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Homeowners in Washington State Fight to Save Homes From Muddy Waters; Edwards in Iowa: Looking for an Opening; The Fight for Gabriel: International Custody Battle
Aired December 05, 2007 - 14:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
DON LEMON, CNN ANCHOR: Well, the winds are calm, the rains are gone, but the damage is done in the Pacific Northwest. And the water is still high. Today, for many, the state of emergency hits home.
KYRA PHILLIPS, CNN ANCHOR: For the Lower Ninth Ward of New Orleans Katrina is still not over, and most of the schools are still not open.
Ruby Bridges joins us this hour with her campaign to change that.
Hello, everyone. I'm Kyra Phillips at the CNN world headquarters in Atlanta.
LEMON: And I'm Don Lemon.
You're in the CNN NEWSROOM.
PHILLIPS: Reality hits after the storms. Homeowners get their first glimpse of muddy misery across parts of the Pacific Northwest.
CNN's Thelma Gutierrez is right there in Burien, in Washington, a suburb of Seattle.
Chad Myers keeping watch in our severe weather center.
LEMON: But first we have to show you amazing video of some of the rescues we have been talking to you about, families stranded by high water. And you can see, some communities in western Washington can only be reached by helicopter.
It is a real mess. And the Coast Guard and National Guard have picked up 300 people and six pets so far. Here's a young family in Chehalis that was whisked to safety.
Our Chad Myers checking on all of it for us.
CHAD MYERS, CNN METEOROLOGIST: Still river flood warnings, which means the rivers are out of their banks. Now, those are different than flashflood warnings, which means the waters are really coming up because of current rain, because the rain has stopped.
I backed the radar up though about 48 hours when this flow of moisture was right on shore from Seattle right on down through Eugene, and it was connected all the way down to the tropics. Down to Hawaii. We'll get to Hawaii in a second. You guys are getting battered right now.
But this Pineapple Express has been moving up through Seattle down into about Eugene, but is has now moved to the east and away from the region, allowing people to, well, pick up the pieces and move back to the mud.
Our Thelma Gutierrez is there.
Thelma, this doesn't look good behind you, I can tell you that.
THELMA GUTIERREZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Chad, you're absolutely right. In fact, a few engineers were out here a little bit ago. And they told us that this hillside is not very stable right now, as you can imagine.
This home, that you see, right to the right of me, is Barbara Bull's home. And her home has been red-tagged. All morning long there has been a front-loader that's come into this driveway, and it's hauling out tons of mud and then dumping it just right across the way there.
Now, if you take a look right above her driveway you can see what happened. Her neighbor's yard, literally right above her car, collapsed, forcing the car right through her living room. She said she was on the cell phone at the time.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
BARBARA BULL, HOMEOWNER: We talked only about a minute and a half when this huge explosion was -- and I said, "Oh, Jack" -- I said, "There's a bomb in my house. Hang on."
And I went to my window, and here's my car sticking in the door. And I ran back and I said, "Please call 911."
(END VIDEO CLIP)
GUTIERREZ: Now, fortunately, Barbara was not injured. But her house has been red-tagged.
And some of the most dramatic pictures that we have seen have come out of Lewis County. When we look at aerial shots of that area, some of the towns appear to be islands in the midst of all that water. And we have seen residents moving about the area, assessing the damage to their property on canoes. And that's because the bridges have been wiped out in many of these areas.
There are 45 different road closures in Kitsap and Mason counties, and many other school closures, dozens of schools closed in this area. So this has been very devastating.
There have also been five deaths blamed on this terrible storm. Three snowboarders are still missing, and so is an 81-year-old man. Ands search and rescue crews are out there combing some of the creeks looking for him right now. So this is really been a very tough time for many of the residents out here -- Chad.
MYERS: Thelma, thank you.
At least the rain is over for now, but the water, probably, and the mud will still be sliding for a while, because that mud is still going to be very thick and heavy on the top and sliding on the bottom. Be careful out there.
Take you to one more place. I want to take you from the Pacific Northwest, we're going to slide you to the next storm. A major storm today and yesterday moving through Hawaii.
