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Threats of al Qaeda in Yemen; First War Deaths of New Year; Federal Agents Shot in Vegas

Aired January 04, 2010 - 12:00   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.


BROOKE BALDWIN, CNN ANCHOR: We will hear more on this situation in Yemen when Paula Newton joins us live from Dubai at the half-hour. Stay around for that.

Meantime, checking the CNN wire now.

The U.S. military commander for the Mideast, General David Petraeus, met with Yemen's president about al Qaeda and its growing threat.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

GEN. DAVID PETRAEUS, COMMANDER, U.S. CENTRAL COMMAND: It's a country that has a lot of challenges -- the Hutis in the north, some southern secessionists in the south, a reduction in oil production, although gas is going up, thankfully. But a youth bulge, many of the challenges of countries that are in the process of development, rugged terrain, tribal areas and so forth.

So very important, indeed, that Yemen has taken the actions that it has. And, indeed, that not just the United States, but countries in the region, its neighbors and so forth, have provided -- they in particular have provided significant assistance.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BALDWIN: Tougher security measures starting today for airline travelers headed to the U.S. from 14 different nations. This list compiled in part by the State Department, listing four of these countries as nations that sponsor terror. That is Cuba, Sudan, Syria and Iran.

The other countries are considered simply what they're calling countries of interest. They are Afghanistan, Algeria, Iraq, Lebanon, Libya, Nigeria, Pakistan, Saudi Arabia, Somalia and Yemen. Now, passengers coming in from other countries could still face enhanced security for other reasons, according to State Department.

Once again, a quick update here on what's going on right now in downtown Las Vegas.

What we are hearing from the Metropolitan Police Department in Las Vegas, two, possibly three, security guards, or two federal marshals, were shot in the lobby of this federal courthouse. In fact, I'm literally being handed information. Let me read it for you right now.

This is coming from Barbara Morgan (ph), Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department. Here's what happened.

Reports came that a person in the lobby had fired shots. This was 8:00 a.m. Pacific, 11:00 a.m. Eastern. Two to three officers had been shot. They are believed to be one security guard and two federal agents. So three in total here shot.

Their conditions still unknown to us at this point in time. The suspect was shot and apprehended just about a block away from the federal building. His condition is unknown at this point in time. We have learned also that he was using some sort of shotgun in the confrontation.

The federal building which you're looking at live pictures thanks to KVVU, live pictures, the building, as you can imagine, it's been evacuated just simply as a precautionary measure. What they're doing right now is these other agents are getting inside, police. They are searching this building for any possible additional suspects.

It's always a fear here, that the suspects may not have been working alone. The building, by the way, is also where the FBI is housed. But other than the three officers who is shot, from this Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department spokesperson, there were no additional people in the lobby at the time.

And that is the latest bit of information we're getting on this breaking story out of Las Vegas. We'll update it as soon as we get anything else from them.

The U.S. military is reporting its very first war deaths of the new year. Here's what we're hearing. Four soldiers killed in this roadside bombing in Afghanistan.

CNN's Atia Abawi joining me from Kabul to talk more about this.

And Atia, you know better than any of us here, roadside bombings remain a huge threat to U.S. personnel there.

ATIA ABAWI, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Absolutely, Brooke. It's considered the number one killer for coalition troops here in Afghanistan. We had those four U.S. soldiers killed in southern Afghanistan yesterday, as well as a U.K. soldier on foot patrol in Helmand province, also in southern Afghanistan.

Last year, 514 coalition troops were killed in the country. The majority of those because of IED. Seventy percent of American casualties here in Afghanistan in 2009 were because of these roadside bombs, up 400 percent compared to 2007.

And although these were the first casualties for coalition forces here in 2010, it should also be mentioned that we spoke to our Afghan military source up in northern Afghanistan who tells us that his men, as well as with the U.S. forces, were able to kill 20 Taliban insurgents, including their commander, on the same day that these men died in the south -- Brooke.

BALDWIN: Atia, I want to just talk now about the Afghan government. You know, the parliament turning down these nominees for President Karzai's cabinet. I know one of them was the only female nominee.

So what does this say really about the stability of Afghanistan?

ABAWI: Well, it could say two things right now, Brooke. It could say, one, that the Afghan government, they were not obviously happy with President Karzai's choices. Many of the parliamentarians that I've spoken to have said that he basically chose people who helped him in the campaign, people that he made promises to so he could get the presidency again.

