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American Morning
Obama Demands Dramatic Action on Economy, while Democrats Oppose Tax Cuts; Obama Hooked on BlackBerry; Sarah Palin Fights Back; U.N. Security Council Resolution Passes; Washington State Floods; Jobless Seek Support through Groups; Tom Cruise Speaks on Travolta Tragedy
Aired January 09, 2009 - 06:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JOHN ROBERTS, CNN ANCHOR (voice-over): Breaking news, a new call to end the war in Gaza. A new warning that more horror stories lie ahead as the civilian death toll soars in the Middle East.
Plus, pajama party.
HUGH HEFNER, CEO, PLAYBOY ENTERPRISES: It is my pleasure.
ROBERTS: Hugh Hefner on living the American dream and his new twin 19-year-olds.
HEFNER: Well, I'm never going to grow up.
ROBERTS: On this AMERICAN MORNING.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ROBERTS: Good morning. Thanks very much for joining us. It's Friday, January the 9th. And as it's Friday, why not bring Hugh Hefner out and talk to him about the state of the world. Eighty-two years old. He's 63 years older than the women that he's dating. Unbelievable.
KIRAN CHETRY, CNN ANCHOR: The twin 19-year-olds, add both their ages together and he could still be their father.
ROBERTS: Boggles the mind.
CHETRY: Well, welcome and thanks for being with us this morning. A look at the top stories now.
In just a few hours, President-elect Barack Obama will officially name two key intelligence appointments. Former Clinton White House chief of staff Leon Panetta as head of the CIA and retired Admiral Dennis Blair as director of National Intelligence.
Vice President-elect Joe Biden is in Pakistan this morning. The South Asian tour comes just two weeks before he takes office. Joe Biden is making the trip as the outgoing chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee. Republican Senator Lindsey Graham is also traveling with him, and they're scheduled to meet with government officials to discuss a number of issues including the U.S. war on terror.
And there's a new call to end the violence in Gaza. The United Nations Security Council approving a resolution calling for an immediate cease-fire. The U.S. abstained from the vote, even though it helped draft the resolution. But this morning, Israel says that it's taking mortar fire from Gaza and responding with fire of its own, hitting 30 suspected Hamas targets. More than 750 Palestinians and 13 Israelis have died in the now 14-day offensive.
And the flood threat easing up in Washington State after three days of nearly nonstop rains and heavy snow melt. But thousands of people are still out of their homes. Right now, a state of emergency is still in effect in at least 19 counties.
ROBERTS: Well, turning back to our top story which is 11 days until his inauguration, President-elect Barack Obama rekindling the fierce urgency of now, insisting that Congress needs to work with him "day and night, on weekends if necessary" to act on his massive economic plan. He laid out the details yesterday, key proposals included, the need for the government to create jobs, make America more efficient and cut taxes as well. Obama warning a dire economic future is certain without his plan.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
BARACK OBAMA, PRESIDENT-ELECT OF THE UNITED STATES: If nothing is done, this recession could linger for years. The unemployment rate could reach double digits. Our economy could fall $1 trillion short of its full capacity.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ROBERTS: CNN's Jessica Yellin is live for us in Washington this morning. And, Jessica, there's a sense among a lot of people that this one is for all the marbles. If this one doesn't work, they don't know what will happen.
JESSICA YELLIN, CNN CONGRESSIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Right. And, John, Barack Obama is basically saying that it's really do or die on this one.
New unemployment numbers are expected out today, and they're expected to show huge job losses that Barack Obama insists the only way to turn around an economy in this economy and crisis is with a massive infusion of money from the federal government, and he insists it's a different kind of bailout. Unlike the Wall Street bailout, this one will help regular folks.
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OBAMA: Now, I understand that some might be skeptical of this plan. Our government has already spent a good deal of money, but we haven't yet seen that translate into more jobs or higher incomes or renewed confidence in our economy. The true test of policies we'll pursue, won't be whether they're Democratic or Republican ideas, whether they're conservative or liberal ideas, but whether they create jobs, grow our economy and put the American dream within the reach of the American people.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
YELLIN: Now, among the provisions in the stimulus plan, John, would be tax cuts for middle-class families, an extension of unemployment insurance, and infrastructure improvements that real folks, he says, would feel in their lives, updating the power grid, improving Internet service, rebuilding roads and bridges. But the bottom line, as you well know, is getting cash into the economy quickly, to foster new spending by other folks, as you say, sort of all the marbles on this one.
ROBERTS: And he's facing a surprising amount of skepticism on both sides of the political aisle in Congress. How did you plan to get those members on board?
YELLIN: Well, you know, the Democrats, as you say, are resisting a lot of what he's put out there and I know Dana Bash has done extensive reporting on this. You'll hear about it. But what he's doing is he's having his top, you know, the dream team, economic team, up there on Capitol Hill day in and day out meeting with folks. Yesterday, they had extensive meeting and it's just a lot of chatting, a lot of arm-twisting, a lot of negotiation.
Everybody knows they have to get something done. The squabbling is over the details.
ROBERTS: Fair to say that the honeymoon is over. Jessica Yellin for us in Washington. Jessica, thanks.
