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American Morning
Illegal Workers Cleaning Michael Chertoff's House; Senate Seat for Sale; Foul-Mouthed First Lady; Obama to Use Full Name at Swearing
Aired December 11, 2008 - 08:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
JOHN ROBERTS, CNN ANCHOR: A $14 billion bailout for automakers passing a big hurdle in the House but now facing much bigger obstacle in the Senate. The bill is design to keep Detroit's big three afloat in the short term. Republicans predict that it won't get through the Senate, though, calling the deal a taxpayer-funded travesty.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SEN. RICHARD SHELBY (R), ALABAMA: This is only delaying their funeral. I want them to survive, but they have to make that decision. They can strip down. They can become competitive. They can save thousands and thousands of jobs. But this proposal that I've seen thus far will not do it.
ROBERTS: A report in "The Washington Post" says a company that was hired to clean the home of Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff used illegal workers. The secret service which screened all the workers said it screened the Maryland company's employees for criminal records, not for their legal status. Now, the owner, James Reid, faces more than $22,000 in fines. We're going to talk to him about this whole thing coming up in just a few minutes here on the "Most News in the Morning."
New fallout this morning in the pay-to-play scandal surrounding Illinois Governor Rod Blagojevich. The man accused of trying to sell Barack Obama's old Senate seat is still clinging to power this morning. That despite a growing chorus of calls for him to resign, including from President-elect Obama.
Now there are new questions about who was willing to play ball with the governor. Congressman Jesse Jackson Jr. is denying that he did anything wrong after federal authorities identified him as the now infamous candidate number five who was mentioned on FBI tapes.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
REP. JESSE JACKSON JR. (D), ILLINOIS: I spoke to the U.S. attorney's office on Tuesday. They shared with me that I am not -- I am not a target of this investigation. And that I am not accused of any misconduct. In the days ahead, federal law enforcement officials want to meet and discuss what I know about the Senate selection process. I look forward to cooperating with the hard-working men and women of the United States' attorneys office, and the Justice Department.
CNN's Drew Griffin has more on candidate number five and some of the other possible players in this case. He joins us now live. Drew, we know that Jesse Jackson Jr. was candidate number five. It's widely believed. And she's acknowledged this, that Lisa Madigan, the attorney general, whom we just talked to a little while ago, was candidate number two. What else do we know?
DREW GRIFFIN, CNN SPECIAL INVESTIGATIONS UNIT CORRESPONDENT: Yes, we've got them all for you, John. But how unfortunate for Jesse Jackson Jr. that he is getting dragged into this. He, as you know, was one of the leading candidates to replace Barack Obama in that U.S. Senate seat, now he's on the defensive of what he did or did not do in terms of lobbying for that.
All the while, John, everybody is waiting for the guy who lives in the house behind me to say anything, hopefully, according to politicians here that he'll resign, but since Tuesday, Governor Blagojevich has done nothing except go to work.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: There he is.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Governor.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Governor.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Governor.
GRIFFIN (voice- over): Call it business unusual for the Illinois governor now ducking media staked out at his home and racing past cameras as he was driven to his Chicago office. One day after his arrest and amid calls from every corner of the state for his resignation, the governor was silent.
Not so silent, Congressman Jesse Jackson Jr., who suddenly found himself defending his quest to fill the U.S. Senate seat Democrat Governor Blagojevich was allegedly trying to sell.
JACKSON: I reject and denounce "pay to play" politics and have no involvement whatsoever in any wrongdoing.
GRIFFIN: A law enforcement source with detailed knowledge of the investigation confirms to CNN that Jackson, a Democrat, is the Senate candidate number five talked about in the federal complaint against Governor Blagojevich. On page 72 of the federal complaint, Blagojevich allegedly describes a deal being cooked up by an associate of candidate number five.
"We were approached 'pay to play' that, you know, he'd raise me 500 grand. An emissary came. Then the other guy would raise a million if I made him a senator."
It's a claim Jackson categorically denies.
JACKSON: I never sent a message or an emissary to the governor.
GRIFFIN: So who are the other possible candidates one through six Governor Blagojevich was considering? Number one is believed to be close Obama confidante, Valerie Jarrett, who has since been named to Barack Obama's White House staff.
Number two, possibly Illinois Attorney General Lisa Madigan. Madigan yesterday called for Blagojevich's resignation.
Number three, Democrat Congresswoman Jan Schakowsky says it might have been her and says she must not have been a serious candidate since the governor didn't ask her for anything.
Number four is described as a deputy governor. Blagojevich had three deputies until one of them, Bob Greenlee resigned. Greenlee would not confirm to the "Associated Press" if he was the candidate.
Number five is Jesse Jackson Jr. And number six, the FBI complaint calls a wealthy man from Illinois who wants the seat and would pay for it.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
GRIFFIN: And John, today, we are again hoping to find anything from Governor Blagojevich about what he plans for his future. He is politically isolated now in Illinois. Everybody wants him to resign. But as you talk to the attorney general earlier, it looks like this may be heading for impeachment proceedings. Maybe they'll vote on that next week.
ROBERTS: Yes, and if not impeachment proceedings, Lisa Madigan said she is prepared to take action as well with the petition to the Illinois Supreme Court. Drew Griffin for us this morning from Illinois. Drew, thanks so much for that.
KIRAN CHETRY, CNN ANCHOR: Well, she's not facing any charges, but the criminal complaint against the Illinois governor paints the state's first lady as a foul mouth schemer entrenched in Chicago-style politics. CNN's Gary Tuchman is looking at the woman behind the "F" bombs.
