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Multiple Failures of the SEC; Adam Walsh Case Closed; New Lawsuit for Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder
Aired December 17, 2008 - 09:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
HEIDI COLLINS, CNN ANCHOR: Your money, low rates, high stakes, and a big, big gamble. Historic action by the Feds sent stocks soaring yesterday. Can Wall Street continue the rally this hour?
Also this hour, the scars of war. And a new mission for the warriors. Veterans say they fought for a government that now ignores their post- traumatic stress. The next battleground, the courtroom.
Good morning, everybody, I'm Heidi Collins. Today is Wednesday, December 17th. You are in the CNN NEWSROOM.
Ripples across the pond. Overseas markets are mixed this morning after the U.S. Federal Reserve slashed its key interest rate to historic lows. But can Wall Street continue its rally from yesterday? The Dow soared 360 points after the rate cut was announced. The Fed also vowed to use all available tools to help the economy rebound.
So, what does the interest rate cut mean to you? Well, analysts say mortgage rates may plunge to 5 percent or even lower. And that, that could make more money to people's wallets and get nervous Americans in a mood to spend, which would actually help things quite a bit.
Christine Romans is part of the CNN money team. She is in New York this morning.
So, Christine, if you make the cost of borrowing cheaper, does it really mean, then, that -- people are going to borrow and spend more just to help the economy? Probably not. Right.
CHRISTINE ROMANS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: That's the big hope, right? And we know that the Fed has been cutting rates now for some 15 months and we still have an economy that's in a recession. And, in fact, the Fed yesterday said that the economy was in danger of becoming even weaker.
So we know that, as you said earlier, very low rates, very high stakes, and a big gamble here by the Fed, trying to drop these rates to this new target range of zero to a quarter of a percent. Zero. I mean it...
COLLINS: Yes, unbelievable.
ROMANS: It's just -- it really is unbelievable. The theory, as you pointed out, is that when you have cheaper cost of borrowing, that makes money more available, people are more likely to go out and get a cheaper loan, and to spend it, to build their business, to grow, to hire more workers or to get a new loan for something. But we know that that hasn't really been happening over the past year or a few months at least, and so will that loosen it up? It's -- just unclear. How will this make your life different today or tomorrow? Maybe not today.
But, as you pointed out, some analysts are saying among all the things the Fed is doing, including buying up treasuries, it could keep driving down mortgage rates. Mortgage rates yesterday were at 5.55 percent. You're hearing people talking about mortgage rates getting down below 5 percent is what some policymakers would like to see.
So, this -- this rate cut, why it matters, it's supposed to help lower your adjustable rate mortgage rates.
COLLINS: Yes.
ROMANS: Your credit cards, your home equity lines of credit, your business loans, but there's a much bigger issue here, and that is, an economy that is quite, quite weak. And so, even though the cost of borrowing is cheap, people are more fearful than anything else and that's what's keeping them -- holding them back.
COLLINS: Sure, the whole confidence thing is still obviously at play here.
ROMANS: Right.
COLLINS: So when we have, you know, this interest rate as low as it is now -- does that kind of mean that the Fed doesn't really have anything else in its arsenal?
ROMANS: No, I think the Fed is signaling that they are going to do everything they can. They've been coming up with new things to do all year. Fed rate cuts have only been one of the things that they have been doing. They've been loaning money directly to companies, that's in a commercial paper market.
They've been injecting liquidity into the system. They've been -- loaning money to banks, very, very low interest rate loans to banks. They've been doing a lot of things to try to keep this thing going, to try to keep the economy calm, if you will. And we've got a lot of those rate cuts already in the system. There's a leg on those.
COLLINS: Sure.
ROMANS: So some economists are telling me that, that eventually that should start to work. And there are some people who say that without these rate cuts, God help us for what it would have looked like, right? That the Fed...
COLLINS: Yes.
ROMANS: ... has been doing the right thing all along the way. It's just -- we are -- it's literally unprecedented. It's just unprecedented. It's just so hard to say what it's going to mean for us tomorrow, and we've never been here before. COLLINS: Yes, definitely, and I think I hear you saying we're going to have to be patient yet again to see some of the effects of all this.
All right, CNN's Christine Romans from New York this morning. Thank you, Christine.
A court hearing today for the man accused of orchestrating that $50 billion scam on Wall Street. Former NASDAQ chairman Bernard Madoff is free on a $10 million bail. His lawyers want more time to raise that cash.
On a related note, the head of the Securities and Exchange Commission says his agency failed to properly investigate accusations of wrongdoing by Madoff. Those allegations go back a decade.
