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American Morning
Christmas Eve Rampage Kills Eight; New Strategy for Afghan to Fight a Resurgent Taliban; Recession Stole Christmas; NFL Playoff Preview
Aired December 26, 2008 - 06:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JOE JOHNS, CNN ANCHOR (voice-over): Sticker shock at the mall.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Everybody is doing it.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I was going to be scrooge this year. I was not going to buy anything.
JOHNS: Why the red and green couldn't get stores into the black.
From your living room to the battlefield. The 21st century soldier. How army engineers are putting we through boot camp.
Does this remind you of your boss? It may not be that far off. New research on why your boss belongs in a jungle on this "American morning."
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CAROL COSTELLO, CNN ANCHOR: Monkey story.
JOHNS: So funny. Good morning. I'm Joe Johns in for John Roberts.
Carol Costello, glad to see you could make it.
COSTELLO: Yes.
JOHNS: Sorry.
COSTELLO: I hope none of you were watching on Christmas day because you actually do have a life that I (INAUDIBLE) was late to the set yesterday.
OK. Confession. I'm Carol Costello in for Kiran Chetry. Welcome to AMERICAN MORNING. So let's get right to it, shall we? Here are this morning's top stories.
Police in Covina, California say a pipe bomb exploded last night in a car rented by the man suspected in a Christmas Eve rampage. The car was parked outside the home where 45-year-old Bruce Pardo allegedly killed eight people. They say Pardo was dressed up as Santa Claus when he showed up at his ex-in-law's Christmas party and opened fire. After the shooting he allegedly set the house on fire and then he took his own life.
Eartha Kitt has died. The singer, dancer and actress became an international symbol of sensuality, famous for cat-like purr. She died after a long battle with colon cancer. Eartha Kitt was 81 years old.
It's been an all too white Christmas out west. Parts of Washington State are coping with the record snowfall that stopped holiday travelers dead on their tracks. The winter storm and blizzard warnings around in Colorado were up to 20 inches of snow as forecast with 80 mile per hour wind gusts.
Reynolds Wolf is tracking extreme weather at the CNN center in Atlanta. Wow!
REYNOLDS WOLF, AMS METEOROLOGIST: I know it's hard to believe, but we're talking about a major winter storm that could be affecting a good part of the country. Back into the Rockies and some locations, I know you mentioned up to 20 inches of snowfall.
Some places could see up to four feet of snow with some drifts possibly as high as eight, but that mostly above are at 9,000 feet.
Let's take a look at what's happening in parts of the Pacific Northwest. We got some video for you out of Spokane. The video has just been incredible. Heavy snowfall there from the (INAUDIBLE) back over to the cascades. All of that is driving off towards the east. So this scene may play out for millions of Americans in many spots.
Right now, the Great Lakes were we're seeing has some of that activity, a combination of rain, sleet and snow. As we go to the weather computer we're going to zoom in.
Take a look. From Detroit back over to Chicago over to Madison, you see the radar lit up in white, pink and even some blues. It came in a combination of rain, sleet and snow.
Anyone traveling today, say your airports in Detroit may be your plane in to Chicago. You're going to have some delays today. You got to get ready for that.
But then into the afternoon hours, you're going to see a transformation from where our big weather focus really is going to shift from the storm system in parts of the Great Lakes to parts of the central and southern plains, namely, into Texas into Oklahoma back into Arkansas, even Missouri.
Not an issue in terms of snowfall but possibly some severe storms. Strong thunderstorms into the afternoon, maybe even a chance of tornadoes.
We've got a lot of warm air coming in from the Gulf of Mexico. That combined with the low level jet and this frontal boundary as well as this low moving across parts of the country could give us a good run of strong storms. Certainly some with advisories so we're going to see some delays in places like Dallas later on, or in Little Rock. And, of course, this is going to trickle over to airports around the country.
Meanwhile, take a look very quickly at your daytime highs. Thirty-degrees, the expectant high in Minneapolis. Back in Salt Lake City, 24.
Here's the differential. The contrast you have between those temperatures say in Salt Lake and Denver back into Dallas where it's one degree shy of 70. New York a fairly nice day for you. 39 degrees, 38 rather the expected high, 41 in the nation's capital. Fifty-eight in Atlanta and 77 for Miami.
That is a look at your forecast. Let's send it right back to you in New York.
COSTELLO: All right. Thanks, Reynolds.
WOLF: You bet.
JOHNS: Eight bodies have been recovered now and another person is still missing in the wake of a Christmas Eve shooting rampage in Covina, California. Police say the gunman, Bruce Pardo, was apparently bent on revenge when he crashed a party dressed as Santa, opened fire and then burned the house down.
Chris Lawrence is following the tragic story for us.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
CHRIS LAWRENCE, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Just minutes before midnight on Christmas Eve, a visitor came to this home intending to burn it down.
KIM RANEY, COVINA POLICE CHIEF: There was a knock at the front door, and the gentleman dressed as Santa Claus was at the door carrying a large wrapped package.
LAWRENCE: He carried no gifts. Just two guns and a homemade flame thrower.
RANEY: An 8-year-old girl at the party ran to the front door, opened the door.
