Return to Transcripts main page
American Morning
Congress Under Fire; Iraq Council Approves U.S.-Iraqi Security Agreement; Packing Heat in the Cockpit; Caught on Tape: Rendell's Comment on Napolitano; New Hope for Strapped Homeowners
Aired December 04, 2008 - 08:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
KIRAN CHETRY, CNN ANCHOR: About a minute until the top of the hour. We have some breaking news. Iraqi spokesman said the country's presidential council has approved a security pact with the United States. Now this is a final step for an agreement that would replace a U.N. mandate which expires at the end of this month. Keeping our troops in Iraq, the deal is for a three-year time frame for a full withdrawal of U.S. troops.
And developing right now in India. The country put all of its major airports on high alert for any possible attack. This comes a week after the bloody siege in Mumbai that killed nearly 180 people, including six Americans.
And Condoleezza Rice, secretary of state arriving in Pakistan overnight saying urgent action is needed there to root out terror cells. It's the latest stop on an emergency mission in an effort to keep the anger down in the nuclear nation. Her visit comes as U.S. intelligence reportedly shows the 10 Mumbai attackers were trained by former Pakistani army officers. Pakistan says it's still waiting for proof of that.
Well this morning, lawmakers may be in love with their new capitol visitor center but there's no love for Congress, which is taking the heat out of control from the bailouts and more than half a billion dollars for this new visitor center.
Our Jim Acosta is live in the D.C. bureau this morning. You know, Senator Harry Reid, the majority leader taking some hits in Washington as well about some comments he made about smelling the tourists.
JIM ACOSTA, CNN GENERAL ASSIGNMENT CORRESPONDENT: That's right, Kiran. Some on this town say you can smell the hypocrisy, while much of the nation is focused on Barack Obama these days, government watchdog say the other end of his soon to be residents on Pennsylvania Avenue is making some huge blunders with our money.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
SEN. HARRY REID (D), MAJORITY LEADER: My staff has always said, don't say this.
ACOSTA (voice-over): But Senate Majority Leader Larry Reid did say it, when he hit praise on the Capitol's massive new visitor center.
REID: In the summertime, because the high humidity and how hot it gets here, you could literally smell the tourists coming into the Capital. Well, that is no longer going to be necessary.
STEVE ELLIS, TAXPAYERS FOR COMMON SENSE: It really shows a little bit of being out of touch to the people who are actually paying his paycheck.
ACOSTA: Steve Ellis with the Taxpayers for Common Sense says it's especially out of touch when the senator is nearly $360 million over budget. And when Congress is already under fire for its handling of multibillion dollar bailouts for corporate America. Remember the outrage when the big three automakers CEOs showed up in Washington in private jets?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It's almost like seeing a guy show up at the soup kitchen in high hats and tuxedo.
ACOSTA: Ellis says that's rich, when Congress sitting on a visitor center that's two-thirds the size of the Capitol.
ELLIS: The fact that you have a gold-plated congressional ego trip right here in the base of the Capitol and we're in dire economic times, and really showed sort of a political tenure to the needs and the concerns of the country.
ACOSTA: Meanwhile, Congress still hasn't confirmed the president's nominee to oversee the original $700 billion bailout. One senator who won't reveal his identity is blocking the nomination, a move Senate tradition allows.
REP. TOM DAVIS (R), VIRGINIA: When you look at it from the outside, it looks terrible.
ACOSTA: Out going Republican Congressman Tom Davis who once led the House Oversight Committee is retiring. Frustrated.
Is the Congress broken?
DAVIS: It's been broken for years. We'll see if they can get it fixed now with the new Congress coming in. It's going to be a challenge.
ACOSTA: As for that new visitor center?
DAVIS: Well, you can look at it this way. The tourists won't have to smell us.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
ACOSTA: A spokesman for Senator Reid rejects the notion that the majority leader is out of touch, but the public has run out of patience with Capitol Hill. According to the latest CNN polling, the approval rate for Congress stands at in abysmal 23 percent.
Kiran?
CHETRY: All right. Jim Acosta for us in Washington. Thanks. JOHN ROBERTS, CNN ANCHOR: 47 days now until the transition of power. And this morning, a brand new CNN Opinion Research Corporation Poll shows most Americans think President-elect Barack Obama has picked the right people to help him run the country. 75 percent approve of his cabinet appointments and just 22 percent disapprove.
Well, we're also getting some breaking news this morning that the presidential council in Iraq has signed on to the U.S.-Iraqi security agreement. That's the final step which would pave the way for American troops to be out of that country within three years' time.
President Jalal Talabani and his two deputies signed that piece of paper just a little while ago. Our Michael Ware is live in Baghdad this morning to talk more about the significance of all of this.
And Michael, the first question that I have is, they finally hammered out the security arrangement, but in 47 days we get a new president. Is it expected that President Barack Obama's orders, whatever he issues, will supersede this agreement?
MICHAEL WARE, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, certainly the incoming administration will be considered to be bound by this administration, the Bush administration. And the government that started this war has all but ended America's capability to fight that war by signing this agreement. And President-elect Obama will be expected, by all sundry, to live up to that.
Now, President-elect Obama will be able to draw his troops down as he sees fit, whether he listens to his commanders, as he says, or not, under the terms of this agreement. And indeed, the Iraqis have insisted, despite what Washington originally wanted, that all American troops will be out in three years regardless. No questions, no negotiations. And it's up to the Iraqis, not to Washington.
