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President Obama Pushes for new Climate Deal; Afghanistan's Corruption Troubles; Custody Fight Takes Wrong Turn

Aired December 18, 2009 - 11:59   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 Friday, December 18th, and here are the faces of the stories behind today's headlines.

Jean Paul Lacombe Diaz subject of a worldwide manhunt today. His father allegedly tricked a judge to get custody, then vanished with the boy.

James Bain -- 35 years of his life stolen. He becomes the country's longest-serving prisoner to be set free by DNA evidence.

And Britain's Queen Elizabeth taking the train. The frugal monarch buys an off-peak ticket and heads for Christmas holiday.

Good morning, everyone. I'm Tony Harris. And you are in the CNN NEWSROOM.

And we begin with a warning to the world -- we are running short on time. That is the message from President Obama, clearly growing impatient with global leaders at the summit at Copenhagen. The president pushing hard for a new deal.

Let's get right to it here.

CNN Senior White House Correspondent Ed Henry joining us from the Danish capital.

And Ed, look, the president appears tired of the talk, talk, talk. He wants some action.

Is he likely to see some?

ED HENRY, CNN SR. WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: He wants a deal, Tony, but I can tell you he still doesn't have one.

Just a moment ago -- I'm sort of right in the center of the action here at Copenhagen at the Bella Center, where all of these leaders have been meeting behind closed doors for two weeks now. President Obama only arrived today.

But just a moment ago, I saw German Chancellor Angela Merkel, as well as French President Nicolas Sarkozy, emerge from this meeting they were in with President Obama and nearly 20 world leaders, and they did not look particularly happy, they were not announcing any breakthrough. And that's significant because this is the second time today that the president had a private multilateral meeting, as they call it, with all of these leaders.

The first one was far earlier this morning. And there's still some sticking points, mostly between the U.S. and China. China concerned about what the president is laying out in terms of emission cuts, carbon emission cuts.

But I can tell you that I had a conversation a short while ago with Speaker Nancy Pelosi, who is also here, who says that she is very happy that the president made it clear that the U.S. is now showing leadership here on the world stage.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

REP. NANCY PELOSI (D-CA), HOUSE SPEAKER: We've talked enough. It's time to act. And that is -- you know, that is the president's message.

We came here, the White House, the president, and the members of Congress, 21 members in our bipartisan delegation, to talk about jobs, job creation and how we go into the future. The business community has told us this morning this is the job-creating. The EU ministers that we met with have said this is job-creating in our country.

We have to have it happen in the United States, and we have to lead. And the president came here to do that.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HENRY: So, you hear Democratic leaders asserting that movement on climate change will lead to some of those so-called green jobs back home in the United States, and that that's how it will matter to American consumers, in addition to trying to improve environmental quality. There have been many Republicans though here on the ground in Copenhagen, like Senator James Inhofe, a long climate change skeptic, who has been saying that, in fact, he believes that the U.S. agreeing to large carbon emission cuts will actually lead to a carbon tax back home in the United States that will hurt American businesses and actually result in a loss of American jobs.

So, the bottom line from here is that this debate is still raging, Tony, and there has been no breakthrough.

HARRIS: Well, Ed, some real talk here. I can't get my kid to agree on what to have for dinner. How are you going to get 150-plus nations to agree on a massive, sweeping treaty if, at this point in the process, the last day of a two-week summit, you aren't really close? It doesn't appear that we are.

HENRY: That's right. I mean, look, the bottom line is the president, himself, really raised the stakes here by initially saying he would come at the beginning of the two-week summit. Instead, when it looked a few weeks back like maybe there would be a big deal here at the end, the White House decided it made more sense for the president to come in the final hours, the final day here, try to push this along and, frankly, get some of the political credit. But as you suggest, he may now get some of the political blame if this all falls through.

I can tell you, the U.S. is already trying to sort of suggest that if anything falls through, it's because of the Chinese, because the Chinese, so far, have not agreed to what they call more transparency in terms of opening up the books, if you will, to show that if there is some sort of an agreement here on cutting carbon emissions, that the Chinese will actually follow through on those commitments -- Tony.

HARRIS: Yes, interesting. We're hearing that world a lot, "transparency." And the other word we're hearing a lot is "accountability" in the waning days of this summit.

Our Senior White House Correspondent Ed Henry for us.

Ed, as always, great to see you.

