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CNN Sunday Morning
Congress Works to Reconcile Competing Stimulus Bills; 1 Dead, 134 Rescued From Lake Erie Ice; Biden Wraps First Overseas Trip
Aired February 08, 2009 - 06:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
T.J. HOLMES, CNN ANCHOR: Well, from the CNN Center in Atlanta, Georgia, this is CNN SUNDAY MORNING. Six o'clock -- how's that feeling for you?
MELISSA LONG, CNN ANCHOR: It's early.
HOLMES: Yesterday was your first day with the six. You OK today?
LONG: I'm fine today. Are you?
HOLMES: OK. Oh yes, I do this every weekend.
LONG: What time do you set your alarm clock?
HOLMES: Three a.m. Yes.
LONG: I pushed it. I did 3:15 today.
HOLMES: See.
Hey, everybody, I'm T.J. This is Melissa.
LONG: Good morning. I'm in today for Betty, who hopefully is sleeping in. Sunday....
HOLMES: Of course she is.
LONG: ...February 8. Former President Bill Clinton delivering the keynote address at an annual dinner of Democratic leaders last night and he did not hold back.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
BILL CLINTON (D), FMR. PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: The world needs an America that is respected and trusted taking us to a world where we also have shared responsibilities and shared opportunities. We can't get out of this economic mess by ourselves.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
LONG: And the economy not the only thing that has the former president fired up. More of his comments coming up this hour.
HOLMES: Also, where are all the men? That's now a question...
LONG: That's an interesting question. HOLMES: ...being asked by single ladies right now, actually. This has more of an economic twist to it. Taking a look at a new trend that's leaving men trailing the women in the workplace.
LONG: And maybe you want to lose weight and at no cost. A free workout? One woman dropped 113 pounds with a little assistance from the military. Her story coming up.
Right now, 135 people have been rescued off of Lake Erie. A huge ice floe -- something like eight miles long -- broke off of the Ohio shoreline. A 65-year-old man fell in the water and died of an apparent heart attack.
Now this is a popular place for ice fishing, but authorities say it was simply too dangerous for any of them to be out there.
From ice to fire now, southeastern Australia, where wildfires have killed at least 76 people. Some of those killed were trapped in their cars while trying to escape the flames. Officials say close to 650 homes have been destroyed. Investigators in Victoria state are now trying to determine whether two of the fires are arson. Officials hope mild weather moving into the area now will help firefighters to control the flames.
And there's a new radio ad out today, thanks to a handful of -- thanking rather a handful of Republican senators backing President Obama's huge economic-stimulus package. The aid -- ad, which is paid for by Americans United for Change -- it's a liberal interest group. The roughly $800 billion package is on track to pass the Senate possibly Tuesday despite stiff opposition from Republicans.
Coming up about 30 minutes from now, we're going to take a closer look at that ad and tell you which states are playing it, so you can hear it.
HOLMES: Well, the Democratic leaders, they say they're pretty confident the package will pass when it comes up for a vote -- so confident they decided to take today off after working yesterday. Still dark in the nation's capital right now.
They spent the day yesterday debating some of the sticking points of that stimulus bill. Tomorrow, the Senate will reconvene for a test vote. This is called cloture. This is -- pretty much gives them a good headcount and lets them now that they can cut off debate and go ahead and vote on this bill. If that goes well, we could see that final vote on Tuesday.
Now all this progress comes after a group of Democrats and a few Republican Senators -- namely three -- worked into the night Friday on a compromise to trim billions from an earlier version.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SEN. SUSAN COLLINS (R), MAINE: Tonight is a victory for the American people. We demonstrated that we can come together to tackle the most important problem facing our nation. The economic crisis is dire and it requires tough, immediate action.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HOLMES: And just to let you know how confident the Senate Democratic leaders are, they say behind the scenes, they're going to go ahead and start negotiating to try to reconcile with the House version of that same bill. So they are moving forward even though the vote has yet to take place in the Senate.
Meanwhile, the president is taking his stimulus plan on the road. After trying for weeks to convince lawmakers in Washington to support his plan, Elaine Quijano now explains why the president is making his sales pitch directly to struggling families.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
ELAINE QUIJANO, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: T.J. and Melissa, President Obama wants to have that bill on his desk, ready to sign, in about a week's time. So he again urged Congress to act quickly.
In his weekly address, he said that if lawmakers don't act soon, there could be dire economic consequences.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
BARACK H. OBAMA, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA: Because if we don't move swiftly to put this plan in motion, our economic crisis could become a national catastrophe. Millions of Americans will lose their jobs, their homes and their health care. Millions more will have to put their dreams on hold.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
QUIJANO: Republicans, though, continue to insist that there is too much wasteful spending, they believe, contained in this legislation, and not enough tax cuts.
Here's the chairman of the Republican National Committee, Michael Steele.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
MICHAEL STEELE, CHAIRMAN, REPUBLICAN NATIONAL COMMITTEE: American families are doing their best to balance their own budgets and pay their mortgages. The fastest way to help those families is by letting them keep more of the money they earn. Individual empowerment -- that's how you stimulate the economy.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
QUIJANO: The president is going to try to push back against some of those Republican criticisms, taking his case to Indiana and Florida Monday and Tuesday. He's scheduled to hold a town-hall meeting in each of those communities, which has been hard-hit by this economic downturn.
President Obama is also scheduled to hold his first primetime news conference Monday night -- T.J., Melissa.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
HOLMES: All right. Well, Senate Democrats had proposed a $900 billion stimulus package. After negotiation, the price tag dropped about $100 billion, down to $800 billion.
LONG: The package still includes $14 billion in Pell Grants, $3.5 billion for energy-efficient federal buildings, $7.5 billion for education grants.
So what's been taken out? Twenty-five billion for education, $16 billion for school construction, $122 million for Coast Guard cutters and ice breakers.
HOLMES: And the president will have his first primetime news conference on Monday. Hmm. Wonder what he'll talk about. Of course, the economy will be -- be a big topic on Monday. You can certainly see that right here on CNN 8:00 Eastern. Then stay tuned for all that analysis of the conference from the best political team on television. "AC 360" also coming your way at 10 p.m. All that right here on CNN.
LONG: Vice President Joe Biden is wrapping up his first trip overseas today as vice president. His goal is to show some close allies that it's a new day for American foreign policy.
From Germany now, CNN's Frederik Pleitgen.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
FREDERIK PLEITGEN, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): The vice president arrived in Munich ready to tell the world what it can expect from the new U.S. administration and what America expects from the world.
JOE BIDEN, VICE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA: I come to Europe on behalf of a new administration, an administration that's determined to set a -- a new tone, not only in Washington, but in America's relations around the world.
PLEITGEN: The vice president told the delegates the U.S. is willing to engage the Iranian government.
BIDEN: We will be willing to talk. We'll be willing to talk to Iran and to offer a very clear choice: continue down the current course, and there will be continued pressure and isolation; abandon the illicit nuclear program and your support for terrorism, and there will be meaningful incentives.
PLEITGEN: Concerning relations between the U.S. and Russia, Biden made clear the United States will continue developing a missile- defense system, which Moscow vehemently opposes, but wants to consult with the Russians and NATO in a bid to improve relations.
BIDEN: The last few years have seen a dangerous drift in the relations between Russia and the members of our alliance. It's time to paraphrase President Obama -- it's time to press the "reset" button.
