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Terrorist Attack in Pakistan Kills 90, Mostly Teenagers; President to Address Security Issues On Return From Vacation; Finance Experts Give Advice on How to Handle Home Finances in the New Year
Aired January 02, 2010 - 14:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
BROOKE BALDWIN, CNN ANCHOR: Next here at the CNN NEWSROOM, worldwide outrage after more than 90 people are killed, most of them teenagers, at, of all places, a volleyball game in Pakistan.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
BARACK OBAMA, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: I made it a priority to strengthen our partnership with the Yemeni government. All those involved in the attempted act of terrorism on Christmas, you, too, will be held to account.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BALDWIN: President Obama vows vengeance on the Christmas Day attempt of the lives of all those passengers onboard flight 253.
And living in a deep freeze -- looking at that makes me cold. It's 30 degrees below zero, that is just how cold it has been in parts of the Midwest. Hello.
And happy Saturday to you. I'm Brooke Baldwin sitting in for Fredricka Whitfield. You are in the CNN NEWSROOM on the first Saturday of the year 2010.
A new year, a new low for Pakistani militants suspected in a suicide bombing that has killed now more than 90 people at a volleyball tournament. Here now is CNN's Arwa Damon from Islamabad.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
ARWA DAMON, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: It's been a devastating start to the new year here in Pakistan. The people of Lakki Marwat taking to the streets mourning the victims of Friday's devastating suicide attack. The attack took place during a volleyball game in a residential neighborhood where some 200 people were gathered. Most of them were teenagers.
The force of the explosion was so large it also leveled eight buildings in the area. Police are saying that they believe the pick- up truck was packed with 300 kilograms of explosives.
We saw the death toll rise dramatically after the initial attack. That because police are saying it was difficult to initially ascertain how many people had been killed, but also because this is not an overly developed area. It is not equipped to deal with this type of an attack or with these types of casualties.
Local leaders saying that they believe that they were targeted because they supported a military operation to clear out this area of militants back in October. After that operation, they had formed a peace council, and said they received numerous threats from the militant.
Arwa Damon, CNN, Islamabad.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
BALDWIN: A Somali man with an axe who allegedly tried to break into the home of a controversial Danish cartoonist has now been charged with attempted assassination. The home, by the way, belongs to Kurt Westergaard. He's the man who drew that Prophet Mohammed cartoon. The prophet was wearing bomb as a turban.
The cartoon sparked a lot of uproar among Muslims specifically. And over the past few years here there have been multiple suspects arrested for plotting to kill that same cartoonist.
British Prime Minister Gordon Brown wants to stem the growth of extremism in Yemen. So he is requesting an international meeting later on this month in London, and that would coincide with a similar security conference on Afghanistan set for January 28th.
A milestone in Iraq. The U.S. military reports no, zero, U.S. combat deaths for the month of December. And that by the way is the first time since the war began nearly seven years ago that we've seen that number. 2009 it was the least violent year for U.S. troops in Iraq. The top generals call it progress.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
GEN. DAVID PETRAEUS, U.S. CENTCOM COMMANDER: There has been sustained progress, and that progress has been maintained even after U.S. forces moved out of the cities. That progress continued even as U.S. forces have drawn down now, as you heard me say, to about 110,000, and I am confident that progress will continue over the course of this new year as we reduce our forces further, as Iraqi forces continue to grow in capability and in number.
GEN. RAY ORDIERNO, COMMANDER, MULTINATIONAL FORCE-IRAQ: December was the first month since the war started that the U.S. had zero battle casualties in the month. We had three non-battle deaths, but zero deaths due to combat operations inside of Iraq.
And that is a fairly significant milestone for us as we continue to move forward. I think it also speaks to the level of violence and how it's decreased over time.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BALDWIN: Certainly some encouraging news out of Iraq. But Afghanistan, there is this big political setback now for President Hamid Karzai. Afghanistan's Parliament has rejected 70 percent of his choices for a new cabinet, including the only woman nominated.