GARY TUCHMAN, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: John and Kiran, by all accounts, the Illinois governor's wife has never sought the spotlight, but the spotlight has found her in an extremely harsh way.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
TUCHMAN (voice-over): Happier times for the Blagojevich family, when they had their second child in 2003. Now news helicopters hover over Patti Blagojevich's home that she shares with her husband and two daughters, who are seen going to the car with their mother following behind. Patricia Blagojevich, a woman who had prosecuted her rights stands by her man, in an unflattering and sometimes foul-mouthed style.
Regarding the accusation that her husband wanted "The Chicago Tribune" to fire editorial writers in return for state help for the company to sell Wrigley Field, home of the Chicago Cubs, the wiretappers say she said: "Hold up that 'bleeping' Cubs 'bleep.' 'Bleep' them." And did she endorse the plot to get rid of the newspaper employees? Patti Blagojevich, who has been in the real estate business, is allegedly caught dishing this: "Just fire (the writers)."
CAROL MARIN, COLUMNIST, "THE CHICAGO SUN-TIMES": She herself has come under investigation by the U.S. Attorney's Office, because some of her real estate deals were done in concert with the governor's fund- raiser, who now sits in a federal prison on corruption charges.
TUCHMAN: Patti Blagojevich is from a political blueblood family. Her sister, Deborah Mell, will be sworn in as a new state representative next month. But it's her father who's exceptionally well known in Chicago politics. Richard Mell has been a city alderman, the equivalent of a councilman, for 33 years.
Mell has had a falling out with his son-in-law, the governor.
MARIN: This is a family at war for reasons that are hard to completely understand, but the father-in-law is the power broker, and the son-in-law, Blagojevich, became the governor. And so when that business splintered, it was, I mean, Thanksgiving is a bad holiday for the Blagojevich/Mells.
TUCHMAN: We wanted to talk to Richard Mell about his daughter and son-in-law. He would not go on camera but gave us this statement: "My main concern right now is for my daughter and grandchildren. I would rather not discuss this sad situation in the public venue at this time."
And sad it is. Patty and Rod Blagojevich's little girls will now have to compete for the attention of their parents with their father about to enter a legal maelstrom. Things have changed since this pitifully ironic statement when the governor talked about his newborn.
GOV. ROD BLAGOJEVICH (D), ILLINOIS: She's happy, contented, very straight forward, very honest, which means no political career.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
TUCHMAN: The governor's wife is widely described as very smart, but if these allegations are correct, and she was on the phone with her husband who was investigated for years, well, that wasn't particularly smart.
John?
Kiran?
CHETRY: Gary Tuchman for us. Thanks. Well, Governor Rod Blagojevich's arrest is turning the spotlight back on something that the State of Illinois would probably like to forget -- corrupt government. It turns out there are far worse offenders. Here's an "AM Extra."
A new analysis of government corruption shows Louisiana and Alaska are both much worse. And topping the list as the most corrupt state, North Dakota. Illinois ranking 18th.
ROBERTS: A major Homeland Security mess, where illegal immigrants really allowed by the secret service to clean Secretary Michael Chertoff's house? The owner of the company says they were cleared to clean every two weeks for years.
And the highly controversial business of shark feeding. Anderson Cooper goes in the water with no cage, face-to-face with great white sharks. Wait until you see this. Anderson joins us live with a special look at tonight's "PLANET IN PERIL." Nine minutes now after the hour.
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ROBERTS: It's 12 minutes now after the hour. Welcome back to the "Most News in the Morning." A report in this morning's "Washington Post" hitting Homeland Security secretary, Michael Chertoff, exactly where he lives, literally. A company hired to clean his house is accused of using illegal workers.
Now James Reid, owner of the Maryland cleaning company faces more than $22,000 in fines, even though the employees were cleared by the secret service to work in Secretary Chertoff's home, he claims. James Reid joins us now from Washington.
Mr. Reid, thanks for being with us. When did you start providing cleaning services to the Homeland Security secretary?
JAMES REID, OWNER, CONSISTENT CLEANING SERVICES: I moved him -- I started in 2005, when he took office. I started cleaning three weeks after he moved into his house.
ROBERTS: So that would have been probably, what, late February, March of 2005?
REID: That sounds about correct. Right.
ROBERTS: And when did he fire your company?
REID: Just recently, before -- I'm going to say around February of this year.
ROBERTS: All right. So we're talking about three years that your company cleans his home, right?
REID: Yes.
ROBERTS: So what was the process whenever your employees would show up at his house to clean the home?
REID: Before I went to his house, I would provide them with the information from a National Payroll Service, which was paychecks who I used to do my payroll. I provided them with the -- employees that I took into his house, their social security cards, or their work permit, or their passport, or their visa, whatever information they provided me, I provided them. ROBERTS: So this was so the secret service could do a security check on their backgrounds, correct?
REID: That is correct. That is correct.
ROBERTS: And then what would happen when the employees actually went to Chertoff's house to go inside?
REID: We would pull up to their house, and secret service would come right out into the driveway and get the documents -- you know, because when we went there --
ROBERTS: OK, so they would check again, basically. Right?
REID: They would check again, yes.
ROBERTS: All right. So then, not too long ago, ICE, Immigrations and Customs Enforcement informed you that they believed that you have 14 illegal immigrants, undocumented workers on your payroll for those, I guess -- were people that you say you had fired. There were another six that were still on the payroll who were in question.
Let me ask you this question, because the Homeland Security Department is saying, it's not clear if any of those people actually went in and cleaned his home. Did any of those people who were suggested to be undocumented workers clean Michael Chertoff's home?