CHETRY: All right. So will the devil be in the details as we've been talking about this morning? There are some Democrats who are raising serious concerns about portions of Barack Obama's massive economic plan. Mainly they're skeptical about the effectiveness of tax cuts for businesses. Here's CNN's Dana Bash.
DANA BASH, CNN CONGRESSIONAL CORRESPONDENT: John and Kiran, the Democratic president-elect may be blessed with a Democratic Congress, but we now have the first real evidence that does not mean they're going to give Barack Obama everything he wants.
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BASH: At the very moment Barack Obama was pushing his economic recovery proposal, several fellow Democrats emerged from a closed door meeting of the powerful Senate Finance Committee saying they oppose central parts of his tax plan, especially a $3,000 tax credit to businesses for every job they create.
SEN. JOHN KERRY (D), MASSACHUSETTS: I'm not that excited about that.
BASH: Why?
KERRY: Because if somebody's able to hire, they're probably going to hire anyway. BASH: On the campaign trail, Obama constantly pushed the proposal as an innovative way to create jobs.
OBAMA: American businesses a $3,000 tax credit for every job they create right here in the United States of America.
BASH: But many in Obama's own party, who will actually craft the legislation disagree and say tax credits to businesses in dire straits won't create jobs.
SEN. KENT CONRAD (D), BUDGET COMMITTEE CHAIRMAN: I think it is unlikely to be effective. If you think about it, business people are not going to hire people to produce products that are not selling.
BASH: That's not the only Obama tax idea his Democratic brethren are blasting. Another? Payroll tax cuts. $500 per person and $1,000 per couple earning less than $200,000 a year, amounting to about $10 to $20 a week.
CONRAD: Twenty dollars a week.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Twenty dollars a week.
CONRAD: I don't think that would be effective either. I think that is in terms of its economic impact very much like what happened with the rebates.
BASH: Rebates passed last year failed to jump-start the economy, since people either saved the money or used it to pay off debt. Several Democrats say they worry Obama's tax cut would suffer the same fate.
SEN. RON WYDEN (D), OREGON: Just giving people $500 and $600 while certainly welcome, when there's all this economic hurt, may not be the best use of stimulus.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
BASH: Late in the day, members of Obama's economic team came here to Capitol Hill for a lengthy closed-door meeting with all Democratic senators. Multiple senators told us they spent considerable time raising concerns about Obama's tax plans with his aides. Two senators told us that their response was noncommittal, but one said that they got the message loud and clear -- John and Kiran.
CHETRY: Dana Bash for us. Thanks so much.
It's six and a half minutes after the hour. A look at some of the stories that will be making news later today.
At 8:30 Eastern this morning, the labor department's going to be releasing its latest unemployment numbers. Economists expect the number to show another half million Americans lost their jobs in December. That would bring the total number of jobs lost last year to more than 2.4 million. And in just hours, Bernard Madoff's days confined to his multimillion-dollar apartment may be over. A judge could decide today if the man suspected of scamming investors out of $50 billion violated the terms of his bail and should be sent to jail. Prosecutors say Madoff is trying to conceal as much as $300 million in assets from the government.
Also this afternoon, we're expecting to see an up close shot at the platform where the president-elect, Barack Obama, will take the oath of office. The inaugural platform is still under construction, but officials say that it, of course, will be done by the 20th -- John.
ROBERTS: It always looks like it's not going to be ready and then at the last minute they pull it all together.
Sarah Palin's most critical interview yet. See why she is slamming the media, Katie Couric, even the McCain campaign. Why she is especially interested in Caroline Kennedy now.
It's eight minutes after the hour.
My candid interview with the king of "Playboy."
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
ROBERTS: You're 82 years old. You're latest girl friends, a pair of 19-year-old twins. A lot of people would say, how do you do it, and other people might say, are you ever going to grow up?
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ROBERTS: One on one with Hugh Hefner.
Plus, even his multimillion-dollar empire has taken a hit in this economy.
You're watching the Most News in the Morning.
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ROBERTS: President-elect Barack Obama may have joked that he was born on Krypton, but it's Spider-Man, not Superman that has tapped Obama to share the upcoming cover of his next comic. The issue on sale next Wednesday finds Peter Parker making sure that all goes well during the inauguration. Not to give away the ending, but apparently fist bumps are exchanged. There they are. We'll have more on this coming up for you next hour all you Spider-Man fans out there.
CHETRY: Well, he won't be president for another 11 days but Barack Obama already wasting no time confronting the nation's growing deficit. The big ticket items in terms of dealing with the deficit are entitlement programs like Medicare and Social Security. So how does Obama rein them in without facing the wrath of millions of Americans? CNN's Stephanie Elam is "Minding Your Business."
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STEPHANIE ELAM, CNN BUSINESS CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): For decades, Social Security and Medicare have kept many Americans on their feet. But will they still be around for Americans years away from retiring?
WHITNEY GENTILE, WAITRESS: The money that I'm paying right now out of my taxes actually isn't going to help me out at all in 60 years.
LUCY WEST, EDUCATION CONSULTANT: I keep thinking there is going to be money and try to ignore the idea that there might not be money.
ELAM: These are the facts. Left alone, Social Security will run out of money. By 2017, the amount of money coming in from taxpayers will be less than the money going out to pay for Social Security and accumulated surplus will cover the difference until 2041, when the system will no longer be able to meet its obligations. The situation is just as bleak when it comes to health care.