Now, what we've seen today is that the Iraqi Presidency Council, that's the president and the two vice presidents, have ratified the agreement. The real move to creating this arrangement was passed last week in the Iraqi parliament. Their version of Congress.
Once they pass this agreement, that was it. So this is more or less a rubber-stamp. The next big step is to see how this is going to be implemented. And it's what Lieutenant General Austin, one of the American second most senior American commanders here in Iraq said yesterday, this is the end of American combat operations on their own. From here on, the Iraqis are in the driver's seat in this war and they're going to be able to, in so many ways, take control and guide the actions of U.S. combat troops.
John?
ROBERTS: We should remind people, Michael, that President-elect Barack Obama's plans would have U.S. forces out of there by About June or July of 2010, so that would leave about an 18-month buffer before the disagreement would demand that they all be out.
But what about this idea that President Bush talked about in his State of the Union Address this past year where he said that there may be a residual force left in Iraq in a long-term security arrangement with the Iraqi government, sort of a garrison force, very similar to what the United States has either in Germany or in South Korea? Is that now off the table or could they sign an ancillary agreement that would provide for some sort of lingering garrison force?
WARE: Yes. Well, certainly, in terms of the agreement, that stands at the moment -- Washington, the Pentagon, the White House were out maneuvered by the Iraqis. There's absolutely no provision for any kind of residual or garrison force.
There isn't any hope for Japan post World War II, a South Korea, a Germany. The Iraqi government said it doesn't want that. And indeed, in one of the crucial clauses of this agreement, there was a small door that was being kept open to say, the next Iraqi government could look to extend this agreement or could alter it.
Well, certain factions within the Iraqi government here related to Iran, made it very clear that that clause had to be dropped, and it was. So it's non-negotiable. The decision for now is out of the American president's hands. He's being dictated to by the Iraqi government.
John?
ROBERTS: Michael Ware for us this morning in Baghdad with all that. Michael, thanks so much. It's now coming up on seven minutes after the hour.
Guns in the cockpit.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Simply moving the padlock can cause it to depress the trigger.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ROBERTS: Pilots packing heat. They could save your life. So why are so many pilots afraid to sign up? You're watching the "Most News in the Morning."
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
CHETRY: Terrorists could strike with a weapon of mass destruction by 2013. That was the warning that Vice President-elect Joe Biden heard yesterday from a bipartisan commission on terror and WMD.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JOE BIDEN (D), VICE PRESIDENT-ELECT: The answer that jumps out very starkly is no, we're not doing all we can or should. And we're not doing all we can to prevent the world's most lethal weapons from winding up in the hands of a terrorist. But this report is in my view more than a warning about what we're doing wrong; it's a pragmatic blueprint how to get it right. That's the good news about this report.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CHETRY: The panel also saying that more needs to be done to monitor Pakistan's nuclear elements because the country is, quote, "the nexus of all these threats right now and it's deteriorating."
Well, in our efforts to prevent terror in the sky, the government may be creating a potential disaster. Some experts say it's not only possible but maybe even likely that a pilot's loaded gun could go off in the cockpit by mistake.
Homeland Security correspondent Jeanne Meserve is taking a look at a dangerous design flaw.
JEANNE MESERVE, CNN HOMELAND SECURITY CORRESPONDENT (on camera): John, Kiran, a gun firing inside an airplane is a terrifying scenario, but one part of a program intended to keep aircraft safe may actually increase the risk that could happen, according to the inspector general of the Department of Homeland Security.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
MESERVE (voice-over): Thousands of pilots have been trained to carry guns in the cockpit to defend their aircraft against hijackers. But many pilots say they're unhappy with the holster which the Transportation Security Administration requires them to use. When pilots leave the cockpit, they have to insert a padlock, as this video produced by a pilot's group shows, if the gun isn't placed correctly in the holster, the padlock can end up in front of the trigger rather than behind it.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You now have a padlock bolt, very much like a finger, on the trigger of a loaded and ready firearm. When the pilot goes to unlock the weapon, simply moving the padlock can cause it to depress the trigger.
MESERVE: Because a cockpit can be darkened and stressful, the Department of Homeland Security inspector general now concludes the design of the holster renders the weapon vulnerable to accidental discharges and recommends the TSA discontinue the holster's use.
But the TSA hasn't done so. The agency says when handled correctly the locking holster system meets program safety security and tactical accessibility requirements. But TSA says it is working with outside experts to review holster design.
Last March, a U.S. Airways pilot accidentally fired his gun while stowing it. The bullet pierced the cockpit wall and the fuselage. The plane landed safely but the pilot lost his job.
Until the holster is redesigned, one group claims, some pilots are refusing to participate in the armed pilot program.
DAVID MACKETT, AIRLINE PILOTS SECURITY ALLLIANCE: They are concerned about playing "I bet my job and bet the safety of the airplane" on a design that is simply not safe.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
MESERVE: Fewer pilots with guns means less protection on airplanes and that impacts aviation safety for everyone who flies.
John, Kiran, back to you.
ROBERTS: Jeanne Meserve reporting for us this morning. Jeanne, thanks so much.
