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Steroids Report; Your Baby's Shots; Winter Storms; Three Weeks To Iowa; Giving To Charity

Aired December 13, 2007 - 10:00   ET

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

HEIDI COLLINS, CNN ANCHOR: Scripts are hot.
TONY HARRIS, CNN ANCHOR: Yes.

COLLINS: Things are coming in. Good morning, everybody. I'm Heidi Collins.

HARRIS: I'm Tony Harris. Your show rocks, Heidi. Stay informed all day in the CNN NEWSROOM. Here's what's on the rundown.

Baseball called out on steroids. An investigation blows wide open today. The report expected to finger dozens of big leaguers.

COLLINS: BALCO Labs founder Victor Conte. My exclusive conversation just last hour with the man who's at the center of the steroid scandal.

HARRIS: A remodeling job leads a contractor to cold, hard cash inside a wall. There was a feud over the find today, Thursday, December 13th. You are in the CNN NEWSROOM.

Let's top our reporting this morning on the Mitchell report due out today on baseball and steroids with this bit of information. Breaking news in to CNN. ESPN2 is reporting that Roger Clemens, think about that for a second, the rocket, Roger Clemens, 300-game winner, that Roger Clemens' name is on the list. The report says that Clemens' former trainer gave him steroids while he was with the New York Yankees.

And this report, let's attribute it properly, to ESPN2. We are, of course, working to confirm this independently. But what a day it could be. It actually could be the biggest scandal to hit Major League Baseball in almost 100 years. We are just hours from learning which stars are linked to steroid abuse. CNN's senior correspondent Allan Chernoff, wow, following this story in New York to set the stage for us.

Allan, good morning.

ALLAN CHERNOFF, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning to you, Tony.

And, in fact, ESPN is saying that as many as 80 major league ballplayers may be named. And this really, as you say, will be an explosive report coming out. It's been anticipated for a very, very long time. There's no question that Major League Baseball and the players' union will be getting some very sharp criticism in the Mitchell report. After all, if you recall, it was in part congressional outrage that actually led to the assigning of Senator Mitchell to actually conduct this entire investigation back in March of 2005.

The report, according to various newspapers this morning, lays blame from top to bottom at Major League Baseball and recommends outsourcing of the drug testing, also an upgrading of testing, and more transparency to the public. So people actually have a sense, actually know who has been found to be using illegal drugs. It really has been a case of tremendous secrecy within baseball, and that's a lot of the criticism, not only the fact that so many ballplayers actually have been using illegal drugs such as steroids.

As I said, ESPN reporting as many as 80 ballplayers will be named. And a report in the "Bergen Record" of New Jersey is saying that a prominent, prominent group of New York Yankees, and according to ESPN, Clemens among them, will be named in this report. The "Bergen Record" saying it's going to be a very rough day up in the Bronx.

Tony.

HARRIS: Oh, can you imagine this? This report is going to drop and there are going to be players on this list that everybody knows, and probably players that kids love, that everyone loves. This is setting up to be a pretty devastating day, Allan. Am I overstating it?

CHERNOFF: Well, you know, Tony, it will be, but let's also consider the fact that I think any baseball fan over the age of 10 recognizes the fact that this has been going on for years and that big name ballplayers have been involved. I mean look, we've got Barry Bonds indicted here.

HARRIS: You make a great point and in spite of all of that information that's been out here on this story for just about 10 years now, no hit at the gates for baseball. In fact, just the opposite. Record attendance over the last few years.

CHERNOFF: You know what, it's the American past time. So people will forgive I expect.

HARRIS: There you go. Wow! Allan Chernoff for us in New York City.

Allan, thank you.

All right. So let's take a look at the steroid scandal. Whispers first emerged in the late '90s as more and more hallowed records begin to fall. In September 2002, baseball and its players reached an agreement for testing for steroids. A new, stricter policy was implemented in 2005.

The next spring, Major League Baseball announced Mitchell's investigation. Today's release of its findings come at a, well, after a pivotal year. Barry Bonds became baseball's all-time home run king. Long rumored to be a steroids user. He was later indicted on charges of lying to a federal grand jury about steroid use.

The Mitchell report scheduled for release at 2:00 p.m. Eastern Time and you can see it live on our Web site, cnn.com, or tune in to our sister network, CNN Headline News.

COLLINS: A lot of people going to be looking for that today.

Meanwhile, the Feds are digging into the finances now of Reverend Al Sharpton. A Sharpton spokeswoman confirms some of his associates have been issued subpoenas. According to reports, the Feds may be looking into Sharpton's 2004 presidential bid, his non-profit civil rights group and his for-profit businesses. His lawyers tells "The New York Daily News," as many as 10 associates were subpoenaed but not Sharpton himself. Sharpton is expected to hold a news conference a little bit later this hour.