REID: Yes, I took them in the house, personally.
ROBERTS: Right.
REID: The six girls that they released from the company I took in the house, personally.
ROBERTS: Now, did you know that they were undocumented workers?
REID: I did not know they were undocumented. I figured I would go to Homeland Security. I collected the information. I would go to his house. And after going to his house, I figure secret service just investigated them. So I figure they had to be legal. I had no questions about if they were legal. I thought they were all legal employees of my company. And when I went there, to secret service, they investigated, so I said these people have to be legal. They are legal.
ROBERTS: So you figured if the secret service had cleared the men to work in the home that they were legal. Russ Knocke, who is the spokesman for the Department of Homeland Security told us this morning, that, quote, "you knowingly employed unauthorized workers, that you blatantly deceived your customers," who in this case were the Chertoffs. What do you say?
REID: That is not correct. I talked to Mrs. Chertoff. She hired me personally, and she asked me personally about my employees. And I stressed to Mrs. Chertoff, I have no problems bringing my employees in your house, because they're all documented employees. I have all the documents on them.
And then we proceeded to go in their house and clean their house for three years. Every three months they -- I would have to provide new information for all of my employees. The same employees went into their house for year after year after year that I had to -- that they forced me to release.
ROBERTS: All right. So they're saying, in an official statement, "every contractor in the United States has the responsibility of ensuring their workers are legal." The statement goes on to explain a lot more about that. But they're saying basically that the responsibility falls on you to make sure that your workers were legal, and that you can't take the fact that the secret service cleared them into that home as evidence that they are legal. What do you say about that?
REID: Well, I would say -- you know, I verify who is through Homeland Security, and I use a national payroll service to do a background check -- you know, a check on the employees, and I would think they would catch that after three years of taking them -- what they say illegal employees into their house.
I mean, you know, they should have caught that a long time ago. Secret service should have never let them in their house.
ROBERTS: Right.
REID: They took the documents, they read the documents, they had the documents themselves. They physically had the documents in their hands, themselves, and made copies of the documents and recorded all the information time after time after time.
Every two weeks, I was in their house, and I would be harassed by secret service for the employees going in the house. Secret service harassed me every single time going into their house, and I provided them with that information that I had for my business to go in the house of Mr. Chertoff.
ROBERTS: Right. Well, certainly, it appears to be clear that somewhere, somebody along the line missed a very big red flag. And a lot of finger pointing going on right now, and you're facing $22,000 worth of fines. We'll keep following this story. James Reid, thanks for joining us this morning to share it with us.
REID: I need help. Can I say I need help? People to help me.
ROBERTS: Well, I would say it's pretty obvious. You're a small business owner. You might need some help with all the legal fees. Good to talk to you this morning, James. Thanks.
REID: Thank you.
ROBERTS: 17 minutes now after the hour.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
ROBERTS: His middle name was a hot topic for critics during the campaign.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
BARACK OBAMA (D), PRESIDENT-ELECT: And I got my middle name from somebody who obviously didn't think I would ever run for president.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ROBERTS: Why the president-elect wants his whole name used when he sworn in? You're watching the "Most News in the Morning."
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(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Barack Hussein Obama, Barack Hussein Obama, Barack Hussein Obama.
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CHETRY: Well, radio host Bill Cunningham creating some controversy during the presidential campaign with his repeated reference to Barack Obama's middle name. But once he takes office, Obama plans to deliver a major speech in an Islamic capitol as he tries to improve America's image abroad.
And, as CNN's Zain Verjee tells us, that's one reason why Obama wants his full name to be heard loud and clear on inauguration day.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
ZAIN VERJEE, CNN STATE DEPARTMENT CORRESPONDENT (on camera): John, Kiran, the president-elect wants to rebuild bridges with the Muslim world.
(voice-over): Barack Hussein Obama will use his full name when he takes the oath of office on January the 20th. The president-elect told the "Chicago Tribune" newspaper, "I think the tradition is they use all three names, and I will follow the tradition," he said. "I'm not trying to make a statement one way or another. I'll do what everybody else does."
His middle name, Hussein, a focus during the campaign.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I can't trust Obama. I have read about him, and he's not -- he's not -- he's -- he's an Arab.
SEN. JOHN MCCAIN (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: No, ma'am. No, ma'am.
VERJEE: Former Secretary of State Colin Powell objected, saying Obama is not a Muslim, and so what if he was?
COLIN POWELL, FMR. SECRETARY OF STATE: And then they sort of throw in this little Muslim connection. You know, he's a Muslim, and, my gosh, he's a terrorist. And it was taking root. That kind of negativity troubled me. VERJEE: Obama himself joked about it.
OBAMA: And I got my middle name from somebody who obviously didn't think I would ever run for president.
VERJEE: Obama's father was a Muslim and that's where he got his middle name.
IMAM FEISAL ABDUL RAUF, FOUNDER, CORDOBA INITIATIVE: The son of a Muslim. The whole narrative of Obama put together is what gives us hope.
VERJEE: The president-elect is a Christian, but says he wants to reach out to the Muslim world and reboot America's image there. Analysts say the world's 1.3 billion Muslims want reassurance that the U.S.-led war on terror is not a war on Islam. Obama's victory already has sent a message.
EDWARD DJEREJIAN, DIRECTOR, BAKER INSTITUTE: The photo of President Bush and President-elect Obama at the White House did volumes in the broader Middle East and throughout the world to show what America is.