PETER MORICI, PROFESSOR, UNIV. OF MARYLAND: Frankly, Americans are going to have to accept the notion of health-care rationing, and health-care providers are going to have to accept more price controls.
DAVID CERTNER, LEGISLATIVE POLICY DIR., AARP: One out of every $6 in this economy is health care, and these costs keep soaring. So we need to do all we can to improve our health-care system. We can't fix Medicare by itself. We need to fix Medicare as part of fixing the entire health-care system.
ELAM: For President-elect Obama, the challenges are many. He wants to increase the deficit in the near term to mend the economy, hoping those deficits don't make the long-term problems with Medicare and Social Security worse. Peter Morici says cutting health care cost is the key.
MORICI: We pay 50 percent more for health care than the Europeans do. We have 46 million Americans who are uninsured. They don't have that problem. We're just not doing it as well as they are.
ELAM: Fixing these problems will force the new administration to make some tough choices and those details have so far been missing from Obama's economic speeches. He says he'll release his plan in February.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
ELAM: Now, obviously, if you take a look at all that's going on and all that is on the plate of the president-elect, there's a lot that has to be handled. But many people say that these are programs that are definitely needed so they can't go by the wayside -- Kiran.
CHETRY: When it comes to Social Security though, is it just unrealistic? Is it pie in the sky for our generation and younger generations to think we're going to have Social Security to draw upon? ELAM: That was the question I asked the experts that I talked to, and really what they say is it's going to be here. Both of these programs, these social retirement programs are going to be here. Now and what compass they will be, how big they will be, that's the question that's out there. They do have to be addressed, but they're saying they can't go away because so many people need them. And if you look at the economy now, that's when you see the need for these programs is really enhanced.
CHETRY: All right.
ROBERTS: It would be a shame to think that we put so much money into the system and can't draw anything back out.
ELAM: The interesting thing too is so many people actually do think that it won't be there for them when they're older. So, maybe some of the power out there is in what people believe right now anyway.
CHETRY: All right. Stephanie Elam, thanks a lot.
ELAM: Sure.
CHETRY: Fourteen minutes after the hour.
ROBERTS: The president-elect's addiction.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JOSEPH FUNK, FORMER SECRET SERVICE AGENT: All it would take really is just one innocent e-mail that he would reply to.
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ROBERTS: Barack Obama and his BlackBerry. He's going to have to give it up for security reasons.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
NICHOLAS THOMPSON, WIRED MAGAZINE: There's something hardwired in our brains that makes us like small flashy things.
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ROBERTS: But can this president quit? You're watching the "Most News in the Morning."
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(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
CONAN O'BRIEN, HOST, "LATE NIGHT WITH CONAN O'BRIEN": In his speech about the economy, Barack Obama said that Americans will soon be able to go online and see where the bailout money is being spent. It's pretty cool, yes. In response, in response, Americans said thanks but we'll stick to downloading porn. (END VIDEO CLIP)
ROBERTS: This morning, President-elect Barack Obama is still fighting for one key member of his team, his BlackBerry. That's because when he takes office, security concerns may mean that he'll have to turn it over.
CNN's Jason Carroll is following the story for us. Day two on this.
JASON CARROLL, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Day two.
ROBERTS: The "CrackBerry" controversy.
CARROLL: It just doesn't seem to want to go away. You know, there are security concerns over hackers, legal concerns. Obama's e- mails may be subject to public record laws. Even so, Obama still doesn't want to give it up. It seems he just has become just as dependent on it as so many others have.
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CARROLL (voice-over): Some can't live with it.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I would love to give up my BlackBerry. I don't like it but I need it.
CARROLL: Others can't live without it.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: You'd feel lost without them.
CARROLL: Our culture seems obsessed with the BlackBerry. Web sites regularly post pictures of celebrities on theirs. President- elect Obama was spotted throughout the campaign using his and wants to keep it, even though the Secret Service says he shouldn't.
OBAMA: I'm still clinging to my BlackBerry. They're going to pry it out of my hands. I'm hoping to do is to see if there's some way that we can arrange for me to continue to have access to a BlackBerry.
CARROLL: Obama says it helps him stay in touch with friends and the flow of everyday life. That may help explain why he ranks second on one celebrity Web site's list of obsessive BlackBerry users, ahead of Britney Spears and Lindsay Lohan. But former Secret Service agent Joe Funk says a president using a BlackBerry is risky.
JOSEPH FUNK, FORMER SECRET SERVICE AGENT: With the advent of the GPS tracking devices, which is inherent in most of today's cell phones, somebody with the proper technology would be able to know where President Obama is at any given time. All it would take really is just one innocent e-mail that he would reply to or that he would send to somebody that would allow someone to gain access to areas which he shouldn't be.
CARROLL: Why can't Obama or the rest of us for that matter kick the BlackBerry habit?
NICHOLAS THOMPSON, WIRED MAGAZINE: There's something hardwired in our brains that makes us like small flashy things. I have a 6- month-old kid. He can't stop playing with my BlackBerry.
CARROLL: So, what are the signs of BlackBerry addiction?