PLEITGEN: A view echoed by the French president.
NICHOLAS SARKOZY, PRESIDENT OF FRANCE (through translator): Confidence must be restored. I don't think the Russia of today is a military threat to NATO or the European Union.
PLEITGEN: In a speech that covered a broad spectrum of issues, from global warming to the world's economy, Biden also called on America's allies to do more to share the burden in conflicts like the wary in Afghanistan.
The vice president will hold bilateral meetings with leaders from around the world at the conference. But the central message is this: Yes, America will do more, but it expects its allies to do more as well.
Fred Pleitgen, CNN, Berlin.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
LONG: The vice president has just a quick trip. He's heading back to the U.S.
HOLMES: Already on the way back.
LONG: After meetings today.
HOLMES: But a big trip.
LONG: Oh, absolutely.
HOLMES: But a short trip.
LONG: A very important trip, yes.
Dozens of fishermen have been rescued. One in fact died, and then some are thinking about doing this again?
HOLMES: Ah.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: This happens every year. You'd think -- you'd think we wouldn't do it. But -- oh, I say I won't do it again, but talk to me next year.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
LONG: Well, the one guy seems fine, but local authorities are a bit upset to say the least.
HOLMES: Mm-hmm.
Also, a former Ku Klux Klansman asking forgiveness after beating that man some 50 years ago. Could you forgive somebody? (COMMERCIAL BREAK)
(MUSIC)
LONG: Jazmine Sullivan, she is a newcomer in the world of music. But certainly being celebrated today. The Grammys coming up tonight. She has been nominated for best new artist. Also celebrating Coldplay, after earning seven nods, and rapper Lil Wayne receiving eight nominations. We'll find out who wins the coveted awards tonight. The Grammys are at 8 p.m.
HOLMES: Well let's turn now back to a story we saw overnight. One person -- this is something we were following yesterday all day, actually -- one person dead now, 135 others had to be rescued from the ice on Lake Erie. All of them stranded on an eight-mile-long ice floe that broke away yesterday? Authorities say it was too dangerous for any of them to be out there.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SHERIFF BOB BRATTON, OTTAWA COUNTY, OHIO: In our financial status going across the country, this was wrong. These people endangered lives of volunteer firemen. The United States Coast Guard -- I have estimated already we're well over $25,000 for this, and I'm sure that's going to climb.
I'm sorry a man lost his life out there today. These people should have known better.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HOLMES: Well, you hear the sheriff there pretty upset, and man, you see -- speaking about lost his life, a 65-year-old man who actually, I believe, died of a -- a heart attack after falling into that water.
A lot of the folks out there were ice fishing. And Reynolds, here with you now. You -- you spent some time up in the area...
REYNOLDS WOLF, CNN METEOROLOGIST: Absolutely.
HOLMES: ...so you know about this. But that sheriff, he makes a point. And he was so upset, because it does -- he says, at time, money is tight. This was pure stupidity. And if we had a law that had to do with common sense, I would have made 150 arrests out there is what he said.
WOLF: Absolutely. Yes.
But, I mean, the thing is, I mean, you can have a law, but then someone have to enforce, and then people have to pay attention to it, and all that kind of thing. But that's a major form of recreation that you have up there.
Take a look at this.
HOLMES: Yes.
WOLF: Not ice. Not ice there.
HOLMES: No.
WOLF: Other places, there are ice. And you know, you have to be really, really careful. This is a major, major thing that people do in parts of Michigan, parts of Ohio. They wait for the ice to get thick, they actually go out on the ice -- a lot of times they'll drill a hole -- you fish through the hole in the ice. You have a tent out there, and then you have this, like, little space heater, and you just -- you fish.
HOLMES: It's recreational. This is fun stuff.
WOLF: That's what you do. That is exactly what you do. And unfortunately, as you mentioned -- what? -- 135 people out there yesterday -- again -- you know, it could have been a lot worse.
HOLMES: Do some people know -- I mean, are they taking -- they're certainly a chance. Well, see, if people do it all the time, so you don't see these accidents...
WOLF: Absolutely.
HOLMES: ...all the time. But it -- he said they should have known better in this instance.
WOLF: You really have to be careful. I mean, you really do. I mean, it all takes is just one -- one big break in the ice, and then people go through. We're very fortunate that there was only one person. Heaves help the -- their -- the poor family that's dealing with their loss this morning. I totally understand this grief. What an awful thing they have to endure.
But folks, you got to be careful. It could have been far, far worse. No question about it.
Right now, you take a look at temperatures out there. And Detroit, you've got currently 36 degrees. That's above the freezing point. So on Lake St. Clair this morning, if you're thinking about going out there and doing some ice fishing, think again. Be careful out there. Forty-one currently at this time in St. Louis; 27 in Denver; 30 in Salt Lake City; 32 in Billings. And Dallas and Houston, you mainly have temperatures in the 50s and 60s, but later on today, 72 in Dallas, 76 in Houston.
In Austin, Texas, take a look at this shot: great shot of the capitol building made with great limestone you have out there right near the Balcones Escarpment. Beautiful shot you have. UT campus in the distance.
As we head back to the weather computer very quickly, let me show you something -- what we're going to be seeing later on today, especially for parts of Wet Texas, portions of Oklahoma and just a sliver of Nebraska, you have a chance of severe storms later on today. We're talking severe thunderstorms, possibly some small hail, some damaging winds, maybe an isolated chance of tornadoes. So that is certainly something we're going to focus in on our none -- next update coming up. And that's just moments away.
Let's send it back to you.
HOLMES: All right. We will see you in just moments then. Reynolds, thank you.
WOLF: You bet, guys.
LONG: Thanks, Reynolds.
A lot of people challenge themselves to try to lose weight. But it can be costly to do so.
HOLMES: Yes, it can.
LONG: Trying a gym, getting on a -- a specific regimen. Well, how about a woman that was able to achieve it, and at no cost? She lost 113 pounds. And it's also a way of supporting our troops -- getting in shape at the very same time.
That is one of T.J.'s favorite performers, nominated tonight....
HOLMES: Love this guy. I do love this guy.
LONG: ...for a large number of Grammys.
HOLMES: Yes.
LONG: I think he goes in with the most nominations.
HOLMES: Eight.
LONG: Yes.
HOLMES: Lil Wayne, the littlest guy that's going to be at the ceremony has the most number of -- of nominations. That's Lil Wayne.
LONG: He's performing tonight.
HOLMES: He's performing as well. But yes, "Tha Carter III" if you're not familiar with it. But we'll be talking about and bringing you some music from all of the nominated -- nominated folks throughout the morning.
Stay with us on this -- this hip-hop edition of CNN SUNDAY MORNING.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
LONG: It was almost 50 years ago when Ellen Wilson and his friends attacked a black man at a bus station in South Carolina. That young black man went on to become a congressman, John Lewis, who at the time was traveling the country, championing civil rights. The man who attacked him, Elwin Wilson, says he's been carrying around an apology in his heart, and has been waiting for the opportunity to get it off of his chest.
Well, he did. And now, here there are, Representative Lewis and Elwin Wilson, a former KKK member. Nearly half a century has passed since that attack, and John Lewis says all is since forgiven.
