Return to Transcripts main page

CNN Newsroom

Nader Running for President; CNN Tours Secretive North Korean Facility; Domestic Surveillance Act

Aired February 25, 2008 - 11:00   ET

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

HEIDI COLLINS, CNN ANCHOR: Good morning, everybody. You're with CNN.
Hi there. I'm Heidi Collins.

New developments keep coming into the CNN NEWSROOM. It is Monday, February 25th, and here's what's on the rundown.

Joining the race, midcourse. Ralph Nader is running for president. Will he trip up Democrats again?

And tragedy in the skies. An airline passenger dies during a flight. Her cousin claims the crew and their equipment failed her.

And all in the family. Brothers on Hollywood's honor roll going home with Oscars, in the NEWSROOM.

The field of presidential candidates a little more crowded this morning. Consumer crusader Ralph Nader making another bid for the White House. This time as an Independent.

Many Democrats still see Nader as the spoiler who cost Al Gore the election in 2000. More on his latest run in just a moment.

Democrats Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama start the week fresh off a squabble over the North American Free Trade Agreement. Each accuses the other of supporting it at one time. Many of the Ohio voters they're trying to reach say NAFTA cost the state jobs.

Obama is campaigning in Ohio today. So is John McCain. A live shot for you. He is close, but not over the top yet in his bid for the Republican nomination. Hillary Clinton is in Washington to deliver what's described as a major foreign policy speech coming up next hour.

So this will be Ralph Nader's fifth attempt now at the White House, if you count his write-in campaign in 1992. Here's how he characterized this run during an appearance on CNN's "AMERICAN MORNING."

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

RALPH NADER (I), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: I'm running for a simple reason. Washington has closed its doors on citizen groups -- labor, citizen, consumer, reform groups, environmental groups. It's corporate-occupied territory. And we've got to heed Thomas Jefferson -- who said when we lose our government we've got to go into the electoral arena.

He used the word "revolution." I think we need a Jeffersonian revolution.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COLLINS: What could Ralph Nader's presence mean to both parties? Well, tonight at 10:00 p.m. Eastern, don't miss Anderson Cooper's interview with him. That's "AC 360," tonight, 10:00 Eastern.

An American Airlines passenger begs for help. She couldn't breathe and pleaded with a flight attendant, "Don't let me die." But Carine Desir did die on a flight from Haiti to New York on Friday. Her cousin says she was twice refused oxygen and then medical equipment failed.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: She said, "My darling, please, don't let me die. Go ask for oxygen for me. Please, baby. I love you, baby. I love you. Don't let me die. I can't breathe. I can't breathe. I can't breathe. Please. Please."

And I started yelling on the plane, "Somebody help me."

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COLLINS: Desir's cousin said oxygen tanks were empty and a defibrillator did not work. Doctors and nurses on board tried but couldn't save the woman.

An American Airlines spokeswoman says she cannot confirm the oxygen tanks were empty but says that would not be typical. She says flight attendants are "professionals and trained in assisting passengers in medical emergencies." A medical examiner says Desir had a bad heart and died of natural causes.

Developing overseas this morning, a suicide bombing in Pakistan. The bomber struck near the nation's military headquarters in Rawalpindi. Military officials say the army's top ranking medical officer is among the eight dead.

The government blames militants operating near the Afghanistan border. Pakistan is a U.S. ally armed with nuclear weapons and targeted by terrorists. Less than two months ago, opposition leader and former prime minister Benazir Bhutto was killed in a suicide bomb attack.

An explosion also rocked an Israeli army firing range today. Three people were wounded. Two of them seriously. The blast happened in a coastal town just south of Tel Aviv. So far no word on the cause of that blast.

More than a half century after the Korean War, North Korea welcomes its largest-ever U.S. delegation. Even more extraordinary, the secretive nation pries open the door of its nuclear program. CNN Chief International Correspondent Christiane Amanpour is in Pyongyang.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

CHRISTIANE AMANPOUR, CNN CHIEF INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: North Korea has never seen anything like it. Not since the end of the Korean War have so many Americans come here at one time. The New York Philharmonic Orchestra is here to give an unprecedented cultural open to this country and to play some amazing songs for people who are not used to hearing American tunes or classical music from abroad.

