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American Morning
President Obama to Unveil Plan to Help Ailing Homeowners; 911 Tapes of Chimp Attack Released; A-Rod's Young Fans Forgive, Media Won't; Man Goes Online to Become Foreclosure Watchdog; Facebook Goes About-Face on Its Policy; Auto Bailout, Take Two
Aired February 18, 2009 - 07:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
JOHN ROBERTS, CNN ANCHOR: Crossing the top of the hour now at 7:00 Eastern, and here are this morning's top stories.
General Motors and Chrysler say they could need another $21.6 billion in federal loans to keep going. It's part of restructuring plan submitted to the government. GM also says it will cut 50,000 jobs this year, close five more plants by 2012, and drop some of its weaker brands. Chrysler will cut another 3,000 jobs and drop three of its models.
Secretary of State Hillary Clinton is in Jakarta, Indonesia, this morning, the boyhood home of President Obama. Clinton is expected to announce more U.S. involvement in Southeast Asia. She is also talking with Indonesia's president and foreign minister. But her trip did bring some protests in the capital city. Several dozen people threw shoes at a caricature of Clinton holding banners that read "America, the real terrorists."
President Obama spoke with Afghan President Hamid Karzai by phone for the first time since taking office. The president made the call on the same day he announced 17,000 more U.S. troops are headed to Afghanistan. Mr. Karzai's office says the pair talked about security issues and Afghanistan's upcoming presidential race.
And this story developing overnight, an about-face from Facebook. Under fire from tens of thousands of angry users, the social networking hub has reverted to its old policy. It's a change from this weekend which meant that Facebook owned and could archive anything that users posted, including your photos, even if you closed down your account. It will remain Facebook's perpetuity.
Just ahead, we're going to talk with Facebook's chief privacy officer about the switch and whether or not it might switch back again in the future.
KIRAN CHETRY, CNN ANCHOR: Well, it is day 30 of the Obama administration, and the president not taking any time for a victory lap after signing the $787 billion stimulus bill. Today in Phoenix he's going to announce his plan to help fix the country's housing crisis. The details right now pretty scarce, but they say it's a $50 billion program and it will target those at risk of losing their homes, not just those who've already fallen behind.
Sources say that the government will use cash to rework existing loans and also to allow homeowners to refinance. And as the president lobbies for the plan, some Republicans are already firing back.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
BARACK OBAMA, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: We must stem the spread of foreclosures and falling home values for all Americans, and do everything we can to help responsible homeowners stay in their homes.
SEN. JOHN MCCAIN (R), ARIZONA: We understand the dire situation the economy in America is in. We need to address the housing crisis. That's what began this meltdown, and so far, the administration has not done so effectively.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CHETRY: Stephanie Elam joins us now with more on exactly how this plan works. And as we said in the beginning, the details are a little bit sketchy at this point but at least we know who it would target.
STEPHANIE ELAM, CNN BUSINESS CORRESPONDENT: Right, exactly. Now we're four weeks into Obama's administration now and seeing some things that he's targeting really important things. Housing, obviously, is where everyone believes this crisis began, where a recession started so this is one thing he wants to do.
$50 billion, that would come from that TARP money, that Wall Street rescue money that we heard so much about last year. Well, this is where this $50 billion would come from and the bulk of the plan would give out loan modifications. The idea here, to keep people in their homes, make sure that people who are already struggling, they'd be help too. People who have already lost their homes and people who are on the verge of losing their homes, help keep them in their homes.
Also, the government would subsidize interest rate reductions that will give some money to the banks while the banks probably still lose some there but it will help out struggling homeowners. Also, bankruptcy judges would be allowed to modify mortgage terms. Some people -- maybe this can't pay as much as they need to every month. This will allow them to bring that number down, keep people in their homes as well.
And also, if you happen to be a bank and you've gotten some TARP funds, or some of that Wall Street rescue money, be prepared. You're probably going to have to modify some loans as well. That's the other thing that the Obama administration really wants to help out with.
The other thing to keep in mind, we've already seen more than a million homes that have gone into foreclosure. More than two million are expected to go into foreclosure this year. This is a serious situation and the Obama administration is trying to hit it head-on and, Kiran, really give you an idea that people need to stay in their homes.
The more that they can do to keep people in their homes, the better for everyone else. If houses go into foreclosure, you may think hey, I'm paying for my mortgage. Why do I care? Well, if all the houses around you are going in to foreclosure, then your property values go down so it does affect you. It's important for the entire nation.
CHETRY: All right. Stephanie Elam for us on that. Thanks so much.
ELAM: Sure.
CHETRY: Also the president will be announcing more on his plan to try to fix the housing market today. It will be taking place at a resort that's in foreclosure. Here's more in an "AM Extra" now.
A spokesman says that the InterContinental Montelucia Resort & Spa began foreclosure proceedings this month. The posh $325 million hotel has 253 luxury rooms and 40 suites but even the manager says that even in foreclosure, things will be business as usual. And this is by the way in Arizona.
And if you're away from your TV today, you can watch the president unveil his housing plan during your lunch hour online. Go to CNN.com/live. The stream begins at 12:15 Eastern.