But another way of looking at this is, it's really democracy in action. Here you have the parliament, who are turning down President Karzai's choices. But we should also mention, two weeks earlier, when I asked President Karzai at a press conference why he didn't have more female choices -- he had only had one in his cabinet list -- he pretty much conceded that he knew that the parliament would reject a lot of his choices, and he told me that he expects to have more and more females within the cabinet, within this cabinet, ,and women throughout the government -- Brooke.

BALDWIN: Atia Abawi for us in Kabul, Afghanistan.

Atia, thank you.

We will take an inside look at what is being called the world's newest, tallest building.

First, though, our "Random Moment" in 90 seconds.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BALDWIN: Basketball player or gunslinger? Washington Wizards guard Gilbert Arenas, also known as "Agent Zero," brings us our "Random Moment of the Day." And he is in the hot seat now for having guns in the locker room. He says it was meant as a joke.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

GILBERT ARENAS, WASHINGTON WIZARDS PLAYER: And I agree, you know, that's bad judgment on my part, you know, storing them here. And I take responsibility for that.

If you know me, you've been here, I never did anything violent. Anything I do, it's funny. Well, it's funny to me.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BALDWIN: We thought it might be worth noting here, the Washington Wizards old name, you remember? The Washington Bullets.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK) BALDWIN: Want to take you back to our breaking story downtown Las Vegas.

You are looking at reporter Tina Patel with our affiliate KTNV. It looks like they're about to interview one of the Metropolitan Police officers in Vegas.

Let's listen.

(JOINED IN PROGRESS)

SPECIAL AGENT JOSEPH DICKEY, FBI: ... as to what happened this morning.

Approximately at 8:00 a.m., there was a shooting at the Lloyd D. George Federal Court building in Las Vegas. Two personnel inside the building were injured during the shooting. One suspect has been shot and killed at this point.

At this point, we are clearing the building. It's a rather large building. It's going to take some time, so we ask for your patience at this point.

We'll be back shortly, when I get more facts, but...

QUESTION: Do you have any information on the condition of your marshals?

DICKEY: We're still waiting to hear that.

QUESTION: They were shot inside the building?

DICKEY: Correct.

QUESTION: And any information on how a gunman got in the building?

DICKEY: At this point we don't know. And again, I apologize. That's some brief facts at this point. We'll be back shortly. We're attempting to clear the building at this point.

QUESTION: Were they marshals?

QUESTION: Are they marshals or are they FBI agents?

DICKEY: No. At this point, we're not releasing that information. So two people were injured inside the building.

QUESTION: How many people have been evacuated so far?

DICKEY: We're evacuating the entire building and clearing the entire building at this point.

QUESTION: And you're still in that process?

DICKEY: Yes, and that may take time. I'll be back as quickly as I can with more facts. OK?

Thank you. All right. Thank you, guys. Appreciate it.

QUESTION: Can we get your name and your title.

DICKEY: Yes. Special Agent Joseph Dickey. Common spelling of Joseph.

BALDWIN: All right. And that was a special agent speaking with one of our affiliate reporters there in Las Vegas, just basically updating the situation after these two federal marshals were shot in the lobby this morning.

This federal courthouse in Vegas, the new bit that we just got, you heard it. The suspect, who was shot about a block from the federal courthouse after this whole thing went down, he was shot and killed.

Live pictures over the scene. A whole lot of traffic, a whole lot of patrol cars as they're working right now to evacuate the building, clear the building. They want to see if there's possibly any other suspects inside or if this was a lone gunman.

Actually, we're going to go back now.

And are we listening in to a reporter?

TINA PATEL, REPORTER, KTNV: ... were actually federal marshals. Whether they were with the FBI, they said they don't want to release those facts right now.

But two people inside the building were injured. The suspect was shot and was killed.

Now, this all happened at 8:00 in the morning. They said right now, they are inside that federal building trying to clear the building, make sure that it is completely clear. That is all the information that they're going to give right now. But they say they will try to keep us updated throughout the morning so we can, of course, keep you updated at home -- Lisa and Casey (ph).

BALDWIN: And again, that was one of our affiliate reporters. That was Tina Patel, just basically recapping what I just told you was happening in Las Vegas.

The big question -- well, a couple big questions. The first being, what is the condition right now of those two federal agents who were shot in this lobby? Really, question number two is, how in the world did a guy carry a shotgun inside this federal building?

We will work to answer those questions and stay on top of the story here. It's still unfolding out of Las Vegas.

