Return to Transcripts main page
American Morning
Snow & Freezing Rain Sweeps Over U.S.; Maryland Residents Rescued From Raging Water Detail Their Experience; Sell Off of Toyota Stocks
Aired December 24, 2008 - 07:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
JOHN ROBERTS, CNN ANCHOR: Here are this morning's top stories as we cross the top of the hour.
Christmas travel rush underway right now and if you can't defy physics like Chris Kringle and his avian caribou, you may be in trouble. Airlines canceled more than 500 flights at O'Hare International airport last night because of the snowstorm moving through Chicago. It is open this morning, but rain in the northeast, a wintry mix in the Midwest and snow on top of snow in the Pacific Northwest all expected to create some travel nightmares today.
A bombshell in the report from the Obama camp on contacts with the Illinois Governor Rod Blagojevich. The long-awaited account from Obama's side appears to clear him of any wrongdoing. But we did find out that he met with Federal prosecutors. More on that in a moment in the live report here on the most news in the morning.
And congratulations going out to Lance Armstrong and his girlfriend Anna Hansen today because they are expecting a baby. The cycling legend is a survivor of testicular cancer. He has three children, of course, with his ex-wife Kristin who were conceived by in vitro fertilization. This one, despite the fact that he had all that surgery, chemotherapy and radiation, conceived the natural way, defy the odds there. The baby due out in June.
Back to our top story, old man winter not taking a break this Christmas eve. More wicked winter weather pushing across the Midwest to the east coast, leaving thousands of holiday passengers stranded. Live looks at Boston, Washington and here in New York City all that winter weather across the country could make travel in and out of those major hub cities very difficult today.
But it isn't just in the air that you're going to find travel chaos. Bad weather from Seattle to Chicago forcing Amtrak to cancel several trains out of its Chicago hub and from Portland all the way up to Vancouver, British Columbia.
In a spot of good news though, after days of sleeping in a Greyhound bus terminal and eating out of vending machines, everybody's idea of a fabulous Christmas dinner, passengers in Sacramento, California finally cleared to load up and head north to Oregon and Washington state.
And Bonnie Schneider probably got the most important job on this Christmas eve. She's tracking all of the ice and the snow from coast to coast, looking at the travel delays from the CNN weather center in Atlanta. She joins us this morning.
Good morning Bonnie.
BONNIE SCHNEIDER, AMS METEOROLOGIST: Good morning, John.
We don't have travel delays right now in terms of real-time data. We want to let you know what to expect as we go through this busy Christmas eve. Expect delays in all the New York City metropolitan area airports, also into Boston, Washington, Philadelphia, Chicago due to snow. The snow will start coming in very shortly there. Detroit, Minneapolis, Cleveland and also Cincinnati, St. Louis, Portland and Seattle. The snow is really going to be a big weather maker in many locations.
But we're also getting reports of freezing rain in and around Newark, New Jersey and in New York City where the rain is changing over to snow. Later on we'll be watching for that. You can see temperatures are very varying. So some places when you get on the roads may start off as just rain. You get that colder air in, the mid levels of the atmosphere and it comes down and freezes on contact. So watch out for that.
Same thing is going to happen here in the Midwest. We'll be looking at these winter weather advisories straight from Wisconsin all the way down to Kansas. Rain and sleet changing over to snow as we get colder air wrapping in behind it. The big picture now shows a wintry mess across the eastern half of the country back out to the Midwest and in the Pacific Northwest as well. So we're watching for that.
We're also watching for more activity in the sky, John, over 1,000 planes in the air right now. It's kind of calm out west where it's still early in the morning, but this is just the beginning.
ROBERTS: Thousands of planes and one red sleigh pulled by some tiny reindeer. We're going to talk with the folks at Norad later on this morning Bonnie. They are tracking Santa Claus today and we'll let the kids at home know how they can find out where Santa is heading. Thanks, we'll check back with you soon.
CAROL COSTELLO, CNN ANCHOR: You saw the incredible rescues live right here yesterday morning. Commuters in a Maryland suburb outside of Washington suddenly trapped in their cars swamped by a massive water main break. Today we're hearing one woman's frantic 911 call.
(BEGIN AUDIO CLIP)
911 OPERATOR: How many people are in your car?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Just me.
911 OPERATOR: Just you. OK.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Yes.
911 OPERATOR: You can't get out of your vehicle?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: No, I can't. The water (INAUDIBLE)
911 OPERATOR: How high is the water in your car, ma'am?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: It's all over my car. Please.
