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American Morning
Democrats Trade Insults in South Carolina; Freezing Weather Continues; Markets at Home and Abroad Struggle; Mitt Romney Looks to Florida for Support
Aired January 22, 2008 - 07:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
KIRAN CHETRY, CNN ANCHOR (voice-over): Around the world. Bracing for a rocky day in Wall Street. Could the Dow see another dramatic slide today? What you need to know to protect your financial security.
Getting ugly. Clinton versus Obama, and the fight for the black vote in South Carolina.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JOE JOHNS, DEBATE MODERATOR: Do you think Bill Clinton was our first black president?
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CHETRY: And John Edwards gasping for air time.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JOHN EDWARDS (D), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Are there three people in this debate, not two?
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CHETRY: AM is on the road with the most politics in the morning.
Shocking snowfall -- three feet in two days.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Is it springtime yet?
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CHETRY: Live from the Great Lakes on this AMERICAN MORNING.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
CHETRY: It's Tuesday, January 22nd. Welcome to a special edition of AMERICAN MORNING. I'm Kiran Chetry in New York.
Hey, John.
JOHN ROBERTS, CNN ANCHOR: Hey, good morning to you, Kiran. I'm John Roberts in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina. We're going to be going over all of the highlights of last night's debate this morning. But we begin this hour with the latest on your financial security.
Overseas stock markets tumbling overnight on worries about the future of our economy. The Hang Seng had its biggest one-day drop ever. Japan's Nikkei had its biggest drop in 10 years. Markets in South Korea, Australia, Singapore, India, all down. And Europe's markets all open lower this morning, though, trading there right now is mixed.
We continue our team coverage now. Senior business correspondent Ali Velshi is here with me in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina. Personal finance editor Gerri Willis is up in New York. And Eunice Yoon is in Hong Kong. Let's begin with Ali this morning. And how bad is it expected to be on Wall Street this morning?
ALI VELSHI, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, you do the math on the futures which is how we know where things are going to go. We're still looking at more than 400 points lower on the Dow. It seems to be improving a little bit because as you mentioned, the European markets are strengthening. But the problem was in Asia after a major drop yesterday in Asia and Europe. Overnight, we saw it again. The Hang Seng down almost nine percent.
As you said, John, the biggest drop ever. The Shanghai index, down 7.2 percent. Australia, seven percent. Taiwan, 6.5. Japan, 5.7. And South Korea down 4.4. Now, this is all on the belief that the U.S. is headed for a recession. And if the U.S. is headed for recession, that means hard times for U.S. consumers and that affects the entire world.
The Federal Reserve meets in one week from today. And one week from tomorrow, they're expected to cut rates. The speculation has been for half a percentage point in an effort to shore up the economy. Now, there's talk that it could be more. It might even be sooner. We haven't seen an emergency rate cut in a long time, but it could happen. That's something to keep an eye on.
Let's have a look at what your portfolio probably looks like. You have mutual funds that track major indices. The Dow right now is off almost nine percent year-to-date. That's not down from where it was in October. This is from January 1st now. The NASDAQ down almost 12 percent. The S&P down nine percent. These are numbers you don't often see in an entire year. So it's a good time to check your 401(k)s and see if you can take some defensive strategies which Gerri is going to talk about, and we'll be continuing to talk about.
ROBERTS: You look at these in terms of percentages, but what does it mean as far as real money goes? How much value these indices have lost?
VELSHI: Well, the Dow is down about 14 percent now from its high, which was in October. Usually, when a market gets down below ten percent, it's a correction. When it's 20 percent, it's called a bear market. Those are very important terms. Bear markets are often turning points. Some people say it's time to get in when you get to that point. You might be at the bottom.
(CROSSTALK)
ROBERTS: But basically, what are we're talking about?
VELSHI: More than 2,000 points.
ROBERTS: Hundreds -- we're talking about hundreds of billions of dollars.
VELSHI: Oh, absolutely. Absolutely. And this is real money that people are losing.
ROBERTS: All right. Ali, thanks. We'll see you back here in a few minutes.
VELSHI: OK.
ROBERTS: The president has tried to stem fears of a recession. He is planning to meet with Congress today about his stimulus package. He wants to put $150 billion back into your hands in the form of better tax deductions for businesses, rebates for individuals, and slashes in government spending. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and leaders of both parties are scheduled to meet with the president today. Both sides are showing unprecedented cooperation.
Internet giant Yahoo, meanwhile, is reportedly ready to lay off hundreds, maybe thousands of workers. According to "The New York Times" and "The Wall Street Journal," the cost cutting is part of the company's effort to sharpen focus and boost its sagging stock. A final decision could be announced at the end of the month after Yahoo executives review the company's fourth quarter results.
More on the economy now with Kiran up in New York.
Hey, Kiran.
CHETRY: Hey, and Dow futures as Ali just said, down more than 400 points at this hour. People bracing for the day ahead about 2 1/2 hours before the markets open. So what about your 401(k) and your other personal investments? Should you do anything different today to protect your money?
Well, CNN's personal finance editor Gerri Willis has some advice. She has on our "Financial Security Watch" as well. You know, you hate to see these numbers. Everyone always says stay in. A 401(k) is long term, but you hate to see these numbers.
