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American Morning
Iraqi Shoe-Thrower Gets Three Years in Prison; Bernie Madoff Expected to Plead Guilty; Former Congressman Says Jim Cramer May Have Crossed Line; Michelle Obama's First 52 Days as First Lady; Cubans Welcome Change in U.S.-Cuba Relations
Aired March 12, 2009 - 07:01 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
KIRAN CHETRY, CNN ANCHOR: Well, it is 7:01 right now. Some of the top stories following we're following for you this morning, we'll be breaking down for you in the next 15 minutes.
Three years in prison, that's the sentence for the Iraqi journalist who grabbed headlines by throwing a shoe and then another shoe at former President Bush. A look at the trial and the charges live from Baghdad in just a moment.
Also happening right now, from his penthouse to the jailhouse, these are live pictures of accused swindler Bernie Madoff now on his way to court, wearing a bullet proof vest as always for his appearances. His attorney says that the man will plead guilty this morning. He faces 150 years in prison for the alleged $65 billion Ponzi scheme.
And China issuing an ultimatum this morning. Beijing's defense ministry is demanding the U.S. end surveillance missions off the southern coast of China. That follows a confrontation at sea between one U.S. and several Chinese ships this weekend. You can bet it will come up when President Obama sits down with China's top diplomat that's happening later today.
And we begin again with a sentence of the Iraqi journalist who threw his shoes at former President Bush. Senior international correspondent Nic Robertson is live in Baghdad for us this morning.
And so he's getting, you know, quite a serious sentence. You told us in the last hour, it could have been much worse, but he's doing three years in prison for this incident.
NIC ROBERTSON, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Yes, it's pretty harsh. Certainly that's the judgment of all the supporters that he has in Iraq and around the region. They were expecting that the judges would actually let him off.
What the lawyers and his family had feared was the worst-case scenario, where if convicted, he could get 15 years but the judges haven't done that. They've been more lenient on him giving him just three years.
The charges are assaulting a visiting foreign head of state. Now, he's always maintained that this was a sort of an act of passion that he was listening to President Bush talking about the successes and gains in Iraq, but he was motivated by thinking of all the suffering in Iraq and just pulled his shoes off and threw them at -- threw them at former President Bush.
That is really a huge insult in this region. And that's what's caused such a stir. The government doesn't want anyone repeating this when other foreign dignitaries come to Iraq. So that's really what it appears is what's driven this case a lot.
CHETRY: Absolutely. All right. Thanks so much, Nic Robertson for us this morning in Baghdad.
ROB MARCIANO, CNN CO-ANCHOR: Also breaking this morning, one of the most hated men in America and the biggest con man in U.S. history will plead guilty today.
Bernie Madoff is on his way to court right now. These are new pictures just outside of his apartment on the Upper East Side of New York City as he left just moments ago. He's looking at 150 years behind bars.
Victims who lost everything say that's not enough. They're afraid he'll take the secrets he has to his grave, and they want to know how $65 billion just vanished into thin air.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
BENNETT GOLDWORTH, BERNARD MADOFF VICTIM: In terms of the government involvement, they -- you know, they've done nothing in this whole process to address the victims. We've been stripped of everything. This is like any other emergency that's occurred in our country, you know.
No, I don't have next month's rent. You know, I don't know where I'm going to work. I don't have anything. And there are many victims who are older than I am who can't start over, who can't work, and they have nothing and they don't have relatives to turn to and the government has done nothing.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
MARCIANO: Allan Chernoff now live outside the federal courthouse in Lower Manhattan.
Allan, you can just hear the angry (ph) in the voice of the victims. What's the scene like down there?
ALLAN CHERNOFF, CNN SENIOR CORRESPONDENT: Well, there are some victims here and they are hoping to speak before the court. We'll get to that a little bit later on. But the scene right here, you can see the crowd. Lots of photographers, police, all set for Mr. Madoff to arrive. He should be here within about 15 or even maybe ten minutes, getting down from the Upper East Side pretty quickly.
Now, he is expected to plead guilty to 11 criminal counts. And that plea is expected to come without any cooperation agreement with the government, which would have required him to tell the government everything he knows. So the question remains, where's the money?
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
CHERNOFF (voice-over): Eleven days before confessing his alleged fraud to the FBI, Bernard Madoff sent account statements to thousands of clients around the globe, claiming they had assets of nearly $65 billion with him. The number was pure fiction. In fact, Bernard L. Madoff Investment Securities appears to have been holding less than two percent of that amount. Victims are wondering, what happened to their money?
RONNIE SUE AMBROSINO, MADOFF VICTIM: I want to make sure that the rightful people get their rightful money back.
HELEN LOUIS CHAITMAN, MADOFF VICTIM: The justice for me would be restitution to all the victims.
CHERNOFF: The bulk of the money, prosecutors charged, was used to fuel the allegedly Ponzi scheme. Money coming in was used to pay investors withdrawing funds.
DAVE KETTEL, FMR. FEDERAL PROSECUTOR: It is a con game. And it's always surprising that people think that they can get away with this. Because eventually in every single case, the house of cards eventually falls down.