CNN's Don Lemon spoke with Elwin Wilson last night and Representative Lewis in this brutally honest conversation.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
DON LEMON, CNN ANCHOR: Mr. Wilson, I know you have spoken to the congressman recently, but is there anything else you would like to say to him?
ELWIN WILSON, APOLOGIZED TO REP. LEWIS: I've thought about him a lot since I left Washington. And I found out what kind of man he was. And I -- I enjoyed the -- the trip up there, and I didn't think I'd ever see the day when I'd find out who I beat up at the bus station in Rock Hill.
And it started off -- they had picture of, they call them the "city sisters" in Rock Hill that went to Friendship College.
LEMON: Mm-hmm.
WILSON: Then they had the Friendship Nine that went to college there. And when I saw the sisters, I had -- I'd already tried and did change my life.
LEMON: Mm-hmm.
WILSON: And I'm talking about spiritually and everything.
LEMON: I'm going to continue on and let you talk in a little bit, but I just -- before we go forward, I want to get Congressman Lewis' response.
What do you say to him after -- I mean, you were beaten up, hurt pretty bad, lots of other folks. Some people even lost their lives because of the actions of men like -- like Elwin.
And Mr. Wilson, what do you say to him?
REP. JOHN LEWIS (D), GEORGIA: Well, I -- I said to Mr. Wilson up in -- I met with him early during the week when he came to Washington to visit with me. And he said he wanted to apologize and that he was sorry. And -- and I said, "I forgive you. And I don't have any bitterness or hatred."
Because it was in keeping with what believed in, that we should have the capacity and the ability to forgive, that love is much stronger than hate. And it was very moving and very touching for me, for him to come to Washington and say, "I'm sorry for what I did." LEMON: Mm-hmm.
LEWIS: And Mr. Wilson, in almost 50 years, has been the only and the first person -- the first and only person who attacked me that's said, "I'm sorry."
LEMON: And -- and Congressman, I don't even know if you know this -- I -- I spoke with Mr. Wilson earlier today by telephone, and he was a little reticent on the phone to even answer. And when I told who I was, he talked to me.
But Mr. Wilson, tell him about some disturbing phone calls that you have been getting.
WILSON: Well, I got one phone call from a boy from Rutgers College. And the telephone rang; I answered it. He said, "Is this Elwin Wilson?" I said, "You're right." He said, "You are slummy, black n-dog."
And he just keep on talking. He told me, he said, "Here you are, with the KKK, took a oath, and here you are, going back on your word and against the white people."
LEMON: You were outraged by that phone call, and you said you -- you had to call the police.
Can you believe, Mr. Wilson, you know, 2009, some 50 years after that confrontation that you had with Mr. -- with the congressman, that there's still that sort of hate in the world?
WILSON: Not as much as it used to be, I don't think.
LEMON: Yes.
LEWIS: But I'm sorry that someone would do something like that to you, Mr. Wilson, that someone would call and use those words and -- it is -- it is -- it -- it is sad. But what you're doing, I think, is right, and it is very much in keeping with what we all believe in.
LEMON: Mm-hmm.
Mr. Wilson, do you have -- the people who are watching, what do you want them to know about why you did it, and about what we should be doing or how we should be treating the topic of race right now in this country?
WILSON: Well, I'd like to put another -- add something to what we were talking about, the guy that called me.
He -- I don't -- I don't know why it -- he would be like that because, it's like I told him, I said, "One day, I hope that you get the hatred out of your self, and I" -- he said, "Well, why did you change?" I said, "Well" -- I said, "My daddy always told me that a fool never changes his mind, and a smart man changes his mind."
And that's what I've done. And I'm not -- I'm not ashamed of it. And I'm not -- I'm not trying to be a Martin Luther King or something like that. It all started off with Andrew Dye (ph) and the local newspaper and snowballed on up.
And I -- I never would have thought I could apologize to this many people.
LEMON: Well, you got the...
WILSON: I feel like I'm apologizing to -- to the world right now.
LEMON: Oh, well thank you, Mr. Wilson.
And Mr. Lewis, I'll give you the last word on this, if you'd like to comment.
LEWIS: Well, I think this shows the power of -- of grace and -- and love. It is very much in keeping with the philosophy and the discipline of non-violence, to have the ability, the capacity to say "I'm sorry, forgive me." And the person that received the attack will say, "You're forgiven."
Because hate is too heavy a burden to bear. Maybe Mr. Wilson will inspire others to come forward.
LEMON: And I said it was going to be the last question, but it -- it just crossed my mind: Did you ever think that you'd be in this position with someone like Mr. Wilson apologizing to you?
LEWIS: I -- I -- I never thought in all this many years that someone like Mr. Wilson would be apologizing to me, no.
LEMON: Well, you both are, again, very brave for doing this. And we appreciate your candor.
And Mr. Wilson, thank you very much. We hope that you don't get any more of those phone calls.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
HOLMES: All right. We are now going to turn on the CNN SUNDAY MORNING back to the economy.
What did lawmakers do this weekend in an effort to help the economy and to help you out? What can we expect from this coming week?
We've got answers coming up.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HOLMES: Welcome back to the CNN SUNDAY MORNING. I'm T.J. Holmes.
LONG: And I'm Melissa Long, in today for Betty.
The economic stimulus, big story, of course. It was they focused on in the Senate yesterday and again on Monday. A final vote in the Senate is expected on Tuesday. This is on President Obama's massive stimulus package. The package is expected to pass despite strong Republican opposition.
HOLMES: And could the highest paid and highly regarded best player in the game be cheating? "Sports Illustrated" reporting New York Yankee star Alex Rodriquez failed a drug test for two performance enhancing drugs. That's back in 2003. That's the same season Rodriguez won the most valuable player award. He was playing for the Texas Rangers.
LONG: Joe Biden about to say some good byes on his first trip overseas as vice president. Yesterday the vice president spoke at a conference on international security. It was in Munich, Germany. He said the new administration will be alert but not aggressive in its foreign policy.
HOLMES: The Senate is closer to a vote on a roughly $800 billion stimulus package. But it's not over yet. Still some work to do. Senators worked overtime this weekend debating what to keep in, what to take out. If the Senate passes that bill, a joint committee will have to work out the differences between the House bill and the Senate bill. Democrats say they'll cut all they can, but Republicans worry that the final product will still be a bloated.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SEN. SUSAN COLLINS, (R) MAINE: That's a major concern to me. If the bill comes back from the conference committee with a lot of wasteful spending reinserted, or comes back in excess of $800 billion, it will not have my support. So I hope that my colleagues will follow the outlines of the compromise that we negotiated this week. That is important to me. I don't want to see a bloated overly expensive bill.
KATE BOLDUAN, CNN CONGRESSIONAL CORRESPONDENT: And if you do, there could be another standoff?
COLLINS: Yeah, there could be. And that would not be good for our country. We need to get going on turning the economy around and create jobs. So, I hope everything will buckle down, negotiate and come up with a bill that does the job.
SEN. BARBARA BOXER, (D) CALIFORNIA: Get over it! Get over it! Come and talk to us. Come and work with us. This election was about change. Not the same old, same old, trickle down tax cuts that don't work. Yes, there's 42 percent tax cuts in this bill. That's not enough for my friends on the other side. They want it all tax cuts, or most tax cuts. We tried it. It doesn't work. It has gotten us where we are today.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HOLMES: Well, that Senate vote could happen on Tuesday. But, again, a live picture there, all quiet right now.
