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New York Governor Spitzer Faces Decision to Resign or Not; YouTube Getting Some New Competition; Southwest Airlines Takes Action; Sounding Alarm Over SUV Roofs
Aired March 12, 2008 - 09:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
TONY HARRIS, CNN ANCHOR: And good morning, everyone. You are in the CNN NEWSROOM. I'm Tony Harris.
HEIDI COLLINS, CNN ANCHOR: Hi there, everybody. I'm Heidi Collins.
Watch events coming into the NEWSROOM live on Wednesday, March 12th. Here's what's on the rundown.
Eliot Spitzer's decision. Will New York's governor stay or go? A now report claims he had a big budget for sexual escapades.
HARRIS: One-time vice presidential Geraldine Ferraro igniting uproar. Her racially tinged remark targets Barack Obama.
COLLINS: Sex and the high school girls. Researchers say one in 14 girls has a sexually transmitted disease. STD shocker, in the NEWSROOM.
HARRIS: And our top story this morning, come on. Sex, power and politics. A potent cocktail that could be poison for New York governor Eliot Spitzer. Political enemies and there are many are targeting and threatening impeachment proceedings if he doesn't resign.
CNN's Jason Carroll with the latest.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
JASON CARROLL, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice over): The Associated Press reporting the governor may have spent as much as $80,000 on illicit encounters. A key question, whose money was it? Was it from his personal account or were they actually public funds?
While Spitzer remained quiet, but his critics have not.
JIM TEDISCO, N.Y. ASSEMBLY MINORITY LEADER: We've asked the governor to resign. It's a nightmare that's not going away that has become a reality for this state.
CARROLL: New York state minority leader Jim Tedisco gave the governor a deadline saying Spitzer has 48 hours to resign or he would begin impeachment proceedings.
Harsh words against a man who acquired many enemies during his political career. Spitzer spent eight years as attorney general, known as the sheriff of Wall Street for the way he went after corruption cases. Some in the financial community encouraged by news he may resign in disgrace.
ANDREW SABIN, SABIN COMMODITIES: He overreached himself. Too overzealous in my opinion. I think that's the way Wall Street feels. And I got a call from a couple of big, very, very big houses on Wall Street today telling me about the celebrations inside their offices when they got the news.
CARROLL: And while some politicians are adamant about Spitzer's resignation, others are more diplomatic.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The governor is a very intelligent man. He will make the right decision on his own.
CARROLL: Tedisco says there is only one decision Spitzer can make that is best for the state.
TEDISCO: His whole concept was based on new ethics, a new day, immediate change here really illustrates that he has lost the total support of the people of this state and the leadership here and he really can't continue.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
HARRIS: Jason Carroll joins us live now from New York.
Jason, great to see you as always. Look, I don't want to sugar coat this thing. Let's get right into it. When will we hear something whether the governor will stay or whether he's going to go?
CARROLL: Well, here are some things that might be at play, Tony. All the legal experts that we talked to say that it's very likely that Spitzer's attorneys are using this time to sort of try to broker some sort of a deal with prosecutors, his resignation in exchange for lighter punishment. There's also a report out there that Spitzer's wife is urging him not to resign in haste.
So these are some of the things that could be playing out behind the scenes. But once again, as you can hear from that report, the pressure is definitely on.
HARRIS: OK. Jason Carroll for us, following these developments out of New York City.
And again, stay with CNN for any late breaking developments in the Spitzer sex scandal. And of course, you can visit our Web site for expanded coverage such as updates, analysis and the actual criminal complaint. That address CNN.com.
COLLINS: Presidential politics now. Democrat Barack Obama pads his lead in the duel for delegates with Hillary Clinton. Obama exceeded Clinton 61 percent to 37 percent in Tuesday's Mississippi primary. According to exit polls the vote was sharply divided along racial lines. Obama took more than 90 percent of the African-American vote. Clinton won more than 70 percent of the white vote. Obama now leads Clinton by 130 delegates based on CNN estimates. Both are still far from the 2,025 need to win the nomination.
On the campaign trail today, Clinton attends a presidential forum in Washington this hour. Obama is in Chicago. Both candidates looking ahead to the next big political prize and that is Pennsylvania.
Race and the race for the White House. Controversial comment by a Clinton supporter and a breakdown of the vote in Mississippi, both fueling the debate.
Details now from CNN's John Roberts.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
JOHN ROBERTS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Two in a row for Barack Obama.
SEN. BARACK OBAMA (D), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: I am grateful to the people of Mississippi for the wonderful support.
ROBERTS: Obama's win in the Mississippi primary comes just three days after his victory in Wyoming.
OBAMA: It's just another win in our column, and we are getting more delegates.
ROBERTS: Obama was the heavy favorite, but that didn't keep Clinton from campaigning in the state.
HILLARY CLINTON (D), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: I want people in Mississippi to know I'm in favor of you and I'm going to work for you and I will be there for you.