THOMPSON: If you're using it when you cross the street, if you use it at dinner when you're talking to your wife. If the first thing you check in the morning, if you use it while exercising, if any of these things are true.
CARROLL (on camera): OK, I'm definitely addicted then.
THOMPSON: Then you've got a problem.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
CARROLL: Got to be honest there. I was very honest there.
Some experts say the security risks can be resolved and do not think it's a bad idea for Obama to keep using his BlackBerry so long as he's also aware of the legal consequences. Remember, both Presidents Bush and Clinton did not e-mail while they were in office.
Why do you have that look on your face?
ROBERTS: I'm hopelessly addicted then. Yes.
CARROLL: Those were the signs.
ROBERTS: Well, I was every sign on a scale of one to ten, a nine or a ten.
CARROLL: First thing in the morning...
ROBERTS: God.
CARROLL: ... at dinner, when you workout, crossing the street.
ROBERTS: Oh, yes. Walking down the sidewalk. I'm hit by a bus almost.
CARROLL: I'm sure Kiran is addicted, too.
ROBERTS: Oh, this is sad. Can you imagine, though, not being able to e-mail?
CARROLL: Yes, and that would be tough.
ROBERTS: What did we ever do back in the dark ages of the early '90s?
CARROLL: I don't remember. You know, I don't know what we did. I know I was on the phone a lot. ROBERTS: Remember when fax machines came along and the cell phones? Oh, my gosh. How did people ever exist in the 1960s? They couldn't get anything done.
Jason, thanks very much. Good to see you.
CARROLL: All right.
ROBERTS: Kiran?
CHETRY: I still remember when cell phones came with the spiral cord, right? And a big leather case that you kept under your front seat only for emergencies.
Well, Sarah Palin unleashed and she's not holding anything back now. We're going to see who she's blaming for her series of sit-downs with Katie Couric that didn't go so well.
Also, Tom Cruise chokes up. The TV interview question about John Travolta's son that made Cruise so emotional he couldn't go on. It's 22 minutes after the hour.
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UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: What kind of bag did you want?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The plastic.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: All right. The plastic one?
ROB MARCIANO, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): At the checkout line, most people use plastic. But in Nashville, Belmont University art professor Teresa Van Hatten-Granath checks out with a few of her own bags.
TERESA VAN HATTEN-GRANATH, GREENBAG LADY: I've been making bags. I've given away over 2,300 at this point.
MARCIANO: It started out as a project for herself and a few of her friends. But after launching her own Web site greenbaglady.org, Teresa began giving away fabric bags to anyone who requested them for free.
VAN HATTEN-GRANATH: But the catch is, is that even though I'm giving them a bag for free, they have to use it instead of paper or plastic.
MARCIANO: She also asked for photos of recipients shopping with their bags. Using donated materials, Teresa can make one fabric bag in less than ten minutes. She labels and numbers each bag, then mails them out, doesn't even charge for shipping. With hundreds of billions of plastic bags ending up in U.S. landfills every year, Teresa says she is helping the environment and inspiring others to do the same.
VAN HATTEN-GRANATH: People also call it pay it forward. I'm giving somebody something and then they're not using paper or plastic so it's giving it back to the planet.
Rob Marciano, CNN.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
KATIE COURIC, "CBS EVENING NEWS" ANCHOR: Specifically, I'm curious what you --
GOV. SARAH PALIN (R), ALASKA: All of them, any of them that have been in front of me over all these years.
COURIC: Can you name a few?
PALIN: I have a vast variety of sources where we get our news. Alaska isn't a foreign country.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CHETRY: Well, Sarah Palin's interviews with Katie Couric arguably a turning point in how she was viewed by the public in the campaign. Now the Alaska governor is taking on the media in a new documentary and she's blaming the McCain campaign for agreeing to the series of sit-downs with Couric after the first one appeared to go so poorly. So is she making sense or making excuses?
Joining us from Washington, David Brody, CNN contributor and senior national correspondent for the Christian Broadcasting Network. Thanks for being with us.
She sounded like she was blaming a bunch of other people. I had a chance to hear some of the interview courtesy of your Web site and she has a lot of blame to go around.
DAVID BRODY, SR. CORRESP., CHRISTIAN BROADCASTING NETWORK: Oh, I don't think there's any question about it. I mean, Kiran, I think one of the interesting parts of this interview is that she really didn't take any responsibility herself. I mean, that interview was chalk on a blackboard. I mean, you know, she can't -- couldn't come up with a Supreme Court case that she disagreed with, and in essence, she punted and said well, the McCain camp we shouldn't have gone back for more and blame the McCain camp.
So, it was striking how she really didn't take any responsibility. So I think this is what we're seeing here, Kiran, is kind of a wild, wild west strategy potentially for Palin in 2012. In other words, she could come back in 2012 and be totally unplugged.
I mean, I think she believes that this was handled from a media perspective all wrong in 2008. So in 2012, get ready, you know, for the Sarah Palin show. No doubt.
CHETRY: All right. In this, she talked to this documentary filmmaker John Ziegler, and he was doing a whole entire documentary about how Obama got elected. And she takes on the media as well as the McCain campaign about those repeated interviews with Katie Couric. Let's hear what she also says about feeling like she shouldn't have gone back for more. Let's hear it.
