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Inmates Escape From New Jersey Jail; New England Buried by Storm; 'Storm Clouds': President Bush on the Economy; Witness Intimidation
Aired December 17, 2007 - 14:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
BETTY NGUYEN, CNN ANCHOR: All right, folks. It sounds like a plot from a movie. Two inmates break out of this jail using tool readily available to them, but wait until you hear how it all went down.
DON LEMON, CNN ANCHOR: And piled up, plowing through. Severe weather blankets the Northeast and a lot of places in between.
Isn't that right, Betty Nguyen?
NGUYEN: Lots of places. A lot of places without power.
LEMON: Yes, absolutely.
I'm Don Lemon at the CNN world headquarters in Atlanta.
NGUYEN: Yes. Good afternoon, everybody. I'm Betty Nguyen, in for Kyra Phillips.
You are in the CNN NEWSROOM.
We want to take you straight to the newsroom right now, and CNN's T.J. Holmes working on a developing story.
What a story this is, T.J. Wow.
T.J. HOLMES, CNN ANCHOR: Betty, this is crazy.
We've got more details about this jailbreak that happened in New Jersey. Elizabeth, New Jersey, is where this happened.
Two inmates escaped. Now, their escape itself, the details of that escape, is just what is leaving people scratching their heads.
It's kind of fascinating here, but two gentlemen, Joe Espinosa and Otis Blunt, escaped on Saturday. They discovered they were gone on around 5:15 p.m. on December 15th.
Well, what happened, the two were in cells next to each other. They chiseled their way out of this jail. Again, this jail here is at the Union County Jail built in 1986.
Well, they chiseled their way out. They had to jump down some 30 feet to a ledge, and then they had to make a 15-foot leap across an area to land themselves on a railroad bed. And then authorities say the two footprints went two different directions.
Now, Espinosa pleaded guilty to manslaughter in 2005 in a drive- by shooting. Blunt was awaiting trial for robbery and weapons charges. And Blunt, you see there on the left, according to authorities had actually tried to escape kind of the same way he escaped this time.
They used several different tools. They used wires, a crank wheel to bang their way out. A crank wheel kind of one of those wheels you would see on a pipe to maybe -- there you go, to kind of turn off -- turn on pressure to a pipe or something like that. They used that as well.
Now, no doubt, the craziest part of this story, Betty, is that the two left a note behind in their cell. Now, in their cell they also left dummies. They had left pillows and things to make it look like someone was still sleeping in those beds in their cells.
They left that, first off, but they also left a note. And it said this -- and I quote -- "Thank you, Officer, for the tools needed. You're a real pal. Happy holidays."
Now, they did name an officer in that note, but authorities in their press conference a short time ago did not release the name of that officer. That officer is being questioned.
No guards are on leave and no one has been punished just yet, but they left a note to kind of rub it in to somebody just a little bit, and they named an officer specifically. "Thank you for the tools needed. You're a real pal. Happy holidays."
So Betty, just kind of -- we hear about escapes and things, but this is a strange one, and something right out of a movie possibly that we're hearing. This time, prosecutors certainly concerned because this jail is apparently in a suburban area, concerned about this, that it happened in this area.
Also, it's a multi-security prison. Several different levels of security at this prison, and these two were kept at the high security area, to add more to the story as well. But Jose Espinosa, Otis Blunt on the run right now. And authorities are looking for them, but a strange set of circumstances, and they really had to go really through some things to make these escape happen from a high security area of this prison.
So the search is on, and certainly the investigation is going on to see if in fact the guard helped these two escape by providing those tools -- Betty.
NGUYEN: Yes, that's the question, if they were just doing that to rub it in to him, or if he really, indeed, did help him.
HOLMES: Trying to get him in trouble possibly.
NGUYEN: You know, this does sound like that movie -- what was it, "Shawshank Redemption." HOLMES: "Shawshank Redemption." That's one somebody actually brought up at the press conference.
NGUYEN: Right.
HOLMES: However, the authorities certainly saying they are taking this seriously, not comparing this to any movie at all
NGUYEN: Yes, because this is reality.
HOLMES: This is the real thing.
NGUYEN: You may see a movie though out of all of this. You know how that works. OK.
HOLMES: Oh, Betty.
NGUYEN: Thank you, T.J.
HOLMES: All right.
NGUYEN: I'm just telling you like it is.