Karzai's choices were seen as a first test of his quest to build a legitimate and accountable government. Many of the nominees were criticized for having been picked for reasons other than their competency.
And back in our nation's capital here, the Senate Republican leader strikes an optimistic note, if you will, during the GOP's weekly radio address, Mitch McConnell saying he understands why voters might be a little bit weary of the political infighting in the nation's capital.
But he also says disagreements are indispensable to a healthy democracy. And while the U.S. certainly faces major challenges here, the minority leader predicts better days ahead.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SEN. MITCH MCCONNELL, (R) MINORITY LEADER: Two long and difficult wars, a prolonged recession, double-digit unemployment, these are difficult days for our nation. And in this new year, we're grateful for the courageous men and women of our own day who keep a lonely watch to defend the cause of liberty.
We are also painfully aware of how many Americans were out of work this Christmas, but these challenges don't define us as a people. What's always defined Americas its ability to overcome even the most daunting difficulties.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BALDWIN: President Barack Obama is pledging to hold accountable everyone involved in that botched terror plot back on Christmas Day.
CNN's senior White House correspondent Ed Henry has been traveling with the president there in Honolulu, looking like a beautiful day, but a big day for the president coming out officially on record saying, yes, we are linking this thwarted bomb plot to Al Qaeda. The president is talking tough today.
ED HENRY, CNN SENIOR WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: That's right, absolutely, Brooke. Happy New Year to you. The president clearly saying for the first time in the strongest language that he believes there was an Al Qaeda link to this terror incident on Christmas Day, basically linking it to the Al Qaeda group of the Arabia peninsula.
He made clear to Americans he is fighting extremists, terrorists in Yemen particularly, where it's believed there are these ties, number one.
But number two, he is also tough on U.S. officials, saying if there are intelligence officials who had some information suggesting there could be an attack, suggesting this eventual suspect had ties to extremists and they didn't share that information, as it appears they failed to do, he will hold them accountable.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
OBAMA: It's now been more than a week since the attempted act of terrorism onboard the flight in Detroit on Christmas Day. On Thursday I received the preliminary findings of the review that I ordered into our terrorist watch list system and air travel screening.
I directed my counterterrorism and homeland security advisor at the White House, John Brennan, to lead these reviews going forward and to present the final results and recommendations to me in the days to come.
As I said this week, I will do everything in my power to make sure our hard working men and women in our intelligence, law enforcement, and homeland security communities have the tools and resources they need to keep America safe.
This includes making sure these communities and the people in them are coordinating effectively and are held accountable at every level.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HENRY: Now, typically this Saturday, a radio Internet address is on domestic issues, the economy, health care, et cetera. This is the first time in a while that it's on security, a clear signal this White House realizes that the terror issue, national security, the challenges on the home front clearly are back on the front burner, Brooke.
BALDWIN: On the front burner, we know that the president and the first family will be traveling from Hawaii, the vacation will be over, back to Washington. And how will the president implement these plans? He talked in that radio address about the tools and resources needed. How will he then implement the plan?
HENRY: The biggest thing to look at is Tuesday when he's really got his first full day back at the White House. He'll go into the situation room for a security meeting with the head of CIA and other intelligence chiefs.
And basically he could be calling them on the carpet to find out what went wrong, but also, more importantly, what he has been stressing both in his address today and in recent days here in Hawaii is the more important thing is to find out what the intelligence community is learning from this, what fixes need to be made so that they can toughen things up and prevent future attacks. That is of course the most important part of all, Brooke.
BALDWIN: We will look to that Tuesday night. Ed Henry reporting the last few days from the beautiful Honolulu, Hawaii. Ed Henry, Mahalo to you.
HENRY: Happy New Year.
BALDWIN: Thank you.
Now, tonight CNN will be bringing you a special look at what some people are calling really a breeding ground of terrorism, disaffected young Muslims. Our Christiane Amanpour hosts "The War Within." That show begins at 8:00 eastern only right here on CNN.