Meantime, we are also keeping our eye on the cold, brutal cold outside for much of the nation. But the worst apparently is yet to come. Severe weather expert Chad Myers joining us next. (COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(WEATHER REPORT)

BALDWIN: It is a new year with a new focus on threats from al Qaeda. Just ahead, we look at the various terror networks finding a home in Yemen.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BALDWIN: Want to update our top stories now.

Authorities say two workers were shot and wounded in the lobby of this federal courthouse there in Las Vegas. And what we're hearing from U.S. marshals in D.C., one of them was a deputy U.S. marshal, the other was a court security guard.

Police say the gunman was shot and killed. A U.S. Marshals Office spokesperson confirms the wounded, as I said, a deputy U.S. marshal and a security officer. Authorities are working to clear and secure the building.

The Secret Service is investigating a doll -- there it is -- found hanging by a rope from this building. This is in President Jimmy Carter's hometown of Plains, Georgia. It appears to be an effigy of President Obama. It has been taken down.

With the new decade comes a new census. The Census Bureau kicking off its survey of American households at an event in new York today. The form should be in your mailbox sometime in March. Hey, it's only 10 questions. They say this is one of the shortest censuses ever.

And as we've been telling you, the new year begins with a new and perhaps, we should say, renewed public focus on terrorism. President Obama is vowing to hit back at al Qaeda after a failed attack on a U.S. airliner.

He is back in Washington today after a vacation, a working vacation, really, in Hawaii. He will be meeting today with Deputy National Security Adviser John Brennan and a CIA representative. Then tomorrow the president will be sitting down with his full national security team.

For more on that, here is CNN's Jim Acosta.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

BARACK OBAMA, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: And all those involved in the attempted act of terrorism on Christmas must know you, too, will be held to account.

JIM ACOSTA, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): President Obama is starting 2010 confronting a cold reality. Al Qaeda has established a new stronghold in Yemen where the White House now believes terrorists plotted with Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab to blow up flight 253 on Christmas Day. Nearly a decade after the bombing of the USS Cole in Yemen, the U.S. and Britain suddenly closed their embassies Sunday.

BRENNAN: Al Qaeda has several hundred members, in fact, in Yemen, and they've grown in strength.

ACOSTA: The emerging threat comes as the president and his national security team plan to meet tomorrow on how to plug holes in aviation security.

BRENNAN: Clearly the system didn't work. We had a problem in terms of why Abdulmutallab got on that plane. There is no smoking gun piece of intelligence out there.

ACOSTA: But the chairman of the 9/11 Commission argues a red flag was missed, that warning from the suspect's father to U.S. officials in Nigeria.

TOM KEAN, 9/11 COMMISSION CHAIRMAN: That alone, given who that father was, his prestige in the community, his connections with the United States embassy, that alone should have been enough.

ACOSTA: Republicans have blasted the administration's handling of the failed attack, with Dick Cheney accusing the president of pretending the nation is not at war. White House counterterrorism adviser John Brennan all but called Cheney a liar.

BRENNAN: Either the vice president is willfully mischaracterizing this president's position both in terms of the language he uses and the actions he'd taken, he's taken, or he's ignorant of the facts.

ACOSTA: But there are troubling new questions for the administration, such as the president's plan to close Guantanamo, a plan that includes sending some detainees back to Yemen, a place that's become a haven for former Gitmo prisoners.

SEN. JOSEPH LIEBERMAN (I), CONNECTICUT: The odds are that they will end up in the fight against us planning attacks on the United States of America. So I think it will be truly irresponsible for us, America, to send prisoners of war that we hold now at Guantanamo back to Yemen.

ACOSTA: Despite the barrage of criticism, the White House insists it wants to finish the job in the war against Al Qaeda nine years after September 11.

BRENNAN: We're going to get bin Laden. We're going to get Zawahiri. We're going to get the others.

ACOSTA (on camera): For now, John Brennan says the White House is not talking about sending troops to Yemen. Instead, the focus appears to be on al Qaeda worldwide. Consider what the director of the Counterterrorism Center is warning. Al Qaeda is refining its methods to test the nation's defenses.

Jim Acosta, CNN, Washington.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BALDWIN: One of the top leaders of al Qaeda in Yemen spent six years as a detainee at Guantanamo Bay. He was released in 2007, and that is raising some questions about the president's plan to close that facility.

So, should any more prisoners actually be sent home? Roughly half of the 200 inmates at Gitmo are Yemenis. The terror threat a focus on CNN's "AMERICAN MORNING."