LONG: That sight is gorgeous. HOLMES: It is a gorgeous picture. We've been showing those pictures this weekend. Glad we have that shot. It's nice. It's quiet. They are taking Sunday off, at least, but they're going back at it and probably won't be so nice and quiet tomorrow.
LONG: The red in the sky, though.
HOLMES: You want to just admire this picture for a while?
LONG: I would like to, actually.
HOLMES: We'll leave that up while I will continue to tell you about the economy here. It will no doubt be a big part of President Obama's first prime-time news conference. That comes your way on Monday night, 8 o'clock Eastern. Of course you can see that right here, live on CNN.
Can we take the picture down now?
LONG: We can take it down now.
HOLMES: OK.
LONG: Because you have to move on to another story.
HOLMES: To another story now.
America's mayors, they are on the front line of the economic crisis. Of course, they don't get a vote in Congress, but they still are trying to have their say. Just a few days ago, a number of mayors -- you see them there -- from across the country, took their message directly to Washington, and directly to the White House.
They met with senior White House officials. They were stressing that they are struggling to hold their cities together. I asked three of them right here from CNN "Saturday Morning," what they think about the proposed economic recovery plan. Here is what they had to say about it.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
MAYOR SHIRLEY FRANKLIN, (D) ATLANTA: What I have seen in the House version is a bill that I think that we need to support. It seems as if on the Senate side, other they have come close to the same decisions; so, investment in infrastructure, energy and education. And also looking at the tax benefits that would affect millions of Americans.
HOLMES: And Mayor Cicilline you agree with that in that, you know, it is getting better, if you will, but do you have certainly a different perspective than a senator would have or someone in the House would have that you need something, and you need it right now. You just want them to get something done?
MAYOR DAVID CICILLINE, (D) RHODE ISLAND: We want to do it right. But, of course, I think all the mayors would say the same thing. The first priority is to create jobs. To get Americans back to work again, and to stimulate the economy, to make the right investments in infrastructure that not only get people back to work but lay the foundation for future economic growth. That's what I think the president's plan does.
I think what we know as mayors, we see this very personally. We know the names of individuals who have lost their jobs, we see them in our cities. We know the names of people who have lost theirs homes. So, it's much more personal to mayors. We see it and live with it every single day. And so we are in Washington saying support the president's plan, get Americans back to work together, and make the right investments in the infrastructure to rebuild our economy to we can compete in the global economy of the 21st century.
HOLMES: Mayor Plusquellic, Mayor Villaraigosa, out in LA, he had a comment saying that the bickering needed to stop. Do you see this, and what we have been watching up in Washington, D.C. as bickering? Do you see this, as I guess, a lot of Republicans -- no Republican support here. What is your problem with the debate you have seen so far and what problem might you have with this particular bill?
MAYOR DONALD PLUSQUELLIC, (D) AKRON, OHIO: I think you will learn early on as a public official that there is never a perfect plan. I don't care what size community, what the issue is, you can debate, talk, discuss, on and on and on, argue, but there never will be a perfect plan. If we wait for that, tens of thousands and maybe millions of more people will be out of work before we take action.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HOLMES: Seven hundred mayors from across the country have submitted about 19,000 products, or a wish list, and after a stimulus package is passed they will find out which one of their infrastructure projects, and things on their wish list, will get money and get funded.
LONG: Former President Clinton is warning Democrats not to get distracted with partisan bickering. Clinton was the keynote speaker at Virginia's Annual Jefferson-Jackson Dinner. It was last night, in Richmond. He showed his support for a stimulus plan in order to jump- start the economy.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
BILL CLINTON, FMR. PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: We have to realize that an enormous amount of the real impact of this economic stimulus program will be determined state by state, and commonwealth by commonwealth, and community by community.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
LONG: The former president said Democrats need to focus more on how to solve the problem rather than asking what the price tag will be.
Focus in on the weather this morning, as well. It was a beautiful day in the Southeast yesterday, here today, as well.
HOLMES: It's going to be great. I hear up almost 70 degrees? That's some flip-flop weather.
(WEATHER FORECAST)
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
LONG: The Grammys are tonight, will you be watching?
HOLMES: Of course I will. I have a Grammy party to do.
REYNOLDS WOLF, CNN METEOROLOGIST: Oh, I always do. I watch it over and over again.
LONG: Over and over?
WOLF: Rails (ph) loves Grammys, oh, absolutely.
HOLMES: MIA, do you know this song, though?
LONG: I like this song.
HOLMES: You like this one?
LONG: I do.
HOLMES: The MIA, the young lady is actually 13 months pregnant. I mean, she's about to pop, and she is going to perform this evening, still.
LONG: Really?
WOLF: Thirteen months?
HOLMES: Thirteen, is that pregnant!
WOLF: If she sneezes, the baby is coming.
HOLMES: There she is. She is very, very pregnant. But yeah, a big breakout hit here for her. She plans on still performing tonight.
LONG: I look forward to hearing Cold Play perform tonight.
HOLMES: I love Cold Play. Loved them here in town, went to their concert.
LONG: I went a couple of years ago. They're great. Have you ever seen them in concert?
WOLF: No, I missed out on that stuff. But I wish I could. You know? It's good times.
HOLMES: That's right.
LONG: It's a good show. WOLF: Absolutely. Hey, you want to see a great show, take a look at the capitol we hat this morning. It just rocks.
HOLMES: Yes, we do like it.
WOLF: Isn't that neat?
HOLMES: It's getting nicer as the morning progresses.
WOLF: It looks --
LONG: It had a fiery tone to it, what 10, 15 minutes ago.
WOLF: You know, it really did. I mean, it had that low deck of clouds and the sun coming through, sun coming up from the east, where it normally does come up.
HOLMES: Like everyday, right?
WOLF: Yeah, everyday. You know, it's one of those things you can just --
LONG: Give or take?
WOLF: Yeah, you can just kind of bank on it. Definitely. Folks, just a beautiful day.
(WEATHER FORECAST)
HOLMES: Democrats hoping a series of radio ads, that begin airing today, will help stifle criticism of the Senate Republicans backing President Obama's stimulus package.
(BEGIN POLITICAL AD)
OBAMA: We start 2009 in the midst of a crisis unlike any we have seen in our lifetime.
That's why I have moved quickly on an American Recovery & Reinvestment Plan, a plan I am confident will save or create at least 3 million jobs.
The first job of my administration is to put people back to work and get our economy moving again.
ANNOUNCER: Tell Senators Collins and Snowe to support the Obama plan for jobs, not the failed policies of the past.
(END POLITICAL AD)
HOLMES: All right. Let's bring in out political producer and buddy of our show here on CNN SATURDAY & SUNDAY MORNING, with us from Boston.
What is the deal with these ads? Listen to the end of it, there. It doesn't exactly sound like a "thank you". It sounds like somebody trying to pressure them into voting a certain way. What is the point of the ad?
MARC PRESTON, CNN POLITICAL EDITOR: Well, T.J., of course, there is a lot of pressure about the $827-billion stimulus plan, this economic recovery plan that will be voted on, on Tuesday. And we are seeing is we are seeing liberal interest groups coming out and running ads targeting four senators specifically. Just in that one we heard, Senator Collins and Senator Snowe of Maine. Also, there will be an ad running in Philadelphia targeting Senator Specter, and one targeting a Democrat out in Omaha, Nebraska.
