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Wall Street's Wild Ride; Fred Thompson Drops Out of Presidential Race; Authorities Continue Searching for Marine on the Run; Man Convicted of Murder in Colorado, Sentence Overturned
Aired January 22, 2008 - 15:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
DON LEMON, CNN ANCHOR: Heart-stopping freefalls, breathtaking rallies, a mind-bending mishmash of excitement, despair, anticipation and fear. And that's just today.
MELISSA LONG, CNN ANCHOR: Yes, Wall Street has really seen it all with an hour to go now before the closing bell. Hang on as we run through some crazy numbers from all over the world.
Hello. I'm Melissa Long, in today for Kyra Phillips at the CNN Center in Atlanta.
LEMON: And I'm Don Lemon. You're in the CNN NEWSROOM.
LONG: It is global, it is local, from around the world to Wall Street to your wallet. CNN is covering it all. We have correspondents at major markets all across the planet and right here in the U.S., like Susan Lisovicz, who is at the Big Board, Poppy Harlow at the big wall. Let's get right now to Susan Lisovicz on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange.
I think people need PowerBars today to keep up with all this.
SUSAN LISOVICZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT: I think we need a case of PowerBars, quite frankly, Melissa.
It has been a turbulent day, even by Wall Street's recent standards, but we are finally in the final hour of trading. And it looks like we have a standoff between the bulls and the bears, the Dow working its way down from the carnage we saw early, much earlier in the day, very close to the open, when the blue chips plunged as many as 463 points.
One trader just told me minutes ago, it's like two sumo wrestlers. They are circling and pushing. We're not sure who will prevail. But certainly the bulls are going to try to make a stand. We saw the Dow improve to about a 55-point deficit, this despite the fact that the Federal Reserve made a rare, unexpected move to cut interest rates by 75 basis points or three-quarters of a percent on the federal funds rate, which is the benchmark rate that affects so many of our consumer loans.
The Fed hadn't cut these rates as dramatically since 1984, and hadn't done something intermeeting since right in the aftermath of 2001. We are seeing some buying. That is the good news. Some of the most beaten-down sectors, like retailers, Home Depot, shares up about six percent. J.P. Morgan, its shares in the financial sector up about three percent.
But we still have a lot more information coming out, Melissa. We get a lot of earnings after the bell, Apple among them. We get earnings before the bell tomorrow, Pfizer, Delta, UTX, and we have to see how Asia opens in a few hours. In the meantime, of course, we still have a struggle in other indices as well.
Poppy Harlow is standing by at the Nasdaq.
Hi, Poppy.
POPPY HARLOW, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hi, Susan.
Yes, that's right. The story is pretty much the same here at the NASDAQ. We are well off the lows of the day. We started down in bearish territory here, down more than five percent. We're down now about 1.8 percent. But keep in mind here if you have sold off those NASDAQ-traded stocks this morning, as you were worried, as you saw just prices plummet, you might regret it now. Those prices are rising, stocks really making up some of their heavy, heavy losses here.
But the NASDAQ, still the worst-hit index of the major U.S. indices, down about 13.6 percent year to date. Let's take a look at some of the major movers here on the Nasdaq, Apple, of course, that company coming out with fourth quarter earnings after the closing bell today, investors hoping to see a bright spot there, but still Apple trading down, Apple down about 2.7 percent right now.
Apple's stock is down 20 percent year to date so far. Next, you're going to want to keep an eye on Yahoo! That stock also trading in negative territory this afternoon. Yahoo! out with job cuts. Yahoo! affirming pretty much they will cut jobs, Some are saying up to five percent of their work force. Yahoo! said in a statement today to CNN they will -- quote -- "eliminate" some of the areas of the business that don't support the company's priorities. Bad news for Yahoo! there.
Finally, Intel. Intel is the world's biggest chipmaker, also seen as a bellwether for tech stocks, trading in negative territory as well. So, just right across the boards here for techs, but huge, huge trading volume here at the NASDAQ. About two billion shares have already been traded today.
So, that's how it stands. We will see how it wraps up here in the final hour of trading -- back to you, Susan.
LISOVICZ: Hey, Poppy.
And, yes, we're seeing big volume here as well. And traders are very busy, but we're also -- one of the interesting things, one of the big headlines today is what the Federal Reserve did. And believe it or not, the Federal Reserve may have more to do, because next week it has a scheduled meeting and the federal funds futures rate is predicting that it will cut interest rates further by at least a quarter of a point. Of course, we will be watching that story as it unfolds. In the meantime, as I mentioned, we're in the final hour of trading. We're watching the numbers -- back to you, Melissa.
LONG: Susan, considering what you just said, you better have that box of PowerBars ready for next week as well.
LISOVICZ: Yes, I do.
(LAUGHTER)
LONG: Thanks so much.
Also want to remind you, see that little gizmo in the lower corner of your television screen right now? Almost said computer screen. I work on line so frequently. We're going to keep that picture up for you as we continue to monitor the markets, bring you some other news. So, you can follow it all the way to the closing bell right here in the CNN NEWSROOM.
