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American Morning
Holiday Travel Nightmare; Obama's Team says no Wrongdoing; In over Your Head; Diplomatic Bling; Toy Market
Aired December 24, 2008 - 06:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
JOHN ROBERTS, CNN ANCHOR: Help from above...
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: How many people are in your car?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Just me.
ROBERTS: This morning the call from a trapped and terrified driver.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: (INAUDIBLE)
ROBERTS: During an icy and risky water rescue -- plus, the holiday window wars.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: We have to create desire in the consumer.
ROBERTS: Inspiring imagination and impulse buys.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It's one of the key elements of getting customers in the door.
ROBERTS: Struggling department stores hoping for another miracle on 34th Street on this AMERICAN MORNING.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
ROBERTS: And good morning. Thanks very much for being with us and Merry Christmas Eve to you and to you as well, Carol Costello.
CAROL COSTELLO, CNN ANCHOR: Can you believe it's here already?
ROBERTS: Just happened so fast, doesn't it? And you know we left you yesterday with those incredible pictures of those water rescues and now we're getting a lot of the back story on what happened during those rescues, those 911 calls, so compelling. You can imagine what it was like to be in those vehicles yesterday.
COSTELLO: Oh definitely. You're going to talk to some of the people who were trapped in their car later on.
ROBERTS: That's right.
(CROSSTALK) ROBERTS: They were on their way to work and the next thing they had unfortunately a trunk full of presents as well, on their way to work. The car's a write-off. The car got completely soaked. They escaped with their lives, so they're happy about that.
COSTELLO: But the cool thing, some of them are getting together and helping one another out during the Christmas season after that horrible event happened to them.
ROBERTS: That's really good -- just unbelievable...
COSTELLO: (INAUDIBLE) Merry Christmas, but we do have to talk about the bad weather this morning because that could be the coal in the stocking for millions of travelers this morning. A messy mix of snow and freezing rain is moving from the Midwest to the East Coast and the Pacific Northwest is getting pounded with another big snow storm. Bonnie Schneider is watching it all from the CNN Weather Center and she will join us in a moment.
The lone surviving suspect in the Mumbai terror attacks will remain in police custody for another two weeks. Mohammad Ajmal Kasab (ph) was due to appear in court today, but did not because of security concerns. A judge ordered Kasab to be held until January 6th; more than 160 people were killed in the Mumbai massacre last month including nine of the 10 gunmen. India blames Pakistani militants for the attack, Pakistan denies any involvement.
A weak global economy continues to have a positive effect on crude oil prices. They fell below $38 a barrel on Tuesday. The price of crude has fallen 73 percent since July. Some analysts predict crude oil prices could fall as low as $25 a barrel next year.
And congratulations going out to Lance Armstrong and his girlfriend Anna Hansen -- that's his girlfriend, Anna Hansen. They are expecting a baby. The cycling legend is a survivor of testicular cancer. He has three children with his ex wife who were conceived by in vitro fertilization. The baby is due in June.
ROBERTS: You know what's amazing about that was doctors didn't think that he would be able to conceive naturally and he did. Go Lance. All right.
COSTELLO: Go Lance...
ROBERTS: Maybe this portends good things for the 2009 Tour de France. We'll see.
(LAUGHTER)
ROBERTS: Today is one of the busiest travel days of the year, but severe weather is likely to slow Christmas Eve traffic on the ground and in the air. There's a major storm moving from the Midwest to the East Coast. Patience will be the key word at travel hubs in New York, Boston and Washington today. Some 500 flights were canceled at Chicago's O'Hare Airport on Tuesday and you can expect of the same today. Another storm blowing into the Pacific Northwest right on top of a week's worth of snow. The weather forcing Amtrak to cancel service at its Chicago hub and combine other trains. Snow and bitter cold forced passengers to be delayed at Chicago's Union Station for as long as an entire day. And how about this one, spending Christmas at a Greyhound Bus Station.
These travelers were grounded for several days at the Greyhound terminal in Sacramento, California. Not because of weather there but because of snow and ice storms in Seattle and Portland. They just weren't sending the buses out.
Bonnie Schneider checking our extreme weather from the CNN Weather Center in Atlanta. She's got the Christmas Eve forecast for us.
Good morning, Bonnie.
BONNIE SCHNEIDER, AMS METEOROLOGIST: Good morning, John.
Across the northeast we're tracking snow, freezing rain and ice falling right now in Scranton, Pennsylvania. This ice event will last for the next few hours. So if you can stay inside until it dissipates, I think that would be good advice. We'll be seeing snow in areas to the north. These advisories will go straight into the afternoon hours for this busy Christmas Eve.
And in anticipation of all this nasty weather we do have some airport delays even at this early hour. The Chicago airport, O'Hare is closed right now, expected to reopen within the next hour or so. It was closed at 3:25 early this morning due to runway treatment. We also have some delays for a ground stop in Newark and in Cleveland, Ohio.
We are expecting and anticipating more delays throughout the day today. Take a look at this lengthy list for the New York metropolitan area. All airports there, Boston, Washington and Philadelphia due to rain, snow and fog, these delays could be an hour or longer. In Chicago, Detroit, Minneapolis and Cleveland look for snow to slow you down. Also Cincinnati, St. Louis, Denver, boy the delays are just getting started, John and we're going to have a long list as we go through this Christmas Eve.