ROBERTS: We've got horrifying new details this morning. 911 tapes emerging about the brutal chimpanzee attack that has left a Connecticut woman in critical condition. The animal, which once appeared in television commercials like an Old Navy ad, here it is here, was apparently given an anti-anxiety drug just before the rampage took place.
Our Jason Carroll joins us now with some details that viewers might find disturbing, so be forewarned about all of this.
JASON CARROLL, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes.
ROBERTS: The 911 call, just a graphic nature.
CARROLL: Very graphic and you can also hear just how frightened the woman is on that tape.
Police have just now released those 911 calls made by a frantic Sandra Herold as her pet chimpanzee suddenly snapped and mauled her friend. It all happened in Stamford, Connecticut, on Monday. Again, much of what you're about to hear is very disturbing.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SANDRA HEROLD, CHIMP'S OWNER: Send the police, send the police!
911 OPERATOR: What's the problem there?
HEROLD: The chimp killed my friend!
911 OPERATOR: What's the problem with your friend?
(END VIDEO CLIP) CARROLL: Again, that was the chimpanzee named Travis, screaming in the background. He was a house pet and considered harmless by his owner, and some neighbors. That all changed after Travis used a key to escape from Herold's home. Herold called her friend, Charla Nash, who was familiar with the chimp, to help her get him back inside. That's when Travis attacked. Listen as Herold begs the 911 operator to send police.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SANDRA HEROLD, CHIMP'S OWNER: He's trying to attack me. Please, please hurry!
911 OPERATOR: OK. I need you to calm down a little bit. They're on the way.
HEROLD: They got to shoot him, please. Please hurry, hurry!
911 OPERATOR: If the monkey moves away from your friend, let me know, OK, so we can try to help your friend.
HEROLD: No. No, I can't. She's dead. She's dead.
911 OPERATOR: Why are you saying that she's dead?
HEROLD: She's dead -- he ripped her apart. I can't hold on much longer. I can't hold on. I can't. Please have them shoot him.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CARROLL: Just to clarify, the victim of that brutal attack, Charla Nash, is not dead. She was critically injured. I want you now to listen to how police described what they saw when they arrived.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP, POLICE DISPATCH)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We have one man down.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Person down. Chimp's outside.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Hey listen, we have got to get this guy out of here. He's got no face.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CARROLL: Police shot the chimp as they cornered, as it cornered an officer in a police car. As to what may have set the animal off, Herold told police Travis appeared jittery earlier that day so she gave him the anti-anxiety drug Xanax. It's unclear if the vet had authorized that drug.
Rabies test and an autopsy will be performed. Meanwhile, the owner's friend is struggling with horrific injuries in a Connecticut hospital.
ROBERTS: You know, you hear the 911 tapes and the police call, she was so badly mangled that they thought she was a man.
CARROLL: Could not even identify her because of the extent of her injuries.
ROBERTS: Just horrible.
CHETRY: The whole situation is terrifying. A lot of people are asking this morning, will there be charges? You know, as horrible as that sounds, is there any criminal --
CARROLL: She was authorized to have this chimp.
CHETRY: Right.
CARROLL: This chimpanzee, so criminal charges I wouldn't say appear likely at this point, but civil charges, other types of things.
CHETRY: They're looking into it right now. Apparently, there is some reporting that friends of both of the women, because the woman who was attacked also knew this chimp pretty well...
CARROLL: That's correct.
CHETRY: ... spent many years with that family, says that he had been violent before, but whether or not he'd actually attacked somebody.
ELAM: So it makes you wonder how much they should be authorized to be around people just free like that.
CARROLL: Exactly. Exactly.
ROBERTS: Well, a lot of discussion about this, this morning.
Well, he used to be batting cleanup and now Alex Rodriguez is trying to mop up his own mess, facing the media for the first time since he admitted using steroids. We know what the back pages say, but what are the fans thinking? We're live at Yankees camp today.
CHETRY: Also happening overnight, Facebook's about-face. The site making a quiet attempt to go back to the way things used to be in terms of their privacy policy after thousands complained and some threatened to leave the site.
ROBERTS: And a fashion star at 26, that will happen when Michelle Obama wears you. So how has life changed for Jason Wu since he rocketed to fashion stardom? We'll find out.
It's coming on nine and a half minutes after the hour.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
ROBERTS: It's coming up now on 12 minutes after the hour. Let's fast forward to stories that will be making news later on today.
We could find out about more and more about the terrifying plane crash that killed 50 people on Friday. The town of Clarence Center outside of Buffalo, New York, will hold a news conference at 8:00 Eastern time. Crews say they have finished gathering human remains from the site but identification could still take weeks.
New housing stats are out before the start of the trading day today. At 8:30 Eastern time, the new home construction forecast is expected to reach a record low before the president announces his housing rescue plan today.
Potentially dangerous weather on the move right now. Severe storms packing hail, high winds, possibly tornadoes moving through the southeast today. We'll keep a close eye on that for you.
And at 2:30 Eastern time, an important military briefing on Afghanistan. The president announced that he's sending 17,000 more troops to Afghanistan, that is far less than the 30,000 that commanders on the ground requested. The commander in chief talked about the battle for that country in an interview with the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
BARACK OBAMA, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: I'm in the process of a strategic review of our approach in Afghanistan. Very soon we will be releasing some initial plans in terms of how we are going to approach the military side of the equation in Afghanistan. But I'm absolutely convinced that you cannot solve the problem of Afghanistan, the Taliban, the spread of extremism in that region solely through military means.