CHERNOFF: Madoff allegedly took a big cut for himself. The criminal complaint says he spent investor dollars buying and maintaining properties. He has homes in France, Palm Beach, Florida, Montauk, New York, and the Manhattan apartment where he's been under house arrest.
The government also charges Madoff laundered money, transferring $250 million from his New York headquarters to a London office using some for his personal use and sending some funds back to the New York office. Madoff also allegedly used millions of investor funds to support what had appeared to be a legitimate stock-trading business, which matched buy and sell orders for brokers, like Fidelity and Charles Schwab.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
CHERNOFF: Victims will be permitted to speak before the court on two issues -- should the court accept a guilty plea and if that guilty plea does come, should Mr. Madoff be sent immediately to prison or be permitted to stay out on bail until he's actually sentenced -- Rob.
MARCIANO: So he could very well not see the light of his penthouse there in the Upper East Side again potentially today.
CHERNOFF: That certainly is a possibility. That has been an incredible frustration to the victims, the fact that Mr. Madoff has been allowed to stay in his luxurious apartment while this entire event has transpired. While we've waited for some resolution over here, the government has been trying to get him placed into jail but they have not succeeded. MARCIANO: I certainly would feel that frustration as well. Allan Chernoff live for us.
Also, you're seeing live pictures of the courthouse where Allan has been reporting from as we await the arrival of Bernie Madoff for his hearing, where he is expected, as Allan mentioned, to plead guilty to all counts and seemingly keep his mouth shut otherwise. So, this case continues to unfold. It continues to get more and more interesting and no doubt frustrating for those victims who suffered major, major losses.
CHETRY: Yes. You can already see all the people lined up alongside trying to get a glimpse of what's going on down there. A lot of action this morning. So, we'll keep you posted.
Meanwhile, it's been a must TiVo or a must DVR all week long. It's the ongoing match between daily show host Jon Stewart and CNBC's Jim Cramer. All the buzz is only encouraging the kids at Comedy Central. Take a look.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: The war of words is brewing between two TV personalities.
JOHN ROBERTS, CNN ANCHOR: Jon Stewart giving CNBC a daily pounding.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The war of words between Jon Stewart and Jim Cramer.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: A full-blown war.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Anchor war that's getting ugly.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CHETRY: All right. So you know -- love it.
You dropped your hat, Jon. Oh, great, now he hurt his back as well.
Well, you know, the economy hasn't exactly been comedy gold but some people have some serious questions for Cramer about things that he said and advice he gave in the role that he might have played in some of what's going on with the market.
Our CNN's Jim Acosta is live in Washington. You know, and it's an interesting call because you can cut and paste. You know, the beauty of editing is that you can certainly make someone look like a fool.
JIM ACOSTA, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Oh, yes. That's right.
CHETRY: And Jon Stewart has really made his career off of that. ACOSTA: Not a big boo-yah week for Jim Cramer, you're right. You know, Jim Cramer once made a fortune running a successful hedge fund. He went on to host his own TV show "Mad Money" that offers stock tips to investors but as Cramer has found out lately, a lot of Americans are mad at him. One former congressman believes Cramer may have crossed a line.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
JIM CRAMER, HOST, CNBC'S "MAD MONEY": You know, I don't want to stick my neck out anymore because it seems to get chopped off every single night around 11:00.
ACOSTA (voice-over): The war of words has gotten personal. In one corner, CNBC's "Mad Money" host Jim Cramer.
CRAMER: A comedian is attacking me. Wow.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: "Daily Show."
CRAMER: He runs a variety show.
ACOSTA: In the other corner, "The Daily Show's" Jon Stewart.
JON STEWART, HOST, "THE DAILY SHOW": A variety show? What? Makes it sound like I am some kind of buffoon.
ACOSTA: Who spent the last week lampooning Cramer's bad stock calls.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It's a fun game and it's a lucrative game.
ACOSTA: But this video made in 2006 has suddenly gone viral, and it's no joke.
CRAMER: Go in and take a bunch of stocks and make sure that they're higher. And maybe commit $5 million in capital and do it, and that could affect it.
ACOSTA: Cramer explains to his own financial Web site, thestreet.com, how he could influence stock prices up and down as the manager of a massive hedge fund.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: By the way, no one else in the world would ever admit that, but I do care.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: That's right, and you can say that here.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I'm not going to say it on TV.
ACOSTA: Largely unregulated, hedge funds were attractive to wealthy investors and at their peak may have controlled more than $2 trillion in assets.
TOM DAVIS (R), FORMER CONGRESSMAN: Well, I think he's become a poster child for why hedge funds need more regulation and transparency.
ACOSTA: Tom Davis, a former top Republican on the House Committee that investigated hedge funds last fall, says Cramer's comments in the video show the need for reform in the markets.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Now, is any of this illegal?
DAVIS: It wasn't. But it should be. He may well have crossed the line. I think that's something somebody ought to be looking at. I think the tragedy is over the last few years, nobody's been looking at this at all.