GERRI WILLIS, CNN PERSONAL FINANCE EDITOR: Absolutely, you do. But, you know, it's also a buying opportunity as the stocks go down. You got to think of it as a great big sale when you see these prices trade lower and lower and lower. And think about it. If you get out of the market right now, you'll be selling low and buying high when you reinvest. That's the last thing you want to do. You're better off staying out, sticking to your guns, and staying in the market over the long haul, particularly if you have decades and decades until retirement. Remember, it's all about asset allocation here. That's the most important thing that you want to be thinking about until you have your money in the right buckets. Are you buying stocks? Are you buying bonds? Are you buying international equities exactly as you should?
You can always consult a financial advisor -- cnnmoney.com. Kiran also has a calculator that will help you figure it out. It's all about how close you are to retirement. And if you got decades to go, this isn't something that you should sweat this morning.
CHETRY: All right. And if you are concerned, you should probably call your financial advisor. Make sure you're diversified.
WILLIS: Make sure you're diversified. Absolutely.
CHETRY: All right. Gerri, thanks so much.
Well, we are keeping a close eye on the sell-offs overseas and what it means for the market here. Coming up in just a few minutes, we're talking with CNN's Lou Dobbs. He joins our team coverage up early this morning to give us a closer look at the state of the U.S. economy. That's coming up at 7:15, just about ten minutes from now, John.
ROBERTS: All right. Let's talk politics for a little while here this morning. Kiran, there are two new polls that signal severe trouble for the Rudy Giuliani campaign. Both say the man known as America's mayor isn't even winning in New York State. A WNBC/Marist poll has Senator John McCain ahead by 11 points, with Mitt Romney and Mike Huckabee trailing.
A Sienna College Poll gives Senator McCain a dozen point lead over the former New York City mayor, with Mitt Romney in third, but barely polling in the double digits. The Sienna Poll is also showing Hillary Clinton faring much better on home turf. The New York senator has close to half of the vote among the Democrats, more than doubling Senator Barack Obama.
The Democrats hitting the campaign trail today after a brutal debate last night in South Carolina. Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama launching into a verbal brawl. The critical South Carolina primary just four days away. It's on Saturday. And both candidates are pressing the issues and fighting to win over black voters. Our senior political correspondent Candy Crowley tells us, with the stakes this high, the action is getting rough.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SEN. BARACK OBAMA (D), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Wait, you know, Hillary, you just spoke.
(CROSSTALK)
SEN. HILLARY CLINTON (D), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: I did not say anything about Ronald Reagan.
OBAMA: You just spoke for two minutes.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
CANDY CROWLEY, SENIOR POLITICAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): You think this race isn't personal? Then, you didn't watch.
OBAMA: While I was working on those streets, watching those folks see their jobs shipped overseas, you were a corporate lawyer silting on the board of Wal-Mart.
CROWLEY: They read their Apple (ph) Research, used it frequently and never gave an inch.
CLINTON: I was fighting against those ideas when you were practicing law and representing your contributor, Resco, in his slum landlord business in inner city Chicago.
OBAMA: No, no, no, no, no, no.
CROWLEY: Also, John Edwards was there.
EDWARDS: I also want to know in behalf of voters here in South Carolina, this kind of squabbling -- how many children is this going to get health care?
CROWLEY: So, first victim -- that high-minded campaign on the issues. And even when they did get down to it, hostilities simmered, each accusing the other of distorting the truth. An economic stimulus plan. Obama said Clinton changed hers to match his. She said it wasn't so. Fiscal responsibility. She said he can't pay for his plans. He said it wasn't the truth. On health care --
EDWARDS: There's nothing wrong with us arguing about this. But -- but I believe that there is not a single man, woman and child in America who's not worthy of help.
CROWLEY: It was two on one. Edwards and Clinton have health care plans that mandate insurance for everyone, with government subsidies for those who can't afford it. Obama's plan pivots on offering the same subsidies but driving down costs so people can afford health insurance.
OBAMA: You mandate on families to buy health insurance that they can't afford. And if you don't buy it, you fine them or in some other way, take money from them.
CROWLEY: The Clinton campaign thinks this is a winner. It's one of her favorite subjects.
CLINTON: I think that the whole idea of universal health care is such a core Democratic principle that I am willing to go to the mat for it.
CROWLEY: But mostly, this was a debate dominated by the dynamics of a tight race with big stakes.
CLINTON: Senator Obama, it is very difficult having a straight- up debate with you because you never take responsibility for any vote.
CROWLEY: And two candidates with row nerve ending.
OBAMA: These are the kinds of political games that we are accustomed to.
CLINTON: Wait a minute. Wait a minute. Just a minute.
CROWLEY: Candy Crowley, CNN, Myrtle Beach, South Carolina.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
ROBERTS: And coming up at the end of this hour, I asked Democratic National Committee Chairman Howard Dean if all of this in- fighting is hurting his party's shot at the White House. And Kiran, I don't know if it's some of the residual hit left over from last night's debate, but it's an awful lot milder here in South Carolina this morning, for which we're very thankful.
CHETRY: Yes, absolutely. I mean, boy, you really couldn't take your eyes off the screen last night to see what's going to be said next. But it was fascinating. In the end, did it help people get any closer to deciding which candidate they're going with? Well, that's still a question this morning.
Meanwhile, on the Republican side, John, just a week to go until the Florida primary, John McCain, Mitt Romney are on the street and they're out looking for votes. The state holds the largest amount of delegates so far, 57, winner take all.
Yesterday, Romney began a statewide bus tour attacking McCain on the economy and saying the Arizona senator voted against President Bush's tax cuts. McCain campaigned in Little Havana where he spoke out against the trade embargo with Cuba. Cubans make up about ten percent of Florida's Republican vote.