More problems this morning for customers of troubled Citibank. Many of them can't get their account information either online or by phone because of a computer outage now. Technicians are scrambling and customers are being told to try back later today.
Citibank's parent company, Citigroup, has been struggling, as you know, to survive the global financial crisis and has gotten billions of dollars in government bailout money.
New allegations now in the Governor Rod Blagojevich scandal. A spokesman for Jesse Jackson Jr. Now says the Illinois congressman alerted federal authorities about alleged corruption linked to Blagojevich in the past but not in the current pay-for-play investigation linked to filling Barack Obama's Senate seat.
Jackson's name came up in the current investigation as Senate candidate number five. He denies any wrongdoing.
As for Blagojevich, his attorney is expected in the Illinois legislature today to meet with members of the special panel reviewing these allegations. That panel could recommend impeachment.
More Cabinet announcements coming today. President-elect Barack Obama set to name his choices for agriculture and interior. One of those choices expected to be another former rival in the presidential race.
CNN's Brianna Keilar is joining us now live from Chicago with more on this, this morning.
Good morning to you, Brianna.
BRIANNA KEILAR, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hi there, Heidi. Yes, we're expecting this to be Tom Vilsack, his pick for secretary of agriculture, that's according to an Obama aide and a separate Democratic source.
And Vilsack, of course, the former governor of Iowa. Also he's known for being a moderate Democrat and really the kind of interesting thing here is that he ran for president early on in this last election cycle. But once he quickly got out of the race, he was a big Hillary Clinton supporter.
COLLINS: Yes, I remember.
KEILAR: Now the other announcement were -- yes, very, very big supporter. So, that's kind of an eye opener, certainly reaching to some of those people who obviously supported Hillary Clinton there.
But, you know, as we reported earlier this week, we're also expecting another announcement. This is going to be a busy day. We're expecting for the president-elect to announce Ken Salazar, Colorado senator, as his pick for secretary of the interior.
In the early '90s Salazar was actually the head of Colorado's Natural Resource Department. And then just to give you a sense of where he stands on some issues, as -- while he's been a senator, he has been for land conservation.
He has opposed drilling in the Arctic National Wildlife Reserve. He's also opposed opening up public lands for oil shale developments. And also this is interesting, Heidi, as a senator, he is yet another member of Obama's Cabinet who is going to have to be replaced.
But the thing here is that Colorado's governor is a Democrat, so Democrats expecting to keep that seat.
COLLINS: Yes, sounds like it.
So, there are still a few appointments left to be made, like, I don't remember, and correct me if I'm wrong, but labor secretary. Of course, we've had the economic team unveiled pretty much and then also we've had the homeland security team unveiled, but I haven't seen director of CIA either.
What about some of these other appointments?
KEILAR: That's right. Secretary of labor, but also, and this is -- this is important, secretary of transportation as well as CIA director, but not only the CIA director, the director of national intelligence, which is the person who oversees all of the intelligence agencies in the U.S. government.
So, we're awaiting those appointments. And according to sources on the transition team, we're expecting those to come out soon.
President-elect Obama is actually going to be heading to Hawaii this weekend for his holiday vacation. And we're expecting that all of those, if not -- maybe most of them, if not all of them, will be announced before then.
COLLINS: Any idea why the -- why the delay on these? Or is it not even appropriate to say that there's been a delay?
KEILAR: I don't know if it's appropriate to say there's been a delay. You can look at how different teams have rolled out their positions over time. A lot of times, most, if not all, of the positions are rolled out by Christmas. But they're certainly not saying that there's been a delay.
But yes, definitely, there's been kind of a crush of announcements here in this last week.
COLLINS: Yes, OK. Well, we'll be watching closely alongside you. Thank you so much.
CNN's Brianna Keilar from Chicago this morning.
And that Obama news conference, just a reminder, scheduled for 11:45 this morning. Of course, we will bring it to you live right here on CNN.
To Minnesota now and Senator Norm Coleman has hired a top defense attorney. His campaign says the lawyer is dealing with two lawsuits that accuse a supporter of funneling $75,000 to the senator through his wife.
Meanwhile, Coleman is still fighting to keep his Senate seat. The state Supreme Court meets today to hear his appeal of a decision on counting challenged ballots in that ongoing recount.
Right now, Coleman leads challenger Al Franken by 264 votes.
The cold, icy mess for much of the nation. And it's not even winter yet. The National Weather Service issued winter weather advisories for all but 11 states yesterday. In New Hampshire, crews are still out working to restore power to more than 100,000 homes and businesses.