It has happened again. It seems that another well-known politician didn't know that the microphone was on. What Governor Ed Rendell was caught saying at the governor's meeting. We've got the tape for you, coming up.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
ROBERTS: Welcome back to the "Most Politics in the Morning" and your political ticker this Thursday. Senators are reportedly trying to do something about a clause in the constitution that could stop Hillary Clinton's appointment to become secretary of state. According to Politico, the little-known clause prohibits members of Congress from taking positions that got raises when they were in office. It's a clause in the constitution called the "Emoluments Clause." Look that one up.
After giving Barack Obama a huge boost in the campaign trail, talk show queen Oprah Winfrey will bring her Chicago-based show to Washington for the entire inauguration week. Winfrey has rented out the Kennedy Center's Opera House for her show, so it's -- Oprah at the opera.
President-elect Barack Obama signing up for another former rival to his new White House team of rivals. He picked New Mexico Governor Bill Richardson as his commerce secretary. Obama says he is a perfect fit to be America's leading economic diplomat. And Richardson also took some ribbing from his new boss for his new clean-shaven look.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
BARACK OBAMA (D), PRESIDENT-ELECT: I think it was a mistake for him to get it -- get rid of it. I thought that whole Western rugged look was really working for him.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ROBERTS: President-elect Obama met with the National Governors Association on Wednesday to discuss key issues to the governors and their states following a news conference in Philadelphia. Pennsylvania Governor Ed Rendell did not realize that he was next to a live microphone and made some controversial comments about Obama's pick for secretary of homeland security Janet Napolitano.
Our Alina Cho is here now with more on what the governor said.
Good morning.
ALINA CHO, CNN GENERAL ASSIGNMENT CORRESPONDENT: Good morning. We know that every mike is hot, right? Oops. You know, he made some comments that some have called sexist. A lot of people questioning this morning whether Ed Rendell would have ever said this about a man. It certainly does raise the question, no doubt about it. This has gotten a lot of attention. And just listen to what the Pennsylvania governor said about Arizona Governor Janet Napolitano, Barack Obama's choice for homeland security secretary.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
GOV. ED RENDELL (D), PENNSYLANIA: Janet's perfect for that job. Because for that job, you have to have no life. Janet has no family. Perfect. She can devote, literally, 19, 20 hours a day to it.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CHO: CNN has reached out to both Rendell and Napolitano. Rendell's office issued a statement to CNN saying, quote, "Governor Rendell believes that high-level elected officials who do their job well have little or no time for life outside the office. That is particularly true of DHS at this point in history," he says. "When it comes to a lack of life, the governor has said the same thing of himself."
Now, as for Napolitano, through a spokeswoman, she told the AP that she appreciated the confidence Rendell has shown in her. At least that's what they're saying publicly. And that spokeswoman would not say whether Napolitano thought that Rendell's comments were sexist. The spokeswoman did tell the AP, a lot of people weighing in on that, we're going to let you guys to do that.
But certainly this is not the first time that Rendell's words have gotten him into trouble. You'll remember during the primary fight, he said that some white conservative voters in Pennsylvania might not vote for an African-American candidate.
ROBERTS: Might not be ready to vote for an African-American.
CHO: Yes, might not be ready to -- yes, exactly. So you know, this has happened before but...
ROBERTS: Well, the one thing we can say for sure is that the governor certainly does speak his mind.
CHO: He is very colorful, yes.
ROBERTS: Alina, thanks for that.
CHO: You bet.
ROBERTS: Kiran?
CHETRY: Well, how would you like to be in a commercial that airs during the Oscars? Academy Award-winning actress Helen Hunt has that plan that really could put you there. And she's live with us to explain, coming up in just a minute.
CHETRY: Also, what kind of help is really on the way for homeowners facing foreclosure, from the bailout to the bill pile on the table? News for real Americans trying to hold on to their homes. It's 20 minutes after the hour.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JACK NICHOLSON, ACTOR: I'd feel better sitting outside your apartment on the curb than any other place I can think of or imagine. No, no, no, that's overstating it. I rather be sitting inside on the steps because I don't want to get my feet in the gutter. What would that serve?
HELEN HUNT, ACTRESS: Stop it. Why can't I just have a normal boyfriend? Why? Just a regular boyfriend.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CHETRY: A lot of people ask that. Now, it's a classic line from Helen Hunt back in 1997. She won an Oscar for that performance in "As Good As It Gets." Well, everybody could use just a little more passion in their life, right? Even big Hollywood stars.
Well, joining me now is Helen Hunt here to tell us about how she's encouraging people to share their passion with the rest of us. And she joins us this morning.
Helen, great to talk to you.
HUNT: Thank you.
CHETRY: Now, this is interesting. You're spearheading this project -- encouraging people to share their stories about following their life's passion, not just their job but their true passion. So, how does this contest work?
HUNT: Well, I think they approached me because I had spent 10 years trying to get a movie made that meant everything to me. And I heard every version of no anybody could have. You're too old, you're too young, you're too famous, you're not famous enough. And it meant a lot to me and so I just kept going.
And this product "True North" has created a whole way of thinking about your life, which is that everybody has a true north story. So, they did three shorter 15-second spots, one about a woman who wanted to green up her neighborhood in the South Bronx and did that. One about a guy who collected pennies and raised $7 million for charity doing that. And this spot is going to be bigger, 60 seconds.
