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President Obama's First State Visit; Decision on Troop Levels in Afghanistan Days Away; Inside Delta's Command Center
Aired November 24, 2009 - 11:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
TONY HARRIS, CNN ANCHOR: And good morning, everyone. It is November 24, 2009. And here are the faces of the stories driving the headlines this Tuesday morning.
Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh opening a state visit to the White House.
President Obama set to reveal his long-debated war strategy for Afghanistan within days.
And Peter Kithene -- how CNN Heroes status changed his life and his life-saving clinics in Kenya.
Good morning, everyone. I'm Tony Harris, and you are in the CNN NEWSROOM.
President Obama meeting this hour with the leader of the world's largest democracy. Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh arrived at the White House about two hours ago. This is the first official state visit of the Obama presidency. Mr. Obama and the prime minister hold a news coverage this hour.
Our Jill Dougherty joining us live with a bit of a preview here.
And Jill, why India for the president's first state visit?
JILL DOUGHERTY, CNN FOREIGN AFFAIRS CORRESPONDENT: Well, just take the word that the president used, Tony, and that is "indispensable." And as he went through the various issues that India is involved in all around the world, you really have to say it's indispensable.
There are issues of nuclear power, terrorism, climate change, disease, hunger, poverty, and even Afghanistan. So, it's really a broad range, and that's what those two leaders are talking about right now.
They will be coming out, as you mentioned, and having very brief comments and taking a couple of questions from reporters. But it's a big day with a very busy agenda, and both leaders stressing really the potential of this economically, politically, and in many other ways strategically. If it was a common theme, it was common values and common interests.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) BARACK OBAMA, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: As leading economies, the United States and India can strengthen the global economic recovery, promote trade that creates jobs for both our people, and pursue growth that is balanced and sustained. As nuclear powers, we can be full partners in preventing the spread of the world's most deadly weapons, securing loose nuclear materials from terrorists, and pursuing our shared vision of a world without nuclear weapons.
MANMOHAN SINGH, INDIAN PRIME MINISTER: India and America are separated by distance but bound together by the values of democracy, pluralism, rule of law, and respect for fundamental human freedoms.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
DOUGHERTY: And Tony, there's also some hard cash involved in this, too, because American businesses are looking at India and seeing dollar signs, because as you look at their infrastructure that they're rebuilding, ports, airports, roads, et cetera., the Chamber of Commerce is predicting that they could, over the next five years -- U.S. companies could make $500 billion. So this is also a good deal.
HARRIS: Yes.
Hey, Jill, what do both sides get out of this state visit?
DOUGHERTY: I think the United States gives India what it wants, which is recognition that it is -- it believes it is a very important country in the world right now. That in spite of the fact that the Obama administration is paying a lot of attention to China, a lot of attention to Pakistan because of Afghanistan, that India really does matter. That's what India wants. The United States really does want business, and it also wants the help of India in a lot of these strategic areas.
HARRIS: Hey, you know, Jill, big prize for India would be if President Obama announced that he is in favor of India having a permanent seat, without a veto, albeit, on the U.N. Security Council.
Is such an announcement even possible?
DOUGHERTY: Well, it might be. It's being bandied about.
I mean, there are people in the United States who do support that. They think it's -- the time is right because it's a huge democracy, a billion-plus people, a huge economy, and that it deserves to have that. Whether or not the president will come out and actually say that may not be for this time, but it is something that a lot of people are looking seriously at.
HARRIS: Jill Dougherty at the White House for us.
Jill, appreciate it. Thank you.
And of course we will bring you President Obama's news conference with India's prime minister live in the NEWSROOM. It is set to begin later this hour at 11:35 Eastern Time.
Let's do this -- big stories from the CNN wire now.
The government is urging parents to stop using drop-side cribs made by Stork Craft. The drop side could come loose and trap a baby. More than two million crib owners will get a repair kit. At least four babies have suffocated, including this woman's child.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
NIKKI JOHNS, MOTHER: My brother and I did CPR on him until the ambulance got there.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HARRIS: Wow.
President Obama's White House rival is launching a blistering attack on the Senate's health care reform bill. Senator John McCain told a town hall in Arizona the government is too deep in debt to take on the challenge. He calls the bill "Bernie Madoff budgeting."
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SEN. JOHN MCCAIN (R), ARIZONA: The quality of health care in America are the best in the world, and the people that give it, our caregivers, our physicians, our nurses, all the caregivers, are the best in the world and the highest quality in the world. What's the problem with health care? It's the cost of health care.
This is a fact. Medicare is going to go broke in seven years. There's a $33 trillion unfunded liability associated with Medicare.