An ice storm last week across New England left hundreds of thousands of people in the dark. You remember that. Then in Kansas, snowy roads triggered a massive vehicle pileup near Lawrence. Lots of damage to vehicles, but thankfully no serious injuries reported there.
Flagstaff, Arizona, motorists struggled to get around in about a foot of snow there. Snowplows were out, I didn't even know they had them in Arizona, but the National Weather Service says more snow is on the way.
Actually, as I say that, Rob Marciano, I do know of a ski resort in Arizona, right? In The Flagstaff, I think they have ski resorts.
ROB MARCIANO, CNN METEOROLOGIST: Yes, it was just...
COLLINS: Totally wrong there.
MARCIANO: ... south side of Flagstaff, you know, Flagstaff up in elevation.
COLLINS: Yes.
MARCIANO: So, yes, they get snow. And it's good news for those folks out there, although they were wrestling with it, it's been an ongoing drought for several years now. So the more snow they can pile up in the Arizona and the New Mexico mountains, certainly the better. (WEATHER REPORT)
COLLINS: Yes, all right. Well, hey, I don't know. I know you're a big skier and I don't know if you skied whistler before.
MARCIANO: I know.
COLLINS: But check out this next story. Sheer terror at a ski resort in Canada. A support tower for the gondola system snapped in half, leaving more than 50 people trapped in cable cars dangling in midair.
Officials at the site say two of the gondola cars fell from relatively low heights into a bus stop and a house. But firefighters and mountain rescue personnel had to use rope lines and ladders to rescue other skiers trapped in below-zero temperatures.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SIMON JENNINGS, TRAPPED ON GONDOLA: The first thing we could think of was about our children.
CYNTHIA JENNINGS, TRAPPED ON GONDOLA: Everyone in the car was pretty composed. The guys were really good with me. I wasn't so composed as the rest of them. But they worked really hard to calm me down. And, you know, we spent the next few hours kind of trying to remain calm.
For myself, I'm done skiing for the week. I still had a few more days. We are going to go up. But I don't think I'll go up again. My husband and my friends kind of feel like they're going to go. So, they're OK with it. But I'm done for now.
S. JENNINGS: I'll actually just take a day off and go back at it in two days.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COLLINS: I don't know. Maybe she'll consider cross-country skiing after that. Officials say no one was seriously injured and no word yet on what caused the structural failure, but an investigation, as you would imagine, is going on right now.
Britain's prime minister in Iraq announcing when Britain's six-year mission in the country will come to an end.
ANNOUNCER: CNN NEWSROOM brought to you by...
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
COLLINS: British Prime Minister Gordon Brown reveals a timetable for British troops to leave Iraq. That announcement coming during his visit to Baghdad.
CNN's Jill Dougherty is joining us now from Baghdad with more on this.
Jill, curious about the time here. It seems like he would certainly want to do that while he was in the country, yes? JILL DOUGHERTY, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes. And actually, if you look at the timing, this visit which was unannounced, by the way, kind of like President Bush's trip three days ago here to Baghdad, it came at -- one day after the Iraqi government passed this draft legislation on the withdrawal of nine U.S. troops from Iraq.
And in that legislation, what you were asking about, is the timetable, and indeed, the British troops will be finishing their mission by May 31st of 2009. And then physically pulling out, withdrawing from Iraq, by the end of July, July 31st of 2009.
Now, the details of what they're going to be governed under is kind of what we're talking about here. Up until that period, they will be having to -- let's say if a troop -- a soldier were to commit a crime in that period and he's not on duty, he would be under Iraqi laws, Iraqi legislation.
And the other thing that's similar to the agreement with the Americans is they also have to get approval for operations in that period before they go out on an operation, they have to get permission from the Iraqi government.
But just one quick thing, you know, an indication that there is still some security problems, just today in Baghdad, double bombing, eastern Baghdad, 18 people killed and 52 wounded.
COLLINS: Yes, certainly, still a lot going on in the country. It goes without saying, Jill. And obviously there's been an awful lot of attention that has been on, if you will, the Iraqi journalists who threw the shoes at the president.
Can you give us an update on a -- on a possible sentence or where he's being detained at this point?
DOUGHERTY: Yes, you know, there's not a lot of official information coming from the government. The information, actually, is coming from the brother of this journalist, who is now in jail, and he is telling CNN that when the family went to the jail where he is being held, the judge told them, come back in eight days for a trial.
