the White House, 30 seconds at a time.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HARRIS: Rain keeping a fiery Texas tradition on track. Texas A&M students got their bonfire. It is an annual celebration getting ready for the game against arch rival Texas. Dry conditions almost kept it on the back burner this year, but rain over the weekend allowed officials to lift a burn ban. The event was moved off campus in 1999 you may recall after 12 students died in a bonfire accident.

A walkout by the plastic surgeon who operated on hip-hop star Kanye West's mother the day before she died. Dr. Jan Adams was set for an exclusive interview with CNN's Larry King, but here is how it went down.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

DR. JAN ADAMS, PLASTIC SURGEON: What I really want to say is I want to thank you for this opportunity basically I had come here to talk about things in the press that aren't accurate about me.

But I have a tremendous amount of love and respect for the West family, and they've asked me not to go on, and I said from the very beginning I don't have a side in this. They are my side, and so I'm going to respect their wishes, and I'm going to apologize to you because I think I'm taking up your air time, but I will not be on the show and I will not discuss any of that. I'm going to honor their wishes, okay?

LARRY KING, CNN ANCHOR: Meaning you won't answer any questions about anything?

ADAMS: None. KING: All right. Then how -- will you ever answer questions? I mean where does this go?

ADAMS: Well, I will talk with them. When they're comfortable, then I'll be comfortable. If they're never comfortable, then I'll never be comfortable. They are what's important to me. I said that from the start, and that's what I'll continue to honor.

KING: Just a few things having nothing to do with them. Don't you want to speak out?

ADAMS: No.

KING: You don't want to?

ADAMS: No. I do not.

KING: All right. But you came here to speak out.

ADAMS: That's correct. But I'm going to honor their wishes.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

HARRIS: How do you walk out on "LARRY KING LIVE"? All right. Larry says moments before the show began Adams got a letter from the West family. It was apparently a threat to ask the California Medical Board to take action against Adams if he discussed their case on the show, and there you go.

COLLINS: A 30-second Senate session? Come on. Seem like a joke? Not to the Democrats. CNN congressional correspondent Jessica Yellin reports.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Good morning, sir.

YELLIN: It's not your typical day on the job for a U.S. senator.

SEN. JIM WEBB: This is the first time coming to work actually makes news.

YELLIN: Senator Jim Webb spent approximately 30 seconds on the clock gaveling an empty Senate chamber into session.

WEBB: Senate will come to order.

YELLIN: And then out of session.

WEBB: The Senate stands in recess until Friday, November 23, 2007 at 10:00 a.m.

YELLIN: All to block President Bush from making so-called recess appointments, which are possible when senators are on break for three consecutive days. Democrats say Mr. Bush has gone around the confirmation process too many times, famously with U.S. Ambassador to the U.N. John Bolton. To stop him, they're technically not recessing. Instead sending in a lone senator just often enough to keep business going.

WEBB: I have been enormously frustrated over the past six years at how this administration has inappropriately pushed the envelope of executive power. So I'm really happy about this. I think that the Congress needs to do more of this to reassert the balance between the legislative and executive branches.

YELLIN: Among nominees still awaiting confirmation, controversial surgeon general pick Dr. James Holsinger who came under fire for views he expressed on homosexuality. According to the White House approximately 190 confirmations are pending in the Senate. A spokesperson says since senators aren't really on break, we encourage them to make the most of this time by holding hearings and votes on these nominations. As for Senator Webb, how did you get enlisted for this duty?

WEBB: I'm from Virginia. I'm in town, and I'm very junior.

YELLIN: Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid says he's also waiting on the president to appoint a few democrats to some open seats. If the two men can make a deal, maybe the whole Senate can take off its Christmas break in a few weeks.

Jessica Yellin, CNN, Capitol Hill.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

COLLINS: Want the most up to the minute political news anywhere available? CNNpolitic.com is your one stop shop. Get behind the scenes details from the best political team on television and see why it's the Internet's premiere destination for Internet news. That's CNNpolitics.com.

HARRIS: Keeping them honest. Dennis Hastert is retiring early. We will tell you how taxpayers are picking up the tab.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

JERAS: I'm meteorologist Jacqui Jeras in the CNN Travel Weather Center. We have new pictures we want to show you out of Newark, New Jersey. Very hazy conditions there right now, and that is causing some big troubles at the airport. There you can see all of the haze and poor visibility. There's the control tower right in front of you. There are arrival delays in Newark right now averaging about an hour. This is the worst delay that we have going on at this time in the country. We're expecting those hazy conditions to continue throughout the afternoon.

The air traffic has really been picking up nationwide. There you can see our flight explorer program with all the planes in the air. We have about 6,500 on average, and that was about the peak that we had yesterday, and, of course, we still have quite a few hours to go when all those people are going to be getting in the air once they get off work later today. We'll have more coming up later today in the NEWSROOM -- Heidi?

COLLINS: Okay. Jacqui, thank you.

Former House Speaker Dennis Hastert calling it quits, leaving a year early. CNN's Drew Griffin, keeping them honest.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

DREW GRIFFIN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Last week he made it official.

REP. DENNIS HASTERT, ILLINOIS: After 21 years in serving the people of Illinois in this house, the time has come for me to make my last speech from this podium.