So, are we going to allow Medicare to go broke? Are we going to abandon our seniors? Of course not. Of course not. So it's the cost that we need to get under control.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HARRIS: Atlantis undocks from the International Space Station today. This morning, during a live news conference, astronaut Randy Bresnik talked about juggling his focus between the mission and his new daughter, Abigail. She was born Saturday night, just hours after Bresnik's first spacewalk.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
RANDY BRESNIK, ASTRONAUT: I've been training long and hard for this mission. We know that the baby has been coming. So, it was easy to go ahead and do our tasks, and the time had come where I had some free time and was able to see the pictures and call down. It was just wonderful to find out the news and to be able to see her for the first time two days ago.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HARRIS: A decision on troop levels in Afghanistan now just days away, according to the White House.
Let's go live now to CNN's Elaine Quijano. She's at the Pentagon for us.
Elaine, great to see you.
When could the president announce his decision?
ELAINE QUIJANO, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Well, you know, we're trying to pinpoint that, Tony. It's the $64,000 question.
I can tell you that the meeting last night in the White House Situation Room lasted just under two hours. It wrapped up around 10:00 local time. And afterwards, White House Press Secretary Robert Gibbs called it a rigorous and final meeting, and he said that the president now has the information that he wants and needs to make a decision on Afghanistan. He also said that that decision could be announced within days.
I can tell you, Tony, from some of my conversations, a senior U.S. military official says all eyes are on early next week. This official would not go so far as to name any kind of dates, but said, again, a lot of the focus right now is on early next week.
And we know that makes sense. Of course, this is Thanksgiving week. The White House has signaled it's not going to come this week. So, early next week is the time frame that everybody is looking at.
Interesting to note, Tony, on today's schedule the president actually has a meeting with Defense Secretary Robert Gates scheduled for this afternoon. It's a closed meeting.
We don't know if the main topic is going to be Afghanistan or what else they might discuss. But that meeting is on the president's schedule. It will be him, it will be Secretary Gates, as well as Vice President Joe Biden. That takes place later this afternoon -- Tony.
HARRIS: And Elaine, of course we can't ignore the price tag of the Afghanistan war effort. Was that part of the discussion last night?
QUIJANO: You know, it's interesting. Take a look at the photo again that the White House released last night. You'll see on the far right, there's Peter Orszag, the White House budget chief...
HARRIS: Yes, there he is.
QUIJANO: ... sitting right next to Susan Rice. She's the U.S. ambassador to the U.N.
Interesting, because when it comes to members of the president's war council, traditionally, of course, we think of the people that we're seeing right there -- Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, we see the president's national security adviser, General Jim Jones -- we don't often think of the White House budget chief. But obviously the White House included him as part of the conversation here as it weighs not only cost in lives, but, of course, the cost that a lot of lawmakers, frankly, are talking about. How is the administration going to pay for the Afghanistan war effort going forward? -- Tony.
HARRIS: All right. Elaine Quijano at the Pentagon for us.
Elaine, appreciate it. Thank you.
Got to tell you, more and more Americans want out of Afghanistan. A new CNN/Opinion Research Corporation poll shows 45 percent of people favor the war, 52 percent oppose it. Americans split over a middle ground option. If President Obama decides to send about 34,000 more troops to Afghanistan, 50 percent say they would favor it, 49 percent would oppose it.
While the president considers the Afghanistan options, we, of course, are listening to you.
(BEGIN AUDIO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Afghanistan should be left alone. There's no place for American troops over there. It's a waste of money. The government could do more to help in schools here in this country, police officers, the medical system, everything.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Hello. I'm Mindy (ph) from Waterford, Michigan.
I think we should definitely go on with Afghanistan and whatever else the Congress and president think we should. We should definitely invoke the draft for people collecting unemployment between the ages of 19 and 44 who are not the primary caretakers of minor children or children who have been conceived before such a decision date is made.
And thank you for asking.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: The Afghan people don't want us over there. The war is too expensive. Russia got out for good reason.
And I think it makes little sense to stay. OK? And we need money put into our own system and we need to ante up our own shores for protection. And that's the bottom line of it.
My name is Francis (ph) and I'm calling from Kentucky.
(END AUDIO CLIP)
HARRIS: Francis (ph), appreciate it.
Thanks to everyone who has called us.
I've got to tell you something -- and no funny business with the numbers here. Our calls are really pretty much split right down the middle on this.
We certainly want to hear from you. Just give us a call -- 1- 877-742-5760. Something different with the graphic here. Nice. Or you can grab your camera and send us an iReport at CNN.com/ireport, or leave us a message at our blog -- OK -- CNN.com/Tony.
Let us know what you think the U.S. should do next in Afghanistan.