And coming up later this hour, we will take you to the mountains of Bolivia. You can see for yourself where climate change is changing the water supply.

And checking the CNN wire now.

A car bomb detonates in front of a police compound in Pakistan's northwestern province, killing 12 and wounding a couple dozen others. The area's police chief says most of the victims were police officers leaving a mosque after Friday prayers. A wave of attacks there in the past two months has killed more than 500 people.

An American father's reunion with his son in Brazil runs smack up against a brick wall. Brazil's supreme court has delayed the return of 9-year-old Sean Goldman to Robert Goldman.

The child's mom took him to Brazil on vacation in 2004, remarried, and never returned. She died last year in childbirth. Robert Goldman expected to leave Brazil with his son yesterday after a lower court granted him custody.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ROBERT GOLDMAN, SEEKING CUSTODY OF HIS SON: This day is ridiculous, and everyone knows what's going on. Everyone knows the abuse that my son is being afflicted by, and it is very, very sad. And I honestly believe that the justice system does not want to be looked at as a country that is a safe haven for kidnappers, that will allow a child to remain separated from their only parent and try to turn that child against that parent.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HARRIS: OK.

Twitter back up and running after it was hacked overnight by a group calling itself the Iranian Cyber Army. It is not clear who that group really is or if it's really connected with Iran. You may remember Iranians relied heavily on Twitter to stay connected after this year's disputed presidential election.

While more American troops prepare to head to Afghanistan, the country's president says there is one thing Afghans themselves must fix. That's rampant corruption.

As CNN's Frederik Pleitgen tells us, corruption is everywhere.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

FREDERIK PLEITGEN, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): This is something like the waiting area at the Kabul's Department of Motor Vehicles. But if you want to register a car here, better be prepared to pay extra. Otherwise, you might end up like this man.

"They keep postponing me," he says. "I've been waiting here for three days and three nights."

That's because he didn't pay off the right people. The waiting area is full of men who call themselves agents. They make sure the bribes get to the right government offices and paperwork gets done. For a small fee, of course.

Only one agent was willing to speak to us. "For a Toyota Corolla, we usually take about $300 to process the documents," he says.

Three hundred dollars to register a car. The median income in Afghanistan is only about $800 a year.

The U.S. is sending 30,000 additional troops to Afghanistan, but Washington knows it can only win over Afghans if government officials stop ripping the people off.

(on camera): The Karzai government says it realizes it needs to make fighting corruption its top priority. However, so far, it appears its efforts are falling short.

(voice-over): A U.S. government watchdog says Afghanistan's newly-created office to fight corruption is weak, incompetent and influenced by powerful politicians. At a recent anti-corruption conference, Afghan President Hamid Karzai said the situation is embarrassing. "Until we can provide the people the peace of mind that we will defend them against corruption," he says, "we will not succeed."

But can corruption so endemic really be eradicated? At the Motor Vehicle Department, an angry police officer suddenly shows up. "None of the agents have a permit," he says. "What they are doing is illegal." But the cop also made clear, though he doesn't like the bribe-taking, he wasn't going to do anything about it.

Fred Pleitgen, CNN, Kabul.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

HARRIS: A child caught in a custody battle, he's taken off a school bus and handed over to his dad, a dad he doesn't want to see.

Like you, I want more information on this story, and there's the man who is covering it for us. Our David Mattingly is following this closely for us, and we'll talk to him in just a couple of minutes.

And, look, many of you will be seeing white this weekend. Rob Marciano is tracking this -- well, it is a huge storm, Rob, that is working its way up the East Coast.

We'll check in with Rob in just a couple of moments.

But first, let's get you to the New York Stock Exchange for a look at the Big Board.

Where are stocks trading now? Well, we're trading downward. We're in negative territory. We're down 14 points.

We're going to follow the Big Board, of course, with our friend and yours, Susan Lisovicz, from the New York Stock Exchange, right here in the CNN NEWSROOM.

We're back in a moment.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(WEATHER REPORT)

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HARRIS: Boy, I've got to tell you, I've been waiting to talk about this story with David Mattingly for a while now, a child caught in a custody case that is grabbing international headlines now.

Jean Paul Lacombe Diaz, one of our "Faces of the Story." Two months ago, authorities in Texas dragged him off a school bus and gave him to his father, who is now accused of kidnapping him. All of it caught on tape. Have a look.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JEAN PAUL LACOMBE DIAZ, KIDNAPPED BY FATHER: I don't want to live with him.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Why is he not your dad?