911 OPERATOR: Ma'am, ma'am. Listen to me. We have help on the way. I need you to try and stay calm. Where is the water in your vehicle? How high up is it in your car?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: It's all the way. It's all the way.
911 OPERATOR: I understand you're saying all the way. Can you give me a reference? It is up to your knees? Is it up to your waist?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I can't see. I just need help, please.
(END AUDIO CLIP)
COSTELLO: She made it out safely. They rescued her. But boy that was absolutely terrifying. All nine people were rescued, including one child. Five were treated for minor injuries. At one point the water was flowing at 150,000 gallons per minute and in about 20 minutes here on AMERICAN MORNING, you will hear from two of the people who were rescued. They will join us live.
Also new this morning rescue teams stunned after they found a Canadian woman missing for four days in freezing temperatures, buried under 23 inches of snow. They found her alive. Police say 55- year-old Donna Malner (ph) disappeared in a blizzard when her SUV got stuck in the snow. A search dog found her a few hundred yards away from her truck wearing little more than a winter jacket and temperatures dipped as low as two degrees while she was out there, truly amazing.
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 of a checkpoint in central Mexico. The 23-year-old model, Laura Zuniga and the seven men now face arms charges. Zuniga reportedly told police she was traveling with the men to go shopping.
ROBERTS: Former Utah state trooper the suspect in a deadly rush hour shooting rampage in the Dallas, Texas area. He's on life support this morning. Police say 37-year old Brian Smith shot himself yesterday after the standoff. The shootings left two drivers dead.
President Bush granting 19 more pardons and commuting a convicted meth dealer's life sentence. He'll be released in February after a dozen years in prison. Dick Cheney's former chief of staff Louis "Scooter" Libby not on the list of pardons. Before he leaves office though, the president still could grant Libby a full pardon for his perjury conviction in the Valerie Plame case, but Libby has not asked for one.
A long awaited Obama report is out. The president-elect's staff answering questions about contacts that it had with Illinois Governor Rod Blagojevich and his aides. Team Obama's version of events has him in the clear. But it did drop one bombshell that the future president did meet with Federal prosecutors who were trying to get the governor on corruption charges. CNN's Kate Bolduan joins us live from Washington this morning.
And Kate, there are probably some skeptics out there who are saying that the Obama transition team investigated itself and found nothing wrong.
KATE BOLDUAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Exactly and that's one thing that many people, well some people are asking this morning how much did we learn today? You could call it the Obama transition report on the Obama transition team. Obama's choice for White House counsel Greg Craig wrote this internal report which shows as expected that there was no wrongdoing on the part of the President-Elect Obama or his aides in their contact with the embattled Illinois governor Rod Blagojevich.
Report states there is no quote, "indication of inappropriate discussions with the governor or anyone from his office about a deal or a quid pro quo arrangement in which he would receive a personal benefit in return for any specific appointment to fill the vacancy. That vacancy of course is Obama's vacant Senate seat."
The report concludes Obama had no contact with the governor or his staff.
His incoming chief of staff, however, Rahm Emanuel had one or two phone calls with the governor and several conversations with the governor's aide about the vacant Senate seat but they maintain as they have all along that that contact was not unusual and there was no deal making going on.
And John, the final word on this will, of course, come from the U.S. attorney handling the case. This does attempt to answer some of the questions people have been asking since this scandal broke earlier in the month like who actually spoke to the governor and what was discussed from the Obama team.
ROBERTS: Kate Bolduan for us this morning from Washington.
Kate, thanks so much for that.
A new poll says the Illinois governor is the naughtiest politician of 2008. That's really saying something this year. Check out the competition that he beat. Voters had three political figures from which to chose. More than half picked Rod Blagojevich. Twenty three percent chose former New York governor and client number nine Eliot Spitzer. Nineteen percent picked John Edwards who admitted that he cheated on his cancer-stricken wife.
COSTELLO: And recession, what recession? One place where there seems to be no shortage of cash would be Yankee stadium. According to an impressive list of free agent picks up, Mark Teixeira is the newest player who will be wearing pinstripes, all over the tabloids this morning. The first baseman's contract with the Yankees reportedly worth $180 million. That's over eight years. And on top of the $161 million deal for CC Sabathia and the $82.5 million deal for A.J. Burnett, those were pitchers. They were signed Thursday. The grand total for all of these players, $423.5 million on three players.
ROBERTS: Unbelievable. The "New York Daily News" says it all, Merry (INAUDIBLE)
COSTELLO: Can you imagine?
ROBERTS: ...million dollars a year.