And Mayor Rudy Giuliani trying to appeal to the NASCAR dad 29 10 demographic. The Republican presidential candidate took a lap around the Daytona International Speedway yesterday on his campaign bus. Not sure if that bus is built optimally for -- you know, for heading on the track. But, hey, it was a good photo op.
Meanwhile, the church Dr. Martin Luther King once led, was the setting for a tense moment between Atlanta's mayor and former President Bill Clinton. Mayor Shirley Franklin is a Barack Obama supporter, and she took a jab at President Clinton's expense while he was in the crowd.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
MAYOR SHIRLEY FRANKLIN (D), ATLANTA: On this beautiful all- American day in 2008, we are at the cusp of turning the impossible into reality. Is this a miracle? We are certainly here by the Grace of God, by the prayers and dreams of the faithful. Yes, this is reality. Not fantasy or fairy tale.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CHETRY: President Clinton has been criticized for calling Barack Obama's war stance on Iraq a fairy tale. He also had a chance to speak and said Dr. King's vision made it possible for a black man, a Mormon, a woman, and a Baptist preacher to all run for president. And actually, Baptist minister and Republican presidential candidate Mike Huckabee was there in the crowd.
Former President Clinton may be in line for a $20 million payout, all in an effort to protect his wife's campaign. The "Wall Street Journal" reporting this morning that he's cutting ties with a firm that handles investments in Dubai. It was a relationship that started through a billionaire supporter back in 2002.
Our Alina Cho here this morning following the latest developments on some other stories new this morning.
Hi, Alina.
ALINA CHO, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hey there, Kiran. Good morning, again. Good morning, everybody.
New this morning. The man who was once accused of a dirty bomb plot is expected to be sentenced today. The al-Qaeda operative, Jose Padilla, was convicted of being part of a North American terror cell. He was initially accused of planning to set off a radioactive dirty bomb, but those charges were dropped and never part of the criminal case. Prosecutors say he deserves life in prison. Padilla's lawyer says he shouldn't get the maximum sentence because he was treated harshly while in police custody.
Today marks the 35th anniversary of the landmark abortion case, Roe versus Wade. Rallies and protests on both sides of the issue planned in Washington today. On January 22, 1973, the Supreme Court ruled abortion should be legal. And over the past 3 1/2 decades, the debate has only gotten more contentious. Nationwide right now, the abortion rate is at its lowest level since the Roe vs. Wade decision.
The defending champion is out at the Australian Open. Serena Williams lost this morning to Jelena Yankovic in the quarterfinals. Serena's sister, Venus, still alive in the tournament. She's going to play her quarterfinal match tomorrow.
And take a look at this photo here. A scary picture from New England Patriots fans and possibly a good one for the New York Giants fans. The paparazzi spotted and snapped quarterback Tom Brady taking flowers to his model girlfriend, Giselle Bundchen, in Manhattan. He had a walking cast on his right foot there. Brady said on a radio show recently, nothing serious and he'll be ready for the Super Bowl in two weeks, but die-hard New York Giants fans, of course, see it as an opportunity.
And Kiran, look no further than the New York tabloids, who's afraid of Tom Brady now? They call them a pedal-pushing flower boy. And, of course, Giants fans taking advantage of it. They are not favored to win. In fact, I think they're supposed to lose by 12 1/2 points. But we shall see what happens.
CHETRY: That's right. A big spread there. It's all mind games, Alina. I tell you, I have a feeling. I don't buy it for a second. He'll be fine to play in the Super Bowl.
Well, much of the country is weathering some bone-chilling cold. Temperatures and wind chills dipping into the single digits. In some places, even lower than that. It's an arctic blast that's dumping heavy snow in parts of Central New York as well. More than three feet, in fact, of snow on the ground in the town of Fulton. It's up near Lake Ontario.
The area now under a state of emergency with blowing snow creating whiteout conditions on the road. Dozens of accidents reported and some schools across the area closed as well. Our Rob Marciano is in the middle of it all. He's tracking the extreme weather for us.
You're in front of the building that's supposed to be helping out with this. However, it doesn't look like much is going on behind you.
ROB MARCIANO, AMS METEOROLOGIST: No. And therein lies the problem, Kiran. This is an area of the country no stranger to snowfall. One point last year, this county received upwards of 10 feet and as little as eight days. But they got three feet in one day over the weekend. About 24 hours ago, at 5:20 a.m., this roof came tumbling down because of the weight of all of this snow in this 50- year structure.
Problem is, underneath that roof is where all the snow clearing equipment is. This is the Public Works Department building. You've got sanders. You've got plows. You've got big snow blowers that cut through the banks and get rid of -- you know, we talk about three feet of snow falling in 24 hours, I can't even get through it. You know, that's a tough nut to crack when you're trying to clear the roadways here in this small town. The state of emergency, they're getting help from surrounding towns throughout the county. Good news, it's cold this morning. But the snow has at least stopped for now.
Take a look at the radar and show you where it is. It has shifted a little bit farther to the north, but the winds will probably change with another system that is going to roll this way. You see most of it north of Watertown now. We shift them out towards Chicago. That's the next weather system. A little bit of snow there stretching towards Cleveland. That front will come through and probably shift the winds and maybe bring more lake-effect snow here tomorrow night.
Rain south of the Tennessee River Valley heading to the east where it's actually badly need. They don't need any more snow here, Kiran, but no doubt they will get more as we're only in what? Third week of January? Yes.
CHETRY: That's right.
MARCIANO: That's what we've got for the folks here in upstate New York.