HARRIS: You know, it is meant to protect your baby from serious infections. A major childhood vaccine we're talking about. The HIB vaccine now being recalled. CNN medical correspondent Elizabeth Cohen on the contamination concerns.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

ELIZABETH COHEN, CNN CORRESPONDENT, (voice over): This is quite unusual to have such a huge number of childhood vaccines recalled. Let's take a look at the basic facts.

First of all, Merck is voluntarily recalling more than a million doses of its HIB vaccine. They say that it's potentially contaminated. And what they mean by that is that they said that at a point in the manufacturing process, bacteria could get in and survive the sterilization process. And this concerns all Merck HIB vaccines that have shipped since April.

Now it's very important to note that Merck has tested many of the vaccines made during this period and they found no contamination. That's why they're using the word potential. And also no children have been reported sick from this vaccine.

But, of course, a lot of parents are going to wonder, gosh, if my child got this vaccine since April, should I be worried? And what federal health officials are saying is, if your child has received this vaccine in the past week and you notice a rash or bumps around the spot where they were vaccinated, you need to go see your doctor. But if the vaccine was more than a week ago, they say there's nothing to worry about.

Now the CDC is very clear that there now definitely will be a shortage of this vaccine. Merck makes half of the HIB vaccine used in the United States. The CDC is hoping that the other maker of the vaccine can hopefully try to make up the difference.

Back to you.

(END VIDEOTAPE) COLLINS: Boy, it's another cold morning for hundreds of thousands of you in the middle of the country. In Oklahoma, crews have whittled the number of homes and business now without power down to about 350,000, considerably less people without power since it started at about a million folks or so. The governor calls the ice storm one of the absolute historic proportions with regard to storms.

The snow could actually move in as early as tomorrow. Not what they want there. Many people are, in fact, waiting it out in shelters. It could be a week or more before everyone gets electricity again.

President Bush, Wednesday, declared states of emergency in Kansas and Missouri. That storm now blamed for more than 30 deaths.

What's left of it is headed east. Some areas already bracing for up to a foot of snow. Those pictures from New York yesterday. Yikes! See, I love it. I think it's very fun. But I'm not out in it because I'm sitting here where it's about 75 degrees or so in December.

HARRIS: Yes, absolutely. Rob Marciano. There he is.

Rob, good morning.

ROB MARCIANO, CNN METEOROLOGIST: Good morning, guys.

You spoke about Oklahoma and all the ice that's out there, up through Missouri. Want to, well, you know, the pain's not done for them. Here's a live shot for you from Oklahoma City. KOCO, our affiliate out that way.

Right now have freezing fog, if what they've got around the area is not bad enough. And on top of that, now they have a winter storm watch that's in effect for tomorrow into Saturday morning for maybe two to four, in some cases five or six inches of snow on top of the ice, on top of the fact a lot of those folks still don't have power. So sorry about that, our friends in OKC but that's what's coming your way.

All right. Let's talk about NYC. You've got some snow headed your way. Here is the moisture rolling into what is in some cases air that's cold enough for frozen precipitation. In other cases it's just on the cusp. Look how temperatures kind of hovering just over the 32- degree mark, 34 to 36 degrees. But it's fairly dry air here. So as this moisture gets into this dry air, that will drip the temperature further. And, if anything, I think we'll probably see maybe a hair more snow in New York than we had originally forecast. So it could see six to 12 inches north of New York City, two to four inches south. Right around the big apple you might see four or five, maybe six. But it's going to be kind of wet. So be aware of that.

Speaking of wet, flash flood watches and warnings in parts of the Tennessee River Valley, Ohio River Valley. And here's our storm for today. Quick mover. Not going to be a whole lot of wind with this. Eight to 12 in Hartford. Six to 10 in Boston. And this will all come down in a fair amount of time, in a quick amount of time. And two to four -- you know, I might even bump that for our friends up there in New York, maybe up to five inches. And maybe because it's getting Christmastime. Maybe even six inches of wet, slushy, sleety kind of stuff.

But it should all be done by tomorrow and that storm, guys, that I talked about was going into Oklahoma City, that will be in the New York area Saturday night into Sunday. Another punch of some wintry precipitation.

COLLINS: OK. Wow.

HARRIS: So, you know, we've got our friends at the airport watching us right now.

MARCIANO: That's right.

COLLINS: We do.

MARCIANO: And the delays are starting to rack up. And come to Atlanta. It's going to be 72 degrees today.