ROBERTS: Bonnie, we know you're on top of the situation. We're looking forward to you keeping us informed this morning, very important for people trying to get home today.
SCHNEIDER: Sure.
ROBERTS: Thanks. We'll check back with you soon.
COSTELLO: Well you saw the dramatic rescues by boat and helicopter live right here yesterday morning. People trapped in their cars by a raging river of water after a water main burst open in Cabin John, Maryland. That's just outside of Washington. Nine people including a child had to be rescued. And this morning we're hearing one of the riveting 911 calls made by a woman who was trapped.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: How many people are in your car?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Just me.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Just you, OK.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Yeah.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: And you can't get out of your vehicle?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: No, I can't. (INAUDIBLE)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: OK, how high is the water in your car, ma'am?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Where is the water to now?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: It's getting all over my car...
(CROSSTALK)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: OK, ma'am, ma'am, listen to me, OK. We have help on the way. I need you to try to stay calm, OK. Where is the water in your vehicle? How high up is it in your car?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: It's all the way (INAUDIBLE).
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: OK, I understand you're saying all the way. Can you give me a reference? Is it up to your knees? Is it up to your waist?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: (INAUDIBLE) I can't see. I just need some help, please.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COSTELLO: Just unbelievable. She got out of that car safely. Officials say some victims had to be treated for hypothermia though. At one point the water was flowing at 150,000 gallons per minute.
ROBERTS: Unbelievable. It just turned -- it looked like the Colorado River there on River Road yesterday. New this morning from the catwalk to the perp walk a reigning Mexican beauty queen now in custody after police say she was found riding in a car with seven heavily armed men and more than $50,000 in cash.
The group was stopped outside a checkpoint in central Mexico. The 23-year-old model Laura Zuniga (ph) and the seven men now face arms charges. Zuniga reportedly told police she was traveling with the men to go shopping. Right now the former Utah state trooper who police say was the gunman in Monday night's deadly rush hour shootings is on life support. Thirty-seven-year-old Brian Smith (ph) shot himself yesterday after a police standoff. Police say his bullet matched the kind used to kill a driver who was waiting for a traffic light and two truck drivers a short time later. President Bush granted 19 pardons and commuted one sentence before leaving for the holidays.
Dick Cheney's former chief of staff, Lewis "Scooter" Libby was not one of them. The one commutation went to Reid Reyman Pryor (ph) for a convicted methamphetamine -- he was a convicted methamphetamine dealer. President Bush has now pardoned 191 people, commuted nine sentences, far less than former Presidents Bill Clinton and Ronald Reagan. He's still got a little more than three more weeks though and maybe "Scooter" Libby is to come some time before January the 20th.
COSTELLO: Maybe that will be his Christmas present, who knows.
This morning president-elect's transition team has cleared itself of any role of Governor Rod Blagojevich's alleged bid to auction off Barack Obama's Senate seat, at least that's according to his own staff's report.
Here is the latest from CNN's Ed Henry who is traveling with the president-elect in Hawaii.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
ED HENRY, CNN SR. WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT (on camera): John, Carol this report was delivered pretty much as expected except for one big surprise.
(voice-over): There was one bombshell, even before taking office President-elect Barack Obama quietly sat down for an interview last week with federal prosecutor Patrick Fitzgerald to tell all he knew about contact with embattled Illinois Governor Rod Blagojevich who is engulfed in a criminal investigation over whether he was auctioning off Obama's old Senate seat. It's extremely rare for an incoming president to be interviewed in a criminal matter, but transition officials stress there was absolutely no wrongdoing by Obama or aides Rahm Emanuel and Valerie Jarrett who were also interviewed by the U.S. attorney.
JOSEPH BIDEN, (D-DE) VICE PRESIDENT-ELECT OF THE UNITED STATES: I don't think there's anything to exonerate.
HENRY: Obama officials note their internal probe shows the president-elect had no contact or communication with the governor or his staff about the Senate seat. Top Obama aide Rahm Emanuel did have one or two telephone calls with the governor but one was a courtesy heads up that he was going to be White House chief of staff.
In the second call Emanuel recommended Blagojevich appoint Obama friend Valerie Jarrett, but the report says Emanuel did that quote, "before learning in further conversations with the president-elect that the president-elect had ruled out communicating a preference for his successor." Emanuel pulled back after Jarrett agreed to take a top White House job instead. And transition officials from Vice President-elect Joe Biden on down stressed the conversations were not improper.
BIDEN: It's been clear that the president-elect has had no contact with Blagojevich or anyone on his team. That he's asserted and you'll soon find a report being released today that there has been no inappropriate contact by any member of the Obama staff or the transition team with Blagojevich.
HENRY: The report does reveal after Jarrett removed herself from consideration, Emanuel spoke several times with a top Blagojevich aide about the seat. But the Obama camp maintains there was never a quid pro quo. The governor's aide did not make any effort to extract a personal benefit for the governor in exchange for the Senate appointment.
Now the transition team is trying to turn the page. On the same day of the report's release they scheduled a Biden event on the economy not that they are trying to change the subject or anything.
BIDEN: We need a robust and sustained economic recovery package.
HENRY (on camera): But this report is not the final word. That will come from the prosecutor -- John, Carol.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
ROBERTS: Ed Henry reporting for us this morning -- Ed thanks so much. Gifts fit for a queen. The White House revealing some of the lavish gifts given to not to the first lady, but Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice. And you may not believe just how generous some world leaders can be. We're calling it diplomatic bling.