And if you spent a little bit too much money this holiday season, we have got you covered. Coming up, the first family of finance. There they are -- hi, guys. It's good to see you. The Dolans are here to show you how we can get ahead in the new year. We'll be right back.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
BALDWIN: Are you looking for ways to save money? Who isn't, really, these days? Look no further than the Dolans. They have all the answers to your personal finance questions. There they are, Ken and Daria Dolan.
KEN DOLAN, DOLANS.COM: Hi, Brooke. Happy New Year.
BAIER: Hello, happy New Year to you all as well. And I know your big advice to all of us is don't overspend, don't overspend. And some of us perhaps ignoring that advice, I guess?
DARIA DOLAN, DOLANS.COM: Unfortunately. And I've already made my new year's resolution to save more money. I'm getting rid of Ken.
KEN DOLAN: No -- 200 pounds of ugly fat.
BALDWIN: How do you feel about that, Ken, you like that resolution?
KEN DOLAN: We talked a couple of weeks ago about not overextending. But of course it's an emotional time of the year -- oh, my gosh, I forgot somebody, and so the credit card goes down. And so some things we are talking about right now, if you think of overspending, get all the credit card bills, what you spent over the holidays, get it in one place. Step number one, see what you owe.
DARIA DOLAN: Then if you can't afford to be paying for this all in full, then what you want to do is be sure you make them at least the minimum payment on all your credit cards that were used, preferably minimum on the lowest interest rate cards and more if you can see your way clear to do it on the highest interest rate cards.
BALDWIN: Some of it can seem so daunting because when you look at the number, it can seem huge, and so perhaps just chipping away.
KEN DOLAN: And Brooke, that's a good point, because as you look at that number and you take Daria's advice, the importance of minimum payment, which makes a lot of sense, if you simply can't do it and you're totally flipped out, it is so important our CNN viewers call the creditors.
The last thing creditors need is a surprise. "Hey, I'm over my head, I can't make minimum payments, let's work it out together."
DARIA DOLAN: And for everybody, the quickest, easiest, no-fail new year's resolution is to, if you already have them, get rid of the department store credit cards. Their interest rates are way too high.
KEN DOLAN: And you get a lot of junk mail from them.
DARIA DOLAN: For the rest of us, don't succumb to the "you'll say an extra 10 percent if you open up a charge account with us." Learn how to say no.
BALDWIN: Streamline.
What about when we think so much about our credit score, and some people need to go to debt management counselors. And people are worried would that hurt their credit score by seeing one?
KEN DOLAN: They call them a DMP, a debt management program.
DARIA DOLAN: I will say this quickly before Ken answers this. We used to have a friend who did our radio show with us a great deal who headed up a nonprofit consumer credit counseling service.
And he said if you've got -- if you're having problems paying your bills, you're going to look bad no matter what you do, so you might as well get it fixed the right way.
KEN DOLAN: Can a DMP maybe impinge negatively on your credit score? The answer is it may or may not, Brooke. But here is the deal. I don't want you to get foreclosed on. I don't want you to go bankrupt. We don't want you to go far, far back in your credit card payment, because that will kill you more than the debt management. Get help.
BALDWIN: So get help.
DARIA DOLAN: And FICO says they do not use a DMP on your credit rating negatively against your credit score. So it may show up in your credit history, but it's not going to necessarily lower your score.
KEN DOLAN: It's a good alternative for a lot of people.
BALDWIN: Real quickly, I know we have a break and we are bringing you guys back. Real quickly, what are some of the hot careers for 2010? Where should people go to look for work?
DARIA DOLAN: Let me just say this. Get all your skills as upgraded as you can if you're looking for work. Statistically right now there are six workers looking for every one position.
KEN DOLAN: Get better at what you do and get new skills. Two very hot areas are computers -- trouble shooters, computer systems, computer support. Another area, of course, as we are all getting older and needing more care, and that's health care -- registered nurses, physical therapists, a medical records analyst. DARIA DOLAN: Dental assistants.