Also, a huge contingent of press people. And today we got a very rare look at the Yongbyon nuclear facility. That's North Korea's main nuclear facility, and it's almost unprecedented for them to take press in.

But CNN went today. And we saw what has been going on for the last half a year or so, since Yongbyon has been shut down under an agreement between North Korea, the United States, and four other nations who are involved in nuclear negotiations.

We saw the nuclear reactor shut down. We saw the nuclear fuel rods being removed and neutralized in what's called a fuel rod pond, under six meters of water. We saw the processing plant, the reprocessing plant that actually extracts the plutonium that has been used for weapons. And indeed, North Korea said it tested a weapon some 18 months ago, a nuclear weapon. We saw that reprocessing plant closed down.

We saw the distinctive cooling tower, that bell-shaped concrete tower that is distinctive at every nuclear plant, gutted, the inside of it taken out and just the concrete shell remains. We saw parts of the plant wrapped in plastic and put in storage.

The bottom line is that, under this agreement with the United States, this facility has been shut down, but it was in return for a million dollars -- or rather a million tons of heavy fuel oil. They have serious electric and power problems here.

They also were expecting more aid, and indeed to be taken off the sanctions list and the U.S. list of state sponsors of terrorism. That hasn't actually happened because the U.S. says that North Korea owes a fuller accounting. But, we understand from both North Korean and American officials, that this process continues and they will continue with the disabling of this plant and the removing of the nuclear fuel rods.

I'm Christiane Amanpour in Pyongyang.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

(WEATHER REPORT)

COLLINS: Quirky carries the night. What a country. A rare sweep brings gold statues all around for two talented brothers. The winners -- in the NEWSROOM.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

COLLINS: Let's take you directly to President Bush now in Washington. He just had the National Governors Association meeting. It happens once a year.

Let's go ahead and listen in as he talks about the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act for just a moment.

(JOINED IN PROGRESS)

GEORGE W. BUSH, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: And so therefore, we worked with Congress to protect -- in the past to protect America, which everybody knows has expired. And I want to share with you the core of the problem.

And the problem is, should companies who, you know, are believed to have helped us after 9/11, until today, get information necessary to protect the country, be sued? And my answer is absolutely not. They shouldn't be sued. For a couple of reasons.

One, it's not fair. Our government told them that their participation was necessary, and it was and still is. And that what we had asked them to do was legal. And now they're getting sued for billions of dollars, and it's not fair and it will create doubt amongst private sector folks who we need to help protect us.

Suddenly, such lawsuits have required disclosure of information which will make it harder to protect the country. You can imagine when people start defending themselves, they're going to be asked all kinds of questions about tactics used. It makes absolutely no sense to give the enemy more knowledge about what the United States is doing to protect the American people.

Finally, it will make it harder to convince companies to participate in the future. And if you've done something that you think is perfectly legal, and all of a sudden you're facing billions of dollars of lawsuits, it's going to be hard to provide with credibility assurances that we can go forward.

The Senate passed a good bill. You know, there's all kinds of talk about how this is a partisan issue. This is not a partisan issue. There is a very strong bipartisan bill that passed the Senate, and it's a bill that we can live with, and it's a bill that should be put on the House floor for a vote, up or down.

What I do want to share with you is that there's a lot of good folks -- and you know it, too, and I want to thank you all very much for these counterterrorism cells. I look at the governor of New York -- they've got an unbelievably good fusion center in New York City. And around our country, particularly in, you know, key areas, the cooperation between the federal government and the state government and the local government is superb. And I appreciate you all for providing really good leadership on this issue. It's an important vital issue for the country. Secondly, today -- and I see that you've been given this book. This is a book which describes the faith-based and community organization initiative. And it breaks out by state the unbelievably good work that's taking place in your states.

Now, as you know, I'm a big believer that government ought to empower people who have got a great capacity to help change people's lives. Sometimes I'd like to say government is not a very loving organization. It's an organization of law and justice. But there are thousands of loving people who are willing, if given help, to interface with brothers and sisters across the country that need help.