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PALIN: And because of however it works in, you know, that upper echelon of power-brokering in the media, and with spokespersons and, it was, told me that yes, we were going to go back for more. And going back for more was not a wise decision either.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CHETRY: So you talked a little bit about strategy for 2012. Media as the enemy, is that going to work on the national stage?
BRODY: Well, I don't know if she'll actually do the media as the enemy situation. Actually, I think she thinks the media could be used to her advantage, I mean. But the problem for Sarah Palin is that she may have a little Dan Quayle syndrome here on the sense that, you know, once Dan Quayle misspelled potato, that was the end of it. I mean, you Dan Quayle had the public perception problem and so here comes Sarah Palin in 2012 and she may have exactly the same problem.
But look, I mean, there was one part in that interview where she got a little, a little emotional where she talked about the attacks on Bristol and the attacks on Trig, and she talked about being a mama bear and, you know, coming to her kids' defense. That's a home run for the base especially and for other folks as well. So she can play the media in a very positive way as well, Kiran.
CHETRY: Right, but she said over and over again in the interview, the mainstream media, the perception. She brought in class, she brought in gender and in fact she also said that perhaps the same standard would not be applied to a Democrat.
She talked about Caroline Kennedy's bid to fill Hillary Clinton's Senate seat and whether she'll be handled with kid gloves or under the microscope. So let's listen to what she said about Caroline Kennedy.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
PALIN: It's going to be interesting to see how that plays out. And I think that as we watched that, we will perhaps be able to prove that there is a class issue here also that was such a factor in the scrutiny of my candidacy versus the scrutiny of what her candidacy may be.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CHETRY: All right. So there, again, she talked and she also said at one point in the interview, right, if she was Barack Obama's vice presidential nominee, she might have been treated a lot differently than the fact that she was McCain's pick. There was a lot of negativity in the interview. Is that going to work?
BRODY: Well, you're right. I mean, there was a lot of negativity and I think the reason for that is that, I don't want to use the word bitter but very close to it. I mean, things did not go the way she had planned and if she had it to do all over again, she would. She maybe is not going off on the greatest note here in 2009, but remember that -- all of that that she's talking about, that media bashing, if you will, plays to the base. And at least within the Republican primary, that works well. And so, it may not work as well in the general election.
But on Caroline Kennedy, I mean she does have a point to the degree that both Sarah Palin and Caroline Kennedy were put through a huge media vetting process. The difference is, is that Caroline Kennedy didn't seem to take the actual personal shots that Sarah Palin did. Obviously Sarah Palin had some other material, if you will. But Caroline Kennedy really was more vetted because of what she, the process, the rollout, and that seemed to be the difference. And so, you know, that plays well with the base, Kiran, no doubt.
CHETRY: All right. David Brody, CNN contributor and senior international correspondent for the Christian Broadcasting Network. Thanks so much for being with us.
BRODY: Thanks, Kiran.
ROBERTS: Thirty-one minutes now after the hour. And here are this morning's top stories. The Israeli government says it will continue its military offensive against Hamas despite the U.N.'s call for an end to hostility.
We've got some live pictures of the conflict right now. While the U.S. abstained, the United Nation Security Council last night unanimously passed a resolution calling for an immediate and durable cease-fire in Gaza. But the fighting continues this morning. There is a smoke rising above the Gaza City. Israeli aircraft targeting dozens of Hamas sites in Gaza. More than 750 Palestinians and 1,300 Israelis -- whoa, wait a minute, what's that, that's wrong. More than 750 Palestinians have died in the 14 -- sorry, 13 Israelis have died in the 14-day offensive.
Another night of protest in California in Oakland over the fatal shooting of an unarmed man by a transit officer. The demonstrations were much calmer than the previous night when 120 people were arrested for damaging cars and hundreds of local businesses. Oakland police say they're investigating the New Year's Day incident.
This morning the Illinois House of Representatives will vote whether to impeach Governor Rod Blagojevich. If the motion passes, the state Senate will then put Blagojevich on trial. Yesterday a committee unanimously recommended the governor be thrown out of office after he was accused of trying to sell Barack Obama's Senate seat, among other things. The governor's office called the proceedings "flawed and biased."
The nation's capital will be virtually locked down on inauguration day. But if you have to be there for Barack Obama's swearing in, Amtrak is the way to go. They're increasing the number of trains running to Washington on January 20th. Amtrak can usually accommodate 5,600 inbound passengers on a normal weekday, but will handle as many as 8,300 for the inauguration.
Well, heavy rains in the mountain of melting snow are creating a major mass in Washington State. The widespread flooding in the northwest forcing thousands of evacuations and shutting down hundreds of roads. CNN iReporter as they always are, are on the case. Jay Immelt (ph) shot this photo in Arlington, near Seattle, where rising water cut off access to the Interstate. And Marty Kilough (ph) sends us this shot of a road collapse by rain and mudslides. That's in Ellensburg, Washington.
Interstate 5, the state's major north-south freeway was shut down from Olympia to the Oregon state line. CNN's Ted Rowlands is knee- deep in the big Washington mud and reports for us now.