KEN DOLAN: Yes.
BALDWIN: And stick around, because on the other side of the break --
KEN DOLAN: We're leaving, Brooke.
BALDWIN: Please don't leave. Stick around, because we have amazingly educated viewers who you know they have some questions, and I have a feeling you have some answers, so nobody go anywhere. We'll be right back
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
BALDWIN: Checking on your top stories here.
A Somali man is charged with the attempted assassination of the Danish cartoonist who offended Muslims with that drawing of the Prophet Mohammed wearing a turban shaped like a bomb. Police say an axe and knife wielding man who tried to break into Kurt Westergaard's home lest night had terrorist ties. The suspect was shot but not severely injured.
New Year's celebrations got a little bit out of hand in at least two states. Listen to this -- a four-year-old boy attending a New Year's Eve church service in suburban Atlanta was killed when a stray bullet came ripping through the roof, hit him in the head.
Also in Georgia, a Savannah man was hit with a bullet that went through his roof while he was sleeping. He is expected to recover.
And in a Miami a six-year-old boy was struck by a stray bullet on New Year's Eve while dining outside with his family. Fortunately, he is expected to be OK.
And fans of "American Idol" and "The Simpsons" can breathe a sigh of relief here. The FOX Network and Time Warner cable have struck a last minute deal. The exact details have not been released yet, but we can tell you that FOX had threatened to pull its lineup unless it received a dollar per subscriber every month.
Let's go back and talk to our favorite first family of finance -- that's a lot of alliteration -- Ken and Daria Dolan joining us as always every weekend. They have a lot of answers with your personal finance questions.
It's New Year and you guys have this list, a top seven list of things we should all be doing to put our financial house in order.
DARIA DOLAN: One that we didn't put on the list that should be above and beyond all the others is think positively.
KEN DOLAN: OK.
DARIA DOLAN: It's going to be tough, but think positive.
KEN DOLAN: You're right. I like that. That's a message of hope, because we'll get out of this.
Number one, get organized. Get a basic filing system. If somebody needs to find something, a mortgage, a deed, life insurance policy, where is all that stuff? Basic filing.
DARIA DOLAN: Also, start saving. If you can save even a buck, put a buck away. Every little bit helps. And all those brokerage statements that you stuck in that bottom desk drawer or maybe put close to the circular file, get them out and take a look at what you've been doing and plan on making some changes.
KEN DOLAN: Here is a wacky concept, Brooke, here is a whacky concept -- get your debt under control and live on less than you earn. Oh, my heavens.
BALDWIN: Easier said than done, guys.
DARIA DOLAN: It is, but you know something? You can shop more wisely this year by taking your time, because there will be more deals down the road when they realize the consumer isn't coming back like he or she used to.
KEN DOLAN: There's a start.
BALDWIN: OK, that was seven...
KEN DOLAN: And actually we combined two. In the last one Daria happened to mention a minute ago, and that is increase your job skills and get better at what you do and new job skills.
BALDWIN: That's seven.
Let's bring in Josh Levs. He's got some questions as always we hear from our folks online. John, what do you hear?
KEN DOLAN: Josh, how is your kid?
JOSH LEVS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: He's great. Thank you. They're doing great.
DARIA DOLAN: Are you sleeping more now?
LEVS: No, less.
BALDWIN: He's still working the weekends for us.
LEVS: What are you going to do? It's this economy, right?
KEN DOLAN: You have to pay for the baby food.
LEVS: Brooke has her alliteration for her. I call you the dynamic Dolan duo. Are you guys ready to do this?
KEN DOLAN: We're ready.
LEVS: First question from our viewers coming from Nancy. She wants to know, and this is interesting -- "My husband passed away in February 2008. Our properties are paid off, two kids in college with 529s." Now, the bank has written to Nancy saying that she owes on an old credit card that was in her deceased husband's name.