We're going to have to use diplomacy. We're going to have to use development. And my hope is that in conversations that I have with Prime Minister Harper that he and I end up seeing the importance of a comprehensive strategy, and one that ultimately the people of Canada can support, as well as the people of the United States can support.
I think Afghanistan is still winnable in the sense of our ability to ensure that it is not a launching pad for attacks against North America. I think it's still possible for us to stamp out al-Qaeda, to make sure that extremism is not expanding but rather is contracting.
All those goals are still possible, but I think that as a consequence of the war in Iraq, we took our eye off the ball. We have not been as focused as we need to be on all the various steps that are needed in order to deal with Afghanistan.
If you got narco trafficking that is funding the Taliban, if there is a perception that there's no rule of law in Afghanistan, if we don't solve the issue of the border between Afghanistan and Pakistan, then we're probably not going to solve the problem.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ROBERTS: 2,500 Canadian troops are fighting alongside the U.S. military in Afghanistan.
CHETRY: Well, some of the top stories right now on CNN.com, we'll show them to you right now.
"Please help us, our dad needs a kidney." That was the as that two women placed on the New York Craigslist. A California woman responded to the ad the very same day and in December, Daniel Flood received a new kidney. The donor describes it as simply people helping people.
Also, Mr. President. No, that's just Mr. Brown, Reggie Brown, an Obama impersonator. The presidential look-alike says he's using his talents for charity now and that he does have a small movie role coming up. So he had a little gray on the side there, huh?
ROBERTS: Authenticity sake.
CHETRY: Well, the Google -- well, Google --
ROBERTS: President Bush, it's good to see you this morning.
(LAUGHTER)
What's going on, on the Google?
CHETRY: The Google, which is one of the most popular sites on the Internet these days, unveiling the latest version of its android phone. It's trying to compete with Apple's iPhone. The HTC magic premiered at the World Mobile Conference in Barcelona yesterday. That new phone will be available to Vodaphone customers in Europe this spring. And those are some of the most popular stories on the Internet right now.
ROBERTS: The Google. Great.
What happens when you live next door to a foreclosed home? One man sick of a neighborhood full of trash and looted homes is fighting back. We'll tell you how he's doing it.
And A-Rod says he's sorry but does he really mean it? We found some of the youngest Yankees fans are willing to forgive. We're live at spring training.
Sixteen minutes after the hour.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
ALEX RODRIGUEZ, NEW YORK YANKEES 3rd BASEMAN: I screwed up big time, but I think the only thing I ask from this group today and the American people is to judge me from this day forward. That's all I can ask for.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ROBERTS: That was Alex Rodriguez at Steinbrenner Field in Tampa trying to move on from a steroid scandal that could haunt him from now until his 800th career homer. And while the media won't let it go, many younger fans do seem willing to move on for maybe an autograph or two.
CNN's John Zarrella joins us now live from Yankee spring training this morning. Quite a scene yesterday as he met the media for the first time, John.
JOHN ZARRELLA, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hey, John. You know, what a difference a day makes. So much of a different atmosphere here than it was 24 hours ago when this place was absolutely awash in cameras and reporters, and at the center of the swirl, the man they call A- Rod.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
ZARRELLA (voice-over): On the field, the New York Yankees players went through their early spring training drills. Young fans with baseballs in hand hoped for an autograph, preferably from a star.
CHAD KNIGHT, WESTPORT, CONNECTICUT: Jeter and A-Rod.
ZARRELLA: Jeter and A-Rod.
KNIGHT: Jeter because he is a good fielder and short stop. A- Rod because he got a lot of good hits last year.
ZARRELLA: But all this was an appetizer. The main course and all that really mattered on this day, Yankees slugger, Alex Rodriguez. What more would he say about his admission of steroid use? His fans came to support him. The youngest, most forgiving.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I'm happy because he was honest about what he said.
STEVEN AMERSON, OAKDALE, NEW YORK: I know that what he did, that he knew it was wrong. Well, I forgive him.
ZARRELLA: Reporters camped everywhere broadcasting live hours before Rodriguez arrived.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE REPORTER: About 150 to 200 members of the media, including major news organizations.
ZARRELLA: Even media from Taiwan were interested.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You can't avoid the topic.
ZARRELLA: Photographers positioned themselves to get every A-Rod angle, even a head shot, the top of his head. It was the media on steroids.
When the A-Rod moment arrived, he calmly and candidly answered questions saying from 2001 to 2003, his cousin injected him with a substance they got from the Dominican Republic. He was young and stupid, and hasn't done it since, he said.
ALEX RODRIGUEZ, NEW YORK YANKEES 3RD BASEMAN: It was two-guys doing a very amateur and immature thing, and we probably didn't even take it right. I'm here to say that I'm sorry. I'm here to say that in some ways I wish I went to college and got an opportunity to grow up.
ZARRELLA: An hour later, Rodriguez headed to the parking lot, signing autographs as photographers scrambled for more shots. The media's insatiable appetite still not satisfied, the Yankees manager was surrounded, and the players, too.