It's going to run during the Oscars and I'm going to direct it. So, people are being asked to go to truenorthsnacks.com and send in their stories and then I'll be part of a panel of judges who will choose whichever story is the most suited for the spot. CHETRY: That's great. And this is going to debut then, that 60- second commercial, at the Oscars this year. They also get a cash prize, $25,000.
HUNT: And an Oscar, weirdly. No.
CHETRY: I love it. Maybe a Cleo award, who knows. But it's really -- you're trying to target baby boomers in this contest as well. Why are you reaching out to that demographic in particular?
HUNT: I don't really know. I'm just -- I can call myself like five seconds younger than a baby boomer. So, maybe I have my finger on the pulse of that group.
CHETRY: I know what you're talking about. So, you're a --
HUNT: I think maybe you have to be old enough to have a true north story to follow. Maybe that's why.
CHETRY: Or, you know, there are times when you feel like, did life pass me by and here I am, you know, I spent time raising kids. I did the career that I thought I was supposed to do and now what am I living for. So, you know, you're trying to encourage people to sort of think along those lines as well.
HUNT: One thing I read in what they're looking for is that it can certainly be something that makes the world a better place, but it can also be something that just makes the world a more interesting place. And that really caught my eye. I thought that was a pretty terrific thing to spend some time making a little 60-second movie about.
CHETRY: I think that's very, very interesting, too. And you know, we're in a tough economic situation right now. A lot of people are feeling the pinch and a lot of people, perhaps, are losing their job or, you know, a career they thought they were going to go into, they're not doing. So, how does sort of taking stock of what really your passionate about help in these tough times?
HUNT: Well, I think to pay more attention to what you care about and have gratitude for rather than how your stock portfolio is going is a really good idea right now, and always.
CHETRY: That's true. We just don't look these days.
HUNT: Yes.
CHETRY: It's too depressing. If you were to enter this contest yourself, tell us what your true north story would be.
HUNT: Well, certainly making this movie since it took 10 years. And other people, it doesn't take them that long for a movie to be made. You know, it was about all these things. It's called "Then She Found Me," which people can rent now, if they're interested.
But it was about everything I cared about -- motherhood, daughterhood, betrayal, love, and for whatever reason I just kept following, you know, this North Star for me and was very glad in the end I did. Having a baby for me was a true north story because it wasn't an easy thing for me and meant everything in the world to me.
So, I would say, not in that order, those are the two things that come to mind.
CHETRY: Very interesting. And so people have a chance to now tell theirs and perhaps have it featured in a commercial at the Oscars. Helen Hunt, great to talk to you this morning. Thanks so much for talking to us.
HUNT: Thank you.
CHETRY: John?
ROBERTS: Getting to be on TV at 5:30 in the morning is not a bad true north story either.
We're following breaking news this morning. The Treasury Department considering a plan to lower mortgage rates to 4.5 percent to help homeowners avoid foreclosure. Details are scarce but the plan could be announced by next week. Critics say it would do little to help borrowers who are already behind in their mortgages, though.
And, is enough really being done to help stem the tide? A rate cut from the Treasury will only help those in good standing and only some banks have stepped in so far to freeze foreclosures. So, who is going to bail out the biggest fish in the economy, that is the U.S. homeowner?
Our Deborah Feyerick has been looking into that for us and she joins us this morning.
Hi, Deb.
ROBERTS: Hey there, John. And you know, a lot of people say if you don't bail out the homeowners, you're definitely not going to fix the problem at the top because it starts at the bottom. But for some people, it's inevitable. They're definitely going to lose their home. There is a plan that has so far saved 30,000 houses. So, why don't more people have access to it?
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
EDDIE MORRISON, HOMEOWNER: Yes, that was you.
FEYERICK: When Eddie Morrison heard about the government's $700 billion bailout his first thought was --
E. MORRISON: Can anybody help me, there?
FEYERICK: Behind on his mortgage payments, Morrison, a truck driver making $65,000 a year was sure the foreclosure letter was in the mail.
CORINTHIA MORRISON, HOMEOWNER: I was getting nervous to the point where I started packing. FEYERICK: Instead, IndyMac, the bank which had given the loan was seized by federal regulators and its new administrator FDIC chairman Sheila Bair put a freeze on foreclosures, giving people like the Morrisons a chance to modify their loans to rates they could afford.
SHEILA BAIR, CHAIRMANWOMAN, FDIC: Foreclosures keep going up and home prices keep going down. And we've got to stop this spiral.
FEYERICK: Bair has publicly taken on the Treasury and Federal Reserve, saying it's critical to tackle the root of the problem by helping homeowners, not just big institutions.
(on camera): Based on the model you created with IndyMac, how many homes do you think you could save right now?
BAIR: We could prevent 1.5 million foreclosures from occurring.
FEYERICK (voice-over): Under her plan, people who are 60 days late paying would get a chance to reduce high interest rates and extend the length of their loan if they qualify. So why isn't it happening?
BAIR: I've been watching it for a long time, and why we haven't been able to garner the political will to tackle this problem more aggressively at the borrower level has been somewhat mystifying to me.
FEYERICK: Critics call Bair's proposal a subsidy for troubled borrowers.
BERT ELY, CATO INSTITUTE: In many cases, they would actually be better off giving up the home and renting for a while, restoring their financial health.
FEYERICK: Bair estimates her problem would prevent 30 percent of foreclosures expected over the next two years.