VERJEE (on camera): Some experts say it really boils down to one thing, solving the Israeli-Palestinian crisis that's a core issue for the Arab and Muslim world -- John, Kiran.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
ROBERTS: Zain Verjee this morning. Zain, thanks so much.
According to President-elect Obama, change is here. But a scandal in Illinois may prove that when it comes to politics, nothing much is really changed. Will it ever? A question we'll put to our Frank Sesno this morning.
Plus, a feeding frenzy of sharks in the water. Not just any sharks. They're Great Whites. And CNN's award-winning "PLANET IN PERIL" is there. Our Anderson Cooper takes you closer than you've ever been before to the controversial business of shark feeding with no cage. Nothing between you and those big, nasty teeth. 23 minutes after the hour.
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(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DAVID LETTERMAN, HOST, "THE LATE SHOW WITH DAVID LETTERMAN": This guy is like in the middle of his second term as governor there in Illinois, and there have been signs along the way, astute, keen observers, if they were watching the guy, they could pick up signs that the guy was shady. For example -- for example, when Governor Blagojevich announced the amount of the state deficit, listen to this, he expressed the number in clams. That's right.
(END VIDEO CLIP) ROBERTS: The Blagojevich scandal is obviously great fodder for late- night television, but for a presidential election that was supposed to be a detour from "politics as usual," it's very serious business.
CNN's special correspondent Frank Sesno joins me now from Washington.
So, the president-elect has got a press conference today, at which he's going to introduce former Senate Majority Leader Tom Daschle as his health and human services secretary, but, you've got to know, all the questions are going to be about Blagojevich. So, is this scandal going to derail, at least temporarily, this message of change?
FRANK SESNO, CNN SPECIAL CORRESPONDENT: I don't think it will derail it, but it will slow it down and certainly will distract from it. This is the problem. You know, Barack Obama comes to Washington. Mr. Smith comes to Washington. It's all about change. Yes, we can. We're going to enlist you. And what happens is a scandal, dozens involved, at least by all appearances. It doesn't involve the campaign itself, but it's close enough to home, Illinois, that it raises all these questions.
ROBERTS: Yes.
SESNO: And so, you know, he's going to have this news conference today. He'll announce Daschle and who knows who else. But people are going to be asking about Blagojevich. Who spoke to whom? When did they talk? What about Illinois? What about the names you did or didn't put out in front there. So this is the stuff that gets in the way. And, you know, Barack Obama, welcome to Washington.
ROBERTS: So obviously, there are questions that will be asked and they are legitimate questions, because it would be pretty logical to assume that somewhere, somewhere along the line, somebody from the campaign in the transition did talk to the governor or the governor's office about filling the seat. But even if there was no evidence of wrongdoing or impropriety or anything like that, you know, there's still negativism surrounding this. And can the president-elect escape all of the blowback that we're going to see?
SESNO: You know, that's -- you know, we'll see, John. That's the problem, you know, so far, he's escaped the blowback of wrongdoing, and even the prosecutor was saying that. But the question is, how many questions he's going to be asked.
So in his first question, Obama was asked, were you aware at all about what was happening with your Senate seat? And he said, I had no contact with the governor or his office, so we were not. Then David Axelrod says a little later or had said earlier, I know he's talked to the governor. Then they have to come out and correct Axelrod.
These are the kinds of things that distract. Now, you know, in fairness, this may be the kind of distraction, given the meltdown of the financial markets and the auto industry and everywhere else, they kind of like. I don't think so. I'm just joking. But the point is, it gets in the way, and the point is that the more there's an investigation, the more questions are asked, the more inconvenient it becomes, and the more there's a danger that somebody trips on themselves.
ROBERTS: And then, of course, there's the other side. Republicans out there, who are, you know, they've given him a little bit of a honeymoon period, but that's not going to last too long. And there are some Republicans who are saying that his answers about all of this are incomplete.
SESNO: And here's where it gets very difficult now to govern. It hits the echo chambers. It hits discussions like this. It hits much louder discussions on talk radio and talk television. It fuels conspiracy theories. It fuels the -- I'm going to call them the irresponsible blogs, or certainly the uninformed blogs.
And so speculation runs ahead of fact. And it just flat out gets in the way. And it forces, and we've seen this again and again, John, it forces candidates, campaigns, administrations to have to really bear down and focus with all this noise going on around them.
ROBERTS: Who ever thought this was going to be a challenge for the president-elect?
SESNO: These things come out of nowhere, you know, and in the end, you're judged by the company you keep, and sometimes by the company you don't keep. It's just the way the world works.
ROBERTS: When you get run down by the locomotive, it's probably not the one that you're not expecting to see coming down the tracks. Frank Sesno for us this morning. Frank, thanks so much.
SESNO: Thanks, John. See you.
CHETRY: 29 minutes past the hour. A look at the top stories right now. At 11:00 a.m. Eastern this morning, President-elect Obama is expected to announce former Democratic Senator Tom Daschle as his secretary of health and human services. Also, Democratic sources telling CNN that President-elect Obama will tap renowned physicist, Steven Chu, to be his energy secretary.
Well, he's one of the Republican Party's hot young stars, but Louisiana Governor Bobby Jindal says that he will not run for president in 2012. The 37-year-old says that he plans to seek a second term as governor instead. Jindal says that everyone should be focused on supporting President-elect Obama right now, not campaigning for president.
And many Americans are choosing nontraditional ways to stay healthy. In fact, a new study, federal study found that 38 percent of adults and nearly 12 percent of children use alternative forms of medicine.
Most commonly used are dietary and herbal supplements, like (INAUDIBLE) and ginseng, followed by deep breathing exercises, meditation, chiropractic therapy and massage, and yoga.
