Return to Transcripts main page
American Morning
Tennessee Dad Freed From Japanese Prison; Is Confidence Returning to Wall Street; Obama to Visit New Orleans; NFL Saints Give City a Lift; Get Vaccinated or Get Fired; Smoke Screen
Aired October 15, 2009 - 06:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
KIRAN CHETRY, CNN ANCHOR: Welcome. It's Thursday, October 15th. Glad you're with us on this AMERICAN MORNING. I'm Kiran Chetry.
JOHN ROBERTS, CNN ANCHOR: Good morning to you. I'm John Roberts. Thanks for being with us. Here are the big stories that we'll be telling you about in the next 15 minutes this Thursday morning, Friday eve.
Breaking news right now from Japan and an American father in a bitter custody case just released from prison. Japanese authorities dropping all charges against Christopher Savoie.
We've been following the story very closely here in AMERICAN MORNING. We'll have a live report for you from Tokyo, and we will be speaking with his current wife later on the show.
CHETRY: A big comeback for your money. Today for the first time in a year, the Dow opens above 10,000. It's remarkable when you consider that just seven months ago the index sank to 6,500. So what does this mean for your money and your future? We have our CNN money team here.
ROBERTS: And he's been to New Orleans five times since Hurricane Katrina. This morning, President Obama makes his first trip as president looking to assure residents of his commitment to the gulf coast recovery effort. Some Katrina victims though are angry that it's taken them this long to return and they are concerned that the trip is a presidential photo-op. A live report from New Orleans just ahead.
CHETRY: We begin this morning though with breaking news overnight from Japan. It's a story that we've been following very closely here on AMERICAN MORNING.
An American father jailed for trying to bring his kids home now a free man. He was just released from prison within the hour. The Tennessee dad in a bitter custody battle with his ex-wife that took him 7,000 miles from home and ended up getting him locked behind bars for more than two weeks.
We go now to Tokyo live for the latest developments with our Kyung Lah. So we're talking about Christopher Savoie. We followed this case (INAUDIBLE) his wife, and what has happened now that he's been released from a Japanese prison? KYUNG LAH, CNN CORRESPONDENT: From what we understand, the charges have been dropped. We don't know, Kiran, if there are any conditions to the release. What we can tell you is that just about two hours ago, the police there did confirm that they released him. The prosecutor's office tells CNN that they decided to release Christopher Savoie because he promised that he would not try to take his children back in this manner to the United States.
Now, all of this began more than two weeks ago when Savoie came here to Japan to try to bring his two children back to the United States, 8-year-old Isaac and 6-year-old Rebecca. Those two children are under his sole guardianship according to U.S. law. But his ex- wife, Noriko (ph), a Japanese citizen, took them out of the U.S., brought them here to Japan and refused to return them.
So Savoie came here, try to take them back from his ex-wife and that's when he was arrested and charged with attempted child kidnapping. He has since been sitting in jail. The custody issue is still up in the air according to Japanese authorities. That is going to be unresolved but as far as charges against him tonight, this morning, Kiran he has been released and it does appear that he is going to be able to walk out and around Japan at least for now a free man.
CHETRY: So, you know, in some ways I'm sure a huge relief for his family. In others, they're really back to square one. I mean, just a tiny little bit of back story is that they did have shared custody initially and she took them without permission to Japan, you know, and tried to basically take the kids away from him.
The U.S. courts ruled that he then would get sole custody because she did that which is against their custody agreement. So will he get -- is there anything that can be worked out going forward that he could actually see his children again?
LAH: Well, right now, the custody issue is up in the air. According to the prosecutor's office, he has agreed that he is going to try to resolve this issue by proxy. Meaning, he's going to have to have an attorney here in Japan to try to figure all of this out. Right now, he is going to have to keep an arm's distance, a good amount of distance from those two children.
So you are absolutely right, back to square one. He is not going to be able to see those two kids.
CHETRY: All right. Well, Kyung Lah, thank you for the update this morning. And we're going to have more on this developing story. Coming up in the next hour, we're going to speak with Christopher Savoie's wife, Amy, and get her reaction to his release.
ROBERTS: Developing this morning, green arrows across the globe after the Dow soared to its highest level of the year. This morning opening above 10,000 since stocks hit bottom back in March. The blue chips are up nearly 53 percent. Not since the 1930s have we seen a bull run like this. The push fueled by the battered financial sector which just a year ago, you recall was on the brink of collapse. Our Christine Romans joins us now. And, is this a sign of confidence returning to Wall Street? There are a lot of people out there who are saying it looks good but I don't know whether or not to believe it.
CHRISTINE ROMANS, CNN BUSINESS CORRESPONDENT: Well, there's Wall Street, there's Main Street, right? And Wall Street is doing very, very well. And we said that this week would be the big test for this market rally that we've seen because we've got all these earnings.
JP Morgan Chase set the bar very, very high yesterday earning $3.6 billion. We're looking to Goldman Sachs today. We could see a less bright picture from Citigroup. But basically, so far nothing in these earnings reports about how companies are doing has hurt this big comeback in stocks.