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

JOHN ROBERTS, CNN ANCHOR: Why hasn't is the terrorist threat in Yemen been more effectively fought against?

GARY BERNTSEN, AUTHOR, "JAWBREAKER": Well, this is a government that was hostile to us. The Yemenis were on Saddam's side during the war. Can't forget that.

This is not a group of people that support the U.S. Right now there will be a temporary alliance to assist them against al Qaeda because al Qaeda is threatening the interests of that government. But they are not going to be long-term allies. No one should consider that. They'll help us for now, they'll push us to the side as soon as this threat has passed.

ROBERTS: So what's the best way to fight terror in Yemen?

BERNTSEN: We're going to have to have mobile light and lethal forces there. We can suppress them, the U.S.. But to eradicate them there, it's going to have to be the Yemenis. And the Yemenis look like they're going to go after them hammer and tong now.

ROBERTS: So you don't want to go in with a major fighting force, you know want to go in fairly small.

BERNTSEN: Small, light force, assist them on the intel side, do some specific strikes against the leadership there. But it's going to require Arabs, Yemenis to penetrate those plans to identify these people because they're going to be living among their own clans, their own families, a lot of these al Qaeda members. This is more difficult than the Afghan/Pakistan border to work in, a lot more difficult.

ROBERTS: Jack Rice, a big point of controversy here is what to do with the 90 Yemenis who are still in custody at the prison at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba. John Brennan, President Obama's counterterrorism czar, said yesterday that they still absolutely plan to send them back to Yemen, those who they believe they can send back.

Is that a good idea?

JACK RICE, FMR. CIA OFFICER: Yes, it actually is. Brennan's right on this one in my mind.

I was on Guantanamo when Khalid Shaikh Mohammed, known as "Mukhtar the Brain," arrived back in 2006. I was just back there again right before I went to Afghanistan.

And if we think about what Guantanamo has become around the rest of the Muslim world, 1.5 billion Muslims see this as essentially a torture camp. I'm not suggesting it is. What I'm suggesting is that's the symbol it has become.

The president is right to actually close this base down. If that means moving all of those people to Illinois or Michigan or wherever else and try them, fine. If you can determine those that are safe, then fine.

If you want to repatriate them, more than 500 of them have been repatriated. There are a couple who have been found on the battlefield again. But again, that's probably a different question.

I guess in the end, if we think about what's going on in Yemen itself, for those who are not safe to return, we keep them. We try them in U.S. courts.

BERNTSEN: More than a couple have returned to the battlefield. Several dozen.

One of the Gitmo detainees was responsible for the death of Benazir Bhutto. Major action.

These guys are leading al Qaeda in Yemen right now, both Gitmo detainees. These guys need to be held, not sent to Yemen.

Sending them to Yemen is insanity. They will be released, they will attack the United States, and they will kill large numbers of Americans.

A new force will be created eventually from former Gitmo detainees, and they're going to make al Qaeda look like a very ineffective group in the end. We are facing a dangerous group of people there. We should not be sending them to Yemen.

The Yemenis will leave (ph) some of them or even assist them in freeing them. We had Yemeni officials help these guys dig a tunnel and escape a year and a half ago.

ROBERTS: So, Jack, what do you say about that?

RICE: Yes, but the standard is -- what we talk about here is everybody that we've ever taken we can never let go, whether or not they were actually innocent or not. We know without question that there are those who were actually picked up by the Americans who were 100 percent innocent, should have never been held either in Afghanistan in other black sites around the world, and certainly not at Guantanamo Bay.

I Have talked to multiple numbers of them myself around the world. They should never have been taken.

So, if the standard is, we took them so we must keep them forever, I mean, that's ridiculous. That actually exacerbates problems worse.

And remember, the other side of this isn't just about those people. It's about what it does to the rest of the 1.5 billion Muslims in the world who see this and say, let me get this right. You say you stand for rule of law, you say you stand for something of significance, and yet what we should do is you're simply going to hold these people forever because you took them? That's the logic? That's where we're going?

That's crazy.

BERNTSEN: Jack, these guys that were captured, many of these Yemenis, were up in Tora Bora. They weren't up there as tourists, they weren't on holiday. And they're guilty, guilty as sin.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BALDWIN: Threats from al Qaeda in Yemen now prompting the U.S. to close its embassy in the capital of Sana'a.