COSTELLO: I like that and hopefully you are done buying those Christmas gifts but soon the bills will follow. We have come up with some simple tips to put money in your pocket. Gerri Willis with your financial resolutions for the New Year, it is 10 minutes past the hour.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
ROBERTS: Well what do you think: When Santa Claus comes to that building have they been naughty or nice? Do they deserve presents in their stockings or do they deserve a lump of coal? I don't know. You figure it out. Thirty-five degrees in the capital city right now, going up to a high of 53 today. It's going to be rainy though unfortunately.
And we're also hoping the River Road will be just a road today and not a river as it was yesterday. Less than 24 hours now before Santa comes to town and things are hopping up there in the North Pole, North Pole, Alaska that is. Check out these pictures from one of our IReporters, Jenny Lott (ph). She says that her whole town is decked out for the holiday.
The fire department even has the fire truck decorated. They drive around every single night until Christmas playing really loud Christmas carols.
COSTELLO: Oh, nice.
ROBERTS: The streets of New York, they just hit that horrible horn that goes (INAUDIBLE) wakes me up every night (INAUDIBLE). And old Saint Nick trading in the traditional for the economical, IReporter Robert Fernatt (ph) sent us this picture of his smart Christmas car. Isn't that cute? Robert says all day folks are taking pictures and always leave with a smile.
At the end of the day he picks up the car, puts it in his pocket and goes home. And we want you to send us your holiday IReports, just go to CNN.com/am. We will declare a winner tomorrow morning. Not sure how we declare a winner though...
COSTELLO: Yeah, who's voting?
ROBERTS: Who's judging?
COSTELLO: Is it Democratic? That's what I want to know.
(CROSSTALK)
ROBERTS: It may be by executive (INAUDIBLE). I'm not sure.
COSTELLO: Going to be a person of one, I think, deciding. Anyway, it's been spend, spend, spend, but remember you'll be paying for it later. CNN's Gerri Willis is minding your business this morning and she has some great tips on how you can get your debt under control in the New Year and we want to remind you Gerri is blogging and answering your questions this morning.
GERRI WILLIS, PERSONAL FINANCE EDITOR: That's right. That's right. Good morning, guys. Good to see you. Yeah, we're talking financial resolutions this morning, how to get a handle on your debt. You're running it up right now ahead of the holidays probably. What do you need to know?
Well first of all let's talk about whether your debt is too high or simply annoying. Let's look at some rules of thumb here that will help you figure out if you have too much debt on the books. First off, if you borrow from one credit card to pay for another you're in big trouble.
Also here's one you may not think about, but if you only make the minimum payments on your credit card and a lot of people do this, you're in trouble with credit card debt. If you don't know how much total debt you have including credit cards and other debt you might have, maybe a car, whatever you've got, that's a sign of a problem too.
You're just not facing up to the debt that you have on the books. You need to think about making, paying off your debt a priority. Look, you got to make choices here if you've got a lot of credit card debt. If you've got a lot of debt, maybe you have a line of credit somewhere you're trying to pay down. Make tough choices. For example, you might want to get rid of the gym membership right now. Change your cable. If you're paying too much for cable make small decisions that will really help you (INAUDIBLE) down that debt over time. Remember, you've got to make sure that you handle debt collectors the right way. A lot of people out there are really worried this season about getting those phone calls from the debt collectors that can really harass you.
Remember they can't call you early in the morning or late at night. You can write them and tell them not harass you at work. That's another big problem for people out there. And remember there's a statute of limitations out there on debt of seven to 10 years. It depends on which state you live in. Check with your state's attorney general to find out, but you got to take action now as the holidays are just upon us and a lot of people facing a lot of debt and really want to get some help...
COSTELLO: Well the sad thing is, is that there's not much some people can do to pay down their debt right now.
WILLIS: Well if you're unemployed, obviously it's a very big problem. You've got to find whatever kind of work you can to start paying down that debt. That's certainly a big issue. Send me your questions. I want to hear from you. We're going to be answering those during the day.
COSTELLO: Yeah, Gerri is going to be actually blogging online all morning, so you can ask her financial questions. Just go to cnn.com/am and you will answer all of their questions.
WILLIS: That's right. I'll be back.
COSTELLO: Yea (ph), Gerri, thanks.
ROBERTS: Looking forward to it, thanks Gerri.
WILLIS: My pleasure.
COSTELLO: David Letterman also gave his New Year's resolutions last night and it didn't have anything to do with peace on earth or bringing joy to the world. But listen to what he is hoping for in 2009.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You people make New Year's resolutions? I've started my list. Number one on the list I want to get Angelina Jolie to adopt me.
(LAUGHTER)
(APPLAUSE)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I would like to throw a shoe at a world leader.
(LAUGHTER)
(APPLAUSE)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I would like to get a show at 10:00 p.m. That ain't going to happen.
(LAUGHTER)
(APPLAUSE)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I would like to become a Madonna first round draft pick.
(LAUGHTER)
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COSTELLO: He's going to miss George W. Bush, though. I mean you know from (INAUDIBLE) a lot of jokes for him.
ROBERTS: Yeah and you know Obama just not providing the same level of humor thus far that President Bush did.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Not at all.
ROBERTS: So...
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: He's always had a thing for Madonna though...