All right. Let's talk about this right now. It's no movie, it's reality for a lot of folks.
Up to 18 inches of snow from the Great Lakes to New England. At least eight people have died on slippery roads. Schools are closed. Plenty of flights delayed.
One Michigan woman just shrugged and said, hey, it's winter. Well, not exactly. Winter doesn't officially arrive until Saturday.
Meanwhile, tens of thousands from Pennsylvania to Maine hope to have their power back on by then. About 126,000 homes in Oklahoma are still waiting an entire week after a devastating ice storm
LEMON: That -- a lot of people.
NGUYEN: Oh, a lot.
LEMON: A hundred and twenty-six thousand.
The Nor'easter earned the respect of winter-hardy New Englanders, where more than a few are still slipping and sliding. Some of their stories from Michelle Relerford with our affiliate WHDH.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
MICHELLE RELERFORD, REPORTER, WHDH (voice over): For sledders, snowboarders and tubers of all ages, the day was a snow lover's dream.
(on camera): Tell me, how much fun is this?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: A lot.
RELERFORD (voice over): But it was a nightmare for people doing their sliding out on the roads.
CHRISTINA KAFFEY, STUCK IN SNOW: I hit a patch of ice back there and it just went sideways and I couldn't control it. It just -- even in four-wheel drive it has no control at all. It just kept rolling.
RELERFORD: Sunday's Nor'easter rolled into southern New Hampshire around 4:00 a.m., dumping nine inches on Nashua's already eight to 10 inches of snow on the ground.
Snow plows plugged away to keep lanes clear, but near whiteout conditions made it tough to see ahead or look behind.
TROOPER WILLIAM BARASSI, NEW HAMPSHIRE STATE POLICE: And what you see is what you get. We're dealing with some pretty treacherous conditions and just urging people to stay off the roads if they can.
RELERFORD: The heavy snowfall, high winds and bitterly cold temperatures weren't enough to stop holiday shoppers getting those last-minute must-haves.
BOB HILL, SHOPPER: We had a baby on Thanksgiving, my wife and my first, and we just haven't been able to get everything done as early as we wanted to.
RELERFORD: But unless your vehicle is aerodynamically designed for slipping and sliding, here's two words of advice...
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Stay home.
(WEATHER REPORT)
NGUYEN: Meantime, a slight change in tone from President Bush on the state of the U.S. economy. In a speech today, Mr. Bush maintained the economy still has good fundamentals, but he also spoke of storm clouds.
With more on the story from the White House, here's CNN's Kathleen Koch.
So break it down for us. What did he say exactly?
KATHLEEN KOCH, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, Betty, the president today was clearly reaching out trying to reassure the American public that the economy was doing well. The president cited increasing job growth and productivity, but it was striking the president certainly stayed away from the words that he used so frequently at the beginning of the year, when his mantra was that the economy was strong and growing stronger. Instead, today, in his remarks, the president admitted that American taxpayers are facing what he called "some challenges." That's the credit crunch on the mortgage lending crisis.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
GEORGE W. BUSH, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: I fully understand the pinch some of yours folks are going to feel. And having said that, this economy is pretty good. There's definitely some storm clouds and concerns, but the underpinning is good, and we'll work our way through this period
(END VIDEO CLIP)
KOCH: In the Democratic response that followed very shortly on Capitol Hill, New York senator Charles Schumer charged the president with ignoring the struggling economy and basically being out of touch with the fiscal problems of the American people.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SEN. CHARLES SCHUMER (D), NEW YORK: The administration continues to see the economy through rose-colored glasses, whether it be the subprime crisis, the credit crisis, the energy crisis, the declining dollar crisis. It blithely marches along without making any serious effort to solve these economic problems.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
KOCH: Of course, President Bush and Congress are still wrestling over those spending bills to keep the government operating through the -- once the year ends, and the president did praise Congress, saying that lawmakers are "making good progress" toward coming up with a fiscally sound budget, but the president still promised that he would veto the spending bill if it does not include money for troops in Iraq -- Betty.
NGUYEN: All right. CNN's Kathleen Koch joining us live from the White House today.
Thank you, Kathleen.
KOCH: You bet.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
(NEWSBREAK)
LEMON: And leading our political ticker today, Senator John McCain hoping his latest endorsement gives him the edge in New Hampshire. McCain's Republican presidential bid got the backing today of Senator Joe Lieberman, an Independent who caucuses with Democrats. McCain is courting Independent voters in the state that holds the first presidential primary.