We're talking about winds over 80 miles per hour on the top of Haleakala, big-time flooding and flashflood warnings now for the entire island of Maui. You could be picking up 10 inches of rain in the next three or four hours. You need to be taking cover in Hawaii today for sure.
Back to you guys.
LEMON: All right. Chad and Thelma, thank you both.
PHILLIPS: Let's get over to the newsroom. Fredricka Whitfield working details on a developing story.
Fred, what do you have for us?
FREDRICKA WHITFIELD, CNN ANCHOR: Well, Kyra, in the Chicago suburb of Lockport, Illinois, the search intensifies for Stacy Peterson. And now it has brought police and dive search teams to two canals there in Lockport.
We don't know exactly what led them to the location, but dive teams are searching these two canals there for any clues in the whereabouts of Stacy Peterson. She has been missing now since October 28th. So quite a long time now that nobody has seen or heard from her.
Her husband, an ex-police officer, Drew Peterson, has been the primary suspect. He, of course, denies any kind of wrongdoing.
You are looking at recent pictures this morning. They're pulling up some debris there. We don't know how this pertains to the investigation of missing Stacy Peterson, but, of course, when we get any more information about this ongoing search, the bad weather, the snowy, very cold windy weather is in no way stopping this search now of the canals in that location.
When we get any more information, Kyra, we'll bring it to you.
PHILLIPS: All right. We'll track it.
Thanks, Fred. And talking of a plea deal in the killing of pro-football player Sean Taylor. It's coming from the lawyer for the youngest of the four suspects.
This morning a judge denied Eric Rivera bail. He was indicted yesterday as an adult by a Miami-Dade grand jury. The indictment points to Rivera as the one who pulled the trigger in what police are calling a botched burglary.
Rivera's lawyer, Sawyer Smith, says his client is not admitting anything yet, but he adds that when the state is ready, he would like to talk about resolving the case "in the best interest of justice." Taylor died last week, a day after being shot in his suburban Miami home.
LEMON: They mow his lawn and rake his leaves, and now Mitt Romney's lawn crew, believe it or not, is an issue in his campaign for president. Romney says he's fired the company that landscapes his suburban Boston home because it hires illegal immigrants. He learned about the workers from the "Boston Globe" days after Rudy Giuliani used the CNN/YouTube debate to spotlight a previous problem with Romney's landscapers.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
RUDY GIULIANI (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: ... the illegal immigrants who are working at his mansion. So I would say he had sanctuary mansion, not just a sanctuary city.
MITT ROMNEY (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Are you suggesting, Mr. Mayor -- because I think it's really kind of offensive -- if you hear someone with a funny accent, you as a homeowner are supposed to go out there and say, "I want to see your papers"? Is that what you're suggesting?
(END VIDEO CLIP)
LEMON: Romney says he gave the landscape company a second chance because the firm promised to stop using illegal workers.
He's not exactly the forgotten Democrat. We're talking now about John Edwards. He is fighting to be heard in Iowa.
Here is CNN's Candy Crowley, part of the best political team on television.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
CANDY CROWLEY, CNN SR. POLITICAL CORRESPONDENT (voice over): John Edwards is also running.
JOHN EDWARDS (D), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Oh, I think it's a tossup right now, I think, between Obama, Clinton and me. It's a dead heat.
CROWLEY: He's right, but wedged between two history-making candidates, Edwards can look old hat. Against marquee names with multi-millions, he can get lost in the show.
EDWARDS: I've lived through this before. I know how this works. I'm actually having fun. I mean, I'm having a good time. I feel very confident and very surefooted.
CROWLEY: He certainly seems all of that, probably because Edwards has spotted an opening in the free-fire range between Clinton and Obama. He is banking their bitter sound bites will backfire in notoriously friendly Iowa. So the first and fiercest of the Clinton critics, Edwards, is dialing back, going for the vision thing.
EDWARDS: It gets to be a very basic thing. Who are we? What is our morality? What is our character? What kind of country do we believe in?
CROWLEY: In Edwardsville they object when you call Iowa his last stand or suggest he'd put more effort or has more at stake than anyone else. Edwards was first into the state. He does have a preexisting campaign structure from 2004. But Edwards' strategists argue others have been here just as much and have every bit as much as stake.