And so this report is one that describes the federal/state collaborative that's taken place. There's 35 faith-based offices set up in different states. And for those of you who have got them, I thank you. We want to help you, want to coordinate. If you don't have one, I strongly urge you to take a look at what other governors have done. Billions of dollars have now gone in to help these different community and faith-based groups meet specific needs.

One such need to help children whose parents may be in prison realize there's hope and love. Seventy thousand kids have been affected by this program. Another one is to help prisoners reenter society. It's a relatively new program. And so far, you know, we've helped -- you've helped 10,000 people readjust.

Another is to provide, you know, script for somebody who needs help on drugs and alcohol and can redeem this at a regular counseling center or a faith-based center. The whole purpose is to focus on results. You know, we ought to be asking what works, not the process.

And so I appreciate you taking a look at this. Again, I want to thank you for your cooperation to the extent that you feel comfortable doing so. It's making a huge difference in people's lives. And I congratulate you all. And finally, I want to spend a little time on health care.

COLLINS: Just a little bit of the president speaking today after the National Governors Association meeting, their winter meeting, talking about a variety of things. But we did expect him to talk a quite a bit about infrastructure. Several governors there really pushing that issue forward.

We listened though for a moment, and he was actually talking about FISA, the Foreign Intelligence surveillance Act, and says that there is a strong bipartisan measure that was actually passed in the Senate, and he says, the president says, it should be put to the House floor. A lot more discussion I'm sure on that topic as we continue forward.

Meanwhile, also want to read you something that we just received from American Airlines, the story that we've been telling you about that happened on Friday, an American Airlines flight between Haiti and New York. A woman apparently says that she could not breathe very well. Her cousin who was traveling with her says that she has refused oxygen twice. And, in fact, Carine Desir did die on that flight.

Now I want to share with you the statement from American Airlines.

They say, "American Airlines is very saddened over the death of passenger Carine Desir on Flight 896 from Haiti to New York's JFK airport last Friday and extends its deepest sympathy to the grieving family. We are investigating this incident as we do with all serious medical situations on board our aircraft. But American Airlines can say oxygen was administered and the automatic external defibrillator was applied."

"Among the pre-flight duties among our highly-trained flight attendants is a check of all emergency equipment on the aircraft. This includes checking the oxygen bottles. There were 12 in this particular aircraft."

"We stand behind the actions and training of our crew and the functionality of the onboard medical equipment. We are also grateful to medical volunteers on this flight who worked valiantly to save this passenger."

One of the other accusations from the cousin who was traveling with this woman was that there was no oxygen inside these tanks and that the defibrillator did not work. So nothing in this statement about that. But it does say that those devices were used and applied.

We'll continue to follow this story for you as well.

Tangled wings on the taxiway. Not exactly what you want to see when you're on board one of those planes.

The story now from Kris Van Cleve of Washington affiliate WJLA.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

KRIS VAN CLEAVE, WJLA REPORTER: This is not what you want to see looking out the window of your already-delayed flight to Dallas, the winglet of your regional jet stuck under the wing of a much larger Airbus 319. But Ashburn's Richard Keys had no choice but to watch it all happen.

RICHARD KEYS, PASSENGER: Myself and the guy behind me, we both said -- you know, we were all loud -- "He's going to hit that plane!" And sure enough, he did. He went right underneath it.

VAN CLEAVE: The two United planes had what airport officials described as wing contact around 6:00 Sunday night. The larger plane, Flight 783, was heading to Albuquerque with 92 passengers on board. United says Keys' flight, United Express 7681, had 66 passengers on board when it all happened.

KEYS: I've been in harder landings, but it shook the plane a little bit.

CHAD GILLENBERGER, PASSENGER: Well, it's a little disconcerting. You know, you hope things like that wouldn't happen in an airport, especially when you're about to fly that airline.

VAN CLEAVE: No one was hurt, but both flights were canceled and some passengers say they were stuck on the planes for nearly two hours. Now the FAA is investigating this incident, which is oddly similar to one at Reagan National Airport last weekend when this same types of airplanes had a similar wing contact incident.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

COLLINS: The National Transportation Safety Board is still investigating that incident at Reagan National Airport.

Want to go ahead and show you some live pictures that we're getting, happening right now. Our affiliate WSVN is bringing these pictures to us live near Miami, Florida. Just going to tell you a little bit about what we have here. It's not a whole lot.