CHETRY: It sure has. All right. Thanks so much, Rob.
Well, sometimes a little knowledge can be a dangerous thing. The New York City Board of Health is hoping that providing people with calorie information about fast food will encourage them to maybe not eat it. Today, the board will vote on a measure which will require fast food chains to post calorie counts prominently on their menu boards. They try to do it once before, but a judge struck it down, saying it didn't include enough restaurants. It applies to chains.
The new rule would apply to any chain with 15 or more locations. Joining us now to weigh in on this story, CNN's chief medical correspondent, Dr. Sanjay Gupta at the medical desk. You know, you've looked into how effective this is giving people information about the calories that they're taking in for your "Fit Nation" series. In your opinion, is this a good thing? Does it work?
DR. SANJAY GUPTA, CNN CHIEF MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, you know, it's a fascinating look into human behavior, for sure. You know, take for example, just getting a large burger, medium fries and a large drink at a typical fast food restaurant. It's about 1,300 calories, 66 percent of the calories you need for the day. The question is, when you hear information like that, does it make you less likely to want to purchase it? And that's sort of where this whole thing is at odds.
The New York Health Department says, yes, it will make a difference. The New York Restaurant Association says no. The New York Health Department says, look, nine out of 10 people underestimate how many calories they're eating, by about 600 calories, which is a lot. And if you look at case examples like Subway, for example. When you post a lot of the information, they're actually 48 calories -- they are 48 calories less.
The Restaurant Association says hang on (ph). The information is already available. It's going to make the menus look more cluttered, and it doesn't really give a full picture of the overall nutritional information. So the votes today -- it will take effect March 31st if it passes. And keep in mind, Kiran, about 56 percent of New Yorkers are either overweight or obese as things stand right now.
CHETRY: Now, I guess people who eat at Subway are also looking to be a little healthier than people who order the double whopper with cheese.
GUPTA: Fair enough. Fair enough.
CHETRY: Hey, what do you have coming up later?
GUPTA: Some fascinating stuff this morning, I think for everybody. First of all, cell phones -- might they affect your sleep, especially if you use them right before you go to bed? Some interesting information on that. Caffeine -- we talk a lot about caffeine. There are some health benefits. But what are the benefits, and what are the dangers as well? Also that window washer in New York City, Kiran. Amazing, he fell almost 500 feet. We're going to have an update on him. How he's doing now and how he survived as well, Kiran.
CHETRY: That is truly a miracle when you hear what he went through and still made it out alive. All right. Sanjay, we'll look forward to checking in with you a little bit later. Thanks.
GUPTA: Thank you.
CHETRY: John?
ROBERTS: Kiran, maybe it's all of the energy that he's putting in to taking on Barack Obama. But Bill Clinton is looking a little sleepy these days. Struggling to stay awake and losing the battle at the Martin Luther King Day event. The former president caught on tape. Next on AMERICAN MORNING.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
CHETRY: Well, there are some more bad news breaking in the business world this morning. In fact, news just in according to cnnmoney.com, of Bank of America's quarterly net income. Word is it's plunged 95 percent to $268 million. That's about five cents a share. It is far below estimates. We're going to continue to follow the latest on this as well. But, again, Bank of America's quarterly net income plunging 95 percent. The news from cnnmoney.com this morning.
And a lot of other questions about our financial picture. Is the nation headed for a recession? Is Washington doing enough to help? Lou Dobbs has no shortage of opinions on the topic. He is the host of "LOU DOBBS TONIGHT," and he's also the author of the "War on the Middle Class" joining me live from Sussex, New Jersey, this morning. Lou, great to see you.
LOU DOBBS, CNN ANCHOR: All right. Good to be with you.
The idea that Bank of America lost -- watched its net drop by 95 percent, though, this is the good news because most banks are pointing to outright losses. So as bad as that is, it's better than most.
CHETRY: The nation's largest bank and the bank that recently acquired Countrywide Financial, which is the nation's largest mortgage company that was in a bit of trouble as well.
DOBBS: Yes. They paid $4 billion for a very troubled mortgage lender that being Countrywide, the nation's largest as you say. And absorbing Countrywide under their balance sheet is a tremendous risk that the CEO, Ken Lewis, is taking. But if indeed they can weather this storm, and it is one terrific storm, they will emerge much stronger. But it is a tremendous business risk for Bank of America.
CHETRY: You know, and there's more news this morning. We had the world markets plunging overnight after fears of a struggling U.S. economy.
DOBBS: Yes. CHETRY: We also...
DOBBS: Right.
CHETRY: ... have heard that there's jitters, of course, in London because our futures are pointing down about 400 points so far this morning.
DOBBS: Yes, right.
CHETRY: What do you think is going on? Is a recession inevitable?
DOBBS: Well, I think recession is inevitable. It has been inevitable throughout the course of history. And the journalists and the economists and the administration officials and all of the campaign spokesmen and candidates themselves -- you know, they're not even focusing on reality. This is an absurdity, and they're doing a disservice to the nation.
The reality is that stimulus packages have been necessary before, they'll be necessary again. The reality is that this is not just a U.S. problem. It's a global problem. For crying out loud, the enthusiasts for China don't take note of the fact that the Shanghai market has risen 300 percent in three years. Mumbai, Bombay, India, up 200 percent. South Korea, Hong Kong, have more than doubled. I mean, this is ludicrous to suggest that simply the United States -- the reality is we have tremendous economic problems here, and we're going to have to deal with them. But people have to look at the reality of what's happening. We are due for a correction in these markets, and this is what is going happen.