LAWRENCE: And he immediately shot her in the face. Police say the fake Santa stepped inside and shot anyone he saw. The family ran screaming from anywhere they could.
LT. PAT BUCHANAN, COVINA POLICE: Through windows, through doors, through windows upstairs off the roof. We talked to almost everyone and any place that they could escape. They were throwing furniture out the windows as we understand.
LAWRENCE: Police say this man set the house on fire, changed out of his Santa suit then drove to his brother's home and killed himself.
ROSA ORDAZ, FAMILY FRIEND: It's almost like he planned it, you know, for him to come and do this on such a special night. LAWRENCE: Investigators say he did. They think Bruce Pardo was upset over his recent divorce. This home was owned by his ex-wife's parents, and friends say it was well known the family would be having their traditional Christmas party that night.
(on camera): And it was tradition that may have made that little girl open the door in the first place. Every year for this party, a neighbor dresses up as Santa and comes over to help get the kids in the holiday spirit.
Chris Lawrence, CNN, Los Angeles.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
JOHNS: In other stories new this morning, 14 people including six children were injured when a car suddenly crashed into a Hanukkah party taking place on Long Island. Police say the elderly driver lost control of the car and plowed through the building's plaid glass windows. About 150 people were inside at the time.
Utility crews were busy playing Santa for thousands of people in New Hampshire on Christmas day. Powerful wind gusts had caused some 5,000 customers to lose electricity on Christmas morning, but crews were able to restore power for most in time for the holiday dinner.
And a not very merry Christmas for the nation's retailers. Preliminary figures show a weak economy coupled with some miserable holiday weather brought retail sales down as much as eight percent from last year. We'll talk with the retail sales analyst later this hour about what businesses need to do to get shoppers back into the stores.
COSTELLO: I know retailers are getting desperate, but imagine not having to pay sales tax for a full month next year. That's what the country's biggest retail trade group is making. Their making that sales pitch to the incoming Obama administration.
The National Retail Federation calling for a 10-day sales tax holiday in March, July and October as a way to bolster consumer confidence and get people to spend some money.
Gerri Willis is here "Minding Your Business." Sounds like a good idea?
GERRI WILLIS, CNN PERSONAL FINANCE EDITOR: Well, you know, we'll pay for it, you know, eventually.
JOHNS: Right.
WILLIS: The idea is that this would come out of tax spending actually, that Barack Obama, when he becomes president will pass a new stimulus package and that we'll end up paying for that with our taxes. But let's take a look at what you would actually get.
Hey, that 30, 40, 50 percent off this Christmas was not enough to get you into the stores. Listen to this. The National Retail Federation is suggesting sales tax exempt shopping days, three periods, ten days each, March, July and October. Lots of time to shop. They estimated there will be some $20 billion in savings for families. That's $175 for each and every family.
Now, it's already been criticized. I got to tell you. There's some economists out there who say hey, you're just going to shift shopping from these periods from other periods that people might shop and actually pay the taxes. Remember all these sales actually generate sales taxes for localities and, you know, the federal dollars would have to come in and make that up.
JOHNS: Are those like big ticket items?
WILLIS: I'm telling you it's everything.
JOHNS: Everything.
WILLIS: Even if you're going out for dinner, restaurant sales, apparel...
JOHNS: Right.
WILLIS: ... cars. You name it, it would cover a big swath of consumer spending. And as you know, consumer spending has been anemic down 25 percent in the third quarter. Really tough.
I got to tell you guys, though, it's interesting if you look at the really long trends out there. Christmas spending in particular, spending related specifically to the holidays, it's been kind of contracting overtime. It's been less and less over time and I think that's a long term trend that a lot of people sort of ignore. They get so obsessed with holiday sales.
COSTELLO: Yes. You're going to be blogging this morning, right?
WILLIS: I am. We're going to be blogging.
JOHNS: Excellent.
WILLIS: We're talking about all kinds of fun things later in the show. So I need everybody to talk to me.
JOHNS: I can't find to get on there. I got to get on there and we'll see you soon.
WILLIS: All right. We'll get you on there.
JOHNS: All right.
COSTELLO: Thank you, Gerri. We'll get back to you.
WILLIS: Thank you.
JOHNS: All right. Our i-Report inbox has been flooded with Christmas day images. This one from Mikayala (ph) Forrest in Austin, Texas. She posted an ad on Craigslist asking for volunteers to join her in feeding the homeless in downtown Austin.
She says people showed up with food in hand and they served lasagna, hot dogs, tacos, cake and drinks to dozens of homeless people. Good work, Mikayala. She says the experience shows her the spirit of giving is alive and well in Austin this year.
And Lenore Wilson's family overflowing with love this Christmas. Her house is now filled with 13 kids and three adults. Last year her husband's brother and his wife lost their kids but Lenore says she and her husband stepped in and adopted the entire brood, all eight of them.
Neighbors donated money for the kids Christmas presents. Lenore says they showed the kids there is really a Santa Claus even in this bad economy.
And keep those i-Reports coming. Go to CNN.com/am.
COSTELLO: New details about the drug arrest of the mother of Bristol Palin's fiance. See what police say was her code for getting a drug fix.