So, it appears, if that is correct, that things are moving rather quickly. This investigative judge has met with the journalist, apparently has taken some type of statement, and they do -- they will be moving toward a trial.
But the most significant part of this is there are allegations, strong allegations, coming from the brother about beating up this journalist, allegedly. He says that the arm and the rib of his brother were broken, that the brother was beaten up, his glasses broken, et cetera, and he charges that that happened after that incident.
Now, he offers no concrete proof. He has not seen his brother.
COLLINS: Right.
DOUGHERTY: He is citing unnamed sources. COLLINS: OK.
DOUGHERTY: And the government's saying simply the man's in custody.
COLLINS: All right, understood. CNN's Jill Dougherty for us this morning in Baghdad.
Thank you, Jill.
The army has released its first new field training manual in six years. It highlights a need for soldiers to be ready to stabilize an environment after traditional combat has ended. The manual entitled "Training for Full Spectrum Operations" replaces the 2002 edition.
Army officials say the latest manual is a reflection of the past seven years in combat in both Afghanistan and Iraq. And it addresses the reality that forces will be in a period of persistent conflict in the coming years.
Well, it's an annual event. "TIME" magazine choosing its person of the year this morning. And the winner is...
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
COLLINS: "TIME" magazine picking its person of the year this morning. And for many of us, not a real shocker.
The presidential election dominated the headlines, of course, and the winner of the election is also "TIME's" person of the year. You recognize that guy, right?
Rick Stengel is managing editor of "TIME" magazine. He's joining me from New York this morning.
All right, so we were talking during the break, not a huge surprise, but probably still a tough decision, because you have a lot to consider here. And obviously the person is President-elect Barack Obama.
RICHARD STENGEL, TIME MAGAZINE MANAGING EDITOR: Yes, I mean, Heidi, as we were talking about, in some ways the whole convention of person of the year was invented for someone like Barack Obama, someone who dominated the news, someone who was a transformational figure in American life, in American politics.
Someone who is coming to the presidency at a time -- at a perilous time in American history, at a critical time in American history. He is our person of the year for all of those reasons.
COLLINS: Talk to us a little bit, if you would, Rick, about the process. What goes in to the choice like this?
STENGEL: You know, starting three or four months ago, I start talking to our correspondents around the world, our reporters, our editors. We solicited advice from previous persons of the year as well, and we start -- we put together a list, of people, of ideas, of options. I mean, some of the things we considered were the American voter, for electing Barack Obama, the American homeowner for what precipitated a financial meltdown, which was the other great and overarching story of the year. And we are -- we looked at all those different things.
By the way, you see on our screen, in our issue, we have pictures from Occidental College where Barack Obama was a freshman in 1980...
COLLINS: Yes.
STENGEL: ... taken by another freshman who thought that, you know, she wanted to be a portrait photographer and she asked him to come and pose for her. These pictures have not been seen in 30 years, and they were lying in a box in her basement as negatives. And we're publishing them for the first time in our "Person of the Year" issue, which is on sale on Friday.
COLLINS: It will be interesting to get the president-elect's reaction from those as he looks back all those years and those shots that -- that have not been seen. Really interesting.
Hey, listen, obviously, there were a lot of political players on this list, due in part, I'm sure, because of the election year. But as I look at one of the surveys that you guys did, we've got Hillary Clinton, Sarah Palin, John McCain. These are all down the list now.
STENGEL: Right.
COLLINS: Even Robert Mugabe who came in second at least on this...
STENGEL: I don't know who was voting for him exactly, but yes.
COLLINS: Yes. It was very interesting. And you did mention also, a while back, and I can't remember the year, but it was a few years ago, when you guys made the person of the year "you,' meaning the reader. And you put the reflective mirror, if you will on the cover...
STENGEL: Right.
COLLINS: ... of the magazine and...
STENGEL: Right. That was...
COLLINS: That was kind of controversial. I would have been curious a little bit more about putting something like, you know, the economy on there. But that's not a person. So that's probably why you didn't go that direction, huh?
STENGEL: No, it's a good question, Heidi. And -- we tried to make person of the year something that is unexpected, something where the reader can learn something new.
On the other hand, sometimes it's just looking you right in the face and you don't want to try to overthink it or be too clever. The -- in the case of that a couple of years ago, that was really about user- generated content, people who were creating the media themselves now. In fact, in our issue this year, kind of hearkening back to that cover, the first 14 pages of the Obama package are actually images of Obama that are on Flickr.com.
COLLINS: Yes.