Look at this chart of the Dow Jones Industrial Average. The all- time high 14,000, sank to 6,500 in March. That was a 12-year low. I mean, you could barely imagine back in March that we would be now sitting above 10,000 again, but indeed we are. That is a 53 percent rally -- 53 percent rally in just seven months.
However, I want to caution you, you're still down pretty considerably from that all-time high. Remember, you're still in some cases down 30 percent from the all-time high. So you are crawling out of a very big hole that was dug here. There's caution ahead. And I've said this for several weeks even as the markets are going up and up and up. But for some people they might saying why does Dow 10,000 matter to me? Why does it matter to me at all?
Look, if you're not invested in the market, it really doesn't matter to you quite frankly. It matters may be in helping overall confidence, but a company isn't going to start hiring because they say, oh look, the Dow is at 10,000. Let's start hiring again.
ROBERTS: So when do they start hiring?
ROMANS: They start hiring when they see their revenues start to stabilize and when they cut as many costs as they can and business starts to pick up. And business doesn't start to pick up until everybody starts to feels better and people can start going back to work.
So it's kind of a double-edged sword. You have rising unemployment. You have the battered housing market. We just got a new number from Realty Track (ph) which shows a record number of foreclosures in the last three months and weak consumer spending.
One thing that I think will matter very near term for many seniors, the president is trying to push through a $250 one-time payment for seniors next year in exchange for the fact that you're not going to get a cost of living increase in your social security. There are other things happening that matter more to your money very near term, but Dow 10,000 shows us that there's a great rebound happening after the great recession and that is at least the first step to crawling out of this very big hole. ROBERTS: Yes. At least somebody is feeling good, right?
ROMANS: Yes.
CHETRY: You talked about the double-edged sword, and part of it is that these companies did better and had a better bottom line by cutting people and cutting jobs.
ROMANS: That's absolutely right. And the last quarter was about cost cutting. This quarter is what we're really trying to see, are there any improvements or at least enough stabilization that companies start to feel better and can start hiring down the road.
We know that 10 percent unemployment is likely coming. So there's this Wall Street/Main Street thing. If you're invested in the market, if you're invested in the market, you're going to see this. That there's big interrelated market things happening right now.
The dollar is weak. Gold is rallying. Stocks are rallying. But the bottom markets are telling us there's no worry of inflation even as people are talking about a worry down the road of inflation. So there's a lot of big interconnected market things happening right now that tell us let's see how this plays out before we start talking about Dow 11,000.
ROBERTS: We'll keep a close eye on it.
ROMANS: Sure.
ROBERTS: Christine Romans this morning, thanks.
And stay with us because coming up at 6:30 Eastern, we're going to get some insight on whether or not this is real economic growth or a rebound just driven by cost cutting when we talk with Jill Schlesinger. She's the editor-at-large at CBS moneywatch.com.
CHETRY: Also new this morning as Christine just told us, President Obama is going to be asking Congress to give more than 50 million seniors a $250 emergency payment. It's because for the first time since 1975 there will be no cost of living increase to social security benefits next year. The reason they say is a sluggish economy. The White House says that it will cost $13 billion over the next decade.
ROBERTS: New numbers on the housing crunch. Realty Track says the number of homeowners caught in the wave of foreclosures, as Christine was mentioning, grew five percent in the past three months. That means 938,000 households received a notice last year. The spike attributed to rising unemployment which is now at a 26-year high.
CHETRY: Rush Limbaugh no longer in the running for an ownership stake in the NFL St. Louis Rams. The controversial radio host has been dropped as a limited partner from the group bidding to buy the Rams.
In a statement, St. Louis Blues owner Dave Checketts said Limbaugh's involvement have became a "complication and distraction endangering his group's efforts to try to acquire that team."
ROBERTS: President Obama heads to New Orleans, his first time as president today. Some folks are upset that it's taken him this long to come back. So what's the president going to do when he gets there? We'll find out when we come back.
It's eight minutes now after the hour.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
CHETRY: Welcome back to the Most News in the Morning. We're covering a lot of extreme weather that's going on across the country. Right now, mudslides and some fire-scarred hills of Southern California are burying cars up to their window, drenching rains that flooded parts of Southern California easing this morning. Still a mandatory evacuation for 40 homes east of Monterey Bay. Now forecasters say that the attention is going to turn to fall wildfire season with hot weather moving in.
ROBERTS: Two victims of the Bernie Madoff rip-off are now going after the Securities and Exchange Commission. They're suing the government saying it missed countless opportunities to stop Madoff from stealing billions of dollars from thousands of investors. The suit was filed in the same New York court where Madoff was sentenced to 150 years in prison.
CHETRY: It seems American students are falling behind when it comes to math skills. The Education Department just released its latest report card and said that no one should be happy with the results. Education Secretary Arne Duncan says schools and teachers need better equipment to bridge the gap with students in other countries.
ROBERTS: In just a few hours, President Obama leaves Washington for a trip to New Orleans. It will be his first since becoming president.
During the campaign then-candidate Obama promised Hurricane Katrina survivors he would restore their trust in government. This morning, he'll get an up-close look at the ongoing effort to recovery and rebuild four years later. But one local politician said his constituents deserve more than a "drive through daiquiri summit with the president.