And a dramatic rescue down under after a man and his son are stranded in a paragliding accident.
It's nine minutes past the hour.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
JOHNS: It is -- Wow. I see it. It's very nice.
COSTELLO: I guess it's nicer.
JOHNS: What a good looking picture there.
COSTELLO: I know Atlanta and its beautiful weather there. 53 degrees. Can't see the rest of the state. Can't say the same for the rest of the country.
JOHNS: Yes.
COSTELLO: But Atlanta, they are happy this morning.
JOHNS: Absolutely. It is 12 minutes past the hour and here's the Friday "Political Ticker."
New plans for Barack Obama's inauguration will convert sections of the nation's capital into a giant parking lot to accommodate thousands of additional buses. Officials say as many as 10,000 chartered buses carrying an estimated 200,000 people will be allowed to park in the city. Earlier plans had the buses stationed at sites outside Washington.
An attorney for Illinois Governor Rod Blagojevich is asking state lawmakers to subpoena Barack Obama's incoming chief of staff, Rahm Emanuel, in an effort to prove the governor did not try to sell Obama's Senate seat. Obama's transition team claims that there were no inappropriate contacts with Governor Blagojevich. An Illinois House committee is considering impeachment proceedings against Blagojevich.
COSTELLO: Authorities in Alaska say before her arrest the mother of Bristol Palin's boyfriend sent text messages to police informants discussing drug transactions. They claim Sherry Johnston used coffee as code for the drug OxyContin in her text. The 42-year-old Johnston is out on bail after her arrest last week on felony drug charges.
And get them while you can. The 2009 Sarah Palin calendar is moving up the charts. It is now number two on amazon.com. The 13- month calendar features family photos and snapshots from the campaign trail. On the cover, pictures the former vice presidential candidate holding a gun in front of the American flag.
JOHNS: And that's a shotgun, by the way.
COSTELLO: I thought so.
JOHNS: Right. Yes, but they're not using that photo shop picture of her, remember in the bikini with -- it seems like she had an AK. They didn't -- they didn't put that one up there.
COSTELLO: No. It would be a different kind of a calendar all together.
JOHNS: Yes.
COSTELLO: This one was actually taken by a friend in Alaska. People are going to make a lot of money.
In the meantime, Barack Obama spent part of his Christmas visiting with military families at a Marine Corps base in Hawaii where the president-elect is vacationing.
CNN's Ed Henry is in Hawaii but it's hard to tell if it's more work or play.
ED HENRY, CNN SR. WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Joe, Carol, Merry Christmas from Honolulu where President-elect Barack Obama and his family are celebrating the holiday may seen exotic to a lot of people. You know, the surf boards, the sand, the splashing water, but there really are some timeless traditions for the holiday even here in beautiful Hawaii.
In fact, we're told that the president-elect has a Christmas tree in the Oceanside home where he's celebrating. I did some investigative reporting, it's a real tree. It's not a fake one. We're also told they'll be doing some family time, a traditional meal.
I'm not waiting around for my invite to go over to the president- elect's house. So I'm sort of making other plans. And I've been getting a lot of teasing from a lot of you anchors out there saying that this is kind of a sweet gig to be covering the president-elect for a couple of weeks in Hawaii. But I'll tell you it's probably not much different from what you're doing.
I'm just going to sit down on the beach. I'm going to kick back. I'm going to go throw on my shades. I got some Hawaiian beads. I even got a special Hawaiian Santa hat I'm going to throw on to be festive. I'm going to have that.
And there's a traditional dish called Spam Wasabi. I've never tried it before, but a lot of people here like it. It's sort of spam wrapped up with rice almost like sushi. And I'm going to be digging into that. Not too bad. A little salty.
But also the weather is really amazing but I'm sure it's not much unlike the weather in New York right now, right? Sorry, I didn't mean to rub it in too much. Merry Christmas -- Joe, Carol.
JOHNS: Ed Henry, what a guy.
COSTELLO: How is it possible that he could not have a tan on the beach?
JOHNS: I know. Yes. Well, you know, I think he should do some investigative reporting and break out the scuba gear. All right.
COSTELLO: We got the scuba gear.
JOHNS: Yes. There you go.
COSTELLO: He wouldn't take off his shirt.
JOHNS: OK. It's a Festivus for the rest of us. The fake holiday was made famous on "Seinfeld" and now it lives on today in reruns.
Well, Festivus, there's a pole of it on display in the Illinois state capitol on Springfield. "Seinfeld" fans know Festivus is a holiday built around the airing of grievances. An atheists group requested permission to put up the pole after a nativity scene went up early this month and they got the go-ahead this week.
Many unhappy returns as stores brace for the post-Christmas rush. Early figures suggest holiday sales were a bust. What can retailers do to get shoppers back into the stores.
COSTELLO: And managerial monkey business? A new study says bosses mark their territory just like the big apes. Really?
It's 17 minutes past.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
JOHNS: Welcome back to the "Most News in the Morning." A real cliffhanger down under.