DIAZ: Because he hits me a lot of times. Don't want -- to stay with my mom, please.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You're OK. You're OK. I'm not going to let him do anything to you.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HARRIS: OK. Again, CNN's David Mattingly has been following this very complicated story.

And I'm not going to settle for complicated. OK? We're going to get...

DAVID MATTINGLY, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Beyond complicated.

HARRIS: Yes, but we're going to cut through this.

In watching your entire piece yesterday, there was a point that I want to start with here. The judge handling this case in Texas, you're talking to him and he is suggesting, look, there is a lot of information coming here. He is suggesting a bit of confusion as to all of the information that's being represented to him in court.

I want to play that bit of sound, and then I'm going to follow with a question for you.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SOL CASSEB III, DISTRICT COURT JUDGE: You've got lawyers, your officer of the court, telling you, "Here's the order. Here's my client swearing to that something's going to happen to the child." You have to understand in this case these people were making allegations, they were swearing to me.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HARRIS: All right. Look, I understand that this judge is handling a complicated case, but he's the arbiter. He is the arbiter in this case.

What would it have taken to make a call to the Mexican authorities? Now, we're going to make the case here that this is an international case. What would it have taken to make a call to the Mexican authorities to substantiate the claims being represented in this case?

Talk me through this, David.

MATTINGLY: In cases like this, this is not what the judge does. He's not an investigator.

HARRIS: Right.

MATTINGLY: He has to make a decision based on the information that's presented to him.

HARRIS: An ex parte hearing is what this was.

MATTINGLY: Yes. This was an ex parte hearing, which means the father came to the court saying, this is my child, here are these documents that say he is my child. I have custody of him in Mexico, and his mother took him away. So I need to get him back.

And that's what the judge was looking at, these documents that backed up the father's claim. What the judge didn't realize and what everybody in the United States didn't realize, that this had been a custody case going on for years. There's a stack of paper this high involving this case. And the father did not present all of that relevant material, claiming that he had custody when in fact he did not.

HARRIS: No obligation on the part of the court because it is an ex parte hearing to get some kind of statement on the record from the mom in this case before the judge makes a decision?

MATTINGLY: Because the case, as it was presented to the judge, was, this is my child, I have custody, the mother took him illegally to the United States, and the child is in danger of being taken away again. So that's the reason to have this hearing where only the father and his attorneys were there.

HARRIS: So, all of this plays out. The mom has no idea this is going on. What we don't see in the video is that the boy's mom is there when the constables are taking the boy off the bus and turning him over to the dad. So everyone is there.

MATTINGLY: Everyone is there. The judge delivered the court order on a Thursday. On a Friday, the child comes home from school, he's at the bus stop. The bus pulls up, opens the door. The constables are there to take him off the bus and then deliver him to his father, who is standing right there.

Now, the mother has been all this time living in the United States thinking that they would have protection here. She has been going to the bus stop, picking him up at the bus stop and driving him home, not even letting him walk home.

HARRIS: Yes.

MATTINGLY: So, she's there in her car, the constables are there. The child is taken off the bus, given to the father, and this is the first time the mother finds out about this.

What she finds out is there's going to be -- this is on a Friday. She says there's going to be a hearing on Monday. Everyone is going to come into court and we're going to sort this out.

HARRIS: This is what she's finding out at that moment.

MATTINGLY: At the bus stop, yes. She had no clue this was coming.

HARRIS: OK. So, she, then, is in a position to either keep fighting, or -- but what she does is she calms down her son.

MATTINGLY: She calms down her son because he's terribly upset. And plus, you have uniformed officers there who are facilitating this handoff to the father.

HARRIS: Yes.

MATTINGLY: So, she's told there's a court order, you can't stop this. Show up in court on Monday and we'll figure all this out.

HARRIS: So where are we now? The dad is MIA with the child, and we have no idea. And he's got passports and we have no idea at this point where.

MATTINGLY: That hearing on Monday comes and goes. The father doesn't show up. Nobody knows where he is.

He's got passports, a French passport. He's got a Mexican passport. We know in the past that he lost custody and visitation rights after he took the child one other time, and took him to France for two years.

HARRIS: A total misrepresentation to the court.