In Florida, a hero's welcome home just in time for Thanksgiving. Families waited anxiously yesterday to greet the 351st Military Police Company. This return has special significance.
Love, love, love these pictures. Can't get enough. The entire force made it home from Iraq with no casualties.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
STAFF SGT. DALLAS WALTERS, U.S. ARMY: It means the world. It really does. So many other troops that went before us didn't have this, and it means a lot to each and every one of these younger kids. And, you know, we pass this on to future generations.
KIM WALTERS, WIFE OF SOLDIER: We definitely have something to be thankful for this Thanksgiving.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HARRIS: Boy, it is a huge travel week. Yes, a lot to be thankful for. We will check in at the busiest airport to see how one airline aims to keep you safe. And Jacqui Jeras tracking the holiday forecast. She is next.
Hi, Jacqui. Hi, Jacqui. Jacqui?
Next in the NEWSROOM.
(LAUGHTER)
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
(WEATHER REPORT)
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HARRIS: The Thanksgiving travel rush is on. It's a good thing. Tens of thousands of you are going home for the holidays.
Our Rob Marciano takes us behind the scenes inside Delta's command center at Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport right here in Atlanta.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
ROB MARCIANO, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Behind this door is the nerve center of Delta Air Lines, the operations control center.
Let's go meet the people that keep this airline flying.
I'm here with David Holtz. He's the director of operations management, and going to show me a little bit about what this very intimidating room does to keep Delta flying.
DAVID HOLTZ, DIRECTOR OF OPERATIONS MANAGEMENT: This is the nerve center. This is the place where we run the operation, the entire system of Delta Air Lines.
MARCIANO (voice-over): Eighteen different departments working together to get 2,500 flights up and down safely, and hopefully on time every day. One of those departments is weather.
Stephanie Clipfeld's (ph) team of meteorologists work to help the pilots steer clear of trouble.
(on camera): I mean, what's the most important part of your job? Is it what's going on at the upper levels for the flight, or what's going on at the lower levels for takeoff and landing?
STEPHANIE CLIPFELD (ph), DELTA AIR LINES: We have people who are looking at our airports, at our hub weather, helping them plan the operation for bad weather that may be experienced there. And then the other half of the department is really monitoring for safety of the upper atmosphere, watching the airplanes en route.
MARCIANO: Obviously weather plays a huge role into having a successful flight, so the weather department will speak directly with the aircraft dispatchers. One of those is Jeff Hubright, also a former meteorologist.
Jeff, what kind of strategies do you put in place to have an airplane get where it needs to be?
JEFF HUBRIGHT, FLIGHT SUPERINTENDENT: Well, there are two things, Rob, that are really important to us. Obviously, the surface weather, and then we're looking at turbulence forecasting for the end route phase of the flight. And I use that information to tailor my fuel load, my flight level, and maybe even the route. There are times I may flight-plan a route several hundred miles off the most direct course to avoid severe weather and to avoid areas of turbulence.
MARCIANO (voice-over): And if your flight gets diverted or canceled...
GREG CARDNER, RESERVATIONS OPERATIONS COORDINATOR: Then we will try to find alternate routing, alternate flights for those customers to be sure that they get to their final destination as quickly as possible.
MARCIANO: All in an effort to get ahead of the delays and get you where you want to go.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
MARCIANO: Live on the bridge here at the operations command center, we have other people that are on duty -- the in-flight manager, managing flight attendants, the duty pilot. He's a liaison between the pilots and at some points the FAA, and also the management. We've got guys that manage the actual equipment. You have to swap out planes.
Today has been a pretty good day. For the most part, delays have been very minimal.
Melanie (ph), working the rock (ph) desk, she's in charge of basically getting people on another flight if there's been any cancellations.
How did we do today?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: We're doing great today. The weather is playing a big part of that. We've had four cancellations for our Delta shuttle, able to move all its passengers within about one hour. One cancellation out of Detroit. Luckily, we have a team that worked on that and got all those passengers out within about two hours.
MARCIANO: Is it always this easy?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: No, it's not always this easy. It's not always this easy. Today is a good day so far.
MARCIANO: All right. Well, we'll hope that keeps on going for tomorrow.
Of course, Tony, that's the big travel day of the year. And they are basically gaming up. It's kind of their Super Bowl and doing a pretty good job here.
HARRIS: How about weather conditions? Tomorrow looks pretty good weather-wise? You know, we need help in Atlanta with weather conditions for the system to roll. And what do you think?
MARCIANO: Yes, I think it's going to be all right. The main problem is going to be across parts of the western great lakes. And then Black Friday is a whole other issue. I think Jacqui mentioned that.
HARRIS: Right.