KEN DOLAN: That's a very good question, Nancy, and you may not like the answer. Technically you are not responsible for debts not in your name. But it's a little bit tricky in their particular case.
DARIA DOLAN: Because you became the beneficiary, I'm guessing, of you are your entire husband's estate, meaning anything that he had just stayed with you, and I'm guessing as well that you probably didn't need to use an executor for a will because everything was jointly owned.
Ergo, the loss of this particular bill that might actually be owed by him has to be paid by his estate.
LEVS: I think she wants to know why it took so long. Is there something tantamount to a statute of limitations here? I mean, back to February 28, 2002? It's been a while.
KEN DOLAN: That is a while. She can check with her state department, consumer protection at her attorney general's office and see if there might be some statute in her particular state to protect her.
DARIA DOLAN: And she needs to ascertain that it truly is his by asking them to send a copy.
LEVS: She wants paperwork to back that up.
All, let's get this next one from Danielle. She's a self- employed free lance artist. She says "I've been surviving on commissions while carrying an additional supplemental part time job. I'm wondering the best route to go in terms of obtaining grants and financial aid to establish my own studio home office."
Guys, I like this one a lot because there are a lot of people out there asking where can you find funding in this economy to get your own business going.
DARIA DOLAN: First place I want her to check on, because although it's not working all that well for everybody and their brother -- are you making fun of me?
KEN DOLAN: I was talking to somebody else here.
DARIA DOLAN: Stop that.
(LAUGHTER)
DARIA DOLAN: The Small Business Administration has a division strictly for women. I think she needs to go to sba.gov and take a look at what's available there. I guarantee you, it takes a while, it's the government, but they are looking to get more women into their own businesses. That is a great starting place.
KEN DOLAN: I have two quick ones, guys -- Entrepreneur.com, that's the Web site of "Entrepreneur" magazine, super stuff, especially for women, and also another good Web site on financial aid, et cetera, businesses, myAmericanbenefits.com.
BALDWIN: That's so interesting. I had no idea they had those specific areas for women.
LEVS: I'll take those links from you and I'll post them on online for everyone.
But I think we have time. Let's get to this third question here. This is also about credit and comes from Mike from my blog. "With credit card companies raising interest rates and they're offering you the choice between accepting and opting out, will opting out hurt my credit?"
A lot of people asking similar questions about that opt-out option.
KEN DOLAN: Especially with all these rules taking place in February, it's like you're driving me crazy.
So the answer is, I have no problem opting out. I'm of the opinion it is not going to hurt you. How anybody can be hurt opting out of an overly expensive credit card with the grace periods that don't make sense, I say opt out.
DARIA DOLAN: Not so quick, debit breath. If this is a long- standing card, an old card that you have had around for years and years and years, believe it or not, closing it on your own desires can hurt your credit rating, lower your credit score.
KEN DOLAN: Especially if you had good payment history.
DARIA DOLAN: And if you have a good payment history.
LEVS: That's interesting. So it depends on how long he's had that card.
DARIA DOLAN: Exactly.
KEN DOLAN: And you're good payment on it, John.
LEVS: Wow.
Let's quickly bring up the fourth one. This one comes from Suzanne. And she says "Eighteen months ago I transferred a traditional IRA to my brokerage firm. They mistakenly placed the funds in a Roth. Now they are advising that I must file an amended return. Can they not correct this matter?"
First of all what options does she have? And also ethically, what should they do?
KEN DOLAN: I love that question.
DARIA DOLAN: Which begs the point of one of the things we said to get organized -- check your brokerage statements. If she had really looked at a brokerage statement that came in after that transfer, she would have known or at least had enough sense to question when there was still time to fix this.
KEN DOLAN: Here's the deal. If she owes taxes, she has to pay taxes. The brokerage, IRS will forgive her the penalties if she can prove it was the brokerage's fault. Payment, yes, with interest, yes, penalties, no. Fight it if it's a brokerage fault.