What these ads are designed to do is to hope alleviate some of the pressure against these four for producing a compromise, or what has been described as a compromise, between the Democrats and Republicans, regarding the stimulus bill. And also to give them a little bit of a nudge, because I will tell you there is an incredible amount of pressure on them to vote against this bill when it reaches the Senate on Tuesday.
HOLMES: But you say alleviate some of that pressure. It sounds like they are trying to help them out a bit. I mean it sounds -- I mean, what's the world coming to if we have liberal groups, Democrats trying to help out Republicans in their districts?
PRESTON: Well, and they certainly need them, though, and they need them because they need 60 votes right now to make sure that this package will pass, T.J., on Tuesday in the Senate. Anything short means that Republicans will have successfully stopped it. There are only a handful of Republicans, only two three Republicans right now who are really looking at voting for it.
So a little bit of a nudge there, and a little bit of a thank you, as well; but, again, what this is, it's a really intense pressure campaign regarding the $827 billion bill. I will tell you, last night, T.J, right around midnight, I received an e-mail from a Republican interest group aligned with the Republican Party and they were pressuring to try and send faxes and phone calls into these senators to try and tell them not to support the bill. So we will certainly see a lot of that. We have seen Barack Obama, T.J., on Monday now, will give a primetime address. He will also be in Indiana. He'll also be in Florida trying to sell this plan. So expect to hear a lot of it.
HOLMES: Are Democrats, though, and these liberal groups here, are they trying to pressure -- I know they targeted states here and targeted senators, but is this expected to, or hoping to, influence any other Republicans?
PRESTON: Yes, absolutely. We'll see Barack Obama go to Indiana. I think that is fair to say that Barack Obama is trying to get Richard Lugar, the senator from Indiana, to sign on to that plan. So there is no question that they are trying to drum up some support.
And, look, after this bill goes through the Senate, and we do expect it to pass. I mean, it looks like right now that it will pass. It is still not finished, T.J. It has to go to a negotiating session between the House and Senate, and then they both have to vote on it again. So that is why we certainly will hear a lot more about the stimulus and a lot of pressure to support it, whether it's in this incarnation or whether when it is the final product.
HOLMES: All right. You have T'ed (sic) up the Ts for us talking to you again. You talking about the stimulus there. We will have you back next hour talking specifically about the stimulus and the still the steps in the road ahead, even though there was movement, still a lot more movement needs to happen before we get a law.
Good to see you this morning, Marc. We will see you again shortly.
PRESTON: Thanks, T.J.
LONG: Trying to keep your body in shape when your mind is going through incredible stress? Military wives set goals to lose weight while their loved ones are serving overseas. And the best part, they do not have to pay for it.
And fires are raging out of control in Australia today. Why firefighters are having trouble getting a handle on it.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HOLMES: Well, a newly funded government program is helping military families fight the fat, also fight the recession. It's a million-dollar initiative that has the Department of Defense picking up the tab for their visits to the Y.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
HOLMES (voice over): Heather Shelley initially decided to join the YMCA so she could lose weight, and in a year she has lost plenty.
HEATHER SHELLEY, MILITARY MOM: One hundred and thirteen.
HOLMES: One hundred and thirteen pounds so far, and about another 40 to go. Her goal is to lose 150 pounds total, and now she is getting help from the Department of Defense, which has joined forces with the Armed Services YMCA. Their $31-million initiative allows active duty personnel and their family access to the Y's social and recreational programs free of charge.
KRISTEN OBARANEC, YMCA COMMUNICATIONS DIRECTOR: It's a great way to support those who serve our country.
HOLMES: Heather's high school sweetheart, Adam, joined the Navy eight years ago. He recently returned from a nine-month deployment in Kuwait. Soon he will be begin a Navy recruiting assignment.
OBARANEC: If a husband or a spouse is deployed a lot of times this is the only chance that the mom has to spend a few minutes for herself and focus on her own health and well-being.
HOLMES: Heather exercises seven days a week for at least two hours. She hits the elliptical, and pumps up the pace in cardio classes. The gym has a computerized fit links program that tracks her progress and a wellness coach who offers advice. UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: And then hold your stomach in and lift.
SHELLEY: It has helped my physically and mentally. I am a better mom for it.
HOLMES: So while mommy is busy at the gym, her two little girls, Sarah and Gracie, play in daycare, go swimming, or spend time with daddy, giving him a bit of a workout on the basketball court. The YMCA launched the initiative at Ys across America this past October. Eligible military families can sign up at local, participating YMCAs.
It's working for the Shelleys.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
LONG: Nice to see that they have that opportunity.
Now, the story so many people are talking about. What was it like inside the cabin? What happened moments before that plane landed in the Hudson?
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: This is Cactus 1549, hit birds, lost thrust in both engines, returning back towards LaGuardia.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
LONG: The pilot's voice is incredibly calm. We will hear some survivor stories.
And stimulus showdown, the Senate sets a timeline for their economic recovery plan.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DAVID LETTERMAN, THE LATE, LATE SHOW: Airlines slashing their prices now. Listen to this. US Airways you can now fly half price from LaGuardia to the Hudson River.
(LAUGHTER)
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HOLMES: That is kind of funny.
LONG: It's amazing to hear the story of what it was like inside that cabin.
HOLMES: Yes.
LONG: Such calm demeanor.
HOLMES: Talked to a lot of those. I was with them in Charlotte, when they arrived back home, a lot of them.
LONG: Were you?
HOLMES: And they said they just did not have time to know what was going on. It was so quick. All right, we are in trouble, brace for impact, impact, done deal. It was just you did not have time to freak out and figure out what was going on.
LONG: Well, the pilot and crew lead that path, too. Obviously, they set the tone there. We are hearing so many stories from inside the US Airways flight. Here are what some of the passengers told Larry King.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: All right. Can I get him in for runway one?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Runway one, that's good.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Cactus 1549, turn right 280, you can land runway one at Teterboro.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We can't do it.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: OK, which runway would you like at Teterboro?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We're going to be in the Hudson.
LARRY KING, CNN ANCHOR, LARRY KING LIVE: Carl, you are looking out of the window here, right? I guess?
CARL BARZARIAN, MIRACLE FLIGHT SURVIVOR: Yes.
KING: What are you thinking?
BARZARIAN: The first -- the reality is that when we hit, I thought, initially, the landing was so good I thought we were back on the tarmac. That was my immediate reaction. But then the water, immediately we saw the water at the window.
VINCE SPERA, MIRACLE FLIGHT SURVIVOR: There was never a point in time when I thought that I was going to die. And obviously I think the way that the people in the cabin behaved contributed to my feeling like that way. It was just a lot of control. We felt like the pilot was control. Obviously, it all worked out. But at no point did I feel like I was going to die. And I am very happy to hear the captain truly did not feel that way either.
BRAD WENTZELL, MIRACLE FLIGHT SURVIVOR: The most real thing that I keep playing back in my head is saying good by to my family in prayer, and saying good by to my little daughter, and my loved ones, my wife, and waiting to die. It's a very real feeling. And I am not-- I was not as optimistic. No one ever knows when they are going to die, and I felt that was my time.