Well, tonight, award-winning series, "PLANET IN PERIL BATTLE LINES," debuts and we've been seeing some stunning clips of the great white sharks and this outright feeding frenzy in the water with our own Anderson Cooper in the middle of it.
He joins us now to talk more about what it was like and the controversy surrounding this practice.
Hi, Anderson. Good to see you.
ANDERSON COOPER, CNN ANCHOR: Hey, good morning, Completely (INAUDIBLE) that early.
CHETRY: You're thrilled to be here, aren't you?
COOPER: Yes.
JOHN ROBERTS, CNN ANCHOR: You know what, I can't believe you showed up without a tie.
COOPER: I know. I'm copying John Roberts in all things (INAUDIBLE).
(LAUGHTER)
COOPER: Yes, no, it's been an incredible -- you know, we went diving with great white sharks. There's a big controversy over whether or not actually these caged tour operators are actually changing sharks' behavior.
They chum the water to attract the sharks towards (INAUDIBLE) in the water. So we had an opportunity to go cage diving and also to go free diving with the sharks, which is a pretty rare thing. There's not many people on the planet who actually do it, probably for very smart reasons.
CHETRY: Lucky you.
COOPER: Yes.
(LAUGHTER)
COOPER: But I think we may have a clip of some of it.
CHETRY: Yes, let's check it out.
ROBERTS: This is exciting stuff.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
COOPER (voice over): The great white sharks start to circle your boat, the feeling is unsettling. Fifteen feet long, thousands of pounds. These are the animals of so many nightmares.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: This is the famous shark Eli(ph).
COOPER: We've come to dive with these great whites to get an up-close look at them in a battle that's being waged around them.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Please do not go down unless we tell you to.
COOPER: Mike Rutzen takes tourist cage diving of great white sharks off the coast of South Africa.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: And then you can lean back. And you hold on and be comfortable.
COOPER: It's become a big business, but it's also, he says, a conservation effort. He thinks that people can see these endangered animals under water, they'll learn to appreciate them and want to help protect them.
Cage diving, however, is highly controversial. We'll tell you why in a second. But right now, the water is filled with blood and fish parts called chum. And the great whites have arrived.
(On camera): Is there any recommendations for what to do?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Well, basically, don't scare the sharks. You're going to the water...
COOPER: I'm not worried about scaring the sharks. It's usually the other way around.
(Voice over): After we get used to being in the water with the sharks inside a cage, we have the chance to do something that few others ever have. We'll go swimming with great white sharks without a cage.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Down, go down.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
COOPER: And, in fact, we did that, and you'll see that tonight on "PLANET IN PERIL," actually swimming with great white sharks without a cage, which is among the most remarkable experiences of my life, I've got to say.
CHETRY: Yes, I think we have a little video of that, right? A few in the -- what did they call it? They call it a free dive with the sharks?
COOPER: Yes, we went free diving with the sharks and it's incredible. When I was just about to -- you know the water is chummed with blood, so it's bloody water, and I was just about to get in, and I turned to the guy and said, do you have any recommendations and he said...
ROBERTS: Here's a still photo.
COOPER: He said project confidence.
(LAUGHTER)
COOPER: That's...
CHETRY: There you go. Thanks.
COOPER: Yes.
ROBERTS: He also told you not to breathe, right, because they don't like the noise of the bubbles.
COOPER: Right. They don't like air bubbles.
ROBERTS: So meantime you're down there hyperventilating.
COOPER: Right. Well, that's the thing. It's -- you know it's all well and good to say, OK, don't take a breath, but your heart is beating so fast when a huge great white shark is close to you that you can't not take a breath. So I actually was breathing more and causing more air bubbles.
Then the sharks opened their mouths and extend their jaws when they're nervous, so it's -- that makes me very nervous.
ROBERTS: You're reminded of when Roy Schneider said I think we're going to need a bigger boat...
COOPER: We need...
(LAUGHTER)
COOPER: Right. Of course, for me, it was, like, I think I need to get back in the boat.
ROBERTS: Amazing stuff.
CHETRY: Oh wow.
COOPER: Yes.
CHETRY: Can't wait to see the whole thing. It's going to be great.
Anderson, thanks for being with us.
COOPER: Thanks.
CHETRY: And remember, the second installment of CNN's award-winning series, "PLANET IN PERIL BATTLE LINES." It debuts tonight 9 o'clock Eastern Time right here on CNN.
And we're going to stay up for it, by the way. Until then, we are staying green to remind you not to miss it. As you may have noticed the logo, the CNN logo at the corner of your screen is a lovely shade of green so be there tonight, 9:00 p.m. I wore the shirt just, you know, just...
COOPER: I know, I should have coordinated better, huh?
CHETRY: There you go.
ROBERTS: So do you have all of your fingers and toes?
COOPER: I do. I do. Yes.
ROBERTS: That's good. Great. Now here's some video that you just have to see this morning. It's a special moment caught on tape as a Michigan sailor and mother returns from serving 10 months in Kuwait and surprises her son in school.
Look at this.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Hi!
(LAUGHTER)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Mommy here. I miss you so much.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ROBERTS: High emotions on both sides. Home just in time for the holiday season.
Well, in 2008, who had their best year ever? Besides these two? We're naming names. Sarah Palin one of them. See who else had their best year yet, coming up.
It's 35.5 minutes now after the hour.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
ROBERTS: 38 minutes now after the hour, and just in to CNN, more gloomy news about the job market.
Christine Romans, "Minding Your Business." She joins us now. We got numbers, and they look like they're pretty bad, Christine.