A man and child were rescued after a paragliding accident left them stranded off a cliff in Sydney, Australia. Both apparently came through the harrowing incident unscathed. COSTELLO: The U.S. military has a new game plan for the ground war in Iraq. Recruiting, training, and arming local Afghans to fight a resurgent Taliban. But will it work?
Here's Barbara Starr.
BARBARA STARR, CNN PENTAGON CORRESPONDENT: Joe, Carol, a new strategy for Afghanistan, but it could be risky.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
STARR (voice-over): It works in Iraq, arming and paying tens of thousands of former Sunni insurgents to fight al-Qaeda. The tactic was a major reason for the drop in violence. But will the same idea work in Afghanistan?
The U.S. military now plans to help the Afghan government arm local Afghans to fight the resurgent Taliban. U.S. military official say it will begin early next year in Wardak province, an area in central Afghanistan where insurgents have found a safe haven.
It's all part of a new U.S. counterinsurgency strategy commanders are presenting to the incoming Obama team. It's an open admission even the plan to potentially double the U.S. force with up to 30,000 additional troops won't be enough.
MAJ. GEN. MICHAEL TUCKER, DEP. CMDR, FOR U.S. OPERATIONS, AFGHANISTAN: There's a big push for us to reach down in cooperation with the Afghan government to touch people in their villages. As you well know, the center of gravity in a counterinsurgency fight is the population. And so we need more forces.
STARR: But there are worries including more weapons in the hands of local communities could lead to tribes fighting each other instead of the Taliban. U.S. troops could get caught in the middle. And President Hamid Karzai's weak government in Kabul would bear the major responsibility for ensuring this new local security force remains loyal.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
STARR: U.S. commanders warn if you thought Iraq was tough, Afghanistan is getting tougher. Iraq has two major groups, Sunni and Shia. Afghanistan, the U.S. calculates, has more than 400 separate tribes that could be part of this new armed force -- Joe, Carol.
COSTELLO: Thank you, Barbara.
The cost of college keeps rising. So what are your options to make sure you can afford it? Gerri Willis will have some advice for you.
JOHNS: War isn't a game but see how the U.S. military is taking cues from Nintendo's Wii to keep soldiers safe in the war zone.
It's 22 minutes past the hour. (BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
ROB MARCIANO, AMS METEOROLOGIST (voice-over): When powering the green car of the future, one man is turning to Fred Flintstone for inspiration. Charles Greenwood is the creator of the human car, an automobile powered by you and me and maybe a few of your friends.
CHARLES GREENWOOD, INVENTOR, HUMAN CAR: There we go. All the way for forward, all the way back. It's just exactly like an engine firing around a four-cylinder cycle. So in this case, we can see we've got one, two, three, four. They're firing around the firing (INAUDIBLE).
MARCIANO: The vehicle is made entirely out of recycled plastics and can reach speeds of up to 60 miles per hour. The rowing handles produce electricity that moves the car forward. And if you don't feel like rowing, well, an electric motor takes over. And it's more than just a vehicle. Designers say it could also be a power supply for your home.
CHUCK GREENWOOD, CEO, HUMAN CAR: This is the imagine PS power station. Theoretically you can operate 100 of these vehicles to create a 100 kilowatt mobile power station.
MARCIANO: The human car costs a little more than $15,000 and a final design is set to roll out on Earth Day 2009.
Rob Marciano, CNN.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP, "MARLEY & ME," 20TH CENTURY FOX)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Oh.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Oh, John. Please, grab him.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Oh, my God.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: He's making a break. He's on to our evil plan.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I can't stop.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COSTELLO: Oh, here's a look at "Marley & Me," the family film about a problematic pooch. It topped the Christmas day box office actually. Coming in behind that at number two, Brad Pitt starring in "The Curious Case of Benjamin Button." Rough estimates give it $13 million in sales to "Marley & Me"'s 15 million. After that it was Adam Sandler in the fantasy flick Disney's "Bedtime Stories." And Tom Cruise taking on Hitler in "Valkyrie," it came in at number four. JOHNS: Carol, it's official. The recession stole Christmas. Early projections for retail sales this holiday season confirm what we already knew that business was rotten.
Eric Beder is a retail sales analyst. He joins us now. So, you know, the projections always were that this wasn't going to be a very good season but it was perhaps worse than expected? How bad was it?
ERIC BEDER, RETAIL SALES ANALYST: It was a little bit worse than expected. If you took out the gas prices it probably was pretty much within what people expected. You know, we've seen it November. We saw actually back to school. And December was definitely a bad month.
JOHNS: So, speaking of gasoline prices, a lot of people also said that because the gas prices went down, you actually may have gotten a bit of a spike certainly there as you end. How significant was that?
BEDER: You know, I think it's significant going forward in the future. But what happened here is that people were thinking about their jobs. And the truth is that yes, it was a great boost. It was a nice boost for the savings. But at the end of the day, the consumer looked at it and they were afraid what's going to happen in two weeks with their paycheck and that's what's much more important than lower gas prices this year.
JOHNS: There's also been some discussion of asking the Obama administration, incoming, to create some type of a tax holiday. Perhaps as many as three 10-day periods we're hearing. Do these things really work? Do they make that much of a difference?
BEDER: They make a little bit of a difference. Historically they move savings from one period to the other. The more important part will be the financial and economic stimulus package.