STENGEL: That regular people have sent in. And it's really just -- it's fantastic looking and it does represent the fact that he became the people's choice. That he actually energized Americans in a way that we haven't seen in politics in a very long time.
COLLINS: What is this event, "TIME" magazine's person of the year, do for the magazine, for the readership and the interaction, if you will, with those readers?
STENGEL: I think it's something that we're absolutely known for. I mean, Henry Lewson created it, you know, back in 1927. It's the idea that individuals transform history, individuals make news.
And I think people look to us in historic times like now to put the news in context, to look for people who are actually creating events, that are changing events, that are changing our times.
And it's -- it's the greatest actually annuity in journalism. It's the greatest idea in journal and we do it every year. It's an enormous seller. I think in this case, this year, it's actually a real collectors item to have that Shepard Fairey poster on the cover. An updated version of the poster he did early in the campaign.
I think everybody will want to have it.
COLLINS: All right, well, we sure do appreciate your time here today.
Once again, "TIME" magazine's person of the year, President-elect Barack Obama.
Richard Stengel, thanks so much.
STENGEL: Thank you, Heidi.
COLLINS: Going to get so we get better treatment for our veterans. What the army is being accused of.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HEIDI COLLINS, CNN ANCHOR: And the opening bell on Wall Street today. Just rang a couple seconds ago. We are wondering what's going to happen with the market today on December 17th, Wednesday. Middle of the week. The Dow, as you probably know, soared yesterday. After the Central Bank slashed that key interest rate, wondering if the optimism will continue. We hope so.
Susan Lisovicz is at the New York Stock Exchange now with a look at what we are expecting today.
What do you think, Susan? SUSAN LISOVICZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, what I can see in the first 30 seconds of trading is a little bit of a selloff. But then, again, you know, we had huge gains yesterday, 45 percent on the three major averages. So a little giveback not surprising. You know, the fed of course slashing its key short term interest rates to the lowest level on record.
Perhaps, more importantly, Heidi, policymakers said they would use all the tools in their arsenal to combat the deepening recession. Or as "The Wall Street Journal" said Ben Bernanke went all in if it was a poker game. Tools that are any arsenal includes purchasing mortgage backed securities and treasuries. The fed stepping in as a substitute for banks and other lender and acting more like a bank itself.
Today, we're reminded why the fed is taking such unprecedented steps. Japanese automaker, Honda, slashing its annual profit forecast as managers will take a 10 percent pay cut. Meanwhile, Bristol-Meyers squib, Nissan and Cooper Tire & Rubber all cutting jobs. And on the earning's front, Morgan Stanley posting a $2 billion loss for the fourth quarter. That was far worse than expected. Morgan Stanley shares right now are down nearly 5 percent overall. Losses not as bad. The Dow industrials down 100 points or one percent. The Nasdaq, S&P 500 down one percent as well. Apple shares are down 5 percent.
CEO Steve Jobs will not deliver the keynote address at next month's mac World. Jobs typically uses the highly anticipated presentation to make big announcements and unveil new products like the iPhone and Macbook Air Laptop. Investors worried job absence could mean that the CEO who has pancreatic -- who had, I should say, pancreatic cancer is again dealing with health problems. Some analysts say the move may be Apple's attempt to broaden its leadership. But there's no question that Steve Jobs in a rare league of CEOs. He is a rock star, both with style and substance. What he's done with Apple. No question about it, Heidi. And that's why Apple shares are selling off.
Back to you.
COLLINS: All right. Well, we're watching the numbers. Down now for the Down Jones Industrial Averages, about 106 points at the very early trading. Susan Lisovicz, thank you.
LISOVICZ: You're welcome.
COLLINS: The honeymoon may be over for declining oil prices. Saudi Arabia says the OPEC oil cartel has agreed to cut production now by a record 2 million barrels a day come January 1st. Russia and other OPEC outsiders announced they'll make cuts, too. Oil ministers are meeting in Algeria hoping to stop the steady slide in oil prices.
Was he running rings around the S.E.C.? Questions continue about how Wall Street pioneer, Bernard Madoff, allegedly manipulated the system to the tune of $50 billion. CNN's Joe Johns has the story from Washington.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE) JOE JOHNS, CNN SENIOR CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): He was a Wall Street genius and pioneer who once proudly proclaimed that there was no way to cheat on the street.
BERNIE MADOFF, ACCUSED OF $50B SCAM: By and large, in today's regulatory environment, it's virtually impossible to violate rules. And this is something that the public really doesn't understand.