As for Lieberman, the former Democratic vice presidential candidates says it's again a case of country before party.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SEN. JOSEPH LIEBERMAN (D), CONNECTICUT: I know it's unusual for a Democrat to be endorsing a Republican. It's even unusual for an Independent Democrat like me to be endorsing a Republican. You know, political parties are important in our country, but they are not more important than what's best for our country. They are not more important than friendship. They are not more important than our future. (END VIDEO CLIP)
LEMON: The support of Independent voters was key for McCain when he won New Hampshire's Republican primary back in 2000.
And you can hear more from John McCain and Joe Lieberman tonight. They are special guests on "THE SITUATION ROOM." That starts at 6:00 p.m. Eastern only on CNN.
NGUYEN: Well, no big-name power endorsements yet for Republican presidential long shot Ron Paul, but he is apparently raking in the big bucks. His campaign says his money bomb, which is a 24-hour Internet fund-raising drive yesterday, raked in more than $6 million. Again, $6 million. If those numbers are confirmed, that would be the most money raised by a presidential contender online in a single day.
Home-schoolers for Mike Huckabee, could they give him the edge in Iowa? Well, "The Washington Post" says a grassroots network of home school supporters is boosting Huckabee's GOP presidential campaign in the state. The Post says an estimated 9,000 Iowa kids are home- schooled and the parents are drawn to the former Baptist preacher's faith. Huckabee also appointed a home school supporter to the Arkansas Board of Education when he served as governor.
And you can tune in tonight. Mike Huckabee will be Larry King's guest at 9:00 p.m. They'll talk faith, politics, and, of course, the Republican's bid for the White House.
That's tonight, 9:00 Eastern, on "LARRY KING LIVE."
And for all the day's political stories, just go to cnnpolitics.com. Who is endorsing who? Who's surging ahead? Who is falling behind? Again, the address is cnnpolitics.com
LEMON: It is all there, isn't it?
NGUYEN: Yes, it is.
LEMON: A new dad away at war, but he still didn't miss the birth of his son. We'll tell you how he witnessed the big event.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
LEMON: All right. You'll want to see this next story, trust me.
A Marine becomes a dad while away at war, but he was able to watch his baby son being born thanks to a video hookup.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
KRISTEN STACHOWIAK, MOTHER: I was there and he was right -- obviously right there on the monitor, so he didn't have to see too much gross stuff. So...
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: It was a side shot, right?
STACHOWIAK: Yes, it was a side shot.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It's kind of like watching it on TV, like watching a bad YouTube video.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
NGUYEN: Did he say it's kind of liking watching a bad YouTube video?
LEMON: Yes, a bad YouTube video. He didn't have to see that much gross stuff because it was a side shot.
NGUYEN: Thankfully, because that would be broadcast wherever he was, and everyone else in the room would get to see it, too. I don't think his wife would want that while she's giving birth.
LEMON: I don't think he would want it either.
But anyway, just so you know, the live video feed was provided by Cape Canaveral Hospital and Freedom Calls, which is a group that helps link troops and their families.
Congratulations to them, huh?
NGUYEN: Yes, that's great.
LEMON: Yes.
(BUSINESS REPORT)
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
DON LEMON, CNN ANCHOR: Hello, everyone. I'm Don Lemon, live at the CNN World Headquarters in Atlanta.
BETTY NGUYEN, CNN ANCHOR: And I'm Betty Nguyen, in for Kyra Phillips. You are in the CNN NEWSROOM.
LEMON: They have been kidnapped, raped and shot, all for trying to do the right thing: help put criminals behind bars. After sticking their necks out, why are so many witnesses being intimidated by bad guys? It's a major problem in many cities but particularly so in Colorado. And our Randi Kaye has been investigating and joins us now from New York. Randi, what did you find out about this one?
RANDI KAYE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well Don, quite a bit. A lot of people on the street say that witness protection isn't a priority. Critics of these witness protection programs around the country, say that witnesses are often used and then dumped. Well tonight, we take a close look at witness protection program in Colorado which certainly has its share of problems. The budget for the whole program is $50,000 a year.