And don't forget to rely on our Web site as well. You can stick with CNN throughout the day to find out effectively all the news that affects your wallet -- cnnmoney.com tells you all about your money, the job market, the mortgage crisis and of course the big action on Wall Street today.
LEMON: Of course, the breaking news we have been following this afternoon besides what is happening in the markets is Fred Thompson. CNN political unit getting word that Fred Thompson is dropping out of the race. In the last hour, the CNN political unit got this statement from Fred Thompson's campaign.
It says: "Today, I have withdrawn my candidacy for president of the United States. I hope that my country and my party have benefited from our having made this effort. Jeri and I will always be grateful for the encouragement and friendship of so many wonderful people."
Of course, our political unit is working on this, as well as "THE SITUATION ROOM," which covers this every day, the political -- the ins and outs of politics. They will be having the updates on this breaking news and we will try to get some of our political unit correspondents, the best political team up, on television here in the NEWSROOM to break this down for you -- Melissa.
LONG: Now from a life sentence to a new life outside. A Colorado man's murder conviction was overturned today after more than nine years.
CNN's Drew Griffin has been following Tim Masters' fight for freedom.
He joins us now live from Fort Collins, Colorado, to pick up the story -- Drew.
DREW GRIFFIN, CNN INVESTIGATIVE CORRESPONDENT: Melissa, big family party going on right now.
Tim Masters, this guy who has been in prison for nine years for a crime he didn't commit, released this morning here in Fort Collins, Colorado, and now meeting family members he never really has ever met, new children in the family, new spouses, new relationships. They're all getting acquainted after this horrendous nightmare that he's been through.
First suspected of a crime when he was 15, then convicted 12 years later and sent to prison, and now we're learning for a crime he didn't commit, in court this morning, he made sure to show up in a suit and tie, and then afterwards was somewhat speechless when he started to thank all the people who believed in him.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
TIM MASTERS, WRONGFULLY CONVICTED OF MURDER: I just want to thank my family and my friends, who stuck with me all these years. Without their support, I don't know if I could have made it through this. I want to thank the media, who finally told my side of the story this summer. And that's about all I have to say. Thank you.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
GRIFFIN: Somewhat -- speechless, again.
He was convicted in 1999 of killing a woman whose body was found near the trailer where he and his dad shared. It was a complicated kind of case that involved basically stalking this kid by the police. There's no other way to put it, Melissa, for some 12 years until they finally convicted him. That conviction has been overturned, and new DNA evidence is pointing to somebody else, away from Tim Masters.
What happens next? He really doesn't know. I'm going to sit down with him tomorrow morning and try to give him the night to think about his release and think about where he goes from here, but, basically, just overall relief of this family and this long struggle is over. Tim Masters is finally out of prison.
LONG: Of course, he has so much catching up to do with his family, but he also has so much catching up to do with society. So much has changed during those years of incarceration.
GRIFFIN: You know, I was thinking of that this morning. The judge came in and he said, I would like to ask everybody to turn off their cell phones and their BlackBerrys. And I was thinking, well, Tim Masters probably doesn't even know really what a BlackBerry is. He certainly has never used one.
LONG: Yes.
GRIFFIN: So, there's a chase in point right there.
LONG: Looking forward to hearing your conversation with him tomorrow. Drew, thank you so much.
LEMON: Well, just a short time ago, a federal judge in Miami sentenced Jose Padilla to more than 17 years in prison. Padilla was arrested in 2002 and accused of plotting to blow up a so-called dirty bomb inside the U.S. Now, those charges didn't stick. But last summer he and two other men were convicted of plotting to support international terrorism and al Qaeda. Padilla's co- defendants got more than 12 and 15 years each. Prosecutors had pushed for a 30-year minimum term for Padilla.
LONG: Now, years before his conviction on terror charges, Jose Padilla ran with gangs in Chicago, served time in a Florida prison and worked at a fast-food restaurant.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
LONG (voice-over): Jose Padilla had numerous run-ins with the law while growing up in a predominantly Hispanic neighborhood in Chicago in the '80s. He moved with his family to South Florida in the early '90s. He was arrested for firing a revolver at another driver during a road-rage incident. After a stint in jail, Padilla got a job at a Taco Bell, where the Pakistani immigrant manager became his mentor.
In the mid-'90s, Padilla converted to Islam at a mosque in Sunrise, Florida. He moved to Egypt in the late '90s and eventually settled in Pakistan. The world suddenly learned of Padilla in 2002. That's when then Attorney General John Ashcroft interrupted a trip to Moscow to announce that Padilla had been arrested at Chicago's O'Hare Airport after stepping off a flight from Pakistan. Padilla was accused of being an al Qaeda operative planning to set off a radioactive dirty bomb in the U.S.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
LEMON: Take a look at these images from a changing Iraq. A counterterrorism adviser who spent months in that country will give us his view of what's going on.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
LONG: Coming up on a quarter past the hour, 3:15 East Coast time, here are some of the stories we're working on for you right now.
An economic stimulus plan that's big enough does the job. President Bush says he is confident he and Congress can agree on one. Mr. Bush wrapped up a meeting with leading lawmakers last hour after a day of U.S. market turmoil fueled by fears of a recession.