CHETRY: Let's talk about that stimulus that has been talked about.
DOBBS: Right.
CHETRY: The president announcing it will put $140 billion into the economy in some way, shape or form.
DOBBS: Right.
CHETRY: Some said it's a short-term solution. It doesn't deal with the long-term economic problems. What is your take on whether or not this $140 billion stimulus package is going to help?
DOBBS: Well, first, I think you have to give the president and his administration credit in this one rare instance. They actually talked about a sufficient-sized package to make a difference in the short term at least. Not even the Democratic candidates who are vying for a great attention could approach the size of the package that they ultimately presented. So that's to their credit.
The reality is that we are in a very difficult position, about to enter a recession in this country, partly because of a business cycle. But fundamentally, because we have a trade deficit that rising faster than our national debt. Our -- the trade deficits continue to set records. The budget deficits have backed off. But our trade debt is now $6 trillion, rising faster than the national debt of $9 trillion. And we have to start looking at these faith-based economic policies being pursued by both Republican and Democratic administrations over the past 20 years.
They're devastating our working men and women in this country, devastating American families. And these two parties -- I mean, watching Senator Obama and Senator Clinton last night talk about these issues, without going to the fundamental causes of them is absolutely irresponsible.
CHETRY: Hey, you know, I though about you last night, Lou. I was wishing I was watching the debate with you last night because we're in a play. Just a snippet if anybody missed it last night.
DOBBS: Sure.
CHETRY: And I'd like to get your reaction. Let's listen.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
OBAMA: While I was working on those streets watching those folks see their jobs shipped overseas, you were a corporate lawyer sitting on the board of Wal-Mart. I was fighting these fights. I was fighting these fights.
CLINTON: I was fighting against those ideas when you were practicing law and representing your contributor, Resco, in his slum landlord business in inner city Chicago.
OBAMA: No, no, no, no, no.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CHETRY: Sometimes you're saying, huh? What are they even talking about? Does that type of personal attacking back and forth help the perspective voter decide?
DOBBS: I think a little of it would have, but a night of it is just a bit too much, thank you. To think, these are the leaders that we are selecting from to -- for the office of president. I mean, it is frightening to look at the Republican candidates and the Democratic candidates in this country right now. I mean, my gosh, Senator Edwards won the debate by at least constraining himself and not participating in a food fight. It was -- this is not the kind of leadership that I would have expected both parties to put forward.
CHETRY: All right. Lou Dobbs live this morning from Sussex, New Jersey. We'll see you tonight at 7:00. Thanks for getting up and being with us.
DOBBS: You got a deal.
CHETRY: John? ROBERTS: Coming up now at 28 minutes after the hour, Kiran. Tiger Woods speaking publicly for the first time about a golf commentator's remark that the only way the other players could beat them was to "lynch him in a back alley." We'll show you Tiger's reaction.
And he's not running for another term. But long hours in the campaign trail may be taking a toll on former President Clinton. We'll show you where he was caught nodding off ahead on AMERICAN MORNING.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
JOHN ROBERTS, CNN, ANCHOR: Well, the grilling demands of the campaign trail may have caught up with former President Clinton at an event honoring Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. yesterday. A camera apparently caught him nodding off in the background. This video is from "The New York Post" website. His wife wasn't there to nudge him as he sort of nodded off there a little bit. He's was over at a nearby Baptist Church picking up an endorsement.
Well, Mike Huckabee's campaign is regrouping as he prepares for next week's primary in Florida. The former Arkansas governor is taking new steps to save money. He will no longer schedule planes and buses for journalists who are covering his presidential campaign. His campaign says it's no longer practical to "fly around with a bunch of empty seats."
Well, let's check in on this morning's Quick Vote question. We're asking it in regard to last night's debate. Who do you think won? Right now, 25 percent of you say Hillary Clinton, 28 percent think Barack Obama won the debate, and as Lou Dobbs was saying, 43 percent believe John Edwards won. 4 percent say nobody won. Cast your vote at CNN.com/am. We will continue to tally your votes throughout the morning. Kiran.
KIRAN CHETRY, CNN, ANCHOR: John Edwards certainly used the back and forth between Hillary and Barack Obama to get his point across which was hey, I'm here too and let's talk about the larger issues it appeared to as you saw with the dial testing hit home with the crowd.
Still ahead, Howard Dean speaking his mind. What does he think for the race so far for the democrats and does he think that Bill Clinton needs to back off of Barack Obama. A one-on-one with the democratic national committee chairman coming up.
Also, coming up here, financial security watch continues with the live team coverage of this morning's market mess. Overseas stocks plunge. Some seeing record losses. There are some revenue and earnings news coming in from some major banks. Also, not looking good and also Dow futures down as well. What does it mean for your bank accounts. AMERICAN MORNING is all over it. We have the answers coming up.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK) ROBERTS: The CNN Election Express outside of the Palace Theater here in Myrtle Beach. The Election Express will be tripping off across the country starting this morning. And our Ali Velshi is going to be reporting on the economy and all of the battleground states that are in the super Tuesday, at least along the south, still looking forward to that.
Right now, a cloudy 37 degrees in Myrtle Beach, a high of 56 today. A whole lot better than it was yesterday. And we had a wind chill factor this time of the morning of about 12 degrees. It's Tuesday, January 22nd. Welcome to a special edition of AMERICAN MORNING. I'm John Roberts here in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina. Good morning, Kiran.