Now consider this, the city of Denver spends more than twice that just planting flowers and trees to make the city look pretty, far more than the state pays to protect witnesses. We found witnesses who say they were never even were told the state had a witness protection program, including one man who told me he had to spend ten grand of his own money to protect his family. Now here's a clip of what you'll see in our story.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
KAYE (voice over): This man doesn't want you to know his name or where he lives. What's he so afraid of? Getting killed.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You're on constant alert.
KAYE: We'll call him Scott. Eight years ago, Scott and his wife witnessed a crime. Their decision to testify against the suspect nearly cost them their lives. And they are not alone. One prosecutor told Congress, witness intimidation is an epidemic.
In Baltimore, drug dealers firebombed a witness' home, killing her, her husband and five children. And in Pennsylvania, the threats got so bad, six witnesses recanted their testimony in the murder of a 10-year-old boy.
Scott and his wife testified against their daughter's boyfriend, Keith Reynolds, after he beat her.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Saw the 4-year-old grandson walking around with Clean Ex, trying to clean up mom's blood.
KAYE: Reynolds got three years for domestic assault. Scott says his family was terrorized. They'd answer the phone and hear this, a gun being cocked. Strange cars parked outside their home and threats arrived by mail.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It was a threatening letter from him saying that he was going to have us killed.
KAYE: Scott says Colorado prosecutors told him a hit had been put on his family. Still, even though the state has a witness protection program, Scott says his family didn't get any help.
(on camera): At any point did the Arapahoe County D.A. or any of the prosecutors from that office make you aware that there was a witness protection program available to you?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: No, no. All they did was tell us that well, maybe you should move.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
KAYE: And we talked to the district attorney in Scott's county, and she said she believed his family was told of the witness protection program. But when I asked the prosecutor who was actually assigned to his case directly, she told me she was pretty sure she told Scott or his wife about it, but doesn't remember if she gave them all the details--Don?
LEMON: OK, Randi I've got a quick question for you then. How does this program compare to other states and the federal program?
KAYE: I think the best way to really look at this program is, it's really a witness relocation program. The witnesses in Colorado, they don't get a new identity like in the federal program, they just get moved. The state spends on average less than about $1,000 to move them.
They get first and last month's rent, maybe some furniture. Other states have a lot more money for their programs, as much as half a million in some cases. But a state like Wisconsin, with a major gang and crime problem actually, has no budget whatsoever to help witnesses. The federal program, by the way though, Don, has about $40 million so they can certainly do a lot more.
LEMON: OK, is there anything being done to improve, even to make the witnesses aware that it exists?
KAYE: Yes, a few things. Since some of the witnesses have been killed, there have been some changes. Certainly in the state of Colorado, they now attach information about the witness protection program to every subpoena that goes out to witnesses. So they make sure that the witnesses are aware that this program exists. They're also going to have better training for law enforcement in Colorado so they are all made aware that this witness protection program exists
LEMON: Randi, thank you. Sorry for cutting you off there.
KAYE: No prob.
LEMON: Thank you for that report. And you can see Randi's report tonight. She's keeping them honest. Catch her entire report on this troubling problem about witnesses at risk, on tonight's "AC 360." That's at 10:00 p.m. Eastern, right here on CNN.
NGUYEN: OK, so if you've seen the movie "The Shawshank Redemption," this story will ring a bell. Two New Jersey inmates busted out of jail this weekend by removing cement wall blocks and covering the holes with magazine pinups. And they left behind a note thanking a guard for the tools.
As you can imagine, officials at the Union County Jail in Elizabeth say they are reviewing security procedures, especially since these guys were in the most secure section of that facility. Otis Blunt was awaiting trial on robbery and weapons charges. Jose Espinosa was to be sentenced for manslaughter. Authorities consider both dangerous.
Well another sign today of the nation's re-examination of capital punishment. New Jersey has just abolished the death penalty. Governor Jon Corzine signed a bill this morning, making New Jersey the first state in more than 40 years to outlaw executions. It comes as the Supreme Court considers whether lethal injection is cruel and unusual punishment. Polls show New Jerseyians split on the death penalty, but Governor Corzine deemed it a moral issue on which he had to act.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
GOV. JON CORZINE, NEW JERSEY: Today, New Jersey is truly evolving. We evolve, if you believe as I do, that government cannot provide a foolproof death penalty that precludes the possibility of executing the innocent.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
NGUYEN: Officials in Rome plan to celebrate New Jersey's move by flooding the famed Coliseum with light. Italy, and the rest of European Union, support a global ban on the death penalty.