ACOSTA: Cramer issued this statement to CNN: "No one knows and respects the securities laws more than I do. I didn't go to Harvard Law School for nothing. When I was a hedge fund trader in the 1990s, I played fair and I did nothing that violated those laws."
The "Mad Money" host will have a chance to explain himself in a scheduled showdown with Stewart tonight.
STEWART: The annoying guy with the money show. I don't know. He'll be here tomorrow in this studio.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
ACOSTA: And by tomorrow, Jon Stewart means tonight. Now a spokesman for CNBC declined to comment on that video, noting that at first became public in 2007. Cramer does have his legions of fans who say tips from the "Mad Money" hosts have boosted their portfolios but over the years, Cramer concedes, he's made some bad calls -- Kiran.
CHETRY: All right. The brave guy is going to show up on "The Daily Show" though, right?
ACOSTA: We'll see.
CHETRY: All right. We'll be watching.
ACOSTA: Tune in. Yes.
CHETRY: As you said, it's must-TiVo.
All right. Thanks, Jim.
ACOSTA: You bet.
MARCIANO: We'll probably have highlights, I'm guessing, I'm hoping tomorrow.
CHETRY: Yes, of course.
MARCIANO: That will be good TV.
All right, we're on Berniewatch. Con man Bernie Madoff on his way to court. Live picture now. You're looking at near the courthouse. He's accused of bilking investors out of almost $65 billion, tracking that story throughout the morning.
It's 13 minutes after the hour.
The first lady's first 50 days.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Michelle Obama is out of the gate much faster and more focused than most of the first ladies we've seen.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
MARCIANO: Setting fashion trends, visiting soup kitchens and schools.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
MICHELLE OBAMA, FIRST LADY OF THE UNITED STATES: In a place where they make candy and chocolate.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
MARCIANO: Can the mommy-in-chief keep up the pace?
You're watching the Most News in the Morning.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
ANNOUNCER: This is CNN breaking news.
MARCIANO: Continue to cover the story as Bernie Madoff on the move from his Upper East Side tony apartment, downtown to Lower Manhattan to await his hearing, where he's expected to plead guilty to 11 felony charges. You may remember he bilked investors out of $65 billions, gone, vanished into thin air. And that 70-year-old today will be pleading guilty to those charges.
The question is, will the judge allow him to go back to his apartment or will he usher him in handcuffs straight to jail? Stay tuned.
CHETRY: All right. Meantime, First Lady Michelle Obama has been awfully busy during the first 52 days of her husband's administration, and that has not gone unnoticed from the former first lady.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
HILLARY CLINTON, SECRETARY OF STATE: I know a little bit about the role that Michelle Obama is filling now. And I have to say that in a very short time, she has through her grace and her wisdom become an inspiration to women and girls, not only in the United States, but around the world.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CHETRY: White House correspondent Suzanne Malveaux is live in Washington with more on this for us this morning. Hey, Suzanne.
SUZANNE MALVEAUX, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Hey, Kiran. I remember covering Michelle Obama doing that documentary. She said they really needed the stability and the routine for her kids. That their world had been turned upside down, but since then, she's really embraced her role as first lady, and a lot of people have noticed.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
MALVEAUX (voice-over): Inauguration night, Michelle Obama makes her debut. And she hasn't stopped since.
OBAMA: Do you see who's up here with me?
MALVEAUX: In her seven weeks as first lady, she's captured the nation's attention like no other.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Well, Michelle Obama is out of the gate much faster and more focused than most of the first ladies we've seen over the last couple of years. Laura Bush, by her own admission, had a real kind of late start. Hillary Clinton had been traveling in early March and a meeting with folks on the Hill over health care.
MALVEAUX: Gracing the covers of "Vogue," "People" "US Weekly," and "Essence." Even Oprah is moving over to make room for Michelle. It's hard to believe nine months ago "The New Yorker" satired her as a radical. This month she's sashaying down the catwalk.
OBAMA: You're all invited.
MALVEAUX: Once dogged by questions about her patriotism, Michelle Obama has fully embraced it. A major part of her portfolio is supporting families of the troops. Today, all eyes are on her visit to Fort Bragg.
In D.C., the first lady hit the ground running, visiting federal workers. She also made surprise appearances, going out for lunch, and visiting soup kitchens and schools.
OBAMA: A place where they make candy and chocolate.
MALVEAUX: But before she even became first lady, she told me her first priority was clear.
OBAMA: I like order. And I thrive in stability. And I find that my kids thrive in the same regards.
MALVEAUX: Mommy-in-chief to her daughters, Sasha and Malia.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
MALVEAUX: And, Kiran, we know that she still goes to parent/teacher conferences. That they read at night every day and really keeping that routine. And also we understand that she's -- after she visits with the troops is going to kind of debrief her husband, if you will, and tell him what the military families are thinking, what they're saying and how it relates to his own policy.