MARCIANO: Of course, with any good flight, you've got to get yourself -- you know, it's lunchtime, Tony. You've got to get yourself some in-flight food. It costs you about 8 bucks, but it does come with mustard and it looks pretty tasty.
HARRIS: You know, and just at the moment when I was going to give you credit for doing a real story, and not just coming up with an excuse to get out of the office because you were sick of us, your true motivation is shown. There it is.
Enjoy that sandwich.
MARCIANO: OK.
HARRIS: That's man size.
MARCIANO: See you later, Tony. HARRIS: All right. Take care, Rob.
And let's get to our top stories now, right here in the CNN NEWSROOM.
My goodness.
All right. President Obama and India Prime Minister Manmohan Singh are meeting at the White House this hour. They will speak with reporters shortly. You will see their news conference live, right here on CNN.
South Carolina lawmakers are discussing whether to impeach Governor Mark Sanford. Today's hearing is focused on his disappearing act back in June.
Recall this, when he went to visit his mistress in Argentina? It comes just a day after he was charged with 37 ethics violations, including using campaign funds for personal use.
China has reportedly executed two people for their roles in one of the country's worst-ever food scandal. The state-run news agency says a dairy farmer and a milk salesman were put to death for distributing milk in 2008 that was contaminated with the toxic chemical melamine. At least six babies died after drinking the tainted milk. Some 300,000 other people got sick.
For your holiday shopping, will you go local or online? Personal Finance Editor Gerri Willis has tips on finding and using coupons on the Web.
We're back in a moment.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HARRIS: Friday, millions of overstuffed Americans will get up at the crack of dawn in search of holiday deals, but you can play the game in your robe and fuzzy slippers.
Personal finance editor Gerri Willis is here...
GERRI WILLIS, CNN PERSONAL FINANCE EDITOR: That's right.
HARRIS: ... with online bargains and how to find them.
Gerri, good to see you. Why don't you get us started with a few Web sites?
WILLIS: Yes. Yes, let's just stay at home and shop; right?
HARRIS: OK.
WILLIS: If you want to score a great deal, check out these comparison shopping sites -- Dealio.com. You will be able to compare prices on millions of products. Just type in what you're looking for and you'll get a price listing. Now, at PriceGrabber.com, you can compare prices and set price alerts for yourself.
Finally, check out PriceSpider.com. You can compare prices and you're able to see what a product cost six months ago.
So, talk about your comparisons. You can't do this if you're going store to store. You've got to be on the Web.
HARRIS: Can we score maybe a deal or two with coupons?
WILLIS: Oh, sure. You know, plenty of sites offer coupon codes and printable coupons for online and brick and mortar retailers. At RetailMeNot.com you can find 400,000 coupon codes and printable coupons.
Browse coupons by retailers at CouponSherpa.com. And don't forget to look for free shipping at FreeShipping.org. This site offers free coupons for stores like Bed, Bath & Beyond, Target, eBay.
And, of course, we're all trying to keep our holiday spending in check. Edivvy.com -- that's a new one, right? Edivvy.com let's a group of people contribute online toward a gift that you choose.
And, of course, Tony, I just want to offer a word of caution here. If you are buying online, don't do it at the local coffee shop, using Wi-Fi and a public computer. You're going to be vulnerable to hackers. Make sure you don't click on those pop-up ads. They may be bogus.
And use a credit card, not a debit card this year, for holiday purchases. You're going to have more protection that way.
And if you have any questions or tips, send them to me at Gerri@CNN.com. We love to hear from you.
HARRIS: That's terrific. Good to see you, Gerri. Thank you.
One mayor is asking folks to shop local so the town can keep police officers and firefighters. That story just ahead.
But first, how fast will we recover from the recession? Clues in the growth report released this morning. We are talking jobs and your money.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HARRIS: On Thanksgiving night we will honor the top 10 CNN Heroes of 2009 in an all-star Hollywood tribute. It's recognition that could have a tremendous impact on the work our heroes do.
Just ask Peter Kithene. He is one of our faces of the story today. Having lost both parents to disease by age 12, Kithene returned home to Kenya to start a medical clinic.
Honored as a CNN Hero in 2007, he had no way of knowing it would be a turning point for his country and his cause.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
ANNOUNCER: This is CNN Heroes.
SANJAY GUPTA, CNN CHIEF MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT: Let's marvel at Peter Kithene.
PETER KITHENE, CNN HERO: It was just a fantastic thing at the right time. I remember two weeks after, that my country wasn't into flames.
ERICA HILL, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): In late 2007, Kenya erupted in ethnic violence. Yet, in the face of this tragedy, Peter Kithene's clinic, Mama Maria Kenya, thrived.