ROBERTS: Voters appeared to be sharply divided along racial line. Exit polls indicate Obama overwhelmingly won the black vote but Clinton grabbed three quarters of the white vote. More racial politics earlier in the day, following controversial comments from Clinton fundraiser and financial adviser Geraldine Ferraro who made history in 1984 as the first female major party vice presidential nominee.
In an interview with a California publication, Ferraro said, "If Obama was a white man he would not be in this position, and if he was a woman he would not be in this position. He happens to be very lucky to be who he is, and the country is caught up in it."
Clinton made it clear that Ferraro was speaking for herself.
CLINTON: Well, I don't agree with that. And I think it's important that, you know, we try to stay focused on the issues.
ROBERTS: But Ferraro is make no apologies and continues to criticize camp Obama saying that, quote, "What I find is offensive is that every time somebody says something about the campaign, they're accused of being racist." Obama called Ferraro's comments absurd and said such language should not have a place in this campaign.
John Roberts, CNN, New York.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
HARRIS: OK. A snag-in discussions on what to do about Florida and it's 210 delegates. The state violated party rules by moving up its primary to January so the Democratic National Committee disqualified Florida's delegates. You know that part of the story by now.
Well, with the tight race between Clinton and Obama, Democrats are looking for a way to make Florida's vote count. One Democratic senator has called for a mail-in election, but last night Florida's House delegation issued a statement opposing a mail-in vote or a re-do of any kind.
Stay with CNN for unmatched political coverage throughout the day. We have much more on the candidates and what happens next. Join us for "CNN BALLOT BOWL" today at noon Eastern.
COLLINS: Wall Street watch. Less than 30 minutes to the opening bell. Will yesterday's 416-point wave grow into a tsunami? That's what we're all hope will happen. Or will it slow it to a trickle? "Your Money" on the line.
Senior business correspondent Ali Velshi is keeping watch from our New York bureau.
Boy, I mean talk about a tsunami, that'd be great. (INAUDIBLE) that, right?
ALI VELSHI, CNN SENIOR BUSINESS CORRESPONDENT: Well, if we're going use the water now, I think it's more like a salmon swimming upstream because that 400-point gain...
COLLINS: Oh come on. Well, they do it. They're very successful.
VELSHI: Didn't even erase the previous week's losses of more than 500 points.
COLLINS: Yes.
VELSHI: Fact is the Dow after this gain is still just a little over 12,000. It was 14.5 thousand points. So for anybody sitting here thinking it's all OK, it's turned around, it hasn't. This was a specific result of something the Fed did yesterday morning. They -- injected $200 billion into the banking system making that available.
Look at the results, look at what happened on the Dow yesterday. The gain there. Let's look at the percentage terms because that's what matters. 3.5 percent, that 4.17 points. Three and a half percent, that is the biggest gain in five years. The NASDAQ up almost 4 percent. The S&P almost 3.75 percent. Biggest percentage gain and point gain in a long, long time.
But these markets have been so beaten down, Heidi, that this is just a little makeup. And if you look at the futures this morning, they're kind of mixed, they're probably level. I don't think we're going to see another day like this. The federal government, in some fashion or other, has put about $1 trillion into the banking system over the last year. You can't be putting in $200 billion a day to make up for lost market. So this is not the solution. It was a bit of a relief rally as we like to call it in the business.
COLLINS: Yes. I want to talk about gas prices, too, because obviously that is something else that people are thinking of here. But you know, when you talk about $200 billion going into the bank, I mean, talk about this, a possible, an expected interest rate cut...
VELSHI: Yes.
COLLINS: ...that's coming up next week. You know, what does that do overall to the economy?
VELSHI: Well, you know, this will be Tuesday. When the Fed meets we're expecting probably 50 basis point, half a percentage point cut, but mortgage rates are going up. We just got the new mortgage rate from last week, well above 6 percent for a 30-year fixed mortgage, 6.7 or something for a one-year arm.
So people should remember this, that the Fed cutting rate doesn't necessarily give you a break. You're certainly not getting a -- break on gas prices as you just mentioned. Oil settling close to $109 a barrel yesterday, getting well over $109 in before hours trading. Almost $110, $109.71 or 72, but something like that. That's affecting gas prices. Our new national average for gas prices across country for self-serve, unleaded, $3.25. It's the highest price we've ever paid and it is March.
These prices tend to move ahead, as you know, into the spring as the summer driving season sort of kicks in. So some people saying $3.50, $3.75, and again, Heidi, as you know well, it is not just what you put in your pump, it's what you heat your home with.
COLLINS: Sure.
VELSHI: It's the stuff that goes into trucks, airplanes, farm equipment, factories. This is a big deal. All of it is a bigger deal than the Dow going up a few hundred points.
COLLINS: Yes. Yes. Did cause some excitement, though, at least for...
VELSHI: It does cause it. I agree with you. We'll take what we can get.