CHETRY: Suzanne, I'm so sorry to cut you off. We have to show these live pictures real quick. This is Bernie Madoff arriving at the courthouse in Manhattan.
This is D-day, really, for him. He's going to find out today, whether or not a judge is going to make him stay in prison until his sentencing or whether or not he'll be allowed to return to his penthouse. He's expected to plead guilty to several charges related to this alleged multibillion-dollar Ponzi scheme.
And also present today, many of his bilked investors, who said that they wanted to be there, that they needed to come today. And they wanted to lobby the judge to make sure that they keep Bernie Madoff in prison after the plea even before the sentencing. Something that is actually pretty rare in white-collar crimes. Usually in white-collar crime, they allow the defendant to then return home or at least not be in prison until the actual sentencing.
But again, you just saw him enter the courthouse and you see the crush of media outside. And there are going to be many victims present today, hoping that the judge will allow them to say their piece.
Christine Romans is here with us this morning. And you know, in many ways, Bernie Madoff has sort of been the face of you know, corruption on Wall Street, and the problems with what's been going on. I mean, there's just so much anger out there...
CHRISTINE ROMANS, CNN BUSINESS CORRESPONDENT: That's right.
CHETRY: ... about people who said, you know, I did everything right, or at least I thought I did, and I ended up with nothing.
ROMANS: And, you know, his victims would say that this is not a white-collar crime. One of his victims I spoke to yesterday said that this is an assault, a financial assault. I mean, these people are starting over with nothing, literally with nothing. Some of them in their 60s who thought that they were going to be able to retire and can't. Not only can they not retire, they can't pay the rent.
And so there are a lot of folks who are very, very upset with this man and would like to see him not return to that Upper East Side apartment. I mean, to a person, when a talk to victims, they say why is he going home? I don't have a home. My home is going to be foreclosed on, and he's going home. So there's a lot of anger about this.
MARCIANO: You know people at home, Christine, and you talk about a lot of these victims are saying, if these victims who had millions to invest, smart, affluent people, I mean what went through their mind? The decision-making process to entrust this man way back when with all that money? ROMANS: It's interesting because no one thought they were taking a risk. I mean, this turned out to be the riskiest guy in the world for them, and they all thought this was safe Bernie. You know as safe as a T-bill, they were told.
When I talked to victims who thought -- who got in, you know, some of them got eight percent returns. Some got 10 percent returns. Steady. Nothing, you know, exciting and I would say, well, look, you know, the market sometimes goes down. Didn't you get suspicious when the market wasn't going down? And people said, no, we just thought it was just a safe investment. And now many of them are penniless.
CHETRY: Absolutely. All right. And many of them want to be able to speak before the judge today, District Judge Denny Chin. So again, we just saw Bernard Madoff walking to the federal courthouse there and we will keep you up to date on what's going on today.
He is expected, though, to plead guilty to 11 felony charges. A maximum for that could be 150 years in prison.
We're going to take a quick break. It's 22 minutes past the hour.
MARCIANO: Hope in Havana.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Let them come. Let them come. Once more, this is their land, their country.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
MARCIANO: A new generation embracing change in U.S./Cuba ties.
You're watching the Most News in the Morning.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
ANNOUNCER: This is CNN breaking news.
CHETRY: And welcome back to the Most News in the Morning. In case you missed it, con man, accused con man Bernie Madoff arriving in court just a few minutes ago. You saw it live on CNN just a couple of minutes ago. He's expected to plead guilty this morning to 11 felony counts, facing up to 150 years in prison.
Madoff is 70 years old. He was an investment adviser that was accused now of running a $65 billion fraud scheme, fleecing thousands of investors out of their life savings. Many people smart and wealthy, who thought that this was really a safe bet, turned out to be a horrible, horrible mistake. Many of them showing up in the courtroom today. They want to be able to give the judge and perhaps Mr. Madoff a piece of their mind and explain just how hard this has been on them, many of them losing everything.
We're going to continue to follow the story throughout the day, especially as we get more details on how he decided to plead, in terms of whether or not he's going to go to jail or whether or not he's going to be allowed to return to his penthouse on the Upper East Side. So again, we're going to continue to follow Bernie Madoff's court appearance today -- Rob.
MARCIANO: All right, Kiran. Let's talk international affairs and maybe where you'd like to travel going forward. Buried inside the $410 billion spending bill President Obama just signed, a loosening of travel and spending restrictions between the U.S. and Cuba. Reaction is mixed from Washington and for the country's biggest Cuban-American community in Miami. But as our Morgan Neill reports, even further south, Cubans are welcoming the change.
MORGAN NEILL, CNN HAVANA BUREAU CHIEF: Kiran and Rob, while a few people here know about the specifics in this bill, when they're told about it, reaction is overwhelmingly positive. Now, this measure will essentially do three things for Cuban-Americans with family living here on the island.
It will let them travel here more frequently once a year as opposed to once every three years. It will let them spend more money while they're here, up to $179 a day, as opposed to the current limit of $50 a day. And it will let them stay longer. An unspecified amount of time as opposed to the current limit of 14 days.