LEMON: In Lake Wales, Florida, the premature baby born after his mother was kidnapped and set ablaze, the baby has died. The mother and another woman were set on fire during a workplace robbery Thursday. Both are still in critical condition. The child who died weighed a little more than a pound at birth. Robbery suspect Leon Davis is being held in connection with the case. The Polk County sheriff says Davis is also believed to be the man who killed two workers at a gas station ten days ago.
NGUYEN: Listen to this story. The honeymoons, yes, pleural, honeymoons, are over for a south Florida woman. Police say 26-year- old Eunice Lopez went on a massive marrying spree beginning in 2002. She's accused of getting hitched at least ten times, maybe more and never getting a divorce. After allegedly marrying the men to secure their legal immigration to the U.S., she is accused of blackmailing them to keep quiet about it. Lopez is currently free on $18,000 bond.
LEMON: The army looks for ways to ease the strain on soldiers and their families. Are shorter tours in Iraq the answer?
NGUYEN: Also, allegations of rape in Iraq. A reported victim comes forward as Congress investigates claims against U.S. civilian contractors.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
LEMON: The victim of a gang rape that sparked international outcry won't be punished by the Saudi justice system. Saudi King Abdullah stepped in today pardoning the 19-year-old woman. She was sentenced to 200 lashes and six months in prison for being alone with an unrelated man, when seven men attacked them. The seven were sentenced to up to nine years in prison. President Bush says the Saudi king made the right decision. The White House had earlier called the sentence outrageous.
Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad is making history today in Saudi Arabia. He's joining millions of Muslims making the Hajj pilgrimage to Mecca. The first Iranian leader ever to do so, Ahmadinejad landed in Medina, Saudi Arabia, today. All able-bodied Muslims who can afford it are required by their faith to make the pilgrimage once at least in their lives.
NGUYEN: The House Committee is looking into reports of rape in Iraq allegedly committed by U.S. civilian workers. A hearing is scheduled this week amid charges by American women who say their alleged attackers weren't punished. Jamie Lee Jones of Texas says she was drugged and gang raped by fellow employees of contractor Kellogg, Brown and Root. She told CNN's "AMERICAN MORNING" she was virtually imprisoned by their company higher-ups after reporting the alleged attack.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JAMIE LEE JONES, FORMER KBR EMPLOYEE: From the hospital they took me to a place that was a container, and they put two armed guards outside my door that would not let me leave. So basically they imprisoned me. They didn't offer me food or drink and they didn't offer me to call my parents or anything.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
NGUYEN: KBR denies the accusation of imprisonment. The justice department is investigating the alleged attack. And Jamie Lee Jones is set to testify Wednesday before the House Judiciary Committee.
Well the Pentagon says it now hopes to cut back the time U.S. troops spend in Iraq to 12 months by next summer. The feeling is, the 15-month tours have been a drain on those on the front lines and their families. More now from CNN Pentagon correspondent, Barbara Starr.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
BARBARA STARR, CNN PENTAGON CORRESPONDENT (voice over): Here at the army's war college, many officers are combat veterans. They, like so many, are paying a high price, often measured in terms of what they have missed.
COL. ROB RISBERG, U.S. ARMY: I've got two boys, two teenage boys so I've missed a lot of ball games, and boy scout and cub scout events.
LT. COL. MIKE GIBLER, U.S. ARMY: First of lots of things, you know. First discussions, first talking, first walking, first prom, you know. Those types of things when you're off doing something else, that's what you might miss out on.
STARR: It's one of the biggest worries for Admiral Michael Mullen, the joint chiefs chairman. He's meeting with troops around the country.
ADM. MICHAEL MULLEN, JOINT CHIEFS CHAIRMAN: I don't want to just draw conclusions based on information that I read or briesf that I get in Washington.
STARR: Mullen knows the troops and their families are feeling the strain of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.
MULLEN: They want to know somebody from a senior position, not just me, they want to know somebody is actually listening to them.
STARR: And he's already heard the number one complaint. MULLEN: They're pressed hard. They want to know when the 15- month deployments are going to end.
STARR: So it's surprising perhaps the army's own statistics don't show a clear trend that troops are bailing out. Enlistees are staying on the job at the highest rate in five years. Seventy-four percent of soldiers eligible to re-enlist did so last year. But West Point graduates, over the past eight years, have left the army at rates that commanders say are worrisome. These days the decision to stay on duty is made by the family, not just the individual soldiers.