COSTELLO: Wouldn't it be nice (INAUDIBLE) add that on it's insane. But wouldn't it be nice if the Yankee organization would pass the savings down to the people who go see the games?
ROBERTS: They've got all these star players to pay for. They just built a new stadium.
COSTELLO: You know how much -- I'm looking at how much tickets cost. They have luxury suites at the new stadium. They are going for as much as $850,000 each.
ROBERTS: I drove by the new stadium the other day. It really is lovely.
COSTELLO: I bet it is, field level seats doubled in price, used to be $350 a game. Now it's $850 for one seat at field level to watch the game.
ROBERTS: I also noticed the name Turner was on the front of that stadium, so we'll have to do some investigation. It's 11 minutes after the hour now.
COSTELLO: Wall Street's other risky business.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Some people may drink to cope with stress, others may use drugs. These people are using sex.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COSTELLO: The market is down, but for some, business is booming. A surge in sex addicted bankers.
You're watching the Most News in the Morning.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
ROBERTS: Can you spot the elf in there?
COSTELLO: I did.
ROBERTS: (INAUDIBLE) elf in there. It's 14, almost 15 minutes after the hour.
I got my Christmas disappointment when you pointed out that the Turner on the front of Yankee stadium was not Turner Broadcasting.
COSTELLO: There will be no free Yankee tickets for you John.
ROBERTS: It's Turner Construction. Gerri's here this morning. She's been working the blog, getting all kinds of people asking questions about credit cards.
GERRI WILLIS, CNN PERSONAL FINANCE EDITOR: People are worried about debt. People are really worried about debt.
Our first question from Kay. She asks, "What do you do when you're way over your head in credit card debt? Our credit is good, but I don't want to do anything to jeopardize it. Can I contact the credit card issuer to make arrangements?"
The answer Kay, is yes, you can contact your credit card issuer. Ask for a lower rate of interest. Ask that you can pay less each month. Your credit card issuer may well be willing to do. All if that doesn't work, go to cardtrack.com. Find a new credit card. Roll over the debt to a low interest rate credit card, zero percent offers, they're not as available as they used to be but they are still out there.
I just want to share some numbers here, Kay. You are not alone. Americans one in three purchases are made with plastic. Can you believe that? Even today, one in three purchases are made with plastic and, of course, one in six families pay only the minimum on their credit cards. So you don't want to do that.
Next question comes from Snapper who says, "I think people should make small cuts in their spending, but I think telling people to cut their gym memberships is not a wise choice. How about quitting smoking or eating at home more often?"
I thought that was a great response and I ran some numbers on what people spend on cigarettes. It's ridiculous.
ROBERTS: It depends on where you live too. If you're in Kentucky, you don't spend a lot, but if you're in New York City you sure do.
COSTELLO: You spend $3,000 if you have a pack a day habit right here in New York City where cigarettes are about $8 a pack.
ROBERTS: Can you imagine spending $3,000 a year to slowly kill yourself?
WILLIS: It makes no sense and it's so sad. And those high taxes hopefully on those cigarettes are making fewer people smoke. We can only hope.
ROBERTS: There are some, yes, who have actually given it up because of that. COSTELLO: Far fewer people smoke than they did 25 years ago. So it is working.
ROBERTS: If you pay down your credit card balance at the end of every month, you don't carry a balance, it's OK to buy a lot of things on credit and get the points?
WILLIS: It doesn't matter, absolutely. I'm not one of those people who says don't use a credit card. I think they are really handy. They're very convenient. They have protections if you have problems with what you buy. It's a good idea. But you've got to manage it responsibly.
COSTELLO: That's how they trap you. You can't rent a car without a credit card.
WILLIS: That's right.
COSTELLO: You can't buy a plane ticket without a credit card.
WILLIS: You're nobody in this country unless you have a credit history.
COSTELLO: There's something wrong with that.
WILLIS: We live in an age where people are trapped in many different ways. This is just one of them. You have to be smart enough to manage it the right way.
ROBERTS: As you can see, this is a real topic of discussion. Keep your questions coming in. Gerri's going to be online all morning on the blog. Ask her your financial questions if you got anything you need to know. Go to cnn.com/am, highly skilled at this, very good answers.
WILLIS: Thank you.
COSTELLO: To end 2008, NASA is giving us its own year in review with some stunning pictures from its earth observatory. An image from Mars shows the (INAUDIBLE) ice shelf in Antarctica crumble into the sea, a possible indication of global warming. Another from April shows Tokyo at night, doesn't it look like an electrical grid? That's pretty cool. From May, we see irrigated fields of Sudan. That's really cool. Looks like a puzzle.