Dan Lothian is up early. He's in New Orleans this morning awaiting the president's arrival. And, Dan, it sounds like not everyone is happy that the president waited this long to go back.
DAN LOTHIAN, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: That's right. You know, that's been the big story here on the ground. There's concern from folks as you pointed out that the president is not spending a lot of time here, is not even visiting nearby Mississippi.
In fact, the president is only on the ground here for less than four hours. And they feel that he really should have taken time to tour the region. But a White House aide tells me that during the president's five previous visits he did get a chance to get a good lay of the land and this time he wants to do something that he didn't do then, and that is to sit down with people and really hear their concerns. So that's why he will be making two stops. One at the MLK School in the Lower Ninth Ward and then here a town hall style meeting at the University of New Orleans.
Now, a lot has changed since Katrina but people are still struggling in New Orleans to recover and for some a football team is providing a psychological boost.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
LOTHIAN (voice-over): Most people across the country and around the world remember the New Orleans superdome as an ugly and dangerous shelter after Hurricane Katrina hit the city. But more than four years later...
JAMES ANDREWS, HURRICANE KATRINA SURVIVOR: This is my city here. Born and raised here.
LOTHIAN: Transportation business owner James Andrews sees something different.
ANDREWS: Now? Oh man, it's an awesome structure.
LOTHIAN: The building is sparkling and so is the record of the team that temporarily relocated but came back. The New Orleans Saints are 4-0. Some say this perfect season is a good metaphor for a city and region still struggling to recover, like Andrews, whose New Orleans' home was destroyed.
ANDREWS: The Saints represent the rebirth. The way they're playing now, even in that it's a rebirth. They're coming back, you know, just as the residents throughout the city.
LOTHIAN: Former Saints quarterback Bobby Herbert hears the optimism on his popular sports radio show. He calls it team therapy.
BOBBY HERBERT, WWL RADIO SPORTS HOST: I think it's like the underdog syndrome, you know, and truly embracing the team as a part also of an escape. You know, you could be having problems. You try to bounce back. Without a doubt, I think the Saints can do it, so myself, my family, and individuals that I can achieve, you know, different things in my life.
LOTHIAN: A Sunday escape from reality. According to the Federal Emergency Management Agency as of August, 60,000 properties in New Orleans are still abandoned. There are still 1,500 people in Louisiana living in temporary housing. And the Army Corps of Engineers has not finished a $15 billion system to provide hundred year flood protection for New Orleans. The project is only a third of the way through.
A football team can't erase those problems with wins but Saints quarterback Drew Brees realizes it helps.
Is there any added pressure because winning really is in a way more than just a game, it's a psychological boost.
DREW BREES, NEW ORLEANS SAINTS QUARTERBACK: I wouldn't say it's anymore pressure but it's definitely something that we acknowledge, we realize and we think about. And I think it just drives us to, you know, be that much better when you understand what winning on Sundays does for this community and for the rebuilding efforts and giving these people hope and uplifting the spirit of the city.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
LOTHIAN: A White House aide tells me that the president is still committed to doing what it takes to help this region and he points out that since January more than 20 senior administration officials have made 35 trips to the Gulf Coast, John.
ROBERTS: Yes. There's a real contrast there in New Orleans, Dan. I was talking to a fellow from New Orleans on Monday who said, you know, you look at the city proper, it's never looked better. But then, at the same time, you've got all of those problems in the Lower Ninth Ward.
LOTHIAN: That's right, and not just there but there are other areas in Louisiana and nearby in Mississippi as well, and that's why there's this concern. They really want the president to get out of New Orleans. They - and they also point out that New Orleans always gets all of the attention. A lot has - has, you know, moved forward here in New Orleans, but as you pointed out, there's still a lot of progress that needs to be made in other regions and they really hope that the president will go to those areas in order to draw attention to those problems, John.
ROBERTS: Dan Lothian for us this morning in New Orleans. Dan, thanks so much.
CHETRY: All right. Still ahead, we're going to talk about swine flu vaccines. You know, they're mandating a flu - seasonal flu vaccine as well as swine flu vaccines for many health care workers. Some of them are saying they're not going to do it even if it means losing their job. But why?
We're going to talk more about it with our Susan Candiotti.
Sixteen minutes after the hour.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
CHETRY: Welcome back to the Most News in the Morning.
Doctors and nurses here in New York are facing an ultimatum from the state: get both the seasonal flu shot as well as the swine flu vaccine or get fired. One nurse says that officials are going too far and she's actually taking the state to court over it.
Our Susan Candiotti is tracking the story for us this morning.
So they say that on any given year - what? Forty to 50 percent of health care workers voluntarily get the flu vaccine and the state's saying that's not enough.
SUSAN CANDIOTTI, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Yes. Well, they're saying it's half and half and - exactly. It's not good enough. But a lot of nurses are just philosophically opposed to it. But, you know, a lot of nurses are saying, I don't get a shot in hospitals. I just don't do it if I work in a hospital. And that's what we're talking about.