MATTINGLY: Completely. That's what's being alleged -- perjury charges, kidnapping charges. They want to find this guy.

HARRIS: And, internationally, everyone is aware of this story. I know this piece has been on our sister network, CNN International. But at this point, the sense is, is that the world knows about this case.

MATTINGLY: He has the potential to travel internationally. He's wealthy, he's done it before. The child has a Mexican passport but the mother still has that passport. So it's her hope that the child and the father are still somewhere in the United States.

HARRIS: Boy, I'm glad you're on this story.

David Mattingly for us.

David, appreciate it. Good to talk to you. Thank you. An unbelievable story.

Still to come in the NEWSROOM, consumer or medical questions. We have experts giving you answers this hour.

Just ahead, Personal Finance Editor Gerri Willis tackles the difference between debit and credit cards.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HARRIS: Very quickly now, let's check our top stories for you.

President Obama warns world leaders time is running out for an agreement on global warming. He says the time for talk is over. The president sounding impatient with failure to reach a deal at the climate conference in Copenhagen.

Thieves have stolen the infamous sign over the entrance of Auschwitz, the Nazi death camp in Poland. Hundreds of thousands of Jews passed under the wrought iron arch on their way to the gas chamber. The sign reads, cynically, in German, "Work Will Set You Free."

Charlie Gibson retires from the "World News" anchor desk after tonight's broadcast on ABC. ABC has been his professional home for almost 35 years. He's anchored the evening news since 2006. Gibson's former "Good Morning America" co-host Diane Sawyer takes over on Monday.

Another check of top stories in 20 minutes.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HARRIS: Let's see here, security and debit cards, credit cards and bankruptcy. And what about those energy tax credits. You send us the questions. CNN's Personal Finance Editor Gerri Willis here now with the answers.

And Gerri, great to see you. Good Friday to you.

Are you ready to dive into the e-mail bag?

GERRI WILLIS, CNN PERSONAL FINANCE EDITOR: Good to see you.

HARRIS: All right.

WILLIS: Yes, sir. Let's go.

HARRIS: Here's our first question. It comes from Wayne, who writes, "My credit union advises me to use my debit card the same way I would use a credit card. Do I have the same protection by using my debit card this way, as I do when I use my credit card?"

WILLIS: Great question, Wayne.

Debit cards don't give you as much protection as a credit card. Security is one issue. You know that if your credit card is stolen, you're not responsible for unauthorized charges over 50 bucks, but if your debit card number is stolen, you have fewer protection.

First off, you have to report any misuse within two days to get the same 50-buck limited liability. If you miss that deadline but you report the loss or misuse within two months, you could be on the hook for up to $500. After 60 days, that liability, well, it's unlimited. Card issuers do have different policies, though, so make sure you read the fine print or even ask your credit union.

If you're buying a big-ticket item or using the Internet to shop around, you should really use that credit card -- Tony.

HARRIS: Boy, I've got another one from Mikey here. "I have been having all kinds of trouble paying off my credit cards." Boy, he owes $12,000.

Here's the question: "Will the creditors start garnishing my pay? Should I attempt to file bankruptcy since I do not make enough money to pay them? I am struggling so much to keep up with everything."

What are your thoughts here, Gerri?

WILLIS: Well, heartbreaking story; right? Here's the right thing to do.

Look, creditors may very well garnish your pay, and they'll be well within their rights. But look, filing for bankruptcy for a $12,000 credit card debt is overkill. You'd be better negotiating a settlement directly with the issuer and finding the funds to pay it off. Whatever you do, do not use a third-party debt settlement company -- Tony.

HARRIS: Boy, got one more here from Gary. And Gary wants to know...

WILLIS: It's tough. Tough situations here.

HARRIS: Yes. That is tough.

"What is the status..." And I'm curious about this one as well -- "What is the status of window and door energy credits?"

Gerri?

WILLIS: Way to go, Gary. Let's get this stuff under way. Everybody needs to make their home energy efficient.

For improvements made in 2009 and 2010, you can get an income tax credit of up to $1,500 -- that's a lot -- for installing efficient new windows, insulation, doors, roofs, heating and cooling equipment in your home. Now, a credit reduces your tax bill dollar for dollar, but there are some specifics you should know.

First, any windows or doors you replace must be expected to be at least five years. So, if you have your two-year warranty certificate, that should provide enough proof.