In July, an aerial of the first hurricane of the '08 season, that would be hurricane Bertha. No hurricane has formed so far east since at least 1940. That's according to NASA.
ROBERTS: Those massive bonuses may be gone from Wall Street but some things never change. Why sex still sells in a recession.
COSTELLO: We're not talking about free sex either. Plus they were just driving in their car when the road turned into a raging river. They were rescued from yesterday's massive water main break in Maryland and they're joining us live. It's 18 minutes past the hour. (COMMERCIAL BREAK)
COSTELLO: I'm sure these pictures are waking you up during this holiday season. Can you believe that? The financial meltdown is apparently triggering a boom in some risky business. You know what I'm talking about., the kind that can kill a family a lot quicker than an empty bank account can.
Here's CNN's Randi Kaye.
RANDI KAYE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning John and Carol.
These are tough times and with Wall Street crumbling, bankers are behaving badly.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
JONATHAN ALPERT, PSYCHOTHERAPIST: I'm seeing a lot of people presenting for sex addiction.
KAYE: Manhattan therapist Jon Alpert says more and more of them are paying for sex.
ALPERT: Some people may drink to cope with stress. Others may use drugs. These people are using sex as a way to distract themselves or numb up some of the feelings of anxiety.
KAYE: Alpert says his patients' sexual encounters have more than doubled since the spring. High end call girls, Asian massage parlors, strip clubs. He's heard it all.
ALPERT: I've had one patient tell me that he was spending at least $2,000 a week on this and for someone who lost a job, that can be significant amount of cash that digs into perhaps their mortgage payment or to pay for their child's schooling.
KAYE: Alpert says his patients aren't thinking about that. Wall Streeters are thrill seekers.
ALPERT: A lot of what they get from using the adult service mirrors that of what they experienced on Wall Street, that rush, that thrill, that power, that control. The same is true with the use of prostitute. They can have their way. They are the center of the world for that hour. Pay enough money and the prostitute will treat you like loyalty.
KAYE: So instead of managing money, they are managing women.
ALPERT: Exactly.
KAYE: Therapist Jodi Conway says her patients are also using sex to fill a void. A few were even caught surfing pornography.
JODI CONWAY, PSYCHOTHERAPIST: When they have more a lot more time on their hands, where they may be looking for jobs by way of the computer, they can detour on to other sites where they have been before looking at pornography.
KAYE: Alpert says this looks all too familiar. Remember New York Governor Eliot Spitzer got caught paying for a prostitute and actor David Duchovny voluntarily entered treatment for sexual addiction last summer. But it's not just men. Alpert says Wall Street women are seeking out sex too.
ALPERT: They pick up people at bars and clubs. They are not paying for the service but they're sexualizing some of their feelings. So they may have indiscriminate sex.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
KAYE: Making this addiction even easier the fact that Asian massage parlors are conveniently located close to Wall Street. They've been part of the culture there for decades, but these bankers are really looking for someone to talk to more than anything therapists say. Their wives don't want to hear they lost all their money so they turn to the call girls instead -- John, Carol.
ROBERTS: Randi Kaye for us this morning.
Randi, thanks so much.
The road to work turns into a raging river. Commuters hit by a wall of water in freezing weather. You'll hear live from two people who were rescued from the raging rapids. It's 25 minutes after the hour.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
(BEGIN AUDIO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I can't see. I need help.
911 OPERATOR: Ma'am, we're on our way. We'll be there very shortly. I have units responding to you now.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: OK. I can't see anything. Please.
(END AUDIO CLIP)
ROBERTS: Terrified and trapped. That was one of the 911 calls from yesterday after a massive water main break blocked commuters inside their cars just north of Washington, D./C. Nine people were rescued, some of them by helicopter and boat. Herbert Derienzo and his fiancee Maria Delgado were among those plucked from the raging waters. They join us live from Washington this morning.
Folks, it's good to see you. Herbert, describe for me what happened yesterday. I understand that you were taking Maria to work, a normal day traveling on River Road. I've driven that road many, many times.
What happened? HERBERT DERIENZO, RESCUED FROM WATER MAIN BREAK: Right. It's a very busy road. I think it's a state road. And we just were one of those days that we drive together to work and we were not expecting what would happen after that and in a few seconds, it turned into a nightmare.
ROBERTS: So tell me, what did you start to see and what did it suddenly develop into?