COLLINS: Yes, we will. All right. CNN's Ali Velshi "Minding Your Business" this morning.
Ali, We'll talk again. Thank you. HARRIS: What do you say we got a check of weather now? First of the morning here in the NEWSROOM, there he is making his way to the -- no, it's not the radar board, it's the -- because it's -- the images...
COLLINS: The images (INAUDIBLE)
ROB MARCIANO, CNN METEOROLOGIST: It's all-inclusive.
HARRIS: Is that right? Rob, good to see you this morning. I know we were talking about storms and on the West Coast yesterday, but you're starting in the plains, right?
(WEATHER REPORT)
COLLINS: All right. Thank you, Rob. We'll check in later.
MARCIANO: OK. Sounds good.
COLLINS: Appreciate it.
Girls and sexually transmitted diseases. New findings may leave you stunned. Dr. Sanjay Gupta with the disturbing numbers coming up next.
ANNOUNCER: CNN NEWSROOM brought to you by...
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HARRIS: And good morning again, everyone. You are in the CNN NEWSROOM. I'm Tony Harris.
A reporter goes to cover a murder story then finds himself a victim of violence. Look at this. Attack caught on tape. The story coming up.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HARRIS: SUV rollovers. How safe is your family? A new report raises new concerns. That's ahead in the CNN NEWSROOM.
COLLINS: First to "Your Health" news this morning now and this question: is your teen daughter having sex? This morning shocking new findings. At least one in four teen girls has a sexually transmitted disease.
Our chief medical correspondent Dr. Sanjay Gupta is here to talk more about this.
Now Sanjay, are these numbers surprising to the experts? I imagined not, but maybe parents.
DR. SANJAY GUPTA, CNN CHIEF MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT: I think maybe surprising to the experts, but shocking to the rest of us.
COLLINS: Yes. GUPTA: I was a little shocked as the father of two daughters as well to hear that the numbers were that high, that first, teenage girls are having this much sex and that they were contracting so many diseases as well. The numbers are pretty high. A 26 percent overall in terms of the percentage of teenage girls again that have some sort of sexually transmitted disease.
If you look just at the African-American population, 48 percent. And more news coming out of this particular conference in Chicago by the Center for Disease Control, saying 15 percent of these girls have at least, at least two STDs. So you know, these are pretty high numbers for sure.
Take a look at what some of the most common sexually transmitted infections were. You can see there 18 percent was human papilloma virus, that's the first one, 4 percent Chlamydia, 2.5 percent trichomoniasis, and 2 percent herpes simplex.
You'll see on that list as missing syphilis, gonorrhea, HIV.
COLLINS: Right.
GUPTA: So the numbers may even be higher because we're not even talking about those specific sexually transmitted diseases.
COLLINS: Is it that it's not recorded?
GUPTA: They are, to be fair, less common in teenagers versus older adults. But, yes, I think it accounts for more sexual transmitted diseases besides those four, maybe even higher than 26 percent.
COLLINS: Yes, wow. Well, what about recommendations for screening of an STD?
GUPTA: Well, you know, it's funny. I was thinking about that, and I think, you know, screening recommendations may change to some extent based on how high these numbers are. The way things stand now is sexually active woman, 25 years or younger, will get Chlamydia screening every year, if they disclose that they're actually sexually active.
There's also the human papilloma virus. You saw how high numbers were there. There is a CDC advisory committee which recommended those girls get Guardasil...
COLLINS: Right.
GUPTA: ...which is a vaccine...
COLLINS: Yes.
GUPTA: ...starting at age 11 or 12, which, you know, again, are very young to a lot of people but you can see how many girls go on to have sex in teenage years, that's why they want to protect them early.
COLLINS: Yes. There were a couple of states that we report who were actually talking about making this mandatory.
GUPTA: Mandatory. Right.
COLLINS: Yes, yes. But this is -- this vaccine, if I understand correctly, doesn't actually guard against all of strains of HPV, right?
GUPTA: It doesn't. You're absolutely right. There are dozens of human papilloma virus. The two strains that are most commonly associated with cervical cancers, that caused 70 percent of cervical cancers, it does protect against. Not 100 percent effective but it does give you some protection against that. It also protects against two strains that cause some of the more common sexually transmitted infection as well. So you know, some potential benefit there.
COLLINS: I'm sure we're out of time here, but what about the boys? I mean the girls are getting it from somewhere.
GUPTA: Yes.
COLLINS: Or they're passing it along just to their partner?
GUPTA: Right. Yes. And we are going to do some reporting on that, because two questions come up, what about the boys, with respect to overall sexually transmitted diseases, but also with respect to this vaccine. Might they benefit from the vaccine and might that decrease transmission rates overall?
Remember, a lot of these sexually transmitted infections are asymptomatic. People don't know that they have it and they unwittingly pass these infections back and forth. But we will be reporting on that, Heidi.
COLLINS: OK. Good. We will talk with you as soon as you know more about that. Absolutely.