A New York State nursing group says the state has no right to force them to get vaccinated when flu and H1N1 shots aren't mandatory for everyone else, and so these nurses are suing. A New York State judge had decided to wait at least another week before making a ruling.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
CANDIOTTI (voice-over): At a hospital in Upstate New York, Nurse Sue Field was told get flu shots or else.
SUE FIELD, REGISTERED NURSE: If we did not comply with this mandate of receiving the H1N1 vaccine and the seasonal flu vaccine that we would be terminated from our employment.
CANDIOTTI: New York is the only state forcing hospital health care workers to get vaccinated, even private doctors who make hospital rounds.
DR. RICHARD DAINES, NEW YORK STATE HEALTH COMMISSIONER: When patients go to a hospital, they ought to have that - that expectation that the hospital and the workers have done everything they can to make it safe for them.
CANDIOTTI: Nurse Field is suing, arguing New York is overreaching. She's not against vaccines in general, but says hospital nurses already take extraordinary precautions to guard against viruses. And still others say they aren't convinced the vaccine has been fully tested. And then there's this argument.
FIELD: I have an issue with the government mandating me to get these vaccines and telling me that if I don't comply then I don't have a job.
CANDIOTTI: New York State Nurses Association is backing her up, saying "The State Emergency Regulation is unwarranted in the absence of a declared emergency." Her attorney points to the Centers for Disease Control and President Obama. Neither is calling for mandatory hospital vaccinations.
PATRICIA FINN, ATTORNEY: If President Obama recommends a voluntary swine flu injection, I really don't see where the commissioner of health has the authority to mandate this particular group. It's arbitrary and capricious, we believe.
CANDIOTTI: But New York's health boss says his state may be leading the way to a national policy. DAINES: We do things (ph) that a state or local level, prove that they're safe and effective and practical, and then they're adopted nationally.
CANDIOTTI: Nurse Field says, not so fast.
FIELD: Seasonal flu and H1N1 this year, what will the government then have the right to say they want to inject us with next year?
(END VIDEOTAPE)
CANDIOTTI: Others, including New York's Civil Liberties Union, are also suing over mandatory shots, arguing they violate a constitutional right of health care workers to control their own bodies. And so it's the old expression, "Don't tread on me. You can't force me. I'm not going to do it."
ROBERTS: How do you make that case that, you know, you mandate public health workers but you don't mandate other people? How do you single out that one group?
CANDIOTTI: That's right. Well, the nurses are saying, look, we take another - we take enough precautions and it's not only nurses. They also mandate that other health care workers, anyone in a hospital who has contact with patients, and so that's why - the New York State Health Commissioner says it's very vital. It's in the - the interest of the safety of all of these patients.
CHETRY: See where it goes. Thanks, Susan.
ROBERTS: Well, for those of you still unfortunate enough to smoke, of course there are new marketing restrictions that the government put on the tobacco companies, and, wouldn't you know it? It looks like they're trying to find a way around it.
Our Jason Carroll reports on what the tobacco industry is trying to do now.
It's 23 minutes after the hour.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: That's Dale Robertson, star of "Tales of Wells Fargo." He's keeping his gun hand in shape and enjoying a cigarette.
Taste Pall Mall. So good, good, good.
DALE ROBERTSON: Good looking, good tasting, good smoking Pall Mall. That's my cigarette.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CHETRY: Twenty-six minutes past the hour. Welcome back to the Most News in the Morning.
So you'll never see a star these days hawking a cigarette.
ROBERTS: Yes. We were just looking at the internet. We were looking at the Flintstones Marlboro ad - Winston ad. Can you imagine that?
Tobacco companies are not even allowed to label cigarettes "low tar" or "light" anymore, but they are allowed to market their brands with colors, sending up new smoke signals.
Our Jason Carroll joins us now with that. Good morning, Jason.
JASON CARROLL, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: You know, a lot has changed since the time of the Flintstones, hasn't it?
ROBERTS: It's amazing.
CARROLL: Yes. Well, you know, from the tobacco companies' point of view, they'd gone far enough. They say they switched their labels to be in compliance with a new law. But one study shows they may need to go even further if consumers are to be protected.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
CARROLL (voice-over): Light, ultra light, low tar - soon you wouldn't find them on cigarettes anymore. Federal regulators ban the use of those terms saying cigarette companies were selling smokers on the idea one type of cigarette might be healthier. The American Cancer Society says light cigarettes are just as harmful as regular cigarettes.
Now, cigarette companies are rolling out updated branding, with names like "Blue" and "Silver" but is it the same old smoke and mirrors? Some researchers say yes.
DAVID HAMMOND, UNIVERSITY OF WATERLOO AT CANADA: The new descriptors, which will be allowed under the new legislation, are having the same misleading, deceptive effect as the old ones that will be banned.
CARROLL: Canadian researchers did tests showing people the new wording on similar packaging. In one sample, 83 percent rated silver cigarettes as delivering less tar than the brand labeled full flavor.
HAMMOND: If we put the word "silver" on the pack, if we put the word "white", if we put the word "smooth," they were just as likely to think that that brand was less harmful.