LT. COL. DAVE ACEVEDO, U.S. ARMY: If the soldier feels like his family is at home and is being taken care of and he can concentrate on the mission, then I think we're going to be OK.
STARR (on camera): Even with the progress in Iraq, these officers say it's more critical than ever before for army families to feel they are being taken care of, especially because the troops may be in Iraq for years to come.
Barbara Starr, CNN, at the Army War College, Carlisle, Pennsylvania.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
LEMON: All right, take a look at this. It's a look in her eye that really gets you. You might think this is a picture of a father and a daughter. Well it's actually a 40-year-old Afghan man and his 11-year-old bride, and it's UNICEF's photo of the year for 2007. American photographer, Stephanie Sinclair, was struck by all the child brides she saw as she traveled through Afghanistan.
Although the minimum age for marriage there is 16, many poor families marry their younger daughters off for a dowry. A few years ago, UNICEF found 54 percent of Afghan girls, age 15 to 19, were already wives. The organization says it's actually a worldwide problem. There are now about 60 million young women who were married before they came of age.
NGUYEN: That picture is kind of haunting isn't it?
LEMON: Yes it is.
NGUYEN: Well, trying to solve the puzzle of autism. Researchers are looking at babies' brains.
A.J. HAMMER, CNN CORRESPONDENT: I'm A.J. Hammer in New York. A new development in the ongoing writers strike has some late night hosts making their own deals so they can return to work. I'll tell you which shows are coming out of repeats, finally. Straight ahead in the NEWSROOM.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
NGUYEN: Leno, Letterman, O'Brien, some of your favorite late night talk shows, have been in repeats since the start of the writers strike. Well, thanks to a new tactic, some of those famous faces will be returning. "SHOWBIZ TONIGHT's" A.J. Hammer joins me now with the latest on this. And I know a lot of fans are happy to hear that they will be back on the air again soon.
HAMMER: Yes Betty, I don't know about you, but I'm getting pretty tired of those repeats.
NGUYEN: Aren't you?
HAMMER: I can't even watch them anymore. I love seeing some of the older shows but enough is enough already. So, there is this new development in the ongoing writer's strike which should help to bring those familiar late night faces back to work, hopefully by the beginning of the year. The union representing Hollywood writers, told its members over the weekend, that they will now try to deal directly with the individual studios and production companies in hopes of getting at least some of its members back to work.
Talks between both sides broke down on December 7th after the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers insisted it would not bargain any further unless the Writers Guild of America dropped several proposals, one of which would authorize writers of reality shows and animated projects to become a part of the union. Well, the move now makes it possible for writers of individual shows to make independent deals with studios and ultimately bypass the organization that represents them.
What this all means is hopefully good news for late-night talk show hosts like David Letterman, whose own production company, Worldwide Pants, which produces his Late Show, has already said it is willing to cut a deal that could have Letterman back on the year as early as start of the new year. And Letterman is not the only one who is heading out of repeats. Earlier today, NBC confirmed to CNN that both Jay Leno and Conan O'Brien will in fact cross picket lines and return to work with some all new episodes beginning on January 2nd.
Without their writing staff, both shows do they say they will continue to support the writers as best as they can while negotiations continue. While the WGA says it still hopes the Producers Alliance will return to the bargaining table. The union says, individual talks are now under way. So Betty, what it really boils down to, as I said, is good news, some fresh programming for the new year hopefully.
NGUYEN: Finally. All right, so speaking of those negotiations, I hear there's some new young talent in Hollywood that has some pretty impressive clout these days.
HAMMER: Yes, I mean obviously we all know Hollywood's super couple, Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie, have plenty of bargaining power in Hollywood. So really when you stop and think about it, it only makes sense that the couple's 1-year-old daughter, Shiloh, would top Forbes' magazines list of the most influential babies in Hollywood.
NGUYEN: Get out of here. Influential babies?
HAMMER: You heard me right. Yes, somebody decided that Forbes needed to have this list. And following in her famous parents' footsteps, Shiloh Jolie Pitt does claim the number one spot on the publication's most influential tots list. Now, coming in second place, because I have to run them down for you, Tom Cruise and Katie Holmes' daughter Suri. Shiloh's older sister, Zahara, places third. Followed by Britney Spears and Kevin Federline's son Sean Preston in fourth. Now, rounding out the top five, no surprise here, its Pax Jolie Pitt.