Here's the you file -- 5695 from the IRS when you fill out your taxes. And, of course, make sure hold on to the receipts and copy of the manufacturer's certification. You'll need that.

And all these improvements must be in your principal residence. That means where you live each and every day. It can't be in a vacation home.

And, of course, if you have any questions, send it to me at Gerri@CNN.com. We love to hear from you.

HARRIS: You have a great weekend, Gerri. And we'll be watching "YOUR BOTTOM LINE" this weekend as well. Thank you.

WILLIS: You as well. My pleasure.

HARRIS: As we're finding out, you still have plenty of questions about health care reform. Senior Medical Correspondent Elizabeth Cohen joins me next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HARRIS: A developing story we're following for you now. It seems Iranian security forces have seized an oil well in southern Iraq. Two senior Iraqi government officials are saying it happened last night. CNN's Diana Magnay is following the story from Baghdad.

And Diana, what more can you tell us?

DIANA MAGNAY, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Hi, Tony.

Well, as you said, those two government officials confirming to us that Iranian forces seized this oil well in the Mazan (ph) province in southern Iraq last night. They could not confirm to us whether Iranian forces were still in possession of that well. But apparently it's along the Iranian-Iraqi border along a disputed territory there.

Now, apparently the Iraqi Security Council is holding an urgent meeting to address this issue. There are discussions going on between the oil ministry and the foreign ministry here about how to proceed. But that's what we know so far, Tony.

HARRIS: Diana, any comment from Iran on this story?

MAGNAY: Yes. We've been speaking to embassy officials, Iranian embassy officials who deny that this has taken place. They say that there have been reports of this kind of incident in the past but they are untrue, that there is no foundation in fact to this particular report either.

And what they stressed to us was that all of Iraq's border, the Iranian-Iraqi border is the longest and is in fact the most secure and that it is in Iran's interests to maintain good relations with Iraq on this disputed border area. So emphatically denying it -- Tony.

HARRIS: OK, Diana, when you get more, give us a heads up and we'll get right back to you.

Diana Magnay for us in Baghdad.

Still to come in the NEWSROOM today, small stores, big stores, all want you to come out and shop this weekend. Not just browse, buy.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HARRIS: So the final countdown has begun, Christmas is only -- what? -- seven days away now. And if you're hitting the mall this weekend, you won't be alone. Susan Lisovicz is at the New York Stock Exchange with details.

And Susan, you know a lot -- hey, good to see you, first of all. A lot of people think Black Friday is the busiest shopping day, but that's just not true, is it?

SUSAN LISOVICZ, CNN BUSINESS CORRESPONDENT: It isn't. I think the reason why it has become so important is that it kicks it off, the day after Thanksgiving. And there was a time when many retailers went into the black for the year the day after Thanksgiving.

But the fact is the busiest time is tomorrow. It's the Saturday before Christmas, the final Saturday. Why is that? Well, because we are procrastinators and when we don't have the dough, I suppose that really exacerbates that trade.

The National Retail Federation, Tony, said that as of last week 19 percent of Americans hadn't even started their Christmas shopping. And when they do or we do, don't expect the huge markdowns we saw last year at this time. Why is that? Because retailers have been burned all year. They know that people are holding tight to what they have. Inventories are low and many items are already deeply discounted -- Tony.

HARRIS: Well, I don't think we can stress that enough. Look, this goes beyond just the stores. We're really talking about the entire economy depending on this shopping season.

LISOVICZ: No question about it. I mean it is a very good window as to how we feel as a people right now, whether the economy is technically in recovery or not. Consumer spending makes up the biggest part of GDP. And spending also affects things like hiring and retail. If there are slow sales, well stores aren't going to hire as much. They're also going to order fewer products, which affects manufacturing.

It also affects shippers, right? No coincidence that FedEx and UPS says their busiest days -- the final days leading up to Christmas. FedEx says it will probably be this Monday. And so if there's no buying, there's no shipping, it affect profits. The United States Postal Office, postal service, says it lost nearly $4 billion over the past year. And FedEx reported a 30 percent drop in its quarterly profit, that came out yesterday.

Retail stocks are mostly lower today and the Dow is, after, you know, a modest rally at the open, couldn't hold it. Nasdaq is doing better, it's up half a percent, Tony.

HARRIS: Well, Susan, I'm a little concerned about this weekend. You've got a pretty nasty snow event heading your way. So get out early and at least get your shopping done.