GUPTA: OK. Thanks.
COLLINS: People are going to be concerned, I'm sure.
Dr. Sanjay Gupta, thanks.
GUPTA: Thanks, Heidi.
HARRIS: Taking notes here. We have a segment on this very topic coming up by next hour right here in the NEWSROOM.
Also there are some disturbing news about some heart defibrillators using wireless technology. Two researchers say the signals could be hacked or reprogrammed. A patient's medical and personal information like birth date and even Social Security number could be stolen. The device could also be disabled. Researchers say there has been no evidence of any such hacking.
Some models already use encryption technology and security is expected to improve. And FDA spokesman and several defibrillator makers add the risk of someone tampering is remote. Right now a programmer would have to be right there next to a patient's chest to actually hack into the device.
The man calling the shots in Iraq and Afghanistan stepping down. Live to Baghdad for what's behind Admiral William Fallon's sudden resignation.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
COLLINS: Quickly want to give you information that we have literally just gotten off of our wire here's. According to affiliates that report to us and obviously in the local areas here, we have a little bit more information. You remember the University of North Carolina student, student body president, in fact, Eve Carson, apparently, according to affiliates, police have arrested a man today that they believe is the person of interest named in the murder of UNC student Eve Carson.
We understand that heavily armed officers took the man into custody. This happened during an overnight raid in Durham, North Carolina. He was turned over then to Chapel Hill police for more questioning.
Again, I'm just reading this as we get it in. So forgive me, but there are apparently some new photos that we could be showing you a little bit later on and what he was wearing, apparently, inside a convenience store, and we had showed you quite a bit of this story yesterday and the day before. It appears that this man, if you remember the story, is the same person in those two ATM surveillance photos that actually were released over the weekend.
We showed you quite a bit of them here yesterday and there you see them on your screen now. Remember that in this story, they were concerned about someone who could have been in the back seat of that car. Remember, they said look closely. And it's possible that there is a second person.
So once again, the latest information coming from our affiliate, WSD and also WTVD, there's apparently been an arrest in the murder of UNC student Eve Carson. He was apparent the person of interest that was named in this murder. So we will stay on top of this one and as the story develops, we'll certainly give you the information just as soon as we get it.
HARRIS: Calling it quits. But why? Admiral William Fallon talked to CNN's Kyra Phillips one day after his surprise resignation as top U.S. commander for Iraq and Afghanistan.
Kyra joins us live now from Baghdad and Kyra what did the admiral tell you?
KYRA PHILLIPS, CNN NEWSROOM: Well, Tony, I hope you don't mind. I'm probably going to look a lot at my notes as we talk here because I just got back from meeting with him just a day after this resignation happened, and obviously, it's a very sensitive issue. There's a lot that I'm sure he wants to say but he can't say right now. We had a lot of discussions off the record as well.
But I can tell you that the feeling among the staff, it was very somber, it was very quiet. He definitely looked very tired. He only got about four hours' of sleep as you can imagine, his mind is spinning right now. But it happened as we reported last night. He called Secretary of Defense Robert Gates and said I think this is what I need do and the secretary said I support that, and the next thing you knew, everything was rolling into motion.
Now, he did meet with a handful of people today. There are certain folks that he wanted to see before he left the country. I was lucky enough to be one of them. He met with key generals, he met with the prime minister, and now he'll heading back to the U.S.
HARRIS: OK, Kyra, I don't want to push you on this, because I know you're giving us everything that you can. All right. Maybe we should leave it there now and I'll wait for your notes, maybe I'll send you an e-mail and we'll join you in a little bit and maybe we can talk about this.
PHILLIPS: Are you wondering...
HARRIS: No go ahead.
PHILLIPS: You're wondering about -- are you wondering about the "Esquire" magazine article?
HARRIS: Yes, that is part of it. Is there anything that you can tell us that further clarifies, A, what was in that piece, but jump on in.
PHILLIPS: Sure. Sure. There is a -- matter of fact, the admiral did say and I read this on the air, just as the secretary of defense was making his announcement. And I'll quote the admiral.
HARRIS: Right.
PHILLIPS: He said that, "Recent press reports suggesting a disconnect between my views and the president's policy objectives have become a distraction at a critical time. He went on to say situation, and though I don't believe there have ever been any differences about the objectives of our policy in the Central Command Area of Responsibility, the simple perception is that there is, and it makes it difficult for me to effectively serve American's interest there.
Now I will tell you I've always known Fallon and I've known him a number of years...
HARRIS: Yes, he is.
PHILLIPS: ...to be a straight shooter. He doesn't beat around the bush, he is very honest with what feels about foreign policy, about relationships with certain leaders, and what he thinks that is the best for the country. And you'll notice in that quote he says these reports suggest a disconnect. Well, a big beef in that article, in that "Esquire" article was about Iran and policies with Iran. HARRIS: Yes.