ROBERTS: He has.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Yeah.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Yeah.
(CROSSTALK)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Recurring theme in his monologues...
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: They were contentious.
ROBERTS: Well she's available now, right.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Little sexual tension.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Yeah.
WILLIS: Not so much, is she? I thought she had a new beau.
COSTELLO: Oh a young man. That's right.
WILLIS: That's right.
(CROSSTALK)
COSTELLO: He's a dancer.
ROBERTS: There's a surprise.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: OK...
(CROSSTALK)
ROBERTS: And arguably, supposedly I guess we're supposed to say after all of that...
(CROSSTALK)
ROBERTS: Thanks, Gerri.
(CROSSTALK)
COSTELLO: An artist who's lived and worked at Carnegie Hall for six decades doesn't want the curtain to fall on her sweet deal. We'll show you how the 96-year-old is fighting to stay in her rent controlled apartment above the world famous venue.
ROBERTS: And war of the windows, how far some stores will go to get people who think they are just window shopping to actually come inside and buy -- from the window to your wallet. How they do it. We'll have that for you.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
COSTELLO: Welcome back to the most news in the morning -- talk about your fringe benefits. The Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice has been showered with lavish gifts, diamonds, emeralds and rubies. But alas madam secretary, you can not take it with you. CNN's Zain Verjee is following the story. She's live in Washington. Why can't she take it with her?
ZAIN VERJEE, CNN STATE DEPARTMENT CORRESPONDENT: Well because it's the law, unfortunately...
(CROSSTALK)
VERJEE: I know. We all know that you get showered with gifts and diamonds and emeralds and rubies.
COSTELLO: All the time -- kings from other countries send them to me all the time.
(LAUGHTER)
VERJEE: Oh gosh, well you know Carol they say as you know diamonds are forever. But in Condi Rice's case it's more like here today gone tomorrow.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
VERJEE (voice-over): Bush administration policies are hated in much of the Middle East, but that didn't stop long time Arab allies from adorning Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice with jewels fit for a queen worth more than a quarter of a million dollars. In January the king of Jordan showered the top U.S. diplomat with an emerald and diamond necklace plus a matching ring, bracelet and earrings -- the price tag, according to the State Department $147,000.
King Abdullah of Saudi Arabia topped that this past summer giving Rice a ruby and diamond necklace also with matching earrings, a ring and a bracelet worth a dazzling $165,000. Just all that bling alone makes Rice one of the U.S. government's top gift getters. She even outdid the Bushes. The Saudi king gave first lady Laura Bush an $85,000 sapphire and diamond set and gold artwork worth $10,000.
The inventory prepared by the State Department's office of protocol also revealed more modest offerings -- a $6 assortment of nuts and fruit given by the Dalai Lama to Mrs. Bush. Some that are downright odd like the ab's exercise machine President Bush got from the prime minister of Singapore. And a cute one, pillows with the names and pictures of the first dog, a gift from the Japanese prime minister.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
VERJEE: So Carol the only thing Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice and everybody else can keep is just the memories.
COSTELLO: Not even the nuts?
(LAUGHTER)
VERJEE: Well they can keep the cheaper stuff, you know. But the -- the extravagant stuff that has to go, you know some of it gets auctioned off. And some ends up in a -- potentially in a presidential library and some in the Costello collection.
COSTELLO: Oh yeah right, sure. I wish I could go check that...
(LAUGHTER)
COSTELLO: You mean she actually takes the gifts and then turns it over to the government to be auctioned off?
VERJEE: She has to. (INAUDIBLE), she has to.
(CROSSTALK)
VERJEE: She has to give it back to...
COSTELLO: Isn't that insulting?
VERJEE: ... to -- what to the leaders that give her -- that give her that as a gift? I guess so. I mean they should know that, but the U.S. doesn't allow for that to happen so they can't keep the good stuff, so...
COSTELLO: For a very good reason.
VERJEE: Unfortunately -- yeah. Do you keep the gifts that you get?
COSTELLO: (INAUDIBLE)
VERJEE: We have to turn some of the stuff in.
(CROSSTALK)
COSTELLO: You know I very rarely keep gifts, honestly.
VERJEE: Really?
COSTELLO: If I get cookies I keep them.
VERJEE: Yeah, yeah.
COSTELLO: But I don't keep anything else.
VERJEE: Yeah, yeah.
COSTELLO: So no I totally get it.
VERJEE: Yeah.
COSTELLO: But it's just amazing that they give her such expensive gifts.
VERJEE: I know and they try and outdo each other. That's the most fascinating part.
COSTELLO: Crazy -- thank you Zain.
VERJEE: You too.
ROBERTS: That famous Costello collection.
(CROSSTALK)
ROBERTS: Are Republicans having second thoughts about Barack Obama? Some of the GOP's most conservative members are praising the president-elect. And he's accused of masterminding one of the greatest rip-offs in history. But what makes Bernard Madoff tick. We're taking an in-depth look at Madoff, the man.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
GARY TUCHMAN, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): The little red wagon, an iconic American toy that represents a simpler time, but times they are changing.
MARK JOHNSTON, RADIO FLYER: This wagon we really you know kind of pushed the boundaries.
TUCHMAN: This is not your father's wagon. It's called the Cloud Nine. It features a sleek design, padded seats, cup holders, a strollometer (ph) and of course an iPod connection.