There's been a lot of debate in Washington, in Miami over this bill. But here in Cuba, there really hasn't been debate and that's because just about everybody you run into it seems here has family in the United States. And any measure that makes it easier for them to see their relatives more frequently, they're going to be in favor of.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
NEILL (voice-over): I think it's very good, says this woman. Let them come. Let them come. What's more, this is their land, their country.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE (through translator): I think it could help family reconciliation now that people can see each other more frequently.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE (through translator): The economy here will improve because they can help those of us who are here.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
NEILL: If President Obama signs this bill as expected, it would mean more income for hotels like this one and other businesses around the island. And that would go against the grain of previous U.S. policies that are sought to deny resources to the island, but that policy itself is being called into question recently. Senator Richard Lugar is saying the embargo has been a failure and calling for a reexamination of that policy.
Rob and Kiran, back to you.
CHETRY: Morgan Neill for us this morning, thanks so much.
Well, former presidential candidate John Edwards making a rare public appearance and talking about morality. We're going to hear what Edwards had to say, next on the Most News in the Morning.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
MARCIANO: Twenty-nine minutes after the hour. A lot to cover this morning. Here are big stories we're watching right now.
Three years in prison for the Iraqi journalist who threw his shoes at former President Bush back in December. That sentence handed down by an Iraqi court early this morning. The journalist was hailed as a hero in many parts of the Islamic world.
And Bernie Madoff is expected to plead guilty today to the biggest rip-off in Wall Street history. He's looking at up to 150 years behind bars. Last night, Jay Leno offered some advice to the man who is going from the penthouse to the big house.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JAY LENO, HOST, "THE TONIGHT SHOW WITH JAY LENO": Bernard Madoff, you know, the sleazeball guy in that $50 billion Ponzi scheme thing, going to plead guilty. Could get up like to, what, 150 years in prison.
(APPLAUSE)
Very good. Now, find out how it feels to have his valuables mishandled, OK.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
MARCIANO: And from Wall Street to Main Street to "Sesame Street," Sesame Workshop, the nonprofit group behind the popular children's TV show is announcing layoffs. Cutting about 20 percent of its work force. 67 employees in all. The organization says the layoffs are unfortunate but needed in these tough economic times.
When his first public appearance in months, former presidential candidate John Edwards couldn't avoid the elephant in the room. A student asked him about politicians and morality. CNN's Deborah Feyerick has his answer. This should be interesting. Hi, Deborah.
DEBORAH FEYERICK, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Absolutely. You remember John Edwards, right? He is the former presidential contender who dismissed rumors he had an affair with a campaign worker and then later she admitted that yes he had been involved with his video biographer Rielle Hunter. But no he was not father of her infant daughter. He has kept a pretty low profile since his televised admission last August.
But when Brown University asked him to speak to faculty and students in a to the closed media event on Tuesday, he decided why not? It was during the question-and-answer session that Edwards indirectly alluded to the affair. A young woman who said she had supported him during his campaign, asked Edwards whether he believed qualified people like himself might be unfairly held to a higher, moral standard.
Mr. Edwards answered with what can be best described as a nonanswer.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
VOICE OF JOHN EDWARDS, FMR. PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: But I think every single person, you and every person in this room and every person in the country, has an absolute right to make that judgment for themselves. And I don't think it's for me to impose my judgment on anybody about what they can consider and what they can't consider. I think that I have my own view, which I'm going to keep to myself tonight.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
FEYERICK: A couple of people laughed, others clapped after he said that. Now could this be a comeback strategy for the one-term senator from North Carolina? An Edwards spokesperson did not return our calls but no cameras at all were allowed to record the speech. Edwards did agree to be filmed coming and going but he was surrounded by security guards and then he did not stick around after the speech was over.
Some students were quoted saying "they were pretty disappointed that Edwards did not say anything new this in his speech titled "Beautiful America." Speaking generally about the big challenges the country is facing.
But at least he's sort of dipped his toe in there and make a little small public appearance.
MARCIANO: Small steps.
FEYERICK: Small steps, public appearance.
MARCIANO: He's a good talker, and like any politician, good at, you know, not really nailing down the answers succinctly.
FEYERICK: Standing remotely.
MARCIANO: Exactly. Thank you, Deborah.
FEYERICK: Of course.
CHETRY: Well is the global recession also a global security threat? There are new worries that less money to go around, hot spots across the globe, could go unchecked and actually threaten our national security. Richard Haass is the president of the Council on Foreign Relations. He is just back from testifying before the House yesterday, the Arms Services Committee, about some of these challenges to come. Thanks so much for being with us. It's good to have you.
RICHARD HAASS, PRESIDENT, COUNCIL ON FOREIGN RELATIONS: Good morning.
CHETRY: So what about the downturn in the economy and of course, as we know this is a global problem. How does that relate to our own security here at home?
HAASS: Probably two ways. One, a lots of states are going to become a lot weaker. Some might fail. When they do fail and then terrorists can get a grip. Drug guys can get a grip. You could have greater refugee flows, which in turn could cause wars. Some governments may look to cause mischief in the world in order to divert attention of what is going on domestically. So essentially the world will become a messier place at exactly the same time.