CNN's international correspondent, Paula Newton, is following these developments for us. She's joining me live from Dubai.

And Paula, we're also hearing France joined the U.S. and Britain today in closing their embassy doors, as well. Let's talk about the U.S. specifically.

Are there still specific threats against the U.S. Embassy in Yemen?

NEWTON: Those specific threats are actually ongoing, and there is certainly a lot of effort to try and thwart those attacks. The Yemeni government claiming that just today, they thwarted five militants headed for the capital in the northeast.

Now, they claim a couple were killed, a couple wounded, and one escaped. What's going on here though, as one western source in the capital tells me, that, look, we don't have any more specific intelligence, unlike what they told us 10 days ago, when four suicide bombers were on their way to the capital. They aren't being that specific about the threat.

What's key here though, Brooke, is that those embassies remain closed because they are not sure about the security situation on the ground. They are trusting the Yemenis to be able to put up some kind of roadblocks or road checks, and they're not quite sure that those will work.

Precedent shows that even when they have tried to put some kind of a security ring around the capital, it just hasn't worked. Al Qaeda or other militants have penetrated it anyway -- Brooke.

BALDWIN: Paula, where does the onus fall here? I mean, we talk about the Yemeni government. What are they doing to contain these al Qaeda cells, the threat? And secondly, what is the U.S. doing?

NEWTON: Well, there's a couple things here.

The Yemeni government, as we've discussed before, has a lot on its plate. It is facing rebel movements, separatist movements. It is facing al Qaeda.

At the same time, it is very defensive about how and why the U.S. is helping them to counter some of the terrorist threats from al Qaeda. The point here, Brooke, Yemen remains a very anti-western, deeply anti-American, I'm sorry to say, country. It is deeply conservative. And the continued air strikes that are put together by the Yemeni government are being blamed on the U.S. government. And that's a problem, especially with the civilian deaths that we've seen during those air strikes.

What is the U.S. doing? They are saying that they are getting all the intelligence help and some monetary help and some military help to the Yemeni government. Most of it, they say, will come in training. They say it's also in intelligence, but they refuse to specify how. They know that they have limited options and they know the situation is incredibly sensitive.

BALDWIN: Absolutely. Paula Newton for us in Dubai. Paula, thank you.

Back here at home, Congress returning to work this week and lobbyists, they are ready, they are waiting. The groups trying to influence your health care.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BALDWIN: Well, the headline right now at cnnmoney.com, of course your source more money news. Let me take a look. It says, "stocks soar in 2010, Wall Street rallies right out of the gate." We're hoping for some good numbers and, so far, let's take a look at the numbers. I believe the Nasdaq is up about 40 points. The Dow sitting at 10,588, up 160 points. This, again, the first day of trading for the new year, 2010.

And as you can see on the big board, stocks are kicking off 2010 with a bang. And we're watching these first days of January very closely because some say they really may be an indication of what to expect for the rest of the year. Susan Lisovicz at the New York Stock Exchange to explain.

Hello, Susan.

SUSAN LISOVICZ, CNN BUSINESS CORRESPONDENT: Hello, Brooke.

Well, there's an old expression on Wall Street, "as goes January, so goes the year." And specifically the first five days. Consider it an early warning system. Since 1950, the January effect was off only five times and includes this past year. January, overall, was lousy, but the first few days recorded a modest gain. It's never been wrong in calling a bear market.

And the first days of January are usually strong, I'm happy to say. Why is that? New money is at work. Pension funds adding money to retirement accounts. Investor who've sold at the end of the year to claim tax losses are now reinvesting and also, as so many of us know firsthand, we're coming out of a bear market.

Historically, the market is strong, as it does, and as you just said, on the big board we're looking at nice triple digit gains for the Dow. The Dow, the Nasdaq, the S&P each up 1.5 percent or more on the first trading day of the new year. We got a terrific manufacturing report in the morning, Brooke, that showed that that sector, which has really been beaten down, grew at its fastest pace in more than three years.

BALDWIN: And as you said, the new money bringing a nice little boost to the numbers. So, Susan, are we expecting the stock market really to turn in any big gains this year?

LISOVICZ: Well, you know, it will be a tough act to follow. When you think about what we saw in 2009, the Dow was up about 20 percent, the S&P about 25 percent, the Nasdaq up nearly 45 percent. Last year's rally came as the U.S. economy narrowly avoided depression.