But as we continue to watch this scene, we are understanding that fire rescue boats and the Coast Guard are on the scene there. This was a little bit earlier, just moments ago. New video in to us now.

Soldier Key is what we're talking about, where 15 to 20 migrants, according to this note I have here, possibly Cuban refugees, have arrived. If you know the area, you know Soldier Key is located on the outer edge of Biscayne Bay, about 10 miles east of Colter Bay. So, apparently, 15 to 20 possibly Cuban refugee on that boat there.

We're going to continue to watch these pictures for you and give you any new information just as we get it in. Again, from our affiliate WSVN near Miami, Florida, there.

Bringing Liberty home. This, by the way, is Liberty. A soldier's best friend finding a new home outside Iraq.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

COLLINS: Two people injured in a Greyhound bus crash are still in the hospital this morning. State police say the bus went off the road and flipped over on Interstate 380. That's in northeastern Pennsylvania. Yesterday, 41 people were injured. Passengers say it happened in an instant while many of them were sleeping.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: We felt like a jerk, and that's when the bus -- like the driver lost control. And it definitely spun out at least one full circle. It might have done like one and a half. And then it went into the median of the road. And it like flipped over on to its -- like the top of the bus.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I just remember that the bus driver was going fast and that he swerved. And then I closed my eyes and then I opened them again and the bus was flipping over.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COLLINS: The bus was headed from New York City to Syracuse. Investigators are trying to find out what caused the crash.

Students at Northern Illinois University are back in class for the first time since the campus shooting. Last night, more than 12,000 people honored the five killed by Steven Kazmierczak. Five bouquets were placed on the stage and there was a specialty tribute with a request.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We also ask that at this time you would turn on your flashlights to show the world that our light will not be extinguished by the darkness that enveloped this campus on February 14th.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COLLINS: After the ceremony, Senator Barack Obama talked with the family of at least one of those victims, and this morning there is extra security at the school. The counseling center has extended hours, and hundreds of volunteer counselors are stationed around campus for students if they need to talk.

Still ahead this morning, the award show of brotherly love. Oscar smiles on the makers of "No Country for Old Men."

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

COLLINS: Welcome back, everybody. I'm Heidi Collins -- 11:30 Eastern time now.

What a country. One movie gathers Oscar gold, while the other top prizes come with an accent.

CNN's Kareen Wynter has the story.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

JON STEWART, ACADEMY AWARD HOST: The town was torn apart by a bitter writer's strike, but I'm happy to say that the fight is over.

KAREEN WYNTER, CNN ENTERTAINMENT CORRESPONDENT: Hollywood put the writer's strike behind it for good. And got back to enjoying what it loves best, a night at the Oscars.

DENZEL WASHINGTON, ACTOR: "No Country for Old Men."

WYNTER: And Joel and Ethan Coen certainly enjoyed the big night. They took to the stage three times to accept Academy Awards for their crime thriller, "No Country for Old Men," best picture, directing and adapted screenplay. JOEL COEN, OSCAR-WINNING DIRECTOR: And we're very thankful to all of you out there for letting us continue to play in our corner of the sand box.

WYNTER: "No Country for Old Men" ruled the night and performers from other countries swept the acting categories. Marion Cotillard won best actress for her portrayal of singer Edith Piaf in "La Vie En Rose."

MARION COTILLARD, BEST ACTRESS: Thank you, life. Thank you, love. And, it is true there is some angels in this city.

WYNTER: Daniel Day-Lewis picked up the second best actor Oscar of his career for There Will be Blood, and accepted it from the queen herself, Helen Miran.

DANIEL DAY-LEWIS, BEST ACTOR: That's the closest I'll ever come to getting a knighthood.

WYNTER: Javier Bardem's performance as that killer with a bad hair cut in "No Country for Old Men," earned him a best supporting actor trophy, while Tilda Swinton's role as a conniving attorney in "Michael Clayton" garnered her a Supporting Actress prize.

TILDA SWINTON, BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS: I'm still recovering from that moment. And I have absolutely no idea what happened after that.