CHRISTINE ROMANS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes, John, and in fact, what's interesting here, I think, is that a lot of economists have been forecasting gloomy numbers on the jobs market and they've been actually worse, consistently, than the economists had thought.
573,000 people lining up for the first time last week for jobless benefits. That's the most since the very difficult recession of the early 1980s. And news coming in every day of more companies that are forced to layoff workers.
Stanley Works just a few minutes announcing it's going to cut one in ten of its workers. It's going to close three factories, it's going to eliminate a whole layer of management. That's going to be another 2,000 jobs there.
We've heard from companies like NPR, NFL, Yahoo, Dow Chemical, 3M, Anheuser-Busch, Principal Financial, every different kind of industry you could think of, forced to cut jobs here.
We've been hearing of other companies that are finding creative ways to try to keep some of their head count. They're asking people to take pay cuts. They're freezing wages and raises. Eastman Kodak announcing this week that it's going to stop its 401k match. We talked about that a few weeks ago, more companies are expected to be doing those sorts of things to try to keep the job cuts to a minimum, at least.
But we do know that 573,000 people lined up for the first time in the latest week for jobless benefits. A lot of folks think those numbers are going to continue like this. That's not the sign of a healthy economy. That's the sign of a labor market that is in distress -- John.
ROBERTS: Belt tightening going to be going on corporate America.
ROMANS: That's right.
ROBERTS: A lot of people are going to suffer as a result.
Christine, thanks so much.
CHETRY: Well, it is almost over. Hopefully you had a good week, but what kind of year have you had? 2008, you know, for a lot of us, it's been tough, but for others, it's been their best year ever. So see who made the list.
39.5 minutes after the hour.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
PAUL TOMPKINS, VH1'S BEST YEAR EVER: But the most distinguished moment came not from a contestant, but from a guest judge, Sir Noble British Lord Admiral Andrew Lloyd Weber, pinkies out, who really knows how to talk to youngsters.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CHETRY: Cool. That was Paul Tompkins kicking off VH1's "Best Year Ever" special. The show's unveiling the top 5 finalist from its annual special. VH1's Paul Tompkins joining us.
So if you love best week ever, best year ever, just, you know, grab some popcorn and get ready to go.
TOMPKINS: It's like 52 episodes of best week ever in one hour.
CHETRY: And you and your producers actually watched hours of footage to try to figure out who the finalists are. You came up with the nominees -- the five finalists this year. Sarah Palin...
TOMPKINS: Yes.
CHETRY: Of course, making the cut for you. Thomas Beattie. He was the pregnant man.
TOMPKINS: Yes. CHETRY: David Cook from "American Idol," Corey Worthington, he was an Australian teen who had quite a party when his parents were not home. And then, of course, Cloris Leechman, she was in "Dancing with the Stars."
How did you narrow it down to these five?
TOMPKINS: Well, we have these very attractive young people whose job it is to watch television, and they just go through hours and hours of stuff.
CHETRY: And they don't miss a trick, by the way.
TOMPKINS: They do not.
CHETRY: Because we've been caught in the net sometimes here on this show.
TOMPKINS: Sometimes. Fair is fair, right?
(LAUGHTER)
TOMPKINS: But they -- so after we have those hours, we do the regular show. Then at the end of the year, first you go with who is the person that automatically springs to mind? And then after that, I'm not going to say that a dart board and darts are not involved. But really...
CHETRY: You got to narrow it down somehow, right?
TOMPKINS: Yes. Yes.
CHETRY: Exactly.
TOMPKINS: But it really is like some people just jump out.
CHETRY: All right. So Sarah Palin.
TOMPKINS: Yes.
CHETRY: What did she do for you guys this year?
TOMPKINS: Well, after -- she had such a crazy ride, because after the convention, where she does this speech, it so steadily went down hill, where she got less and less assured, and all that. And then she was not afraid to jump in front of any camera at all, after losing, even if there was an animal being ground in a machine behind her.
CHETRY: Yes, I mean, you know, some of that was not her fault, exactly (INAUDIBLE).
TOMPKINS: Fair enough. True.
CHETRY: (INAUDIBLE), the pardoning of the turkey with an unfortunate background. TOMPKINS: But even the -- when you hear the sound, don't you look around, when you hear the sound of that grinder, don't you say, hey, what is that? Is that going to interfere with the interview?
CHETRY: All right. Then you guys are going to have more fodder for next year if you have picked Thomas Beattie, because he's pregnant again.
(LAUGHTER)
TOMPKINS: That is true. The pregnant man is having Irish twins. He is -- still has got a newborn baby at home and...
CHETRY: And he and his wife say that they use a turkey baster. They do it the old fashioned way.
TOMPKINS: Sure. Just in time for the holidays.
CHETRY: Exactly.
TOMPKINS: Isn't that nice?
CHETRY: They don't need to go anywhere special.
TOMPKINS: Exactly.
CHETRY: It's OK.
TOMPKINS: They're taking care of business.
CHETRY: All right. What did you love about David Cook from "American Idol"?
TOMPKINS: David Cook, when it came down to the two Davids, there was that moment -- I don't know if you saw that YouTube clip of the -- the little girls who were rooting for David Archuleta and then David Cook won, and they collapsed in a fit of screaming tears. So I think that alone warrants him the best year ever.
CHETRY: But they stayed best friends through it all. They did, right?
TOMPKINS: That's right they did. Davids got to stick together.
CHETRY: Poor Cloris Leechman, I mean, you know, "Dancing with the Starts" isn't easy.