Rodriguez knows he will be dealing with this for some time, longer perhaps than if he played anywhere other than New York, other than in pinstripes and Yankee blue.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
ZARRELLA: The Yankees and Rodriguez certainly hope that by meeting this issue head-on, dealing with it right away, they can move on for what they're here for, playing baseball and winning championships. We'll see -- John.
ROBERTS: Yes. John, they may want to do that, but everything that happened that may go into the record books eventually between 2001 and 2003, is there a possibility that there will be an asterisk beside all those accomplishments?
ZARRELLA: You know what? That is certainly been addressed. Bud Selig had mentioned that. There is talk within Major League Baseball, the Bonds record and if Rodriguez were to pass him in the home run record. All of that is still up in the air and then you ask the question, what about the Hall of Fame?
ROBERTS: Yes.
ZARRELLA: Will these guys ever get in the hall of fame? Can they put this behind them? That also is another outstanding question.
ROBERTS: Then there's the issue of the $30 million bonus for breaking the home run record, too. Will that get paid out?
ZARRELLA: Yes. Yes.
ROBERTS: We'll be watching this for years to come. John Zarrella for us in Tampa this morning. John, good to see you and what a lovely place to be this morning, too. Thanks so much.
ZARRELLA: Gorgeous.
CHETRY: Still ahead, does President Clinton have President Obama's BlackBerry info? Larry King asked him about that last night. He's one of the few people who knows what it's like living in that fishbowl that's the White House. So, does he think going mobile helps?
Also flying risk-free in tough times, JetBlue promising a refund if you get fired. But is there a catch? We have details ahead.
It's 23 minutes after the hour. (COMMERCIAL BREAK)
ROBERTS: A lot of people having hard times out there. And take a look at this one. One of our i-Reporters found herself at the corner of "Hard Times and Dead End." Thanks to Julia Young in Memphis for sharing her i-Report and her wit this morning.
We want to know how you are dealing with these hard economic times. Send an i-Report of your own. Just go to CNN.com/am and click on the i-Report link. Maybe you'll find yourself at the corner of "Hard Times and Dead End."
And another problem from the mortgage crisis. With so many foreclosed and abandoned houses standing empty, banks are skipping out on upkeep, making those homes an eyesore in the neighborhood. Now, though, one California man is going online to try to fix the problem.
Ted Rowlands has the story for us this morning.
TED ROWLANDS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: John and Kiran, how would you like to live next door to this house? This is a vacant foreclosure. It is obviously deteriorating. The lawn is completely dead. For homeowners that have this in the neighborhood, there's really not much they can do, is there?
Well, Mark McKinzie here lives in this neighborhood and he has done something about it, and he's hoping others will join him.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
ROWLANDS (voice-over): The people living next door to Mark McKinzie moved out almost two years ago. Now, weeds are actually growing out of the garage.
MARK MCKINZIE, RUNS WEBSITE LENDEROFFENDER.COM: I said, what can I do? Well, I can create something that might call attention to the problem and give frustrated residents a voice out here.
ROWLANDS: Last month, McKinzie created lenderoffender.com, a Web site where people anywhere in the country can post for free information about neglected foreclosed properties. For each entry, there's a photo, a few comments and the name of the lender or bank that owns the home. If the property is cleaned up, McKinzie takes it off the site. He says this house down the street has been vacant for months.
MCKINZIE: Look at the lawn. I mean, that is black, dead lawn. So no one in this neighborhood deserves to live next to this property and homeowners in this area deserve to know who owns this property, too.
ROWLANDS: Citibank own this house. They told CNN it became vacant in late November and is now in escrow. As for the lawn, they said, "We did not sod the lawn because it moved in the market very quickly." One lender, Wells Fargo, actually cleaned up their properties listed on the Web site. In a statement to CNN, they said, in part, they are "very concerned with preserving the condition of homes in neighborhoods" and added they'll keep watching the Web site.
Delores Conway, a professor at the University of Southern California, specializing in real estate says lenderoffender.com may push others to act.
DELORES CONWAY, PROFESSOR, UNIVERSITY OF SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA: It may help to nudge the lenders along a little bit in terms of coming out and putting in the proper maintenance to the property.
ROWLANDS: McKinzie is hoping she's right especially when it comes to the house next door.
(on camera): Mark McKinzie says he invites anybody who lives near homes like these to take a few pictures and add them to his Web site. Eventually he's hoping the problem will be taken care of so his site isn't needed at all -- John, Kiran.
ROBERTS: Ted Rowlands for us this morning. Ted, thanks so much.
Twenty-eight minutes after the hour and breaking news this morning.
ANNOUNCER: This is CNN. Breaking news.
ROBERTS: More job cuts possibly connected to the collapse of the auto industry. This from the Goodyear Tire Company. The company announcing 5,000 layoffs just minutes ago. That's according to the AFP. More information as it comes in throughout the hour.
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi will have an audience with the Pope today. She's in Rome with the congressional delegation for the presidents' day recess. Yesterday, she talked about the global economic crisis with the Italian prime minister.