WYNTER: The Oscar for best song went to "Falling Slowly" from the very low-budget Irish film, "Once," proof that the Hollywood dream factory is indeed back in business.

MARKETA IRGLOVA, BEST ORIGINAL SONG WINNER: No matter how far out your dreams are, it's possible.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

COLLINS: Kareen Wynter is joining us now live in Los Angeles this morning.

Thank goodness Jon Stewart invited her to come back out and say thank you. The gal with the song from the movie "Once," because they cut her off.

WYNTER: I agree. I know, and she -- I interviewed her recently, and they're not used to all of this. They're not even professional actors, and so it took a lot of courage to even say something, never mind being cut off. So, that was good that she got in a few words.

COLLINS: Yes, absolutely. So, what else about the night? What was the highlight for you?

WYNTER: I have to say it -- I just adore Marion Cotillard. This is what we love about the Oscars, Heidi. The unpredictability. You have the emotional highs, the laughter, the tears. And, you've got to see this. A backstage moment, completely spontaneous for Marion Cotillard. She was so overjoyed by her win that she broke into song.

Listen.

Just amazing singing there one of the musical numbers from "La Vie En Rose." And, what was interesting as well, Heidi, when we spoke with her a few weeks ago, she said, despite the fact I have a great voice I didn't do much singing in the movie. So showing off some of her skills there.

COLLINS: I just love her. I think she's really cool. What about the best dressed and the worst? I mean, you were there firsthand. Who wins the prizes on both ends of the spectrum?

WYNTER: You just saw her, Marion Cotillard. The critics loved her -- loved her. She was wearing -- it looks like a mermaid gown. Check it out right there. Kind of like a fish scale, white little number. Very timeless. Also vintage. It was a Jean Paul Gaultier dress. Boy, did she work it out on the red carpet.

COLLINS: And, the worst?

WYNTER: We hate doing this, but, of course, one of the losers, Cameron Diaz. She's stunning, but, hey, what went wrong here? everything from the ponytail, really not a lot of makeup, not a lot of jewelry. Some critics said that it looked like she had just rolled out of bed. What was she thinking? That's a little harsh. Again, she's gotten a lot of thumbs down.

COLLINS: If I looked like that when I rolled out of bed I would really be darn happy.

WYNTER: Absolutely. A little too harsh, but they always have to have the best and the worst.

COLLINS: All right. CNN's Kareen Wyner. Thanks so much, Kareen.

WYNTER: Thanks, Heidi. It was fun.

COLLINS: The state of the economy, the strength of your choices, coming up in just a few minutes. CNN's Gerri Willis kicks off a week of hour-long specials. It's a CNN financial security watch and Gerri is joining us now with a preview.

You have got some great topics. A lot of people very concerned about these issues.

GERRI WILLIS, CNN PERSONAL FINANCE EDITOR: Money is top of mind with folks these days. We will be talking about a lot of the issues that are close to your heart. Housing, the mortgage mess, we'll talk about that. Debt, of course, a lot of people have credit card debt out there. Jobs. Of course, your savings. How is your 401(k) doing? We'll talk about that and how you can fix it. All of these, we'll be discussing on the show this week, every day at noon.

COLLINS: So people are going to call in. You're going to take the calls live.

WILLIS: That's right.

COLLINS: Just like "LARRY KING."

WILLIS: Sort of like "LARRY KING," only -- no actresses. We won't be talking about actresses in the hour.

COLLINS: There is the information just in case everybody would like to take an opportunity to call in and talk with Gerri. All kinds of different questions she will be taking. The phone number there on the screen, 866-792-3399. They can also email you?

WILLIS: Yes. FinancialSecurityWatch@cnn.com. Today, we're talking about debt. Debt and stress, how to deal with it. We will also have Jesse Jackson on live with us to talk about what he's seeing from people who are suffering from the mortgage meltdown firsthand.

COLLINS: All right, very good. We will be watching, Gerri.

WILLIS: Thanks so much.

COLLINS: Thank you. And to this now. Deadly tactics, target police in Iraq. A disabled man in a wheelchair blows himself up. A top police commander and two other member of the force are killed. The news comes as Iraqi police and joint forces step up security for thousands of religious pilgrims. They are the latest target of insurgents.