TED ROWLANDS, CNN GENERAL ASSIGNMENT CORRESPONDENT: John and Kiran, all of this rain and the melting snow have caused rivers and streams across the region to be pushed to record limits. This area behind us is normally dry. In fact the river that is feeding all of this is about a half a mile away. All of this flooding has pushed thousands of people from their homes and has kept emergency crews working around the clock.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
ROWLANDS (voice-over): From dramatic rescues like this one, where a man had to be pulled from a ravine near Olympia, Washington, to mudslides. The northwest has been hit hard by days of pounding rain and melting snow. In some areas, firefighters went door-to-door to get people to leave.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We want to let you know that we're recommending your immediate evacuation.
ROWLANDS: In Whatcom County, Washington, this man says he was in bed when a mudslide hit his home.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It sounded like thundering since (ph). I mean, scrambling and snapping of trees. You know, big trees.
ROWLANDS: More than 20 rivers reached flood stage, some hitting record levels, sending water into homes and businesses in counties across the states of Washington and Oregon. Dozens of roadways are flooded restricting travel for thousands of frustrated people.
ERIK KNUTZEN, RESIDENT: What it was like a couple of years ago at all. We had roads wash away, but they were from, you know, not a road like this, not a highway like this. This is kind of scary.
ROWLANDS: South of Seattle, the 20-mile stretch of Interstate 5 is under water preventing an estimated 10,000 trucks a day from getting through. They say it may take until Sunday before it's open. By late Thursday afternoon, the rain in most of the region stopped but rivers continued to rise.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I've lived here my whole life, and haven't seen weather like this with the snow and now the rain, so it's pretty crazy.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
ROWLANDS: With a break in the rain over the next few days, once these water levels drop, people will be able to go back into their homes, and the massive job of cleaning up will begin -- John, Kiran.
CHETRY: All right. Well, thanks. Well, even "Playboy" founder Hugh Hefner has been hit by the economy. We go one-on-one with Hefner about his losses, and the new twin 19-year-old in his life. 35 minutes after the hour.
ROBERTS: You've heard of support groups for alcoholics and gamblers. How about one for the unemployed?
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UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You become very depressed. You become very depressed.
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ROBERTS: Jobless meetings cropping up all over.
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UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: It kind of takes the shame out of it.
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ROBERTS: Helping each other get jobs. You're watching the Most News in the Morning.
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CHETRY: Welcome back to the Most News in the Morning. A Labor Department comes out with December's jobless figures later this morning. And economists expect that this report will show that unemployment is at seven percent, which is actually a 15-year high. And the shrinking job market is bringing some laid off workers together to support each other and also to network for new jobs.
CNN's Deborah Feyerick joins us now with the story of one such support group.
So it's not just a pity party, it's also to try to move forward as well.
DEBORAH FEYERICK, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, absolutely. And you know, the more people you talk to, the more you realize that virtually everyone now knows someone who's been laid off. And for the newly unemployed transition can be very lonely. That has triggered an explosion in these support groups nationwide.
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FEYERICK: It's not the kind of conversation you'd normally have at lunch with almost total strangers.
ADAM BRILL, UNEMPLOYED P.R. SPECIALIST: Since July, I've been laid off.
BASH: P.R. specialist Adam Brill estimates he sent out hundreds of resumes trying to find work.
BRILL: The challenges is, you now, waiting for a call back. And that's the hardest part, not getting any feedback.
FEYERICK: But everyone at this table understands, because they're all casualties of the recession. By a show of hands, how many of you? You never thought it would take this long. These white color professionals meet once a month at a Bedford Street diner in Stamford, Connecticut, to eat lunch, talk strategy.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Who doesn't have a marketing plan here?
FEYERICK: Network and commiserate.
ROBERT WEISS, UNEMPLOYED H.R. DIRECTOR: You become very depressed. You become very depressed. So you need to get out. You need the social interaction.
FEYERICK: With more and more Americans out of work, there's been an explosion of people connecting online, and many like this group meeting offline, face-to-face.
SHEILA WALL, UNEMPLOYED EXECUTIVE COACH: It kind of takes the shame out of it, that I think a computer, you still are sitting there in isolation.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: And how have you fought it out?
FEYERICK: This group is run by career coach Donna Sweidan, whose best advice is --
DONNA SWEIDAN, CAREER COUNSELOR: You network, network, network right now, and be connecting in person as well as on the Internet.
FEYERICK (on camera): When you came to this meeting this morning, did you have a sense what have it is you wanted to accomplish?
DARCY MCDONALD, UNEMPLOYED I.T. SPECIALIST: I did, actually, to get out and talk with other people in different fields to get a sense of what was working for them.
CHRIS KWONG, UNEMPLOYED FINANCIAL CONSULTANT: The only way you can survive, the more people you know, and more people you can do right by and it's like changing -- swapping commodities constantly. Bits of information back and forth.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: A group like this really helps keep you motivated and get you out there speaking with other people who are in the same boat as you are. (END VIDEOTAPE)
FEYERICK: Now, some of the people you just met there attend several different support groups a week to maximize the number of leads, since you never really know which one might hit. But so far, no one in that group has been able to land a job and they're all really pretty qualified. One man says he hasn't been out of work since he was in college. So, it's a tough time.
CHETRY: Yes. It's a scary thing. It's not just sectors like manufacturing and, you know, autos. It's really across the board right now. And hopefully, we'll be taking steps to do something about it.