LISOVICZ: Or just get to the mouse and start clicking away in your flannel PJs by the fire.

HARRIS: Now that sounds good. A little cyber shopping. All right, Susan, see you next hour. Thank you.

For the first time in two decades, you won't see one of the big soft drink company's ads during the Super Bowl. Just too much money to spend. Check out the story at CNNMoney.com.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HARRIS: OK. We've told you how the Senate health care reform bill might impact you. Boy, and we've heard back from you. CNN's patient advocate Elizabeth Cohen is tackling your questions today.

Elizabeth, are you ready to get going on this?

ELIZABETH COHEN, CNN SENIOR MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT: I am ready, go for it.

HARRIS: One of our viewers, Patrick, was paying very close attention. He has two very good questions for you.

First, is Medicaid coverage -- not Medicare, Medicaid coverage -- determined by income? If so, how much do you have to make to no longer qualify for Medicaid?

COHEN: That is a great question from Patrick, and I'm especially glad he asked it because in yesterday's segment we didn't quite get the Medicaid question right, so I want to clarify it right now.

So Patrick wants to know basically how little money do you have to make to qualify for Medicaid. So the answer to that is that if you are an individual, you have to make $14,000 or less to qualify for Medicaid. If you are in a family of four, you have to make $29,000 or less.

So, again, an individual, $14,000 or less. And if you are in a family of four, it would be $29,000 or less to qualify for Medicaid.

Now, for some states that's going to be a big difference, those numbers are very different right now.

HARRIS: Wait a minute, all right so that's 29K.

COHEN: Right, right, right.

HARRIS: Can you erase these things?

COHEN: Sorry.

HARRIS: OK. It is Patrick's second question -- couldn't resist giving you a hard time on that.

COHEN: Of course.

HARRIS: Heart-Attack Harry makes $43,000 a year and gets a $700 tax credit. Is the amount he pays determined by his income?

COHEN: That's right. Now this is sort of innovation of this bill is that people who are basically middle income will get tax credits to help pay to go out and buy their own insurance. So our character was Heart-Attack Harry and so he got a tax credit.

So let's take a look at the tax credits, what kind of money do you have to make in order to get one of these? Well, if you're an individual, you can get a tax credit if you make $43,000 or less. So that's pretty generous, that limit. And if you're a family of four, you can make $88,000 or less in order to get a tax credit.

Now, I know probably your next question is how big is that tax credit. It depends on your income. If your income is $88,000, you're going to get a smaller tax credit than if your income was $30,000.

HARRIS: That's terrific. All right and, Patrick, thanks for the questions.

I've got to tell you, Elizabeth, as this debate continues, I'm sure more and more people will have questions for you. Where can they reach you?

COHEN: They can reach me at my e-mail address which is empoweredpatient@CNN.com. So just write me at empoweredpatient@CNN.com. Patrick had great questions. Him and other folks, we're going to try to answer more and more as this bill continues to be sort of up in the air.

HARRIS: Awesome, awesome. Elizabeth, appreciate it. Have a great weekend, thank you.

Let's do this now, let's get you caught up on our top stories. Incredible new images -- man! -- of a fierce firefight in Mexico.

First have a listen.

OK, now to some of the pictures. Take a look at this -- Mexico's military taking on a powerful drug cartel. This happened on Wednesday. Troops there killing one of the country's most notorious drug lords -- I hope we have the stills ready for you -- and six other cartel members. Several people were also arrested in the operation. We'll get those stills for you next hour.

The social networking site Twitter was hacked overnight by a group calling itself the Iranian Cyber Army. It's not clear who that group really is or if it even is connected to Iran. Iranians relied heavily, as you know, on Twitter to stay connected after this year's disputed presidential election.

And get ready to say goodbye to Saab. General Motors officials said this morning it will stop making the brand after the collapse of talks to sell Saab to a Dutch carmaker. GM says it will continue to honor warranties for Saab owners.

Let's get back to Rob Marciano.

(WEATHER REPORT)

HARRIS: Terrific. Thanks, Rob.

(COMMERCIAL REPORT)

HARRIS: Boy, interesting stuff here. New research finds Americans may live significantly longer than current government projections. What kind of challenges will that bring? Chief medical correspondent Dr. Sanjay Gupta has today's "Fit Nation" report.