The bottom line is, many analysts think that the positive momentum will continue, but it hinges -- I think the pace of the rally will hinge on things like whether consumers will spend without stimulus, what happens when the Federal Reserve pulls the plug on its extraordinary programs, like buying mortgage-backed securities, and, most importantly, what about job creation?

But here is some comfort, Brooke, after the so-called lost decade for stocks. The S&P 500 has never sustained back-to-back losses for the decade.

BALDWIN: Wow. And the manufacturing numbers, as you pointed out last hour, that's giving us a nice little boost too. So important.

LISOVICZ: That's right. And we also got some very nice economic news, both from China and Asia, all pointing to a global recovery. And so much of what the U.S. does hinges on what happens overseas as well.

BALDWIN: Good deal. We like that word recovery. Susan Lisovicz, thank you.

LISOVICZ: You're welcome.

BALDWIN: And sort of related to all of this, right, the housing crisis. Keep in mind, what goes up, must come down.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BALDWIN: Updating our top stories for you now.

Authorities say two workers were shot and wounded in the lobby of the federal courthouse in Las Vegas this morning. A U.S. marshal's office spokesman says the wounded include a deputy U.S. marshal and a court security officer. An FBI spokesman does say the gunman was shot, he was killed. Authorities are working to clear and secure the building right now.

A Pakistani court gives police two weeks to prepare a case against five Americans accused of planning terrorist attacks in that country. The five have been arrested. They have not been charged. But if convicted, they could face up to life in prison.

And there are some signs the overall economy is stabilizing, but the health of the housing market still really the big question mark for all of us. CNNMoney.com's Poppy Harlow joining me from New York.

And, Poppy, you know, you talk about the mortgage meltdown. We know is was the crux of that whole financial mess, the crisis. But now there are new fears that we may not have hit the bottom yet.

POPPY HARLOW, CNNMONEY.COM: Yes, not exactly the bearer of good news today for you, Brooke, I'm sorry. But that's right, most of the analysts saying home prices are going to fall further this year. So not a huge recovery in sight to say the least. The forecasts vary greatly depending on what market you're talking about. But there are some that fear that in the hardest hit markets like California and Florida, for example, we could see another 15 percent decline in home prices. That would certainly hurt those already depressed markets.

Let's talk about the trend we've been seeing, though, because the peak of the housing market was really in 2006. So the National Association of Realtors tells us that the median home price was over $221,000 then. Well, you've seen the decline over the next three years from that peak down to the latest numbers we have, which are November of 2009. Home prices, the median home price was just over $172,000. That's a 22 percent decline. And there are analysts that say it could get worse because we could see more and more foreclosures.

You've got a lot of these adjustable rate mortgages that are going to reset this year and next. That's going to depress home prices even further. That's a big concern. But I should mention there's a bright shot here, and that bright spot is that as these prices have fallen, we've seen sales jumping. When you look at November, so just about a month and a half ago, existing home sales in this country saw the biggest increase, the biggest jump since February of 2007. So that is some good news.

We've got good news for buyers out there, Brooke. Not good news for sellers. Something to keep an eye on in 2010. Even if stocks are doing well, keep an eye on the housing market.

BALDWIN: Right, I guess it depends on your outlook. If prices go down, affordability goes up. But, Poppy, what about the government? We all know they've done a whole lot to try to help the ailing housing market. But what happens when that ends?

HARLOW: It's a great question. Susan Lisovicz just talked about it from "The New York Stock Exchange, this amazing program that the Fed has had buying up mortgaged-backed securities. That ends in March and that could mean higher mortgage rates. Something you're going to definitely want to take a look at. Keep your eye on that.

Also you've got these two home buyer tax credits. $8,000 in place right now for first time home buyers. A $6,500 credit for people purchasing a second or third home. Those have been big drivers of sales. Well, those disappear at the end of April. So that could weigh on the market.

So I've been asking people on my FaceBook page today what they thought about the housing market. I want to read you two quick comments. One, Zabi, he's a realtor, he wrote in, "as a realtor, I know there are still tons of foreclosed homes that the banks are holding on to and need to be released soon. So what do you think that will do to the housing market?" That's a great point.

And also Brandon wrote in, "there is still too much capacity. The commercial sector I fear is the next disaster. It is way overbuilt and overleveraged." So two things to also keep your eye on there, what happens with foreclosures and also the commercial real estate market. You can see more of these headlines, one of our top stories today, on cnnmoney.com.

Brooke.

BALDWIN: Yes, we talk so much about residential. That's a good point, commercial.