Late to enter, early to leave -- former Senator Fred Thompson has scrapped his presidential bid after trailing badly in the early primaries and caucuses. The former Senator finished third in last Saturday's GOP primary in South Carolina. It was a state he said he really needed to win.
And, in Colorado, Tim Masters now a free man after serving nearly a decade behind bars for a brutal murder. This afternoon, a judge threw out his conviction because of some new DNA tests. Masters' family released balloons outside the courthouse after his release.
And this next story, just so horrific. T.J., I don't even know how to toss it to you. But we're getting some new information on those kids that were apparently thrown off a bridge?
T.J. HOLMES, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes, we are actually waiting on the information. Expecting a press conference to happen any moment now, expecting information at the autopsy of the fourth of four children that were tossed off bridge by their father, according to authorities, in Alabama. This happened about two weeks ago.
But the search had been going on for some children. Four young children, this latest the 2-year-old was the last that was missing, but authorities believe they have found her body. The body was recovered on Sunday, actually, but had to do an autopsy to make sure and to make it official that, in fact, it was the little girl that they were looking for.
But the body was found by fishing vessels 120 miles west of where she and her siblings had been tossed off that bridge, again, according to police in Alabama. The father, the 37-year-old father, being held now on capital murder charges without bond in the death of the four. Police say he actually confessed to tossing them. You saw a picture of him right there, said he confessed to tossing them off that bridge, but then later recanted that story.
So, now, even though this was a sad story, the family was at least relieved on Sunday to know that they could begin to move forward with some kind of closure after the fourth of the four bodies had been found. But we are expecting a press conference there, again, the father there. No real idea on a motive in this case. But two weeks ago everybody will remember this story, just a horrible circumstance, four children tossed off that bridge to their death.
So, we are standing by, just waiting to get official word. We're expecting they are going to say that, in fact, this body that was found is, in fact, that of the last of the four children, a 2-year- old, who was tossed off that bridge. So, this is a story we're going to be following for probably quite some time trying to get some answers as to why their father, according to police, did what they say he did, tossed these four children off this bridge -- Don.
LEMON: Unbelievable. All right. Thanks, T.J.
LONG: And now images from a changing Iraq. A counterterrorism adviser who spent months in the country will give us his view on what's been going on.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
LONG: It is 3:20 in the afternoon in New York City, a live picture of the BIG BOARD. The Dow is down right now 125, trading at 11973. This morning, the markets plummeted after the Federal Reserve's emergency rate cut. It was a three-quarters-of-a- percentage-point cut, bringing the rate to 3.5 percent, the federal funds rate, in so many ways, an emergency cut in order to ward off recession, ward off a U.S. recession.
The international markets also responded today. We're going to keep the live picture up for you, what we call the little gizmo in the lower corner of your television screen, so you can continue to monitor the markets when we bring you other news as we cover it here in the CNN NEWSROOM.
And also a reminder, when you are away from your television screen, you can still stay up to date everything financial by logging on to your computer and logging on to cnnmoney.com, a terrific resource to find out more about your money, your investments, the job market, the mortgage crisis, and, of course, the tumultuous day today on Wall Street.
LEMON: We hear so many sad stories coming out of Iraq. It is war, but check out these images. They are rarely seen, a soldier sharing a tender moment with a smiling Iraqi child, intense Iraqi soldiers being trained by American soldiers. This is life in Iraq as photographed by a former FBI agent and counterterrorism expert who spent months in that country advising the military.
His name is Tim Clemente. And he joins me now from Washington, from our Washington newsroom, to talk about what he hopes sales of his photo essay book will do for the wounded veterans and the changes of course that he's seen there over the three trips.
Thank you for joining us today. And, of course, you have seen some changes, I'm sure.
TIM CLEMENTE, FORMER FBI AGENT: Yes, I have, Don. And thank you for having me.
LEMON: Yes.
CLEMENTE: Iraq is a very much changing country. And I think the American military and coalition forces are partially responsible because of the way they have modified what they have done. They have changed from war fighting to counterinsurgency, which is much more of a police action and involves much more interaction with the Iraqi people.
LEMON: And you're talking about interaction with the Iraqi people. And just before the interview, I was talking -- I talked to you a little bit about that. I said, there are so many sad stories that come out of war, but, really, the stories of the children, is that -- are those the stories that touch your heart the most? And now with it this way that you said that you are fighting the war, do you have more interaction with them?
CLEMENTE: Yes, I do. And I have several friends in Iraq that have family members. And part of the reason the children affect me so much is I'm a father of eight kids myself, so I see in those children over there my own kids. The people all over the world are the same.
Iraqi children are the same as kids anywhere. They want security. They want safety. They want to be able to live their lives, and, if possible, have fun. And you see this picture here of the soldiers walking through a rubble-strewn street holding hands with Iraqi kids. LEMON: You don't see these images a lot coming out of Iraq. You don't see our forces in this type of manner. Look at this kid, beautiful kid here, crayons.
CLEMENTE: Yes, incredible picture, just smiling, beaming proudly, because he was given a box of crayons by American soldiers who visited his school.