DERIENZO: Well actually, what Maria told me that she saw some leaves or like debris, like somebody was blowing leaves and then suddenly we saw mud and raging water coming down and the car stopped. All the cars that were on River Road stopped and then the mud and the rocks and the debris started to make our car skid sideways.
ROBERTS: So the car was actually moving from the water?
DERIENZO: All the cars were. All the cars were moving. I guess with that force of the water was causing that.
ROBERTS: Oh, my goodness.
DERIENZO: So I told Maria that I was --
ROBERTS: Go ahead.
DERIENZO: Say that?
ROBERTS: Go ahead.
DERIENZO: I was telling Maria that I will try to -- the car was going sideways and I didn't want the rocks and the force of the water to turn the car sideways. So I tried to keep the car facing the water because the engine is in the front.
ROBERTS: Oh my goodness and what was going through your mind at that time?
DERIENZO: To keep the car straight and to keep the windows up so the water wouldn't come in because it was coming through the hood and the windshield.
ROBERTS: Maria, were you scared?
MARIA DELGADO, RESCUED FROM RAGING WATER: Yes. Yes, of course.
DERIENZO: I think we both were scared, yes.
ROBERTS: So how did you get out of that situation? How did you get out of the situation? We saw helicopters flying overhead dropping baskets down to pull people out. There were rescuers in boats. How did you get out of your car?
DERIENZO: We were looking through the rear view mirror that down the hill there's a fire station, I think, Cabin John fire station and we saw the trucks very fast trying to get into the road and we saw a big truck engine trying to slowly come up the hill and they had problem also trying to, you know, sliding through the mud and debris.
ROBERTS: Right. So were you rescued by firefighters then?
DERIENZO: We were rescued -- we were rescued -- we were the last people rescued by foot, I should say, because truck engine -- the fire truck engine, he stopped about three cars behind us.
ROBERTS: Yes, we saw that.
DERIENZO: So they took us through, a fireman came from the back of the car, opened the back door, and we crawled through the seats, and he gave us very sharp precise instructions, very fast, how to get out of there. And walk to the fire truck.
ROBERTS: We should mention too that you know your car is a wreck now because of all the water. I understand you had Christmas presents in the back of it as well. So I mean terrible hardship here. The great thing is you got away with your lives and you know that in and of itself is a bit of a miracle.
DERIENZO: That's the first thing. And everybody will get IOU notes. That's it.
ROBERTS: OK. Well, maybe some folks out there will hear what happened to you and may offer to help out. Herbert Derienzo, Maria Delgado, thanks for being with us this morning. We're so happy that everything worked out for you today. Because that could have gone horribly wrong. Good to see you folks. Merry Christmas.
DERIENZO: Thank you, John.
DELGADO: Thank you.
DERIENZO: Merry Christmas to you, too.
COSTELLO: It's 31 minutes past the hour. Here are this morning's top stories.
A thick fog across the northeast, crippling snow and ice from the northwest to the plain states, on the busiest travel day of the year. There are delays and cancellations at airports and train stations across the country. Icy roads have already been blamed for a dozen deaths from Kentucky to Kansas.
Bad economic news from the United States. A sell off of Toyota stocks and Toyota's main index down 2.4 percent this morning. Hong Kong's Hang Seng also lost 2.75 percent. Europe's main markets mixed during shortened Christmas eve season.
And brand new polling numbers showing how Americans think Barack Obama is handling his presidential transition. And overwhelmingly 82 percent approve of the job that the president-elect is doing with just 15 percent saying they disapprove.
Another scary warning is out about the danger of a biological attack. A recent string of letters with white powder sent to state offices and embassies were a hoax but they are a reminder of how easy it could be to start an outbreak that we can't stop.
Here's Homeland Security correspondent Jeanne Meserve with today's "Memo to the President."
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
JEANNE MESERVE, CNN HOMELAND SECURITY CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Mr. President, anthrax, small pox, Ebola, a report being issued this week says the risk of an attack with a weapon like this is great and growing.
SEN. BOB GRAHAM, CHAIRMAN, WMD COMMISSION: We assess that it's more likely that the United States and the world will be attacked with a biological weapon than a nuclear weapon.
MESERVE: Almost 15,000 scientists in the U.S. work with dangerous pathogens to develop vaccine and other counter measures. There is security.
BILL BENTLEY, BIOENGINEERING PROGRAM, UNIV. OF MARYLAND: We need to continually push the knowledge front but also recognize that we have a duty to society to make sure that we deal with the regulatory agencies.