DR. SANJAY GUPTA, CNN CHIEF MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, this is one of those good news, bad news sort of situations. I think most people when they're asked how long they want to live, a lot of people will say it depends. What will my mind be like? What will my body be like? Well, the good news is that we are probably going to live longer. That's according to some new data coming out from the Census Bureau and also the Social Security Administration. As far as women go, they expect that within the next 40 years, women are going to start living on average to about 93 years old, whereas men about 86. So those numbers are good, especially if you're someone getting up there in years.

But there's also a cost associated with this, and that's where the bad part of the news comes in. About $8 trillion by 2050, that's what it's expected to cost to take care of people who live longer. Their health care expenses, population demographics, Social Security, retirement, all the things that you might imagine.

Of course as I mentioned, it's not really just about living longer, it's about living healthier. And people think that there's a huge health care cost associated with keeping people more functional as they get older. But I can tell you as I've traveled around the world and written books on the subject and followed the work of a guy named Dan Butner (ph), it doesn't always have to do be that way. There doesn't have to be huge costs associated with living more functionally.

What you're looking right now at are shots of Costa Rica, for example. The reason we point out this place and Dan Butner does is that it has the lowest rate of middle age mortality anywhere on the planet. And if you really go and try and investigate why that is, they'll say a lot has to do with the diet, a diet that's high in antioxidants and extremely high in calcium as well.

Another place that you're looking at right now is Greece. Take a look there, beautiful pictures. One in three people there live over the age of 90, so they actually have very good life expectancy over there. And almost no one has dementia. Dementia is something we worry about so much. They don't get it. And again, if you really try and investigate why, some of it may have to do with the teas that they drink, the type of food. Again, lots of antioxidants. But also the fact that they walk just about everywhere.

But again, the headline here, people in this country are going to be living longer. I think that's coming within the next 40 years. That life span is going to significantly increase, but there are lots of challenges with that that are already starting to be addressed.

Back to you.

HARRIS: All right, Sanjay, appreciate it. Great information.

He spent most of his life in prison, but lived long enough for a judge to rule on his innocence and set him free. James Bain talks to CNN, that's next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HARRIS: All right, it's got to be the story of the day. An innocent man, innocent man set free after 35 years behind bars. You heard me right there, locked up for a child rape until DNA evidence proved his innocence.

James Bain is one of our "Faces of the Story" today. He sat down with CNN's John Zarrella for an exclusive interview.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

JOHN ZARRELLA, CNN CORRESPONDENT: James Bain was convicted of raping a 9-year-old boy, that was 35 years ago. Only now after DNA testing has he been found innocent. We had a chance to talk with him exclusively.

Is it one of those things where you pinch yourself and you say is this really happening?

JAMES BAIN, EXONERATED BY DNA TESTING: No, it's not really that.

ZARRELLA: No?

BAIN: No, not really that.

ZARRELLA: Long overdue?

BAIN: There you go.

(LAUGHTER)

ZARRELLA: What -- were there times when after you knew this was about to happen where you would say to yourself, boy, I just don't know that this is -- I'm not going to believe it until I'm in that courthouse and they tell me I'm a free man?

UNIDENTIFIED JUDGE: Mr. Bain, I am now signing the order, sir. You are a free man. Congratulations.

(APPLAUSE)

BAIN: Well, in a sense, yes. But I had my trust in my lawyers from the beginning.

ZARRELLA: They did good for you.

BAIN: They did good.

ZARRELLA: Now, you did, what? Several times you filed your own appeals asking for a testing.

BAIN: Correct, correct.

ZARRELLA: And those were turned down?

BAIN: They was turned down every time.

ZARRELLA: And that was, what, three, four different occasions?

BAIN: Maybe a little more than that.

ZARRELLA: More than that?

BAIN: Yes.

ZARRELLA: And then once the Innocence Project got involved...

BAIN: Yes.

ZARRELLA: ... that changed things?

BAIN: That changed everything.

ZARRELLA: Tell me about it.

BAIN: Well, doing it yourself in prison is very complicated, because the state knows for a fact that it's hard for you to file paperwork, and you can't get no quick response from them.

ZARRELLA: You know, outside you had said that you weren't angry.

BAIN: No, I'm not angry, because I can't be angry because everybody did what they had to do when this occurred.

ZARRELLA: But it's so hard to believe that you spent 35 years of your life locked up for something you didn't do...