Today three Shiite Muslims were killed in south eastern Baghdad over the weekend. A suicide bomber killed at least 45 Iraqis and injured 68 others. They were all Shia Muslims traveling for holy day celebrations.

The dogs of war, taking on a different connotation in Iraq. They're now offering a friendly face back home as well.

CNN's Betty Nguyen has the story.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

BETTY NGUYEN, CNN ANCHOR: She was found in the middle of Baghdad, only able to take a few steps before falling over. Now Liberty is walking tall on American soil. The unit that found her had just lost three soldiers. The commanding officer was so concerned about their morale that he was looking for help. Then he noticed a change. That change was Liberty.

AMANDA LEHNEKE, WIFE OF U.S. ARMY LIEUTENANT: They work so hard and they work so many hours that, when they do get some downtime, just a little bit, it reminds them of home. It's the next best thing to being home.

NGUYEN: Charlie was found close to death walking the streets of Baghdad. In this blog, Eighty Deuce On The Loose, Sergeant Ed Watson wrote that Charlie couldn't have been more than a couple weeks old and looked like he could have died any minute. He followed the soldiers from Charlie company.

They gave him their name and fattened him up on their MREs, meals ready to eat. Charlie quickly became the unofficial mascot, the first to welcome them back from a mission. It's against Army regulations to befriend animals, but many have welcomed dogs into their camps.

TERRI CRIST, DIR. OPERATION BAGHDAD PUPS: This human/animal bond that's formed between these soldiers and these animals, for many of them, this is what's gotten them through an incredibly tough time.

NGUYEN: Mark Feffer knows this well. While stationed outside Kandahar he met Cinnamon wandering around his best.

MARK FEFFER, NAVY RESERVIST: It was like a taste of home, just to have a moment of affection, both for and from the dog is just priceless.

NGUYEN: The Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals has launched Operation Baghdad Pups to bring the animals, that have meant so much to the troops, back to the U.S. The SPCA think's it's important that when service men and women return home, there are as many friendly faces as possible to welcome them back, especially the furry ones.

In Atlanta, Betty Nguyen, CNN.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

COLLINS: Sorry, boss, I won't be in today, or ever again.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Just told him that I would not be working no more. I'm going to retire.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COLLINS: Come on, we've all dreamed about it. Iron worker says, you can take this job and -- after he takes a huge lottery payout.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

COLLINS: You know it, you feel it. Gas prices are up again. According to the latest Lundberg survey, pump prices jumped almost 16 cents a gallon over the past two weeks. The national average for a gallon of self serve regular is now $3.10. That's about 75 cents more than this time last year.

Home equity loans used to be like piggy banks for homeowners. But some of those piggy banks are empty now. Susan Lisovicz is at the New York stock exchange with details on all of this.

Hi there once again, Susan.

SUSAN LISOVICZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hi, Heidi. Well, it's as simple as this. If your home isn't worth much, you can't borrow much against it. We've already told you that it's more difficult to apply for new home equity loans, but existing home equity loans are also under pressure.

As home values drop, lenders are worried about being left holding the bag. So they're lowering credit limits in some cases and closing the lines altogether in other cases. Yet another reason why there is concern about consumer spending -- Heidi.

COLLINS: Yes, and it kind of sounds like what the credit card companies are doing.

LISOVICZ: Yes. All lenders are more careful about the money that they're lending. But if you can't beat them, join them. Soon you too will be able to own some shares of visa. The credit card giant filing for a $17 billion IPO today. That would make it the largest public offering in U.S. history by a large margin.

Competitors Mastercard, Discover and American Express are already public companies. No word yet on when the shares will begin trading. But we do know that Visa will get a coveted single letter ticker symbol, "V". On Wall Street, we take the 'v' to stand for 'volatility'.

Stocks have turned high here, relatively light volatility today. Despite the fact that we're seeing a rally, existing home sales. Well, they're miserable but they came in better than expected. Check it out. The Dow continuing the momentum that we saw on Friday. Up about 61 points. The Nasdaq positive as well.