And that gift, not the gift of the crayons, but the gift of that smile to the soldier who gave him that box of crayons, it makes it all worthwhile. These soldiers, like this guy here, 82nd Airborne soldier interacting with about a 4-year-old girl on the streets of Baghdad, and that smile and his smile, it's -- it's worth a million bucks and it tells him that, you know, we appreciate you being here, and he knows that it's all worthwhile when he gets that response from an Iraqi citizen. Now, here is another kid receiving a soccer ball.
LEMON: And, I mean, when you give him a soccer ball, to us, a soccer ball, OK, kids here in the U.S. have tons of soccer balls. It's sort of an embarrassment of riches in many cases.
But when you give a kid in Iraq a soccer ball, or you shake their hand, like we saw the soldier doing before, what's the reaction from the kids?
CLEMENTE: Well, you can see in this kid's eyes he's in awe. This little girl here with the Polish soldier, it takes great courage from a little girl like that, 3 or 4 years old, to walk up to a giant of a soldier. They don't speak the same language. He's from Poland. She's from Iraq. And, yet, they're communicating, clearly. He's giving her a muffin. He's coming off a firing range from marksmanship practice and sees this little girl and just walks over and hands her a muffin.
LEMON: Why would you do this? Obviously, you work now -- I know you are a former FBI agent.
CLEMENTE: Yes.
LEMON: And you work there as well. And your mission, you can't really talk about it, can you?
CLEMENTE: No. Most of what I do over there is classified.
But I'm an adviser to the military on counterinsurgency and counterterrorism matters. I worked counterterrorism for the FBI here in Washington, D.C.
LEMON: Tons of folks do that, Tim. Why would you do this?
CLEMENTE: Well, I was in Iraq. And February of last year, just about a year ago, I got there again. And I saw all these pictures coming out. And this is during the height of the tension, the terror, the insurgency, and the horrific IED attacks all over Iraq.
But, every day, these pictures were coming out. And I have to correct one thing you said. I didn't actually take the photographs. I merely assembled them and created the book. The photographs were actually taken from combat camera photographers, which are uniformed members of the U.S. military, who carry guns, wear body armor, wear helmets, and carry cameras, and they record everything that goes on in theater.
LEMON: And I want people to know this, too. If they want to go, it's www.courage/Iraq.com, -Iraq.com.
CLEMENTE: It's actually, yes, -Iraq, courage-Iraq.com.
(CROSSTALK)
LEMON: And This money goes to two places that need it...
CLEMENTE: Yes.
LEMON: ... the Fisher House and Freedom Alliance, right?
CLEMENTE: Yes. The Freedom Alliance gives scholarships to the surviving children of soldiers who are killed in battle.
And the Fisher House takes care of the families of soldiers who are wounded and are recovering, rehabilitating at military hospitals around the world by providing housing and assistance for those family members, so they can be with the wounded soldiers.
LEMON: We have to wrap it up here. But what do you want people to know about the children in Iraq?
CLEMENTE: The children of Iraq need our support, just the same way our troops do and the coalition forces do, and that they're the same as our kids. They're not terrorists just because it's a Muslim country. Do not associate Islamic extremism and terrorism with the Islamic faith, because they are not the same.
LEMON: Former FBI agent and counterterrorism expert Tim Clemente, thank you for joining us.
CLEMENTE: Thank you, Don.
LONG: Gone for two days now, a college student in Nevada thought to be victim of a kidnapping, possibly worse, police in Reno say 19- year-old Brianna Denison was last seen about 4:00 in the morning on Sunday when she fell asleep on a friend's couch. They found a bloodstain on her pillow, and her purse, cell phone, clothes, still in the house.
Last night, her aunt spoke with Nancy Grace of Headline News.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
NANCY GRACE, HOST: What can you tell me about Brianna?
LAUREN DENISON, AUNT OF BRIANNA DENISON: Brianna is my niece, of course, and she's 19 years old and had come home for winter break. She attends the Santa Barbara Community College. And she's been home with us and she had attended a SWAT, party which is a party that happens in Reno and it's a Summer-Winter Action Tour. And she had gone to a concert on Saturday night and went back to the Sands Hotel and that was the last we had heard from her was early Sunday morning.
But like I said, we are very anxious because this is not anything Brianna would do. She is so incredibly close to her mother, so if she was out somewhere.
GRACE: Right.
DENISON: She would -- and she could call, she would be calling us because that is the type of person she is. She's very responsible.
GRACE: Right.
DENISON: You know, we hear about young women or teens that aren't, that is so out of character for Brianna. So that is what makes us feel more anxious.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
LONG: Reno police are trying to track down a man who gave Brianna's friend a ride to that house earlier in the evening.
Well, the Big Board and the big picture -- we will be checking the markets as Wall Street heads for the closing bell.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
LONG: Keeping track of the markets. They will be closed in 30 minutes. And, yes, things are bad on Wall Street but they could have been much worse without that dramatic surprise rate cut from the Federal Reserve this morning. But is it enough for stocks to finish the session in positive territory?Maybe Susan Lisovicz can weigh in right now. She's live on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange.