CHETRY: Hi, I'm Kiran Chetry in New York. I feel like it feels the same, it just feels better because we're not outside today. But you know, it's also deceiving, yesterday, your skies were so bright blue and with the palm trees and the breezes, it looks positively balmy. Today, you have a little more cloud cover, but it's warmer.
ROBERTS: Yes, yes. The temperature is better though the skies don't look as inviting.
Hey, big news in the economy today. Investors around the globe scrambling this morning. They are fearing a possible U.S. recession and they're selling out mountains of stock. Markets in Asia all closed but major losses, some with record drops. Europe's main indices are down as well. We're keeping an eye on it all in our financial security watch today. Ali Velshi is analyzing the impact. He's here with me in Myrtle Beach. Gerri Willis is up in New York. And Eunice Yoon is watching the markets in Hong Kong today. Let's start with Ali, and Ali, with the financial industry, the hits just keep on coming today.
ALI VELSHI, CNN, BUSINESS CORRESPONDENT: Yes, it's hard to keep up with business news this morning. I tell you what just happened. We just had earnings news in from Bank of America and Wachovia. Two of the nation's biggest banks. Bank of America, hope you're sitting down for this, earnings are down 95 percent. We're just running the math on Wachovia. But there's some estimate that it could actually be worse than that 95 percent. These are bank earnings.
Now, we have had a terrible, terrible night overseas in Asian markets for the second night in a row. We're looking at the biggest percentage loss ever on the Hong Kong-Hang Seng market. We got other losses across Asia. We can show you some of those numbers, but we're talking about Shanghai down 7.2 percent. Australia down 7 percent. We've got the Nikkei in Japan, a major, major index, down five points, 5.7 percent. European markets which were looking a little better have now turned lower on this news of the U.S. banks. And get this, Dow futures, the indication of how the Dow Jones is going to open -
ROBERTS: Don't tell me.
VELSHI: Well, we're looking now back around 500 points lower. These are some of the worst futures numbers, ahead of the market numbers that we've seen since 2000. Back when the market came down.
ROBERTS: Where's the bottom in all this?
VELSHI: One never knows where the bottom is. If I did, I would be in a warmer place, but we're definitely looking at a market that's approaching 15 percent lower on the Dow right now. Since the highs are in October, once you get down to 20 percent, a lot of people start to see that's a bear market and think it's a buying opportunity. But right now, we are looking at what the Fed is going to do. The Fed meets in a week. Will they cut interest rates then or will they cut them even earlier? We got our eye on all of this.
ROBERTS: All right. Ali, appreciate that. Thanks. Now let's go back up to New York. Here's Kiran.
CHETRY: There's a lot of long-distance sniping that is going on between Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton but last night it was all up close and personal. They went after each other in the democratic debate co-hosted with the Congressional Black Caucus last night and CNN. Obama complained that Hillary Clinton and former President Bill Clinton are distorting his record. Clinton accused Obama of trying to run away from his record and both hurled attacks at the other's past associates.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SEN. BARACK OBAMA (D), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: While I was working on the streets watching those folks see their jobs shipped overseas, you were a corporate lawyer sitting on the board of Wal- Mart. I was fighting these fights. I was fighting these fights.
SEN. HILLARY CLINTON (D), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: I was fighting against those ideas when you were practicing law and representing your contributor, Rezko in his slum landlord business in inner city, Chicago.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CHETRY: All of the squabbling between it all. John Edwards trying to steer the debate back to the issues and take advantage of the opportunity. But even he joined in on some of the attacks against Barack Obama.
Well, during last night's democratic debate, we heard the candidates talk about their plan, some included what they called green-collar jobs. Take a look.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SEN. HILLARY CLINTON (D), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: We need to make sure that we start jumpstarting the jobs in this country again. That's why I want to put money into clean energy jobs, green-collar jobs.
JOHN EDWARDS (D), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: What I have proposed for green-collar jobs, we'll create jobs within 30 or so days. So, we will have an immediate impact on the economy and stimulate the economy.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CHETRY: Well, tomorrow, in AMERICAN MORNING, we're going explain exactly what green collar jobs are and what role they have on the economy.
Meanwhile, a state of emergency in Fulton, New York. They got three feet of snow. Rob Marciano is tracking the extreme weather for us this morning. It's not even necessarily that they got three feet of snow. It's that they got it all at once and it probably landed maybe where it shouldn't have, at least for one of the buildings out there, Rob?
ROB MARCIANO, CNN, METEOROLOGIST: Yes, that's the problem. A number of locals. We got into town last night. A lot of them had the same story. They woke up -- they went to bed, it wasn't here. They woke up the next day, here it was. The town was at a stand still. This is one of the many piles that come over the top of my head in this town. They had to physically move it with frontloaders and get it up and over and get it somewhere else. But the problem is they have a lack of that heavy equipment. This is where they store it. You've got garbage trucks, which is an issue because they can't pick up the garbage. And some of those garbage trucks double as snowplows. And then we've got other pieces of heavy equipment. That's actually our snow blowers that cut through these big banks of snow to clear it and get it out of the roadways.
The main arteries for the most parts are clear. But that's because we've gotten help from surrounding towns across this country. No snow right now, that's good. Check out the radar. We don't have any snow in this area. It shifted mostly to the north. But there's another band of lake effect that will likely develop, if not today, later on tonight. A little weak fronts coming across Chicago as to Cleveland, snows there, turning rain down south to the Tennessee Valleys.