President Obama's super secret BlackBerry so on the down low that President Clinton doesn't even have the digits when he talked about the idea of the president having a BlackBerry last night on "LARRY KING LIVE." Mr. Clinton said Hillary Clinton lives on hers and in the world that we live in today, the president does need to stay connected.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
LARRY KING, HOST, "LARRY KING LIVE": We keep hearing about, we're going to touch other bases, Obama's BlackBerry. And he got a special BlackBerry now, doesn't have to be recorded into the White House. Do you have the number?
BILL CLINTON, FORMER PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: No. The fact that he got one, that is secure and sort of off the books is good, because every president needs some way of communicating with people who know you personally, and are outside the loop. People that grew up with you, care about you, but don't have to pretend because you're president, are very important, so I'm glad he's got some way of letting the people he cares about communicate directly with him.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ROBERTS: In these uncertain times, JetBlue is promising people that it will refund fares if they lose their jobs after they book a flight. The offer is good for up to nine passengers traveling with you. JetBlue says it's an opportunity for people to book early and take advantage of low fares without worrying about losing money -- Kiran.
CHETRY: Well, developing overnight, Facebook reacting to a story that we first brought you yesterday. The social networking site says it's now going back to its old privacy policy and you'll actually see a note about it when you check your page this morning.
Facebook faced a major revolt from tens of thousands of users after it quietly changed its terms of service. The policy seemed to grant Facebook rights to use anything that you upload, including your private pictures, perhaps forever. So here to clarify this morning is Chris Kelly. He's the chief privacy officer for Facebook joining us from San Francisco.
Chris, thanks for being with us this morning.
CHRIS KELLY, FACEBOOK, CHIEF PRIVACY OFFICER: Good morning, Kiran.
CHETRY: Maybe you can shed some light on this because it turned into -- really spread like wildfire on the internet after this happened. So what happened was you guys, I guess amended your privacy notes or your terms of service here, and you took out this language. "You may remove your user content from the site at any time, if you choose to remove your user content, the license granted above will automatically expire." When that was taken out, there was a lot of outrage from users. Why did you take that out?
KELLY: So first of all, we were trying to clarify our terms of service. We actually didn't change our privacy policy at all. And under the new terms of service we were making that license that we were taking subject to the privacy policies. So user expression of their privacy interests in only showing a photo to five users for instance would have been respected, but because of the lack of clarity and the confusion that had resulted we wanted to be very, very clear with users about how important their trust is to us, and roll back to the old version of the terms of service. Which we did last night.
CHETRY: Did it take you by surprise that so many people reacted so negatively to that change?
KELLY: Well, we think that there was, you know, some confusion about what we were actually trying to do, and that we were accused of a lot of things that we weren't trying to do at all, but it's incredibly important for us to sort of get this right, and so Mark put up a new posting last night explaining that we've opened a group called Facebook rights and responsibilities that will allow our users to express what they want our terms of service to be going forward and in the meantime we wanted to make it crystal clear that the old terms of service will apply.
CHETRY: He said, as you mentioned, he did post a response, also in that he wrote "our next version will be a substantial revision from where we are now." Why? And what needs to change? What did you guys start to realize was potentially problematic that you needed to change it?
KELLY: Well, we think it's incredibly important for people to realize the power that they can have in terms of choosing to put up information or not, and then also to whom they show that information. One of the things that Facebook has done, that's very different from what's been done traditionally on the internet, is that we give people a great deal of power about who they show their information to. We want to make sure that that continues, and that that's adequately reflected in terms of service.
CHETRY: Are you also acknowledging that it really is in some ways out of Facebook's hands, if you choose to share information with let's say your set number of friends. Let's say there's 200, then one day you decide you don't want to be on Facebook anymore, you deactivate your account. You as Facebook, do not have control over what the other 200 friends who previously had access do with that. So how do you reconcile that?
KELLY: Well, that's right. We want to make it clear that as Facebook we're going to cease sharing that information at your direction, but we ultimately don't have power over your 200 friends, but we didn't have power over them before, when you were sharing information with them through other channels.
CHETRY: So here are some of the concerns that people had written in about. They were concerned about potentially using pictures, photos, material, writings for you guys to get financial gain from it, even if somebody leaves.
One woman wrote "I'm wanting to share with my friends and chapters of a novel and I'm very afraid that Facebook would then claim they could sell my book," some other concerns like that. How do you address this?
KELLY: We never would have done that even under the new terms or use or under the old terms of use. And in fact, we don't believe that the new terms of use would have given us the right to do that. But again, there's been a great deal of confusion in the marketplace, and we wanted to be crystal clear about what rights we're claiming and what ones we're not. And we're taking only a very limited, limited rights to make sure that we can offer people the service.
CHETRY: People were also upset the terms changed and people were not notified to, hey, recheck the terms of service. Was that a mistake on your part?
KELLY: Well, I think we're always looking for ways to better notify our users about any changes in the service and we think that the open dialogue that we're promoting right now will build user trust about this.
CHETRY: You got a lot of people listening and surely you'll get a lot of people weighing in as you guys tweak this in the future. Chris Kelly from Facebook, thanks for joining us this morning. We appreciate it.
KELLY: Thanks very much, Kiran. Have a good day.