Bottom line, Edwards doesn't want to be seen after the vote as the candidate who should have won.
(on camera): And if you lose here it means?
EDWARDS: It depends on the circumstances. I think that's hard to predict.
CROWLEY: Can you lose well?
EDWARDS: You can lose better.
CROWLEY (voice over): He wants to win. He could win. But there's more than one way to move on to New Hampshire.
(on camera): In fact, Edwards' strategists see a variety of scenarios under which he could come out of Iowa looking good. He could place first and get the wind behind his back. He could place second behind Hillary Clinton, and they believe it would then become a two-person race. Or he and Barack Obama could place first and second, and then you've got a whole new ball game.
Candy Crowley, CNN, Des Moines.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
LEMON: Want the most up-to-the-minute political news available anywhere? CNNPolitics.com is your one-stop shop. CNNPolitics.com, the Internet's premier destination for political news.
PHILLIPS: Well, she helped to integrate New Orleans schools. Now she is trying to invigorate them. Ruby Bridges tells us about her new mission.
LEMON: Wet, muddy and miserable, the scene across the Pacific Northwest, where the danger from deadly floods might not be over.
Would you take a bullet for someone you love? One little girl took six.
You're in the CNN NEWSROOM.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
(NEWSBREAK)
PHILLIPS: Dad in prison, mother in another state, grandmother in Mexico, foster parents in the lurch. An American toddler may be taken away from the only parents he has ever known to live with a Mexican relative he has never met.
CNN's Ted Rowlands reports.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
TED ROWLANDS, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice over): He has no idea, but 2-year-old Gabriel Allred is in the middle of an international custody tug-of-war between his foster parents in the United States and his grandmother in Mexico. Since he was 4 months old, Gabriel, whose mother lost custody because of drug use, has lived with Steve and Angela Brandt in this home in Toledo, Oregon. When Gabriel's mother fled to Oregon to avoid prison, the Brandts decided to adopt the little boy that they had fallen in love with.
STEVE BRANDT, GABRIEL'S FOSTER FATHER: She never showed up. We just started thinking that, yes, we will be adopting Gabriel, and that is what the case workers were telling us, too.
ROWLANDS: But part of the adoption process includes a search for suitable blood relatives. Gabriel was born in the United States. His mother is a U.S. citizen. His father is Mexican, who has lived in the U.S. for more than 10 years illegally, serving time for drug trafficking and attempted rape of a 12-year-old girl. He is now awaiting deportation.
The father has no parental rights, but his mother, 51-year-old Cecelia Martinez, does, and she says she wants Gabriel to live with her in a suburb of Mexico City.
CECILIA MARTINEZ, GABRIEL'S GRANDMOTHER (through translator): This is going to be the room of the boy.
ROWLANDS: Cecelia says she is excited to raise Gabriel and promises to keep him away from his father.
MARTINEZ: He would be well-educated and raised well.
ROWLANDS: After stacking both families side-by-side, the state decided that Gabriel's grandmother Cecelia should raise him, not the Brandt's.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: It's about the child and the damage that would be done to him. It just -- it just makes me sick.
ROWLANDS: Gabriel's biological mother, who we tracked down out of state, says she is following the case over the Internet and wants the Brandt to raise her son.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: God, they love him so much and he is just so attached to them. You can see by the videos. They are just -- they are good people.
ROWLANDS: Then, you want him to stay there?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Yes.
ROWLANDS: From jail, Gabriel's father says he promises not to see his son but he wants him in Mexico.
ROBERTO VALIENTE MARTINEZ, GABRIEL'S BIOLOGICAL FATHER: To grow up with his real family and learn all his backgrounds and stuff, that's what I would like. If it was up to me.
ROWLANDS: The state of Oregon won't comment on the details of each family's evaluation, but blood relatives are given an edge.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: If there are family members that we feel would be a good home for the children that are in our care, it doesn't matter where they are.
MARTINEZ: If he comes, he will notice we have the same blood and we are his family.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Blood is not always the best solution for a child. Otherwise, you would be insulting adoptive parents everywhere.