CARROLL: We did our own unscientific experiment. We showed people two packs of Pall Malls, one red, the other blue and asked which one, if any, they thought was healthier.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I would see blue being, you know, the lighter one of the two.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Blue is like water instead of (ph) - the red is like fire.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Red is more severe, like code red is more severe than - I don't know. Does it make any sense?
CARROLL: It makes sense to marketing experts when you consider before the new legislation passed, Pall Mall Blues were labeled Pall Mall Lights.
MARIAN SALZMAN, PRESIDENT, EURO RSCG PUBLIC RELATIONS: Color is a fabulous way to keep sending the message home. Fabulous - wonderful. I want it now. It's going to satiate a need I have. So I think it's fabulous messaging and really lousy for society.
CARROLL: Researchers from the Canadian study say cigarette companies should be banned from using certain words and colors, to which the RJ Reynolds Tobacco Company, maker of Pall Mall cigarettes, told CNN, "This is really a common sense issue. There are hundreds of brands and styles of cigarettes on the market. Consumers need a way to distinguish what brand and style they want to purchase."
(END VIDEOTAPE)
CARROLL: And R.J. Reynolds also told CNN their packaging is designed to adhere to the new law. The law passed back in June mandates all tobacco companies be in compliance by June of next year.
But there is one more hurdle it must clear. The tobacco industry has filed suit against the federal government to try and block the ban on labeling cigarettes "light" or "mild", so this battle is not over yet.
ROBERTS: Looks like if they lose that part of the case, though, they've got a back door here, you know? For every law, somebody will find a loophole.
CARROLL: They'll find a way around it.
CHETRY: Yes, because it's still addicting and people are still buying them.
CARROLL: They still love cigarettes. That's for sure.
ROBERTS: Just people look like such pariahs, don't they, when they're sitting out there by the little smoker's stand?
CARROLL: Well, it depends upon your point of view, right?
CHETRY: I mean - he's right. Some people say it's freedom to make good and bad decisions. See that (ph)?
ROBERTS: But in which category would that fall into?
CHETRY: Well, we know things are bad for us. Unfortunately, some people still do it.
ROBERTS: They do. Crossing the half hour now, and now to our top stories this morning. An American father who traveled thousands of miles to get his kids back has just been freed from a Japanese prison. All charges against Christopher Savoie have been dropped. The Tennessee dad was arrested 18 days ago when charged with trying to kidnap his own children.
Savoie has sole custody of his two kids, but his Japanese ex-wife snatched them as they walked to school and took them back to her homeland. We'll have the late-breaking developments as they happen just ahead.
CHETRY: North Korea threatening a naval attack after it says South Korean warships had been caught entering its waters off the Peninsula's west coast. Pyongyang is claiming that the south violated its disputed maritime border 10 times on Monday alone. A South Korean official called the North's charge groundless.
ROBERTS: Sky-high fines for two of the nation's largest airlines for alleged safety violations. The Federal Aviation Administration wants US Airways to pay a $5.4 million penalty for allegedly flying eight planes on more than 1,600 flights while they were potentially unsafe. The FAA also finding United Airlines 3.8 million because mechanics allegedly use towels to plug an opening in a plane's oil sump, instead of using protective caps. Both airlines have 30 days to formally respond to the accusations.
CHETRY: Well, this morning while much of America is still hurting, it seems that corporate America is in recovery mode. In just three hours, the Dow will open above the 10,000 mark, and this is a milestone we haven't seen since last year.
But is it cause for celebration? And what does it really mean for your money and investments?
Joining me now is Jill Schlesinger, editor-at-large at CBS MoneyWatch.com.
Thanks for being with us this morning, Jill.
JILL SCHLESINGER, EDITOR AT LARGE, CBS MONEYWATCH.COM: Thanks for having me.
CHETRY: You know, I had to look twice when I first saw the, you know, saw that cross. Dow at 10,000. It seems so far away a few months ago. But yesterday indeed closing at 10,015. And that's the biggest gain we've seen since August.
Is it a significant milestone, or is it just another number?
SCHLESINGER: It's just a number and it's significant psychologically. I mean, we're talking about it so it's important. And market day-to-day are driven by emotions. So, yes, 10,000 is important.
And, by the way, we have come so far so fast, almost a 53 percent upward movement in the Dow just since March. I don't want to throw a little wet rag on this party, but we are still 30 percent below where we were two years ago. So not breaking out the champagne just yet.
CHETRY: Right. Now, who are the winners and losers? Because some analyst will tell you that the reason the companies have done well this year in part is from laying off people. Cutting jobs, which is of course made unemployment near double digits.
SCHLESINGER: You know, it's really interesting because corporate profits have actually improved over the last couple of quarters for precisely the reason you say. Companies have cut costs. That includes laying off personnel. It means that they're just not spending money on a lot of things, and you can see it in almost every company.
In fact, going forward, what we're going to be looking for is whether companies can make money not by cutting but by selling more stuff. That will really be a sustained recovery. And we could see some real good upward momentum from the stock market. But unless companies increase their revenues, then we're going to stall out at these levels. As far as the losers, it's obviously workers who have been either laid off, downsized for some reason and had their wages contract. A lot of people have taken pay cuts in this recession, and they are waiting for the recovery to get into their real lives every single day.