It's a nice little piece. It makes it -- historically it feels a little bit more but usually it just robs Peter to pay Paul. The real piece is going to be the full economic stimulus. That's got to drive the consumer, give them confidence that they can shop once more and really have them out in the stores again.
JOHNS: And what's happening with the stores? Are some of the retail stores actually facing bankruptcy because of the season?
BEDER: Sure. I mean, we've gone through a period where we had a number of leverage buyouts and those people are heavily indebted. I think if you look, compare this the last time we had a retail slowdown which was after 9/11, the retailers are in much better financial shape but we're definitely going to see more stores closing after the holiday season.
JOHNS: When you say in better shape, why? Do they prepare for this just because they knew?
BEDER: I think the answer to this, one is that people knew that this was coming. This was not -- we saw the slowdown. It actually started about October, November of last year. So a lot of retailers knew this was coming and they hoarded the cash and they cut back on the spending. I think that's a big piece, especially in the small mid-cap areas.
I think the other piece is that we are seeing retailers cutback on virtually everything from inventory to store personnel. They reacted very quickly here. I think that probably was not a surprise to anyone, and I think that they reacted strong. Most of them will survive.
JOHNS: And it means a lot of bargains for those of us who are going to go out there shopping.
BEDER: It's going to be a wonderful time to go shopping this month.
JOHNS: All right. We'll talk more about that a little bit later.
Eric Beder, thanks so much for coming in.
BEDER: Thank you.
JOHNS: Carol --
COSTELLO: It is about half past -- it is half past the hour now. Checking our top stories.
President-elect Barack Obama still vacationing in Hawaii. He spent part of his Christmas Day visiting with military families at a marine base near his vacation home.
And New York Governor David Paterson is feeling some political heat, but said he is no rush to name Senator Hillary Clinton's replacement. Paterson had said he will not appoint a successor until Clinton is confirmed as secretary of state, and he says people need to stop gossiping about whether he will choose Caroline Kennedy.
More severe winter weather out west. Winter storm and blizzard warnings in Colorado. Up to 20 inches of snow forecast along with 80 mile-per-hour wind gusts. Forecasters expected to create white out conditions. Very dangerous. Reynolds Wolf is tracking the extreme weather in Atlanta.
Tell us more, Reynolds.
(WEATHER REPORT)
COSTELLO: All right. Thanks, Reynolds.
College costs keep on rising. I don't need to tell you that. Today tuition at a private four-year college is up six percent from last year, up to $25,000 a year. Public college tuition is up almost 6.5 percent. So, what is a parent to do about saving for college in these tough economic times? Personal finance editor Gerri Willis is here with a guide on how to get started. JOHNS: That's stunning.
WILLIS: Right.
JOHNS: Six percent since last year?
WILLIS: Yes. The costs are completely out of control. And you know people with young kids, they are just scared out there thinking oh, golly, what can I do possibly to save for college for my young kids. There is good news. There's a plan called a 529 Savings Plan. It's named after an IRS code section naturally so it has an obscured name.
But this is an easy piece of way to get started saving for college. It has a -- your money is not federally taxed in most cases. It's not taxed by the state either. It's a way to get started. You can put away as little as $25. I have started one for my nephew. You don't have to do it for your own children. You can do it as a gift. It's a great idea.
I want to tell you there are two ways that they are sold. They are sold by brokers and they are sold directly. And the difference in fees is big. OK? If you buy it directly, you will pay three-tenths to one percent on your investment. And let me tell you that's the way to go. Because for most investments, it's all about the fees and the taxes you pay. You got to keep those as low as possible.
I want to show you a list of best 529 plans out there. And we got this from finaid.org. You can see the list here. TIAA-CREF Plans. And remember, these are run by states -- Pennsylvania, South Dakota, Texas and Virginia. You wanted to get a look at those because you can't invest in another states program.
JOHNS: But the deal is your kid has to go to school in the state that you're investing in -- no?
WILLIS: Not necessarily. Not necessarily. The devil is in the details here. A great Web site to go to to find out those kinds of details -- savingforcollege.com. Easy piece. Step-by-step works you through what 529s are, what your state's 529 might look like, and how to get started saving. But I can't tell you with the cost this high, how important it is to start early.
Starting early really gets you ahead of the curve. And of course, a lot of people out there have already been saving in 529s, and really got blown out with the selloff. Rule of thumb here if you're one of those folks out there, because we're still eight years or more out from college. It's still OK to have 50 percent of your investments in stocks, because you're going to need that to make your goal. So I know folks out there worried about getting there.
JOHNS: Sure.
WILLIS: But eight years is a long enough time horizon to see the recovery and the way it goes. COSTELLO: And you know what, those costs may come down because universities may be forced to lower their tuition because nobody can afford it anymore. If you're charging $25,000 a year, you got to be really thinking seriously about if you can continue that in these economic times.
WILLIS: I hope you're right. I would love to see these prices to come down, because frankly families are struggling.
JOHNS: It's insane. It really is.
WILLIS: It is. But we're giving you a step to take here today to get started on that road for savings.
JOHNS: You bet.