ROWLANDS: Oregon's governor has stepped in and has ordered a review of the case. Eventually, it may be resolved in court.
Ted Rowlands, CNN, Toledo, Oregon.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
LEMON: Brad Pitt wants your help to rebuild homes in New Orleans in the Lower Ninth Ward, but a community activist says he shouldn't stop with houses. She will join us in the CNN NEWSROOM.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
LEMON: We have a consumer alert for you today. Check out your oven.
General Electric is recalling more than 90,000 combination wall and microwave ovens. GE says the door switch in the microwave can overheat and start a fire.
The Consumer Product Safety Commission says there have been at least 35 fires that have damaged homes, but no injuries have been reported. The ovens were sold between January 2000 and December of 2003 under the brand names GE, GE Profile, and also Kenmore.
GE is offering a free repair kit or a rebate toward a new unit. If you have any questions, here's the number for you to call. That number is 1-800-240-2745. If your oven is a Kenmore, call Sears at 1- 888-679-0282.
(BUSINESS REPORT)
LEMON: All right, so how many times have you done this -- printed something and gotten a blank page, or a page with only a few lines of worthless type at the top? Well, today's solutions. Our Miles O'Brien shows off a program that helps cut down on wasted paper.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
MILES O'BRIEN, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice over): Remember all those futuristic visions about paperless office? Well, the computer age hasn't exactly delivered on the promise. In fact, the average U.S. employee churns out 10,000 pages a year. But architect Leigh Stringer has found the blueprint for a solution.
LEIGH STRINGER, ARCHITECT: I'm just analyzing my total paper saved.
O'BRIEN: She is saving paper by using some new software called Greenprint. The $35 program looks for pages you really don't need, like blanks or those with just a few random lines of gobbledygook. And you can remove any other page you don't want, as well as those ink-hungry ads.
STRINGER: You can create a setting that tells you how many pages you saved, and based on 6.5 cents per page, I paid off mine in a day. It does make you feel good.
O'BRIEN: Greenprint is the brainchild of Hayden Hamilton.
HAYDEN HAMILTON, CEO, GREENPRINT: It saves the average family about $100 a year in ink and toner and paper, and it has a really positive impact on the environment.
O'BRIEN: He got the idea when he worked at Ford and saw all those stacks of wasted paper gathering dust near printers. He started selling Greenprint a year ago, planting the seeds with this viral video.
Right now there are about 30,000 people using the Greenprint software. Hayden figures they are saving about 7,000 trees. Imagine if we all started printing as lean and green.
Miles O'Brien, CNN.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
PHILLIPS: Brad Pitt wants your help to rebuild homes in New Orleans' Lower Ninth Ward, but a community activist says he shouldn't stop with houses. She is going to join us next right here in the CNN NEWSROOM.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
PHILLIPS: Hello, everyone, I'm Kyra Phillips.
LEMON: I'm Don Lemon.
Schools in struggle. A New Orleans woman fighting to make education a priority in the city, post Katrina. That's Ruby Bridges you're looking at right there, and she is going to join us live right here in the CNN NEWSROOM.
But first we want to tell you about this story. Police are out on the water today in search of Stacy Peterson. Boats and divers are probing the Illinois-Michigan Canal reportedly trying to pull up something underwater. Stacy's husband, Drew Peterson, has been a suspect in her disappearance for weeks now.
As time goes on we're hearing more of the people who knew Drew Peterson -- or know Drew Peterson best. CNN's Gary Tuchman spoke to the husband of Drew Peterson's first wife. Their conversation airs tonight on AC 360, at 10:00 Eastern. Here's a preview for you.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
GARY TUCHMAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: What is the reason that she divorced him back then?
DAVE BROWN, HUSBAND OF PETERSON'S FIRST WIFE: Because he was unfaithful. And that's pretty much it, same as 99 percent of the divorces, I'm sure.
TUCHMAN: But he wasn't cruel to her or threatened her?
BROWN: Not at all. That's not even -- that never came up. And like I said, not even threatening.
TUCHMAN: So do you believe what you hear about the second wife and the allegation about the third wife, and then maybe about the fourth wife?