We and others won't have the resource to do it. We won't have as much money to spend on foreign aid. We won't have as much money to spend on the military. We won't be able to help them build up the capacity. So it's this combination of a messier world and less capacity to cope with it, it's hard to see the bright side there.
CHETRY: And you testified about some countries, some specific countries, that you think that we really need to keep an eye on. One of them being Pakistan. A military report said last year that they were the biggest risk of collapse and we've seen this, tensions rising between the government and the opposition. So if they're pushed to the edge, what does that mean for our war on terror, I mean, especially where they are located right and in Afghanistan, and some of our intelligence seems to indicate that Osama Bin Laden is actually, possibly in Pakistan.
HAASS: He probably is. Look, Pakistan is in some ways the single, most frightening country in the world. You're talking about 175 million people with maybe five or six dozen nuclear weapons. It's home to many of the world's terrorist organizations, including Al Qaeda now. What happens there will be critical to the future of Afghanistan. And this is a country that is failing.
This is a country in which the government doesn't control all of the territory. The government doesn't even control all of the government. And what the problem for us is, what do we do about it? Because now on top of all of that, as you have real economic problems. Foreign aid isn't going there as a pie. Investment flows aren't going there. The economy is slowing down. Unemployment is going up. That's a bad recipe.
CHETRY: And so who else thinks this is a problem? I mean, because the united states can't be the only nation, right, that's trying to help. I know that the Treasury Secretary wants more money to go to the International Monetary Fund. But who else is seeing this as a major problem that could possibly work with us.
HAASS: A lot of people see it as a major problem. It has a bit of fatigue in terms of helping. Also other countries face the same problems that we do. They have the same budget pressures. So places like Afghanistan, intellectually, the European governments, the other members of NATO said you're right. We got to do more. We got to do more for Pakistan. But economically, they haven't figured out a way to do it. They don't need to have the capacity or they don't have the political will or both because they have the same exact debates that the United States does. There are people who are saying why are we doing so much overseas? Why aren't we doing more to fix our own employment? Or build our own infrastructure? So other countries are going through parallel debates as the United States. So people see the problems, they're simply not able or willing to do something about them.
CHETRY: All right. Well, you were trying to get that message out yesterday before Congress. Hopefully they are listening to you. Great to talk to you. Richard Haass, president of the Council of Foreign Relations. Thanks for being with us this morning.
HAASS: Thanks for having me.
CHETRY: Thirty-six minutes past the hour.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
CHETRY (voice-over): Bill Clinton, "Paging Dr. Gupta."
BILL CLINTON, FMR. PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: We have a simpler, clearer path to the future than I did when I was there.
CHETRY: The former president opening up about his health concerns and hope for tomorrow. You're watching the most news in the morning.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
MARCIANO: A house call for former President Bill Clinton. He sat down for an exclusive interview with our Dr. Sanjay Gupta. And talked about his own health concerns as well as the future of our nation's health care system and we're "Paging Dr. Gupta" now. Here with us live this morning to talk about the 42nd president's health. Hi, Sanjay.
DR. SANJAY GUPTA, CNN CHIEF MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT: Hey, good morning.
MARCIANO: Welcome to New York from Atlanta. Good to see you here. Listen in part with what you have to say with the president. Let's listen in.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
GUPTA: One thing they notice even when I was talking to you and we talked about this before, when you point with your finger, do you...
CLINTON: Sometimes it shakes. See it's a little shaky. I've been tested for it, I don't have Parkinson's.
GUPTA: You don't have it. CLINTON: The doctors told me that as people age, they become more vulnerable, for example, to having these muscles. Like, if I write a lot...
GUPTA: Yes.
CLINTON: ... or play video games, or you know, just do anything like that along with my fingers, and these things - these tighten up. Or if I am tired, if I am working hard, it will cause your hands to shake. So now that's pretty common. A little bit of shake. Not much. None over here and some days they both shake, some days none of them do and I was quite concerned about it because if I had Parkinson's I wanted to know so I can prepare. And I had it tested. And the doctor says, no it's just normal aging phenomenon.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
MARCIANO: Now, Sanjay, you are one of the more easy guys to talk to. But the president was pretty candid with you and this is after the heart surgery. How's he doing?
GUPTA: I think he's doing pretty well. He had that heart surgery. He lost a lot of weight after that. You may remember some of those images of him. And then he says he gained some of the weight back. So he flip-flopped back and forth, 10 pounds here. You don't have that problem, Rob, but a lot of people do. You know, he was lamenting the fact that he doesn't hit a golf ball as far as he used to. He said he was able to hit over 300 yards. He said barely 300 yards now.
I guess if you're worried about problems like that...
MARCIANO: Poor guy.