COSTELLO: Thank you, Gerri.
WILLIS: My pleasure.
JOHNS: Do you have a boss who struts around the office demonstrating their status? And --
COSTELLO: Yes.
JOHNS: Yes, she says. A new study says he's behaving like much of the animal kingdom. CNN's Sasha Herriman has the story.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
SASHA HERRIMAN, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (on camera): Look familiar? Like great animal display, especially somewhere before. According to research, bosses just like animals like to mark out their territory. They like to assert their authority.
(voice-over): The study carried out at the University of New South Wales interviewed hundreds of managers and employees in a range of industries about similar focus on hierarchy.
PROFESSOR CHRIS KNIGHT, ANTHROPOLOGIST: Chimpanzees will go hoo, hoo, hoo, hoo, hoo, hoo.
HERRIMAN: So while your boss might not actually sound like that, according to anthropologist here in the U.K., the meaning is the same.
KNIGHT: Well, it's just showing off. Showing off how big you are. And you can do it in all kinds of ways. You can build huge office blocks like (INAUDIBLE) just to show off what resources you can afford to waste. And a gorilla, you know, (INAUDIBLE). Chimpanzees tearing off branches to just say, look, I got all this energy which I can afford to spend. Just like intimidating you a lot.
GILLIAN FORRESTER, PSYCHOLOGIST: What we share 23 million years of evolution with great apes and have only had a much more recent divergence in the last 6 million years. So there is invariably going to be a lot of similarities in the way that we behave and we communicate, and in fact the way we navigate social hierarchies.
HERRIMAN: For bright color bluish and body parts, with power suits and ties, bigger chest, louder voices, that's because being territorial still helps you survived. Alpha males are hard wired to be (INAUDIBLE). But less we think we've got it all over the last millennia, there's some encouraging news. While the non-verbal communication is a relic of our forbearers --
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: (INAUDIBLE) 620!
FORRESTER: One of the major differences between us and great apes obviously is that we've evolve to develop and acquire human language.
HERRIMAN: Well, that's a relief. At least six million years makes a bit of difference. Now, where's my banana?
Sasha Herriman, CNN, London.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
JOHNS: Guys, stop looking smug.
(LAUGHTER)
COSTELLO: I wonder what women bosses, what animal we --
WILLIS: Let's see. What's the smartest animal in the animal kingdom? I think that's what we're like. Right?
COSTELLO: Yes.
JOHNS: Yes.
WILLIS: I have to tell you, I just think that was -- that's not a metaphor. That's actually what my boss looks like.
JOHNS: Right. Yes, absolutely.
COSTELLO: I'm not saying anything.
JOHNS: Get the boss on the set. All right.
WILLIS: Just a joke.
JOHNS: If you're a gamer, there's a good chance you're hooked on Nintendo's Wii. Well, you're not the only one. We'll tell you how the military is trying to use Nintendo's technology to keep soldiers safe on the battlefield.
Plus, are you ready for some football? This weekend brings a make or break Sunday for almost a dozen NFL teams. We're previewing the playoffs. Who is in, who is out, who still got a fighting chance. It's 38 minutes past the hour.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK) (BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Peter!
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: What is it?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Are you sleeping on the job?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: No. There's a bug on my line, and I'm trying to suffocate him.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Peter, I like you. But I need you to be more than just I can get out here. It's your job to watch for any toys that could be hazardous to children. Now look sharp.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes, sir.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
JOHNS: Clip from "Family Guy" there. The "Family Guy"'s version of quality control.
But it wasn't toys dominating the holiday season. With the economy and recession, one place where Americans aren't cutting back, video games. Instead of a hot toy like "Tickle me Elmo" under the tree, Santa delivered a slew of video games this Christmas. And get this, through November video game sales are up, 22 percent over 2007.
And one of the hottest game consoles out there still Nintendo's groundbreaking Wii. The Japanese game makers motion sensitive remote has made playing video games extremely intuitive. So much so the U.S. military has taken notice.
Chris Lawrence is looking at the possibility of developing the controller for combat -- Chris.
LAWRENCE: Joe, Carol, so many young soldiers grow up using these controllers, so the learning curve is so fast.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
LAWRENCE (voice-over): A gun in one hand and a Wii in the other. It's one possible image of the 21st soldier. Engineers are modifying the video games remote to move military robots.
PETER WILL, ROBOTICS EXPERT: It's this natural hand-eye coordination. It's not looking at the keyboard or typing, and getting the motions from typing.
LAWRENCE: The army uses robots to dismantle explosives and keep soldiers at a safe distance. But the controllers are big, bulky and the operator has to focus on 40 or 50 buttons. That's a potentially deadly distraction during battle.
The Wii remote would use an infrared beam to instantly match a soldier's motions with the robots movement. Potentially, it's small and light enough that the infantry could use it. Just say send robot into a building ahead of troops. But the Wii's greatest benefit could be its biggest drawback. The same way gamers accidentally throw controllers into their TVs, engineers have to account for a soldier's natural body twitches. So the goal --
BOB QUINN, VICE PRES., TALON ROBOT OPERATIONS: Is to make sure you're not having misguided, unintentional movements of the body, make those changes in the robot and have the robot act chaotically because it's sensing that it's being moved when the soldier really has no intention of moving it.