BROWN: Well, believe. I just hear what I hear in the papers and that's all I, you know -- I really can't say, it's not like the Drew I knew 30 years ago.
TUCHMAN: And you knew Drew as a kid. What kind of kid was he?
BROWN: That's why I say. He was normal, too, then. He was a -- he ran cross country in high school. I was on the football team so we'd see each other in the locker room. I played tennis with him after we graduated. Stuff like that. Just normal things 18-year-old guys do.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
LEMON: Stacy Peterson has been missing for more than five weeks. Drew Peterson says she left him for another man -- Kyra.
PHILLIPS: This just into CNN. Coming out of Washington, D.C. Congressional aides saying the Bush administration has hammered out an agreement with industry officials to freeze interest rates for certain subprime mortgages for five years. You know we've been talking about this for weeks. We're going to talk more with Stephanie Elam live from the New York Stock Exchange.
But this just in: Congressional aides confirming that the Bush administration has hammered out an agreement with the housing industry to freeze interest rates for certain subprime mortgages for five years. We'll follow exactly what that means for you as homeowners -- buyers and sellers.
LEMON: For more than two years after Katrina whole neighborhoods are still not rebuilt. Actor Brad Pitt is launching a project to build 150 homes in New Orleans Lower Ninth Ward. He talked with CNN's Larry King.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
LARRY KING, CNN ANCHOR, LARRY KING LIVE: Wouldn't be it great to come back here in a couple years?
BRAD PITT, ACTOR, FOUNDER, MAKE IT RIGHT: Yeah, see the community thriving again. Not only here, but St. Bernard Parish next door, the other parishes. Yeah, I would love to see that.
KING: Any schools here?
PITT: Yeah, right over here. MLK, Martin Luther King, it's up and running and in beautiful shape.
KING: That's good.
PITT: That's great.
KING: They were without one for a while?
PITT: Yeah. It's great.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
LEMON: Well, the school that Pitt and King talked about is one of only two reopened in the Lower Ninth Ward. Across New Orleans 80 of the more than 120 schools that existed before Katrina are open. Our next guest is fighting to get more of these rebuilt. She is Ruby Bridges.
She became a school activist at the age of six as she lead the integration of New Orleans schools. Here she is in 1960, the first and only black child enrolled at the William Franz Elementary School. That fight for integration took courage then. And today Ruby is fighting another battle to get that school and others damaged by Katrina restored and reopened. And, Ruby, thank you so much for joining us. And in full interest of disclosure I'm on a board to help get the William Franz School back open, that school that you integrated.
How dire or desperate is the situation in New Orleans? Especially in the Ninth Ward, Ruby, when it comes to school. By the way, thank you for joining us.
RUBY BRIDGES, NEW ORLEANS RESIDENT: Oh, thanks for having me, Don.
It's crucial. I think education is absolutely crucial to the success of bringing New Orleans back. There's just absolutely no way that kids are going to be able to survive without a quality education. And so that means that we have to have quality schools.
LEMON: I saw firsthand just a couple of weeks ago we were down for a board meeting, down in New Orleans. And also we went to the school and went to the Ninth Ward, and just across the street -- do you remember this? This young lady came out, Ruby, out of one of the trailers and we asked her where her kid went to school. And she said, well it's really far. They have to be bussed either a long distance, or they don't go to school, at all.
BRIDGES: Absolutely, absolutely. Whenever I go back to that neighborhood, to show the school to people, people in the community that are back, in the neighborhood, trying to rebuild their homes, they always come out and say, you know, what is happening with the school, Ruby? Is this school coming back? I mean absolutely it is so disheartening that they have to travel so far, especially if you have young kids. So, there's no neighborhood schools in that neighborhood -- and surrounding communities.
LEMON: Yeah. And I know that you have also, I mean, it's no secret -- there's a picture of us, down at the school taking photos of it and also touring it and touring the neighborhood.
You have reached out to Brad Pitt as well as Angelina Jolie. I'm not exactly sure where that is now. But you think that Brad is doing a good thing, obviously. They have a home in New Orleans, but you think that people should be more focused on schools as well as -- or just as focused on schools, as well as homes?