MESERVE: But many experts are sounding an alarm. In 1918, a virulent strain of influenza killed an estimated 20 to 40 million people worldwide. That virus has been re-created from scratch in a laboratory. So is the polio virus. The capability and technology to do this science is spreading across the globe to places like Indonesia, Pakistan and Iran. Increasing the odds that a deadly virus or bacteria could fall into the wrong hands and be used as a weapon. It already happened here with anthrax.
BRIAN FINDLAY, SIMPSON CENTER: We cannot, we cannot in this world preclude a biological attack. It's simply impossible.
MESERVE: But the congressionally mandated commission on the prevention of weapons of mass destruction in a report this week says there are steps that could make a biological attack less likely. Tighter security at U.S. labs handling dangerous pathogens, a strengthening of international treaties, enhanced disease surveillance to detect an attack and better forensics to track where it came from.
GRAHAM: Leadership of this country and the world will have to decide how much of a priority that they place on avoiding the worse weapons in the world getting in the hands of the worse people in the world.
MESERVE (on camera): In preparing its report the commission had intended to visit Pakistan but as members waited to board a plane they got word that the Marriott Hotel where they planned to stay had been bombed reinforcing for them the urgency of stemming all terrorist threats.
Jeanne Meserve, CNN, Washington.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
COSTELLO: And tomorrow's memo, health care. An estimated 45 million Americans are about to start another year without health insurance. Many can't pay for it. Can the government afford to fix the system? Dr. Sanjay Gupta takes a look at the challenges facing the next president.
And we want to hear from you too. Send us your "Memo to the President." Go to cnn.com/am and click on the i-report link. Give the president-elect a piece of your mind.
ROBERTS: A Christmas present for the retired New York City police office who want to get Osama vanity plates. He had settled with the DMV and will have his plate and registration by Christmas day. The Long Island man ordered the license plate last year over frustration that the man behind the attacks behind 9/11 is still on the loose. The DMV quickly took them back, citing its policy against obscene or objectionable plates, later relented them so there will soon be a man driving around with license plates saying Get Osama.
Lance Armstrong's ultimate upset. Is there anything this guy can't do. Doctors said his chemotherapy prevented it but the champion cyclist proved them all wrong. An upcoming Armstrong baby the old- fashioned way.
ROBERTS: Renting out her womb.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I've had the power to take a couple, a loving couple and transform them from just a couple to a family.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ROBERTS: Women who help other women become moms for a hefty price. Kiran Chetry is on the "Baby Quest."
You're watching the Most News in the Morning.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
ROBERTS: 20 minutes now to the top of the hour. For many people having a little one in the house is one of their fondest dreams. But sometimes having a child in the good old-fashioned way is just not possible. So all this week we're looking at the ways that people try to have a child. We're calling it "Baby Quest."
COSTELLO: And today we are looking at a family that became complete with the help of a surrogate mom.
Kiran Chetry has their story.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
KIRAN CHETRY, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Writer Alex Kuczynski has a life so charmed she sometimes resemble the well-heeled subjects of her pieces, social status, beauty and the wealth to buy what's missing. Now she has something even money can't buy.
What was it like to be living that and being unable to have the one thing that you wanted?
ALEX KUCZYNSKI, WRITER: I think writing for the "New York Times" or living in New York City or, you know, going skiing in the winter doesn't mean that you're inured from tragedy in your life.
CHETRY: After 15 attempts to have a baby, she Kuczynski holds in her arms her own biological child carried by a surrogate at a cost of $25,000.
KUCZYNSKI: This is a miraculous. And it's about love. And it's about human generosity.
CHETRY: That surrogate is Cathy Hilling, a Pennsylvania school teacher who has three children of her own. Then carried two for other women. She also had 17 foster children over the years.
CATHY HILLING, SURROGATE MOTHER: It's the most incredible feeling to know that I've had the power to take a couple, a loving couple and transform them from just a couple to a family.
CHETRY: No hard figures are kept on U.S. surrogate births. Some states ban the practice or make surrogates use donated eggs so they are not biologically connected to the child.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: When you come to us you have a 99 percent chance of having a baby and 100 percent of keeping it.
CHETRY: Alex Kuczynski is not just any wannabe mom. She wrote a prominent magazine article about how she felt enjoying the spoils of her own life while a woman of lesser means carried did the labor of bearing her child.
KUCZYNSKI: When Cathy was pregnant with our baby, I did go skiing and whitewater rafting and I went to the Super bowl. And I did a lot of things that actually, frankly for the six years prior to that I hadn't been able to do. You know, I spent a good part of a decade in doctor's offices.