JOHN ROBERTS, CNN ANCHOR: Severe weather pushing into the southeast today. We're going to turn to our Rob Marciano, checking where we could see tornadoes touching down today, important information that Rob has got for us.
Even before the ink dried on the president's stimulus bill, debate over whether it would work broke out in Washington. Why the stimulus has some talking about the Great Depression?
And the Michelle Obama effect, she puts on a dress and turns a young designer into fashion royalty. Jason Wu talks about the "Vogue" cover that changed his life. 35 minutes now after the hour.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JAY LENO, HOST, "THE TONIGHT SHOW WITH JAY LENO": President Obama gives great speeches. You know what I'm saying? Like today, instead of just saying oh from north to south. He said from the windy plains of the Dakotas to the sunny skies of Arizona.
I mean, you get that tingle, you know? Sounds so much better from the sleaze ball criminal element of Wall Street to the broke ass beaches of California, you know what I mean? He makes it sound so good!
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CHETRY: Well, it's a punch line for Leno but in Washington it's no laughing matter. President Obama sparked a fiery debate with his $787 billion stimulus plan. Well, now that it's been signed, will it work? To find an answer many are looking back at the biggest financial disaster in American history.
Jim Acosta is live in Washington this morning with more, a lot of comparisons being made to the times we're in now and the Great Depression.
JIM ACOSTA, CNN CORRESPONDENT: That's right, Kiran, a lot of people are asking the question, is the comparison fair? And on top of that you're right, there is that debate over whether or not the new deal, part two if you want to call it, is going to work and President Obama has said that the current economic crisis is the worst since the Great Depression. That has sparked the debate here in Washington over whether FDR's new deal, the first one actually helped or hurt during those doom and gloom days of the 1930s. It's a debate that's far from over.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
PRES. BARACK OBAMA, UNITED STATES: There you go.
ACOSTA (voice-over): Even before the signing of the stimulus -
OBAMA: We have begun the essential work of keeping the American dream alive.
ACOSTA: Democrats and Republicans began having flashbacks to a time most Americans don't remember.
FRANKLIN D. ROOSEVELT, FMR. U.S. PRESIDENT: The only thing we have to fear is fear itself.
ACOSTA: The great debate over the Great Depression was on.
OBAMA: We have inherited an economic crisis as deep and as dire as any since the Great Depression.
ACOSTA: With the Obama administration looking at spending its way out of the current crisis, liberal and conservative economists were sparring over FDR's answer to the Great Depression, the new deal. The question? Did it work?
DEAN BAKER, CENTER FOR ECONOMIC POLICY RESEARCH: When I say why do I think the stimulus is a good idea, I look to the Great Depression, how did we get out, we spent lots of money.
DAN MITCHELL, CATO INSTITUTE: The new deal was a giant failure. I think Obama should learn from a different democratic president, he should learn from JFK, lower tax rates, don't make government bigger.
BAKER: If you could tell a different story about the new deal, then you undermine the case for stimulus.
ACOSTA: One congressman even claimed FDR caused the Great Depression.
REP. STEVE AUSTRIA (R), OHIO: When Roosevelt did this, he put our country into a Great Depression.
ACOSTA: Congressman Steve Austria backed away from the statement, noting Roosevelt became president in 1933, four years after the depression started.
SUZE ORMAN, PERSONAL FINANCE EXPERT: Stop telling everybody that it's dire, this is that.
ACOSTA: Now there are calls to end the debate. In short, enough with the depression.
ORMAN: I wish everybody would stop saying it is dire, including the president.
ACOSTA: President Obama's hometown newspaper, the "Chicago Tribune," stated "the parallels with the Great Depression are at the moment extremely far-fetched." Mr. Obama is not the first to issue dire warnings on the economy.
GEORGE W. BUSH, FMR. U.S. PRESIDENT: All of us here in Washington, the president and the Congress, are responsible to confront the danger of an economic slowdown.
ACOSTA: President Bush was accused of talking down the economy in his push for tax cuts, nearly $1.5 trillion in tax cuts, larger than the Obama stimulus plan.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
ACOSTA: And the FDR presidential library website has it up as one of its frequently asked questions, did the new deal end the Great Depression? The answer? Not really. According to Mr. Roosevelt's library, the new deal helped create jobs but it was World War II that brought that era to a close, and Kiran, I was crunching the numbers yesterday and I have to say I'm a little crunched out. But at the height of the Great Depression when FDR came into office, unemployment was at 25 percent, now it's around 7.6 percent. So we got a long way to go before it's Great Depression part two and but the point is the president says that we don't get there.
CHETRY: Absolutely. And the way our entire economy works if you talk to the experts is very different. So it's a different set of circumstances, not to say it's not as dire though.
ACOSTA: Let's not go there.
CHETRY: Oh, you're right. No more crunching for this morning. Good to see you, Jim Acosta. Thank you.
ACOSTA: You bet.
CHETRY: John.
ROBERTS: The road to recovery for General Motors and Chrysler will be paved with billions of taxpayer dollars and lost jobs. We'll ask GM's chief operating officer about the company's plan to save itself.