BRIDGES: Absolutely. I have to say that I totally commend Brad and Angelina for their efforts because one thing that is absolutely important is the commitment to stay to the end. That's what he's doing. But you know, yes, we did have a conversation. We, you know, I'm not at liberty to say exactly where that is going right now.
LEMON: Yeah.
BRIDGES: But I'm keeping my fingers crossed. The truth of the matter is that what he's doing is so important, not just the work that he's doing but using his notoriety and to get other people involved. I think it's so important. We have to do that. That's what I'm doing. I commend him for it. LEMON: And you know, Ruby, I want to talk about it. Because even though we were talking about schools you think that education and schools should be handled and done differently in New Orleans because you know, it take as village or what have you. It's not the traditional school that's going to get New Orleans back up and running and the type of adequate schooling kids need. And you, with the new school, you have a different approach?
BRIDGES: I do have a different approach because the truth of the matter is I think what Hurricane Katrina did is it sort of unveiled some issues that were plaguing the city even before the storm, and that is our racial divide. You know, I so believe in diversity, integration. That you know what I went into that school to do is to integrate the school.
And the truth of the matter is that none of our children are actually born knowing anything about disliking one another. It comes from us, as adults. And I believe that if kids are taught how to be racists, that's where we need to begin. So my concept for William Franz School is actually one of social justice, community service. And you know it actually speaks to the example that Brad Pitt is setting. Community service, social justice, we need to instill that in our kids again; and 50 years later that school needs to be integrated.
I believe that if we are to get past our racial differences it's going to come from our kids. We need to do that in schools. So I want William Franz School to actually focus on history. To be sort of a catalyst for what the civil rights movement was all about. We absolutely have to address the issues that divide us. And racism is at the top of that list.
LEMON: It should be in schools. That's what your mission is. Ruby Bridges, I commend you, and I thank you very much for joining us today. And you were saying that I could see people's heads in the NEWSROOM shaking, going, uh-huh, exactly. Absolutely, you have a point there.
Ruby, thanks again. All the best.
BRIDGES: Thanks for having me.
LEMON: All right.
You can learn more about efforts to rebuild New Orleans tonight on "Larry King Live." Larry will have more on his conversation with actor Brad Pitt and his efforts to get 150 homes built there. That's tonight at 9:00 p.m. Eastern only here on CNN.
And if you're moved by what you hear and would like to help the people in New Orleans, too. Go to CNN.com and impact your world. Add your name to the growing number of CNN viewers grabbing the opportunity to take action. That's at cnn.com/impact.
PHILLIPS: Robbed by muggers, some Boy Scouts find a silver lining. Thanks to donated green. Be prepared for one heck of a story.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
PHILLIPS: Misery across the Pacific Northwest. Back-to-back storms have left many communities, not to mention roads, under water. It's really bad in western Washington right now where a section of Interstate 5 is still closed, and it will be probably that way for at least another day. It's actually under water.
Washington's governor says it's way too early to put a price tag on the damage. She tells us that troops with the Coast Guard and the National Guard have helped rescue about 300 people that have been stranded by these flood waters. And they're still trying to reach others. She calls it the largest search and rescue operation in her state in a decade.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
GOV. CHRIS GREGUIRE, WASHINGTON STATE: I've been through drought and wind storms. I've been through some floods. I've been through, you know, forest fires. This is by far and away the worst. It makes you feel helpless for Mother Nature on the one hand.
On the other hand, when I go out to these shelters and I see these folks, the human spirit is nothing short of amazing. And these people are optimistic about getting back and unbelievably appreciative of the rescue folks who are helping them, and literally putting their own lives at risk.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
PHILLIPS: Both Washington and Oregon have declared states of emergency. It's too early to tell how much money will be heading their way to help with the clean up.
Now, if you live in Green Bay, Wisconsin, you know how to shovel. So when Lambeau Field is knee-deep in snow, the call goes out. This morning dozens of people showed up to help clear the stadium. By the way, it's all about the Packers if you live in Green Bay, Wisconsin.
A good deed that earned them $8 an hour. Now, if only it doesn't snow again before Sunday's game with Oakland, they will be in good shape.