HARLOW: Yes, commercial.

BALDWIN: We'll be looking for it. Hopefully not.

Poppy Harlow. CNNMoney.com's Poppy Harlow, thank you.

Here's some groups you may not put together here. Let me throw them out. The American Association of Museums, Gun Owners of America, and the American Beverage Association. Yes, they are all concerned about your health, or at least the health care reform bill.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BALDWIN: We told you we'd bring you any new developments as soon as we got them on that federal courthouse shooting. A shooting in the lobby, I should say, in Las Vegas this morning. One security guard shot and one federal marshal shot. The suspect shot and killed, according to authorities.

We have just brought in our first bit of sound from a witness who tells affiliate KNTV what he saw and heard. Let's listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TROY SACEAL, WITNESS (via telephone): In this case, it was the marshals and then kind of the whole fire fight kind of opened up. And it was just, you know, blast after blast of the gun. And they were kind of running down the steps toward like the southwest corner of the building. And I saw the one marshal, as far as I know now it's a marshal, got shot up in the corner of the building. And another marshal ran up and covered him up.

And I saw some other police officers started arriving at the scene and coming up Las Vegas Boulevard shooting. And then when the shots kind of subsided, I saw some officers run up and check on that marshal that was apparently hit up by the corner of the building in the front there.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Can you tell us approximately how many shots were fired?

SACEAL: It sounded like 30 to 40 shots to me. It was kind of surreal watching it because, you know, I didn't realize what was going on at the time. And it was a little kind of scary, but that's what it sounded like. It sounded like it was going on for at least a couple minutes.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Troy, can you confirm or do you think you saw the suspect in any of this? I know you said you saw people running out of the building. We understand from the FBI that the suspect was shot and killed. Do you think you saw that suspect out on those steps firing at these marshals?

SACEAL: You know, I don't think I necessarily saw him or can't confirm that I saw him because by the time I kind of realized what was going on, you know, I just kind of -- I saw people coming out of the building shooting, shooting toward the street and toward the -- and the buildings in front of that building were kind of like block the street, so I couldn't see who they were shooting at. So it's possible I saw him run out, but I, you know, didn't know what was going on at the time so I really can't.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BALDWIN: And that is the first bit of information we've been hearing from, from a witness inside of the courtroom, hearing 30 to 40 shots fired, going several minutes inside this lobby of this federal courthouse in Las Vegas. Two people wounded. The suspect shot and killed. More on that story coming up here in the CNN NEWSROOM.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BALDWIN: Well, Congress returns from a holiday break one week from tomorrow. And Democrats hope to pass a final health care reform bill this month. Now the measure is the subject of one of the biggest and costliest lobbying campaigns ever. Here is CNN's Carol Costello reporting from Washington.

CAROL COSTELLO, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Guess how many organizations registered to lobby on the health care reform bill? I'll bet you have an idea. I will say there are hundreds of organization who lobbied for or against health care reform. Organizations you wouldn't expect, like the Gun Owners Association, and the Beverage Association. Why would they spend millions of dollars lobbying for what goes into health care reform? You're about to find out.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE) UNIDENTIFIED ANNOUNCER, TELEVISION AD, CONSERVATIVES FOR PATIENTS' RIGHTS: The future of every American's medical care rest with these 14 senators.

COSTELLO (voice-over): It's the kind of commercial you have no doubt seen a million times, and courtesy of groups you would expect to spend millions to schmooze Congress on health care reform.

Here's one from the insurance industry.

UNIDENTIFIED ANNOUNCER, TELEVISION AD: Congress is proposing over $100 billion in cuts to Medicare advantage.

COSTELLO: But big insurance is not the only organization with its eye on the health care pie. So do organizations you would not expect who sometimes lobby at the mere hint of a threat, like the Gun Owners of America. They lobby to make sure that the bill does not use gun related health data to prevent people from owning firearms.

The American Association of Museums lobbied to make sure that health care costs would not jeopardize the charitable gifts that wealthy Americans donate to museums and other charities.

In all, nearly 1,000 organizations actively lobbied Congress on health care reform according to opensecrets.org, all willing to pay to keep their eye on the health care pie.

(on camera): How much money is focused on just this one bill?

SHEILA KRUMHOLZ, CENTER FOR RESPONSIVE POLITICS: It's about $400 million.

COSTELLO (voice-over): The Center for Responsive Politics says all that money in the first three quarters in 2009 came from all kinds of folks. Example, the soft drink industry.