KITHENE: Going through that as a hero I was, like, wow, I can show some kind of leadership. While 40 percent of clinics are closing across the country, I didn't close.
HILL: Today there are two Mama Maria clinics with a third on the way, and the care goes far beyond basic medical needs, growth Peter credits to the overwhelming support he received since becoming a CNN hero.
KITHENE: The life at Mama Maria and my dream have completely been altered. I mean, people listen to me when I talk.
HILL: The clinics treat more than 14,000 people each year. But for this native son it is just the beginning of a pledge he made when he was orphaned at the age of 12. A pledge and a dream to make a difference.
KITHENE: The goal is to reach as many communities as possible and there's still a lot of work to do.
HILL: Though already, Peter Kithene has come so far.
KITHENE: Thank you.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
HARRIS: It's going to be a terrific night. It always is. You can watch this entire event on CNN here on Thanksgiving night at 9:00 Eastern and Pacific.
We're back in a moment.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HARRIS: We're taking the pulse of the economy. Last month the government said the economy grew for the first time in more than a year. But today, a fresh take shows the pace wasn't quite as strong as we thought. Susan Lisovicz is at the New York Stock Exchange with details. And Susan, I guess we should start the segment by telling folks that these government figures are almost always revised up or down, but when it comes to the GDP report, what changed in this revision?
SUSAN LISOVICZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, a few things because, Tony, not surprising, it changed because it's so big. It is, after all, the broadest measure of economic activity in the U.S. It measures everything from the cappuccino you may have had in the morning to the jumbo mortgage you took out for your next home, as I'm sure what you're doing, Tony, right now.
So it measures everything, so it's not surprising that there's a revision. In this case, the economy was revised down to -- economic growth, that is -- to 2.8 percent from the original estimate of 3.5 percent.
Why was it revised lower? Well, because of consumer spending, which is always important. People weren't buying things but not as much as first estimated. Businesses cut back on spending. And imports growing faster than exports or were growing faster than exports.
But having said all that, let's put it in perspective; 2.8 percent growth is the first actual growth we've seen in a year and it's the best growth that we've seen in two years. So not bad. Certainly suggesting that we're in recovery mode. Consistency and going forward, obviously big questions.
We're not seeing consistency in the stock market this week. A terrific rally just yesterday, stocks now pulling back from 13-month highs. But nothing too bad, you major averages each down about half a percent, Tony.
HARRIS: OK, so this report looks back at the third quarter. What about now? Will the economy keep growing, Susan?
LISOVICZ: That's the question. It's an old report, after all, July to September. There's no question that many economists believe that economic activity will taper off a bit, possibly to a 1 percent growth rate next year.
Why is that? One of the reasons why, growth was jacked up by all of that stimulus due to Cash for Clunkers and the home buyer tax credit. That's going to fade away eventually. And meantime, what we have is 26-year high in unemployment and consumers who have changed their ways radically.
Also, we got another report today on consumer confidence. This is a fresher report and what the conference board said about that report was that consumers are entering the holiday season in a very frugal mood. That's all about spending -- Tony.
HARRIS: OK. See you next hour. Thank you.
The recent batch of economic numbers paint the recovery as uneven, as somewhat anemic. Let's talk to Peter Morici in Washington. He's a professor at the Smith School of Business at the University of Maryland.
Peter, good to see you again. It's been a while, my friend. I thought you made some good points in your opinion piece in my hometown newspaper the other day. You write, "Like Rome just before the barbarians, America needs smarter and braver leaders."
What's wrong with our leadership now, Peter? And let's start with party in power, the democrats led by President Obama. What would represent smarter and braver leadership on the economy?
PROF. PETER MORICI, ECONOMIST, UNIVERSITY OF MARYLAND: The economy is not growing fast enough. Coming out of a recession, we should expect 6 percent, not 3 percent. And the biggest drag on the economy is the trade deficit. We burn too much gasoline and pour too much oil and we buy too much from China. China's exports to the United States exceed its imports five to one because it has an undervalued currency. Paul Krugman has acknowledged this, Ben Bernanke has acknowledged this. Timothy Geithner acknowledged that before he became treasury secretary. The president did when he campaigned. But now that they're that in office they soft pedal the issue. They don't take China on.
Health care? These aren't health care reforms. They'll raise the price and not lower the cost of health care for the typical American.
HARRIS: Why are you so sure of this? Why do you know more than the politicians who are working on this? Smart people on both sides of the aisle, a lot of expert opinions weighing on this. Why do you know more?