Maybe a bit of freezing rain for North Georgia up to western parts of Virginia today. Just be aware of that. But nothing like the three-feet of snow that fell in a 24-hour period. At 5:20 a.m. yesterday morning, Kiran, that roof came tumbling down. There were four people inside. But they got out all right. Right now, though, that equipment is certainly out of commission. Kiran.
CHETRY: Yes, I should say so unless you grab a shovel and start digging, maybe help them along a little bit until the next band of snow comes by.
MARCIANO: Yes, that will always warm us up. That will help. Get the blood flowing a little bit. It's pretty chilly. We'll offer that up. Maybe we'll recruit you and John to come up as well.
CHETRY: Hey, we're all for it. All they have to do is feed us. We're easy. Thanks, Rob. John.
ROBERTS: Are you kidding? I'm going to Florida. I have been out in the cold for too long. Is Bill Clinton going too far in his attacks against Barack Obama? We sat down with national democratic committee chairman Howard Dean to get his surprising take on the controversy. We got that coming up for you.
And wake up call, why cell phone conversations under the covers may be keeping you up at night long after you hang up. We're paging Dr. Gupta. He's got all of the information ahead on AMERICAN MORNING.
DR. SANJAY GUPTA, CNN, CHIEF MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT: On the covers as well, John, possibly. Yes, I'm talking about cell phone use - a lot of people use the cell phones right before they go to bed. What is it doing to your sleep and more importantly why? I'll have that ahead on AMERICAN MORNING.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
CHETRY: Like you need another reason to lose more sleep. Well, if you have a hard time getting to sleep at night, maybe it's your cell phone. If you sleep next to you, if you have a lot of conversations right before you go to bed, it might have something to do with it. We're paging Dr. Sanjay Gupta, CNN's chief medical correspondent in Atlanta this morning with more on this new study that found a link with having more trouble falling asleep and being less rested because of the phone.
GUPTA: That's right. That's what they're looking at here. Let me give you a couple of caveat. First of all this is a pretty small study and I think as we look at this A couple of caveats. A small study. If we look at it in a lot of detail and talked to a lot of people about it specifically, I don't think it answers the question for sure but I think some of the findings and some of the way they did the study, very interesting. Try to look at the cell phone usage and sleep patterns. What they found specifically was that people who use their cell phones for about three hours, sometime in the evening hour, were more likely to have some specific problems.
First of all, headaches were one of the problems they talked about. Becoming more easily confused, or having trouble concentrating, and also the sleep deprivation that you're talking about and more specifically than that, Kiran, people lost about eight minutes of what is known as stage four sleep and they had a harder time actually getting to that stage of sleep as well. Again, small study - what they did - I should point out as well. They weren't actually talking on the cell - they weren't actually using a cell phone. They were actually using a device that gave off 880 megahertz of radiation for people to pay attention that sort of thing. And they compared it to people who were also holding something to the ear, but wasn't giving off radiation. That's how they sort of controlled the study. Small study nonetheless though. Kiran.
CHETRY: And that's one of the criticisms of the study about exactly how do you prove it's the radiation and not just being keyed up about talking on the phone. And especially with blackberries and other devices, don't they always give off, emit some sort of signal, even if you're not actually talking on them. GUPTA: Absolutely. They do. And that was another criticism if you will. The study is do you have to talk on it? Is it the radiation itself? And what is it about the radiation? The study authors proposed a couple of hypothesis. These are not proven.
One is that the amount of radiation given off after being on the cell phone for that long could interfere with the body's stress - the brain's, I should say, stress center, the areas of the brain that actually control stress and stress hormones. Another hypothesis was it actually interferes with the body's melatonin production, which is another hormone that allows the body to wake and to sleep.
Neither one of those had been proven. These are all hypothesis but you know, a lot of sleep experts we talk to say, look, this isn't going be the final word. But there is something going on here and we need to investigate this a little further.
CHETRY: I told you that I started my own unscientific experiment. I put the blackberry in another room before I go to bed because I don't know what it is. If it 's the radiation or just the conversations but I can't get to bed.
GUPTA: Journalist I think have a course. When it sounds to those blackberries, you stick them underneath the pillows, underneath the covers, happens all the time.
CHETRY: That's right. That's when every producer I talked to this morning said the same thing. All right, Sanjay, we'll check in with you in a little while. A couple more stories are coming up that we want you to weigh in on. Thanks. John.
GUPTA: Thank you.
ROBERTS: Coming up, Kiran, one-on-one with Howard Dean. We sit down with the democratic national committee chairman to talk about the candidates, the democrats' chances and whether or not Bill Clinton is going to far by attacking Barack Obama. That's next on AMERICAN MORNING.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
ROBERTS: Coming up now on eight minutes to the top of the hour, just before the debate last night, I had the chance to speak with democratic national committee chairman, Howard Dean. I asked about Bill Clinton's tough words for Barack Obama on the campaign trail and whether it's proper for a former president to go on the attack like that.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
ROBERTS: Is it seemly for an ex-president with the weight that he carries to get involve in a fight this, to be acting like a Howard Wolfson or a James Carville?
HOWARD DEAN, CHAIRMAN, NATIONAL DEMOCRATIC COMMITTEE: That is their call. I mean I'm not going to get involved with campaign tactics. If stuff gets really ugly, we make private phone calls and talk to the candidates themselves. But I'm not going to get into that. That's all of the moment, it's all in the here and now, here today, gone next I'm focusing on the 30,000 foot picture. We go to win this election. The economy and Iraq are going to win the election for us.
ROBERTS: I mean it's important on that front because many people believe that if there is a schism in the Democratic Party caused by this rift that you may not win the election. I don't want to ask you to characterize what might have been in the phone calls, but have you made any of those private phone calls you talked about?