BAIR: We think it works. We think we've got the data to show it works. And so I just really wish we can all make a decision and move forward with it.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
FEYERICK: Now, Chairman Bair says that there are the programs out there. But the problem is that they're all over the map. She believes that homeowners need a single program and at IndyMac, her model, has been successful. Some 40 to 50 percent of borrowers have asked to modify their loans just with IndyMac. That's very high when you compare it to the response of these other programs which are showing about 10 percent. She says if she gets the $24 billion, she could get this program going in less than two months and that's a lot of homes saved.
ROBERTS: And there's an awful lot of people out there who would qualify and those who are deserving of it. What about the people out there who may be on the cusps or maybe even you know over where the positive side who say hmm, I can take advantage of this if I just default on my mortgage? FEYERICK: And that's exactly right. And the chairman made it clear, she says you try to save the system, you're going to lose your home. They're going to look at W-2s, they're going to look at income streams. All these things that should have been checked in the original loan that never were. And so she is making an effort. And she said these underwater homes that are going to, again, now start being less than the value of the mortgage. People might try to take advantage of that. She says don't even try it.
ROBERTS: There are a lot of homes that are under water.
FEYERICK: Oh, Yes.
ROBERTS: Deb, thanks so much for that.
KIRAN CHETRY, CNN, ANCHOR: Well the transition of power is under way. This morning we're taking a closer look at one of Barack Obama's first hires as chief of staff, Rahm Emanuel, a hard charging and tough political infighter. A reputation that "Saturday Night Live" picked up on. Check it out.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
AS RAHM EMANUEL: Hello. I'm Rahm Emanuel. One-time congressman of Illinois's fifth district and now White House chief of staff designate for President-elect Barack Obama.
I should say to anyone thinking about crossing me, I will [ bleep ] end you. You will never even see it coming. One day you will be here and the next day you will [ bleep ] disappear. I'm sorry, did you [ bleep ] say something? [ bleep ] sure? Yes. You better be [ bleep ] sure.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CHETRY: That was "Saturday Night Live's" spoof of Rahm Emanuel. We're going to get a closer look at exactly who Rahm Emanuel really is in just a moment.
First, we have some breaking news coming in to CNN. New job numbers right now. And Christine Romans has that for us. We're talking about thousands of cuts in different companies, Christine.
CHRISTINE ROMANS, CNN BUSINESS CORREPONDENT: That's right. Jobless claims, official government statistic, 509,000 people in the latest week filed for unemployment benefits for the first time. 509,000. Magically that was slightly better than a lot of people had expected. But keep in mind, anything over 400,000 is a sign of a very weak labor market. And the number of people whoa re continuing to get claims so they're on the unemployment rolls topped four million, four million people out there getting jobless benefits for more than just a week.
Now, some big name companies this morning coming out and slashing tens of thousands of jobs. Dupont is cutting 2,500 jobs. Credit Swiss is cutting a bunch of jobs. AT&T cutting 12,000 jobs. Let me say that again. AT&T is cutting four percent of its workforce. Those job cuts will begin this month and continue through next year. Those are pretty heavy job cuts. A lot of them to fall on just one day. A lot of labor economists are telling me this is frankly the new normal. We're going to see companies over the next month, maybe even couple of months, really cutting a lot of jobs to try to make their numbers for the year end and moving into 2009 try to figure out how they're going to cut -- cut a headcount for 2009 what is expected to be tough. How does this all filter out in the economy? When people don't have their jobs, they don't spend. You're already starting to see that in the chain store sales. November retail numbers, very weak again this morning. An exception there, Wal-mart is continuing to gain market share from its rival because as people are pulling back they're going to the discounters to do their spending.
Also a global effort under way to try to prop up the financial system, Kiran, and to try to spur the economy. The Bank of England cutting interest rates, matching the lowest interest rate there in it 300-year history. The European Central Bank also cutting interest rates and France today announcing the details of a multi-billion euro-dollar stimulus package. So all around the world you're seeing job cuts. You're also seeing governments doing everything they can to try to keep the financial system you know above water, frankly, and to get the economy moving again.
CHETRY: Yes, when you take a look at it on balance from today just for some perspective between all of the things you mentioned, including Dupont and Credit Swiss and AT&T, talking nearly 20,000 jobs lost today alone.
ROMANS: Just today alone. And what we're seeing from AT&T specifically is that they're going to start right now, starting in December, and they'll be cutting jobs throughout next year. So a lot of folks working at some of these companies, that's really a cloud hanging over their head. They just don't know when the ax is going to fall for them.
CHETRY: Right. And you had mentioned before and I know you've talked about this before, that there are bright spots there.
ROMANS: That's right.
CHETRY: It's not every industry, not every sector is contracting. So if there is any advice for people that are facing a layoff right around the holidays?
ROMANS: If you get a pink slip right now, don't panic. I mean, all of my sources say, don't panic. Figure out the skills you have now and how to translate them into the growing industries, that is health care, that is I.T., that is education. And one thing that when we look at unemployment rates, the unemployment rate right now is 6.5 percent, Kiran.
If you have at least a bachelor's degree the employment rate goes down to 3.1 percent. So we got to say here that education is going to be a key here for some of these professional service jobs. Both in this recession and also coming out of it. So keep in mind if you have a bachelor's degree, the unemployment rate is half of what it is for the rest of the population.