JOHNS: But now, Madoff himself is accused of breaking the rules big time. And the government never caught him until authorities say he admitted his role in an alleged fraud he estimated at an astounding $50 billion. So, where was the sheriff of Wall Street? The Securities and Exchange Commission? At first, officials said they were on top of the case.
LINDA CHATMAN THOMSEN, SEC DIRECTOR OF ENFORCEMENT: And to bring everyone who was responsible for the conduct at the Madoff firm to justice.
JOHNS: SEC Chairman Christopher Cox says his agency appears to have screwed up repeatedly and in a big way, saying that credible and specific allegations regarding Madoff go all the way back to 1999. That he is gravely concerned by multiple failures of the agency and that he's launching an internal investigation.
So who were the whistle-blowers? Securities executive Frank Casey for one. Back in 2005, he and a colleague, Harry Markopoulos, started looking at Madoff's gravity-defying investment returns and figured something was up.
FRANK CASEY, SECURITIES EXECUTIVE: And Harry said, Frank, you know that this can't be right. It's got to be a fraud.
JOHNS: Casey says Marcopoulus even took it to the next level, firing off letter after letter to the SEC, all but predicting how the Madoff story would end.
CASEY: This is a Ponzi scheme. I mean, in giant letters. 36- type instead of 12-type. This is a Ponzi scheme. And he laid out 25, 28, if I can recall, red flag areas, that they need to investigate.
JOHNS: But Casey isn't congratulating the SEC for finally figuring things out because they got there too late. After all, billions of dollars apparently vanished through the doors of Madoff's office.
CASEY: The SEC is going to simply come in after the fact and clean up the bodies and the blood and not prevent the hit. It doesn't serve any purpose.
JOHNS (on camera): It's not the first time the SEC has gotten slammed for oversight in the last few years. But now, some critics are saying the case of Bernie Madoff just might turn the place inside out.
Joe Johns, CNN, Washington.
(END VIDEOTAPE) COLLINS: From one pretty unbelievable story to the next. I want to show you this video quickly now. We are hearing very briefly this morning from Illinois Governor Rod Blagojevich as he spoke to the press and made these comments earlier today.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
GOV. ROD BLAGOJEVICH (D), ILLINOIS: I can't wait to begin to tell my side of the story. And to address you guys, and most importantly, the people of Illinois. That's who I'm dieing to talk to. There's a time and place for everything. That day will soon be here, and you might know more about that today, maybe no later than tomorrow.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COLLINS: Interesting. We have heard him talk to the press before, but he was only wishing everyone happy holidays. Hadn't really spoken to the situation in Illinois, in his state, until those comments right there. So, we'll stay on top of that one for you, of course.
Meanwhile, short-changing our veterans. A new lawsuit in Washington from The National Veterans Legal Services Program says some soldiers who come back after fighting in Afghanistan and Iraq with Post- Traumatic Stress Disorder are not getting the benefits they deserve. CNN Pentagon correspondent, Barbara Starr, is live in Washington now with the story.
Barbara, we hear an awful lot about PTSD, certainly, with these two conflicts. But we haven't heard a lot about benefits that the servicemen and women are supposed to be getting.
BARBARA STARR, CNN PENTAGON CORRESPONDENT: Well, we haven't, Heidi. And at this hour, here, there is a press conference under way by a Veterans Legal Services Group addressing that very point. They are making the case that they believe in this class action lawsuit, you see some of the people speaking now about this, that veterans are inappropriately getting minimal disability ratings for post-traumatic stress disorder, and because of those minimal disability ratings, veterans are not getting their full benefits.
The magic number? 50 percent. With a 50 percent disability rating for PTSD, as it's called, veterans would get a series of much better benefits for life. Some of the benefits they would get with that 50 percent disability rating, they would get monthly disability benefits for life. They would get free health care for themselves and their spouse. Free health care for dependent children.
The lawsuit claiming that the Army, the Department of Veterans Affairs, the people involved in giving the returning troops that key disability rating are deliberately giving them less than a 50 percent rating so the government can avoid paying them these extra benefits, which, of course, would amount to millions of dollars for troops over their lifetime.
But as you say, Heidi, what it really gets to is this continuing issue of Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder for the troops returning from these wars. Every expert will tell you that it is a very serious, very deep, very broad problem, and nobody really at this point has any idea, specifically, how many troops are suffering these days and how many will in the future.
Heidi?
COLLINS: Yes, certainly something that the army is working on. General Rick Shinseki, secretary of the VA, that was announced, right, this will be something that I imagine he will be looking into?