PHILLIPS: This is what the admiral told me last year.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
PHILLIPS(on camera): Would you consider war with Iran?
ADM. WILLIAM FALLON: We're not interested in a war. We've got a conflict going here that we've got lots of folks tied up trying to fix. We have another conflict in Afghanistan.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
PHILLIPS: And he hasn't wavered on that. He's always been very concerned about Afghanistan. He still is. He wants more attention on Afghanistan, Tony. And with regard to Iran, he hasn't waver on that either. He always believed in perception of capability, that Iran needs to know who is boss, who would win a war if indeed the U.S. did go to war with Iran.
But he also wants to make it clear that negotiations and trying to talk things out, and eing diplomatic, that's his gift. He's known for breaking bread with people, and that's what he likes to do before taking sort of hard core military action.
HARRIS: And I suppose, Kyra, part of the contention here is when he says that directly to you. As you mentioned, he is a straight shooter, and always has been, particularly with you, that we're not interested in a war in Iran, perhaps that is counter to the perception that the administration wants to put forward that all options, and you know the line, that all options are on the table in dealing with Iran.
PHILLIPS: And he supports that. He's a smart leader. You've got to have a lot of options on the table, obviously.
HARRIS: Yes.
PHILLIPS: And even brought up the example of look at President Nixon and what he did with China. That took a lot of time, but through negotiations Nixon made tremendous headway with China. He likes to see himself as that type of ambassador.
Now I did ask him success stories within Iraq. I mean he is -- loves talking about that, is very passionate about that. Specifically he talked about progress he felt he made in Pakistan and a relationship that he developed with Pervez Musharraf. He also talks specifically about Central Asia, and the stans, Uzbekistan, the Tajikistan, Kazakhstan, and that is how you are going to solve the issues here in the Middle East, is if you take time building diplomatic relationships with all these various countries and leaders in the area, it's the only way to move forward and make democracy work.
HARRIS: Yes. And Kyra, I know there is more that you would love to be able to report now from your conversation with the admiral and I trust that when you can, you will. Kyra, thanks for the reporting this morning. We appreciate it.
PHILLIPS: Thanks, Tony.
HEIDI COLLINS, CNN ANCHOR: The opening bell just ringing on Wall Street. So the big question -- will stocks rise? Yesterday's big rally and what does it all mean to you? Our Susan Lisovicz at the New York Stock Exchange and senior business correspondent Ali Velshi is in our New York Bureau.
So, Ali, we've spoken with you. Susan, I wonder, if you could tell us a little about the mood right there where you are? Are people excited or do they kind of know that it's going to be a modest open today?
SUSAN LISOVICZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, I think there's always questions about when you have the best one-day gain in five years. And there's still a lot of problems out there, whether how much momentum you're going to have. Having said that, I think that Ben Bernanke and the Federal Reserve was widely applauded yesterday in Wall Street for doing something imaginative, something targeted, something substantial to reduce the risk that is holding big banks from making loans, and Wall Street applauded.
It doesn't take away inflation. Oil prices are trading at around $109 a barrel. Gas prices at an all-time high. The inventory of unsold homes remains very high. The rising delinquencies and foreclosures. I mean, there are a lot of problems still in the economy to address. But I think there was a direct and enthusiastic response to the Federal Reserve doing something to help an economy that runs on credit, to get back in better form.
COLLINS: Yes. And you know, it's interesting, too, isn't it, Ali? That the other move that the Fed have made over the past, I don't know, months or so haven't really changed things a whole lot.
ALI VELSHI, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes. They've been very short lived.
COLLINS: Yes. This has triggered a move.
VELSHI: Yes. I mean, part of it is probably how exhausted this market is with how low these levels were. I mean, there are people traders in there who figures if there some good news, they can make money on these trades. But as Susan will tell you, there's a difference between people who are professionals or who make money on daily trades which you can do in a market like this. And long-term investors for whom this 400-point gain is largely meaningless.
As our 300 point losses, this market is in turmoil right now because of all those other things Susan talked about. Mortgage is inflation, oil prices, jobs, and things like that. It's a traders' market right now. You can do very well on a given day and you can give that up very quickly. So these Fed moves are not having the overall effect. We need a good news. The Fed came with good news yesterday and the market reacted. LISOVICZ: Quickly, and I would jump in, Ali, that's right. I mean, I think that, you know, you're probably going to get more stability in the stock market when you start getting more consistently upbeat news. When you start hearing companies that say people are buying things. When you start hearing that the inventory on homes is reduced and that the prices of home are starting to stabilize. Things like that are probably going get, also going to really help prop up this stock market.
COLLINS: All right. Well, I'm still going to keep my fingers crossed and see what happens. And obviously, you guys giving us a very realistic perspective today.
LISOVICZ: A little bit of positive momentum, Heidi?
COLLINS: Yes, yes. My dad's happy. I know we're all very excited about that. Susan Lisovicz and Ali Velshi. Appreciate it guys, thanks so much.