(MUSIC)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We really approach the Cloud Nine Wagon like an automotive company might approach a concept car.
TUCHMAN: So why would this small family-based company fix something that's not broken?
TOM SCHLEGEL, RADIO FLYER: Most of our competitors are much larger companies so to compete against those companies we really have to be innovative.
TUCHMAN: Designed with cutting-edge tools Radio Flyer is taking this one simple toy into the 21st century.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We can take a product really from a -- from a sketch pad all the way through to a finished prototype to be able to show our customers what we're going to come out with next.
TUCHMAN: This version of the Cloud Nine would probably sell for around $1,000. That is if it were available in stores. It's not. Radio Flyer is just toying with the idea for now.
Gary Tuchman, CNN, Chicago.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
ROBERTS: It's 29 minutes after the hour and here's a check of this morning's top stories for you. Homeward crawl, winter weather making it tough for millions of people to make being their way home for the holidays. Right now a massive weather system is on a Christmas march toward the Northeast from the Midwest, dumping a messy mix of snow, sleet and ice. If you're traveling by bus, train or plane expect delays today.
The parents of the teenager killed when a tiger escaped from the San Francisco zoo last Christmas are taking the city and the zoo to court. They are seeking monetary damages, two other teens were also injured in the attack are also suing. Zoo officials allege that the teens were drinking or high on drugs when they provoked the animal to climb out of its enclosure.
And the founder of an investment fund that lost $1.5 billion in Bernard Madoff's alleged massive scam has been found dead in his New York office. Police say it appears the man committed suicide. Friends say the executive was grief-stricken after becoming one of the top 10 losers in the $50 billion scheme.
COSTELLO: And right now investigators are combing through the books of Bernie Madoff. But what does it take to organize a $50 billion scheme like this? CNN's senior correspondent Allan Chernoff looks at Madoff, the man. And I know you've interviewed him several times. He was charming and charismatic.
ALLAN CHERNOFF, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Absolutely I interviewed him several times about a decade ago. He was very polite, as Carol said, charming, and also very reserved.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
CHERNOFF (voice-over): In the Wall Street world of big personalities, Bernard Madoff did not stand out. He was low key, understated. His business card had no title. Friends say he was shy. But inside was the drive of a highly competitive person.
DR. ALDEN CASS, PSYCHOLOGIST: There's a need to prove to the world that I am somebody powerful.
CHERNOFF: Madoff earned respect. In the 1970s and '80s he build an innovative, high-tech trading firm correctly anticipating that the buying and selling of stocks would become computerized.
JIM ANGEL, GEORGETOWN UNIVERSITY: Here was a very intelligent who knew this business really well and who also was very driven to succeed.
CHERNOFF: Madoff was successful. But matching buy and sell orders is not a glamour job on Wall Street, not like managing other people's money. He bolstered his reputation by becoming non-executive chairman of the Nasdaq stock market in 1990, '91 and '93.
ANGEL: Here's somebody who didn't need to start a scam to become a multimillionaire many times over. And yet apparently there must have been some flaw in his make up that led him to get into this mess and to dig himself in deeper and deeper.
CHERNOFF: Madoff lacked a pedigree. He was not an alumnus of a prestigious school. But at the Palm Beach Country Club and other social circles, he created an aura of exclusivity by selectively choosing whose money he would manage, in effect creating a velvet rope, like a chic nightclub.
JERRY REISMAN, REISMAN AND REISMAN LAW FIRM: That's how he sucked his people in. That's how he got them to go into this. And it was a fantastic, brilliant job of marketing.
CHERNOFF: Madoff reported steady, annual returns, 10 to 18 percent, year-in, year-out, never seeming to lose.
CASS: That determines whether you're a success or failure. They get their identity from how solid their returns are.
CHERNOFF: Bernie Madoff joined the board of Yeshiva University, then became chairman of its business school. His prominence kept investors from questioning his success, even those whose monthly account statements were pure fiction. Last month, Madoff even reported to them that cash was held in Fidelity's "Spartan U.S. Treasury Money Market Fund." Fidelity says it hasn't had a fund by that name for three years.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
CHERNOFF: Several people who know Madoff say his story reminds them of a Greek tragedy, just like Icarus who tried to fly too close to the sun, Madoff destroyed himself in his never-ending quest for respect and success. Even his attorneys says to CNN this is a tragedy -- Carol.
COSTELLO: And not only for him, but for his family as well. I mean...
(CROSSTALK)
COSTELLO: ... his entire family.
CHERNOFF: Family, and, of course, for thousands and thousands of investors here.
COSTELLO: It's just hard to understand. It really is. Allan Chernoff, thanks.
ROBERTS: Well, if you're looking for criticism of Barack Obama, don't look to the right. Some of the most conservative Republicans are having a hard time finding something negative to say about the president-elect. So what is Obama doing to win their praises? Joining us now from Washington, Stephen Hayes, senior writer for The Weekly Standard and a CNN contributor.
Good morning, Stephen, how are you?
STEPHEN HAYES, CNN CONTRIBUTOR: Hey, John. Good, how are you?
ROBERTS: Good. Suzanne Malveaux had a terrific interview yesterday on the "SIT. ROOM" with Pat Robertson, which she asked about the president-elect. Let's listen to what Pat Robertson had to say.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
PAT ROBERTSON, CBN: I am remarkably pleased with Obama. I had grave misgivings about him, but so help me, he has come in forcefully, intelligently, he has picked a middle of the road cabinet. And so far if he continues down this course he has the makings of a great president.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ROBERTS: Stephen, more than a few people I talked to about that comment were somewhat shocked by it, very surprised, to say the least.