CHETRY: Explain, if you will, because you talked about people being able to criticize with what they are unfamiliar with. For people who charge, it must be easier to be able to pay somebody to have your baby.
KUCZYNSKI: I'd rather have been pregnant 10 times than gone through 11 IVF cycles and four miscarriages any day. I was very disappointed not to be able to be pregnant to term. And to carry my son.
CHETRY: Cathy received just $18,000 while another $7,000 went to medical costs.
HILLING: It's much more than a financial transaction. It's a life experience. CHETRY: Kiran Chetry, CNN, New York.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
ROBERTS: You know, it's interesting. I have a very good friend who is a very prominent IVF specialist. And he talks about this idea of surrogacy, gestational carriers and like Cathy, a lot of women who get involved have families of their own and they really just want to help other people to have a family of their own. So, she's not the only one. There are many women out there.
COSTELLO: And there has to be more interesting psychology there. Because it's just hard to be pregnant. I mean it's not a fun thing. But some of these women are pregnant 10, 11 times.
ROBERTS: For people like Cathy though and not speaking of her situation but others that I've heard of, that the financial aspect of it makes a very big difference in their lives. It has a dramatic effect on their lives. And the fact that they can help people out in the process too, it's just good people who want to help others.
COSTELLO: God bless them because you know otherwise a lot of other people wouldn't have children. Man, can you imagine being pregnant that many times, even for the money. Because you know it endangers your health as well when you're pregnant and giving birth. That's no easy task either.
ROBERTS: It does. It looks like she handles it quite well though which is interesting to see.
COSTELLO: Yes. Interesting to see.
Coming up tomorrow on our "Baby Quest" series, rolling back the biological clock. Herbal remedies, acupuncture, in vitro fertilization are some of the treatments some women try to have a baby beyond the age of 40. Alina Cho shows us their chances of success. That's tomorrow, right here on AMERICAN MORNING.
ROBERTS: And Lance Armstrong proves everyone wrong again. The cancer survivor who won seven straight Tours De France was told he couldn't have children the old-fashioned way ever again. Oh, baby, how he beat the odds.
And to Caroline Kennedy. Pressure intensifies. A new push on the New York governor to make the call whether or not to give her the Senate seat. He doesn't seem to like people telling him what to do. It's 45 minutes after the hour.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
LANCE ARMSTRONG, CYCLIST: Hugely important for all of us, but also tobacco control and making sure that people either never smoke or stop smoking.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ROBERTS: Lance Armstrong, the man known for wearing the yellow jersey seven times and surviving testicular cancer is now pulling double duty. He is training for a return to racing in 2009 and now we discover he's getting ready to be a father again. CNN's senior medical correspondent Elizabeth Cohen is live in Atlanta for us this morning.
Elizabeth, Lance Armstrong's girlfriend is expecting. They didn't use artificial means. They didn't use IVF this time as he did with his previous children. Because he was told by his doctors that after testicular cancer treatment, chemo and radiation, he would never be able to father a child the old-fashioned way. But boom, apparently it happened. Pretty amazing.
ELIZABETH COHEN, CNN SENIOR MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT: That's right. It is amazing. I mean considering that he had testicular cancer and chemotherapy. He has one testicle and boom, he got somebody pregnant. The thinking in the past John, has been that testicular cancer and/or the chemo that follows is likely to render someone infertile but really there have been other studies that show that up to two-thirds of men who survive cancer can, indeed, father a child. Now maybe not right after the chemo, maybe it's two, three, four, five years out but definitely does happen.
For example, there's an actor Evan Handler who was in the show "Sex in the City," he had chemo for leukemia. He was told that your chances for fathering a child was one in a billion and he fathered a child as well. So it certainly does happen -- John.
ROBERTS: I know people at home are probably saying. OK, so you're able to get someone pregnant. We're not just talking about Lance but anybody who survives cancer and chemotherapy and radiation. But those very powerful drugs, very powerful radiation, does it have some sort of an effect on the development of sperm.
Could there possibly be some problems here in terms of birth defects or are those sperm perfectly fine after those heavy radiation and chemotherapy treatments?
COHEN: You know, John, another surprise here. This definitely would go against conventional wisdom. But men who have had chemo they are no more likely to father a child with birth defects than a man who hasn't had chemo. So would you think those kids would be more likely to have birth defects but actually they don't.
ROBERTS: Incredible stuff. Elizabeth Cohen for us this morning. Elizabeth, thanks so much.
COHEN: Thanks.