GUPTA: Not too bad. You know, he's 62 years old. He looks -- he looks pretty good. He was very busy during the campaign. He's staying very busy, running his foundation. He had just returned from Haiti, the night before I interviewed him and he had endless energy, Rob. So, you know, I think all things considered, he gets checked out a lot. He's doing well.
MARCIANO: Of course the big medical news or health care news this week which you've been covering intently is the stem cell research in the release of funds. Let's listen to what the President Clinton said about that.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
CLINTON: I appreciated the fact that the president wanted to send a strong signal that scientific research on everything from climate change to the genome to the embryonic stem cells was too politicized in the previous eight years, and he wants to put it back to science. I agree with that. But there are values involved that we all feel free to discuss in all scientific research. And that is the one thing I think these committees need to make it clear that they're not going to fool with any embryos, whether there is any possibility, even if it's somewhat remote that they could be fertilized and become human beings.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
MARCIANO: Do you think that is realistic, Dr. Sanjay? I mean, scientists are scientists. They want to push the envelope. Is it a good idea to have the science community self-regulate itself.
GUPTA: You know, Rob, it's a really good question. I think one of the important points when the stem cell debate moves forward. When Clinton authorized federal money for stem cell research he said it only had to be for embryos that are otherwise going to be discarded. Very specific language.
As you point out correctly, now it sort of left in the hands of the scientists, the scientific committees if they have their own. If they self-regulate in a way that everyone thinks is fair and honest, then I think it's OK. But if people start to think or worry at all that embryos are being used that otherwise would not have been discarded I think it's going to actually raise the controversy even more.
This remains one of the most divisive issues, I think, in medicine. It's sort of like the abortion debate in so many ways where people are always going to be divided on this issue and I think that that particular point that you are elucidating could keep that divide.
MARCIANO: Well, it certainly isn't going to make for interesting if not exciting times in the next few years, that's for sure.
GUPTA: Yes.
MARCIANO: For sure.
Dr. Sanjay Gupta. Thanks, Sanjay.
GUPTA: Thank you.
MARCIANO: It's 43 minutes after the hour.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
CHETRY (voice-over): Dropout. Under pressure from parents, accused abuser Chris Brown decides to skip the Kid's Choice Awards, but why didn't Nickelodeon do the right thing? You're watching the Most News in the Morning.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
MARCIANO: Forty-six minutes past the hour. It's time for a check on weather. A beautiful shot of Manhattan, looking south towards the statue of Liberty. Reynolds Wolf manning the CNN Severe Weather Center down in Atlanta. Good morning, Reynolds. REYNOLDS WOLF, CNN METEOROLOGIST: Hey, good morning, Rob. We got two big weather stories we're following this morning. First and foremost, we're following the flooding issues that we had in parts of the Midwest, the Ohio Valley and then half the Great Lakes. What we're seeing today and in improving situations we do have the warnings, the advisories still in effect but only flurries expected today and river levels are beginning to drop.
Farther to the south though, the second big story, we got winter storm warnings. Winter storm watches in effect. And also we're expecting anywhere from, say, maybe one to maybe two inches of snowfall in this area and anyone making a trip, say from Little Rock back to Memphis or over to Nashville, rough travel can be expected for you and also expect delays in these airports as we make our way into the rest of the day.
Warmest spot in the nation is going to be in parts of the southeast where high temperatures in the portions of Florida mainly into Tampa and Miami and into the 70s and 80s. Forty-seven degrees in D.C., 45 in Denver, 63 in L.A. and New York. Your high today is 45. That is a look at your forecast. Let's send it back to you, tough guy.
MARCIANO: All right, Slappy. You're looking sharp today. I like the purple. Looks good in you.
WOLF: Yes.
MARCIANO: Brings out the purple in your eyes. All right. Kiran, back over to you.
CHETRY: You guys are part of an exclusive club of meteorologists.
MARCIANO: Yes, it's cute, isn't it?
CHETRY: It's so cute. Well you guys must get together on the weekends and talk about bow echoes, so exciting.
MARCIANO: You know the language, that's what's scary.
CHETRY: Well, here's what were working on for you in the next 15 minutes. 2008 whacks some of the wealthiest people in the world. We're going to tell you who was knocked off of Forbes' billionaire list and just how much they lost.
Also, North Korea reportedly has a date in mind for what it says is a satellite launch into space. Not sure if U.S. leaders believe that. They think it might be a ballistic missile test. So what is the reaction going to be? We're going to talk more about. Forty- eight minutes after the hour.
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CHETRY: Welcome back to the Most News in the Morning. There's more controversy surrounding hip-hop singer Chris Brown and his girlfriend, Rihanna. Now we're getting word the pair actually recorded a duet, our Lola Ogunnaike has the latest for us this morning. There is a lot of rumors swirling around whether they got back together and now that they're actually going to be working together professionally as well.
LOLA OGUNNAIKE, CNN ENTERTAINMENT CORRESPONDENT: No one has confirmed that they were back together but rumors were swirling about them collaborating on a duet last week. And apparently it's true. According to the publicist for the producer behind the song, his name is Polow Da Don. He's a very sought after producer in the industry, it is indeed true they recorded a love duet earlier this week, Kiran. No word on when it's going to be released and no details about the song, but the Polow Da Don did have this to say about the couple.