HAYES: Well, I'm not sure I would count myself as one who is remarkably pleased. I mean, after all, he hasn't really done anything in terms of policies. He has made some interesting, and I think, wise cabinet choices.
But I think the real proof will come when he has to make policy choices and then I think we run into this question of how is he governing and how do people react to that?
ROBERTS: Well, Reverend Robertson was actually much more surprising when you take it in the overall context of the interview because he was quite critical of this administration. It seems a lot of Republicans are taking a look at the Bush administration, saying, that's not what we want. And they look at Senator Obama coming in with this moderate cabinet and so far sort of a tilt toward moderate policies, I guess the jury is out on that, saying, well, let's give him a chance.
Is this just the honeymoon period, do you think, or is there a real desire here to allow him to do a few things and see where he takes it?
HAYES: Well, you know, John, I think, actually, it's both. To a certain extent, Reverend Robertson is where a lot of conservatives are. We're not necessarily happy with the Bush administration. We're certainly not happy with a lot of the bailouts, his departure from basic free market principles, the conduct of the Iraq War over the years.
And I think, look, it's not a very sophisticated piece of analysis, but there are a lot of us who are sitting here on the sidelines sort of cheering for Barack Obama. You know, I don't agree with any of his policies or many of his policies, but there's something -- you know, to be very unsophisticated about it, there's something really cool about having America's first black president and a lot of us want him to do well even if that means that the policies we prefer are not going to actually be implemented.
So that said, though I will say, you know, he hasn't done anything. It's a little bit like criticizing Mother Teresa right now. Everybody loves him. He represents -- you know, he is the personification of hope. So it's hard to criticize.
ROBERTS: However, as we saw Pat Robertson criticizing the administration and lavishing praise on Obama, we are seeing the left, not necessarily lavishing praise on the Bush administration, but they are the ones who are being critical of Senator Obama. They don't like this moderate cabinet. They sure don't like the idea that he invited Rick Warren to give the invocation at the Inauguration.
HAYES: Yes, and I think politically this can only help him. I mean, this is a good thing for him. He's going to have the left I think going forward. It's unlikely that we're going to see them really revolt in a way that damages him politically. And he was going to need to shore up the center to pass his legislative agenda, which is going to be crucial when he comes to office January 20th.
He is going to need a succession of sort of rapid fire political and legislative victories in order to build this sense of momentum. You know, people want to be behind a winner and if he's winning, more people will sort of follow behind him.
ROBERTS: Certainly a lot of expectations that are riding on the president's shoulders. Stephen Hayes, it's always great to see you, merry Christmas, by the way.
HAYES: Thanks, John, you too. COSTELLO: Well, it's being called a Christmas miracle. A woman who disappeared during a blizzard found buried in the snow after four days. The conditions so bad that rescue teams were stunned she made it out alive. Her amazing story ahead. It's 36 minutes past the hour.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
ROBERTS: So how do you get to Carnegie Hall? Well, you live there. CNN's Richard Roth tells us about one artist in residence, who, after six decades is fighting eviction from her rent-controlled apartment.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
RICHARD ROTH, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Carnegie Hall in New York has been a stage for classical musicians and other performers for more than a century. But it's not only a concert hall. It has been a home to many artists who have rented apartments above it for decades.
EDITTA SHERMAN, CARNEGIE HALL TENANT: Here I am with Salvador Dali, because he had had an exhibit over St. Regis and so we walked out together. And he came up here.
ROTH: Editta Sherman has lived and worked in the Carnegie Hall studios as a portrait photographer since 1949. Many celebrities have made their way into her home and in front of her camera.
SHERMAN: Andy Warhol, yes, taken here while he was photographing me.
ROTH: But now Editta and six other tenants are in jeopardy of losing their homes. The non-profit corporation that manages the city- owned buildings wants to use the studios for rehearsal space and classrooms.
Editta believes they are missing a very important lesson.
SHERMAN: Andrew Carnegie built Carnegie Hall for the artists to live and work, and which Carnegie Hall now just forgets about that, you know. They don't know about it.
ROTH: Earlier this year a group of tenant artists rallied at New York City Hall, asking for the mayor to intervene.
JOHN TURTURRO, ACTOR: It's really a treasure and the people who are in them are a treasure. I'm a person who went to Yale Drama School, I went to SUNY New Paltz, but the best teaching I had was in that place. And even going to class, it was an intimidating and inspiring atmosphere to work in and to learn in.
ROTH: About 40 tenants lost their battle to stay this past year. The building management says it will help Editta and the remaining tenants find other rentals and pay the difference. Editta, who pays $650 a month for her rent-controlled apartment, is not giving up without a fight.
SHERMAN: I not moving out unless they are going to pull me by the hair and pull me out. I'll have to be here until I die and since I'm 96, I'll be 100 in three years. Maybe they can have it after I'm gone, you know what I mean?
ROTH: Until then, Editta says she will stay right where she is, behind her camera snapping photographs.
Richard Roth, CNN, New York.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
ROBERTS: In tough times, how far would you go to feed your family?