Among stock on the move, Genentech, the drug maker winning FDA approval its Avastin drug to treat breast cancer. The company says that the drug, when used with a certain type of chemotherapy, reduce the risk of disease progression by more than 50 percent. Shares of Genentech, ticked symbol DNA, up 9.5 percent. So, looking pretty good there for a lot of reasons. Heidi, back to you.

COLLINS: All right. Susan, thanks so much for that. Appreciate it.

I quickly want to get you to this story happening right now. This is in Southern California. The Coast Guard has told us there were three fishermen who were kind of swept into the ocean by a huge wave near Palos Verdes. One of them is still missing.

It happened last night around 6:30 or so, local time. Two of the men were able to fight those waves and crawl back to the shore. But the third never reappeared. So lifeguards and divers are searching near the shore for about two hour or so but the effort was called off because of the high surf.

We've been telling you about this all morning long on the program. In fact, some of the waves as high as 20 feet. They have been forecast all of the way through tomorrow for that area. But nevertheless, the Coast Guard is going to continue that search through the night with boats and a helicopter. Once again, three fishermen who were swept into the water, two were able to fight those very tall waves and get out okay. But the third is still missing. So you see some of the search and rescue that is going on right now in Palos Verdes, California. We'll keep our eye on that one for you.

Millions of you are waiting for tax rebate checks but there are some people out there trying to take advantage of your anticipation.

CNN justice correspondent, Kelli Arena, has the story.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

KELLI ARENA, CNN JUSTICE CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Edna Lawrence may be 69-years-old, but she's no pushover.

EDNA LAWRENCE, AVOIDED BEING SCAMMED: Once he asked me for my checking account number, I knew that my social number would be the next thing he would ask for. But he wasn't about to get either one.

ARENA: She said she got about eight calls from a man claiming that he was from the IRS and had a rebate check for her. He wanted her bank information so he could direct deposit it the check.

LAWRENCE: He just said that we were owed $400. And we were to receive it back. And that's the only way we could get it.

ARENA: Lawrence called the Texas Attorney General to complain.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Office of the Attorney General, how may I help you?

ARENA: The office got so many complaints that it put out a consumer alert. The AG is worried that hard economic time will lead people to act before they think.

GREG ABBOTT, TEXAS ATTORNEY GENERAL: Here's my concern, and that is people may think, gosh, this may or may not be true, but what can it hurt for me to go ahead and give out my bank account number?

ARENA: Everyone's a target. As many as 128 million households across the country will get rebate checks as part of the stimulus package. Kevin Kolbye is with the FBI.

KEVIN KOLBYE, FBI: I think if they can call 200 people in one day and they can get five to ten individuals that will provide them with their personal identification numbers and social securities and banking information that they've had a successful day.

ARENA (on-screen): So here's the deal. The IRS says that most people don't have to do anything to get their tax rebates this year besides file taxes. And what's more, officials say they won't be soliciting personal information over the phone or through e-mail ever.

Kelli Arena, CNN, Austin, Texas.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

COLLINS: An unarmed man shot to death by police on his wedding day. Today those three policemen go on trail trial. The undercover officers were investigating reports of drugs and prostitution outside a New York nightclub in November of 2006.

They confronted 23-year-old Sean Bell and two friends as they sat in a car. The officers fired nearly 50 bullets when the car lurched forward. They said they believed Bell and his friends were going for a gun. No weapon was found. The case has sparked protests and debate.

No surprises for Cuba. Fidel Castro's brother officially installed as President, promising to keep the status quo. CNN's Morgan Neill has more.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

MORGAN NEILL, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): It was at once unprecedented and widely expected.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Raul Castro.

NEILL: With little fanfare, Cuba's National Assembly ended nearly 50 years of rule by Fidel Castro and named his 76-year-old brother Raul Castro the country's president. At his side, an empty chair where Fidel Castro once sat. But Cuba's new president made it clear his brother's role in government had not ended.

RAUL CASTRO, PRESIDENT OF CUBA (through translator): I ask of this assembly as a supreme organ of national authority, that on decisions especially concerning the advancement of the nation's future, above all on defense, foreign politic, and the socio-economic development of this country, it allows me to continue consulting with the leader of the revolution, our brother, Fidel Castro Ruz.