Well today we continue our countdown to our "CNN Heroes: An All- Star Tribute," the campaign that included more than 7,000 nominations from you telling us about unsung heroes in 93 countries. Right now a finalist in our Defending the Planet Category; he's definitely proof of the power of one.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Do you want to do one more into the camera?
MARK MAKSIMOWICZ, GREEN ARMADA: One more, yes.
My name is Mark Maksimowicz and I collect trash on the waterways of Florida. I am a life-long resident. I truly love the state of Florida.
I remember a clean beach. I remember a day when this would not have been here. This is what our children have. It's not just here but all over the place. I got together with my cousins, and sister, and we decided to formulate a plan where we could actually pick up a lot of that trash.
The Green Armada is a boat. It's a small group of volunteers.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I tell you the water is really --
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Really bad.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Terrible.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I don't have my radio with me.
MAKSIMOWICZ: On an average day we collect between 400 and 700 pounds of trash. My cousins and I we are out here as much as possible, four or five days a week. We pick up condoms, diapers, trash bags filled with urine and human waste. And that's just disgusting.
One of the things that we've learned also, is that you could come out here every day and pick up 700 pounds of trash and that may be impressive and sad at the same time but we didn't put a dent in it. When I can walk 30 feet from here and fill up a hefty bag full of trash, shame on us as a society. We're ruining this earth. If you look at it in another way, we're squandering our inheritance.
This isn't a special thing. It's not rocket science. It's not anything that is glamorous or beautiful. But it's what we should be doing as humans. We have a responsibility and we have to take it seriously.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CNN salutes ordinary people doing extraordinary things. "CNN Heroes: An All-Star Tribute" featuring big names like Mary J. Blige, White Cliff Sean (ph), Norah Jones, Sheryl Crow and more. Tomorrow night at 9:00 p.m. Eastern, right here on CNN.
If you would like to meet the 18 final is up for the grand prize plus the panelists who will decide the winner log on to cnn.com/heroes.
PHILLIPS: Just to update you, business news out of Washington that's coming across the Associated Press right now. Congressional aides apparently coming forward and saying the Bush administration has hammered out an agreement with industry to freeze interest rates. Freeze interest rates for certain subprime mortgages for five years. Personal Finance Editor Gerri Willis getting all the details for us. Hopefully she is going to join us at the top of the hour.
LEMON: Grammy nominations come out tomorrow. Any guesses on who will be up for the gold? We've got a preview coming your way.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
PHILLIPS: Who rocked your world this year, musically speaking? We'll get a look at who the industry is high on tomorrow, when Grammy nominations are announced. For now, though, CNN's Kareen Wynter makes some pretty golden guesses.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
KAREEN WYNTER, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Some 60,000 albums were released during the past year, but all the 50th annual Grammy Awards may need a little magic. When nominations are announced Geoff Boucher of "The Los Angeles Times" says Bruce Springsteen will be a leading contender.
GEOFF BOUCHER, STAFF WRITER, "L.A. TIMES": I think it's The Boss' year. He has everything the Grammy's love. He's a veteran songwriter. He writes his own songs. He has a wonderful band. He's had this triumphant tour with the E Street Band. And his album, "Magic", has gotten great reviews.
WYNTER: Another artist who could be a big factor. British retro soul singer Amy Winehouse.
BOUCHER: I think Amy Winehouse could find herself nominated for best album, best record, best song, and certainly best new artist. But, I mean, her personal troubles have become very public troubles.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It seems like you can't create good music without some drama in your life, right.
AMY WINEHOUSE, SINGER: It would seem not.
WYNTER: Kanye West will likely join Springsteen and Winehouse for album of the year, with his third CD, "Graduation", a welcome bit of good news since the death of his mother in November.
BOUCHER: He has proven himself to someone that is going to be around.
WYNTER: And new metal band Linkin Park could also make a strong showing in the top categories. With their ambitious mix, "Minutes To Midnight".
MIKE SHINODA, LINKIN PARK: We're getting older, you know, we want to make a more mature record, but also don't want to leave the younger fans in the dark.