CHETRY: All right. Still some tough news to handle this morning, for sure. Christine Romans, thank you.
We're going to take a quick break. AMERICAN MORNING will be right back.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
ROBERTS: Earlier we showed you "Saturday Night Live's" interpretation of Barack Obama's chief of staff, Rahm Emanuel. We know well about his tough tactics and sometimes foul mouth. But there's a lot more to the man than that. AMERICAN MORNING's Alina Cho joins us now with a look at all that. Hey, Alina.
ALINA CHO, CNN, CORRESPONDENT: Hey, there. You know Rahm Emanuel. There's a softer side, John. Good morning, everybody. You know he's been called this street fighter with a killer instinct, but talk to his rabbi and he'll tell you Rahm Emanuel is such a nice guy, intensely spiritual, polite. His congressional colleagues say he's the kind of guy who could chew you out and send you a cheesecake. All of this critical. Remember, he's the man who's about to become the president's gatekeeper.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
CHO (voice-over): They don't call him Rahm-bo for nothing.
SEN. BARACK OBAMA (D), PRESIDENT-ELECT: There are so many ways, I'm going to rip your head off.
CHO: Barack Obama's chief of staff is famous for being in your face, but there's another side to him.
RABBI ASHER LOPATIN, ANSHE SHOLOM B'NAI ISRAEL: He is a very polite, well liked, beloved person.
CHO: Rahm Emanuel, the man who reportedly sent a dead fish to a pollster? His rabbi stays the Rahm he knows is different, so devout that during the Jewish New Year, one of the holiest days when Orthodox Jews can't make phone calls, Rahm Emanuel asked for a pass.
LOPATIN: Am I allowed to be on a conference call to help pass the bailout, the $700 billion bailout. I told him, I asked him, is it as serious as it's made out to be. So he said, yes, it is as serious.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I think that's your phone.
CHO: On the hit show "Entourage" character Ari Gold is based on super Hollywood agent Ari Emanuel, Rahm's brother. And this character on the "West Wing" is said to be based on Rahm. In fact, the only brother without a TV likeness is Zeke, a Harvard educated, top oncologist at the NIH.
EZEKIEL EMANUEL, RAHM'S BROTHER: If you had looked at us in grade school and high school, you would not - you would not have predicted our success.
RAHM EMANUEL: you would not have bet long on Emanuel. You would have gone short.
CHO: Before taking on politics, Rahm Emanuel studied ballet.
OBAMA: He learned to leap, he learned to spin, and he learned to display his feet to the left and to the right so no one knows which direction he's heading in.
CHO: He also made $16 million as an investment banker after he left the Clinton administration.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: He gets the big picture but he also sweats the details. He is absolutely relentless.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
CHO: That, he is. And that congressman you just heard from says President-elect Obama is going to need somebody like Rahm Emanuel, who can knock heads together then come up with a common policy, meaning the president's policies. He says the last thing a president needs is a lot of people freelancing. He says this is about pushing through Barack Obama's ideas and he says nobody will be more effective at that than Rahm Emanuel. Of course, he's got a tough style. You know, Paul Begala likes to joke that it's kind of a cross between a hemorrhoid and a toothache. But you know he says that lovingly, the two are friends but they say it works.
ROBERTS: They are very good friends. He will be able to twist a lot of arms in Congress.
CHO: He will.
ROBERTS: I wouldn't want to be the White House legislator and have Rahm Emanuel looking over your shoulder saying, do you want me to do it?
CHO: He has got a one word answer.
ROBERTS: Alina, thanks so much for that.
CHO: You bet.
ROBERTS: 41 minutes now after the hour.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
CHETRY (voice-over): "Jingle bell" hell.
LOLA OGUNNAIKE, CNN ENTERTAINMENT CORRESPONDENT: I'm going to jingle somebody's bell, is there that moment?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes. "Jingle bells" might be that song. It has an irritating melody. CHETRY: The most annoying holiday music playing in the mall over and over and over again. The worst Christmas songs, we're making a list. You're watching the most news in the morning.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
(MUSIC PLAYING)
CHETRY: Which song was that? Well, you know the Christmas songs that you hear over and over and over again? Oh, is that "Last Christmas"?
ROBERTS: Wham.
CHETRY: Well, they're all over the mall. It's supposed to put you in the holiday spirit but for many people they just end up driving you crazy. The most annoying over-played holiday songs out there, our Lola Ogunnaike is making a list and checking it twice.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
(MUSIC PLAYING)
I don't want a lot for Christmas -
LANCE BASS, SINGER: The one song that gets me in the Christmas mood every year is when I hear Mariah Carey's "All I want for Christmas." Once you hear that on the radio, you're like, it's Christmastime.
MARIAH CAREY: All I want for Christmas is you.
OGUNNAIKE: Is there a song?
BASS: "Drummer boy." I don't like "Drummer Boy."
OGUNNAIKE: Really? How does "Drummer Boy" go?
ERIC PHILBROOK, EDITOR "ASCAP PLAYBACK MAGAZINE": Holiday songs are as good as they get. They all have infectious melodies. They all have great lyrics that people can memorize easily and they all have simple and direct and elegant messages.
The most recorded holiday song of all time is "White Christmas," it was written by Irving Berlin for the 1942 film "Holiday Inn." It's been recorded over 500 times in 12 different languages.
HARRY CONNICK, JR. SINGER: "It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas" is a great song.