Hi, Susan.
LISOVICZ: Hi, Melissa.
Well, it's an interesting scenario because, you know, even in these turbulent times, the most volatile hour of trading has frequently been the final hour of trading. And we've just been seeing the Dow sitting at pretty much the same level for the last couple of hours.
The bulls are starting to make a move now and the Dow is above 12,000. That is certainly encouraging. But there have been some encouraging signs in this marketplace. When you think that the Dow is down as many as 463 points and battles back -- I mean that's more than a 350 point move. At the low, the Dow was -- the deficit was less than a 50 point deficit. So you can see that's going on.
But on the other hand, if you see the glass half empty you'd say well, why can't the bulls make a bigger move given all the losses we've seen and given the stimulus that's promised from Washington and the Federal Reserve, saying that it's going to cut interest rates by .75 a point and hope of another cut perhaps next week.
It's the uncertainty that still exists out there, Melissa. We're getting a lot of information from corporate America -- Apple, after the bell; a lot of big companies before the opening bell tomorrow. We want to see how Asia opens. After all, this has been a global sell- off. And that's certainly underscored, or, I should say magnified, the anxiety that has been palpable here on Wall Street.
Right now, the Dow is down 81 points. We'll see if we can actually go into positive territory. The bulls are starting to make a move. See you later. I'll be following it right until the bell.
LONG: All right. And we'll check in about 30 minutes from now. Thanks, Susan.
LISOVICZ: You're welcome.
LEMON: All right, we want to update you now on some breaking news as it concerns that Marine who was arrested in Mexico -- or at least who they think is in Mexico. Joining us by telephone right now is Harris Whitbeck.
You told us earlier, Harris, that you spoke with one of the relatives.
HARRIS WHITBECK, CNN CORRESPONDENT: That's right, Don.
We're in the city of Guadalajara, Mexico, where Laurean's family is from and where he was actually born. We found a copy of his birth certificate, which led us to the addresses of his parents and grandparents. And when we were in that neighborhood, we were pointed to a nearby liquor store owned by one of Laurean's cousins. We found him and asked him if he had any contact with him in the last few days.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
WHITBECK (THROUGH TRANSLATOR): Have you been in touch with your cousin lately?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE (THROUGH TRANSLATOR): Yes the other day.
WHITBECK (THROUGH TRANSLATOR): He called you?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE (THROUGH TRANSLATOR): No, he stopped by.
WHITBECK (THROUGH TRANSLATOR): Cesar Armando, the one who lives in the United States. He came to see you here?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE (THROUGH TRANSLATOR): Yes. Just a few days ago, last week.
WHITBECK (THROUGH TRANSLATOR): And what did he tell you?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE (THROUGH TRANSLATOR): Just hi. I'm just passing by. He told me he was here with some buddies for a few days and, you know, it's not the first time he's come by to visit and say hi to the family.
WHITBECK (THROUGH TRANSLATOR): Is this he?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE (THROUGH TRANSLATOR): Yes, it is he.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
WHITBECK: Now, Juan Antonio Ramos told us that when he saw his cousin, he did not know about the charges that have been brought against him -- those murder charges back in the States. He also told us that he has not been -- he has not received any contact, been visited or received any phone calls from any authorities asking about his cousin's whereabouts -- Don.
LEMON: So he hasn't spoken to anyone in regards to all of this. What -- I'm getting the sense -- I see there you said you checked his identification and what have you. And so you sort of checked him out. Do you get a sense of the -- that, obviously, that he's telling the truth with all of this?
WHITBECK: Well, we did, you know, go to great lengths to check him out. We asked for his I.D. We also asked him a couple of trick questions to see if he'd -- if he really knew what he was talking about. And he did know facts that -- that seemed to check out. So we are confident that he is, in fact, his cousin.
As to his reaction to all of this, at up with point I asked him if he knew that there was a reward out for any information leading to the whereabouts of his cousin. And his reaction to that was well, he's family.
LEMON: OK. Again, real quick, because we have to move on. We've got a lot of breaking news here today we want to -- did you tell him about the warrant being out or did he find out before you got there?
WHITBECK: He had found out. He'd actually seen on it CNN a few days after the visit from his cousin.
LEMON: OK. Got it. Thank you, Harris Whitbeck.
LONG: The GOP field narrowed today -- the race for the Republican presidential nomination. Fred Thompson calling it quits this afternoon. Senior political analyst Bill Schneider, from the best political team on television, joins us now live from Myrtle Beach with his insight.
Hi, Bill.
WILLIAM SCHNEIDER, CNN SENIOR POLITICAL ANALYST: Hi, Melissa.
LONG: So when you heard this news about Fred Thompson dropping out of the race, of course, Fred Thompson had banked a lot on the State of South Carolina. Is that what did it? SCHNEIDER: Well, certainly this was the first Southern state. He staked his claim on being the Southern candidate. He had to compete with Mike Huckabee who clearly out polled him here in South Carolina and that's what I think led him to get out of the race.