NEILL: The new number two, 77-year-old Jose Ramon Machado. Among the five Vice Presidents of the Counsel of State just one new face, a general in Cuba's armed forces. The message was clear, there would be no big break with the past.

HAL KLEPAK, ROYAL MILITARY COLLEGE OF CANADA: The signal I think is one of continuity and even conservativism. But it's also one of Raul's taking over completely the reins of government.

NEILL: Cubans were generally unsurprised by the announcement. Guisella (ph), who works as a cook said, "Who better than him to continue in his brother's path?"

Alberto, out with his wife, said, "There are problems that Raul is going to have to solve, but within his possibilities he's going to try and solve them." As 614 deputies showed their unanimous support, President Raul Castro said only the communist party could direct the state. But he also gave hope to those Cubans looking for relief from the country's often suffocating web of regulations and red tape. (on-camera): For anyone expecting to see signs of a new direction in this government, it was a reality check. With a team of close allies, many from the armed forces, Raul Castro's message was clear, in this revolution, don't expect big changes.

Morgan Neill, CNN, Havana.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

COLLINS: Hey, boss, I quit. Who needs work when you've got the winning ticket, right? The story, coming up next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

COLLINS: A Georgia couple now a whole lot richer, thanks to a lucky lottery pick.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)'

ROBERT HARRIS, MEGA MILLIONS WINNER: One hundred and seventy million. What a blessing, to know I won't have to get out there and work.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COLLINS: That would be a blessing. Collecting their check today, Robert and Tonya Harris. They have the only winning ticket in Friday's mega millions lottery drawing. You heard him say the payoff, $270 million. But with lump sum option, the couple will end up with about $164 before taxes -- million, that is. They told their story on CNN's "AMERICAN MORNING" today.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

R. HARRIS: I've been wanting to play my grandchildren's birthdays. I stopped at the store and it was heavy rains in our area. And by the time I got to the register after filling it out, the power went out and I couldn't play it. So I went on home and I asked Tonya to go back to the store later and play the two tickets that I filled out. And she played them and woke up the next morning and we hit.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: What do you definitely know you want to do with some of this money?

TONYA HARRIS, MEGA MILLIONS WINNER: Well, we would like to have a home. We want to buy some acreage and build a home. And I'm going to get my Mercedes I've always wanted.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COLLINS: Over the weekend, Robert quit his job as an iron worker. Good for them.

Placing a premium on aging animals. Some people in Japan are going to very expensive lengths to keep the family pet around a little bit longer. CNN's Kyung Lah takes a look.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

KYUNG LAH, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Nearly 17-years-old, Indy (ph), a black Labrador, needs help getting in the car. He struggles to walk short distances, and needs help rolling over in his dog bed.

"He's like my child," says owner, Hisashi Ishida. "No, he is my child. And we have to take care of him like we do our elderly."

And he does. Indy gets water therapy treatments once a week. Even floating on his back to relax. It's followed by a water massage. All of Indy's care costs more than 500 U.S. dollars a month. Ishida says he even moved closer to the spa just so Indy could get regular therapy.

TAKESHI YAMAUCHI, ACUPUNCTURIST: Love, love, love, much more than husband or a child.

LAH: Acupuncturist, Takeshi Yamauchi, started out treating humans, then found much more demand from owners of aging animals.

(on-camera): It's perhaps not so surprising in a country that dotes on its pets, where buying designer duds for our dog is considered mundane. But an entire industry has now sprouted up around taking care of older pets.

(voice-over): That's because there are more old pets in Japan than ever before. Pet ownership boomed in the early '90s. And just like with the baby boomers, families are now speaking elderly care options so pets live longer.

YAMAUCHI: Cats, 22 -- 22, or 23. The dogs, about 19. Old dogs, yes.

LAH: "First daughter, second daughter. Well, I love Bobbo (ph) more."

Bobbo is the 11-year-old shitzou getting acupuncture for achy hips twice a week. It's estimated one in four humans in Japan will be 65 or older in less than a decade. These doting pet owners say, think of yourself and how you would like to be treated when you're old.

Kyung Lah, CNN, Tokyo.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

COLLINS: At the top of the hour, Gerri Willis is here with financial security watch.

I'm Heidi Collins. Have a great day, everybody.

TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.voxantshop.com