"My heart goes out to both Chris and Rihanna for what has happened in the past. They are both great artists to work with and I wish them well."
CHETRY: All right. So we may be seeing them performing. There are new pictures of Rihanna that have also surfaced. Of course, everybody remembered the heartbreaking picture that was from TMZ Web site showing her face and she clearly had been beaten up.
OGUNNAIKE: Yes, fans of Rihanna will be happy to know that she is looking a lot better than she did in those police photos that surfaced. She is looking a lot better than I sound, actually. She appears to be healed. No more contusions on the face. No more bruises on the lips. No more sort of, you know, the contusions - excuse me. I'm sorry.
CHETRY: No. Sometimes, you know, you need water. We'll talk more about this. Apparently, Chris Brown also pulling himself out of the Kids' Choice Awards, the Nickelodeon's Kids' Choice Awards. He was up for two different awards but I'm not going to make you talk about it because I know you have a tickle in your throat. We'll talk about it a little bit later. Lola Ogunnaike for us, thanks so much.
OGUNNAIKE: Thank you.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
CHETRY (voice-over): Mayor on a mission.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: This is what can happen when you turn your back on a community.
CHETRY: Young. Hip. Inked and determined to rescue a town covered in recession rust.
Plus, great sex. God's way.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: What if we could find out who invented sex?
CHETRY: Meet the pastor who is trying to get the devil out of the bed.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: So you don't think that there is really one man for every woman?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes. This guy.
CHETRY: You're watching the Most News in the Morning.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
MARCIANO: Well Bill Gates is back. Back on top of Forbes annual list of the world's wealthiest people. Gates just edging out Warren Buffett who slipped to number two this year. Mexican telecon titan Carlos Sum Helu remains at number three but all three of the world's richest men got poorer in the past year. In Forbes' billionaire issue reveals the ranks of the richest have thinned out considerably due to the recession.
Matt Miller is here. He is the senior editor of "Forbes" Magazine. He joins us now and talk about where all the money went. I take a little bit of comfort with this. But tell us exactly how these guys lost so much money.
MATT MILLER, SENIOR EDITOR "FORBES" MAGAZINE: It's actually, well, you know, the wealth has vanished. It has not gone into the pockets of CEOs. Or into government cooperatives. It's gone. About $2 trillion has vanished. We had 1115 billionaires last year. There are 793 billionaires this year. it's really sort of what we're calling the wealth wasteland. The economy has cratered and everybody has lost fortunes from 20 percent to 70 percent. So you're losing a lot of people.
MARCIANO: On a side note, a Mexican drug lord, for the most part, came up as number 701. That's a little bit scary. So that business, unfortunately, is intact. But these guys are running legitimate businesses, what are they doing with their money now?
MILLER: What's scary is they are not doing anything with it. I had a billionaire in my office just this week. And we were talking about he's got about actually a billion dollars in cash right now. He has pulled some of it out of the market. And I said what are you doing?
Because you read about people who are going in distressed assets and now is the right time to buy when the markets have corrected themselves. What are you doing? He is not doing anything. He is sitting in cash. He is holding gold. He is waiting on the sidelines. They don't know where the bottom is. And really when you look forward that is not good for the economy in the next six months.
MARCIANO: Mayor Michael Bloomberg on the list as well, number 17, I believe. He is one of the only ones that actually increased his net worth?
MILLER: That's right. Forty-four people have actually gained this year; 656 lost.
MARCIANO: Yet he is only making a buck a year paid by New York.
MILLER: That's right.
MARCIANO: So where is his money?
MILLER: Michael Bloomberg is the richest man in New York. He owns Bloomberg LP, the financial services data company and the news company. And what he did was last July, he bought a 20 percent stake in the company back from Merrill Lynch which was really cash-strapped last summer. And when he did that, that set the price for the company at a much level higher than we ever given it for the value of that company. And so when he resets the price, he sees his fortune go up.
MARCIANO: Well, good for him. There are some CEOs on this list that have fallen off the map. And you would expect to. AIG, for instance, the guy, the former chief of Citigroup, these companies for the most part in defunct now. But the guy who runs Facebook. I mean, everybody is on Facebook. Mothers, fathers, grandfathers and kids.
MILLER: That's right.
MARCIANO: He is falling as well. What is the deal?
MILLER: Well, here's the deal. When you own a private company, private companies can't get the same multiples on their profits that they used to. While Facebook users grow exponentially, they really haven't found the best business model for it and revenues are not following user numbers at Facebook right now. So it's worth about half of what it used to be. Now, that is not to say that it won't grow in the future. Now might be a good time for a vulture to come in and buy Facebook if it's for sale.
MARCIANO: All right. Well, dig down. Maybe if you and I combine our monies. "Forbes" Magazine OK though. We're not falling.
MILLER: Yes.
MARCIANO: Matt Miller, thank you for joining us -- Kiran.