ALBERTO PANERO, MIRACLE FLIGHT SURVIVOR: As soon as we hit the water, we realized that the worst was over. And the most important thing was to get out as soon as possible, making sure the doors got opened quickly, and that everybody stayed calmed and tried to exit as calmly as possible. Because, you know, at first people were trying to get out quick and trying to push a little bit. But I think everybody realized that the more organized that we did it, the faster we were going to get out.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
LONG: Of course the head pilot, right there, Captain Chesley Sullenberger, still -- as he should be -- hailed as a hero forgetting all 155 people out alive. They landed in the Hudson. We're going to hear more from the pilot of Flight 1549. The rest of the US Airways crew, as well. They will be making their first primetime appearance on "Larry King Live", Tuesday, 9:00 p.m. Eastern, right here on CNN television.
From the CNN Center in Atlanta, Georgia, this is CNN SUNDAY MORNING. It's 7:00 a.m. Eastern Time, and 4:00 a.m. out in San Jose, California. Good morning to you all. I'm T.J. Holmes.
LONG: Good morning. I'm Melissa Long in today for Betty. Thanks for starting your Sunday with us. It's the 8th of February.
HOLMES: Big day today. The stage is set, rehearsals are done. Lil' Wayne has a new tattoo.
LONG: He does? For the Grammys?
HOLMES: No, I don't know.
LONG: Oh!
HOLMES: I hear he doesn't have space for anymore ...
LONG: I know you guys are tight.
HOLMES: Yes. He doesn't have space for anymore tattoos. Maybe right here on the cheek or something. But other than that, yes, it is Grammy time, Grammy Sunday.
(MUSIC)
HOLMES: We will have a breakdown, and Melissa will be breaking it down.
LONG: You're going to break it down. I'll follow your lead.
HOLMES: This morning, we'll tell you about who's expected to win and who is who and all that good stuff -- just a preview for you straight ahead.
LONG: Can't wait to see Coldplay tonight. I love them.
HOLMES: We'll be talking about Coldplay all morning today. LONG: Yes, millions of you feeling the economic pinch, what happens though when you're too broke to clean up after this kind of tragedy. One family's story is straight ahead.
HOLMES: But, we will start in Washington. After a rare weekend session, the Senate will resume debate tomorrow on that economic stimulus bill. A compromise package of about $800 billion is on track to pass the Senate on Tuesday despite mostly Republican opposition. And the president says the plan is not perfect, but it is absolutely necessary.
LONG: We want you to take a look at this rescue at frozen Lake Erie. One hundred and thirty-five people yanked from the huge ice floe that broke off from the mainland. One man fell off in the water and died of an apparent heart attack. Authorities say they had no business being there.
(BEGIN AUDIO CLIP)
VOICE OF BOB BRATTON, OTTAWA COUNTY SHERIFF: They've got to have common sense. And if there was a section of Ohio Revised Code about common sense, we would have had 150 arrests out there today.
(END AUDIO CLIP)
LONG: The sheriff also says the rescue costs taxpayers thousands of dollars and had put the lives of the rescuers in danger as well.
HOLMES: No comment. Talk to the players' union. That is the reaction so far of that guy -- Alex Rodriquez, after it's being reported now by "Sports Illustrated" that he tested positive for steroids back in 2003. This story, again, broken by "Sports Illustrated" yesterday. The magazine says Rodriguez declined to discuss the test when asked about it on Thursday. Baseball had no penalties for positive steroid tests back in 2003.
LONG: Eighty-four people dead, homes destroyed -- wildfires are turning southeastern Australia into a massive inferno today. Even with a cooler weather now moving in, of course, it's summer Down Under, and it could be days before firefighters even try to get control. Reporter Erin Cassar with the Australian Broadcasting Corporation has the story.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
ERIN CASSAR, AUSTRALIAN BROADCASTING CORP. REPORTER (voice-over): An extraordinary sight, most of the town of Marysville has been flattened by flames. The area known for its dense mountain terrain is now unrecognizable. With so much fire fuel, it stood little chance against the force that claimed it.
The raging blaze has also wiped out Narbethong and has claimed countless homes. At Kinglake, north of Melbourne, an eerie glow signifies the toll a monster firestorm has taken. Six people perished here, it's unclear how many more lives have been lost. Residents claimed Kinglake West is all but gone, but fire crews can't get in to confirm the damage.
RICHARD HOYLE, COUNTRY FIRE AUTHORITY: The road to Kinglake is riddled with motor vehicles involved in accidents and burned there (ph).
CASSAR: The fire spanned 80 kilometers and, of course, severe property damage. The front is now heading towards the northeast, edging closer to other townships including Glenburn and Murrindindi.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Everyone that we know lost everything they had. (INAUDIBLE) but this is probably worse.
CASSAR: Nearby, at Whittlesea, there are many stories of near misses and lucky escapes.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: The tree was falling done and I had to close my eyes and drive thru the inferno of the fire.
CASSAR: In Bendigo and neighboring areas, dozens of properties have been overrun and embers spread with frightening speed.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: All I got left is (INAUDIBLE). My house -- my house for 25 years is gone! (CRYING).
CASSAR: And several threatening fires are still burning in the Latrobe Valley in the southeast. The blaze began last week and is showing no signs of slowing. Other areas under threat include Churchill where an 80,000 hectare blaze is burning in sputtering sound. The Gippsland police are pleading with people not to leave high risk areas at the last minute following reports several bodies have been found in cars.
Changing weather is making the front unpredictable, causing many roads to be blocked. Across the state, dozens of people have been injured as a result of the bushfires. Seven patients at the Alfred Hospital have burns to more than 30 percent of their body. Cooler conditions are moving through northeast Victoria, which is expected to help tiring crews with their battles.
Erin Cassar, ABC News.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
HOLMES: Well, it seems like every week right about now is a crucial week on Capitol Hill, given the stakes right now and with the president's economic recovery package being debated, the Senate is expected though -- this is why there is a crucial week, they're going to vote on Tuesday on that $800 billion package.
LONG: There are three Senate Republicans that have agreed to back this bill. Senators convene tomorrow, again, in Washington where they will resume debate on the bill. CNN congressional correspondent, Brianna Keilar, has more this morning.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE) BRIANNA KEILAR, CNN CONGRESSIONAL CORRESPONDENT: T.J. and Melissa, even Republican sources privately admit they think this compromised version of the economic stimulus package will pass the Senate early next week, albeit with the support only of these few moderate Republicans. And Democrats, in order to get them onboard, had to allow about $100 billion in cuts to the spending part of this package, that included tens of billions of dollars in cuts to education, something they really didn't want to see happen.
But assuming this does pass the Senate, the next step would be for the House and the Senate to hash out their differences and come to an agreement.
And I asked Maine Republican Susan Collins, one of those three moderate Republicans, if she fears that she may lose some of the ground she made in the negotiations over the past week when they go into the process. Here is what she said.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SEN. SUSAN COLLINS, (R) MAINE: That is a major concern to me. If the bill comes back from the conference committee with a lost of wasteful spending reinserted, or if it comes back in excess of $800 billion, it will not have my support. So, I hope that my colleagues will follow the outlines of the compromise that we negotiated this week. That is important to me. I don't want to see a bloated, overly-expensive bill.