But a lot of voters will see that -- they will argue two things about Fred Thompson. One his campaign was sort of lethargic. He got a late start, that he didn't campaign very strenuously. He didn't show enough fight, which Republicans were looking for. The other lesson that will be learned for all eternity from the Fred Thompson campaign is don't wait to get in until it's too late. You're going to see candidates running for nominations the day after the November election, because they don't want to be another Fred Thompson.
LONG: Very interesting insight. Let's talk about the debate last night in South Carolina with the Democrats.
SCHNEIDER: Yes.
LONG: It was feisty, to say the least. Now, John Edwards...
SCHNEIDER: Yes.
LONG: How do you think he fared? Do you think his performance would help him out?
SCHNEIDER: I think it will help him out. I think he got back into the game. I'm not saying he's a winner. I'm not making any prediction. But I think he did show himself an equal contender to the others on the stage who are, of course, are leading him in the polls.
He likes to describe himself as the grownup in that debate, and I think he has a point. There was a lot of squabbling between Obama and Clinton. And he stood apart from that. He often seemed left out. But then when he spoke -- and particularly when he spoke about his deep commitment to issues of justice and poverty -- I thought he made some -- he gave some very compelling answers.
LONG: Of course, we have been tracking the Dow all day today. You can see it is down 47 right now. That has really climbed back after this morning's early sell-off. So with the markets -- with the way they've been fearing -- faring today, could the downturn in the economy really help any of the candidates in particular?
SCHNEIDER: Well, certainly it would help the Democrats in the fall campaign, if the economy is a big problem, because it always hurts any incumbent president's party if the economy is bad. Within the primaries -- well, all the polls show that the economy works best for Hillary Clinton, primarily because of her husband's record on economic management. People believe -- Democrats believe that Hillary Clinton is best qualified to manage the economy, shows the strongest commitment and experience in that area.
On the Republican side, Mitt Romney claims to be the economic candidate. The Republican polls are not quite as clear about that. But at least he's running hard on the economy because of his experience as a business executive and someone who managed some turnarounds, he claims, when he was in the private sector.
LONG: Also, with the debate last night broadcast on CNN and also on CNN.com, the Democrats really seemed to do some assuming that John McCain just may be the Republican nominee. So if that is, in fact, the case come general election, who might run against him the best?
SCHNEIDER: Well, they actually talked about the polls a little bit in the debate. John Edwards cited a poll which we did in December, showing that he leads John McCain. And that is precisely correct. He led John McCain by eight points. Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama -- there really isn't much difference between the two. We did a poll in January. We didn't test Edwards.
We tested Obama versus McCain, Clinton versus McCain -- and in both cases the race was a tie -- even between the Democrats and John McCain. And he was the only Republican contender who managed to tie the leading Democrats, which means that if he's the nominee he's likely to be a tough adversary.
LONG: It is clearly going to be yet a demanding and exciting presidential year -- president election.
Bill Schneider live for us from South Carolina. Bill, thank you.
SCHNEIDER: Sure.
LONG: And a reminder -- don't miss the big showdowns in the wild, wild West a little later in the month. The candidates will be facing off in California, really the final debate before Super Tuesday. So mark your calendars, the 30th and 31st of January. You can see those debates live on CNN Television. And if you happen to be away from your TV, cnn.com live.
Well, time is winding down, the race is heating up and for the freshest polls, don't forget our Political Ticker blog. You can find out about the latest fights and so much more -- of course, the policies of the politicians at cnnpolitics.com.
LEMON: Remembering Audrey Hepburn -- a new tribute to the late actress and international humanitarian. That's ahead in the CNN NEWSROOM.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
LEMON: The closing bell is creeping up on us and probably not soon enough for a lot of folks there on Wall Street. Only down about 79 points now, but at one point in the day, 86 points. At one point in the day, over 400 points. The closing bell just moments away. Our Susan Lisovicz is following it.
LONG: The nominations are out for the 80th annual Academy Awards. They were announced this morning in Los Angeles. And now vying for best picture "Atonement," "Juno" "Michael Clayton" "No Country for Old Men" and "There Will Be Blood". Some of the names up for best actor -- George Clooney, Daniel Day-Lewis, Johnny Depp, Tommy Lee Jones and Viggo Mortensen. Now competing in the best actress category, Cate Blanchett, Julie Christie, Marion Cotillard, Laura Linney and newcomer -- just 20 years old -- Ellen Page. So many good movies to go see.
LEMON: And no doubt she was one of the most beautiful actresses in Hollywood and for many years the face and voice of UNICEF. And to mark the 50th anniversary of the death of Audrey Hepburn, the editors of "Life" magazine have put together a book of photographs by famous set photographer Bob Willoughby. Recently, our Kyra Phillips talked with the book's editor, Robert Sullivan, and got the fascinating stories behind some of the famous shots.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
KYRA PHILLIPS, CNN ANCHOR: Bob, let's start with this picture. And you say, arguably, one of her most popular pictures. It was from "My Fair Lady". Tell me about this one.
ROBERT SULLIVAN, EXECUTIVE EDITOR, "LIFE" MAGAZINE: Yes, it's one of Audrey's most popular pictures. It's probably one of the most popular pictures of all time, "My Fair Lady". You know, you look at the picture and you can just see that she was made to play this woman who turns into a princess. And that smile, it's -- she's -- she's regal -- but she's and she's lovely, but she's lovable, as well.