CHETRY: Yes. And there really is, Jill, this disconnect still between what's happening on Wall Street, what's happening in a financial markets and what's happening with the every day Joe. We talked about record home foreclosures once again, as we said these problems with employment, worries about whether benefits, jobless benefits are going to continue.
On the flip side, we have CEOs of better year. It says that major banks and security firms are on pace to pay employees $140 billion this year would be a record high. Goldman Sachs is on track for a record high -- $21.85 billion.
I mean, rewind six months ago, and these were the companies that -- well, not Goldman, but you know this was the financial sector that needed to be bailed out with our tax dollars.
SCHLESINGER: Well, you know, I would actually include Goldman in that, because every single financial firm was on the verge of disaster. Without government assistance, the entire financial system really was looking at going right down the tubes. So I would lump them all in together. The problem that we have is that as a country we decided or our legislators decided that we are going to bail out Wall Street because it was too big to fail. But we never put any strings on those bailouts. We didn't say if you're going to get our help, we're going to watch your compensation. We didn't do that in the beginning, and we're paying the price now.
(CROSSTALK)
CHETRY: I mean, our leaders said they were going to do that. They said, this is it. There's going to be changes now. We've learned from our mistakes. Why hasn't anything changed?
SCHLESINGER: Yes, I know. I had to say I don't know, because we know that the original TARP had no strings attached at all. We know that there was talk of legislation to limit compensation, but for all the firms that paid back their TARP money, they're not going to be really affected by this. For the big companies where we still have a big investment, Citigroup, Fannie, Freddie, AIG, we do have this pay czar, Ken Fienberg, who's going to try to limit the bonuses. But for the vast majority of companies we goofed. We didn't have any strings attached, and there is not the wherewithal in Congress to pass any sort of executive compensation restraint because they're really busy doing other stuff, unfortunately.
CHETRY: It's amazing. All right.
Well, we will take our victories where we can have them. And the Dow above 10,000 at least for many is at least a psychological sigh of relief.
Jill Schlesinger, editor at large with CBS MoneyWatch.
Thanks for being with us this morning.
SCHLESINGER: Thank you.
ROBERTS: The health care debate in Congress now in the homestretch. Five bills out of committee. Now they have to try to marry them all together and come up with one plan. Will it make it across the finish line, or will it end in a wreck before the end of the race?
Well, there are millions and millions of dollars out there on both sides of the bat. Our Jim Acosta is going to run down who is paying who for what coming up.
Thirty-six minutes after the hour.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
ROBERTS: Right now in Washington, Senate Democrats are hard at work trying to keep the ball rolling on health care reform, and lobbyists are digging deeper into their pockets to sway public opinion and the people that you voted for.
Our Jim Acosta live in Washington this morning with a look at the amount of cash that's being spent to make and break this cause.
And, Jim, we're talking in the hundreds of millions of dollars now.
JIM ACOSTA, CNN CORRESPONDENT: It's getting huge, John. That's right. All of that stuff that was happening in the committees, that was the pre-game show as I talk to one congressman about all of this yesterday. The super bowl of lobbying has begun. The amount of money that's being spent by lobbyists on health care reform could break all the records. Now that the five bills pending before Congress have cleared committee that spending is expected to go into overdrive. It's a sign the real battle over health care reform has now begun.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Congress is proposing over $100 billion in cuts to Medicare advantage.
ACOSTA (voice-over): It's war. And the insurance industry is launching its first air attack on health care reform with an ad aimed at seniors.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: We need health care reform that protects seniors.
ACOSTA: Liberal reform supporters and armies of special interests groups are entering the fray.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It's the case against health insurance reform always gets down to one word.
ACOSTA: Then there's the ground offensive, lobbyist hitting the Capitol to schmooze lawmakers. Members of congress feel they're getting slimed.
REP. DONNA EDWARDS (D), MARYLAND: I arrived today just weeks before Halloween to unmask the health insurance industry. Now we see the industry and their lobbyists for what they are. A little shop of horrors.
ACOSTA: A government watchdog group estimates the health care sector has spend more than a quarter billion dollars so far this year, lobbying Congress for changes to reform plans.
DAVE LEVINTHAL, CENTER FOR RESPONSIVE POLITICS: This is one of the biggest lobbying pushes that we've seen on a single issue in U.S. history.
ACOSTA: Many of the lobbyists are former members of Congress and staffers from both sides of the aisle, and it's all legal.
LEVINTHAL: It's like a sports team. If you want to put together a good team, you're going to have to hire some pretty big dollar players.
ACOSTA: They are sort of Torello and Tom Brady of the lobbying world? Is that it?
LEVINTHAL: Absolutely.
REP. JIM COOPER (D), TENNESSEE: It is kind of a Super Bowl of lobbying on health care reform. And the lobbyists are winning so far but the game is not over yet.
ACOSTA: Democratic Congressman Jim Cooper who resisted Clinton care back in the '90s says President Obama put himself in a tough position when he invited the health care sector to help craft reform.
COOPER: There are a number of groups that are threatening to revolt on the White House deals or the congressional deals.
SEN. RON WYDEN (D), OREGON: They're slicing the fat hard, and they like the way things are today.