VELSHI: All right.
LISOVICZ: You're welcome.
HARRIS: Look, if Tom's not happy, no one in the house is happy.
COLLINS: That's true.
HARRIS: Whew! Still to come, cheering on Wall Street and it has nothing to do with stocks.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I got a call from a couple of big, very, very big houses on Wall Street today, telling me about the celebrations inside their offices when they got the news.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HARRIS: Eliot Spitzer's foes, bullish about his downfall.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
ANNOUNCER: Live breaking news, unfolding developments, see for yourself in the CNN NEWSROOM.
HARRIS: So it is what it is. We are on Eliot Spitzer watch right now in the CNN NEWSROOM. Perhaps, we'll get some indication as to the governor of New York's political future today. Will he stay, will he go? What are the developments for his family? This is his apartment building, the east side of Manhattan. Eliot Spitzer's apartment building right there.
I can't imagine this is a happy development for other who live in that building. My goodness, but we are going to watch that building, and we are going to, of course, be following developments in this story throughout the day. They were Eliot Spitzer's targets, really. Now the arrow has turned. CNN's Deborah Feyerick has reaction.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
DEBORAH FEYERICK, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Eliot Spitzer built his reputation as a knife in the gut, take no prisoners attorney general. Targeting Wall Street corruption, going after distinguished business leaders at top firms like Merrill Lynch, Citigroup, AIG, even the head of the New York Stock Exchange. He made enemies, lots of them. Not afraid to dig up dirt, if he had to.
KEN LANGONE, FORMER NYSE DIRECTOR: He's a hypocrite. He destroyed reputations of people who had good reputation and deserved reputations.
FEYERICK: Ken Langone interviewed on CNBC was the former director of the New York Stock Exchange. Spitzer accused him of wrongdoing and awarding a $187 million golden parachute to former Stock Exchange chief Dick Grasso, who Spitzer also sued. Close Grasso friend Andrew Sabin said there's no love lost on Wall Street for Spitzer.
ANDREW SABIN, PRESIDENT, SABIN COMMODITIES: He overreached himself. Too overzealous, in my opinion. I think that's the way Wall Street feels, and I got a call from a couple of big -- very, very big houses on Wall Street today telling me about the celebrations inside their offices when they got the news.
FEYERICK: But Spitzer didn't care if Wall Street feared him. The public loved him.
ELIOT SPITZER (D), NEW YORK: So help me God.
FEYERICK: 69 percent voting him into the New York Governor's mansion after his pledge to shake up government and restore fairness and integrity. Once in Albany, he used the same combative style, threatening to steamroll anyone standing in his way. That included his chief rival Republican leader Joe Bruno. The target of a smear campaign in which a close Spitzer aide misused state politic to dig up dirt on the state senator.
JOSEPH BRUNO (R), NEW YORK STATE SENATOR MAJORITY LEADER: The important thing for the people of New York State is that people in office do the right thing.
FEYERICK: And despite his promises to reform Albany, Spitzer's style seemed to block any meaningful reform leaving him with few defenders.
REP. PETER KING (R), NEW YORK: He has given thousands and thousands of dollars to a criminal enterprise. So this goes far beyond whatever Governor Spitzer did or didn't do. It's the consequences of his actions.
FEYERICK (on camera): This (INAUDIBLE) on Wall Street in an Albany that what goes around comes around. The man who withheld everyone to a higher standard brought down for allegedly hiring a prostitute. Deborah Feyerick, CNN, New York.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
HARRIS: Again, stay with CNN for any developments in the Spitzer sex scandal and visit our website for expanded coverage such as updates, analysis and the criminal complaint. The address is cnn.com.
And we we're telling you in just a couple of moments ago of the arrest of the person of interest in the murder of UNC student body president, student Eve Carson. On the line with us is Adam Rew. He is with WCHL radio.
And, Adam, you are in Chapel Hill. Is that correct?
ADAM REW, WCHL, 1360 AM RADIO REPORTER: Yes, Sir, Tony, that's correct. We're here in front of the Chapel Hill Police Department.
HARRIS: Adam, if you would, tell us what you know.
REW: Right now, Tony, we have several sources including several law enforcement sources who have told us that an arrest was made in neighboring Durham. That's a community just about ten miles down the road from Chapel Hill. An arrest made overnight in Durham, a suspect brought here from Durham to Chapel Hill early this morning for questioning by Chapel Hill authorities.
Police have not come out to tell us anything. We're sitting in front of the police department waiting for some official word. But we do know from several law enforcement sources that this comes on the heels of a strong lead that police were following yesterday. And so again, a suspect brought from Durham to Chapel Hill, possibly connected to the Eve Carson case.
HARRIS: Well, Adam, let me jump in for a second here. We're showing pictures of this what has to be the person of interest. And we're wondering if is this person in this surveillance video, this bank surveillance video with this hat on, this hooded sweatshirt, is this the person who is now in custody?