WYNTER: For best new artist expect nods for R&B hit maker Akon. The 17-year-old country singer Taylor Swift, and "American Idol" castoff turned a bestselling rock act, Daugherty (ph).
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Grammys would be nice.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yeah, it would be nice.
WYNTER: But Grammy nominations don't always translate into wins. Springsteen has lost album of the year twice. Once to Lionel Richie and once to Norah Jones. Still, Boucher has his money on The Boss.
BOUCHER: It's all about the magic. I think it's Bruce Springsteen's year.
WYNTER: Kareen Wynter, CNN, Hollywood.
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LEMON: Who would do such a thing? Somebody robbed Boy Scouts as they were selling Christmas trees.
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UNIDENTIFIED MALE: They better pray to God we don't catch them, because if we do they have a big problem.
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LEMON: Well, we'll tell you how three robbers tried to ruin the Scout's holiday sale.
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PHILLIPS: Does this really happen outside of cop shows or soap operas? Well, apparently so. Mom in labor, frantic dad speeding toward the hospital. Whoops, wrong turn. They get lost and here comes the baby. Luckily earlier today Orlando's finest was there.
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OFC. HANOUM DANIEO, ORLANDO POLICE DEPT.: That was the first time in my eight-year career I was able to actually take part in a live childbirth. So it was kind of first time for me. But everything turned out just fine.
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And it was a boy. He and mom are well. Dad? Well hopefully he's going to get a road map or GPS for Christmas.
LEMON: Or something like that, right?
Well, one of the Boy Scouts ideals is to do a good turn daily. Remember that? But it's one Ohio community who has done them a good turn. Rushing to the rescue after some Scouts were robbed at the Christmas tree fundraiser. This update from Cory McConnell (ph) of our affiliate WXIX.
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UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Mom, look at this one.
CORY MCCONNELL (ph), REPORTER, WXIX TV (voice over): The Boy Scout motto came to life on Monday night.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Be prepared, for anything. MCCONNELL: Anything was three robbers with a saw-ed off 12 gauge shotgun who got a way with almost 400 bucks in cash. But on Tuesday it wasn't the cash that was flying off the lot, it was the trees.
TONY LOVINS, SCOUTMASTER: We don't normally open until 5:00, but we got up here I guess 3 o'clock, and there were people just buying trees. It's just, it's overwhelming.
MCCONNELL: April O'Neill was one of those people.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: When I heard what happened I figured I would come support the Boy Scouts. Just goes to show that even at Christmas time people are still, you know, stealing and robbing and things like that. So, it's sad.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: What do you have?
MCCONNELL: This family wasn't going to buy a real tree when they heard what happened they changed their mind.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Just because one or two people the whole world isn't wiped out.
MCCONNELL: Hamilton County Prosecutor Joe Deters calling the crime committed against these Scouts unconscionable.
JOE DETERS, HAMILTON CO., OHIO PROSECUTOR: They've gone down a path which is unforgivable. They better pray to God we don't catch them, because if we do they have a big problem.
MCCONNELL: The Boy Scouts problems have been taken care of by the community. Donations made on Tuesday more than covered the money they lost on Monday night and tree sales are better than ever. In North College Hill, Cory McConnell, FOX 19 News.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
LEMON: Also, in our "what kind of person would do this?" file: Someone robbed an Atlanta charity of $50,000 worth of toys meant for needy children. Well fortunately we got a happy ending here, too. Individual and corporate donations flooded in, the Empty Stocking Fund is able to hand out its goodies as scheduled. The next hour of the CNN NEWSROOM starts right now.
PHILLIPS: Talk about a fixed rate. Relief may be at hand for subprime mortgage holders whose rates have gone through the roof.
LEMON: A permanent fix it's not, but with winter on the doorstep and foreclosures hot and heavy, a freeze could come in handy. Our Gerri Willis runs the numbers for us, this hour.
Hello everyone, I'm Don Lemon live at the CNN World Headquarters in Atlanta.
PHILLIPS: And I'm Kyra Phillips. You're live in the CNN NEWSROOM. Let's talk more about this deal that may be near on freezing subprime mortgage rates. Brianna Keilar working it for us out of Washington.
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