OGUNNAIKE: It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas.
CONNICK: You feel like going on the road?
OGUNNAIKE: Yes, I do. I can be your backup singer.
CONNICK: It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas everywhere you go.
Hey, girlfriend's got a good ear now.
OGUNNAIKE: Yes.
CHIPMUNKS: Christmastime is near -
PHILBROOK: Let's say I'm not a big fan of the Chipmunks with so many -
OGUNNAIKE: I love the Chipmunks.
PHILBROOK: I'm sorry. But they're an acquired taste.
(MUSIC PLAYING)
Jingle bells, jingle bells. Jingle all the way.
OGUNNAIKE: If I hear "Jingle Bells" one more time, I'm going to jingle somebody's bell. You never have that moment?
CONNICK: Yes. "Jingle Bells" might be that so
JESSICA SANTIAGO, BORDER'S CUSTOMER: It's happy. It's jolly. It makes you want to dance. I don't know. I love it.
CONNICK: It's one of those tunes that that's got an irritating melody.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Oh what fun is it to ride in a one-horse open sleight. Hey.
CONNICK: I don't need to hear "Jingle Bells" anymore.
OGUNNAIKE: When you hear a certain song that brings you back to your childhood, a holiday song, what is it?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You know we always did "the First Noel."
OGUNNAIKE: Born is the king of Israel.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
CHETRY: All right. Well, love them or hate them, there's a holiday songs and the ones that who really have to listen to them most are the storekeepers, right? So they're probably the ones that are like enough is enough.
OGUNNAIKE: Yes but they also found that people tend to buy more when they're in a good mood. And holiday songs do put people in a good mood for a certain period of time. But after the holidays, they don't want to hear them at all.
CHETRY: I got you. Harry Connick Jr., you guys, you had a connection.
OGUNNAIKE: We did.
CHETRY: Maybe you will go on the road.
OGUNNAIKE: Yes. When this doesn't work out I'm going to go on the road and be his backup dancer and singer.
CHETRY: Incidentally, what is your favorite?
OGUNNAIKE: I have to day it is Mariah Carey's "All I want for Christmas is you."
CHETRY: That's a nice one. I like "Jingle Bell Rock" and "Frosted Window Panes," some of the older ones.
OGUNNAIKE: That's old.
CHETRY: It's pretty old. It reminds me of being little. All the happy times. Lola, thank you.
OGUNNAIKE: Thank you.
John, what's your favorite?
ROBERTS: I've got it right here, actually. You know the computer never does what you want it to when you want it to. Why is that?
OGUNNAIKE: We'll sing it in the meantime.
ROBERTS: Our favorite guys.
OGUNNAIKE: That's a good one, too.
ROBERTS: Absolutely. By the way -
OGUNNAIKE: We have a show to do, right?
ROBERTS: We have to continue here.
Our i-reporters are sending us the sights and of sounds of the holiday season. If you think decorating your house was difficult, from Pittsburgh, over 200,000 lights all synchronized to multiple Christmas carols. Look at this.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
ROBERTS (voice-over): Is this any way to talk about your tourists?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You can smell the visitors. You could literally smell the tourists.
ROBERTS: Big stink over the senator said and the tourists are really steamed up now. You're watching the most news in the morning.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
(COMMERCIAL BREAK) ROBERTS: 51 minutes after the hour. A new state just got awarded the title of the unhealthiest place to live in America. And it's an upset. It used to be Mississippi, no longer though. Louisiana is the unhealthiest state, according to an annual report, for the second year in a row. Vermont named the healthiest state in America.
CHETRY: All right. We're always on top of the latest medical news on AMERICAN MORNING and as a result, you often have questions for our good doctor.
ROBERTS: So every Thursday we drag Dr. Sanjay Gupta in here. We take him out of the mail bag where we keep him all week and we bring him out here and put him on the set and he answers your questions.
A lot of viewers are asking how to prevent a stroke. This was an actual e-mail sent to us but they've been asking how they prevent a stroke. But a lot of times people actually don't realize that they're at risk of a stroke until they have one.
DR. SANJAY GUPTA, CNN CHIEF MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT: That's right. In fact, there was a study about this, they surveyed 400 people at the Mayo Clinic and they found 58 percent of them didn't know that they had had a stroke. In retrospect it was found that they did have one. And a lot of people don't realize the symptoms come and they go away. They think it was nothing to worry about, which is obviously a concern as well. We talked a lot about this around the attorney general when he collapsed. He did not have a stroke but that was one of the concerns at that time.
There are some simple tests that you might be able to do with somebody, things you should look for. First of all, sudden weakness, unusual headache, dizziness, confusion. If these things seem to come out of the blue, this is something that could should prompt a little bit of attention for you and your doctor. There's also a test that's called the smile test. Some people have heard of this. It's not endorsed by the American Heart Association but it's sort of a good way to sort of have an idea. You ask people to smile. That tests their muscles in their face. Ask them to raise both their arms above their head and that will test their motor strength on both sides of the body. And ask them to speak one sentence coherently, my name is John Roberts, you know, whatever it might be.
ROBERTS: I can do that.
GUPTA: So those might be simple tests to try and figure out if something has gone awry.
ROBERTS: Good idea. Thanks.
CHETRY: Well we have another question from one of our "Paging Dr. Gupta" bloggers. Marie writes "I suffer from severe anxiety and panic attacks. I would like to know if they could eventually do damage to my heart?"