COLLINS: Hey, it's just unbelievable.

MARCIANO: Yes. One of the greatest airports in the country as well, so. A shout out to the ATL.

COLLINS: Yes. All right. Thank you, Rob.

HARRIS: OK, a favor. OK. Suspend your belief for this picture. This is not green screen special effect or the movies kind of deal here. This is a car hanging seven stories above the ground. The driver still inside. Cables from a parking deck actually kept the car from crashing to the street. Police believe the driver sped up a ramp. His car smashing into the wires. The car's air bag deployed, but the man hit his head on the windshield, knocking him unconscious. Rescue workers repelled down the side of the parking deck -- now it's starting to sound like something out of a movie. They broke out a window on the car, put a harness around the driver and lifted him to safety. He is now OK, in the hospital.

COLLINS: Let's hear it for the rescue workers in Atlanta, huh?

HARRIS: Yes. Yes.

COLLINS: Tis the season to give. Here's how to avoid being taken, though. Faith and charity, coming up right here in the NEWSROOM.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

COLLINS: Welcome back, everybody. I'm Heidi Collins. You are in the CNN NEWSROOM.

Just minutes from now, a major player in the steroids industry. He is out of prison and he says he wants to help clean up sports. My exclusive conversation with Victor Conte in the CNN NEWSROOM. (COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HARRIS: Counting down and heating up. Democrats battle for Iowa. Today one last chance to watch them debate before the Iowa caucuses just three weeks away. Jessica Yellin live now from Des Moines with a preview.

Jessica, good to see you.

What -- if we're watching today, what should we expect from today's debate?

JESSICA YELLIN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, you know, Tony, there's a big challenge ahead today for Senator Hillary Clinton. Today she has to start to lay the groundwork to try to regain her lead here in Iowa. And the challenge for her is really a carefully balancing act in which she'll have to try to differentiate herself from Barack Obama without appearing to go negative. It's something voters criticize her for. Too often they feel that she sounds negative, even when her campaign says she's just trying to draw distinction.

Now if Obama and Clinton do end up mixing it up, the one person who could most benefit from that is John Edwards. If he can seem above the fray, that can be a real boost to him. Don't forget, in some polls, he's still in a statistical dead heat with the other two.

Now, the big unknown is whether any of them will be allowed to mix it up. There's been some real criticism of the format of this debate, especially after yesterday's showing among the Republicans, that the format simply doesn't let the candidates really show their differences and question each other. So unknown whether we'll really see any fireworks ahead.

Tony.

HARRIS: Hey, Jessica, are the candidates going to get back for the debate today? I suppose there's some voting going on, some real work going on in Washington D.C.

YELLIN: Yes, this is an oddity. Today four of the candidates, who are also senators, are starting the day off in Washington D.C. voting on an energy bill. Well that bill is designed to try to reduce our carbon emissions and make us use less gas. And, get this, each of the candidates is leaving that vote trying to reduce our carbon emissions, they're all hopping on their own, individual chartered planes to get back here to Des Moines. They couldn't plane pool? We understand Chris Dodd asked if he could share with some others. It just never happened.

Tony.

HARRIS: What's wrong with that picture? Everything. Jessica Yellin for us this morning.

Jessica, great to see you. Thank you. See the Democratic debate from Iowa right here on CNN. The candidates face off live, 2:00 to 4:00 Eastern today on CNN, home of the best political team on television.

And do you want the most up to the minute political news available anywhere? Cnnpolitics.com is your one-stop shop. It is the Internet's premiere destination for political news. Once again, cnnpolitics.com.

COLLINS: Want a job in retail? Learn the do's and don'ts. A business writer's tips and his own misadventures in job hunting.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HARRIS: Heidi Collins, as I live and breathe. All right, here we go. Let's do a market check? What do you say? The New York Stock Exchange big board, Dow down 5, 6 points.

COLLINS: Teetering on 15,000.

HARRIS: Man. But here's a -- you get all credit for being willing to go out on that limb.

COLLINS: Yes.

HARRIS: It has cracked. You are hanging on by fingernails now of us getting to 15,000 by, what, two weeks?

COLLINS: Something like that. I said the holidays. So maybe we have until January 1st.

HARRIS: A little revision, huh?

COLLINS: Actually, I did not. That's a lie. I said Christmas.

HARRIS: And the Nasdaq is, on the first hour of trading, down 12. We are following the markets. A lot going on this morning. Susan Lisovicz is back with us in the CNN NEWSROOM.

COLLINS: Despite worries about the economy, Americans will donate more than $100 billion to charity this year. You can make sure your donation is going to the right place, though. Here now CNN's personal finance editor Gerri Willis.