She got that role over Julie Andrews, who had played Eliza Doolittle on Broadway. Jack Warner wanted Audrey and her box office heft. And, you know, it's interesting, because Julie and Audrey talked about it over at the time. They remained friends. It was all good between them. And you can see here that as good as Julie would have been in that role -- and she would have been terrific -- Audrey was sort of born to play Eliza on the screen.
PHILLIPS: This one is on a portrait and it was just after her success with "Roman Holiday". She was just on the verge of becoming famous, right?
SULLIVAN: It was just about to break for her. She was -- she was going to be on the cover of "Time" magazine. She was about to win the Academy Award for "Roman Holiday". She was about to become a big, big star. And this is what she looked like then.
PHILLIPS: These crack me up -- the ones of the fawn with the name and Pippin. It's sort of a strange picture from a strange movie.
SULLIVAN: Pippin, the fawn, was to follow her through the woods and sort of imprint on her. And so this -- there's one shot of her, you know, with -- you know, this is acting it out with the fawn. This is then at work. There's another shot of her in a supermarket in Beverly Hills because the animal trainer insisted she take the fawn home with her. Audrey was very famous by then. And they saw this thing and they're -- you know, they're gaping from down the aisle.
PHILLIPS: It's like what's Audrey Hepburn doing with a...
SULLIVAN: Yes.
PHILLIPS: ...with a fawn in the supermarket?
SULLIVAN: But the amazing thing that Willoughby remembered was nobody approached her. I mean I guess it was too bizarre to go up to Audrey Hepburn and say what are you doing with this deer, you know?
PHILLIPS: This picture of her first son is precious, as well. We'll move from the love of the animals to the love for her children. And this is so playful.
SULLIVAN: Sean Ferrer. Sean Ferrer today, in fact, with his half-brother and -- heads up the foundations that carry on Audrey's good work with the world's troubled children in her name. And, yes, this is Sean when he was an infant. In the background there, you see James Garner. This was a -- an intimate moment, behind-the-scenes, on the set of "The Children's Hour" or during the making of "The Children's Hour," which was an extremely serious heavy movie. And it took on toll on everyone involved.
PHILLIPS: This picture, from the set of "Paris When It Sizzles." He had a great relationship with Givenchy, right? That's where she got a lot of her wardrobe.
SULLIVAN: An amazing relationship with Givenchy -- one of the most profitable from a fashionable sense and from a friendship, as well. She would insist -- would not insist, but she would ask on movies that even if they had a costume designer already assigned to the film, that Givenchy be allowed to come in and design her clothes.
PHILLIPS: When you look at all these pictures, you see how thin she was. And the history of that is she had a lot of health problems because of malnourishment she experienced during the war, right?
SULLIVAN: Yes. That carried on through her life. She was in -- during World War II, she was a child -- almost exactly the same age as Anne Frank -- and she talks about this in the book, we quote from stuff she had talked about before -- under Nazi occupation in Holland with her mother. And it was a terrible time. She used to put on ballet recitals -- clandestine ballet recitals throughout the city, you know, to raise money for the Dutch resistance. It was a terrible time and it informed her efforts later with UNICEF on behalf of troubled and endangered children.
The reason we wanted to do this book is this is a person worth remembering. She ended up being a true hero through those -- the work of those last several years on behalf of children.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
LEMON: In addition to the Oscar she won for "Roman Holiday," The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences also gave Hepburn a humanitarian award for her work with UNICEF.
LONG: Earlier in the afternoon, we brought you a brief address from President George Bush about the state of the U.S. economy and a possible stimulus plan. Well, coming up, we will hear from House Speaker Nancy Pelosi here from the Democratic side. And, of course, we are tracking the market as we get close to the closing bell. Coming up just 12 minutes from now, we're watching the market. It has rebounded significantly since this morning, down 82. The Dow is trading at 12,016. We'll keep you posted. Do stay with CNN and the NEWSROOM.
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LEMON: Time to check what's clicking on cnn.com -- some of our most viewed video this hour.
An 11-month old baby found drunk with a blood alcohol level of 0.11. His mom and her boyfriend have been arrested. They told police the baby somehow consumed the stuff without their knowledge.
Water, water everywhere on this Chicago street. Check it out -- a water main burst overnight, causing a giant 15-foot deep sinkhole. Repairs are expected to take several weeks there. And it's cold. It could freeze.
And casting doubt on the undefeated season, New England quarterback Tom Brady -- look at that, we've got it highlighted -- sporting a cast for a while yesterday. His Patriots face the New York Giants in the Super Bowl February 3rd. These stories and much, much more all at cnn.com.
LONG: Do you think he's trying to psych them out?
LEMON: Maybe he's trying to...
LONG: Psyche out the competition?
LEMON: I don't know. Yes.
LONG: I don't know.
LEMON: That would be a good strategy, don't you think?
LONG: Yes, it would.