LAWRENCE: Bob Quinn works for the company that's helping integrate the Wii. He says developers still have to extend the range of the controller and make sure its signal can't be hack.
QUINN: And allow for the soldier to be able to make those movements without the enemy bringing out their own controllers, and taking over control of the robot.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
LAWRENCE: The company tells me you can turn the prototype into a working unit within a year. The Pentagon doesn't move quite that fast. The army has to test it, allocate the money so it would probably be at least three years before it's available to soldiers -- Joe, Carol.
COSTELLO: Thanks, Chris.
As 2008 comes to a close, we are counting down the biggest stories of the year. Today our number five story is the three-day terrorist siege of India's financial capital, Mumbai. The world stopped and watched as ten gunmen moved into the city and held police and soldiers at bay for three days. More than 160 people died, along with nine of those gunmen. Indian police are holding the 10th who authorities say has admitted to his crime.
We will be revealing our number four story on Monday here on AMERICAN MORNING. And you can keep up with the entire list online, the address cnn.com/yearendreview.
It may be the holiday season but not everybody is so jolly. Retailers are looking a bit green around the gills because of sluggish sales. They've left a slew of companies in the red. We're going to be taking a closer look at the numbers. It's 44 minutes past the hour.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
COSTELLO: Welcome back to AMERICAN MORNING.
For many people starting a family is life's biggest blessing. But infertility affects more than 7 million couples here in the United States. So all this week, we've been looking at the ways people are using cutting-edge technology, including in vitro fertilization and even hi-tech adoptions to make their dreams come true. We call it "Baby Quest."
JOHNS: Today, thousands of children in foster care were asking how hard is it to adopt. Superstars like Angelina Jolie and Madonna make it look easy.
Jason Carroll goes inside one adoption agency to find out.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
JASON CARROLL, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): To those who know him, Jahmon is an ideal teenager. He works hard at school, writes poetry.
JAHMON, TEEN FOSTER CHILD: Only one person was left, and that was to me. And to this day, I still hold on God feet.
CARROLL: He also plays a winning game of ping pong. A parent's dream. But for Jahmon finding new parents is still his dream.
(on camera): What is the most difficult part of not having an adopted mother or father?
JAHMON: I believe that is the support and comfort.
CARROLL: That's what you miss the most?
JAHMON: Yes, I miss that.
CARROLL (voice-over): Jahmon is 16. At the age of 8, he was removed from his mother's home and put in foster care. He has spent years living in group homes waiting for adoption.
What is the waiting like? What has it been like?
JAHMON: The waiting is like very -- sometimes very depressing.
CARROLL: Jahmon has never given up. He's attended meet and greets with prospective parents only to see younger children get more attention.
JAHMON: And like you're calling out for like a family. So it's very heartbreaking when you don't hear any response.
CARROLL: Jahmon is one of 30,000 teenagers nationwide waiting for adoption. New York state officials say he'll likely age out of their system because most parents are reluctant to adopt older children. But one government survey says for every teen in foster care, there are six families willing to adopt them.
So why are older children still waiting for families? One adoption advocate blames a bureaucratic system that focuses more on screening out bad parents than recruiting good ones.
JEFF KATZ, ADOPTION ADVOCATE: The culture of it is that they tend to treat everybody with suspicion.
CARROLL: The head of New York's Child Welfare Agency says the state's first priority is keeping children safe.
GLADYS CARRION, NY OFFICE OF CHILD AND FAMILY SERVICES: You know, all of us have heard the horrors of children being adopted by inappropriate people.
CARROLL: While Jahmon waits, poetry helps him escape. He's written a book of poetry and competes in local competitions.
JAHMON: It's your love that makes me love you. I like to write about my life. It could be about anything that I'm (INAUDIBLE).
CARROLL: And he still likes to dream about the family he wishes he had.
JAHMON: I'm just looking for a decent family that can show love, caring and help me with my dreams for success.
CARROLL: Jason Carroll, CNN, Dobbs Ferry, New York.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
JOHNS: With thousands of children in foster care right now hoping to be adopted, some agencies are turning to the Web to help find families for kids including the New York State Adoption Service. They post videos of kids ready for a new family. Here's 16-year-old, Amanda, from New York telling her own story.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
AMANDA, FOSTER CHILD: My idea of a family would be helps another kid.
If you had a magic fairy with a magic wand and could give you three wishes that you want, what would your three wishes be?
AMANDA: To be adopted, to have a pet, and to have fun.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
JOHNS: If you're interested in adopting Amanda, go to the New York State Adoption Service Web site. You can find the link at cnn.com/am. It's 52 minutes past the hour.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
JOHNS: Top videos right now on cnn.com. Most popular -- talk about your bad dogs. Check out this pilfering pooch. Security cameras in this supermarket catch a dog entering the store's front door making a bee line straight for the dog food aisle. He grabs a raw hide bone and runs straight out the back door. Good doggie. Maybe bad doggie.