DARIA DOLAN: Contact an accountant.
(CROSSTALK)
BALDWIN: All right, everyone, thank you.
And, as always, you can head to the Dolans' Web site, which is dolans.com. This week they'll be taking a look at how you can find money for college. And if you're looking for tax deductions on your new job searches, you can get all the tips. Again, that is dolans.com.
And it is the new year and it is below freezing in Minnesota. So what are you all going to do? Jump into the freezing water if you have the guts. Only here in the CNN NEWSROOM.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
BALDWIN: New year, new snow. A New England snowstorm is threatening to keep people indoors all weekend long. Heavy snow, strong winds expected in Vermont, New Hampshire, and Maine. They are forecasting a foot or more possibly of snow in Portland, Maine, by the end of this weekend.
(WEATHER REPORT)
BALDWIN: Forget about reinventing the wheel. Let it roll.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
MR. JALOPY, MAKER'S MOVEMENT: It makes green sense. It makes financial sense. And it just makes good sense. You need to be able to modify, hack, repair, rebuild, and reuse the stuff you buy.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BALDWIN: We will introduce you to this man. He is a hard-core recycler dedicated to the re-purposed-drive life.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
BALDWIN: Checking our top stories for you now, mourning and funerals in Pakistan today, the death toll climbing even higher as that suicide truck bomber detonated his ride in the middle of a crowded volleyball match. At least 93 people are dead, dozens more wounded.
It all happened Friday in the lawless tribal region of northwest Pakistan. Locals have been fighting to keep the Taliban at bay.
Gay and lesbian couples can legally get married in the state of New Hampshire. Dozens of couples waited for the clock to strike midnight or 12:01 a.m. Friday for the new law to go into effect. New Hampshire, by the way, the fifth state now to allow same-sex marriage.
Washington area police are investigating a reported locker room standoff between two NBA players. According to "The New York Post" Gilbert Arenas and Javaris Crittenton of the Washington Wizards drew guns on each other during a debt dispute. Arenas denies pulling a weapon. The team is investigating those allegations.
And today we are highlighting some of our very favorite stories from CNN's "In Focus" series. And one man takes what others might throw away and he finds new uses for them. He is the leader of a phenomenon called Maker Movement. Photojournalist John Targoey shows us how Mr. Jalopy is helping the environment in the process.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
MR. JALOPY: I'm Mr. Jalopy, the proprietor of Coco's Variety. This is my personal workshop where I run my art business, build the machines that I dream up.
The hands-off era is over. Landfills filled with cheap plastic bands and broken vacuum cleaners. And we're feeling the crunch economically. Maybe this stuff should be reparable. It's reasonable that an individual should be able to do that. It makes green sense. It makes financial sense, and it just makes good sense.
When this Farnsworth radio cabinet originally showed up in somebody's house, all the neighbors came over to see it. I wanted to update it to what would make sense in my life now. So it's got a computer in it, and it syncs up to the iPod.
I'm not a collector of any single thing. I'm looking broadly for pocket knives and bicycles and old car parts and mechanical gauges. My favorite stuff I find along the way are the things that are worn by human hands.
The best object I've ever gotten was this lowly Skippy jar. It's all the earthly treasures of a kid in the '50s.
This is my urban guerilla drive-in movie theater.
The Maker Movement brought together a bunch of disparate groups of people that were doing interesting making, electronics or crafting. I wrote an article called "The Maker's Bill of Rights." If you can't open it, then you don't own it. You need to be able to modify, hack, repair, rebuild, and reuse the stuff that you buy. I think that's the great thing about the Maker Movement is that it is a group of passionate individuals that are willing to make those mistakes.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
BALDWIN: And now I'm joined by CNN photojournalist Bethany Swain. And she's the one who's in charge of this whole thing, the creator of our in focus series.
And Bethany, during the commercial break I just became a fan of your "In Focus" on Facebook. We'll push our viewers to that in just a minute. My first question to you, and hello, by the way, is why take on green solutions specifically?