BAIN: Yes.

ZARRELLA: ... and you're turning the other cheek. You're just not angry.

BAIN: I can't be, sir.

ZARRELLA: The things you want to see...

BAIN: Yes.

ZARRELLA: ... things you want to do, what are some of those things?

BAIN: Well, I want to travel, because I didn't do that as a kid. Most of my time growing up was support the family. When I had the opportunity to leave, even to go to Nassau, where my father lived, I never went.

ZARRELLA: You didn't go?

BAIN: I'm the only one in the family that never been there. I prefer to stay home and support the family.

ZARRELLA: So, now I think you're probably going to make a trip to Nassau.

BAIN: Yes, I'm probably going to go there.

(LAUGHTER) ZARRELLA: Now that James Bain is a free man, authorities have an open case again, and the only question that remains is who really attacked that boy 35 years ago.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

HARRIS: Terrific story.

Here's what we're working on for the next hour of CNN NEWSROOM -- an American held hostage in Iraq for months, his face covered, his hands tied, kept in a hole in the ground. Our Michael Ware, once captive himself, talked with Roy Hallams about his long, strange ordeal.

Plus, parking the limo and taking public transit, we're punching your ticket for a nice ride into the English countryside. Your company? A nice older lady with a penchant for hats. Hmm, that and more ahead in the next hour of CNN NEWSROOM.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HARRIS: All right. Let's go here. President Obama showing signs of frustration at the U.N. Climate Change Conference in Denmark. He said the time for talk is over, action is needed. Participants from 193 nations are in Copenhagen to work on an agreement to reduce carbon emissions around the globe.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BARACK OBAMA, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: The time for talk is over. This is the bottom line. We can embrace this accord, take a substantial step forward, continue to refine it and build upon its foundation. We can do that, and everyone who is in this room will be part of a historic endeavor, one that makes life better for our children and our grandchildren, or we can choose delay.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HARRIS: Hmm. A symptom of a sick climate on vivid display in the Andes Mountains of South America. Here's senior Latin American affairs editor Rafael Romo.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

RAFAEL ROMO, CNN SENIOR LATIN AMERICAN AFFAIRS EDITOR (voice- over): In the Andes of Bolivia, scientists are looking closely at ice levels in glaciers that shoot some 6,000 meters, about 20,000 feet, above the sea. At these mountain peaks, known as the Huayna Potosi, some of the highest in South America, the ice is disappearing quickly.

EDSON RAMIREZ, UNESCO COORDINATOR (through translator): The frequency of precipitation has decreased and this is also related to an increase in temperature, which makes glaciers more prone to absorbing the sun's heat.

ROMO: Scientists say the Huayna Potosi peaks and the nearby peak Illimani Centinela near the Bolivian capital of La Paz may be gone in the next 50 years. The prediction is even more dire for smaller glaciers.

RAMIREZ (through translator): These smaller glaciers located at under 5,000 meters have a tendency to disappear in the next three decades.

ROMO: Chacaltaya (ph), which used to feature the highest ski slopes in the world, has all but disappeared, mirroring a phenomenon happening elsewhere in the Bolivian Andes. Severe drought and serious flooding in the tropical regions of the country have left thousands homeless and large patches of arable land have been destroyed.

CARLOS DIAZ, DIRECTOR, NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE (through translator): We have observed severe drought and flooding and too much water in some parts of in our territory and lack of water in some other territory.

ROMO: Bolivian authorities admit that local emissions maybe contributing to the problem as is deforestation. But at the global level, scientists estimate that Bolivia is only responsible for 0.3 of a percent of all emissions in the world, which is negligible when compared to the output of the industrialized nations.

RAMIREZ (through translator): We all live under the same roof and what each one of us does contributes to the problems that we all face.

ROMO (on camera): The scientists are also concerned about the negative effects of melting glaciers for a more practical and immediate reason. In Bolivia, glaciers act like water towers. If they disappear, millions of people are at risk of losing their own source of water, not only for human consumption, but also for irrigation and running hydroelectric plants.

Rafael Romo, CNN, Atlanta.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

HARRIS: And this Sunday night, Anderson Cooper and Dr. Sanjay Gupta take you to the front lines of the ultimate battle over natural resources. A CNN worldwide investigation, "PLANET IN PERIL" Sunday night, 8:00 p.m. Eastern time.