FEYERICK: Exactly.
CHETRY: Deb, thanks for being with us this morning.
FEYERICK: Of course.
CHETRY: John?
ROBERTS: It's 41 minutes after the hour. Got some live pictures to show you. Fairly dramatic developments in Gaza. You can see smoke rising above Gaza City there. This comes as Israel says, despite unanimously passed U.N. resolution at the Security Council yesterday, calling for an immediate and durable cease-fire, it is going to press ahead with its military operations in Gaza.
Now, you're saying to yourself, wait a second, unanimous Security Council resolution, 14-0, aren't there 15 members of the Security Council? There are. The United States in a rather unusual move last night, even though it was backing this -- Condoleezza Rice had called for the need for this resolution, it abstained from voting.
The reason it abstained from voting? It says it wants to allow more time for Egyptian mediation efforts to try to produce some success. Egypt is trying to mediate an agreement between Israel and the Palestinian Authority. The Palestinian Authority has also given indications that if the agreement would be acceptable to both Israel and the Authority, that Hamas would go along with it as well.
But for the moment, Israel pressing ahead with its offensive in Gaza. Prime Minister Ehud Olmert's office released a statement saying, "The military will continue acting to protect Israeli citizens and will carry out the missions it was given." And again, that unanimous resolution, with the U.S. abstaining, 14-0 in the U.N. Security Council yesterday calling for an immediate and durable cease- fire.
So for the moment, the Israeli government thumbing its nose at the U.N. Security Council. We'll keep watching the story today and find out where it goes, but smoke continues to rise today over Gaza City.
Forty-three minutes after the hour. My candid interview with the king of "Playboy."
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ROBERTS: You're 82 years old now. Your latest girlfriends -- a pair of 19-year-old twins. A lot of people would say, how do you do it? And other people might say, are you ever going to grow up?
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ROBERTS: One-on-one with Hugh Hefner.
Plus, even his multimillion-dollar empire has taken a hit in this economy. You're watching the Most News in the Morning.
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ROBERTS: As Inauguration Day approaches, economic issues are front and center. The global crisis has even taken a toll on Hugh Hefner's multimillion-dollar empire. The "Playboy" founder supports Barack Obama saying it's time for a change.
But how does the magazine that was launched 55 years ago stay relevant particularly in these tough economic times? The new book "Mr. Playboy: Hugh Hefner and the American Dream" tells Hefner's amazing story. And joining us now to talk more about it in person is Hugh Hefner, the founder of Playboy Enterprises.
Mr. Hefner, it's good to see you. Thanks for being with us today.
HUGH HEFNER, FOUNDER, PLAYBOY ENTERPRISES: It is my pleasure.
ROBERTS: In the 1950s and through the '60s and the early '70s, you were such a factor in the sexual revolution in this country. With the election of Barack Obama, do you believe that the cultural revolution has come to an end?
HEFNER: It's always ongoing. You know, we remain essentially a puritan people. So I think it's -- you know, that conflict is always there. Of course, Jim Wright had played a major role in all of that and I think that the -- you know, the complicated problems with religion being involved with politics, hopefully, will come to an end for awhile at least.
ROBERTS: In 1953 when you first launched "Playboy" magazine, you seemed to be the right publication for the right time. But 55 years later, is "Playboy Magazine" still relevant and if it is, how do you keep it relevant?
HEFNER: Well, I don't think, obviously, it will ever play the same kind of role that it played back in the 1950s and '60s. But I do think that a magazine of quality always has a place. Increasingly, obviously, fewer people are reading magazines. Part of that is a change that "playboy" has always -- is also embracing. We're very much involved with the Internet. We will continue to publish and publish both the magazine and then publish through electronics.
ROBERTS: The new Steven Watts biography itself is a fascinating -- very fascinating look at your entire career from your roots all the way up until the present. And he says, looking back over it, that, quote, "the key to his approach was that he edited "Playboy" for himself, aiming it at his own taste and values."
Was that also a key to your success as well -- that you approached this with such a personal passion?
HEFNER: I think so, but I think that is one of the things that makes magazines unique. They do speak with a personal voice.
ROBERTS: Hugh, in the early part of the 1980s, you ran into a number of problems. You were attacked on a number of different fronts by Reagan conservatives, the feminist movement. Business started to suffer. Of course, there was the murder of 1980 Playmate of the Year, Dorothy Stratton, and charges that you had exploited her.
A recent article in the "Baltimore Sun" described those times this way. It said, quote, "Many now viewed Hefner as an anachronism: a creepy old guy padding around the mansion in slippers, pajamas and smoking jacket, pathetically cavorting with the same young bimbos and living the dissolute life of an aging Lothario, the sexualized Peter Pan who refused to grow up."
I mean, how did you overcome all that and survive another 25 years in the way that you have?
HEFNER: Well, I think that's probably the great question. One of the big questions is, why is the brand so hugely popular again? There was a period in the '80s and '90s at which we were in the shade, and the brand has become hugely popular again, part of it because of the television show.
ROBERTS: The program you're talking about is "Girls Gone Wild." It's about -- sorry, "Girls Next Door." "Girls Gone Wild" was another story we were doing earlier today. It's heading into its sixth season. And one of the statistics I saw was that 78 percent of the viewers are women. How do you think you've tapped into that market?