BETHANY SWAIN, CNN PHOTOJOURNALIST, CREATOR, "IN FOCUS" SERIES: The environment is a really important issue. And we wanted to tell stories about people not just talking about being green but actually were doing it and living it, such as Mr. Jalopy. And it was an interesting way he is living his life and recycling beyond cans of plastic bags that are the traditional way of recycling.
BALDWIN: And I never heard of the Maker Movement, but there you go. but let's back up a minute. What is this "In Focus" series? Explain.
SWAIN: We started the project two years ago, and basically, we take on a topic and we'll do 12 to 14 stories by different photojournalists across the network. And the pieces are written, shot, produced and edited by the photojournalists.
We kind of like to put a different spin and a different angle adding to our perspective. We've taken on this year the environment, health care, military jobs, and getting in hard times. And the pieces are different because there is no reporter involved. Its' just the photojournalist and a lot of the persons tell their own story.
BALDWIN: Sometimes that's the best way. Chuck the reporter to the side just let the story speak for itself. You have to have some favorites of all the different "In Focus" pieces. What are one or two of yours?
SWAIN: Absolutely. We did over 80 stories this year, and there are 14 that are in the hour that's airing in about 15 minutes. And one of them is the piece you just saw.
And another one of my favorites we are holding to the very, very end, and it's about a man who plays taps in Long Island. There are a lot of military funerals out there that will have taps played as a recording. He now tries to make to them as many as possible. It's a touching way to finish off the hour.
Another of my favorite pieces is at the top by photojournalist Chris Turner. And he goes to the Martin Guitar Factory in Pennsylvania. For 175 years they've been making guitars. And in our series "Jobs That Last," we look at different industries and different people who have been doing the same jobs for generations, and that was one of those jobs we did, and Chris did a great job telling that story.
BALDWIN: So awesome, I look forward to it. We'll be watching it in 15 minutes. Bethany Swain, thank you. And just to remind our viewers, you can go to Facebook.com/CNNinfocus and become a fan. Fantastic. Again, the full hour of "Favorites In Focus" coming your way in our next our in about 14 minutes from now, 3:00 p.m. eastern time only here on CNN.
Aliens, man-dates, and the fate of the world on the line. What are we talking about? We'll find out. Stay right here.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
BALDWIN: That is a cool montage. 2009 was an eclectic year, if you will, at the box office, with everything from quarantined space aliens to Nazi hunters and everything in between.
Joining us with his top 11 movies, because you're being fun there, movies of 2009, film critic and host of Turner Classic Movies, Ben Mankiewicz. Ben, good to see you in person.
BEN MANKIEWICZ, HOST, TURNER CLASSIC MOVIES: It's good to be here in person.
BALDWIN: So the first movie, this is "I Love You, Man." Before we talk about it, let's take a look.
MANKIEWICZ: OK.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Will you marry me?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Yes.
He already booked the place we went for the long weekend.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: So romantic.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: My sister is on speaker phone.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: That's where you had sex the first time, right? Marry him. Lock that stud down, girl.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BALDWIN: So I totally saw that. I dragged my boyfriend to it. I think it's the kind of movie you can take a guy to it, as well. So he popped the question and then he realizes he doesn't have any good friends, and so he goes on man-dates.
MANKIEWICZ: That's right. Women are impressed with him. He has plenty of female friends, but he doesn't have any male friends.
I thought they were two great comedies this year, because I also thought "The Hangover" was great. But somehow I thought "The Hangover" relied a little bit more on what you were seeing and the circumstances, I thought "I Love You Man" by writer director John Hamburg, exceptionally well written. I wanted to reward it by putting it on the coveted top 11 spot.
BALDWIN: And by the way, we are doing 11 through 7 now.
MANKIEWICZ: Right. And Paul Rudd is so good.
BALDWIN: You have man crush?
MANKIEWICZ: We have people coming up who I have man crushes on. I have a little man crush on Paul Rudd.