Yes, I think this is a concern for a lot of people, Gerri. What charities . . .

GERRI WILLIS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: And well it should be.

COLLINS: Yes. What charities seem most in need this year?

WILLIS: Well, this year it's the human services charities. Those are the charities most in need. Groups like food banks, homeless shelters and utility assistance charities are the ones that are going to be in high demand because of the overall economy, the credit crisis. Look, generally these types of charities are the least funded, so you can really jump in and make a difference.

COLLINS: How can you tell what charities are most effective?

WILLIS: Well, you've got to get the bottom line. Take the time to find out how much of your donation will go to the charity's mission. Now most charities are able to spend less than 10 percent of their budget on fund-raising and less than 15 percent on administrative costs as rules of thumb. Make sure at least 75 percent of the charity's budget goes towards the mission. To get the report card, go to the Better Business Bureau's Web site at give.org. You can also check out charitynavigator.org. But these are the bottom line numbers you need to know.

COLLINS: All right. So what exactly do you need to be careful about when you are donating?

WILLIS: Well, you know, sadly, there are a lot of scam artists out there taking advantage of people during the holiday season. Get the full name and address of the charity if you are approached. Don't be fooled by names that look impressive or that closely resemble the name of a well-known organization.

You should also watch out for statements like, get this, "all proceeds go to charity." This may mean that just the money left after expenses, like fund-raising and administrative costs, go to the charity. Don't listen to that. These expenses can make a huge difference.

It's also not a good idea to give money to a charity that solicits money over the phone. The calls are generally conducted by pros, professional fund-raisers. They can keep up to 95 cents for every dollar raised.

COLLINS: Wow. That's not right.

What about donating online? Is it safe to do that?

WILLIS: Yes, look, if you want to deduct your charitable gift, you'll have to make a donation before December 31st. And if you do it online, you're able to get an instant receipt that you can file away until tax time. As you know, you're going to need receipts for every charitable deduction you make. And keep in mind, you want to find a tax deductible organization if you want to take the deduction. If an organization just says tax exempt, it just means the organization doesn't have to pay taxes. It doesn't mean you don't have to.

COLLINS: All right. That's a good point. Any other ways that you can give to a charity?

WILLIS: Well, you can benefit charity not only by the gifts that you purchased but also how you spend your own money, your own daily practices. One way to do this is to brows the web. Here are some site that will donate a percentage of revenue to charity if you use their search portal, goodsearch.com, magictaxi.com, searchkindly.com. Another way to give.

And if you have any questions, send them to us at cnn.com. We love hearing from you.

COLLINS: Yes, I like to do that and let the people know whose gift that you are buying, you know, that you've been able to donate to a charity at the same time. I think people appreciate that.

All right, Gerri, nice to see you. Thanks.

WILLIS: My pleasure. Have a good weekend.

COLLINS: You too.

HARRIS: She took money to be a surrogate mother, but police say she never delivered.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HARRIS: Good morning once again, everybody.

Hi, Tony.

HARRIS: Why am I so out of sorts this morning? Because there's just so much going on, I guess. I'm just -- hi, I'm Tony Harris. Welcome back, everyone, to the CNN NEWSROOM.

COLLINS: The computer back up and running too, as they say.

HARRIS: Stay focused. (INAUDIBLE).

COLLINS: Hey, we do have a lot going on this morning. Especially this baseball story that you are probably well aware of now. Baseball stars and steroids. One, huge name emerging before the official report is going to be released a little bit later today. ESPN2 reporting future hall of famer Roger Clemens is named among suspected steroid users. The sports network is crediting an unnamed source.

Just a few hours from now, former Senator George Mitchell is due to release the findings of his 20-month investigation. The report is expected to name top stars and expose a scandal that's tainted a decade of shattered records. The findings are expected to include dozens of former and current players who Mitchell believes have used steroids. They're said to include all-stars and winners of the most valuable player award. Even the Cy Young, too.

Earlier in the NEWSROOM, I spoke to a man who was a key link between steroids and the sports world. Victor Conte helped supply a number of athletes through his company, BALCO Labs. Today he is out of prison and says he wants to help

COLLINS: ...awarding, the Cy Young, too.

Earlier in the NEWSROOM, I spoke to a man who was a key link between steroids and the sports world. Victor Conte helped supply a number of athletes through his company BALCO Labs. Today, he is out of prison and says he wants to help clean up sports.

Hear now part of that exclusive interview.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

COLLINS: A lot of people very interested in this, Victor. About 2:00 today, Senator George Mitchell going to be releasing this report on steroids, going to be naming names. And before we went to the break, we were talking about the difference between amateur athletes regarding the Olympics and professional athletes.