TOMPKINS: No.
CHETRY: You don't even want to dance at a wedding let alone in front of all those people. But she lasted a long time.
TOMPKINS: She did. And I think that was the cruelty of the American public, to keep her on there. It boarded on elder abuse after a while, where -- after every single routine, she looked like she was on the verge of collapse. And I think that was -- I think that was kind of mean. I think people are striking back at their grandparents who are voting for "Dancing with the Stars."
CHETRY: And what about this kid, the -- YouTube hit, right, the one who had the party while his parents were away?
TOMPKINS: Corey Worthington had a party while his parents were out of town that wrecked the town. It was insanely huge, and then he went on the news and refused to apologize for it. He was the coolest guy in the world.
CHETRY: Yes, I got -- it's only reason I got busted, we cleaned up everything in the entire house in high school, and someone left a beer cap in the garbage disposal. And I got...
TOMPKINS: In the garbage disposal?
CHETRY: And I got busted. That was it.
TOMPKINS: You took care to refill the liquor bottles with water and all that stuff?
CHETRY: Yes, everything. That's right.
Well, we're definitely going to be watching. Thanks so much. Host Paul Tompkins, "The Best Year Ever" -- when does this kickoff, by the way? Oh this is December 12th, this Friday, 9:00 p.m.
TOMPKINS: That's right.
CHETRY: From VH1. We'll be watching. Thanks so much for joining us.
TOMPKINS: Thank you so much.
CHETRY: John?
ROBERTS: It's 46 minutes after the hour now. The Golden Globe nominations being announced right now in Hollywood and a notable one to tell you about. Actor Heath Ledger who died in January this year, posthumously being nominated as Best Supporting Actor, for his role as the joker in the "Batman, The Dark Knight."
Just a really -- sort of a genre-busting role here that he participated in, and certainly he's won himself tremendous number of accolades for the role that he played. And anybody who has seen the movie knows just what a terrific job he did.
Again died in January 2008, an accidental drug overdose is -- in his home here in New York City, posthumously nominated as Best Supporting Actor for his role there as The Joker in "Batman, The Dark Knight," which by the way just came out on video if you haven't seen the film.
"CNN NEWSROOM" just minutes away now. Heidi Collins at the CNN center with a look at what's ahead.
Good morning, Heidi.
HEIDI COLLINS, CNN ANCHOR: Good morning to you, John. That's right. Here's a check of what we're working on in the "NEWSROOM."
Ripples from a governor's corruption scandal. The latest on the Senate seat selection in Illinois.
Plus, big three rescue plan in doubt on Capitol Hill. What the House gives, the Senate could taketh away.
And thousands of needy kids could go without a Christmas present. Toys for Tots in trouble.
We'll tell you all about it. We get started at the top of the hour right here on CNN -- John?
ROBERTS: Heidi, we'll see you soon. Thanks very much for that.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
CHETRY (voice over): Hands offer the pretty robot.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I am not your personal slave.
CHETRY: Jeanne Moos with tough questions for the man who created the feisty fembot.
JEANNE MOOS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: How do you dress her?
CHETRY: Why the fake female is causing an uproar.
MOOS: You're kidding! I can't believe an old lady would throw a rock at her.
CHETRY: You're watching the most news in the morning.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
CHETRY: Love that song. Well, it's flu season, which means flu shots, but could getting the vaccine make you sicker than getting the virus? This is something that people ask every year. You know, a lot of people ask it to the nurse upstairs.
ROBERTS: It's supposed to be an old wives' tale.
CHETRY: Yes. Yes.
ROBERTS: We'll find out because CNN's chief medical correspondent Dr. Sanjay Gupta is in Atlanta this morning, answering your questions from this week's mail bag.
And Sanjay, there is confusion about this every year. Kathleen in Alabama poses the question this morning, "Can you please tell me why the flu shot made my husband so sick. He's in his 70s, he had chills and a fever and had to go to his doctor to get medication."
Doc, come on. DR. SANJAY GUPTA, CNN CHIEF MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, Kathleen, you know, we -- we do get this question a lot. First of all, I'm sorry to hear about your husband, the fact that he got so sick.
A couple of things to keep in mind, he may have been exposed to the flu before he got the flu shot and he may have been exposed to the flu after he got the flu shot, because it takes a couple of weeks to build up immunity.
But here's an important thing to keep in mind, and I'm sure we're going to be talking about this quite a bit. But the flu shot, the -- what the actual vaccine is, is an inactivated flu vaccine. So you're not -- you can't actually get the flu from the vaccine itself.
You can get some side effects, you can get soreness, you may even get low-grade fevers, but you're not going to get the flu itself. While we're talking about it, let me just point out quickly who should get the flu shot. There are higher-risk groups overall.
People over the age of 50, your husband would fall into that category, children between the ages of 6 months all the way up to 18 years, pregnant women and healthcare workers. Those are people who should get the flu shots.
There are also people who should not get the flu shot. We don't talk about that group enough. But children younger than 6 months, anyone allergic to chicken eggs, because that's how they make the flu vaccine, and people, of course, who have had allergic reactions in the past.
ROBERTS: All right. Thanks, Sanjay, for that.
CHETRY: Well, our next question comes from Iowa. Pradeep asks, I'm a volunteer blood donor for the past two years. Are there advantages or disadvantages of blood donation?"
And I believe we had an interesting story about this, about getting your blood drawn regularly or donating blood, and whether it helps you.
GUPTA: Yes, you know what's interesting is that blood itself is one of the few things that cannot be manufactured. It can only be relied upon from generous donors, so it is something that is very important for people to donate.