HEFNER: Well, we certainly didn't anticipate it. The original notion of doing the show through the eyes of the girl friends seemed inspired because it took a lot of the pressure off of me, because I didn't -- I'm a very busy guy. As a result of it, it is a hugely popular phenomenon with women. So the fact that the magazine and the brand are now hot with young women is -- bodes well for the future.
ROBERTS: You're 82 years old now. Your latest girl friends -- a pair of 19-year-old twins. A lot of people would say, how do you do it? And other people might say, are you ever going to grow up?
HEFNER: Yes. Well, I'll never going to grow up. A long ago, I decided that age really didn't matter. And as long as the ladies -- as long as they feel the same way, that's fine with me.
ROBERTS: You're certainly about the youngest 82-year-old I've ever seen. Hugh Hefner, it's good to talk to you. Thanks for being with us today.
HEFNER: My pleasure always.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
CHETRY: There you go.
Tom Cruise, by the way, speechless. A question about John Travolta's son that made him so emotionally choked up and couldn't talk. It's 50 minutes after the hour.
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CHETRY: Welcome back to the Most News in the Morning. Actor Tom Cruise is very close to John Travolta and his family. Both of them are Scientologists. 16-year-old Jett Travolta, as you know, died last week suddenly of a seizure. He was laid to rest Thursday at a private family service in Florida. During an interview on "The View," Cruise got very emotional talking about the Travolta's tragic loss.
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TOM CRUISE, ACTOR: You know, I -- it's horrific. You know, you have -- like it's just horrific. I mean, here's a man who is -- both of them doting parents. You know, just wonderful people, and they -- it's, you know, it's just --
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Let me ask you something.
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CHETRY: There you see him choking up and not being able to finish what he was saying there. In the interview, he also addressed Scientology's stand on medication saying it does not prevent people from getting proper medical treatment. It's 53 minutes after the hour.
ROBERTS: Outrage and chaos.
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UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: We will mobilize. We are a community and we are a voice.
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ROBERTS: Trashing police cars. Setting fires. Fury over the killing of an unarmed man.
Plus, raw, unscripted Sarah Palin on gossip, lies, her daughter Bristol, and Katie Couric. Her most critical interview yet, on the "Most News in the Morning." (COMMERCIAL BREAK)
CHETRY: Well, since the election, some of Barack Obama's moves have left his liberal supporters scratching their heads like keeping President Bush's defense secretary, Robert Gates, naming campaign rival Hillary Clinton to head the State Department, and asking gay marriage opponent Pastor Rick Warren to speak at his inauguration or to at least give the invocation.
Our next guest says don't be fooled that Obama is taking a page from the Bush playbook. Peter Beinart joins us now from Washington, a member of the Council on Foreign Relations and a contributor for thedailybeast.com.
CHETRY: Peter, thanks for being with us.
PETER BEINART, AUTHOR, "THE GOOD FIGHT": Thank you.
CHETRY: Your article is really interesting and we picked through a couple of Obama's centrist moves since the election. You say that Bush did the same thing after he became president back in 2001, and these moves are really a head fake to cover a conservative agenda. Explain.
BEINART: Yes. I think if you look at what Bush did in his first couple of months in office, there were a lot of symbolic moves to the center -- some cabinet appointments that looked pretty moderate like Christy Todd Whitman and Colin Powell, a lot of palling around with Democrats, and talk about bipartisanship.
And that was the head fake. In reality, Bush pushed a very aggressive, conservative agenda; the centerpiece of it was a huge tax cut that he managed to ram through Congress.
And I think Barack Obama is doing the same thing from the liberal side. He's looking for centrist symbolism, the Rick Warren take -- kind of central - you know, central among them. And that is getting kind of good response from people -- from conservatives, worrying liberals a little bit.
But what they're both, I think, not paying enough attention to is the actual legislative agenda is an extremely aggressive liberal agenda. Good from my point of view. You know, health care, stimulus, global warming, and I think the centrist symbolism is a way of making that go down easier.
CHETRY: How did it work for President Bush, because you say that he did this, and that the press was still characterizing him as a uniter, not a divider, all the while, as you characterize it, a brazen right wing agenda was really taking shape. How did that benefit him and how will, and you seem to believe that Barack Obama's taking a lesson from that, so how will he apply it?
BEIHART: Well, I think that Bush was very successful. I don't like the things that he did, but he was successful in getting them done. Remember, Bush won -- lost the majority of the vote. People thought that he was going to have to really rein in his sales in terms of what he tried to do. And in fact, he got through a huge tax cut that had very dramatic implications for America's fiscal situation for years and years since. And so, he was very successful in getting his agenda through.
I think Barack Obama is trying to do the same thing. I think he's trying to tamp down a lot of the cultural -- kind of culture war issues, having to do with gender and race and homosexuality and guns, some of the things that got Bill Clinton into trouble a lot in his first year in office. Getting that off the table so he can really focus on what is a really dramatically ambitious kind of economic and domestic agenda.
CHETRY: All right. Very interesting take from Peter Beinart this morning. Thanks for being with us.
BEINART: Thank you.