MORICI: Well, let's look at the numbers. During the recovery the trade deficit grew from 1 percent of GDP to 5 percent. We borrowed money to keep the economy growing in that context. Now the numbers clearly show the trade deficit going up again is dragging down the demand for U.S. goods and services. There's been a chorus of pundits that have pointed at this, and the administration doesn't seem to want to move on it.
With regard to health care, let's look at the numbers. We spent 18 or 19 percent of GDP on health care. The Germans do 12. The difference? Torts reform, high administrative costs for health care. We spend one out of $3 of your health insurance dollar goes to administration. The state of Nebraska has a law against that, it's only eight cents on a dollar.
HARRIS: Gotcha.
MORICI: And we pay higher drug prices. I mean the numbers are there, those are issues we need to take on.
HARRIS: Peter, the party out of power now, the republicans, is "no" to everything smart? What is smarter and braver Republican leadership moving forward?
MORICI: Well I think Barack Obama's job security is great because John McCain wants to run around telling everyone let's cut taxes and have less government. Heck, does Wall Street look like it needs less government or a tax cut? No, we need someone to come along, someone like Reagan or Roosevelt with a different view to get us out of this mess. What we basically have is both parties pulling out the same tired ideas. Republicans want to cut taxes; the democrats want to spend as much as they can. Neither approach works, they just run up the deficit. It's time for a third way. Where is Tony Blair?
HARRIS: Tony Blair? He's busy trying to bring peace in the Middle East is what he's busy doing. A big job you would concede.
MORICI: I know, Tony Blair's big campaign thing was, "a third way." That he didn't represent the old Labour Party.
HARRIS: I gotcha. I gotcha. One more quick one before we get to the president and the prime minister of India. You write, it may be too early in the recovery for businesses to hiring, but big layoffs should have stopped by now. So why haven't they stopped?
MORICI: The U.S. business is downsizing for a smaller American economy because of the huge trade deficit. The big...
HARRIS: You don't believe that the companies have cut deeper than necessary and are working the lucky to be employed like pack mules right now? And pocketing the difference?
MORICI: Oh, they're certainly -- my university certainly won't do that for me and you can speak for CNN.
No, I think they're doing a fair amount of that, but the fact of the matter is they don't have customers. American business needs more customers. And that's what Barack Obama's policies are not delivering. Until they have more customers, they're not going to hire and they'll continue laying off because businesses are finding smarter, cheaper, less labor intensive ways to do things.
HARRIS: And would you agree with me that more tax cuts that go directly into pockets of individuals would only be used to pay off debt and not to spend?
MORICI: I agree with you on that. Tax cuts are not the answer. America does not need another tax cut. It needs smarter trade policies, it needs bank reform and it sure as heck needs real health care reform, not the stuff democrats are dishing up or the republicans would propose if they had their chance.
HARRIS: Doctor Morici, good to see you as always. Appreciate the time, thanks.
MORICI: Take care, Tony. Bye-bye.
HARRIS: OK. More than 100 banks have failed already this year. More than 500 are on a watch list. Is yours one of them? Check out the health of banks at CNNMoney.com. Let's get you caught up now on our top stories. President Obama's long-awaited announcement on the Afghan war expected within days; that's according to the White House. Following the president's meeting last night with his war council, sources tell CNN one option calls for adding 34,000 troops to the 68,000 already committed to Afghanistan.
A warning to stop using baby cribs with drop down sides. Federal safety officials are recalling more than 2 million cribs made by Storkcraft of Canada. Faulty hardware can cause babies and toddlers to suffocate. Four babies have already died.
Grammy and Oscar winning singer and actress will be part of tonight's entertainment at President Obama's first ever state dinner. Like the Obamas, Hudson is from Chicago.
And we're waiting for a news conference with President Obama and the prime minister of India. We'll bring it to you the moment it begins right here in the CNN NEWSROOM.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HARRIS: The local gift shop may not be the place you think of for shopping. The mayor of Belleville, Illinois, wants you to reconsider, especially now.
Here's Kay Quinn with CNN affiliate KSDK.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
KAY QUINN, KSDK REPORTER (voice-over): From downtown to the west end of town, Belleville is all decked out for the holidays. Now these merchants are dreaming of a lot of customers.
MAYOR MARK ECKERT, BELLEVILLE, ILLINOIS: We've got to continue to fight for those dollars right now.
QUINN: That's what led Mayor Eckert to write the letter that will be hand delivered to Belleville residents this week. It reads shop Belleville first this holiday season.
ECKERT: It worked last year we felt because we have a year where we haven't had to have lose services.
LINDA JOINT, EAGLE COLLECTIBLES: I try to shop in downtown Belleville as much as I can.
QUINN: Linda Joint has run Eagle Collectibles on Main Street for years. She says business is picking up and applauds any effort to grow small business.