A moment ago, I mentioned that we were expecting to hear from the Democratic leadership. We heard from President Bush last hour, talking about a potential economic stimulus plan. Well, now we're going to hear from the Democrats and the Senate majority leader, Harry Reid.
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SEN. HARRY REID (D-NV), MAJORITY LEADER: There's a general conservatives that we want to do this by the time we leave for the Presidents Day recess. That gives -- it gives us three weeks after this week to do legislation on it. We hope we can do it more quickly than that. But our goal is to do it before we break for the Presidents Day recess, to have something on it.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
LONG: Again, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid talking about a possible economic stimulus plan. We are following the markets. They are set to close in eight minutes. The Dow, heading back down to negative territory there...
LEMON: Yes.
LONG: ...126, trading at 11,970. We're following it all, as we get closer and closer to the closing bell on this Tuesday afternoon.
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LEMON: All right, take a look at this. How would you like to see this parked outside of your house?
LONG: This must be terrifying.
LEMON: Yes, this gives new meaning to SUV -- smoking utility vehicle. This wild scene captured by I-Reporter Jason Shewmake in Decatur, Georgia. He says the driver of the flaming SUV knocked on his door asking for a hose. Shewmake had one but it wasn't long enough...
LONG: Screaming for a hose.
LEMON: Yes, I'm sure. Give me a hose!
The SUV exploded. The driver was reportedly freaking out because it wasn't -- it wasn't his vehicle. Imagine that -- returning that one.
If news happens near you -- everybody is OK, by the way. That's why we're having a -- making a little bit light of it -- if news happens near you, you too can be an I-reporter. Make sure you send your photos and your video at cnn.com/ireport.
LONG: But, again, don't ever compromise your safety when covering something like that.
LEMON: Absolutely.
Time to check in now with CNN's Wolf Blitzer.
LONG: He is live in Washington getting ready for his program, "THE SITUATION ROOM" -- Wolf.
WOLF BLITZER, CNN ANCHOR: Hi, guys. Thanks very much.
President Bush meets with the Congressional leadership to come up with an action plan for the troubled economy. But is it too little too late?
I'll ask one of the president's chief economic advisers. He's standing by live right here in "THE SITUATION ROOM."
The day after the debate and the bickering has not ended. The back and forth between Obama and Clinton -- how voters feel about it and what it means for John Edwards. And Barack Obama goes on the offensive, appearing on the Christian Broadcasting Network trying to correct rumors about his ruling. You're going to hear what he has to say.
All that and a lot more coming up right here in "THE SITUATION ROOM" -- back to you.
LEMON: Wolf, I thought you were going to have to duck last night. Man, the barbs were flying.
BLITZER: It got a little heated. I should -- I should agree with you on that.
LEMON: All right. All right, thank you, Wolf. We'll be watching.
BLITZER: OK.
LONG: You know, so many of the candidates now are really focusing on the economy. It's becoming a huge issue so...
LEMON: Well, they have to.
LONG: Yes.
LEMON: I mean look at what's happening today on Wall Street.
LONG: I know.
LEMON: And the mortgage meltdown and everything.
Susan Lisovicz is standing by with a final look at this very -- can I say tumultuous trading day -- Susan.
LONG: Yes.
LISOVICZ: I think -- yes, I think that word certainly can very aptly be used for this session. And, you know, it's a sign of the times when you see a 137-point decline as not too bad. And that's what's happened. I mean we were looking at a disastrous Dow at the open, given the global sell-off that we had seen for two sessions.
Remember, the New York Stock Exchange was closed yesterday. And we saw a big reaction worldwide to some of the numbers and the tumult we saw on Wall Street last week. The Federal Reserve stepping in an hour before the opening bell with a rare, aggressive three quarters of a point rate cut to help calm the markets, but more importantly, to help ease up the credit crunch that has put the brakes on spending both on the consumer level, as well as the corporate level.
We had seen a drop of as many as 463 points. Right now we're down 120 points and we're back below 12,000. Why can't the Dow get and why can't the three major averages sustain something more dramatic? Well, perhaps because there's still so many questions out there. After the bell, we hear from Apple. Tomorrow, we hear from eBay and UTX, Delta Airlines, Pfizer -- just a broad array of companies that will be telling us what they're seeing in terms of customer demand here and abroad, as well as inflation in terms of commodity prices. And, of course, next week, the Federal Reserve meets again. And the betting is that the Fed could now cut interest rates again, which really underscores the kind of magnitude of the problem -- guys.
LEMON: Oh my goodness, yes. And those rebates that they're talking about, maybe folks will see -- we've heard a lot, Susan, about not using them, saving them or about using them and stimulating the economy.
LISOVICZ: That's right. And that's why there are so many questions out there. So at the end of the day, at the closing bell, the Dow drops 129 points. But the Federal Reserve averted something that could have been a lot nastier. And we'll see how it plays out tomorrow. More drama then. We'll see you then.
LONG: Thank you, Susan. Of course, the numbers will continue to settle -- cnnmoney.com to follow them.
LEMON: Absolutely.
And now it's time to turn it over to "THE SITUATION ROOM" and Mr. Wolf Blitzer.
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