REW: We have worked our law enforcement sources. It's our understanding that this is the person they've been dealing with. Again, police have not come out to tell us that, you know, officially on the record, but sources that we have talked to, said, yes, this is the person. And they have been tracking him throughout the community and that's the man that they brought from Durham to Chapel Hill to question.
HARRIS: So, Adam, do you have any idea what the delay in confirming it and, in fact, to have the suspect and that this might in fact be the person? Look, we're talking about what seems to have been a high-profile raid overnight. So what is the hesitation so far in coming forward and identifying the suspect that they have in custody?
REW: Well, Tony, the police chief here has been very adamant that they are going to make sure that they get all of the pieces in a row before they release information, because they want when they bring whoever is arrested for this, into court, they want these charges to stick. And so he's been very adamant that he's going to wait and see, you know, that they have all of their ducks in a row before they release information.
HARRIS: Got you. Hey, and Adam, as we look again at the ATM bank surveillance pictures here, the photographs of this suspect, you know, there has been a lot of talk that perhaps there is a second person, certainly in this case, this would be a second suspect in the back seat of that vehicle.
Do we have any additional information as to the search for that person, or if, in fact, the person who is under arrest is in fact the person in the back seat?
REW: Tony, we don't at this point. Police, the last time we talked to them, they were still working to enhance the photograph, to be able to get a clearer look at who might be in the back seat and we do not have any information about whether they've been able to do that or whether they've tracked them down.
HARRIS: OK. So what are we expecting to happen next? I suspect that the questioning will continue. Are you expecting a court appearance at any point today, or is that way too early?
REW: Hey, I think, at this point, it's way too early to sort of talk about court appearances. Police will likely continue to question this person, and if they decided to go ahead and file charges, then I think the court appearance may follow either late today or early tomorrow. But that's certainly dependent upon what happens in the next few hours.
HARRIS: Who are you expecting to hear from? Chapel Hill Police Chief Brian Curran?
REW: That's correct. We're expecting to hear from him at some point. We haven't heard a hard time yet. But he is likely to come and talk to us at some point throughout the say.
HARRIS: OK. Adam Rew is with the WCHL radio. He is in Chapel Hill following developments on this story. Adam, appreciate the reporting. Thank you.
REW: Thank you.
COLLINS: YouTube, one of the most popular destinations on the web is getting some new competition. Coming up, Veronica De La Cruz, tells us about a new site hoping to dethrone the video sharing site.
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COLLINS: TV and movies on demand. A new website is going live today. Veronica De La Cruz is here with a look at hulu.com. And an early review of the website.
Hey, there, Veronica.
VERONICA DE LA CRUZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hello, yes. This is pretty cool.
COLLINS: Sure. The folks over at the other website don't think it's so cool.
DE LA CRUZ: Yes, no. You're right about that, but we, of course, want to share all this great information with you and just like YouTube, Heidi, hulu.com offers users video. And the difference, Heidi, is what kind of video. This isn't user generated video. Instead, Heidi, we're talking premium content here.
Hulu had signed licensing deals with several major networks and movie studios. Users can logon. Watch more than 250 television series, current and classic. Also, about 100 or so movies. There's also original web programming and coverage of the NBA and NHL and just in time for March madness, you can also find men's division one basketball. So, there also adding some sports there.
COLLINS: Yes, good. What's its going to cost, though? Is it expensive?
DE LA CRUZ: No. You know, honestly, in order to stay competitive with sites like YouTube, all the video has to be free, right? But it means that they have to make their money in some way, which, of course, means what?
COLLINS: Commercials.
DE LA CRUZ: Commercials, right. So right now, Hulu, gets it's income from sharing advertising revenue with content owners. But here's something that's kind of cool, Heidi. I mean, if you create a profile on the site, you choose the commercials that you want to watch. So there you go.
You can also decide skipping commercials in the middle of some programs, in return for watching a trailer right at beginning of the clip. And then, just like other video contents sites, you can e-mail these clips. You can also publish them to websites.
COLLINS: I'm sorry. I'm just trying to sit here and think of all the commercial that I would like to watch. I can't think of any.
DE LA CRUZ: None?
COLLINS: No, not so much.
What about parental controls? Do we have to worry about our kids getting on this site and watching shows or movies that are obviously not going to be appropriate for them?
DE LA CRUZ: Well, you know, we checked this out earlier. And this is what I wanted to say is anybody can set up a profile. Basically, if you click on an R-rated movie, it's going to tell you, you have to be over the age of 17 and then it's going to ask you to set up a profile. It's going to ask for your age. But the thing is there is no age verification technology as of yet.
So you can set up a fake profile. Of course, the onus is on the parents to monitor their kids' web activity.
COLLINS: You know, did the kids are going to put in their exact age?
DE LA CRUZ: Let me think about that one for a second.
COLLINS: Probably not.
DE LA CRUZ: Probably not.