JOINT: When you think about it, all of the stuff, if you do it online, you're really not helping out anyone locally.
QUINN (on camera): Revenue from the local sales tax is down just over 6 percent in Belleville. That follows an 8 percent drop last year. And city officials say shopping local can literally keep police and firefighters on the street.
ECKERT: A lot of people just didn't realize how important their doing business in the town in which they live and work, how that equates to public service.
JULIE ORLET SCHOEN, THE VINEYARD: there's so much here in town and you don't really need to go far.
QUINN: Julie Orlet Schoen runs The Vineyard, which is a fair trade shop selling handmade goods from vendors from around the world.
SCHOEN: And I like to touch things. And I think people should come and try things on and touch them and feel them.
QUINN: Something Belleville leaders hope their more than 45,000 residents will do in their own backyard during the next four weeks leading to Christmas.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
HARRIS: Once again to the East Room of the White House where we are standing by waiting to hear from the president of the United States and India's Prime Minister Singh. Should be happening shortly, a bit delayed. It was scheduled for 11:35 Eastern time. I'm sure it will get started shortly. And when the two men appear at those lecterns, we'll take you to the East Room of the White House right here in the CNN NEWSROOM.
A Florida teen who allegedly set on fire by his peers is slowly and we mean slowly on the mend. His parents talk about the healing process next hour right here in the CNN NEWSROOM
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HARRIS: Going to tell you about a legal shift for the 9/11 suspects facing federal trial. An attorney for one of the men says they plan to plead not guilty claiming their attack was justified.
CNN's Brian Todd reports.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
BRIAN TODD, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Not long ago, he wanted to plead guilty and be executed as a martyr. Now, alleged 9/11 mastermind Khalid Shaikh Mohammed and four others will be charged in connection with the attacks plan to plead not guilty when they're charged in civilian court, that's according Scott Fenstermaker, a lawyer for one of the men, Ali Abdul Aziz Ali. Fenstermaker explains why.
SCOTT FENSTERMAKER, ATTORNEY FOR 9/11 DEFENDANT: I believe the legal term would be a justification defense, what they believe to be America's aggressive foreign policy needs to be defended against and I believe that they believe that it is the September 11th attacks were in response to that.
TODD: Fenstermaker believes his client and the others will still acknowledge their alleged roles in the 11 attacks and...
FENSTERMAKER: He said that, here's my goal, and he wrote down the word death on a piece of paper.
TODD: Fenstermaker makes it clear he's only speaking for his client, not all five who will be charged and he won't likely be Abdul Aziz Ali's defense attorney at trial. He's now representing him in a case challenging his detention at Guantanamo Bay. But Fenstermaker says his client has told him of his intended plea and he believes all five have agreed on one approach.
Some, including relatives of 9/11 victims worry that a civilian trial two provide the defendants with a platform, although no TV cameras would be allowed. One relative presented her concern to Attorney General Eric Holder.
ALICE HOAGLAND, MOTHER OF 9/11 VICTIM: I am afraid that the theatrics are going to take over at this point and I very much regret that.
ERIC HOLDER, U.S. ATTORNEY GENERAL: Judges can handle that. We've got experience in doing these things.
TODD: I asked former Justice Department counterterror prosecutor Patrick Rowan another key question.
(on camera): What are the chances that Khalid Shaikh Mohammed or any of these other defendants could be found not guilty?
PATRICK ROWAN, FORMER NATIONAL SECURITY PROSECUTOR: Well, any time you have 12 people that are brought in off the streets there's some risk that you'll have one or more persons whose not particularly reasonable in the way that they look at evidence. But I think, in general, the government has a very strong chance of securing a conviction against all five of these defendants.
TODD (voice-over): Rowan says it's tougher to handicap the possible sentencing.
(on camera): He says the government will likely seek the death penalty if they're convicted and the defendants may want that, but Rowan says it's also tough to get a jury to agree to a death sentence and the attorneys for the accused men may ask the court not to give them their wish for martyrdom.
Brian Todd, CNN, Washington.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
HARRIS: Critics of trying the 9/11 suspects in civilian courts suggest it would be nothing more than a show, giving the defendants a platform for their beliefs. A CNN's "AC360" last night, Erica Hill asked our senior legal analyst Jeffrey Toobin and former federal prosecutor Bill Burck to address that point.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) HILL: I want to start with you. You've argued that trying these men in civilian court will make a mockery of our system. Although, frankly, U.S. federal courts have been used to trying many terrorists, among them, of course, shoe bomber Richard Reid, Jose Padilla, Zacarias Moussaoui, without a ton of fallout. So what makes this particular case and these defendants different?