If you're sitting there wondering about the oldest in the Jolie- Pitt clan, and Betty I know you are, 6-year-old Maddox didn't make the list this year because he's too old to be considered. so it will have to be a different age group just for that.
NGUYEN: Hold up, A.J. This is ridiculous. All the kids on there probably can't even speak. They are not at age where most of them can talk. How are they influential?
HAMMER: Well, I can't exactly tell you. You'll have to tune in to "SHOWBIZ TONIGHT" because we're going to run through it tonight. Apparently it has a lot to do with web hits and searches and the desire for information about these kids. So we'll be running -- among the other things we'll be doing on "SHOWBIZ TONIGHT," we have to get to the bottom of this particular list. It's a little bizarre.
NGUYEN: The things you do over there. All right. Thank you, A.J. We will be looking forward to that, and also we understand someone else has expanded their family as we're talking about babies. Who is this?
HAMMER: Yes, we don't know when they are going to place this new child on the list, but actress Helena Bonham Carter and her filmmaker husband Tim Burton have welcomed their baby girl in London. The second child for Carter and Burton. Burton is the director of the new musical "Sweeney Todd." They do have a 4-year-old son at home. "Sweeney Todd" hits theaters this week.
It was just nominated for four Golden Globe awards so obviously a lot of celebrating going on in that household this week. One household without a lot of celebrating today, with some late-breaking news that's just coming into "SHOWBIZ TONIGHT," actress Pamela Anderson has filed from divorce from her current husband, Rick Solomon, citing irreconcilable differences. If you're thinking to yourself...
NGUYEN: They just got married.
HAMMER: ...didn't they just get married. Yes, 72 days ago in Vegas. This was the third marriage for both of them.
NGUYEN: Where does this rank on the list of the quickest marriages and then divorces?
HAMMER: You know, I have to get with my statisticians, get our abacus out and I'll try and figure that out.
NGUYEN: We're looking at it right here, the divorce papers. HAMMER: And Betty, if that's not enough for us to cover tonight on "SHOWBIZ TONIGHT," we have something pretty spectacular going on. The Showbiz muggy awards. The Hollywood stars who got arrested and had the best mug shots of the year.
NGUYEN: For mug shots?
HAMMER: We've got the best dressed, we've got best hair and makeup. You will be shocked and surprised by the winners tonight on TV's most provocative entertainment news show, as you see. You will see us at 11 p.m. Eastern and Pacific. It is some good stuff. We're winding down the year.
NGUYEN: I can say two names, Paris Hilton and Lindsay Lohan. I know they've got to be on the list somewhere. Right?
HAMMER: Well Lindsay, I don't know if she made the list but you can certainly count on Paris Hilton's mug shot being on there. I'm not allowed to reveal anything until the muggies take place tonight.
NGUYEN: All right, all right. The envelopes are sealed for that one I'm sure.
HAMMER: Yes they are.
NGUYEN: Thank you A.J., we're looking forward to it.
LEMON: Well his songs, they were like stories, and if you listened to popular radio in the 1970's and '80s, you probably sang along right with him. This weekend Dan Fogelberg's own story came to a close. The Leader of the Band singer died Sunday at age 56 of advanced prostate cancer. He learned he had the disease three and a half years ago.
Later posting what he called "The Sermon" on his Web site. It urged men to be proactive and get prostate exams and blood tests. Singer/songwriter Dan Fogelberg, lost to prostate cancer at the age 56.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
LEMON: It is a sea cruise, a 14-year-old Illinois girl will likely never forget. A vacationing teen suffered a ruptured appendix on the Dawn Princess off the coast of Baja, California, Mexico. That happened on Saturday. There was no operating room on the cruise liner. But the crew of the USS Ronald Reagan picked up the ship's distress call, some 550 miles away. They airlifted the girl aboard for an emergency appendectomy. The Navy says, she is resting fine and is expected to make a full recovery.
We certainly hope so.
The next hour of the CNN NEWSROOM starts right now.
NGUYEN: Well they left some tools, some dummies and a note. A brazen breakout in New Jersey.
Hello everybody, I'm Betty Nguyen live at CNN World Headquarters here in Atlanta.
LEMON: And I'm Don Lemon. You're in the CNN NEWSROOM.
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