DEAN: We made some phone calls a couple of weeks ago and talked to both candidates and before we even called them they settled their differences. So, you know, sure, I'm want to be the referee behind the scenes. I think the campaign has gone really well.
ROBERTS: What about all this talk of voter suppression in the state of Nevada between the two campaigns. Or this is something that you expect to hear between Democrats and the Republicans.
DEAN: This is like a race argument. This is a silly argument for Democrats to be having. The Republicans are the expert at race grading and they're the experts in voter suppression, that really doesn't happen on the Democratic side.
ROBERTS: Yes. And what about all these talk of it happening in Nevada?
DEAN: That's right. That's why I focus on the big things, the economy and Iraq. I don't focus on that stuff.
ROBERTS: But as the chairman of the party, are you happy with what you're hearing?
DEAN: I a incredibly happy that we've doubled our turnout and then our candidates look like they're going win the presidency.
ROBERTS: I understand that part of it but there's other stuff that's going on -
DEAN: You have to tune that stuff out.
ROBERTS: Congressman Clyburn said he cringed a little bit when he heard Sen. Barack Obama and his praise for Ronald Reagan. Do you think that's something that could hurt a Democrat talk like that?
DEAN: You know, I tell you what my wife said when she heard that. She said, well, the guy thinks it, why not say it.
ROBERTS: Hillary Clinton has said in the past that Ronald Reagan was one of her favorite presidents.
DEAN: She thinks it why not say it. You know, I think we make too much of politicians being scripted all the time. I think if people said what they thought more we would be in better shape. ROBERTS: Is it true what he said? That Ronald Reagan was the candidate of ideas, more so than at anytime in the last 15 years?
DEAN: You're not going to get me to comment on what candidate says ...
ROBERTS: I'm just wondering if it's true that Ronald Reagan was the guy with the ideas -
DEAN: I think we all have our opinions on that since the candidates have spoken. I'm not going to disagree with that. I'm the referee here. I'm not trying to advantage one candidate or another. I just want to win. I think we will.
ROBERTS: When do you think this contest is going to be over? Will it end on super Tuesday or will it go beyond that?
DEAN: I would be surprised if it ends on super Tuesday. I think it will go beyond that and how far that depends on the large part on who wins on Saturday in South Carolina.
ROBERTS: Could it go all the way to the convention?
DEAN: It think that's unlikely.
ROBERTS: A lot of people would like to see that.
DEAN: Yes, I would not. It would like a nominee way before the convention because we got an election to win and I don't think it's going to be fun to do it in eight weeks. I want the Republicans to go all the way to the convention. But our election I'd like to get settled sometime in April. Soon.
ROBERTS: So when's your prediction on when it might end?
DEAN: It depends on who wins South Carolina. It could win -
ROBERTS: You think this will be a defining moment?
DEAN: I do think it will be a defining moment. It will either be even steven or Hillary will have an advantage depending on who wins. If it's even steven, I think you'll see thing go to mid March. If it's not, it will end earlier.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
ROBERTS: There you have it from the man himself. You could be out on the road here until mid March. Let's check on this morning's quick vote question. We asked you - who you thought won last night's Democratic presidential debate. Right now, 26 percent of you say Hillary Clinton did. The same number think that Barack Obama won the debate. Take a look at this, 44 percent say John Edwards perhaps simply by staying out of the fray and staying on message and 4 percent believed that no one won the debate. Cast your vote at cnn.com/am. We'll continue to tally up these votes throughout the morning. We'll bring you a final look just before we go off of the air at 9:00 Eastern. Kiran.
CHETRY: Hey, great job with the Howard Dean interview by the way. Very interesting, his responses.
ROBERTS: He's a lot of fun to talk to.
CHETRY: Yes, he didn't - he said - you're not going to back me into the corner with some of this. I'm supposed to be the referee here. But he's a fiery guy. He does say what he thinks as well. John.
ROBERTS: He's pretty good at wearing that striped jersey though.
CHETRY: We'll see. Something else to watch before you get the morning coffee. There are some mixed messages about caffeine. In fact, two new studies painting two very different pictures. Is it good for you or not? Dr. Sanjay Gupta is going to take a look. Coming up in the next hour.
Also, during tax time. The alternative minimum tax often comes up. What is it? And exactly when do you qualify, what should you do about it? We're going to talk about it coming up.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
CHETRY: No holds barred in South Carolina. Issues take a back seat as Clinton and Obama go at it. A.M. is on the road. It's the most politics in the morning.
Also, money trouble literally hitting home. There's new information coming in by the second. None of it very good this morning as Wall Street braces for a tough day. We hit the road across America to find out what pocketbook issues matter to you the most.
It's also Oscar time. The nominees are now live this hour with the writers' strike still casting a big shadow over the red carpet on this AMERICAN MORNING.
And thanks so much for being with us, it is Tuesday. It's January 22nd. A special edition of AMERICAN MORNING. I'm Kiran Chetry here in New York. Hi, John.
ROBERTS: Hey, Kiran. I'm John Roberts here in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina. The scene of last night's Democratic debate and you're waking up to major news this morning that affects your money. Stocks overseas tumble now. There is word that profits at the nation's largest bank had fallen 95 percent.
As for those foreign markets, let's take a quick look. The Hang Seng had its biggest one-day drop ever in Hong Kong. Japan's Nikkei had its biggest fall in ten years. Europe's markets all opened lower this morning, mixed in trading right now.
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