STARR: I think you can bet that Rick Shinseki, along with Defense Secretary Robert Gates, will make the issue of benefits for the returning troops from the war one of their top priorities.
General Shinseki wounded several times as a young soldier serving in Vietnam.
COLLINS: Yes, what a story.
STARR: Disabled partially himself with some of those injuries over his continuing career in the army. He's somebody who really gets it. And everyone believes will make this a top priority.
Heidi?
COLLINS: Very good. CNN Pentagon correspondent, Barbara Starr, for us this morning. Thanks, Barbara.
STARR: Sure.
COLLINS: Securing the homeland. President Bush will talk national security later today. He will make what is likely his final speech as president before the U.S. Army War College in Carlisle, Pennsylvania. CNN's Elaine Quijano is live now at the White House with more.
Good morning to you, Elaine.
ELAINE QUIJANO, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Good morning to you, Heidi. Well, with just weeks left in office, President Bush is looking to shape his national security legacy by defending his policies in the war on terrorism. Now, fresh off his trip to Iraq and Afghanistan over the weekend, the president, they will be heading to Carlisle, Pennsylvania, to the U.S. Army War College, as you mentioned.
Now, President Bush, of course, has been sharply criticized for his policies in the war on terror, including harsh interrogation techniques, but in his speech today, aides say that the president will underscore how there have been no attacks on U.S. soil since 9/11.
And the president will also argue how the tools and institutions implemented on his watch will help future presidents to fight the war on terrorism. We can also expect the president to talk about his view about the need to take the fight to the enemy.
Again, we will be hearing the president defend his national security policy. He will be doing this before a crowd of about 500 people, staff, students, and faculty at the U.S. Army War College. The president will say that it is certainly no accident, in his view, that there has not been another hit on U.S. soil since 9/11.
Heidi?
COLLINS: Yes, and Also, Elaine, "The New York Times" saying that the White House has prepared these crisis briefings to help the Obama team on national security issues. Is that unusual in this transition time?
QUIJANO: It is a reality of this being the first transition post- 9/11. And officials here say that, specifically, of course, for the transition, the National Security Council has, in fact, prepared a number of briefings on foreign policy issues around the world.
This is obviously something that will be covering some hot spots as well. Really meant as a guide. In fact, one official says that this is a, quote, "menu of contingencies and possible options." So, not meant to dictate policy, but, Heidi, really designed to provide a base of information, if you will, so that the incoming Obama administration has a sense of what the situation is on the ground in these various hot spots so that they can, then, make an informed decision themselves.
Heidi?
COLLINS: It makes sense. All right, CNN's Elaine Quijano at the White House this morning. Thank you, Elaine.
Of course, just a reminder. You can tune in right here for live coverage of President Bush's address at the U.S. Army War College. It will be happening 12:50 p.m. Eastern Time, 9:50 a.m. Pacific.
Salt is salt is salt, right? Well, you're probably not going to believe what one city in Iowa is putting down on its icy streets. A hint, you can definitely smell it.
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COLLINS: A dramatic change of seasons captured by CNN's iReporter Judy Hudspeth. You see her sister and brother-in-law own this house in Gilchrist, Texas. It actually became famous for being the last one standing on the gulf side of town after Hurricane Ike came ripping through. Here is the same home now, celebrating the arrival of the holiday season.
Making it even more remarkable, the area still without electricity. So, a generator powers the Christmas lights. The homeowners say the devastated town needed a dose of Christmas spirit, and they are not giving up. We want to hear and see your stories, too. Just logon to ireport.com.
Bitter cold and little relief in sight. Temperatures expected to dip below zero today in at least a dozen states. 20 deaths are blamed on the cold so far. Most of them, in traffic accidents. Dozens of school systems are closed from Illinois to Kentucky. And about 20 percent of New Hampshire residents, without power since last Thursday. Learn it may be next week before utility crews get around to them.
With all of that snow and ice, snowplow drivers will spread almost anything to give drivers a good grip, but garlic salt? In Ankeny, Iowa -- I hope I say that right -- a spice company donated 9 tons of the seasoning to help with the City's salt shortage. And, yes, the streets are aromatic, more aromatic than usual.
I don't know what it smelled like before, but now probably not so great there. Rob Marciano is standing by to talk more about this.
Yes, you know, you seriously, you don't want to mess with the ice, but I'm not aware of the garlic grip.
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COLLINS: One of the most famous cold cases ever is now closed.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The not knowing has been a torture. But that journey is over.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COLLINS: After nearly three decades of heartbreak, John Walsh finally learns who killed his little boy.