ACOSTA: Oregon Senator Ron Wyden says that's why it's critical for Congress to draft a reform bill that works for consumers.
ACOSTA: And which lobbyists do you fear the most?
WYDEN: I call them the status quo caucus. You've got some people in the insurance lobby. Obviously, they don't want the citizens to have more choices. Choices that would hold them accountable.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
ACOSTA: And the industry is having an impact. Republican leaders in Congress are now quoting that insurance industry study on the Senate Finance Committee's version of health care reform that predicted the higher premiums would come for consumers. But the accounting firm that authored that study, Pricewaterhouse Coopers is now clarifying its findings noting that it did not analyze all aspects of that legislation, John.
And we are seeing some strange bedfellows in lobbying right now. The labor unions have almost joined forces with big business to oppose those taxes on those high cost Cadillac health care plans we've heard so much about. Both sides don't want to see that as part of the final legislation.
ROBERTS: This debate making for some strange bedfellows. No question.
Jim Acosta for us this morning.
Jim, thanks - Kiran.
CHETRY: All right. Coming up in just a minute, we're going to be speaking to Rob Marciano. He is tracking extreme weather for us. Not going to be the best weekend in the northeast part of the country. They're talking snow. It's October. It's already even snowing out west as well. The Yankees game could be a wash. I know some people care about that. Rob does. And a lot of other weather we're tracking for you.
Forty-two minutes after the hour.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
ROBERTS: Welcome back to the Most News in the Morning. Little Grateful Dead music with Graham (ph), one of our staff members, who is moving on. He loves that stuff like Dead, Phish. All those jam bands. Great having you with us, Graham (ph).
CHETRY: We've been a little later now. ROBERTS: It's still a bit, yeah. Live look at Portland, Maine. Thanks to our friends at WGMA. 32 degrees right now going up to a high of just 44. Should be mostly sunny though. It won't be that way for the whole weekend, unfortunately.
CHETRY: Yeah. We're in for a little bit of a washout at least in the Northeast part of the country. And it's actually not that great in many other parts either. Our Rob Marciano is tracking it for us. Hey Rob.
ROB MARCIANO, AMS METEOROLOGIST: Hey Kiran. You know, all the storms that are out West. They are kind of marching a little bit to the East. You may get a little taste of this. Not specifically New York City, but the shot yesterday, Boeri ski resort (ph), about 7,000 feet or so. So that's where the snow started to pile up, in the Sierra Nevada Mountains up by 80, East of Sacramento.
And there may be enough snow in Pennsylvania when we get towards tomorrow afternoon or tomorrow night to maybe have things look like that. So, everything is moving out to the East. Good news for California as things get a little bit dryer but still a rather wet across parts of the Southeast.
There were some heavy thunderstorms with some severe weather warnings across the Texarkana area. Those are slowly moving to East. But just a little cluster of storms, kind of the tail end of this system which bringing rain to Chicago, to Indianapolis. And if you are doing some travel today, New York City and Chicago, the metro areas, just some showers, a low clouds, and a little bit of wind.
Kind of a precursor of the storm has yet to come tomorrow and tomorrow night. Atlanta, D.C., and Philly will also see some showers. And just to show you this, give you an idea of where we think the snow is going to fall. Some winter storm warnings have been posted for Northern Pennsylvania and winter storm watches for parts of upstate New York including Binghamton, but New York City should not see any snow from this.
But you will see some rain and some big wind. This is probably going to be our first Nor'easter of the season wrapping itself off tomorrow. So things will get interesting for you. Finally, you have a nice stretch of weather up there. Hope you enjoy it.
ROBERTS: All right. We have. Thanks, Rob.
When actress Alison Sweeney isn't starring on "Days Of Our Lives," she is crisscrossing the country as the host of "The Biggest Loser."
CHETRY: And on top of that, she is a mom. So, how does she hand life on the road? She gives us a look in today's "Road Warriors"
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
ALISON SWEENEY, ACTRESS, SOAP OPERA DIGEST AWARDS: Hi. I'm Alison Sweeney. I'm on "Days Of Our Lives", and I host "The Biggest Loser" and I travel probably about 150 days a year.
I don't get on a plane without serious preparation as to what I'm going to do. And it boggles my mind people who get on the plane like empty-handed and they just sit down next to you ready to chat. I'm like, I have plans.
I have my iPod, my laptop, my kindle, magazines that I subscribe to, my scripts that I need to memorize. My must have when I travel in terms of clothes are my jeans, my flip-flops, and then I have my workout clothes. Being part of "The Biggest Loser" has taught me that there are no excuses for not working out.
No matter where I am even if it's vacation, I'm always watching my calories. I think the hardest part about traveling is being away from my family. I definitely take advantage of technology to keep in touch with them. I also have this really sweet book called "I Love My Mommy Because" and my son and I put it together ourselves and it has photos of us together in it so that we have that to look through when I'm gone and when he misses me.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
CHETRY: Wow. She got it all prepared there; the kindle, the iPod, the blackberry.
ROBERTS: It's just very wired.
CHETRY: She sure is.
ROBERTS: Very plugged in.