A couple of things to keep in mind. Only less than a third, really, of the population is eligible to donate at any given time, around 38 percent or so. So this is something that's very important for people to be thinking about.
And there's lots of blood that is necessary. Every two seconds, someone needs a blood donation somewhere. So there is lots of good reasons to give.
There are certain people who are going to be ineligible. They have chronic illness. They have some sort of infectious disease. Pregnant women cannot -- give, people who are too elderly cannot give.
Also, if you have a very low iron. This is something that has been -- you've been diagnosed with. Giving blood may be a problem for you. You may need to eat iron-rich foods ahead of time to help out. But most everyone other than that, could potentially be a donor and help a lot of people out.
ROBERTS: All right, Sanjay Gupta for us this morning with the mail bag, thanks very much.
And don't forget to send your questions into us at CNN.com/am. Every Thursday Sanjay opens up his mail bag and answers some of your questions.
Thanks for that, Doc.
Well, what's pretty and smart but can slap you in the face? How about a fembot? Our Jeanne Moos shows you what else she can do.
It's 54 minutes after the hour.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
CHETRY: Wow, we all remember that CD cover. This will take you back. You can't say it very often. There is a song that changed rock and roll forever.
Well, some people say it was Nirvana's "Smells Like Teen Spirit" launching Seattle's grunge movement, the first single off of the album, "Never Mind," which, if you can believe it, wow, it came out 17 years ago, back in 1991.
So where is that adorable little boy who knew how to swim? That little baby on the cover is now 17-year-old Spencer Elvin. Threw on a bathing suit, good move, Spencer.
He's recreating the original album cover. Elvin also told MTV News that he thinks it's a little creepy that so many people have seen him naked. And did I not ask that exact question in the newsroom when we said we were doing this? The poor guy.
ROBERTS: He looks a little bigger in this photograph than he did in the other one.
CHETRY: Yes. He sure did. He grew up.
(LAUGHTER)
CHETRY: All grown up.
ROBERTS: OK. All grown up.
Yes, well, where are they now? That's what we like to see.
CHETRY: Exactly. Well, do you remember where you were the first time you heard the distorted guitar of "Smells Like Teen Spirit"? Tell us about it. Go to CNN.com/am, click on iReport. John?
ROBERTS: Well, when you think of robot, you probably think of R2D2 or C3PO. But a science wiz created a female version. This fembot, as she's called, for those of you Austin Powers aficionados, can read, do math and she's pretty-pretty, as well. But watch it, because if you insult her, she bites back.
Our Jeanne Moos has got that story.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
JEANNE MOOS, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice over): They make a cute couple. He's the type who turns heads.
LE TRUNG, AIKO'S CREATOR: Aiko, give me your left arm.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: No problem.
MOOS: So what if she emits a slight mechanical noise. At least she can do math equations.
TRUNG: Aiko, process math.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: The answer is 0.1746.
MOOS: Even decapitated, she can identify objects.
TRUNG: Aiko, what is this?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: It looks like a sandwich.
MOOS: She can tell the difference between cola...
TRUNG: It looks like Coke.
MOOS: And water.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: It looks like water.
MOOS: Now if only she could make her owner some money. Le Trung may be unemployed, but he's not unattached.
TRUNG: If you (INAUDIBLE) fact, she's nothing like it.
MOOS: In fact, you may get slapped. This is no sex toy, despite her name, Aiko, Ai means love, and Ko, means child.
(On camera): Love child? Well, no wonder people think something's up.
(Voice over): Le Trung began work on Aiko a little over a year ago, thinking he could build a robot that could serve the elderly. Almost $25,000 later...
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Ouch. That really hurts. Stop it.
MOOS: She can feel the pinch and is so can he. He's asking for donations on his Web site, Where Science Meets Beauty.
(On camera): How do you dress her?
TRUNG: My mother's used clothes, the ones that don't fit her anymore.
MOOS: Your mother's used clothes?
(Voice over): Aiko has appeared at the nearby Ontario, Canada science center, but when he took her to a local park, someone accused him of acting like god, creating something so human.
(On camera): You're kidding, I can't believe an old lady would throw a rock at her.
TRUNG: The problem is there's too much Hollywood movies. They think (INAUDIBLE).
MOOS: Actually, we thought of Austin Powers' fembots, the ones that couldn't resist him.
Le has programmed Aiko to be the opposite of a sex-pot fembot.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Please, stop touching my breast. You pervert.
MOOS: Nothing perverted about her reading material.
TRUNG: Process reading.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: This is biology research requires...
MOOS (on camera): If you held up the "New York Times," she could read it?
TRUNG: Oh, yes.
MOOS (voice over): Though her pronunciation isn't perfect.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: It looks like a hambagger.
MOOS: Bagger, burger, what do you expect?
TRUNG: Lick my foot.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: No, I will not lick your foot. I am not your personal slave.
MOOS: Make your own hambagger.
Jeanne moos, CNN, New York.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
CHETRY: There you go. By the way, for all the Nirvana fans out there, we know we were playing "Come As You Are," not the iconic "Smells Like Teen Spirit." Sorry.
ROBERTS: I have it here on my computer.
CHETRY: And -- but do you have the...
ROBERTS: I'll play it after we...
CHETRY: Do you have the grunge cheerleaders, though?
ROBERTS: I -- I'll play it after we go because we're out of time.
CHETRY: Thanks so much for joining us on this AMERICAN MORNING. We will see you back here tomorrow.
ROBERTS: Right now, "CNN NEWSROOM" with Heidi Collins is straight ahead.