I want to get to some of those professional athletes because I know that you have a personal connection to some of them. Barry Bonds and Marion Jones, were you surprised by the indictment of Barry Bonds, knowing what you know?

VICTOR CONTE, BALCO FOUNDER: I was surprised. I was not surprised that Marion Jones was charged because I knew there was an overwhelming amount of evidence against her. I know there is some evidence they've collected against Barry Bonds, but I just didn't think that they would indict because I didn't think they had enough credible evidence to reach the beyond the reasonable doubt standard.

COLLINS: Wow.

CONTE: I was wrong.

COLLINS: I mean, that's saying a lot. I guess this whole issue of telling the truth and what you know and cheating versus getting caught. So that being said, what should happen, should Barry Bonds' record stand?

CONTE: I think we have to wait and let the case play out. I have not seen all of the evidence. I've seen a lot of it, but I would like to see all the evidence. I hope the case goes to trial.

COLLINS: What do you think about the fans? You had mentioned the fans just a few minutes ago. Well, whether or not they are concerned about this, isn't it true that everybody just kind of wants to see a good competition? Do they really want to see those high number of RBIs on the board? I mean, is it really important to have a high-scoring game or is the competition more important than even playing field?

CONTE: I think that an even playing field of competition is more important. They want to know that what they're seeing, there's a level of integrity there, that the value of the experience will last.

COLLINS: So, how do we ever go back? Will there ever be a chance for there to be no steroids, no performance-enhancing drugs in sports again?

CONTE: OK, let me start by talking about the upside and the downside of what I've already seen here that's been leaked out regarding the Mitchell Report. The upside is they're talking about having an independent agency conduct this drug testing program. I think that's great. I think having the fox guard the hen house is a very bad idea. COLLINS: Is it realistic?

CONTE: Well, I'll be able to tell you that shortly. The downside and very much so a deficiency of what I've heard already is that the Mitchell Report does not address the issue of the use of amphetamines or stimulants.

COLLINS: Exactly.

CONTE: Stimulants are equally as bad for you in terms of adverse health effects as steroids and they just seem to be glossing over that at this point in time.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COLLINS: You can see that entire interview on our Web site, CNN.com.

HARRIS: Wow!

A day after a shooting at a Nevada school bus stop, a suspect is arrested on a bus. Police caught the 18-year-old in Denver. They had a tip he was headed to Chicago. The young man faces attempted murder and battery charges. The shooting in Las Vegas left six people, young people at that, wounded. At least one is still in the hospital, now upgraded to serious condition. Police say the trouble started with a fight over a girl at a high school.

COLLINS: Cashing in on couples desperate to have a baby. A South Carolina woman charged in a surrogate mother scam. Details now from Mandy Gaither of affiliate WYFF.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

VOICE OF MAJOR JOHN MURRAY, GREENWOOD CO. SHERIFF'S OFFICE: Some of the packaging materials.

MANDY GAITHER, WYFF REPORTER (voice-over): This is just some of the evidence deputies say they found inside Jessica O'Donnell's home.

MURRAY: The male would make the contribution, and then they would, she would tell them to package it in ice and then these freezer bags and then these coolers and then ship it to a certain destination where she would pick it up, along with the money order.

GAITHER: Deputies believe the 28-year-old gave couples who couldn't have children on their own, hope, volunteering to have their baby for a price, and they say her husband, David Michael O'Donnell, who was also arrested, knew all about it. This is just one of the money grants deputies believe a victim sent them.

MURRAY: These were all recovered from her bedroom.

GAITHER: Computers were also seized from the house. Deputies are hoping to find e-mails from prospective parents on them. They've also been able to track down potential victims who had put blogs on the Internet, warning others about O'Donnell.

MURRAY: Once we punched her name into there, boom! Everything started coming up on the Internet and we found a lot of victims that way.

GAITHER: By phone, we talked to a Missouri woman who says she responded to O'Donnell's ad, but got suspicious before ever sending money.

VOICE OF JILL BRIXEY, POTENTIAL VICTIM: It's terrifying to me because my husband and I have wanted children for 18 years. We've just now decided to take a leap of faith and check this out and do it this way. We don't have any children and she is the first person that we've had any contact with about surrogacy and this is the experience we've had.

GAITHER: Deputies still aren't sure how many potential victims are out there and say their investigation is far from over.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

COLLINS: Officials suspect there are a dozen or more victims of this particular scam out there.

HARRIS: You know, it is that time of year again, people looking to pick up extra cash, working retail. Today, some dos and don'ts to help you get that job. Alex Frankel is the author of "Punching in the Unauthorized Adventures of a Front Line Employee." He's joining us from New York this morning.