COLLINS: They really -- I mean, you've checked out the site. What do you think?
DE LA CRUZ: You know, I honestly really like it. I mean, honestly, it depends on the user and what they want to watch. There's some really great content out of there. I mean, some of my favorite shows are on the site. There's "24." You'll find clips of "Saturday Night Live." Also, "Arrested Development."
There's also a lot of great movies. I mean, "Ice Age," "Sideways," "The Big Lebowski, "The Usual Suspects." I mean, the website also is really easy to use. It's not cumbersome. There's nothing to download. You simply watch the video right off the website. There's a catch, it's only available to users in the United States.
And the other thing, Heidi, my favorite show of all-time, the "Sex and The City." No "Sex and the City" and they also don't have the NEWSROOM podcast. So until they have those two things, you know.
COLLINS: You know, every chance you got. You're working the podcast. We really appreciate that. There you go, Veronica. Appreciate it.
HARRIS: And still to come in the NEWSROOM this morning, questions of safety in the skies. Southwest Airlines takes action this morning. Details in the NEWSROOM.
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HARRIS: Three Southwest Airlines employees on administrative leave this morning. This story has been unfolding and part of it was a CNN investigation that found the airline flew planes without proper inspection.
The FAA says Southwest flew 47 planes last year without mandatory checks. Four cracks in the fuselage. Inspector says another 70 jets were allowed to fly even though required rudder inspection wasn't done. The Dallas-based airline says it is conducting an internal investigation. The company faces more than $10 million in fines.
COLLINS: Sounding the alarm over SUV roofs. A report says making them stronger would save lives. CNN consumer reporter, Greg Hunter, take a look.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE) GREG HUNTER, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): This is every SUV owner's nightmare. Rollovers are responsible for more than 10,000 passenger deaths and thousands more serious injuries every year. The Insurance Institute for Highway Safety tested SUV roofs to see how much pressure they could take before collapsing. Although, they looked the same afterwards, the force it took to crush them varied.
So this may take twice as much force as this took, to get the same level?
ADRIAN LUND, INSURANCE INSTITUTE FOR HIGHWAY SAFETY: Exactly. We're measuring how strong the roof is, how much force does it take to crush it to 10 inches?
HUNTER: They test it older mid-sized SUV's from Ford, Nissan, Chrysler, General Motors, Mitsubishi, and Toyota. And compared death and injury data from those vehicles, the conclusions.
LUND: We found that the roofs that take more force to crush them to 10 inches, we saw lower injury rates and lower death rates in those vehicles.
HUNTER: In the Institute's testing one of the strongest models was the 2000 Nissan Xterra, which withstood nearly three times its weight with minimal damage. Compared to the 2004 Ford Explorer, its roof caved in with much less pressure. One of the weakest roofs was the 1999, 2000 Ford Jeep Grand Cherokee. Its roof crushed after little more than 1.5 times its weight.
All the vehicles tested meet current government safety standards. Able to withstand 1.5 times its weight without collapsing. The institute says the current plans to have that standard increased 2.5 times the vehicles weight is better, but not enough.
How strong should the roofs be?
LUND: We think the roofs should withstand a force of at least three times the vehicles weight.
HUNTER: On Ford's behalf, the Alliance for Automobile Manufacturers said, quote, "By itself, changes to the roof crush resistance standard will have little overall effect in reducing rollover-related fatalities." Chrysler says "The report issued by the IIHS this week is flawed and contradicts previous reports published by the Institute and NHTSA. And increased roof strength would not have a significant effect on overall injuries in the real world. Adrian Lund, disagree.
LUND: A simple message is we need vehicles to have stronger roofs that they do.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
HARRIS: All right, the Institute says among the vehicles tested, strong roofs could have save more than 200 lives.
Waiting on the governor. Will Eliot Spitzer quit or fight sex allegations? New York wonders, in the NEWSROOM.
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HARRIS: OK. Preparing for arrival, Space Shuttle "Endeavour" set to dock with the International Space Station tonight. Endeavour's seven astronauts on a 16-day mission. Five space walks are planned. Tasks include delivering a giant robotic arm.
And the first to this is have a new Japanese lab. Specialists are checking images of "Endeavour" for any damage that may have occurred during liftoff. That's routine since the 2003 "Columbia" disaster. We will hear more from NASA during a briefing. That is scheduled for later today.
COLLINS: Good morning, everybody. I'm Heidi Collins.
HARRIS: And I'm Tony Harris. Stay informed all day in the CNN NEWSROOM. Here's what's on the rundown.
The governor's decision. Will Eliot Spitzer stay or go? A new report paints some picture of an expensive call girl habit.
COLLINS: Apologize? Absolutely not says Geraldine Ferraro. The one-time VP candidate says a racial remark about Barack Obama was not a racist remark.
HARRIS: When foreclosure hits home, you've got options. Our personal finance editor lays them up for you today, Wednesday, March 12th. You are in the CNN NEWSROOM.
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