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JOSEPH CAPPELLUZO, CARPENTER: If you have a need for a carpenter, here's my information. Please consider me.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ROBERTS: How Joe the Carpenter took a radical step to get work and now he's spreading the wealth to others. You're watching the most news in the morning.
(CROSSTALK)
COSTELLO: They are stories for the season. This week we're profiling people who are going the extra mile to help others hit hard by the economy. We're calling them "The Guardians of Main Street."
CNN's John Zarrella tells us about a carpenter who suffered economic hardship and now is doing his best to help others.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
JOHN ZARRELLA, CNN CORRESPONDENT: This is literally a sign of the times. Joe Cappelluzo, a carpenter, was out of work but not ideas. So he came here to Interstate 95 with this sign. And it turned out the idea wasn't bad at all.
(voice-over): Even before the economy went belly up, Joseph Cappelluzo stretched every dollar he made working as a carpenter.
CAPPELLUZO: Lettuce, carrots, parsnips, in the back is 12 tomato plants.
ZARRELLA: His backyard is a vegetable garden. It saves money on groceries. His wife Judith hangs their laundry to dry. Less electricity used, and the clothes last longer. The Cappelluzos share their two bedroom/one bath house with five kids who they home school. At meal time everyone helps out.
But as resourceful as Joseph is, there was no getting around it when his carpentry work dried up.
CAPPELLUZO: I was fearful. I mean, I would wake up in the middle of the night with pains in my stomach, like, am I going to have work today?
ZARRELLA: So on his 46th birthday, Cappelluzo did the unmanageable. He took his family down to this highway on-ramp and held up a sign. Joseph said he wasn't looking for a handout.
CAPPELLUZO: Every time somebody offered me money, I was like, no, I just -- if you have a need for a carpenter, here's my information, please consider me.
ZARRELLA: The Miami Herald did a story. Work poured in from readers. So did offers for Thanksgiving dinners and Christmas presents for his kids. Some jobs Joseph wasn't able to do or in places where he isn't licensed to work. So he found carpenters like him hurting for work.
Danny Walsh was one.
DANNY WALSH, CARPENTER: We got some leads from Joseph Cappelluzo.
ZARRELLA: Every little bit helps.
WALSH: If we dig down and help each other through this, we'll all make it. That has really been the American way.
ZARRELLA: Joseph has more work now, enough to keep him going for a while. But he said it has never been just about him.
CAPPELLUZO: You have your neighbors who is on both sides of you and across the street. And if they are not doing good then you're not doing good, even if you're loaded. I mean, that's just the way I feel.
ZARRELLA: Cappelluzo is far from loaded, but he's hammering out a better life a day at a time.
(on camera): Cappelluzo says business isn't what it once was in South Florida, but is he booked up now until the end of February. And that means his family is going to have a much better holiday than they ever thought they would.
John Zarrella, CNN, Hollywood, Florida.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
COSTELLO: That's really nice. Airport delays and cancellations starting already. Find out what you need to know before leaving for the airport.
ROBERTS: War of the windows.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) SIMON DOONAN, CREATIVE DIRECTOR, BARNEYS NEW YORK: Good economy, bad economy. We have to create desire in the consumer.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ROBERTS: Trying to turn tourists into shoppers. How far famous department stores will go to entice gawkers to come inside and buy. You're watching the most news in the morning.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP FROM "A CHRISTMAS STORY")
JEAN SHEPHERD, NARRATOR: There it is. The Holy Grail of Christmas gifts, the Red Rider 200-Shot Range Model Air Rifle. And there he is, Red Rider himself, in his hand was the gnarled stock of this coolly deadly-looking piece of weaponry as ever I had laid eyes on.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ROBERTS: And what kid didn't want one of those, huh? A classic scene from "A Christmas Story." And with the clock running out now, retailers hoping for a Santa Claus rally. They're keeping their doors open later than ever to draw in last minute gift buyers. Some stores never closed last night. Others are extending their hours tonight. Experts predict that this is going to be the weakest holiday shopping season since at least 1969.
If you're looking at the world famous window displays in New York City, you may be hard-pressed to find any signs of a recession. Those elaborate and lavish winter wonderlands are the battleground in the war over your money.
And who better to take a look at all that than CNN's Alina Cho.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
ALINA CHO, CNN CORRESPONDENT: John and Carol, if you've ever been to New York around the holidays, surely you've seen some of the elaborate window displays. Department stores love to show them off. But did you know that holiday windows are also important to business? How much? You may be surprised.
(voice-over): 'Tis the season to shop until you drop. Or maybe not. These tough economic times are making it tough on retailers. So department stores are doing everything they can to attract shoppers. The way to get them inside, spectacular holiday window displays outside.
DOONAN: Good economy, bad economy, the mandate is the same. We have to create desire in the consumer.
CHO: Department stores like Bergdorf Goodman and Barneys are known for their holiday windows. Tourists stand in line to see them. With Macy's, it's a tradition that dates back more than 130 years. ORLANDO VERAS, SPOKESMAN, MACY'S: The windows do draw a lot of attention. They bring up a lot of customers. It's one of the key elements of getting customers in the door.
CHO: It doesn't come easy. Store designers begin working on the displays a year in advance, keeping them shrouded in secrecy until the big unveiling.
DAVID HOEY, VISUAL PRESENTATION, BERGDORF GOODMAN: We're trying to entertain and inspire and if we're doing that, then we're doing our job.