Alex, good morning to you.

ALEX FRANKEL, AUTHOR, "PUNCHING IN": Good morning.

HARRIS: Hey, I know you're a really good writer. What in the heck inspired you to take on this project?

FRANKEL: Well, as a business journalist, I was increasingly more interested in finding out what it would be like to work for a large corporation on the front lines, working directly with customers. So, I started applying for jobs, and working in a variety of retail and service jobs.

HARRIS: Well, what did you think you'd find and what did you actually find when you started to work for some of these companies?

FRANKEL: I really wasn't sure ...

HARRIS: Yes.

FRANKEL: ...but I was looking for ways that the companies would inspire loyalty and make people really want to believe in what they were doing.

HARRIS: So, this is a guide, let's use it, let's frame it up as a guide. Let's give some folks some tips. If they're looking to pick up some extra work around the holidays, well wait a minute, aren't they a couple of weeks late? Haven't they all been hired by now, Alex?

FRANKEL: For the most part, you know, most of the hiring is going to happen in November, but you know, I suspect there are still some last-minute hiring at places that really need to ramp up for the holidays.

HARRIS: Why weren't we talking about this two weeks ago, Alex, is my question, but all right, let's talk about company culture. How important is that when considering applying for one of these jobs in one of these companies?

FRANKEL: I mean, if you want to be somebody who really lasts at a company, especailly in these front lines of retail, you want to make sure that you match the culture in which you're applying, so if you're a customer, Starbucks, Starbucks is a great place to apply if you like it.

HARRIS: Yes.

FRANKEL: Similarly, UPS could be a good match.

HARRIS: How about applying online? I just have this concern that they really don't get to my application, maybe they get to what, one percent of all the applications. Come on, that can't be the most effective way to do this?

FRANKEL: Well, online applying is a huge part of these job and work places and they can process thousands, even millions of applications each year and the idea is, some are more high-tech than others and they can identify if you're a good match.

HARRIS: What do you mean when you say expect the unusual?

FRANKEL: Well, you know, sometimes if you are invited for an interview, you might be a part of a group interview with up to 10 other people in the same room, all applying for the same job.

HARRIS: Ah, got you, got you. Be persistent and personable.

FRANKEL: Right, you know, if you're applying for a job in the corner Starbucks, you've dropped off an application doesn't mean the manager's necessarily seen it. You might need to drop in a couple times, check in on that application and see what happens.

HARRIS: I think this is a good one, too and folks need to you know, have their eyes wide open when they enter these jobs and this kind of work. Expect monotony and turnovers.

FRANKEL: Sure, turnover is a huge part of a lot of these work places in that people are coming and going and there's a lot of on- the-job training that happens.

HARRIS: Yes. Did you get yourself fired?

FRANKEL: No.

HARRIS: You didn't, not at all?

FRANKEL: I was hired, not fired.

HARRIS: OK, Alex, thanks for your time, once again. Alex Frankel, author of the new book, let's show it again to everyone, "Punching In: The Unauthorized Adventures of a Front Line Employee."

Alex, great to see you. Thanks for your time.

FRANKEL: Thank you.

HARRIS: You know, he found a fortune hidden inside a bathroom wall.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I thought I was going to pass out.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HARRIS: Well, he wants to keep the cash. The problem is, it's not his house.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HARRIS: Let's get you to New York now, the Reverend Al Sharpton in a news conference right now, responding to subpoenas that were handed down to Sharpton Associates this morning. Let's listen in.

REV. AL SHARPTON: ...about stuff two or three years old. What did they think, we were going to have a Christmas fire here at the house of justice? It was to create this, a media event, because we are clearly in the last several months, put thousands on the street against the justice department, clearly I am preparing to go into a national campaign to follow that up and clearly I've said that I'm getting ready to enter into the '08 race with some visible support.

So the timing of this, I feel, was to have media attack, to clearly say to you guys, we're talking to Sharpton's people wouldn't have been much of a story. Because they've been talking to my people for 20 years, but no, let's have lights and drama and action, swoon down on people 6:30 in the morning, despite the fact that you already know the people, can talk to the people, federal and state people have talked to them. There's nobody running, nobody hiding.