And President Obama talks about his plans to unveil - at least he's unveiling his plans to help homeowners. He'll do it just outside of Phoenix, the one-time real estate boom town that's now gone bust. What does the mayor of Phoenix hope to hear? Find out, when we talk to him, live.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
ROBERTS: 45 minutes now after the hour. Rob Marciano watching the extreme weather from the weather center in Atlanta this morning. Rob, looks like they have some stormy stuff in the east that might turn dangerous today.
ROB MARCIANO, CNN, METEOROLOGIST: Yes, it could very well, John. These are some of the energy that's been plaguing California, now into the plains and crossing the Mississippi and it's a storm with a lot of dynamics. It got a lot of strong winds coming at you at different levels of the atmosphere, strong low level jets, strong mid level jet at a different direction. That spells the recipe for tornadoes likely in this shaded area, which includes central Alabama, and the storm's prediction center out of Norman, Oklahoma, has a moderate risk of that happening.
And that means a good chance of seeing tornadoes but some strong ones in this area. Temperatures already starting to warm up as warm air moves into the area. As long as we get sun breaks that will really pop the atmosphere. We're starting to see some of the clearing from the warm front that is passing across parts of the southeast today. Some of that rain is heading up into the Delmarva.
D.C. will get some of it, a cold rain at that. There will be some delays at the airports because of this weather system moving eastward. Atlanta, Charlotte, you'll see rain and thunderstorms. New York, metro D.C., you'll see rain, thunderstorms or at least rain and some wind and Chicago will also see a little bit of light rain and some snow. Some interesting weather coming at us from Florida over the weekend.
Check out this i-report out of Venice Beach, Florida. A couple of water spouts, very impressive. This was a big one. It was sent in by Nicole Sadie out of Venice Beach. She says that was one of the biggest water spouts she's ever seen and then she got a picture of two, see the thin rope there, that's cool. That's good stuff.
All right. Well, we might see tornadoes which are just water spouts that are over land, by the way. Of a much larger variety later today across the southeast. We'll keep you posted as it happens, John. It won't get going until well into the afternoon but it looks pretty turbulent at this point.
ROBERTS: You'll keep us updated throughout the morning. Dramatic stuff there from Florida.
MARCIANO: Nice pics.
ROBERTS: That's why weather keeps us fascinated. Rob, thanks so much. 47 minutes now after the hour. We'll be right back.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
CHETRY(voice-over): He's dressing the first lady, Michelle Obama wearing his dress on the cover of "Vogue."
JASON WU, DESIGNER: I can't believe it's all happened.
CHETRY: One on one with Jason Wu, how a little boy who grew up to be fashion's hottest star.
ALINA CHO, CNN, CORRESPONDENT: Can you tell me one thing about Jason Wu that's going to surprise CNN viewers?
CHETRY: Ahead on the most news in the morning.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
CHETRY: Well, First Lady Michelle Obama on inauguration night wearing that white chiffon number one shoulder gown. It's now part of fashion history. The designer 26-year-old Jason Wu loved in the fashion world, otherwise, though, not really well known until now. He's the toast of fashion week in New York and our Alina Cho had the chance to meet one of the youngest, hottest designers out there. All thanks to the First Lady.
CHO: How about being a household name at 26 years old? It's incredible, Kiran. Good morning. Good morning, everybody. You know ever since Jason Woo became an overnight star, his life has changed almost dramatically in almost every way imaginable. He gets stopped on the street now. The press loves him and sales are up. So much success, and remember, he's just 26.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
CHO (voice-over): You may not recognize the clothes. You may not know his face. But by now, you definitely know his name. Jason who? No, Jason Wu. The designer of the dress. Your dress is going to be in the Smithsonian.
WU: That's pretty incredible. Actually, I'm still pinching myself, because this is so surreal, I can't believe it's all happened.
CHO: Pre-inauguration, Jason Wu was a relative unknown. Today the 26-year-old designer is fashion's hottest star.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Hi.
WU: Hi. How are you?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Hi. How are you? Man of the hour.
CHO: At his runway show it's standing room only. His representatives say sales calls are triple what they were a year ago and retailers are clamoring to carry his clothes. Yet Wu, careful not to grow too fast, is selling to just one store in most cities. In New York, it's Bergdorf Goodman.
JIM GOLD, CEO, BERGDORF GOODMAN: The phones are ringing and people are coming in to see what this kid is all about.
CHO: This kids was born in Taiwan and came to the U.S. with his parents at an early age. Parents who sacrificed everything for their son. A self-proclaimed fashion nerd who said he knew at age five this was his calling. I know how Asian parents are, they may say doctor, lawyer, right?
WU: Doctor, lawyer and this is not doctor, lawyer, this is painting and drawing and designing. CHO: Celebrity status, that changed, too.
WU: The truck driver rolled down his windows. You're the guy that designed Michelle Obama's dress, and I said, wow, a trucker knows who I am, I made it. I'm very happy.
CHO: And to think Wu's first job in fashion, designer of Barbie clothes.
MARY ALICE STEPHENSON, STYLE EXPERT: He's designing now for big Barbies.
CHO: Including the First Lady, again. This time on the new cover of "Vogue," wearing a dress by Wu. And once again, he had no idea.
WU: I fall in line and say, oh, my god, I think I recognize that dress, I think I made it!