CHETRY: She sure is.
We were talking about this yesterday, having a little bit of a laugh.
ROBERTS: Speaking of being wired a little bit.
CHETRY: Yeah. Maria Shriver was caught on tape. She was talking on her cell phone while driving. Is it that big of a deal? We all do it sometimes. When your husband made the law and passed the law not to do it, maybe it is. Jeanne Moos has her take. 49 minutes past the hour.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
ROBERTS: Welcome back to the Most News in the Morning. California's first lady says she's sorry for breaking the law. Maria Shriver was caught on camera talking on a big "o" cell phone while she was driving. Shriver plans to donate the telephone to charity and hopefully the service plan as well. Jeanne Moos now with her take on, the handset hijinx.
JEANNE MOOS, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: When the Governor of California's wife got nabbed by TMZ on camera, many of us felt a twinge of guilt. Drop that phone. We wonder what you think of Maria Shriver get nabbed talking on the phone while driving.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Damn. Since I just got caught myself, I guess it's kind of silly and it's not right.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You should always use a Bluetooth. She's a nice lady. The governor is a good guy, but it's a shame that she's breaking his law.
MOOS: The one banning hand-held cell phone use while driving that Governor Schwarzenegger signed into law.
Half then, he threatened to follow his two daughters of driving age.
GOV. ARNOLD SCHWARZENEGGER, CALIFORNIA: I will find out if you raise your hand up there and hold a phone to your ear. And then the car will be gone.
MOOS: Instead his wife is caught holding the phone and since the governor has promised there is going to be swift action, will the threat to his daughters apply to his wife?
SCHWARZENEGGER: The car will be gone and the cell phone will be gone.
MOOS: Hey, look who's talking. Arnold caused havoc talking on a phone while driving in "twins."
At least Maria stayed on four wheels and hands free technology has its own drawbacks.
Maria Shriver's cell phone use was the talk of "The View." The one line "The View" that had summed the LOL related to the size of her phone. Ginormous. That's a monstrosity. Reminded us of old movies.
At least the newer little phones are easier to hide. Were you going use your phone there, just now?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Me?
MOOS: Are you guilty of driving while talking on your cell phone?
Yes I'm guilty. But do you have to take my picture.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I'm guilty.
MOOS: Did you see Maria Shriver got nabbed in the cell phone, in her car?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yeah, but I'm just walking.
MOOS: Yeah, yeah, now you're ok.
But she's not.
Jeanne Moos, CNN, New York.
CHETRY: I love that last guy. "Yeah, but I'm just walking.
ROBERTS: I'm just walking. I'm OK. They haven't passed a law against that, had they?
CHETRY: Yet. Who knows?
Still ahead, do we have even enough troops to send to Afghanistan if, indeed, the President authorizes more troops? We're going to talk about that with our Barbara Starr coming up. Fifty-five minutes past the hour.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
CHETRY: Fifty-seven minutes past the hour. Straight ahead on AMERICAN MORNING, President Obama is planning to put a little bit more cash in the pocket of seniors. We'll tell you why and how much.
ROBERTS: Five minutes down and 1 to go before President Obama decides on a war strategy in Afghanistan. The president spending three hours yesterday with his national security team and then scheduling one more session for next week. His top general, Stanley McChrystal is asking for 40,000 more troops on the ground in Afghanistan.
But, there are new questions this morning about the number of soldiers that are even available to deploy to the region. Barbara Starr live in our Washington Bureau this morning with the developing story. Good morning, bar.
BARBARA STARR, CNN PENTAGON CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, John. It's all well and good for commanders to talk about sending more troops, but where are they going to come from and what is the impact of yet another long deployment on military families?
As the White House continues to talk about the way ahead in Afghanistan, the president signaling one of his concerns.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
BARACK OBAMA, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: We just want to make sure that at all times, not only the young men and women who are already there, but also any additional young men and women, both military and civilian, who might be working there are served by a policy that is sustainable and effective.
STARR: One potential problem, the Army, which will provide the bulk of any additional forces may be hard pressed to come up with the numbers. Consider this, the army has 44 combat brigades, about 175,000 troops, but 19 brigades are already deployed, another dozen already committed for deployment. That leaves about a dozen brigades that could be sent to the war zone about 48,000 troops.
But if all those troops go to Afghanistan, the army could be stretched too thin to deal with other threats and troops potentially face not getting the promised here at home in between combat deployments.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
GEOFF MORRELL, PENTAGON SPOKESMEN: I see no indication at this point that that would have to be adjusted. But I think we always reserve the right to make judgments if that's what a national security dictates.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
STARR: But the head of the Army sees less time at home with families as a real possibility.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
GEN. GEORGE CASEY, U.S. ARMY CHIEF OF STAFF: When you can do the math as well as I can. More troops makes it harder to get -- more troops impacts as well. There's no question about that.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
STARR: OK. That's the Army. What about the Marine Corps? The Marines calculate they can send just about another 8,000 troops to Afghanistan before they have to cut back on time at home with their families, but first they have to get all their Marines out of Iraq - John.
ROBERTS: Barbara Starr for us live in Washington this morning. Barbara, thanks so much.