I think that it is the kind of abuse that people in my community go through every day. Which is why I fight and why I will continue to fight. The investigation that is going on now, others that have gone on, is merely symbolic of what it is for many people in this country, which is why the National Action Network and an Al Sharpton exists in the first place. Every major civil rights leader I can think of, from Martin Luther King Jr. to Marcus Garvey to Adam Clayton Powell, has to had face this kind of harassment. I certainly am not in their league, but I certainly expect that that will become my lot When I came in the movement as a teenager, when I've gone through state indictments that we won, and we've gone through every investigation, it will always be my lot. When this is over, I've had in the last several years you guys come out with tapes in hotels and the city controller and I were taped. And then when I got ready to run for president, mysteriously a Senate committee had half of a tape of an FBI agent trying to offer me drugs. It's funny how things happen to fall into you guys' lap at a certain amount of time and I can almost predict it. In fact, I thought they were a little late. I thought it would be before the march on justice...

HARRIS: OK, Reverend Al Sharpton responding to subpoenas this morning that were handed down to some of his associates. As you can hear, blasting the prosecutors for the process, how it was all handled. The Reverend Al Sharpton calling this harassment, that the people receiving these subpoenas have been available all along to talk to prosecutors, so why the show this morning delivering -- serving subpoenas at 6:00 a.m. As you mentioned just a moment ago, what the subpoenas are all about, we still don't know. We will sort back through the news conference and figure out what all of this is about and we will give you more details on this in just a couple of minutes in the newsroom.

COLLINS: Simple problem, tough solution. Contractor uncovers buried treasure. Is it his or the home owner's? Dawn Kendrick of affiliate WOIO reports on the find and the fight.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

DAWN KENDRICK, CNN AFFILIATE, WOIO (voice over): You know what they say, finders keepers, losers weepers. Unless what you find is $182,000 stashed in someone else's wall.

BOB KITTS, CONTRACTOR WHO FOUND MONEY: My heart was racing.

KENDRICK: Contractor Bob Kitts gutting Amanda Reece's bathroom when he found the fortune.

KITTS: I thought I was going to pass out.

KENDRICK: Wrapped in newspapers from 1939 with articles about Adolph Hitler and Elliott Ness and like a fine wine, this cash had gotten better with time. Currency appraisers saying it's really worth up to $500,000. But the chances Kitts will see any of it?

JOHN CHAMBERS, AMANDA REECE'S ATTORNEY It's remote.

KENDRICK: Reese's attorney saying it amounts to a "shakedown."

CHAMBERS: He, in essence, expects to be rewarded for not stealing this money.

KENDRICK: Kitts and his attorney however, think the 10 percent Reece offered him the day they found the money is far from fair. So they filed a lawsuit citing the treasure trove or finders keepers law. CHAMBERS: The treasure trove law applies to hidden treasure, pirate treasure, things that are arcane and inapplicable in today's world.

KENDRICK (on camera): What would do you if you were in either Kitts or Reece's shoes? But the fact is neither one of them earned this money, it most likely it belonged to a Mr. P. Dunn (ph), who built this home in 1922 and lived here until 1969 and get this -- that $182,000 he stashed back then, well, it would be like you and I stashing $2.7 million today.

KENDRICK (voice over): The controversy has caused Reece so much --

CHAMBERS: Stress and anxiety, almost a curse upon her.

KENDRICK: Why not just give Kitts what he's asking for?

CHAMBERS: I think she would probably rather cut off her own arm.

KENDRICK: Heading home to knock down some walls.

I'm Dawn Kendrick, 19 Action News.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

COLLINS: Well it looks like this fight is heading to court and what about the former home owner, P. Dunn? The Cleveland plain dealer reports Peter Dunn died unmarried and childless.

HARRIS: OK, to I guess this is a different kind of business news, Wall Street is engaged in a tug-of-war following conflicting economic reports. Susan Lisovicz up on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange with details. Susan, a couple days off, good to see you, lady. Good to see you.

SUSAN LISOVICZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT: I didn't say the word subprime once when I was on vacation.

HARRIS: Good for you.

LISOVICZ: And so far I've avoided it. But you know we've got good news and bad news. Let's start off with the good news, Tony and that is that retail sales rose more than one percent last month, that was double what economists expecting. And you know, November is an important month for retail, starts off the holiday shopping season, so it's a good sign. Retail stocks, however, well they're not rallying. Big retailers like Macy's, Wal-Mart, Target, JC Penney, hardly moving. Back to you, Tony.

HARRIS: So what are the reasons? Why -- what's this all about with retail sales?

LISOVICZ: You'd think that, with all of these gloomy projections you'd get a nice rise in retail stocks. Here's the problem. You really know the answer, Tony. You open a newspaper, you go online. You go past an auto show room. There are huge incentives so there may be sales, but when you have heavy incentives, it can cut into profits. Plus because of the concerns about the slowing economy, there are concerns that maybe November fit in a little bit into December sales.