GRIFFIN: That's 21 years. Not 22. He's bailing out a year early. Is it his health? No. Is it a personal issue? No. By all accounts it's his accounts, his own financial accounts. At 65, Dennis Hastert is worried about his future. Even though he was a shoe-in to be re-elected a year ago, he still raised a huge war chest, $5 million. He gave most of it to help reelect other republicans and keep majority control. But that didn't work. Now being a republican in Congress is a lot less fun. So game over for the former wrestling coach. Some are calling him out for unsportsmanlike conduct.

LEE HOFFER, HASTERT SUPPORTER: You campaign, you make a commitment to the public to serve your term. Unless there's an issue like health, I think you should complete your term.

GRIFFIN: The major newspaper in Hastert's district said the same thing in an editorial, but Lisa Smith who covered politics for the Daily Herald, says Hastert is so loved in this heavily republican district, there's not much he can't do, even quit.

LISA SMITH, DAILY HERALD: I think people out here think, you know, he's been a public servant for so long that if he wants to write off into the sunset, he can do that.

GRIFFIN: But whoa! Keeping them honest, maybe the voters here will change their minds about that ride when they see just how much Hastert's early retirement canter will cost them. Illinois will have to put on a special election just to fill the last few months of Hastert's term.

In Illinois, the counties foot the bill for voting, and CNN has been doing its own tally. There are seven counties in Hastert's district, and for each one to conduct a special election, the cost adds up to more than a million dollars. Jack Cunningham runs elections in Kane County. Sharon Holmes runs them in De Kalb, and the surprise resignation means, surprise, a huge bill.

CAROL HOLMES, DE KALB COUNTY CLERK AND RECORDER: The minimum it would cost for my county would be $75,000. That's a conservative estimate.

GRIFFIN: Is that a lot of money for your county, in your office? HOLMES: Yes, it is.

GRIFFIN: Jack Cunningham's estimate for one special election in Kane County, somewhere between $360,000 to $500,000.

JACK CUNNINGHAM, KANE COUNTRY CLERK: The counties are strapped whether the people know it or not and we could best use this money for buying election equipment to make elections more easy. This is definitely, every cent we spend here is money we could have spent to put more booths in the voting precincts.

GRIFFIN: What does Hastert have to say? Nothing. At least not to us despite repeated attempts to reach him. We even went to his district offices on Monday, and we're told the former speaker wasn't in. He's not only resigning early, but a staff member said he'd all right begun his thanksgiving holiday early.

Drew Griffin, CNN, Illinois.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

HARRIS: Business news now. As the housing market continues to erode, government officials are trying to figure out the best way to rescue homeowners at risk. Susan Lisovicz is at the New York Stock Exchange to tell us about the latest ideas. Susan, good morning.

SUSAN LISOVICZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hi, Tony. There's a lot of concern about this because we're expecting an avalanche of foreclosures through the end of this year and well into next. The reason, those low teaser rates on mortgages taken out in the last few years will reset to much higher levels.

Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson telling the "Wall Street Journal" he wants the mortgage service industry to do more. He says it's not good enough to work with individual homeowners on a case by case basis. He wants the industry to help groups of homeowners by offering better terms. He says the number of potential defaults will be significantly bigger next year -- Tony?

HARRIS: Boy, and the loan companies, are they willing to play?

LISOVICZ: Well, I think at this point we're seeing some progress, Tony. California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger appears to have had some success there. He's convinced some companies in his state to extend the low introductory interest rates. Obviously, California hard hit by the mortgage melt down. Other states have created government programs designed to help. But one of those states, Massachusetts, says only 30 applicants out of 3500 applicants who applied have been referred to lenders. Ohio's program has only been able to help one in 15. Hopefully there will be more progress.

The bulls aren't making much headway as you well know, Tony, on this final full trading day of the week. Investors reacting to lower overseas markets, the weakening dollar, and oil prices which earlier today approached the $100 a barrel mark. A quick check of the boards, the Dow is off they're lows. But they are lower, 114 points is the decline. That's nearly one percent. The NASDAQ is down 1.25 percent. And Tony, happy thanksgiving to you and Heidi.

HARRIS: How about that, and to you and feel better.

LISOVICZ: Thank you. The markets close tomorrow.

HARRIS: And those aren't those usual dull set tones we hear from you.

LISOVICZ: It's been tough on Wall Street.

HARRIS: Yes, it has. All right. Susan, thank you.

LISOVICZ: You're welcome.

COLLINS: You want to see a turkey on your table, but taking over a town? These guys are trying to rule the roost. Step aside, people.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

COLLINS: Some residents say -- I swear, those are really the birds. Some residents say they are tearing up their yards and leaving droppings everywhere. Still, there's no way they will end up on a Thanksgiving table. If we don't have any sound ...

HARRIS: We can make it happen.

COLLINS: Put it in there.

HARRIS: Happy Thanksgiving to you and your family.

COLLINS: Thank you. The same to you.

HARRIS: CNN NEWSROOM continues one hour from now as we continue to follow the holiday traffic crush.

COLLINS: "YOUR WORLD TODAY" is next. We'll see you tomorrow, everybody.

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