BALDWIN: Next one, "In the Loop." I love James Galdolfini.
MANKIEWICZ: James Gandolfini, also a terrific actor named David Gruchet. This is based on a British miniseries and it's really about sort of the American and British undersecretaries of state and defense and how they sort of bungled and deceived all of us into the Iraq war while they never actually mention the phrase "Iraq." It's just a generic Middle Eastern war. But it's satire at its best and it's really well-written and really fun.
BALDWIN: It's a big, big critic hit.
MANKIEWICZ: Nobody actually saw it in the theater.
BALDWIN: I didn't, but it's on the list.
Number nine, "District Nine." Let's take a quick look at a clip.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Breaking news, the whole world is watching. The course of human history changed today.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: The ship appears to be stopping over Johannesburg city.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: They are spending so much money to keep them here. At least they are keeping them separate from us.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BALDWIN: When you talk about this, you have to mention the special effects.
MANKIEWICZ: Special effects are impressive, no question.
But it's a great story. I'm not a huge science fiction fan. This is science fiction at its best. A spaceship shows up in Johannesburg in 1982. The aliens aren't evil, but they are segregated, put into a camp in South Africa.
And then a multinational corporation wants to move them to another place. They obviously have ulterior motives. Multi-national corporations are always the bad guys in the movies. And they're looking to move the aliens.
It's a great, great story from a disciple of Peter Jackson.
BALDWIN: Yes, Peter Jackson, "Lord of the Rings" trilogy, excellent.
Next one, this is on my list. It's called "An Education," best actress nominee for golden globe, sort of a coming of age story.
MANKIEWICZ: Yes, a 16-year-old British girl studies hard, wants to go to Oxford. Starts a romantic relationship with a guy twice her age, Peter Sarsgaard.
BALDWIN: Love him.
MANKIEWICZ: And you know something is wrong. And he shows her a life she never imagined, and her parents are won over by him, too. Alfred Molina plays her father. He is always great.
BALDWIN: And finally number seven, I think I'm the only person on the planet who hasn't seen this, "Up."
MANKIEWICZ: You may be the only person on the planet. It's fabulous. Pixar has made ten movies. They are all pretty good. I think this is the best.
BALDWIN: We have a clip.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Have you seen a bird? I want to find one. And I've been on the scent. I'm a great tracker. Did I mention that?
Hey, that is a bird. May I take your bird back to camp as my prisoner?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes, yes, take it. And on the way learn how to bark like a real dog.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I can bark. And here's howling.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Can we keep him, please, please, please?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: No.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: But it's a talking dog.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BALDWIN: Pixar has some big names. MANKIEWICZ: Ed Asner is Carl Frederickson. This movie could be the best animated movie I've ever seen. It certainly has the best montage I've ever seen. It is sweet and it is tender. And it will make you cry, and it's funny and it's wonderful. I think everybody should see it.
The more I talk about it, I think I should have put it higher on the list.
BALDWIN: OK, really. Then I'll put it higher on my list.
So hang out. That has been the seven through 11 of the best movies of 2009. So what has made his top six? Ben will be back at 4:00 eastern time with the best of the bunch. So Ben, see you then.
MANKIEWICZ: Not going anywhere.
BALDWIN: All right, and we have our first winner, the new year's first born child, next.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
BALDWIN: You could call her the first Rose of 2010. About four seconds after the fireworks started ushering in the new year, here she is. Olivia Rose Allen was born.
She is believed to be the first baby born in the U.S. this year. She is weighing in at seven pounds and just under 14 ounces. This little cutie here, the second daughter of Adrian and Jerry Allen of Baltimore, Maryland. Her birth marks the third time in seven years that the first new year's baby was born in the Baltimore area. That's funky.
(WEATHER REPORT)
BALDWIN: Once again, I'm Brooke Baldwin. I'll be back live at 4:00 eastern.
Until then, a special presentation of "Favorites In Focus" begins right now.