ROBERTS: It's 50 minutes after the hour, we'll be right back.
They lost their homes to foreclosure, but they don't need a bailout. They need a leash and love. Dumping pets over the holidays, what you can do. You're watching the Most News in the Morning.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
COSTELLO: You've got less than a day now to fill your stockings, do you realize that? In these final hours there are some jaw-dropping deals but many consumers are not spending, even the wealthiest. In fact, sales of luxury items were down more than 34 percent in the first week of December, so what happens when the rich stop spending?
Joining me now, Robert Frank, he's with "The Wall Street Journal." He's the wealth reporter there and the author of "Richistan."
The wealth reporter, I like that.
ROBERT FRANK, AUTHOR, "RICHISTAN": Somebody's got to do it, right?
COSTELLO: Why should we really care that the wealthy aren't spending their money on luxury items this year?
FRANK: Well the rich are a lot less rich right now. You know, what's happening in the markets, their compensation is down and you know, the whole economy is affecting the wealthy like the rest of us. So handbags, luxury watches, all these things that employ a lot of people and are a core part of our economy, the wealthy are not just buying right now.
COSTELLO: So how does it directly affect the middle-class and the lower class who say, well I don't care about the wealthy?
FRANK: Right. Well, a lot of it is jobs. You know, the top 20 percent of Americans, the wealthiest 20 percent are the majority of consumer spending in America. Plus, you consider all the service jobs, the nannies, the butlers, the hairstylists, the interior decorators, the wealthy for better or worse, employ a huge number of Americans, so when they stop spending it trickles down to everyone else.
COSTELLO: So, why exactly are the wealthy saving their money, because most of them frankly don't have to even in this bad economy?
FRANK: Well part of it is the money and part of it is the mood. They have a lot less money, their investments, their housing values, everything is down, even for the wealthy. But it's also the mood, you know, when there's high unemployment with the Madoff scandal, and all these things going around, they don't want to spend. I was talking to somebody in Palm Beach yesterday, who said you know my neighbor in the mansion next door is getting foreclosure notices, I don't want to show up at lunch with a new $5,000 handbag.
COSTELLO: I was in a high-end store yesterday in Manhattan and I must admit I went in and I looked at the prices and I was repulsed. And I was thinking to myself my gosh, maybe five years ago I would have actually spent that on a purse, but now, you know, I may be able to afford it but I'm repulsed by the thought of spending that much.
FRANK: Exactly.
COSTELLO: Is that going on?
FRANK: Exactly. The whole era of conspicuous consumption, the bling economy. Thrift is really the new style. I was talking to a billionaire's wife yesterday who was discovering coupons, can you imagine?
COSTELLO: No!
FRANK: I swear to god. So, you know, again, the whole -
COSTELLO: That repulses me, actually.
FRANK: The whole mood has really changed.
COSTELLO: So, what do you do to get the wealthy to start spending? Because you know that's going to be part of Barack Obama's big challenge, right?
FRANK: That's right. And the wealthy are really pulling it in right now. They are being very conservative with their spending, their investments, they want to hold on to what they've got. I think what you really need to do is get the average consumer spending again so the wealthy feel you know what it's OK I won't look so bad, buying that big house or that next fancy car.
So that, when you get confidence in the rest of the economy, when the market start coming back, when their own investments start gaining value again, that's when I think they are going to start spending more.
COSTELLO: When do you think that might happen, any guesses?
FRANK: Not in the next few months. We could see it to the middle or the tail end of next year. But this is going to be a very deep recession. And the wealthy, they are buying gold. They're putting in their mattress. They are buying CDs. They are really hunkering down for a long, deep recession.
COSTELLO: It's fascinating. Thank you so much for joining us this morning. We appreciate it.
FRANK: Thank you.
COSTELLO: John.
ROBERTS: We'll talk about fringe benefits. The secretary of state, Condoleezza Rice, has been showered with lavish gifts, diamonds and emeralds and rubies, but alas, Madam Secretary, you can't take it with you.
CNN's Zain Verjee is following that story for us.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
ZAIN VERJEE, CNN STATE DEPARTMENT CORRESPONDENT: The Bush administration policies are hated in much of the Middle East, but that didn't stop longtime Arab allies from adorning Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice with jewels, fit for a queen. Worth more than $225,000. 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-out did the Bushes.
The Saudi King gave First Lady Laura Bush a $85,000 diamond and sapphire 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 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)
ROBERTS: Zain Verjee reporting for us this morning.
It's now two minutes to the top of the hour.