GUPTA: You know, it's interesting. We sort of tend to but the psychological effects and physical effects in two different silos. But now there's a lot of evidence to show that people have anxiety attacks for example and could have problems with their heart in the long run. In fact, people who have a full-on anxiety attack are three times more likely within a six month after that to have some sort of heart trouble. We know there's a correlation here. You release all sorts of hormones, endorphins, all sorts of things that could potentially affect your heart. Now starting the mounting evidence. So you know control the anxiety.
CHETRY: What do you do about it?
GUPTA: Well, you got to remember that, and try and control the anxiety. If there is a way that you can control it, either without medications or with medications, keeping in mind it that you know it could have an affect on your physical body in the long run.
ROBERTS: Our final question today comes from (Rdhit) from Brooklyn who writes "my father had Alzheimer's disease and passed away four years ago. Am I at an increased risk? I get frightened every time I forget somebody's name." I'm interested in this as well. My mother 95 years old, god bless her, has Alzheimer's disease. Am I at risk?
GUPTA: Well you know, John, there has been some evidence that first- degree relatives are at increased risk. It's one of those things that it's a relative risk versus an absolute risk. It's still very, very small but you're slightly more at risk than the average person in the population who does not have a first degree relative with Alzheimer's. Having said that, you know, everyone forgets things from time to time. So to take what roadway what you're experiencing and translate it to Alzheimer's is probably a little bit of a jump. There are certain medications that if given early on, early on the onset of dementia, it may have some affect on overall decreasing Alzheimer's symptoms.
ROBERTS: Aricept.
GUPTA: Yes. That's right. That's one of them but there's no vaccine or specific medication yet or even a diagnostic test for sure to say someone has Alzheimer's. So we're not there yet. This is a fertile area of research and we hope for people like your mom that maybe something will come about.
ROBERTS: I think a little too late for her though. Maybe for the next generation.
GUPTA: Maybe for the next generation.
ROBERTS: Sanjay, thanks. If you've got a medical question, by the way, for Dr. Gupta, send us an i-report at CNN.com/am. Dr. Gupta will answer your question when he checks his mail bag every Thursday right here on AMERICAN MORNING.
CHETRY: Well, talk about putting your foot in your mouth. How about stop and smell the tourists? The senator who insulted D.C. visitors by saying they stink. He said it more than once. Tourists are really steamed now. You're watching the most news in the morning.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK) (BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
LENO: And the labor department announced that over 1100 lawyers lost their jobs last month. Think of it. It's the lawyers who are losing their jobs. Lawyers are losing their jobs. CEOs are being forced to work for a $1 a year. Ann Coulter's jaw has been wired shut. In many ways this could be the greatest Christmas ever.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CHETRY: Well, there is some Jay Leno for you.
Would you tell visitors to your town that they stink? Well, that's just what senate majority leader Harry Reid did more than once. Our Jeanne Moos shows you what happens when tourists are told that they smell on television.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
JEANNE MOOS, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Memo to Senator Harry Reid, when you say start a sentence this way -
SEN. HARRY REID, SENATE MAJORITY LEADER: My staff has always said don't say this -
MOOS: Chances are you're going to cause a stink.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It's disgusting.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I have to admit it's kind of an odd thing to say.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: It's kind of a crazy statement to make.
MOOS: It was the opening ceremony for the new air-conditioned Capitol Visitor's Center. No longer will sweltering tourists visiting the capitol have to stand outside in long lines.
REID: Because of the high humidity and how hot it gets in here, you can literally smell the tourists coming into the capitol.
MOOS: Like a stink bomb, reaction wafted across the web. Dirty Harry, conservative bloggers called him. It's not the tourists who stink, you wreak. You, sir, are the one who stinks. We sniffed around outside the new visitor's center.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: People are probably a little bothered by it. I mean, I felt so bad this morning I actually took an extra bath before I came out here.
MOOS: Even the CBS Evening News gently mocked the senator's comments.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: The brand new capitol visitor center, $621 million, not having to smell sweaty tourists, priceless.
MOOS: Senator Reid was accused of treating the public like the great unwashed.
MOOS (on-camera): Critics are make no secret of their disgust suggesting that people who want to stick it to Harry Reid send them their stick deodorants.
MOOS (voice-over): But the senator's spokesman said the only point that he was making is that this beautiful new facility will make coming to the capitol so much more enjoyable. Senator Reid made the same comment once before -
REID: The people who work here joke about you can always tell when the summertime because you can smell the visitors.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I was born and raised here. I've never smelled a bad tourists.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I did not smell nor did I have a problem smelling anybody.
MOOS: But some who worked on the hill have. Watch heads nod in the audience.
REID: You could literally smell the tourists coming into the capitol.
MOOS: Whether true or a joke, critics say the remark sure wasn't suave, and repeating it should be banned.
ANNOUNCER: It won't wear off as the day wears on.
MOOS: Jeanne Moos, CNN, New York.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
ROBERTS: Sometimes the bad jokes just kind of get stuck in your brain.
CHETRY: Oops.
ROBERTS: Yes. That's going to do it for us. Thanks so much for joining us on this AMERICAN MORNING. We'll see you back here bright and early Friday morning.
CHETRY: And right now, here's CNN NEWSROOM with Heidi Collins.