(on camera): You spent $7 million?

SUSAN NEELY, AMERICAN BEVERAGE ASSOCIATION: We spent money to put the voice of the people on the air, most of that goes for paid media.

COSTELLO (voice-over): Why would the American Beverage Association, a powerful group that lobbies for companies like Coke and Pepsi spend all that money on health care reform? One word -- fear.

(on camera): Was this sort of like defensive lobbying?

MICHAEL JACOBSON, CENTER FOR SCIENCE IN THE PUBLIC INTEREST: Yes, absolutely defensive lobbying.

UNIDENTIFIED ACTRESS, TELEVISION AD, AMERICANS AGAINST FOOD TAXES: Washington, please hear us, we just can't take any more taxes right now.

COSTELLO (voice-over): The beverage industry was so concerned lawmakers would tax sugary soda to pay for health care, in 2009 it spent 10 times as much as the year before. This in response to a Senate committee report that merely floated the idea, an idea that has been pushed for years by the Center for Science in the Public Interest.

(on camera): There was never any real champion among lawmakers for this tax, was there?

JACOBSON: No, there never has been and there really isn't a champion now.

COSTELLO (voice-over): Still, the beverage industry registered more than a dozen organizations and lobbying firms to convince lawmakers to kill the very idea of a sugary soda tax.

(on camera): You guys poured all of this money and effort in to defeating something that some think never was going to happen anyway.

NEELY: We were counseled by very smart people in Congress that this in some quarters might be a viable idea, just again, because the pressure for funding was so enormous, rightly so. And you could not take anything for granted.

COSTELLO (voice-over): And then there is this, 15 beverage industry lobbyists also made campaign contributions over time to 14 members on the Senate Finance Committee, the very committee that had the power to kill the idea. Absolutely legal and some charged absolutely effective, the soda tax idea died before it ever became a serious consideration.

KRUMHOLZ: The beverage industry saw a threat on the horizon. They realized that they had a short window of opportunity to remove it, and they threw everything they had at it.

COSTELLO: The American Beverage Association, just one more example of the hundreds of lobbying organizations who have their eye on the health care pie.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

COSTELLO: There were a lot more organizations on that list, too. The Home School Legal Defense Association, the Brick Industry Association, the Fishing Partnership Health Plan. Even our parent company, Time Warner, was on that list -- Brooke.

BALDWIN: Carol, thank you.

It is a great place to vacation. Just ask the president. But Hawaii has some money problems, forcing furloughs on schools there.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BALDWIN: The president and first family returned from their holiday vacation in Hawaii last hour, back to the bitter cold of Washington. But some school children in Hawaii are getting some extra vacation days. The state is drastically shortening the school year to cope with a budget crisis. The story now from CNN's Ed Henry.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

ED HENRY, CNN CORRESPONDENT, (voice over): Like many nine-year- olds, Hunter Gentry loves his scooter and is very creative.

HUNTER GENTRY: Hi, my name is Hunter Gentry and I'm a chef and a baker.

HENRY: This young Hawaiian has already started his own cooking show on YouTube, hoping to make it big on "Top Chef" some day. But Hunter also has bilateral hearing loss, which makes it hard to hear s's and t's at the end of words. Two hearing aids help, and so do special classes at school. But that's been disrupted by furlough Fridays. A drastic measure by Hawaii to cut 17 more class days, resulting in the shortest school year in the nation, to deal with a massive budget hole.

LELA GENTRY, HUNTER'S MOTHER: When he's missing Friday, he's missing not only his regular school day, like everyone else, but he's missing his one-on-one resource time with his teacher.

HENRY: Lela works as a makeup and wardrobe stylist and her husband is a freelance photographer. So they can often work with Hunter at home on Fridays. But she notes other families have daycare issues and she has a second child on the way.

L. GENTRY: My time's going to run thin.

HENRY: U.S. Education Secretary Arne Duncan is pushing for the nation to adopt an all year round curriculum, so he's angry this state is going in the opposite direction.

ARNE DUNCAN, EDUCATION SECRETARY: Everyone's having to make really tough choices. But if we desperately need more time, not less, when Hawaii said their answer to this tough fiscal problem was to eliminate 17 days of school, 10 percent of the school year, no one else has proposed that kind of answer. There has to be a better way.

HENRY: But last week, Hawaii's Republican governor, Linda Lingle, rejected a move by the teacher's union and state education officials to restore seven days