CHO: So what does Jason Wu do in his downtime? Can you tell me one thing about Jason Wu that's going to surprise CNN viewers?
WU: I love to bake, apple pie, the most American thing you can get.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
CHO: How about that? Now he really does embody the American dream, his friends say he paid his dues. And he's a fashion darling now. Well because he deserves it. Wu tells me he gave himself just one day to celebrate after Michelle Obama wore his dress on inauguration night and then, Kiran, back to work.
CHETRY: I have to laugh because you asked him about the whole Asian parent thing and my dad's from Nepal as well and if you're not a doctor or you are not going to the London School of Economics, you're a loser, right? We laugh. What did they say about it?
CHO: Well, basically, you know, they really saw something in him. You know, he used to go by windows and sketch bridal gowns at age five. He says he remembers that. His parents really saw something special in him. They literally moved him to the United States because they believed only here could be really, really succeed in the way that he should and look at him now. It's incredible.
CHETRY: Wonderful story. That's so funny. Do your parents still ask you, when are you going to get a real job?
CHO: Not so much anymore. But certainly up until the age of 30.
CHETRY: Great stuff, Alina, thanks.
CHO: You bet.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
ROBERTS (voice-over): The super bug that killed the supermodel. Dr. Sanjay Gupta on the deadly, surging super bug.
Plus, sex class on campus. Queer theory.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: If my mother heard about there were classes about being queer here, she probably would withdraw me.
ROBERTS: Male prostitution.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Yes, you heard right.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: We're old enough to make our own decisions about classes that we want to take.
ROBERTS: See who wants to shut them down. You're watching the most news in the morning.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
RICK WAGONER, CHAIRMAN AND CEO, GENERAL MOTORS: Based on our analysis, we continue to believe that bankruptcy would be a highly risky and very costly process, potentially very time consuming that should only be undertaken as a last resort. So, our focus, our primary efforts, continue to be on transforming our business and executing GM's viability plan outside of bankruptcy court.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ROBERTS: That's General Motors' chairman and CEO Rick Wagoner. He says putting Detroit's automakers on the road to recovery will involve money and sacrifice. GM and Chrysler survival strategy calls for an additional $21 billion in taxpayer money. GM also plans to cut tens of thousand of jobs and close more plants.
Joining us now from Detroit is GM's chief operating officer Fritz Henderson.
Mr. Henderson, the amount of money that you're looking for now combined with the amount of money that you've gotten already and looking down the road even more money and then there's $6 billion that you're seeking from foreign governments, it begs the question whether this is a viable industry anymore.
FRITZ HENDERSON, CHIEF OPERATING OFFICER, GENERAL MOTORS: Good morning, John. I think when we outlined our plan yesterday actually, we went through frankly the analysis of not only what funding needs to be required in order to operate the business, but the plan also demonstrates viability in a number of important respects.
First the ability to repay the loan. Second, the business has value after repaying the loans. And, third, we resourced in the plan the ability to produce both fantastic cars and trucks and the right kind of technology for us to be a leader in fuel economy and in the next generation of the automotive industry. So we do think it demonstrates viability, John. ROBERTS: In terms of paying back these loans, you'll be in to the government for a whole lot of money. You've got these costs that you are carrying now that are causing you to lose a lot of money every quarter, every month for that matter. You got sales down. How can you guarantee to taxpayers that you'll be able to repay this money? Should they be prepared to lose it?
HENDERSON: John, I think we developed our plan based upon a series of extremely conservative assumptions and so I guess I would say there are no guarantees in life that I'm aware of. Certainly not in our business, other than competition. But we based our plan on a set of very conservative assumptions such that we could structure the business not only operationally but from a capitalist structure perspective to be able to demonstrate that we can repay the loans and create value.
ROBERTS: Right.
HENDERSON: That is the best we can do. I mean, I think we're certainly confident that we will repay the loans. We are confident that we can be viable and will be viable. And the way you do that is you basically set the test for yourself as difficult as possible, structure the business accordingly and execute.
ROBERTS: As part of your plan you're going to close 14 plants across the United States. Can you tell us where these plants are?
HENDERSON: We identified, you know, the impact - the plant we outlined is the global one. We did outline the need for further rationalization for capacity of plants here in North America. We will - we will discuss it - we have been discussing, we will continue to discuss those, with the affected labor unions, and we'll roll out the specific information plant by plant at the appropriate time, but clearly given the industry -
ROBERTS: You can't tell us where you're closing plants?
HENDERSON: No, I'm not going to tell you which plants are going to close. It wouldn't be appropriate until we talked to our people.
ROBERTS: All right. You're also planning on cutting 47,000 jobs worldwide, 22,000 in the United States. Is that for now? Might there be more job cuts in the future? Or is that it?
HENDERSON: Actually, the way our plan is structured, the cuts are front-end loaded, so these are largely going to be executed in 2009. We think once we bring ourselves into -- into alignment in that regard, that we've got our capacity, our manpower, if you will, at the right level. I mean, there are over time some further moves, but frankly most of what we have to deal with is right in front of us in 2009.
ROBERTS: All right, well, we'll keep watching the story very closely. A very important one for so many people in America. Fritz Henderson, thanks for being with us this morning. Appreciate it.
HENDERSON: Thanks, John.