KEILAR: And if you do, there could be another stand off?
COLLINS: There could. And that would not be good for our country. We need to get going to help turn the economy around and create jobs. So, I hope everybody will buckle down and negotiate and come up with a bill that does the job.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
KEILAR: And as one Senate Democratic aide told me, only the foolish are making plans for next weekend. But still, the expectation and the hope, of course, is to get an economic stimulus package on the desk of President Obama by Monday, February 16th -- T.J. and Melissa?
(END VIDEOTAPE)
HOLMES: Thanks to our Brianna Keilar there on Capitol Hill.
We've been talking about this a bit this morning.
LONG: How do you feel about this? Can you deal with it?
HOLMES: What -- more women in the building? That's OK.
LONG: That's OK?
HOLMES: I'm OK with that.
LONG: But being in charge of you?
HOLMES: Women are.
(LAUGHTER)
HOLMES: What are you talking about?
LONG: You're right, actually. Look at the show.
HOLMES: This is nothing new. Women ...
LONG: Yes, all of the ladies are behind the scene.
HOLMES: (INAUDIBLE). And we should take the camera into the control room before the show is over, and show you just how many women are running things here. But women are passing men in the workforce is what we are talking about and creating a seismic shift. But what kind of impact would it actually have on everybody?
(MUSIC)
LONG: And that is the lovely Leone Lewis from the U.K. A beautiful song, "Bleeding Love." I love this song.
HOLMES: I love this song as well.
LONG: A lovely lady, she is a Grammy nominated. And, of course, the Grammys are coming up tonight at 8:00 p.m.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
(MUSIC)
LONG: Coldplay, I think they're performing tonight, right?
HOLMES: You've been waiting on this song all morning.
LONG: I love this song, "Viva la Vida." It's a brilliant song. It's beautiful.
(CROSSTALK)
WOLF: I think you like Coldplay. It's basically the whole (INAUDIBLE) is previewing this morning.
LONG: But the sound, it's so warm and so inviting.
HOLMES: We are not -- we are saying it's a lovely song.
LONG: Yes.
WOLF: Coldplay warms our hearts.
LONG: Yes, his wife, Gwyneth Paltrow, I think, is presenting one of the awards tonight.
WOLF: Yes, there you go.
HOLMES: Well, I did not know that. Wow, you know all the Coldplay information.
LONG: No, I was just reading up.
HOLMES: OK. Are you familiar with any other nominee? Did you even see the other songs that were up on the screen?
LONG: I actually kind of -- no.
(LAUGHTER)
HOLMES: Can we see them again? "American Boy," are you familiar with that one?
LONG: No. Tell me about it.
HOLMES: That's Estelle featuring Kanye West. "I'm Yours," Jason Mraz.
LONG: I like him. He's cute.
HOLMES: OK. Well -- OK, Reynolds, how are you doing?
WOLF: I'm doing fine. I couldn't help you with any of those. I really got ...
LONG: What's your style?
WOLF: My style right now, I am listening to Elmo.
(LAUGHTER)
WOLF: The younger women in the Wolf house (INAUDIBLE) really control the musical selection.
LONG: As it should be.
HOLMES: And most of the women in these Wolf house are younger women.
WOLF: Absolutely. Yes, we got two daughters, and, of course, Mrs. Wolf runs the show. I pretty much answer everything with "yes," "absolutely," "whatever you need."
LONG: And that's exactly what our producers are encouraging to do right now, yes, move on, yes.
WOLF: Absolutely. Yes.
HOLMES: OK. All right. We are talking about more women in the workforce, actually. More continue to join the workforce even as we have a brutal economy right now. And it's reducing the number of men out there.
LONG: CNN's Tom Foreman has more on the rise of the independent woman.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
TOM FOREMAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Women may soon out number men in the workplace. For the first time in American history, about 68 million women are on the job, just under half of the workforce. Women like Janet Borgeson at this Minneapolis Hospital, how says many families can't even consider mom staying home like she once did.
JANET BORGESON, ABBOTT NORTHWESTERN HOSPITAL: I think it has become less of an option. And everyone I know feels like they have to keep their jobs, and are working very hard to do that.
FOREMAN: In addition, women are catching up because male- dominated industries, such as manufacturing and construction are being hit very hard in this recession. Men have lost more than 3 million jobs in the past year. That's 74 percent of all jobs lost. That means more families are relying on women to be the primary breadwinners, and that's difficult.
HEATHER BOUSHEY, CENTER FOR AMERICAN PROGRESS: In the typical married couple family where both spouses work, he brings home about 2/3 of the family's income. So, if he loses his job, the family's lost that big chunk of the income, and they're left living on 1/3 of what they had before.
FOREMAN: It's tough.
BOUSHEY: It's super tough.
FOREMAN: The shift has been a long time coming. In nearly 1940s, as World War II began, women made up less than 1/4 of the labor force. But as millions of men went to fight, the female share of the job market started growing, bringing new opportunities, new aspirations. It's never really stopped.
JONI REDFERN-HALL, ABBOTT NORTHWESTERN HOSPITAL: I am better off man my mom was at this age.
FOREMAN: But neither has the soul searching by men and women over precisely what this means to our views about gender at home and on the job.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
HOLMES: And you were actually mentioning most of your bosses, and a lot of us thinking back in the past and we're listening to this song now, "Miss Independent" from Ne-Yo. He's another Grammy nominee, but a lot of women are in charge of us actually right now.
WOLF: Absolutely. We love every one of them.
LONG: Certainly running the show this morning with the weekend (INAUDIBLE).
(CROSSTALK)
WOLF: That's right. And I've actually been told by one to get to the weather very quickly. So, why don't we do that?
HOLMES: Oh, wow.
LONG: So, pay attentive.
WOLF: Let's rock 'n roll.
Yes, let's show what's happening out there. Very quickly, we are going to show you some temperatures across the nation. Let's take the weather computer full.
Thirty-two in Kansas City this morning. Good morning to you. And if you happen to be looking at that much of the eastern seaboard, you're going to see some scattered clouds with temperatures this morning that are above freezing in most places, including Boston, New York, Washington. Even here at Atlanta -- 49 degrees, fairly mild all things considered. It is February.
Orlando and Miami mainly into the 40s and to the 60s when you get further south. Phoenix is currently at 50, and Los Angeles, 50 degrees.
Look at you daytime highs, very mild conditions. Very quickly, in parts of Texas, including Dallas and Houston, your highs will be into the 70s. And later on today, there's going to be that more muggy air, there's going to be some fuel for strong storms, especially between the hours of 3:00 and 6:00 local time.
So, for Texas, and parts of the Oklahoma, and into Kansas, maybe even just a sliver of Colorado and New Mexico, look for a chance of some strong thunderstorms, large hail and damaging winds, maybe even a few isolated thunderstorms.
We'll have more on this coming up throughout the morning. Let's send it back to you guys at the desk.
HOLMES: All right. Reynolds, we appreciate you, sir. We'll see you again here shortly.
WOLF: You bet.
(MUSIC)
HOLMES: All right. Just a little sample of what you will be hearing this evening, if you are watching the Grammys. Could this be the year for hip hop?