Concerns about that, but here is the other big counterweight to what's going on today and that is inflation rose much more than expected last month. Wholesale prices, in fact the biggest monthly read in 34 years, more than three percent, Tony, so that's just something that Wall Street doesn't want to hear. You know that investors were disappointed with Tuesday's interest rate cuts.

HARRIS: Right.

LISOVICZ: A lot of folks were hoping for more. Guess what? When inflation is a concern, then the Fed is not inclined to cut as much because it's got to the two concerns, the slowing economy and the...

HARRIS: The Fed has been concerned, this Fed Chief, Ben Bernanke has always been concerned about controlling inflation.

LISOVICZ: That's right, it's public enemy number one. Most of the inflation was coming from oil prices and gas prices.

HARRIS: Right.

LISOVICZ: Nonetheless, it is inflation, that's not something that anybody really wants to hear. The markets selling off. The best news about that, it's kind of modest considering some of the declines we've seen of late. The Dow right now down 57 points, the Nasdaq is down 19. Stay tuned. We've got lots more time to go in this trading session.

HARRIS: The best reality television on television, the markets, New York Stock Exchange. Susan, great to have you there for us. See you next hour.

LISOVICZ: Thank you, Tony.

COLLINS: Take a look at this sculpture now. Chicago's "The Fawn," half man, half goat and all forgery. Hmmm.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

COLLINS: The art institute of Chicago with a little egg on its face, seems this sculpture by 19th century artist Paul Gaugahn. I was trying to remember from my art appreciation class, but this is a very, very famous artist, yes, so I apologize. It's a forgery. Investigators determined the sculpture, entitled "The Fawn" was made by a British man, Sean Green Hall. The man in the wheelchair is Green Hall's father. Scotland Yard says Green Hall, his father and mother took part in several art scams. The younger Greenhall was jailed last month for fraud in Britain. The institute shocked!

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) JAMES CUNO, ART INST. OF CHICAGO: There's nothing about its appearance, nothing about its manufacture that raised any doubts about this work. It looked like Gaugahn. It looked like the kinds of things he made.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COLLINS: The Art Institute reportedly paid $125,000 for the piece back in 1997.

HARRIS: Remembering rock 'n' roll legend Ike Turner. Affiliate KGTV reports Turner died at his home in the San Diego area after complications from emphysema. Many rock historians give Turner credit for making the very first rock 'n' roll record. That was "Rockin' 88" back in 1951, but his tumultuous career with Tina Turner overshadowed his musical genius. She accused him of abuse. They divorced in the '70s. Members of his band went to his home yesterday, but Turner died before they could visit.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

KEVIN COOPER, KINGS OF RHYTHM BAND: We came forward and were all looking forward to greeting and giving him a big surprise and watching him weep, but before we could get a chance to do that, he was pronounced he had passed away.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COLLINS: Ike Turner was 76.

COLLINS: A key figure in baseball steroids scandal, talking exclusively with CNN NEWSROOM.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I did the crime and I did the time, and I've decided now that I would like to be a part of a collective team that can help to come up with solutions.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COLLINS: Victor Conte, speaking out.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

COLLINS: You've heard it before, go to school and study hard, the recipe for success in America? Not always. Here's CNN's Christine Romans.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

CHRISTINE ROMANS, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): American students' success is influenced more by their family wealth and socioeconomic status than children in other industrialized countries. This from an important international analysis of worldwide science and math scores. BOB WEISS, ALLIANCE FOR EDUCATION: One out of four of these students in the United States are low performing and much of that is directly linked to socioeconomic status and yet the American dream is that a good education gets everyone the ability to move ahead. We clearly are falling short on providing that good education.

ROMANS: A 2006 program for international student assessment surveyed 15-year-olds in 57 countries. The newly released ranking are troublesome enough. American students ranked 29 in science and 35 in math, but perhaps even worse in America a student's social and economic status has a stronger impact on their science and math scores, more than twice as much as the top scoring countries Finland, Canada and Japan.

Quote, "Socioeconomic disparities have a strong impact on student performance in the U.S." Something must be done.

AMY WILKINS, EDUCATION TRUST: The formula is a pretty simple one. It is providing them with the very best teachers we have to offer. It is providing them with the sort of rich and challenging curriculum that middle class kids and more affluent kids get as a matter of course. It is expecting a lot from them. It is holding them to high standards.

ROMANS: But education advocates say the system is failing.

(on camera): These results seem to correspond with another recent analysis from the bipartisan Economic Mobility Project. Finding the American dream is not shared equally in this country. That report found only 6 percent of children born to parents at the bottom of the income scale ever make it to the top.

Christine Romans, CNN, New York.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

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