Also the guys at jibjab.com have come out with their review of 2008 looking at the bailout, and the election, and plenty of political corruption all the while keeping tongue firmly in cheek. And operation Baghdad pubs. A special organization bringing poor orphan dogs out of Iraq to United States, reuniting them with U.S. soldiers they've bounded with during the war. And those are your top videos on cnn.com.
COSTELLO: That's awesome. I know what I'm going to be doing this Sunday. Because there's going to be some high drama this weekend on the grid iron. Sunday is the last chance for 11 NFL teams to make it to the playoffs. With so much on the line, you are forgiven if you cannot keep track.
Ryan Smith, host BET's "My Two Cents," a man who knows his football. He joins us live from Philadelphia this morning.
Good morning, Ryan.
RYAN SMITH, HOST, BET'S "MY TWO CENTS": Good morning, Carol.
COSTELLO: Let's start with a quick recap. These are the teams that have clinched in the NFC. Teams that clinched that we no longer have to worry about -- The Giants, The Cardinals, The Panthers, and The Falcons.
SMITH: That's right.
COSTELLO: Can you believe The Atlanta Falcons?
SMITH: What's that?
COSTELLO: The Atlanta Falcons -- rookie coach, rookie quarterback.
SMITH: Rookie coach, rookie quarterback, really surprising season after the fiasco with Michael Vick last year. This is a really great feel good story. Matt Ryan has led them to the playoffs and they are looking really good to win the NFC.
COSTELLO: It's unbelievable. I mean, who is Michael Vick? Do you think Michael Vick will ever play again, by the way?
SMITH: I do. I think teams will always take a chance on great talent. Michael Vick is a talented player. You can see him at the raiders maybe in a year or two, who knows.
COSTELLO: Who knew you're going to say, oh, God, I just knew it. OK, in the AFC, teams that have clinched that we no longer need to worry about. The Tennessee Titans were just awesome this year. The Pittsburgh Steelers and that thrilling game against Baltimore. Did you know, I have a thing about Baltimore. And the Indianapolis Colts, they have clinched.
Let's get to the exciting games, though, that will take place on Sunday. The Dallas Cowboys and the NFC. Tony Romo I guess had the flu, but he's back at practice.
SMITH: Tony Romo is back at practice. This is an exciting game. Called the dysfunctional family vault, because you got Tony Romo and T.O. -- Terrell Owens -- fighting for most of the season. And this is the team that many expected to win the NFC easily, but they are struggling to make the playoffs. If they lose, their coach could be out of a job. On the Philadelphia Eagles side, Donovan McNabb, Andy Reid, they could have -- see, I have trouble saying it -- they could have with a loss today, they could also both be out of Philly so this is a very, very tough game in Philly on Sunday.
COSTELLO: Yes, but Donovan McNabb has really come back. I mean, he was not doing well for a while, then he was taken out and put back in. And now, he's doing great.
SMITH: It's a shame. A lot of people in Philadelphia blame him for all the troubles they've had here, right here in Philadelphia where I am now. And Philadelphia fans are unforgiving. So if he loses, he could be looking at being with another team next year.
COSTELLO: OK. Over in the AFC, we have the Miami Dolphins -- can you believe it? I mean, why couldn't Bill Parcel's the big two go to the Detroit Lions instead of Miami.
SMITH: Oh, I am sorry he didn't end up in Detroit. But he has really led a great turn around in Miami. And you can call this the jilted bowl because Chad Pennington was the former quarterback to the New York Jets. He was dumped when they signed Brett Favre. So now Chad Pennington gets the chance to play Brett Favre, and you don't think he's thinking about the fact that The Jets let him go. It's going to be a big game for Miami.
COSTELLO: Oh, he's got something on the line. I've been thinking about that every moment. The Baltimore Ravens -- let's talk about them. Because here's another team, rookie coach, rookie quarterback, and they've had a great season.
SMITH: That's right. A really great season. It's a big surprise for a lot of people. A lot of people felt that the ravens would never really put it together because they never really get a good quarterback in them. Joe Flacco is proven to be a great addition for them, and their coach has proven to be a genius. They are looking good this year.
COSTELLO: OK, the opposite of genius. Let's talk about The Detroit Lions.
SMITH: I have my -- I just hung my head for the poor Detroit Lions. They were the first team to ever be 0-15. This year, they could -- this week, they are looking at 0-16 possibly if they don't win in Green Bay. And if they put it all out on the field, they can win this one. The Detroit Lions --
COSTELLO: What out on the field? They have Kevin Smith, and that's about it.
SMITH: It's all about heart in the NFL. If you can't put your heart out there on the field, you can win the game.
COSTELLO: Did you watch last week's game against New Orleans? I mean, New Orleans didn't have to punt.
SMITH: I did. I did. And you call it -- this is why I call this one the sympathy ball because, you know, they've got all of America pulling for them. No one wants to see anybody go 0-16. Dan Orlovsky's got to lead them to a big win this week.
COSTELLO: You know the rookie running back said this is like playing the Super Bowl. The Lions are playing the Super Bowl.
SMITH: It is. It is, poor guys.
COSTELLO: I know. Thanks, Ryan, for joining us this morning. Go Lions.
SMITH: A sure thing. Go Lions, go Lions.