She is not a hip hop artist, but I like her, nonetheless -- Carrie Underwood. Tonight is the biggest night for the musicians. And again, why are hip hop artist sitting kind of above the rest this time around? Stay with us.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK) LONG: We know that senators had that rare Saturday session. Today, a brief break and then, of course, they head back to Washington tomorrow to continue to debate the massive stimulus.
Let's continue to talk about it right now with CNN political editor, Mark Preston. He joins us live from Boston this morning.
So, Mark, again, they were debating yesterday, talking about the legislation again tomorrow, and possibly, a vote as early as Tuesday.
MARK PRESTON, CNN POLITICAL EDITOR: Yes. What we are seeing, Melissa, is there was a late night deal that was broke, so to speak, on Friday. The Senate came in for this rare session on Saturday to debate the merits of the bill, and, of course, the problems that Republicans had with it.
And we are likely now to see a final vote in the Senate on this measure on Tuesday. Of course, that won't be the end of it, Melissa. It still has to go through a couple more hurdles in Congress. But this really has been a hard fought fight for the stimulus bill.
LONG: A lot of Democrats onboard. It's very hard to find Republicans that are supporting this potential piece of legislation. You just have -- what -- token three?
PRESTON: Yes, three senators right now, Arlen Specter of Pennsylvania and Susan Collins and Olympia Snowe of Maine. These are three pivotal senators right now who have agreed, at least in principle right now, to vote for this bill. And their votes are needed because it allows the Democrats to get over the 60-vote threshold in the Senate to insure that Republicans en masse are unable to block it.
So, there is an incredible amount of pressure on these Republicans from within the own party to oppose this measure. We know in the House of Representatives when they voted on the bill, all the Republicans stood firm together and voted against it. But in the Senate, we've seen these three Republicans. It looks like they're going to join the Democrats. And, at least, the Senate version will pass, it appears on Tuesday.
LONG: Mark, let's delve into the bill for a moment there. The House version is about $800 billion. The Senate version was much larger, it's been trimmed down.
Let's look at some of the items that have, at this, been trimmed out of the piece of legislation: Energy efficient federal buildings, $3.5 billion, funding for EPA, the Environmental Protection Agency, Superfund, a fleet of hybrid vehicles, a federal fleet of hybrid vehicles. A lot of those were environmental which was a big focus of the Obama administration?
PRESTON: A big focus of the Obama administration and a big focus of congressional Democrats. House Democrats are not very happy that these programs have been stripped out. There certainly will be a contentious fight when the Senate negotiators and the House negotiators sit down to try to figure out what this final bill is going to be.
But really, that was the only way this bill looked like it was going to pass. That is why we saw Collins and Snowe and Specter sign on to the bill. They looked at these programs as programs that are really not going to stimulate the economy right away.
We've seen about $100 billion in those programs cut from the original Senate bill. So, while nobody seems happy at this point, it certainly has allowed the skids to be greased a little bit to -- at least to see this bill en masse passed on Tuesday.
LONG: Partially cut items from the bill, also, fully cut items -- you can find them on the political pages of CNN.com. Go to CNNPolitics.com. And, of course, once the Senate votes on Tuesday, then they have to go to compromise because the House and Senate versions have to, of course, coalesce as well.
Mark Preston from Boston this morning, thanks so much. Safe travels back to Washington.
PRESTON: Thanks, Melissa.
(MUSIC)
LONG: Are you serenading me?
HOLMES: Well, I don't know if you can rap to a woman and call that serenading. But ...
(LAUGHTER)
LONG: You know, it's endearing.
(LAUGHTER)
HOLMES: I don't rap or sing, but I do love the song. That's Estelle, a fantastic album; featuring Kanye West on this "American Boy." But she's actually from the U.K. She's nominated, I think, as best new artist and also for this song in particular. But, the Grammys, best song of the year, I have just been told in my ear by our fearless leader.
LONG: I think you can do that for Valentine's Day special.
HOLMES: All right. Serenade?
LONG: Yes.
HOLMES: I won't be happening. But thank you for the recommendation.
Coming up: We will have a preview of the Grammys and why hip hop could rule the night.
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HOLMES: Goodness gracious.
LONG: It's an education this morning.
HOLMES: Yes, it's good.
All right. Well, hip hop, you should watch the Grammys tonight because you will get a full education, because hip hop could rule the night. A pretty impressive rundown of some of the industry's biggest names, biggest stars, they're headlining tonight.
LONG: CNN entertainment correspondent, Brooke Anderson, has a preview now, the Grammys from Hollywood.
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BROOKE ANDERSON, CNN ENTERTAINMENT CORRESPONDENT: Lil' Wayne ...
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ANDERSON: Jay-Z ...
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ANDERSON: Kanye West ...
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ANDERSON: One thing is clear -- this could be hip hop's year at the Grammy Awards.
NE-YO, MUSICIAN: Album of the year, whoa, man!
ANDERSON: Ne-Yo, who's up for six awards and Lil' Wayne who leads the field with eight are competing in the most coveted category of all -- album of the year.
JOE LEVY, EDITOR-IN-CHIEF, BLENDER MAGAZINE: I'm really rooting for Lil' Wayne simply because he made the best album of 2008. That's a fact. It's almost a law decreed by Congress. That record is that good.
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ANDERSON: But a freeze could come to these hip hop heat waves by Coldplay. The alternative rock band is up for seven Grammys including best album along with Radiohead and the duo of Robert Plant and Alison Krauss.
Disney darlings, the Jonas Brothers will duke it out for best new artist with Lady Antebellum, Jazmine Sullivan, Duffy, and Adele.
ADELE, GRAMMY NOMINEE: (INAUDIBLE) and I am not expecting it. It's very nice. Thanks.
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LEVY: If the competition is between two British soul singers, Adele and Duffy, and I would have to give it to Duffy. She's young. She's new. She sounds like a '60s soul singer and, in fact, she's the safe Amy Winehouse. She's in.
ANDERSON: Last year's telecast, according to Nielsen, was the third least watched Grammys ever, posing a challenge for producers to fight declining ratings. But with hip hop being some of the industry's best-selling music, interest in this year's nominees could help.
LEVY: The whole purpose of this year's Grammys, I think, is to be more exciting than last year's. Last year, of course, album of the year went to a Herbie Hancock album, a jazz album, of covers of Joni Mitchell songs. So, the Grammys are trying to figure out how to be classy and grown up but still cool.
ANDERSON: With expected performances by U2, Justin Timberlake, Jennifer Hudson, and Carrie Underwood, this year may be a hit with viewers.
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ANDERSON: Brooke Anderson, CNN, Hollywood.
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LONG: The Grammys are tonight. Perhaps you have questions leading up to the big award show. We have just the person to get you those answers. CNN entertainment correspondent, music guru herself, Shanon Cook -- she joins us next hour, late in the next hour. Everything you need to know during our Grammy preview. Thanks for playing my favorite song.
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HOLMES: All right. We're going to be getting to "HOUSE CALL" with Dr. Sanjay Gupta next. And then, of course, CNN SUNDAY MORNING continues with this -- dozens dead, hundreds of families homeless. Wildfires are spreading in Australia. Some of the worse, I think, in the early '80s, you were telling, that they've seen there.
LONG: Yes. They haven't seen this kind of fires since 1983. We'll talk about that story at the top of the next hour.
First -- "HOUSE CALL" with Dr. Sanjay Gupta.