BILL BURCK, FORMER FEDERAL PROSECUTORS: I think there are several things that make it different. One thing that makes it very different is that what we're talking about here, what really concerns those of us that worry about bringing this to civilian court, is that Khalid Shaikh Mohammed, it's not that he's convicted or found innocent, it's pretty clear that he will be convicted of something. The problem here is he's going to use this, as he promised over the years, as an opportunity to spread his ideology, to attack America, to put America on trial.
This is not going to be his guilt or innocence. It's not going to be about the evidence. For Khalid Shaikh Mohammed, it's about what America has done to him and his people. That is what this is about, and we don't believe that this is something that civilian courts should have to be subjected to or even designed to handle properly.
Remember that a defendant in a criminal case has an absolute right to testify if he wants to. Nobody can prevent him from doing that. And if he wants to get on the stand and spend two days or three days or a week or however long the judge will let him to talk about his ideology, spread hate, explain why America is wrong, he'll be able to do that.
HILL: Which defendants have done in the past in trials, Jeff. So based on what we hear now, is both -- are both Bill Burck in this case and former Vice President Cheney right? I mean, what's to keep this from devolving into a show trial, as the former vice president called it?
JEFFREY TOOBIN, CNN SENIOR LEGAL ANALYST: Well, the Supreme Court says they have to have a trial somewhere, has to be a military commission or it has to be a civilian court. And in either place, he's going to get to testify, maybe for a day, maybe for two days.
So what? It's not going to be televised. It's not going to be anything more than a day or two in the news. And he gets a fair trial. We are very good at having criminal trials in the United States. This is something we do very well. They are fair. They are respected. And if appropriate, people get the death penalty.
It seems to me that a trial where he spends a day on the witness stand saying whatever it is he wants to say is a small price to pay for a legitimate, honest, fair, internationally recognized trial.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HARRIS: In a related development, New York City Police Chief Raymond Kelly will announce that Michael Blake will be in charge of security for the trial. Blake is an inspector who's been working in the department's counterterrorism office and is being promoted to deputy chief.
Here's what we're working on for the next hour of CNN NEWSROOM
The parents of a Florida teen set on fire talk about their son's fight for survival. What he does and doesn't remember about the horrific attack that almost killed him.
Pomp and circumstance to be sure at the White House. We will take an inside look at planning for a state dinner as the Obamas prepare to host their very first one.
That's next hour, in the CNN NEWSROOM.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HARRIS: Extensive government tests have confirmed what thousands have homeowners suspected. Chinese drywall is linked to a long list of problems in new homes, especially in Virginia, Louisiana and Florida. But what the government tests haven't yet confirmed whether the drywall is making people sick.
CNN's Sean Callebs explains.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
SEAN CALLEBS, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): The federal government is confirming what Joan Glickman of Pompano Beach, Florida suspected all along. Tainted drywall from China is giving off a harmful gas that's turning her air conditioning wiring black causing it to fail. It's also destroying electrical wiring and corroding metal throughout her home.
But what the Consumer Product Safety Commission can't tell her is whether the hydrogen sulfide gas coming from the tainted drywall is making her sick.
JOAN GLICKMAN, HOMEOWNER: they can't tell me what's happening to me now and more importantly they can't tell me what's going to happen to me in 20 years. You know, am I going to end up with like an asbestos person with lung cancer?
CALLEBS: Federal investigators say they will need more time to determine possible health risks but Florida Senator Bill Nelson, whose state has seen more complaints than all others combined, agrees with Joan Glickman.
SEN. BILL NELSON (D), FLORIDA: I said well when are you going to know? They said we're going to do another test. They said they didn't know when that was going to be done. Well, our people are tired of waiting.
CALLEBS: Hydrogen sulfide is a noxious gas that smells like rotten eggs and corrodes metal throughout affected households. Environmental health engineers did the study for the CPSC and says warm, humid conditions magnify the problem. JACK MCCARTHY, ENVIRONMENTAL HEALTH & ENGINEERING INC.: We found a direct relationship between temperature and humidity levels in the homes and the amount of hydrogen sulfide that is being given off by the wall board.
CALLEBS: There have been thousands of complaints about Chinese drywall and on the heels of this new report, the government is expecting more answers. But still to come, a plan for fixing the problem.
GLICKMAN: It was a huge letdown because it still didn't tell me how to fix it, who is going to fix it, how we do we go about fixing it? Where the money comes from? This has left us in such a mess.
CALLEBS: For now, Glickman and her family have moved in with her mother. Her mortgage company is giving her a temporary break on payments but she and homeowners like her will have to wait wondering if their dream home is actually a ticking time bomb.
Sean Callebs, CNN, New Orleans.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