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COLLINS: An emotional end to nearly three decades of questions. The parents of Adam Walsh finally learn who murdered their 6-year-old son. CNN's Randi Kaye with more on a cold case no longer.
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RANDI KAYE, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Two words John and Reve Walsh have been waiting 27 years to hear, case closed.
JOHN WALSH, ADAM'S FATHER: For 27 years we've been asking who could take a 6-year-old boy and murder him and decapitate him? Who? We needed to know. We needed to know. And today we know.
KAYE: Police say Ottis Toole, a drifter and convicted serial killer abducted and murdered Adam Walsh all those years ago. He's always been the suspect. He confessed to the crime twice, then recanted.
OTTIS TOOLE, SERIAL KILLER: (INAUDIBLE) it ain't true.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: What isn't true? Tell me what happen.
TOOLE: I didn't -- I didn't know that kid.
KAYE: Toole died more than a decade ago while serving time for an unrelated crime. July 27th, 1981 Adam disappeared from this Florida mall. Two years later, Toole told investigators he had taken him, driven to a deserted road and decapitated him. The little boy's severed head was all that was ever found.
(on camera): Why wasn't Toole ever charged? Investigators had discovered blood-stained carpet in his Cadillac. But DNA testing then wasn't what it is today. And investigators couldn't prove the blood was Adam's. And there were reports of sloppy police work.
In 1994, detectives couldn't even find the carpet or the car for further testing. Plus, Toole's story kept changing.
WALSH: The not knowing has been a torture, but that journey is over.
KAYE (voice-over): If Ottis Toole were alive today, Hollywood police chief Chad Wagner says he'd be charged with Adam's abduction and murder. When Wagner joined the department last year, he promised to review the evidence with an open mind and concluded what so many before him never could, it was Toole.
WALSH: Reve and I tried very hard to make sure Adam didn't die in vain. Today, this is a reaffirmation of the fact that he didn't die in vain, that beautiful little boy.
KAYE: The chief says there isn't any new evidence that convinced him Toole was the killer.
REVE WALSH, ADAM'S MOTHER: Listening to the words that came off of Chief Wagner's lips just penetrate my soul.
KAYE: John Walsh had always believed Toole had murdered his son.
WALSH: I'm not about revenge. We never had been. I don't believe in vigilantism. I believe that Ottis Toole is probably getting what he deserves.
KAYE: For John Walsh, the loss left him spiraling into hell. But losing his son transformed his life. Today, he's a crusader for missing children, the most of "America's Most Wanted," also, co- founded the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children.
WALSH: For all the other victims who haven't gotten justice, I say one thing, don't give up hope. Don't give up hope.
KAYE: Hope is what you survive on when no one can tell you who killed your child. Randi Kaye, CNN, New York.
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COLLINS: A change of heart. Precious possessions returned to a grieving family. The odd exchange caught on tape.
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COLLINS: A criminal with a conscience, returning something more valuable than money or jewels. ITN's Damian Green has the story.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE) DAMIAN GREEN, ITN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Security cameras designed to catch thieves in the act of stealing. This one record the moment when a burglar racked with remorse brings back what he had taken and returns it to the couple he had robbed. The journals and photos of Lisa Wilson, a loving family's only daughter and the only record of her precious life, stolen while they were on holiday.
CLIVE WILSON, FATHER: I think just shock. I mean, it was just absolutely wicked. I mean, I felt sick, you know, because I also thought there were videos in there that were gone, which fortunately they were somewhere else. It was just a terrible, terrible feeling, a huge loss.
GREEN: Lisa was traveling in Australia after finishing university, a bright, happy girl, who made friends everywhere she went. She kept a diary of her travels. When she died tragically in a road accident in the outback, this journal was all that was left. So precious it was with the cash and jewelery taken from the family's safe. Now it seems thieves have realized the damage that theft has done and tried to make amends.
WILSON: It was just amazing. I mean, just overcome with joy, really. I've said that it would be the best Christmas present we could ever have, you know, to get it back. And to be fair, you know, the thief didn't have to bring it back.
GREEN: Police say they're still looking for this man as they try to trace the rest of his hall. The search is for a criminal with a conscience.
(on camera): Clive and Trisha never suspected they'd see Lisa's journal again. They never suspected they'd see it returns on CCTV. The jewelery may be gone forever, but what's precious for them has finally come home. Damian Green, News at 10, in Wilshire.
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COLLINS: All the president's men. Next hour President-elect Barack Obama announces two more members of his cabinet, their names, their jobs and what they'll mean to you.