STEPHANIE ROSENBLOOM, BUSINESS REPORTER, NEW YORK TIMES: And this has been one of the most difficult holiday shopping seasons in decades. When the November sales came out and the International Council of Shopping Centers said it was one of the weakest sales in 35 years, you know, for November.
CHO: And if projections hold true, December won't be much better. Why holiday windows are so important for business. Why the mantra in this case is spare no expense.
JIM GOLD, PRES. & CEO, BERGDORF GOODMAN: For now, the windows are considered sort of sacred.
CHO: And while some tourists are happy to gawk and move on, others say a well-designed holiday window can make all the difference.
DANIELLE HAIR, HOLIDAY SHOPPER: It gets us here close to the store and lured in from wherever we might be coming from. So it probably increases the odds of getting more business.
CHO (on camera): According to Macy's, 7,000 people per hour come to the New York flagship to see their holiday windows. They say even if a fraction of those people come inside and buy something, then the windows are well worth the time and expense -- John and Carol.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
ROBERTS: Protecting a president while he plays.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: They have snipers posted and people with binoculars.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ROBERTS: Paparazzi over the line?
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
HARVEY LEVIN, MANAGING EDITOR, TMZ.COM: He's a sexy president. I think that's the game here.
(END VIDEO CLIP) ROBERTS: Plus, Lance Armstrong's biggest upset yet. Doctors said chemotherapy left him unable to have children the old-fashioned way. Talk about a comeback. You're watching the most news in the morning.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
COSTELLO: Welcome back to the most news in the morning. A day later people are still talking about those pictures of a shirtless Barack Obama. But they are raising questions about the paparazzi with such a young and popular president-elect and the celebrity-obsessed culture, what are the rules regarding the first family? Joining me live, White House correspondent for Talk News Radio Victoria Jones.
Good morning.
VICTORIA JONES, : Good morning.
COSTELLO: So, you know, I know you're from Britain and you've watched the paparazzi chase down the royal family. So you kind of are used to this, but we're really not.
VICTORIA JONES, FMR. U.K. POLITICAL/ENTERTAINMENT RADIO CORRESPONDENT : I know. It's kind of different but we're going to get used to it because we're looking at a very attractive first family and, frankly, Barack Obama has a 1,000-watt smile. He's a George Clooney, and he has got a hot body, and we're just going to have to get used to it.
COSTELLO: You did the hot body thing. For some reason I just want to think of my president as dignified and I don't really want to think about his hot body.
JONES: We're going to have to, because we've already seen the pictures. And now where we see him in the suit, we are going to have to think of him as unclothed. It has been done now for us by the paparazzi. We can't put it back in the box.
COSTELLO: This is so wrong. You know, I think what most upset people about the picture-taking was that they took pictures of the children in their bathing suit and they're published online and they're in some newspapers and they're on Web sites like tmz.com.
You don't think that the children will be off limits, do you? You think that other photographers, maybe even news photographers will take pictures of the kids?
JONES: I think that the pool photographers are going to keep them off limits. I think there's an agreement and they're going to stay off-limits. These kids are going to be able to go to Sidwell Friends School and it's going to be OK. But I think the paparazzi are going to take pictures of them, and I think as they get older, as they start to get to kind of dating age, it's going to be open season on them.
And I think that the Obamas kind of opened it up when they did the interview with the girls. That's the interview that Barack Obama later said that he regretted. He opened the door. And I think that was a huge mistake.
COSTELLO: Yes, but he later came out and he said, you know, it was a huge mistake, please, my children are off limits, I don't know what I was thinking, it was their birthday, we were happy, we just like fell into the moment. Why wouldn't the paparazzi like respect the Obamas' wishes when it comes to their children?
JONES: Because the paparazzi have absolutely no grace, no respect for anybody, and no conscience because that's what they do. They're paparazzi. If they had any respect and any conscience, they would be working in the press pool. They would be doing some kind of respectful job. That paparazzi that follows Britney Spears around, this is the Britney Spears generation.
COSTELLO: For some reason, I just can't imagine packs of paparazzi in Washington, D.C. following the first family around. It's just so not D.C.
JONES: It's very strange. You know, I think Michelle Obama was very smart. I noticed in the pictures of her, she covered herself up with a towel. She was very smart.
COSTELLO: You are not kidding. You know, I was actually thinking that Michelle Obama will be the one that the paparazzi takes the most pictures of, you know, detailing, you know, her every outfit. And you're right, she was smart to cover herself up, because every aspect of her body would probably be examined and observed and written about.
JONES: And it's totally not fair. And she's a very good-looking woman. And she has made great clothes choices, if we can get very detailed for a minute. She has made wonderful clothes choices with one complete disaster, which was the dress that she wore the night that they won the election, which was the most dreadful faux pas dress that I've seen in a very long time.
Apart from that, she has made the most wonderful clothes choices of years and years and years.
COSTELLO: That's true. I think it was the shrug she put over the dress that kind of like I guess blew the lines of the dress. But, yes, most people did not like that dress. Victoria...
(CROSSTALK)
JONES: It was a very weird choice.
COSTELLO: Yes. Victoria Jones, thank you for joining us this morning. It was fun.
JONES: Thank you.
ROBERTS: The dress, who cares?
COSTELLO: Oh, come on, John, you noticed it. You did, didn't you?
ROBERTS: I think she looks great in everything. Sorry.
COSTELLO: That's very diplomatic of you.
